Thanks to Cavebear at Mark's Mews, I now am able to post pictures again! Silly me, it was the "old editor" vs. the "new editor". Whatever. I figured it had to be operator error, at any rate. So thank you, Cavebear, very, VERY much! Be sure to stop by Mark's Mews - especially if you like kitties. I happen to be more of a dog person than a cat person by nature, but I love kitties, too. Better than hubby does, which is why I no longer have kitties at my house. I will have to track down pictures of my kitties. They were so sweet! Norman was a huge, smokey-gray colored tom with green eyes. Ava was a petite, black and tan tabby with blue-green eyes. Then there was Fred. Fred was a stray with a broken tail who hated men but loved buttered popcorn. Midnight was another stray. All silky black with yellow-green eyes, and missing an incisor, or "canine" tooth. Muffin was a sweet tortishell barn cat that kept the mice out of my grain, along with Tiger - her little orange tabby kitten who sat on my shoulder while I fed the pigs and horses each morning, until he grew too big to hang on without seriously clawing into my shoulder. I miss them all, but not cleaning the cat box.
I have had many pets over the years. Dogs, cats, horses, a donkey, pigs, chickens, turkeys - well, I guess they weren't all "pets". We only have two dogs now, Jasmine and Deogie. Not sure if I shared this photo before, this is Georgia, a puppy from our last litter:
The worst thing about having puppies at your house is knowing they will all have to go to new homes.
Christmas is coming up. If you don't want to be alone for the holidays and are willing to make a friend for life, be sure to stop by your local animal humane society.
For some reason my blog's compose function is acting weird. So that means no pictures this post! Whatever. What I really wanted to tell everyone and anyone who reads my blog, is there is a new program that's sponsored by Xerox. I have not been paid to tell anyone, and I'm not endorsing their products, but I think this is a really cool idea.
Visit this site, http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html, and you will be able to pick out a card to send to our troops overseas. Xerox will print your card and mail it It's a really great way to say thank you. If you'd like to see some of the messages that others have already sent, there is a "Messages of the Week" link, and also a "Messages From the Troops" link as well, so you can read their responses.
Don't forget to grab their free widget, so you can help to spread the word about this great program. With two nephews in the military right now, I can tell you for sure that there are a lot of our people serving in the military who don't get mail or care packages from home. When our boys get cookies in the mail from Grandma Wahl, they share with their buddies - those cookies are really popular! So why not send a card? No baking or mess is required to do that and you will really brighten someone's day.
Philippians 2:3
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory;
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
If we all followed that, wouldn't the world be a better place?
If you are going to follow, you better be sure you know who you are following...
and have the common sense to know when it's time to break away from the flock...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddebold/ / CC BY 2.0
And know when it's time to just lead, even if you are afraid...
Joan of Arc
If you are going to lead others, be aware of what (or Who) is really leading you.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ihar/ / CC BY 2.0
Psalm 143:9-11 (New International Version)
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I
hide myself in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
Of course, money doesn’t hurt. If it’s applied where it’s needed. If it’s used as what it is: a tool. Not something that should be worshipped, and certainly not the cure for all that ails us.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also.
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and Mammon.
—Matthew 6:19-21,24
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbalaji/ / CC BY 2.0
Ecclesiastes 5:10Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
And this is probably one of the most misquoted verses from the Bible, note that it is not "money is the root of all evil", but "the love of money":
1 Timothy, 6:10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs.
Our government is in charge, but it is also there to serve
the people of our country. If it is serving mammon, how can it possibly serve us as well, let alone God?Not that it can always be trusted as the best source in the world, see how it’s defined on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammon.
It gives what I believe to be an accurate definition.
Here’s what I found on http://www.gospel.com/ regarding mammon:
Mammon - a Christian perspective Mammon represents greed and selfishness. This verse clearly states that no Christian can have any part in the pursuit of mammon; that would be an impossible contradiction, since the values of God and mammon are directly opposed.
There is a way to solve at least some of the problems in the US, but it would require people to actually work – some who haven’t had to work a day in their lives, thanks to our wonderful welfare system.
To figure our what we need to do to fix our future, look to our past. While it may have been necessary to do something, the stimulus plan was the wrong line of action to take. As any action taken at all, it came far too late.
