Ouija board...

 On one of these neighborhood forums like NextDoor, someone asked "Do you think Ouija boards are for real?" and then proceeded to tell a story about their experience with one.  I didn't answer it because it's not as simple as yes or no, but here are my thoughts...

I don’t believe in hell or that Satan exists.  I think these are made-up stories BY men to CONTROL the masses.  I won’t say the Bible has no value as there are a lot of stories that are inspiring and can help us navigate issues of morality.  But if you believe in a kind, loving, fatherly God, how can you believe that he would create a being who would torment us, who would tempt us, who would possess us or allow awful things to happen to us?  The answer I often get to that question is that Lucifer was an angel first, who defied God who cast him out.  Which means God created Hell for Lucifer and his followers.  Does a loving God create such a negative place?  If so, why?  He is all-powerful, so why wouldn’t he simply destroy Lucifer and his followers?  A kind and loving God wouldn’t subject his children (us) to the evil that is Satan, right? 

And if you want to be literal, and take the Bible as the truth, then Hell was created to contain and punish Lucifer and his followers, so how would he be able to affect us?  Only if God gave him the power to affect us could he do so, since God is all-powerful.  Would your God do that?  Not mine!  So no, I do not believe  that MY God created a devil to roam Earth and try to lure us into sinning so we could be his minions in Hell.  My God loves every one of his children, none of whom is perfect.  Just as a parent doesn’t stop loving a child who does terrible things, God will love us no matter what.  And when we go home, our “sins” in the physical world will shed with our bodies and God will be there to welcome us home, and probably say something like "I'm so sorry you had to live that terrible life, my child." 

So with no devil, how would a silly man-made board have any power?  The power it has isn’t anything Satanic.  It’s simply the power of the mind of the user(s).  People swear the “planchette” (that little board) moves by itself, and I do believe it can.  But it’s the power of the mind that’s moving it, not the devil.  When you endeavor to use the board, you and your co-user(s) ask questions and expect certain answers, whether it’s truth or what you want to hear or what you fear, your powerful minds, especially when there’s more than one, bring those answers.  You could have two people who expect different answers, and I would suggest that the one with the most powerful desire is the one who controls the answer. 

I just wish that we could evolve enough to quit embracing this idea of a devil.  Do we really need to think that there is an afterlife where some people we deem “evil” will suffer for all of eternity?  I believe we come to earth with nothing but pure, positive energy.  The things that happen to us and around us and the actions of those whose care we rely on is what molds who we become.  What kind of God would send someone here to be raised in circumstances that damage the psyche so bad that they commit what we call “evil acts”, and then punish them with hellfire?  Wouldn’t a gracious kind God give everyone a good home with good people so no one has an “excuse” to do bad things?  In my opinion, God’s plan is simply to let us come here to seek joy in this physical life.  He leaves us alone and if we find our joy, more power to us.  If we don’t and we lose our central purpose and end up hurting ourselves or others, the real hell is living that life, living with guilt, not finding the joy. But when we decide to go home, the slate is wiped clean and we go back into pure, positive energy and once again we are enveloped in God’s love.

And just as an aside, I prefer the word Universe or Source over the word God.  I think “God” conjures up a certain image that has been planted by organized religion.  I think we (our spiritual selves) are all part of Source (or God).  We are all, collectively, the creator.  In my mind, it makes so much more sense than one supreme being playing this big game of “who gets in and who doesn’t”.  Call me defiant, but I don’t want to play that game!

Always something...

 It's been awhile since I took time to talk about life's goings-on.  Other than the election, it's been just normal every day stuff for the most part.  The election was a disappointment - not so much that I didn't get "my way" as much as a disappointment in "the human condition". It seems human decency be damned - what's really important is the money in our pockets and to get these assholes that want to live the good-life in America the fuck out.  

Yes, I like it when the economy is good.  I like it when a dollar goes further.  But no, I do not think that the economy is Biden's fault.  Everyone on the other side seems to forget that when he took office, we were coming into a pandemic that royally fucked up EVERYthing, including the economy and that kind of thing doesn't right itself quickly.  But now that it's been improving, guess who will take credit for it?  Everything was great when Obama left office, but did he get credit for it?  Nope... Trump took credit for THAT too!  But it doesn't matter... I just need to adjust my thinking like what appears to be the majority and realize that the almighty dollar trumps decency and decorum.  (See what I did there?  Teehee...)

And yes, immigrants need to come here LEGALLY.  Duh!  No one disagrees with that.  But can we agree with that AND have some empathy for those who want to escape evil dictators, horrific crime, a life of poverty?  This bullshit that they are taking our Social Security... only under very specific circumstances can non-citizens get SSI and you have to have a legal social security account and pay into it to draw SS eventually.  Trust me - there are more Americans sucking on the system than non-citizens.  Why don't we go after THEM?

