Good morning butterfly, or whatever you are.
ANd a good morning to the rest of you.
QoD. What are protesters protesting and what event is going to change because of the protest?
Good morning to a questionable fellow Wanderer and Wonderer.
And while we are asking questions, why are we getting mail delivery right now that we should have gotten on Saturday? That kind of thing has happened another time recently. No mail one day and twice the next day. I suppose it is because of all the absentee ballot processing, but it seems they could have saved the gas with one trip instead of two. Is anyone else experiencing mail delivery inconsistencies?
Good morning to all the rest of you! It’s very warm here and muggy.
The COVID cases numbers keep rising, and the deaths. One of my eldest cousins has a son who is a paramedic in Toronto, where 6 hospitals have outbreaks, and Toronto is the medical hub of the province. The lad is putting in 14 hours a day, and is feeling the strain.
The whole province is affected by those outbreaks, as injuries and surgeries that small local hospitals in rural areas cannot deal with, like the time my father went into a coma following a car accident, are sent to Toronto. If their hospitals are unable to function due to outbreaks, we all are affected. I need major surgery into the near future (related to my recent ER visit), and the surgeon I have been referred to is in one of the hospitals that is in outbreak.
I went out to get the mail and bring the garbage can in from the street. It’s turning cooler so I stayed out and swept all the leaves off the driveway. I use them as a blanket for the roots of the Birthday Tree. I heard we would get more heavy rain so I thought it wise to sweep early rather than wait.
I have been invited to three rallies so far. The latest one is with V.P. Pence. I would love to go but don’t want to chance Covid.
Karen’s Mom with Covid is doing much better. She had a fever over the weekend but it is gone now. A doctor had made it sound like she was going to die (she is 92) so the family has been through the valley of the shadow of death but now it looks like things are on the bright side.
Janice, my sister noticed she never got mail on Friday. She finally called several neighbors and found they didn’t either. Turns out the mail person just took the day off. It was reported and that stopped that practice.
Mike Pence will be about 15 miles from us later in the day. We will not be going for various reasons, but I will see photos of it from some who will be going. I hope he dresses warmly.
We are supposed to be up to more average temperatures on the weekend, which will be in the forties. That is good for any children celebrating the holiday. We only get two and I still haven’t decided if I should put anything out on the porch. Lots of critters around here. They usually stop by after the community party, but all of them are cancelled.
I heard my littlest grandchildren will be dressed in VegieTale splender. We never see any of the grands, so we will enjoy the pictures as usual.
One of the guys in our church had prayer for his sister and nephew. She is out of the hospital after a five day stay for Covid. She is still having trouble with oxygen numbers. Her son, in his forties, visited her and now has it. He is still hospitalized. They are in Colorado somewhere.
We have quite a few who have died from it. Most were in nursing homes.
I cannot wait for the election to be over. I’ve been over it. Mr. P has filled out his absentee ballot, I can witness it and a friend is coming over to be the second witness.
When something “requires extra postage” how do you know how much? Two stamps? Three? I sure wouldn’t want his vote to get lost.
Our former Wanderer, Tammy, posted some interesting things over the weekend. She is a researcher and has been trying to look up Hunter Biden and several other issues. She can’t find anything except Republican Conspiracies and foreign interference on Google. She said she found something things on Bing. It’s scary how we can all be manipulated.
My dislike of Donald Trump is no secret, but I also think he has been treated unfairly by the media.
QOD? I was watching CBS This Morning, not by choice, but they were interviewing people about whether or not they would take the Covid Vaccine when it becomes available.
Would you?
Me? Probably not. It’s not that I am an anti-vaxxer, it’s that I am terrified of needles and do my best to avoid them and anything I think might be suspect to put in my body. I took fertility drugs. I’m at risk for other things. I don’t need to add any wild cards to the mix.
Not sure, but I think I might get the vaccine. Ideally, I would want to wait a couple years to see if any adverse reactions happen to people who get it, but with this virus, waiting may not be wise.
I’ve read of two people who had Covid, and then got it again. One of them died from the second bout. So sad.
I left a long prayer request on the prayer thread.
*******
All through this past weekend, and even into today, I’ve been feeling kind of like a baby at times with my reactions to a couple disappointments. One – and this is very silly, I know – is that after my wisdom tooth was extracted on Friday, I asked Nightingale to pick up some vanilla ice cream when she was out. The dentist suggested eating softer food, especially those without small pieces like rice, for a couple or three days, and mentioned ice cream (without pieces of candy or nuts).
So, I thought that I would let myself indulge in ice cream for the weekend, having more than I usually would. I figured that Nightingale would pick up my favorite brand of vanilla, and I would enjoy indulging for a couple days. But she brought home a different one in a smaller container, and then told me to leave enough for us to have when Chickadee comes over on Wednesday for Boy’s belated birthday dinner. So then I felt afraid to have as much of it as I wanted.
Soooo. . . On Saturday evening, I decided to make tapioca pudding instead. To my great disappointment, I discovered that the tapioca had been discarded when Nightingale organized the pantry a couple months ago, because she thought there was a bug in it.
Yes, a very silly situation to get all bent out of shape over, I know. But I got mad, and I cried (but not in front of anybody), and then I felt stupid and guilty for acting like a toddler who didn’t get her way. So I guess this is my “public” confession.
Morning! That appears to be a very “autumnal” moth up there…fitting right in with the Fall season 😊
Although…we are done with Autumn around here. It is 4 degrees and we have about 6 inches of new fallen snow on the ground. We are so very thankful for the moisture!
I will not take the vaccine when it comes out…nope…no way.
Chas, Olasky had a bit in a recent World on the protests in Spain as they went into their civil war. Sounded very like what we are seeing. God is in control.
If the studies show it is effective and safe, then yes, of course I will take the vaccine. But it will not be released until the full studies have been done so I do not expect it to be any time soon. Canada has its own vaccine research, so ours will probably be different than anything the US. Our Public Health Agency was the one that developed the Ebola vaccine that has had some success in Africa. They do a pretty good job. The difference between vaccines in different countries always calls into question the blanket claims of anti-vaxxers. For example, Canada had a different measles vaccine than the US, one that never had thimerosal. That means those anti-vax claims that thimerosal in the measles vaccine caused a rise in autism were totally bogus, as Canada experienced a similar per capita increase in children with autism at the same time as the US, but had no thimerosal in their measles vaccine. A global perspective is useful in detecting false claims of conspriracy.
I don’t think I care anymore. Vaccine isn’t to be expected until late 2021 anyway. I’m starting to envy the people who have had COVID and recovered. They’re free, right?
House is still standing, roaring 40’s still happening outside.
K, my cousin who had COVID had trouble with his oxygen numbers for weeks after he was out of the hospital. He says his lungs will never be the same – we had a socially distanced visit with him and his family during the summer. People still do not realize that surviving an infection is only the beginning. An infectious disease that leaves lasting effects will permanently change the demographics of an entire generation. It is the long term effects of measles on survivors, not just its initial mortality rate, that made public health agencies decide to conduct general vaccination campaigns against it.
Kizzie I think your reactions were normal. We are all stressed to some degree right now. I am usually an adjuster to the wind kind of person.
Right now my patience is thin and my temper is shorter.
Just when you think your local Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper is hopeless at straight journalism, they surprise you with an article by a (retired) journalist that actually is informative and without spin, interviewing both sides, citing real statistics, and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.
I was shocked and so pleased, I wrote the editor and the reporter an email yesterday. Here’s the exchange:
Ms. Fricker–
Your front-page article on Sunday, October 25 was the best article I’ve read during my 23-year subscription to the Press Democrat.
You combined all the “standard” journalism practices I learned long ago and I loved reading the entire piece. I ended up reading the entire article aloud to my husband.
I so appreciated reading a balanced approach, well-placed interviews, a close read and explanation of statistics, and the opportunity to draw my own conclusions.
Perhaps you can do a seminar for the current batch of reporters?
Thank you. Such a pleasure.
Mary Fricker
7:44 AM (22 minutes ago)
to me
Hello, Michelle,
Holy moly, what a wonderful thing for you to say! I can not tell you how much I appreciate this.
Every time I write a major story it terrifies me. What have I screwed up??? You are so kind to make me feel like I did OK.
I also had a wonderful editor, Ted Appel. You know the old saying, what makes a good reporter? A good editor!
Michelle, 2020 has been such a lousy year and with your nice email you have completely turned it around for me.
Thank you so much!
Mary
I also sent a similar, though less inflammatory letter to the editor.
There ARE good reporters besides DJ in the world. Let’s encourage them!
This is where I am politically, too. I don’t fit into any category/ And that’s okay!
“Second, it opens up opportunities for unlikely friendships and unexpected relationships. It changes your posture towards the world to one that welcomes allies case-by-case. It cultivates a posture of openness and fellowship.
I can work with a critical race theorist to end the injustice of qualified immunity, for example, without embracing critical race theory. I might next defend Christian students from a challenge to their religious liberty, joining with “law and order” Republicans I just opposed and opposing critical race theorists I just joined.
