Friday Randomness
What could be more random than this artichoke that I saw growing in someone’s yard? Not much. I have seen artichokes growing as crops before, driving past farms, but never like this as an ornamental plant in someone’s yard. Pretty!
Sometimes when I’m reading your blogs, I wish I could comment with a meme or a picture or whatever. Since that’s not how comments work, I will share a few responses/thoughts here.
First off, Engie was saying that she wished she had pictures of puppy Hannah. So I thought I would share some pictures of our sweet puppy boy, Mulder. We got him when he was 7 months old, but the rescue knew who his prior owners were, and who the breeder was. The professional picture on the left is from his breeder’s website. Due to his markings on his nose and his little white on his chin, we’re pretty sure that he is the puppy on the right. SO CUTE. The other two pictures are from his prior people’s Instagram, which Maya stalked and took screenshots of. (The rescue did not tell us the prior owners names, but they told us Mulder’s prior name and let slip the name of the other dog they had, and that was enough for Maya to find them.) Even considering how cute he is, which is SO CUTE, I don’t think I have the wherewithal to have a little puppy like that. They’re a lot of work. A young adult would be my ideal next dog.
This meme is for Stephany, who found herself with some extra money last month, and paid down her credit card. NO FUN, but still satisfying. It’s not fun to be an adult sometimes. Like this week, when we had our air conditioner serviced and a broken chair repaired, and the HVAC guy has to come back next week to clean out the heater rotor (or something like that) because it’s clogged with dog hair. As Ted sings whenever we find Mulder’s fur somewhere, “There is always something there to remind me…” Anyway, the total for all of that is about $700, and surely we could have found more fun ways to spend that!
Here’s the chair, which broke during a party a couple of weeks ago because the screw was loose, and the person sitting in it leaned to the side and it snapped. Tighten those chair screws people! The repair is more than the chair is worth, but a lot less than a new dining room table with 6 chairs, so there you are.
This picture is for Elisabeth, even though she’s on her summer hiatus. She posted a while ago, wondering if she should get a tea kettle, because she boils her water in a pot on her stove, and mentioned that she loves a clear, uncluttered countertop. This is my answer to that. As I said in my comment, “Keep your pot. It’s a slippery slope.” Our counters are chock full of clutter. The clutter vibe moves on to the front of the fridge, which is full of photos and magnets, curated by me. So clearly the minimalist vibe is not really one that I’m cultivating.
OK, that’s the end of the curated content. Moving on to more randomness.
I talked to my step-mom the other day, and she said she is (again) writing letters encouraging folks to vote via Vote Forward. I’ve done it before as well, and it gives me a feeling of being involved and trying to help with the election, so I’m in. She said she wrote 400 letters last time, and that was just too much, so she was going to do 100 this time. I said I would match her 100, and went out right away and committed myself so I wouldn’t forget. If you’d like to write letters, you can sign up here. How it works is, you ‘adopt’ a certain number of voters (as few as 5), and they give you a list of people to write to, as well as a pre-printed letter.
This is what the letters look like before you fill them in. You personalize the letter by finishing the sentence ‘I vote because…’. You put them in envelopes and mail them. Easy. I need to go buy 100 envelopes and 100 stamps today. They ask you to mail the letters between October 1 and October 29th, so I have plenty of time to do my letters bit by bit. Want to help me fill in my ‘I vote because’? Can’t be negative or specific to a party or candidate, just reasons why the act of voting is important to you. My thought so far is, “I vote because I believe it is the most powerful and peaceful way to improve the life of my family, improve my community, and make the world a safer place for us all.”
Ted bought a little thermometer that sticks to your window so you can see the real temp vs. the phone temp. Ignore my dirty window, but enjoy how HOT the thermometer thinks it is. It’s probably 75 degrees outside, but the sun is beating down right on the thermometer, and it is NOT HAVING IT. So clearly we have to wait until the sun moves further east west (Science edit – The Sun moves East to West) and it is in the shade before it becomes reliable, which it does by about 11am.
Back in March, I posted the picture on the left of local art ‘Fountain Head’ being taken away to be restored. In case you’ve been worried, he’s back! Look how bright and not sun faded he looks. I’ll bet he’s feeling better, too.
I had a nice walk yesterday, and spied Larry the duck at the park (surrounded by duck and goose poop, which he was maybe eating?), then on the canal trail on my way home, I stopped to look at a very bureaucratic looking egret, and saw a family of otters rolling around merrily in the dirt. I watched them for a bit, then they plopped themselves down into the canal and swam away.
