How many ways can I photograph our avocado tree? Hmmm...
Seriously, taking pictures at this time of year becomes a challenge, since I'm at work all day and it's dark during my free time. And an even bigger challenge now that the aging dog is less enthusiastic about her morning walks.
So what about this crazy election? Good grief! What a roller coaster. I was fairly sanguine yesterday morning about the prospect that Biden might lose, but as the morning progressed I got more and more depressed. At least there wasn't the paralyzing shock that followed the election of 2016 -- everyone knew this race would be close. And then Biden's fortunes seemed to reverse (as the experts said they would) with the counting of the mail-in ballots, and now, here we are, apparently within reach of victory.
You want some dark entertainment? Go to a right-wing news web site (the more extreme the better) and read the reader comments. Trump's far-right minions are furious. Many exhibit a basic misunderstanding of the vote-counting process and sling a lot of warped accusations. ("The Democrats are STEALING THE ELECTION!") More frighteningly, some are pledging secession and vowing to take their guns to the streets. They're using the words "civil war."
Seriously, everyone needs to calm down. I said to myself all along that in a pinch, I could survive with either man as president. It's just the presidency. We're not electing someone to be God.
My friend Liz sent me this photo of some cool street art in her neighborhood near Washington, D.C. This was taken before Wisconsin and Michigan went blue, obviously.
Meanwhile, here in the UK, it's Bonfire (or Guy Fawkes) Night. We've been hearing the pops and crackles of fireworks for several nights now. We're doing nothing special to celebrate, especially since there's a national lockdown beginning today, but maybe we'll see some fireworks set off by our neighbors.
There have been some crazy stories about huge parties and gatherings being busted by the police prior to our lockdown. Over the weekend they shut down an illegal rave in Hampstead. Look at these pictures! No wonder Covid cases are increasing. (Similar things have been happening in the states.)
There have been some crazy stories about huge parties and gatherings being busted by the police prior to our lockdown. Over the weekend they shut down an illegal rave in Hampstead. Look at these pictures! No wonder Covid cases are increasing. (Similar things have been happening in the states.)
On Friday night Dave and I wanted to get take-away rather than cook. I had the bright idea to finally try Nautilus, a nearby fish-and-chip shop that I've pictured here before. As you can see, we each got a big ol' slab of haddock plus chips -- I added the veg myself. It wasn't cheap but it was good. (I'm kind of a ninny -- I don't eat the breading. I know some people would find that sacrilegious, but I'm trying to take care of my blood vessels.)
I'm about to embark on my annual Dickens reading project. This year I'm going to read "The Pickwick Papers." I have a stack of about six New Yorkers and some other magazines to get through, too, and that's stressing me out. I may just recycle them and start fresh. Sometimes it's got to be done.
Your desire "to start fresh" reminds me of the Septembers of my school years. A new year after a long summer holiday. Starting fresh. How exciting. Pristine notebooks, pencils sharpened, eraser still white, no smudges, ink pen as yet not lost. Fast forward a couple of months or so. A wistful disenchantment starts setting in. Still, as school is supposed to prepare us for life it's as good a lesson as any.
ReplyDeleteU
I used to love that feeling, with fresh, clean notebooks and new school supplies. It lasted about two weeks, if that long!
DeleteWhat the hell is "breading"? That is batter on your haddock and it is the law that fish and chips MUST be eaten with mushy peas, malt vinegar, sprinkled salt and a dollop of tomato ketchup, all washed down with a mug of tea.
ReplyDeleteWhatever it is, batter or breading, I take it off and just eat the fish inside. (I don't eat the fish skin either.) I COMPLETELY agree with you, however, that mushy peas are a requirement -- and surprisingly Nautilus doesn't offer them, at least not on their take-away menu. I did have my chips with vinegar and added salt. Ketchup and tea are optional for me. :)
DeleteAll is not lost then. Here in The Wild North we often ask for "scraps" or "bits" with our fish and chips. These are the golden excess pieces of batter that float around in the deep fryer. Like caviar to us!
DeletePickwick Papers is a great idea in these times, think I may reread myself.
ReplyDeleteCheers
I've heard from several people that it's quite funny, which I didn't really expect, so I'm looking forward to it!
