Week before last, a small crack developed on my laptop screen. "How in the world did that happen??" said the Brick. Truth is: I don't know. I've been traveling with it some, but didn't notice anything.
The crack lengthened. Next thing I noticed was the cursor, which seemed to have a mind of its own. It would zoom off in all directions, opening and closing pages...and driving me crazy, trying to finish up reports. (The 'firefly effect' was due to it being a touch screen, the Brick says.) First we considered buying a new screen -- but it would cost only about a hundred dollars less than the Best Buy laptop the Brick found, thanks to Black Friday.
It arrived last week, and the Brick has been installing on it ever since. Someday soon, I hope to have access to my Own Stuff, including photos, etc. The Brick graciously loaned me his laptop -- or you wouldn't be hearing anything from yours truly. Unfortunately, it does not do what I need it to.
Sigh. Not long now.
Meanwhile, we're trudging through the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers, and watching a winter storm roll in.
P.S. If you've e-mailed me, and I haven't answered -- I'm not ignoring you. I just don't have access to my e-mail account right now; the Brick's is in the way. I should be able to respond in the next few days.
And here are a few pieces of Stuff to consider, until my world gets back to normal.
From Wendy Holmes, an old neighbor, via the NEIGHBORHOOD app:
Hey gang! If you see a deer all decked out in solar meteor lights, don't let him tell you that he's being festive. He stole them from my tree! And.... they were hung at least 6ft off of the ground. Tore the heck out of my tree and I had Irish Spring soap hanging in places. So, that doesn't work.
The snow has stopped -- and it's already melting. That's what happens when you get a ton of sunshine, even on a chilly day.
My laptop screen developed a crack. (I still don't know how.) The second time I noticed it, the crack was longer...and my cursor, when it appeared at all, jumped all over the screen, opening and closing pages at will. Sigh....
I limped along for a while, trying to cope. Then we did the wise thing -- ordered a new laptop. Thanks to Black Friday specials, a new machine was only about $100 more than trying to fix the old laptop.
Thankfully, we had the money, too.
It arrives Friday. Meanwhile, the Brick has generously offered to let me use his laptop. That's great -- but it means learning on a new system, with his little quirks installed.
Fresh out of the candlelight concert, it started to snow. The mountains spend a lot of time hiding behind a mist of clouds, while we get light but steady flakes. Just glad we don't have to go anywhere until Tuesday.
The kids will be here Thursday for Thanksgiving -- the first time they've been at our place to celebrate in quite a number of years. Am I looking forward to it? You bet.
Bids for a Bob Ross painting are now past $1million. Why? The painting isn't that exciting -- BUT so few Ross paintings have been sold, at auction or otherwise. Three more Ross paintings sold in recent years for $600,000 combined...
John Corcoran, Ripley’s director of exhibits, said in a statement. “Our number one idea is to keep things free-flowing. Number two is making sure nothing gets clogged up and flushes away future possibilities. We will unroll some paper and start planning.”
Hey, Gentle Readers, I don't always write the wisecracks -- I just report 'em!
A huge amount of EBT fraud has been uncovered -- here are the states who got hit the worst. (186,000 DEAD PEOPLE are collecting foodstamps?!?) This is why I believe that not only should the system be overhauled -- everyone should reapply. Some family members disagree on this -- after all, the 'billionaires who don't pay tax' are cheating so much more. But to my mind, fraud is fraud. Prosecute the billionaires, too!
My take on 'being poor:' a classic from yours truly. I wrote this years before the current brouhaha on EBT and SNAP benefits.
It just sold at auction for $236.4 MILLION DOLLARS. Sotheby's auctioned off more than two dozen pieces from the estate of Estee Lauder's son Leonard. The painting, of Elizabeth Lederer, was done in 1916 -- Lauder bought it in the 1980s and kept it until his death earlier this year.
Gustav, like so many other artists (ahem - Picasso - cough), was not a nice person.
'Yes, I am a pig. But at least my cat likes me.'
The man painted beautifully. His 1907 Woman in Gold, also known as Lady [Dame] in Gold, tis still one of my favorites.
The painting was stolen by the Nazis, and ended up in an Austrian art gallery, the Galerie Belvedere. It only came back to the family after a 7-year legal battle.
I love southern Colorado. It's beautiful here, and very peaceful. But for a booklover, it's also a bit sparse. We have a great library in Alamosa -- but it's 45 minutes away. The Fort Garland library means well, but needs a little help.
So we did the next best thing: started up a New Little Library by Calvary Blanca Church. It's only a few miles away, in Blanca, CO at 607 Broadway...or use this map connection.
I have had so much fun, helping to stock it!
It was built from an old cabinet, as the starter. Various people, yours truly included, added the roof and shingled it, added the steeple, painted it and put on the charter number. Some extra wood trim needs to frame the windowglass, and a painted 'door' is planned for the side,
but that should happen in the next few weeks.
Friend Kathy is standing by it here, looking cute.
Here's the church it resembles: Calvary Blanca (607 Broadway). The LFL is right by the announcements sign. Currently, it's got a special group of kids' and adults' books on Christmas, as well as a number of other selections.
That's the Blanca Mountains behind it: known as "the girls" in our house.
Many thanks to Sandy, Lonnie, Ross, Rich and Dave for their hard work making this a reality.
