Trish in Action

At the Women's Show yesterday, Trish gave a speech about what the city council is doing. She had a pretty nice little group gathered to hear her talk. She was explaining all kinds of things the council is looking at and some upcoming votes we'll be doing.

She also had a booth for the first time. She was doing free legal checkups and talking to people. Every time I looked down her way she was busy, so I think it was a good experience for her.

We happened to be on the same aisle with Trish and with the Volunteer Center and the Zoo. It was a nice location. I was gone last year when they did the show, and other people set it up for me. They tell me this was our spot last year, too. It's a good location.

I didn't even take a photo of my own booth yesterday. It's one of those things that never looks as good in the photo as you expect it to. People do really elaborate booths, but I keep mine pretty simple. I like to be able to set it up and take it down pretty quickly - otherwise you're just overwhelmed with it after a long day.

This show runs from 9-4. They tell the non profits to not pack up before then and that you'll lose your spot if you do. On our aisle Leah and I were the only ones that waited until 4. Some booths were already completely clear by the time we started.

Trish had a nice banner done. That's something I've got to get is a new banner for the MHA. It's always one of those things I'm going to get around to but now that we have the new logo I need to actually get it done.



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Pity Party Freak Out

I had to work an all day event yesterday for the MHA. I was really tired by the end of the day, but I made it OK. We had made plans to go to the movie last night and although I had to force myself to go I figured I could leave if I started feeling worse. But, I was OK. I was very tired last night but was sure the new drugs were working great.

Today, again, I'm back in bed. I'm just exhausted. I've felt worse the last 10 days than I have the whole time except when I first got sick in Kentucky. It seems I'm getting a little better, then worse again.

Lying here thinking, I'm starting to really, really, really freak out that I've been sick enough long enough that my doctor is looking at things like lung cancer and emphysema as reasons. I have never smoked a single cigarette in my life - never even tried it - so it would seem unlikely. But, of course, when you can't breathe well there's generally some reason. And after more than two months of care it pays to check for other causes. Thank goodness he didn't find anything serious, and I'm glad he's a doctor who will say "I might be missing something... lets do an xray to be sure." But, nonetheless, I'm freaked that I've been sick so long such things are a concern.

It has been less than four  months since my cousin died from what seemed to be nothing more than a cold/infection. I'm mindful that one has to take such things seriously.I've been very serious about it but it's still with me. Other than a couple of friends, no one has seemed too concerned about me - other than me - but I know how unusual it is for me to be in bed during the day. It's practically unheard of. The last time I was sick enough to be in bed for more than a day was 5 1/2 years ago - that was 2 1/2 days.As Leah said yesterday, "you're never sick." This has been almost two weeks. I'm starting to freak out a bit. I'm eager to be well.

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As I was getting ready to post this Greg's mom called to check on me. Isn't that nice?!?!?

La Vie en Rose

Teresa, Kathie, Greg and I went to see La Vie en Rose at the Fox tonight. This is the movie about Edith Piaf's life. I had a little trouble keeping up with the multiple jumps from one decade to another and one continent to another. But, it left an impression on me. I may never consume another drop of alcohol. I'm not a big drinker anyway, but I may never touch it again.

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Impromptu Introduction

I had the most wonderful experience this afternoon. I met a lovely young woman named Jade, while I was setting up for the Women's Show that's tomorrow. Jade came over and said she had read a bio on www.wecouldliveanywhere.com and wondered if that was me. It was, of course.

She has also seen me at Wal-mart, where she works. In fact, she had seen me just a little bit earlier because I'd been to get another prescription. (Antibiotic round FIVE for those of you keeping track!)

I'm so glad she introduced herself. We had a nice conversation. I know she's someone I'd like to know better. She's working with a city program to encourage recycling. Interestingly enough, I had just bought a reuseable bag at Wal-Mart. I recycle at home, but I know I can cut down on the amount of bags I'm putting back into the environment. I may not always have one of them with me, but every one I avoid taking out of the store is a benefit. So, I'll make an effort. I just have to get a system going where I've always got some in the car and remember to take them in with me.

I like living somewhere where people will introduce themselves to you. I felt bad that I didn't shake her hand, but I explained I'm trying to keep anyone from getting anything I've got. Peggy's mom has been in the hospital for a week and I had intended to go see her but I haven't felt like going anywhere and I certainly didn't want to expose anyone to what I've got - especially not someone who's not at their optimum to begin with.

On that front, I went to the doctor again today - third time in the last few weeks. Three doctor visits are usually spread over three years for me. Today he sent me for a chest xray to make sure he wasn't missing something, but it was fine - no tumors or anything like that. He just wanted to be sure and I appreciated that considering how rare it is for me to be this sick for this long. I have felt pretty rough for quite a while. I thought I was much better the last couple of days and woke up worse today. So many people are ending up hospitalized with this gunk and it's Friday and I just didn't want to chance it. So, at least I know it's just typical stuff and nothing serious.

