Take a Minute

As the month of November comes to an end (I can't believe it's gonna be December!) I've taken down the link to Patty Murray's campaign--thank goodness that was a happy ending!
I've replaced it with a link to a three minute video--at a website worth exploring.  Please take the time sometime soon to watch the video & visit The Girl Effect--the link is in the right hand column. Thanks.

Tis the Season, the Final Chapter

I've eeked out a few hours of time to finish the last of the holiday samples for the store.  Ideas for last minute gifts in the form of table runners. They'll go with me to the store this weekend, in time for the last big sale of the year the following weekend.  

I'm still a bit mystified that many customers want 'that pattern, those fabrics' when they see examples on display--but it works.  Go figure! So I'll make up some simple kits with patterns & they'll go home to someone's happy table.  All are reversible & some later time they'll come home with me when our thoughts turn to spring & summer projects.

Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving, one & all!

Whatever the holiday holds for you, hoping it's cozy, relaxing, fun-filled & satisfying. For me, the cooking starts early & will include the traditional family feast with turkey and all the trimmings. Just love it--and all the leftovers! (As Julie used to say & I often repeat: "I'm turkeypenic!" We'll be correcting that!)

We'll be nine at the table this year--what fun! There is much to be thankful for this season, we are truly blessed. Wishing you treats of the day! 

Wednesday on Whidbey

snow day from the Coupeville webcam (compliments of the library)

Snow Daze

Can't remember ever getting a 'snow day' in the work setting--until now! Usually snow notches up the work stress:  who can make it in, how to cover necessary work assignments, prioritizing patient needs, etc. In the school setting, snowstorm arrives and school closes!

Woo-hoo!

This storm was brewing for a couple of days but hit in earnest Monday mid-morning--snowed most of the rest of the day. These pics were taken yesterday--today it's bright, clear & cold! It's astonishingly cold for these parts: in the teens with wind chill lower. So far (knock on wood) the wind is biting but not causing power outages. It's been the season opener wake-up-call (this time with a two by four over the beam!), catching many travelers unprepared. Fender benders abound.

Looks to be an early start to the Thanksgiving holiday as the forecast predicts sub-freezing temps through Wednesday late in the day, so students are happy in Puget Sound! (Teachers, too!)
Bundle up, stay cozy & enjoy the beauty!

Wednesday on Whidbey

one of the oldest trees in central Whidbey--150+ yr old walnut
(for perspective, note the house in the lower right)

Hanging By a Chad or Why Didn't I Learn to Spell?

Election Day Plus 10--and counting. Literally.
I keep thinking that 'it will all become clear' but a few final answers may await the individual state's certifying their elections.
Here, that date is December 2nd.
Other states are similar--end of November or after.  

There have been some important sighs-of-relief since we last visited the 2010 election--but many nail-biters left, too.  Most importantly in my neck of the woods:  

• Patty Murray will return to the Senate & Dino will not unleash the lawyers to challenge the results.  He was in the lead only briefly, it turned out, and Patty ended up with a clear margin so we will not need to enter the land of murky innuendos.  The voters have spoken. 
• Rick Larson will return to Congress.  He was not trailing briefly--he was behind for quite some time.  After several early morning, late night checks of the latest results the miracle finally happened!  Larson is ahead! (rub those sleep eyes again!)  By only a few votes, but definitely ahead.  At a slug's pace, Larson kept moving ahead.  It was still a squeaker in the end (less than 5,000 vote difference), but enough for the contender to concede--so we could all let out our collective breath knowing we dodged a bullet.  
• The contended Supreme Court Justice race looks like it will go to the mat--and again, it has been a surprise to watch.  The incumbent was way ahead from the beginning--and stayed there. Dang! But a week after the election the challenger eeked ahead by a skinny few votes. (Rub the sleepy eyes again! Is that right?! He's ahead!!) Again, moving at a slug's pace Wiggins, the challenger, is now almost 5,000 votes ahead. (No sigh of relief yet. The incumbent's campaign has put out a request for 'legal, recount' donations, so too soon to tell if the judge's race winds up in the court.)  

