All the dreadful wind and rain...

It's Jill, folks! Well it's raining again and I'm happily singing little songs about the plants and rain. But this is a cold rain - the high today was 46 degrees Fahrenheit and the low something like 39, John would know, he was out there at 6am going to work or drinking coffee or something.

Anyhow, we had a lovely Yule - our tree is a small Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) that usually resides outside in a 15 gallon pot. I adorned it with glittery, shiny snowflake and icicle ornaments - it's a sparkly tree! I'll post a picture later but for now here's my garden with a slithery visitor. I have salamanders too, and these two are probably why the slugs are not too numerous and only get so big before my ecto-thermic friends munch on them!

Westminster Abbey

On a bitterly cold December day in London we went to Westminster Abbey. I should point out that ALL the days we were there were bitterly cold. I have never in my life been so cold and even the miles and miles and miles of walking I did failed to warm me up. Lest you think that weather-wise I'm just a spoiled SF Bay Area person, bear in mind that my traveling companions have lived in some extremely cold places & even they were freezing! Here is a picture of me freezing.

Westminster Abbey is where nearly every English monarch has been crowned since 1066. The present church was begun by Henry III in 1245 and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs. The most important monarch buried here is Elizabeth I. Since you can't take pictures inside the Abbey, I don't have any of her tomb to post but if you click on her name it will take you to a picture on the internet. Elizabeth's sister, Mary Tudor, is also buried in the same tomb. The following inscription is on the floor near the tomb: “Near the tomb of Mary and Elizabeth remember before God all those who divided at the Reformation by different convictions laid down their lives for Christ and conscience’ sake."

Mary Tudor (aka Bloody Mary) was a fervent Catholic, completely unwilling to compromise on the question of religious preference. Before being to critical of her, be aware that most people in that time (as in all times throughout history) were unwilling to compromise. After the death of her brother, Edward VI, Mary wrested the throne from the 9-day pretender, Lady Jane Grey. At first she was a popular choice but by the end of her 5 year reign, even many Catholics were unhappy with her. Throughout Mary's reign Elizabeth's life was at risk. She served as a rallying point for Protestants and unhappy Catholics who wanted to get rid of Mary. Definitely a follower of the Protestant religion, Elizabeth had a highly practical streak and would attend Mass. She was reputed to have said that England was worth a Mass. I'm sure she also felt her head was worth it. Mary had many reasons for wanting Elizabeth out of the way but fortunately never took the final step of having her executed.

Westminster Abbey contains many other tombs and treasures. The Coronation Chair where English monarchs are crowned is there. I tried to sit in it but some guards hustled me out. Actually it is roped off but you can see grafitti on it. I guess that's why they don't let you touch it!

Aside from Elizabeth's tomb - which I did not want to leave - the part of the Abbey I liked best was Poets' Corner. Some of the people buried or memorialized there include, W.H. Auden, Rudyard Kipling, Dylan Thomas, Shakespeare, William Blake, John Dryden, Lord Byron, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens. I could continue but I think you're getting the idea.

Back in the USA! !

Not happily but I'm back! I had an absolutely wonderful time. England is totally amazing, we saw the Tower of London, the British Library, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and much more. Sitting here trying to write about it I find myself at a loss for words. Much of what we saw was so absolutely awe-inspiring that I just don't know how to describe it. However, since I know you are all anxiously awaiting a report I'll give it a shot.

The first place we went was the Tower of London. The oldest part of it is the White Tower which was built by William the Conquerer in 1078. It is amazing to touch the walls and think how long they've been standing. It was also amazing to climb the NUMEROUS steps to the top but that is another story! The Tower has been, over the years, a royal residence, armoury, public records office, prison, fortress and zoo.

Tower Green is a grassy area inside the tower where only 7 people were executed. Yes, a lot more were executed in England over the years but it was done outside the tower on Tower Hill. One of the 7 executed on Tower Green was Anne Boleyn, the 2nd wife of Henry VIII. Anne's biggest failing was not providing Henry with the son he desired. Instead she gave birth to a useless girl. The useless girl turned out to Elizabeth I, the greatest queen England has ever had (not that I'm biased).

We went into the chapel where Anne is buried and stood at Traitors Gate. Traitors Gate was where passengers would disembark to make the climb up the stairs into the tower where they would be held prisoner and more often than not, end up losing their head. Elizabeth herself came through Traitors Gate and was held prisoner in the Tower for a number of months by her sister Mary. Supposedly as she came through the gate she sank to her knees and refused to move. I'm sure she imagined that she would never leave alive. But leave she did and went on to rule England for 45 years. When she died she was interred in Westminster Abbey, the topic of tomorrow's post!

