Cooking Leading To Deep Thoughts and a History of the Kitchen Stove

I cooked like a crazy woman yesterday, doing two different soups, and our chicken for dinner. My refrigerator is stacked with containers of yummy goodness that will last me, hopefully, for more than a week. Ideally, these will last me for 10 days or so. I also honey roasted some carrots and baked some pears. I made two of my favorites because it's easy to make them on the same day. My Asian Vegetable-Beef Soup cooks on the stove top, and my Spicy Kielbasa Soup cooks in my slow cooker. So I got the Kielbasa soup started first, then worked on everything else while the slow cooker worked its' magic. I do love modern appliances. 

Look at these antique gas stoves. I'm estimating these 
were from the 1950's or so, but I can't find a date and 
don't have the time to research it. It almost looks as 
though the very back top is hinged and would close 
down over the burners. Can't say for sure on that either, 
though. 

A century ago this particular kitchen routine would have been next to impossible. There were no slow cookers, the kitchen stoves/ovens/ranges that we use without much thought these days also didn't exist. There were stoves - of course. A different style, however. The electric or gas stoves that we use daily now weren't even a whisper of a dream in the 1920's. We might dream about the 20's as having been a milder time, an easier time, a "fun" time in which everyone danced the Charleston and wore flapper dresses or Zoot suits. But in reality, the 1920's were days leading into the Great Depression of the 1930's, the Dust Bowl and the beginning of things like Social Security and governmental work projects throughout the nation to keep people employed and fed. 

In the 1920's, this stove may have been in your 
cooking/food preparation area. It was top of 
the line for its' day. Gas operated, it was one big 
step away from the wood burning stoves of the 
late 1890's through early 1900's. 

History always seems to look a little bit better through the warped glass of the past. World War II? It was just a big war that lasted a lot of years and cost a lot of lives. Well, yeah. It was that, and it fulfills that description, but it was a lot more than that. It was fear, running away, leaving everything behind to flee the soldiers ahead. It was D-Day and the atomic bomb and Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. It was war that spread from the Reich through to reach almost every point of the entire world. And it will look like children having a playground fight if we lose our ability to think with a conscience again. 

This was a typical (actually rather high-end) gas stove 
from the 1950's. Although I could cook on this, it would 
still not be adjustable enough for my purposes, and those 
tiny ovens would be a problem. Still, it was quite a step up 
from the stoves of 50 years prior. 

It almost seems as though we, as a species, are hard-wired for self-destruction. That after coming out of our previous conflagration, digging in our heels and rebuilding, we can't resist tearing everything down and starting again. Our sand castle keeps falling apart, and/or others come along and kick it down. We seem incapable of making and maintaining relationships between individuals, neighborhoods, cities, states or nations. We are, at basics, a very territorial and confrontational mammal, and sometimes it does us good to remember that. 

Today's stoves are glass cooktops, clean 
and straight. The "burners" are elements that 
never see a pot directly. The stoves are sleek, 
minimalist, and actually a lot of fun to 
work on. I don't have a stove, I have an electric 
cooktop and a separate wall oven. It wasn't my 
choice, I didn't design my house. But it works 
well for me, and I use it A LOT. 

So, as I head to the swimming pool on this day, to work off some of my frustration with the "human" race, I do hope you'll reach out to others today. Even if it's just to say a kind "Hello" or to hold a door open for the next person. Let's remember that kindness also spreads, and do our best to leave the world a little better place tonight than it was early this morning. I love you all - my readers and my long-distance friends. Slava Ukraini. 

Meandering Thoughts for my Birthday - Feel Free to Disagree - LOL

Have you ever checked what happened in the year of your birth? Most of the time, I don't really care. But since today is a MAJOR birthday, I decided to look back and share with all of you. One of the benefits of getting older is being able to do retrospectives like this - LOL. 

