Steven Harper's Blog, page 79
June 18, 2017
Street Fair Ambush, Deflected
At a street fair today, a woman approached and asked if I would sign a petition to let So-and-So run for governor in 2018, since Snyder is term-limited.
"What party is he?" I asked.
"Republican," she said. "And he--"
"No, thank you" I interrupted. "I'm married to a man, and the Republican party isn't supportive of that. I can't sign your petition."
"Oh." She looked taken aback. "Er . . . yes. I support civil unions."
"I don't," Darwin put in.
"Thank you," I added, and we walked away.
comments
"What party is he?" I asked.
"Republican," she said. "And he--"
"No, thank you" I interrupted. "I'm married to a man, and the Republican party isn't supportive of that. I can't sign your petition."
"Oh." She looked taken aback. "Er . . . yes. I support civil unions."
"I don't," Darwin put in.
"Thank you," I added, and we walked away.
comments
June 11, 2017
My Summer Office
When summer comes, I like to move outside to my summer office. It's the front porch of our lovely house. It faces north, so it's always cool and shady. We've installed some comfortable porch furniture out there, along with a porch rug so I'm not on bare cement. We aren't far from a pond, so I can hear red-wing blackbirds sing and mourning doves call, both birds I remember from my childhood in Wheeler.
Although the porch looks out onto the street, bushes and trees surround it, giving me a fair amount of quiet privacy. I've put up hanging baskets of flowers and other plants around, and also put more plants on the rail for more greenery and privacy. If I don't move, no one even notices I'm out there. :) This is my view:
When it rains, it's even more beautiful. The porch stays perfectly dry, and I can admire the rain while I write.
When I was a child, we lived in a big farmhouse. Next to it was a small milk house for storing fresh milk in the days when the place was a working dairy farm. It was the size of a garden hut and hand a concrete-lined pit in the bottom that you filled with cold water from the nearby well. Then you put the big metal milk cans down in the water to keep the milk cool. The house was also shaded by pine and lilac trees to keep it cooler still.
My mother covered the pit over with a wooden platform and converted the milk house into a playhouse for my sister and brother and me. We played house and created fairy tales and other games of pretend in there.
And I wrote in it. I had a pile of notebook paper in a blue folder and a lap desk, and I often sat out there to write. I remember sitting out there in the rain and once even a thunderstorm with my papers and pencil. I felt adventurous and secretive and cozy all at the same time while I put those words on paper out in the little house among the trees and the rain. I don't have the old manuscripts anymore, but I have the memories.
Sitting on the front porch to write on my laptop makes me feel like I did when I wrote in the milk house, and I like it very much.
comments
Although the porch looks out onto the street, bushes and trees surround it, giving me a fair amount of quiet privacy. I've put up hanging baskets of flowers and other plants around, and also put more plants on the rail for more greenery and privacy. If I don't move, no one even notices I'm out there. :) This is my view:
When it rains, it's even more beautiful. The porch stays perfectly dry, and I can admire the rain while I write.
When I was a child, we lived in a big farmhouse. Next to it was a small milk house for storing fresh milk in the days when the place was a working dairy farm. It was the size of a garden hut and hand a concrete-lined pit in the bottom that you filled with cold water from the nearby well. Then you put the big metal milk cans down in the water to keep the milk cool. The house was also shaded by pine and lilac trees to keep it cooler still.
My mother covered the pit over with a wooden platform and converted the milk house into a playhouse for my sister and brother and me. We played house and created fairy tales and other games of pretend in there.
And I wrote in it. I had a pile of notebook paper in a blue folder and a lap desk, and I often sat out there to write. I remember sitting out there in the rain and once even a thunderstorm with my papers and pencil. I felt adventurous and secretive and cozy all at the same time while I put those words on paper out in the little house among the trees and the rain. I don't have the old manuscripts anymore, but I have the memories.
Sitting on the front porch to write on my laptop makes me feel like I did when I wrote in the milk house, and I like it very much.
comments
The Final Week
It's the last week here at Wherever Schools. It's been a long, long year this time, not in the least because we had to add (unpaid) days due to new state laws. The seniors have already graduated and left. I only have a few seniors this year, so it didn't affect my teaching much. After a year of four sections of English 9, though, I'm eager for summer break.