Unfortunately, I've got some flu to match. (The Brick started the process last week, but is doing better.) We don't need to go anywhere this week. So glad.
Not as pretty as this... but nice, nonetheless.
Especially with a crackling fire, corn dogs and hot tea nearby.
We're still working on it - but at least you'll be able to see books close up, plus more information on teaching and appraising. (Be gentle with us; it's still in progress.)
Colorado has 697 different sides?? You mean it's not a perfect rectangle, as shown in maps?
Fifty unusual facts about the Centennial State -- a number of these are from southern Colorado, in our neck of the woods.
(You might want to ignore the umpteen wild dates just whipped around here... with no documentation, of course. The facts, though, are too intriguing to miss.)
The strange month, dreary and overcast much of the time. The waiting month.
Until Thanksgiving, that is.
Not much to say -- just the usual work. Driving in the 'new' car feels weird, but nice. No grubbiness? No duct-taped back seatsor cracked windshield? Does this little farm girl deserve such luxury?
A nearly two century-old decorative bracelet -- found at a church thrift store! (I did some research, and found out that travelers would buy decorative miniatures, painted and mosaics, as souvenirs. Then they'd hire jewelers to set them into necklaces, bracelets, even rings.)
...or threatened. Who knows if this situation will be fixed this month.
This is tough. It IS really difficult, when you've relied on this for years. Like these people --or these people:
This seems especially true, when the person speaking says they have huge families (6, 7 or more kids) -- or they've got serious disabilities (are certainly plain-speaking, and often look fine physically). Or, even worse, they come from generations of families who've relied on foodstamps to feed themselves. Besides the people announcing that they should be entitled to free food/rent (because they were 'them,' I guess), one mom was more honest than she realized:
"Now I gotta get used to budgeting, and buying things I really need."
Hmmm...
Having lived on $20,000 or less myself -- with two kids and a husband who went from mechanical engineer (and a much higher salary) to bus driver -- I KNOW you can get through this. Because we did, for a number of years.
It's time to change. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, badmouthing the government, and using "the kids will be starving" as an excuse. (Trust me -- they won't.)
First: Look at what you're buying. One video of a frightened couple-with-baby showed a near-empty refrigerator...and chicken nuggets, plus a shelf of Hamburger Helper-type mixes.
Sorry -- that's not going to work right now. Nor are buying chips and pop. (One mom actually complained about this, because now they'd have to stop buying 'snacks.')
Next: Go back to the old standards. Beans and rice. Mac and cheese. Bean tacos -- or even tastier, beans mixed with a small amount of ground beef. Oatmeal. Toast. Egg prices are down a little -- so scrambled eggs or quiche. Whole chicken -- even rotisserie -- gives you a few meals, and a few more soups. Use every bit of leftovers.
Proteins are especially important now: beans, cheese, milk, chicken -- and small amounts of beef and pork. Even a few hot dogs, sliced thin, give your dish heft. Like the Poorman's Meal:
Next: Don't forget flour -- it can stretch everything. (Tortillas come in a close second.) Bread, biscuits, dumplings, pie, cinnamon rolls. Serve this alongside a bowl of soup or stew for a filling meal. Or make pizza dough, and top it with any number of things. (Makes good calzones, as well.)
Next: Don't forget starches, either -- they also stretch things. Rice, potatoes, noodles work well. If you're missing french fries, cut your potatoes in 'sticks,' roll them in oil, salt and bake at high heat. Then top them with cheese, salsa or Elvis's favorite: gravy. These go well with other dishes, too.
For snacks, fries, homemade potato chips and popcorn.
Next: Don't skip the 'luxury' stuff like butter, mushrooms or bacon -- just use less. A few slices of bacon can be chopped up and added to eggs to keep them from sticking. A pat of real butter is outstanding on baked potatoes, homemade toast or even a burger.
Next: Save up for holiday foods. Buy items when they're on sale -- or marked down. (You can find them on Amazon's 'Warehouse Deals,' as well.)
And finally: your community is bound to have some sort of food pantry or program. You may have to work to find it -- but it's there. Ask friends, or call your local church or senior center; they'll know. Volunteer at your local thrift shop -- volunteers have access to free donated food, as well.
One clever person worked out a deal with a convenience store. They cleaned the bathrooms, swept the aisles,etc. in return for leftover food. They said it worked out well for both parties. Why not make this offer to one of your local restaurants or grocery stores?
Can you get some of your foodstamp dollars back by working 15 or 20 hours weekly? That's two days...and most of us put in much longer hours than that. Pleeassssseee...stop griping about having to work. It makes those of us who do work -- and don't get foodstamps -- very tired.
We never got foodstamps.Our housing wasn't subsidized. Our girls were eligible for free meals, but refused to use them because they were embarrassed. After age 14, they ended up working part-time themselves for extras. The Brick and I didn't think badly about this because 1) their grades stayed up, and 2) we did this ourselves as kids. Neither the Brick nor myself grew up in wealthy families. And with very rare exceptions, we never went into debt, even in the lean years.
(If your kids are griping about 'no snacks,' they can always get part-time jobs or do errands for others, and buy their own food. )
Don't bitch and moan... Congress is the one who's going to change this, not you. And there is also a good chance that these changes are going to be permanent. Or at least different. Learning to cope with them now will put you ahead in the long run.
Change feels scary at first. How can you and your family make it? Will you be out on the street? But you can adapt. Speaking from experience here.
