Monday, May 5
May. 6th, 2024 11:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
A nice, gentle rain. It doesn't seem like we're getting that much moisture, but it's something.
I had made Mother's Day cards for my and my Sweetie's moms, so today I got those mailed. Hopefully they make it this week.
I felt like there were a lot of things that had to be done before I could go to pottery today, and it felt like a lot, but I just started "checking the boxes" so to speak, and managed.
I did go recreational shopping at Winner's and found some not too expensive casual shoes and a nice denim jacket. I REALLY WANTED a few other things too, but I put them back.
Pottery was good. I was there by myself for most of it, but I did talk to one woman who is more or less in charge of everything.
I often feel negatively towards her, not because I don't like her as a person, but because she has issues with control, and does EVERYTHING for the pottery studio herself, which doesn't leave room for other people to learn things and grow into a team. This also means that if anything happens to her, we're all screwed. She makes it out that on one hand "we need her so much", but she won't give up control. We only need her so much because she has infantilised the entire pottery studio.
As a person, she's okay, and I often enjoy talking with her. It's a weird duality to often feel like you "have issues" with someone, while liking them.
I did some trimming on things I threw last week, and worked on hand building (something I don't do very often).
Then D showed up, as I was starting to wrap things up. She's still burned out from having to care for her father who is living with her, her mother who is in a care facility, and her puppy.
Personally, I think she should find a way for her Father to live in a lodge or something again, because it sounds like they are starting to just hate each other.
Then I went to get groceries, and was frustrated because there were no dry carts inside (the ones outside were wet, so I didn't get one).
That meant that I just walked around with my reusable bags, but that gets very heavy very fast. I ended up not buying a few things I would have liked, just because I was annoyed and wanted it to be over with.
I also noticed some irritating things, like some items in the vegetable section being all of a sudden a noticeable amount more expensive since last week, and I am so SICK of the cost of groceries just going through the roof. REALLY? It makes me angry because we already know that there is no actual reason for the cost increases except for greed.
It's not like we can just "not buy food", Canada is great for growing some things in a very short summer, but it's very hard to live on what you could raise in a garden for the rest of the year. Plus, I wouldn't be able to grow coconut milk or coffee etc.
So I found getting groceries to be angry making, even though I am simultaneously grateful.
I was quite tired by the time I got home, and was very grateful that my Sweetie had made something for me to eat. It was very appreciated.
Sunday:
We put up the birdhouses, Yay! Now the birdies will have a place for the babies.
My Sweetie says he can take my bike to town with him to see if we can actually get the hydraulic brake fixed properly.
We went to see River, and my Sweetie rode his bike to the riding barn to meet me (and rode in the car with me to go home).
The Sunday rider was there and her Mom was there too. I thought that was nice.
We had a good visit.
I brought the Sunday rider some very organic dandelion roots and tops, as she uses them medicinally.
I worked with River outside a bit, but it was too wet still to do much, so I went inside. He did well with things today, though kind of slow as usual.
R and her family got back from having supper with R's parents, and we visited with them too.
Today's barn visit was more social than anything else, but that's a big part of why I wanted to be in a riding barn type setting. I need social opportunities.
We came home and for now cannot watch more "Boardwalk Empire" until we acquire Season four. So, we watched a very silly movie called "Bloodsucking Bastards". Basically "Office Space" with vampires.
Guinea-Bissau is an African country with coast on the Atlantic ocean.
"Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Kaabu,[11] as well as part of the Mali Empire.[11] Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were under some rule by the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. In the 19th century, it was colonised as Portuguese Guinea.[11] Portuguese control was restricted and weak until the early 20th century when pacification campaigns solidified Portuguese sovereignty in the area. The final Portuguese victory over the last remaining bastion of mainland resistance came in 1915 with the conquest of the Papel-ruled Kingdom of Bissau by the Portuguese military officer Teixeira Pinto and the Wolof mercenary Abdul Injai.[12] The Bissagos, islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, were officially conquered in 1936, ensuring Portuguese control of both the mainland and islands of the region.[13] Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since independence. The current president is Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was elected on 29 December 2019.[14]"
Though the official language is Portuguese, and many people do speak it, the REAL language is a Portuguese creole, and a variety of other African languages.
The Bijagos Islands are part of Guinea-Bissau, but they were actually NOT part of the Portuguese colony, or under other European rule, because the islands are a bit isolated, and the inhabitants fight like tigers. They managed to turn back several attempts at "pacification" by the Portuguese and British.
The people of those islands did sell slaves to the Europeans, though.
