Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe inside the lid

I got this recipe from the inside of a thing of oatmeal, and wanted to share it. And yes, this is finally a vegetarian recipe!

Just to be 100% clear: Everything else I've shared before has been something I've thought up myself, but I got this recipe from the inside of a Quaker oatmeal container.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tbsp butter, softened
*NOTE: I only noticed the additional 6 tbsp...oops...
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
*NOTE: I used salt
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins

Instructions

Before I did anything else, I cooked the raisins on stove top with some rum. It's just like sauteing something, except with rum.

It's not in the recipe really, but I wanted to do it. :)


Raisins on stove top

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. (I used a lower speed.)

Sugars (white sugar is hiding in there!) and butter

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.


...added eggs...

Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.


...added more stuff...

(I was cooking at my parent's place, and was using my mom's KitchenAid thingy to mix everything up. Although I prefer to do things by hand, I've got to admit that the KitchenAid thingy made it much faster.)

KitchenAid thingy

Add oats and raisins; mix well.

About to be mixed

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

About to be cooked

Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown.

Cookies!!!

They're called Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies because they're supposed vanish really quickly. And believe me, they do.

Random tidbit: I think they're better uncooked than cooked, though that's not very smart due to potential salmonella food poisoning.

Another random tidbit: Raw brown sugar may make the taste buds orgasm. =D

More on Puck

A few years ago I got myself a netbook, and proudly named it Puck. Shortly thereafter, I shared this on my previous blog:

"Guess what all has broken down in the past month? Our dishwasher, one of our two microwaves, and now our fridge. Fortunately the dishwasher still gets the dishes clean, it just doesn't drain completely or heat dry our dishes anymore. So we can still work with it, for the moment. But we had to throw out the microwave and we put all our foodstuff that must stay cold in an ice chest.

I'm just hoping that this has nothing to do with me naming my new computer Puck."

Our landlord got us a new dishwasher, which is still going strong. And he replaced our fridge with a new one. Which soon broke.

Again, it the fridge was replaced. And again, our new one broke.

I think we went through three fridges, with our landlord giving up and buying used instead of new. He even gave up buying fridges that went with the rest of the kitchen, and went for what was most inexpensive. I'm just relieved he didn't accuse us of sabotaging them.

Eventually I renamed my netbook after Bridghid, and shortly thereafter our appliance woes ended.

Morals of the story: be careful with names. Also, think twice before inviting Puck into your home.

Puck

Since this blog is titled Dancing With Fey I figured that I may as well share a song about one of the most delightful fey I have read about. Yep, Shakespeare's own Puck.



Sung by Heather Alexander. The video contains just a purple abstract picture.

Bacon and mushrooms

I had a really yummy breakfast of bacon and mushrooms. I had wondered if I should bother putting the recipe on here since it's so simple, but decided that I may as well.

And I promise -- I'll eventually write about something vegetarian. Probably after I move back home and am living with my vegetarian brother again.

Ingredients

Olive oil
Mushrooms
Bacon

Instructions

Cook your bacon unless you've got precooked hanging out in the fridge. I cooked my bacon a few days ago, so I didn't have to bother with this step.

Put some olive oil in a pan and saute your mushrooms. Once they're done add the bacon so it can warm up.

I would have added some cayenne pepper at this point, but I already used that when I cooked the bacon in the first place.

Serve and enjoy! It's really simple and yummy.

Yummmm

Dirty Barbershop

I recently wrote a post about geeking out over Barbershop with a random guy, and then a Barbershop friend on Facebook shared the following YouTube. I just had to share.



...wow.

Is this just a case of "when correctly viewed, anything is lewd"? Or did they say what I think they said? Because I didn't know Barbershop music came that dirty! ;)

EDIT 8/28/2012: Sorry, the video somehow wasn't in the post. It is now added!

Nerdy awesomeness

A new neighbor moved in downstairs a month or so ago, and my iPhone found their wireless network name.

iPhone screenshot

Yep, that's right. It's The_StarShip_Internets.

