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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Off to Wichita and sister Mary, or the Yellow Brick Road

Yesterday was Monday.  Skaets Steak Shop is closed on Monday so this was the perfect opportunity to  venture off to Wichita to see sister Mary.  Now, as you will recall I can not post pictures since this computer is the most alien thing I have come across in quite some time. But none the less, with Lyn at the wheel and sister Donna ensconced in the passenger seat we headed out to Wichita, Kansas.  I was in the back seat, because I could see a very good nap in the offing!

We arrived at Mary's house at 1:00 which meant it was time for lunch.  So off we went to PF Chang's. First order of business was to decide what to eat, then order it, then eat it.  That is a very good place to eat and I would highly recommend it. 

Sister Mary has a beautiful home and she showed me every bit of it right down to the cedar lined closet.  Now that is an ingenious idea.  Her house is rather an English Tudor, which to me means there is tons of storage upstairs.

Leave taking was a sad business because I do not get to see or talk to Mary very often.  Wish we were closer.

Now today I had breakfast with the two boy cousins and then  lunch with Cousin Sandy and State Representative Joe Siewert.  Might have spelled that wrong, but the important part of this is he is a Republican!!  There is no way I can give you all the details of this lunch, but I will tell you this, I am a Democrat and a Bleeding Heart Liberal and I had more fun with that man then I did when the pigs ate my cousin Lenny!  If all the Republicans and Democrats could set down and spend two fun filled hours as we did today, there would be a lot more action taken in the State House!  I will go into further detail when I am safely back in Colorado.
























See this different color?  That means I added this later.  On the left is my sister Mary and my wiccan companion.  On the right is Mary and me in her sewing room.  It either has a very low ceiling or I am a lot taller than I remember being.  You can always tell Mary, she is the pretty one!  All my sisters are pretty, but I am still the Matriarch and they have to respect me!  Her and her friend will be coming the end of August for a few days.  I am very excited!

Now, tomorrow I will be heading East.  Our laptop does not get the Internet and I am afraid that I will not be able to send another missive until I get back home.  Just know I am thinking of you and I am having more damn fun than you can imagine. If I have the opportunity I will slip you a line, but don't bet on it!!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Alina & Tommy sitting in a tree?

Here is Alina, the very proud mother!!!


Here is great Aunt Lou and the lovely little Adriana!


Now here is a picture of daddy Tom and Grandma Donna!  The only other picture I have of Tom also has grandma on the other side.  As you kow I do not use pictures without permission and I did not get permission from Donna for any picture except this one.  Sorry.


The red writing below is now moot since you have your pictures!!

I must apologize because there are no pictures here, but I can not figure how to get them with someone elses software.  When I get home I will add pictures.  Thanks for understanding an old woman who is clueless on a computer!!

As you know I am on vacation!  This is my first evening. Left Pueblo this morning, well actually yesterday, which was Sunday. Stopped in Lakin for lunch with the kiddies, but that is a whole nuther blog!  Arrived in Hutchinson, Kansas around 7:00 PM.  Where is the first place we had to go upon arrival at my sister Donna's house?  You guessed it!!  She has a brand new, and the only one in the world at the time, Grand Daughter!  Her only son, Tom Bartholomew and his lovely wife, Alina are the proud parents of a bouncing baby girl, born only the day before.  How exciting is that? And this precious little baby was wanting to meet me! Me! Can you beleive that? At least that is what Donna told me and of course I beleive everything people tell me.

Now, I want to go on record as saying, this may look like a normal baby, but such is not the case.  Far be it from me to brag about my family of which I am the official Matriarch, having outlived the other older siblings, but I shall digress and do just that.  Her mother is Alina Aldatova, formerly of Russia and current and former Karate/Kick Boxing Champion of the World.  I kid you not! Go Google Alina and there she pops up.  My traveling companion, the wiccan, reminded me to mind my manners as I had not yet met Alina, and I sometimes come across a tad bit overbearing. She did, however, say she had my back.  Yeah, my waaaaaaay back.

