Fuzzy and I celebrated our eleventh anniversary on March 24th, and my gift to him (well, to us) was season passes to Scarborough Faire, the local renaissance festival, which opened on April 8th, which means that I got to have my hair braided (nothing hugely fancy, a pair of French braids, coiled, pinned, and decorated with a few twists), which I love because I tend to just stick my hair in ponytails because while I like it long, I have no talent or patience for styling, and I cannot stand having my hair in my face. The braids lasted from Saturday morning through Monday evening, with a light washing. I wish I could have someone braid my hair for me every morning – guess I’ll have to convince Fuzzy that he needs to learn how. He offered once, and I made the mistake of ignoring him.

Because I’ve been flirting with a tattoo, but have committment issues, I decided to try the henna tattoo services they offer just across the green from my braiders of choice (Twisted Sisters, just beyond the misting bridge, if you’re local). I’m now sporting a very cute seahorse (which I’m told is a symbol of luck and magic) on my right hand, and oddly, everyone at work was gushing over it. Probably this is merely because we’ve all been stuck in a training class half a day, every day, for the last two weeks, but whatever the reason, the attention’s been kind of fun.

Less fun are the horrible headaches I’ve been having, which I assumed were sinus, but now suspect may be migraines. Fuzzy pointed out that I always get really crabby the day before I wake up with my head pounding so hard I’m literally in tears, but I’ve yet to find the time to see my doctor and talk to her about it. (Somewhat ironically, I was headache free the entire time my hair was braided and pinned, and am only feeling a small pulsing sensation above my temples, tonight).

This weekend, we’ll go back to Scarborough to see shows, since all we did was shop last week. (I’m now the proud owner of a cool gryphon shoulder puppet, and a lovely necklace, bracelet, and earrings from the folks at LUCIA, among other things.

And on that note ( and on the arrival of Fuzzy and the dogs in the bedroom) I am going to sleep. More tomorrow.

Taken from TechnoCowboy…

Go to Wikipedia and look up your birth day (excluding the year). List three neat facts, three births, and three deaths in your journal, including the year. (Items in red took place on my ACTUAL birthday – August 17, 1970)

Events

1. 1427 – First band of gypsies visits Paris, according to an account of the citizen of Paris
2. 1970 – Venera program: Venera 7 is launched. It will later becomes the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet, Venus.
3. 1980 – Azaria Chamberlain disappears, likely taken by a dingo, leading to what was then the most publicised trial in Australian history.

Births

1. 1601 – Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician (d. 1665)
2. 1786 – Davy Crockett, American frontiersman and soldier (d. 1836)
3. 1893 – Mae West, American actress and playwright (d. 1980)

Deaths

1. 1880 – Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist (b. 1810)
2. 1983 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (b. 1896)
3. 1990 – Pearl Bailey, American singer and actress (b. 1918)

Brush-painted clouds arched over us as we drove to work this morning, and a warm but sturdy wind kept them ever moving, ever changing, reminiscent of one of those “magic windows” from childhood – two panes of plexiglass holding a combination of colored sand that one could shake and swirl to make interesting designs, each, like snowflakes, subtly different from one another. Variations on a theme.

The weather is sometimes my mirror and sometimes my prompter, depending. Rain inspires, wind sometimes soothes, sometimes annoys, humidity makes me crabby, but is it the humid weather or the crabbiness that comes first, I wonder?

I keep coming back to weather, describing moods as I describe temperatures: brisk, chilly, stormy, balmy, sunny.

Sunny. Sunny is a mood I like.
It’s not bad in weather, either.

. . .one of my favorite colors. This is why I bought red couches. My old ones, for those who never saw those pix, were denim.

These are the new ones, along with completely new tables. And lamps.

Hopefully, in August, I’ll be replacing the wing chair with a coordinating chaise.

I am the person who plans an outfit and then wears something completely different, the woman who will still change shirts one more time even if she’s running five minutes late, the girl with a brush, two barettes, a headband and three scrunchies (in various colors) in her desk at work, because options are essential.

If I could afford to redecorate my house once a quarter, I’d probably do it, but I can’t so I redecorate my blog instead.

