Author Archives: witchyrichy

Native Americans

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I’m writing from yet another Hampton Inn.  I have a friend who says she’s been in every one in Virginia.  I cannot make that claim but I’ve done a fair number.  Maybe I’ll start a Google Maps overlay of all the Hamptons I’ve been in.

But, not this morning.  Instead, a quick post about In the Shadow of Wounded Knee.  Here’s a picture of Plenty Horses, who shot Lieutenant Casey near Pine Ridge.  It’s from the Grabill Collection at the Library of Congress.

You can read more at American Heritage.

Gotta go….

In The Shadow of Wounded Knee

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Our dog–a 14-year-old black lab–was very much part of our routine. Ivy slept in with us and was content to hang out with us, more person than dog. Then, we took on Zuzu and Tina Turner. They had come from a home where the schedule really revolved around them. So, now, instead of the dogs sleeping in until I get up, they get me up, usually somewhere around 6:30 or so. I pull on some clothes and shoes and we head down my neighbor’s dirt road. We had big thunderstorms last night so it was very wet this morning as we turned onto the edge of the clover field. Then, it’s breakfast, which requires a little policing since Tina Turner, the smallest one and my ADD child, takes awhile to finish hers and if I’m not watching, the big dogs finish their food then push her out of the way and eat hers, too. Now, we have all settled back down: Ivy in bed with my husband, Tina next to me on her blanket, and Zuzu with his bear in the “man cave” in the office. And, it’s only 7:30!

Yesterday, I got started early and by noon time had most of a PhotoStory done. Today is all about movie maker and then I’m about done with the digital storytelling workshop. I even had time to sit on the swing with a cup of coffee and a book yesterday. How lovely. the chickens flock around and the dogs find their spots, noses to the air, as we all welcome the early signs of Spring.

My colleague has been looking for work since our grant is ending and he found a request for consulting in South Korea. Cool…we’re going to see each other tonight and tomorrow for a meeting and we can strategize. There’s also a call for doing online stuff for Texas. I haven’t gone out looking. Right now, I have enough work but maybe by fall when my dissertation is about done, I can start looking around. I very much like my lifestyle: mostly working from home but enough travel to keep it interesting and enough changes to get into schools. One of my clients may be doing some work with DC; I would love to be part of that!

Keith Phipps at the AV Club has been reading through a box of vintage paperbacks and then writing about them. In that spirit, I pulled books off my shelf that I’ve bought, looked at, but not seemed to find time to read. I put them in a basket in the bedroom and am now working my way through them. They are, by all means, not all the unread books on my shelf, but just the 15 or so that fit in the basket. It makes it seems less daunting, I suppose.

I had started In the Shadow of Wounded Knee by Roger L. Di Silvestro some time ago but only made it through the first few pages. Then, for some reason, it ended up under the clock radio on my night stand and that was the end of it. The books under the clock radio ended up in the basket, mostly because the pile had gotten precipitously tall and the clock radio looked in danger of plummeting onto my head if things even got too out of hand in the bed, if you know what I mean. So, they went into the basket and as I decided what to read first, I figured I’d start with Di Silvestro since I had already invested some time in the book.

It is excellent. The premise of the book is that the Indian Wars didn’t really end until after Wounded Knee in January 1891 when Plenty Horses killed Edward Casey and then several ranchers ambushed Lakota Hunters. So far, much of it has been a review of history with which I am already very much familiar. Yet, Di Silvestro makes it fresh as he shows the nuances of how both whites and Native Americans felt and acted during the time. His story also reminds us that the Native Americans really never had a chance. Even when they tried to follow the rules, they were often massacred.

One point that Di Silvestro made that I don’t remember thinking about before was that those Native Americans who did come into the reservation seemed to be treated more harshly, despite their cooperation, than those chiefs like Sitting Bull who chose to stay out. That made it difficult for the cooperating chiefs to convince their young warriors that they had done the right thing by surrendering to the white man. I have been to Wounded Knee and I can picture those lonely wind-swept plains and the small church. We could almost hear the voices of the dead as we stood and looked over the site of the massacre more than 100 years before. It still haunts the landscape.

