Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Balloons, Budgets and More

Sorry for the delay -- working on finishing this and that, and time got away from me. 

    After staying at home for two weeks, we now have commitments for most of this week... including appraisals and a luxurious High Tea at the Brown Palace Hotel. (laa-dee-dah!) And Valentine's Day. Fortunately, I'm feeling much better, after the flu -- but I run out of steam very quickly. So does the Brick. (I suspect he got some of my flu, just a lighter version.) 

     Three of our four kids now have the flu, too. Poor babies. These hearts are flying their way -- with love.

Buying groceries this weekend at Safeway was a revelation. I would swear that prices have gone up AGAIN -- and I got nailed twice, once for spoiled meat and once for overcharges. (Yes, I am going back to customer service.) I am also very tired of hearing about the budget deficit and 'oh-boo-hoo, we're going broke in the U.S., too.' Congress and the WH -- didn't you notice the excess spending before this?!?

Maybe Congress should try Obama's (er, Ray Stevens') budget plan:

On the other hand, no one seems to have noticed any Chinese spy balloon(s), initially. A private citizen was the first to point them out. Go figure. 

Meanwhile:   

(extra videos this week -- not sure why)

Morgan Freeman gives an amazing interview about black lives mattering -- and other issues. Yay for PEOPLE!

Can the bank 'foreclose' on you, even if you're paying the mortgage? It depends...but the sad answer is yes. And they're doing it.   (From Millenial Revolution)

Airline secrets, passed on by flight attendants. I thought the scarf tip particularly clever.

Mask... or no mask? The results are in...and they're interesting.

1,850 boxes of sensitive documents moved??  Boy oh boy oh boy...

Surviving in the Arctic -- some incredible stories here.

Bonnie Raitt wins 'Song of the Year' at the Grammys! I love this artist...but am surprised she beat out so many others with this simple song. (I love the realistic rasp of Raitt's 73-year-old voice, too...honest and wonderful.)

                                                                        Just Like That

Did you know -- you can get 4 free Covid tests sent to your home address? (It took me maybe 30 seconds...and yes, it was free.)

A statue of (they think) Hercules -- found in a former Roman sewer!

50 books written by a homesteader -- or about homestead living.  (From Little House Living) And while you're there:

Homemade dry Onion Soup Mix.   (It's gluten-free, too.)

'What my mother taught me about cooking.'   (From Treehugger)

Living in a plane. We haven't considered this, but an airplane hangar has come to mind, after seeing the Top Gun sequel.

Recipes for a 'wartime' (WWII) high tea.  (From Lavender and Lovage)

An easy way to copy the Big Mac's sauce -- three ingredients!

13 weird discoveries in Ireland:

"Greens -- what could go wrong?"  A closer look at green dyes by Barbara Brackman's Material Culture.

Answers to some quirky travel mysteries -- by the pilots involved in them. (Example: where do you store the body of a passenger who dies mid-flight?)

Tangerine cake -- yum!

Valentine's Day presents -- that mayyybe could have been improved. (Perhaps some of these would be better choices.)

And if you need a little (silly) boost to today, try this -- Ray Stevens' Mississippi Squirrel Revival:

Have a good week.