Alina is a very sweet and wonderful person and I think she liked me as I left the room in one piece! I had seen pictures of her in her karate poses and asked if she would show me how she could put her foot clear up over her head while standing flat footed on the floor.  She declined, but there will be another day.

While Alina is a world wide celebrity, Tom is fairly well known in this area,  He is a salesman for Sysco Foods which sells to resturants and institutions.  Not just your old run of the mill salesman either.  Boy has been very succesful in this field.  Wins all sorts of awards, but the best part is his customers love him to death. He is one of the sweetest little (and I use the term lovingly, not literally) kids I have ever known.  But while Tom is a celebrity in the food service circle, his mother is a celebrity in the resturaunt circle.

Donna Bartholomew along with her partner, Karen LeShure own and operate Skaets Steak Shop in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Now this place has been around for quite some time.  My first job was washing dishes at Skaets in 1959. At that time it was owned by Norman Deschene and his wife.  I was 18 at the time, a mere slip of a girl, unsullied by the world.  But there is a whole new kettle of worms! 

Tomorrow I shall give you the history of  Bartholomew involvement in food service in Hutchinson, Kansas.  For now we shall just wait till Donna gets up and I can verify a few things before I post this. In the meantime, I am going to pull on some shorts and tee shirt and a pair of tennies and jog on over to McDonalds on the highway to meet my boy cousins.  I have not talked to them, but I did email them that I was headed this way and I think they will get the telepathic message.  If they are there I will eat yogurt, if not I will do the sausage and grease thing. BBL (In chat room talk that means Be Back Later!)

Oh, and tomorrow I will be lunching with the girl cousin and a Kansas politician of rather high standing, who just happens to be a Republican. Need a picture of him for my phone.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Wolves are indeed endangered species.

Here is a link to an article about the lobos.


http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/third-wolf-shot-illegally-57-500-reward-for-information/





Friends,

This is an email I sent to the Department of the Interior. There is a crisis situation regarding the Mexican Lobo Wolf. Experts say there are only about 40 left in the wild, and now 3 of them have been shot and killed. I encourage anyone who cares about wildlife to contact the DOI and Ken Salazar. What a tragedy it would be if we lost these wolves.







----- Forwarded Message ----

From: Kris Allen

To: feedback@ios.doi.gov

Sent: Fri, July 23, 2010 7:53:41 AM

Subject: Mexican Lobos





I read with dismay that another Mexican Lobo wolf has been shot and killed. With so few of these animals left, this is an emergency and should be treated as such. Please take action to find the perpetrator(s) and protect these wolves!



Thank you,

Kris Allen

Beulah, Colorado

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Beulah, Colorado still awaits in the beautiful Rocky Mountains!

Oh, there is my friend Jan!  I have not been up to see her in the lovely city of Beulah for 2 months!  I miss her! The last time I was up there she told Michael Martin Murphy or some one like that has bought a place up there and spent the whole day just hanging out there. I was so jealous!

See, here is what happens in life and it happens all too often, life gets in the way!  I think I am going to do this or that and the next thing I know, I am off doing something that was not in the plan at all.  Like today.  I woke up this morning on the right side of the sod, which is the up side, and thought "Oh, what a beautiful day!"  Now that is as far as the thinking process got me.  I need to go do chores.  Then I will stop by the garden and pull some weeds. Need to put a new something on the duck house door to hold it shut.  Then the sink is full of dishes, bed needs made, emails need answered and on and on. Life has gotten in the way.

See that lovely lady up there?  That is Jan Miller who owns the Stompin' Grounds Coffee House in Beulah.  She is my friend, but I can not seem to find the time to drive the 20 miles up there and see her. I know if I would just jump in the car and drive up there she would be so happy to see me and I would have a wonderful adventure in the picturesque town of Beulah, but I continue to let life get in the way.

Well, never mind!  Today is Thursday and she is closed on Thursday.  Open everyday but Thursday 7:30-2:00. Then she is open Saturday night from 5-8 for Pizza, Calzones, salad and desserts.  So Saturday I am not going to let life get in my way.  I am going to load up the boy and girl and go to Beulah for lunch with my dear friend, Jan!  Maybe I will see you there!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Up date Cuban Caravan

Just got a message from Scot. His bus made it through Mexican customs with nothing taken off. He was waiting for the other busses to pass through. Then on to Reynosa.


