....are completely unreliable, so if you're saying, oh, no need to vote because Kamala is ahead in my swing state, think again.  Remember 2016?  Remember that Hillary was ahead in the polls....until that horrible night when the numbers started coming in?  And though Hillary won the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes - 2.9 million!! (and she didn't whine and start a coup because the electoral college went the other way.  She did not urge her followers to storm the Capitol.  She took it with grace, not wrath.  She didn't start calling up people and say find me votes. She didn't threaten and berate and lie and cheat and try to steal.  She went with the democratic process, flawed though it may be.  Oh, yeah, and let us not forget that Al Gore also won the popular vote) -- you still need to vote because though the electoral college is a relic, it still decides the outcome.  So if you're seeing the polls and that Kamala looks to have a small margin of a lead, don't let it keep you from voting.  Every.  Vote.  Counts.  You have a voice.  Use it for good and be the change you want to see.  Vote blue!

....here's a link to VOTE411 sponsored by the League of Women Voters:
​
https://www.vote411.org/

And if you forgot who I'm voting for, check out the signs below :-)

...to the horror, the terror, the hate, the vitriol, the lies, the deceit, the insanity that defined the presidency of 2016 to 2020 as long as you vote your conscience and vote for the candidate that cares about you, your family, the United States, the world, the planet. 

Here are some Kamala quotes:

"We don't have to let extremists define us."

"I'm opposed to any policy that would deny in our country any human being from access to public safety, public education, or public health, period."

"The American Dream belongs to all of us."

"I disagree with any policy that would turn America's back on people who are fleeing harm. I frankly believe that it is contrary to everything that we have symbolically and actually said we stand for."

“Democracy just cannot flourish amid fear. Liberty cannot bloom amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. America must get to work. . . . We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred, and the mistrust.”

“Our unity is our strength, and our diversity is our power. We reject the myth of “us” vs. “them.” We are in this together.”

Now, orange f*ckwad quotes:

"The point is that you can't be too greedy."

"People love me.  And you know what, I have been very successful.  Everybody loves me."

"I wouldn't mind a little bow.  In Japan, they bow. Only thing I love about Japan."

Regarding John McCain:  “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” 

Regarding women:  “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.  Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.””

What kind of country, what kind of world, what kind of leader do you want?  The choice is clear.  Vote, vote, vote for Kamala and Tim!!!  We're not going back!

....then Bobby and Ethel Kennedy are spinning like tops!!!  I mean, really!!!  WTF, RFK, Jr?!?!  Who ARE you?!?! What happened to you?  How did you take such an enormously wrong turn in life with such amazing role models as your parents, as your Uncle John, your Aunt Jackie?  Clearly mental illness, which makes sense, since nothing that comes out of your mouth is understandable.  In his sister's own words from a story on WGN News:   

"Kerry Kennedy reiterated Sunday her support for Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz She said her father 'would have detested almost everything Donald Trump represents' if he was alive today.  'I think … the stakes this November couldn’t be higher, which is exactly why my whole family will be fighting so hard to reelect Kamala Harris and Coach Walz, who’ve been champions for the values that my family has fought for, for years,' she said.

“'Donald Trump is the polar opposite. He’s a threat to most basic freedoms that are core to who we are as Americans, the right for women to control our bodies, the right to live in communities safe from gun violence, to love who you love,' she added.

“'I think that Donald Trump is incredibly dangerous to us. And I think what Bobby has done here is anathema to everything. Not only [what] our family stands for, but what Bobby has given his life to. You know, he spent so many years out there working on protecting the environment. And that’s the opposite of what Trump plans to do,' she said. 

Me again.  The orange f*uckwad's and this sad mental case known as RFK, Jr.'s vision of the world is NOT the world you want to live in.  Unless you want to be dragged back to a time where no one had any rights except monied white men.  Think about it.  Your voice, your vote!  Use it to your advantage, to your kids' advantages, to the world's advantage.  Kamala and Tim are the way forward!

....in this crucial 2024 election and need to do a little research, I urge you to research both candidates.  And also, do yourself a favor and watch Kamala Harris's acceptance speech at the DNC.  I know you can find it on YouTube.  If you need a nudge, look at facts, look at character, look at what the enormous differences are between these two candidates and their running mates.  It's incumbent upon you to vote and to have all the information you need to make an informed choice.  Don't be misled by false claims and AI-generated misinformation.  There's a wealth of information at your fingertips if you just take the time to look.  What kind of person do you want running your country?  A convicted felon?  Or a prosecutor who convicts felons?  Someone who only cares about himself and his money?  Or someone who cares about EVERYONE and puts her ego aside?  Character counts, for you, for anyone you have a connection with, and especially for our president.  This is probably the most important election of our lifetime and we have a chance to make a real difference, to be a force of good and kindness and compassion in the world.  Vote for the good you want to see.