I haven't met them, but they seem to be nerds. Which means they're probably awesome. =)

And yes, the background of the iPhone screenshot is an e-mail notification of a new Vlogbrothers e-mail...proof of just how nerdy I am. ;)

DFTBA

Going barefoot

I guess this can be a sort of Pagan topic, and it's the latest from Pagan Blog Prompts.

How do you feel about going barefoot?

Do you? When, how? Where? And of course, why?

I love love love looooove going barefoot. I even considered naming this blog to reflect that fact, but the name(s) I came up with were already in use elsewhere online.

So, do I go barefoot? Yes.

When? Not as much as I used to, but when I'm wearing sandals I like to kick them off when it's convenient (or not) to go barefoot, especially when there's green grass nearby. In past years I've worked on toughening up my feet on hot concrete and asphalt. I haven't done that so much this year.

How? By kicking my shoes off, of course.

Where? When there's some green grass, or even on the sidewalk. Especially on campus, on the long walk between the bus stop and classes. Why stick to sandals and the sidewalk when the grass is calling me?

Why? Perhaps the most important question of all. I'd like to say it's because I feel more of a connection with the earth when I'm barefoot. Maybe that's partially true. More likely I enjoy the feeling of being tough enough for my feet to handle asphalt.

Mostly, though, it's because I think that going barefoot in the lush green grass is one of the greatest pleasures in life.

Bacon and rice dish

Ingredients

Onion
Mushrooms
Bacon grease
Bacon
Cayenne pepper powder
Garlic powder
Basil
Chives




Instructions

Cook bacon to get bacon grease, and be sure to use some cayenne pepper powder. I did this earlier in the day, then refrigerated it all. Correction: I refrigerated the bacon that I didn't eat. :)

Also cook the rice, unless you bought it precooked like I did. Yes, I'm lazy when it comes to rice.

Cut up the onion and mushrooms. Put some of the bacon grease in a pan, and sauté. Add a generous amount of cayenne pepper, a not quite generous amount of garlic powder, and go light on the basil and chives.

Once this is nicely sautéed add the bacon and rice. Continue cooking until they are warmed, them serve.

This actually turned out better than I had expected. I hadn't expected it to be a blog worthy recipe.




All photos are either of the ingredients or the final dish. :)

Rambling

I have TMD. Which basically means that I have a problem with my jaw joints, and that I used to sleep with a splint between my teeth to keep myself from damaging them. That's not a joke -- I have two chips in a front tooth from grinding away in my sleep.

 

The awesome thing about this though is that they had to take a mold of my teeth to make a splint special for me. And even though making the mold to make mold wasn't fun (they put stuff in my mouth that made me feel like I was going to suffocate) it's awesome that they sent me home with the molds they used to make the splint.

 

How many people have molds of their teeth?

 

Everything together...upside down...oops...

I am suddenly self conscious of how uneven my teeth are. Oh well.

Purple stuff

 

In addition to the actual mold they had me bite on this line of purple stuff. I guess it was to figure out what my bite is.

 

Top and bottom mold

File this post under weird and random stuff that I'm sharing because I don't have anything better to talk about. I actually got the splint and molds a few months ago, and although the doctor told me to keep using the splint I stopped. I'm also not using my muscle relaxant meds at night anymore. My TMD has improved to where I don't really need them anymore. Now I'm just hoping that it will stay improved, and that nothing will trigger a return of it.

Actually, it would be stress that would trigger a return (as has happened in the past), and it seems that my new coping mechanism is loss of appetite, instead of TMD. I'm honestly not sure which one I prefer. As you might imagine, appetite loss comes with its own set of problems.

And now I'm rambling. But I'll leave my ramblings on here. Because...just because.

The up sides

Trying to put a positive spin on moving back in with my parents...

1) I will have a garbage disposal in the kitchen sink again.

2) Kokopelle will be happier with more people to bug and other cats to annoy.

3) I will no longer have to share the bathroom with a cat who tracks his kitty litter on the floor.

4) Having a washer and dryer in the house.

5) Not being so close to my neighbors that they wake me up in the mornings. Though, I guess my family will be my new "neighbors" in that regard...

Moving back

So...I'm moving back in with my parents, because even though I am no longer unemployed, I am underemployed. I'll move in the next month, maybe sooner rather than later.

