July 4, 2020 ~ Which Flag Will You Wave?

What's important isn't important anymore. This is how I feel in the land of Covid-19.  On this July 4, 2020 we are not the land of the free - not today. Let me just speak for myself. I'm tired of the phrase "We're all in this together" by now. Because we're not. The all part isn't working anymore. Nice try, but it never did. When millions of individual families on planet earth are facing this kind of economic and personal uncertainty, we are fragmented by default and circumstance. This virus is 911 on steroids.  There are two kinds of fear I am seeing so clearly - fear of the virus and fear of each other.
 If you are trying to feed your family and keep them protected in the midst of this hell, then you are on an island of fear all by yourself. Where IS that together part? We can look around and see our neighbors suffering, try to help the best we can, but right now we all have our own oar to row. 
 If you are offended because you're afraid someone is going to take away your liberties by trying to keep you safe, then you are the one living in fear, not the other way around.  You won't make coronavirus go away by pretending you don't see it. The virus won't magically pass you by because you refuse to respect its peculiar DNA.   And if you piggyback your political agenda and your hatefulness to this already sobering event, you're even more of the problem. It's what bullies do.  It's a thirst for power covered in fear.  Fear of anything is still fear.  Feel strong now?
It's important in this time to mitigate fear as well. I have a healthy respect for what the scientists and doctors are saying. I have a healthy respect for this virus. But you have to do that with common sense action, not reaction to every little trigger word your opinion wants to jump on. Me?  I want to jump on this virus and I'll support any scientific protocol that gives me the best chance of doing that. Do I have opinions about all the other noise I hear right now? Of course I do.  But now is not the time. Not the time. Not the time. I'm not feeling free or happy today. I feel like we're obliviously waving at a cunning enemy as it floats on by with a wink and a nod while we're waving this flag and that flag and his flag and her flag. Where is our flag?   And for those of you who feel that 50,000 new cases a day in the United States is not enough for you to believe in the reality of this monster, then I ask you to say that to the 525 million families of those who have died alone without comfort or hope. Say that to the coffins stacked up in morgues and left on Rikers Island until further review. Because doctors and nurses don't have time to sort out your opinions before they try to save your life. Your beliefs don't matter when they're gently wrapping your body in a white flag of final surrender. Ask them how real it is.    I  I am an American and I love my country. This is my home. But on this day I see more division than I've ever seen. Why? Because we're not taking care of each other. The only thing at this moment we should be unified in is stopping this virus. But we can't. We're too busy waving flags of opinion to see the devil at our door.  The only flag I am waving today is the white flag of surrender - laying down my fightin' words in this moment of crisis, saving my opinions for a better day and taking up the common sense God gave me. It's been in short supply in the world lately.  We need a huge double dose right now. When this is contained and over, I'm going to throw a big 'ole party with the people I love, those I'm missing right now who are breaking my heart, those I haven't touched or hugged or kissed in months. When the masks come off, I'll gather them anew with mountains of food and music in a yard full of laughing kids with lemonade and baseball. There will be new things to celebrate and we will fly the stars and stripes. But today is not that day. First, I have to focus on surviving.  I can't speak for you, but I'm waving a flag for humanity too.  That we will SEE what's important so that we can finally cross this bridge whole and in one piece - truly free. It starts with me. Wearing my mask. Washing my hands. Staying home. Listening to doctors and scientists. Doing my own research. Listening to my healthcare team. Being careful. Doing my best.  Loving my neighbor as myself. 

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Sunday Stealing: Spooning with Dumplings

This meme was featured on the site meme-stealing site Sunday Stealing today (June 2020).  Here are my original answers from 2009 when it was written.

Welcome back to the 3rd edition of The Queen's Meme. Each week the type of meme will change; sometimes silly, sometimes serious, but always fun! Enjoy your time in the castle.
And remember, don't end up in the dungeon.

The Cooking Meme (What Is The Meaning of Thyme and Other Deep Questions) Please join us.

Contrary to popular belief, the Queen has been known to accidentally cook something edible. Although I've given the gift of food poisoning to a boyfriend or two in the past, I actually made the food you see here. Don't ask me how 'cause I could never do it again. I made up the recipe and lived to tell it. Welcome to my Kitchen of Culinary Delights! Dinner is at eight.

1. If you could put thyme in a bottle, what is the first thing that you'd like to do?

Only thyme will tell.

