A Lot of Hot Air

Although I'm totally in favor of the good things in life coming around again - things like birthday parties, puppy love, and twilight stars - I'm not in favor of things coming around again that are hurtful, harmful or deadly. That seems to be what's happening in our nation now, and it's painful. Everyone is on edge, walking carefully around each other and fearful of confrontation or even interaction. Shootings continue to populate the news, and the standard response from those in charge is "We'll take care of it." Yeah. Right. That's an empty promise. 

Here's a lovely turtle with some beautiful
markings. I doubt he's concerned about
gun rights or who's in political office. He
wants to find his next meal and return to
his cozy nest. 

Maybe it's time to turtle in our personal lives. Time to pull into our shell and close off the outside world. Maybe it's time to become hermits, only coming out for groceries and the occasional pizza. Maybe it's time to focus on self preservation. 

The way we're going right now, it won't be too much
of a stretch to become another Cambodia and create
more killing fields. I'm always amazed at what mankind
can do to itself. 

But can we afford to do that? Can we afford to ignore the world around us, the events happening, the words being said, the distrust being sown? If we ignore these things, if we don't attempt to make things better one small step at a time, we'll return to fields that have altered from fallow to deadly within a few months. 

The rhetoric and speeches from politicians from top to
bottom provides enough hot air to fill a hot air
balloon (or several hot air balloons). It's spiteful and
vindictive and useless. 

I know there are people out there who are playing turtle. They are being sucked into the whirlpool of their lives without fighting the current. Can we afford to do that? I'm not so sure we can. After the shootings over the weekend, stricter gun laws will be bounced back and forth yet again. Nothing will happen - just enough hot air to launch a balloon or six. Nothing will happen, That's the tragedy of our current world. 

It's just as easy to brighten someone's day as it is to
darken it. Why not come to the bright side? 

So, a bit of a depressing post today, sorry about that. Despite the depression, I urge you to reach out to someone, brighten someone's life in one way or another, and leave the day just a small bit happier than it was when you awakened this morning. We need that sunshine to offset the darkness. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Delivering the News

In the greater picture, newspaper delivery is very old fashioned and ranks pretty low when compared to earthshaking world events. Wars, famines, earthquakes and tornadoes are all of major importance to thousands, even millions of people throughout the world. The delivery of a newspaper impacts those people who (1) subscribe to the newspaper, and (2) who are on the route of the particular newspaper delivery person, like us. We're on one route, we're being impacted, and it's starting to drive me a bit crazy.

I remember growing up and seeing newspaper delivery boys
and girls riding in the neighborhood, delivering the
morning paper. It was a good way to make money for kids
who didn't mind the early morning hours. 

More than two years ago our newspaper changed delivery people. For years we had two women who did a fantastic job - the papers were delivered in a timely manner to our front door, rain or shine, seven days a week. The new delivery person, however, missed our house several times over the first two weeks of delivery. For a while there it seemed as if I was phoning the paper to report non-delivery almost every day.

This is a classic photo of a delivery boy from 1950. I absolutely
love the retro bicycle, which of course was anything but
retro in those days. 

But after a rough beginning, everything fell into place and delivery became flawless. I even met him a couple of times, his delivery time intersecting with the time I left for the gym. Two weeks ago, to our sorrow, we received a handwritten notice in our paper that the routes had been shifted. He said that after a rough start, he had managed, with the help of those of us in his delivery area, to become the number one delivery person for the paper. But, the routes were being moved from one area to another and we would have a new person, effective immediately. "Oh, oh," were DH's first words upon reading this. We knew it would be another breaking in period and were not looking forward to it.

I loved this photo of newspaper delivery boys in the early 1900's and
tried to find out more information about it, but failed. It's a great
picture, though. Can't you just see these boys at intersections of
the major cities crying out "Extra, Extra, Read All About It" while
selling off the street to drivers heading to or from work?  

I don't know who my new person is, but I've seen them in action - once - as I was driving away. He/she/it pulled into the driveway, opened the car window, dropped the paper from the window, and backed out. The paper, which is supposed to be delivered to the front door, was now delivered to our driveway instead, and it has been that way every day. I hoped that familiarity with the route would allow for my front porch delivery to resume, but it hasn't. So now I'm going to have to start phoning the newspaper again to try to get my front door delivery re-established. *Sigh* The things I do to make sure DH has his daily crossword puzzle and a dry newspaper during our upcoming fall and winter weather. Have a wonderful Friday!

Thoughts on the Pope

So, the Pope is visiting the United States right now and the airwaves and print news media are full of his trip and his every action. I'm delighted with this particular Pope, even though I have issues with his elevation of Junipero Serra to Sainthood. In our modern society we usually don't elevate and celebrate the deeds of someone who imprisoned, enslaved, and killed hundreds of Native American workers under his watch. Nope - that was poorly done, Pope Francis.

