Good afternoon. ☕️❄️
*Please forgive the grammatical errors.
Next month (January) I turn 57 years old. A Capricorn ♑️ if you believe in that kind of thing. When I was younger I was a different kind of B. I'm old now. I'm a tough old Broad.
One day someone should explain to Trump what cameras do. My goodness. 🙄 He has no health plan. No plan. He hasn't had a plan since visiting Epstein Island.
(Oh dear. I'm not one to say "I told you so" but I just might.) Y'ALL GOING TO JAIL
Now do Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi.
Hey, can you guess the company sign behind the snowflakes? Took the pic this morning.
I'm finally doing something with all my photos.
Back from the printers. I self published some walking/hiking photos. I have so many, its nice getting them off thumbdrives finally. My poor friends, everybody gets one! First my experimental cooking, they also get my knitting, and now my self published coffee table booklets of photos. Could be worse. I don't know how but it could be worse, guys. I could get into taxidermy! That could be worse. The day's not over, my friends! Google searching taxidermy for dummies. A nice stuffed squirrel would look GREAT on Phil's coffee table next to my booklet, the his and hers knitted slipper socks I'm currently obsessed with knitting, and a plate of no bake cookies - recipe from a 13th century royal kitchen minus the dysentery. And don't think me getting remarried would change any of that. Husband #2 is going to be into watercolors, origami, and lepidopterology. And who knows what we'll bring back from our honeymoon at Easter Island! It could be a rock or a spiritual summoning stone once owned by the island witch doctor or maybe aliens. I'm sure you'll let us know after a few nights with it.
I titled this booklet 'OUT WALKING with Lisa Koo'.
Its funny to me how people who share your interests and hobbies are so supportive until you actually do something with it.
I learned a new limit the other day, beaded bracelets. I had a small budget to make 50 or so beaded bracelets with messages of love and encouragement to be handed out during the mission Christmas luncheon but after two days and seven youtube videos, I made one. That's it. Just one. My failing fingers cannot bead the bracelet rope and there are no shortcuts, not with the beads the mission wanted, the beads are too small and my hands are too old. I gathered up the supplies, emailed the mission admin and dropped off the supplies at his office. I made one. The admin was nice about it. "Every bracelet counts." He assured. (sigh)
I think this concludes my activities with the Catholic mission until Easter. Of course when weather and availability permits I'll schedule time to serve meals at the mission and see about some of the items on the mission's Amazon wishlist - but now I need to focus on my church and who knows, maybe if I can put together a plan, start my own 'help moms and the children' campaign, my way, the protestant way, complete with birth control information and tough love encouragement to young wayward gals in the black community. I say black community because a good 80% of the gals who come into the mission for donations are young black women who will need government assistance for the rest of their lives - especially for the children they are randomly having with zero regard as to how they are going to provide for these children. I don't know, maybe they just assume the government will take care of them forever. The more children, the more government assistance, and that, my friends, simply will not do. There ARE young gals who are doing the work to improve their lives, but there are oh so many who are not. As a protestant I do not share the same anti birth control stance as Catholics. And besides, it's never a guarantee that these young gals are going to give you their obedience to Catholicism, I mean, they already are not. Look at their flagrant behavior. What Minnesota needs is, what these gals truly need, are strong black men and women leaders who are willing to donate their time and commitment towards seeing these young gals in the community get out of the system for good. I understand times get tough, trust me, I understand, God knows I've had my share, and for those times government assistance was a wonderful thing, but not forever, and not starting at the age of 18 with two children in tow and zero child support for reasons that vary. I've been away from a Minnesota a long time. I left the twin cities for the west coast in 1989 and while I've been back briefly on occasion since then, I admit I didn't grow up around black people. I didn't actually grow up in the city. I'm barely a townie. I'm a prairie kid, farms on one side, woods on the other. Seeing so many children now, and a large black population of unhoused, unemployed, black gals with all these kids, it's rather shocking to me that no one, not a mother, not a teacher, not even anyone at these government assistance programs, no one has tried to mentor these gals about birth control and getting their lives together. No one? I'm at a loss.
