Winter Birds in Galveston

Plans for 2018 — January Update

Plans for 2018 — January Update

1. Learn to make Sourdough Bread. Nothing done. 

2. Learn to make something with Butternut Squash. (Mostly this means learning how to  get into it.) — Nothing done. 

3. Make 2 Scrap Quilts and 1 from new material. — Finished 1 Scrap Quilt. Started cutting out Dutch Churn and Dash Quilt. 

4. Read 52 books — 6 books read. 

5. Trips:

     A. Big Bend National Park

     B. National Butterfly Center 

     C. National Gallery — Planned trip canceled due to blizzard. Rescheduled for March. 

     D. Pawhuska, OK to see PW’s Merc

6. Home Improvements — Nothing done. 

     A. New Stovetop 

     B. New living room furniture 

7. Expand Butterfly garden — Nothing done. 

8. Work on Political campaigns for House and Senate — Continuing 🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥 and sent contribution to Beto O’Rourke for Senate. 

9. Self Improvement — on track. 

     None. I’m fine. 

January Thoughts

It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” 
― Dale Carnegie

Around OakMeadows

Bandit, King of the Kitchen

Around OakMeadows 

My electric mobility scooter (Rocinante) died. RIP dear Roci.  She was making squealing, grinding noises so we called the scooter doctor who gave us an estimate of what it would cost to have her repaired. Of course, it would cost more to fix her (replace her motor) than it would cost to buy a new scooter. So I bought a new scooter. It is nice but it just isn’t the same. Rocinante was big and comfortable and had a big basket and was high enough off the ground that I could easily go out under the oak trees to feed and water the birds. She had 4 wheels and was steady as a rock. I have forbidden JMM to discard her as a might have her repaired just because. 

I hope I am not jinxing this but so far we have escaped the flu.  So many people are down with it. Kids, parents, teens, and elders all miserably sick. Tamiflu is supposed to help if you start it with 48 hours of getting sick but I tend to be in denial for the first 48 hours when I get sick and then you have to deal with making an appointment to see the doctor, getting to the office and then the pharmacy, getting back home all the while spreading the virus everywhere. Anyway, so far, so good. 

I have begun cutting out my Dutch Churn and Dash quilt. It will be a twin size quilt — 30 blocks. I have 14 blocks cut out so far. It is blues and yellows. 

We went to see The Post. It was excellent!! Meryl Streep doesn’t just act, it is more like her body is inhabited by the character that she is playing.  

Hope everyone stays warm and well. 

January Thoughts

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” 
― Marcel Proust

Plans for the Week of January 21-27, 2018

Reading
     Summer for the Gods by Edward Larson

     Eisenhower: Soldier and President by Stephen Ambrose

     Year One by Nora Roberts 

     Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass 

     Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell 

Cooking

     Saturday -- Scrambled Eggs, Canadian Bacon, Biscuits

     Sunday-- Slow Cooker Beef

     Monday-- Baked Fish, Coleslaw, Oven Fries

     Tuesday -- Schwan’s 

     Wednesday -- Spaghetti and Meatballs 

     Thursday-- Leftovers 

     Friday -- Out

     CC Cookies

Quilting 

     Cut out 10 more blocks for my Dutch Churn and Dash quilt

Personal

     Housecleaners on Wednesday 

     Movie — The Post

🔥Resistance. Every. Day. 🔥

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Thank you note to AG Bob Ferguson

Thank You for investigating Motel 6’s practice of reporting guest names to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Companies that discriminate based on race should be held accountable. I appreciate your initiative on behalf of equality for all people. Thank you.

Address: PO Box 40100, Olympia, WA  98504-0100

Wrote to House Committee on House Administration leadership

Gregg Harper, 2227 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515

Robert Brady, 2004 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515

I’m a voter from Texas writing to express my enthusiasm for weekend voting which reflects 21st-century Americans’ needs and increases participation. I would like you to use your position on the House Administration committee to bring the Weekend Voting Act (H.R.1094) to a vote. Thank you.

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Thank you note to Senator Susan Collins:

Thank you for your cooperation in creating The RAISE Family Caregivers Act. Families everywhere congratulate you on its passage in both houses. Thank you!!

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Thank you note to Senator Tammy Baldwin:

Thank you for your cooperation in creating The RAISE Family Caregivers Act. Families everywhere congratulate you on its passage in both houses. Thank you!!

