On books

photo © Adrian van Leen for openphoto.net CC:PublicDomain

And not just these books.

Candy over at Keeping The Home, honestly one of the strangest women out there, recently said that she was re-organizing her home and putting in a new bookshelf because if she didn't the books would "take over her house". I would give you a direct quote but she doesn't keep links to her archives up. See, people tend to call her on her bullsh*t, which is hard to refute if people can c&p your exact words.

Anyway, in the corner of her living room she has a 6 shelf case which is half full of videos and plants, and she just put in what looks like a sunscreen display rack, which from the way she describes it, mostly holds her bible collection.

She also keeps this long book list on her blog, supposedly to show how well read she is. Mostly non-fiction at the junior high level, many of which she's reading for the umpteenth time through.

Needless to say, I'm not impressed.

I also seriously doubt she's really reading the more difficult fiction. Don Quixote was "funny"? Spare my ___

I'm concerned because she has her own little cult of Candy-ites going on there, who follow her every suggestion and recommendation like it came down from On High. I'm concerned that these young women and their daughters are going to look at her and think that that is the higest you can be, the best you can do.

It's not. And reading is my personal bugaboo.

Let me show you what a well-read house looks like






















This is what you see when you first come into my house. I can't really say what's where, but a lot of the hardcover fiction lands here.































This is the case beside my desk. Mostly sewing and knitting books, books on homekeeping, and some inspirational fiction.
















The case in the dining room, the one the husband made. All paperback fiction. In the desk beside it are the first editions and leather bounds. I want an all leather-bound library someday.


And I am going to stop there because Blogger is giving me fits about the pictures. We have cookbooks in the kitchen, non-fiction in the office (see those two in the first picture? We have two more of each in the office. Full.) romance by the bed, a full set of encyclopedias, some stashed in closets, some still out in the garage in boxes...the list goes on.

So I guess you could say they have taken over the house.

And before you ask, I've read about 80% of them. I haven't read all the husband's technical manuals or all the encyclopedias. I have read all the fiction.

In a house full of real readers, the books take over. They're friends, you can't just put them out.

And reading the bible over and over and over does not make you a real reader. Sorry.

If you want to read more blogs by some real readers I recommend the very secular Doc and the more religious Dawn.

Now if anyone would like to start a reading challenge, put it in the comments and we'll see what happens.

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By the way, I know I have people reading, I can see you on Feedjit over there. So comment already, will ya!

Bone deep angry

I have never been this kind of angry.

When I was in the eight grade someone decided to donate dental floss for all the kids at school. Some of the idiots in my class decided to play with it at recess, making a mess and almost getting people hurt. My girlfriend and I avoided them, because they were being stupid. After recess the teacher read us all the riot act, then told whoever had been out there playing with dental floss to go clean it up. We sat there. We saw no need to volunteer for punishment, we hadn't been stupid.

I didn't buy a house I couldn't afford. I had enough brains to ask the mortgage people straight, simple question and when they couldn't give me straight, simple answers I walked away. I was not stupid. Now not only are my tax dollars going to clean up the mess but it's also going to reward the bankers. I have to pay for someone else's dental floss.

Time to suck it up, take the pain and the lesson, and move on. Those of us who are responsible will buy your house on the other side. We didn't screw up, we do *not* deserve the punishment. We're going to sit here and chat while you clean up your own mess.

I'm going to do it anyway too

Since nobody tagged me either, here you go. I found this one over at Dawn's

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

Remodeling my grandparent's house. New floor, new paint, new wiring, new a lot of things. At the same time teaching in a year-round school in the worst possible part of town. But let's not go there, that's still a sore spot for me.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today:

• Hang laundry
• Wash dishes
• Wash and fold the towels
• Finish the outer layer of the cherry tea cozy
• Make the menu for August

3. Snacks I enjoy:

• Tea and scones
  
• Red peppers and ranch dip (I have to agree with Dawn on this one)
  
• Kettle corn
  
• Double chocolate oatmeal cookies
  
• Tuna melts (all right, that's a lunch. We don't snack that much here.)
  

