Month: June 2006

Letters to Esther

Letters to Esther Update

Shelly

I’ve had a lazy day today. It stormed last night and has been raining on and off all day long. Days like this make me sleepy and amotivated, so I ended up taking three–three!–naps. I’m blaming it on Pandora. Cats have a magical power whereby they climb into your lap and suck the wakefulness right out of you. They are a sleep hazard.

I did manage to transcribe and scan a few more Letters to Esther this evening. I figured, if I was going to sit on my ass, I may as well try to accomplish something at the same time. I’m glad I did, because a couple of letters from Esther’s mother and brother contained clues to the break-up with Richard. After an enigmatic exchange, the letters from Richard abruptly ended, and, as far as I can tell, do not resume. After years of correspondence and apparent affection on the parts of both of them, it seemed sad that they should part on bad terms. Sadder still–for me–was realizing that I might not ever know what happened.

Well, it seems as if Richard wanted his cake and to eat it, too. He was happy to flirt with Esther, so he obviously felt some affection for her, but he was unwilling to admit to it, insisting that he had no special feelings for her and that she should have none for him, either. Hmmm.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. Esther will soon be returning home for the summer, so the letters will slow down considerably. In the fall, her brother Clark will begin attending Purdue University, and there is a large amount of correspondence from him. He’s a smart, funny kid, so I’m looking forward to getting to know him better.

Ladybusiness

Homestead Women

Shelly

[Edited to add video and update broken links 16 Oct 2015]

A few months ago, I stopped at the Mission thrift shop and picked up a stack of old medical and high school text books. My intention was to use them for art projects, either altering them or using the illustrations in collage work. Because I’m still suffering from a lack of motivation, I spent some time this morning leafing through them, and came across this photo of four sisters who made a homestead claim in Nebraska Territory. The book is old and the print quality is poor, but I thought I’d scan and share it anyway.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about contemporary popular assumptions about the roles women played in the settling of this country. I suspect that women, like these four sisters, were not the dainty flowers that we are led to believe they were. Although it wasn’t common, women were legally able to file for Homestead claims as head of household. And, they did. Homesteading was back breaking work. It involved building a home by hand, planting and harvesting crops, and improving the land, in a wild and isolated environment. The women below look like they’re made of stern stuff. I hope they succeeded, but the reality is that many homesteaders ended up failing and having to forfeit their claims.

Women Homesteaders
Caption: They built “a little sod shanty on a claim.” The four sisters shown below claimed land in Custer County, Nebraska under the Homestead Act of 1862. There were few trees on the Great Plains so the pioneers had to build shelters of earth or “sod.” — Image and text from Moon, Glenn W. and John H. MacGowan, Story of Our Land and People. NP: Henry Holt and Company, 1955. (LC card catalog number: 55-5854.)

Addendum: Holy crap! Ask and ye shall receive, I guess. I did a little Googling, and came up with a link to women homesteaders in Nebraska. And, guess what? The above photo is of the Chrisman sisters. It was taken on June 14, 1886 by Solomon D. Butcher.

The Chrisman sisters lived near the Goheen settlement on Lieban Creek in Custer County. Lizzie Chrisman filed the first homestead claim in 1887. Lutie Chrisman filed her claim the following year. The sisters took turns living with each other so they could fulfill the residence requirements without living alone. The other two sisters, Hattie and Jennie Ruth, had to wait until they came of age to file. All the land was gone before the youngest sister was old enough to file, but all four were well-known members of the community.

Uncategorized

Overheard on the Escalator

Shelly

Administration Suit: “Libraries are filled with passive aggressive people.”

I’ll buy that, and I’ll cop to it, too. The cataloging department tends to see the worst of it, I think, but I have to say that as academic libraries go, my experience is that the passive aggression level here–even in cataloging–is below average. I hear a lot of whinging about it from coworkers, but as most of them have spent their entire professional lives here (which in itself speaks very highly of this institution), I don’t believe they have a very accurate compass by which to judge.

Crankypantsing, News & Politics

An Observation

Shelly

This is on a par with a recent post on Iraq. When did The War in Iraq become The War Against Iraq?

I’ve gotten into more than my fair share of debates that have ended when the other side retreated to the tune of, “It’s only semantics!” The implication being A) that I’m flogging a dead horse and B) that the subject of the debate was something trivial. I find that response frustrating. If we cannot understand the words that others use, then there is no point in trying to communicate. Since human speech–a symbolic and highly abstract form of communication–is what separates us from the cute little animals, without it, we wouldn’t be human, would we? So, I tend to think semantics might be the only thing that really is important.

And so, I am saddened to hear The War in Iraq referred to as The War Against Iraq, because anyone possessing a rudimentary facility with the English language will recognize that the two things have entirely different meanings.

Also, I used the juice from both halves of a very large lemon in my ginormous iced tea this ayem. It is sour beyond belief, and that’s coming from someone who likes to eat lemons. Oops.

