More stuff I like--Monday Memories--Merle Norman Cosmetics

Around age 40 I thought it might be nice to learn how to wear make-up.  Must have been a mid-life crisis--you know, you look in the mirror one day and say, Whodat? I had lipstick, mostly red or pink, but foundation, eye shadow, mascara, blush, moisturizer, etc. were whatever I'd picked up along the way. So, I walked into a Merle Norman shop in the Lane Avenue Mall in Upper Arlington, and made an appointment for a "make-over."  Earthtones were all the rage then, but I liked the look and the older saleswoman (about 50) was gorgeous and very low key--just my type.  So I bought the powder base, moisturizer, cleansing cream, that red goop in a bottle, blush, eye shadow, mascara, and a rust colored lipstick.  I know all about bacteria warnings in make-up, but some of those products I must have had for 20 years because I didn't use them often.

I found out from the saleswoman (consultant?) that reds and rose weren't good for my extremely fair, peachy coloring, and I learned to apply foundation sparingly in a connect the dots method and not mask-like in the jaw area. This was a good tip particularly because as women age, we should wear less, not more, to cover facial wrinkles.  The last thing you want is an orangy or rose hue build up in those crevices and valleys. I never did much with eye lid color or mascara.  Makes my eyes itch, and again, as women age, lots of eye liner gives that startled racoon in the garbage can look. And God forbid if you shed a tear--big smears!

Then I discovered that these little stores come and go!  Rents are high in the malls, and women are fickle, it seems. After Lane closed, I went to Kingsdale, and it closed and I drove to Worthington; then to Westland.  Fortunately, in her teens, my daughter became a Merle Norman user, and she started giving it to me for birthdays and Christmas. There used to be a nice Merle Norman shop in a dress store in Port Clinton, but the owner died and it closed.  The last one I found near me was north of Bethel in Columbus, and she closed up after Christmas 2008--I rushed in and stocked up.  But while checking on-line today I found one in Polaris--it's a bit far for me to drive, but maybe there's something else in that area that I'll need, or I'll stock up for another closing.

The sound of pain

The yelp of a dog in pain--you don't forget that. I rushed to the window. A golf cart had gone over the foot of a large, hound-type dog. Now, the dog hadn't run after it or got in the way. No, the two overweight dog owners were riding in the cart while "walking" the dog, on a relatively short leash. They ran over his foot. The weight of the cart plus the weight of two obese adults must have hurt. They both looked like they needed to be outside the cart, walking. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming they are disabled, but it's still a dumb way to exercise a dog. And that goes for the more svelte, buff people who think riding a bike with the dog on a leash is a smart way to exercise a dog. Especially when they get tangled up and I have to slam on my brakes.

Week 2 plans at Lakeside

Last night we enjoyed the wonderful Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats. Nothing like their show to make me feel like a slug.

Today we attended church on the Lakefront with pastor Irwin Jennings and then enjoyed breakfast at the Patio Restaurant. One of my husband's paintings has sold, so he swapped it with another one he had brought along. This afternoon I went to the Heritage Society Lecture on the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol--we have a huge border with Canada, and here on Lake Erie it is patrolled by boats but also on the highways. There was a big bust in May involving many levels of law enforcement. There is a new border patrol office in Sandusky (or reopened--it closed in 1957).

My husband plans to take children sailing today. Then this evening we're hoping to see the movie, "Letters to Juliet." I think $6 is too much to pay for a ticket to anything in Lakeside, but this one has scenes of Tuscany in Italy where we travelled in 2008 about this time of year.

I stopped at the art center to see if I wanted to sign up for drawing class, but it was a pastels class, and I really don't enjoy that. I was really looking for basic drawing skills.

This week's seminars are on Challenges in Mexican-U.S. Relationships, most of which I'll pass, but Joanna Swanger, daughter of our friends Gene and Carolyn is doing a 2-parter, so I may look into that. Another theme is "Provocative Social Movements," and that doesn't interest me. On Friday there will be a focus on Haiti, so we hope to go to that.

Tuesday Wellness at 3:30 is Genetic testing, which sounds interesting, and Wednesday in Herb class we're going to paint a canvas bag. I might do the historical walking tour on Wednesday after herb class, and the tree walk on Friday at 10:30. Friday evening is the Artie Shaw orchestra and Saturday is Capitol Steps which is usually political satire--fair and balanced we hope.

