I Love A Good Book

Too funny! I loved this book!

Which is a good thing because I thought The Blithedale Romance was going to be the end for me.

Now, to figure out what is next.

Any suggestions?

The Fae

A Fairy Blessed Me

Today a Fairy blessed me and danced upon these walls
Left a scent of roses as she beckoned to my calls
Gave me comfort, and wiped my tears
blessed my mind of all those fears
Touched my eyes so I could see
Whispered softly, "Blessed Be"

(no website, written by Katie G. 1-28-05)
copyright© 2005 Katie G

It's all about the Fairy's at my house right now.

Songbird is in the high school play next month. Practices for high school kids are insane. Did you know that? I didn't as I was about as dramatic as a stick of wood growing up.

Most schools are seeing so many budget cuts, that the arts take a big hit...so the money can be funneled into sports. Sad but true. This can make outfitting a play interesting.

Songbird got a part as a vine fairy in the play. They are doing Midsummer Nights Dream with a western flair (!?). She asked for a small part...which was kind of weird after her Aladdin performance. Anyway, she needed a costume. So, since the sewing machine is being used quite regular lately, I figured I'd do my part of supporting the play by offering to make her costume. Songbird found a pattern she liked and took it in for approval.

Approved. And a request sent home to make one of the other fairies costume as well with the same pattern.

Wha????

(Deer in the headlights look.)

So I sent word back that I am no seamstress. I can follow a pattern but really making it fit is not my thing. I can't alter or whatever. (See, I don't even know the language!)

And word was returned that the seamstress can do any altering....material is on the way.

Uh-oh.

I KNOW better than to leave myself open like that!!!!!! I straight-forward NO is my specialty!

So I ended up making 2 costumes.

I did mention that I'm not real talented on the sewing machine right? I mean, I'm having a ball with the quilts....but people don't WEAR them!!!! In a play. With other people watching. (And the meany in me doesn't mind if MY daughter looks dorky....but I don't want to do that to someone else's daughter!!)

I finally finished the costumes last night. The costume parade is Saturday so I need to get the other costume to the seamstress for some finishing touches. (And I stayed up until 1 last night to get it done so Songbird could take it in today...and she forgot it. Brat.)

Songbird picked a deep forest green as she is the vine fairy. The overdress is a cool shimmery green with all these little goldish/rainbow color dots.....looks like dew. The bodice is lined with leaves. (Ok! I admit it!! I can't handle that much chest showing on my baby so I added a little more coverage with the leaves. Guilty.) The costume is actually 2 parts. There is the overdress of a see-thru material and a slip dress underneath.
Sonbird decided not to cut the slip in fringe also. She also left the sleeves uncut. Looks cute on her.
Sorry about the lousy pictures. I took them on my phone and the light wasn't good.

She has some awesome wings we ordered also. And she would have had some great boot moccasins if they had been shipped when I ordered them on the 10th. -Warning...do not order from Platinum Costumes online. They have been "processing" the order since the 10th and I even sent instructions on when I needed them by. So now I've canceled that order and will have to scramble around time for a sub.

The other costume is only mostly done. I will leave the cutting design for the fringe up to the owner. Also I left the length a little long so she could decide how short or long. The original pattern had the skirt WAY short. I made Songbirds a little longer than called for.

The other costume is in this yummy coppery shimmery material that was not fun to sew...but looks so pretty. She has a good eye. The slip is a faux crushed velvet. She also gave me some Native American looking ribbon to line the bodice. Nice.

Uncut slip dress and sleeves.
Uncut overdress.
Hopefully it will need minimal adjustments. Songbirds was rather too large so I had to beef up the elastic to fix it.

Whew. So glad that project is done. I won't be volunteering again! LOL!

And speaking of fairies or fae....

I love the Karen Marie Moning Fever series books. If you like fantasy books with fae and druids, etc. you might want to check out her books. The Fever series currently has 4 books out with the final due out this winter. I LOVE them. I've had to shake my fist at my sister-in-law for turning me on to them as I HATE to have to wait on a series to finish. I want to discover the books after they are all written so I can read them back to back, right away. I had to wait on number 4 and now the final, number five.

If you are interested her site is:

http://www.karenmoning.com/novels/

She even has some chapters available for you to check out.



And now to conquer the mending pile.

Eventually.

Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism

I read so many books, that I rarely bother with a book review. You guys would get sick of them in a hurry. Plus, my interests are all over the place and there is no rhyme or reason to them.


Occasionally, I read a book that really is very good or very educational and I really want to share. This book would be one of those.

Since adopting trans racially, I read alot of books on race and race relations. I grew up in a white bubble full of white privilege so I have a lot to learn.

