I experienced sticker shock yesterday.  Not in the way a clueless repug might, but as someone who rarely gets to go grocery shopping or buy much.

My brother sent me a Schnucks gift card that amounted to like a fortune, and still having the car, I went ahead and used most of it while I could.  I prepared a written list of basic essentials (and maybe a couple of luxuries) and followed it meticulously, so I came out ahead.  But I got to see firsthand how prices have doubled or tripled since the last time I did actual grocery shopping.  I wasn’t exactly shocked, but it’s a reality.  There’s no way a low-income family could afford a balanced diet in trumpworld.  I felt really fortunate.

Then, over at the Avdi’s, while he was desperately backed up with work with no time to even update the shopping list, he asked me to help him with that.  Everything’s on an app and I’ve never really figured out how it works, so I was stuck on stupid!  I couldn’t even explain how my mind doesn’t function or orient that way, with their household’s very different circumstances and lifestyle.  So that’s a project for me to work on.

Today I had a telehealth vidcall to determine if I should get on an additional med for depression/anxiety/sleep, but I decided against it for now.  I’m not ready to become a fat zombie.

Gotta go to “work”.

I say blah to Punxy Phil.  Why even come out of his hole at all, that’s what I want to know.  Obviously winter is continuing for six more weeks, duh.  He should just stay in his hole like a normal, sane person.  And dream gardeny thoughts, like me.

Speaking of holes, I came out of mine the last few days, don’t tell, since I still appear to have the car.  I even spent the night as usual, though I couldn’t sleep.  Wrong hole, I guess.  Then I came back home and just slept for hours.

Speaking of dream fantasies, the whole time (like 16 hours!) I dreamt that Al Pacino ♥♥ and I had a thing and hooked up.  Not all my dreams are nightmares.

Speaking of nightmares, I’m going to stop with the white person clutching pearls over my inadequacy in fighting the current iteration of white racist bloodthirsty homicidal savages doing the emperor’s bidding, because it’s not helping.  If it comes down to it, I’ll know which side I’m on and what I have to do, because I have a conscience.  In the meantime, I know my purpose here in STL, and have my work cut out for me, literally on the ground.

Speaking of work, the doggy job paid off, literally.  My portion of the Germans’ compensation came to a legend-wait for it-dary 1+K?!  Whatup?!  High five!  IKR?!  (ok, I’ll stop.)  I just stared at it for five minutes…then gave most of it to Avdi because I owe him so much money for dental bills that he helped with.  Now I’m down to a “manageable” 2+K debt.  Only two more years of installments.  You gotta keep priorities straight.

Speaking of priorities, gotta get back to it.  That’s not a dog on a bed.  Look at this beautiful sweet bread K made!>→

Yesterday hundreds of local school kids, including ours, joined the millions of anti-ICE protesters across the country.  K, E, and Y and their friends marched through cold and snow to City Hall to add their voices and signs to the outcry against illegal gov violence against Americans.  Around here, they got lots of support and encouragement from teachers and parents, for the most part.  I was proud of them.

Erev featured baking by K (sugar cookies) and challah (me).  K had friends over, which made Loucious very happy.  He got plenty of frisbee action.  Also the usual constant revolving door of comings and goings kept things lively.

Much hilarity occurred at the dinner table, including an unusual silly manic exchange between Y and me.  I suspect A and I were both wondering what, if anything, he was on, or hoping that wasn’t the case.  Even Loucious, on Y’s lap, looked a little concerned!  Hopefully(?) it was just a byproduct of neuro-issues or their prescribed meds.  He probably won’t even remember or acknowledge it happening.

It turns out the car battery had died of cold, so you see my excuse to hibernate was legit, after all!  But then Eric kindly gave me a jumpstart, so for now I’m back on wheels.  I finally made it over to the Avdi’s, and got some stuff done.  It’s only right, after spending the week reorganizing my own place.  I suspect I’ll have more opportunities this winter to be “snowed-in”.

It seems E and I have something in common to bond over, as he has discovered the never-ending shit-ton of chores, most of which fell to him while I was absent.  It was an eye-opening learning experience!  I agreed a raise in his allowance might be in order!  (I do it for free.)  I guess I do earn my keep there after all, when I’m not hibernating.

