Boy, motivating myself to write a post is hard. Once I start, I’m fine. I think the enormity of what happened last week gets stronger by the day and, frankly, it’s almost all I can think about. Sure, I start a jigsaw puzzle, I wash the sheets and the towels, I dust, vacuum and straighten up. But always, like a sound track running constantly in my head, are the events of January 6th.
I’m sure it’s much the same for all of you.
It’s all Don and I could talk about this morning during our second cup of coffee.
It’s very cold and gray today. We’ve been spoiled by pockets of sunshine for the past few days, but this day is just plain gloomy.
It’s hard for me to read a novel. I’ve only been reading for a short time at night in bed. I’m going to try to force myself to grab my book and get a chunk of reading in today. I’ve ordered a few books that should be arriving today and tomorrow – books with a high comfort level that I think I need now. I’ll share them with you when they arrive.
Still waiting on the wallpaper for the dollhouse bathroom. Hopefully, it will get here today or tomorrow.
In the meantime, I changed out the bed in the English Cottage. My favorite bed is too large for the room. It looks pretty there, but its larger size means that I can’t add a wardrobe or a desk and I want those items in that room. So – that bed will most likely go in the Beacon Hill, when I can get motivated to start building it.
I hope you’re all hanging in there.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
Dear Claudia, This too shall pass. The truly incredible events of January 6, and these strange days watching Trump’s powers and presence fade while he is still the president. And at his own hand (mouth). I am optimistic that this will begin an epoch of awareness. I am heartened that Simon and Schuster has said “NO” to Hawley, that Marriot Corp. is stepping back from supporting representatives who chose the dark side of politics. We have all been traumatized. And how much worse it could have been! God bless America!
More and more corporations are saying they will not fund those who backed sedition. That’s a good thing.
Stay safe, Leslie.
Had to unplug most of yesterday and as to the goings on in D.C. Can’t do it…headaches…I understand…I am reading light for Netgalley…and that is difficult…
I am doing puzzle books to keep brain going…and of course, teaching online…I so relate to how you feel…think…keep writing the blog…each word counts…prayers prayers dear girl.
Yes, I do crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzled. It helps!
Stay safe, Brenda.
Love my jigsaw puzzles too.
xo
I will have hours where I don’t think about ‘it’ but then it comes back. So much worse then first shown on Jan 6th. I’m so worried and I know I need to try to control that. I just pray the inauguration goes smoothly. I would put nothing past these terrorists. I’ve had trouble reading and like you need a comfort book I think. Take care, stay safe.
I’m right with you. I find it hard to concentrate on anything other than watching news. I haven’t been able to read. My library e-book expired and I don’t really care. Maybe I will borrow it again someday.
I feel like I am going through the motions of life right now. But, today is a little better. I haven’t turned on the news. What I find most troubling is the thought of that huge crowd outside the Capitol.
This was, and continues to be, a huge movement based on lies. We are in for some very hard times. Trump adds fuel to the fire but even without him the fire hasn’t been extinguished.
Counting the days til Jan 20.
Stay safe
I know. This will be ongoing. We have no shared set of facts, Marilyn.
Stay safe.
Comfort is key, Linda.
Stay safe.
This is getting better every day, Claudia. Good is going to rule over evil. This is going to be sorted out. OM is getting hit in his pocketbook now….That’s gonna get him.
I find I can only read at bedtime, as I cannot concentrate most of the time due this total upheaval.
Stay healthy & keep hoping for the best…it’s gonna happen!! (said from a very pessimistic
person!)
Thanks for the positive words, Priscilla!
Stay safe.
I was watching the local news this morning and the backdrop was a pic of our State capital. The weatherperson said “look at them boarding up all the windows on the ground floor with plywood. I wonder if there is a high wind warning I haven’t heard about. No, it is the times in which we live.” I think we all need to not think it is behind us, and look ahead and recognize this is not over yet so we aren’t shocked again. I don’t understand this “well, only 9 days left” mentality, either. If someone was the CEO a a large corp or bank, and was retiring or being let go, and right before they left they stole $10 million, or burned down the Corp Headquarters, would their stockholders say to just let them go as it was just a few more days before they left? It all goes back to him NEVER in all of his life having ever faced a consequence. He laughs it all off, shrugs, calls it fake news and carries on. He may be leaving DC in 9 days, or less, but his stink is going to live on…… and on.
I read online that all 50 state capitals expect demonstrations between January 16 – January 20.
Lovely. Damn them.
