Color names

This was fun, and a little frustrating. I only got 27 names in this game, but I know I typed in a lot more than that! Some of the things I typed were spelled wrong, so weren’t accepted and I didn’t try again. Others just aren’t in the list. Here’s a head start for you– you can enter two words, such as “deep peach” (which would have been accepted if I’d thought of it then), and some of the words seem random — “coffee” and “mocha” and “walnut” were not accepted, but “chocolate” is on the list. Try it, just for fun. And use the comments to let us know how you do.

If the graphic doesn’t show below, just use this site URL:

http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/view2/colors

27

Created by OnePlusYou – Free Dating Site

 

Vegan soap— a Mother’s Day suggestion

Today Betty and I were watching a TV program called “Modern Marvels” on the History Channel. The focus was on bathrooms— history, technology, manufacturing and future trends. And they mentioned that water isn’t enough to get clean, you need soap too. 

The reason soap works is that the oil on your skin doesn’t mix with water, and soap emulsifies it— that is, the combination of fat or oil and an alkaline solution mixes with the oil on your skin and hair and lifts it off. The water then washes it all away. 

Then the program showed an artisan making soap the traditional way, by boiling down animal fat to render it free of solids and impurities such as blood, and adding lye to create the soap (a process called saponification).

Now, this info on how soap is made isn’t new to me, but seeing it, watching her tear apart the fat, boil it, stir it— eww. I don’t cook meat (though I still eat some, less as the years go on) for a number of reasons, one is that I dislike dealing with the fat. And while saponification changes fat into soap, the idea of it made me check out vegan alternatives. So, I went directly to Etsy.

Etsy is a handmade marketplace. While we have a shop on Etsy to sell Betty’s original art work, the largest percentage of work for sale is handmade crafts. And I love shopping on Etsy! First of all, I know that I’m supporting individual craftspeople who are doing work they love, and everything I’ve bought has been great! 

A search on Etsy for vegan+soap turned up over 9,000 entries! This is one that caught my eye— “Cut Grass” soap. It looks beautiful and smells like cut grass, perfect for spring. It’s from a shop called Sherri’s Scents and Soys and is one of over a hundred listings. And that’s just one of the thousands of shops available on Etsy. (Click on the photo to go directly to the listing.) Ingredients include things like Olive Oil and Babassu Oil (a great name, whatever it is). 

Once on the Etsy site, you can do a search on vegan+soap and see what catches your eye, or go to the Mother’s Day Showcase for more ideas for a wide range of budgets. Another option is to see my favorite sellers. 

My mom died back in 1995, but if she was alive, I know what I’d be giving her for Mother’s Day.

 

What’s the name of that woman who got the award, the one who fell? Oh, yes, Betty G. Miller

Saturday, April 4, 2009: What a day. A wonderful day for Betty, even if she did fall (more on that later, and yes, she’s fine). Actually it’s a wonderful 3-day weekend. 

Betty and I are in DC for Gallaudet’s Charter Day ceremonies and the Gallaudet University Alumni Awards. Betty received the Alice Cogswell Award from the Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund (LCCF). Their focus is on culture, and honored her for her life’s work as an artist showcasing the deaf experience, and also for her work as a counselor in the field of alcohol and substance abuse.

I’m fighting exhaustion and burning eyes to write this, but I’ve learned from experience that I really need to write this, or at least start it, before I go to sleep for the night. Otherwise, I lose the energy left from the event itself. (I did write a good draft, finishing it up now, a few days later.)

The three of us arrived in town on Thursday– that’s me, Betty and our dog Tucker. Our first stop was the NAD office, where we visited with with old friends and colleagues. Because Tucker isn’t a certified assistance animal, we couldn’t stay at the hotel; but our friend David Nelson welcomed us into his home yet again. Seems we stay at the l’hotel Nelson nearly every time we come to DC.

