Celebrating with the Kids Don and I are at the cabin, with no TV or internet. But we used our cell hotspot, so we could have a Zoom Celebration with the kids. Chali and Scott wore their "Joe aviators". Chali wore her earthy, all-American overalls and Scott had on a 4th of July Nathan's hotdog tee-shirt. Heidi and Jamie were limited to toasts with warm tea... I believe. No champagne for the parents to be. I wish we could have celebrated in person, but we were all happy to see each other's faces, now that we've gotten through this stressful election! For a short while, we laughed and moaned and complained over the behavior of our president. Then we decided to keep Trump out of our celebration. We talked about all the positive things we've seen and heard in the last 24 hours. Since yesterday, we've all been feeling relieved and hopeful, even with this pandemic.
When we got off I felt so good...then, I felt sad. I love it that we can Zoom together, but I so wish we could actually be together, Holidays are coming and our family will not be hopping on planes to be near each other. It's time to be creative.
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Yesterday Yesterday, Don and I needed to celebrate, when we heard the election results. It would have been fun to have cheered in the streets, with crowds all over the country. But, we kept it quiet at home. We settled on a calm and happy time on the patio. Tiki drinks and a little Biden/Harris decor. At Last Last night at 7, we settled in front of the TV, while chicken grilled outside. After so many months of election stress and years of concern for our country, I felt worries lift. What a different election this has been in so many ways! Joe and Kamala stood on the stage wearing masks, before a crowd of cars and trucks and people... honking and cheering. Kind of silly that I snapped photos of my TV. But, I felt as if I were there, as I listened to the powerful and comforting speeches. Wow. Little girls can really dream now! Families After their speeches, the families came onto the stage. Masks couldn't hide the smiles. It felt so good to see loving families on the stage and emotional faces in the crowds. Joy! Such joy and warmth and music and fireworks! click to enlarge I know there would have been music and fireworks for Trump, too. But I can't imagine there would have been this kind of joy. After many nights of restless sleep, I slept well last night.
Saturday's Covid News Today was actually far from dull. It is day 5 of waiting on election results. I turned on the TV just after 7, this morning. After days of election focus, we suddenly had a spotlight on Covid. So Mark Meadows has Covid now. I think there are 5 new cases at the White House now. Texas is not looking great. Election News This was the election news at 7:15. This wait on results has taken forever... for good reason. There are more ballots than ever, in history. There are huge numbers of mail in ballots, because of Covid. And they are being incredibly cautious. Other Reasons Here are some other things that have slowed things down. This is a fraction of the issues that are being dealt with. Trump has been very busy rejecting the news that he is behind. He's tweeting up a storm, but most are being blocked because of his false statements about voter fraud. 10:24! We just kept the TV on this morning. Looked up and saw this bit of news! Thank you, Pennsylvania! The texts started flying, with family and friends. Channel Surfing But could we be sure? We checked other stations. NBC was clued in, but Fox was still talking about Trump not giving in. While Trump was off playing golf, Fox switched gears. I would not want to be Trump's caddy when he learned the news. In the afternoon, there were happy scenes in D.C. and other cities. We'll watch President Elect Biden, later this evening. We're getting away from the TV now. We're heading out on a balmy evening to have tiki drinks on the patio!
Good news in 2020, finally! Old Guys Waiting on election results is aging me. I feel as old as these 2 guys, who decorate our guest room. 160 Years! I am weary from waiting. It's I'm 160 years old. I must have at least 160 worry wrinkles on my face, from waiting on results. Lincoln became president on this very day, 160 years ago. I feel like I need to celebrate. I've always loved this portrait. It hung in my house growing up and it's in our Lincoln Room... where guests sleep.
Some might think this image is a little unsettling in a guest room. It's old. He's old. Old can be eerie. But what's really unsettling is realizing how young Lincoln was in this photo. He died at age 56. He was nearly 10 years younger than me, at his inauguration. Oh my. Thursday, after Election I turned on the news at 7 am. Lots of Trump signs... sheriffs and people yelling, "Stop the count!" Trump has been demanding we end the counting of votes, across the country. Fraud? He's given no evidence. Since when does the president have the right to terminate an election? Count Every Vote! We shouldn't need to wave these signs, but some need to be told. Every vote matters. I thought we were all supposed to believe that. Even though we're in the middle of a pandemic, we've had higher voter turnout than any election in history. Voting has been extra complicated and we need to be patient with this wait. But man, it's hard waiting. Yesterday's Tweets Evidently, Trump has been tweeting a lot. Lots of his tweets have been removed, for misleading information. Today The president like to Tweet in CAPS. Surprise Appearance While watching the news, they suddenly broke to a broadcast from the White House. Trump was addressing the public for the first time since the election. "If you count the legal votes, I easily win," he said. (votes are still being counted!) Even though he has no evidence, Trump claimed the Democrats were "trying to steal an election, they're trying to rig an election."
