Ahhh…that general feeling of discomfort just before all hell breaks loose. That’s what I’m feeling and it’s getting worse. It’s moving toward anxiety which, thankfully, I’ve rarely experienced in my lifetime. I’ve always felt in control. Now? Not so much.
How fortunate are we to have been born into a country that operates under the rule of law. I just always took that for granted. I taught the U.S. Constitution for years and never once did I ever imagine that it may not hold up. That the checks and balances weren’t enough.
Fear is a powerful motivator and, evidently, those Republican senators are terrified of this POS President. So terrified that they looked like a bunch of clowns breaking into a closed chamber, claiming to be locked out of the process that a third of them have unlimited access to. Well, I guess they had to show their allegiance to their leader. He says, ‘Jump’, they respond, ‘How high?’
And, these are the men and women who are going to be the judge and jury for the impeachment trial once it gets to the Senate. Which it undoubtedly will. Regardless of what the facts are, they will ‘stand by their man.’ Having a foreign government tamper in our elections will be just fine. Quid pro quo? Just fine.
They will proclaim that none of these acts rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. In my humble opinion, if this president cannot be impeached, surely, no president can ever be impeached. If this is not high crimes, what is?! These are not American heroes. In fact, they are profoundly un-American.
However, this week we have seen true Americans stand up for our values, even though they have been threatened for doing so. Their testimonies remind us of what true civil servants look like. They are just doing their jobs and, hopefully, saving our country from its leader and his sycophants.
I for one are proud of the calm, steady hand steering the House of Representatives. Thank you, Nancy, for standing up for our country and standing up to Donald Trump and stating, “All roads lead to Putin with you.” Couldn’t be clearer and thank you for stating what so many of us are seeing. We’re aghast.
And, sadly, we lost one of our most eloquent and moral leaders this week. Elijah. Who will fill that hole? The congressman who represented me when I lived in Maryland. No one could’ve done it better.
There is some major drama lurking in our future. Will these men and women who support this lawless president stand up for our Constitution and our country? Or will we dive even deeper into lawlessness? It’s been a lightning speed downhill trajectory since this man was elected. How can this continue? The consequences are overwhelming. Do they even care what kind of country their children and grandchildren will grow up in? I think not.
Hence, the malaise. I have always been the eternal optimist. Tomorrow will be a better day, I say. The youth of today are the hope for tomorrow.
But, then, every how and then, I stay up at night clicking the remote back and forth between CNN and MSNBC, and it’s just gloom and doom over and over. Who can sleep anymore? Gotta get some melatonin gummies. I need my rest.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
For the Love of Reading
I don’t know what in the world I did before reading. I cannot even imagine that life. Reading opened up my very narrow world to dreams way beyond my reach. And, besides bridge and gardening, it’s a significant commonality I share with BH.
It probably consumes the majority of our days. We each read or skim three newspapers daily. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and our local Herald Tribune for him. In addition to the local paper, I peruse the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times. That pretty much covers half the day.
Both of us love our kindles…you can tell by the multiple chargers throughout the house. He loves his John MacDonald crime thrillers set in 50s and 60s Florida. For years, he was one of my faves, but now I’m more into Carl Hiaasen and Randy Wayne White when it comes to Florida crime stories.
My God, who could ask for better material? When I was growing up in central Florida, it seemed to me such a placid and, for lack of a better word, boring existence. I never had a clue about crime. No one ever locked their doors even at night.
But, now? It’s a crime writer’s paradise. Just today in Venice, my home, here is the headline: Husband kills wife in murder-suicide attempt, fails to kill himself when gun malfunctions. And, it occurred in an assisted living senior community!
Then, there were the two Florida men accused of stealing chainsaws caught trying to sell them back to the victim. Every day, you can take to the bank that something crazy is going to happen here. It has totally changed my perspective on living in a gated community which I always thought was absurd. Now, at 72, and not exactly Ronda Rousey anymore, I like the gate.
But, I digress. I consider myself an eclectic fiction reader…mysteries, historical, romance, family sagas, women’s fiction. Love all those fiction genres. Not so much fantasy and sci-fi. Maybe that speaks to my lack of imagination.
I enjoy fiction on the best sellers list but I’m just as happy with beach reads. In this era, I prefer more upbeat reads than dark literature. I have a friend, an even more prolific reader than me, who hasn’t been able to finish a book since Trump was elected. I’m on the opposite end of that spectrum….burying my nose in a book as opposed to watching tv news. It keeps me calmer.
Reading was one of the few things I shared with my mother, although her main source of information was the Bible and any right wing bulletin that supported conspiracy theories. However, we both loved the Miss Julia series by Ann B, Ross, set in a small town in North Carolina. A new book was published annually just before Mother’s Day, so my mom knew she was getting a visit from Miss Julia as her gift.
