Yesterday I took part in making a Lebanese feast! We were going to a friend's house for dinner, and she asked me to make m'judra - the lentil, rice and onion dish. I hadn't made it in a while. I also made a tossed salad and made a lemon juice dressing that is in our "famous" Lebanese cookbook. Everything came out really well. To be honest, I really hate lentils, but I can tolerate them in this dish, since the salad is served on top of the m'judra. To make things even better, our friends got hummus, pita bread, and a really nice feta cheese. I felt like I was eating at Grandma's house! I should add that many of the vegetables from the salad were either from my garden or my mom's garden.
(We had watermelon and chocolate pudding for dessert. Not Lebanese, but still delicious. :) )
As we ate, the "tropical storm" was raging outside. Really, it was just some heavy rain, and it seems to be gone this morning. Most of my sunflowers even made it. We were pretty sure they were going to be blown over.
We thought it was going to rain all today, but it looks like maybe not. The Weather Channel just changed its prediction from "rain all day" to "mostly sunny." Perhaps it is a boating day after all. It is quite sunny at the moment.
In other news, we took Zeus to the vet yesterday and found out she was crawling with fleas. Yuck. That means that Solomon has them too, since Zeus is an indoor cat (unless she picked them up at our other vet's office, which is unlikely but possible). The vet prescribed a pill to kill all the current fleas, and a gel to put on her skin to kill the flea eggs. No problem giving Zeus the medicine, but Solomon is an escape artist (he is also good at escaping from the house to the outdoors when he wants to go outside. We have been calling him "prison break" for this reason). Jim volunteered to take him on, not knowing how wily Solly really is. He held the pill in his mouth and then spit it out as he escaped up the stairs. But we finally got him.
Jim freaked out about the fleas and now we are washing just about everything in the house. The funny thing is that growing up, fleas were part of having a cat, so I'm not quite as nervous. My mom kept the house pretty clean (Umm... I guess the correct word would be EXTREMELY clean), but it wasn't "freak-out time" when the vet announced that the cat needed to be treated for fleas. Then again, I remember we had our house "flea-bombed" at least once, and that wasn't fun. Oh well, hopefully we can eradicate the fleas with the medicine and washing everything.
And you know, I take back that part about it being a sunny day. It looks like it's clouding in again now. So maybe we are in for more rain.
Happy Sunday!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Things I'll Miss About Summer
Summer is slowly receding. Here are some things I'll miss:
1) Flowers, especially hydrangea, sunflowers, heliotrope, lily-of-the-valley
2) Frozen Freddie's
3) Not having to worry that a snow storm will hit on the day that we plan on driving to Buffalo.
4) Picnics
5) The smell of fresh-picked tomatoes
6) Picking all my salad veggies and herbs right from the garden
7) Wearing shorts! Not having to bundle up with 3 layers of clothes!
8) Green trees, green lawn
9) Having lots of options of things to do outside.
But at least we get fall before winter comes. I'm looking forward to apple picking and doing a corn maze. :)
1) Flowers, especially hydrangea, sunflowers, heliotrope, lily-of-the-valley
2) Frozen Freddie's
3) Not having to worry that a snow storm will hit on the day that we plan on driving to Buffalo.
4) Picnics
5) The smell of fresh-picked tomatoes
6) Picking all my salad veggies and herbs right from the garden
7) Wearing shorts! Not having to bundle up with 3 layers of clothes!
8) Green trees, green lawn
9) Having lots of options of things to do outside.
But at least we get fall before winter comes. I'm looking forward to apple picking and doing a corn maze. :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Asylum decisions
In the last two weeks, I lost two cases at the First Circuit. Click HERE and HERE to read them. The decisions aren't too surprising, although the impact on the actual asylum applicants is substantial. It's really hard calling up the client and telling them that their cases are over and it's time to return to their home country, where they may very well face danger. I don't think the judges sitting on a court of appeals really understand (or have any interest in understanding) the human impact of their decisions.
(As an interesting side note, when I went to find links to these cases, I noticed that there are actually people out there blogging about these decisions. Check out this for example).
But, perhaps, it's not the job of the court of appeals to consider the human impact of a given case. Is it possible to decide a case based purely on the law? And should judges do it? Of course, when the law is on my side, I'd like the judges to stick to the law. And when the law is not on my side (and it usually isn't when it comes to immigration), then I'd like them to look at the facts. :)
That's the problem with immigration cases. The facts are often very compelling (just read the two cases above and I think you'll agree with me). But Congress didn't much like immigrants when it wrote the law; particularly, Congress didn't want immigration decisions to be subject to much judicial review. And this is truly unfortunate when you have a Department of Justice like we have now, who downsizes an incredibly overworked immigration appellate board; invents "streamlining" procedures so that there is less administrative review of decisions; and then appoints immigration judges not on the basis of their qualifications but solely on their political affiliation. A great system: incompetent judging, followed by little to no administrative review, and severe restrictions on judicial review! I really don't know what should be fixed first: a heightened standard of judicial review, an overhaul of the Board of Immigration Appeals, or a recall of some of the judges hired during the Monica Goodling era. The sad part is that none of that will happen.
