Today is a new day, I keep reminding myself. Listening to good music, eating blueberry muffins (more blueberries than muffin), cleaning my closets, petting my dog, and getting involved with something new.  Found out some information that is troubling, but I can’t do anything about it, have to let that go. Life in the big city.  I have to take the long-range view, or I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed.  Watched Trevor Noah’s newest comedy special last night. I need to watch it again. He has a lot to say. I also watched Sommore’s comedy special. Same idea, more cursing, a lot more raunchy.  POTUS went to China, but he’ll be back. Chinese folks are people who take a longer view of events, like centuries, not years. Lots of distractions from the Epstein Files. Statues, arches, ballrooms, money, wars military excursions, and more. Graduation season is upon us. The WNBA’s 30th season is here! Expansion teams last year, this year, and next year. I’m not sure who I want to cheer for. Maybe more than one team. An abundance of riches.  I need to write some poems that aren’t depressing. Don’t forget to support NPR and PBS.  We need them more than ever.  983 more days; check out the Presidential Term Countdown Clock.  I hope there is something left by then.

Wild Cooking Woman   5/12/26 

 

If you are a writer of any genre, this is for you. Writer’s Digest’s 95th Annual Writing Competition is now accepting entries. 

 

 

 

When was the last time you cleaned your fridge? I mean, really cleaned it? Took out the shelves and bins, cleaned every surface, then replaced only the good food and condiments? There are at least 10 items in your fridge that you need to check to see if they are still good to eat. If not, well, the garbage can is calling.  Items include jams, jellies, olives, pickles, and more.  

 

 

For the recipe, go here.

 

 

President Trump on Monday appointed Kari Lake, a fierce ally of the president who had led the administration’s failed efforts to shutter Voice of America and other federally funded news groups, as the next ambassador to Jamaica.

 

 

I discovered that the other people in my house weren’t cleaning my dog’s water bowl! Actually, they weren’t cleaning any of her bowls. (Let me not take the Lord’s name in vain here.) Clean your furry friend’s water and food bowls every day. You don’t eat on dirty dishes and drink from 3-day-old used glasses, do you?  (more)

 

 

Amazon Flex is advertising heavily in my area. They are offering $15 – $24 per hour to delivery drivers. You supply the car, insurance, and fuel while Amazon provides a few coins.  Meanwhile, the technical college is offering adjunct instructors the same amount to teach students. What does that tell you?

 

Shaker Lemon Pie

Ingredients

● 2 pie crusts, rolled out  to fit a 9inch pie pan and refrigerated
● 3 Meyer lemons, cut into very, very thin rounds (using a slicer or mandolin is advised)
● 2 cups sugar
● 1/2 teaspoon salt
● 2 large eggs
● 2 large egg yolks
● 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
● Egg wash (made from 1 large egg beaten with a pinch of salt)
● Sanding sugar (raw sugar, Demarra sugar, etc.)

Directions

• Toss lemon slices with 2 cups of sugar until slices are all evenly coated, and macerate (allow them to sit so the sugar can draw the liquid out) for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Beat eggs and yolks together with salt. Add flour a little at a time, whisking continuously to avoid flour lumps. Add egg mixture to the lemons and mix well with a big rubber spatula. Pour mixture into chilled bottom crust. Cover with chilled top crust and trim edges, then shape edges as desired, creating a seal. Cut slits in the top to vent pie, then place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• Right before baking, brush top of pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 20 minutes on the bottom rack, turning halfway through. Turn the oven down to 350°F (180°C) and bake until filling puffs crust up a bit, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool completely, then chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

 

 

POTUS lost his appeal of a personal lawsuit he launched against former Secretary Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, and others he blames for the Russia investigation.  The 11th Circuit declined to rehear the case, leaving an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as the only remaining option. POTUS and his lawyer, Alina Habba, were sanctioned $1 million for the “frivolous” lawsuit. (more) Habba is currently serving as Senior Advisor to the Attorney General for U.S. Attorneys.  

 

 

What do you know about critical race theory? About intersectionality?

Listen to this fascinating interview with Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, originator of both phrases.

 

 

 

 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his political future after his Labour Party experienced tough losses in local elections. Nigel Farage’s hard-right, anti-immigrant Reform Party made significant gains.

 

 

Another leader who is having trouble is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. An ultra-Orthodox Jewish party in Netanyahu’s coalition has called for parliament to be dissolved, threatening to bring down the government. The issue seems to be that the ultra-orthodox folks don’t want to participate in the mandatory military or other national service.  (more)

 

 

 

 

Blame John Roberts for Destroying the Voting Rights Act – watch the video here.

 

Life in these United States is FUBAR.  World, national, state, local politics, it doesn’t matter, FUBAR.  John Roberts is George Wallace with a Harvard Law degree, FUBAR.  Starvation is the government’s  goal for people who are dependent on SNAP, FUBAR.  Moving and trying to find a new doctor, FUBAR.  Don’t forget to support NPR and PBS.   995 more days. 

Kintsugi 5/4/26

 

Last week, in a six-to-three ruling along ideological lines, the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to what was left of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Supreme Court stomped on the Voting Rights Act in 2013, suspending preclearance provisions that required states and localities with a history of racial discrimination in voting to get approval from the federal government before changing rules that had a disparate impact on minority voters.  Then, in 2021,  the Supreme Court gave it a brutal kick by nullifying the ability to challenge laws that make it harder for minority voters to cast a ballot.  Last week, in the final, fatal blow, the Court eliminated the law’s protections against lawmakers drawing maps that dilute the political power of minority voters. “In the three most recent presidential elections, the trend shows [that] the racial turnout gap is widening,” writes Kevin Morris for The Brennan Center. 

 

 

“Red-headed, spindle-shanked Thomas Jefferson was thirty-three years old when he drafted the Declaration of Independence, in 1776,” Jill Lepore writes in The New Yorker, in her reflection on the document’s conception, both its revolutionary ideals and its failure—particularly its failure to address the institution of slavery.