I've felt bad enough today I've had to remind myself... "Patsy... you have a cold... keep some perspective... people have real health problems... you have a cold... buck up..." But inbetween that I was nearly in tears because I've just not been "normal" in so long. Hopefully that's just around the corner. Maybe a couple of pills of this heavier duty bug-killing-drug will have me on the mend. And maybe I can stop whining. Geez, I hope so... because I'm sick of my whining... I can't get away from me...

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Food Photography

Just recently I was talking with Greg and how I needed to improve my food photography. He mentioned that we both tend to just do "grab shots" instead of treating it as a real subject. I know food stylists use other things to stand in for food, although I guess in ads you have to use the real thing. But, just like a glamour shot for a person, you can make the food prettier.

Today someone sent me this link to a site where someone took 100 pictures of food out of the package, compared to the package photo. Some are ver striking to me like this or this.  However, it's interesting to look at all of them. It's in German, but you don't need to speak the language to know that what you're getting inside isn't the same as what you're told you're getting.

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Quote of the Day

Believe nothing because it is written in books.
Believe nothing because wise men say it is so.
Believe nothing because it is religious doctrine.
Believe it only because you yourself know it to be true.
              -----Buddha

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Perkier Soon

I've actually been up all day, for the first day in quite awhile. I don't feel normal by any means, but at least I've spent far fewer hours in bed today, which is encouraging. I had a noontime speech that went a little long, and Teresa and I had dinner. Other than that I've pretty much been at the computer.

Tomorrow I have to go set up for the Women's Show on Saturday. I'm not sure how I'm going to get through a full day Saturday, but I'll just have to. Maybe I'll feel much perkier by then.

I've been thinking about our retreat weekend. I need to do some planning for it and just haven't felt like devoting any brain cells to it. But, this weekend I will get that done.

Sometime soon I need to get my taxes done... something that's not fun to think about... but must be done nonetheless...

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Book Group Successful

Tonight was the first ever "Ad Hoc Book Group Gathering." There were six of us - Teresa, Diana, Cleta, Kathie, Julie and me - and it was a good experience. We all agreed we enjoyed, "Eat, Pray, Love."

It's good to hear other people's perspectives. People pointed out things I had missed or forgotten.

This is one of the ways I think we can create a new way of social connection. When Dr. Robert Putnam spoke here he challenged us to come up with new approaches, and I think the relaxed scheduling is appealing to people. I know it's appealing to me. I just can't add one more thing to my schedule that is "every fourth Tuesday..." or whatever. It's just too much.

I'm not sure when or if we'll do another book. I don't have anything on my list right now that I think would be good for discussion. Julie suggested "Middlesex," which she just finished. I'm just not interested in discussing that - it's too dense for me. I read it a year or so ago and remember very little about it as far as details. It does have one of the best opening lines of any book I've ever read.

I'm sure something else will come along that seems like a good book for discussion. I'd like something similar to "Eat, Pray, Love," but there's a reason it's so extraordinary. There aren't piles of books like it out there, waiting for us to pick up.

If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'm always on the hunt for good books. Thoughtful books.

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Creative Sisterhood

Tonight was Creative Sisterhood and it was a blast. We laughed a ton tonight, which is always nice.

September will be five years since we started gathering each month to share our lives. I recently looked at the original email I sent out about getting together and realized that the way it has developed is one of the dreams I had for it. But, I also thought we would make things together at times. We haven't done that yet, but we have created something special.

Connecting with people remains something I'm passionate about. I know, deep in my bones, that those connections are essential for us and that finding ways to facilitate that is critical to our well being. Tomorrow evening is our book discussion for "Eat, Pray, Love," and I think that's a way people can connect, too - ad hoc, no definite schedule from one time to the next. I am going to be really curious to see how the retreat weekend I've planned in April goes. That may, also, be a way to make connections.

I've been working on a Creative Sisterhood Cookbook - just a little project I thought would be fun. One of the things I've learned is that we eat a lot of chocolate. It's not that any of us minds chocolate - quite the contrary - but we've eaten a lot of it. And it's no one's fault but mine since I'm the one who decides what to bake. Apparently I'm chocolate deprived, and assume everyone else needs more chocolate, too.

Because I've recently realized that I provide chocolate a lot, I decided I'd make something non-chocolate tonight. I wanted to make a double batch of something so I'd have it done for tomorrow, too. So... tonight's offering was... White Texas Sheet Cake.

I have posted this recipe before, but just in case you didn't make a note of it then, here's another chance. This is - honestly - one of the best cakes I have in my recipe files. The only reason I don't make it more often is that I don't always keep sour cream on hand. That's what gives it the wonderfully moist texture it has.

While I'm on the topic of recipes, I now have a section on my website where I will gather any blog posts about food into one place. So, you'll be able to go straight to the recipes area and find things without having to wade through the blog.



