Though this soup has a squash base, you would never know it. Tofu would have been a nice addition. You could use any pasta, but the seashells work great here as they scoop up the broth.
Prep
1 head of broccoli (4-5 C), chopped
Make chunky bite-sized florets and stems cleaned of the tough exterior. I had the luxury of using broccoli that was left over from another dish. Do yourself a favor and prepare your broccoli before your go to bed and use it within 2-3 days.
1 onion, diced
1.5-2 C squash puree
I used a pumpkin puree. Any squash would work. Make ahead and freeze until needed.
Stage
2 tbs olive oil
4 C (32 oz/1 box) soup stock
CONTAINER #1
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, a few grinds of fresh pepper or a pinch of ground pepper
3 tbs cornstarch
Make into a runny paste by mixing with hot water or stock right before adding to the soup.
4.5 oz Conchiglie (seashell) pasta, about a cereal bowl full of dry pasta
Saute the onions until they are clear and smell good.
Add the squash puree. In my case, I added frozen pumpkin puree and cooked it covered until it thawed, making sure not to burn the onions.
Add a big splash of soup stock to the pot. Let the liquid cook down a bit. Add more stock. Let it cook down. Keep doing this as you slowly build up the liquid until adding the last quarter of the stock all at once.
Stir in cornstarch paste, make this right before adding using hot stock or water.
Season to taste.
Add uncooked pasta. If using the seashells as called for in the recipe (they worked great!), I suggest adding them one at a time, stirring as you go to prevent clumping. Cook in broth according to directions minus 1-2 minutes.
Add the broccoli. Cook for 2 minutes.
Check that broccoli and pasta are done and cook longer if needed.
Serve hot with soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime or Tabasco sauce. We ate this without any condiments, but I thought something acidic would have been a nice touch.
Today is Election Day. In my precinct, there is a mayoral race and two questions on the ballot to consider. Once again, with just hours before the polls open, I checked with neighbors and friends to get their thoughts on the candidates and issues. As of this posting, two have graciously responded. If I hear from others as the day goes on, I will amend this post accordingly.
Sample Ballot
CITY QUESTION 1 (St. Paul)
Referendum on Ord 25-2 amending the City Charter.
Should Ordinance Ord 25-2, amending Chapter 6.03 of the St. Paul Charter, regarding Administrative Citations take effect? Ordinance Ord 25-2 amends the City Charter to authorize the issuance of Administrative Citations that may result in the imposition of civil fines for violations of City Ordinances. Administrative Citations are not Criminal Citations. A “yes vote is a vote in favor of amending the City Charter to allow the City to issue administrative citations. A “No” vote is a vote against amending the City Charter and against administrative citations.
SCHOOL DISTRICT QUESTION 1 (ISD #625)
Approval of New School District Referendum Revenue Authorization
The board of Independent School District No. 625 (Saint Paul), Minnesota has proposed to increase the School District’s general education revenue by $1,073 per pupil, subject to an annual increase at the rate of inflation. The proposed new referendum revenue authorization would be first levied in 2025 for taxes payable in 2026 and applicable for ten (10) years unless otherwise revoked or reduced as provided by law.
Comments
Below is what I’ve heard as of this posting. Should I receive more comments, I will add them below.
One trusted neighbor wrote:
Hi Rebekah. I hope you and Brian are well.
I voted for Her but am not as politically active as previously and cannot offer an insider perspective. As my Rep., after redistricting moved me from Dave Pinto territory, Her had the right positions but I find her rather elusive. Compared to Pinto, she is quiet and not strong on outreach. During the mayoral, she seemed to recognize that and emphasize her “get it done,” no show-boating style.
That professed (and maybe real) style served her well in this campaign because more people now realize that Carter is pretty much hot air. His mirco-versions of potential national solutions come as his own city is falling down around him. A quiet yeoman Mayor who will fix the basics sounds pretty good in comparison.
I voted for both ballot questions in spite of my respect for Jane Prince’s warning about limitless administrative citations. I’m assuming there will be penalty guidelines. And I’m in favor of heavy investment in public schools not just for facilities, personnel, and curricula but to fend off the largely right-wing attack on them.
Your newsletter had a welcome section of food shelves. I’ve been delivering groceries from Keystone to homebound individuals in Saint Paul and surrounding territory. Doing a little is alternately satisfying and very troubling for the recognition it affords of how much more is needed. And then there are the fucking Republicans.
Another thoughtful neighbor wrote:
Hi Rebekah,
Two reasons not to vote for Mayor Carter:
He did not bother, despite multiple requests, to respond to a questionnaire from Neighbors for Responsible and Livable Development about a proposed moratorium on the tear-downs of original homes the the neighborhood and their replacement with barn-like structures to be used as private student dormitories. Like I said when we chatted this morning, I don’t oppose greater housing density, but I do oppose perfectly good century-old homes in the neighborhood being demolished and replaced with cheaply built, hideously ugly structures.
He is apparently not in favor of requiring bird-safe glass in new zoning rules for the Mississippi River Corridor. We should all know by now that regular glass is deadly to birds. Requiring bird-safe glass for construction in a city in the Mississippi flyway should be a total no-brainer.
So, who gets my vote? I asked a number of my politically savvy friends about their choices for mayor. Most of them favor Her, with Chen in the #2 ranked choice spot. I am probably going with Her as #1.
My Thoughts
As I watched a debate last night, Brian grumbled with every hostile jab between candidates: “Debates are useless.” He’s right. They lack nuance and the time it takes to tease out viable solutions to problems.
What’s with the hostility?