I'm getting the annual last-minute begging. This student wants to make up an assignment from six weeks ago. That one wants just a few more points so his grade can go from a B- to a B. This other one wants a list of every missing assignment for the entire semester so she can make them up. I give them all my standard answer: "The time to ask about this was three weeks ago. It's too late now."
I have to do a little more sorting and putting away than usual this year. The building is undergoing some construction over the summer, and my stuff has to be out of the way. In fact, they're kicking all us teachers out of the building the moment exams are over to start the work and telling us we can't come back into the building until fall, when the work is done.
You'll find me at home, writing on my front porch!
comments
I'm getting the annual last-minute begging. This student wants to make up an assignment from six weeks ago. That one wants just a few more points so his grade can go from a B- to a B. This other one wants a list of every missing assignment for the entire semester so she can make them up. I give them all my standard answer: "The time to ask about this was three weeks ago. It's too late now."
I have to do a little more sorting and putting away than usual this year. The building is undergoing some construction over the summer, and my stuff has to be out of the way. In fact, they're kicking all us teachers out of the building the moment exams are over to start the work and telling us we can't come back into the building until fall, when the work is done.
You'll find me at home, writing on my front porch!
comments
Maksim and Highway Driving
Last weekend, Maksim said he wanted to try some highway driving. As it happened, I had some errands to run south of town, so Maksim could be my chauffeur.
He told me he was nervous. He hadn't driven on the highway since driver's ed class. I told him he'd be fine once he got on the road and that I wasn't worried.
As is usual with these things, the anticipation was far worse than the event. Maksim made several minor mistakes on the way to the highway--lane drifting, hesitating on turns, being unaware of the speed limit--which clearly came from nerves. Once we pulled onto the highway and he matched speeds with the other cars, however, he calmed down. He drove perfectly fine. When he got off the highway, his nervousness came back and he made more minor mistakes.
We ran the errands--Darwin's coffee maker needed to be replaced, as did some of the box fans. I needed a new computer stylus. We got lunch at Qdoba, Maksim's favorite restaurant.
And Maksim said I could drive home. He'd had enough of the highway for the day!
comments
He told me he was nervous. He hadn't driven on the highway since driver's ed class. I told him he'd be fine once he got on the road and that I wasn't worried.
As is usual with these things, the anticipation was far worse than the event. Maksim made several minor mistakes on the way to the highway--lane drifting, hesitating on turns, being unaware of the speed limit--which clearly came from nerves. Once we pulled onto the highway and he matched speeds with the other cars, however, he calmed down. He drove perfectly fine. When he got off the highway, his nervousness came back and he made more minor mistakes.
We ran the errands--Darwin's coffee maker needed to be replaced, as did some of the box fans. I needed a new computer stylus. We got lunch at Qdoba, Maksim's favorite restaurant.
And Maksim said I could drive home. He'd had enough of the highway for the day!
comments
Jubilee!
It's cherry season! I love cherries and will eat them like popcorn when they come in. So will Darwin. But last week, I bought two pounds and told Darwin to keep his hands off!
"I'm making Cherries Jubilee," I told him.
I've always wanted to make Cherries Jubilee, and I decided to go whole hog. I took down my ice cream maker and whipped up a batch of home made vanilla ice cream, though I found to my dismay I was nearly out of vanilla extract. I used almond extract to make up the difference, and discovered that vanilla almond ice cream tastes fantastic!
While that was in the final stages of freezing, I pitted the cherries and put them in a frying pan with some sugar and lemon juice. I cooked them down until the juices ran tart and scarlet, then hosed it carefully with rum. With Darwin and the boys watching, I flicked a long lighter over the pan. Blue flame fired upward. I swirled it all around until the flames died down and spooned this over chilled bowls of vanilla almond ice cream.
Aran looked askance at the whole thing, but once he tried a taste, he said, "Wow!" He kept saying "wow" all the time he was eating. The tart, hot cherries mixed with the sweet, cold ice cream into a delicious dessert.
Oh, yeah!
comments
"I'm making Cherries Jubilee," I told him.
I've always wanted to make Cherries Jubilee, and I decided to go whole hog. I took down my ice cream maker and whipped up a batch of home made vanilla ice cream, though I found to my dismay I was nearly out of vanilla extract. I used almond extract to make up the difference, and discovered that vanilla almond ice cream tastes fantastic!
