Because of our dear friends who don't mind that we just happen to be hetero....

Here!!

We love you!!

Shawn & SGTex
****

Not amused....

Wondering...

...if it would be a good thing to start over on that book collection.

After all, shouldn't every home have a library?

When I think of all the hardback treasures that were left behind in the Pacific Northwest when I moved to Texas, it makes me imagine a room filled with bookshelves filled with beautiful, artistically bound volumes of beautiful, artistically written words.

On the other hand, a beautiful, quiet office totally dedicated to that which would continue to inspire my favorite author (who just happens to be my husband) is an even better idea, isn't it?!

Better stay tuned...

Shawn
****

Hahaha!!!

We don't have to tell you that...

Simply put...

SGTex speaks out about gun control....

My response to one of those "luckily, a passerby happened to be armed" stories, because I believe in gun control but think good gun control would be consistent with some qualified "good citizens" permitted to possess and carry loaded weapons:

I believe the sensible corollary to sane gun control is an armed public, i.e., many "law abiding" carrying and able to act as lay peacekeepers. Why can't 2nd-amendment zealots see that a gun-control agenda, even a leftist one, does not entail disarming good people. You could have an armed public and many a fortuitous "passerby was carrying" story and still go forward with strong laws attempting to restrict some weapons and modes of ammunition, stringent clearance requirements for purchase of same, and much stepped-up regulation such as licensing and registration, even inspections by public safety officers to be sure gun owners are properly storing and keeping their piece or arsenal. Then maybe there would be measurable curtailment of the shooting folks in movies thing, and ghouls coming to slaughter first-graders. But in this we liberals are the sensible ones, with the right wing clearly the ones getting wild-eyed and unreasonable.

SGTex, Native Texan, SGI Buddhist Hippie

****

No, we do not agree...

...with those who are voicing their angry opinons and demonstrating their hatefulness at the undocumented, hopeful immigrants coming to our southern borders these days.

It occurs to me that some people from other parts of the planet might see all of this on the news and be shaking their heads at it all.

Really, you must wonder what is really going on here and imagine what people really feel.  Can we believe what we're shown on the news or what we see on television or hear on the radio?  Probably only some of it.

What it is, is a big crying shame.

My husband and I feel like those who are yelling and screaming and banging the US flags on the buses and shouting angry words and making ugly scenes on our southern borders need to just basically shut up and go home.   Seriously.

We don't want our laws to be broken and we don't believe that everyone should get a free ride or just have the blessings of living in the USA just handed to them....

....any more than what benefits were handed to our own ancestors who came to these shores and were given a decent life here on this continent all those many years ago....at the expense of the honorable, beautiful indigenous people who had been here for ages.

Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?

Shawn
****

Independence Day 2014....

....for Raju, this precious elephant soul, seen here being cared for at long last.  Raju was captured as a baby 50 years ago and held by 20-some different owners, the last of which was a drug-addicted fiend who beat and mistreated him, keeping him in chains while he begged.



A year to the day this project to help him started, he has been rescued at last by Wildlife SOS heroes with the help of conservationists with a court order by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, he is now safe from abuse. When he saw that he was going to be released from his chains the tears ran down his face and he cried, along with those who were rescuing him from the hell he'd been living.


We are so glad to have had a small part in facilitating his release and will continue to send what support we can to make his life more comfortable, now that he is in good hands and getting medical care and in a loving environment.


Be blest, Raju. Rest and be restored.


Shawn & SGTex

****

Our number is 9...

...and 9 years ago, across 2000-something miles, we came together.

It was June of 2005 and those 'little electrons' were flying.

We realized that we

Love Each Other

In spite of the bad stuff and because of the good stuff, here it is 9 years later and we still do.

In spite of our differences and our similarities.

Because of our differences and our similarities.

And 9 years ago he composed A Sketch of Verse For Shawn.

"And so it goes forever, unfolding, always becoming/creating
The two that are not two, ever interrelating..."

So, here we are.

It's another Happy I Love You Day, SGTex.

Shawn
****

Ruffles over Finland...

...which is my way of saying "Happy Father's Day" to my Finnish Daddy, because he'd like that.  He encouraged his girly to be frilly.

Haha!

Shawn
****

It's Memorial Day in America....

...and I have no idea why I picked this to share, but here it is.

Shawn
****

Today is International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia

Hail, Gaia....

So, I needed to blog and we were talking about wedding cakes...

....and a friend paid me a lovely compliment. My reply was to describe our wedding cake and how it came to be, back in 2010 at our Bluebonnet wedding (the one where we actually invited people).


Our cake topper was a china Claddagh with an inscription that fit our philosophy. When we went to look at cake ideas it just freaked out the cake designer when I didn't do all the talking. Noel was a major part of the deal, lol. When we decided the style we wanted and flavor/frosting (red velvet/butter cream with crystallized rain droplets), we showed her an example of how the flowers should look (bloomed-out roses) and I told her there needed to be 9. When she asked how they should be placed, I told her "however you want, as you're the artist." She obviously hadn't ever been given that much leeway and looked at me like I was nuts, lol. I didn't turn all "Bridezilla" until the cake was 15 minutes late, by my determination. Never mind we were having near hurricane weather and it was pouring and blowing a gale outside. The gals that delivered the cake just looked at me and laughed and laughed....

Shawn

****

SGTex writes again....

