tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41470572012-02-15T18:24:19.302-08:00"'The cocks did crow to-whoo, to-whoo, And the sun did shine so cold!' --Thus answered Johnny in his glory, And that was all his travel's story." From William Wordsworth's Idiot Boy, 1798SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.comBlogger1061100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-82379201826710690372012-01-06T18:33:00.000-08:002012-01-16T19:43:38.528-08:00

I guess puppy is one of my most important new years resolutions. Some basic facts:Bought her from Erin. Not cheap. I had been thinking about Cavalier spaniel for a while. Having Erin get the advantage and knowing about her puppyhood helped me to loosen the bankbook. But obviously just the cost is a commitment. (Plus it’s a little life.)She is cute but strong willed. I’ve been reading and

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-79057295109611442052011-08-11T19:04:00.000-07:002011-08-11T19:09:22.616-07:00

Since I posted on my blog. How pathetic is that. Here is a link to my recent note on Facebook about my glorious neighborhood:http://www.facebook.com/notes/susan-staker/today-in-the-neighborhood/10150268209027955

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-58367601702077339752010-08-23T18:33:00.000-07:002010-08-25T19:05:26.135-07:00

Looks like I’m buying a house on Whidbey Island (located about 20 miles north of Seattle in the Puget Sound)! To tell the truth I’m as surprised as my friends and family: “You’re what? What about your garden? What about your cute bungalow? What about Seattle? What about Greenlake?”It all started the week of July 4. I rented a house on Whidbey Island for my kids to come hang out for a few days

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-91123438244403276972009-09-09T18:00:00.000-07:002009-09-09T18:26:37.820-07:00

I spent at least a decade in academia. So I’m well aware that a tech “sabbatical” is a pretty pathetic thing. Three weeks, every five years.I start mine on my birthday a little over a week from now. I’m attaching my extra three weeks to a “shutdown” (Adobe has 4 weeks of enforced vacation this year, one for each quarter, taking vacation as it turns out helps Adobe’s bottom line).What to do with

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-8776404150435705502009-08-07T18:42:00.000-07:002009-08-07T19:13:52.818-07:00

Here are some pictures that Sarah took the day of my excellent adventure with TGA. I really am pretty vague in remembering anything until the very end--vaguely remember the picture with nurse and doctor. I do remember the lake. We were waiting for Don’s plane.Update. I’ve had a further test (EEG). And the results were good. Doctor agrees I had an episode of Transient Global Amnesia. How

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-81139181840215567012009-07-28T08:35:00.000-07:002009-07-31T13:55:41.739-07:00

Last week I took a very weird trip. The first thing I remember is sitting in a hospital room, my daughter Sarah telling me to read the papers in my hand and at the same time plying me with food--a burrito, chips, a soda. I kept reading and rereading the story my daughter handed me, trying to make sense of the words on the page:“Mom you woke up this morning feeling disoriented (about 6:30 am).

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-86468460500188807542009-07-07T22:08:00.000-07:002009-07-07T22:17:58.511-07:00

Here are photo’s of last week. Spent on the Olympic Peninsula. Rialto Beach, the river, Hoh Rain Forest, La Push. Washington is a wonderful place. Played backwards I believe. A little narrative chaos for good measure.

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-36348932301006202292009-06-25T19:32:00.000-07:002009-06-25T21:27:14.205-07:00

These are pictures of my dad.Notice the hair. By the time all of these pictures were taken, my dad was completely bald (a little fringe around the nether edges). He lost his hair on his mission. This means that by his early twenties he had no hair to speak of. Legend has it that as a young man he had an amazing head of hair--auburn hair. This was important to me because I was known as a young

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-82112098852235337342009-05-18T09:24:00.000-07:002009-05-18T09:25:05.758-07:00

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-8262512747209157582009-05-13T18:22:00.000-07:002009-05-13T18:35:44.879-07:00

I do have a problem. A garage in California full of books. A house in California full of books. All the brand new shelves I had in the house in Seattle--filling up with books.How to manage what I know defines me in very real ways. But can get out of hand. Options I’ve discovered:Libraries. Take too much planning. Never did these that successfully. At one point in time returned a car full of

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-67862804620714836422009-05-10T20:19:00.000-07:002009-05-10T20:21:10.494-07:00

Last summer when I was in India, I was talking with my co-workers about cooking and recipes. I asked, “Do you use basil in your cooking?”Preran, one of the writers I work with, answered. “No we don’t use it for cooking. We worship it.” He went on to tell me that women have basil shrines as part of the household. Basil is apparently very good.Anyway, later in the week Preran came with my husband

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-63304033562269441602009-05-01T20:08:00.000-07:002009-05-01T20:31:11.502-07:00

In Teton City, Idaho, where I grew up, everyone had a garden. The sign at the outskirts of town when I was a girl said: Population 350. The congregation of our church was larger than the population of the town. The standard lot in Teton was an acre. That gave you room for a house, a large lawn with flowers, a very big vegetable garden, and a pasture with barn for cows, chicken coop, pig pen,

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-83107556423961724152009-03-24T20:10:00.000-07:002009-03-24T20:23:26.429-07:00