White Texas Sheet Cake

I don't know why this is called Texas cake. I got it from someone who was born in Colorado and lived in North Dakota before moving to Kansas. Regardless of how its name came about, this is a cake that draws rave reviews every time I make it. It's so rich I generally cut it in pretty small, almost bite sized, pieces. Tonight, however, I made more generous pieces.

1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

In a large saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in remaining cake ingredients. Pour into 15 by 10 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, until done. Cool for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make frosting by combining butter and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat, add other ingredients and spread over warm cake.

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Accepting it

As of today I have accepted that I'm sick. In reality, I've been sick since January, but I have been denying it. I do that. I just hate to be sick so bad that I will pretend I'm not until I just can't stay out of bed. I've reached that point. And, for the record, yes, I know a piddly little cold like I have is nothing and I'm thankful it's nothing. OK, now, just ignore me, because I'm about to be whiney. Very whiney. I'm not a good patient. I'm warning you... I just want to whine... but you can skip it and I don't have to embarrass myself in front of you that way, but I'll get the whining out of my system.

I've been trying to ignore that I'm sick for days, weeks, months, although you'd think the hours I've spent in bed would have been a clue, considering I never go back to bed during the day unless I'm sick. I've been trying to go about my normal life, only to find myself back upstairs under the electric blanket every 2-3 hours. I finished the prednisone today so maybe I can actually sleep some now. I bet I - literally - haven't slept 10 hours all week.

In the last 60 days, I've been on antibiotics more than half the time. I've had four rounds of antibiotics, three rounds of prednisone, and been prescribed an inhaler. I am a very healthy person. I have healthy lungs. It is time for this to be over. I can't believe I have a single germ left in my body, but the pile of used tissues near me would indicate otherwise. I started taking mucinex a couple of days ago and I seem to be producing gunk from my lungs at a rate I didn't know possible. At this point I just want it out of me - by whatever disgusting means that requires.

I went to the Dillon Lecture today - thinking I was feeling pretty good. Three hours after I left the house I was crawling back up the stairs where I remained for a few hours. I got up and came downstairs, thinking I was better. Went back up to get something and decided I'd just lie down for a few minutes. Hours later I was back up. You get the general picture.

Inbetween there was much hacking, wheezing, coughing and nose-blowing. It's the soundtrack of my life.

OK, you can't say I didn't warn you... but I got that out of my system now. I'm going to haul my sorry, whiney butt upstairs and back to bed. Perhaps tomorrow will be the turning point when I start to feel normal again.

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Quote of the Day

Everyday life is the prayer.
How we conduct it, cherish it,
celebrate it, consecrate it.
              ~Sarah Ban Breathnach
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Google Ads

I run google ads on my website and generally I'm so impressed with how well they match with the content on my blog. Until today. When I logged in to see an ad for J. Mc C for President. Apparently they overlooked the part that I'm a democrat and not supporting him. I'm not spelling out his name here so I don't confuse them further. I don't think I've mentioned him recently but his ad is running nonetheless. I'm afraid that is probably a big waste of money - I'm doubting a lot of Mc C supporters read my blog - but, who knows - maybe so. It's a nice ad - very well designed.

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Daydream Believers by Fred Kaplan

Thursday evening I went to see Fred Kaplan speak. He is a Hutchinson, Kansas, native and stopped in to discuss his latest book, "Daydream Believers," in which he examines the tactics and policies of this administration and how they affect the war in Iraq. 
He said one of the reasons we're at war is that there is a perception that the world changed after September 11, but that's not really true. Americans may have changed their view, but the rest of the world did not. The other factor he mentioned is that when the cold war ended, so did a system of order that had been in effect for a long time. New powers were emerging and the Soviet Union was diminishing in power. He says, "what has happened since the cold war is the resumption of history.

That means that a president had a couple of options of how to manage in a new world. 1. Be an imperial power, but we didn't really have the "money, manpower or stomach" for that. 2. Form alliances.

He said one of the reasons we invaded Iraq is just that we could. "Smart bombs replace the need for large armies, so we didn't need allies so much." One of the problems was that we weren't clear in our goals. As he put it, "It's one thing to get rid of Saddam. It's another thing to prevent another Saddam and have real regime change."

Rumsfeld viewed it as a demonstration of our power to take out Saddam. He had no desire to restore power. He just wanted to win the war. To him that was removing Saddam.


Kaplan said it's an "example of how these guys paid no attention to history." He said the view of many in the administration was that "Freedom is a God-given gift" and that if you remove the dictator, freedom will spew forth like a volcano. The problem with this concept is that if you look at history you'll see it's completely false. Democracy is not a natural state, just waiting for an opportunity.


"Social and political freedom is very difficult. If it's inherent, why did it take 1800 centuries for it to come to fruition?" he asked. He went on to say, "Democracy is creating a government that can negotiate how you handle things." He said, "I think US policy has to have a moral dimension, but it's one thing to protect democracy, it's another to fling ourselves into another place to create democracy."


