thedivinemsem - Tumblr blog

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Things are different on the west coast. Here apparently the aliens take the clothes and leave the bodies. #torsoswithoutshirts

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Coffee at sea always seems to taste better. It's a bit chilly and windy, so I don't think I will try the walking track. The only people I have seen in the pools and hot tubs are kids. But the sun is shining and I am ready to explore more of this ship.

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The biggest TV I have ever had in a cabin.. and a mini bar set up included with Elite status. That said...I have the drink package so I will likely share with anyone I meet who doesn't have one.

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I just boarded the Emerald Princess in LA for a Panama Canal cruise that will include viewing the total eclipse on Monday. I have an inside cabin which is small but well thought out...and the parts of the ship I have seen so far are lovely.

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Here we have shoes and a jacket with no one around. Another possible alien abduction?

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I decided to become an election judge for the upcoming 2024 primary and general election in my county. It isn't about the money, rather it's because being retired, I have the time available to serve. I also know that they have a difficult time filling these slots because it involves one or more very long days with a lot of standing, and although I live in a pretty diverse and accepting community, I suspect some folks have concerns based on what has happened in other states in past elections.

My training involved some reading and a test online, and then about two and a half hours of in person combination lecture/show and tell at a local election office. It was particularly interesting to me because I've been voting by mail for a number of years, so really didn't know what was involved in the process of going to a polling center and casting a vote.

Obviously I can't speak to every single state out there, but what I can say is that anyone in any state who voices any concerns about voter fraud should be required to take election judge training before they DARE to cast any aspersions about election integrity.

The number of safeguards in terms of checks and rechecks to ensure only legal votes are counted, that no one has the ability to vote more than once, and that no one is intimidated or unduly influenced either by workers or other voters is so thorough that frankly I considered it excessive.

If someone has requested a mail-in ballot and shows up to vote, they are handled as a provisional voter in the same way as anyone who is not listed or has an error in their information in the voter list. They vote on a different form and their ballot is held until it is established that they are permitted to vote and that this is their first and only submitted ballot.

When someone needs help and they didn't bring a friend or family member with them, two judges from different parties must work together to help the voter mark their ballot.

To my surprise, as someone who learned to vote by pulling levers on voting machines - in this day and age, all ballots are paper with marks on them, whether you use a provided pen or you use a computer touch screen to make the marks for you. Those paper ballots are scanned and then held in case there is a need for a recount.

I am frustrated to live in a country where so many people just blindly regurgitate whatever they read on the internet or see on cable news or hear from a friend or relative without taking the time to research for themselves. And the idea that "if I didn't get what I wanted, it must have been rigged" is dangerous.....not just with elections, but with government decisions in general. Yes, potential unethical behavior and conflicts of interest should be pointed out. I support the "trust but verify" view of government - heck, view of pretty much everything in this world. Too many people are missing the "verify" part.

[thedivinemsem]

It's been a while since I reported any #shoeswithoutfeet and although I thought that the aliens must have left the area, it seems that they have simply changed their "collecting". Over the past two weeks, I found several dog toys without dogs, a scrunchie without a head and just this morning I came across socks without feet.

So continue to beware of possible #alienabductions in Riverfront Park.

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Still have a bit of caulking and trim work to do, but overall, I'm really happy with the tub surround "refacing" project. Particularly because it only cost a few hundred rather than a few thousand dollars.

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Why do I bother buying cat beds?

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This made me laugh.....Catzilla......

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Why do I bother with cat furniture?

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You are all mine, dirty sock.

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My cat's first experience with snow - normally he refuses to move when he's in harness....I guess he's channeling his inner sled dog.

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This only happens when I'm wearing black.

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A house full of catbeds, chairs, and windowsills and he decides to hang out in an ottoman.

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This ornament came from one of my two Alaskan cruises. I took the first one many years ago with my friend Judy....it was a wonderful adventure that included a few days in Seattle and a visit to Mt St Helens to escape what at the time was some of the hottest days ever in Seattle. I got to meet her parents who were some of the nicest folks ever.

Flash forward a number of years and I found out that my son and DIL were taking the kids to the Seattle area to visit some friends. I was lucky enough to have DIL and the kids take me up on the offer of an Alaskan cruise.....and this time we did it up right with a balcony and a day spent in Glacier Bay.

For this east coaster, the mountains of Alaska were impossible to prepare for....I've never seen anything quite so majestic before or since. And the memories we made on both trips were priceless.

Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau

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This is another keychain used as an ornament. I got it a number of years ago from my office cleaner Blanca who picked it up while she was visiting family in El Salvador. It was truly kind of her to think of me and I've treasured it ever since. We have a lot of Salvadorans in my area, many of whom came to escape some pretty awful violence in their home country between 1979 and 1992. There was a civil war between the existing government and some leftist groups...with the government being funded in part by the US and the opposition funded in part by the then Soviet Union. I won't try to judge who was right and who was wrong, but I can say that horrible actions were taken by both sides, including going to schools and gathering up students who were then forced to fight as child soldiers.

I was able to visit El Salvador last year, and learned a lot more about US involvement throughout Central America in the name of "combating communism", and frankly, I've yet to find a situation where it went well. In some ways I'm reminded of the current situation between Israel and Hamas, because once again we have US and Russian involvement (along with a number of other countries). And once again, a lot of innocent lives have been and continue to be collateral damage in the war.

Especially at this time of year, I'm sad. Sad for the world leaders who see things in terms of "we must destroy the enemy" rather than "can we find common ground and negotiate an end to the war" and sad for the innocents on both sides who simply want to live their lives quietly in peace.

a Cervesa Suprema from my trip last year