Well, Now...

Word around the plant is that they're wanting to open up a second shift by the end of this month.  I kinda hate that, because I like not having someone on my stand on second shift.  I like coming in in the morning and knowing that my stand will be neat and tidy, just like I left it -- no jigs piled up, no scrap laying around, no having to track down my rolling table or parts trays...no having to quite literally put my work station back together before I can even start working.  

Sometimes, I think second shift comes in and just throws stuff up in the air and where it lands is where it stays.  

Still, the bright side is it means that work is picking up.  The not so bright side is that I don't know who they are going to find to work on that second shift.  I don't think they brought in a single new hire last week, and there were only 6 the week before.  The plant is getting quite the reputation as a place people don't want to work. 

I was talking about this last week with Production Manager Cuz.  I told him, "Don't be surprised if you lose a lot of employees over this [metal detector].  People don't want to work for someone who treats them like common criminals.  When you make me walk through that thing, you're telling me that you don't believe that I'm a decent human being.  You don't trust me to be a good person.  Why would I want to work for a company that thinks so little of me?  You have to treat your employees with dignity and respect."

I also told him that I turn 62 in November and was seriously thinking of retiring at the end of the  year. 

And I have been debating on it, but at this point, I just don't see how I can swing it financially.  I know the "rich people trick" of retiring early, because in the long run, you'll draw more from social security by collecting it longer even if you get less per month, but if I do retire at 62, my monthly benefit will only be about $1500.  I don't think I can pay my bills on that.  

People have said, "Well, you can get a part time job."  But if I have to keep working just to pay my bills, I'm not really retired then, am I?  I mean, I was thinking about looking for a part time job anyway, just to have something to do with myself, but I don't want to have to be dependent on that income to make ends meet.  And what happens when I get too old to work?  Once I retire, those social security benefits won't go up any -- other than very small cost of living increases.  I have to be able to pay my bills on what I get without having to pick up another job. 

What about your 401(k)?  I don't think I have enough in it to make up the difference, not if I retire early.  That's one thing I regret was not doing the managed account when I first set it up.  I finally switched it to a managed account sometime last year, and it's grown so much in just that short amount of time, I wish I'd done it sooner.  I'd have so much more in it by now, but all I could think of at the time was I wanted to keep all of my money.  My money...my own....my precious...

But now, I don't have enough in it to last that long.  And I'd like to have a little legacy to leave Cody when I'm gone.   

Another thing I regret was not buying a house when I first moved here.  Don't get me wrong, I loved living next door to my cousin and having family so close, but I keep thinking that if I'd bought my house back then, it would be paid off by now.  If I weren't still carrying a mortgage, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.  But probably the only smart financial decision I've made in my entire life was to pay extra principle on my mortgage every month, and I've stuck to that no matter how tight things have gotten.  You can save so much in interest by doing that. 

I've also thought about taking money out of my 401(k) to pay my mortgage off, but I've been advised not to do that.  I'd end up with more money by leaving it in the retirement account than I'd save in interest payments.  However, if I did, at least I'd own my house free and clear -- except for the annual rent I have to pay to the government to keep my own home, also known as property tax-- and at least I'd have a place to live.  

One final thing I have to take into consideration is that in an average year, about 25 -30% of my annual income is from working overtime.  That's going to be a huge pay cut no matter what age I retire, because there is no overtime in retirement.  That monthly allowance is all you get.

Plus, the overtime is what I'm saving up to fix up my house, because I sure don't want to go into more debt at my age.    

Boy I sure didn't mean to get off onto that tangent, but it's been something that I've been considering here lately -- once it hit me how close retirement has gotten.  And I do like the actual work I do.  I just hate the toxicity of my place of employment.  I mean, Cuz was telling us they'd spent -- I think it was $2 million on a machine for the production side, plus half a mil on a machine for tubing.  Meanwhile, we brazers are still having to jury rig brazing jigs because they claim they "can't afford" to buy us the ones we need.  

I keep saying they could sell those stupid metal detectors on Craig's List and buy us at least some of those jigs we don't have.  

Which brings us right back to where I started.  Where are they going to find people who want to work for a company that treats them so badly?  Seriously, it wasn't that long ago that the HR director we called Crazy Karen made it company policy that we couldn't have anything to eat or drink but plain water outside of our normal lunch break. 

When we pointed out that some departments were coming in at 3:00 AM and would have to be working eight hours straight with nothing to eat or drink, she literally screamed at us, saying, "This is company policy and it will be followed!"   

(AI generated image, but it looks surprisingly like her.)

I know they don't really enforce that policy any more, but it's still official company policy, and it's a horrible way to treat your employees.  

Well, this post has completely gotten away from me, so I'll just with my fellow Texans a Happy Independence Day, 

and I'm going to go watch my sewing bee show and knit a bit. 

Laters...