As for the hostility, I’m worn out by the lack of civility in politics. We can disagree and even correct a statement without resorting to making enemies of each other. Please, to every candidate everywhere: Stop it. To be clear, I’m not arguing against passion. We need people to – for example – stand up for the poor with some vigor. But it’s disheartening to watch politicians who should be allies tear each other down with petty complaints. If I were teaching a debate class, I would ask my students to rewrite this one such that candidates were cordial and made their points without the snark. In my view, Rep. Kaohly Her would need the most editing in this regard. Yan Chen seemed to mainly stay above the fray, while Mayor Carter came across as the most likeable. If I based my decision on this debate alone, he would be my first choice.
Unresponsive government
However, Carter’s unresponsiveness to advocacy groups who oppose tearing down single-family homes, as mentioned above, is very concerning. The current Mayor and the City Council seem intent on bulldozing their way to solutions without acknowledging the harm they are doing to our neighborhoods in the process.
It’s hard to see how tearing down blocks and blocks of quality homes that have lasted over a hundred years and replacing them with cheap eyesores can be a serious response to the “climate refuges” we are expecting. Aside from wasting resources, these buildings are not even a solution to affordable housing for the people who already live here. For example, a neighbor recently became homeless (one crisis away from homelessness is real). She lived within blocks of dense new construction but she couldn’t afford the rent. Meanwhile, college students (who – despite the justifications for doing away with parking requirements – do drive) seem to be able to swing it.
Unlike my friend quoted above, I like that Carter is thinking beyond the “nuts & bolts” and is trying to do what he can to address things like gun violence in the face of failure elsewhere in government. It’s a little ironic to fault him for this while complaining about crime. In any case, anyone who is resisting the Trump administration, which Carter has been doing, deserves some credit, even if there are potholes that need to be filled. There will always be potholes.
If Kamala were president…
At the recent No Kings Day protest near St. Kate’s college, I saw a sign that said, “If Kamala were president we’d all be at brunch.” Like a lot of the signs that day (“Clean up in aisle 47,” “No Faux King Way”), it made me laugh. Brunch did sound good. But the sentiment also points to a problem. To believe that electing Democrats means that we can let our government churn along unattended, as if they too aren’t tainted by corporate money that makes things like universal health care – as then presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar put it – “pie in the sky,” is a mistake. Even today, presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg is singing the same song. Anyone who says that universal healthcare is impossible in America should be disqualified from consideration for any office, let alone the presidency. Now is the time to make this clear. Just like last month was the time to start a discussion with my neighbors about an election that is happening today.
Our collective “brunching” is the reason why our democracy is on the verge of collapse. Thank goodness for the advocates who are keeping an eye on things.
I’m inclined to support them.
As for the questions on the ballot, I’m inclined to support my neighbors who are feeling crushed by their property taxes. May I suggest looking into establishing a state bank, as they have in North Dakota, to finance the public good? In the Minnesota House, there used to be a bill with bipartisan support to establish one. That was a while ago, and I’m not sure where the bill stands today. The ultimate solution is to tax the rich appropriately. In the meantime, as a neighbor suggested, we can try to fund our schools with a tax on plastic bags.
No Kings
Here are some pictures from the No Kings rally that Brian and I attended on October 18.
Protect kids, not gunsDeport Stephen MillerDon’t obeyHealthcare is a human right1,000,000 died for our democracy. Don’t let one man take it away.Only you can prevent fascist liars.Does this all make my democracy look small?I thought we settled this in 1945
At a time when our national and international affairs is a source of anxiety, grief and a feeling that democracy in the United States of America might be sunk, people like Heather Cox Richardson have been encouraging us to do two things:
Plan for the future
Pay attention to local politics
So, it was with some embarrassment that I reached out to friends and neighbors to hear their take on the special election in St. Paul’s Ward 4. As it turns out, a day before the election, Brian and I weren’t the only one’s who were unprepared to vote. Like us, a few were still undecided as of last night. Until I mentioned it, others had forgotten about the election entirely.
First Choice Results
As of now, eleven people answered my survey that had two questions and room to include comments. 1) Who is your first choice for city council person (We have ranked-choice voting in St. Paul); 2) Have you ruled out any of the candidates. 90.9% of the vote for first choice went to Molly Coleman with the rest (1 vote) going to Cole Hanson. Chauntyll Allen and Cole Hanson had a 28.6% elimination rate, while Carolyn Will earned 71.4% for elimination.
In addition to the survey, I’ve heard from nine other neighbors and friends in my ward, most of whom said that they would be voting for Coleman, with some interesting exceptions. A couple of people expressed enthusiasm for Coleman, saying that she’s good on transit and housing. Some liked her political lineage, others held it against her. Most seemed like they were choosing the best from an uninspired lot of candidates. Indeed, as Brian and I looked closer at our choices, we were bummed.
Comments
Here are the comments that I received. Some are edited to take out identifying personal information, shorten, etc.
One trusted neighbor wrote:
I am voting for Molly Coleman. I went to a candidate forum about climate change where I thought she did a good job. Then someone I trust had Molly Coleman answer questions for 90 minutes in her back yard and again Molly did a great job. I wish she was not part of a political family – makes St. Paul feel too insular. I also don’t like her answer about the tear downs and the student overlay district, but I hope to influence her on this.
Carolyn Wills is against the proposed bike plan for Summit. I was involved in two years of public engagement where the decision was make to switch the bike and parking lanes – mostly for safety, esp for children. Tree loss will primarily occur because of new water, sewer, and a needed full reconstruction of the road. There has been a lot of misinformation about this.
