Ukraine and a Book Series I Highly Recommend

Yesterday started out slow, but picked up in the afternoon, a fact which I was grateful for. We ended up with an OK day, when the outlook at noon had been rather dismal. I suspect things were a bit slower because it was a truly beautiful early Spring day - sunshine, lollipops, etc in abundance. When the weather is great, we often don't do well because people want to be outdoors. But I had two sales from neighborhood wanderers who had wandered through in the morning and then returned in the afternoon to purchase something that had caught their eye. Yippee! That's what we want. 

"They", whoever "they" is, estimates casualties in 
Ukraine at 4300 people. I call BS on that. I know 
there are thousands more dead who were caught in 
cities that were bombed, shot on roads as they tried 
to escape, or who merely stood by helpless as they 
were mowed down. Ukraine needs help and we're 
sitting on our hands. They need our troops on the 
ground along with the NATO troops. I call BS!

The war continues, and I'm so very frustrated about how slowly the democratic allies are moving to help the people of Ukraine. The "no boots on the ground" BS is starting to get to me. We're letting a small nation destroy itself against a much larger one because we can't get our act together enough to get out there and help. Sure, we're sending armaments and humanitarian aid, but that's not really going to cut it. They need personnel to help. People afraid of triggering World War III simply are blind to the fact that we're more than likely already involved in it. It makes me wonder what history will say when they review the past few months. I suspect history won't be very kind to the aggressors or the allies. 

In the meantime, Ukraine fights and dies. 

Want to read something unusual and excellent? I can't 
recommend this series highly enough. Of course, I've 
heard Nahuatl (language), and have enough knowledge 
of how the names are pronounced to hear them in 
my head. And I'm quite familiar with Tenochtitlan - its' 
layout and history. No Spaniards in this one - it's 100% 
Aztecan. 

I'm in the middle book of a series I started a few years ago and loved. I'm not sure why I didn't immediately go on to the next in the series - I suspect it's because I didn't realize the others had been published. It's the "Obsidian and Blood" series by Aliette de Bodard - a very prolific and excellent writer. The "Obsidian and Blood" series of three books is an Aztec noir fantasy where Cortez didn't arrive in Tenochtitlan, or maybe it's before the arrival of the Spaniards. But the characters aren't historical. Still, the society she's created around the ancient Aztecs is fascinating and rings true - whether or not it actually was that way in reality. Want something different? Read the first of the series, "Servant of the Underworld", then move on to "Harbinger of the Storm" and finally, "Master of the House of Darts". Highly recommended. 

I'm off to the pool. Have an excellent day and I'll be back tomorrow. 

"Don't Just Do Something, Stand There" - Is That Our New Motto?

Monday night's dinner, the final portion of my chickpea pasta with seasoned ground beef, lay on my stomach like a brick. I found it hard to get to sleep because I was so uncomfortable. I don't think I'll be repeating that recipe. I don't like feeling like that at the end of the day. Lesson learned. 

I enjoyed the flavor of my chickpea pasta and ground 
beef meal, but last night, it was like I had 
swallowed a brick, lying in my intestines very 
uncomfortably. I think I'll skip a repeat of that meal 
and see what else I can make instead. I'm sure I 
can figure something else out. 

It seems that Mariupol, Ukraine is now 90% bombed out and overtaken by Russian forces. At this point, if those sheltering in the basements and other hiding spots haven't left, they will likely be rounded up and taken elsewhere, away from Ukraine and into Russian territory. I'm not sure that will be worse, frankly. To live elsewhere, but have food and water and maybe some heat, to not be in the way of bombs all the time, and maybe to take a deep breath for a change, might be an improvement. That's actually saying a lot because I think the population should be allowed to leave the city and move more into Ukraine voluntarily. Unfortunately, I doubt they will be given that option. 

More than 90% of this bustling city of half-a-million 
people has been destroyed. Less than 100,000 people 
remain here, sheltering in basements to hide from the 
bombardment. Yesterday Mariupol declared it was 
"occupied" by the enemy. Those poor people! 

The TV-feed we were seeing last night had DH and I both in tears. Those poor people. How long can the West sit on their hands and let this happen? Diplomacy is all good and fine, but it's quite obvious that diplomacy isn't going anywhere in this war. The misery keeps escalating, people keep being displaced and killed, and families keep being torn apart. How can this be condoned by any of the powers striving to help Ukraine? 

It seems as if this is what's happening to the rest of 
the world while Ukraine defends itself against the 
Russian aggression. There's something so very 
wrong about this! 

