Category Archives: America

Whither Thou Goest

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Thank you all my Brothers and Sisters who wore the Uniform when called upon to do so. You and your families are appreciated.

Click below to listen.

Weather in the Tries:
A tad warmer most nights, in the low-mid 40s with the highs in the mid to upper 50s. I don’t mind the really cold temps so much, but they are hard on the Desert Dog. I worry about his little bare feets on the cold concrete. He truly does not like booties or sweaters.

“If You Can Survive Basic, You Can Survive Anything!” 
On the 13th of September 1965, I raised my hand for the first of what would become four swearings-in. The first two were for the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), the second two for the Washington Air National Guard (WANG). To be honest, I don’t remember the first one very much. But I do remember what my Recruiter, SFC Annie B. Hawkins told us gals who were enlisting—If we could survive Basic, we could survive anything. I’ve held onto that saying more times than I can count. 

I survived childbirths, a miscarriage, disappointments large and small, but right now, I feel like I’ve been picked up and dropped into an alternate universe where the language is the same, the buildings, the maps, the times, are all what I’m used to, but the government is about to change into something more horrifying than I’ve ever seen outside of a history book. Or in a book by HP Lovecraft or Harlan Ellison and I have no idea how to navigate the almost-upon-us nightmare of the waking day.

I have family, both by blood and choice, who are immigrants, who are Muslim, who are gay or lesbians, who are trans, who do not worship the god of the victor. The new regime, of king OP, actually, hates all of them, sight unseen. He has promised to take children from their parents, especial parents of the same sex. 

I am utterly amazed at the number of people who think in four years we’ll vote him out. OMG! Were they not listening? IF there is an election in four years, it will be as free as they are in Russia and Turkey and North Korea. Stop thinking in the old terms of four-year election cycles. That time has passed. As the famous opossum once said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” I looked it up to be sure. I remember it slightly differently, but this is the quote online. I remember it as being slightly ungrammatical, but hey, what good is history if not to revise/whitewash it? And in four years if we do have an election I imagine our choice will consist of either Vance or Junior.

The situation kind of reminds me of a short story I wrote in high school. I think I was a Senior, maybe a Junior. And my mom actually allowed me to use her typewriter. Anyhow, if I find the gumption, I may record it and put it Spoken Word. It’s short enough to be considered flash fiction by some. (less than 1500 words)

On the Beach by Nevile Shute had come out, and I was pretty impressed. Probably because the scenes in the movie where the submarine came up in San Francisco, in the book they  came up in Puget Sound, and Shute described the Sound and the shore as it was. Really. He had a Pepsodent billboard someplace and I’d seen it where he had it. In fact, most if not all of the places he mentioned in Puget Sound, I’d been too, or seen. Kinda creepy. And for sure scary.

Anyhow, I wrote the short story, “Whither Thou Goest,” taped two aspirin to the cover (I filed off identifying marks so they looked like the cyanide pills in the movie), and let one of my teachers read it. I just found it squirreled away in my computer, and hey, for a kid, it’s not half bad. Boy Howdy! I hope it remains fiction!!! But I make you no promises.

So, I’ve survived all sorts of rejection letters, some from very prestigious presses, the collapse of marriages and affairs, nine years, five months, and twenty-three days in uniform—full and part time, the birth of two kids who I love dearly, and by gawd! I survived Basic Training! To quote one of the 3.5 Justices on the Supreme Court, “I resist!”

Photo of the Week:
Remember a few weeks ago when I was on my trip? Well, the Northern Lights were displaying in Massachusetts, and Virginia, and other states where they are seldom seen. Ibrahim, the son of my Good Friend Dixie stepped outside his abode in Gilford, New Hampsire at 7.30 pm and got this shot of them, and gave me permission to show them. Many thanks, Ibrahim. I’ve seen them a couple of times, and they were a pale green. These were pale red, showed much darker in the camera eye than they were to his eye. If you look, you can see stars. 

from the desk of the brave dog:
Sammy says he doesn’t much feel like writing anything. he too is hurting this week.

Some videos you might like:
Los Kjarkas a Bolivian group of musicians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcUUIaMb6s

Some super crispy chicharrones and how to make them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUSs0emMQ9s

A short video by Professor Tribe. I admit I slept a bit better the night I saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z06TJAMY-bo

And this one will bring a smile or two. Professor Kotaro gets a sushi train for his birthday! Frankly, I’m surprised Hana let him have any of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlBdK155pW8

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ “We are all related” ~ Lakota Saying
“Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.” ~Walt Whitman

Some Sun, Some Sanity (?), Some Lagniappe

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I figure, even though it’s early, many of us could use some bright and cheery in our lives right now, so here are the rest of the photos. Just for you.

We spent a couple hours at the pool in the complex where Maryann and Dave live. Since I still had a scab on my toe where the railroad spikes were pulled out, I watched from the shady sidelines;-)

After the gals were finished, Maryann took us to the restaurant, also at the same complex. The food was yummy and the views spectacular. Oh, there is also a golf course, but the grass here is not part of it.

Maryann’s daughter and beloved son in law

Goodest Friends, Maryann, Linda, and moi.