April, her showers scant but sufficient unto the bluebonnets, traditionally brings us to thoughts of the National Day of Prayer. This year the splendid patriotic holiday falls on May 01, and that just couldn’t be more auspicious. I’m not a Pagan but I sleep with one who reminds me that May Day is Beltane, that day of felicitous ritual meant to bring abundant crops and healthy livestock. 

In the past, the Interfaith Council’s diversity-based contribution to the region’s public observance included Buddhism and so brought rain and protection of Dyess AFB from budget cuts.

Political considerations being what they are, I particularly wonder this year whether our mayor and the city of Abilene intend to be mindful of the constitution or disregard it. Last year, it was almost as surprising as the cold weather and sprinkle of rain that City Hall had assented to hosting an evangelical Christian ceremony at noon on the National Day of Prayer.

As a patriot of faith, I felt called to visit City Hall just exactly then, to get in on the religious freedom. In my denomination we ring a bell, burn incense and chant. I was respectful and timed my participation so as not to be disruptive; nor did my small protest sign violate civil etiquette.

After all, for several National Days of Prayer in a row, church groups appeared to have accepted their obligation as good citizens to carry out their Christian-only event somewhere besides City Hall, and for those several years the City of Abilene accommodated/endorsed no religion. As our Atheist neighbors are quick to point out, that is one good way to keep things lawful and just.

The other way would be for the mayor and city to welcome proponents of all the various options in faith and philosophy, perhaps even affording alternative and minority religions advance notice and invitation. That, goodness knows, will be the day and amen.

No, I’d say there’s a 50/50 chance city government and church culture will get together again this year and try to carry on with allegiance to Shirley Dobson’s ultraconservative constitution-stomping cult, the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Now that Abilene’s Atheists have organized, I hope a few of them can take over guarding the “no establishment” national covenant and be prepared to make an appearance at City Hall, 555 Walnut, on May 01 if the situation calls for it. High noon is the traditional time, but let’s all call City Hall a few days beforehand to confirm.

I feel sorry for San Angelo, where they’re nearly certain to violate the rights of thousands with a Christian-only observance at Tom Green County Courthouse! Such events do nothing to protect us against terrorism, oil spills and freakish weather.

Meanwhile, happily, the open-minded Abilene Interfaith Council is planning its inclusive ceremony and bread-breaking embrace of our nation’s religious pluralism, slated to occur at the Center for Contemporary Arts, in sight of oft-consecrated Minter Park. How positive, and how powerful!

My generation went through a phase of liberal religious tolerance and relativism when a sentiment prevailed that all spiritual teachings and beliefs are true. That, of course, is not the case at all. Some religion fails the test of reason. Some religion engenders misunderstanding instead of respect and compassion, and produces backward, hateful politics instead of progress along the road to universal peace and justice. But if constitutional religious liberty continues to operate in this society, a sort of free market effect should lead to the eventual extinction of bad religion and success and survival for superior teachings.

SGTex
(article printed in the Abilene Reporter-News)
****

Hello, world.....

Earlier this week in Austin, Texas....

...the goddess watches over the state capitol.

Animals Asia Transforms Moon Bear Bile Farm To Sanctuary

Just think...

....and if we want to keep the butterflies coming, we'd better make some changes.

In the garden.

Shawn
****

For some reason, this picture makes me remember....

....not long ago I ran on to an old black and white photograph on the web that was posted by someone who'd been at my old summer camp.  Pictured was one of two lovely Great Danes that belonged to the camp director.

The dogs spent a lot of time out in the woods behind the camp buildings.  After breakfast one morning I was on hand to see them return to camp carrying something between them.  At first it was hard to tell what it was, but when they carefully picked their way through the salal and ferns at the edge of the woods and came down on to the property, I saw that it was an orphaned tiny fawn. The poor thing was drooping, half dead, and one dog had a grip on it behind the ears and the other had it just above the little tail.  I guess they saw me there and brought it over, dropped it in the dirt near where I was standing and sat down to wait.  I ran to the kitchen and told the camp director who came running over, picked it up and hurried it away to check it over.  It lived, but just barely.  I got to help bottle feed and care for it the rest of my time at camp that season.

The next summer when I went back, it was a fully-grown, beautiful doe dubbed...you guessed it!  "Bambi."  And she liked Sugar Daddy suckers, and did not hesitate to nibble at my jeans pocket until I gave her my candy.

And now you know another one of my stories from long ago.

Shawn
****

Spring is here....

.....so I just stopped by to say ~Blessed Ostara~ and ~Happy Mabon~

Shawn
****

Can I make a suggestion....?

Yes.  I'm talking to ME.

It seems that which I find to be provoking often becomes thought provoking.  I'm pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to go, ya know?

What?

I'm just trying to gain some control over my life these days.  It's not that it's *out* of control.  It's just not exactly Shawn driven, if you will.  All too often, instead of my waking up to a day filled with what I'd like to do or be, I just sort of respond (react) to what....happens to happen.  Does that make sense?  (insert eyeroll here)

I think the problems (ahem) are pushing me around just a bit.  I'm going to start pushing back.

That being "led by your dreams" idea seems nice, doesn't it?!

From now on, I resolve to be provoked to think more about the DREAMS than the PROBLEMS.

I can do this.

Giving it my best shot and then I'll try to get back to you with how it's going, okay?

Cheers!

Shawn
****

And in US news....

.....it's a start, but we've got a ways to go.