I'm grateful I've got swimming ahead of me today. I'll be able to work some of my frustration out in the water, and listening to the adventures of Drizzt Do'Urden seems a much better option than turning on the television to see human misery in real time. I think my psyche needs a bit of a break. I only watched the war for a half-hour or so last night, I can't take it 24/7. DH is semi-attentive to it during the hours when he's awake - so he's much more immersed in this than I am. I guess he can tolerate it better, but I can't. I fully admit it. I need some rainbows and lollipops. Have an excellent Tuesday, I'm heading over to the pool. I'll be back tomorrow. 

It Was a Nice Sunday - Hockey, Sloppy Joe's and a Relaxing Evening

DH and I ended the day by watching the hockey game. Actually, he watched but I only listened, because we've already established that when I actually watch the game, the Minnesota Wild lose. However, they were playing my other favorite team - the Colorado Avalanche, so I was really torn. It was one of those situations where I really couldn't lose, because either way I had a team I loved in the race. 

The Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche hockey 
game was an excellent one. Lots of very good plays, 
and a bit of luck, allowed MN to get the win 3-2, 
but it was hard fought all the way through. 

I had the game on the TV behind me and studiously ignored actually watching it, but when the Avalanche went ahead towards the end of the second period, I switched my TV over to CNN and texted DH that I had done that, just so that "his" team would win. It actually worked - LOL. It was an excellent game, went right to the buzzer, and the Wild managed to pull out the win. It doesn't change the standings - the Avalanche are still the best team in hockey right now, but it helped the Wild step solidly into second place in our division. Whoot! 

DH was craving sloppy Joe's for dinner last 
night. He ate THREE sandwiches, but there's 
enough left over for at least one more tonight. 
He prefers onion buns for his sloppy's, but the 
filling looks quite similar to this. I love them 
too, but they're all sugar and other things I 
don't eat any more. So I didn't share. 

DH had told me he wanted sloppy Joe's for dinner yesterday, and he had all of the fixings. I had made myself a chickpea pasta with mushrooms and seasoned ground beef earlier in the week, so I reheated a generous portion for my own dinner. I have one more portion left for tonight, and I think he might have one more sloppy left for his own meal. So, it was a relaxed day, and that's really what I wanted. 

I remember when DH gave me this 
Walkman. I was thrilled, and I used it 
a lot. It's been supplanted by digital, 
though. The radio works great, and 
he can easily listen to his hockey games 
on it, on the rare occasions when they 
aren't televised on a station we have 
access to. Sometimes antiques still 
have life in them - LOL. 

Originally he had told me we would be cleaning the den so that he could wire the speakers back up to the stereo and listen to his hockey games on the rare times they aren't televised. But then he remembered that he "took" my Walkman a month or two ago, and that it works perfectly for him to get the games on radio. He just jells out with the headphones, usually while his TV is still on CNN. Crazy. I do wonder how we ever got together sometimes. He's a TV addict and I'd rather bury my head in my computer or a book (or e-book these days). 

I found this brain study very interesting. The top two 
scans are brain scans of reading vs internet searching 
from computer/internet naive people. The bottom two 
brain scans show people who are computer savvy being 
scanned while reading vs computer web searching. 
Using Google to web search can be good for your brain! 

All-in-all, it was a good Sunday and I'm refreshed and ready to start another week. I have my notes for Etsy with me, it's time to start tackling the Swarovski cubes. By the end of this week, I want that department operational and functional. Then I can start working on other sizes of cubes, since I carry them in 6mm and 4mm sizes also. I've got plenty of product I want to put up on my Etsy pages, it just takes a bit of time to get them all organized, photographed, and entered. 

Often, in interviews with Ukrainian people or 
officials, they sign off with "Slava Ukraini". 
For those who are curious, it means "Glory 
Ukraine". 

I also know the Oscars were on last night, and 
I steadfastly ignored them - even the Red Carpet. 
I'll probably look at the fashions online today, 
but I really had no interest in the Academy Awards. 

On that optimistic note, I'm out of here. I hope you have a wonderful and excellent day. You're sharing the day with my dear friend from afar, Shirebound, so I know it will be a good one. I'll be back tomorrow. Peace. 

BattleBots, Pogroms, and a New Blender - It Was A Busy Thursday

I hope all of you had an excellent St Patrick's Day. I baked my corned beef on Wednesday, and DH purchased another one on Thursday, boiling it late in the afternoon to eat that night. Both versions were quite tasty (we each tried a bit of the other's). We each had side dishes that we wanted - he had some really lovely baby potatoes, I had a large salad. Each of us were quite happy with the meal, and then we dove into watching the first battles in the "round of 32" on "BattleBots". Gotta love us some robot fighting - LOL. 