The drive from Tucson to Henderson NV was pleasant. I’m going to have to get a city map of Phoenix and environs because I honestly don’t know where I was in driving through it on the Interstate. For years, there was a funky place to eat between Phoenix and Henderson, called Rose’s, or Rosie’s. It burned down a few years ago and they rebuilt it, I thought Kay and I would go up for one of their burgers, but I didn’t see it. Come to find out, it burned down again, and they didn’t rebuild. sigh. There hamburgers were some of the best ever!!!!

This shot is from the patio of the house where Kay lives. I tried to get more planes in a shot but could never manage to get them all showing. Pretty fun watching them come in and line up for the runway which is surprisingly close.

The patio faces east, so this one must be sunrise. Why was I up that early??? I dunno.

GeriLyn, Kay’s daughter in law and Tod took us out to a delightful Italian restaurant my last night there. GeriLynn works in the same complex the restaurant is in, and knows the people there. We were treated quite well, and the food was scrumptious. We were served very special desserts. The manager is also an artist and gave us each a different picture and cake. I thought the icing on the plate was part of the plate i.e. part of the china, and when I moved my plate for this photo, it smudged! Here I thought they’d bought special dessert plates. Nope, make ’em to order 😉

And here we all sit, preparing to dive in to our respective plates. Starting with Tod and going clockwise: GeriLyn, an old wanna be hippie, and Goodest Friend and Travel Buddy ever, Kay. We’ve been friends for something like 57 years!

As I pulled out of their drive, I stopped and shot a neighbor’s yard. Lots of interesting decorations. I think they can do more because they aren’t too concerned rain will spoil the decorations, and they don’t have the winds we get this time of year.

From Henderson to Castaic CA was a pretty short drive. One of the reasons I stopped there was to meet a couple of my Zoomroom poetry buddies. This photo was taken by Good Friend Elizabeth. She is at the left, holding her phone, then is Good Friend Will, and bringing up the rear is me. They life in the LA region somewhere, and fought the traffic to come meet me in person. I consider myself to be super honored. I must have been mid word when she snapped this. I really wasn’t grimacing! And my tee shirt is from a poetry group in LA, Beyond Baroque, and says: Metaphors Be With You!! I saw another tee I liked that says: I use (pix of darth vader’s mask) the / Fo R Ce / Periodically. Love it.

From Castaic it was a pretty easy shot up I-5 to Vallejo where I spent a couple of nights at my brother’s. Getting to know him a bit more was wonderful. Mostly, he sleeps all day and is up all night. That’s been his schedule for years. Anyhow, we went out for dinner at a place he’d not been too. I forgot what he had, I had a yummy salad.

Then he drove me by the Dragon House. These dragon heads are in front, I think I saw two on one side, and maybe one on the other. They are quite spectacular!

When I left a couple days later, I met another Zoomroom buddy who lives fairly close, for breakfast at a place she likes, then we went to a small, indie Book Store, The Alibi. Great little store. If you’re ever in it, stop by and buy a book. Multiple book purchases are appreciated. Alas no photos of Good Poet Friend Anita, or the store, or the restaurant. I hadn’t had coffee yet. Then it was up the road about thirty minutes to stay a few days with my cousins.

Cousin Jimmy is rightfully called Farmer Jimmy in my mind. They have a very busy back yard with pomegranate tree, bay tree, kumquat tree, and I don’t know what all. He told me, I forgot. He also grows tomatoes, herbs, and flowers. Some of his tomatoes And yes the black ones are truly black, and very tasty.

I brought one of the pomegranates home, it was delish! And, in watching him de-seed one, I finally learned how to do it without making a mess!

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I asked what this was, and he couldn’t remember, until he saw another one that still had flowers. I can’t remember, either. My phone says it’s a Red Spider Lily. My phone is not 100% accurate. But it tries.

This is their pool. When I first looked out, very early in the morning, it looked like deep water and ice. It’s a wrinkly blue plastic tarp.

Cousin Betty is married to Jimmy and Cousin Barb is his sister. We three females all quilt, so Betty had some chores to do and sent Barb and me out to buy fabric. Oh, what a horrible thing to do to a quilter, especially when with another quilter. She who dies with the most fabric WINS!! Not sure what we win, but we’re all trying to get there. We went to a resale store that sells fabric and bought fabrics galore, and I found this jacket. I love it, though the gold next to my skin isn’t so great. But with a black turtle neck it should be fine. If not, it will go into a quilt or two. I’m looking for a pattern maker who can make a pattern without cutting it apart. The cut, etc is fun. A perfect Poetry Reading jacket over black slacks and a black turtleneck.

Oh, it was $7.99! It just begged to go in my cart.

And there you have it. The truly last photos of my trip. I hope they help lighten any down you are experiencing.

I will post something on Monday. Unless I’m stuck in a rehabilitation/concentration camp by then.

Peace, Love, Hugs all around.

Part, The Last (unless it’s the penultimate one)

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Weather in the Tries:
Oooh, we be gonna dip our toes into below freezing a couple of nights coming up (OK, it’s only 31F, still…) The ays for the next week will wander around between 51F and 58F. I look at my pictures often just to get warm. And drink hot tea. Methinks Winter is approaching, with a long siege in mind.

Part, The Last (unless…)
Today’s post is mostly photos. Didn’t think you’d mind too much.

