Escalation.

 This is the light for the kitchen that we got off from Marketplace for $25. I really like it, and the best part is that the lights aim where you need the light, so the counter tops are perfectly lit. So that's my happy for today. We are polyurethaning the trim boards to frame the windows and hope to get that done tomorrow morning before the rain starts again. 

I also walked over two miles today. What a joy it is to be able to do that with no pain. 

Now...

This is a long post, so all of you unhappy with political posts need to click off now. 

From Senator Chris Murphy who sent out this report from the Senate Floor: Last night in the Senate, something really important happened. Republicans forced us to debate their billionaire bailout budget framework. We started voting at 6 PM because they knew doing it in the dark of night would minimize media coverage. And they do not want the American people to see how blatant their handover of our government to the billionaire class is. 

So I wanted to explain what happened last night and what we did to fight back. The apex of Republicans' plan to turn over our government to their wealthy cronies is a giant tax cut for billionaires and corporations. And they plan to pay for it with cuts to programs that working people rely on. Popular and necessary programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP, are all being targeted. In order to pass the tax cut, Republicans have to go through a series of procedural steps. Last night, they took the first step which requires them to pass an outline of their plan, but with it, any senator can offer as many amendments as we want. So my Democratic colleagues and I did just that. 

Now, we knew that Republicans would largely unanimously oppose them, but we had two objectives here. One, Republicans were forced to put their opinion on record -- many for the first time -- on the most corrupt parts of Trump and Musk's agenda. Two, as I've been saying, I am going to make every process and procedure as slow and as painful as possible for as long as my colleagues choose to ignore the constitutional crisis happening right before our eyes. 

So what did we propose? We proposed no tax cuts for anyone who makes a billion dollars a year. We made them vote on weather or not Elon Musk and DOGE should have limitless access to American's personal data. We made them vote on whether to protect IVF and to require insurers to cover it. Every single amendment Democrats proposed was shot down. On almost every single amendment, Republicans universally opposed it. Every Republican voted against our proposal to prevent more tax cuts for Billionaires. The corruption and theft is happening in the open here. 

The whol game for Republicans is taking your money and giving it to the wealthiest corporations and billionaires -- even if it means kicking your parents out of a nursing home or turning off Medicaid for the poorest children. They know what they are doing is deeply unpopular. They are offering a tax cut to the most wealthy that is 850 times larger than what they are offering working people. Oh. And by the way, any tax cuts for working people are going to be washed out by higher costs for basic necessities, like health care and food. It's a fundamental injustice. 

Thanks to your pressure and support, many of my Democratic colleagues have joined my effort to do everything we can do to make sure they cannot destroy democracy and steal your money in the dark of the night. We are being loud about what is happening. I'm going to continue to grind the gears of Congress down as much as possible to make it harder and slower to get away with this corruption. That's why the votes lasted until nearly 5AM. 

This is a five-alarm fire. I don't think we have two years to plan and fight back. I think we have months. It's still in our power to stop the destruction of our democracy with mass mobilization and effective opposition from elected officials. So we can't miss any opportunity to take advantage to put the Republicans on the record and to shine a light on what is happening. You have a role to play in this as well. I need you to amplify what is happening, support the leaders who are fighting for you to make sure they can continue speaking truth to power against Musk and Trump's billionaire cronies, and  show up and rallies and town halls. Use every tool at your disposal to send a message loud and clear about how you expect my colleagues to lead and fight in this moment. 

Every best wish, 

US Senator Chris Patrick Murphy.

In LA: 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/trump-los-angeles-immigration-protests-rcna211695

You need to understand that the governor has not authorized this and that the action has escalated the violence. We have the right to protest and the protests were, according to the police, non-violent. 

Understand also that he has made it clear that he is prepared to send military troops to wherever the protests are happening "if he deems it necessary". This is martial law. This is the military being used against its own citizens. 

I close with the wisdom of Robert Reich:

Friends,

What is our moral responsibility as citizens of the United States when the President of the United States moves to deploy thousands of American soldiers against us?

Trump signed a memo late yesterday ordering 2,000 members of the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles County after federal immigration agents in riot gear squared off with hundreds of protesters for a second consecutive day.

Trump’s action is extreme although technically legal. Governor Gavin Newsom did not call in the Guard. Title 10 of the United States Code allows a president to federalize the National Guard units of states to suppress “any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.”

In a presidential memo, Trump said, “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

Last night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to deploy active-duty Marines in Los Angeles:

"The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil. A dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence and destruction against federal agents and federal facilities will NOT be tolerated," he continued. "It's COMMON SENSE."

Why is Trump doing this, and why now?

Because Trump can’t stand to be humiliated — as he has been in the last two weeks. By senate Republicans refusal to quickly enact his so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. By Xi Jinping’s refusal to back down on trade (and restrict shipments of China’s rare earths, which American industry depends on). By the federal courts pushing back against his immigration policy. And, now, by insults and smears from the richest person in the world, who has a larger social media following than does Trump.