DH and I love to watch BattleBots, and this year they 
have fans in the stands once again (last year, with the 
pandemic, they only had the members of the other teams 
cheering on the competition). It's as fun as ever and the 
fan favorites are still here and doing well - Witch Doctor, 
Huge, and many other exceptional robots. It's always a 
good time, and we're now in the playoffs rounds. 

I've heard good things about the speech that Arnold Schwarzenegger made yesterday. I didn't hear it, so I'll look it up because I'm sure it's somewhere on-line. DH was very complimentary about it, and he's not really a fan. CNN also has spoken highly of it. Putin's speech, on the other hand, which I did hear, reminded me of the pogroms that happened last century - racial and area cleansing - totally frightening and completely insane. I have to wonder why anyone would sign up or even mention "self-cleansing". The term sends shivers up my spine - echoes of WWII. 

Are you familiar with the term "pogrom" that I'm using 
in the paragraph above? Here's a good article about the 
history of the term and how pogroms were focused on 
the Jewish population of Russia from the later 1800's 
through into the 20th Century. It's my Jewish side 
pushing through again, that I immediately thought of 
pogroms when I heard Putin's speech. 
https://www.thoughtco.com/pogrom-the-historic-background-1773338

I really wonder what China will do now. President Biden will be talking with Xi Jinping later today. So far, China has supported Russia. But will they continue to do that? China gets a lot of trade from the US, but also from Ukraine and Europe. Russia doesn't have a lot of trade with China. Xi did not support Russia in several very public occasions lately - the Security Council of the UN for example. It's possible that Xi Jinping is pulling away from his tacit Russian support, although he's not ready to pull away completely ... yet. Still, the world seems quite united in their hatred of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If China comes on board, it may be the tipping point needed. 

I ended up ordering a Wolf Hi-Performance 
blender. The main reason was the "smart" base 
that Vitamix has on their hi-end blenders. I kept 
reading review after review that this system has 
all kinds of problems. So, after several hours 
of research over several months, I made the
final decision and bought the Wolf instead. It's a
power demon, so should do well with my
raw veggies. 

After a lot of research, and balancing Vitamix against Wolf, I decided to order the Wolf. The warranty is shorter, but I'll live with that. I think that it's best suited for my use. It has the 64 oz carafe I need (although Vitamax also had a 64 oz carafe) and I can buy replacement carafes if needed. I'm pleased with my choice. It's a big expense, but I've been saving up for it. It's a heavy guy - 13 pounds - but I'm really looking forward to it. I assume the clear Gorilla Tape I've put on the carafe of my current Ninja will hold for at least one more batch, maybe two, but I'm not counting on much more than that. A professional version of a blender is a necessity for my Ogre Juice. 

The one thing I haven't done is supply an exterior 
storefront photo to Etsy. I might add that to the 
documentation today, just in case. It can't hurt to be 
thought of as "real" and "serious". LOL

So, it's a bit of a depressing post today, but there is an undertone of hope. Etsy asked for more documentation, which I sent off yesterday morning, so things should be moving again soon. I sent a bunch of stuff to them. If you're checking us out, it should be at StormcloudTradingCo on Etsy. Hopefully - LOL. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Peace! 

Friday Was a Good Day Off - Adventures With Food

My intention yesterday, amidst many other things, was to donate to Ukraine by renting an Air B&B rental location for a day or several days. I actually had chosen a place in Irkusk, and way almost finished finishing the paperwork when Air B&B required photo identification - passport, driver's license, or one other item which I'm not remembering. I stopped there, cancelled the reservation, and I'll find a different way to donate to Ukraine. I have no faith or desire to put my personal identification into cyber space. I guess I'm too cynical to have faith, and I just don't want my identification documents in the aether. 

Although I can understand Air B&B wanting photo ID 
for reservations, I'm not going there. I'm not quite that 
trusting. I do need to get a new ID started, I finally have 
all of the documentation needed for one of the fancier 
ID cards that will allow me to fly. Right now, mine is 
good for a few more months, but that's all. 

Etsy did respond to me, and I'll be trying to get some work done on that today between other things at the shop. I really want to get this going, and it's just not clicking into place. I'm sure, if I was just an individual artist wanting to put my goods for sale onto Etsy, it wouldn't be as difficult. But I'm part of a corporation that has a bit of a convoluted corporate structure, and I suspect that's what's tripping things up. 

