Consistency

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately:  how to be consistent between my long term vision of what I want for my life, and the short time things I want to do now. 

When I sold the shop, I was very clear on my purpose.  I wanted to be home with my family, to take care of them and my home, and to enjoy things that I had set aside because I was "too busy."  I am a horrible balancer--that is something that I see now!  On vacation last fall, I realized how much I truly love and LIKE my kids, and that M is two-thirds of the way to leaving home.  The others will be hard on his heels.  How did that happen?!  Days turn into months and years while I'm not looking.  I turned to my home life resolving to be mindful of the days.

For the most part, it's been great.  We have had a fun, jam-packed summer.  But I do find little inconsistencies creeping in...like when I need to get chores done before we go play, but then I sit down to read, or check someone's blog, or knit one more row.  And pretty soon an hour is gone.  Or a morning!  And that kind of thing bugs me.  I think it is just fine to read or knit, but I want to do it on purpose.  Maybe this post should be titled "Intentionality."

Anyway, I need to be packing!  We are headed on a very fun (I hope) vacation, and we are all looking forward to hanging out together and eating lots of lobster and ice cream.  I've been mulling this idea of acting consistently with my aim for our home, and I think I will welcome the change in perspective.

Victory!

We spent the weekend on the lacrosse fields watching J and his team.  We didn't even get the initial schedule for the tournament until two days beforehand, so I was in deep denial about actually spending the entire weekend watching ten- and eleven-year-olds run around with sticks.

During the first two games, our boys played like they'd only practiced once in a couple of weeks.  Which, in fact, had been the practice schedule.  Hmmmm.  Terrible ball skills, no catching and weak throwing.  They lost the first two games by a combined 15-3, or thereabouts.  Pretty miserable.

Since our team was at the bottom of their bracket, we had to stay around for a 4 p.m. game to see if we could come back and play in the elimination rounds the next day.  On the good side, they won!  On the less-good side, we had to come back the next day (an hour away) for an uncertain amount of play.  Well.

J got really sick that night.  So sick that I won't say anything else about it.  His mama (that would be me) wanted him to consider staying home the next day but he would have none of it.  Back to the fields.

First game of the day...they won!  A close, back-and-forth game, fun to watch.  Who were these kids?  Why were they only showing up halfway through the tournament?  So we played again.  We jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, with a wicked attack combination that scored three quick goals.  But the other team figured that out, battled to an 8-8 tie, and forced us into sudden-death overtime.  We lost...but still had to play one last game for the third place medal. 

We were down quickly to a better team.  We kept them close but couldn't touch them for a while.  Then one of our boys found a way to score three quick goals, tying things up.  One last goal with 53 seconds left...J's team won!  Third place felt very sweet after the struggles of the earlier games.

No more thoughts (although I have them) on kids' sports.  Just going to let my sweet boy bask in the glory of a hard-won medal:

And basking in the glory of a hard-earned medal IS what it's all about.

Regarding the debt limit.

I looked at actual numbers this week, to see if what I believed squared with the numbers.

What I believed:  That George Bush spend a LOT of money.  Wars (justified, I thought for the most part) and also ridiculous "compassionate" uses of my money, like a freakishly complicated Prescription Drug program for seniors, the now-notorious No Child Left Behind, even steel tariffs.  And TARP.  Lord, don't get me started on TARP.  But I also believed that Barack Obama spent even more.  Mind-blowing amounts on things like Cash for Clunkers, first-time homeowner support, and my very own car company.

I found this:

See the line with the dots?  That is debt limit as a percent of GDP.  Even though GDP was growing over those years, the debt limit was pretty much a stable percent of GDP.  It bumps up in 2008.  That was TARP.

But what happens in 2009 and 2010?  Spending blows up.  There is no end in sight to the spending.

Over and over I heard how this debt limit problem is another Bush issue.  But it simply isn't.  We went from about $5 trillion in 2000 to about $10 trillion in 2008.  That is all Bush.  But we now stand at $14.6 trillion, an increase of $4.6 trillion in only 30 months under Obama.

And now, as our "professional political class" negotiates a new debt limit, our President can only propose tax increases.  They have not offered one spending cut.  Not one.  Do you see that?  Nothing.  I have scoured the news wires and can only find references to tax increases and loophole closures.  In fact, there are only new programs just waiting to be implemented.  Just this week Kathleen Sebelius offered the new guidelines for insurance exchanges.  This proposal will involve the creation of at least fifty new regulatory agencies.  This is only one depressing example.

But it is Saturday night, I've spent all day at the lacrosse fields and it's time to rest and be ready for a full day of it tomorrow.  Sleep well, and let's all take a Sabbath rest from the news tomorrow.

Edited to add:  Of course Victor Davis Hanson says it all better today here.

Here I am...

with a President who apparently thinks he governs a nation of first-graders.

