Back to school shopping

Schools in Georgia are already in session (hope they have AC). In the Columbus area I think they start in about 3 weeks. When I was young, it was usually around Labor Day week-end. One year, I think it was 1953 or around then, it was so hot we were dismissed to come back after the week-end. Wal-Mart has been showing back to school items since right after the July 4th stuff went to the remainder stores.

What were your "must have" items in your back to school wardrobe? In 1956-57 it was pencil straight wool skirts (mid-calf, getting shorter), sweater sets, cool colors pink and grey (even for cars), white collars, fake flowers for neck pins, cute scarves, winter "car coats," boy's jeans for casual wear, saddle shoes, or bucks for the feet, and 3" heels for Sunday dress up. Within a year the empire waist was replacing the cinched look and skirts were right below the knee cap.

From my blog Memorypatterns: "Young ladies of the 50s usually had four wardrobes. School. Sunday. Leisure/casual. Party/prom/dance. Our styles had flare and balance. Darts and starch. If you had a nice figure it would show; if you didn't you could cover it. You could sit down and not see London or France. You could twirl and swish, or run the bases in a softball game."

I think we can kiss that civility schtick good-bye--Democrats have gone over a cliff

James Taranto counts the ways the Democrats have gone bonkers on the wild, violent language to describe the Tea Party. And so soon after Obama launched his 2012 campaign at a funeral where people were shot by a crazy man who was inflamed by Palin's use of the word "cross-hairs."

Joe Nocera rants: You know what they say: Never negotiate with terrorists. It only encourages them. These last few months, much of the country has watched in horror as the Tea Party Republicans have waged jihad on the American people. . . . Their goal, they believed, was worth blowing up the country for, if that's what it took. . . . For now, the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests. But rest assured: They'll have them on again soon enough.

Last Wednesday Thomas Friedman described the Tea Party as the GOP's "Hezbollah faction." The same day Maureen Dowd approvingly quoted "some Democrats" as describing the Tea Party as "the Republican 'Taliban wing.' " (In fairness we should note that the Times's Roger Cohen registered a partial dissent: "Hatred of Muslims . . . is a growing political industry. It's odious, dangerous and racist.")

We're hanging Christmas lights

We've never participated in the Light up Lakeside week-end, but this year bought several strings of lights. My husband is on the roof seeing if he can make this work. I don't think they'll do much lighting up, but it's our first try. Maybe they'll look better at night. I passed a cottage on my morning walk that had created two American flags on their hedge out of decorative lights and chicken wire.

Met a man at the coffee shop with a nice fawn colored short legged dog this morning. "A corgi?" I asked. "Yes," and then he told me they'd found her at the Humane Society a few weeks ago, they thought she was about 3 years old, and she was a wonderful pet, already one of the family. I don't know much about the breed except they are Queen
Elizabeth's favorite. This one didn't have a distinctive white collar, but she had a beautiful face and eyed me a bit suspiciously like she should be protecting her newly found savior.

Farmer's Market was in really good shape today. I bought collard greens, onions, beautiful tomatoes, green beans, and small potatoes. Earlier in the season there wasn't much, and last Friday it rained so hard that there were only two vendors.

Walking to the little store this morning I passed a really cute wicker rocker in a drive-way for sale for $55, so I bought it. I now have my side chair wicker in my drive-way for $30. Switched the cushions. This one could use some paint touch up, but right now it's too hot.

I stopped at the community hoe-down last night, which is sort of country dancing in the street. Lots of fun to watch people from 3 years old to 80 dancing together. There was a live band--3 women and 2 men. Everyone got a bandana and dessert and soft drink.

ACORN Thugs Stink Up the Wrong Bank - Big Government

"Predatory lenders Herb and Marion Sandler paid ACORN $11 million over the years to attack Wells Fargo, the main competition in California for their lending institution, World Savings Bank. The Sandlers are radical left-wingers who belong to George Soros’s Democracy Alliance, a club of billionaires that funds political infrastructure aimed at pushing America to the left.

