August 8th sunset over Hogback Ridge and Heron Peak. Durango CO with air quality warnings of "ozone" or possibly smoke from wildfires. I kept the windows closed.
Yep, I made it another trip around the sun, my 82nd. Whew, the last few months had me shaking my head, would I really make it? The coughs are with me constantly. But I do have friends who help me in lots of ways. And I still am walking around and taking care of myself and my apartment, somewhat. I'm full of gratitude for all of that.
110-million-year-old MUMMIFIED dinosaur, discovered in 2011 unearthed in what is now the Athabasca oil sands. Alberta, Canada.
I've been saying that myths about dragons were created by imaginative people when they found the bones of dinosaurs (extinct a long time before humans appeared on earth.) So this particular old dragon-like dinosaur seems to be a real connection!
My dragons I made had experimental features, as a whim might take me to put a duck-like bill on one, a unicorn horn on another. I didn't ever try these bony plates! Aren't they incredible?
OK back to my life...a dragon maker, if you will. Not sure how much more I'll do with clay...since I'm aware that clay dust is related to silica, or the worst kind of tiny particles to inhale. So I may just go pick up my supplies at the studio, and clean away all the clay that's in process at home...though it hasn't been touched in weeks.
I not only have breathing limitations, my hands don't function well at all. I've got essential tremors, which I remember my father having for many years beginning in his 60s. Can't write a thing that's legible. Thank heaven some apps let me dictate, but not this one! So far I've been able to type, but mouse control is sometimes shaky and I end up clicking on the wrong thing. That has been noticed.
Good news? It's cooler this week! Lovely days in the 70s with lower humidity. And nights are in the 60s. This is the mountain weather that I most enjoy. Now to get some endurance so I can go for walks again.
Me at 3-3/4 years holding my 3 month old sister. That baby had lots of dark hair! I was a blond until I was 6 or 7.
Me at 11
My 14th birthday, I was in Home Ec and probably made that skirt, and definitely the cake!
My first prom, winter 1956 - yellow chiffon dress
Later in high school for another winter prom, with John Baumgartner, (who I had a crush on for quite a while). Dress is white with a bright pink bow at the bodice.
My college junior year photo for the yearbook. I quit college that year and didn't get my degrees for another 20 years.
My first job away from home, stewardess for Pan American Airlines out of Miami FL on Latin American flights (on Boeing-707s and DC-8s.) Sis is in straw hat with her boyfriend in front of a male steward friend of mine. My sis followed my terrible example and quit college in her 3 year and flew for Eastern Airlines.
And then I got married, as I'd spent all my youth intending to do (being romantically inclined.) Raised a family. Lived in suburbia. Got divorced. Had many jobs. Went back to college. And many other adventures with my 3 sons.
Just wanted to get a few of my early photos together.
I'm quite grateful for today, as I start the 83rd trip around old sol. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know many bloggers here. I've got a wonderful community of friends. I live in a relatively healthy place and get all the health care I need. Our climate is within reason most of the time. I may not be rich, but I'm wealthy in my heart.
Today's quote:
Our lives are the result of all the doors we have walked through, and our continued growth depends on our willingness to keep moving into new spaces.
Wanting something rich to eat, but not being rich myself, I looked for ice cream that was flavored like cheesecake. I knew yogurt or cream cheese had that ability. I did find New York Cheesecake, but it was strawberry flavored, not my favorite flavor.
So I got extreme chocolate.
Can add the whipped cream to it, and maybe a banana and have a split.
So I go through the agony of checking out in "self-checkout" which turns off and blinks for help at every other item...so of course it takes forever to check out of the store. I brought my own bags and the cold things (ice cream and orange juice) went in one bag. The other had breads and eggs and such. Then there were the bananas. I actually used one of the store's plastic bags because I didn't want them in either of the types of bags I already had filled.
I drive home with hot car maybe cooling off enough that the ice cream in front of the ac might not melt completely...and as I park, I realize I forgot the bananas. Because they weren't in one of my reusable bags. So...turn around and drive the 1/2 mile back to the store, park with motor running and flashers on across from the entrance (hey this is an emergency) and go with my long receipt to the manager.
Bananas?
Right over there, and he sends a clerk to get them out of the cart of "returnable things." They were fine. I snugged them next to the ice cream, and drove on home. Emptied the car of three bags, and put the poor mushy ice cream in the freezer.
I dutifully ate my salad from the salad bar ($2.50) with a warmed up biscuit.
Then got out the ice cream, and put a bit of whipped cream on top. After all the bananas are still green. And the ice cream is still not quite firm, which is ok because it has chocolate chunks in it.
