deathpixie | Reading

Big Sky Country

Andy called this morning while on the road. They were, at the time, heading for Billings, Montana. Based on the things he didn't say, the drive hasn't been as smooth they hoped for, but that didn't surprise me. This was never going to be nearly the easy journey I know they hoped for. But they haven't been in a crash, and they haven't defenestrated each other out of a moving car.

And there were positive things. They spent an hour at Glacier National Park, and Andy took pictures of the sky as they traveled east. "It really is big sky country," he said, and I could hear just a bit of wonder in his voice as he said that. I predict that this time next year, when most of the boxes have been opened and their home looks and feels like a home, he and Emily will remember the wonder of Montana's sky, and consider the rest of first 36 hours worthy of being in anecdotes rather than giving them headaches.

I'm looking forward to more calls - at least two, before they hit Illinois. We'll see if my estimate is correct in a while.

I don't believe I've shared recent pictures of Harlan and Julian. Since Andy put this one up on Facebook recently, I'm happy to put it up here. Andy is a really good photographer of children, and it shows in this image.

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Stray Kids "Twilight"

kaffy_r

Music Meme, Day 30

A song that you want to share:

Now we come to the end of this meme - I find myself a little sad that this exercise is over, but all things come to an end. I've shared 29 days' worth of music with all of you and, in the process, I've had a chance to share music that was new to me as well. It also offered me the chance to re-listen to music I'd already discovered and liked or loved. It was a true joy to do this.

Some songs were beautiful or memorable all on their own. Others, in this age of the art of the music video ... well, their beauty or impact was enhanced by the imagery that framed them. No matter which, I will undoubtedly return again and again to the music I've posted, thanks to this meme.

Over the last few days, I've wondered what song I could present that was, perhaps, one that unexpectedly affected me, in fact left me enraptured. And a couple of days ago, the choice became easy.

If you've heard of Tuvan throat singing, you may also know some modern musicians in Siberia, Mongolia and other far eastern regions of what was once the USSR. One of these is The HU, described by Wikipedia as a folk metal band from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I find that they beautifully meld the traditions of their forebears with the music they make themselves. Here's an explanation of throat singing by folks who practice it.

The singer featured in this song is LP, whose voice provides a glorious kind of descant in this song and, in my not so humble opinion, is exactly the right person to work with The HU. Here's a link to a song LP wrote and performed, and this version of it left me breathless.

Putting all these musicians together, in a music video that features gorgeous scenes of this world entranced me when I first heard it. You may be affected by it the same way. So here is the HU singing Mother Nature, featuring LP

Thanks to all of you who followed me on this particular aural journey. I had a wonderful time, and I hope you did too (at least occasionally, if nothing else.)

Here's a link to my last music meme post, so you can travel back in time, should you desire to hear or rehear the music I posted.

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: calm
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Bang Chan "Railway"

kaffy_r

The Trek Begins

Andy and Emily, Harlan and Julian, and their good friend Dave are only hours away from the beginning of their trip east from Seattle to Chicago. They may even have started, if they wanted to get a very early start.

I called Andy last night and BB was beside me; when he answered the whole gang was in the car, probably going for one last meal in the city Andy and Em have called home for eight years (at least I think it's eight years. My memory can't decide between late 2018 and early 2020). We told them we loved them - and when Dave, who is a perfectly Dad kind of guy started making jokes, we told him we liked him, too - and reminded them to drive safely, a mantra we hew to in this house.

I will, of course, worry about them the whole time they're on the road. Spare a thought or a good wish for their passage.

kaffy_r

So, It's June 1..

.. and I haven't been around for a while. Dealing with mice (yes, again, and I'm only going to share one anecdote about it, in a bit) and waiting for the kids and their kids to start their caravan journey from Seattle, and reminding myself to keep up daily walks, or at least fairly regular walks, and comforting my son when he had to say goodbye to his 17-year-old cat, and trying to restart the habit I used to have in the 1970s and 1980s - writing letters to friends, and hoping they will write back.

