Sunday, May 31, 2020

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Truth, Justice And Other Events

What a mess.





Unless you're living under a rock, Gentle Readers, you've heard the sad story of George Floyd's death after he was pinned by the neck by a police officer's knee. The officer who did it, Derek Chauvin, is in jail, charged with murder. It seems entirely possible there will be more charges, too.


Riots and protests seem to have taken over the country, protesting Floyd's death. It's all happened extremely fast, and the protestors aren't always locals, either. Which is interesting. Where do you go to hire a protestor? ('Must be willing to commit violence...')

Was Mr. Floyd completely clean in this matter? Ummm, well... after a decade-plus of jail time, he moved to Minneapolis for a clean start, it's said. The link just mentioned will even take you to a short message he posted on video, urging the next generation to clean up their act.

    He sounds like a nice guy who was trying.

    But he was also allegedly picked up for passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Not exactly lily-white, there, either.

Even stranger -- Mr. Floyd, and the cop who knelt on his neck, both worked security at the same bar -- but Floyd worked inside, and Chauvin worked outside.  (And I'm supposed to believe they didn't recognize each other??)

The official autopsy says that Floyd's death was due to the "combined effect of Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions, and any potential intoxicants in his system  likely contributed to his death." According to the report, Mr. Floyd was 46 and had 'underlying health conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease.'

The family wants an independent autopsy done. Absolutely! Why not! Update: Results were released today -- 'asphyxia due to neck and back compression,' cutting off blood flow to the brain. Hmmm...

It's clear the neckhold was a dangerous position to put a person in...especially for more than 8 minutes. But no signs of strangulation? (The autopsy report was clear on that.)  Shaun King, that journalist of dazzling integrity, just released a brief video that shows the police obviously struggling with Floyd inside the cruiser. King argues they're beating him up -- but it seems equally possible that Floyd ended up on the ground because he was fighting with them inside the car. Floyd was not exactly a small man, which probably was a little intimidating.

So where do you go? Yes, there's injustice here. Was Mr. Floyd treated with politeness and courtesy? Well, obviously not. BUT was he responding with same?

    We can't tell, can we? I'm really hoping that all four officers had bodycams on -- because that would answer an awful lot of questions.

Meanwhile, dozens of cities have had violent protestors burning, trashing and painting insults multiple nights, with more expected. Denver included, by the way, though the police managed to back the protestors down the road, using teargas and united movement. (I'll post this before Sunday's news comes out, but hopefully it's calmer nationwide.)

Are anarchist groups organizing the violence and destruction? NYPD cops think so.

Another example, this time from Ground Zero:
Minneapolis protests, done peaceably: fine. Minneapolis looting done under the guise of protesting: sickening.   Even the news outlets are paying for it.

What bothers me are the people ( black, white and whatever) who paid for this when their businesses were looted and burned, and police everywhere (black, white and whatever), who are having to put up with insults, thrown bottles, bricks and abuse -- knowing that if they fight back at all, it will be their actions posted on the internet -- not those who egged them on. Al Sharpton said to feel bad for the black businesspeople who lost out. Apparently the others can just lump it.  (Have to admit it -- I do admire that man for his ability to sprint to the latest soundbite and photo opportunity.)

And who's going to clean up -- and pay -- for the mess?

Kudos to the protestors who really did mean well, marched down the street...then went home. Even more kudos to those brave and kind people who took part of their Sunday morning to help start cleaning up, in cities across the country. Good for them.  And protestors stopping would-be looters?  Wow.

Hopefully the police are rounding up every video and still photograph of the looters, burners and vandalizers they can get their hands on.



I do wonder, though -- what about people like Breonna Taylor? Her case seems much more straightforward -- and worthy of protest. 

-----------------
Now, for a Michigan story:

I should have put this update about Michigan's Governor Whitmer on the other post, probably -- but was (un)surprised. After all, she just extended Michigan's 'stay-at-home' order until mid-June. (I could care less, by the way, that she's a registered Democrat, or a possible VP candidate. Really. What I do care about are the well-being, physically and financially, of Michiganders -- including many friends and family members.)

