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CaliforniaPeggy

CaliforniaPeggy's Journal
CaliforniaPeggy's Journal
August 16, 2015

I recently found this little treasure among my late parents' things.

It was made by my mom's younger brother and the cross-stitch was made by his wife, my aunt. It had been a Christmas present, and I felt that it needed to see the light of day. It had lived in a drawer for many years, maybe even decades. I felt so lucky to have found it!






August 10, 2015

This footstool was made by my parents...

My dad made the base and my mom embroidered the top...

I cannot get over just how beautiful it is. It was truly a labor of love.





August 9, 2015

I found this really excellent article on Grief on Facebook, and wanted to share it:

http://www.rebellesociety.com/2014/11/13/all-this-fucking-time-and-i-still-feel-grief/

Here's a bit from the beginning:


By McCall Erickson

The hallmark of a human life is loss, it seems. And the body is a vessel for grief.

This is not an if, but when. When is loss gonna hit?

And then it is how. How do you carry it? All that grief. And don’t even ask why. Why is not a question that grief ever answers.

I only know this because I have my own grief. I am not looking for more, but it keeps coming anyway. It makes me feel like I’m getting nowhere sometimes, and yet closer to something at the same time.

Maybe that’s because loss doesn’t just take. It gives, too. Like a trade.


August 9, 2015

Just got this picture today and scanned it tonight...

It dates from 1921. It's of my maternal grandmother and her 4 children at the time.



August 8, 2015

Here are a few more pictures from Hearst Castle...Enjoy!

Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, next to the Indoor Pool:


A detail from the floor next to the indoor pool:


Next to the outdoor pool: (There was an ugly fence in the way, so I cropped that out.)


Another view of the gardens from the guest houses:


A sarcophagus in the garden:


A small statue:


A classic carving:



August 7, 2015

LA Times columnist Robin Abcarian on Personal and Deeply Felt Choices:

http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-abortion-doctor-20150807-column.html#page=1

Susan Robinson was sitting on the patio of her Central Coast home, above golden hills and oak trees shimmering in the summer heat. She sipped homemade hibiscus tea as she patted the head of her mischievous border collie, Radar, and told me about the pride she takes in her work.

Robinson, 69, is an abortion doctor, one of only a handful in this country who perform abortions in the third trimester. She is in the business of ending pregnancies, yes, but more important, she is in the business of helping women assert control over their own lives.

"There is no other field in medicine where people come to you so desperate," she said, "and you can really help pretty much everyone who walks through the door."
There is no other field in medicine where people come to you so desperate and you can really help pretty much everyone who walks through the door. - Susan Robinson, doctor

Robinson used to fly to Wichita, Kan., every three weeks to work at a clinic owned by George Tiller, perhaps the country's most famous late-term abortion doctor. Tiller was renowned for his kindness toward patients and his courage in the face of relentless physical attacks against him that culminated in 2009 with his murder by a Christian extremist.

"His murder changed things," Robinson said. Tiller rarely gave interviews, insisting on keeping the focus on patients, and he instilled in Robinson the same ethic. But after he died, she decided to speak out.

"If you are secretive, you are sort of colluding in the stigma of abortion," Robinson said. "Now when people ask what I do, I say, 'My specialty is abortion care, and I love my job!' "


August 6, 2015

My husband and I just got home from a trip to the middle part of California...

We wanted to see Hearst Castle, and we did, plus we saw some other great sights...

Here's a few pictures:

The main building:


In the dining hall:


And again:


The grounds and the view from a guest cottage:


We also saw the elephant seals, and what a sight they were: These are juveniles and they're practice fighting!


Here they are resting on the beach:



August 6, 2015

Today is the anniversary of the first American traffic light, in 1916, in Cleveland.

http://www.vox.com/2015/8/5/9097713/when-was-the-first-traffic-light-installed

It's the 101st anniversary of the first electric traffic signal system. On August 5, 1914, in Cleveland, Ohio, engineers installed a pair of green and red lights facing each side of a four-way intersection — a simple experiment that has since shaped roads around the world, and is honored today in a Google Doodle.

In a technical sense, Cleveland's device might not seem all that impressive. It was actually preceded by similar temporary systems in London and Utah, and like the others, it was manually operated. Its chief benefit was allowing a policeman to sit in a booth next to the intersection instead of standing dangerously within it.

But this simple invention marks a key moment in the largely forgotten transformation of roads during the 20th century. For most of history, roads have been chaotic, shared public spaces, packed with horses, handcarts, merchants, pedestrians, and children. As much as any other invention, the traffic signal gave rise to the carefully controlled, highly automated thoroughfares we think of as roads today.

Why we needed traffic signals:

Horses, carriages, carts, streetcars, and pedestrians had been navigating busy intersections for years — but they moved pretty slowly, which meant turn-taking and other informal driving customs generally worked fine.



Profile Information

Name: Peggy
Gender: Female
Hometown: Manhattan Beach, CA
Home country: USA
Current location: At home
Member since: Thu Feb 3, 2005, 02:41 PM
Number of posts: 149,588
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