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wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
🍁 Left of Woke Warrior
@wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
1K followers 710 following 4.1K posts
When someone tells you who they are or what they'll do (e.g., Poi-LIE-vre), believe them the first time. 😼

Me: 1st gen 🇳🇱 immigrant, feminist, She/Her, cis, trans ally, vegan, cat/book lover, anti-wealth, tax the billionaires and churches, + vote ABC!
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wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Yes, my bro finally got around to scanning them for me. (Below, one more treat for the road.)

Nope, I've been sick and am now recovering, thus not a holiday (hope your leg's doing better by the way), and have YET to start doing the stuff I MUST before I'm allowed to return, therefore, a 👻 I remain.
My middle who-once-owned-a-beautiful-hearse-and-then-foolishly-got-rid-of-it bro began his love affair with cars early. Here he is as a young lad (with a huge smile, which he no longer displays in photos) back in Holland happily seated in an open white German-made 3-wheeled micro Messerschmitt built between 1955 and 1964. He can't find the orginal photo anymore, but luckily it was memorialized in a photo book before it got lost, thus forever cementing when his automobile love affair likely began. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_KR200
October 14, 2025 at 8:52 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Owner (my brother) thankful to be on the outside of the hearse, rather than in.
No engraved windows as I originally thought, but still a cool car.
Hope you're keeping well, Baz. Be careful what car you step into...😏 Take care.
Old small 70s pic of my brother's black hearse that he once owned. I thought the back or side windows were engraved, but it doesn't look like it. Still a pretty cool-looking car.
October 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Oops, doesn't look like the windows were engraved after all...
Old small 70s pic of my brother's black hearse that he once owned. I thought the back or side windows were engraved, but it doesn't look like it. Still a pretty cool-looking car.
October 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
One of the (many) things I've been neglecting is selling my vintage ware. The pic below? That represents about 1/3 of my stock (I love old stuff!), with every dresser drawer you see filled with vintage kitchenware as well. Yikes. Time to flog my ware again. A lot of work I've been putting off...
Vintage kitchen ware neatly organized in plastic bins above and beside a mahogany dresser, every drawer of which is filled with vintage ware (e.g., Pyrex and glassware) as well. Represents about 1/3 of my stock as I have plastic bins elsewhere as well. The shelf above is almost 10 feet across and mainly filled with packing boxes collected over the years. Time to get back into selling! A lot of work, and I've put it off for too long.
September 25, 2025 at 2:54 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Yep, all I had to do was add an 'r' and voila! 🎨

Even remembered to add some hashtags to the thread this time... 🐽
Half of my galley (hallway is no more than about 2 feet wide I'd say) art gallery. Although I have paintings hanging in every room, it's nice to have an official gallery as well, woot.
September 23, 2025 at 11:45 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
I was very very very very BAD today.
Cuz I bought this: 👇

Yes, another work by Hamilton painter Juanita LeBarre Symington (1904-1980). Titled Payne's House, produced in 1969.
Payne's House, 1969, oil painting by Hamilton artist Juanita LeBarre Symington. Streetscape featuring two white houses with green shutters and red roofs, a girl in a blue dress walking on the sidewalk, a boy on a bicycle wearing a red shirt and a small yellow car parked by the second house. The sun is shining and casting light on the two white houses and the trees with their green, yellow and brilliant red leaves show that Autumn has arrived.
September 22, 2025 at 7:52 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/rebe...
the USA is an exceptionally diverse nation when it comes to race, religion, and politics, and of course queer people have always been here and always will, and sex/gender were never two sealed boxes, even if almost everyone was coerced into pretending they were until about five minutes ago. Heterosexual norms vary immensely across time and cultures, a bunch of cultures historically recognized other genders, and we now have the science to know that one's biological sex is made up of a bunch of highly varying factors, including gonads, hormones, and so much more, even before we get into culture and gender. So, nope, can't put the genies of gender back in the sad old boxes.
September 21, 2025 at 4:00 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/thet...
Another 987 anti-trans bills have been introduced across 49 U.S. states since January; 122 have passed so far. One-third of Trump’s 36 executive orders negatively affect trans people, including banning trans girls and women from women’s sports, eliminating public education about gender identity and ending gender-affirming medical care for minors. Earlier this week, Trump told reporters he had “no problem” with the idea of banning the flying of Pride flags in Washington, D.C., after a correspondent from the right-wing Real America’s Voice news network claimed it represented domestic terrorism in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
September 21, 2025 at 4:00 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Lovely. The Lawren Harris I have hanging in my bedroom is Houses, St. Patrick Street, 1925.