It was just a 'failed attempt at humor,' Governor Whitmer says, about her husband's demand to cut in front of the line for getting his boat in the water, so he could use it for Memorial Day Weekend. Isn't this the same governor who loosened restrictions, then strongly recommended that no one be allowed to travel for the holiday? Uhhh... yes. She and husband have a vacation home near Traverse City -- hours away from Lansing, Michigan's capitol. Even more ironically, she said, just days before:

     "If you don't live in these regions...think long and hard before you take a trip into them. A small spike could put the hospital system in dire straits pretty quickly. That's precisely why we're asking everyone to continue doing their part. Don't descend on...Traverse City from all regions of the state."

    Yep. That joke was real funny.

   No word on whether she actually 'descended' or not during Memorial Day -- but her husband was certainly there.  Maybe this is yet another example of the governor exempting herself from the rules applied to commonfolk... after all, she's a public figure.

    Not that this happens anywhere else in the country, that governors don't follow their own mandates. Nope. Unh - unh.

     Another update:  The Owosso barbershop is CLOSED. (The barber says he'll continue to cut hair, in spite of it. We'll see.)


Update:  Governor Whitmer lifted restrictions a bit more -- no theaters and such, but restaurants can open, provided they limit customers. And yes, hair salons are still closed.

---------------------------
Meanwhile:

They made it! The Space-X rocket blasted off Saturday afternoon -- the first manned rocket in nine years, and (I believe) the first combination payload/passenger flight in a long, long time.




Frugal plants for black thumb gardeners.  I'd add rosemary, green beans,  kale or chard -- and cherry tomatoes. (From A Frugal Girl)

Want to be extra-confused about facemasks? The World Health Organization, back in late March, recommended NOT wearing them -- unless you have the disease, or are working with patients who have it. This is what we were told while on the cruise ship...but then everyone got facemasks AND gloves when we got off in late April, and were told to keep them on. Go figure.

An interesting revenge for a neighbor who keeps expanding his yard -- onto your property. My folks had this happen with a neighbor who decided to move his yard a good distance onto their adjoining field. Dad quietly put up with it for a while, figuring that the man was somehow mistaken. Then one morning, Dad took his tractor out and carefully plowed around the edges of the field, destroying the extra lawn the neighbor was so carefully cultivating. The man came out, shook his head...and never did it again.
    Why is this important? Because if you do nothing, the neighbor can claim you abandoned the land -- and it's now his, by squatters' rights. It's happened before,  including Boulder, CO. (Here's a longer look at the case, if you're curious.)

The apartment you can get for $500 in Hong Kong.  Looks like our first apartment at the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor. Maybe you should get this, instead:

The Carsule, a pop-up cabin tent that hooks onto the back of your vehicle.
Looks great, but how long would this last in Colorado's winds? About two minutes longer than the three minutes it takes to set up.

Carsule, New York Post store

A boy finds a 3,5000-year-old clay tablet. On a hiking trip in Israel.

The difference color makes, even when you're scraping for money. (From Coffee with Kate)

He really missed his donkey... and based on the donkey's response, he missed him, too!

Are you better off than four years ago? (The 2020 edition -- from Financial Samurai)

Shaun King, my favorite activiist, is in a little bit of trouble. Again. (See above for more of his shenanigans.)

All sorts of restaurant/resort copycat recipes -- from the businesses themselves!  Plus DoubleTree's recipe for its chocolate chip cookies. Mmm... gotta try those.

Queen Elizabeth's chef's scone recipe. Why not have tea one afternoon, instead of supper?

How to make a gender-reveal cake. Great for your next baby shower.  (From Approaching Food)





What to cook during a pandemic. Readers weigh in, courtesy of the Frugalwoods.

"Have you ever lost respect for a family member instantly?" A rather heartbreaking Quora.

The rainbow house - inside and out. Whoo hoo!

