Well, Friends...

 I have been busy trying to stay calm until at least after the election.  It has become easier now that I automatically shut down the annoying political commercials.  Won't miss those at all!

I think what amazes me the most is that so many running for office seem to think that the ones who might vote for them are dumb as a box of rocks.  Which tells me politics has nothing to do with the care of citizens and everything to do with money and power.

So, until the votes are counted (Does anyone actually believe elections are fair anymore?) my time is filled with things that make me happy.

I just love retirement.  After years of working jobs, sometimes more than one - kids need to eat so we do what we need to do - I am enjoying this time immensely.  No alarm clock.  No spending time doing things I dislike.  OK - there is still mopping floors and laundry.  But I get to decide how to spend my time.

Right now, my kitchen table is covered with file folders and manila envelopes full of genealogy paperwork.  Found my mother's high school diploma from 1942 and a postcard written by my dad to his mother in the middle of the Depression of the 1930's, letting her know that he and his brother had found work picking up potatoes from a field in Montana.  When work in northern Minnesota couldn't be found, they rode freight trains west in search of a way to make money for the family.  Found a letter written by my paternal grandmother, describing her encounter with a black bear while in the woods picking blueberries.  (She ignored the bear and exited the woods slowly and quietly.  Me... probably would have run away, screaming!)

Many would find this activity dry as dust, but I love the research about ancestors.  I find that my adult children seem to be a bit interested as well.  And a granddaughter was asking about this, so I have hope that my family will find it interesting.  They should know where they come from.

I haven't abandoned preparing.  Earlier this week I cooked up some odds and ends of poultry and pork that were languishing in my freezer.  My grocery order for next week includes veggies to add to the meat to make 'meals in a jar.'  I love having the jar meals on hand so I can just heat up the contents and dinner is served.  Think this time I will cook the contents together, cool and freeze in quart freezer bags.  I am pretty much out of shelf space for jars.

And I have rambled on long enough.  Sometimes these posts are more like emails between friends.  Take good care.  Stay safe.  Things might just get crazier when the election results are in.  And may God place a veil of protection over all of you.

Finding Peace

Seems like everywhere I turn, there are those who are convinced the world will end the day after our election.  They say that we are in trouble if our supply of beans and bandaids isn't full to overflowing.  They offer little in the way of hope and much in the way of fear.

I realize that I have been guilty of those very things.  And I feel like it may be time for a change.

I look around and see that my storage shelves are full of home canned foods.  So are the boxes and tubs and buckets that hold all the rest of my food and supplies.  As is a closet full of sugar and flour and other baking supplies.  As is my chest freezer.  Unless the grocery stores close forever, my family will be OK.

I will still keep an eye on what is happening in the world around me.  I see too many that are blissfully ignorant of the problems we all face.  And the combination of ignorance and lack of any preparaton whatsoever is a deadly combination.

But I need a break from the constant worry and fear that we all have been living with for the past few years.  And frankly, I am sick to death of all the political bs.  Everywhere I look, I find politicians tossing insults at one another like third graders on the playground.  When all is said and done, they all are going to do whatever they want, regardless of what those who elected them think.  

I have things to do that make me happy.  I have a large box of old photos to get into albums so my kids and grands will know who some of those ancestors are.  I have quilts and crocheted afghans to finish.  And I think perhaps a batch of chocolate chip cookies might just be in my near future.

We are responsible for our own frames of mind.  We can choose to be angry or fearful or worried.  Right now, while I am still relatively sane, I choose peace.

Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hanse

Aftermath

First and foremost...our friend Patrick, who is in Florida, added a comment last evening letting us know that although there was considerable damage in his area, the power is back on and he is OK.  So prayers of thanks are ongoing today.

I'm thinking that for many, the past two hurricanes may have served as a wake-up call.  I know that seeing reports of what happened to those in the path of the storms gave me pause to reconsider some of the preparedness things I am doing.

I am not going to list what I think everyone should be doing.  Each situation is different from the next.  Each family has its own list of needs.  Foods that your family loves, another family wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole!  I have a list of medical supplies needed for the care of my legs.  Others may need totally different supplies.  Each person needs to decide what items make sense to store for their family.  

Nor will I try to tell anyone what supplies, gadgets, etc. everyone "has to have or they will die."  There are some who feature iterms that can be helpful in emergency situations.  Those I will consider.  It is the ones who insist I will not survive without their product that I avoid like the plague.

