At age 57, this is not my first election, but it certainly the one that I have felt most passionately about.   I have voted for members of both parties for President.  I have always thought that there are good and bad ideas within each party.   I have never been committed to party over country.   At age 18 I registered as a Republican, many years ago, and in recent years have moved to the Democrats, but fundamentally I’m an Independent - holding some beliefs that mirror those of both parties.

As a nation, we have sat wringing our hands, and likely for different reasons, and waited for the election winner to be declared.  Today we learned that the race for the presidency has been called and Joe Biden is now President Elect Biden.   I’ve watched the spontaneous celebrations erupt on television and recognize the need to celebrate for the moment.  Dan Rather wrote today - “Sportsmanship is being joyous in victory, without gloating. And it is being sad in defeat without being a sore loser. It is a standard I hope we can ultimately achieve.”

Today I find my mind moving to the question that needs to be foremost in our mind as Americans.   How do we heal our Nation?  This is not the first time as a country that we have found ourselves at odds, most notably the Civil War, we were a deeply divided nation.  At that time we had a leader in Abraham Lincoln, who many revere as one of our greatest presidents.   However, few people thought so on March 4, 1865, the day he took the oath of office for the second time.  In his inaugural address of about 700 words he argued that all Americans—North and South—shared culpability for the unimaginable horrors the nation had endured.   If you want to read more about this time in our history click HERE.

I believe that our situation is, unfortunately, not too different today.   We may not be emerging from a Civil War but as a nation we are as deeply divided as ever in our history.   Our grand experiment is at risk.   As Benjamin Franklin once responded when asked what type of government we had, “A republic, if we can keep it”.   As Americans we need to understand that this is a very real challenge and that it requires all of our efforts to rebuild the trust we need to have for our fellow Americans that will allow us to thrive as a nation.  

Within my own family we have those who are celebrating today and those who have great concerns for our future.   I have said recently in a post that I have a hard time respecting those that have shown support for Trump.     I recognize that this failure on my part, this perspective will not help in the healing that must happen if we are to move forward as a nation, and I am committing to change and to be better.   I know I have family, friends, and neighbors who have the same concerns for our republic with the results of the election, just as I did 4 years ago.   We all have great love for this country of ours.

A friend of mine shared an article Mitch Albom wrote in the Detroit Free Press that the “election will be meaningless if we don’t change our ways”.  If you want to read the whole article you can find it HERE.

There were some powerful points to contemplate in his column that are well worth pondering.   And in an introspective way.  The kind of introspection that motivates us to be better.   As I read I needed to reflect on my own role in the ongoing national tension.  I do not think I have been mean or rude to others, and there has been more than one time that I have bloodied my tongue to keep peace, but I do have to recognize that all of us have a role in the current unrest and in civility.  

“An American president, when he wakes up, doesn’t step off a cloud. He is a representative, nothing more. What will he represent? What will we represent? Think about the friends we’ve lost this election season. The neighbors we’ve alienated. Who will we be on Wednesday, Thursday and beyond.

I know this: If the winners gloat and the losers threaten, we won’t be any better than we’ve been the last six months. And does anyone really want the country of the last six months to be the country of the next four years?”   - Mitch Albom

I know that we can be a better country and I am committed to working over the next four years to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Social Media and Politics

For a number of years I have maintained a number of different social media accounts....all the regulars Facebook, Instagram, and for the past few years I’ve been a regular participant in the Twitter community.   I have always used Facebook and Instagram to share my life with family and friends and kept political opinions mostly off those platforms.  Post 2016 I found myself mourning Trump’s electoral win and I turned to Twitter and the #Resistance as a place that I could voice my opinions without alienating friends and family who support the current occupant of the White House.  At the same time hoping and praying he would evolve into the President we need for our time.   Needless to say, this has not occurred.

Yesterday morning I read a post by someone I follow that struck a chord with me.   The poster talked about how when they “find out someone they know personally supports Trump, they lose all respect for them instantly.”   I think for the last three and a half years I thought this was too extreme a thought, however I find my thoughts evolving and I’m at the point where I’m ready to admit that, I too, have lost respect for Trump supporters. Even as I write this I know it sounds extreme.   

I will try to summarize why I will NOT be voting for Trump this year.

