Israel is now saying it will launch a ground offensive in Rafah and everyone will need to evacuate. Except that’s the last “safe” city in Gaza that hasn’t been destroyed by Israel, and there is nowhere for over a million people to go. The people there are terrified because they don’t know what to do. I am terrified for them. I am feeling anxious and depressed worrying about them. I thought one of the journalists I follow was killed but it was a 6-year-old girl with her same first name. This little girl is on a recorded call begging for help after all the family in the car with her were killed by Israeli soldiers. The emergency workers got permission to send an ambulance to rescue her, and then Israeli soldiers kills the EMTs in the ambulance. There are so many war crimes happening daily that it is dizzying. And so far, all with impunity.
I recently started following Greg Stoker on Instagram. He's super smart, and I love his wild hair. He does daily summaries of what's happening in Gaza and the West Bank. Here’s yesterday’s.
The U.S. is finally (I'm guessing for purely political reasons) starting to act like they care about Palestinians, but it feels hollow after 123 days of dehumanizing them and sending the bombs that were dropped on them. (Oh, and they want to send some more bombs with $17 billion of your tax money.)
A woman in one of my cross stitch groups posted a piece she'd done that was shaped like Israel/Palestine. She didn't call it Palestine, and there were no words on the image. It's also not the first Palestinian inspired piece that's been posted. But some rabid pro-Israel woman called her anti-Semitic and said the image is specifically calling for the annihilation of Jews. It was so pathetic, and everyone could see she was out of her gourd. I personally reported her to the admins.
If just seeing a map of historic Palestine (which used to be on maps) feels antisimetic to you… you need to check yourself. And the projection in this is accustion is wild. Calling everyone who disagrees with you antisemetic is a great way to isolate your allies. There is very real antisemtism and ignorance in the world that you are detracting from by doing that. I’m seeing a very real connection between the ideas of Trump supporters and the ideas of rabid Zionists and Israeli supporters. That should make people stop and think.
Someone posted a star of David cross stitch in our group recently, and I never once thought of accusing her of supporting a nation that’s currently committing a genocide. We don’t have to be like that. We can give people the benefit of the doubt and not make EVERYTHING political. I know many peace-loving, kind, warm-hearted Jewish people who are distraught over what is happening to Palestinians.
And here’s the thing: Israel has nothing to do with being Jewish. Judaism existed long before the State of Israel existed. Many Jews did not come from the Middle East any more than any of other homo sapian did. Israel only cares about Israel’s existance, though. It wants people to equate Jews with Israel so the monster can keep getting fed. But doing that is harmful to Jews. A good portion of the world is pretty angry at Israel right now. And most of them know that what Israel does is not necessarily reflective of what the majority of Jews in the world want. Israel is a cult. It is a marketing campaign. It’s only goal is to exist, but not for any good reason. And at the expense of the people whose land they stole and whose lives they have ended (and continue to steal and end). Different religions and nationalities lived peacefully on that land before the state of Israel existed. Now Jews spit on Christians in Jeruselum and imprison and torture Palestinians for no reason other than their power trip. The U.S. enables that power trip. Without us, they would be cowards. They know Daddy U.S. will bail them out of anything they do and never punish their bad deeds, so they act out their violent psychoses at will. Their trauma and these psychoses were drilled into them since they were children. Adults passed their trauma onto the next generation instead of working to heal it in themselves. Now we have a rabid, violent group of people who are perpetually in fear and out for vengence and blood.
Please continue to pray for Palestinians. And pray that the hearts of Israelis and other pro-Zionist folks will become soft and open.
🦩 Everyday Adventures
Dumpster Diving
On the way back from getting coffee last week, a friend wanted to stop and dumpster dive at a few grocery stores. I accompanied her on the adventure.
We got a bunch of produce, including potatoes, garlic, and bananas. There were a lot of berries, but they turned out to be too far gone to keep, so I ended up composting the ones I took.
There were also dozens and dozens of eggs in cartons that were still cool. I’m not usually a huge egg eater, but I hated to see them go to waste, so I took two cartons.
I really like quiche, so I decided to make my first ever quiche using my dumpster eggs (as I affectionately call them).
It was suprisingly easy to make, especially since I used a frozen crust.
Four of the eggs in my haul were broken, so I threw them out. I float-tested each of the remaining eggs before using them in my quiche, and they were all good. I used five eggs because they were not large and used this recipe.
This quiche was so delicious! And I have enough eggs to make at least two more.
My dumpster diving friend is incredibly conscientious, and I commend her for rescuing things (especially food) from the waste stream. While we were at one of the dumpsters, a homeless couple walked by and inquired as to what we were doing. We encouraged them to take anything we had rescued, and they walked off with some bananas and oranges. At the very least, all of this produce could be composted and used by farmers or gardeners but instead ends up in a landfill. We have plenty of food and resources. It just gets wasted.
🪡 Cross-Stitch
Tatreez
It's still coming along! I'm so anxious to start the next piece but trying to stay in the moment with this one. Many people have several pieces going, but I'm resisting that.
Underneath the design, I’m going to add FREE FREE PALESTINE. Then I have a friend who’s offered to make a frame for me, so that should be an interesting process.
Stitching on Paper
I saw a course online recently for stitching on paper. I’m very interested in that and have done little in my collage journal.
I want to get more into that in a more deliberate way because it combines my love of paper crafts and needlework.
Fundraiser
I’ve decided to become one of the artists in Bridge to Rutland’s annual Arts Marathon. I’ll be making a Long Dog Sampler cross-stitch piece. This design company has a bit of a cult following because their patterns are so interesting. I just ordered some fabulous fabric for it on Etsy that turned out to be from a business here in St. Petersburg. What a small world! All I need now is the floss.
It’s a monochromatic piece, but I’ve seen so many creative interpretations of these that I’m going to try to incorporate one complimentary color to it for interest.
I will be doing updates probably as YouTube videos for my donors. It will be interesting to see the pattern reveal itself, bit by interesting bit, as I go along.
On March 1st, I will get the link to my fundraising page so I can start raising money for the valuable work Bridge to Rutland does to help asylum seekers in Vermont. Any size donation helps, and I hope some of y'all will participate.
📑 Project Updates
Book
So… I finished the first draft of my book! I know it’s a bit rough, but it’s alive!
My next step is to talk to someone (a publisher?) about my preferred size format to make sure it’s a feasible and flexible choice. Then I will need some editing help, some illustration work, and help to get it all together to publish.
So exciting to be moving forward!
Collage
I finally took my 2009 Rand McNally out of my car. I mean, if the grid ever crashes, it might come in handy, but I'll probably have bigger problems than trying to find Boise, ID at that point. I’m thinking of keeping a handful of pages for use in collage and recycling the rest. (Or giving part of it to a friend who also does collage.)
Hugmobile
I have a hugging event coming up in St. Petersburg. It's the annual Studio Tour in my neighborhood, and this is my third year participating.
I'll be giving hugs at 538 28th Street North on Saturday, March 16th from 10 am to noon and Sunday, March 17th from 1 pm to 3 pm. I hope you'll come out and see some art and get a hug if you're in the area.
⏰️ Currently
💒 Praying to every god that may or may not exist for a miracle for Palestinians
💻 Hoping to get a few new client projects this month so I can feel a bit more secure.
🌻 Feeling grateful for a peaceful, quiet life in which I feel content.