Been a busy week. Let's see, what stands out? Monday, Kayla and I went over to Pullman to have lunch at the Mexican restaurant in Pullman and to buy her highchair. We also stopped to buy a few beads and some thread (had run out of my big spools of gray). She seems to like her highchair just fine. It's a different model from the one Adam has, because they don't appear to carry that model anymore.
Tuesday we all went in to do the shopping. Nothing much to report. Wednesday Amanda, Kayla, and I drove up to Spokane for a shopping trip. The scrapbook store in the Mall was having a 20%-and-double-punches sale. I shopped enough to fill up the punch card, then shopped for the free $25 the punch card entitled me to, then we left. Got the battery in my watch replaced (it's been a few years!), snacked on some Cinnabon and Chinese food, then went to the grocery store and Wal-Mart to shop for the soldiers we had adopted. It was an expensive day, but I don't have them very often so it's ok.
Last night I went to crop again, this time without Amanda but with Kayla. One of the other scrappers' daughter was supposed to look after Kayla, but it ended up not working out very well. I'm undecided as to whether I'll quit going altogether, or if I'll keep going but just have really low expectations.
In between all the running around, I've still been working on my part of the garden. I'd gotten enough of it cleared that I could do some actual planting, so I spent much of yesterday hauling horse manure (a wheelbarrow of horse manure is considerably heavier than one of pulled grass) and compost, rototilling (rototilling is a BIYATCH), and planting. Yesterday I planted carrots and swiss chard, and today I planted some Walla Walla sweet onion sets. It's hard work, but I'm enjoying it immensely. Will be nice when I start to see some more return from it, but there's no hurry. And now, for another boy-in-a-box picture.
I'm becoming more and more disillusioned with leftist Americans every day. I have to wonder if they're just trying to alienate themselves from the rest of us. By "leftist Americans" I mean those who are incessantly critical of the Bush administration, and can't seem to find a single positive thing to say about anything he's done since the day he decided to run for the Presidency. I mean those who claim to be "independent" (i.e. not a member of a political party) but would vote for ANYONE who ran as a Democrat - up to and including Saddam Hussein - if he were running against George W. Bush. I mean those who try to rationalize the thinking of those of us who support the war in Iraq by presuming we must be misinformed, undereducated, or otherwise ignorant. I mean people who trivialize the reasons for this war and attempt to make war hawks look like unfeeling, uncaring, knuckle-dragging fascists. I'm sick of it! Bush isn't perfect - that's granted. He's not the smartest man to ever grace the office of President, and he's among our worst speech-givers. But you know what? He's done a lot of things RIGHT. People like to criticize his opposition to affirmative action, but forget that he was the first President to ever appoint an African-American Secretary of State. (While I'm on the subject, I'm opposed to affirmative action myself; equal opportunity for all doesn't mean diminished opportunity for some.) He appointed a Hispanic woman to the office of National Security Advisor. His record on race relations is good. If it's not, prove it to me.
Leftists criticize him for "going it alone" in the Middle East. My take on this is that he tried for months to build a coalition that included the major players in Europe. They are either too scared, too lazy, or too skeptical of the proof we've given them to want to participate. Fine. We can't compel them to fight. But since when do we make our foreign policy decisions based on what's popular in Europe? We have to do what we think is right. And you know what? Like it or not most Americans support this war. Saddam is (or was, I hope) a brutal, hateful, lying, stealing, murdering, raping, torturing madman. A lot of people ask, "Why now? Why didn't we do this years ago?" My answer is that until George W. Bush took office, we were stuck with Clinton for the last 8 years. He chose not to act. That doesn't mean his policy of pretending the problem doesn't exist is one that should be pursued. It hasn't worked, and the problem has gotten worse.
I really don't want to turn this journal into a political space, but it's hard not to be political when you're in the middle of what you feel is a just war, and your own fellow citizens seem hell-bent on ridiculing the President and those who support him. I've decided to stop reading many of the weblogs and other political sites that I had been reading, because I'm finding less and less of redeemable value there. I try hard to read news from both the left and the right (cynically believing that there isn't much out there that's truly unbiased), but when a source reaches the point of saying that there is absolutely nothing the President or the administration is doing that is having a positive effect on anyone, anywhere, then that source loses its credibility for me.