Tuesday Morning Blues

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My office window is open and I’m watching the birds. So far, I’ve seen the yellow-rumped warbler, the pine warbler, the red-bellied woodpecker, and a brown thrasher.  It just feels like spring out there. As I walked the dog, a wren sat at the top of the oak tree, just singing his heart out.

So, why does my title refer to the blues?  Partially because after two months free of hot flashes, I’ve woken up the past two nights feeling hot and uncomfortable.  Nowhere near as bad as they were in the fall, but I was hoping they were over.  I did fall asleep last night, but I’m just a little depressed this morning.  I tried scrambling up on the weight watchers wagon yesterday but fell off pretty quickly and was crushed under the wheels, my mouth stuffed with cheese and chocolate.  Now, I’m wearing my sister’s cast off denim capris because they are baggy and comfortable.

But, there is good news.  My dissertation proposal took about three hours and is essentially done.  I’m going to give it another read through tomorrow before sending it to my advisor. And, my school district is working on getting volunteers.  I also got most of the data entered for taxes.  All that, and we spent a couple hours at our property in Charles City and I spent two hours playing recorders with two friends.   Finally, I took a long walk with the dogs.  So, it was a productive day.

Today is all about digital storytelling.  I want to do a short introduction and then play with the software and my flip camera.  Just putter a bit since the workshop isn’t until next week.  I should also write the VITALNews, which takes about three hours.  Actually, maybe I’ll wait until tonight while I’m watching election returns.

I just feel tired despite sleeping pretty well.  I’m still limping a bit from my back injury in February.  Lately, I have just felt old.  And, I’m depressed because I know what the answer is: exercise and eat right.  My blood pressure would go down, I would lose a little weight, and so on.  So, why is it so hard?  Fruits, vegetables, some whole grains and dairy, and a little protein:  I’m picturing what’s in my kitchen: carrots, V-8, high fiber bread, apples, bananas, yogurt, milk, a London Broil for dinner.  All of that is completely legitimate and would be considered good food.  Oh…add apple sauce to the list.  I like all those things, they are generally easy to eat, so why when I get to the kitchen do I find myself reaching for the cheese or the chocolate?  Even while part of my brain is screeching, “NO!”  Maybe this isn’t about willpower.  Maybe it’s about listening to the screeching voice, understanding that the panic comes from the sneaking suspicion that I will never figure this out.  I just don’t want to be thinking about this for the rest of my life.  Just one day. You can do it.  Blessings.

Monday Morning Musings

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No title yet this morning.  The title for my morning pages was always the date and time.  It’s March 3, 2008, at 7:39 AM.  I did the usual routine with the dogs but haven’t let the chickens out yet.  That’s next on the list.  I am playing recorders this morning then have the rest of the day at home to get organized for the week.  Here’s the topic list of to dos:

  • Taxes (Mostly data entry into Turbo Tax so I can put the paper work away. We always get an extension and it takes my husband a little prodding to get his numbers together.)
  • Dissertation draft and human subjects (This is due Thursday.)
  • Digital storytelling workshops (These begin next week.)
  • Leftovers for a client (I have additional work to do for this client but probably not until the end of the week or over the following two weeks when I’m stuck in a hotel room for five or six nights!)

So, nothing too bad, although I did wake up in the middle of the night and worry that this week wouldn’t be enough time.  Get over it…the dissertation is the main thing and I’ll work on that this afternoon.  And the workshops should just take a day or two to practice with the software and get some resources together. So, just relax, Karen, enjoy playing some music this morning, then settle in and get some work done.

The weather is supposed to be nice so I wouldn’t mind getting to the property this week.  Again, I have plenty of time so actually pretend you know how to be on vacation and have some fun.  I put the pile of books I bought in a basket and am going to read through it.  I could get in an hour or two of reading at night.  We were both tired after a long day of gardening.  I raked a flower bed and did some planning.  Dusted our bedroom and finished up the laundry.  We went to bed around 9 PM.  That’s just too early for me.  Because then I was wide awake at 2 AM and still sort of mulling over the world at 3 AM when Bob invited me back to bed.  At the conference last week, I stayed up until midnight and slept great.  So, I’ll try it tonight.

