Re-evaluations

In the spirit of the new year, I've been re-evaluating my charitable donations. In an effort to put my money where my mouth is: i.e. the importance of food, clean water, education and economic opportunities for those living in a type of poverty that we in America can barely imagine.

I've been looking at these charities this morning:

(All have been located via Charity Navigator, which rates the efficacy of how the charity uses its donations.)

Water for People. This charity helps develop local, sustainable water sources, sanitation and health/hygiene education. They got a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator and 84.3% of funds go directly to projects.

Women for Women International. "...supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid, job-skills training, rights education and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives." They have a 3 star rating and 71.5% goes to projects.

Techno Serve. "...helps entrepreneurial men and women in poor rural areas of the developing world to build businesses that create income, opportunity and economic growth for their families, their communities and their countries." Their rating is 4 star and 82.7% goes to projects.

World Neighbors . "..focuses on training and educating communities to find lasting solutions to the challenges they face – hunger, poverty and disease – rather than giving them food, money or constructing buildings. Communities tell World Neighbors what their needs are, and World Neighbors, in turn, works with them to acquire the knowledge, skills and organization to solve their problems." 4 star and 74.4%

Living Water International. "..is a leading implementer of participatory, community-based water solutions in developing nations. In its 16-year history, LWI has completed nearly 6,500 community water projects in 25 countries, which provide safe, clean water to 9.5 million people every day." 4 star rating and 83.2%. (Note this is a Christian charity which may or may not make it more appealing to some. I do tend to balk at charities that link getting help with accepting the faith of the helpers.)

Root Capital. "...By supporting grassroots businesses that value environmental stewardship, Root Capital is strengthening sustainable livelihoods and transforming rural economies in poor, environmentally vulnerable places." 4 stars and 75.8%

Room to Read. "...partner with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, providing education to girls and establishing computer labs. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time." 4 stars and 86.4%.

Trickle Up. "...offers grants, not loans, to entrepreneurs because we are committed to working with the extreme poor — people living on less than $1 a day who are unable to obtain a microloan. We focus our support on women. The majority report that, once they have launched their businesses, they are able to provide better nutrition, health care and education for their families. We also focus on providing support to people with disabilities."
4 stars and 84.7%.

I once had a conversation with a staunchly conservative Christian in which she complained that I didn't like her solutions and she didn't like my solutions.

What I wish I had said: It doesn't matter, we all just need to do our little bit. Your solutions will help some, mine will help others and between us, maybe we can help all who are in need.

The boyz say: Is there a charity that provides human grade tuna to neglected kittens?

Loki Sunday

The love seat in the front room is pushed up in front of the windows that over look the bird feeders. We call it Cat TV.

Loki loves Cat TV.



When the sun sets and all the birdies go home to roost for the night, we close the blinds and that is that until the next morning.

Until about a week ago. Loki became obsessed with Cat TV at Night. He wouldn't leave the back of the couch, not even for Jeopardy!

Loki sez: There's something out there!

He became so obsessed that when we shut him out of the front room, he would stand at the kitchen door and cry. One night he tried to leap up into the laundry room windows.

"It's a palmetto bug," I said.

Then one evening, he had Thor there at the window, staring. So I joined them. Plopped down and put my head on the back of the sofa between them and began looking.

And there it was, peeking out over the window ledge, a tiny little field mouse. Hopefully the same one that was in the air ducts, now living free.

Loki sez: No one ever believes me.

Saturday On the Couch

I got my orders from my doc yesterday: Plant my ass somewhere, ice the knee, and take anti-inflammatories until I get an assessment from the ortho doc.

Which isn't until Tuesday.

Now, sitting on your butt, watching TV and movies, reading books, pushing all the boring drudgery of chores off either to another day or another person may sound like fun.

But it isn't. After the first four hours or so, I'm wondering if I still have my crutches from my last knee surgery. That's technically no weight bearing, right?

