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.  

Thursday 13: A VERY Random Edition

Since we’ve had so much snow, and I’ve been staying inside so much (because I HATE snow), I don’t have much for a Thursday 13 this week.

So, it seems like a good time to share a very random assortment of pictures that I’m fairly sure I haven’t posted here before.

1.    Of course, I’m going to start off with a cat picture.  I think Mortimer looks adorable here.  

2. This was at a vacation rental that we stayed at in 2023.  I think these hand mirrors are antique (or at least vintage).  They were displayed on a wall in the bathroom, and I thought it was a great idea.  It seemed like a fun way to display a collection without really taking up space.

3.    I enjoy taking pictures of the sky, and I thought it was beautiful this particular evening.

4.    I’m not sure what these little white flowers are called, but I think they’re pretty.

5.   This hibiscus was at a vacation rental we stayed at in 2022.

6.  This was on vacation in 2021.  It was insanely humid that day, and the camera lens fogged, but I liked how it made the picture look kind of mysterious and moody.

7.  Theodore loves it when we get a suitcase out of the closet. 

8.    So does Mortimer.

9.    This was sunrise on Kiawah Island on our 2024 vacation.

10.  This was the first time I successfully built a cooking fire entirely on my own after Hurricane Helene.  I’m not the outdoorsy type, so it felt like a major accomplishment.

11.  This was when a possum stopped by the critter corner.

12.  This was one of the few beach pictures I took on vacation last year before we got sick.

13.  Finally, here's a flower picture that, according to the date stamp, I took on February 29, 2024. I'm trying to remind myself that the snow will melt and spring will eventually arrive! 

Are you also eagerly anticipating warmer weather? 

 

Maybe We’re Finally Thawing Out

Like most of you, we’ve had a lot of snow and ice lately.  I know “a lot” is relative when it comes to snow and ice.  But for here, where most of us panic at the mention of snow, and almost none of us can drive in it, what we’ve had is definitely a lot. 

From the first round.  It's mostly ice.  There are icicles on the bird feeders.

Last weekend (January 24^th -25^th), we had some snow, a lot of ice, and freezing rain.  There were widespread power outages.  We were some of the fortunate ones who didn’t lose power.  It flickered so much that we fully expected to lose it, but never did.  Nick’s office was closed for two days, and mine switched us all to telework.

Everything was coated in ice.

We had some warming and melting, but still had ice in several places by Friday.

This past weekend (January 31^st – February 1^st), we had snow and extreme cold.  I think we ended up with around six inches of snow in total.  It’s a little hard to tell because of the way the wind blew it around. 

From this past weekend.  We had more after I took this.  And there's ice from the week before underneath it in some places.

Again, we were fortunate and didn’t lose power.  It did get so cold, though, that the heater wasn’t able to keep up and was running around seven degrees colder than what it was set for. 

We did everything we could to keep the house warmer.  We hung blankets over the blinds in the windows to help insulate the house a little more.  I did some baking and made soups and chili.  We had neighbors over for soup and chili both weekends. 

My job has switched us all to telework again for at least the next day or two, which I’m happy about since I absolutely don’t drive in this kind of weather.   

Things are beginning to thaw out.  

There's still ice under some of this, so I don't trust it.

We are supposed to have highs ranging from 47 to 51 this weekend.  I’m so glad!  I haven’t left the house since January 23^rd, and I’m starting to go a little stir crazy.  I’m looking forward to getting out. 

I hate winter.  I really, really hate winter.  I started off in January trying to have a positive attitude about winter and trying to make the best of the cold, but at this point, I’m just over it.  I’m ready for spring! 

I would much rather be taking pictures of flowers than snow!

So, what about you?  Are you thawing out?  Ready for spring? 

I Have to Say This

I’ve been trying to write this post for a few days now. It’s a struggle to find the right words.

The words still aren’t right, and it’s rambly, but I have to say this.

Renee Good should still be alive.

Liam Ramos should be in preschool, not a detention center.

Alex Pretti should still be alive and caring for patients.