I'm quite happy with my new mouse, and I love 
the color. Of course, the most important thing is that 
it works, and it seems to work just fine. I was using 
my laptop for most of the day yesterday, and it 
performed well. For $20, it was a worthwhile purchase. 

I bought a new mouse (which works perfectly and is a lovely red color), and I dropped my two boxes of books off at Half-Price Books, receiving $2 for this batch. Huzzah! LOL I got my groceries for my salmon dish and looked at corned beef choices for St Patrick's Day. I'll probably head over to the store tomorrow and buy one - it would be nice to have corned beef on Thursday, I could make it on Wednesday (or maybe DH could make it on Thursday). I'm not doing potatoes, I don't eat them, but the meat would be nice and certainly won't be a problem. 

The salmon was so easy. On aluminum 
foil sprayed with non-stick spray, lay 
several fronds of fresh rosemary and 
slices of lemon. Put the salmon on 
top, with fresh minced garlic on it 
(I forgot the garlic so added minced 
garlic spice half-way through the 
bake). Bake at 375-400 for 15 
minutes or so. Then open up, and put 
under the broiler for an additional 3-4 
minutes. Really excellent! 

The salmon turned out AMAZING and so easy to make. I made enough for two meals and had the second half sitting on the stove while I ate. DH picked at it and tasted a little bit. He declared it "really good. I'd eat this if you made it again," which shocked me since he's not a fan of salmon. And yeah - I'm definitely making it again. I paired it with roasted Brussels sprouts and multi-colored heirloom carrots. It was delightful. I have the leftovers for tonight, and I'm already looking forward to dinner. 

I think I'm going to get a corned beef brisket for St 
Patrick's Day dinner. I won't eat or make the potatoes, 
that'll be up to DH if he wants them. but I have no 
problem with the meat itself. It should be a nice meal. 

So, that's all today - nothing really exciting happened yesterday, but I did get a lot accomplished. I'm looking forward to a productive day at the shop today, and a comfortable Sunday. We'll see - it doesn't take much to ruffle the waters of my life. I hope you have a fabulous weekend and I'll be back on Monday for Pi Day. LOL Peace! 

International Women's Day and Ukraine - Don't Read If You Are Tired Of the War

Today is International Women's Day - a day that I think should be celebrated every day, but apparently we get a "special" day just for ourselves. So ... that's OK. It's good to remind others of the strength and depth that women have to offer. When I look at the people fleeing their homes and leaving everything behind in the war zone, it's the women that are being pushed toward the borders. They're running, caring for the children, and leaving everything behind them. Could you do that? I hope you never have to try. 

Hitler entered Austria on March 12th and 
addressed the people of Vienna from what's 
now called the "Hitler Balcony" on the 
first of April. There was a lot of support for 
him in the nation, it was a bloodless coup. 

My own mother had to do that. She was young, less than a month away from her 26th birthday. Hitler entered Austria on the 12th of March, 1938, and was greeted with jubilation by the Austrians. Mom was on her way to England the next day, leaving Dad behind to try and walk his way to freedom through Switzerland. They wouldn't be reunited for many long years. The only positive was her lack of children - she didn't have to take kids along with her as she escaped. But with only two suitcases to her name, she left everything else behind her and ran for her life. They had been married for a bit less than six years. 

Women and children are fleeing Ukraine - almost 
1-1/2 million people have left the nation so far, leaving 
their husbands, fathers and brothers behind to try and 
stall the Russian troops. Thank goodness for the prompt 
opening of the neighboring borders to these refugees. 
They are finding welcome and assistance in Poland, 
as well as some other neighboring nations. 

I see the women pushing into the buses and trains now, children in their arms or clinging to their coats. It's cold in Ukraine right now, cold, damp, wet. The world is weeping as they flee from the Soviet forces, and their husbands are left behind to do whatever they can against a large, well armed invader. I'm amazed and uplifted by the strength I'm seeing in these women and children. Some take the difficulties easier than others, but it's a hard journey for everyone with no real end in sight. Many of them might not see their husbands, brothers, or fathers again, and that's beyond tragic. 

Ukrainian refugees aren't going to go north to 
Belerus. Belerus is a satellite of Russia, so no 
refuge there. Slovakia and Hungary are helping 
somewhat, as is Romania, but the largest border 
and most welcoming nation is Poland. Poland 
has been outstanding in all of this - opening 
their border, their hearts and their homes to 
the refugees. 