And of course Thor knows I'm not supposed to get up because he is a cat and cats freaking understand English and are psychic, so he goes as far away from where I am as he possible can and starts up with his pathetic I'm probably dying but you don't care meow, knowing full well that I will only be able to tolerate about five minutes of it before I have to get up and hobble down the hall where I will find him belly up, maximum cute face on, paws kneading in the air, purr loud enough to be heard next door, his eyes begging me to play with him.

Thor sez: Like this?

Loki, on the other hand, is a good bed/couch rest cat. He will curl up beside me and lick my thumb until the skin is peeling off and I have a dozen pin-prick holes in my flesh from his claws.


Loki sez: What? I like to lick your thumb.

Flying While Brown

Jason and I have about the same conversation every time we fly. Just before boarding, I will make a ladies room run. He asks me why I can't go on the plane and I tell him that if the plane crashes, I don't want to be found dead in the head with my pants around my ankles.

Good thing I don't wear a scarf and that Jason is fair skinned and fair haired.

It just goes to prove that often people aren't suspicious of what you say, but how you look.

I have also made remarks on board about where the safest seats were located.

Difference? Oh yeah, I'm white and Americanized, not brownish and foreign looking.

Jason bought a book of photography the other day. It's called What Matters. I was struck by several photographs. One was of a filthy, balding three year old girl, her hands black from the labor she does at a battery recycling plant in Bangladesh, the other a three or four year old American girl at a day spa, getting her first mani/pedi.

There was another striking contrast in the photos of a young woman in India who was scavenging from a junk yard and a young American teen who was scavenging through the hundreds of articles of clothing strewn on her bedroom floor, looking for something to wear that day.

I know we can't undo all the injustices in the world. I like my luxuries also. But we, as a nation, need to really look and see how most of the world lives and stop being so wasteful and gluttonous and ignorant to the fact that thousands are dying every day for a want of the simplest things that we take for granted.

Like a glass of clean water to drink.

Like more than a mouthful of food a day.

Like more than a single scrap of clothing to wear.

Like not having our three year old daughters work cracking open batteries by hand so she can get a meal at the end of a 13 hour work day.

American pets live better than many children in this world.

We need to stop pretending, looking the other way, shrugging our shoulders and saying there is nothing we can do about it. We need figure out how to do something about it.

Poverty breeds desperation and desperation breeds anger and anger breeds terrorism.

Happy New Year!

We spent an exciting New Year's Eve watching Burn After Reading and sleeping. Whew! Party animals, that's us.

Thor sez: Must you type so loud? Just cos you went to bed early...

I'm not big on New Year resolutions but I looked back to see how I'd done on the ones I made last year.

Ha. Haha. Hahaha.

But that's why we celebrate the turning of the year, so we can try again, right?

So this year I resolve to:

1. Fix my knee(s). Which will help with resolutions 2 and 3:

2. Get my cholesterol level down.

3. Get my fasting glucose levels down to normal (Last tests showed I was pre-diabetic, which I totally don't get - I'm not overweight, and while I don't exercise regularly, I have an extremely active job - it's not like I'm sitting at a desk all night. Literally, I can walk several miles in a 12 hour shift).

4. Actually leave my savings in my savings account. It was embarassing, the number of transfers back and forth I did last year.

Thor sez: I see no savings in your future. I see more cat toys!

By the way, it's Thor's Day!

I've been annoying him by singing the Sparta song to him using "little Thor-bee" instead of "little Sparta".

Thor sez: It isn't the song, but your off-key screeching that is annoying.

Stuck in My Head!

Get hooked on Sparta!

And he has a brother named Loki!

Meniscus Monday

Why can't I have exciting injuries?

For real. It's embarrassing to be limping around with a knee cap twice it's normal size and have to say, when asked what happened:

"I was walking across the Publix parking lot and something popped."

Seriously, why can't I have an exciting story like I had to leap over a fence to save a kitten or puppy from some horrible danger and although, yes, I felt my knee blow out like a tire on Ralphie's father's car, I ignored the pain until the kitten and/or puppy were safe.

Or: I was climbing Grandfather Mountain (why not Everest - FPS you know that'd be lie) and slipped on a patch of ice.

Nope. Just walking.