As for the war, he said, "there are no good options" but he said there is "a lot of political leverage in those troops" and we should be using that to encourage Iraqis to govern themselves. But, he said, "Regardless of who is president, you're not going to see a total pull out for a long time."

He said our continual focus on terrorism is only serving to reinforce the ideas a young potetial jihadist might be interested in. Instead of talking about terrorists as if they are small, disjointed bands of people, we keep talking about them as well organized groups that have us scared - something appealing to someone who wants 'death to America.' He said, "We're doing 80% of Osama Bin Laden's recruiting for him."


He said the coming years are going to require the president, whoever it is, to "start talking and ... make deals and compromises. We have only known life as a superpower and that's not the way it is anymore. We're not completely like the British after WWII but close to that."


He said we have to deal with things as they are and stop pretending. He said when the dollar is no longer the standard currency, we will be in real trouble. "The reason we're not impoverished is China's bankers are floating us," he said, "but they're diversifying." He summed it up nicely when he said, "We buy their cheap goods with money they loan us."

Kaplan has a Ph.D. from MIT and was a foreign policy advisor to Congressman Les Aspin in the 1970s. He has written for the Boston Globe, and won a Pulitzer Prize. He has written for a number of publications, including  The New York Times and The Atlantic Monthly. He also writes a column for Slate magazine. 

Easter Weekend

Greg and I kicked off Easter Weekend Friday night with a trip to ye olde Wal-mart where this perfect little bunny jumped off the shelf and right into my cart. How can you ignore him with his jaunty little ear perked up? He is now residing in my home, as you might expect.

We went to Roy's today. I hadn't been all week, which is unusual for me, but it has been a busy week and I've been so sick, too. Anne wasn't there because she was sick so Debbie was taking orders. They had a ton of things going out the door because the NJCAA tournament is going on here and also because tomorrow is Easter.

It's the first time in a long time I've seen this much of a line before noon, waiting to even get to the door, to wait in the line for food inside. Greg took this photo of people reflected in the window outside. Of course, we were able to get the photo because, we, too, were waiting outside.



They were so overwhelmed I was wiping off tables for them. I've offered before at times when they've been really busy, but today is the first day they've let me. I was happy, happy, happy to be able to help a little bit. They take very good care of me. As you might expect, I have a certain way I like my BBQ cut and Ryan always does it just that way. I know they give me special treatment so wiping a few tables was the least I could do.



Tonight we went to Dutch Kitchen, thinking it would not be very busy since it's a little out of town. It was a good choice. As we were paying there was much laughter in the dining room and we walked back in to find a young man with pie on this face. Literally.



Apparently it's a tradition there to put a pie in the face of employees on their last night. Tonight was his. He was a very good sport about it - saying the pie was tasty. I can believe that as the Dutch Kitchen makes very good pie, although I'm guessing this was more whipped cream than anything else.

It has been a pretty quiet day otherwise. I feel a little better than yesterday. Thank goodness I started my fourth round of antibiotics on Tuesday - I have been getting sicker since then so I can't imagine how I would have felt if I hadn't had them. I can't believe there are any little germs left in me - I've been on antibiotics more than half of the last 60 days, but nonetheless that would seem to be the case. I'm certain this will finally destroy the little buggers.

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Arthur C. Clarke Obituary

Arthur C. Clarke died this week. If you watched television, used your cell phone or any number of other communication technologies today that require satellites, you owe a debt of gratitude to Arthur C. Clarke. For that matter, it could be argued that the mere fact that you're on the world wide web right now is due to Mr. Clarke.

He was a writer, first and foremost, but he had an uncanny ability to foresee possibilities that were to come to fruition. At age 90, he had just reviewed the manuscript for his latest book, which will be published later this year.

The Washington Post has a wonderful obit, which I've copied here in case they take it down at some point. Here's the link to the original, and the text. They have also posted a recent photo of Mr. Clarke.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/18/AR2008031802346.html?hpid=topnews

Arthur C. Clarke; Sci-Fi Writer Foresaw Mankind's Possibilities

By Patricia Sullivan

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 19, 2008; Page B07

Arthur C. Clarke, 90, the world-famous science-fiction writer, futurist and unofficial poet laureate of the space age, died of a respiratory ailment March 18 at his home in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Mr. Clarke co-wrote, with director Stanley Kubrick, the screenplay for "2001: A Space Odyssey," which is regarded by many as one of the most important science fiction films made. A prolific writer, with more than 100 published books, he was praised for his ability to foresee the possibilities of human innovation and explain them to non-scientific readers.

The most famous example is from 1945, when he first proposed the idea of communications satellites that could be based in geostationary orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground.

