Blame game

Kevin Roche:

Not only is masking not working, but the battle plan for the long-term care sector has failed and the defenses completely collapsed.  But never fear, it isn’t the administration’s fault, no, not at all, they had a great strategy and associated tactical plan, but, as we heard several times in the briefing, Minnesotans aren’t following the rules; we aren’t complying with the mitigation measures, so it is all our fault that cases are rising.  Aside from the complete subversion of democratic norms, this is most deplorable of the IB’s tactics–blaming the population for his completely incompetent handling of the epidemic.  But I expect we will hear a lot more along those lines over the next few days.  None of it is true; Minnesotans have been all too compliant with the terrorization campaign.

I also want to observe that our IB Governor is strangely mostly silent these days and is doing less threatening, notwithstanding the “alarming” rise in cases.  I strongly suspect that is due to Minnesota partaking in the rural uprising present throughout most of the country, an uprising which threatens his party’s hold on politics in the state.  And I also very strongly suspect, without being too paranoid, that if his party remains in some legislative control, he has some very nasty actions in store, probably to be unleashed as early as next week.  He has too much to lose by not continuing to pretend that this was and is a massively devastating epidemic that required and requires his thoughtless and irrational responses to protect the people.  His actions and the actions of like-minded petty dictators throughout the country are the source of the vast bulk of the economic, educational, health, and social damage perpetrated on the citizenry.

 

 IB is short for "Incompetent Blowhard", Governor Walz.

A crate

I turned some of our lumber pile into a crate about two feet long, with a lid, to be used for storage.  Most of the wood was pine in 2x6, 1x6, and 2x3 sizes, but I also used some of the oak frame pieces from the child's upholstered chair that I disassembled a while back. 

Even with using power tools until I had to move operations into the kitchen, it took me most of the day. I used screws instead of nails, and drilled a pilot hole for each one.

A tray

I try to keep the bathroom free of clutter, but we have a large family's worth of toothbrushes and toothpastes in there now. I was looking for a small, decorative, nonbreakable tray to corral all these items, and thought of a cute plastic plate that we have.

In place, the plate is a good size and shape, but the design is so busy that I actually have a hard time visually distinguishing the objects that I have set on it. So I'm on the right track, but not quite there yet.

Boxes

I thought of various alternatives for making storage boxes for the shelf, and ended up with paper-covered boxes as a medium-term solution.

I happened to have a larger box on hand that I was able to cut apart and reconstruct as two smaller boxes of the size that I wanted.

For the paper, we did another round of shaving cream marbling. This time I tried mixing a base color all through the shaving cream, and then swirling in a second color. It turned out all right, but I think this technique works better if some of the shaving cream is left white, to help the gaps where it doesn't touch the paper harmonize with the marbling.

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A journalist finally got the percentage of Minnesota coronavirus deaths with a serious underlying health condition out of the Department of Health:  94%, with an additional 4% "unknown".

A timely lesson...

 ...from the book of Jeremiah, chapter 28, where the false prophet Hananiah not only made a false prophecy that the Babylonian captivity would end and not extend, and said that this message came from God, but he also claimed that it would happen within two years.

That seemed, and was, a very stupid thing to do*, but now I understand that Hananiah was trying to make it happen, through his words.

I can see the same sort of thing going on in at least four different places in politics today.

 

*God spoke back through the prophet Jeremiah, said no way, and predicted that Hananiah would die within one year, which he did.

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The truck driver who ended up right in the middle of a protest on the highway in Minneapolis in June, was arrested and then released without charges, has now been charged for not wanting to park in the middle of hundreds of protesters--some of whom were climbing on his truck and pulling the door open--and for being the nearest thing to a white supremacist that the authorities could find in or around the riots. The action happens starting at about 13 minutes, 30 seconds in the article's second video.

Not mentioned in the article is that the driver himself received minor injuries, when the protesters pulled him from his truck.

Apples!

We've been blessed this year by a couple of families who have shared the fruits of their apple trees with us.  And then some, because their trees are very tasty varieties.

