Month: October 2025

Nobody’s Looking At You…

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If you’re not a TV personality
If you’re not a rock star
If you’re not a winning athlete
If you’re not an important politician
If you’re not a TikTok influencer
If you’re not an insecure teen…
Then you need to know, NOBODY IS LOOKING AT YOU.

You worry about what to wear to your friend’s birthday party – you try on several different combinations of garments, nothing feels right; you may even shop for something new.

All wasted effort and energy.

Because when the event is over, nobody will remember what you wore! Nobody paid any attention to what you were wearing. Likely, if asked, they probably can’t tell you what colour your eyes are!

I don’t remember when I realized I was mostly invisible. In part, my invisibility is the result of my age – 82 is pretty old and nobody pays any attention to old women. However, nobody’s paid any attention to how I look for quite some time.

I remind people when they mither about what to wear, “Nobody is looking at you!”

That doesn’t mean I should take no pains to be reasonably well put together – but I shouldn’t be dressing in some interesting way because I want the approval or the attention of the people around me – because they aren’t paying attention.

I could commandeer attention the way the late Iris Apfel did – you have to admit you couldn’t miss her. And I bet she had great fun dreaming up outfits with great panache! (I never met her. Just came across photos from time to time.)

Iris Apfel

My wardrobe is conservative.
But I have a knit sweater collection with unusual bright patterns
I have several unique quilted jackets I’ve made
I even own some bright neckwear (I do love Iris’ collection of necklaces – the question is how does she manage the weight of it all?).
But I’m most comfortable in a turtleneck with a light wool sweater and a simple pair of pants.

I dress for comfort.
I don’t dress to be noticed.
That’s because I know no-one is looking at me!

Done!

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#6

I finally finished the sixth pair of socks last evening. Done. Completed.

A friend asked to make 6 pairs of socks for her daughter and granddaughter for Christmas sometime in June (July, August, September, October, November, December – 6 months) – enough time to make 6 pairs of socks.

But the “job” felt like it was taking over my life. This wasn’t relaxed knitting. I felt compelled to knit at least 20 rows every evening, if I was to meet this deadline. I have knit a pair of socks in 2 weeks, but that was because the TV program I was watching was particularly interesting, or my knitting stamina was better at that particular time. While relaxed knitting it probably takes me closer to 3 weeks, maybe even 4 – although I knit most evenings, some evenings I might not.

Even though I actually had enough time, I felt the pressure. It was a relief, last evening, to finish the toe on the final sock!

Now I can return to the socks I put aside when I started these 6 pairs.

BABA!

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Buy Anything…But American!

This was an image from Charlie Angus’ Substack post today: https://charlieangus.substack.com/p/canadas-people-power-movement-deals?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2946092&post_id=176364927&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=cgren&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Perfect for a small patch for the windshield (or a bumper sticker)

I know I shouldn’t have done it (copyright and all), but I couldn’t resist – I turned that sign into a logo I can use.

Charlie’s piece: Canada’s People Power In Action is about the negative economic impact our grassroots boycott of US products is having in the US and the positive impact it’s having here in Canada.

…new statistics reveal the staggering impact that Canada’s boycott is having on the United States. The American liquor industry is reporting an 85% drop in sales to Canada. That is a staggering hit.

We need to remind ourselves to keep this going! There are alternatives in the grocery stores – from Mexico, Peru, France, … and if you can’t find one, maybe this isn’t the week to buy that particular item.

This boycott matters!

Much of the response in the US is that we’re mean, they’re the victims, innocent bystanders…

The United States still doesn’t get it.

Our feelings aren’t bruised. We are deeply offended by the attack on our sovereignty as a nation and the disintegration of the rule of law south of the border. The response has been a national campaign of grassroots resistance.

This is people power in action.

We have been using our purchasing power to strengthen the Canadian economy – we can definitely do that in a more focused way.

