Visiting the Hair Salon

January 19, 2010 by Sheila

I recently went to get my hair cut and I was fascinated by what was being done to the hair of those around me. All I ever get is a cut and blow dry so I am clueless about the other rich possibilities. I began to wonder how our fellow beings on other planets shape, color, and decorate the substances that grow out of their bodies. Is this a “universal” phenomenon?

Perhaps she was not actually using roasted red pepper hummus (it sure looked like it) but I bet that would make a great conditioner.

Jean-Claude

Claude

Wild

January 16, 2010 by Sheila

When the news is truly terrible and you have sent off your donation and listened with awe and respect to those hastening selflessly to the rescue, and you are wondering what, what to do next, there can be a kind of hope in observing, after the overwhelming catastrophes of nature, its small surprises. Like the downy woodpecker that just showed up on our urban patio, and the juvenile Cooper’s hawk (!) on the telephone pole in the alley behind the house. Although the innocent grub and the songbird would undoubtedly regard these as catastrophes.

Mom’s and Aunt Bett’s “other” birthday

Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15, 2010 by Sheila

These are pages from a book created by my daughter for a second grade Saints, Heroes, and Heroines lesson block. Born in 1929, King would probably have thought it a fine birthday gift to see one of the fruits of his labors, an African-American in the White House. Happy birthday, Dr. King.

“The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.” —Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

You can listen to Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech.

Baby Panda

January 11, 2010 by Sheila

Another January zoo sketch. January is a great time to visit the zoo; it’s usually very quiet (unless there’s a new baby), yet the animals are lively. Here’s baby panda Tai-Shan (“Peaceful Mountain,” named by popular vote), who had been given a soccer ball but preferred to chew on an old pizza box. The Christmas morning cliche! By previous agreement between the U.S. and China, Tai-Shan, now four years old, is to be returned to China this year. There is a farewell party for him on January 30th. The zoo and zoo visitors will miss him.

Gorillas

January 10, 2010 by Sheila

Last January my daughter and I took our nature sketchbooks to the zoo, where we saw and sketched the new baby gorilla, Kibibi (“little lady” in Swahili). Mandara, the mother, was quite patient, but it must be extremely tiring to have a constant stream of giggling, pointing visitors so soon after giving birth. We didn’t even take her a casserole. Kibibi is a year old today, and the zoo is planning a celebration. I wonder what happens at a gorilla birthday party.