Kris

Read more here:
http://www.ifconews.org/

Cuban Caravan Border Crossing.

Friends,


I just got off the phone with Scot, about 8:10 Mountain Time. He gave me a very quick update from the international zone. The U.S. officials took 5 CPUs from our bus. These were the ones from Vancouver. Just as he was telling me this, I heard his radio telling everyone it was time to proceed into Mexico!

More updates as they come!

Kris



I will post pictures as soon as I can figure that one out...Lou

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Up date from the Cuban Caravan!!

Friends of the Cuba Caravan,

Tomorrow the Caravanistas will cross the border into Mexico. With their load of humanitarian aid goes our wishes and prayers for safe passage and success.



The bus from Colorado has already been designated for a rehabilitation hospital. This bus is equipped with a wheelchair lift and some special seats for infants. Decorated with art by Antonio Guerrero, the bus is also dedicated to him with the hope that he will be freed from his unjust imprisonment.



As soon as I get any updates, I will pass them along.



Kris

Friday, July 16, 2010

The human side of the Cuban Caravan, my new best friends!

Here is the first person off the bus!! It is Kathryn Hall-Trujillo from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She had already called me on her cell phone when they left Colorado Springs, so I knew she was there. She is a happy little thing and was just a plethora  of information on the Cuban Five as well as the Medical School down there.  Apparently if you want an education there, it is free.


The next one off the bus was Gary Erb.  I understand that this is not Gary's first rodeo!  It takes dedicated people like these 2 here to make any project a success.  As I write, the bus is wending it's way toward
 Dallas, Texas.
Ok, now you see me and my 2 new best friends.  We are setting at the picnic table at Christ Congregational Church in Belmont, discussing very important  things, like where is the best place to get coffee and where is the best place to get coffee if you have a really long bus you need to park to get the said coffee.  I was all for skipping the whole idea cause I have coffee at home, but David Bemis was all for Solar Roast because it is maybe the best coffee in the whole world.  Just maybe.

So here we set.  Know that the bus will pick up more passengers along the way and  more cargo will be added.. After it leaves Dallas it will go to Austin, Texas.  It will arrive in McAllen, Texas on Sunday.  The plan is to cross the border on the July 21.  From there it is a little shadowy as to what happens and where.  I do know the bus will be loaded on a Freight Ship at Tampico and will be headed for Cuba.  The human cargo on the bus will fly via a charter flight to Cuba.

Upon arrival they will be whisked to the graduation ceremony.  What they will eat and where remains a mystery to me.  I am sure they will not starve and somebody will let them sleep somewhere.  If I get any more info I will be for giving you an update.  I trust Kris Allen will keep me posted as her friend Scott barrels for the border in his big yellow school bus.

Run for the Border, Scott!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pastors for Peace Cuban Bus Caravan right here in Pueblo, Colorado!!

Ok, here we go!  This is the bus that Pastors for Peace is sending to Cuba.  Every year this organization buys a bus, decorates it, fills it with humanitarian aid and ships it off to Cuba.  When I was a member at Christ Congregational Church, I first learned of this endeavor. At that time our link with Pastors for Peace was through Max and Maureen Hale who were both ministers through the United Church of Christ.  I think that was about 4 years ago. At that time we collected medical supplies, eye glasses, durable medical supplies.  But the first thing that has to happen is, you gotta' buy a bus!

This is Kris Allen and Scott MacGregor.  Kris does the painting thing and generally keeps us informed as to the whereabouts of the bus on any given day.  Scott is the driver, mechanic, and general roustabout.  If the border crossing does not go well, Scott will be the one calling for bail money!

 Now here is the interesting part about this particular bus.  The  bus was located at  the Harrison School in Colorado Springs.  Our group offered to buy it for $3,000.00 which was initially accepted.  Then they got to thinking that if they took bids on it, they would probably get more money.  To make a long story short, the bus was purchased for $2,510.00.  No other bidders!! This was a savings of $490.00 so that was good for us, but not the school district. 

