Unchanged

I am not exactly feeling better, but not exactly feeling worse; I got enough sleep last night, and will be going to bed once I post here.  I had a decent day of work, cleaned out some emails and bookmarks, and -- because I am crazy -- decided to make a jello for a family fest this weekend.  I shouldn't be going, IMHO, but it is family, and well, they like, so... anyways, I decided just to make five layers today; I can apply the last two (the white and the surface purple) tomorrow.  Just have to freshen up the white and thus give them enough time to cool.  We will see how that works. 

Ohio expands SNAP eligibility and payout rules to ease ‘benefits cliff’ - cleveland.com
Dare I say this is a good idea -- certainly something I have heard about from my SVDP stuff, and it does keep people from working -- but it is half gesture until we get more people into the workforce.  Maybe this will help, but until you start taking benefits from people... 

Funny; not only do I have a busy weekend, but I have multiple requests for meetings and such next week, and the week after.  This is not a bad thing, but I have to schedule things as best as I can, and if I am not exactly feeling better... I will be in this state til Doomsday, and that is less than good, to put it mildly.

I have to admit there is some element of sadness and defeatism in that I turned on the furnace tonight -- even made sure I bought a new furnace filter when I got the jello supplies tonight.  On the other hand, a low of 40 is not fun, especially when I am feeling craptastic.  Winter is coming, and like it or now, this is the new reality.  Sigh.

Back in Action

So, no blogging lately...not sure why, but Monday night, I felt...like absolute dogshit.  I guess the Polish Festival really kicked my dupa more than usual, as I have had stabbing pains -- that I normally get when I do not have enough sleep, but MUCH worse -- ever since.  This, in turn, affected my sleep.  So much so that I was really dragging and asked my MD for some advice on what to take.  He suggested melatonin, so I went out and bought some and... well, between that and the pain pills... let's just say I went to bed before 10 and woke up (Sleeping through my alarm) at 8.  Oi.  That said, I guess I needed the sleep, as I have felt better -- maybe not good -- today.  Anyways, I intend -- once I finish this post -- to pop some more melatonin and hit the hay.  Tomorrow I hope I am better as I have much to do, as I have not really caught fully up with the stuff I didn't do this weekend, to say nothing of, say, watching the backlog of J! episodes.  Anyways, it is good to feel human again.

Yesterday I had some handymen over and the fixed the attic steps (I tested them twice) and installed new ones in the garage.  Bit pricey but I think it is worth it -- I can't do the stuff even when healthy, it's done, no mess, no fuss, and I may use them for the next mini-project of fixing the kitchen light... I still need to call the bathroom contractor, though as I joke, falling interest rates and delays are my friends here.

My sister is retiring tomorrow -- I am having trouble wrapping my head around that concept -- and they had a fest for her tonight at the casino in Northfield.  I went -- wasn't sure about it -- but I am glad I did, as it was fun (save for the casino part) and while I didn't feel great, I was able to plow through.  The food was just ok, oddly; the wings were good -- I couldn't recall the last time I had them -- but the nachos and chips were not spicy enough/too spicy.  I did gamble and lose $5, which was quite enough.  They seem to have a lot more of the digital slots... lots of noise, lots of graphics, and they cost more to play.  Not that people cared.  And, I will note, many of them were certainly of the retired set, so I don't ever want to hear about seniors and fixed incomes again!

After 2016, Michigan Democrats worry that Kamala Harris is ill-defined | AP News
Could be me, but not doing interviews and having opinions all over the place might be part of the problem?  I still think MI is hers to lose, but...I do like that the Donald is re-creating his 2016 campaign -- going where no one else has gone before.  It might just get the 5 or 10K extra voters in each spot that will put him over the top, and I think he will need those votes.

Inside Trump’s push to win over the ‘bro’ vote - POLITICO
Ditto!  Or, if you are losing women, you may as well try to run up the score with men, and if you can get men who normally don't vote to the polls...  again, I am not sure it is the best idea, but re-creating 2016 -- when I think he got the uninterested voter to the polls -- isn't the worst concept, especially if you think (and I have my doubts) that this will be close.

