HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: We have never done this before. But there has certainly never been a time like this. I am typing this at 10:41 PM on Tuesday.
Did I think we would know something? It doesn't matter what I think.
I didn't even know what photo to post. So here is a dahlia from our garden this year. It's beautiful. And that will never change.
We want to be a safe place here. And no matter what happens, we love you, and are grateful for you, and will be here for you.
It is always safe inside a book.
Reds and readers, what are you thinking today? And let's keep posting all day.
What am I thinking today? That it’s always good to be able to check in here . . . and that I'm ever so grateful for friends . . . .
ReplyDeleteYes, Joan, it makes me love you all more than ever.
Delete:)
ReplyDeletePennsylvania which is key has stopped counting! Looks like Arizona will be blue. We won’t know for a day or two unfortunately. Democrats gained a Senate seat in Arizona. The saga continues!
ReplyDeleteYup. This is...so bizarre.
DeleteWhile the hope was that there would be a strong indication of who the winner was early on, I don't think we really believed that we would know anything early. It's a little after three in the morning here, and I think I'm finally going to try and go to bed for a bit. The Jungle Red Writers blog is such a comfort every day for me, and I think it is these things we must look forward to in keeping our sanity and peace of mind. OK, now TV off.
ReplyDeleteAwwwww. And right, we knew we might not know..
DeleteThank you, Kathy, for your safe place last night! Because of the running commentary there, I was able to turn off the constant chatter of the "we don't know anything either" pundits. You provided a very welcome refuge.
DeleteI'll add my thanks to Gigi's, Kathy. My husband had the TV on in another room, but I refused to watch it.
DeleteI’m so glad that you have found the chat room helpful. It has brought me down off the ledge several times already. Anyone here can join in, but I must caution you that it is unapologetically a blue zone. Let me know and I can add you.
DeleteThis is always a safe place and somewhere I look forward to visiting each day. Dahlias will always be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my work this morning is of the mechanical sort: checking the manuscript for overused words, layering in the senses, and so on. I doubt I could focus on a first draft today as I worry about what illegal power grab the current resident of the White House might try to pull.
It’s already an attempted coup.
DeleteExactly.
DeleteNumb brain = cliché time. the fat lady hasn't sung yet. I will believe in fairies before I believe in political polls in the future. It's Chinatown, Coralee; what did you expect? Silver lining: if the current administration stays in office, I am determined to stay alive for four years so I can see orange man leave office. Like Unsinkable Molly Brown "I ain't Down Yet".
ReplyDeleteChinatown. Perfect.
DeleteThank you for the safe place. We need that so much right now!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking, loudly: COUNT EVERY VOTE. As of 9:30 last night my absentee ballot I took to the Board of Elections weeks ago had not been marked counted.
Go to my Twitter :-) I posted a picture of the Count from Sesame Street. With no words.
DeleteIt's brilliant, Hank. I retweeted.
DeleteThanks for the explanation, Hank. My poor brain was not computing the reason for that! LOL
DeleteThanks, Hank. Brain dead. I need a long walk with the dogs to clear my head.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, what a thing this is. We Canadians continue to watch and listen and keep thee faith. I believe in democracy. May it be allowed to unfold. Eyes and ears open, folks.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to check in here this morning. Thank you for the beautiful flower, Hank.
Love you. Xxx
DeleteKaren, the map shows Ohio RED this morning. I was hopeful when I went to bed. Can't believe what I'm seeing this morning. I know it isn't quite over, but God Almighty, another 4 years??
ReplyDeleteTook the dog out for his morning constitutional--the moon waning in a bright sky, the bare trees backlit by the sun and a flock of geese heading south, their underbodies lit by sunlight. I'm hanging onto every snippet of beauty and hope I can manage. Going to take a long walk while the rest of the household sleeps. And pray with every step, every breath I take.
I don't think that's too big of a surprise, though. My county (and Margaret's) was one of only three in Ohio that went for Hilary Clinton in 2016.
DeleteOhio has a huge dichotomy between its metropolitan voters and its rural voters. The counties holding Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton and Toledo, plus the college town (OU) of Athens, Ohio, all went blue. The rest of the state all went red.
DeleteHold onto beauty. Yes. We need to do that.
DeleteMy hope, Susan, was that enough people who voted for him last time would come to their senses--especially suburbs that went for him in 2016.
DeleteHank, your dahlia is beautiful, luminous, perfect.
ReplyDeleteI love you all Reds , commenters and readers. I read you, I hear you, I'm here with you.
You are bringing tears to my eyes.