Remember

 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.  -- Joel 1 : 3

So that we may never forget.

Hats And Independence

Sundays can be a difficult day for me, because I was raised that Sunday is the Lord's Day and we don't work on the Lord's Day.  So I try to rest, as he commanded us to do, but I can't relax when there is so much I need to be doing.  Like, I've got so many phone calls to make -- which is difficult enough for an introvert such as myself, and I don't feel right disturbing other people on the weekends, since I don't like being disturbed on the weekends myself. 

What calls do I need to make?  

I need to call a contractor.

I need to call a landscaper.

I need to call a surveyor.

I need to call a tree guy.

I need to call a chimney sweep.

I need to call an eye doctor.

I usually end up just calling the whole thing off.   Then it eats at me that I still need to get all of this stuff done, and sometimes I wish I had someone to take care of me, but then I remember that every single man I've ever had a relationship with has tried to change who I am and it just isn't worth it. 

Therein lies the rub.  Contractors, plumbers, etc...they all treat single women like we're too dumb to realize when we're getting ripped off, so they do it with impunity.  At least the ones around here do.  That's one of the things I need to get done.  The guy I hired a few years ago to paint my house was supposed to replace all the rotten wood he found, but he didn't.  He just smeared a layer of wood putty over those boards, then painted that.  

It bought me a little time, but now it's getting to the point where I can't put it off any more, so I need to call a contractor to fix that.  Only I don't trust anyone any more.   Then there is the fact that so many of them have made me feel like I'm bothering or inconveniencing them by trying to hire them.  And there is the one who got mad and quit when I told him I wasn't allowed to have a phone at work, so I wouldn't be able to answer when he called, but if he left a message I'd get back to him as soon as I could...

Plus the whole introvert/phone call conundrum.  And the fact that I just can't seem to get my act together.  I need a personal organizer, but I can't even get my act together enough to ask if there are any in the area who could help me out. 

So I procrastinate...and knit.  Look!  I finished a hat!

This is only the second charity hat I've finished this year.  I need to get on the ball, or I won't even have enough to be worth mailing off in the fall.  The reason for that is all of these Sockhead hats I've been working on.  

I've been switching back and forth between these two, and am slowly making progress on both.  

And finally, today is Texas Independence Day, so happy day my fellow Texans!

To honor the day, I went and found this candle my older brother's family gave me for Christmas back in 2019.  

 I'd only lit it once, because I wanted to save it.  Because Texas.  But, it doesn't do anybody any good sitting back in a cabinet, so it's happily burning in my living room even as I type this. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I found a video on YouTube about the Easter Outbreak of 2020.  That's the one that knocked my power out for 4 days.  Imma head on over there and watch it. 

By the way, we're expecting severe weather on Tuesday.  

Welcome to springtime in the South.  

San Jacinto Day

After the fall of the Alamo, on March 6, 1836, the Texas Army, led by General Sam Houston, spent 6 weeks running from the relentless pursuit of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana.  On April 21, on the banks of the San Jacinto River, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution was fought.

It lasted just 18 minutes, and culminated with the capture -- and surrender -- of Santa Ana.  Against all odds, the Texas Revolution was won, and Texas became an independent republic, until they joined the United States by treaty in 1845.

And this is the song those soldiers played as they marched into battle:

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.  -- Joel 1 : 3

One More

Remember the other day when I told you to hold on to your butts because things are about to get rough?  Yeah, I wasn't joking about that.  

Today we had a big meeting at work, and The Big Man Up Front laid it all out for us.  He said our warehouse -- our massive warehouse -- is full of product, so full they've had to rent a second warehouse, and it is now full.  They're currently looking for a third warehouse to rent so we can store even more product.  

So, why do we have so much product being stored?  Because nobody is buying it.  Sales for January through March are much lower than expected, so to correct for that...I almost hesitate to mention this, because I know some of my readers are so fragile, this might make them cry...they are giving us all of next week off. 

He chose next week specifically because it is spring break here, and parents want to do stuff with their kids.  Besides, with it being spring break, quite a few people have already got vacation time scheduled.  

TBMUF said that sales are going to pick up in April, so he's hopeful we won't have to do any more shutdowns like this.  The good news is, we can file for unemployment benefits, and this will satisfy the 5 day waiting period required by state law.  That way, if we do have to shut down again, we'll get paid unemployment benefits straight away.  Even if we use our vacation days next week, it'll still count towards the waiting period.   More good news, our parent company Lennox International is going to absorb the cost of our health insurance and stuff for the week we're off, so we won't have to pay double the week after.  The HR guy said he'd never heard of a company doing that, but ours is.  

I've got plenty of vacation time I can use.  I'll just have to re-arrange a few days I already had scheduled.  I also went ahead and changed my contributions to my retirement account back down to 10%.  Now, I'll have to spent the next however long listening to them nag me that I'm not saving enough.    

