First Things First
No excuses. You can afford to pay a dollar a month, or even five dollars, so go here and do the right thing first. This week's new sponsor-only post is a good-news story and explains what happened with "Priscilla King's new cat Suzie."
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4923804
As a subscriber, you can even specify the kind of post you want to pay for, and at this site you can even buy it to post on your site:
https://www.fiverr.com/priscillaking
Animals
Barkley's Heir Abby's ( +LB Johnson 's ) memorial post for a friend...
http://thebookofbarkley.blogspot.com/2017/03/sunday-black-and-white-in-memory-of.html
...makes this a Dog Day at Petfinder.
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| Hubble from Atlanta is described as medium-sized, but he's young, and as a Lab and Dane mix he may grow bigger when he starts eating regularly: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/37664196 |
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| Coal from Alexandria...just might be looking for a home with a Republican "Friend of Coal." Meh. Retrievers are usually sweethearts. He'd probably consider Democrats too: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/37483029 |
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| Maximillian from New York had a loving home once, and wants another one. https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/37443186 |
In Utah, a shelter that's serious about "no-kill" is holding the grandmother of all pet adoption "specials. For the rest of March, any serious adopter in North America (you will need to prove that you're serious, so beware!) can have any senior dog or cat, or dog or cat with special needs, from the Best Friends animal rescue--not only for free, but with free air fare. Some of these animals are known not to fit in with other pets or children; some are already over age ten and/or have chronic health problems. All are certified lovable, adoptable pets, after their fashion. Click here to see photos of adoptable senior cats...
http://bestfriends.org/adopt/adopt-our-sanctuary/cats?animalBreed=All&animalGeneralAge=4&animalGeneralSizePotential=All&animalColor=All&animalSex=All&animalName=
Click here to "meet" adoptable senior dogs. (Does "Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine" automatically play in your mind when you look at this page?)
http://bestfriends.org/adopt/adopt-our-sanctuary/dogs?animalBreed=All&animalGeneralAge=4&animalGeneralSizePotential=All&animalColor=All&animalSex=All&animalName=
I seriously considered adopting a senior cat from these people, since it's "free," but...no. Sure as I did that, some local cat rescuer would die and create an urgent need for new homes for another dozen local cats.
And, of course...
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| Barkley himself is never to be forgotten. |
Crafts
I opened +Martin Kloess 's Google+ page today so I saw several crocheted things to choose from, and I can sincerely recommend +Beth Ann Chiles 's niece's chair-leg cozies as being the coolest crochet pieces I've seen today.
http://itsjustlife.me/heart-full-memories/
Faith
Amish fiction as genre...I have mixed feelings, suspecting that the Amish (religious, not evangelical) might find it exploitative, but they are undeniably a fascinating denomination. (Foreign readers: "Amish" are one of the more culturally conservative "Peace Church" Protestant groups. Some churches' rules still include dressing, working, and even speaking a German dialect at home and learning English as a second language, just the way their German working-class ancestors did in the eighteenth century--driving horses not tractors if they're farmers, making things by hand in non-electric-powered shops if they're artisans. Non-German-Americans have been admitted to Amish communities as visitors but I've never heard of an Amish church accepting an adult convert.) Real Amish churches are mostly a Pennsylvania and Ohio thing; what we have in Virginia are Mennonites, a relatively liberal "Peace Church" who speak English (and Spanish) and are much more open to different lifestyle choices, although some of them do still choose to dress distinctively. I suspect a large part of the appeal of "Amish fiction" is that you know the characters are radical Christians so, even if the story is an adventure and/or a romance, it will probably be wholesome and include some spiritual reflections...Amish young people are traditionally allowed a short period of Rumspringe or "running around" in the non-Amish world to see how they like it, before they vow to obey the rules and become full members of the church. It has always astonished non-Amish people that, because the communities and families are apparently very solid and sincere in their faith, most Amish young people do return to their communities and join their parents' churches. +Ruth O'Neil introduces Laura Hilton's Amish Wanderer:
http://ruths-real-life.blogspot.com/2017/03/new-release-from-laura-v-hilton.html
Flags
"Did you learn anything on the Internet today?" local lurkers often ask. Here's the first thing I learned today: there's a "Blue Lives Matter" flag. I saw one for sale in the Friday market before retrieving the computer from its storage space. Then I saw a news story about someone being harassed for actually flying one (moral: avoid all "community association"-plagued neighborhoods). Duh..."Blue Lives Matter" does not, in fact, imply in any way that anyone else's life does not matter. Fly this flag if you want to yank the chains of idjits:
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| The position of this web site is that all lives matter. Note, however, that names like "Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu" are seldom if ever found on the membership lists of White Supremacist groups. |
Y'know what's wrong with these United States these days? One thing: it's taken more than a year for the city of Flint to fix its municipal water system. Another thing: for a big, rich state like Michigan (twice the square miles of Virginia, numerous millionnaire residents), it's not been a point of pride that Michigan can jollywell take care of its own and clean up its own mess. They'll take federal money! Well, better water is a good thing and all that, but...this web site cries shame.