Here we go.
Note: other days I've added not only bananas, but pecans, and caramel sauce! Loving my ice cream these days!
NOTE: yesterday I gave up, surrendered to the coughing, and canceled the dentist appointment which takes months to get (rescheduled in Oct.)! It just comes on suddenly, and strong! So I didn't like thinking of exploding in the dentist's face. Cool weather is so wonderful. Something for which I'm very grateful, even if it's short lived. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to meeting friends for lunch to celebrate my birthday at Ole's Guacamole (my favorite Mexican restaurant).
Today's quote:
The fingers of your thoughts are molding your face ceaselessly. -Charles Reznikoff, poet (31 Aug 1894-1976)
The Republicans are shying away from talk about what will happen on the first day if Trump is re-elected, but there are still plans.
From "Civil Discourse" newsletter by Joyce Vance (no relation to JD) Aug 17, 2024
"ProPublica, the same nonprofit journalism enterprise that uncovered Justice Thomas’ and Alito’s extracurricular activities with billionaires,reportedlast week that secret training videos for implementing Project 2025 have been created. They wrote that the 23 videos, containing more than 14 hours of content, were validated by a person with access to them.
Just some of the contents of the videos include:
Coaching future Trump political appointees on avoiding compliance with Freedom of Information Act disclosure requirements to prevent the release of embarrassing details.
Taking steps to ensure conservative policies aren’t struck down by “left-wing judges.”
Downplaying the seriousness of climate change as a movement that is a ploy to “control people.” A former deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Trump administration says on camera: “If the American people elect a conservative president, his administration will have to eradicate climate change references from absolutely everywhere.”
The same former staffer calls gender fluidity “evil.”
ProPublica reported that based on their review of the videos, “29 of the 36 speakers have worked for Trump in some capacity — on his 2016-17 transition team, in the administration, or on his 2024 reelection campaign.”
Vance’s support guarantees continuity for the policies espoused in Project 2025 if Trump wins in November: “We are now all realizing that it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets. In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon.”
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And when Kamala Harris wins, there will be a lot of Republicans who will be ready to negate all kinds of votes, in all kinds of ways. Trump doesn't like to lose.
Well, the Democratic convention is half over by now. I mentioned in a comment to another blog that our history of politicians and politics maybe somewhat glossed over. But if you get a chance to look at the editorial cartoons down through the ages, you can see the underbelly of politics. And you probably would need a historian to give you the meanings of what you see!
Today's quote:
The decent moderation of today will be the least of human things tomorrow. At the time of the Spanish Inquisition, the opinion of good sense and of the good medium was certainly that people ought not to burn too large a number of heretics; extreme and unreasonable opinion obviously demanded that they should burn none at all.
-Maurice Maeterlinck, poet, dramatist, and Nobel laureate (29 Aug 1862-1949)
A coolish Tuesday morning, windows open to fresh air. Remembering a few things from last week.
Fairy rings of mushrooms are always near trees, the ones that I've seen. But they certainly catch my eye. I've learned some myth tale says not to walk into the ring...ok, no problem.
This is the marvelous cleaner which got the mold out of all those little vanes in the air conditioning unit a week or so ago. Plus Mr. Super-maintenance-man, Barry. Whew, I'm so happy!
Did you watch any of the Olympics? Since I was still recovering from Bronchiectasis I did. This guy was part of the closing ceremonies. I enjoyed so many costumes that the French showed in the opening ceremonies...not as many in closing.
I did chuckle at 60+ year old Tom Cruise doing his stunt of coming from the roof on a line (with his own controller on his leg!) He had also been seen at several venues watching the athletes. It didn't really seem quite appropriate for him to take the Olympic flag from France to the US to have in 2028 in the LA games. But then again, who ?
Dorothy Day with her prison dress. In November 1917, Day went to prison for being one of forty women in front of the White House protesting women's exclusion from the electorate. She's one of the reasons why you can vote, and a reminder that voting shouldn't be taken for granted.
These things were on my Facebook feed in the morning of Aug. 18, and one a memory of a post that I'd shared many times before. Here's what Aug, 18 should be remembered for.
