Something Has to Change

When I started this blog I told myself I would avoid politics.  Period.  For the most part I have tried to do that, but there are things happening in my country now that make me feel I have to say something.  I don't know how I can change anything but I won't turn my back on it.  Please forgive me for expressing my feelings on this, but I feel I must.  Most people know about the man that was arrested and killed in custody.  This was not here in Kansas City but it could have been anywhere in this country.  The thing is, this is not the first time that has happened.  I'm not going into any details but this has to change and I do not know how.

Right now there are protests and riots in over thirty major cities in this country.  I believe in peaceful protests.  I do not believe in riots in which property is damaged and people are harmed.  There is a good reason for peaceful protests but unfortunately when the riots start it defeats the purpose of the protest.  I keep hearing there are two groups of protestors, peaceful and not peaceful.  I have seen on our local news casts the peaceful protestors attempting to stop the others from causing destruction.  One man was carrying a fire extinguisher and putting out fires started by others.  Some are trying to do this right but others are not.

I live about twenty miles outside of Kansas City and as I write this the riots are going on for the third night in a row.  The majority of the riots have taken place in the heart of our city, The Plaza area.  This is a place of beautiful Spanish architecture, fountains and old world charm.  The past three nights it has become a place full of tear gas, burning cars and huge crowds of protestors, police and the military.  Yesterday the governor declared a state of disaster for Missouri and called out the National Guard.  And this is going on in many cities all over our country now.

Kansas City Yesterday Afternoon

Kansas City Last Night

The frustration of all this is difficult to put into words.  Something has to change but I do not believe violence is going to change anything.  The mayor of Kansas City is trying desperately to get people together to talk and work on the problems.  I believe that can be a good start if handled properly.  Personally I wonder if they need to screen candidates for the police department better.  That is no place for racism.  There is no place anywhere for racism but especially not there.  I care about all people and I have always believed it is the person inside that matters, not their race, sex, religion, nationality or anything else.  I grew up in the southern part of our country in the 1950's and 1960's.  So yes, I have grown up around racism and I have seen riots most of my life.  My parents raised me to care about all people regardless of race.  I treat all people equally and have friends from many races and backgrounds.  The only way I know to help change things is in the way I reach out to others and in the way I vote.  I raised two boys and I didn't have to worry about the possibility that if they made a mistake and got arrested they might not come home alive.  A black Mother has these worries and it breaks my heart.       

“The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.”

                                                                                 Martin Luther King Jr.

         

An Early Morning Surprise

I received an early morning phone call from my oldest son, Chris, telling me there was something on my front porch.  This was a bit confusing to me because he does not live in the same suburban town as we do, so how could he know if something was on my porch.  I got off the phone, opened the front door and sure enough, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers propped up on the porch across from the door!  What a surprise and a wonderful way to start the weekend!

When I called Chris back he said he and Kristi (my daughter-in-law) had been to the City Market in Kansas City early this morning to shop for some fresh vegetables and had picked up those flowers for me.  They quietly dropped them off on the porch and then called me after they had driven away!  I sure love my family!   

Beautiful Weather and A New Way to Shop

We have had a wonderfully cool and comfortable week.  The temperature has stayed in the 60s F most days and I love that.  It's been cool but not cold and all the birds are just singing their little heads off!  It was perfect weather Monday for me to cut the grass.  It normally wears me out mowing but when it is cool, I find it much easier.  The older I get the harder it is for me to handle the hot weather.  I know it's coming, in fact it is usually here by May but this year has been different and I love it!

We have discovered that shopping these days is certainly different with all the Covid precautions.  Up until this week the only shopping we have done has been for groceries.  In our area all the other stores opened this week but we learned it is not at all the same shopping now as it was pre-Covid.

Our printer went out on us and we thought it would be nice to support a local electronics business instead of just ordering one online.  We picked one out on the store's website and checked if it was in stock locally.  The website said it was indeed in stock so Tom drove down to the store to buy it.  When he went to the store's entrance (wearing a mask) he was told he had to have an appointment to come in and someone would escort him to whatever he wanted to buy.  They could not let him in then, but made him an appointment a couple of hours later.  Just to be safe he asked them to double check if they had that printer in stock.  It turns out they did not, so no appointment was needed.  He came home and we ordered it online.  I would say it might be good advice to call and check with any business before you go!  We should have done that and did not.  I know it must be quite difficult to try and operate any kind of a business right now and I do feel for them and understand they are trying to be safe.  There are many local regulations for businesses especially regarding how many can be in the store at one time. 

