Interests beyond writing

Day 16 and 17 of 366

/ lyncrain / Leave a comment

2024 thus far has not lacked for craziness. We’ve had three major winter storms that have caused havoc on our lives and in some instances taken lives. We’ve had earthquakes, avalanches, flooding, and tornados just in the month of January. There’s eleven more months ahead of us, I don’t about you but I’m hesitant to look ahead. There’s some peace of mind in not knowing everything. “Being crazy isn’t enough.” ―  Dr. Seuss

Sadly, Iowa caucuses were predictable. I know I shouldn’t put this out in the universe but I’m going to anyway because it’s how I really feel. I want to know where an assassin is when we really need one. The media circus we’re experiencing isn’t to go away until Trump is dead, and clearly all the McDonald’s he consumes isn’t happening fast enough.

Better Homes and Gardens reported “Last year, the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicted that prices would increase over 5.8 percent, In January, at-home food prices were 11.3 percent higher than they were at the same time in 2022.” Just what we all wanted to know that in addition to the high fuel costs our food is going up even more so, In 2024, prices are still set to increase, but thankfully at a slower rate. “The ERS predicts a 2.9 percent increase in food prices overall, and only a 1.9 percent increase for at-home food prices. Food away from home, or food purchased at restaurants or for takeout, are set to increase by 4.3 percent.” (1)

Beef, pork and dairy are a given with the recent drought conditions. Plus, you factor the reduced growth rate, it’s no wonder the prices are higher. Supply and demand 101. We have less livestock to consume so naturally a higher price. Thankfully, egg prices are going down again after all the chickens were destroyed with the bird flu epidemic. Fish and seafood are high but there’s no indication of an increase or a reduction reflected in the numbers. We’re going to have change our food consumption to survive.

I believe more and more families will be reducing the amount and type of food they serve to cover medical and heating expenses for their families. In the old days, a huge dinner meal was served and the left-overs were served as breakfast. There wasn’t cereal, Poptarts, or pastries as we enjoy today. Nor did the majority of people eat lunch back then. They made it work. We may have too!

The West Coast is really wet and it’s going to continue through the weekend. The rain doesn’t look like it’s subsiding. Hopefully, the higher elevations get the snow. Lake Mead needs a lot of snow to recover from its 20-year drought than what we had in the winter of 2023.

And the mid-west is freezing, and electric car owners are discovering batteries don’t like the cold. The batteries take longer to charge, and the driving distance is reduced. Electric car owners don’t have access to charging stations to meet the demand of these kind of conditions. And it looks like Thursday night, more frigid weather and snow is going across the United States.

I wonder sometimes if Mother Nature is tired of our abusing the planet, and this is our payback for not taking climate changes seriously. If you’re not concerned read the information Deep Vakil and Scott Di Savino brought to our attention more reasons to be concerned about this winter season.

“US natural gas demand hits record high amid severe cold snap,” says, Deep Kaushik Vakil and Scott Di Savino. Their article shows what U.S. homes and businesses used Tuesday. It was a record amount of natural gas because the demand for the fuel for heating and power generation soared during rhe Arctic blast. The Artic Blast cut gas output to near a 13-month low by freezing wells.

“U.S. gas demand jumped to a preliminary 167.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) on Tuesday, the financial firm LSEG said. “That would top the previous all-time high of 162.5 bcfd set in December 2022 during Winter Storm Elliott, according to federal energy data from S&P Global Commodities Insights.”

“Meanwhile, U.S. gas output dropped by 17.0 bcfd from Jan. 8-16 to 90.6 bcfd on Tuesday, its lowest since December 2022, according to LSEG, due primarily to freeze-offs, which occur when wells, pipes and other equipment freezes. One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to fuel about 5 million U.S. homes for a day.”

(Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru and Scott Di Savino in New York; Editing by Paul Simao) (2)

Freezing temperatures can do a lot of damage in businesses, and in our homes which will also drive the costs up for the necessary repairs that follow. I know from my own experience what broken water lines can cost and how long we waited until a plumber could come to make the repairs because we weren’t the only household with broken lines.

China has joined US with the odd weather. Evacuation underway for stranded tourists after avalanches trap 1,000 people in China. Rescuers evacuated tourists on Tuesday from a remote skiing area in northwestern China where dozens of avalanches triggered by heavy snow.

My deepest sympathy to the Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic’s family and team. He died at the age of 46 after he fell ill during a meal at the team’s hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. Golden State Warriors are a San Francisco based team.

My deepest sympathy also to the family of Ryan Pemberton. He was a long time crew chief in Nascar. “Ryan Pemberton was instrumental to JR Motorsports’ success during the decade he spent with us,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller, JRM’s CEO. “He had such a passion for competition and, as a leader, knew how to motivate everyone he worked with. He will always be part of the JRM family. Our hearts go out to his wife Andrea and daughters Payton and Britton during this tremendously difficult time.”

Pemberton was joined by his siblings in motorsports.  Each brother carved careers in Nascar.  His older brother Robin was a veteran Cup Series crew chief who later served as NASCAR Vice President of Competition. Currently, he serves on an INDYCAR appeals board panel whose job is to hear all appeals. Former NASCAR official John Darby also serves as an INDYCAR board member.

Randy Pemberton, who died in 2022 at age 62, was a popular broadcaster as a pit reporter and studio host. the New York native was best known as the voice of Inside Winston Cup Racing on TNN and for his Winston Cup Hotline in the 1990s.

His younger brother Roman Pemberton has worked as a spotter in various NASCAR national circuits but does appear to have gotten into several awkward situations.

I’ve been a Nascar fan for many years, so I’ve seen the Pemberton brothers in action. Ryan will be deeply missed.