Mattie Survives

 It was Polish Festival weekend, and I was in the kitchen all three days.  It was not as exhausting as usual -- our Parish caterer and crew were there and things do move smoothly with them.  I was at the pierogi and potato pancake section -- as always -- and I can say that it was a very good Festival.  Busy all three days, ran out of nearly all of the big items -- some ham hocks (golonka) were left, as well as some pierogi and potato pancakes (which we can sell subsequently).  This is good.  As for me, I am tired but not terribly so, have plenty of leftovers, and am slowly going through all the stuff I missed this weekend -- the mail pile, the email pile, the link and bookmark pile, etc.  I also have several J! episodes to watch, which I will start tonight, hopefully.  The laundry is done and while I should wash the brownie pans...tomorrow is another day.

Bad Climate Socialism - by Hamilton Nolan - How Things Work
Interesting and I largely agree, but I also think that politically, it will never fly.  If you think about it, we usually do something like this -- think of the ACA -- where everyone subsidizes everyone else, like it or not.  But we should not be footing the bill for a million dollar second home...

Exclusive | Americans Are More Reliant Than Ever on Government Aid - WSJ
As a Republican, this is...appalling.  Even accounting for the fact that a lot of these former Dems who are now GOPers are swelling the ranks... this is still completely unsustainable, to say nothing of being embarrassing.  I do not think the Trump administration will attend to this, nor would the Harris one, so... buckle your seatbelts.

Interesting weekend of CFB; Bama, UT, UMich, and, sadly, Duke went down.  Crazy -- and awesome -- scene in Nashville, which was pretty cool, and the playing of the Saban clip about how there is no crowd noise at Vandy...well, the troll game was high, and awesome.

Labors

 Short post Tuesday, none yesterday... mainly because I was tired and busy, sort of like today.  Yesterday I helped make czarnina -- duck's blood soup -- for the Festival.  Mainly I helped move the heavier pots for the Polish ladies and kept everything washed, but I did learn some of the basics -- broth, pureeing the blood, adding the breast meat and the raisins and plums.  Not that I would attempt it on my own.  I would say that it is an acquired taste, and as the women told me, it is a southern Polish dish, not a northern one.  I just nodded.  Actually, most of the time it was all I could do, as most of the ladies did not speak English, so there was a lot of pointing, but...  

Today was brownie making day -- five pans today, five tomorrow.  I make the brownies first, then the topping while they were drying; not sure if it is the best way, but I was able to start the coating and topping when the first pan was completely ready, so that did save time.  I have to admit, I didn't make dinner after I was done...it was 8:30 or so, so I went to Marc's to buy pop (I deserve it after this weekend) and picked up Chinese takeout (not that I deserve it, but I thought of my father, and didn't want to cook again).  Actually, it was good -- saved some for lunch -- and it was nice to just rest a bit.

State law says you can’t drink at bars and carry a gun. An Ohio Supreme Court case could strike it down - cleveland.com
They were all over this on the Today in Ohio podcast, and my thought was...shouldn't this be the choice of the bar owner?  I mean, I think most would not want this, but some might.  Given that you could, or should, lose your liquor license over this... it will be an easy decision for most.  But, people should have the right to protect themselves, right?  Also, considering how they trumpeted Issue 1... killing babies is perfectly fine, but letting people bring a gun to a bar?  Heavens to Betsy!

Debate

Is it me, or was that an awesome debate?  Maybe the best I have ever watched?  Reasoned, no yelling, not much rancor, just two politicians making points (or trying to).  We rarely see this often -- for reasons -- but it was a change and a joy to behold.  Dare I say I think the pundits were right?  Vance won the first half -- stressing the economy, hitting Harris -- but Walz (aided by more favorable questions) won the second.  He didn't look as crisp or as focused as JD, so a narrow win for Vance?  I would think the GOP would be more pleased -- stopping the bleeding, if you will -- and it certainly showed why Trump picked him.  But I also do not think it moved that many voters at the end of the day.

What Democrats Don’t Understand About J. D. Vance (msn.com)
Dare I say this is also largely correct?  

Got my haircut today -- not quire ready for it but I do wanted a clean look for the upcoming fests.  My stylist not only swept up the hairs, but blew them off with a hair dryer.  I don't recall her doing that before, but as I was wearing sandals, I could not help but think this was probably a wise idea...

