On a Happier Note....

Okay, I have to post something positive after the last one. I think that any horse people who read this will appreciate it, and since I STILL have not started the school/unschool blog, here is this...

Feather goes through phases of liking different animals. She does not get into playing "dress up" in the traditional sense, but loves dressing up like animals. For the longest, it has been lions. In fact, this is what she is going to be for Halloween.

Her newest thing, is horses. One of her favorite movies is "Spirit Stallion of the Cimmarron". She saw a video of a cute foal the other day on YouTube, and since then she has been obsessed. Spirit plays non-stop. She has to have black pants on so her legs are like Spirit's, and her favorite game is to make Bryan be the bad guy who tries to catch Spirit. So we are having wild horse round-ups in our house on the hour. It involves Bryan "roping" her and then I have to rescue her. This usually involves shocking Bryan with the T.V. remote. We are not sure were she picked up that the bad guy should be shocked.

On top of this, she saw a video of a foal being born, so she has appropriated one of the couch cushion covers, and that is her "birth sac". If you have seen this Spirit movie, you know that it starts with him being born. So that is usually when she wants to use her "birth sac". She even draws out the plans of the bad guy using the rope to catch her, and then her subsequent rescue. It's a little crazy, and we are a little tired of playing along, but she is having a blast, and I guess at the end of the day, that is what is important.

I have also signed her up for girl scouts. She will be a Daisy. I did not do this growing up, but I think that she will like it. The "sculptures" in the pictures are of a snake family that she had Bryan help her make with play-do a few months ago. ;-)

And So I Was A Fool.....

I am going to try and get all of this out in one post. Scrape up all of my anger, frustration, and throw it out. Ha, if it were only so easy! As you probably know, all of the world and the UN has condemned Israel for operation Cast Lead. When this was going on, the whole world sat horrified at what was being carried out. At the same time in all of this, there was this tiny little spark of hope. The people of our country elected Barack Obama, because he promised to put an end to the sort of atrocities such as were occurring in Gaza. Americans were poised to reclaim our status in the world as the sane and just defenders of those unable to defend themselves.

Now, just a few short months later, it has become clear that we were wrong. I was worried when the Free Gaza ship was hijacked, and innocent civilians kidnapped and thrown into prison. Other governments came forward and spoke out against Israel. From the U.S., there was only ridicule to be found on Fox News.

It was expected that Israel would dismiss the Goldstone report, but when Obama did the same, that was the final straw. I am not sure if the man has even come close to keeping any of the promises that he made. If anything, he seems to be going in the exact opposite direction.

What kind of message does this send to a young person in Gaza, Iran, Iraq? By electing Obama, I felt America was saying not only do we want to fix our country, but we want to fix our mistakes. I am ashamed that I voted for this man. I try really hard to be open minded and forgiving, but I do not do well with being blatantly lied to. At least with Bush and Cheney, they did not claim to be knights in shining armour. They pretty much said that they were going to screw everyone, and they did. Smirks on their faces, middle digits in the air.

You can make all of the excuses in the world for him when it comes to policy. Health care (caved, caving) Wildlife, Environment (umm... has he even touched this yet?). For those things, you might be able to say, "Well he has to deal with the House and Senate etc.". Condemning the Goldstone Report, however is on him. How he has dealt with Israel is on him.

I think that you have to know when to cut your losses and move on. I desperately pray that he will turn around and I will have to say that I was wrong, but I don't see how it is possible. I would just like to hear what he has to say to the victims of Cast Lead.

Something To Get Hopeful About?

Please keep the wild horses in your thoughts and prayers. The Pryor Mountain ones are up for adoption today. There are many others out there who need homes. I do ask that if you are planning on getting a horse, please adopt one instead of buying and contributing to the (as yet) unending cycle that is going on. Just as people are encouraged to adopt dogs and cats, the same needs to be for horses. US Senator Mary Landrieu spoke on C-Span, I guess it was yesterday, making an effort to get the R.O.A.M. bill pushed on.

For all my cynicism and general distrust of my government, it did my heart good, to see her speak. Perhaps it is possible to find open ears to issues that concern us. I remain skeptical - you can thank Obama for that -. I could devote an entire post just to that. What has happened to him? Has he been brainwashed, or was he fooling us all along? It is like he has forgotten that the American people elected him, and that the world adores (well at least we did) him. I hope and pray that he finds his backbone soon. There is so much riding on his promised change. I know that he is just a man, but he does not have to bend over backwards for China, and he has to stand up to Netanyahu. It is starting to get embarrassing.

Enough of that. Fall is here we have a reprieve from the heat. It is fun to be outside again. As I write this, the sun is shining, it is supposed to be a great weekend.