I'll be so glad when it's just "marriage."  Won't you?!

Shawn

****

The other day...

...might have been a day to celebrate a birthday.  The person whose day it was is no longer "with us," so to speak, but there are more than a few memories of who she was and what she did and said and thought and loved (whew) that live on in my mind.  Or maybe it's just in my heart, most days.

A few of you know who this is, just by seeing the flowers.

She loved delphiniums.  Flowers that grew as tall as they could along the fence behind the white daisies, with bees, heavily dusted with pollen, busily buzzing around.  She'd cut bouquets for friends and to take to church.  The floral stems were so many and so tall that they had to be laid out on a towel in the back seat of the car, with a tall vase wrapped in tissue paper, waiting her arrangement.  Just beautiful.  I always liked to gather up the fallen blossoms and dry them in a dish on my dresser. That's a fun memory.

What else do I remember about her?  Oh, that on her birthday morning one of us would have a heckuva time getting a parking spot close to the Pioneer Bakery so we could go pick up her usual cake.  She loved the springtime bouquet of daffodils and grape hyacinths designed to fit on a round cake with almond filling between the layers, frosted in buttercream, and the cake almond flavored, too.  Vanilla ice cream picked up on the way back to the house.  Coffee would be served and frilly napkins and gifts stacked nearby with ribbons and cards over which to exclaim.  Lots of laughter.

Those are the bright, happy memories that offset some of the more serious thoughts and questions I still have that emerge in dreams of days gone by, when family was close and people were in touch.

I do know that she would have been helping me get to where I am today, in Texas.  She'd have lots to say and be sending bulbs and tubers and seeds for gardens (same temperate zone) and she'd be telling me to stick up for what I believe and live my dream.  Don't set those goals aside!  Don't be talked out of anything about which you really care or believe or want to try!  Hang on to those "manners" and get back your equanimity.  Be proud of what you've accomplished and done.  Don't pay attention to people who don't pay attention to who you are or what you know or where you've been.  Speak less often if you have to.  Think more.  Don't get mad....get even.  (That would be a BIG one)  You don't have to yell to be heard.  Just keep your Truth and Be You.

Yeah.  Those would be the positive influences she had back when, and still would have.  There are negatives in there, too....but it wouldn't be nice to speak ill of the dead.  Especially when you're talking about them on or near their birthday.

Haha!!

Happy Birthday, EL.  You did right by me, and I do thank you.

So there.

;~) Shawn xo

Oh, and by the way.....

You have 2 cows...

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then
throws the milk away

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy
grows.
You sell them and retire on the income

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by
your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption
for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to
produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why
the cow has dropped dead.

A GREEK CORPORATION
You have two cows. You borrow lots of euros to build barns, milking sheds, hay stores, feed sheds,
dairies, cold stores, abattoir, cheese unit and packing sheds.
You still only have two cows.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three
cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce
twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and
market it worldwide.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows,
but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the ** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive...

attributed to Matthias Vargas
****
With thanx to our friend Magda, who lives in South Africa and is very funny.

The problem with the world today ....

.... is that everyone says they care, but most (including me many times) don't back it up with any effort. One can only assume that if caring is not backed up by effort, then it is not really caring. 

Nobody has time to sit and relax and talk and play. Everybody is too busy with their own lives and dramas. People will be sitting across from you and not even notice that your hair is on fire. Its always about tomorrow and next year. I am having this experience so I should post it on Facebook.

Everybody has their nose in their phone texting and multitasking and we all forgot how to be just plain ole friends and family that do things with each other and communicate and watch the kids play, or even play with them ourselves. 

It used to be so easy to be a friend and have friends and it has turned out to be the hardest thing in my life to do anymore. You build relationships over the years and then they get blown off and you never see that person again except maybe at their funeral. You gather with friends at Christmas or Fourth of July or birthday parties, and realize you will probably not see them again till the next celebration. I may be getting old, but I liked it back when our phones were connected to the wall and there were not 150 channels on TV, and 30 some-odd cold medications to pick from and just too many choices.

You and your friends wore the same thing more than once and your car was a beater and you and your girlfriends all got together and borrowed each other’s clothes and went with a carful to the drive-in and never paid attention to the movie. We were actually forced to stay connected with each other, stay in one place, do one thing at a time (maybe two).

Having everything you want right now or striving to have it all has made us less human and less happy. Things. Then more things.

If a friend does not act the way you want them to you blow them off instead of talking it out and all that history goes down the drain. Everybody can see the faults in others and will only accept people that are doing what they think is the right thing. We don't mind pointing out what is wrong with another but have a hard time with giving actual deep spiritual hugs and saying “I really love you and I want to know what you are going through.”

We don't let our children be children. We want them all grown up in one second and to keep up with the other kids the same age as them, and be the best at everything. We don't want them to act like babies. We don't want needy, imperfect kids or grown-ups around us. We call them emotional vampires. We don't accept imperfection in any area of our lives. But NOW is all there is and this always involves imperfection. We need to accept people we love for what they are now, not what they can be in the future.

Our children won't really remember how nice and perfect their house was. My favorite house growing up was my Nanny's (grandmother’s) and I remember going out and playing with friends, playing card games at the dining room table, eating chocolate cakes that she made with pecan halves on top, smells of her soap when I took a bath, the color of grass and a sprinkler to play in, the picture hanging over the bed I slept in when I spent the night. It feels like contentment and security. We remember the things that are usually uneventful that happen daily and that invoke the feelings that someone cares and loves us no matter what we did.