After watching the RNC he would have you believe that America is falling apart, this is the man who has been president for the past 42 months and has influenced the country in a way that I think reflects Trumps America.  Such scare tactics are not appropriate for a man holding the highest office in the land.    He showed absolutely no desire to unite our country or to bring us together.    He only wants to polarize between those that are with him (his “base”) and those that are against him (increasingly both R’s and D’s).   He seems to fail to realize that while I did not vote for him I am part of citizenry of this country.   I’ve been extremely disappointed with the divisive rhetoric from which there is never the least amount of reprieve.  Daily we are assaulted with his Twitter attacks, his mean spirited rallies, or his rudeness to individual foes, real or imagined.  Additionally he has taken every opportunity to divide the branches of government by requiring our legislators pledge allegiance to him or risk ridicule and abuse at his hands.

Additionally, I find his disregard for the rule of law frightening.   We have watched him abuse the power of his office in many ways - just last week he used governmental property for the RNC and while he cannot violate the Hatch Act, I don’t for one second, believe that others in his administration did not.   And even the to use the “People’s House” for a political event is just - slimy.    Not to mention that he continues to enrich himself through the use of the office.    There are too many shady deals happening at his properties where money paid by “us” are going into this business adventures.     He views himself above the law and openly defies requests for information from Congress.   He was impeached for trying to use the power of his office to wound political opponents.  He should have been removed from office for criminally obstructing the very system of justice he swore to uphold.    Just today we learn that Intelligence officials will no longer brief Congress in person on foreign election interference due to concerns about leaking....I maintain this threatens to undermine their responsibility to be transparent with Congress.  Furthermore,  I would assert that, we the people, deserve to know and understand these threats.

Trump only looks out for himself, and perhaps his family.    He will lie at the drop of a hat to make himself look better - The Washington Post tracks his lies and to date they number 20,055 false or misleading claims.    Some of these are so easily proven lies that it is absurd....his claims of creating Veterans Choice fall in this group.  Didn’t he promise to release his taxes if elected?   Why are we fighting in court for those same taxes?   What is he hiding?

He aligns himself with the worst of the conspiracy theorists.   Even as I write this I’m getting texts from some Trump ally pedaling some wild conspiracy theories against Joe Biden.     A honorable man would campaign on what he has done or promising to do,  not wild and misleading claims.   After all, we are currently living in Trumps America.   He has taken over the Republican Party and they too, have chosen not to have a platform this year in deference to his wild and erratic whims.

One of my first memories of the Trump administration was returning from international travel to Logan airport to be met by protestors of his travel ban from primarily Muslim countries.  He vilifies immigrants and separates families.   This is his bread and butter.   He has done this repeatedly and pointed to caravans of immigrants traveling to our southwest boarder to stoke fears.   

He is man who admitted on tape how he treats women. I mean who cares if the President of the United States grabs women by the pussy, right?  He paid off a porn star and has a history of affairs and cheating on every one of his three wives.  His history with women does not scream, I have the integrity to represent the American people.

I find it difficult to watch those that have money (either through inheritance or just sheer luck) try to relate to the average American struggling to pay their bills.    Trump shows no ability to understand these challenges.  It’s clear he has never had the worries many of us struggle with.   He touts the stock market’s growth as a big achievement but 90% of Americans do not have any wealth in the stock market.    Let’s not even talk about how the stock market may be artificially bolstered in recent months.  He continues to deliver tax cuts for the wealthiest among us.

As a country we’re are at a crossroads related to Black Lives Matter.   We cannot continue to allow our police to kill black men.   As we watched the March on Washington this week I realize as a nation we have failed in our highest ideals, as we still are marching 57 years later and Dr King’s dream is still, a dream. As President Trump continues to stoke racial division.  He does not stand up for what is right if it is not in his interest, including a black man shot by police 7 time in the back while his kids watched.  I understand he is traveling to Wisconsin this week to meet with law enforcement and survey damage after protests.   But will he seek to understand the underlying reasons.    Will he do the research?   I don’t believe Trump is capable of that type of introspection or level of complex thought.

Many voters are single issue voters but neither gun rights nor abortion issues are more important than getting this man out of office.   As a nation it is hard to say with have withstood 4 years of Trump....our institutions are stressed to the breaking point.   While it may sound alarmist, I believe four more years of Trump may be the end of our grand experiment.  We are no longer looked to as a leader on the world stage.   We have pulled out of the Paris Climate accord, which will take place next January.  The World Health organization obviously made mistakes in this pandemic but should we walk away from being a world leader in this collaboration?