Normally, today would be pre-school day, but it's Spring Break so it's cancelled. Instead, I'm staying home and doing some housework, and baking some cookies for "My Marine." I've also asked for two more soldiers from a different site, but haven't heard back from them yet. By the way, I was talking to my brother, who was deployed in Panama, what he thought I should send. He gave me lots of great advice, and I decided to consolidate it into one big list that others could refer to. I hope it's of some use.
Tuesday night was another meeting of the Endicott quilting group. Only three people showed up, but one was new so I'm hopeful. Monday, Amanda and I went into town for some shopping and a movie - The Hunted (good, but gory). While trying to find a bank, we came around a curve and found a police car with lights on parked halfway in the street, right at a blind curve. It really was the worst possible place it could've been parked, as far as being an accident risk. I slowed down and tried to be careful going around it, but still almost had a truck run into me. We picked our way around the cop car and each other, then Amanda noticed that the police car door was open, the door of the car it had stopped was open, and there were no people to be found. She said she thought he was out chasing whoever it was. I was skeptical. Then we came to a stop sign a short distance away, and bedamned if the fugitive wasn't crossing the street right in front of us!! He was jogging along in a red sweatshirt, and I said, "Do you think that's him?" Amanda said, "Nahhh, it couldn't be! But then we looked behind him a ways and saw the cop trotting along behind him! Neither one was moving very fast, so I thought they must've been at it for awhile. RedSweatshirtGuy actually stopped a car at the stopsign to our left, and was probably trying to get a ride. The guy wisely refused. It's a good thing, cuz I would've blocked the way with my truck. At any rate, RedSweatshirtGuy just trotted off, with CopGuy in lukewarm pursuit.
I watched Banger Sisters today. It was totally dull. Just kind of plodded along and never really got anywhere, and the ending was totally predictable. Bah.
Didn't go anywhere yesterday; just sat around and worked on Candice's quilt, then got all caught up on QuiltIndex email. That took most of the afternoon, and included doing the monthly prize drawing.
Friday night was another crop, totally uneventful. I worked on some shaker boxes for another swap, this time in the shape of a pawprint for a Dog-themed swap. Left about 2AM. I took Adam to it, and while he was very well behaved, I got little enough done and had to spend so much time helping Amanda with kids that I decided I'm not going to be able to take him to these, at least not until I can leave Kayla home.
Thursday was Adam's preschool. He continues to enjoy it; not much to report.
So, now I comment on the war. Today, there's a statement from the President that diplomacy runs out tomorrow. I tend not to comment much on politics here, but I think now it's appropriate. I support this war. I think it's long overdue, and I think the notion that there is a "rush" to war is just plain wrong. We've been trying to gather international support for this since September, 2001, I suspect. Some countries don't want to go along with it, and I suppose they have their reasons. There's a lot of speculation about what those reasons might be. I'm no politician, and I have no inside information, but my impression is that it's probably a combination of fear and self-interest. Everyone says Saddam Hussein is a problem and needs to be taken out, and the ones who don't want to take military action think a policy of "containment" should be pursued. Well, we've been "containing" him since I was a junior in high school, and he's still in power, and most likely still developing weapons of mass destruction (to employ a much-overused term). The time has come, as my Daddy would say, to shit or get off the pot.
I am fearful for the troops we and the other coalition nations will send into harm's way. My brother was in the army and saw active duty in Panama. He was fired upon and had a grenade thrown into his foxhole. I recognize the dangers. I still think this is a step we need to take.
I am fearful for the civilians of Iraq and the surrounding nations who are at risk of casualties by either our own assault, or (possibly even more likely) Hussein's forces. I have friends with families in Iraq, and I sympathize with their fear. I believe a war will have to happen there sooner or later, however, and I think the casualties would be minimized if we do it sooner. For that reason, I still think this is a step we need to take.
I am fearful for Americans at home. I've heard speculation that acts of terrorism in the States may increase as a result of an attack on Iraq. I know there are lives at risk due to such attacks. The fact of the matter is that we are at risk no matter what we do. At least by disarming and ousting Saddam Hussein, we are cutting off a tributary that flows into the river of terrorism. Thus, I still think this is a step we need to take.
I don't believe, as some do, that this is a step our country is taking lightly, recklessly, or without due deliberation. I do not think we need to give the inspectors more time to work since, to be perfectly blunt, they don't seem to be DOING anything. When they do uncover something Iraq is not supposed to be in possession of, they dismiss it as not a serious threat. I beg to differ.