I'm still debating on cutting off my internet and just using my phone data, but I still have a few weeks until the end of the current billing cycle, so I have a minute to decide on that yet.  I'm trying to find more information on my hotspot -- as in if it will handle how much streaming I do.  I might also try to get a set of rabbit ears to see what channels I can get here.  Back before I got cable, I could get PBS and NBC, but after they switched to all digital, I couldn't get any channels, not even with the converter. That's part of why I got cable in the first place.  

Eh, I should probably less and read more anyway.  

Let's talk about something more pleasant, shall we?  I finished my pink headband Saturday,  

and this hat yesterday.  

 Right now, I haven't cast on anything else, because I still have one more gigantic headband to redo.   Yeah, I know I said I'd redone them all.    Well, turns out I hadn't. 

I was talking to the coworker who'd gotten the headband I'd put in the box of stuff I took in to work a few weeks ago, and she said she loved it, but it's just so big.  I mentioned that I'd reworked the pattern to make them smaller, and said if she brought it back to me, I'd re-knit it in a smaller size.  

You can see here how huge it is compared to the one I made with a 92 stitch cast on.  

So that'll be my next project.  

In other news, my effort to clean up my office area continues.  This afternoon, I dug this folder out of my file cabinet. 

It contains a lot of owner's manuals I need to sort through.  My guess is that I don't even have what most of them went to any more.  We shall see.  

And finally, 187 years ago today, the brave men at the Alamo gave their last full measure of devotion to the cause of liberty.  We would be remiss if we didn't take a moment to remember them. 

Boobies Successfully Smashed

Two down, two to go.  Appointments, that is.  Physical and mammogram are done; eye appointment and colonoscopy still to go.  I'll to the eye appointment in the Fall, but I don't know when I will do the colonoscopy.  I'd originally scheduled it for Monday, but cancelled, because I was feeling overwhelmed by too much coming at me too quickly.  Add the wedding in...recipe for anxiety.  

So, today I got the mammogram out of the way,  after refusing to allow myself to cancel it.  Even though I really wanted to...I really like the lady who does them here.  She's very professional, and makes you feel at ease.  I had worn one of my Against The Current t-shirts, and she complimented me on it.  She said she loves The Chosen, but alas, she's only seen the first episode of season 3.  

"I hate that!"  I said, "because I want to talk about it, but I don't want to spoil it for you!"  All I told her was there is some good stuff coming up in season 3, and that's all I had to say about that. 

Anyway, it all went very well, and they'll mail me the results in a few days. 

In knitting news, I finished the headband with the smaller cast on.

It fit so much better -- no, you are not getting another selfie-- so I cast on another one using one of the gigantic headbands I'd knit before.  

I'm still tweaking the pattern a bit, but I think these will go much better.  

As my old dad would say, Spring is busting out all over.  I'm seeing daffodils and jonquils all up and down the roads.  The trees are putting out new growth, and flowers are starting to bloom everywhere.  And look at this!

These are some daffodils I bought last spring.  I'd intended to plant them, but completely forgot about them and left them in the pot all year.  I was afraid I'd killed them, because I didn't even water them.  A few weeks ago, I took the entire mess out of the pot and planted them out by the back fence.  Much to my amazement, they're growing!  Whee! 

Apropos of nothing, I don't see how people play on their phones all day at work.  Even in the break area, this is all I get.  

 Back before my plantar fasciitis flared up, I'd signed up to do another one of those Yes.Fit virtual races I used to do all the time.  It took a minute, because I had to take a break, but I finally finished it.  My medal arrived yesterday:

And finally, today is the first day of the Siege Of The Alamo.  Alas, the videos I always post during these 13 days have been deleted due to copyright claims.  I guess it doesn't matter, because I doubt you were watching them anyway. 

Heck, I didn't even watch them after that first year.

But we still remember...

Spindletop

All this week, I've been telling myself that when I get home, I'm going to go for a walk.  Not far, just up and down the road.  And all this week, I haven't.  

Gone for a walk, that is.  

I get home and decide I'm just too tired, and I'll do it tomorrow.  Then tomorrow comes and I don't.  Go for a walk, I mean.  And I know you must be tired of reading my complaining about how tired I am.   All I have to say to that is, "Man, I need a nap." 

In other news, they've decided we need to wear steel toed boots to work now.  I'm not sure when it's supposed to start, but they announced it in a safety brief last fall.  What we were told is that it has always been Lennox policy (they're our parent company), and this is just to bring us in line with that.  We've really been supposed to be wearing them, but they just haven't enforced it.  Now they're going to. 

That's the official line.  What I think -- completely off the record, of course -- is that they're tired of seeing people wearing house shoes to work.  Seriously.  People are seriously wearing house shoes to the plant.  I saw someone last week walking down the aisle and out the door at the end of the shift, and she had moccasin style HOUSE SHOES on.  

