the OTHER mother

Question(s) of the Day: The L Word Survey

As I mentioned in the previous post, Marcia and I are catching up with the rest of you by watching season 4 of The L Word on DVD.  On the one hand, The L Word is a silly show. What I mean by that is that I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone who's NOT a lesbian.  On the other hand, as far as I am aware, this show exists in a vacuum.  I don't know of any other television series that centers around lesbian characters, but I'm not a big television viewer--am I missing something? 

Here's my first attempt at a reader poll.  It should take you less than a minute.  I will leave it up for a week and then report back to you with the results.

This survey is now closed.

      

             

The L Word Survey

      

Page One

      

   

       

       

                                      

1. How many episodes of The L Word have you watched?   

MostSomeNone

2. Which character on The L Word is most attractive to you?

	Alice
	Bette
	Helena
	Kit
	Jenny
	Max
	Shane
	Tina
	Other

3. Which character on The L Word is most like you?

	Alice
	Bette
	Helena
	Kit
	Jenny
	Max
	Shane
	Tina
	Other

4. What do you like best about The L Word?

          

              

   

   

               

          

                                                           

         

50%

       

       

 

   

Details from the Retreat

Marcia and I enjoyed our time away from home, routine, and responsibility very much.  We did phone the brave grandparents twice a day, but we didn't fret or cry or anything too excessive.  Here are a few of the details that I thought I'd like to capture while I'm still able to remember them.

• We left our watches at home.
• We wrote in our journals. This is a good habit from the past that we'd both lost completely in recent years.
• We did some check-in art/writing exercises to catch up with one another.  Here's one of them.  Another one was a bit like this, only our group was just the two of us.  We used to do this kind of retreat frequently before our children were born.  Now that we have a lot less time to talk and plan, we need these conversations even more.  And yet we have had them a lot less often.
• We talked. We listened.
• We cast runes to help us contemplate the future.
• We took long walks on the beach.  On Thursday we saw hundreds of sailboats  huddled around the coast.  On Friday we saw hundreds of butterflies skirting around the border where land meets sea.  Was there any relationship between these two sightings?
• You may be ready to launch into season 5 of The L Word, but as usual we are way behind.  We had fun watching the first 3 episodes of season 4.  More on this topic will follow later this week, including a poll or survey. Maybe.
• Marcia found six amazing seashells.  The cat likes batting them across the hardwood floors.
• We were happy and relieved be a family back together when we got home.

Photos from Both Sides

I posted a new photo album called Separation Journal (see sidebar on the right) documenting last week's experiment from both sides of the equation.  I know the name of the album is OVER THE TOP, but a name was required by the typepad program, and I was feeling a tad bit of OVER THE TOPness.  Please forgive.

Homecoming

Art That's Haunted

Pearl did some scary drawings for Halloween.  On the left we have a Frankenstein monster flying.  On the right, check out the stegosaurus frightened by his shadow.

We Are Fortunate

in that we never have to feel guilty about wasting our hard-earned money paying for the professional school pictures.  Once again this year we will: pass!

Phenomenal Ruthie

Ruthie Foster's performance at the Houston Women's Festival was wonderful.  My favorite songs were "Heal Yourself" from her new album and "Death Came A-Knockin' (Travelin' Shoes)," in which she shifted to a minor key halfway through, making an eerie song ecstatically so.  I loved the concert.

It was great to meet blog friend Valerie and to hang out with Michelle--although we did miss Meredith. (Thanks for the photo, Michelle!)

Question of the Day: Separation/Anxiety

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, Marcia and I will be taking our first vacation sans children later this week.  I am wondering what advice you could give us on how to make this event as trauma-free as possible.  Also if you know of story books or videos on this subject that might appeal to Pearl and Carrie, we'd be interested in your recommendations.

Love Me Like a Rock

Carrie seemed well enough to go to nursery school Wednesday and Thursday, but on Friday she came down with strep throat.  She's had a tough week, health-wise. She's on antibiotics, among other things. 

Right now Marcia and Pearl are rocking with Mary Cutrofello at the festival downtown.  Carrie is taking a nap.  I'll see how she feels when she wakes up and plan accordingly.