The quilt is coming together nicely, I just finished the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It’s an American single-engine supersonic fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the US Airforce. Its design gave it air superiority as a day fighter, and it evolved into a successful all-weather multi-role aircraft. The F 16 is all gray. All that remains to be done is the Doctor’s own plane. Then I can complete the attic window assembly and machine quilt it with small and large stars.

If you’re coming to Las Vegas, giving you a heads up. “Standing or stopping is now banned on pedestrian bridges on the Las Vegas Strip where visitors often pause to take photos amid the glittery casino lights or to watch street performers. Violators of the ordinance that took effect Tuesday could face up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.”- L.A. Times (3) I’m not sure what is to be gained here by such restrictive bans. And who is going to monitor the pedestrian bridges, it’s already a nightmare to get law enforcement for a real safety issue.

I’m going to leave you today with this quote by Emilie Autumn

“Some are born mad, some achieve madness, and some have madness thrust upon ’em.”

I’m going for madness thrust upon me. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

(1) https://www.bhg.com/more-expensive-less-expensive-groceries-2024

(2) https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/us-natural-gas-demand-hits-record-high-amid-severe-cold-snap

(3) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/think-twice-before-snapping-a-photo-on-a-las-vegas-strip-pedestrian-bridge-or-risk-jail-time

DAY 14 and 15 of 366 and the craziness keeps happening.

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Looking at the headlines: Crazy is the new norm. I know without a doubt that no matter what is happening in my life, some one has it worse.

Airlines scrap thousands of flights as wintry weather disrupts travel. More Than 3,700 Flight Delays and Cancellations Monday as Arctic Blast Lingers. Dangerously low temperatures are affecting more of the country than not. This year will definitely be a year people will discuss in the future because of the different storms and the horrendous damage that followed. (1)

I remember the heavy accumulations of the winter of 1977 vividly because I couldn’t see out the first-floor windows of my home in Maine until April. It was like living in a cave. Unfortunately, window casings aren’t designed to be buried in snow, so we had a lot of water damage as the snow melted and froze again. The crazy ice storm the winter of 1998, schools, and businesses were closed for over a week because of the power outages. Our home didn’t have power for 3 weeks. Thankfully, we kept water stocked up in case our water lines froze. They didn’t this time because of the woodstove but water pumps require electricity, and the ice broke a lot of lines. We were more fortunate than some because we emptied our freezer and refrigerator and put everything in the majority of the coolers outside. (We camped a lot over the years, so we had quite a few coolers on hand.) One we kept inside for milk, eggs and butter which we added ice chunks to from outside. We heated our home with wood, so that stove became a cooking area as well as the gas grill in the shed. We melted snow for the toilet. We improvised as much as possible to get by. I’ve never forgotten either of those winters. They were definitely survival testaments.

In Iceland, long-dormant volcano erupts, streets on fire. ”Grindavik is a town of 3,800 people about 30 miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. The community was previously evacuated in November following a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the earth between the town and Sýlingarfell, a small mountain to the north, ” according to Marco DiMarco a reporter for USA Today. The volcano’s seismic activity has increased sharply over the past day and another eruption has occurred. There were two eruptions in December and once it was safe emergency workers begun creating defensive walls to divert the lava but time ran out before they were completed. I can’t imagine seeing the lava flow knowing there is nothing you can do to prevent it.

Attorney Joe Tacopina withdraws from Trump’s legal team. The motivation behind Tacopina’s departure remains unclear. He confirmed to The Hill he was withdrawing from Trump’s cases but declined further comment. (3) ”A former Brooklyn prosecutor, Tacopina gained a reputation for cultivating high-profile clients long before he added Trump to his list. Over the years, Tacopina has represented celebrities like Michael Jackson, A-Rod, Meek Mill and Don Imus. He is also representing A$AP Rocky as he defends against two criminal assault counts, to which the rapper pleaded not guilty earlier this month.” Do lawyers have consciences? I’m looking at the cases this man has represented and wonder if at the end of the day was the money really worth it to represent these celebrity characters. The craziness of the whole Trump situation unfortunately isn’t a 2024 event, it’s been happening since the 2016 election and the insanity just keeps escalating.

One killed, 17 injured in twin attacks in Israeli city of Raanana. Why? It’s been one of the world’s longest-continuing conflicts. Key areas of the conflict include the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders, security and water rights, as well as Palestinian freedom of movement and the Palestinian right of return. It’s been over 100 days since Hamas launched an air, sea and land assault. According to The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the territory since it began keeping records in 2005.

Over the past 100 days, Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground assault of Gaza has killed nearly 24,000 – roughly one percent of the besieged strip’s population of 2.3 million. Nearly 2 million displaced, thousands of homes destroyed and — 10,000 of them children.  (23,469 Palestinian and 1,200 Israeli) It’s appalling to me that we’re keeping track of deaths. Why can’t a peaceable agreement be achieved? Why is violence the first approach? (4)

(WASHINGTON) — A fake 911 call that the White House was on fire sent emergency vehicles to the complex Monday morning, when President Biden and his family were at Camp David. There’s been so many fake reports lately, I feel bad for the police, fireman, and first responders. The insanity of 2024 has to end..

My embroidery project is down to the last two sixteen inch squares. I’ve completed two sixteen inch squares with these planes: Kittyhawk, Spirit of St. Louis, Curtis Jenny, Fokker DR-1, P-51 Mustang, B-17, B-29, and the F-14 Tomcat. The square I’m working on presently has the 117-Nighthawk, Bell UH-1, Bell-X1 and the F-16 Falcon. Each of the planes is 7 inches by 7 inches inside the square. The final square only has a 10 inch images of this plane The Sikorsky S-42. I am looking at some other images to add to the final square so I have a balanced presentation. The Nighthawk is the first plane that the military require to be completely black in color. It was also called the Stealth fighter.