These days, I have never been so lonely being surrounded by people. I remember when we looked at each other in the eye in the supermarket and said hello. I remember when someone driving had the courtesy to wait until they person in front of them made a turn without blaring on the horn or speeding around to cut in line. I remember when people said they were gonna do something with you and actually followed through. Or maybe I just remember it all wrong. I'm just saying that I need to be present for a person sitting in front of me. That is the best gift I can give to the person I love. Focus. Listen. Look at a person. Don't run away if they cry or get angry. Make an investment in flesh and blood. Matter.

I have probably three huge boxes of pictures and mementos and at least 30 or more home movies of people that I once loved or called friends. Many have died and many have left my life or me theirs for stupid reasons. Most are not in my life anymore. They rejected me or I rejected them. We don't stick around and work it out. Maybe all those memories are worthless in the end. Maybe it is better to be a robot. I don't know. Get it done and don't let your emotions get involved. That is maturity right? Don't be weak. Don't cry or act like you care. Don't wear you heart on your sleeve. Become a robot. People like you better that way.

Sylvia d'E

Our guest blogger is smart, sweet and funny.  She's a dynamic woman making a difference in San Angelo, Texas, and we're privileged to have her as a friend.  Thank you, Sylvia!

Happy Valentine's Day....

....from Texas, America!!!

Shawn & SGTex
****

Words shared with me....

"The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.


They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth."


~ Henry Beston "The Outermost House"


These words were shared with me today, and I wanted to share them with you.

Namaste'

Shawn
****

Just dropping by...

.... to share this word of advice.

Especially to me.

Wouldn't it be a different world if we made an effort to value the feelings of others?

Just imagine.

Ciao~

Shawn
****

It's hard to stay positive when....

....I know that bad things are happening on the planet.

Japan.  Well, my goddess, what can I say about Japan?  Isn't it strange that a tsunami that wiped out so much of their property and people and the earthquake that has devastated them (not to mention the Fukushima fiasco and ruination of the ocean that is coming) hasn't convinced them to stop torturing and murdering dolphins at Taiji Cove year after year?


I find it totally dismaying that human beings are deliberately cruel and stupid at times.  It bothers me that various bears suffer mistreatment because of human greed and maliciousness.

I'm disgusted and angered when I know that the Orca population is greatly diminished and family pods are broken and babies are separated from their parents and those held captive are living in torment and oppression because we as human beings feel the need to be "entertained" and organizations like Sea World try to pass off their mistreatment and greedy practices as "educational" endeavors.

And what is Russia doing putting captive Orcas on display for the Olympics?  Not going to be watching that...

I'm overwhelmed with sadness.

Shawn
****

I'm pretty sure....

...that it's not just me.

Have you ever made plans for something and been really looking forward to "it," only for those plans to fall by the wayside because what was on the other end of the plan-making fell through?  Or, maybe I could make that "WHO" was on the other end..yada yada.  

I dunno, but I do find it, shall I say, "unfortunate" to have that happen.  It makes me discouraged and dismayed that I can look forward to some event or process and be enthused (there's an old word) about it, and then have it go all to bits.

For example:  

Our wedding was supposed to be at the park, outdoors.  Big storm.  It all turned out all right, because we had a reception venue, so we combined it all and people got a little surprise prelude to their cake and music.

A holiday get-together road trip.  Fell apart because the person on the other end flaked out.  Still a bit ticked off about that.

Date for me to make the move to Texas:  Multiple postponements.  We're both still a bit ticked about that.  I'm here now, though, and we had a wonderful road trip.

Job stuff:  Crapola.  People being hind-ends of horses.  What to do?!  Pick up and try again.  And again.

Other stuff:  People don't follow through, say what they mean and life has hairpin curves and U-turns, etc.

Last night I was griping and SGTex suggested I look on the bright side and see the positive.  That's what I'm going to do after I get over my little rant-fest.  I know I can't be the only one who feels this way.  

Generally, I put on a pretty good Pollyanna-ish attitude face and act like everything is just fine.  I'm famous for the "Just fine" answer when asked, "How are you, Shawnie?"  People don't much ask any more.  Except SGTex.  He asks.  

And thanks ever so much, Goddess, for that.

Shawn

****

It's cold here in America....

....and this came down my Facebook newsfeed.  We here in our part of Texas aren't having these kind of issues right now, but we have in the past, and we surely will again.

So, give thanks!!

See you later....

Shawn

It's here....

...and we're pretty excited about it!!

Best wishes from Us

Happy New Year....

....and best wishes for every happiness to you all.

The past 12 months have been filled with all sorts of interesting experiences.  Some were easier than others and some were pretty hard.  All in all, we have been blessed, so we are grateful.

I think we are happy to wrap up 2013 and certainly look forward to 2014.

Cheers!!

Shawn & SGTex, Sebastian & Seamus

Bears....

~The Bornean Sun Bear~ 

Conservation website address:

http://www.bsbcc.org.my/

On Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/sunbear.bsbcc/info

About:

Through conservation, rehabilitation, education and research, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) aims to protect the future of the world's smallest and least known bear.
MissionThe mission of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sabah, Malaysia, is to promote sun bear conservation in Borneo through animal welfare, conservation, rehabilitation, education and research - giving captured sun bears a better home and restoring their right to live in the wild, by:

Creating the capacity to confiscate, rehabilitate and release suitable orphaned and ex-captive bears back into the wild.

