In The News – Page 2 – This Old House 2

Sometimes you just can’t look away from the train wreck

I have been trying to ignore all the political bullshit for my own sanity and I don’t have a “side” or a leaning- except toward rational , common sense, humane and better together mentality. ( for those of you who call me a liberal and as if it’s a dirty word, well if those qualities listed above are a dirty word to you, you’re the damaged one) I vote accordingly, sometimes R, sometimes D but I believe the party system is now failing us big time. But what I am truly saddened by, what is most alarming to me is the mentality of the new Republican Party. Dear friends who are lifelong republicans are expressing the same dismay and some have actually changed to independents. So many hypocrisies. Remember the Incessant Lock her up , Lock him up… but if it’s their guy, no fair going after political opponents, it’s unAmerican. In a time when we are still swamped with healthcare crisis, mental health crisis, poverty, homelessness, how many school shootings and mass shootings is it now per year in this country, crumbling infrastructure, border and immigration issues, the fallout from a pandemic, the list goes on…. R s are focusing on book banning, period regulating, banning people who like to dress up in drag( been happening since the Dawn of time, folks) uterus regulating ( do you think that would ever ever ever happen with a man’s genitals?) and even when it is proven by their own words!! News outlets Exposed! That they knew they lied about big things and they didn’t even like the entity they were promoting and lifting – there are no consequences. Zip. Business as usual.

What. The. fuck.

And all the while, we the people continue our infighting and the great divide widens and I do not understand how every single one of us doesn’t understand that will be our end. Divided we will fall- all because some powerful talking heads twisted our truths and some of us, enough of us.. fell for it.

If you think China and Russia aren’t watching with utter glee our unraveling, well what more to be said…. That.

I literally pray that we the people, all of us, remember why we came together in the first place and what truly made us great, and find a better way than what we are currently electing. Otherwise, we are so very very fucked.

I’m just trying to get home

It is almost unfathomable that all five men, officers, who beat Tyre Nichols to death participated in such a disgusting, hideous, inhumane act. All five of them .. on one unarmed man. Spraying, tasing, Kicking him in the head! Repeatedly. So far, it appears there was no justification for the traffic stop. Is there really any wonder he ran for his life? His last words were Momma… momma, momma… who’s house was 100 yards away. Every mother was called right then.

When I heard about this I admittedly assumed these officers would be white… because we have heard that narrative before, haven’t we. Shockingly, they were all black. Which makes this even more heartbreaking if that’s even possible .

So many things wrong here. Why such murderous violence, of course… why is skin color ever a part of the equation and yet it’s one of the first assumptions we make when we hear a story like this, am I right? Many layers too- violence and crime numbers are up, we idolize and elect politicians who promote violence, we sell video games that promote violence, we can’t even pass sensible gun laws in this country ( for the 1,oooth time, no one is looking to take away the guns of law abiding citizens). How many mass shootings in the US in the past week alone? We don’t address poverty or mental illness effectively.

Another layer- the distrust and distain these hideous events cause for all the law enforcement out there who put their own lives in jeopardy every day and with the best of intentions and sometimes put in the worst of situations to protect us all. Having two members of our family serving or served as police officers, the danger they and their families live with, the crap they have to put up with and many do with integrity and good will and tremendous courage and grit , it’s also amazing anyone is still willing to put themselves in that position.

And how it’s lost on anyone that violence and damage and looting to protest violence is just one wrong after another and feeds the flame and the stigma .. is beyond me. It’s no solution, it’s simply an excuse for more of the same. But when you feel you are repeatedly unheard, what are your options? More layers.

I hesitated to post about this because what does my two cents really matter, but Jesus, just ignoring something so awful feels really wrong.

The State of Things…

I don’t even watch the news anymore, rarely skim the headlines, truly shy away from anyone posting political crap on social media, and I used to be one who chirped.. a lot! I just cannot believe the utter shit show across the entire political system, our governing bodies. I decided my sanity and well being is more important than absorbing all the toxic noise, misinformation, ignorance. And we all know in our deepest well of knowledge that we don’t change the heart or mind of another person who will believe what they want to believe, no matter the detriment to themselves or others. So I stopped trying to do that, too. And I must admit, I’m not so sure those I trusted are trustworthy enough.

It’s freeing! I’m spending more time improving the quality of the work I put into my day job, this farm, the critters in my care, my family, myself. I picked up the paint brush again and completed a piece for a friend, and I have a new one on the easel. It all feels like the right thing to do.

