In The News – Page 5 – This Old House 2

How Y’all doing out there

Dear Georgia – Shout out to the brave ones as your Governor has opened your doors again, with the high praise of Tr*mp and P*nce. Let us know how y’all make out, we’ll be paying attention. Of course.. you won’t be seeing Tr*mp & P*nce out there among you, because they do still care about their own asses, just not yours so much as the all mighty dollar as it pertains to their re election prospects. Of course, with all the MAGA stupidity going on, those rallies to be set free again with our own POTUS calling for civil unrest – set yourself free!!…. and don’t leave out the can’t-make-me-wear-a-mask bullshit… sad but true – there might be fewer MAGA voters come November.

Mask wearing no longer feels weird in a grocery store, hell, everyone’s doing it. If I could only master the damned arrows in the aisles!… sheesh, such a simple thing and yet so many of us are getting it wrong. (hand raised high here). I don’t wear gloves except at the gas pump, where they are thrown out as soon as the handle is back in it’s holder. Hand washing is so frequent my hands are sandpaper, but MOM to the rescue – have you tried Cetaphil ultra healing with ceramides? It’s not cheap but it’s magic on rough try hands. Thanks, Mom – it works!

I’m eating more than I should because I’m cooking and baking more than usual because I’m home and there’s the damned refrigerator every time I turn around and you know I have to open it and take something out and shove it in my mouth. Right now I’ve got a blueberry buckle baking in the oven, and Maple BBQ Ribs and green beans are on tonight’s dinner menu. Tomorrow night I’ll make the New York Times recipe Caramelized Shallot Pasta. All are delish recipes, easy to put together if you have the ingredients.

Farm news! – the baby goats, Star and Bella will be moving in this weekend. YAY!!… It’s been 40 years since I’ve had a goat – that’s an actual fact.. and I am so excited to welcome them home. My first goat was one I had adopted at the Staten Island Zoo while I worked there at the pony ride track. The baby goat had eye ulcers and they were going to put her down. I begged them to let me take her, and got her to the vet immediately. We healed her ulcers and she lived on our little plot on Staten Island until she became much bigger and a neighbor’s daughter who had a farm took her to live a bigger farm life. Her name was Casey – She was a black goat with a white star on her forehead just like our Star. We’ve got the goat house ready and their goat yard properly fenced in for their safety, now to create a little bit of a playscape for them. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, Stella is open and ready for the season… we just need some warm weather…. Some scenes from “down island” after yesterday’s rainstorm…

I hope you’re well and staying sane. We’re all good here, working from home and out on job sites with caution of course. Our business has definitely been affected, as several tenants have notified us they will be abandoning their lease (hair dresses among them). Time will tell how it all pans out.

Closing out this post with a little quarantine humor…

A New Season

Who in their right mind would have ever guessed we’d be in the middle of a pandemic come Spring? How are you all coping, I hope this post finds you well and sane, if nothing else. We are all (crossed fingers) healthy here and practicing as much safe social distancing as is possible. My hands are sand paper from all the washing. I have now begun wearing a face mask in the grocery store, as are most other people. I also see others wearing them when walking outdoors – I think that’s a bit of an overkill in areas like ours, perhaps not in the big cities and in stores, etc. When will it all end? Well, when will we feel comfortable sauntering around a store or sitting in a crowded restaurant when someone coughs? *sigh. When there’s a vaccine, I suppose? …. we can only wait and see.

We opened the cottage for the season last week – water turned back on, lawn is mowed, garden beds raked out, the beds newly made with fresh-washed linen, floors and furniture wiped down, outdoor furniture back in it’s place. There is fresh dirt in all the pots and I’ll plant annuals once the threat of frost is gone – Mother’s Day is a good rule of thumb but this year I’m a little impatient.

I bought two new candy and dog bone glass jars for the counter – they look like Fire King jadeite type glass but I’m not sure they actually are. The Pioneer Woman’s line in walmart.

We moved our Miss Leah home because I do believe the show season is official deceased. I could be wrong about that but I don’t feel comfortable putting myself and my daughter out there while they find out. She has adjusted very well to home life and we continue to give her exercise as she would normally get at the show barn. My daughter and I have actually ridden together again for the first time in a long time! In the photo below I’m riding her old boy, Max. He has glaucoma in one eye now but we are managing it with meds.

The farm has been such a blessing as we wade through this time of quarantine, social distancing, etc. The fruit trees in the orchard are blooming, the berry bushes we planted last year are greening up, and most of the christmas trees we planted for the third time the wrong way are actually alive. They might just live to see Christmas in a tree stand some day.

