Woke up with a cold. All those people coughing on the plane. Slept with the grandkids. Hope I didn’t give it to them. I was supposed to go to my stepchildren’s home for dinner tonight. By that I mean Laura Turner and Rutherford Seydel and two of their three children. I still feel we are part of the same family. Their son, whose birth I filmed, is a major hockey goalie and so went to finish high school in Toronto where hockey rules. I’m so proud of him. He is an amazing human being.

I just took this picture shooting up into the overhead mirror while lying in bed. That is my granddaughter scratching Tulea’s tummy. Sometime I’ll photograph the bed and post it. I’m a fool for unusual beds and this is definitely the most unusual, one of a kind, canopied, mirrored one I’ve ever seen. Richard hasn’t seen it either. My bed at my ranch is pretty unusual as well. (Come to think of it, I have a picture of that one and will post it now). The problem is I got them when I was solo and they’re antique so not very big. If Richard and I are still together in a year I’ve promised to get a king-sized one as he’s 6’3.”

Shucks. I erased the photo of my ranch bed so I’m sending this one, a bed that is outside on the portale. My favorite napping place (and sometimes overnight place) cause I can hear the river close by and see the stars.

———
The fight in the House is over, but the fight in the Senate is just beginning. It’s time to use our strongest weapon: the White House.

Join us. Ask President Obama to live up to his campaign commitment and stand with us to protect women’s health care today and every single day until reform is passed.

Click here for more information and to contact President Obama

Dear Jane,

Yesterday was brutal.

While there are some who are satisfied with the health care reform bill that passed in the House of Representatives late Saturday night, I am not one of them.

When it came down to it, Congress passed a bill that will undercut women’s access to comprehensive health care. Despite hundreds of thousands of voters like you and me who called on members of Congress to include women’s health care in health care reform, the bill that passed Saturday night includes a ban on private abortion coverage for millions of women and would prohibit it in the new “public option.”

At Planned Parenthood, we fought together with you until the bitter end (thank you), and once we lost the vote on women’s health, we started to do what we do best — gear up for our next fight.

http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hcr09bse_afw?qp_source=hcr09bse_afhp

Opponents of legal abortion and health care for women are emboldened by Saturday night’s vote and ready to bring their ban on abortion to the Senate floor. But now it’s our turn. And this time we are going to use our strongest weapon: the White House.

That’s why, today, we are calling on President Obama
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hcr09bse_afw?qp_source=hcr09bse_afhp
to ensure that lawmakers, especially those in his own party, support health care reform that protects women’s access to reproductive care as the next round of debate and voting occurs in the Senate.

Please, join us by asking our president to stand with us to protect women’s health care today and every single day until reform is passed.
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hcr09bse_afw?qp_source=hcr09bse_afhp

President Obama campaigned on a promise to put reproductive health care at the center of his reform plan. Supporters of women’s health voted for him and contributed to his campaign in record numbers — and now it’s time for the president to reaffirm his commitment to women’s health, and demand that Congress reject any bill that leaves women worse off under health care reform than they are today. Take a moment right now to tell President Obama that we need him to stand with us — in both his words and in his actions.
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hcr09bse_afw?qp_source=hcr09bse_afhp

If there’s anything we learned yesterday, it’s that women’s health is being targeted as expendable in health care reform. We also saw that anti-choice forces are working round-the-clock to roll back women’s health benefits. We will each need to take action many times over the next few weeks, and we need strong and public support from the White House to help us.

I’ve said this before, and it deserves repeating: without access to abortion care, and to comprehensive reproductive health care, there is no choice. Please, take action now http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hcr09bse_afw?qp_source=hcr09bse_afhp
 — and then spread the word on Facebook, among your friends and colleagues, via e-mail — whatever it takes.

Thank you so very much for standing with us and the women, men, and teens who rely on Planned Parenthood.

Sincerely,

Cecile Richards, President
Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Here’s a photo of a white truffle, in case you’ve never seen one.  Not that money always equates with quality but this truffle costs $400 but a friend gave it to Paula. Good kinda friend to have, huh? It was Paula’s first time cooking risotto but it came out scrumptious and with the shaved truffles on top and a good green salad we were in heaven.

Simone and my goddaughter, Hannah. They seem to like each other, huh? Hannah showed us her sketch book of figures and fashion designs. She's really talented.