In the meantime, we'll keep seeing decisions like those cited above.
(As an interesting side note, when I went to find links to these cases, I noticed that there are actually people out there blogging about these decisions. Check out this for example).
But, perhaps, it's not the job of the court of appeals to consider the human impact of a given case. Is it possible to decide a case based purely on the law? And should judges do it? Of course, when the law is on my side, I'd like the judges to stick to the law. And when the law is not on my side (and it usually isn't when it comes to immigration), then I'd like them to look at the facts. :)
That's the problem with immigration cases. The facts are often very compelling (just read the two cases above and I think you'll agree with me). But Congress didn't much like immigrants when it wrote the law; particularly, Congress didn't want immigration decisions to be subject to much judicial review. And this is truly unfortunate when you have a Department of Justice like we have now, who downsizes an incredibly overworked immigration appellate board; invents "streamlining" procedures so that there is less administrative review of decisions; and then appoints immigration judges not on the basis of their qualifications but solely on their political affiliation. A great system: incompetent judging, followed by little to no administrative review, and severe restrictions on judicial review! I really don't know what should be fixed first: a heightened standard of judicial review, an overhaul of the Board of Immigration Appeals, or a recall of some of the judges hired during the Monica Goodling era. The sad part is that none of that will happen.
In the meantime, we'll keep seeing decisions like those cited above.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Update
Well, I haven't been on here for a while! It's hard to think of things to post on here that I'm OK with the whole world reading (even though I think there are only like 2 people who actually read this).
This weekend, we're heading to Buffalo again to visit the fam. It should be fun. We're considering staying til Tuesday so we can actually see everyone, but that will depend on my work schedule. I have to check it out tomorrow.
My garden has been gorgeous, except for those cucumber plants that keep dying (my last two are on their way out - very sad). Damn cucumber beetles. But I've gotten lots of zucchinis and tomatoes, and a fair amount of banana peppers. Oh, and lots of basil. We made pesto. I don't know what to do with all of it.
We cleaned out our pantry this weekend. Wow. What a mess. We threw out a lot of the dried food, because we estimated that much of it had been there since 2002 or so. It's amazing how neat and tidy it is now. It looks better than our kitchen for once! There is something really satisfying about taking control of one of the rooms of your house. :)
It's hard to believe that it's really the last week of August. Part of this is because the weather has been beautifully June-like. I'm not going to complain about that. But I really want summer to last. The winter cold comes too quickly. Then again, I have much to be hopeful about this fall and winter, so maybe it'll all be good this year.
This weekend, we're heading to Buffalo again to visit the fam. It should be fun. We're considering staying til Tuesday so we can actually see everyone, but that will depend on my work schedule. I have to check it out tomorrow.
My garden has been gorgeous, except for those cucumber plants that keep dying (my last two are on their way out - very sad). Damn cucumber beetles. But I've gotten lots of zucchinis and tomatoes, and a fair amount of banana peppers. Oh, and lots of basil. We made pesto. I don't know what to do with all of it.
We cleaned out our pantry this weekend. Wow. What a mess. We threw out a lot of the dried food, because we estimated that much of it had been there since 2002 or so. It's amazing how neat and tidy it is now. It looks better than our kitchen for once! There is something really satisfying about taking control of one of the rooms of your house. :)
It's hard to believe that it's really the last week of August. Part of this is because the weather has been beautifully June-like. I'm not going to complain about that. But I really want summer to last. The winter cold comes too quickly. Then again, I have much to be hopeful about this fall and winter, so maybe it'll all be good this year.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Anniversary
It's our 9-year anniversary today! It was a pretty uneventful day. We left work a little early, went to dinner at Legal Seafoods, and then sat out on our front porch and talked. It is cool today (in the 60's) and comfortable. Feels like fall, even though it's not. It was a nice day.
Some reflections: We were looking at one of our photo albums from the wedding. I was struck by the fact that a) it didn't seem that long ago, but it was; and b) several of the people in our photos are now gone. That made me feel old. You know, like looking at your parents', or even grandparents', wedding photos and they tell you about all the people in the photos that you never met because they died before you were born. Except that I knew all those people, some of them very well, and now they're gone too. It made me sad.
