Red Sky in Morning

 We have a red, red sky this morning.  Supposedly there is light snow falling... there isn't, though forecasters are predicting some for later this afternoon, but only flurries.  The temps are predicted to pop above freezing tomorrow, but only briefly.  After that they will be dropping down for at least another week.

Yesterday was a pretty decent day as far as getting things done.  I made some beef jerky.  Some of it's okay, some is... well...  I wanted to try my hand at dehydrating beef but didn't want to spend an exorbitant amount at my neighborhood Giant supermarket, so I bought clearance beef.  These were good cuts for cheap.  A learning experience occurred.  You need to loose lean beef when making jerky.  All that tasty marbling which adds flavor to your steak, or pot roast?  That's fat and fat doesn't dehydrate.  Nope.  Fat melts.  So I have 2 bags of jerky.  One consisting of lean pieces, and one that got very dry, except for the fatty parts.  I used a garlicky marinade, so both types are quite delicious, it's just that one needs to stay refrigerated.  It will get eaten first.

I also got a decent leg workout in yesterday, you know?  The hated squats and lunges.  

I also get to work today.  As I've said early, we're heading into inventory, so they may want me to do some physical labor.  We'll see how much I really do.

Here's a pic of the sunrise.

Yesterday Frankie Graham said the fires in Los Angeles are probably not God's Judgement on the state.  This surprised me.  Frankie's been an avid supporter of the Moral Degenerate soon to be in the White House.  He has asked people to pray for the Orange Anus.  Claiming that the fires probably were judgement would have helped Orangey with his divisive tactics, so I'm wondering if there might be some small, unspoken rift developing between Orangey and his Evangelical base.  He no longer needs their votes, and he's never once admitted to even believing in God.  Could it be that Frankie's realizing that Orangey has no intentions of making this a Christian country?  None of the wannabe Oligarchs has ever exhibited any true religious sentiment... well, Elonia seems to be favoring Aryanism and that has it's own god network.  One thing we all need to keep in mind is that Orangey will do anything to curry favor from those who are much richer than he is, and that's a bad thing.

 

Creativity

 Well, it's Friday.  This is my 5th day off in a row, and I'm off tomorrow as well.  The 2 week are pretty much the same.  Christmas weekend I only work on that Saturday, and then again on Christmas Eve for 5 hours, after that my hours pick up.  

Weather wise, today's supposed to be partly cloudy with highs climbing into the low 50s (F).  I'm ready for the partly sunny, though honestly, sunny would be so much better.  The days are so short this time of year, a bright sunny day is an event to celebrate.

I have about 60 pages of editing left before the final draft of The Body in Motion is complete.  That in itself is exciting, but I will also be excited to get it into the hands of those readers who note, and comment, and suggest changes.  Sharing in the creative process is so much fun.  I find that the reliance on other voices and other opinions is essential.  This is how life is, people working together for a common cause, even if it is something as simple of helping me prepare a manuscript for publication.  Too many people out there don't even try to be creative, perhaps because they're afraid of failing, or possibly it's because they're so accustomed to relying on the creativity of others.  Anyway, I saw quote from Kurt Vonnegut and thought it appropriate.

On the dismal side of things:  Hunter Biden has been indicted again.  By this point, I'm certain most will agree that Hunter is the black sheep of the Biden family.  Republicans love this.  They need a dead horse to kick around and Hunter seems to have spent most of his adult years obliging them.   

I sent this article from the Washington Post to my brother.  It's about the great de-churching going on in America, or as the author says, the serious attrition occurring withing the Christian Church.  Is Evangelicalism killing the church?  Look no farther than Mike Johnson for your answer.  Another good example is Ronnie DeSantis, who claims that if he had been alive during the time of Jesus he could have been an apostle.  American Christianity has never been so overtly vocal about it's selfishness, a direct link to Conservatives whose favorite pronoun has become My.  My money.  My taxes.  My religion.  My God.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Holy Crap!  It's Monday.  This is my 5th day working.  I have one more before I get the day off and that's tomorrow.  Somehow I think I'm the only Specialist scheduled.  Makes sense.  Who in their right mind goes shopping for flooring on New Years Eve?  Oh, that's right, I forget, there are those morons who believe every holiday equates to a SALE.  Not this holiday.
I went downstairs this morning to find a little guest sitting in my kitchen sink.  You know, I had thought my buddy Mr. Snake had taken care of all the mousies around my house.  Well, he missed one.  This one was just teenie weenie.  Now, I don't mind if mousetraps do their job, but me?  I have a difficult time bonking the little suckers on the head.  Instead, I scooped him up in a pan set him free outside.  That right, I'm a sucker for fur.
There's an interesting article in Reuters about Religion in America... Or, maybe I should say Evangelicalism, which is a sect of Christianity.  Poll results show there are schisms forming mostly among generational lines.  The older, crazy Christians want to be much more politicized; the younger ones see them as failing.  The issues are those every Evangelical is supposed to hold dear to his heart:  immigration, no gun control, abortion, and LGBT rights.  That's right, the older ones are enamored of the late 1950's and 60's.  The younger ones see the religion as evolving and evidently less interested in Cherry Picking.  Not surprisingly, I've read that Billy Barr sees America on its way to hell... but then he's an old school Crazy White Christian.

And finally, in a little more than a day and a half we will be starting a new decade.  Some are going through a "what the hell" stage.  Not me.  I look forward to the future.  Whether you want to believe it or not, evolution happens.  Without it there is death.  Change is essential for continuity.  Life cannot exist for long in stasis.  And life here on earth will continue.  Those who dismay at change will die off.  This has been happening since the dawn of time, or the Big Bang... which ever came first.  The only thing we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.  This year will be very interesting as more of the old school dies off and more of the new school continues to exert itself.  Out with the Old, in the the New.