And, I’m back on the weight watchers wagon today.  I did OK over the weekend: just one incident with milk and oreo cookies.  I had been avoiding them but once I get off track, anything goes, it seems.  I am just sort of embarrassed that I can’t seem to be disciplined enough to control my eating.  Yesterday, when I really wanted cheese and bread, I chose an apple instead.  Can it be that simple?  Making different kinds of choices?  I wish it were and I’m going to try to see it as that.

So, I added a title and am ready to publish this.  Then, in the hour I’ve got, I’m going to look at my dissertation to see how much has to be done.  But, first, I need to let the chicken out of the coop for the day.  And, it looks like there’s a small bird trapped in the netting.  One of the chicken–Trudi–has discovered that she can get out of the yard.  We retrieved her several times yesterday.  It’s interesting that the others don’t seem interested in following her.  She and Tina Turner are my two escape artists.

Blessings for the day.

Music

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I spent yesterday digitizing albums and collecting the music I had already done from the three laptops I’ve got.  At one point, I had all four of my macs, including my 12-inch iBook, running.  I used Final Vinyl to divide them into tracks and today I’ll import them into iTunes and add the information.

I’m also going to experiment with The Analogue Ripper to see how it works.  I installed Final Vinyl on my desktop but it only works if I have my iMic in the USB port.  It does do a decent job of dividing the songs and naming them in sequence.

Right now, I’m listening to Nick Drake.  Seems like the perfect calm music for a Sunday morning.  Not so calm, however, since the squirrel discovered the blue feeder that Bob hung up yesterday and is noisily sucking down the bird food.  He only moves away a foot or so when I tap on the window.  An afternoon and a few peanuts and I could have them trained.

Heard back from my advisor about revising my proposal: mostly just a few methods pieces have to be done before IRB approval.  That’s good news since I’d like to submit all that first thing next week.  I’m using Thursday as my deadline to send the draft back to her.

I’m still giving myself the day off today…maybe we can go to the property, or wait until tomorrow afternoon when it is going to be 70 degrees!  Or, go both days.  After all, I am on vacation.

All the snowmen and leftover Christmas regalia is up in the attic for another year.  By the time I put it out this year, I should be done with my degree.  Then, what?  Who knows?  But I want it to look a lot like it looks now.  Working for a few clients both on the road and at home.

So, just ten minutes until Tim Russert and Meet the Press.  I just checked and it’s a press round table today with Matlin, Carville, Shrum, and Murphy.  Should be lively and fun.  I really can’t seem to get enough of this year’s election process.  I actually made a difference with my vote in Virginia this year.

On Vacation

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My defense is over, and it went fine.  A few suggestions and some literature to examine, but I’m ready to start my research.  Step one is the human subject paperwork.  But, I’m giving myself a day or two off before tackling that.  Next week is spring break for WM so I’ll have plenty of time.

Last night, I boxed up the last of the winter decorations and they are now waiting in the hall to go up to the attic.  Now the dust really shows!  But my guests aren’t coming until Friday so I may wait until Thursday to dust.  There’s plenty of other work to do around the house, including piles of laundry.  And, of course, taxes.  I’m going to install Turbotax and dive in.  Everything is mostly organized so it’s generally data entry for now.

Part of the reason I stopped the morning pages was that they became all about my weight and my pathetic attempts at dieting.  But, at least when I wrote about it, I thought about it.  The past two days have been very bad in the food department…cheese, chocolate, wine.  So, it’s March 1 and I’m back on the wagon.  I figured out my online weight watchers login and will start using it again.  I started before VSTE but then had to give it up during the conference.

Bob rearranged the bird feeders and now the squirrels can get on the sunflower feeder.  He is hanging by his back feet and eating away.  Yesterday, I scared him and he landed in the pond.  For now, I’m letting him eat but in a minute I’ll open the window.  I’ve got the video camera set up and I washed the window so I can get some video of the different birds arriving to eat Bob’s  peanut butter suet.

Here’s the best news: with the exception of a meeting next Thursday, I am home and on vacation!  I’m going to digitize record albums, watch The West Wing reruns, and just enjoy being home.

Defense Day

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We got back from the school board meeting sometime after 11 PM then stayed up until 2 or so.  Hence, just getting around to writing at 9:20 this morning.  My defense begins at 3 PM and I have a couple errands to run before then.

