Chikezie

So sad that Chikezie left AI tonight.

Day of Silence

I just received an email from AFA (American Family Association) with the headlines:

Homosexual "Day of Silence" coming to Texas High Schools
Your child's classroom may be disrupted by gay activism..

Well, that piqued my curiosity, even though I no longer have kids in HS.. so I did some investigation.

I eventually found this:

What is the Day of Silence®?

The Day of Silence (www.dayofsilence.org), a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), is a student-led day of action where those who in which concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students and their allies. This year’s Day of Silence will be held in memory of Lawrence King.


Now, I don't think Gay is the way to live a life.. but I really don't know how it is to be Gay,so I try not to be judgemental. I definitely reject bullying, name calling and harrassment for ANY reason at all.It seems to me that a Day of Silence is a quiet way to protest and drawing attention to the need for tolerance. A student who chooses this method of participating should be allowed (provided they don't have an assignment due that day that requires oral participation).

I expect this to be a controversial post. Like I said, I don't personally approve of gayness, but I abhor anyone being mistreated for ANY reason, whether they be gay, fat, have skin of a different color, etc.

Some links to check out.

http://www.dayofsilence.org/content/getinformation.html

http://www.rememberinglawrence.org/

http://www.rememberlarry.com/

DaVinci Hysterectomy

I just found that there is a video of the type of surgery I had on Youtube.

Embedding is disabled, so I'll just post the link to it. It's a looooong Youtube.. 63 minutes, but very cool. And it's not hard to watch. I was afraid, thinking it would bring back memories of all I went through, but it wasn't hard at all. And it's not gross or disgusting with bloodiness either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ5snlmUuxc


Alleluia! Christ is Risen.

Christ is Risen indeed. Alleluia!

*******************************************

Someone read the above post about DaVinci hysterectomy and never bothered to read the other parts of my blog......

Dear reader,

I am very aware of female anatomy. I do not need to be referred to where you wanted to send me and I won't refer others there. I do not chose to approve your comment because I don't want others misled.

When I was foundering about with my CANCER diagnosis I did contact them. They recommended a couple of procedures that IF I had followed ... I could have worsened my condition.

PLEASE read why someone has gone through a procedure rather than just having a knee-jerk reaction.

My hysterectomy was not performed lightly or for frivolous reasons, nor was it performed by a gynecologist as your comment inferred. It was to SAVE MY LIFE from CANCER!!! And it was performed by an ONCOLOGIST/Gynecologist.

sincerely,

The blogger whose cancer was caught very early and now has a 97% survival rate.

That's where I sail

Is this true? If the article is.. for SHAME. If it's not.. Shame on the reporter.

Crybabies

I was watching Greta tonight, well, actually last night and she had Joe Francis of "Girls Gone Wild" on there again, crying about his treatment in the Panama City, FL jail.

He said they treated him worse than the prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Oh come on now.

While I reluctantly support Mr. Francis's rights to fair treatment under the law... because if I don't support his rights, who will support mine if I should find myself in trouble?.... he really needs to acknowledge that while his business might be legal.. it is HORRIBLY distasteful to many of us, and if asked not to film in a certain town..he should move on down the road.

It's not like there aren't plenty of other towns near the beach that would welcome him.

They should've kept him in jail a little longer. I don't think he's learned his lessons yet.

Snow in East Texas!

Click any picture to see it larger.












The blurs in this picture are the snowflakes falling.

Felted Waves Of Color Tote

Waves of Color Tote

Literally, this is just off my hook. Finished and woven in the ends, but not yet lined.






Made from some of the scraps from the Diagonal Hues Afghan shown in an earlier post (G hook and "I Love this Yarn" from Hobby Lobby).

I plan to try it again soon, but in cotton.

Here's the pattern link, if someone else wants to try it.

Scars

Last Sunday, Feb 24, 2008, there was an essay in the Dallas Morning News called Cancer's Scars by Karen Blessen. It was talking about the emotional and physical scars that women with breast cancer bear. I urge you to read the essay if you have time.. it's quite good.

(March 13, 2012: It's no longer available at DMN, so I've tried to change the link to a different site that has the essay, but I can't seem to get it to work. So sorry. You can find a pdf for it if you'll google "Cancer's Scars by Karen Blessen")

(I'm going to stop right here and say I have a real ambivalence about breast cancer and all the attention it gets. Yes, it is horrid and I'm very glad that there is so much attention and focus on breast cancer so that it will be funded and maybe a cure found.. but what about those of us with gynecological cancer? Are we lesser sisters because our cancer is in a more "taboo" part of the body? Or because our cancer is hidden? You can remove ovaries, uterus, tubes, cervix.. even the vagina or vulva..[and yes, there is such a thing as vulvular cancer] and the results won't be immediately noticeable. Remove breasts and you can tell there's something different right away. Ok..off my soapbox for the moment, because I really want to talk about scars.)

The essay was very touching. Brought tears to my eyes. This is the part that got to me:

For centuries, many indigenous cultures in Africa, such as the Nuba, have been connoisseurs of scarification. These "beauty operations" are both ornamental and functional. Scars are proof of courage and evidence that one can endure pain without complaint. They represent stages of maturity, how many children a woman has borne or family lineage. They are regarded as appealing and erotic to touch. In some tribes, a scarified woman is seen as sexually demanding and therefore sought after.

In ancient India, warriors proudly showed their scars – if they were on the front of their body. Frontal scars were the mark of a fierce survival of battle. ....

I want my scars to be beautiful.

I know the chances I will ever again wear a two piece bathing suit or hiphugger jeans and a midriff top are very slim.. but if I were to.. it would soothe my soul to know that my scars would be looked upon as a sign of courage.

No one will ever know the courage it took for me to go into surgery. I came so close to turning around at the hospital. If I had not had my husband with me, I would've left.

I would like to feel whole again.

I was tagged!!

My friend Nancy gave me the above award last Monday.

Here's what she said about me on her blog.. Life's A Stitch 4 Nancy:

Compulsive Hooker ~ Lisa, bless her heart, has been through some really rough times this past year. I love hearing her adventures as well. She's a say-it-as-it-is person and I totally respect her for that.


Hmmmmm...well, I have been through alot last year, with the nest becoming completely empty and finding out I had cancer.. and dealing with the realization that I am mortal after all. But I've never thought of myself as a "say it as it is" person. In real life, I'm very shy.

But.. I think having cancer has made me outspoken at least here on my blog. I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through because of lack of knowledge. I might not be able to be a public speaker in front of a crowd.. but I sure as heck can type my opinions. :)

Thank you so much Nancy for the award. It was unexpected and greatly appreciated.

Next week, after I get DSL setup, and after I get back from seeing my oncologist, I'll see about spreading the joy.

Diagonal Hues in Blues

Made with "I Love This Yarn" from Hobby Lobby. Reds are Aubergine, Cranberry & Hot Rose. Blues are Royal, Medium & Light.

Pattern is here.