"in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote. The first national constitutional amendment had been proposed in Congress in 1878, and in every Congress session after that. Finally, in 1919, it narrowly passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the states to be ratified. Most Southern states opposed the amendment, and on August 18, 1920, it all came down to Tennessee. The pro-amendment faction wore yellow roses in their lapels, and the "anti" faction wore red American Beauty roses. It was a close battle and the state legislature was tied 48 to 48. The decision came down to one vote: that of 24-year-old Harry Burn, the youngest state legislator. He had been expected to vote against it, but he had in his pocket a note from his mother, which read: "Dear Son: Hurrah, and vote for suffrage! Don't keep them in doubt. I noticed some of the speeches against. They were bitter. I have been watching to see how you stood, but have not noticed anything yet. Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the 'rat' in ratification. Your Mother." He voted in favor of the amendment.
The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.
Following that amendment where women's right to vote was legalized, it was found to have
"...failed to fully enfranchise African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American women. Shortly after the amendment's adoption, Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party began work on the Equal Rights Amendment, which they believed was a necessary additional step towards equality. (Wikipedia)
The MS article in 2024 starts with these words:
At the annual meeting of the American Bar Association in Chicago on Aug. 6, the association’s House of Delegates adopted a resolution declaring the Equal Rights Amendment fully ratified as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ABA resolution urged full implementation of the ERA by the legal community and all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments. The ABA has a membership of 400,000 lawyers.
“This is BIG news,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a leading ERA advocate. “The leading association for legal minds just endorsed our position that the Equal Rights Amendment has satisfied every constitutional requirement and called on the entire legal community to support certifying and publishing the ERA as our 28th Amendment.”
So it's now in the hands of the law makers who are mostly lawyers. The MS article shows the places it has traveled through legal law making chanels. Let's hope when Kamala Harris is elected President, there will be a push to finally see the ERA recognized!
'Dignity' by artist Dale Lamphere, (50' tall) to honor the women of the Sioux Nation.
Today's quote:
Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away. -Dorothy Parker, author (22 Aug 1893-1967)
Robertson Work is a friend, and a genius. His Compassionate Civilization book gives us alternative ways to view, and work on, climate change.
Here's a snippet of his ideas, which I'll give you just a few paragraphs below. Check out this Substack. That seems to be the way lots of good writing is being done these days.
Now is the time! We are empathic earthlings of the living Earth!
"As a former UNDP policy advisor, international civil servant, founder of the Compassionate Civilization Collaborative, and most importantly, an aging nobody, I call on the over eight billion of us and our leaders in government, business, civil society, media, and academia to launch a global initiative of reinventing humanity as Earthlings committed to ecological regeneration and social justice.
In World War II, President Roosevelt called on industry, government, and citizens to unite in defeating fascism. In my country, I call on Vice President Harris, Governor Walz, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, AOC, the ACLU, Third Act, and other leaders and movements to articulate a compelling vision and effective action plan of social justice and peace for all people and ecological regeneration of all ecosystems of air, water, soil, minerals, plants, insects, and animals.
Around the planet, many are calling for whole system transformation including the United Nations, the Dalai Lama, the Plum Village movement, the Global Compassion Coalition, Greta Thunberg, Kate Raworth, Phil Lane Jr., Daniel Schmachtenberger, Jacinda Ardern, Nafeez Ahmed, Vandana Shiva, Daniel Wahl, Arundhati Roy, Rutger Bregman, the Great Transition Initiative, the Sunrise Movement, and many, many others as part of a planetary movement of movements."
That's a seven months' measure. Excellent news. Renewables are going to supply electric power everywhere, I hope.
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I wonder if I'll ever return to a life of going out, doing things, taking care of my apartment, maybe even doing something I enjoy with clay? So far this dragging on Brochiectasis flare-up...just seems to get worse some days. And if I have a good day, I hardly know what to do with it! I still am not sick enough to need medical treatment, darn it all! Just keep on helping clear my lungs with nebulizer, the shaking vest, and sleeping with the C-PAP (which isn't for the big B but for sleep apnea).
Anyway, I hear thunder out in the mountains, but nothing like last evenings' clap that was probably blocks from my house. I got up and just unplugged the computer and hoped that the electricity and cable would keep working so I could see the end of Jeopardy's Tournament of Champions! It might have been a repeat, but I only vaguely knew who won, and I was right. The players were all outstanding. As always, I knew few answers, but sometimes ones that stumped all three geniuses. That's always fun! And we had a bit of heavy rain...I didn't pay much attention.
Saturday was spent indoors mostly coughing. I had hoped to be able to go to the Tailgate Market, try to sell some old pots. Not this week. I am not complaining for attention...just stating this is the life I have. I think of neighbors in electric wheelchairs, and how limited their lives are by depending upon that device. They are stronger than I am in many ways.
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Today's quote:
In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in the case of poetry, it's the exact opposite.
-Paul Dirac, theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate (1902-1984)
This is interesting to see where actual recycling is sent for final processing.
