We are on either side of the Berlin Wall.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
A Busy Holiday Season
Happy Belated Holidays!
The holiday season again got away from us. Work, the new house and travel have made us very busy. For Thanksgiving, we were down by John's parents. We stayed there until Saturday, and then left for Berlin, Germany.
We spent from that Sunday until December 9th in Germany. We had a lot of fun, and hopefully sometime soon I will post some pictures of our trip. We went to a number of museums, a concentration camp, Christmas Markets and other historical sites.
When we got back to the states it was just a few weeks before Christmas. We had a nice holiday season. My family came down to Milwaukee and we had a three day celebration/ eating fest. We did some shopping and had a lot of fun.
Just yesterday, we celebrated the holidays with John's family. Johns brothers Phil and Tom and Toms girlfriend Liz came over as well. We went out to dinner and visited. It was a fun afternoon.
We hope everyone had a nice holiday season!
The holiday season again got away from us. Work, the new house and travel have made us very busy. For Thanksgiving, we were down by John's parents. We stayed there until Saturday, and then left for Berlin, Germany.
We spent from that Sunday until December 9th in Germany. We had a lot of fun, and hopefully sometime soon I will post some pictures of our trip. We went to a number of museums, a concentration camp, Christmas Markets and other historical sites.
When we got back to the states it was just a few weeks before Christmas. We had a nice holiday season. My family came down to Milwaukee and we had a three day celebration/ eating fest. We did some shopping and had a lot of fun.
Just yesterday, we celebrated the holidays with John's family. Johns brothers Phil and Tom and Toms girlfriend Liz came over as well. We went out to dinner and visited. It was a fun afternoon.
We hope everyone had a nice holiday season!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Off on a political rant again...
We were obviously very excited on election night. By 9:00 CST, the election was called for Obama, although as soon as they called PA and Ohio, we knew. I went to bed thrilled that the election went as we wanted it to. But, I kept asking- where is the prop 8 bill vote? Being in CA, I didn't know until the morning what had happened. And I am extremely disappointed by it. I had faith that liberal California of all places, would be a national leader in protecting one of the few groups that institutinalized government bigotry is still tolerated. I have no doubt that the next generation will look at our policies towards gay marriage much like my generation looks at the polcies in place regarding interracial marriage in the 50s and 60s- with horror.
Last night on his show, Keith Olbermann made a special comment regarding this and I think its worth a read:
A Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast.
Some parameters, as preface. This isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics, and this isn't really just about Prop-8. And I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.
And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics.
This is about the... human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.
If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not... understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want -- a chance to be a little less alone in the world.
Only now you are saying to them -- no. You can't have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don't cause too much trouble. You'll even give them all the same legal rights -- even as you're taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can't marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry?
I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage.
If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal... in 1967. 1967.
The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn't have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it's worse than that. If this country had not "re-defined" marriage, some black people still couldn't marry...black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not "Until Death, Do You Part," but "Until Death or Distance, Do You Part." Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.
You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are... gay.
And uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing -- centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children... All because we said a man couldn't marry another man, or a woman couldn't marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage. How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the "sanctity" of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless?
What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don't you, as human beings, have to embrace... that love? The world is barren enough.
It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.
And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?
With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate... this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then Spread happiness -- this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness -- share it with all those who seek it. Quote me anything from your religious leader or book of choice telling you to stand against this. And then tell me how you can believe both that statement and another statement, another one which reads only "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
---
You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of...love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate. You don't have to help it, you don't have it applaud it, you don't have to fight for it. Just don't put it out. Just don't extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don't know and you don't understand and maybe you don't even want to know...It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow **person...
Just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too.
This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial.
But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this:
"I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam," he told the judge.
"It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all:
"So I be written in the Book of Love;
"I do not care about that Book above.
"Erase my name, or write it as you will,
"So I be written in the Book of Love."
Last night on his show, Keith Olbermann made a special comment regarding this and I think its worth a read:
A Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast.
Some parameters, as preface. This isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics, and this isn't really just about Prop-8. And I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.
And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics.
This is about the... human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.
If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not... understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want -- a chance to be a little less alone in the world.
Only now you are saying to them -- no. You can't have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don't cause too much trouble. You'll even give them all the same legal rights -- even as you're taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can't marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry?
I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage.
If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal... in 1967. 1967.
The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn't have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it's worse than that. If this country had not "re-defined" marriage, some black people still couldn't marry...black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not "Until Death, Do You Part," but "Until Death or Distance, Do You Part." Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized.
You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are... gay.
And uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing -- centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children... All because we said a man couldn't marry another man, or a woman couldn't marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage. How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the "sanctity" of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless?
What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don't you, as human beings, have to embrace... that love? The world is barren enough.
It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.
And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?