I happen to LIKE peas, and I'd be happy to eat them.  Carrots, too.  And, yes, even broccoli.

He also thinks the other elected members of government are more childish than his own girls:

I wonder...have you ever had a co-worker, much less a boss, speak to or about you in this way?  I have not, and frankly can't imagine a situation where that would happen.  So, is our President trying to get laughs from the press pool (which he does)?  Because there really is no other reason to be so ugly toward his fellow elected officials.

Remember, these are supposed to be three CO-EQUAL branches of government.  Our President might have the bully pulpit but he does not occupy the superior branch of government.

Maybe he is starting to be concerned about the election in 2012.  After all, this just came out today:

Of course, we don't care.  If it isn't concrete and right in front of us, we really won't think about it.  All these numbers, they're really meaningless.  Right, David Axelrod?  Just like a bunch of first-graders.

Oh, and another one of Obama's advisors doesn't think we can be trusted with our own money anyway:

Last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu made the case for the incandsecent bulb ban last week claiming, “We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money.”

I don't know about you, but if I choose to waste my own money on a great pair of shoes, or a boat, or LIGHTBULBS THAT ACTUALLY GIVE GOOD LIGHT, I think that is my own business and no one else's.  (Except my husband's, of course.)

A palette-cleanser:

Okay, I'm feeling better now.  We are actually having a lot of fun this summer and I'll share some of that, too.

...Jokers to the [East]

And I continue to be Miss Merry Sunshine...

East:  As the Western world has muddled through the last few years of recession/depression/stagflation, China has been admired for their vitality.  Spectacular growth, and huge investments in infrastructure.  Except that, well, maybe it isn't.

Back in 2009, the Chinese government loosened lending restrictions on banks, with the intention of re-igniting the economy.  It worked!  Kind of.  Local governments took on massive debt, because they could, and embarked on infrastructure building like crazy.  This helped heat up China's GDP.  Of course, other unsavory characters, of whom there are many in the local Chinese governments, also used money to speculate in the stock markets and other business ventures.  Local governments planned on paying the money back mostly by selling off land.  It looked like a sure thing, because China has been in a land-craze for a couple of years now.  However, as more real estate has come on the market to pay back the debts, the price of it is going down.  So local governments are on the hook to banks for billions and billions, and their major source of cash for repayment is drying up.  The banks only recourse will be to go to the Chinese government, which has promised to back up these loans.

NONE of these loans are booked as part of China's debt!  And an offical audit, just completed, may have understated the outstanding local debt by 3.5 trillion yuan.  That would be a 30% increase over the audit's total of 10.5 trillion yuan.  Even the lower number is 27% of China's GDP.  (The comparable number in the U.S. is about 20%.)

What does this mean for us?  Well, we all know that China has been the biggest purchaser of United States bonds.  However, if they have troubles at home and need to cover these delinquent local debts, there won't be nearly as much for them to buy our bonds with!  Financing our bloated, out-of-control government will become more of an issue, driving interest rates up.  Tax rates may go up as well, as our elected officials scramble for additional revenue.  (Unfortunately the scale of our debt dwarfs our ability to repay.)  Finally, the Fed may try a third Quantitative Easing, which entails printing money, then using that money to buy our own bonds, thereby swamping our economy with even more dollars and adding to the inflation.

On the other hand, this guy (who knows a heck of a lot more than I do, maybe), thinks that maybe this won't be such a bad deal for America:

Why does China's debt matter to its central government in Beijing, and why does it matter to Americans and others outside China's borders?
Americans probably wouldn't be hurt that much. Some people worry that if there's a debt bubble that somehow bursts, then China will redeem its large holding of U.S. Treasuries to bail out Chinese banks. That is a possibility. I think that if that were the case, others would snap up those Treasuries. Interest rates may go up a little bit, but probably not by that much.

Don't worry...there's news at home, too.

Clowns to the [West] of Me...

This is the second downer post.  I kept starting it but then it would spin off into too-long-land.  I finally decided to break it up into two posts.

West:  Have you been watching Greece?  Melting like an ice-cube on my deck (98 and sunny today).  The Greek government, feeling rich as they joined the EU, decided to increase the benefits paid to various "deserving" layers of society and bureaucracy.  Check here for some unbelievable examples, including bonuses for showing up at work on time or using computers.  Greeks have always had a culture that didn't emphasize actual work so much.  Once they got to link their currency to the harder-working Germans (and others in Northern Europe), well, why not spend all that?  And then, who's to say we don't make big fat promises to pay later, too, because the money's going to keep rolling on in.

Except that it didn't.  A slowing economy, extra debt from the 2004 Olympics, and ever-increasing payments from the government have come home to roost.  Greece no longer has the money to pay back its loans, in Euros or drachmas or clams or any other form of payment.  So the other countries in the EU are having to figure out how to make Greece settle up on their obligations.  The International Monetary Fund is also in on the negotiations.