Buncombe County NC let us know in an excellent article just what is recyclable and what isn't. It's hidden in there somewhere. With the poor service at picking up recyclables, most people have given up in exasperation at the situation. Here at least the people doing recycling identify what they can and can't do, and where they send what they can recycle. LINK HERE FOR WHOLE ARTICLE.
Confusion abounds in Buncombe about what trash can be recycled. Here’s why.
Economics, technology drive what can actually be repurposed; residents, officials call for better messaging.
It really comes down to what the recycling entity in your locality accepts and has a market for.
Here in Buncombe, when you send over those blue recycling bags — or other plastics such as microwaveable containers and clamshell packaging for takeout food — they end up in the landfill as garbage. That’s because Curbside Management, the main recycling facility in Buncombe and other western NC counties, cannot recycle them.
Curbside Management, commonly known as Curbie, accepts and recycles plenty of other items – plastic bottles, tubs, yogurt cups, milk jugs and more – because it has a market for the materials and it makes economic sense. But it lacks the equipment and a market for other, harder-to-recycle plastics such as clamshells or heat-resistant meal holders.
Curbie employs a “single stream” method of recycling. Localities encourage customers to put everything into the large rolling bins loosely, so everything comes into the plant mixed. Machinery does most of the sorting, but humans have to remove offending items by hand while they whiz by on conveyor belts at dizzying speeds.
A mountain of material awaits the recycling process at Curbside Management, commonly known as Curbie. Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego
Part of the problem, environmentalists say, is that the petroleum industry that creates all these plastic products has convinced Americans that the recycling triangle and number inside equate to recyclability. Really, that symbol just tells you what kind of plastic it is.
The Center for Climate Integrity, which seeks to make the petroleum industry pay for the effects of global warming, makes a blunt case that the industry misled consumers for decades about the recyclability of plastics.
There are “thousands of different types of plastic, each with its own chemical composition and characteristics,” states a February 2024 report from the left-of-center group titled “The Fraud of Plastic Recycling, How Big Oil and the plastics industry deceived the public for decades and caused the plastic waste crisis.”
Curbie has a good market for bottles and jugs.
“We’ve got three or four different vendors that we ship to, and those three or four vendors are either turning that PET into carpet, or some of them are grinding it up and washing it and turning it into a flake or pellet, that can be really turned back into anything,” Lawson said. “But carpet is probably the largest consumer of that plastic in this region.”
The county tells customers to keep it simple and remember Buncombe recycling isn’t done by number but by shape — plastic bottles, jars, tubs, and jugs are all recyclable.
“If it’s not one of those shapes, it’s most likely not recyclable,” Govus said.
While recycling is a global industry, it’s really a “hyper-local process,” she pointed out.
Lawson provided a map Curbie produced that shows where collected and sorted items actually go.
What moves the fastest? The slowest?
Besides having a buyer to make recycling practical, Curbie also needs a sizable amount of a material.
A map and chart provided by Curbie show where recycled materials are shipped once they’ve been sorted at the Woodin facility.
“We wouldn’t recycle anything that we can’t get 40,000 pounds of,” Lawson said. “That’s the threshold. In order for us to ship something out of our plant, we ship 40,000 pounds. That’s the truck weight going down the road.”
Aluminum cans are the most valuable commodity Curbie handles, followed by clear or natural colored milk jugs. The least valuable commodity is glass, which Curbie breaks and grinds up when it comes in.
The highest volume material is cardboard, followed closely by mixed paper — junk mail and office paper. Confusion remains here, too, though, as some kinds of paper, such as tissue or receipts, are not recyclable.
“So almost all of our paper and cardboard go to container board manufacturers,” Lawson said. “All of those plants will take that and break down those fibers or break down the paper into the fiber, and then they’ll kind of press it into big long sheets that are hundreds of feet long.”
Thanks to Asheville Watchdog, a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County.
And a great quote for today, a poem from Mary Oliver:
And neglected my little patch of plants on my front porch. Poor babies!
With 80 degree days and no rain, I am sorry to see what's left of these simple little guys.
This once bountiful geranium has spindly branches and lots of dead leaves.
Kalanchoe not only has dead flowers, it has some white dusty fungus going on too!
Or maybe spider eggs..since some real webs were surrounding it.
The sad giant leaved coleus...still hanging it's huge leaves!
At least a few of the petunias are still blooming!
That's a hole in the coleus leaf. Someone had a big breakfast!
