I am packing (and cooking) today for the Women's Gathering, something I have thought of doing for decades but never made it. Some friends are going and I have a ride with some friends of theirs while my car gets a new windshield (a Scion xB quirk finally resolved by class0-action suit).
I lived in community in the late '70's and and skirted around others and lived in communal households. I used to go to almost all the womens music festivals when I was a distributor. At roughly 200 women this will be much smaller but still a needed break for me as well as a connection to my lesbian feminist hippie roots.
Don't know exactly what to expect but I expect it to be good. I expect to eat simply and not wear too many clothes. I'll meet a lot of women. I'll have to work to save my iPhone battery,lol. Addictions change over the years. I'll take some books and a fife. And I'm charging my camera battery, not so much for the people but whatever flora and fauna I find.
See you on the other side!

I have spent my time on FB. That's great for connecting with people you already know. But I do miss LJ because I made so many new friends here. So I am back. Will try to post weekly at least and keep in touch.

I am working for the Census. This is fascinating since my training class was a cultural experience and now my Address Area is a weird pocket of white humanity in a black area. Why? A unique structure that guarantees stagnation! I think social scientist have studied this but wow!
It is called Armistead Gardens and was built as public housing starting in 1939 for the war effort. Basically housing factory workers up from Tennessee and Kentucky (many Cherokees) in tiny 2-4 room rowhouses on windy twisty lanes. In the late 50's it became a co-op, meaning the residents 'own' the house but the taxes, utilities, and other costs are 'rent' and you need Board permission to modify your tiny house. So it is hard to sell your house - so many elderly who have lived there all their lives, 3 generations in some houses. The ones that have been sold are being taken over by hispanic families. I have seen exactly one black person in the neighborhood. I looked up the stats. 1/2 the resident finish high school, worse than Baltimore City in general. The other census workers who trained with me are amazed at the poverty, and they come from poor black neighborhoods.

My ex (the recent one) came to visit and we had a difficult start but overall a very good time. It is great to know for sure that love was never the problem. I am decidedly still single, but feeling better and also a bit hopeful that the separation may end someday.

And I harvested a plastic shopping bag of chocolate mint that had taken over the garden space where I will be planting other veggies, put them in the food drier and netted a whole 2 oz of mint tea. Do not worry because I have still some around that bed, a small bed of mint given to me, and my ex found a mint at the farmers market that she thought I would like. So I will not run out of mint. Ever.

It has been over a year since my last post here. Not good. I come sporadically and read my friends but I spend more time on Facebook, which is good for reconnecting and keeping in touch but not for longer thoughts, musing, or making new friends. I realize I have many friends in RL now who I met here on LJ lo these many years ago. I thank LJ for that connection and figure it would be dumb to break it.
So I will clean up my FL a little, and then start posting again, possibly more behind a privacy wall because LJ is just a bit more personal, at least to me.

My last 2 years have been hard - teetering on the brink of financial ruin, stress and then a breakup with my gf, whom I still love. Some stabs at dating which netted new friends but no sparkiness probably mostly due to my hope that the aforementioned gf will figure out that I will be OK and feel safe again. The distance is still a problem, as it is hard for me to travel but mostly she goes crazy with worry about the problems I need too solve.

Some other stuff too but I'll save that for now. Just need to reintroduce myself I guess.

I think all prominent men and women of conscoience should do what he just did. It would change a lot of things quickly.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/losing-my-religion-for-equality-20090714-dk0v.html?page=-1

My question is why he waited so long. Whatever.

My neighbor Ruth was visited in May by a huge and beautiful moth who left her with a few hundred eggs. Which hatched. Ruth shared the babies around town (I believe she is already working on her husbands' next campaign - he is our City Councilperson Bill Henry who I support hugely) and we got 6 tiny babies and have been feeding them maple leaves. From inchworm to finger size - we have 4 survivors. Based on the email reports Ruth sends out we can expect them to start making their cocoons soon. some very well fed ones already have done so.

I had not been taking pictures much recently but pulled out the camera last week and took some shots.

Results below and behind the cut. I will probably get inspired again before the cocooning starts and may try to get that process if it doesn't disturb them too much (how do you tell?).



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I was helping a friend renovate today. While moving a pile of scrap wood we uncovered a nest of 5-6 day old rats (furry but eyes still shut). We had a child with us. It was hard to decide what to do. Please add your 'other' vote in comments.

Oh Snap!
I found an HRC = sticker in my junkmail and was thinking it was time to take the George Bush sticker off my car and add Civil Marriage is a Civil Right and the HRC sticker to my car (to go with my Rainbow and my Charter School stickers) and suddenly realized: I have a job interview next week at a county school in a conservative area. So while the Rainbow will stay the more blatent stickers will have to wait......
At the school I taught in in 2002-2003 I had a Howard Dean sticker and during the walk-up to the Iraq invasion I wore a small flag/peace pin in class. And I think that was noticed (other teachers were wearing flag pins). That was the extent of my activism (other than some class discussions on global water and peak oil).

So I guess I have to be semi-closeted which I am not used to and which chafes against my character. For a while......

In other related stuff Obama still sucks for gay rights. Talked a good game during the campaign but DADT is not going away by itself and linguists are still being booted out, no initiative on DOMA, there has been practically no comment on the domino effect of marriage rights in 10% of our staes and soon to be 20% once NY, NJ, CA, RI, and NH come in to the fold. WA also now has 'separate but unequal' Civil Unions that I expect to be converted to marriage in a few years. Obama promised, has the capital to do things here, and is certainly not afraid to work on many issues concurrently but he has fallen flat. I have to say I am not surprised at all but I am disappointed.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Actually the thing is a bit limited because fiction/nonfiction is not an either/or thing with me, and there were a few questions where several answers applied.

And....my contract just ended. It was fun - I worked hard, had fun, learned a lot, got to know some great people, and regained confidence in my skills. 5 people have offered to be a reference. I know I did a great job.
So if you know any one in the Baltimore area who has need of a great recruiter/manager/jane of many trades, please contact me!