Finally, I had to laugh at this Facebook memory that popped up the other day, because I remember how grumpy this little girl was. HA!
What would you put in your ‘I vote because’?
40 Comments
ccr in MA
I think having to fill out the letters would get me stuck, worrying about the best things to say! I’m doing Postcards to Swing States (for the first time), and I’m glad that there is so little room for the message, and that they provide a few samples.
I see egrets all the time down here, so while I love them, they aren’t new to me. But otters! How fun! And that artichoke photo is wild; it looks like it’s wearing a wig.
J
I’ve done the postcards too, and I love that they tell you just what to say!
I see egrets a couple of times a week probably, if I’m on the right path for my walk. So they’re not new. But they’re so lovely, and remind me of my mom because she loved them, so I always stop to say hello.
nance
I think your reason for voting is perfect. Don’t change a thing! I love Vote Forward. They make it so easy to get involved. I adopted 50 voters, then 50 again. But I’m in a time crunch right now with Jared’s wedding next week, so I need a breather.
Whenever we get a windfall (like Rick’s accident settlement, which finally happened LAST WEEK even though the accident happened THREE YEARS AGO), we immediately pay something off. And then we put the rest into savings or investments. We are Olds, however, and Rick wants to retire yesterday, so that has a lot to do with our choices.
I am constantly looking for more counter space in my kitchen. Hilarious because short of knocking out a wall and building an addition, there is truly no way to have more.
Mulder was adorable at every stage of his life. Gosh, what a cutie!
J
I think it’s smart to be OLDS in that way, especially if retirement is a goal.
I’m SO EXCITED about Jared’s wedding! Maybe you’ll email me a picture?
Margaret
Loved the puppy photos! And the artichoke, wow. I don’t live in a place where they would grow. (I don’t think?) I would write the same message as you or a similar one.
J
Margaret, I doubt that they would grow in Seattle, but maybe an ornamental one, vs. a field of them. Who knows?
Nicole MacPherson
It might not be a minimalist vibe, but your kitchen has a lovely and joyful one! I miss my fridge that had photos affixed to it. It doesn’t work with my new fridge. I just think your kitchen is cheery and happy.
Your thermometer reminds me of my grandma’s. The number of times people would look outside and say “it’s 43 degrees!” and, people, honestly. It is not 43 degrees. It is affixed to a west-facing window.
J
I’m laughing at the window thermometers. That’s exactly right!
Thanks for your kind comments on my cluttered kitchen. I do love the busy fridge!
Birchie
You made my day with the Baby Mulder and Larry the Duck pics! I never got around to writing about it on the blog, but last spring I went to a town that had a park that was packed with Muscovy ducks. I had never seen one before. They’re funny looking, but very endearing. In this particular park they were well fed and very friendly.
Doggo has grown up so much since we got her but wow she is still such a handful. I think she’s slowing down on the furniture chewing but ramping up the countersurfing…she is small but very long, so she can cover a lot of vertical when she wants to. Someday she will be an adult dog and we’re going to be so bored.
J
Larry is the only Muscovy duck around here, and when he first arrived in 2020, his wings were clipped. He is VERY friendly, you could pet him if you wanted. I decided I didn’t want to, I don’t know what kind of diseases ducks might carry. But he was obviously a pet before he came here. I wish he had others of his kind, the mallards don’t seem to like him and the geese ignore him. But he’s doing OK.
I love your Doggo. She’s pretty labor intensive, as puppies are My daughter really wants a puppy. We say, you can have one when you’re on your own, we don’t really want to deal with all of that. I mean, I might go for one of Doggo’s age, but not tiny like my baby Mulder pictures.
San
Awww. Mulder. He was so cute!
I love that you’re writing letters to voters. I’ve been doing the “postcard to voters” thing before. I think I would write down the following: I vote because … I lived in this country as an immigrant for almost 10 years without being able to vote and participate in democracy, which really made me realize what a privilege it is to be able to cast your vote and be part of the democratic process. Don’t ever forget that your voice has power.
J
San, I love that, and it is exactly what they are looking for. Personal stories. I may crib your last sentence, though, it’s great.
Melissa
I love puppy photos and Mulder was so cute. LOVE!
We have compulsory voting, so we don’t have to cajole anyone to vote. You get fined if you don’t. I think people are just used to always voting in elections. We also have an independent electoral commission that sends out reminders to everyone when an election is called to update your electoral details if needed.
J
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of compulsory voting! That takes participation to a whole new level!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I was not awar that this exists. So interesting.
