Birch

Marley's new home

2006-01-25T12:49:00.000-08:00

Rejoice!

Marley has found a new home!

It occurred to me that I hadn't asked everyone at work if they wanted a dog. So, as I was walking down the hall with Priscilla, the very nice woman who sits in the cubicle next door to mine, I said, "Hey, want a dog?"

She paused. "What kind of dog?" And something about her tone told me I had her.

So I brought her over to my desk, showed her the lovely pictures of Marley and she got all excited. Apparently, Marley is exactly the dog she's been looking for. She happily agreed to take Marley and give her a permanent home.

Marley's new family will contain not only Priscilla and her boyfriend, but a 6-year-old girl and another dog to play with.

While writing this, I heard Priscilla say, "Now I got my baby as my screensaver." Another woman said, "Your daughter?"

"No," Said Priscilla, "my new dog."

We couldn't be happier.

Marley

2006-01-24T11:34:00.000-08:00

As you can see, Marley is a beauty.

But we can't keep her. As much as I would like to make this charmer a permanent part of our family, Garcia still isn't fully comfortable around her. Garcia had an unfortunate childhood experience with large, child-eating dogs and even though Marley should be the UN ambassador for large dogs, Garcia just can't fully relax around her.

So, Ms. Marley needs a forever family.

Her previous owners took the time to train her, but then abandoned her. I don't understand, but at least now she has the opportunity to find a family who will appreciate her wonderfulness.

I love this dog.

Wherever I am, she is. If I'm asleep in bed, she's asleep in the hall. If I'm in the kitchen cooking, she's in the dining room, keeping a watchful eye. If I am sitting on the couch, knitting, she's lying down by my feet.

She isn't demanding or pushy. She ignores the cats and the other dogs. She's truly a people-loving dog with excellent manners and above-average intelligence. If there was any way we could keep her, I would never, ever let her go.

But if you know someone in the Austin area who needs a wonderful friend, send them my way. Ms. Marely needs a home.

Fear of Change

2006-01-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

When I was in High School, I was leafing through some magazine, probably LIFE, when I was captivated by a photo. It showed a young girl in a leotard standing in front of a large window. Outside the window was a misty, emerald green wonderland of pine trees and ferns. The caption read "At ballet practice in Eugene, Oregon."

Eugene, Oregon.

I grew up in the piney woods of East Texas, in a part called Big Thicket. It's green, it's piney, there's nature everywhere. But somehow I could tell that the green of Oregon was somehow fundamentally different than the green of Texas.

And thus began my lifelong obsession with all things Oregon.

When I was in college, a couple of guys I knew decided suddenly to chuck it all and move to the Pacific Northwest. Where did they go?

Oregon.

Throughout my life, my plan to move to Oregon has played in the back of my mind.

Shortly after we fell in love, Garcia took me on a trip to Portland. It was October and utterly gorgeous. Since that trip, we have talked on and off about relocating.

Don't get me wrong, we love Austin. We love the Hispanic influence, the music, the Texan humor, the art and architecture. We have a church where we feel loved and our families are close enough to see occasionally, but not so close as to drive us crazy.

But we hate the heat. Hate.

And we get tired of the staunchly conservative, twisted Christianity that pervades much of the politics of the state. We were very disheartened by the recent vote where 75% of voters showed up just to let us know that they hated us.

A few months ago, Garcia's job was shuffled again, and they offered us a relocation package to Portland. Which we accepted.

But now, we're terrified.

I realize that change is scary. But I'm totally terrified. We will sell our house for a song, move away from everything and everyone we know, go to a strange city where nobody speaks Spanish (do they even have Spanish radio stations in Portland?) or makes a decent salsa, and be utterly miserable. I feel sure that everything will go wrong, we will wind up living in the ghost-infested apartment from Dark Water and it will be all my fault, because I'm the one who wanted to go in the first place.

Accidental dog adoption

2005-12-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

I've learn to knit.

In fact, that is the precise cause of no posts for a whole month. I mean, what kind of idiot uses lunch to post to a blog, when she could be knitting her little heart out? Not me!

In other Birch Family News, we may have accidentally adopted a dog.

Yesterday, we were putting up Christmas lights when a large shaggy dog wandered up.

"Hey!" said mr. garcia, nervously "There's a dog"
As a child, mr. garcia was attacked by some hellhounds cleverly disguised as dogs, and is, I think, justifiably hesitant to make the acquaintance of strange dogs.