Third, it can increase your knowledge. When a person who possesses a partisan mind faces a new challenge, he often immediately retreats to his cocoon to discern his response. We find “our” experts, and “our” experts don’t challenge our minds so much as they equip us to fight the partisan wars to come. An independent mind does its imperfect best to seek truth wherever it is found, including intentionally seeking out the best opposing arguments.
When you prioritize truth over tribe, it’s amazing how much more truth you’ll learn.”
Michelle, you came to the right place. I can give you more than four, but here are four to begin with, pulled from my hymnbook:
‘Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence’ – modern adaption of an ancient liturgy from the 4th century
‘From Heaven Above to Earth I Come’ – English translation of Martin Luther’s real Christmas carol (unlike ‘Away in a Manger’, which Luther did not write)
‘Of the Father’s Love Begotten’ – original text was by Aurelius Prudentius in the 4th century
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – Charles Wesley’s brief but worthy contribution to the carol canon
We, being Lutheran, of course sing ‘From Heaven Above to Earth I Come’ at Christmas. Several years ago I wrote a play for the Christmas Eve childrens’ service using that hymn. It featured Martin presenting it to his children as a gift and the story paused several times during the dialog for the congregation to sing the next verse. It was fun and son played the part of Martin and DIL the part of Katie. They didn’t need to speak, as there was a narrator telling the story.
The funny, not-so-funny part was that we gave each child a popcorn ball as they left the sanctuary, relating to the Luther children popping popcorn in the story. It didn’t occur to me that their parents would let them open them but they did, and there was poppcorn all over the place that the Pastor ended up cleaning up so the church would be presentable on Christmas morning. And yes, we always have a Christmas Day service.
I’ll be using the Lutheran Service hymnal, of course, Linda, and I’d love to see that play if you still have a copy.
With our musical director/prayer partner/pastor’s wife/dear friend off to Boise at her husband’s new church, I have been exposed to theologically rich Christmas carols in the past, which is why I thought I’d write on them this year.
Thank you, Roscuro, for your suggestions. I think we sing “Let All the Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,” during Lent–but I’ll know better when I look at the words.
Thank you, this gives me a direction, along with a few other ideas I’ve got written down somewhere.
Maybe I’ll write a post about Martin Luther, hymnologist? 🙂
First up this morning, though, is an interview about Poppy!
Michelle, the best carols tell the full story, and there are historical similarities between Advent and Lent, as Advent was also historically a fast. So hymns like ‘Let All Mortal Flesh’ which look both forward and back, have multiple applications.
Kim @ 10:09 I’ve said this before. You don’ thave to “like” Trump to think he’s doing a good job.
The person I “liked” was Jimmy Carter.
Trump is the best thing we have in any party at this time.
Aaron’s rod was to be kept in the ark of the covenant, as another example of Israel’s failure and rebellion.
When God looked down from heaven into the ark, He saw emblems of Israel’s sin: The tablets of law they broke, the manna they complained about, and Aaron’s rod meant to answer their rebellion.
The covering blood of sacrifice was applied to the lid covering over these reminders of Israel’s sin, so God “saw” the blood “covering” their sin, and atonement was made.
The play sounds neat, and Luther is reported to have written the song for his children, but the popcorn is an anachronism, not entering the European diet until after contact with the tribes of the Americasspecifically, the Iroquois, a bit after Luther’s time.
Michelle, on the Numbers commentary, it depends what emphasis (justice or mercy) one chooses to see. Those three emblems are also reminders of God’s miraculous intervention. The rod that was used to work the signs, plagues, and miracles that delivered Israel from slavery, the tablets written by the finger of God himself (by the way, Israel didn’t break the tablets, Moses did, in anger, but God then rewrote them), and the manna, called in the NT ‘angel’s food’, given to preserve their lives in the desert. As with most things in God’s story, the perspective changes depending on whether you are standing beside or against God.
We sing “Let All Mortal Flesh” frequently. Good idea for the blog post, Michelle.
I’m intrigued that Alabama requires (?) signatures of witnesses on absentee ballots?
I started going through my sample ballot last night, the hardest ones are those obscure offices like for the Water Replenishment District. I know one of the candidates but he wound up in a scandal a few years ago so I’ll stay clear of him I suppose.
I find myself voting for a lot of challengers (as opposed to incumbents) this year.
Some state representative races give us no choice, it’s a Democrat vs. a Democrat.
Vaccine, yes, of course. And no, I don’t think one is “clear” once they have the disease, at least from the evidence so far.
I wouldn’t put money on it, but I suspect this will be something of a “Democrat sweep” kind of year.
I have to disagree with Chas on Trump — he’s done some good things, more than I suspected he would. But his temperament and style of leadership has not really been good for the nation.
I do agree with Kim, he’s also not been covered or treated fairly by the press. The state of the media is in a mess but many inside the media just don’t see or get that. 😦
In the mail that got dropped off this a.m. I found two political candidate postcards and one piece of junk mail. Hardly worth the effort of delivering twice today. Also, while I was out sweeping the driveway, the garbage truck going down the hill made a big show of backing quickly up the hill it had just come down in front of my house. Oh, the oddities of these days. I felt sorry for the guys on the back of that truck. Had they fallen off, they would have been run over by that crazed driver.
I saw a FB post today, put out by a Canadian politician’s organization, that encapsulates the careless, slipshod writing and false memoralialization of the past that contributes to polarization. It was a meme commemorating the deaths, 6 years ago, of two Canadian servicemen, but it did it all wrong. Here is the meme text:
“6 years ago this week, Canada lost two heroes: Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo. These brave men defended Canada’s Parliament Hill and paid the ultimate price. We will always remember and honour their service to their country.”
Right away I noticed the falsehoods, because I remember the incidents 6 years ago. Neither of the men, who died on separate days in separate provinces at the hands of two separate lone wolf terrorists, was defending Parliament Hill. Cirillo was standing guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier at the War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, when he was shot in the back by a terrorist of Canadian-Algerian origin. The terrorist then ran to Parliament Hill, where he was shot and killed by Parliament’s Sergeant-at-arms. Vincent was with another serviceman in a parking lot in Quebec when they were deliberately hit by a car driven by a terrorist of French-Canadian origin. The terrorist was then pursued by police in a car chase and died as a result. Sometimes I wonder when I see posts like this, are people just too lazy to look up the facts before they wrote the post? Or do they deliberately rework the facts to stir up emotions, hoping that people don’t remember the facts? Either way, it is a perfect example of why I never reshare snappy memes or brief posts with emotional messages of FB. They too often are completely inaccurate.
Speaking of post office: a week or so ago, husband went to Lewiston and mailed some of nineteen’s paperwork from there. He left his satchel which carries his paperwork, on the counter. He came home and realized it was missing a few days later. After searching the house and the vehicles, nineteen reminded him he had it at the post office. He called. Sure enough, they had it and sent it by courier to our town post office seventy some miles away. No charge, glad to help! Nice people.
We witnessed Mr. P’s signature on the inner envelope where he signed that he was indeed PRH.
I’m kind of glad he did it. I got to read some of the proposed amendments to the Alabama Constitution of 1901 I also got to tell him to vote AGAINST the proposed toll road. We have a toll bridge across to the bay. It was put in 20 years ago and was $1 to cross. Once it was paid for it was supposed to go away. It was sold just before it was paid off and now is $4 each way. Nope, nope, nope.
The gardener comes today, he said he also could clear my gutters and roof drains for an extra job.
Heard from a former church friend who’s now in Colorado, she says it’s 11 degrees where she is this morning (she grew up in Minnesota so is used to very cold weather, but she and her husband spent their lives in Manhattan Beach in our area so had been away from it for a while).
Our sister church where I’m attending for now (because they provide the required outdoor service) ends each service with the singing of the Gloria Patri.
~ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
World without end. Amen. ~
To add to mumsee’s 1o:47 – Teh sermon I posted on yesterday’s thread mentions the possibility of civil war. In fact, he makes comparisons to what was happening in the US before our Civil War.
Beautiful moth, Peter. I photographed about 450 insect species this summer, including quite a number of moths (mostly ones I “scared up” by walking through the grass where they were hiding), but I never saw any large ones. I have never seen a luna moth. The year my husband and I went to Alabama and Florida, I ended up seeing one of those large eyespot moths . . . but it was fluttering around the parking lot, on the asphalt, and clearly near the end of its life. I’ve never seen a large, pretty moth on a building or tree trunk.
I plan to go outside later today, likely in a few minutes with my husband, and that will mark a solid six months of being outside every single day. If I manage to take a photo of something every day this week, I’ll have ten months straight of photos every day, and then those 450 photos of insects, several hundred flowers, and 100 or more of other creatures (birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, arachnids, etc.). I’m guessing I might have gotten 600 creatures this year, though I haven’t yet sorted any but the insects–but no big moths.
