A Break

Today I'm taking a mental step-back. 

No news today.

No volunteering today. 

Just for today.

Yesterday drained me silly -- until 10:30 at night. I was exhausted. Feel that sort of hangover feeling today. Not recovered, not feeling myself. Possible all day volunteering tomorrow. 

So today needs to be something else. 

Hello, gardening my friend. 

Grow room set-up today. 

Fingers crossed the set-up survived the move.

A friend mentioned a local Native Plant organization that hosts lots of information. It's not on the agenda for our spring projects, but I want to start learning. The goal for my little yard. I know as little as one can know -- lots of room to learn. And, it'll be interesting. 

One goal ahead of native plant landscaping is a cutting flower garden. I wonder if I can make that work this year? It might be a stretch because the yard isn't ready, but maybe starter version?? Something to look into.

And what about this storm?? Nothing on the ground at all and it seems like nothing coming for my area. Unless I'm missing something ... looks like snow missed us. What's left is cold and wind -- which is a horrible situation for many and that's what volunteering is focusing on right now.

Here are a couple of pictures, just because. 

Letting out my dog.
Morning view of the craft room.

"Blanket" finished.

Stay warm and safe and check on your neighbors. 

Have a good day. Later gators.

New Lows

Life feels really low right now. 

Voter rolls from 2020 taken from GA. Every ounce of evidence is in the hands of the federal government now and they'll give whatever narrative that works for them to prevent a free and fair election in GA. And they control the evidence so no one can say differently. They are stealing the mid-term elections right before our eyes. 

What the actual f*%K. 

The hits keeps coming. 

Standing up to ALL these things is exhausting for people. 

Today is an all-hands to help our community. 

And, the volunteer court position is spinning out of control. The family unit is struggling and it's heartbreaking. I have a call that I'll step out of my meeting to take to try and figure out a way to help this family. 

Ugh. 

And, another storm on Saturday which delays all the action steps until roads clear. 

I'll leave it at that this morning. Looking for an upswing and that comes in the doing. 

We have to help each other -- not just clutch our pearls. 

Later gators.

Elmo Bed

Yesterday was a nice day.

Starting with the thrifted lamp and my morning view. 

Cozy and peaceful.

I stopped for a coffee a bit out of town to donate men's shoes. Ethiopian owner -- incredible person. Love this place, but, sadly, rarely stop by because I have so many great choices in my town. He takes worn sneakers to be recycled into playground mats and others get donated directly to people in need. 

Texted my eldest and we met for a lunch -- political chat and how to get involved. 

Came home and made my grandson a bed for his Elmo doll out of craft scraps I had around. I'll make the blanket today. He's into imagination play right now -- so adorable. 

(It's sloppy, but it's just for a little playtime fun.)

Today is another mostly open day because I postponed the trip to Asheville. My cancel friend (who almost got a new moniker) canceled coffee today late last night. I'm sure it has to do with her grandchildren -- she says "too many moving parts" today. The coffee plans were initiated by her -- day and time too.

I'm trying (and a little failing) to let this roll-off, but it feels disrespectful to MY time to have a late cancel. I didn't opt for a lunch with someone today to hold this time. I could've said "something else came up" but I didn't. And, I know she's busy before she leaves to visit family this weekend -- so I "should" be more understanding. It's a pattern with her though. I don't believe she can't fit an hour in for a coffee so I expect this is a last minute babysitting ask from her daughter. 

I was starting to trust her ability to hold plans again, and this feels like a slide backwards. Her daughter ends maternity leave in February and my friend will be helping with 3 kids because they don't have a full-time sitter. Writing is on the wall. 

Anyway -- I have a social/political meeting tonight. The local organizers of No Kings is holding a social gathering to be with people who are standing up. We'll talk about what's happening, next steps, recruiting others, and share some time together. One of the head organizers in our area is a friend's daughter. The next No Kings Protest is March 28 -- my calendar is marked, signs are made. 

