today i’ll be working at the polls for our primary
please make sure to vote
with your heart and your mind
if you haven’t already
it can make all the difference
primaries matter.
—
‘nobody will ever deprive the american people of the right to vote except the american people themselves
and the only way they could do that is by not voting.’
-franklin d. roosevelt
—
art credit: shepard fairey
this past weekend i took part in a ‘shop with a cop’ event
sponsored by
mott children’s hospital,
the county sheriff department, local police departments, state troopers,
u.s. marines, and the university of michigan police department
everyone volunteered their time
to take underserved children and their families
back to school shopping at a local meijer store.
it was beautifully organized
we all met in the morning at the stadium
set up food, games, drinks, tables
met our law enforcement partners for the day
families arrived
we shared a meal with our family and created our shopping team
loaded up on university busses
accompanied by motorcycle cops with lights flashing
the kids were really excited.
when we arrived
we descended upon the store
masses of uniformed officers and children
must have caused some shoppers to wonder
but everyone got right to work
helping the kids find the things on their lists
along with lots of extras
at checkout everything was covered
headed back to the stadium
for kona ice, more food, build-a-bear projects, face-painting
checking out the team locker room and playing on the field
by the end of the day
we had shared our stories with each other
learned so much
everyone had bonded
no matter their age, rank, or status.
people were tired and smiling
as they walked out the door
ready for school
headed for home
happy to know
people in the community support them
as a volunteer
this day
was also a gift to me from my community.
“there isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story.”
-mary lou kownacki
this very moving page popped up on my screen recently
proof once again
that one person’s simple act
can have a huge impact on another
often without them ever knowing.
profound and quiet kindness
yes.
—
source credit: Luck (I), by Joy Sullivan
Joy lives in Portland, Oregon and is a poet and educator. She has a masters degree in poetry and served as the poet-in-residence for the Wexner Center for the Arts. She also leads live transformative writing workshops for individuals who have experienced trauma and has guest-lectured in classrooms from Stanford to Florida State University.
Joy’s work is a part of The San Marcos Writing Project and is one of over 200 writing project sites in the country devoted to developing teacher leaders that improve the writing and learning of all students.
csusm.edu/education/outreach/smwp.html
follow-up and resolution to yesterday’s post-
after a long spiral down the rabbit hole
in a journey to procure
a throw pillow and a rug
purely on a whim
that i didn’t really need
i went to sleep.
–
when i woke to a new day
i headed over to pick up my goods
determined to make it work
when i arrived at the store
shared why i was there
we, as a group
the only three employees and i
discovered that:
my pillow order had been cancelled and refunded
as they were never able to locate it in the store
next up:
they seemed genuinely stumped
when i showed them
the ‘your rug is ready for pickup’ e-mail
sent to me by their company
they each asked my name
looked at my confirmation
typed the order number in their computers
muttered some stuff
looked at each other quizically
and off they all went on the hunt
each in a different direction
when they returned
it was determined that
no one could find it
they discussed it again
one finally looked up and said-
‘oh, i remember finding it last night and putting in the pickup area!’
who knew?
i was not going to leave that store without my rug
so i actively began helping them find it
(do they only carry one of each item?)
they were all looking for a rolled up rug
but i found it folded on shelf instead
in –
‘the pickup area!’
so lucky i am a hobby detective
(even though i have a strong startle response)
with my refund for the pillow they never found
and the discount i battled with ai online to get
my rug ended up extremely well priced
making it even more of a treasure
last night
i laid on my new rug
without a new festive throw pillow nearby
proud of my crack detective work
exhausted and amused by the crazy process
tomorrow –
who knows what will happen
when i go to the post office and the movies?!!
—
“the only way out of a hole is to climb out.”
-cherly strayed, american author, wild
—
image credit: psyschology today
you know how you start out doing one thing
and it leads to another
and another
and yet another
soon you realize you’ve tumbled right down
into the rabbit hole?
that was me yesterday
i’ll try to recount the steps in the order they fell –
—
sitting on my couch drinking a cup of morning coffee
reading and responding to blogs
i looked over at a pillow on my couch
i remembered buying it, loved it’s design
now it looked faded
thought i’d try washing the cover to see if it had any hope
checked online to see if there were any similar that i could purchase
went onto a site for a store that has designs i love
scrolled through all of the pillows and found a few i liked
finally chose one
when i went to order it
a note popped up
saying members only ‘20% off today – last day,’
i went to officially sign in, it refused my password, saying it had expired
went through the new password process, they sent and email authorization to me
went back in and took a couple of tries to change and save my password
went back in again, now as a ‘member’ , found the pillow, put it in my cart
went to order it and it asked for the code for the discount
went back a few steps, found the code
found the pillow again and put it in my cart again
said it needed me to update my address, as my zip code didn’t match, different since i’ve moved
changed the address info
said discount only applied if ordered online and picked up in store
fine by me, the store is close by
changed the shipping method
finally ordered and said they’d email me when ready for pickup.