The Sandlers are loan sharks whom Time magazine included in its “25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis” list. They preyed on the poor for years and paid ACORN, which also preys on the poor, to help them."

» ACORN Thugs Stink Up the Wrong Bank - Big Government

"In the early 1980s, the Sandlers' World Savings Bank became the first to sell a tricky home loan called the option ARM. And they pushed the mortgage, which offered several ways to back-load your loan and thereby reduce your early payments, with increasing zeal and misleading advertisements over the next two decades. The couple pocketed $2.3 billion when they sold their bank to Wachovia in 2006. But losses on World Savings' loan portfolio led to the implosion of Wachovia, which was sold under duress late last year to Wells Fargo."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350_1877343,00.html #ixzz1TolDsX00

"Through their charity, the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation, they gave at least $5,723,222 to the ACORN network. Specifically, the charity gave $4,498,222 to American Institute for Social Justice (since 2003), $700,000 to Project Vote (in 2005), $525,000 to ACORN (2000–2001 according to Activist Cash). This excludes any contributions that either Sandler may have made personally to ACORN or its affiliates." American Spectator

Every Move You Make, Every Click You Take, I’ll Be Watching You

Just like the anti-Bush war protesters--the anti-Bush privacy protectors seem to have disappeared. This administration doesn't want a warrant for a search--just wants all your information, "just in case." I have serious doubts that this is about child pornography and is all about those who don't like Obama. All the lefties who objected to filters on library computers to protect children must be behind this. After their conversion, of course.

Belmont Club » Every Move You Make, Every Click You Take, I’ll Be Watching You#more-16002#more-16002#more-16002

The end of Obamanomics

What a ridiculously racist statement--Obama can't tax and spend his way to prosperity!

"As the U.S. debt crisis drags through next week and then spills over into next month and next year, one thing seems clear. These may well be the last days of Obamanomics and the general idea — adopted around the globe — that governments can tax and spend their way to prosperity via mass redistribution of income and wealth."

The end of Obamanomics | Economy | Financial Post

Yes we Spam: Phone calls to House spike again following Obama plea for action

Obama urges Americans to spam their congress people.

Phone calls to House spike again following Obama plea for action - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

A letter from 43 Senators about

Harry Reid's plan: "The plan you have proposed would not alter the spending trajectory that is putting our economy and national security at risk. In return for an unprecedented $2.4 trillion debt limit increase, your amendment reduces spending by less than $1 trillion over the next decade. Setting aside the $200 billion shortfall between the CBO scored savings and the $2.4 trillion debt limit increase, identified by the Congressional Budget Office, most of the proposal’s alleged savings are based on a false claim of credit for reductions in war-related spending that were already scheduled to occur. This amendment proposes no change to our military posture and, for that reason, these savings are the sort of widely ridiculed accounting gimmick that breeds cynicism about our ability to tackle our fiscal challenges. The only possible justification for a $2.4 trillion increase in borrowing authority is to allow the President to avoid any accountability for these issues before his 2012 election. " Signed by 43 Senators

Money not spent is money saved

Our "new" free washing machine works great!

Recently my washing machine died--it was just the right size for our tiny basement and it had a matching tiny dryer. To buy an energy and water efficient front load model for $800+ it would have taken 9 years to see the savings in utilities to make up the higher cost. And that’s assuming there were no repairs, that I used it exactly according to manufacturers recommendations, that the electric and water rates didn’t go up (due to people using less) and I were using it 12 months a year instead of 10 weeks. Obviously, even a math midget like me can see there had to be a better way to save money.

My neighbor gave me his old washer that may last another 3 years (and actually does a better job than my old one in spinning out water and accepting larger loads). He and his nephew even hauled it down our steep basement stairs that resemble a ship’s ladder. Even if water and electric rates go up, even if it is inefficient, this deal is better than any offered by the government or Sears.

