I am making Charles’s soup base. No fish yet, so will do the second part when I get fish, probably tomorrow. Lord, does it smell good. Plum tomatoes, red pepper, onion, jalapeno. That’s it. No water, no salt and pepper, nothing. After it Cooks a bit, you add oil, cook it a bit more, then add the fish. I’ll start with the oil part when I get the fish, although I am sorely tempted to just throw in a can of tuna. I make a tuna soup with V-8, potatoes, and tuna, but this smells so much better.

Laptop is doing the dreaded big update. You know, the one that everything I’ve read says to avoid. Right, like Windows would ever let that happen. Most everything is backed up on sticks, so hopefully, if it all goes wrong I won’t lose much.

I just ate, and yet the Call of the Soup is getting to me. Hope it turns out as delish as it smells.

Typing this on my phone, so no picture.

So we took her back this morning. It was hard, but they were really nice and not at all surprised. They knew she had issues. Shelter director said they knew someone with an indoor/outdoor facility they could place her at. She is not a good people cat, and I think she will thrive with being able to be outside and run around. Going to miss her, though, but I need my eyes. Oh, well. Did a lot of swearing. 🙂

I have decided to take her back to the shelter. She keeps slapping me for no reason I can determine, and has just missed my eye four times. Tonight was the fourth, and she caught me hard on the side of my nose just below my eye. It hurt, and bled a lot. I do not want to lose an eye, and since I can’t figure out what her problem is, I have to look out for myself. This is very hard, because I’m really attached to her, she is so cute and affectionate most of the time, but I want to keep both my eyes. Life sucks sometimes. What will happen to her? She is dangerous and unpredictable. Who would take her, knowing that, and I will impress the dangerous factor on them at the shelter. Rats.

I love New England. Started out just a rainy day, but snowing like crazy now. So far no big wind, but that might come later. Winter has moved to March.

Saw doctor today. Boy, they do not do physicals like they used to. Did not even need to take off any clothes. Ins won’t pay for anything more than cursory exam unless you already have an illness you are being treated for. I have said they want us all to die off so they can keep everything that exists for themselves. Rich old white men. NOT a good thing.

Talked mostly. About meds and things. She wanted me to try gabapentin for the fibro, and get a pneumonia shot. Had to get the shot at the drugstore, because ins pays for it there, but not if you get it at the doctor’s office. America. You might want to stay away, because we have gone completely bonkers here. Greed does that to you, it seems.

So at the drugstore, got the shot while discussing gabapentin with pharmacist. Opted not to take it, because the side-effects are ridiculous. May or may not get any, some, all if them, but I’m the ‘one in a million’ who got hallucinations from Tramadol, so I am cautious. Pharmacist kind of agreed with my choice, because I live alone, and double-vision, loss of coordination, tremors, among other things are just no. And if you get any of them, they do not go away as long as you are taking the med. Always ask the pharmacist. It’s their business to know these things.

Oh, and there are other meds, but ins won’t pay for them until you’ve tried the gabapentin and it didn’t work.

So still with the pain, fatigue, and insomnia. But at least I’m used to that. Trying melatonin. We’ll see how that goes. Fun times, people. Fun times.

You know how I’m always saying that? Here’s why:

(Copied from The Daily Kos)

“House Republicans just passed an outrageous bill cutting food stamps by $40 billion and kicking 3.8 million people out of the program by 2014.

The Senate already passed a bill cutting food stamps, but House Republicans just took it *ten times* further. Under their proposal, over 1.7 million people will lose food stamps this year, another 2.1 million next year, and even more in the following years.

House Republicans know these cuts aren’t going to become law—they are using their psychotic proposal to try and pressure the Senate into make even deeper cuts than the ones they already passed.”

There are more disgusting, reprehensible human beings, but still…. Did you vote these men into office? Are you ashamed of yourself yet? Do you plan to vote them out of office next time, or do you choose to align yourself with these horrific excuses for human beings? Yes, I am really, really angry. Starving children used as political weapons. Nothing new here, folks.

Update from The Washington Post:
Who Voted For and Against The Bill

Here–The New Plan
The new plan to get people to stop voting Democrat. Starve them to death.

It is so completely NOT funny. I believe this is from 2011. If you think things have gotten better in those two years, you are living on another planet. I am disgusted.

I do not understand ANY of this, but that doesn’t make it any less BRILLIANT!!!!

I’m sorry…
We have officially lost all semblance of brains in the US:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/13/1236984/-You-ll-eat-chicken-processed-in-China-and-you-won-t-even-know-it

I woke up depressed today. It is a beautiful day, cool and sunny and gorgeous, and I didn’t wake up til around noon because my nights keep bleeding into my days, and my days into my nights, and if left to my own normal rhythms, I’d probably never be up before 1pm. Missing half the day right there. And I’m just here. In my little prison-box of an apartment. No porch, no balcony, no deck, no access to the outside at all. I’ve only just found out that moving is probably not going to be an option, because thanks to the ‘I’ve got mine, so screw you’ government we now have in the US, there is very little money available for people like me to find a better apartment. One more suitable to my needs. I want to go out and be in the world and do things and garden and have fun and see new places, but I am just here. Alone. I really, really make a conscious effort to follow my belief that things are the way they are and if I can do something to change them, fine, but if not, learn to live with the way they are and make that the best it can be. Sometimes it’s just so hard, though. I guess I can’t always be the fighter, I can’t always keep the good attitude, sometimes I just have to say, “I want things in my life, and it’s very frustrating and it hurts that I can’t seem to make any kind of difference here.” So I stuff the feelings down and go on. Because what else can you do? Just every now and then I need to wallow, I guess. Today is the day.

