AMANDA'S BASKETS: All Politics Is Local...

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

All Politics Is Local...

One of my favorite light houses in Maine.

So last night wasn't a good night for the Democratic Party. I read an opinion piece a couple days ago with the basic theme that 'all politics is local' is gone. I think last night pretty much showed that the writer was way off.

I think local politics around schooling and the ginned up scare around Critical Race Theory which is only taught in law school and not in any grade school, along with what the sausage making that passing bills in this congress looks like as well as the cost of items going up and the stalled pipeline of consumer goods was a great deal of the reason for the outcome.

The frustration is that almost all of it, if not all of it, was caused by the pandemic. And the fact is that it wasn't appropriately dealt with immediately which would have mitigated a lot of the upheaval our nation felt and still feels.

However, the election has to be evaluated and lessons learned so that 2022 has a better outcome. And I think once folks have realized the enormous benefits of the Build Back Better and Infrastructure Bills, along with some honest talk about racism, the Democrats will have more success. The other factor that could greatly affect the next election is the Supreme Court and how it decides on some key cases.

Enough politics. I did get Duchess winterized. And it is quite chilly this morning. The high is only 50 but it is sunny and no rain is in the forecast for the next ten days!

I am making chicken soup today...more like chicken stew. The smell is very appetizing right now as the stock boils down a bit. I was thinking of baking something but I also want to get the bedroom organized now that I have taken over a different bedroom and bathroom. Decisions. Decisions.

Now that I think about it...life is one big decision...do I do this or do I do that constantly...a bit exhausting now that I think about it!

Talk with you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?