Activity

OC duty yesterday and it was...fine?  I mean, I spilled some bad potato juice on me while taking it to the compost pile, and I got some rain on me when pushing the racks back into the clothing room when it began to rain.  If that is the worst thing that happens... it's a good day.  That and a couple of our homeless clients had their crack pipes fall out of the pockets while giving us some incredible BS story, which amused the hell out of me.  Somewhat more seriously, I do need to get that list of other food pantries/pagan (i.e., non-Catholic) churches for clients (especially crackheads) can pester for food.  We need to crack down on the one visit a month....and giving the clients a list when they walk in is far more helpful.  Helpful in a passive-aggressive way, but... in many ways, it is not sustainable.

Today had an amusing start, as Mass was delayed for 15 minutes as we did not have a priest.  Either it was a schedule snafu, or sone other nefarious cause (ahem), but eventually Fr. Steve came by and said Mass.  Funny; he did a good job; few rambles and asides, no Fox News homily, and the result was that it took about the normal amount of time.  Well, mostly.  But it was a nice change, in a way.  Then it was off to the OC for a bit, then the gym, then off to take Communion to my Polish friend... I think it went well; she likes a visit from someone new, and I do try to make her laugh...

Then it was off to St. John Cantius for their Polish Festival.  I met my friend Christine there and we caught up, which was good.  Theirs is just one day, which -- trust me -- I get, and it is much smaller than ours; the food basics, just beer and wine at the bar, baskets, and bakery.  You don't make as much but it is much less work.  On the other hand...you make less.  I also learned that there are Polish-style polkas, which, as I told her, is a misnomer, as polkas are not Polish.  (More horns in Polish-style, or, Polish-American, more appropriately.)  They also have those silly ticket things -- buy tickets for food -- which certainly affected my spending.  Anyways, it was nice -- even found a semi-decent parking spot -- and one should support our fellow Polish parishes.

Home, catching up on stuff, doing some work, going through the checkbook, and, of course, doing it all at once, but somehow actually doing it, which is...impressive.  I have way too many links and bookmarks to handle, and while the email is somewhat clear, there is more to cull -- not necessarily this week, sadly, but soon, or I should...

I e-signed an agreement to get the attic steps fixed and installed; hope to get this done ASAP.  I also realized that 1) I need to call the bathroom guy to see where I am on the schedule and 2) another fluorescent bulb is out in my kitchen light (making it pretty much worthless), so I will have to get that fixed, as it's some non-custom shape and the ballasts are askew in some way.  I am not fucking with it anymore, so if I can, I will Thumbtack that replacement.  I always joke about replacing my truck on part as a time, but it seems to be happening with the house now.  Sigh. 

Mattie the Panhead

Yesterday I decided to treat myself and hence I went to see Skillet at the Agora -- there had been a discount ticket deal a couple of weeks ago, and it moved me to make the purchase.  As my sister told me, I do deserve a treat once in a while, and honestly, I wanted to see them.  And it was awesome.  The first two bands -- Royal Lynn and Tim Montana -- were also quite solid, and Skillet really rocked the place; very loud and awesome for an hour.  One thing... it was as close to a MAGA fest as I have seen at any rock concert.  I realize that if you listen to punk pop and such you get libtardery, but...not that they were explicitly political (and Skillet made comments that decried politics), but there was a lot of pro-police, pro-first responders, pro-military stuff.  There were a number of Trump shirts in the crowd, and also a lot of families with young kids, which is also something you do not really see.  Plus, every time I hear one of their songs I remember one of my favorite put-downs (and I have so many):  "A Trump voter would of course recognize the Christian content of their songs, but to the average Freedonian it is over their heads."

American kids have fallen far behind in math and reading | Vox
If Vox notices this, this must be a crisis.  Of course, they missed the leading causes, but... well, baby steps.

Hung out with one of my friends who was in town with his boys tonight; we played Monopoly and I won each time.  I do not exactly think skill had much to do with it -- some lucky dice rolls, maybe some judicious house and hotel buying -- but they thought I was some master of the game, which of course I tacitly encouraged.  It was fun, though, even if -- as always -- I wonder if I should have had kids.  Probably not for their sake, but...