Visiting the Past and the Future.....

UP:

1)  A whole day and more of swanning around Gotham City with le Jack!  and his 'rents and great-auntie.   So wonderful and so surprising.  I have never felt worthy of being anyone's ancestor, but there i was.   Can't beat that with a stick.

2)  Enjoying the chaos in Eataly, and experiencing the travails of getting a TAXI to anywhere.  It used to be so easy.  Is not now.   

DOWN:

1)  Taxi-getting, as mentioned.

2)  Realizing that I am a VERY QUIET PERSON, which drives a lot of people nuts.  Sorry about that, but that's me.  And when I try to make conversation, people misinterpret it, and if I try to set the record straight, all hell breaks loose.

3)  I also am not a jolly person, and that doesn't go over well, either.  Eff that, I say.

MEH:

1) So what, etc.?

2)  I do like a good medium-rare hamburger (without cheese or bacon) but with good crisp lettuce, pickles, and tomato.  and with "fence fries," as my glorious niece used to call them.  
??\
3)  Jack does like pancakes! 

4)  What is the secret of LIGHT, FLUFFY pancakes?  Aunt Jemima mix?  extra baking powder?

5)  Ver vaist??

"Entitlement"?? Wrong Word....

When VA Sen. Mark Warner declaimed recently that "the Democrats are going to have to give on entitlement reform," I saw red.  And what does it mean to "see red"?  Red in this case is not a code word for indebtedness or the loopy political bent of the Tea Party states.  It's anger.  Why? Because Social Security is NOT some entitlement, not some giveaway we're didn't earn but are "entitled" to because FDR felt sorry for old people at the end of the Great Depression.  We've already paid for the Social Security checks we'll get in our old age.  That money has come out of our paychecks, starting with the first, bite by bite, and it has been invested in a special trust fund to be used for no other purpose.

I hope Warner considers the "reform" needed to be stopping the raids on the SS trust funds to finance the idiot wars and tax cuts for the wealthy visited upon us in recent years.  It's hard to believe he is a Democrat and not some mean-spirited Republican in disguise. 

Feliz Lunes-y

DOWN:

1)  I can't believe they're really gonna shut down iGoogle.  In my pitiful experience, it's the ONE THING GOOGLE does that actually WORKS!  No wonder they're getting rid of it.  Rats!  And what can replace it?  I've looked, but the advertising assaults are too much for me.  I don't want to spend
time watching idiots look for new cars or see them eat some kind of hypersweetened boxed cereal.  Keep it to yourselves is what I say.

2)  They are going to resurface our parking lot today, and a big tank truck of stinky stuff is parked
right across from my what...porch?  patio?  terrace?  ha.  It's a balcony kinda thing.  And now they
are making such a dreadful racket even I can hear it.  I just looked...apparently they're sawing off
the top step.  Sweet Jebus.....  The city not only never sleeps, it spreads its scary nightmares around in the daylight.

UP:

1) Never mind about that.  One of my favorite blogs (Belgian Waffle) started out with this phrase a few days ago.    

Er is een meeuw in mijn stapelbed

You don't know Dutch?  It means "There is a seagull in my bunk."  Be nice if there were a seagull in my bunk.  That might mean I was by the sea!!

2)  When La Waffle's youngest returned from camp, he also said the food was "épouvantable."  That bit was in French (Walloon??)  (Belgians are at least bilingual, but in Waffle's case, her kids are trilingual or more, studying German, Chinese, or what-have-you.)  "épouvantable" means "appalling."

3)  Only an hour & 15 minutes till breakfast!  And I won't have to eat eggs again (and my mama is not around to pay me cash money to eat oatmeal).....I got some hot dogs last night at Giant.  "épouvantable,"  you say?  I likes 'em.  If you boil them they're not so bad.
Boiling dissolves out all the dread chemicals, doesn't it?

Simpling down....

(Is that title even grammatical?  One of this former editor's hobbies is playing with language--including misspeling, odd syntax, and wotever else appeals.)