Providing an improved long-term living environment for captive bears that cannot be released.

Educating the public and raising awareness about this species.

Achieving increased protection for sun bears and their habitat through ongoing research, increased knowledge and awareness, and further protection of habitat.

Description:

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) was founded in Sabah, Malaysia in 2008 as a two-stage effort to provide the care, rehabilitation and release of orphaned and captive sun bears, as well as address the lack of knowledge and awareness of this little-known bear both in Malaysia and internationally.

Up until April 2010, there were 12 confiscated young bears living in cramped indoor quarters on the BSBCC site. As the situation for these captive bears was pressing, funding and construction of the BSBCC began to move these bears into more appropriate living environments.

The construction was divided into three development phases to achieve two bear house blocks and eight fenced forest enclosures for the capacity for 50 bears, quarantine facilities, offices, a visitor centre and viewing platform, and a system of forest boardwalks. We are dependent on donated funds for the development and although we are almost half way through, we still have a long way to go.

How to get there, ticket pricing, etc:

The BSBCC centre is currently not open to the public. More details coming soon.

How to contact us?
You can either email, call or leave a message on our page.

Holiday memories....

Some of my friends answered this holiday question:

 What's one of your MOST stand-out favorite memories of the Season?

SHAWN: Being a little girl, shopping with Grandma. The Bon Marche' in Seattle all done up in shades of pink with giant ornaments hanging from the ceiling.   As an adult, taking my annual teacher's bonus check and doing up an entire Xmas celebration for a family with small kids--I brought in a tree and we decorated it, wrapped presents, fixed cookies, candies, music and a meal--the whole shebang.  That was great fun.

 DENNIS: Definitely my mother's attention to detail and all the "treats" she prepared, like homemade ginger bread men, chocolates, and cookies. The brisk walks up back on the farm to cut-down the Christmas tree. The simple things...

PAULA: Getting to come to Abilene where my aunt/uncle would have the tree already up and decorated. From the living room there were 2 doors on the same wall. Uncle went to the farm, cut down 2 cedar trees. The best side was chosen and all the branches cut from the back side. Trees were wired together and all the extra branches were wired in so the tree was always extra full. There were bubble lights and regular light and wonderful old ornaments and presents -LOTS of presents. We got to stay out here until the day before school resumed after the New Year. It was warm with good food, trips to the farm, visiting with grandmother and other relatives and always a warm fire in the fireplace. It was definitely a magical time of the year. The department stores would always have such wonderful windows with all different kinds of animation and featuring the hottest toys of the season. Loved going to see them - it was a big deal!

BONNE: Christmas at Grandma's house. Long car ride, lots of presents, house smelled soooooo good, and she too had bubble lights which fascinated us. We were friends with local kids so we'd go out and play in the snow with them.

SYLVIA: Riding the pink pig around the top of Rich's store in Atlanta Georgia at the age of 5 maybe?

RENATE: Looking at all the decorated shop windows, that were especially beautiful for Xmas and dreaming that Santa would bring one of those wonderful things. I grew up in Germany and we did not get to see the tree till Christmas Eve. The anticipation was huge.

STEPHEN: My fondest memories of all the Christmases past would have to be the two years that I was Santa Claus for Toys for Tots. The second year each child got a bicycle and loads of other stuff. When they sat down on my lap and started telling me what they wanted, and then the bicycles were brought out to them, their faces would transform into pure joy. They were priceless. It felt like it was 120 degrees in that Santa suit, but the expressions on those faces made it totally worthwhile.

JACK: When we lived in Spokane we drove over to Idaho, went up into the mountains in a state forest where one could legally do so, and cut down a tree in a pretty heavy snow. It was about as Christmasy as it gets.

JOANNA: Christmases in Gravenhurst, at our cottage. Skating with our new skates on the frozen lake. Lying on the fresh clean snow counting the many stars in the clearest black sky. The lakes are iffy now at Christmastime, we used to have to portage over frozen Muldrew lake. That was 40 plus yrs ago.....

PAUL: Being Santa at my Grandaughter’s daycare for all of the kids was a blast.

JUDITY: One of my favorite memories was going to Jordan Marsh in Boston and entering the train room in the toy department. That store knew how to celebrate the holidays, and even their window displays with all those moving Christmas dolls seemed magical.

ELIZABETH: One of my favorite memories is going to Bristol, Tennessee, with my mom and dad (before they split). All the store windows were decked out so pretty for Christmas and it was the first time I had ever seen animated mannequins. I was in dreamland (was about 4) and particularly remember a store window that had a living room scene with fireplace, Christmas tree, with Santa and Ms. Claus just rocking away. That was one of the very few good memories I have of my mom and dad as a couple. That was such an exciting day for me.

We hope you make some of your own merry memories, wherever you may be.

Brightest blessings for the season and new year to you from Texas!

Shawn & SGTex
****

Bears....