Some scoffed, but the idea was proved almost a generation later with the launch of Early Bird, the first of the commercial satellites that provide global communications networks for telephone, television and high-speed digital communication. The orbit is now named Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.

"He had influenced the world in the best way possible," writer Ray Bradbury said in Neil McAleer's 1992 book "Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography." "Arthur's ideas have sent silent engines into space to speak in tongues. His fabulous communications satellite ricocheted about in his head long before it leaped over the mountains and flatlands of the Earth."

In addition to his books, he wrote more than 1,000 short stories and essays. One of his short stories, "Dial F for Frankenstein" (1964), inspired British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee to invent the World Wide Web in 1989.

Mr. Clarke also popularized the idea of a space elevator as an energy-efficient alternative to rockets. Conceived by a Russian engineer in 1960 and re-invented at least four times in the next decades, Mr. Clarke's inclusion of the idea in a 1979 novel brought it to popular attention and helped launch a new field of study. He told New Scientist magazine last year that it would be built "50 years after everyone stops laughing."

But it was his collaboration with Kubrick in the 1968 film that made him internationally famous. The screenplay for "2001: A Space Odyssey" was based on Mr. Clarke's 1951 short story "The Sentinel," and Mr. Clarke simultaneously wrote the companion novel, which was released three months after the film and was believed by many to be a more detailed explanation of the ideas in the film.

Mr. Clarke's work inspired the names of spacecraft, an asteroid and a species of dinosaur. He joined American broadcaster Walter Cronkite as a commentator on the Apollo moonshots in the late 1960s. Two television series in the 1980s spread his ideas around the world.

He was knighted in 1998, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 and received the Franklin Institute gold medal, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-Kalinga Prize and other honors.

Mr. Clarke, a resident of Sri Lanka since 1956, worked with Jacques Cousteau and others to help perfect scuba equipment. He moved to the country, then known as Ceylon, to open a dive shop and explore the undersea world. Disabled by post-polio syndrome, the lingering effects of a disease that had paralyzed him for two months in 1959, Mr. Clarke said diving was as close as he could get to the weightless feeling of space.

"I'm perfectly operational underwater," he once said.

His dive shop was destroyed in the 2004 tsunami.

Born Dec. 17, 1917, in Minehead, Somerset, England, he was the son of a postal service engineer turned farmer and a post office telegrapher. He became addicted to science fiction at 11.

In 1936, he moved to London and joined the British Interplanetary Society and began writing science fiction. After enlisting in the Royal Air Force in 1941, he became a radar instructor and participated in the development of ground-controlled landings of aircraft under zero-visibility conditions. That experience proved the inspiration for his only non-science-fiction novel, "Glide Path."

It is also where, in 1945, he wrote an RAF memo about satellites. He later revised it and submitted it as "Extra-Terrestrial Relays" to Wireless World, which almost rejected it as too far-fetched. He was wrong about some things: He expected that three satellites would take care of the world's communication needs and that each would require a crew in residence.

After World War II, Mr. Clarke obtained a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics at King's College, London.

In 1954, Mr. Clarke wrote to Harry Wexler, then chief of the Scientific Services Division at the U.S. Weather Bureau, about satellite applications for weather forecasting. From these discussions, a new branch of meteorology was born.

Mr. Clarke's marriage to Marilyn Mayfield ended in divorce. Survivors include a brother and sister, both of whom live in England.

According to a news release from the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation, Mr. Clarke reviewed the final manuscript of his latest science fiction novel, "The Last Theorem," a few days ago. It is scheduled to be published later this year.

Although he rarely left Sri Lanka, he kept in touch with the rest of the world by using the satellite communication he predicted so long ago. He told the Associated Press that he didn't regret never going into space because he had arranged to have the DNA from his hair sent into orbit.

"Some day, some super civilization may encounter this relic from the vanished species and I may exist in another time," he said.

In a 90th birthday video recorded in December, Mr. Clarke said he had only three last wishes: That someone find evidence of extraterrestrial life; that the world adopt clean energy sources; and that an end be found to the long civil war in Sri Lanka.

"I'm sometimes asked how I would like to be remembered. I've had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space promoter and science populariser," he said. "Of all these, I want to be remembered most as a writer -- one who entertained readers, and, hopefully, stretched their imagination as well."

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The Day the Hyacinths Bloomed

Today is the day the hyacinths all bloomed. They've been barely budding out but one and a half days of warmth and they are in full bloom.

My mom grew hyacinths and I have always loved the smell. I should plant more this fall.
"If, of thy mortal goods, thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves
alone to thee are left,
Sell one and from the dole,
Buy hyacinths to feed the soul"

-Muslihuddin Sadi,
13th Century Persian Poet

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Rene Godefroy Speech in Hutchinson Kansas

Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of hearing motivational speaker, Rene Godefroy, at the Prairie View Food for Thought series in Hutchinson, Kansas. This series brings some wonderful folks to speak, but this was exceptional.