2. Do eggs really crack or do they merely have a nervous breakdown?

I sent mine to the laboratories of Schuster and Scheister for a thorough embryonic cell research analysis. The diagnosis was appalling! They told me that the first six in any dozen are usually crack babies - they, unfortunately, really crack. The others just go to Six-Step Programs
Who knew?!

3. Why are you whipping the butter? What did it ever do to you?

You were sent by the PETA (People For Equal Treament of Margarine and Oleo Association) weren't you?




4. Do your spoons spoon in the drawer? Have you ever noticed? And more importantly, if wooden spoons spoon do they get splinters?


**Mimi girl, you really have an overactive imagination. Maybe you should take a pill for that.** Wait wait......My spoons are special. They met on a dating site. Are they little spoons or big spoons? Size matters in the spoon world. Is this a first date? Is the drawer open or closed? Has there been an exchange of phone numbers? Is alcohol involved?! I need more information if I'm going to counsel my virgin spoons on the fine art of mating. We don't just spoon with anyone here ya know.


5. You hear: "Dumpling, my Dumpling, come hither." The candles are lit, the fondue is dipping, the Godiva is pouring, the scallions are steaming and the music is playing.....but wait, the windows are open.
Why did you close them?

I didn't want the neighbors to see me stir the dumpling.



6. Do you need a recipe to cook or are you a bohemian chef? Show us your reckless and wild side in the kitchen. Don't have one? Here's a recipe I made just for you: You will need a spatula, a whisk, a gallon of Chardonnay, a banana and a rump roast. What is the name of your dish?



Her name was Rhonda Rump. She helped me with my recipe called The Queen's Royal Truffle. After gently seasoning the beef with a Chardonnay-dipped spatula and whisking the banana into a smashed frenzy of mush - I drank the rest of the wine and asked Rhonda if I could borrow her shoes. (If I drank it first I'd pass out and never get any cookin' done ya see)

Am I wearing a cute little chef's hat too?



7. After dinner, the dishes are so dirty that the dishwasher refuses to wash them. What did they say to get in hot water? They cursed the Queen for writing this horrid meme.

8. Is your pot black? My pots are black. My pans are white. We are an interracial kitchen.

9. What is the sexiest spice or condiment in your cabinet?

What makes it so? They're all pretty scandalous but I'm partial to the Virgin Olive Oil. Is that a spice?

I soak my hair in it once a month. Seriously. Want shiny hair? It's fabulous!

10. How much crock is really in your crock pot?

You can never have enough crock when writing a blog.

My crock over-floweth.

See what I mean?

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Monday Mimisms: Working On a Protest in My Mind

As the world marches for change and attempts to obliterate a lethal global virus at the same time, I, too, am a work in progress. Working on my peace of mind. Pulling up some weeds.  Working on a mind at war with worry.  Working on controlling the swirl of dancing chants between my ears. Did I say too much? Do I need to temper truth with political correctness?  I already know the answer to that is a resounding NO.    *Just be kind, Mimi, just be truthful.* 
Working on subduing my thoughts and surrendering to my Higher Self.  Working on a protest in my mind. Wait a minute...
R.E.V.E.L.A.T.I.O.N.
The word working is NOT the way to do it....
ultimately realizing that each time I try try try try like The Little Engine That Could, I circle right back into questioning and the whole cycle starts all over again.

The noise. The chatter. The confusion. It all came out to play today. There's an entire trumpet section of dissenting voices carrying NO PEACE signs in the halls of Bloggingham.  The dandelions are overtaking the mums.


So, I'll stop. I'll change it. I'll simply change my mind.  I won't TRY to do it, I'll just do it.  Isn't it up to me to change the atmosphere in here?   Breathe.  Sit.  Take my mask off.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Listen.  Pray. 

The only Voice I should be listening to is my own.
If it's aligned with the Voice of Love, all I have to do is agree with It.

Surrender.  Receive.  Strengthen.  Renew.  Surrender.
That's better. No more weeds. No more unrest.

Digging deep in struggle is how you cultivate and grow a peaceful heart. Walking on.

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Memorial Day 2020

Honor and respect

This is a fascinating video about guarding The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

It is comforting to acknowledge tradition and dignity in these troubled times.

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Do Your Census Answers Count If You're Wearing a Mask??!

Today we're playing the always delightful meme Saturday 9, with your host Sam Winters. Thanks to Bud and Gal for creating and writing this weekly meme. Since we can't go to the movies right now, we'll pretend we're enjoying Gaga and Cooper's version of A Star is Born with a big bowl of popcorn. 

I will put on my usual snarky hat.

