Good Thursday to all. Sun today after two and a half days of snow. We came up with about 10 inches so it wasn't too bad.

Thanks for the good wishes, Lois. I have heard of New Trier. The school is sometimes in the news here. Mom went to another high school in Chicago. By the time I was old enough to attend schools they had already moved out of the city. I have only felt two earthquakes and was far enough away that it was a mildly odd sensation. Thankfully!!

Rob Herbert has an opinion piece in the New York Times that is very interesting. I found it in a link on The Curious Capitalist blog. I am not surprised at the data. After all, it simply parallels the income and wealth data. Those at the top of the list (say the top 10%) command the lion's share of the income, own a massive share of the wealth, and suffer the least from un/underemployment. But what is more interesting is that those at the lowest levels get the least attention. When you see the angry Tea Baggers, who do you see? Those are people who still have nice houses, nice clothes, access to medical care, health insurance. Maybe the news media should look at the bottom of the heap a bit and explain why the Tea Baggers are so angry and so afraid. Also, maybe, we should ask how any jobs bills will affect those at the low end of the scale. I suspect that none of those programs will help the largest number of the unemployed. Especially not when the 'clean energy' programs have (according to a news report on ABC a couple of nights ago) have resulted in far more jobs in China than over here.

Robert Reich has another on-point analysis of the current economic situation. I can't argue with anything he has written. I would add something, though. I don't begrudge people who have worked hard and taken advantage of their lucky breaks to gain wealth and success. I think people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and others like them deserve their wealth. They took an idea, built a product, convinced others to buy that product and built their companies--companies they owned. However, Blankfein, Dimon, and the others running the major banking houses are managers not owners. They are managing companies built long ago by the generation of entrepreneurs who came before Gates and Jobs. Do mere managers really deserve those outsized salaries and bonuses--especially given what has happened under their watch?

John Michael Greer, at the Archdruid Report, always puts out an interesting blog and today's is no exception. He says a lot of things and weaves in a number of themes that have been in my mind for sometime. The U.S. well on its way to becoming a third world country? He makes a good case.

Hi, Everyone. Well, the snow seems to be winding down but the wind is gusting so the drifts will pile up. Our landlords have a good crew working to clear the sidewalks and the parking areas. We will go out later and get our patio and the car clear. The news said that a small earthquake hit just west of Chicago. No, I didn't feel it. A lot of other people from Wisconsin to Tennessee and from Iowa to Ohio did. No damage so far and no injuries.

I have spent most of the morning, so far, unsewing the latest quilt top. The arrangement looked good on the wall but just didn't look good when sewn. So I am trying to come up with something that will go together well.

Robert Reich has a good post about that abortion named Anthem that just announced a 39% increase in individual insurance rates in California. I agree with him until he speculates about joining the Tea Party movement. I am sorry but a group that says it is speaking for right-to-lifers, right wing Christianists, those who want government to keep its hands off their Medicare, and disgruntled liberals is rather like the product of a mating between an elephant and a whale. There isn't anything coherent about it. I also notice that the rates for groups aren't going up. Is that because individuals are more vulnerable? After all, if a group composed of a large number of people, like a union, walks away the loose a lot of business all at once. Another reason why those who see unions as a major problem are full of s**t, unless they have a lot of Anthem stock.

I did get some good news. I am officially retired and the Social Security will start coming next month. We can breath somewhat easier now. We have been managing but the margin was very narrow. At least now we can indulge in a little treat every now and then.

Hello, all, on this snowy Tuesday. I'm not complaining since we got several nice days that were mostly sunny. It was a nice treat. Sorry all those east of me--what we are getting, perhaps as much as a foot by noon Wednesday, is headed your way. But, then, the weather people have been telling y'all about this for a couple of days. The nice thing about this mess is that our legislative branch has a real excuse to do nothing. They should make the most of it.

I found this item this morning from Chris In Paris at Americablog. Normally, I don't take too kindly to kidnapping and other forms of lawlessness. However, in this case, I sympathize totally with the kidnappers.

John Aravosis, also at Americablog, had this story and commentary. Beth Maxey, at Old Musings, I normally follow had some commentary a couple of days ago. Once upon a time, we didn't have health insurance. It became more widespread after WWII when it became a benefit that unions bargained for in labor contracts. Also, once upon a time, medical care didn't bankrupt people. Does anyone remember the scene in The Shootist where John Wayne's character was told he had cancer? Cancer and other serious conditions were, more often or not, fatal. Now we have the means to treat them but the cost is more than the average person can afford--often the equivalent of a lifetime of wages even for a person making the national 'average' of about $45k per year. Even an uncomplicated pregnancy and labor can cost upwards of $15k. Think about that. Even before you take a baby home from the hospital (over and above the expense for clothing, bottles, crib and what not) you are in hock for more than one quarter of your yearly income. This is a truly obscene situation.

Good Morning, everyone. It is a beautiful, sunny day here though the temps won't get out of the 20s. We were on the edge of the storm that Kay told me is supposed to dump a foot of snow on Ohio and points east and well north of the tail end of the system that socked in DC and the east coast. We got only a light dusting of snow but the weather people say that a more substantial system will come in Monday night into Tuesday morning. We'll see.

