President Obama's speech on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

This evening President Obama will give a speech outlining his plan for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.  I am worried.  In all probability, he will plan to remove 10,000 by the end of this year. That still leaves about 123,000 troops still there and another 100,000 contractors (according to those who should know).  10,000 is not nearly enough. We should have 30,000 (the surge) out by the end of the year, another 50,000 out by the end of 2012, and the remaining 50,000 by the end of 2013.  Cut the $$$ off to the contractors over the same period.  End the nation building in Afghanistan and start the nation building at home.  If anyone wants to support charity to Afghanistan, I'm sure they can find organizations doing charitable work there to donate to. 

I get extremely annoyed when I hear that we have to stay in Afghanistan because Pakistan has nuclear weapons.  So, are we going to stay until they don't have nuclear weapons??

I will be watching the speech tonight.  I am prepared to be very disappointed.  I wish I knew of an organization like Old Ladies Against the Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia.....I guess the acronym would be too long...

Paris after Midnight

We went to see it Saturday evening and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The story delves into the way that people look back onto another era as a golden age.  Some see the 1950's as a better time and others look at the Victorian age as a golden time.  I know people who think this way but I certainly don't.  I can't see why any woman would want to live in a time where there was no birth control or no antibiotics, where women could not pursue advanced education or a profession, where she had to have her husband's permission for financial matters.  No thanks.

If you want to see a good movie--beautiful Paris and an interesting story--Paris after Midnight is a nice evening's entertainment.

Painting Dilemma

We have been in this house almost 8 years and some of the walls really need painting.  The problem with painting is that you can never paint just one wall because that one freshly painted wall makes the one next to it look grungy.  It will look grungy and need painting even if it looked perfectly acceptable just before you painted the first wall. So you paint the second wall which makes the next one look forlorn and in need of paint and before you know it you have been sucked into a major painting project.  I've considered just learning to live with it but I know me--I'll decide that it won't be too bad to paint just that one little wall...I'll buy just enough paint for that one little wall...How much time and mess can painting one little wall create...Here we go again...

Ruthless!!---OUT!!!

I am cleaning out kitchen cabinets, the linen cabinet, and my clothes closet.  And I am being utterly ruthless.  If it isn't used, doesn't fit, or I just don't want it--out it goes!!  From the kitchen (among other things) I found 2 lids to pots I haven't had in a couple of decades and which don't fit anything else--OUT.  Linens included ratty towels, threadbare sheets, and torn pillow cases--OUT!!  I have clothes that are too big and shoes that I can't (or won't) wear, purses with broken clasps or broken straps---OUT!!

JMM will have a load to take to Goodwill.

I am so pleased to get all this clutter out of my way and get things clean and organized. The down side is that I am stirring up so much dust.  Who would have thought there was so much dust in one's closet!!

Household improvements

Two items on my WTHIPO (When the House Is Paid Off) list recently were taken care of.  I had the carpets and a/c vents steam cleaned.  And I bought new furniture for the living room--new couch, 1 comfy reading chair, 2 end tables, coffee table, 2 table lamps, and 2 floor lamps.  All without touching my emergency fund.  It looks really nice if I say so myself.  I haven't decided what to save up for next on the WTHIPO list--maybe the grandfather clock repair or the sewing machine cabinet refinishing.

Getting the house in tip top shape is such a benefit of retirement.  Things that I have not had time to do for years can be tackled a little bit each day--cleaning out old files, scrubbing tiles in the kitchen, organizing cabinets and closets.  I love to have things organized and orderly!!

These guys give scum a bad name

Dominque Strauss-Kahn
Anthony Weiner
Arnold Schwartzenegger
Newt Gingrich
John Edwards
To be updated periodically...

Wonder why I can't think of scummy women in the league???

Why this blog is a Palin free zone

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Retirement Cooking

All my life I have worked and cooking was just part of the second shift of housework, cooking, laundry, etc.  I managed to keep us all fed and no one died of malnutrition. You work, you cook, you clean up the kitchen, you go to bed, and get up and do it all over again.  My mother thought of cooking as frying a meat and opening a can of green beans.  Add to that, my dear husband looks askance at anything new and vegetables means corn or green beans.  The good side of this is that I developed a rotation of meals that he would eat and it required very little thought..  The down side is that it was b o r i n g.

Now that I am retired, I have time, energy, and inclination to cook new stuff!! Not only that but I have discovered Williams Sonoma and what a difference having good cooking equipment makes. And there is a wonderful new Whole Foods within reasonable driving distance. I am having a blast!!

My latest cooking adventure will be a frittata brunch. The frittata will have red onions, yellow bell peppers, sweet Italian sausage, and fresh mozarella cheese.  I bought a 10" Calphalon skillet to make it in.  We will have melons and berries and toasted, buttered sour dough bread.  I can't think what to serve to drink though.  Any suggestions??