Kava-Nope...

There comes a time in the life of a country in which the average person has to stand up for what he or she believes in. A time when the "leadership" needs to take stock of what "the people" really want. 

Unfortunately, in our country, we've reached the first part. But we're likely to not ever reach the second, since our government has been bought and paid for not only by lobbyists and corporations, but by Russia... Our democracy is in peril. 

We're on the verge of having a Supreme Court Justice who's temperamentally unqualified, appears to be a high-functioning alcoholic, and has been groomed, over the years, to do this very thing: irrevocably change the highest court in the land for generations to come.

I've been calling the 4 or 5 senators who might flip the vote. I'm reaching out to democrats who're in primarily red districts to tell them to keep the faith and vote for what's right. My problem is, I'm not sure it'll work. 

I'm not sure that this isn't all pre-ordained somehow. My rage and disgust are palpable. I can't sleep, I've got an upset stomach, and I'm very, very touchy. And that's not good. 

We have been divided as a nation. We have divided families. We have divided friends. It's scary what's happening and I'm afraid it might indeed be beyond repair. Not only the damage this administration(?) is doing by taking back all the regulations that are keeping our forests pristine, our water clear and our skies clean -- but the damage done to families where they're so divided by politics as to be unable to be in the same room. 

Honestly? I don't know what to say. Women I know are curled in balls, reliving memories they've tried to "live around." Women I know are criticizing those same women and telling them that they should have "done something when it mattered." 

We all got a "presidential text message" that we're not allowed to opt out of. I'm not happy about that. It's very 1984 to me, and I hope that's the last one I'll ever get. I don't need that on my phone. 

I have no words. All I can do are the actions I am doing. And to hope others are doing the same. I can hope that I don't lose a friendship (or more) in this. But I have no sure way of knowing. 

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting...

The hat is on the DPNs. I took off the Fun Fur (not fun) and in the process of getting the stitches on the DPNs, I dropped one. I found it...before it had gone too far. I'm not happy with the catywampus way the stitches are arranged, but there are so many markers that the beginning of the row (with the yellow triangular marker) is kind of in the wrong place. I have to wriggle things around a bit. The markers indicate the decreases, and I'm about to do a whole whack of 'em as I decrease the last few rows toward finishing this up. 

I've taken the mitts to work and I'm doing those at lunch. I need them for November, so I've gotta get skippy on them. 

After that, it's a polka-dot bag - have to see what's in that one and get it moving. And do another prayer shawl. And do the "prayer patches" that we're doing for church. Lots to do. Not enough time to do it in. 

Canning, Canning, Canning...

So this is the demented Pepper Pizza Sauce. This is the one that's two-thirds sweet peppers and one-third tomatoes. I suppose it'll be good; just too much pepper for me. 

I think we have at least one more batch in the fridge - and this one is mostly tomatoes! It's super-easy to do this. As a matter of fact, I could probably use this sauce here for Pasta Fagioli (a bean and tomato-based soup). That would be interesting, wouldn't it? 

Anyway, this recipe is nowhere near Blue Book standards; it's my own. But I do use the Blue Book when I'm timing it. And the Blue Book tells me to put lemon juice in the sauce to keep it acid enough to last. 

The kids will get this. I think maybe I'll bring some to work, and I'll give my mom some. It would be a good sauce for pigs-in-a-blanket (cabbage rolls) or stuffed peppers. 

But I'm not eating it. 

Quinn poses in her crown...

I got Halloween costumes for the dogs. And of course, even the "large" wasn't big enough... But I did find a cute crown. Of course, Quinn looks adorable in it. 

We entered the 2018 Howl-O-Ween contest; not in the costumes I want, but stuff I kind of threw together. Sometimes it's best this way. 

I don't like what they've done in regard to allowing people to PhotoShop stuff. It used to be that people got really creative with their costumes and the dogs played along grudgingly (or with treats!). But now people can add stuff electronically. To me, that's kind of lazy. But I'm not running it. 

We shall see. Entries are down, and that's sad. I know people are busy and distracted, but it's a great event to raise money for rescue. 

Random Picture...

Speaking of which. This was the first one we entered. And we won. We raised over $800 for the rescue with this one. We titled it, "They'll never know I'm on the couch." 

This, by the way, was Tippi. It was the first Halloween after we got her, and I literally "tossed" this one together. We'd just gotten the couch and that grey blanket was their signal that it was ok to get up there. I jokingly tossed the cover around her, her tail was exposed, and I snapped the shot. 

Everyone loved it. 

We came close a couple of other years, but this was my very proudest moment because she was such a good sport. This year, she's entered as well, but I'm not sure how she'll do. You never know. It's any dog's game. 

Do you dress up your dogs for Halloween? Share some pics! I'd love to see them!