Window and door
Our house needed replacement parts – a new (upper left) bedroom balcony door and a new (upper middle) studio window. Needless to say, Colleen wasn’t about to let me try to install the new ones. It was way too heavy (weight) a task for me to tackle. So, instead a couple of (small) guys came to do the job. Ha ha, these guys were good and this was not their first job. In one day, just one day, they removed and installed a door; and they removed a door, built a knee wall, and installed a double window. Slick! They don’t paint and spackle. Ok! I did it the next day. We matched paint and it was covered up. We have storage benches (brown). They are not made anymore. So, I built a bench the next day custom fit to the new height. A matching set of blinds will follow and you might never notice there was a door there before.
I hate power tools. In fact the spiffy nail gun popped one into my finger. Ouch! In all my years of surgery, I constantly had to use power tools in critical spots – no mistakes allowed. Since retirement, the table saw, router, and chop saw have been constant companion tools. Ok! Just do it. Fortunately, it has gone well. Meanwhile, I am used to finishing projects quickly. Brain surgery ain’t like auto repair, “The car will be ready next week, mam.” Nope, brain surgery with few exceptions is a one day completion too.
A bit later on
Yes, Thanksgiving was last year already. I know that. And, we got a covid surge in December. And you have seen this picture of a crowded table. But, darn! We can cook (and bake!)! Needless to say we were not going anywhere and out of caution we did not invite anyone nor accept any invitations. It didn’t mean we did not have fun. Meanwhile, the food?! I am not a food photographer. Far from it. Often, I will be halfway through the meal before the thought of a picture occurs to me. Ha ha, let’s just agree that I am not a real food photographer. We did cook and bake. Colleen baked the butter sticks (rolls) and pumpkin pie – with whipped cream. We made a stuffed (chestnut dressing) turkey. In this I cheated. The turkey was overdone and not too (Norman Rockwell) picturesque. Alas.
We made (from scratch) all but the pickles – scalloped potatoes, Waldorf salad, cranberry sauces, apple sauce, pomegranate, and butternut squash soup. We made a lot of hot turkey sandwiches later and turkey pot pie. We missed family and friends. Fortunately, they have remained safe too. Let us hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Pie, before the whipped cream has covered Colleen’s gorgeous crust and filling. Too much – guilty, I always make too much stuffing to go inside the bird – Plan B.
Ooops
Something old…. Well, Colleen likes to entertain. We have silver we got for cheap at one antique store or another. Yes, we have several sets. Did I tell you they were cheap? Yes, very. You just have to hit the sale at the right time. Coleen has made the linen. Yes, she wove, she has talent! The plates are from my side. Lisa never like them. My brothers gifted them. Colleen loves them. It all worked out. Pickles, yes, the pickle fork is rude. We got that at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Ha! Ham? I got a shoulder. Wrong cut, looks like sh*t, tasted great, you’d never know after it was cut. I gotta say it’s been nice playing “house” with Colleen.
Delivery
I don’t know who is happier when Amazon delivers. I get the contents I needed. The cats have a new home/play thing. They nest, rest, wrestle and make it their home. Heaven forbid that I should recycle any box before its time. Cute?! The boxes get in the way till I remove them. Not a word is said. The cats are stoic – and then another package arrives.
Breakfast
Colleen made me a BLT for breakfast. Yeah, yeah, don’t laugh. And don’t tell me bacon is bad for you. I know this. And my cats consider themselves 10%ers. That is to say whatever I eat… they are entitled to 10%. It’s an immutable rule. Don’t blink or they will lick your food. Yuck, ugh, ewwww! I fight them for my spot at the table. Don’t be late!
How many?
Thousands upon…. how many cat pics do I have? It’s especially hard to get a picture of Willow. He doesn’t cooperate. And he’s white. Contrary to what I tell you, he does not pose on demand. So, in this rare instance… I got a great portrait of my cat. Ha ha, I consider him Colleen’s cat. He only likes me when it’s time for me to feed them. Whatever! This was a good one. A “keeper!”