On a counter train of thought, another very progressive friend wrote:
I voted for Will and did not rank but am uneasy about it. My neighborhood is threatened by teardowns and student barns. She is the only candidate who showed understanding. I’m uneasy being single issue and she is imperfect in other ways but others just don’t get it.
In response to my friend, I wrote:
We are struggling. No one seems right for different reasons… It’s a united front for Molly Coleman over here (with the exception of Brian who admits that his aversion to a slick dynasty candidate isn’t rational). I’m starting to accept the idea that my vote will be some kind of a statement (that no one will hear)…
To which my friend responded:
“Slick dynasty candidate” is the perfect phrase. I liked C Allen as the opposite.
If you’re scratching your head wondering on what planet is a liberal voting for a Republican, let’s remember that liberals have a lot of experience voting for Republicans. They either do it or get blamed when the Democrats lose elections. But I digress. Aside from my friend, two others spoke to me about leaning toward supporting Will. One consulted with her brother who is politically connected. The other seems weary of the lack of experience and thoughtfulness that has been driving a blind push toward density.
NOTE: A reader points out that Carolyn Will identifies as a moderate independent.
Another neighbor had this to share:
… I’m affiliated with [progressive organization] who individually interviewed each candidate personally. Molly has the most cogent approach and would bring legal expertise to the council. Cole is a Democratic Socialist and may rattle some cages. Carolyn headed up Save Our Streets and described herself as a “moderate”. Chauntyll is a school board member and does a good job in that capacity. Vote for 3 only, ranking favorite 1st.
Other comments included:
I’ve interviewed all candidates and rank them Molly (by a wide margin), then Cole Hanson, and begrudgingly Carolyn Will.
I like the energy Molly Coleman brings to the table. She seems very balanced in understanding everything that’s at stake. She’s definitely well qualified.
Molly is smart and is open to listening. We met with her personally and she listened to what we had to say. Met with Cole and unfortunately he was not open to listening and told us that he was opposed to our concerns.
Where I Stand
As for my vote, given that every candidate is problematic, I’m leaning toward using it to say something about campaign finance reform. At some point, we have to say enough is enough. But at this moment, the polls having already opened, I feel like I’m standing in front of the refrigerator wishing there was something there I felt like eating.
More Thoughts
This just in…
You made me rethink some of my ideas and I have been listening to and watching youtubes, thanks to you, and have kind of rearranged my thinking. Since we have ranked choice, here’s my present lineup: Carolyn Will, Cole Hansen, Molly Coleman, and Chauntyll Allen. Carolyn because I think she will do her best to try to prevent more of those shipping container apartments and also I think she understands money and where it’s coming from. I am impressed with Cole’s enthusiasm, but I think he’s not ready for this yet–but in the future will be dynamite. I think Molly has raised an awful lot of money and I wonder about some of her priorities. Chauntyll is certainly sincere but I don’t think she has the chops for this. I might switch these last two people and put Molly last. Still, any one of these people would be better than Mitra, but that is setting the bar awfully low.
My friend Santwana Dasgupta died on Monday. It was shock. In addition to leaving a big hole in my heart, she left behind her beloved pets. A couple of her friends have taken the lead on finding new homes for them. All the animals are in temporary situations that are very good. The next step is to find permanent homes. The organizers don’t need funds or referrals to rescues. Just potential forever homes.
If there is anyone out there who is looking to add a well-loved pet to their family, please read further. And please share this notice wherever appropriate. I’m sure there’s the right situation out there for all these guys, we just need to find it.
I will update this page as I have new information.
Totti is a 5 year old, about 65 pounds. Quite tall, white with orange.
Maggie is 8, looks like a thin white lab
Maggie and Totti are bonded and we’d like to keep them together but will consider separating them. They get along with dogs, cats, children. They are crate and potty trained, single owner their whole lives, well loved and cared for. Full vet records are available.
Chico is a wheelchair special needs dog. He is about 25 pounds and very loving, friendly, and happy. He blended right into the pack with Totti and Maggie.
3 Cats Available for Adoption
I don’t have much information about the cats yet. But if anyone is interested in knowing more, including the contact person, send me a message here.
This is what I do know:
Indoor cats
One cat, black and white, loves humans and ignores other animals.
When I scored a free Acapulco chair on Craigslist, I didn’t know what it was called. So, I couldn’t easily find a tutorial to help me fix it. It was a good case for using the reverse image lookup on Google. Once I had the right search term, I could find some instructions for re-webbing the chair. The best ones I found were in Spanish and were clear enough for this non-Spanish speaking person. The worst tutorials touched on a pet peeve: time lapsed videos without any verbal instructions.
Free Acapulco chair needs to be fixed.
Given how I’ve been weaving seats onto other chairs where I was crocheting craft cord onto the frame, I wondered if I could do something like the chair my neighbor saw. Here’s the picture that Jill sent to me:
Woven chair and matching table
After some trial and error, here’s what I did:
Macrame Acapulco chair
The trick was to figure out how to keep the back of the chair from resting on the frame, which would have been uncomfortable.
The back of the chair does not touch the frame because a “bridge” holds up the vertical strings.
The solution was to start with a horizontal “bridge” that would hold vertical strings up off the frame. In this case, it is the black band of color on the chair. I made a guess as to the best position for the bridge. But I wouldn’t know if I got it right until I could sit on it.
After the bridge was in place, I added the turquoise vertical strings. This required making spaces between the crochet knots along the frame because 1) the bottom of the chair was wider than the top of the chair, and 2) all the strings travel through a center hole with limited space. Though I tried to do the math and sketch this out on paper, figuring out how many and where to put the spaces took a few tries. Once I figured out how to do half of it, I could mirror the pattern on the other side. In the end, I was able to fit 20 vertical strings onto the chair, which was plenty.