Meanwhile, politics continues. People make speeches and exclaim with pity and sorrow, but nothing really gets done. That angers me. As a free world, we should be doing a lot more than we are, to help Ukraine. But we're sitting on our hands, and I can't figure out why. Do the leaders of the "free world" really think that Putin will stop with Ukraine? No. After Ukraine will come Poland - a land that Russia has wanted back under it's control for a long time. Slovakia and the other neighboring nations will fall, and then Putin will be ready, at the back door of free Europe, to begin chipping away at the many smaller nations in Europe. It's not a big stretch of the imagination. If the free world drops the ball on helping Ukraine and stopping the advances of Russia now, within five years, they'll be facing the same decisions as the Ukrainians, only this time on their own borders. 

The map is a bit dated, Russia is grabbing a 
toe hold in Ukraine at several points, but 
Ukraine is still standing, still fighting, and 
still alive, despite a serious lack of assistance 
from the West. Is this the beginning of 
WWIII, if you actually check the history, 
we've probably be in WWIII already for several 
years, we just haven't recognized it. 

On that depressing note, I'm out of here. It's a swimming day today, and I think I need to leave some of my frustrations in the pool. I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with a more upbeat post. Peace! 

Ukraine, Snow and My Internet - Problems All Around

I was in tears yesterday, watching the events taking place in Ukraine. I'm so angry at that idiot in charge in Russia, I can't even say his name. The man is a poison on the earth, and he's killing everything he touches. I wish there was something I could do that would help the people he's assaulting, but I can't spread a blanket over them for warmth or give them a place to rest that is warm and safe. I'm not sure there are any safe places right now - for anyone. 

Is there a safe place for anyone to hide these days? I wish 
there was a way to protect the people of Ukraine, but the 
situation there is just getting worse and worse. 

The idiots in our own government are of the "hurry up and wait" mentality, which doesn't help much at all. In fact, the only things I've seen that are helpful are the efforts of individual people. There's the pianist who travels with his piano to brighten the hearts of those who pass. He was in Minneapolis right after the George Floyd murder and played in George Floyd Square for the people, helping to heal in his own way. He's now in Ukraine, pulling his piano along behind him as he goes from place to place, playing in the cold to help the people with a bit more hope and a spark of joy as they flee past him. What a brave man, who only wants good in the world and does whatever he can to facilitate it. 

Pianist Davide Martello (German) believes in the power 
of music to heal and help life the spirit, so he travels to 
places where people are troubled with his piano, and 
plays for them - quite beautifully. He's in Ukraine now, 
near the border of Poland, and is playing for those 
fleeing the war zone. He pulls his piano behind him on 
a wheeled sled. It's quite amazing to see. Here's 
a CNN piece on him in the Ukraine. 
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/03/06/piano-man-poland-ukraine-border-refugee-shelter-sidner-dnt-vpx.cnn

When I first went on-line this morning, I was afraid Live Journal had been pulled off, but it was my internet service, which was down for a quick routine maintenance. It was back up in five minutes, and so was Live Journal. I've always had two accounts - LJ and Dreamwidth, but I do need to put my icons into my DW account. I've had the account as a freebie for a long time, but purchased the full account last week and I'm going to pull over my icons as well, so that I'm fully functional on Dreamwidth. I'll continue posting on both platforms (as well as my personal blog) for as long as possible, but I suspect Live Journal will die soon. 

One of the first things dictators and despots do when 
taking over a nation is cutting the internet off, isolating 
the people from outside contact. Although the internet 
hasn't been around all that long, it's become a serious threat 
to dictatorial power struggles. 

I had a nice Sunday, except for the tears late that night. DH and I had a somewhat relaxed day ... well, I did at any rate. He used the snow blower to clear out the five inches of overnight snow we had gotten, then shoveled the back walk, and then pulled the snow down from the front and side roofs. It was a long and tiring job, but fortunately not in frigid temperatures. Still, he was happy to have it done and settle down to a toasted English muffin for his breakfast. 

It's a bit of a pain to have to post from two completely 
different computers. But, I'm determined to get this 
up and not miss a day just because my internet at home 
is toast right now. Hopefully it will be back up and 
running by tonight. 

I'm going to wrap this up. I got my swimming reservation for Thursday made this morning, so I'm good to go. My internet is down again, so I'm heading over to the shop, hoping that my internet there is functional. I'm going to get this posted and then catch up with what went on over the weekend. I hope you have a lovely Monday and that wherever you are, you're safe and warm. I'll be back tomorrow. 