Each of the squares will be cut into smaller blocks and then surrounded with borders of navy, gray and black in the attic window design.

I asked my doctor which he prefers surgery or flying. I chuckled because he said both. Surgery pays for his love of flying.

 “Any idiot can get an airplane off the ground, but an aviator earns his keep by bringing it back anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances that man and God can dream up.” Walter Cunningham, 

(1) https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/over-11-000-us-flights-were-affected-monday-by-severe-winter-storms

(2) https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/really-nothing-else-we-can-do-new-volcano-eruption-in-iceland-sends-lava-flowing-toward-homes

(3) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-lawyer-joe-tacopina-withdraws-from-ex-president-s-cases/

(4) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/one-killed-17-injured-in-twin-attacks-in-israeli-city-of-raanana

(5) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fake-911-report-of-fire-at-the-white-house-triggers-emergency-response

Day 13 Another day, another list of crazy

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Oklahoma City had an earthquake Friday night the 4.3-magnitude quake. The Saturday morning earthquake. with a 4.1 magnitude Saturday morning. State seismologist Jake Walter told USA TODAY the area has recorded about 18 earthquakes in a 12-hour span.  Friday night the 4.3-magnitude quake had an epicenter about a mile away from the Saturday morning earthquake.

The Midwest has freezing temperatures and blizzard conditions. Governors from New York to Louisiana have declared it an emergency, with harsh conditions expected in St Louis. Experts with National Weather Service have issued warnings about “life-threatening” cold. temperatures.

Yet, the wildcard game is still happening in Kansas City between the Chiefs and Miami. The dangerously cold’ Chiefs-Dolphins game could be one for the NFL history books. WHY????

Go Miami! Yup, a Dolphin fan since Larry Csonka played. Yup, I’m dating myself here.

Why is the NFL subjecting the players and the diehard fans to such extreme conditions?

Is anyone familiar with the author Octavia Butler and the book Parable of the Sower? I highly recommend reading it. In case, you don’t know Octavia Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction writer and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards.  Her story written in 1993 depicts a future America ravaged by ecological collapse and civil unrest.  Sound familiar, Butler indicated that the issues faced by the characters in “Parable” and by the United States today in 2024 were inevitable. (1) I’ve just finished reading the book, I bought it during Covid when it was on the NYTimes best sellers list, twenty-seven years after it was written but unfortunately my book hoarding got out of hand, and it was shuffled down in my stack to read. After reading the book, and then seeing George Bass’s article in the Washington Post I’m inclined to agree with him. Dystopian fantasies are beginning to look, like everyday life these days.

 Butler saw our tendences of enforcing hierarchy through abuses of power as the root weakness of humanity. If you’re watching the political circus going on around us her words ring true.

Let’s all send positive energy into the universe for these two U.S. Navy SEALs who are missing off the coast of Somalia after having fallen into the water during a nighttime boarding mission on Thursday, according to two U.S. officials. It’s a dangerous hotspot to be missing. I remember when my son served in the Navy, and his ship was in dangerous places how hard it is to simply wait to get an email. My heart goes out to these families. (2)

My Wiccan spirit asks we send positive energy in the universe so that the non-stop violence around the world ends and we remember that we’re all family on this planet called earth before we destroy it. How crazy is that? One family…one planet.

My embroidery project update: I have completed the B-17 and the B-29 today. I’m still in my nightgown and I’ve been vegging in the recliner sewing. I didn’t sleep well last night, though I thought I would after being so emotionally drained. Instead, I watched my cats playing and read about the B17 and the B29. I’ve been learning about each of the planes, what their color schemes were so my creative endeavor is as authentic as I can stitch it for my doctor.

Both of these planes are Boeing aircraft, a generation apart. Both were considered flying fortresses. The B29 was designed to operate faster at higher attitudes with heavier bomb loads. The B-29 was primarily used in the Pacific theater in WWII whereas the B-17 was used primarily in the European theater of WWII. Theater is an interesting word in this commentary, don’t you agree? Why would anyone refer to any area of the war as a theater but that’s the wording used. I looked it up, “In warfare, a theater of theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are in progress. It may include airspace, land space or sea areas.” (3)

It changes the feeling when going to a show for me. Maybe it should have changed Lincoln’s desire that night to attend the theater and history might have had a different outcome for African Americans sooner than it did.

“Ignorance grows. All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change.” Octavia Butler

(1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/01/13/octavia-butler-2024-parable-sower/

(2) https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/two-navy-seals-are-missing-after-thursday-night-mission-off-coast-of-somalia/ar-AA1mVkZ1

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theater_(warfare)#:~:text=In%20warfare%2C%20a%20theater%20or,become%20involved%20in%20war%20operation

Day 10 of 366 Craziness and Political Grand storming, so fed up with our government

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I’ll begin with the weather for a moment with 49 states with weather alerts for Finn. And now it looks like Gerri will be following suit in areas that haven’t recovered from the predecessor. My question is how many times does history have to repeat itself before we create methods to reduce the flooding and tornado damage. I know many low-income families reside in mobile homes but why aren’t the manufacturers required to make them safer during tornadoes. The construction trade has to change and stop cutting corners to reduce cost. If a tornado came thru Las Vegas, these houses would be destroyed because they are not built with plywood walls, they are stryofoam covered with stucco.

Stucco is a cement-type mixture made of Portland cement, lime, sand and water. It is a thin finish coat that goes on the outermost layer of residential and commercial constructions. Modern stucco has polymers and other agents for increased flexibility that improves its resilience but is it enough to withstand tornado or hurricane force winds. I’m not convinced because I’ve hit the wall on our house by accident trying to hang Christmas lights and it broke into pieces exposing the styrofoam underneath.