Dry, so far, which is why you don't hear too much about it.  But Greece is merely the first tentacle of Leviathan of our economic problems.  Here there are a couple of things to watch for. 

First, not many Greek bonds were sold to American holders, so there is not much at stake in the U.S. should Greece go under.  However, lots of credit-default-swaps WERE sold by American banks on Greek bonds.  Tons, really.  (A CDS is a complicated name for "bond insurance.")  The CDS only pays if the Greeks default on their bonds.  The problem is that the CDS doesn't usually apply to a systemic collapse such as this.  So watch to see who seems to be coming out ahead in the Greek debt negotiations.  A "hard" landing will fall on the Germans, mostly, and also the rest of the EU, but a "soft" landing will mean huge payments from American banks. Payouts from American banks mean less money available to lend, should our recovery ever start.

Second, watch Portugal.  Portugal, while lovely, is not on the same industrial level as Germany, or Spain, or even Greece.  And they've spent like crazy, with Spain financing most of it.  As Portugal stumbles, the EU is not in a position to step in with further assistance.  The contagion has spread to Italy, as well.  Here is the bond yield in Italy.  Remember that higher yields are a reflection of, among other things, higher risk:

You know, I feel very said about the Casey/Caylee Anthony murder trial outcome, but it shouldn't have dominated our news like it did.  The problem is that it is much easier to program trial coverage than to discuss hard things like the economy, especially when it seems so far away.  I get it.  But we should demand more from our news coverage.

Happy Fourth of July!

What a wonderful day!

 Enjoy your friends, family, and our wonderful Country.

We'll be getting candy at the parade, and then eating, and swimming, and eating, and swimming, and then watching fireworks.

And we'll do this.

(Man, the kids are getting big.  They are in middle and elementary school now!)

Yarn Along--Almost late but not quite!

Joining the Yarn Along at Ginny's Small Things...what a great blog.  You should visit.

Here's what I'm currently reading and working on:

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  You MUST read this.  Everyone must read this.  I can't explain how incredible this story is.  I absolutely loved it...just finished it a couple of days ago, and even stayed up until 1 in the morning reading one night.  Now, my husband will tell you there is nothing that can make me stay up that late.  But this book did it.

The project is a skirt from Knitting Wrapsody, out of Cascade Ultra Pima.  I was making it for a swimsuit cover-up.  When I thought I was getting a pale turquoise swimsuit and also that I would enjoy the pattern, I was excited.  But Athleta was out of stock in the turquoise, and so I have a royal purple swimsuit.  The pattern is also four rows of okay plus one row of major PITA.  So I'm kind of meh about it now.  I think if I had something I was excited to knit I would be knitting a little more.  I'd like to start a navy blue cardigan for P so it will be ready to wear for school.

Here is a picture of one of my completed projects from an earlier Yarn Along:

This is D with her wrap, exactly as I expected her to use it.  She likes to wrap up in it while she reads in bed at night.  A fun pattern...I am pretty sure I'll make #3 this winter.

Now I have to go see what everyone else is making!

ps:  This is not my second downer post that I mentioned yesterday!  I am working on it and should have it ready tomorrow.

Fast and Furious

I've got two serious posts, this one and the next, and then we'll be in need of more comic relief.  I've started this post a couple of times, but I just get so mad and then the post veers off the rails.  Hopefully this time it will stick.

The title of this post, "Fast and Furious," refers to an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau (ATF) project.  The aim was this:  (a) get guns into the hands of Mexican criminals; (b) wait for the guns to show up at a (Mexican) crime scene; (c) and finally bring down the Mexican drug cartels based on the guns present at the scene.  Please don't ask how (b) follows (c).  It never worked.

In the past few weeks, Congressman Darryl Issa and Senator Chuck Grassley have gone public with their investigation of "Fast and Furious."  In months of requesting documents from ATF and Justice, they would receive page after page that looked like this:

Did Justice think they were being cute, or did someone need to buy time?  What an insult!

News of FnF began to leak out in December, when an ATF whistleblower finally blew loud enough.  Unfortunately, the only ones who picked it up were the "wacko" gun-rights advocates, not the "respected" main stream media.  Finally, in January, World Net Daily (not exactly a bastion of moderate thought!) also ran with this story.

Right now, at least TWO United States law enforcement personnel have been killed by guns sold in the FnF program.  Don't you wonder what the FnF planners THOUGHT would happen?  I am pretty sure that a Mexican crime scene would involve more than loitering or possibly some spray paint on a wall.  As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure that a Mexican crime scene involves a lot of bodies everywhere.  Did this NOT matter in any way to the people planning this stupid pursuit?

So, Stupid Action Item (SAI) Number One:  Someone was going to have to get killed for this to work.  What a disgusting, reckless disregard for human life.  Oh, it would probably just be some stupid drug dealer?  Well, I'm pretty sure that all the people on this map would disagree with you.

