Posted by Becky on August 23, 2009
I had my first dream about reading a book last night or this morning or whenever dreams occur. It started off with a group of friends (guys and girls) vacationing in San Francisco. Visiting books stores, dancing at a retro disco joint and then at closing time they decide to go Buena Vista for coffee, when one of the girls (a blond) is suddenly unaccounted for. They go around asking everyone about her and suddenly (as dreams do) they are in front of a store (like a Seven Eleven or AM PM) and they approach a man in a car who appears to be Middle Eastern. They describe their friend and it just so happens that this guy works in the White Slavery trade. He thinks they are undercover cops, they have no idea what he does for a living and suddenly there were car chases and guns blazing and then my ALARM WOKE ME UP!
I was like, no fucking way, what happened to her? What happened to the friends? Did they ever find out what happened to her? Did that guy kidnap her or did she get lucky and hook up with a stranger while on vacation?
This is just devastating. I have to know how the story ends. Preita, can you tell me how it ends? And Lisa and Sandy, I am so jealous you two have iPhones and can now form your own cult with cool outfits and secret handshakes. Okay time to make French bread and start on the Gumbo.
Posted by Becky on August 16, 2009
Well, what can I say about Darwin that hasn’t already been said except we are not seeing eye to eye these days. He chewed a whole in John’s beanie that I knit for him. One of my first knitting projects. He chewed up Joseph’s baseball cap which was on my desk. He knocked over a potted plant in the back yard, breaking the pot and then decided to eat the plant which I found withered in the sun. He took a tube of hemp lotion that was on my desk and ate it, which as we all know, is a gateway lotion. Darwin is a counter surfer! I have never had a dog that did that other than the time Blue stole butter and I blamed it on Jacob who thought I was on glue. And now he has taken to stealing my dish towels that hang from the refrigerator handle and stove. Darwin, not Jacob.
The towels and his ears flap in the wind as he runs around the back yard with Ziva chasing behind him barking her head off. I’ve even had a heart to heart with Hank asking him to teach his damn kid some manners. He said,” practice what you preach, lady”. So true.
Then I took Darwin on a walk. Or rather attempted. He is not use to the leash yet and he reared like a horse when I put the collar on him and managed to pull a Houdini in the front yard and ran around the neighborhood. I went and bought a Houdini proof dog collar and he got out of that too! I need the dog whisperer!
Jacob called today and put in his order for Sunday supper. Well, isn’t that special? He stated he would like a REAL Sunday supper. I asked what that might be and he said something with mashed potatoes and gravy. Real mashed potatoes. I reminded him I don’t make potatoes from a box. And then he stated he wanted white ( milk) gravy. So I said I’d make chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy (with milk) and corn. Then he tells me he wants sausage in the gravy. WTF? You don’t put pork in a beef gravy! I’m telling you the boy is mad. (I hope it’s just the August heat) You know what, Darwin’s not so bad after all. Jacob’s lucky he had my grandchild or I probably wouldn’t let him in my house anymore. Tell me how to make gravy! What fucking nerve!
Oh, for all you spinners out there a co-worker of mine has a cousin who has a farm, Painted Knoll Farm. He thought they sold yarn so he gave me their business card. Anyone ever heard of them? They have Shetland Sheep and they are so cute. I wish they did sell yarn. I do love my independent shopping.
And speaking of independent book stores (oh, nice Segway) I have good news. I went to the Bookworm and met the new owner. Her name is Connie and she seems rather nice. She is going to move the store to the Ralphs’ shopping center at the end of September and they are going to have a Childrens’ Story night! I can’t wait to take Eli to that and that should make a much nicer location. Close to Star Bucks and more visibility. I hope she makes it.
I’m reading something write now that I am really enjoying and that’s all I got to say about that.
I haven’t been very diligent with my blogging. Work is taking a toll on me these days. Why, I can barely manage to keep up with the chores on my farm on Facebook!
Okay, time for bed because I’ve got potatoes to peel and dogs to chase bright and early in the morning.
Posted by Becky on January 19, 2009
Tonight, in anticipation of tomorrow, I was perusing through my books (in hope of finding something patriotic to read) I read Lincoln, Whitman, Dylan, Kennedy and a poem by Langston Hughes just struck a chord. I’ve read it before, but somehow tonight, it felt almost sacred.
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it use to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain.
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-
Let it be that great strong land of love.
Where never kings connive or tyrants scheme.
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free.
Equality is in the air we breath.
(There’s never been equality for me.
Nor freedom in this “homeland” of the free.)
