I have a feeling this will continue to be another week of SURPRISE news, every fireplacing day. Got my fax and computer fired up, I'm ready to go.
AW: I got a connection! A local supplier of GS cookies, and lots of them! And I'll get this big order this week! My friend's adult daughter is a longtime GS who works with some of the local groups, and she set me up! The order is big because I plan to put some aside for the wedding, and also for emergency use. (I know, these are not usually features of weddings, but my theory is that everybody loves them and you can't get them in June.)
AW: The dog is feeling herself again, at least for now. She had a couple of hikes with The Man this weekend.
What's happening out your way?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
70 comments:
AW: a meeting got canceled tomorrow, so I have a day to take a deep breath.
Good!
Except for, you know, national events.
W: also, one of my senators has a full voicemail box. The other has a busy signal. Busy signals are a thing still?
Yes, they are. Email them. Or send a telegram. Or send a singing telegram.
Keep up the good work pixies - faxes, phones, emails, and more. Resist!
Hooray for GS cookies and cancelled meetings!
I have heard back from my member of parliament (or his assistant, at least), as soon as his Ottawa office opened this morning! I figured that, because I know he agrees with me, and I'm just another number in "my constituents agree with me," I could get away with email.
I'm glad that you have the computer and fax ready, Kathy! You have a senator whose current voting record is not great.
Yeah. Not on all issues, for sure; think she bailed on the confirmations she knew were losers, anyway. And she wasn't present -- out sick? -- for a vote on the ACA, which was just a show vote and didn't do anything. But she is hearing a LOT from me.
Esperanza, do your people have local offices? Sometimes reaching out that way works better. YMMV.
My issue of today is that the T's press secretary tried to use the shooting of Canadian Muslims by a white nationalist nutjob as some kind of proof that T's policies are needed. WHICH MAKES NO SENSE, and is bothering the living hell out of me. This isn't really being carried in the US news, either, what with all the other drama.
Oooh! The acting Attorney General has ordered all lawyers in the DOJ to *not* defend the Muslim/travel ban, because it doesn't look legal. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/us/politics/attorney-general-civil-rights-refugee.html
Which brings me to -- if you like these Executive Orders, you'll love one of the guys who helped with them, the nominee for AG, Jeff Sessions. Personally, my reps have heard from me about him, and they'll hear again.
One of my people has made news for not allowing people to visit his local office, nor accepting phone calls there. Nice. He is a former presidential candidate. So my phone call to him and his senior colleague are just to make me feel better. They are both...what can I say that is not horrible...on the opposite side from me on most any issue, and extremely unlikely to move.
But it's good that you called them, esperanza. A few of my friends live in a constituency represented by a very extreme right politician (and who has been making a name for himself while running for national leadership). We've all been talking about whether there was a point calling his office and expressing their views about all of this, and the consensus was that it was important to call, because at the very least he wouldn't be able to truthfully say that he hadn't heard anything from his constituents on this matter (if he was questioned about how he's said nothing thus far -- although he's probably said a pat "thoughts and prayers" now, after yesterday's massacre).
AW: I discovered a successful strategy for countering spin today! I've been bothered by people repeating a certain historically false talking point -- one wherein the recent EO isn't a big deal, because the previous prez did the same thing and no one complained. Yes, there are recent articles that debunk that claim. But I took the historian's approach, and I dug up news articles from the time that a.) criticize the policy, and b.) provide details of the policy that make it clear that it has nothing to do with what's happening now. (It also does help that I remember a bunch of D@ily Sh0w episodes from the time, which criticized the policy.) It has worked twice now! I'm realising that a lot of people are so disoriented from the sheer barrage of falsehoods that it's hard to even get them to read anything current that doesn't come from one of their usual "news" sources. On the other hand, primary facts, and especially primary facts that are critical? It's hard to deny that.
(BTW, if anyone needs some help with debunking, I have a N3w Y0rk3r article from 2011 that's been doing wonders.)
In the world of not-earth-shattering things, Mini's birthday party was...ok. Two friends came. One friend had rsvp-ed but then didn't come. It was a little disappointing for my "the more, the merrier" Baboo. They had fun together. I inadvertently found out that one of her classmates was having a birthday party at the very same time, to which she wasn't invited. Had we been invited, we could have avoided scheduling them on top of each other. Oh well. We'll figure out something different for next year.
