Sigh.

I am selling my house. Or, at least, I will attempt to sell my house after I’ve whipped it into shape. I made this decision about a month ago. I lined up a realtor whom I adore. She has been a great coach giving me ideas about what I need to do and what isn’t so terribly important. However, the To Do list vastly outweighs the What’s Not Important list. What I have been doing is filling a dumpster with 18 years worth of STUFF. We all collect stuff. I had a basement filled with stuff. And closets. And cupboards. And drawers. And stuff shoved under sofas and chairs. If you’ve lived anywhere for more than 10 years, you probably know what I mean. When I move, I will downsize slightly. I aim for about 660 square feet of living space. So, I needed to get rid of a lot of stuff. And what I decided from the start...I am not packing and moving anything that I do not LOVE. Consequently, I filled a 20’ x 8’ x 5’ dumpster to the brim in the last three weeks.

And that’s aside from the vast quantity of STUFF reserved for a large yard sale in a couple of weeks.

What amused me most? People coming into my driveway to dumpster dive. People looking for useable items, or, in one woman’s case, items she could sell in her shop. I had to tell people to leave. Lots of nails and broken glass in the dumpster. Not a good idea to have strangers exposing themselves to injury in that manner.

A couple of weekends ago, my lad came home for the big weekend of emptying out the basement. He wondered how I felt about tossing out the bulk of my memories and evidence of a life previously lived. I said it was a little bit difficult, but I am not so invested in this stuff that I need to keep it. He whipped out his mobile phone and said, “Let’s take pictures of this stuff. That way you can always look at it and keep your memories without having to keep the stuff.” And that’s what we did. What a Great Idea!!

Now I am carpet cleaning, spackling walls, and doing all the little repairs that we all put off indefinitely. Well, in real life, “indefinitely” eventually has a terminus. So I’m doing the repairs now and wishing like heck that I’d done them a long time ago. Spackling and repairing and painting and replacing and whatnot. My days are about 14 hours long. From early morning til late in the evening, I’m working my butt off. We do what we have to do.

The thing that kills me...I’m making my house absolutely lovely for someone else. It’s funny, we live in our houses for years and years and fall blind to the most obvious blemishes. When it comes time to sell, we begin looking as though through a stranger’s eyes. All of a sudden our wonderful comfy home looks a bit down in the mouth and tatty.

Today, I did a pint’s worth of spackling. Tomorrow I’ll sand it and start the painting. I hate painting. It heads the list of things I dislike most about homeowning. This is where I desperately wish for a magic wand. Dream on, Kate.

I hope to have the house ready to list with my realtor by next weekend. I’m not entirely sure that’s going to happen, but either next weekend or the weekend after. This is an adventure in an iffy market. My realtor is quite positive. My town has been doing very well with real estate sales this year. But I do need to make my house as irresistible as possible. Keeping fingers crossed.

And wishing to wake up tomorrow in a tropical paradise. Just 24 hours. That’s all I need! Then I’ll paint without a whimper. What are the chances?

Richie Havens at Woodstock way back in 1969. This song was apparently improvised after he’d run through his repertoire, kept being called back for encores, and was desperate for material. It launched his career. Thank goodness.

Havens sings the same song, 40 years later, with greater subtlety, nuance, and depth. I could watch this all day long and still be endlessly fascinated by what he does with that guitar.

There is going to be a ‘by the people, for the people’ type Enough is Enough Rally on October 29 in Washington, DC and I will be there!!

Last time I did anything on this scale (and I am assuming this will turn into a large scale event--at least I surely hope so), was back in the 60’s when we marched against Viet Nam........never ever against our soldiers and veterans, but against the war.  And that is a story for another day!!

However, I am one of thousands of “Coffee Party Members” and to that end, they and a few other organizations have decided there will be a People’s Rally on the 29th.  I decided we would go and combine it with a visit with our older son and his girlfriend....nothing like inviting yourselves to someones’ house and saying BTW, we are participating in a March/Rally on the 29th!!  But they know me and love me in spite of my decisions!!  And my husband is on board for this one as well.

