Good morning, everyone.  We have rain that should change to snow shortly.  A lot of the snow we got at the end of last week is gone--except for the small mountains where the snow plows piled what they scooped up.  As came down the stairs this morning and looked out the window in the front door I thought it was either getting foggy or we had a very dirty window.  Well looking out now we can hardly see across the street.  The fog has really rolled in.  And the temperature has risen to 40F.

Hi, Nicola.  Thanks.  Update on the weather--we have a fine snow blowing around outside.  Mom said the thermometer on the patio was reading just at 32F so the temperature had dropped 8 degrees in just over an hour.  We aren't expecting more than an inch or two but the news is saying the East Coast might just get slammed.

I am already disgusted with the morning broadcast news.  It has shifted to the fluff all too quickly.  So I put on Pandora and am perusing the internet for interesting items.  So far nothing much.  I will see what happens as I go along.

This BBC report echoes several stories I have read over the last few days  It triggered a memory of a story I saw on one or another news program (on NHK World I think about a month ago).  The slant of that story was somewhat different and concerned efforts to both make antibiotic treatment more affordable (sometimes free) for India's slum dwellers at the same time making it easier for the patients to stay on the long term treatment.  It takes six to nine month of continuous antibiotic treatment to effectively treat TB.  Like many American, Indians often stop taking the drugs when they start feeling better.  One of the reports covered what I think is a minor controversy: whether the cases represent a truly totally-drug resistant form of TB or is merely another extremely-drug resistant strain.  A distinction with no true difference, I think.  But evidently there is some good news on this front: according to WHO the numbers of cases declined last year for the first time since the organization started keeping records.

I just took a break and placed 3 of my seed orders.  Sounds like a lot but involved only 3 packets from each.  I am leaving the Burpee order for later in the month when Menards should have their extensive Burpee display up.  I remember they carried a couple of the seeds I wanted and may have others.  I will still have plenty of time even if they don't to order directly.  So what did I get?  Here is the list--

Schumway--tansy, pyrethrum, and chocolate cherry tomatoes
Jung--Butterbush squash, cabbage babies (small versions of red and green cabbage), vine peach
Baker Creek--lipstick sweet pepper, albino bullnose sweet pepper, lemon squash

Should be an interesting year in the garden--but then aren't they all.

To continue with something far more dismal, Joshua Brown at Reformed Broker posted this bit that should scare the pants off anyone who has a JP Morgan Chase credit card.  And I would extend the caution and skepticism to any of the other too-big-to-fail banks.  If JPM was carrying the robo-signing fraud over to credit cards you can bet their competition did so also--to some extent.

I follow a few bloggers who tat.  Every now and then I find something unusual as here at Suztats.  I keep telling my self that one of these days I will get out my needles and get serious about tatting.  Sigh--something always seems to draw me away.