So what does Trump do when he’s humiliated? He deflects public attention. Like any bully, he tries to find another way to display his power — especially over people who are powerless, such as immigrants. Especially over people whom he doesn’t consider “his” people, such as Californians.

He has despised California since the 2016 election when the state overwhelmingly voted against him.

And what better Ground Zero for him to try out his police state than Los Angeles — a city teaming with immigrants, with Hollywood celebrities who demonize him, and wealthy moguls who despise him?

He is calling out the National Guard to provoke violence. As Governor Newsom said, “that move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”

Trump wants to escalate tensions. He wants a replay of the violence that occurred in the wake of the George Floyd murder — riots, mayhem, and destruction that allow him to escalate his police state further — imposing curfews, closing down parts of Los Angeles, perhaps seeking to subdue the entire state. And beyond.

Please do not give him this. Don’t fall into his trap.

We cannot be silent in the face of Trump’s dictatorial move. Silence is acquiescence. We must be brave in resisting him. But we must not succumb to violence.

What is needed is peaceful civil disobedience. Americans locking arms to protect those who need protection. Americans sitting in the way of armored cars. Americans singing and chanting in the face of the Americans whom Trump is drafting into his handmade civil war.

Americans who do not attempt to strike back, but who do what many of us did during the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements — peacefully but unambiguously reject tyranny. To be brave and non-violent in the face of tyranny, to be strong and restrained, to resist with our hearts filled with anger but not succumb to that anger — is terribly difficult. But Martin Luther King Jr. taught us its importance, and George Lewis taught us how.

A humiliated Trump is the most dangerous Trump. He has manufactured this entire crisis. But he will overreach. He already has. And this overreach will ultimately be his undoing.

As long as we keep our heads.

May we look back on this hellish time and feel proud of what we did.

Be strong. Be safe. Hug your loved ones.

Saturday

 Today, Tim wanted to work on his shed for all his things that must be kept forever and ever until he dies and the kids throw it out. It is interesting to note that he's found quite a bit of stuff that belongs to me that we need to be getting rid of, because we are downsizing and we can't take it all. 

Just a thing that I noticed. 

I stayed home. I've been pretty slack on household duties since the knee surgery, and so I wanted some time to catch up. I got laundry done and vacuumed and dusted. I do know that I still have one area of difficulty to work on: going up and down stairs. About the sixth trip to the basement, my knee was feeling it. 

Today: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/al-qaeda-leader-in-yemen-threatens-trump-musk-over-gaza-war-there-are-no-redlines/

Next week is the No Kings Protest. I'm trying to come up with sign ideas. Of course, there is the obligatory "Rejecting kings since 1776". I need to make one more sign. Suggestions welcome. 

Amish Paypal?

 First of all, thank you Pixie for sharing this: 

A few days back, we'd gone up to visit Levi and Mattie. We took ice creams up for everyone. It made me laugh to see Grandma out there industriously digging a hole in her front yard. I always have to remind myself that Grandma is actually younger than I am, a fact that tickles her pink every time she re-realizes it. 

Anyways, in the process of front porch sitting, Levi mentioned a book that he was trying to find on medicinal herbs. I pulled out my phone and went to Better World Books and found that they had one for sale for $5.91, listed as used, very good condition. Levi was surprised by that, because new, the books are $25. He said, "Well...if you can find it, it would be nice to get three of them, one for my mother and one for Mattie's mother." I did a little searching, and there were 3 of them, all of them listed at $5.91. I don't access my paypal on my phone, but promised him that I'd place the order as soon as we got home. 

When I got home, I ordered the books. When it came to the shipping address, I used the drop down and saw that I'd never sent books to their house, so I went ahead and typed in their address, reviewed the order and accessed my paypal. I received the confirmation e-mail, which I didn't read through, but took it as affirmation that the order had gone through. 

Today, it occurred to me that I'd not gotten anything telling me that the order had shipped, something that normally happens very promptly, so I went to the confirmation e-mail and much to my surprise, saw that somehow, Levi had been entered as the buyer, and I had become the ship-to address. I don't even know how that happened, but I know that Levi's name did not match the name on the paypal. I figured that the order had rejected. I contacted the company, but they told me it was too late to change anything. The order was on its way to me, which made me laugh. How on earth that order got through, I cannot even tell you. I know for a fact that Amish do not have paypal. 

Today was a quiet day. Tim did some work at a tenant's house. We stopped by Mia's to finish the plumbing. No one was there, so we headed to the new house. The thunder rumbled and the rain fell, and 'the garden' looks as if it is doing well. Best of all, we've had a haze for the past week from the smoke of Canadian fires. The heavy rains yesterday and today knocked that back a bit. 