Loucious greeted me like I’d been away forever!  It was quite the theatrical reunion.  He was glued to one of the new doggy balls I had sent him, so we did that a lot.  His beloved frisbee had gotten lost in a snowdrift somewhere, so that was tragic for him.  He and I are both not amused by the extreme cold; he does his stuff and then makes a meteoric beeline for the door.  Spring better be coming!

K made an excellent jambalaya, after filling the air with lung-choking red pepper, causing us all to cough to death!  Good practice for an ICE attack, I guess.  I had to eat and evacuate!  L wasn’t bothered by the pepper spray at all.

Still hibernating and getting stuff done.  I’m systematically going through each area of my apt and sorting it all out.  It’s been a while.  I’m downsizing my downsize, just to be prepared for anything.

Here’s the thing about politics: each time I think I’m starting to understand and get it right, I’m enlightened anew by much more discerning authorities on how many more layers there are.

For example, panicked white people keep referring to trump’s regime as nazis, gestapo, hitler, etc., as if the precedent comes from Europe, i.e. “foreigners”.   (Guess where most of us came from?)  The opposite is true: German nazis got a lot of their agenda from studying American white supremacy, genocides, slavery, torture, euthanasia, etc. over time, and adopting ideas and strategies to their own evil plan.

In other words, white America had been perpetrating domination and sadism against its own people and other nations for centuries before the nazi Holocaust.  Again, nothing new.  Millions of survivors/descendants have witnessed and attested to this harsh truth about us.  We can’t claim ignorance and innocence in the face of all the evidence.

No doubt I still have lots to learn, but the bottom line is, it was just a matter of time before the psychopathic outlaws in power escalated to murders of random innocent bystanders.  We’ve seen it coming, but we’ve been in denial.  Now our fine “cultural tradition” of racism and hatred toward “others” is shamelessly in our faces, like the naked orange emperor, the logical conclusion of our violent history.

It’s probably time I ventured out of hibernation.  Too much thinking and excuses.  It might even make it to freezing soon.

Wind chills to minus double digits.  I’ve been hibernating for days, which actually means I’m getting stuff done I’ve been putting off, even (the horror) mending!  Maybe some catching up on all my favorite psychokillers.  And sleeping, of course.  I haven’t starved yet, so I feel very fortunate.

I’m officially in hibernation mode.  Outside, the snow and temps will continue to fall steadily for the next couple of days.  The temps are single digit with wind chills continuing to drop into minus-double-digits through the next several days.  We may not even make it to up to freezing for a while.  I literally slept in until afternoon.  I only woke up because the bad dreams were getting old.  I’m one of the fortunate ones.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, in much colder conditions, ICE thugs continue to murder innocent people for no reason, and crowds of both protestors and law enforcement continue to stand against them in the freezing cold.  There is no part of this brutal military takeover of our country by this fascist regime that is sane or pardonable.  If you can sleep through this nightmare in our history, you along with these criminals deserve everything you will get.  May it come soon.

I never rest easy in arctic conditions like this, knowing unhoused people are out there freezing to death.  I myself am one of those proverbial “one paycheck away from crisis” folks.  In this case, it’s retirement safety net income, same difference.  We have no control over what this psycho gov will do.  I’m fortunate in that I have family nearby, but very aware that it would mean more hardship for them.

Even if the fall of trump gangsters comes soon, we’ve witnessed how far we’ve fallen and how hard we will need to work to even get back to where we left off, with all the irreparable damage done.  They’ve alienated our former allies, and aligned themselves with the dictators of the world.  Closer to home, they’ve shown us just how racist and white supremacist we really still are.  When push comes to shove, the worst of our nature is revealed.

None of this is new, but I just wanted to state the obvious, the only way I know to stand with the truth.  I feel complicit just hunkering down in my hibernation bunker, while the world fights for its rights and life.  In their place, I’m afraid I would cave to the fear and violence, which is of course trump’s agenda.  The perv will die soon, but all his henchman are positioning themselves to take over.  They even think they can stop the midterms and enforce a third term.  Fuck them.