So, in 1954, the year of my birth, the following things happened: 

The Year 1954 Major News Events 70 Years Ago

1. Senator Joseph McCarthy is censured, bringing an end to his witch hunt of Communists
2. The First Indo-China War Ends
3. The Supreme Court rules on Brown v. Board of Education, stating that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional
4. Ellis Island in New York closes as a point of Immigration
5. President Eisenhower signs into law the new social security bill funded by employers and employees
6. US "Operation Wetback" is started on 17th July to send back to Mexico almost 4 million illegal immigrants
7. Hydrogen bomb test conducted on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
8. The words "under God" are added to the United States Pledge of Allegiance
9. First sub 4 minute mile run on May 6th by Roger Bannister
10. Swanson introduces TV Dinners

I'm not sure I'd put the TV Dinners into the same category as the hydrogen bomb, but there you have it. It's a bit of a hoot, but it's far from comprehensive. What else happened in the year of my birth? 

Cost of Living 1954 - How Much things cost

•  Yearly Inflation Rate USA 0.32%
• Yearly Inflation Rate UK 1.9%
• Average Cost of new house $10.250.00
• Average wages per year - $4,100.00

 

• Average Cost of a new car - $1,700.00
• Average Cost of Rent $85.00 per month
• Movie Ticket - 70 cents
• Life Magazine - 20 cents

 

• The Dow Jones recovers back to pre Wall Street Crash highs of 381.17
• Cost of a gallon of Gas 21 cents
• Average House Price UK - 1,970 -

 

It looks like things were so much more affordable back then, but were they really? No, inflation has taken care of all of that. As salaries increased, the cost of goods also increased, and the ability of the "common man" to purchase his daily requirements and some luxury goods stayed, barely, within reach. The middle class struggled, and they still struggle. The poor were poor, and they still are poor. The dollar amounts are so much larger now, because the dollar is worth much less. 

My parents had to scrimp and save, like any other newer couple with a young child. They grew accustomed to the realities of parenthood - the kid sees and wants everything, and the parent simply can't afford it - so they both do the best they can with what they have. When my parents got me my first adult-sized bicycle, I was thrilled. It was a hand-me-down from my Mom's cousin, my Tante Gerty. Her daughter, my cousin Miki, had used it, but Miki was older than I by eight years or so, and she had grown out of the clunking old bike. I, however, was thrilled to have a big bike of my own, and rode that bike until I entered Middle School. I upgraded to a 10-speed when I went to college - I still have that first 10-speed, although I upgraded that one after my first year as a Graduate student. 

I've seen a lot in my 70 years. I've seen causes picked up and then put back into the closets. I've seen elections come and go - good people and horrid people elected, but the USA still stands, both in spite and despite the election results. I've seen changes in world politics, and increased suspicion between people as nations, neighborhoods, and individuals clash. I know humanity can survive, but will the governments under which they live? I'm not so sure about that. As we've moved through the ages, we've never strayed from our aggressive impulses, our territorial tendencies and our habit of striking out first and apologizing later. When you have weapons of mass destruction, that "later" may not come and we might not rebound this time. I remind myself that dinosaurs lived as a biological success for millions of years. Mankind is very young. If nature feels the need, we'll be toast and She'll be trying something else - hopefully a bit more successful. Maybe more dinosaurs. They certainly were kinder on the environment than mammals have proven to be. 

So, celebrate my birthday with me and think back on your own life. Have you had a positive impact? Have you had a negative one? Have you had ANY impact at all on those around you? Maybe it's time to change that. Have an excellent day and weekend, enjoy a piece of cake for me, and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

A Cynical Look at Humanity - Priming the Pump

It's winter up here in the Frozen Northlands, and that's our time of very low humidity. Whatever humidity we get, is from melting snow, not rain, nor dew. It's the time of year when my filling my fountain every day is essential. I don't want the water to run dry. If it does, it strains the motor and might break the mechanism. It's a easy thing, to add a bit of distilled water to it every morning. But at this time of the year, I can't forget to do that. The pump must be kept primed or it will creak to a stop and break. 

What do you do to prime your pump? Are you doing 
something for yourself? How about priming things 
within your interactions with others? Pumps need to 
be primed to work properly. Have your checked yours 
lately? 

