Sunday, July 13, 2025

Napping


Sometimes you just have to take a nap.

Bowen (d0g) is 3 and Frank is 4.

This was during their June visit.  Frank and his family were a little worried about the large dog Bowen.  How would everybody get along?  But Bowen loves kids and visitors.  He wants to be in the middle of it for sure.  He is also an expert on sleeping on the couch.

So, when the time came, they napped together.
 



Friday, July 11, 2025

racism racism racism racism


In the Seattle Times today, there was an article about how the Trump administration was attacking George Mason University

The Education Department said it is responding to a complaint from multiple professors at George Mason who accuse the university of favoring those from underrepresented groups.

and

Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, said “it appears” that George Mason’s hiring and promotion policies “not only allow but champion illegal racial preferencing.”

This really made my head spin--

I'm assuming they are referring to people other than White Men

So say, a department with all tenured or tenure-track faculty are White Men and the hiring committee comes back with an intention to hire a Black Woman

They might accuse the hiring committee of "favoring those from underrepresented groups"

So does that mean the department can NEVER hire a black woman?  Because that ALWAYS means they are "favoring those from underrepresented groups?"

Or does it mean they can sometimes hire a Black Woman but only if she's got Exceptional Credentials and is as good as them.

So that Black Woman would have to constantly defend herself as a "DEI Hire" because she's a member of an underrepresented group.

To be fair, likely the White Men are complaining that a White Man candidate (more like them) was passed over by a 'less' undeserving candidate (according to them) from an underrepresented group.  Even though this candidate may bring a new voice to the department.  Or not.

Since when did efforts to “not only allow but champion illegal racial preferencing.” was NOT racist.  Of course it's racist.  Isn't that what's been happening all these decades and generations when, in most all cases, the only acceptable candidate WAS a White Man.  Underrepresented groups were never considered.

Picture came from Harvard Business Review - used without permission


Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Me as a tiny baby


 Picture of me as a newborn (or close) in my mother's arms in 1952 in southern California.  I don't think they had moved to Glendora yet so likely lived in Duarte.  My father worked in Azusa and I was born in Pasadena.

My mother is 27 and I am her first baby.  She looks at me with a loving gaze and I am safe in her arms.



Scoutie's party!


 The week after Naomi's wedding, Scout turned 3!  So they had a big party in their yard.  Lotsa people came along with lotsa kids.  It was a warm day and they had all of the water toys out.  They ordered a lot of Korean fried chicken but they had a lot left over.  Because the kids weren't interested in eating dinner, they just all wanted to play.

Also served pops, of course.

Scout not in picture, I think she was holing up inside.





Sunday, July 6, 2025

Yippee, we did it!


 

Whoo!  After all that, we made it!  After all that fuss!  I think Naomi enjoyed all the parts, she was ready!!  Two weeks, a married couple!


Saturday, July 5, 2025

Crafting


 

My daughter Naomi shares a love of crafting with her new mother in law.  We were over there for a lunch on July 4 and they were both prepared to CRAFT!  Naomi had pressed the flowers from her wedding bouquet and had some fabric from her dress.  She had also bought a nice frame from Goodwill.  So they got to work, arranging and re-arranging, making bows and making up some ideas.

Dennis is watching intently but did no participate.  I did a little.

Look how nice it came out!  The wedding was less than two weeks ago and she has a lovely keepsake.

Naomi has a strong girl-scouting background and those girl scouts LOVE to craft.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Matt and his two sons


 My son in law Matt along with my two grandsons watched the wedding from a little afar.  Dennis took the picture and likes it very much.



Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Cousins


 Two of my grandchildren (Scoutie, Frank) at Naomi's recent wedding.  Scoutie almost 3, Frank 4.  They live far apart but I know that they talk about each other all the time and they were very happy to see each other.  Frank was to be Ring Bearer and Scoutie Flower Girl.  Mixed results from the preschool crowd but Naomi and Stephen are  still married!  Playing before the ceremony; pictures were being taken.




Sunday, June 29, 2025

Greenery


Here's Matt and Frank at the creek down at the end of my short street.  One reason I was eager to move to Seattle all those years ago was that I wanted some place that was green all year long.  It is that here but all those dark days make me wonder sometimes.  I love to go to California where it is LIGHT.

When Ilana, Matt, Frank and Simon got here two weeks ago, they were all on Eastern time.  Since they got up early anyway, we're talking sub 4 am.  So they took some early morning trips.  Dennis is taking the picture here.  They hit the creek around 5 am.