Carly Simon on a Saturday Morning...

This morning I scrambled some eggs with cheese from Round Man's in Ft. Bragg. Had some smoked pepper jack we brought back from our last trip. It was very good. While cooking we listened to Carly's new album 'Into White'. I had downloaded it to my IPod. I am sitting in my easy chair and listenting to it over the new IPod Hi Fi boom box. The sound is great. I am enjoying Carly so much I went to Amazon and ordered four CD's for the kids. A couple of the tracks have help from Taylor children I understand. One even sounds like the papa James T. Wish any of you were here to share the Saturday morning with us...

Last night we watched on the big screen Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" for the first time. I was moved. It was a spiritual experience. The views of Earth from the moon and beyond were moving, even the digital rendering of a Polar Bear swimming in the open ocean trying to find a bit of ice to rest upon. Can you imagine 'W' making a movie of anything when he is out of office? Maybe he could do a Will Farrell immitation of himself, down on the ranch playing a little frisbe with Condi and Dick. Would You Tube pick it up?

More from Karl and W

Here is a quote from the evil genius behind Bush, "As people do better, they start voting like Republicans--unless they have too much education and vote Democratic."

Karl Rove, White House Advisor

I was given a great calendar at Christmas from my kids entitled the "Out of Office Countdown, 2007, Two years and Counting"

Another priceless observation Rove made came on 19 January 2005, he said George W. Bush was "one of the most intellectually gifted presidents we've had." Does anyone actually believe that?

There are some gems of wisdom from our Commander in Chief and his cohorts. Here is one: "I'm the commander--see, I don't need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being president."

Cooking

I have been impressed and envious with all of you and your cooking accomplishments. Given the cold last night and the Mrs. being tied up with piano lessons and church stuff, I decided I would alter my normal supper fare and try cooking some soup. How hard can that be anyway? I boiled water, peeled potatoes and carrots, chopped onions, added garlic, opened a can of corn, beans and mushrooms and started cooking. It looked like too much water and the soup would be too thin so I poured in some rice left over from Sunday into the boiling water. A little soy is always good in everything so some of that went in along with 2 lbs of elk burger and a can of tomato sauce. The ground elk made the whole think kind of pink which is not desirable. After awhile the concoction started turning brown, but much of the water largely disappeared. When the Mrs. got home it was stew, maybe. The mistress of the kitchen said it was more like a casserole of potatos, elk, carrots, rice, green beans and corn. So much for cooking soup. She did tell me it was very good, though I found that if I squirted some Siracha sauce on it (to light up your life, lips, tongue and throat) it was even better.

The photo is someone else’s image, as I did not take any pictures of my casserole. We do have lots of it and there were three containers left over and in the refrigerator.

Is there room at the inn?

A piece in today’s Trib by Jessica Ravitz merits reading and pondering upon. It is an account of two incredible women, Jody and her friend Jess. Jody lived, really lived, for seven years with ALS, or Lou Gherig’s disease. Their relationship had the power to ‘transform minds and hearts, offering a lesson in devotion and proof that what exists between two people cannot, should not, be dismissed.” There is a profound lesson for many of us here about capacity and our ability to love. Regrettably, far too few will be influenced to alter or change much their negative perceptions. Call them even phobias, prejudices or fears.

Turning to Luke, early in the gospel we read in the 2nd chapter from verse 7: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room in the inn.” It seems there was no room in the “inn” for Jody and Jess. From Ms. Ravitz article again, “Friends gave comfort, but in grappling with death, Jody also sought out spiritual sustenance. Tucked between the recliner's cushions was a handmade rosary, a gift from a cousin. Jody, originally from Southern California, had been raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But she came out as a lesbian just after serving a mission in Chicago and felt she was no longer welcome. She took the embrace of West Valley City's St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, where she was baptized in May 2005. Because Jody was homebound, the Rev. W. Lee Shaw of St. Stephen's brought the parish to her. Volunteers made weekly visits. Shaw came to offer prayers and Holy Communion. After he consecrated the bread and wine, Jess ground the wafer, mixed it with the wine, and by way of her feeding tube, Jody was blessed. But visitors said they were blessed even more…”

New Years is about new promises and resolutions. Maybe it is a time to think about the “inn” in our hearts and lives and ask ourselves if there is room for a relationship such as Jess and Jody had. Please read the article.