Isn't that the way of relationships and interactions too? When I mail my holiday cards, I think of the person receiving each and every card. I haven't met everyone who receives my cards. I haven't even spoken to many of them. But I know them. They're friends of long-standing. They're writers of great talent, people of sarcasm and humor, pet owners and those who are owned by their pets. They're human. And in this world of inhumanity, I cherish every human being I've had the chance to know. 

Many of you who read my daily post are friends of 
long-standing. Some are newer, well on their way to 
being a member of that group. Look around you. How 
many friends of long-standing do you have? Count 
all of them. Cherish them. They are your lifeline when 
needed and they will never fail you. 

Human beings are odd creatures. Although we admit that we share a world with those with four legs and those with wings (and those with more legs than four, although we don't often think of them), we tend to think of those with two legs as the only beings on the planet. We look at our own foibles and sigh. We moan because we can't get along with each other. We refuse to look at our blood-soaked past - those times of tribal wars and small band against small band. That's our heritage. Why would things be any different as we grew populous and took over much of this planet? 

I was fascinated by dinosaurs when I was a child. I almost 
went into paleontology instead of archaeology in school 
because I loved them so much. But I'm not good at 
geology - a necessary skill to study dinosaurs - so I 
decided to study ancient man instead. 

So when people demonstrate. When they engage in conflict, large or small. When they repeat actions that had previously served as poor examples of behavior, it's not unexpected. We're stubborn, and we refuse to learn from past histories. In the geological history of this planet, we're short-term - an experiment that is going very wrong. If we don't take the entire planet down with us, Mother Nature will come up with another experiment. Perhaps her next one will be as successful as the dinosaurs. They were a success where we have failed. 

Nature keeps trying to experiment and improve, but the 
basics - basic cellular structure, the ability to live within 
the physical environment, etc - those basics are the same 
from species to species and era to era. 

So, I'm off to the pool to work off some of this cynicism. There's nothing like a good swim to improve my outlook - LOL. There are five people who will still be getting cards - the substitute ones, I'm afraid. But that's all - just five. I'm breathing a sigh of relief - my list has shortened a bit, and losing those ten cards wasn't catastrophic. Have an excellent Tuesday. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

The Times They Are A-Changin' and Historical Perspective

I have a dental checkup on Monday and yesterday they sent me an emailed form that I need to fill out for them. They need it ASAP (of course), and I was hopping with customers all day while DH was down in the warehouse dealing with rewiring the light fixtures (which took him all day, quite literally. He was putting the final plates back into position when I was locking up.) So I didn't get a chance to fill the forms out. BUT, I also probably don't have all of the information readily at hand any more. So, I'm tempted to do the best I can today and tell them to look up the previous forms for the details I'm missing. Can you tell I'm just a little crabby today? LOL

This kid looks wonderfully crabby. What 
a great expression! LOL

All of these extra hoops we have to jump through these days to get our health care is more than annoying, and it all is placed totally on the threshold of COVID. Before the epidemic we were actually able to get access to our physicians without running through the gamut of a billion questions and more people. We were able to get into our dentists (with whom, in this instance, we've been patients for more than 30 years), without having to try and remember when we had our immunization and booster shots. We were able to travel on public transportation without wearing a mask. All of that seems like a distant memory, now. 

This is a VERY young Bob Dylan. The album was 
released in 1964 and was a standard for those 
already protesting the war. (That escalated and 
crested in 1968-1972.) 

When I was a young hippie, there was a song by Bob Dylan called "The Times They Are A-Changin'". (Here's a link to the original song on You Tube as sung by Bob Dylan.) It was a protest song - an early Bob Dylan in the times of Joan Baez and others becoming the popular music. We sang it loud and proud, happy to be that generation - the one that would change everything for the better. And we tried, and then we aged and the younger generation picked up the torch, changed the path's directions, and we were off again, and again, and yet again. Now it is my generation who are "behind the times" and "standing in the way" and the younger generation who seem to be looking for conservative security, new causes and a rash of new demigods to be thrown down by their own children in another 10-20 years. 