My kitchen junk drawer got cleaned out and organized – holy crap, I found christmas ornament hooks I didn’t know I had, baby aspirin that expired five years ago, four pairs of dog nail clippers, at least five collars, 5,000 hair elastics, and I could build a bathroom with the tools in there, I’m almost not exaggerating. Below is the “after”.

I’ve been exercising more, which is a good thing, and I finished the painting of Opie, which I started last year after he passed on. It was just too sad to sit there reminded of him, so I left it unfinished for a long time. I’m no professional, my work is primitive for sure.. but I’m happy with the result and finishing it was therapeutic. And maybe that was because I was watching episodes of Outlander ( watching Jamie Fraser if I’m being totally honest) as I went along. The painting is of Opie standing under our ancient pear tree on a misty fall morning.

A few funnies for you below and an old recipe a friend shared – wishing us all good health and peace of mind as we carry on through and past these weird days –

Till soon, friends…

Hush

The world is so quiet right now…

This will sound odd, but as a hearing impaired person this has never been more striking for me. What I still hear on a normal day are none of the beautiful nuances, cadence and understandable language of a human voice. No musical magic that can carry you to a better frame of mind in minutes. No bird song.

What I still hear on a normal day are all the loud irritating noises we humans produce – car engines, plane jets, train whistles, car horns, shouting , machines, door slams, the thump of a heavy object dropped, etc.

As I stood in my driveway this morning I suddenly noticed it- all of that irritating noise is gone. Walkers pass by and wave with a smile. A biker glides past. No planes overhead, no cars driving by.

Just Peace and quiet.

Scary times we are living in, so much uncertainty and fear. I’m no expert who should be handing out advice, but this is universal, good advice for anyone , isn’t it?

✨Find the silver lining wherever you are . ✨

Wishing us all good health, healing .. peace of mind. ✨❤️ …. and… a fragrant purple hyacinth on each of our kitchen window sills next to a vase of nature’s treasures we’ve collected in a past day well spent.

Lesson for the day….

LESSON FOR THE DAY- when your husband says he will come to the grocery store with you and you’re thinking – well sure, I mean…. I’ve always wondered whether he’d be useful or dead wood in a zombie apocalypse- JUST SAY NO. . And especially- don’t let him grab his own cart. 150 hot dogs and buns, bacon, garbage bags, pudding, meat and bread to feed an army later- we’re covered for the next three Fourth of Julys. 🙄

We’re all staying healthy and relatively sane here, and we hope that continues – Wishing the same for you as well –

Karen

Strange Times Indeed

So how are you all faring in these strange and scary times? I go back and forth between OMGOMGOMG ventilators, deaths, hospitals without supplies, WTF! … and figuring out how to go to the grocery store without hyperventilating. The husband and I have had our typical Spring allergy symptoms and of course that leads to thoughts of… is this really allergies or the other dreaded “C” word? Do I have a fever? (no) Dry cough, trouble breathing? (no) So I’ve stopped watching so much of the updates on the news and I’m certainly not watching the blithering idiot in Chief as he blunders and blusters his way through his press conferences.

I’ve been walking the dogs, exercising some, disinfecting the house, fretting over whether I will have a job when this is all done. As editor of our small town publication, some ads have been pulling due to businesses already shuttering for good (that’s really sad) and events having been cancelled. If this goes on for a while, and I suspect it might, there will be no publication with not enough ads to sustain it. There are so many people who are suffering economically because of the damned virus. And there are so many people on the front lines taking care of us all – Doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, truckers, postal workers, feed store owners, liquor store owners and dog groomers (because in the state of CT, apparently they are absolutely essential).

In our construction business, we’ve closed down the office where tenants come to pay rent or rent facilities, apartments, storage units. All work is being done online, e-mail, phone. If this drags on, our business will be hurt as well, as tenants who have not been able to work or draw a paycheck will not be able to pay rent, etc. I think this is going to have an effect on all people in ways we haven’t even thought of yet in the long run.

Strange times.

The good news? People are being forced to get back in touch with and tend their relationships, their home life, their cooking skills, fitness, reading, the great outdoors, crafts, art, quality time with children, the list does go on, and it’s a good list, at least.

Thank GOD for Netflix, AmIRight? I’m watching Outlander for the second time because I just can’t get enough of it. Even being deaf, I’ve started walking around the house practicing a wee bit uv a Scottish Brogue, do ye ken, because closed caption reflects the brogue and before I was deaf I had a keen ear for these things. It’s just fun. 😂

These two people have such crazy good chemistry I am very surprised they did not become a couple in real life, but alas, they did not.