9 years ago right now, I think everyone was smoking cigars. Laurie was paying homage to the porcelain god, my mom was discovering that the caterer forgot to put out some Italian pastries that we had ordered. We had a nice wedding. I loved all of it. It was funny looking at the photos, because I noticed in a couple of the later photos that my mom was holding on to a large layer of a cake. And seriously, I didn't think any cake was left over. Jim and I hardly got a piece (except for the piece that Jim shoved up my nose - ha!). I wonder who ate the rest of the cake.
We always take a photograph of ourselves together every year on our anniversary, and then I put each photo in a special book. It's fun to flip through it. Here's the photo from this year:
Ha! Actually that's the silly photo. Here's one where you can see Jim's face better:
I don't know which I will put in the photobook yet. :) Not great resolution on these photos. My digital camera became a "stowaway" in my mother's backpack when she went back to Buffalo from her trip to Boston. So I have to pick it up next time I'm in town. In the meantime, we're using the little camera on my cell phone.
Not much else to report tonight.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Presidential Election
I've become pretty unhappy with both of our selections for president this year. It makes me wonder if it's possible to have a presidential candidate that inspires you. Has that ever happened?
Here are the problems:
John McCain. I hate his stance on Guantanamo and on the war. While I think it would be irresponsible to pull out of Iraq all at once, he seems to want to stay there forever. He likes tax cuts, while I believe that the government has to tax in order to provide services, especially services to people in need. While he used to be champion for sorely-needed bipartisan immigration reform, he seems to only be talking about immigration enforcement now. It seems like he is pandering to the far right.
Barack Obama: He has very little experience. He basically started running for president as soon as he became a U.S. Senator. When he gave that inspiring speech at the '04 Democratic National Convention, he hadn't even been elected yet. So I think it's unfair when he attacks other people for their stand on certain issues, when he wasn't even in Congress to take a stand on most issues. Reports show that while in Congress, he has always toted the party line, and has never had an opinion about an issue that was different from the Democratic Party establishment's. He keeps talking about "change" but does not give specifics and does not have a history of making change. It is unclear where he stands on most issues, and his stands on some issues don't make any sense. For example, Jim heard an interview with him on NPR regarding the issue of instituting a "windfall tax" against the gas companies. The interviewer told him that basically every economist has said that a windfall tax was a very bad idea. He agreed that it was a bad idea, but said that it wasn't fair that the gas companies were making all that money and that's why he supported the tax. WTF?
He appears to be telling people that they should vote for him because he doesn't look like the guy on the 5 dollar bill. It seems to me that the ONLY reason he should get my vote is if he convinces me HOW he is going to change the current situation in the U.S. I need to know what he is going to do about Afghanistan, which now has more deaths than Iraq. How is he going to close Guantanamo? What does he propose doing with the prisoners, especially when their countries won't take them back? Does he agree that the Geneva Conventions should apply to all prisoners of war, regardless of whether they represent a particular country or a guerrilla group? What does he think of "The War on Terror"? Can we have an indefinite war on an idea? What will he do to gain credibility back for the U.S. in Europe and beyond? What is his stance on immigration? How will he work with Congress to get it done for once?
I don't like John McCain's answers on these issues, but I don't feel like I'm getting any answers from Barack Obama. I worry that people like him mostly because he's an amazing public speaker (which he is) who seems young and vibrant and idealistic where McCain looks old and jaded. The problem is, I think McCain is qualified for the job. I don't think Obama is.
People liked what they saw with George W. Bush too. A plain speaker. Someone like them. The problem was that he also was not qualified to be president. He picked sycophants for his cabinet instead of people who challenged him or gave him different points of view. The people who did challenge him (ie: Colin Powell) were forced out. I worry that Obama is sounding more and more like that, and that worries me a lot. At least McCain is able to think for himself and do what he thinks is right, based on reasoning and listening to advisors. He has a proven record of doing that. Obama has no record or history of that.
Will I vote for McCain? I don't think so. But I don't know that I can vote for Obama either. I guess we'll have to see how the debates go.
Here are the problems:
John McCain. I hate his stance on Guantanamo and on the war. While I think it would be irresponsible to pull out of Iraq all at once, he seems to want to stay there forever. He likes tax cuts, while I believe that the government has to tax in order to provide services, especially services to people in need. While he used to be champion for sorely-needed bipartisan immigration reform, he seems to only be talking about immigration enforcement now. It seems like he is pandering to the far right.
Barack Obama: He has very little experience. He basically started running for president as soon as he became a U.S. Senator. When he gave that inspiring speech at the '04 Democratic National Convention, he hadn't even been elected yet. So I think it's unfair when he attacks other people for their stand on certain issues, when he wasn't even in Congress to take a stand on most issues. Reports show that while in Congress, he has always toted the party line, and has never had an opinion about an issue that was different from the Democratic Party establishment's. He keeps talking about "change" but does not give specifics and does not have a history of making change. It is unclear where he stands on most issues, and his stands on some issues don't make any sense. For example, Jim heard an interview with him on NPR regarding the issue of instituting a "windfall tax" against the gas companies. The interviewer told him that basically every economist has said that a windfall tax was a very bad idea. He agreed that it was a bad idea, but said that it wasn't fair that the gas companies were making all that money and that's why he supported the tax. WTF?