Oh, I'm sorry about the low turnout -- and about this party to which she wasn't invited, because some people are rude. But glad they had fun! oxxo
Yes, QWP, Iwould love that link. Can you put it on my fb page?
Liz: done!
esperanza: oh, poor little Mini! I'm glad that they still had fun, but that's disappointing about the turnout and the competing party.
You all: what the fireplace is going on? How am I supposed to go to bed, when this clusterfireplace keeps unfolding?
I worry that I didn't clarify my purpose in posting that enough, Liz. I think someone is thinking that it's proof that it was the same in 2011, instead of debunking the current claims.
Sorry mini's birthday party turnout was low, but glad they had fun. Happy Birthday to Mini on Wednesday!!!!!
:) Neighbor Lady
Sorry about Mini's party attendance. The pics are awesome, especially the cake! I'm glad they had fun despite the numbers.
QWP: I had a hard time falling asleep last night because of all the clusterfireplacing going on. Calming music helped, but morning came far too quickly.
W: My sister was hospitalized on Sunday for CO poisoning. She was attending a luncheon at an old military barracks (with an old boiler) and passed out. She and one other person were taken to hospital, while 26 others were tested and found to have CO in their system.
AW: She is fine now, but what a scare! She said all she remembers is feeling utterly exhausted, then waking up in the ambulance.
Sue, oh no! How scary for your sister and everyone else there! Glad she is ok.
I'm falling asleep ok, but I'm having stressy dreams and not feeling rested when I wake up.
How terrifying, Sue! I'm thankful that your sister is okay (and am side eyeing the lack of a functional CO detector in the old barracks).
I have my regular checkup and bp today, and so we'll see what the effect of lack of sleep and too much panic over news does to my body. I might have to go offline for a couple of hours and think about calm, blue oceans. (Is that a phrase that all nurses use, when they're doing bp tests on someone in distress? Every nurse in the mother/baby unit used it while testing my bp, before E was born.)
Oh, Sue! I'm glad your sister is OK, but that's awful.
QWP, my BP always is higher when I first get to the doctor's, and then back to a decent level after I've been there a bit...
I'm so sorry about the low turnout, Esperanza, and even sorrier about the other party. That sucks.
Thinking of your sister, Sue!
QWP, sending thoughts for low BP.
Oceans stress me out. They shouldn't tell *me* to think about that!
AW: I have fought the patriarchy today, and it was anticlimactic. I went to buy wood and supplies for building Baboos' headboards. Nobody side-eyed me for being at the big box hardware store.
AW: In the process, I won one for the environment. By asking the store to pre-cut my plywood (which they do for free), I managed to fit it into the Pr1us.
Trying to find the good...
Well done, esperanza!
And we're back from our checkups, where E charmed the doctor (as usual). My bp was in the normal range (135/80), but that's a lot higher than usual (I've been 120/80 at every bp check for the past 4 years). When I expressed surprise that it was higher than usual, I admitted that I've been stressed a lot from reading so much news. "We'll just blame D*n*ld Pmurt for that," said Dr. M.
Your doc has a sense of humor, QWP! (But truly, the news hasn't done my bp any good...)
Great work, Esperanza!
Sue, so sorry about your sister! Glad she is ok!
esperanza, yay for a successful building supply outing.
Just signed up for a subscription to T33n V0gu3. They have had some great reporting on current political issues and I wanted to support them. (I think Neighbor Girl will enjoy that). Plus, who knows, I might enjoy some fashion advice! haha
:) Neighbor Lady
Also, a whine: we are getting snow, but just enough to be annoying and not enough for a snow day probably.
Also, I caught Neighbor Guy's cold.
:(
Neighbor Lady
NL -- T33n V0gu3 has been running some really good journalism lately! Not the first place one would look, but there you go. Stepping up!
Ick on the cold and the not-really-much snow.
W: omg, so much news. Had to send 2 more missives to my critters today, about items breaking today. Must.Seek.Netfl1x
A certain s0cial serv!ces organization geared toward protecting children is now involved in our situation. Apparently there have been at least 3 reports made about STBX. None of the reports were made by me. They don't seem to be taking them terribly seriously at this point, but we'll see. My home appears to have passed muster, at least.