Also, too, it looks like my planned migration back to civilization might take place sooner, rather than later. More on that as events unfold. I will only say that I’m conflicted, as I love the country and the wee woodland critters, but I also miss having broadband and–dear lord, I’m almost afraid to contemplate it–cable teevee.

Art, Collage, Journals, Pets

Rory (Composition Book Journal)

Shelly

Farewell to Rory (Composition Book Journal)
Rory, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 8 June 2006
acrylic paint and metallic gel marker, photo, receipt, and Gepe mount containing fur

I hid the journal entry behind the receipt. The fur in the Gepe mount was shed at the vet, while I was petting Rory. I made a little pile of it and brought it home with me. The rest of the page is just doodles I did that evening while watching television.

Art

Vessel (In Progress)

Shelly

Vessel (In Progress)
Vessel (in progress), 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches, 10 June 2006
coffee stain, crackle glaze, India ink, and Faber-Castell Pitt Pen on 90lb Stonehenge paper

This piece will have collage elements, but I thought I’d do an in progress shot while the ink was drying.

I started by staining the paper with instant coffee. I then used a crackle glaze kit, and India ink over that to accentuate the crazed pattern. I used a brown Pitt brush tip pen for the drawing. Because the glaze kit left a glossy finish, the Pitt pen, which would normally dry immediately and permanently, was easily blended. You can get a similar blending effect on plain paper by using graduated tones of brush tip Pitt pens. Working dark-to-light, use the lighter pens to melt and blend the darker ink you’ve already applied.

Art, Collage, Journals

Cooking with Jesus

Shelly

Guacamole / Sacred Heart (Composition Book Journal)
Sacred Heart / Guacamole
Composition book journal, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 9 June 2006

I saved the stickers from the last time I made guacamole. At about the same time, I burned the end of one of my favorite Mexican candles. I soaked the candle so I could reuse the label, and placed it on the page opposite the vegetable stickers. Since guacamole is so simple to make and it’s such a healthy food, I thought I’d use this spread to share my easy-peasy recipe.

Guacamole
2 avocados, mashed
2 large tomatoes or 6 romas, diced (I prefer romas, because they aren’t as juicy)
1 lime (lemons will work in a pinch, but given the choice between lime and lemon, I always prefer the flavor of lime)
4 scallions, minced (use both the white and green portions)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of Kosher or sea salt (iodized salt will react with the citric acid, and will make the guacamole bitter tasting)

Note: All amounts are approximate. I aim for something that is more like diced tomato salad with an avocado-lime-garlic dressing. I like chunky guacamole that, when paired with toasted whole wheat pita, is a meal in itself.

Mash or dice the avocados and add the juice from half the lime. Sprinkle with a little salt. Dice the tomatoes, mince the scallions and garlic, and add to the avocados. Mix everything together, then taste. You may want to add more garlic, salt, or lime. You can also add green chilis, hot chilis, or tabasco sauce, if you like spiciness. If you want a bit of crunch, diced bell peppers are a nice addition.

If you want to serve with chips, be careful not to over salt. I like to serve it with toasted whole wheat pita triangles. They’re whole grain and not as fatty as chips, so they’re healthier, I think. I also really enjoy the warm, nutty flavor against the cool, creamy, freshness of the guacamole.

Pets, Photography

And then there was one

Shelly

FH000017

I just got back from the vet. Rory had another blockage last night, so I took him in as soon as they opened this morning. After sitting up all night with him, trying to decide what to do, I felt like the best thing for him was to have him put to sleep. I’d hoped that the PU surgery would stop the blockages, but it didn’t. I couldn’t stand the thought of him having to go through this over and over and over again, especially knowing how painful UTIs are, and how excruciating a complete blockage must be. I just didn’t feel like his quality of life would be acceptable.

This is the first time I’ve had to make this decision. The rest of my animals have had the good sense to choose their own times and to leave on their own terms. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be–not the procedure itself, which was amazingly low-key and uneventful–but the stress of having to make the decision to have it done. I got to stay with him while he was sedated, and for the final shot to make his heart stop. He was calm about everything. The initial shot didn’t bother him, but then he’s been poked with so many needles, I’m sure it was old hat. He curled up on the table, with his head shoved under my arm and his body resting against me, and started purring gently. It may have been stress purring, but it didn’t seem frantic enough for that. His breathing eventually slowed, then nearly stopped. The vet came back in to give him the final shot and that was that. I paid the bill and brought home an empty carrier.

Now we’re the house of girls, which feels very odd. Pandora is my sole remaining cat. First and last and always, I guess. She outlived three younger cats–Echo, Polkadottie, and Rory–and one dog–Elliott. I sometimes think she might outlive us all.

So goodbye, Rory O’Nubbin. You were one hell of a cat: sweet, feisty, exasperating, and endlessly entertaining. You should have had a long, long life, dammit.