April Fourth Saturday Worship--with Beach Towel

What's the beach towel doing in here?

RantWoman invites anyone interested to join the entire virtual gathering of Pacific Northwest quarterly meeting

Virtual Quarterly Meeting Schedule

Exuberant Beach Towel
turned sometime blanket

 Fourth Saturday Worship for April is listed in the Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting virtual schedule as an interest group about disability.

Virtual Quarterly Meeting Schedule

The description in the schedule got edited from RantWoman's original language, something about a basket of topics and seeing where the discussion is led.

RantWoman recommends, in the absence of pine trees, much dryer east of the mountains air and rushing stream at Lazy F camp that Friends do something that can simulate the Quarterly Meeting experience for you. (rantWoman is glad to see--in an overlay her screen reader did not find--that Lazy F is open in a limited way! Interested Friends read for yourselves!)

RantWoman will be bringing her beach towel. There is no beach really at Lazy F. RantWoman though uses the beach towel as a blanket, part of her pack light bedding regimen.

RantWoman was clear in her leading to offer an interest group overlapping with worship. All are welcome. If Friends do not appear by about 4 pm PDT, RantWoman is likely to take her ministry of endlessly insisting on talking about disability to another interest group.

If something involves RantWoman it always involves disability.

What disability-themed (or not?) stumblings on the road to spiritual transformation might lurch out of RantWoman's mouth if she goes to the speakers' panel?

Will RantWoman visit herself on the Bread for the Journey interest group?

Will RantWoman go to the interest group on Reparations and enlighten Friends to the modest limits of RantWoman's capacity about the role of the Black Panthers in the organizing that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Will RantWoman go to the interest group on Uprooting Systemic Racism and enlighten Friends to the modest limits of RantWoman's capacity about the role of the Black Panthers in the organizing that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Will RantWoman bless the discussion on resuming worship with the oppressive awareness that every time RantWoman and her screen readers touch a new pieces of software such as the app being used to register in-person worshippers she has to think about accessibility?

Will RantWoman manage just to be calm and be glad to be among Friends? Come and see!

Earth Day, among other things on very vegan raspberries--and still not being a vegan

Happy Earth Day.with some lilacs blooning nearby!

Lilacs on the way to
one of my bus stops

This week's prompt for Witness Wednesdays at FCNL is a quote from John Woolman.

"The produce of the earth is a gift from our gracious creator to the inhabitants, and to impoverish the earth now to support outward greatness appears to be an injury to the succeeding age." John Woolman, 1777

RantWoman appreciates this quote EVEN THOUGH RantWoman lately has been meditating about how spending TWO YEARS meandering through John Woolman's journal is not particularly anywhere near growing the skills and wisdom to cultivate solutions to today's earthcare conflicts. In fact, it maybe borders on idolatry. 

(RantWoman: Chill. CHILL. The quote is enough for today.)

This month's theme for reflection from the No Arks project is an invitation to consider going vegan.

RantWoman is still not a vegan. From time to time she has and thoroughly enjoys entirely vegan individual meals, but RantWoman is not a vegan. Today's meditation arose while considering fresh raspberries (from Mexico--urk) and decidedly nonvegan yogurt.

RantWoman is trying to be mindful about:

--Raspberries are not in season locally. Imported out of season ones RantWoman bought are actually cheaper than the locally produced in season ones. RantWoman wonders whether the people producing those raspberries have enough to eat before selling to the export market. Should RantWoman consider buying the cheap ones now and putting the money she saves over the local ones into some kind of financial instrument to go back to growers who originally produce the fruit?

--Or should RantWoman also meditate / fret about crop and food supply issues north of the border?

Western Megadrought affects crops and food supply

On the generational themes, one of RantWoman's favorite great uncles was a civil engineer on the Hoover Dam project. RantWoman does not remember during festive dam-themed holiday slide shows whether anything about groundwater or rainfall cycles ever came up.

--RantWoman would not mind some easy table to look up water usage and carbon emissions for different crops travelling to the US from different locations 

And RantWoman is still not a vegan, but RantWoman wants Friends to consider ways to work forward about minimizing climate impact via food witness.

--RantWoman was delighted to hear some reference to care of the environment mentioned in passing in Spanish during some kind of report back at the most recent FWCC section of the Americas virtual gathering.