After strategically securing my family on the porch, ( "You guys wait here.") I went to check out this strange dog.

Sweetest thing ever! She is so very sweet and well mannered. We tied her out in the front yard, where we were (with the lights and all) so that when her owners drove by, they would see her and be able to take her home and everyone would be happy, not in the least, this big, sweet, goofy dog.

Well, they never came. And eventually, it got dark, and cold. So we put her in our garage, with tons of blankets and pillows, and she laid down like she knew exactly what to do.

This morning we were able to contact her family to find....

...they moved away yesterday.

They moved away and left her.

I spoke to the lady and she had her reasons but still, I say bullshit. When my dogs got out of the house and disappeared for 12 hours, we slept in the living room so that we would be able to hear them if they scratched on the door. I don't know how a person (a mother, even) could move away and leave a dog to fend for herself.

We were on the way to work this morning when we finally talked to the dog's family. When I got off the phone, mr. garcia suggested that maybe, just possibly we should keep this dog.

So today I'm going to introduce the doggie (her name is Marley) to my dogs to see how that shakes out. Wish us luck

Bear Country

2005-11-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

I saw a documentary on PBS the other night about Grizzlies in and around Yellowstone. A couple of things about that show keep spinning around in my mind.

First off, a rancher was complaining about how they aren't allowed to shoot bears, even when they kill livestock. He said something along the lines of how shocked people would be if they saw what happened to the cows when bears get to them.

Well, unless those are some particularly freaky bears, I figure they kill the cows and eat them.

What's so shocking about that? This wasn't a farm sanctuary. ALL of these cows are going to become someone's dinner eventually. Why is it worse for them to become a bear's dinner than to become Bob's dinner? I'll guarantee that the bear needs the cow way more than Bob Suburb does. (Because bears haven't yet figured out how to make tofu)

Later on in the show, the documentarians highlighted the plight of a small town in Wyoming that lies near the park. Back when bears were damn near extinct there were no problems, but now that there are more bears, the people in the town come into contact with our hairy cousins far more than they would like. Many of the people interviewed bemoaned the fact that they can't just shoot the bears, and how hard life is for them and what kind of pressure living near gigantic omnivores causes.

I thought to myself, why don't these people move? If you don't like living in bear country, you should just move. You obviously can't keep bears from interacting with people, and even though some would like to, you can't just go killing bears willy-nilly. If you are so aggrieved by the situation, you should move. Sure your family lives there and it is where you call home, but if you cannot take it, you should get out.

Yesterday, Texans had the opportunity to vote for or against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, civil unions, and any other institution that mimics marriage. 75% of the people who went to vote, voted for the measure. It is a particularly mean-spirited piece of work, that could be used to strip us of even private arrangements, such as wills, and powers of attourneys. 75% of my fellow Texas voters specifically left their houses or jobs yesterday and went to the polls just so they could let me know that my kind isn't welcomed. That I can create whatever sort of "family" I want, but they don't have to recognize it and that they are willing to strip me of any security that I may be able to encounter.

The pressure of living our lives among the rednecks and conservative Christians is becoming more than I can take. Sure, both our families live here, and even though we really like Austin, we've had it. So, heeding my own advice, we are leaving bear country.

Mr. Garcia

2005-10-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

So just to keep things straight (so to speak) from now on I'm going to refer to my beloved partner as mr. garcia.

He's transgendered, and he's my husband.

Be my support

2005-10-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

There are two things that I want to learn how to do.

1. When I comment on other people's blogs, they email me back. I cannot seem to do this to them. People must think me terribly rude. BTW, Hi! Thanks for your comment.

2. Sometimes other people mention on their blogs things like "Yeah, I'm getting lots of hits from people searching for 'whatever' on google." I have no idea where people who read my blog come from, nor how to acquire that information. Is this possible in blogger?

Pulling a page from Lilysea, (but in reverse) I'll post a recipe for Chinese Fire Dragon Broccoli with Sesame Tofu if y'all will help me out.

Illegally Wed

2005-10-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

On Friday, October 14, 2005, my beloved partner and I had a holy union ceremony. It is not legal in this state for us to be married, but we are Baptists, and don't much care what the state says.

Of course, even though we stood in front of friends and family, and made some rather serious vows about love, honor and fidelity, to the state, we are no more than strangers. It will cost us thousands of dollars to provide some of the protections to our relationship that straight couples get for $40.00, which is the cost of a marriage license in Texas.