Thunder storms and tornado warnings, so I'll turn off the computer and unplug!

Patronizing and infantilizing members of other cultures

We just love PBS Antiques Road Show, and today are enjoying a rerun from 2005. The guest had a marvelous Native American (aka Indian) painting. The appraiser explained

It's painted by a Native American artist, and he was a Navajo artist by the name of Narciso Abeyta. His Indian name was Ha-So-De. He was born in 1918. And in 1939, he was one of the first classes at the Santa Fe Indian School, to be taught by Dorothy Dunn. When they were sent to Indian schools to Anglicize them a bit, Dorothy Dunn encouraged all the children there, who were taken from their tribal lands, to remember their native ways. And there were many famous American Indian painters from that class. But the interesting twist in Abeyta's life was in the early '40s. He was pressed into service with about 52 other Navajos to be a code talker in the Pacific theater. They were code talkers that helped the Marines, and these people were sent home, sworn to secrecy, all the Navajos, and they were not allowed to talk until it was declassified in 1968. And if you can imagine to be taken from the tranquil grounds that he grew up on and be thrown into the Pacific theater, with all the danger and the change of climate, the jungles. . .Unfortunately, he was shell-shocked, and his paintings suffered for it. So you acquired a painting that was done in his prime. And it's really quite wonderful. He and the other code talkers weren't recognized till 1981 for their service to this country. And Abeyta died in the late '90s. He actually has a son, Tony Abeyta, who follows his father's tradition and works in the contemporary vein, too. Have you ever had any thoughts about this painting and its value? Because it's a little nontraditional.

He was an Indian, an excellent artist, a patriotic American, a code talker in WWII, but the appraiser tries to make his service and experience somehow different than millions of other men and women who sacrificed, interrupted their lives and learned new or unusual skills never to be touched again. Why do that because of his ethnicity? Yes, many Indian children were sent to boarding schools and removed from their culture. Millions of children have that happen every day as they get on a bus and are driven out of their neighborhood and are told in a classroom that their religion, their habits, their values and their behavior are not acceptable. We call it "education" if we believe what they will have is better than what they are leaving. Would Narciso Abeyta and his classmates learned how to preserve their culture in paintings by remaining in the culture? Or did school give them new ways to appreciate and explain their culture?

Small town, rural and urban youth were also pressed into service, "thrown into the Pacific Theater with all the dangers and change of climate" and they too were sworn to secrecy if they had sensitive jobs. My uncles weren't accustomed to jumping out of airplanes; my dad had never lived out of the county and didn't know how to swim--the Pacific Ocean must have been quite intimidating. These Navajo men provided an invaluable service that others could not do--and so it was for many. Let's not make it something it wasn't because of their race.

When academics and experts do this, they not only infantilize minorities, but they are speaking from the perspective that their own lofty view in 2010 is somehow superior to that of the 1930s and 1940s. How biased and narrow (you only have to look through the newspaper headlines or entertainment pages to see how absurd that is!). Dorothy Dunn herself later came under criticism for limiting the self expression of her art students by insisting they do art the "indian" way. Sigh. You just can't please these people.

Stuff I like--Sensodyne pronamel toothpaste

One day at the dentist's for a check up and cleaning, I told the hygenist (Dr. Walton's wife) that my teeth were becoming increasingly sensitive. She recommended Sensodyne Pronamel Toothpaste, and gave me a sample. I love this stuff--and I use the gentle whitener variety. I drink a lot of coffee and tea, and that really messes up your tooth color--just look at the inside of a ceramic cup after you've reheated your coffee in the microwave. My teeth aren't sensitive anymore (and now that I've seen a few commercials I understand it better) and I think I'm making a little progress in the whitening department. It costs a little more than Crest, but it's worth it.

