Even though Vicki Phillips has left for the Gates Foundation, we’re still stuck with the mess she’s left behind for Portland Public Schools. We have some K-8 schools; some that don’t fit the mold; Jefferson High School, my neighborhood school, still in shambles (but they can spring for astro-turf at Grant. Go, Generals! You’re right, you do deserve the best, ya idiots); they’re possibly adding on to Lincoln (hell yes, Lincoln Needs Money and More, More, More) (I’m being sarcastic, is it transmitting?), etc.

Let’s go back a few years. A long, long time ago, I didn’t have kids. And I didn’t know much about schools, like many of you. I always cared, though. So I always voted for the school funding measures, and I even volunteered at the public schools once in awhile. (They’d ask me to come in sometimes and talk with the kids about How I Became a Writer.)

At the back of my mind, always, I’m thinking, “Who’s going to be cath-ing me when I’m old? Who’s going to be working at the nursing home? Will they talk Kerouac with me?” I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. I had to fight hard to finish. I worked two or three jobs the entire time I was in school and graduated debt-free, thankyouverymuch. (My aunt brought up the number of grads in my family to two a few years ago! Yay, auntie! And my cousin graduated this spring! Go, us! That’s three college graduates. Plus one who just finished nursing school! I was raised by wolves, people, but it’s OK. I’ve learned to deal.) School is important to me, and always has been.

My Mom had a little mantra for me that she started chanting when I was three years old. Or maybe two. “First you’ll graduate from grade school, then you’ll graduate from high school, then you’ll graduate from college!” Oh, OK. And she and my Dad set aside enough money to pay for my first year, so I had to go! (See what happens when you expect things from your kids?)

We need decent, strong, free public schools in this world, especially for those students who aren’t getting a lot of encouragement or money from the homefront. Not everyone has parents who are pushing them.

I had a stepson, sort of, lo these many years ago. When my live-in boyfriend and I broke up, I kept visiting rights with his son, so I got a little glimpse into the Portland Public School system at that time. (He’s 21 now.) (more…)

i have flickr now. I HAVE FLICKR NOW!

For most of you, especially those of you who know what kind of camera you shoot with (and I didn’t, not until I signed up with Flickr) — this is not a big deal. But I can’t figure out photos — uploads, downloads, sideloads, how to group things, how to post little fingernails — thumbnails! — onto the site so it doesn’t take you an hour to call up my site when you get there.

Things like that.

(I didn’t know what kind of camera I had, do you get what I’m saying? I mean, I’m not exactly cutting-edge technology here.)

But thanks to my Yahoo! e-mail account (that I forgot I had), I just buzzed right through it. Seeing Jenny McB’s pix got me all excited. I, too, am crafty! I knit! I put her down as my first contact. I feel so bonded with her now. Go look at her pictures, they’re real sweet.

I shoot with a Canon PowerShot A10. (It told me what kind of camera I took the pictures with. It told me what date. This blows me away. Me: “Is that Neskowin?” (in Oregon.) Hockey God: “It’s Carlsbad. Look at the date!” Me: “Whoa!”) It’s just a simple camera, but I like the pictures I take with it. Anyway, there are only a dozen pix on there so far, but you can see the ducks and rose petals from today, and a few shots of our poor, pitiful bathroom when it was being remodeled last year. Really wishing I’d taken befores ‘n’ afters of our living room — we’ve gone from purple, blue and gold (sponge-painting and “paper bag art,” yick) to green and blue (also yick) to a nice, simple off-white. Delicious!

I’ll upload more photos soon. Because now I know how to.

love,

WM

Here, dear readers — My day in real time.

Sort of.

5, 6, 7 & 8 a.m.: Sleeping. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Large Wacky Cat 2, the stripedy one, pins me in on one side; muscular husband pins me in on the other. Why does the Cat want to sleep with us? It’s so flippin’ hot. Unable to move. Sex? No. Have to sleep. Can’t open eyes. Consider a new lifestyle that involves not staying up so late at night. Hmmm. What time did we go to bed? Vaguely remember 11 o’clock news. Keep eyes closed. Sleep. (more…)

So stuck-up, doing a “greatest hits” of my Thursday Thirteens. (But when has being stuck-up ever stopped me?) We stayed up too late last night. Mojitos were involved. The Pink-Haired Housewife and the Barkeep were over. And I’m too lazy to try to track down all my old faves from everyone else’s blogs, so here we go…

I haven’t been with Thursday Thirteen since the beginning, and I didn’t know I was supposed to number by the week I was on. So that’s why I’m even-steven with 100, when really it’s only been 49. (I deleted one accidentally.)

I read a TON of the Thirteeners, but some of my favorites (and I have many) are Mallory, Vader’s Mom, Jenny McB, Zoot, Gabrielle, DK Raymer. And my husband, More Hockey Less War, natch. Sorry if I left your blog off the list. Again, mojitos fog over here. But I do read a bunch of you every week, even though I’m bad about leaving comments, sometimes.

