Friday, November 29, 2024

Cat Wind Chimes

Previously, I called these tchotchkes mobiles, for lack of the correct term. They are wind chimes. Three of them had been hanging from the blue shelf that's above what used to be my medicine box.

Here, the half-eaten cloth box has been replaced and three wind chimes removed . . .


. . . to join three more in my bedroom.


Unfortunately, you can see my dirty laundry. Oh well!

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Tulip's Latest Project


The cloth "box" holding two bins of medicines was the most recent act of Tulip's destruction. In addition to her love for eating paper, she apparently loves eating cloth to get to the cardboard inside. Naturally, the box was upended, spilling bottles of medicines everywhere in the living room.

The solution, at least for now, was to buy a tall plastic bin to contain the smaller containers within. To get to my meds, I now have two plastic lids to open. Hope that will be enough to discourage Tulip.

Unfortunately, she still enjoys walking on top of my meds to reach three small cat mobiles. My next step, if needed, is to relocate the mobiles.



 

Monday, November 18, 2024

Nov. 16, 2024 11:52AM

This morning started a few hours after I decided to stay in bed.

The neighborhood woke up without me. My neighbor Francisco was whistling. The folks in trailer #3 were playing Spanish music that could be heard from blocks away. The din of shop vacs meant it was going to be a busy day for the car wash next door.

I felt my body curled in the fetal position. What is going on that I can't bear to leave the safety of my cocoon? For hours, most days of the week, I fail to convince myself to "get up already."

🛏

Friday, November 15, 2024

A look ahead

My second book, Merilee's Journey, will soon be available on Amazon. The novel is about a twelve-year old girl whose parents suddenly die in a car accident. Later that same day, her puppy is taken away by the authorities. With no living relatives to turn to, when her Godparents refuse to raise her, Merilee enters the foster system.

This resilient young lady finds music to suit various situations, cope with desperate times, and to uplift others around her. 





Tulip Keeps Trying

 

Trying WHAT, you might ask?

                                        Answer:  My patience. 

Tulip starts acting up (or out?) when I'm working on my laptop or talking on the phone. Either she pesters me by climbing on my cat-discouraging towers or she meows incessantly. Basically, she insists on being fed, right now this minute!



I finished off Tulip's wallpaper removal job and painted the peninsula a few weekends ago. Unfortunately, I used up all of the paint in the can. Two days after the paint job dried, Tulip took off a chip of paint. Well, it's a small defect - and still the only spot she's damaged - so far.

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

💩 💩 💩

I wrote a long essay today. One might call it a diatribe. It won't be published here.

 

Today's title sums up my feelings.

T-Shirt Slogan Ideas

After the next inauguration, I might go into the t-shirt and bumper sticker business. Try these mottos on for size:


  • Our nation IS the swamp

  • No longer a "land of the free and the home of the brave"

  • A nation ruled by armed deplorables

  • The end of democracy as we'd known it

  • You won't know what we had til it's gone

  • Putin won / the Ukraine and USA fall 

  • Who's next on Trump's 💩 List?

  • The former USA = Trumplandia

  • Just call us Western Russia

  • Protesters are subject to execution

  • Should have been more careful about what I wished for 

Can you tell I'm bummed out by the election results?


Sunday, November 3, 2024

Last Third of the Three-fer

 III. A Dark Turn

Not everything Donald Trump says is a lie. Among his most recent predictions:

  • The start of World War III, most likely as a natural progression from the next Civil War that he's happily predicted.

  • Economic collapse will undoubtedly occur if/when he retakes power.

  • Well-established laws will be overturned. It's clear that our rights are quickly falling by the wayside.

  • Scariest of all is that our Constitution will soon mean nothing; no more Rule of Law.

  • I fear that Trump will become King. This country will fall to MAGA first, then to mob rule. A resurgence of hatred, long promulgated by Donald and his Puppet Masters. Our nation will fall like dominoes to three world leaders: Vladimir Putin, Xi Xi Ping and Kim Jong-un. They've been plotting our demise for years and Donald has done his part to pave their way forward.

