Friday 5.5

1. Jacob and I were both home one day and decided to have a little adventure. We didn't want to do anything crazy like drive more than fifteen miles so we decided to look closer to home for an activity. Jacob had never been to the Miamisburg Mound so we went there. The Mound is a short drive away from our house and a unique landmark in our area.  

It looks almost like we could be on top of a mountain with the snow and all :).

But what is the Mound you may ask?

It's a conical mound and is the largest burial mound in the Eastern United States. It is believed to have been built by the Adenas between 800 BC and 100AD. An excavation in 1869 unearthed several skeletons surrounded by clay and charcoal and a collection of ceremonial goods. The 65 feet tall and 800 feet in circumference site is managed by the city of Miamisburg. Stairs provide access to the top of the mound and on clear days, provides views of the Dayton area. Sadly, it was uncharacteristically foggy (and this was past noon) when Jacob and I ascended the stairs. 

In retrospect, we couldn't have picked a much worse day! We do plan to come back, though, on a nicer day. Here was the view at the top.

Heading down the stairs...

2. We've had some decently really warm weather and the snow has been melting (as of writing this only snowbanks that had been really high are still around- a few days of temps in the 60's will do the trick of melting snow) BUT I had gotten out of the habit of taking items out to the compost bin every day or two just because... I had gotten out of the habit when it was freezing cold and there was a lot of snow on the ground. By Monday, I had amassed quite a bit of detritus since the last time I'd put items in the bin- it had been almost two weeks- to take to the compost bin so I headed out back to the bin.

This was the snow pile near our driveway (on the way to back where the garden is). The boot print is from early Feb. when the snow was high. By Monday, when this picture was taken, it had gone down considerably. By Friday it was gone completely.

I took a look around the garden and noticed little shoots of green protruding from the ground. Weeds, already?? Then I noticed their placement. They were where I'd planted garlic bulbs in the fall. Little green leaves had emerged from the ground from the garlic bulbs. How neat to see green (and not weeds...) in the garden! And to know that the bulbs "took" (I ordered garlic planting bulbs from Amazon (by the time I realized I wanted to plant garlic, I was on the clock and I needed fast delivery) and I was a little worried that the bulbs that I received weren't good since I didn't purchase them from a nursery.) Looks like the bulbs were fine, though I'm pretty sure some of them didn't take/grow but that's ok. Assuming the plants that I have growing now don't succumb to pests, I should have plenty. I planted bulbs in both of my garden areas and am just thrilled to see the green!

I texted one of my gardening friends. She is a gardener extraordinaire. I could listen to her talk about her garden all day! We'd discussed planting garlic in the fall; she does so every year. I explained to her last fall that I'd just planted it for the first time. Anyway, I texted her on Monday when I noticed the green shoots. I asked her if there was anything I needed to do to protect the leaves as a cold front is moving in. She suggested mulching around the leaves. Then she said that she'd just noticed garlic bulbs leaves in her garden as well. She said when she saw them that she almost cried! While I can't say that I was anywhere near tears, I can relate to her strong emotion! There's almost something- "magical" isn't the right word- maybe otherworldly about seeing green emerging from the ground from where a seed (or a bulb as it were) was planted. From nothing seen comes something very definitely seen! And to see something green in February! After multiple snowfalls and extremely cold weather, it was such a treat to see the green leaves. 

3. Meals were ok! Some were better than others, that's for sure. I made an Italian chicken crock pot dish that I will not make again. It looked good and tasted ok. But not great. 

Grilling chicken was a high point. Chicken in the crock pot not so much but you live and learn what you like and don't like...

4. Subbing was good this week- I subbed two days. Our district had off Monday so it wasn't an option to sub then. 

I floated one day at the junior high (and got to leave an hour early!!). One of the teacher's desks had a little calendar with pithy sayings on it.

I can relate!

Middle age metabolism slowing down is no joke!

5.  Abby is in Montenegro- a Balkan nation on the Adriatic Sea- right now. Suffice it to say that Montenegro is prettier than Ohio... and even Tennessee

5.5 I wrote about life earlier- albeit garlic bulbs not anything super exciting. Now I feel compelled to write about death. It's political/cultural so if that doesn't interest you, you can stop reading. (My feelings will not be hurt!) Specifically it's about when a country allows its medical professionals devolve from healers to killers. I'm referring to state sanctioned euthanasia and its seemingly inevitable inexorable expansion from letting the terminally ill die with dignity to encouraging those with mental health issues to give up on life when one has the blues. Or is confined to a wheelchair.

