Life On The Planet

Sure Sign It's Still Summer

It's after nine o'clock in the morning, and everyone, even the dog, is still asleep.

I don't have the heart to wake them. Besides, I could get used to all of this peace and quiet!

Books, Fingers and Biscuits

About two weeks ago I jammed my finger on the kitchen counter. This was an event of no great importance. I do it on a regular basis, klutz that I am. However, after two weeks of pain and swelling, I finally saw a doctor. She sent me to another doctor. It's a wealth sharing plan they devised long ago. The long and short of it is, I damaged the ligaments in the middle finger on my right hand and will now be going to physical therapy. More wealth sharing.

As I waited for an hour for my five minute long consultation, I had plenty of time to enjoy my new books. I  mean, my children's new books. My favorite is The Timetables of History. I love it so. Pick a year, turn to that page and find out events that took place during that year (political, cultural, everyday life, etc.). Did you know that construction on Rheims Cathedral began in 1212 AD? Or that Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1631? This is good stuff. Tiger's favorite new book is the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia. He has this thing for white blood cells. Well, who wouldn't, really?

While I chicken peck this out, my children have taken pity upon me and are whipping up a batch of Cloud Biscuits (an old family recipe). Nothing soothes the soul -and ligaments- of a southern girl like biscuits. And what the heck, I'll work them off in physical therapy, right? RIGHT?!?

Question of the Day

Tiger: "How much clean is your definition of clean?"

 

We need to GO!

I've read several reports that there is a possibility, due to budget shortfalls, that Congress may hike the gas tax.

This possibility does not make me happy.

Here's why. Our family doesn't eat out. We don't wear designer clothes. We don't spend our money on frivolous things. With just one of us working, we don't have a lot of disposable income. However, we do like to travel. We consider this to be an important part of our children's education.

I realized how important travel was for my kids when Butterfly was about five. We had taken a trip to Branson, Missouri to meet up with Aunt The Major, et al. When we arrived and got out of the van,  my child, the flat-lander, said, "Why is the ground crooked?" She had never before seen hills. Sure, she had read about hills, but until she saw them for herself, it just didn't click. Seeing was believing. Seeing was understanding.

On a very tight budget, we traveled to Boston and saw for ourselves where the American Revolution started. (Eating spaghetti in the Italian section after visiting the Old North Church - now that's an American Experience.) We've stood in Independence Hall and next to the Liberty Bell. We climbed the stairs of the Statue of Liberty. We've seen King Tut's treasures. My oldest watched the locks of the Panama Canal working and visited a Panamanian mountain market where heard his mother haggle (badly) in Spanish. He visited Jamestown and D.C. with his Grandparents, and will travel to South Korea with them this fall. We've all learned about the Amish by traveling through the countryside of northern Ohio. We increased our knowledge of geology and geography  by visiting Niagara Falls.  We saw the battle fields of the Civil War and visited the cemeteries of those who died in the battles. We learned about the fight to save the wetlands in our home state by visiting marshes and talking to the actual scientist involved in the programs. We've seen the Mighty Mississippi in flood. We love to travel.  We travel to learn.

Like most Americans, we have had to curb our gas usage over the past year. We were not able to take a jaunt into the Ozarks that we had planned. We have had to cut back in order to make ends meet. No, we aren't starving and we have a roof over our heads, but travel is out of the question.

Given that gas prices are at a record high, it astounds me that the Congress would even consider raising the gas tax. How about we as a nation request that our Representatives and Senators tighten our federal budget, just as we have tightened our personal ones. Let's do without a little pork and, as a nation, learn to live on less. A few less "fact-finding" missions wouldn't hurt my feelings, either. If you need to find something out, you can Google it like the rest of us.

Hopefully, gas prices will come down enough that we will be able to head back into the hills. My children need to go. They need to do. They need to learn.  We would like to go on a few fact-finding tours of our own.

So, Congress, please don't increase the gas tax. My children have places to go, and I don't have a taxpayer's government credit card to magically pay the way.

In My Never Ending (Though Futile) Quest for Library Book Organization...

I would like to present the New-Basket-for-Library-Books-That-Resides-In-the-Living-Room-By-the-Door.

 Results not yet in. I'll let you know when this plan flops how things work out.

 

Can I get an Amen?

Vacation Bible School is over.