Figures...

    The Oxford University student who (successfully) got up the motion to remove the Queen's portrait from Magdelen College's Middle Common Room is... American.

He said then that keeping Queen Elizabeth's portrait in place "represents recent colonial history." Which obviously is BAD. (Then again, the whole Revolution wasn't so good for us as a nation.)

 

The 'threatening' portrait in question. Oooh, I'm terrified. (from the article link)

NOW he says it's not a statement on the Queen. It's more because the Royal Family's portraits are cluttering up a bunch of other places around campus. Why add one more? 

You'd also figure this, but it seems that his wealthy parents have been funding his education - both here, and at some very expensive (as in $48,000+/yr) private schools. His previous alma mater included the Obama daughters, Chelsea Clinton, President Biden's grandchildren -- and a bunch of other offspring from various presidents and Important People. That gives him plenty of time to worry about important issues, like Queen Elizabeth's portrait. Is our 'hero' working to pay his way through school? I'd seriously doubt it. Hopefully he is studying hard, at least. 

Our 'hero's' favorite character? Captain America. (Maybe he should go up, in Her Majesty's place!)

No wonder the Brits aren't too thrilled about us right now. If they ever were...

'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse Happens on Thursday

A partial solar eclipse is happening on Thursday. According to Live Science.com,  

The entire annular solar eclipse will last about 100 minutes, starting at sunrise in Ontario, Canada, and traveling northward until the moment of greatest eclipse, around 8:41 a.m. local time in Greenland (6:41 a.m. EDT; 11:41 GMT) 10:41 UTC in northern Greenland and ending at sunset in northeastern Siberia, according to EarthSky. The "ring of fire" phase, when the moon covers 89% of the sun, will last up to 3 minutes and 51 seconds at every point along this path.

 All is not lost if you're not a Greenlander.

Come regions that don't fall along the solar eclipse's path will see a partial eclipse, weather permitting. In these areas, part of the moon's outer, lighter shadow, known as the penumbra, blocks the sun. As the moon passes in front of the sun, it will look like this shadow took a sumptuous bite out of the bright star. For viewers in the United States, it's best to watch before, during and shortly after sunrise, depending on your location, especially if you're in parts of the Southeast, Northeast or Midwest, or in northern Alaska, NASA reported.

We're out of luck this time in Colorado. Maybe in December, when the next eclipse is scheduled.

And yes, if you're thinking what I am, you're hearing...

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Amish...and Not So Much

     We just got back, from a few days' vacation in Shipshewana, Indiana. 

photo from aimindiana.org

If you've never been there, the easiest way to describe it: a longtime Amish settlement that's turned tourist. REALLY tourist. A quaint town,.but with a regionally-known auction and flea market that many people enjoy. Not to mention a bunch of bulk food and discounted-item stores, hardware and quilt shops...even a popcorn store. 

    We also enjoyed gawking (or trying not to) at the Amish, their well-kept farms, buggies and their colorful, beautifully-simple clothing. (I was particularly impressed by the many snowy aprons and caps. How DO they get them so white!) 

     I have had a deep respect for the Amish women I've talked with. (No, I don't discuss things with Amish guys.) They are friendly, knowledgeable (usually we talked about quilts, gardening and groceries) and very, very smart. They are some of the most frugal, resourceful and religiously faithful groups I know. (The Mennonites, though their customs differ a little, also fall into this category. One of my appraising colleagues is Mennonite, as were good friends we made when living in Ann Arbor.)

     The bulk food stores were full of people, Amish and 'English,' busily shopping before they closed at 4 p.m. (Most stores are closed on Sundays in Shipshewana, though Saturday was the 'closed' day in Jamesport, MO, another Amish town we've visited.) We got our share of bargains there, too. (Or, as I often crow to the Brick, "Boy, did I save you money!") If you need oil lamp chimneys, basic gardening tools, and even quilting fabric, this is a great place to visit. But don't expect all the items to be truly Amish. They're not. 

Amish quilts, for example. (These are all from Amish Country Lanes in Pennsylvania. Beautifully made, by the way, based on the photos. Amish and Mennonite quilters are proud of their workmanship.)

Amish quilts, made for Amish (and admirers): solids, often jewel tones and contrasting neutrals. Though cottons dominate, polyester blends are not unusual. (Easy care, after all). Older quilts may use wools, which are incredibly rich in tone. Classic designs most popular. (This one is from Hannah's Quilts.)

'Sunshine and Shadows' -- I would call this a Trip Around the World variation -- on point

Mennonite quilts: similar in many ways to Amish pieces, with their love of classic design and pattern. These, however, are allowed to use small prints, if desired. (This one is from Connie Lapp and her mom.)