My hope is to get a second job soon. But even then, I'll have to balance moving out as soon as possible with taking time to get enough money that I have a bit of a cushion in my bank account.

...and there's not much more to say on this topic. But you can imagine that I'm not overjoyed about this.

Barbershop nuts

Treble clef.

Found at www.wpclipart.com

I found my attention grabbed by someone, and I had to tell the guy "I like your shirt!" It had a picture of a pitch pipe, and said "Shut up and blow me a B ♭."

Of course I was thinking of Barbershop music when I saw his shirt, and that's why I said something. I quickly discovered that he's been singing it for two years, that he's in quartet, what choir he sings with, and that he's a Baritone. I commented that that's vocal gymnastics (Bari is weird) and that I'm a Lead. I told him what choir I used to sing with, and we agreed that Basses are awesome.

...and even though I know what choir he's in, and what part he sings, I never found out his name.

I guess I have my priorities straight?

I'd also like to point out that this is the first time in I don't know how long that I've talked music with someone who I've actually been on the same page with. Usually I'm like "Oh, you listen toXXX? No idea who that is..." This was a refreshing change. :)

Defining ourselves

Almost every day I read the questions people ask over at Bisexuality is Real on Facebook. One of the questions asked most often is something along the lines of "I'm more attracted to one gender than the other. Am I bi?" And so often the people respond with "Never mind labels. Just be yourself!"

On one hand this is awesome advice.

On the other hand...it's not very helpful.

We seem to live on labels. Parent. Empty nester. Single. Married. Accountant. Student. Writer. Book lover. Cook. Gardener. Home maker. Bread winner. Gay. Straight. Bisexual. Etc. We use labels to define ourselves, so that we know who and what we are. To not know what to call ourselves...I think that's an uncomfortable feeling for most people.

I'm not claiming to know the best response to "Am I bi?" When I respond it's usually with a mostly unhelpful "Probably, give it time and you'll figure it out."

My point is that I think we frequently use (and even need) labels to define ourselves, even if we don't like others sticking labels on us. So as awesome as it would be to forget labels, I think that it's advice that is usually unhelpful.

Idiot tailgaters

"Idiot tailgater!"

It takes a lot for me to actually call someone an idiot. But if you want me to call you one, tailgate on me.

"Oh good, you're turning. Go bug someone else."

Suddenly I realized...I'm one those people.

Yep. I talk to the other drivers.

The new job, and a discovery

I won't talk much about work, and I'm certainly not putting the location online. But I will tell you that the food is yummy.

I'll also tell you what I think my favorite part of the job is: cutting up the food. Chicken, lettuce, peppers...doesn't matter. If I'm cutting something, I'm happy.

Also, I made a personal discovery on the job. I don't find raw meat gross anymore. I'm not sure when this happened, but it's been since I moved into my own apartment. Not handling raw meat was actually one perk to being vegetarian a few years ago, and when I started eating meat again I was sad to realize that I no longer had an excuse to not deal with raw meat. After all, if I'm going to eat it, I can't refuse to handle it on ethical grounds.

Maybe raw meat stopped being gross when I started to enjoy cooking. I wonder if those two facts are related. Hmm...

Loot

 I am participating in summer reading this year. As usual. And guess what? I won a prize. :D

Tote bag

The adult summer reading theme this year is Between the Covers. Sounds sexy, doesn't it? I won a tote bag with the theme written above an open book.


Gift card

I also got a gift card to Powell's Bookstore! It's a local bookstore that is well loved.


Books!!!

With the $25 gift card I was able to get four used books and one new book, only having to pay about $3 out of pocket.

Discworld: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Discworld: Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Discworld: Tiffany Aching: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Ireland's Traditional Crafts by David Shaw-Smith

Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce

I've been geeking out over the Tortall books lately, so I was particularly happy to get the Tamora Pierce book. And by geeking out, I mean that I've actually got Tortall maps on my bedroom door... It's also the only one that I went ahead and got a new copy of it (they didn't have any used) rather than getting two inexpensive used books in its place.