Called Rep. Pete Olson and Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I am concerned about the president’s wasteful and unAmerican policies concerning immigrants. It’s wasteful to build a 350-mile, $18 billion wall with taxpayer dollars and entice new border agents with higher wages while lowering employment standards. People who immigrate to the U.S. from other countries bring new jobs, create new business, and enrich our communities. I want you to support a clear path to citizenship, starting with the bipartisan and clean Dream Act (S.1615/H.R. 3440). Thank you. 

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Thank you note to Rep. Gregg Harper: 

Thank you for your cooperation in creating The RAISE Family Caregivers Act. Families everywhere congratulate you on its passage in both houses. Thank you!!

Emailed Rep. Pete Olson and Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I would like for you to make a public statement opposing the president’s comments regarding Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations. Some of your constituents are from or descended from these places and would appreciate knowing that you welcome them.

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Thank you note to Rep.Kathy Castor:

Thank you for your cooperation in creating The RAISE Family Caregivers Act. Families everywhere congratulate you on its passage in both houses. Thank you!!

Called Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I am calling about protecting the vote. Our democracy is a sitting duck if we don’t protect ourselves from Russia-linked groups actively hacking the Senate and seeking to control our midterm elections. Time is short. I would like you to make election security a priority, especially by co-sponsoring the bipartisan Secure Elections Act [S.2261] that allows states to assess their risks and implement proven measures that protect the integrity of our vote.

Around OakMeadows

Fabric for my next Quilt.  

Last Friday morning I got a reminder of just how fast everything can change. My husband got out of bed and slipped on a pair of socks on the floor. He tried to catch himself but fell, hitting his knee, elbow, and head. He came into the kitchen where I was and looked lost, like he knew he was supposed to be in the kitchen but couldn’t think what he was supposed to do there.  He said that he must have passed out and fell and hit his head but he had no memory of it. I thought he may have experienced orthostatic hypotension so I took his blood pressure which was essentially normal. What was not normal was his memory which was definitely impaired. His short term memory was just not functioning. He had no memory of the fall, no memory of coming into the kitchen, and would repeat the same questions over and over with no memory of asking them or my answers. Gradually, over about an hour, his short term memory returned although he still doesn’t remember anything about the fall or the following half hour. Fortunately, he didn’t break any bones or suffer any permanent brain injury. Things can change in an instant. 

Today we are having an ice storm. All the bushes and trees are covered with ice and we even have icicles on the eves of the house.  Much of Texas is simply closed down, schools, government offices, most businesses are closed and everyone is encouraged to stay off the icy roads. The people up north laugh at us but we really have no experience driving on ice.  

We had lunch yesterday with DD and DSIL at House of Pies before she had to go back to Washington, D.C.  It’s a good thing she left yesterday because so many flights have been canceled today.  It was a pleasant lunch and I am overwhelmed with how much I love them.  

Speaking of Washington, we are all wondering if the government will run out of money and shut down and if so, for how long.  There is so much that needs to be done but all they want to do is bicker.  All I can say is that the mid-term election can’t come soon enough!! 

That’s all the news from OakMeadows where the cats are firmly attached to the electric blankets and the people are just as firmly under the electric blankets. 

January Thoughts

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” 
― John Lennon

January Poetry

"Rain and wind, and wind and rain.
Will the Summer come again?
Rain on houses, on the street,
Wetting all the people's feet,
Though they run with might and main.
Rain and wind, and wind and rain.

Snow and sleet, and sleet and snow.
Will the Winter never go?
What do beggar children do
With no fire to cuddle to,
Perhaps with nowhere warm to go?
Snow and sleet, and sleet and snow.

Hail and ice, and ice and hail,
Water frozen in the pail.
See the robins, brown and red,
They are waiting to be fed.
Poor dears, battling in the gale!
Hail and ice, and ice and hail." 
-  Katherine Mansfield, Winter Song 

Plans for the Week of January 14-20, 2018

Monday — Lunch with T&C 
Tuesday — Mani/Pedi
Friday — Lunch with P&W&C&B 
(I seem to be quite the ladyof leisure this week!!)

Reading
Summer for the Gods by Edward Larson (JMM and I are reading this aloud to each other. It is taking forever and I am more than ready to move on tosomething else!)
Eisenhower: Soldier and President by Stephen Ambrose
Day One by Nora Roberts (Just started. So far, so good)
I just finished two excellent books and I am planning to write reviews for both of them next week. 

