Morrison

I have been thinking quite a bit about Morrison who blogs at All

Doors Considered.  She is 60 and her husband is 55.  They are the poster people for what is happening in this The Long Recession.  They are probably better off than most their age because they have savings, no debt, a paid for house, and most of all they are better off than most because Morrison is paying attention.  But because she is paying attention, she is worried, very concerned.  Employment is the key and the fact is there just isn’t enough.  Add in age discrimination and she has good reason to be worried.  Currently her husband has a job but he was injured on the job and who knows how long the job will last.  Morrison is smart, she has found health insurance for them at the lowest cost but with a high deductible and she has found prescription drugs at rock bottom prices. But then again, one bad accident, one serious illness, what happens then??  

There are days when Morrison is down, she’s worried with good reason.  The rules of the game have been changed.  In fact, she thought she was playing one game and all of a sudden, she finds it’s not just new rules—it’s a whole different game.  Then there are days when she is happy to be alive and well, happy to cook good inexpensive food, enjoying the beauty of upstate New York.  Morrison is a fighter though.  She may be down but you can bet those mental wheels are cranking out ways to cope, ways to get a handle on the situation, ways to get and give joy in life.  Here’s to Morrison and all the other Morrisons who are struggling and living through The Long Recession.

9/11 Overdose

It was a terrible thing.  It is over. I have had enough of the 24/7 9/11.

Ready to evacuate

OK, the active fires are one county away so I have the house and car titles, the insurance papers, checkbooks, and credit cards packed in the van. The cats are inside and the carriers are ready; cat food and litter in the van. All our pictures are on a portable hard drive in the safety deposit box at the bank. Suitcases with clothes and shoes, quilts and pillows are ready to move. Portable radio and batteries, camera. DH medicine.
I am on a first name basis with Wendy at the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. She says that the smoke which came rolling in about 90 minutes ago is from the fires in Montgomery county and that there are no fires currently in our area.

What am I forgetting to get ready if we do have to evacuate?     

A Cool Day

This morning the temperature was in the low 60's!! This is the first time that has happened since May.  And today's high temperature is only 90!!  The humidity is very low (well, low for the Texas Gulf Coast).  So pleasant when I was out trimming the roses this morning.  Even the cats were frisking about.

Another Cool thing about today is the whiz of hummingbirds at the feeders. I could see 4 at one feeder and 5 at the other.  There were more but they just move too fast to count.  They love our feeders, butterfly weed, and purple salvia.  They are gathering along the coast before their migration to Central America.

The last Cool thing is my lemon cake which is out of the oven, cooling on the counter, waiting for the lemon glaze.



Thought for the Day:

I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.  Martha Washington

 

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!!