Entries by TATIANA

It's been raining for two days in a row stop. There is not much to do than to hibernate inside. And I am really good at doing "nothing". In the end nothing usually means reading, maybe writing something (here), going through and organizing my stuff and cleaning. Cleaning is great therapy.



Another clever post by exotic.cancer on Instagram.

Are you feeling the spirit of Christmas yet? I'm like....meh. It's raining every other day here, no snow....I definitely do not feel Christmasy at all, although I did hang my very colorful wreath on the front door today. The tree is still in its box and all the Christmas decorations are boxed up as well. I have a gnome out....that's it. I have a plastic tree, no cutting down trees only to discard them later for me. Poor trees! I feel bad for all the trees that get used and abused every year. I've had the same plastic tree for over ten years.....works for me.
Today my plan was to go and see the Lucia celebration at a church downtown. We celebrate Lucia in Sweden on December 13 every year, it's an old tradition and today there was going to be a traditional Swedish Lucia event here in town. Glögg was going to be served and Santa promised to show up, well I love glögg and I like Lucia so I had planned on attending. Once I got to downtown I could not find parking, I did not want to pay for parking either in some overpriced parking garage. I ran inside and took a look at the event 10 minutes before the scheduled start and I just felt cranky, I did not want to sit at a hard bench for almost two hours and then feel crammed like a sardine in a box while trying to get a small cup of glögg with everybody else. So I left. I have my own glögg at home anyways......That was my Grinch moment of the day.
Now I am home, on the couch eating chocolate, feeling cozy and lazy. I freakin' love my couch.
This was my latte the other day....very much in the spirit of Christmas.

From the The Old Farmer's Almanac...."Technically, the full Moon reaches peak fullness at 12:12 A.M. EST on the 12th day of the 12th month."
The last full moon of the year! And next year is 2020! Do you remember when you were planning on what to do on New Year's 2000? Wondering where you would be then? 2000 seemed so far away. It was a big deal then and that was 20 years ago! 20 years that went by so fast now that I look back at it....like all those years just flew by, scrambled together and it's all in the past, consisting of many memories. When you are in the middle of something, especially something difficult or something painful that hurts your heart and soul then it feels like it's never going to end. And then it's over.....all in the past.
I went and looked at the last moon of the year tonight. Thinking about 20 years that went by so fast and how strange this journey called life is. A bittersweet feeling....because one day life as I know it will be over and it will go fast.

Woke up around noon and went downtown Portland, super thankful that Stumptown Coffe was open until 3 PM so I could have a latte. Stumptown lattes taste great.
Cheers!





Went to Powell's Books, a wonderful place where you can immerse yourself in the world of books for hours.



This resonates with me.....



And this is so me.....



Later on it was time to eat. Potatoes.....best thing ever?!



Warm pecan pie with vanilla bean ice cream and a few games of backgammon.



It was a nice Thanksgiving.

It's 3 AM Thanksgiving Day and I am debating whether I should sleep or stay up a bit longer. I am a night owl. I don't have any plans for Thanksgiving, it's not something I celebrate in a big way. My fave holiday is Halloween, or Summer Solstice if I am in Sweden, New Years if I am at some rave or club besides that my fave week of the year is the week of Burning Man. Because Burning Man is like celebrating all your fave holidays for a whole week. I will make some mashed potatoes and I have some cranberry relish, green beans from a can and two pies and vanilla bean ice cream. Good enough for me. The pies are from the store, no baking or cooking on my part with the exception of the potatoes.
Let's talk about something that matters, the other day an important law took effect, The Pact Act. It's the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act that is a spin on the ban on crush videos that took effect in 2010. This law was proposed back in January by a Democrat and a Republican, not that it matters for me but it matters for some. The President signed it this past Monday I think. Good....about time! I think the law should cover a broader spectrum of animal abuse and torture but this is a step in the right direction. To me a person that abuses an animal is sick and dangerous and needs to be locked up, I would like to see animal abusers have to register like sex offenders do. Lengthy sentences for people that mistreat innocent animals, make room for them in jail and free the non violent criminals instead.
I hate people like that. That's right - hate.
You can learn more about the PACT Act here.
https://aldf.org/project/preventing-animal-cruelty-and-torture-pact-act/

I have a memory from a few years back that still makes me uneasy. I was in Alaska....I lived in Kenai with somebody I used to be together with. We were outside one evening and I saw a large beetle of some sort scurry across the deck, I had never seen a beetle that big before and for a second I thought that I shouldn't point out the beetle to him (the ex) cause he might stomp it but then I thought no he knows I care for all living things even insects so I pointed at the beetle and said something like....oh look how big! My intention was to scoop it up and take it to the side of the house or into the forest. Well.....his face distorted into a grin and with a crazy look in his eyes he stomped that poor beetle once with his huge heavy boot while loudly laughing together with his brother that happened to be visiting. I got upset. I STILL think about that moment, how bad I felt for the beetle, for showing him the beetle, how psychotic he looked in that moment when he stomped it. And guess what, he turned out to be the most evil person I have encountered so far in my life. That was just a minor demonstration of what he is capable of.
What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?
I am thankful for my health, my strength, friends and family including pets, that I have food to eat every day and a comfortable home with everything that I need and I am also thankful that I am not sharing my time with a person that finds joy in being cruel. I never belonged there cause I am not like that.

It's Sunday evening and as usual I am reading.....scrolled through BBC.com and saw an article about sanitation workers in Mumbai India. Last Tuesday on November 19 it was World Toilet Day.
I HIGHLY recommend that you look at the article after reading this blog entry. Here it is.
https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-50406148
Puts things in perspective doesn't it? SO MUCH suffering in the world, so much injustice. We are approaching 8 BILLION people that share this planet.
We share the planet together with animals and many animals suffer greatly due to us. We all need shelter, we all need food, some are not happy with what they have even when they have plenty and only want more more more. I think that the more people there are the higher disregard for life there will be. Everybody is replacable and easily forgotten, we are disposable. Another mass shooting and the next day we are on to something new, unless you personally knew one of the victims because then it becomes reality and not only a headline. Prayers and thoughts are just empty words, words are easily said.
I am SO grateful for what I have.....even when I usually don't pay much thought to being fortunate enough to have a working toilet and clean water coming out of the faucets with a simple twist.
I feel bad that there are so many people that have nothing when others have far more than they need.
World Toilet Day.....be grateful for your toilet if you have one.