"Death Without Weeping"

This surprising, maybe shocking for us white folks, article was assigned in my Anthropology class about Death.  The article describes a poorly fed society in Brazil with high infant mortality.  How the infant deaths are often accepted with joy or relief; or seemingly low affect.  The infants, often victims of malnutrition before and after birth are dressed up and laid in specially decorated coffins.  The children take the coffin to the graveyard for burial in common areas.  Parents aren't usually involved, mothers don't weep.  Openly expressed sorrow is said to make it more difficult for these young children to make their way on their journey.

Schepper-Hughes (the author) argues that this treatment and behavior should not be measured against the western-trained anthropologist's view of 'appropriate' models of grief and loss.  It doesn't apply here.

A number of quarters ago, I took an upper level archaeology class that included talking about cultural, processual and post-processual approaches.  Processual involved scientific analysis and measurement; the movement that followed rejected using science or quantitative western measures.  Like this.  Personally, I'm drawn to these post-processual works.  But, as my friend says, if you can't analyze, compare or classify things, how can there be any connections or principles.

Maybe there aren't. 

I think this photo might be from Nancy Schepper-Hughes.  I'm assuming the children taking an infant who died to the cemetery.

Bratty little brothers

Ilana posted this picture of her friends going to the Wolf Park in Lafayette.  One of the few tourist

attractions; we've been there!

Also, I realized that I know all the people in the picture.  Ilana and her husband (how's that?) Matt in the front row.  Center and right in the back row are Adrianna and Emily, her roomates from graduate school.  And left in the back row is Neil, Adriana's boyfriend (Ilana did work on some matchmaking).  Adriana is a librarian in Fort Wayne and Emily has been a librarian in Bangla Desh and is on her way to China soon.  The three met each other hanging out between sessions at the new student orientation.  Um, I need a roomate, hey me too.  So they didn't know each other but they were great roommates for two years.  Neil and Adriana actually made a road trip to come to the wedding and stayed with us.

Dennis and I went to the Wolf Park when we went to Lafayette, a year ago last spring.  You get to watch some wolf packs.  I remember the half grown bratty little brothers.  Everybody in the small pack had their place in the hierarchy but those two bratty wolf brothers were always just so annoying.  Never where they were supposed to be.  Never doing what they were supposed to be doing.  Always rolling in the dirt and wrestling and knocking other people over.  The mama wolf would snap at them but they didn't care, just kept roughhousing.  Just being so bratty.

So funny.,

I heard that eventually they were separated out to start their own pack.

Dog's life

Teddy taking it easy on a summer afternoon.  Among the flower pots.  So where's Starbaby, the cat?  She usually joins him in these activities.  Though she prefers the lower deck.  He looks pretty comfortable.  He's offically declared a mutt, a 'heinz 57' by the vet.  He's a great companion and kind of a service dog.  He helps me up from the floor or the fitness ball and he brings in the groceries.  He likes to work.  And somebody must have been a retriever because he LOVES to fetch.

Our poor backyard, most of it has been reduced to packed dirt and roots in dry shade.  Not even the dandelions or moss grow there.  James, our contractor, took a look at it and marveled how the maple tree had taken over the whole place.  Healthy maple tree however.  Look, he marveled, this is where I dug that artesian drain those years ago.  Now the tree rates have grown over this and the whole yard.

It's a tough case.

Naomi's taking care of things in Phoenix.  Ilana will be there to visit soon.

Animal Whisperer

My daughter's friends Jackie and Will recently married.  I have met Will several times.  His wife calls him an animal whisperer.  He really is.  He should really pursue a career with animals.

When he came over the first time, my dog fussed over him and wanted to get so close to him.  OK, my dog Teddy loves everybody, but he wanted to get really right next to Will and stay there.  Even our old cat George who really doesn't like anybody except Dennis came up to Will and wanted to get right next to him.

Will and Jackie are on their honeymoon in Europe.  I think this picture was taken in Rome.  Will doing his thing with a (likely feral) cat in Rome.  Will connects with animals all over the world.

