. So far, I've participated in 2 rallies and 3 protests. The rallies were different in that they were indoors and featured a series of very inspirational speakers making testimonials. One of my favorites was from a local church pastor. I would love to see more faith leaders speak out on what's going on.
At the last demonstration on Saturday, we got about 500 people to turn out in my little town of just 28,000, so that felt pretty good. And of course, there were much larger protests going on in major cities.
Here we can see be seen walking up Main Street to the flagpole while others are already returning.
My latest online fixation is watching short video clips of young, ungroomed men with long hair be transformed in a barber shop. It seems to be a thing. And once you watch one, a whole bunch more show up in your feed. It's amazing how much better someone can look with a simple haircut.
My other favorite is watching crowds of voters booing and shouting at Republican legislators at town hall meetings as they attempt to defend what 47 is doing.
I still have not looked at my brokerage balances becus I know it will make me anxious. However next month I'll be needing to take a distribution, so seeing my balances will be unavoidable. Luckily, I have about 3 years' worth of income sitting in a Vanguard settlement money market fund, so I won't lose additional money when I take the distribution.
Here are some handmade candies direct from Ukraine. I only tried one so far and it was very good.
Spring has sprung here in the Northeast but the temp are more like March.
April 10th, 2025 at 09:33 am 1744277632
Quick question though: Handmade candy from Ukraine? Can you elaborate on that?
April 10th, 2025 at 12:54 pm 1744289676
So I found the candy on Etsy. it's made in Ukraine and is chocolate candies with fruit and nuts inside, like apricot and walnut, cherry and almond and hazelnut and honey. The coconut was very good. It may be a little more expensive than you might expect, but the price you pay covers shipping from Ukraine ("free shipping" when you order) and I like the idea of supporting everyday Ukrainians who may be struggling to stay afloat.
Here' the link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1810068998/handcrafted-ukrainian-chocolate-gift-box?ref=yr_purchases
I also bought a very nice Ukrainian flag which I fly out my window and donated to an animal shelter in Kyiv. If you search "Ukraine" on Etsy it will, I think, bring up a whole lot of options.
April 10th, 2025 at 01:07 pm 1744290475
I think Ukrainians are getting very creative in ways to raise money. Many donate a portion of their profits to the war effort.
One of the more interesting things I saw (and have purchased) is from UA Postcards. You pay for a postcard, and/or a special commemorative postage stamp on their website, which you receive yourself, or have it mailed elsewhere to a friend or whomever. If you want to pay a little more (and these are all relatively small amounts) you can pay to have your postcard autographed by a soldier on the front.
https://uapostcards.org/product-category/postcards/
April 10th, 2025 at 05:58 pm 1744307925
Slava Ukraini!
April 14th, 2025 at 10:17 pm 1744669070