Both are beautiful, but those trees on Richmond Street! Looks more like a photograph. We are fortunate to have such art (and artists) enrich our lives.
Painting by Canadian artist Lawren Harris (a founding member of the Group of Seven) called Houses, St. Patrick Street, 1925, depicting trees in their autumn glory in front of white-walled sun-dappled houses with green shutters and roofs trimmed in red. Glorious.
September 20, 2025 at 3:40 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Like this blue DAF. And a pretty funny Dutch racing event with DAFS going in reverse. Set to Mission Impossible music. 🐽

p.s. DAF is short for Van Doorne’s Automobile Factory, NOT Daffodil as I mistakenly stated in original post.

www.supercars.net/blog/from-th...
Old vintage Dutch DAF 600 in the most gorgeous shade of blue. Not quite sure of the model number and year, but my family had a yellow DAF before moving to Canada.
September 19, 2025 at 7:48 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
I will! (Picked up a slightly battered but perfectly readable copy from my local thrift a few weeks ago.)

Updated pic. I may not ever be opening this window again...
Ms. Spider, living in my office window, decided that one batch of hatchlings wasn't enough, and after creating a new sac, saw fit to make another one as well. Them's a fair number of baby spiderlings on the way.
September 19, 2025 at 6:58 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Came across this graphic today which brilliantly illustrates how some of us have been describing our current world and politics:
Black and white bars featuring the words Upside Down an Inside Out but literally upside down and inside out. Just like how our current world and politics feel.
September 19, 2025 at 2:27 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Oh, a closeup of the puzzle when completed. No, I haven't done mine yet, but this is an image of the ONLY other 1930s Squirrel Nutkin puzzle I've seen online.
Completed Beatrix Potter 1930s wooden Squirrel Nutkin puzzle. Random cut pieces, cute image (two squirrels with one holding open a bag, and the other dropping in a nut from above), and it looks like it'll be fun to do!
September 17, 2025 at 12:47 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
The next time I went to the postal outlet where I normally pick up my Flex Delivery packages, I recounted my tale to the two clerks who not only laughed uproariously while clapping their hands, but THANKED me for my service. Because apparently they deal with this UPS manager all the time and regularly warn customers in advance that he has a reputation for AWFUL customer service. Does the story end here? Not quite. You see, I’m stubborn, don’t abide bullies well, and am not always afraid to speak my mind… I went back to the UPS store a few weeks later and the manager didn’t recognize me until I asked him if he still had my glasses, and his face fell. I calmly explained I’d discovered his reputation around town for terrible customer service, and recited every single detail I’d been told. He naturally wasn’t too happy about this, and kept telling me to leave the store NOW, but I talked right over him until I’d said my piece in full and only left when he started calling someone (police?) on his phone. Now folks, this isn’t the sort of thing I usually do, and to this day my action still surprises me a bit, but I have no regrets. And no, I never did get my specs back and couldn’t be bothered to fight UPS, but the puzzle (MY puzzle) was worth it. So there you have it: a tale not really about a squirrel, but my late-in-life criminal activity fully on record for you to judge accordingly. Please be gentle. p.s. the last time I looked my UPS package was still listed as available for pickup, IF, and only if, I provide proper identification…
September 17, 2025 at 12:34 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Even though I explained how the addresses can never match up with Flex Delivery, and how my two pieces of photo ID clearly prove my identity, nothing moved him. And even that would have been okay had he politely showed any sympathy. Had he said anything along the line of, ‘yeah, I know it’s a pain, but those are the rules and I’m really sorry, but I can’t hand it over’ it would have made all the difference. But no, right from the start he was rude (rolling his eyes when he told me to look at the UPS rule paper), and became increasingly impatient as I held my ground. Told me I had to call the UPS head office or he’d mail the package back to the seller. So already being tired and annoyed about something else in addition to his attitude, I did what any rule-following, law-abiding citizen would have done in that situation: lost my temper, grabbed the big box from the counter when his back was turned, and ran out of the store as fast as I could. He followed me across the parking lot, yelling, ‘stop, thief, STOP!’ but my short (though surprisingly efficient) legs were no match for him. With my heart still pounding I walked back home only to realize midway I’d taken my glasses off to read that ‘damn rule paper’ and in my haste left them on the counter. Well! I couldn’t go back, could I? So when someone went to retrieve them for me later that night, they were told he’d dropped them off at the police station where he reported me for theft. (And as I found out later, technically he was right. UPS is considered the legal package owner until it’s claimed by a customer showing residential ID that matches the box address perfectly, so in essence I “stole” MY package from THEM.) Eek! Was the police going to come knocking at my door? Would I be criminally charged and finally become a felon? Ha, but they didn’t have my address, so... More importantly, would I ever get my glasses back?
September 17, 2025 at 12:34 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
The Squirrel Tale (as promised and finally delivered to patient friends) It all began when yours truly spied a rare 1930s Beatrix Potter Squirrel Nutkin jigsaw puzzle (the 1950s version has a simpler cut and features only one squirrel instead of two) on eBay. I had to have it, so bought it, and normally the tale would end there. But no, it gets a BIT more complicated. The seller shipped it to me promptly, but instead of sending it via Royal Mail as advertised, they used UPS. Which normally would be fine if sent to a residential address, but I used my PO Box Flex Delivery post office address instead, and UPS doesn’t deliver to PO Boxes. So when it arrived from the UK I got call a call from UPS saying they couldn’t deliver it, but could I pick it up from a UPS store? Sure, no problem. And this is where I made THE mistake. Instead of the convenience store outlet where I’ve picked items up before without any hassle (just by saying it was flex delivery), I figured I might as well pick it up from a UPS store closer to me. Made my way to said UPS and showed the manager my ID. He took one look, sighed, and said, nope, can’t give it to you. When I asked why, he irritatedly said: ‘look, do me a favour ma’am, and just read the damn rule paper in front of you.’ Nice. (The crux of the matter is that UPS won’t allow you to pick up a package if the address on it doesn’t match your residential ID. But of course it’s not going to match if you use a Flex Delivery address, as that won’t be on any personal ID. Which begs the question; why the hell does UPS accept packages to PO Box addresses in the first place if they won’t deliver them?)
September 17, 2025 at 12:34 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
And now, for something completely different, silly, and inconsequential. Call it a distraction (a bit of a swear word these days I know) if you like.