DeleteDanielle, do you have room for house guests? A lot of them? For the next four years? :-)
DeleteThis has been my safe space for 4 years and I'm glad it will continue to be. So grateful for you all. Still have some hope but....
ReplyDeleteAwwwww... yeah. We shall see.
DeleteI woke up expecting a win by the orange cretin, and he has indeed declared such. But it's looking better than I hoped. Biden is such a nice guy, but I'm not sure he was the best candidate the Democrats could field. And, still, in our misogynistic culture, a woman on the presidential ballot doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteWe just have to let them count, right?
DeleteI think the video posted by Kristopher Zgorski this morning said it all: Wait for it.
ReplyDeleteWisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania have thousands upon thousands of absentee votes yet to count. WI and PA didn't even start until yesterday.
Despite what anybody says, it's not over until the Fat Lady sings - and she isn't ready yet.
Well, my blue Alabama senator lost last night. The new guy (football coach) didn't even have the good manners to be polite in his victory speech. I hope I can remain hopeful these next two days. I'm not good at being patient.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhh . Got to be patient. So impossible.
DeleteEven though I had not watched much news in the past few days somehow I heard a commentator explaining it might look like the incumbent won in the early hours but there would still be many, many more votes to count. So I will try very hard not to pout or sulk.
ReplyDeleteGlad we have each other here - virtual hugs all around!
And to you! Yes, I heard that too.
DeleteThank you for the dahlia, Hank. Thank you, all the Reds, for the safe space.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that we are where we are at the moment. I just continue to be very concerned about what happens in the next few days. And while I am no fan of the orange one, I am honestly less fearful about him winning than I am about disruptions to the process by anyone on either side. We have survived the past four years, if we have to we can survive four more. But we need to make sure we don't damage the very fabric of democracy in ways that might lead to continued unraveling over time. I am ardently praying for level heads and calm all around.
Level heads .Yes.
DeleteThank you for the dahlia, Hank. It's lovely. I spent some time in my yard yesterday, making note of the roses and asters and acanthus still blooming. This morning, over on my Weird Sisters Blog, I posted about my cute kitten, Gift, because I figured we all could use a cute kitten this morning. It's going to be a long week, but it's nice to know there are still safe places to meet and share positive things. Maybe we should all send you our flower pictures.
ReplyDeleteLOVE to see flower photos! If we get enough, I will post in a special post! send to hryan@whdh.com xxo
DeleteHeading to Weird Sisters to see the kitten. Thanks, Gigi!
DeleteMy sister, who runs the website, apparently got distracted by other business last night. Look for it on Facebook at either Weird Sisters, or G. S. Norwood, Author.
DeleteI'm so glad you all are here, Hank the dahlia is beautiful and my favorite color! It's chilly here but I went out on my deck, its one flight up, and looked at the light on the water, took a photo and posted on Facebook. No more to be said but it looks as if Maine has not flipped our Senator.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it kind of look like candy corn? (Hope that doesn't ruin it...:-))
DeleteFeh
ReplyDeletenot yet not yet..although there is still feh to be said no matter what. xxx
Deleteom-m-m. om-m-m. om-m-m.
ReplyDeletePERFECT.
DeleteJudy, you just made me belly laugh. Om-m-m, indeed.
ReplyDeletePlanning to read one of your romances later this week, Jenn. Still trying to get Irwin to read The Good Ones. Get our minds off politics and onto something much more fun;-)
DeleteI'm stressed, but I'm so grateful that I have books to read from my favorite authors. I want to get back to writing, but until the election is resolved, I can't concentrate! The dahlia is gorgeous. Sadly, I have a black thumb and can't grow flowers!
ReplyDeleteI agree--SO hard to concentrate! Ahhhhh
DeleteI haven’t turned on the news yet but I sense a theme here.
ReplyDeleteYes, the theme is math.
DeleteMy first thought when I opened JRWs was .... ahhh, Hank's dahlia. I purposely spent no more than 10 minutes per hour watching the news before bed. Now I'm off to work which will isolate us from news until the next person checks their phone. Breathe.
ReplyDeleteAwww...thank you. Have a good day...xoxoo
DeleteGood morning! I had a good night's sleep. I did not glance at the news. However, when I spoke with a friend about avoiding social media, she did mention that it is very tense tonight (meaning last night).
ReplyDeleteNot going to get the newspaper until after breakfast.
Today we are going to have to get our place ready for inspection tomorrow morning at 9am!!! They are going to check our fire and smoke alarms!
I am hoping that I have some time to write more.
Thinking about our wonderful community here on Jungle Reds. I am grateful for the opportunity to chat with wonderful people here on JRW. I am grateful for beautiful weather. I am grateful that we are not having a heat wave today. I am grateful that my headache is gone for now. I am grateful for being able to read and enjoy books by my favorite authors.