As a teacher, I have tons of friends, also big readers, who are my go-tos for book recommendations. One of them suggested America’s First Daughter, historical fiction based on Martha Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s older daughter. OMG! Can’t put it down. Love the social history we are never privy to in textbooks.
This was a big week for my kindle…downloaded five books: Olive Again (Elizabeth Strout), A Single Thread (Tracy Chevalier), The Giver of Stars (Jojo Moyes), The Dutch House (Ann Patchett) and #18 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series, A Bitter Feast (Deborah Crombie).
I’m beside myself…where to start, where to start?!
It probably consumes the majority of our days. We each read or skim three newspapers daily. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and our local Herald Tribune for him. In addition to the local paper, I peruse the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times. That pretty much covers half the day.
Both of us love our kindles…you can tell by the multiple chargers throughout the house. He loves his John MacDonald crime thrillers set in 50s and 60s Florida. For years, he was one of my faves, but now I’m more into Carl Hiaasen and Randy Wayne White when it comes to Florida crime stories.
My God, who could ask for better material? When I was growing up in central Florida, it seemed to me such a placid and, for lack of a better word, boring existence. I never had a clue about crime. No one ever locked their doors even at night.
But, now? It’s a crime writer’s paradise. Just today in Venice, my home, here is the headline: Husband kills wife in murder-suicide attempt, fails to kill himself when gun malfunctions. And, it occurred in an assisted living senior community!
Then, there were the two Florida men accused of stealing chainsaws caught trying to sell them back to the victim. Every day, you can take to the bank that something crazy is going to happen here. It has totally changed my perspective on living in a gated community which I always thought was absurd. Now, at 72, and not exactly Ronda Rousey anymore, I like the gate.
But, I digress. I consider myself an eclectic fiction reader…mysteries, historical, romance, family sagas, women’s fiction. Love all those fiction genres. Not so much fantasy and sci-fi. Maybe that speaks to my lack of imagination.
I enjoy fiction on the best sellers list but I’m just as happy with beach reads. In this era, I prefer more upbeat reads than dark literature. I have a friend, an even more prolific reader than me, who hasn’t been able to finish a book since Trump was elected. I’m on the opposite end of that spectrum….burying my nose in a book as opposed to watching tv news. It keeps me calmer.
Reading was one of the few things I shared with my mother, although her main source of information was the Bible and any right wing bulletin that supported conspiracy theories. However, we both loved the Miss Julia series by Ann B, Ross, set in a small town in North Carolina. A new book was published annually just before Mother’s Day, so my mom knew she was getting a visit from Miss Julia as her gift.
As a teacher, I have tons of friends, also big readers, who are my go-tos for book recommendations. One of them suggested America’s First Daughter, historical fiction based on Martha Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s older daughter. OMG! Can’t put it down. Love the social history we are never privy to in textbooks.
This was a big week for my kindle…downloaded five books: Olive Again (Elizabeth Strout), A Single Thread (Tracy Chevalier), The Giver of Stars (Jojo Moyes), The Dutch House (Ann Patchett) and #18 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series, A Bitter Feast (Deborah Crombie).
I’m beside myself…where to start, where to start?!
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Quit Yer Complainin'
I am very late to this party, evidently. Not that I’m a Negative Nellie based on my very limited self-assessment. But, I noticed a fellow bridge player with a rubber bracelet that I assumed represented some cause but she schooled me that it wasn’t. Inscribed on it were these words, “Complaint Free Challenge.”
Here’s the deal. The goal is to go complaint free for 21 days. The research suggests that’s how long it takes to change a habit. I’m going to challenge that research….I don’t believe that for a minute. But, who am I to question them?
So, if you complain or go negative, you have to move the bracelet to the other wrist and the 21 days starts anew. Evidently, it takes most people between four to eight months to go negative-free. According to the website, complaintfreeworld.org, the average person complains between 15 and 30 times a day. Wow! Who knew? Currently, over 11 million of these bracelets have been sold. Like I said….very late to the party.
Today is my Day One. And I am throwing in one caveat. Yes I will register my disdain for our current state of politics where we have a president that clearly obstructs justice and blatantly invites foreign countries to interfere in our elections. After two years of denying collusion, he unabashedly invites collusion! Of course, he is delusional.
Let Trump Be Trump was the rallying cry. Well, now we have a lunatic who has no idea what is in the Constitution, thinking he is Putin with absolute power. We have a Republican Party who is terrified of this nutcase. All the adults have left the room, only the sycophants remain. The party of law and order now subscribes to the Rule of Trump Law.
We have the religious right, the holier than thou Christians, who openly support a man who is a misogynist, a man who does not support religious freedom, a man who is clearly racist and will stab anyone in the back who is not totally loyal to him. What Would Jesus Do? Support this horrible example for our children? I don’t think so.
