The French come though

Yesterday's decisive defeat of the far right in France, owing largely to an intelligent movement by many smaller party candidates, follows on the routing of the UK Tory party, biggest loss in centuries. 

In France, hundreds of candidates from the many smaller parties, in a dazzlingly astute and selfless move, dropped out to coalesce the left vote, and succeeded. I got this from friends with families there keeping them updated. Samizdat beats mainstream media every time.

Both countries were flooded with Russian disinformation, with pressure to drop likely successful candidates, which in the end failed. It's the same playbook we're fighting, sounds familiar.

So it gives a person hope.  But we need to be aware that if we say we're voting Biden then go off into pointing out the downside, we're playing Russia's game of disheartening and confusing people into staying home. 

And to the enemy, the biggest downside is not Biden, it's the fact that his brilliantly capable VP is a black woman. If she were to succeed him during his second term, be assured we would be in good hands. 

I don't often get into preaching in here, but every chance is vital this year.

Meanwhile back in my little life, I planted the apricot seeds. Watch this space.

And I was very glum and at a loose end, before realizing I hadn't done enough exercise. Too hazardous to walk in this heat, even early morning. I also realized that the yoga stretches had overtaken the weights.

So I did a set of arm exercises with free weights

and was happy to see I could do all the usual routine despite a hiatus. Ten reps of bicep, tricep, overhead, fly, both kinds, upward row. It went well, no aftereffects today.  This also sets up my hands well, seems to put all the joints and tendons in place.

I do routinely lug stuff around, boxes of groceries, containers of water, houseplants, bits of furniture, so this wasn't too shocking to the system. But it's good to make the moves formally, and slowly, with thought.

I often do hip stretches and a set of ten of that stand up sit down slowly without using arms exercise, great for lower body strength. 

What I like best is the sense of being capable that you get from working with free weights. I haven't used my leg weights recently, but I plan to, now that my hip is doing better.  

I hugely  recommend all this, if only for bragging rights. But it's best for your hands to use properly designed, balanced, weights, not just substitutes like water bottles and cans. They stress out your joints, particularly aging ones. I seem to be wearing out my soapbox today.

Of course there was also food. I cooked Misfits shrimp yesterday for supper.  I boiled them, two minutes in salted water with lemon juice, then into ice water to stop the cooking at the right time and keep them tender. 

Usually I saute shrimp, but this time I was up for shrimp salad with my mayo, and very good it was, on whole wheat bread,  angelcots for dessert.

Earlier I'd decided on strawberry sauce instead of angelcot sauce, over pancakes for lunch.

 More of both left for today.

It's afternoon matinees for me in the heatwave, like going to the movies back when movie houses, but not homes, had ac. 

At the moment it's old DVDs of Miss Marple. I have both the best, Joan Hickson, and the next, Geraldine McEwan.

There have been others, ranging from not good to terribly miscast, names redacted.

Happy day everyone, from a hotspot!

Photo AC