When I talk to people my age, I really notice their teeth more than their wrinkles or sun damage. Although regular dental care was coming in when we were children, there was no floridation of water, and my generation (including me) was careless about flossing, and it really wasn't emphasized. I had a very early case of periodontal disease (1977) that was caught by Dr. Heinzerling who sent me to a surgeon to have it removed. I am 70 years old and have all my teeth, even my wisdom teeth. Most people lose their teeth from poor care--especially gum disease. After a frenulectomy (removal of the muscle between my front teeth) at the same time as the gum surgery--I don't recommend having this double whammy--my teeth naturally shifted and there was room for all of them.

McChrystal remarks sad but not surprising

J.D. Gordon, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and a retired Navy Commander, says McChrystal, although a talented military officer, was completely out of touch with how to handle the media and didn't rely on his public affairs staff for advice.

"The swagger and salty talk displayed by Gen. McChrystal and his inner circle are not uncommon for military staffs in war zones. What was remarkable however, was the level of contempt combined with profound lack of judgment in allowing a virtually unknown reporter with whom they had no sustained relationship to such unfettered access."

Center For Security Policy

Attention Boomers! Where is your doctor?

USAToday reports, "The number of doctors refusing new Medicare patients because of low government payment rates is setting a new high, just six months before millions of Baby Boomers begin enrolling in the government health care program." Can you believe there's not a word in this article about why or who caused this, only that Congress has failed to stop an automatic 21% cut in payments that doctors already regard as too low. Where did that come from? Is this more Cloward and Piven--try as hard as he can to make everything break at once?

The CMM will tell you 3% don't accept Medicare, but in Illinois it's 18%. 19% of DOs won't accept new patients.


Doctors limit new Medicare patients - USATODAY.com
HT Murray

Four Christians arrested at Arab Festival--in the United States

Police in Dearborn, Mich., say they arrested four Christian evangelists at a large Arab cultural festival Friday for conduct they allege was disorderly.

The Christians weren't being disorderly, the hecklers were, but the police arrested the victims using their first amendment rights. The four evangelists, however, say they only spoke with people who wanted to speak with them. They have since been released on bail. It was not billed as a Muslim festival, but an Arab festival. Many Arabs are Christians, as was one of the evangelists.

If this were reverse, Arabs harrassed at a Christian event, President Obama would have stepped in and accused the police of acting stupidly. The police chief who had them arrested, Ronald Haddad, has been appointed to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, which provides advice and recommendations to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on matters related to homeland security. Don't you feel safer now?

More information from the arrested.

4 Christian Evangelists Arrested at Arab Festival | Christianpost.com

Where is it safer to have a blow out--on land or 5,000 ft under water

Who pushed BP off shore into deep water (5,000 ft depth) and gave them the permit to drill after reviewing their plan? Who benefits from their taxes? Who are their employees? Who uses their oil? What pension funds (outside Britain) are paying dividends to investors and retirees? And couldn't they do the same, much safer and cheaper on land? Yes.

"Whether more exploration on federal lands would make the U.S. energy independent is debatable, but more onshore development would certainly be safer. In early June there was a blowout in western Pennsylvania. Did you see it on the nightly news? No, because it was capped in 16 hours. The Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency that regulates oil and gas production there, recorded 102 blowouts of oil and gas wells since the start of 2006, resulting in 10 fires, 12 injuries, and two deaths. None of those made the nightly news either. The largest oil spill on Alaska's North Slope in 2006 was from a pipeline leak. It dumped only 6,357 barrels and had no disastrous impacts."

Terry Anderson: Why it's safer to drill in the backyard

And by the way, just how do you feel about windmills off your coast or on your prairie vista in your line of vision, or a nuclear plant next to your river? How long before "alternative" energy sources will be able to handle this summer's heat?

Home ownership is not a path to wealth

It might be the American dream (soured a bit recently), but it's not a path to wealth, unless you buy it with the intention of selling at a profit, or build it for others to buy, or finance the mortgage for others to pay you back, or own stock in Fannie or Fred, or rent it with someone else paying the mortgage, real estate taxes, insurance and repairs plus a percentage for your risk. Poor people aren't poor because they don't own homes, and they won't become wealthy by signing up for a government deal with no money down (you can still do that with many government programs despite what we learned in 2007-2008). In fact, you can be rich and lose it all, and will have nothing to do with your house, but everything to do with your values (lazy, rude, promiscuous), your bad habits (alcohol, drugs), your health (something you may or may not control) or your marriage (many women become instantly poor after a divorce--it's much more common than "she took me to the cleaners" story--and if she's smart, she won't accept the house in the settlement of assets).

