I remember exactly where I was when the world changed: I was sound asleep. The first plane hit at 7:45 a.m. Houston time; my husband called me from Indiana (where he was attending a corporate training) at about 7:55 a.m. and woke me up to tell me that a "small plane"… Read full post »

Shouldn't this just be completely obvious in a wealthy, civilized, first-world country?

No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.

… Read full post »

Well. I really don't like this page. First, the user interface sucks. Second, they have hardly any clothing that you can actually try on 3-D, and most of it is Land's End, which is SO not my style. It also wouldn't let me do anything funky, like a dress over jeans… Read full post »

My mom and dad met at the Pla-Mor Ballroom in Lincoln, NE. He was attending UNL--in Air Force ROTC, majoring in Psychology; she was working as a secretary, back in the day when they still had steno pools. Dad fell for Mom on the spot, and asked for her number. She/… Read full post »

When last we spoke, I was in the midst of my neurotic phase. Well, I eventually got over that phase...by getting into an even more neurotic form of artwork. :)

It all started when H1 and I went to San Francisco for Thanksgiving in 1991. Of course, a visit to Green… Read full post »

I have written before about my childhood adventures with deer, badgers, and other critters on my grandmother's farm. I was generally pretty happy out there--my cousin lived on the same place, there were always kittens and baby chicks to snuggle, and a creek to play in on hot days. Oh,… Read full post »

Well, I tried, but I just couldn't do it, I had to post more than one.

 The first poem, I discovered in a poetry class my freshman year of college. It was a lot closer to the time, then, and it hit pretty hard. From Wiki:

The Ballad of… Read full post »

After years of figure paintings, I entered a bit of a neurotic phase. There were good personal reasons for this, really, and it was therapeutic and cathartic for me, in ways I can't quite explain. They're based on the kind of "bored in a meeting" doodles I'd been doing for years.… Read full post »

My contribution for Karen. Happy Birthday!

 I have not taken the time to figure out what this little guy is, but he's a great accessory for my goldflame spirea. :)

 This fellow is a Western Tiger Swallowtail hanging out on, what else!, my butterfly bush. … Read full post »

(Thanks to MarytKelly for her suggestion on spicing up the title! <G>)

 After the one and only art class I took in college (the professor was a cubist, he wanted us all to be cubists, I am not a cubist ), I started painting on actual canvas with actual acrylic… Read full post »

O'Stephanie mentioned wanting to see some birds. And although I'm not Barry or Bill S, I have been working on a bird post, so in honor of O'Steph, here it is. :)

These are all birds I've photographed around my house, which is why all the scenery looks the same.… Read full post »

Today has been 29 years since my first stepfather died. In honor of the event, I present a poem I wrote several years ago about it. And to anybody who finds it offensive that I'm celebrating the day he died--well, I'm sorry to offend you. But he was a sick,… Read full post »

 Max the pit bull, aka Canis Maximus, aka the long-term guest dog at Che' Mer, has found his forever home!

 ^{(Max running loops in the snow, 12/21/08).}

 We went to dinner with our friend Benjamin and his wife Kim last Friday, and mentioned Max's ongoing… Read full post »

 We are finally melting our way out of about 2 feet of snow, and I'm hoping that by tomorrow I'll actually be able to get my car out of the driveway. And although it was a pain, I'm sorry to see it go, because it really was gorgeous up… Read full post »

Being up here in the Pacific Northwest "Snow Zone" has been loads of fun. Snow, freezing rain, sleet, wind, we've had it all. While the humans in Portland may be complaining (well, not me, I've been snowed in since Thursday and I love it!), the dogs are of a different opinion… Read full post »

Well, Verbal Remedy has really got us all going this time. Who would have thought so many people would be brave enough to share their Senior (ish) portraits? Seeing all that bravery has given me the courage to post mine as well.

 The year: 1981 (Class of '82). The place:… Read full post »

UPDATE ON DONATIONS and BILL STATUS: 

 A much easier way to make donations, if you care to, is to go through PayPal. If you have a PayPal account, just log onto PayPal; click on the "Send Money" button; and direct the payment to email address pwaisbd@yahoo.com . I did this… Read full post »

Nicholas Kristof's column in today's New York Times,  Terrorism That's Personal, delves into the practice of men, usually husbands, using acid to ruin a woman's appearance and life. He makes it clear that this is not an uncommon occurrence; nor is it a new practice.

 Kristof cites statistic… Read full post »

The Presidio La Bahia near Goliad, Texas, is the site of one of the most important battles in the Texas War of Independence against Mexico.

The Texans succeeded in taking the Presidio from the Mexican army in October, 1835. Their victory was fairly short-lived, however, and in March… Read full post »

As requested--Abby & Collin in all their glory. :)

 Since the avatar seems to have generated some giggles, I thought I'd share the whole series withy'all. 

It started one Sunday afternoon, with two dogs and one stick.

This led to puppy exhaustion,… Read full post »

Max now fits in perfectly with the accident-prone critters at Che' Mer, since he damaged himself by running into the 1930s Studebaker Rockne we have awaiting restoration in the back yard. Poor Max!

It's not nearly as bad as it looks, though--no cut, just… Read full post »

This is the result of one of those "What can I cook with the ingredients on hand?" nights.

1 lb chicken breast filets, cut into bite-sized pieces

olive oil

1 onion, cut into 8ths

1-2 tsp diced garlic

lime juice (I use Key West Lime Juice--it's a little… Read full post »

"Prism"

(Original artwork, copyright 1992 CA Jacobs, all rights reserved) Read full post »

First, I thought I'd share some pictures of one of our bushy-tailed bandits raiding a bird feeder recently. I think the squirrels like the feeders almost as much as the birds do. 

And here's a picture of the bandit out on… Read full post »

UPDATE: Max woke up this morning with kennel cough. Poor baby boy! So now he's isolated from the other dogs and he DOES NOT LIKE IT! I can't quite identify the sounds he's making...perhaps something along the lines of a baby dinosaur? :)

 We just got back from the vet where… Read full post »