Quilting 
I finished the top and backing for my Scrap Quilt. I must call Karen and set up a time to take it to her for machine quilting. 
I have the fabric and pattern for my next quilt which will be a Dutch Churn pattern in blues and yellows.  

Cooking

Saturday -- Macaroni and Cheese, Corn

Sunday-- King Ranch Casserole, Salad

Monday-- House of Pies

Tuesday -- Chicken Tenders, Carrots/Thyme, Corn

Wednesday -- Schwan’s 

Thursday-- Leftovers 

Friday -- Out

Brownie

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Sent Postcards to Rep. Pete Olson and Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I am concerned about the numerous and credible allegations of sexual assault by the president. I would like the Justice Department to lead an investigation into his conduct. 

Called Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I’m calling about the nomination of Thomas Farr to a lifetime appointment to the US District Court. His history of defending voter suppression and targeting minority voters makes him unfit for this position. I would like the Senato to oppose Farr’s appointment. 

Sent contribution to Beto O’Rourke campaign. 

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Emails to Rep. Pete Olson and Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I am concerned about the president’s demand for an $18 billion wall in exchange for protecting DACA youth. I want to be clear: his idea is wasteful, ineffective, and offensive to American values. I want you to refuse fund any aggressive immigration tactic including a wall, 10,000 new ICE agents, and more stringent asylum requirements in exchange for Dreamers’ futures.

Thank you note to Senator Dianne Feinstein:

Thank You for calling Dan Scavino for an interview about communications with Russia. I appreciate your pursuit of truth through the Senate Judiciary Committee in spite of Chairman Grassley’s lack of meaningful focus. History will look kindly on you for seeking accountability. Thank you.

Address: 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 915, Los Angeles, CA 90025

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Called Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

It appears the president has renominated  Thomas Farr to a lifetime appointment to the US District Court. His history of defending voter suppression and targeting minority voters makes him unfit for this position. I would like the Senate to conduct a second hearing and for you to  oppose Farr’s appointment. Thanks.

Thank you note to Rep. Ro Khanna:

Thank You for calling for limits on the president’s powers to initiate a nuclear attack. Requiring congressional approval can make Americans safer. Thank you for your leadership.

Address: 900 Lafayette Street, Suite 206, Santa Clara, CA 95050-4966

Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham

This well researched book on the personal relationship between Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill was hard to put down. The friendship, however, did not get off to an auspicious start.  In 1918 Churchill and Roosevelt met at a dinner at Gray’s Inn. Roosevelt that thought Churchill was “a Stinker” and Churchill didn’t remember Roosevelt at all. Both men were complex, vain, thoroughly political, but motivated by love of country and early on recognized the evil of Hitler and the Nazis. 

Meacham argues that personal bonds between leaders are crucial to international politics. Using diaries and letters to describe a complicated relationship. Churchill paints a landscape for the President, sings for him, and agonizes when his notes go unanswered; Roosevelt teases him in front of Stalin, criticizes him to reporters, and eventually develops a diverging vision of the postwar world. But Churchill never gives up. Their friendship lasted throughout the war until Roosevelt’s death shortly before the victory in Europe. An excellent book to learn about this remarkable pair of two of the twentieth century’s greatest men. 

A New Year Begins

Last night the fireworks in the subdivision was the worst it has ever been.  We have learned to have all the cats safely inside well before it gets dark. My poor Bandit is very frightened by the noise and flashes.  I let him stay right with me most of the night but neither of us got much sleep until 3 am.  Needless to say, after getting the morning work done, I took a nap.  

It is unusually cold here this week.  Highs around 40 and lows 21-25.  JMM brought all the plants inside.  Of course, these temperatures can’t compare to what much of the north is encountering. I truly have begun to understand why people retire to Arizona. 

I am almost finished with Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Friendship by Jon Meacham. It is excellent. I hadn’t realized just how many times during the war that they were together.  I wish I could say I was enjoying One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez as much but I am not. 

I finished putting the backing for my Scrap Quilt together. I will call Karen Shively tomorrow about having it machine quilted. That will be Quilt #1 for 2018.  I want to make one more Scrap Quilt and one Quilt Kit. 

I hope we all stay healthy and safe in 2018.