Late edit: I neglected to link Pixie's page to her name. My apologies for the oversight, Pixie. 

Shit's getting real.

 I went off to PT this morning, and did my workout. My appointment was at 10:45, and I was walking out of there at about 10 after 12. It's a workout to be sure, but it is easily accomplished. I wonder what that means? I still am hopeful to be done with all of this by the end of next week. 

I am continually cautioned about swelling, which is not an issue. I wore my blue jeans today, and the concern was that the knee would swell and I wouldn't be able to remove them. The knee does not swell, however. It hasn't since I began PT. Still they caution about it over and over again. I think that I am mindful. If I had swelling or pain, I surely would not press on. I've had a bad knee for a lot of years, and I sure do not want to damage this one. They were shocked that I spent yesterday working on the garden. "How many hours?" I was asked. When I said all afternoon, they once again began to stress the importance of not pushing that knee. 

I am anxious to discuss this with the surgeon. I have so many questions. Is it really pushing that joint if you have no signs of overuse? That appointment is not until the 27th, however. The PT laughed when I said, "Well...warn him I am coming!" 

So. I'm beginning to see that I may be a bit of a 'unicorn' as far as bouncing back from this surgery. My results are not normal. I am "off the bell chart", so probably best to avoid measuring yourself against my progress. 

I am enjoying the people I meet there. They've all got such stories. Today, I met a military widow. Her husband died 7 years ago. She was there for balance issues and we blabbed while we were working out.

 Another man was going to San Antonio. His son is at Lackland Air Force base. I mentioned that I'd been stationed at Ft. Sam Houston, and I loved San Antonio. You can never tell about people. I was shocked when he said, "Well, right now, it's pretty sad there." I assumed storms, since we've had quite a few bad ones, but he said, "No. Last week 400 hundred illegal aliens were rounded up by ICE," and the way he said 'illegal' made it clear he what he thought of this round up. 

It's getting crazy, masked men grabbing people off the streets, when they show up for appointments, when they go to their children's schools. 

So...that was an unexpected conversation, but a welcome one. 

I went grocery shopping by myself. Ran into an old friend (well...not literally). It just felt so blessedly ordinary. 

Driving home in a thunder storm today, I was surprised to see a little boy playing on one of those inflatable slides. It was pouring rain and he was having the time of his life all by himself. That's something you don't often see...kids playing in the rain. 

Elon Musk is speaking out against tRUMP's big beautiful bill. 

Trump is threatening to cut Musk's government contracts. 

Bannon wants Musk's immigration status looked into. 

Margery Taylor Greene attacks the bill after she voted for it. After she admits she didn't read it. 

Pass the popcorn. Shit's getting real. 

Not Interested

 I received a curious little glossy pamphlet in the mail yesterday. It was called Imprimis. The main article was on tariffs. I figured that skimming that article would be quick to spot what kind of publication it was, and I was right. President Trump was praised for his work to level the playing field. Never mind the damage that he's doing to the world, it was all about us, and screw the rest of the world. That attitude is ultimately going to bite us in the ass too, but people aren't going to believe this until they see the teethmarks. 

Flipping through, I saw that it was a free publication from Hillsdale College, and they had a very easy way to sign up for a life long income, done by turning over your property to them. You continue to live there, I guess, and they pay you a monthly income. When you die, your stuff becomes their stuff. 

For anyone who doesn't know, Hillsdale College also assisted in crafting Project 2025 and has close ties to tRUMP's current White House. The latest from them is that they suggest Harvard simply align themselves with the current administration because it is the right thing to do, and if they don't want to do that, than they should not be receiving federal money. 

I called the number and asked to be removed from their mailing list. "Just the magazine?" the young woman asked. "Well...no," I said. "I am not sure what else you are dropping in the mail, but I am not interested in any of it, really." 

Today was another knee work out. We filled the two remaining raised beds and I got them planted. We spent the afternoon spreading the dirt and topping everything with mulch and planting. I also got bit the heck up by some sort of bug that was chewing on the back of my arms and my elbows. Tim was unaffected. He's always unaffected. I'm not sure why this is. 

I will admit to pulling a completely amateur gardening mistake. I started my tomato seeds and they were all carefully marked. Beefsteak, San Marzano, and cherry tomatoes. When they got too large for the trays, I transplanted them into larger cups, and was happily working away. I put them on to two trays...and realized that I had no idea which tomatoes were which.

So.

Always room for improvement. 

The idea with these beds is that every fall, the plants will be cleaned out, a layer of manure and compost added on top of what is there and the beds will be tarped off for the winter, and remain tarped over the winter and uncovered just before we are ready to plant again. We are hoping to avoid picking up blight, which is why the garden was abandoned. Every year, the blight just got worse and worse. 

So. Fingers crossed. 

The couch we got yesterday. 

