Bad enough that they covered the Rose Garden with concrete. Here’s the newly paved Rose Garden as seen at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1, 2025. President Donald Trump converted the grass portion of the Rose Garden into a patio space, inspired by his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Here’s today’s protest in mostly red Indiana County. This is the heart of Pennsyltucky but still a vocal crowd making good trouble.

Represented: Indiana, PA. Our little town in red Pennsytucky got in on the action too!

Represented! Our little town in the red part of Pennsytucky got in on the HandsOff protests too.

This is a nerve racking game.

Weekend brunch: cheese omelet with salsa and strawberry jam-topped grits.

The January 2025 winter here has been eerily similar to those in Potsdam NY … frigid outside with blinding sunlight so it’s toasty inside.

I tried making baby blooming onions with cipollini onions. Kinda worked. The sauce however was excellent.

Saw Jimmy Stewart’s The Jackpot last week at the museum. Oh those old time giveaways.

This looks sinister, but it’s really just my favorite Birdman sprinkling seed around the house as he does most winter mornings.

What to read next? Quinn’s The Briar Club (February book club selection), Rutledge’s West with Giraffes or Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches. Thrumming beneath the soles of your feet? That line rings familiar and pulls me toward the latter.

Despite the zigzag edges, this puzzle was fun to do.

Our book club book for January was a great read!

Snow time!

Max. The sun-seeking cat.