And that's all I saw. MSNCB cut him off. I'm worried about how this kind of talk will stir things up. It's scary to picture the people I've seen chanting at his rallies, getting angry if and when their president loses. I think I may be quarantining safely for a long while. Day After Election Day I got up at 6 and ignored my phone and TV. I ran and showered and grabbed my coffee. By 7:30 I was on the couch, ready to look. This TV image amused me at first. Now it saddens me. I don't ever remember our country being so divided. This map greeted me, at 7:31 am. I made me feel a little better. It's not like I really expected to know who our president would be, this morning. But I'm still stunned, at how close this election is. Tweets I don't have access to Trump's tweets, but this one made the rounds. This is how our president communicates. "Poles" as in Polish? I believe the spelling was later changed, but the tweet still sounds like an angry middle schooler. Late Last Night So after I went to bed last night, Trump made a White House appearance and claimed he'd won a number of states... while votes were still being counted of course. He also spoke of fraud, but had no evidence. The Trump campaign has now filed lawsuits in PA, MI & GA. Oh my. Patience This is going to take a while and I'm trying to be patient, while I watch the people who aren't. "Stop the count!" they chant in Michigan. These are Trump supporters, wanting to stop counting ballots in Michigan, while Biden is ahead. Does that make sense? Covid While all this is going on, we broke a record. Over 100,000 cases in one day. This is disturbing.
I'm ready for the election to be over. I am ready for a new president. Presidential Election November 3, 2020 It's finally here. It was a beautiful day around most of the country. I felt ready. I made a corny little sign for the porch, to please me and possibly the UPS guy. Then I set up RGB and my donkey friends. I baked some lame red, white & blue cookies. You used to be able to get them at the grocery store, during past elections. Not during the pandemic. Along with many others around the country I wore pearls, in honor of RGB. I added my grandmother's Uncle Sam doll to the table. "Daw" voted in 1920, at the first election after the 19th amendment! Don wore his patriotic shirt and crossed his fingers. We are ready for change. I got excited a couple of times. Pinellas County is the county that I sent vote reminder cards to, in Florida. 60 postcards! Maybe my volunteering helped. There is no landslide win for Biden, tonight. Not that I really expected it. But it was stressful. It seemed way too much like 2016. I stared at my friends instead. Then I had a nice glass of milk in a champagne flute and nibbled my cookie nervously.
After hours of watching I called it quits at 10. This is way too stressful and way too close. It looks like there are a lot more people than I thought, who believe it's okay to vote for a man who really only cares about himself. Good night. Tomorrow is Election Day 2020 Got to keep calm. I've been using my helpful bookmark. Don and I calmed the stress and went on a walk this morning. We heard some exotic music playing as we approached the gazebo. This dear woman looks motionless in my photo, but her fluid movements, magically matched the music. Hmm? Maybe I need to try a little of that. First Lunch I met a friend on her patio for lunch. I have not shared a social meal with anyone besides family in over half a year. But this was the most positive thing I could do for my mental health today. Four years ago, I had lunch with this friend, the day after election day. There was no pandemic, but I was dealing with cancer. She had offered to accompany me to my radiation treatment and then go to lunch. We had hoped to celebrate a victory that day. But no.
This time we chose to have lunch, the day before the election. We talked and worried over the outcome. I told her (and everyone else I've talked to today, "I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve. I've been a good girl. I'm hoping for that bike. The anticipation is wonderful and I'm enjoying every moment. If there's no bike tomorrow, then at least I had a good day today!" Reminded of the Suffragettes On Halloween, I started to spread out some newspaper to do my carving. The free paper usually goes in the recycling bin, but I paused to read. Girl Power... masked voters... 100 year anniversary of the 19th Amendment! My Grandmothers I've been thinking about my grandmothers and the Suffrage Movement. My maternal grandmother, Daw was old enough to vote in 1920. Did she? My fraternal grandmother was evidently a flapper. She was younger, but surely she would have voted proudly, whenever she could. Daw's Journal Today it's November 2nd, the day before the 2020 Presidential election! It's also the 100th anniversary of the first Presidential election after the 19th Amendment. Time to pull out Daw's 5-year journal! I don't like diary snooping, I have a lot of diaries. "But it's really more like a date book!" I convince myself.
