November: turd in a punch bowl or the start of something good.

 Wilder has been doing a cool recap each month on her instagram. I think I’ll copy her every so often (or at least every month).

November started like a real turd. Looking back on the whole 30 days helps give it some sparkle. Here's some of the fun:

My friend Kim shared an article about a guy who left his car window open and a sloth climbed in. I tried it- works! So much better than the tooth fairy.

Caught the first of two plays: Peter Pan!

The second was Into the woods. Luca was the big bad wolf. So fun seeing him perform.

this was in the Chicago airport- the future is now!

Found these at the Nordic swap- 220's!!

Love field trips

Quite an honor to get an e-fec award! Thanks

We ended the month in Portland visiting Wilder. Looked for signs and other fun things to do. It is always so amazing being together.

we always have each other and home.

At the OMSI sub controls

Also at OMSI was an amazing collection showing the diversity of life- absolutely stunning!

I really thought my peanut butter and jelly deviled eggs would have been a bigger hit at Thanksgiving!

Thrift Shop score: I have been looking for a solid Kangol lid for many a year!

We even saw a protest! The kept it simple: "what do we want?" -contracts! "when do we want them?" ...now!

It's gonna be alright. I've got family and amazing friends- thanks everyone! (especially if you made it all the way down here!)

Surfing sounds like a good idea.

 

Since she couldn't come visit us for Thanksgiving, we recently went to visit Wilder in Portland. We went one day to the coast and Luca and I both thought surfing sounded like a good idea.

I would love for you to think that the above 3 pictures were us... but they were not. Lucky for us Lisa told us to go stand barefoot in the water before renting a wetsuit and board.

We were totally going to rent surf boards.

then the water hit.

We were totally not going to rent surf boards.

All I got from this guy was a mumbled "told you so"

But we still had a blast walking about. Luca was brave enough to jump in- but I gotta say it didn't look like fun.

This will be a future album cover!

It’s time to get this party started again.

 It’s been a year eh? I didn’t have Voldemort winning the election on my 2024 bingo card but there you go. 

I’ve had time to mull things and know that in addition to resisting all kinds of negative bs, I’ll need to do a fair bit of spreading positivity around like marmalade on toast.  

Life gets busy, we all get busy. We stop doing what brings us joy. Watching life and writing about it makes me happy- so let’s get this party started back up! If reading it makes you smile- then all the better!

Speaking of making me smile: this girl! We took a sweet picture, then I said one more- we both knew to ham it up… but boy am I glad she didn’t have her eyes open! 

 

 

 

Don't call it a junta

 

Here are some thoughts on the first few weeks of February 2021. The tatmadaw(myanmar military) arrested Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1. It didn't really seem real at first. They charged her with illegal importation of 6 walkie talkies. They said the vote was rigged. They issued rules that they were not be referred to as a junta and that it wasn't a coup but a cabinet reshuffle. But it was real, and it has unfolded in a surreal, strange mess of days. 

There were international condemnations. Words that were appreciated by the protesters but have since amounted to not much in the way of action. As one local paper put it- no help is coming.

So people took it upon themselves to be the change. Huge crowds that peacefully marched and cheered. They had humor- dressing in evening gowns and cosplay. They had compassion giving food and water to police. They even cleaned up after themselves. (a note: None of the following pictures are mine- lifted from images)

It was also inspiring to see the art that rose to the forefront. Here are a few variations of the hunger games fingers that the protesters adopted. They come from a powerful organization called art for freedom and are worth checking out. 

a few more posters reference the banging of pots and pans. Every night at 8pm a loud chorus arises in the city. This is the same as what would happen in Venezuela when we lived there. If you question the importance or power of this, consider: You might feel alone in this world. Even more so due to covid19. Even more so when a coup has happened. The banging of pots and pans isn't just a noisy release of pent up anger/ energy. Its a connection and its beautiful.

I am not sure what this one says but that font is on point

The milk tea alliance references the neighboring countries that have all had their share of ruling parties that weren't wanted. Strength in numbers.

But things have changed. It doesn't feel festive anymore, people are being shot in the street. It is not good.

So wherever you are in the world, bang on a pot tonight at 8pm and raise your 3 fingers. I know gestures don't topple dictators, but there is an energy in connections and the Burmese need some energy from you.