All right, let’s talk about politics: but this time, I need to take a minute to talk about Ohio politics. We can go back to the presidential race shenanigans soon enough, but I live in Ohio, so I’m going to address Ohio right now. Ohio’s politics are invariably a bigger mess than the nation’s in general, and the 2024 election will not be the exception. This year, we’ve got an exciting constitutional amendment proposal on the ballot for all... Read more
“Tell me about the Cheese Haven,” said Adrienne. “Oh, the Cheese Haven. You want to hear about how we tricked your uncle into going to a tourist trap called the Cheese Haven, even though he was terrified of cheese?” Adrienne nodded. I sat back on the scratchy sofa where we’d been chatting over our phones after dinner. “Oh dear, I don’t really remember. I think one time when we were staying in a hotel, your grandfather opened a jar... Read more
“Do you have any motion?” texted the mother of the Baker Street Irregulars. She uses voice to text, and the voice-to-text software doesn’t always understand a Northern Appalachian accent, or much of anything else. “Motion?” I texted back. “Yea.” “I don’t know what you mean.” “They didn’t send me home with any painkillers.” The mother of the Baker Street Irregulars must be very healthy, generally speaking. She’s given birth to six human beings, but she’d never had a surgery... Read more
Alrighty, it’s time for another politics update! Please refer back to my politics boilerplate: it is spiritual abuse to tell people they must vote for a certain candidate or political party on pain of sin. Everybody has a responsibility to use their own conscience and common sense to vote for a candidate they think will be better for the common good. Disagreement is inevitable but lying is still a sin. This week, in Chicago, we had the Democratic National... Read more
It started with a nightmare. Adrienne got up for school, very early in the morning. She knows that I’ve still got a sleep disorder and often don’t doze off until three or five, so when her alarm goes off at six-thirty, she tiptoes around. Jimmy the mechanic is taking her to school in time for the free breakfast. I’m not needed until she gets back. But yesterday she stumbled and knocked over one of the plastic shelves where I store... Read more
Just a warning to my readers who have suffered trauma from infant loss or a stillbirth: I’m going to talk about abortion and dead babies in today’s post, so take care of yourself if that would be triggering. I had a run-in with a pro-life troll on X/Twitter again. This still happens from time to time, even though I’m liberal with the block button these days. And the encounter reminded me why, even though I can’t agree with pro-choice... Read more
It’s time to talk about politics once again. As I write this, the Democratic National Convention is starting up in Chicago, but I won’t have time to talk about that just now. And I’m also going to do a whole other post about the political shenanigans right here in Ohio at a later date. Maybe I’ll even find the time to talk about George Santos pleading guilty, at some point. But just at the moment, I need to talk... Read more
I couldn’t go to Sunday Mass. Jimmy would have given us a ride in the Dodge, but I just couldn’t. The religious trauma was too sharp. I couldn’t even sit and read the readings and perform Leccio Divina without getting sick. The readings were all about the Bread from Heaven, and I didn’t want to think about the Eucharist just then. When I came downstairs for the day it was noon. I heard “chip chip!” calling to me from the... Read more
I’d never grown a pumpkin successfully before. The Ohio Valley has a relatively short growing season. You’re supposed to start your winter squash seed outdoors in the first week of May, but this has never worked. If you grow a Three Sisters patch with corn, beans and winter squash, you’re supposed to plant your squash when the corn is 5 inches, but this is a mistake in Northern Appalachia. Corn takes to the soil and jumps up too fast,... Read more
Marian solemnities are the hardest days. I am going to try not to be on social media very much, and I’m probably going to fail because I always have a social media tab open while I do my writing. I wish I could go somewhere to get away for the day, but we still haven’t replaced the car, so I can’t. I don’t want to see all the people posting pictures of the Virgin Mary and reminding me that... Read more
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