So, a lot going on in my head.

So, mice. Yes, we had evidence of them again. I told BB that it was time to call in the pros. Unfortunately, the first pro we called pulled what appeared to be a bait and switch on us, regarding what we'd been told we'd be getting vs what their confirmation email said. The second place kept on stating they'd schedule a visit when BB told them - four times - that we didn't want that, because it appeared that they would charge us an unknown amount for simply turning up. Maybe I'm old fashioned and foolish, and I'm aware that companies' time is money, but not saying what an initial appointment will cost isn't my idea of doing business transparently.

So we tried one last self-administered tactic; an actual repellent rather than passive preventive barriers. It's fairly strong essential oils; our old friend clove and also peppermint, and other relatively straightforward ingredients. We hauled out things from the larders, from under the kitchen sink, from a bunch of kitchen cupboards ... all the usual places, taking care not to get on areas where Carter might get too much on his paws.

I'm not as hopeful as I was two days ago, but I'm still willing to give it a month. If we see little or no evidence of the fuzzy little vermin by that time, I'll be happy to go with the once-a-month spraying schedule that's suggested. And since Carter has,all of a sudden decided to actually hunt and kill mice, we may have a new source of help.

Seriously. In short order, he went from crouching next to an obviously terrified mouse, with the two of them looking like two people sharing a bench while waiting for the bus (the mouse broke for the horizon and - at first - escaped the cat), to Carter discovering that the fastest way to end playtime with Stuart Little was to bite the mouse's head off.

We found the final two-thirds of poor Stuart the next morning. And 36 hours or so later, we found a second headless mus musculus in almost the exact place the first one had been deposited. We found a third mouse, intact but dead, not that long afterward. I told BB that the third one had obviously died of a heart attack after seeing his or her companion decapitated.

We have seen no more mice. Pray for us.

Wow. I'd planned to talk about the other things I mentioned. But this has turned into far too long a post. So we'll end it here. Maybe I'll even post about those other things tomorrow. Maybe.

Current Mood: sore
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: BTS "Filter"

the_siobhan

Thursday was insane. I had to get up early because it was our first in-office day in the new Mothership. All the big bosses were there so I had to show.

It's all very... shiny. Everything is made of glass. There's a dedicated coffee room with espresso machines that have more buttons than your average airplane cockpit. But it also has stuff like a low-sensory room and a non-binary bathroom (and free menstrual products in all the bathrooms) and all the desks are sit-stand, so they definitely didn't cheap out on any of it. The desks are benches but there are also lots of couches and "collaboration" rooms so it doesn't feel entirely like we're all crammed in together. The biggest irritant is that they have lockers but you can't book them overnight, so I'll have to haul all my crap with me every Thursday.

Lots of speechifying and picture-taking. But they also fed us, so you know.

So anyway, I made my appearance, then I got changed into my hauling-heavy-things clothes and headed over to my dad's. My sister's truck was full of their stuff from picking them up at the AirB&B so I helped unpack that then sister and I did a storage unit run. We got their computer desk and TV stand and all the electronics back, set everything back up, gave the MIL advice and moral support around the offers, helped with getting my dad sorted and kept him company while the MIL did a grocery run - somebody had opened their freezer and then left the door ajar - and after all that it was close to midnight before I got home. I ate a sandwich, drank a beer, and passed the hell out.

Friday I had to log into work to make up the time I missed on Thursday. I've been waiting for dry weather so I could seal my deck and the forecast when I got up was for hot and sunny for the rest of the week, so daughter came over after work and the two of us painted the deck with sealant. It took three hours between the two of us and both of us were utterly sucked dry by the time we were done. After I fed her dinner she went home and I pretty much fell over again. Doing anything in direct sunlight will exhaust me faster than just about anything.