I was even younger. Oh so far away. Southeastern Idaho. I went shopping at a bookstore in Rexburg, Idaho--near Ricks college. I found a book describing books. Brief descriptions and then a set of categories, each complete with an icon. One icon meant a “classic.” The other icon meant something like “mature, challenging.” I was 14 years old, about to be a sophomore at South Fremont High School.I

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-85812512921779043182009-03-24T19:33:00.000-07:002009-03-24T19:46:09.761-07:00

It was long ago and far away. I was a young, thirty-something (oh so long ago and far away). I was on a trip to Seattle with a friend. I succeeded in getting him to move to Seattle, become a tech writer, and eventually get me into the great tech world in the sky. But that is another story.This story is about Dickens. We got on the train in Salt Lake City, waited for a very long time before the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-24133735864091313852009-03-19T17:26:00.000-07:002009-03-19T18:02:38.797-07:00

My ex retired this past month. My son posted an appreciation of his dad. And he “tagged” me in Facebook on a couple of old photos with his dad and his dad’s family that I've included here.I’ve been thinking a lot lately about growing older. I envy Richard. I too would like to retire. I have all kinds of projects I’d like to address while I still have thought and memory. It’s hard to keep at the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-55359894243843724782009-02-27T18:59:00.000-08:002009-02-27T19:27:50.881-08:00

For my job I am more and more involved with the developer side of the house. For most of my career at Adobe, I’ve focused on IA (info architecture), style for end user stuff. Now I’m broadening my view, my touch, for better or worse.So tonight I was reading a tutorial on ActionScript (trust me this is important to Adobe). What struck me is how concise and charming this language is.If, then. Yes,

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-36356899514903301082009-02-19T20:47:00.000-08:002009-02-19T20:57:19.001-08:00

A week agoOrganizing content from the ground up, using my editing software to get content ready for a machine to translate, order in US and India, how this impacts my (work) life, emotions--especially sadness, anger, fear, happiness; agon & politics still; charisma, what is a messiah complex--who has to have one?; search, walking, a garden, retirement, on the risks of assuming continuity, is

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-53454319028583328042009-02-03T18:21:00.000-08:002009-02-04T13:20:05.970-08:00

Today Sarah, Bevin, and I went to Olympia to lobby our legislators. (My two daughters and me.) Washington state is facing at least 8 billion dollars in debt over the next couple of years. In response, Governor Gregoire, recently re-elected Democratic governor, published a budget proposal for the next 2 years. Not pretty. Cut that go deep into the bone. The state constitution mandates a

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-90664842841836527392009-01-28T10:41:00.000-08:002009-01-28T10:51:06.213-08:00

I thought that this opinion piece from the New York Times today provided an interesting perspective on the way that Obama might take some lessons from Ronald Reagan. I was never a fan of Ronald Reagan at the time he was president. And I still have serious disagreements with pretty much most of his ideas. But over time I have come to respect more things about Reagan. One thing I did learn is

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-63714365497267203652009-01-27T18:43:00.000-08:002009-01-27T19:22:24.975-08:00

That was the question from my sister JoAnn, older than me and in her seventies, when I engaged her in her first “chat” on Facebook. We had chatted back and forth about how she came to be on Facebook: her daughter made her join. But then she to to her point : What’s the point of this chat thing? Why not just phone?That’s not a bad question. I’m new to Facebook myself. I was instructed on how and

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-10463266173064866802009-01-23T18:53:00.000-08:002009-01-23T19:41:03.766-08:00

Much to my surprise (really), the audiobook I listened to post Heartsick turned out to be another:Book by a first time authorBook with a sequelBook about a serial killerThe details of this book were unknown to me as I began my listen. I purchased the book because of the number of times it appeared on the best of 2008 lists. But I remembered no details. And this somewhat accidental book has

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-59769906696577070782009-01-16T18:45:00.000-08:002009-01-18T17:32:39.001-08:00

I recently noted on my blog (Read and Drive) that my reading tastes are a tad eclectic--that I’m something of an omnivore. My son replied no, Mom, you’re a goat.He has some evidence for this view. I have licensed his computer to access my Audible account--my secret audiobook list. He knows the full scope of my reading (listening) shame. I’m sure that it seems, looking at that list, that I might

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-4476566809234768892009-01-14T19:58:00.000-08:002009-01-14T20:08:26.248-08:00

I have a serious case.During the 80s I pretended with perms. Tried to impersonate someone carefree, wild, curled. Can’t say it exactly worked.So in recent years I’ve submitted to the hair dryer. Time spent styling every morning. And that morning routine came to seem ever more looming--a daunting barrier to run each morning.Finally I said no more. Told my hair lady to layer away. Assume I’ll just

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-67468215605475134422009-01-10T18:55:00.000-08:002009-01-10T19:01:04.656-08:00

I finished the book, alas.I find evidence that the book itself contemplates this may be the final P. D. James novel (I still hope not). Don’t read on if you don’t like folks spoiling endings. . . .Adam Dagliesh does marry Emma. Kate gets back with her ex. Dagliesh contemplates whether this might be his last case. And one of the final scenes is that of an elderly lawyer, living in an upscale

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-87916537917040213052009-01-08T18:20:00.000-08:002009-01-08T18:29:05.100-08:00

I’m about 3/4 of the way through P. D. James most recent Adam Dagleish story, The Private Patient. I’m a fan of Adam Dagleish and a fan of P. D. James. Who can resist the writer or the detective. Not me.I always have mixed feelings when I’m immersed in a good book. Enjoying myself. Driving toward the ending--wondering what will happen. But resisting. Knowing that the sadness associated with

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-16686158410638498292009-01-07T18:54:00.001-08:002009-01-07T18:54:01.107-08:00

Posting from my iGoogle page. How easy is that.