Earlier in the fall, they gave us more than a five-gallon bucket full, and then last week my husband went out with a crew of helpers, and came back with something like five bushels more.

So we've been making applesauce, and dehydrated apples, and apple pie filling, and apple juice, and apple crunch, and filling up all our freezer containers. 

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The other thing I've been working on is making a little more storage space in our living room, for everyone's little odds and ends. I was thinking of building some sort of shelf for this, but decided that it would be better just to make better use of the tall, narrow, mostly empty bookshelf that is in there. So I made a new shelf to replace one that I originally left out, because of an awkwardly placed knot in the wood, and I am thinking about how to make baskets.

 

It's almost time...

 ...to find out how much next year's health insurance is going to cost.  Last year, the cost went up 15% while the services covered went down a bit.

Biden still has that bit that made steam come out of my ears last year on his campaign website, where he promises to increase Affordable Care Act subsidies for the families that already receive subsidies.

Trump's campaign site lists his administration's accomplishments in health care, but not his plans.

 

Old stuff

I've been bashing away at a long-term refinishing project that has been dragging on for about a year too long, and have been making progress on it, despite the very irksome setback of having one of the pieces fall to the floor and crack just enough to need repair, but not widely enough that I can easily get the glue in.

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I started saving birch twigs for a besom-style broom; these are best gathered when the leaves are off the tree.  I decided to use the ones I have so far in my next foraged fall floral arrangement.  I just added a few sumac branches with red leaves, and a coneflower stalk.

Birch twig brooms are said to work quite well on sidewalks; I gave our driveway a swipe with a handful of the twigs, and I think they're right.

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I've been reading a book that is a reprint of early 20th century make-it-yourself projects for children. In one section on tie-dyeing, it mentions boiling sumac bark, roots, and berries, plus a piece of "old iron" to make black dye. This may be chemically similar to a recipe I tried once which used steel wool and vinegar to make a gray wood stain.  

The projects in the book run all the way up to a small summerhouse and a "garden cave" made of concrete over a bent steel framework.

First time back in St. Paul...

...after the rioting that took place in June.

I saw very shiny and clean new glass in many storefront windows, a few buildings that still have sheets of plywood up, and a hole in the ground behind a sign pointing people to the new location of the independent pharmacy that used to be there.

Upgrades

 The lining of a sleeping bag was worn out, and I found two pieces of fabric in my stash that I could piece together for a new lining.

It would have been better to stitch it in by hand, as slippery layers of fabric around a bulky core are certain to slide around and bunch up while going through the sewing machine, but I elected not to, even though I know very well that doing things by hand is a viable option when working on a human scale.  

Also, it would have been better to trim only one edge of the fabric, sew it on, and then go on to the next edge, instead of trimming all four edges at once. The fabric mysteriously lost some width during the sewing, and one corner is a little short.

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I also made a cushion cover. This one I did mostly hand sew, because of the curved shape of the cushion. I salvaged the zipper and its surrounding fabric from the old cover, sewed it between the new top and bottom pieces of fabric, and then whip stitched the rest of the way around. 

The fabric is too bright for the room, and I am thinking of dyeing it with coffee.

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I've found two or three little ways to make my everyday activities more efficient. One is to use the curved corner of the sink as I'm draining uneaten ramen noodle soup out of bowl after bowl; if I hold the bowl right, I can pour the liquid down the corner without losing any noodles down the sink.

Fall

 Following the advice of The Nester, I foraged in the yard for branches and flowers to make into a fall flower arrangement.  I'd say my efforts were moderately successful; I had to go out and get a few more branches to fill out a skimpy place, and one of the flowers that I am using is 97% dead already.

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While hunting in the depths of a closet, I found a pine cone wreath that I had forgotten about, and hung it up. It has had a remarkable effect in making the decor around it visible again. Sometimes you just need a bit of a change.

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I've been re-reading a book by Deborah Burnett from twenty years ago. I don't know much about her, but I am finding her advice on intense and thorough visualization and creative problem-solving helpful, along with her emphasis on timeless design principles.  It turns out that she still has a website with lots of good ideas, plus a few not-so-good ones.