No one should be so terrified of being sent to a concentration camp that they cannot leave their house to go to work or the grocery store.

What’s happening in America is not okay.

If you are okay with what is happening, with mothers being murdered in the street, with children being used as bait, with ICU nurses being murdered for trying to help, then we’re not friends.  Not in real life, not online, not in any way. 

I’ve never considered myself a very political person.  I still don’t.  I would like to think I’m a decent person, though, and I cannot reconcile basic human decency with quietly ignoring what is happening. 

I’m not a political blogger.  I never have been.  Anytime I’ve had to classify my blog, I’ve clicked “lifestyle” because it’s mainly about the things in my life, the things that are important to me.  Most of those things are frivolous and silly, but they make me happy, so I share them. 

But, if you are murdered by your government, you cannot drink sweet tea, you cannot rescue cats, you cannot feed groundhogs, you cannot cook for the people you love, you will not see another spring, and you will miss out on so many things you should be there for. 

I am older than Renee Good and Alex Pretti were.  I’ve had years more to do and write about the things that matter to me and that make me happy.  And there’s still so much I want to do.  All of that was stolen from them. 

I don’t consider it “political” to say that it is not okay when what is essentially a masked army descends on a community and begins murdering citizens in the streets.  I call that basic human empathy. 

No one should live in fear because of the color of their skin or the accent they speak with.

No one should live in fear because of who they love.

No one should live in fear because of how they worship (or don’t worship).

No one should be murdered because they tried to be a good person and help their neighbors.

We are not okay.  What is happening in our country is not okay.

I don’t know how we got here, and I honestly don’t know how we come back from this.  But I am sure it is NOT by being silent. 

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” 

I’m still not a political blogger, but I’m also not going to be silent about what is happening.  Silence isn’t going to fix this. 

Thursday 13: My First One in 2026

1.     As usual, a cat picture seems like a good way to start this Thursday 13.  This is a picture of my sister’s cat, Flitwick, that I took when we were there for Christmas.

 

2.    Speaking of starting things, we started 2026 off by attending a party our friends Dennis and James hosted on New Year’s Day.  They have two adorable Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.  This picture is of Magnus.

 

3.    It would be nice if there’s any truth to the idea that what you do on January 1^st sets the tone for your year.  We had a great time at the party, met a lot of nice people, spent time with adorable and sweet pets, and enjoyed some delicious food.  Continuing that theme would make it a good year! 

4.    Another fun start to the year was doing an escape room for the first time.  We went with our friends Jen and Chuck.  The one we did was Clue themed (we had to figure out who, in what room, and what the weapon was, and we had an hour to do it). 

 

5.    It was the first time Nick and I did an escape room, and it was so much fun.  I definitely want to do one again! 

6.    I’ve set my reading goals for the year on The Storygraph.  

7.    My 2026 reading goal is 52 books, which is basically a book per week.  It seems reasonable.  I didn’t quite make it last year, but I think I would have if I hadn’t worked so much overtime in December.

 

8.    I’m technically one book behind already, but I’m very close to finishing a book and an audiobook, so I’m fairly sure I’ll catch up over the weekend. 

9.    Of those 52 books, I’ve set the goal for 26 of them to be audiobooks.  We have a backlog of purchased audiobooks we haven’t listened to yet, and there are so many available through the Libby app.  Since I have so many available and can listen to them while I do other things (I listened to an audiobook while I worked in the yard on Monday), it seems crazy not to make use of them. 

 

10. I’ve also set the goal for 12 of the 52 books to be non-fiction.  I mostly read fiction, and I don’t think that will ever change, but I would like to branch out and read a little more non-fiction.  Twelve a year is basically one a month, which seems like a good goal. 

 

11. If you’re on The Storygraph and want to be friends, my super-creative username is dlzecher. 

12. We downloaded camera pictures right before we left for my sister’s for Christmas, and I came across this one of Caroline that I like.  I think it shows off how pretty her face is. 

13. One more cat picture seems like a great way to end this.  Theodore has started tucking himself into bed sometimes, and it’s absolutely adorable.