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)

Insignificant Post

 The world has been breaking my heart lately. It's too big and too awful for me to even try to put into words right now. I haven't the heart for it.

It feels like a cop out, to turn your attention away from the debacle happening, but the fact is, there is not one thing we can do about it besides make our opinions known. 

I do. Here. On social media. I contact our representatives, but they seemingly don't care. Protesting. The next big protest will be on June 14th, "No Kings!" Tim is throwing in as well, which surprises me. He's becoming very outspoken, and when the quiet people begin speaking up, you know for sure that shit's getting real.  

I care a lot about the big picture, but let's face it: I don't matter to the big picture. 

But there is always the small picture. Prepare, plan for our own future, and keep our eyes open. We're working steadily on the new house. Tim worked on windows today. We gave the 4 extra cupboards away. The living room looks quite spacious now that its empty. I did laundry today in my new red washer while we worked. I cleaned and scrubbed a second hand light fixture I bought for the kitchen. 

It's only 53° out there today. It was so cold, and another wet day, so I did not work on my raised beds much. I'm itching to get that all put in. It seems sensible to be as self sufficient, foodwise, as possible. We have our gardens, of course, and we will have three chickens for the eggs, and we have 'speed beef' which is what Levi calls venison. In these days, my hope is to have an abundance, enough that we are able to be generous with others. 

Mostly, I try to make sure that I do not waste an opportunity to be kind. It doesn't change that big picture a bit. It is still awful out there. But tonight, coming home from a party, Tim wanted to stop and get a sandwich. We pulled into McDonalds and in front of the building was someone that I'd written about before. He was bundled up against the damp and the cold, sitting on a bench, his head bobbing as he dozed. 

We were in the drive through line, and it was decided with no discussion. I said what I wanted to do and Tim handed me his wallet. I got out of the car and walked out front. The man dozed still and he twitched in his sleep, but he jerked awake immediately when I touched him. "Go inside, get warm, and grab something to eat," I said. Then I came home and tried once again to convince a traumatized cat that he can trust me. 

I can't do anything about the big picture, but let me look around to see what I can do within the narrow confines of my own insignificance. 

This song starts out with "I believe that I know this place", but moves to "I feel I should know this place" and finishes with "I don't really don't really know this place." 

That's how I feel. My world has turned into something that I no longer know.