Hector for President and Other Silly Ramblings

Opie didn't make it

He seemed to be recovering and then didn't.  He was such a sweet boy.  I miss his little orange self bounding through the house.  The girls have become more affectionate in his absence though.  Rose is back to being a presence in my lap

Opie

Opie's in the hospital - but should be okay.  He got one of those tick borne diseases and was a very sick boy with a temp of 105.  he's getting massive doses of antibiotics and probably can come home this afternoon or tomorrow.  I miss him but I am not sure all the girls do.  Rose has taken the opportunity to be a lap cat again and be cuddly.  She is so funny - she squeeks -  kind of like she is too shy to really make a noise or ask for pets.

Peas

 Fresh garden peas....yummm.  Of course I sacrificed my body to the mosquitos to get them....next time SSS all over!

Gardening

I know it's been a year..I have been thinking about Hector lately.  In spite of the four cats who are mostly very affectionate and loving I still miss him...

We moved, I had Doyle dig up a really big piece of the yard for a garden and we went and bought plants this morning before I came to the store.  Skip was terrifically excited, like running in circles, that he got to go along. We now have about 20 tomato plants in 7 or eight varieties.  Bradleys, some odd heirloom varieties, Cherokee purples, Abe Lincolns, yellow pears and red plums, cherries and something called tomatoberries.  There are more but I can't remember now.  and a dozen peppers.  This is of course on top of the MANY varieties of seeds I got online.  I have several kinds of lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, chard coming up, kohlrabi.....planting beans - limas and romas and plain old, and squash, zucchini, varieties of summer, delicata, acorn, butternut...., cukes, three kinds of corn, pumpkins.....went a little nuts I guess, but i do have that huge freezer out there that sits mostly empty except for dye plants I've harvested and frozen.  That's a whole other section of the garden.....wish I could have a dandelion patch, they are yummy to eat, extremely healthy and the flowers work for dye or wine. 

Skippy is a pretty smart boy

Skipper learned how to play frisbee and fetch on Sunday.  He has previously had NO INTEREST in fetching anything.  So Sunday morning Doyle and I hung out in the yard playing frisbee and working on getting him interested.  He got it pretty quickly and now plays fetch with the frisbee.  Although this morning he was being smart - hah - and decided to make Doyle work for it some.  He started leaving the frisbee about 10 feet away and then came over to get his praise....but this is Doyle we are talking about here - that didn't work for him and we'll try again tomorrow.

CSAs

Several of us have bought shares of local organic produce and are pretty excited about it.  Hector would be okay with this - but would be saying "bring me meat please".  Delvin Farms sells shares of their produce for the season (May through October) and you get a 1/2 bushel of organic veggies every week.  This is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and it is a growing phenomenon across the country.  Transporting produce grown by huge agribusinesses uses a lot of resources and the food they grow is much less tasty.  They use varieties that ship well rather than those that taste good.  This supports local small farms that otherwise have difficulty getting their products into the stores.  And you eat better!  My only real resolution for this year was to eat more healthily - and add a LOT more veggies to my diet.  I have finally gotten to the point where if I don't have them for a meal I really crave them.  I never thought I could get there.  I've always been a real meat and carbs person.  If you are interested in this, google Delvin farms and see what its all about.  Apparently they have other stuff available too.  Raw milk (I am wanting to make cheese and ultra pastuerized milk won't become cheese).  This is Stacy and Barbara Kingsolver's fault.......She has a great book on local foods and how her family did this for a year - raising their own stuff and only eating what they could get locally and in season.  Stacy told me about Delvin Farms.  I try to get to the Farmer's market here in town when it opens but that can be frustrating - some of those folks aren't producing their own stuff - buying from others and bringing it in - and those cold storage tomatoes aren't good.  There was a guy there last year who raised organic veggies and had amazing heirloom tomatoes, potatoes and other things - mushrooms, sweet potatoes, etc.  And occasionally there's been a person with beef he raised himself with no hormones and antibiotics.   But that's another topic...

Pet updates:  Skipper and Rosie have become friends and occasionally play chase in the house.  This is loud and fun to watch.  Kashi wants to but can't bring herself to play with a dog yet.  Lullabelle watches with disdain for the whole bunch of them.

How about this?

I think Hector would have approved.  Not sure about the present cats.  Rose has been "fixed" and this has affected the hierarchy I think.  She is not always the queen at this point and is being challenged more often by Lullabelle and Kashi....but I like this one still.

Now is the Time for a Department of Peace

America has lost her moral compass in the world.  In the face of Hidatha, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, people around the world are calling on the United States to cease and desist in Iraq.  We are facing a grave moral crisis in this country.  We have lost our way and it is time for us to return to the great democratic principles that are the true spirit of this nation.  It is time for us as a nation to face up to the responsibilities we have.  We must stop making war on people who have not attacked us.  We must apologize to those we have harmed and make restitution and we must work internationally towards peace.