Christo died recently, at age 84.  His attempt to wrap the Arkansas River in Colorado was shuttered in 2017,  to sighs of relief from locals and environmental groups. (Of course it was Trump's fault.)


Have a good week. While people are trying to clean up and go on, do us all a favor and don't start announcing that It was All Trump's Fault. Or Nancy Pelosi's. Or Joe Biden's.

Keep the fingers pointed at yourself. And see what you can do to help this situation, rather than contributing to it.

Please.

Friday, May 29, 2020

Patience

It's been a strange week.

We thought we were going to Michigan -- we didn't.

I thought this book manuscript had to be done today -- it isn't.
     (Next week, instead. Whew)

Had to deal with some interesting situations -- I'm still not sure why they happened.
      Are people just extra-crazy about this whole Covid-19 situation...and expressing it in unusual ways? Judging from the frightening violence and looting in Minneapolis and elsewhere...I'd say yes.       This isn't just about George Floyd. I feel certain of that. The Target looters weren't looking for justice -- just a nice pair of lamps and a new bedspread.





Lots of photos for the book -- wonderful. The writing is going good.

I guess I should be grateful that we still have clean underwear, dishes and the House DVDs are holding out. (We're on Season Four right now, but finished Season Six before. The library doesn't always give them to you in order.)



Two days of windy rainstorms.  REALLY unusual for Colorado.

The plants are loving it. Most of the perennials lived, and the swiss chard is up and developing its first real leaves.

The coffee's holding out. So are milk and eggs.

Must be patient.












A New Shipwreck Found in Lake Michigan

A new shipwreck's been discovered in Lake Michigan.




While tooling around near South Manitou Island, Ross Richardson had his son notice something on sonar, rising 90 feet from the lakebed. The wreck was 300 feet down. Divers went to investigate --

And discovered a two-masted schooner, masts still pointing toward the surface, sitting on the bottom. 
Incredibly intact.

Here's the story. They believe it to be the W.C. Kimball, which disappeared on the Big Lake in May 1891, with a cargo of salt and roofing shingles. No one knew what had happened to it.

Until perhaps now.





In its time, the Kimball may have looked like the Grace Bailey, one of the few double-masted schooners still in existence:

By Cinster - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4276881 



Thursday, May 28, 2020

Pickwick's In the Bag!

    Gentle Readers, if you've been hanging around the blog much, you know that Charles Dickens is my buddy.

Here he is.
There is a secret in the books I've written (8, so far) that people don't generally notice. Every single one includes a reference to Dickens. I wrote my Master's thesis on his books; his work has been a major influence on mine ever since.

Back when I wrote Crazy Quilts, I was lucky to find a kid's crazy quilt backed with a 19th century cheater print featuring characters from Dickens' Pickwick Papers.

The Metropolitan Museum in NYC has a piece of it, too. Extremely rare.

See pg. 27. Yes, we still have copies -- write us via Brickworks
You can also buy an e-book version, as well as hard and softcovers, from Amazon.
Check there for sample pages, as well.


I tried EVERYTHING to get my hands on that quilt -- offering to buy it, borrow it. (I may even have thought about stealing it, shame on me.)

No dice. Its owner loved it, too.  It eventually went to The International Quilt Study Center, when she donated her children's quilt collection to them.

Mary Ghormley died in 2015, at the ripe old age of 95.
She was my friend; I miss her still.




Lo and behold, this wonderful Pickwick cheater print was reproduced -- in the 1970s! When it showed up on Ebay recently, yours truly nabbed it.

















Now what can I sew with it...
                        Charley would be proud.



Dickens at his desk...pondering quilt designs, no doubt.

Do It Right!

Oh my, there's good stuff online about the Covid-19 issue right now. 

First on the list is someone who's easy to think of, when it comes to precautions:

Monk.




Monk, we miss you. Glad you're surviving.


Next up: a MSNBC reporter bound and determined to shame people out relaxing -- and not wearing masks -- during Memorial Day Weekend in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, he 'forgot' that his own team members weren't wearing masks, either!
    Needless to say, the report was cut short. Quickly.