While that was in the final stages of freezing, I pitted the cherries and put them in a frying pan with some sugar and lemon juice. I cooked them down until the juices ran tart and scarlet, then hosed it carefully with rum. With Darwin and the boys watching, I flicked a long lighter over the pan. Blue flame fired upward. I swirled it all around until the flames died down and spooned this over chilled bowls of vanilla almond ice cream.
Aran looked askance at the whole thing, but once he tried a taste, he said, "Wow!" He kept saying "wow" all the time he was eating. The tart, hot cherries mixed with the sweet, cold ice cream into a delicious dessert.
Oh, yeah!
comments
Poker Night
Over the weekend, we hosted poker night. We have a revolving poker tournament that takes place at different people's houses, though in reality it mostly happens at three people's houses. Our house is specifically designed for entertaining large groups, so we hold the tournament here fairly often.
We tidied up the house during the day. I also went shopping for party food. The menu this time:
Crudités with French onion dip
Hummus
Pita chips
Corn chips
Cookies
Pizza rolls just like Mom used to buy
Home made macaroni and cheese
Soda variety
Birthday cake
The macaroni and cheese came from a recipe Darwin found. "You should make this," he said. "It looks good."
You'll notice he didn't say, "I think I'll make this. It looks good." My husband has many wonderful talents and qualities. Kitchen skills don't lie among them.
I was actually skeptical. The recipe looked good, but it made a LOT of mac and cheese, and I didn't think mac and cheese would appeal at a poker game, where people would want finger food. However, I decided to give it a try. We could have a chunk of it for supper beforehand, in any case.
I made the recipe. It calls for a cup of butter, two and a half pounds of cheese, and a pound of macaroni. (!) Everyone agreed it was absolutely wonderful!
We set up the food and the playing tables, and people started to arrive. We had 11 players and two observers, so it was quite a crowd! And people snarfed down the mac and cheese! Darwin felt vindicated. :)
It was Darwin's sister Cindy's birthday, too, which was why we had the birthday cake.
The game began. It was an exciting evening, actually, with a great deal of suspense surrounding several high-stakes hands. We actually played two games. I won the first. Go me! It was great fun.
comments
We tidied up the house during the day. I also went shopping for party food. The menu this time:
Crudités with French onion dip
Hummus
Pita chips
Corn chips
Cookies
Pizza rolls just like Mom used to buy
Home made macaroni and cheese
Soda variety
Birthday cake
The macaroni and cheese came from a recipe Darwin found. "You should make this," he said. "It looks good."
You'll notice he didn't say, "I think I'll make this. It looks good." My husband has many wonderful talents and qualities. Kitchen skills don't lie among them.
I was actually skeptical. The recipe looked good, but it made a LOT of mac and cheese, and I didn't think mac and cheese would appeal at a poker game, where people would want finger food. However, I decided to give it a try. We could have a chunk of it for supper beforehand, in any case.
I made the recipe. It calls for a cup of butter, two and a half pounds of cheese, and a pound of macaroni. (!) Everyone agreed it was absolutely wonderful!
We set up the food and the playing tables, and people started to arrive. We had 11 players and two observers, so it was quite a crowd! And people snarfed down the mac and cheese! Darwin felt vindicated. :)
It was Darwin's sister Cindy's birthday, too, which was why we had the birthday cake.
The game began. It was an exciting evening, actually, with a great deal of suspense surrounding several high-stakes hands. We actually played two games. I won the first. Go me! It was great fun.
comments
June 10, 2017
Buying
I've realized we don't talk about buying pets much anymore. Have you noticed that?
For some reason, everyone has decided it's wrong to say they bought a dog or bought a cat. You have to say you adopted it. Shelters don't charge you--they ask for an adoption fee. Animal rescue groups ask for compulsory donations. Neither groups say you're buying a pet.
Fifteen years ago, the last time I got a dog, we answered an ad from a woman who had puppies. She asked for a twenty dollar "donation." She clearly felt like she couldn't charge, even though that's what she was doing. We bought the dog and brought him home.