The completed piece – this tells the beginning story of an immigrant who was born in this house ( no hospitals anywhere near) and raised here until his family moved (legally!) to this country for a better way of life. They have worked very hard for a long time with two successful businesses now and just built a beautiful barn and home here in town. He wanted this painting made as a reminder of their journey.

New on the easel… when completed it will be a snowy scene of a Vermont covered bridge in a town we visit often, many good memories and hopefully more to be made.

The weather has been good and bad and iffy and good and bad again. In between raindrops or frigid temps I’ve been walking with Kai again, and recently my son and I have gone on a few short hikes. It feels good to keep going.. and we’ll get more hikes in when weather permits.

This is Deer Lake Reservation, which has just been sold by the Boy Scouts of America after a lengthy campaign by locals and state representatives to save it from development, to Pathfinders, which will keep it as a camp and public recreation area and wildlife refuge. There are extensive trails, too.. this is a BIG WIN for nature, for campers and the general public who appreciate and recognize the value of open space. There are many cabins the scouts and other campers used, and they will be kept up by the new owner and used in summer camp programs.

This quartz wedged in a large boulder looks like teeth!

We’ve also been down to the shore for some winter walks…

This next scene is going to be my next painting, on a bigger canvas for the living room if it comes out decent. I am so grateful for this New England lanscape, diverse and beautiful in all seasons.

Our girls are in the second trimester of their pregnancies now, we are all so exciting for Jonathan and Mia to arrive. The eternal worrier in me keeps praying all will go well for both moms to be and their babies, and the dads as well! Baby showers being planned, I’ve already got a shelf full of childrens books I’ve been collecting for many years ( I’m a big fan). The baby clothes nowadays are so much more fun than when we were young mothers! and the baby equipment too.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods or piece of the plains, spit of sand on the shore or your stamp on suburbia… what have you been doing to stay sane in these troubling times?… creativity, better health, new horizons, perhaps travel again? Covid is running rampant again around these parts, my son and daughter-in-law just got over it. People are masking up again….just.. ugh.

closing this post with a few pieces I’ve found inspiring or profound…

Till soon-

We Shall Be Free

As these elections come and go I find I am at a loss for words that adequately describe my heartbreak for the state of the world and this country that I love. And as I see politicians who continuously sow seeds of division and hate and people/media/politicans continue to spread false information with the intention to divide and conquer… I don’t know how it’s lost on anyone this very simple but very real truth….. united we stand, divided we will eventually fall. We are falling. We need leaders who are focused on bringing us all together regardless of our affiliations, for that is where we become strong…… leaders who believe in democracy at it’s best, leaders who truly care about all of us, not just those who bow to them or line their pockets. We need leaders who care about the earth because we are fucking it up royally and that’s not a bottomless pit, we need leaders who’s egos don’t get in the way of the job they’re supposed to do… for all of us, not just their rally crowds. I don’t like most of my choices for voting, I wish we did better across the whole political spectrum. And I sure as hell don’t have the answer – but I will not lose any more of my precious time fretting over something I have no control over other than my vote. I will continue to try to leave things better than I found them, help those I can, and although I’m not religious, this country and it’s people are gonna need every prayer we’ve got, because all I see is more ugly coming down the pike, and too many people looking the other way to support it for whatever their reasons. Unfathomable, and yet here we are.

I wrote this a week or so ago, just before the most recent elections….. and what I see now is HOPE. A LIGHT beaming out over the dysfunction. I still believe a mix of both Democratic and Republican policy make for a strong Democracy if the two parties can work together for the common good. There in lies the rub! There has always been friction, and some corruption all over the spectrum, but never the divisive vicious manipulating anything goes and anything is accepted crap we have seen ushered in with the MAGA mentality. It’s as if someone threw gas on and lit and aimed a blowtorch at the worst our society has to offer.

…. So.. that light? This election was not a red wave, as the media predicted. A ripple at best. And some of the MAGA crowd vying for power was sent a clear message – we are tired of the hate, of the rage politics, we want function, not dysfunction.

Trying to distance myself from the muck of the political landscape… I’ve been sitting at the easel again and just finished this little painting, which I truly love. For me it represents simpler times, and a childhood joy I still cherish… those little glass orbs, tiny little worlds in a glass jar on a sunny windowsill. PS: I don’t know why the weird lines appear in this painting’s image here, at least on my computer screen. It’s not in the uploaded image of the painting.