Tina Turner has figured out how to get out of the yard.  I usually walk the dogs but this morning I just let them out of the back door into the fenced in back yard.  When I went to let them in for breakfast, Tina was over at the neighbors.  She came when I called and I let her back in, but we need to figure this out.  We tied her to the picnic table yesterday since we put them in the back yard for our trip.  But I don’t want to have to tie her up every time.  So, once I finish this and go let the chickens out, I’ll do some investigating.

Scared a squirrel off the sunflower feeder and he landed in the pond!  Lucky for him, it’s frozen enough that he could bounce off and head up the chimney to the roof.  The virds are lining up for Bob’s peanut butter suet.  There’s a red bellied woodpecker on the feeder, two blue birds, actually make that three, and either a goldfinch or a warbler waiting.  It’s amazing I get anything done with the view that I have.

I am forming my spring break to do list in my mind: the human subjects paperwork for my study, taxes, and spring cleaning.  I’m going to put the winter decorations away and give everything a good dusting and scrubbing.  I love the wood stove but it seems to crank out dust non stop.  My folks are coming to visit next weekend and I want the place to look nice.  The rug in the living room needs replaced, and I’m going to pull up the kitchen rug and scrub the floor.   I’m also going to hook up the record player and ibook to do some albums.

Aah, the first cup of coffee is finished.  Time for jeans and chickens.  Blessings for the day!

Getting a PhD

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Later this afternoon, Bob and I are going to drive over to the school district that I will be using for my dissertation research.  I have the approval of the administration but need to do a short presentation for the school board.  Then, tomorrow is my defense.  Wow!  After four years, I am very much in the home stretch.  I figure by April I will be collecting data and should be finished with the whole thing by October.  I’m using Halloween as my unofficial defense date.  After all, I am witchyrichy and I’m defending on Leap Day.  I’ve been saying that I’m doing the holiday PhD.

Trudi, the smaller Rhode Island Red, manages to get out of the hen pen every morning.  I almost saw her do it this morning; one minute she was on one side of the gate and then I looked up and she was running free.  She’s also the one who managed to get over the fence and into the newly tilled garden.  Guess there’s always one who wants to be free.  Bob said Tina Turner managed to get out of the back yard twice while I was away.  She got returned by the neighbors.  He thought she was still out when I got home Tuesday night but when I called into the darkness of the back yard, she emerged from the leaves under the azalea bushes.

Bob rearranged the bird feeders so he can see them from his chair.  That puts the big sunflower seed feeder just a foot or two away from my window.  I’ve been getting great views of chickadess, titmice and the mockingbird who likes the peanut butter suet that Bob made.  I need to wash the window so I can grab video.  The yellow throated sparrows have returned in force.  We saw a pine warbler for a day or two and there’s been a yellow-rumped warbler flitting around for at least a week.

I puttered around yesterday.  Talked to a few people on the phone, put away some of the stuff from the conference, did laundry, and hand-washed the baby clothes I’ve made for my charity crafters.   I have a nice pile of hats, booties, a preemie blanket and two kimonos.  I’m planning to ship them tomorrow.

Slow Day at Home

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Back from the conference where it seemed like I was moving every minute.  It is nice to be home without a huge to do list today.  Plus, If we can get the VSTE ning community going, I should be able to interact with the folks from the conference even though it’s over.

Today’s main job is to develop the agenda for my defense meeting on Friday.  I thought about it last night and I think it can be short and sweet.  My main questions have to do with how well it hangs together.  Does the rhetoric part make sense?  One of my committee members mentioned that it felt a little bolted on in an earlier summary but I think it flows better now.  And, it helps me think about it.  I also need to know that I am convincing as an interpretivist.  All my work in qualitative has been done in a constructivist paradigm, but my advisor suggested that I might want to be able to draw some generalizations.  That was the biggest rewrite of the proposal.  Then there are technical questions: software mostly.  And, by Friday afternoon, I should be able to bring them up to speed on my research site as well.  So, what does that look like as an agenda:

Research Framework

Research Paradigm

Research Site

Technical Questions or Concerns

Sounds good to me.  Does that mean I am done for the day?  There’s some emailing and blogging to do, but mostly I can kick back a bit.