UP:

1)  Among my many books is Cooking for One by Nancy Creech.  It's got just about any recipe I want to make and in portions that mean I won't be eating it nonstop for three days.  Today it's applesauce, since I bought three Granny Smith apples t'other day at WF, and well, if I don't make it today, the apples will begin to shrivel.  Not so much the Granny Smiths, though.  They're quite sturdy.  This recipe takes about 10 minutes (after you get the apples peeled & chopped), and I'm
looking forward to having this tonight after it sits a while.  I did NOT add the raisins called for, since I don't really like raisins in applesauce.  This, to me, is THE joy of cooking.  You can cook what you like and in the way you like it.

2)  The painting I want to do came to me in a dream last night.  And since my benefactor wants
the colors of dusty rose and pale blue, that's what I'm gonna do the whole thing in.  Save for a
few terra-cotta pots, green foliage, and pink flowers.  There is hardly any sunshine in the scene except
where it sneaks in up at one corner.  A challenge.

DOWN:

1)  That recipe does not produce enough JUICE to suit me.  I grew up dining on home-canned applesauce that had lots of glorious juice.  Looks kinda gummy. 

Hmm....May require another modification, though the taste will be more important.

MEH:

1) I was saying yesterday how much I like not eating until 11 a.m.--"I can eat anything I want until 7 pm, and I love it."  The g.f. said "But you don't know that's good for you!"  And I said I never claimed it was good for me, only that I like it.  And she said, "Well, your pants are falling off without dieting, so I guess I should keep my mouth shut."

2)  Also, I am having long, elaborate dreams about important things, and that hasn't happened in a long time.  Is that an UP?  meh.....

Cats Stealing Dog Beds......

Got this from my niece's FaceBook page....

Cats Stealing Dog Beds

Meanwhile.....

While our own H of R drives us into the ground, Pepe Escobar at Asia Times shows us another view of what's going on by quoting an article in Xinhua.  I was struck by this paragraph, especially:

Instead of honoring its duties as a responsible leading power, a self-serving Washington has abused its superpower status and introduced even more chaos into the world by shifting financial risks overseas, instigating regional tensions amid territorial disputes, and fighting unwarranted wars under the cover of outright lies. 

Asia Times Online :: The birth of the 'de-Americanized' world

lovely day....

Tis the Ides of October!

UP:

1)  Soft, sunny day.  Made a big batch of pesto.  Found wonderful organic basil at Safeway, of all places!  Enough for 5 cups of fresh basil leaves for $3.49!  Can't buy that much at WF, and what they have (half of that) is like $7.

2)  Have the sliding door open, and the crickets are singing. 

 

 DOWN: 

1)  Out of wine.  Eff that.

2)  That blankety-blank projector does nothing.  Wot a waste of $$.  

3)  SEND IT BACK, says the g.f.!!  NO, i says, I JUST HAVEN"T LEARNED HOW TO USE IT!

shaving corners.....

Starting with DOWN again todayI

1)   Ran into an old neighbor today on the sidewalk outside of Biddys.  (Biddy's is not the name any more, but it's still my favorite place.)  I don't know how we got into this, but she told me that I could get a TV setup from Radio Shack to watch all the Britcoms for nothing.  The plug-in thing costs about $40, and then one can watch all kinds of free cable channels for zip.  I told her that this is my path to hell.  If this is true, I could get a TV and watch all day every day, and that'd be it.  I of course gave away my TV set bout 5 years ago, but one can always get a new TV for not much from Amazon or Craigslist or a freakin yard sale.  I dunno.  Everyone is always going on about how WONDERFUL the programming is on cable and all that.  And NO advertising!!  Jaysus.  There is so much advertising now when you try to watch TV on your laptop that it's hardly worth it. 

2)  The old neighbor is a professional painter, and I ast her how that was going.  She said she was "taking a break" and "thinking of writing a book."  Fiction or nonfiction, I says, and she said, "I don't know."  Have we heard this before anywhere?  There is nothing more popular, it seems, than wanting to "improve my (one's) life."  My own life could be improved 1,000-fold and not make a dent in my contribution to humanity.  Or is this just the crap my unconscious/subconscious/imagination throws at me hourly?