Every generation gets an opportunity to carry the 
torch for a short time, and then must pass it on to 
the next generation waiting in the wings. Although 
each generation starts out with great intentions, 
more often than not, they fall flat and fail because of 
the weight of what needs to be changed, and the 
intransigence they butt up against. 

The times have a-changed. When historians look back at these days from the far future, what will they see? What will the tinted glass of time smooth over in their analysis, and what will stick out clearly? What will be that rock in the middle of the raging river of time that was pivotal to all except those of us living through it.? I wonder what the generations of 100 years from now will think about us. That's a massive gap of time. Think back to 1922 - the end of World War I (the war to end all wars ... the joke was on us). The flu epidemic was winding down, the economy was going great guns for another seven years and industrialization was starting to grip the nation's factories, but we were a bit less than a decade away from the Great Depression. Isn't it interesting how history can bring perspective? 

Historical perspective has always been of interest to 
me, since history is usually written by the victors of 
any battle. Those battles don't just have to be in war, 
they can also be in economy, culture, religion or 
other things that impact multitudes of people. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I guess I'd better try to fill that silly form out and send it on it's electronic way. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday. 

Dresses and Gowns and Dreams of Days Past - Sharing Fashion

Among the things I did yesterday was bring my dress form upstairs into my living room and photograph the six dresses I had from my mother's collection. She was a bit smaller than I am - 5 feet, 2 inches to my current 5'4". I set the dials to my current measurements to see if the dresses would be wearable (although I think I'll actually sell them as "Vintage Handmade Clothing" on Etsy instead of keeping them). I promised I would share, so here's a heavy photo blog for you on this very cold day. 

Starting with a plain, black sheath cocktail dress. 
I rather like this one - not very ornamental, but 
very functional and looking quite comfortable. 

A detail look at the bodice allows you to see the 
lace panels and the plain satin or silk (I think it's 
satin). It would be a lovely dress when worn. 

The green lace cocktail dress with sequins and 
beadwork at the bodice and on the attached 
scarf is a bit more elaborate. That's not a sleeve 
on the left, that's the bottom of the very long 
attached scarf that I wrapped around the neck and 
finally allowed to drape down. 

When this was first made, it must have sparkled 
brilliantly. The dull white sparkles are actually 
a clear, silver-lined bead. Like all S/L beads, it 
tarnishes over time and becomes more dull. 
It's a lovely dress, though and also has a separate 
shawl of the green lace. Prepared for any 
occasion with this gown. 

This cocktail dress is my favorite gown. 
It's a light colored satin completely 
covered by lace and the top then has 
velvet embellishments all around it. It's 
a stunning dress. 

Looking closer, you can see the leaf structure she 
designed for the bodice. Four leaves in the front, and 
another four leaves in the back. I'm looking forward 
to seeing how well this dress cleans up. 

The blue split front dress has a lightweight 
underskirt which is WAY too small for me. The 
dress itself, however, would fit fine. Since the 
underskirt joins in the back and would be 
totally invisible at that point, the waistband 
could be extended with bias tape to make the 
ensemble wearable by my size. Again, this 
is a cocktail length dress. 

The bodice on this gown has a small top split 
to mirror the larger bottom split. It's really well 
designed and well made. I think it will be 
stunning on the right person - someone who 
adores vintage clothing. 

This is the only dress in the collection that 
I've actually worn. This one doesn't have a 
zipper, instead it buttons completely up the 
front with fabric-covered buttons. I'm missing 
one button, which might be a problem, but 
there might be enough of a seam allowance 
in the interior to spare fabric for a replacement. 

Looking at the detail, you can see how it fastens. 
There is actually a zig/zag row of formed fabric 
extending from the bodice at the right, and 
attaching to each individual button on the left. 
This is a style of button and fastening that my 
Mom used on a lot of different outfits. It's a 
classy way to have a "button hole" since it's 
not a hole, but another design effect. 

