Saturday, January 14, 2017

Where Does the Time Go?

This is a quick and dirty update.  I couldn't even remember the last time I posted, but wanted to get a note to you before the Women's March in DC on the 21st.  Originally, my plan was to reclaim my life after Hillary won the election and divert my focus to something other than politics.  Well, we all know how that went!  And, if anything, my political activities have even increased, which means that my time and thoughts are even more scattered....and my house looks like a bomb hit it. So, I'll try to make some sense of all that is happening.

It appears that Twitler has lit a fire under a lot of women.  Today I attended an organizational meeting of our local Indivisible group, named Lowcountry Indivisible.  A lady from Liberal Ladies of the Lowcountry took it upon herself to get the ball rolling after hearing about the Indivisible Guide - A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda.  The women in attendance today are ready to do what is called for to begin making changes - or preventing changes - as they related to our agenda.  It's really great to see so many people energized and involved.

About three months ago, Lowcountry Suffragettes (Continuing the Work!) was formed here in Bluffton.  This women's group is more diverse in age, ethnicity, etc. - which is one reason I like it.  Their first action will be to participate in the local  MLK March on Monday and having a table to distribute information, introducing the group to the community.  It will be interesting to see how it goes.

Of course, the big event is the March on the 21st in DC.  We learned today that there are 22 buses going from South Carolina and 4 from the Beaufort County area.  Unless you live in a conservative area like this, you probably don't understand the significance of that.  I thought we'd be hard pressed to fill one bus, so four is just amazing.  Even so, within the last two days I've had two women contact me to ask if there were any seats left on the bus!  Others who could not go to DC plan to join marches in Charleston, Savannah or Columbia.  There are also those who are supporting the marchers by giving us a send-off on the night of the 20th as we depart for DC. Others are knitting pink, Pussy hats (2 from Cheryl in FL, 1 from Nancy in NC and 2 from Wendy of Bluffton).  So many people are involved and eager to do what they can to resist the horror that is Trump.....including political actions like making phone calls, writing letters to representatives, researching issues, and so forth.  It is my hope that Trump has awakened a sleeping giant, that women will band together and claim their power and move our country forward in a positive way for all.  I'm sure I'm overly idealistic, but I've long thought that women needed to be more involved in political policy than we have been.  My hope is that this is the beginning of that.

In any case, the march has required constant attention over the last few days. There have been the usual snafus one would expect trying to organize an event of this size.  First they were going to take us to city center, then we would be delivered to a metro station.  At that point, Kelly Tours was going to provide each of us with a metro card then, at the last minute, they couldn't procure that many and we had only two days to order them on line with enough time to receive them through the mail.  Needless to say, the metro site crashed!  Originally, we could have a backpack, then a clear backpack, and finally NO backpack - so who knows what's happening with that!  They can't expect women to march without a tote or backpack, so I just ordered a clear one, which I hope will be okay.  So, every day there's been something and I hope things will settle this week. It would be nice to have a restful week before tackling the grueling bus ride.

In an effort to have some kind of life apart from politics, I have managed to work in a few other activities.

  • I was so eager to get Christmas packed away that the week after Christmas I cleaned the garage.  I wanted to weed through my ornaments and streamline the "decorating" process as much as possible.  So, I broke out the glue gun and made an ornament storage box.  It actually worked well and reduced the number of containers needed for them. It was very hard to get into the Christmas spirit and I'm very glad it's over.
  • Before Christmas I had Rhonda and David over as an excuse for experimenting with making cheesecake in the Instant Pot.  I couldn't believe you could actually do that, but you can!  I just started with a plain cheesecake but, since then, I've also done an Oreo Cheesecake in individual serving dishes - all of which is amazing to  me!
  • I had Christmas Eve with  my neighbors and some of their friends, which was very nice.  
  • David and I went to see La La Land and Hidden Figures, both of which were very good.  On TV (Netflix and Amazon Prime) I've also gotten hooked on The Crown and The Man in the High Tower
  • Just this week I've just gotten my application in to volunteer with Tidewater Hospice, which is the service that cared for my mother.  I'm not sure what it involves, but I certainly understand the need. I'll have a better idea once I'm approved and have orientation.
  • This past week I attended "Creating the Beloved Community", a dialogue about racism.
    Just Rosie modeling her new scarf.
     It was very well done by the League of Women Voters and gave a better understand of what is happening locally
  • As if there aren't enough irons in the fire, I've also been sofa shopping.  The love-seats in the den came with me from Saudi and have been recovered, etc.  They have finally gotten so uncomfortable that I'm forced to do something.  I am NOT a shopper, so I'm surprised that it's gone as well as it has.  I've narrowed it down to several favorites, which I will want to see again before making a decision, but I can't see that happening until after the DC March.
We are back to having great weather.  So far is has been a very mild winter, with the exception of three days when it dropped down to the 40s (20s at night!).  Yikes....that was cold!  This week has been sunny and in the 70s, so we can't complain about that.  While I've bought a warm coat and gloves for the march, word has it that it may be in the 60s, which is unusually mild for winter in DC.  Keep your fingers crossed.  

Here's hoping you all got the New Year off to a good start.  I'm sending lots of love and good wishes for 2017!