3)  Anyway, I don't wanna watch TV alla time.  I want to have FUN doing things I like.  Such as cooking and painting and taking photographs of the neighborhood and so on.  And having LUNCH with my pals.  I do love having LUNCH with my pals.  Except I'm finding it very expensive to do this these days.  It's far cheaper to cook and eat at home!!  Here's a good one:  Get a nice loaf of whole-grain/seed bread and toast a couple of slices.  Take half an avocado and smash it on one of the slices of toast, then scoop some cottage cheese on top of that, plus some grated parmesan cheese, and there's lunch!  Pretty tasty.  Lots of salt & pepper.  Consume with a couple of good glasses of white wine (recently, I found a good white Sicilian for $8 a bottle, and it's lovely.  Forget the name.) 

UP:

1)  The girlfriend returned from visiting her sister today, and the whole town seems full and joyous, despite wot the Republicans are doing to wreck everything.  Eff them.

2)  I am figuring out how to work this projector, which arrived yesterday.  I also learned that Van Gogh used something called a perspective screen, which I don't have.

3)  I also discovered that Politics & Prose has a room in the basement for REMAINDERS!  I didn't buy any, but OMG, I enjoyed reading through them.

MEH:

1)  Got tired of riding the bus today.  I get really pissed off at the rudeness and selfishness when people don't help others who need seats, etc.  Couldn't take it any more, so I got off at Columbia Heights and switched to metro, rode that to Fort Totten, then switched to the red line for the brief ride to Takoma.  At least I wasn't stewing and passing judgment.  There's hardly anybody around, anyway, now that the Repugs have shut everything down.  EEjits!

MEH?

In addition to my DOWN and UP categories, one (favorite, faithful) reader suggested I add MEH.  I hope she wasn't suggesting it should all go into MEH.  But maybe that's where it all should go.  I have a hard time coming up with DOWNs, though the current political meshugaas provides ample, though tiresome, content.  As for UPs, nature and humor have always lifted my spirits.  Generally, I guess I'm just a MEH person....taking things as they come, not getting too exercised one way or another.  I think I'll reverse the order, though, and start with UP.

UP:

1)  Learned about the Salon yesterday in my reading about Vincent Van Gogh.  My actual knowledge of impressionists and impressionism has been scant, to put it kindly.  The Academy, the powers that be in the Paris art world of the time, disliked and often mocked such artists as Cèzanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Morisot (Berthe!  a woman!!), Pissarro, Renoir, and Sisley.  And Van Gogh.  The Academy sponsored one big art show in Paris every year--the Salon--and all artists strove to be included so as to solidify their reputation.  It was a huge show, with so many paintings they were hung on four levels.  Nobody wanted to be hung on the highest level, up near the ceiling, but the impressionists, if they were accepted at all, wound up in this "sky," where nobody could see them.  The impressionist artists, however, believed in their work, and so in 1863, 30 of them got permission from Napoleon III to hold their own art show, Salon des Refuses--Salon for Rejects.  These nontraditional impressionist artists banded together and helped each other, even sharing food if necessary.  What courage!  and what passion for their work!

2)  I've got my blinds open so I can see the front door in case the UPS/USPS truck shows up with my projector as promised.  The new fob system makes a nice LOUD racket when somebody enters the building.  Many residents have complained, but not me.  I like it. 

DOWN:

1)  As usual, I lost the thread for Van Gogh--how he connected with the impressionists (through Cezanne?  Gauguin?) and when and if he succeeded in having any of his paintings hung in the Salon des Refuses (or even in the high-falutin Salon itself?).  I'm always in a hurry to put things down, and I forget just where and what I've covered even though I've read all about this recently.  This blog format especially requires condensing things.  Wish I could organize my time or take actual notes when I'm reading wherever. 

2)  The DC library has no books at all specifically about the Neanderthals.  I did discover that the center for their presence in Germany is practically on top of where my mother's family lived. And her side of the family has always had big heads (by dimension) and there's lots of red hair here and there (both said to be characteristic traits of Neanderthals).  But some studies say Neanderthals and humans missed each other by many centuries and did not interact.  Others say this is nonsense, and I'm inclined to believe it.  There are a number of people I've known personally who look very much like the sketches purporting to show what Neanderthals looked like.  Minus the long hair and animal-hide garb. 

3)  Hulu and Netflix have that abominable system whereby they discern what KIND of movies you like.  So if you watch some movie merely out of curiosity, they skew your choices to this type forever after.  Nuts to that.

