Category: Life

Cops are not the problem

Cops are not the problem. Disturbed sick people who take the position of power because it gives them license to do heinous things that appeal to their mentality are the problem.

Priests are not the problem. Disturbed sick people who take the position of power because it gives them license to do heinous things that appeal to their mentality are the problem.

Trump is not the problem. People who applaud a man who is proven by his own deeds and words to be divisive, lies regularly, spreads false accusations and conspiracy theories, has cheated his entire life, a mocker of handicapped reporter, a self proclaimed pussy grabber who believes there are good people on both sides of a white supremacy event… because some of what he does appeals to their mentality are part of the problem.

For those who will say “Oh look, she’s politicizing a racist event” … you’re damned right I am, because it’s all interconnected. We are not totally powerless when it comes to horrible events such as the death of Mr. Floyd at the hands of a racist officer. There are steps we can take to fight the negative tide. And if each one of us did those simple things, we are each and then as a whole the collective answer to that horrible scream of violence and injustice everywhere.

Stop supporting or defending the undefendable. It comes in many forms.

My “thoughts and prayers” go out to the Floyd family, to all families who have suffered loss at the hands of racism, which is still rampant ! , to all the decent law enforcement folks, first responders and healthcare workers who are doing the good work every day, literally putting their lives on the line for all of us, every single day… but my “thoughts and prayers” aren’t anywhere near enough. It’s going to take more than a village to clean this world up…. it’s going to take every single one of us to realize we each at least have the power with our own actions, and at the very least to vote hatred out.

I hope that’s your choice come November. I don’t know of any peace that can be bestowed on Mr. Floyd’s family, there’s no taking back what’s been done… but I hope justice is served.

Love in the Time of COVID-19

In recent years the political and ideological  divide we’ve all been a witness to here in our Country and around the world  has been tremendously disconcerting.  It bubbles over as our governments and our peoples struggle to sort out and best react to the tremendous challenges of fighting a worldwide pandemic. Both economic and health concerns put an additional strain on an already beleaguered civil unrest and it can be hard to find a balance, to look for the good when it feels like the whole world has been shaken like a snow globe and the dust has yet to settle.  Some of us have lost our jobs, our source of income – or it’s been put on hold temporarily.  Others are on the front lines either in hospitals or food service stores, pharmacies, etc trying to protect their own health as well as that of their patients/customers.  Many are isolated from their loved ones, most are not living the life they had just three months ago.  The worst off are dying without family nearby to comfort them and say farewell.

When something as awful as this pandemic grabs us by the proverbial throat, something else happens along with it.  Remember the response we all had to the 9/11  terrorist attacks?   As horrifying as that event was, and I hope we never witness something like it again,  it also brought us together. There were flags everywhere!  People waved, honked, and thanked first responders, healthcare workers, police and firemen – those whose careers and COURAGE! put them on the front lines every day.  We were nicer to our neighbors, didn’t matter what their political affiliation or nationality,  they were us and we were them. We were proud of our flag and it stood for what it should – our pride and love for our Country.  We were Americans, all.   This virus spans the globe, not just our Country.  We’re really and truly all in this together.  Perhaps some good will come of it, a coming together of sorts as we figure out how to wade back into some sort of normal. Those flags are now rainbows drawn on sidewalks,  hearts in windows and on mailboxes,  red ribbons tied around trees. They say – THANK YOU,  WE’RE WITH YOU,  WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.  And indeed, we are, once again.  Let the good things that come out of this pandemic ripple out and the togetherness remain.

In the meantime… I’ve picked up my paint brushes again to see what I can create…..finished this  last night … Little Cinnamon Beach, Peter Bay, St. John…

Made this a few days ago and oh, man.. easy to make, delicious too – give it a go if you like to cook, and maybe even if you don’t!  It’s sooo good…

And… I’ve been playing with goats! Our new little Star and Bella have been a wonderful distraction from the troubles of the world.   Goats are so friendly when raised with kindness. They call out to us when they see us walking up to their little pasture and come running to rub up against us.  If we’re sitting with them, they’ll lie next to us or try to climb up on our shoulders, no kidding! No pun in tended!

      As the world begins to lift the stay at home orders and businesses begin to re-open,  stay safe and be kind. Those with significant health issues will need to be as vigilant as ever.  Anxiety will still be present, the concerns are real and the virus has not gone away. As my friend Sean says at the end of every post… WashYourDamnHands.