With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate... this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then Spread happiness -- this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness -- share it with all those who seek it. Quote me anything from your religious leader or book of choice telling you to stand against this. And then tell me how you can believe both that statement and another statement, another one which reads only "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
---
You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of...love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate. You don't have to help it, you don't have it applaud it, you don't have to fight for it. Just don't put it out. Just don't extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don't know and you don't understand and maybe you don't even want to know...It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow **person...
Just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too.
This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial.
But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this:
"I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam," he told the judge.
"It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all:
"So I be written in the Book of Love;
"I do not care about that Book above.
"Erase my name, or write it as you will,
"So I be written in the Book of Love."
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Nervous
After a long hiatus, we are back and nervous...
I am not sure I can make it through work today. All I want to do is hole up in a room with election return coverage. I want to see it all.
People don't understand why I am nervous, but I don't have a good track record. I have yet to get to vote for a winner (2000 was the first year I could vote for president).
GO OBAMA!
I am not sure I can make it through work today. All I want to do is hole up in a room with election return coverage. I want to see it all.
People don't understand why I am nervous, but I don't have a good track record. I have yet to get to vote for a winner (2000 was the first year I could vote for president).
GO OBAMA!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Naughty Roary
Roary has been exploring our house more throughly than even our home inspector. She has been up in our drop ceiling in our basement twice (and had to be rescued). We also had quite a scare when she pushed the cardboard over that we had put in front of our heating vents after removing them for painting. She then proceeded to explore our heating vents. After a few tense minutes, and frantically calling her, she reappeared- in a different room from a different vent, dusty, but no worse for the wear.
We are in, tired, and the kitties have returned
On Sunday, August 3rd my parents came down with the truck and trailer. My cousins Warren and Karl, my Uncle Jeff and John emptied the trailer. Sarah (Karl's girlfriend) also came to help. My Dad got back on the road, and my mom stayed to begin her long week of painting. John and I had spent the entire weekend trying to get wallpaper border off. Each layer we removed brought a surprise second, third and sometimes fourth layer of the old homeowner's bad taste. We were ready to begin painting- or so we thought.
We started to try to get the outlet plates off the walls. The old homeowner painted with them in place, so there was years and years of paint gluing them onto the walls. They are all also very odd colors, so we get to buy new outlet, phone and cable plates. John also gets to rewire all the outlets because she painted that part too. In some cases, you can't even plug anything in because of the amount of paint that is in the outlet. ARGH! She also painted all the registers over and over again. Years of caked on paint. We painted them white, so if we ever get crazy enough to paint again at least the registers don't have to be done again.
It took the better part of the week to paint the living and dining room. It had been burgundy and forest green. Its now a much more livable light blue.
We had rented a truck in Wausau on Friday. Our plan was to finish the painting, and on Thursday take my mom home, stay with my grandparents and then go up to load the truck on Friday. By Thursday morning, we had pretty much finished the living dining room, the half bath was done (we had painted over yet another burgundy color, with a light gray. Although we though this room would be cake because 2/3rds of the wall is tiled, after removing some shelves the old homeowners left we discovered that this room too had been wallpapered, and when removing the old paper they had done a crappy job and then just painted over it. The whole room had to be sanded. And the half bath has a blue tile floor with walls that are white tiled with blue and gray specks in them. Who thinks burgundy goes with that?!? But I digress....) and the accent wall in the den was also finished (the wall was originally, wait for it, burgundy, and is now a rust color).
But, we hadn't even hit the master bed or bath, and one of the extra bedrooms which had wallpaper in it needed to be addressed because where the wallpaper had been removed was a different color.
So, my mom volunteered to return and continue painting. The plan was that john would drive the truck back to Milwaukee from Wausau after we loaded up our stuff from the storage unit, and my mom and I would follow in our car. So we stayed over night with my grandparents, and then drove up to Wausau to get the truck. My Uncle Darcy and Grandpa met us up in Wausau to help load (I still can't carry much). So we start loading up the stuff from the unit. It suddenly become obvious that we aren't going to get everything in the unit into our 24 foot truck. So we got rent another one. By about 5:30 pm we finally get everything loaded, and start our caravan back to Milwaukee- John leading in his 24 footer, me behind in my 15 footer, and my mom bringing up the rear in our highlander. We are really lucky that my grandpa and Uncle Darcy were there or we never would have gotten the trucks loaded.
We get in at 9pm, we all take a shower, eat some dinner, and crash.
Saturday morning at 9, Jen Shaun and Sarah come to help us unload what is now two trucks full of stuff. About 9:30 Warren, Karl and Sarah come. By noon, both trucks are unloaded and the stuff in strewn about in the basement. What a mess. But we are able to keep painting. John then stayed up most of Saturday night, and reorganizes the basement so you can walk around down there, and get organized.