I’ve been doing some cooking with simple ingredients I keep in the pantry… two recipes from the New York Times I’ll share with you here – They are super easy, delicious and you might have the stuff you need without venturing out to get them. They were both a hit with my family.

Pasta e Ceci – recipe HERE. I didn’t have escarole or Kale on hand so I used spinach and it was fine.

No-Knead Bread – recipe HERE. (this one is not my image) Absolutely delish and SO easy to make. You just need a little patience as it does require rise time.

A simple tip – wash those plastic grocery reusable totes in hot water in the washing machine and then toss in the dryer for a few minutes. They’re germ catchers, and this really works.

Some humor in these trying times…

Welp. That’s all I’ve got for today… wishing us all good health and good riddance to all the coronavirus madness in the near future, praying and begging pretty please to all the powers of the universe. And seriously, praying for all the people on the front lines who are taking care of business so that we all can still function through this test of all we hold dear.

karen

WTF

First the denials, then when caught red handed, the denial is twisted into a “so what”. How many arrests of people in his inner circle? How many times does he have to outright lie right to all of our faces, not fake news , bend our laws to suit his needs, hide his information from we the people? – BELIEVE HIM.

For those who think it’s OK for a draft dodging pussy grabbing tax evading lying cheating adultering porn star fucking reality TV President to abuse his power, to ask outside FOREIGN HOSTILE entities for help in his re- election, to withhold aid to foreign entities in exchange for help in his re election, to lie almost daily and sometimes multiple times in a day, to hide his finances from us, to mock and slander generals and intelligence community and women and children and gold star families and military who “had a headache” whose immediate family gains FAR more nepotistic benefit in the White House and financial gain opportunities than Hunter Biden or Chelsea Clinton or any other you want to smear or bring up ever could, conflicts of business interest in every fucking major country, is continuing to trash animal welfare and environmental welfare… he is truly one disgusting human being on every fucking level.

This is not about guns or rights or the economy or jobs or immigration – there are many problems that need solving and I happen to agree with talking points and solutions all across the political spectrum.

This is no longer a “Oh, this is just politics, they all lie, they all cheat” thing – This man is the devil. FOR GOD’S SAKE Believe him when he shows you who he is. I am so sad for this country, I am sad for what the GOP has turned into, not the Republican Party of my younger days and more importantly I truly thought we were a better nation, a more decent people. I’m seeing people I know mock teenagers, mock women for their looks, mock victims of sexual assault, mock women for standing up for women’s rights, (are you kidding me? How quickly we forget, or how ignorant we truly are, which is it?) Jew hate , gay hate, Immigrant hate, black hate, white hate, brown and yellow hate – racism is alive and well and stoked by the fires of the ignorant would-be King who spews garbage all over his social media regularly as do the hate groups that embrace him. The irony of the religious who support him!

Today’s outcome via the spineless bought and paid for GOP proves there are no checks and balances, we are a sea of fools adrift without a moral sail or rudder and we will be the cause of our own decline. We already are. Truth no longer matters, decency no longer matters, Greed will be our end. For those of you who will mock this post, Fuck you. You’ll never meet a kinder soul, and I’d give you the shirt off my back regardless of our differences if you needed it, that’s exactly why this is so horrifying to someone like me, to see the complete moral destruction of the fabric of this nation.

– Not a fucking snowflake, Not a Dem, not a Liberal, not a Republican – just an ordinary decent resident of these United States, Heartbroken for us all 💔

Lift

Have you been watching the impeachment hearings/trial? I haven’t. Can’t believe I just typed that, but it’s true. I just cannot believe, in this day and age, that apparently for some of us and a particular sector of our government… law no longer applies. Truth no longer matters. When witnesses and evidence are banned from a Trial, we’re lost. Since he is getting away with everything but murder, I doubt 45 will be held accountable… for anything. It’s how his whole life has panned out despite his corrupt practices both personally and in business, and it looks as if the same will be true of his presidency.

Onward. Last week I took a look in the mirror and realized I hadn’t been for a haircut in almost a year. I did chop a few inches off about a month ago to “clean up” the split ends but the effect was… choppy. So my dear stylist Amber fit me in yesterday and gave me a good shaping cut. I felt lighter walking out of the salon with just that simple lift. I’ve got more grays now but I don’t think I want to get into the habit of having to be at the salon every three-four weeks to douse my head in toxic chemicals to cover the gray. I might change my mind as more come in, but.. for now.. I think I’m just going to see how it looks as it turns.