Let’s talk about the political grandstanding with the Biden impeachment hearings. The Republicans wanted to cite Hunter Biden for contempt because he declined to do behind closed door interrogations. Apparently, the democratic party wanted to know why the Republicans refused to do it publicly. I want to know also why these discussions have to be behind closed doors. Are the people involved afraid to let their constituents see them in action?

Every one of these congressmen and congresswomen and representatives are public employees but they seem to forget that fact. Why are we paying their salaries to behave like buffoons. Tit for tat? Seriously, they all need reality checks.

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to be leading the witch hunt on President Biden.

“Hunter Biden was and is a private citizen. Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father,” Lowell said.

Lowell accused Republicans of caring “little about the truth” and trying to “hold someone in contempt who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions.”

“I am here to testify at a public hearing, today, to answer any of the committees’ legitimate questions,” Hunter Biden said. “Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say. What are they afraid of? I am here.” (1)

I’m so over our tax money being wasted for this tit for tat behavior. We unfortunately allowed a reality star idiot to become president and now we’re the reality show to the world. If they have grounds to indite Biden show it now as Jared Moskowitz insisted, they do so. Chairman James Comer said, “We think, we do.” Again, they volleyed back and forth wasting valuable time and resources, that comes out of the American people’s wallet.

Biden may or may not have been involved in his son’s business dealings. Nine other Presidents have also faced misconduct charges and not removed from office. “Republicans say their inquiry is ultimately focused on the president, they have taken particular interest in Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, questioning whether the president profited from that work. We didn’t bat an eye about Cheney’s involvement with Haliburton, did we?

Nor do we seem to want to convict the buffoon reality star, who has numerous charges pending but still is actively campaigning for presidency which he has blatantly said, he will be the dictator because the laws and the constitution do not apply to him. Lawyers for Trump made the legal argument Tuesday — in a real courtroom, before actual US judges — that a president could order the military to assassinate his political rival and not be prosecuted for it as long as Congress was cool with it. (2)

If you looked into the Bureau of Prisons, the largest stockholders in the prison system are senators. They make profits on the supplies needed to run the prisons in addition to other secret dealings. I would love to see every single financial dealing as public record before anything goes forward with this finger pointing at Biden. Especially since, it recently became public record how much Trump’s businesses profited from foreign countries while in office.

Let’s get real, we’ve lowered ourselves into being witch hunters.

Remember, “John 8:7-11 King James Version (KJV)So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again, he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”

Although in our present-day situations, we don’t practice actual stone-throwing in our courts of law, the image still resonates. “Because lobbing anything in judgment of another is happening all the time. It’s a painful visual, even today, to hurl your anger at someone with an object intended to harm. And that object can be insults, lies, accusations, or any number of hard options, “says Lia Martin (3)

Today’s embroidery block for the quilt is the P 51- Mustang. It was among the best and most known Army fighters uses during WWII. The only plane I was familiar with was the Marines Vought F4U that the Flying Tigers used to score aerial victories. There used to be a series, I loved about the Flying Tigers specifically the Black Sheep Squadron led by “Pappy” Gregory Boyington. The show was based on Boyington’s autobiography Baa Baa Black Sheep. That show and his biography spiked my interest in military history which has evolved over time to also include the Civil War and WWI.

Boyington is best known for his exploits in the Vought F4U Corsair. .Boyington died of cancer on January 11th, 1988 at hospice in Fresno, California. He was laid to rest in Arlington with full military honors. (5)

There was a study done to determine which plane was more effective. U.S. Army Force pilots who flew the P51 Mustang said it was the best performing fighter of World War Two. Many might agree. Many, but not all the branches of the military agreed., Navy and Marine Corps aviators who flew the Vought F4U would argue that the Corsair, hands down, holds the title as best fighter of the Second World War.

(1) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hunter-biden-makes-surprise-appearance-at-contempt-of-congress-hearing/ar-AA1mKarV

(2) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/a-law-professor-grades-the-legal-argument-trump-s-lawyer-just-made-about-presidential-immunity-

(3) https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-jesus-meant-when-he-said-let-he-who-is-without-sin-cast-the-first-stone.html

(4) https://militaryhistorynow.com/2021/10/03/mustang-vs-corsair-inside-the-u-s-navys-1944-match-up-between-the-two-fighters/

(5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pappy_Boyington#:~:text=Boyington%20is%20best%20known%20for,F4U%20Corsair%20in%20VMF%2D214.

Fullscreen button

Day 8 of 366 same old crazy and some new crazy, Can’t make this crap up

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United says, just loose bolts on Boeing 737 max 9 and are declining to say how many. No surprise there! “The plug, measuring 26-by-46 inches and weighing 63 pounds, was discovered intact Sunday evening in the backyard of a Portland teacher’s home, according to NTSB officials. NTSB investigators recovered the door plug that fell off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 giving them the key piece of evidence that they are examining with a laboratory telescope. The door plug is used by some Max 9 operators, including Alaska and United, in place of an exit door that would be required if the plane were configured with a larger number of seats. The door plug according to a diagram released by the NTSB, is attached to the plane with a series of bolts, cables, hinges and stop pad.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/other/united-finds-loose-bolts-on-its-planes-in-wake-of-alaska-airlines-door-plug-incident/ar-AA1mEFxT Wouldn’t that have been noticeable if daily inspections were done? I would have noticed loose bolts on the frame of my school bus especially after the one incident. It was an eye-opening experience for me and one I’ve never forgotten.