He appears to be telling people that they should vote for him because he doesn't look like the guy on the 5 dollar bill. It seems to me that the ONLY reason he should get my vote is if he convinces me HOW he is going to change the current situation in the U.S. I need to know what he is going to do about Afghanistan, which now has more deaths than Iraq. How is he going to close Guantanamo? What does he propose doing with the prisoners, especially when their countries won't take them back? Does he agree that the Geneva Conventions should apply to all prisoners of war, regardless of whether they represent a particular country or a guerrilla group? What does he think of "The War on Terror"? Can we have an indefinite war on an idea? What will he do to gain credibility back for the U.S. in Europe and beyond? What is his stance on immigration? How will he work with Congress to get it done for once?
I don't like John McCain's answers on these issues, but I don't feel like I'm getting any answers from Barack Obama. I worry that people like him mostly because he's an amazing public speaker (which he is) who seems young and vibrant and idealistic where McCain looks old and jaded. The problem is, I think McCain is qualified for the job. I don't think Obama is.
People liked what they saw with George W. Bush too. A plain speaker. Someone like them. The problem was that he also was not qualified to be president. He picked sycophants for his cabinet instead of people who challenged him or gave him different points of view. The people who did challenge him (ie: Colin Powell) were forced out. I worry that Obama is sounding more and more like that, and that worries me a lot. At least McCain is able to think for himself and do what he thinks is right, based on reasoning and listening to advisors. He has a proven record of doing that. Obama has no record or history of that.
Will I vote for McCain? I don't think so. But I don't know that I can vote for Obama either. I guess we'll have to see how the debates go.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Various and sundry topics
Nothing too exciting going on over here. Or at least that I can put in a blog post. Here are some highlights of the last couple of weeks:
1) My cucumber plants are infested with cucumber beetles, which make them die unexpectedly. I've had to pull out 3 of my plants, which of course were full of beautiful yellow flowers and baby cucumbers. This made me so upset that I had a dream about cucumbers and bugs last night.
2) My mom came to visit. We went to Houghton's Pond for the first time ever and went swimming! Also we went to the MFA, which was disappointing because most of the Impressionist wing was in storage because of renovations to the building.
3) The contractor finally finished the spindles on our stairs. So our big home improvement project for the year is completed ... well, except that we have to give the walls one more good coat of paint. For some reason, the paint already chipped in one spot. It's kind of odd. Anyway, it looks great.
4) And speaking of home improvement, I have officially filled up our first scrapbook of home improvement photos, receipts, etc. 8 years of stuff. We are so glad we are keeping a book because it actually makes us feel like we're making progress.
5) We have new neighbors across the street in the house that was on the market for a long time (Rita and Ray's old house, for those of you who know our street). There are lots of young couples with kids on our street now. It's really nice. I sort of hope that our street will be similar to my street when I was growing up. There were lots of kids in the neighborhood and we almost always had someone to play with.
We're looking forward to the weekend ... no plans! Yippy.
By the way, for those of you familiar with the Shaw Festival, is there anything good playing up there this year? We might go over Labor Day weekend.
1) My cucumber plants are infested with cucumber beetles, which make them die unexpectedly. I've had to pull out 3 of my plants, which of course were full of beautiful yellow flowers and baby cucumbers. This made me so upset that I had a dream about cucumbers and bugs last night.
2) My mom came to visit. We went to Houghton's Pond for the first time ever and went swimming! Also we went to the MFA, which was disappointing because most of the Impressionist wing was in storage because of renovations to the building.
3) The contractor finally finished the spindles on our stairs. So our big home improvement project for the year is completed ... well, except that we have to give the walls one more good coat of paint. For some reason, the paint already chipped in one spot. It's kind of odd. Anyway, it looks great.
4) And speaking of home improvement, I have officially filled up our first scrapbook of home improvement photos, receipts, etc. 8 years of stuff. We are so glad we are keeping a book because it actually makes us feel like we're making progress.
5) We have new neighbors across the street in the house that was on the market for a long time (Rita and Ray's old house, for those of you who know our street). There are lots of young couples with kids on our street now. It's really nice. I sort of hope that our street will be similar to my street when I was growing up. There were lots of kids in the neighborhood and we almost always had someone to play with.
We're looking forward to the weekend ... no plans! Yippy.
By the way, for those of you familiar with the Shaw Festival, is there anything good playing up there this year? We might go over Labor Day weekend.
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