Sundown Towns is a rather shocking book. First, because these towns became Sundown Towns after running the Blacks out....not because they were ALWAYS white. Second, they are in every state...and the majority are in the north, not the south like you would assume. Third, this book was published in 2005 and it is still an ongoing process. In other words, this is not ancient history.

One of the most interesting subjects in the book was inner cities. We know pretty much how they got that way. White flight. And because the Blacks were driven out of so many towns and suburbs, there ended up being large concentrations in some cities. This was not by choice. It was where they were allowed to live without their lives being threatened for being there. Most of them did not want to be in large cities. They had no choice. People were hung, houses were burned and children were threatened if they tried to fight back.

For years Blacks have been kept from leaving the inner cities either by real estate agents that wouldnt show houses in "white" areas, or by actual covenants, ordinances, zoning laws and laws written to keep Blacks out. SHAMEFUL stuff. Whites have also zonee their areas so no public housing, low income housing, mental facilities, drug treatment facilities or even rest homes are allowed. If one of their own falls into needing these types of services, they just kick them out. So now you have a higher concentration of drug abusers, elderly and mental patients back in the city center.

So now we have a large concentration of Blacks in the inner city...because they can't get out.

Then begins white flight.

And most of these whites are the ones that make money and work for good companies. The CEO's are usually over represented in this group. And as the CEO's they have the power to make changes. They don't want to drive into the city anymore. So they relocate their offices to their white suburbs.

Now the city has not only lost private home tax income from the upper class, they are also losing the tax income from the companies pulling out. So taxes in the city have to go up...because their tax pool is going down and they still have to maintain the streets and services (police, libraries, fire, hospitals).

And what is still downtown? Universities, museums, churches/cathedrals, parks, art organizations, concert halls, non-profit hospitals. All these have small or no tax contribution to the city.

Yet those in the suburbs come into town and use these things. And don't pay taxes to help support them. Some of these things are MOSTLY used by suburbanites.

And the city residents? Its not a two way street. They don't get to use the suburban services like the suburban residents use theirs. Many times there are rules in the parks and such to keep out all but residents. They hang "Private" signs on everything. Can you imagine if there was a "Private" sign on Central Park in New York and only the city tax payers were allowed to use it?

So with all that tax money drying up, what do you think happens to the schools? Or what happens to the city residents that are looking for a job? With taxes going up to cover the losses, more and more businesses are bailing to the cheaper suburbs.

So now I have a bigger clue on why inner cities struggle so much.

And I feel even more stronger about a new program to bring business back into town centers. They need huge tax incentives to get them there.

But how does that help when the tax money is needed?

Well, those already living in the area will have jobs they can actually reach. Their income goes up. CEO's and others get tired of the drive and start moving back into the area. More tax income. The alternative is no businesses moving back in so it is still better with a large tax break than none at all.

The book does point out that it does appear to be getting better. At least sundown towns are in serious decline. But the sundown suburbs? Not so much.

I would be interested in knowing if having a biracial president has helped any. I want to believe we are improving on areas of race.

I recommend the book to those that have an interest in race relations in our country. It is not a quick or easy read. Some times it is more like a train wreck you are horrified by but can't look away from. Anyone that does read it can't help but learn a few things they never taught us in school...and that is always a good thing.

And I'd love to hear about any race related books that you have read that you feel have stretched your mind or increased your understanding of something. Please share!

Autumn Asks: Do you love books?

My all-time favorite hobby is reading.

I was a sickly child. Not serious sickness - just lots of allergies and I caught everything I was exposed to. This left me indoors more than the average kid. The only way to escape outdoors without the consequence of more medicine or being miserable was through books.
Libraries have always been one of my favorite places. We've lived in several states and a few different countries...and you can bet I know where the library was. As a matter of fact, I can remember the first time I was considered old enough to walk to the library all by myself. It wasn't very close to home...but it was on a closed military base so there wasn't too much for my parents to worry about. I LOVED that library....and the freedom I had to go check out more books.

Several of the places we have lived over the years have not had good libraries. That is just such a crime! If you can't read, you aren't going to go far. Without a good library to encourage kids to dive in and read, some kids will never do it.
Our current library leaves alot to be desired. There are several branches, and I bounce around between them to try and find new stuff. I also used to use the intralibrary loan all the time. I do mean all the time since this library leaves so much to be desired. Then they started charging to loan books that way. I stopped.

Used book stores are also one of my all-time favorite places. I love the smell of books! New bookstores are cool too....but they lack the character of the resale shops. Again, here I don't have that. I did find one about a year ago but it is rather small so it has books all over the floor and everything so that you really can't even get to stuff. Better than nothing...

Since living here I have discovered many alternate ways to get books. I'm going to share those today for my friends that really love books and don't have a library to rely on.