It took me a while to get this guy. We were at the park for the UNWRA 5K walk. These are from Dallas and Houston.

What’s a post without a kitty?

Red Hibiscus

Yellow flower

A ficus of some sort.

Now we skip into Arizona. (Skip phip. It was a long drive!) I’ve got an inordinate amount of shots–16 in all. Well, actually, I’ve got a lot more than that, but I narrowed them down to 16. I think I need to narrow a bit more, eh?

This is the entry to Good Friends Maryann and Dave’s house. I want one.

We went to a covered market in Tucson where they had a plethora of wonderful item for sale. This horse was one. I wonder if he was made from Saguaro ribs?

A friend of mine says she reminds him of Phyllis Diller. Isn’t she grand? I think she’s about 3′ tall. I didn’t see a price tag which is a good thing. I don’t a place to put her.

We had dinner at El Charro down the street a couple of blocks from the market. I had a ceviche tostada. The shrimp, etc were throughout the pile, not just on the outside! After dinner, we went to Cherrie’s home, and these shots were from her back yard.

This is a young saguaro. Like many little kids, he had to put everything in his mouth. He ate the moon, but apparently it didn’t tase good because he spit it out a few minutes later.

OK, that’s probably enough for today. There will be another Part, The End next week. Oh it was so warm down there. It will be warm, again, here. But not for several months.

from the desk of the brave dog;
sheesh, but i don’t understand humans. she showed me some of her pictures and there’s not a smell to them. don’t they have dogs down there. what good is it to see something and have no accompanying smells. humans..

Part, The Second

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Weather in the Tries:

Today, Sunday, seems to be our last warm day at 65. The highs for the rest of the week are in the 50s, with the lows in the mid 30s and some higher. It was nice when I left on my Drive About and I’ve spent the week since coming home getting warm. How quickly I adapted to the warmth of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California. However, I have a dog (only 1) and an electric blanket, so on those 3-dog nights, I can turn it on and make up for the 2 dogs I don’t have, and that Sammy wouldn’t like, anyhow!

Part, The Second:
It took 3 hours to drive to the rental in Dallas, all back roads until arriving at the Freeway in, around, through Fort Worth and Dallas. Siri got me through the obstacle course and to the house we’d rented. I arrived at 3pm, check in time. Two ladies were there, the fourth was in route to the airport to pick up our fifth lady. We got along fine drank lots of coffee, wine, tea, and told some great stories.

The culmination of our stay was a 5K Walk for Gaza, which I did not partake of, but waited and cheered them on. Then we left for Houston, where I stayed with Good Friend Terry and GF Dixie for two days, then up to Austin to stay with GF Patsy for two days, then a short drive to San Antonio to have breakfast with my Favorite Sister Melanie. Haven’t seen Melanie is ages, and breakfast was over too soon and she had things to do, and I had a long drive ahead of me.

I really looked forward to stoping at Rosa’s Cantina as I went through El Paso. Yes, that Rosa’s Cantina. It was an easy off and an easy on to the freeway, and I just wanted a couple of tee shirts. Alas, my phone overheated in the Texas sunshine, and it was out of commission, and to add to my misery it was rush hour and I couldn’t remember which exit, which on ramp, so I stayed in the inside lane and drove. And drove, and drove, and drove some more.

Spent a bit of time in Lordsburg NM, looking for a motel, finally found one, the lights were off, and the street was dark, and I misunderstood, the name of the town and thought it was Laurdesville, city of miracles as it was a miracle I found the motel.

The next morning, I drove into Tucson to see my Good Friends Maryann and Dave, and Good Friend Linda. We three gals, having pity on Dave, got a hotel room and had a ball. And Dave enjoyed the peace and quiet of a female-free three days. New Friend Cherie (Mary Ann’s daughter) took we three to old town Tucson, and a covered market, then to an excellent Mexican restaurant. It was all a bit of a change for me, the hotel put out an excellent breakfast, so I ate at 8 instead of 11, but managed to go until an early supper. Cherie took us to her house and the view was fantastic, especially as the sun set.

Then it was time to leave, and take a short trip up to Henderson NV and my old travel buddy, Kay. She is living with her son and dil (Tod and GeriLyn), and we had a few days of gossip, and more gossip, and then we just jawboned a bit. Kay made an appointment for me with the gal who does her pedicures, and oh. I think I died and went to foot heaven. GeriLyn took us out to dinner at an Italian restaurant close to where she works, and is known. The staff knows her, and the manager gave us complimentary appetizer, and special desserts. Check out the desserts and the icing art on the plates.

Kay and I had wanted to spend a day or two in Death Valley, but the roads are still bad, so we gave that up. I’ll fly down for a few days later on, and we’ll go then. To make up for our disappointment, we talked some more.

Then it was again time for Siri to get me to Castaic CA and the Roadway Inn. I arrived two hours before I could have my room, so the manager brought out a couple of tables and chairs and I set up shop in the lobby. Two of my poetry friends from LA area came up and we spent three or four hours talking and on a zoom meeting. And, again, it was time for parting. But the meeting and visit with Zoom Friends Elizabeth and Will was good for us and good for our poetic souls.

