I don't know which term is the right one either. The friend of my great paint who fave aunt's eulogy at her funeral referred to herself as Hindu. She was a convert to the religion, born to Irish Catholicism. But, though I have known people who practiced the religion, I never really understood what term was appropriate within the community of believers. Aunt's friend was a serious outlier in this rural area.

100% agree. It is truly weird, and not helpful for this family at all. The woman had some pretty big issues. It is an epic cluster eff of dysfunction for sure, so it really should not be shocking to anyone that it is finally being played out in a pretty public and bizarre way. Eventually, volcanos erupt, and this crap had been boiling under the surface for so long, it was bound to make its way out with force.

Yesterday, the 14th: Breakfast - granola and a little milk Late lunch - black bean burgers with mushrooms, green onions, hummus with red pepper sticks on the side Snack type supper - leftover hummus and veggies, cheddar cheese slice, roasted green beans, kind of cleaning out the fridge meal for both of us I did have a few potato chips. I was craving salt throughout the day. Don't know why. ETA: and I began the day, as usual, slaying the coffee gods in a battle for my soul! 😁

Just lovely!!!

It happens a lot here, and it is very off putting. It generally makes me wary of the person because that is not an organic way for the topic to come up. It is especially hard now that we have deconverted. We do not practice any religion which makes us quite suspect, but for fun, we like to follow some Viking traditions from Dh's heritage which means celebrating winter and summer solstice, Jul, and having a Nisse house in the yard. In this very predominately conservative, Christian town, we are viewed with deep suspicion because of it, and have had the cute Nisse house vandalized more than once. It just has little elf and fairy furniture in it. But when my grandsons are here, they leave treats and trinkets for the Nisse so I guess combined with our Go`d Jul sign, and Viking tree of life ornament on the Christmas tree our front, it is a bridge too far foe the neighbors or something. It could also be that everyone has figured out that we have deconverted so they assume combined with the little viking/Norse things, we have joined another religion. I try not to let it bother me too much, but I have a hard time because vandalizing property is NOT cool.

In my childhood home town , I had classmates who were JW, and LDS, and one whose family was Wiccan but I knew no one of any other religious group beyond mainstream Christianity or non-religious families. In college, I met a great diversity of religious folks, and had friends and acquaintances whose beliefs were kind of across the religious map including, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, and Islam. When I had a music performance career, I often met musicians who were raised in quite a variety of religious families, but not practicing as adults. My Native American colleague practiced her ancestral faith, but we didn't work together very long so I never knew if it had a specific name or what those practices were beyond a deep spiritual connection to nature and the importance of animal imagery. My grandsons are exposed to many religions. They belong to a secular homeschool group. Among their friends' families are those of Jewish faith and some who are Jewish by ancestry but not practicing, Islamic, Buddhist, Wiccan, and Hindu. They are being exposed to much more diversity than I was growing up. ETA: We live in an area with a lot of folks who are Amish and Mennonite. While the lifestyle of the Mennonite group is different from mainstream Christianity, I would never think of them as a different religious group from Christianity just like the Moravians in the town over even though many Christians do not know Moravian or what makes them different from say, Methodists. Different, but absolutely just another version of christian. However, the local Amish have some rather strange beliefs that are far enough removed from the bell curve of christianity, that I do not believe they can be lumped into that category even though they do practice baptism. For one thing this group does not believe in the trinity, and thinks of Christ as more like Moses, npand do not believe in a holy spirit, so the baptism thing kind of mystifies me. I don't even know if this is common among Amish in other areas, or if they are their own little branch. I also thought of one more thing. My parents, for a couple of years in my childhood, belonged to an apocalyptic cult. Now the group thought of themselves as Christian, but it was sooooooo a cult. They spent a lot more time worried about predictions of worldwide collapse, current events, some dumb newsletter from "someone in the know", and spent a lot of money prepping. The prepper thing was insane. My dad spent money he didn't have on end times prepper stuff, meanwhile because of that, our family suffered food insecurity, lack of medical care, etc. My brother, mother, and I were eternally grateful when the group fell apart, and he figured out it was bunk, and went back to being a Methodist. But during that time, I think it would have been accurate for my classmates to say in hindsight, " I grew up around some kids whose parents were in a weird cult."

I hope not. I don't like thinking the worst. But I truly can't understand the mentality.

This is where I fall. I just can't imagine it. It is another reason I truly believe Charles does not care about Archie and Lilibet. Sure. Have a beef with your son. But don't make two innocent grandkids your sacrificial pawns. Charles and Camilla both give me the vibe that if something horrible happened, they would not be able to muster a tear in false grief much less anything real. I guess that is what happens when you are willing to spend years not giving a rip about how your actions affect your minor children, and actively ripping apart their mother. Cold.