I will close with the video of Senator Landrieu

Sunny Days Are Here Again

Okay, my theory here is to get this out while there is still loads to do. I usually think about what I want to say on here so when I sit down I can get it out and posted as fast as possible. Those of you with children (two, four legged, furry or feathered) will understand. Well, those of you out there who allow said children to run the house. ;-) I saw somewhere this thing about "the strong willed child" lol. I am wasting time...

Anyhow, the sun is shining, and for once this is a beautiful welcome site. I can feel my body, the cells of my skin literally reaching towards the window and escape out doors. I can't remember if I have mentioned yet that I am out of the white box and into the (for now) white kitchen. The upside to this is that it is in a more central location, Bryan gets his office for peace and quite (yeah right), and it is easier to keep an eye on Feather. The downside, is that Feather tends to want to play games on the computer and have the TV on at the same time. War ensues lol.

Bryan and I are still pouring over phonics books etc.. I think that we are going to try and work out an official curriculum, but at the same time try to keep it relaxed. We both want to try to use "real world" applications when teaching Feather. This way she will (hopefully) be more likely to remember and use what she learns. Something exciting to me is that when she is reading, she is already looking at the word and if she doesn't know it, is using the context of what she has already read to help figure it out.

Mar has posted a lot of good information on her blog. This link shows the horses from the Pryor Mountain round up that are available for adoption. Looking at them, I am still amazed at how they look. Living in the wild, on their own, yet their hooves are in good shape. They might have a few scratches here and there, a few knots and tangles in their manes, but they are really nice looking horses. I am just hoping that they get to go to good homes.

Also of note - The U.N. released a report last week stating that it had found evidence of war crimes on both sides during Israel's attack on Gaza last December. As expected, Netanyahu came out criticizing it. What disgusted me was that Obama criticised it. This is not why he was elected. When everyone in the world is saying that you are wrong, there are times when you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. By funding and supporting Israel, the United States is just as guilty and as responsible for the innocent people who were slaughtered, and continue to suffer. More and more everyday, he is just proving that he is not what he claimed to be. I think that this makes him even worse than Bush. I really despair over what is going to happen to our country. I really doubt that he will be re-elected. God only knows who we will get next.

The Toronto Film Festival was this past week. Something that I found interesting was that many actors, artists, and "movie people" signed a letter protesting the festival's celebration of Tel Aviv. This is the The Toronto Declaration: No Celebration of Occupation . Please, please support these people! As anyone familiar with protesting against Israel knows, the people who signed this letter have been wrongly lambasted. I have a long overdue post hopefully coming soon about the Global BDS Movement. You can visit the website here.

I will close here. Hopefully I will post more this week. Maybe get the "school" blog up and running.

Rainy Days

I think that we have received at least two - three months worth of rain in the past two days. I have enjoyed it, although I think that I can see now how living in these type of conditions could make one long for the sun. Of course with the rain comes taking the boys out. Happy does not like to go out in the back when it is wet or raining, but is just fine and dandy trotting along the sidewalk. I enjoy walking in the rain thank goodness! I am always amazed at their ability to control their bladders. Normally, Oscar goes out every five minutes. On rainy days, he makes it just fine on two to three trips out. I think that he just likes making a patrol of the yard. So yesterday I went out with Feather and the boys on our usual route. It was really nice. It was cool, but not cold. We were all soaked by the time we got back, but we had a lot of fun splashing in the puddles. There were not a whole lot of people out, so it was like we were in our own magical, gray, wet world.

**Had to break to take Feather and the boys on their walk before Feather's Scooby-Doo movie came on. The rain stopped. So it was really nice. We saw two adult ducks and one young one. Other people were out with their dogs. We saw another Shi-tzu, that got Happy excited. We are still filming the hummingbirds. There are definitely three. One has a red band around its neck. Maybe a Ruby Throated? Bryan stuck some coins on the feeder for scale. Feather and Bryan are having a small battle of epic proportions over this. She wants to stick more coins on it, but can't reach. Bryan is trying to get her to paint. After standing outside on her step stool for a couple of minutes, she has decided to paint.

The MTV Video Music Awards are coming on in forty minutes. I am only really watching them because Russell Brand is hosting again. He was the only good point last year. The Jonas Bros. bit was worth all the rest.

The wild horses still need help. Marhas been keeping me posted. Again, The Cloud Foundation Blog is a great place to keep up. The Times Online (UK) has a good article about the Pryor Mountain roundup. I was especially pleased that they put in the bit about the ranchers getting to lease the land at $1.35 a head per month. There is a lot of digging that needs to be done and then put together. I will try to do what I can.