Looking back on it’s funny how the story unfolded but not the potential risk that could’ve happened. We received new school buses the day before school started. I got my keys the morning of the first day. I quickly did my circle check and skipped the middle door because the bus was brand new, so I didn’t anticipate anything unusual. Until later that morning, when I did a fire drill with the elementary kids and reviewed the new exit breakdowns. If there’s a fire, we never depart front door we use the rear door and the side door. Thank goodness, we were in the school yard because when the child opened the side door it fell off the bus. The manufacturer never put the hinge pins in the side door. No one had exited the bus before the child opening the door so there were no injuries involved except for the door with nicked paint. It could’ve been a lot worse. I never trusted the manufacturer again when our buses were replaced. In fact, I looked harder for issues.

However, this isn’t the first time there’s been issues with Boeing aircraft, one would think they would be extra cautious. The repercussions for Boeing’s reputation and share price especially since this isn’t the first incident with the Max-family of jets may improve their maintenance routines. Five years ago, the entire global fleet was grounded following two fatal crashes. No investor likes the stock market triggered.

Alaska Airlines, which operates 65 of the Max 9 jets, said in a statement on its website: “The 737-9 MAX grounding has significantly impacted our operation. We have cancelled 170 Sunday flights and 60 cancellations for Monday, with more expected. Cancellations will continue through the first half of the week.” Whereas United Airlines, which operates 79 of the jets, said it had cancelled 230 flights, and issued a statement: “Following the incident on an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday, we have temporarily suspended service on select Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft to conduct an inspection.”

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/boeing-737-max-9-groundings-trigger-stock-turbulence-for-carriers-as-regulators-order-safety-check

Political crazy continues with Trump … “Of course I was entitled, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief, to Immunity,” Trump said in a post Monday on Truth Social If that’s the case, more people should become politicians before committing a crime so they’re immune from charges. Oh wait, they already do that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convicted_of_crimes

Tanya Chutkan is the federal judge overseeing the federal election interference case brought by Special Council Jack Smith.  against Trump. She appeared to be the victim of “swatting,” which happens when someone makes a false report of a crime in progress to draw police to a certain location. Doesn’t one find the timing conspicuous with all that is going on with the Trump media circus and the different courtroom hearings.

And the weather insanity continues with an arctic blast threatens to bring temperatures of -50 degrees to large swathes of the West and Midwest next week. Meteorologists have said the polar vortex could sweep across the Pacific Northwest and roll into the Central and Midwest over the next five to ten days.

“Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of 14 states as meteorologists predict a “multiple hazard storm” will bring extreme weather to many parts of the U.S., including blizzards, tornadoes and flash flooding in places beginning Monday morning and into Tuesday. Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Washington were cautioned about difficult travel conditions and whiteout conditions.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/winter-weather-warning-for-14-states-as-hazardous-storm-hits-us/ar-AA1mCIAD?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=

I finished another airplane on my embroidery project. This one is the Spirit of St. Louis which was custom built and flown by non-other than Charles Lindbergh. The Spirit of St. Louis did a non-stop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York to Paris, France. The manufacturer was Ryan Airlines owned at the time by Benjamin Mahoney and was located in San Diego, California and the designer was Donald Hall who worked with Lindbergh to get it as Lindbergh needed to complete the 33-hour flight. After that flight, the Spirit of St. Louis did numerous flights for mail delivery.

The next airplane to be stitched is the Fokker Dr-1 or better known as the Red Baron. The quilt will have twelve different planes total when it is completed including a square with my doctor’s own plane. My doctor is part of an air rescue squad here in Las Vegas which gives him immense pleasure.

And I’ve blogged every day in this new year. Kudos to me!

Day 6 of 366 The Crazy isn’t over yet.

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FAA orders temporary grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 after a flight from Oregon to California had to make an emergency landing because a chunk of the wall detached midair. I drove school bus 31 years and we had to do circle checks every day on our bus before our departure. Obviously, the precheck on the plane differs but it should have been noticeable before takeoff.

“First, there was a pop. And then a big bang.

Air whooshed out of the side of the airplane, which was flying at 16,000 feet with an emergency exit-size gash. A cellphone, a giant teddy bear and a passenger’s shirt were sucked out the hole in the cabin. Oxygen masks dropped from overhead compartments. Passengers on Alaska Airlines flight 1282—which on Friday afternoon was en route to Ontario, Calif., from Portland International Airport—were fearful for their lives. The flight, however, landed back at the Portland airport less than 30 minutes after takeoff, with 171 passengers and six crew members aboard, all of them alive. “~ MSN

I can’t help wondering how often the outside structure is checked. I wonder if after this, it will be done on a regular basis.

All of Central Florida is under a tornado watch Saturday through 10 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch that stretches from Tampa and the Gulf Coast through Orlando to Daytona Beach and the Treasure Coast on the Atlantic. Florida has seen a lot of severe weather this week.  Hail pummeled West Melbourne and Palm Bay in Brevard County. A weak tornado touched down in Boynton Beach Friday night.

Trump says,” The Civil War could have been negotiated.” Historians are shaking their heads wondering where he comes up with these outlandish thoughts. “The declarations of secession explicitly state that the seceding states were leaving the Union to maintain that system. … This could not be ‘negotiated, says James Grossman (Director of the Historical Association)

There’s a fascinating series on Netflix I recommend watching called “You Are What You Eat, the Twin Experiment. https://www.netflix.com/title/81133260 Identical twins change their diets and lifestyles for eight weeks in a unique scientific experiment designed to explore how certain foods impact the body. It will definitely make you think twice about the American diet and our meat consumption. 

A 90-year old woman was rescued five days after the 7.6 magnitude hit Japan. She was trapped 124 hours under her house. Sadly, more than 200 people are still unaccounted-for, although the number varies.