When mortgages were given out to anyone who’d walk into the bank, I knew there would be trouble. When we considered selling our home and the bankers told us we were qualified for more than we knew we could afford, I knew that bubble would have to burst sooner or later. Especially when the house my husband paid $36,000 for ten years ago was now valued by the bank to be $117,000.
To quote Wikipedia’s article, New Deal, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal#cite_note-Reed-37):
When the Gallup poll in 1939 asked, 'Do you think the attitude of the Roosevelt administration toward business is delaying business recovery?' the American people responded 'yes' by a margin of more than two-to-one. The business community felt even more strongly so"1
Treasury Secretary, Henry Morgenthau, angry at the Keynesian spenders, confided to his diary May 1939: "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and now if I am wrong somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosper. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say after eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started. 2 And enormous debt to boot."
1Reed, Lawrence W. Great Myths of the Great Depression Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
2Unemployment in fact fell by half, from 22% in 1932 to 11% in 1939. Gene Smiley, "Recent Unemployment Rate Estimates for the 1920s and 1930s," The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Jun., 1983), pp. 487–493, esp. p 488
There are people out of work, while at the same time we still have a ton of roads out there with enormous potholes. I realize the stimulus package did include some money for the states, in Minnesota some was allocated to DOT projects; but what about that huge, unavoidable pothole that is inevitably going to cause a broken tie-rod or something in my van?
Oh, yeah, there was that Cash-For-Clunkers program, but my van is already paid for, and with a husband who hasn’t held a permanent, full-time job in over a year it just wasn’t feasible. Why on earth would I trade a vehicle that’s paid for and runs to extend myself beyond my means? Because the government says it’s okay, of course! Isn’t that the thinking that got us into this mess to begin with?
Another thing that the currently unemployed could be doing (especially the construction workers and contractors), is repair on many of those bank-owned repossessed homes. But wait, that would mean that those banks would have to reinvest some of the stimulus money back into the working class. Isn’t that what it was intended for? But then they won’t earn any interest on that money they’ve just loaned to you.
Instead, they’d rather allow those homes to depreciate further, fall further into disrepair, and be an open target for vandalism.
Why couldn’t they swap housing in exchange for the service of someone who’d be glad to make the house appear “lived in”, which would defray vandalism? They person who lives in the bank-owned house would of course need to maintain it – by mowing the lawn, keeping the house clean and ready to sell. Heck, with that kind of deal that person might even be able to afford a down payment on that same home.
As for childcare, I’ve long thought that the problem with affordable childcare and elderly homelessness could be solved in part by one solution: Hire an elderly person to be a live-in nanny. Some of those insolent brats might learn a little respect at the same time, wow, wouldn’t that be a bonus!
I have visited plenty of nursing homes to know that there are a lot of people who either don’t have family or just plain don’t get any visitors. I also know that when I’ve brought my kids to the nursing home, they gain about 30 new grandparents.
But then again, I know how that would go. The smart-aleck kid who thinks he knows it all might just get a spanking, because that’s what I got from that older generation when I was a kid who misbehaved. Then Child Protective Services would get involved, and the nanny would go to jail. At least she’d be fed, clothed, and would have a warm bed at night.
Obituary of an Old Friend
We are mourning the loss of a beloved old friend who recently passed away. His name was Common Sense.
Common Sense lived a long life but died in the United States from a vicious contagious disease. He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes and factories, helping folks get the jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, frivolous lawsuits, and ludicrous verdicts held no power over Common Sense.
He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in from the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by a simple and sound financial policy. Don't spend more than you earn. Common Sense also lived by other time-tested strategies like: The adults are in charge and not the kids, and it's okay to come in second or third.
A veteran of the Great Depression and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends such as body piercing, 'whole language' and 'new math'.
But his health declined when he became infected with the I'm not responsible for my own actions and It's alright if it feels good viruses. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers.
His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.
It declined further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents and get their permission when their children were given mind-altering drugs or birth control pills; and when universities turned into cesspools of debauchery and socialist propaganda.
Common Sense lost his will to live when criminals received better treatment than their victims, the Ten Commandments became contraband, and priests molested young boys. When a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee is hot, and was awarded a huge settlement; and when the president sold security related technology to a hostile nation, Common Sense fell into a coma.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of consciousness, but was kept informed of new questionable regulations, such as thought control and partial birth abortion. Finally, when another president, claiming to staunchly protect the country from terrorist atrocities, yet allowing the same villains to invade the country through borders that are strangely very penetrable; being fully aware of what the grave consequences of such deliberate and ominous neglect can be, Common Sense died of sudden cardiac arrest.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Love; his daughter, Responsibility; and his sons, Diligence and Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers, Deception, Greed and Ignorance.