If you won a $25 gift card for a bookstore, how would you spend it?

It's hot outside

Tall One is back home from Scotland! :) And he might write some guest posts.

In other news...

It's really hot outside. We had a heat wave recently, it finally cooled off a little, then started getting hot again, and tomorrow it's supposed to be 103°f (39°c). And I have finally decided that enough is enough.

My cat, Kokopelle, is temporarily back with my parents.

I don't have air conditioning in my apartment. I can get cross ventilation going by putting fans in two of my windows, but that works best at night when I can draw the cool air (if it actually cools off) into my home. But it gets really hot during the day, especially since I won't leave the windows open while I'm gone. And let me tell you, it's really funny to brush my teeth and find that the toothpaste is warm. Yeah, that's how hot it can get in my apartment.

Kokopelle has handled the heat really well so far. But there's no way I'm letting him go without air conditioning when it's in the hundreds.

This should be interesting. Kokopelle doesn't get along great with my parents' cats, and although we're trying to keep them separated I'm sure they'll somehow be reunited at some point. Socks and Saphira will not be pleased.

Call Me Maybe...maybe?

I haven't had much interest in the song Call Me Maybe, other than being glad that it's not totally annoying. But this...this is hilarious.



I'm afraid that the hilarity is all in the visuals, and there's no way that I can adequately describe it. But I'll provide a brief explanation.

The video screen is split into two sections. On the right is a guy in a woman's wig, prancing around in various bikinies and other revealing women's clothing. He also winds up topless at one point. ;) But as amusing as this is, it gets even better.

On the left are people's responses, ranging from thorough enjoyment to utter horror. Some of them are quite priceless.

Puppet theater: Embarrassing moments

No, not my own embarrassing moments. Hank Green's.

In case you don't already know about the Vlogbrothers (I shared two of their videos recently) they are Hank and John Green, and they make vlogs. And if they don't make a vlog on time, or otherwise break their rules, then they get punished. For example, John once had to wax his chin.

That's where the embarrassing moments puppet theater comes in. I found it earlier this week while I was watching some of their older videos, and just had to share.

Hank had a few options for his punishment, a few of which are mentioned first thing in the video. But I'm rather glad that he wound up choosing this one. Those sock puppets are cute!



What's wrong with guys wearing makeup?

And in case my blind reader(s) had trouble following the first embarrassing moment: Hank walked up behind his room mate and started kissing him, then they both screamed and Hank ran out of their room. I for one would be very interested to know how their next conversation went.

West Slope Library

Naturally my loyalties lie with my home library. My home library, where I have volunteered for years, where my brother also volunteers and where my mom works, is my absolute favorite. But if not for that loyalty, West Slope would be my favorite.

Funny thing is, it doesn't have anything on my list of what a perfect library ought to have. Well, other than books and other cool materials. It has plenty of those things. :) But it doesn't have big windows, a coffee shop, or a fireplace.

What it does have is that it is a small place that is very cozy. That's the first thing I noticed when I walked in, is how comfy it is. There's no way you can get that coziness in a bigger library. It's also smack in the middle of a neighborhood, I think it's the only one surrounded pretty much exclusively by people's homes. And a park! You can't forget the park right next door to it. Oh, and an elementary school behind it. But no businesses, no city offices. It's all neighborhood and a public school.

Maybe that's why I like it so much. Maybe it's the feel that comes from a place that is surrounded by that environment. I enjoyed working there, and would love to get a permanent job at that place.

I feel like I should do more to describe West Slope library, but I don't know how without photos, and I don't have any. Oh, except for this.

WHY GOD

On a picnic bench outside the library someone engraved WHY GOD into the wood.

So, I have a question. Have you ever had a list of what a perfect place would have, only to find that your favorite (or second favorite) place doesn't have any of those things? And that instead, something else entirely makes it perfect?

Tall One in Scotland

Tall One is in Scotland right now. I must say, I'm rather jealous. He's over there attempting to find vegetarian food and getting photographed by the locals. Yeah, apparently the locals photograph the tourists over there. Who would have thought? Oh yeah, and he's competing with his bagpipe band at the world competition.

