Yum Yum

Ate Today: Curry in a Hurry

Eat Soon: Masala

Night at the Movies!

not a joke, but more lighthearted

"The vices help make virtues just as poisons help make medicines.  Diluted and blended correctly, they are quite useful against the evils of life."
--Francois de La Rochefocauld

The Book of VICES: A Collection of Classic Immoral Tales

Edited by Robert J. Hutchinson

Dedicated as follows:

 To my children, 

Robert John and James Timothy,

and to my wife, 

Glen Ellen,

the source of all my happiness

(and many of my vices)

 "I once asked a newly-arrived Soviet Jewish refusenik what he thought of our Simchat Torah celebration."  The man said it was fine, but better in Leningrad.  Rabi Kushner, who admitted to being "curious and a little insulted," asked how it was better.

 "'In Leningrad,' he explained, 'if you dance in front of the synagogue on Simchat Torah, you must assume that the secret police will photograph everyone.  This means that you will be identified and sooner or later your employer will be notified.  And since such a dance is considered anti-Soviet, you must be prepared to lose your job!  And so you see,' he went on, 'to dance on such an occasion, this is a different kind of dance.'"

Annie Dillard

For The Time Being

Chapter Six

Birth 

Build-a-Bed

Regarding Direct Service & Advocacy

Despite external and internal pressures to specialize, NCLR's senior leaders stood their ground. "My thought was, you couldn't be good at either one of them if you couldn't see them both," says Yzaguirre. "Programs inform your public policy and give you the means to change it; and if you didn't have policy, you make your programs less potent."

Those who advocate to change public policy (lobbyists, protesters, politicians) are, ideally, working for the public good.  Direct service providers (the folks running food banks, thrift stores and charities) are also, ideally, working for the public good.  However, the two normally don't work hand-in-hand.

Thus, it's even more surprising that all the organizations in our book have engaged in both.  Although most groups started out as direct service providers, at some point they all realized that if they wanted to create more significant systemic change, they needed to influence the political process.

[excerpts are indented. Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits, by Leslie R Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, chapter 2]

Let's learn to carve.

chair, home tour, Plein Air Festival 2012--Spring City, Utah

In Response

Things that do not exist:
Evil People
Crazy People

Things that do exist:
Un(der) Treated Mental Illness
Abusive Relationships

Community Needs:
Social Safety Nets
^that are comprehensive, effective, respectful and well funded

[In response to Stephen Metcalf's article, "Not Here."]

History of a Cat Toy

jersey fabric (it stretches)

dyed Dirt-Devil red, ornamented by a mistletoe and "kiss me" pattern

drawstring bag

purchased from the St. Lawrence Thrift Store in Heber

years ago

purchased to organize... stuff.

recently, the drawstring fell out

This drawstring has, for the past month, proven Icabod's favorite toy.

Quantum Physic Cat, helping to organize... stuff.

For the Time Being by Annie Dillard is beautiful.

desire

I want to hike where the paths are only defined by an indentation in the sand.  Flowering stalks of Yucca and fiery cups of Globe Mallow will greet me.

Desert Flowers Nevada - Utah

Great Basin Wildflowers

VOA First Day

I've accepted a (full time, benefited) job with Volunteers of America, Utah as a Youth Advocate at their Homeless Youth Resource Center.

"Wait, so I accrue paid vacation and sick leave?"

Somehow, in the excitement of having a retirement plan and health coverage (including an HSA! yip!) I missed that in some jobs, they actually pay you to stay home.  I guess this is normal in the stable-working-world.  I had no idea.  So, yep, the kids were great, my coworkers seem to create a fantastic team, but what struck me most on my first day?  Paid vacation and sick leave.

1-Birdseye; 2-4 Manti-La Sal NF, Outside 5-6 Spring City

Today's Obsession: Tiny Houses

Juggling and the Like

I just commented over at Derrick's blog, Alternative Energy.

As I glanced over my more-or-less-currently-abandoned blog, I laughed.

This particular posting to catch my eye was entitled Keeping the Balloons in the Air.

Hey, look at that, my last ten or so posts really are nothing more than, "So, how do we keep these balloons in the air?"

Apparently, according to my little blog here, my answers are:
1/30 Cook. Create good food from scratch.
1/17 Slow down, your moving too fast.
1/12 I enjoy/prefer this manner of living.
1/8 Take a break. (Ideally, these breaks are scheduled. Occasionally, there will be unscheduled crashes.)
1/5 When a particular project proves to be a stressor, refocus. Also, it's okay to vent.
12/31 Reflect on the good decisions to drop or table certain projects. Honor that those decisions were ridiculously scary at the time.

Huh, look at that.

Laughter is good.

I stopped cooking.

Tonight, I will cook a pot of soup.
I hope it turns out.

today, I needed a reminder

all I have is time

Carlyle's a cool cat

The following quote was brought to my attention, following this past Sunday's posting:

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." - Thomas Carlyle

on exhaustion

This morning, I woke up, and talked with Shananana, who spent the night while working in Provo for the weekend. (Take that, Ella!  I get 'er now!  That's whatcha get for moving SLCwards :-P phbbbbbt.)  Apparently the fight to desmellify my home apt is working.  Yes!

And then I went back to sleep.

I read a chapter or so from the E-Myth revisited. And then I went back to sleep.

I went to the grocery store to purchase (I kid you not, this is what I plan to eat, today): eggs, julienned ham, a red baron pizza (holla, Megasaurus!), and two pints of fancy fancy ice cream (Ben & Jerry's errrrhm some cookie dough/brownie mixture and some fancy french pot small batch black raspberry choco chip concotion.)

And then I went back to sleep.

Checked Post Secret, ate some fancy black rasp ice cream, read some of Pullman's The Subtle Knife (thank you PioBook!) and through all the computer/ice cream/readingness cuddled with my kittie while making myself as small as possible in my rocking twisting soft old granny chair of glory (color:camel.  Swear I'll paint it one day, just watch!)

Oh, and then I went back to sleep.

Read more of Pullman's s The Subtle Knife (thank you PioBook!), answered the phone when Drew called to say he was out of church but still had (more) meetings (to follow the three hours of meetings before church, three hours of meetings that comprise church, and then hour or so of meetings after church.)  Ate some of the unnamed Ben & Jerry's.  Dropped said ice cream on the floor while reading Eliza & Christman's mormon mission blogs.  Cat jumps scaredily (scared-a-lily?) out of my lap, faster than ever before.  Parentfolks call.

And, this time, I didn't go back to sleep.  Although, I did put away the ice cream and preheat the oven for aforementioned Red Baron (holla, Megasaurus!) pizza.

greetings, Day.
you tire me

Boys and Girls Club

Nobody can replace a parent.
I am not babysitting kids, or working as a pseudo parent.

I work with good kids, who have good parents.
My roles are ones of mentor, life-skills coach and academic tutor.

At least, that's how I understand things, thus far.