Good morning. ☕️🍂🍃
*Please forgive the grammatical errors as well as discrepancies with dates and times. EXAMPLE: I previously wrote I was married in 2002. I met my ex-husband in 2002. We married the following summer 2003 in Las Vegas. I've always been terrible remembering birthdays and dates. If I don't write down names, numbers, and anniversaries, it all becomes a blur 20 years later. Oh heck, 2 months later.
Who thinks AG Pam Bondi is going to jail in 2029 for obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and perjury, at the very least? Show of hands.✋🏼
I will never understand why women still allow themselves to be used and abused in 2025. Pam Bondi is a red shirt. Star Trek reference. IFYKYK.
Trump is a Godless man.
(sigh)
Just heard the news. Last night, my friend's ex-husband was struck down in Alabama by a truck as he crossed the street. It's being reported he didn't use the crosswalk. Instead he just randomly crossed the street up the road from the crosswalk right in front of an oncoming truck. He was mowed down by the truck and then air lifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition. I sent my friend a prayer even though her ex was not a good man. He mentally and emotionally abused my friend for years. And while my friend is, in my opinion, largely to blame for staying in the toxic marriage for as long as she did, this was not a good man nonetheless. Catholics want you to stay in marriages literally until death do you part. I disagree of course. I think the moment it feels like one of you will end up on Dateline, it's time to go. I am myself divorced one time. Do I wish my friend's ex harm, no, never. It just doesn't surprise me this happened to him. And while I am proud of my friend for finally leaving him, this is why I have a hard time working with women at the mission.
I donate to the women's quad at the mission silently, behind closed doors, not in person. Per my agreement with the Catholic mission, I don't interfere with how the mission operates. The protestant that I am, the grandma gene in me would find it very difficult to not lecture women who have five children by five different men by the age of 24 - my goodness. After the second time and second pregnancy, she should have at the very least gotten free birth control afterwards at a women's clinic, and if that wasn't available she could have just said NO, or not put herself in the presence of men who want to use her for sex. But I'm not allowed to say that. So I don't. Catholics and their anti-birth control stance. It is very difficult for me to aid women who want advice and help but only take the help and ignore the advice. Let me be loud and clear, I do not want to raise your children. I love children but my tax dollars are better spent on teaching sex education, and free birth control preventing pregnancy, rather than dealing with the consequences of (oh so many) poorly made choices. All of my political and religious stances include the fact I do not want to raise your children. I also don't want my tax dollars to house prison inmates for the rest of their lives who were convicted and sentenced to life behind bars at the age of 21, but that's a different blog entirely. Please do not create unwanted children. Please do not create children if you cannot afford them financially, emotionally, and/or mentally. Women are 100% responsible for their reproductive organs. "But it takes two!" And to that I say, only after she puts herself in that consensual position. Do not put yourself in that consensual position. Actions have consequences. Someone at the mission needs to remind women of this, repeatedly, but I'm not allowed to. I'm not allowed to interfere or preach my "protestant birth control demon talk" therefor I donate from afar. Respectfully.
AND ANOTHER THING
I will preach this with my dying breath, marital counseling BEFORE getting married. Why, because a third party not blinded by love will ask the couple tough love questions like:
"Why do you want to get married."
"What do you expect from marriage."
"Do you want children."
"What religion if any will your children have."
"What are your ideas about divorce."
"How will you resolve arguments that may seem to have no resolve."
(Etc.)
Marital counseling BEFORE walking down the isle together is a great way to avoid being a future episode of Snapped, or Forensic Files, or Dateline, or 48 Hours, or a fatality on the 5 o'clock news, or...
I'm not saying sex is evil or "bad", I'm just saying when the result of sex creates a child you can't afford, repeatedly, or marriage that shouldn't be, or gives you a disease you can never get rid of, perhaps it's time to get some hobbies. Maybe learn a new skill.
And fellas, it's perfectly fine to be alone when you need to work on you. Be alone. Work on you. Figure yourself out.
Meanwhile, I'd like to figure out what happened to my Amazon order of jewelry bags. I have a small budget this month to make beaded bracelets with words of hope and encouragement as gifts to be handed out during the Christmas day luncheon. The Amazon order was supposed to be delivered yesterday, the 17th, then it was supposed to come today, but so far nothing, not even so much as an estimated bracket of time for delivery and it's already 4:01pm. Yay "next day" Prime! *It's now the 21st. The bags were supposed to be delivered on the 17th. And all Amazon keeps saying is:
Fantastic.
Anyway.
Yesterday, I went to the CVS minute clinic. My ears were bugging me when I laid my head down. Particularly my right ear. I saw the physician who informed me it wasn't an infection thank goodness but I did have some impacted wax (no doubt from my ear buds) that needed to come out. He said he wouldn't charge me for the visit if I wanted to do it myself but I asked him to flush my ears out which he did for $101. That's $401 in California money. Ever have someone flush your ears out? This was my second time having someone flush out my ears and it was disgusting. Human ear wax is disgusting.