Stay safe, Chris.
i’ve seen that, too. and an article that the fbi has warned officials in minnesota and michigan about “protests” turning violent in their capital cities this sunday.
so unnecessary, unhelpful, costly and sad. be safe, everyone!
kathy in iowa
Very worrisome.
xo
Sending love your way,Claudia. I did not watch TV during the actual event(I listened to NPR) and since have seen bits and pieces on TV. Yesterday I read the NYTimes and The Guardian and wept the entire time.Even if T. fell off the face of the earth today,we still have his enablers and supporters. To keep my sanity ,I am reading Jacqueline Winspear’s beautiful memoir: This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. For those of us who love her Masie Dobbs series this is a must.xo
Good for you for finding a book that speaks to you and helps you during this time.
Stay safe, Annette!
I love “Maisie” and Winspear but hadn’t heard any review of the memoir. Thanks for that, Annette!
They may go down under. They won’t go away. Just heard Carol Leonig of W. Times say that her sources are saying what they are really worried about is protecting the White House after January 20 because there was no way they could protect it if the same thing happened there. Makes my brain hurt. And my heart even more.
I’ve been reading like a crazy woman — the only way I can get my mind off things. Although I did feel great calm and delight watching Äll Creatures Great and Small” last night. It was like taking the ultimate chill pill so sorely needed.
Meanwhile, our county has 2,000 doses of vaccine through the Health Department and 80,000 people in the current vaccination zone. No words.
Hang in there…. be careful, stay well and safe.
jeanie, I felt the exact same way watching All Creatures Great and Small last evening. It was such a beautiful escape.
I think she writes for The Washington Post (not Times.) The Times is very conservative.
Yes, we’ve heard nothing about when we might get the vaccine.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
Love the bed and secretary! So calming to see your dollhouse rooms. I envision myself visiting an old friend or beloved relative in the beautiful spaces.
Like you, for the last 6 days, I have not been able to tear my thoughts away from the catastrophic events of last Wednesday. Every hour, it seems, brings new info about just how radical and dangerous it was. I’m glad articles of impeachment were drawn up; they may be too late to get him out of office, but they may cripple his future political ambitions. Not to mention bestow the “honor” of being the only president to be impeached twice.
I could go on and on, and unfortunately I do, my internal dialogue never stops. I’m trapped in what my friend used to call her mom’s Alzheimer moments: the spin cycle. I need to be metaphorically pegged to a clothes line to let a gentle breeze blow some freshness into my brain. Thanks for continuing to be here.
Hang in there, Nora. I am in the same state (so is Don.)
Stay safe!
xo
Yes, again, I hear you, Claudia. The news from Wednesday just gets more horrifying every day. I worry that the next couple of weeks could get rough. Michael Chertoff (Secy of Homeland Security in the Bush admin) said on a TV news show, “Buckle up.” And Rick Wilson (Lincoln Project) was on Amanpour (I saw the interview on youtube; I think it’s about 18 minutes) with some really, really thought-provoking stuff. So, I woke up at 3am and couldn’t sleep again.
But the sky is blue, it’s 76 degrees outside with warm sun, so I’m about to go out, despite the ever-present Santa Ana condition we get at this time of year in SoCalif, brave the wind, and soak up something good. One thing about these winds when they’re not as severe and we’ve had rain as we’ve had (which has actually, for once, soaked into the ground), they don’t kick up the dust in the river bed, and what we get instead of clouds of dust that look like smoke or haze, is a clear, clear view for what feels like as far as you can see.
I saw a thing on TV last night, or was it the wee hrs this a.m., maybe CNN, where more was said about that police officer who braved the mob in the Senate building as they kept swelling in numbers up the stairs, and all he had was a baton; one guy trying to fight off all those dangerous, crazed rioters. It said he got to the top of the one stairs, saw the door open to the Senate offices or floor (I don’t know the building layout) and this was to his left, that the other police hadn’t yet gotten all the lawmakers out of the space to safety, so this officer on the stairs purposely then led the mob in the other direction, to chase HIM, to the right, which gave police just that much extra time to get the senators/staff to safety. I don’t know where he went as he kept climbing flights of stairs (for his own safety) but THAT guy deserves commendation. I we hear more of the police officer who was dragged to the outside of the building and beaten by the mob; I hope he’s okay. I was glad to know the officer who was being crushed between I guess a door and a riot shield, crying for help, the mob attempting to pull off his protective faceguard/helmet, survived; one report said he’d had an MRI and no bones were broken but that he was ‘sore (hurt, I’m sure bruised) as hell’ (I think that was quoted by the former police chief for DC). We can’t forget the bravery of the ‘good’ capitol police, too many wounded and the one killed, for the bad apples in that force who were likely/apparently complicit. Will be interesting to see what investigations reveal.
