Two Good Books

Kessler, Ronald. In the President's Secret Service. Excellent, informative. Who would have thought that nice Jimmy Carter was such a twit!

Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. Excellent. While I understand that following natural disasters unfortunate things happen, I am beyond appalled that a man could be arrested in his own home by men in varying states of uniform and without identifying themselves, taken to a prison without being allowed to notify anyone of his arrest, and kept without any legal process for weeks.

I got both of these from the library; check and see if your library has them.

Vacation Plans

I am taking a week of vacation October 12-16. We are not going away so I am planning a few things that will make a pleasant week.

1. I want to take a trip to Galveston and eat seafood either on the wharves or on the seawall. I want to see how the island is recovering from Hurricane Ike.

2. The Quilt Festival will be going on at the convention center. It is usually a pleasant (but humbling) morning.

3. There is a new branch of the Natural Science Museum that has just opened. It may be interesting.

4. One day I want to take a picnic to Brazos Bend State Park.

5. Shopping--clothes, linens, an electric blanket

I'm beginning to wish I'd never heard of

Health Care Reform. I'm really unhappy with the idea of the IRS fining you if you don't have health insurance. But then I'm really unhappy with any bill the insurance industry is happy with. I look at the mess we got into when the government decided that everyone should own a home. I look at FEMA or take a trip to the Post Office and decide that most likely health care will get worse the more the government gets involved. One thing is for sure, there will be more money going out of my pocket. We are a two high income couple and we are considered fair game any way the health care debate goes.

Meat, milk, and eggs

I'm not a vegetarian--I wish I were but I'm not. For many years, out of frugality I stretched meat by making it part of casseroles and stews and I still do this. But I have been limiting meat recently to meat that has been raised without antibiotics or hormones and as far as I know raised under humane conditions. Two years ago I switched to milk that comes from cows that are not injected with hormones or antibiotics. Just this year I changed to eggs that are from chickens that are not treated with hormones or antibiotics and are free range. These changes are more expensive but the taste is so much better and I hope my purchases reflect my desire that animals be treated in a humane manner.

Mortgage Refinance Scams

There have been several articles out lately about companies that scam people with offers to refinance their mortgages. They contact people by phone or mail with offers to lower the interest rate, lower the payment, get government aid, all for 3 easy payments of only $1500. Yes, you too can send in your money to a someone you've never heard of, has no office, no BBB rating and feel good because--> they have a web site.... While I think these scammers should be lined up against a brick wall and machine gunned, I have to say the people who have sent in money bear responsibility also. Are they really so naive? I am dumbfounded by the people who take out a $300,000 loan with an income of $30,000/yr and are surprised to find that they can't pay the payments. (I'm certainly not absolving the banks who targeted the lower income areas although I am aware of how our government policy encouraged them to do it.) Then these same people who took out the $300,000 loan on a $30,000 income and can't make the payments turn to scammers who get $4500 out of them in the attempt to re-finance the home that they couldn't afford in the first place. Come on now, if it sounds too good to be true, in all probability it isn't legit. There have been con men and there have been fools from the beginning of time. Perhaps that is why Proverbs tells us that "The fool and his money are soon parted."

Thought for the Day:
There is only one corner of the universe you can change, and that is yourself, but in changing that corner, you change the universe. Chinese proverb

aaaah chooooo

Ragweed. Itching eyes, drippy nose. Claritin & Puffs. aaaaah.....cho.....

Hoarders

http://www.aetv.com/hoarders/video/

I am just amazed at this. While I understand that they have mental health problems, there are 2 things I really don't understand--Where do they get the money to buy all that stuff?? Credit cards maxed out?? and Why are their family members so passive about it? Why do they continue to live the hoarder?? Patty's husband and Bill's wife both look perfectly able to shovel stuff out or clean out that disgusting refrigerator. Why would you let your children live in that squalor? I'd be gone in about 10 seconds.