What is a path to wealth is the life style you choose, or should choose, when you become a home owner. You're choosing neighbors, schools, playmates for the kids, distance from employment, public transportation, access to highways, parks and leisure opportunities. Don't renters do that? Not so much--their values are different. Will they be voting in the school or library bond issues, will they complain to the city or the landlord if the trash isn't picked up or the streets not cleared of snow? Like the new employee, the renter isn't "vested." He can move on--he's got his eye on a different ball.

Drive through any high-end suburban neighborhood of any city (I live in Columbus). Look at the people north of Dublin or east of Easton. Do you really think the 30 year old out there trimming the rose bushes got to a $750,000-$1,000,000 house by buying a "starter" in the city and then moving up? Really? With college loans? Car payments? If he's 30, he probably had family help, either for the house down payment or for the college tuition that got him that $150,000 job managing a business. If he's 50, he's probably moved around taking advantage of more responsibility at higher pay with each move. The house is just a symbol of values--hard work, discipline, and genes--it's not wealth building like investing, starting a business, inheritance, or honing your athletic skills and being first pick in the draft (become a millionaire at 19).

We have owned four homes as primary residences (2 in Champaign, IL and 2 in Columbus), and one as a "second home." We haven't had a mortgage in many years. But we are here, not wealthy but comfortable, because the first home we bought was a duplex, and we rented half, invested sweat equity in remodeling, were willing to live in a less than desirable neighborhood, didn't go into marriage with debts, saved when we could, lived on one income even when we had two, didn't take vacations other than visiting relatives until we'd been married 14 years, and got help from our parents.

However much your primary home appreciates, your next place will probably eat that up. You have to live somewhere. Just don't use your equity by thinking your home is a bank that won't come after you.

Isn't that dill?

"Dill" was slang in my home town for something really fabulous. Anything could be dill or dilly, but I don't think dillest was on the list. Also, just about everyone had a nickname, so "Squeaky's outfit was really dill," or "Wasn't Kitzy's party just booku (i.e., beaucoup) dill." This year the International Herb Association chose Dill as the Herb of the Year (2010).

Our first class of the third year of Lakeside's Herb Study was on fennel and was led by Jan Hilty, Master Gardener, OSU Extension, Delaware County. She owned an herbal decor and products business; she lectures on herbs and has written many articles about the uses of herbs.

Here's our Herb Study 2010 schedule--meet at the train station at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, drop in or regulars. After the meeting we go to the herb garden which is near the pavilion, for hands on and watering.

June 30: Painting a tote with fresh herbs ($3.00 for the canvas tote)

July 7: Making Herbal soaps

July 14: Making dried herb blends

July 21: Winter and summer savory

July 28: Field trip to Schedel Arboretum and Gardens in Elmore ($23 for admission, tour and box lunch)

August 4: Herbal gifts from the kitchen

August 11: Herbal brunch potluck

August 18: Borage

August 25: Folklore and magic of herbs

The Tweaksters at Lakeside

Last night we invited Wes and Sue over for rhubarb pie (purchased at the Lakeside Farmers' Market on Tuesday) and then we all walked down the street to Hoover Auditorium and enjoyed The Tweaksters. I figured it was a kids' show ("family entertainment") and it was, but thoroughly enjoyable for adults too for the athleticism of gymnastics and ballet and a media show. I stayed awake (not always a recommendation since I sometimes can doze off during a very great performance) and we were home before 10. I think one of the performers may have just walked past our cottage. Incredible bodies!

Also yesterday I attended a seminar on Willa Cather--a PBS DVD from its American Masters series. Because I studied Russian and Spanish in college, I wasn't required to study American and British literature--and it was a great loss for me. Cather died in 1947, so we didn't even notice her works in high school where American literature was a required subject. Anyway, now I'm interested and may take a peek.

