Fergus Jackson MacPhee

I woke up this morning to the strangest, saddest cat cry I had ever heard.  The cats that were in bed with me all went on high alert and we jumped up to find out who had made that mournful wail.

It was Fergus.  I saw him taking his last breaths and ran upstairs and got the kids.  Fergus was not sick, nor was there any reason to think he was going to die.  He was just a month past his sixth birthday.

I was looking for his kitten photos on the computer today and for some reason I can't find them.  I only found some from the last couple of years.

Fergus had the softest, most plushy fur I have ever felt on a kitty, like a sheared beaver coat.  He was a joy to pet and run your fingers through his hair.  He would, about once a year or so, get a little spot on his back that would mat up like a little kitty dreadlock.  We have no idea why.

His eyes were like pools of jade.  Not that clear emerald green that some cats have, but like a gorgeous piece of jade.  You can see that a little bit in that last picture.

Fergus was the only one of our cats who liked to lay out on his belly with his back legs straight out behind him.  Splayed out with his belly in full contact with the cool floor.  His breathy purring and really loud, whiney sounding meow are going to be missed around here.

Fergus Jackson MacPhee

July 30, 2026 - Sept. 17, 2012

R.I.P.

I said I wouldn't do it, and then I couldn't help myself

You know those people who carefully analyze and then really think out their decisions based on facts and information BEFORE they figure out which candidate and which issues to support?

Yeah, me neither.

That's because people tend to get all emotional and stupid when it comes to political issues.  Much like religious ones.  Funny how that happens here in the U.S. of A. since we are suppoed to have this big separation of church and state.

I have plenty of friends who say things like "Oh, I know so-and-so and I are at polar opposites on such-and-such issue, but we just agree to disagree."

Really?  How the hell does that work?  I am having a really hard time doing this.  I don't want to just be all amicable and sweet about people who have their heads up their asses.  Get your head out of your ass!  Then we can just agree!!!!  No need for any disagreement at all.

The upcoming presidential elections (which, by the by, seem to have been going on for the last 100 years.  Good Lord, why do they start so soon after the LAST one???) are driving me nuts.

For me, I have narrowed it down to a couple of key issues.

1. Women's rights

2. LGBTQ rights

3. Health care

4. Environment

I have found that I can't care about every. single. thing. they bring up.   It just makes my life unmanageable when I have way too many things to deal with.  These are my top 4 that I can NOT stand idly by and let these things get trampled.  It would just be unacceptable for these top 4 to go by the wayside.

So, this being said, if you and I are at those polar opposites on these issues, I don't think I can talk to you any more.  If you, deep in your heart, believe that women are not equal to men and deserving of equal rights, pay and benefits.  I, as a woman, don't need you in my life.  How could you possibly have my best interest at heart if you don't think I am equal and worthy?

Same goes for the LGBTQ stance.  If you don't believe that all of us, and I mean all, not just the hetero ones of us, are entitled to the same bill of rights.  I don't need you in my life.  If you are supporting candidates, political parties, ideals and platforms that will take away the few hard-won rights that affect the gay community, then why on earth would I want to have this kind of less-than thinking around me?  If you can look at my beautiful, caring, precious daughter and see a person who is not-quite-as-deserving as the next person, well then, not only don't I need you, but I won't be missing your bigoted small-minded ass.

I am choosing to surround myself with positivity and people who are loving, kind and generous.  Truth be told, since I am on the other side of 50 now, I don't see any reason to have intolerant bullies and bigots in my life.  I am suffering no fools, as they say.

I will be living my life in a way that I think God intended, doing for others, loving people less fortunate, and helping where I can.  I will be offering money, food, and whatever I can to help the homeless be they people or animals.  I am trying to be a living example of a loving, caring extension of my beliefs.

What I won't be doing is trying to take something away from others, I won't be trying to trample your rights and judging you to be less-than.  My heart aches at all the meanness and bullshit that has been going on and people getting caught up in the rhetoric and refusing to look at the underlying truths.

I will be cleaning out my actual and virtual friend lists.  I just can't read the non-sensical crap coming out on a daily, no, an almost hourly basis any more.  And then I will get back to trying to be clever tomorrow.

Starbuck's Simpsons encounter

So I go into my local Starbuck's as you do and ordered by Veinte sized Iced Passion Tea non-sweet.  The perfect drink to keep you hydrated on these hot horrible droughty days.

The barista grabs my cup, asks my name and starts to write.  When I answered Lisa, she started singing this song.

I loved this episode of the Simpsons so much!  The barista and I both laughed and she went on singing and I left her a bigger tip.  : )

Girl, you just won't beLIEVE what happened!