The next morning was a drive up to Vallejo and a marvelous couple of days with my Favorite Brother Craig. He turned me onto a delightful series on Netflix, Blue Eye Samurai. He went to work the next day, so I binged on it. Watched the whole series. Great fun. It’s anime, so it’s much easier to up with put the violence and swordfights etc. 

After a couple days, I drove to Vacaville, I think it was less than an hour by quite a bit, and spent some marvelous days with three of my cousins. Barb is a quilter, and we went shopping for fabric, and other fun things. I came home with lots of goodies. And ideas. Eventually, it was time to leave. I’d planned on taking two days to come home, but wasn’t tired so came on in to Kennewick and slept in my bed with a very snuggly dog.

I also brought fresh bay leaves from Cousin’s bay tree, a pomegranate off his tree, and some persimmons off another of his trees. I’ve never had persimmons before, or don’t remember if I have. They were quite interesting. Don’t think I’ve had pomegranate since elementary school 

My body is here, and I have it on good authority my brain will catch up to it fairly soon. Perhaps this next week. Not sure where I left it, possibly at Cousin’s house. I haven’t miss it very much, but I do kinda sorta it would catch up with me. I do miss it. 😉

And there you have it, 4 weeks of travel condensed to two parts of blog. Long blog. Maybe a slog? I hope not. 

Photos of the week:

The four gals who walked:

two views of an armless flier at the Mall we went to in Houston:


from the desk of the happy dance dog;
my human is home, it’s so nice to have her to snuggle with, and to feed me and walk me in the mornings. housemate dan usually does it in the afternoon’s but that’s ok ’cause he always brings me back to my human.

Home Again, Home Again

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Weather in the Tries:
A whole lot cooler than when I left, and where I was! Feels kinda good, actually.

Home Again, Home Again:
Had a marvelous trip. There were a couple of changes, but nothing serious, and one was quite beneficial. I remembered we had a new home to go to, but the fact the date slid one day to the right totally slipped off my eyeballs. I figured it would take 3 days for a leisurely drive from Kennewick to Dallas and the AirBNB we rented. So, as I’m leaving Kennewick on Saturday, I called Goodest Friend Dixie, back in Virginia, and told her I was on my way and would see her on Monday.

Pregnant pause: Monday? I thought we were meeting on Tuesday?! 

Yep, we were. Well, I was already on the freeway and no way to turn around, so I kept going. Loverly day through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Spent Saturday night in Rawlins, Wyo. Had a loverly drive through a gray and drizzly Colorado (had a time, distance warp but me back on the Dark Side of the Cascades?). New Mexico was sunny, and Texas was a mash up. Sun, drizzle, sun, drizzle and by the time I got to Wichita Falls, it was drizzly (sort of) and dark.

NO signs on Texas highways or roads as to what’s available next exit. If you don’t know, you don’t go. I missed a whole row of motels and got off at the next exit and tried to back track. Uh, no. I stopped at an all-night grocery and asked the young man where I was. I realized the mistrake as soon as I saw the expression on his face. I laughed, told him I knew I was in Wichita Falls, and missed the last exit up the road, and wanted a motel. He assured me I could continue going north, but if I went south a few blocks, there is a very nice motel across the street from the Arby’s on the off ramp I took.

Why didn’t I see the sign for the motel? Because it was dark, and almost midnight their time, and the lights were off. Both at Arby’s and the motel. But I found it. Right where the young man who thought for a couple of moments he had a crazy lady on his hands. (Oh, if he only knew….)

It was an old Econolodge. The room was clean, neat, the bed comfy and I took it for two nights. It was also very, very quiet.

Since I was a day early I had an extra day to sight-see or sleep or whatever. Yes, I chose the last door and did whatever.

Doing Whatever:
I brought about 2.5 inches of poems printed out. That’s probably a good 400+ pages. The room had a cabinet with a large top, maybe 5-6’ x 3’. Perfect for sorting poems. I went through them, put them into 8 or so categories, then went through one more time and got rid of the obvious doubles. Then, I put each category in alphabetical order by title. Found a few more doubles. Then, I got really OCD and pulled out my file folders brought just for this, and wrote on each folder, in alphabetical order, the poems therein.

That made it much easier to find yet more duplicates. And there were some. Then, I began putting them in reading order, by category. The upshot is, I think I’ve got two books of poetry. One on Thomas and Grief, and one on everything else. I had no disruptions, I did get hungry at one point, looked at Arby’s across the street, looked at my project, and voila! I ate some of the junk food that was in my car 😉 Peanut butter filled pretzel bits, a bit of Pub Mix, and Peanut M&Ms. I opted to work and eat junk food. And water. Drank lots of water. I kept working instead of going through the old cemetery next door. Do I know how to have fun, or what?

The next morning, I checked out, and sat in the lobby reading Inside the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson. I tried reading his book about the Devil in White City, and couldn’t get to page 60, let alone beyond, but this book was a page burner. The main reason I hung around is, I was only 3 hours from Dallas, and couldn’t check in until 3, so I sat and read. 

Photo in the AirBNB:
This was a photo of a sculpture that hung in the living room. The Dallas Skyline. The art appeared to be actual size. 

from the desk of the brave dog, Sammy;

my human is back, my human is back, my human—happy dance, happy dance 

And there it is. More next week. Right now, it’s time for yet another nap. 😉

For those of you who followed it, here is the Opening and Closing theme to Dallas. And, no, I have no idea who shot J.R. For that matter, I’m not even too sure who J.R. is/was.

