NO KINGS & more watercolor botanicals

Thank goodness I found another indoor hobby besides reading and watching TV. Between the freezing cold weather and not traveling due to my husband’s knee, I needed something.

Even though I’m working with someone else’s designs at the moment, I’m definitely learning some stuff from this book/teacher.

Daisies
Kind of a weird design called “Lady Rose”

Mark your calendars: The next mass anti-Trump NO KINGS protest will be March 28, 2026.

Here’s the message from the national leadership of Indivisible:

Our mobilizations grew from month to month last year, exploding from Hands Off in April (3 million) to the second No Kings Day in October (7 million) — and the regime’s ongoing brutality and authoritarianism in the months since have only convinced more Americans, including many who’ve never attended a protest in their lives, to join their neighbors in the streets. Now we’ve got to keep that momentum growing, with the same creativity and dogged determination.

Everything we’ve done so far, and everything we’ll be doing in the next weeks and months, is the stuff of history. And together, we’ll write the history of how, for the second time in 250 years, we the people defied, and overcame, a tyrant.”

The only thing that’s going to stop this authoritarian/fascist train is US—the people. Minnesota showed us that all people of good conscience (left, right and center) must get involved.

No Kings

It’s great to see there was huge turnout out in the major cities, especially Boston (wow), but it was interesting to protest in a small town.

I’d say we had about 400 people on the town green where I waved my sign.

We were mostly middle-aged and older white people. I chatted with a teacher, a dental hygienist, a grocery store worker, and a lot of retired people I know from church.

We were in a high-traffic area where we actually waved our individual signs at passing cars and got lots of curious stares, many supportive honks, a few middle fingers, and 2 to 5 dudes yelling “Go Trump.”

There was a small counterprotest (2 to 4 people at one end of the town green in full MAGA regalia with a Trump 2024 banner), but they were peaceful.

Oh, and there were two Jesus freaks (sorry, that’s what GenX calls them) with “Jesus IS King” signs. They were fairly young skinny white guys with beards who were there to proselytize. I overheard one lady trying to find common ground with them on the immigrant issue (“but Jesus wanted us to welcome the stranger and help the poor”) and they were having none of it. They were much more aligned with the small MAGA counterprotest.

Oh, and thanks to the great city of Portland which started the trend, there were multiple inflatable costumes. We had a giraffe, several bees and a unicorn, YAY. The unicorn was adorable.

Onward.

And honestly, FUCK DONALD TRUMP and All Who Support Him. I kept the F word off my sign (both of them: Fuck and Fascism) and did not engage with any pro-Trumpers yesterday, but I need to be the real me on my blog and I really truly hate him.

No Kings

Quick update since my last post.

I fit everything I planned onto my poster. It was a tight squeeze, but I did it.

Liberal churches like mine are ready to show up on Saturday – peacefully.

XOXOXO

Mary G,

Retired Grandma

😀 🌈 🦄

No Kings

What’s everyone’s plan for Saturday?

Will you turnout for the largest (hopefully) pro-democracy peaceful protests in history?

NoKings.Org

I’m going to a poster-making event Wednesday, so I went searching in my basement for poster paint. I found some! Now I just need some normal size lettering brushes. My house painting brushes are too wide.

This was my paint-testing practice poster, but I think I’ll stick it on my lawn on Saturday

I’m debating what to put on my actual protest poster. Here’s what I’m thinking:

NO ABORTION BANS

NO Healthcare Hike$

NO Voter Suppression 

NO Assault Weapons

NO Kings in America

What’s your sign going to say?