Sister Pearl's World

Secret from PostSecret.com I’ve been teaching for quite...

Tue, 29 May 2012 06:30:58 -0400

Secret from PostSecret.com

I’ve been teaching for quite awhile, now, and I work with some of the most challenging and difficult students in our district… and sometimes, they’re the only motivation I have to get up in the mornings.

I have learned as much from them as I have to offer as a teacher.

Thanks to all of my present and past students. Even those of you who give me agida on a daily basis ;)

My nephew & me. I can’t believe I am a...

Mon, 28 May 2012 20:16:05 -0400

My nephew & me. I can’t believe I am a “real” flesh & blood auntie. He’s precious. (Taken with instagram)

We met our nephew yesterday. He is so tiny, and my husband is...

Mon, 28 May 2012 20:03:54 -0400

We met our nephew yesterday. He is so tiny, and my husband is such a giant. (Taken with instagram)

"It is no coincidence that so many in the West are affronted by Muslim women’s veils: they symbolise..."

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:48:12 -0400

“It is no coincidence that so many in the West are affronted by Muslim women’s veils: they symbolise the last refusal of Islamic cultures to be stripped and consumed by the Western narcissistic gaze.”

- The dignity of the feminine in Islam: Against Zizek’s Orientalism – Opinion – ABC Religion & Ethics (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

An interesting piece by Rachel Woodlock

(via badassmuslimahs)

poetfire: dust I don’t know if he totally understands...

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:05:03 -0400

poetfire:

dust

I don’t know if he totally understands those dusty corners, but he loves them… and he is the only one who can settle my mind and heart when that dust gets kicked up and things get messy.

I’m not so great at expressing it most of the time, but I love my husband like crazy.

One of these little boys is our Wally! Our awesome breeder just...

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:27:00 -0400

One of these little boys is our Wally! Our awesome breeder just sent me the photo. I’m so head-over-heels!

The chives are flowering in my garden. (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:12:08 -0400

The chives are flowering in my garden. (Taken with instagram)

"To say I stand with Cory Booker — I have not seen a Republican national candidate, with maybe..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:49:34 -0400

“To say I stand with Cory Booker — I have not seen a Republican national candidate, with maybe the exception of Jack Kemp a long time ago, willing to stand with me in places like Newark, New Jersey, Camden, New Jersey, Paterson — places that often the GOP seems to want to imagine don’t exist.”

- Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, NJ.

I’ve admired this man for a long time. He keeps earning it.

There are wild ramps. I recently saw them for sale at my local...

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:59:28 -0400

There are wild ramps. I recently saw them for sale at my local supermarket for $13/pound. I almost started crying, right there in the porduce section.

Ten years ago, when I was living on a fishing island in the Atlantic off Ireland’s western coast, I desperately poor, usually on the brink of homelessness, and constantly hungry. Yes, that gnawing hunger that refuses to go away, that keeps you up at night from the pain, though you wish you could sleep so it would go away. That hunger that nearly drove me to steal food or fight over a hunk of cheese. That hunger that DID reduce me to flirting with the old fishermen, in the hopes that they would buy me dinner, or at least a pint of Guinness with some marginal nutritional value. Yes, I was eating every day, but usually only one or two very small meals, consisting mostly of rice and split peas, with the occasional carrot, and when I could scrape it together, some beans or potatoes.

To supplement, I took to nature. This was a remote and rather barren island, a desert of limestone, if you will. But I found some varieties of seaweed and dandelion leaves (BOTH I have also seen in groceries at ridiculously high prices) to provide me with some essential nutrients and some extra belly-filling.

And for some flavor, I had the ramps. They have a mild garlicky-oniony taste, but it was enough to add a bit of taste to the monotony. The trouble is, ramps grew in some of the rockiest soil on the island. I would dig with my bare hands for hours, just to pull together enough to flavor a meal. The stones ripped my skin, and I bled. But I kept doing it, because the hunger kept gnawing, and I had to feed myself. And flavor, even in hunger, is still essential. It was a terrible time n my life, but I am grateful for it, because I still know now how to go out into nature and find food to supplement what I have at home.

