Halloween

Happy Halloween! Lydia was a sheep and Henry was a cow and they were pretty cute even though I carried Henry the whole way since he doesn't like to walk. I learned that Lydia will say trick or treat very quietly but "thank you" at a normal volume. I don't know why. She is also far too much like me in that she hates repeating herself and typically refuses to try something again if she fails the first time. I don't know how to teach her to try, try again, but I really want to be able to. Giving up too easily is something that has hounded me and I don't want her to have the same problems I do.

Shedding Sheep

Today I learned that the sheep costume I made for Lydia sheds cotton balls all over the place. I also learned that if the church program says the trunk or treat starts at 5:30, I shouldn't show up until 6:00 (grumble grumble).

The Nez Perce stop short

Ahhhhh! The Nez Perces were ahead of Howard by 150 miles! They had only 70ish left to go before they reached the Canadian border. Instead of maintaining their grueling pace and getting to safety, they oust their current leader in favor of one who wants to take it easy, to relax and rejuvenate because they don't believe Howard will catch up to them. Little do they know someone else is on their way! This astonishingly terrible choice baffles me. Get to safety first! Don't go back to the leader who had you go slow and relaxedly the LAST time you got caught and had a bunch of people get killed. Dah! Right now they're about 25 miles from the Canadian border. The end is at hand.

Cleaning

Today I learned that if I'm feeling a little depressed, cleaning helps.

The race is on

In this part of the book I really just feel bad for the Nez Perce. They fought a bunch in Idaho and outmaneuvered the whites, managing to escape through to Montana. When they finally got into Montana, they assumed they were free and clear. They had no qualms with the whites there and assumed they would be able to live peacefully. It displays a total lack of understanding of the scope and nature of the US Army, as well as a poor understanding of the capabilities of the telegraph system. In fact, they were allowed to move peacefully across the plains, purchasing goods from local whites, and it wasn't until they were in the next mountain range that they were attacked, losing many of their women and children. They decided then that all whites must be against them and did not treat civilians kindly thereafter (though they still refrained from killing women and children, I think).

My first 5K

Today I ran my first 5K. I learned that if I'm going to run a 5K I should prepare in advance. I have literally gone running twice since having Henry, most recently about 3 weeks ago. I got carsick on the way there. The course was an out-and-back course and was alllll uphill on the way out and all downhill on the way back. I felt pretty okay for the first 1/3, slow because of the hill, but not too bad, but then I started feeling super sick, like carsick again and it was not the most pleasant thing I've ever done. In the end I finished in 37:52, 22/48 in my age group (19-29). Not a great time (a 12:12 mile pace), but it's good to get my first one done, and I've got a decidedly beatable first time.

Kings

Today I learned that kings are really powerful pieces in the endgame and you should often try to get them centralized.

The Promise of Star Dust Book Club

Today the book club met to discuss the book "The Promise of Star Dust". I didn't read the book, but the gist was that a woman had a living will that said she never wanted to be put on life support in the case of an accident, but when she got in an accident, it was discovered that she was pregnant (8 weeks) so the book is about the battle between her husband, who wants to keep her alive to bring the  baby to term, and her mother, who is her power of attorney, who is trying to uphold the living will which states that she does not want life support. In the end, I think the husband wins the battle and the baby survives, but it's an interesting debate. On the one hand, there's a baby in there! She would never want to kill her baby! On the other hand, the odds of that baby surviving and coming out without complications are very very slim, and the cost of keeping her alive for months is astronomical. The discussion brought up a few things. One of the debates was about whether life starts at conception. I have mixed feelings about that and don't really know what I think, but there was a split in our book club group. One perspective that I thought was really interesting from a religious perspective, came from a woman who had a miscarriage. She later had another baby, and she said that she felt her miscarriage was a body that wasn't working for the spirit that was her daughter, which came down in the next body she made. She said it better, but I thought that was very interesting. It also came out that most of the people in the predominantly-LDS book club group were vaguely pro-choice, but anti-abortion. By that I mean, they don't want to legislate to make abortion illegal, but they don't think people should get abortions in the majority of cases (and most certainly that women should not think of abortion as birth control).

Rooks

Today I learned that rooks should be placed on an open file (well, I already knew that part), that they are strongest when doubled or tripled, and that a queen behind two rooks on an open file is named after Alekhine because he did it in a game once. I also learned that getting both rooks on the 7th rank is super strong and often leads to victory.

Dreams

Today I learned that it is very hard to get myself out of bed when I have been dreaming about putting my children to bed only to be rudely awakened what seems to be minutes after they fall asleep.

Book club

Today I learned that book club, which was scheduled for last Thursday, was moved to this Thursday. I guess that means it's good that I couldn't find he house last week. Hopefully this week I don't have any trouble.

Gold!

The Nez Perce were living peacefully on the reservation when somebody found gold. Immediately, a flood of settlers moved onto the reservation. The government made some small effort at the beginning to stop people but there were too many people and too little military in the area to keep people out, and so they flooded in. Though public and government opinion agreed that the miners were there illegally, instead of trying to get them to move out, they decided instead that the old treaty was untenable and that they would have to renegotiate and force the Nez Perce onto a smaller reservation. If this doesn't sound like a recipe for war, I don't know what would.