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil around the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from his land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient, endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land.
Of grab the gold! Of grab the way of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the play!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman of the soil.
I am the worker, sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, worried, hungry, mean.
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today, O Pioneers.
I am the man who never got ahead.
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet, I’m the one who dreams our basic dream.
In that Old World while still a serf of kings.
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true.
That even yet it’s mighty daring sings.
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned.
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas.
In search of what I meant to be my home.
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore.
And Poland’s’ plain, and England’s grassy lea.
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came.
To build a “homeland of the free”
The free?
A dream.
Still beckoning to me.
O, let America be America again-
The land that never has been yet.
And yet must be.
The land where every man is free.
The land’s that mine-
The poor man’s, Indian’s Negro’s, ME-
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O yes, I say it plain.
America never was America to me.
And yet I swear this oath
America will be-
An ever- living seed,
It’s dream.
Lies deep in the heart of me.
We, the people, must redeem.
Our land, the mines, the plants, the rivers,
The mountains and the endless plain-
All, all the stretch of these green states-
And make America, America again! LH 1936
Posted by Becky on January 16, 2009
I was very excited when my Sock book arrived today. Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns. When I was telling Terry about it todya at work I got the title wrong and called it Knitting Socks with Handpainted Colors and she thought I said Knitting Socks on Painkillers. Terry makes work a blast and it is actually not a bad title for my memoirs.
I waited on the cutest customer today. She was six years old and had me show her yarns to knit with. She settled on a nice pink verigated yarn which she thought went well with her complexion. I’[m telling you she was a riot!
I went to my local bookstore today to order some books and Mary talked me into buying The Shack where a man in quest to find god meets him face to face and God lives in an old shack and Coyote Blue a Christopher Moore book I had somehow missed. About a Santa Barbara Salesman. Then on my own I stumbled upona first edition hardback of The Day The World Exploded Krakatoa. I coulnd’t believe it. I love my local bookstore. Then Mary steered me toward The Plague of Doves. She is quite the sales lady, but she knows my taste and she hasn’t steered me wrong yet.
She also suggested a childrens book that I bought for Eli about dogs titled How to Talk To Your Dog. I had Kelsey, the little girl from next door at work, review it and she gave me the thumbs up and she’s ten! So, she thinks a little kid would enjoy it.
The John’s ares gone for the weekend so Joseph and I are drinking Fat Tire Beers and watching Pineapple Express.
Toodles
Posted by Becky on January 9, 2009
Every man under my roof is working today. Oh, it’s a glorious feeling. I slept in, got up and had coffe in my jammies. Well, actually, I tried to sleep in. The ringing of the house phone woke me up so I ignored it as everyone always calls my cell. Then my cell rang, so I answered and it was Mother! “What are you doing?” Sleeping, I said. with my eyes still closed in hopes that I would soon be sleeping again. “Why, it’s ten-thirty!” Its my day off, mom. “Well I just wanted to know if we have puppies yet.” Not Yet. “Well, how many do you think she will have because a dog in England had 18 puppies.” What? “Well, I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
Yeah, like that’s going to happen now.
So, I crused the internet and am happy report that a new Winnie-the-pooh book will released. How I love that silly old bear. And Tigger, too of course. Though I often wondered if Eyeore was a heroin addict. He certainly acted like the ones I knew in high school, back in the day, when people took drugs to be mellow.
And also in the literary world Obama is going to apper in a Spider Man Comic book. How fucking cool is that? I mean to have a president that reads? I don’t recall Bush being a fan of reading ANYTHING or being in a comic book,but if he were his only super power would be to dodge flying shoes. I mean, I was fucking impressed at his ability to dodge shoes. And that’s about the nicest thing I can say about that man. Wonder, if Barbara or Laura is a shoe thrower.
Sandy, here is the link to the new china for the White House. It has a lovely Magnolia and I think since Marty won’t let you have that parakeet he should at least buy you some fancy china at $493,000. That parakeet is probably looking pretty good now.
Posted by Becky on January 8, 2009
I brought my Bose in to work today because I wanted to rock to Wanda Jackson and the fucker wouldn’t play after I plugged it in and it worked at home. So, I had the a guy from Maintenance crawling around on my floor ( It was a good thing I hadn’t had breakfast yet) and he coudn’t figure out the problem. Then he gets our electrician and he crawled around and fussed with fuses and then he discovered I didn’t have it plugged into the back of the Bose properly.
This is what happens when I am left unsupervised, I suppose. My boss, Marc, is out having hand surgery today. I swear he will do anything to get me to work. See how this is all about me? That is just one of the many examples of what have learned from my boss.