Let’s talk briefly about COVID-19.   It’s easy to say it did not have to be this bad.    As I listen to the health experts, and not the doctors (A Radiologist?) that Trump continues to default to, I do believe it did not have to be this bad.   As you look around the world nearly every country has handled this pandemic more effectively than we have.   We have totally failed on our testing approach.   Direction coming from the CDC is confusing, which I attribute to pressure from the White House.  As we send kids back to school we are seeing explosions of COVID on college campuses and as more kids go back to school we will likely see greater spread as they bring it back to their families.    As we head into flu season I expect more bad news. Just this week Trump had numerous times where he could have lead by example but instead we saw him do a rally on the White House lawn with no masks or social distancing....then he hopped on a plane and flew to New Hampshire and made fun of the mandate to wear masks imposed by the Republican Governor (who did not attend the event).  He has made mask wearing a political issue instead of a health issue.   This is not what a leader does.

I will be the first to admit that Joe Biden was not my first choice of candidates for the Presidency.   In New Hampshire we have the unique opportunity to see nearly every candidate that we want to see in our local area and stood in line to see nearly every one.   I wanted to hear them first hand and not sound bites on the news.  This election is the most critical of our lifetime and I find myself at this point recognizing Joe Biden is the only choice I can make.   He has the ability to show kindness and empathy toward our fellow man.   He listens to the scientists....frankly he is willing to listen.   He doesn’t proclaim to be the smartest guy in the room (always a signal you are NOT the smartest guy in the room).  I am bolstered to see him forming a coalition with his opponents and listening.

In the run up to the election I find my concerns about this election are only growing.    Trump continues to work his unique dirty brand of politics.   He is working in a very real and physical way to destroy the efficiency of the postal service.   Removing post boxes and sorting machines that reduce manual labor makes no sense.   When you factor in the price of those sorting machines and the waste involved in destroying and throwing them away you are left wondering what kind of steward of the public money is Trump.  Secondly he has persisted in creating a distrust of the electoral process.   He has voiced a clear distain for the peaceful transition of power.   Given the current pandemic situation and the likely large percentage of mail in votes results of this election are not likely to come on election night and this will give him more opportunity to insert a distrust of the election results.   We must guard against this and do all in our power to ensure that everyone eligible to vote has the opportunity and that their vote is counted.

So this post is the result of several hours of thought.    I am sure I will think of twelve other reasons not to vote for Trump but if you have read this far you are likely ready to light me on “fire” if you disagree with me through the anonymity of the internet.  If you disagree, I’m open to respectful conversation, and I don’t care if you remove me from your friends list.   If you agree, please promise me you will not take this election for granted.   Commit to making a plan to vote and share that plan with someone else.   Encourage them to vote.

As for me, I will vote Biden and Harris in November.    I will not regret the decision.   

Building a Patio and Fire Pit

For several years I’ve been admiring fire pits....our fire circle could only loosely be called a circle.   There was no boarder of said circle and every spring it flooded and typically I found half burnt pieces of wood all over the back lawn.    Well this year I spent hours looking on Pinterest for ideas and if money were no object you can have some pretty fabulous patios and fire pits in your backyard.    We even went as far as to get a couple estimates.  Let’s just say we did not have $8000 that we wanted to put into the vision I had for our back yard.

So armed with new resolve I started looking at how to build a patio with fire pit in our yard.    I researched materials and the do’s and don’ts in building the structure that I envisioned.   I priced out the cost of the materials and my paid laborers and I thought I could bring the project in for significantly less than the quoted price from a professional.

So armed with my new found knowledge I took a trip to the Lebanon Block Plant.    I’ve lived in this town for 31 years and had no idea we had a block plant!    The worker wanted to be helpful but he admitted he normally worked in the yard so that should have been my first clue.   He showed me a patio kit and since I wanted to do a circular patio ordering a kit was key for me.   He told me one kit built a six foot patio and two kits build a 11.5 foot patio.   So he ordered the blocks for me.  I also picked out a fire circle that day as well.