This dress is a true gown, extending to ankle 
length. Perfect for the opera or theatre. It 
features a dropped shoulder and gentle 
V-neck on a three-tiered skirt. Lots of lace 
on this. I could easily see Mom in the 
audience watching La Boheme wearing 
this dress and holding on to her opera 
glasses. 

A closer look at the bodice and you can see it is 
all tulle and lacework. The top dropped sleep 
portion needs a bit of repair, but it's actually 
in pretty good shape. 

Taking a closer look at the bottom, you can see 
where there is some mildew at the lowest tier, 
and obviously there are a LOT of wrinkles, but 
this might be absolutely stunning after a proper 
press and clean. 

Apparently there is one more dress that DH set aside that has a lot of pearls and beads. I'll make him chase that up and add it to the collection when he does. I'll have to do a bit of research on vintage gowns. I suspect these are all from the 1950's - I'm pretty darned sure Mom didn't run away from Hitler to shelter in Britain with a suitcase of clothes of this vintage. When Mom moved to Denver, she and my aunt Vera set up a dress-makers business and were quite successful. Eventually they closed their doors and went into separate careers - Mom to teach piano and do custom sewing, Tante Vera to teach dance. 

So, it's darned cold outside and I have to get to the pool. I hope you enjoyed this small fashion show of dresses my Mom left for me. I'll get these cleaned up, research the pricing for vintage clothing, and get them up on Etsy. The gowns, although they fit me, won't really do me any good these days. I'm more of a jeans and a t-shirt kind of gal - LOL. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow (provided I don't freeze into a block of ice!). 

Discussing Calendars and a Look At Some of My Wall Art for 2022

The year is ticking down, less than 48 hours until we're in a new one. Years and calculating them with calendars strike me as odd today. Indisputably, the seasons move onward, from the season of heat towards that of cold and back again. Plants sprout, grow, bear their fruit and then die. It's an annual cycle that is echoed in our own life cycle, as it progresses from birth towards death. Nobody escapes the cycle. Nobody can step off the wheel and then back onto it again at will. 

I've been buying the "Witches' Calendar" for more than 
a decade. I love the art in these - all woodcuts and 
color. The artist is incredibly talented and I adore looking 
at the art every morning. 

The actual calendar that most of us use is a construct, and rather a bit of a mish-mash at that. It was a calendar started by people so long ago that their names and tribes are lost in the depths of time. Over the centuries it was molded and altered by conquest, edicts and science, until we have the calendar that most of the world uses now. The months are named differently in each nation, but December 30th is the equivalent in French, German, and even Telugu (although I can't put their alphabet into my own character set). 

"Gardens of the Spirit" calendar is another one I've used 
for more than a decade. Each month features a beautiful 
portion of a Japanese garden as well as an adage for 
thoughtful life. I absolutely love this calendar. 

There are differences, of course. Our standard Gregorian or Julian calendars are a solar calendar. Many other calendars are lunar (Buddhist and Islamic). The Gregorian calendar is 10.8 minutes shorter than the Julian calendar, and that difference mounts up over the years and centuries. The Jewish calendar is a lunar/solar calendar. When I was young, one of my relatives in Israel sent me a Jewish calendar every year. I was always a bit bewildered by it. We are currently in Year 5782 of the Jewish calendar, which rolls over in early September. 

I've been getting this one for the past few years. I love the 
concept and style of good environmental art, and since 
Andy Goldsworthy doesn't have a calendar, this is the 
closest I've been able to find. It always has lovely installations. 
Environmental art is almost always fugitive - not art for 
the millennia, but sometimes art for as short as a few 
hours. That's part of the joy in art of this type - it's 
not museum art, it's art for the sake of creating art. 

Having a strong calendrical cycle allows for more accurate communications between people. Instead of "I'll drop by to visit you twenty suns after the Innundation begins", you have I'll see you on April 20th. It's easier to plan within a codified structure, and it is one more foundational stone for a government to establish a toehold within a culture. One of the first things any conqueror would do was to replace the calendar system with one of his own (if they were different). That new system, combined with new coinage, a new language, and sometimes new festivals, would cement the position of the conqueror into firm governance. 

