Home Economics

There's a wonderful article in today's NYT about reviving Home Economics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/opinion/revive-home-economics-classes-to-fight-obesity.html?_r=1

It is aimed at the cooking aspect of home economics which I admit is very important.  So many people simply don't know how to cook anything much less nutrition, meal planning or shopping from a list and budget.

But in addition to cooking, how about sewing? Not everyone will be a skilled seamstress but simple repairs such as replacing a button or repairing a hem.  Actually, it would be wonderful if everyone could learn to use a pattern to make simple garments.  Maybe then we wouldn't see so many people bursting out of their tank tops or with their jeans around their knees. Ack!!

Then their is budgeting and time management.  Home maintenance. Lots of useful information in Home Ec. And while we're at it, how about bringing back shop and auto mechanics??

Postcard to the President

My latest missive to the President was brief and to the point and fit nicely on a post card.  Somehow, President Obama has missed the fact that he is the President of the United States.  I wanted to clarify his position to him.

Dear President Obama,
You won the election. You are the President. Stop being Mr. Nice.  You have Power.  Please start using it.  
Respectfully,

Sleep

Is it just part of growing older to have trouble sleeping?  Right now the only way I can sleep is propped up on 3 pillows or sitting semi-upright in the recliner.  I fall asleep easy enough but wake about 90 minutes later. Some time between midnight and 4 am I will sleep 3 uninterupted hours.  I have some arthritic pain in my shoulder that makes it difficult to get comfortable but I hate to take aspirin or ibuprofen every night, (Tylenol does nothing for it.)  I can take a nap during the day and that helps but oh how I long for the nights of blissful uninterupted sleep!!

Makin' my list, checking it twice

No, I'm not getting a head start on Christmas.  I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow for my annual physical and I want to be sure that I remember what needs to be discussed.  Fortunately it is a short list because other than my CMT, I'm in good health. 

I can't mention health care without thinking of the one in four Texans who have no health insurance.  I have insurance and can go in to see a doc to make sure I stay healthy.  But there are so many in this country who are sick and can't afford to see a doctor.  I had such hopes that we could have universal health care...Evidently we can't afford universal health care but we can afford perpetual warfare.  Got to keep our priorities straight...

A new iron

I had to buy a new iron.  This new iron is only the 3^rd iron I’ve had in 43 years of marriage.  The last iron lasted 25 years and would still be working if I could replace the cord but things today are not made to be repaired, they are made to be replaced.  I suppose replacing every 25 years is not too bad on the landfills.  But still, I’d rather have been able to repair it.  ( One reason it lasted so long may be that I don’t iron much—only with my quilting and sewing.)   There have been improvements in irons in the last 25 year:  It turns itself off if left in the down position after 30 seconds and after 15 minutes in the upright position.  There’s a dot on the side that tells you when it is hot and when it is cool enough to put away.  I seem to have done OK without these improvements but they do seem to make it a bit safer.                

One of the best things about retirement

is that when you need to go to Home Depot, you don't have to go on the weekend!!  Actually, it could be Target or anywhere you need to shop--you can go Monday through Friday during the day and essentially have the store to yourself!! I had to go to Home Depot to arrange for someone to come out and install a new faucet for my kitchen sink.  It would have been a major ordeal on the weekend of waiting for someone who actually knew how to schedule an installation and then standing in a long line waiting to pay for the installation.  But on a Tuesday at 10 AM, it's a piece of cake!!  Well, not actually a piece of cake because the person who was supposed to help me, hadn't been in serviced on the new computer software and we had to find someone who knew how to do it.  But all I could think of was how much worse it would have been on the weekend.

A Letter to the President

Dear President Obama,

I am writing to you today to urge you to end the decade long war in Afghanistan and to remove U.S. troops from Iraq. As we move closer to their removal, there will be immense pressure on you to leave some troops longer. I urge you to resist these pressures and to move steadily and consistently to a complete end to these military involvements.

Respectfully,

I am so distressed over so many things in government today that I feel completely overwhelmed. Social Security and Medicare being dismantled, health care overhaul being shredded, lack of civility, compassion, and compromise in budgeting.  What can I do? Where does one start?  Well, for me right now the thing that tears at me most is the terrible toll these wars are taking on everyone. So I am committing myself to writing one letter each Sunday to President Obama and one to my Congressional Representative letting them know that I vehemently object to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

I wish there were an organization of Old Ladies Against the Wars but I've Googled it and nothing comes up.  I'd even fly me and my electric scooter to Washington if there were any anti-war marches planned but there doesn't seem to be anything there either.

So you do what you can.