MERRY CRISTMASS TO EVERYONE

I HOPE ALL OF YOU ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS. MISS ALL OF YOU AND THE GREAT GIT TOGETHERS WE ALL HAD MANY YEARS AGO. IT BRINGS BACK FOND MEMORIES FOR ME.
LOVE ALL OF YOU .
UNCLE BILL AND DRISSELLA

PS: WHEN JILL GRADUATES WITH A 4.0 I WILL RUN AROUND THE WORLD NUDE.

OMG I lost all my e-mail

So, that means I lost your contact info Jill. Can you send it to verum.amo@gmail.com instead of my yahoo account which appears not to work anymore. Thanks.

To be quite frank, I have no recollection of ever being pushed down a flight of stairs, and if it weren't for Robin constantly bringing up as long as I can remember, I'd not even have a clue such a thing may have happened.

Surgery pics

Well since no one else has written since the Bloq Mistress left I thought that I should contribute something.

Here are a few pics of Talia (for those less informed of you, she is our youngest at 4 years old) pre & post op for her adenoidtonsilectomy. Talia did wonderfully, was very brave and didn't even cry (I almost did as she nonchalantly waved at me while they wheeled her to surgery).

She colored and visited with the nurses before her surgery and afterwards took to eating her popsicles and drinking her juice like a pro (you'd have thought she'd been doing it her whole life. I forgot, but she remembered to request 2 masks so that she and Jennifer can play hospital.

For some nice imagery, the Dr said that her adenoids were so large that she had trouble getting them out..........

Talia has recovered nicely here at home, refusing all medicine after the first dose at home. She has categorically denied any pain this whole time and my biggest problem was keeping her quiet for any period of time. her voice is still a little different, but that should clear up in the next week or so.

That is about the extent of our highlight for the month. Don't expect one of my kids to have surgery each month just to have something interesting to write about (I know you were all hoping, sorry).

On Your Own!

Just a final post before I leave! My bags are packed & I'm ready to go (isn't that a song?). Hopefully I have everything. I considered unpacking & checking but it seemed like a lot of trouble. I've gone over the calendar w/Pippin & Mellifera so they know what day I'll be returning. They are kind of sad because they will miss me. I found my little photo album & I've packed that so I'll remember what they look like.

Hopefully upon my return there will be numerous posts for me to read! Hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Robin

A Defense

I'm not sure why that part about me pushing you down the stairs was added. Is that the story you use to explain your strange personality to the world? Or are you trying to make me look bad? Whatever it is, I think that the true story should be told.

When Michael was a young, mean, sly child, I was kindly helping him down the stairs when, for no clear reason, he threw himself under my feet so that I tripped. With the agility of youth, he quickly rolled down the stairs & start crying that I had pushed him. All I could do, as I do now, is protest that he had tripped me & I was completely innocent.

In the intervening years he has repeatedly brought up this incident as he does now. I think that this time he may have inadvertently given away a clue. You notice he said he is cobweb clearing. I deduce from this that his mind has been full of cobwebs for many years which means he could not remember things clearly. So, being the generous soul that I am, I'm going to assume his wicked retelling of this story was due to an inability to remember the correct version.

I had to devote an entire post to this as I was afraid that if I defended myself in a comment, not everyone would see it.

Robin

Introductions and Contemplations

For those who know me, I am a quirky, curly, intractable sort of charming twit as to be bearable enough to enjoy and joyful enough to be smiling. I am commonly referred to as Michael, or, just as commonly these days, Hanuman.

My interests are in early childhood education, food preparation, singing, dancing, writing poetry and prose, composing songs and scores, playing guitar and bass, cavorting with my friends, reading, Yoga (including the less well-known devotional aspects), learning, truth-seeking, counseling and conversing, elucidating and cobweb-clearing (in the head my dears).

On a side note, when I was a small child, Robin knocked me down a flight of stairs.

PS Jill, send me your contact info in an e-mail, if you can.

Hi

Just thought I'd post & say Hi. You all may have noticed the counter at the bottom right. It was at 120 last I looked. Admittedly a lot of those are me but I'm encouraged to see that other people are also looking. I don't know who you are but please post! I really don't have a lot to say. Here are a few quick updates:

--Talia had her tonsils out today. I hear that she was very brave. I expect someone will post an account soon.

--Jill found little grubs crawling under the door into her room.

--We leave for London in 6 days! Our flight has already been delayed by 3 hours, I hope we make it.

--I went to an exciting holiday party tonight. It wasn't to bad, there was one really strange person there that claimed I was related to him. (Or maybe he was trying to claim I wasn't related?)

--I just realized I can't go to London until I find my little photo album with Pippin & Mellifera's pictures. I need to take it with me & I don't know where it went to.

--Um . . . nothing else to say. Get busy & post! I'm sure someone out there can do better than this!