  'Hit and Miss'

  

Postage stamp style.  Notice the small-scale prints?

'English' quilts: made for non-Amish and non-Mennonite customers. Sky's the limit with prints and pattern, though they will often use 'quick' techniques on piecing, in particular, to make the quilts faster-made and more reasonably-priced. (This Christmas beauty is from Ruth Flaud, a Mennonite quilter.)

  'Christmas Dahlia'

So there you go. 

Anyways, we went to Shipshewana with dear cousins. We had a wonderful time, going to a play at the Blue Gate Theater, and just hanging out, shopping, and eating. And of course, gawking. (Or trying not to.) Meanwhile: 

A teacher loans a student his own shoes, so the student could graduate. Good for him!

Creative ways to solve various problems -- including showing movies on the side of a cow!

(Having grown up on a farm with cattle...How did they get her to stand there so long!)

Dr. Fauci gets into an angry debate with seventeen previous versions of himself. Is this satire, Babylon Bee...ummm, maybe not.

Dogs saved after she shoved A BEAR off the wall. Foolish of this 17-year-old...but heroic.

How to get your floor tiles extra glossy? This cleaning expert says extra-hot water and dishwashing liquid. But if you're low-maintenance, she just advises 'ripping them out.' Go figure...

Bake your cinnamon rolls in the wafflemaker!

Setting up a soaking pool in your yard,with step by step videos, thanks to Rae. (From A Life By Design) Or, if you prefer:

Want to go swimming in the sky -- between two apartment buildings? Now you can. 

A speedboat blows up after the people are incredibly rude...all I can say: 'be sure your sins will find you out.'

Why did Sinead O'Connor rip up the photo of the pope on SNL? Turns out it was revenge on her mother, as much as anything! (That was actually Mom's photo of the Pope that Sinead ripped up...)

'A Collection of Corrections.' Oh, that all 'factual' websites would do this. (CNN, are you listening?)

Racial bias in the appraiser/appraisal field, for black appraisers and homeowners? Sadly, yes. Hopefully this will change -- and continue to change -- in the future.

A Minneapolis' BLM leader quits...why?

Top ten snipers in history. This is interesting...and a bit unnerving, at the same time. Thanks for freaking us out, Listverse.

'Dirty secrets from cooking at home' and 'How to stop eating out.' (Including readers' contributions.) Both great advice posts from the Frugalwoods.

"I can't even put food on the table." (From I - heart- Budgets) Maybe she would benefit from:

Super-thrifty meals that stretch budgets.  (From Thrifty Mom in Boise)

Frugal savers' advice for navigating in this strange post-Covid world.

"What is it like to win a lottery?" The good, bad and anonymous. (Thanks, Quora people.)

Thieves stole the rosary of Mary, Queen of Scots! And other priceless relics, as well. (Based on the items taken, police think they were 'pickers' for some rich but unscrupulous collector.)

Have a great week.

An Amish family near Morristown, NY.  (Wikipedia)

The buildings we saw looked freshly painted - and spotless.

Looking for a Good Spooky Book?

 It's here! 

 Ghostly Tales of Colorado's Front Range is out, to the shivery delight of children everywhere. Its author, Shelli Timmons, took yours truly's book, Ghosts and Legends of Colorado's Front Range, and adapted some of the stories for kids, in Arcadia Publishing's 'Spooky America' line. Very cool illustrations, too! 

Click on the Arcadia and Amazon links below, then on the book photo, and you can read a healthy sampling of the pages inside. Ditto for Ghosts & Legends.

Remember telling stories around the campfire...or in the tent during summertime... watching the embers or fireflies play together? 

Now you've got fresh ammunition. 

Take a look here.  Or if you prefer Amazon, it's here.

Brickworks will be selling copies later this month, as soon as the offices reopen. (We closed them while traveling.)

Have fun. And for adults who prefer even more variety, my original book is still out there, too. (Yes, we'll be offering a package deal!)

Colorado Curiosities will be out the end of this month, for even more oddball tales of the Centennial State. More fuel for the fire.

 Enjoy.

Integrity

 

Monday (Nope, Tuesday) Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Places to Go, People to See

    I just ran into a great new trending word. Remember the creatures on Sesame Street?

Several times these past few weeks, I've come across people saying they're trying to avoid an unpleasant commitment by "noping" out of it. I think we've got a new verb in the stratosphere...

Now that the clock's winding down, we suddenly have a bunch of invitations and tasks to deal with. This weekend is a visit to Shipshewana, IN with cousins -- we'd planned to keep going to Colorado after that, but now it seems we need to come back to Michigan, instead, for a few more days. Maybe we just need to "nope" out and head for home, anyways. Who knows at this point. 

