Good day on this wet Sunday.  The clouds moved in yesterday evening after I had finished what I intended to do outside.  I moved the tansy into its own large pot.  Digging out the container it had been in over winter I found roots infiltrating at least half of the container all the way to the rock layer on the bottom.  I knew it is invasive but it is more so than I expected.  So it has been banished from the main beds.  It will make a real nice show of ferny foliage all by itself.  Tomorrow afternoon I plant to fill another large pot and put the pyrethrum in it.  It didn't invade as much of its container but still I think it will be easier to contain if it is by itself.  All of the pots on east side of the patio are changed out and refilled and the shepherd's hooks moved.  The little birds are happy--I refilled the feeder.  We were overjoyed to see new shoots coming up on the hibiscus.  The little heating pad seems to be working--quite a few of my recently planted seeds are poking their little heads up.

You might find some of these pictures cute.  I have been reading about ultra-small houses for quite a while now.  Some are real gems.

I guess long-term unemployment isn't a very important topic on Capitol Hill.  A hearing on the problem before the 19-member Joint Economic committee began with only ONE senator (a Democrat) in attendance.  Three more Democrats joined at varying stages of lateness.  The quote indicates that because of a very busy schedule it isn't all that unusual for committee members to be late or to make a short appearance for 'important' hearings if only to be seen.  Long-term unemployment, I gather, falls well below 'fixing' the 'disruption' the sequester caused for the nation's air ports and air-traffic controllers.

Ours economic/political/social system is based on trust.  That has been a constant refrain every time some scandal of some sort hits and the powers that be insist that we 'must restore trust' in what ever system was involved.  My frequently asked, but not explicitly answered, question has been: what happens when the trust is fully lost?  This might provide a glimpse at an answer.  I have seen articles for the last several months about shortages of baby formula starting in Australia and New Zealand then moving to Britain and other European countries and, as in this story, Hong Kong.  I don't blame Chinese parents for wanting safe formula for their babies, especially since the one-child policy is still enforced.  Evidently the Chinese authorities haven't been able to 'restore trust.'