• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Comment
  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

This really is a full service blog.

Republicans do not trust women.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

“woke” is the new caravan.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Everybody saw this coming.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Butter Lamb / Butter Lamb 2025! (Open Thread)

Butter Lamb 2025! (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  April 19, 202510:51 am| 139 Comments

This post is in: Butter Lamb, Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

Ladies, gentlemen and friends beyond the binary, I present to you this year’s butter lamb!

Lamb made out of butter

As usual, I only see the flaws — I fucked up that one ear a bit. But Bill says it looks great and will be tasty on tomorrow’s dinner rolls, so I’ll take his word for it. (Butter lamb tutorial and origin story here.)

Here’s the nekkid lamb when construction was in progress:

Butter lamb sculpture without the curly cues.

I almost had to drop everything and trek into town when it came time to do the eyes. The eyes are either peppercorns or cloves, and it’s super important to find a pair that match in color and size or the lamb will look psychotic.

I’d forgotten that when we returned home from the flood last November, I went through the pantry and ruthlessly discarded 70% of the spice collection and have slowly been reconstituting it. I couldn’t find whole cloves or peppercorns at first, and I was panicking.

But then I found a bottle of fancy gourmet MIXED peppercorns we received as a holiday gift. There were red ones and green ones and black ones, and I was sorely tempted to make a DEMON lamb with red eyes.

But then I decided it would be cruel to do that to the in-laws, so I went with traditional black.

***

That dilemma reminded me of a story about my little brother. He used to have a pet mouse that was white with black eyes. The poor little rodent died one day while my brother was at school (kindergarten, I think), and my stepfather noticed and rushed out to buy a replacement mouse. He told my mom, sister and me but intended to pass the new mouse off as the original when my brother came home.

Only the mouse stepfather purchased had red eyes. Little bro didn’t say anything about it at first. But when he tried to take the mouse out of its cage to play, it bit him, and when he let go of it, the mouse made its escape.

My brother started wailing and ran to Mom.

“He never bit me before, but this time he had RED DEVIL EYES!” he sobbed, clinging to mom.

Mom looked daggers at my sister and me to stifle the uncontrollable giggles welling up in us both (we were teens, i.e., assholes).

Little bro wouldn’t learn about the deception for many years. We never saw or heard from the mouse again.

For all I know, that mouse is still roaming a golf course in Tampa, though it would be extraordinarily long-lived if it were, like the mouse in The Green Mile. 

The end.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Saturday Morning Open Thread
Next Post: Weekend Reads: Slop World vs. Deep Reading »

Reader Interactions

  • Commenters
  • Filtered
  • Settings

Commenters

No commenters available.

  • A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
  • Almost Retired
  • Another Scott
  • Asparagus Aspersions
  • Baud
  • Betty
  • Betty Cracker
  • BlueGuitarist
  • Bulgakov
  • CaseyL
  • Central Planning
  • Citizen Dave
  • comrade scotts agenda of rage
  • danielx
  • David_C
  • dexwood
  • Dorothy A. Winsor
  • Drunkenhausfrau
  • dww44
  • Elizabelle
  • Fair Economist
  • feebog
  • grammypat
  • Greg Ferguson
  • Harrison Wesley
  • J.
  • J. Arthur Crank
  • Jackie
  • Karen S.
  • KrackenJack
  • Kristine
  • Lynn Dee
  • Lyrebird
  • MagdaInBlack
  • Marcopolo
  • MazeDancer
  • Melancholy Jaques
  • Miki
  • Miss Bianca
  • No One of Consequence
  • Nukular Biskits
  • Ohio Mom
  • Old School
  • Phylllis
  • pluky
  • Professor Bigfoot
  • prostratedragon
  • Raoul Paste
  • Redshift
  • RevRick
  • Rob J.
  • Ruckus
  • sab
  • Salty Sam
  • schrodingers_cat
  • Scout211
  • sentient ai from the future
  • SFBayAreaGal
  • skerry
  • Spanky
  • Stevo
  • stinger
  • suzanne
  • Suzanne
  • TaMara
  • Tazj
  • They Call Me Noni
  • trollhattan
  • VeniceRiley
  • VickiR
  • WaterGirl
  • wenchacha
  • WendyBinFL
  • wmd
  • WTFGhost
  • zhena gogolia

Filtered Commenters

No filtered commenters available.

    Settings




    Settings are saved immediately; press X to close the box.

    139Comments

    1. 1.

      WendyBinFL

      April 19, 2025 at 10:57 am

      Beautiful, BettyC! Happy Easter!

      Reply
    2. 2.

      Elizabelle

      April 19, 2025 at 10:59 am

      This year’s butter lamb does not disappoint.  May there be years of butter lambs in your (and our) futures.

      Alas, I have just realized.  Butter might be the perfect medium for a The Felon sculpture.  Just think.  He could be savaged by alligators. Pursued by sharks.  Limbless.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      Phylllis

      April 19, 2025 at 11:00 am

      Your lamb is fab, as usual. Also love the devil eye mouse story. Oh what a tangled web yada yada yada.

      Reply
    4. 4.

      Scout211

      April 19, 2025 at 11:01 am

      Well done, BettyC! Another butter masterpiece.

      Have a wonderful Easter tomorrow.

      Reply
    5. 5.

      suzanne

      April 19, 2025 at 11:01 am

      Mr. Suzanne’s family also has a hilarious rodent story. Just awesome.