My weight loss journey continues – I’m getting good exercise in with light weight training and walk/jogging. Plus shit shoveling, hay bale throwing, water bucket lugging, horse blanket swapping. etc. etc. and then some. What I’m putting in my mouth is still the struggle. Will power is not my strong suit. I have indeed lost a few pounds since the last time I blogged about this. And so… I’ll keep moving forward, hopefully, putting less in my mouth. We’ve got a family vacation coming up in which I will be in a bathing suit often, and I really… really.. want to feel comfortable in my suit.

Speaking of suit shopping – man, (that should say woman) if that isn’t the hardest item to shop for. Mostly because I’m just not happy with how I look in a suit. But also, for a girl of a certain age, the suit needs to be comfortable, hold everything in, not too revealing but not a house dress either. I did find a suit that’s made well, does the job, and I feel OK in it. That’s the best I’m gonna get out of that experience, so be it.

LL Bean – she looks better in this than I do, but close enough. It’s their halter tankini, which comes in several colors/patterns and won’t break the bank.

As the news out in the world gets uglier, I’ve been turning away from it and looking around and inward, paying more attention to the relationships I cherish with family and friends, doing some organizing and refreshing here on the farm and at the cottage and in my line of work. It’s the lift I’ve needed and it feels good. Having our daughter and Company right next door has been such a blessing, and our son has begun the build of his home just over the hill. This little farm has become a haven for all of us, and I am so very grateful.

Hoping all is well in your neck o’the woods –

Karen

No. 3

Not my quote – but it’s in essence what I keep saying to anyone I know who still supports No. 3 and tries to defend it. Truly an ugly soul on every front –

“None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.”

And women like Sara Sanders who last night mocked Joe Biden’s stutter on twitter? I don’t have to be a fan of Joe Biden or a member of his party to know that’s just a really low blow – an ugly flaw in character, just like No. 3’s mocking of handicapped people, pussy grabbing mentality, attacks on 16 year old climate activists with autism, gold star families and dead DECENT politicians and career military who gave their entire lives to service, – and I am so done with anyone who continues to applaud these people and their degrading bullying childish stupid behavior. Reminds me of all the mean kids in school and how some never grow up. These things have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with who we are as a people.

I believe you when you tell me who you are.

🎇 But in this season it is well to reassert that the hope of mankind rests in faith. As man thinketh, so he is. Nothing much happens unless you believe in it, and believing there is hope for the world is a way to move toward it.

– Gladys Taber

More Light

I am so sick and tired of being so sick and tired of the current asshat in chief of this dear ole US of A, not to mention his spineless enablers, I’ve decided to just let that whole mess go for at least a little while. I’m not looking at the news .. much… I’m not reading someone’s spin or fretting over ignorance because really what good comes of it… answer – zilch. I need to breathe clean air, think clean thoughts, see inspiration and act on that. I need to believe most of us are made up of more good than bad.

So what is helping me accomplish this necessary avoidance? Extending kindnesses where a little light needs shining. (if only it would help me stop the holiday EATING… so far, no luck there. Onward….. )

The local veterinarian put out a plea for blankets and cat beds for the foster dogs/cats in their care, and we have an Ocean State Job Lot not far from here where those things are available pretty cheap. For $50 I was able to bring them a nice armload of blankets/beds and that simple act just felt good. Some light.

Recently a local family lost their matriarch, Carol Anne, a joyful woman who has known more heartache than should ever befall one person and yet she always found a reason to be happy. She would say to friends when they asked how she could remain so upbeat -” I have two choices, I can be miserable for the rest of my life, or I can choose Joy. I’m choosing Joy. ” Her home was always decorated to the hilt for Christmas, there were lights and pine garland even in the rafters of the family log cabin. When she passed a month ago, she left two daughters who are afflicted with a similar illness and are missing her terribly. Her favorite color was purple, and as I thought of how difficult this holiday must be for the two girls, an idea arose. Why not put together a Christmas package for each of the girls containing purple things – a nod to their joyful mother in this, their first Christmas without her. Purple no-slip socks, a purple cardinal ornament for their trees, (she loved birds) purple nail polish, purple candy coated chocolates, lavender soap. It didn’t take a lot of effort or a lot of money to do this, and to drop it off at their home, give a hug and reminder that their sorrow is not forgotten, their mother is not forgotten. And once again, it felt good, my soul lifted. More light.

As I left their house I stopped in just down the hill to visit 90 year old Marge . This lady has always known how to make the best of any situation, ever the optimist. She has many friends and family who love her, and she is still living on her own, taking care of a rescue dog I found for she and her now- deceased husband about five years ago. That dog takes such good care of her, and she him. She still cooks for herself and for company on occasion, rarely if ever complaining about the many aches and pains that come with reaching that monumental milestone of a birthday. She’s seen a lot of good times, and some really hard times, watched this world turn upside down more than once. She is concerned for the changes, but she also has faith that things will work themselves out in the end. 90 years of observation have proven it. She is another who is always looking at the bright side. While I thought I was doing something good for her on this visit, turns out she was the one gifting me. More light, still.

