Monday murals and then some

 

Flowers at Art in Bloom 2025, Center for the Arts, Black Mountain NC

Some words of wisdom from Facebook.

Sunday last Helen and I went to a free art museum trip in Asheville. Zoom tickets are available to lots of venues in Asheville, through our Buncombe County libraries. This one was for an air conditioned trip, and a pass lets two people in. We also signed up for a Van Gogh movie, taken from an exhibit at another museum, complete with docents talking about the paintings. It was pricy, but after all, we'd obtained the entrance tickets for nothing.

Around noon thirty in downtown Asheville, there was a Vegan-Fest. Too hot to go strolling for me, however.

I had to enjoy this lady's body art, who checked us in at the front desk.

A wonderful mural in the lobby of the Asheville Art Museum

Layers of wood, cut into a Black America. (My son Tai Rogers would love this, as he made many white map-like sculptural forms.)

Detail of "My Big Black America"

Today's quote:

Life, what an exquisite privilege.

Katie Rubinstein

And an environmental quote from Katharine Hayhoe:

“it's OK to grieve over the things we've lost and will lose, grief isn't the same as despair. We need to be brave enough to do the right thing."

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Early coffee at Four Sisters Bakery (where we also found day-old croissants available!) with Suzanne, a dear old friend yesterday morning. Well, I got a decaf Americano, while she brought her own Chai tea. She's trying also to downsize things and finds it hard to do. We discussed briefly the need to get accurate news, and I referred her to BlueSky. She's an artist that has breast cancer, and has given away and sold a lot of her supplies...but still has a good easel for some aspiring talented person. Her interests are similar to mine in many ways. We plan to meet more Sunday mornings and sit in the cool fresh air and chat. She's interested in that Podcast about the Trickster, which I posted about on "Inner Workings" blog. And like my friend Teresa, she's enjoying doing "slow stitching."

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We spoke highly of Thom Tillis (one of NC's Senators in Washington) who'd voted against the Big Ugly Budget Bill. And then later I saw he'd announced his not running for another election.

"After Trump attacked him yesterday for not supporting the budget reconciliation bill, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) has announced he will not run for reelection next year, indicating his unwillingness to face a primary challenger backed by Trump. This puts the seat in play for a Democratic pickup.

In a statement, Tillis said: “In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.” He wrote: “I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability.” 

Tonight, Tillis told the Senate: “What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore, guys?... [T]he effect of this bill is to break a promise.”

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office today said the tax cuts in the budget reconciliation bill the Republican senators are trying to pass will increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the next ten years despite the $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other programs over the same period. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) called the measure “Robin Hood in reverse…stealing from the poor in order to give to the rich, this massive transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top…. This is socialism for the rich.” 

Heather Cox Richardson 

Daylilies at Four Sisters Bakery

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My Old Photos:

4.21.48 Galveston TX, my father, George Rogers Jr, grandmother, Ada Rogers & Uncle Chauncey Rogers, myself, Barbara & little sister, Mary Beth. Mother was the photographer. We called it soapy water!