Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Let's get serious

Okay, I have to get this off my chest. I am so sick and tired of people ragging on President Obama about not having fixed the economy yet. He's been in office for just over sixty days. He inherited a mess that will take many years to unravel. Unless he really is a superhero, I don't see how this could all miraculously clear up in a couple of months.

I have been doing a bit of research into the deficit. As it turns out, the deficit under President Bush was HUGE, but no one knew that because he kept the cost of the war off the books. How does one hide that kind of cost? It's like he was a cheating husband with a secret credit card. Unfortunately, it came to light, and now we are all stuck with the bill. President Obama did not give us the cost of the war. He did not give us the AIG mess. He did not give us the very sorry state of education in the United States. Now, as our president, he is trying to fix it, and he is being vilified for it. I think of it as this: He's one of those guys who spins plates on sticks in the circus. He has several sticks and he has to get all of the plates spinning at once. Then, he has to keep running back and forth to keep the plates spinning. It's a big job. The very least the Republicans could do would be to listen to him, and if they don't like what he is saying, they need to come up with a plausible plan. You can't stand on the corner yelling about how bad something is if you don't have the faintest notion of how to fix it yourself.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Happy Spring!

Happy First Day of Spring, everybody! We had lovely weather today after waking up to a dusting of snow on the ground. We had to do our grocery shopping today, which is always very busy and exhausting. The kids got some new cards (Pokemon and Chaotic), and Noah got to spend his birthday money. He got $30! He got a five pack of Hot Wheels cars and a Pop-Up Playset. He made his decision very quickly and easily, so I know he is happy with what he got.

I got a book of knitting motifs at the library. Ooh, the fun I am going to have with this! I got a pattern for Chullo hats from Knit Picks. I like the patterns that came with the kit, but I wanted a little more variety. I am just itching to cast on and play! These hats are going to be for the kids' First Day of Winter gifts. It's a good thing I have all summer to work on them.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Back Again!

I had the wonderful chance to talk to a dear friend from college today. We hadn't talked in years. I was told that I haven't posted to my blog for a very long time, so he didn't know what was going on in my life these days. Imagine my shock and surprise to hear that someone was actually reading this! It was very nice to know. So, here you go, another stimulating blog post. I am going to try to get back at least once a week to let everyone know what is going on.

Right now, we are receiving packages of seeds every few days. Jim started some herbs in the greenhouse the other day. I am determined to have an herb garden this year. There is nothing like fresh parsley or cilantro to make just about anything taste better. We will be starting tomatoes, peppers, etc. soon. I am getting very excited. I miss gardening. I miss good, fresh food. The good news is that we should be able to put in peas in a few weeks. Let the games begin!

We are almost done with lambing for the year. Usually, we wouldn't even be started yet, but last summer didn't go so well and the rams were never separated. Therefore, we started having lambs in January. We suffered a few losses at the beginning, but the rest made it, thank God. I am hoping that the bigger boys will be able to go to market for Easter. Otherwise, they will all wait until fall to go. Either way is fine with me, as long as they do well. We will have to get out within the next few weeks and build some serious fence to keep them in. We promised Jacob that he wouldn't have to spend his summer running after sheep every day. He's skinny enough as it is.

I know you are dying to know what I'm knitting right now. Well, I am about 12 inches away from being finished with an Aran sweater for Jim. Ironically, the pattern is called The Happy Husband by Janet Szabo. I wanted to knit it for him secretly, but there is no way I could do enough while he is at work or sleeping to have it finished in this lifetime. It's a great sweater to knit, it's just involved and BIG. I will post a picture next time.

So, there you go, you-know-who-you-are. Drop by and see me often!