The best laid plans

Hands up if you've heard of Robert Burns.

Of course you have!

He's the famous Scottish poet of a couple of hundred years ago.

Now, hands up if you're familiar with the proverb begun in the post title.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

We've all been victim of the concept, right?

Did you know that the saying is from Burns' poem, To a Mouse?

He wrote it after ploughing up a fieldmouse's nest one day. The poem becomes a reflection on his enormous power over her life. She had spent all her days preparing the nest so that she could be comfortable. In one moment her life was undone, which fact caused Burns to reflect upon the despondency that he felt in his own life  at the grand age of twenty six. 

Most of the poem is completely unintelligible, written in a broad Scottish dialect that sounds like an alien tongue. One verse, however, is particularly poignant and fairly comprehensible, even to a poetry heathen such as I.

I'm truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!

I sometimes wonder which giant in the sky is disturbing my nest!

Where was I?

Oh yes.

So, the actual line from which the proverb is taken goes thusly: 

The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men

Gang aft agley.

And we all know what that means, don't we?

If you want to read the whole poem, accompanied by a lovely translation and interpretation, go here.

And what happened to Robert?

The poor lad died at the age of 37, presumably as the result of a dissolute life (he was a rascal) and a dental extraction.

And what has this got to do with anything?

I was about to tell you how my plans might be going astray.

Haiti is in more trouble each day.

Jeff has been casting foreboding glances my way, from under furrowed brow, as he reads each new dire headline.

First it was cholera, which I thought I could beat by being sanitary.

Now there are riots in the streets.

The volunteer staff of the birth clinic is fleeing the country even as I write this. They made it to a UN compound, disguised as cholera patients in the back of an ambulance, and will head to the Dominican Republic as soon as the riots cease.

I am distraught at the thought of giving up my dream, but even more at the thought of the desperation in which the Haitian people live. 

I still want to serve them, in the hopes that I can help create a small ray of hope for a few people. 

So, for now, I will act as if.

As if we are still leaving for Haiti on January 29th, 2011.

I will be cautiously optimistic, until I have reason to be otherwise.

And tomorrow, I shall go to the church and spend the morning with like-minded friends, making necessaries for  new mothers. 

So think happy thoughts for Haiti.

A few prayers winging their way to the giant in the sky wouldn't hurt either.

Music galore

I sometimes go to Amazon.com and peruse their free music. I've discovered some fun bands this way. Today, I was checking out HeyIt'sFree, which you will see on my side bar, and I noticed some free Veggie Tales Christmas music. I thought my grandkids might like it, so I downloaded it for them.
Bethany is playing Christmas music already, you see. She waits until after Halloween to begin, which is thoughtful of her, don't you think?

Bethany, the pregnant one.
The one who said, I forgot how terrible I feel when I'm pregnant. You think after four kids I would remember.
Yes, my darling girl, but we all remember!

Anyway.
I was exploring some of the other free music and found some wonderful collections of classical music for only $1.99.
The 99 Most Essential Piano Pieces.
$1.99.
The 99 Darkest Pieces of Classical Music.
$1.99.
The 99 Most Essential Christmas Masterpieces.
You guessed it: $1.99.

There are more.
If you want to download music from Amazon, you will need to create an account and download their music software, but it is well worth the small effort.
My laptop is in the process of downloading about 350 songs.
We may be up for a while.

And now, a wee diversion, because I know you all live to see photos of my adorable family.
Here are some from the night of Bethany's birthday dinner.
My family room was rearranged to make room for Jon's new XBox game.
I don't think Jeff moved a muscle.

Remember, remember

Armistice Day, commemorating the peace treaty signed between the Allied forces and Germany at the end of World War I, later became Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth countries and Veterans Day in America.
Hostilities ceased at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
I remember, when attending school in England and New Zealand, we observed two minutes of silence every year at this very hour. As I matured in years, it began to be an emotional two minutes for me. Now, of course, it seems to be more of an emotional day each year that passes.

In New Zealand, ANZAC Day is actually a bigger event. It falls on April 25th and originally commemorated the ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) forces who fought in Gallipoli in World War I, but now includes all who have fought and perished for their country. It is probably the biggest annual event in New Zealand. Interestingly, ANZAC Day is a rare example of two countries sharing the same remembrance day that also references both countries in its name.

Well, I thought it was interesting, anyway.

This is one of my favourite wall photos. The men include a grandfather, great-uncle, and various other relatives who fought in the two World Wars.

I recently joined a military moms and wives group and today got an email with a link to this video.

I am a little leery of emotion for emotion's sake, because it can be used to manipulate thinking. 

But I want you to watch this video.

Some things are necessary to remember.

And get out the Kleenex box before you start.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Where the wild things are

Joshie slept over last night.

I invited him before I knew that Jeff and Thomy were also spending the day.

Three little boys, ages three, four and five.

They spent the day

rumpusing 

running 

rampaging

jumping

bouncing

laughing

crying

scootering

bird-feeding

eating

yelling

computer-game-playing

lego-building

spider-scaring

and then complaining when it was time to go home.

I'm glad they had fun.

Personally, I'm tired.

Removing temptation

Getting some raving deals on chocolate before Halloween

 +

No trick-or-treaters at our house

 =

Too much chocolate in my tummy.

