Digging out

Hi everybody.

How are you?

It has been a rough start to the new year, huh? If you are starting to wonder if you'll ever stop walking around with constant simmering sadness and anger, you are not alone. 

It's weird, though. I used to be afraid in addition to sad and angry, but I'm not really afraid anymore. I have been watching the people of Minnesota, and I know we are eventually going to be OK. 

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." (MLK)

And, if I may quote the great Sturgill Simpson: "I think that this toxic patriarch energy that we are experiencing right now, this is an age coming to an end. What you are seeing is that energy clinging and clawing for survival because it knows it is dying, and we are heading towards something very beautiful. And we just gotta go through some dark sh*t first to get there. Love everybody around you, don't accept anything other than that, and f**k sh*t up. That's all I've got to say." 

I would add that one can f**k sh*t up without using violence. Observers and disruptors in Minnesota are showing us how. Just like John Lewis and Dr. King and everyone who used passive resistance in the Civil Rights Movement. Good trouble. It will take time and courage and sacrifice, but the masked men asking people for papers, teargassing, beating, and shooting people in the streets, are ultimately not going to win.

And I believe that this weekend was a tipping point. There will be more clinging and clawing for survival. We will go through more dark sh*t. But I think this is the beginning of the end.

What I don't know is how long it's going to take to get us there. It seems more important than ever to stay engaged and informed. Share the truth. Don't feed the trolls. Call your reps relentlessly. Attend protests when you can (if you feel comfortable). Use your spending power. Don't shop at businesses that support this administration, and write them to tell them why. Shop small and local. Volunteer. Donate. Support independent journalists. Support local candidates. Become an election worker. Run for something! We are not helpless, even though sometimes it feels like we are. Use your anger for good.

And, as Sturgill said, love everyone around you. Just now, I looked outside and the two high school boys who live across the street -without being asked - are out shoveling my driveway. I can't tell you what a big help that is. The plow came yesterday and pushed all the street snow into the bottom of our driveway. Then we got a couple inches of sleet and those piles turned to little ice mountains. Kevin has to work all day and can't shovel, and I honestly don't think I could have made a dent. And I have been stressed all morning about digging out so I can go to work tomorrow. So, I am super thankful. I went out and gave them each a little cash. It probably wasn't enough. Taking care of our neighbors and our communities is resistance.

Gosh, I didn't sit down today planning to write all that. I was just going to post a few snow day pictures. But I think I needed my own pep talk! "Posting through it" is my survival strategy, I guess.

Anyway, the candle in the picture up there is in my front window. I put it there for Minnesota, but I'm going to leave it there for the duration, whatever that ends up meaning. I'm probably going to need some rechargeable batteries. (It's a fake candle. But it looks pretty real, huh?! The flame even moves! lightlicandles.com)

And now, a few pictures from a couple of pre-storm hikes at work, and yesterday's snow day:

Goose creek.

Sunrise.

Bluebird.

 

Yesterday morning, I was the first one up, and I sat in the living room to enjoy my favorite thing about snowstorms - the silence.

Rufus loves snow and frolicked joyfully on his walk. 

I made french toast and Kev made pretty blue snow day breakfast drinks.

I started my first knitting project in a LONG time.

Please make the picture big and read the description.

Progress.

View from the front porch.

Snow day knitting music.

Brisket and mashed potatoes.

The preserve has been closed for 2 days because of the weather. I'm scheduled to work tomorrow and I hope we are open. I can't wait to see that place in the snow. 

Today, I will knit some more and clean out one of the kitchen cabinets and bake a cake and call my representatives. Maybe I'll listen to some Sturgill Simpson. I hope you are all doing OK. Try to do one thing today that is part of the solution, and lots of things that bring you some peace and joy.

Onward.