This bus is dedicated to Antonio Guerreo, one of the Cuban Five.  He is currently , and has been for over 12 years incarcerated in Florence, Colorado. That is about 30 miles from my house.  Antonio is an artist and his work is copied on this bus.
              
This is the plague that explains about the bus and that it is dedicated to Antonio.  Can you imagine being sent to jail for wanting to protect your country?  I can not seem to lay my hands on the pictures of the quotes on both sides of the bus, but I wrote them down.  Both are by Martin Luther King, Jr.  The first says, "El tiempo es siempre derecho a hacer lo correcto."  Loosely translated that says, "The time is always right to do what is right."   The second side says, "En el centro de la no violencia este el principio de amo."  Translated that means, "The center of non violence is the principal of love."  


Now see this little sign here?  This says Friends Beyond Borders.  That should be fairly easy to understand.  This bus has a lift so it will be given to a hospital when it arrives on the island of Cuba.  Immediately upon the crews arrival in Cuba they will be whisked off to a graduation ceremony at the Medical School, where 14 students will receive their diplomas. Sounds good, huh? Now what would you think if I told you that their training was completely free and paid for by the Cuban Government?  Bet it would really flip you out to know that these 14 students were American citizens, wouldn't it!  Swear to God, every word of this is true.  So can Cuba be all that bad?
In our country of plenty there are many homeless and a lot of them are children.  Fidel Castro has often bragged that of the thousands of children sleeping on the streets at night, not a damn one of them is in Cuba!

There were a lot of boxes to load out of the shed at Christ Congregational Church into the bus.  Being a lazy woman, I set and watched the muscle at work.  The  muscle consisted of Scott, Gary and David Bemis.  I always enjoy that sight!  There were several computers, durable medical equipment and Lord only knows what else.  Did notice that Scott done shucked out of his shirt.  Bear in mind that these people are headed for hot country!

Now, this is getting long so I am going to continue it tomorrow.  I want you to know, I met some very nice people on this bus.  I will introduce you to them tomorrow.  Just know that these people must pay to do this and I think that costs about $3000.00. Then they are expected to work at all the stops, sleep on the floor, hope they get a shower some where, eat what ever is given to them and smile about it.  These are two of the nicest people I have met so far and they are my new best friends!!  I always try to ferret out the good hearted people and leave the rif raf alone.

So to my new best friends, Kathryn  Hall-Trujillo of Albuquerque and Gary Erb of,( sorry I missed that!) I am going to put you on here tomorrow.  While you are bouncing along in a dusty old bus, I will be picnicking in the mountains, but I will be thinking of you!

The bus left the parking lot at almost 10:00 AM.  They were going to grab coffee and head to Santa Fe, New Mexico. So Santa Fe last night and then head off to Dallas, Texas this morning.

Let me give you those links again.http://www.ifconews.org


Thursday, July 15, 2010

Here is your assignment for tomorrow for the Cuban Caravan...

I have started writing about the Pastors for Peace Cuban Caravan, but you are going to need to do your homework. See, there is a lot of stuff I am going to be mentioning and if you do not read up on this you are going to be lost!

First is the Pastors for Peace.  This is a group who does just what you think a group with a name like that would do http://www.ifconews.org/  This will take you right to the heart of the matter.  There is just all kinds of stuff on here that you need to keep up with this stuff and I do not have time nor space to feed it to you.  I first became involved with this group through the auspices of Max and Maureen Hale.  They are a married couple in Colordo Springs who are very active in the Pastors for Peace group.  I love these people to death as well as the Reverend Faye Gallegos who brought them to Pueblo to work on this project.  These are some of the hardest working people you will ever meet in the United Church of Christ.

Then the next place you need to go is http://www.freethefive.org/  If you do nothing else on this site, you need to play and listen to the video from CBS news that presents the Cuban 5 story.  Than make up your own mind. While I do not want to incite a riot here, I would like you to be familiar with  a practice that may be not quite what it appeared to be.

