Corner of Bourbon & Division

1.       State of the Phnee

a.       I am slowly getting my ducks in a row for improving my fitness. I obtained some resistance bands with a bit more oomph than the ones I got myself for physiotherapy a couple of years ago, as well as some interlocking/puzzle-type mats for my bedroom floor because I am a wussy who doesn’t like sitting or kneeling on the floor (it bruises our boneses, precious!). My friend fearsclave gave me a two-week trial of an app called FitBod (a bit on the nose, but whatever) which provides me with exercises based on not only my fitness levels but also what equipment I have available, which is quite handy. It has a couple of bugs I need to work out (pun only sort of intended), such as giving me dumbbell exercises when I don’t own dumbbells, but it still seems well worth a try.

I also went for a one-hour walk in the late afternoon yesterday and got rewarded with a winter rainbow in the distance. I had never considered that winter could also produce rainbows, but it makes sense: snow is just crystallized water, right? And this rainbow was more of a large smudge than the classic arc shape, so that makes sense to my amateur brain. Anyway, it definitely made the walk in the ice and cold worth it.

b.       My friend Jan put me onto a local market (the Martintown Market) which stocks up once a week on low-cost produce and also has locally raised pork and chicken. I went yesterday for the first time to check them out and was pleasantly surprised. It was smaller than I’d imagined, just a very small room with a dozen or so produce bins and two upright freezers right off County Road 18. I almost missed it because the only sign on the road is an itty bitty one that says, “Come in, we’re open!” without specifying what it is. Still, I was able to fill half of a regular reusable grocery bag with fruits and veggies for $15, which likely would have cost me twice as much if I’d gone to the grocery store. I tried to be mindful of how much I got, because a lot of people depend on that little store for their produce, and since KK and I are just two people and she doesn’t eat a lot of produce, I wanted to make sure there was plenty left for other people. I’m pretty pleased overall. I will see how long this produce lasts, and I will probably make this a regular part of my route.

c.       I’m taking over as Clerk of Ministry & Counsel this year, which means putting together the agenda for every meeting, but more importantly I am responsible for writing all our reports and for putting together Committees of Care, Clearness Committees, and general care for the Members of Ottawa Monthly Meeting. I am a little terrified that I won’t be able to fill the shoes of our last Clerk, who declared they were stepping down last fall. Even if they wanted to come back, they are now facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, so they will have to focus on their health and family for the next few months. M&C are a great group, so I know I will get lots of support, but I’m still pretty intimidated.

2.       State of the smallholding

a.       I lost one of the quail on Friday. I’m pretty bummed because I couldn’t figure out why she’d died. She was dry, so it’s not like she got wet and then couldn’t get warm. I don’t think it was lack of food or water, and she showed no signs of illness or injury. I wonder if she didn’t get eggbound but didn’t suffer a prolapse like last time, but I’m not about to perform an amateur necropsy, so I’m just going to have to keep doing my best and see.

b.       I got myself a new-to-me John Deere snowblower a few weeks ago, but I can’t figure out how to keep it running. It turns on just fine, but the moment I switch off the throttle (I might be getting the terminology wrong), it sputters to a halt. I will have to go to YouTube to see what I’m doing wrong and hope I can figure it all out.

3.       State of the news

a.       WELP. The United States attacked/invaded Venezuela during the night of the 3^rd, and kidnapped President Maduro and his wife and have declared that the US will be serving as an “interim government” until further notice, with no end date given. Also, apparently American oil companies will be taking over Venezuelan oil to “revitalize and rebuild” or some shit.

American interference in South American politics, and deposing dictators in general, has a terrible track record. This is blatantly not about the dictatorship, anyway, just about gaining control of Venezuelan oil. They’re just using it as a thinly veiled excuse to install a regime more favourable to the US, which will result in the population getting oppressed and exploited for several more years before they rise up and overthrow that government and then it gets replaced with something that may or may not be just as terrible. Fuck American imperialism, frankly.

I was hoping for a less mealy-mouthed response to this by other world leaders, especially Canada. People seem so impressed by Carney, but I am not seeing it. I wish Canada would grow a fucking backbone and take a firm policy stand on these matters, but I guess that’s too much to hope for. It will also be interesting to see how China reacts to this, since I believe Venezuela sells the majority of its oil to them. It’s likely to get messy…