Musings

Hey, Muse, where are you?

Usually, you have a lot to

get off your chest.

...

Aha, you're hiding again,

is there anything you need?

are you sad?

...

Okay, I understand

sometimes I don't want 

to talk to anyone either

...

Promise me something tho...

call me when you come out

from under the bed

👀 ...

please

I miss you

...

_______

I guess I'll go talk to Toby

________

Hey there, Toby

Shhh! you'll scare them away

I'll tiptoe and keep my voice down

Too late. There went dinner...

I'm sorry, what were you doing?

What cats do. 

Oh. That.

Remember, you humans

have dictators

So which is worse?

Me hunting dinner

or, dictators doing

What dictators do.

Ugh. I see your point.

Yeah, I heard over

the loose connection

in the barn--

you humans still have

a war mess going on

Plural, lots of messes

Do you want to 

talk about it?

No, I'm tired

of talking about it

Then what are you going

to do about the messes?

For one thing

I'm gonna VOTE!

And, another--

I'm reminding fellow

human beings that I don't

want to vote alone

Citizens' ballots

cast in November midterms

makes democracy!

One-by-one, vote-by-vote, it's our job to make democracy work for every single, last one of us Americans!!!
We the People!!!

VOTE!!!

ELECTION INFORMATION from League of Women Voters Education Fund
*Your ballot's candidates and issues anywhere in the USA--any political affiliations! 

*Their office's function.

*The candidates.

*Each candidate's answers to their background, why they're running, their answers to questions on current issues--local to national.

*Side-by-side, interactive candidate comparison tool.

*Your districts' ballot issues in plain summaries with published Pro and Con views.

*Print your own personalized, informed list while you're reviewing the candidates and issues. The interactive lets you check your choices, print your list, or email/text it to yourself,

*Check your registration.

*Find your polling place.

*Discover debates in your area.

*Checklist for first-time voters.

*Election problem phone numbers for multiple languages. 

            --bullet points are taken from The League of Women Voters website.

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"Writing letters to voters is one of the most effective ways to increase election turnout. And you can do it right from home," says Vote Forward's website. It's about getting out the vote. It rejects political partisanship. There is a comprehensive how-to. You can choose current campaigns and issues that are near or far.

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It's time now to go to The Arts Desk...

In Tucson, Carl sent a photo that fully captures the wild beauty and power of summer rainy season storms there...

________

Paula sent her July Tucson Yard Journal renderings...

I replied to her that I could not stop looking at these images. These and Carl's photo remind me how much I love the desert and all that lives there. 

If you become interested in art journaling a good place to start would be this link that Paula and Carl sent Wild Wonder. They're taking part and have done so twice before this.

Valerie has also sent a link she is using Artist's Network. And, with her door project completed, she has her eye on the headboard of their bed. 

***

At The Sports Desk, we've been following great-grandson Elijah...

9-18
5 - 12ft
3 assists
23 pts
12 rebounds
2 foul
2 TO

Keep it up, Elijah! You rock.

It wasn't just basketball on Elijah's mind, his senior year Homecoming dance came up. 

Brother Kingston was along to shop. He liked the results.

Time to go...

...and pick up his date.

________

Back in Tucson, my dear friend of many decades Gloria, sent a family photo. More nostalgia seeing them, for sure. 

Cecelia, Jerome, Rosanna, Gloria, and Joseph.

I miss you guys!

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The Random Acts of Kindness Desk is reporting that the painted rock left at the foot of a neighbor's door had been placed on the hall banister next to her door. One day, the neighbor stopped me in the hallway to ask if I had painted the rock. I said yes. She thanked me and said she enjoyed that many people asked her about it.

Wendy had a friend who showed her another painted rock...

Up to now, I thought of them as "kindness" rocks--that seems to be one of the names for them. Then, Wendy said her friends had another version for their painted rocks:

"A couple of friends of mine just showed me painted stones like you guys have been painting. They said the ones they have are memory stones. You take the stone somewhere you'd like to remember and leave it there and it contains all the memories of that place/time/event. If someone finds it and takes it, that person now shares all those memories with you." 

All good--both thoughts.

***

A ladybug joined me a few minutes ago here at my desk.

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And, finally, The Farm Report: it's been a quiet week. 

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Summer Slips Away

 Cicadas are loud

August is a memory

Summer slips away

Thirsty Penn's Woods is receiving the best kind of rain to quench our eastern region's unusually dry summer thirst--slow, steady for hours and hours. 

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It's time for The Arts Desk:

Valerie has finished the painting project she has been working on for a while...

It began like this...

Valerie and Tim's neighbors asked her to decorate this door to be hung horizontally in their backyard by their pool.
Tim helped with the heavy lifting...

...and Valerie began her designs and painting.

This week, Valerie completed it except for sealant...

She used acrylics, mainly tiny brushes. And, "Posca acrylic paint pens to outline monsoon sky and desert bottom."

I keep looking at these wonderful interwoven images and each time I see more! I love the intricate design elements, colors, and desert southwestern imagery. Thank you, Valerie, for sharing with us!

Once again, family and friends, out west and the southwest, through beautiful images remind me of how much I loved it there. 

________

Saying goodbye to Keoni was a poignant moment, but on his last day here we had time for a quick visit...

Keoni by Wendy's garden.

The next day he sent this pictures from the roof where he lives...

...Houston storm cell.

From his apartment window across a roadway is a billboard...

...you can just make out that the billboard is for the Houston Symphony Orchestra.

We're looking forward to hearing how his first week with the orchestra went and maybe get our heads around thinking of him as a Lone Star Man.

***

Next up! It's football season at The Sports Desk:

And Kingston leads off as Quarterback on the local team...

Kingston and...wait for it...yes, that's a girl on the team!

Good job! Kingston and team.

________

Before we leave the family out west, another photo came in of Elijah ready for his first day back to school as a Senior...

...the next day, it was Kingston's turn to begin 2nd grade.

And still another photo we hadn't seen before came from their mom Sonja...

Kingston & Elijah...another photo, another time.

***

The Green Goddess Desk:

Our green goddess friend of the planet read an article of great positivity in the Washington Post that shows with text and graphics what simple, small things can be done to begin healing our planet's human-initiated injuries. The article emphasizes what each person can do...You--Yes, You!--Can help the planet.

________

And, this week, I ordered liquidless laundry detergent sheets (an environmentally responsible brand) and it feels like I ordered an electric car! There will be no lament or tears saying goodbye to heavy detergent jugs in this household. Ever!

Who knew!

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Science at The Random Acts of Kindness Desk:

This week in the New York Times...

The Unexpected Power of Random Acts of Kindness

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Where will you go when it gets cold, daddy-long-legs?

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