It started with this 👇 and I told @stevebasnett.bsky.social and @marshacoupe.bsky.social that there was a tail, oops, tale attached. Continue below.
Red box containing a 1930s Beatrix Potter Squirrel Nutkin puzzle. Rare as the later 1950s version has only one squirrel and far fewer pieces. I love puzzles, and I love anything vintage, so this was a must-have for me. Continue reading to find out the tale behind this acquisition.
September 17, 2025 at 12:34 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Or one of these? (I did a quick search of my email inbox for 'quisling' and this result came up.)
Charlie Angus Substack email notifications when I searched my inbox for the term 'quisling'
September 16, 2025 at 10:46 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Gah, those jays are so quick, and my old iphone 4 camera so bad!
Oh well, here's one about to munch away...
Bad pic taken (with my old iphone 4 camera) of a Bluejay this morning about to eat some sunflower seeds. I have a birdfeeder affixed on top of the old patio umbrella pole (in this house everything gets reused) plus a pie tin on the deck so they can choose where to eat. This morning there were four (4!) Bluejays sitting on the railing, but by the time I got my phone camera out...
September 16, 2025 at 3:24 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
While many of you have likely read this superb column by now, it's worth sharing again, AND saving. So many quotable bits, including this:
It’s this that makes it particularly galling to see him cast by some as a free-speech warrior. He created a professor watchlist explicitly designed to get academics fired who dared talk about the right’s usual assortment of verboten topics—anything to do with race or gender, in particular. He also offered the standard right-wing plaint about left-wing indoctrination in American universities even as he went on campus tours trying to indoctrinate young people into his hard-right Christian nationalist worldview.
September 14, 2025 at 4:41 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Christian values? I believe she meant to say Christian Nationalist...
Erika Kirk talked at length about her husband’s Christian values, saying that if he would have run for office, his focus would have been to “revive the American family” and that he spent much of his time encouraging young people to find spouses and start families. She said the struggle he had been dedicated to was not political but “above all it is spiritual”.
September 13, 2025 at 3:33 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Remembering that he lied while he died may be one of many ways to 'honour' the hate-spreading and dishonourable-in-too-many-ways Charlie Kirk.
From: https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/09/charlie-kirks-last-words-were-about-mass-shootings-heres-what-he-said.html Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions for an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence. “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked. Kirk responded, “Too many.” The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” “Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked. Then a single shot rang out.
September 12, 2025 at 9:33 PM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
And one last one I acquired recently. As you can tell, I'm particularly drawn to depiction of houses, but I like that this one has some critters in it as well. An older piece as it's starting to sag in the frame, and it has 1978 written on the back.

That's it for show and tell. 'Nite all. 🌖
A lovely dark green framed needlework depicting a house with a red roof and many windows, a cherry blossom (?) tree, birds flying in a blue and cloudy sky, a kitty cat lying on a round table encircling the tree, and some waterfowl in the foreground.
September 11, 2025 at 3:30 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
Closeup of the crewel embroidery. I have many skills, but handiwork isn't one of them and I'm impressed with those who do. Also a bit sad that these pieces would end up in a thrift store, but nice for me to adopt.
Closeup of the crewel embroidery in prior post showing more detail. Amazing
September 11, 2025 at 3:30 AM
wokenojokewarrior.bsky.social
This is a smaller piece of crewel embroidery hanging in my office. I find the detail amazing, but I'll show you a closeup as well.
Framed crewel embroidery showing houses, trees, a fence, a lane, and a blue sky. Must have taken hours and great skill to complete.
September 11, 2025 at 3:30 AM