Sorry to show you sad plants. Maybe they'll come back as it gets cooler (and I remember to water daily). My care giving has been pretty limited to making sure I eat and drink lots of water...you know the old saying, put on your own oxygen mask first when the plane is going down!
And fortunately I'm able to take care of more than just my own breathing again. Another bout of bronchiectasis has been survived. Life is continuing for me and the little green plants.
R. Buckminster Fuller...his Dymaxion Map of the world.
This map finally gives correct sizes and relationships of the continents to each other.
The Open Culture article shows this and other maps, but I always love to hear about the descriptions that haven't changed through the years.
"Buckminster Fuller, who in 1943 applied his Dymaxion trademark to the map you see above, which will likely remind you of his most recognizable invention, the Geodesic Dome, “house of the future.”
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UPDATE:
And to continue about Schools and Climate Change - I saw an article about 9:30 Tues. morning about NC schools getting energy efficient fundsfrom the federal government.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm traveled to North Carolina this week. In a stop at Reidsville Senior High School in Rockingham County, Granholm announced awards of the Renew America's Schools grant and touted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed during President Joe Biden's administration. Biden's appointees have made frequent stops to North Carolina this campaign season.
So it's folded into a campaign issue, in order to be covered by the news. I imagine the teachers and staff pulled away from their work to sit with the presentation weren't all smiling. But the money is real (though really a drop in the bucket of their needs.) It does help improve energy efficiency in schools in rural areas where the tax base can't afford to upgrade them.
It's funny how getting their votes looks like the push behind that help, but the help was part of Biden's Infrastructure Help.
Yep politics!
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Some folks might wonder how my health is doing. So a quicky update on that:
Lost a few days, where felt miserable, just hung out, listened to audio books, and coughed till my sides hurt so bad. Then one day I woke up and didn't cough so much. It was time to get back into Barbara's life, starting with simply going to lunch, then doing some laundry. I wish whenever I'm sick folks would offer to do a load, rather than offer to bring me something like chicken soup. Oh well. That's the breaks. Maybe I'll try to remember to make that kind of offer when I have a sick friend...
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Today's quote:
If we really want to be full and generous in spirit, we have no choice but to trust at some level.
On Facebook a few weeks ago, there was a clarification that certain links to supposedly register you to vote, were fake. They only collected your information. I'm always glad when smart Facebook readers catch these things.
That's the action that is being investigated by the following:
“North Carolina law makes it a crime for someone to fail to submit a voter’s registration form if that person has told a voter that they would be submitting the voter’s registration form,” elections board spokesman Pat Gannon said.
America PAC is backed by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who tops the Forbes list of world billionaires, as well as severalother wealthy tech industry insiders. The group didn’t provide a statement when reached for comment.
Gannon said the elections board itself doesn’t have the power to file criminal charges but could refer the case for prosecution, depending on what its investigation discovers.
The North Carolina Department of Justice is also looking into America PAC but has yet to begin a formal investigation, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Josh Stein confirmed this week.
Stein, a Democrat, is running for governor this year. The state elections board is also led by a Democratic majority. And the complaint into America PAC and its pro-Trump activities that kicked off the investigation was filed by a Democratic activist from western North Carolina, David Wheeler (who leads a liberal PAC called American Muckrakers)
So I say again, watch the puppet masters of the Republican party...among whom are many billionaires looking out for their interests. Are there puppet masters in the Democratic party? I imagine so, but the thrust of their campaign is to retain the constitutionally designed democratic republic that we currently have... i.e. democracy.
Remember the cliche' "Follow the Money."
Incidentally, tRump will be appearing in Asheville NC today. Downtown has closed lots of roads near the convention center. Considering Asheville is known to be a liberal blue town, I'm quite certain lots of MAGA folks from around the county will appear. Of course I'll stay away!
But I do hope the Blue Wave people have a counter-demonstration outside the talk! And I can't wait to see what our local news shows. On the local news last night, the local Democratic headquarters said they are not planning any demonstration. The news still showed a clip from the last time tRump came to Asheville, there were angry protestors going against each other. The city of Asheville says nobody has asked for a permit to have a demonstration.
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And another footnote, I watched CBS's Sunday evening show "Sixty Minutes" finally last night, and there were some interview clips with Biden. Biden quoted Trump at one point. And the show cut away from the interviewer completely with a "correction that Trump made to that quote later." This smacks of how our news is so bent due to Trump's minion's heavy hands. I shouted at my TV! Incidentally, (loving that word) I don't know if the splice was done by CBS or by local TV editors...anything is possible.
In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America, and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter, and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics. -Peter Singer, philosopher and professor of bioethics (b. 6 Jul 1946)
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