Cleaning the gutters

We've had some really bad storms this summer--like the one that cost us over $1700 by blowing out the garage door openers and our phones. And the ones clogging up the gutters. Today there are some good ol' boys here to fix my clogged gutters. It's possible that a confederate flag on a cap isn't politically correct these days, but better than the hammer/sickle logo worn on the hearts of Fani Willis and Jack Smith who are interfering with the 2024 election at the direction of the Biden Administration and the Democrat party. I never thought I'd see 1930s Soviet style courts in the USA.

Our most famous election deniers are Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, and Stacy Abrams, all Southerners. Maybe they are still fighting the Civil War?

"As the Left continues its relentless persecution and prosecution of former President Donald Trump, a pattern has developed. The Democrats have elected black women as the leaders of the Trump witch hunt, and Jason believes it's for a reason. Not only is it a reflection of America’s further descent into a matriarchal culture, but charging black women specifically with the task of taking down Donald, in the eyes of liberals, makes them beyond reproach. “This is a part of the scam that the black women are playing and perhaps voluntarily. Do they realize that they're being used to inoculate these charges against Trump? This is a joke, because if you put black women as the face of it, if you question the legitimacy of them, you can be accused of racism.” Royce White joins “Fearless” to dive into the latest Trump charges and the role that Letitia James, Fani Willis, and Tanya Chutkan are playing as shills for the Democratic Party and the Biden administration." Jason Whitlock podcast, Aug. 18

Hypocrites: A List of Democrats Who Denied The 2000, 2004, and 2016 Presidential Election Results - The Political Insider

House Republicans open probe into Fani Willis ahead of Trump surrender (axios.com)

Big storm June 10

Lots of excitement the evening of June 10. We must have had 50 golf carts stop by to look. Our street was the hardest hit and 2 beautiful trees were lost. Dorothy Crutchfield’s cottage. We lost power and the internet, but by noon on the 11th we were back in business.  Yes, not one was hurt and no cars were crushed, but replacing 100 year old trees won’t be easy.

No Panera’s this morning

High winds, sleet and snow from Sandy. I'm skipping the coffee shop this morning, but I'm guessing the bakers and clerks will be there.

"It's like a weirdly inverse chart, where the folks with secure government jobs, the ones with SUVs and more affluent addresses, get to stay home, bundle up and wait out the storm. And the folks working the minimum-wage jobs, who frequently rely on public transportation, have to find a way — any way — to make it to work." Washington Post

 

Storm notes

The National Weather service says that the storm that hit the central Ohio area on Sunday Sept. 14 was the most severe in the region's history. I knew it was bad--many in our area are still without power--but because we weren't affected except for some cable outages, I didn't realize that. Forty-six state roads were closed or restricted on Monday and one third of the state's traffic signals weren't working according to the community paper. You can imagine what a mess that makes on city streets with people trying to get to work.

Our Lytham Road UALC was closed, and since it has the phone service for the other locations, they couldn't get much done either. I saw a friend at Lowes who lives in Clintonville (north Columbus) yesterday and he said they hadn't had mail delivery for 3 days because of downed trees and lines. The Lane Rd. branch of the UA library was open today, but the other 2 are closed, so I was able to unload about 5 boxes of books I've been carrying around in the van to donate to the book sale.

Tremont Shopping Center in our old neighborhood is still closed (as is the school, senior center and library). There are two restaurants, a bakery and a very nice grocery store there. I heard that Mr. Huffman told his customers on Monday to take what they needed, write it down, and they'd settle up after the power came back on. I can't imagine the losses of just those four small businesses and their employees. A lot of elderly live in the area in apartments and depend on those places, especially the Chef-o-Nette Restaurant for at least one hot meal a day.

The local hotels and motels are sold out, and restaurants that are open are very busy. The Panera's where I get my coffee in the morning has lines to the parking lot by 7 a.m. and people ordering lunch with with morning coffee and bagels. This morning I chatted with 2 women, probably in their 80s, who live in the area, but about a mile apart. At least they have gas hot water heaters--our unit is all electric, so if it had been us, we'd have to find a place to shower. Another man I talked to at Panera's had 2 teen-age sons who made $350 on Monday cutting up and stacking fallen limbs and trees.

Ike blew through here yesterday

and it's hard to imagine what they must have experienced in Texas, after seeing our downed trees and power lines and released roof shingles. I drove past the OSU Golf course this morning and there are many trees down--the Meijer's store where I'd been shopping was on generator power, and most of the stores along Henderson Road were closed, and traffic lights off. We got no rain out of this, but I've heard Chicago got some flooding. Last night we were hosts for our couple's group from church (planned that way) and the other 3 couples from different parts of the city had no power.

Here's some good news, though. Honey Crisp apples are in stock at Meijer's! You'll pay at least $1 a piece for them, but oh it is worth it to bite into one and have the juice dribble down your chin and shirt.

Update: A friend who lives in one of the NW Columbus areas without power was told by PUCO that it could be 7-14 days before their power is restored, and yes, our crews are on their way back from Texas. I invited them for supper, but she's taking her thawing meat to her son's home to cook it on the grill. The local TV stations are showing enormous damage in Columbus. My son is off work because they have no power, so he's picking up pieces of his roof today.

A cold drink on a hot day

This is so easy, nutritious and cheap, you'll wonder why you never fixed it before.

Use a 15 oz glass
fill about 1/3 with ice cubes
then about 1/2 with orange juice from the carton (I like lots of pulp and calcium)
then fill the rest with water
sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of Splenda
Stir and drink

I don't care for carbonation, and don't particularly like "juice drinks" but this is really refreshing.

Our weather yesterday was in the 90s, and huge storms rolled through in the evening. We hustled out of our Friday night date* at Rusty Bucket last night with an eye on the sky, and big drops began to fall. By the time we were in the car, it was a downpour, with massive lightening. We've had nothing like Iowa and Illinois and Wisconsin, but some areas of Columbus were under water. My husband called from Lakeside (where he's mowing the lawn) and said it is gorgeous up there.

*We've been married 48 years and rarely miss our date night.

3716

Global warming, wind, wet ground and change

If it hadn't warmed up in Ohio several thousands of years ago melting our ice cap*, we wouldn't have this old tree to mourn. I don't know how old it is--maybe 75-100. The rain fell, the winds blew and it toppled over. We're grateful for its life and service in making this world a more beautiful place.






*North America ice sheet was 3500 to 4000 m thick over Ontario covered the continent to as far south as St. Louis, 500 m thick over central Ohio. Climate change