A pretty perfect day

Yesterday turned out to be super, weather-wise, and super event-wise as well. We could have had a better turnout, but WV's future Senator made quite a splash, both on the train trip to Hinton and once she got to town.

For those of you who don't know, Hinton used to be a railroad town. My husband remembers the railroad heydays here, and his mother remembers taking trips to Washington, DC, on trains pulled by steam engines. Hinton still has a depot and trains run through here all the time, mostly carrying coal. Passenger trains come and go only a couple times a week.

Hinton's Railroad Days are two weekends celebrating the town's railroad heritage. A passenger train arrives both days of both weekends, from Huntington, WV, with passengers from West Virginia and several surrounding states. We meet a lot of folks from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Natalie Tennant rode the train into town, but left by car for another campaign event in Beckley, just north of Hinton. She was here for a good three hours, giving her stump speech at Democratic Headquarters and then meeting and greeting folks in the downtown area with a group of supporters.

Granted, people visiting Democratic headquarters are going to be like-minded, but we were pleased at how much support Natalie has here in southern West Virginia. Especially when you read stories like this one, which links our southern counties to the rest of the red-state South.

Today is the last day of this year's event. The next year will be a busy one as we work to elect Natalie Tennant to the seat Jay Rockefeller will be vacating. We here in Summers County also will be working to keep Third District Congressman Rahall in Congress, as he faces a tough challenger next year.

Yes, it seems like campaigning is 24/7/365, thanks to cable news and the internets. But legislators clearly can "accomplish" something – they managed to shut down the government entirely for nearly three weeks. I'm not willing to put anyone back in office who voted for that lame-brained, damaging and wasteful scheme.

I hope you're not either.

Here we go

Today's the day we fall off the cliff, hit the wall and go to the poorhouse.

I'm sure about one thing: It is crucial, imperative, VITAL to vote for Democrats the very next chance you get.

In New Jersey, that's today. Cory Booker is going to make a fabulous Senator.

West Virginia's primary will be held Tuesday, May 13, so that'll be my next opportunity. Election Day is November 4. I plan to hold my nose and scratch the rooster then, because here in West Virginia it's difficult to find a political candidate who is as left of the salad fork as I am. But I figure if there's a "D" after his or her name, at least we're in the same ball park. (That is, occasionally, debatable.)

My husband's social security check made it to our account this morning, on schedule. We're good for another month. Not sure if the United States will fare as well.

As for me, today, I've already been working for a couple of hours. Democratic headquarters will be open the next two weekends for our annual Railroad Days festival. We're selling campaign buttons:

If you have a Badge-a-Minute button maker, I'll be happy to send you
the Hill, yes! design (far left) as a 9-up .pdf file. Gotta get ready for 2016!

and I also created a flyer to encourage women to join our county Democratic women's group:

I don't really expect anyone to join our group, but if you'd like
me to send you a .pdf file of the form I'd be happy to. Surprise me!

(Anyone can join. Feel free to click the image, print it, fill in the information and mail it with your check. Seriously! Annual dues are only five bucks!)

We're having company this weekend, so the rest of my day will be spent cleaning and dusting and decluttering, oh my. Unless the chair is in at Target. Then I'll be … SHOPPING!

While I still have some money.

FINALLY!

It's official:

I've been claiming it all weekend, so I'm glad it's true this morning. It's just easier to tell someone who hasn't seen you in a while that you've lost 50 pounds instead of 49.5 (which is what the scale said Thursday morning before I left on my trip).

So that's one goal DONE – and if I didn't have confidence that I could lose more, that would be the end of it. But I do think I can lose 15 more by Christmas, so I'm going to keep on paleo-ing. Most likely I'll keep on paleo-ing for the rest of my life. I feel SO DAMNED GOOD!

Eating at the convention this weekend went very well. The hotel's continental breakfast included eggs and fresh fruit, and the closing day's catered breakfast had bacon, as well.

Mmmmm, bacon.

I had to navigate a substantial-hors d'oeuvres reception Friday evening, but it included grilled vegetables and sausage-stuffed mushrooms, so that was fine. The remaining meals each included meat and vegetables and salad. I had no trouble staying away from the rolls and the dessert table was separate from the main buffet, so I just didn't even look at it.