GAL is also doing her investigation and wants me to prove that my health issues don't negatively impact my parenting. Considering that the kids' grades and attendance records actually went up when I became primary custodian and the main one responsible to getting them to school, they haven't missed any of their regular extracurricular or social activities due to my health issues, and they are well-cared-for, I don't really know how I'm supposed to go about proving a negative. I have a note from my doctor and test results showing significantly improved strength and range of motion from my physical therapist since the separation, but other than that and providing contact information for third parties who can speak to my parenting role, I have no clue.
Excuse me, but STBX got social services involved??????
Glad the GAL is involved, and the kids are doing better -- so you're proving a positive. Also glad your doc can document you are doing physically better. xoxoxo
kathy a, the way I read it, some other person or persons reported/made complaints against STBX to the social service agency. So his actions led to their involvement, but he did not call them.
Good to hear from you, pk.
esperanza is correct. The reports were about STBX, made by third party concerned person(s). The social worker told me there were no reports or concerns about me.
STBX is upset and wants to cut off child's relationship with the person he suspects of making the report . . . who is a required reporter as part of their role.
OMG, PK. That does sound serious, and more so if the person is a required reporter, and now STBX is trying to get that person off the case. That is -- kinda unhinged. xoxoxo
PK, I think it can only be good to have more and more people looking into things and seeing the truth of what is happening.
I agree... having reports made by a mandated reporter should carry some weight and hopefully can help resolve this soon.
Hugs and prayers.
--NL
Well done with the building project, esperanza!
Yay NL for subscribing to TV - they've done some good work lately. I hope the snow is either snow-day worthy, or not too annoying.
pk, I agree too...the more people involved and reporting, the better. It sounds like stbx is becoming truly unhinged, so hopefully he will show his true colours and this will be decided soon.
AW: Great vigil at our local mosque last night. For our little city, the turnout was remarkable, and our hosts were so gracious. They served coffee (donated from a local timmy's) to take the chill off the evening, and they made delicious bread to share with everyone. It was good to feel like we were doing something in response to the tragedy.
How lovely, about the vigil.
I got the stuff! 16 boxes of assorted GS cookies, most of which are immediately going into hiding. Mom of the scout drives right past here for school drop-off, so she even delivered! (I'm saving some for the wedding, because why not?)
(((PK))) Sounds like you are doing exactly the right thing wrt the GAL. Showing better attendance, fewer tardies, etc IS proving the negative. You are able to parent beautifully despite your illness.
I'm so relieved that a mandated reporter has reported to the proper authorities. The more independent reports the better.
Sending love to you.
W: Math homework backsliding. She knew how to do double digit subtraction last week. This week, it's "too hard."
Would some kind of counting objects help? (beans, pennies, whatevs.) It's not too hard; might be too boring...
She's got objects, she's got a number chart, she could do it last week. I think it's an off afternoon. She also had trouble reading. I've got PTSD from last year's homework battles, so maybe she does too. Ugh. I emailed the teacher. It'll be ok.
Dog poop. In my hall. That I did not see until too late. And when I took off the slipper that had stepped in the poop, my own foot stepped in it before I saw it. Oy. And, my poor dog, she would never have done this before she was sick. p.s. -- I do not deal well with poop.
ew, ew, ew, ew.
That's a winning whine kathy a. Ew.
Oh no, Kathy! Ewwwwww!
PK, I'm thankful for the mandated reporter, and hope that social services and the GAL see things properly and help you and the kids.
Old Skool whine: time for my routine internal ultrasound, for tracking purposes. (Apparently it's been two and a half years, and so it's really time again. Ugh.) 8:40am, which meant that I had to finish drinking 1L of water by 7:40. So, I'm here, and they have my appointment, but they never received the actual requisition from my doctor's office, and they keep getting a busy signal when they call her office. And so I must wait, with a full bladder. (Did I mention that "overactive bladder" is a common symptom of my condition?)
Requisition received! Phew. My appointment will be soon.
Oh ick, kathy. Just, ew.
QWP - I'm SO glad the requisition was received!
Ewwwww, Kathy! So sorry.
What a relief, QWP!
Good news! The employer sent me a new boatload of paperwork! I've completed it and sent it back. Now we wait again.
New Boatload! They really like you. ;)
Liz, you're doing all these boatloads of paperwork but do not yet have a job offer? Am I keeping up, or have I missed something?