So, this morning, I came up with a cunning plan, involving this machine.

My nifty vacuum sealer, purchased at Costco this year.

I mostly bought it so that I could seal up homemade goodies to send to soldiers overseas. Sometimes they take a month to reach the soldier and I hate to think that all my effort resulted in a mess of stale cookies. I've also bagged up dried strawberries and blueberries. 

Now, the chocolate is ferreted away, both removing temptation and adding some frivolity to my food storage.

Because you know, if everything falls to pieces, I will require some frivolity.

Also added today, some freeze-dried, grated cheese.

Ain't technology grand?

Oh, and let's hear a woot! woot! for the election results yesterday.

Except for Oregon, of course, where it is business as usual.

Sad.

Dinner for a dollar

Trying not to think about the election.
Here in Oregon, we vote by mail, an evil liberal concept, so I voted days ago.

When Jeff and I were newly married, we lived in Southern California. Stuck in my memory is a series of articles that appeared in the Orange County Register. Each week, a person took the challenge of preparing a gourmet meal for two for less than five dollars. The results were mediocre, in my judgment, especially since they had a whole five dollars with which to work. I remember thinking to myself, Heck, I do that every night. In fact, our meals usually only cost a buck or two.

So, here I am, thirty years later. 

I teach piano till dinnertime most nights, so it's often a rush to feed the starving beast (Jeff) before he snacks himself into oblivion. Some days, I think ahead and prepare dinner early in the day, but it's not a given.

Last night, I laid out my plan ahead of time and had all the ingredients ready to go before I started lessons for the day. 

Then, I realized: dinner will cost almost exactly a dollar tonight.

First, a can of spicy beans, purchased from Safeway for fifty cents, after sale price and double coupon.

Next, half a pound of Hillshire Farms sausage, sliced up and browned in a pan.

The whole pound cost 99 cents in the clearance bin at Safeway.

Mixed all together with a pot of rice (two cups of rice to four cups of water) which cost a few pennies.

Served with a side of sliced persimmon for a flavourful respite from the spice.

Not exactly elegant, but flavourful and fairly healthy.

It did cost a tad more than a dollar, but there is enough left for lunches this week.

Poor Jeff is going to get mighty tired of rice and beans!

No more strangers and foreigners...

This is my friend Mark, who is mentioned here from time to time.

Mark is a foreigner.

He loves our country.

And he's paying us a visit today to tell us some of the reasons that he feels this way.

If you miss me, I'm visiting Jenny's blog today, to tell you why I love America.

Observations on America.
By a foreigner.

In the past twelve years I have traveled extensively in the United States, including several summer driving holidays. In each case I have been delighted with the experience and, if anything, wished that I didn’t have to leave.

Like a lot of good things, my continual return to the US has been more due to good luck than to good planning. My wife is a Filipina, which means that she is “persona non grata” throughout the world when it comes to touring. It seems that every country assumes (as does the US) that she will be trying to immigrate rather than tour. The difference is that once she has established that she is indeed a tourist, the US takes her at her word and generously issues her with a 10-year multiple entry visa. Contrast this with Canada, the country of my birth. Personal visits to the embassy and proof of marriage to a Canadian Citizen only procured a single visit three-month visa. Ironically, while it is easier to migrate to Canada than to the USA, it is definitely easier to be a tourist in the US.

So many things are easier to do in the USA, from renting a car or a motel, to finding food to eat or clothes to wear. All of the above are great value and so easy to do. Besides, the US is perfect for the traveler who likes to be spontaneous.  If I had to put a single word on it, I would call it ‘choices’ or ‘freedom’, and it extends beyond the “trivial” activity of touring. As a foreigner, I have many of the same freedoms that American citizens enjoy while I tour. I can travel freely, but I can also buy and sell property. 

Americans of course probably take all this stuff for granted. This is as it should be. I wish that everyone could live in a country where the freedom to travel extensively, to buy and sell, and enjoy such a range of choices were the same. 

Aside from travelling in the USA I have done a little travel through Asia and the third world. Now that is an eye opener. One is very conscious of deference to one group at the expense of another. I have been both the beneficiary and the loser in the game of ethnic stratification. I have endured the unwanted attention of the hustlers (who are so aggressive at Egyptian tourist spots) as well as the petty corruption of police and commercial discrimination against foreigners. For example, although I am married to a Filipina and have children who hold Philippine citizenship, I cannot own land in the Philippines. Foreigners can only have part ownership in condominiums. But nothing stopped me buying land in the US. 

I live in Qatar and I enjoy living here, but I am not free here. I need my employer’s permission to leave and to return or to buy a car. Travel by car to Dubai, a short 250 miles away requires visas from Saudi Arabia and the UAE plus special documents for the car. This usually takes about three weeks to organize and, of course, requires employer permission.

It is not just the beauty of the Grand Canyon or the California Coast or the east coast hinterland that draws me back to the USA. Next summer I will probably tour the USA again. Perhaps it will be the ultimate freedom of a bike tour. In any case, while I am there I know that I will be treated with dignity and expected to return the same. And in every moment of my stay there, I will enjoy freedom.


Thank you, Mark.
Mark will be re-visiting this topic in future posts.