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-45975880422486613042009-01-06T18:45:00.000-08:002009-01-06T21:14:47.448-08:00

I love to read and drive. A habit I acquired when I drove each Friday night from San Jose to Sacramento. I found that music, which I love, put me to sleep. Listening to audiobooks engaged my mind enough to keep me awake. And so the practice came into my life.I don’t remember my parents reading to me. I doubt that they did. Though we had books (and my mom was an English teacher). So audiobooks

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-27979479663047251992009-01-05T18:49:00.000-08:002009-01-05T19:12:58.333-08:00

In a famous passage in William Wordsworth’s autobiographical poem “The Prelude,” he is on a walking tour in the Alps. He imagines the moment when he will come to the highest point in the walk and begin the downward trek into Italy. Looking forward he has grand plans and expectations for the moment. But at some point he realizes that he has already passed the summit and has been heading down for

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-22588891354513960852009-01-03T19:24:00.000-08:002009-01-04T20:30:56.237-08:00

        ❑        Finish an article on 1830 and send for publication.        ❑        Write at least weekly on blog. I need to develop a habit of writing.        ❑        Less meat, more vegetables.        ❑        Go to the dentist and the doctor.        ❑        Take Bevin to the dentist and the doctor.        ❑        Lose 10 pounds.        ❑        Walk. At least 2 days a week. Can it be more.

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-56522837715585675242008-09-23T19:19:00.000-07:002008-09-23T19:29:08.724-07:00

Watching the economic melt down this past week, I’m a little bit happy about my laziness of the past year or so. I kept meaning to go talk to someone and do some responsible, forward-looking planning for retirement--which I am fondly dreaming is coming very, very soon. But it meant all that paperwork. Making an appointment. Doing all that stuff first.And I never quite got there. So my savings (

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-33529437314692893912008-09-17T19:29:00.000-07:002008-09-17T19:41:59.206-07:00

My husband has a decades long bout with depression. Currently he is in deep trouble. He quit taking his medication. On one hand, this is admirable because it took a great deal of determination to do this. And decades on anti-depressants is a scary thought. But now he is a depressed mess. He doesn’t have a doctor/ professional he is talking to. And here’s what it’s like to deal with him:He’s very

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-36463458154547750872008-08-28T19:35:00.000-07:002008-08-28T20:34:48.253-07:00

I realize I have no hard judgment. I can't respond objectively to the democratic convention. Here's where I'm left after 8 years of the Clintons and 8 years of the Bush Republicans. Bullets follow, the signal of random thought:I was sick of the Clintons, their approach, the nasty heat that followed. That led me to Obama as much as anything else.I'm sick of Bush and the Republicans being in

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-42888939386710246052008-08-27T22:34:00.000-07:002008-08-27T23:15:13.649-07:00

I've been watching the Democratic convention over the past few evenings. This sort of thing does leave me interested and discouraged:Why are the Clintons so damned good, talented, smart, moving, when I can't trust them?Things will be nasty again. I especially hate the way it will be nasty against the Obamas. Why is this part of American politics?I don't see how we can be against global economics.

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-24047478763062786772008-08-26T21:08:00.000-07:002008-08-26T21:25:11.485-07:00

My hunch for some time now in working with my colleagues in India is that folks always want to be accommodating and positive. This means that pretty much no matter what I say, my colleague in India--I'm thinking in particular of the editorial manager most parallel to me in the food chain--will agree with me. And then he starts talking. Rapid-fire, India English. A very specialized dialect,

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-31267919540224137392008-08-26T19:48:00.000-07:002008-08-26T19:51:01.297-07:00

I feel bad that I didn't have enough energy, enough character, to write while we spent our almost two weeks in India. That was the most intense experience I've had visiting a place that is "other." This experience had such highs--and such challenges. I didn't capture the moment. I will do what I can to recover what still lives in my body, my memory, my waking and sleeping dreams, about that

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-33440056212823414222008-08-02T00:12:00.000-07:002008-08-02T00:13:04.302-07:00

We arrived in Delhi last night--which was really yesterday morning Seattle time. A pretty uneventful flight. We flew from Seattle to Newark. Transferred to another flight and flew from Newark to New Delhi.I have definitely learned the benefits of flying business class on a long flight. Courtesy of Adobe. Don flew passenger. And was very miserable. The business class was like some sort of

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-16107408754269536172008-07-30T21:05:00.000-07:002008-07-30T21:06:46.600-07:00

We’re leaving tomorrow. Don is coming too. It’s for work. Noida, the Delhi area. I’m checking out whether this posing works on my new computer. I want to write about what I’m seeing.