4. Things I would do if I were a billionare:

• Buy that 9 acre chunk of land and build a house an a small farm on it
  
• Buy health insurance so the husband could go to school full time
  
• Adopt.
• Set some retirement funds aside for Mother's long term care
  
• Visit New England, and friends out there
  

5. Places I have lived:

• Monterey, CA
• Fresno, CA
• Carmel, CA
• Pacific Grove, CA
• Medford, OR

And who am I tagging?

Whoever wants it, just point me when you're done.

A validation of the work of women

photo © Sarah Klockars-Clauser for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

Everyone go read the Harlot today.

Shoo, go.

On abortion and birth control pills

photo © Darren Hester for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-NonCommercial

Found on Salon.com

The Bush administration wants to require all recipients of aid under federal health programs to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control." It is worth restating: The administration wants to ensure that recipients of federal health funding -- including women's clinics -- cannot deny employment based on a refusal to perform abortions or distribute birth control.

The proposal could potentially redefine birth control as abortion. The proposal classifies abortion as "any of the various procedures -- including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action -- that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation." That last part is critical because some argue that hormonal birth control and emergency contraception can prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg.

Now I am firmly against abortion. I believe that if you are stupid enough not to use a condom, and you have yet to figure out that mutual masturbation, dildos and vibes will gain you the same net effect, without any disease or pregnancy risk at all you shouldn't take your stupid out on the kid. Step up to the plate, suffer the nine months, and then put the kid up for adoption. And don't give me that "My hear will break after carrying it nine months and then giving it away." Like killing it is so much easier. At least it will be alive somewhere and I can tell you now it will be with a family that loves it.

No, I think this is a stupid idea coming out of the Bush administration simply because it violates the right of privacy of every woman who ever had to take female hormones for any reason. Picture it, you're standing in line at Wal-Mart, and you have to explain to the Fundamentalist pharmacist, who took that job knowing he would have to do something against his religion and just wanted to make a political point, a strange man, that you're taking hormones to keep from having a miscarriage. Or to treat cancer. Or to regulate your period. Or to ease the symptoms of menopause. And knowing the type, you might have to explain to him that you're married, and faithful to your husband.

Yes, you always wanted to discuss your sex life with a stranger in front of everyone in Wal-Mart, now, didn't you?

I didn't think so.

And what if he says no? What if there's no place else to get that prescription? I'm planning to take progesterone to try to prevent a miscarriage when we try for children again. If he refuses, he'd be killing my unborn child. Does that mean I can accuse him of murder? Would that give me my baby back?

Someone needs to remind these people that doctors are the ones who should be helping women make these decisions, on a case by case business. Not politicians.

This says something

photo © Michael Jastremski for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

I openly admit that I didn't do things in the right order. I'm not proud that I got pregnant--twice--out of wedlock.

I too had a child prior to getting married, isn't grace wonderful!

One of the hurdles both my husband and I had to overcome, was that we were both fornicators before we got saved and married.

I had a child prior out of marriage prior to being saved too.

I also had 2 children out of wedlock and was married 7 years ago the end of this month. I also had one of those children when I was 16.

my Hubby and I "lived in sin" before we got married.

I could find more, I'm looking for more.

It just seems like there is a progression here. People who follow/once followed the Pearls/Patriocentricity/extreme complimentarianisim all start out with unwanted children they have "trouble controlling". And they all have trouble controlling their own sexuality. If they didn't, they wouldn't have gotten pregnant before they were ready.

You know, I hate to say it's a question of maturity, of knowledge, but it sure looks that way to me. I expect my role models and my deities to be, well, better at things than I am, and I as a Pagan (back then) and Liberal (still) and frankly member of a very sex positive set (yep, still), I still managed to keep my legs together. Apparently all these good, church-going women simply could not say no, but I could sit in the middle of a sex club and have no problem turning it down. And some of, no all, of the most amazing parents I have ever seen are gay and lesbian, who clearly planned for and wanted every child. Planning your family matters, this is quite clear to me. It simply makes you a better, more patient parent.

Another break in the glass, if it was this important to this deity, he would find a way over time to get his followers to live by what they preached. When you look at the actions, not the words or the books, being Conservative and Christian means having as many babies as possible, regardless of marital state, and being irresponsible about sexuality. Which is just not something I can hold with. All this "God forgives all sins and gives grace without works" is just an excuse to be irresponsible, really. If God wasn't going to forgive you, how would you behave?

I'll add more quotes as I find them.