Ha ha. Pretty awful when a big event in your life gets to be a trip to Walmart to get your dead battery checked and charged. I need to get out more. Obviously. I thought I saw something about Walmart on the cheap seeds thread but never would have driven out there just to get seeds even 20-cent seeds. But it's kind of weird how things play out. Tiffy posted a photo of some gorgeous Sweet William she WS'ed. I thought no sense in paying shipping costs to order more after all I've already ordered. But I really wanted some. So I got 'em. They look pretty but doubt any will be as gorgeous as the one Tiffy got. I don't remember seeing any veggie seeds (or herbs) but was pretty distracted with all the things on my mind. Those might have been on another rack or more will come in. These are American Seed Company and say expiration date 12/10 so I assume they're fresh. When I get in one of those huge cavernous stores, my anxiety kicks in, and I just feel sensory overload. There was one other flower I thought of, oh I'm tired and can't think of it. I thought of it and was a little tempted. Oriental Poppy. The photo showed a red one and a peach one. I didn't get any peach ones out of all the poppies I ordered. There is a Dollar Tree store down on the other end but I was in no mood to run in here and there. I make it sound like it's a day trip. It's at most 4+ miles out by the interstate. I just hate it along that street, lots of the big name stores and condos, eating places, all kinds, looks totally unplanned and just not a pleasant drive. I always say I hate Walmart, but when I do have to go there, I always find something. The crazy thing is that I buy a car and keep it until it won't run any more, got this one in about 94. Well, not too long after, in the middle of winter of course, the battery goes dead. It's fuzzy, but I got one there because they were one of the few places open that late, and that was when they didn't have any tire and lube annex so some nice fellow just came out and put it in my car for me right by the front door of the store. I've been working on that same lifetime warranty for four batteries now lol, works as long as you have the same car. But if this one goes dead again, I'm not sure what I'll do. It's new this past fall, a replacement for a new one last year that did the exact same thing, a dud. So that's why I had to go to Walmart today. They didn't charge me anything for checking and charging the battery so that was nice. While I was finishing that up, I paid for my seeds there because I'd already paid for my other stuff at the regular checkout. The guy was looking through my seeds when I said 20 cents was a good deal. No way did I say anything about winter sowing. I'm going to sow those Sweet William tomorrow. And my T&M order came today so hope to get most of those sowed, too.

Oh, gdogni. I tried to make this short, but it can't be said in a few sound bites. Who was doing the jobs before the illegals came? They were being done. Have we been quick to buy the idea that Americans don't want to do these jobs because we, ourselves, wouldn't want to do them? Americans have done jobs for many years I wouldn't want to have to do. I would do anything I could do, if necessary, but I do have my 'druthers. I wish you could have talked with the young woman I just spent time with the other day. She was almost in tears because she was pretty sure she was going to loose her jobs because the company had just brought in a new group of illegals. She commuted 60 miles - one way - to work on the assembly line of a chicken processing plant. I've been just in the office of a processing plant and my stomach lurched from the smell. It's a job I don't want to have to do - but others have for many years. She said, in a shakey voice, 'I've just got to have this job.' The shocking thing she told me is, if this company lays someone off, not fired for reason, but laid off because of slowdowns, etc., they will only rehire you one time. That means you can be rehired, but if laid off again (because a batch of illegals come in) you are no longer 'qualified' to work for that company. By way of their hiring practices, they are creating 'unqualified' workers in the area. People know to not apply for the job again. So when the news media goes to the spokesman for that company he/she can say things like 'we just can't find qualified workers', or 'we just haven't had any applicants' or the old stand by 'no one wants to do these kinds of jobs'. Neither they nor the media are going to tell you they fixed the situation. When you see jobs being filled by illegals - the only thing that means is they have the job. It means absolutely nothing else. We don't know how many others applied for the job, and didn't get it. One thing you have to realize is that in many areas, people are aware that only illegals will be hired, and they don't even apply. I saw illegals building the houses that got built in the frenzy of the last few years. Can we assume that Americans no longer wanted to do carpentry, dry walling, electrical,plumbing, bricklaying?? I don't think so. I know a lot who wanted the jobs. They are a bargain to employers because the employers have no responsibility. They don't have to comply with overtime laws, collect and match taxes, worry about OSHA regulations, workman's comp. If one gets hurt, they are taken to the hospital and the taxpayers pay for it. The media and the politicians are not giving out the true story on this. Now the reason I mentioned illegals was the fact they are working here. Americans already are competing with them for jobs, and if things get bad, it will be even more so. There is nothing wrong with mowing lawns and bussing tables, but that is not the only jobs they are doing. We will be hampered by the fact employers will have to work within the labor laws when hiring Americans, so given the choice, they will take illegals. The illegals are also getting benefits that are going to be needed for American families who loose their jobs. Again, just because Americans aren't doing the jobs, don't assume they won't or don't want to - now - but especially in the future.