Today those islands are still pretty undeveloped and isolated, and the people there live mainly by subsistence farming and fishing.
https://youtu.be/k87Oz02-XhI?si=tThUCw5dUXssfIHt
The region of Guinea-Bissau was among the first places to be afflicted by the slave trade, with their own ruling class being part of it:
"Most wars were waged for the sole purpose of capturing slaves to sell to the Europeans in exchange for imported goods, such that they resembled man-hunts more than conflicts over territory or political power.[19]: 204, 209 The nobles and kings benefited, while the common people bore the brunt of the raiding and insecurity. If a noble was captured they were likely to be released, as the captors, whoever they were, would generally accept a ransom in exchange for their freedom.[19]: 229 The relationship between kings and European traders was a partnership, with the two regularly making deals on how the trade was to be conducted, who was to be enslaved and who was not, and the prices of the slaves. Contemporary chroniclers questioned multiple kings on their part in the slave trade, noting that they recognised the trade as evil but participated because the Europeans would buy no other goods from them.[19]: 230–4
Beginning in the late 18th century, European countries gradually began slowing and/or abolishing the slave trade. Portugal abandoned slavery in 1869 and Brazil in 1888, but a system of contract labor replaced it that was only barely better for the workers.[22]: 377 "
Though it gained independence in 1973, Guinea-Bissau (currently a Republic) is still in turmoil, and has not resolved the issue of government. Though there have been elected Presidents/Prime Ministers, there are also numerous coups or attempted coups.
The political instability means the economy cannot develop, and currently about 2/3 of the population lives below the poverty line. Mainly the country relies on agriculture, fishing, and growing/exporting cashews.
This has led the country to be over run by drug runners using the country as a stopover for moving cocaine to Europe.
The demographics skews towards having a very young population, as there is a very high birth rate and low life expectancy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau
https://youtu.be/O_fiQTK6OCk?si=SOiqttEfIaGb-xLg
Being mostly coastal, the country has a lot of swamps and mangroves with some forest/savannah further inland. It is warm year round, with a distinct rainy season and a distinct dry season.
A nice, gentle rain. It doesn't seem like we're getting that much moisture, but it's something.
I had made Mother's Day cards for my and my Sweetie's moms, so today I got those mailed. Hopefully they make it this week.
I felt like there were a lot of things that had to be done before I could go to pottery today, and it felt like a lot, but I just started "checking the boxes" so to speak, and managed.
I did go recreational shopping at Winner's and found some not too expensive casual shoes and a nice denim jacket. I REALLY WANTED a few other things too, but I put them back.
Pottery was good. I was there by myself for most of it, but I did talk to one woman who is more or less in charge of everything.
I often feel negatively towards her, not because I don't like her as a person, but because she has issues with control, and does EVERYTHING for the pottery studio herself, which doesn't leave room for other people to learn things and grow into a team. This also means that if anything happens to her, we're all screwed. She makes it out that on one hand "we need her so much", but she won't give up control. We only need her so much because she has infantilised the entire pottery studio.
As a person, she's okay, and I often enjoy talking with her. It's a weird duality to often feel like you "have issues" with someone, while liking them.
I did some trimming on things I threw last week, and worked on hand building (something I don't do very often).
Then D showed up, as I was starting to wrap things up. She's still burned out from having to care for her father who is living with her, her mother who is in a care facility, and her puppy.
Personally, I think she should find a way for her Father to live in a lodge or something again, because it sounds like they are starting to just hate each other.
Then I went to get groceries, and was frustrated because there were no dry carts inside (the ones outside were wet, so I didn't get one).
That meant that I just walked around with my reusable bags, but that gets very heavy very fast. I ended up not buying a few things I would have liked, just because I was annoyed and wanted it to be over with.
I also noticed some irritating things, like some items in the vegetable section being all of a sudden a noticeable amount more expensive since last week, and I am so SICK of the cost of groceries just going through the roof. REALLY? It makes me angry because we already know that there is no actual reason for the cost increases except for greed.
It's not like we can just "not buy food", Canada is great for growing some things in a very short summer, but it's very hard to live on what you could raise in a garden for the rest of the year. Plus, I wouldn't be able to grow coconut milk or coffee etc.
So I found getting groceries to be angry making, even though I am simultaneously grateful.
I was quite tired by the time I got home, and was very grateful that my Sweetie had made something for me to eat. It was very appreciated.
Sunday:
We put up the birdhouses, Yay! Now the birdies will have a place for the babies.
My Sweetie says he can take my bike to town with him to see if we can actually get the hydraulic brake fixed properly.
We went to see River, and my Sweetie rode his bike to the riding barn to meet me (and rode in the car with me to go home).