Our speakers were dynamic and inspiring and energetic. This is an off-year as far as elections go, but the campaign cycle is now pretty much 24/7, so we all got to hear how tough it's going to be in 2014 in the West Virginia Senate race for the seat being vacated by Jay Rockefeller.

This state is surely going to miss him, as it still does Sen. Robert Byrd.

I didn't log any food all weekend. GOAL FAIL for September. I also didn't do any kind of workout Saturday, as I fell hard on a sidewalk near the end of my Friday morning run. I hurt my left knee and the heel of my left hand. I'm now doing wall pushups with my fingertips instead of the palms of my hands, and when I tried doing triceps dips using a chair it was just too painful.

I'll try to get some pictures taken this week sometime (hint, hint to Lynne!). I'm excited to update the progress photo file and to show off the new clothes I've been collecting. The photos taken of me during the weekend are mostly tight close-ups and a couple long shots that aren't especially flattering.

And flattering is definitely the look I'm going for!

Here's a teaser, though ...

Future WV Senator Natalie Tennant. And me.
The future's so bright, we had to wear shades!

Yesterday's news

Well, what a fun day we had yesterday. Natalie Tennant's announcement that she's running for U.S. Senate went smoothly at Tamarack in Beckley, and from what I've been able to see of the other two locations she attracted lots of supporters in Charleston and Morgantown as well.

See me back there on the right? Oh, and the front-and-center lady in red is Natalie.

My husband and I were part of the crowd on the stage behind her as she made her speech. Pretty exciting! I don't think I've ever been on television before, but I made the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. local news and my husband also said I was in a teaser shot at 10 p.m.

I, of course, was sound asleep by then. Heh.

I'd intended to wake up early and walk on the treadmill before we left for Beckley, but that didn't happen. In another lifetime I would have blown it off: too busy, not enough time, too tired, blah, blah, blah. Instead, I

• attended the Tennant for Senate event
• stopped to fill the tank in the car
• dropped a package off at the UPS store
• stopped at a craft store for spray glitter (wait'll you see what I'm doing with that!)
• went to my county Democratic women's club meeting
• picked up a couple things at the store afterward
• drove home and then 
• walked five miles.

Because working that walk into the day has truly become a priority. (And also? It was a glorious day, perfect for walking.) I stuck some chicken and sweet potatoes in the oven when I got home, showered and dressed to go to the prison meeting, ate dinner and whoosh – left for Alderson before 6 p.m.

Today is going to be busy, as well, but in a different way. My phone died at lunch yesterday. The battery icon indicated it was full, but when I plugged it into the car charger it was at ZERO percent. Second time in a week that's happened, so there's something wrong with either the phone or the battery.

U.S. Cellular replaces batteries at no charge, so that's on today's agenda. And since I have to drive an hour to get the phone store, I might as well pick up what I'll need for this weekend's out-of-towner. I'd planned to stop someplace on my way to the convention Thursday afternoon, but I might as well get everything done today.

I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow. Time flies when you're being a good Democrat having fun!

We're off to see …

Natalie!

West Virginia will most definitely be in the national spotlight for the 2014 election cycle with today's announcement by Natalie Tennant (D) that she will be challenging Shelley Moore Capito (R) for Jay Rockefeller's (D) seat in the U.S. Senate.

Rockefeller announced he would not seek re-election earlier this year, and Capito, who has represented WV's 2nd District in Congress for years, almost immediately said she would be running for the seat.

Tennant has been WV's Secretary of State since 2009.

She has a good record as SoS, she has name recognition, she is polling strongly (but not winning. Yet.) against Capito and she has the support of the DSC. She's likable, personable and easy to talk to.

And, oh my goodness, it'll be interesting. This will be the 13th race between women for a spot in the U.S. Senate. I doubt it will be a cat fight, though. My sense is that good southern manners will prevail on both sides.

But I wouldn't mind seeing the claws come out.

Tennant will be touring the state today and tomorrow, kicking off her campaign just an hour's drive from me (everything is an hour's drive from me, by the way). So we're heading out to be good Democrats today.

This is turning out to be a true-blue week!

It's all relative

I guess in mid-September, a wind chill in the 40s is "extreme cold."

I might be the only first-time attendee at this convention of the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women. Everyone else seems to have plenty of blue wardrobe essentials, red/white/blue jewelry and people to talk to. I'm the only member attending from my county, so I got my picture made with the Governor's wife and our Secretary of State all by myself! I'm so special. Heh.