Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Harmony Cottage, Protesting, Knitting

LIFE

Life has been pretty calm around Harmony Cottage. Old Husband occupied himself yesterday by going through a church cookbook we purchased in 1962, the year we married. He wanted to reminisce about recipes we used to cook and some of the people that had submitted recipes. Who would have thought that cookbook would still be around 55 years later?

Food pretty much consumes Old Husband's thoughts. He had kitchen duty in the boys home where he grew up and it's never left him. As soon as he's had his morning coffee he begins thinking about lunch. He's still holding forth in the kitchen. I suggest what he should cook and help with the shopping. I only get involved when I'm called. No kitchen is big enough for the two of us to work together. About 4:00 p.m. every afternoon he begins saying "What's for supper?"
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Daughter flies in tomorrow for a week. I'm suffering cabin fever so it will be good to get out some.
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POLITICAL
I have a bit of a quarrel with this protest. My daughter is a nurse. What if all women nurses stayed home from work one day? I think teachers would be in that same category. Think how much confusion that would cause in classrooms across America if all women teachers failed to show up to teach.

I strongly believe there is a place in democracy for peaceful protests. I believe protests have made a difference in the situation regarding the repeal of Obamacare. 

Perhaps it's just me, but I feel like some of the protests are beginning to exhibit anger. Nobody wins when that happens.
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Why Republicans Can't Do Health Care
This was an interesting article, a bit different than the usual. I suggest you read it.
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Obama Has A Bite-Your-Tongue Policy On Trump. It's Proving Harder To Keep.
President Trump is like a buzzing mosquito getting under people's skin.
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Pete Buttigieg Is The Future Of The Democratic Party. But What Kind Of Future?
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KNITTING

Since the election I've found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on much of anything.  Add to that my tremors and some nerve pain and my knitting is limited.

I seldom knit anything but socks but I found this long ago started shawl the other day and decided to do a little work on it. The pattern is "January Scarf" on Ravelry.
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I lost patience with the bright colored socks of thicker yarn and changed to a yarn much easier to use, "Felici" from KnitPicks.

Not the best quality yarn but oh so soft. After I've struggled with a difficult yarn I go back to "Felici" to recover. This will be short ribbed socks for spring and summer.
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Then I decided to try my hand with colored pencils and coloring books.
That was okay but I soon realized I was gripping the colored pencils as hard as I gripped knitting needles. Besides, I've never figured out how to sharpen colored pencils to a good point.
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Then I tried Crossword Puzzles
I've never had the patience to do very well with crossword puzzles. Then I read you should stick with one puzzle creator. I found these very simple books by Stanley Newman. I started with the super simple ones and thought I might work my way to more difficult books. 
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Somewhere along the way I decided it was time for some new shoes.
How do you like these for sedate old lady shoes? Actually there are only two companies that make athletic shoes in my size so I don't have a big selection to choose from. When I was a child I was wearing adult size shoes and could never have shoes like my friends wore. As an adult I was obsessed with pretty shoes. Anything unusual in my size and I quickly bought it. Looks like I'm still that way.

18 comments:

  1. I love your shoes. The students at Columbia, where I am school chaplain, would love them, too.

    I'm \glad your husband fixes meals. My husband can heat up leftovers, if forced. Otherwise, his favorite meal is tortilla chips and salsa and a bean burrito.

    As for today's women's protest, I couldn't bring myself to stay away from the school where the kids are so desperate for a bit of kindness. I did wear red shoes.

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    1. Interesting that left to my own I also eat tortilla chips and salsa. Bob has always been so focused on food that I don't even like to think about food. I like your choice to go to school and minister to those children rather tan participate in the protest.

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  2. I'm glad nobody asks me "what's for dinner". I am the cook, but sometimes I get tired of being the cook, and asking me then would be like poking a bear.
    I think the "Day without a woman was a bad idea, poorly thought out. I hope no one loses a job because of it. I think it should have been a day when all women went to work challenged to perform at their very best, and maybe even bring treats too, just to show how wonderful women are.
    Pres. Obama has been remarkably restrained so far. And now the disaster that is the AHCA. Repubs hope to ram through the rescind and replace plan, but with that plan, I think they will fail.
    Spiffy shoes!

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    1. Linda, you have no idea how burned out I am talking about food. Your description of poking the bear could not be more accurate. I might starve to death if I lived alone. Susan is coming tomorrow. We're celebrating Caleb's birthday on Sunday. Bob insisted on going to the store today to buy little things for the meal so he wouldn't have so much to think about when we go to buy the big items. We're having hamburgers. Today he bought lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Why would you buy tomatoes and lettuce on Wednesday for a meal on Sunday? He didn't buy buns or meat. I suppose those are the big items.

