Awareness of the outside world. AL.com: Should ICE, immigration enforcement be reformed in Alabama? Here’s what you said, Smith Feb. 07, 2026. “58% of responses to a recent survey said they “think immigration enforcement is going ‘too far.’ ” I will grant that Alabama remains a deeply red state & that the article ends with the caveat, “The two surveys are not statistically balanced or representative.” Still, 58% is a bigger number than I would have guessed. Access issues, I could read the entire article on my phone but was paywalled on my desktop. YMMV. Hat tip to G.
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Now that we have left Satan’s skating rink, we are back to daily morning walks with the horses. Which means several minutes each day wherein I contemplate how much harder it is to restart a habit that it was to let it slide.
Doing three laps instead of the standard five. I am recovering from my cold last week. Also went cold turkey on my – very minimal – meds to allow my system to recalibrate. I think one can end up chasing symptoms. Arm hurts -> pain med -> stomach objects -> stomach meds -> and so on, all coated with a drizzle of cough syrup. Each with a different half-life and bodily effect. [The Mental Aspect, Wrist Update]
Anyway.
Yesterday morning, Rodney did the entire three laps at liberty! This does not mean this is a confirmed decision on his part. He’ll do something for a few days and then detour. It’s a start. Milton, of course, continued to march along on his own, as he does.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
We live in deeply divided times. I remain unable to overcome my deep shame and disappointment.
Gonna be a while before I can face going abroad. People will want answers as to why and I have none.
There was always unfortunate image of the loud-talking affluent American who thought he could do whatever he liked regardless of local laws… now, it’s so much worse. A friend studying in Italy 20 years ago was pleased that she was consistently mistaken for a German. Her grandfather was Sicilian and she now holds dual citizenship, which means she has EU citizenship opportunities. I’ve considered that my grandfather, born in Essex, might also have kept his foreign citizenship, but the UK? We could then move to Scotland, but my husband is not fond of the idea. At least Oregon is primarily a solid blue state.
As you have said, a blue state is not the answer to everything. I keep trying not to ‘Grass is Greener’ or even ‘Greener grass would fix everything.’