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-46268563354108334632008-07-14T19:47:00.000-07:002008-07-14T19:59:34.492-07:00

Since I have no readers--and pride myself in some ways on nurturing this. I now enter into a somewhat weird task. Oh well.I posted to a friend's blog, and here was the deal. I posted a memory about her, and in return I ask you (oh you gazillions of readers) to post a memory about me. Here are the rules from her blog. I posted my memory of her here:http://www.hightouchmegastore.net/2008/07/

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-76966683353259834892008-07-14T19:02:00.000-07:002008-07-14T22:20:31.548-07:00

I'm getting ready to spend two weeks in India for work. So I guess I am involved in "outsourcing." From what I can tell that's an evil activity. Especially for someone who on occasion thinks of herself as "progressive," "forward thinking." I try to recycle, I have a hybrid car (mostly because driving is a hobby and I feel guilty), I'm not real thrilled about Iraq or Guantanamo.But what about the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-36907790366370518502008-07-12T20:39:00.000-07:002008-07-12T20:44:34.426-07:00

I've written. That isn't good. It does provide an indicator of how much I am in control of what really matters to me--at least what I tell myself matters.The summer has been tricky. I broke my wrist about six weeks ago. That means I couldn't type, and so on. Couldn't even cut my own meat. Or take a shower. I have the cast off now. And I found a keyboard today that makes it possible for me to type

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-56823343541119834722008-01-03T18:52:00.000-08:002008-01-03T19:15:52.932-08:00

Don and I spent a good part of our evenings over the holidays watching a Dog Whisperer marathon. Not much else thanks to the writers strikes--except for old movies (we watched lots of those too, another story). I had never watched this show. But I had heard of Caesar from my daughter-in-law and son, who have been rehabilitating an enthusiastic (and adopted, because previously rejected) black

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-76455466530488181562007-12-03T19:24:00.000-08:002007-12-03T19:36:10.875-08:00

Bevin has a way of making me realize that the world as I live it is not self evident. Some moments from my weekend with Bev:        •        When she greets me at the weekend her first word is pretty much always “poppie” (as in soda pop), not Mommy (though that does generally sneak in). Puts you in your place.        •        Her only goal oriented behavior of the weekend: go to the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-79442861343469745402007-11-25T17:18:00.000-08:002007-11-25T18:21:21.384-08:00

Who knew this exists? I learned from my 5-year-old grandson. You buy a webkins. You get a “code.” And voila, you have gain entrance to a secret, magical world.My grandson, Jacob, is particularly keen 0n “going for” ALL of the beach accouterments. You can get a “job” to earn dollars for purchasing your dreams. Or you can go the arcade and gamble for webkins dollars (it takes, for example, $750

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-69469121733707103582007-11-25T16:32:00.000-08:002007-11-25T16:55:21.959-08:00

Not so easy. A lesson I have learned. Do not fly in or out of the airport in Newport News Virginia. Flying in for Thanksgiving, my flight from Atlanta was cancelled--with an offer to fly in 8 hours later. Flying out, my flight is now 2 hours late, and I get to spend the night in Atlanta (my cost not the airlines because this is an act of God, weather, not Delta). And fly home tomorrow.A

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-4585530329415104422007-11-23T14:55:00.000-08:002007-11-23T16:54:48.178-08:00

I’m a bit of a political junky, so I have been following presidential primary politics for a while now. With my Mormon background, it’s hard not to pay just a little extra attention to what the talking heads have to say about Romney. Recently on hearing yet again about Romney’s flip flop on abortion, I started thinking about the Mormon position on abortion (or at least the position as I knew

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-55071743626908307752007-11-06T18:41:00.000-08:002007-11-06T19:02:50.423-08:00

Yes, I realize that Halloween was last week. But I’ve been thinking about my childhood experience of Halloween all week (as each day brings more rejected candy dumped out in the kitchen area at work).I grew up in a small village (350 people on the sign at the outskirts of town) in southeastern Idaho, where my dad was the “sheriff.” Which says nothing about his job description. He was in fact

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-8903182924977158972007-11-05T17:59:00.000-08:002007-11-05T18:12:55.820-08:00

I ask myself from time to time why I managed to post as much as I did while I was off with Bev. Now an easy answer would be that I had more time. But that wouldn’t be true. I don’t really have all that much easy, computer time when I’m with Bev. She certainly doesn’t get computers. And if I’m just sitting there and it is daytime, then from her view I’m being really annoying. We aren’t walking,

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-51698012000767467972007-07-01T18:24:00.000-07:002007-07-01T18:43:26.610-07:00

Last night I had a first-time event: a sleepover with Bevin plus ALL of my daughter Sarah’s kids: Anna (8), Clara (6), Sam (4), Isaac (4). I had done halvsies--Bevin plus 1 girl and 1 boy. It was a great night and pretty much a success. But I learned a few things. About my grandkids. And about Bev.The grandkids. They are pretty self-contained, interesting little people. I have a few routines

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-16549904758507907342007-06-26T19:13:00.000-07:002007-06-26T19:21:21.762-07:00

Bevin doesn’t seem to understand that people sleep in on weekends. She tends to get up early in the morning (3:00 to 5:00), come upstairs and go to the bathroom, then climb in bed with me. All to the good. We go back to sleep. . . . for a while. . . . .I can tell when her night is over. She sits up in bed. I have my back to her. She stares at me, and stares at me. I ignore her. I pull the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-15465776950811128182007-06-12T19:38:00.000-07:002007-06-12T19:55:32.424-07:00