Godefroy was born in Haiti, and lived in the small village with another lady while his mother went to Port au Prince to work. He said when he got to see his mother some years later and she hugged him for the first time in ages he, "felt like a giant."

He went to Canada with a theatre company and came into the US illegally 25 years ago praying, "If you help me make it to the US, I promise I will not waste my life." He dreamed of living in the US and still feels blessed to be living here.

Unable to speak English, Rene arrived in Brooklyn with just five dollars, two shirts and one pair of pants. Knowing there was a large Haitian population in Miami he went there. He joked Miami was not a good place to learn English - that he learned Spanish before he learned English.

He worked at a variety of jobs, one of which was washing cars in a bank parking lot until a new maintenance person told him he couldn't do that anymore. He talked about how he used to imagine what went on on the top floor of the bank and thought maybe one day he could empty the trash up there. But he said eventually that experience played into his first rule by teaching him that "Life is a series of rejections."

He also realized later that to reach his eventual dreams he had to be a different person than the one who was thinking about emptying trash. And, he became that person and was invited by the bank president, years later, to come up to that top floor for a gathering. He mentioned the Einstein quote, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

This quote really resonated with me. I had read it before, but had forgotten it and there is some real wisdom in that.

For some years he worked as a doorman at a hotel in Atlanta. When he was parking cars he would notice the books people had in their cars and go get a copy and read it so he learned about some of the great business strategies. Now he has his own book, "Kick Your Excuses Goodbye."

He would carry the bags of speakers who were coming in for events and at night when he was doing set up he would visualize that he was the speaker. Eventually, that came true and he was.
He has five strategies he shares that took him from poverty to living the American dream.
1. Stop rehearsing the past.
2. Always go the extra mile.
3. Decide and act.
4. It's a process. Not an event.
5. Have a Honey attitude (find the sweetness in everyone).

These really resonated with me. Some of them reminded me of my own Rules for Living. My number three rule is almost the same as his.

When I read his first one - stop rehearsing the past - it suddenly struck me that maybe this is why I don't like to look at old journals or photographs. For reasons I don't understand it makes me sad, even if the events are not sad. So, I don't do it. Why would I do something that makes me sad? Maybe it's one way I don't rehearse the past.

The idea of it's a process, not an event, is one I really need to grasp. I have been working on this for awhile now, although I didn't have it phrased this way. I decided a few months ago to "Let go of the 'how' and Prepare for the 'when'," trusting the universe to provide the "how" if I was ready for it "when" it came along.

The concept of just being nice and going the extra mile is something I've been working on for a few years. I've learned to just be pleasant to people as much as I can muster, even if I don't feel it, because there's no point in not being. I had an opportunity to do that very thing tonight and I failed so I'll try to do better tomorrow. It's most difficult for me when I'm frustrated, and that was the situation tonight. Alas, perhaps the next time around I'll do a better job, although I hope it's not with this particular thing again.

It was very interesting and I'm so glad I went. I continue to try and get people to attend the Food for Thought series, with little effect. It's a pity because they have some amazing events and people are missing out. But, there's nothing I can do about that. Peggy came, and I was so glad she was able to use my extra ticket. It's always fun to see her and she enjoys the lectures as much as I do.

Godefroy's speech left me with much to think about and I absolutely love that.

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Ad Hoc Book Club for Eat Pray Love on March 26 at Patsy's Place

The Ad Hoc Book Club Gathering to discuss "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert will be at my house on Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. Let me know if you're coming so I can prepare. I emailed some folks but know I missed some, so let anyone know you think would be interested. If you're in the Hutchinson area and would like to join us, just drop me an email. In the future, these events will be posted on the events section of my website instead of the blog.

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Kiva

I know I've mentioned kiva.org here before, but if you haven't yet taken a look, I encourage you to do so.

I sometimes get questions from people about my religion/spiritual views, and I always just say it's private. It's a leap for me to share this information, but this has become one of my personal spiritual practices.

All major religions share some caveats and one of those is to help the poor. Many people do that through their churches or other methods. I don't attend church, and I view this as one way to support the work of religion without going through the church organization. I like this more direct approach.

I don't think most churches are very effective at this sort of work because they're engaged in other things. That is completely at the discretion of church members, and it's not mine to judge, but I want to direct my resources to the specific work I think we're all charged with - regardless of faith or lack thereof. I think all humans who have "enough" should be sharing. Note I didn't say "plenty," but "enough." I truly believe it's part of being a responsible member of the human race to take care of each other.

I love the idea of directly supporting an individual who is poor only because they have not had the oppportunities others have had.
Kiva.org sends 100% of your donation on. They are supported through donations. You'll have an opportunity to make a gift to them as well, but it's up to you. I always make $25 loans, and the suggested gift to kiva is 2.50 on that. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

I hope I don't come off as preachy. I love other things like Habitat for Humanity, too. Maybe because I've travelled a little bit and seen how rich we are in the US compared to much of the world, I feel a need to share. Much of the world lives on less than a dollar a day and it's a meager living. We have no concept of how fortunate we are to be living in our climate controlled homes, driving our cars around and buying all of what we need and most of what we want.

