Friday, February 21, 2025

Field Trip Friday

This week I went on my own Friday Field Trip. My friends from high school and I have had to cancel several lunch dates starting in late November due to illness, roads, spouses health, our health, grandchildren. We finally made a date! And one friend's GPS sent her to the wrong address. We finally got to the same place and I ordered the world's biggest Monte Cristo sandwich. This picture does not do justice to the size of this sandwich. 

That dish of raspberry compote was the size of a large soup bowl! 

My friend just purchased an embroidery machine and practiced by making us each a personalized "rug mug". 


Isn't it fabulous! 

After two and a half hours of conversation, we parted and my car accidentally stopped at the cancer thrift shop on the way to the grocery store (I have another recipe challenge for this weekend). 


I spotted some items in this photo from their Facebook page. I have about 4 Beatrix Potter figurines from Boswick that I have collected over the years. It looked like there were some in this cabinet. 


These are the 18 new figures I bought to go with my collection of four. They were ridiculously under priced and I couldn't leave any behind. I think 2 are Royal Doulton but I am not holding that against them. I am behind in love. I actually left about a dozen behind and I am tempted to go back.  The volunteers told me a woman had collected them for years and when she passed, her 90 something year old husband was going to assisted living and sent them to the shop. There are also a trillion other Beatrix Potter items from dishes, to tea pots, to books to paintings. 

Here are some things I didn't buy. 





My hands were too full to take more photos. 


Just a selection of eggs from my farm lady this week. I try to keep the smallest ones (normal size large) for baking because the others are too large for recipes. 

I met my friend Susan about nine years ago. She was at an event I attended and told me this horrible story about her son-in-law who was, at that time, active military having served two terms in Iraq who was fighting military burn pit exposure illnesses and getting no help from the military health services. 

I first took this with a grain of salt because I could not have had a more positive experience with my father who I was transporting to a VA hospital with leukemia. The facilities and the staff were exemplary. He then had a massive stroke and I moved him into an assisted living unit and eventually a nursing home, both located in a VA home.  Every interaction (and I was there most days) could not have been kinder, more helpful and warm. 

But then I paid more attention to her son-in-law's plight. The families of these victims of the military use of burn pits had found each other on social media and were pressing our government for help. They even did a session on 60 minutes. 


These young men and women were developing fatal illnesses and receiving no help from our military. 

Through the efforts of these families, congress members they enlisted, and even advocate Jon Stewart, they were able to get the Heath Robinson Act passed to award benefits to the dying soldiers and their families. Susan fought this battle to the end, even though Heath died before her own family could benefit.  Susan's daughter Danielle was a guest at the State of the Union and little Brielle has the pen that it was signed with. 



Last night every Republican member of the Senate, including senators who had championed and fought for this legislation when it was passed, vote NO on funding it for the future.  




9 comments:

  1. Your friend did a great job on the mug rug. It's so pretty. Always fun to thrift. The government always has money for war but can't take care of those who serve. Shameful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am saddened and sickened. I sent messages to our R Senator and he won't answer of course.

    As the gov't gets dismantled, I wait for what happens next with distrust and stress.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My God, how heartbreaking. This country has been taken over by the Dark Side, truly. But I enjoyed your field trip Miss Merry, not really into curios or doo-dads, but that sandwich and compote looked delicious. When you blog, you blog big don't you. :^)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I will ask my Republican senators, but I know they will respond with heartless form letters - like they always do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Smith and Amy K here in Minnesota both voted yea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so lucky to have support for members of the military. We have stooges in Ohio. One is a new senator who was a used car dealer, born in Columbia who was convicted of labor fraud. The other was appointed by the governor to fill vance's spot. He has set up zero offices in our state and does not have any phone numbers in the state.

      Delete
  6. This is heartbreaking. I do not understand the hypocrisy of a population of people who have guaranteed health care FOR LIFE rejecting that for everyone else.

    It's the little things like this that enrage me the most...and yet I know that rage does not solve anything. We have a predatory government. It has been for many years, I suppose, but now the curtain is ripped away, and we can't help but see it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm glad when I hear a good story about a Veteran receiving care, but many do not and we've had that experience too many times unfortunately. I'm not surprised the ReTrumplicans are forsaking our Veterans, the Orange Coward who wouldn't serve thinks of them all as suckers and losers, so I don't understand any Military or Veteran and their Family being in support of this Regime. It's against their own best interests and he's a Traitor to this Country and was up on charges of sedition and espionage. Anyway, on a Positive Note, congrats on Scoring so many new Treasures for your Collection all at once, I bet your Heart was beating like a Hummingbird's? *Winks* And the Food Porn is making me hungry...

    ReplyDelete
  8. As a former life long Republican, it sickens me to see that all these Republican Politicians are so afraid to stand up to Him. I do not use His name as the algorithms pick it up and only put more posts about Him out there on social media...I am now an Independent voter as are my sons...We just need to bide our time until elections in 2026 and vote all of the republicans out of office....Thanks again for all your visits...I have been playing catch up on your posts and not stalking you!! LOL!! Yes, I saved all original boxes of a lot of my decorations but now I am tossing those babies and wrapping things in bubble wrap to save space when packing things away...Good for you adding to your collection....We have to surround ourselves with things that make us smile and happy especially now in these terrible times....I hope you have a great week!!
    Hugs,
    Deb
    Debbie-Dabble Blog

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit! I love your comments and suggestions and read them all. Due to spam, I will now have to approve all comments. Sometimes it takes me a hot minute to authorize comments due to grandchildren commitments. I apologize but I can't let those scammers get the upper hand!

Miss Merry