The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
(This will all look and work better if you click on the actual post and do not remain on the main page.)
I made salsa yesterday with the last of my garden produce and some store-bought tomatillos. Even though I'm no salsa expert, I will post my recipe here sometime next week, because I want to remember it when I plant tomatillos next year. It's crazy to be buying salsa! I could be making it!
(I know there are air bubbles in these jars — I'm not canning them, because this is all I got. Must. Plant. Tomatillos.)
On to our links!
- Yesterday was the birthday of two men — Russell Kirk, who would have been 100, and my husband, who is a bit younger than that. One evening long ago, as we were enjoying dinner together, it emerged that Russell's wife, Annette, and I also share a birthday, May 17th. If you know anything about Russell Kirk, you know that besides being a learned observer and mover of culture and politics, he delighted in and spun many a ghost story, reveling in those strange realities we don't see. It's amusing to me to think that Russell was more than 20 years older than Annette and Phil is ten years older than I — the October/May relationship is well represented between us. This birthday coincidence with its metaphorical aptness seems very Kirkian to me! Read appreciations of Russell Kirk here and here.
- Remember in The Hobbit when Thorin tells Bilbo to “hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a screech owl”?
“You must go on and find out all about that light, and what it is for, and if all is perfectly safe and canny,” said Thorin to the hobbit. “Now scuttle off, and come back quick, if all is well. If not, come back if you can! It you can’t, hoot twice like a barn-owl and once like a screech-owl, and we will do what we can.”
Off Bilbo had to go, before he could explain that he could not hoot even once like any kind of owl any more than fly like a bat.
Somehow this passage has always felt familiar to me, as if Tolkien were simply retailing a common thing one says, although I couldn't possibly say where else I had read it. Is it a thing? Or did he really make it up? I don't know. But do you know how to do it? Here are the calls of five common owls; here is a fun blog post about whether Thorin was pulling Bilbo's leg.
- A look into what the implications are of changing birth certificates to reflect a person's “transgender” status. I would simply add that if the government has the power to do any such fundamental changing of a vital record of identity, it has the power to do many other things we haven't quite thought through.
- If you are a resident of Massachusetts, please please educated yourself about the upcoming referendum on the Bathroom Bill, which seeks to keep the 2016 law allowing any man identifying as a woman to have access to women's facilities. Everyone is for it until they are informed that it is a law now on the books that allows any man, including any sex offender, to enter any women's facility for any reason, as long as he identifies as a woman, even if he doesn't always do so. If you, a woman or man who felt unsafe (say you are a dad whose young daughter needs to use the restroom at a restaurant), called the police, YOU would be liable to up to $50,000 in fines or jail time. Vote NO on 3.
- If you follow us on Facebook, you will have seen that I posted about the update I had to make to a post here, warning parents about the unacceptable themes in the new Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book. A ridiculous pile-up ensued, with a trolling mob coming after me to demand that I recant of this sin against PC. Yes, it looked like Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was going to be the hill I was going to die on, because of course I am not about to submit to bullying. I did have to take one post down just so that unsuspecting commenters didn't get pursued; the second one took me two days to defend from being overrun by angry, rude, and even pornographic spamming. What is this phenomenon? It doesn't really have a word… it's… a Thing. Until we can name it, we can't defend ourselves from it.
- If your children go to public school, they will definitely be subjected to celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk, gay activist. It will certainly be all over the media. Might as well find out what the true story is.
From the archives:
- As is the colder weather. Too long, didn't read: This is not so much about sweaters as about other layers to prevent chills going up their little torsos: get them undershirts and tuck them in (you can usually find undershirts at Target; Amazon carries them too). Mitts and hats. Leggings alone don't cut it. Don't miss the follow-up post.
Today is the memorial of St. Paul of the Cross. Enjoy!
We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).
Carol Kennedy says
I am not sure of a name for The Thing (“mob rule”?), but I think I get what it is referring to (though I must say the old horror movie comes to mind first). The Thing, and the bathroom law, and the birth certificate issue, all remind me of the lessons I am learning from reading a little book called “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Unseen” by Frederic Bastiat. He is reflecting on the economic issues of 1850’s France, but the lessons apply very well to now. And the basic principle goes beyond economics and applies well to all those things above–people see a particular good they want to bring about, whether it is the protection of a particular persecuted group of people, or the end of a certain bad behavior, but they do not see all the unintended consequences. Or if they do, they see those as necessary collateral damage. The Bastiat essay addresses this. To put it (too) simply, there are the “seen” implications of an idea, law, action, etc. And then there are the “unseen” which are often ignored to the detriment of all involved. I hightly recommend it and I intend to have my kids read it as part of their high school curriculum. http://bastiat.org/en/twisatwins.html
Logan says
This is really interesting, I’d heard of “the broken window fallacy” but didn’t know its origins. Thanks, this is a gem.
Leila says
Yes, thank you, Carol — Bastiat helps clarify things. I’m looking forward to reading this!
Diana says
Leila – I’m so sorry you had to experience the mob rule of The Tolerant Ones. There’s nothing quite as intolerant as those who scream about tolerance.
Carol – Thank you for that article! I have saved it and can’t wait to read it more thoroughly. You also gave me an idea, which I wish I’d had years ago! – that of making a collection of essays that I want our high schoolers to read as part of their homeschool curriculum. Oh, so many essays I’ve loved in the past but haven’t saved!! But I’m so excited about starting to collect them now. Thanks again!