Michelle, the link in 11:12: that’s a hint of how hard it is to live in California, if a 56-year-old man who has lived in his house 14 years is rejoicing because he is now down to a 30-year mortgage of $341,000. Yikes!!
In this column over the past three decades I’ve mentioned five times a novel of warning, José Gironella’s The Cypresses Believe in God. Sadly, it’s out of print: Since my last recommendation I’ve learned the least expensive used copy you can buy costs $64, which is steep even for 997 pages. So, as a public service, here are key quotations from the book set in 1931-1936 Spain, as that country polarized its way to a civil war.
(he proceeds to list numerous quotes from the volume that ring perilously close to what we are seeing now in the US)
Page 189: “There was a disagreeable side to the propaganda of the Rightist parties: all they did was attack the opposition. … They were in no way concerned with the real problems of the lower classes.”
Page 279: “It seemed to him a mystery that things should be as they were, that five or six men could gather around a stove and a few days later wreck a print shop.”
… Page 338: “Those children frightened him. They were growing and they would absorb all the poison the neighborhood exuded.”
Page 422, after conservatives win an election: “The gulf between victors and vanquished was ten times deeper. The vanquished withdrew … and defeat united them in a common cause. Triumph had gone to the others’ heads.”
Page 517: “Unemployment was growing like a cancer at the vitals of many families.”
Page 569: Communist leader Cosme Vila: “Nobody is to get upset if we shout viva for something one day and muera [die] the next … equal hatred for the landowners, the military, and the clergy.”
Page 572: “Every citizen read a single newspaper, which chiseled his mind into given form as though it were stone. Each newspaper’s advertising space was bought by certain individuals, and the readers knew that those who advertised in other papers were their enemies.” …
_________________________________
I got a nice selfie picture on my game camera, of a raccoon. Then it went off and found some buddies to bring back to the all you can eat farm buffet. After losing several chickens, we got the neighbor involved. He says he usually gets fifty coyotes off his property every year but has not been bothered by raccoons.
Seriously, Michelle, for comparison. When I moved to Nashville, I had been frugal for a number of years (well, I’d been frugal all my life, but I’d been working at the same job and putting money in the bank for ten years) and I had a 20% down payment. Unfortunately it ended up also taking about another 20% to fix what was wrong with the house (including putting in new central air and heat when it broke my first winter), and I also earned less in freelance than I expected (I made less than half what I’d earned in Chicago). But I knew that debt would hurt me in the long run, that getting out from under mortgage debt would give me a better chance of surviving on freelance income, and so I was working toward that. I had a 15-year mortgage, taken on a couple of months after I turned 36, and when I married at 44 I was on track to pay it off on my 50th birthday if I made no other extra payments. I really struggled those last couple of years, and if I hadn’t married at 44, I likely would have had to take on a part-time job (I was struggling even to pay the bills and the house was going to need a new roof soon), but if I had made it to 50 I would have been debt-free. I had realized the house I owned wasn’t a good one for renting out bedrooms and I didn’t really want to live alone, so a house with a mother-in-law suite I could have rented out would have been a better choice. So at some point I would have had a choice: Do I sell that house and buy another one (for cash), or do I hold onto that one, rent it out for income, and buy another one with another 15-year mortgage?
I really can’t imagine holding a mortgage into one’s sixties. And into one’s eighties? Yikes. Oh, and my house was by 21st-century standards definitely a “starter home” (1260 square feet), but more than adequate for a single woman. And when I married at 44 my remaining mortgage was about 10% of the mortgage that he still holds at 56.
Page 625: “Major tactics in the campaign: the buildup of the leader … the systematic insulting of the opposition. … If even so they lose … they’ll destroy the ballot boxes.”
Page 650: “‘What do you hope to accomplish without fanaticism? … Shoot the person who makes a mistake in addition.’”
Page 660: “This election will decide Spain’s next hundred years.”
Page 664: “Squads of Communists and anarchists had appeared and were lined up along the sidewalks with an expression that boded no good.”
Page 666: “Olga did something she was unable to account for when she thought about it afterwards. She went over to them and shouted, ‘Pigs.’”
Page 667: “El Cojo kept twirling the skull and pointing his finger at the lieutenant.”
Page 668: The Left “had a majority in Parliament. The people had expressed their will. It was time to settle accounts.”
Page 684: “Looting of all shops, churches.”
Page 782: “‘What do they lay all this to?’ Cesar looked at him steadily: ‘To the fact that society has cut itself off from God.’”
Page 806: “On the rear entrance of the Church of San Felix someone had written, ‘Long live Me!’”
Page 847: “What that man had accomplished in such a short space of time! He had snuffed out the servant. … He had set fire to a convent and paralyzed the city. He published a newspaper and was organizing a People’s Militia.”
Page 936: “Because of the terror in their eyes when they turned and saw those men with the red handkerchiefs around their heads … the Murcians mowed them down with bullets.”
Page 997: “A volley rang out, and Cesar felt something gently pierce his skin. … Then his heart closed.”
That was Spain. This is the United States. Matthew 5:9 teaches, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
___________________________
~ My dumb cat. My dumb cat, Felony, decided to wake me at 4 this morning by bringing into my home a huge rat that is now running free and hiding somewhere in my house! She does this all the time last 2 weeks it was birds, before that huge moths. But the large rats are most disturbing. How do I stop this behavior I don’t want rats living in my home w me ~
Spain’s Civil War was one of the most terrible on record, and ended with the victory of the right wing dictator Franco, whose policies exasperated various elements within Spanish society as he sought to grind together unity by eliminating diversity, contributing to the rise of Basque terrorist separatists, whose bombings may not be rememdered as well as the contemporary bombings of the Northern Irish Republican Army but were as destructive, and also to the present day independence movement that is still convulsing Catalonia.
My birthday is coming in a little over a week. Almost surreally, I have learned last night and today that on that day, I will learn two things.
I am going to speak on the phone with the surgeon who is supposed to operate on me for a consultation. I will learn if they can preserve my ability to have children or whether I will have to lose it forever.
The second, which I learned from my mother last night when I guessed what she couldn’t tell is that Second is planning on telling me some good news, news which I have, being an observant sister and nurse, that I have been wondering if I would hear soon, that this house may have an additional occupant sometime in the new year.
What a strange juxtaposition those two pieces of information will be. But that is what I have come to expect from life, joy and sorrow running together, nearly inseperable. I do not think I would have it any other way –
In the words of Peter:
” Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:3-7)
QOD #2: I probably will get a Covid vaccine pretty early once it’s approved and available. I don’t want to be one of the first either but, before I can get it, it will have gone through multiple trials on increasing numbers of people and the results will have been reviewed for safety and effectiveness. And front line workers will also have probably already gotten it.
I’ve generally resisted getting new vaccines, but given my two extra risk factors for Covid being a serious problem (age and heart condition), my risk/benefit analysis comes down on the side of risking the new vaccine.
The only thing I’m certain about is that nothing here is certain, and I sure don’t blame anyone for deciding differently.
The gardener made fast work of the roof, he didn’t even need my adder, he just hopped up onto one of the huge trees next to the house and was on the roof in a jiffy with his leaf-blower. Now he and his brother are collecting the leaves, all done I guess, took about 10 minutes.
Roscuro, I am sorry. I never thought about having children until I was told I probably wouldn’t be able to have one. It is an emptiness few understand, and Cheryl probably understands it more from your perspective than I do. I pray all turns out well for you.
I never married or had children, of course, but remember when I went in for surgery for endometriosis — I was in my mid-30s and had recently left a relationship I’d assumed would result in marriage (and children) but didn’t. So it was a tough time and I still remember that feeling, of possibly (physically) closing a door that could never be opened again (that didn’t occur from the surgery, thankfully, and that gave me some peace of mind; but other circumstances simply didn’t work out toward that “marriage-and-children” fairy tale ending for me alas, but that’s OK).
Praying that the surgery can be carried out successfully without closing the childbearing door for you, roscuro. I get it, it’s a strange feeling.
Cheryl, the messages you have sent me have been a blessing.
Kim, I have thought of you too, as I know your pain was similar, even if not precisely the same circumstances. In my case, I have to have surgery one way or another, the question is only the degree. It has been building for several years – I started experiencing unusual symptoms when I was getting my degree and the reasons for them only became fully clear when I finally saw the official MRI results, including why I ended up in the ER the other week. Thankfully, they do not think it is cancer.
It’s still not raining yet, and I have on a short sleeve t-shirt that feels quite comfortable out even with the cloudy sky. It seems strange to consider how cold it is across the US, even in TX.
It remains fall-like here, cool and a bit overcast.
Rain would be glorious. No more hot weather would also be good.
We’re getting mountains of campaign fliers and ads in the mail. I may get more because I’m not registered with a party, so both sides may see me as a potential target. I tear my name & address off and toss them all in the recycle bag.