 It doesn't really look it in the picture but it's a sage green color, and you all do know how particular I have become about 'matchy-matchy'. I may be carrying this to an extreme, and will try to show some amount of self control from here on out. Actually, I can't think of anything else that I really think we need. (We didn't really need the couch, but well...it matched. *blush*)

I also drove for the first time today. I drove to Titusville to pick up some cypress mulch. 

So that was today. The hot shower at the end of it felt quite wonderful. 

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/29/nx-s1-5414345/american-doctors-look-to-relocate-to-canada-to-avoid-the-trump-administration

Cards

 I had my first out-patient PT appointment today, and it went very well, so well that they are only seeing me two times a week instead of three. I met another woman there who had her replacement 3 weeks before me. She is struggling still. It was really brought home to me that I'm very, very lucky. 

Freddie came inside to eat today. I just left the door open so that he could run out if he got scared, and he did, three times, but he always came back. I think he's getting comfortable. 

I got two of the kittens spaying appointments this month. I did not want to be greedy and use up more than my share of appointments. This Fix'n Wagon is a huge thing, and it is something that I can see myself making regular donations to. Their plan is to return every month until the demand for neutering dies down. This, of all things, will make such a huge difference to the feral cat population. 

We are getting the last two raised beds together, and hauling dirt in tomorrow. I'll get my gardens done by the weekend. 

That's it. Not much to say today. 

The White House seemed a little surprised that they were not given advance notice about the Ukrainian drone attack. 

I'm not surprised at all. 

Pushing on.

I have my tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers in the raised beds, and much to our shock, we had a hard frost Saturday night into Sunday morning. I think we'll be okay, but there was another frost warning Sunday night. We covered the beds just in case. Everything looks fine today, and we're supposed to be having a warm up this week. I hope so. I'm darn tired of the cold. We went to a birthday party Saturday afternoon. It was 53°. Kids were still swimming though!

Yesterday, Mia stopped by to make a house payment. She was dirty and paint covered, but happy. Her son calls me Aunt Debby. Mia said, "Not sure where that came from..." and I said, "I will be happy to be your Aunt Debby!" Anyways, during the brief chat, she mentioned that her father, who had been so enthusiastic about the project has backed out of everything and taken off on a cross country trip with his new family. 

Neither Tim or I can quite get over that. We can't imagine why any parent would not be working right along with her. People are funny animals, aren't they? 

I've been pushing my knee a bit more every day. Today was my last day of home physical therapy and I have 122° flexion in my knee. That is considered functional range of motion and all I have to do is work on strengthening as an outpatient. I've set my own personal goal of 2 weeks outpatient and then done. Not sure if it is possible, but that is my goal. 

We bought a couch today. Tim and I got it moved into the new house. I was worried that this would turn out to be a bridge too far for that knee, but we were careful, and it was okay. I painted the window jams for the bathroom. We have three more windows to do in the kitchen and that will be done

Today, it was warm enough that for the first time, we took a decent length walk. I got close to 5000 steps in today, which is more than I'd been able to walk in those last weeks before surgery, so I am happy with that. We are supposed to have a couple of days in the 80s, and that will be a welcome change. 

Freddie comes when I call. He doesn't get fed unless he allows me to pet him and visit with him for a little. He seems to like that, but still hisses and shows teeth though. Talk about mixed messages! I guess animals are just as funny as some people, aren't they?

People who are not funny at all: 

18,000 people 'liked' it? They're not funny either. 

Her 'apology' was even worse that the original statement. 

And Gaza.

From 'Humans of New York' 

"People no longer accept this as being self-defense. Killing masses of little children, people don't accept it anymore. During the holocaust our grandparents would have been delighted if people in the free world had stood up for them. But today, if you stand up for the Palestinian people-- who desperately need and deserve the voices of righteous people around the world-- you will be labeled as a self-hating Jew. Or if you are not Jewish, you will be labeled as anti-Semitic. Why is this happening? Because the Zionist movement uses every tool at their disposal to silence criticism, and dismissing righteous people as 'anti-Semitic' is one of their most powerful tools. There has been a decades-long effort to confuse the masses. There has been a coordinated effort to make 'Judaism' synonymous with 'Israeli Nationalism', so that anyone standing up for the human rights of Palestinians can be accused of criticizing all Jews. But this is deadly wrong. For me, Judaism means one thing only. The same thing it meant to our people for three thousand years: belief in God and the practice of his commandments. There is no nationalism to it. What is happening in Gaza has nothing to do with the Jewish people, has nothing to do with the Jewish religion.  This is a group of people claiming to represent Jews, while at the same time committing all these crimes in violation of Judaism. So I speak up today, not only for the oppressed and misrepresented people of Palestine, but I also speak of for the Jewish people. The masses of Jewish people world wide who are embarrassed and appalled by what is being done in their name." 

(End of HONY article)