From time to time I'm going to be posting about something dear to my heart:

http://www.freethebears.org.au/

https://www.facebook.com/freethebearsfund

"Founded by Mary Hutton in 1995, Free the Bears is a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting, preserving and enriching the lives of bears. Please help us in stopping the abuse, neglect and illegal trading,

Mission
Dedicated to protecting, preserving and enriching the lives of bears. Please help us in stopping the abuse, neglect and illegal trading.
Company Overview
Founded by Mary Hutton in 1995, Free the Bears is a non-profit organisation based in Perth, Western Australia, dedicated to protecting bears throughout the world. We currently work in six countries throughout Asia where bears are illegally captured to be butchered for their body parts, turned into medicine or bear paw soup or incarcerated in bile farms.

We recently made animal welfare history as part of a coalition of international conservation and animal welfare rescue groups, in tandem with Indian Government bodies, in helping to rescue the last ‘dancing’ bears off the streets of India; bringing an end to a centuries-old tradition that has inflicted terrible cruelty on thousands of highly endangered Sloth bears.

Every single cent donated to Free the Bears is sent directly to our overseas projects as part of our unique 100% guarantee."

Fa la la la la....

Let it snow....

Crystals arise when a pure compound passes gradually from liquid to solid form. The elegant regularity of a crystal is attributable to the way its molecules have configured and fit together. The angles and distances between atoms are determined by the strong bonds of fundamental molecular structure, and then weaker bonds amongst the molecules determine in turn the most comfortable interrelationship as they gather, when cooling from a melted state or drying forth from solution.

In regimented accordance with all these affinities and angles, molecules work out the most stable arrangement and ultimately present a statement about themselves to us. If it weren't for this, we might still be wondering about the structural nature of the executive genetic material, for Watson and Crick had to make crystals of DNA and shine x-ray light through them to eureka the remarkable double helix.

Not to disillusion those who need to believe Jack Frost is a real person, but it is to me a happy point of fact that frost's fractal feathery fronds and the special beauty of snowflakes come about in this way, too. H2O maintains an angle of 104.5 degrees, stout chemical bonds keeping the hydrogens and oxygen together in a molecule, while gentler attractions decide the way they array when they find themselves at a low temperature. The most stable state entails compromise, as there is considerable repulsion between like-charged ends as well as attraction between the oppositely charged points, accounting for the expansion we see when water freezes, as well as a tendency to form a ring of six V-shapes that may ultimately express itself in a swirl of tiny sprites we can view with a magnifier and be impressed---or spread out this way and that across a pane to result in those crystal coastlines, cascades and crochet for perusal by sleepy eyes at sunrise.

What we have here is an awesome living universe – its pulse unmistakable in the cyclicity of planets and atoms and electromagnetic waves. The great universe manifests the profoundest good, eternal and perfect; my religion refers to this absolute as the Dharma or Wonderful Law.

SGTex

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That was a chicken?! I thought we were having turkey!!

Well, here I am and it's not like I've got this big thing I need to share.  I'm just sitting here at the desk doing some Facebooking and waiting for my husband to get home.  It's a beautiful day and the birds are singing outside the office window as if it were spring, but it's not.  Autumn has come to Texas and we're actually not going to mention how the roses are blooming all over town and things look rather green.  Not too many pecans on our trees, but there are a few and the squirrels have been busy as can be.

We've had another change of routine around here and I think I'll like it better not having the Mister working hours and miles away from home for several days at a time.  That's going to be better for me, and I hope it will for him, too.  I guess I wouldn't make a very good long-haul trucker's wife, heh heh.  Quelle surprise!!

No, I'm not the clingy, dependent "attention whore" type.  I just like having my Man around.  ;~)

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us here in America and people are starting to shop for the big day's meal.  I'm not sure what our schedule will be, but I have been making notes about the menu.  I'm a traditionalist, and I've fixed I don't know how many Thanksgiving meals, but it's still fun to pore over the recipes and get ideas and make lists.  I'm more the Barefoot Contessa than I am Martha Stewart in some ways, but it's nice to imagine emulating the best of both.

(Might as well face it, Shawn.  You're more apt to go totally Gordon Ramsay before we sit down to supper.)

Yeah, don't I know it.  This is what happens when I decide it's time to blog and I haven't a thing to say?!  ;~)

Shawn
****

Shame on Sarah....

Thanks to SGTex who redesigned this meme today...

The best laid plans....

....might be unnecessary.

What?

Ever since the first across-the-country driving trip I made as an adult, I have been aware that I am a planner.  Big time.  I'm comfortable with list-making, note-taking, planning the calendar and marking the days and weeks and months off according to my pie-in-the-sky goals, which I inevitably fail to meet.  (insert wry smile here).

When SGTex and I had our Big Road Trip from the Oregon coast back to Texas, it was planned out as to what we might see and where we might stay.  Wonderful.

The thing is, I don't remember being quite like this as a child, and I don't think my parents were big planners in great detail.  The announcement was made that we were moving house, and we did.  When it was time for the family vacay, we did.  We stopped at different sights to see and there was always a light on in a motel somewhere.  It was relaxing being the person not in charge of it all.  Life was easier that way, without the self-imposed accountability thing.  Haha. But then, if you look back to younger, innocent days, what would you tell yourself to do or not do?

One thing I have discovered along the way is that planning is great fun.  Another thing is to not be surprised when the planning doesn't exactly pan out the way you planned.  And that is actually okay.

I saw a meme go by on Facebook and it was the one that says, "If you could write a note to your younger self using only 2 words what would you say?  Here are some of the 2-word notes that my friends left behind. Wise words, and actually quite inspiring.  Names have been deleted to protect the not-so-very-innocent here ;~).