Crater Lake, again

Today we went back to Crater Lake again! Now that the government shutdown has ended, the national parks have been reopened. I learned that, in addition to wizard island, there is a second volcano under the surface of the lake. Pretty neat. Also, Lydia had a lot of fun playing in the snow.

Treaties

I was reading more of the Nez Perce story and it is bothersome how the US government made treaties that were understood so differently between the two groups. In one case, they got a chief to sign a treaty and took it to mean that a bunch of tribes were bound to the treaty, when the chief in question was most likely just binding himself and his immediate family. The government continuously tried to impose their own structure on cultures that were vastly different.

After the signing of major treaties that were supposed to relocate the natives to reservations, there was a very irresponsible article that opened the lands for white settlement, despite the fact that the government had not yet ratified the treaties (it took four years for them to do that) and precipitated war with several of the tribes in the area. There was some serious fighting and then a new man was put in charge of the military, and he took a stance that moved the white settlers out and left the natives alone since the treaties weren't ratified. There was over a year of peace while he was in charge, and yet he was ostracized in Washington for his pro-native rights stance. To think we could have actually ended up with peace instead of wars and found an acceptable way to live together. Too bad that didn't last.

Directions

Today, I reconfirmed that I really dislike not knowing where I'm going. I tried to go to book club but couldn't find the house it was supposed to be at and it annoyed me. Also, the next time I buy a house, I'm going to make sure the house numbers are clearly visible from the street, and if people are planning on coming to my house at night, my outside light will be on.

Bishops

Today I learned that there are good bishops, bad bishops, and active bishops (which can be either good or bad). A good bishop is one that has open diagonals, a bad bishop is one that is blocked by pawns, and an active bishop is simply one that is playing an active role in the game, putting pressure on an important space. To turn a bad bishop to a good bishop you can either open up the diagonals by moving your other pawns or pieces, or by maneuvering the bishop so that it is outside the pawn chain. Also, since bishops are the only pieces on the board that can access only one color square, they work best in pairs, and it's possible to end in a stalemate with a bishop and a rook-pawn.

Henry and Headaches

Henry is 11 months old today! I can't believe he's almost ONE!

In unrelated news, I learned that it's frustrating to lie down with a headache and then have to answer Lydia's questions 20 million times and have to help her with starfall five times.

Poop

Today I learned that as a treatment for c. diff they sometimes give poop enemas (to help get good intestinal bacteria up there, but kinda gross, huh?)

Ironing

Today I learned that it is difficult to iron a shirt (something I very rarely do) with Henry around because he's very tall and strong enough to move my ironing board All around. On a related note, I learned that storing the ironing board near the furnace and laundry leads to a lint-covered and dusty board.

Firefighters and Pot Pie

Today we went to an open house for the new local fire station. It was like 3.5 million dollars and was a government award and built by fema. It's a nice building. I learned that firefighters (here, at least) work for 48 hours then get 4 days off.

I also learned that Chicken Pot Pie is labor intensive, but yummy (I used Mindy's recipe and it came out really good).

Firefighter Alarms

Today I learned that firefighters have motion detectors and if they don't move for 30 seconds, they set off an alarm so that the other firefighters can find the one who is not moving. Kinda cool.

waiting and waiting and waiting

Today I learned, again, that it's annoying to wait for the mail to come, or in this case, the UPS truck. It almost always comes to our house at like 8:00 at night so I end up waiting all day long.

Nez Perce and the White Missionaries

Today I learned that the expedition that went to St. Louis was really comprised of 3 Nez Perce and 1 half-blood Nez Perce/Flathead (Salish). They most likely went to St. Louis with dual purposes of opening trade opportunities and acquiring copies of the bible and/or a missionary to teach them. However, the meeting was popularized and spread as four wise men from the west coming to be converted to Christianity and ready to abandon their "heathen" ways. Needless to say, when the missionaries actually came, things didn't go as expected. Whitman and Spalding came down, and the Whitmans ended up settling among the Cayuse while the Spaldings settled among the Nez Perces. The missionaries had some small successes... the natives came to the school and attended some religious services, but they had problems because the missionaries expected the natives to pretty much adopt the culture of the white men. They were expected to learn English, to give up hunting in favor of farming, to move closer to the missions, and basically adopt all the laws and customs of the Americans. They also expected the natives to come to an understanding that they are sinful creatures and are inherently bad without the redemption of Christ. The Nez Perce viewed themselves as essentially good and so this notion of going to hell without Christ's atonement was completely foreign and frankly unacceptable. They did have a few baptisms but it's hard to say if they had any true converts. The Nez Perce held beliefs about spirit animals and a person's successes and failures were linked to their spirit animal (which they discovered on a quest when they were 8-10 years old). Power was linked to spirits and they were probably trying to find additional spiritual power from Christianity to add to their religion, rather than to replace it.

