Well, I survived yesterday at work. And as you can tell (by my posting at 9 a.m.) I slept in this morning, which felt pretty amazing and very necessary. So begins my plan for a weekend of rest!
You probably saw the news that Theresa May is stepping down at the beginning of June. It looks like Boris Johnson may be the UK's next prime minister, although the jury's still out on that. I have conflicted feelings about Johnson. Superficially he resembles Donald Trump in his blustery blond buffoonery, but he's much smarter and considerably more capable than Trump. I don't agree with all his politics, particularly with regard to leaving the EU, but he might not be a complete disaster as a leader. I don't see any other likely options.
I will always feel a bit sorry for May. She got dealt a bad hand and Brexit basically consumed her. She's not blameless -- she made some truly terrible decisions, mainly the snap election that cost the Tories their majority in Parliament not too long ago -- but I admire her for sticking to her guns and trying to make her Brexit plan work. The fact is, Parliament can't agree on a plan because there's no consensus on what the UK wants from Brexit.
I saw this critter on the bird feeder Thursday evening. I don't know how he got up there, considering the feeder is hanging from a pole, and there's no way he climbed that pole. I'm thinking he jumped from a nearby bush or tree, which is pretty resourceful. We've seen him jump from the feeder to a bush, so I suppose there's no reason he couldn't do the reverse.
Remember how a squirrel ravaged our sage plant and broke off its flower stalks? Well, Dave put the largest stalk in some water on the kitchen windowsill, and it has continued living and growing there -- and a few days ago it bloomed! I'm surprised it had the energy after having been broken off the main plant. Impressive!
We got word a few days ago that my step-grandmother died in Florida. She was one day shy of 96 years old. It's sad news, but no one can say she didn't have a long life, and she'd been in ill health for some time. I mainly saw her at family dinners and events, where she was a jocular presence, always laughing and telling stories about her childhood in Arkansas and her life as a military wife with seven kids.
Not long ago she gave me this Roseville art pottery bowl in the "Donatello" pattern, from the 1920s. She knew I had a couple of other Roseville vases from my maternal grandmother, so she thought it would go well with those. It's nice to have a keepsake from her. I won't be able to get back to Florida for the funeral, but I'll miss her just the same.
(Top photo: A phone repairman (I think?) in our neighborhood. No, that's not my shadow on the ground. It's from a stoplight.)
Your sympathy for Mrs May is touching but I don't share it. She simply was not up to the job. Her ego got the better of her and now she has got her place in the history books - hapless, stubborn, ineffective, deaf, unimaginative, forgettable. At a time of national crisis we were led by a retired Geography teacher from a girls' private school in The Home Counties. You could still smell the chalk dust.
ReplyDeleteI can't even begin to follow what all is going on here in politics, much less what's happening in GB. I did hear May's speech yesterday wherein she teared up at the end.
ReplyDeleteYour step-grandmother sounds like a feisty woman and what a beautiful Roseville bowl she gave you. I'd say that it was probably time for her to step into the next realm, especially if she'd been suffering ill health.
Is that a mouse on the feeder? Very resourceful critter indeed.
And actually pretty cute.
Rest up, Steve. Feel better. Dave too.
the world's fairly stable governments since WWII are spiraling out of control, the US is circling the drain and now UK and brexit, other European nations are clamoring for more individual identity while Macron is wanting a stronger union of Europe with its own standing army since they can't depend on us. historically it all comes crashing down on a regular basis but to have it happen in my lifetime is something I never thought I'd see. and how how fast it has happened!
ReplyDeletehow nice to have a keepsake of that feisty old woman. enjoy your restful weekend.
I will never forgive May's inability to dance- nor her neglect of Grenfell, he stubborn insistence,"my way or the hiway"- so many OOPS, but Boris Johnson??? Ireland is looking better all the time!
ReplyDeleteBoris Johnson scares me, but that might just be because he reminds me of Trump. Ugh. The world is really getting crazier from one news day to the next. Hard to keep track of all the wackiness. Love that blooming sage and the very skillful mouse.
ReplyDeleteBoris and Donald. What is this poor world coming to?
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I disagree on whether it would be fair to have another referendum and his points on this are making me reconsider (I say yes, he says a vote is a vote and there are no second chances). I'm still processing the repercussions of May's resignation and am a bit relieved that you characterize Johnson as smarter than Trump, although . . . what if that makes him MORE able to get away with the intolerance and selfishness that Trump embodies??
ReplyDeleteIt's disheartening, to say the least.
But pictures of tiny mice and flowering sage and lovely pottery are a balm to the spirit. Glad you got to sleep in, and my sympathy for the loss of your loved one, for a loss it is, regardless of whether it was a blessing for her or not.
I like the top photo not everything has to be pretty you have a good eye naturally I like the sage and the cheeky mouse have to give it credit they really are clever.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump has set the stage that dictators can rule and bad behaviour gets rewarded and now we have a few other leaders trying to follow suit. As for Mrs May she did her best with dignity and decorum doing what the country voted her to do, even though I'm all for nixing Brexit. I will be off line for a couple of weeks as we have visitors on vacation.
I'm sorry for your loss. Please give my condolences to June. Your sage is lovely as is that keepsake. I hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteBrexit is one of the worst disasters brought on by a country itself.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever read Andrew Sullivan's weekly newsletter? I think you'd appreciate his point of view -- he's a centrist, I guess, and I think he carries a bit of misogyny somewhere deep inside, but he's a formidable intellect and a once conservative who's probably right of center now. He also hates Trump. He's British born and married an American man, so he's socially fairly liberal, but he wrote a very interesting piece this past week about Brexit and the rise of populism in Europe.
ReplyDeleteI keep trying to understand how Brexit happened, and I can no more understand it than I can understand how Trump happened.
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