Heroes and Hallowed Ground

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I have been asked by a friend who has recently been diagnosed with macular degeneration, if I could read and post my blogs. I am going to try to do so each time I write and post a Coffee Break Escape. The recordings will be on The Spoken Word page above. Heroes and Hallowed Ground is now posted for your listening pleasure.

Weather in the Tries:
Huzzah! Huzzah! Monday, today, will be 91F and it goes down from here—all the way to 74F during the days, and the nights drop from 68F to 53F. While it’s not bring out the down jacket, it may be time for a light sweater when out at night. And for sure a light blanket on the bed, or a summer quilt or two!

Heroes and Hallowed Ground: 
A great cartoon I found on Facebook: shows an old fashioned Catholic Nun in her black habit & white wimple walking down a school hall with a cat following. She had one hand holding the ear of a young Vance and the other hand holding a ruler. The bubble from the Nun says: “We’re going to have a little talk about childless cat ladies.” Love it! 

Another Facebook one I love shows a GI, with all identifying tags blocked, holding a sign that reads: “I have never stood in front of a grave and given a thumbs up with a big smile, but if I live longer than he does it could happen.” And now you know why last week’s post was so short. I was too angry to really write anything light and not angry.

It’s a week later, and I’m still irritated over his desecration of the graves of my family in uniform. Note, I said irritated. I was angry. By the time you read this, I expect the irritation to be mostly gone. There is nothing I can do about it, besides vote against him. And you already know I’m going to do that. Yes, I hope you do, too. But all I’m going to say about that is I encourage you to vote your own conscious, your own character, vote for the best woman to heal our country, just get out there and vote! 

I am not fond of plane travel. I do not like forced sitting that long. But I for sure will wear my WAC Veteran tee shirt and fly back east to have my thumbs up photo taken over his grave. I do intend to live that long! Besides, I pinky-swore with my friend Ann, to never die! Maybe I’ll do a “Fonzie” with both thumbs up, Aaayyyyy!

By the time you read this, I should have the two pins out of my toe and be able to walk more or less normal. At least, it should be my choice whether to continue hobbling or not. I imagine my foot will be a tad bit tender, but still, having the option… I can’t tell whether my foot is swollen or not, but there are times when it feels like there is some swelling under the assaulted toe, but since I can’t put my foot down flat, I don’t know if it really is, or just feels that way because of my current walking on the side of my foot.

Public Service Announcement: 
Getting ready for my road trip, leaving out at 0:Dark:00 on the 21 September. Have ordered some junk food to eat on the road, have ordered some instant coffee to take with, as I will be staying with people who don’t drink coffee, am beginning to figure out clothes, etc. The first week will be a writer’s retreat in Dallas, TX. (It will take me 3 days of driving to get there). Since I’m not writing anything prosy, and will only have my iPad to take, I am printing out a stack of poetry, and hope to maybe put a book together. A whole book, not a chapbook. 

Speaking of chapbooks, remember, Saying Goodbye to Thomas will be ready for pre-order next Feb/Mar. The amount books I sell on pre-order will set my royalty amount. And I want a huge amount. Not for me, but because all my royalties from the book, or any poems therein I sell individually, will be split between End of Life Washington and the ALS Association. So, start putting your list together of people you want to give the book to, and when I post the link, you can pre-order.

For those of you who pre-order, and would like a signed copy, or copies, all you need to do is send me a self-addressed stamped envelope and tell me how you would like it/them signed, and I will send you back individually signed book plates that can be placed in the books. You can email me when the time comes, to get my snail mail address, if you don’t already have it. 😉

Now We Know:
For years now, I’ve wondered when mass shootings happen and people want some honest gun control, not taking all guns, just banning assault rifles and asking for background checks, a certain party that claims family values, and children are important, and … yadda, yadda, yadda … and when the topic comes up, these people who bow to the NRA say, “Now is not the time.” Many of us have wondered if not now, when? Now we know. J. D. Vance told us, and NO ONE from the Republican Party changed or corrected what was spoken. I can’t remember the exact words, but basically, he told us that mass shootings in schools is the new normal and kids, teachers, and families have to learn to live with it. Now is not the time to discuss gun control, not gonna happen—EVER! If they have their way.

I don’t know a single Democrat, or Republican, who fears being deprived of their guns. They just want assault rifles banned. NO ONE needs an assault rifle unless they want to kill as many humans as possible in the shortest amount of time. That is the reason, not one of the reasons, the  reason, those weapons were developed for the military—to kill as many enemy as possible in the shortest time. If you take an AR hunting Bambi’s daddy, and use it, you won’t have enough usable meat to bother packaging and placing in your freezer for later eating. A total waste of good venison!

When ARs were banned in “…1994, it was only for ten years. The ban applied only to weapons manufactured after the date of the ban’s enactment. It expired on September 13, 2004, following its sunset provision.” (Wikipedia) Once the ban expired and the party who loves fetuses, but thinks kids make excellent targets for practice, blocked the renewal of it. 

“After Bill Clinton banned assault weapons in 1994, mass shooting deaths dropped by 43%. After the Republican Congress let the ban expire in 2004, they shot up by 239%. We don’t need to arm teachers; we need to BAN assault weapons again!” —Lee Turner, Democratic Congressional candidate for South Carolina District 04.