Here's math for you: 1.6 million pounds spent on a glitzy fundraising gala -- but 5,515 pounds was the total actually sent to the causes touted. Hey, good onya, Naomi Campbell and Fashion for Relief!

Several countries that let you stay while working -- as long as your salary and insurance are up to par.

Forty-seven years' service at the White House! Thank you, Mr. Carter, for your dedication and hard work. It's not just the Presidents and their families you've been taking care of, you know...it's us, the American people, too. Thank you. 

'Dump and go' dinners, including Betty Crocker's easy take on ravioli: spinach and ravioli lasagne.

Listverse takes a look at the Wuhan lab -- and its connection to Covid-19.

Very funny notes from annoyed neighbors.

Are you a graffiti artist? Elon Musk wants you to decorate his factory in Berlin!

"This Week in Whoppers."  Not sandwiches, either. (More whoppers here -- and they're just as interesting.) Speaking of:

The BLM co-founder who was buying millions of dollars in luxury homes to "combat white supremacy" has resigned from BLM. Why? Her work here is done, says she. (Also, she's working on a "book and tv deal.") Go figure. I'm not the only one suspicious about her timing, either.

One of the funniest baseball plays in ages! Cubs player Baez makes the Pirate players look like idiots. (Or maybe they did it to themselves.) Speaking of Chicago:

The mayor of Chicago is sued for 'blatant discrimination.'  For not granting a white reporter an interview. (She did let a national reporter, who was white, interview her recently. Maybe she changed her mind. Discrimination is discrimination, no matter who you do it to.)

The Wall Street Journal wants to talk about the Covid/Wuhan lab theory now. Did it change it mind, as well?

The Atlantic mayoral candidate who urged police defunding had his car stolen -- and recovered by the police. And suddenly he's verrry grateful to our men and women in blue. Hmmm...

A medieval village reappears...when a reservoir is drained. Weird, but fascinating.

The world's best-priced beach cities. We've been to Cartegena, Columbia, and I wouldn't exactly characterize it this way. But hey...

Hunter Biden's salary is suddenly cut in half -- after President Biden takes office. How conveen-ee-ent...

Free work-from-home courses you can take.  (From Making Sense of Cents)

What are you going to do about Christmas? A classic from yours truly. (And yes, it's wise to start planning now.)

"Warm Breezes, Starry Nights" -- a paper-pieced quilt block classic, via Wombat Quilts. 

"Mountain Majesties" -- another clever quilt idea. (No, I didn't invent these. But I sure admire them.)

Want to buy a property bigger than Central Park? This UK real estate is up for sale -- after more than 400 years in the same family.

A park ranger in California accidentally discovers a "treasure trove" of fossils, including trees, fish and animals. 

A dead body -- found inside a dinosaur sculpture! (This is one weird story.)

The first bitcoin purchase ever -- was for pizza!

Two honeybees figure out how to lift off a bottle top -- amazing. 

Simone Biles performs an incredibly risky gymnastics move -- one of the first in the world, if not the first, EVER to consistently accomplish it. Also amazing.

And finally, 'Jumpin Jive,' with Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers. Yow!

Have a good week -- and boogie down. 

Frugal Hits & Misses: May Report

    As usual, in the strange life of the Bricks, we did not spend a day of this month in Colorado. Yet we were home -- living in the fifth-wheel. Part of the month was spent traveling to get to The Mama's farm in Michigan, in time for Mother's Day...plus the rest of the month. We'll spend Memorial Day in Michigan, leave for a quickie vacation in Shipshewana, Indiana, with dear cousins -- then head for home in our home. If that makes any sense.

                                                     Happy Memorial Day!

 Colorado, we'll be home soon! I've sure missed you...and our family and friends. 

FRUGAL HITS

*Finished up taxes. The federal refund will immediately be swallowed up by tire and printer costs -- but hey, at least we GOT a refund. 

*Picked flowers, for both The Mama and ourselves, rather than purchasing them: lilacs, lilies of the valley, tulips. Ummm, those lovely smells. Also, a couple of petunia baskets (WAY less at Walmart, than other places) for The Mama's patio. (I did have to move them inside a couple of nights, due to frost warnings.) 

*Free trip through Holland's tulips -- we went to the local park, instead of paying to enter the "official" gardens. (We got to see family, too.) Our only cost: the gas to get there and back. 

*Bought fabric, including several yards of Bigfoot-themed prints, for a new website I'll be starting soon: Bigfoot Bureau. Got a 25% discount. (But had to pay shipping - ouch.)