Friday, the busiest day

I AM NOT a morning person. That’s a pretty well-known fact among those who’ve had the misfortune to see me before noon. So, I’d spent the entire week successfully working to pull back my body clock enough so I could get up and function by lunchtime. The first event of the weekend was lunch with GUAA board members (Gallaudet University Alumni Association), LCCF committee members (Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund) and all the people who were receiving awards. Met some interesting new people such as Darian Burwell (“Mom’s name was Marian,” “Ah! now I’ll remember it.”) who received the GUAA Outstanding Young Alumnus Award and was sitting across the table from us; and saw some old friends, such as Ron Hirano, Betty’s classmate, who received the GUAA Pauline “Polly” Peikoff “Service to Others”Award. 

A LECTURE BY DR. HARRY LANG was scheduled for after lunch, and we all walked over to the Sorenson Center Atrium. Lang’s lecture was on Abraham Lincoln, “Actions Louder than Words.” This year marked the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, and among the many contributions to the nation was his signature on April 8, 1864, on legislation, known as the Charter, which enabled the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind to grant collegiate degrees. Dr. Lang said that in his research, he can’t find any proof that Lincoln ever wrote anything himself mentioning deaf people, but there are stories that show that a deaf woman reporter, in all likelihood Laura Redden who was reporting on the Civil War from Washington City, was seen interviewing President Lincoln and they were writing back and forth to each other. 

A TREE PLANTING CEREMONY was next. Sponsored by Green Gallaudet, the tree was planted near the Gallaudet and Alice statue on the front lawn in honor of Lincoln’s 200th birthday. Someone was seen saying, “It’ll be 100 years before you’ll see this tree from Florida Ave.” Someone else replied, “That’s okay, we’ll be here 100 years from now.”

BETTY WAS INTERVIEWED by Abby Drake, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations in the Library. This was an informal, filmed interview that GUAA did with all the award recipients. Then we went back “home” to rest, before joining the GUAA and LCCF folks for a BBQ at President Davila’s House, aka “House 1″ of five houses in faculty row, a part of historic Gallaudet— from a time when teachers lived on campus. Both Betty and I were winding down by then, and were unusually quiet at dinner.

Saturday, the Awards luncheon

MANY OLD FRIENDS were there. Many were from the Gallaudet Class of 1957— two people received awards today, Betty and her classmate, Ron Hirano. At the table, most of us had known each other and been friends for at least 20 years, some twice that long. Betty’s friends included people from her “art life,” others from her “college life,” and many others from her “community life,” including people from the time she worked at Deafpride, Inc. as an alcohol/substance abuse counselor.

PADDY LADD was at the next table. Paddy is the Senior Lecturer in Deaf Studies at the University of Bristol in England. I didn’t expect him to remember that he met both Betty and me before, but he actually remembered it more clearly than I did. He came to our house for dinner when we shared a house with Margaret and Aloy Bibum about 15-20 years ago— he was friends with them in England, and was in DC for a year for the Dr. Doctor Chair in Deaf Studies. He very clearly remembers Betty taking him down to the basement where she had her art studio, and showing him not only her paintings, but her father’s artwork, too. He was struck by the power of the images, and Ralph’s clear illustrations touched his heart. 

BETTY WAS CALLED UP TO RECEIVE HER AWARD, walked about half way to the stage and fell. Really fell! Flat on her face. About 5 or 6 people rushed to help her up while I froze for a few moments, and when I reached her, she said she was fine. “I didn’t intend to fall for Gallaudet again,” Betty said when she reached the stage, and relieved laughter rippled through the room. After a shaky start— “The fall made everything zoom from my head!”— Betty read, and revised on the fly, a speech which focused on the times when Gallaudet affected her life. Kanny (aka Barbara Kannapell) was filming this, and put it up on YouTube, here’s the video, which shows the fall, but not all the folks helping Betty get up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVwTdMpudDg

WE TRIED TO FIT EVERYONE and everything into this visit, because this was the first time we were back in DC in two years. So after the big event, we went out to Bethesda to meet one friend for coffee, then had dinner back in DC with another friend. 