--RantWoman is glad to hear of and to cheerlead for young people doing cool stuff such as Young Quaker Voices at Quaker Voice in WA. Lord knows RantWoman is not going to get it all done by herself.

RantWoman believes earthcare also means taking care of people and where they live. With that in mind, a map of healthcare disparities in WA:

WA Department of Health Healthcare Disparities Map

RantWoman will now take a break from blogging in order to send an email of legislative encouragement. RantWoman is into battling white supremacy, supporting cleaner transportation, and promoting racial equity by ....paying a lot of attention to transportation meetings..and trying to figure out how to grow some herbs even though the bare balcony police will frown on efforts that involve a magnificent south-facing balcony..

Friends Association in Higher Education Event Tuesday April 27

 from RantWoman's Twitter feed

Friends Association for Higher Education  

Quaker Leadings in Higher Education Series.

Tweet: The Intersection of Quaker Identities and Academic Life

Twitter link contains brief description of event and link to register

Walking in the Light on Campus and Beyond
Cara Curtis and Sa'ed Atshan

"I have become the Zebra: Beiliang Zhu | Bach: Cello Suite No. 6 (5-string Baroque C...

When it comes to centering, RantWoman these days needs all the help she can get. One practice that seems ito help is to designate an earworm of the week, some kind of music that RantWoman will listen to over and over until either the earworm has completely worn out its appeal or some other earworm has grabbed the designation.

RantWoman especially likes this performance of the Bach Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major for references to a zebra at the beginning. RantWoman is also fond of metaphorical zebras because long ago irrepressible nephew and fam would go to a nearby dog park to visit dogs. Dogs were not a thing in Nephew's household so he had to look and love at the dog park. Somehow Irrepressible discovered he had an imaginary zebra. The Zebra hung out around Auntie and somehow frequently needed washing when the fam got near the watering / washing hose. RantWoman had not meant to become that zebra.

With that, enjoy the music.

Young Quaker Voices Speak Event April 23, 7-8 pm

 You are invited to “Young Quaker Voices Speak,” short final reports from the four participants in the first year of our new program. Their reports will be part of the Quaker Voice session at the Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting virtual spring gathering, Friday, April 23, 7-8 pm.

These under-30 Friends have been following legislative issues all session as part of each Quaker Voice working group and will share why they participated; what issue they followed and what happened with it; and what lessons they learned from the experience. The Voices are Ezra Ford, Rebecca Marder, Gabe Sharp, and Ian Stanfield.

For Zoom information see the listing for this event on the QuakerVoice blog

https://www.quakervoicewa.org/young-quaker-voices-speak-friday-april-23/

RantWoman will be eager to hear what Friends made of all the tangles of carbon pricing, road segments, salmon restoration and ped and bike infrastructure measures the WA state legislature is chewing through this session.

RantWoman will also be interested to hear Friends views of the various criminal justice measures. 

Readers wanting to prime the pump with information about this year's QuakerVoice legislative priorities should check the website.

Readers who like RantWoman get to be in permanent Think Outside The Box mode might also be interested in the Disability Mobility Project and the Transportation Choices, both findable with the search engine of choice.

Walk in the Really Bright and Joyous sunlight

 Little Bunny Foo-foo went hopping through the U-District?

Brown bunny
green grass

Actually this here bunny Foo-foo turned up on some Friends' lawn nowhere near the U district on Easter Sunday. It's just that RantWoman needs a visual meme and this is available.

Little Bunny Foo foo previously sent Friends hopping through the world of software accessibility, as relates to registration and list-keeping software needed during COVID for public health record-keeping purposes. 

FINALLY, RantWoman clings to reason to hope, praise God for continuing revelation, and with special prayers for Friends who previously blessed efforts to talk about software accessibility with the verbal equivalent of blank stares. Finally relevant Friends, RantWoman SINCERELY HOPES have been able to put their brains around the point that RantWoman, as an average screen reader using blind person gets to grapple with software accessibility questions every time she touches a new piece of software.

Children Go where I send Thee

Cue one of the recordings of "Children Go Where I Send Thee "on this blog.

And the Lord spake unto RantWoman and the Lord said "get yourself out of bed and put on some clothes. Never mind for now about organizational "sftware." You know where I am going to send you to pray. And don't argue about too many words needing to be typed or furniture needing to be moved. Exercise is magnificent. You will still have too many words tomorrow and Mondays are fabulous days to move furniture.