The point is...being as prepared as possible for whatever happens is the smart thing to do.   I have seen reports and videos and even comments here, telling us what worked for their families when things went from bad to worse.  It is my hope and prayer that some of those who were convinced the government would save them have realized that is pure fantasy.  

We know that bad things can happen, sometimes without warnng.  Folks may survive.  But the survival is much easier if some preparations have been made in advance.

Those Boy Scouts - the ones with the moitto "Be Prepared" had the right idea.

Pray for Florida

 By all reports, a devastating hurricane is due to hit the family and friends of this silly little blog.  Florida is in the crosshairs of the most powerful storm within memory of most.  We can't stop it.  We can only watch it as it destroys.

What we can do is pray.  Pray for those who will undoubtedly lose their homes, their businesses, their lives.  

Today is a day of prayer for those who are in danger.  Please add your prayers to mine.

Really?

 Let me see if I have this right.

Southern states are in the middle of a weather-related crisis bigger than anyone can remember.  Folks still don't have food, drinkable water, supplies, power or even homes.  What they do have are the clothes on their backs and little else in the hardest hit areas.

And another hurricane is heading directly to the mainland of Florida.

FEMA is nowhere to be seen with one exception.  They are trying to tell civilians who are getting donations and filling trucks full of necessities for the victims that they can't do that without government authorization.

Kick rocks, you bastards.  You sent the emergency funds to the criminals who crossed our borders illegally.  Firing isn't good enough for you.  I'm thinking the methods of dealing with the bad guys in the old West might be more appropriate.

On top of all of the suffering of Americans, our illustrious vice president tells us that 157 million dollars of taxpayer's cash is on the way to Lebanon.  That's the country of Lebanon.  Because the problems of yet another country are far more important than the suffering of our own.

I do believe I now understand fully why the Second Amendment is so important.  It is there so citizens have the ability to protect themselves from a tyrannical government.  Any government that would treat its own citizens so badly has earned the title.  

I have to wonder just how much more abuse we can take before we do something about it.

When Government insults - not helps.

 People have watched their houses collapse or float on down the river.  Vehicles are trashed.  And let's not forget how many have died due to this storm.  And how many have disappeared.  Entire towns are just gone.  Businesses that served the people for years no longer exist.  Many folks are still stranded in the mountains due to roads that have washed away.

Can someone please explain to me why our government thinks a $750 per person is generous?  Billions to Ukraine is generous.  Free housing, food, medical care and cell phones plus cash or credit cards given to illegal aliens is generous.  $750 is an insult.

And where the bloody hell is our government during all of this?  Nowhere to be found.  A couple of written statements given in 15-minute photo opps mean nothing.  

I understand that there is a considerable amount of bs on the internet, mostly to provide clicks to self-serving idiots.  I have been following those who are actually doing something to help.  Pinball and Patara as well as others have had boots on the ground, personally bringing badly needed food, water and supplies to those in desperate need, as well as working to organize semi-trucks of goods that at this point are nothing if not lifesaving.

The cackling hen is today campaigning with her buddy, Barack.  Lord only knows where pudding for brains is.

Many of us cannot do much about the situation in the southern part of our beloved country.  Many of us are having a hard time paying the bills and keeping food on the table.  

But we can pray.  Pray that those in need will get help.  That those who no longer have homes will find a place to rest.  That those who have lost loved ones might be comforted by God's grace.  

I don't care what anybody says.  There is power in prayer.

For the love of God, pray for those poor souls.

Trolls

 It isn't very often that I am bothered by trolls.  But just for future reference, here's how things work here.

I don't mind opposing opinions.  Polite conversation is a good thing.  I am so glad that some who comment here will have conversations with others.  That's how we learn.  That's how ideas and information is shared for the benefit of all.  That's a very good thing.

What is not a good thing is rude behavior to other commentors.  Name calling will not be allowed.  Although I have nothing against calling a troll a dumb ass.  If you are dumb enough to attempt to insult others or try to pick a fight, the name of dumb ass is appropriate.

I find that the older I get, the less patience I have for stupid.  So, I am done with warnings.  I have a 'delete' button and I know how to use it.

For everyone else, you are absolutely welcome here.  I am so very grateful to those who comment...who add to the conversation.  We are all in this together.

Keep stacking.  Keep praying.  Especially praying for the folks who are dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane.  God help them.  Please!