I didn't mean it that way. I don't think he is a dunderhead to begin with, and the US, sorry to everyone out there, has sent some real morons into diplomatic assignments which should not happen. I was just being lighthearted and trying to say that a country without the media presence owe have, somewhere rather unlikely to raise scrutiny, might be on option for them to live safely. Micronesia does NOT deserve an idiot from the US. However, I do not view Prince Henry that way. I actually think he could be good at it. I will delete my other post.

🤐

Ignore. 90% chance she is into and MLM and desperate for new prey.

When I was a kid, we were rather violent with the stuff. Nobody seemed to understand the danger of milkweed pod juice in the eyes, and we would collect the pods in two huge piles, divide into two teams, build make shift forts out of whatever we could find lying around behind my dad's automotive shop, and have milkweed pod wars. About 20 kids from the town, 10 a side, and the big kids kept the little kids they were supposed to be watching in the back to protect them from the grenades. Little kid job was to collect pods that landed inside the fort and replenish the supply or hop over the back wall and grab the ones that went long. I don't know how we managed to escape someone having an eye injury. But we never had it happen. Our moms sure would get mad about the sticky clothes though! My brother started a pod war after church on a Sunday while she was cooking lunch, and he never bothered to change first. I thought his ears might fall off when she was done yelling at him! 😂

Good advice! I wear safety glasses and gloves on the rare occasions I have to do something with it.

Boy, I wish I could help. We didn't start out own milkweed, it was here in a small amount when we moved, and I used to try to get rid of it until a few years ago when I came to understand just how important it is to monarchs. So I have allowed it to proliferate. The only time I try to restrain it is when it gets super close to my raised beds because I do not want seeds dropping in them. It is a pain to dig up because of the length of those roots. I do know that several local nurseries carry seeds now because butterfly gardens are getting so popular. There are several varieties so you want to make sure you get one that is for your zone. We can grow milkweed at our house in Northern Alabama, but it is a different species than the one here in Michigan.

This right here. We can all be deluded into thinking we are doing what is best. Hindsight often proves us wrong.

Potentially. But in most places, the only neighborhoods with gated communities, and the opportunity to hire significant security is in uber wealthy areas. I mean, they can come to my neck of the woods of Michigan. They can build a palace way cheaper than L.A. However the most security they will be able to find are a couple of guys who got rejected from police academy for super obvious reasons, who got their P.I. licenses only to discover no one out here needs a P.I. Police force is beyond limited. If the paparazzi or some obsessed stalker followed them here, there would be little protection available. I guess dh could run over to the mansion with the air gun he uses to dispatch ground hogs. Mostly, I think they would have to settle in areas with the kind of people who need security. Palm Beach, New York City, Georgetown or wherever a lot of wealthy politicians congregate, etc. and I don't think it would be considerably cheaper.

This! I really hope his therapist didn't say, "Sure, your kids already have targets on their backs, and you have a lot of things to work through, but by all means it is wise to do a tell all that will make the unstable royal obssessers back home extra out of their minds! Go for it." I would hope he was heavily advised against it. I mean, this isn't just about HIM. Lilibet and Archie have to survive this thing, and right now, they only have the security that he and Megan can afford and what is available at that price in L.A. dreaming land where every celebrity has to hire drivers and bodyguards for their kids. If it was just Meghan and him, okay then. Do it, take the consquences. But I keep coming back to those babies, and thinking, "Henry. Do the thing your father never did. Put your kids well being first. You did it once when you left the UK."