DeleteTry looking at the 4th November 181 years ago, the date of the Chartist march on Newport, Gwent, Wales..when marchers were shot...and this was another thing that pushed us towards universal suffrage.
ReplyDeleteYou lost me here. As an example of civil war, you mean?
DeleteThat fish and chips looks sooooo good! I wish we had a good place to get some here. There is a place that specializes in fish and chips but I find theirs to be way too greasy.
ReplyDeleteYes, the election is just crazy here. I'm saddened that it appears we didn't win the senate. It will be so hard to get anything done with Mitch M in charge. It's a bit ironic that in Pennsylvania Trump protesters are yelling "stop the vote count" while here in AZ, the Trump protesters are yelling "count every vote". I've been hearing some of those extreme expressions. It's frightening. I don't get those people calling themselves patriots and yet promoting such anti-American actions.
Avoiding greasiness is apparently the art of good fish & chips. Some Trump supporters seem unable to perceive the hypocrisy of their message from one state to another.
DeleteThe mixed vegetables bring back childhood memories. I think we ate those in school a lot. I'm so glad you finally got to try Nautilus. It occurs to me that you have a great deal more will power than I do. If presented with fried fish, or fried chicken for that matter, I will be eating the breading/batter. No doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteI can't talk about the election.
I love those frozen mixed vegetables! And they're so easy!
DeleteI'm another one who can't keep up with my New Yorker. Think it isn't helping that with all the election stress my brain seems to be shutting down. Can't seem to focus very well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree, and many of the articles are about the election. I just can't go there! I need to delve in and see what other news they may contain.
DeleteI LOVE the Pickwick Papers!! It is hilarious! I always packed a copy whenever I was taking a long trip because it's a book you can re-read once a year.
ReplyDeleteOh, lordy, it's been a hell of a day. When the AP called Wisconsin for Biden I read -- and I'm not a teary kind of person. The relief, after 4 years, is body-shaking. And now I only have one dream: Please, President-electBiden, please prosecute every last mf Trump.
I hesitate to say that, because I don't want to sound like the Trumpers chanting "LOCK HER UP!" But yeah, Trump could definitely face some legal ramifications.
DeleteJust seeing that breaded fish and fries sent me back to my childhood days. My parents loved making a meal like that. I haven't had anything like it in more than 50 years!
ReplyDeleteI loved the comment that Sharon left. The shouting in Pennsylvania "Stop the vote count," and the shouting in Arizona, "Count every vote..." sums up the Trump insanity perfectly.
It's a rare meal for us, too, even though there are chip shops about every fifty feet in any direction! (Chip shops are basically the fast food outlets of London -- well, those and kebab shops.)
DeleteThat's how I like my hadddock. Haddock (and canned tuna) are the only seafoods that I eat other than my favorite - scallops. Cooked the same way of course. Have you thought of an air fryer or air fryer oven? This way you can have the breading too. I like your photograph of the avocado plant. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind cod, either. Any firm white fish is good with me, and I even like oilier ones like mackerel.
DeleteI love your tree...and your fish and chips are making me hungry...
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can get some delivered!
DeleteYour dinner looks wonderful! I would definitely eat the batter, but I'd probably only make it halfway through that huge portion of fish! I would regret eating the batter later (heartburn!). But I would THOROUGHLY enjoy it while I ate it.
ReplyDeleteYour avocado picture reminds me of pictures that Dr. M takes of the full moon through the trees :)
I just can't do fried food. I've lost my taste for all that oil and breading. I loved it as a kid.
DeleteSteve, the president is NOT a god. You are right about that. But...he handed Syria over to the Russians. He turned a blind eye to the fact that Russia offered bounties for the death of American troops, he has children locked up on the borders right this minute that humanitarian groups are not allowed to check in on, he has bank accounts in China, he uses his office for personal gain, he enables white supremacy (encourages it even), he discredits the very democratic process which gave him power, he has put unqualified people in positions of power, he ignores a pandemic that has infected nearly 1bn Americans, and killed nearly 240,000 people. I could go on. I leave you with this thoughtL as Americans we have ever responsibility not to look at our country through the view point of what benefits us personally, but by what benefits us as a whole. I am glad that he is done. I cannot bring myself to read the right wing BS because I live among people like that. My husband is father to two of them. This has been an incredibly divisive 4 years for not only my family, but for our nation. The man is not god. You are right. But he has done incredible, incredible damage, inflicted terrible suffering for a mere mortal.
