Do You Realize?

Thirteen Things...

...that I'm thinkin' 'bout on Thursday...

1. ...winners from my Blogiversary Giveaways! Congrats to Jeff at Biking Duluth (Greenies & Pet Promise dog food sample), Caroline in NH at Fiber Arts & Furry Critters (Bush's Last Day keychain), Hootin' Anni (CD of ten of my photographic images), Andree at Meeyau (Feline Greenies & Pet Promise cat food sample), Molly at RedMolly Picayune-Democrat (a copy of Diane MacEachern's book Big Green Purse), and Anonymous Mom at Tenuous at Best (handcrafted journal)! If I don't hear from each of you within 24 hours, I will contact you. I'm asking until next Saturday (hopefully won't need that long) to get everything ready to ship.

2. ...my complete and utter domination at the art of oatmeal. I have mastered my "perfect oats." No extra liquid, but not too dry either. MMMMM.

3. ...philosophical subjects like evil and faith. I've determined that the basis for one's faith in an idea or entity is a positive and memorable event that the person attributes, whether correctly or incorrectly, to that idea or entity. For example, my husband sees, on a regular basis, the healing and saving of lives. He attributes that to the science of medicine; his faith, therefore, lies in the scientific.

4. ...suicide. Not mine, no. The book I'm reading, Jodi Picoult's The Pact, is about a failed teen suicide pact, where the surviving teen is charged with murder.

5. ...how terrible I am at poker. Some friends of ours have bought a table at a local "Casino Night" fundraiser and have graciously asked Hubby & I to go. I know not a damn thing about poker, but I will throw down with the best of them when intoxicated, I'm sure.

6. ...Texas's crazy caucusing. We voted early to avoid voting day crowds, but then had to go out anyway for the caucusing portion of the night.

7. ...how terrifyingly easy it is to imagine Youngest as a drug addict. He has a very addictive personality anyway, and a bipolar individual's risk of addiction to drugs or alcohol is much higher than that of a normally functioning person. At thirteen, his drug of choice is Runescape or the Playstation 3; he will do anything, self-destructive or otherwise, to get his fix. Seeing his desperation while in Austin last weekend with limited Internet availability was truly amazing.

8. ...our freakish weather. It's snowing again. Hard. Remember, I was talking about the weather yesterday?

9. ...how hitting an already-dead, but still fresh, skunk on the highway is very, very bad. Very bad, indeed. I also discovered why so many of them seem to be hit on the road. Nearly impossible to see until the last minute. Poor buggers.

10. ...organ donation. My mom is down in Florida at a post-transplant checkup. She's doing amazingly well!

11. ...photography. I mentioned it's snowing again, right?

12. ...the Project Runway season finale last night. As I fully expected, Christian kicked ass. His clothes, while not designed for the everyday woman, were exquisite concoctions, full of ruffles and feathers. His runway music killed, too (created and arranged by Anonymous Mom's not-so-anonymous talented son). Way to go, Christian! I just want to eat him up like a cookie, he's so freakin' cute.

13. ...how I SO don't want to do the laundry and mop the floors.

Edited to add: I drove for six hours to accomplish what would usually take three.

In the Holiday Spirit(s)

Once upon a time, my husband & I would have never even thought about going to holiday parties. We're friendly people, you see, just not social people. This year we have/will attend three. Three different friends, three very different parties.

The first party we attended was a conservative affair, hosted by very conservative friends. Dressy, formal home, no babies/little kids, piano player, catered, a little wine & beer. Perfectly lovely. I even clean up pretty well & put on a good show of being civilized, and I never once goaded anyone into talking politics or religion. We love these friends (also our orthodontist... all three kids and hubby), and despite our huge differences of opinion regarding politics and religion, they've never made us feel uncomfortable when we talk about it. (We think maybe we are their only liberal friends, though.)