So anyway...
I've been battling some kind of cold-thing for about 4 days now.
everywhere I went yesterday people were sick. "It's that time of year" they say which is odd for me to hear in Minnesota considering I never got sick as a kid - not as a kid, teenager, or 20 year old. I just never got sick. It was rare for young people to get sick back in the day. We humans have become weak. I'm old now. It's natural for old people to get sick. Young people however, I don't understand it. Then again, it's the city. Who knows what funky diseases are floating around here. I grew up in a town not far removed from a Mennonite colony. Still, I go outside to not get worse and open my window for fresh air. I'm from that generation surrounded by old country Germans who believe many illnesses can be tempered with fresh air. I still believe it. We humans need fresh air even if it's 10 degrees out. When we were children we went outside to play every day for at least an hour even if it was below zero degrees out.
Me. That's me. If people insist on cranking on the heat above 65⁰ (🙄) I'm turning on the fan.
On my way to the mission to drop off Christmas decorations made for the mission. The church decided on these winterland colors:
While on my way to drop off the Christmas decorations, my Uber passed a one-car-per-green-light getting onto the freeway. On a wall beside the freeway someone graffiti the words, "children are being murdered by Israelis with your tax dollars" and I immediately thought, Hamas murdered children that Palestine actually voted into power (in 2006) so who are the villains now? Its so easy pointing fingers at the other guy but look in the mirror first before throwing accusations around.
Imagine presidents fighting their own fights. Right?! 💔
After dropping the baby blankets I had knit all year to the Linus Project, I'm knitting as fast as my little fingers can go to help keep people warm this winter. I'm grateful to all who accept hand knit donations. Thank you! Currently working on my next scarf. Then I'll make some hats and mittens.
In my opinion, regarding charity, doing is better than money. Wait, let me explain. If you don't have time to DO something, money is always welcome, HOWEVER, if I don't receive an itemized receipt of what donated money in my county went to that month, then how do I know those monetary donations aren't in someone's pocket? *cough*Yaknowliketaxes*cough*
If you say, "Lisa, we could really use a frozen turkey." I would much rather get two or three frozen turkeys for unhoused cafeterias than putting $3 per solicitated email into some rando charity account operated by who knows who, going who knows where. "But the money is going to purchase turkeys for Thanksgiving." Look, I WILL BUY YOU TURKEYS. If you can Amazon wishlist needs for people staying at the shelter, although good luck getting your Amazon delivery apparently, you can tell your donators what you need to stock the cafeteria. Don't you get a sufficient tax write-off with the property? Do churches even pay tax on... anything?
I don't know. I'm not an accountant or a tax lawyer. Whatever. I will buy you turkeys if that's what your mission needs.
When money was tight, I have on occasion over the years asked friends to donate yarn so I could keep knitting and donating. Something like a Michael's (craft store) gift card or straight up yarn. Knitting, what little my hands can do following my stroke/s, is something I must do. I must knit. I just love doing it and I love someone snuggling in my blanket or hat or scarf. I have no idea who gets my knits after I hand them off to the church or places like the Linus Project, but each knit is made with love. Whoever is cuddled in my knitting I want them to feel wrapped in loved. You are loved. Grandma loves you!
It still seems difficult for people born before and after my Gen X generation to understand that as children we really were on our own pretty much from the time we could walk out the front door. The moment we got bicycles we were outta there! 10 year old nomads. Wildlings. Especially where I grew up. My childhood town back then was all flat land prairie with lakes, creeks, trees, wilderness, farms, wild animals, etc. It was beautiful.
I didn't realize how creepy and haunting people outside where I grew up actually think my home town is/was. To me it was, and still is, beautiful. Miles of abandoned cornfields, generations old farm houses and barns, dark blue grey winter skies, narrow dirt roads that went nowhere in particular, and shadows that never disappeared even after the sun went down. I love winter. As I enter my first full winter since 2003/2004, Jackie & Shadow's nest at Big Bear Lake, CA, reminds me of home. This my third season with these gorgeous bald eagles. They've already been seen nesting, bringing leaves and branches to the nest in recent days, and mating. I love them so much. Fingers crossed for more viable eggs this year.🤞🏼
I pray Thee, Thou God of mercy and grace, be Thou ever our faithful God, though we
may have been negligent and thankless, not walking so carefully as we should. Be kind, comforting,
gracious, and merciful towards us; reward us not according to our iniquities, but cleanse our heart and
conscience by Thy word, that we may serve Thee in sorrow and in joy, and render unto Thee thanks,
honor, and praise in time and eternity. -- Amen.
Oh hey. Update on my Amazon delivery that was supposed to arrive overnight on the 17th with Prime:
Okay Bye!
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