One thing in common to most of the tight races in this state:  the tide was turned when the Elephant-in-the-Room, aka King County, weighed in.  Those of us blue voters in the hinterland always wait expectantly when there are nearly 200,000 votes left to count in the Seattle area--notably blue.  Things can change in a heartbeat--and often do.  It's like being in a fight with the bully when your big brother shows up to save the day. I was thinking all this week, as so many races were hanging by a thread all across the country, that for the red, rural voter it must be excruciating this time--thinking you were going to 'take the country back' & getting the initial sound bytes that your candidate is winning, only to have that reverse when the urban vote weighs in. I understand the urban/rural voting block issue, it just doesn't make for happy campers for the duration of the term.  It think it's that exact sense of disenfranchisement  that has made the Tea Party so popular in my backyard.  At least in my world the rural, red voter feels like someone finally understands them--and many of the returning blue incumbents will not. Even the Elephant couldn't help the initiative battles, though.  It will still be a very painful legislative session, looking under rocks for dollars that aren't there.

Then, of course, there's Alaska. The state that defies logic. This week they began the daunting process of hand counting the nearly 93,000 write-in ballots for US Senator (most assumed to be for incumbent GOP Lisa Murkowski who lost the primary to Tea Partier Joe Miller)--with an entourage of observers deciding which ballots to challenge.  The Alaska elections site now has a separate page for write-in returns, which lists votes for Murkowski, votes for Murkowski, CC ('challenged, counted'), and votes for Murkowski, CNC ('challenged, not counted').  The counting grinds on, and to keep us entertained, Joe Miller's camp is busy in the court room. So far the court has denied a motion to stop the count until 'the spelling question' is settled, and has upheld the opinion that the voter's intent--if clear--is acceptable.  Spelling Murkowski exactly right is not required.  The spelling vs intent case is now moving on to the Alaska Supreme Court while the country looks on.  According to the elections time line, Alaska expects to be finished with the question before the end of the month, barring court gymnastics. I'm thinkin' the GOP Senate minority better finish back-peddling pretty darn quick & be prepared to play well with others when Lisa returns as the GOP candidate they didn't back...
Meanwhile in the related news of political entertainment, George 'the Shrub' Bush has resurfaced mere moments after the election to stump for his new book.  We'd been wondering where he was.  Turns out, he was at the desk with pencil in hand, tongue off to one side.  If you've had trouble remembering life before 2008, watching part (all I could do) or all of the Matt Lower/George Bush interview will help you remember--quickly. Heh, heh.  ("the lawyers told me I could...").
Sarah "Mama Grizzly" Palin's reality TV show is launching this weekend & Sarah is treating viewers to her knowledge & expertise about areas of Alaska that she sometimes refused to visit--even when needed--while she was governor.  (Back to the memories as long as gnats--let's hope she has adequate guides & chaperones cause we know she's directionally-challenged.  'See, there's Russia!') And Todd is such an added bonus!
I admit--I will not be watching.  I have seen some on-line clips & some of the advertising both on-line & on TV.  The frontal lobe takes control after a few seconds and the "must stop" "must stop now" voice kicks in, making the index finger do a reflex click of the remote or the mouse to silence the horror. You shake your head to get the cobwebs out, and ask yourself:  "did I just see a possible contender for the 2012 presidential nomination doing a reality show?!"  Really?!  It's just like thinking that Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert are journalists, or that the president is spending $200 million a day accompanied by a 10th of the total national fleet to take a trip to Asia. Right?!
People know that's not right, right? RIGHT?! Let's see, how do you spell g-u-l-l-i-b-l-e?

Wednesday on Whidbey

...yes, this is a local yard-art item!  Who knew it would be an homage to the next Congressional session...

Fond Farewell

Sixty six.  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia.  How sad. 

In 1978 she was "An Unmarried Woman" with Alan Bates, when I was becoming an unmarried woman, too.  

She was beautiful, talented, a role breaker.  

I will miss her.  

Good bye & best of luck on the next great role.

