Be the Frog!
No Kings Day is Saturday! Time to Show up and be Creative!
There is something deeply wonderful about showing up to protest in an inflatable frog costume. A unicorn, shark, dinosaur, or salamander are also good choices. It’s an act of creativity and courage. Now is a good time for both.
I don’t think I can personally manage an inflatable outfit, although, I find they are easy to get and not expensive, but I do plan on being out on Oct 18, NO KINGS DAY and if you’ve not made plans yet I urge you to sign up and attend.
Link to sign up here https://www.nokings.org/ Let’s show up and let’s get creative.
Although the dysfunction of this government is plain to see, and it’s still powerful, dangerous, and frightening, it’s also downright unsustainable. We can feel a strange consolation in acknowledging we are watching a pivotal point in history, even though we have no way of knowing where it’s going. We do know we have a damn good view of this storm.
Mike Johnson today said it was fine for ICE to shoot a clergyman with a non-lethal bullet in the head, but that the real threat was naked people riding bikes. How can anyone be so unaware of how stupid that sounds?
In the meantime, I’ve been getting over a cold. I am grateful I have health insurance and access to good medical care where I could get therapeutic medicines and be tested quickly for COVID, RSV, or the flu. (Negative to all) I am also thankful I could easily get my vaccines this fall. I believe everyone should have access to this kind of health care. We have the ability as a nation to provide this for everybody. This is the fight the shutdown is over.
The party in power thinks this is a luxury that only some people deserve. This way of thinking is plain evil. Full stop. There is no comprise here.
In what seems like another reality, I’ve also been moving forward with thinking about how to ‘quilt’ and finish my quilt. I need to make a ‘quilt sandwich’ where the flimsy (top), the batting, and the backing will be stabilized so I can hand-quilt it without it bunching up and puckering. It can be thread basted, pined, or glued. I don’t have a big table and I don’t want to crawl around on the floor. So, I am thinking about the pool noodle method of rolling them together or taking it to be machine basted at a long-arm quilt shop.
However, there are lots of issues with any method, so I need to explore and decide what will work the best given what I’ve got. Kind of like navigating life in general.
I am using larger thread, in the ‘big stitch’ style. The first one is with cotton batting, the second one is with wool. I like the puffiness of the wool and I think I’ll go with that. I also think it will make a warm and cozy quilt.
With the larger sample you can see I am having trouble with some puckering. I am using black thread in the center to highlight the cross made by the bars of the wonky log cabin blocks. Red for the center ‘fire’ and white for the ‘outside’. (I’ve just started this, so there is not yet a lot of stitching on it.)
And at the same time, I’ve been watching the Mariners in the playoffs for the division championship - which hasn’t happened in forever. (Forever being 2001 for the division and they’ve never been to the World Series.)
Our dryer broke and although it was under warranty it took three weeks to fix. So, the house was draped in wet clothes and towels for a while.
All these details of life just go on, and we are left trying to figure out how all these things can have meaning at the same time. How does of any of it make sense?
Putting it all together I find that something just feels right about the frog suit.
I think I’ll look for some kind of fun outfit to wear this Saturday. Yellow is suggested. It might rain as it did on the naked bike riders in Portland, so I’ll look for a slicker and maybe a silly hat.
Post your photos on line somewhere with a hash tag so others can find it. Being counted is important.
See you there!
Ann
P.S. Remember, all together we make up the pond. ;)
P.P.S. I still need to get into the ceramics studio to make holiday stuff!!!
P.P.P.S. I wrote this quickly and didn’t get it copy edited, so I apologize if there are errors.
October 15, 2025