QWP, glad the order got there!
Yay, Liz! I have the same question as esperanza...is all the paperwork the result of an actual offer, or is that the part you're waiting for?
W: I hab a code id my node. Blech.
AW: Cat nurses.
I have an offer. Paperwork is for the start date.
This is normal for software development.
YAY!!!
Hooray!!!
Yippee!!
AW: This week, but really over the course of the last month, I've sllloooowwwwllllyyy moved Mini's bedtime back by at least an hour. She is having a hard time waking up in the morning and sleeps in on the weekend like a teenager. So last night, as soon as Sweet went to sleep (she goes to bed, like clockwork, every night at 7 pm), I started moving Mini toward bed. She was asleep at 7:45, as soon as I left her room. I think I can move bedtime even earlier for her. This hasn't happened in (what feels like) years! I used to be able to get things done in the evenings!
AW: My "let's sign Mini up for track in the hopes it will wear her out" may be working.
YAY for moving bedtime earlier!
W: I am having a really grumpy stress tummy today. I don't know why, there's literally NOTHING to be stressed about, right?
Yay for the bedtime switch! My older needed more sleep, but objected to the younger -- Ms. Energizer Bunny -- going to bed later. One trick in the arsenal was instituting quiet time. She had to be quiet (reading, playing) in her bed, not running around.
Liz, I'm so sorry. And having a similar trouble, because NO STRESS at all!
Nope, no stress here. My tummy isn't very happy, but I haven't been treating it well. See above re: stress.
I've sent 2 emails to my critters so far today, and it's not even noon here. There are more issues, but I already wrote or called about those.
Kind of an AW: It poured all night, but isn't now. It is odd to have so very much rain after all the dry years!
Emailed my critter as well. Surprisingly, a rumor was circulating yesterday that he might be wavering on the Education nominee. I was able to leave a message in DC, and talk to a staffer in a local office. Passed along info to a couple of friends who were also able to talk to real people.
YAY, Esperanza! It will just take one more vote to turn this Ed. Sec. thing around. Final vote is Tuesday. Spread the word!
Last night, a federal judge in Seattle issued a nationwide order blocking the immigration / travel ban -- and today, the administration announced it would not enforce the ban!
YAY!!!!
--NL
Now, what was he distracting us from in the meantime?
Well, there sure has been a lot going on, all at once... My personal theory is that wanted to show his mightiness, and does not understand there are limits on his personal superpowers.
He just enjoys cruelty. And doesn't see anyone else as a human being worthy of respect.
(I've been at a horrible meeting today and am not feeling charitable toward my fellow people, sorry).
S'all right. Think you're on to something about not recognizing others as humans worthy of respect. And sorry about the meeting.
W: OK, I'm still upset (that may be strong) about yesterday's meeting. We had a proposal. People questioned not the particulars of our proposal, but our process in getting to the proposal (ie, who did you talk to about this? when? did you consult group x? when?). It felt like they weren't trusting us to have done a thorough job. It felt also like they were trying to uncover a hidden agenda (which we did not have). I honestly did not care whether they accepted our proposal or not. But I do care that they treated us crummily. It didn't help that a person I've had unpleasant dealings with in the past was chairing this meeting. He took the opportunity to make snide comments aimed directly and personally at me. So. I'll be avoiding him more assiduously in the future.
AW: But then I went to church today, and y'all, my people are so good. There were 19 of them today. The women, of course, are the ones who make things happen. But the men were helping each other with garden advice. One revealed that he plants too much in his garden, so he can take the extra fresh produce to the food bank. I visited two feisty old ladies at the nursing home. It was a good day, and made yesterday's meeting recede somewhat.
W: Another all-fireplacing-day meeting tomorrow. I admire the chair of this group, so I'm anticipating a much more pleasant experience.
(((Esperanza))) I hate those kinds of meetings. At our church, we had one to vote on a name change after months and months of meetings to pick the name to change to (Un1tar1@n Un1vers@lists of St3erling became Un1tar1@n Un1vers@list Congregation of St3erling). And someone at that voting meeting said, "why wasn't there an opportunity to provide input to the name change?"
Months. Months and months and months.
I'm glad you were refreshed by yesterday though! And I hope today's meeting is good too. But really? All day?
Post a Comment