ReplyDeleteOh, believe me, I don't mean to minimize the evils of Trump. I just want people to keep this in perspective. Is he a horrible president, the worst we've ever had, as well as a horrible human being? Yes. Is it worth taking guns to the streets and killing each other? No.
DeleteSteve, Biden is so close to winning. We need this change.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! The whole PLANET needs this change.
DeleteI'm trying to catch up on New Yorkers too. Yesterday I finally polished off the last September issue and now it's on to October!
ReplyDeleteYou're about where I am, I think. I'm glad I'm not the only one running behind.
DeleteDebby has nailed it. And I can't forget how many voted for Trump, no matter the results. I can't stomach the cries from the right of election stealing, fraud and armed revolt. This country is breaking my heart.
ReplyDeleteIt is shocking, and mystifying, how many people still support him.
DeleteEven if Biden wins (please, please), it depresses me to see how many Americans voted for Trump and his values. It was sobering in 2016, but this time around it's much worse. People have seen him in action for four years and they love him more than ever - how can that even be??
ReplyDeleteFish and chips is a good antidote to the horror, though. It's called emotional eating for some of us :)
Yes, Jenny, what the figures show that America will continue to be a divided country. Reminds me of that game, forgotten the name momentarily, where two teams pull the rope on opposing sides. Back forth . . . back forth.
DeleteWhat I don't get either, and maybe you or Steve have an answer, what "democracy" is actually about. It appears, correct me if I am wrong, that some people vote for the politics of a party (Democrats/Republicans) whilst others focus on the LEADER (in this case, Trump/Biden). And then there is the whole caboodle of the public vote and the college vote. It shook me in 2016 that Clinton won the public vote yet the college vote went its own way and sat on Trump's lap. It's all very well to talk about democracy but, and I don't just mean America, even two thousand years plus after the Greek "invented" the concept it's ill defined - with truly strange and, often, almost impenetrable election rules. I remember a Kinks' song "Bend it, bend it, . . . " Most likely Trump's current lullaby.
U
Sorry. Forget the Kinks. Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick, Beaky and Tich were bending it. Same difference. A bit like the seven dwarfs, only five. I swear they stole the tune from "Zorba, The Greek".
DeleteSnow White greetings,
U
It IS discouraging to see how many people still support Trump. I don't get it. I think a lot of them are actually just not paying much attention to politics and they still see the reality-show Trump standing before them, or they believe all his mythology about being a self-made businessman, or they're voting Republican because they oppose abortion or want lower taxes or have some other pet issue.
DeleteOh, and some of them are racists -- there is that.
DeleteMy prayers seem to be answered. I always said every dog has their day and pay back is hell. You don't treat people the way this bitch has done and the little babies don't deserve what he has done to them. Every child need their parent. So many of them don't know where their parent are. That has to be stressful for those little Angels. They need to drag his ass out of the white house and set him on fire. So many people are hurting. I know my income will not change and I can live in my home and pay my bills but no one deserve what this man has done to so many people. What so bad about it is that he laugh about it and think it's cute. I guarantee when he leave the white house they are going to discover a lot of crooked shit he has been doing.
ReplyDeleteI think part of what's so galling about Trump is his attitude -- that tendency to, as you put it, "laugh about it and think it's cute." He's a repellent person.
DeleteThe list of what 'he' couldn't do during his four years in office makes an interesting read. I guessed breading was crumbing, but it seems it is batter.
ReplyDeleteI don't really distinguish between breading and batter, but that may be because I'm not a cook!
DeleteThe election count has been a roller coaster. I find some of the actions very frightening. Trump as usual, is fanning the flames. After this there will be some very rich lawyers.
ReplyDeleteI just don't see how his legal challenges can come to fruition. You can't argue that people's votes shouldn't be counted. Even the most conservative judges in the land won't go along with that.
DeleteIt seems really weird that you and I sat in a pub in your neighborhood barely one month over a year ago and ate fish and chips and drank beer. What the hell?
ReplyDeleteWas that a year ago?! Sheesh. Time flies! Why didn't we have martinis? LOL
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