Spaces between crochet knots
Making the spaces between the knots wasn’t hard. But it’s like a lot of things. If you’re out of practice, you can forget what you did. The tip that I would give to my future self would be to check to make sure that everything is in the normal position to start another loop once you’ve made your extra space (or two, or three). Another way to think of it is that a “space” is a knot that doesn’t have a string associated with it. This needs to be a full knot. If you make a half knot, then your string will not drape over the top of the bar in the ready position to make the next loop. And yet another way to see it is that you’re going through the same motions of making a loop around the top of the chair, except you don’t actually go around the top of the chair.
The final step was to weave in the remaining horizontal strings, in this case the yellow, red, and turquoise under the black on the back and the turquoise on the seat. This was a matter of making sure that both the back of the chair and the seat had enough room on the arms for the loops. To make everything meet up just right in the middle, I worked each side together.
Inspired by my old friend, Charley Underwood who used to publish the Peace Calendar, instead of responding to the latest headline by forwarding every urgent message that I receive, I’m going to resist the temptation and collect information and action items and post them here. For now it’s my answer to managing information such that I’m not peppering my friends with ALERTS. I appreciate receiving such emails (please keep them coming) and have included some things from my inbox below. But when I realized that I was soothing myself with indiscriminately forwarding messages, I thought there should be a better way. This is what I’m trying for now.
This not a to-do list. It is my attempt to organize ideas and resources. I would also like it to be a reflection of what people have been doing, a reminder that we are not alone. To the extent that it’s relevant to current affairs, I will also include art and entertainment items. Mainly, I hope this will be useful to anyone who is looking for concrete ways to be one of the many stewards who will share whatever talent they have to help protect our democracy.
I welcome your thoughts about how to make it better.
Nothing is inevitable. We have a say in what happens next.
MN Governor Tim Walz and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke rally in Texas.
“I want to remind us all that the power is with the people. These are very dark days. These are very strange times in this country. We have a president who is pushing our democracy, the rule of law, the very Constitution itself up to the precipice. And I think we all must remember that we can push back.”
-Former Congressman, Beto O’Rourke
I like how Beto O’Rourke and the organization he founded, Powered by People, are focused on registering people to vote. I also appreciate leadership that models taking action.
Be a Campaign Volunteer – There’s a critical election for supreme court justice in Wisconsin on Tuesday, April 1.
Learn Something
Subscribe to Jim Hightower’s newsletter, Lowdown. Both paid and free subscriptions are available. TIP: To manage your inbox, try reserving a certain time in the week to look through your newsletters.
Discuss the above podcast episode (or another podcast, book, etc. of your choosing) with at least one other person. If you can, gather a few people in the same room and see what others think. “One-way communication” in which we listen to a podcast, watch a YouTube video or read something where ideas are promoted without any chance to raise questions or offer suggestions can be frustrating and dispiriting. The solution is to make it a habit (a rule?) to talk with each other about the news.
Sharon recommends subscribing to Joyce Vance on Substack. She says, “Joyce Vance is the best. A former US prosecutor and US attorney, she knows the ins and outs of what’s going on, and several times a week posts with enlightening but not overwhelming summaries of current events and what’s important, while staying optimistic and fair.”
If you’re in the Twin Cities…
Tuesday April 1, 8, 22, and 29th at 7:00 PM – Storytelling for Social Change. A four session in-person / hands-on class on how stories can be used for community building and advocacy. For more information see The American School of Storytelling.
Visit the Hennepin County History Museum, which was recently featured on KSTP. The collection of Heart of the Beast Theater puppets that is on display looks amazing! In 1983, the Circle of Water Circus used these huge constructions to raise awareness of the ecological distress of the river, with performers traveling down the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Louisiana.
Be Counted
Join the AFSCME UMN rally supporting students targeted by ICE at the University of Minnesota campus on Monday, March 31, 12 PM at 100 Church St SE, East Bank Campus, Minneapolis in front of Morrill Hall.
My neighbor Jill writes:
"Dear Friends, quick action item, please sign if you can. We need to keep hammering these F-heads until it hurts! I just signed the petition "To President Zelenskyy, From Embarrassed Americans" and wanted to ask if you could add your name too. This campaign means a lot to me and the more support we can get behind it, the better chance we have of succeeding... Thank you!"
My neighbor Mary Ann forwarded an idea to contact the president. As of this post, it is past March 15, the date suggested for this action. But if you are so moved to try it, here’s the info:
Dear Family and Friends,
Members of the church of a long time friend, along with people from many other groups, are sending postcards to Trump on March 15 to tell him how we feel about his policies.
Our friend wrote, "Nothing vile, just the truth. I said that the way he was treating people made me feel embarrassed to be American. Spread the word! We'd like Trump to get an avalanche of a million postcards. You can easily turn any greeting card into a postcard.
(Maybe) Every little bit counts!"
Would you also spread the word via your contacts?
Here's the address: The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20500
Elias: "How [does DOGE] fit into or not fit into the constitutional structure? And...what can people do about it? People are worried that their data has been compromised..."