They looked just like these:

A bit of good news before I go -- a new season of Kid's Baking Championship has started, and new seasons of All Creatures Great And Small and Miss Scarlet And The Duke are showing on PBS, so now I have some good shows to watch.  Yippee!  

And finally, I couldn't leave you without acknowledging this important day in Texas history, the discovery of oil at Spindletop.  

It was January 10, 1901....

The Lucas Gusher blew the cap off of oil production in Texas, and revolutionized the oil industry.

Prior to that, oil had been primarily used for lighting and lubrication, but the discovery of such a massive deposit made using it for fuel feasible for the first time.  The rest, as they say, is history. 

It also led to today's earworm, which I will now pass on to you.



You're welcome.

For more information, The Texas State Historical Association has a pretty good article:  Spindletop.

And also, Wikipedia.

The Day Texas Became Texas

After the fall of the Alamo, on March 6, 1836, the Texas Army, led by General Sam Houston, spent 6 weeks running from the relentless pursuit of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana.  On April 21, on the banks of the San Jacinto River, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution was fought.

It lasted just 18 minutes, and culminated with the capture -- and surrender -- of Santa Ana.  Against all odds, the Texas Revolution was won, and Texas became an independent republic, until they joined the United States by treaty in 1845.

And this is the song those soldiers played as they marched into battle:



Some years later, the battle would be immortalized in a ballad by Mitch Torok.



The San Jacinto Monument:

The Fall

 The blog will be observing a day of silence in memory of those brave men who fell 185 years ago today.

Remember them.  

 

This Cat Of Mine

 This cat of mine.  

She does more than just lay on the keyboard criticizing me.  She also hunts.  Then she brings me the things she's caught.  Some days, the things she's caught, that she brings into the house, to give to me....aren't dead.

Today was just such one day.  She brought ... I'm not even sure what it was.  It had a short tail like a vole, but it was huge -- almost rat sized.  She brought it into the house and let it go.  It promptly ran behind the love seat, and oh, boy!  I got to go rat hunting in my living room!  Yippee!

At least this one was too big to run behind the entertainment center.  I finally cornered it, and bludgeoned the thing to death with the butt of my BB gun.  The cat and I then had a long talk about her job performance.  

In other news, I got an email from Photobucket.  Apparently, they'd moved to a new server, or sold the site or something, and I needed to reactivate my account.  I did, even though I hadn't used Photobucket in so long, I'd plumb forgotten I even had an account.  

I also forgot I used to draw, and I wasn't half bad at it.  I could have been better, but I wasn't too bad.  In fact, the whole reason I started this blog way back in 2005 was to host my sketches.  It was originally titled Sketches And More, but I thought that was a dumb name.  Somewhere along the line, I hosted a contest to come up with a new one, and the winning entry was what is now the current name of the blog.  

It was meant to showcase my Fine art:

my Martial art:

(My sensei and I -- I'm pretty sure this is the day I got my black belt.)

and my Fiber art:

(Rona Shawl, pattern from Knit Picks -- which is apparently no longer available.  This was given to my sister for Christmas.)

It was kind of fun seeing things I'd completely forgotten about.  I might share more of it sometime in the future.  

The only other thing I did today was to start some of my wildflower seeds, but they don't look like anything yet.  I put seeds in 66 peat pellets, and still have a ton of them left.  Seeds,  I mean.  Not pellets.  I have an old tire in the shed which I've been thinking about turning into a planter for years.  Maybe this will be the year.  Maybe it won't.  

Who knows?  

That's about all I have for today, so here is your Texas History moment, for Day 12 Of The Siege.  

Windfall

 I got me a bit of a windfall today.  And the manner in which this came about is as follows.  

The plant fed us lunch.  They do this from time to time -- mostly to try to make us forget how horrible a place it is to work.  Anyway, today's lunch was catered by a local business called Small Time Hot Dogs. 

Folks, I'm here to tell you, if you're ever in Mississippi and see that Small Time Hot Dogs Truck, stop and get you one.  Do not pass GO, do not collect $200,  Just stop and get you one.  Or two.  Or twelve.  They are that good.  

I went in and got my plate, and they usually put two hot dogs on each one.  Today was no different.  The plan was to have one for lunch, and save the other for supper.  I was in the break area, happily eating my hot dog, when I heard a voice behind me call, "Anybody want a chili cheese dog?  Anyone?"  Turning around, I stuck my hand in the air and said, "I'll take it."  

My coworker brought me the hot dog, and I thanked her profusely.  About that time, another coworker sitting at the next table said, "I should have given you my hot dogs, too."  She explained that she'd forgotten they were going to feed us, and had ordered a hamburger  She went and got the hot dogs, but really wanted to eat her hamburger.  I replied, "I surely would have appreciated it."  