Saint Junipero Serra comes under the heading of one of my NOT favorite
people. He was a brutal and ruthless man in an age of brutal men. 

But in general, I really like this Pope. He is soft spoken, cares deeply for the people under his watch, especially the poor, the homeless and small children, and he is a voice of moderation in a strident world. Having Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama in the same room might cause the room to explode with goodness and happiness. Maybe we shouldn't ever do that!

Pope Francis addressed a joint meeting of Congress yesterday. Today
he addresses the United Nations in New York City. I wonder
which body of people he'll consider was harder to address when he
thinks about this trip in days to come? 

Pope Francis spoke to a joint session of Congress yesterday, the first time a pontiff ever has done this - EVER has done this, even though we've had at least one Papal visit in the past. This Pope isn't afraid to point out the areas where we, as human beings, can do better such as education, saving the environment, and helping others less fortunate than ourselves. He reminds us that we are a human race, and that political boundaries are just that - political, not physical. He reminds us that many of us were also immigrants, coming from one place to find refuge in another and that we should open our hearts to those immigrants who follow in our footsteps. And he reminds us that we are all human, sharing similar problems and similar goals.

At least one Catholic congressman had said he was going to boycott the speech yesterday because the Pope was going to talk about climate control and he felt that the Pope had no business talking about a secular and politicized subject. Maybe this idiot should read up on the history of the Papacy. Popes and politics are strong bedfellows for many centuries. Politicized? Yup - comes with the Papal job description.

Yeah - I like this Pope. I'm not high on his religion, but I like him and
his courage, his ability to relay a message, and his quite obvious
love and care for all of humanity, national borders irrespective. 

This Pope isn't afraid to look controversial subjects in the eye and tackle them. He will do it in a gentle way, like a loving parent or teacher would, but he'll stand up there and point out the positives and negatives without fudging or flinching.

There is even a set of emoji available for people to download
and use. His hashtags are trending at the top of Twitter, and
he reaches out through modern social media regularly. This is
a modern Pope for the people. 

Despite Saint Serra - I think I like this Pope. Happy Friday, all.

Finally A Day Off!

Chickie is back and I have today off. Maybe. Chickie is sick - apparently both she and her mother, as well as other family members visiting for the reunion, developed serious illnesses after breathing the smoke from the forest fires currently burning in Montana. Chickie phoned me yesterday to ask about cough syrups and expectorants and I didn't even recognize her voice. She sounded horrible. I'm crossing my fingers that I actually do get the day off because I really need it, but she may end up calling me in. If she does, I won't be happy, but I'll understand.

The Montana forest fires are around and in Glacier National Park. Since
Chickie was around the park for her vacation and reunion, she was
breathing in the smoke for days. 

Because of the "maybe off, maybe not off" nature of my day today, I'm going to try and get all of my outside errands completed this morning so that I'm just on laundry this afternoon. Then, if I get called in to work, I'll at least have fresh fruit and veggies in the fridge, staples, ink and assorted other office supplies ready to take to the shop tomorrow, and a quick stop by Target completed. My lists have been getting longer over the past almost two weeks, so I have to get things like toilet paper before the need becomes urgent.

There's just something I like about Target. I've never been
much of a Walmart fan, though, so even though they are
closer, I'd rather go to Target. 

When I arrived at the shop yesterday morning in pouring rain, the metal T-Rex was gone from my block and nothing was happening. Of course, considering that the parking lot was an ocean, the skies were spitting out lightning strikes and sheets of water, and the weather radar looked like the stormfront would be around for a while probably all played into an unexpected day off for the construction workers. But the day cleared up and the only people I saw outside were the city inspectors looking over the concrete work from two days ago and giving their approval for the work to continue. I suspect that the boys will be busy with the next phase as soon as the concrete has dried enough to do the next thing on the schedule. It's interesting, though.

High Five to the Boy Scouts of America for finally lifting their ban
on gay leaders. Equality, baby! Equality! 

And finally just a few quick thoughts. (1) The Boy Scouts of America have finally agreed to lift their ban on gay adult leaders, causing great joy and some expected grumbles. I think it's about time they woke up and applaud their decision, even though it was slow in coming. (2) Lion kill - apparently a Minnesota dentist (NOT my dentist) paid guides more than $50,000 for the dubious privilege of killing an African lion, ending up killing one who is known as Cedric - a GPS-collared pride leader. The backlash against this idiot is extensive and vitriolic. I'm just grateful that I don't know the idiot. (3) Bobbi Kristina Brown died. Am I the only one who feels a deep relief that she finally was allowed to die with some dignity?