Something I was a bit upset about - Bryan and I usually watch Bill Maher. His "New Rules" are almost always funny, and discussions are at least sometimes interesting. I already have at least a small issue with his movie "Religulous". It was okay, but I found it disturbing that while Christianity, and Islam seemed to be fair game, he handled Judaism with kid gloves. He did have an orthodox rabbi who was against the occupation of Palestine, but no where did we see the insane Zionists who have done so much to wreck the world.

Then, this past Friday for the first show of the season, who does he have on to talk about health care, claiming to be on "the people's" side? None other than Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). I will be honest, I did not really know who he was. Bryan and I both thought the guy seemed a little "off". So later, we searched, and low and behold, he turns out to basically be an "Israeli Agent". I say that, because he claims that the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) is a terrorist organization. I would go on, but you get my drift. The guy is basically a nut job. This is who Bill Maher has on for health care talking about single payer etc..

I was disappointed to say the least. I could go on, but I think it would be best to save it for another post. Here is the link for theWikipedia entry for Rep. Weiner if you are interested.

Life Through the Haze of Thera Flu

AAuurrgha! I feel like crap! I am rarely sick, so when I am, I do not do it well. It was Sunday afternoon I think, just felt VERY tired. So I took a nap, woke up and it felt like someone had poured acid down my throat! A couple of hours later, the aches set it. I tried various concoctions of Thera Flu and tea, rum and honey. They seem to work about the same. I know traditionally, it is supposed to be whiskey, but I don't have that so had to improvise. I don't know if it is the flu or what.
It hit Bryan last night, of course he has not let it phase him. It has always amazed me how he is able to handle himself. He has to deal with so much but he just carries on. I still worry though. He is already dealing with so much, then to have anything extra...

Feather seems to be okay, and I am able to function, although my body still feels odd. My skin no longer feels like it has been peeled off, beaten, and slapped back on. It is the worst being the first to get sick. It is pretty much a guarantee that everyone else is going to get it too. So you worry because you actually know how they are going to feel, and there is the worry of being able to take proper care of them. So at least I can function now if they need me there is comfort in that.

Feather went to her first birthday party Saturday. It was at Chucky Cheese. I wonder if we picked up something then. She had a good time, except when they where singing happy birthday, she crawled under the table, and refused to sit with the other kids. She stuck by me the whole time until towards the end she decided that she wanted to go around with the other kids. I am thinking of trying to get her to two story times a week instead of just the bedtime story. Maybe this will be a way to help her build confidence in group settings.

I watched Obama's speech to students earlier. I did not see it as being anything out of the ordinary. Definitely not worth all of the blathering and going on that we have had to hear leading up to it. Why do people have to be so stupid? Sorry I have been sick. When I am sick, my patience erodes, and the bitch within seeps out.

Shouldn't people be more concerned that children are fed crap in the line of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree etc.? I think that children would benefit immensely from being taught the facts. Then again, the adults in this country can not even agree on facts, so God who knows? I do know that I will teach Feather to question everything, and do my very best to teach her the truth from the beginning. ( A huge bonus about homeschooling ) Seriously, I had really worried about this. I knew that she was going to have things in her text books that were going to be outright lies. Then, I was going to have to explain all that to her. I had to deal with this growing up, and it really bothered me that she was going to have to experience it as well. So I am not sure if I will ever push her to to "school". Even when it comes to college. I want her to study things that are fulfilling to her, and not to be a part of the "rat race".

Cynthia McKinney's aunt recently passed away before her time. My heart goes out to her family. Still, I am glad that she shared her story. Heath care in America is a joke. I will share at least part of my own story someday. I will save that for another day. You can read Cynthia McKinney's blog post here .

The round up of the wild horses in the Pryor Mountains continues. There are witnesses there who are watching and reporting what is going on. It saddens and sickens me that this is going on at all. My friend Mar continues to update me. Also,The Cloud Foundation blog as well as ,Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center's blog are good sources to keep up with what is going on.

A bit of happiness here - I am catching up on some of my listening. ( I try to make a point to listen to all of the bands and musicians that I have as friends on Myspace. I hope to eventually devote one blog post a week just to music. We'll see.) Anyhow, right now I am listening to, Milk they have a different sound. I am looking forward to hearing more from them.

I better be off to work on our sunflower seeds. We have tried to get some pictures of the process, as it is our first time to harvest sunflower seeds. It has not gone exactly to plan with the feeling like crap and all. They are now in need of roasting so off I go!

Thanks For the Publicity!

OK, with all that is going on in the world today, it is very likely that President Obama's address to school children this coming Tuesday would have been over looked on the national consciousness. Thank you to all of the hyper-paranoid, looking to bitch about something, Republicans, we are all now well aware of it.

