Kingfisher Cove

Bub-bye, September

Where did this month go? I swear I can feel the G-forces from the earth spinning.

Quinn, whom I haven’t seen since June turned 4 years old!

This year’s theme was Monster Trucks!

“Roarrrr!”

And then, his mom and dad took him to a Monster Truck show at the Tacoma Dome! However, the roaring decibels got to him, even with ear protection. (They did leave early).

It was supposed to have been tomorrow (our 22nd anniversary!) that we left for Chelan for that Hydroplane event (“Mahogany & Merlot”). But the event had to be cancelled because of Covid-19. The issue was that the hospitals in the vicinity (essentially all of Eastern Washington) were being overrun because of Covid cases, including overflow from Idaho. Insurance companies refused to cover the event because of that. Basically, due to unvaccinated idiot republicans. It’s a bummer, because it would have been a fun outing, plus John was going to get his qualifications for driving the Squire Shop restoration next summer. Such a lot of disappointment lately.

Speaking of Covid, booster shots have begun, but only for the Pfizer vaccines so far. We’re still waiting for the Moderna boosters to become available, which I think should be fairly soon, although I haven’t heard anything about the progress. With so many unvaccinated idiots walking among us, it makes me nervous because there seems to be a fair amount of “breakthrough” infections, where vaccinated people catch Covid. Overall the severity of those cases are much less, but I have heard of some lately that sounded pretty damned scary (and miserable). I’d be so f*cking pissed if I or John (or anybody I know!) caught it, because it would mean it was because of an idiot unvaccinated asshole.

Then there is this. (Click to enlarge, because WOW). Each white flag represents one person who died of Covid-19 in the U.S. Currently over 670,000 of them.

It didn’t have to be this way.

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We had our annual neighborhood potluck (and road maintenance meeting) last weekend, and we were able to enjoy what looks to be the last really nice, warm day of the season. (The next day we had torrential rain, and it’s been raining just about every day since).

It was quite fun, and wine was had! Tee hee. Next year we are hosting at our house, and I’m already stressed thinking about what food we’ll serve…

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Had a stunning sunset last week. Just have to share!

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"If he can in any way profit from your death, he'll facilitate it, and then he'll ignore the fact that you died." -Mary Trump from “Too Much and Not Enough,” Sept. 2020

Good Stuff

I know I’ve been angry and frustrated and despairing lately, and for good reason. But it’s also important to push the crap aside at times to grab some light. And now that clouds have moved in around here (but not rain—yet), that light is ever so important however one can actually grab it.

So! The Seahawks won their first season game today, and they played well. No ugly win. I haven’t followed them closely in recent years like I did when they were Super Bowl bound, but I’m liking what they’re doing so far. (Yeah, just one game, but impressive!) I Russel Wilson!

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John has continued to volunteer at the Hydroplane Museum, working on the restoration of the ‘79 Squire Shop, which has taken a l-o-n-g time. Much of the delay was because of Covid, and the fact that the Museum had to close for a long time during the earlier months of the pandemic. The restoration has progressed, and it’s coming down to the final stretch. (You would not believe what is involved in building a hydroplane. It would blow your mind. Even the “final stretch” means there is still a whole lot left to do). The plan is to have it ready for testing in Spring 2022. There have been some recent changes on this restoration team, and John has now been named as the Crew Chief. He has also been designated as one of the drivers (along with Chip Hanauer), which is cool, plus a bit scary because even though these restorations don’t actually race, they still run in exhibition at 130+ mph.

Even for this type of driving, it requires qualifications, that involve a medical physical exam, plus a “ride” in one of the boats (riding with a driver), and then a solo drive. John has driven multiple different levels of hydros for many years, including the Unlimiteds, but it has been 20 years since he’s done so. (He said it’s like riding a bike. Heh). He’ll be doing his quals in Chelan the first part of October for the “Mahogany & Merlot” vintage hydroplane event so that when the Squire Shop is ready to roll, he’ll be ready for it. I get to accompany him to Chelan! Woohoo! 

Here’s the original 1979 Squire Shop:

Here’s what the restoration looks like right about now. It has the white base paint:

And here’s John working on the deck hatches (huge, painstaking job, because there are MANY of those hatches and they need to be flush with the deck):

Here are some of the the hatch covers all painted!

(I have no idea what that squiggly one is at the back).