No problem, maybee. If you don't want to read it - no one said that you had to. The reference to the high living related to students in Univ. that go to sleep at the beginning of the class that they paid expensive tuition to attend ... because they celebrated a bit too loud and long on the previous evening ... was that I would feel it necessary to help them get their money's worth! It was made substantially tongue-in-cheek, with regard to your situation. Anyway - what responsibility do I have to waken you ... you didn't pay any fees, here! Sorry if I offended you ... I do instigate some levity around here, at times. However - would you like to deal with the issue? Rather than shooting the messenger. I was checking my old copies of the financial magazine that I respect, this evening. I found a saying that I like. "Financial freedom is ... priceless! Pass it on!". Learning how money works is useful, and pays. And I've been offering my viewpoint regarding using money more effectiely for some time. To help people achieve financial freedom. Free ... here. Anyone who wishes to check it out is welcome, and if many choose not to, that's fine ... I wouldn't twist arms, even if I could. I don't appreciate others trying to live my life for me, though I take heed of their comments regarding it. I have felt for years as a counsellor that my task with others is to help them examine and deal with various aspects of their life that they invite me to do, in ways that will enable them to cope with living more effectively, on their own. It's not up to me to make others' decisions for them - they need to become increasingly capable to manage their own lives more effectively. I want individuals and families to learn how to run their own money. A local man who makes presentations about money management laments that there isn't more of it taught in schools, and I agree. Is it possible to buy a dollar's worth of value for 60 cents, as that mutual funds' manager said? Who knows. But I still think that it makes sense to do some buying, as time goes along. As many say ... trying to time the market is a fool's game. "What's the greatest risk in the investment market", asked one writer in the mag, "being in the market when it's going down?". "No - not being in it when it's going up!" was his advice. Good wishes for managing your income and assets with increasing skill. ole joyful P.S. I want to be able to fund what part of my future medical services which are not covered by the Canadian medical and hospital care system, for which I am mightily thankful, though I've made minimal use of it, thus far. Plus cover residential and nursing home care, as may be required. Plus pay for funeral and final income tax. I want to leave some assets for my offspring, for I feel that there may well be some troubled years ahead for our economy - and I'd like to leave as much extra cushion to enable them to cope with it as I can. And I want to support some charities at the end of my life, as I have during it. I lived for years where people had to scrounge what they could to build themselves a shack and wondered where the next meal was coming from. That has an effect. No way could I justify owning one home for year-round use, plus a second for a short stay in summer: millions have been able to (so far) ... I can't. Also - it takes a great deal of energy, which reduces the remaining supply, plus adds to both global warming and pollutants flying around the air and water, to build an automobile. It cost me more a few months ago to fix my 20 year old car than I paid for it less than a year previously, but I think that there's a good possibility that it will run for quite a few miles yet, so felt that it was the responsible thing to do to repair it. We should get on the backs of the builders of our appliances, requiring them to build appliances that will last for 40 years rather than 10, as it takes a lot of resources plus much heating and polluting energy to build a fridge. Soon after they began building fridges, 70 years ago, they were building ones that would last for 40 years. They won't do it now, for they want us to buy new, again ... soon. We can no longer afford such foolishness. They say that it'll take the resources of four planets like ours to serve the needs of our world with its present population, if most of them get to live higher on the hog, anywhere similar to what we've been used to. Further ... I grew up a few years after the Dirty Thirties, the Great Depression ... and during the six years of scarcity during World War II. o j

At our Krogers, I just bought 2 bags of chicken hind quarters for 69 cents a pound in 10 pound bags. I have found hind quarters in such bags in a nearby IGA for as low as 49 cents a pound. Not organic, but perfect for what I wanted--dog food. This time, I cut off the thighs for DH and me (ending up with about 22 nice-sized thighs) and ground the raw legs and meaty parts of the backs (including the bones) for dog food. I freeze them in 1/3 cup balls and add one a day to our dog's dry food. She strongly approves. I seasoned our thighs and let them sit in the fridge for 24 hours, then, for the first time ever, I cooked chicken in the sous vide. Each thigh went into a cheapo fold over sandwich bag to help keep the vacuum bag clean and preserve the liquids with each thigh. Thanks, Dcarch for the verbal push! Most of them went into the freezer, but I kept enough out for two meals. They are delicious. Moist and flavorful. Before serving I will brown them quickly in a very hot skillet, add the drippings and some wine to the skillet and cook it down, pour it over the thighs, and enjoy. Or I may use the meat in a salad. Or. . . .?