I do admit that AB Today’s Daily Quotes are becoming addictive. There are no publications over the weekend, today it will not be possible to get my morning fix. I am finding them to be superior to my homemade lattes. The quote of April 28, 2023 shows Premier Danielle Smith (hereinafter PDS) back to her old rabble rousing tricks. “We need to turn down the heat.” NDP Leader Rachel Notley accused Premier Daniel Smith of stocking fiery debate about a new arena for the Calgary Flames instead of approaching the issue with logic and fiscal prudence.”
I would submit to my august readers that PDS is totally devoid of both logic and fiscal prudence. All PDS is capable of doing is stocking the fires with misinformation, lies and false promises. But here is the good news: PDS never, and I mean never, does what she says she is going to do. Remember the Sovereignty Act? It never saw the light of day. I am preparing a list of her countless false promises to be published just prior to the election. Her supporters would never, in a million years, be reading this blog. But it is delightful to think you might be skewering someone that needs skewering.
She did it again, in Calgary this time. “Premier Danielle Smith drew heat on social media after snapping a photo with Canadian Unity founder James Bauer, who is facing charges in Ontario for his role in the freedom convoy, which included penning a Memorandum of Understanding that called for the governor general to overthrow the Liberal government. I do so love PDS’ office’s attempt to rescue her from her countless blunders: “Smith’s office issued a statement saying the lineup of people wanting a photo with the premier had approximately 200 people in it.” Really???? Who was counting? Sounds unbelievable. And she was the photo snapper.
Then another attendee at this event made this political statement: “Former NHL player Theo Fleury was also at the event and urged Albertans to vote, tweeting that if Smith “doesn’t win Alberta is finished and Canada becomes a communist shithole. Climate lockdowns and 15 minute cities will be the first and then Rachael Notley will go door to door having you with a gain of function bio weapons.” Not sure that chasing a puck down the ice makes one equipped to make meaningful political analysis. I certainly do not want to live in a communist shithole, whatever that might mean. Fleury has apparently not noticed that Russia has a lot on its mind and the country is not exactly popular world wide.
The New Democrats are making excellent health care recommendations including the promise “to make shingles vaccines free for seniors and people living in continuing care.”
Me: It is laudatory but a little late.
Alter Ego: Laudatory?
Me: Shingles is a horrible debilitating disease, treatment costs astronomical. It is recommended that everyone over 50 get a vaccine, but each shot costs $192.16.
Alter Ego: Late?
Me: I am a senior, paid for my second vaccine two days ago. But I am not complaining, no side effects whatsoever. Slightly sore arm but that is all. Shingles will stay away from me.
Yesterday I woke up with no shingles vaccine side effects, so decided to take the bull by the horns. Called a Yellow Cab, went to the City Center RBC, met with Goldy, my banker and paid my Canadian tax bill, $30,000 dollars (Canadian). It was a relief – it has been a long and arduous six weeks from my first appointment with my fabulous Canadian tax accountant. But it is over, for this year anyway. Joked with the taxi driver.
He: How can you owe so much money? You are retired.
Me: I have retirement income. I was not stupid enough to retire with no money coming in.
He: Okay! Okay! You must be rich to owe that much money.
Me: I worked my whole life to get it, have a fabulous defined benefit US retirement plan. I was a lawyer.
He: So you are rich!
Me: Well maybe I was rich. But not any more!! The Canadian and US governments have it all now. Easy come, easy go. Hahaha
Canadian politics, with PDS at the helm does not really require satire to make her foibles funny. Andy Borowitz speaks of the US with sacrilegious satire. ‘Justice’ Clarence Thomas and Elton Musk are dished up in his latest offering.
“SAN FRANCISCO (The Borowitz Report)—His net worth plummeting after the explosion of SpaceX’s Starship, Elon Musk has fallen below Clarence Thomas on the list of the world’s richest people. Musk now finds himself lumped in with others who are less wealthy than Thomas, including Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and the Sultan of Brunei.”
One wonders where Andy will go with this one. You will absolutely love the results. “Speaking to reporters, Musk was “livid” at being surpassed by Thomas, who, he complained, has done “almost nothing” to earn his fortune.“If Clarence wants eight billion dollars, all he has to do is climb aboard some dude’s yacht,” Musk said. “I have to persuade a billion idiots to buy a blue check mark.”