Diane
I had an Australian roommate once who told me about compulsory voting and as an American, it blew. my. mind. I don’t know if it would work in this country, but wouldn’t it be amazing if we had a similar system?
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Your memes are hilarous. So fun for you to answer some posts this way.
I be honest, I never quiet gotten why you need to register as voter in the US and why not everyone over 18 is automatically allowed to vote. That said i have also never heard of encouraging people to go vote. I may even put out the thesis that it would be forbidden in Germany? Not sure though.
Anyway if I had to write that I’d say..
I vote because I grew up in a socialist dictatorship and I know what it means when you fear to speak your mind, when people will get jailed without trial, when intimidation and indoctrination are standard. Voting is a privilege. And it is also a duty every citizen in a democracy has. It will strengthen the system. It will fend of undemocratic tendencies. Don’t ever think your vote doesnt count, every voice, your voice needs to be heard.
J
Nice Tobia, I’m sure that would be moving!
Jenny
Omg LOVE the puppy photos!!! I only have cats, but from what everyone says, having a puppy is HARD. I think a young adult dog would be the way to go (but… puppies are so cute…!)
I’ve never heard of Vote Forward but I like it! I’m going to look into it (or maybe the postcards? I’ll have to see.). Gigantic kudos to your stepmom- she wrote 400 letters last time??????? She might have won the election for us.
I’m very glad it’s not 115 degrees where you live! I got very worried when I first looked at the photo of the thermometer.
J
Puppies ARE a lot of work. Part of me says a full adult dog would be the way to go, like 4 years old. But then, selfishly, I want to have as much time as possible with them, so younger is better in that way. We got our dog Genevieve when she was 4, and she was already so calm. It was lovely.
I’ve done the postcard thing too…Tony the Democrat I think? It’s another GREAT way to help get out the vote!
Meike
Mulder was such a cute puppy. Thank you for sharing the pictures! Isn’t it fascinating how little information you need to find them on the Internet sometimes?
A friend is organizing a postcards to voters get together and I hope I can go. I love Dan’s text and could 100% sign that as I feel the same way. In addition I vote because I want to have a say in what kind of world my children grow up in and voting is the single most important thing that you can do to take part in this decision.
J
Thank you Meike, I might take part of yours, part of Tobia’s, and part of San’s and meld them with mine. Also, I have a ton of postcards and postcard stamps, so if I still have the ability to write when I finish the letters, perhaps I will go that route as well!
Daria
Mulder as a puppy…. AWWWW all around. His face agh I just want to hug him!
I vote because I have a daughter.
J
I know, he was SO CUTE. Sigh. Yes, having kids is a great reason to vote, and having a daughter means it is especially important.
Stephany
I love *my* meme! Thank you for sharing. I always feel slightly more accomplished with my life when I can pay off that dang credit card.
PUPPY MULDER. I die. So cute!
I vote because I want to take part in this democratic process. So many people aren’t able to vote – maybe they are formerly incarcerated or immigrants or simply don’t have the means to get to a voting booth – and I take my ability to vote seriously.
J
I’m glad you saw your meme! And I really like your ‘I vote because’. Nicely done.
Ernie
This is such a packed post. I love the memes and your responses to these posts.
I hear you on the countertop clutter. Coach gifted me an air fryer for Christmas a few years ago. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful but it is HUGE and I rarely use it. He uses it. When I hosted book club, I hauled it to the pantry and stuck it in there in a timeout for the night. It will only come out when coach decides to use it – it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes until he uses it next.
I love your kitchen. It looks like a warm and welcoming space. I miss being able to put photos on my fridge. My parents still have a fridge that takes magnets. They have so many pics displayed that it’s hard to tell that there’s a fridge under there.
We are most likely gonna spend a fortune for the foster girls to go to private school. Oh, how I would like to buy a pretty front door for our house. Or go on a wonderful trip, like Hawaii. I’ve never been. Ah, well. At least they are in 7th and 8th grade, so it is only a couple of years . . . unless we think they need private high school. Yikes. Trying not to think about that. I think about the frustrations we dealt with last year when they were in public school and it unnerves me, so this feels like a step in the right direction.
I love that Maya stalked photos of Mulder on Insta. He was a beautiful pup.
I have nothing to add to the why do I vote letter. I think you nailed it.
J
Paying for education is SO WORTH IT and still NOT FUN. I mean, Hawaii is fun. I hope that the private school experience is SO MUCH BETTER than the public school experience they had last year.