The Morning After...

Even though I knew the obvious was coming, it's still pretty sobering to realize the party is most definitely over--and as a new found blogger put it: we have memories about as long as  gnats. (go check out Margaret & Helen--it will make you feel better!) Hello?  Does anyone remember where we were two years ago? Guess not... and it could have been worse (much worse)--so I suppose we should find comfort in the 'good' among the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, right?  The dust has yet to settle and it's still pretty hazy this morning but here's my two cents for today.

The Good: the total crazies, for the most part, were turned back at the gate.  We can breathe a sigh of relief that, among others,  Joe Miller (Alaska), Christine O'Donnell (Delaware), and Sharron Angle (Nevada) will not get to run with scissors in Washington.  It's far from final, but Patty Murray is holding on by a thread in my home state & hopefully will be returning to Capitol Hill.  Jerry Brown, the California comeback kid, will be fun to watch for the next four years.  The Senate remains a Democratic majority--just barely--but will be far from bullet proof.   

The Bad:  Marco Rubio (Florida) will be arriving in DC, and Russ Feingold (Wisconsin) will not be returning.  The House is now a Republican majority--if you can count the Tea Party-ers in the Republican majority.  There will be interesting battles to watch on that front, as many newly elected candidates are calling for a Tea Party caucus on the hill.

The Ugly:  we've clearly hardened our hearts & are seeing monsters behind every post. It seems we've taken on a 'look out for yourself; no one else will' attitude--even in my (formerly?) blue state.  

We had two initiatives on the ballot that would impact the budget bleeding & both votes look like we've decided that looking after ourselves is the most important thing.  The initiative (put forward by Bill Gates, Sr.) that would have added a modest income tax to the extremely wealthy failed miserably, as the 501(c)(4) money hammered home the fear that the income tax will come for you middle income people next. That leaves about $11 billion (yes, that's billion, boys & girls) over the next five years on the table that was marked for schools & the uninsured--and also offered some middle class/small business tax relief in the process. 

The other was a repeal of the tax recently passed on candy & soda that was providing about $352 million over five years, primarily for public health & social services.  Now that's lost, with no alternative in sight (to say nothing of the benefit we'd added in discouraging consumers from buying bad food choices). I'm hearing similar sound bytes around the country.  We are very afraid, it seems, and our moral compass is malfunctioning.   

Then there's just the absurd. Like Colorado: because the Republican gubernatorial candidate did so poorly (11%) in the face of the Dem & Independent candidates, the GOP will not appear as one of two major parties in the next two elections (they'll be down the list with the Libertarians and Rent's Too High folks!) and the American Constitution Party will be in the 'top two'!

So, my friends, let the games begin.  

We thought the polarization & gridlock on the hill was hard to watch after the 2008 election.  I have a feeling we 'ain't seen nothin' yet.'  *sigh*  Go have another cup of coffee & some Ibuprofen--we're gonna need it...

Wednesday on Whidbey

Sculpture on campus (my building is visible behind)

Just Do It!

Today's the day...
or as is the case in our state, today's the last day!

Any Washington state resident will confirm what we see on the news daily:  we are a battleground state--at least for the Senate.  The number of commercials, and especially the automated phone calls has been staggering--and tiring.  Most folks confess to not answering the phone now, & one innovative soul said that a market as yet untapped is the 'chip' you could receive after your mail-in ballot has arrived at the ballot box. The chip could plug into your phone, causing all phone calls to cease as it's now too late!  I like her thinking...
Per a sound byte I heard on the radio Sunday, over $19 million has been spent on the Murray/Rossi race this year--hands down a new state record.  How many flagging schools (or flagging whatever!) could benefit from money like that? The influence of the 501(c)(4)'s, newly on steroids now that the Supreme Court let them off lead, has been so apparent--both in the run for Capital Hill takeover, and in our many (too many!) statewide initiatives.  We'll see how it all settles out.  The situation pretty much defies prediction--although it's been great to continue following Nate Silver & others as they do a yeoman's job in trying.
May the force be with us all...