MEH:

1)  The bathroom sink is plugged up, and I'm out of drain cleaner.  I'm also out of cherry jam, not that this has anything to do with the drain.  

2)  Nobody is using the washers this morning.  I try to do my laundry during the week when most of the other residents are at work, but I'm "behind wit' the ironing," as my dear sister-in-law Joyce's sister used to say.  Not that I iron at all except very occasionally.  I mostly gave that up in 1965. 

Arrest the Idiots!

I don't know why we're not talking about arresting the Republicans in the House of Representatives for not doing their job and keeping our government open and serving our citizens.  The potential damage to our country's welfare from their shutdown and debt ceiling shenanigans is mounting by the hour and is worse than an attack by any enemy. 

DOWN:

1)  See
http://www.nationofchange.org/tea-party-republicans-biggest-mistake-confusing-government-our-system-government-1381499588#comments

2)  http://youtu.be/4laZ1K1H9JY

UP:

 1)  There is such an animal called a "Red River Hoglet."  Who knew?   It's some kind of wild pig found in OTHER COUNTRIES, not here except in zoos (does Cleveland ring any bells?).  Again, my source (and thanks to) http://www.belgianwaffling.com/2013/10/hippo.html




2)  The projector I ordered yesterday is now sitting out at Landover, MD, for delivery "early tmw morning." Goody!  It's been parked at Landover since early this a.m., and I'm not sure why they can't deliver it today. After all, I used to LIVE in/near Landover, and it was a mere 20-minute bus ride to the DC border, but I'm not complaining....yet.  I won't as long as it shows up tomorrow a.m.

3)  Another wild dream last night....this time about Antarctica!  With lots of children and ICE, both of which were safe!  Wot could this mean?

Rain Kachina settling in....

My youngest daughter, in her earlier days, spent a lot of time in Arizona.  She studied at two universities and also worked in/at/for the Grand Canyon.  (One of her jobs was selling tickets for the Grand Canyon sightseeing flyovers. The job also included boarding the passengers, loading the plane--don't think they would have much luggage, but maybe--handing out refreshments if that was part of the tour, and cleaning up the plane after the flight.  Cool job, no?)  She also hung out with Native American friends and acquired a favorite saying for rainy days:  "The Rain Kachina* has come to bless the day!"  I've always loved this since I first heard her say it.  I love rain.  I must have been a plant in a former life.  (see UP* below).....

DOWN:

1)  This is not much of a down, but it's about two hours before 11 a.m., which is when I allow myself to start eating for the day, and I'm starving!  I was starving an hour ago, too.  The longest hours in the day are from when I get up until 11a.  I've already had my coffee, but clear liquids don't count as eating.  I can have all the water I want, so maybe I'll just get a glass of water and squeeze some lime juice in it.  I did have half an orange left from yesterday's dosage of drops in 2 oz. of juice, but that has disappeared.  Hope a rodent didn't cart it off.  Not that we have any rodents here, but one must avoid tempting fate, I think my mother called it.  A more likely explanation is that my luncheon guest, who did the dishes yesterday after we ate, either ate it herself or put it away in the fridge, where it's hiding now.  Hmmm.  

2)  Oops....the cushions on my porch chairs are getting wet again.  Dang.  Not soaking wet....I moved the chairs away from the railing and farther under the overhang day before yesterday, but the rain is splashing on the various solid objects in its path, and sending a nice mist up over the chairs.

3)  My wall calendar ran out 10 days ago.  Have I mentioned this before?  Haha...of course.  Somewhere.  Anyway, the thing about most of these DOWNs is that they challenge me to
fix something.  And so rather than dash off to Staples to buy another 18 month calendar, I want to
find a good perpetual calendar that I can hang on the wall here and adjust it every month and every year.  I dunno.  As I type this, however, I'm thinking that I do love the big paper wall calendars because I can write on them.  Always handy to write things down where I'll see them.  Anyway....I also could learn how to create and then print out my own wall calendars with this futeless All-in-One.  (Shall I call it the All-in-None?)  I could do it in several colors, too.  Hmm....