As Jeff Tiedrich said in his 5 September 2024 Substack article, everyone is entitled to my own opinion, “shove your thoughts and prayers, we’ve been thinking and praying since Columbine—and it hasn’t done shit.” I couldn’t have said it better. (If you’re paywalled on this one, let me know, it’s worth the read.)

In his Sunday article, “no, you fucking ghouls, school shootings don’t have to be a ‘fact of life’” Jeff has more good words to say. Normally, I’d apologize for the f-word, but y’all have heard it, deal with it. He’s right. And, frankly, if I knew of a stronger word, I think I’d use it. The time is NOW, lets get something positive done.

If you really want to own and fire an AR, then store it at your National Guard Armory, and only use it on their firing range. And for the sake of whatever god you may or may not worship, don’t buy one for your kid!!!

Photos of the Week—use your imagination and see:
   All the empty desks. 
   All the smaller holes dug in hallowed burial grounds. 
   The parents, siblings, grands, aunties, uncles, friends, family of blood and choice who cry.

from the desk of the very sad chihuahua;
mom says I need to write funny, but I’m still trying to picture the photos above. I don’t like what I’m seeing.

Earworm for the week:
Send In The Clowns — Ol’ Blue Eyes and Tony Mottola

MALA
Make America Laugh Again!!

OMG!! Dick & Liz Cheney endorsed and are voting for Kamala!!! 

PIFA
Politics Is Fun Again!!

As You May Imagine

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Weather in the Tries:

Oof Da! Can you say: Sun? Can you say: Hot? Yep, that be us. Am listening to the ambient music, Miyamoto Musashi: Embracing Loneliness. Not that I’m lonely, but it’s raining in the video. You know, cool.

As you may imagine:
Well, I imagine you can imagine this past week was not the bestest in my world. It took a few days for me to get over SCOTUS’ ruling on Monday. Maybe not over it, but through it. Through most of it. 

On the sunny side of the street, I was in a bookstore the other day, and came home with two books. Yeah, I know, you’re so surprised. /snort/ One is a book of poetry by Margaret Atwater. I love her poetry, and haven’t seen a new book of hers in a long time. So I am reading Dearly before I turn the light out at night.

The second book is, The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. A small book, maybe 5” x 8”, filled with delightful 2-3 page essays he wrote over a year finding delights where he could, including memories. It is a delightful book, and just what the doctor ordered!

Should you find yourself wandering in a bookstore, wander over to the poetry/essay section and look through his book. Take the time to read a couple of his essays. Shucks, while you’re there, look at Dearly by Margaret Atwood, even if you don’t like poetry. Particularly if you don’t like poetry! Her poems are mini stories in a different form. Try a couple. Perhaps you will walk out of the store with two books (or more).

Also, I discovered some new-to-me channels on YouTube and I thoroughly enjoy them—woodturning and woodworking channels! Absolutely great ways to get my eyes and ears out of the news that is so damn depressing. My two favorite woodworking channels are Foureyes furniture and Blacktail Studio. The guys are fun, they explain what they are doing, what they did wrong, and how they fixed it. I love how they work, too. Would I ever spend $15K on a table? uh, no, but if I decided to, it would be from one of these two guys. And I must be learning something—on Sunday I decided to watch someone else make a table. I was quite taken with the top and I wanted to see how he made it. He made it cheaply. Where the guys above glue and clamp, this guy used way less glue and nails. Where Chris (?) and Cam (above furniture builders) take the time to get every join perfect, where they use several grits of sandpaper, where they spend time finishing their work, the table I was so taken by was very shoddily made. The joins did not match, the sanding was perfunctory, and the finish was sprayed on. I watch they guys for entertainment, but apparently, I’m also getting an education.

If you are in the market for some new and high quality furniture, I strongly suggest you watch a few episodes of the guys at the links above. Not that I’m recommending them to you (which I am) but to see how they work, and what to look for when you go shopping. 

By the way, Cam at Blacktail Studio is the one who came up with the Damascus Denim Desk. Yes, a desk made out of denim. Check it out here. Talk about fabric art!!!

Photo of the Week:
Yep, it’s me. I had to get some new headshots for the new book, Saying Goodbye to Thomas, which will be ready for pre-order probably in in Feb/Mar 2025. As you undoubtedly know, there are few things I hate worse than having my picture taken. From my POV, I look like Sophia Loren. From the camera’s POV, I look like me. God, what a let-down for all concerned.

photo by Katrina

from the desk of the hot dog;
the one and only bad thing about the heat is sometimes the hard, black surface of the driveway where most of my walking is done, is too hot for my feets. otherwise, all this sun and hot is pure heaven for this desert dog. can you see my tail wag.

Music of the Week:
Miyamoto Musashi: Embracing Loneliness. Great ambient music to have on, turned low, and write or study by. There are several pieces online for this music. I think if I could play it on the bedside radio I do not have, I could easily sleep with it. No, it doesn’t make me sleepy (couldn’t work or study if it did) but I think it would make great sleeping music.