DH loves the art of Royo, a Spanish artist who paints beautiful 
women with sensuality and more reality than the more plastic 
faces and eyes that others tend to portray. I make sure I get 
him a Royo calendar every year (some years it can be a hard 
one to find). 

So as we all get ready to change to new calendars on Saturday, think about how convenient this framework and structure has made our lives. We can set appointments, celebrate annual occasions, keep track of this and that, and generally plot our own course on the River of Life. I'm looking forward to my new calendars - all that uncharted space waiting to be filled with the detritus of my daily life. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Today my Heart Weeps as I Remember the Fallen and Why Do Jewish Graves Hold Stones Instead of Flowers?

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the White House (which didn't happen because the passengers revolted and caused the plane heading for the White House to crash in a field in Pennsylvania instead, killing all aboard.)

This photo was taken at Ft Snelling National Cemetery in 
the Twin Cities - my local military cemetery. Each headstone 
was connected to a family - people who miss their loved 
ones every day. 

Rather than post something lighthearted, I'm following my feelings today and allowing myself to reflect on how short life can be and those whom we love and who choose to love us. Everyone in this nation was affected by these attacks, it's something many of us will remember throughout our lives. In some ways, the attacks were the start of our war in Afghanistan - a war that we just abandoned less than two weeks ago. 

Instead of flowers, most Jewish graves have stones place 
on the gravestone. Have you ever wondered why this 
was done instead of flowers? Here's an article that 
explains the practice far better than I can. 
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/putting-stones-on-jewish-graves/

So today I remember the fallen and those who fell afterwards in the long and rather fruitless war. If you have a chance today, think back on this single day that changed the course of life in our nation. Mitakuye Oyasin. 

Tune Ups and Machine Evolution

In an hour I'm heading out to the Mazda dealership for an oil change and tire rotation. Minion need this - probably should have had it done last year, But Covid ... you know ... put everything into the closet for a year. So, time to get it done now. Hopefully it won't be too expensive, but it'll be what it is. 

I love my 2015 Mazda CX5. It was hard to give up my 
PT Cruiser, but "Grape" was getting really old and I 
needed a reliable car that we could haul things in. The 
Mazda totally fit the bill, and we used her to haul stuff 
to the compost areas for a few years before we got 
DH's Toyota truck. Now Minion gets to just take me 
around town and on day trips. I wanted at least 10 years 
from it and I think I'll get at least that. 

Today, being Friday, is usually a "day off" for my tattoo artist. I'm hoping he has some time to work up a final drawing for me with the revisions we've asked him for. I hate to be a bother, but I really need it, so I'll probably email him (in fact, I broke away from this posting to get an email sent out to him). I'm very focused on Wednesday already - I've been dreaming about this tattoo for months and months now, and now it's less than a week away and I'm thrilled. 

He's planning to use his rotary equipment for my skull 
tattoo, and I'm totally in favor of that. It means smoother 
lines and a much softer sound. 

I've been spending a lot of time working on my meditation and breathing techniques as well as some self-hypnosis to help me through this session of tattooing. Most people are fine with the first hour or so in any tattoo session, but after that, it starts to hurt. It's far from unbearable - people wouldn't keep going back again and again if it was horrific. But yes - you are getting needles pushed into your skin and ink injected into you. So there is some pain involved. I'm not sure I'll be up for the full seven hours we have scheduled, but I'm sure going to try to do as much as I possibly can in the one sitting. 

The older-style coil tattoo equipment is what many 
people are more familiar with. He has that too - 
he has quite a lot of equipment in his drawer. There 
are some applications where he knows that will 
put down a better line than his rotary equipment will. 