As I sat up there on election day in my son’s old bedroom which is now my “art studio” … I had Amazon music playing and my old buddy Garth came up – how profound is this…. ( yep, I’m still hearing impaired, but I remember my favorites and all their nuances… and I can still hear the base rhythm… so believe it or not, I can still sing – horribly!!) Garth Brooks is one of my very favorites… and this song ranks up there in my top 10 of all time.

We Shall Be Free

This ain’t comin’ from no prophet,

Just an ordinary man.

When I close my eyes,

I see the way this world shall be

When we all walk hand in hand.

When the last child cries for a crust of bread,

When the last man dies for just words that he said,

When there’s shelter over the poorest head,

We shall be free.

When the last thing we notice is the color of the skin,

And the first thing we look for is the beauty within;

When the skies and the oceans are clean again,

Then we shall be free.

We shall be free, we shall be free.

Stand straight, walk proud,

‘Cause we shall be free.

When we’re free to love anyone we choose,

When this world’s big enough for all different views,

When we all can worship from our own kind of pew,

Then we shall be free.

We shall be free, we shall be free

Have a little faith, hold out,

‘Cause we shall be free.

And when money talks for the very last time,

And nobody walks a step behind;

When there’s only one race,

And that’s mankind, then we shall be free.

We shall be free ,we shall be free

Stand straight, (walk proud, )

Have a little faith, (hold out;)

We shall be free.

We shall be free, we shall be free,

(Stand straight, ) stand straight,

(Have a little faith, ) walk proud,

‘Cause we shall be free.

Till soon, Friends…

Will they rise, will we…

How are you digesting all that awful information out there, is it weighing heavy as it is with me? I just cannot fathom the depths of evil pooled in a man like P*tin and the mentality of those who willingly follow his lead. How do you march and drive and fly and angle your weapon into a peaceable country and start obliterating innocent people and all the things they have built and lived in and loved, and live with yourself afterward. How do you admire the man who tells you to do so? And how does that evil man think he can ever gain whatever little thread of respect he had in this world, now that he has proven himself to be another version of H*tler. He is destroying his own country along with his decimation of Ukran*an cities, how did he ever believe this would be a big win for him?

Why such evil exists in a world where we could truly all live in harmony and without basic need if we would all just rise to that simple concept… is beyond my comprehension. It would be so easy. How did we evolve into something so different. Well…. some of us. This is where the concept of an all seeing, all loving, all knowing, all powerful Creator fails me. It feels more like we were an experiment that is failing, rapidly. Or was he/she/they like the surgeon who’s intent is to save a life but nicks a main artery in the process and we slowly bleed out. If you find comfort in religion, my intent is not to mock your beliefs. I just don’t see it, with all my heart I don’t feel it. I believe more in the power of good people and I pray for that most of all.

I am so impressed by the tenacity, the raw courage of the Leader and people of Ukra*ne. I hope they prevail, I hope they will be able to return to their country and rebuild, despite the destruction, and I hope we all live to see it. My prayers for them are simple.. I am a spiritual person, if not religious. I pray they rise like a phoenix from the ashes and overcome the monster’s attempted extermination. And I pray this country gets it’s shit together and finds more unity among us, rising from the ashes of the political discourse that is also so.. unnecessary. Don’t we all want the same basic things? We do, if you don’t fall for the talking heads with their own agendas.

I have one tattoo on my 57 year old body – and it is the phoenix, it is my prayer.

Again.

Looking out over this pink dawn, my mind can’t erase the images and videos of the absolute evil destruction of a peaceful people’s country by a cunning soulless madman. The rest of the world should be standing with them, defending their lives with the might of the many. We don’t… and we won’t … because we have invented weapons that can destroy us all and the earth we inhabit, and a Third World War would most likely end us all … hard to imagine such stupidity and such hate. And yet here we are. Letting a madman have his way, so many innocent lives lost… again.

Again.

Again. 💔

Imagine

The following is written by my mother, my best friend and advocate always, love you mom –

Imagine: Thoughts on the Anniversary of An Insurrection

by Kathleen Amoia

I think there are many reasons we are at this inflection point in our democracy. Some are the result of anger at government failures in the face of major societal changes, some self-indulgent ignorance, some opportunist power grabs, some racist and misogynist. Another reason, I believe, is a general failure of imagination that includes most of us.