Sunday’s windup & finish

Sunday’s plan went off without a hitch. First, we had brunch with a group of old friends, then later that afternoon we had some private time with Betty’s oldest and dearest friend, a true BFF, Barbara Kannapell and her partner, Eileen Paul, while our dogs played with each other. Then we drove back to Philadelphia. We left about 6 pm, and didn’t get home till nearly 11:00. We hit serious congestion four times during the drive, and stopped at the rest station for about 45 minutes to recharge before completing the trip. Our cats were fine— mad at us for leaving, but fine.

THANKS to David for hosting all three of us again, and to the friends back in Philly who took care of our cats. Thanks also to Sam Sonnenstrahl and his staff for their work putting this together, and to the LCCF/GUAA for the award. 

FEELINGS— Betty was going strong on excitement and adrenaline for the entire weekend. She’s done without her daily naps, or shortened them. She told me several times how wonderful she feels, and how good it was to see so many old friends. Me, I feel proud. 

More info: 

Abraham Lincoln and Gallaudet: http://lincoln200.gallaudet.edu/

Charter Day: http://www.gallaudet.edu/x2303.xml

Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund: http://www.gallaudet.edu/x2027.xml

2009 LCCF Award Recipients: http://alumni.gallaudet.edu/enews.asp?ID=15006

 

“…WAS IN TOWN SHOOTING LAW ABIDING CITIZENS.”

“…WAS IN TOWN SHOOTING LAW ABIDING CITIZENS.”

That’s what the closed captions said on my local noon news report today. But it wasn’t a story about a horrible crime wave. No, it was about actor Jamie Foxx who was in Philadelphia to film a movie called “Law Abiding Citizens.” Actually, the story was about his stalker, a man who entered his hotel room in Rittenhouse Square last month.

But what caught my eye was the misrepresentation caused by lack of punctuation and editing. Granted, this is real-time captioning, so they can be forgiven for not taking the time to add quotation marks to show the film name. But they are also listening to the broadcast, and the editor of the news program could have rephrased the sentence better.

Possibilities:
…was in town shooting “Law Abiding Citizens”
…was in town shooting the film, “Law Abiding Citizens”
…was in town filming “Law Abiding Citizens”

Given that real-time captioning usually can’t take the time to add quotation marks, the last one is preferable, and will read as …WAS IN TOWN FILMING LAW ABIDING CITIZENS. A less eye catching headline, perhaps, but one that communicates well.

 

Dogs still unwelcome, but cop is savvy

This story comes from my friends, Larry & Carolyn Brick. Residents of Philadelphia, they are currently going west– to ski– and have their two “hearing ear” dogs with them (the current preferred terminology is service animal). I asked Larry to be a guest writer on my blog because his recent email to friends and family not only shows the expected– that people still don’t understand about the rights of people and their service animals; but also that police officers have been trained and are often savvy. Big thanks to all the disability rights organizations who have worked for years to train police forces nationwide about the rights of disabled people!

Larry and Carolyn’s story:

Larry & Carolyn Brick with their dogs, Tiki and Takao

We’re at the Economy Motel in Nebraska City, NE. The woman in charge of registration refused to let us sign in because of the “No Pets” policy. She had a foreign accent and her daughter, approximately 11 or 12 years old, repeated what her mother said because I couldn’t understand her. She said that she couldn’t reach the manager and refused to read the ADA certificate on Takao, and she was willing to be sued. She said she was going to call the police. I replied, “please do that,” because she was breaking the law.

She called the police who arrived shortly. After explaining the situation to the officer he very nicely, and amazingly well, explained that it was a Federal Law and gave several examples of ADA with service animals– including the “No Pets” policy at Wal-Mart that was right behind the motel and how Wal-Mart allowed service animals. He even said that our dogs “…were not pets. They are service animals.” I was floored at how articulate and clear he was. He added that I could sue her and that’s not what she’d want to happen.

The officer suggested that she ask for a damage deposit to be returned if there was no damage. So, here we are, at an inexpensive motel, with an expensive $20 damage deposit that we expect to get back in the morning.

Conclusion: the next morning we got our deposit back, and when she came in the room to clean up while we started up the RV, she quickly came outside, smiling for the first time and waving “good bye,” perhaps because we left a tip on the table.