Saturday was the neighbourhood yard sale. I prune all my plants back in the spring and end up with a ridiculous number of cuttings, and the yard sale is I how I get rid of them all. This year there were three boxes of plants. Plus one of the bags my MIL had given me was a couple of dozen hats, so they went out on a sheet marked "free". They were gone by the time I had finished my coffee.

Wandered around a bit, talked to some neighbours, picked up some bowls and a few other small odds and ends I need. Most of the stuff for sale was clothes. There were also a lot of kid's toys. And I kept running into tables where kids were selling lemonade, I had to go back to the house twice for bathroom breaks. (You can't just say no when a child offers you lemonade and cookies. It's not done.)

There was a also a band called The Trash Pandas and line-dancing lessons in the park. I did not partake because by that point I just wanted to get out of the sun.

Today will be cleaning and catching up on things like laundry and groceries. Listening to the latest Raid Train while I do housework. This weekend it's a fundraiser for Martin Oldgoth.

And getting all that stuff out of the house cleared some space on the dining room table, so this week's project will be sorting through the big bags of clothes I have for donation.

Progress!

kaffy_r

Good People and Good Causes

As the weekend beckons, I am looking for positive things to take with me into the Friday-Sunday period. Right now, I think spreading the word about these two very good causes is a positive. Both of these requests for help come from lovely and memorable people. If you haven't heard about their needs and their plans, perhaps I can direct you to their GoFundMe pages.

beccadg is a determined and practical voice online. She provides fannish offerings, as well as incisive comments about the state of our world. Right now, she really needs help to make it through another health challenge and the fiscal burdens it causes. Here's the link to her GoFundMe page.

ljgeoff is one of those remarkable people who can plan for the future while living in the moment. She's kind, quirky, pretty brilliant, and dedicated to creating a safe and productive space where she can work the land in a restorative manner. That takes planning, but she's totally up for the challenge. One of her first steps is to take a course in permaculture design. Help create her vision for the future - here's her GoFundMe page.

My little Dreamwidth community is chock full of kind and generous people, some of whom may have already helped out these two wonderful people, but if you haven't, but want to help, here you go!

kaffy_r

Honor and Ambivalence

Memorial Day is the unofficial first day of summer.

Memorial Day is a day off, if you're lucky,

Memorial Day is a day for grilling steaks and drinking beer with your family and friends.

Memorial Day is a day you visit the cemetery where your loved ones are buried, to clean their graves and put flowers down upon the ground in which they lie.

Memorial Day is a day to remember your aunt, who was a nurse in Vietnam, and who was never the same after she returned stateside; your great-uncle who died in the Korean War. And his dad, who died on Omaha Beach on D Day, in the only war in the past 85 years that was a necessary war.

It's a time to remember that your great-great grandfather fell at Bellau Wood in the First World War. And, if you know of an ancestor who died in the Civil War, perhaps someone who died serving the Union at Gettysburg, it's a time to remember them.

It's a time to remember your big brother, whose ticket was punched in the Persian Gulf War; your best friend, who's still dealing with PTSD after serving in Afghanistan.

Memorial Day is a time to remember all the people you don't know, who served and who died in every war that wasn't called a war, in every war that was a coldly calculated geopolitical move, in every war built to boost a failing administration, every damn war that should never have been fought.

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who served and who still breathe, but who wake up with nightmares, those who struggle with a lost leg, a lost arm, a lost eye, a lost job, a lost home, and all because they served.

Memorial Day is a time to honor all of these people, both the heroes and the ones who war brought the worst out in. They all deserve to be remembered and, to whatever extent possible, honored.

Memorial Day is a day to remember them, and to loathe war.

The sun is shining. I'm going to go to Rosehill Cemetery here in Chicago, where there are Civil War veterans buried.

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Cyber Jazz/Blues Ambient Radio

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Rossi

Inner Workings - Rossi's Writing Journal

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Itchy Feet

Journal of a Travel Addict

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Dept. of Family

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Dept. of Journies

Dept. of Determination

looking for family searching for tribe

Dept. of Spread the News

Dept. of Memorial Day

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