Hard to get… two ways
It’s hard to get me a present. By this point in life I am fortunate to be pretty content and, stuff, I got. Colleen tried. She giggled and held her breath till it came. Yes, it’s my first – a front pocket wallet. Who thinks of these things? Colleen! I’m impressed. I have never seen nor thought of one. Hard? I just got done scanning 80k+ thousands of slides. The left screen shows ducks walking in the street. Thanks to Feather – the cat – I am reminded of it. Now, find it. Okay, here’s my logical thinking. Go to the image info – metadata. Get the time this image was shot. Go to my slides scanned and find the scan time (when it was scanned). Voila! Not so hard after all. Ha ha, I’m not going to go looking.
Splat
Curiosity or death wish? Ray is so curious. Anything new? He will poke his head in and try to see what’s going on. Ya gotta love him! Cute? You bet! Am I cat proud? He has been in and out up and down. I fear he will come to harm. Meanwhile, he is still there poking his head in where no cat has gone…. Splat? That is a very heavy cabinet full of drawers.
Contagious? Hey, what’s all the fuss about?
Beside myself
Yeah yeah I know, thanksgiving was an age ago. And once upon a time, Bill held Jules and she was smaller than our thanksgiving turkey. That was a long time ago. This past year we felt bad that we were in quarantine and no company allowed. Solution: make your own. Lately, there are those who believe in whatever they are told. So: we invited a group of look-a-likes. I snapped the picture, There was enough turkey for all. Since we all quarantined together it was perfect. Yeah, yeah, we all had the same outfits. But, it would have taken longer to have everybody change. Me? I think that turkey was bigger than this turkey.
No cats
…were harmed in the making of these photos? The process? You see a good shot, you have to have a caption/punchline to go with it. A worthy photo? It must be standout beautiful or have a goofy story…. Cats develop crazy habit, hence, the name Nutley. Yup, that’s him, Buddha pose. Ray likes to sleep underfoot. ??? dunno. I will frequently bump him when I don’t realize he’s under my foot. Sorry. He likes to be close… or he likes the smell of feet… with or without socks.
Four years
It was four years ago on this day… we were at the women’s march in Newark, DE. I would have been in DC for the protest but Colleen was chicken, But we were out there. I am reminded because Carol sent me pictures of her presence in NYC at the parallel protest. Four years ago this day… and now it is Biden on Day +1. What a difference.
Killt
That would be past tense of killed. I’m a dead husband after this post. Oh well… we laugh a lot around here. What do you do during a pandemic and you’re home alone? My brother was once a stock day trader from home dealing with the big stock brokers and would laugh to trade shares over the phone wearing just his underwear. Yeah yeah, you get where I’m going. Someone got distracted early one morning and started winding a warp before breakfast. I don’t think there’s any family who follows my blog regularly. They will (all, I hope) miss this. Meanwhile, just about any and everybody else in the world will know.
Que? … that we have and eat healthy fruit – banana, grapefruit, apple …. you’re all peering at the background, right?
Me? Dead ham. I’m dead ham. If I didn’t mention you’d never notice….
Right to the bitter end
ig·no·min·i·ous/ˌiɡnəˈminēəs/ Learn to pronounce adjectiveadjective: ignominious
- deserving or causing public disgrace or shame.
Lie, cheat, pardon… repeat. People are scrambling to buy pardons for money from POTUS. FOLLOW THE MONEY $$. They will and you will go to jail. It’s pretty stupid to advertise your crimes. Stupids still believe the Capitol invasion didn’t happen. They deny. The rest of us and the WORLD saw it. We can dial it up and replay criminal insurrection you (trump) committed. And the arrested stupids who posted and identified themselves are going to jail. Did you pardon them too? Oh!…no?…. they didn’t give you money?
Cheat, lie, pardon… repeat. Now we are blatantly announcing pardons are for sale. FOLLOW THE MONEY $$! We just can’t seem to get over the criminal mob (Mafia) behavior of asshole in chief. I am not constrained from calling trump out with disdain. He’s gone very very soon. I sincerely hope justice will follow him and he will soon be incarcerated. There is no other way to account for the criminal activity this past president has thought he could get away with. The madness ends. All you did will be fixed and you will indeed be locked up. And, I think they will follow the money because you are too arrogant, no, too stupid, to cover the trail.
ig·no·min·i·ous/ˌiɡnəˈminēəs/ Learn to pronounce adjectiveadjective: ignominious
- deserving or causing public disgrace or shame.