So I don’t think I’ve ever watched a complete episode of the Sopranos. Couldn’t tell you whether I’ve ever watched any of the Sopranos. But of course it’s been in the background noise of popular culture for years. So right now I’m watching the final episode of the Sopranos. Why? Who could resist. The coverage. And I saw a replay of the ending. You see, that’s something I have spent time

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-29578153596976167092007-06-07T19:00:00.000-07:002007-06-08T18:07:08.339-07:00

I’m a proud grandma (again, how lovely). This baby is a miracle.You can learn about what Mom went through for Elizabeth Rose at her blogs:Mormon Mommy WarsLiving with PKDOn her birth:Her mom at Mormon Mommy WarsHer dad at Times and Seasons Heather's sister at Mommy Mormon Wars

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-13033975065351994722007-05-30T20:01:00.000-07:002007-05-30T20:51:59.351-07:00

I tuned into about five minutes of the Utah Jazz game tonight--and this (sad experience) sent me into a meditation on basketball, its place in my life.Some of my earliest memories are basketball games. My next oldest sibling, a brother, is ten years older than me. That means that when he was a freshman in high school (14), I was four. When he was a senior in high school (18), I was eight. My

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-54142717368279664802007-05-29T19:07:00.000-07:002007-05-29T19:15:18.457-07:00

So how long has it been since I wrote? Why? Companions. Friends. Visitors. My friend visited for two weeks. My husband was here for two weeks. (My husband flew off to Scotland this morning). This time was on some levels difficult for me. Defer to others. Lose yourself. Was it these people? My patterns with these people? Me? I’m certainly left with these questions. And no immediate, easy

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-27091600048430361602007-05-03T23:46:00.000-07:002007-05-03T23:49:07.460-07:00

It seems that Bev is mostly succeeding. She is a happy soul. And she is finding a happy path at her day program and her new home. The girls at her home see her as the little sister (she is small, cute, clueless). The girls are helping her, protecting her, cuddling her, forgiving her. She spent the first few days cycling through her routines of misbehavior, but also of charm. I think she will

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-12412490805393449392007-05-03T23:28:00.000-07:002007-05-03T23:45:34.818-07:00

I just revisited Brideshead Revisited (the BBC version with Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier--original novel by Evelyn Waugh, adaptation by John Mortimer). To me this mini-series (I still need to read the Evelyn Waugh book) is a devastating meditation on religion--and a gem of television drama. The first time I saw this series my much younger self was overwhelmed

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-89140518937173165432007-04-24T20:30:00.000-07:002007-04-24T20:42:42.487-07:00

So Bevin pulled out the stops her first night. She spent a good deal of the time being oh so charming. Smiling, eating well, hanging out with the girls for the evening, playing with the toys. The other girls want to mother Bevin, treat her like a little sister. So they were being excited, welcoming, etc. Everything seems to have gone well until after Bevin’s shower, Lizelle gave Bevin her

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-85626125662918220422007-04-23T20:24:00.000-07:002007-04-23T20:39:37.538-07:00

I took her clothes over earlier in the day. I took her over at about 4:00 and stayed until 7:00 or so. Bevin liked the place, liked the girls. Was happy, pleasant, pretty charming. Ate a good meal. I joined in. Took lots of pictures. Hung out with the girls. Bevin is taller than the care giver. Which means that Bevin can’t be consistently aggressive and stay there. I’m hoping the good

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-45416010674607610882007-04-19T19:23:00.000-07:002007-04-19T19:48:39.579-07:00

Okay. It’s not that bad!! But over the past couple of months I’ve often wondered whether I am on the outskirts. The logic of the world I’ve confronted trying to find a place for Bevin has often left me mystified.The immediate incident that has sent me along this path of contemplation: I found a good day program for Bevin. Her soon-to-be roommate at the group home she will move to on Monday

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-79835541099783651922007-04-14T18:50:00.000-07:002007-04-14T18:54:42.082-07:00

Bevin is going to move into the home that is closest to Sarah’s house. It will be easy for her to include Bev in more spur of the moment kinds of things with her kids. It will be easy access for me off the easiest freeway here. So the location couldn’t be better.The girls there are all higher functioning than Bev--more language, some of them even read and have jobs. . . . . I’m hoping this

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-68218344046936309602007-04-11T20:47:00.000-07:002007-04-11T20:57:52.846-07:00

I spent today visiting two homes where Bevin might live. I liked both women who manage the two homes. One exists. And the other is a new home; it doesn’t exist yet. I vote for the one that exists. But I realize that I am “auditioning” Bev, and I’m not sure she’ll get the part. Maybe in either home. My first choice. A home that exists. The girls are all much more accomplished than my Bev. They

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-4994773464600734972007-04-08T18:01:00.000-07:002007-04-08T18:31:55.253-07:00

Bevin can be weirdly wonderous. This is her masterpiece: she pronounces the consonant sound “M” for two words only, Mommy and Me. For all other words, “M” becomes “W.” Hence Milk is “Wa.” Water is “Wa.” Matt is “Wa.” Mike is “Wa.” Mommy is Mommy. Me is Me.Even Freud would smile.I’ve spent six weeks now with Bevin--pretty much full time (with the general exception of one overnight with her

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-61894160589656957452007-04-01T19:20:00.000-07:002007-04-01T20:28:06.535-07:00