In better news, without going into detail, yesterday’s mission to IL was successful!  For now, the kids can continue to get life-affirming healthcare.  That was a big relief, amid all the anxieties they have to deal with.  While they were gone, I baked challah, and made matzah balls in chicken broth, among other things.  I keep trying to resurrect leftovers  Let’s just say, the trash pandas ate well last night!

Dangerously cold wind chills below zero and a big dump of snow, is what they’re predicting.  FTS, I’ll be hibernating.  But until then, I have the car again for a week, and erev preps to make.

Meanwhile, trumpian hell is getting closer-to-home and personal.  Affirming care options are rapidly shutting down now in IL, requiring Avdi and the kids to travel farther and literally hope they make it in time.  At this rate, no state will be healthcare-friendly soon.  It’s scary for kids who are depending on it.

As for ICE, they are literally the gestapo, with no laws to stop them or protect any of us.  It was just a matter of time, and no one should be surprised, but the criminal atrocities are still beyond belief.

And now back to what remains of “normal life”, before it’s gone altogether.

What is a storm fern?!  It’s a dumb name for a winter storm!  Which is coming.  Hiber Nation says Blah.

I forget if I mentioned that I don’t plan to do indoor germination of seedlings this winter.  It’s just more practical, because I can’t always get there to do maintenance, which the others are too busy to do, and also the pantry staples have taken over the basement.

So it turns out Y is germinating some perennial flowers in the small space left!  He proudly pointed them out to me, and I’m proud, too!  It’s contagious!  We concurred that they could go around the outside of the veg garden, which is what I had been thinking myself.

I’m all ranted out for the moment, except to say, there’s a reason ICE has been sighted in STL but not so much in suburbs like WG.  Just in case, here is a copy of your rights in an encounter with ICE.  No guarantees, because rights are meaningless to mindless terrorists, but the burden of proof will be on them.

****

What to Do if You Encounter ICE in Your Community

1. Do NOT interfere. You can observe and document from a safe distance.

Credible rights guides emphasize:

– You have the right to observe and film ICE in public as long as you don’t interfere.

– Stay far enough away that agents cannot claim obstruction.

– If you’re unsure whether the people are ICE, call 911 and report suspicious activity. Describe what you see, not what you assume.

2. If YOU are stopped by ICE

These steps align with national Know‑Your‑Rights guidance:

– Stay calm. Turn off the car. Keep your hands visible. Say clearly: “I am a U.S. citizen. Am I free to go?”

If they say yes:

– Turn the car back on.

– Drive away slowly and calmly.

Passengers:

– Do not speak.

– They have no obligation to show ICE any ID.

Driver:

– You must show a driver’s license to police, not ICE.

– If ICE demands it, say:

“I will show my license to local police. Please call them.”

Never consent to a search.

Say: “I do not consent to a search.”

Repeat it calmly if needed – rights guides emphasize this exact language.

Do not fight or escalate. Compliance for safety + verbal non‑consent protects you later.

3. If ICE is in a parking lot, workplace, or public area:

– You can film from a safe distance.

– You can alert others – whether that’s a whistle, a text chain, or a community signal.

– You cannot physically intervene.

A whistle is the best choice – they’re loud & a non‑escalatory alert system.

4. Should you film with a phone or a small camera?

Many organizers recommend a separate small camera because:

– Phones can be seized or searched more easily.

– A dedicated camera keeps your phone free for calling 911 or livestreaming.

– Cameras often have better zoom, letting you stay farther away.

5. What documents should YOU carry?

Rights guides do not require U.S. citizens to carry proof of citizenship. With that said, you may choose to carry:

– Passport or passport card (strongest proof)

– REAL ID (not proof of citizenship, but accepted ID)

– Tribal ID (ICE has a history of wrongly rejecting them – filming and witnesses matter)

– Birth certificate (not ideal to carry daily, but some people keep a copy in their glove box)

You do not have to hand over any of these unless you choose to.

6. The real questions you’re asking your community to do:

– Will you film?

– Will you alert others?

– Will you stay calm and assert your rights?

– Will you prepare now instead of panicking later?

 ****

And now back to “Waggish Dogs”.  I’m carless today, so we’ll see if I get up the nerve to make the trek.  The HiberMeter is leaning toward “meh”.