Here goes:

You can….Ignore Mum…Stay single….Wrong turn….Follow instincts….You’re enough….Find love….Have faith….Trust yourself….Learn “no”….Let go….Love me….You’re wrong!....Buy Apple….Love yourself….I’m ok….Educate yourself….

Be wise….Just relax….Stay aloof….Get educated….

And mine:  Carpe diem.

Shawn

****

Disordered Philosophy

Certainly it used to be even worse, but to this day the Christian majority so dominates American culture as to defy, chronically, the letter and spirit of our constitutional protection against national religion.  It is no coincidence that a sect disdaining the first words of the first amendment also shows little regard for “the fatherless and widows in their affliction,” i.e., “entitlements.”

When we were little, or when our parents were young, religious establishmentarianism intertwined with the racism, sexism and extreme homophobia of the day and bolstered a fabric of traditional arrogance that only began to unravel in the 1960s.  Nor has the current era seen eradication of that complex of social ills – an extensive remnant persists, more in some regions of the nation than others.

I have been tuning in American Family Radio propaganda during my commute, dutifully monitoring the exasperating rant of religious extremism when I could have been listening to classic rock.  As I may have mentioned before, misleading religion nourishes and fortifies the malignant bigotry that drives far-right politics.  Call me an alarmist, but the sober realism we call “science” indicates that such disordered philosophy is seriously detrimental to the state, the nation, humanity and the very planet.

One is reminded of a sad paragraph from modern history:  In March of 2001, a conservative outfit known as the Taliban turned big antiaircraft guns on a 1500-year-old shrine carved into a cliff face at Bamiyan, Afghanistan – demolishing two very tall Buddha images.  Outrage resounded throughout the world, but as common mortals we could not have detected the mystic omen of great foreboding in the profile of that event.  Six months later (September 11) we all witnessed the grand-scale sorrow that comes of false religion and fanaticism, and only then – too late – could draw parallels.

It was in those days that the expression “American Taliban” was coined to describe our country’s Christian fundamentalists, since they are very nearly as obnoxious as their bearded counterparts overseas.   Lesbian and gay Americans will never see the end of abuse and persecution, if our redneck mullahs have their way.  It is they who pretend with fierce tenacity to believe that the president is evil in every respect, they who never tire of trying to mess with science instruction in public schools, and they who play into the hands of a predatory, destructive fossil fuel industry by fortifying stupidity and denial about the ecology.  Whereas the Republican Party once represented a worthy and reasonable conservatism, today it has been prodded into the lunatic zone by god-bothering radicals.

Even a Buddhist like me can recognize the Lord Jesus as a Wonderful Counselor, but men have long misused His teaching to generate troublesome religion, and that is the brand I’m talking about.  Our state, in spite of considerable native common sense and intellect, is eat up with it.  Governor Rick Perry has taken the opportunity, time and again, to collaborate in the presumptuous and unlawful incursion of such religion on the public.  Along with the freshman senator from Canada and a number of like-minded politicians, he is embarrassing Texas to tears.  If my prayer is answered, they will all have to find another line of work soon.  Hurry that judgment day!

SGTex

****

Gentle June....

....murdered by a hunter's bullet.

Left behind to mourn her loss are we humans who loved her, Dr Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield and others who studied her as a research bear.

Most hurt by this travesty are her cubs Cole and Ember.

I hate hunting with a passion.  May Karma do justice and reward those who needlessly take the lives of innocent,wild animals a thousand times over.

June, you will be missed.  May you prevail in your next life and be blessed beyond measure.

Shawn
****

What my way cool friend Roy has to say....

Dear America:

Next time you want to give in to the natural instinct in all of us to hate others who are different... remember... all you hate is what you are. Americans have hated EVERYONE since this nation was formed. Irish hated Italians ...white hated blacks ...blacks hated Latinos... whites figured God told them to kill every Native American so they could take lands which did not belong to them ...Israel is doing the same thing now to Palestinians...

It's becoming popular for American right-wingers to hate Islam and Muslims.
I'm not interested at all in YOUR reasons for hating them.
There is NO reason to hate people you don't know.
You want to hate crazed, religious types?
You can find religious zealots in your own neighborhood ...today! Not too long ago ...four little girls were killed in a bombing in Birmingham by people who were sure God didn't want different people around, or at least God didn't want black folk to have religious and personal freedoms.

Here's the deal ...somebody hurts you or your family in a zealous attempt to rid the world of your kind ... destroy them. No argument.

But don't go around hating EVERYBODY because you can.
That is not the path to a more peaceful world.

I do not hate ... I used to. I hated anyone who picked on weaker persons.
I learned hate kills me first.
If your God tells you it's okay to kill people ...you're insane.
Time for all us "peaceful types" to take a stand to protect innocent people of all kinds.

Just don't play games.  You won't like the reaction.
HATE KILLS.
GREED KILLS.
Humanity is hooked on hate.

Roy C.
****

(I thought it would be good to share someone else's thoughts for a change.
Thanks, Roy.  You rock!  Shawn)

Peace Day 2013

Imagine there is no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky

Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You, you may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one

~John Lennon

Help save Masha and other bears from bear baiting.....

Masha, an 11 year old bear retired from a life in a traveling circus based in Moscow, Russia, is now being used  in a camp as "bear bait" for training dogs to hunt bear in the wild. Bears at these camps are often kept on a short chain and are defenseless because they have had their teeth and claws removed so they do not hurt the dogs.