Too many of us are playing with the idea of losing our democracy as if it has no intrinsic value to our daily lives. Too many play with the idea of secession as if it could be an easy and successful separation, no harm, no foul, a mulligan of sorts. Many are considering forever contesting election results without proof of fraud, of denying the vote to major segments of our citizenry without imagining the pushback, considering letting elected officials go unpunished for treason without imagining what that means for good governance and the rule of law. Many rant and rave over manipulated petty outrages of no consequence while ignoring growing authoritarianism, a three year pandemic, and the existential threat of climate change. Do look up, imagine the proverbial asteroid ( democracy, voting rights, climate change). It is right over our heads.

We flirt with fascism and the power grabbers are thrilled. Imagine them without constraints on their greed, their ability to corrupt the courts, to buy every election forever. Imagine another fascist inclined president whose sycophants have learned how to pull off a coup. Imagine what would have happened if Pence had in fact been killed and the fascist in the White House had declared martial law and just remained in power. What then? What would fighting, blood in the streets, vigilante justice, mob rule look and feel like? What is it like when a nation, afraid and weary of death, destruction, and economic chaos , turns to the strongman and accepts whatever he demands in exchange for peace. And yes, promises the trains will run on time. They won ‘t. Imagine and don’t think for a minute it could not happen here.

Imagine we are halfway to being Russia on steroids. We are bigger, we are armed to the teeth, and we are being taught to hate each other. We are richer, there is more to be grabbed by the corrupt and those they favor. Let’s imagine it all until it scares us sufficiently to get serious about the work that has to be done to save this fragile democracy. Let’s imagine what would be lost and perhaps never regained.

Let’s imagine we like most of our fellow Americans and the democracy we were blessed with, imperfect but so much better than fascism. Let’s protect the vote and use it to elect decent, informed men and women who want to lead for the right reasons and have the innate decency and courage to do so.

Imagine that!

The Will Of The People

This year I’ve made a concerted effort to stay out of the political fray, and it’s been good for me. I notice many others are doing the same. However, I can’t ignore what happened a year ago today – nor the cult-like acceptance of the many lies and the violence spurred by those lies, all put in play by one inflated but lethaly cunning ego and enablers so twisted, they emboldened all that is ugly in this society and managed to make a mockery of much that is good. Despite many many attempts to find proof that our elections are rigged, there is ZERO ZIP evidence that DT lost the election any way but fairly and through the fault of his own damaging actions (proof here…. if he had proven he could be a decent leader, this person would have voted for him in his second run. He destroyed that within his first year, and I’m not alone in feeling that way, not by a long shot). He’s a horrible loser and he can’t let it go, not even for the good of the country and the democracy he is supposed to protect. Truly one of the ugliest types of a person there can be in every catagory proven by his own actions and words during his lifetime, yet somehow, he’s gained a following he will never be worthy of, because he knows how to rile and anger and arouse the worst in humanity to forward his mission, and his mission is always, always about him first, not We The People. He knew our weaknesses (he wasn’t wrong about those) and he abused and exploited them and managed with his words to divide this nation like never before. The worst possible type of human to lead these United States, and he brought the worst out in all of us. He proved me right again and again and again. I so hoped he would prove me wrong.

FIVE PEOPLE DIED during his tantrum on the capitol, an angry mob fueled by a lie, many lies. Proven. Not Fake News. Texts from his own family and cohorts prove they knew how awful it was too, begging him to do something to reverse it, yet he did not. What was it that was said so often after H. Clinton lost the election? You lost, get over yourselves. The hypocrisy is laughable, if only five people hadn’t died. Where are the back the blue people as they applaud that hideous day? Trump lost this election all by himself, with his own hideous mouth, lies, abuses of power, the corrupt (how many arrests??and proven guilt?) … swamp he surrounded himself with.

So they say we’re on the brink of losing our democracy. Do we really understand the meaning of the word? In it’s simplest form, a way of governing run by the will of the people. Why would we not protect that very important thing we all want? We are never all going to agree, and for this to succeed, we all must agree to disagree and accept elected officials as they are elected, the elected must WORK TOGETHER for the common good, and we need to encourage candidates who are first and foremost qualified, and unifying – not divisive and corrupt. TERM LIMITS, AGE LIMITS! Is it possible? I don’t know.. but it’s the only way forward if the system is to survive, and it starts with We The People.

