i’m back. somewhat.

So I’ve not really written much for a few reasons so this is just a little check-in note. First, some exciting news! Elizabeth’s Little Blog’s url www.elizabethslittleblog.com is now up and running again thanks to this blog’s number one (okay, well, only) benefactor, RG. Thanks RG!

My lack of writing has been for two reasons. First, because I’m trying only to write somewhat more meaningful stuff here rather than more random thoughts. I guess I can’t decide what sort of blog I want this to be. So while I decide, I’m writing less. But, that reason is really only a secondary reason to this one: I have to take Latin for my doctoral work and it is killing me. I spend all my time translating and memorizing and trying to understand this crazy language. And I’m also having to continue German translations too, and there can really be no slacking or I get behind. There is no end-of-the-semester catch-up in Latin.  Sooo, I will try to post at least sometime, while I think about where this blog is going. I have been thinking a lot about my call to ministry, trying to find a home church, what it means to have a home church, and about the environment, cats, death, hospice work, vegetarianism and what it has to do with violence in the world, and sorts of other things. I will get to them. In the meantime, I’m enjoying reading the other thoughtful UU blogs out there, especially Looking for Faith, which I’ve been especially impressed with these days.

Until Latin frees me from its grip ever-so-slightly, E

Britney Spears

So Ms. Britney Spears was all about having a comeback performance at the Video Music Awards. I watched the You Tube version of it and she didn’t do so well.  Fine. I think there are more important things to worry about in the world. BUT, what is driving me CRAZY is all this talk that she had a beer belly or looked fat or out of shape. I have heard this on the radio and rumor has it that places like People or Us Magazine are saying such things (of course, ahem, I wouldn’t know because I would not read those things, even if I was procrastinating on studying for a German exam…). But, HELLO? Look at her picture below. I think she looks GREAT. Just because someone goes from a size 2 to a size 6 does not mean they are fat.  Anyway, I thought that was important to say. Even if only 12 people read it as compared to the millions who read People.

The Queen of the Scottish Fairies; NYTimes story about a little boy that loved his skirt

http://modan.blogs.nytimes.com/** This so reminds me of something that we would read in Women’s Studies 101. In a way, I love it. I wish that things ended so lovely. Maybe in Cambridge, MA they do. I’m with the mom on this, mostly, except stories like this do leave out important things. We read this story X: Fabulous Child’s Story and I always thought it was a little too idealistic. Great if your kid is all about just being his or herself and ignores gender norms. But these sorts of stories leave out the part where a child in his/her preschool class calls him a fag, and then the next door neighbors call your husband a pansy, and then the kid eventually gets beat up in second grade, the principal calls you, the teacher calls child protective services, and then the child is in therapy and hates you because you let him wear a tutu when he was 4. Not that all this should happen and maybe it won’t if you live in a super-progressive town, but in Ohio or Kentucky, mostly, I’m pretty sure my version of what could happen is a best-case-scenario.

Anyway, I still loved the story and long for a world where there are happy endings to boys that want to wear skirts.

**I realized that this is a New York Times select article. Darn it! Okay, so I’ll explain. It is a little cartoon/book/story on Ruth Modan’s blog about a little boy that loves to wear his tutu. The dad doesn’t think this is a great idea. The mom is like, “Hey, just let him be.” So the boy wears the tutu and is happy. Finally, they are going to a costume party and the dad can’t take it anymore, and then the daughter says “Let him wear my plaid skirt” and so then it is more like a Scottish tartan and the dad thinks it is more acceptable, and then at the end the little boy announces that he is the queen of the scottish fairies, which of course, was not quite what the dad was looking for. Its cuter when you read it than when I describe it.

Give a Girl a Chance - Get Good Karma

We are regular foster cat parents. And we have run into a semi-desperate situation for a lovely cat named Marisol. We kindly ask anyone to consider offering her a home, or send this to someone who might have a space in their home and heart for a cat whose had a hard time of it, and a foster family that would like to be foster-free for a while.

Marisol was originally in a family that abused her. Then another family rescued her. Then they abandoned her. We found her in the middle of winter living outside, quite miserable. We adopted out the four other cats that were left with her. But because Marisol has some trust issues and was previously abused, and does not tolerate other cats well, we have had a tough time finding a place for her. A family that loved her adopted her, but also two other cats at the same time, and so they had to give her back because she did not get along with the other cats. She has had to live in a room by herself since she was returned to us. She is quite lonely.

We even got desperate and skeptically consulted an “animal communicator” (a.k.a. cat psychic) to try to determine why Marisol might be so unhappy with people touching her and we were quite impressed with her assessment, given that she knew nothing about Marisol’s situation prior to our talk. The animal communicator confirmed that she only likes to be touched when Mari initiates it, and that she is very unhappy that we have so many other cats running around. And, the animal communicator confirmed our suspicions that Marisol had the possibility to be a very sweet cat (less distance and moody and less resistant to being touched) if she is the only cat. For two days when she was the only cat in our apartment during our move before our other cats came, she was like a totally different cat and quite friendly. It isn’t that she isn’t happy to see us now, but she is clearly frustrated, stressed, and upset to have been abandoned and then cooped up in a room for nearly nine months with tons of cats running around the house (she can see them under the crack in her door and it drives her crazy).

Anyway, sorry for those of you who are not animal lovers - this perhaps seems a bit over the top, but we do feel like all cats deserve a good, loving, permanent homes and we just want to make sure that Marisol gets that. We know we can’t do that for all the cats in the world, but we try to do it for those that cross our paths.

We are looking for a loving patient family in the New England area with NO CHILDREN, and NO OTHER CATS or OTHER ANIMALS who would be happy to work with a cat who has had a hard time of it. She will not be a cuddle-bunny, but she LOVES to hang around people, play, eat, and just hang out. She may get to where she liked to be touched a lot, but for now, she just likes to be touched on the head some and mostly left to herself. She is quite unhappy in our extra room, yet we have grown to love her and feel like we need to find her a good home. As an exception, we will consider adopting her to an indoor/outdoor home, although we think an indoor home would be best. If outdoors, it needs to be a pretty safe situation. Please email elizabeth199 at gmail dot com if you have some interest in Mari. We are willing to take her just about anywhere if the family is willing to have her and be good to her.

Help me! Let me out of this room!