 

New! Flip Mino Camcorders with Betty’s popular Hand & Heart design

 

The Flip Mino camcorder with Bettigee's Heart & Hand design

Looking for a special gift for someone special? This is unique and functional– a camcorder with Betty’s popular hand & heart design. The Flip Mino camcorder is one of the new wave of cheap camcorders– simple to use, keep in your pocket or purse. Don’t expect $600 functionality from a $230 camera, but for ease of use and convenience, it can’t be beat. 

The HD version sells for $229.99 and the standard version for $179.99. I found a youtube video where a Wall Street Journal reporter tested the Flip Mino HD. Naturally, I’ve no idea what she SAYS, but the video is short and clear and gives a good idea of what to expect. You can find that here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jphji1Tbuc4

The camcorder is less than 4″ high and 2″ wide and weighs 3.3 oz; the HD version holds 60 minutes of HD-quality video on 4GB of built-in memory. The product page has full specifications available. 

One of the drawbacks of all lower-priced video cameras is that that they don’t have image stablization, so you’ll see shake in a hand-held camera. The Minos have a mount for attaching an optional tripod, and my favorite is the Gorillapod from one of my favorite stores, ThinkGeek:

https://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/cameras-photography/82db/

The camcorders are listed in the store both under Bettigee Designs: Hand and Heart, and on the New Products page which is the one I’m giving you, below.

http://www.cafepress.com/purpleswirlarts/983492

For a really outstanding gift that not many folks will have, you can’t go wrong with this camcorder!

 

New product, popular hand and heart design

 

Heart and Hand design by Betty G. Miller

I posted new products today featuring Betty’s popular hand and heart design. These are a denim shirt, zip hoodies both light and dark fabrics, jackets for men and women, and regular hoodies, now available in black and navy blue.

 

The last day for cheap shipping to arrive in time for Christmas is today, midnight Pacific Time. I’m taking a short break, and will be back to see if I can hurry up and post a couple more new items before tonight’s deadline.

http://www.cafepress.com/purpleswirlarts/201053

 

ECONOMY (cheap) shipping ends today at Cafepress

Got email that today’s the last day for cheap shipping of your order to arrive in time for Christmas. I’m working on some new products, so keep an out out this afternoon and evening.

http://www.cafepress.com/purpleswirlarts

 

2009 CALENDAR • BETTY G. MILLER’S PAINTINGS

Without a doubt, the calendar has been the most popular item in our Cafepress online store. First published in 2004, this will be the last year for this particular calendar (we have some ideas for a new calendar next year). 

The 2009 calendar features a selection of paintings, which you can see in the photo. Some of these works were shown in Betty’s recent retrospective exhibit at the Dyer Gallery at NTID. One person we met there told me she keeps the calendar for years and puts her favorites on her office wall!

Each page measures 11″ w by 8.5″ h and when hung on the wall is a full 11″ w x 17″ h — so it makes an impact.

 

The calendar reminds me throughout the year what one person can do in times of adversity. Betty through her courage and work is my role model. 

Jane Norman, Ph.D.–
Professor, Communication Studies
Gallaudet University

Buy the calendar here.

 

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We’ve added two new one page calendars, what Cafepress calls “Calendar Prints.” The two new ones are “Ameslan Prohibited,” and “Mommy, I am Deaf!” They join “Trees,” one of my favorites. These year-at-a-glance pages are an economical alternative– especially if you’re giving a lot of presents. The high-quality calendars are printed on glossy paper and measure 11″ w by 17″ h.

See all 2009 calendars 

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There’s a lot of adversity in the world today, and trouble sometimes overwhelms us. This weekend is our Thanksgiving holiday– a good opportunity to practice gratitude by focusing on what we have, and acknowledging that our troubles will pass. We wish you all a grateful Thanksgiving.

Warmly, Nancy and Betty

 

 

writing in progress…

Just a note– I failed to write about our trip to NTID at the time, and I’m writing about that terrific trip now. I’ve got three drafts going, and go back and forth between them as new memories come forth. Will probably publish them all at once.