August – 2018

Persevere is my Word for this Year.

Looking at where I am in my life, I really don’t want to take on anything new, but I do need to deepen my knowledge and commitment to the things I am doing.

• Politically – I’m going to persist in the resistance.
  • People Power – I continue to serve on the Texting Team for People Power. That means most days I send between 200 and 600 texts to people who have signed up with the ACLU People Power. Some of the texts are invitations to training for organizing. Some are invitations to organizational meetings, and some are invitations to write, phone, or email political representatives. They are all sent individually and answered individually (thank goodness, I have canned answers available – but we individualize everything as much as possible.) Remember, the ACLU is political but non-partisan. I am one of the texting leads on this team. There are four of us who try to take some of the burden off of the folks to do the real work of getting everything set up. We also TRY to deal creatively and nicely with other volunteers who may not be very understanding or kind.
  • Wall of Us – I continue to try to accomplish the four actions requested by Wall of Us every week. For instance, this week we are asked to Bet on Beto O’Rourke in Texas!, Demand an End to Prison Slavery, Protect the Special Counsel, and No Supreme Court Picks for Criminals.
  • I have a recurring donation to the Poor People’s Campaign.
  • Initiative 1631. got enough signatures to get it on the ballot.
• Religiously – I’m going to really work at being Moderator of Olympia Presbytery.
  • We didn’t have many Presbytery meetings in August – Leadership Council met early in the month, the Trustees and Finance Committee met, but there were no New Worshipping Communities Task Force meetings.
  • Interfaith community – I continue to meet with the Interfaith Ladies once a month.
  • I was elected by the 223rd General Assembly to serve on the Nominating Committee for the Presbyterian Church (USA) class of 2024. I still need to be trained, and am planning to go to Chicago in September for the training.
• Creatively – I’m going to try to get down to working on my family history/memoir.
  • Fill in gaps on Ancestry.com – Still working on my genealogy (I don’t think it’s ever finished).
  • I finished the poetry course, and the instructor has agreed to help by editing some of my things. I’m looking into doing some self-publishing because I know I’ll never get anyone to publish a book of poetry.
  • Keep up with my knitting – I’ve slowed down on my knitting. The warmer weather made it less interesting.
• Personally – I’m going to keep up walking, and try to add some resistance training.10,000 steps a day –
  • I’m keeping up with this, but not being obsessive about it.
  • 2-3 sessions of weight training a week – I’m doing my strength training 2-3 times a week. I’ve been at it for a couple of months now, and I’m beginning to see a difference in the flab.
• Socially – I’m going to tend my current relationships.
  • Gazebo Group – The Gazebo Group continues to thrive (particularly with the younger (less than 80 years old) members of the community).
  • Maintain congregational ties – I attend weekly Bible study and try to attend whatever extra worship services there may be.

August was affected by weather and a visit from my son and granddaughter. The first couple of weeks were beastly hot (over 85 degrees every day and only down into the 60s at night). Then, the wind shifted to the north and brought two weeks of smoke from the wildfires in BC, followed by smoke from the fires in Eastern Washington, relieved by smoke from the fires in Oregon and Northern California. This last week has been blessedly cool, and smoke-free.

While the family was here, we celebrated my birthday, and spent three days in Portland, OR, and a day in Victoria, BC. We rode the Amtrak Cascade to Portland and back.

When we went to Victoria, we took the BlackBall Ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria – 90 minutes across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. While we were there we walked along the waterfront to the Fisherman’s Village, rode the “Bathtub Toy” boats around the harbor, walked through the Empress Hotel, and watched street life during a bicycle race.

It sure was nice to see family.

I would really appreciate it if you, gentle readers, would remind me of these intentions when you see me fluttering off after the latest cause du jour.

July – 2018

Persevere is my Word for this Year.

Looking at where I am in my life, I really don’t want to take on anything new, but I do need to deepen my knowledge and commitment to the things I am doing.

• Politically – I’m going to persist in the resistance.
  • People Power – I continue to serve on the Texting Team for People Power. That means most days I send between 200 and 600 texts to people who have signed up with the ACLU People Power. Some of the texts are invitations to training for organizing. Some are invitations to organizational meetings, and some are invitations to write, phone, or email political representatives. They are all sent individually and answered individually (thank goodness, I have canned answers available – but we individualize everything as much as possible.) Remember, the ACLU is political but non-partisan. I am one of the texting leads on this team. There are four of us who try to take some of the burden off of the folks to do the real work of getting everything set up. We also TRY to deal creatively and nicely with other volunteers who may not be very understanding or kind.
  • Wall of Us – I continue to try to accomplish the four actions requested by Wall of Us every week. For instance, this week we are asked Help Colin Allred Unseat Pete In the Lone Star State, Make a Plan to Show up When it Matters the Most, Defend Women’s Reproductive Rights. and Act Now to Protect Mueller and His Investigation.
  • I have a recurring donation to the Poor People’s Campaign.
  • Initiative 1631. got enough signatures to get it on the ballot.
• Religiously – I’m going to really work at being Moderator of Olympia Presbytery.
  • We didn’t have any Presbytery meetings in July – no Leadership Council and no New Worshipping Communities Task Force. It was nice to have a break.
  • Interfaith community – I continue to meet with the Interfaith Ladies once a month.
  • I was elected by the 223rd General Assembly to serve on the Nominating Committee for the Presbyterian Church (USA) class of 2024. I still need to be trained, and am planning to go to Chicago in September for the training.
• Creatively – I’m going to try to get down to working on my family history/memoir.
  • Fill in gaps on Ancestry.com – Still working on my genealogy (I don’t think it’s ever finished).
  • I finished the poetry course, and the instructor has agreed to help by editing some of my things. I’m looking into doing some self-publishing because I know I’ll never get anyone to publish a book of poetry.
  • Keep up with my knitting – I’m turning out a couple of pairs of socks a week. So far this year I’ve turned out 40 pairs of socks and have yarn for 8 more.
• Personally – I’m going to keep up walking, and try to add some resistance training.10,000 steps a day –
  • I’m keeping up with this, but not being obsessive about it.
  • 2-3 sessions of weight training a week – I’m doing my strength training 2-3 times a week. I’ve been at it for a couple of months now, and I’m beginning to see a difference in the flab.
• Socially – I’m going to tend my current relationships.
  • Gazebo Group – The Gazebo Group continues to thrive (particularly with the younger (less than 80 years old) members of the community). We had a cookout on the 4th of July, and everybody who came seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
  • Maintain congregational ties – I attend weekly Bible study and try to attend whatever extra worship services there may be.

It feels like I didn’t do much in July, but my days were full and, generally, my life was placid – a perfect summer month – really hot for a while (in the upper 80s during the day, 60s at night). Now in August the seasons are beginning to turn, I think, and we’re back to 70s during the day and 50s at night. My calendar is filling up again, and I have family visiting for 10 days later in the month.

I would really appreciate it if you, gentle readers, would remind me of these intentions when you see me fluttering off after the latest cause du jour.