I am proud of this country and the freedoms we hold. I am proud that we live in a nation where we are allowed - even encouraged - to speak our minds. While I am not proud of much of the sentiment behind the anti-war rallies and think the reasoning of the protestors is flawed at best, I am proud that they are able to make their voices heard. I am proud of those working to support troops being sent to war, and I am proud of the military men and women who are taking such a deliberate step to defend the lives and liberties of me and mine.
I am ashamed of those who harshly, wantonly, and meanly criticize the President of the United States. I am ashamed of those who compare him to Hitler. I am ashamed of those who visit Iraq in an attempt to offer aid and comfort, or to act as human shields. I am ashamed of the Hollywood actors, actresses, producers, and directors who attempt to speak for the American people, simply because they can get easy press. They do not speak for me, and I wish they'd shut the hell up. They have the right to say whatever they want, of course, but I also have the right to boycott their movies. Beginning now, I will do exactly that. If you'd like to do so as well, I invite you to bookmark the list of those Hollywood-ites who've voiced opposition to the war. That is our right.
To close, just a reminder that while I invite reasoned dissent, any comments that are flaming, profane, or hateful will be removed.
Adam and I went for a walk today. He loved it, and I need it. To be perfectly frank, I'm getting fat. Don't bother commenting and saying that I'm not; I have a webcam now, and I can SEE myself. I need to lose some weight. I've started clearing a plot in the garden (I'm going to work it all by myself) and that should help some, but the walks will hopefully help with my knees and back. I already feel better after only one walk. I know I've started and abandoned this before, but we'll see how it goes.
Yesterday we went into Colfax to do the weekly errands. Nothing really to report. Monday was my guild's meeting. Amanda drove her truck over, and I took Kayla. We met at 10AM to have a work session beforehand and make quilts for Alternatives to Violence. It was fun, but tiring. I left the meeting early because Kayla was getting fussy. Amanda and I went over to Moscow to do some shopping at the Wal-Mart (a few clothes for the kids, the afore-mentioned webcam for me, some beads & cardstock), then went back to Colfax to hang out at the Memory Nook. I ended up staying til about 11PM making up some page kits - longer than I had planned, but still not as long as at crop night! I don't remember Sunday at all, so it can't have been too important.
Both kids continue to grow and develop. Adam got a new dinosaur CD, and he's totally in love with it. Kayla is now pulling up at every opportunity, and has finally begun to show just the tiniest interest in solids. Today she had about a half-teaspoon of rice cereal with breastmilk, and last night she ate half a teething cookie (the little Arrowroot ones). If I can remember tomorrow, I'm going to pick up some of those hard teething biscuits for her; she might like that. I'm going to also start trying to introduce a few other things and see if there's anything she's just crazy about: bananas, avocados, crackers, Cheerios. I'll have to take it very slow, though, especially since she seems to be dipping her toe into this pool, where her brother dove in head first.
Now, just because I can, cute family pictures!
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| Blowin' raspberries | Reading boy | Sleepy girl finds a Mommy |
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| Mommy & babies | A boy who sews, and a girl who idolizes him | Amanda, Kayla, and scrapbooking paraphernalia |
Last night was another crop night! We ended up staying til almost 4AM, chatting with the owner about all kinds of things, including designing her website. (I've already done a mock-up, and will post a link when it's ready to go.) I didn't end up cropping anything; instead I made 12 shaker boxes for a swap I'm in. Shaker boxes are 3-dimensional, see-through embellishments with beads, punch-outs, glitter, or other loose things inside. I'm in a Disney swap, so I made square boxes with red, white, and black Mickey-ear punch-outs and red, white, and black beads inside. I think they were pretty cute. :) The crop itself was uneventful, and we kept the doors locked.
When we first pulled up at the shop, the other Jim from last week was cruising by in the opposite direction. I waved at him and he made a (probably illegal!) U-turn in the middle of the road and came to park behind us. In chatting with him (and for some reason being glared at by his wife, who was riding shotgun), he told me that later in the night last week, the three guys showed up all in the same truck, and asked him for directions. After getting the directions, they proceeded to speed at 50 down main street, right in front of him (speed limit's 25). He pulled them over and ran their ID's. Two had gang records out of California, and the other was driving with a suspended license. He was arrested.