I was asked, as many others are being asked, to write a blog piece for the event and I just did.  I wish I had Kate’s way with words, but below is exactly what I sent.  Not sure where it goes from here, but somewhere I am sure. (Circular file??)

Why am I coming to the Rally on October 29???...........I wish I had some incredibly intellectual answer or could say a lightbulb (a real lightbulb) went off in my head, but it is simply a response to everything that has been happening in our world; it’s the right thing to do and the place we need to be. 

I am but one of the thousands, millions, more likely, long considered the ‘silent majority’.  We hate what is going on, are dismayed by the machinations of the people who have been elected to serve the people, yet we continue to sit silently by while they destroy everything past generations believed in and worked so hard for. It is no longer enough to just rant to your friends, to tweet or sound off on Facebook.  I think we need to be there, be seen and be heard.  Perhaps by standing up and speaking out, more and more will follow suit.  It is time to drown out the rhetoric of those who would have you believe they speak for us and, in fact, only speak to their own lives and their own wallets and the people who continue to line those wallets.

The time to be silent is long gone.  When I listen to elected officials, who were elected by the people to serve the people openly admit their main goal, their only goal is to defeat President Obama in 2012, you know something is dreadfully wrong.  Really?  Defeat our President??  What about the thousands of children in this country who go to bed hungry and get up hungry each day.  what about the people who cannot get (and if the tea party has their way, will never get) medical insurance?  Did they forget about the people who are unemployed, who have been for 2 years or more and probably have little or no hope of finding employment that will allow them to provide for their families and live with dignity.  Many Republicans don’t care.  I care. We should all care.

Democrats are far from perfect, we have bad apples too; however, this current crop of ignorant Republicans, particularly the tea party members, campaigned on JOBS.  They were going to be the party that set the country back on the right track.  Well, what they neglected to say was the track was a track for the top 2% to more wealth, a track for the ultra rich, many of whom have never done an honest day’s work in their life. Their wealth?  Garnered on the backs of the rest of us.  Oh wait, they are not the ultra rich, they are the ‘job creators’...and if you believe that one, then you deserve to have someone like Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin or, better yet just throw all their names in a hat and pick one, running the country.

They have turned our political processes into a joke and I am fed up.  We need solutions, not rhetoric, We need people to come together for the good of this nation, not for the good of corporations (who, by the way are not people) and we need these politicians to remember why they were elected.  It is time to take back our country from the fat cats, the special interest groups and work together to build our country back to what it can and should be.

I have so much more to say, but I think this is enough for the moment.  We have to start someplace and this is the place.  I can only hope and pray we have not put it off too long.

And now, they emailed to say that since they are going to make this an open mike event (with hopefully Dylan Ratigan, Jon Stewart and others) for the ‘people’, would I consider speaking… Oh.My.God.  Just what they/I need.............Send me your thoughts so if I do, I can speak for ‘my’ people!! ;)

So stay tuned, this ride could turn into an interesting one!!

Ciao’

Looking down the beach. Pretty pink clouds.

Looking up the beach. Some fog beginning to roll in. These expensive houses sit on the raw edge of nothing. I’m sure the owners hope those heavy rocks prevent more beach erosion and don’t end up in their living rooms during some fierce ocean storm.

I cannot help thinking, though, that while Charlie has obviously fried his brains over the years - and only he knows the extent of that - I personally think he is crazy...........like a fox.  A very sly fox.  If I were in a position to bet money, I would put it on him, he is going to come out of this smelling like a rose and probably will get most everything he is looking for.

Got an email yesterday from Sirius Radio (I have a subscription for my car), inviting me to listen to a new station.........Tiger Blood Radio, about, who else--Charlie Sheen.  PUH-Leese.  I really can think of better ways to spend my time. 

