Playing the Field

Oops! That's what I get for photographing myself in a mirror! Hahahaha!

That's better. This is a posting entirely about Democratic presidential candidates. Yes, there are like 15 or 16 too many of them; who knows who half of them are! And even if you do put a name with a face, many seem like carbon copies and unnecessary redundancies. With a few exceptions (okay Hinkenlooper, we know you think socialism is wrong!) they all seem to pretty much get on board with universal health coverage of some sort and think Climate Change is real. That's a beginning! But what we need is (sigh/gasp/moan and belch) to defeat The Orange Menace. Is that special someone REALLY Joe Biden? Oh please! (What's that clammy breath I feel on the back of my neck?!??!) Biden may be beating The Orange Menace handily in multiple polls, but so are a couple of my favorites...
I liked Bernie back in 2016 and I still like him: Consistent! Consistent! Consistent! He's been singing the same songs for ages and it resonates with me. Sometimes I get a bit nervous thinking we need someone (oh forgive me) younger but boy! Bernie has energy! He's an inspiration. (And both Bob and I still have tee shirts and even our bumper stickers in place...)
But then wouldn't I like to see a woman in the White House?!? We got robbed last time (even though Hillary wasn't my first choice...) and there are several well positioned, smart woman running. But for some reason (a few which I won't list here as maybe I'll change my tune as I feel slightly guilty for NOT backing her), Elizabeth Warren doesn't get my interest, although she DOES have a policy position on EVERYTHING and she is obviously qualified but I like:

She's tough, she's smart and I liked her pointed sarcasm in questioning that awful Kavanaugh twerp during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings. People I know have spoken highly of her tenure as California Attorney General and every interview I have seen with her has made me respect her. (And she showed good humor when Samantha Bee featured a piece with her on her show.)
But hold on! My affections are torn three ways!

Oh! I like Mayor Pete! He's young and energetic and has an amazing resume (Oh hell! He got me when it came out that he has two dogs and plays classical piano!) And he and his husband look so happy and positive! Maybe we need a fresh faced polyglot to turn us around?!?!?!?
So I'm rotating my shirts. I think today is a "Pete" day, although we're having dinner guests and I was debating changing my shirt several times just to keep them guessing. Doesn't hurt to flirt!

Melonheads and Other Odds and Ends

According to an article sent by a concerned friend, our road was once inhabited by beings referred to as "Melonheads". This was by all accounts a (very politically incorrect) reference to the somehow deformed (and deranged) unfortunates that resided (according to local legend) in this area and devoured pets and small children. I guess Bob and I fit right in!
On a cheerier note, the picture above was captured using (hooray!) my new smart phone. I am on a steep learning curve- me being a Melonhead and all- to figure out arcane skills like "texting" and using "apps". You will remember that I had what I affectionately called my "dumb phone" which delivered a pretty good phone call... but I never did figure out how to do really basic stuff, like delete old messages or text. And it had no camera! No Internet! So this new phone is way cool and already impressing me.
My birthday was really pretty tremendous this year. I got the aforementioned phone and other useful and fun things from Bob. And then my family visited: Hello Cathy! Hello Beatrice! Hello John! And despite the day being overly hot and muggy, we had a good time, debating who the next viable presidential candidate should be and how soon The Orange Menace will be deposed. Yuck.
But my family came through bigly and presented me with fabulous wine and plants and delicious foods. I am fat and happy.
I spent the day planting my gifts (A yellow Rhododendron "Capistrano" and an Aralia cordata "Sun King" and Sapphire Flax and Dianthus "Miss Aroma": The first two are in the shade border and the latter two are in the Blue Border.)
I will no doubt succumb to a healthy case of poison ivy because poison ivy seems to be having a good year and it's pretty much every where. First thing this morning, Bob started weed whacking the driveway and I attempted to pitch in and lend a hand. I quickly begged off though, as the poison ivy at the edge of the driveway was some of the healthiest I have ever seen and there was plenty of it. I felt bad leaving Bob to battle the overgrown and jungle-like driveway verge, but I really don't want to spend the rest of my vacation scratching and oozing.