Black
Black flowers are deep dark purple… well, it’s black to me. There are no such black flowers. Okay! It sure looks black to me. But then again, they don’t exist. I have to wonder how the owner came by these unusual annuals? We were on a house tour of historic New Castle. I like finding things they tell me don’t exist. And, I have never seen a magnolia tree seed pod (rock, under, me). – That’s the pod upper right.
Millions
“Mr. Trump is set to depart office on Wednesday with an approval rating of 29 percent, the lowest of his presidency, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center.
About 75 percent of the public said Mr. Trump bore some responsibility for the violence and destruction of Jan. 6, which put the lives of the vice president and members of Congress at risk and resulted in five deaths, according to the survey.”
Baked Alaska?! They arrested someone named Baked Alaska in connection with the riots. Of course, they did.
25% of people in the poll said it was ok to storm the Capitol and wreak havoc, destruction, and murder. 29% of whatever number they are using is a lot of millions of people who are with trump and his hatred and lies. That is a lot of millions. There are a finite number of Republicans in the Congress who support trump. That number is near complete support among the Republican numbers. After 2016 and 2020, I think that polls are misleading. They lied to me and misled me into believing the streets are paved with gold and moon is made of cheese. Fool me once…. Not in my wildest hope is 25% or 29% a number to take to heart. That’s a whole lot of people who aren’t getting it. There simply is no scenario in which it is ok to carry the Confederate flag into the Capitol of the United States. None. Zero. 0% In truth of fact, there are millions who say it’s ok.
Get out!
So much to say so little time. Turned (you) out! Get out of our house! Here’s three voters who helped vote you and your fat ass out. Backwards, you got it all backward. You did not win. And this time around we were paying attention and were ready. No amount of cheating or your version of an alternate reality can make it anything less. And there is an excellent chance you will be indicted and convicted and be LOCKED UP! Delicious!? It’s another day, the collective nightmare will end and ‘barr(s)’ will have a new meaning in your pathetic life. Oh, did I say? I did not vote for you either. Today is the eve of “eviction.” This is a real post not a wish or fantasy. Do you know/can you guess – how much we will miss you?
Chilling!
“Can I fly with my AR 15?
If you want to fly with an AR 15, or really any rifle, you’ll need a rifle case. You can fly with a gun, it’s completely legal. … You’ll need to have all firearm components locked in your checked baggage, too. This includes magazines, bolts, ammunition, stocks, basically everything.Aug 28, 2017
Flying With Your AR 15 – 80% Lowerswww.80-lower.com › 80-lower-blog › flying-with-your-a…Search for: Can I fly with my AR 15?What weapons can you bring on a plane?Firearms
Yes, you can take your favorite gun along for a plane ride. But you must know that you need more than a nice hard-sided case with lock for any firearms. They cannot be loaded and ammo must be properly packaged in the same container as the firearm.Dec 9, 2018″
Airlines are reporting more weapons are being brought through commercial airlines into the Washington DC area ahead of the inauguration next week.
That’s pretty chilling!
And foreign governments are doing their bit to help destabilize the US government too. That would include China and Russia among the players implicated.
Washington DC has a “Green Zone” now. 20, 000 troops are deployed to protect our capital against terrorist incursion by Americans. Americans? Something is deeply broken. Lies are truth to many. There is fake news that has made its way to the core of our population. The seeds of distrust extend in all directions. The effectiveness of trump’s lies is bewildering. Magic. It’s magic.
“What does magic mean?1a : the use of means (such as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces. b : magic rites or incantations. 2a : an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source.”
Qanon has got to love the “supernatural” part of the definition. trump has accomplished this through a continuous litany of repeated lies.
‘the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32)
Strange day
We were playing hooky. Instead of quarantine we were… We found a new bookstore dedicated to local authors. The owner herself had written of her experiences as a funeral home owner. Geez, I can’t wait to see how that ended. The Enchanted Tea Room – ah, bad timing. She offers high tea – English style – tiered trays of tea sandwiches. Alas, she was ill with low back pain – my specialty! But I could not advise or console her. She only had an answering machine which she turned off. She was dreadfully afraid to catch covid. A former favorite restaurant re-opened as a bar. We tried it. Beer!? What’s not to like! The place was empty – not an auspicious start, ordinarily indicating a quick demise. Oh, I circled back to the funeral home?