I'm rather jealous. And you should be too. He left on August 1st and will be back on the 14th.

Funny thing is, I miss him. I miss having my little brother around. (But don't tell Tall One I called him my "little" brother.) Especially when I know that he's like half way across the world. Nearly half way across the world and having fun with bagpipes.

What do you think? Should I bug him to write some guest posts about his travels when he gets back? Maybe I will. He's having fun and has e-mailed us some neat photos.

I really wish he would bring back some genuine haggis for me to try. But I guess customs would get grumpy if he did. People can't sell the real stuff here in the USA because there's some traditional ingredient (I forget what...I think it's the sheep lung?) that the FDA doesn't like. They probably can't bring it through customs either.

Dragon dream

I happened accross a dream that I shared on Facebook last year. When I wrote it down then it took on a life of its own and looks like the beginning of a very interesting story. Maybe even a novel. I'm not sure if I'll ever do anything with it really, but felt like sharing it here.

With minor editing, here is what I wrote last October. I can see at least two good questions that aren't answered in this short piece that would be fun to explore.

*******

A sort of dragon ying yang.

Found at www.clker.com

Our heroine had no idea how she’d gotten to where she was. Or that is to say, she did know how she had gotten there...but she didn’t understand how things had gone so wrong.

Jasmine had met who she thought was a kindly old lady and had attended a party. Little did she know that the grandmotherly new neighbor was the ringleader of an underground movement to eradicate all supernatural creatures, let alone that she would witness the demise of a dragon whose powers would be transferred to Jasmine herself.

However, the dragon’s fate did give her an idea.

With a trembling voice Jasmine said “I swear to serve and obey her.”

Jasmine barely saw the faces of those who shook her hands, those who had thought that she had given her oath to the old lady. In truth, Jasmine had been looking at a picture of the queen dragon when she uttered those words, and it was the queen dragon who she spoke them for.

…

When was the last time a human had served the dragons? Though she racked her memory, Jasmine couldn’t recall ever hearing of a person who had done so. She wasn’t entirely certain that she would enjoy her life among dragons, but she figured it would be better than what the alternatives had been.

It had been a surprise to find that she could turn herself into a dragon now, but that made it easier for her to find the dragons. She had escaped her kidnappers by telling them that she wanted to stretch her wings and also to see what the stars looked like above the clouds. They had wanted someone to go with her, but she insisted that she needed time to herself to think. And why would they distrust her? They thought her oath had been given to their ringleader.

…

“Explain yourself, human.” The queen said this in a growl.

Jasmine’s eyes widened. “How...how do you know I’m a human?”

“Because we know your kind, and we know that when you take our powers you can assume the shape of the one who is sacrificed. And we knew the minute that Joudin was killed in this manner. Did you really think to come before us, into our midst, in his form, and that none of us would suspect anything?”

Oops. This wasn’t going quite as planned. Still, at least they were demanding explanations rather than just killing her outright.

“I am not part of that group. Well...” Jasmine cleared her throat as a chorus of growls began around her, “They did kill a dragon, Joudin, for me...” Her voice trembled again, which was unusual for her. Then again, it’s difficult to not be shaken by a cave full of angry dragons. She continued, “And they demanded an oath of fealty. I did swear an oath, but it was to you, queen dragon, not them. The wording I used was ambiguous enough that they thought the oath was sworn to them when in fact it was not.”

It is very difficult to surprise a dragon. Even when unexpected things happen they usually just take it in stride. Yet Jasmine had surprised them.

After a few minutes of thought, the queen dragon said “It is all very well for you to say that you have sworn to serve me. Let me hear you make the oath again, to me, and this time let there be no ambiguity.”

“I swear to serve you, queen dragon, and however your successor may be.”

Jasmine said this quietly, and yet her voice seemed to thunder in the quiet cavern. Where there had been growls just minutes before all the dragons were now quiet, shocked at what had just happened.

…

“And here is a chamber where you may sleep. Call it your bedroom, if you like. You should find clothes of some sort on the drawers. I think. Anyways, other humans have been here before you.” Turin, the dragon who had been assigned the task of showing her around, was grumpy. The first thing he had done in his role of guide was to order her to change back into a human. The second thing he did was be exceedingly surprised.