UP:

1)  The Rain Kachina (mentioned earlier) is here and is scheduled to stay for the next two or three days!  It's chilly out, too:  55F!  And I'm loving it.  This is because the place where I grew up was often about this temperature in the summer!  So it feels very comfy and familiar to me.  

2)  I had a wonderful dream last night just before I woke up.  I was with a friend who was visiting a woman who sold paintings for local artists.  She had just sold a painting by the friend's friend for $1400!!  My friend (not sure who she was) told the woman that I painted pictures, too.  So she asked to see some, and then the scene changed to my place, where I showed her two or three different items.  She liked them and offered to show them for me.  Ha!  I woke up with a start and a happy feeling.  Yes!  Now, of course, I'll have to get my butt in gear and produce something!  I ordered a projector so I can add proper architectural details to a current project.  Looking forward to doing this!!

COOL weather!

After yesterday's rain, the temperature has fallen!  55F now at 8:19a.  That's 20 degrees down from yesterday morning.  But that's an UP around here.  Sweatshirt weather! 

DOWN:

1)  My All-in-One (copier/scanner/printer/fax--though I don't have a landline to use for the fax option) is very disappointing.  It uses so much ink that I'm constantly having to pay a bundle to replace the high-volume (it says) black cartridge all the time or else it won't print at all. I'll never buy this kind again.  What kind?  I forget.  But it's not Epson, which I used before and liked--and still have--but was hard (for me) to program so that it would print from any computer.  I wish I were one of those techie geniuses who could make any of this stuff work.  Or not.  Maybe I should just simplify my life and use Kinkos (or whatever they call it now that it's fed-ex).  or or or.....something.

2)  It's time to bring in the rubber plant.  While I'm at it, I need to get a pot that's not made out of cement so that I can lift it without popping my stents.  The cement pot can stay on the porch/balcony/wotever as a permanent receptacle.  I can stick a nice rosemary shrub in there and have a constant supply.  It'll look like a wee christmas tree, which will be seasonal soon, and nice.

UP:

1)  Made my first visit to the "new" or "enlarged" Politics & Prose bookstore up in NW DC (on CT Ave, just up or down from the Van Ness metro stop) a few days ago.  Zowie.  Talk about a mother lode!  This is what a bookstore should be.  They had at least one copy of every book that was featured in that Sunday's NYT and WSJ!!  And lots of interesting items:  puzzles, games, t-shirts.  A poetry reading was going on at the back of the store, and there's a super cafe downstairs, and a parking lot out back, and benches out front.  If you worship at the altar of books, Politics & Prose is the cathedral!  They even have one of those Espresso Book Machines in its own big room.  They've given it a cute name, like "Bobo"* or something, and it was busy turning out books all the while we were there. 

2)  That's enough.....already mentioned the nice, cool weather!!  Happy Tews Day!!

*It's "Opus."  Fair enough.....

Change My Way of Thinking.....

Another hot day here, no progress on the government shutdown.

DOWN: 

1)  I think the rubber plant needs some fertilizer.  The new leaves are quite small.  Also, it'll soon be time to bring it inside for the winter.  I've been told by those who know that the rubber plant is a houseplant, not an outdoor shrub.  It has seemed to enjoy being outside for the past few months, though.  But the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are, however infinitesimally, falling.

2)  It's spooky not having many people on the metro these days.  The mobs of federal employees are missing!  About the only people in the cars now, especially during rush hours, are restaurant workers, school kids, old people, and street people.  I fall somewhere in the latter categories.  If the Republicans are paying attention to the warnings now coming from people in their own party about how the shutdown will affect their chances in the 2014 elections, they don't seem to care.

UP:

1)  Despite the heat, today was a lovely day.  There has been a lovely soft breeze all day, making the new spacious picnic tables on the terrace outside the Dupont Circle Hotel a favorite spot for people who enjoyed having a cup of coffee with their friends this Sunday afternoon. 

2)  To ease the ongoing weekend track work for its passengers, the Metro provided free shuttle buses today from Dupont Circle to NoMa/Gallaudet and stops in between.  This is my favorite thing when the red line especially is being slowed or closed on weekends.  The shuttles arrive in a constant stream to take us to and fro the various closed stations, there are lots of friendly Metro employees to answer question and give directions, and it's FREE!  It would be wonderful if Metro were free, easy, and helpful, with nary a wait--all the time!!  Thanks, Metro folks!  You're the best!!