And that brings me to the point of my rambling--most of you are too young to remember or know anything about a movie from the late 60’s called “Easy Rider.” Was my favorite back then, loved the song track (”...don’t bogart that joint my friend...") and the movie.  If you are too young, google the movie and you will see what I am getting at.  Now, you cannot tell me Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda were choir boys.  In fact, if the things we heard then--and more recently, on a graveyard tour in N’Orleans--were true, then they might make Charlie look like an amateur!! 

The only difference I can see between then and now is we did not have the ability to hear about things happening the second they did, there was no such thing as the internet, cells phones--forget that, TV was so limited--so if you heard any stories, most likely it was because you knew people who were there.  We had friends involved in the industry back then, my best friend was living in Santa Monica and so yeah, we heard stories.  But nothing like the way we get information today.  So for those who are getting all bent over this and tsk tsking about his behavior, he really isn’t doing anything that hasn’t been done--and maybe better, who knows.  The media, entertainment media and the ones who call themselves newscasters(??) have latched onto this and feel this need to blast the airwaves with updates every 10 minutes or so.  Heck, a show that I always thought was pretty reputable spent an entire hour the other day rehashing everything he has said and done.  Get. Over. It. !!  I am just grateful he is not my son, my brother, my nephew; other than that, I intend to sit back and just wait to see who wins.  As I said before, my money is on Charlie!!

And now the sun really is out and maybe it will jump up to 60 the way they have promised all day, so I am heading outside!!

Ciao’

Five hundred years ago, the Catholic Church had a simple way of dealing with witches: It burned them alive. The Vatican still views these broom botherers as a danger, but is now calling on Catholics to eliminate the neo-pagan problem in a more moderate manner.

According to a new booklet from the Catholic Truth Society—the U.K. publishers for the Holy See—the faithful can convert Wiccans by following a few simple steps. The pamphlet, titled “Wicca and Witchcraft: Understanding the Dangers,” suggests that Catholics spark up conversations with these unbelievers about shared concerns such as the environment, The Telegraph reports.

And if you bump into a witch in a bar or coffee shop, the book adds, it’s important to recognize that “Wiccans are on a genuine spiritual quest,” providing “the starting point for dialog that may lead to their conversion."

Here is a link if you just cannot resist reading more....--Wicca and Witchcraft--

If you ever wonder how Sharon Engel, Michelle Bachmann, that dipshit from Maryland(??), cannot think now of where she is from, the one who professed to be a witch--oh and wait, I have another article about witches to post here for your reading pleasure--ever got elected, wonder no more.  People are ignorant and uninformed (or just plain don’t care) and becoming more so by the minute. 

But this one, this one has me shaking my head.  Apparently she lives in a cave and only comes out (like the groundhog) to make a speech and then goes back inside again.

GRRRRRRRR

Ciao’

PS I LOVE the snowpacalypse button.  Can’t wait to use it.  Oh maybe I shouldn’t say that!! ;)

I thought bringing in the camels for foreign consumption was an especially nice touch. Camels in downtown Cairo? Really?

I heard that CNN’s Anderson Cooper got his head bashed in by pro-Mubarak supporters today. I wonder what his take on the subject is tonight. He was busy sucking up to the pro-Mubarak supporters just minutes before their batons cracked him over the skull.

Mob Rule vs Pro-Government supporters. Dear Comcast, your politics are showing (or your stupidity and I don’t believe that for a moment). It’s not flattering. You would prefer to lend support to a vicious dictator and adopt a “screw the people” attitude? My goodness. Who would have guessed. Who exactly are you protecting...and why? That’s a place where most Americans aren’t ready to go.

I feel sorry for the Egyptians and I offer them my worthless support from thousands of miles away. And a fervent wish that they succeed in ousting Mubarak and his government. They have to triumph or the government forces will track them down from the miles and miles of video coverage and torture them to death at leisure. That’s the way it works in Egypt. The people must triumph completely.

_________

For those who would like more information from some of the horses’ mouths and where lively discussion is encouraged and where idealism and honor are still highly valued, I’d urge you to visit Mondoweiss. It is one of the finest resources on the Middle East on the intertubes. A fine community of bright people who care about justice and human beings.