🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Emailed Rep. Pete Olson and Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I support privacy rights for disabled people applying for Social Security benefits. The administration’s new budget proposes monitoring people’s social media accounts as part of determining eligibility. Since the SSA’s own analysis finds fraud in only 1% of disability payments, this practice would invade privacy and waste limited resources. I’m asking you to publicly denounce invading citizens’ privacy and hold OMB Director Mick Mulvaney and SSA Commissioner Nancy Berryhill accountable for this nonsensical waste of time and resources. 

Thank you notes to Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR): 

Thank you for introducing the Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2019. Impartial judges are very important. 

Addresses:

MH: 300 Ala Moana Blvd., RM 3-106, Honolulu, HI 96850

CCM: 400 South Virginia Street, Suite 902, Reno, NV 89501

JM: 161 High Street SE, Suite 250, Salem, OR 97301

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Wrote letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, FBI Headquarters, 935 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20535-0001

Dear Director Wray, I am greatly concerned about increasing violence by white nationalists against houses of worship. I support strict enforcement of existing law to address to this public safety threat. I urge you to meet with religious leaders who wish to advocate with you directly in the near future. Lives are at stake. Thank you.

Thank you note to Tricia Newbold, security administrator, Office of Administration (White House)

Thank you for providing the U.S. House Oversight Committee with information about security clearance irregularities that could threaten national security. I appreciate your action and am in awe of your courage. 

Address: c/o Edward H. Passman, Passman & Kaplan, P.C., Attorneys at Law, 1828 L Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Called Rep. Pete Olson:

I am concerned that young people experiencing homelessness are falling through the cracks of HUD’s definitions and data. The bipartisan Homeless Children and Youth Act would address these flaws and make HUD programs more responsive to local conditions. Please sign on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 2001.

Thank you note to Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX):

Thank you for introducing a bill (H.R.2203) that would increase oversight of ICE and DHS.

Address: 221 N. Kansas Street, Suite 1500, El Paso, TX 79901

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Wrote postcards to Rep. Pete Olson and Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I support the right of disabled people to receive long-term care services at home rather than an institution. I’m asking you to co-sponsor the bipartisan Disability Integration Act (H.R. 555/S.117) so decision-making rests with those needing care. Thank you.

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Email to Pete Olson:

I want to express my support for greater oversight of DHS and ICE. For too long, these agencies have been acting independently to harm communities and violate constitutional rights. I would like you to support and cosponsor H.R. 2203. Thank you.

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Left voicemail for Senators Cornyn and Cruz:

I value fair and accessible voting. Stacking districts prevents fair representation in Congress. We must also stop corporate money from deciding elections over the will of the people. Now that H.R. 1 has passed in the House, can I count on your support for voting fairness?

But what do you do all day?

• Baby barn swallows 
• What do I do all day?
• Ronni Bennett’s incomparable blog, Time Goes By is asking that we share how we spend our days now that we are aging and retired.  

• 
  
  To begin with everything, and I mean everything, is more difficult and takes much longer than it used to. Taking a shower, getting dressed, brushing my teeth, cooking, cleaning all take twice as long to accomplish. Stiff joints and loss of muscle contribute to this. I also have a neuromuscular condition that means I must use an electric scooter to move from place to place. It’s inconvenient but at least I can move.
  
  
  Then there’s the fatigue factor. I suppose that part of the tiredness is due to interrupted sleep. I used to be an Olympic level sleeper but now  I’m awake every 2-3 hours. Every. Single. Night. I simply cannot do without an afternoon nap.  I also schedule my errand running to only one outside errand or activity per day. I have a monthly cleaning service which I am seriously thinking of changing to every other week.
  
  
  I am fortunate that at this time I do not spend time with doctors or taking medications. I take 2 pills each morning, one for blood pressure and the other for overactive bladder. That could change at any time for me or my husband. I am 71 and he is 72. 
  
  
  I am not a people person and enjoy my home with my cats and dog, I love to read and quilt, and writing letters to my legislators.  I cook and clean because they simply must be done. I love to listen to NPR and podcasts. 
  