Dairy is good for you!

My daughter is assistant leader for a brownie troop.  During a recent meeting she decided to bring some snack.  String cheese and granola bars.  She said it was the best meeting, the girls really participated without conflict.

I think the snckc helped.  She was pretty careful with what she chose.  No sugary junk food stuff.  Sure they like it.  We ALL like it.

So they talked about the foods.  When she held up the string cheese, almost in unison, they called out "Dairy is good for you!"

Wow, where did they hear that?

The Dairy Boards must really be doing their job.

I can remember, as a child, being taught in school and everywhere else that children should drink a quart of milk a day.  Milk was served at every meal.  You were supposed to drink your milk without question.

There's a lot worse habits.  But I did pause when somebody quipped that really milk was the best food ... for young cows.

I got to help at Seattle Pops today

I got to help at Seattle Pops today...at Shoreline.  I unwrapped popsicles and put napkins around the sticks to give to customers.  I wasn't very good at first but Susanna gave me some good advice and training and by the end I was doing much better.

Proof!  Plus I wore my cool Seattle Pops shirt.

THE lace on Ilana's wedding dress

We have a number of special heirlooms we have been able to feature in weddings.  The Cake Knife (pictured elsewhere), the lavolier (given to my grandmother as an engagement present, maybe 1915).

And the lace, which was featured for the first time (maybe before that) on my great grandmother Delia's dress in 1896.  You can pick it out on her dress on the picture on the living room wall (part of the Delia Wall).  Supposedly it's been on 'everybody's' wedding dress.  On my grandmother, on my mother, om mine, my sister's, now Ilana.  I don't know about my aunt.

Now my cousin claims to be married in a crushed velvet mini-dress in 1969.  How come I've never seen pictures?  I want pictures!  She said it weighed a ton.

Ilana figure a way to drape it on the back of her dress.  It's connected with little snaps.  I think it worked swell.  A beautiful piece of french lace; it drapes beautifully.

This closeup, again taken from the photographer's website was taken when Dennis and I are escorting her to the front.

And a rant to the Kenmore Police Department who gave me a ridiculous traffic ticket yesterday evening.

Bellevue Farmers Market

I had a lovely time this evening going to the Bellevue Farmers Market and then to dinner with my friend Anne D.  We specifically went to purchase a popsice at Seattle Pops manned by proprietor Megan Janes.  We both chose Zesty Lime.

Beautiful day, cooler and more comfortable.  We sat in the shade and enjoyed our popsicles.  I bought some lettuce and baby squash.  Then we meandered back through downtown Kirkland (as Dennis says, a happening place).  Anne stopped at a nice enw community right on Lake Washington just north of Juanita Beach with condos and lots of business on the ground floor.  We went to Mongolia Grill which turned out to be not fancy but fun, tasty and healthy.  You picked the vegetables and noodles from a salad bar.  Then you added meat or tofu and what sauce you wanted.  They grill it up and serve it.  Yummy.  Kind of  cooked salad bar.

As usual, we had tons of things to talk about.

Empty Nest

I truly never thought it would happen to us.  But I think it might be here.  Empty Nest.  My son is married a year almost and much involved with his own life, he's 32, for goodness sake.  My oldest daughter is still doing a few semesters of field work (which we help pay for) but soon should be able to get a good job as an Occupationsl Therapist.  My next daughter, just married, she's got a really good tenure track job at  midwestern university. 

And my youngest, just graduated at age 24.  She just left this morning to move to Arizona to teach 4th grade.  They only have one year contracts.  But she really moved out, mostly.  Either got rid of things or took it with her.  She knows it will be a challenging year.  But now that she's gotten all of her stuff gathered and knows she can move, she was saying,   after the first year, I could move to a diffferent state to teach.  If you do it once, you can do it again!

I've been mainly on my own schedule for quite awhile.  I lost my job 4.5 years ago and didn't bother to get another.  Readers of my blog know about my activities which generally revolve around reading and writing.

My husband and I have been married 38 years.  There's some maturity around here...somewhere.