The Paralympics Begin Today - War Continues and Etsy Is Almost Live

For those of you tired of the war, I remind you that the Paralympics begin today. We've got eight days of wonderful athletic competition outside Beijing and the athletes are no less impressive than those we marveled over a few short weeks ago. We've got cross country and downhill skiing, we've got ice hockey and curling. Basically, we have all of the wonderful sports that we loved last month. Although my heart still bleeds for Ukraine and the war that's impacting so many innocent people, I need uplifting things too, else I'll drown in a mire of misery. For me, the Paralympics comes at just the right time. 

Canada, as expected, has a large contingent 
of athletes, and I expect the USA also does, 
but there are a lot of nations who have sent 
anywhere from 1-10 athletes total, and there 
are fewer nations participating in the Paralympics 
than the Olympics held a few weeks ago. But 
it can be just as competitive. I'm really looking 
forward to sled hockey and curling. Those 
teams go all out to win their games. 

Today is my "day off" and I'll be working on the fine tuning of my listings for Etsy. I need a header and an invoice header, an "owner's" photograph or icon, and a few other minor details to nail today. If I can get those completed and like what I'm seeing, I'll be going live before the end of the weekend. I did a final read-through of the trade bead section yesterday and I'm pretty happy with what I've got going on it. I also worked on determining my pricing for the Swarovski crystal cubes that I'm listing. The new photographs that I took on Wednesday worked out really well. I need a couple of tweaks for them, and the final pricing to decide on, and then those pages will be ready to go live as well. 

Of course, we all remember the Panda from the standard 
Olympic games. Now, we're meeting the Chinese 
Lantern - a symbol of rebirth, and the mascot for the 
Paralympics. It's really a rather fun mascot, and it's 
everywhere as the nations enter the stadium for the 
Opening Ceremonies. 

It's Lent now, and DH prefers fish on Fridays during Lent. I could care less - it's not my religion or my religious heritage, but I adore fish, so no problem from me. I bought a small salmon fillet for myself on Wednesday, and he said he wanted McDonald's fish fillets, so I'll head out tonight and get his "fishies" and a fry and return home to my salmon. Last year during Lent (which was earlier on the calendar) I had two weeks of Lent during my first two weeks of WildFit. I had my usual two fish fillet sandwiches and a fry each of those two Fridays, and that was the last time I went to McDonald's. I can honestly say that I don't miss them, although a single french fry would be lovely. Still, I'm far from deprived. 

McDonald's Fish Filet sandwich is one of my 
favorite foods from McDonald's, but I 
haven't had one for more than a year. I'm 
fine with that, though. I'm Living WildFit 
now and regretting none of my food choices. 

So, as you can tell, I've got a lot going on today. I'll watch Paralympics whenever I can, keep up with what's happening in Ukraine, and OH ... I did post my latest effort for LJ Idol yesterday afternoon (after a LOT of editing). I'll put a link when voting is open and I'll blatantly ask for your votes (because I'm not shy - LOL). I'm watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Paralympics, and there's actually an audience! (Only 15,000 spectators, but an audience! That's tremendously uplifting.) If they are allowing spectators into the events for these eight days, that will be marvelous for the athletes, so I hope that's going to be the case. Oh, the Ukrainian delegation just entered and the audience applauded them as they walked and wheeled in. It was wonderful to see the yellow and blue flag flying free in the Birds Nest stadium. 

In news this morning, the IPC (International Paralympics 
Committee) has banned the participation of athletes from 
Russia and Belarus because of a boycott movement that 
moved through the Olympic village. Apparently many other 
nations refused to compete if Russia and Belarus were 
allowed to participate. They are now banned from 
the games. Want more information? Here's the newsfeed 
that I found it on. Read for yourself. 

https://www.breakinglatest.news/world/ukraine-paralympics-the-ioc-says-no-to-russian-and-belarusian-athletes/

On that note, I'm out of here. We live in a chaotic world, and that can be exhausting and emotionally draining, but I'll have the Paralympics (without the negative influences from Russia and Belarus) to pull me through the next eight days. Have a great Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Night Owls vs Early Birds, Bliss and Blog Backups

I haven't turned on the news yet this morning, although DH was watching until midnight or so. He's the night owl, I'm the morning dove. Sometimes it's a wonder we have anything in common at all - LOL. 

DH is a total night owl - he's rarely asleep before 11:00 pm, 
and often is up later than that. I, however, awaken at 
3:15 am, so I'm totally an early bird. 

I did take advantage of Curious Wombat's suggestion of BlogBooker (blogbooker.com) to do a full backup of my LiveJournal accounts on Sunday. I have two accounts on LJ, one for my daily blog and one for mu fiction. I haven't posted to my second one for quite a while since I don't write within the Tolkien universe any more and that's what I had focused on for it, but I'm up to almost 4000 Live Journal blog posts, so the backup did take a while. I'm glad I did it. It allows me to breathe a little easier. 

