On a more positive note...

I don't like having yesterday's post as the most current one on my blog. We can all get enough of the news elsewhere (and likely you're all as sick of it as I am) so I decided to kick off the weekend with a happier post.

First of all, I wanted to show you the beautiful holiday cards I got this year. I couldn't bear to put them away with the rest of the Christmas stuff at the end of December. I also kept out some fairy lights that I put around them so that they'd glow and sparkle at night.

Next, here's something else that's making me happy. My orchids and my Christmas cactus are blooming. The orchids are my favorite.

The weather has been wet and cold this week. On Wednesday morning while working from home I started a crockpot of homemade vegetable beef soup and let it simmer all day. It's been our supper for the past two nights, and it's maybe one of the best batches of soup I've ever made. Delicious, and just the thing for the kind of weather we've been having. This is comfort food at its best.

Last of all, this sweet boy. He loves basking in sunshine as much as any cat. On bright days he follows the sun through the house and parks himself wherever he can soak up a few rays. This was early yesterday morning.

Wishing you all a weekend filled with comfort, content, and the happiness that comes from the little things in life. 

Comfort to be found

I won't even try to pretend that I'm not absolutely terrified at the prospect of having to somehow endure the next four years. President-elect Trump (how bitter it is to type that!) is already appointing white nationalists to his transition team, and the names of candidates for top cabinet positions being floated are a list of truly deplorable thugs, racists, idiots, and ultra fundamentalist Christian conservatives who deny science (climate change, evolution) and want to roll back civil liberties for almost everyone. People like Ben Carson, Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, and Rudy Giuliani. And of course, worst of all is his VP pick, Mike Pence. It's an utter nightmare. These people have no decency, no honor, and no scruples. Trump's campaign manager went on record yesterday telling the press to "watch what you say or else".  Hate crimes against gay people, people of color, and immigrants have broken out all over the country in the few days since the election.

I'm scared to death. But there is still comfort to be found if I look for it and refuse to give in to despair.

This is Edward Rogers, a WW2 navy vet I met at the bookstore last Thursday night. We discussed his service to our country, and how my grandfather also fought in WW2 as a sergeant in the U.S. air corps. Mr. Rogers told me he had served in the Pacific; my grandfather, Joseph Czmiel, served in Europe. (I have a great photo of him wearing a kilt while in Scotland!)  It seemed fitting to meet him on the eve of Veteran's Day, and I thanked him for his service. How remarkable that he served our country in that terrible war 20 years before the Voting Rights Act came to be law, a young man from the segregated South.

When I asked this good man what he thought of the election, he took my hand in his soft, wrinkly, weathered old hands and replied simply, "I cried."

I cried a little bit then. I couldn't help it. But Mr. Rogers held my hand and very gently explained that we have to keep trying to do the right thing, to keep voting our conscience, and that "this too shall pass"...he said we've seen hard times in this country before, and we survived, and we will again. What a balm to my troubled soul it was. Being of my grandfather's generation, he knew what he was talking about.

Then on Saturday, I was scheduled to lead the 11am storytime for little kids at work. The story was called Penguin Problems and it was about a young penguin who is sad because he has all sorts of things troubling him. Then an old walrus comes to him, introduces himself, and proceeds to share these words of wisdom about dealing with problems with the youngster. I'm sharing them here for anyone that might need them today like I did.

When the world is too much with you.....

This is from Connie Sun, and it's just too good not to share.

I often seek refuge from the news (or my disgust with my fellow humans) by going outside and playing with my dogs. Somehow the world always seems a little better afterwards.

http://www.conniewonnie.com/2014/08/antidepressant-puppy.html

If you're not familiar with this blog, I recommend that you take some time to browse while you're there. The gentle humor and the drawings of animals are comforting on stressful days.