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We’ve watched some great shows on various platforms (HBO, Netflix, et al) lately. I LOVED Amazon Prime’s “Cinderella” which made me think of a combination of “In the Heights” and the best Hallmark movie ever. (Go watch it! It’s joyful!) We also very much enjoyed HBO’s documentary on the Bee Gees. John loved their earlier years, which I liked very much, too, but I was younger and I only remember what I heard on the radio back then (which was often and plentiful). But I especially remember their disco years. Actually, it was their ability to evolve with the times that I really admired. What geniuses they were! Astounding songwriters!

Then there was the incredible MSNBC documentary called “Memory Box: Echos of 9/11.” It’s been playing and replaying over several days to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and it was riveting. An artist built a sound box shortly after 9/11 and had people who had witnessed the horror or had lost loved ones, enter the sound box and record whatever they wanted to say about what they’d experienced. It was raw and emotional and I sobbed! THEN, they had several of those people come back to a new sound box and reflect on the past 20 years and where they were today in their lives. It was so interesting to see them 20 years afterward, and it was ultimately uplifting. Honestly television at its very best.

We’ve also been rewatching “Schitt’s Creek” and I swear we’re enjoying it more than we did when we first watched it, and we loved it THEN. OMG, what a great show! I am so sad that it’s no longer in production. (I also can’t get over how much of it I’d forgotten since we saw it the first time. It wasn’t that long ago…)

The State of Things

Way too much time staring into the middle distance lately.

Honestly? I’ve had it.

If you align yourself with a political party who believes that people should not be vaccinated, that children in school should not wear masks (nor their teachers be vaccinated); if you align yourself with a party who believes that brown and black people should have the most stringent rules to keep them from voting in their states, or that after 50 years of precedent that women should not have the right to control their reproduction; if you even THINK that the attack on our capitol on January 6th was patriotic…we cannot even “agree to disagree.” You and me? We have absolutely nothing in common and we will never be friends.

“Liberty is not license. Your right to freedom ends when you jeopardize the lives of others.” -Richard Stengel

“The most dangerous kind of stupid is the kind that thinks they are smart.”

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” -Voltaire

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Note: The above is waaaayyy muted. You should hear my normal manner of saying all of that. Woweee. It would crush your computer screen and make your ears and eyes bleed.

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Fall is hinting these past couple of days. Here at Harstine (at least in our neighborhood), we have not had a drop of rain in months. There have been times that John has encountered some raindrops on his windshield driving across the Harstine bridge, but HERE, we have had zilch, at least measurable, since maybe (?) the beginning of June. We have two dead Madrones and two more that are direly near death and really need to come down (although that will be an undertaking). Our new-ish security cameras have caught deer and racoons seeking water. Now and then rain is forecast, and I think there has been some rain north at times (but barely measurable).

It’s scary, and it’s DRY, and we need rain, but I have to be honest. I have greatly enjoyed all of these sunny days, so very many of them. August was lovely—blue skies, warm, but not especially hot, and so very pretty. And typically around here, once it does start to rain, it doesn’t let up.

BUT. The last couple of days it has finally looked a bit Fallish, and I’ve noticed some leaves starting to turn. It’s slight, but it’s a sign of what’s coming.

Apparently Nate is completely buried at work and is working at least partial weekends, so we haven’t seen him (or any of them) since he returned from his summer underway. He had to work over Labor Day weekend, and it sounds like we won’t see them for Quinn’s 4th birthday next weekend, either. Makes me sad.

I did see a photo on Facebook that Quinn had caught a fish (he did have a lot of help!)

Definitely looking Fallish wherever this was. (However, I think those “yellow” trees in the background were mostly sunlit).

Mushroom Cloud of Rage

It’s been a day. It’s been a couple of days. Jesus, it’s been a fucking five years.

Today pretty much took the cake.

Since I was 16 years old, Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land. I have been acutely aware over the years of all the constant threats against it, and I’ve been a vehement advocate (and donor) supporting the personal decision of women to govern their own bodies ever since the Supreme Court ruled in its favor in 1973.

Today, that essentially came to an end, thanks to trump’s radical, extremist American Taliban right-wing Supreme Court, with Texas setting the example of citizen vigilantes given the green light to sue “enablers” of someone attempting to get an abortion beyond six weeks (when most women don’t even know they are pregnant) and earn a bounty of TEN GRAND in surveilling and stalking anybody who they “suspect” is trying to get an abortion. It shuts down all abortion clinics in Texas. And of course, already at least three republican-led states are planning to adopt the same legislation, since the Supreme Court has given its A-OK. Expect to see many more hop on the bandwagon in coming days.

