Retreat to Hope Valley

~ I remember that during the first Trump presidency we compensated by binge-watching the West Wing, happily immersing ourselves in an administration that was far from perfect but at least had their priorities straight. This second presidency has been more of a challenge - but I have found an antidote - the Hallmark series When Calls the Heart. I'm about a fourth of the way through the back catalog and it's so refreshing to immerse myself in life on the Northwest Canadian frontier of the 1920s, complete with school teachers, villainous businessmen, shady railroad tycoons and, of course, courageous Mounties! Currently, Elizabeth (the school teacher) and Jack (the Mountie) are engaged but separated by his need to wrangle some bad guys farther North than Hope Valley (which was renamed in Season 1 from Coal Valley after a mine accident killed many of the town's husbands and sons). It's been interesting to follow civilization's advances back then, from fashion to technology - cars were just introduced but share the roads with stage coaches. I started watching the current stories last season and could not stay away from this season. It's amazing to me the number of actors that have passed through this series, some as main characters for a season or two and some in recurring occasional roles. It's very well done, if preachy at times but I'm willing to allow that given the gentle nature of the story. ~ The war in Iran continues as prices climb everywhere on everything. The TSA agents at airports have been working without pay for a month, resulting in massively long lines at major airports, especially this week and next as Spring breakers flood the lanes. Many stories of 4,5,6 hour waits and people missing flights. It's all crazy. Last night the Senate passed a bill to fund most of DHS, including TSa but not ICE. We'll see if the House takes it up before they attempt to fly home for their recess. (Good luck - at least one airline - Delta - has suspended their program that gave members of Congress preferential treatment so now those people ar standing in the same lines as the rest of us! ~ David's brother passed away a week ago - he fell somewhere in a parking lot and fractured 5 ribs. Hospital sent him to a rehab facility where he passed. Debbie, his ex-wife in Rochester, flew down earlier this week to do some preliminary arrangements and found the double-wide in a sorry state. She spent a couple of days just cleaning and throwing stuff out. She and Kelly, who inherited the place, will go down in June to see about maybe selling or whatever. I can't imagine Kelly wants that place. She ahs a lovely home in Rochester with a pool and hot tub and friends. David might go down for a couple of days just to grab some things he wants. All in all, a sad end. ~ My two Lupine & Laughter tops are done but still waiting on the new Pfaff to be ready to be picked up. I'm currently wrangling some scraps into usable shapes/sizes, but quickly losing interest. I need to clear them away, finishing cleaning and tidying and get back to Freddie's quilt and my other projects. ~ Third No Kings rally tomorrow. Going to Waterville as they were a kinder crowd than Augusta.

Catching Up

~ In the month or so since I last wrote, the chaotic administration moves have continued. They removed the head of ICE operations in Minneapolis and his successor claimed ICE was leaving, which, of course was a lie. They continue to harrass citizens in the twin cities area. And they made a brief foray into Maine, arresting several people and disappearing many to who knows where. Just last week they made an appearance at an office in the Lewiston-Auburn area that has been the target due to perceived financial misdealings with federal funds. I haven't seen an update on that one. ~ One positive development was the demotion of Kristi Noem as head of Homeland Security after she said in a Congressional hearing that Trump had approved her spending $2 million on an ad campaign for Homeland Security that featured her prominently. She's been reassigned to some made up post and her replacement is a Republican member of the House of Representatives, Markwayne Mullin. we'll see if he gets confirmed. ~ AND last week Trump joined forces with Isreali leader Netanyahu to attack Iran, claiming they were on the verge of creating a nuclear weapon. It all smacks of Wag the Dog as there is still little news on the Epstein front beyond a release of a few files that are highly damaging to Trump. The things alleged are truly heinous. An immediate result of the war has been a rapid soike in Gas and oil prices. David remarked just yesterday that he's glad we got fuel oil before this al went down. Gas prices were juping 10 to 20 cents per gallon overnight. And still Trump is lying to us about the economy while not landing on any one reason for this absurd war. Now there is talk of boots on the ground following an all ir war so far. Shipping is at a stand still as the Straits of Hormuz have been closed and possibly mined. Hegseth is on tv daily, hyping up the war, while it was revealed yesterday that the Pentagon has spent outrageous amounts of money on luxury foodstuffs and furniture. It jus amazes me that these people get in power and just go wild with our money. Its like a slap in the face. The amount of money being consumed by this war on a daily basis would easily fund healthcare and lower prices for all of us but they do not care. ~ Closer to home, I'm closing in on completing my mystery quilt. I've split the blocks to make 2 lap quilts which will be gifted to Linda and Melissa Turner in memory of son/brother Derrick. After listening to all the stories about his sense of humor, it occured to me this was a good idea, as the name of the pattern is Lupine and Laughter. Once I'm finished witht he tops it will be on to Freddy's quilt which I set aside before Christmas. By the time I finish that top the new Pfaff should be back from Tyler's so I can qult all three and then move on to other projects. ~ Currently taking Tai Chi but willtake a break this Spring to put energy into the yard which ahs gotten short shrift the past few years while I was busy creating to sell. I'm enjoying it and it's making me move, which is a good thing.