I love all the zinnias, but this is my current favorite.

Well, I was somewhat successful yesterday with my new way of thinking. But the world intrudes and I find myself enraged by the lies and then I have to take a deep breath and remember my mantra: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

We are currently right smack dab in the middle of a pandemic, a hurricane, an RNC filled with lies and an alternate reality, forest fires, the shooting of an unarmed black man in the back, seven times, and a 17 year old white nationalist and Trump rally attendee carrying an AK15 who murdered protestors and walked away when there were police everywhere. As Rachel Maddow said last night, it’s not only happening today, it’s all happening at this moment.

Don thinks that we’re not wired to take in all of this, that we’re not wired to deal with the constant assault of bad news from social media, cable television, newspapers, radio and 24-hour cable news. I think he’s right. I feel like I’ve been struck repeatedly by a cudgel. Obviously, I haven’t, and I’m safe right here in my home and am not being assailed by hurricanes or ignorant fools carrying an assault weapon. Metaphorically assaulted.

I would say my usual “What’s next? Locusts?” but there were locusts in Africa recently. Let’s not mention the asteroid that is coming our way.

Anyway.

We had some rain this morning. The sun is now coming out but we’re due for intense thunderstorms this afternoon. What we really need is more steady rain like we had for a few hours this morning. We were up in the woods yesterday and the trees up there are clearly suffering from not enough rain. What we do get lately are huge thunderstorms with lots of torrential rain that are gone in 15 minutes. That kind of rain doesn’t really penetrate the ground. We’re were hoping for an all day steady rain, but it looks like we aren’t going to get that.

Let’s see, what else? We’re going grocery shopping this morning. I’m insisting that Don take a break from outdoor work as his knees and hands are sore. I’m going to retreat into the fantasy land of my dollhouse later this afternoon, as well as a good book.

I hope you are safe, that those of you in the path of the hurricane have evacuated. My prayers are with you.

Happy Thursday.

One of my little sunflowers just opened up. I remember grabbing some seeds during my first lockdown trip to the nursery – having no idea what size they might be. This is on the petite side and I love it.

Lots of morning glories this morning. The other batch that I sowed in the chicken wire fence garden? Lots of leaves, absolutely no flowers so far. I’ve had this happen in the past. I sure hope they’re simply waiting to bloom in September.

I didn’t do any dollhouse work yesterday as I attacked the main bathroom for a thorough cleaning. That took a few hours. You know I hate doing a deep clean of the bathroom. However, when I do tackle it, I feel very satisfied. Now the kitchen needs a deep clean, as well, but I’m going to wait a day or two to start in on that.

We had a late afternoon thunderstorm with lots of wind and rain. By that point in the day, I had given up hope, but then I heard some faint thunder off in the distance. Huzzah! Of course, I’d already hand watered all of the garden by that point, but what the heck.

I had a little epiphany last night. As I scanned twitter to see what happened on the second night of the RNC and promptly felt sickened at all the lies and propaganda, I realized that I can’t go forward like this – being anti-Orange Man. Of course, I am and I detest everything he stands for. BUT, fighting against is alway weaker than fighting for. So I’m going to do my best to block out as much of his fascist drivel as I can, knowing that it’s not possible to block all of it, and move ahead fighting for  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I am not going to give any more of my energy to him – he’ll suck it up, he’ll feast on it, he’ll want more. I refuse to give it to him. I’m going to give all my positive energy to Joe and Kamala, to all that is good, to everything they represent for our future.

I shared that thought with Don as we got ready for bed and he agreed.

So that’s where you’ll find me; doing whatever I can to help elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

I remember right after my father died, I had to deal with my estranged sister (she’s estranged from everyone in the family) who lives in a world where loved ones and neighbors are her enemies, where she is always a victim of something or other, who concocts fantasies that have no basis in reality. On the night of his death I had a conversation with her that was very upsetting and I spoke to Don about it on the phone. He said I should think of her as an annoying gnat that I could finally brush aside, the last connection to her having been my father. I never had to deal with her again. I could move on, knowing I did everything I could to repair the relationship; having no idea what made her pull away from us because she would not answer any phone calls or emails, yet willing to apologize for whatever she perceived to be the problem.

I took his advice. It took a while, but eventually I realized that I had been freed from all her negative energy and could move on. My choice was to be positive, not negative. I could let her go and move forward in peace.

That’s how I choose to look at this election. Of course, we have no guarantee that we won’t have to deal with OM again, but I believe a positive push FOR and the energy that creates is far more powerful than a push against. Plus, I simply cannot let him occupy my mind and heart for a moment longer.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

I uploaded a photo, edited it, and was ready to insert it in my post when I realized I just used it two days ago. Life is a blur, my friends, in these days of viruses and the insanity of the leadership of our country.

I didn’t watch the convention but I did do some reading this morning. It sounds horrific and I’m not at all surprised. They have no platform, they warn about what the country will become under Dems and the video they use is what is happening NOW under the Orange Man. Still using “Make America Great” when they’ve had four years in power in which to do that very thing. They’ve failed on every level, so they have nothing to tout, nothing of hope, nothing of compassion, nothing of good.

You know how I feel. I despise the current GOP and everything it stands for. We are witnessing the last gasps of a party that Lincoln, if he were alive, would have absolutely nothing to do with. As Rick Wilson says, Everything Trump Touches Dies; #ETTD

Okay. Enough of that.

It’s humid today and we’ve been told we might have rain and storms. I’ll believe it when I see it, of course, but we sure could use it. Right now, as I write this, the sun has come out, so I’m getting more doubtful about the forecast by the minute.

I did a little work on the the dollhouse yesterday, sanding some of the interior surfaces and adding trim to the roofline. Today, I’ll paint the downstairs ceiling. Then I’ll have to make a decision about wallpaper. For some reason, I’m having trouble making a decision this time around. So it’s back to the drawing board. In the meantime, when I’ve finished painting the ceiling, I’ll start in on the wood floor downstairs.

I follow a lot of miniaturists and dollhouse enthusiasts on Instagram. I love seeing everyone else’s imaginative work. Though there are a slew of dollhouses that look exactly like the current white interior, subway tile, wood and white sofa craze (I tune out, just as I do when I see yet another feature in a magazine showing the same thing) there are a lot of original and funky and wonderful designs. It’s inspiring to see the work that others do. It keeps me very, very humble, to be sure.

I’m reading James Lee Burke and Don, who just finished The Underground Railroad, was so intrigued by my description of Hamnet  that he’s now reading it. Don usually reads nonfiction but the last three books he’s read have been fiction (with a historical reference).

Other than that, my friends, we’re hanging in there, giving ourselves chores and errands to run and books to read and meals to prepare in order to provide some structure to each day.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.