Saturday, November 24, 2007, 05:46
Too Much. . .Thanksgiving and Gas Prices
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I ate too much. I always eat too much. After a meal like that, I feel like I ought to go out and chop wood for a couple of days. I don't actually go out and chop wood. But I ought to!
Thursday I made apple salad to take to my sister's house for Thanksgiving. I baked a batch of walnut bread to take, too, along with the potato buns I had baked Wednesday night after we arrived home from the Thanksgiving Eve service at church.
While I was mixing up the walnut bread Thursday morning, I listened to public radio. I had turned the radio on in the basement for Henry, Dora and Katerina while I was feeding them. The three kittens like to hear the voices on the radio. I think it makes them feel "safe" -- as if a momma cat is watching over them. They like to play when I am down in the basement. When I leave, they go back into their "house" (the box with the heating pad). If the radio is on, they feel more like playing when I am not down in the basement.
As I fed the kittens, a guest speaker was talking about seasonal affective disorder. I think I suffer from a touch of that every winter. As a result of the short days and long nights, I feel really sluggish and not very productive sometimes.
After the seasonal affective disorder guest, public radio had a guest talking about the high gas prices. The "expert" said gasoline prices were not high enough yet to affect anyone's daily life or travel patterns or shopping patterns.
Really? I wonder who *he* talked to? In this neck of the woods, I think the gas prices are affecting plenty of people. For families that were already only making enough to make ends meet every month, the higher gas prices are going to mean that they don't spend as much money on "extras" -- whatever extras may be. Eating out. Spending more on Christmas gifts. Buying a new appliance. Buying new clothes.
I also think that the impact of the higher gas prices is going to be something that shows up over time. Randy and I are spending $120 *more* per month this year than last year to do the same amount of driving we did before. That means we have $120 per month less to spend on something else, whatever the "something else" might turn out to be.
Here's what I think will happen. First of all, retail sales are going to be down somewhat this Christmas over what was expected. Then I think as the months go by, all retail stores are going to see a decline in sales. Right now, as a country, we have a "negative" savings rate. I have heard that people are saving less money now (that is, putting money away for a rainy day) than at any time since the Great Depression. Over time, credit card debt is going to continue to rise because people won't have the money to buy certain things that they need because they are spending more money just to get to work.
Grocery stores will eventually see a decline in sales as well because people won't be able to afford as many groceries as they could before. People also may start to make fewer doctor and dentist visits. They may cut back on prescription drugs that they need. Foreclosures will increase, too. In this area, every issue of the newspaper carries notices about foreclosures and sheriff's auctions.
And these, I think, are only a few of the impacts that will be seen.
Other impacts might be that people will begin to raise gardens again and to preserve some of their own food. People may begin to recycle more and to reuse more. People might even learn to "make do" with certain things and get more wear out of them (whether it's a car, shoes, clothing or appliances or furniture).
Some of these effects will not be a bad thing because they will help to conserve certain resources. And if people buy less, then there will be less need to import all of that cheap junk from China, for example.
This isn't the end of the increase in gas prices, of course. I wouldn't be surprised if we are paying $5 a gallon by next summer if not more. And I think times are going to be hard. Maybe even catastrophic. But perhaps some good will come of it. Perhaps people will readjust their priorities and will reduce the amount of resources they are consuming. Perhaps people will grow some of their own food again. Food you grow yourself is healthier than food imported from a half a world away when it was picked green.
So what do *you* think? Have gas prices already started to change the way you live? Do you think we are headed for hard times, economically speaking? Will mortgage lenders, banks and credit card companies start to go under because people can't pay their debt? And if they do go under, is this necessarily a bad thing? Does the housing market need to adjust itself to make up for all of those greedy people who talked folks into buying more house than they could afford?
LeAnn R. Ralph
Wednesday, November 21, 2007, 06:05
A Bone-Chilling Cold
The last few days have been bone-chillingly cold here. The air temperature has not been that bad -- low 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 30 degrees at night. And if we had some sunshine, I'm sure it would feel downright wonderful.
But we haven't had sunshine. It has been cloudy and damp. No precipitation. Just cloudy and damp. Monday night when I came home from a city council meeting, fog was beginning to form, swirling over the road in places and closing in and making the visibility poor.
When I got home, I went outside with Pixie, and I couldn't help shivering. It was as if the foggy cold air was going right through me. It was still foggy and bone-chillingly cold when I went out later Monday evening to check on the horses, and Tuesday it was also kind of misty and damp and felt very cold. The weather forecast has been saying it will be sunny and cold this week, but so far, I haven't seen any sunshine.
Henry
The little gray boy kitten finally revealed his name to me: Henry! Randy calls him Hank. He weighs about twice as much as his sisters. Henry seems like a good solid name for a solid little kitten. All three babies are still taking formula from a 60 cc syringe. They haven't shown much interest in eating canned kitty food. But they have started to use their little litter box sometimes! So they ought to start wanting some solid food soon, too.
Tuesday evening when I went upstairs to check on supper, Dora the Explorer followed me to the stairs and made it up onto the first step all by herself. Prior to this, I felt that I was safe once I reached the steps. The kittens are at the stage where they like to follow a person around and get under your feet. They don't know yet that they can get stepped on.
So now when I go downstairs and the kittens are out and about, I am doing "the kitten shuffle." It is safer for them if I slide my feet along the floor rather than pick my feet up. They go through this stage for quite a long while, until they figure out that people feet can step on kitten toes. I used to tell Snowflake when she was a baby that she had to go in her kitty carrier for a while from time to time so I could walk around for a few minutes without worrying that I was going to step on her and hurt her.
License
The neighboring school district (20 minutes away) needs substitute teachers, so I have downloaded the application form from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction web site for a substitute teacher license. I filled out the form, took it into town Tuesday, had it notarized and had copies made of the application and of my check for $100. The school district says that after I have sent in the application, they only need a copy of the application and the check and that they don't have to wait for the license from the DPI. Because I have a bachelor's degree and I have held Wisconsin teacher certification in the past (I have a Master of Arts in Teaching), I am automatically eligible for a five-year substitute teacher license.
I have subbed for this school district in the past. They generally try to call the night before if they need a sub for the next day. And they try to schedule as much in advance as possible. I have no way of knowing (and they don't either) of how often they are going to need me as a sub. It could be a couple of days a week or a couple of days a month. It would be a more sane schedule than the newspaper work, though.
Once again, with a holiday this week, I find myself resenting the holiday. I have four newspaper stories that need to be finished by Friday. Thursday will be pretty much eliminated as a work day, so that means I have to get as much done as possible on Wednesday if I don't want to stay up most of the night Thursday, which I will probably end up doing anyway. Just because there is a holiday does not mean there is any less newspaper space to be filled. A holiday only means there are four days to do the work instead of five. I have potato buns to make for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, too. And our church choir will be singing for Thanksgiving Eve service. Wednesday will be one of those days that needs 36 hours instead of 24.
LeAnn R. Ralph