Change Is Coming -- Phoenix Rising

Sunday afternoon I attended a Change Is Coming meeting in a Gerstle Park Victorian. One of three in the County on Sunday and others on Saturday, it was attended by about 50 people on a rainy day. In introducing ourselves, we got to hear some heartening stories not only of experiences people had working on the Obama campaign -- flying to other states to walk the precincts, phone-banking -- but also of driving to Mississippi and getting arrested during the efforts to register voters during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

Our initial task was to come up with about four key issues important to us, with the idea of doing something to move those issues forward on a national day of service on January 19, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the eve of the inauguration -- and the first birthday of my mother since her passing; she would have been 98. All of our small groups identified health care as one of the most critical and immediate. Not surprisingly, most of us are not enthusiastic about the plan President-elect Obama has been proposing; we want universal health care, like the rest of the developed nations.

Saturday Corby and I went to the annual KPFA Crafts Fair after having missed it last year. Supporting independent media is a high priority for both of us. Although we did spend a fair amount of money, we found the turnout disappointing. We're used to its being crowded. But perhaps because of the thinner crowd, we encountered friends and had longish talks with them.

One was Elly Simmons, whose Blue Room Christmas tree ornament I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. She didn't manage to get enough money to make it to the ceremony at the White House, but she did get a write-up in the West Marin Citizen. Elly's ornament is above. You can see all the ornaments here.

I feel optimistic about our country. I'm dazzled by Barack Obama.

If anyone is thinking about giving me a Yule gift, my preference is a donation to Cherry Hill Seminary. Even if you aren't among those who'd be inclined to give me a present, we welcome your contributions. We desperately need funds to grow and to achieve our goal of accreditation. And your gift today will be matched by an anonymous donor, up to $5,000. Thanks for your consideration.

Still in the Middle

We had a modest Christmas this year, and I have to say a lovely one. We bought very few gifts, since 2006 was a financially challenging year that saw some unanticipated, very large expenses. Corby baked cookies, as is his custom, not as many different kinds as usual -- yet. Deirdre baked cookies too. We received cookies from Corby's brother Blake and his partner Mary, too. Our house has been a Cookie Monster paradise of late.

What little shopping I did I didn't do until Christmas Eve. I took a short list and a credit card. I didn't encounter a fruitless search for a parking space at the mall nor boring waits at the cash register. I had to drive to another shopping center a bit farther down the freeway in order to purchase fresh pasta noodles at the only place in Marin that sells fresh pasta, and then to a corporate pet store for small treats for our family felines, Fernando and Oona.

We didn't even manage to get a tree. I decorated a small desk with a red-and-green plaid tablecloth with some gold thread shot through it, upon which I put a deer antler, several red-and-green tapers, some votive candles, and the few presents. Deirdre has a Christmas stocking with her name knit into it that was made for her very first Christmas by our friend Dee.

We considered having a more traditional Christmas meal, but in the end I decided to make lasagna because Deirdre loves my lasagna. Corby is the cook in the family, so he got a little break, although he did make his delicious, labor-intensive salads for us. Us being my daughter Deirdre, Corby and me -- and aforementioned kitties.

After dinner we watched a DVD of Practical Magic, which, surprisingly, I'd never seen before and neither had Deirdre. Corby enjoyed it enough to watch it again. We like several of the actors a lot, especially Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. We just snuggled on the couch under an afghan my mother made years ago.

I can't recall ever having a mellower Christmas day.