😢

From The Bitter Southerner

As Election Day Looms

 

Honestly.

I'm just not doing all that well.

Vicki Lane posted this at her blog and it spoke to me  -

May you grow still enough to hear the small noises earth makes in preparing for the long sleep of winter, so that you yourself may grow calm and grounded deep within.

                                                             Br. David Steindl-Rast

I am feeling far from calm, and am seeking ways in which to feel grounded.

I'm feeling more like this normally very strong woman today -

(Trying to find the name of the artist - please let me know)

Truth be told, even having not smoked since 2008 I am craving, for the first time, a Virginia Slims cigarette 22 miles long.  Instead of caving into the craving, I'm spending a lot of time sporadically and enthusiastically shouting Fuck Donald Trump.

So.  Until my favorite football team plays this evening, I'm busying myself about the house making a pot of spaghetti.

And because I believe in self-care, I'm settling in with flowers, candy, coffee, and books.

Take care of yourselves, my friends.

And if you haven't already - Go Vote!  

And Vote Blue!

A Christmas Wish

 

Donald helped me bring in a few Christmas boxes from the storage building today.

Yes, I know, it's a little early.

And, truth be told, our Christmas decorating has dwindled in recent years.

But.

If our Christmas wish comes true this year, I intend to deck these halls like my name is Cindy-Lou Who,  the oh so happy happy little girl from Whoville in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” 

 🎄 🎄 🎄

If you haven't voted yet, go do it!

And Vote Blue!!!

Hard Days

 

Yes, these are hard days.  

We're witnessing the meanest, the ugliest, most hateful of men making a grab for our country for purely selfish self-serving damning reasons - for himself only.  

Dividing us with lies and hatred.  

It's impossible for me to fully grasp that there are people who still, after all the horrible things he continues to spew, the unbelievably scary things he promises to do, continue to support him. 

How?  

How can that be?  

I don't think I ever truly believed in pure evil before this man, but now I do. 

I do.  

I am so very thankful to have discovered a few women on-line that I lean on - more now than ever.  

Women I do not know personally, but seek out their wisdom, their humor, their goodness, to help me through hard days.  

Thanking Lisa Respers France , Connie Schultz , Anne Lamott , Heather Cox Richardson from the very bottom of my heart and the depths of my soul.

While that guy has spouted off ridiculous lies - easily proven to be lies IF his base would take it he time to just look a little beyond Fox - these women speak truths in ways that help me through these hard days.

Lies and vicious hatred.

That's all he's got.

 

St. Helena Island

 Donald and Annabelle and I are back home in The North Carolina High Country after a week in the South Carolina Low Country.

It was a much needed respite.

It was a quiet, laid back, no plans, bare feet, no make-up week.

We explored and took pictures.

We visited St. Helena's Praise Houses

And The Chapel of Ease

We stopped by to pay our respects to Pat Conroy

We ate (really well).  

We walked on the beach at Hunting Island and collected shells 🐚

We were mesmerized by the constantly changing colors of the marshes, and pointed out egrets every single time we spotted one - often! (Sort of like little kids who have to shout "Cow!" every single time they spot one). 🐄

 We shopped 

and came home with our "vacation treasure"

An antique boot box

And we stopped by the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort, SC

We came home relaxed, with sandy toes and happy memories.

St. Helena is a magical place.

"St Helena Island is a serene and scenic destination in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, where you can experience the rich history and culture of the Gullah Geechee people."

Some Days by Philip Terman

 

'Some days you have to turn off the news

and listen to the bird or truck

or the neighbor screaming out her life.

You have to close all the books and open

all the windows so that whatever swirls

inside can leave and whatever flutters

against the glass can enter. Some days

you have to unplug the phone and step

out to the porch and rock all afternoon

and allow the sun to tell you what to do.

The whole day has to lie ahead of you

like railroad tracks that drift off into gravel.

Some days you have to walk down the wooden

staircase through the evening fog to the river,

where the peach roses are closing,

sit on the grassy bank and wait for the two geese.'

Hatred plus Stupidity

This is personal.

I live in Western North Carolina.

I see, every day, what Hurricane Helene left behind.

And I've seen the people who have come to help.

FEMA pulled into our driveway only days after the hurricane hit.

They wanted to know what we needed.

They did not try to take over our home.  (Who believes that crazy shit?!).

Okay . . .

So . . .

Hatred and Stupidity

What do you think that combination leads to?

I believe, from the bottom of my heart, that those two individual traits together make for a very dangerous union.  

Donald Trump has knowingly told these horrible lies and has knowingly unleashed ignorant individuals to help him spread his hate.

And it frightens me.

It should frighten everyone.

But, people choosing to believe Trump's lies, which, AGAIN, are easily proven to be lies, are showing their stupidity.

And hatefully endangering the lives of others while delaying much needed help to victims of Hurricane Helene.

Read the truth here:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/14/north-carolina-hurricane-helene-fema-armed-militia-threat?CMP=share_btn_url

Here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fema-workers-change-some-hurricane-recovery-efforts-in-north-carolina-after-receiving-threats/ar-AA1sfNzF?ocid=BingNewsSerp&cvid=386f359123a04056c681495872beee5a&ei=8

Here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/man-accused-of-threatening-fema-workers-with-assault-rifle-in-western-north-carolina/ar-AA1sfKhC?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Go ahead - Do your research - find the truth.

And if you know someone who continues to spread these stupid, stupid lies, call them on it.

Do the right thing.  It matters.

If we don't shut down the lies, we end up with this - 

Yep.  Unbelievably - It's a thing.

Hatred plus Stupidity and this is what you get. 

My question is this -

 If you feel you need to carry a gun to church 

WHAT IS THE POINT OF GOING TO CHURCH??!

Tuning Out

Today I am going to, as much as I'm able, tune-out.

Tune out Helene and the destruction she has left behind.

Tune out Trump whose pure evilness is ultimately more destructive than even Helene's.

Tune out corporate media news whose hypocrisy is shameful, dangerous and, in my opinion, criminal.

Tune out the idiocy of people who rely on Fox "news" as their one and only source of information.  They too bear the burden of destruction.  Destruction of this country and the tenets on which it is built, destruction of REAL Christian values, destruction of basic decent human rights - and oh so much more. 

Tuning out all the misinformation and blatant lies.

Today I'm going to center my energy into positive space and healing creativity.

Time To Write.

Time To Make Soup.

Time To Weave.

I am drawn to textile arts, always have been.

Mary Engelbreit

Over the years I have done a variety of fiber arts and have loved the art and craft of each of them.

Knitting, 

needlepoint, 

counted cross stitch - 

they have all brought me joy.

Weaving, however, seems to be the elusive one.

While we were living in Atlanta I took classes at the Chastain Arts Center, at a small independent weaving studio (Dream Weaver), and from master weaver Betty Smith who taught classes at John Campbell Folk School as well as in her home.

And I brought home one of Betty's small looms to work, play and practice on.

The long scarf I thought I was making ended up being almost long enough to be a belt for a tiny person.

But.

It turned out to be a craft of interest to Donald.

Our loom itself (thank you, Don Barley) is a thing of beauty.

It sits in our sunroom and makes me smile - another piece of art.

Now that it is once again dressed (thank you, Rhonda Gladden for so patiently helping us with this), Donald and I are both enjoying being able to step in, throw the shuttle 😊 a few times and watch our beautiful hand painted warp grow, inch by inch.  

We're in no hurry to finish - this is a perfect case of enjoying the journey.

 

Once completed we'll be back to show you the finished product.

Stay Tuned!

And, please, take time for yourselves.  

Do what helps your heart and your own well-being.

❤ ❤ ❤