No, but seriously, positive vibes out to my boss man. And since it’s Thor’s Day and Thor’s weapon of choice is a Hammer (Mjolnir which throws lightning when you strike it. How bad ass is that?) So, now I wonder if my boss is a descendent of Thor’s metallurgist? (See now it’s back to my boss again. How the fuck did he do that?)
After all, Thor is the god of the working man. So, I’ll see you at work on Monday, man.
PS I am almost finished with “Why Darwin Matters” (second book this year) and it is a fascinating read. I highly recommend it.
Posted by Becky on December 20, 2008
Jacob and I went grocery shopping yesterday ( he baked is first Buttermilk Coffee Cake from scratch) and we left JJ in the care of Uncle Joseph and when we came home we found him looking like this.
Don’t be all up in my grill girl. I’m just chillin with my hommie Uncle Yo Yo. You better step off!
I spent the whole day shopping with my boys. First, Joseph and I went to this Ghetto T-Shirt warehouse because he wanted to get a new had. Reluctantly I went in with and guess what? They had pashminas for $7.98. One hundred percent. I couldn’t believe it. And socks MADE IN AMERICA. I bought all kinds of shit for 29 bucks. What a deal! Then we went to Journey Home where Joseph picked out a present for his sister Jackie. It was a weeping Buddha carved from wood. He’s just beautiful.
Came home and Jacob and JJ were here so Jacob baked a Coffee Cake.
While Uncle Joseph did the dishes and I got to play with the baby.
And here’s the final product. It was really delicious. He baked two and took one home to his woman.
JJ enjoyed it too! Jacob said he came over to bake here because he doesn’t like his electric stove. Joseph told him to cut the cord, little brother.
JJ got good and tuckered out.
And so did Blue. That pillow he is laying on is actually Sadie’s bed. Found out today Blue has to have surgery on his back leg. He tore a muscle. Hank bit him one day and when Blue turned to get him he let out a cry so they way I figure it that little fucker Hank owes me $800.00!
My gift from Sandy (I read banned books bracelet) has already brought me good luck. I showed it to Mary at the Bookworm while Joseph and I were shopping for books and she noticed Mark Twain and asked me if I had ever read the Diaries of Adam and Eve. I told her no, that I’d never heard of it and she looked on her shelf and handed it to me and said “Merry Christmas”! She is so sweet.
Okay, time to bake cookies.
Posted by Becky on November 11, 2008
So chances are I am going to offend someone. Invariably, it’s inevitable. I also tend to get pedantic when I vent.
First of all, this morning when I was brushing my hair I discovered that when I tilted my head to one side my face hung about two inches away from my skull. Oh My God I have lost all the elasticity in my face! I felt just like Blanche from the Golden Girls when she discovered her face drooped while having sex on top!
But here’s my real dilema. Yesterday, my Mother-in-law asked John how he voted on Prop 8. What nerve! He replied no and she asked did he vote that way because of his brother? For those of you on the little bus, he’s G-A-Y. So, is my ex daugher in law and a host of other people I know and love. Okay, so much for subtlety. John replied no that he voted no because it is wrong. Then my MIL went on to say how it’s in the bible that it’s a sin and blah blah blah. When John told me this I was furious. I don’t want to engage in a pissing contest with my in-laws, but people need to get their shit together. Since I can’t tell them I have to write it here lest it fester within me and I end up imploding. I need to slug somebody. Where’s Sarah Palin when you need her dammit? (JK)
If you state you are a Christian and follow the teachings of Christ, I suggest you read the book of Matthew Chapter 22 where Jesus silenced the Sadducees with these statemenst: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. It comes first. The second is, “Love your neighbor as yourself. Everything in the Law and the Prophets hangs on these two commandments.” I read from the Oxford Cambridge version which includes the Apocrypha most homes have a King James Version. I also have the King James Version, The Evangelical Version, The New American Version, The Tanakh, The Hafftarah*, The Book of Josephus and the Koran. But I digress. No, I take that back. Why so many variations on the same translastion of the same thing, you ask? And how can they all be the word of God if each version varies? Nowhere in any of the bibles I own did Jesus speak about (for or against) homosexuals. In fact, the word wasn’t even introduced into the english language until the 1860’s. So we don’t even know what word the 54 scholars that worked translated the King James Version alone were even looking at or what it meant at the time it was written. However, Jesus was very specific about adultery, fornication and the sanctity of the marriage bed. So, why deny someone the marriage bed thereby forcing them to be fornicators?