Marcia and I are taking off for a little retreat next week.  It will be our first time away from the girls ever.  Nana and Papa are flying down to make this possible; they will be grandparenting like troopers.

There's a huge house going up across the street from us.  The sounds of electric saws and Mexican radio keep making me think that Carrie is waking up.  She's such a sweet little patient.  Even with her chills and tears, she said thank you to every person in the doctor's office at least twice.

Rock with Ruthie & Friends

This weekend Ruthie Foster, Mary Cutrofello, and other girl groovers will be rocking at the Houston Women's Festival.  Houston doesn't have events like this very often.  We are excited. We have our tickets. We are ready. Please meet us there.

(Mary Cutrofello photo credit: Marina Chavez)

Rock and Roll Like Uncle David

No one I know can rock and roll like my brother David. He's a dad to four, a deadhead, and the life of every party.

Last week, David ran 100 miles on old mule trails through the Ouachita (pronounced Wash-it-tah) Mountains.  For completing the Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile Ultra Marathon, coming in 32nd place, he wins a gigantic silver belt buckle.  Is that crazy?  I agree.  I asked him what the belt buckle looks like this time (yes you are understanding correctly--he has done these 24 + hour runs before).  He said he didn't wait around for it but hopes that they will mail it to him.

A Little Sick

Carrie was a little sick this weekend so we took it easy.  She was not her usual silly self.  She coughed like a barking dog and would not eat, not even her favorite foods. 

Blogging for the Environment

Happy Blog Action Day.  The environment is the focus issue of the day, and I must make a confession.  My family could do a lot better, environmentally speaking.  Little things, big things.  Here are a few specific steps I want to work on.  I would like for us to produce less trash by

• eating more fresh and fewer frozen or processed foods
• potty-training Carrie (she's very motivated!)
• eliminating paper towels

Any resolutions, great or small?  Don't be shy!

Ishfully Yours, Carrie

How Do Dinosaurs Find Their Pets?

According to Pearl, today we were who we are, only we were a family of four t-rexes.  The main characters in the story were John (Pearl) and Tria (Carrie), his little sister.  In the stories the siblings kept losing their beloved pet Box-Box the cat (Moriah).  Sometimes the t-rex parents Ming-Ming (Marcia) and Ling-Ling (me) had to provide assistance.  That happens, you know.  Sometimes it's best to just ask for help.

PS = Does Pearl think we're panda bears or what?

Storied

In Pearl's story today the characters are:
Blossom = Carrie
ShooFly = Marcia
Z = Pearl

Signifiers

I thought they understood the rules:  No gang signs in family photos.

Our Happiness Project

Marcia: What do we need to be happy?
Pearl: Well, you've already got new socks.

I've Got the Bullets (Yet Again)

It was a hot rainy, stormy weekend in Houston.  Here are some random details from our past few days..

• Pearl started telling adventure stories about two brothers named Batty (Pearl) and Cilantro (Carrie).
• Carrie asked "What is it?" 751 times.
• We got a wondrous new set of wooden building blocks.
• Carrie is practicing identifying the different colors, although so far she calls all of them "yallow."
• Offered up in Pearl's kitchen, "Would you like some fish quisp rasberry pancakes?"  Yum.
• We had a hiking festival (kids stomping about in our keen's) and a skating festival (everyone slipping about in socks on the hardwood floor).
• We celebrated dos cumpleanos (happy birthday Marina and Tomas!) with our friends. 
• Pearl: "Next week I want to bring a flying monkey for show and tell."
• We saw a rainbow.

Keep It Clean

People of the Beach: A Meditation

Since July when we visited our family and friends in Santa Monica, we have gone to Galveston beach every weekend.  I believe (yes, I believe) that we are different people because of it.

At the beach we can romp.  The open spaces encourage play. We can feel the connection between body and world more deeply. 

As the beach has become a ritual, we've developed rituals within the ritual.  Carrie always builds sand castles and usually knocks them down.  Pearl climbs out to the end of the stone jetty.  We collect smooth stones and shells. We always see a lady and her dog Chico.  Sunshine is a reminder: G-d exists.

When I'm surrounded by sea and open sky, I realize that the gritty little annoyances of life are just that--gritty, little, and annoying. I remember all that I have.  I feel the love.

Free Burma

(via Evil Mommy)