So, no, I will not stop being negative about our current state of affairs. To do so would be, in my opinion, un-American. It is our heritage to dissent and if that’s complaining, I’m fine with it.
On the other hand, I am up for the challenge where anything else is concerned. I don’t have the bracelet but I have a journal where I will jot down my lapses into negativity. Basically, I’m very curious to see just how average I am. Am I closer to 15 or 30? Hopefully, I’m well below average.
As I am sure you are well aware, negativity begets negativity. It’s highly contagious and it’s not enjoyable or amusing to live in that environment. Years back as a school administrator, I remember instituting Wonderful Wednesday…the one day a week where staff were asked not to complain. I loved it! Probably no one else did, but that was one day a week I truly looked forward to.
On my first day, everything was going swimmingly until I walked out onto our lanai to read the morning paper with my cup of Joe, sat down and looked over to the screen door. There, in front of God and the rest of the world, was a five foot long snake climbing up the screen. Of course, I screamed my bloody head off, running inside complaining bitterly about the Florida wildlife.
It’s Florida. They live here, too. ‘Nuff said. Quit yer complainin.’
Here’s the deal. The goal is to go complaint free for 21 days. The research suggests that’s how long it takes to change a habit. I’m going to challenge that research….I don’t believe that for a minute. But, who am I to question them?
So, if you complain or go negative, you have to move the bracelet to the other wrist and the 21 days starts anew. Evidently, it takes most people between four to eight months to go negative-free. According to the website, complaintfreeworld.org, the average person complains between 15 and 30 times a day. Wow! Who knew? Currently, over 11 million of these bracelets have been sold. Like I said….very late to the party.
Today is my Day One. And I am throwing in one caveat. Yes I will register my disdain for our current state of politics where we have a president that clearly obstructs justice and blatantly invites foreign countries to interfere in our elections. After two years of denying collusion, he unabashedly invites collusion! Of course, he is delusional.
Let Trump Be Trump was the rallying cry. Well, now we have a lunatic who has no idea what is in the Constitution, thinking he is Putin with absolute power. We have a Republican Party who is terrified of this nutcase. All the adults have left the room, only the sycophants remain. The party of law and order now subscribes to the Rule of Trump Law.
We have the religious right, the holier than thou Christians, who openly support a man who is a misogynist, a man who does not support religious freedom, a man who is clearly racist and will stab anyone in the back who is not totally loyal to him. What Would Jesus Do? Support this horrible example for our children? I don’t think so.
So, no, I will not stop being negative about our current state of affairs. To do so would be, in my opinion, un-American. It is our heritage to dissent and if that’s complaining, I’m fine with it.
On the other hand, I am up for the challenge where anything else is concerned. I don’t have the bracelet but I have a journal where I will jot down my lapses into negativity. Basically, I’m very curious to see just how average I am. Am I closer to 15 or 30? Hopefully, I’m well below average.
As I am sure you are well aware, negativity begets negativity. It’s highly contagious and it’s not enjoyable or amusing to live in that environment. Years back as a school administrator, I remember instituting Wonderful Wednesday…the one day a week where staff were asked not to complain. I loved it! Probably no one else did, but that was one day a week I truly looked forward to.
On my first day, everything was going swimmingly until I walked out onto our lanai to read the morning paper with my cup of Joe, sat down and looked over to the screen door. There, in front of God and the rest of the world, was a five foot long snake climbing up the screen. Of course, I screamed my bloody head off, running inside complaining bitterly about the Florida wildlife.
It’s Florida. They live here, too. ‘Nuff said. Quit yer complainin.’
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Surprise Surprise
My plane, Southwest, of course, landed about 5:30 p.m. a week ago Saturday. A glorious, smooth two hour flight from Baltimore to Tampa. Blue skies, no turbulence, just like sitting in your living room albeit way too crowded as every seat was taken.
I knew BH would be waiting for me as I was eagerly waiting to see him after being away for almost two weeks. What had he been doing all that time? Well….you can take to the bank that he was playing bridge every day with his multiple partners. (They love it when I go away!)
That covers about 3 hours daily and I know he reads three newspapers and he loves to record anything he wants to see on television to avoid all commercials.
Do you know how much more enjoyable it is to watch Love It or List It or Caribbean Life or My Lottery Dream Home without having to wait through those boring ads to find out which house they chose? Or to watch a basketball game in one hour instead of three?
How fun to reunite after a little break from each other! We had lots to share on our hour and a half ride home. However, I was starving so we stopped at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Asaro’s, on the way home. It is not his favorite thing to eat out unlike me who could eat out every day of the week. I could tell he was a little disappointed that we didn’t go straight home, Since the days are getting shorter, it was almost dark by the time we drove up to the house.