Go Here for the interactive version:  http://www.dailybrisk.com/2011/06/mexico-killing-map.html

Yes, I know that only a fraction (between 12% and 17%) are due to guns from the US, so only a fraction of those (1/4? I'm guessing here) are due to FnF.  Which 3% would you like to have still alive?

SAI Number Two:  The gun dealers participating in this had to keep their mouths shut, while simultaneously being excoriated by the same Federal Government that had planted cameras in their shops for FnF.  Yes.  While this program was going on, other people at Justice, and even the President himself, were blaming escalating border violence on the gun dealers.  (And check the date on that Justice link!) Read that again:  While this program was going on, other people at Justice, and even the President himself, were blaming escalating border violence on the gun dealers.  And someone was feeding stories right to the Washington Post during the months immediately after FnF came to light, blaming the ATF agents in the field for losing guns!  Which leads us to...

SAI Number Three:  The guns sold as part of the program were required to fall from sight.  This is directly contrary to standard ATF procedure.  (Go about half-way down this article to find the agent's testimony.) Remember, we aren't talking about one gun to one guy, once a month.  This was dozens of guns, several times a week, to one person.  Standard procedure is to follow the buyer until the gun is recovered.  FnF required the guns to leave the oversight of the ATF agents, on the hope that they would magically reappear at a crime scene. 

Excruciating, isn't it?  The list of outrageous actions goes on, including the very hands-on actions of the ATF director himself.  Kenneth Melson requested and was provided with the web addresses of the webcams set up in the participating gun dealerships.  He would personally watch the sales of guns from the comfort of his office in Washington.

In the last couple of days, two of the ATF whistleblowers have been threatened with firing.  One claims to have receieved a letter of termination.  There is an atmosphere of protection and fear that is pervading the ATF.  This action on their part shows just how rotten an agency it is.  There isn't one mission the ATF fulfills that could not be adequately addressed by another agency.

The Department of Justice is also rotten here, though.  ATF should not be the only ones to pay for this fiasco.  Like the Black Panther case that came to light last year, this has politics written all over it.  Blocking the Congressional subpeonas and then failing to cooperate in any way with the subsequent investigation have shown their true colors.  The question at Justice is not "Did Holder know?" but "How MUCH did Holder know?"

Finally, note again the utter hypocrisy coming from the executive branch.  One agency had to co-op (legal and law-abiding) gun dealers, encouraging them to take actions that they themselves knew to be stupid, even illegal.  At the same time, other agencies were decrying the violence south of the border, blaming the wide availability of guns in this country and specifically the same border-state gun dealers!  One might even believe that they were using FnF to create chaos in Mexico, so that they could then justify shutting down gun-dealers and restricting gun access to law-abiding Americans.

There is so much available to read about this right now.  Below, I'm linking to a bunch of articles and the Congressional record:
Report from Congress
Excellent Timeline 
Several articles as story broke
Video of Agent

Lighten up, already!

I realize I've been kind of downer here on the blog.  Following the economic news these days can do that to a girl. 

But today, I stumbled upon...Wave at the Bus!  What fun.  Bill and I looooove to embarrass the kids, and we do it early and often.  So you have to love this guy, who went out to wave to his fifteen-year-old on the bus on the first day of school.  When the son hated it, Dale knew he had to continue.  This is the result.

They sound like a great family who know how to have fun together!  And based on the response to their blog, it sounds like there are a lot of normal, happy families out there doing their best to raise their children with an intact sense of humor.

Have a wonderful Saturday.  Now, go out and embarrass those kids!

True Words

Written by Victor Davis Hanson:

10. Reduce much of what Barack Obama says, advocates, and tries to implement and you find a particular kind of despised but uniquely American species in his cross-hairs: upper-middle class, making $200-800,000 a year, employed as a professional or small business person, living in the suburbs or small town America, children in non-Ivy League private and public colleges, a nice house, perhaps a vacation home, boat, 2-3 nice cars, residing outside the east and west coasts without an aristocratic pedigree, for whom food stamps are as much an anathema as is Martha’s Vineyard or Costa del Sol.

Massive debt, ObamaCare, vast expansions in federal spending, new regulations, affirmative action, open borders, and environmental legislation are all targeted at this profile. He neither generates the cheap sympathy accorded to the distant poor nor wins the envy and admiration of the tasteful idle old money or the new mega-rich. When I see him plugging away on his vacation on a Sierra Nevada highway — a club cab new Chevy V-8 truck pulling a sleek powerboat or fancy trailer with two jet-skies — I think of a doomed wooly mammoth soon to go down amid the ropes, nets, and missiles from a vast array of gleeful hunters.