Then she said, "They're right over there on my work station.  Go on and get them."  So, I did.  

And that, Gentle Reader, is how I ended up with five meals out of one (including today's lunch).  In these uncertain times, you don't turn down free food.  Three of the leftover hotdogs are now wrapped and tucked safely into my freezer, and the fourth is in my refrigerator, and will probably be my supper tomorrow. 

Not only that, something just hit me.  I mean, just now, as I was typing this.  

This morning, I hadn't slept well, and 2:45 came mighty early.  I was tired, worn out, frustrated.  Almost on the verge of tears.  Feeling so alone in the world.   

There was a song playing on the radio ( I keep it on K-LOVE).  This one:

In a moment of near blasphemy, I told the radio, "Unless your Jesus can pay my bills, I don't want to hear about him."  

I immediately repented, and we (me and my Jesus) had a moment.  He understands exhaustion.  After all, he was once so tired, he slept through a storm on the Sea of Galilee.  I went on about my day, not thinking much more on it.  Until I was typing this blog post up and I realized what my Jesus had done for me.

My Jesus just gave me a week's worth of suppers.  With all the condiments included.  So, in a way, he did pay my bills for me.  

I feel both very grateful and very humble at the same time, and very much ashamed of my outburst this morning.

Now I get it.  Now I truly get Romans 5:8.  

In other news, after much soul searching and pondering, I've come to the conclusion that maybe I'm just too far North to successfully grown bluebonnets.  Looking at the map, if I head straight West as the crow flies, I will end up in southern Oklahoma.  Just across the Red River. But Oklahoma nonetheless.  I don't know.  

I've also come to the conclusion that I am incredibly stubborn.  Why do I say this?  Because I bought four, yes, four more packets of Bluebonnet seeds.

I'm going to save these and plant them in September, because that's when the wild ones tend to germinate.  Every year, I'd always thought to myself sometime in early September, "Man, I should have bought some bluebonnet seeds and saved them," but I never had.  Well, now I have.  We'll see if that makes a difference. 

As if that weren't proof enough that I just can't seem to learn, I also bought a packet of wildflower seeds.  

I'm going to recycle those peat pellets in which the bluebonnet seeds didn't germinate and plant these in them.  I might even dig out that old fire pit and make a flower bed out of it after all.

Because, yes, I am that stubborn. 

And finally, it's Day 11 of the Siege.  

I Could Cry

I could just cry. 

I came home from work this afternoon, and more of my little bluebonnet seedlings have died.  

I'm heartbroken.  I'd had such high hopes, but it looks like out of 72 peat pellets, it looks like I might get 4-6 surviving plants.  It seems it's just not my lot to have any bluebonnets.  I keep on planting them, and they keep on dying.  Maybe I should just give up.

At least the one in my flower bed is holding its own. 

No buds yet, but it hasn't died, either.  So there is that.  I just can't seem to grow anything from seeds.  Not even wildflowers.  I can't even tell you how many packets of wildflower seeds I've planted and none of them have grown.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  I think I'm just going to give up on all of it.  

All of it.  

I'd still  been thinking about turning that old fire pit into a flower bed, but at this point, I'm so discouraged, I think I'll just pull the whole thing up and do away with it.  I'm tired of mowing around it anyway.  

Moving right along...

There I was at work, just a working away, when the maintenance man came around and told everyone they'd be shutting down the power again.  This was yesterday, by the way.  At first, the brazing trainer told us to go outside and stand by the fence, but Group Leader Shark came right behind her and told us to clock out.  Then people started asking, "Do we go home?"  

Um, yes.  Once I'm clocked out, I'm on my own time.  I'm not staying up at the plant on my own time!  

I guess they figured that since it was almost quitting time, there wasn't any sense having us just standing around with no power for the last hour of the day.  Whatever the reason, I had a whole extra hour at home.   What did I do with that extra hour?  I practiced my piano.  A real practice, too, not just a hurried rush-through, which is all I can usually do this time of year.  I actually did some Hannon's too, then played my lesson music without feeling like I needed to rush.  It was so nice. 

This morning, I got up at 2:45 and went on in to work at 4:00, as per my usual.   There, I was greeted at the door by third shift supervisor, saying, "You can't come in until 5:00."  The power was still out, and he said the maintenance men were coming in at 4:30 to start turning it all back on.  Being that I only live 5 minutes from the plant, naturally, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I went back home and cooked myself a regular breakfast, which I then ate leisurely with a cup of hot coffee.  

I'm telling you, you feel so much better with some actual nutrition in your body than when you're trying to work 7 hours with nothing but water to fuel your body. 

I went back to work an hour later, and after a few moments, the power came back and we were able to work.  They sent the assembly lines home at 9:00, but guess who had to stay day long?  Yep.  I was so hoping they'd let us go early, too, but no...At least we got a little bit ahead.  For now. 