But here we are, another four years of the obnoxious Orange One.  I'm going to get through it by continuously reminding myself (and this IS absolutely true) that the universe (or God, if you prefer) is looking out for us and all is well.  It may not appear that way, and we may not understand it, but it will all turn out ok. And on a positive note, the late-night comics will have lots of fodder for their routines!

In the column of "things that have NOT pissed me off"...  😄

At long last, I got the kitchen fixed up.  Back in 2013, after we had the main bath completely re-done top-to-bottom, I asked my very excellent painter what it would cost to paint the trim in the kitchen.  This consisted of two doorways and two windows.  Of course, as with any old house, there was s some prep work.  The doorway going to the basement had had a door on it for many years.  We didn't use it much and it was always in the way, and I always wanted it gone, but Mark wanted it to stay.  I eventually won and we got rid of it, so now I wanted that doorway to look like there had never been a door there.  So doorstop wood gone, indents where the hinges went filled in, hardware where the latch went into the woodwork removed and filled in.  He quoted me $2000.  YIKES!  Of course, he had gotten into some serious legal trouble that year and was facing a trial and probable jail time for making illegal fireworks (it was his second offense) and I think he was quoting high to add to his legal fund! To I did a hard pass and decided I'd wait.

So in 2015, we had the tile floor put down in the kitchen.  Then in 2016, they did the backsplash and new counters.  By then, the wallpaper was probably near 20 years old and loose in a couple spots, but also damaged a bit from the new counters/backsplash.  But by then, things were getting a little hairy with Mark's health and I really didn't want to deal with work being done in the house.  I continued to put it off and the kitchen felt "half done" for the next several years. I finally said I've waited long enough!  I'm going to bite the bullet and spend the money to get it fixed up and done!  

At long last, it's done (except for a few finishing touches I'm working on).  This is the east wall with the slider that goes into the GH:

One of the "in the works" finishing touches is a macrame valance that will go at the top of the bamboo shade.  I'm waiting on color samples - it's going to be made by someone on Etsy.com who is from Greece.  I hope to have it in a few weeks.

This one is showing the south wall (which goes into the dining room).  This one shows the best view of the wallpaper.  That wall hanging is something Wes made for Mom back when he was going to college and living with her.  When she came to live with me, I wanted it to have a primo spot because she really loved it.  The copper really works with the gold in the paper!

I think the very subtle teal is kind of hard to see in the photos, but it's just enough to accent the colors in the backsplash, which also (BTW) has little flecks of gold.

This one is looking at the west window and the doorway to the basement:

 

I think the painter did a truly outstanding job of matching the color with the golden oak of the cabinets.  And I really hadn't thought about it until I saw it done, but the color also highlights the gold in the wallpaper.  That clock I've had for nearly 45 years - we brought it back from Guam.  It's very heavy and thankfully, the wallpaper guy didn't mind putting it back up for me.  I managed to get it down, but it's a challenge to get it lined up to rehang, especially when it's so heavy!

And last photo is of the north window that looks out over the back yard:

That corner shelf was in the original kitchen, and that's about all that is original in there!  In the kitchen, my plants seem to thrive despite not get any direct sun.  Many of them even bloom.  And since my massive tree has been gone, it is SO much brighter in there!

The other two "finishing touches" I'd like to do... I want to switch the faucet from chrome to oil-rubbed bronze - I love the old fashioned look of that finish.  And I'm considering one of those more modern single-hole sinks, maybe in white porcelain.  I'm trying to decide how well that would work with not having a dishwasher.  Would it work to have a dish-drainer in one end of it?  Or is it better to have two separate sinks?  I have to do some research and thinking on that one...

Anyway, I'm very happy with how it turned out!  Both painter and wallpaper guy did excellent jobs!

My winter project will be to clean out my cupboards and cabinets, get rid of stuff I don't use.  In fact, I already cleared out the upper shelves of my pantry.  There was LOTS of stuff up there I decided to put in the donate box - like a big turkey roaster.  I can't remember when I bought it, but I think I used it once and haven't since. What's the point of having something that size taking up that much room when you can buy a disposable once every decade?  Silly!  And some stuff that came with Mom.  A Pampered Chef chopper.  I like to cut by hand - it's cathartic.  So I've never used it.  A mini food processor.  Don't use that, either.  A tea kettle, a pretty bowl... A glass cake/casserole pan with a wooden tote.  Gone, gone, gone.  

Today, I took Mom's biggest travel suitcase to the Stephen's Center (a homeless shelter) full of clothes, shoes.  I've got a smaller one I will now fill and take there as well.  I need to go through all my drawers and closet again.  I still have way to much shit!

More to come...