  
  I spend a lot of time watching natural things. Right now I am watching barn swallows as they swoop in and out of the back porch feeding themselves on the bountiful supply of insects available here on the Texas Gulf Coast. I’ve been watching the Monarch caterpillars devouring every single leaf on the milkweed plants. I watch the bees on the salvia, the hummingbird at the feeder, and the leaves on the trees. I’ve never had time for this before and I find it wholly pleasing. 
  
  
  The last time waster is the time I spend wondering why I came into a particular room. It seems that I can remember what I want to do or where I am to go, but not both. On the whole, life is still good. 

Around OakMeadows

Monarch caterpillars stripping the milkweed leaves.

Sometimes things that you think will be simple and quickly done turn out to be anything but.  My latest example is my attempt to take myself off our auto insurance policy. Since I have not driven in the past 2 years and I consider myself unsafe to drive, I have no need to be insured. When I called  I was told that before I could be taken off the policy, I would need to go to the DPS and surrender my license. So I will need to do that. I also thought that since only my husband would be driving that our premium would go down considerably. Wrong. Since we will be keeping both vehicles and driving the same 17,500 miles per year, the premium will go down by only $24 per six month period. So much for quick and easy.  

The Monarch caterpillars have stripped all the milkweed that overwintered so JMM planted 52 more milkweeds. They are now in the process of chowing down on the new plants. I saw 6 Monarchs in the yard today. I also saw 2 blue jays at the feeder this morning.  Since they weren’t trying to chase each other away, i assume they were a male and female pair. I was sitting on the porch this afternoon soaking in the warm sunshine and noticed a green anole sunning himself too. We both enjoyed the warmth of the beautiful afternoon. 

I finished a very interesting book, 1491: New Revelations about the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann.  It really was a revelation to me in several ways. I thought of both North and South America as mostly uninhabited with scattered settlement here and there; I knew about the Incas and Mayas but I thought of the rest of the Americas as essentially vacant.  Not so at all. I also didn’t realize how long people had been in the Americas and how much they had shaped the landscape.  Just fascinating. 

I have my 42 blocks ready to stitch into strips. Maybe tomorrow. 

Around OakMeadows

My sweet Iris

I have been on a news fast the past few days. I just can’t stand to hear one more thing about the president or his horrible administration.  I bought a Sunday newspaper but it is doubtful that I will even read that. I am focusing on the good things and what I can do to make things better. 

I am piecing the 42 blocks needed for my quilt top. I have finally settled on a name for it—Grief— because I miss Misty, Bandit, Duffy, Buster, and Iris so much. I can’t believe that I have lost so many precious spirits in less than a year.  

I have 3 very interesting books going now. 

A World Undone by G.J. Meyer is about WW I. It is without a doubt the best book about the Great War that I have ever read. I am amazed, appalled, and frustrated with the horrendous carnage and with the leaders and generals who just kept it going.  

More on the other two tomorrow. 

I am still doing my Resistance.Every.Day. postcards, emails, and phone calls although I admit that it is not every day.  I am under no illusions that my contacts with Rep. Olson and Senators Cornyn and Cruz have any influence on them whatsoever. I am resigned to being a voice in the wilderness. Amen. 

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Thank you note to Senators Roy Blunt and Lamar Alexander:

Thank you for voting to oppose the president’s emergency declaration. Please also reject his veto. 

Roy Blunt 1001 Cherry Street, Suite 104, Columbia, MO 65201

Lamar Alexander 3322 West End Avenue, #120, Nashville, TN 37203

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

I encourage you to co-sponsor legislation that would give DC residents a voice in Congress. Please support H.R. 51/S. 631.

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

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

I oppose Medicaid cuts in the administration’s budget proposal. Medicaid covers 1 in 5 Americans, many of them poor, disabled or elderly. I want my tax dollars to support vulnerable neighbors. I am counting on you to preserve this critical program.

Thank you note to Senators Susan Collins and Mike Lee:

Thank you for voting to oppose the president’s emergency declaration. Please also reject his veto. 

