Saturday, June 25, 2022

I won't let the terrorists win

Along the lines of our post 9.11 attack, when we decided to do everything we'd planned anyway, otherwise "the terrorists will have won."

In that spirit, though we never thought the terrorists would be on the Supreme Court, I'm blogging as usual, so the religious terrorists won't have ruined everything. I'm taking the actions I can to fight back, but meanwhile I plan to enjoy what I can, too.

Outside, in wonderful weather, sunny, warm and with low humidity, I could take a lot of this, a baby rabbit came to visit and check up on what I'm growing for him to eat.

The fence project disturbed the earth, bringing up subsoil to the surface and now plants are appearing, some of which I recognize as great big weeds, some may be from long ago plantings or wildflowers. Can anyone identify this?

It's not prickly, nor like a vine, nor a tree, and I'm hoping that the knowledgeable blogistas who read here can help.  

Meanwhile the potatoes are starting to flower 


Look closely. Little white dot in the middle.

Misfits arrived yesterday, lovely summer food



The carrots and squash will go in a soup, yes, even in summer I like soup, you and me, e!

Then Butternut Boy will get his seeds, he'll be thrilled, though he has registered a protest about the disrespectful name, since his given name is Cyril S Squirrel. The s doesn't stand for anything as in Harry S Truman, no period, look it up.

Back to earth, I now have dates for the eye surgeries, the first on July 14th. Bastille Day. I seem to land on significant dates for these things, second Covid vax April fool's day, and I was afraid they'd shout no vax for you, April fool! 

Second one August 11. Then with post-op visits, two per eye, the summer will pretty much be devoted to healthcare. And putting together the thousands it will cost.

The insurance-covered procedure according to my own eye doctor, will be inadequate to fix the massive astigmatism.  May as well go for it, and pay the freight. No insurance covers it, even my secondary, I checked. 

Anyway it better work is all I can say.

And since nature, art and poetry will save us all


The white space in art and music carries a lot of meaning. The moment after the sound stops. The significance of every object.

You don't need mind altering drugs for this, just the artist's perception.

I finished and highly recommend the Pollan book, which I read along with Life after Life



They echo each other in a lot of ways. Worth reading together, like two unusual foods which work surprisingly well. 

The Atkinson is about the idea of reincarnation and the possibilities of reliving your life, maybe with the wisdom of knowledge about outcomes. 

It also reminded me of "Sliding Doors".  Keeping in mind all the possibilities, without seizing on the first one and clinging to it. Moving like an artist, in fact, open and receptive, not anxiously judging.




As you see, ink, brush, pencils, chalk.

Happy day everyone!

Hold on, better days ahead. Sooner or later.




12 comments:

  1. "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" is one of my most favourite poems.

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  2. I'm just burying myself in my current art piece and keeping my gardens alive. It's a good time to be old.

    I've decided against doing Misfits. There's a farm here that does something similar which I have bought before but the same problem with both. Far too much of single items like the carrots and the potatoes and the apples in your box this time around. Just far too much for even the two of us to consume before they go bad.

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  3. The plant....the form suggests capsicum (pepper), the leaves wouldn't be toothed on a pepper though, so no idea. Another post that conveys a philosophy for living life well and you always manage to give us something to engage the brain gears a bit. Astigmatism in your eyes isn't related to the cataracts is it? My Mum got coloured lens put in one eye when she had a cataract op. I have no idea what the reason was but gave her slightly 'sunnier' coloured view through that eye apparently.

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  4. The astigmatism is unrelated to cataracts. It's a lifelong condition but cataracts are related to the aging of the eye.

    Wondering about capsicum, though I've never planted any of that family. But birds could have planted by dropping seeds.

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  5. Ellen, I have plans for everything in the box. Carrots and mushrooms are in the freezer, apples provide a daily snack, plums will be frozen for when I bake them in something nice. The potatoes will be in the soup, a couple of kinds,and roasted. I ordered just what I needed, and I don't need to order anything again, until I'm ready,just like local shopping. Not like the farm share I used to have where they decided, gave me far too much of too few items. This suits me better. All my choice.

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  6. I don't know what I can do other than vote. I have been angry, which doesn't help me if I hang onto it. I order from Misfits but not weekly. The plant looks familiar, what I'm thinking it looks like is a weed. It won't hurt to let it grow and find out.

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  7. My plant app says that is an Eastern Black Nightshade. Poisonous in all green parts with the poison being the solanum alkaloid which is highly toxic. I would recommend pulling it with gloves.
    Your drawing/painting is especially pleasing to my eye today.
    And your potatoes look incredibly happy and healthy.
    I wish I had your determined optimism. I am too quick to despair. I know this and do not like it about myself.
    That Kate Atkinson book is so very good.

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  8. Thank you for the research, Mary. I've been checking and it may not be friendly to my potatoes,though you'd think since they're also nightshades, they would be compatible. Anyway I think it has to go before it cuts into my tiny crop.

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  9. I love the sketch of the chest with books.
    I have extreme astigmatism, too. When I had the cataracts removed, the surgical correction of the astigmatism was an option. I couldn't afford it. As I remember, it was $2000+ per eye. That was going on ten years ago; I imagine it's uber unafordable npw/

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  10. Right now the toric lens is $1500 per eye. Strange that something is cheaper than then. Up to this year it was $1000 per eye, so I missed my chance by not being ready till this year! But I will be unable to drive without the astigmatism corrected since it's impacting my distance vision to the point that it's not possible to correct with glasses. And I'm having greater difficulty all the time with reading. Sooooo, long heavy sigh, I'm doing it. Fortunately I just got my car paid off, so there's one less call on the Boudian
    Treasury.

    Thank you for the nice words on the current art.

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  11. We've been following the Supreme Court and the ruling here - yet another legacy of The Donald. We knew what the outcome would be before it even came down to it. That man has single-handedly set back everyone's rights on so many fronts. And now he's trying to mount a comeback - terrifying.
    Interesting to see your comment that the lens are $1500 per eye - here I would have had to pay close to $3500 so it wasn't an option. You'd think with the importance of being able to see that medical plans would cover it but ours certainly doesn't.

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  12. The trouble is that in many ways the 911 terrorists did win. But fight on, we must.

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