And for today's random new interest...

Absinthe. The Green Fairy. If you've studied art history in the 19th century, you've heard of absinthe — and you may well have heard of it otherwise. Today I read a fascinating article on Wired magazine's Web site about this potent alcohol: The Mystery of the Green Menace by Brian Ashcraft. Thought I'd put together a few related images.

Édouard Manet. The Absinthe Drinker, 1859.
(Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen)

Edgar Degas. In a Cafe (The Absinthe Drinker), 1875-76.
(Musée d'Orsay, Paris)

Vincent Van Gogh. Glass of Absinthe and a Carafe, 1887.
(Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam - Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Henri Privat-Livemont. "Absinthe Robette" poster, 1896.

Anything to waste time...

FREE Tarot, Runes, Numerology, and I Ching from Facade!!
Online readings using Tarot, runes, the I Ching, biorhythms, bibliomancy and stichomancy.

(... I had to look up the last two — they mean divination by opening a book to a random section.)

A different kind of vanity search

A fun idea from some friends' blogs — Google "[your name] is" and pick your top ten favorite quotes. There's even a web site which will do the work for you, Googlism.

1. Sara is the most underated female singer in the country world


2. Sara is rescued from three cowboys by Hogan, who is on his way to do some reconnaissance


3. Sara is right. Yes, it is true.


4. Sara is a comprehensive network security scanner that discovers, analyzes, and reports on security vulnerabilities of network-based computers


5. Sara is an historical enigma that is difficult to solve


6. Sara is an enthusiastic young lady with a tremendous amount of love and life to share


7. Sara is no longer with Bad Boy


8. Sara is not just all looks and beauty


9. Sara is essentially a road trip comedy branded with silly jokes


10. Sara is a scientific, non-profit organization founded for the sole purpose of supporting amateur radio astronomy.

It's not about where they sleep..

... It's about making sure wherever they sleep is as safe as possible!

LLLI Responds to AAP Policy Statement
on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

... Dr. Nancy Wight, President of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, comments that this statement "represents a truly astounding triumph of ethnocentric assumptions over common sense and medical research." Dr. Wight also states, "There are many physician members of the AAP who do not agree with these recommendations."

Although the authors do state that breastfeeding is beneficial and should be promoted, their recommendations about pacifier use and cosleeping could have a negative impact on a mother's efforts to breastfeed. The statement causes confusion for parents and falls seriously short of being a useful and comprehensive policy. ...

There are many, many resources on-line that talk about how to safely cosleep with one's children — Dr. McKenna's is as good as any: "Guidelines to Sleeping Safe with Infants" (University of Notre Dame Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab). In the same way that if one's child sleeps in a crib one needs to make sure it's safe (mattress tight to edges, rails not too far apart, etc.), one needs to insure safety in cosleeping (firm mattress, no gaps between mattress and frame or walls, etc.). But to say it can't be done safely? Get real...

Where do people find the time?

Opera Dude by Tokyoplastic:

http://www.tokyoplastic.com/opera.html

The Great Cat Dilemma

Okay, don't get me wrong — I love our cats. They're friendly, furry beasties, and we've done our best to take good care of them. Chessie is about seven and a half years old and Ivy is eleven or twelve years old. Chris brought Ivy to the marriage, and we chose Chessie together a few weeks after we got married.

But the fact is, we don't have the time or energy to care for them the way they should be cared for anymore. We feed them, try to make sure their box gets changed regularly, and pet them a bit when we have time — not very often, in other words.

They cough up hairballs, a normal cat activity. But with Nora more and more mobile, that's a problem. She sometimes finds them before we do — yuck! Chessie doesn't have the sense to stay out of Nora's way, and so more than once Nora has "caught" her and gotten a mouth full of fur. Ivy will simply hide out if there are too many people about (i.e., more than Chris). Chessie will insist on staying in the area and get upset by the commotion — she's even batted or nipped someone she found to forward on occasion.

It's hard enough to find time and money to visit family and friends, then add in that if we're to be gone more than a day or two we have to find a sitter for the cats. They don't exactly travel well, even if half our families weren't allergic to them.

That's another issue — allergies. It's hard for my brothers to spend more than an hour at our house because of theirs, and I suspect allergies are a contributing factor to the fact that Chris's brother-in-law Mark hasn't been able to come visit. I breath better when I'm away from them, for that matter.

But despite all the logical reasons we have for finding the cats a new home, neither of us wants to. We both feel it's our responsibility to care for these animals, for however long they're with us. We like them. The house would seem rather empty without them, I think. It would be weird to know they were living somewhere else.

And how do we find them a good new home? We're not about to just drop them off at some shelter.

Too bad there's no simple solution...

Pix of the Beasties

I know I'm overdue to post some pix of Mairi and Nora. Here are the most recent ones I've got, all taken September 28, 2005:

Nora has two teeth on the bottom, and since this picture has cut one of the top two front teeth — and the fourth is visible, so it should come through soon. She's been crawling on her belly (creeping, military crawl) for a while now, but is rapidly progressing towards crawling with her belly up. About a week ago she started pulling herself up on furniture and such. I'm half-seriously predicting that she'll be walking by Christmas.

Mairi is totally a little girl now, or rather, a BIG girl — as she would be sure to correct me. She's bossy, stubborn, and contrary — and also sweet, intelligent, and helpful. In other words, a typical three-year-old. *grin* She likes "macaroni pizza" and "egg oop soup." She can now sing the ABC song, and remembers the lyrics to several other favorite songs. She's starting to like to "read" to Chris and me — books she's heard often enough that she remembers the words.

If you are what you eat...

...wouldn't you rather eat something that's interesting?

Experts Seek to Debunk Baby Food Myths
By J.M. HIRSCH, Associated Press Writer

Turns out I was right to not worry too much about Mairi and Nora's first foods. Okay, I worried, but I still fed them lots of stuff outside the approved foods list. They both love hummus, and Nora's pretty keen on avocado right now. My logic's been pretty close to one of the quotes in this article: "You know what, children in India eat like that. Why not yours?"

And I've always known that the fact that I was breatfeeding my girls would help them to enjoy more foods later on: "And bring on the spices. Science is catching up with the folklore that babies in the womb and those who are breast-fed taste — and develop a taste for — whatever Mom eats. So experts say if Mom enjoys loads of oregano, baby might, too."