What We Did on the Snow Day

Terry came home in the mid afternoon yesterday thanks to the raging blizzard. We had a cozy, inside afternoon. Terry snuggled up in our "Snuggie" (it's the "blanket with sleeves", you know). Katie gave us a Snuggie for Valentine's Day to symbolize the "warm" place she has in her heart for our family. Awwww, so sweet. She also did it because IT'S A GOOFY SNUGGIE!

Mr. D sipped Caribou Obsidian and read his miniature copy of The U.S. Constitution. Isn't that how most people spend their snow days?Chris stopped by in the late afternoon. He and Tim chopped wood.

Bethie posed for the snow photo on the back patio that seems to have become an annual event. We had a great day.

We Found Some Money

Since it appears we are going to be paying for college and healthcare for all Americans, we have been looking for ways to save our pennies so that we are able to give more to our Uncle Sam who is bankrupt.

Here is what we have come up with. We saved over $600 per year by raising the deductible on our home owners insurance from $250 to $1000. That knocked $50 off of our mortgage payment and we will get a nice little check in the mail for the difference, since our escrow is now overfunded. If we can go a little over a year without a claim, we are ahead of the game.

Terry redid his term life insurance. When he signed up many years ago, they were using old actuarial tables. We stayed with Allstate. Even though he is older and stayed with the same company, the premium is, get this, $1,934 less per year!

Milk. Did you know that you can get 2 gallons of milk at Holiday for $5.00! I'm sure some of you did. But, how handy is that. You go to Holiday and have to go in anyway to use your Cub gas coupons and since you are there, you just grab 2 gallons of milk. Or, if you are Barb, you just grab 10 gallons of milk. Anywho, I'm thinking we go through 3 or 4 gallons a week. Let's say 3, and save about $1 per gallon. That's $150 to spend on mochas at Caribou.

So, those are my tips for when Obama raises taxes. What are yours? Let's share.

In particular, we need advice on the cable thing. Right now we are bundled with Qwest and have Direct-TV. I NEED Fox news and the Food Channel, so getting rid of the cable is not an option! What do you recommend?

Rod Dreher

I really need to add the Rod Dreher link to my site. I'll put that on the "To-do" list.

In the meantime, go ahead and read this link to see his comments on Bill Maher at the Oscars last night.

Then, while you are at it, read this nice piece on William F. Buckley that Rod linked. It was written by his son Christopher on the one year anniversary of WFB's death.

Here's a little taste from the Buckley piece.

My father was a man of devout, unflinching, sometimes exasperating Catholic faith. He believed absolutely in heaven and hell. I lost (or misplaced) my faith, but I find myself on this anniversary hoping that I’m wrong, and that he’s there, correcting God’s grammar. I have on my desk an editorial cartoon showing him arriving at the Pearly Gates, St. Peter whispering to an angel, “I’m going to need a bigger dictionary.”

Ouch!

I just watched Sunset Boulevard.

Gloria Swanson was 51 when she played the pathetic/aging/has been silent picture actress, Norma Desmond, who dreams of her comeback.

There is one line at the end that was particularly disturbing to me.

It was when William Holden's character says:

There's nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you're trying to be twenty-five.

Ouch, that hurt.

Give Me Liberty

Don't Sign This Pledge!

I signed this pledge. Then, my friend Jennifer told me it was sponsored by People for the American Way. Very liberal. Those sneaky rats!

Martin Lloyd Jones says:

Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc.

Somebody is talking. Who is talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: "Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you . . ."

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: "Why art thou cast down" -– what business have you to be disquieted?

You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: "Hope thou in God" -– instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do.

Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: "I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God.”

All the Women are Strong...

One of my dad's distant relatives put together a very big history book tracing the family back to the ship (called Ship Friendship) which left Cowes, England on June 20th, 1727 and arrived in Philadelphia on October 16th, 1727. It carried my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather Johannes.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the writings of my distant relatives which speak of their love for God, their adventures, their real estate purchases, and various bits of history.

My absolute favorite section is something someone wrote about my great, great, great, great grandfather's niece. Her name was Ruth Buckwalter. Isn't that a great name. She was born on April 23, 1763.

Here's what is written about her:

Ruth grew up to be a stout and handsome young woman and it is a family saying that during the winter of 1777, while her father and brothers were in General Washington's army at Valley Forge, a British foraging party came to steal their hay, and she and her mother and sisters, armed with pitchforks, bayonets, such weapons as they possessed, successfully drove them (the marauders) from the barn and premises. The foragers had gotten so far as to have the hay partly loaded, having men in the mow pitching hay down to the wagon. When they were discovered, Ruth climbed upon the wagon, drove the man off who was loading, and pitched the hay from the wagon. They made several efforts to reload, but when ever they made the attempt, Ruth rolled the hay off the other side, and when they attempted to take her from the wagon, she would thrust, or bayonet them with the pitchfork. Finally the foragers became tired of this kind of strategy and retreated. On two other occasions during the same winter, their premises were raided by British marauders and a squad of soldiers took possession of the house and were quartered there for some time, compelling the family to provide from their household provisions and cook the same for them. The soldiers remained until all was eaten. On one occasion when Ruth was carving meat for them, one of the soldiers offered her an indignity, whereupon she slashed him with the carving knife. Another time the English soldiers drove off a fine herd of horses.

Ruth was 14 when all this happened! I'm looking forward to meeting Ruth one day and am glad I come from "strong stock". From people who are willing to say, "Enough! Stop!"

The Grasshopper and the Ants

Gerald Celente

In the last few days, I have heard the name Gerald Celente from several different sources. I am really hoping the guy is a nutcase.

Mr D. first mentioned him last Friday when I told him about a Rod Dreher blog post I had read. I reacted to that post buy buying 3 pounds of rice and 2 pounds of dried black beans. Mr. D reacted to that blog post by clicking on some of the links and came across Gerald Celente's web page.

We discussed our finds while walking our 2 miles and conclulded, well, we concluded nothing exactly! Oh, yeah, I think we decided to not let the gas tank get below half.

So then, on Saturday night, someone we know very well (who is not prone to overreacting like I am) e-mailed me and said she had seen this guy named Celente on TV on Saturday and he made some sense. It might be a good idea to have some extra food around the house.

Then, I Googled and found Celente on You Tube. One of them was an interview on Russia Today! I thought the Russian interviewer asked smarter questions than the average American reporter.

Then, this morning I went to Rod Dreher's Crunchy Con's blog and there was the interview. The blog post was entitled "Cannibalism by Christmas". Here's the link.

Here's the RT interview. Whatever you do, don't Google "amero".

Anyone have any great recipes for rice and beans?

I Like Tacos, Do You?

The Non-stimulus Bill

Truth be told, I've stolen the last few quotes from George Grant's blog.

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.-- John Adams

Happy 100th Birthday Carmen Miranda

Nedra has just informed me that today is Carmen Miranda's 100th birthday. Let's all put fruit on our hats and party!

On Greed

Desperate always reaps stupid.--Dave Ramsey

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."--J.R.R. Tolkien