I went home and started the work of preparing the ground.   I measured out the width of the circle and very carefully marked the circumference of the circle and double checked the total circle measurements.  My work is pretty unremarkable, but still key to the success of the project.

Next we had the materials we needed delivered.  Home Depot had a cool little tractor that was able to deliver the supplies right to the side of our project area.   Unfortunately the delivery from the block plant was not so helpful.   The offloaded the bricks to the very front of the house....and probably the place on our property most distant from our project area.   That just meant we got to bring every brick across our property in our new wheelbarrow!   See the blue wheelbarrow below.

Next we needed to start excavation of the ground.  That meant that Joe rented a sod cutter.   He planned to take advantage of moving the good grass we removed from the backyard to a place in our front yard that we just have struggled to have what anyone could describe as “lawn”.   We used our day laborers to move the sod and try to replace the bad sod at the front of the house.

Owen came over and helped Joe and I dig down approximately 5 inches, two inches for the bricks, 2 inches for the sand and an inch for the matting that we used.   This is a new product that replaces the crushed stone and was easier to work with and saved our backs.  Owen is really good at making the ground level and this really helped us to get a good start on this project.

In the photo below you can see the mat and how it serves to create a stable surface for the bricks to rest on.    The Boardman boys helped us start the process of laying our circle out on the prepared surface.

We worked all day laying bricks, following the pattern provided and we got to 11.5 feet, the diameter I was told was the diameter of the two kits.....that is when I realized I had nearly 3/4 of a pallet of bricks left.   So I stopped and emailed the woman who I talked to after the bricks were delivered without any directions.....and trust me directions were needed, yea essential.   It was after hours so I did not expect a response until Monday but with our cell phones not even the block plant office staff are able to get away from their email.   Tori answered my question about why we had so many blocks left.....essentially the yard guy told me the kit dimension of 11.5 feet was only 3 feet off.   In looking at the existing patio footprint I decided 11.5 feet was too small and we really did need to make it bigger.  I talked to Tori and we decided to make the total dimensions 14.5 feet.    She told me I needed two expansion packs to make that work....so I bought more bricks.   Obviously this necessitated more digging and leveling and more sand and mat to prepare for the additional 1.5 feet of bricks all around - for a total of three additional feet to my patio circle.

Once we had laid down more material to create level ground we were ready to finish laying the stones that would make our 14.5 foot patio.    I put the inner circle of the fire pit down to get a sense for how big it would be.    We continued to lay stones and was able to lay the entire 14.5 foot patio without ever using the expansion packs we had ordered.....by the time we finished the circle I just did not care.  There were more than enough bricks to create a platform to stack wood on left even after we finished.   We decided to use the extra bricks to put under the hose bib in the back of the house.  Which was a good project in and of itself.

Even though not finished Sully thinks this is a very nice place to nap in the sun.   You can see that there is quite a bit of space between the stones.    I went ahead and built the fire circle which went around the metal insert above.  Again no photos of that process.   Next step is to fill with Polymeric sand.   This is sand that when wet with water kind of turns into a concrete type material and should keep the stones from moving and shifting around.    I did not get pictures of us doing this work but I can tell you it only took us two more trips back to Home Depot to get more sand to fill the cracks.  As with any Mender project several trips to Home Depot are a requirement.   

The family motto is "Mender Construction, it's not right until it's been done twice"

The picture below shows the patio with the sand and after the first application of water to harden the sand in place.   The project is really starting to look great.

To finish up the project Joe went to a patio supply store that sells Adirondack chairs.   He ordered two for us and then picked up two for the little girls.   Robyn showed Emma the photo below to which her response was "that's so sweet".    Looking forward to making s'mores with all the of the grandkids and enjoying time with family and friends this summer.

All of the above represents a lot of hard work and we were lucky to have some lovely days to work not this project.  It took about 40 hours start to finish over the course of about three weeks.   I'm not sure when you factor in our time if it ended up being less expensive than the original quote but there is a certain sense of accomplishment which came from finishing this project.  Something that we'd never tried before, studying about it, and executing to the point that you stand back and really love the results!

We had our first fires this week and our first s'mores on Tuesday.   So we are officially calling this a successful Mender project.