The boycott may be disastrous for the MAGA economy, but it is creating a unique opportunity for Canada. We need to seize the moment.

Now to find our voices and make our political leaders understand together we need to build Canadian economic independence – not based on projects like the Keystone XL pipeline (which does nothing to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, even if it was offered to trump as an inducement to engage in trade talks – a waste of time – his fickle decisions are no guarantee of economic stability for us – not worth the paper they will be written on!).

We have to find ways of increasing our spending and investing here at home in projects that establish new industries which support (rather than degrade) our environment, which build a different kind of military (let’s learn from Ukraine and Finland – warfare is changing very fast), which strengthen our Canadian cultural activities and showcase all Canadians.

There’s lots of work to be done – let’s get going!

Me, I’ve printed out the “sticker” above, it’s going in the corner of my windshield, today.

…Axios AM: “Dawn of a new Middle East”

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Today’s headlines make me want to scream! The guns may have stopped for the moment – but the Middle East hasn’t changed! The hatred bubbles beneath the cheering and weeping and parades on both sides.

Nobody is writing about it. Everybody is pretending trump pulled off a miracle – no cease fire forced by a bully is going to hold – it’s all a sham. 

When will the next round of violence break out, I have no idea, but it will – likely in the West Bank where nobody is doing anything to stop Netanyahu’s settlers from taking land from Palestinians! My guess is, it will be quite soon, within 6 months? a year? 

But you can’t tell me the Middle East has been changed. Not while Netanyahu is still in charge of Israel.

His intention to eradicate Palestinians hasn’t changed. trump may have threatened/strong armed him into going along with this Gaza deal, but there’s still Palestinians surviving in a destroyed Gaza and there are Palestinians in the West Bank.

Who knows, there may even have been a secret deal worked out between trump and Netanyahu during that White House visit that nobody is talking about – wouldn’t put it past either of them!

I don’t feel joyous today because the guns have stopped for the moment. We’ve been here before – the guns stopped for a short while, then Netanyahu resumed open conflict.

Why is this time any different?

I don’t understand the jubilation.

I certainly don’t feel any optimism!

“No Kings!”

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Here’s a comprehensive list of what trump and his regime have done to the US:

https://substack.com/@judithnewman/note/c-165944154?r=cgren&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

The TikTok video takes 1 minute and 23 seconds – it shows clearly the nearly complete conversion of a “democratic” US to a fascistic dictatorship. It’s not coming! It’s arrived.

Charlie Angus posted that there’s a “No Kings” protest happening in Toronto coming Saturday – everybody nearby is invited to attend:

https://substack.com/@charlieangus/note/c-165633399?r=cgren&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

There may be one near you, if you live elsewhere.

If you’re in the US here’s a link to the gazillion of gatherings planned throughout the country:

https://www.nokings.org

9 months! That’s all it’s taken to dismantle the social, economic, governmental structure of the US. Even those of us who sit here in Canada have to be concerned – that country is too close for comfort. Too many of our own citizens laud what’s been going on – the chaos could start to spill over – it already has in provinces like Alberta with those folks who welcome the “51st state”!

So, do something. If nothing else, keep abreast of what’s been happening and make sure friends and family also know what’s going on!

Pair #5…

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One pair left to go (already working on ’em).

Pair #5

I finished this pair a couple of nights ago (4th of October, I think). I immediately started the final, 6th, pair. That means I should be finished all six pairs of Christmas socks for my friend’s order by the end of October.

It will be a relief.

Although I usually knit for a couple of hours almost every evening, knitting on these socks has been working under pressure and has made it harder than usual. I have often felt I can’t put them down, I need to knit a few more rows, I have to keep going…

I’ve enjoyed the yarns. Because these socks are a tad smaller than my usual women’s size 7 1/2-8 socks they’ve gone a bit faster. But that hasn’t mattered. I’ve felt the pressure, nevertheless.

I’m looking forward to getting back to knitting when I feel like it, and not knitting when I don’t!