So, I was out to lunch with some friends as you do sometimes.  And we went to a new place to check it out.  (I am giving it a B for food and a D for service)  We were sitting in the back in a semi-private area with a big table as there were quite a few of us.  What we didn't know was that when they seated us in the back that they were going to forget about us most of the time.  I mean seriously, forget about us. We were parched in between waiting for refills of iced tea.

Anyhoo, we were enjoying our leisurely lunch and then the power went out.  POOF!  No power. We were next to a bunch of windows so we could see but it's still that weird, creepy feeling with a little anxiety of what is going to happen next.  A few minutes later the power came back on and the waitress stuck her head in to see if we were still kicking and said "Did y'all go outside?"

Huh?

"Uh no, we didn't. What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I thought you might have gone outside.  When the power blew it was because the two big tall palm trees out front by the street, they just caught on fire.  Like spontaneously combusted."

What the fuck???? But what I said was "Well, that's certainly odd behavior for a palm tree."

"Oh yeah, the fire department is out there, the power company is out there and everything."

And again, my brain just kept going "What the fuck is she talking about??"

Then I had the presence of mind to ask whether any cars in the parking lot out front were damaged.  She said no, but I didn't trust her judgment.  Hell, she didn't even remember we were there half the time. So, we quickly wrapped up the splitting of the bill and headed out front to see what was what.

Here is what we saw:

Smoking trees that self-combusted

Firetruck blocking traffic from driving directly under combusted trees

Methinks the power lines may have played a role in the combustion?

the tree on the left is still smoking out the middle near the power lines

So the trees weren't actually in the parking lot we were in, they were across the street at the Quizno's (mmm, mmm, mmm, toasty).  But if they had fallen into the street they would have certainly been all the way over into our parking area and probably on top of my car.

I tell you, every single day there is a story out there.  All you have to do is look.  And take a picture or two!!

p.s. Right down from this location is a big intersection.  And when I turned onto this street at that intersection when headed to lunch, what did I spy with my little eye?  I will tell you what I spied. I spied one of my former doula clients out there panhandling.  I was not in a position to get turned around right then to go over there and with the fire and such, after lunch I checked and she was not there.  I will head over that direction again in the next few days and see if she is there again and talk to her.  I wish I could tell you how sad this makes me.  The little frowny emoticon just won't cut it.

Doula Stuff

I was going to come up with a catchy title and then I thought to myself, "Self, if you let them know ahead of time it is doula stuff, those who are interested will check in and read and those who don't give a fig about birthing babies will know to leave this alone and not bother and then be disappointed." So that is what I did.

Did I tell you that my Rachel Pie has moved back home?  First time in 7 years that she has been back living at home.  And it's about damn time if you ask me.  Anyhoo, she has been interested in the doula work and has taken the training twice now and was working on her doula career back in CO.  So now that she is back here, she already has the "in" so to speak on getting into the birthing community here. And she has just gone headfirst into the deep end!

So I took her on as my little apprentice/shadow doula to accompany me to all my visits and birth with my client so that she could learn the lay of the land here.  I am sure birth is like everything else and has its little regional differences in how things are done.

And Sunday was my client's day to birth her baby.  She woke up in the wee hours of the night/morning with her waters broken and light contractions.  It was a beautiful birth.  She was so calm, composed and totally willing to try anything I suggested in order to have her labor progress.  She and her husband worked well together, plus she had me and Rachel Pie there to support and help.  There was a lot of trust in that room.

Sixteen hours from the early morning awakening was the birth of a precious baby girl.  She made her entrance to the world at almost 5 p.m.  Her mama did a spectacular job of pushing and working hard and just did her best for that baby.  It was an honor to be there.

It was also a pleasure to have my Rachel Pie there to witness, to help and to learn what it is to birth a baby.  She did an amazing job and I was proud to have her there.  I hope as she grows and moves through her doula career that I will get to continue to watch her work.

I am thankful for my work.  Thankful for my clients.  Thankful for my Rachel Pie.  It was a rewarding day.

I'm Back!!!

I just looked and saw that I have not posted anything in 4 weeks.  It has not been the greatest summer and I have to say that I have been a little on the depressed and morose side.  Nothing that warrants explanation or going on about.  But it seems to have played hell with my creative side.

So, here are a few random pictures from my last downloads to my iphoto.

I went to my sister's graduation from nursing school and afterwards I spotted this fabulous car in the parking lot!  I took several shots of it being careful not to show their license plate.  Tell me that isn't the cutest thing you ever saw!  I should have put a note on the window with my number in case she wants to ever sell it. You know that car is 99% likely being owned and driven by a girl, right?

Then at the graduation party at my mama's house we took some family photos.  Here is one with me, two sisters, one brother and brother's girlfriend.