And it doesn’t cost you, the tax payer, a dime. The tax credit on energy efficient appliances are paid for by all of us from the time they are a gleam in a politician’s eye until they get to the paperwork at the store and to your accountant who has to fill out several forms. That credit has passed through many hands. A 25% credit on an $800 washer might be a $200 credit on your taxes, but it costs the American tax payer much, much more than that, and of course, a low income person probably doesn’t itemize, or doesn’t file an income with the IRS at all, nor could she come up with the balance.

Another plus. The old washer in the photo was made in the U.S.A.

The down side of historic preservation

I love “historic preservation.” After all, preservation, conservation and confirming what was good in the past is what conservative politics means. It represents what is often years of work and lobbying by local groups.

But there is a down side of unintended (or sometimes intended) consequences. There is no place for the poor or low income in historic, authentic neighborhoods, whether it’s Lakeside, Ohio, the German Village area of Columbus, Bay Point, Michigan, or Williamsburg, Virginia. Even if the government (assuming it is done with government grants) has set asides for low income, the requirements would mean a low income resident would lose his home if his income rises, and it won’t bring back the former residents now scattered through subsidized housing--it will only draw new “poor.” Nor is there any way you can require that your next door neighbor on government assistance or who is a plumber's assistant with a 25 year old truck, will necessarily have the values of the rest of the "preservationists."

A case in point is the restoration and renovation of The Abigail Tearoom (1933-2008). I used to suspect that the wallpaper (pieces of which are for sale at the Archives) and grape vines were holding it together. We had many wonderful meals there from 1974 until it was sold and then closed and auctioned, purchased by a young, talented architect. The meals were not gourmet, but ham loaf, stuffed green peppers and Swiss steak tasted pretty good there topped off with home made peach pie, or Mississippi Mud cake. The Abigail was two houses--one on Central built in the classic 19th c. style, and one on Third, a former boarding house with sleeping porches. The two houses were probably only about 2 feet apart, so a passage was built, and a kitchen tacked on to the rear.

The 20th c. house has been finished, staged, and is for sale--for $549,000. The other one which is still a work in progress will have 5 bedrooms, a family room, huge bathrooms, a lovely patio and landscaping, plus all the amenities today’s family thinks it needs, and will probably be around a million. Not even school teacher DINKS will be able to afford such a home--it will need to be lawyer, businessman, funds manager with a stay at home wife, and some money in the family tree that will fall when shaken.

These renovations are private money, but there are always tax credits for “green” and energy efficient appliances and building innovations, even insulation, which most cottages don’t have. Tax credits are also something only the well off can afford--like cash for clunkers and home insulation breaks. And what they truly cost after they pass from the tax payer in Ohio to the agency in Washington which will redistribute the money though dozens of agencies and the paychecks of bureaucrats, to the appliance dealer who has to fill out the paperwork and the owner’s accountant who has to figure it all out next April, with several forms, each costing you. Home mortgage “loopholes” are something we’ve all come to expect, but which the low income can’t really qualify for. At least I hope we've learned from the last housing bubble that tried that and crippled the nation economically.

Huge storm over Lakeside

The home show has just finished and lots of people were strolling the lakefront for the craft show, and all of a sudden the skies opened and deluged the place. Even in a golf cart these people won't be protected!

My husband was stationed at the Kunze house on Jasmine because he designed it. He said he got lots of positive comments. He rolled up here on his bike as the first drops of rain fell.

GOP is looking for an Obama win in 2012

If the GOP caves on this cut cap and balance, they are handing Obama a win in 2012. Obama will blame them either way. I've tried to follow this in the news and it's too frustrating and confusing. We do know it's only a cut in the increase, not a true cut. We do know that Obama is just too clever and has too many brain dead followers for the likes of Boehner to go up against.

When has your credit rating ever been improved by doing what the Democrats want?

The GOP regulars and RINOs are unhappy with Conservatives and Tea Party folk. Was it John McCain who said something about their experience? Well, who got us into this mess? Republicans who believed the lies of the Democrats! And compromised.

Am I tech savvy or what?