So now instead of just going to an orthopedic doctor, I have to get an appointment with my primary doc (wasting her time, my time, depriving another patient of an appointment, and wasting my co-pay) just so she can shrug and say, "go see an orthopedic doc". Then I get to try to get an appointment with a new doc and pay an even bigger co-pay.

It's annoying.

Thor sez: No, what is annoying is your insistance that your knee brace isn't a good chew toy.

Loki Sunday

Sunny day Loki.

Thor's Day!

Thor is very upset that we humans have now had two major holidays on "his" day. I tried to explain the cyclical nature of the calendar to him, but as he really only understands the words "supper" and "cat nip", I don't think I made much progress.

In the interest of household peace, we will continue with our regularly scheduled Thor's Day.

Some long time readers may remember The Bra Incident and subsequent misadventures in which Thor chewed through not only several bra straps, but an exercise band, fishing line (used to hang photographs) and Odin only knows what else.

Thor is, an elastiholic. We've had to become diligent in what we leave within Thor reach. But it is everywhere. Sometimes you just don't realize he's found something until you hear some strange little noise (and with cats, as with two year olds, both sudden silence and funny noises must be investigated immediately).




Thor sez: Uhhh... I was helping you open it.

'Twas the Day Before Christmas

And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring

Except for Thor's mouse

And Thor, who wondered if Santa really knew if he'd been good

Because Loki was so sure that he could

When suddenly there arose such a clatter
He's here! I hear him up over my head!

Oh, no! And us, being bad out of bed!

Quick! Lay down, pretend you're asleep!
Or all our presents he'll keep!


And to all our good friends and dear readers alike,
Merry Christmas!

Twofer Tuesday

1. Today, our local paper had the annual letter to the editor claiming that there was no more Christmas. That NOBODY said "Merry Christmas", that NO STORES had Christmas sales, that NO WHERE in the entire nation could one find one single reference to Christmas ANYWHERE.

2. It's been splashing around the news about the state of SC giving up the legal battle for the personalized vanity plates that say "I Believe" and show a cross and a stained glass window, two images most closely associated with the Christian faith. Now people are getting to indulge in their favorite emotion: righteous indignation. It's a choice, they say. You aren't forced to get one, they say. And they are correct. The problem is that the state is refusing to offer plates to followers of Judaism, Islam or any other major faith. One state law maker (and I can't find the article, it was in the City Paper not too long ago) when asked if a plate would be made available for Muslims said something along the lines of "of course not!" That, my dear Christian friends, is the problem with the plates. They will only be offered to followers of one specific faith. And, yes, followers of others can buy bumper stickers. So can you.


Loki sez: Say Merry Christmas!

Thor sez: But we are Norse pagans!

Monday Stuff

The presents are wrapped. The wild creatures have their Solstice feast laid out. I've officially decided no Christmas tree this year. Jason has a better vacation kitten that I've ever had (but then, they had to clear the driveway of snow three times yesterday and walk to a neighbors to borrow a tractor to clear the drive this morning and that, my friends, just ain't right)

Mitzi, the Maine Coon Cat:

Isn't she gorgeous? I'm totally jealous.

I'm told this is what is known as snow, but as it did not melt by noon, I suspect it is some Yankee joke thing.

Ugh. That makes me want to eat something horrendously fatty and go back to bed until May.

Thor sez: That cat isn't cuter than me!

Loki Sunday

Random Loki funnies:



Loki sez: I will not sit on top of the Christmas tree!

The Other Reason for the Season

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice. Many people celebrate this in many ways. The unifying theme is that it is the shortest day of the year, and from that day forward, the days begin to become longer and longer. The celebrations are that of life (sun, warmth) over death (dark, cold).

I make my solstice celebration into a nod to one of the stories of the Christmas tree: that northern European pagans would go into the forest and tie presents of food to the branches for the protective spirits of the animals that the pagans depended upon for food and clothing. The protective spirits would be pleased and there would be plenty of game to hunt in the summer to come.

In short, extra food for the critters.

Thor sez: What? You said we could have extra!

My Personal Super-Hero

Jason is visiting back home for Christmas. Last night was our last night together before Christmas Day, so we opened our "big" presents to each other.