I didn’t want Joe Biden for President, and I am disappointed with Kamala Harris, for reasons I don’t need to go into here. I’m capable of hoping for the best for them and for us, as I tried to do for Trump initially. I don’t see evil people in our current Pres and VP… I see politicians who dedicated their lives to serving a country they believed in, whether we will agree on some of their choices or not. What Biden said today was spot on – it’s our truth whether we want it to be our not. Blind ignorance serves no one, especially those who choose it…. so I hope we all will heed the warning, because it’s screaming over our hills, down our roads and through our valleys, communities, in our cities, our villages , our world.

“At this moment, we must decide what kind of nation are we going to be. Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm? Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people? Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth, but in the shadow of lies? We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation. The way forward is to recognize the truth, to live by it”

– Amen

Shots or Not

I certainly… certainly… thought by now we’d all have that damned virus kicked to the curb. At this point I’m not sure it will ever be eradicated. I missed the smiles on people’s faces and it’s discouraging to see masks coming back into every store again, but I understand the fear and the need for caution. All the crazy out there is flapping in the breeze, too ….. there are government chips in the vaccines, you know…. they’re tracking you…. even though that smart phone you have in your hands has been tracking you for years if that’s something you lose sleep over.

I’m not thrilled to inject my body with any foreign anything, heck, I don’t ever get the flu shot , but I’ve been inoculated throughout my life as most of you have too and I know without a doubt vaccinations have eradicated many a disease we would otherwise die from. I’m grateful for the option to get vaccinated against the virus I saw take my Dad down in a matter of days, but I do believe it should be everyone’s right to decide for themselves if it’s right for them , and I understand the legitimate concerns.

While it’s true you can still get sick once you’re vaccinated, and even carry the virus to give to others, science and experience is saying the severity is diminished and so far in my life I have seen science save lives much more often than it takes them. It boggles the mind that somehow, through recent politicizing of a public health threat that should NOT EVER have been politicized, science for some has become something not to be trusted.

You know.. there are gambles we all take on a regular basis. When you drink or smoke you take a gamble. When you get in your vehicle and drive off you take a gamble. When you choose not to get your health check ups you take a gamble… When you sip a c*ke, eat k8ntucky fried chicken, throw back some Adv*l for pain, eat take out chinese food, pizza, Mickey D’s, buy foods supposedly labeled organic, skate on a pond, ski down a mountain… it’s all a gamble, and it’s yours to take.. or not.

I’m not advising anyone on what they should do regarding the vaccine or anything else for that matter. Heck, I go back and forth myself. But I know science isn’t evil (big ph*arma, the business, is another story) and science is ever evolving, and while I absolutely abhor some members of our government, for the most part I’m certain most of them aren’t evil either. In so many ways we are so damned lucky for the science and the democracy we have today. How we have benefited from both is getting lost on some people as they get mired in the conspiracy theories and utter bullshit some will spew for their political posturing and to confuse and divide the masses. That’s how you control and keep the masses down where you want them, proven through history time and again. How is that lost on anyone?

We here in this house decided based on our circumstances and the conclusions we’ve drawn from our own research… we are vaccinated. That doesn’t make us sheep. With great hope, it might make us and our loved ones safer. That’s the gamble we decided to take.

Wishing you, each and every one – vaxed and unvaxed –

a Merry Christmas and a Happy, HEALTHY New Year –

with much love from This Old House 2 and Stella by the Sea –

My Valentine to You

Have I told you lately how much I appreciate your dropping by now and then? I have come to know some wonderful salt of the earth people (my favorite kind) on this blog forum and that is a Valentine all on it’s own.

Lots to catch up on… How about that non-impeachment joke of an event? Without going into a diatribe about how thoroughly disgusted I continue to be, this sums it up pretty well…

Anyway.. Onward.

We’ve had snow and the typical cold raw grey New England winter days… and my back and neck remind me I’ve been doing barn chores in this weather for oooh… about 40 years now, give or take a few….

Above is Leah, our showgirl-come- home, and she loves being a home horse with less responsibility 🙂

Below is our old boy, Max… glaucoma clouds one eye. He and I match with about the same amount of greys and no fondness for makeup- thankfully I don’t have his chin hairs.

The EggPlant during a recent snowfall…. I have 8 new chicks of colorful varieties coming soon!….

Our daughter’s house in the field nextdoor….

My son and his fiance have a new baby… their first… and he’s of the canine variety – Meet Leo, a 4 month old rottie – I get to babysit a few times a week when the boy is at work.