And if the upcoming state constitutional amendment is ratified by voters, then even those protections could be thrown out by a judge. The proposed constitutional amendment to the Texas Constitution prohibits institutions identical to marriage. Basically, it seeks to prohibit civil unions and the arrangements that couples make to protect themselves.

But enough about politics.

The wedding was beautiful and heartbreakingly romantic. I had to concentrate very hard on not sobbing out loud during the ceremony. I was partially successful.

Also, I had forgotten that high heels were so damn painful. Oh sure, they're fine for about 10 minutes, but then your toes start to scream and your feet start to cramp and after that, it's all about the pain, isn't it.

I'm not very girly, especially for a femme, and these were by far the highest heels I had ever worn. But it was my wedding day, and if there was ever a day to look super-girly, this was it. Feet shmeet. I may be crippled for life but I was going to wear cute shoes, dammit. Vanity, thy name is Bride.

The wedding was held in the outdoor courtyard of an antiques store. There was a vine- and fairy light- covered arbor above our heads and quaint cobblestones beneath our feet. Instead of folding chairs, our guests sat on (charmingly) dilapidated antique lawn furniture. For that quaint, country feel.

After the ceremony, we had a nice little reception at a restaurant just a few doors down from the courtyard.

The thing that surprised me the most was how accepting and congratulatory all of the random bystanders were. From the kind couple who own the antique store, to the other diners in the restaurant where we had the reception, everyone seemed happy for us, and bestowed their blessings and good wishes upon us.

Weird, huh.

This is a small town, and I always have my fears about being beaten to death and then set on fire. I grew up in a small town and I know how things work. Granted, I grew up in East Texas, which is far more Southern and now we live in Central Texas, which is far more Western.

But still.

So, after the wedding and reception, we drove into town for a little salsa dancing at the local LGBT People of Color Community Center. Fantastico.

I don't know how many people get to have a wedding that is exactly what they wanted, but we did.

Now I have to figure out how to convince a judge in the county where I live to let me change my last name to Garcia, which is the name of my beloved partner. I don't just get to do it, like straight women who marry their beloveds. They can choose to or not. And all they need is the marriage certificate. I need a court order. Which a judge may or may not grant me. And while it is free in some counties, I am afraid it will cost in this county. I know that where I grew up, it cost upwards of $500 to change one's name.

So that's my next big goal -- official name change.

We'll see.

Bullshit, thy name is flexitarian

2005-10-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Get this write up of the Healthy Hedonist, the new book by Myra Kornfeld, author of the Voluptuous Vegan. This is the introduction to her new book, which should be called, "I'm a Sellout. Recipes for Omnivores." Or perhaps just, "The Obfuscating Omnivore." My comments about her description of "flexitarianism" are bolded.

The recipes in this book are those that my students have loved. Many of us are what could now be called "flexitarians." A flexitarian may be primarily a vegetarian but may eat some animal products on occasion. Commonly known as an omnivore.

Or a flexitarian may be an omnivore who often chooses to eat vegetarian. That's still an omnivore. How does adding a salad make you something other than an omnivore? Some people call themselves vegetarian; then they add that they eat some fish, or perhaps fish and chicken. They too are flexitarians. Nope, they are liars. If you eat fish and chicken, you ain't a vegetarian. The last time I checked, both fish and chicken were, in fact, animals and not plants. Vegetarians eat plants, not animals. Really. Not Animals.

Who came up with this idea that anyone who steps off of the Standard American Diet is some sort of an -arian? I used to have a friend who didn't eat much meat. She would occasionally have it when dining out, but thought it was gross, and wouldn't cook it. And when she occasionally ate meat, it was only chicken or fish.

When people asked her if she was a vegetarian, she said, "No."

Because she wasn't.

I think my big problem with the term "flexitarian" is that it somehow ties itself with vegetarian. It isn't, though, and people should just stop.

Stop using it.

Bitten

2005-10-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Friday = Wedding day

Keep that in mind.

This past Saturday, we decided to groom the dogs. We have a semi-landscaped backyard, with lots of lovely overgrown bushes for sweet doggies to tunnel in, wade around in, loll about in, and just in general hang out in. However, all three dogs are of the longer haired persuasion. And they invariably get sharp little stickers caught in their coats. So we spend time trimming dog hair.

First up was Grandmother Dog, who we just rescued from some relatives. GMD did just fine, standing still and never complaining. She suckered us into a false sense of security.