That is why I am supporting legislation to establish a Federal Level Department of Peace and Nonviolence. The primary function of a United States Department of Peace will be to research, articulate and facilitate nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflict. The Department of Peace will facilitate the most cutting edge ways to wage peace. From nonviolent communication skills, to conflict resolution techniques and cultural relationship building, the Department of Peace will employ proven and effective strategies for diminishing violence in our country and in our world. As a member of the President’s cabinet, the Secretary of Peace will provide the President; the State Department; the Departments of Defense, Education and Justice with greatly expanded problem solving options. The Department of Peace will also provide support for state and local government to address issues of domestic violence.

The Department of Peace would research and analyze foreign policy and recommend to the President ways to address the root causes of war.   A Peace Academy, on par with the Military Academies, would train civilian peacekeepers and the military in the latest nonviolent conflict resolution techniques and approaches. The Department would also provide expert advice to the President when diffusing or dealing with international crises.

Domestically, the Department would be responsible for developing new policies that address issues such as child abuse, domestic violence, gang violence, and cultural and racial violence.  Statistics reveal that each year, medical expenses from domestic violence alone total at least $3 to $5 billion. Businesses forfeit another $100 million in lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism and non-productivity due to domestic violence.  Teaching violence prevention and mediation to America’s school children is just one of the many ways a U.S. Department of Peace would reduce violence in our homes and schools. 

The idea of a Department of Peace is not new.  In fact it dates back to 1792 and it has been proposed numerous times over the course of this nation's history.  Currently, no other federal agency or department looks at the root causes of violence or provides the President with counsel.  There is an urgent need for a Department of Peace.  Nuclear proliferation creates the critical need to interrupt the current cycles of violence internationally and domestically, criminal and domestic violence places intense financial pressures on the city, county and state government.

We need a Department of Peace in order to provide new, proactive approaches to violence reduction both domestically and internationally.  Our traditional political problem solving methods focus primarily on addressing symptoms of violence, such as imprisonment for offenders and engagement in armed conflict.  The United States should be as effective in addressing the sources of violence as we are in addressing its symptoms.  A Department of Peace will reduce international and domestic violence, it will help to build peace making efforts among conflicting communities both here and abroad and it will support our military with complementary approaches to ending violence. Peace belongs to all of us, so let's make it part of every aspect of our lives, including how we think, how we act, and how we govern.

Chris Lugo for US Senate
9 Music Sq So #164
Nashville, TN 37203
615-593-0304
chris4senate@gmail.com
www.voteforpeace.info

Hector would not agree with this

There's a bill to retroactivley not allow lawsuits against the phone companies who gave out private information to the government about their customers.  Hector would hate that. Write your congressman/woman and tell them to stand up for us and not pass the senate version of the bill that has this clause in it.  IT's wrong

Introducing Skipper/Skippy

He just showed up, hungry, on our door step last week.  Isn't he a pretty boy?  Doyle has become very attached, He walks Doyle most mornings and gets a bit of leash training.  He's young and learning but does not appreciate the leash AT ALL.  The cats do not appreciate him much but will at least sit in the same room with him.  He has a rule and is able to follow it mostly - Thou shall not look at cats.  He usually can manage to do this and not chase them.  It must be a bit unnerving to not look at them and pretend they don't exist, considering they watch him like a hawk.  His name was finally chosen by Doyle after playing with several others - Henry, Tippy, etc.  He seems to like it.

By the way the grey one has chosen her name - Don't know where they get these names but they are not things I would normally name a cat so they must be communicating at me.  She's Lulabelle.  She looks at you and often comes when called now.  She is quite possessive of me and still not friends with Rose and Kashi who she does not think should be on my lap.

New Kitties

This is Miss Little Rose Flower...Rosie for short.  She is tiny, but growing and her attitude makes up for her small size.  She is queen of everything.  She is very curious about the baby but doesn't want him to touch her yet.  She loves chasing the laser light...and Doyle loves making her chase it.

This is Kasha/Kashi.  Depends on how formal she's being.  She and Rosie run all over chasing each other.  She's affectionate, but on her terms only.  She's interesting looking with all those odd spots.  She is a cat of some substance, but maybe with all th running they do she can lose a little.

This is Sally Blue - at least that's her temporary name until she bothers to tell me what it really is.....Bluebell maybe....She is extremely shy.  She spent the first two weeks in total hiding.  She's come out a bit now and will rub on me or allow short petting times, but still doesn't want to be picked up.  She has a broken tail so maybe there is past trauma to overcome....she always has very big eyes and seems scared a lot.

They are all going to be great friends.  I still miss Hector terribly though and he is/was unique and special.