DJ, it is a very strange feeling. As I said to my mother, the women of my family are hard-wired for having children – on my mother’s side, my grandmother had 6 children, her 3 daughters had 10 children between them, I have 3 sisters who have 12 (13?) children between them, and my 5 female cousins on that side also all have children (16 between them). It is as the indefinite delay has actually created the problem, as it is more likely to occur in those who never had children. It felt like it was slowly killing me, which, in another time, it probably would have.
Janice, this is the second opinion. The specialist I saw who ordered the MRI no longer does surgeries, but told me that she would only have been able to offer the more extreme option. The surgeon she has referred me to is someone she thought had the skill to do the conservative option. As I said earlier, Toronto is the place one goes when other hospitals cannot offer the treatment.
it helped somewhat for me — not sure what your diagnosis is, however, it may be something different — as endometriosis is one of the leading causes of infertility. So I thought I may not have been able to get pregnant anyway … Roads not taken. It’s hard because when we’re young everything is so very possible.
Oh, and the irony — my OB-GYN who did the surgery told me one way to prevent the condition from returning was — to get pregnant! Ha. Easy for him to say as I wasn’t married and no longer even had anyone potentially in that (near future) role!
Tears, some anger and a lot of frustration, as I recall. But I got through it, I knew the Lord and also believed he had plans for me, that I wasn’t exactly calling the shots at that point.
And much gratitude that it wasn’t anything terminal, of course.
It isn’t endometriosis – the MRI ruled that out. That was good news for me because I have seen how the thick scar tissue from that gets in the way of gynecological surgery, so I knowthe surgeon won’t have to struggle with that and will have a better chance of doing it well. It is a benign growth that has reached the massive point and starting to seriously interfere with the normal functions of neighbouring organs vital to food and liquid processing. Basically, I am being slowly crushed internally. It needs removal, the question is how much has to be removed along with it. From what I have read of the report, I will, speaking now as a healthcare professional (some part of me is viewing this all very clinically and curiously), be amazed if it can be done without a full hysterectomy. Another part of me is scared of any surgery at all, since I deal with the incisions that don’t heal and the wounds the reopen all the time.
Still another part is wrestling with questions related to femininity and motherhood. I made the mistake of looking for Biblical perspectives on hysterectomy. The search engine vomited up all the legalistic bile on the sin of “voluntary” female sterilization on the first page, from people who might have been theologians but knew nothing. I could only contrast their words to Jesus’s response to the woman who touched the edge of his robe for healing. He knew.
Found out what kind of pneumonia vaccine I had a year ago, apparently there are 2 different kinds and both need a booster — but the pharmacy I go to now couldn’t provide a booster without knowing which shot I originally received.
Honestly, getting older means you have to get so many shots.
I realized I need another tetanus booster. I had to have such a barrage of needles for both my nursing programs and also to go to West Africa that I had the feeling I was all up to date, but I realized it has been a decade now for that one. I am supposed to get the flu shot of course too… It is not easy to do now with COVID messing up the works.
Ballot filled out, now I just need to drop it off — I’ll plan to “hand it off” at the one vote center that’s open early this week in town, out near the marina. You can even check online what the current “wait time” is.
So we are sitting at dinner by flashlight and I am reporting that several folks told me their power was back on. But we try our switches nd they don’t work. Finally at the end of the meal, I look out and see the neighbors across the street have power. Finally my friends, who have a generator realize that our power is turned off. So they gather lights and go outside and voila, we have power!! No power in town, but we have it here. So nice.
Janice: I saw a mail truck out yesterday (Sunday). I don’t know if that was an extra run or a make-up run for missing a different day? All I know is we’re getting a huge amount of political candidate advertising. We have four registered voters in our household, and while Hubby and I each get only Republican flyers, 3rd & 4th Arrows each get both pro-Dem and pro-Rep ads. It’s way too much and is delaying important stuff. Hubby’s most recent paycheck was delivered nine days after the postmark, when it was sent from the parent company that is only two hours away.
Kim: About the covid vaccine, I’m not really thinking about it. I might get it a loooong time after I know it’s safe and effective, or I might not. I lean toward probably not, but with further information down the road, my opinion might change.
Kizzie, 10:43am: I don’t think you’re acting like a baby at all. Furthermore, I want to tell you what your post made me think of. I know this is going to sound bizarre, but I mention it on the chance that it might be helpful. About a year ago or so, I suddenly realized that every time I had a dentist appointment, later that day and/or the next day my emotions would be out of whack. I’d go on a crying jag for no apparent reason. Little things would seem mountainous and I’d wonder why I was so bent out of shape.
As far as I can tell, this has been going on for at least a few years now, that dental work brings this on, but I didn’t figure that out right away, because of course there would be other days now and then where I was “down.” That’s just life. But the every.single.time aspect of dental work + emotional havoc took a while to notice.
So when I read your post about your “silly,” “bent out of shape,” “baby[ish]” emotions after your tooth extraction, it made me wonder if you’ve ever noticed any change in emotions after you’ve had dental work done before?
I know for a fact there is something the dentist (formerly) used in my mouth that he doesn’t anymore because of my reaction to it. It’s the oddest thing: I don’t have a problem with Novocaine, but the topical numbing agent they use on your gums to take some of the sting out of the injection caused a neurological reaction with me two or three years ago. My hands, then my whole body, started trembling while they had those little numbing sticks against my gums.
So I have to wonder what other “reactions” I might be having as a result of dental work. Are the materials in the many crowns I have in my mouth causing reactions after things get stirred up in there? Is it the lying with my head down and my feet up messing with blood flow in my brain and affecting my emotions hours later? Is that even a thing? I’ve thought of asking my dentist, but haven’t done so yet.
Anyway, it might just be me and some goofy notions, but I thought I’d mention it, anyway.
Michelle: I’m late to the game, but there’s a Christmas song in our hymnal that we don’t sing very much, so I guess you might say it’s obscure. There’s only one verse, as far as I know. The hymn is “Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light.” Written in E-Flat Major.
Text: Johann Rist, 1607-67, abr.; tr. John Troutbeck, 1832-99, alt.
Tune Johann Schop, c. 1590-1667, alt.
Roscuro, I have mostly brothers, but even the men in my family are “hard-wired” to want children. Each of my married siblings (with the exception of the one who doesn’t yet have children) ended up with five each; two had five biologically and the other two had three biologically but also two adopted or stepchildren. I come from seven. And I have heard several members of my family express a desire for a dozen children. (My sister said she decided as a child that she would have 12 girls and give each one a flower name. By the time she was actually married, she had decided she preferred boys.)
God gave me my children in the form of stepchildren, and not even as many of those as I wanted, and I missed their childhood. As my childbearing years were seeping away, I was living in a community where teenage (unwed) pregnancy was quite common, and somehow it never occurred to my sister that I wasn’t the right person with whom to gripe about how much she had wanted more than five children. I suspect that in some ways it helps that other relatives have children you can love, and in some ways it makes it harder–at least that’s the way it was for me. In fact, one of the things that makes the loss of my sister so difficult is that I had decided if I was never going to bear my own children, then her children were the “closest thing” I’d ever have, and I worked to get to know them well–and now, 20 years later I’ve been cut out of their lives. I do have my girls and I see them as my children–but that doesn’t mean my niece and nephews have ceased to be important to me, or even that they have ceased to be in one way the closest thing I’ll ever have to my own biological children.
Wandering Views 
Good morning butterfly, or whatever you are.
ANd a good morning to the rest of you.
QoD. What are protesters protesting and what event is going to change because of the protest?
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Follow up question.
Did they have protesters before Television”
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Third serious question here;
Why do we have to have a password when the password is already up and all I have to do is click?
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Good morning to a questionable fellow Wanderer and Wonderer.
And while we are asking questions, why are we getting mail delivery right now that we should have gotten on Saturday? That kind of thing has happened another time recently. No mail one day and twice the next day. I suppose it is because of all the absentee ballot processing, but it seems they could have saved the gas with one trip instead of two. Is anyone else experiencing mail delivery inconsistencies?
Good morning to all the rest of you! It’s very warm here and muggy.
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Chas, question 2) yes, they did. Ever read of the antics of the suffragettes?
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The COVID cases numbers keep rising, and the deaths. One of my eldest cousins has a son who is a paramedic in Toronto, where 6 hospitals have outbreaks, and Toronto is the medical hub of the province. The lad is putting in 14 hours a day, and is feeling the strain.
The whole province is affected by those outbreaks, as injuries and surgeries that small local hospitals in rural areas cannot deal with, like the time my father went into a coma following a car accident, are sent to Toronto. If their hospitals are unable to function due to outbreaks, we all are affected. I need major surgery into the near future (related to my recent ER visit), and the surgeon I have been referred to is in one of the hospitals that is in outbreak.
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I am so sorry to hear about that, Roscuro. Maybe soon things can get under better control since treatments are more understood now.
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I went out to get the mail and bring the garbage can in from the street. It’s turning cooler so I stayed out and swept all the leaves off the driveway. I use them as a blanket for the roots of the Birthday Tree. I heard we would get more heavy rain so I thought it wise to sweep early rather than wait.