Susan Collins 68 Sewall Street, Room 507, Augusta, ME 04330

Mike Lee 125 South State, Suite 4225, Salt Lake City, UT 84138

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Called Rep. Pete Olson:

 I believe that my neighbors from other countries need a clear pathway to permanent status. The Dream and Promise Act would provide this for millions of people. Please co-sponsor H.R. 6.

Thank you note to Senators Jerry Moran and Lisa Murkowski:

Thank you for voting to oppose the president’s emergency declaration. Please also reject his veto.

Jerry Moran 3450 N Rock Rd, Building 200, Suite 209, P.O. Box 781753, Wichita, KS 67226

Lisa Murkowski 800 Glacier Ave, Suite 101, Juneau, AK 99801

🔥Resistance. Every. Day.🔥

Sent Thank You notes to:

Rand Paul 1029 State Street, Bowling Green, KY 42101

Rob Portman 37 West Broad Street, Room 300, Columbus, OH 43215

Mitt Romney 125 S. State Street, Suite 8402, Salt Lake City, UT 84138

Marco Rubio 1650 Prudential Drive, Suite 220, Jacksonville, FL 32207

Pat Toomey U.S. Custom House, 200 Chestnut Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Roger Wicker U.S. Federal Courthouse, 501 East Court Street, Suite 3-500, Jackson, MS 39201

Thank you for voting to oppose the President’s emergency declaration. Please oppose his veto also. 

February Life Around OakMeadows

February Life Around OakMeadows 

The bird list is longer than usual because we took a drive along the coast to see the coastal birds. 

Mammals 

Squirrels 

Deer

Raccoons 

Insects

Monarch 

Cloudless Sulphur 

Queen

Birds

Mockingbirds 

Red-tailed Hawk

Black Vulture 

Crow

Great Egret

Kestrel 

Grackles

Brown Pelicans

Great Egrets 

Mourning Doves 

Pigeons

Ducks (couldn’t id)

Belted Kingfisher 

Ospreys 

Starlings 

Sparrows 

Sandhill Cranes

Roseate Spoonbills 

Sanderlings

Royal Terns

Herring Gulls 

Semipalmated Plover

Ring-billed Gulls

Laughing Gulls

Rusty Blackbirds

Goldfinches 

Hummingbird 

Collared Doves 

Bluejay

Harrier Hawk

Caracaras 

Snowy Egret

Barn Swallows 

Chickadees 

Tufted Titmouse 

White-winged Dove

Cardinals 

Pine Warbler

Red-winged Blackbirds 

Turkey Vultures 

Around OakMeadows

Scrap  Quilt 

Around OakMeadows 

Among the things that you really don’t want to have to do: Have your house re-piped.  We noticed a slight buckling of one floor board and determined that there was a very slow tiny leak in one of the pipes coming into the house through the foundation.  The plumber said that when the house was built 15 years ago the pipe had not been properly sheathed and had corroded.  The only way to correct the situation was to re-pipe the whole house.  What a mess! They had to cut into the sheetrock in almost every room in the house and with that came sheetrock dust every where.  It took a week of utter chaos and then another week with workmen repairing the sheetrock. But it is done and things are back to normal. 

I am cutting out a new quilt for the master bedroom. The quilts that I currently use on it are over 25 years old. I had sworn off making anything larger than twin sized but needs must.  It is in blues, greens, and cream.  

JMM and I baked a coconut cake last week. I found the recipe in my ATK Family Cookbook and decided to give it a try. We used the new Kitchen Aid mixer that our daughter gave us for the first time and wonder now how we ever managed without it. The cake is really good.  

Our two kittens are getting big and are very affectionate. 

I am reading an excellent book on the ratification of the Constitution. I had no idea that that the ratification process was so fraught with opposition. I had always assumed that of course it was ratified because it was The Constitution. Anyway, I am learning that the politics of ratification had much of the rancor and dirty tricks so prominent today. 

JMM has planted one of the two Water Oak trees we bought to plant near where my dear Bandit and Duffy are buried.  He also has 2 Beauty Berry bushes to plant. But it has been so rainy that he has been unable to get them all planted.  One day last week, we had a terrific thunderstorm that dumped 5 inches of rain.  

That’s about all from OakMeadows where the kittens are getting bigger ...and so are the people...sigh...