Till soon, friends…

 

COVID-19 Perspective

For those who need perspective to understand the severity of Covid-19, in 2018 in Connecticut approximately 700 people died a flu related death. This year so far coronavirus has taken more than 3,000. Can you imagine if we had not used the difficult precautions put in place? Precautions we do not take for the flu. The symptoms have been growing as they learn more, and right now there are children at Yale with strange symptoms of the virus. In otherwise healthy people, Organ failure, heart inflammation, blood clots throughout the body are just a few odd symptoms for some patients with the disease. This is not a joke, it’s not a hoax meant to take down the President ( yes I still have a FB friend who believes it ) it’s serious shit, so Thank You to all who are on the front lines, thank you to those doing kindnesses where you can, Keep wearing masks in public for now and keep washing your damn hands, as my friend Sean hashtags regularly. It’s important. ❤️

Love City

 

St. John USVI is also called Love City, a moniker that harks to the destination’s true promise of romance. It may be smaller than its siblings St. Thomas and St. Croix, but this petite isle is a big boy in the world of love.

I finished my little painting of Cruz Bay in Love City – and I decided to use it to raise funds to help Dana of The Carolina Corral on St. John.  With the COVID-19 restrictions, tourists are nonexistent, and with them, their donations and fees for the trail rides Dana provides with her small herd of rescued horses.  She also has donkeys, goats, dogs, cats, pigs and the occasional reptile – as she is one of only two rescues on the island. Water is scarse on the rocky island and she has to buy it along with the hay and grain  needed to care for the animals on her farm. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more selfless, hard working individual.   In the past two years  she and her animals survived two hurricanes, and now they’re in the midst of this pandemic along with the rest of us, struggling to get by.   Until tourists return, there are no trail riders, no fees to help pay for the supplies sorely needed and very few donations.

I’m having a printer friend make 5 x 7 notecards of my painting – blank inside with white envelopes.  I will give/mail a set of five note cards/envelopes to anyone who makes a suggested donation of $15.  directly to dana at Carolina corral – the donation button can be found at the bottom of her website – http://horsesstjohn.com/  

If you make a donation, please send me a message at trailblazer65@Hotmail.com  with your mailing address and I’ll send you the note cards.  Dana will let me know she received your donation.

I hope you’re all staying sane and well – a little COVID-19 humor, if there is such a thing…

Thanks for stopping by –

Karen 🌻

 

 

Two Goats and a Wedding

Bella and Star have arrived!  And oh, we are so in love.  💗

Star, now about three months old… see the little Star on her forehead….  She is the baby who was rejected by her mama at birth, kicked with a resulting broken leg.  She lived in a cast for a while and was nursed along by the dairy goat farmer, who let us adopt her once she was healed. She does have a limp but she can run along with her playmate and I think once the atrophy from cast living has had time to build up strength again, she’ll get even better, although as long as she’s happy we’re fine with a gimpy goat.  She is super friendly, having lived her first few months in the house of the farmer, hanging out on the couch watching TV on his lap at night.

 

This is Bella… the silver dots on her head are still visible, where she was humanely dehorned before coming here.  She is 7 weeks old, her mama just weaned her naturally  ( they start kicking them away when they try to nurse) and so she came with Star and they are already best buddies.

It’s been raw and rainy for their first few days here so they’ve been wearing dog  sweaters /coats to keep the chill off, now that they aren’t with their herd of babies and moms.

About that Wedding!  My Aunt P was widowed a few years ago after her dear husband of many years passed on, and she moved back to our state to be near family and friends. Slowly she began the hard work of building her new life, missing my Uncle terribly still…. and  reconnecting with old friends, volunteering at a Therapeutic riding facility too.  A few years into life as a widow, she met a lovely man, also a widower,  who is a kind, gentle soul.  They found they were kindred spirits, sharing a love of family, long walks, meals together, and they both longed for  a shared life with someone they cared about.  After a  happy courtship, they decided to wed.  Plans were made,  and then COVID-19 appeared.  Plans sadly cancelled, as their children and grands are spread around the country and not only was a large gathering unsafe, the travel even more so.

After a little time passed and some thought was put into the dilemna, a plan was hatched.  A very small ceremony was held yesterday at Parmelee Farm here in Town.  My mom is a Justice of the Peace and she officiated.  I was the photographer,  Aunt P’s son and daughter-in-law were the witnesses.  It was a true Family Affair.  We all live in separate houses ( the pictured couples live together) so we observed safe social distancing protocol.

 

💗 Love Wins 💗   🥂

 

 

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.

 

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  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Due to business and farm obligations and a husband who  is a very capable person who gets a lot accomplished but has an aversion to stepping out of his comfort zone which means going anywhere that he is not familiar with, which means no further than our state lines  or the next state over more often than not,  we don’t travel much.  On occasion, I have managed to talk him into a nice trip somewhere outside “the zone”.  Much goes into the actual taking of that trip, ’tis no easy feat, let me tell ya.  I make sure all travel plans are laid out well in advance, the destination is mutually agreed upon well in advance, the accommodations are not complicated or iffy in any way, shape or form so that all hopefully runs relatively smoothly and the Mr. can actually relax.