went out and did errands and stopped by store to pickup.
manager told me it wasn’t ready yet, but i was welcome to try to find it in the store,
buy it, and then they would cancel my online order
i searched the whole store and found many, many pillows, except for the one i ordered.
she told me they’d let me know when it was found and ready.
on my way out, i saw a rug that i loved, another item i’ve been wanting to replace.
ordered it online from my car in their parking lot to get the ‘member deal’ and drove home.
an hour later, i got the email that my rug was ready for pickup, but no word on the earlier order of the pilow.
decided to climb out of the rabbit hole for the day and wait until i hear that they are both ready to be picked up.
my how it so easy to fall in –
today is a new day
hoping for a soft landing on my pillow on my rug.
—
“all too often, the rabbit hole is as deep as you have dug it.”
-gary hopkins, author
—
image credit: publishers weekly
While there’s plenty to love at Costco, like the salad kits, sheet cakes, and mini oreo cheesecakes, it has also been prone to some food controversy in the past, including the massive chocolate chunk cookies that were hurting people’s stomachs. Now Costco is stirring up emotions again with its new monster dinner kits that have customers worried the retailer is warning us the apocalypse may be coming.
Costco recently released the Readywise Emergency Food Supply Bucket, which features 150 servings of various food choices. Costco’s website lists the servings as “80 servings of hearty entrées & sides, 30 servings for nourishing breakfasts, and an additional 40 drink servings.”
For $80, this massive meal kit includes 12 servings each of pasta Alfredo, cheesy macaroni, brown sugar and maple multi-grain, apple cinnamon cereal, and 10 servings of white rice. You’ll also find 6 servings each of teriyaki rice, creamy pasta and vegetables, potato pot pie, tomato basil soup with pasta, chicken noodle soup, and crunchy granola. There are also 16 servings of vanilla pudding and orange drink mix, plus 24 servings of whey milk alternative.
The bucket has a 25-year shelf life thanks to being made with freeze-dried and dehydrated foods. You also only need to add water to eat or drink the items. Costco’s website explains that ease of preparation “isn’t just about simplicity; it’s about maintaining a sense of normalcy when the world around you might feel anything but normal.” Naturally, many wondered what this warehouse retailer was trying to get at.
One Instagram user posted about this latest Costco find, calling it the “Costco Apocalypse Dinner Kit,” commenters quickly added their thoughts. One commenter asked, “Does Costco know something?” Someone else added, “If the apocalypse comes, where are you getting fresh water to prepare these dried meals?”
—
‘in ‘Shaun of the Dead,’ it’s not shaun’s fault that there’s a zombie apocalypse – he just has to get through the day.’ -edgar wright
—
source credits: costco, all recipes, carissa chesanek
dreamed that i was working on a jigsaw puzzle
happily sorting it out, putting the pieces into place
i love solving puzzles
what a peaceful enterprise
then a section appeared
all white pieces
not sure exactly where to begin with it
a new challenge
so curious to see how i would solve it
but i woke up too soon.
i looked up dream analysis
about jigsaw puzzles
and the color white
it made such sense.
solving jigsaws represents
putting the pieces of your life back together,
reorganizing,
perhaps in new ways, after a life change
white represents blank pages, waiting to be written.
what a perfect solution to my retirement puzzle.
‘the solution often turns out more beautiful than the puzzle.’
-richard dawkins
at the verrry cool
elk rapids cinema
old, but mighty good
something magical about an old movie house.
—
‘what’s a bigger mystery box than a movie theater?
you go to the theater, you’re just so excited to see anything –
the moment the lights go down is often the best part.’
j.j. abrams
perfect branding.
what could possibly go wrong?
—
“the opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year.”
-voltaire
—
stoney cabin toyshop, elk rapids, mi, usa
night slowly arrives
warmly wraps around the lake
color fades away.
—
“of all the paths you take in life make some lead to the lake.”
– unknown
—
on glen lake, empire, michigan, usa – summer 2024
I didn't have my glasses on.... 