My dentist office opened up this week too and I have an appointment for my checkup next week.  I understand there are many precautions for any kind of a medical/dental visit right now.  I have already received two emails about the coming visit and then today they called me with instructions.  When I go I am to sit in my car and call them when I arrive.  They will tell me when I can go inside and of course I should wear a mask.  I have a feeling there will be much more once I go inside.  I would guess a temperature check and a list of questions to answer.  I am a little nervous about going to the dentist right now but I don't want to cancel my appointment as they are not easy to get.  I'm glad they are taking precautions but it is something for us to all get used to. 

Now that more businesses and services are beginning to open I have a feeling we are all going to have to learn a whole new way of shopping and doing most anything else in public.  I'm not complaining.  I'm glad they are being safe but there will be a learning curve for all these changes.  Has anyone else discovered many different ways of doing the everyday things we used to do?  Our world is certainly changing.

I didn't have any pictures today so added Sophie & Zeus baby pictures!

       

A Cloudy, Rainy Week

After some beautiful weather last week we have had a long string of dark, rainy days this week.  It is helping to make everything green so there is a bright side to it. 

I received this picture from my brother the other day.  It made me want to rearrange all my books into various sentences and phrases!  If you are really bored during this lockdown you could try this:

I resisted the temptation to play with my books and instead decided to make some cookies.  I like to bake but don't do it too often because I also like to eat what I bake!  Tom had been wanting some homemade cookies so I made a batch of oatmeal cookies.  I figured if we are going to take in extra calories it should contain something healthy - right?  In fact you might even say oatmeal cookies are a health food!  Okay, sort of healthy with all that oatmeal.

 

I did get a little sewing done this week.  I finished making a couple of masks for my youngest son, Sean.  He lives alone and, luckily, has been able to work from home since the pandemic started.  However, they are starting to open up some businesses here and some of them require masks for you to enter.

That is about all that has been going on around here recently.  These dark, rainy days seem to slow things down a bit but they are great for reading and napping.  Sophie and Zeus have taken full advantage of the napping side of things as you can see in this picture of Zeus.  He has his very own cat quilt and he loves to crawl under it for a nice long nap.

Zeus under his quilt

I promise you, our cats are not spoiled, much.  Everyone take care!

Spring, Birds and a Bit of a Rant...

I've always loved Spring despite the ups and downs we get with the weather here.  We've had sporadic sunny days and a good portion of rainy, stormy days as usual.  A few weeks ago we had our usual short Spring snowfall and tomorrow night we are supposed to get a hard freeze.  Overall, it has been nice and we have even started to welcome the Spring and Summer birds back.  I was finally able to get our hummingbird feeder out which always makes me happy.  I try to wait for any freezes to be past us before I put it out.  They must have been waiting because it was not out ten minutes before the hummingbirds started coming to it!  We have it hanging on our deck in front of the glass door so our cats can watch it.  Sophie, our female cat, loves those hummingbirds so much and talks to them whenever they show up.  I have not been able to get any hummingbird pictures yet but I did get a few pictures of some other birds.  These were taken with my phone so they are not the best quality of pictures.  I have tried to identify them but I could be wrong.  If I am incorrect, I welcome any identification anyone can offer ! 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

 

This isolation is starting to wear on me as I am sure it is with others too.  Our state has started opening up in some areas but not yet in the county where I live.  We start phase one Monday so I guess we will see how it goes.  One thing I have noticed lately is that there now seems to be two kinds of people.  One kind wears masks when in public, stays home and tries to follow the recommendations of the CDC and the medical community.  The other kind seems to think the first kind of people have either imagined Covid-19 or they are blindly following scaremongers and the press.  This is extremely frustrating to me.  I do know you can not believe everything you hear on the news and there are always going to be people that make things sound worse than they are in reality.  But come on, there are over a million cases just in the U.S. and there are almost 10,000 cases in the state where I live.  If nothing else you should have respect for those that have died and for their families.  

Okay, that's my rant.  Thanks for listening.  I hope everyone is healthy and enjoying the improving weather and whatever beautiful birds and wildlife you have where you live.  If you've taken the time to read this - I appreciate you for being here.