Hope you have a good day. Country is a shit-show, FBI entered Atlanta for voter records ... but we MUST find the good in our days too. Find the helpers. Be the helpers. Later gators.

Books and TV

Good morning. 

I just finished morning calls to my representatives. 

Urging you to do as well.

Important votes this week.

I got the court report written yesterday. Final read-through and edit today. I pushed ahead so I didn't get any of my little treats in, but it was worth it. Coherent and concise -- maybe, I'll find out today. There's so much redundancy in the sections so I need space before the final edit. 

Today is a relatively free day and you bet I'm having some fun today. I put out 2 last minute invitations for lunch and both were a no-go. Looks like it's me-myself-and-I AND a book. That makes me equally happy (if not a bit happier). 

Speaking of books, I finished this one from the author day. I liked it -- probably liked it more because of my time listening to the author. It's more interesting when you know extra details. Her writing process, her research, her background, her intentions, the editing, the cover design, etc. 

(Of course, that didn't help AT ALL with my hairdresser's book.)

Started this one. Rosamunde Pilcher is a comfort read for me. Not a palette cleanser, fast, engaging (like a suspense book) ... but a slow, quiet, lovely read. It's a chonker and I read it slowly, but it's exactly what I need right now. A quiet escape to help fill my tank a teeny tiny bit. I absolutely LOVE the way she writes -- her stories are a slow burn, but the writing engages you all the way. 

Speaking of comfort ... I'm rewatching Rizzoli and Isles. Not sure I'll watch the entire show again, but it's nice for now. I know, it's murder, but it's cozy murder. And the relationships on the show -- family and friends feels comforting to watch. It has a lot of funny one-liners. 

I'm super slowly reading this book. It's NOT a tank filler, but feels important to read. I probably won't finish the entire book (skim parts), but I want to get a sense of the messaging. 

The question is which book today? Comfort or important?? Maybe I'll bring both along and decide. I need to go to a coffee shop to drop a donation AND I want to go to lunch. One book for each? Actually, Abundance might win out because I want to get it finished and it's not a good book to read before bed. Hmmm.

I made an appointment next week with my acupuncturist because my foot isn't completely healing. Hopefully, this can get it to the finish line. I miss hiking and running. 

That'll push my Asheville trip yet another day. Of course, weather is still iffy with a potential storm over the weekend so who knows when I'll get there. 

That's winter for you --- and I'll take it. Worth the inconvenience. 

Have a good day. Later gators. 

Give Me a Sign

Made signs yesterday morning. 

Took the longest ...
letters take me forever,
and involve MATH.

Saw this on IG.
This was quick.

Hubby and I grabbed lunch, ran a few errands, and I made one more sign. 

A bit snarky.

A bit sloppy (I was losing steam rapidly ...)

But, I like it.

(Copied from a picture I saw on IG)

I watched a webinar on ICE last night. Informative.

Shared the link with friends -- getting others involved is part of taking action.

One of the errands was a Marketplace pickup at a favorite antique market. There was a set of vintage lamps, but one was damaged. Nice lighting makes a difference and I'm slowly replacing cheap lamps. 

Good lamp shades are hard to find too. Cheap white ones everywhere. It's really complicated to find a replacement shade -- size in both directions, shape, attachment (you can buy adaptors). I've gotten it wrong so many times. How the shade attaches makes a difference in the overall fit and the combination of both make it complicated. I guess I need to learn to cover the plain ones. When I look for lamps, I only buy ones with shades and shades are something different than plain white. 

It's really heavy and pretty.
Wish it were a tad bigger.

Today is mostly court report writing. Good lord, it takes a long time and this is another tricky one. Hours and hours trying to get the wording and the reporting tone right.

I'll also figure out a little fun today. Maybe a rock painting minute. Maybe a coffee house with a book. We'll see. It's bitter cold again this morning. Not complaining at all. We need a deep freeze to kill surface eggs or our summer is extra bug infested. 

