I got the Ninja Creami; Tariffs to hit 35%; Standing between MAiD for mental health
3 Things this week and an award-winning poem from my recent contest
Thanks for spending part of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down. We had a second week of vacation here at the Kooman house (a rare happening), and it was delightful.
If you follow me on IG, you may have discovered what I learned: that summers are for new sunglasses, puppies and bubbles, paddle boards, and beach umbrellas. I’m so grateful for the time we were granted to slow down.
Here's this week's link round up and the second prize poem from my recent poetry contest.
I got the Ninja Creami
Well it happened! I got the ninja creamy for Father's Day which was a total splurge and too over the top. But I'm really grateful—I'm not complaining.
We use it everyday and it's fun to make and mix up ice cream ingredients every night. We're using it to hit our macros so we do lots of Greek yogurt and protein powders in our mixes. I've received some pro-tips from friends who have a highly developed Ninja ice cream game, which includes using Jello powder to get richer flavours. They weren’t wrong.
If you have a recipe, send it my way!
I’m a chocolate lover, so most of my mixes have been with a chocolate base, but I tried a pistachio base and then added as a mix-in afew of these Chocovia Dubai Style Milk Chocolates with Pistachio & Kadaif that friends gifted, and I feel like I should win a culinary award.
Tariffs to hit 35%
I can't tell if this is elbows up or down, but what I do know is that on August 1st the tariffs by the US on Canada are threatening to hit 35%. Kind of like deja vu all over again.
The election doesn't seem to have solved much; but the Liberals don’t seem to be signalling much worry. Carney remained on vacation as the following letter from Trump circulated social media, and there have been no known emergency meetings called.
Cracking down on fentanyl—actually, not doing so—at the border seems to be one of the biggest gripes that the US administration has with us.
I recently listened to this interview on the Sean Ryan show with Canadian journalist Katarina Szulc who bravely reports on how cartels run drugs around the world, especially after the pandemic how they moved their operations to Canada. It's so fascinating (audience advisory! It’s intense).
If any of it is even close to a reality, and I have no reason to doubt the accuracy, you can see how this is a problem bigger than any of us really understand. Trump using dairy quotas as a wedge to force Canadian power brokers’ hands to crack down harder on the cartels makes more sense.
Standing between MAiD for mental health
I found it disheartening the last few weeks as so many in the UK lionized the MP who opened the door to euthanasia in the United Kingdom. So it was a breath of fresh air to see two Canadian MPs—Tamara Jansen and Andrew Lawton—take a stand to attempt to put a stop to the expansion of medical assistance and dying to mental health.
Canadian Catholic News has a helpful article that outlines the bill’s aims, named the Right to Recover Act. Jansen’s bill would amend the Criminal Code of Canada to permanently stop expansion of MAiD solely for mental illness which is scheduled to take place in 2027 (after expansion was paused in 2024 after a nation-wide outcry).
As many have written (including me, here, in this newsletter), expanding euthanasia to mental health would open a Pandora's Box.
, a personal friend, the MP who seconded the bill, serves as a powerful example of what’s at stake. He has written publicly about his previous struggles with mental health and how if MAiD laws for mental health were in place when he experienced a mental health crisis, he probably would be dead (and it could have been his doctor who killed him).Fast forward to today. He's now a new Member of Parliament representing an important constituency and effectively using his position and his voice for important issues like MAiD expansion. Imagine how many people like him—people who can heal, move beyond crisis, and make real impact in their communities—could lose their lives if a bill like this doesn't succeed to stop MAiD expansion.
If this concerns you, ensure your MP is aware of the bill and votes for it. You can contact your MP here.
The Second Place Poem from the First Ever TIWD Poetry Contest
Mimosa Pudica
I stumbled upon you among the weeds
And thought that you looked a lot like me,
Leaves slowly folding at the slightest touch.
Surrounded by tropical flora so lush—
Birds of paradise, ohia lehua,
Giant hibiscus, sweet plumeria,
Leaves of monstera, ti, and alocasia—
It doesn’t take much to make you feel
Like you are not enough.
Mimosa pudica, you make yourself small,
So low, not wanting to be there at all.
I know how you feel, melting to the floor
Wishing to not be, anymore.
Sometimes I think that I am nothing too
And shrink myself down just like you do,
But when I brushed against your little leaves
And they moved like magic, you slowly
Rekindled joy inside of me.
You showed me that we are not too much
And are more than enough, small yet mighty,
Full of life, spreading wonder with one brush—
Moving souls. Thank you for reminding me
That we are all worthy to be seen. About Dabney Baldridge
Dabney Baldridge is a busy mom of three young boys who writes in the middle of life’s messiness to create beauty out of chaos. She has considered herself a writer ever since she could form words and loves finding meaning in the mundane. Dabney majored in English at Grove City College and has published poems with Z Publishing House, Calla Press, Heart of Flesh, and Solid Food Press. She also has a forthcoming short story being published by Dandelion Revolution Press. You can find her sharing a weekly poem on her Substack @dabneywrites.