I want to be one. This is now my goal. Bevin can be scary when she cycles out of control. Not often. But often enough to require attention. She dips down into a well of anxiety and discontent. She runs about the house. She flushes toilets--again, again, again, again, again, again. . . . .. She begins puffing, spitting (not sure how to describe this very weird behavior). If you impede her

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-17248561747280208342007-03-26T18:24:00.000-07:002007-03-26T19:00:30.408-07:00

I recently listened to Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” (I was driving up the Oregon/Washington coast, a beautiful landscape, which was somehow appropriate.) At times this book is overwrought. But overall, the book dipped down into my own history with food.I grew up on a farm. My parents had an amazing garden. We lived off the garden in the summer, canned the abundance, and lived off

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-20333774095579655972007-03-15T19:52:00.000-07:002007-03-15T20:02:55.005-07:00

Bevin and I drove to Missoula last night. Spent today meandering through Montana to idaho Falls, where we’re spending the night. Sunny day. Huge skies. A decent audiobook. Bev happy. A great day.I’m trying to keep Bev up a little later. So when we arrived here tonight, we went for a walk, ate dinner, went for a walk, and went to a lounge for a drink. Bev had a diet coke, I had a pinot. ( I do

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-50795228006408577332007-03-13T18:08:00.000-07:002007-03-13T18:33:22.369-07:00

Last July I took a road trip to Idaho to attend the funeral of a cousin. He was a contemporary of my brother, ten years older than me. I have become accustomed to the deaths of our elders. My grandparents, my parents, my aunts and uncles, they are now all dead. There are few of my relatives still living in southeastern idaho where I grew up. As a child, all of my relatives, grandparents, aunts

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-58224284965476038132007-03-12T19:00:00.000-07:002007-03-12T19:35:31.986-07:00

Almost a decade ago, I was asked to judge a Mormon fiction contest. Slogging through some very terrible novels, I came upon a mystery with a family plot--I can’t remember the details of the book, but I’m sure it was about a mother or a father, a daughter or son, murdering or sleeping with a family member. And the setting was Victorian England (I was working on a ph.d. in nineteenth century

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1250553569031250412007-03-08T18:22:00.000-08:002007-03-09T20:51:25.459-08:00

I am an audiobook addict. I love being read to. I love going word by word through a book, listening, paying attention. Doing the different voices.This is the closest I come to meditation. In blessed moments, listening to a book takes me out of myself, stops the restless play of my mind.I’m not so good at reading out loud to myself. I’ve been experimenting with this over the past week. Reading

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-32453623318546077602007-03-07T21:57:00.000-08:002007-03-07T22:05:29.765-08:00

I’m trying to ween Bev from the anti-depressant. I want to figure out what her baseline is. I just haven’t had enough continuing time with her over the past five years to know what makes sense. I took her to a doctor last week, and he agreed this makes sense.So for this week, I’m halving her perscription--1/2 tablet, rather than 1 tablet each night. For the past couple of days, she’s been

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-7662016469620534502007-02-27T16:17:00.000-08:002007-02-27T17:00:04.468-08:00

I was concerned back in January after talking to one of Bevin’s caretakers in Salt Lake City. She told me that Bevin had been having trouble sleeping. She got up in the night and wandered through the home, slamming doors, stashing things in closets. One night she had even managed to go outside and set off the alarm. I had always thought of Bevin as a girl with an infinite capacity to sleep,

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-40404463405363396042007-02-23T20:45:00.000-08:002007-02-23T21:12:16.660-08:00

I’ve been going through Bevin’s discharge paper. Interested to learn just a little bit more about her “inappropriate” friendship with a girl at her group home. Bevin has always been one to form friendships--her ability to do that has often left me meditating on the nature of friendship. But that’s another story. Here’s what was “inappropriate” about her relationship with her most recent friend-

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-7325984384693722692007-02-22T20:03:00.000-08:002007-02-22T20:04:50.921-08:00

Bevin and I arrived in Seattle this afternoon. Settling in. . . . . . .

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1972412533759724562007-02-17T20:27:00.000-08:002007-02-17T20:29:24.853-08:00

Friday was my last day at work until May 21. I leave tomorrow to drive to Utah. I'll pick Bevin up at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Burn her bridges.And then the adventure begins. I am so looking forward to bringing Bevin to Seattle.

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-87302942645031905012007-02-09T20:30:00.000-08:002007-02-09T21:15:31.351-08:00

Recently I’ve been attending to my own eddy into the global economy. I was given the job at my work of “mentoring” a new doc team in India, charged with supporting and documenting Adobe products that are being engineered there. Unfortunately we didn’t have a stellar beginning. Too late. Every decision tactical--and a bit late at that. Never quite got ahead of the curve. . .For the past week (and

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-20393976187448551362007-02-05T18:53:00.000-08:002007-02-05T20:19:12.653-08:00

I just finished reading a blog posted by someone I knew at a distance during my college years. This person went on to become a professor, the professor of my son, and in the end his friend. He now blogs at the same site as Nathan. Jim posted a fine blog on the ordinary. Here’s a passage from the post that arrested my attention:                Much about the ordinary world has changed in my life

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-52021159290497012992007-01-31T18:39:00.000-08:002007-02-01T19:22:33.328-08:00

Between my early twenties and my early fifties, I never held a full-time job. To be honest, I generally held multiple jobs. Part-time jobs when my children were younger. Multiple jobs, at the same time, as they grew--graduate student, teacher, editor, writer, single mother. But 40 hours a week at one job never. In my early fifties, I was hired as an editor in the documentation group at Adobe, a

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-57244439728712618422007-01-29T18:31:00.000-08:002007-01-29T19:07:07.482-08:00

My son, it turns out, discovered this blog and has visited it from time to time. He was left scratching his head about the question of audience. Do I imagine an audience? Is this really public discourse? Not sure I have a good answer for a good question. Certainly what I have been writing is personal, random, modest, no obvious thread of continuity. I’ve been happy to think I have no readers.