It’s not just change for the sake of change, really. It’s a combination of many things – coming home last night to find my aunt’s recently published first book, The Earth Knows My Name, as well as a blog-friend’s first book, Bitter is the New Black, waiting for me at my doorstep, smug in their little brown wrappers, made me realize that I’ve not written anything worth anything since I started this corporate job-thing, and while I like the job, I don’t like that I’ve let it kill all my creativity.

Scritture was the word I claimed when I felt like I really was a writer. Just now, I don’t feel like one. I guess I’m kind of in limbo, trying to find the right inspiration, the right mood, but then I woke at four this morning, and the thought came that I needed to get back to basics, lose the cool Italian subtitle, and just explore MissMeliss again.

And so I’ve done.
In the process, I’ve reverted to Movable Type as my publishing interface, and while I re-learn it things may change more often than even I really like, but I’m sort of excited and curious about this new start, and NO, though the timing may suggest it, this isn’t an April Fool’s thing.

It’s just…change is good. You know?

My aunt's book is now listed at Amazon.com. It's a little more scholarly than perhaps it should be, but really interesting nevertheless – and I know this because I read the drafts.

The launch will be, or so I'm told, at Ellis Island.

I don't usually do politics in my blog, because there are enough political bloggers out there, and because my politics are my business, and no one else's. The people who know me know where I stand on the important things – and, more importantly – I know where I stand. I've always believed that being at peace with oneself is more important than defending one's view for the world.

Today, I'm getting political. If you've been following the story at all, you know that Mike Rounds, Governor of the state of South Dakota, signed into law a bill that bans all abortions in that state, except in the case where the mother's life is threatened. There are no provisions for rape, or for incest. None.

What you may NOT know is Cecilia Fire Thunder, who is President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. which reservation lies geographically in Dakota, has promised to establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on Indian land.

But she needs help.

The following is the text of a livejournal post by KathrynT, which I found while reading the livejournal of the very cool author Martha Wells. Go buy her books, but not until after you help Ms. Fire Thunder.

Ms. Fire Thunder and the Oglala Sioux Planned Parenthood
I called the Office of the President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of Pine Ridge, and spoke with Ms. Fire Thunder herself. (In case you haven't seen it, this is in reference to http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/013061.asp)

If you want to mail donations to the reservation, you may do so at:

Oglala Sioux Tribe
ATTN: President Fire Thunder
P. O. Box 2070
Pine Ridge, SD 57770

OR: and this may be preferred, due to mail volume:

ATTN: PRESIDENT FIRE THUNDER
PO BOX 990
Martin, SD 57751

Enclose a letter voicing your support and explaining the purpose of the donation. Bear in mind, the Pine Ridge Res is not exactly dripping with disposeable income, so do consider donating funds directly to the tribe as well as specifically for this effort.

ETA: Make checks out to OST Planned Parenthood Cecelia Fire Thunder. This will ensure that the funds get routed properly.

For email contact, you can contact the president at:

firethunder_president AT NOSPAM yahoo DOT com
cc:vbush AT NOSPAM oglala DOT org

That is Ms. Fire Thunder's personal email address; I have received permission to post it here. For the sake of record keeping, do cc: the listed address on all correspondence; that's her official secretary.

She was frankly kind of surprised that a white girl from Seattle was calling to express support, and even more surprised that the news had spread so far so fast. She's likely to get deluged with screaming hate mail soon, so get your support in fast. Send email with good thoughts if you can't send money.

ETA: Yes, please, dear God, link it anywhere and everywhere!

This post is NOT to be construed as an invitation to debate abortion or reproductive rights. My views are not going to change. If you're not pro-choice, nothing I say is going to alter that. If you disagree with any of this, have the graciousness to just move along to a different entry, please.

Happy birthday, . May it be a day filled with happy surprises and sincere smiles, and may it mark the beginning of a phenomenal year.

Message:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAINBOWBINKY.

My good blog-friend Laura, who is an American living and cooking in France, turned me on to a fun activity called Is My Blog Burning, that made me think of several of the folks I read here.

The current challenge is French peasant food, which is why I'm making Cassoulet for eight people in a week and a half. I'm cheating a little, and using chicken instead of duck, goose, or partridge, but other than that, I think it'll be fine.

Anyone reading this is invited to participate.