Next up was Young Whippersnapper Dog. Let me also say that YWD is a small-breed dog, given to us by my well-meaning, but off-track mother. YWD is a choodle, half chihuahua, half poodle. YWD does not have his manners yet, tho' he is learning.

So we are trying to de-stickerfy YWD, when he decided that he was done, and to convince me as well, reached out with his extremely sharp little YWD teeth and BIT MY LIP.

Seriously. He bit me. On the lip. Less than a week before my wedding.

At that point I was forced to retire to the couch with a butterfly bandage, an ice pack and some recorded CSI.

On a serious note, I didn't want to muzzle him, as it seems very controlling. I'm not so AR that I think companion animals are slaves and that it is immoral to have them in your house, but I do try to respect my friends. So I'm kind of in a quandry about this. I feel that perhaps muzzling him may prevent him from hurting someone until he learns to let us cut his hair without snapping.

And to be honest, I don't know much about how to teach puppies to live with people. Every dog we've had has been a rescued adult with manners already in place.

So here's a question. How do people who want to lead compassionate lives teach their companion animals (and the human people in the house) how to live together in harmony? Any ideas? Texts to peruse?

DIY Lesbian Wedding

2005-09-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am getting married in 16 days.

My partner and I have been together forever, but now, finally, we've decided to have an honest-to-goodness wedding.

We are small, offbeat people, and we decided to have a small, offbeat wedding.

Once we decided that the time was right to have a wedding, we struggled (STRUGGLED, I tell ya) to figure out possibly the most important wedding question of all....where. We wanted it to be private, outdoorsy, and pretty. And cheap. After reserving and canceling three different parks, we decided to have it at our house. But about a month ago the idea of having it in our suburban back yard with kids riding their skateboards just on the other side of the fence, and dogwalkers, deep in conversation, walking by, just seemed, well, not romantic. At all.

We got lucky. We found a cute little outdoor courtyard, just a few doors down from where we will have the reception. It is lovely and intimate.

I don't know if everyone knows this, but planning a wedding is bloody difficult. Really.

OK, so everyone does know that.

But. Still. We are having a tiny, little wedding. I can't even imagine having one of those 600-invitee monsters.

Runaway Bride, I feel your pain.

Admiration vs. Practicality

2005-09-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

When I decided to start blogging, it was because I am an obsessive blog reader. And I particularly love those bloggers who blog frequently. So I swore that I would write every day.

I can tell right now that that isn't going to happen.

I wonder if I can get dooced for blogging at work? Not that I'm doing that.

Really.

I'm not.

Hurricane Katrina = Don't eat hamburgers

2005-09-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

OK, raise your hand if you think that FEMA did just a crakerjack job with Katrina.

Anyone? No? OK.

I think that it is clear to all of America that FEMA was unable to handle Hurricane Katrina. According to their website, FEMA is tasked with leading "the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident."

Did FEMA do that previous to and following Hurricane Katrina?

No. It did not.

What does FEMA's inability to "effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts" mean? And why does it have anything to do with hamburger?

FEMA is a federal agency without a major industry pushing against the good of the public. It is not a regulatory agency in the way that say, the USDA is. But even without an industry doing everything possible to remove, reduce, or pervert FEMA's mission, FEMA managed to not do what it was created to do. It did not protect the public.

So why should the USDA be any different? The USDA does have a major industry pushing against the good of the public. Several, in fact. There is the the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), which represents the beef industry. There is the American Meat Institute, which represents the meat packing industry. It is in the financial interest of these organizations to remove, reduce and/or pervert the mission of the USDA. Safety features designed to protect consumers and workers slow down the slaughter houses, therefore decreasing profits.

FEMA did a shoddy job even though there was no incentive to do so. Part of the problem was that personnel in the upper levels of the agency were not qualified to do the job. That's not a problem with the USDA. In fact, there are tons of people working for the USDA who used to work for the very companies and organizations that are being regulated by the USDA. Honest to God, it's like having the mafia regulate the treasury.

How many times did Michael Brown say everything was going just fine, thanks? How many times did he get defensive and bitchy when a reporter suggested that perhaps things weren't going all that well. And didn't the President say what a great job "Brownie" was doing?

Now think about how many times the USDA and the President have told you that eating hamburger is perfectly safe.

And until it happened, didn't they say that there was no Mad Cow in the US? And that it couldn't happen?

And what are they saying now? That it is perfectly safe to eat hamburgers (meat most likely to conain nervous tissues, which is the part that spreads Mad Cow). And that they are all doing their jobs to protect us.

Do you believe them?

I don't.