This bus is covered with art that has been painted by Antonio Guerreo.  Antonio is currently in lock up in Florence, Colorado.  He has been there for 12 years.  He is one of the Cuban Five that you will read about above.  See you in a bit with the human side of the Cuban Caravan.

One year old has the blues!!


Here is the little fellow at his first birthday party all covered with blue frosting!! Doesn't he look sad? He may just be realizing that the easy part is over now and the hard part begins. He has to learn to walk and talk, the potty training and then it is off to school so he can learn all it takes to finish growing up and how to make a living. Then it is off to work and a wife and a baby who will someday be one year old and have blue frosting and start the whole cycle over again!
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Hey! Look at my purple bike!!

Look at that bike!!  That is my bike and I can ride it everywhere!  We pulled this out of the scrap pile and Tim fixed it all up for me.  He and his son, Chris, painted it purple and lavender.  Then he bought the tractor seat with white flowers for me.  No offense here, but I can not set on one of those little 3 inch seats!  That is more pain than this old lady wants.

Now, yesterday I hopped on this trusty steed and rode up to the produce stand, which is about a mile uphill.  I bought some goodies and started home only to find that the return trip was also uphill.  What the hey!  I did not know it was possible to be uphill both ways, but there it was!! No one was more amazed then me on that one!!

Last night we had our humble supper and then watched the new Cheech and Chong documentary  that is preceeding their Light Up America Tour.  I understand that this tour is promoting the legalization of marijuana. Better them than me!

Now how I made the leap from my pretty purple bike to legalization of pot is more than even I can understand, but there you have it...the workings of Lou Mercer's mind in action!  God be with us all!





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Saturday, July 10, 2010

AIDS Quilt #4

I hope I have all the ones on here.  This is one of the first quilts I made. I think it may actually be #2 because there are 2 panels on this one that measure 1' x 3' which tells me we were still in the planning and finalization stages. Shortly thereafter we (I) decided that for this to work they all had to be the same size.  Since the panels on the big quilt are 3' x 6',  which is the size of a grave in the cemetery, we should make these scale to 1/3.  So that works out well.

Steven Stiles
2/9/1956-1/23/1996
This is the white block up in the upper left corner.  It was made by his mother with much love. There is a family portrait and a picture of Steven with his cat. He loved Christmas so there is a beaded tree. His mother did a beautiful job on this.

Steven Kirk
6/9/1956
This is the large black and gold one on the left. He loved the theater and had a star named after him, "Aquila".  I made this at his mother's direction. She has since passed and I miss our little talks.

Gilbert Fields
1985
This was my very, very dear friend Gibby. He used to help me play Santa when I had no one but the kids. Granted, we did have a few drinks in the process, and almost cut our fingers off on a tin doll house once, but we had a great time and if I needed a brother, Gibby was there. He cooked and I waitressed at a place in Hutch called The Red Rooster.
 He moved out to California in 1984.  If you will notice, he passed early in the epidemic. He called us quite regularly until he got sick and nothing could be done. Then his friend kept in touch.  Then there was nothing. Gibby had died and his family chose not to tell anyone so we do not know the exact date of his death nor where he was (or if) he was buried. I do know this little laughing fellow had a very big part of who and where I am today and I send a big hug and kiss up to heaven where my friend Gibby is teaching the angels how to cook and my mother is giving him hell!

Gene Howery
8/18/1945-8/14/1995
This is the lower right with the howling coyote.  Another friend with no family to make a panel. We all went to Denver to the Gay Pride Parade in 1994, I believe.  The kids marched and we watched and waved. Gene and his partner walked with there dogs. Such a common ordinary thing to do in a world that was chaotic at the time.


Robert Tyree
4/25/1961-1/10/1991
This belongs to the son of the lady who started Southern Colorado AIDS Project field office in Pueblo, and I can not right now remember what year.  Shirley made this panel herself. It says Loved, Gone, Never Forgot. It also shows him setting by the Golden Gate Bridge. Another healing work of love by a mother left behind. They are together now.

Robert Martinez
4/26/1964-6/5/1991
Another one earlier in the epidemic. I did not know Robert, but I do know he loved music and sunsets. There is a picture of his that shows a beautiful sunset on this panel.