*Bought a toile valance piece, c.1815, for lectures. (I would have liked to pay less, but it IS a nice piece, and worth more than I paid for it. Free shipping, at least.)

*Instead of $90 tickets to see Jeff Foxworthy during our upcoming trip to Shipshewana -- a Foxworthy video, instead. Plus two others: $5.  (I also picked up a $3.99 Due North series video.) Not to mention several birthday and Christmas presents; some great books, including Jeffrey Archer's Cat O'Nine Tales (50 cents for kids' books, $1.20 for hardcover, 99 cents for paperback); two shirts each for the Brick and me, as well as a pair of pants for him; as well as a beautiful silk strapless top and stole I'll be 'autopsying,' so to speak. (The matching stole will survive its mate, sacrificed for the equally beautiful lace and pearl motifs.) 

 *More thrift store purchases: some birthday presents, a $1.99 t-shirt and $5.99 dress for yours truly. I saved money one week by NOT visiting during Senior Discount Day. (It's too tempting not to buy stuff then...especially books.) Also bought several rolls of beautiful metallic giftwrap.

*Wrapped up birthday and Christmas presents in sort-of neutral pine tree paper, using up a Christmas roll bought two years ago. (On sale, of course!) The Christmas presents, using the same paper, will be left in Michigan for family. (The Mama will keep them upstairs until that time comes. She doesn't know that some of the present will be for her birthday celebration in August.) 

*I will certainly miss my beloved Daily Deals, including snagging 99-cent hot dogs and chopped ham bits (15 and 16 oz, respectively). (Really delicious pepperoni and provolone snack trays: 50 cents each.) I don't know about your neck of the woods, but meat prices in general have really skyrocketed here. Sirloin steak -- one of the tougher cuts -- was going for $6.99/lb on Memorial Day Weekend -- on sale.

*Greens for less this time at Daily Deals: 50 and 79 cents for spring greens and organic lettuce heads. A buck for a two-pound bag of white onions. Some marked-down mushrooms were sauteed immediately and put in the freezer. (They were starting to "go.") Stuff like that.

*Ate up several items about to go stale or bad. (Missed out on a couple items I'd forgotten were in our fridge -- we share cooking duties, but generally have been eating over at The Mama's.) Cleared out several cans of soup and vegetables, giving us extra room in the 'basement.' Tip: Even if they look just fine, don't generally bother with fruit out of season -- the clementines I purchased turned rock-hard, and were only edible by sucking on them.  

*An armful of free books for our nieces and nephews -- from a church library giving away its stuff.

*The Brick scrubbed the color right off our bathroom sink handles. That's bad, right? Nope -- they turned a beautiful shade of copper!

*New sheets -- half off -- to replace some that came with the trailer...and are wearing out. (The Brick's comment: "You were just waiting for a sale, weren't you?" He's right!)

*The Brick fixed a cousin's headlight -- twice. I did some chores for The Mama, including painting trim and repainting her garden sculpture, "Calfie." 

Rembrandt, I am not.

*Three tickets for an evening dinner cruise via paddlewheel boat. The Mama loves paddlewheels and has wanted to take a longer cruise, but her health has not made it possible. Tickets for this one were a lot cheaper than a multi-day one: $60 each (a big purchase for us), but worth it. (The cruise people double-charged us. Fortunately, the Brick caught it, and I got it fixed. Always check.)

*The Brick got the area he requested for a hunting license! It's much closer to home, and there's a second season, in case you don't get an animal the first time.

                                               Our family takes this sport seriously.

FRUGAL MISSES

We got some real stingers this month, on top of our fun expenses LAST month. Some were expected -- some weren't.

*We got haircuts: our first since November of last year.  And paid extra for them. (The Brick paid for his -- then unknowingly I paid for his cut, as well as mine. But it was a friend, who could use the extra $$.) Or should this, because we went un-cut for so long, be considered a hit, instead? 

*Our printer broke. The Brick did his best, but it can't be fixed. Anyone need a very large paperweight?

*The kitchen sink is, well... sinking. More work to prop it up and re-seal around the edges.  

*The trailer's brakes need replacing -- very soon. As in more than $1000 again. Getting new tires (and you know how THAT turned out) was supposed to help with this. 

*We paid for insurance on the fifth-wheel and the truck -- six months' worth. OUCH -- but no extra fees, at least.

*I invested in several items for upcoming business -- including Bigfoot fabric (see above). We'll also have extra costs for finishing up renovating the Brickworks website...and starting up another one. 

More on this soon.

For last month's report, go here. And for last year's report, fresh from our quarantine after being out and about in the world -- go here, instead.  Now on to the warm (and warmer) days of summer.