http://ntlconsulting.blogspot.com/2017/03/trump-cleans-up-flint-water.html
Food (Yum)
For me, personally, the only acceptable way to eat cabbage is raw. However, some people believe the fermentation process actually improves cabbage, and some people like the taste of sauerkraut. So, here's +Andria Perry 's recipe for sauerkraut:
http://getoffthegrid2.blogspot.com/2017/03/getting-off-grid-how-to-make-kraut.html
Health
The McDougalls are hosting another vegan weekend in May.
http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5e58f59d97611f910916b6276&id=da65d04833&e=4d57a9fdfb
Obituary
Derek Walcott, age 87. Is the best obituary for a poet one of his/her poems?
http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-tuesday-platform_21.html
Here's an official newspaper obituary with book links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/books/derek-walcott-dead-nobel-prize-literature.html?_r=1
Phenology
After a cool but not cold night, today's turned out sunny and warm--a busy day for the Friday Market, if I'd only had a display to set up there, which I didn't. Alana Mautone's cirrus clouds in New York are a little sparser and crisper than the ones here in Virginia:
http://ramblinwitham.blogspot.com/2017/03/skywatch-friday-mares-tails.html
But, in New York, that Big Snow hung on the ground up into the official first day of spring!
http://ramblinwitham.blogspot.com/2017/03/spring-things-presto-change-o.html
+Rachel Lovejoy reports that, despite creaking in the March winds, her trees were none the worse for the weather. The private road that runs past the Cat Sanctuary has been blocked by fallen trees, or parts of trees, more than once this winter, because it's that time in the life cycle of the tulip poplars that are the first big trees to mature after a woodlot has been clear-cut...the logging era was just about a hundred years ago, so now a lot of tulip poplars are going down.
http://treesandothersihaveknown.blogspot.com/2017/03/treesi-heard-you-last-night.html
Politics (U.S.)
Jonah Goldberg's e-mail, "Close Encounters with a Living Constitution," says it in a memorable, hilarious way (with gross-outs). It's not available as a web page. If you Tweet to @JonahNRO and ask nicely, perhaps he'll re-send it to you. It's worth asking.
Politics (Virginia)
We badly need a new U.S. Senator for Virginia. We have a moderate Democrat who's a nice guy but considerably to the left of most of his actual constituents, and then we have another Democrat who's a, well, to put it tactfully, a consummate politician, an expert campaigner...y'know, the older guy who reminds you of the Joker on "Batman," who once campaigned against one of the better preserved of my fine-looking relatives, who managed to turn health, energy, thick dark hair and classic cheekbones against the said relative. So we are having some difficulty finding a Republican senatorial candidate. This web site is receiving e-mail about drafting Laura Ingraham...I'm curious. This isn't even a link yet. U.S. readers, inside and outside Virginia, what do youall think about the radio personality and humor writer as U.S. Senator?
I like Laura Ingraham. I'm aware that although she keeps her presentations admirably light and funny, she can be serious; she's fluent in both legalese and Russian. I'm also aware that she's a mother and a cancer survivor. Do we really need to throw her into the shark tank to see whether she can outswim a well-known shark? She's likable and cute and witty and charming and apparently a decent human being...and so, Gentle Readers, was Jerry Kilgore. Is a superb radio voice that much of an advantage, relative to successful experience as an elected official? I'm asking.
What about people with more experience in doing law and politics, rather than, shall we say, popularization of the same? Fellow Virginians, do we have any State Senators who can be spared?
Zazzle
Barkley's Humans go to Zazzle:
http://thebookofbarkley.blogspot.com/2017/03/maybe-dull-people-but-never-dull-moment.html
If I link to the card LBJ posted, I'm in direct competition, so here's a notecard that turned up in the same Zazzle category and should appeal to women who like computers:
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