I’ve discussed my enjoyment with embroidery and the project I’m doing for my doctor who loves airplanes. I’ve completed the Kittyhawk and the Curtiss Jenny. What I learned when I looked up what colors to use when I stitched them. The Kittyhawk built by the Wright’s in 1903. They used spruce for straight members of the airframe (such as wing spars) and ash wood for curved components (wing ribs). The wings were designed with a 1-in-20 camber. The wing fabric used was a 100% cotton muslin called “Pride of the West“, commonly used for women’s underwear. It had a warp of 107 threads per inch and a weft of 102 from a total thread count of 209. The muslin fabric was on the lower left wing panel of the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, when the airplane made its historic first flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Muslin squares are what I’m embroidering the planes to put in the quilt. I love the durability of muslin when used in quilts but there are disadvantages too. Pulls can be expected and occasionally there are slight color and intensity variances. What I love is it is lightweight and breathable because it is a loose plain weave. Muslin dates back to Ancient India.

The Curtiss JN “Jenny” was a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. The Jenny is made from  a combination of steel and aluminum tubing with some wooden parts and a doped aircraft fabric. Its 27.50 ft (8.4 m) span wing has a wing area of 175.0 sq ft (16.26 m2) and the cockpit width is 24 in (61 cm). Aircraft dope is a plasticized lacquer that is applied to fabric covered aircraft.  It tightens and stiffens fabric stretched over airframes, which renders them airtight and weatherproof, increasing their durability and lifespan. The technique has been commonly applied to both full-size and flying models of aircraft.

What I learned that the Kittyhawk and Curtiss Jenny both benefitted from the doping techniques. These techniques have been employed in aircraft construction since the dawn of heavier-than-air flight. Without the application of dope, the fabric coverings lacked durability and were highly flammable. Both factors rendered them far less viable.

Day 4 of 366

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And the crazy continues at Perry Community School in Iowa at 7:37 am. The shooter, 17 yr. old Dylan Butler has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A sixth grader was killed. Five other people were wounded by the shooter. Four victims were students, and the other victim was an administrator. Children should be safe in their schools not seeking places to hide so they don’t die. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first incidence of violence in schools. We’ve talked about changes, and some have been made but apparently not enough because children still have access to guns.

Which brings me to the topic I wanted to discuss. Lidia Yuknavitch challenges writers to be the fire in our society. We can’t continue with our American exceptionalism mentality. The more we tell stories, the more awareness we raise for the voices not heard like children that have died from senseless violence. In power displacements where children are ripped from their families and transported into situations where they are later objects for barter. Women and men are involved in sex trafficking of minors. There’s still uneasiness among the LGBTQ communities because people have homophobic fears. Women and children are still abused by their loved ones.

Poets and Writers January/February 2024 Pw.org pages 34-35 if you want to read more of the article.

Storytelling may not save lives but it will keep the fire burning for those faced with contradictions between the brutality of our society and the fissures of hope that occasionally surface. As a storyteller we bear witness to it all and hopefully find ways to ease suffering.

In Lake Luzerne, New York (one hour north of Albany) a library was adding a one-time event to their monthly line-up Drag Queen Story hour. Amanda Hoffman knew it was a controversial topic but had no idea what the repercussions would be. A bomb threat, board meeting that erupted into a fist fight, people calling each other fascists, predators and queers all took place which unfortunately forced the closing of the only library in town after 53 years of operation. This community became a battle ground for issues of inclusion, free speech and what exactly is the role of a tax-funded institution. The minister in this community took the situation further by pushing to keep perverted books away from children. Banning books have become a social norm.

Ursula K LeGuin says “You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. But you can be the revolution.” Yuknavitch and LeGuin aren’t suggesting we become perfect humans. We’re flawed because we will say the wrong thing or do the wrong time. It’s in our nature. But there’s nothing stopping us from trying again the next day to be a better human, a better co-existent because we’re not the only creatures on this planet. We’ve been the ethos of death and destruction too long.

In the conclusion of her article written in Poets and Writers she offers a writing exercise that I found thought provoking. “Draw courage From the Fire. Name one kind of fire within us, one that keeps us from despair and moves us toward courage in the world. Where did it come from, this internal fire? What experiences brought us to this fire? What shapes does the fire take? Where does this fire live in our body? What story is held there?” ~ Lidia Yuknavitch

My fire is domestic violence. Did I choose this fire? No, my first husband chose it for me with his physical and verbal assaults. What moved me forward was my children initially. Their safety was my primary concern until I could make the changes for us. There is truth in the saying always know where the devil is because the unknown will be your undoing.

I’ve written poetry for contests and published a book to raise awareness. But the fire didn’t just begin with my marital situation, unfortunately it was very much a part of childhood as well. I married not knowing this wasn’t a social norm. Sadly, there wasn’t the media coverage or the resources we have now. But unfortunately, even with the resources, the problem still exists for many women. Yes, it’s crazy that domestic violence exists in this country like it does in third world countries where women have less rights than here.

Harmonium by Lyn Crain

Tasting of bloodied blue interlude, she trembled
Caught in an eternal plot of frenzied cadence arouse.
Her treasured hot peace lyre symbol necklace
Baroque ripped, his alleged rights of the spouse.
His frozen touch, firm on her hymn alabaster neck
Gregorian chants the parody of marital vows.
Her classical breath screamed to simply die, ending it,
But his ballad rage wasn’t done, he only let her drowse.

I chose a musical twist for one of his assaults to encourage thought.

I wish I could say it’s a thing of my past but it’s not because it still impacts my thinking, my reactions to certain comments even a sudden movement. My brain and body are always aware of my surroundings. Sadly, that tool that helps me in other social situations. We live in a violent society, awareness is crucial. We’re never too old to change our thinking.