Raskin: "...the United States District Court for the District of Columbia rendered yet another victory for the forces of democracy and freedom. They found DOGE is in fact a federal agency, something that DOGE was resisting. And yet the federal district court... found that DOGE is a federal agency and is subject to federal law, specifically, The Freedom of Information Act. The last thing I did before I got on this call... I completed filling out a form... demanding of DOGE... in my neighborhood we call it the 'Dissing our Government Employees statute,' I was demanding... that they turn over to me all the data they have on me from the Social Security Department, from the Department of Education, college student loans, anything they would have from any federal department that they've assembled. I want to see it. And guess what? I've got a right to see it... I want to know whether they've made any changes to it. I have a right to determine whether everything in there is accurate... I also want to know whether it's been diverted and leaked out to any third-party source, whether it is Elon Musk's artificial intelligence program... or any other business. I have a right to know that. That's my data. And guess who else has that right? 340,000,000 Americans. And for the cost of a stamp, you can... say give me all this information."
My friend Santwana has been hosting gatherings that have been steadily growing. The group has been attending town hall meetings and organizing protests in Richfield, MN.
A protest in Richfield, MN
Be a Campaign Volunteer
This Tuesday, April 1, there is a special election for a supreme court justice in Wisconsin. Once again, Elon Musk is trying to subvert democracy and buy voters so that he can control the courts. This weekend is your last chance to be a campaign volunteer for Susan Crawford who is running against the MAGA candidate. You can “push back” against Musk and join a virtual phone bank to remind Wisconsin Democrats to vote on Tuesday, April 1.
Volunteer at a food shelf or other organization where they are helping people who are being negatively impacted by illegal Republican policies and cuts.
Conserve Energy
Be selective about your news sources. Don’t let a 24-hour news cycle demoralize you. Do not reward bad actors with your clicks.
Limit social media. After reading More Than Words – How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI by John Warner, Brian was inspired to remove social media apps from his phone and to check his social media once a week. In the meantime, I’ve been mostly off of social media since before the pandemic. I’m considering joining Mastodon, which is an open-source federation of social media servers that operates much like what we’re used to, except no one owns it. At the very least, get off Shitter (everyone you were following moved over to BlueSky). Get off of InstaScam and Tic-Toxic. Stop feeding the beast.
This Made me Laugh
Final Thoughts
There are lots of different ways to gather. The important thing is to find your people and to be with them. Before we can “speak truth to power,” we have to talk to each other.
Questions to Ponder
How much of your daily communication is “one-way?” How can you balance it with conversations in which you are a contributor as opposed to just a consumer?
Jim Hightower feels hopeful about the new National Democratic Party Chair, Ken Martin who is from Minnesota. He thinks it could be a good indication that the party is at least considering returning to its grassroots. At the moment, given that the Democrats are out of power, Martin is the top dog. What should be communicated to him from the grassroots?
If you want to follow this bulletin (as opposed to the following entire TP&AC blog, which you can do here), the RSS FEED is twopeopleandacat.com/category/politics/feed. If you need a newsreader to subscribe to RSS feeds, try Feedly.com. If you’d rather just get an email notifying you of posts of this political bulletin, send me your email address here. If you would like to submit an item for this bulletin or you have suggestions for how to make it more useful, you can reach me here.
Goals & Policies
Make an actionable political digest that inspires people to be stewards of our democracy, and to find a way to contribute to the effort that makes the most sense for any given individual.
Link to clean websites that are free and whenever possible do not bombard the user with ads.
While she does not want to join one, my sister likes to know what her friends are reading in their book clubs. So, when I received a reminder that the Merriam Park Book Club would be discussing This Is Happinessby Niall Williams, it gave me an idea. I thought it might be fun to occasionally assemble a list of books based on the titles that come up in conversations.
From my neighborhood, Susan writes:
“I am currently reading a novel called Stacken (The Colony)by Swedish writer/songwriter-singer Annika Norlin. I am reading it in Swedish for an American Swedish Institute literature class. The online class is very similar to a book club only our discussions are in Swedish. (The reading isn’t too hard for me, but talking about the book in Swedish is a struggle.) The book was a bestseller in Sweden. It is about a burned out go-getter who flees to the northern forest where she encounters a group of people who, for various reasons, have dropped out of mainstream society. The book is weird but very engrossing. It was only recently translated into English.”
Meanwhile, Ann’s book club recently read The BeeKeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. “It is about a family fleeing Syria during the civil war and trying to get to England as immigrant refugees. Very timely in general.”
Also timely, at the open coffee hour that we host most Saturday mornings, we learned that the young Jacob across the street just purchased George Orwell’s 1984. Apparently, he needed something to cleanse murder from his pallet as he also picked up Crime and Punishment. Upon hearing this, Ralph blurted “Dostoevsky!” The kid’s mother told him that reading it would “make him feel as though he had actually committed the crime and was now suffering through the punishment.” Not to be outdone by the 14-year-old, Ralph recommended Winston Churchill’s The Gathering Storm. It is part of a WWII series and pairs well with the headlines of the day.
At a recent political salon that we hosted, Joel mentioned Arlie Russell Hochschild’s works Stolen Pride and Strangers in their Own Land. Later he wrote: “The librarian in me needs to share these recommendations for understanding the current, angry electorate.” He suggested starting with Strangers in their Own Land.
Joel also shared news that Minnesota Senator John Marty’s father passed away at the age of 97. While I knew of Sen. Marty’s progressive politics, I did not realize that his father, Martin E. Marty, was a prominent religious scholar and, according the New York Times, a “staunch champion of pluralism.” Marty wrote such books as: The One and the Many – America’s Struggle for the Common Good and Modern American Religion, Volume 2, The Noise of Conflict, 1919-1941.
