Planned Parenthood Saved My Life, Too!
February 2, 2012
Hey, Planned Parenthood! Remember that time you caught my pre-cancer before it became full-blown cancer? And you referred me to a really badass doctor who was kind and smart, and she got all that cancerish shit out of me? THAT WAS AWESOME!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
For more stories like mine, you gotta go here: PLANNED PARENTHOOD SAVED ME.
Thanks to my friend Maurice for showing me this site. It’s a great response to all the haters that have been hating on PP lately.
To healthy bodies!
Spring
Okie Stories
January 12, 2012
I haven’t been blogging very much lately, but I have been writing and busy in other ways. Recently, This Land Press published a story I wrote about the time me and 2 of my friends killed, dressed, skinned, and butchered a goat. Check it out HERE! It’s a reworking of the story I related here on Progress on the Prairie a while back. Also, a very talented journalist named Abby interviewed my friends and me about the killing experience and our personal views on eating meat. She made a nice audio piece — like a mini This American Life episode — out of our interview, and you can listen to it here.
Here’s to Okie stories!
Spring
The Beginning of My Silk Scarf Collection
November 2, 2011
Every year I am excited, when the Oklahoma weather gets chilly as it is inclined to do in November, to break out my scarves. A scarf is a perfectly practical accessory. But what about silk scarves, I often wonder? They don’t really add warmth. Or do they? And some of them look like they may reek of mothballs. But some of them are absolutely beautiful. And they are…here it comes…so silky. Of all the estate sales and garage sales and thrift stores I’ve rummaged in my lifetime, I never pass by the overflowing and often overlooked bin of silk scarves without touching. And that is exactly what I did today at an estate sale in midtown Tulsa. Brick mansion in Maple Ridge. Everything 65% off. Gray silk Liberty of London scarf with colorful fishing lures on it. Liberty of London! Fishing lures! It was meant for me; tell me it wasn’t:
And so I begin my silk scarf collection. But how does one wear a silk scarf without looking prissy or stuffy? I want to be a smart-looking lady with a fine and diverse collection of scarves for my children and my friends’ children and our children’s children to see and touch. But I don’t want to look like a snob or Fred from Scooby Doo. I think I will keep only the most wonderful scarves, and I will keep them all smelling nice, like the Medici Cocoa natural, artisan-crafted perfume that my friend Tara makes in her very own home. And then when I die, my scarves will tell people about my interests and my character. People shopping the selling of my estate will say: “Oh! A silk scarf with fishing lures! My, what an odd mix of rural and intellect this saucy lady must have possessed!” They will. Then they’ll see this picture I tried to take of myself wearing my scarf:
And they’ll giggle. But one of the people, probably a bookish girl who grew up on acreage, will see the scarf and she will not be able to carry on living without buying it for 65% off 5 dollars. And she’ll love it and consider it the beginning of her silk scarf collection, just like me. And just like me, she’ll figure out a way to work it into her wardrobe. And she’ll live happily ever after.
She will. Just like me.
Spring
Dolly Parton Makes Me Get All Sentimental
October 10, 2011
My Daughter and I went to see Dolly Parton in concert Saturday night. We took a long while to get ready, about an hour and a half. I polished our boots with my dad’s old shoe polish, and the smell of the leather combined with the polish brought up memories I thought I had lost:
My dad’s boots on the left were custom-made in Texas. Always. He had all of his boots custom-made because not only did he have small, wide feet, but he also had big preferences. For example, he preferred to have a belt buckle that matched his boots exactly. So when he had his boots made, he had a matching belt buckle made, too. The quilted leathers: each individual square is made from a different hyde and specially dyed. Cow, snake, ostrich, alligator, blue, brown, black, tan. That was success to him: being able to pay an American crafter a decent wage to create unique items, and lookin’ good.
The concert was wonderful. Dolly opened to “Light of a Clear Blue Morning.” I cried. This was the song that carried me through my first major break-up and relocating with my daughter to a new city by myself when I was 24 and she was 4. The memories that a song can unearth are as strong as a woman giving birth, I think.
The rest of the concert was equally great: I thought about my mom, my dad, my childhood home, the beautiful rural landscape of southeastern Oklahoma where I grew up, people workin’ hard with their hands, where nobody I knew had a cubicle job. I thought about love and loss, life and compassion, musical traditions, community and friends, growing old, and happiness. I realized I have had plenty of happiness. And I look forward to plenty more.
And I realize that Dolly Parton can turn me into a sappy pile of sentimentality.
And that’s okay,
Spring
P.S. Here’s a beautiful version of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” by the Wailin’ Jennys: listen.
Upcoming Comics Documentary
September 1, 2011
A body interested in comics and graphic novels or my fellow documentary nerds, this upcoming film might interest you: Stripped: The Comics Documentary. My friend, cinematographer Frederich Schroeder (Four Sheets to the Wind and Barking Water), has been working on it for years. I love how he and fellow film-maker Dave Kellett describe the project:
This film is our love-letter to the art form: Bringing together 60 of the world’s best cartoonists into one extraordinary, feature-length documentary. The film sits down with creators to talk about how cartooning works, why it’s so loved, and how as artists they’re navigating this dicey period between print and digital options…when neither path works perfectly. We want this film to capture the extraordinary people behind the comics you love, to show how they work…and ask the question: “Where does the art form go from here?