Ramps, along with seaweed and dandelion leaves, were a major part of my ‘poor food’. And here, they are sold to foodies who are willing to spend exorbitant amounts for the curious delicacy. This really just blows my mind.

The puppies were born yesterday! This is a photo from our...

Sun, 20 May 2012 08:58:27 -0400

The puppies were born yesterday! This is a photo from our breeder. Mama poodle Ruby is exhausted. (Taken with instagram)

Mama poodle Ruby is due to have her litter any day. One of those puppies is going to be ours!

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:58:39 -0400

I am so nervous and excited all at once. Please pray that she has an easy labor, and that the puppies are healthy and strong.

Post-graduation ceremony game of ring-around-the-rosie (Taken...

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:59:38 -0400

Post-graduation ceremony game of ring-around-the-rosie (Taken with instagram)

I am on auntie duty during my best friend’s graduation!...

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:51:32 -0400

I am on auntie duty during my best friend’s graduation! (Taken with instagram)

The columbines are blooming by the old red bench. (Taken with...

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:51:41 -0400

The columbines are blooming by the old red bench. (Taken with instagram)

robot-heart: gratitude is the best attitude (by Brittney...

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:25:40 -0400

robot-heart:

gratitude is the best attitude (by Brittney Borowski)

The tourist expects, while the pilgim is grateful.

The mantra of many on the Camino.

Epic time-lapse political map of Europe, from approximately 1000...

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:04:31 -0400

Epic time-lapse political map of Europe, from approximately 1000 AD until the present.

Holy cow, Calabria and Bavaria (my two main sources of ancestry) went through so many hands… no wonder I’m such a crazy biological mix!

withquest: mehreenkasana: My friend (who wears the Hijab)...

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:52:54 -0400

withquest:

mehreenkasana:

My friend (who wears the Hijab) wanted a doodle just for her - and based on an experience she’d often have, in conversation and once in action about her headscarf when some Western feminists told her to “take it off.” It may not be the most original one (I’ve seen excellent doodles on Tumblr about this debate) but I made sure her expression remains genuine as it is.

More power to you, babe.

oh sweet jesus this is perfect.

what is so hard to understand??? choice means if you want to wear a damn scarf on your head and follow your culture/religion then it’s your fucking choice!

"A married woman who chooses not to have children is highly suspect to some, broken in some..."

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:02:16 -0400

“A married woman who chooses not to have children is highly suspect to some, broken in some fundamental way… I toss aside the accusations of selfishness: Not having to care for children of our own makes my husband and me nimble with our assistance when it’s needed. We’re quick with a listening ear and a chilled cocktail for friends in need of company, share cash and volunteer time we might not have otherwise had and are fluent in cranky, misfit teen… [And] when your kid hits puberty and decides they “hate” you and the rest of humanity, hand ‘em over. We’ll let them know how lucky they are to have you as parents.
Less easy to shake off is the assertion that a female who does not bear a child is somehow not a real woman. I’m secure in my choice but deeply disappointed that one woman would wield that as a slur against another. I’ve no right to mandate what a mother should teach her daughter, but I hope, deep down in my nullipara heart, that some of the lessons would be about personal freedom, the beauty of difference and the possibility that a person could be content and complete all on her own.
And I am not alone. In the world I’ve made for myself, I have a career I adore and friends who fill my head, heart and waking hours. They are in various stages of couple and singlehood, childlessness and large-brooded, and each illuminates my world in a different way. They make my heart larger, stronger and better.”

- Kat Kinsman, “I am nobody’s mother and never will be”

Dear facebook,

Sun, 13 May 2012 19:48:15 -0400

I hate you today.

That is all.

Up yours,

Pearl

It’s finally sweet violet season! From the patch in the...

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:29:39 -0400

It’s finally sweet violet season! From the patch in the corner between the mints. (Taken with instagram)