It seems to me, again just my opinion, but it seems to me that everyone with the resources to help these young black gals have either given up on them and/or encourages them to be dependents rather than independents. These gals are young and healthy (obviously) or they wouldn't have so many children by the time they're 25 years old. Even without a high school diploma they could get jobs while getting a GED. The job market loves young abled bodies. Can you blame it? Have you met the senior white women working in customer service these days, Oh dear. But no, much like Las Vegas, the number of young black gals in the twin cities without guidance and mentorship grows with each new generation. The Catholic church will not educate these gals about birth control and living independently, and the church does not see a problem with it. How do Catholics not see a problem with it? I feel bad for the kids of these gals. I really do. I find myself getting so upset by the vicious circle the Catholic church turns a blind eye to that I find myself quickly backing away from helping the community of young black women at these missions because without tough love circa nuns 1970's complete with yardsticks and threats of hellfire and brimstone, this community is just going to continue growing to a point nothing can be done to aid their poverty and that of their children. And it's the poverty of their children that hurts my heart. No child should ever suffer hunger and homelessness especially in this country. But until there are strong black community leaders willing to take on the social media "gimme!" mentality that has been allowed to grow by the baddies, what are we to do? Look, I'm an old mixed minority woman. I've reached my limit. I challenge young black people who had the kind of upbringing that would do nicely as community leaders, and use your social media platforms to encourage independence and ownership of one's actions, to encourage the consequences of poor decisions and to make healthy ones going forward, to better one's life and that of their children. The "me me me!" social media generation will soon discover selfishness is participation to future acts of hopelessness and desperation like getting mugged for example, or your car/house getting broken into. I came back to Minnesota in September, family stuff, and will stay until after the holidays at least, and the amount of times I've observed young black gals in the mission districts with zero direction, zero consideration for other people, zero self respects let alone respect for others, is staggering. This is why I could never be a part of the women's donation houses at the mission, not directly. The attitude of being owed, is mind boggling. And still, the Catholic church continues to hand out free stuff, continues to ask for financial donations, and I get wanting to help low income communities but y'all gotta know a lot of people take, just to take, because they feel entitled, owed, laziness, and for the simple fact y'all keep handing it out while soliciting us, the community, church ministers for ever more. Entitled parents breed entitled children. You'll know this to be true when one of those entitled children breaks into your house one day, or God forbid, takes a shot at you while attempting a car jacking.
Politicians screaming in front of cameras about SNAP benefits and fake eyelashes and hair weaves (shockingly) does nothing but upset those who really do need SNAP benefits. The thing is, those benefits were not intended to last for 80 years per unless permanently handicapped. People making social media reels criticizing SNAP beneficiaries doesn't help either, shocking, I know. And while it is impossible to regulate the goodies on SNAP benefits from the baddies, if a recipient is a young healthy person, can't we cap the time allowed to be on government assistance, and educate these gals with job skills in the meantime. Is this such a terrible plan. Come to this assisted living work seminar on Tuesday or we cut off your SNAP. Don't have a job yet, come to this class on resume writing and job interview practice next Thursday or we cut off your SNAP. Why is this a bad plan? Come to this OBGYN seminar on birth control and hygiene next Monday or we cut off your SNAP. Forgive me, I'm apparently being cruel and unusual.
The only companies making money these days are gun companies and home security companies, and still, the criminals will keep finding new ways to break in and steal your stuff. We can only hope and pray no one gets murdered in the process. America, the great imploding shoot-out.
I understand what it's like to have absent parents. My parents were utterly useless. They put a roof over my head, clothes on my back, etc. Sure, fine, they provided the necessities - correction, MY DAD provided the very basic necessities up to the point before it became neglect, but my parents didn't teach me a single thing. My parents assumed everyone else would raise my brothers and me, but the fact is we raised ourselves mostly like wild wolves. What time I got to spend with my beloved grandma at least taught me the proper way to eat with a knife and fork, my grandma, not my parents. I didn't see my parents for long stretches of time. My parents were useless to me. Absolutely useless. So, I get not having parents teaching you basic life skills. That is no fault of the child. The judicial system SHOULD hold these parents accountable for their children's crimes and neglect. That said, it would be in the best interest for every state to fund intro skills of actual trades in schools. And for goodness sake bring back home economics in school. I don't care if the younger generations know what a CD rack looks like, I care if they don't know how to feed themselves, or how to open a checking account, or if they don't know how/where to get a copy of their birth certificate especially in this day and age. Luckily I grew up in a time and place where bankers were cool with teaching a sixteen year old girl how to open a checking account and the proper way to use checks. I'm old. We used checks back in the day.