The Orange Menace Affliction

 (Above: (Fucking) Moron. This is a new piece channeling my "inner Rex Tillerson". Didn't know I had one, right? Well this is one thing I agree with him on...)
I have effectively diagnosed myself with Trump Anxiety Disorder. Having read several news articles (not fake!) describing exactly what I've been experiencing, I am a text book case. I just wish there was an easy cure.
I sleep badly. And then I wake up hoping the power is on- somehow this is my signal that a nuclear bomb hasn't been dropped on us over night. I figure if the electrical grid is functioning, we're still okay. I guess I should be glad for small things. Or maybe that's a big thing!
I can't stop reading/listening to the news. I wish I could control that impulse, too. Bob and I are news junkies at present: updating the progress of the Mueller investigation, scrolling to react to whatever insane tweet has burped forth from the White House.
I know we're not alone: every late night talk show is obsessed with the actions of him. Although at least we laugh when his actions are parsed and parodied! If we didn't laugh, we be screaming. Maybe that is the more appropriate response.
When will it end? But then I contemplate "president Pence". Not much better- a homophobic, women mistrusting religious zealot who is every bit as crazy and dangerous, just in a different way. Women would probably have to wear burkas if he ascends to the throne in case of impeachment or resignation. And if Pence is dragged down along with The Orange Menace, would we survive "president Ryan"? Oh please! He's the architect behind the rethuglicans cruel tax overhaul! Isn't there enough income disparity without Ryan soon claiming that because of huge deficits (because of those charming millionaire increasing tax cuts) there must be cuts to "entitlements" like Medicare and Social Security... Don't get me started!
And tonight is the much anticipated Alabama showdown between Roy Moore and Doug Jones. What has the rethuglican party come to that they would seriously consider a man who stalks under age girls at shopping malls and is a pedophile pervert because "at least he isn't a Democrat?" Is that really the choice? Bob and I have obtained pizza and wine and are planning on celebrating the weirdness of our times. Looks like it's gonna be a long night...

Warning: A Most Political Editorial

Yes, Satan himself makes a guest appearance in my despairing, dispirited post. Election day is only two days away and my stomach is clinching at even the remote possibility that Trump could win. I am old enough to have been through many a presidential election but this one is definitely the weirdest!
I am among the many Americans that finds her/himself wondering... "Just WHAT are people thinking?"* How can anyone ever consider voting for the republican offering? (I mean, I wonder that in years where (groan) people like Mitt Romney or Dubya were presented. But Trump is obviously an even stranger choice!)
 And there is a distinct possibility that Trump could win... the polls are saying how close this election is. And (we all know) it shouldn't be. As you may be aware, Hillary Clinton was not my first choice but she is so obviously head and shoulders better qualified, better prepared and just all around BETTER a candidate than Trump. (And yes, I miss Bernie Sanders! I am wearing his name on my tee shirt and my bumper sticker still shines.)
AND I miss Barack Obama already! A good president (if racist, obstructionist Congress people hadn't prevented him from doing more- like appointing a Supreme Court justice!), a good man, a good dancer, a happily married, non-philandering man with a lovely wife and two great kids; the Obama's even have two swell dogs! Too bad he couldn't have had a third term and let the country come up with more time to sort out dilemmas, such as how Donald Trump became the republican nominee...
So, let's all cross our finger, toes, tails, hooves and whatever other appendages that we have that sanity prevails and Hillary Clinton is elected. And it would be nice to have a woman (nasty or otherwise!) president!

* And I am not going to start listing all the ridiculous and relevant evidence proving that Trump is an appalling and legendarily awful choice to "lead" the country- lead it straight to Hell!

Still Celebrating!