BlogBooker, a French company, isn't going to work 
for everyone, and it costs money, but it did a great 
job backing up my LiveJournal locations. It took 
a long time - I had more than 4000 posts and a lot 
of photos. But it did manage to do the backup 
without a hitch. 

As I said above, I haven't checked what's going on in the war yet today, and I probably won't for a few more hours. Right now I'm focused on getting to the gym and into the pool in slightly over an hour, and then I'll shift into a broader awareness. But it's a swimming day, and that always makes me happy, despite what might be happening outside of my little encapsulated world. 

One thing of value in today's meditation technique was 
the fact that the brain doesn't distinguish between a current 
blissful event or a past blissful event. It reacts the same. So 
thinking of a very positive experience in my past is as 
valuable to the brain as one that might be happening 
immediately. A good reminder, because the same thing 
happens with negative thoughts. So keep your 
thoughts positive for your mental and physical health. 

Today's meditation technique focused on the brain and bliss. Think about an experience or time when you were happy and carry that thought. The brain doesn't know whether it is happening now, or in the past, it just reacts by sending out positive signals to your body. It's a rather nice thought, so I'm passing it along. I'm not going to make it part of my regular meditation, but I can see how it can be very useful in changing the body's chemicals and external viewpoints. 

One of the best things I heard yesterday was that 
FIFA (Federal International de Football Association) 
kicked Russia out of the Association and pulled the 
finals away from Moscow, moving them to France 
instead. Bravo FIFA! Lots of soccer fans in Russia 
won't be happy with this news. Blame Putin for this one. 

So, I'm plugging in photos and getting this going. Swimming days are always quite busy and I can't linger. Have a truly wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow. 

War, Tactical Nuclear Weapons and a User Pic for Those Who Want It

 Although I'm keeping my Live Journal account active, I'm not counting a great deal on it, but since I've always triple-posted my daily blog between Blogger, Dreamwidth and Live Journal, I'm not worried about not getting the coverage I need. There are aspects of Live Journal that I prefer, and that's where I keep all of my multitude of avatar photos, but that's because I pay a small amount every year for that privilege. Still, Live Journal is Russian owned, my dollar payments are transferred into rubles, and in a way, I support the Russian economy by having an LJ account. 

Although Live Journal was originally a US company 
(founded in San Francisco), it was purchased by a 
Russian company a few years ago. There really haven't 
been any substantive changes since the take-over, except 
my dollars are converted into rubles when I pay for my 
annual subscription. Still ... right now I'm not very 
happy with Russia, and although I'll keep triple 
posting, I'm not fond of paying dollars to a Russian 
company. 

My problem, however, isn't with the Russian people, or the Russian economy (although I totally think democracy is the better choice). My problem is with Putin and the Russian government - that they would allow Putin to invade Ukraine and even have the thought - stated several times - of using "tactical" nuclear weapons. WHAT!!?? the FUCK!!??

I have serious problems with megalomaniacs (who want 
to be remembered in history) as heads of state. Almost 
without exception they care about nothing except their 
own end goals, and will willingly crush anyone and 
anything in their path. Putin is one of those people - 
willing to crush anyone who keeps him back from his 
goal of an expanded Soviet Union once again.
Bah Humbug! 

DH noted that lots of people were discussing the potential use of "tactical nuclear weapons" but nobody was actually going into what exactly they are, and what, exactly they will do. So, he looked it up and read it to me. We're appalled. Although they come in a variety of sizes, they're considered "small" nuclear weapons. BUT, according to Google, "Modern tactical nuclear warheads have yields up to the tens of kilotons, or potentially hundreds, several times that of the weapons used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." YIKES! And this weapon, commentators, politicians and news reporters are glibly letting trip off their tongues. 

Tactical Nuclear Weapons are still nuclear weapons. They'll 
still kill a lot of people, and they'll still poison the earth for 
hundreds, if not thousands of years. They are a total 
abomination, and, unfortunately, they are in the back 
pocket of most governments, including Iran, India, 
China, Russia, the USA and many others. Frankly, 
I'm not sure we deserve this fabulous world we are 
the caretakers of. We can't get along, and when we fight, 
we also destroy the only home we have - earth itself. 

If you're interested in more information about 
Tactical Nuclear Weapons, here's an article 
for you. It's a little dated - it's from 2017, but 
the information still seems to be sound. 

