And the Winner Is...

Here is the name my lovely assistant, Aaron, selected at 10 PM last night. So Brady email me or leave a comment and let me know what you'd like a painting of. 

Thanks for all the participation! I had a good time reading everyone's comments. There are several things that I want to do a better job at - like remembering our cloth bags when I go to the supermarket.  

By the way, I'm curious - if you had won, what would you have wanted a painting of?

Warms My Heart

When I was feeding Reuben the other night things got a little messy. Reuben noticed the spilled food on his tray and spent more than ten minutes "drawing" patterns with his fingers in the goop. He became so preoccupied that he stopped eating and Reuben loves eating. It warms my heart. 

Ouch.

So everyone and their dog has heard by now that "human lactation" is better and healthier than formula for infants. But what about the "human lactators"? (Does that term sound lame to anyone else?) 

A recent study "Is Breastfeeding Really Free: The Economic Consequences of Breastfeeding for Mothers" reveals that within a year, mothers who choose to breast feed are more likely to see a dramatic decline in their income, a decline that ten years later they are unlikely to recover from. 

SOOO Depressing! Hmm, which to choose: a sick baby or a sick pay check? Reuben comes first. But realistically Reuben depends on me for economic as well as physical well being. Both disadvantages are disadvantages to him.

I'm getting most of this off Slate's XX Factor which I enjoy quite a bit. It'll fill you in on all the juicy details. You can see the study here. 

Let Someone Else Do Your Clean Work

Disney's movie Earth came out on Wednesday. I am a fan of natural history films of all types -though my heart rests in the more aged variety- but this one looks pretty spectacular. It follows three families -humpback whale, polar bear and elephant. As a bonus, for every ticket you purchase opening week they will plant a tree. 

Threadless has a similar offer. Buy a "green" t-shirt and they will donate a dollar to the nature conservancy to plant a tree.

If you want to cut out the middle man you can buy yourself a dollar tree here. 

Happy Earth Day

I will draw the name Friday at 10 PM. 

Happy Earth Day!

Copper mining section between Ducktown and Copperhill], Tennessee. Fumes from smelting copper for sulfuric acid have destroyed all vegetation and eroded the land (LOC 1944)

I had a lot I wanted to write about today. I've been looking forward to Earth Day for weeks. But I find myself swamped with work to do. So here is five minutes of my Earth Day thoughts:

A couple of weeks ago I went to the local libraries book group. The book up for discussion was Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I had enjoyed the book and was very curious to see what others had to say about it. 

Aaron and I live in an area where million dollar condos are not unusual and all the attendees appeared to be from the local area and more than a little well off. I was consequently surprised that the most frequent complaint against the book was against the suggestion that people use their purchasing power to support more sustainable practices.

 Several people said, I liked the idea but doing this or buying that is so expensive/inconvenient.  These are people that I expect  have a much bigger budget than most Americans. And I thought if not you, than who? Who is going to start supporting sustainable practices? 

It was a good reminder that we will never have enough money to do the right thing. You have to decide what is right and then find a way to do it. How many of us Mormons really have enough money to pay a tithe? But it works because we have made the decision to be tithe payers. 

I believe the same thing about turning to Environmental practices. It is a moral decision because poor environmental practices, unsustainable living doesn't just hurt the big generalized "planet" It hurts people. It means chemicals in our drinking water, poison in our food, eroded land, deforestation, starvation. It means inequality. If you are rich you can escape the consequences and live where it is still pretty but if you are poor you live where it is dirty and unhealthy.

So there's my five minutes. In the next couple weeks I'll try to talk a little more about what Aaron Reuben and I are trying to do to live a little greener. We're not great at it but we've decided to try.

And if you made it to the end of this post, here's an offer that I've never tried before. In honor of Earth Day if you leave a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you get picked I will make you a 5x7 painting of the person or animal of your choice. Happy Earth Day!

A Day's Labor

I love the Library of Congress Photostream on Flikr. So many amazing images, like this one, "Day Laborers Picking Cotton Near Clarksdale Mississippi Delta - 1940." (1940!!) Can you believe how that cotton field stretches on FOREVER? And look at that little guy tagging along. It makes me appreciate how easy I have it. 

Unbunny - Nothing Comes To Rest

I've been enjoying this song.

True Confessions

I heard about this book based on this site and it made me laugh.

The Song of the Siren

Can you tell Reuben has been raised in the city? I got the camera just in time to catch the third fire engine go past. You can see his reaction to all the noise. Skills.

Break on Through

Reuben was being especially smiley yesterday so I took a few pictures. When I looked at them I noticed they show his tooth. 

Happy Easter

Good Friday

It is Good Friday, one of the most beautiful days of the year. In honor of this day I like to reread The Student by Chekhov. You can listen to it here. I reflect on this story often when I take the sacrament.

Happenings

Here's some recent happenings. Spring brought us a nice surprise, popcorn trees! The Royal Restaurant got a new fancy sign - bright blue instead of white with rust streaks. Reuben turned five months old and cut his first tooth. He's been chewing maniacally on anything he can get his mouth on.  Battle's tale, human limbs, books - all have fallen victim to his gaping maw. 

Fowl Thoughts

It is ironic to me that doves (which includes the mourning dove) have a reputation for being symbols of peace. There is no other creature in the animal kingdom which has provoked more violent and vitriolic emotions in my soul. Sure, they're pretty, mate for life, are responsible parents, make a lovely high pitched whistling whir when they fly - BUT they have a maddening habit of nesting directly outside my window.

The current pair like to wake up around 4 AM. If their mournful cooing doesn't get me up, Battle slamming his body into the window then falling dazed on to my head does. And they don't stop. They start their cooing at 4 and continue through out the day. It's a beautiful sound but not beautiful enough to hear constantly. I am trying to think of ways to encourage them to relocate.

Kathe Kollwitz

I enjoyed General Conference this weekend. President Monson's talk reminded me of the work of my favorite artist Kathe Kollwitz (July 8, 1867 – April 22, 1945) I think she has some of the most moving parent child images. You can see more of her work here. Here is a photo of her.

When you ride alone....

What They're Saying About Us

Ever wonder what the Middle East's biggest issues are? Now you can know. Mosaic gathers news stories from the Middle East to create a daily segment. It's a fascinating perspective and you'll hear stories that would never ever make it to the US. Propaganda infused state media is Bad, sometimes comically bad, but not too much worse than some reporting I've seen closer to home.
Speaking of which, here is one of my favorite articles, TV's Aryan Sisterhood. It shows the blonding of the American news anchors.Thank you Slate!

Books

If you know me, you know I like books. If you know Aaron you know he does too. Recently Kari (who maintains a few blogs herself) recommended a jem of a book: Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman. I recommend it to any and all of you of our bibliophiliac persuasion.
Aaron and I have enjoyed it so much we've been fighting over who gets to read the next essay. In an attempt at compromise it was read aloud at the dinner table. Poor Reuben -see below.