      The butter lamb is fantastic!

      Reply
    6. 6.

      Professor Bigfoot

      April 19, 2025 at 11:04 am

      The lamb is awesome… but I kinda wish for the demon version, too. ;)

      Reply
    7. 7.

      J. Arthur Crank

      April 19, 2025 at 11:05 am

      Thank you for the wonderful story.

      I will  mourn for the demon lamb that never had a chance, and I will mourn for its sibling who will have the misfortune of being in between warm dinner rolls and hungry diners.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      Lynn Dee

      April 19, 2025 at 11:08 am

      Butter lamb looks especially sweet and winsome this year!

      Stepfather sounds sweet too.

      Happy better butter Easter, Betty and all butter lamb appreciators.

      Reply
    9. 9.

      Asparagus Aspersions

      April 19, 2025 at 11:10 am

      What a great-looking lamb! The annual butter lamb photo is a reassuring lodestone in this topsy-turvy world .I just read the origin story to my husband, and in realized it was new to me too.

      Reply
    10. 10.

      Dorothy A. Winsor

      April 19, 2025 at 11:14 am

      Love the lamb. I don’t know how you have the patience to do that

      Reply
    11. 11.

      wenchacha

      April 19, 2025 at 11:14 am

      Butter lamb!

      It’s what everybody said about Mary Mary.

      Reply
    12. 12.

      Raoul Paste

      April 19, 2025 at 11:16 am

      The ears seem like the tricky part.  Hard to imagine how that was  fashioned.  Kudos

      Reply
    13. 13.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 11:17 am

      🧈🐑👍

      Reply
    14. 14.

      Marcopolo

      April 19, 2025 at 11:19 am

      Something, something, wonder if one could make a butter emails, something, something.

      Apologies in advance.

      Oh, and this one is lovely.

      Edited to add: what’s up with all the rain on my Saturday protest days?  Heading out in an hour or so here in StL.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      WaterGirl

      April 19, 2025 at 11:21 am

      Betty, she is one of your best, possibly THE best so far.

      At some point i added “butter lamb” to all your butter lambs in the media library.  You could easily do a butter lamb retrospective post just by searching for butter lamb!  :-)

      Reply
    16. 16.

      WTFGhost

      April 19, 2025 at 11:21 am

      A mom once tried the same thing, thinking her child wouldn’t remember the bundle of kittens accurately, until years later, her daughter said something to the effect of “remember that kitten we had whose fur changed colors, so we changed its name?”

      At least it wasn’t a child asking to go see the farm where all the dogs went to live out happy, full, lives.

      Reply
    17. 17.

      feebog

      April 19, 2025 at 11:23 am

      Looks good enough to eat.  At the proper time and place of course.

      Reply
    18. 18.

      Almost Retired

      April 19, 2025 at 11:23 am

      I wish I had that kind of artistic skill (any artistic skill at all would be nice).  But, alas, I don’t.  So our Easter table shall include my sculpture of ….um…..a butter rectangle.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      VeniceRiley

      April 19, 2025 at 11:25 am

      My wife doesn’t buy real butter because it’s “take a second mortgage” money here. But I suspect it’s because she was raised on blended spreadable and her palate is very fixed on her habits.

      Reply
    20. 20.

      Old School

      April 19, 2025 at 11:26 am

      I don’t know which I enjoyed more – this year’s butter lamb or the mouse story.

      Both were fantastic!

      Reply
    21. 21.

      Another Scott

      April 19, 2025 at 11:27 am

      Excellent all around.  :-)

      Thanks.

      Enjoy your weekend!

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    22. 22.

      MazeDancer

      April 19, 2025 at 11:29 am

      BL-25 is outstanding. Deeply expressive, especially the ears.

      And the curly wooliness is just splendid.

      Really well done!

      Reply
    23. 23.

      TaMara

      April 19, 2025 at 11:29 am

      Beautiful butter lamb!

      Reply
    24. 24.

      stinger

      April 19, 2025 at 11:31 am

      Well, hellooo, cutie!  I would raise a toast to you, but you might take it wrong.

       

      ETA: Betty bought a bit of butter. Betty made the bit of butter better.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      suzanne

      April 19, 2025 at 11:34 am

      @Almost Retired:

      my sculpture of ….um…..a butter rectangle.

      Reminds me of the Bauhaus nativity set.

      Reply
    26. 26.

      TaMara

      April 19, 2025 at 11:35 am

      @suzanne: OMG, I’ve never seen that before, it’s…something. 🤣

      Reply
    27. 27.

      Nukular Biskits

      April 19, 2025 at 11:36 am

      Awesome!

      Stupid question:  Do you have to really crank up the A/C while carving?

      Reply
    28. 28.

      danielx

      April 19, 2025 at 11:38 am

      Most excellent butter lamb!

      I purely hate getting waked by tornado sirens at 6 am. On the other hand it beats NOT waking up to tornado sirens and then waking up to find oneself in Munchkinland.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 11:39 am

      I think the Church should declare today Butter Lamb Saturday, fitting between Good Friday and Easter.

      As to which Church, IDK. Land O Lakes Lutheran?

      Reply
    30. 30.

      RevRick

      April 19, 2025 at 11:40 am

      @Scout211: O Agnus Betty!

      Reply
    31. 31.

      Lyrebird

      April 19, 2025 at 11:42 am

      Thank you Betty C!  I re-watched the classic* Demon Sheep vid right now, boosted my mental health.