At first, I thought it would be the usual local thing, but we are in one of the "reddest" areas of the country, so you know.... Then it made headlines on Yahoo. I am by no means a fan of Obama right now. I really do not know what is going on in his mind sometimes these days. It seems that he is constantly caving in to what he or his advisers think the American people want. Has he forgotten that the American people put him in office to not just fix things, but to give the crazies the finger? Not the nicest way to put it I know, but you get where I am at with it right? You do have to give it to the Republicans, at least they do what they want. All I know, is that I am just sick and tired of it.

Except for now, we will be watching and doing activities around the speech. I am thinking of having Feather write down what she wants to learn, or something like that. I think it will be kind of fun.

Also, I was glad to see that our government rebuked Israel on the settlement issue. Although I and I bet the world are not going to take them serious until they put our (can I put a special clause on my taxes that none of it go to Israel?) money where their mouth is.

With the way things are going right now, I think that we would be better served if Obama had just concentrated on undoing the Bush things. An example of this is taking place right now. There has been a large public outcry to halt the Bureau of Land Management from rounding up the wild horses. A bill has passed the House of Representatives, and is waiting on the Senate that will restore the wild horses' protections that were stripped away during the Bush years.

Yet as I type these words, there are horses who were born in and have lived their entire lives in the wild now scared out of their wits in holding pens. As far as I know, no horses have come to harm so far. However, there have been a lot of foals who have been born a lot later than normal due to the birth control drugs that some of the mares have been given. I used to think that it was okay to use birth control on the mares, until I learned about this. Mares come into season, and foals are born at specific times to ensure that they are strong enough to make it through the winter. Being born late, they already face a tougher time, but this makes the current roundup that is going on in the Pryor Mountain Range all the more perilous.

This all just seems so senseless to me. My friend Mar has been keeping me up to date on everything. You can read her blog here. Another great source to learn about the horses of the Pryor Mountain Range is at The Cloud Foundation.

I am happy that this is getting "main stream" media attention. I am including a video from the Today show. I especially like how right after the BLM guy talks about desert they go to the shot of where these horses live. All lush and green. So what's the story now?

The Today Show video

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

To School or Not To School, That Is The Question...

OK, so the first day of school has come and gone. Feather's schedule was fixed, her hours on track, new clothes and supplies duly tracked down. We were ready to go with plenty of time for pictures etc.. Feather was excited. I was nervous, but excited too. I was really worried about how she was going to do because they have to be there from 7:50 am until 2:50 pm.

This is already going to be kind of long, so I am going to cut to the chase. It did not go well at all. Had she only been required to go half a day it would have probably been okay. She was in shock for several hours. Bryan and I decided that school was not the best place for her, and I withdrew her the next day. If you need more info, e-mail me. I will say that when she finally came out of it and was back to running amok, I was so relieved.

I think that part of the reason I am ( if I am being honest) upset about this still is that my faith in the public school system was severely shaken after this. I was a "teacher's pet" though school. I might have thought it a waste of time especially the last three years of high school, but I adored my teachers. Even the strict ones that everyone disliked, were often times my favorites. I thought that there was a lot to be done to make public schools work for students. I think that the whole idea of high school, and maybe even middle schools in the U.S., desperately need to be reworked to give students real world experience.

Before last Monday, I thought that my greatest challenges would be making sure that Feather was challenged and going in the right direction. Now, I am doubting having her in the system at all. This does not alter my feelings about teachers. I do feel that most are doing the best that they can with what they have. Even Feather's former teacher is a nice person who seems to enjoy her work, and had Feather been adapted to a formal setting, it would have probably gone okay.
Feather finally got back to normal later that night. Never would I have thought that I would be glad to see her jumping off of the couch. It has Bryan and I asking ourselves do we want her conditioned to go through sitting at a desk and standing in a line. (Aside from being a daycare and there is nothing wrong with that, this seems to be what kindergarten is about.)

From day one, we have talked about wanting to teach her from the beginning to see things differently. Not how society, the government, or even we tell her how to see. I do not want her to have to fit into a mold to be successful in life, and I want her to learn that success does not always entail dollar signs. I want her to be able to think for herself, figure out what she wants out of life relatively early, and to go after it.

For the past week I have been scouring the Internet, looking at different options, reading studies. The conclusion that I have come to is that you have to find what is right and what works for your child and family. What is right now, might not be the answer next week or next year. It is my job as a parent to guide her and provide opportunities.

I am planning at least once a week to give an update on how things are going in this area. What course of action we decide on. I do know that without a doubt she has to get into some sort of class where she is away from us. Even if it is just an hour at a time. This is one of our first goals. Whether she goes back into a traditional school setting, or stays at home and does home schooling or unschooling, she needs more interaction with her peers. We are going outside every afternoon so she can play with her friends on the street. I did find out that we have more or less been unschooling for the past 5 years. That has worked pretty well, so we will see.