(Drive-bys, I call those.)

Here are some of the Thursday Thirteens I’ve written that y’all seemed to like, and that are favorites of mine, too.

1. My 13 Superpowers

2. 13 Things I Did as a Kid

3. 13 Stupid Things People Have Said to Me Since My Dog Died

4. 13 Funny Stories About My Dog (cuz you have to take the sweet along with the bitter. Ha ha.)

5. 13 Reasons Portland is Lousy

6. 13 Reasons Why You Should Not Go On American Idol

7. 13 Things My Husband and I Disagree On

8. Thirteen Things Bosses Have Said to Me

9. 13 Things My Grandma Likes to Say Over and Over

10. 13 Reasons Why I ROCK, plus a Q&A with myself

11. 13 Reasons Why YOU ROCK!

12. 13 Things I Do to Fuck with My Cantankerous Neighbor

13. My favorite post I’ve ever written. Ever. Thirteen Ways to Get It Up!

Happy Thursday, everyone! Happy 100!

It’s only the third of July, but damned if the Wacky Family will be deterred from lighting off fireworks early. I DO NOT HAVE A DOG IS WHY. Poor dog. I miss my dog — every time I walk by the huge fern in the back yard I expect to see him come slithering out. (It was cool and dank under there — nice and chilly on a hot dog’s belly.) But he is gone. I loved that crazy dog. And by crazy, I mean “teched.”

BUT NOW WE DON’T NEED SEDATIVES. So I bought the hugest box I could find at Target (the legal Oregon ones, not the illegal Washington ones, thanks) and Wacky Boy picked out his favorite. It has a big stick.

Because that’s what it’s all about in this life, and my son has figured that out — Who has the biggest stick?

We jammed it in the lawn, lit it, and KABLOOIE! Right away it starts acting like an illegal Washington firework (where they have the good ones. Same as the reservation fireworks. None of this wussy crap. The good ones. Like in Missouri!). It spits sparks and fireballs all over.

“That could catch our lawn on fire,” I say.

“Yep,” my children’s father says.

“It is catching on lawn on fire. I’ll get the hose.”

“Yep,” my children’s father repeats.

The kids just now, on their way to bed: “Wasn’t that so cooooool how dad caught the lawn on fire???”

Happy Fourth, y’all. Here’s to our continued American independence, and our need to thrust our independent ways down everyone else’s throats.

Happy Fourth, Scooter Libby, ya bozo. Whew! Close one.

Reviewed today:

You don’t know. You do not know from love until you’ve read “The Velveteen Rabbit” for the very first time with your five- and seven-year-old, and the Older One is grumbling, “This is stupid” and the Younger One is grousing, “That’s not what I wanted to read” and you almost set the book aside and then you get to the Skin Horse. And he only smiles and says…

“The Boy’s Uncle made me Real,” he said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become Unreal again. It lasts for always.”

And you’re only going to read a few pages, but you read the whole thing. And the illustrations are so beautiful, and by the end… the Older One is sighing and tells you, “That was a good book” and the younger one says, “Yeah.” You don’t know from love, until that happens.

Also, you don’t know from love until your husband reads the entire Babysitters’ Club series (all 8,000 of them) with the kids and also the entire Magic Treehouse series (all 8,003 of them) and you don’t have to.

Love. Just love and more love.

Goodnight.

WM

Have y’all been having trouble sending me e-mails? Because I deleted my e-mail address from my “About” page and completely spaced out on it for six months or so? It’s back on there. If you want to send me hott sex tips. Or recipes. Or what-not.

Happy Sunday, babes!

Love,

WM

From my mother-in-law…

Spice Mix

This spice mix is nice with fish.

* Cumin
* Oregano
* Mint
* Chiles
* Black pepper

Or, if you’re in more of a beans and rice mood…

Creole Beans & Rice
Serve with cornbread, sour cream or plain yogurt.

3 cups dried kidney, black or pinto beans
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon allspice

for salsa:

3 green onions, diced
1 cuke, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
salt to taste
hot sauce

Saute vegetables:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
7 garlic cloves, pressed
3 celery stalks, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
2 or 3 green peppers, chopped
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

2 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice

* sour cream

* cornbread, butter & honey

1. Cook the beans with the cayenne and allspice.

2. Combine the salsa ingredients; set aside.

3. Saute the onions and garlic in oil on medium heat until onions are translucent. Add the celery and carrots; cook several minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Add the green pepper and saute vegetables are tender. Whisk together the tomato paste, wine and vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, herbs and spices. Add to sauteed vegetables. In a large pot, combine the (mostly) drained beans and vegetables; stir together. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.

4. Cook the rice.

5. Serve with a scoop or two of rice, topped with the beans, topped with salsa.

Bon appetit!

WM