      I've about decided it's going to be nothing but chaos and madness for the next four years. I just hope we can hang onto as many human rights as possible. It's beyond me what's going on in the mind of Paul Ryan. When all this legislation doesn't go through like Trump wants we'll have to put up with him releasing wrath all over Twitter. I figure he's wining and dining Ted Cruz and his wife tonight to seal the deal for Cruz to approve his healthcare bill. Good luck with that!

      I think women need to be selective now in how they make their presence known. They're beginning to annoy me and I support women's issues. Angry women don't wear well.

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  3. Wow, those are colorful shoes! I love the colors in the shawl.

    I didn't see a lot of women wearing red in support of International Woman's Day but I did see some.

    The old cookbook is like a diary to your husband. It's actually pretty neat that he still enjoys cooking after all these years, even if you can't entirely trust him in the kitchen.

    Thanks for the links.


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    1. Bob spends way too much time living in the past for my taste but that's pretty common among old people. He just about drives me nuts with his food obsession but I try to be patient with him about it. If he didn't have that to look forward to every day he'd be bored to death.

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  4. It's good that old husband has an interest in the kitchen as it helps him to be valued.

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    1. He's very slow but he manages to do some helpful things around here. He's in charge of trash and takes that job very seriously. He's always loved doing laundry and still does his own clothes. I can't decide if cooking is a blessing or a curse but it's here to stay as long as he can make it to the kitchen.

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  5. Love your new sneakers! Colorful is the style these days. Right about when we all get on board with colorful sneakers, the style will change to white sneakers! I always feel like I'm a few years behind the fashion curve.

    As far as the protests, I think they make a good point. In spite of the call for women to not show up at work, I can't imagine they expect every woman (doctors, nurses, police, teachers etc) to not show up. Lives would literally be lost without women at work! I'm sympathetic to the statement they are making.

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    1. I'm a big believer in the power of peaceful protests in a democracy. I've loved seeing all the energy in the country right now. My concern is peaceful protests will lose their power if used too often and not responsibly. They become the norm when that happens, and their effectiveness loses it's power. The first women's march was powerful, those following, less and less. I want to see peaceful protests continue but they're only effective if they produce positive results. We've seen many organizations benefit or be form from the marches up to now. Let's don't water down their effectiveness.

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  6. Carole (above) already made the comment that I had about the day without women.

    Except that those who could actually imagine the disaster that an actual day without women would be are not the target of the effort. Some people do seem to need to be hit over the head to grasp an idea.

    I used to do the newspaper crossword every day. Now I get the paper online and that habit has been broken. I do buy a sudoko book once in while though. The puzzles are addicting to me once I get started.
    Many if not most of the older men I have ever known have asked about upcoming meals. I always thought of it as a self-comforting behavior and somewhat endearing. But then I never had to live with it for long.

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    1. My fear is that streets full of angry women protesting too often may not be the hammer that gets the attention of those that need to hear the message. There's been a time limit on protests about Obamacare, the current Muslim ban etc. protests are effective in those situations. A lot of energy forms and is released around such issues and then we move on. Women's rights is long term. The first women's march was powerful. Those that follow will be less powerful as they become the norm and people turn a deaf ear. We need to use peaceful protests wisely.

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  7. I hope OH cleans up after his cooking. LOL
    Women have been fighting for equal pay for equal work 40+ years. I wonder if they will mad if they were docked a days pay for not working yesterday?
    Right now, I am back to cross stitching because my mood to crochet has left the building.

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    1. OH is very good about kitchen cleanup.

      Equality for women is a long march. We need to be careful about using all our energy in protest marches and having nothing left for the rest of the journey. My hope is that some new and creative ways to keep the pressure on for the long term came out of that first march. There are ways other than marches to make concerns known. Marches lose their power pretty quickly.

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  8. AARP has online crossword puzzles that are kind of fun. They are timed and are easy to erase but you will get some spam from the visit.
    I don't think there is a better sight than a man in an apron. Think it is good he likes to do what you aren't wild about.
    Love the shoes.

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    1. Yes, on the whole it's been good he likes to cook. Not as good since I retired. I'm also a good cook. His expertise is desserts. Mine is main course cooking. We could really compliment each other's cooking but I haven't found a way to share a kitchen with him.

      I only like paper crossword puzzles. Haven't mastered working them on the computer.

      I don't have a lot of color anymore so I like to go for bright colors, even if it's only my feet.

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  9. Like your shoes. My Mom had such large feet she said all she could find when she was a girl were "old lady shoes", plus was considered taller than most other girls, too. When she was younger had worn shoes too small and developed bunions. Stressed foot care to me.

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  10. It's good that old husband has an interest in the kitchen as it helps him to be valued.


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