As Majority Whip in the House was saying (I paraphrase; James Clyburn), this organized riot was clearly led by a ‘map’ to know where to look for certain lawmakers like him and Nancy Pelosi. He said he was working during the electoral college tallying, with his staff, in unmarked (and you’d-have-to-know-where-to-find) offices in the building (of 600 offices in total), not near his ‘marked’ office with his name on the door, yet they seemed to know right where to look for him in the unmarked/’anonymous’ offices.
I also saw Pelosi interviewed on 60 Minutes (we have to remember she’s age 80) and it’s chilling (I overuse the word), those thugs with the zip ties; that she and others could have been restrained and I’m sure beaten and killed, including Pence; the mob intent on destruction and death. It’s even worse than what we first witnessed from news coverage. I also saw, on Sunday Morning with CBS, the interview with the sitting architect for the capitol building and the history of this huge million-square-foot structure with a cornerstone laid by George Washington himself, and felt encouraged they can fix the damage to art, statuary, mirrors, magnificent floors and old, giant wood doors with sturdy but ancient hinges (ripped and splintered by the mob) and that’s because they’re always working to maintain the building and of course they know it ‘like a book’. Gosh do I hope I can see it for myself one day, this hallowed place, a house of the People. The architect said his favorite room was that very hall of statues, two from each state, so historical, where the mob desecrated some and seemed to get great satisfaction with their selfies. May they all come to their federal arrests (and convictions) swiftly.
(I’ve been watching a lot of TV, but it’s certainly educational. Good way to get lots of diff opinions and observations; historical perspectives.)
Beautiful place to visit. We took our kids few times…after I became a teacher in my forties. I spent a month living at Georgetown U, while studying Shakespeare at the Folger’s. I spent many lunch times in the senate and house lunch rooms and galleries…loved loved loved
hej, vicki …
yes, many thanks to that quick-thinking and heroic guard!
and the lead rioter he was facing, the guy closest to the guard on the stairs? a 41-year-old man from here in des moines. wonder if he thinks “yep … worth it” as he faces spending years in a federal prison. sad choice he made … to follow an egotistical man who egged people on only to later turn on them and “condemn” them.
anyway, kudos and peace to the guard and you and everyone else.
stay safe in every way.
kathy in iowa
Yes, when I watched that happen last Wed, I wondered what in the world was happening with that Officer as it looked like he was retreating. Brilliant job!
I remember visiting Statuary Hall and how awe-struck I was. I think that is why last Wed was so hard on so many as we had visited there at some point in our lives and remember how we felt walking through the Capital. To see what those deplorables were doing was beyond heartbreaking.
its reassuring in the midst of so much destruction to know that a building, the workshop of a living democracy [no matter how flawed], can be preserved and repaired. some symbols are priceless
Oh, to feel 76 degrees in the air!
It’s in the thirties here.
Stay safe, Vicki.
I have commented at length and then deleted all of them. I realize that I am angry and venting and spewing rage. So…..I will take a deep breath and go downstairs and play my piano till my fingers ache . I agree with everything posted on this blog. I live for the day that trump and his mob of degenerates become irrelevant.
I’ve started watching the new series, “All Creatures Great and Small.” Beautiful scenery, lovely characters and sweet animals. Takes your mind off the present and goes back to more civil times. For a bit, anyway.
Yes, excellent idea. I just happened to see a promotion for it so that I could record the series from from Season 1, Episode 1. I very much recall the original series on PBS in the 1970s which featured the lovely locales and British actors. I then bought all the James Herriot books. Neither they or the series disappointed me. I hope this version is as good; sounds like it!
It was wonderful! It was like breathing in fresh clean air after coughing and choking on the horrific images of last week. You will love it. I saw the “old” one, too, and this does absolutely not disappoint!!!!
I do, too.
Stay safe, Maria.
same here.
the more videos i see of that attempted coup, the worse it gets. and i am angry that people can see those videos, can know that people died there and yet can still say “it’s only nine more days” … argh! pino needs to face consequences/justice, our country needs to be protected and this cannot happen again!
changing the subject …
i used to have a very old metal bed so love seeing those you have here and for the beacon hill dollhouse. such incredible details! same with the wallpaper … lovely.
glad you and don have several interests and hobbies as well as each other. have a nice night and stay safe.
sending love and hugs, prayers …
kathy in iowa
Thank you, Kathy.
Stay safe!