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/everything-you-need-know-russias-tactical-nuclear-weapons-22607

There are a lot of varieties of these horrific things, and if you're curious, just Google "Tactical Nuclear Weapons" and read about them. The thing that totally appalls me is that anyone would EVER consider actively using a weapon like this against another human being. EVER! I am beyond disgusted that the idea even surfaced. Ukraine is a peaceful nation, just trying to live its' own life and care for its' own people. The President of Ukraine is turning into a folk hero, and well deserved. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and I hope he's still alive at the end of all of this. 

The size on this is 100x100, the dimensions 
needed for Live Journal and Dreamwidth. 
You're welcome to grab it for yourself 
if you want, or message me and I'll send 
it to you. I call it "United with Ukraine". 

I grabbed a US Supports Ukraine userpic on Friday and you're welcome to grab it for your own blogs if you want. Meanwhile, I'll continue my prayers for a quick resolution to the conflict, and a total withdrawal of all Russian troops ASAP. Ukraine is an independent nation and should remain one into the future. Have a safe Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Tears for Ukraine and Progress on Etsy

My dear Hubby (DH) was in tears last night, watching the news feed about the invasion of Kiev. All he could say was "Those poor people! How could Russia do something like that?" He is frustrated by the slow response of the West to this incursion, and angered that we haven't already declared a "no fly zone". I follow the news, of course, and I actually have acquaintances in the area whom I've gotten to know over the years of my research into Chernobyl. My heart bleeds for them and the others in Ukraine at this time. 

People are packing the trains and buses and evacuating Kiev. Almost 
all of the evacuees are women and children. The men are staying 
to fight for their homes and nation. DH keeps saying they 
should be using IED's and actually, in this instance, that's 
not a bad idea. They have to work a guerrilla war against 
the Russian troops. It's their only chance of survival.  
Would you like to know how you can help Kiev and the 
Ukraine? Here's a page that has a lot of excellent options. 
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/ways-to-help-ukraine-conflict/

I spent my day, however, with the TV and news feeds off. I needed to get serious work done on my Etsy offerings, and simply couldn't be distracted by anything. I didn't even put headphone on and listen to music. All I did was work on getting the Trade Beads I had photographed up, labelled, and ready to go. I'm going to read through things once more today, and go live either on Sunday or on Monday. 

The most expensive item I'll be listing is this exceptional, 
extra-long matched strand of Millefiori trade beads for 
$395. They're in excellent condition, and finding a strand 
this perfectly matched and extra long is very rare. I might 
not get a bite on it, but it's stunning and will give 
evidence to the quality of our beads, even if it is beyond 
the price point for many people. 

I wanted to speak to a customer service representative about a potential problem they had with my corporate documentation. I didn't have a chance to speak to a human, but their "help" section was quite comprehensive and I think I have figured it out. I changed a couple of things and resubmitted the forms. I also am dealing with a vendor who is being a total PITA, asking us to resubmit forms to them, even though we've done business with them for almost 30 years. I don't have all of the forms here at home, so I'll scan or photograph what I need at the shop today and work on that tomorrow. I'd like to get back to work on the Swavorski crystals pages too, although if we're busy at the shop today, that simply won't happen. Etsy product pages have to be fully completed before they can be saved, and it's very time consuming to do the crystals pages because of the long color lists that need to be generated. I might also crop the photos so that I can offer specific types on different pages - standard colors vs colors with the A/B finish, etc. It might make it easier for the buyer. 

Swarovski made their cubes in five different 
sizes. I carry the 4mm, 6mm and 8mm sizes 
(and I might have a small number of 10mm). 
I'm listing the cubes on Etsy first, then I'll 
follow with other shapes. We have a lot of 
cubes, and I'd love to sell some of them. 

One thing I'd love to do is offer the other sizes as well. After all, I have cubes (the shape I'm currently working on) in 8mm, but I also carry them in 6mm and in 4mm. I even have a small number of 10mm. I have looked at some listings where they have alternative sizes listed, so I know it's a possibility. Now to figure out how to do it. I'll get good at this yet - LOL. 

The world is expressing solidarity with Ukraine, but they also 
aren't getting going on actually doing something to help 
the people of that beleaguered nation. Sometimes diplomats 
move too slowly. Meanwhile, people are dying. My heart bleeds. 

So, I'm going to grab something to eat, gather up my various stuff, and head out. I won't mind being at the shop early - it's not warm there, but I can get some uninterrupted work done on the laptop before I have to unlock my doors. Have a good weekend and think a lot of positive thoughts for the people of Ukraine. Putin's actions are unconscionable and cannot be condoned in any way.