The sheer stupidity of some planners is on view here on the Main Line. For a number of years, Lower Merion School District tried to hammer through a very bad idea of destroying property and vegetation to build playing fields for a middle school. Some of the physical property is already razed but the clear cutting of old growth and curated trees at that property was prevented by citizens' revolt. Now more land is in danger at the sister property to Stoneleigh, called Oakwell.

Decades ago some very wealthy people built some very nice houses near where I currently live. The Gilded Age mansions have mostly gone the way of all flesh including the destruction of the house at Stoneleigh but Oakwell mansion is theoretically protected by a historic designation. What is not protected is the 13 acres of old growth and historic trees and plants. Some of the trees slated for destruction were already here when Washington crossed the Delaware. Add to that travesty the fact that trees and vegetation are more important to these students' futures than having a brand new soccer field and the decisions are even more senseless. 

What will Pennsylvania be without the sylvan part?

https://www.saveoakwell.org/ 

Feel free to add your voices to save the trees.

 Yesterday's voting was quite interesting. Looks to me as though the biggest loser of the day was DJT. Of course it isn't over until it's over, but it certainly wasn't the blowout Republican victory that was expected. That alone makes it a day worth celebrating since so many of the Republicans on ballots around the country were/are demonstrably crazy loons. Case in point being Doug Mastriano who was running for governor here in Pennsylvania.  Luckily he did not win. Josh Shapiro is quite middle of the road rather than far left so he is a real good fit for this state that has such wide disparities in life and expectations around the state. The old saying is that Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia separated by Appalachia. 

I am still enjoying my new project. I have completely quilted 7 of the 9 inner blocks and most of one of the two remaining blocks as well. The outside border isn't very wide and the inner double border will be the one that provides the most challenges since it is half green and white check and half black floral. Marking on black fabric is always a problem for me so I am going to try to mark and quilt that section from the back rather than the front. I know that is not the best way to do it but I don't think it will make a substantial difference in the finished quilt. Of course most of my quilts never see the light of day once I finish them or at least only for a brief time either on our bed or hanging on the wall so obsessing about the right way to do them is a waste of time.

 My older brother had a stroke a few years ago while on a trip to the Czech Republic. He was about the same age that Fetterman is right now, and like Fetterman he had some issues with language. The bigger and more obvious side effect initially is that for some reason he had very little control over his left arm. I don't mean that it was paralyzed but that it became over-active like a wind-up toy. My brother kept hitting himself in the head for a while after the incident.

So? Well the real point is that now my brother has very few and remarkably subtle signs of having a stroke and he is more than gainfully employed. Does that mean that Fetterman will be totally fine by January, 2023? No one can predict the future and each stroke victim is unique. But certainly Fetterman stands just as much chance as my brother at having a more or less complete recovery.

You know who cannot recover from his own wounds? Mehmet Oz is a charlatan. If you don't believe me you can pull up the testimony Oz gave to Congress about his widely panned diet pills and drugs and have a good laugh at how the doctor was skewered by those folks who know pandering lies when they hear them. Or you can listen to Oz's comments about how abortion access should work in Pennsylvania, extolling the virtues of letting local politicians into the exam room (metaphorically) to make that decision for any woman who has the audacity to expect reasonable medical care.

Doesn't that idea alone make you want to hit yourself in the head?