Like this morning, there were many police sirens near us. The pitches were different, so I knew it was more than one police car. I immediately locked the front door my daughter had recently exited, checked the other doors and then called her to make sure she was safe on the road going to work. I wouldn’t have called her a month ago but after a friend killed in a carjacking incident just over a mile away, I feel less secure than I did. I had become lax in my awareness of my surroundings. I won’t be less guarded again because the crime rate in this country is escalating as poverty and ignorance rises.

On a closing note, for today’s reminder of the craziness we live in. Where ever or whenever culture wars exist, there’s voices that want to fight it out to the death or destroy anything that might possibly offend someone. Unfortunately, once the fighting begins, we all lose.

Selling your home isn’t for the weak of heart, part 8 and other crap.

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Yesterday, was extremely stressful with the home inspection. Today, I just can’t get myself motivated. There’s still so much to pack but… I’m just not caring. I went to shut the lights off on the lower level yesterday, yup again they left all the lights on. There’s the frigging radon test sitting right in the way of my packing. If I move any of the books on the shelf I could disturb it. The frigging inspector knew we were right outside, he could have asked if it was alright to put it there and I would have moved my books so he could have his result and I could still continue sorting my books for goodwill, the library and what is going with me. But nope, the f-head didn’t. He set it right on top of a stack of books.

I go upstairs last night, the three step ladder that I normally keep in the closet was in the sewing room. Why did he move it there and why didn’t he put it back. He left the ceiling fan on high in addition to all the lights. I go to prepare dinner and the knobs on the gas stove aren’t turned off. They left two knobs half on. Nor did they close the screen door. What is it about not shutting doors behind them. And he leaves us a note on the table about keeping all the windows and doors closed for a week for the radon test.

I want to go to each of these dipshits home and turn all their lights on and to leave their appliances on as well. I’m not thrilled with the added cost to our electrical. The sun was shining brightly, lights were only necessary on the lower level. Like I said, this is my first experience with selling a home. Well this experience, has convinced me I never want to own a piece of property again that potentially leads to a sale. Our realtor chuckled at that yesterday, I don’t think he realizes how serious I am. This is an experience I never want again. And we don’t even know if the potential buyer is going forward. She’s waiting to read the dipshit inspector’s report.

If it didn’t involve wearing orange, and a life with out Vic and Macavity my solution would be burn this place after I removed our books, cookware, and clothes.. A clean break period. That’s how I really feel about this situation.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”― Albert Einstein

My morning began with a spoofing email telling me that Amazon shipped my purchase to a Charles Hilton in San Antonio, Texas. No I didn’t call the number, instead I called the credit card company linked to Amazon. They took the information and then forwarded me to Amazon’s fraud department. We did the security process, and I added another measure to any purchase over a set amount in addition to the two step verification. I hadn’t bothered because this card has a low credit limit unlike my other cards. I don’t normally make large purchases on Amazon so I didn’t think it was necessary. Well, today I changed it all have required authorization.

Get that handled and a few emails down I got one of those black emails stating their going to expose my masturbation pictures to my friends and family on Facebook. If I want to protect myself I need to send them 300.00 dollars immediately. I was tempted to respond, go ahead make my day but I simply deleted it.

I decided enough of the computer, I’m going to read. The phone rang six different times. Two were offering to help me with social security and the other four were about my expired car warranty. I put my phone on silent mode.

UPS delivers a box. Yay, my coffee has finally arrived. I open the box and there are two cases of cold brew lattes and three boxes of Keurig pods. Nope, not what I ordered. I ordered 6 one lb bags of coffee beans. Thankfully, Brad at Deathwish promptly responded and they’re immediately shipping the correct order. He told us to enjoy the mix up on them. Vic gets a treat because I don’t drink milk or sweetened coffee. We don’t have a Keurig. I can open them easily or simply donate them to the food cupboard.

Some days, I shouldn’t get out of bed.

Macavity agrees he’s been snoozing comfortably on the back of the chair soaking up the sunshine.

Lucky 🙂

Listed some stuff on Facebook marketplace, didn’t take long to get someone offering to send me a check and I could cash it and when they arrive on May 2nd I can give them the difference. No thanks I’m not getting involved in any money laundering schemes. Then another wanted me to ship it to them when it says local pick up only.

I’m going back to reading the recent Writer’s Digest issue before I begin dinner prep. It’s been a no-motivational day, hopefully tomorrow’s proof of occupancy will be less stressful and I can get back to packing. I did count, sixty three boxes a lot less than I anticipated for this 2125 square foot house. I have half of the kitchen done and then it’s our clothes and linens. Then it comes to the bigger items … furniture. Thankfully, I’ve been thinning that too!

I would get all kinds of flack if I did what I did with my previous living room set in Maine. The ex was supposed to take one and I got the other. He took the one he knew I loved. Fine I tried to drag his outside. I managed to get it stuck in the door. So I took the chainsaw and cut it down. Who knew how big those springs were 🙂 did a number on his chain saw. If that wasn’t bad enough he left me 30 years of Guns and Ammo magazines on the floor, he took the metal storage bins they were in. Fine I added them to the couch in the driveway. Poured gasoline over the pile and tossed a match thinking the fire would go outward not upward. I took the electrical and phone lines both out. Oops. It was long before the local fire department showed up.

The fire chief asked what I was doing.

“Burning a 30 year marriage. Want a beer?” We sat and watched the fire together drinking our beer together until the fire went out.

New Jersey doesn’t have the same kind of comraderies’ that Maine does. I miss that. I’ve met more New Jersey people who wouldn’t say shit if they had a mouthful especially in the Princeton/Lawrenceville area. I miss real people. Don’t get me wrong, there are some nice people but they’re far and few. Einstein had it right, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” … Me either.