Just for fun, here's the passerby's video on the incident:



C'mon, Media Pundits -- practice what you preach.

And finally:


A funny (but pointed) version of the Coronavirus Rhapsody. (Thanks for helping out, Queen.)




And a tad strange (but equally pointed) version of Can't Touch This -- done with 'healthcare products.' Hey, why not...





Enjoy.  (Thanks, friend Kris and others for sharing these.)

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Life Goes On








Things may be a little quiet for the rest of the week. I had to take a USPAP course today for the appraising part of my life; you're required to do this every other year. And because of Covid-19, it was online. Very strange...19 people, including the teacher, staring at each other out of little blocks of space. (Reminder: do NOT pick your nose or scratch yourself. Someone WILL see.)

I'm also trudging through writing this new book, 'Colorado Curiosities.' The Brick will be checking and tweaking photos, to get them ready. But I know exactly how I want to do this. And it will be good!



This one turned out well...


The USPAP class is done. Now upward and onward...



Monday, May 25, 2020

Things I Don't Understand: The Potluck Edition



Just gotta clean out the files, Gentle Readers. Yes, I love these...but they're piling up. Several different subjects in all kinds of weirdness, from Bigfoot to missing dogs. See what you think!



Maybe you can find him at...





This makes a surprising amount of sense.
Terror and patriotism do not always go together.


If you don't get this, then...











Figures..




Sunday, May 24, 2020

Oh, I Wish...






Rain nearly all day today. A peaceful, soaking rain that is soooo rare for Colorado. You could literally SEE the grass spears stretching gratefully up to the sky. 

It meant we couldn't leave as early for Michigan as we'd planned. This trip around, we decided not to cover the boxes with a tarp -- every single trip, it's ended up flapping in the wind and shredding, no matter how carefully the Brick tied it down. 

So... we drive when it doesn't rain. Or not as much. And we have two nights of peaceful sleep, listening to drops on the roof. Lovely.

Update:  Both the Brick and I had misgivings about this trip -- due in great part to Covid-19. The Mama is in the highest-risk group. What if she came down with it, after we'd been there? (We don't have it, but it would be easy to peg us as the 'carriers,' regardless.) 
    Decided not to go, after all. A very difficult decision -- but I'm at peace about it. We will go later, after Michigan's governor lifts their many restrictions.






Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Thank You, Memorial Day

The word 'happy' just doesn't seem to fit this day. All I can say is how much I appreciate the people who have sacrificed and gave themselves, so we could be free. That means even more, after months spent in other countries who don't always take this viewpoint.

Thank you.




 Strange quotes from people who ended up as serial murderers. WARNING: Some of these are pretty creepy. Think of spiders lurking near flies... (From Listverse) Also from them:

Ten photos of people unaware they're pictured with serial killers.

We are on the way to Michigan, to see if we can help with family. Given all the fuss Michigan's governor has made, I wonder:





Bigfoot's selling a California home!   (I'm not making this up.)

Interesting Lance Armstrong comments...I don't care about the 'FU's, but his last story is a fascinating way to deal with someone who insults you.

'Living with Money' is a whole series of first-person financial accounts from The Cut.
    Really interesting.


The habits of frugal billionaires. Also:

Ten lessons rich people learned from their parents.

Why some people support indefinite lockdowns. (From Financial Samurai)

A pothole in Rome reveals ancient streets!

'Stuffed' dinner entrees, including Buffalo Chicken Shells. (Thanks, Betty Crocker!)




These easy dinners for two on date night are good, too.

What if you had the mistortune of getting what you'd always wanted?  Quora surprises here.
   I.e., Be careful what you pray for -- because you may get it.

SLAPP lawsuits -- the nasty story. All rudeness and smart remarks aside from John Oliver, I can relate. We were the targets for someone who threatened us with one of these. She never filed, but the repercussions were lasting.
    One good thing that did come out of it: we found out exactly who our friends were. And they weren't always the ones we'd thought, before all this.