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-79395929933212042422007-01-28T18:37:00.000-08:002007-01-28T18:42:47.245-08:00

Things are progressing.My application at work has been approved. With luck, my family leave will begin on February 19.I’ve heard that Bevin qualifies in Washington. When she moves here, the application can go in? What does that mean? I admit I’m feeling major anxiety. I will bring Bevin to Washington. But I don’t know what that will mean for my life.Something that really hit me. I just

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-62408384767532019012007-01-28T18:04:00.000-08:002007-01-28T18:14:02.162-08:00

I’m currently reading a biography of Thomas Hardy by Claire Tomlin. I think it’s a very good book. Here’s what it’s made me think about in my own life. I want to write about both.--Hardy at the death of his first wife wrote an incredible cycle of poems. Some of my favorite in his oevre. Her death, the end of the story, helped him to look back to the beginning. And those poems are about the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-16470739897898262142007-01-26T19:15:00.000-08:002007-01-26T19:22:53.768-08:00

That saves me from my moral dilemma. Someone at work told me to freeze my cell phone to help it dry out. So I did. After a couple of days, I extracted it from the freezer. Before I went to bed last night, I plugged it into the charger. It lit up to tell me it was charging. I woke up this morning to a helpful message that it was charged. So I took the obvious next step. I turned it on.Voila! It

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-15747407804182545352007-01-24T18:34:00.000-08:002007-01-24T18:53:55.311-08:00

Over the holidays, my husband and I changed our cell service. And as a result got new cell phones. Cool razor phones--is that the term? Fit easily in the pocket. Easy text messaging, pictures, and so on. Great fun.Well, that was the problem. Easily fits in the pocket. A couple of nights ago I managed to launder my new cell phone. Went through the entire cycle.Found it the next morning. Very

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-74707938701738284972007-01-22T19:40:00.000-08:002007-01-22T19:53:59.791-08:00

I watched Dumbo this weekend with my 5-year-old granddaughter and my 2.5 year-old grandson (one of two). I can’t remember when I last watched Dumbo. But it was at least as interesting to watch my grandchildren watch Dumbo as it was to watch the distantly remembered movie from my own childhood.. The granddaughter loved it. Watched every minute. That was Clara. The grandson was a bit more on the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-50869791154398290272007-01-22T19:17:00.000-08:002007-01-22T19:34:08.506-08:00

I just found a really wonderful site called Library Thing. I had experimented with ReaderWare--cataloguing books that I buy and writing short summaries of books as I encounter them. Help the old failing memory. This site allows this online. I always like web sites--not the need to have local software. You can access the site from multiple locations. Also, it is more easily available to

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-27737042788819062002007-01-17T18:35:00.000-08:002007-01-17T18:45:45.083-08:00

Snow in Seattle amuses me. The city shuts down and waits for the snow to melt. Schools shut down. The roads gridloack. Businesses don't open. No one talks about anything else.I grew up in southeastern Idaho. Snow in the winter, lots of wind, and below zero temperatures. I walked to school through the eighth grade. Walked to a bus stop and waited for the bus outside until I graduated from high

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-34995711079536415012007-01-16T18:52:00.000-08:002007-01-16T19:26:00.147-08:00

I started talking about buying a new car last fall. I had a 2000 Volvo S40 that I loved. Few problems. Driving is my hobby. I love to explore the area, listening to an audio book. My commute is under 3 miles (and alas I drive rather than hop the bus at the corner). Most of my miles come because I love to drive. It goes back to Sunday drives with my family. Or weekend drives. To Yellowstone. To

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-66514924961395354802007-01-16T16:18:00.000-08:002007-01-16T16:27:10.886-08:00

I just finished listening to Villette by Charlotte Bronte. I had read the book before but never had it read to me. I didn't expect to enjoy it quite as much as I did or be as impressed. This is an odd and impressive book. Bronte is playing so explicitly with perspective. One of the key themes in the narrative has to do with surveillance and spying--watching, perspective. Much of this is focused

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-15534483004343404112007-01-15T18:40:00.000-08:002007-01-15T20:18:11.001-08:00

I do have thoughts on issues other than my idiot girl. But right now that seems to be what I write about. So I'll go with that. And then maybe try to prove I think about other things (like politics and movies and tv and food and. . .. .) as well.There has been a case in the news recently. A family here in the northwest who made the medical decision (and found doctors, ehticists, and a publishing

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-30827151406560528822007-01-11T20:09:00.000-08:002007-01-11T20:18:39.021-08:00