I don't feel entirely comfortable with saying I adopted a pet. After the difficulty and heartache I went through to adopt two children, I have a hard time with the idea of applying that word to a cat or dog.
Requiring a donation is a misnomer anyway. Donations are given freely, with nothing accepted in return. It's a complete fiction that you hand over $100 to an animal group as a "donation" and mysteriously receive a pet in return. Would the organization give you the pet without the donation? They certainly wouldn't. You have bought a pet.
People have no trouble saying they bought a chicken for a farm. Or bought a horse, or a cow, or a pig, or a goat. But dog and cats? They have to be adopted, for some reason.
People are strange.
comments
For some reason, everyone has decided it's wrong to say they bought a dog or bought a cat. You have to say you adopted it. Shelters don't charge you--they ask for an adoption fee. Animal rescue groups ask for compulsory donations. Neither groups say you're buying a pet.
Fifteen years ago, the last time I got a dog, we answered an ad from a woman who had puppies. She asked for a twenty dollar "donation." She clearly felt like she couldn't charge, even though that's what she was doing. We bought the dog and brought him home.
I don't feel entirely comfortable with saying I adopted a pet. After the difficulty and heartache I went through to adopt two children, I have a hard time with the idea of applying that word to a cat or dog.
Requiring a donation is a misnomer anyway. Donations are given freely, with nothing accepted in return. It's a complete fiction that you hand over $100 to an animal group as a "donation" and mysteriously receive a pet in return. Would the organization give you the pet without the donation? They certainly wouldn't. You have bought a pet.
People have no trouble saying they bought a chicken for a farm. Or bought a horse, or a cow, or a pig, or a goat. But dog and cats? They have to be adopted, for some reason.
People are strange.
comments
June 4, 2017
Ad Blockers and Me
I use ad blockers on my web browser. Web sites hate this, of course. I'm not seeing their carefully-placed advertisements with bouncing boobs that want me to order pizza or waggling bikini butts that demand I buy Smucker's or tumbling titties that tell me to get Tonka Trucks. This makes me happy.
But some sites have started taking notice. At certain sites, I'll be there for a few seconds and suddenly the screen switches to a blank screen surrounding a passive-aggressive plea. "We notice you use an ad blocker. We wouldn't DREAM of telling you not to use one. Totally not. But maybe if you rethink it, we'll let you look at our site."
There are workarounds to this. I just reload the site and hit the STOP function before the reload finishes, which usually halts their detection software. Other times I just select the entire page quickly and paste it into a blank document so I can read what I want. One thing I don't do is shut off my ad blocker.
I don't object to the concept of advertising on-line--or anywhere else, for that matter. Someone has to pay for all this "free" content, and there are goods and services that I want to become aware of. I wouldn't know about the Wonder Woman movie, for example, without advertising. However, nearly all advertising is sexist, racist, intrusive, homophobic, heterocentrist, or manipulative. And so I do my best to cut it out of my life.
I become unhappy that I've been taught since I was a child that I'm supposed to go cuckoo for Coco Puffs, that Eggo waffles, McDonald's fries, Cookie Crisp cereal, and Lucky Charms are so delicious I need to steal them, that Ford trucks are tough as a ram (whatever that means), or that big-titted women will want to blow me if I drink Coor. Internet ads are even worse than usual. So I avoid them.
If advertisers want me to look at their ads, they should make their ads tasteful and watchable. Since they don't, I will continue to block them.
comments
But some sites have started taking notice. At certain sites, I'll be there for a few seconds and suddenly the screen switches to a blank screen surrounding a passive-aggressive plea. "We notice you use an ad blocker. We wouldn't DREAM of telling you not to use one. Totally not. But maybe if you rethink it, we'll let you look at our site."
There are workarounds to this. I just reload the site and hit the STOP function before the reload finishes, which usually halts their detection software. Other times I just select the entire page quickly and paste it into a blank document so I can read what I want. One thing I don't do is shut off my ad blocker.
I don't object to the concept of advertising on-line--or anywhere else, for that matter. Someone has to pay for all this "free" content, and there are goods and services that I want to become aware of. I wouldn't know about the Wonder Woman movie, for example, without advertising. However, nearly all advertising is sexist, racist, intrusive, homophobic, heterocentrist, or manipulative. And so I do my best to cut it out of my life.