      *@Professor Bigfoot: I assume you’ve seen that…

      Reply
    32. 32.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 11:42 am

      @danielx: ​
      Where dis?

      We don’t get those so no sirens. Maybe we have flood sirens for all I know, and earthquakes do not give time, they self-announce.

      During a ridiculously long layover at Midway last fall I had time to note the restrooms double as tornado shelters. So many questions.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      MagdaInBlack

      April 19, 2025 at 11:42 am

      I am pleased to see the annual Butter Lamb is a success.

      Also, Happy National Cat Lady Day to all who celebrate. A big wave to j.d. vance on this special day, too.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      Betty Cracker

      April 19, 2025 at 11:44 am

      @suzanne: Okay, now you have to tell us Mr. Suzanne’s rodent story!

      @Nukular Biskits: No A/C required, but I do put the naked lamb in the fridge to harden up before I make the pelt with the garlic press. The room-temp butter from the garlic press sticks better to a cold lamb.

      Reply
    35. 35.

      Another Scott

      April 19, 2025 at 11:45 am

      @suzanne:

      Reminds me of HappyToast’s Mondrian’s The Simpsons

      :-)

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    36. 36.

      zhena gogolia

      April 19, 2025 at 11:45 am

      I think this one’s your masterpiece!

      Reply
    37. 37.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 11:45 am

      @Lyrebird: ​
       
      She was just too soon. From HP to WH was too much a stretch then but look at the tech, uh, bros now. Lucky us.

      Friend who worked there said on the announcement of Carly’s firing, everybody in the place cheered. “Beloved CEO” was not a crown that fit, evidently.

      Reply
    38. 38.

      Professor Bigfoot

      April 19, 2025 at 11:47 am

      @Lyrebird: I had forgotten that.

      Now I need to forget it again. ;)

      Reply
    39. 39.

      zhena gogolia

      April 19, 2025 at 11:47 am

      I went to a “Good Friday Social Justice Pilgrimage” around our tiny downtown yesterday. I think it has decided me that I can’t do protests. I’m no good at it. Standing around is hard on me — I can’t do it for long periods of time — and chanting is NOT MY THING.

      Reply
    40. 40.

      danielx

      April 19, 2025 at 11:50 am

      @trollhattan:

      Central Indiana, and goddamn it was noisy even if we didn’t get an actual tornado.

      Reply
    41. 41.

      Karen S.

      April 19, 2025 at 11:52 am

      The butter lamb looks great! I love the attention to detail. Also, the story about your little bro and the devil mouse is funny. Thanks for sharing

      I’m making matzo toffee crunch to bring to a Passover seder with friends later. Have a good day, everyone!

      Reply
    42. 42.

      Miss Bianca

      April 19, 2025 at 11:52 am

      Yay, butter lamb! And yay for another hilarious BC story!

      Reply
    43. 43.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 11:55 am

      @danielx:

      Hope things calm the heck down. Nobody needs that mess, like evidently Nebraska endured this week. (⊙o⊙)

      https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c8x81w9x59eo

      Reply
    44. 44.

      David_C

      April 19, 2025 at 12:02 pm

      The panies at Broadway Market would be proud!

      Reply
    45. 45.

      Fair Economist

      April 19, 2025 at 12:03 pm

      I think you should have put on the red eyes, taken a pic, swapped to black eyes, and then served a demon butter lamb masquerading as a normal one.

      Reply
    46. 46.

      skerry

      April 19, 2025 at 12:08 pm

      I always look forward to the butter lamb.

      I had to say goodbye to the Best Dog Ever yesterday. Luke was 16 years old and had recently developed kidney disease. He wasn’t the smartest dog ever but he was pure love. My house is so empty and quiet today.

      Reply
    47. 47.

      Harrison Wesley

      April 19, 2025 at 12:08 pm

      Mouse is alive and well. Got himself a Rodent-1A visa and is working at a golf course near Mar-A-Lago.

      Reply
    48. 48.

      Betty Cracker

      April 19, 2025 at 12:12 pm

      @zhena gogolia: I have no problem with standing around, but I find chanting painful awkward, so I don’t do it.

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Harrison Wesley

      April 19, 2025 at 12:13 pm

      @skerry: My heart goes out to you. When I came home after putting my Spotty down, that one-bedroom apartment was as big and dark as the Grand Canyon at midnight.

      Reply
    50. 50.

      zhena gogolia

      April 19, 2025 at 12:14 pm

      @Betty Cracker: Ditto singing “This Land Is My Land.”

      Reply
    51. 51.

      Central Planning

      April 19, 2025 at 12:22 pm

      @suzanne: We also have a hilarious rodent story however ours involves a chinchilla.

      Reply
    52. 52.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 12:23 pm

      @zhena gogolia:

      I prefer Bohemian Rhapsody.

      Reply
    53. 53.

      WaterGirl

      April 19, 2025 at 12:23 pm

      @skerry: So very sorry to hear that.   tears

      Reply
    54. 54.

      Betty Cracker

      April 19, 2025 at 12:24 pm

      @skerry: I’m so sorry.

      Reply
    55. 55.

      dexwood

      April 19, 2025 at 12:24 pm

       
      @skerry: ​
       I’m sorry for your loss. We happily do whatever we can for our pets all their lives, but the day comes when we do what we must. It’s never easy.

      Reply
    56. 56.

      WaterGirl

      April 19, 2025 at 12:24 pm

      @zhena gogolia: I LOVE that song!

      Reply
    57. 57.

      They Call Me Noni

      April 19, 2025 at 12:24 pm

      Beautiful butter lamb!

      Reply
    58. 58.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 12:25 pm

      @skerry:

      I’m sorry.

      Reply
    59. 59.

      Ohio Mom

      April 19, 2025 at 12:27 pm

      @zhena gogolia: I can’t stand still for long periods of time, my back hurts the next day. So I mosey through the crowd, complimenting people on their lovingly made signs. I don’t chant either, and if it’s too loud, I put in my ear plugs.

      All that said, I am not sure what that protest two weeks ago in downtown Cincinnati accomplished, we barely made the news. Not too many random pedestrians walking by either.

      But until someone comes up with a better idea, I’ll probably be at future protests — today was not free for me and who plans a protest for Easter weekend?

      Reply
    60. 60.

      CaseyL

      April 19, 2025 at 12:28 pm

      That is a lovely butter lamb.

      And, OK, maybe this is weird, but something about its winsome expression and poof of woolly hair atop its head makes me think of Michael Sheen as Aziraphale the Angel in “Good Omens.”

      Good luck to everyone going to one of the protests – stay safe!

      Reply
    61. 61.

      zhena gogolia

      April 19, 2025 at 12:29 pm

      @Ohio Mom: Speaking of strange new customs, there were “Good Friday fireworks” here last night.

      The thing yesterday was kind of a religious service crossed with a protest, so we had to stand and listen to the prayers. Maybe a free-form protest where I could walk around would be better for me.

      Reply
    62. 62.

      RevRick

      April 19, 2025 at 12:31 pm

      @Betty Cracker: Chanting should be reserved for sports teams and Gregorian one-tone melodies.

      Reply
    63. 63.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 12:33 pm

      Xi evidently is playing “New phone, hoo dis?” with Trump.

      “As the Trump administration escalates its trade war, and as China retaliates, the American president and his aides say they are expecting Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, to call.”

      “But Mr. Xi is ghosting Mr. Trump. He has flown instead to Southeast Asia this week to meet with leaders there to try to persuade them to stand with China in the trade war.”

      Reply
    64. 64.

      Harrison Wesley

      April 19, 2025 at 12:34 pm

      @RevRick: There’s a difference?

      Reply
    65. 65.

      Ruckus

      April 19, 2025 at 12:37 pm

      @skerry:

      My phone’s home picture is of Ornery Bastard, my last dog. A rescue from a pet store rescue day, black male cocker spaniel. His actual name was Bud. On our first day he was about the best behaved dog ever. All a ploy to get rescued.

      But.

      He absolutely earned the nickname of Ornery Bastard. But he was also my buddy. Not the best dog I’ve ever had but the best 4 legged buddy. As he aged some of his black hair changed to white – a situation I’m now well aware of myownself. He’s been gone a few years now. I miss that bastard.

      It’s unfortunate that they don’t live a long as us, because they become very good friends and companions. I’m sorry for your loss and for everyone ever in that situation. But it’s life. In all it’s good and all it’s not so much.

      Reply
    66. 66.

      Professor Bigfoot

      April 19, 2025 at 12:39 pm

      @skerry: My sincere condolences for your loss.

      Reply
    67. 67.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 12:40 pm

      @skerry: Very sorry about Luke.

      They deserve more time than they are granted, doggies. A cautionary tale for us all.

      Reply
    68. 68.

      RevRick

      April 19, 2025 at 12:40 pm

      @trollhattan: Today is Holy Saturday and commemorates the Harrowing of Hell. In, for instance, the Nicene Creed it affirms that Christ descended into Hell. Well, what was he doing there? Emptying it.

      I believe in Hell. I just don’t think the census count amounts to much.

      Reply
    69. 69.

      Rob J.

      April 19, 2025 at 12:43 pm

      I’d think that this year, of all years, would be just the year for a psychotic butter-lamb.

      Reply
    70. 70.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 12:43 pm

      On the topic of doggies, just learned out county shelter has new Barks and Recreation program where you can have a playdate with a shelter dog for a day. Clever!

      https://animalcare.saccounty.gov/Pages/Barks-and-Recreation-Program.aspx

      Reply
    71. 71.

      sentient ai from the future

      April 19, 2025 at 12:45 pm

      1am SCOTUS order all over the legal news. it’s a “don’t you fucking move these detainees without giving the courts an opportunity to say something, buster” order.

      7-2, alito and thomas objecting.

      it was regarding some shit going on in the fifth circuit, which is alito’s jurisdiction, where they were about to, again, deport a bunch of people they had not given due process.

      and it sounds like the entire rest of the court pulled rank, because alito was just going to let it happen. this is also probably why everyone ice has been picking up for flimy reasons has been immediately moved to LA or TX, to evade jurisdiction of the courts in this way.

      this is pretty seismic

      Reply
    72. 72.

      Redshift

      April 19, 2025 at 12:49 pm

      Yay, butter lamb!

      Reply
    73. 73.

      SFBayAreaGal

      April 19, 2025 at 12:50 pm

      @suzanne: I really like this.

      Reply
    74. 74.

      Miss Bianca

      April 19, 2025 at 12:51 pm

      @skerry:

      Aw, no. So sorry to hear it.

      Reply
    75. 75.

      SFBayAreaGal

      April 19, 2025 at 12:52 pm

      @Another Scott: I like this one also

      Reply
    76. 76.

      Melancholy Jaques

      April 19, 2025 at 12:54 pm

      @trollhattan:

      Friend who worked there said on the announcement of Carly’s firing, everybody in the place cheered. “Beloved CEO” was not a crown that fit, evidently.

      And yet in the media, she is treated like a sage & savvy business person.

      Reply
    77. 77.

      SFBayAreaGal

      April 19, 2025 at 12:54 pm

      @Lyrebird: When I first saw this ad for Carly, I did a WTF moment.

      Reply
    78. 78.

      Kristine

      April 19, 2025 at 12:58 pm

      Love the lamb. Would’ve loved to have seen the red eyes, but I understand the reluctance.

      Just put a pot of beans in the oven to bake the day away. I really should do a little work outside while the weeds are still small and sparse, but after a few minutes of sun it’s turned grey again and I just can’t work up the will.

      But, I just checked the front yard and caught sight of two male bluebirds. I don’t see them often, so spotting them’s a boost.

      Reply
    79. 79.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 1:02 pm

      Protests

      People are gathering outside the White House right now [Live feed

      Reply
    80. 80.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 1:05 pm

      On the economy, however, the survey showed Trump with 43% approval and 55% disapproval, the first time in any CNBC poll that he has been net negative on the economy while president.

       

      Trump’s Republican base remains solidly behind him, but Democrats, at -90 net economic approval, are 30 points more negative than their average during his first term, and independents are 23 points more negative. Blue collar workers, who were key to the president’s election victory, remain positive on the Trump’s handling of the economy, but their disapproval numbers have shot up by 14 points compared to their average for his first term.

      I’m not going to pretend to understand people who are not Dems.

      Reply
    81. 81.

      Professor Bigfoot

      April 19, 2025 at 1:08 pm

      @Baud: “The South is a place, the Confederacy is a worldview.”

      That worldview is all over the USA, now.

      Reply
    82. 82.

      No One of Consequence

      April 19, 2025 at 1:09 pm

      The eyes are either peppercorns or cloves, and it’s super important to find a pair that match in color and size or the lamb will look psychotic.

      This is why I come to this full-service blog. It’s the little things, like this line, that make it Art.

      Beautiful.
      -NOoC

      Reply
    83. 83.

      Jackie

      April 19, 2025 at 1:11 pm

      BettyCracker, that butter lamb is one of your sweetest looking lamb yet!

      Reply
    84. 84.

      Another Scott

      April 19, 2025 at 1:12 pm

      @Baud: Gaba has charts!

      https://bsky.app/profile/charlesgaba.com/post/3ln67xoarpk2h

      Charles Gaba
      ‪@charlesgaba.com‬

      📣📣 Since the next #HandsOff #HandsOffMedicaid protests are happening today, a reminder that I also have HIGH-RES PDF VERSIONS of these for most House districts!

      These are perfect for printing out to 24″x36″ poster board.

      ACASignups.net/PieCharts

      [ image: Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida & myself holding up one of my healthcare program enrollment pie charts ]

      ‪Charles Gaba‬ ‪@charlesgaba.com‬
      14d

      📣 As promised last night, here’s how many Americans are enrolled in Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare & ACA exchange plans in the *42 House districts* where Republicans won by less than 15 points last fall.

      ALL OF THESE ARE POTENTIALLY FLIPPABLE.

      I’m posting them in order of how close the 2024 margin was:

      April 19, 2025 at 9:19 AM

      Good good.

      (The text is too small to read from any distance, but that’s not necessary to make the point.)

      (via LOLGOP)

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    85. 85.

      Another Scott

      April 19, 2025 at 1:13 pm

      @skerry: :-(  It’s hard.

      Remember the good times.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    86. 86.

      Suzanne

      April 19, 2025 at 1:13 pm

      @Betty Cracker:

      Mr. Suzanne’s rodent story! 

      So Mr. Suzanne’s younger brothers had a pet rat. One day, it crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and Mr. Suzanne — who is an excellent older brother — buried it in the garden.

      Cut forward a couple of weeks, when their mom was working in the garden. Digging around, thought she felt a root….. pulled it out of the ground….. apparently the screaming freakout went on for half an hour.

      Reply
    87. 87.

      Spanky

      April 19, 2025 at 1:14 pm

      @sentient ai from the future:  Funny how Trump’s picks turn out to be the malleable ones.

      Reply
    88. 88.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 1:15 pm

      @Suzanne: ​
       
      As bad days go, that’s a whopper.

      Reply
    89. 89.

      Suzanne

      April 19, 2025 at 1:16 pm

      @trollhattan: My MIL grew up on a farm and is very mild-mannered. She is not easily grossed out or upset.

      Reply
    90. 90.

      Tazj

      April 19, 2025 at 1:16 pm

      Happy to see the butter lamb again. Well done!

      Reply
    91. 91.

      Tazj

      April 19, 2025 at 1:18 pm

      @skerry: I’m sorry. The quiet house is awful.

      Reply
    92. 92.

      schrodingers_cat

      April 19, 2025 at 1:19 pm

      Lost a friend from gradschool to glioblastoma this morning. 3 months from diagnosis to death.

      Reply
    93. 93.

      Citizen Dave

      April 19, 2025 at 1:19 pm

      @danielx: Same just over the county line in Fishers.  We weren’t sleeping super well as our cat decided on staying out all night.  We were listening to the storm coming in, and then a loud, close crack of thunder.  I bolted up, opened the front door and the cat came screaming in.  He loves being out in rain; but draws the line at thunder and lightning.  The rude pre- 6 a.m. mother nature alarm has me in a tired funk today…

      Reply
    94. 94.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 1:20 pm

      @schrodingers_cat:

      My condolences.

      Reply
    95. 95.

      Miss Bianca

      April 19, 2025 at 1:20 pm

      @Suzanne:

      OMG, you’ve just reminded me that as a wee one I, for some reason, decided to dig up a pet gerbil that had Joined The Choir Invisible, in John Cleese’s immortal words, and had been buried (with some ceremony, as I recall) in my mother’s mint patch.

      I can only dimly recall the details of my presenting my findings to my mother, but I do remember mom wasn’t exactly thrilled with my show of forensic enterprise.

      Reply
    96. 96.

      prostratedragon

      April 19, 2025 at 1:21 pm

      Cutest butter lamb yet!

      Reply
    97. 97.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 1:21 pm

      Protesters are showing up in Schaumburg, Illinois to protest

      Reply
    98. 98.

      Salty Sam

      April 19, 2025 at 1:25 pm

      Beautiful Butter Lamb BC-  I love that this has become a Ballon Juice tradition!

      @skerry:   I am so sorry for your loss.  Even when it’s the right thing to do, it is so painful.  Treat yourself kindly.

      @Betty Cracker:  Mouse stories?  My best friend in 2nd grade had a pet mouse- cute little white mouse with red eyes.  We used to let it out of her cage and play with her.  I was SOOO envious- I wanted a pet mouse, but Mom was having none of that sort of nonsense.

      I spent a lot of weekends with my grandfather at his farm.  One Saturday, helping Pop with chores, we hauled a great big old tarpaulin that had been stored in his hay barn for who-knows-how-long.  We unfolded it to air it out, and as we did, the HUGE colony of field mice that had taken up residence scurried out.  There had to have been AT LEAST a hundred mice skittering about.

      i immediately saw an opportunity- a free mouse!  How could Mom say no to that?  I started chasing mice around, trying to catch one.  I heard Pop’s voice saying “I’d be careful, you’re gonna get bit…”

      But I was an experienced mouse handler, from my best friend’s pet store mouse.  As I got a mouse trapped between my hands, I scornfully replied “Oh Pop, mouses don’t bite!”

      Guess what happened next!

      I don’t think I ever saw Pop laugh so hard.

      Reply
    99. 99.

      comrade scotts agenda of rage

      April 19, 2025 at 1:26 pm

      @skerry:

      Thanks for sharing, even the sorrow.

      As fellow animal nuts, we like to share in the joy as well as the sorrow of having these creatures in our lives for an ever so brief period. Losing them is never easy and it never gets easier.

      I know as humans we’re wired somehow to believe in an afterlife so I always imagine our pets are out there somewhere, either waiting for us or floating along supported by the love we gave them during their lifetime.

      And the loving memories we carry with us until we’re gone.

      Reply
    100. 100.

      Baud

      April 19, 2025 at 1:27 pm

      For Betty C

      Controversial DeSantis-Linked Charity’s Zoom Meeting Hijacked by Porn and Nazis

      Reply
    101. 101.

      trollhattan

      April 19, 2025 at 1:28 pm

      @Miss Bianca: ​
      Our previous dog had a bad habit of digging up deceased koi that I occasionally need to dispose of in the garden. Learned to place bricks over any gravesites but later noticed Gracie would try to tunnel to them horizontally. Man, that dog was persistent.

      It became an engineering battle between me and the dog.

      Reply
    102. 102.

      Another Scott

      April 19, 2025 at 1:31 pm

      Meanwhile, …

      https://mastodon.social/@MissingThePt/114365100382170139

      Missing The Point
      @[email protected]

      The Accidental Harvard Letter
      The Accidental Deportation
      The Accidental Tariff on an Uninhabited Island
      The Accidental Disclosure of War Plans to a Journalist
      The Accidental Firings of Nuclear Safety Workers

      Apr 19, 2025, 10:29 AM

      Eleventy million +1s.

      It’s infuriating.

      These are not “accidents”. They are not “mistakes”. These are deliberate, malicious, unconstitutional, immoral, and illegal acts. And they are going to continue until people stand up and honor their oaths and their responsibilities and say NO MORE.

      Grr…

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    103. 103.

      Another Scott

      April 19, 2025 at 1:36 pm

      @schrodingers_cat: I’m sorry.

      Condolences to you and to all who knew and loved them.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    104. 104.

      Karen S.

      April 19, 2025 at 1:36 pm

      @Salty Sam: Your mouse story cracked me up, but so many mice. That would have been an amazing sight!

      Reply
    105. 105.

      They Call Me Noni

      April 19, 2025 at 1:36 pm

      @skerry: Very sorry for your loss.  Our sweet pets take up a lot of space in our hearts and lives so the hole they leave is also big. Had to have my sweet Gizzy kitty put down 18 months ago and I still miss him terribly.

      Reply
    106. 106.

      Redshift

      April 19, 2025 at 1:37 pm

      @Ohio Mom:

      All that said, I am not sure what that protest two weeks ago in downtown Cincinnati accomplished, we barely made the news. Not too many random pedestrians walking by either.

      I think it all adds up. It lets people who aren’t happy with what’s going on know they’re not alone, and maybe they could take action too.

      My friend in Martinsburg, WV finally connected up with her hometown protests today. She would have joined much earlier, but she didn’t even know they existed. After Maddow featured Martinsburg one day, I googled and was able to find news stories about four separate protests that had take place there in the weeks earlier, but maddeningly, couldn’t find contact info for any of them. Then when I checked again this week, I struck gold, and she sent me pictures from today’s!

      Reply
    107. 107.

      prostratedragon

      April 19, 2025 at 1:37 pm

      @suzanne:  That’s hilarious!

      Reply
    108. 108.

      Karen S.

      April 19, 2025 at 1:38 pm

      @schrodingers_cat: I’m so sorry for your loss. A former colleague of mine is dealing with glioblastoma right now. He was diagnosed in November. He’s in hospice now, given two to four months to live. I didn’t know him very well, but I liked him.

      Reply
    109. 109.

      Redshift

      April 19, 2025 at 1:39 pm

      @Another Scott: The “accidental” Harvard letter is so obviously “we can’t admit we’re losing this fight so we’re going to pretend we didn’t really start it.” But since they’re clowns, it just comes of looking more desperate.

      Reply
    110. 110.

      Bulgakov

      April 19, 2025 at 1:44 pm

      Please BC, just one pic of the demon lamb with red eyes – then you can switch them back out for the in-laws.

      Reply
    111. 111.

      wmd

      April 19, 2025 at 1:49 pm

      Yay! I mentioned waiting for this year’s lamb yesterday, and it was delivered!

      This is. full service blog.

      Reply
    112. 112.

      comrade scotts agenda of rage

      April 19, 2025 at 1:50 pm

      @Redshift:

      The ‘Burg!  I’m Martinsburg HS Class of 1979.

      Got outta there as soon as I could.  It’s always been conservative so nice to see people out thumbing their noses at such neighbors.

      Reply
    113. 113.

      prostratedragon

      April 19, 2025 at 1:50 pm

      @trollhattan:

      There actually is a town, Land o’Lakes, WI. Near top of the State, on Upper Penninsula line. Red as all-get-out. Being WI, chance of a Lutheran church high.

      Reply
    114. 114.

      suzanne

      April 19, 2025 at 1:52 pm

      @skerry: I’m so sorry for your loss. Saying goodbye to them is so hard.

      Reply
    115. 115.

      Spanky

      April 19, 2025 at 1:56 pm

      @prostratedragon: Hope Lutheran. Being in Land O’ Lakes, it’s web address is of course hopelutheranlol.org.

      Not accidental, I suspect

      ETA:

      Hope Lutheran Church is located on the border between Land O’Lakes, WI and Watersmeet, MI. It is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

      Sounds very aquatic around there.

      Reply
    116. 116.

      Greg Ferguson

      April 19, 2025 at 1:57 pm

      Superb mouse story.
      Lamb looks great. ✊🤠❤️
      Love you guys…..

      Reply
    117. 117.

      Miki

      April 19, 2025 at 2:00 pm

      @stinger: Betty bought some butter but the butter Betty bought was bitter so Betty bought some better butter but the bitter butter made the better butter bitter.

      Reply
    118. 118.

      Miss Bianca

      April 19, 2025 at 2:02 pm

      @Redshift: what is the “accidental” Harvard letter? Did someone walk back the threats of research funding cuts or something? I’m finding it hard these days to pick out just one fetid fecal matter from the firehose o’ shit coming out of this administration…

      Reply
    119. 119.

      pluky

      April 19, 2025 at 2:04 pm

      @schrodingers_cat: All cancers are bad. Glio is evil.

      Reply
    120. 120.

      zhena gogolia

      April 19, 2025 at 2:06 pm

      @schrodingers_cat: I’m so sorry.

      Reply
    121. 121.

      prostratedragon

      April 19, 2025 at 2:08 pm

       

      @Baud:  Wow, go Schaumberg!

      Reply
    122. 122.

      prostratedragon

      April 19, 2025 at 2:15 pm

      @Spanky:  It would be Missouri, wouldn’t it? Though I’ve heard Wisconsin synod retreats even farther from the real world.

      Reply
    123. 123.

      prostratedragon

      April 19, 2025 at 2:17 pm

      @schrodingers_cat:  Such a brutal thing. My condolences.

      Reply
    124. 124.

      Another Scott

      April 19, 2025 at 2:23 pm

      @Miki: The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s lamb’s sick.

      But she got better quickly.

      [ rofl ]

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    125. 125.

      RevRick

      April 19, 2025 at 2:26 pm

      @Spanky: Missouri Synod Lutherans tend to be singularly humorless, so either they chose it and didn’t pick up on the irony or their website designer is mocking them.

      Reply
    126. 126.

      BlueGuitarist

      April 19, 2025 at 2:56 pm

      Leaving first protest and heading to second.

      Good turnout, better than April 5.

      Reply
    127. 127.

      KrackenJack

      April 19, 2025 at 3:17 pm

      @trollhattan: ​
        Denver International Airport has the same features. I spent way too many hours there pondering the capacity of the restrooms and the effect of an F4 on those windows. I’d be surprised if the restrooms could accommodate all the airside workers on a given shift, let alone the passengers.

      Reply
    128. 128.

      Betty

      April 19, 2025 at 3:22 pm

      Condolences to Schrodinger’s Cat. That diagnosis has to be one of the hardest to hear. Just no chance of surviving.

      Condolences as well to Skerry. May you find solace in happy memories.

      Beautiful lamb, BC. Would have liked to see a picture of the red-eyed version too.

      Reply
    129. 129.

      A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

      April 19, 2025 at 3:25 pm

      @Salty Sam: and they have SHARP little teeth, so the bite hurts. Ask me how I know. I used to rescue mice from one of our cats who was a mighty hunter but didn’t know how to kill. I learned to trap the mouse under a glass or grab it by the tail. Some mice would be terrified and docile, while some lion hearted mice would bite hard. The whole trouble started when the cat originally caught a live mouse, and I traded him for it with some canned catfood. I could see the lightbulb go on over his head.

      Reply
    130. 130.

      dww44

      April 19, 2025 at 3:46 pm

      @Betty Cracker: I attended an event today.  It kinda had a different focus. It was organized by several artists groups and incorporated  art projects with a focus on the disappeared immigrants.  And a cross section of speakers from the community at large  addressing the immigrant situation.  One of the best was a local Latino woman reporting on her visit to the ICE prison in our state.  No chanting at this particular gatbering. Events like this give me hope and a sense of community.

      Reply
    131. 131.

      grammypat

      April 19, 2025 at 5:04 pm

      Accidentally found this Smithsonian Magazine piece about the “Polish Catholic Easter Tradition Beloved in Buffalo” of Butter Lambs just after reading this post.

      Reply
    132. 132.

      sab

      April 19, 2025 at 5:15 pm

      @grammypat: Wow. Betty Cracker’s lambs have been so much better.

      If we tried butter lambs the kids would scream and it would be sitting in the fridge a year later, still “safe”.

      My junior year abroad in the north of England they had chocolate baby Jesuses. White chocolate or milk chocolate.

      Which end do you start at? Bite off the head, or nibble on the feet? Who even buys such things?

      We still have the plastic baby Jesus from the only Mardi Gras King cake I ever bought. I couldn’t throw it away, so still sitting in a plastic toy car I got at Chevron.

      Reply
    133. 133.

      WaterGirl

      April 19, 2025 at 5:23 pm

      @BlueGuitarist:

      Good turnout, better than April 5.

      That’s good to hear.  I sort of expected otherwise since there hasn’t been as much buzz about this one.  Not in my circles anyway.

      Reply
    134. 134.

      David_C

      April 19, 2025 at 5:24 pm

      @grammypat: In Buffalo, everyone is Polish for a weekend. Of course, my children are full-time half Polish.

      Reply
    135. 135.

      Stevo

      April 19, 2025 at 6:56 pm

      That is a tasty looking butter lamb.  Not sure if it is all the Trumpy stress but it looks so good this year.

      Reply
    136. 136.

      VickiR

      April 19, 2025 at 8:57 pm

      Betty, I’ve been a lurker for many years, but I wanted to let you know that I made a butter lamb today following your tutorial and it’s the cutest thing ever. Thank you so much.

      Reply
    137. 137.

      Betty Cracker

      April 20, 2025 at 5:27 am

      @VickiR: That’s awesome! Happy Easter!

      Reply
    138. 138.

      J.

      April 20, 2025 at 6:50 am

      @Betty Cracker: Love this year’s butter lamb — reminds me of Lamb Chop — and the story of the devil mouse.

      Reply
    139. 139.

      Drunkenhausfrau

      April 20, 2025 at 12:16 pm

      Your lamb fills me with hope and makes me smile!  Today is a beautiful spring day!  May Easter recharge all our souls, believers and nonbelievers.  We need strength for the fight!

      Reply

    Leave a Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    If you don't see both the Visual and the Text tab on the editor, click here to refresh.

    Clear Comment

    To reply to more than one person, click the X to save & close the box.

    Primary Sidebar

    On The Road - PaulB - Olympic Peninsula: Salt Creek Recreation Area & Kalaloch Beach
    Image by PaulB (5/10/25)

    Recent Comments

    • Soprano2 on Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread : Shut Up, Comey (May 16, 2025 @ 6:51am)
    • Shalimar on Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread : Shut Up, Comey (May 16, 2025 @ 6:50am)
    • lowtechcyclist on Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread : Shut Up, Comey (May 16, 2025 @ 6:50am)
    • Spanky on Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread : Shut Up, Comey (May 16, 2025 @ 6:49am)
    • Professor Bigfoot on Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread : Shut Up, Comey (May 16, 2025 @ 6:47am)

    PA Supreme Court At Risk

    Donate

    Balloon Juice Posts

    View by Topic
    View by Author
    View by Month & Year
    View by Past Author

    Featuring

    Medium Cool
    Artists in Our Midst
    Authors in Our Midst
    War in Ukraine
    Donate to Razom for Ukraine

    🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

    Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
    Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

    Meetups

    Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
    5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

    Calling All Jackals

    Site Feedback
    Nominate a Rotating Tag
    Submit Photos to On the Road
    Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
    Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
    Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

    Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

    Social Media

    Balloon Juice
    WaterGirl
    TaMara
    John Cole
    DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
    Betty Cracker
    Tom Levenson
    David Anderson
    Major Major Major Major
    DougJ NYT Pitchbot
    mistermix

    Keeping Track

    Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
    Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
    21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
    Search Donations from a Brand

    PA Supreme Court At Risk

    Donate

    Site Footer

    Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Comment Policy
    • Our Authors
    • Blogroll
    • Our Artists
    • Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

    Insert/edit link

    Enter the destination URL

    Or link to existing content

      No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.
        Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

        Email sent!