....how can anyone be undecided right now for the upcoming election?  How is it that you can look at these two candidates and not know what you want your country, your world to look like, to feel like?  Every picture I see of the orange f*ckwad, he's yelling or scowling or (no joke) giving the heil Hitler sign.  I don't know who you are reading this, but I'm hoping that you're an intelligent, compassionate, empathetic person who wants personal freedoms to be kept intact; as Tim Walz said last night, you want the government out of your bedroom; you want a safe place to raise your kids or your dog or what have you; you want schools to actually teach actual history, not some scared white person's view of what history should have been; you want to get ahead and feel like opportunity is all around you.  I mean, I feel like a broken record, but don't you think a dystopian society belongs in books, movies, and TV and a functioning democratic society reads and watches those things and says nope, that's not the world I want to live in, nor is it the world I'm going to live in.  It's your choice.  Your vote, your voice count, in spite of the outdated electoral college (perhaps a  new Harris-Walz administration can get something done about that!).  Listen to your heart, not Fox News.  Listen to your kids.  Pet your dog.  See the world as a place of peace and prosperity, not bigotry and hate.  The choice, my friend, is crystal clear.  WE'RE NOT GOING BACK.

.....SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO great, doesn't it?  I'm specifically speaking about Kamala and Tim and how they've galvanized the country and the world with their optimism, joy, exciting outlook for the future.  I'm sorry, but seriously, who doesn't want the future they're presenting????  Why on earth would anyone want to be dragged backwards in time to where only white men have all the advantages?  Oh, right!  It's the white men who are trying to drag us back!  Not all white men, of course!  Please don't get me wrong.  But when you look at the Republicans' scary, sad, insane, despotic, draconian choices for governing?  Seriously, is that what you want?  If you happened to miss Michelle's and Barack's speeches last night, do yourself a favor and find them.  They are exciting, smart, and talking to YOU, to everyone, to the US, to the world.  Tell me what they talk about with a vision for the present and future isn't what you hope for.  It's not a Democrat vs. Republican life.  It's the life we all want.  Opportunity, respect, grace, and to live your best life.  I mean, come on!!!  So get out there and vote for the future you dream of, the future you want for your kids and your kids' kids.  And if you don't have any kids, vote for the future you want this country, this planet to have because you love this country and this planet and you want to make sure it's a wonderful place to live.

This is what joy looks like.  Fabulous picture of Barack and Michelle from DNC convention night 2.  Go get you some!  Vote Kamala and Tim!

...is in my near future as my sister and I are headed there for....drumroll, please....ANTIQUES ROADSHOW!!!  We're sooooooo excited!!!  Ten years ago, maybe (I'm terrible with time!), I won the ARS lottery for Indianapolis, and my sister, who lives in Texas, and I went, stayed with Mom, drove downtown to the Roadshow with our trinkets, and had THE BEST TIME!!  Every year since, she and I put in for tickets.  She chooses a different city than I choose, and this year, she won the lottery!  We've been texting and talking about it so much since she learned she got the tickets -- what to bring???  The internet changed everything (on every level) about being able to do due diligence on items you own, so finding the thing to bring that I don't have any information about AND that might have some value is a challenge. Plus, since we're both heading out of town without cars, we can't lug, oh, a bureau or a dining room set, so we're trying to be judicious about our choices since standing in line for a long time is going to be the main thing we do that day :-)  We're both still trying to figure out what treasures to bring.

Do you watch the show?  Who is your favorite appraiser?  And most importantly, what would you bring???  It's been fun for us to take pictures of things we've both forgotten about from our childhood and share them with each other.  Fun really is the key word for all of it.  Both of us know we're not going to come up with some unknown national treasure that will make it into the Smithsonian, but the time that we're spending together?  Totally priceless :-)

Whatever your day brings you, I hope it makes you smile and puts a little skip in your step.

Isn't this hilarious?!?!  My partner's new fancy car played this song on the jazz station we were listening to.  I saw the title and burst out laughing :-)  If you don't know the song, google it and listen to it.  You'll find the title is a tad different and the song is a classic.