"There aren't any more Indians...are there?"

Last night Ellen decided to watch this movie, again...

When we first got it, a few months ago, she wasn't very impressed with it; if you have seen it you realize that much of the interaction on it is non-verbal.  The horse narrates the movie to a certain extent, but the horses do not talk to each other.  In that way it makes it a bit above a 5 yr old's enjoyment, although there are sections where Ellen laughs. 

I haven't actually sat down and watched the movie through seamlessly; but Ellen has watched it enough and I have caught the majority of it to where I enjoy it, too. 

But last night she surprised me.

After it was over she turned toward me and asked; "There aren't any more Indians, are there?" 

This necessitated the discussion; "Well, Ellen, you have an aunt and an uncle who are Native American Indian."  And I attempted to explain in the simplest way I could the difference between 1800s Native Americans and modern Native Americans, but I dunno how much of it she took in. 

At any rate, I knew exactly what she meant because I distinctly remember asking my father the same exact question back when I was about 8 or 9 years old.  And I equally remember his astonished reaction and his amusement; "But your brother and sister and their mom's family are all Indians!"  (This was my dad's first wife.)

Well, yes, I'd known that, but, but, but...  Even at nine years old I felt the poignancy of a civilization lost, a lifestyle decimated.  As far as I was concerned my brother and sister and their brand of Indian were about as unromantic as I could imagine.  I wanted Natives that wore breechclouts and warpaint, sent up smoke signals and galloped bareback across the prairies in search of buffalo.  A brother who drove cars and a sister who wore modern makeup, used curling irons and wore high heels just didn't cut the mustard. 

And now, at almost-age-6 my own daughter has asked the same question.  And I have to wonder if somehow a youngster of these tender years can catch that same poignancy from this film. 

Spirit gained his freedom and wild mustangs still roam free to a certain extent, but what about the Lakota? 

"Take my picture and put it on your blog"

OK, Ellen.  Here is your picture on mommy's blog.

This Santa hat has spent all year on the top shelf of her closet.  Off and on she has wanted it down in the worst way, but I have made her wait 'til Christmas.  Well....close enough to Christmas.  She just couldn't stand it any longer.  So last night I got it down and this AM she wanted her picture taken and wanted me to post it on my blog. 

This was not what I was going to blog about, but it's awfully cute!

And while we are on the subject of Christmas.  Ellen has talked several times about Santa Claus not being real and all.  She wants to know the specific reason WHY he isn't real, and we go over how there really are reindeer but that they can't really fly.  Elves don't really exist...etc. 

But in school they wrote a letter to Santa this week, and Ellen was all happy about that.  Hubby wanted her to tell him what she asked Santa to bring her; you know, so he could get her one of those gifts and tell her Santa brought it to her.  But to hubby's utter annoyance and vexation she said; "Oh, I can't tell you, it's a secret!"  And she wouldn't tell me either.  I laughed and laughed.

BUT.  Last night she decided she wanted to write a second letter to Santa; and she wanted to dictate it to me.  So hubby is going to get some Christmas gift ideas after all.  Ha ha...

Where to go, how to go about this

It is high time to do some Christmas shopping. 

Do I shop locally, where they have nothing that I want to give as gifts?  Do I get the best of the mediocre that they have to offer around Dallas County?

Do I go out of our county to a larger town that may or may not have what I want?  That means spending more on gas. 

Or do I just go online and use the credit card?  Sometimes you can get good deals with low shipping charges, that would be comparable to the gas I'd spend if I went out of town. 

Hmmm...

I dunno.

Ellen wants a Barbie lap top.  I don't know what they do or don't do or if they'd grow along with her.  I think it'd be a nice idea to get her something computer-ish that she could learn from, with games and such.  i would just like her to be able to get some use out of it throughout gradeschool, not just when she is a little'un.  I guess I really need to go to a superstore somewhere and investigate the possibilities. 

Hubby reads this blog.  I already know at least 3 things that I am going to get him.  I already have one of them.  I think they will all be locally purchased. 

The rest of the family.  Hmmmm...

Hmmmm, I say.

Makin' a List

Way back when I still lived in Portland, I remember my wry, eye-rolling amusement at my sister-in-law for her lists.  She lived her life by lists and her day-runner (Blackberries and iPads and other such high-tech organizational helps not having been invented yet); grocery, errands, church activities, school activities...etc.  You name it, she had a list for it.

At that time I lived such a simple life I thought it was all hilarious.

Times have changed.

Not that I don't live a simple life now, and I am still terribly disorganized.

But I find that a running list helps me to get things done.  Hubby always has a running list of things to do. 

We, hubby and I, are alike in that we use no high-tech gadgets for our list keeping.  Not even a day-runner.  We specialize in random slips of paper; stuffed in pockets, lying around on tables, counters or chairs. 

It certainly helps me focus my activites to get things accomplished; even the simplest weekly house chores.  I write them down and then cross them off when I have finished.  At the end of the day or week I have a better sense of accomplishment. 

Someday Ellen will probably be rolling her eyes at me, but that's all good.  I bet anything she will start making lists by time she is in middle school. 

Ha.

Comfy, cozy...

As you can tell this is an old pic.  This was taken just a couple of weeks after the great ice storm of 2007.  We were out of power for about 9 days, I believe.  I was 8 months pregnant and not happy.

However.

Matilda, even during the ice storm, whilst the rest of us were slogging around in the ice, snow and sub-freezing temps...Matilda spent her days curled up on the sofa; blissfully ignorant of the rigors of keeping warm and milking cows with no electricity.

I am of the opinion that if you have a happy cat; you are quite likely to have a happy home.  Comfort attracts a cat like a magnet.  She will find the snuggest place in the house and curl up there.  In fact, I just pushed her off of my lap to write this.  It is difficult to type with a cat in your lap.  If there is much dissension in the house, the cat will be nervous.  Cats can sense things like that. 

Matilda has been a great kitty.  She kills rats in the summer and keeps my lap warm in winter.