Always Remember Us This Way (2018) Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.
1) In this song, Lady Gaga sings about the Arizona sky and California gold. Have you visited many of our western states?
None of the western states. But I've seen the Bloggingham sky. Does that count?
2) She sings that she's overwhelmed and can't find the words to express herself. Do you find it easier to share your feelings verbally or in writing? 
Writing is like breathing to me....although I will say that I'm not one to hold back much of anything either way. Life's too short to suffer fools.
3) Her real name is Stefani Germanotta. She took her stage name from the Queen song, Radio Gaga. Do you have a favorite Queen song?   God Save the Queen...of course
4) Her dad is Joe Germanotta, president of GuestWifi, a company that enables hotels and restaurants to offer high-speed wifi to their customers. Do you consider yourself tech savvy?
I've been blogging for fifteen years. I think I'm on top of things. 
5) Early in her career, Lady Gaga performed songs for a children's audio book called The Portal in the Park. Tell us about the last book you finished -- did you listen to an audiobook, or read a download to an electronic device or a bound book with pages?
 I'm currently reading The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett It's not for the faint of heart.     
6) She prefers dogs to cats and tea to coffee.  Do you agree with her?

Persian Patticakes

Homer the Palace Dog

I don't have any pets in the real world (except for my precious Homer and Persian Patticakes here on the blog) and I love all pet peace bloggers. Virtual pets are very easy to care for. See how well-behaved she is? Homer is a different story.... Tea and coffee are a tie.
7) Back in 2015, she appeared at the Academy Awards, performing a medley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music. The movie's star, Julie Andrews, graciously came onstage to thank Gaga for her showstopping performance. Whom did you most recently thank?   
The maskless Census Taker. We social distanced in the driveway. By the way, are they going to be able to tell it's really us with our masks on?? How scientific can this be? How will they know it's me without my lipstick?? Forty years from now no one will be able to trace any human beings who lived on earth. The census depends on who we are quarantined with on April 1st...which further complicates things because it's April Fool's Day.   Currently, that consists of five chickens, three exes, four ghosts, a wild raccoon and a few bushy-tailed squirrels for good measure.

Intrusive much??

8) In 2018, when this song was first released, retailer Toys R Us closed all its stores and went out of business. What's the last toy you purchased?  Toys for my grandchildren
9) Random question: How has social media made your life better?   I've formed real friendships with people on Facebook because I either knew them in "real life" or we've blogged together since the days of Noah's Ark.  We've learned to communicate in a new way. I suppose that's "better" in a neighborly internet way.  It is NOT better for my stress level. So much vitriol and political snarkiness on social media. But I think we'll come back 'round full circle to the blog door once again.  In case you haven't noticed, the world's gone a little haywire.


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Monday Mimisms ~ Coronavirus For Baby Boomers

Don't blink or you'll miss it.
We're all just trying not to die. Life in the land of corona has turned fools into deep thinkers and the cerebral into fools. Do you feel the shift? Have you heard your doors whispering? Can you hear insanity calling?  Don't tell... but I think it might be the placebo effect weighing heavily on our collective paranoia - nothing to be concerned about really. It's just that for baby boomers we reluctantly understand that this long strange trip just got a lot stranger. We all read Orwell's 1984 in high school.
I see long lines of upper middle class SUVs waiting for loaves of bread and sacks of potatoes to be tossed into lifted hatchback trunks in food pantry drive-throughs. Masked people wearing worry like a sleeve. Unmasked people worrying about the people in the masks. We see you much more clearly than you think; there's something about hiding one's face that brings out bravado and brilliance -ask any bank robber, heart surgeon, or keyboard bully. I see confused children sitting alone with laptops in living rooms with no teacher - learning lessons they are too young to understand.  And then there's us. But don't worry about the boomers...we survived polyester pantsuits and Jim Baker. We'll be all right.
I've been alone a long time by choice. 
 I love my independence and enjoy my own company - but I've never felt this lonely.  I sensed it so keenly over Easter weekend. And it has given rise to that funky little byproduct of jail time  - perspective.
I've put off writing about how this pandemic has affected me. It seems so selfish. After all, I'm not hungry or unemployed or suffering physically from this unforgiving plague. I'm so sad for those who are. So sad I can hardly stand it.  What is WRONG with me?? I asked. I'm usually the voice of reason and peace. Why can't I handle a little bit of gigantic amount of stress??   Oh.  Maybe because it's not normal to keep an ongoing global headcount of people dying by the hour on the big screen TV we call life?  It's our new normal.   A normal we all hate.
I realized that if I don't get something scribbled on blog paper soon, I'm going to explode and
 maybe take a few people with me. It's been building in a way that made me worry more about my pride and less about snapping at people I care about. That can't be healthy: so here I am writing at midnight. It's my way of getting a grip on something nobody has  control over. Unrealistic much, Mimi? Maybe. But it's my way.
  I began self-isolating the first week of March, opening pick-up grocery accounts and exploring pharmacy delivery options. I've been determined to stay put for my own safety and in consideration for others.  I haven't been sick with any COVID-19 symptoms that I'm aware of, but since I'm in the high-risk category even the slightest cough or warm-cheek feeling sends my head spinning with fear.    I'm having trouble sleeping and my dreams are prophetically urgent. Is this what happens to soldiers in foxholes? Now, I get it. We've become instant hypochondriacs. Or maybe I should just speak for myself.
When this is over, we'll have a nation and world full of PTSD.  Some of us already had enough life drama to deal with thank you very much. We didn't need forced quarantine to mess with our heads.  Eternal solitude is not good for our mental health. But I'll tell you what it IS good for -  perspective.
Is anybody home? 