Hair on the Bus....

When I first arrived at Gallaudet more than 20 years ago, we all had to take orientation classes, and some of us stayed in touch after that and became friends.  One of my first friends at Gallaudet was a woman who grew up in Minnesota and married her middle-school sweetheart, also and obviously, from Minnesota.  If you've ever been to Minnesota, you'll know that many of the residents have roots in Scandinavia--Norway and Sweden, mostly, but also Finland and Denmark--and many many are blond.  My Minnesota Gallaudet friends had a 6-year old blondie, Carl, who got his introduction to black hair when he arrived here.  Carl was not happy.  The kids with black hair had intricate braiding, often incorporating trinkets, and Carl's hair was fine, flat, straight, and blond.  His hair would not support braids and trinkets, and he was bereft.

I've always been fascinated by the black hair styles, too, especially on the bus, where people don't pay attention to old women with cameras.  This woman had gold dyed hair woven in with her braids.  And this couple had magnificent long hair--his dark brown & braided, hers reddish blonde and straight. 

Too Orange....

It's not just He Who Should Not Be Named* these days that's too orange. 

DOWN:

1)  I have hit a wall on this one painting, and I can't get past it.  The person I'm painting it for says it's "too orange."  This is an early stage, of course, and it's nothing that I've imagined it could be--the focus is all off--but the orange is there, all right.  Orange happens to appeal to me.  In fact, I think I'll eat an orange today for breakfast.

2)  The newest version of my cochlear implant processor is out now, and I would love to think about getting it, but I haven't finished paying for the current version yet.  Naturally, this is not covered by Medicare.  Neither is dental work.  If I wanted a motorized wheelchair or new knees or new hips--or cared whether I could smile without looking like a jack-o-lantern--it'd be a different story.

*Not the unnamable one in Harry Potter.  The one in the House of Representatives.

UP:

1)  There ARE autumn crocuses in the park by the metro.  (Note the fetching red leaves!)

2)  Open Culture's lead article today says that "Study finds Reading Tolstoy & other great novelists can increase your emotional intelligence." 
Which one of Tolstoy's novels haven't I read?  Turns out it's most of them!!  There are 12 books by Tolstoy listed in Wikipedia, and I've read two:  War and Peace and Anna Karenina. 

3)  It's Saturday!  and the library is open!!  I can go see how many of Tolstoy's other books are available!!

Good quote:  "Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray." -- Jalaluddin Rumi, Essential Rumi, versions by Coleman Barks

90F!! Uff da

That's right....it's October, and the predicted highs for the next couple of days will be in the 90s.  Be that as it may....

DOWN:
All the hatred flowing in the air is distressing!  Who doesn't hate anyone these days?  Republicans, conservatives, Democrats, liberals, white people, black/brown people, gay/straight?  Rich/poor? --though the poor (at least the street people) don't seem full of hate...they're just hungry and exhausted and sad from rich people sneering at them.

Dropped a casserole while de-fatting it.  Thanks be, it landed on the bottom (didn't spill) or break (cast iron) and only the spoon and the fat flew across the kitchen in gobs.  Easily taken up, though, and the floor needed washing anyway.  And my shepherd's pie is heating now--minus all the fat that rose to the top overnight in the fridge.  Is that an UP?

Tried the new entry system yesterday:  fob works fine and is FUN.  But they entered my number wrong, so I couldn't activate the remote opener.  BUT the guys were right outside, and they called the office, discovered the glitch, and fixed it on the spot.  (Another UP?  Yes, nothing is perfectly perfect.)

Gonna be in the 90s today AND tomorrow.  Hello?  This is October.  But soon it'll be November, and the 90s will be gone for another few months.....

UP:

Discovered "Blancanieves" in the library, so I checked it out and started watching last night.  Fell asleep just prior to midway, but it's fabulous.  B&W!  Written and directed by Pablo Berger. Gonna watch the rest in a moment...almost at the part where Carmen (Blancanieves) runs off with a troupe of dwarves and becomes a famous matador like her father.  Roger Ebert LOVED "Blancanieves."

