In the Name of Love

Can't let this day go by without a tribute to the memory of this extraordinary, inspiring, courageous man...



Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jan 15, 1929 - Apr 4, 1968

"The time is always right to do what is right."

Reality vs Fantasy

My Reality...

Forecast for Sheridan Foothills
Updated: 3:21 am MDT on March 30, 2008
Winter Storm Watch in effect through Monday evening...

Tonight
Snow likely in the evening...then snow overnight. Snow accumulation around 1 inch possible. Lows around 17. Chance of precipitation 80%.

Monday
Snow. Snow accumulation around 6 inches possible. Highs in the lower 30s. NW winds around 5 mph in the morning increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 80%.

My Fantasy...

Busted Bones & SuperFoods

Good thing I updated my blog on March 5th, because on March 6th I slipped on some ice going down a steep driveway and landed awkwardly and very un-Michelle Kwan-like on my left wrist, fracturing it. Apparently it was a bad ice day for a lot of folks around here, as the ER was quite busy with broken bones, back injuries and car accidents from the ice... and one poor old guy who'd lopped off two of his fingers while using a table saw to cut wood for the woodstove. (I got this info from his daughter, and it begs the question, why would someone use a table saw to cut up firewood? And also reminds me that someone always has it worse than I do!)

So here I am in this cast, having gotten over the worst of my discomfort and claustrophobic desire to chew the damn thing off my arm, but still not liking it one bit, and finding one-handed typing terribly tedious and one-handed living both limiting and fatiguing. Needless to say, Spring cleaning and remodeling ground to a halt (though today I plan to attempt resuming my gingerbread spandrel painting.) I'm definitely catching up on my reading, at least! And I will find out on Monday if I'll need surgery. I've been walking the fine line between doing all that I can to avoid it while trying to get away with using my left hand (well, fingers, really) as much as possible. Hope I managed to strike that balance!

I do hope to post again soon.. have a couple of fun things coming up!

Meanwhile, here's a great article I found quite worth sharing...

The REAL SuperFoods by Jeff Novick, MS, RD, LD, LN

Well, FINALLY!

I'm just too busy with home improvement projects these days to do much (any?) blogging (we have big plans, but I am superstitious, so won't blog about them till they come to fruition!) ;-) However, I just learned that the Wyoming legislature has made dog fighting a felony on the first offense, and that was worth a mention here! Wyoming was one of only two states in which dog fighting was not a felony, to my dismay and disgust (but not surprise, given Wyoming's horrendous attitude toward non-human animals), so I was glad to see THAT change, at least! As, apparently was this little fella...


Is that a blissed out expression or what? Truly, it's the simple things in life that bring the most joy. :-)

In other news, we are attending the Democratic caucus this Saturday. It'll be our first caucus experience and should be interesting!

Time to resume my laundry, kitchen-cleaning, and woodwork painting, and check on the Morton Building crew, who, after many delays, FINALLY began work on our new shop building this morning! (And so my title for this blog entry does double duty!)

Buddhist Prayer for Animal Liberation

I stumbled upon this video recently, and while some of it is awfully painful to watch, I found it very moving. It's called "Buddhist Prayer for the Liberation of Animals," but one certainly need not be Buddhist to appreciate its profound message of compassion...



And for anyone who may be unfamiliar with these terms used in the video, here are a couple of simple definitions...

Bodhicitta is Sanskrit for "Enlightened" or "Awakened Mind," and refers to the wish to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. A Bodhisattva (in most Buddhist traditions) is one who has attained Bodhicitta, but who chooses to remain earthbound to alleviate suffering and help all other beings attain enlightenment.

As long as space remains,
as long as sentient beings remain,
may I too remain
and dispel the miseries of the world.

~Shantideva (8th Century)
"Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life"

Just silly stuff....

For what it's worth, Farm Sanctuary won that round I was talking about with amazing support, over 31,000 votes and winnings of $205.12. And we had a great group of voters and a lot of fun! But Vote4Cause is in a state of turmoil (or flux, anyway), and though I'm casting votes for Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary whenever I happen to be online, I've returned to spending my days on our many home improvement projects and the never-ending household chores.

[March 3 Update: Farm Sanctuary never got a dime - long story - and while for two months I devoted a lot of time and energy to Vote4Cause, and especially Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary (a cause near and dear to me and one of the two charities I'd submitted to V4C, The Elephant Sanctuary in TN being the other) as of this week I'm done for good with the drama, the egos, the crashes, the hypocrisy, the glitches and the conflict. That place sucks my sunshine! I will support PPS and other charities I love and respect in more constructive ways, and devote my time and energy to more positive projects. Too bad, seemed like a good idea, but a few people always seem to come along and f*ck it up. End of update, end of rant.]

And for whatever else it's worth, here's this:

You Are Lisa Simpson

A total child prodigy and super genius, you have the mind for world domination. But you prefer world peace, Buddhism, and tofu dogs. You will be remembered for: all your academic accomplishments Your life philosophy: "I refuse to believe that everybody refuses to believe the truth"

The Simpsons Personality Test

Certainly fits! Well, mostly. (I enjoy tofu, but not tofu dogs. And sometimes I would prefer world domination - as long as I could be the dominatrix. LOL.)

And finally, I simply MUST catch up on my emails! If you're reading this and I owe you one (or a couple dozen), please bear with me a while longer.

PCRM & Farm Sanctuary

American Forests won that round and nearly $67, which means they'll plant 66 trees! :-)
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Update on 1/14: Farm Sanctuary is coming on very strong, with lots of enthusiastic support! They surged ahead of WWF and are about to take over third place and may actually have a chance to win this round! So I now ask that you give all of your votes to Farm Sanctuary! Thanks!
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In this round, I'm supporting the following two charities. I hope one of them will win (they're both currently in the top 10), but I also hope they'll receive much-needed positive attention by receiving lots of votes! Please vote for them if you can! (Remember, you can vote every thirty seconds!)

PCRM is currently in 3rd place, but is in danger of being overtaken by the much larger, better-known, very well-funded, and less-than-animal friendly WWF. Please vote for PCRM to protect and extend their lead...

VOTE4CAUSE | Donate Through Voting

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (VOTE)

Farm Sanctuary is currently in 7th place...

VOTE4CAUSE | Donate Through Voting

Farm Sanctuary (VOTE)

Thanks for your help! :-)