March for Our Lives

Another march -- this time the March for Our Lives. We were able to participate in the Doylestown march today, the site where we marched this year and last for the Women's March.

Haven't marched so much since the late 1960s.
It was amazing to see the thousands who turned out -- of all ages -- to support the students and everyone fighting against the loss of lives due to guns.
I could hardly take hearing "Ohio" playing when we got to the courthouse area. I was in college when the Kent State shooting occurred. Yes, that was totally different from what is happening in schools today, but the loss of life back then was no less wrenching.
I hope everyone will take these shootings and the NRA's stranglehold on our elected officials seriously.
VOTE, call your senators and representatives, speak out.
Silence is unacceptable. 

Women to the front!

Today was an exciting day. For the second year, we headed to Doylestown for the Women's March and rally, sponsored by Rise Up Doylestown. The group is a nonpartisan, grassroots collective that  promotes social, racial, reproductive and environmental justice.
The rally featured inspiring speeches by local activists, women who recently have been elected to local office and several students.
If you were lucky enough to be there, you know how moving their speeches were, along with the singing, chanting and marching.
The mood was electric, there were all sorts of signs being held high, and all ages were represented.
And it certainly was not confined to women participating in the event!
Since we were not able to make it to Philadelphia or DC, it was great to once again participate in Doylestown and have our "batteries" recharged.
The past year has been more than a small challenge. I can't begin to count the number of phone calls I've made to my senators and representative, not to mention letters and emails. I've attended other local events and have tried to spread the message that we must be actively engaged, speaking out whenever possible and encouraging others to do the same.

We cannot sit silently by and let Trump and his cohorts destroy our country.
So stand up and speak out! Together we rise!
Here are some photos from today's event.

Marching on...

Feeling a little grouchy about the cold, gray, snowy weather?

Yep, getting up this morning and seeing a bit of the white stuff was a downer.
The weather forecasters are promising us a warm and wonderful weekend, with a week ahead that also is supposed to be snow-free.
Will they be right this time? I hope so, but then I remind myself of all the snow they predicted earlier this week.
As for me, I am very ready for spring. Nursing a sinus infection, taking antibiotics and plowing through box after box of tissues while feeling like a truck hit me has left me more than a bit weary.
So bring on spring.
Please!
I would be just fine with Friday's snow being the last of this season...

Welcome March !

Well, we've turned another page on the calendar.
It's March, nearly a month since that infamous groundhog promised us an early spring.
And even though we haven't been buried in snow ... yet ... we haven't exactly been basking in sunshine, either.
Take today, for instance...

Yes, another mostly gray day. When I left work shortly after 2 p.m., you could see a small patch of blue off in the distance. But we also found ourselves being pelted by a snow/rain mixture for about 10 minutes.
Welcome to March!

So March didn't exactly roar in like a lion, and it wasn't really as warm and fuzzy as a lamb. But there really wasn't too much to complain about, either. It just would be nice to see the sun for an extended period of time.
Of course Spring Mountain Ski Area -- that little patch of white you see off in the distance in the photo below -- probably would beg to differ!

As for Domino and Wotsit, well, they'll just keep snuggling close to fend off that chill. Hey, spring will soon be here, right Punxsutawney Phil?

Guess we're never happy...

It's only March 3. It's still winter. And yet all I hear is people complaining about it being cold.
Note sentence above: It's still winter!
And really, it's not THAT cold. Plus some warmer days are on the horizon.
What I fear is that false sense of security. When I flipped my calendar over to March, I saw something that, for some reason, I keep noting each year, just as I do people's birthdays -- in the hope that I'll remember to send cards.
This is a more ominous note, from March 13, 1993: BLIZZARD.
Yes, a blizzard in mid March.
We all know this is a crazy month, and I'm not going to complain about the cold or scraping ice off my windshield.
But I sure wouldn't mind if we didn't get anymore snow.
That huge pile near my house from having my driveway plowed this winter is ALMOST gone! No more additions, please.

In like a lamb...

Yes, March has entered like the proverbial lamb. No snow, no howling winds, no ice storms.
What a lovely break from some of the winter weather we've been having.
Of course we all know what a mercurial month March can be as well, so fasten your seat belts; it may be a bumpy ride.
And since it's a lamb today, does that mean the converse will prove true at the end of the month -- that it will go out like a lion?
That's OK, as long as the "lion" resembles the little guy below.