Not many attended his funeral, because so few noticed he was gone.
I think everyone's been tightening their belts lately, but what about those whose belts are already too tight?
I got a call from my nephew the other day. He lost his job, and is now living out of his car.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/ / CC BY 2.0
My sister died a week and a half before her son's second birthday. When he was very young, he lived with my mother and I. Mom remarried the same year I moved away and got married. My nephew moved up north with my mom and my stepfather, but got into trouble up north while living with them.
He was told he could go to live with his dad, so he did. Aside from taking my nephew's monthly checks from my sister's death benefits without setting anything aside for college, his father was selling meth and stealing food to get by. Where else would he go?
I insisted he move in with me. He was seventeen, and would be starting his senior year of highschool in the fall. Everything was fine, for a while.
Falling in with the wrong crowd, my nephew dropped out of school, where he was taking International Baccalaureate math classes, and stole more cars over the course of the summer than I can count on both hands. I told him if he was going to get into trouble with the law, he would not be able to live with me. I had three little boys looking up to him. How could I allow it?
He's 26 years old now, and has a felony record for car theft.
And there's virtually nothing I can do to help. I can't give him a job, and no one is hiring. Our family of five is living in a 100+ year old, 785-square-foot cabin with one bathroom, no laundry room, outdated wiring and a mold problem.
So what could I do? I have no money to help him with. My husband hasn't had full-time employment in over a year. I told him the names of all the emergency resource centers I could think of, like the United Way's First Call for Help, and the Minnesota Workforce Center.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brownpau/ / CC BY 2.0
Believe it or not, there's a man underneath that snow.
Something is broken in this country, and it's going to take more than handing money over to already-rich bank executives to fix it.
There are houses standing vacant in virtually every community in this nation, but we still have homeless people living outside in the winter.
Restaurants throw away garbage cans full of food every day, but there are entire families going without meals right next door to you. And you might not even realize it.
When your teenagers are insisting that they need that new pair of designer jeans or shoes they've been eyeing at the mall, book some time for your family to volunteer at the local emergency shelter or resource center so they can learn the difference between what they need and what they want.
There are so many things that we as a community can do to help this country out the hole we're in - socially, anyway. Even with the limited resources I have, I try to help where I can. Usually with my time, even though that seems to fall short most of the time. But what about those who have a lot, but never seem to care about helping others?
If you are reading this and feel guilty, do something! Even if it's just donating an extra box of mac & cheese to the local food shelf. If you can't get out of the house to help someone, make some quilts for a shelter.
We shouldn't be depending on the government to play nursemaid or act as a parental unit. We should take care of our own if we can.
I finally figured out why I wasn't getting responses to my "items offered" posts on the local Freecycle.org web groups. Silly me, my emails were directed to my Yahoo account, which I hardly ever use anymore since I switched to our local service provider for DSL. I guess that will mean I have another account to check, but that's ok - I like getting email from real people that actually have a need for the stuff I no longer have a use for. Much better than getting spammed by weirdos who are promising to make me "irresistible to the ladies with my manhood". Who on earth sends that crap, anyway? Even if I were a man looking for a woman, I wouldn't respond to that sort of marketing.
At any rate, I now have hopefully found a home for my old, cutsey watering-can lamp with butterflies that never remotely matched my decor (a gift from a former co-worker, Will - if you are reading this, the gesture was really appreciated, but I simply have no room & it didn't "fit in" with anything else I own). Also, a fly mask for horses that I no longer have will now be much more useful at it's new home - where someone actually has horses. Stuff like that is more trouble to sell on eBay than it's worth, if it even sells at all.
I'm getting closer to having my storage unit cleaned out, & it feels great! So if you are in the same boat & have too much on hand (or if you have a need for something & you wouldn't mind being on the re-using end of the recycling chain), check out your local Freecycle.org group & help keep useful stuff out of landfills :)
"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we
faint not."
- Galations 6:9
Oh, I almost forgot - update on the deer: it's currently at the butcher's & in processing. Nice to know it's not going to waste!
