Good morning to you all.  Cold and sunny today.  Nothing much planned.  We got all our errands done yesterday.  I am feeling a bit lazy so I am going to do nothing--just because I can.

Now that the election is over the focus of our media has shifted to our so-called 'fiscal cliff.'  I noticed the headlines this morning proclaiming that Obama has proposed raising revenues by, I think it said, some $1.6 trillion over the next ten years.  Much more than anticipated.  Then I saw this little blog post by heather at Crooks&Liars.  Some Repthuglican loud mouth suggested that they would go along if the retirement age were raised (along with Medicare eligibility) to 67.  Over the last year, one of my brothers who is a little less than 2 years younger than I am has decided to retire earlier than he wanted because of job related health problems.  He has spent almost as much time on sick leave (and vacation when that ran out) as he has working.  Thankfully, he has very good health insurance and won't have to wait for medical care till he is 65.  I really do resent those who have nice cushy jobs with really good salaries, adequate health insurance, and air conditioned offices telling others who have none of that they have to work longer to cure the fiscal mess they didn't cause.  I think they should do more than walk a mile in our shoes.  They should live 30 years in our skins.

Interlude:  I just went out to check on the gardens.  Wanted to see how the plants were faring considering that we have had sub-freezing temps for the last several nights.  I found ice on the table/potting bench.  I was afraid for my cabbages and kale and rightly it seems.  They are gone.  I started them about a month too late for them to mature.  I think the pineapple sage is also.  I found an icy crust of varying thickness on all of the containers.  I guess now all I can do is wait for spring to see what comes back.  I did get my moisture probe under the crust in most of the containers and found good moisture.  At least that isn't a problem.