He is writing about my family.  And he is right.  When I read it I got that sick feeling right in the pit of my stomach, because in the last six months I have seen how we have become the bad guy.  How did this happen?  How did hard work to build something, employ people, and make money become awful?  When did PROFIT become a dirty word?

Unpredictable regulation is killing small business.  I believe it is a deliberate attack.  My husband has just gone through two and a half months of hearings with a government agency.  He's been joined at the hearings by the other major players in his industry.  After endless rounds of meetings, tens of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees for his company (and hundreds of thousands in fees overall) and several weeks of lost time at work, they reached an agreement on the recall of a part that had not caused one single death OR injury.

Then, just last week, he received not one but TWO notices from two other federal regulatory agencies about his parts, including one about the plastic polystyrene.  Polystyrene is everywhere, from styrofoam cups to bike helmets.  There was a third warning about fiberglass.  These notices are good indications of recalls and lawsuits coming in the future.

Add on top of this are the regulations regarding employees, especially the unknowable Obamacare.  My husband's company provides good benefits for their employees.  I know, because we get exactly the same insurance.  But what is coming?  We aren't big enough or important enough to get a waiver. 

I also read this recently.  Atlas Shrugged as truth, not fiction (cribbed from Dan Mitchell's blog):

Nobody professed to understand the question of the frozen railroad bonds, perhaps, because everybody understood it too well. At first, there had been signs of a panic among the bondholders and of a dangerous indignation among the public. Then, Wesley Mouch had issued another directive, which ruled that people could get their bonds “defrozen” upon a plea of “essential need”: the government would purchase the bonds, if it found proof of the need satisfactory. there were three questions that no one answered or asked: “What constituted proof?” “What constituted need?” “Essential-to whom?” …One was not supposed to speak about the men who, having been refused, sold their bonds for one-third of the value to other men who possessed needs which, miraculously, made thirty-three frozen cents melt into a whole dollar, or about a new profession practiced by bright young boys just out of college, who called themselves “defreezers” and offered their services “to help you draft your application in the proper modern terms.” The boys had friends in Washington.

"Friends in Washington."  So that's what we need.

A Shop-keeper's-eye View of Regulation

A couple of days ago I read this very interesting post by Amity Shlaes, author of The Forgotten Man.  The post is here, so go read it.

Fascinating reading, and so are the comments.  A few cast doubt on the idea that government can interfere with a small business so much that it becomes a drag on the economy.  I'm pretty sure they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about!

When I started my business I would have never, ever believed how much the government would have their hands in my little business.  My shop was the simplest possible business model:  buy things at one price, sell them at a higher price.  That's it.  So here's what the government, from local all the way to the big Federal Gum-mint, made me do:

I set up as an LLC, which involved a trip to the lawyer and then submitting forms to the Secretary of State in my state.  (1)  I had to also get a sales tax number from the state (2) which allowed me to collect sales tax.  That one took a while.  I submitted a different form to the IRS to get my Federal Taxpayer ID number, sort of like a SSN for corporations.  (3)  Not so bad.

So I needed to open an actual shop.  The space had to be remodeled, and the city had to sign off on the plans.  (4)  And of course I needed a sign, and so that plan also had to be submitted to the city.  (5)  I also needed to get an occupancy permit, the rough equivalent of a business license, from the city.  (6)

Six things, so far.  Not so bad.  But wait!  I needed employees, because I had no plans for doing this on my own.  I had to get a different number from the Department of Labor (7) and then fill out application forms for Unemployment Insurance Payments to start.  (8)  I also had the forms you are familiar with if you've ever had employment:  the Federal form with all the basic info so you can get paid (9) and a state form, again for unemployment insurance (10). 

Okay, up to ten, and I haven't opened my doors yet.  Don't forget...one misstep opens the door for the government to poke their noses around in ALL my business!  A tightrope, for sure.  But let's get started, and sell something!

Once a month, I file and pay my state sales tax (11).  Once a quarter, I file and pay the income tax for my employees--state (12) and federal (13).  Oh, wait, my employees didn't work enough to pay federal income tax.  But there was STILL a form to say that they didn't make enough, so I didn't owe (14).  Social Security withholding was a different form and a different method of payment (15).  And once a year I have to file a property tax statement and pay property taxes on my inventory!  (16)  Did you know that businesses have to pay a tax on their inventory at December 31?! Yeah, me neither. Also at the end of the year are my employees' 1099's (17) and my corporate tax return (18).

While I'm open, the Fire Marshall can come visit and tell me to cover up my back door exit sign.  (No joke, that happened one year.)  (19)  The code enforcers can stop by and tell me to raise or lower my sign and take signs out of my window.  (20)  The Department of Labor will stop and inspect the back storage closet to see that I've posted the mandatory "Know Your Rights" poster for my employees.  (21)

Craziest of all, one month after I sold the shop, the new owner received a notice from the county of an audit that they would perform as of 12/31/10.  WHAT?! They sent a long list of paperwork they needed for the audit, including some information from my personal tax return.  (22)  We got through it but what a pain!