Troy with Tulea. (I can't seem to get rid of the glare in her eyes. Sorry.)

Simone and Paula

I leave at the crack tomorrow for Dusseldorf, Germany. I go there twice in the next 10 days! Once to make a speech on sustainability and earn money for my non-profit. The second time to get an award from UNESCO. Thursday I will travel the short distance to Bonn, birthplace of Beethoven and the city where his archives are located. Almost no one can get access to the archives but during the run of “33 Variations” (about Beethoven and the play took place in the archives) I met the man who runs the archives and he invited me to see them. Some composers (like Mozart) composed in their head. Beethoven composed on paper so there are 1000s of sketches that record every thing he ever wrote, every false start, every rewrite, all there. Can’t wait. I’m told Dusseldorf is a charming city.

In between the two trips I will be in Atlanta seeing friends, Daughter and grandkids. In fact we’ll have a sleepover on Saturday.

I’ll blog from Dusseldorf.

See you next time.

I’ve been staying at my son and daughter-in-law’s for four days. I like doing that. It is a calm, cozy, clean home. Simone has rules—you don’t wear outdoor shoes indoors; You don’t cut things directly on the kitchen counter which tends to stain. I always learn new things when I stay with them. Being young and very intelligent activists, they are really plugged in on many levels. Not all levels are serious. Last night, I asked them to watch “Modern Family” with me cause I’d seen previews and it looked funny and got good reviews. Of course, I’ve watched other well-reviewed series that I didn’t think were good. I got slightly traumatized watching the Emmys this year and realizing I knew no one and had seen almost no series or specials. Missed “Grey Gardens” cause of doing the play on Broadway. I found “Modern Family” very likeable. I then watched “House” because my son, Troy (Garity) is doing an episode maybe tomorrow or a week from tomorrow. That should be good!! Richard likes to watch “Dancing With the Stars” which kinda shocked me till he persuaded me that the show has exposed many young people to ballroom dancing who might never otherwise have paid attention. Okaaaaaaay……..

Many sweet blog commenters have asked what has happened to my little dog Tulea since she hasn’t appeared in any blogs of late. So here she is. Looking up at me as I sit at the desk.

Hard to believe it’s already August 10th.

I walked with the dogs for two hours (my daughter’s dog Freaka who was bitten by a rattlesnake last week is ok now and came with Tulea and me) and then did physical therapy in the pool for an hour and have been writing ever since—writing and reviewing a wonderful book I’ve read several times—a book about relationships and sexuality. “The Passionate Marriage” by David Schnarch. I highly recommend it to those of who interested in deepening intimacy. (I’m still working on the chapter about sex and having a lot of fun writing it and reading about sex). It helps that I can talk to my sweetie without worrying about losing the signal. There was such a minute window of opportunity time-wise as well as signal-wise while I was at the retreat so this feels like a treat.

Matt Arnett, father of my grands, has been here. He’s an avid fisherman but can’t seem to get either Malcolm or Viva interested in the sports, something that saddens us both. James Andrews and his family just arrived from Atlanta and I will go be with them in a moment. I’ll also take a picture of them for the blog. A gorgeous family. Viva and Skye just came into my office to play with the dogs. James is the one who persuaded me to start blogging and has been an ever-present and helpful tech friend. Couldn’t/wouldn’t have done it without him. The other end of the duo is JJ in Detroit. I run everything past them both. JJ designed the blog and does the T-shirts which I sell in the “shop” to support g-capp.

Malcolm and Elijah

Matt fishing below the house

Viva and Skye

Malcolm, Sherrelle and Matt

Tulea and Freaka

Sherrelle

Viva and her Obama T-shirt

I’ve only had my MAC Book PRO for a month and still have lots of questions so this week I’ll ask James to tutor me.  Downloading photos from my new camera right now is an endless struggle. But I know that with James’s help I will “get” it.

It’s a perfect New Mexico evening, clear sky, no pollution (there’s never any pollution here), the sound of the river soothes, the hummingbirds dart and dive around our feeders. I feel blessed. My body hurts but I observe it and don’t identify with it. Life goes on.

See you next time.

It has been 7 months since I’ve been back at the ranch–since Christmas. A lot has happened in that time–fun things, exciting things, challenging things, too. I started blogging and tweeting for one thing. Now I’m back and it feels so good. There has been rain almost twice a day. This wouldn’t be good right now if you’re a New Yorker, but here in New Mexico it’s manna from heaven and as a result, the ranch has welcomed me back dressed in its most resplendent greenery.