“They sacrificed a male dragon for a woman!?”

Jasmine had suspected that she had the body of a male dragon, but she had not been certain of it. Neither did she know whether it was usual or unusual. Turin had informed her quite emphatically that it was not usual, and then he laughed at her when she asked if there was any place that she could get clothes.

Now she asked, “May I have a little privacy? At least until I get dressed?” Jasmine had had no idea that dragons could roll their eyes, but Turin certainly seemed to do so.

“Very well. But what does it matter? I’ve already seen you naked, walking all the way from the queen’s cavern to here. And if it’s so important, why didn’t you bring your clothes with you?”

“Because bringing my clothes when I left them to come here might have made them suspicious about my intentions.” There were clothes in the drawers all right, but they were men’s clothes. All too big, and no bras.

First the body of a male dragon, and now the clothes. Was the universe trying to tell her something?

Bows and arrows!

A guy shooting an arrow

While studying the Oregon Driver's Manual I found this rather interesting bit on page 53 concerning weapons:

"Never discharge a firearm, bow and arrow, or other weapon across a highway. Only police officers in the line of duty are extempt from this law."

It seems pretty reasonable to me. What I find so funny is that they felt it necessary to mention bows and arrows. Whoever uses those outside of recreation? I wonder what happened to make them decide to mention anything other than guns under the discussion of what people aren't allowed to do with weapons.

By the way, on the topic of driving, I have discovered the joy in bringing the car to a perfect stop. Not too quickly, not too slowly, but just right so that I hardly even feel it. It's a real art. :)

Garden Home library

Garden Home library has got to be the smallest library ever. Well, maybe not. But it sure seems that way.

It is in an old school that was shut down and converted into a recreational center. The library -- the materials, work areas, technical services, and circulation -- is in one of the rooms. And they don't let any space to go waste.

Like Cedar Mill library, Garden Home is a non-profit. They actually started up after Cedar Mill did, and one of the employees told me that they got an awful lot of help from Cedar Mill when they were figuring out how to do things.

This is another library that I only spent one day at, and although I want to describe the children's area I'm finding that my memory of it is a bit vague. I remember a fun rug and bright colors, though.

I really like that it's located in a rec center though. The kids can take their classes, do gymnastics or whatever, then go to the library that's conveniently right there before going home. I almost wish my parents had signed me up for classes at that rec center when I was little.

Offerings

The latest from Pagan Blog Prompts:

For those who perform rituals, do you give offerings? If so, what kind?

What is the meaning/purpose of offerings?



I'm not big on rituals, but I do give offerings sometimes. Usually food of some sort, which is always something that I would eat myself. Bread, a muffin, potatoes, herbs that I've dried, candy. That sort of thing. And of course, only the best.

I give the offerings to deities, land spirits, weather spirits, fey...and I think that covers it. Sometimes it's just to show my appreciation in general, sometimes I have a request. Of course, because it is a gift, the offering is given regardless of whether they'll listen to me.

Though I will tell you, I've noticed that the worst of the thunderstorms have never been centered around my home in the last couple years.

Cedar Mill libraries

Next in my tour of the libraries, is Cedar Mill.

Cedar Mill is pretty unique in that it's a non-profit 501-C3. It's also not run by a city, and it's one of the few to have a branch. I've already written about the other two that have a branch: Beaverton and Hillsboro.

The main library is in a building that I've been told used to be a shopping center. And although it doesn't have a coffee shop, it does have a second hand shop that's part of it. But the awesome thing about the shop? What money doesn't go towards keeping the shop going goes directly to the library. Shopping there is a fun way to support a library.

(The second hand shop is not to be confused with a shop selling the work of local crafters that shares the building, however. It's not part of the library, though it does have some awesome stuff.)

The branch library is in Bethany village. It may have been my favorite to work at since it's right near a Starbucks (coffee!!!) and one or two delicious restaurants. Our boss actually took us to lunch at an Indian place right on the corner that's delicious. It's one of those places with shops on ground level and apartments above them. Rather cozy. The branch is really small, and although they have a bit of everything they've chosen to focus on kids books.

