“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”

— Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886)

Dear Internets,

I wish I had time to blog. What’s new with you? Later, gator.

WM

ps don’t forget our PDX meet-up with Lelo in NoPo, Melissa Lion at me meet-up, this Saturday at Ladybug, 10 a.m.

My political ally J just sent along this note:

Excerpt from “Letter from Birmingham Jail”:

“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.”

Let us honor Dr. King’s memory by staying the course.

(And the story I referred to here came from The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. )

Mallory in the Middle rated me excellent. How sweet is that? Thank you, Ms. Mallory. May you blog long and prosper. Now I’m supposed to cut and paste the little icon, which I don’t know how to do, and award some other bloggers.

I say… I need to think this one over for a little bit, cuz there are a lot of bloggers I am cuckoo-crazeee for.

WM

Do you want to meet the extremely sassy Melissa Lion, the inimitable Lelo in NoPo and me in person? I know you do. Lelo in NoPo, if you don’t read her blog, is this extremely awesome cook, gardener and apron-maker who also kicks major political ass in lobbying for gay rights. (Equals “equal rights.” Equal rights = good. Just in case any of you out there were wondering.) She is currently undergoing a reinvention and practicing her Spanish. And she, her girlfriend and cats are pretty cute.

And if you don’t know who Melissa is (fiction & freelance writer, blogger at large, cheerleader for North Portland who pretty much singlehandedly convinced us not to move to Beaverton damn this sentence is long), anyway. She’s great. Also her Steve and kid are pretty cute.

Go look at her blog — she’s just as adorable in person. Plus extremely funny and nice and is helping me with my remedial knitting.

(Also, those of you in North/Northeast Portland who knit? We’re hoping to get a knitting circle going at Jefferson High School. If you’re interested, send me an e-mail. The kids want to learn to knit! Who knew. And by the way, did you know there is no Home Ec. — now called Independent Living — or Shop offered at the school? Don’t you think you should e-mail the PPS school board and tell them we need these classes back again? E-mail the super, too.)

Enough school talk; more about us. If you’re in or near Portland, Oregon, here is your chance to have coffee, just like we bloggers are so fond of doing and hang out with us. We’re holding what is known in political circles as a “meet and greet,” this coming Saturday, Jan. 26th, from 10 a.m.-noon at Ladybug Organic Coffee Company, 8438 N. Lombard St.

Lelo is bringing a fresh stack of aprons to sell; Melissa will sell books and sign ’em, too; I have a case of kids’ books to give away FREE; we will drink coffee; we will answer all your questions, as in: Why do you think you’re so hot? Do you ever stop talking politics? Who does your hair? Is it too early to plant my garden? etc.

Kids, partners, parents and neighbors welcome, natch. Bring your checkbooks and/or cash — we like money. But if you don’t have any, stop by anyway. Looking forward to meeting y’all.

See you then!

WM

Have I ever run this reading list before? (If I did, I can’t find it on my site.) I love it. Friends shared it when Wacky Girl was a baby — I printed it out and for years carried it in our library bag for our weekly trips to story time.

wm

The following is a list of books for kids that we really enjoyed. (more…)

That’s all I have to say today.

We have a few rules around here…

1) The kids must stay the night with Wacky Grandma sometimes so I can breathe for a second.

2) “Take a breath” for me apparently means “get a drink downtown, then at Chapel Pub, then at Pause.”

3) Never blog when you’ve been drinking it’s just a bad idea.

4) Jefferson boys’ basketball BEAT Grant High tonight and WOOT! is all I can say to that because I think some of you know how I feel about the Generals. (I went to Madison, my mom went to Madison High GO SENATORS!, my aunts and uncles went to Madison BUT my dad went to Grant, my other aunties went to Grant and my dad’s brother, my late, great, beloved uncle, went to JEFFERSON and we live in the JEFFERSON COMMUNITY so GO DEMOS!

5) I’m a leetle bit drunk.

6) The kids are at Mom’s.

7) I need to go now.

HAPPY 3-DAY WEEKEND TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE IT! To those who do not — I’m sorry.

xxox

WM

“Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

— Gustave Flaubert, novelist (1821-1880)

(If you’re looking for my Thursday Thirteen, check here. I hijacked my husband’s blog.)

And last, but not least… We are selling Girl Scout Cookies this year. Because we are now Girl Scouts. Who knew we’d go to church and (later, and this has nothing to do with church at all) become Girl Scouts? I’m pretty certain that no one saw that one coming.

One minor trifle: Who knew they wanted you to commit to selling 3,000 boxes per Girl Scout? That, to me, spells “unreasonable.” We’ll be able to sell, mebbe, twelve or fourteen boxes? Tops. And those will be to ourselves, most likely, given my cooky addiction.

What kinds of cookies are on offer this year? Lemon Chalet Cremes! (New!), Trefoils (shortbread), Do-Si-Do’s (peanut-buttery), Samoas (not “Samoans.” Gooey coconut! Chocolate!), All Abouts (Celebrating Girl Scouting! These are my favorites. Shortbread and chocolate), Sugar Free Chocolate Chip (the name says it all), Tagalongs (not “Tagalogs” heh heh heh. Wildly Popular!), Thin Mints (Extra Thin, Extra Minty! I take it back — these are my favorites). What about you? I am tempted to load up those USPS boxes, you know the ones? You can pack those suckers full of Girl Scout cookies and mail them out for what, ten bucks apiece?

I do not have that kind of money to throw around, except in my imagination. So you’ll have to find a Girl Scout, if possible, wherever you are. (Nan, any Girl Scouts in Trinidad?)

The following cookies do not exist, except in Zip’s imagination:

1) Chocolate Mint
2) Lemonades
3) Caramel delites
4) Cinna-spins

(What did this make, nine posts today?)

xxox

WM

ps you have NO idea how loudly the kids have been protesting in the background, the entire time I’ve been posting here. It had to be done. On a bright note — this week’s homework is now finished. “Webkinz, now?” Yes.

Renee Mitchell, artist-at-large, has a new show going up this weekend, “Tangoing with Tornadoes.” The performance includes music, poetry, singing and interpretative dance. Choreographed by Judith Rizzio and directed by Barbara Kite, the show stars Mitchell, Sharon Martini, Nasir Najieb and Raheve Gray. Performances will be 7 p.m. Friday-Sunday, plus 3 p.m. Sunday matinee, January 18-27th, 2008.

The show, Mitchell says, “speaks to the power of our words” and is about domestic violence, “a heavy subject to be sure, but it’s presented in a creative way that entertains, informs and, at times, inspires you to laugh out loud.”

The show is sponsored by Self Enhancement Inc., Multnomah County, and NappyRoots Press. Financial support was also given by the Healing Roots Center, the African American Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations and community leaders. Shows will be held at the Center for Self Enhancement Inc., 3920 N. Kerby Ave., Portland, Ore.

Admission is free; please call to RSVP to guarantee seats: 503-249-1721, Ext. 259 or e-mail christyh at selfenhancement dot org

For more information, check Ms. Mitchell’s website.