I would think a true follower of Christ, hence the term Christian, would have learned from the writings about Christ the following: “Pass no judgment, and you will not be judged. For as you judge others, so you will yourself be judged, and whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt back to you.”
Leviticus 21 Vs 7 says, “A priest shall not marry a prostitute or a girl who has lost her virginity….” What? They can get married? And when, pray tell, was the last time someone “pounded olives ready for the regular mounting of the lamp outside the Veil of the Tokens in the Tent of the Presence”? There are those that will argue (vehemently, I might add) that when Christ came he somehow over rided (maybe it was an Executive Order or he has veto power, I’m not sure) what god had said NOT to do in the Old Testament. Like you can now eat shrimp. And it’s okay to have Idols like Christ on a cross (or on a cracker for that matter) and now they aren’t graven images that God explicilty said NOT to worship. I don’t understand the logic and I guess I find that more people who profess to be Christians are more strongly influenced by the writings of the Apostle Paul, who never even met Christ I might add, than they are of the teachings of Christ. And now I’m even more confused.
So tonight after receiving an e-mail from my brother in law expressing his sorrow for not feeling that he has the suppor of his family, I am just worn out. I reminded him he has our support. Mine, John’s and our clan. I have come to the realization that there are so many variations of the bible and variations of religion because we all have various needs. Some of us view it as a beautiful piece of literature, some view it as a blueprint on which to build our life, some view it as a carrot for those that lack moral fiber to do the right thing without some type of reward when doing the right thing should be its’s own reward, some view it as a brilliant way to keep people devided because we can’t have people united, (they overthrow goverments when that happens) Some as a means to justify evil and to feel absolved. Whatever the case, it is needed by many, dismissed by many and abused by many.
Okay, that was cathartic. Nothing like a good old venting to rid the spirit of toxins.
I am truly sorry if I’ve offended anyone for that was not my intention, except the Sarah Palin part. Now, that I meant. *Make no reference to Jesus, I just like to brag that I own them and have read them.
Posted by Becky on October 12, 2008
When you see a fancy white stretch limo parked in front of Ross Dress For Less. Joseph and I were just walking out of Target with our monthly supply of paper good products, toothpaste and detergent (What can I say, I live an exciting life) and the limo had traffic all fucked up. Well, at least it made for some interesting conversation while we drove on over to Trader Joe’s for Sunday Supper fixings. The usual suspects came for dinner along with my nephew Sammy Baca. The last time I saw him was at a funeral, so it was great to see him under pleasant circumstances. He travels a lot with his skateboarding and was passing through onto who knows where, so it was great to make sure he had a home cooked meal under his belt.
I made shrimp cocktail and an threw out an assortment of cheese and crackers for they guys to snack on while I fried chicken and mashed potatoes and the works. And baby Jacob had his first mashed potatoes!
He didn’t spit them out at me, so I think he liked them although he did make some rather unusual faces.
Here’s me and Sammy. Doesn’t he have gorgeous hair? I don’t know why he hides that mane of hair under a hat. I would pay good money for those curls.
And Roger hoarding the cheese tray.
Me and Jacob.
Spuds Nelson
Sean and Roger after dinner.
And I actually have something knitting related to share for a change. I finished the back of my vest only to realize I had knitted the wrong size. It’s way too big so I frogged it and started it again.
And my day wouldn’t be complete without getting pissed off at somebody.
And that somebody is usually Jacob. He kept fucking with the flash when I TOLD him not to and missed taking the picture of baby Jacob laughing. But then he made up for it when he went to the store and bought me beer. Yes, Lisa I was drinking again! I think that’s twice this year.
Posted by Becky on October 1, 2008
This one almost slipped by me had it not been for Judy, aka Sophia’s mom reminding me. Thank you so much, Judy, as this is a very important topic and one that is near and dear to my heart. Can you imagine being deprived of the experience of reading yoru favorite book? I just shudder when I think that I might have missed “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” or ” Snow Falling on Cedars” or ”The Kite Runner”? For crying out loud, I own the book and the movie.
I can’t imagine what life would be like without the books that we are so privileged to read. Or what my boys childhood would have been like had I not read to them the works of Mark Twain at bedtime.
Check out the Beacon For Freedom and see if a book you love and once read is on it. Check here for ways to support Banned Books Week.
Okay that’s enough preaching for one night and I’ll leave you with the following.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
—Amendment I, The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution
I’m going to go try and finish the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins before that gets banned.
PS Let me know your favorite banned book and why.