I have been invited to three rallies so far. The latest one is with V.P. Pence. I would love to go but don’t want to chance Covid.
Karen’s Mom with Covid is doing much better. She had a fever over the weekend but it is gone now. A doctor had made it sound like she was going to die (she is 92) so the family has been through the valley of the shadow of death but now it looks like things are on the bright side.
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Janice, my sister noticed she never got mail on Friday. She finally called several neighbors and found they didn’t either. Turns out the mail person just took the day off. It was reported and that stopped that practice.
Mike Pence will be about 15 miles from us later in the day. We will not be going for various reasons, but I will see photos of it from some who will be going. I hope he dresses warmly.
We are supposed to be up to more average temperatures on the weekend, which will be in the forties. That is good for any children celebrating the holiday. We only get two and I still haven’t decided if I should put anything out on the porch. Lots of critters around here. They usually stop by after the community party, but all of them are cancelled.
I heard my littlest grandchildren will be dressed in VegieTale splender. We never see any of the grands, so we will enjoy the pictures as usual.
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One of the guys in our church had prayer for his sister and nephew. She is out of the hospital after a five day stay for Covid. She is still having trouble with oxygen numbers. Her son, in his forties, visited her and now has it. He is still hospitalized. They are in Colorado somewhere.
We have quite a few who have died from it. Most were in nursing homes.
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I cannot wait for the election to be over. I’ve been over it. Mr. P has filled out his absentee ballot, I can witness it and a friend is coming over to be the second witness.
When something “requires extra postage” how do you know how much? Two stamps? Three? I sure wouldn’t want his vote to get lost.
Our former Wanderer, Tammy, posted some interesting things over the weekend. She is a researcher and has been trying to look up Hunter Biden and several other issues. She can’t find anything except Republican Conspiracies and foreign interference on Google. She said she found something things on Bing. It’s scary how we can all be manipulated.
My dislike of Donald Trump is no secret, but I also think he has been treated unfairly by the media.
QOD? I was watching CBS This Morning, not by choice, but they were interviewing people about whether or not they would take the Covid Vaccine when it becomes available.
Would you?
Me? Probably not. It’s not that I am an anti-vaxxer, it’s that I am terrified of needles and do my best to avoid them and anything I think might be suspect to put in my body. I took fertility drugs. I’m at risk for other things. I don’t need to add any wild cards to the mix.
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Not sure, but I think I might get the vaccine. Ideally, I would want to wait a couple years to see if any adverse reactions happen to people who get it, but with this virus, waiting may not be wise.
I’ve read of two people who had Covid, and then got it again. One of them died from the second bout. So sad.
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I left a long prayer request on the prayer thread.
*******
All through this past weekend, and even into today, I’ve been feeling kind of like a baby at times with my reactions to a couple disappointments. One – and this is very silly, I know – is that after my wisdom tooth was extracted on Friday, I asked Nightingale to pick up some vanilla ice cream when she was out. The dentist suggested eating softer food, especially those without small pieces like rice, for a couple or three days, and mentioned ice cream (without pieces of candy or nuts).
So, I thought that I would let myself indulge in ice cream for the weekend, having more than I usually would. I figured that Nightingale would pick up my favorite brand of vanilla, and I would enjoy indulging for a couple days. But she brought home a different one in a smaller container, and then told me to leave enough for us to have when Chickadee comes over on Wednesday for Boy’s belated birthday dinner. So then I felt afraid to have as much of it as I wanted.
Soooo. . . On Saturday evening, I decided to make tapioca pudding instead. To my great disappointment, I discovered that the tapioca had been discarded when Nightingale organized the pantry a couple months ago, because she thought there was a bug in it.
Yes, a very silly situation to get all bent out of shape over, I know. But I got mad, and I cried (but not in front of anybody), and then I felt stupid and guilty for acting like a toddler who didn’t get her way. So I guess this is my “public” confession.
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Morning! That appears to be a very “autumnal” moth up there…fitting right in with the Fall season 😊
Although…we are done with Autumn around here. It is 4 degrees and we have about 6 inches of new fallen snow on the ground. We are so very thankful for the moisture!
I will not take the vaccine when it comes out…nope…no way.
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Chas, Olasky had a bit in a recent World on the protests in Spain as they went into their civil war. Sounded very like what we are seeing. God is in control.
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If the studies show it is effective and safe, then yes, of course I will take the vaccine. But it will not be released until the full studies have been done so I do not expect it to be any time soon. Canada has its own vaccine research, so ours will probably be different than anything the US. Our Public Health Agency was the one that developed the Ebola vaccine that has had some success in Africa. They do a pretty good job. The difference between vaccines in different countries always calls into question the blanket claims of anti-vaxxers. For example, Canada had a different measles vaccine than the US, one that never had thimerosal. That means those anti-vax claims that thimerosal in the measles vaccine caused a rise in autism were totally bogus, as Canada experienced a similar per capita increase in children with autism at the same time as the US, but had no thimerosal in their measles vaccine. A global perspective is useful in detecting false claims of conspriracy.
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I don’t think I care anymore. Vaccine isn’t to be expected until late 2021 anyway. I’m starting to envy the people who have had COVID and recovered. They’re free, right?
House is still standing, roaring 40’s still happening outside.
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Not sure about the vaccine yet. Will think long and hard on that, but definitely will not be one of the first to get it.
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On a different note, and I’m sorry to bring this up, but can you suggest some obscure hymn-book found Christmas carols?
I’m looking at you Roscuro.
I’d like to write four blog posts in December about overlooked theologically-rich Christmas carols.
Perhaps something like “Lo, How the Rose is Blooming.”
If you have favorites or suggestions that tell about Jesus but many people have never heard, I’d love to know their titles. Thanks.
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K, my cousin who had COVID had trouble with his oxygen numbers for weeks after he was out of the hospital. He says his lungs will never be the same – we had a socially distanced visit with him and his family during the summer. People still do not realize that surviving an infection is only the beginning. An infectious disease that leaves lasting effects will permanently change the demographics of an entire generation. It is the long term effects of measles on survivors, not just its initial mortality rate, that made public health agencies decide to conduct general vaccination campaigns against it.
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Kizzie I think your reactions were normal. We are all stressed to some degree right now. I am usually an adjuster to the wind kind of person.
Right now my patience is thin and my temper is shorter.
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Just when you think your local Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper is hopeless at straight journalism, they surprise you with an article by a (retired) journalist that actually is informative and without spin, interviewing both sides, citing real statistics, and allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.
I was shocked and so pleased, I wrote the editor and the reporter an email yesterday. Here’s the exchange:
Ms. Fricker–
Your front-page article on Sunday, October 25 was the best article I’ve read during my 23-year subscription to the Press Democrat.
You combined all the “standard” journalism practices I learned long ago and I loved reading the entire piece. I ended up reading the entire article aloud to my husband.
I so appreciated reading a balanced approach, well-placed interviews, a close read and explanation of statistics, and the opportunity to draw my own conclusions.
Perhaps you can do a seminar for the current batch of reporters?
Thank you. Such a pleasure.
Mary Fricker
7:44 AM (22 minutes ago)
to me
Hello, Michelle,
Holy moly, what a wonderful thing for you to say! I can not tell you how much I appreciate this.
Every time I write a major story it terrifies me. What have I screwed up??? You are so kind to make me feel like I did OK.
I also had a wonderful editor, Ted Appel. You know the old saying, what makes a good reporter? A good editor!
Michelle, 2020 has been such a lousy year and with your nice email you have completely turned it around for me.
Thank you so much!
Mary
I also sent a similar, though less inflammatory letter to the editor.
There ARE good reporters besides DJ in the world. Let’s encourage them!
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Here’s the article: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/reduction-in-mortgage-debt-improves-finances-for-sonoma-county-homeowners/
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This is where I am politically, too. I don’t fit into any category/ And that’s okay!
“Second, it opens up opportunities for unlikely friendships and unexpected relationships. It changes your posture towards the world to one that welcomes allies case-by-case. It cultivates a posture of openness and fellowship.
I can work with a critical race theorist to end the injustice of qualified immunity, for example, without embracing critical race theory. I might next defend Christian students from a challenge to their religious liberty, joining with “law and order” Republicans I just opposed and opposing critical race theorists I just joined.
Third, it can increase your knowledge. When a person who possesses a partisan mind faces a new challenge, he often immediately retreats to his cocoon to discern his response. We find “our” experts, and “our” experts don’t challenge our minds so much as they equip us to fight the partisan wars to come. An independent mind does its imperfect best to seek truth wherever it is found, including intentionally seeking out the best opposing arguments.
When you prioritize truth over tribe, it’s amazing how much more truth you’ll learn.”
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Forgot to include the link.