I live a very average life - probably a lower middle class life by some people's standards - and I know I am incredibly blessed. Amazingly blessed. I am so thankful. And being able to loan through kiva.org is yet another thing to be thankful for - that I found it, that it's simple and inexpensive enough to do, that I have an internet connection with which to do it, and the list could go on and on.

And, please don't think I'm sharing so much it hurts. That's not the case. I'm making a loan - not even a donation, but a loan - of $25 every few weeks to another person around the world. It's simple. And when the loan is repaid you'll have the chance to take your cash or reloan it. I love to have the opportunity to reloan - it feels like that money is working harder than it ever could in a money market account.

Well, I've gone on and on and on but take a look at it and maybe it will appeal to you as well. Maybe not, but it's worth a look.

Successful Event

The MHA's potato bar went well this afternoon and evening. Everything in my world - including me - smells like baked potato. Fortunately, I like baked potato, although I didn't feel like eating one by the end of the day.

We even had a potato guy walking around promoting the event.



Many thanks to people for the loan of the costume, and to the students who wore the costume and who walked around with sandwich boards on. I'm so fortunate to have a great board who will jump in and get things done and this is a prime example. Duane knew someone who had the costume, Nancy arranged for students to help us with a variety of things and Gary got students to walk around in the costume and with the boards. That's Gary putting the finishing touches on a sandwich board.



They walked around at the arena today where the NJCAA tournament is being held. The Armory, where we had the event, is across the parking lot so people could easily walk there. The National Guard folks were so helpful yesterday and today.

We served a potato with fixins, dessert and a drink for $5. As always, there are some funny moments during these sorts of things.

I was concerned that the potatoes were not cooking quickly enough today and that we weren't going to have them all done on time. So, at one point Greg brought some to my house to cook, Sheila took some to her house, and Nancy took some to the high school. Fortunately, all went well.

One of the funniest moments of the day was when Greg - who was an amazing trooper all day doing everything from bringing me lunch to picking up antibiotics for to me to baking potatoes - was asking me how he would know if the potatoes were done. I told him about the fork test. This incredible look of recognition came over his face and he said, "Oh! So, that's why they say stick a fork in it... it's done." Little did I know that at practically the same moment, Sheila was having a nearly identical conversation with her husband.

We had some potatoes left, which I took to the soup kitchen, so nothing will go to waste. This is the first time we've done it so it was a learning experience for us, but it went well.

We rely on lots of volunteers for something like this. A huge percentage of my board was there, and we had a lot of people from The Volunteer Center too. One of the people I always request when we're doing anything food related is Kathy.



This woman... oh my gosh... this woman can wash dishes like you can't imagine. She also cleans anything else that doesn't move, and some things that do, which I love. She will grab a hefty trash bag and haul it out to the dumpster before it even occurs to you that it should be done. She is a jewel. We talked about having lunch one day. I hope she calls and emails and we get to do that. She's always fun to be around.

Well, I'm tired... and I have the Food for Thought event in the morning so I should try to get a little bit of sleep. I'm incredibly thankful for my board, the volunteers, Greg (always - he remains the best ex-bf a girl can have!), National Guard folks and everyone who made this possible.

I had intended to take lots more pictures, but I'm so busy during these kind of events that I - literally - don't even have time to say hello to people sometimes, much less have anything resembling a real conversation. It's just always a big rush. Needless to say, getting out the camera and taking pix falls by the wayside.

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It's still St. Patrick's Day for a few more minutes. Greg and I had an unexpected, but quite lovely, experience with "the green." We headed out to dinner at Ken's Pizza but they were having some sort of plumbing issue - lots of work people and lots of lawn being dug up - and were closed. So, after much debate, we decided to go next door to Carlos O'Kelly's, where we very rarely go.

We were greeted at the door by a Leprechan. Now, even on St. Patrick's Day, this isn't exactly something one expects. And, for that very reason it was delightful. Our entire dining experience was more fun because of that brief interaction.

The Leprechan came through the restaurant occasionally, leaving gold coins and plastic beads in her wake.

This caused me to think about how little unexpected bits of fun can color our perceptions in major ways. I have no doubt that both Greg and I will be more eager to go Carlos O'Kellys in the future - just because we had a fun experience. I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned in this for businesses.

I remember reading once about a company whose call center did an employee survey and discovered that one of the things employees kept mentioning that was missing was celebration and fun. So, the company developed a plan to celebrate everything - from the traditional birthdays to more esoteric things like, "John made the 100th sale today." The call center had the lowest retention rate for employees until this went into practice, when their rate dramatically increased. Obviously, that impacted training costs.

