How About A Sunday Sixteen?

Since I didn’t get around to posting a Thursday 13 last week, or the week before, I’ve decided to catch up with a Sunday Sixteen.

1.    The weather since my last Thursday 13 has been everything from snow to highs in the 70s. 

2.    Fortunately, the hyacinth survived the snow, and more have sprouted.

3.    The past few days have been warm.  It was even warm enough for shorts yesterday! 

4.    I know the warm weather isn’t going to last, but I am determined to enjoy it as much as possible while we have it, so I spent a lot of time outside yesterday. 

5.    Since this is time change weekend, we’ll at least get to enjoy more light and longer days even when it gets cold again. 

6.    The daffodils have bloomed.

7.    One lone tulip has sprouted.  There’s no flower yet, but I’m hopeful.

8.    There’s a little bit of green on the hydrangea I trimmed earlier this year.

9.    The forsythia is also starting to bloom.

10. Unfortunately, there is something in the yard that gives me a terrible rash.  It’s not poison ivy, oak, or sumac, but we haven’t been able to figure out what causes it.  It doesn’t even happen every year.  This is a rash year, though, so I’m currently sporting a calamine bandage. 

11. Since we’ve never been able to determine the cause, the dermatologist just always has me double up on allergy medications and wrap it in a calamine bandage.  If it gets too out of control, they’ll prescribe steroids.  

12. At this point, I’m pretty good at starting to treat it before it gets too bad, and we just take care of it at home without the need for a doctor’s visit and steroids. 

13. I know it’s not officially spring yet, but I’ve switched to spring-themed cards and stickers for my Chemo Angels buddies. 

14. Last Sunday, we saw the play Suffs at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC.  It was an excellent show, and one that I think everyone should see. 

15. We had voted in the primaries just a few days before we saw it, so it was especially poignant to be reminded how much so many brave women fought and endured. 

16. Finally, enjoy this picture of Theodore. 

What We Can Do: Write Postcards to Restore Fair Elections in Virginia

In case you haven’t heard, Virginia has a proposed Constitutional Amendment to be voted on in their April 21 special election.  It’s in response to Trump’s claim that he’s “entitled” to more Republican seats. 

Photo Credit Here

Governor Abigail Spanberger does an excellent job explaining it in this video.  (The video is short and definitely worth watching.)

Postcards to Swing States has a postcard campaign going on now to urge people to vote yes on April 21^st.  You can order the postcards in batches of 100 and are expected to mail them between April 7^th and 14^th. 

I’ve signed up to send 200 of the postcards because I think having this measure in place will help safeguard the midterm elections.  

Thursday 13: Much Better Weather!

This week’s Thursday 13 finds me much happier about the weather.

1.    We’ve had a few warm days that have been absolutely wonderful.  I know it’s probably not going to last, but I am determined to enjoy the warmer days for now.

2.    One of our hyacinths has even bloomed! 

3.    Some of the others have green shoots.

4.    Some of the daffodils have been sprouting too.

5.    These are in the front yard.

6.    These are next to the carport.

7.    I decided to try the milk jug greenhouse thing I’ve seen on Facebook.  If you’re not familiar, the idea is that you clean a milk jug (or similar container), put some drain holes in the bottom, slice it almost in half so you can access the inside, and plant seeds in it.  The idea is that the plastic jug serves as a greenhouse and keeps the seedlings warm enough to be outside and get an early start.  It’s also supposed to eliminate the need for hardening off seedlings.

8.    I’ve never tried it before, so I’m not sure if it works.  It sounds like it could, though, so I decided to give it a try.  If it doesn’t work, I can just use the potting soil for something else.  The seeds will be the only loss.  I started three of them (two different kinds of snapdragons and one zinnia) on Saturday.  I’ll let you know what happens. 

9.    In other yard-related news, I’m still working on the trimming/pruning I can do during the cold weather.  This is from about a month ago (before the first snowstorm hit.

10. Here’s the before.

11. And here’s the after.  I think I made some progress. 

12. A Thursday 13 doesn’t seem complete without at least one cat picture, so here’s one of Caroline.

13. And a few of Theodore.  

What We Can Do: Support RAINN

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen at least a few snippets of the Epstein files.  You’ve probably noticed that not much has been done to punish the perpetrators or support the victims. 