I miss touch. I miss kisses. I miss hugs. I miss looking into someone's eyes knowing what they're going to say before they say it. Boomers are intuitive because psychedelic rock lyrics made us Grateful...but not Dead.   Did you catch that?  

One day soon, when all this is over and the world begins to turn again, I'm going to make sure all my face-to-face encounters mean something more than a hasty hello and goodbye.  I might wink at stray dogs and millennials for a change.
 There are people I'm waiting to embrace - I mean really embrace.  Oh, I'm making my list. And those kisses....well..... I'll keep that to myself for now. There are those I want to love on awhile and listen to their housebound war stories. I'll let them tell me all about it over cups of steaming coffee and vodka shots. Some I will never look at the same way again because when the long strange trip drops a sledgehammer of perspective on your quarantined doorstep, you suddenly have miles and miles of minutes to think about wasted time.   Ain't nobody got time for that. 
 BC (Before Coronavirus) was just stale cornbread in a souffle world.  We've just learned how alive life is supposed to be. 
We're all just trying not to die.




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Bubble Wrap Might Come in Handy

Saturday 9: Everybody's Somebody's Fool (1960)  Today we are playing a fun meme.
1) Next Wednesday is April Fool's Day. Do you have any pranks planned?  Do you expect to fall victim to any April Fool's Day mischief?
There is no mischief in the castle at this time.  I'm all alone. It's a little difficult to prank yourself. 

2) When she was a kid, Crazy Sam would fool her mom by putting bubble wrap under the bath map so there would be a POP! when her mother stepped on it. When you encounter bubble wrap, do you always indulge in a pop or two?
That crazzzzzzzy crazzzy Sam! Great question.  It might be a good idea to wrap ourselves in bubble wrap right now.

3) While we're using this song to celebrate April Fool's Day, it was written about another subject entirely: heartbreak. The lyrics tell us that at some point, we each get our hearts broken by someone who doesn't love us as much as we love them. Do you think that's true?
No, relationships are more complicated than that.  But that kind of uneven heartbreak is devastating. 

4) In 1962, this week's featured Connie Francis published a book aimed at teens called For Every Young Heart. It addressed topics like going steady and schoolwork vs. social life. Do you ever read advice columns or self-help books?
We all could use a little help right now. I love to study and learn new things.

5) Connie Francis can play the accordion. Sam has never met anyone adept at this complicated instrument -- not even in her high school band. What about you? Do you play the accordion, or do you know anyone who can?
Yes, Homer and I have the accordion band over every Friday night. 

6) In 1960, when this record was popular, Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird was published. Have you read it? In high school
7) Also in 1960, one of Life magazine's best-selling issues had Sophia Loren on the cover. At that time, she was an international film star and considered one of the world's most beautiful women. Who do you consider one of 2020's most beautiful women?
Pretty is as pretty does. Jane Goodall is 85 and still changing the world. 
8) A 1960 issue of Vogue acknowledged how expensive it had become to maintain a fashionable wardrobe and asked, "If you were to buy only one thing, what would it be?" If it's good enough for Vogue, it's good enough for Saturday 9: If you could purchase only one new article of clothing for spring 2020, what would you buy?
a pencil skirt  or a sassy polka dot dress


















9) Random question: When someone makes you really angry, are you more likely to respond with stony silence or a big noise?
Stony silence just gives you ulcers.
 

Thank you Gal for hosting this meme. I needed a diversion.

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