And finally...It's day 10 of the siege:

Independence Day

*Note:  Today's video is at the bottom, and a personal note below that.  

The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the Delegates of the People of Texas in General Convention at the Town of Washington on the 2nd day of March 1836;

When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression.

When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated central military despotism, in which every interest is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood, both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the ever ready minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants.

When, long after the spirit of the constitution has departed, moderation is at length so far lost by those in power, that even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms themselves of the constitution discontinued, and so far from their petitions and remonstrances being regarded, the agents who bear them are thrown into dungeons, and mercenary armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the bayonet.

When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.

Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their acts to the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of our grievances is therefore submitted to an impartial world, in justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now taken, of severing our political connection with the Mexican people, and assuming an independent attitude among the nations of the earth.

The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution, that they should continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican government to which they had been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States of America.

In this expectation they have been cruelly disappointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in the late changes made in the government by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who having overturned the constitution of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative, either to abandon our homes, acquired by so many privations, or submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined despotism of the sword and the priesthood.

It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by which our interests have been continually depressed through a jealous and partial course of legislation, carried on at a far distant seat of government, by a hostile majority, in an unknown tongue, and this too, notwithstanding we have petitioned in the humblest terms for the establishment of a separate state government, and have, in accordance with the provisions of the national constitution, presented to the general Congress a republican constitution, which was, without just cause, contemptuously rejected.

It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our citizens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure the acceptance of our constitution, and the establishment of a state government.
It has failed and refused to secure, on a firm basis, the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen.

It has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources, (the public domain,) and although it is an axiom in political science, that unless a people are educated and enlightened, it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self government.

It has suffered the military commandants, stationed among us, to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyrrany, thus trampling upon the most sacred rights of the citizens, and rendering the military superior to the civil power.

It has dissolved, by force of arms, the state Congress of Coahuila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly for their lives from the seat of government, thus depriving us of the fundamental political right of representation.

It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens, and ordered military detachments to seize and carry them into the Interior for trial, in contempt of the civil authorities, and in defiance of the laws and the constitution.

It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by commissioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize our vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far distant ports for confiscation.

It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.

It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments.

It has invaded our country both by sea and by land, with intent to lay waste our territory, and drive us from our homes; and has now a large mercenary army advancing, to carry on against us a war of extermination.

It has, through its emissaries, incited the merciless savage, with the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the inhabitants of our defenseless frontiers.

It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with it, the contemptible sport and victim of successive military revolutions, and hath continually exhibited every characteristic of a weak, corrupt, and tyrranical government.

These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the people of Texas, untill they reached that point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been heard from the Interior.

We are, therefore, forced to the melancholy conclusion, that the Mexican people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, and the substitution therfor of a military government; that they are unfit to be free, and incapable of self government.

The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees our eternal political separation.
We, therefore, the delegates with plenary powers of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare, that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to independent nations; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme arbiter of the destinies of nations.

[Signed, in the order shown on the handwritten document]

John S. D. Byrom
Francis Ruis
J. Antonio Navarro
Jesse B. Badgett
Wm D. Lacy
William Menifee
Jn. Fisher
Matthew Caldwell
William Motley
Lorenzo de Zavala
Stephen H. Everett
George W. Smyth
Elijah Stapp
Claiborne West
Wm. B. Scates
M. B. Menard
A. B. Hardin
J. W. Bunton
Thos. J. Gazley
R. M. Coleman
Sterling C. Robertson
Richard Ellis, President
of the Convention and Delegate
from Red River
James Collinsworth
Edwin Waller
Asa Brigham
Charles B. Stewart
Thomas Barnett
Geo. C. Childress
Bailey Hardeman
Rob. Potter
Thomas Jefferson Rusk
Chas. S. Taylor
John S. Roberts
Robert Hamilton
Collin McKinney
Albert H. Latimer
James Power
Sam Houston
David Thomas
Edwd. Conrad
Martin Parmer
Edwin O. Legrand
Stephen W. Blount
Jms. Gaines
Wm. Clark, Jr.
Sydney O. Pennington
Wm. Carrol Crawford
Jno. Turner
Benj. Briggs Goodrich
G. W. Barnett
James G. Swisher
Jesse Grimes
S. Rhoads Fisher
John W. Moore
John W. Bower
Saml. A. Maverick (from Bejar)
Sam P. Carson
A. Briscoe
J. B. Woods
H. S. Kimble, Secretary





Personal note:  When you scroll through the names of the signers of the Declaration, you will come across a man called Claiborne West.  I'm told the vote which elected him to be the delegate was held on my great-great-great grandfather William Abraham Winfree's farm.  

William Abraham Winfree settled in Texas in 1830, and received his official land grant in 1831.  So, yes, I've had ancestors in Texas from when it was still part of Mexico.

Spring!

 Happy first day of Spring!