Brian says that More Than Words – How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI by John Warner was a highly energizing book. He liked how Warner “continuously puts human needs first without whining so much about how AI is an affront to this approach…” Knowing my hatred for “content,” he interrupted a YouTube video about toggle bolts to quote from the book:
“The biggest shift over the course of my life as a writer has been the transformation of writing into something known as ‘content’. Content is anything that can be consumed by an audience via a platform. Content is stuff where the primary purpose is to draw an audience to feed them advertising. Lots of content on the internet is writing, but there is also content made of words that does not qualify as writing. The meaning, purpose, and quality of the content is immaterial, provided it can be monetized through clicks. There is no genuine communicative intent behind content… One of the most immediate and potentially damaging consequences of generative AI is its potential to drown us in content whose only purpose is to capture clicks to generate revenue through online advertising.”
In an age of market-worship, it can be easy for a humanitarian to feel like a dinosaur. So, it’s refreshing to stumble upon anything that affirms a sensibility that says that we’re more than what we can produce and that some of the best things in life are inefficient, and that our humanity is worth preserving.
As for the Williams book that sparked the idea for a post like this, Cheryl writes that This is Happiness is a gorgeous Irish novel with a strong recommendation by all in her book club. “It is lovely and dense and yummy and peaceful.” Next the group will be reading Girl Woman Otherby Bernadine Evaristo. “God only knows how we come to our choices,” Cheryl writes. “But it’s always a lively conversation and we have stumbled on some beautiful books.”
Cheryl is herself a debut author. Her book Poised is a story set in 1990s Kentucky where “a naïve but spirited doctor, Shelly Riley, slogs through a two-year fellowship. Continually hampered by chauvinist mentors and exhausting training, she battles for the lives of her cancer patients… Cancer care isn’t funny, but people are…”
Tooting my own horn,Big Talk is a book of 42 Questions in which your friend circles can write in their answers. It tracks with my podcast, QuOTeD – The Question of the Day, in which I ask people one question and then assemble audio montages using their answers. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the answers that my neighbors have supplied in my copy of the book. I self-published it as a way to learn about that process.
If you choose to purchase any of these books, please consider supporting a local bookstore whenever possible. Or find them at your library. You can even check out digital books and audio books using a library app.
A friend pointed out that macramé is a pattern made with knots, hence the quotes. What I was doing, he said, was weaving. Here’s a chair that I made for my brother and his wife.
I wanted to weave a QR code into it, like this:
To make the pattern, I used a QR code generator. Then I transferred the image onto a spreadsheet. Because every line of code was different, it was slow and fussy work. In the end, weaving a QR code onto a lawn chair did not work, making the chair itself seem broken with its dead link. Using better contrasting colors and sticking to just two colors might have fixed the problem. But Christmas was coming and I didn’t have the time nor the patience to experiment further. For now, I’ll leave weaving QR codes to bamboo weaver Xie Shiyang.
On the bright side, starting over inspired a better way to keep track of a pattern without constantly referring to a piece of paper. First, note the pattern:
Width=6 Height=8 Identical rows: 1 & 5 Reverse Rows: 4 & 8 are the reverse of 1 & 5; 2 & 7; 3 & 6
Next make a cheat sheet. R-1, R-2 and R-3 are unique. The remaining rows are either identical or the reverse of these three distinct rows. This is indicated with parenthesis on my cheat sheet.
Weaving Cheat Sheet
Another way to see this pattern is that there are two distinct rows: R-1 and R-2. The remaining rows are variations of R-1 and R-2. As an experiment, you could:
In a 6 x 8 grid, make two random rows.
For the 3rd row, shift R-2 to the left by three.
R-4 is the reverse of R-1 (or shift to the left by 3, I’m not sure if there’s a difference)
R-5 is the same as R-1
R-6 is the reverse of R-3
R-7 is the reverse of R-2
R- 8 is the reverse of R1 (and R-5)
This is what I came up with in a few minutes of playing with my spreadsheet:
Here’s what the repetition looks like:
My spreadsheet (Excel) is set up to change colors when I enter a “1” in a cell, which makes it easy to experiment.
After making the cheat sheet (above), I wove in the corresponding colors into the chair. These temporary threads make it easy to weave without losing your place because you can see the pattern at a glance.
A large zip tie can be woven alongside each colored guide and twisted as needed to hold up the threads for easier weaving. Though imperfect, it’s easy to imagine an improved tool.
Zip ties can also be used as “needles” to get into tight spaces. Thread the eye of a zip tie with any string that fits and make a loop. Then thread your larger cord through the loop.
On a related note, it’s possible to correct a mistake without undoing rows of work. Depending on the issue, you can carefully untie rows, take out just the problem row, reweave it (a good use for the zip-tie-as-needle trick), and re-crochet everything back into place.
To fix a mistake, untie the rows enough to get to the problem row. Then take out just the problem row and re-weave it. Then re-crochet/tie/lock down the ends.
Here’s the chair before the new seat. The webbing was worn out and it was due to be replaced. As you can see, the arms of the chair were originally blue. I did not paint them, though some wondered if I had.
It’s predictable. Whenever I bring a new chair into the house, Bert will claim it.
Bert sitting on free chair.
He’s grown quite a bit since I took the above picture, which is to say that it takes me a while to get around to fixing the chairs that I’ve been collecting. Several layers of fabric covered this particular one. Michael liked the floral pattern.
Michael sitting on free chair minus several covers.
However, someone else covered it with plaid.
The chair had several layers of fabric on it.
The original upholstery was gold with boxing and piping (sorry, no picture). It’s only a coincidence that I chose fabric in a similar color ($50 +) to cover the new cushion ($25) that replaced one that was gross and crumbling.
The cushion was shot.
Needing practice before cutting into my new not-free fabric, I made a pillow out of scraps. And then I used sheets to make a dummy cover that mimicked the original style, which had boxing with welting along the top and bottom.