I have to admit, that wouldn't work for me - it's too contrived. But, I can see why it works for lots of people - particularly if you're doing a job like a call center where the routine needs to be broken up. I've never had that kind of a job, so maybe it would work for me in that case, too.

Whatever the mindset of Carlos O'Kelly's tonight in deciding it was worth the cost of having an employee dressed as a Leprechan, it worked on these two customers. Maybe it was more for employees than customers, but we both left with a favorable impression, which was also only increased by the excellent service we got. Those things add up to repeat customers.

I was ready for a nice, relaxing dinner after a day of preparation for the MHA's Potato Bar tomorrow at the Armory. The NJCAA tournament starts in town tomorrow and we hope a number of people will walk over from the arena for the Potato Bar. It's a bargain - $5 for a potato with fixings, drink and dessert. I've been baking more cakes tonight. We will start in the morning and I won't get a break all day, so it's going to be a long one. We serve from 4:30 to 7, but I'll be in motion from the morning until the night. But, hopefully the MHA will make money, and I'm thankful I'm physically able to do this sort of thing and that I have board members and volunteers who will help pull it off.

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Quote of the Day

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, ‘grow, grow’.
                                           The Talmud

Window on the World

I snapped this photo in Kingman the other day. There were three of them in a row on the second floor of  a downtown building. Each had matching window boxes. The orange of the late afternoon sun was bathing the upper floor in light and I was struck by the whole scene - the box, the brickwork and the curtains.

Don't those curtains say something about what you expect to find inside? I expect this person is probably someone I would like knowing. I'm guessing they have knick knacks sitting around, maybe on top of doilies. I'm thinking they have some antiques. I'm guessing they are homebodies in the sense that they like to be home, but are always ready to go out to a gathering with friends. I'm thinking the bathroom has fluffy towels and there's some wonderful smelling soap, maybe made locally. I'm guessing there's a teapot at the ready for the evening and a coffee pot for the morning hours. I would bet they're sentimental.

Now, am I right? Who knows? This is all speculation. But, it's a great example of the assumptions we make about people and places based on very little real information. Some research indicates our assumptions are often correct - at least about these sorts of somewhat superficial things. The problem comes in when we try to apply these to more indepth personality traits, which we're not so good at predicting.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Website Work

It's always on my list, but I finally got around to starting work on redoing my website. The blog will be the last thing to get redone. And, frankly, I could easily put it aside and it could be many months before it gets done. Why? Because I find website work to be unbelievably dull.

It's pure drudgery to me. But, I'm thankful I can do the basics on my own because people get paid big bucks to do website design. I think because people want real money to sit at a keyboard and do the same thing over and over again until carpal tunnel or boredom overtakes them. Who could blame them? I'm not sure people could pay me enough to spend my days doing it.

Obviously, I've only started the redo and have many, many, many things to write, create, update, etc. etc. etc. I have needed to do this for a very long time. At least I got started. I'm a long way from being done. But to get done one must start.

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more.

Pie and Pi Day

It's 3/14, which is pi day because pi is 3.14. Not surprisingly, mathematicians have noted this before, which is why it's International Pi Day. Well, Greg decided the occasion should not pass without pie being involved. Always being ready to jump on any bandwagon worth my effort, I got right onboard with this. After all, I love math and I love pie - it's a holiday made for me.

I started thinking about pies I've made... and pies I've eaten... and I thought of a photo of my friend, Martha, giving a pie I made for Creative Sisterhood the old Vanna White treatment. Ladies... this is a good reason to always have your nails done... you never know when you'll be called upon to model with a pastry and one of your annoying friends will post it on the world wide web. Repeatedly. (However, you'll note Martha's nails look lovely - they always do!)

I decided in order to salute the occasion, I'd offer my favorite pie crust recipe, and the caveat that you, too, can make pie crust. Trust me. It's got only three ingredients. It's not that hard.

Pie Crust

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Crisco or other shortening of your choice
3 tablespoons ice water

You can add a dash of salt if you wish, but I never do.

The tricks to good pie crust are simple.

1. Keep it COLD. If you don't bake the crust right away, put it in the fridge to keep it cold. Don't use your hands to mix it or you'll melt the shortening and you'll get tough pie crust, which you can also get by overmixing. (See trick number 2.)

2. Don't overmix. What makes piecrust flaky is that it's essentially layers of the flour and the shortening. If you mix it until it's truly all blended you'll just have a big doughy, tough mess.

Finally, if you want to know how to make it pretty, you'll have to ask someone else. I can either make pie crusts that taste good or look good. I have, thus far, been unable to do both simultaneously. I have seen it done, but never without lard or manufacturing being involved. But, I've never had anyone complain that the crust is ugly if it's good.

Meringe is also incredibly easy. It's just something people who make it want you to think is difficult so everyone is more impressed with them. OK, you know what I mean. See details on the blog post about the Creative Sisterhood Pie Evening