Robin

Rain

Hello everyone!

I'm happy to report that it has finally rained - this is the first time since October and I just settled some plants into new pots and into the ground. Let us now take a moment to reflect upon the plant roots reaching into the cool moistness of rainy soil, leafing forth to photosynthesize away, the light and dark reactions joining to nourish this verdancy!

In other news: a customer actually called me at work yesterday to ask a question about a fake poinsettia plant - "Will its leaves fade if it's sitting in the sun?" You'd think a plant made of inert materials would be self-explanatory. Also, the other day I saw a Caltrans truck carrying a buck who had (through some unknown means) passed away. While I understand the necessity of removing the unfortunate cervid I question the wisdom of hanging the uncovered head out the side of the truck with the antlers sticking out 2 feet to the side - in the midst of rush-hour traffic. Oh well, our tax dollars at work...

Sorry for the rather gruesome interval! I'm making up for it by attaching a pleasant picture of The Pinnacles (though it's all rather the same - life eats life)

favorite uncle and drissella

12/2/07
Our names are Bill & Linda and we live in Grants Pass ,Oregon which is a small town in Southern Oregon(31,000). I am the favorite uncle of the Texeira family (I changed all their dippers when they were little PHEW), and have been their favorite uncle for about 50 years.
I have 3 daughters, and Linda has 2 daughters. Between us we have about 11 or so grand children(+ or - 1or 2). We also have 2 great grand children. We were married in 1990 + or - a year. As you can guess we are quite old. Linda is retired and I am still working full time plus 20 hours per week in politics. Linda retired from the dental field where she was an EFDA Dental Assistant . She cleansed children’s teeth below the age of 12. We both worked at Litton Guidance Systems in Grants Pass (Linda for 17 years and myself for about 9 years). We worked together on the Cruise Missile project.
When Litton Closed in 1991 we both went back to College. I had a degree in Electronics , but with the lay off of 800 hundred people electronic jobs were hard to find. Linda received a Degree in Medical Technology and went to work in the Dental field. I received a 2 year degree in Counseling and went on to get my Bachelors Degree in Psychology. I worked in that field for 5 years until I burned out and went back to Electronics. I now work for one of the largest Weather equipment manufacture in the world.
In 2005 I (Bill) got involved in politics when the City tried to put a road through our home( would have been hard to watch TV or have any privacy ). I stopped the City by presenting a sound argument in front of the City Planning Commission. The Director liked how I found a loop hole in the City Development code, and asked me if I would be willing to be appointed to the Planning Commission when there was an opening. I said maybe and about 6 months later they called me in for an interview in front of the City Council. I won the appointment over 6 other people. After serving about six months I became disillusioned by how the City Council was over turning our decisions and allowing massive uncontrolled growth in the area. In July of 2006 I decided to run for the City Council in the 2006 Nov. election. I campaigned hard for well managed growth so we would not end up like the S F bay area where I left in 1975 to go to Oregon because of traffic and to many people in the bay area. I won the election and I am now serving my second year of a 4 year term (sentence). It is very difficult to satisfy all the people or get any free time. I put in about 20 hours a week in meetings and making public appearances.
Linda likes to quilt and make crafts. She had upper spine surgery about 4 years ago and needs to rest after working on her crafts for awhile. She can drive but cannot turn her head to the left so if you are driving in Southern Oregon watch out for a white car. Linda has lived in Grants Pass since 1944 so she knows almost everyone in town. She is very popular and helps me with my City Council work. We have 2 babies named Farley and Jr. Farley is a Main Coon Long hair tabby who weighs about 22 LBS. Jr. is a Tibetan long hair Tabby who only weighs about 18 lbs. Both are quite old 14 and 13 years old. I will try and include a picture. We are new at this blog stuff so "bear" with us. When we were kids we only had typewriters which used slate rocks for paper. Well I got to go now as I have prepare for a noon meeting tomorrow so see you all later.
Uncle Bill and Drissella Linda (wicked step aunt)

PS: I forgot I graduated with my 4 year degree with a 4.0(this is for Robin)

View From My Deck

This is a picture I took the other morning from my deck. The fog was settled in the hills and I thought it looked really nice. It would have been better if I could have removed the stuff on the neighbor's roof. Our new house has multiple backyards. There is the main one which is VERY crowded with Jill's plants. Then there is the part way at the back of the house. She doesn't have many plants there yet. I like that part because it is kind of secluded. Then there is my deck. This is the one I like best. There are a few plants on it, but only ones I like. Eventually I'm going to get a small table & chairs so that I can sit outside. Right now it is a bit cold though! It is peaceful & quiet on the deck & pretty secluded. I've walked down the street & over to the hills & you can see it but you have to be really looking for it.

Robin