Profile: terrorist
Last week I did not know who you are. This week you are known to be an extremist who craves attention. Shame! You carry a gun into the chamber of the Congress as your right to declare you are stupid. You refuse to follow rules and to not go through the metal detector because you are special and have the right to threaten other Congressmen. You tweeted locations for Congressmen during the riot inside the Capitol. You aided and abetted the rioters. Perhaps we should add traitor to your title as well. You have been noticed. Loud, stupid, carries a gun. The right to bear arms does not include the right to threaten. We are a long way from the wild west days past.
Classroom
Class is in session. We went to an old elementary school with wooden desks one per student. No double desk for us. We were in the same classroom from 3rd to 6th grade. She sat on the other side of the room. We orbited but barely interacted. We danced in the same folk-dance group during those years. We must have been partners at some point. Colleen remembers being in the car when the rear passenger door swung open during a turn and I swung out over the street. She helped rescue me. I don’t remember she was in the car. I remember my dad kept driving along as though nothing had happened. We are together now. The circumstances that brought this to be were so tenuous as to be nearly invisible. But then again, it wouldn’t be the story it is if it were otherwise.
Duh!
When my kids were little, they would cover their eyes and no one could see them. Duh! Right! Cover your eyes!. In order to communicate to thousands, maybe millions, you need to be able to have access to the site. Can anyone join up? I’m not “law enforcement” scout’s honor! Encrypted or not, how do I read your drivel once I am granted access? Oh, you will be invisible? Got it. You covered your eyes?! They have contests for hackers to outdo one another. It only takes “About 3,600,000 results (0.59 seconds) ” a half second to find several million hits on hackers. Yeah! Some real bright bulbs are out there. Ok, ok, it took a bit longer and a full length movie to find Bin Laden. But, I daresay, someone’s out there listening as we speak. Go ahead, you wanna do what? where?
Feeding time
If you have more than one cat… well, it’s feeding time. The cats have trained me. They try all manner of coaxing to get me to come to the kitchen. Mostly, they know when it’s time to eat. As soon as I get to the kitchen they gather and jockey for position as though I might ever forget one. Heaven forbid! The can is not open yet but once open, Willow licks the sauce off the lid. The twins eat in the bedroom lest they cruise everyone else’s dish. All the cats have their spot to eat. Nutley is always done first and opens the bedroom door putting his paw beneath the door and prying it open. He then nudges the nearest cat out of the way to finish up their dish. I must have been late this morning. They were all over the closed can. Feed me!!
Qanon
What is QAnon?
QAnon is the umbrella term for a sprawling set of internet conspiracy theories that allege, falsely, that the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who are plotting against Mr. Trump while operating a global child sex-trafficking ring.
QAnon followers believe that this clique includes top Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros, as well as a number of entertainers and Hollywood celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres and religious figures including Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama. Many of them also believe that, in addition to molesting children, members of this group kill and eat their victims in order to extract a life-extending chemical from their blood. – https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html
QAnon[a] (/ˌkjuːəˈnɒn/) is a disproven and discredited far-rightconspiracy theory[2] alleging that a cabal of Satan-worshippingcannibalistic[3][4][5]pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against U.S. president Donald Trump, who is fighting the cabal.[6] QAnon also commonly asserts that Trump is planning a day of reckoning known as the “Storm”, when thousands of members of the cabal will be arrested.[7][8] The conspiracy claim is entirely fictitious.[9][10][11][12] – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon
REALLY?! I mean REALLY?! The woman in red is an elected member of Congress. Nut! Nuts!! She is most definitely the face of Qanon just as the Viking hat nut job is as well. … and the man dressed in a big “Q.” Two of three are recognized as nuts from quite a distance away. Greene (in the red jacket) is sinister. She is the ideological evil step mother portrayed so vividly in fairy tales. She is the public face of evil in Congress. She is not alone. Too numerous to mention – cruz hawley jordan gaetz and many others I have not singled out are all part of this crew. Do not allow these extremists to prevail. Congressmen did not vote for impeachment because they feared harm to themselves or their own families because their very vote for impeachment would endanger them all. Sheep. Mice. They behaved shamefully caving to the mob and its threats. America must now face the challenge of Qanon an extremist group that has no place. Qanon is not entitled to confuse freedom of speech with hate speech and lies. And yes, this is all worth repeating. Qanon is not America. But if we fail to treat this infection it will take over the body and kill us all.
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