Plum crumble, plumbing and democracy

 Yesterday I did make the, drum roll

plum crumble, first helping served here, cook's privilege, with yogurt.  I used a Martha Stewart oat crumble recipe for the topping, and macerated the plums according to Rose Levy Birnbaum, with sugar, salt, ginger, lemon zest and cinnamon.

Whenever Handsome Son makes it over here to celebrate today's birthday, this is part of it. I have to put it in the freezer, after I took a helping over to Gary last evening, so that there's plenty available for Handsome Son.

Then, today already stressful, Handsome Partner's anniversary, the kitchen decided to take my mind off it. While I was making tea for breakfast,  after I'd rinsed dishes, I heard a weird dripping sound. Looked under the sink and the cabinet was filling up with water.  Oh. 

Gary came over, diagnosed that it  didn't need a plumber, it was running through the bottom of the disposall he would get a new one later this morning, and install it. He doesn't trust me to buy the right thing, which is probably wise. Also kind.

So the current state of the kitchen. The cabinet is mopped up and cleaner than in years, and I'm doing dishes in the downstairs bathroom. 

About democracy, we're all counting on Ohio voters, some of whom are blogistas, to vote NO on the one proposition on the Ohio ballot today. This is an attempt to raise significantly, to 60%,  the percentage of votes required to place any public question on the ballot going forward. It's a referendum on referenda. 

There are other state elections today, and, as always, we need to do whatever it takes to locate our polling places and vote. And remember if you're already in line when the polling place closes, you can not be turned away, no matter what anyone says, or how eager the officials are to get home.

Vote suppression has been happening for years, even in this bluest of states. Usually it's been busted, like the Trenton (State capital) voting official who, a few years ago,  "accidentally" moved 35,000 votes from our democratic House  incumbent to an unheard of right wing opponent, giving the win to the right winger. Briefly. In two days it was exposed, the official no longer worked there and the right winger vanished, never heard of since.

A few years ago I went to vote, same district, same candidate running for re-election, found my regular polling place closed, door locked, no flag raised. This was two hours after the polls were supposed to be open, meaning early commuters couldn't vote on the way to work. 

It's in a school building, and schools are open here in election days, civic lesson for kids,  also a  great chance for a PTA  bake sale. So I marched into the school office and demanded to know what was up. The flustered lady in the office ran through the building to alert the poll watchers that they needed to get moving. After I explained that my next call was to a judge to report this lawbreaking, that is.

They opened up, ran up the flag, and said oh we didn't realize, etc. I explained I could still file a complaint, and they practically waited on me hand and foot. They do say that this kind of blunder can be ascribed to incompetence rather than malice. But this is a small town and these guys had been working polls for years, and I voted very pointedly, and they were on notice. Never happened again. They know me too!

I do wonder though if they hadn't had the fear of judges put in them, how many votes in this very blue, very foreign-born district they would have succeeded in suppressing.  Worth fighting for. After what I went through to get the vote, don't get between me and my ballot!

 In other news, Handsome Partner has been gone twelve years, or maybe that's minutes.

Happy day, everyone, also happy birthday to Handsome Son, he really is, now mid fifties. It's strange to see your son going grey, but I'm so blessed to have a son who's a friend. 

This is a poignant day chez Boud.