Why would anyone want to kill such a beautiful creature as this? 

And so I'm off - trash and recycling day, swimming, and then hitting the ground running. A day off! A busy day. Have a great Wednesday.

Success, Snow and Beauty

So after a massive manhunt both suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing have been captured. Although I am 100% horrified by what they did, in one corner of my mind I feel really sorry for the young man who was finally captured alive last night. I felt sorry for him because he must have been so frightened. He is only 19 years old. But...'nuff said because my sympathy will only stretch so far.

The suspect on the left was killed in a firefight in the early morning hours. He
was 26 years old. The suspect on the right was hiding from the police but
finally found after hours of lockdown and searching. He is 19 years old and still living.

Yesterday's snow was heavy, wet, and annoying, but we shoveled and shoveled. Before I left for work I took pictures because it was so beautiful outside. The wet snow draped on the branches and pulled them down. We went around and knocked the snow off so that our trees would survive and by the afternoon when I returned home from work, the snow had melted from all of the branches and the wonder of winter's paint brush was hidden again.

It was a magic scene that met our eyes in the morning. By the
late afternoon the snow was off the branches and hopefully this is the
last blast of our winter. The maple tree is in the center of our front yard.

Tomorrow I'll be attending the ACC show - lots of beautiful things to look at. The American Craft Council holds several shows across the nation each year where the top craftspeople in the nation gather to sell their goods. The St Paul show has been held for many years and I have gone for most of them. It is an annual event that I look forward to each year. So...I thought I would just share pretty pictures of some of the kinds of art that will be exhibited for sale with all of you.

Ceramics by Kirsten Walstead

Ceramics by Mary O'Malley

Gourd art by Denny Wainscott

Fine jewelry by George Sawyer. If I wasn't allergic to metal I'd get one of
his rings. I've loved them forever and he's one of the top in the field.

Paul Perman is a new exhibitor this year. His pieces look interesting, I can't
wait to see them in person.

Copper wall hangings by Judy and David Hedblom are stunning. I bought
one as a wedding gift for a friend a few years ago. The marriage
didn't last, but she still has the copper.

Another new exhibitor this year is Kest Schwartzman. What wonderful imagination.

I have always loved the stained glass made by Josephine Geiger. Such amazing
skill with color and shape. 

I'm hoping that DH will come with me, although he has said he would rather stay home this year. That's fine if he does, I'm going and I'll meet Chickie and Chickie Momma and a customer or two while I wander the hallways and exhibits for several hours. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and that next week is a week of happiness, good news, and joy.

Searching for Spring and Good News

It's the 19th of APRIL, not the 19th of March! Apparently that means nothing to the Powers of Weather because they keep pounding us with winter. Yesterday's 'rain turning to snow' moved immediately to snow and our 'expected 3"-6"' turned into 6"-9". It's heavy, wet snow that won't last long because it's spring. But the fact is unavoidable - the drive to work will be a disaster, and it all needs to be shoveled off the driveways and sidewalks - a lot of physical work.

This is heart attack snow. That's what we call these spring snows that are so wet and heavy. A standard shovel will be holding anywhere from 30-45 pounds of weight per shovelful and we'll have hundreds of shovels of snow to move just to clear our spaces. I'll be starting to shovel my driveway and walkways in less than an hour from now. I'm NOT looking forward to it, although the exercise will probably be good for me.

I must admit that I love GrumpyCat.

But this really SUCKS and I'm going on record to tell you and all of the Powers that I'm TIRED OF WINTER. It's enough already. We've paid our dues. It's time for the farmers to be able to plow their fields and get their crops sown. That won't happen if the fields are too wet. It's time for the children to look with wonder at the flowers and follow the bees to their hives and that won't happen while white snow covers the land. I want Spring and I'm putting in my official request for it.

There are the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. Apparently
the one on the left is now dead and the one on the right is on the run.

Yesterday the FBI released two photos of suspects for the Boston Marathon bombings. Apparently overnight there was a shootout and other confrontations with the two men. They were found, then stole an SUV, they shot a guard at MIT, threw grenades and explosives at police and now one suspect has been killed and the other one is still at large. The city of Watertown has been almost cordoned off and every news station is carrying nothing but coverage of the hunt for "Suspect Number Two".

I need one beautiful and colorful thing to look at today so I chose
this wonderful photo of butterflies and flowers to bring all of my readers
back to how wonderful our world truly is. 

I also want things to come to an end - but more than that, I want to be able to watch my morning news shows and have the news be basically boring and mundane. I want to see things I can igmore - maybe a movie review or a look at the latest starlet's mess. I am tired of waking up to death, explosions, gunfire and terror.