Thinking of educational activities--like how do I print my own designs on t-shirts?  Like this for DC residents:  "We don't always get along, but we're not CONGRESS!"

Checked my Pepco bill today and discovered that if I bought an energy-saver fridge, the savings in electricity costs over the life of the appliance would more or less pay for it. 

Capers are actually BUDS of caper flowers, and sometime they're the actual berries.  Love capers, whatever they are.

summer returns

DOWN:

Day two of the shutdown, and the streets are largely empty.  Even Starbucks by the Archives metro stop was closed early.  With all the Smithsonian museums closed--all that glorious art locked up--it feels like an emotional ghost town.  The Phillips and the Women's Museum--both private--were open and free yesterday.  Dunno about the Corcoran.  The tickets for those over 65 at the Newseum were like $18!! (Do you think the greedy barons of broadcasting could spare a freaking dime?)  They say that's for two days, but I don't want to go back.  All those fakey, misleading headlines out front just spoil my outlook. 

It's hot again (mid to high 80s).  I know, I should not complain (and always brag that I'd much rather be hot than cold--true).  But it's still uncomfortable when the calendar tell me I want to be wearing a sweatshirt.

Have been listing to port a bit these days when I go out to walk.  Even just to take out the trash.  no problem with starboard....just port.  Need to get serious about this. 

I think the Republican Leader in the House of Representatives often is bombed out of his skull.  An intervention, please!!

My old friends leave today.  Snif!

UP:

Lovely advice yesterday online:  "Buy whatever you want at the grocery store:  it's always cheaper than eating out." So true.  It's always less fattening than restaurant food, too.  Lots of data on that. 

I think I have the most wonderful friends in the world.  What a huge blessing they are and have been.  Brilliant, compassionate, fun & funny, warm & loving, accomplished, unpretentious, not a repug among 'em! 

The new entry fob system is fun.  I love all the loud buzzing and instant access!!  As long as the power holds....

TEA & CAKE:

Dandelion root tea at home, though I ate the cake out:  a brownie--not precisely cake, but delicious--with chocolate sauce, a very small scoop of vanilla ice cream, and 5 raspberries.  Yum. 

New Regime.....(just here at XE, not in the longsuffering US of A)

Belgian Waffle has instituted daily posts starting with down and up, in that order.  She also has taken to having afternoon tea and cake, with photos and reviews on the cakes.  The Waffle is one of my favorite curmudgeonly posters, with bonus points for being a Brit living in Belgium.  She exhibits all the best points of being a curmudgeon: prodigious sense of humor, not an angry person. 

Well, ok. 

DOWN:

The National Gallery is CLOSED today, thanks to Republican idiocy.  This means C and I can't get
the lebetzin the birthday gift we had decided upon yesterday.  We didn't buy it yesterday because I
had no $$ in the bank and was waiting for my annuity to arrive today.  (It did, thank you very much,
annuity people.)  I guess I'll just have to make her a homemade card and let it go at that.

There's some truck outside belonging to an "electric security system" who are  gonna install our fob-operated entry system.  I call it "operation lockout,"  cuz when the power goes out, as it does every winter here when a big storm knocks over a bunch of trees and the branches take out the power lines as they fall, the fob system won't work.  They call it "secure," but I call it lockout.    They could have changed the locks and gotten us all new keys for way less than they're spending on the lockout. 

UP:
An old friend finally sold her condo, which she has been thinking of selling for years!  She's not particularly ancient, but we've known each other for a long time.  She is delighted and planning to visit Iceland! 

I can go another week or two without a new haircut.  I like cutting it myself, but every now and then,
I go turn myself in to the SALON.

TEA AND CAKE:
 No photo yet, but I plan to brew a nice cup of genmaicha and make my own cake.

so much for hiatus....

Here's a thought (from Informed Comment today):

Karl Rove’s permanent Republican majority evaporated in 2008. The next stage of American political development may be a shift of the Democratic Party toward a genuine democratic socialism. If private insurance companies can’t provide us proper health insurance, we may have to go to single-payer. If power plants are endangering us, we may have to nationalize them and close them down in favor of solar coops. The prevailing order is not the only possible one, and by taking thought and by peaceful social action, the 99% can change the rules of the game.

 We gotta THINK and DO right (not right wing).