Leila M Lawler says
Diana, thank you — it’s okay. I only mind the waste of time 🙂 Otherwise, I find that our readership increases with these attacks, so it’s fine. But I do appreciate the solidarity — very much so!
Don’t forget to delve into the Ambleside Online essay archives provided for high school upperclassmen. They have a lot of excellent ones; much better for teaching writing than any textbook!
Diana says
Wow, thank you for that idea! I’m going to check it out. Right now I use Ambleside’s lists for folk music, hymns, composers, and artists, but I tend to steer clear of their core curriculum because it is so mind-blowingly overwhelming. 🙂 But I love-love-love their stuff, even if I can’t handle the awesomeness, and I can’t wait to dive into the essay collection you mention!
Susan Everett says
Just a thought on birth certificates. I was very surprised but followed through when advised by Child Services to get a new birth certificate for my daughter after we adopted her. Her official birth certificate now shows her adoptive parents (us) as her birth parents. If they can change that, I guess they can change anything else on there! (Not necessarily agreeing with all of it, you understand.)
Leila says
Susan, I understand what you’re getting at… I’m no expert but my understanding is that while the adoptive parents (after a legal process in court) will have their names on the birth certificate, the original is sealed and is available under certain circumstances. Is it the case that the adoptive parents are indicated as such? Maybe it varies from state to state?
I think it’s notable that one can’t just declare oneself the new parent because one feels that way; a process has to be undergone to sever the old ties, and they are never completely eradicated (if known). I think that the relative difficulty of the adoption process is a safeguard — it is troublesome if it’s made too easy, frankly. Children need to be connected to their biological roots, if only secretly.
The gender thing is different. It seeks to change something that cannot be changed, first of all. Secondly, where is the advocate for the child’s real sex? The same goes for putting three “parents” on the birth certificate or removing the mother and adding another man, as if a child can be brought to life without a mother and a father.
Lisa says
A friend of mine who is single had a baby from a donor egg and donor sperm. My friend’s name is the only one on the birth certificate even though it’s biologically inaccurate. The father spot is just blank.
I wonder what names are on birth certificates when a woman is a surrogate.
Leila says
The surrogate is a remote slave. Her name does not appear anywhere.
methylethyl says
Owls: haha! We have both barn owls and screech owls in our neighborhood. They often stop guests short, when they mistake them for distressed animals, or screaming neighbors. No, really, it’s just the owls. Thorin was definitely pulling his leg!
Amy says
Regarding the facebook thing, I got some more grey hair from that. I wanted to comment but quite frankly was afraid they would turn on me. Plus I wasn’t really sure where to start. I have been coming here forever and wow, just wow.
Elizabeth says
Oh my goodness me, I went onto facebook and wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. It was all just so ridiculous! The preachers of Tolerance are everywhere and when they finally, in a tiny corner of the internet, find a different view, they start preaching their gospel in condescending and/or angry voices. I have trouble understanding their zealous mission. Most everyone has given in to the PC autocrats, stop sniffing out and hunting down the few conservatives that are left… what is the point; mindless, bland uniformity?
Jann Elaine says
Love more tips on where to find actual underSHIRTS…the jokes I had to return from Target were spaghetti-strapped, midrif-baring oh-so-thin fabric that barely covered my 3 year old daughters rib-cage. Darn this deceptive packaging!
Margaret says
I guess the silver lining of the bathroom bill passing would be that the father in your example could simply accompany his young daughter to the ladies’ room, and no one could do anything to stop it.
Leila says
Yes, Margaret, true — BUT if the father tries to protect his daughter, he could be fined or jailed.
Matilda says
Would that be St Paul of the Cross at the end of the post, Auntie Leila, instead of John?
Leila says
Oh, yes, Matilda, thanks! I will fix.
Zee says
I read that you didn’t can this salsa (which looks yummy!), but it got me thinking how I don’t know how to can anything! I am so scared I will give myself botulism. Any recommendations on resources for learning to can for timid newbies like me? I had a good amount of green beans this year, and it would have been nice to have that skill.
Leila says
Zee, I would recommend getting a couple of up-to-date canning books from the library and just reading them this winter. Maybe buy the one that seems to cover the majority of things you’d ever want to preserve (I like Putting Food By, and I also use the recipes in my older Joy of Cooking, although I do change up seasonings, since it doesn’t seem to matter). https://amzn.to/2R7usay
I have this post for after you have read and tried a few things. It might help with the visuals: http://likemotherlikedaughter.org/2009/08/bread-and-butter-pickles/
I love blanching green beans and freezing them. The little thin ones make incredible dilly beans — garlicky and crisp. That’s what makes canning worth while — the nice relishes and jams in the middle of winter…
Zee says
Thank you! 🙂
spindlitis says
You don’t realize how disturbing it is to have a transgender in the bathroom, until one is in the bathroom with you. I had that happen at the main library in Portland and it was strange. It would be difficult for a child to deal with.
My stepson’s baby boy is three months old and growing nicely. His mama is doing a good job although still is not getting a lot of sleep. I wish I could convince her to hang out here instead of on the mommie blogs. And we are still working to convince my stepson to marry her. Will have to see if the little hints we dropped this weekend bear fruit.