Did you know that MAID (an acronym for tax payer funded killing in Canada- where a "professional" legally ends the life of someone) is the fifth leading cause of death of Canada? That is because the slippery slope that those stodgy conservatives warned would happen, did in fact, happen. MAID was expanded in 2021 to include people with chronic illnesses, disabilities and, pending parliamentary review, potentially individuals with certain mental health conditions. 

In 2024, 16,499 Canadians died by MAID. The below chart gives a visual of the vast, odious rise in deaths as the restrictions of what qualified one to die by MAID were greatly loosened. 

An article in the Daily Mail titled Distraught family blasts Canada for euthanizing son, 26, who suffered from seasonal depression outlines a truly horrific case wherein a young man was killed via MAID due to depression. (He also had diabetes. Currently in Canada, one can't die by MAID solely due to a mental health issue. That will change in 2027.) I read the article this week which is why I'm talking about it here and now. It's been on my mind all week. I have family members who suffer from depression. It's beyond horrific to think that doctors will sign off on allowing death by taxpayer funded means to someone suffering from depression.

From The Telegraph: A woman undergoing life saving cancer surgery in Canada was offered assisted suicide by doctors as she was about to enter the operating room. The patient, a married 51 year old grandmother from Nova Scotia, was set to undergo a mastectomy operation for breast cancer when a physician asked her if she knew about MAID. Though she declined the offer of the MAID program, the woman was asked about assisted dying again before undergoing her second mastectomy nine months later. She was spoken to a third time about it while recuperating in the recovering room after the procedures. She indicated that the repeat offers made her feel like a burden....

To read the article in the Telegraph about the woman from Nova Scotia who was offered and/or asked if she was aware of  MAID three times when seeking medical treatment to survive a diagnosis of breast cancer read here.

To quote conservative commentator Matt Walsh, "I know it sounds provocative these days but doctors should simply never kill their patients intentionally. This should be just about the least controversial statement a person can possibly utter."

As for the United States, California, Colorado, Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington all allow people who are diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months to receive a life ending prescription drug that the person must take on his or her own (soooo technically, a doctor or nurse or CNA doesn't kill them, I suppose?). In death by MAID, a MAID practitioner (eeks) or a nurse inserts a needle into a vein with a "substance that causes death." Alternatively, the person in Canada utilizing MAID can ingest a substance that causes death.

If your soul is up for it, head on over to Canada's official website regarding its death by medical assistance overview. If it sounds too soul crushing, I have captured a couple of screen shots so that your soul can remain intact :). I'd feel like an agent of darkness to link to it though obviously anyone can search for the site and find it. 

Here's a line that proves the slippery slopers were very much correct with their warnings:

"You do not need to have a fatal or terminal condition to be eligible for medical assistance in dying."

"If your only medical condition is a mental illness, you are not eligible for medical assistance in dying until March 17, 2027."

A glimmer of something that's not morbid... "Not all health care providers are comfortable with medical assistance in dying." And get this, legislation does not, "force anyone to provide or help to provide medical assistance in dying." (It seems to me that the word "force" should be the word that is in bold, not "anyone" but what do I know about wording on iniquitous endeavors?)

Oh dear!  "Generally, visitors to Canada are not eligible for medical assistance in dying." Two thoughts- 1, so some visitors to Canada are eligible for medical assistance? Dear goodness- the slope is slippery in ways that were likely not even imagined when many warned of a slippery slope back before medical practitioners could assist in killing patients and 2, if one word is going to be highlighted, I'd highlight the word "visitors," again, though I say that with the caveat that I'm thankfully not familiar with the nuances of writing easy to understand overviews of medical "professionals" assisting with death. 







Just no words. 

"Eligibility for MAID for persons suffering solely from a mental illness has been delayed until March 17, 2027."





Ok a few words, namely, Lord have mercy on us! I don't say that in jest or lightly. Ideally, mankind will receive mercy for allowing "civilized" cultures to disregard life so flippantly instead of the wrath that we deserve. 

Let's end this by circling back to life... A few more shots of my garlic leaves/shoots. I'm giddy thinking about getting garlic from the garden :).