I turned to November 2, 1920 and this is what she wrote: "Frances and I voted today - Absentee vote. Our first vote. Voted for Cox for President." What do you know! My mom's mom voted 100 years ago! She didn't vote for the winner, but Cox's VP was FDR. What a fun thing to know. Also good to know that Daw survived the Spanish Flu 2 years ago in October. Curious reading about that! I hope my candidate is a winner tomorrow! Cleaning Clutter I used to just clean out my purse, when I felt a little overwhelmed. It was a quick way to feel like I'd gained a little control. Now, I hardly use my purse. Today I cleaned out my cluttered phone instead. Weighted Down by Photos Since Covid, I started a bad habit of taking photos of the TV. "Wow! What did they just say? Let me snap a pic and remember!" But my phone is filled with irritating reminders, that I need to forget. I want to forget that Trump begged suburban women to like him. He said he "saved their damn neighborhood". He asked, "Do me a favor, suburban women, would you please like me?" How gracious, that he said please. Speaking to the Crowds This image from October 23 was from The Village in Florida. Why are senior communities thinking it's fine to gather in these unmasked crowds. Obviously these people aren't all old. But I hardly see a mask in the crowd. Can't Trump kindly encourage them to put one on? Voting in Florida When I saw this image of Trump voting in person, I wondered why he didn't wear his mask like everyone else. We all know that Trump has voted by mail for years. This year he's made a huge fuss about the corruption of mail-in voting, so I guess he has to show up. He flew across country to cast his ballot in Florida. Some in Houston are driving an hour, just to get to the one official ballot box in the county. Campaign Strategies Biden has been teased about wearing a mask and being dramatically cautious. Even Melania has made cracks about Joe hiding in his basement, while Trump is greeting his adoring crowds at rallies. I want to thank Biden for keeping his distance and playing it safe. Having massive rallies when there is a pandemic, just makes no sense. The report above shows how many may have died, as a result of big gatherings. Covid is Still Here Just because there's an election doesn't mean we can forget the pandemic. Of course lots of people still pretty much think this is a hoax. Or that they are immune. Or that they are strong enough to handle it and who cares if they give it to someone who isn't strong enough. Trump says "We're rounding the turn" on coronavirus... while the virus is spreading faster! Is it Safe? It's worrisome enough that you might get infected, standing in line to vote. Don and I stood in an indoor line for 2.75 hours. But there are also agitators, intimidating people at the polls. Some places allow guns. This is creepy. A few days ago, the police ended up spraying a group that was marching peacefully to the polls. There were children and elderly folks in that group. This seems like a bad dream. Intimidation I've seen a Trump Train or two. I guess that's what they call a line up of trucks with Trump signs and flags. A couple days ago, a Trump Train surrounded a Biden/Harris campaign bus. It was just a few hours from our home. A video showed a near accident. Some of Biden's events were cancelled because of it. Trump tweeted, "These patriots did nothing wrong." All in good fun? Saving This One I'm deleting these photos and I'm saving one for a bit. I think this sweet woman in the colorful scarf and hat, is 104. She voted for Biden. She also survived Spanish Influenza in 1918! This is the kind of photo that makes me smile! I love this woman!
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Not-So-Happy List
Cancer, Covid & Coronary... I started this complaining list/blog, in May 2016. I posted 200 gripes about my breast CANCER and then I was done. On March 13, 2020, I started venting all over again, when another disease (starting with a C) interfered with my life. This time it was the invasion of COVID and it affected every person. I ranted for a year, until I got my COVID vaccine in March 2021. CORONARY Artery Disease was the reason I restarted this blog on September 26, 2021. This time it was my hubby Don, who was dealing with a worry that started with the letter "C". Coronavirus and Cancer, Coronary Artery Disease! All are evil, but none can totally get me down... if I vent! I usually end up feeling a little more positive at the end of each post! Navigating This Mess! The most recent post is at the top, from coronary posts in 2022, back to cancer posts in 2016. To find past posts, look below the "Archives" section, to find "Categories". Archives
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