Sunday--

Got the outside shed cleaned up and straightened out.  I am a bit of a packrat.  I don't like to throw away anything that might be useful down the road but eventually I have to make some hard decisions.  At some point I find that I have accumulated better options or have simply run out of space.  I have groused (mildly) about lack of space before but it is a blessing in that I do have to make those choices and can't accumulate ad infinitum.  I still have to sort out the mini-greenhouse.  August begins the garden wind-down.  I have two spent tomato plants to take out and I am considering the same for the dragon's egg cucumbers.  It is also time to get serious about evaluating plants and planning where what will be planted next year--what we will keep, what we won't and what might be interesting to try out.

For years consumers have been advised to get generic drugs where possible.  But recently some cracks in what sounds like good money saving advice have appeared.  Mom's doctor insists on prescribing Synthyroid instead of a generic.  She asked why and he told her that the generics simply don't test out accurately.  Thyroid hormones must be carefully and accurately balanced and monitored so the physician has to be able to rely on the test results.  However, this story indicates another crack in the generic strategy is developing:  consolidation within the industry and radical increases in prices.

And for another look at how well "austerity" is working in Greece.  Not well--and the bastard Troika want more of it while providing no real relief from the debt.