Many, many of these reporting requirements are addressed by having a reliable accountant, which I did.  But that has a cost, the cost of compliance with tax regulation.  And one thing to point out is that I had only part-time employees.  Were I to have full-time employees, we would have to worry about health care in the next couple of years.  I have to say there would be TREMENDOUS incentive to cut everyone back to part-time to avoid the whole issue!

I'm not arguing for or against any of these requirements (well, maybe a little), but there are just so many!  It's a Byzantine process, trying to satisfy each one of the government entities that believe they deserve a piece of my business.  How can anyone doubt that these requirements are a drag on small businesses, and that each layer is another business or two or three that doesn't form, where the owner just decides it's not worth it.

So, is all of this regulation worth keeping some great ideas out of the marketplace?  What have we missed out on?

Spenders and Savers

P broke her piggy bank this week.  This is a very big deal in our house.  Here's the pig:

And here's his impending destruction:

And here's the loot:

She had saved $198.87!  I was shocked and amazed.  To be honest, I don't remember how long she's been saving, but I do know this is her second piggy bank.  She knew immediately what she wanted to buy:

After putting aside $20 for church, she had plenty, and I am delighted to buy her a blue cover for it.

After she got done counting, her younger sister D sat and looked at that pile of cash.  "It's not fair!" she exclaimed. 

"No, it is fair.  It is just persistence and consistency that allowed P to do that," I said.  What an econ lesson right at the table!

"That's right, D.  You just have to put your money right in the bank, as soon as you get it, and then it saves up.  Otherwise it is too easy to spend." That was from P.  Such wisdom at nine!  I wish I could say I taught her that but I didn't.

Isn't it interesting that D's first response was "Not fair!"  It's to be expected from a child of seven.  Then I reminded her how she had saved up $15, and then SHE decided to buy herself a new pair of shoes.  (Shoes that she is very proud of, might I add.)  So she got a new pair of shoes from the Gap, and her sister did without while she saved for a Kindle.  (Unbeknownst to me.  Do I even live in this house?!)  And after a little reflection, D was okay with that.  She will NEVER save up for a Kindle, but I'm pretty sure she's got lots of great shoes in her future.

How often do we hear this in the news?  It's not fair, that he works hard and makes a lot of money.  It's not fair that she was careful with her choice of college, didn't take lots of loans, and now can enjoy no Sallie Mae payments!  It's not fair that they saved their money, put 20% down on a house, and got a conventional mortgage.  It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair.  The little exchange at my kitchen table put it all in perspective:  a bunch of children who have never been taught to defer pleasure grow up to be adults who look for "fairness," equality of outcome, rather than equality of opportunity.  Food for thought as we strive to raise good kids into better adults.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get."--Samuel Goldwyn

Summer Reading: Thomas Sowell

One of the lovely benefits of selling the shop is that I get to read, at least a little.  This is my summertime reading right now:

I am a political junkie but lately feel like I've reached the end of my knowledge on some things.  I am looking for a firm foundation in basic principles.  My husband read this book about a year ago and highly recommended it.  It is exactly what it says, a primer on economics, meant to be used as I am, or even as a college-level textbook.  (Light reading!)

I've just completed the first part, a section on Prices and Markets. Here are some quotes from the book that I've highlighted during my reading:

Life does not ask us what we want.  It presents us with options.  Economics is one of the ways of trying to make the most of these options.

(Discussing profits and losses)...losses are equally important for the efficiency of the economy, because losses tell producers what to stop producing.

Knowledge is the most scarce of all resources.

(In discussing fluctuating price levels) However, the fact that water seeks its own level does not mean that the Atlantic Ociean has a smooth, glassy surface.  Waves and tides are among the ways in which water seeks its own level.  (In other words, just because prices fluctuate doesn't mean the prices are wrong or the markets bad.)

People tend to do more for their own benefit than the benefit of others.

And one of my favorites so far:

Economic policies need to be analyzed in terms of the incentives they create, rather than the hopes that inspired them.

That last one is crucial.  Way too many programs are started with the best of intentions ("hopes") but create incentives that actually work against the original purposes.

I wish I could list all of the very interesting things I've read about:  price supports for food in ancient Rome; rent control all over the world; the evolution of the grocery industry in America.  This is good food for thought.

Here is the first in a set of videos with Dr. Sowell.  It is a nice change of pace to see a person interviewed in a calm, intelligent way, with no "gotcha" moments.  If you've never heard him, this is worth a watch:

I'm also well aware of Dr. Sowell's conservative political leanings.  So far, though, his conservatism looks to me to be rooted in his rational view of economics, rather than having his political views give flower to his economic ideas.  I'll be looking for something other views soon, just to round out my education.  Suggestions welcome!