Quote of the Week:

“Re-examine all you have been told.
Dismiss what insults your soul.”
—Walt Whitman

ps: 
Looking for a nightmare? Give this site a once or twice over: American Autocracy Threat Tracker. Truly scary stuff! But necessary. How sad is that?

HOUSER

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Weather in the Tries:
Hoo Boy!! It’s gonna be in the 30s, and below, until Friday, with next Monday reaching 53F.It is, literally, too cold for little dogs’s feets on the concrete. He goes outside first thing in the morning, runs out to our ‘yard’ and warms up some of the crunchy, frozen leaves, then scoots back into the house, and the bed. By then, I’m up, and have my first cuppa in my hand. No way am I going back into bed so he can stick his cold feets on me to get warm. 

HOUSER:
Was listening to some political tid bits this morning while working on Winter Gifts. They were on the computer and I had my ear phones on, when all of a sudden I realized there was some of the most delightful cello playing on that I’ve heard since the last time I watched Departures.* I had to come in and watch this morning instead of working, it was HOUSER – Rebel With a Cello – Live in Budapest (Full Concert). It’s taken me most of the day to watch it as I had some interruptions. If you like cello music, check him out. Houser.

There are several clips, as well as the whole concert at this site. From movies, tv series, the old masters, and some of the new ones. And besides, he’s easy to look at, as well as listen too.

He used to be half of 2 Men With Cellos, and tried to bring cello to rock n roll. Here’s a clip of the two guys and Thunderstruck [Official Video]

Thanksgiving Dinner Report:
Housemate Dan and I went to Friends for dinner. Housemate volunteered to cook the turkey, but She Who Had Dinner Covered said she had under control. He could bring Salad, and I could bring my usual Pie. That threw me, I don’t bake pies. But, there’s a first time for everything, eh? So, Housemate and I braved the madding crowds at Costco and bought one of their Pumpkin Pies big enough to feed the Eighth Army! I didn’t bring any home. I did bake some pumpkin bread to take, though. Had some leftover walnut pieces and what I thought were dried cranberries, so tossed them in, too. Imagine my puckery surprise when I tried a piece of one of the three loaves and discovered they weren’t dried cranberries, but dried sour cherries. Good, but a bit of a puckery shock. 

She Who Had Dinner Covered, ordered a precooked turkey and sides from a local store. What they neglected to tell her is, she would have to reheat everything. She waited until the last minute, made a mad dash to the store, and came back with an extremely cold turkey, with directions to reheat in 350F oven for 3.5 hours, frozen mashed spuds, very cold gravy, and cranberry sauce. Housemate to the rescue, he put the cooked turkey in a roasting bag added sparkling cider, tied it, and put it in the oven. 45 minutes later it was hot, and delicious. We all just ate a few more chips and things until dinner. Which was very good. Someone brought slaw, someone green beans, roasted Brussell’s Pouts, and someone brought before dinner snacks. A total of 8 of us, and a good time was had by all. 

An interesting tray to serve snacks in—the gal who brought them put them in one of those pans that bakes 8 mini loaves at once. She filled each one with good things to eat. She also brought chips and a container of Mexican Sour Cream. Oh, yummmmmm.

This Week’s Photos:
Finally figured out how to get the photos from my phone. I didn’t even need to find a kid to do it! Anyhow, here are a couple from Saturday when we had freezing fog. Actually, we still have it but it’s cleared a bit. Thursday we may even get snow.

This was taken about 11am, the sun was trying to burn through. The frost on the tree was about gone.
Here you can see a bit of the frost on the trees.

From the Paws of the Cold Dog:
(Please, do not confuse the Cold Dog with the Cold Duck.) The ducks are in the other pond, it isn’t all frozen, yet. But they aren’t happy. It’s gotta be cold on their feets when they’re in the water. It sure is cold on mine when I’m on the walkway or the crunchy leaves. I don’t know why my human doesn’t spend more time in her bed, after all, I’m in there, and it’s nice and warm.  

*Departures is a Japanese film with excellent subtitles, and some of the most beautiful cello music ever. If you’re interested, check and see where it’s streaming now. It used to be on Netflix.

Listen Up, Buttercup!

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Weather in the Tries:
We’re in for a warming trend, and possible rain. Most of this week will be high 40s and up to high 50s. And the lows will be mostly in the low 40s. As I write this (Sunday Morning) It’s 25 degrees outside. And the dog wants me to feed him and take him for a walk. Yeah. Right.

Listen Up, Buttercup!
The tease says Rena just got her first job. She’s 18 months old and gets paid in free diapers and ice cream. Whoa there, Trigger. Is that ageism? I don’t need diapers (yet) but plenty of old farts and fartesses do, and a lot of us would work for free ones, and ice cream. Especially the ice cream. I’d take the diapers now and hold them for when/if I do need them.

Okay, then I read the article. Yeah, it is ageism, but I guess I won’t complain. The little tykes (about 70 of them) work one day a week spreading cheer at Japanese nursing homes,  accompanied with a parent, bringing smiles and joy to the residents.

One of the nursing homes Daddy was in before he came to Portland was an re-purposed one-floor elementary school, and the large wing was for the nursing home residents, but the other wing was a day care, and the residents were encouraged to go to the cafeteria to get their own coffee and meals and interact with the kids. The kids picked a Grandpa/Grandma for the week. The nursing home residents really perked up around the youngsters. And tended to go home sooner than residents of traditional nursing homes. And those who couldn’t go to the kids, had kids coming to them. Daddy almost didn’t want to leave. He had been alone too much, I think, and he just loved those kids. Somehow, I don’t think I’d bring the same joy to the elders as the tykes do.