To practice, I made a dummy cover using an old sheet. Notice the piping on the top and bottom of the cushion. This is how the original cover was.
I also made a cut pattern using Inkscape, which is a vector-based design program. I know the software just enough to muscle my way through a project like this. Apart from the inherent problems with my plan (see below), it worked great. In fact, I was so excited about this discovery that I wanted to make a tutorial in which I would explain how to draw a rectangle to represent the size of your fabric and similarly how to draw the pattern to scale. The best part was using the “transform” option to put an object at a perfect 45-degree angle for those pieces that are to be cut on the bias. Explaining such basic things is like pretending that I’m Julia Child whenever I make a grilled cheese sandwich, as if anyone needs to be told how to butter bread.
Still, making a quick video might be useful to someone and it would be good to keep up with my video editing skills. One problem. There’s no such thing as a quick video. Somehow, what was supposed to be a five-minute demonstration kept creeping over the half-hour mark. It gave me an appreciation for the preparation, talent and (ironically) time that’s needed to make succinct tutorials.
This cut pattern was made using Inkscape.
As for the problem with my cut plan, the cushion has welting/piping/cording on the top edge and the bottom edge. I understood how to attach the top part, even if I still can’t do it perfectly. However, based on how the original cover was done, and limited in experience, I came up with a rather wasteful way of attaching the bottom welting, hence the diagonal strips that are over 6″ wide in my cut plan. Because the cover is stretched and stapled to the bottom of the slip seat, I thought I would need enough fabric in the welting to accomplish this. Unless we’re talking about salt, too much is better than too little when you’re guessing. At least that was my logic.
This is the new cover without batting or the crown.
I finally worked up the courage to cut my fabric using the pinking shears that I found in my Christmas stocking last year. I was suspicious of the scissors, as they were not like the ones my mother has, the same ones my sister used to cut her hair when we were kids. My new scissors looked like something you would find in a preschool art room. There were also the YouTube videos that convinced me that a hot knife was essential. What’s the point of starting without it? I understand the contradiction. On the one hand, give me what I grew up with. On the other hand, how am I supposed to cut an accurate line without a tool that I discovered yesterday watching a Salerite video?
The pinking shears worked great. I made the cover and it fit the cushion fine. It’s pictured above with the new cushion but without the batting (FREE) that is supposed to cover the foam to give it a better shape (and make the seat more comfortable?). For that I used the cotton that I recovered from an old box spring. Because a synthetic covering protected the material, the cotton was clean and in perfect shape. However, it did contain seeds. But given that I’ve found hay and horse hair in some of these old chairs, I figured that it should be okay.
Later I was looking at Steve Cone’s book on upholstery and noticed a different method for attaching the bottom cording, as opposed to the convoluted way that I did it. It is stapled to the bottom of the seat after the cover is stapled in place. This made a lot more sense, as it seemed tricky to attach the bottom cording in exactly the right place on the boxing before it is stretched over the cushion and attached. It certainly required less fabric. It’s probably like a lot of things with upholstery. There’s more than one way to do it. Either way, I opted to undo some of my work and attach the bottom welting with staples as opposed to sewing it onto the boxing.
By accident, I discovered that the welting on the bottom needs to be reinforced with a cardboard upholstery tack strip ($16 for 20 feet). I will also need to get some black cambric to cover the bottom of the chair, which is supposed to be cheap. I thought about using scrap fabric but figured that the cambric is super lightweight for a reason. And though I do have a roll of landscape fabric that seems like it could do the job, I’m going to get the cambric.
Here’s the result, including my test pillow, which is a mess, but I like it anyway.
The mostly finished chair, with batting and the cover stapled in place.
As for forming the “crown,” (you might be able to see the curve of the cushion in the above picture), I put together scraps of polyester batting left over from other projects and placed it under the foam cushion. Absent those remnants, which I’m glad to have saved, could I have used something else? Could I use old socks? And if so, would I need to shred them to keep them from feeling too hard or lumpy underneath the cushion?
Aside from the supplies already listed, there was adhesive and enough staples to do an entire dining set (lots of doing and redoing). In addition, the stretchers on the chair needed to be glued. It’s nice to get to a point when a repair like that doesn’t require a trip to the hardware store, as I had clamps that worked. There were also spots on the legs that needed to be touched up. Again, it was cool to have the supplies on hand. I never addressed the decorative pieces at the corner of the legs, except to remove the broken ones. To make the chair right, I would either need to remove the remaining ones or replace the missing ones. Finally, I still need to screw to seat to the chair (after adding the dust cover/cambric to the bottom).
Taking a class would give me a better eye for what’s done and what needs more work. In this case, I can see the chair isn’t perfect. Some live instructions might be needed to get it closer. For now, this is good enough.
Once again, Bert has claimed the chair in its new incarnation. He still needs to be reminded not to claw on it.
Last year Brian ran over the starter pin/key for our Remington electric lawn mower with… the lawn mower. I did not remember this until… I wanted to mow the lawn. After searching for a replacement and getting nowhere, I glued what was left of our mangled key back together.
I took a lot of pictures and measurements of the key that turned out to be mostly unnecessary.
Aside from wanting to keep the machine going from an environmental perspective, the mower was a housewarming gift from my parents. It was 2008 and we were so excited to have it, I made a thank you video.
As I tried to clamp the unclampable broken key, I thought of Bron Zeage of the Secret Underground Laboratory Recovery and Salvage, and I thought of Colin Knecht of WoodWorkWeb. Those guys can clamp anything. I thought about IQ tests. They should include a clamping challenge. I thought about how you have to see a lot of clamping solutions multiple times before any of them would ever naturally present themselves to you in a pinch. As such, I resorted to taping the glued joint, an idea I took from YouTube videos about fixing ceramics. It felt like giving up. But it worked.