When I got my first tattoos in 2007, equipment was quite different than it is today. The machinery was klunkier, and harder for the artist to control. The traditional "Coil" style of tattoo machine pulled electromagnetic current through coils to trigger a draw and release. It's a hammer-like effect. The "Rotary" style of machine Rodney intends to use on me is much smoother. It's extremely quiet with an encased motor and a smoother delivery allowing for smoother lines. He said I could easily listen to music or whatever through headphones and I wouldn't hear the machine. So, I'm planning on that. 

The rotary equipment is much quieter and smoother 
in operation, allowing for smoother lines and easier 
operation for the artist. It'll be easier on both of 
us since I'll be able to listen to a book or music 
of my choice while we're in session. 

I have to get going here, so I'm cutting this off here. Have a glorious Friday, enjoy your day, and please stay safe and be kind. I'll be back tomorrow. 

We Didn't Present a Good Face Toward the World, Yesterday!

I spent yesterday with errands and working on my knitting, until finally phoning Aearwen for our weekly chat late in the afternoon. That's when I heard about the events in Washington DC. I hadn't had the TV or any media on all day, and my computer hadn't been involved since early morning. Usually I'm not behind the times that much, especially for serious events, but this time I was oblivious. 

The Capitol hasn't been stormed and Washington DC hasn't 
been under "attack" since the War of 1812. That's the 
war when the "White House" was burned and Dolly 
Madison rescued Washington's portrait. 

I suppose I'm rather grateful about that, all things considered. It does no good to be upset about something I can't do anything about. But really - what a sorrowful thing. Watching the US Capitol being assaulted by people from our own nation - people who are determined that their candidate didn't actually lose the election. 

The joint houses of Congress, meeting to endorse the 
electoral college votes, were under attack. One woman 
was shot and died. I think there was a total of four 
people dead by the end of the night, but I'm not 100% 
sure about that - have to check more news stories 
for confirmation. But what a mess. Even Nixon had 
more class than Trump, and that's saying a lot! 

Democracy is not a perfect dessert. It's the kind of dessert where the kids tried to help and instead of perfectly shaped cookies or a lovely lattice-top on a pie, you get blobs of cooked dough and a much more abstract crust effect. There are no perfect styles of government, but for more than 200 years, democracy has worked in this nation. The peaceful transition of power from one elected official to another is foundational in our democracy, and despite the events of yesterday, it continued on and it will still occur. 

Not everything is pretty all of the time. The key is 
picking up the pieces and moving forward. The nation 
is divided right now, almost as much as it was during 
the Civil War. But now it isn't area-specific. Now it 
is between neighbors and relatives. It is dividing 
families and houses. It's going to be hard to overcome 
all of this, but we have to try. 

My fear is four years from now when this poison will attempt to spread again. That's when all of this hatred can potentially rise again, attempting to splinter the American people into small segments of population looking over their shoulders at their next door neighbors. Donald Trump is a one-term President. He can run again, and I think he plans to do so in 2025. That's what frightens me. That's what should frighten all of us. 

As always, be kind, stay safe, and please wear a mask. We'll survive this because we're resilient and have a strong structure of government, but it's up to us to smother the hatred under a blanket of kindness. I'll be back tomorrow. 

 

Crashing and Burning - Living in Unsettling Times

My summer is starting to crash and burn, rather like the spring did. My annual show in Milwaukee was rescheduled from last week to the end of August in the hopes that the COVID-19 outbreak would be better controlled and things would be safer for the attendees. But yesterday evening, as I was doing a quick review of pending emails, I noticed the bad news. The show has been cancelled completely for 2020 and rescheduled for the normal June dates in 2021. That leaves a single event still on my calendar - the Minnesota Renaissance Festival starting in late August and going through September into October. I'm fairly certain that will also end up being cancelled for safety's sake.

I've attended this annual show since the mid-1990's. It's
painful to realize I won't see friends this year. 

Although it is summer, not winter, Shakespeare still came to mind. "Now is the winter of our discontent" seems apt in a strange way. It also brings to mind the Summer of Discontent which seems so relevant today in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Are you aware or do you remember that summer of 1964? I was alive, but I was young and it didn't make the impact on me that it should have. Are you curious? What am I talking about? Here's a link to a 15-minute read about that summer and its' pivotal role in our long fight for racial equality.