Connectivity has been a huge problem, as I noted before. So I've set the laptop up on the porch on the "kitty condo" and I'm sitting on a low camp stool. I have a sailing book on my right knee and the mouse is on that. Things seem to be working right now. The cat has moved to the porch furniture and doesn't seem too upset with this arrangement.

This condo was purchased for our previous cat, the lynxpoint, that didn't live very long. She also never figured out what her tail was, and would race inside out through the little kitty condo chasing it.

Reagan's error or Obama's?

Can he spare a dime for fact checkers before he looks even more uninformed and foolish than he already is? The deal was made--Democrats reniged! That should be the lesson for today. We know there will be no cuts, but the tax increased will last forever!

Reagan’s Error - By Yuval Levin - The Corner - National Review Online

Back in Lakeside

but no internet connection, so like the vacationers, I'm at the coffee shop. Glad they have wireless, but it sure is inconvenient! And laptops are heavy, at least those bought 9 years ago!

Hot and muggy. People are setting up for the craft show which begins tomorrow. The home tour (run by the Women's Club) is also tomorrow. Too hot for me to stand in line, although I love to look at cottages.

Signing off at 6:54 a.m.

Where would spending be without Iraq?

Obviously, we'd still have a huge problem.

Chart from American Thinker using CBO figures.

Anders Behring Breivik

Mr. Breivik, the 30-something terrorist who has killed almost 100 of his fellow countrymen, is being called everything from a Christian to a war gamer to a neo-nazi to a right wing fanatic. No one is calling him a socialist, but that's the society in which he grew up. Why deny the biggest influence in his life? Norway has low unemployment, almost zero poverty, the environment is gorgeous and carefully nurtured,and in a word, it is government controlled at every turn. The Christian church has no influence there, even if babies are baptized and teen-agers are confirmed. I'm not sure this is still the case, but their taxes used to support the church; it was not the responsibility and act of worship of the believers as it is in the U.S.

Do you suppose Breivik saw the push for multiculturalism and diversity and the acceptance of the Muslim culture as a threat to Norway's tightly regulated national spirit? After all, socialism is no match for fundamentalist Islam. National socialism is first and always, national in focus.

Calorie counts found lacking in fast food restaurants

This is why I always order dressing on the side and use the dipped fork method rather than pouring it on.

"Posted calorie counts in chain restaurants are often inaccurate, and weight-conscious consumers who select soups and salads are especially likely to be served heftier dishes than advertised, according to a new study from Boston researchers [reported in JAMA]."

However, it's important to remember that there is a vendetta out on so-called "fast food" restaurants. So read with a word of caution. Eat less, move more--that's the plan that will help both your body and your brain.

Calorie counts found lacking - Boston.com

Magic of Ordinary Days

I watched the Hallmark movie (2005) last night and I thought it was quite good--The magic of ordinary days. The plot is a college woman is pregnant by her soldier boyfriend (a cad, but she doesn't realize it), so her father arranges a marriage for her to a farmer in a remote area of Colorado a super nice guy whom she doesn't at first appreciate) who agrees to be the husband and father. There's a subplot involving Japanese farm workers whom she befriends.

In the end, of course, they fall in love.

But did rural women really wear hats while singing in the church choir in robes (one very brief scene)?

The male lead is Skeet Ulrich, whose real name is Bryan Trout. He's very good, and has appeared on some TV series, most recently Law and Order; Los Angeles.

This was adapted from a book by the same name, which might be worth reading, and there is a sequel in the works according to Wikipedia.

Garth's Auctions--mid century modern

Early in our married life (1960s) I admired our friends who had Eames style furniture, but I think they are uncomfortable, and there must have been a million knock-offs in all sorts of weird colors.

I'm beginning to see why my Mom wasn't too excited about Grandma's furniture from the 1920s or 1930s. You hate to see your era become an "antique."

Garth's Auctions, Inc. - Auctioneers & Appraisers : Full Details for Lot 216

So I looked up a few Paul McCobb pieces of furniture (mostly designed late 50s) for the budget conscious that we bought around 1963. The prices are astounding, so I guess they are antiques now, too. But also, they are comfortable.