Before trying to use my newly glued key and possibly damaging it even more, my friend Craig suggested that I document the dimensions. It was a good idea, as the key no longer easily slid into the keyhole. Ultimately, it did not work. And until I figured out why, it would be pointless to ask my neighbor to print me a new key using his 3D printer. Maybe someone already posted a design on ThingiVerse.com? No such luck. Maybe someone had one I could borrow now that Sear’s didn’t make the part anymore? My post received no bites on FreeCycle. And on FaceBook, I could not get past the various pop-up privacy statements (which I assume went something like, “Screw you!”) to post anything there. I checked eBay, CraigsList, Parts Select and came up with zip.
Alternatively, Craig suggested that it might be possible to circumvent the need for a key by adding a toggle switch. He said this like knowing how a light switch works is common knowledge, which made me think that it should be (along with being able to tie a boat to the top of a car and any number of clamping challenges). With instructions to send Craig a picture of the lawn mower so that he could further assess the problem and help me, I went out to the garage with my camera/iPad. And then, seeing the three screws that keep the “key box” together, I became hopeful that a solution would be obvious once I took the thing apart.
Nothing was obvious (including the disassembly). The screws that I removed were deep inside a channel. I worried that it would be impossible to put them back.
Taking the “key box” apart seemed like a good idea at the time.
After discussing the mower with Brian over lunch, we decided to take it to a repair shop. We were about to load it into the back of my Mazda when inspiration struck. As I was telling Brian about how the key mechanism confused me, it dawned on me how the thing worked. This is not the first time that an answer revealed itself as I tried to explain a problem to Brian. For some reason, just his standing there while I’m fiddling with something can induce insight. Though other times, I need a ton of space to think. It’s on him to know the difference.
At first glance, I couldn’t make sense out of the key mechanism.
When the key is inserted, its 45° angle at the tip pushes over a disk that is on a shaft with a spring. This places the disk over a button on a switch box. When the lever on the lawn mower handle is pulled up at the same time the key is in place (and the disk is over the button), it makes the disk rotate. This depresses the button on the switch box. I will call this a “floating” button because there must be pressure on it for it to be engaged, as opposed to a button that remains depressed after pressing it. Once the mower starts, the key pops out with the force of a small spring. Sometimes the key pops out with such force that it lands on the ground and if you don’t notice, you might run over it.
It’s clever how the key mechanism in this lawn mower works.
This kind of ingenuity cheers me up. Marvelous, isn’t it? Likewise, the oversight is amusing. Whatever happened to a hole and some string? Why not attach the key to the mower? That way it would be unlikely that a person would ever lose or damage it.
Many of the measurements I took of the key turned out to be unnecessary. However, knowing the rough shape and size of the original key was critical. And I would need to remember that the 45° angle on the key must face the disk. This requirement probably explains the shape of the key that forces it to be inserted in the right direction. Making a new key should be simple. I thought about using wood. Ultimately, I used vinyl. Two layers of tiles with adhesive were rigid and about the perfect thickness. It was also relatively easy to cut with an X-Acto knife, making easy work of any fine tuning that would be needed.
The vinyl pieces I used came to me via FreeCycle.org. I had an idea for how I might use a case of them but then changed my mind. So, I took the tiles to ReStore, which is a second-hand building supply center affiliated with Habitat for Humanity. When I discovered that I had missed a few, it was annoying because it seemed unlikely that I could reunite the spare pieces with the larger group and they were probably useless on their own. And now they were taking up room in my garage. Who knew that I would be making a lawn mower key out of them years later? Or that it would feel like a privilege to have such junk at my disposal? It’s just too bad that it didn’t work.
Getting the disk to line up over the button on the switch box was fussy. I feared that I had messed something up when I took the thing apart (Is this a good time to mention the “spare pieces?”). So, I went inside to watch some YouTube videos about how to install a toggle switch. I had settled on a solution. I would install a big red button on the mower. Huge! And then I would put on a red plastic nose, the big shoes, striped jumpsuit, wig, the works. And then, dressed like a clown, I’d mow the lawn. We would become known as those people who rarely mow the lawn. But when they do, wow. What a show.
And then my dad called.
When my mom mentioned the key fiasco — something I must have told her about when I called to celebrate a Timberwolves victory — my dad had some suggestions. And he made me think that I should try my “vinyl key” again, even though it seemed futile. I went back to the garage. This time, instead of trying to hold things together by hand as I tested the key, I enlisted Brian’s help and took the time to screw the “key box” back together. There was no problem getting the screws back into that deep channel where it’s impossible to see. Once inside, the design forces the screw to go in straight (This was not the case with a similar design on a fan I took apart to clean. The channel wasn’t narrow enough to keep the screw straight.) When Brian pulled up on the bale, I was surprised when the mower revved up. We tested it again. Still worked. Again? Still? Brian mowed the yard. No problem. There. I fixed it.
Because the key is a tight fit, it’s permanent; the spring cannot eject it. Should I pull it apart and do some more fine tuning? Maybe. But I’m nervous about fussing with it. Let’s call it done.
Hopefully, we can get another decade out of our mower. After I re-wrap the handle with some leftover tennis racket tape, get the blade sharpened and eventually make one more repair that I’m saving for my friend Craig, it might be possible. After all, my dad is still nursing along his riding lawn mower, which he has had for 35 years.
Had I realized that this key was going to be “the key,” I might have put a little more thought into the design.