I realize that my link only takes you to the first page of the
multi-page article, and I apologize. The way my morning
has been working, I'm grateful I was able to at least
get that teaser up for you to read and research from. 

I know that it's going to be a long, hot summer and that our usual outlets of festivals, musical performances, small street fairs and corner amusements parks are locked away for another time, another year, a year with more hope. People were already going stir-crazy during their varied stay-at-home orders, many of which are starting to life. But, as they stayed safe or ventured out on quick errands for a variety of reasons, this damned invisible virus was changing the topography of their lives forever.

Will we ever feel comfortable enough to gather in huge numbers
at festivals and musical events? A crowd like Woodstock seems
unimaginable in today's post-COVID environment. 

We will ever be able to safely gather in large crowds again? Will masks become a necessary fashion accessory? I suspect I'll be wearing masks for many more months, so I've purchased some colorful ones, and Chickie has made me several wonderful masks as well. I'm set for fashion, but somewhat unsettled in life. We don't live in a perfect world. We are still learning how to work within the world environment. We can close our doors, huddle in our bedrooms with blankets pulled over us, but what would be accomplished by that? No. We need to put on our glasses and examine the areas where we can improve. Then, gritting our teeth, we need to set forth and change things for the betterment of all. We're not perfect, but we can do better. I have to believe that.

Have a wonderful Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow. Be safe.

Emotions, Diversity and New Beginnings

I tried six times this morning to write this blog. After many years of a daily blog, I rarely have problems writing something down, but I'm really trying to not post political/situational posts all of the time, especially these days. Things are so fraught with emotions for everyone right now, I'm trying to stay away from the worst of it. We're all getting bombarded from all sides on the events of the past days. It's been less than two weeks since the death of George Floyd, and it has taken over the thoughts of a world. It's quite amazing how quickly the spark caught fire. The tinder must have been extremely dry. 

Sometimes just a single spark can cause a flame if the tinder
is dry enough. American's history is a lot of spoken promises
that often take decades before fulfillment. It's time for some
more promises to be kept. 

And it was. The tinder has been drying for decades as people of color strove to find acceptance in a society that seems to reward the pale skin of Scarlett O'Hara while turning their backs on the wonderful range of people we have in this nation. It's been a wake-up call in the middle of a pandemic, demonstrations carried out with social distancing and protesters wearing masks - not to hide their identities, but for personal protection against a killing virus that doesn't care about racial identities. 

I have been reassured by the large variety of races in the various
protest marches. I'm also heartened that most of those protesting
are young enough to actually make a difference in the futures of
their peers. I love the diversity, and hope this stance can be
continued into the future. 

A lot of people have jumped onto the bandwagon this time, and I'm really hoping they'll stick with their glib words and phrases, and that true change for the better might come about through the tragedy of the death of a single black man on the streets of Minneapolis. Every shiver that has been taken over the decades has resulted in lasting change, but it's always seemed as it if was not enough. Jobs were created, but there weren't enough jobs and opportunities to advance in a good career. Banking opened their doors, but it's hard to take advantage of such things if you're living from paycheck to paycheck. Where were those opportunities? 

We all need the opportunity for another chance because we still haven't
managed to get everything right. I'm not sure we are capable of that, to
be quite honest.

I loved this image. If you like it too, it is
available on Etsy and designed by DoodleStation. 

We've got another chance now, and maybe we won't mess things up again. It would be really nice to look down any suburban street to see a variety of guys out (and some gals too, of course) with their lawnmowers on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It would be wonderful to glance down the line at any pick-up restaurant and see a variety of skin colors and hear a variety of accents. That's the American Dream - those huddled masses yearning to break free. That's my American Dream, and I'm hoping in the last few decades of my life, that maybe, this time, the dream can be achieved and all people will be welcomed based on their abilities, talents and skills, not the color of their skin or eyes. Have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow.