Nooooo, nooooo. He can't just start wars to justify getting money for ICE. Stop it, just stop it!

The war in Ukraine isn't over, so we gathered at its 4th yr anniversary in Seattle once again. It was pouring rain when we were setting up but then the skies miraculously cleared before the march. We thought in this weather only the diehards will show up, but we met a lot of new wonderful people.

#Seahawks the mf Champions! I'm still processing it. This Seahawks win feels different, though. We, here in Seattle, felt the support from everywhere in the US and around the world. We had to win it for America in Bad Bunny's interpretation: from South to North America.

Last weekend at Seattle protest in memory of Renee Good killed by ICE I met the newly elected mayor of Seattle Katie Wilson. Now more than ever we need our elected officials to fight with us for our rights. I asked her to make us all proud, and she said she would try.

1. I spent last weekend at Kitsap Jingle Fest with these 3 "radicals": Guy Morris, Peter Stockwell & Keith Madsen, my fellow authors & true Christians, outspoken against Christian Nathionalism, who follow the teachings of Jesus to help the poor & marginalized, not worship one person in power.

1. Today, I'm at Lowell Elementary in Everett, WA with our all girl crew from @AuthorEventNetwork, kicking out the Holiday season on a very rainy, true Pacific Northwest day. As usual, I have stories for you from the "frontlines".

I had to work today but I was in spirit with you, all beautiful people in the USA and around the world! #NoKings

Alert from Kingston, WA! This is Karen from Jerusalim who bakes the most delicious chocolate croissants and sourdough bread in the world. Last weekend I spent all my proceeds on her croissants, and now she's tempting me again. Somebody, save me! Or check out her bakery, and join me in my "misery".

I snapped a photo of this adorable, lovely Husky puppy at Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival but somehow he turned out to look like a ferocious little dog. It made me laugh so hard. I hope you laugh too.

One of my favorite events- the Blackberry Festival in Bremerton, WA. So many beautiful people there. 1. This is Diane. In 2022, she took in an Ukrainan family through, how she calls it, "a series of very fortune events bc it was meant to be". A family of 5: mom, dad with a disability & three kids.

Kitsap County Fair is mostly ab cowboy hats & boots bc it's rodeo time. There are some you'd meet who are all hat, no catlle but not these two who walk the talk. 1. Steve's a supporter of Ukraine since the beginning of the war& put on this t-shirt bc it was August 24th- Ukraine's Independence Day.

As a Washingtonian, this pisses me off to no end. We are in active fire season, and these goons are detaining the FIREFIGHTERS who risk their lives to save us from fires!

1. Whenever we go to author events, we never know what kind of crowd we'd get. But there's always without a fail at least one reader who goes down the line & buys one book from each author. At @LakeCitySummerFest we got two. In the photo on the right, Michele bought 3 bags of books!

This quilted coat, a wearable art, was made for a little girl by her mom, whom I met at Kla Ha Ya Days in Snohomish, WA. The girl was worried that I'd keep it & she made her displeasure known. I had to take this photo really quick & give it back to her, so she could be the fashionista of the fair.

This clunky photo says that at times a story's better than a picture. 1. Terry bought my book @BallardSeafoodFest &immediately began reading it. "I'm not an immigrant,"he said while reading the chapter ab language barriers,"but I can relate bc I have a speech impediment & I'm often misunderstood."

My favorite crazy story from Marysville Strawberry Festival. This is Roger Reisman. His grandpa Marty Reisman was one of the greatest American table tennis players. Studio A24 is making a movie called Marty Supreme based on his grandpa's memoir with #TimothéeChalamet playing his grandpa. Wow!

1. This weekend I was at an event in a city of contrasts - Maple Valley, WA. On the same corner there were 3 booths: a Hindu and a Christian, and the GOP candidate running for state Senate with an anti homophobic slogan. Yet, a music teacher with a "Protect trans kids" T-shirt walked by proudly.

I'm working an event today in this gorgeous place, so I can't attend the #NoKings protests in person but I'm with you in spirit!

1. Today, I'll talk about people I met at Kingston who aren't my readers but whose accomplishments must be celebrated. This is Daniel & Trudi from a veteran owned business It's My Color Wreaths in Silverdale, WA. Daniel is a smooth booth dancer but check out his wreaths. He never makes duplicates.

1. This is Glenda who blew me away last weekend in Kingston. She's so outspoken about fighting oligarchy & resisting fascism that she's wearing it on her T-shirt. That's especially heartwarming bc earlier we had another woman arguing with us that there's no fascism in America. Be like Glenda!

1. As an author, I go to street fairs & events where I meet tons of fascinating people. Some like to chat, some like to pose for photos, some tell me a heartbreaking story and disappear. It's an endless human story that needs to be told, so I'm gonna use my writing skills to give them the spotlight.

Mayday, Mayday in Seattle.

I was there, volunteering to make it happen. Loving the Washington state spirit in support of Ukraine. #SlavaUkraini

I'll never forget the day when I first heard "Russian Warship go f*** yourself". We didn't know his name, we didn't know if he survived but we felt his defiant Ukrainian sprit that united a nation and the world. If you ask what one person can do to change history, remember Roman Hrybov.

Great weather, and an amazing crowd in Seattle today for Hands Off rally to fight American fascism like Ukrainians.

I admire this man for taking a stand for women. It will take men speaking up to end the cycle of abuse of women and children.

Here it is the medevac Humvee, we affectionally called Gimpy, repaired by many helping hands at @ukrainedefensesupport.org, including my husband. It's now on its way to Ukraine to save lives. If you're still doubting what one person can do, doubt no more, get your hands dirty and just do something!

When we forget history, it repeats itself.

There is light in the time of darkness! Just got news that one of our members' son, an Azovstal defender, who was in Russian captivity for 2.5 yrs, was just released in a prison exchange. We invite you to celebrate with us & also donate to our organization to keep us going: ukrainedefensesupport.org

Y'all I got a Christmas miracle! Some angel named William took a flyer at one of my author's events and actually bought a book directly from my website instead of Amazon. Folks, be like William! Support the authors directly instead of giving it to Bezos for his vanity projects. irinavanpatten.com

Just noticed I'm being followed by an account named Tom Cruise. I assume that's because he wants to make a movie out of my book. Fingers crossed, next year, we're all going to the premier of Mail-Order Family.

💙 💛 💙 💛 💙 💛

My farmer grandpa had a cardboard copy of the cat thief painting in his kitchen because he thought it was funny. My mom had a copy of the Italian Midday in our kitchen because she thought it was pretty. Neither my grandpa nor my mom were art connoisseurs, yet I got interested in art because of them.

My favorite quote from a book lover at yesterday's event: "I buy so many books that I'll have to join the Booklovers Anonymous soon." To which I said: "It's a small price to pay. We keep you away from the other Anonymous group." "True," he said, and bought another book. 😍

It literally gives me PTSD to read this because I lived through this back home. My grandma taught me to never talk with anyone about anything we discussed in the family. The fear was real. And now the same is happening here. Surreal.

A fascinating trend on how to solve homelessness in the richest country on Earth. This issue is so complex that we need multiple solutions from different angles. UBI is one of them, but we also need universal access to healthcare and social services.

I needed this today! Because it's gonna be a lot of purple ahead, folks. youtube.com/shorts/8jMPg...

Ukrainian boxing legend (and brother of Kyiv's mayor) Wladimir Klitschko responds to Joe Rogan...

In other news, I got a visit from two racoons today. One was casually hanging on my fence, while the other was checking out my grandkids' playhouse, unafraid and brazen, like they owed my yard. WOW.

Crying over here!

I will be going today to the 1,000 Days of the War in Ukraine rally in Seattle in memory of one of our members who lost their son Jonathan in Donetsk region on November 1st 2024. His body hasn't been recovered yet, and my heart goes to his parents. #LetUkraineStrikeBack to win this war!

Autumn has painted the Kupiansk region in vibrant gold, a reminder of nature’s beauty. In these photos, the soldiers appreciate the splendor of the season while carrying out their mission to defend their land. 📷14th Prince Roman the Great Brigade

I'm rebuilding my followers, so if you recognize me from the the other side, please welcome me to the light. I'll follow you back.

When it all goes to hell, at least I'd know that I saw Mona Lisa with my own eyes. Louvre, Paris 2024.

Do not go quietly into the night. Do not obey in advance.

Introducing myself to Bluesky! I'm the author of Mail-Order Family, the BookFest Silver Award winner (2022) in the True Story/Memoir category. Truth is stranger than fiction, y'all. Check it out on my website: irinavanpatten.com/mail-order-f...