Living under seige

The new kitchen
Originally uploaded by bonbayel.

We're sort of thinking about moving to something more environmentally sustainable than here (more about that in another post,) that doesn't have stairs (so we also can stay living there when our knees give out completely) and with more room

But to do that, we have to fix up the condo to remove the bumps and scratches of time, as well as repair larger items, like the light well in the kitchen, which now boasts CFL bulbs and white cabinets, which we understand is what sells these days (they used to be dark wood veneer, which is what the kitchen in the house we're looking at has...)

So everything is draped in plastic, and we've established an interim breakfast and lunch kitchen in the bedroom (sigh!) and we're pretty much living upstairs, except for occasional escapes outside!

I insisted that the painter select water-based paints, although I didn't go as far to pick the really "organic" paints that I would have if we were planning to stay there. The hard part for the painter was the base coat to prime the dark stained cabinets. Dunn & Edwars had the correct paint, since California is outlawing oil-based paints with their nasty VOC content (the part that smells for months after a paint job and gives you a headache) as of July 1, He said the paint store was selling the old stuff at higher prices. I bet there are some who are hoarding, because they don't believe the other's going to work!

At any rate, the smell isn't too bad. John, who grew up in North Carolina, says it reminds him of an old empty "tobacky barn!" No headaches, either, so that is at least pleasant!

Yes We Can

I don't usually write political messages here, but I just watched Hillary's speech for Obama, and was moved to tears that are still dribbling down my face.

This has been a very hard campaign, because Hillary's supporters also want everything that Barack Obama was supporting, just that one little thing more - that finally the glass ceiling would be broken, and the 50% of us who are women could see that we aren't being kept out of the White House.

The Week Magazine's cover shows the White House with a sign "No Girls Allowed," just like your brother's tree house, with one of their typical composite articles Clinton: Why her supporters are so angry, quoting journalists from many sources.

I don't think I am angry. We wanted too much. We wanted somehow that both would win, that neither would lose. We have always wanted an African American to become President as much as we wanted a woman to become President. Trouble is, they can't both be it at the same time, and they are both too strong personalities to share the role with Hillary as VP.

But listen to Hillary's speech. She lists all those things we wanted, and tells us to make sure Obama gets elected so that they can be carried out. And Hillary will be supporting him the whole way, as will I. I am sure that Hillary will have a role in this country's future that goes beyond being the Junior Senator from New York. She will work - with Obama -

• to make sure we all have health care.
  
• to turn around this ridiculous economy that is spending money of weapons that should be used to make sure that all Americans - everyone - has the opportunities to fulfill their dreams.
  
• to work toward a time when all of our energy is sustainable.
  
• to make sure that people all over can afford their food, through sustainable agriculture.
  
• to ensure that people don't have to fear having a home for their families, and a way to get to work, schools and whereever else they want to go.
  
• to work toward bringing our soldiers home, and making sure, as our thanks to them for participating in a war they were tricked into entering, that they have all the support they and their families need for a bright future with both education and health care for both the psychological and physical injuries they bring home with them.

Hillary needs our continued support right now to reduce her campaign debt.

And Obama will need all we can give of time, money and our words until we elect him as President of the United States in November, and the next eight years as well (unless he messes up, when we must always remember to tell him so!) Read here his words of thanks to Hillary:

Obviously, I am thrilled and honored to have Senator Clinton's support. But more than that, I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run. She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere, who now know that there are no limits to their dreams. And she inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans. Our party and our country are stronger because of the work she has done throughout her life, and I'm a better candidate for having had the privilege of competing with her in this campaign. No one knows better than Senator Clinton how desperately America and the American people need change, and I know she will continue to be in the forefront of that battle this fall and for years to come.

Hillary was competing against a very able candidate, but she has proved that we can break that glass ceiling! As she said in her speech:

There are already 18 million cracks in it!

As with any disappointment, it will take a few days to heal. We knew long ago it would end this way. And all along we said that both candidates were equally able. As a woman I knew early on that it wasn't this time that sexism would be erased in this country. Sexism has probably always existed, and is firmly entrenched in many religions and cultures in this world. Even in Denmark, which has many able women politicians, there are barriers for women (more in business than in politics, from my experience.) I hope my daughter manages to break those glass ceilings!

But we must remember Obama's cry, which has become Hillary's:

Yes we can!