The Sunday rider was there and her Mom was there too. I thought that was nice.
We had a good visit.
I brought the Sunday rider some very organic dandelion roots and tops, as she uses them medicinally.
I worked with River outside a bit, but it was too wet still to do much, so I went inside. He did well with things today, though kind of slow as usual.
R and her family got back from having supper with R's parents, and we visited with them too.
Today's barn visit was more social than anything else, but that's a big part of why I wanted to be in a riding barn type setting. I need social opportunities.
We came home and for now cannot watch more "Boardwalk Empire" until we acquire Season four. So, we watched a very silly movie called "Bloodsucking Bastards". Basically "Office Space" with vampires.
Guinea-Bissau is an African country with coast on the Atlantic ocean.
"Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Kaabu,[11] as well as part of the Mali Empire.[11] Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were under some rule by the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. In the 19th century, it was colonised as Portuguese Guinea.[11] Portuguese control was restricted and weak until the early 20th century when pacification campaigns solidified Portuguese sovereignty in the area. The final Portuguese victory over the last remaining bastion of mainland resistance came in 1915 with the conquest of the Papel-ruled Kingdom of Bissau by the Portuguese military officer Teixeira Pinto and the Wolof mercenary Abdul Injai.[12] The Bissagos, islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, were officially conquered in 1936, ensuring Portuguese control of both the mainland and islands of the region.[13] Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since independence. The current president is Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was elected on 29 December 2019.[14]"
Though the official language is Portuguese, and many people do speak it, the REAL language is a Portuguese creole, and a variety of other African languages.
The Bijagos Islands are part of Guinea-Bissau, but they were actually NOT part of the Portuguese colony, or under other European rule, because the islands are a bit isolated, and the inhabitants fight like tigers. They managed to turn back several attempts at "pacification" by the Portuguese and British.
The people of those islands did sell slaves to the Europeans, though.
Today those islands are still pretty undeveloped and isolated, and the people there live mainly by subsistence farming and fishing.
https://youtu.be/k87Oz02-XhI?si=tThUCw5dUXssfIHt
The region of Guinea-Bissau was among the first places to be afflicted by the slave trade, with their own ruling class being part of it:
"Most wars were waged for the sole purpose of capturing slaves to sell to the Europeans in exchange for imported goods, such that they resembled man-hunts more than conflicts over territory or political power.[19]: 204, 209 The nobles and kings benefited, while the common people bore the brunt of the raiding and insecurity. If a noble was captured they were likely to be released, as the captors, whoever they were, would generally accept a ransom in exchange for their freedom.[19]: 229 The relationship between kings and European traders was a partnership, with the two regularly making deals on how the trade was to be conducted, who was to be enslaved and who was not, and the prices of the slaves. Contemporary chroniclers questioned multiple kings on their part in the slave trade, noting that they recognised the trade as evil but participated because the Europeans would buy no other goods from them.[19]: 230–4
Beginning in the late 18th century, European countries gradually began slowing and/or abolishing the slave trade. Portugal abandoned slavery in 1869 and Brazil in 1888, but a system of contract labor replaced it that was only barely better for the workers.[22]: 377 "
Though it gained independence in 1973, Guinea-Bissau (currently a Republic) is still in turmoil, and has not resolved the issue of government. Though there have been elected Presidents/Prime Ministers, there are also numerous coups or attempted coups.
The political instability means the economy cannot develop, and currently about 2/3 of the population lives below the poverty line. Mainly the country relies on agriculture, fishing, and growing/exporting cashews.
This has led the country to be over run by drug runners using the country as a stopover for moving cocaine to Europe.
The demographics skews towards having a very young population, as there is a very high birth rate and low life expectancy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau
https://youtu.be/O_fiQTK6OCk?si=SOiqttEfIaGb-xLg
Being mostly coastal, the country has a lot of swamps and mangroves with some forest/savannah further inland. It is warm year round, with a distinct rainy season and a distinct dry season.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-07 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-05-07 09:04 pm (UTC)For all that I understand that we have non-Loblaws options like Safeway and Sobey's, the last time I shopped at either one of those stores I found them to be even pricier.
I am sad to say that I feel like the only thing that would help at this point is either stronger competition laws, or actual laws against the profit margins, both of which would be considered "socialist", and would likely result in many companies choosing not to do business in Canada.
I would love for some grassroots co-op to start something, like a buying pool or something, but where would you even start?
I wonder how long it will be before there are food riots aimed at Loblaws?
no subject
Date: 2024-05-07 09:40 pm (UTC)There is a movement here that encourages people to steal from Loblaws during the month of May. I have never found that kind of activism useful.