I am astounded at the way people dress these days. It seems they go out of their way to be drab and ugly. I suppose the obesity epidemic has something to do with it. Maybe they are unaware of the way they look. Well, let me make it clear: knit is flattering if you are young and fit. If you are not, please understand that your flab is still there and is on full display in your knit stretch pants. And your sagging bosom needs some restraining; what in your youth was firm and attractive is now simply overflowing flab; please don't stetch a knit tank top to the breaking point and think it looks attractive.
It's not just the knits and flab that is so repulsive--it's the lack of style. Aren't there any designers out there with a sense of elegance and style? I wish I still had the old Vogue and Butterick patterns that I used to make my own clothes years ago. And color--what ever happened to color--even the blacks are washed out and faded; half the clothes I see are the color of something that has been chewed up and spit back out.
Doesn't anyone care about their appearance any more?
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
What Black Friday Means to Me
It means that I stay in the black in my own ledger by not buying anything.
It means that it is time to take the autumn decorations down and put up the Christmas decorations.
It means that it is time to address the few Christmas cards that I send out.
It means that we eat Thanksgiving leftovers and I don't cook.
It means that it is time to check on the New Year's Eve Neighborhood progressive dinner and see if they will be coming to my house or if I will be making my SIL's wonderful Seafood Gumbo.
Thought for the Day:
(I thought today's verse very appropriate for the beginning of the Christmas season.)
Proverbs 11:25
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
It means that it is time to take the autumn decorations down and put up the Christmas decorations.
It means that it is time to address the few Christmas cards that I send out.
It means that we eat Thanksgiving leftovers and I don't cook.
It means that it is time to check on the New Year's Eve Neighborhood progressive dinner and see if they will be coming to my house or if I will be making my SIL's wonderful Seafood Gumbo.
Thought for the Day:
(I thought today's verse very appropriate for the beginning of the Christmas season.)
Proverbs 11:25
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving
Well, it's been quite a year since last Thanksgiving but I'm still here plugging away and I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful that we are in good health, employed, and together. I'm thankful that I live in a country where I am free to choose how to live my life.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Things I have learned...so far
I have my 62nd birthday coming up December 5 and I thought this would be a good time to think about the things I have learned so far:
1. It is frequently said that life is not fair but I think in a way it is fair--everyone has their trials, tribulations, worries, disappointments, and losses.
2. Everything is connected; there is a web of living and non-living and it is all intertwined.
3. The old virtues still stand--honesty, kindness, forgiveness, humility, patience.
4. Today is important; yesterday is gone and you may not get a tomorrow. Shed some light today.
5. People are about as happy as they decide to be.
6. Choose to surround yourself with beauty--music, nature, art.
7. We do have a purpose--it is to help.
8. What you send out generally comes back to you.
9. Be kind, gentle, and forgiving both to others and to yourself.
10. Don't just sit there--learn something! We aren't born knowing how to do a whole lot so the only way anyone gets good at anything is to start awful, make a ton of mistakes, and learn.
11. Be interested. Life is about as interesting as you are interested.
12. Laugh...often.
13. Share.
14. Get some rest, take a nap.
15. The borrower really is slave to the lender--get out of debt.
16. Things (and kids) always take longer and cost more than you ever thought possible.
1. It is frequently said that life is not fair but I think in a way it is fair--everyone has their trials, tribulations, worries, disappointments, and losses.
2. Everything is connected; there is a web of living and non-living and it is all intertwined.
3. The old virtues still stand--honesty, kindness, forgiveness, humility, patience.
4. Today is important; yesterday is gone and you may not get a tomorrow. Shed some light today.
5. People are about as happy as they decide to be.
6. Choose to surround yourself with beauty--music, nature, art.
7. We do have a purpose--it is to help.
8. What you send out generally comes back to you.
9. Be kind, gentle, and forgiving both to others and to yourself.
10. Don't just sit there--learn something! We aren't born knowing how to do a whole lot so the only way anyone gets good at anything is to start awful, make a ton of mistakes, and learn.
11. Be interested. Life is about as interesting as you are interested.
12. Laugh...often.
13. Share.
14. Get some rest, take a nap.
15. The borrower really is slave to the lender--get out of debt.
16. Things (and kids) always take longer and cost more than you ever thought possible.
Friday, November 20, 2009
My Own Middle Class Survival Strategies
Morrison at http://alldoorsconsidered.blogspot.com/ has a thoughtful post up about the increasing pressure on the American Middle Class and ways to maintain a middle class life. No longer can one just coast along and expect to maintain a middle class lifestyle. The pressures toward downward mobility are just too strong. Morrison's post got me to thinking What are my strategies for economic survival??
Here are my 7 strategies for middle class survival:
1. Don't retire. You may have to change to a less physically demanding type work or work fewer hours but do not cut off your source of income.
2. Get out of debt. I like Dave Ramsey's baby step approach but there are many other debt reduction plans. Stop borrowing/charging now. Embrace creative frugality.
3. Do everything you can possibly do to maintain your family's physical and mental health. Diet, exercise, and attitude.
4. Learn useful skills. No one is born knowing how to do these so get in there and learn:
How to cook
How to sew and mend
Gardening
5. Combining households--Saves money and keeps away loneliness.
6. Develop community ties--church, gardening society, local businesses.
7. Be prepared to take care of yourself in an emergency or natural disaster. Food, water, medication, fuel.
If we do these things and the economy continues to worsen, we have a chance; if the economy improves, we've lost nothing and gained much.
Thought for the day:
Dig a well before you are thirsty. Chinese proverb
Here are my 7 strategies for middle class survival:
1. Don't retire. You may have to change to a less physically demanding type work or work fewer hours but do not cut off your source of income.
2. Get out of debt. I like Dave Ramsey's baby step approach but there are many other debt reduction plans. Stop borrowing/charging now. Embrace creative frugality.
3. Do everything you can possibly do to maintain your family's physical and mental health. Diet, exercise, and attitude.
4. Learn useful skills. No one is born knowing how to do these so get in there and learn:
How to cook
How to sew and mend
Gardening
5. Combining households--Saves money and keeps away loneliness.
6. Develop community ties--church, gardening society, local businesses.
7. Be prepared to take care of yourself in an emergency or natural disaster. Food, water, medication, fuel.
If we do these things and the economy continues to worsen, we have a chance; if the economy improves, we've lost nothing and gained much.
Thought for the day:
Dig a well before you are thirsty. Chinese proverb
Monday, November 16, 2009
Unemployment Graphic
This is a real eye-popper:
http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html?ref=patrick.net
The number of unemployed in terms of absolute numbers and as a percentage of the population is still growing; they will not be spending in the 70% of the U.S. economy that is Consumer Spending. With real estate still going down and the commercial real estate bubble still to burst, this Great Recession is far from over.
http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html?ref=patrick.net
The number of unemployed in terms of absolute numbers and as a percentage of the population is still growing; they will not be spending in the 70% of the U.S. economy that is Consumer Spending. With real estate still going down and the commercial real estate bubble still to burst, this Great Recession is far from over.
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