One has to pity Musk – Thomas merely having to walk down a gang plank whereas Mush having to persuade a billion idiots to buy a blue check mark. (Whatever that might be).
I am now going totally serious on you. Actually with two Instagram entries. My blog post featuring the gifted painting and my hijab wearing mannequins reached 206 accounts I will republish the photo. It had this caption. The painting a gift. It was drawn in Qatar so it is special to me. I am proud to say that I happily completed Ramadan with gratitude and thanks, All praise to Allah (SWT). Eid Mubarak! “ This post reached 206 accounts but I got only 19 Likes. Hmmmm. The mystery of Instagram – how hard is it to click like???? It makes me so happy that I do not live for Likes. I post less frequently – why bother?? But I do respond and listen to others as shall be shown. This interaction may have triggered a change in direction – a 180 degree one. .
Must Menk posts gentle, helpful daily reminders, often most sensitive and quietly helpful.
Must Menk: There is no need to show off how pious you are, Lee your relationship with your Maker private. Nobody knows your struggle but Him. Nobody knows the temptations that come your way but Him. So keep struggling. Keep going.
Me: Than you. I needed that. With my blog there is a desire to make my relationship with Allah (SWT) public. I must keep it private. Our relationship is sacred.
One Response to mine: Yes. It should be totally private the relationship between us and Allah. Ahamdulliah
What changes shall be wrought?
More contemplation is necessary, these are my my embryonic plans. My blog has become totally unmanageable – so many posts, so many words with no sense of organization. I have spoken to Computer Guru Chis about this problem tens of times. Recently he came up with an idea but it is a little too little and a little to late. A little too little and a little too late is an idiom meaning not enough of something that should have been provided earlier: The Colins dictionary expands upon this definition: “If you describe a situation as too little too late, you are blaming someone for not doing enough to prevent a problem and for taking action only after the problem had become very bad.”
Organizing the blog would take hours and hours and hours. All of the time spent would be looking backward, instead of forward. It would require constant attention, something that, over time, Computer Guru has not been able to manage or sustain.
I would have to be a fool to give up my blog now, after more than seven years of almost daily writing and having acquired hordes of viewers from all over the world. I worried this to death but suddenly and idea came to me, a revelation. I will write books using Apple Pages templates, publishing them in the book section of my blog. Two ‘found’ books are there already. Progress has already been made, there are three in various stages of completion. The writing of Ikebana: Not Just Branches and Flowers is done, leaving formatting, placement of photographs and minor editing.
The second book, taking the form and template of a travelogue, will tell the story of my December trip to Saudi Arabia. Title undecided with two possibilities: My Saudi Days or My First (but not my last) Umrah.
The cover for the third book has been designed and will be attached to the blog. It will probably be considered bold for most traditional Muslims but it does have the blessings of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and Allah (SWT). This wisdom found on the Internet:
“A woman’s prayer in her house is better than her prayer in the mosque. It was narrated from Umm Humayd, the wife of Abu Humayd al-Saa’idi (may Allaah be pleased with her), that she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I love to pray with you. He said: “I know that you love to pray with me, but praying in your house is better for you than praying in your court yard, and praying in your court yard is better for you than praying in the mosque of your people, and praying in the mosque of your people is better for you than praying in my mosque.” So she ordered that a prayer-place be built for her in the furthest and darkest part of her house, and she always prayed there until she met Allah (i.e., until she died). Narrated by Ahmad (26550); classed as saheeh by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Saheeh (3/95), Ibn Hibbaan (5/595) and al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb (1/135).”
I submit my five obligatory prayers to Allah(SWT) in the Prayer Room of my apartment rather than the suffocating space where women are crowded like cattle in the Edmonton Al Rashid Mosque. It was the first mosque built in Canada, built by a woman originally from Lebanon. The original park is located in Edmonton Park, the huge efforts to convince the City of Edmonton (after 9/11) to house the original were made by a committee of women. The ‘replacement’ mosque has recently been renovated – the gym was remodeled. . Are they worshipping the God of Basketball? It is impossible to perform ablution in the women’s bathroom, it is almost afloat, water slopping everywhere. Not at all purifying. My bathroom sink is clean, the water pure.
