Keeping a Balance

What I really wanted to do first thing yesterday morning was to look at the internet and see if the Toddler-in-Chief had used the State of the Union to announce he was bombing Iran--a possibility John and I had discussed might be used as a distraction from those pesky Epstein files. But first I had to let Jenny out. And the sunrise was beautiful so I grabbed a few pictures. And then the cats had to be fed. Finally I checked breaking news on my phone and was happy to see that Iran was safe for the moment.

Moist von Lipwig to the Rescue

                                       

Moist von Lipwig, swindler and con man, is scheduled to hang. But Lord Vetinari has other plans--Lipwig is put in charge of Ankh-Morpork's moribund postal system.  

What ensues is Pratchett at his wildest best. Lipwig is an engaging rascal whose astute knowledge of human (and non-human) nature allows him to win through the most trying situations. Bureaucracy hasn't a chance.

In the second book of what is, alas, only a trilogy, Lipwig is tasked with reviving a failing bank and shoring up an all but non-existent monetary system. He's in charge of the bank--and of its main shareholder who happens to be a lapdog named Mr. Fusspot.

There is a golem called Gladys who is taking hints from ladies'magazines,  several undead, a necromancer, greedy minor shareholders, and Pratchett's usual entertaining citizens of Ankh-Morpork. And there is a lot of truth in all this silliness, astute comments on how money works.

“If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what would you prefer, a bag of potatoes or a bag of gold?” “Yes, but a desert island isn’t Ankh-Morpork!” “And that proves gold is only valuable because we agree it is, right? It’s just a dream. But a potato is always worth a potato, anywhere. Add a knob of butter and a pinch of salt and you’ve got a meal, anywhere. Bury gold in the ground and you’ll be worrying about thieves forever. Bury a potato and in due season you could be looking at a dividend of a thousand percent.”

Great fun!

                                  

                                          

Dear Sirs

 To my senators 

The SAVE act, if passed, will function as a poll tax on women, the elderly, and the disadvantaged. I urge you to defeat this unneeded law--there has been no credible proof of widespread voter fraud in recent elections.

The women you purport to represent will be watching your vote.

Gone to the Dogs

 

Josie's Zoo Pictures

Claui and Josie went to visit friends in Louisville, Kentucky last week  and while they were there, visited the zoo.  

Josie took a lot of pictures and these were my favorites.

 

Quick and Easy and Almost Vegan

Garbanzos, kale, and tomatoes are the basis of this tasty stew, served over rice or quinoa and topped with sour cream swirled with spicy harissa. 

1 red onion, thinly sliced

3-5 clove garlic, sliced or chopped

Olive oil

1 can garbanzos (14 oz. more or less)

1 can diced tomatoes (also 14 oz.)

2 large handfuls chopped kale

2 tsp. tumeric

Salt to taste

Sour cream (or use a vegan substitute)

Harissa paste (could substitute Gochujang or some other spicy condiment, maybe Chili Crisp?)

Saute the onions in olive oil till beginning to crisp, stir in garlic and cook another minute. 

Dump in the can of undrained garbanzos and the can of tomatoes. Add the tumeric and then the kale. Stir till kale begins to wilt, then cook till the tomatoes begin to break down and form a sauce. Salt to taste.

Serve over rice or quinoa. Top with a liberal dose of Sour cream and harissa.

 

Epsilon Minus

 (This was written some years ago. And here we are today, as the GOP gut environmental protection, education, and health care. But, hey, the DOW is over 50,000.)

I recently re-read Brave New World, Huxley’s dystopian vision of a future in which humanity is managed to produce an optimum number of various classes to fulfill various functions. At the bottom are the Epsilons – capable of little more than serving as an elevator operator but programmed to be happy in that function.

Then this morning, I heard on NPR a snippet of a program. Climate change, it said, is projected to have the effect on the world population of lowering life expectancy and intelligence—children’s brains don’t develop well in conditions like famine and pollution. (See Flint, Michigan.)And it occurred to me that those plutocrats who are pushing the horrific policies of the Republican Party—gutting environmental protections to boost corporate earnings--are playing the long game here, as surely as the managers of Huxley’s future poison the future Epsilons in (artificial) utero to stunt their development.

Safe in their climate-controlled gilded towers, the plutocrats don’t fear the effects of climate change. Their children will always eat well. And if the masses grow slowly weaker and dumber, well, someone has to clean those gilded towers and service those air-conditioners. And Fox News can be relied upon to tell the masses how very happy they are, in this brave new world.

Pretty Pink

 

Up Close and Personal

Getting up close and personal with furniture stirs up memories. This little rocking chair, for instance, was given to our older son, back when we were still in Tampa but preparing for the move to NC. 

One of our students (I think it was Leslie Mead) told us that it had come from NC and was locally made of rhododendron branches, and she and her family thought it would be nice for Ethan to have it.

It traveled back to NC with us and was much used by three-year-old Ethan and later by Justin. And now it sits by our heater and is one of Josie's favorite reading spots.

This old cedar chest also came from Tampa. Just before moving, we were looking for a cedar chest and answered an ad in the newspaper. The seller was an older lady who, as it turned out had known John's grandfather. She was intrigued that were were moving to NC and told us to be sure to have a mud room--which we eventually did.

The chest was painted black--even its brass hardware, but John stripped  and refinished it. It's a beautiful thing and very useful--it holds most of my quilt collection and serves as  a coffee table.

I look around our house and it's full of memories--things from our parents and grandparents, things we've made or been given. Things that we're so used to that we hardly see them any more -- until we get up close and personal with the cleaning rag.

 

That Familiar Feeling

(Not my photo, alas)

All winter long I've been ignoring the dusty scruffiness of our house, concentrating, for the most part, on staying warm. But as the temperature rises and the days grow longer, I find myself in the old familiar mode of Spring Cleaning.

As if in a trance, I pull out the Liquid Gold and begin anointing the various bits of wooden furniture in the living room and dining room--chairs, tables, an ancient trunk, a secretary, two chests of drawers, a curio cabinet. . .

It's a slow process. My back begins to hurt after a bit and I have to sit down with a heating pad till the pain subsides. I could push through it but have learned that it will get much worse if I do. So I use my resting time to re-read a Harlan Coben mystery.

Meanwhile, John seems to have been struck by a similar urge. He has varnished surfaces in the mudroom and now he has pulled the kitchen table out to the porch and is refinishing the top.

It's a welcome seasonal affliction--like birds nesting, bulbs sprouting, forsythia blooming.

 

How Time Flies

 

Not So Silent Sunday

Prosecute all those implicated in the Epstein Files.

Get rid of ICE as it is now --no masks, no searches without judicial warrants, no racial profiling, full accountability.

Get rid of the ICE concentration camps--a festering sore on our country.

Campaign finance reform is sorely needed so that our country is not controlled by the 1%.

"Clean" coal is not clean. 

Vaccines prevent measles and polio and many other diseases. Snorting cocaine off toilet seats isn't actually a recommendation.

When the AG is tracking the social media of perceived enemies, we should all be concerned.

Be aware that the GOP is trying to suppress voting and make sure that your registration is up to date. 

Impeach all the lying hypocrites in this corrupt administration! 

 

A Galaxy Nearby

I was filling the bird feeder on our deck and the patterns on the weathered siding caught my eye.

I'm not sure why the knot holes show up so brilliantly, but they make arresting patterns.

I'm easily entertained.

Happy Valentine's Day, fellow earthlings!