On a brighter note, here’s an article about people really making a difference:

The Rainbow Steps

I came across this in my readings. Just the headline here:

“Barack Obama Makes Case for Syria Strike: Celebrities React”

Because I always look to celebrities to tell me what to think about politics. Doesn’t everyone?

And….my new favorite quote (why, yes, this IS an all-inclusive post, why do you ask?)

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”
― Amit Ray”

Btw, I was looking for an appropriate image for this post, but when I saw this, how could I resist?

Who doesn’t love pie?

I loved Ninja warrior, back when I had cable. Now I see that there is an American version. Srsly? Makes me wonder. Why can other countries see our shows, but we can only get American versions which in my opinion are never as good (see Life on Mars, people), but other countries get to watch our shows regularly? Even BBC America has American shows, like The Next Generation. Why? My friend in Finland used to watch Desperate Housewives. In Finland. We seem to just get more and more dreck, and 20 minutes of every hour spent trying to sell us stuff. Also known as ‘why I don’t pay for cable anymore’.

formerly After Elton.

The Backlot

A rational voice in a frequently more irrational world.

‘Mexican Bishop Raúl Vera is bucking the Vatican line on homosexuality. “One mother came to me and said that she was being watchful of her son because he was hanging out with ‘those degenerate gays’ and I said ‘so blame yourself for it because that’s the way your son developed in your womb and he didn’t develop into a degenerate or a perverse person. He was born with a certain constitution you are trying to ignore. Calm down, you are the mother of that child and he began to be who he now is inside your womb. So the first one I’d kick out would be you because you are the perverse one who is first in line.’ That’s what I said.” He went further, saying “Why would I immediately think a gay or lesbian person is perverse or depraved the moment they approach me? That’s how people who are homophobic react. It’s a mental illness in which you see gays as depraved and promiscuous. You have to be sick in the head for that.” ‘

Don’t know that I’ve seen more than stills of noctilucent clouds before.  I have a friend who lives within the Arctic Circle.  He must see these types of things all the time, but where are the pictures, Jukka?  Where are the pictures?  🙂

This is why:

I found on the internet:

Just saw an article about how things are going after the end of “Don’t ask, don’t tell”.  Apparently, idiots still run the military.  Personally, I think if someone is willing to possibly have to lay down their life to save yours, and you reject them for some homophobic, prejudicial claptrap, well maybe you should just go in their place.  Please.

Two days ago I got into a big argument with someone over a (to me) unbelievably callous remark about the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.  I wound up saying to this person that I thought their god (the Christian one, I am atheist) must be so proud, and did they really think that their attitude was what Jesus taught?  Today, I’m reading blogs and come across another incident of homophobic discrimination, this time by a bus driver against two men holding hands, and I wanted to say it again, to all those so-called Christians who actually seem to believe that Jesus and their god would condone and even approve of their behaviour.  Have they ever actually read the NEW Testament.  Have they ever seen/heard/read anything relating to the teachings of Jesus.  I think not.  I am appalled at the attitude of the person I had the argument with, even though they are usually compassionate and caring, and I am just sick and disgusted at the attitude of everyone who chooses to hate people based on things over which those people have no control.  You do NOT choose to be LGBT, anymore than you choose what color your eyes are at birth.  I had a really wonderful weekend, which I am sorry to say will probably always be colored by the one incident.  Everytime I remember the wonderfulness, I will remember the callousness, and I cannot tell you how sad that makes me. 

I came across this, which thing I have mentioned before:  why is it okay to show all this on your tv, but anything relating to sexuality is considered worthy of boycotting and hand-wringing, etc.  I just do not get it.  Srsly.]

http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2013/08/02/2403731/brooklyn-nine-nine-almost-human/

My homemaker came and amongst laundry and shopping, we had some laughs and I showed her a couple of vids from Hair and Jesus Christ, Superstar.  I am going through my old VCR tapes so I can toss them, and two nights ago I found one with Hair.  Kind of fast-forwarded to just get the music, but the end scenes just broke my heart.  Burst into tears, actually.  So I was YouTubing for vids of just the music, which then led me to Jesus Christ, Superstar from the sidebar.  God, I love YouTube.  You can watch entire movies, listen to entire soundtracks.  So my homemaker, who wasn’t even born when the movies were made, was just blown away especially by the ones from Superstar.  She was astounded that black people were featured.  Yes, the world has changed, and for the better if you ask me (RI had gay couples getting married yesterday.  Yay, RI.  I live right next door in Mass.) and I think she has seen/read about how things were back then for people of color.  I’m not religious.  In fact, I am an atheist and proud of it, but religion isn’t necessary to love a really, really powerful movie like Superstar, any more than having been a soldier or a hippie is necessary to love Hair.  Check them out.  You won’t be sorry.  I also found that they are redoing Superstar with Tim Minchin.  Tim Minchin.  I love Tim Minchin.  Check him out.

Addendum:  I’m also not gay.  I support gay rights, because I believe gay rights are human rights, and you only need to be human for that.  Something which a lot of Americans seem not to be.  Human, that is.  They have lost their humanity in favor of religion-fueled hatred.  Jesus would be so proud.  HA!