View from my bedroom across the river

I’ve been hiking an hour or more every day, swimming, getting back into a semblance of shape. Saw a bear yesterday from my office window on the other side of the river, ambling lazily through the grove of box elders. I camped out on various parts of the ranch back in 2000 when I got it and was trying to decide where to build my home. One reason I decided on this spot is because I like looking across the river at the tall cliffs with that dense grove of box elders at the base that turn bright yellow in the fall.

I’ve seen bear there quite often as well as coyote, fox, bob cat, and ring-tailed cat. I look out from my bedroom and office across the river to those trees and it makes my heart sing. I identify with bear. They are social, playful creatures who love to frolic and cavort. But then, they need to be alone. Being here for me is a form of hibernation when I replenish. So much (too much?) of the rest of my life is public, moving around, being ‘on.’ I need this place to fill back up and be reminded of who I am behind the public persona. I have a wonderful crew of guys–Gilbert, Miguel, Rudy and Julien-who take care of the land and the equipment. It’s big so it takes a lot of caring for. Something’s always going wrong: rabbits or gophers have eaten through the electric lines; I am unable to get internet service (the case right now which is why I am writing this on my Blackberry); the roads get washed out; dogs get bitten by rattle snakes which are particularly abundant this year. This doesn’t happen to Tulea because she’s always at my side. A horse gets colic or goes lame. Carole who was helping me out in L.A. post op, is here now with her husband Tommy. I especially need them when my family’s here and right now it’s Vanessa, her 2 children and next week Matt Arnett, their Daddy, arrives along with the James Andrews family. James is the one who persuaded me to start blogging last January and his 2 children go to school in Atlanta with my grandkids. Still, we can hold a lot of people so it’s far from a full house.

and then there's my definitely urban friend, Richard Perry, in his recording studio. What will he think of the ranch? Stay tuned

I’ve finally begun to tackle the chapter on sex. As of now, I begin it with my interview with 101 year old Ben Burke who told me how he had developed a fondness for 95 year old Edith who lives in the assisted living floor of his senior living center. He called her and asked if he could come up and share a banana and animal crackers with her. On the 2nd visit things progressed from there…the slow, titillating unbuttoning of flannel pajamas… It’s nice to know that skin time never gets old even if the bodies do.

I will now got back to that chapter.

See you next time.

Tulea is so happy to be home. When she got out of the elevator she ran to the door of our loft-well, not ran, skipped is more like it, and I mean it literally. She skips. I never knew another dog who skips. She raced around the place looking for Mouse, the brindle cat she grew up with and loved to play with. Mouse would perch on the back of the couch and jump on top of Tulea when she went by and then they’d roll around and wrestle. But for reasons we don’t understand, Mouse began to poop on my furniture so she now lives with Carole and Tommy and there’ve been no more problems. Carole brought Mouse over today and Tulea was so excited. She was all over Mouse, but Mouse could have cared less. Poor Tulea-except on the way to the airport, I will drop her off with the couple who pet sit and who Tulea adores. It’s more than mutual and they have two small dogs and two big cats that Tulea also loves. The couple are middle aged and their business is called ManyPaws-get it, menopause. Cute, huh? Tulea gets so excited when she realizes she’s at their house that she forgets that we’ll be apart for awhile. It makes it so much easier to leave.

Tulea with Daphne, Jane and her second family.

Tulea’s home away from home

Over lunch I will have a meeting with James Andrews about growing my blog, twittering, FaceBook, and hooking up with TONIC to sell my mug shot merchandise. James was at the Ludacris event last night doing a streaming video with his iphone and something called Ustream.

Gotta leave for the airport. Will be blogging and twittering from Equdor and the Galapagos.

Look what Susan Kellerman just sent, knowing I was about to depart for the Galapagos…with the words “Don’t forget your other family.” Isn’t that fantastic? Like I ever could. From the left it’s Samantha, Don, Caitlin (in the back-my understudy), Diane, me, Cletus, Colin

In car en route to airport with Malcolm on my lap.

Nathalie, Troy, Vanessa and Viva in Delta Lounge

Simone and Troy at airport

See you next time.