Joining in the Yarn Along

My first time participating in Ginny's Yarn Along, sharing what I'm knitting and reading.

Knitting:  Here's what I touched this week.

D's little throw.  This is Tree Knitter's Sugar Maple Shawl, my second one.  This time it's out of Florafil cotton yarn, which is absolutely delightful to work with.  You can find it at a cute little shop in Peachtree City.  (Yes, this was my shop!)  It's off the needles because I hit the part where I have to pick up 250 stitches around the edge for a ruffle.  The only yucky part of that pattern. 

I just started this shawl/scarf out of Macaibo.  It is going to be a shop sample.  Miles of garter stitch, mindless knitting.  The pattern is mine out of my head.

This is a mystery shawl I'm doing on Ravelry, from Misti Alpaca HandPaint Lace.  I've never done a square shawl, so the 2011 KALendar is a good one because it's just a little at a time.

And, miracle of miracles, I read a book this week.  It is only a little book, but worth your time.  I actually read it while I drank my second cup of coffee one morning.  Do The Work by Steven Pressfield.  And, while it would be a great book to buy, it's available as a FREE Kindle download!

Hopefully I'll be back for another Yarn Along.

And, credit to my friend Mary, who has a great blog at Homegrown Learners.  She introduced me to Small Things.  Oh, the things you discover on the interwebs!

Edited:  GRRRR.  Google doesn't want to load pictures right now.  I'll be back to try to update this later.

Edited again.  There.  I fixed it.

Oh my goodness, I've been quiet!

Too silent here.  This time, it's because things were brewing that I couldn't talk about, and those things consumed all of my mind.  Whenever I sat down to write, I could only think about the "verboten" topic.  I even quit cooking with French Fridays with Dorie.  (Wow!  My family is missing that one.)

But here's the news:  I sold my shop.  My precious sweet little yarn shop.  I am so proud of it.  And I am so relieved that I'm no longer the owner.  Two and a half years ago I had an idea, really just a kernel of an idea.  I was in graduate school in a competitive program, and was realizing that it wasn't for me.  As a knitter of about eighteen months, I thought I'd like to spend my days surrounded by beautiful color and fun customers.  So, after getting my FIRST EVER 4.0, I quit to open my shop.  Talk about turning on a dime.  My husband is a wonderful, patient man.

Fast forward two years.  (Really, super fast fast fast forward.)  My children are two years older, and we have found that we looooooove to travel.  They are also so busy, with track and lacrosse teams, theatre musicals, horses, horses, horses, and homework.  They weren't like this two years ago!  And my sweet little shop?  Busy as a beehive, thankfully!  I had wonderful employees (including my mom!), but also hundreds of customers who truly felt invested in my little shop.  If you've never been in a yarn shop, you should venture in sometime.  It really can be a little community.  I've been blessed to celebrate so many births and anticipated children and grandchildren, as well as friends who received the fruits of my customers' labors.  I've also shared the lows, the illnesses and deaths, and have cried with my friends.  What a blessing to be allowed to share all that life has to offer. 

If you have ever received a handmade gift, I am here to tell you that the maker thought and considered, prayed and labored, over your gift.  I saw it.

But one thing that I didn't count on was that, as the shop grew more successful, it would require even more of my attention, not less.  I had the crazy idea that it would start to run itself.  WRONG.  And as my fifth "baby" demanded more attention, my home was faltering.  Not just the messes.  The going on field trips, the planning parties, the inviting friends home, just on the spur of the moment.  Every single thing was planned to the minute, with no room for a sick day or even a "sick and tired" day.  Couple that with the realization that my sweet oldest boy had turned twelve, two-thirds of the way to college, and something had to give.  Of course that was my shop.

I believed when I opened the shop that I was following a path that the Lord had laid out for me.  So when, after much prayer and deliberation, I decided I had to exit the shop, I expected that I would see some sort of path.  It happened so much faster than I expected!  The first day I told my employees, one of them called and offered to buy the shop.  Just like that.  I almost dropped the phone when she called me. Since then, we've had some little roadblocks, with timing and such, but overall we have had such a good time sharing this experience.  The attorney handling the sale just shook his head as he watched us agree to a price.  It was that easy.  She is thrilled, and so am I. 

So, the blog has been quiet.  But now it isn't.  I think I'll try to be more open, and I have some ideas moving forward.  I wonder what it will be like to be "just" a mom again, for the first time in two-and-a-half years.  I'm a little nervous.  But I also look forward to the adventures the kids and I will have this summer, and beyond.  And I think I'm looking forward to cleaning the laundry room.  I know everyone else is looking forward to that.  And a horse in my future?  Mmmm, maybe?

Things I've learned today

Or relearned.

