We are still in the middle of a general clean up and culling of "stuff." We will probably be at it, with a day off for rest and/or shopping/errands, for the next week or so. We came here almost 18 years ago with what we each kept from separate apartment and house, and crammed it into a two bedroom town house. Since then the pattern of our lives have changed and what we do (and how we do it) have also changed. Somehow going through all this and either throwing away or giving away or donating so much feels worse that the "big 0" birthdays that remind one of how much older one is getting. I believe I had mentioned that my needlework stash had gone SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) a long time ago and I am now engaged in small projects that will use it up while trying to restrain myself from adding to it. I came here with somewhere around 10k books but that has been whittled down to maybe 1000. I usually do my reading on my iPad now (after resisting e-books for a number of years.) We are following a basic rule on most of the stuff: if you haven't used it (or read it, or viewed it) in the past couple of years, get rid of it.

Well, it seems the number of school shootings I cited the other day is in question--justifiably as this piece at Snopes points out. The number cited, 18 for this year, includes any discharge of a weapon in or at a school whether in session or not for any reason at all (or no known reason). It seems that the devil is indeed in the details (or definition.) However, in my not so humble opinion, reducing it from 18 to the 7 in Snopes first breakout section still results in far too many. In fact, ONE would have been way too many.

Still on that subject check this out at Crooks & Liars. Like gratitude, "thoughts and prayers" are worth their weight in gold. If more congress critters got donation checks reflecting that perhaps something might get done.

Windypundit has some good comments on the proposed changes to SNAP. Another site (sorry, forgot to make not of which) mentioned the changes making food assistance an exercise in humiliation.