Serious problems didn't come up until Whitman led the first big group of settlers into the Oregon territory. It comprised approximately 125 settlers and thousands of livestock. The author estimated that the group of settlers was about a third of the current Nez Perce population. Within a few years there were thousands. They weren't settling in Nez Perce country, preferring instead the comfortable Willamette valley, but the numbers must have been disconcerting. Also, they brought the measles, and, as I think I said in another post, the white missionaries were blamed for the outbreaks. The Whitmans were eventually massacred and the Spaldings were lucky to escape with their lives. What I didn't realize before was that the missionaries were providing medical aid but since the native populations were so much more susceptible to the diseases, their children were killed in droves while the missionaries were much more successful in helping white children (and adults). I can see how the natives could think it was purposeful.

Clarinet

Today I learned that, after nearly ten years of idleness, when I play clarinet my ombochure only lasts a few minutes and my tone quality is far too breathy. Grrrrr. However, it's good to have my clarinet fixed and cleaned, though the guy missed a few spots. 

Nez Perce meet the white men

Today I learned that Lewis and Clark were the first white men that the Nez Perce met. Of course they had heard of them and had long since acquired and bred horses. They already had six guns though no powder or shot to use with them. They debated between friendship and enmity and chose friendship. They developed good relations with Lewis and Clark and expected a mutually beneficial, amicable relationship between equals. The next people to come were from the group headed for Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia. They would only trade for beaver pelts, which the Nez Perce did not want to collect, and were generally unfriendly. Finally, settlers started to arrive and with them came a government sub-agent named White who was appointed to deal with the Natives in the Pacific Northwest, despite the fact that "ownership" of the territory had not yet been decided between the Americans and the British. White and the settlers again set up friendly and beneficial trade relations but White imposed a bunch of rules on the Indians, primarily designed to protect white settlers, though nominally intended to also protect the Natives. He also wanted the Nez Perce to elect a Head Chief, which is an idea that doesn't fit into their social hierarchy at all. They named a young headman as the so-called "Head Chief" and it's probable that they saw the appointment as for a liaison to meet and talk with the whites, since they chose a young man who had spent time in Canada and spoke passable English.

Cotton Balls and Glue

Today I learned that elmer's glue will bond cotton balls to white knit fabric but it will take forever to dry and it will make the fabric oddly stiff. Hot glue works much better, and faster. It turns out it takes hours to glue over 600 cotton balls onto a (handmade) 4T onesie. Lydia has a little lamb costume now for halloween.

Cows, Pumpkins, Subway, and General Conference

Today I learned that cows really like pumpkins, that if I feed Henry subway he will vomit all over the kitchen floor when I get home (hopefully he's not really sick!) and that it's really hard to watch or listen to general conference with two small children running or crawling around the house and vying for attention.

Polish Star

Today I learned how to do the polish star stitch pattern. I am working on a Christmas gift for someone who shall, for the moment, remain nameless, but I think it will also make a really cute headband and/or scarf pattern for my etsy shop.

Nez Perce

Today I started reading The Last Indian War by Elliot West which is one book in a series called Pivotal Moments in American History. I'm only a chapter in so far but it is much better than the Pacific Northwest Indian Wars, which was entirely too dry. Today I learned that Nez Perce is pronounced "Nezz Purse" and that the tribe traveled over 1500 miles during the course of the war. They were trying to make it to Canada but were finally stopped just 40 miles shy of the border. I don't know why we didn't just let them go. I am really interested to read this story because everything I've read about the Pacific Northwest tribes to date has painted the Nez Perce as very cooperative with whites and very peaceful.

The Nez Perce lived in a vast area that encompassed part of southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and Idaho all the way to the Bitterroot Mountains. They lived in villages and primarily fished, gathered, and hunted with stunning bows. They became excellent horsemen and horse breeders. There was a cool Origin story about how some great monster came and ate up all the people (animals) that lived on the land and the coyote thought that was messed up so he brought in knives and cut out the monster's heart so that it died, then he scattered bits all around and it made up the surrounding tribes (the Cayuse, Palouse, Wallowas, etc, etc), and the Nez Perce were the tribe that ended up at the heart of the monster, small, but powerful.

Etsy Changes

I think I actually learned this yesterday, but oh well. Etsy is making changes to their shop policies for handmade items. Sellers have always been able to hire help or have shops with multiple crafters, but now Etsy is allowing sellers to use outside shipping services and manufacturing companies. I'm totally okay with the shipping changes, but I am wary of the manufacturing. I worry that the market will end up flooded by factory merchandise and one-at-a-time makers like me will be lost in the crowd even more than we are. They say sellers have to list everyone involved in their process on their "about" page but I don't think that will help very much. I think if a business gets big enough that they need outside manufacturing, then Etsy isn't the right place for them to sell anymore, but I guess that's just me.

Modoc War

I'm still reading "Pacific Northwest Indian Wars" but have found it excruciatingly dry, so I skipped ahead to the chapter about the Modoc war and will not read any of the rest of it. Today I learned that the Modocs twice attempted to live on the Klamath reservation with the Klamath tribe but the Klamaths kept stealing their timber and taunting them and their appeals to the government were not handled effectively. The Klamaths and Modocs used to be the same tribe but had a war and broke apart so they really don't get along very well. We're just about to start the real fighting and Captain Jack is retreating to the lava beds. dun dun dun.