“Did you notice how white the sidewalk is?” Well, yeah, now that you mention it. It’s practically gleaming, especially, next to our neighbor’s. OMG!!! He hired Marco, the power washer to clean all the pavers in the driveway and on the lanai. Really, it’s the little things in life that light me up!
For the past six years, I have been struggling to attack the mold growing in and around those pavers. It is a never-ending battle. Now, there’s even mold on the cage screens from watering the plants behind the pool. When I awoke the next day and saw those pavers free from mold, I could’ve kissed the ground! There’s one area where the water accumulates under the oleander branches that was literally a black 3 foot square. So lovely at the entrance to the house….such a wonderful first impression. But now, voila! Gone!
Even the screens looked brand new. I cannot tell you how many hours I’ve spent researching the best way to clean moldy screens. I’ve got that bleach and vinegar formula down pat, but did I even get off the couch to attack them? Nope. Marco is my new best friend.
But that was just the beginning. BH fixed my clogged up bathroom sink. He says it’s from my hair but I swear I’m not washing my hair in that sink. He spent over an hour scrubbing our bathtub, which we have never used in over six years! How in the world can a bathtub get so dirty from nonuse? Evidently, there’s a lot of dust in this house.
The toilets were cleaner than they’ve ever been. The floors were Swiffered. The rugs were washed and vacuumed. The outdoor table had been Windexed along with the sliding glass doors. Even the refrigerator and pantry had been cleaned out and reorganized.
Our new recliner couch was in its place awaiting my return. And I wondered what he was doing while I was away. To return to a beautiful, clean house…all that work to surprise me. Truth. I couldn’t have been happier or more grateful.
Years ago, my husband, Kevin, surprised me a couple times after returning from visiting my parents. Generally, those surprises took the form of stray dogs he fell in love with at the local shelter. Noooo…. However, BH and I have a pact….no more animals! K
A clean house with power washed pavers. Oh yeah, now we’re talking!
I knew BH would be waiting for me as I was eagerly waiting to see him after being away for almost two weeks. What had he been doing all that time? Well….you can take to the bank that he was playing bridge every day with his multiple partners. (They love it when I go away!)
That covers about 3 hours daily and I know he reads three newspapers and he loves to record anything he wants to see on television to avoid all commercials.
Do you know how much more enjoyable it is to watch Love It or List It or Caribbean Life or My Lottery Dream Home without having to wait through those boring ads to find out which house they chose? Or to watch a basketball game in one hour instead of three?
How fun to reunite after a little break from each other! We had lots to share on our hour and a half ride home. However, I was starving so we stopped at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Asaro’s, on the way home. It is not his favorite thing to eat out unlike me who could eat out every day of the week. I could tell he was a little disappointed that we didn’t go straight home, Since the days are getting shorter, it was almost dark by the time we drove up to the house.
“Did you notice how white the sidewalk is?” Well, yeah, now that you mention it. It’s practically gleaming, especially, next to our neighbor’s. OMG!!! He hired Marco, the power washer to clean all the pavers in the driveway and on the lanai. Really, it’s the little things in life that light me up!
For the past six years, I have been struggling to attack the mold growing in and around those pavers. It is a never-ending battle. Now, there’s even mold on the cage screens from watering the plants behind the pool. When I awoke the next day and saw those pavers free from mold, I could’ve kissed the ground! There’s one area where the water accumulates under the oleander branches that was literally a black 3 foot square. So lovely at the entrance to the house….such a wonderful first impression. But now, voila! Gone!
Even the screens looked brand new. I cannot tell you how many hours I’ve spent researching the best way to clean moldy screens. I’ve got that bleach and vinegar formula down pat, but did I even get off the couch to attack them? Nope. Marco is my new best friend.
But that was just the beginning. BH fixed my clogged up bathroom sink. He says it’s from my hair but I swear I’m not washing my hair in that sink. He spent over an hour scrubbing our bathtub, which we have never used in over six years! How in the world can a bathtub get so dirty from nonuse? Evidently, there’s a lot of dust in this house.
The toilets were cleaner than they’ve ever been. The floors were Swiffered. The rugs were washed and vacuumed. The outdoor table had been Windexed along with the sliding glass doors. Even the refrigerator and pantry had been cleaned out and reorganized.
Our new recliner couch was in its place awaiting my return. And I wondered what he was doing while I was away. To return to a beautiful, clean house…all that work to surprise me. Truth. I couldn’t have been happier or more grateful.
Years ago, my husband, Kevin, surprised me a couple times after returning from visiting my parents. Generally, those surprises took the form of stray dogs he fell in love with at the local shelter. Noooo…. However, BH and I have a pact….no more animals! K
A clean house with power washed pavers. Oh yeah, now we’re talking!
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