Meteorological Spring, that is.  And in honor of the occasion, I've got my first daffodil blooming!

Sorry about my phone's shadow.  I tried every which way to take the picture without getting it in there, but just couldn't do it.   To make up for that slight, here is a jonquil, too. 

It's the only one I've got blooming, but hey, we take what we can get.    

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day, totally befitting the first day of Spring.  After work, I got out into the shed and got that old baker's rack out and put it onto the front porch.  All my babies are right at home on it. 

While I was doing that, I noticed some of my bluebonnet seedlings had roots growing out through the bottoms of their peat pellets and they looked like they were starting to dry out.  I got a little of my Miracle Gro sphagnum moss and put it into the bottom of the box.  

I dampened the moss just a teeny bit, then nestled the peat pellets down into it, making sure the roots were covered. Hopefully, that will keep the roots from dying, and maybe perk some of the struggling ones a bit.  We shall see. 

And now, since 1836 was a leap year and 2022 isn't,  you get an extra Texas History moment today.  Just pretend it's February 29 for two minutes:

And here is your Texas History moment for March 1st:

I reckon that's it for today.  Unfortunately, nothing exciting is happening in my world right now, so the blog is a bit dull.  

Unless you want to hear me gripe about work, I mean.  And I'm just not up for that today.  

Maybe tomorrow... 

That Great Light In The Sky

 What is that great light in the sky?

Oh, it's the sun!  It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten what it looked like.  It was so sunny, I was able to put Marty Mac outside for a while after work.  

He seemed to really like it, since they are a full sun plant.  Once it gets warm enough -- as in, it stays above 40-50' even at night -- I'll get out my old baker's rack that Beverly gave me when I moved into this house, and put him on that.  That is where he'll stay until he goes into his Fall dormant season.  

I think he's recovered from being re-potted, and is even growing some new traps.  I joined a group on FB for beginners, and have gotten some really good tips from them.  Maybe, just maybe, I won't kill this one. 

Unlike my poor bluebonnets.  Out of 72 peat pellets, this is all I got.  

Some of those aren't looking so good, either.  I took them out of the starter tray, so I can put them out into the sun during the day.  I'll probably be leaving them outside all the time, unless it's supposed to get below freezing.  

I'm going to leave the others out on the porch, too, because in the wild, bluebonnets sprout in late summer/early fall.  Maybe some of them will germinate later on the year.  

Don't worry about all the condensation, either.  It's there because I'd just put a little water into the tray.  They don't stay soggy all the time.

In other news, I finished the leg of my sock. 

I started working on the heel flap, too, and am taking pictures as I go, for my friend who wants to knit a pair for her husband.  I'm not going to post them here, though.  I'll wait until she's at that point, then do a whole post about knitting a heel flap and turning the heel. 

On a positive note, remember a few weeks ago when I posted that my sewer lines were backed up, but then they weren't?  Turns out they were.  They were draining, just very very slowly.  I got my trusty Drain King out, only it was too small.  

I tried to use it, but it wouldn't expand enough to seal the sewer line, and the water was backing up into my house.  Naturally, I did what any red-blooded American would do. I got online and ordered a larger size.  It arrived Thursday, but it was too cold and rainy for me to try it until Sunday.  When it was still cold, but at least not rainy. 

I ran the Drain King down my sewer line, and turned it on.  Aaaand, apparently, it was a big clog, because I could see water running through the other clean out (I have two in that sewer line), but it still wasn't draining correctly.  In desperation, I got the old sewer snake James gave me and ran it down there as far as I could.  A couple of spots I could feel resistance, but I pushed it through.  

Since it was still in the 40s out there, I went inside to warm up, and when I came back outside, the sewer line was clear!  I keep running outside to check it, and after two showers and multiple toilet flushes, it's still clear.  Maybe, just maybe, I solved the problem.  I'm paranoid, though, because I had to have all that whole sewer line replaced shortly after I moved in to this house.  The whole thing had collapsed.  Now, every time something happens, I worry that it has collapsed again, even though the plumber said he'd fixed things so that it wouldn't.  

I'll just have to keep an eye on things and see how it goes. 

And finally, your Texas history moment for day 6 of The Siege.  

Sunday Hymn and Texas History

 

I'm not in the habit of posting on Sunday, but this being the Thirteen Days Of Glory, I had to post my Texas history moment.  

I've also thought lately about bringing back the old Sunday Hymn posts.  I enjoy posting them, but they're not all that popular, so I get discouraged and stop after a while.  But today, I felt the need. 

So enjoy this one.  It might be a one-off, or it might be a weekly thing.  It all depends on your response. 

And the Texas history moment:

Rainy Saturday

 It has rained all day long.  

What am I talking about?  It has rained all week long.  But yeah, it's rained all day long.  