Today's 10:30 seminar is on Frank Baum, the author of the Oz books. One of my fondest memories of third grade is Miss DeWall (Forreston) reading to the class after recess, "The Wizard of Oz." Later I saw the reissue of the movie, but never liked it as much as her version. Gretchen Curtiss, who manages our seminars, is going to be the presenter. Then this afternoon at 1:30 there is a seminar on Thoreau and Emerson, two of my mother's favorites. I'll probably go to that--taught by Larry Smith. He'll have a busy day, because he's also doing a lecture on the publishing process at 3:30. His novel, The Long River Home, came out in 2009.

Jake and Vienna

It's a good thing we have non-news and non-stories for non-reporters to talk about. Jake and Vienna. The break-up of a reality show shack-up? Oh please! Living together is never a good preparation for marriage, and I haven't seen a single "reporter" mention that, even when Vienna complains that she wasn't getting enough sex. Well, doh! And he says she had no ambition and complained a lot. Well, double-doh! The milk cow and the sugar daddy--all the two of them have are good looks, and even that is questionable without makeup, agents and handlers. Or, this is another way to laugh all the way to the bank as they get paid for interviews.

Those dangerous, racist tea partiers

Tim Scott, an African American and Nikki Haley, an Indian American, won in the SC primaries for Congress and Governor and are both favorites of the tea-party movement, despite the Democrats' insistence that the movement is racist. Liberals get so angry when a minority politician escapes their clutches.

Certificate templates

My husband teaches "Perspectice Drawing" at the Rhein Center at Lakeside using drawing principles (mainly one point and two point) and watercolor. At the end of the week he gives each student a certificate, but I'm the one who has to create it. Because my laptop periodically fails and wipes out everything I've saved, I sometimes lose my creations. Today I found a really neat certificate--it lets you fill in what you want to say, print it, but you can't save it. Well, there is only one person in the class (not many people here this week), so I created a "best in the class" award for her. This one had a hand holding a paint brush which was just perfect. I stopped by the class one day, and I think even with 5 or 6 in the class, she would have been "best in the class." Of course, if I must say so, he's a good teacher.

Looking through the templates, I found all sorts of interesting templates. Gardener. Writer. Most improved (wouldn't you hate to get that one?). Maybe Plays well with others, but I'm not sure.

Obepa vs. Jindal and the people of the Gulf states

We have a White House out of control that ignores the Constitution--both the original one and the "living" one filled with modifications, case law and regulations. Therefore, Bobby Jindal and other Gulf state governors should just ignore the feds (EPA, HHS, DoE, MMS, Coast Guard, etc.) and do what they can to save their people and the economy. Obama is the one who put this oil spill in military terms, brought on by government regulations and sloppy oversite. It's on his watch, and it's his guys who approved BPs plans. Jindal's going to have to have the balls of a McCrystal, and go against Obama's plan to destroy us in this energy war also. What's the worst that could happen? Fines? That would have to be cheaper than closing down his economy for years as the oil industry moves to Brazil on our tax dollar. ObEPA and ObFEMA will be no help with payouts that will be years too late to save those businesses in the leisure, construction and fishery industries.

Between Fences Museum on Main Street

The Between Fences exhibition is in the Hoover Auditorium Lobby of Lakeside, Ohio from June 20 - July 10. A friend and I spent about 30 minutes viewing it yesterday afternoon. We concluded it is quite political--leftward leaning if you get my drift. By that I don't mean the current administration. Based on the copyright, this one had a Republican Congress for funding, although the guide for discussion may be locally prepared and a more recent date.

From Teacher's Guide (c2005): "Between Fences is a Museum on Main Street project organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and brought to you by your state humanities council. Funded by the U.S. Congress Museum on Main Street is a partnership of the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils nationwide that serves small-town museums and citizens.

This innovative project brings rural America one-of-a-kind access to prestigious Smithsonian exhibitions and first-rate educational humanities programs. Most importantly, Museum on Main Street enables rural museums to demonstrate their enormous talents and their meaningful contributions to smalltown life."

The Guide we received was not this one--ours had much more politically charged questions like "Why are the U.S. boundaries with Canada and Mexico treated so differently? Well, doh! How many Canadians are sneaking into the U.S.? That may come; we may have to step up the patrol of that border too as many terrorists infiltrate the Canadian population and start crossing. It's been beefed up on Lake Erie since 9/11. Americans now need to show a passport to enter Canada.

