The Cottage on the Hill

All of us, at some point in our lives, have words that clutter our minds.  Maybe it was that boy who called you ugly at school when you secretly longed to hear that you were beautiful.  Maybe it is something formed through various life experiences. Mine actually has a name.  I call it, "Poe's Crow."  In Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem, it is the Raven who cries "Nevermore."  My "Poe's Crow" repeats "never enough." I'm never enough.  Never enough faith.  Never enough self-discipline.  Never pretty enough, smart enough, talented enough.  There's never enough money.  Never enough time.  Never enough sleep.  Never enough wakeful hours.  Never healthy enough.  Never good enough.  Never even bad enough to get the help I need!  (I've been told that plenty of times.)  NEVER ENOUGH!! Last week, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber posted for free on YouTube his 25th Anniversary performance of The Phantom of the Opera...

From what I understand, Covid-19 is not going away.  It isn't going to just disappear forever once "this is over."  As a matter of possible fact, we're all probably going to get it at some point until the world starts building immunity towards it. This possibility has me thinking about how to prepare my family.  Currently, we are utilizing the protective mandates issued by our governments:  social distancing, staying home, masking, disinfecting, hand washing.  But, as far as I can tell right now, this is just to avoid too many people being infected at once and not overwhelm the hospitals.  Also, it buys time for the medical community to develop treatments and perhaps a vaccine. We've already had one exposure scare.  (Turns out it was the common flu.)  I've also noticed how we're all "on edge."  We're all sleeping a lot more, moody a lot more, in pain a lot more, brain foggy a lot more, lazy a lot more.  It's all part of the stress re...

Yesterday, I went to the local grocery store early in the morning.  My son's pet fish needed his tank cleaned badly.  I always buy spring water from the grocery store since our home water is so hard and treated with a softener.  So, since I had to go into the germs to get the water, I figured I'd do some grocery shopping as well.  The less I can be out, the better.  This was only my 2nd time in a grocery store since the official shut-down began. Having rarely been to the stores, it was a real eye-opener to see what was and wasn't available...and some of the prices.  The meat counter was dismal, but not hopeless.  Thankfully, I can work with pretty much any meat placed in front of me.  This is what I was able to purchase: A 4 lb beef roast at $17. A 5 lb bone-in pork roast at $8.60 A 5 lb pack of split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin on) $9 The beef roast and pork roast were low-grade cuts.  Certainly not the meat you would cook up ...

Sometimes, we create the problems simply by believing them to happen.  Say there is going to be a toilet paper shortage and people panic-buy toilet paper, thus causing the shortage.  Lately, there are rumors that meat will be in short supply.  Is it a valid warning, or more fear-mongering that will drive up costs and actually create a shortage?  It is hard to tell. In my minimal worldwide economic knowledge, I assume that our imports of eastern meats have slowed and we may have to rely more on American meats.  It is also wise to support our local farmers, regardless of the global situation.  My only issue with local meats is their price.  It is hard to justify paying nearly $20 for a whole chicken produced locally when I can get a whole chicken for $4.00 at the grocery store.  When you're on a limited budget and have a larger family to feed, you do what you can afford.  However, it may come to it that I have to shell out the price for t...