Here's Penelope Trunk's version. She isn't always the most self-aware person on the planet -- I definitely don't live on Planet Penelope -- but this is an interesting look at her threatened SLAPP.

An interesting way of dealing with sibling rivalry and fights -- repeat their words and actions back to them. I'm not sure if this is the magic solution the writer seems to suggest, but hey -- I'll try anything at least once.

'How we're dealing (and planning) with the pandemic.'  (From Hillbilly Housewife)

Back-Porch Meatballs. Surprise ingredients: molasses and fruit jelly!  (From Taste of Home)



A rare white reindeer -- born in England. He's a cutie, too.

Why was this mansion abandoned so quickly -- and where are the people who disappeared after living there?

Jean-Claude VanDamme says you only need two 15-minute sessions a week to keep fit. That and good posture...hey, I'll try it!


That was the intro: Lesson One is here.


Are those poor beleaguered Kardashians going to be able to survive this Covid-19 crisis? 
     Maybe...maybe not. (From Wealth Advisor)


Have a good week.


Stay Calm

Just in case you need this, too...







Saturday, May 23, 2020

The Last Supper: Covid-Style






And yes, Gentle Readers, you know exactly what I'm thinking:


Animals Loving It in Quarantine

Something to distract you this weekend...



Frugal Hits & Misses: May Report

    We are just getting used to this strange new world of quarantine, masks and social distancing. It's not difficult to stay quietly at home...except I miss seeing Daughters, Son and their families terribly. (Thankfully this should ease up some in coming weeks.) It's been rather nice to sleep in, do a few jobs and read/write for pleasure, as well as work. I do have a few restoration jobs to finish up, and the book manuscript needs to be completed, as well. But life definitely has a slower pace. 
    Just a few days ago, we realized we needed to leave quickly for Michigan: a family situation. We had planned a trip anyways, taking back some of the items stored in our friend's garage. (The rest will be used in the trailer, or donated.) We just didn't know we needed to leave at such short notice.
    But we do.

FRUGAL HITS

*Kept within our final budget for the cruise -- in fact, we came out ahead. It's easier when many of your port stops (and excursions planned) are cancelled. We didn't spend much more than the 1000 pounds in our account that was part of the package.
    We're supposed to get our money back for the last month of the cruise, but it hasn't turned up yet. (More on this subject in the future.) The refund for the unused plane tickets hasn't come, either -- but that will be from the credit card company. (Virgin Airlines was NOT cooperating.)

*The leaking kitchen sink pump fixed by a local expert -- the Brick!

*Restaurant giftcards at a discount -- they'll come in handy when things open back up. We may be able to use the Outback giftcard now; the Mama has come to realize how much she enjoys a hot meal, delivered.

*Strawberries for $1.00/lb. Used every single bite, including homemade shortcake.



*King Soopers astonished with 50-cent specials: a dozen doughnuts, 4 turnovers, a specialty pie, streusel coffeecake, sourdough and 'ancient grains' bread. Fifty cents each!

*Finally, haircuts! The cruise ship charged 59 pounds each (about $75), and the results we saw weren't impressive. In fact, they were downright goofy-looking. We were going to get our hair cut at the next stop; Jakarta, Indonesia. That was the port -- and the cruise after that -- that was cancelled. Last week, after nearly 6 months, we finally got our locks sheared. In the Brick's case, that meant 3" of shaggy hair clipped off. (We had to wait 90 min., masks in place -- and that was by calling ahead.)

*Had a replacement key for the truck re-keyed for free.  Thank you, Batteries Plus!

*Got our stimulus checks. Though what we're supposed to stimulate, I'm not sure...

*A $50 check from The Mama, specifically for takeout. (Thank you, Ma!) We've been seeing if we could stretch it:
          13.00  each for a Little Caesar's pizza and burgers at Burger King ($6.50 x 2)
          10.00 for a weekend Safeway special: fried chicken (2 extra pieces free the first time!), mac & cheese, and a 2-liter of pop. ($5.00 x 2)
         $12.99 for a family pack of Whoppers, burgers and fries, shared with a friend
 --------------
         $35.99, so far.