Photo Credit Here

There were horrific acts committed against children and young women, and it seems like most of the perpetrators are going unpunished.  Unfortunately, this kind of sexual violence is rampant.  If you’re anything like me, you’re feeling so much rage right now.  It’s hard to know where to channel it or what to do with it. 

That’s where RAINN comes in.  I know that educating yourself on what grooming and sexual exploitation look like doesn’t feel like much.  I know that donating to an organization working to end sexual violence doesn’t feel like much.  But it’s what we as ordinary people can do, and I’d rather focus on what I can do than what I can’t do.

Per RAINN’s website, they are “the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization and operator of the National Sexual Assault Hotline, RAINN’s mission is to stop sexual violence by supporting survivors, holding perpetrators accountable, and creating safer communities.” 

If you take nothing else from this post, I encourage (okay, beg) you to read about grooming here.  If you’re not familiar, grooming is defined as “the deliberate act of building trust with a child, teen, or at-risk adult (such as an adult with a cognitive impairment) for the purpose of exploiting them sexually. Grooming typically starts with friendship, mentorship, or kindness that gradually turns into manipulation, control, and sexual abuse or assault.”

RAINN also provides helpful information about advocacy at the local, state, and national levels.  One of their recommendations is to find and support your state’s coalition against sexual assault.  They recommend a Google search with your state and keywords such as “anti-sexual assault coalition.” 

For example, in North Carolina, it’s NCCASA, North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault.  They work on everything from legislation to funding and staffing rape crisis centers.  I’m not sure about other states, but NCCASA has a paid membership that is a great way to help support their work. 

I know these are tiny things, not even a drop in the bucket, really, but it seems better than just screaming into the void.  

What We Can Do: Postcards to Swing States

Photo Credit Here

I like to think of myself as a “put your money where your mouth is” person.  I find social media justice warriors and people who make a lot of noise but never seem to actually do anything to be extremely annoying.   

I don’t care how great a writer you are; no Facebook, Blogger, Instagram, or TikTok post is going to fix what is wrong in our country right now. 

Publicly declaring your stance seems like a logical first step, but I don’t think it should be the only thing we do.  I never meant for my post last week to be all that I did.  It was part rant and part declaration of where I stand. 

I’ve spent the past week trying to decide what I’m going to do.  My blog is so small, I’m not even sure it’s accurate to call it a platform, but it’s what I have, so I’m going to use it.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by how bad things are right now.  I think most people are exhausted and already feel pulled in a million different directions.  That can lead to paralysis and make it feel like things are so bad that it doesn’t matter if we do anything or not. 

I suspect that’s how evil wins: by exhausting and demoralizing the decent people who are trying to fight for what’s good and kind. 

Fortunately, there are so many people out there who haven’t given up and are continuing to fight to uphold basic human decency.  The bravery and dedication of some of the people in the ICE terrorized cities is inspiring. 

Not all of us are in a position to attend protests.  Not everyone can be as vocal and visible in how they resist.  But I firmly believe that we can all do something.  To that end, I’m committing to making Wednesday the day that I share something we can do. 

In all likelihood, they will be tiny, quiet things, but hopefully, that’s better than nothing.

This week, I would like to share Postcards to Swing States with you.  They currently have one campaign going on, which is News Boosting Postcards.  Per their website, these postcards are to “help combat disinformation and make sure voters in states with key elections in 2026 learn how harmful the Trump/GOP agenda is for them. We’ll send you free postcards, voter lists and instructions. You’ll provide the stamps and have until April to write the postcards.”

They provide the postcards (free of charge), scripts, and addresses, and you’re responsible for writing and mailing them on the appropriate date.  You can order them in increments of 100, and there’s an option to choose to send them to Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, or where most needed.

I ordered 500 and chose to send them where most needed.  It was very tempting to choose North Carolina since that’s where I live, but I feel like the people running this have a lot more experience than I do, and therefore, a much better idea of where they’ll do the most good. 

I only recently ordered mine, so I haven’t received them yet, but I’ll keep you updated on when I get them and how it goes.