I also don’t have the least inclination to start/manage/work in/stay in a new nursing home-child care facility, but it sure sounds like a good idea to me. Japan has such a problem with loneliness “that in 2021 the government appointed its first ‘minister of loneliness,’ charged with helping people of all ages connect, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.” Read the article here, and look at the cute kids and happy people. (The quote is from the article by Janis Mackey Frayer and Arata Yamamoto  and Mithil Aggarwal.)

Two photos from a couple years ago, when I lived on the river. Doesn’t it look cold? you can see the fog rising in the smaller photo, if you look closely.

Death Care:

Moving into the final week. I’ve lost a week. I thought this was Week 7, but it’s Week 8. It’s been a fascinating time, and I’m really looking forward to meeting several of my cohort face to face this coming Friday. There is an in-person class on washing and shrouding the deceased. I doubt I’ll ever do it, but it will be nice to know how, just in case.

Now I get to write a piece about why I decided to become a Death Doula/Midwife. About 5 minutes worth of reading. So, guess what I’m gonna be doing today (Sunday) in between two Zoom Room sessions. 😉

From the Paws of the Brave Dog:

I really didn’t want to walk this morning. It’s too cold, so when Housemate Dan insisted, we went forth. And I delivered the desired response in a hurry, and then we came back. My other human is very pleased that not only did I produce, but I’ve also started tromping and peeing on the Zombie Leaves. That’ll teach ‘em to mess with the Big Chihuahua! Now, I’m going back to bed. It’s nap time!

Chansons Innocents II by e.e. cummings. Read it here, and have a Happy Halloween by whatever name you call it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Auntie Lenora Presents: The Toddler in Chief!

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Weather in the Tries: We had a moderately cool week. All temps were double digit! However, today, Monday, is on the schedule to be 102, and then a week of mostly low 80s. There will be one dip into high 70s. After our couple of days of nearly unbreathable smoke-filled days, we’ve gone back to Good or Moderate Air Quality. 

What an odd week has just gone by. And yet one more reminder I’m still grieving. I was late for an appointment. I’d written down it was at 10:15, which was correct. However, every time I looked at it, I saw 10:45. I always get to those appointments early, and I was there at 10:30, and they marked me as ‘missed’ and I couldn’t be worked in later in the morning. To say I was confused would be to word it mildly. 

A couple days later my Grief Group met, and when I told them, they smiled knowingly, and the Facilitator told me about Grief Brain. Apparently, it’s a thing, and Boy Howdy! did I have a case of it. Then I got to thinking, took two aspirin, and realized it’s not yet three months since he died.

Fortunately, there was a great show on the telly Thursday night that took my mind off things for a while. Like many people, I watched what there was to see of the arrest and booking of the OP. And then the county released his mug shot and I had one of the best laughs I’ve had in a while. Not that the arrest and booking of a President is funny—it isn’t, it’s really a sad commentary on us—but the shot is priceless. Reminds me of when my kids were toddlers and if  told to do something they didn’t want to do. “NO! I DON’T WANNA AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!!!

I DESERVE TO BE PRESIDENT! IT’S THE ONLY WAY I CAN STAY OUT OF JAIL AND I AM YOUR RETRIBUTION! (I’m not at all sure what that means, really. I don’t need retribution for anything. Do you?)

How sad for him. He wants to look threatening and strong and will never surrender (though he did surrender, was arrested, booked, and released on bond!) and he looks like a petulant toddler throwing a temper tantrum. I’m surprised he hasn’t taken the old Don’t Tread on Me! rattlesnake and photoshopped his mug to that.

Since I have a genuine photo of the Hot Line to Jesus, I’ll post it, in case the OP needs it. Or anyone else. I know the photo is genuine, because I took it, I did not swipe it off the web 😉

Actually, the sign was in the mall where I used to walk in the winter. It was in the food court where they were installing a new pizza place, and Jesus was the general manager, and was looking for a few good workers. I apologize for the ugly crossing out of the area code, but it is, or at least was, a working number and I couldn’t figure out how to change any of them to a fictional number.

The book, Saying Goodbye to Thomas is coming along very nicely. There are 28 poems in it. There were 27, but I took a poetry workshop on Saturday, and wrote one more. The book (sans the new poem) is out to several people who asked to read it. I hope to have everyone’s comments back in a couple of weeks so I can wind it up and start sending it out. Sheryl has sent me some very nice photos of Thomas, his niece has given permission to use one her mother, his sister, took several years ago, I have one taken during the toast before the Final Cocktail where he’s happy and smiling. I now have seven shots of Thomas, I hope I can get them arranged on the page like I want. And a possible couple more coming from a friend in Arkansas.

And, I have submitted his novelette to a publisher. Fingers crossed.

The Big Chihuahua is liking this cooler weather a lot. Still warm enough for a Desert Dog, but not so hot he melts. He still dives under the summer quilt on my bed at night, but before long he’s topside. At least until about 4a.m. when he gets cool.