Sunday my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Nancy come back over. While my mom continues to paint, Uncle Jeff helps john move stuff in the basement and garage. My Aunt Nancy washes all of my kitchen stuff, and we get it put away. Suddenly, things aren't looking so bad. Our living room and dining room have furniture, and not too much clutter. Our kitchen is usable. We can eat in the kitchen.
Monday, I return to work. John and I come home early, because the man is coming to install cable, and I have a CT scan on my leg. My mom is still painting. After the CT scan, we get the smaller bedroom painted and done.
Tuesday, my mom continues with the master bedroom and bathroom. Tuesday evening my Grandma and Aunt Sherri come down to pick my mom up. They along with Jeff and Nancy, Karl, Warren and Sara (Yes, Warren's girlfriend is also named Sara) come over for dinner. We have pizza, and hang out for awhile.
That evening my mom finished edging all of the rooms we have to paint. All that is left for us to do now is roll.
I really hate moving. Nothing is really put away or anything right now. But we'll get there.
We also got the cats back. They, look like they are doing ok:
We started to try to get the outlet plates off the walls. The old homeowner painted with them in place, so there was years and years of paint gluing them onto the walls. They are all also very odd colors, so we get to buy new outlet, phone and cable plates. John also gets to rewire all the outlets because she painted that part too. In some cases, you can't even plug anything in because of the amount of paint that is in the outlet. ARGH! She also painted all the registers over and over again. Years of caked on paint. We painted them white, so if we ever get crazy enough to paint again at least the registers don't have to be done again.
It took the better part of the week to paint the living and dining room. It had been burgundy and forest green. Its now a much more livable light blue.
We had rented a truck in Wausau on Friday. Our plan was to finish the painting, and on Thursday take my mom home, stay with my grandparents and then go up to load the truck on Friday. By Thursday morning, we had pretty much finished the living dining room, the half bath was done (we had painted over yet another burgundy color, with a light gray. Although we though this room would be cake because 2/3rds of the wall is tiled, after removing some shelves the old homeowners left we discovered that this room too had been wallpapered, and when removing the old paper they had done a crappy job and then just painted over it. The whole room had to be sanded. And the half bath has a blue tile floor with walls that are white tiled with blue and gray specks in them. Who thinks burgundy goes with that?!? But I digress....) and the accent wall in the den was also finished (the wall was originally, wait for it, burgundy, and is now a rust color).
But, we hadn't even hit the master bed or bath, and one of the extra bedrooms which had wallpaper in it needed to be addressed because where the wallpaper had been removed was a different color.
So, my mom volunteered to return and continue painting. The plan was that john would drive the truck back to Milwaukee from Wausau after we loaded up our stuff from the storage unit, and my mom and I would follow in our car. So we stayed over night with my grandparents, and then drove up to Wausau to get the truck. My Uncle Darcy and Grandpa met us up in Wausau to help load (I still can't carry much). So we start loading up the stuff from the unit. It suddenly become obvious that we aren't going to get everything in the unit into our 24 foot truck. So we got rent another one. By about 5:30 pm we finally get everything loaded, and start our caravan back to Milwaukee- John leading in his 24 footer, me behind in my 15 footer, and my mom bringing up the rear in our highlander. We are really lucky that my grandpa and Uncle Darcy were there or we never would have gotten the trucks loaded.
We get in at 9pm, we all take a shower, eat some dinner, and crash.
Saturday morning at 9, Jen Shaun and Sarah come to help us unload what is now two trucks full of stuff. About 9:30 Warren, Karl and Sarah come. By noon, both trucks are unloaded and the stuff in strewn about in the basement. What a mess. But we are able to keep painting. John then stayed up most of Saturday night, and reorganizes the basement so you can walk around down there, and get organized.
Sunday my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Nancy come back over. While my mom continues to paint, Uncle Jeff helps john move stuff in the basement and garage. My Aunt Nancy washes all of my kitchen stuff, and we get it put away. Suddenly, things aren't looking so bad. Our living room and dining room have furniture, and not too much clutter. Our kitchen is usable. We can eat in the kitchen.
Monday, I return to work. John and I come home early, because the man is coming to install cable, and I have a CT scan on my leg. My mom is still painting. After the CT scan, we get the smaller bedroom painted and done.
Tuesday, my mom continues with the master bedroom and bathroom. Tuesday evening my Grandma and Aunt Sherri come down to pick my mom up. They along with Jeff and Nancy, Karl, Warren and Sara (Yes, Warren's girlfriend is also named Sara) come over for dinner. We have pizza, and hang out for awhile.
That evening my mom finished edging all of the rooms we have to paint. All that is left for us to do now is roll.
I really hate moving. Nothing is really put away or anything right now. But we'll get there.
We also got the cats back. They, look like they are doing ok:
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