Now, I have been sweating bullets over the gift I got him. Since last June when the idea first occurred to me, all through the summer, fretting over the entire idea. Even when I received the final product, which I loved, I worried. I was stressing out big time.

Because it was one of those things that he was either going to absolutely love or absolutely hate with no middle ground.

Luckily, he absolutely loved it.

If you know Jason, you know he is a comic book fan. Last spring, he wrote an article about the comic book industry. I contacted one of the interviewed artists, Jeremy Dale, and commissioned a portrait of Jason (and the kittens, of course) as comic book superheroes.

I sent him a few photographs, came up with a rough story line/idea and Jeremy did the rest. My art photography skills aren't up to Jeremy's art skills, but the work turned out fantastic! Click on them for greater detail.

Here's the whole piece:

This is the opening scenes, Charleston harbor, Jason hard at work, the kittens resting, then DANGER!

Transforming into superheroes.

Super Jason!

Super Loki!

Super Thor!

This was a huge hit with everyone who saw it. Jason was first excited when he saw Jeremy's signature at the top, then he was "oh, how nice"-ing at the picture, then there was the "Wait a minute! That's me! And the cats!"

He loved it and I loved that he loved it and I genuinely surprised and delighted him!

Thanks a billion, Jeremy Dale!

Thor's Day!

Jason says Thor has child star syndrome.

Maybe.




Thor sez: No more photographs, I'm exhausted!

I'm Sure There Wasn't a Recall

Or Chapter 50 on why people my age are tougher than the wimpy babies of today will grow up to be.

We survived contraptions such as this:

Look at that top bar, just perfect for knocking out new teeth and splitting open lips.

Mischevious older brother probably sold separately.

Cats Tossing Hats

Actually, it's a collar that Thor so convincingly acted like was strangling him half to death that I was afraid to put it on Loki. So I used it as a hat.

Then Loki decided it would make a fine toy.

A tossing toy.

Then Thor had to get in on the hat tossing action.

The "hat" is now in hiding, a human supervised toy only because I'm afraid Thor will chew off and swallow one of the bells.

Past, Present, Future

I spent a few hours yesterday at my mother's house, sorting through boxes and boxes and envelope after envelope of photographs. It helps that I'm somewhat pathologically addicted to looking at photographs. Got a ton of vacation pictures that no-one wants to look at? Invite me over, I'll look at them and ask for more.

I did discover one jewel - a photograph of my grandfather in his christening gown. It's in pretty good shape, but I'm going to have to take it in to see how much it would be to have it restored.

Most of the photographs were the generic family stuff - babies coming home, birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, little league t-ball games, vacations. My mother keeps it all.

And it was odd, after looking at (and confusing) all my four nieces as babies and at one and two years old to come home and tell Jason that one of my nieces was having a party at her house for my great-niece.

Time, time, time. It does rush right on by now, doesn't it?

Then there was the progression of me. Young, thin, glasses, contacts, long hair, short hair, 80's hair. And even a bit more revealing, that I could read in my eyes through the years where my ex was at in his drunk/sober stages. I didn't know the depression was so evident, that in spite of the smiles I tried to put on, all that pain was right there in my eyes.

And then the new me. She was older with lines starting to show and a few pounds starting to pack on to the once so skinny frame. The one with the gray really starting to advance, the one with the different hair color at every different occasion because she couldn't decide on brunette or redhead.

But her eyes matched her smile.

And all that staring into the past and being grateful for my present naturally made my thoughts turn to the future.

Each decade of my adult life seems to have been better than the last. My twenties were a painful time of living with an active substance abuser. Thirty was an awesome decade of going back to school, reclaiming my self esteem, leaving my marriage and standing on my own. My forties were spent rediscovering my passion for writing, buying a house, creating a home and learning what love really means.

Soon, I'll turn 50 and I'm not sure what lies ahead for me in those years. But I've realized that with each decade, I was changing, I was doing something new, reinventing myself, challenging myself in some way. I've got a couple of years to figure out what that is going to be this time. But I'm looking forward to it.

Loki sez: You assume you will survive the retribution we plan for this humiliation.