Shipwrecked & Comatose

How I dress is pretty important to me. Clothes aren't just what I wear to avoid being naked.  Clothes are fun.  They are a form of self expression. They help me look my best. I might even go as far to say they are form of art that also conveniently prevent me from being naked. Dressing isn't always easy.  I have a body that's hard to fit.  I don't have a million spare hours to browse every store and website to find pieces I love.  I also don't have unlimited funds for buying the right clothes when I do find them.  Sometimes I need help trying to find out what's out there and how to put it together into the perfect outfit.  This is what makes style bloggers so useful.  They are out there finding the trends and making the purchases and putting the outfits together.  I can look at an outfit post and see if I can replicate it with something I already have in my closet, or I can use it to determine if I want to buy something new.  They pr...

The morning of January 1, 2018 I turned on my computer and logged into Facebook.  I read a few posts, and then went into my account settings.  When I arrived at the right page, I took a deep breath, hovered for a moment, and then hit "Request Deletion" button. It was easier than I expected it to be.  I didn't even ask to download the archives first.  I burned the whole thing down.  No one but my mother and my husband knew I would be doing this.  I had over three hundred friends sleeping off their hangovers who had no idea they wouldn't see me when they logged into their Facebook accounts that morning. There is a good chance if you're reading this right now, you noticed my absence and are wondering what happened.  You came to my blog for answers. It is also possible you are here for any other reasons.  Maybe you are just a Red Dwarf fan who came here by accident. Whether you want the answer or not, this post is here to provide one for you....

What should the role of a First Lady be? Ever since her ( lying, misogynist, racist, corrupt ) husband took office, Americans have closely observed the actions of his wife Melania.  Why does she always look so miserable? Why does she seem to actively avoid her husband (remember when she slapped his hand away)?  Does she really enjoy the perks of the job?  Does she really want the responsibility? Right from the beginning the pundits speculated that not only did she not want the job, but she was actively shunning it.  She spent five months living away from the White House with the excuse that she didn't want her son to switch schools.  The rumors swirled that she was not interested in the implied job of White House social secretary and national hostess.  Perhaps that was going to be Ivanka's job. Eleven months later the speculation is still going strong.  Even though Melania is taking on some of the social roles expected of a First Lady, she doesn'...

Whenever I hear friends and acquaintances blather on about how much they love fall, one of the most common reasons they state is a love of Halloween.  If fall is their favorite time of year, then Halloween is their favorite holiday. What is it about Halloween?  Is it the joy we take in artifice?  Do we believe costumes can transform us into something or someone else?  Do we think decorating with undead characters and murderers and mystical figures puts us in an acceptable place to explore our own dark sides?  Do we like to scare ourselves?  In the end, is it just an excuse to eat too much and (for adults) drink excessively just like almost any other holiday we celebrate in the US? I don't think any of these things are a bad reason to like Halloween.  I just question if celebrating Halloween excessively really accomplishes any of this. Halloween has become a massive commercial enterprise.  It is second only to Christmas.  Costume shops p...

I know I talk way too much about how much I hate this time of year.  I will say again much of that talk is less about real issues with the time of year and more about the end of summer and the constant hyping of Halloween, pumpkin spice, and what I call the "Basic Blather" about crunchy air and sweaters.  Regardless, I think some of my concerns are legitimate.  I don't like the dark and the weather is rarely as perfect as everyone wants it to be.  Most of all, I take issue with the traffic. This past weekend I was driving home after a long day at the barn.  I had plans for the evening and I wanted to go home and relax for a bit before going back out again.  I was cruising down Route 94 when traffic went from a clip to a creep.  Where was the backup coming from?  It was coming from the traffic pouring out of the road leading from Ochs Orchard to the traffic light.  Once I was past that traffic jam, I drove by Pennings Orchard .  Whil...

Let me start by saying right away that you may be offended by the beginning of this post.  You won't like it. I'm sure it will make you angry.  That's fine, but before you decide to vent your anger back at me, please read the entire post.  You may not think I'm such a bad person after this is finished.  My purpose is to bring hope and cooperation. With so many tragedies happening across the country right now, many friends have requested I pray for them, or else pray for others who may be suffering.  That's all you want me to do - pray.  You want me to ask a deity - and I'm sure you mean the deity you personally worship - to do something for you.  I suppose it's an easy way for me to respond to your problems.  I pray for God (or gods) to help you. Better God than me, right? Let's say I decide to help you by praying.  How do I go about doing that?  I go to a quiet place where I won't be interrupted.  It might be my home and it mig...

The Civil War was a black stain on our country's history.  Half of the states in the United States committed an attack of treason against our country and attacked us for the right to no longer be a part of us.  Their motivation for doing so was so they could continue their horrific abuse of human rights in the form of slavery. We should never forget the Civil War, but we shouldn't glorify it.  Heroes of the Confederacy should not have a place of prominence in the public square.  We should not be honoring their efforts.  They betrayed our country and they lost badly.  Many of these statues and memorials were erected in the 20th Century rather than during or after the Civil War.  This reverence for the era of slavery and the violent protection of it, happened during the height of Jim Crow laws.  These memorials were meant to be a reinforcement of institutionalized racism It makes sense for decent people to want them down and placed in a museum r...