I found this in my Google alerts this morning from Forbes. Michael Fumento asks 'Why WHO faked a swine flu pandemic?' I think you have to take a step back from that question what assumes that they did fake it and ask what the technical definition of a pandemic is and whether the technical definition has any real meaning for ordinary people. MedicineNet.com defines a pandemic as an epidemic (a sudden outbreak) that affects a wide geographical area such as whole countries or continents. In that case we did have a swine flu pandemic. The definition does not take into consideration the severity of the disease itself. A better question, and one that has much more relevance and doesn't call into question the motives of the administrators at WHO, is whether governments, the media and individuals overreacted.

Good Morning, Everyone. I usually ease into the morning blogging but I came across this item from TPM that raised the blood pressure and the swear meter to record heights for this early in the morning. We seem to be governed by extortionists, blackmailers, and thieves. I have a few fantasies as to what we should do with Senator Shelby but they are all highly illegal, definitely immoral and would exact a higher price on us than that piece of dung is worth. This (insert your own favorite descriptor) wants to scuttle Social Security, destroy medicare, tried to prevent the expansion of medical care for low income children, has stood against medical insurance reform and yet for a mere $85 billion he will not (for now) filibuster Obama's nominations. I say his price is too fraking high.

I saw this article in my Google Alerts and on Facebook this morning. Bob Sullivan on his Red Tape Chronicles talks about a subject that echoes one we have had over morning coffee for some time--the effect of technology on our lives. In the last 6 months we have had to replace our computers and our cell phones. We wanted out phones to be phones not hand held computers. What we got, of course, were phones fully capable of surfing the internet, texting, taking photographs, keeping appointments, phone books etc. The only thing we use of that list is the phone book. We don't want the extra cost of texting or internet, much to the dismay of some relatives who have taken to texting with a will. We went with a very simple version of the iBook that has all of the power, speed, and memory we need. Making these choices has become a way of life here. I have often repeated a maxim when it comes to the failure of technology--the more complicated something is the more things can go wrong and the more likely something will go wrong.

Good Morning, everyone. Elaine asked in an e-mail if I was getting cabin fever yet and, yeah, I am. As I mentioned before, though I like the change in seasons, my least favorite season is winter. The sooner it is over the better.

Thanks for the compliments, Kay. I have been doing some forms of needlework (crochet and embroidery) since I was a teenager. Others (quilting, needlepoint, cross-stitch) I picked up along the way. I call stitching my 'therapy.' A lot cheaper than a therapist and none of the negative consequences of drinking.

We heard a bit about this proposal on the tv morning news. I have my doubts about how effective the program will be. I remember a small businessman who commented on the proposed tax breaks on new equipment. Basically, he didn't see any sense in upgrading his delivery vans (and by extension any other still useful equipment) if he had no customers to deliver something to. I am glad to see the part that prohibits firing workers to make room for new tax-exempt employees. But then the exception in the case of workers who leave 'voluntarily' or are fired for cause means there is one hell of a big loophole. Those concepts can be stretched to infinity and have been by employers trying to avoid unemployment payments.

I have been reading about the crocheted reef project for some time now. The pictures are absolutely fantastic. Here is a short video talk by the founder of the project. Enjoy!

U.S. News has this article I found by way of Elaine who shared it by of Google Reader. We have implemented most of these sometimes for economic reasons but often for reasons of simplicity,health, or other esthetic considerations. Those we haven't actually implemented we constantly re-examine to see if they would fit our needs. How many reflect your reality in these times?

Good Morning, Everyone. We had snow over night--just a dusting. We are supposed to get a bit more today, but just a bit. I am definitely ready for spring.

I thought I would show a bit of what I have been doing for the last little bit. I think I showed a full picture of the Mother Goose Crib Quilt just before Christmas. Here is a close up of part of the center. I gave it to my sister (the new grandma--again) to give to my niece (her daughter--the new mom--again). Sister liked it but haven't heard anything from the direct recipients.

The main motif of this table scarf has been done for a very long time. I just had to get off my butt and get the hem and lace done. Being me I just couldn't do an invisible tacking stitch to attach the lace. I have a whole lot of embroidery thread in my stash so I decided to use a stem stitch. Turned out pretty nice so I am in the middle of finishing another scarf with more embroidery to finish it off. I will show it when it is done. I have at least two more pieces I finished the embroidery months (years?) ago and just haven't got around to actually finishing the pieces. I am hoping to finish more projects than I start this year. Get the UFO pile down.

Now that I have cleared my design wall by putting the final segments of the quilt in the last picture (below) I have some room for a new one. This one I call 'All the Pretty Horses' because the multi-color fabric has a pattern of brightly colored stylized horses running over it. I stumbled on a technique called 'tube quilting' I hadn't heard of before and decided to try it. It is an interesting way of making small blocks that can be arranged in a number of different patterns. It does work up quickly, though that is not a major concern for me. My pieces get done when they get done and speed piecing doesn't necessarily speed up the process.

Here is the top that just came off the design wall. I call it 'Little Safari.' The worst part of it was setting in the little diamonds but I got proficient enough towards the end that if I do another pattern that needs diamonds I won't be put off. But I won't go out of my way to do another with diamonds.