These camps, (or parks), in Russia are called "Pritravochnye stations" -there are about ten parks trainings dogs in Moscow region and Masha is at one called TTS Fryazevo. There are hundreds of these parks throughout Russia operating legally, because there are no laws prohibiting them from operating.

Pritravochnye stations train hunting dogs to hunt bear, fox, racoons, badgers, and other animals. The hunted animal is savagely mauled to death by the teeth of trained hunting dogs. This barbaric cruelty results in a slow and painful death, with immeasurable suffering as terrified animals having their flesh torn at and ripped apart by trained hunting dogs.

Video (Warning- Graphic)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK8BnJf9A3c

We ask for the confiscation and rescue of Masha, the 11 year old bear from this barbarically cruel Pritravochnye station and that directors of such operations be charged with animal cruelty.

Russian Presidential Executive Office
Vladimir Putin
23, Ilyinka Street,
Moscow, 103132, Russia
Contact: http://eng.letters.kremlin.ru/

The great disconnect....

…or pardon me, but I’m going to get down and dirty with my feelings here for just a minute.

So, I was talking to Nameless on the phone the other day.  He’s someone I haven’t seen in years, but someone with whom I thought I had a nice family relationship.  Over the phone, joke-telling and story-sharing and commiserations and congratulations….stuff like that.

We’ve never been super close, as I’m a girl, he’s a guy, more than 7 years separate us and other than when we were both at home and intermittent house-mates and town-mates, we’ve lived apart.  He’s a conservative Baptist.  I’m a liberal Pagan.  He’s married and lives in the east with his conservative Baptist wife.  I’m married and live in Texas with my liberal Buddhist husband, and we are activist types.  Nameless watches sports and she reads.  We don’t go to church.  They go to church and Sunday School and have their class pray for “God’s best for me,” which is to say at one point 7 or 8 years back, they were garnering prayers for the dissolution of my relationship with my Buddhist best friend/lover/husband/soulmate.

Anyway, our conversation was about stuff that has been happening in his life and it went so far as to enter choppy waters, shall we say.  Approach with caution.  There be dragons.  You know, one of those hairpin-curve, sharp-left-turn, ohmygods look-out-you’re-about-to-run-this-thing-off-a-freakin’-cliff kinda conversations that develop and before I could say “boyhowdy” he was asking me “Do you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have you confessed your sins and asked him into your heart?  Because, you know you’re a filthy-rags sinner.”  (Well, he left out the filthy rags, but just barely.)

Sigh.  I informed him that I had not changed my theology or my beliefs along life’s way.  I still felt the same, and perhaps he just hadn’t asked or been paying close enough attention.  Can you say, “Not the answer he was looking for?”  Well, the conversation ended with him in a huff and with me thinking, “I think this just might be the very last time I’ll ever talk to Nameless.  Wow.”

Long story short, I’ve come to believe a couple of things that really should NOT have taken me a lifetime to figure out.  Duhhhh….

1. When someone says you don’t really know who they are, you don’t.  However, you may have been telling yourself that all the stuff other people warned you about regarding that person could be ignored.  Instead of reading the handwriting on the wall, you’ve been using your Mr. Clean eraser and have been kidding yourself about it all.  You’ve been ignoring the dinging bells and flashing lights thinking you knew better.  FAIL.
2. When someone tells you there’s a great disconnect, just cut to the chase.  Take their word for it and just never you mind.  Fewer regrettable words will have been uttered and you won’t be left reeling.  You won’t wake up in the night from bad dreams wondering HTH did you miss that?!!  You’ll not be as sad, because you won’t have allowed Nameless to say all that rot.  For crying out loud, if you stop it before it gets into the choppy waters, you won’t have allowed the words to hit you like a 2x4 up side the head and leave you wondering whattheheck was that all about?!!
3. You won’t spend the next 2 or 3 days stopping mid-thought and having to do a facepalm when something from way back when comes jumping into the mental vision field and you’re going, “Ohhhhhhhhhh……” and feeling stupid that you’ve let them get away with that thing all these years.  You won’t be embarrassed all over again for being so STUPID and FORGIVING of what really shouldn’t have been allowed by people who were supposed to care about you more than that.
4. And my gods, when someone says to you, “We’re supposed to love you, but we don’t have to like you,” hang up the damn phone and call it a day.  Period.

Funny.  Nameless used to say this about relationships, and turns out, it applies.

“I’d rather want something I don’t have than have something I don’t want.”

Yeah.

Shawn
****
(Nameless:  Just somebody I’m allowing to remain anonymous, because I’m nice like that.)

My thanks to my husband, SGTex.  His encouragement and editing skills gave me what I needed to write this.  xoxoxo

Remembering Rachel....

....who left this life this morning, makes me want to post some thoughts I have on the blog, but I'll keep them to myself for now and share these words from another wise Rachel.


"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of Nature ~ the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. Those who dwell…among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone or weary of life. The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the Universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."




~ Rachel Carson


hoto: Alatna River Valley, Gates of the Arctic

by Michael Christopher Brown, National Geographic

photo and quote combination from the Spiritual Ecology Facebook page

Revering the Universe. Caring for Nature. Celebrating Life.
Join the World Pantheist Movement!
www.pantheism.net
www.facebook.com/groups/2230619808/
http://community.pantheism.net/

Shawn, a Pantheist
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