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-spiritual-blessing-of-political?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3rKi6CSogN8N8KmmFT0YJsZ1uBNSV0sONBZFBisijKUhVJQjyi2ZWpTuU
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Michelle, you came to the right place. I can give you more than four, but here are four to begin with, pulled from my hymnbook:
‘Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence’ – modern adaption of an ancient liturgy from the 4th century
‘From Heaven Above to Earth I Come’ – English translation of Martin Luther’s real Christmas carol (unlike ‘Away in a Manger’, which Luther did not write)
‘Of the Father’s Love Begotten’ – original text was by Aurelius Prudentius in the 4th century
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – Charles Wesley’s brief but worthy contribution to the carol canon
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Kizzie, that quote reminds me of Paul’s:
“I am become all things to all people, if by any means I might save some.”
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We, being Lutheran, of course sing ‘From Heaven Above to Earth I Come’ at Christmas. Several years ago I wrote a play for the Christmas Eve childrens’ service using that hymn. It featured Martin presenting it to his children as a gift and the story paused several times during the dialog for the congregation to sing the next verse. It was fun and son played the part of Martin and DIL the part of Katie. They didn’t need to speak, as there was a narrator telling the story.
The funny, not-so-funny part was that we gave each child a popcorn ball as they left the sanctuary, relating to the Luther children popping popcorn in the story. It didn’t occur to me that their parents would let them open them but they did, and there was poppcorn all over the place that the Pastor ended up cleaning up so the church would be presentable on Christmas morning. And yes, we always have a Christmas Day service.
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p.s. To Michelle, who is also Lutheran, those hymns are probably not terribly obscure. 🙂
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I’ll be using the Lutheran Service hymnal, of course, Linda, and I’d love to see that play if you still have a copy.
With our musical director/prayer partner/pastor’s wife/dear friend off to Boise at her husband’s new church, I have been exposed to theologically rich Christmas carols in the past, which is why I thought I’d write on them this year.
Thank you, Roscuro, for your suggestions. I think we sing “Let All the Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,” during Lent–but I’ll know better when I look at the words.
Thank you, this gives me a direction, along with a few other ideas I’ve got written down somewhere.
Maybe I’ll write a post about Martin Luther, hymnologist? 🙂
First up this morning, though, is an interview about Poppy!
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She’s not here, is what I meant to say. I asked her, but she’s much distracted and has forgotten. 🙂
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Michelle, I was just going to suggest the Episcopal Hymnal. Most of the Christmas songs no one has heard of and certainly cannot sing. 😉
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Linda, you can tell Luther wrote it just from the music. The musical lines have a strong similarity in phrasing to ‘A Mighty Fortress’.
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Michelle, the best carols tell the full story, and there are historical similarities between Advent and Lent, as Advent was also historically a fast. So hymns like ‘Let All Mortal Flesh’ which look both forward and back, have multiple applications.
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Kim @ 10:09 I’ve said this before. You don’ thave to “like” Trump to think he’s doing a good job.
The person I “liked” was Jimmy Carter.
Trump is the best thing we have in any party at this time.
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In other comments, this from Numbers 17:
b. “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony:”
Aaron’s rod was to be kept in the ark of the covenant, as another example of Israel’s failure and rebellion.
When God looked down from heaven into the ark, He saw emblems of Israel’s sin: The tablets of law they broke, the manna they complained about, and Aaron’s rod meant to answer their rebellion.
The covering blood of sacrifice was applied to the lid covering over these reminders of Israel’s sin, so God “saw” the blood “covering” their sin, and atonement was made.
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The play sounds neat, and Luther is reported to have written the song for his children, but the popcorn is an anachronism, not entering the European diet until after contact with the tribes of the Americasspecifically, the Iroquois, a bit after Luther’s time.
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Michelle, on the Numbers commentary, it depends what emphasis (justice or mercy) one chooses to see. Those three emblems are also reminders of God’s miraculous intervention. The rod that was used to work the signs, plagues, and miracles that delivered Israel from slavery, the tablets written by the finger of God himself (by the way, Israel didn’t break the tablets, Moses did, in anger, but God then rewrote them), and the manna, called in the NT ‘angel’s food’, given to preserve their lives in the desert. As with most things in God’s story, the perspective changes depending on whether you are standing beside or against God.
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We sing “Let All Mortal Flesh” frequently. Good idea for the blog post, Michelle.
I’m intrigued that Alabama requires (?) signatures of witnesses on absentee ballots?
I started going through my sample ballot last night, the hardest ones are those obscure offices like for the Water Replenishment District. I know one of the candidates but he wound up in a scandal a few years ago so I’ll stay clear of him I suppose.
I find myself voting for a lot of challengers (as opposed to incumbents) this year.
Some state representative races give us no choice, it’s a Democrat vs. a Democrat.
Vaccine, yes, of course. And no, I don’t think one is “clear” once they have the disease, at least from the evidence so far.
I wouldn’t put money on it, but I suspect this will be something of a “Democrat sweep” kind of year.
I have to disagree with Chas on Trump — he’s done some good things, more than I suspected he would. But his temperament and style of leadership has not really been good for the nation.
I do agree with Kim, he’s also not been covered or treated fairly by the press. The state of the media is in a mess but many inside the media just don’t see or get that. 😦
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In the mail that got dropped off this a.m. I found two political candidate postcards and one piece of junk mail. Hardly worth the effort of delivering twice today. Also, while I was out sweeping the driveway, the garbage truck going down the hill made a big show of backing quickly up the hill it had just come down in front of my house. Oh, the oddities of these days. I felt sorry for the guys on the back of that truck. Had they fallen off, they would have been run over by that crazed driver.
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Isn’t that rod or staff the one that sprouted almond leaves? I considered that to be a reminder of God’s creation and provision of food, too.
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I saw a FB post today, put out by a Canadian politician’s organization, that encapsulates the careless, slipshod writing and false memoralialization of the past that contributes to polarization. It was a meme commemorating the deaths, 6 years ago, of two Canadian servicemen, but it did it all wrong. Here is the meme text:
“6 years ago this week, Canada lost two heroes: Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo. These brave men defended Canada’s Parliament Hill and paid the ultimate price. We will always remember and honour their service to their country.”
Right away I noticed the falsehoods, because I remember the incidents 6 years ago. Neither of the men, who died on separate days in separate provinces at the hands of two separate lone wolf terrorists, was defending Parliament Hill. Cirillo was standing guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier at the War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, when he was shot in the back by a terrorist of Canadian-Algerian origin. The terrorist then ran to Parliament Hill, where he was shot and killed by Parliament’s Sergeant-at-arms. Vincent was with another serviceman in a parking lot in Quebec when they were deliberately hit by a car driven by a terrorist of French-Canadian origin. The terrorist was then pursued by police in a car chase and died as a result. Sometimes I wonder when I see posts like this, are people just too lazy to look up the facts before they wrote the post? Or do they deliberately rework the facts to stir up emotions, hoping that people don’t remember the facts? Either way, it is a perfect example of why I never reshare snappy memes or brief posts with emotional messages of FB. They too often are completely inaccurate.
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Speaking of post office: a week or so ago, husband went to Lewiston and mailed some of nineteen’s paperwork from there. He left his satchel which carries his paperwork, on the counter. He came home and realized it was missing a few days later. After searching the house and the vehicles, nineteen reminded him he had it at the post office. He called. Sure enough, they had it and sent it by courier to our town post office seventy some miles away. No charge, glad to help! Nice people.
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We witnessed Mr. P’s signature on the inner envelope where he signed that he was indeed PRH.
I’m kind of glad he did it. I got to read some of the proposed amendments to the Alabama Constitution of 1901 I also got to tell him to vote AGAINST the proposed toll road. We have a toll bridge across to the bay. It was put in 20 years ago and was $1 to cross. Once it was paid for it was supposed to go away. It was sold just before it was paid off and now is $4 each way. Nope, nope, nope.
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Good thing it wasn’t stuffed with cash.
The gardener comes today, he said he also could clear my gutters and roof drains for an extra job.
Heard from a former church friend who’s now in Colorado, she says it’s 11 degrees where she is this morning (she grew up in Minnesota so is used to very cold weather, but she and her husband spent their lives in Manhattan Beach in our area so had been away from it for a while).
Our sister church where I’m attending for now (because they provide the required outdoor service) ends each service with the singing of the Gloria Patri.
~ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
World without end. Amen. ~
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The moth is the imperial moth I mentioned when Cheryl’s collage was up the other day.
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To add to mumsee’s 1o:47 – Teh sermon I posted on yesterday’s thread mentions the possibility of civil war. In fact, he makes comparisons to what was happening in the US before our Civil War.
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PROOFREAD! *10:47 – The
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Beautiful moth, Peter. I photographed about 450 insect species this summer, including quite a number of moths (mostly ones I “scared up” by walking through the grass where they were hiding), but I never saw any large ones. I have never seen a luna moth. The year my husband and I went to Alabama and Florida, I ended up seeing one of those large eyespot moths . . . but it was fluttering around the parking lot, on the asphalt, and clearly near the end of its life. I’ve never seen a large, pretty moth on a building or tree trunk.