1.  Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip are not the same.  I'm a mayo girl.
2.  The expiration date on Coke is there for a reason.
3.  If you have to turn off the hot water heater, the dishwasher will not work.
4.  I hate making out a grocery list.  Hate with the white-hot heat of a thousand suns.
5.  A missing phone guarantees that at least five people will need to get in touch with me RIGHT NOW.

And it's only 1:30.

AND ALSO:

6.  I shouldn't have looked up.  Too many cobwebs.
7.  "Toes" by the Zac Brown Band is inappropriate for a piano recital.  An eleven-year-old will NOT understand this.
8.  It is going to cost a hell of a lot to replace my phone. 

Vacation eating--and good at home, too

We were in Montana a couple of weeks ago.  Can it really be a couple of weeks ago?!  We rented a house and spent our days skiing our legs off.  So at the end of the day, we'd pile in the hot tub and then relax in front of the television.  The last thing I wanted to do was whip up a gourmet meal in the kitchen!  And the second-to-last thing anyone wanted to do was sit in a restaurant to eat anything.  We wanted easy and comforting after a long day on the slopes.

Here's one dinner that I make at home all the time, but hadn't realized how really simple it is.  We had a simply-stocked kitchen, and I had also picked up Bisquick along with our other staples because we like pancakes or biscuits in the morning.  One evening we were hungry for a little taste of home:

Chicken and Dumplings, Vacation-Style

Two or Three Chicken Breasts--boneless or not.  (Pick bone-in for better broth, but boneless for quicker cooking)

Onion if you have one (I didn't)

A couple of celery sticks if you have them (I didn't)

A couple of carrots if you have them (I did)

Two cups of Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

A bag of mixed frozen veggies (the old-fashioned cubed kind)

Trim as much fat as you can from the chicken.  Place the chicken in a pot and cover with water.  Season with salt and pepper and add the fresh veggies if you have them.  You can also add thyme and oregano if you have them.  Heat over medium heat and boil for  little while.  For boneless chicken I always go about twenty minutes.  That might be too long but I am completely paranoid about undercooked chicken.

Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it.  Pour the broth into a bowl and strain it back into your pot.  Make sure you remove your cooked veggies.  These should look gross now anyway.  This is where it is important to have trimmed a bunch of fat off the chicken--it's really hard to defat your broth because you don't want to wait around for it.

Put your shredded chicken into the pot with the broth.  Add more water (or canned broth if you have it) to cover the chicken and a little more.  Toss the frozen veggies in, too.  Bring this to a boil.  While it's heating, mix the Bisquick and milk.  When the broth is boiling, drop small biscuit-size pieces of dough on the broth.  You'll end up covering the entire surface of the broth with the dumpling dough.  Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, and cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes more.  

That's it.  Not fast, but easy, hands-off, and really tasty and warm.  The frozen veggies let the mom in me feel okay about the endless chicken fingers, hot dogs and hot chocolate we were consuming during the day. 

I didn't think about a picture of dinner when I made it, sorry, but the picture up there sums up part of our apres-ski routine every night.  I think they were watching Idol or something.

This post links back to my friend Mary's blog at Homegrown Learners, and her "Wednesdays What's for Dinner."  She is such an innovative mom, full of great ideas for homeschooling and being a mom in general.  Of course, she's also a really nice person, too.  Hopefully I'll have a French Fridays with Dorie post again, but for now my quick recipe here will have to do!

Were you curious?

Here's the book I was reading:  French Cooking in Ten Minutes a Day.  This remarkable little book was written in 1930 by a physician who decided that French cooking wasn't all that.  It was just about the freshest, most delicious ingredients possible, while always remembering how flavors will combine.  No braising, baking or roasting here, but great ideas for pan-frying and sauce-making.

I'll share one great piece of advice Dr. Poulaine gives:  as soon as you walk in the door, put a pot of water on to boil.  Why?  Well, you don't know yet, but chances are you'll need it for something, and you'll never get your meal made in ten minutes if you have to wait on the pot of water.  This is something I've started doing, and it works!  I almost always need it for something.

Now, the reason there is no picture is that I have lost the book.  It is somewhere in my house but I don't know where.  This is the second thing this week I've lost.  Sunday I lost my phone and I just don't know what to do.  It's out of power (of course) and I've retraced all my steps.  How long do you go before you get a new one?  I wanted a new iPhone but not this way. 

What book is this?

Cooking like a madwoman (why oh why can I not over-commit?), but I got the most wonderful book today via Amazon Prime.  Here is the first paragraph:

First of all, let me tell you that this is a beautiful book.  I can say that because this is its first page.  I just sat down to write it, and I feel happy, the way I feel whenever I start a new project.

Now, I have to put this wonderful book down and go make a breakfast casserole, but is that not the most delightful introduction to a book?  And what in the world could this book be about?  I want to sit down with a lovely glass of wine and marinate in this writing, but I have to run.  I want to hear your guesses!