As Heather Cox Richardson explains the Texas bill:

“S.B. 8 puts ordinary people in charge of law enforcement. Anyone—at all—can sue any individual who “aids or abets,” or even intends to abet, an abortion in Texas after six weeks [and no exemption for rape or incest]. Women seeking abortion themselves are exempt, but anyone who advises them (including a spouse), gives them a ride, provides counseling, staffs a clinic, and so on, can be sued by any random stranger. If the plaintiff wins, they pocket $10,000 plus court costs, and the clinic that provided the procedure is closed down. If the defendant doesn’t defend themselves, the court must find them guilty. And if the defendant wins, they get…nothing. Not even attorney’s fees.” 

And isn’t it weird that just a few weeks ago conservatives were howling that if we left Afghanistan, women would be punished for their sexual choices by a repressive religious regime out to control their bodies. Imagine. 

As Jennifer Rubin wrote in her Washington Post op-ed, “[Texas] is the same state in which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott prohibited school districts and other local entities from protecting adults and children with mask or vaccine mandates. In other words, a mask is too great an impingement on “freedom,” but a forced pregnancy and threat of harassment for exercising one’s constitutional rights are all the rage in the Lone Star state.” 

And so, this pinched-nose scrotum sac is the Lt. Governor of Texas, and today on Twitter PoliticusUSA tweeted “Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick redefined what a baby is so that illegal bounty hunters can go after abortion providers.” People piled on, including me who tweeted, “Now there’s a punchable face.” And guess what? Twitter suspended me for 12 hours for saying that. (Jesus, Marjorie Taylor Greene can incite violence, so I guess that’s OK).

And yes, that’s most definitely a punchable face.

Hello, September!

Wow. THAT was a fast summer. Yeah, I do consider “summer” as June-August, because for my entire life school always started in early Sept. and that was always considered Fall. So, it’s Fall. As of today.

I wonder if Quinn will start Kindergarten a year from now. He won’t be 5 next year until Sept. 18, so it depends on the age cut-off date for his school district. I believe in Puyallup where I grew up, he would likely have to wait until the following year. (For boys, that’s not a bad thing, really. Gives them a chance to grow up a bit, depending on their maturity).

So his FOURTH birthday is coming up and I’ve been having a fun ol’ time buying him THINGS. Fun things, pragmatic things. I will likely only ever have one grandchild, so I have every right (and desire) to spoil him.  I’m sure hoping that we’ll all be able to get together for his birthday. Since Nate returned from his “underway,” there sure haven’t been any opportunities. Feeling sad.

We learned that the calico cat that was so aggressive with US and our cats, belongs to a neighbor down the way who have a cabin, which means they only come down sometimes like long weekends and vacations. She posted an email to all of us in our neighborhood that their calico was missing, and we went “OH! AHA!” John emailed back that we’d “encountered” her, and then today she sent an email to all of us again (not sure if she even saw John’s email) that they’d driven around and found her. “She must have been hungry!” Well, she also munched down a bunch of our cats’ food, that I discovered later, so she couldn’t have been starving or anything. This morning, before the cat-owner’s email, I saw that calico back on our deck! She must have checked the window (which was closed) and then headed back down the other way. What a brazen thing!

Our cats have been inside and Wylie in particular has been a PAIN IN THE BUTT. I felt like I barely slept last night because she was draped over my hip, and then she’d lick/love-bite my neck and pull my hair. If I turned over and dumped her, she’d climb right back up. Ugh. Sounds like she drove John nuts, too. PLUS, she’s been puking in the middle of the night! Not on the bed, thankfully, but on the rug! ARGH!!!!

Speaking of middle of the night. Alexa alerted us numerous times last night that “Motion detected at driveway.” I was faintly aware of those alerts (in between cat licks/love-bites), but apparently John got up to check out the video feed on his phone. This is what he saw:

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“So let me see if I understand this correctly. Trump released the Taliban leader and 5000 Taliban prisoners. The President of Afghanistan fled the country, and at the same time, the Afghan troops refused to fight the Taliban. But somehow, the real story is about Joe Biden?” -Christopher Bouzy