I plan to go outside later today, likely in a few minutes with my husband, and that will mark a solid six months of being outside every single day. If I manage to take a photo of something every day this week, I’ll have ten months straight of photos every day, and then those 450 photos of insects, several hundred flowers, and 100 or more of other creatures (birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, arachnids, etc.). I’m guessing I might have gotten 600 creatures this year, though I haven’t yet sorted any but the insects–but no big moths.
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Michelle, the link in 11:12: that’s a hint of how hard it is to live in California, if a 56-year-old man who has lived in his house 14 years is rejoicing because he is now down to a 30-year mortgage of $341,000. Yikes!!
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Olasky’s piece (from September) which I believe I posted also earlier:
_____________________________
https://world.wng.org/2020/09/the_path_to_civil_war
The path to civil war
Blessed are the peacemakers
In this column over the past three decades I’ve mentioned five times a novel of warning, José Gironella’s The Cypresses Believe in God. Sadly, it’s out of print: Since my last recommendation I’ve learned the least expensive used copy you can buy costs $64, which is steep even for 997 pages. So, as a public service, here are key quotations from the book set in 1931-1936 Spain, as that country polarized its way to a civil war.
(he proceeds to list numerous quotes from the volume that ring perilously close to what we are seeing now in the US)
Page 189: “There was a disagreeable side to the propaganda of the Rightist parties: all they did was attack the opposition. … They were in no way concerned with the real problems of the lower classes.”
Page 279: “It seemed to him a mystery that things should be as they were, that five or six men could gather around a stove and a few days later wreck a print shop.”
… Page 338: “Those children frightened him. They were growing and they would absorb all the poison the neighborhood exuded.”
Page 422, after conservatives win an election: “The gulf between victors and vanquished was ten times deeper. The vanquished withdrew … and defeat united them in a common cause. Triumph had gone to the others’ heads.”
Page 517: “Unemployment was growing like a cancer at the vitals of many families.”
Page 569: Communist leader Cosme Vila: “Nobody is to get upset if we shout viva for something one day and muera [die] the next … equal hatred for the landowners, the military, and the clergy.”
Page 572: “Every citizen read a single newspaper, which chiseled his mind into given form as though it were stone. Each newspaper’s advertising space was bought by certain individuals, and the readers knew that those who advertised in other papers were their enemies.” …
_________________________________
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I got a nice selfie picture on my game camera, of a raccoon. Then it went off and found some buddies to bring back to the all you can eat farm buffet. After losing several chickens, we got the neighbor involved. He says he usually gets fifty coyotes off his property every year but has not been bothered by raccoons.
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It’s all relative, Cheryl
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Seriously, Michelle, for comparison. When I moved to Nashville, I had been frugal for a number of years (well, I’d been frugal all my life, but I’d been working at the same job and putting money in the bank for ten years) and I had a 20% down payment. Unfortunately it ended up also taking about another 20% to fix what was wrong with the house (including putting in new central air and heat when it broke my first winter), and I also earned less in freelance than I expected (I made less than half what I’d earned in Chicago). But I knew that debt would hurt me in the long run, that getting out from under mortgage debt would give me a better chance of surviving on freelance income, and so I was working toward that. I had a 15-year mortgage, taken on a couple of months after I turned 36, and when I married at 44 I was on track to pay it off on my 50th birthday if I made no other extra payments. I really struggled those last couple of years, and if I hadn’t married at 44, I likely would have had to take on a part-time job (I was struggling even to pay the bills and the house was going to need a new roof soon), but if I had made it to 50 I would have been debt-free. I had realized the house I owned wasn’t a good one for renting out bedrooms and I didn’t really want to live alone, so a house with a mother-in-law suite I could have rented out would have been a better choice. So at some point I would have had a choice: Do I sell that house and buy another one (for cash), or do I hold onto that one, rent it out for income, and buy another one with another 15-year mortgage?
I really can’t imagine holding a mortgage into one’s sixties. And into one’s eighties? Yikes. Oh, and my house was by 21st-century standards definitely a “starter home” (1260 square feet), but more than adequate for a single woman. And when I married at 44 my remaining mortgage was about 10% of the mortgage that he still holds at 56.
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More from the Olasky piece:
_________________________
Page 625: “Major tactics in the campaign: the buildup of the leader … the systematic insulting of the opposition. … If even so they lose … they’ll destroy the ballot boxes.”
Page 650: “‘What do you hope to accomplish without fanaticism? … Shoot the person who makes a mistake in addition.’”
Page 660: “This election will decide Spain’s next hundred years.”
Page 664: “Squads of Communists and anarchists had appeared and were lined up along the sidewalks with an expression that boded no good.”
Page 666: “Olga did something she was unable to account for when she thought about it afterwards. She went over to them and shouted, ‘Pigs.’”
Page 667: “El Cojo kept twirling the skull and pointing his finger at the lieutenant.”
Page 668: The Left “had a majority in Parliament. The people had expressed their will. It was time to settle accounts.”
Page 684: “Looting of all shops, churches.”
Page 782: “‘What do they lay all this to?’ Cesar looked at him steadily: ‘To the fact that society has cut itself off from God.’”
Page 806: “On the rear entrance of the Church of San Felix someone had written, ‘Long live Me!’”
Page 847: “What that man had accomplished in such a short space of time! He had snuffed out the servant. … He had set fire to a convent and paralyzed the city. He published a newspaper and was organizing a People’s Militia.”
Page 936: “Because of the terror in their eyes when they turned and saw those men with the red handkerchiefs around their heads … the Murcians mowed them down with bullets.”
Page 997: “A volley rang out, and Cesar felt something gently pierce his skin. … Then his heart closed.”
That was Spain. This is the United States. Matthew 5:9 teaches, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
___________________________
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From our NextDoor thread this morning:
~ My dumb cat. My dumb cat, Felony, decided to wake me at 4 this morning by bringing into my home a huge rat that is now running free and hiding somewhere in my house! She does this all the time last 2 weeks it was birds, before that huge moths. But the large rats are most disturbing. How do I stop this behavior I don’t want rats living in my home w me ~
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Cat is living up to her name, I guess
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Spain’s Civil War was one of the most terrible on record, and ended with the victory of the right wing dictator Franco, whose policies exasperated various elements within Spanish society as he sought to grind together unity by eliminating diversity, contributing to the rise of Basque terrorist separatists, whose bombings may not be rememdered as well as the contemporary bombings of the Northern Irish Republican Army but were as destructive, and also to the present day independence movement that is still convulsing Catalonia.
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Send in the raccoon pic, mumsee 🙂
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My birthday is coming in a little over a week. Almost surreally, I have learned last night and today that on that day, I will learn two things.
I am going to speak on the phone with the surgeon who is supposed to operate on me for a consultation. I will learn if they can preserve my ability to have children or whether I will have to lose it forever.
The second, which I learned from my mother last night when I guessed what she couldn’t tell is that Second is planning on telling me some good news, news which I have, being an observant sister and nurse, that I have been wondering if I would hear soon, that this house may have an additional occupant sometime in the new year.
What a strange juxtaposition those two pieces of information will be. But that is what I have come to expect from life, joy and sorrow running together, nearly inseperable. I do not think I would have it any other way –
In the words of Peter:
” Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:3-7)
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Xoxoxo
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DJ, I don’t know how.
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Ask a kid
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Roscuro, your post brought tears to my eyes.
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QOD #2: I probably will get a Covid vaccine pretty early once it’s approved and available. I don’t want to be one of the first either but, before I can get it, it will have gone through multiple trials on increasing numbers of people and the results will have been reviewed for safety and effectiveness. And front line workers will also have probably already gotten it.
I’ve generally resisted getting new vaccines, but given my two extra risk factors for Covid being a serious problem (age and heart condition), my risk/benefit analysis comes down on the side of risking the new vaccine.
The only thing I’m certain about is that nothing here is certain, and I sure don’t blame anyone for deciding differently.
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I would be as likely to get the covid vaccine as the flu vaccine. Sure, if I am near one but not going to chase one down.
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Praying roscuro.
The gardener made fast work of the roof, he didn’t even need my adder, he just hopped up onto one of the huge trees next to the house and was on the roof in a jiffy with his leaf-blower. Now he and his brother are collecting the leaves, all done I guess, took about 10 minutes.
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Roscuro, I am sorry. I never thought about having children until I was told I probably wouldn’t be able to have one. It is an emptiness few understand, and Cheryl probably understands it more from your perspective than I do. I pray all turns out well for you.
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I never married or had children, of course, but remember when I went in for surgery for endometriosis — I was in my mid-30s and had recently left a relationship I’d assumed would result in marriage (and children) but didn’t. So it was a tough time and I still remember that feeling, of possibly (physically) closing a door that could never be opened again (that didn’t occur from the surgery, thankfully, and that gave me some peace of mind; but other circumstances simply didn’t work out toward that “marriage-and-children” fairy tale ending for me alas, but that’s OK).
Praying that the surgery can be carried out successfully without closing the childbearing door for you, roscuro. I get it, it’s a strange feeling.
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Roscuro, would you be able to get a second opinion? I am really sorry to hear that is what you have to find out on your birthday.