And lo it was a bright and sunny day and RantWoman's thoughts turned to recovery and rejuvenation and as always for decades already transportation and in particular upcoming transportation transformation in the U District.

(RANTWOMAN! Must you mix stylistic centuries like this? Whatever realism is mixed up in this verbal salad just is NOT magical.)

The route and conveyance

--The Metro Rt. 48 to its last stop, the N side of NE 42nd street to Roosevelt and then around to the right to another street called NE 42nd st and then down 9th Ave. NE to a favorite prayer site.

--RantWoman's feet with RantWoman mumbling mantras about safe continuous travel networks for all modes.

Highlights of the journey

--Magus used book store is open! RantWoman is extremely glad to see this sign of life even though she personally is not much for PRINT and Ambassador Thwack grumbles about having to work to go around their usual sidewalk displays.

--Seriously crumbling sidewalk and the excavation of a new construction site between 12th and 11th. Yes, RantWoman, those graffitti-encrusted Notice of Proposed Land Use Actions signs meant it. New Housing? Tax credity units? RantWoman couldn't tell you. Right now it's just a construction site.

--42nd and Roosevelt, approaching from the east.

A homeless encampment
on the sidewalk
and in the curb ramp.

Look, Thwack the cane has been known to deal badly wit obstacles.  RantWoman has NO desire to call the cops. Still Could people maybe, maybe, maybe try to camp without completely incommoding the sidewalk?

--At last, RantWoman plopped on a favorite wall. And what did she see?

Meetinghouse
built in the style of
a Japanese temple

   --A need to elder the webkeeper about perhaps putting some of the building design history on the website.

    --A closed gate. RantWoman supposes this is one way both to avoid having to deal with unregistered walkins and to avoid making badly-needed restroom facilities available to the peeing public.

 RantWoman mentions the peeing public because today, as on past missions of prayer and observations, RantWoman observed one individual come, try the gate, walk around to look for another entrance and then leave.

What else did RantWoman see? 

Can readers find the "Retail Parking" sign? Business parking as in ground floor retail on the Roosevelt side of a building and a parking garage with entry facing the UFM campus. 

Retail Parking sign

RantWoman, chill, chill. You can ramble in more detail about safe continuous travel networks for all modes SOME OTHER DAY. Just put in the picture.

Further observations

Crumbly sidewalk in the public right of way below / south of the stairs.

How to photograph
a chuckhole

a fabulous chuckhole previously reported to #FindIt Fixit in what would be crosswalk if there were a painted crosswalk.

Bus benches
enhance 
accessibility

A bus bench stripped of both bench and glass walls

Please don't stress out
untrained pets by bringing
themto the grocery store

and finally a grocery store's stern service animal admonishment of no concern to the service python who remains invisible.

This data report brought to you dear readers by the "It's never a good time to deal with midlife vision loss department of vocational  rehabilitation  and vocabulary obliteration.

Still Time to Register: VIRTUAL Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting, April 23-25

In normal in-person years RantWoman always recommends Quarterly Meeting for

--An easy way to find a ride out of the city to fresher air

--Opportunity to Worship and Learn with Friends from all over WA and ID.

 --Opportunity to meet in person with great Quaker activities such as Quaker Voice.

This year, Friends will have to find their own way to fresher air even if it is only to go zoom in a park.

The plenary topic is “Spiritual Healing: what does it mean to you?” .

Queries

What does spiritual healing mean to you?

What experiences have you had with spiritual healing?

What practices strengthen our intention and focus in order to facilitate spiritual healing?

How can we facilitate healing spiritually in any given situation?

How do we apply spiritual healing gifts in our own lives?

How does spiritual healing occur in your MM? How do our meetings collective apply spiritual healing.

 

There is no charge, but donations are welcome.

 

Schedule & links to join the online program will be posted at

https://pnqm.org/virtual .

 

 

See the Registration form on the front page of the Quarterly Meeting web site https://pnqm.org 

And, as a bonus, RantWoman will again heed her call to offer Interest Group space to talk about Disability! This will occur Saturday April 22 during the regular Interest Group time 3:45 - 5:00 pm

Zoom info for RantWoman's Interest group which may soon also appear on the page with all the links.

Disability Accessibility Accountability

Meeting ID: 946 7024 4090

Passcode: 858699