The most obvious would be the purchase places online. I'm talking resale...not necessarily new. You have your big names like Barnes and Noble and Amazon. That's fine but you can do better than that. If you are looking in those places, check Overstocks.com first. They have alot of the same books as Amazon (and thats where some of their stock comes from) for less.
Some of the used stores include the big names such as Ebay and Half.com. I find both of these expensive once you add shipping. Now, I hate paying shipping, but if you are in a situation like I am, you just have to do it. The shipping costs me less than a trip to Austin or Dallas to Half Priced Books (which I LOVE and have for 20+ years).

I usually skip those online stores and try Abebooks or Alibris . I have found many hard to find books at both places for great prices.
Since moving here I have discovered the book trading sites. This is where I get most of my books now. The ones I use are all different. Some are trade one, request one. Some are trade two, request one. Some deal completely in points by what they say the book is worth. All leave you responsible for the shipping cost (media mail). My top 3 to date:

PaperBack Swap - this one seems the most fair to me. You give a book, you can request a book. You pay postage for the books you send out.

BookMooch - this one I use the most. It is a 2/1 ratio where they want you to have given 2 to request 1. I dont think they actually stick to it though as my ration is more even. Again, you pay the postage on the books you send out, not request.

Bookins - this was the first trading site I ever used. They are different in that each book is worth points. They also require a credit card as you print off the label from the site and mail the book and they charge you a straight fee for shipping whenever you request a book. You don't pay for the ones that are requested from you. BUT, since the postage charge is $4 something...its like paying for 2 books as media mail is about $2.38 for a regular sized book. What I love about this one is that I don't ever have to go to the post office for a request or send - you print the label and mail. So the convenience is great...but it's not the most frugal choice.

So there you are friends. If you are looking for some places to trade or purchase hard to find used books....that's what I have for you! Hope you enjoy as much as I do. (I also hope our next destination has such an awesome library system that I don't need these guys anymore!)

So now I'm going to go and grab my current book and curl up in the fat chair with the dog and read. First I'll daydream about the library I hope to have one day....

Autumn asks: Why do we allow so many mandatory shots????

Why? Because if we didn't the "at risk" population (those that don't have health insurance or are just flat uneducated, or illegal, or poor, etc.) would make us all sick if the government didn't force this crap into our bodies. That's the reasoning anyways. I'm not convinced.

Is Autumn anti-vaccine? Well, lets see, she has worked for several different doctors that won't let their own children be vaccinated. She has a good friend with a son that has vaccine induced autism. She has known of military members that have had anthrax and other crap forced on them and end up in the hospital or disabled from that point forward.

ANYWAYS! Mighty Mouse was due for her 4 year shots. I don't like it, but as a military dependent there really isn't a whole lot you can do about it...especially if you ever get overseas orders. So I was prepared for the 5 shots she was supposed to have, that I had put off until after our vacations. I also am one to ask that she be given the shots "unbundled" to avoid their hidden mercury. (There seems to be no escaping the aluminum.)

45 minutes after our set appointment time we are called back. Hmm...turns out she needs 7 shots, not just 5. WHAT? Are you kidding me? And to make a long story short, after some back and forth with the doctor, I allowed 4 of the shots and will return at later dates for the others.

So now I have a kid with a raging fever...that HATES medicine and will not take the Motrin or Tylenol. I hate those meds too, but they are the lesser evil in this case.

Add to that seeing a friend last night that asks me about the HPV shot and whether Songbird has had it. Not just NO but ... well you get the picture. I fought the ped on that one too. PEOPLE, just do an internet search! DEATH, blindness, all kinds of neurological effects - they are listed at the CDC site. This shot is full of aluminum, which crosses the blood/brian barrier! But what about all the 5 years of studies? Oh, the ones done by the company producing the vaccine and NOT TESTED ON CHILDREN? Also, the death stats on the cancer in question are almost non-existent in developed countries unless the person does not get their routine pap.

Moving on.

My real purpose of this post, after 2 miserable days with a sick 4 year old that can not be comforted, is to tell you about a book I recommend. The book is called "Sweet Deception". It is actually about artifical sweetners, but that is not what I want you to get out of this. The book explains WHO pays the FDA, the processes our FDA goes through to approve meds and food substitutes or genetically engineered foods, etc. EVERYBODY should know this. Everything changed in the 1980's when they wanted to push through the AIDS drugs quicker to help more people. So their hearts were in the right place, but the method is shocking. Now the companies asking for the approval have to pay for it since there aren't enough government funds to support all the requests (maybe some of that money that is going to illegal immigrants could be funneled that direction????). Conflict of interest in the best case, biting the hand that feeds you if you deny a request. And guess where the studies come from? The people with the request. WHAT?

I got the book through intra-library loan. I recommend everyone get it and skim through it for all the parts on our FDA. It will educate you in a way you didn't know you needed to be educated in.


And now back to a whinning, crying four year old with an attitude.