As if that weren't bad enough, I don't think it got out of the 30s.  I'm really glad I got that extra firewood last month.  It's come in handy.  Not that I needed it, but with it there, I don't feel I have to be so stingy with my wood.  And it's supposed to be cold again tomorrow, so it'll come in handier.  But at least it's not supposed to be raining.  

So, what did I do on my rainy Saturday off?  Well, not much to be perfectly honest.  I've watched TV, did dishes and laundry, and ....  nope, that's about it.  So, I'll just show you the cute little hand sanitizers I bought yesterday.  

They were on clearance.  And yes, I had to tell you that.  For .25 each.  And yes, I had to tell you that, too.   It's like a rule, or something.  

I felt it was kind of appropriate, since I spent the morning catching up watching The Book Of Boba Fett.  And knitting.  

Slowly but surely, it's coming along.  

I guess since nothing happened, I won't keep you, but I have to give you your Texas History moment for Day 4 of the Seige.    

Freaked Me Out!

I was so tired last night, and discouraged about my dentist appointment, I almost didn't practice my piano.  But, right before bed, I said to myself, "Let me sit down and play a little bit.  I always feel better after I play a bit."  

You know, in a way, I'm sort of like a toddler getting into the bath.  I don't want to get started -- mainly because I don't want to get out of my chair -- but once I do start, I don't want to stop.  

Anyway, I pried my behind out of the chair, sat down at the piano, and put on my piano glasses.  Whoa!  I couldn't see!  I took them off, blinked a few times, then put them back on.  |

I still couldn't see.   I was beginning to freak out just a bit, here...

Because apparently, I'm a slow learner, I put them back on one more time.  It was after this, yes this third time putting those glasses on that I realized, one of the lenses was missing.  As in, had fallen out of the frames completely. 

What?  I looked on the keyboard, and on the floor all around it, and no lens.  I even turned on the big light, and got the broom to sweep under the love seat, but still no lens.  I knew those glasses had had the lens in them the night before when I wore them to practice, so the lens had to be in the house somewhere. 

I decided to go to bed, reasoning that I would find the lens eventually.  I went into the bedroom, and there it was, in the bedroom floor.  My glasses lens.  How it got in there, I don't know, but I have my suspicions...It's a wonder it didn't get stepped on and broken. 

No matter.  The lens is back in my piano glasses, and I can practice my piano again.  Not like I don't have a bunch of other pairs of glasses, but still....

OK, moving right along...

Wonder of wonders, we have another weekend off.  What I heard is the plant is out of a Vitally Important Material, and we can't make anything without this Vitally Important Material.  Word is, Monday is iffy, if they don't get some in soon.  

I told my coworker I was going to sleep all weekend -- and I just might do that.  It was cold today, and is supposed to be cold again tomorrow.  Heh, I was freezing all morning.  I just couldn't get warm.  I was so cold, I seriously thought I was sick.  As in, running fever.  

It wasn't until after lunch when my coworker came back in from outside and said, "It's so cold out there!"  I checked my phone, and it was only 37'.  No wonder I couldn't get warm!  I came home and was tempted to start a fire, but I was too tired to fool with it. I brought some wood up, so I'll be able to start one in the morning, but for tonight, I'm just huddling under a blanket and drinking hot chocolate. 

  That being said, I'll leave you with your Texas History moment of Day Three of the Siege.  

Not Good

 

I had my dreaded dentist appointment this afternoon, and as I expected, the news was not good.  Who am I kidding?  It never is. 

I just get so frustrated, because I try to take such good care of my teeth, but it doesn't seem to matter.  I didn't even get the fluoride treatment this time, because why?  It's not helping.  

I wonder if all the medication I had to take when I was a sickly child affected my teeth.  I don't know, but something sure has, because they are so very soft. So, what are the damages this time?  I'm going to have to have three of them pulled.  

The cavities are just so deep that the dentist doesn't feel they can be saved.  One is broken off at the gumline, so I expected that one, but the other two were just heartbreaking.  I guess Monday, I'll call the oral surgeon and schedule a consultation, then see if Cody can get the day off to drive me.  Oh, and see if I can get the day off work as well.  And maybe the next day, too, just to have an extra day to recover, since it is three teeth.  

It makes me plumb sick, I tell you.  

But sick or not, history can't be changed, and today marks the second day of The Siege.  On this day, Colonel William Barret Travis wrote his famous letter to the people of Texas and all Americans in the world.  

I've included the text below:  

Commandancy of the Alamo Bexar, 

Feby. 24th, 1836 

 To the People of Texas & all Americans in the World-- Fellow Citizens and Compatriots-- 

I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna--I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man--The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken--I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls--I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all despatch--The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country--Victory or Death. 

 William Barret Travis Lt. Col. comdt. 

P.S. The Lord is on our side--When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn--We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels, and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves-- 

 Travis

Now, I have some letters of my own to write, so I'll leave you with this: