minor accomplishments and republican malfeasance

Other things have been going on despite my near total absorption in the coup attempt and aftermath.

I finally made the cauliflower soup and while I know it doesn't sound that great it really is good. Sauteing the onions and leeks...

the finished soup and no I didn't eat out of the pan. That's the leftover cheddar cheese for a garnish so I just tossed it in before putting away the rest.

The first bird of paradise flower finally opened

and the last angel trumpet flower.

The weather turned really cold on Saturday and parts of Texas 2 - 3 hours north of here got snow. Saturday night low 30˚s, last night down to freezing and even colder tonight with highs in the 40˚s but after that it should start to warm up.

Sunday was my sister's appointment for her first vaccine shot (mine's next Saturday) and since her car battery was dead I drove her in through very cold temps, wind, and rain. Took considerably longer than it should have but we left with plenty of time to spare. We had to sit in the car for 20 minutes and then I sat in the car for about a half hour before she returned. All OK though, I came prepared with blankets and a book. She said they have it down like clockwork with someone at every stage directing you what to do, what to read, where to sit, they make you stay for 15 minutes after to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction, and they make your appointment for the second shot before you leave and it was the Moderna vaccine which we suspected it would be.

Marc and I managed to get the kitchen sink to drain more freely. I had several recommendations to attempt to clear it; one, grease and soap eating bacteria which I searched for online, two, baking soda and vinegar, and three, our own snake (which we have tried in the past with zero results). Since baking soda and vinegar was easily obtained I started with that. So after three applications of boiling water, baking soda, vinegar, more boiling water, and a plunger, we got it to flow freely...until the next day when it started backing up again. Two more applications and it was running freely again and the next morning, backing up again but at least taking longer. Now we have freezing weather so we've been running the water sparsely. I'm waiting for it to warm up a bit today to have another go at it. But I'm confident continued applications will eventually get it running free and then just do it on a regular schedule.

I've been keeping the bird feeder filled and the other day I thought I saw a robin but it was too far away and in the photinia to be sure and then it flew away. Later in the day Marc and I both saw it on the bird bath in front and then he saw it or another one the next day. This wouldn't be such a remarkable event if it weren't for the fact that this is the first robin we have seen out here since we bought this place 13 years ago while we had them year round in the yard of the city house just an hour away.

I'd just as soon not have to go out today but I have to do a grocery store run and while I'm out, I may as well take the recycling that has mounted up.

As for the insurrection and attempted coup, remember Trump replaced Esper at the DoD right after he lost the election, prompting the generals to write a letter saying they would not be drawn into election disputes but apparently Trump thought he could succeed anyway and the new Trump loyalist did his job in preventing the National Guard from being deployed or supplying the Capitol Police with equipment as per the Business Insider, also read that 600 (? unsure of the number) capitol police were told not to come in that day, one reason there were so few and easily overwhelmed. Also remember Barr unexpectedly stepped down after the election and everyone wondered why. Well, the new Trump loyalist in charge of the DoJ has now stated that there will be no charges against Trump and his co-conspirators. Apparently the planned coup was a step too far for even Barr. And now, of course, as if anyone expected anything less from Republicans, their nice little speeches on the 6^th and the 7^th were meaningless. With few exceptions, Republicans are against another impeachment and invoking the 25^th amendment claiming that doing either will further divide the country (as if that's even possible) and goes against Biden's calls for unity. In other words, they don't want Trump or their co-conspirator members to be punished for trying to overthrow the government and install Trump. Only 5 people died and none of them were members of Congress even though that was the plan so, of course, they just want to move on to healing and unity but without punishment or retracting their lies about the election. What they don't understand is that there will be no healing or unity without punishment to deter any future attempts at insurrection.

Well, I expect Biden's DoJ will do the job right. I do fear,  though, for Biden's and Harris' lives. This country has a history of assassination of presidents and we are overdue for one and the insurrectionists are planning more action before and during the inauguration.