It's time for the grow room. It was on the schedule for Sunday, but no power ended that idea. Way too dark in the basement. I also need to figure out WHERE. I planned to do it in the storage area, but realized it might be too cold. Maybe it'll be warmer soon and I have a heating pad. 

Decisions. I don't want to go to all the trouble only to get no yield. But it takes up a lot of room and is an eye sore and messy. Moved this to the weekend schedule. I need to do some thinking. 

That's all for this morning. Hope you're having a good week. 

I'll update on books and TV shows tomorrow (if I get my act together). 

I also have an update on my aches and pains -- with a possible cause. Riveting, right?!?

Later gators. 

Back to Business

Well, I spoke too soon yesterday. 

Power went out about an hour after I posted -- 8 hours. 

We could hear transformers blowing over and over.

It was a LONG day hah.

Looks like it's all good for today. Roads are dry. 

I was planning to go to Asheville tomorrow, but I moved it to next week. Asheville is sheet of ice and temps are staying low. 

So what's on the agenda today?

First up (already) -- and every day ... calling my representatives. It matters and I urge you to do the same. In a sea of "what can I do" ... this is easy and fast and important. You can call at anytime -- remember to leave your address or it doesn't count. 

When I called yesterday, I burst into tears. It was hard to get the words out. I'm so sad for MN and so proud of them too. 

I invited the hiking group to make signs for local protests, but it got canceled because of something the weather. I want to have signs ready to go because that's what's stopping me from joining the local protests -- don't have a sign, don't even have supplies. Many small protests are last minute.

Bought all the stuff (and extra for everyone else), changed the date to today at the request of a couple of the ladies. Someone suggested last Thursday that we postpone it and they fell like a deck of cards. I understand -- no one should come out in ice (but the roads are clear this morning) and Thursday was a bit premature to make that call. 

I said nope -- I'm still making signs. Glad to join the group if they decide another date (but I'm not hosting or bringing all the supplies). That was my offer -- and the offer expired. This group cancels on a dime and I'm not trying again. They have no skin in the game so it was no big deal for everyone to cancel. If I thought another date change would hold, I would've changed it. I KNOW it'll be the same next time too -- just some other excuse.

As it turns out, the roads are dry and we could've done this as a group. Of course, it could've been too icy, but why not wait to make the call until after the storm. If it was too icy, it's not like anyone would've made other plans. I said it nicely, but not people-pleasing this group anymore. I bet everyone drives somewhere today.

And, I'll enjoy making signs by myself. Some music, some tea -- creative project with a purpose. 

I painted a rock yesterday while there was enough window light. I messed up the umbrella and had to "fix" it -- not the look I was planning, but it's okay. Maybe I'll try this one again at some point.

A workout.

More court report writing.

That's my day. 

It's Monday and I feel relief in the proverbial reset of a new week. 

Last week was a lot, the weekend (and MN) was so much. I'm "off" again. Looking to set myself back on track today. The week looks different, a little quieter since I was planning to be out of town. I'll take it. 

I need to remember to use the quiet for good though. This isn't a "pull-the-covers-over-my-head, cheese, and sugar" week hah. Sounds good, but feels crappy. 

I have the luxury of finding space to fill up my tanks again. Last week took it out of me. Showing up for myself and my community in other ways this week.

Have a good Monday. Later gators.

Heavy Heart

Power is still on. We got about 1/4" of ice overnight. Looks like shiny rain, but when you step on it you know it's ice. It'll stay freezing rain until about noon, then over to just rain.

Asheville's power is on too, but our cameras show more ice and it's still coming down.

But, this feels extra unimportant. 

The execution in MN yesterday is overwhelming. 

My god. 

What is happening?

What can WE do?

Where is sanity?

Where is our humanity?

Where the f*^K is our government?

Also -- call your Senators and Representatives. There's an app if you need help. 5 Calls. 

I don't have anything else to say today.

I hope you stay safe and warm. My heart and prayers and unbelievable admiration to the people of MN. They are showing us the way.