Thinking about Hygge. I think Hygge is a Danish tradition.
The last two nights I have been reading a light novel called
THE LITTLE CAFE IN COPENHAGEN by Julie Caplin about the theme of hygge. This wonderful story is about how different characters approach the idea of hygge.
Right now I am feeling calm. I am not glancing at my Instagram except for messages and only checking Facebook for posts and comments from a private writing group that I am in. Not checking my emails either. I probably have 600+ emails by now. Perhaps I am exaggerating. LOL
Wishing everyone calm and peace.
Diana
Diana, I LOVED The Little Cafe in Copenhagen, and hygge is a good thing to be thinking about today.
DeleteDeborah, thank you. A friend sent me that book. Agreed that hygge is a good thing to be thinking about today.
DeleteI am so envious of your ability to be calm. I just heard on TV someone saying: "Perhaps we should normalize patience." LOVE THAT!
DeleteHank,
Deletethank you for your kind words. I work VERY HARD to be calm. It took me quite a while to figure out what triggers my anxiety.
xoxoxo
Good for you, Diana, in figuring out your triggers. I've just started reading that same book, on Deb's suggestion. Maybe we can compare notes later?
DeleteGigi, I love the Little Cafe in Copenhagen book. Sure, we can compare notes later :)
DeleteForgot to mention that I love the photo of the Dahlia. xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt always reminds me of candy corn. :-)
DeleteHank, candy corn is my FAVORITE Halloween candy! xoxoxo
DeleteHank, thank you for the dahlia. It was a lovely thing to see first thing this morning. I'm envious. I've never been able to grow them here. Too hot in the summer, I think.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful day here today, and I have walked the dogs and am trying to map out a peaceful and productive day, and making extra effort to be grateful for small things. And way up on that list is my Jungle Red sisters and our great community here. xx
Awww...perfect. Love you, too. It is so cold here I am wearing half gloves to type!
DeleteHank, it was so cold that I decided to use the oven. I made gluten free dairy free lasagna with kale.
Deletexoxo
Deborah, it is wonderful to have beautiful days and things to be grateful for.
DeleteKeep breathing.
ReplyDeletePerfect advice!
DeleteFinally checking in - I slept late, took a looong walk along the river with the dog, had a great conversation with my sister. Cleaned up the kitchen a little, emptied the cat's pan. After checking the Portland Press Herald briefly, I decided to avoid my usual news-saturated websites and try to stay in the here and now. It's a beautiful day in southern Maine.
ReplyDeleteWell, Maine. We shall see. xoxoo. I am in the here and now on TV. :-)
DeleteHonestly, I avoided as much of the coverage last night as was humanly possible. I woke up this morning and turned on the TV to see if anyone had won. When no winner was to be had, I shut the TV off and got my day started.
ReplyDeleteI watched/listened to less than 30 minutes of the 6:30 am news and just shut off the TV again and focused on the morning shift of my Internet life. Then off to work. I've checked in a tiny bit while at work but I had work to do so I wasn't focused on it.
I had someone ask me last night if I voted for the incumbent. I was floored and asked why they would think I'd vote for that (profane description involving wide open sphincter). I was told that they had no idea because I'm such a hard read.
My response? I simply don't have the inclination to post 6 or 7 daily posts on my Facebook page about politics. I voted (hopefully wisely) and I moved on with my life. I cannot spend every waking second being ticked off about EVERYTHING.
I pick and choose and otherwise, stay out of the fray. It's good for me, my health and my sanity.
Last night was NCIS Season 1 and The Big Bang Theory Season 8, that's my coping mechanism...LOTS of TV.
Plus...I have a number of writing assignments to work on.
Jay, you are so wise.
DeleteI really get it, Jay! Love the first few seasons of NCIS! I'm watching House again, am up to season 5. Also Big Bang which I never watched when it was new and now I'm at season 4. Soon I'll be re-watching Monk!
DeleteDeborah, thanks but I don't think it is so much being wise as it is case of selected apathy. I have some friends on Facebook that rail against every damn thing known to "man". A visit to their page is exhausting. And I refuse to take part in that. I may be a grumpy cuss in general but I would prefer to do my own thing which brings me my form of happiness than find myself wallowing in extra acquired misery.
DeleteJudi, I was watching House again, but stalled out in Season 3 on that. I saw the whole series when it originally aired so it isn't like I missed anything. I hope you are enjoying The Big Bang Theory.
Thank you for the dahlia, Hank. There are no other words here.
ReplyDeleteExactly. So agree.
Delete