Not much. I just discovered that I haven't even completed all the paperwork. But I forge onward. I've begun telling everyone at work that I'l be out on "family leave" between middle February and middle May. So I have to get my act together and bring her to Seattle.Here's how the holidays went. From what I can tell, Bevin is sabotaging herself in two different ways in Utah. With her group home:

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1162699840444631812006-11-04T19:53:00.000-08:002006-11-12T09:22:13.636-08:00

About ten years ago, I made some decisions about Bevin based on this line of reasoning: she is easily pleased, easily okay, even happy, with her world. She has an amazing capacity for optimism, moving on. And so I balanced the quality of my life against the quality of hers. And I've allowed myself some ten years of focus on the quality of my life--work, personal time, creativity, travel, peace,

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1162610683613527802006-11-03T19:14:00.000-08:002006-11-03T19:24:43.623-08:00

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1162607648833391922006-11-03T18:05:00.000-08:002006-11-03T18:42:03.003-08:00

I've made some progress on bringing my beloved idiot girl to Seattle. I've filled out the paperwork. I've explored things to the point that I know I can take a leave of absence from my work when she comes. And I'm going to do this. I've made the commitment. I spent time this week talking to the good people who run the group home where my daughter now lives--in Utah. I had a conversation with the

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1162013625655244892006-10-27T22:24:00.000-07:002006-10-27T22:33:45.670-07:00

I keep wondering about how to find language to explore the dilemma that is my metaphysical, spiritual life. I can't believe. I don't believe. That I admitted some twenty-five years ago. And I still feel at peace with that recognition. I spent the first thirty-five years of my life dutifully trying to believe, to do the right thing. And at some point so much had shifted that I had to admit to

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1161833207515751482006-10-25T20:17:00.000-07:002006-10-26T17:48:34.580-07:00

I spent last Saturday at a symposium sponsored by Sunstone. Sunstone publishes a magazine on Mormon history, literature, pop history, politics, you get the idea. Sunstone also sponsors a yearly symposium in Salt Lake City and smaller symposia in local areas. I visited the one in Seattle.The magazine and the symposia live on a short list of publications/groups/events the official church (of Jesus

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1160365960411526822006-10-08T20:48:00.000-07:002006-10-08T20:52:40.423-07:00

I have decided that I am going to bring my lovely idiot girl to Seattle. Lots of planning to complete. But I've decided that I'm going to take time off from work to find a decent place and settle us all in. I'm also hoping to cut back on work. More time for Bevin. More time for life. The goal is late January or February. I'll try to make an account of this.So far I've learned that Bevin can't

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1156914452974519762006-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:002006-08-29T22:07:33.033-07:00

My heart won over my head this weekend. I went to Utah, in large part to spend a weekend with my Idiot Girl. I visited friends. It was a perfect weekend for Bevin. We ate out twice on Friday. Three times on Saturday, with an additional picnic. That means this is how the days went: eat, drive, eat, drive, eat drive. What is more perfect for Bevin. Her topic desires: eat, ride, walk (and the fourth

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1156215534870736082006-08-21T19:48:00.000-07:002006-08-29T21:48:30.316-07:00

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1155784024097131122006-08-16T20:05:00.000-07:002006-08-16T20:07:04.116-07:00

So I've had this blog for several years. And as near as I can tell, no one has visited it. So I think I'm safe. Maybe I could try writing something just a wee bit public. Push these lazy fingers. Lay myself out there a bit.We'll see

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1155783142207076082006-08-16T19:39:00.000-07:002006-08-16T19:52:22.236-07:00

I haven't been writing. Because I don't think? Because I'm private? But who is reading this? So I'll proceed and see if I can write. I just saw a clip of Ronald Reagan and his famous "tear down that wall." I suppose I've come to believe that Ronald Reagan was a good man. And listening to an abridged version (I hesitate to admit) of his biography, I'm also willing to think that he was more

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1104469341038765062004-12-30T21:02:00.000-08:002004-12-31T10:56:49.483-08:00

I've been reading the new book by Temple Grandin, "Animals in Translation." Grandin is interesting because she is autistic and has enough language and ability to generalize to talk about what it is like to be autistic. My daughter Bevin is not autistic. She belongs to that broad spectdum of disabilities that autistic belongs to, however. And I learn more about her when I read about autism than

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1104206160208198452004-12-27T19:35:00.000-08:002004-12-27T20:03:08.763-08:00

Last night my husband and I watched the Gary Cooper movie, "Mr Deeds Goes to the City" (is that the title?). Mid-way through the movie my husband commented, "This movie has a lot to say about the world today. Red states and blue states. The urban, the blue. Elitist, without heart." I lost it. "You've always lived in a city. You've never lived in a rural area in your life! Does that mean, you're

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147057.post-1103600999067222652004-12-20T19:40:00.000-08:002004-12-20T19:49:59.066-08:00

I listen to audiobooks. I started this when I had a 140 mile-3-hour commute every weekend. It kept me awake while music put me to sleep. Just enough engagement of the mind to fight off exhaustion from the week and sleepiness. Last year I asked for an iPod for Christmas. And that device and Audible.com have been my friends for the past year. Now I can listen to audiobooks without fighting with

SusanShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13965733461636067163noreply@blogger.com0