The second party we attended? Lots of boisterous adults, kids playing Guitar Hero, handmade (and bought) munchies, disco, and plenty of alcoholic cheer. No one thought twice about my letting Eldest have one drink even though she's underage (we're those "bad" parents who teach moderation and responsible use, not abstinence). I had waaaay too much alcohol (at last count, 8 Midori Sours, 3 Buttery Nipples, 2 vodka jello shots, and a glass of Muscato), and a lot of fun. The host, also a doctor, offered a thousand bucks to the first person to swim one pool length in their underwear. We are definitely not their only liberal friends.

The last gathering we'll attend (she would die before calling it a party) will be a Festivus celebration. In my friend's words, "when I care enough to do the very least." Complete with Festivus pole and food (and wine) from boxes, this party is always very laid-back and comfy. We can sit in the living room or in the floor & drink a glass of wine; we can dress up or dress down. It's all good. It won't be rowdy, and there will be plenty of intelligent conversations going on.

Here's to friends of all age, intelligence, religion, political affiliation, and sexual orientation. None of us would be who we are without them!

A Trippin' Ten List

It's been awhile since I've done a Tuesday Ten List (yes, I know it's now Thursday... our internet is acting fickle), and there's so much to share about my trip to Oregon, I decided to shove some of it all together. And so, here (in no particular order) are: Ten Terrific Things about the Trip.

1. Meeting my friend RedMolly (yes, I think of that as all one word, for some reason) in person for the first time. We had a splendid dinner at The Farm Cafe and then met up with her supercool sweetie & their boys for dessert. Here we are:
 

2. Staying with my friend Kelly, who is lucky enough to spend summers with this view out her front door:

3. Voodoo Doughnut, in Portland. They have the weirdest, wildest doughnuts I have ever heard of. I had the Grape Ape (glazed with vanilla frosting, grape drink powder, and grape sprinkles) and a Maple Bacon Bar (glazed with maple frosting and two pieces of bacon). Despite all my gustatory reservations, they were quite tasty, and very interesting: 

4. The Farm Cafe. Speaking of all things gustatory, this place is beyond measure. We started with a brie baked with honey and fresh berries, then fresh corn risotto with smoked bleu cheese.

5. Recreating above-mentioned baked brie with Kelly & eating it on the porch, watching the sun set (see photo from #2).

6. The Portland Rose Garden, where I snagged this photo, among others:

7. The Portland Japanese Garden, where I could have stayed for hours and hours and hours and still be discovering beautiful niches I hadn't yet seen.

8. Averaging 42mpg on my road trip home in my "deer" car Pru:

9. The Peace Fence in Ashland. I don't know how far it stretches (a looooooong way), but it involves hand-designed cloth panels expressing sentiments of peace for our planet. It is a lovely idea, and it transforms a plain chain-link fence into a beautiful piece of art.

10. Hanging out for an hour or so with three complete strangers in Ashland's Lithia Park. I asked if I could photograph them, they agreed, and soon we were all sitting around talking about all things environmental. Very refreshing, and it made me want to be an idealistic 20-something modern hippie child all over again.

Leaving again

Today, I'm headed to Portland to see my friend RedMolly. We're eating dinner at a yummy-sounding restaurant that specializes in local and organic foods.

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Ashland to see another friend. And to Medford, to pick up Prudence. She will look like this:

(This image is not my own, and is not copyrighted by me.)

Small Victories and Little Defeats

I have spent most of my weekend with several girlfriends in the city. We have painted (even those of us who were self-conscious of our abilities), laughed, chatted, dined, and drank. It's been a weekend of letting our hair down, for sharing, for escaping for two days the haste at home. I have taken one art jewelry workshop, and I still have one creative assemblage workshop tonight.

In the midst of it all, I have remained aware of things that, once upon a time, I wouldn't have even noticed. In terms of environmental issues, it has been a series of small victories and little defeats. All part of that learning curve I've talked about.

