Bits of March

March was a good month for us, despite the mindblowingly bad things happening in the world because of our psychopath president. Encouraging news is removal of Pam Bondi, whose condescension we will no longer have to stomach while she makes excuses for Dump. The firing of Kristi Noem, puppy killer and family-destroyer (and now her family is falling apart from within) was a relief, though her replacement Markwayne Mullin appears to be equally evil. Spain and Italy closed airspace to US military aircraft. Top US Republicans called the proposed takeover of Greenland absurd. The UK, France, and Germany have bypassed the US to begin working on a solution for the Hormuz Strait. Elon Musk is no longer his favourite boy. JD Vance has dared to suggest that Dump has started a war when he campaigned on never doing such a thing – the truth always makes Dump furious.

While his first time as President was non-stop turnover, this time things appeared surprisingly stable…until now. My fingers are crossed that things in the US continue toward chaos and ineffectiveness, and that economic hardship and scandal make him even more impotent in this Fall’s elections.

Ok, but I said March was GOOD! And that means more time not watching or listening to the news. So we tried to focus on other things, and had fun.

We watched an educational program about the history of modern domestic cats. Jupyter was invested, and I like to think we are good parents for helping her understand her ancestoral history.

There are only a few things that are the reason I spend so much time in my office: 1) blogging! 2) Volunteering as the editor (photographer, researcher, investigator, writer, designer, publisher, distributor AND editor) of the Mt. Hood Cherokees newsletter five times a year. 3) Volunteering as the editor (only designer and editor – whew) of the Great Spirit Methodist Church newsletter six times a year. 4) Part-time work for Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) anywhere from once a year to four times a year, in person and over Zoom, where I teach VFW employees about things going on in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Finally there is what I am trying to spend more and more time doing these days: 5) My book! I am writing a fiction book about a Postmaster of a small Idaho town.

Though my list above is only five items long, these things take SO MUCH TIME. I’m sure you understand, having many of the same kinds of things demanding your attention.

Our Nespresso machine is about 12 years old and is starting to fail. We use it in combination with a French press. Pedro and I drink a lot of coffee! In January we went to visit friends and Pedro began to covet their espresso machine. He found it online and marked it as a favourite, and watched as the price began to drop. Just before the war began, the price had dropped to $300 less than what it was in January, so we decided to buy it. It was good timing! Now everything is more expensive again.

When it arrived, we knew it would not fit the space we have been using as a coffee cubby in the kitchen. The microwave shelf was too low to accommodate the bean hopper. The old microwave was manufactured in 2009 and we have never liked it. We used the new coffee machine as an excuse to donate the old microwave and get one manufactured in 2026. The new one was inexpensive, more compact despite having nearly the same interior size, and much lighter than the old one. Pedro cut out the shelf and rebuilt a shelf 5 inches higher.

If you read my post about Winter Activities, I wrote that I was digging up paving rocks and setting them to make our rocks paths work better. That left some holes in the lawn. We had people come in and repair our irrigation system last fall and that tore up our lawn. Most of all, we have been under relentless attack from a resident mole, that simply destroys our grass, our landscaping, everything we try to do here. The mole mountains left bare patches all over the place too. So one spring activity was to re-seed the bare patches. And in the photo above, you can see the grass sprouting. Yay! Now we still need to find a way to rid ourselves of a mole…

Pedro’s kids were with us over the weekend. He requested a carrot cake because it’s healthier. “Just so you understand,” I clarified, “A carrot cake has just as much cakeness in it. It has no less sugar and fat. It’s all the cake of a regular cake, just with carrot also.” Pedro laughed, “I know! But at least there will be carrots, when otherwise the kids would not eat carrots.” So funny.

Happy Passover, Easter, April Fools Day, Earth Day, Springtime, or whatever it is you want to celebrate right now. Go outside and get some Vitamin D! (Unless you live in a different hemisphere, then please be careful of too much sun and enjoy the warmth while it lasts.)