  • Whether we will suffer from a nuclear blast or just see a resurgence of KKK days, it's only a question of how long it will take for our nation to collapse into anarchy. It's already begun.

  • Troops are poised in Asia to attack. Who will be struck first? Likely Ukraine, but North Korea has tested so many long-range missiles over the last few years. China and North Korea can overtake Japan, Hong Kong - even Hawaii. And MAGA can take care of the rest of our country. All of them are well-armed and up for the task.

  • What old TV cartoons used to portray - TEOTWAWKI - the end of the world as we know it it - has a real chance of happening. Kamala Harris may win the election, but we've seen the lengths that the far right will go to put Trump's cabal in place. I don't want to be right (near or far right).

  • The Supreme Court played its part in ushering Trump's path to victory. Will he serve even one day in jail? Extremely doubtful.

  • Religion will become another cause of discontent. If you aren't a Christian, you will be among the new country’s enemies. Jews, Hindus, Muslims, atheists and so on, are among the first or second wave (after immigrants) of people to be targeted for concentration camps.


As much as I hate to say it, Trump wants to see a return to Hitler's Glory Days. Millions of people will worship Trump and do his bidding while his legion of detractors will systematically be put to death. Putin found the perfect patsy to accomplish this goal. Aligning with China and North Korea, what chance will the good people of America have to survive? Anyone labeled as ‘different’ is doomed to allow the MAGA cult to flourish.


Who else will be among Trump’s enemies? 

  • LBGTQ+

  • Anyone with a physical handicap

  • Liz Cheney, Hillary Clinton, et al

  • Democrats, Independents, Green Partiers

  • Tree-huggers and environmentalists

  • Same-sex relationships

  • Atheists, Jews, etc.

  • Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, anyone not 100% white

  • Anyone smarter than Trump (99% of our population).


I think without our Constitution, the country will be renamed for Trump in some form or fashion. Trumplandia? With the Donald in power, his children will become royalty. A Trump will rule until such time when someone on the far right notices what they've allowed to happen. You may start noticing Trump cronies falling out of grace, then falling out of windows, just as Putin's enemies have been doing for years.


Those of you who've known me for a while will say that I'm:

  • gullible, 

    • a pessimist, 

      • an alarmist, 

        • not connected to reality, and

          • a Debbie Downer. 

All of the above might be accurate. Let's just hope that this time I'm not right.


I've written three pages nearly effortlessly. Some days, putting words together is a Herculean task. It makes me wonder, am I and others foolish for making plans for our lives beyond the parameters of this election? 


Who will call the shots then? Will we have a democracy anymore? By the time the MAGA cult has taken power, who will be left to rekindle the flame of freedom? Will there be anyone left to dissent? How long will the next chapter of history last? In other words, once we lose everything we once held dear, when (if ever) will we be free again?


An 11/3/24 Three-Fer

 I. Recent History

A year ago today (November 3, 2023), I almost died. I still haven’t fully healed from my car accident. But I’m alive and very happy to have survived.


II. Ancient (for me) History

I remember as a kid, the public put a lot of stock in Jeane Dixon’s predictions. Wikipedia refers to her as 'a famous psychic and astrologer.'


As a prolific producer of horoscopes, Mrs. Dixon scared the hell out of me and our neighbor’s kids when she warned the country about aliens landing on Earth. I can recall comparing notes with Wendy the next day. Neither of us had slept the night before. No news of an alien landing anywhere. 



Why had we succumbed to this nationwide fear? Or hoax? Of course, I was always gullible. How many

Americans had been hoodwinked by this charlatan? To this day, why does anyone still read their

horoscopes? Or put faith in Nostradamus? Or put their faith in faith?


III. A Dark Turn - read the next lengthy post