I think that could easily be it. Leave their cheese out to the wind, and if something happens, let that be a warning to anyone else who rebels against the institution. I also think that these children are considered quite expendable, in the eyes of the family and the institution, in order to make a point. I hope nothing happens to them! I think if this were say, a former president of the United States and family, and there were death threats and security issues for the children and Congress, Secret Service, and police ignored it, and said, "Screw you! You are on your own!" we the people would be up in arms. I would be livid if Barron Trump found himself without security right now. We also do not expect our presidents and their spouses and minor children to pay for their own security, even after daddy leaves office. Amy Carter, Chelsea Clinton, Malia and Sasha Obama, John and Caroline Kennedy, they were all provided security as children after their fathers left office because the depraved out there, and we know we have a lot of them, might do unthinkable things because they didn't like their parents' decisions or policies. In 1994, lifetime protection for presidents and their immediate families was amended to security for only 10 years after leaving office, and only up to age 16 for children. In 2013, Congress need on secret service recommendation went back to lifetime for the president and spouse, and extended security upon request to get adult children through high school and college, even beyond if there are credible threats. Prior to that, the Clintons and Bushes requested extension for their adult children in college which was granted. It is not remotely unreasonable, and these are not people as rich as or as widely known in the public eye as members of the royal family. Malia and Sasha still have security though their father has been out of office 6 years. I do not think this is inappropriate, nor do I resent this as a tax payer. I would be heart broken if something happened to them because they had the misfortune of being born to someone who served this country as president. It boggles my mind that this is not the case for Lilibet and Archie. They really are targets especially when in the UK which is why I do not blame their parents for not wanting to take them to the UK under the current security situation. That said, I am going to call out Prince Henry here because he allowed his emotional needs to get the better of him when he published this book, but since it added fuel to the fire, it also means that his children are probably in even more danger should they travel to the UK. This is the kind of thing that will make the UK's version of the same kind of unstable, rage minds we have here, come unhinged. I can only imagine how much worse the threats will be going forward. He needs to consider that, shut up, and start building a very private life to protect his children. It can be done. Bill Gates, richer than Henry will ever be and so very famous here in the States, managed it for his kids. Same for many, many others. I am sure any number of agents and publicists told him this was just a wonderful thing to do, blah blah blah. But in thinking about it for a while, I believe it was unwise under the circumstances.

Will you be growing your kumquats exclusively indoors or eventually introducing them to the outdoors? We have a sunny living room in Alabama large enough to easily house dwarf fruit trees, multiples of them. Dd has been thinking about dwarf citrus and banana trees. However, we know exactly nothing about keeping them as houseplants. That hasn't stopped me though. I have a basil over there on the window sill that I didn't know a thing about when I bought it. Poor thing is eyeing me trying to decide if I will be killing it or not.

This is how it seems where I live. There is the kind of end times support for the existence once of Israel in Palestine, but not support for Jewish people in America. I think that adding to what Farrar said is also the n.t. passage about "being given over to hard heartedness" so in the eyes of some Christians, maybe the idea that their god has abandoned or turned away from the Jewish people therefore it is okay to discriminate or turn away from them. Not sure. Just thinking aloud or more to the point, typing aloud. 🙂

These are beautiful!!!

Yup. That is why Mark and I go. Total detox from I.T. Our favorite is Lake Michigan Recreation Area/Huron Manistee National Forest. The day use area is so nice. We drive up with the van from our dispersed camp, walk the boardwalks, walk some of the trails, and use the bathrooms since we have a day use annual pass. Occasionally we can launch kayaks there, but Lake Michigan can be high waves and choppy, a bit on the scary side sometimes. There are great rivers in the region though, and our tandem kayak rides on top of the van on a carrier. The city park in Manistee is also quite nice.

I am so sorry! I hope you feel a lot better very soon.

Friday: Breakfast - All out assault on mount coffee - some leftover soup Lunch - french toast and grapefruit Dinner - yum, yum ,yum, Mark sparked up the grill even though it is only 25° out, and grilled brussels, green beans, red and green pepper, bean sprouts, broccoli, and mushrooms with sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and two eggs. I made brown rice, and after we filled our bowls, we topped off with teriyaki sauce.

This is why we don't road trip. We take this set up when we are staying in one area for a while. We have mini van converted to camping, and often when we are out walking/hiking/kayaking we are in the day use area of a county, state, or national park which means throughout the day, we have access to toilet facilities. We get hotels, cabins, or airbnb when road tripping though we could do it super low key with just the mini van, pull into truck stops to sleep and use the facilities, cook on the camp stove at rest stops. We could definitely do that. And no, a solar shower is not for luxurious showering that most people are accustomed to. This is get a little wet, stop the water. Lather lightly, rinse. It is a sponge bath that allows you to wash more of your body. It is not meant to be a shower like you take at home or at the state park shower house. So this type of roughing it, off grid vacation is not for everyone. It is not uncommon for us to stay off grid for a week, but then mid week drive to a truck stop and pay for a nice shower. We leave the pop up tent and tail veil with lawn chairs in camp. So far we have never been robbed, knock on wood. A lot of people leave their camera and tents, go into the recreation areas and hang out, one back at night. One of our main reasons for doing it is that Mark's job infringes on personal time all the time. Their policy is that I.T. employees are quasi on call 24/7. But if he puts in for vacation time and we go off grid, even if we have enough cell phone signal to use our cell phones - and we usually have at least enough to make an emergency phone call - there is no internet and no way to use his computer so they leave him alone. It is the same kind of isolation that we get when we are in the kayaks and on the sailboat. It is not for everyone, actually only for a very small percentage of folks who really like the great outdoors. Our mini van bed is really comfortable. I have throw pillows and cushions so if it is raining, we can be snugged up inside with books, audiobooks, and music. Sometimes I take hand sewing.