I become unhappy that I've been taught since I was a child that I'm supposed to go cuckoo for Coco Puffs, that Eggo waffles, McDonald's fries, Cookie Crisp cereal, and Lucky Charms are so delicious I need to steal them, that Ford trucks are tough as a ram (whatever that means), or that big-titted women will want to blow me if I drink Coor. Internet ads are even worse than usual. So I avoid them.
If advertisers want me to look at their ads, they should make their ads tasteful and watchable. Since they don't, I will continue to block them.
comments
June 2, 2017
Christianity and Bigotry
For those Christians who say, "This isn't what real Christians are like," my question is, what are you doing to help? Here are things you CAN do to help.
1) Help this guy pay his medical and legal bills. Send cash.
2) Contact this church by phone, email, and paper mail and tell them they're in the wrong. Do it repeatedly.
3) Attend a Gay Pride Festival this month and work a booth for a church that supports LGBT people; or carry a sign that reads REAL CHRISTIANS LOVE LGBT PEOPLE.
4) Get a group of like-minded friends and attend a homophobic church service and start a discussion to let the homophobic church know you and your church disagree with them.
It isn't enough just to say, "Well, I'm Christian and these people aren't real Christians." Sending "good thoughts" or "good prayers" is also useless, and lets these people grab the spotlight. Their version of your religion wins, even if they go to jail. The fact is, this church is presenting the face of Christianity, and if you want to change that, you need to DO SOMETHING. After all, THEY are.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/02/gay-man-says-church-members-beat-choked-him-for-hours-to-expel-homosexual-demons/
comments
1) Help this guy pay his medical and legal bills. Send cash.
2) Contact this church by phone, email, and paper mail and tell them they're in the wrong. Do it repeatedly.
3) Attend a Gay Pride Festival this month and work a booth for a church that supports LGBT people; or carry a sign that reads REAL CHRISTIANS LOVE LGBT PEOPLE.
4) Get a group of like-minded friends and attend a homophobic church service and start a discussion to let the homophobic church know you and your church disagree with them.
It isn't enough just to say, "Well, I'm Christian and these people aren't real Christians." Sending "good thoughts" or "good prayers" is also useless, and lets these people grab the spotlight. Their version of your religion wins, even if they go to jail. The fact is, this church is presenting the face of Christianity, and if you want to change that, you need to DO SOMETHING. After all, THEY are.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/02/gay-man-says-church-members-beat-choked-him-for-hours-to-expel-homosexual-demons/
comments
May 29, 2017
Soap
I like hand made soap. Whenever I go to a street fair or craft fair or something, they always have a couple-three crafters selling soap, and I like them. I'm mostly unhappy with commercial soap, which always smells so heavy or artificial. So perfumey. Even so-called "men's" soap smells like cologne that was run through a gun barrel. It's gross. They often have a chemical feel to them, too.
The home-made soaps have a . . . quieter smell. They smell like outdoors or the beach or sunshine. They also feel softer. Nicer. And they come in lots and lots of fragrances and colors. When one runs out, you can have a different color, so you don't get bored.
The only trouble with home-made soaps is that if you run out and there's no craft or art show handy, you're done. This happened to me recently--my last bit was worn down to the nubs and I was forced to switch to--ack!--commercial soap. But then I thought to check Etsy. Ah! Naturally, they had a ton of places selling soap. The downside, though, was that I couldn't check them to see if I liked the scent. But I took the leap and ordered some based on color and description. They came yesterday and I like them very well.
If you're ever wondering what to get me for a gift, now you know.
comments
The home-made soaps have a . . . quieter smell. They smell like outdoors or the beach or sunshine. They also feel softer. Nicer. And they come in lots and lots of fragrances and colors. When one runs out, you can have a different color, so you don't get bored.
The only trouble with home-made soaps is that if you run out and there's no craft or art show handy, you're done. This happened to me recently--my last bit was worn down to the nubs and I was forced to switch to--ack!--commercial soap. But then I thought to check Etsy. Ah! Naturally, they had a ton of places selling soap. The downside, though, was that I couldn't check them to see if I liked the scent. But I took the leap and ordered some based on color and description. They came yesterday and I like them very well.
If you're ever wondering what to get me for a gift, now you know.
comments