We're still celebrating and I certainly think the planet and people of many stripes are also. Sanity has prevailed and that bottle of champagne that has lingered in the back of our refrigerator- a gift from my boss at our End of Summer party- proved just the libation.
I'm not much of a white wine or champagne drinker as we all know. Red's my preferred swill, but when presented with a better bottle of the bubbly than I'll spring for, I'm game. Especially when concluding the recent endless slog through red herrings, mud slinging, turd blossoming Season in Hell that was
Election 2012. Republicans are doing their every-several-year hand wringing and wound- licking wondering what they did wrong. I can tell them. Hell, we can ALL tell them. Everything!
As I'm preaching to the (unaffiliated, non-Mormon tabernacle) choir, I'll skip the exegesis and just say I'm available as an inebriated consultant (at a reasonable rate) to the regrouping, non-Karl-Roving GOP. I have loads of swell ideas! Cheap!
Two fun images to leave you with are as follows: George W. Bush (and I sure hope this is true!) ostensibly went into his polling place way down there in Texas and accidentally voted for Barack Obama. And then argued loudly with poll workers that he wanted to change his vote, which of course, he wasn't allowed to do... still stoopid after all these years!
And damn! I just can't remember the second one; there are just too many things that float to the surface and then run away- like dreams. But we never (hopefully) will ever again see a "Linda" sign on anyone's lawn. That in itself is a blessing.
I know! I know! I remember what that other truly awful (not really funny) image is: Mitt Romney's canceling all the credit cards of the people who traveled and worked and put out for him. So when they went to pay their hotel and restaurant bills, the cards provided by the campaign were declined. How pathetic!!!

A Great Day in America

Looking out the kitchen window at the first snow and WE COULDN'T BE HAPPIER. The snow is incidental, in fact most friends know I'm not a huge fan of the fluffy white stuff. BUT we are relieved and delighted and excited that sanity and hope prevailed and Barack Obama was re-elected. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
I'd have to admit we will all be sleeping more soundly here after the favorable election outcome. I had soem trouble sleeping soundly, worrying about what would happen to all of us (that's ALL of us) if that Romnesiac had been elected. Please. How about huge tax cuts and more moolah for the uber rich? (who most assuredly wouldn't trickle that to us any time soon. Didn't happen in the past, wouldn't happen now!) No health care, war with Iran, drill baby drill and frack baby frack. Yeeesh. And let's pause to consider that Republican war on women.
But the campaign did provide some remarkable moments of levity. Several times, when I could not sleep, I sought comfort on the Internet, there discovering some truly outrageous and hysterical bits by concerned citizens. A few nights, Bob actually got woken up by my peals of laughter at 3:00 a.m. Parodies of Dr. Seuess (One Mitt, Two Mitt, Red Mitt, Blue Mitt), "Romney Style" videos and my very favorite, Dogs Against Romney. Dogs Against Romney sought to educate people about Mitt's treatment of their then-dog Seamus. It is true that he was ensconced in a pet crate and strapped to the roof of the Romney car for a 12 hour trip to Canada. Can you imagine? And Mitt thought he was fit for the presidency?  Of course, Mitt wasn't concerned about the so-called "47%", of which I guess (as an artist) I am very happily a member.
Anyway, enough! Congratulations to President Obama and his great family! Thank goodness that "Linda" didn't win after 90 million dollars (couldn't spend it on something classier than trying to buy votes?) A good day all around, even with snow.

The Great Debate

And so the great debate persists: To repair and use the skylight, or just fill it in and make it part of the ceiling...
I am sort of mildly anti-sky light. I am preoccupied with the increased light that spills in overhead. I never feel like it's really dark and private in the bedroom. Someone could be flying overhead with one of those Google Earth hi-def cameras... do I want my picture snapped while catching an illicit nap? And it's always a shade or two lighter than the ceiling even in the depths of night, so that when I can't sleep, I fixate. It's also really hard to find our particular skylight model. I think it's old. Most are now narrowly rectangular and ours is square. I can think of a million more uses for the money that it will cost to replace it.
The proponents of skylights (that  would be Bob and a host of friends that seem to think sky lights are swell) believe that the increased light is a good thing. And that when you crack the sky light open by way of long metal hand crank, there is greater air circulation and it vents the hot air trapped in the bedroom. Those are pretty good arguments for!
In the meantime, we have this picture above our heads. Bob rigged a screen so as to keep flying insects out (just what are they doing that high up in the sky?) and it presents an interesting moire pattern in a quirky green. Is this better than the previous incarnation of a black insulation panel> I'm undecided.
Oh, and the great debate allusion WAS to the first of the presidential debates last night, but I'm too perplexed by what transpired. President Obama should have creamed that shape-shifting Romney, who attempted to paint himself as some sort of centerist! We all know Romney'll change his positions depending on which way the wind blows. Don't get me started....