Random odd fact: Hindi is the second most common language spoken in the Bethany area, and the selection you'll find at the Cedar Mill branch reflects this.

Another post on gay marriage

Simply because the Vlogbrothers are so awesome, I want to share another of their videos about gay marriage. This one is by Hank Green, and it's the one that the video I shared yesterday was a response to. So yeah, I'm sharing them out of order. Oh well.



I looove his comment, "The Bible is not a legal document." It's an awesome read, but I sure wouldn't want my laws based on it.

Also, saying "Why can't people be commited without marriage?" is pretty much the same as the argument that I think used to be used in favor of segregation: equal but separate.

Traditional marriage

With the latest discussions about whether gays (and bisexuals who fall for their own gender) should get married, I think it's important to address what traditional marriage really is. After all, that's what all the fuss is about, right? Keeping the traditional marriage intact so that it isn't destroyed.

So I've decided to share a video about traditional marriage made a few months ago by John Green. I'm fairly certain he's a Christian, and unless my memory fails me he wanted to be a minister at one point.

I'm sorry, there are some visuals that my blind reader(s) will miss, where he illustrates his points with kid toys. Yeah, John's a dad, and he uses what's on hand. :)



And he didn't even mention Jacob, who married both of his cousins and also fathered children by their slaves. That's another example of traditional marriage for you.

On a related note, I have wondered how gay employees of Chick-fil-A have been handling things lately, and I found something written by one of them. You might want to follow the link, it looks pretty horrendous.

Pets

I lost a follower...how did that happen?

Anyways...

Socks

I had mentioned that the cat Socks wasn't doing to well, and wasn't expected to live much longer. Amazingly he's turned around. I think he's still losing weight, but is healthier than he was before. So hopefully he'll hang on for a while longer.

I figured that since I was going to talk about a rat, I may as well share an update about this one.

Rats

You may remember that I have two rats, Beka and Sabine. They're staying with my parents since I couldn't find an apartment to move into where I could bring them, but they're still technically mine.

A few days ago Sabine injured her paw. Specifically, one of her fingers. It's now swollen, red, and one of the bones is dislocated. There was also a bit of bleeding. I took a photo to get advice from other rat lovers, but I'll spare you that. It's not gruesome, but it's not pretty either. Sabine still uses her paw and doesn't look like she's in pain, but it's amazing what these critters can hide.

We took her to see the vet today, and came home with some meds to bring down the swelling and fight off infection. Good news is that the vet expects her to be fine! Whew.

And now the girls seem determined to chew on things. They're also trying to help me type. I guess this is their revenge for the vet visit. Yes they both went, so that Beka could keep Sabine company. Beka is more laid back than Sabine, and I thought her influence might be helpful.

Tigard library

Did you think that I had forgotten that I wanted to write about the libraries in my county? Nope, not quite. I got side tracked is all. :) Unfortunately I don't think I'll have any more photos, because I didn't bother getting photos of all the libraries. And those I did get pics of I've already written about.

The Tigard library is rather nice. Funny thing is, I used to go within blocks of it all the time, and yet never saw it. It's right near bus line 78 which I would always take to a community college, and it's also within walking distance of a train station. So I can't think about Tigard library without thinking of those facts.

This library is one of the few that has two stories, and has both open to the public. It has wide open windows with a wonderful view, overlooking a small field and wetlands area. I really wish I had photographed that to share here, but oh well.

I clearly remember the adult media section. (Adult meaning for grownups as opposed to for children. Don't think dirty thoughts!) I don't think it was any bigger than any other library, and we did manage to tag (remember I was putting RFID tags in the materials) all the adult DVDs in one day, but I think that section is burned into my memory somehow. And unlike the other libraries, I think Tigard focuses on keeping the most popular and/or newer movies on their shelves. Not a bad thing, when patrons can request older and less popular movies be brought in from other libraries. Which they can. And do, I'm sure.

There's also a foyer with a donut shop.

Coffee, donuts, and books. A good combination, so long as you wash your hands after eating. :)