Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Texas Heroes

Senator Wendy Davis spoke for more than 10 hours at a Texas Filibuster yesterday.


Senator Leticia Van de Putte asked the vital question "At what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over her male colleagues?”

People who stayed all night to watch the filibuster in Texas.



Monday, June 24, 2013

Don't Mess with Texas Women


Pro-choice people at the Texas Legislature

The Texas legislature tried to push through some of the strongest anti-abortion bills in the US this last weekend.
"The meeting had been called with only two hours’ notice and was held in a tiny room without a live video feed or seating for members of the public or media."

I don't like this kind of sneakiness. I do admire the hundreds of pro-choice people who tried to be heard at the legislature but were eventually shut down. I don't like that you probably won't hear a thing about this on the news.

http://www.texasobserver.org/extraordinary-turnout-last-night-for-the-citizens-filibuster-of-anti-abortion-bills/

A couple of comments:

"I'm sitting in the Senate galley right now, impressed as hell not only at the 1000+ who came out yesterday and the who were still standing strong at 3:24 a.m., but also at the family with 4 young boys who are clearly taking a day out of their summer vacation to get a real-life civics lesson. More power to the moms and dads who have the patience, forethought, and commitment to teach their children why and how our political process matters for everyone. A gentle and powerful reminder that women's rights are human rights."

"Not 3 citizens waiting to give testimony -- 300. I was at the Capitol until around 11:00 PM last night. It was overwhelming to see the huge number of supporters decked out in orange to protest the bill. And disheartening to see Republican legislators refuse to listen to us."

from:  http://www.thefrisky.com/2013-06-24/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-texas-anti-abortion-bills-and-the-feminist-army-fighting-them/#comment-940570079

And I am appalled the republican representative Laurenberg thinks a rape kit is some form of abortion and opposed to a means of collecting evidence!!





The bill's sponsor stopped answering questions about her bill after the first two hours after she got into trouble denying Democratic amendments. When Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, called for an exemption for women who were victims of rape and incest, Rep. Jody Laubenberg, R-Parker, explained why she felt it was unnecessary.

"In the emergency room they have what's called rape kits where a woman can get cleaned out," she said, comparing the procedure to an abortion. "The woman had five months to make that decision, at this point we are looking at a baby that is very far along in its development."

Her apparent confusion about "rape kits" — a phrase generally used to describe the equipment used by medical personnel during forensic examinations to gather physical evidence following allegations of rape or sexual assault — sparked widespread ridicule on social media sites. Laubenberg, who has difficulty debating bills, then simply rejected all proposed changes to her bill without speaking until the end of the debate.

I'm sorry, but this kind of marked ignorance and lack of understanding upsets the hell out of me.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

A me-made skirt

I thrifted the orange shirt. Hmm, don't like the long sleeves. Those will probably get shortened.

I love this batik cotton print. Of course anything looks better than what I generally wear...

90% of the time.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Happy Summer Solstice


I saw Robin Skelton speak once. I think it was at the Kamloops Library. I totally love this poem. I had it taped to my fridge for a long time while I cast spells of my own. Eureka, they seem to have worked!

Spell

Let in the clear,
let in the bright
that my love meet
her dream tonight.

Let in the smooth,
let in the warm
that sleep may keep
my love from harm.

Let in the moon,
let in the stars
to watch my love
through these still hours.

Let in the peace,
let in the peace
that all my love’s
long sadness cease.


Thursday, June 20, 2013

I love the smell of crayons in the morning

 
 
 
 Twelve tendencies of creative people:
 1. Are easily bored     check
2. Are willing to take risks    check
3. Don’t like rules    check!!
4. Ask “what if…”   check
5. Make lots of mistakes   CHECK!
6. Collaborate,    check
7. Are generous    check
8. Are independent     check
9. Experiment      check
10. Motivate themselves     check
11. Work hard     check
12. Aren’t alone (sometimes feel that way)   check
 See the  article at:  http://12most.com/2012/03/13/12-striking-tendencies-creative-people/
 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

what republicans are achieving in 2013




In 2013, the republican party has initiated over 300 initiatives to control women's access to birth control. Unless people want to return to the 1950's (when you risked pregnancy every time you had sex) people had better wake up and pay attention. They want to over turn Roe vs. Wade.

Here is one example and one courageous woman's voice raised against their actions.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/vp/52235822

For more information, check out:  https://www.facebook.com/UniteWomen

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Monday, June 10, 2013

The downside of living in the mountains


I was on my way home from Cranbrook and came upon this terrible accident at the Skookumchuk bridge. The road was closed for about three hours and as there isn't really an alternate route, I was pretty late getting home. There hasn't been a whiff of news reporting about it yet.

There was also a couple of young men that went missing. They were driving to Canal Flats from White Tail Lake. I don't think there will be good news concerning that accident either.

Please slow down and be careful.

On a lighter note, be sure to lock your doors:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sBBpeP2N3c
Bear opens truck door, easily!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Carpe Diem

For the first time in weeks, a day for myself. I scored about 9 meters  of raw silk at the thrift store yesterday and I am going to experiment with it. The color is actually an uglier shade of green than it appears in this photo. I am going to try dyeing some of it with my dharma trading fiber reactive dyes. I downloaded their instructions from the internet, so we will see how this goes. I hope to fill up this day with sewing, painting and dyeing. Woohoo!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Canal Days 2013

My photo board got a good work-out.

Brave councillors!

Bruce put in long hours at the beer garden (serving of course!)

I admired Sean's lovely moustache.

And this little guy just cracked me up!