Fall in New England

Today I had friend come to visit from Salt Lake City - she was traveling with a group of lifelong girlfriends.   So I guess I made some new friends today too.    I played a little bit of tour guide and went out to have lunch with them at Simon Pearce......butternut bisque....oh so lovely.   One of them asked "Do you ever find yourself not recognizing how beautiful it is here?"    It is a valid question - don't we often find that we don't appreciate that which is so familiar?   It made me ponder, and my conclusion is that I don't take this beauty for granted.   I feel like there are so few days (I would lie if I did not admit there were some) when I don't appreciate the beauty of the world around me.    When I think about the photos that I take each day from my cell phone probably 7 out of 10 are of the beauty around us in this world.....the other three are probably family, including our cute animals.

I'm so grateful to live in such a beautiful area of the world....yet, in my limited travels, I always find that there is beauty all around.   I think there is a song that goes something like that!

Let me share some of the beauty that I have seen over the past week or so.   Hope you all make some time to look around and enjoy the beauty that is all around us.

Then not only did we see the beauty of nature around us but we happened upon this hot air balloon launching.   So we pulled over to the side of the road and walked across the Polo fields to see it up close.    So beautiful - especially with the foliage as the backdrop.

Madison, WI Capital Building

Last week I spent the entire week at Epic in Verona, Wisconsin.   I was presenting on "Lessons Learned Implementing the Advance Beneficiary Notification Module".   I know -- a stimulating subject for the masses....Our presentation went really well.  Very well attended and many questions after we ended so I considered it a success.   The Epic conference is pretty amazing since I think Verona, WI is pretty smallish size town but once a year there are 10,000 people who converge on this complex in the middle of a cow field.    It is an amazing facility by any standard but does make my skin crawl a bit with the amount of our health care dollars that go into building that amazing campus.

After a week of stuffing everything I could into my small brain we left after sessions on Thursday and went to visit the state capital in Madison.   I think it is the most amazing state capital I've ever visited for the beauty of the building and the various types of stone used to construct the building.....I think it might even trump the Capital Building in Washington, D.C. for it's beauty.  

The rotunda ceiling...too bad you cannot see the painting in the center..

 An approach from the west 

 Panorama of the rotunda.....so beautiful!

Tomato Hornworm Attack

One day we have dozens of tomatoes ripening on the vine and the next day it looks like someone or something is feasting upon the labors of our summer gardening efforts.  Owen and I have labored most of the summer nurturing our small crop of tomatoes.  We have looked forward to our first BLT sandwiches with great anticipation!  Fortunately we were able to celebrate that milestone before we realized we were under attack!

First BLT's with our own fresh tomatoes!  So very yummy!

And then we discovered the dreaded TOMATO HORNWORM in our midst!  Note how he is loving my tomatoes....you can see how much he has already eaten.

Owen looking on in dismay... He had to "take care" of this guy.

Just some perspective on how very large he was..... Notice the tense?  Was!

Maine Motorcycle Adventure Day 4

On the fourth day of our adventure we planned to go on a Whale Watch.    The boat left the port around 8:30 so Owen and I got up and ran out in to Bar Harbor and got muffins and juice before we walked to the boat....from our hotel!   Mitch kept telling me how no one ever actually sees whales on these trips......so prepare myself to be disappointed.

But the best thing and so stereotypical Maine was this photo shot!   A blueberry pie and muffins on a window sill!

We got on the boat to head out to see the whales and the boys just fell asleep!  We sat next to a family with young kids and the 8 year oldish daughter finally had to tell Owen when he woke up "you missed ALOT of whales"!    This made us laugh all day! 

So since we would not see any whales according to Mitch all I can do is share some of the photos.  

Mother and baby whale.

After the whale watch Owen was in the mood for some traditional Maine Mexican food.  He found a place on the map that he wanted to go to so we took off on our bikes and ended up on the other side of the island.   We looked, and looked but did not find it......we found a fabulous lobster pound....but pressed on to find the Mexican place.     We drove past road side lobster stands and pressed on to find the Mexican place.   After about two hours we found it!    And it was closed AND required reservations.    So we drove to the next little town and settled for a quick sandwich......except that the waitress was not quick.   It was a lovely day and not so bad to sit in the sidewalk cafe and have lunch.

We ended our day by heading to Echo lake and taking a quick swim.....after drying off in the sun since we did not have any towels we headed off to find a hotel for the night and since it was our last night in town we enjoyed some more lobster.....Oh that was just me!