Two chicken hens sitting on a nest of eggs

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

Two chicken hens sitting on a nest of eggs

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and we have some new mothers here on our little farm. Many of our hens became broody almost all at once a few weeks ago. Before we knew it, we had four hens determined to sit on eggs until they hatched. Two hens were so focused on finding a nest to sit on, they squeezed in next to and on top of each other and shared a nest.

Three hens in two nesting boxes, sitting on eggs.

Click for a peek at our brand new bantam baby chicks, that are about as big as your thumb. More pictures to come soon!

A few links to ideas for the Mom in your life:

Flowers for Mother’s Day

Gifts for Moms living in Assisted Living 

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas 

Coffee mug for Mom.

Rejuvenating gifts for Mom 

Make a photo book for Mom 

Take Mom to a Spa

Travel with Mom

A fun tote for Mom

A pretty pitcher for Mom

XO

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Sidney Portier as Thurgood Marshall in "Separate But Equal"

The Roadblocks in Our Mind

Sidney Portier as Thurgood Marshall in "Separate But Equal"

As I sat in the TV room, writing my last post on my laptop, I was watching a movie I think should be required viewing for all school children. “Separate But Equal” features Sidney Portier as Thurgood Marshall in a story of his experience as NAACP’s chief lawyer, trying to get public schools desegregated in the 1950’s. The case ultimately led  to Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the famous case in which the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned racial segregation in U.S. public schools.

Separate But Equal was a four-hour made for TV movie and it is long, but exciting, in large part due to the performances.

I was blown away by this soliloquy by Thurgood Marshall (via Sidney Portier’s understated, yet powerful delivery) in the court, “Separate but equal has been the law of the land for many years, but the Supreme Court ended segregation in Southern graduate schools without any negative consequences. This is progressive development of the law. In South Carolina, all the state officials are white. All the school officials are white. This is not just segregation, this is exclusion – from the group that runs everything. The Negro child is made to go to an inferior school. He is branded in his own mind as inferior. Which sets up – in his own mind – a roadblock that prevents him from ever feeling that he is equal. You can teach such a child citizenship. You can teach such a child the Constitution. But he knows, that for him, it isn’t true.”

The movie is a quiet, powerful drama telling the legacy of this country’s ugly history of slavery, and its legacy in the systematic exclusion and discrimination against African American school children and the immeasurable and lasting damage to those children, and a powerful fight to end it. Given many of the stories in the news today, it is remarkably relevant. I hear echoes of some of the same arguments that were used to prolong discrimination and oppression used today, and it is chilling.

Surprisingly, the film’s messages are also relevant to every woman, and every person who has been subjected to a power that they cannot attain or participate in directing.  I really encourage you to see this film, it’s available in two parts on YouTube: Part One of Separate But Equal, Part Two of Separate But Equal.

I was speaking with a girlfriend on the phone today and she was outraged at the sexism and gender bias her little girl faces as the only female on her baseball team. Her daughter said to her, “It would be so much easier if I was a boy.” It breaks my friend’s heart to think that her daughter has, or may setup that roadblock, the roadblock that prevents her from feeling equal.

I know I have roadblocks in my own mind. As a fearful flier, when I board a plane, I always give a quick glance into the cockpit to see who will have my fate in their hands for the upcoming flight. Once, I saw a petite woman in the pilot’s seat and my heart sank. I know a million reasons why I should not have felt that way – but I did. I wanted a man flying that plane. I sometimes see other women through my own limiting filter and it kills me. If I am thinking that way about other women, I can only imagine how my thinking has been self-limiting. But seeing women in new positions of power helps us all.

Do you have your own stories of the roadblocks you have in your own mind?  Have you liberated yourself from them? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

A few links from around the web:

Entertainment Weekly reviews Separate But Equal.

Even if you don’t plan to make the sublime Espresso Semifreddo on the Vanilla Bean Blog, click over to read the wonderful letter from C.S. Lewis to a little girl.

Yoga poses to help you sleep better.

“My Life as a Turkey,” a lovely, profound and deeply moving documentary about a man who raises 16 wild turkeys as their mother. Amazing. Really.

Analysis of this final season of Mad Men, and here is an oral history of the show.

A fun tutorial on herb starts.

Must be Jelly cause Jam don’t shake like that. The Limoncello Gelle looks fun.

Good advice for any age: What You Learn in Your 40s.

Salted chocolate chunk cookies.

My favorite look: jeans and white shirt.

A visit to Alamo Square.

Cultivating self-compassion for caregivers.

XO

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T-shirt called "Into The Storm" by busymockingbird, showing a woman becoming a dragon, covered in scales, heading into clouds

Blogs I Think You’ll Love

T-shirt called "Into The Storm" by busymockingbird, showing a woman becoming a dragon, covered in scales, heading into clouds

Into the Storm T-Shirt

On my blog page, Trueheartgal, I have a section, called “Blog Inspiration,” where I list the blogs I visit most frequently and where I find joy, a community and  inspiration. I have found some new blogs that I wanted to tell you about in hopes that you might enjoy them as well.

Girl of a Certain Age – I am so crazy about this site that I have subscribed to the blog so each new post shows up in my inbox as an email. I actually check my email several times a day just so I can see the latest post as soon as it’s up. It’s about personal style for “women of a certain age” and the perfect subhead explains, “you know who you are.” I know who I am, and yes, I am of a certain age, and thank goodness I am finding my tribe through blogs like this one. Women who are aging but who want to stay hip, stylish, curious and relevant. The blog’s author, Kim France (Sounds made up doesn’t it? Like Stone Phillips, or Wolf Blitzer.) worked for many different fashion and music magazines over decades. I hope you give her great page a look. I found the link to the t-shirt above from her post featuring a gorgeous mug, which I love. I went to the website where the mug was featured, Redbubble, looked around and found the beautiful t-shirt.

Une Femme D’Un Certain Age   The author is 57 and has a goal of  “living a stylish, adventurous, balanced, delicious life after 50,” to which I too I aspire. She writes about fashion and travel and recently offered this brilliant gem about her 12-piece travel wardrobe and this updated list for a three week trip to Europe.  She also offers a very long and interesting list of hip blogs she enjoys.

The Grandparent Effect  I also subscribe to this wonderful blog that discusses the power of grandparents. Remembering our grandparents, and being a grandparent. I didn’t have children, but one of the greatest gifts my darling husband has given me (among many, many, many gifts), is that of being a grandparent. He has three beautiful children. And, he has seven grandchildren (and counting?) that I get to love, and care for, to teach, to share with, learn from and delight in. In addition, my grandparents left me a profound and lasting legacy of love that still feeds my soul daily.

P.S. I really hope you’ll subscribe to this blog. Just go to trueheartgal.com, enter your email, and hit the “Subscribe” button. You’ll receive an email in your inbox and you’ll need to confirm your subscription by clicking on a link. Thank you!

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