If you are weary as you read this, for any of the multitude of reasons this life can provide, I’m wishing you peace in your heart and more light in your life – I promise any light you can shine on another in whatever the ways that are possible for you will reflect back onto you tenfold.

Till soon, friends –

Who is America?

What we now refer to as America started with the arrival of Indigenous people of Siberian origin before 15,000 BC. Many cultures formed and disappeared, and then what we all know of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in 1492 was the beginning of the colonies.

Some data I obtained from several sites on the subject:

**From the time Europeans arrived on American shores, the frontier—the edge territory between white man’s civilization and the untamed natural world—became a shared space of vast, clashing differences that led the U.S. government to authorize over 1,500 wars, attacks and raids on Indians, the most of any country in the world against its indigenous people. By the close of the Indian Wars in the late 19th century, fewer than 238,000 indigenous people remained, a sharp decline from the estimated 5 million to 15 million living in North America when Columbus arrived in 1492.

Even more fundamentally, indigenous people were just too different: Their skin was dark. Their languages were foreign. And their world views and spiritual beliefs were beyond most white men’s comprehension. To settlers , all this stoked racial hatred and paranoia, making it easy to paint indigenous peoples as pagan savages who must be killed in the name of civilization and Christianity.**

We’ve all heard this cautionary tale – those who do not heed the lessons of history are condemned to repeat it. Never has that been more clear to me than as I witness President No. 45 and the minions who applaud his reckless behaviors, his hateful rhetoric designed to divide, his trampling laws to suit his agendas, his total disregard for truths in small and very big ways. Most horrifyingly to me…. are all the supporters who are willing to give him a pass because in some way he speaks to their fears, their own prejudices, their hates, their needs and he gives them a free pass for any behavior associated with it. I doubt any Tr&mp supporters read my posts any longer, but if you are reading this and you will vote for him again, I absolutely believe that the only reason you can abide this man in office is because you harbor within yourself some of the prejudice, hate, or greed this man projects daily and you want action and permission, validation for those things. It means nothing that you are “religious”, the hypocrisies there have been too many. I no longer care who this offends – I am assaulted daily with the damage he’s doing to this Country’s integrity, this Country’s soul.

And that brings me back to my post title. Who is America? I used to believe, with every fiber of my being…. that in this day and age we were for the most part a generous, intelligent, enlightened lot despite a not so perfect government.. although one must acknowledge here we are damned lucky to have lived in a Democracy with the freedoms we have clearly taken for granted. Did we fail the ultimate test with these freedoms? Have we fallen too far down the rabbit hole to redeem ourselves now that social media and news outlets and the President himself give us full power with a few clicks on our keyboard or speeches or articles to weave a tale that suits our agenda, to unleash those concealed (not buried, not destroyed, not diluted) racist bents some of us still hold close to the vest? And all this newfound bold display of untruth and hate is then devoured by those who favor it’s content. Let others be damned who are different or may be in need or have rights of their own, US FIRST. Well… that’s how it all started here in America. Are we to repeat the mistakes of the past?

What does America’s soul look like today? It surely isn’t charitable, kind, or respectful under this administration. Prosperous? I don’t know – would you consider opening the flood gates once again to polluting our waters, destroying our remaining pristine forests, walking back air pollution regulations, electing a man who lies to all daily, spews rhetoric designed to divide the nation, paints immigrants as the enemy, of which we are ALL if you want to be honest,…. are these qualities of a prosperous, healthy nation? What price is too much to pay for perceived monetary gains? Where’s the line? is there one? …..

It feels like we have sold our soul. And you know …. I don’t like what that implies specifically.. the collective “WE” in this narrative. Because not all of us has fallen for this nonsense. Not all of us is OK with this erosion of our values, or morals as a country. I and the many who feel as I do are not to blame for the ugly, corrupt, narcissistic picture that is currently being sold as “America”. Will not carry that baggage as if it is my badge to wear. I will resist.

Our country has always been a melting pot, a seaming together of many cultures, many religions, many nationalities, a picture taken with a wide economic lens. We’ve overcome many hard things to become a strong nation, one I hope will find it’s way once again among our people, within our government, and as a participating cooperative enlightened member of the worldwide community, a beacon in preservation and respect for life and the health of our planet, in the natural world and the spiritual. It sure as hell isn’t what we are right now, but we’ve proven before we are capable of change, and I hope enough of us can right this ship before it’s too late.