Thursday, Adam went to preschool again. He continues to love it. There is at least one other boy in his class named Adam, so Thursday night when he came home he said he "wanted to see the other Adams". In chatting with the other moms at preschool, I mentioned I had a boy and a girl, and that I was getting Adam's room ready for him (have moved one bookcase out of there). I said something to the effect that it would get too crowded when the next one came along if I hadn't gotten Adam moved out, and one of the other mothers said, "Are you going to have more kids?" I said that yes, I thought we would. Another mom laughed and said, "Listen to you, 'more kids'." Mom #1 said, "Well, she has one of each, I don't know why she'd want more." Now, this is not the first time I've heard this said, but I still fail to understand the reasoning behind it. Do some people collect children the way they'd collect salt and pepper shakers? Once you have a "matched set" you're done?
I tried to go shopping at Paper Pals when we left preschool, but both kids were overtired and flat-out refused to let me shop. I settled for doing the McDonald's drive-thru for Adam and Arby's drive-thru for me. He ate his chicken nuggets, then said, "I'm sleepy," dropped his head forward on his chest and went immediately to sleep. I would KILL to be able to do that.
Wednesday was errand day in Colfax. Besides the usual stops, we went to the doctor's office so he could check my ears. I'd been feeling some intermittent pressure and discomfort, and since Adam just got over a cold and had the beginnings of an ear infection, I thought I'd best check it out. It was nothing.
Today I took Kayla and Adam to Moscow for the U of Idaho's "Cruise the World". It was this fair with tables set up for each country represented in U of I's student population. There were books, pamphlets, videos, food, native dress, songs, dances, toys, artwork, and other things. It was actually very interesting, but I think I would've gotten more out of it if I'd a) gotten there earlier (only saw one dance, the Indonesian one, which Adam loved), b) remembered the stroller, and c) not had to wake Adam up just as we arrived. He liked the garbanzo beans and rice from Turkey better than the chana masala and rice from India. I thought they were both excellent. Neither of us were wild about the sesame chicken from Taiwan. I got an art print from Benin and Adam got a little cushioned, zippered pouch from Thailand. It's all good.
Yesterday, I went to my first scrapbooking crop. It's like a quilt retreat - you bring your stuff and you work on it. Amanda came, too, but she acted as Kayla's au pair rather than scrapbooking herself. It was great; I only had to stop to nurse her a couple of times! We did have a bit of excitement/anxiety around 11:30 when this very tall guy in his late teens/early 20's came into the store to browse. He asked how late we were open and the gal working there said, "Til midnight." He spent maybe 15 minutes in the store looking around and making all of us - including two pregnant women due in about 3 weeks - very anxious. I started packing up to leave, cursing my failure to bring my gun. The gal working there ended up calling the owner's husband - who happens to be a state trooper or city cop - to come by. That's when the guy left. By then I was ready to pay and leave. I did finish one layout, but it needs the journaling done on it still. The cop (Jim) showed up, we told him what happened, and he said he'd drive by a few times and make sure we were ok.
After we left the crop, we went to the gas station to get drinks. As I was getting out of the truck, I noticed a van next to us with what seemed to be the guy from the scrapbooking store in the backseat. I grabbed the cellphone and took it in with me, with 911 pre-dialed. While I was paying, another very tall guy came into the store. He came to the counter while I was paying, stood WAY too close to me, and stretched his arms way out in a way that made me uncomfortable. I moved away a little and turned so I could see him (he was behind me), nervously paid and left. Amanda had been planning to go in and get her own drink, but I told her I'd take her somewhere else. When I came out of the store, I saw TallTooCloseGuy talking to another guy who had driven him to the store and a third guy I had seen walking up the street from as far back as the scrapbooking store (a mile away). The coincidence, coupled with the earlier incident at the store, made me very jittery. I drove to the other convenience store in town but it was closed. I doubled back to the gas station and parked across the street to watch. I saw a police cruiser go by and, thinking it was Jim I followed. I flashed my lights at him, and he pulled over (no doubt very nervous, as it was after midnight at that point). It turned out to be a different Jim, but I told him the story anyway. Then I took Amanda back to the gas station where she got her stuff, then we went home. Who says nothing exciting ever happens out here?