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.