But the real irony is this display is inside a gated community, completely fenced with "patroled" gates open only certain hours. It has rules about smoking and drinking (definitely an offensive fence to some); you can't dock your boat here if you're coming from a marina on Lake Erie, let alone Canada; there are rules about noise and parking (these are fences for some teen-agers); there need to be a certain number of Methodists on the board that controls the association; and so on.

As the 2010 Guide for this exhibit says: "Some fences are not physical, but cultural. Think about racial divisions and separations by income, gender, religious culture and ethnic differences. Separations can be created without actually having a 'real' fence." Yes, indeed. Think about those cultural boundaries in a simple name for a political organization like "La Raza," (The People, or The Race in Latin American Spanish; or Spanish for someone of European Christian heritage in Spain).

The good thing is that most people won't pay any attention to the questions--they'll just look at the photos and remember the Frost poem.

More bad mortgages if these guys have their way

These guys want to strengthen the Carter era legislation of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) which helped create our current recession and explosion of defaults by lowering credit standards and recruiting marginally qualified buyers to be "home owners." I suspect they just want to keep their cushy jobs. Lots of money in workshops to recruit and train, and then more money on how to budget, then more on how to avoid foreclosure. Oh sure, it's House Dems who are pushing it, but whodathunkit without these guys?

http://206.130.110.176/wordpress/

"Another 'Bachelor' Falls Short of Alter"

That was a headline in my RoadRunner news page.  Altar is where people get married; alter is what you do in castration.

The hit ABC series continues its long-running tradition of bringing couples together only to see them break up shortly after 'the final rose.' Pilot Jake Pavelka's choice was a surprising one on this spring's season finale, and his relationship with tabloid regular Vienna Girardi has ended after just a few months.

The longest day

Yesterday was the first day of summer and the longest day of the year--now they'll start going the other way, and I'll be watching the sunrise move slowly to the south, until by August I'll see it over Marblehead instead of Kelley's Island.  About 9:30 there was still some daylight, and we were in our pajamas remarking that we really should have gone down to watch the sunset.  We heard a tap on the porch door and there was a good friend, in town only briefly.  If we'd been on the dock we would have missed her.  Although, maybe not.  She's a night person and I'm a morning persons--the tap could have come much later.

I took my book down to the hotel porch about 2:30 p.m. while Jim and my husband were sailing.  This is Mayfly season (good for the birds but really messy for people) and the slowest, young man I've seen in awhile was sucking them up in a vacuum cleaning louder than a leaf blower.  Or maybe he was blowing them. I don't think his mom ever taught him how to clean.  Fortunately, he wasn't very motivated and didn't continue too far down the wrap around porch with dozens of chairs.

I'm reading "Stepping heavenward; one woman's journal to Godliness" by Mrs. Elizabeth Prentiss, published in 1869 which apparently is considered a "classic" and is still in print.  I found it in the church "freebie" box, in perfect, unmarked condition (2008 reprint) about a year ago. It's really quite charming, sound theologically, and since it starts in the early teen years, one is reminded that nothing much changes in 200 years. It's fiction in diary form, a genre I usually don't appreciate, but it is well paced with a lot of introspection and spiritual temperature taking.  This was not on my TBR list, but I'm enjoying it. Need to get back to Keller's "Reason for God" which is what my Columbus group is reading.

Today is Tuesday and should be the first Farmer's Market.  There are two major seminar themes this week, "Race in America" and "American writers."  This morning's offering is "I am a promise" a film made in 1994. I'm sure it will not be noted that all our biggest poverty/education problems in this country are in urban areas controlled for generations by the Democratic machine which continues to create a sense of powerlessness, anger and hopelessness in people while buying their votes.  I don't want to hear how little has changed in 16 years and how if we just threw more money at it, everything would be OK.

The afternoon wellness program is an update on radiation therapy for treatment of cancer. That sounds interesting since I'm a bit of a medical research junkie. At 1:30 someone is giving a "living simply" lecture--yawn.  Been there done that.  Tomorrow morning the Herb class will meet at the train station.  I loved where we met last year--close to the lake and the herb garden, but we must have gotten too large for that open air space. Tonight's program at Hoover is "The Singers' Club at Cleveland," featuring love songs and music from the movies.