The victories? I will be able to recycle the two newspapers, either in the recycle bin at home or in my birds' cages. When I knocked over a tiny blossom vase at breakfast yesterday, no napkins were used to wipe it up; I used my blue surgical hand towel from my purse. I didn't use a napkin for breakfast; I used my cloth napkin. My weekend thus far has been almost entirely meatless (the one exception being a cup of chicken tortilla soup last night).

The defeats? I forgot my own shampoo & soap, so I used the hotel's (I used the same ones both days, and I will use the rest of the shampoo at home, as well as use the bottle in an art project). There was, as would be expected, some unnecessary waste in the art class, lots of baby wipes used. Yesterday's breakfast was in a small waste-based (I like that word) cafe, with paper cups and plastic to-go containers (she put my blueberry muffin in one before I even knew what was happening, but I still have it in my bag for the recycle bin at home). Did I mention I ate meat once?

I have come to believe that sometimes the point of all this is not to be victorious at every opportunity, but to be mindful of our environment (our immediate surroundings, not The Environment) so that we can at least learn from our little defeats. Be aware of the newspaper you are reading, where it came from, where it will go. Be aware of your food, where it came from, where it will go. I think that by doing this, I like to think we will all become more appreciative of our lives in general, and that, my friends, will be an immeasurably large victory for all of us.

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

As much as I hate to disagree with The Bangles, Fridays are MY Fun Days... my I-don't-have-to-run-days... Every Friday morning, a gaggle of us gals descend upon Panera Bread at eight-ish and roost there until the lunch crowd starts coming in & we realize our butts are numb for a reason. Having friends is a fantastic feeling.

I should probably have started this post by noting that I am NOT a social person. As my hubby & I like to say, "I'm friendly, just not social." There's a BIG difference. Once you force a social situation upon me, I have fun and feel disgusted at myself for being such a hermit; once it's over, I think about the fun I had and then become a hermit again. The most ironic thing is that no one ever suspects this about me; I can fake it with the best of them.

Luckily for me, Mark & I decided to force upon ourselves a social gathering back in December; it was a KERA community support gathering at a fellow M.D.'s house. We were excited about the prospect of public radio in Sherman, and we thought we would step out of our hermit shells for a few hours. Little did I realize that I would find a group of friends that I would click with so instantly. (I've had a friend or two like that before, but, sadly, it's been a couple of years since I last saw them.)

There's Risa. She is my environmental motivator. She & I have so much in common. We are both nature-lovers (she can name more tree & bird species than I've heard of). We are both eco-warriors. We are both very atypical doctor's wives. We are Democrats. Our children are older than the others'. We are both artistic. We are both people-pleasers (especially when it comes to our families). One big difference? I've been told she sings like a nightingale, and I can't carry a tune in a bucket!

There's Vivienne. She is my shiny, happy sunshine; she is so much fun. She, too, is an artist. She's also an antithetical doctor's wife. She has about as many animals as we do. She's as liberal as they come. She's very down-to-earth, and she has an amazing sense of humor. She's Welsh, and she has the loveliest British accent. She already has at least one college degree, and she's going back for something totally different, which I admire enormously.

There's Kelly. She is my biggest cheerleader; she has so much faith in me, so much more than I have in myself. She has my sense of humor, very irreverent. She is the source of the funniest fodder from the Internet. She is so very smart, and she loves words like I do. We both love Scrabble. She's also very Democratic. I always find myself wishing I were as relaxed as she is; she says she is in her "Fuck-it-all Forties." She makes me wish I weren't still in my "Thin-skinned Thirties."

There are others that I don't yet know as well as Risa, Vivienne, or Kelly. They each have their own set of lovely qualities to add to our little group. And we are always growing; it's a sign of a healthy symbiosis.

These are the people with whom I spend my Friday mornings, and, sometimes we spend an evening or a weekend with some combination thereof. These are the women that keep me smiling, laughing, and motivated throughout the week. These are the people whose email addresses I search for first when checking my in-box. These are the women that get me through the week when I think I might not be able. These are my friends.