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Thank you for the prayers and comfort.
Cheryl, the messages you have sent me have been a blessing.
Kim, I have thought of you too, as I know your pain was similar, even if not precisely the same circumstances. In my case, I have to have surgery one way or another, the question is only the degree. It has been building for several years – I started experiencing unusual symptoms when I was getting my degree and the reasons for them only became fully clear when I finally saw the official MRI results, including why I ended up in the ER the other week. Thankfully, they do not think it is cancer.
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The second mail run of the day just came by.
It’s still not raining yet, and I have on a short sleeve t-shirt that feels quite comfortable out even with the cloudy sky. It seems strange to consider how cold it is across the US, even in TX.
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I am making spaghetti for Art. I will try to put some in the freezer. It’s always nice to have some stashed away for busy days.
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Moving on toward 100 if anyone wants to add to the conversation.
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It remains fall-like here, cool and a bit overcast.
Rain would be glorious. No more hot weather would also be good.
We’re getting mountains of campaign fliers and ads in the mail. I may get more because I’m not registered with a party, so both sides may see me as a potential target. I tear my name & address off and toss them all in the recycle bag.
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DJ, it is a very strange feeling. As I said to my mother, the women of my family are hard-wired for having children – on my mother’s side, my grandmother had 6 children, her 3 daughters had 10 children between them, I have 3 sisters who have 12 (13?) children between them, and my 5 female cousins on that side also all have children (16 between them). It is as the indefinite delay has actually created the problem, as it is more likely to occur in those who never had children. It felt like it was slowly killing me, which, in another time, it probably would have.
Janice, this is the second opinion. The specialist I saw who ordered the MRI no longer does surgeries, but told me that she would only have been able to offer the more extreme option. The surgeon she has referred me to is someone she thought had the skill to do the conservative option. As I said earlier, Toronto is the place one goes when other hospitals cannot offer the treatment.
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it helped somewhat for me — not sure what your diagnosis is, however, it may be something different — as endometriosis is one of the leading causes of infertility. So I thought I may not have been able to get pregnant anyway … Roads not taken. It’s hard because when we’re young everything is so very possible.
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Oh, and the irony — my OB-GYN who did the surgery told me one way to prevent the condition from returning was — to get pregnant! Ha. Easy for him to say as I wasn’t married and no longer even had anyone potentially in that (near future) role!
Tears, some anger and a lot of frustration, as I recall. But I got through it, I knew the Lord and also believed he had plans for me, that I wasn’t exactly calling the shots at that point.
And much gratitude that it wasn’t anything terminal, of course.
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It isn’t endometriosis – the MRI ruled that out. That was good news for me because I have seen how the thick scar tissue from that gets in the way of gynecological surgery, so I knowthe surgeon won’t have to struggle with that and will have a better chance of doing it well. It is a benign growth that has reached the massive point and starting to seriously interfere with the normal functions of neighbouring organs vital to food and liquid processing. Basically, I am being slowly crushed internally. It needs removal, the question is how much has to be removed along with it. From what I have read of the report, I will, speaking now as a healthcare professional (some part of me is viewing this all very clinically and curiously), be amazed if it can be done without a full hysterectomy. Another part of me is scared of any surgery at all, since I deal with the incisions that don’t heal and the wounds the reopen all the time.
Still another part is wrestling with questions related to femininity and motherhood. I made the mistake of looking for Biblical perspectives on hysterectomy. The search engine vomited up all the legalistic bile on the sin of “voluntary” female sterilization on the first page, from people who might have been theologians but knew nothing. I could only contrast their words to Jesus’s response to the woman who touched the edge of his robe for healing. He knew.
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My last post shows in my app reader as a reply to another post (sorry Michelle). I have no idea how that happened.
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Found out what kind of pneumonia vaccine I had a year ago, apparently there are 2 different kinds and both need a booster — but the pharmacy I go to now couldn’t provide a booster without knowing which shot I originally received.
Honestly, getting older means you have to get so many shots.
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I realized I need another tetanus booster. I had to have such a barrage of needles for both my nursing programs and also to go to West Africa that I had the feeling I was all up to date, but I realized it has been a decade now for that one. I am supposed to get the flu shot of course too… It is not easy to do now with COVID messing up the works.
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Roscuro – I am so sorry about what you are going through. I will be praying for you.
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Ballot filled out, now I just need to drop it off — I’ll plan to “hand it off” at the one vote center that’s open early this week in town, out near the marina. You can even check online what the current “wait time” is.
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So we are sitting at dinner by flashlight and I am reporting that several folks told me their power was back on. But we try our switches nd they don’t work. Finally at the end of the meal, I look out and see the neighbors across the street have power. Finally my friends, who have a generator realize that our power is turned off. So they gather lights and go outside and voila, we have power!! No power in town, but we have it here. So nice.
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Working my way down the thread:
Janice: I saw a mail truck out yesterday (Sunday). I don’t know if that was an extra run or a make-up run for missing a different day? All I know is we’re getting a huge amount of political candidate advertising. We have four registered voters in our household, and while Hubby and I each get only Republican flyers, 3rd & 4th Arrows each get both pro-Dem and pro-Rep ads. It’s way too much and is delaying important stuff. Hubby’s most recent paycheck was delivered nine days after the postmark, when it was sent from the parent company that is only two hours away.
Kim: About the covid vaccine, I’m not really thinking about it. I might get it a loooong time after I know it’s safe and effective, or I might not. I lean toward probably not, but with further information down the road, my opinion might change.
Kizzie, 10:43am: I don’t think you’re acting like a baby at all. Furthermore, I want to tell you what your post made me think of. I know this is going to sound bizarre, but I mention it on the chance that it might be helpful. About a year ago or so, I suddenly realized that every time I had a dentist appointment, later that day and/or the next day my emotions would be out of whack. I’d go on a crying jag for no apparent reason. Little things would seem mountainous and I’d wonder why I was so bent out of shape.
As far as I can tell, this has been going on for at least a few years now, that dental work brings this on, but I didn’t figure that out right away, because of course there would be other days now and then where I was “down.” That’s just life. But the every.single.time aspect of dental work + emotional havoc took a while to notice.
So when I read your post about your “silly,” “bent out of shape,” “baby[ish]” emotions after your tooth extraction, it made me wonder if you’ve ever noticed any change in emotions after you’ve had dental work done before?
I know for a fact there is something the dentist (formerly) used in my mouth that he doesn’t anymore because of my reaction to it. It’s the oddest thing: I don’t have a problem with Novocaine, but the topical numbing agent they use on your gums to take some of the sting out of the injection caused a neurological reaction with me two or three years ago. My hands, then my whole body, started trembling while they had those little numbing sticks against my gums.
So I have to wonder what other “reactions” I might be having as a result of dental work. Are the materials in the many crowns I have in my mouth causing reactions after things get stirred up in there? Is it the lying with my head down and my feet up messing with blood flow in my brain and affecting my emotions hours later? Is that even a thing? I’ve thought of asking my dentist, but haven’t done so yet.
Anyway, it might just be me and some goofy notions, but I thought I’d mention it, anyway.
Michelle: I’m late to the game, but there’s a Christmas song in our hymnal that we don’t sing very much, so I guess you might say it’s obscure. There’s only one verse, as far as I know. The hymn is “Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light.” Written in E-Flat Major.
Text: Johann Rist, 1607-67, abr.; tr. John Troutbeck, 1832-99, alt.
Tune Johann Schop, c. 1590-1667, alt.
ERMUNTRE DICH
87 87 88 77
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Roscuro, 3;16pm and following:
I have no words except to say I’m so sorry and I am praying.
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Thanks for sharing, Roscuro. May God carry you through this next week and beyond.
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Roscuro, I have mostly brothers, but even the men in my family are “hard-wired” to want children. Each of my married siblings (with the exception of the one who doesn’t yet have children) ended up with five each; two had five biologically and the other two had three biologically but also two adopted or stepchildren. I come from seven. And I have heard several members of my family express a desire for a dozen children. (My sister said she decided as a child that she would have 12 girls and give each one a flower name. By the time she was actually married, she had decided she preferred boys.)
God gave me my children in the form of stepchildren, and not even as many of those as I wanted, and I missed their childhood. As my childbearing years were seeping away, I was living in a community where teenage (unwed) pregnancy was quite common, and somehow it never occurred to my sister that I wasn’t the right person with whom to gripe about how much she had wanted more than five children. I suspect that in some ways it helps that other relatives have children you can love, and in some ways it makes it harder–at least that’s the way it was for me. In fact, one of the things that makes the loss of my sister so difficult is that I had decided if I was never going to bear my own children, then her children were the “closest thing” I’d ever have, and I worked to get to know them well–and now, 20 years later I’ve been cut out of their lives. I do have my girls and I see them as my children–but that doesn’t mean my niece and nephews have ceased to be important to me, or even that they have ceased to be in one way the closest thing I’ll ever have to my own biological children.
It’s a true loss, a true grief.
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