I also would like a new front door. I would love new cabinets for my kitchen. I’m glad our fridge takes maginets. I may need that to be a DEAL BREAKER when we eventually replace it, because not having that would make me really sad.
Diane
I’ve never seen and artichoke in bloom before – that’s so gorgeous!
We have a whole side of our counter that we call “appliance row” because it’s end to end appliances. Our first house had no counter space – the blender used to live on a kitchen cart – so being able to have “appliance row” seems like a luxury. I suppose having the space to put the appliances out of sight might seem like an even greater luxury. The front of our fridge is not magnetic, so everything is on the side – it is definitely cluttered.
I love your “I vote because” statement – it covers so many important things. I don’t know if I can articulate why I vote – I mean i vote, mostly because it’s the right thing to do since I have the luxury of growing up and living in countries where I have choices. Sometimes I get cynical or dispirited about the choices, but I would still vote. I think losing hope in our imperfect system is dangerous.
J
Having the room to have my appliance row is indeed a luxery, you are right. I have that big island for cutting, thank goodness. I do wish we had a pantry where I could put them away when not using them, though. But I’m not sure it would save us a LOT of room. We use most of these appliances a few times a week, some every day. The only one that could reasonably be put away without being a pain in the neck is the food processor.
Lisa's Yarns
I love that Maya was able to stalk the previous owners and find some way back photos of Mulder! That is a skill!! Puppies do seem like SO MUCH WORK. Good thing they are so cute.
I think your why you vote sentence is perfection!!
J
Thanks Lisa! Yes, Maya was pretty happy that she found their instagram account. It helped that Keeshonds are not a common breed, and his prior name was also unusual. What a cute puppy. Sigh.
NGS
Baby Mulder!! BAAAABY! I want to smoosh him. I could never with a puppy. NEVER. Hannah was probably 1-2 when we got her and it was PERFECT – she was already potty trained and was perfect. But I do want to know what she looked like as a baby.
At least the stuff on your fridge is organized. Our fridge looks like a kindergartner organized it. And I wouldn’t want it any other way!
I vote because otherwise I can’t bitch about it when the other voters get things wrong. (And I’m only half joking abou that.)
J
I’m so with you on the puppy thing. Maya really wants a PUPPY. I think when she moves out someday, she can get a puppy, and I can go visit. That sounds ideal to me. Mulder had no leash manners when we got him, he PULLED on that leash and caused us much pain in our shoulders. But he was potty trained and did not counter surf, and knew how to sit very nicely in the car.
I love my cluttered fridge. It makes me happy.
I agree with your reason for voting! Even if my people/propositions win, I still feel like it gives me the right to complain. I can say, “Yes, I voted for that measure, and I was wrong! What the hell?” Or, “No, of course I didn’t vote for that asshat! What the hell?”
Rachel
I like this randomness post! We also have a window thermometer and it always reads hotter than it is outside. Andy says it’s the air temperature but It’s definitely not been 75 degrees here (it’s currently raining, so meh). Also I feel like I could just get a sticker that says “62 degrees” and it would be accurate 90% of the time.
LOL at the money meme. I was talking to my brother about how I got a nice bonus from work which I put straigt into retirement (there are tax benefits to this here), but that same week I found £5 on the sidewalk and I was so excited I bought ice cream. That’s some boring adulting right there.
J
I have found money a couple of times, and I LOVE IT. I think ice cream is the perfect way to spend found money! Nothing boring about ice cream.
Alissa/amuirin
Hi hi-
Your pictures are always so bright and pretty and thoughtful… I have never seen an artichoke in flower so Im very glad you posted that! Your kitchen also looks bright and himey and welcoming. I always enjoy visiting and reading your thoughts. I feel… pretty discouraged about the political
atmosphere, and the degree to which citizens can influence the tide so I guess I vote with kind of a “what’s there to lose” attitude but it’s refreshing to read your reasons because I remember the waythings are supposed to be. Hope you and yours are safe, happy, well.
J
Oh, I’m so happy to see you here! I also had never seen an artichoke in flower before, so this was an amazing find. I hope that the elections go well in November. It’s easy to get discouraged for sure.
Anne
Love the randomness of this post. Also, baby Mulder. All of the awws. Seriously – the fuzz, the baby face. And yeah, no puppies, thanks. I kind of like my untethered life!
So glad no one was injured with the chair collapse. Whew. And thank you for reminding me that no, I don’t want to buy a home right now, thanks. 🙂
J
I’m afraid that all dogs tether you, but puppies are especially difficult, because they are a LOT of work. I hope we will have another dog soon, but definitely not a puppy.