That doesn’t mean the panic doesn’t set in on occasion, regardless.   Case in point –  Last time we went on a family vacation to St. John, USVI (ten  or so years ago now)  all was going well, we arrived on St. Thomas after a loong car ride to  the insanely congested JFK airport, then an uneventful  plane ride, non stop!… then landed on a tiny island airport runway that JEEzus CHRIST  really didn’t look possible but hey, we made it, obviously … And the Mr. was still sane.  You’d think the scary part was over, right?

We grabbed a van taxi that took us to the ferry dock to board the ferry that would bring us to the island of St. John.  The Redhook ferry is not a huge boat –  We’re not talking the Staten Island Ferry here – if memory serves me correctly there are two decks, upper and lower –  and you could throw a ball  in a game of catch from the front to the back if you wanted to.  We had a pile of luggage and there were seven of us – we boarded the boat as the luggage was handed to the employees of the ferry – and somehow the Mr. lost sight of us for about 35 seconds.   There was only one boat, we were all on it,  and you could get a good scope of everyone on board in about 2 minute’s time.   You’d have thought we left him on a deserted tropical  island  with Wilson the volleyball as his only companion for  a month.

Then!… after the scorn was laid upon us thick and we reached our destination island, we walked up the street to pick up our rental Jeep.  The Mr. suddenly became aware that everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road – and it was determined right in that same moment  that I would be the designated driver  for the week.  Upon arrival at our rented villa, it was also determined that  holy-mother’a God the driveway was so steep with no guardrail going down a cliff that said Mr. did not want to trust his wife to navigate, however, the fear of the driving on the wrong side of anything was just too much… and SO… he was indeed stuck with me driving Miss Daisy for the week.

And here we are… preparing to go on another family vacation to the same destination… and I saw the warning signs a few weeks back.

“Ugh, I’ve got so much work piling up, I don’t know. ” 

  ” Jeez, this really isn’t the best time to be going on a vacation, you know?  SO MUCH WORK. ”   

  ”  This is ridiculous, the stuff just keeps piling up!  How can I go away and get anything done?” 

 Then (when he’s truly already made up his mind and there isn’t going to be any negotiations here at all) … “ I just don’t think I can go with you”. 

The corona virus was all he needed to put a big exclamation point on the ordeal, feet dug into the mud of it.    “I’M NOT GOING”.  

And he’s not.  And maybe that’s OK, less stress for me.   I’ve done it before without him because the above scenario is not a new one.  And.. he can watch the house and look after the animals.   But also..  .maybe we shouldn’t go either?   I’m on the fence.   I’ve asked a few people who travel often, I’ve asked the local Pharmacist, too.   They have said – just use the standard precautions – and WASH YOUR HANDS A LOT.

If we don’t go, we will lose all of the money we paid for this trip.  And as I’ve said already, we don’t vacation often, we’re really looking forward to it.  Anyone have any opinions or advice  you care to share?    In the meantime,  I’ll be keeping an eye on  the travel recommendations on the CDC website. So far, travel to the USVI’s is still green lighted.

Also in the meantime, here’s an awesome dessert being shared online that would be perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration…

Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake Pots

Ingredients

  • 8 (+-140g / 0.59cups) double chocolate Digestive biscuits (in the US Graham crackers are a good equivalent)
  • 360g / 1.5 cups full fat cream cheese, chilled
  • 60ml / 2 fl oz double cream
  • 60ml / 2 fl oz Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
  • 100g / 0.42 cups caster sugar
  • 30g / 0.12 cups cocoa powder

To serve

  • 125ml / 4.2 fl oz double cream
  • ½ tsp caster sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • Chocolate sprinkles

Roughly chop the biscuits with a sharp knife. Tip: We prefer doing this so that you don’t end up with fine crumbs and powder as you get when you crush them.

Spoon the crumbs into 4x 250ml preserve jars. Set aside. Tip: If you don’t have preserve jars, you could also just use small bowls or drinking glasses.

Place the remaining cheesecake ingredients into a medium-sized bowl. Using an electric mixer beat on low speed just until dry ingredients are combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then beat again on high speed until the color is uniform and mixture is smooth and has thickened slightly for 1-2 minutes.

Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the preserve jars on top of the biscuit crumbs, close the lids onto each jar, then refrigerate until serving time. Tip: The quickest and neatest way of filling your cheesecake pots is to use a piping bag. Fill a large piping bag with the cheesecake mixture, cut the end of the piping bag off, and then squeeze the mixture into your preserve jars.

Spoon generous dollops of the whipped cream on top of each cheesecake pot, then decorate with chocolate sprinkles.

Cheesecake pots can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, but the biscuit crumb base will lose its crunch after the first day. Still tasty, though!