Ronnie Reagan
8/10/1956-2/18/1995
I made this for a friend of Ronnie's. It says "Sleep in peace, my little friend. Terry Atencio". Terry was a man in this town who took in anyone who needed a place to stay, sobered them up and sent them into the world a much better person.  He is also sadly missed, but has no panel as he does not belong on this quilt.

And that is it for this quilt.  You should know that all these panels are here because I first received permission from a family member to make them and add them. Since this is a public display that is shown several times a year there is no breach of confidentiality. I would never do that. When I started in this particular field I signed an affidavit that I would keep confidentiality and that is what I do.

I know sometimes I get a little long winded on these posts, especially when I am dealing with things that rip my heart out, like this series on the AIDS Memorial, but I just ask that you either bear with me, or click off and leave me here to weep alone.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

The babies at 10 days old!

Look at this mess!! Those little guys think they are big geese! They are so damn cute! They get out there and run with the big geese and even bite at the stickers. If they are going to eat the stickers, I will love them to death and they did not learn that trick from the big geese. Big geese only want grain and nice green grass. They also like weeds, but only certain weeds and only ones that do not grow in the back. Just the front, so I can pull them and toss them over the fence to them.

I think if you click on this picture it should get very big. These guys made the first trip to the pond for a swim at 7 days old. Before that I had a container in the shed in which they would paddle around. I guess it was called a swimming pool! Duh!! Container, indeed! They have not quite started to get pin feathers so we are not sure of the breed these guys/gals are. Will not be really sure until they are about 2 or 3 months old. They, of course, are still making the peeping sounds.

Oh, and guess what I found in the duck house today!! Seven eggs! That means they are laying again and if I am not real careful they will hide a nest somewhere and I will be blessed with a bunch of ducklings! Had one hen surprise me with 13 babies one year. Not looking favorably on that prospect.

Ok, that is it from the farm for the day. Oh, man, I remember when I lived with grandma and great grandma and we lived in Plevna, Kansas. The high school was exactly one block from grandma's house on main street. When I came out the door of the school to go home for lunch I could hear the Farm Report blaring on grandma's old brown upright radio all the way home. Only time that radio was ever turned on was for the noon farm report and then everyone in the town of Plevna, population 103 (everyone of which I knew) could hear it whether they wanted to or not!!

Sorry about the change of subject, but sometimes the old mind takes a turn and I gotta go with it! Have a great day!!
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Friday, July 2, 2010

Eye level with a very angry mother goose!

Look at this helpless goose. This is my mother Emiden and she has just given birth to 2 babies. Now, I know you know, that what she actually did was lay a couple eggs about 28 or 29 days ago and then set very patiently on them until they gave birth to themselves.

Here is an overhead view of the same two little goslings. Mother is tending to them and I have just returned from the feed store where I purchased 50 pounds of chick starter. Doubt that they will ever eat that much, but that is how they sell it. This is a very tranquil picture, don't you think? Just hang on there for one minute while I upload another picture for you to feast your eyes upon.



Now look at this!! This is what this looks like up close!! I do not know if you can see them or not, but she is baring her teeth at me!! Now, a guy in Canada (Hats off to the Canadian!! And thanks, Fanty!) did tell me that those are not teeth, but rather serrated edges that are meant for shredding grass and such. I do not remember off the top of my head what he called them, but it did start with an I as I recall. No matter!! They look like teeth and anything that looks like teeth and is in a mouth that is hissing at me even if it is a beak has got my attention! The only thing saving me from a very severe pinching and a go at the serrated things is that little piece of fencing there. Want to come to my house and play grab the gosling with this mother? I thought not.
So, just thought you might like to see the peril I face every day here on the farm. Ever hear the saying "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?" Well, we should replace that with "Hell hath no fury like a mother goose protecting her young!!" Perhaps a few of the human population could take a lesson from Mother Goose, huh?

Another year down the tubes!

Counting today, there are only 5 days left in this year.    Momma nailed it when she said "When you are over the hill you pick up speed...