*Bought plants on sale -- generally edible-producing ones. (Okay, the rosebush was for my mental nourishment.)

*Three loads of branches to the county chipping yard -- no charge. A load of trash to the local dump -- some $$, but not too bad, considering.

*Began eating up old items, left in the fifth-wheel over the winter -- onions, potatoes, candy, etc. Threw away an old can of baking powder...it just wasn't leavening that well. We managed to salvage some of the apples, in the form of applesauce.
     Bought 25 pounds of rice, plus 6 cans of chickens, for our emergency 'prepper' shelf. Just in case. (These are kept in a lower compartment of the fifth-wheel, referred to as 'the basement.')


Makes nice chicken and rice, too! (Betty Crocker)

*A Ticket to Ride game and a men's bike -- given to us by friends. Both needed, and much appreciated.

*Less than $1.10 pound for pork butt at Sam's Club -- a great price for any pork, especially during this meat shortage. Chicken breast at Sam's wouldn't normally have been a steal at $1.70/lb normally...but with today's prices, it is now. Got a free turkey breast, as well, from Safeway. (I could kick myself, though -- our last grocery shop there was $48. When we'd finished and were leaving, I remembered I had a $5 e-coupon...for $50 and up purchase. Aarrrghghghgh.)

*Some sale videos on Ebay and Amazon...including a few of our buddy Endeavour, most of the Alien/Predators franchise, and the complete series of Quantum Leap. I used my monthly allowance to pay for these. (Yes, they were that reasonably priced.)




*Put a BUNCH of books and videos on hold at the library. We pull in, call them, and the librarian, suitably masked, puts them in the back of the truck. Wonderful. I can reserve several movies that came out while we were on the cruise, and missed seeing. I'd be thrilled to see the library open up again -- I'm planning a beeline to the sale room!

*Wonderful one-of-a-kind hand-dyed fabric: $15/yd on sale from Ricky Tims! This isn't much more than what we pay nowadays for commercially-printed cottons.

*Did three appraisals, suitably masked and socially distanced. Other work is waiting for a letup in the Covid-19 restrictions.

*Inventoried shampoo, soap, etc. We'll be using these up before we buy more. (Found two extra rolls of toilet paper -- like finding treasure.)

*Like everyone else and their brother, we were stuck in quarantine -- so couldn't get out and Do Stuff.
All the world leaders listen!


FRUGAL MISSES

*The key to the truck -- we had to get an extra, cost around $50, because I STILL couldn't find my keys after they were lost. Last fall. Sometime while we were staying with our friends. (Yes, I'm embarrassed.)

*The sad tale of Charley and the candle: Charley the dog freaked out late one night, trying to get outside, and banged into the table. A lit candle was on top. Fortunately, the shock knocked the flame out. Unfortunately, the candle fell over, and wax went everywhere -- including on my passenger bag purse and the chairs around the table. The bag is a goner. Two of the chair covers are, too -- but we were planning on reupholstering them, anyways.
     Charley ended up with wax on, as well, but didn't seem to get burned. Thank God for thick fur.


Owwee, Mom...

*An emergency trip back to Michigan.  At least we could take some things back for storage, and the dogs could go with. Gas is fairly cheap right now, too.

*Couldn't handpick and choose meat, clearance, etc.for groceries,  like I usually do. That's the problem of curbside pickup; you take what you can get.

*Threw some food out, including a handful of cooked shrimp I'd forgotten about. .(Ouch) I had to...most was food that  just didn't keep well after we left in late December.

Last report is here -- and May 2019's report is here. Will this summer be as strange as the months preceding? Who knows. We'll have to live it to find out.






Frugal Hits & Misses: March Report

 This has been a tighter month than most -- due in great part to some unexpected truck expenses. Last month's property tax payment sucke...