Looks gooooood. Go HERE to watch the trailer! Check out the Kickstarter page HERE!
Spring
Blueberry Arugula Salad
June 5, 2011
This may be the most delicious salad I have ever tasted:
Salad ingredients: arugula, blueberries, mozzarella, pine nuts.
Dressing ingredients: red wine vinegar, mustard, honey, coriander, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
First, whisk the vinegar, mustard, honey, coriander, salt and pepper together. Then mix in the oil. Then toast the nuts in a small pan on a medium heat until lightly browned. Rinse the lettuce and berries. Place the arugula on a plate, or plates if you are sharing. I grew the arugula in my garden, and it has a hearty – almost nutty – flavor. AMAZING!
Okay, then slice the mozzarella and arrange it on the bed of lettuce. Then grab a handful of blueberries and the nuts (with care if HOT!) and sprinkle them on the growing salad.
Drizzle the dressing on as you like. You’re going to be getting tangy and sweet and salty flavors that are perfect with the berries and mild cheese and nuts. All of those tastes held up by a bunch of fresh arugula might make you want to kiss Mother Nature’s butthole. No hyperbole.
Summery, delicious happiness,
Spring
I’m in lust with this song and video for many reasons. First of all, those costumes? The headpiece with the gold dangles crowning her forehead at the beginning of the video almost made me pee my pants! And the yellow, flowy dress with the complete leg slits made me feel like stomping around naked in my office. Really though, if the wardrobe and choreography don’t excite you at least a little bit, I would check to make sure you still have a pulse.
Besides the impressive aesthetics in the video, the militant repitition of “girls” in the context of “smart enough to make the millions, strong enough to bear the children, then get back to business” is an example of feminist language reclamation at its pop culture finest. Beyonce takes the ordinary usage of the term ‘girls’ used to disempower and infantilize women, and she redefines the term as a concept having nothing to do with age or pubescent status and everything to do with inner power and resources.
What do you think, Eden, it’s YOUR birthday after all?
Also, the Lady Gaga and MIA influence? Respect!
Spring
Pretty New Jewelry!
May 1, 2011
I’m really not much of a jewelry person, but lately I’ve been experimenting with finding jewelry that suits me. Most of the time when I try to wear jewelry, I feel like I just look like a little girl playing in her mommy’s costume jewelry. But I have two new favorite pieces of jewelry that I just recently acquired, and I think they both have just the right amounts of pretty and bad-ass. See:
I got the new earrings from the boy I’m dating (cue awe). They were made by a lovely artist named Rachel who lives here in Tulsa. And I think they are beeeeeeeeeeeeeautiful! That color green?! And the long, straight plume over the smaller feather?! Oh my goodness, I want to kiss them. I got the new bracelet, thanks to my friend Amanda. I love the gold and toughness, and I wear it almost every day now. Also, yes I do sit so contemplative in my kitchen all the time ♥
Xoxoxo,
Spring
My Kind O’ Artists
April 30, 2011
Thao and Mirah have an ACTIVISM page. They R so cool. See:
Dear Friends,
We are encouraging our fans to raise their voices in support of positive social change. With so many vital social services under attack by conservative lawmakers, now is the time to dedicate ourselves to reversing this dangerous drift from humanity… Through discourse, education, action and strategy we believe it is possible to create communities in which all people are given the respect they deserve.
Swoon,
Spring
Apple Dandelion Fritters!
April 10, 2011
Don’t kill your dandelions, fry them! If you have sprayed chemicals all over your dandelions because you were brainwashed into thinking they are bad, bad weeds then you will have to miss out on these delicious Springtime delicacies. Ha! However, if your yard is wild and pollutant-free and ugly like mine, then you are in luck!
♥
♥
Ingredients:
diced apples, 1 handful
dandelions, 1 handful freshly foraged
egg, 1
flour, 1 cup
milk, 1/2 cup
applesauce, 1/2 cup
cinnamon, 1 dash
oil for frying
syrup or honey for dipping
powdered sugar for sprinkling
Step 1: Send kid to pick the flower parts off the dandelions while you cut up apples and measure out ingredients. Pull the yellow petals out of the rest of the green part of the flower for this recipe. The green can be kinda bitter, which I think is great for more savory recipes, but not so much for this sweeter one.
Step 2: Mix everything together. Batter should be thicker than pancake batter, but not as thick as biscuit dough. Ya hear me? Then drop it by the spoonful into hot oil. I use a medium-low heat.
Step 3: Fry for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until beautiful and golden.
Step 4: Sprinkle with powdered sugar, dip in syrup or drizzle with honey.
Step 5: Now EAT!
Num num,
Spring
