Carrying On

With the amount of absurdity swirling around those of us in the US, the schadenfreude of the few and the shock of everyone else, I have been busy trying to keep my sanity. What little remains. I've been doing a lot of baking and, of course, the general meal prep. Simple is so satisfying. Pan fried flounder. How simple and delicious on a cold Minnesota night.

Don't choke on your coffee, I will be leaving the walls of my own security to venture into the chaos of the world. I'm going to Costco. I feel like a world traveler.

 

Clippity-Clop

Mail Delivery

 

There are so many of the very old photos in the boxes with nothing written on back. I know that, except for a few clearly marked, they come from my maternal family. I didn't know any of these photos existed until my mother died, so I never had an opportunity to ask. I come from a fractured family. I barely knew my paternal side, never meeting some of my father's siblings. I knew my maternal grandma, thankfully, but any contact I'd had with anyone else ended when I was around ten.

I know personality disorders are difficult to understand. Believe me, I've heard it all, but folks -- they are real and not all that rare. There is no need to look farther than DC to see many and one in particular.

One thing I know for certain and have the evidence to prove it. My ancestors really liked their camera!

Ah, the Years

My mother had boxes and boxes of photos that I brought home when I was clearing out her house in 2020. I went through some of them but not all. These past few days I have been spending time looking through some. 

So......the passage of time: 

The back of this photo says I was six. My mother liked curly hair.

No age on this but I would guess maybe eight?

Again, no age. This is a little harder to guess. I would say from eleven to thirteen.

This photo I posted before to show the "don't mess with me" face I already had as a teen. I have a junior high yearbook that places me in ninth grade. I would have been fourteen at the time the photo was taken and fifteen a couple of months later.

This is my junior year in highschool. I was sixteen at the time of the photo and seventeen a couple of months later.

Looking at the expression on my face I think I understand why I never had a boyfriend during my school years. I may have scared them!

Doggie Memory

Howard B. Hound

 

He was a fellow of many talents.

 

Some won't be able to see this because it's on Threads. Even without the message I like the music. With the message I like it more.

I'm not going to be consistent with comments for awhile. My mental state is a wreck. I'm lousy company. My DIL is protesting whenever possible. They live in the city, in a diverse neighborhood, and she works in a government building in the city center. I'm proud of her and also concerned. We know it doesn't take much to end up facedown on the street or to be shot. Or murdered. The reality has hit.

https://www.threads.com/@skjervem/post/DT8XjfQDsbW?xmt=AQF04SpnZBjwvQdLWgKGpR4ZtWnvge4aMowF6tBGCyiVs8D0twXTmLBF1gtyi9Rvv-uxoWm1&slof=1

Democracy in Action

Minneapolis, Minnesota. Where my son lives. Where I have lived. Twenty minutes from where I now live. There has not been violence against these thugs. They perpetuate violence. They are met with chanting, yelling, swearing, anger. They are not met with violence. I fear the rise in what was already over-the-top aggression is going to lead to what the whole point of this seems to be. Someone is going to snap. Then we will see if democracy can stand.

And Again

 

                                

Cat Day

Tabby just finished a beer.

I don't allow cats on countertops. Mark thinks Tabs is different and should be allowed to be there if that's what he wants. I can relent, sometimes, so I try not to look, but of course I do. The compromises we make in life.

Brrrrrrrr

Dusk

It is -21 F with a wind chill factor of -37 (-29 C -38 C). It is a bit chilly. The horses will stay tucked into their stalls. As long as they have hay it's ok by them.

The fireplace has been busy. Mark brought in plenty of wood so he won't have to do that today. He does need to go out for the beasties, though. At least the barn is reasonably warm. I finished my latest Inspector Gamache book and have started on As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Sort of polar opposites. Next in the que is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Both books have been on the waiting list for awhile and both became ready at one time. I can get through both in the 21 days allotted.

I've kept myself busy and the kitchen warm the last few days with baking. A couple of days ago I made tarelli, a Southern Italian roll which is something like a bagel. Yesterday I made a lemon olive oil cake. Olive oil cakes are light and moist. Too bad they aren't calorie free!

So, a brief synopsis of life on the farm in January. Take care my east coast friends. You may be overwhelmed by snow.

ICEcycles