The question every politician should ask themselves is, "Are we doing enough to educate children into becoming assets to society when they're adults." In other words, less political science, more proper English and trade skills. Robots are being built because humans just don't want to human anymore. Where did this apparent surrender to live come from? "We don't own anything! We don't have anything!" Honey, I'm a GenX elder, we played with trees, ok. TREES. Some of us still do! We didn't own anything either but we wanted to, at 57 years of age still want to. Where did your desire to be human go?
Come to Minnesota. It's currently 10 degrees Fahrenheit out. Talk about auto correcting your perception of life right quick. This is what I know. This is what I grew up with. And when you're 57 years old in your second year of menopause it's Heaven.
Surviving below freezing temperatures walking to and from school. "Uphill both ways." Yes! Because when you got out of school at 3:00, the 15 mile an hour windchill would have changed the direction of the ten mile five foot snowdrift to and past your house! You can either stand on a corner waiting for your high AF bus driver who just got kicked of community college to come pick you up, or walk a mile home.
Places of worship and school have the most to offer children when parents are absent. The internet is a great tool for when kids grow up and have a business, but kids need positive reinforcement, human interaction from their community and community leaders and they are NOT getting it. Don't just hand out can goods, also hand out an optional life skill, is all I'm saying. Teach kids to fish. Get me? Absent (American) parents, and (American) parents who take advantage of the system, are more dangerous to society than immigrants coming to America to make a better life for themselves. I'm talking about American parents who don't care about their children or their children's future are a HUGE threat to society. Look at all the kids in foster care and other juvenile facilities, put your focus on them. These politicians screaming, "America first!" Fine. Start with American kids in the juvenile system. Start there, America first.
We Christians who serve in the community, we have to also tell politicians where they need to focus their attention even if it hurts their feelings. "The homeless is such a problem!" Well, what are you, politicians, doing about it besides blaming immigration? What's that? I'm sorry I can't hear you. Nothing. You're doing nothing about it.
As one person, I do what I can. I give where I can. I provide where and when I can. It's all we can do as individuals. If the only thing a community can come together on is hating innocent immigrants, welp, then enjoy a lifetime of your American tax dollars going to American prisons and American prisoners, and American government assistance, because you're absolutely useless in fixing the vicious circle of American neglect and crime against American children from their American parents.
If you truly want to put "America first" then you sirs, take your college education, take your years of successful trade and go teach a class at the local youth center, at the local library, at the local mission, at the local group home. Teach these people, kids, teenagers, men and women, black, white, brown, purple, whatever, teach them the intro to a useful TRADE, the basics, the resources needed, My goodness, THAT is how you put "America first!" All this hate screaming about immigrants isn't productive. Be a part of the solution or shush the heck up! Help the goodies become a healthy part of society. Encouragement to succeed, breeds encouragement to succeed. The baddies aren't going to sit through a voluntary 90 minute class introducing them to an awesome skill like construction, trust me. Sometimes the momma cat has to leave the weak ones behind and focus on the ones who will survive the next night and the night after that. "No child left behind!" Fantastic. What's your plan to get an unrealistic 100% success rate? No sir, you start by holding free voluntary career seminars at the places I already suggested from people who can mentor, in every county, in every state in the country. What's your incentive to volunteer six trade seminars to a low income district? Oh I dunno, decreasing the chances they're going to use social media to track your vacation posts letting them know when they can rob your house.
WANTED: Minority role models. Real flesh and blood role models.
Observing a problematic social issue while suggesting ways to create a solution isn't racist. Doing nothing about a problem because you think a community of people cannot make it better, is.
AND ANOTHER THING
We need to stop WIFI/cell phone shaming. It's not 1975 anymore. Winter in Minnesota right now feels like 1975, be that, we don't live in (tv) The Andy Griffith Show. We need cell phones. Kids need cell phones. They need to read a book, but they also need their cell phones because of sex trafficking, kidnapping, molesting, murder, school shootings, lack of information and resources...
People need their cell phones. Old angry white men just mad about wifi to be mad.
Breath. Its okay.
What were we talking about again? Right, knitting.
Speaking of knitting...
Square toe slipper socks for everyone! 😄 They're comfy. I wear mine to bed.
I was watching (film) The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, while knitting. Beautiful movie. The English make gorgeous cinematic (everything).
Moving on.
This (film) Rental Family, is so beautiful. It was just me and three other people in the theater braving the 4⁰F winter weather.
I'm going to let Pope Leo XIV conclude this blog:
Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! God bless us all.
