fascism

Flowering, Reading

June 13, 2018 at 8:42 am by Claudia

At the very beginning of spring, I noticed feathery leaves growing in the corral. They looked a lot like yarrow. I have some yarrow that self-seeded growing in the chicken wire fence garden, where I plant morning glories and zinnias. So I waited and watched them grow and when it came time to start mowing, I mowed around them.

Yep. It’s yarrow. I’ve tried to take a picture that shows you how beautiful they look in the corral, but try as I might, I can’t get one. This is the best I can do at the moment.

There are more plants growing along the fence line.

It’s like I suddenly have a mini-meadow. I hope they come back next year.

The lavender that I potted is quite tall now and flowers have started to appear.

The catalpa is in bloom. I’m sure the other catalpas up in the woods are also in bloom, I just haven’t seen them yet. I was on the porch yesterday and the scent of the flowers wafted my way. Heavenly.

It got windy later in the day and there are a lot of flowers on the ground. Today, we’re due for some rain and storms. And then there will be more flowers on the ground. Short lived, these blooms. I can’t rescue them, they don’t do well in a vase, but I’ll rescue my peonies if necessary.

Isn’t that a beautiful flower?

Rose update (these blooms last about two days, by the way.)

I mowed yesterday because it has to be done. I did pretty well and am feeling a bit better. There’s still more mowing to be done, but I’m pacing myself. I’m also reading the latest Lee Child on my iPad. A novel. I’ve been on such a long stretch of not being able to concentrate on anything other than nonfiction, so this makes me happy.

Meredith uses her iPad all the time and that’s what inspired me to dig mine out the other day. It had been so long that I had forgotten that I had my Kindle books downloaded there. It has a bigger screen than my Kindle (where that little piece of technology is at the moment, I have no idea) and I think it’s easier to read. Anyway, I was inspired to visit Amazon and I downloaded a few books, one of which was Lee Child’s latest Jack Reacher, which was published last November. I’ve read all of them, but hadn’t read that one. Lee Child’s style is so straight-forward. It’s in the first person and Jack Reacher is no-nonsense, so it isn’t so heavily written that I might drift away, if you know what I mean. I’m more than halfway through. Maybe this will be the breakthrough I need.

I can’t even talk about what is happening to our country and our moral standing in the world, or the cages in which immigrants are being held, or the separation of children from their parents. ICE equals Gestapo. Each day brings more assaults on the principles we hold dear, the compassion we should hold dear, the rule of law – much of it being done by ‘faux’ Christians. We won’t even get into the glorification of murderous dictators. Call your Reps. Demand change. And vote.

I need an escape. I swear, there are times I’d like to move to Canada. My mom was born there. Three out of my four grandparents were born there. Maybe I could just slip across the border?

Just kidding. Sort of.

Alternatively, living off the grid sounds increasingly tempting. And that is something I’m not kidding about.

Sigh. Anyway, if I write about it, I get more angry and I need to stay calm. Breathe deep.

Happy Wednesday.

And It Continues

January 31, 2017 at 10:02 am by Claudia

Snow is falling outside my window as I write this. So far, just a sprinkle, but 1 to 3 inches is expected. A good day to stay in the house and do…I’m not sure what yet…but something. Read, certainly. I’m thinking a good cleaning of the bathroom will work off some of my ever-present anxiety.

That man fired the Acting Attorney General for standing up to him and refusing to enforce his clearly illegal executive order. Shades of Nixon and Watergate. And we know how that ended up.

I’ll restate the obvious. He needs to resign or be impeached. As I don’t see him ever resigning, for that would be admitting he was wrong and we know he is incapable of that, he must be impeached. He thinks America is his business empire. He believes he can hire and fire anyone he wants and that if he gives an order it must be followed, even if it’s immoral or illegal.

He’s getting awfully close, if not already there, to being a fascist. And he has his very own Rasputin at his side.

Okay. I don’t mean to write about this crap every day but, let’s face it, each new day brings more horrors. It’s pretty much the sum total of what’s on our mind here at the cottage. And why shouldn’t it be? I can’t think of anything more important – at least, to us – at the moment. If you’re tired of it, you can click out of this post and move on. I completely understand. However, our lives have changed since January 20th. If yours hasn’t, it just might in the not-too-distant future. I hope not, for my wish for you and for everyone is happiness and peace.

My sister has finished my pink hat and it’s on the way to me. When it arrives, I promise to have Don take a picture of me sporting my new hat.

Let’s see, what else is new? Anastasia starts rehearsals next week. It will be lovely to see everyone again. Many of the cast members from Hartford will be in this production, including 4 out of the 5 lead actors; many of the same dancers/ensemble members, as well. But there are new additions and that will also be exciting. I can’t wait to hear that glorious music again. I won’t need to be there all of the time, of course, but I’ll be in and out of rehearsals.

Don is planning on driving out to La Jolla sometime in March. He loves nothing more than a long road trip and he’s going to get our 16 year old car in shape for the journey. The mechanics that work on it assure him that the car can handle it. Fingers crossed! So he’ll be leaving while I’m still working on Anastasia and then I’ll be back in Hartford in late April to work on Heartbreak House.

We are very grateful.

I long for Spring, but to be perfectly honest, my mind is so preoccupied with calling my representatives, going to meetings, taking actions, etc., that I’m less restless than usual. There’s plenty to keep me occupied. It would be nice to have a carefree sort of day, but I don’t think that’s in the cards for a while.

By the way, Linda left a comment yesterday saying that the ACLU has pocket sized versions of the Constitution available on their site – 10 for $11.99. I’m thinking of buying some and handing them out at an appropriate time/event.

Happy Tuesday.

Reminded

January 28, 2017 at 10:42 am by Claudia

My apologies for a later-in-the-morning post today. I just this moment left that chair after reading straight through from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. in order to finish one of the most extraordinary books I’ve ever read, All The Light We Cannot See. I am shaken by its beauty, by the profound truths revealed on its pages, by the stunning way in which the author weaves together the lives of the main characters, all with the most beautiful use of language I have been privileged to witness in a long time.

I’m late getting to this book and I know a lot of you have read it already. Since it takes place during WWII, in France and Germany and Poland and Russia, a time when an insane dictator managed to brainwash millions, when his intolerance manifested itself in the death of millions – you can only imagine how much it resonated with me, on so many levels. Everything I read lately seems to be a reminder of what intolerance, egomania, paranoia and fear can bring about if not stopped in its tracks. I, like most everyone read 1984 years and years ago. I eventually acted in a ground-breaking multimedia production of that story at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia and at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Because of that, I know it like the back of my hand. It has been in my mind constantly, as I see George Orwell’s visions come to life. Even down to the use of ‘doublespeak.’

But, back to the book. If you haven’t read it, please consider doing so. For above all, it is a story about the goodness that lies in each of us, about redemption, about beauty, about light, about life, about love and devotion. And that, more than anything, is what I want to remember right now. It’s what will win in the end.

Oh my goodness, what a story! What an extraordinary writer Anthony Doerr is.

Books are saving my sanity right now. Are they doing the same for you? I am a fighter and am doing all I can. But there has to be a time during the day when I can lose myself in the words on the page of a compelling story. Where I allow myself to escape to somewhere else. Where I can feel refreshed, renewed and reenergized. And, in the case of this book, reminded.

This is what I believe we stand for:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name,
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

Those elected representatives who do not speak out against this executive order on refugees will be nothing less than collaborators.

Resist.

Happy Saturday.

Flowering, Reading

And It Continues

Reminded

claudiahillsparks

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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