I’ll leave you with this

Selling your home isn’t for the weak of heart part 6

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I packed a lot of my bulkier pans today, and moved the ones that I had hanging on the copper pot bar by extra hooks into the cupboard. The pan rack came with six copper hooks but I had way more pans than that so when we hung it up we doubled the chain support and bought extra wrought iron hooks to hold my handled pans. This freed up the cupboard space for all the non-handled pans. The cupboards look less congested now. I didn’t want the next owner thinking all the wrought iron was included when she returns with the building inspector on Tuesday. People are quite presumptuous.

I’m still amused that she noted all landscaping in the bid. Upon further discussion, she was including my planters which are not permanent. Sorry about your luck, buy your own. Some of my planters went to my son’s and some are going with me. When we moved here there was nothing but that ugly green ivy that contractors use. The previous owners did nothing prior to us. In the back yard, I’ve planted hostas, peonies, juniper, hydrangea, lilies, and 2 beautiful rose bushes. There was a rhubarb patch but I’m not seeing it yet this spring. We did have a very wet and cold winter so it may not be returning. In the front, I’ve planted more hostas, 2 more roses, daffodils, lilies, tulips, gladiolus, and a weeping cypress. It’s a lot prettier than it was.

Macavity’s portable dvd player arrived yesterday. He wore out ours watching a cat sitter dvd. Yes, they make videos for cats. It has a continuous loop with birds at a feeder, mice playing in a cage, pigeons on a sidewalk, an owl in a tree, chipmunks scurrying in the grass, butterflies and cricket sounds in a meadow and the occasional frog. He watches for hours at a time, occasionally trying to catch with his paws. Originally, I got the dvd because he had separation anxiety when he first came to our home.

One of the funniest experiences with the original dvd player was the button to turn it on was on top. The television is a touch screen. I used to walk over touch the tv and then the dvd player before we left to do errands. Macavity recognized my scent and began turning the tv and player on himself. It would come on in the middle of the night basically whenever he wanted it. The little shit would even interrupt my program by pushing the dvd start button. Anyway, a friend was spending the weekend with us and I warned him he might hear the tv in the middle of the night. Not to be concerned it would only be Macavity. He rolled his eyes at me.

Surprise, in the morning he says to me the tv woke him up and when he got up to see he noticed our door was open and we were both in bed. Yeah, the hall light does luminate our room if we don’t shut the door which we typically don’t so our cats have free roam. He came downstairs to investigate and no one was visible so he shut the tv off. He didn’t make it up the stairs and the tv came back on. I burst out laughing. And reminded him that I warned him Macavity liked his tv time.

I’m hoping between the familiarity of riding in the car, the lavender calming collar and the dvd player will make our move a positive experience for all of us. I moved it to the bench so I could use my table. He’s intently watching right now while I write. He hopped down off the bench, grabbed a snack while I was packing and returned to the dvd. Usually, he paces while I pack things. Change isn’t easy for Macavity.

7 days left in April and 30 days in May and this experience ends and our new one begins.

Did you see yesterday Joe Long passed. He’s the second member of the Four Seasons. Tommy DeVito passed last fall. Covid didn’t care that they were talented musicians. I’ve been listening to a lot of oldies while I pack. Like Macavity, I need to be less stressed with this what seems like an insurmountable task.

I saw this yesterday . It reminded me of conversations I had with a dear older friend in Maine. There are still several things I haven’t managed but I will. I’m looking forward to a new beginning.

“A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own even if she never wants
to or needs to…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her
dreams wants to see her in an hour…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
a youth she’s content to leave behind….
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to
retelling it in her old age….
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …..
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black
lace bra…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
one friend who always makes her laugh… and one who
lets her cry…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone
else in her family…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a
recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored…
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
a feeling of control over her destiny…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to fall in love without losing herself..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
HOW TO QUIT A JOB,
BREAK UP WITH A LOVER,
AND CONFRONT A FRIEND WITHOUT RUINING THE FRIENDSHIP…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
when to try harder… and WHEN TO WALK AWAY…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that she can’t change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that her childhood may not have been perfect…but it’s over…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she would and wouldn’t do for love or more…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to live alone… even if she doesn’t like it…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
whom she can trust,
whom she can’t,
and why she shouldn’t
take it personally…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
where to go…
be it to her best friend’s kitchen table…
or a charming inn in the woods…
when her soul needs soothing…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she can and can’t accomplish in a day…
a month…and a year…”
― Pamela Redmond Satran

Selling your home isn’t for the weak at heart part 4

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Nor is having a mother-in-law who at first calls your husband because she’s afraid to live alone after three recent visits to the hospital. I totally get that and yes, she’s not getting any younger. It’s not how I saw our lives in our new location. We’ll get two apartments so we can check on her and she still has her independence. Fine, but then she doesn’t want to live in a rental so she wants us to house shop. because she wants us to share a home. Okay after spending hours looking at suitable one story houses she decides that she’s not ready to move yet but we need to be ready. Fine and Dandy, but I don’t want to buy a house and wait for her to change her mind again. I didn’t want the upkeep or the stress of maintenance. And the more I think about it, I don’t want or need the stress involved with living with her. I could go into all the horror stories but I’ll leave it as is with simply she’s difficult. So we’re going with our original plan. Apartment for 2 and a fur baby. We need to do what’s best for us and our health.

The good news is we have a tentative offer on our house pending architectural approval for the sale. The house should pass easily enough so we can finally get to the next step in our lives. Now, I’m looking at apartments, and packing up an eight room house. Goodwill and the V.A. are loving me right now. 1000 books have left our home, three bags of clothing, bookcases, dishes and I’m not done yet.

I’m sorting the boxes as I pack what goes to the apartment and what goes to storage so once we’re there it won’t be chaos.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed everything goes as anticipated and we get to move in 6 weeks.