One of the other quick little trips I have taken this summer was to a wedding.  The bride was gorgeous, the bridesmaid dresses were also very nice.  But then I spied the shoes.  I wish I could convey to you how much I detest these shoes.  They have been popular for a couple years now, and it is seriously time for them to go.  My friend Elaine and I, when we lived in Chile used to go to the mall just to walk around and look in the windows of the all the shoe stores and choose the ugliest shoes in each window. These plastic-y, uncomfortable shoes below that are in that horrid shade of neutral-doesn't-match-anything-on-the-planet beige have just got to go.

A few years ago my small girl-child Miss Rachel Pie went on a Vision Quest and we made her a quilt to take with her.  And this past year the boy-child Sparky made the same commitment to do this and so I have been busy making him a quilt as well.  Here I am on the night before he leaves making the very last stitches to the binding.  Nothing like getting things done at the last flipping minute.

Here I am holding up one side of the quilt. Please to ignore the obviously white bra showing through my dress.

And here is Sparky holding up the other end.

When we lived in Minneapolis I started going to the Senior Center because that's where the little old ladies would hang out and quilt.  And I was determined to learn how.  They used to get donations of books and books and more books of fabric samples.  These sample books would get taken apart, washed and then randomly sewn into long strips and then sewn together to make the cutest quilt tops that were then donated or raffled or whatever.  Anyhoo, they gave me a couple of those books and that is what I used to make both the kids' quilts.  I didn't do an over-all quilting design.  Instead I just quilted each fabric rectangle with a different pattern.  It turned out really cute and obviously very home-made looking.

One day I will learn to piece together a gorgeous quilt top.


That's it for me today.  I am glad to be back blogging and hope to get some good posts together to share with you.  Enjoy this HOT August!

Moon Diet

Yes, you read it right.  The Moon Diet.  According to several different sites I visited to learn more about this

"It's well known that the moon affects the earth's oceans and rivers with its gravitational pull. It is less known that the moon also affects the water contained in the human body. The moon diet takes advantage of the moon's power to help you cleanse your body and lose weight. On certain days you can lose up to 6 lbs in a single 24-hour period!


Human knowledge and mythology throughout time have spoken of the moon's effect on the earth and the human body. The moon's gravitational pull dictates the action of the ocean's tides. A woman's menstrual cycle runs in parallel to the cycle of the moon. Some believe the moon affects the emotions—for example, the full moon stimulates aggressive behavior.

In addition, the moon can affect the water contained in the human body. The human body is 60% water. When the moon reaches its full phase and new phase, its gravitational pull combines with the sun for the greatest gravitational effect. This period of increased effect lasts about 24 hours."


So with this in mind, I set out to find what is meant by The Moon Diet.  It is important to note when the  moon will be full (date and time) to start this regimen.  It seems to me that it is a good monthly detox.


Here is how it lays out if you want to follow along.  And by the by, the full moon starts tomorrow at 6:52 p.m. So if you want to try it this month, you better get to the store!

1. At the onset of the full moon:

    Choose A: 24 hour diet of spring, boiled or distilled water, fresh squeezed fruit and vegetable juices in abundance.

or B: 3 day diet: Day 1 - raw or cooked vegetables. Day 2 - only the liquids listed above. Day 3 - fresh cut up pineapple and fresh mushrooms either steamed or cooked with olive oil and spices.

or C: 6 day diet: Day 1 - raw or cooked vegetables. Days 2, 3, 5, and 6 - the fresh cut up pineapple and mushrooms as above. with Day 4 being the liquid fasting as in the 24 hour hour diet.

2. At 1800 hours (6 p.m.) of the evening before the new moon, begin this diet. Eat these foods for 36 hours. Soups and vegetable broths. Soups made of your favorite vegetables. Take these 4 - 5 times a day. Drink lots of pure spring, boiled or distilled water. To avoid monotony - once a day drink a cup of poultry, meat or fish broth. 

Avoid alcohol, coffee and black tea during these times.  You may drink herbal teas like mint as much as you want. The pineapple is a really good diuretic and the mushrooms are a very low calorie/high water way to consume protein that your muscles will need.

Here are the remaining full moon dates for this year, 2012.

3 July 18:52 (6:52 p.m.)

2 Aug. 3:38 (3:38 a.m.)

31 Aug. 13:59 (1:59 p.m.)

30 Sept. 3:19 (3:19 a.m.)

29 Oct. 19:50 (7:50 p.m.)

28 Nov. 14:47 (2:47 p.m.)

28 Dec. 10:22 (10:22 a.m.)

What do you think? Are you interested in trying a cleansing/detox diet that has ties to Mother Nature?