I was thinking of Marda today so thought I'd check in to see if, by some miracle, the capability to add music to a thread had returned. I miss her "Those No Longer With Us" thread. It always made me cry, but it was a cleansing cry. It was just what I needed to be able to move through the holidays without the ones who made all the difference. I'm just about done with my shopping, only have to find something for DB. I sat and pondered what to give a persnickity carnivor and started searching for some great piece of meat. Maybe buffalo burgers or a moose roast? I came across an elk carcass on sale at Amazon and wondered what the heck an elk carcass was. Still don't know much more than it's 225 lbs of meat, but I was hysterical laughing at the buyers reviews! I laughed until I cried, and am still laughing. Have been working 14-16 hour days for the past 2 weeks and I'm tuckered out both mentally and physically. Haven't had a chance to bake a thing yet, and there is a box to be mailed home to PA and another one to South America where a friend was recently stationed. I've threatened to withold sending the box if he doesn't stop sending me pictures of the beautiful Andes Mountains and, just to break my heart, pictures of him at the beach. Christmas is a big deal in South America and life is winding down to a complete halt for him, which isn't good for someone so far away from home. I think of all my soldiers in Iraq, how many holidays they've spent over there now, and wonder if there will ever come a time when we'll have a Christmas with no war. Last Monday our high was 81, tomorrow's high isn't suppose to get out of the 40's. As is normal after being exposed to thousands of soldiers and physically exhausting myself, I feel a cold coming on. There is too much yet to do, I can't afford to get sick. If I don't get a tree up soon, DS is liable to move to the house down the street that has not one, not two, but THREE Christmas trees displayed in the windows across the front of their house. Show off's. They're beautiful, I'm jealous of their free time, but it's not going to happen in this magic kingdom. I made a pot of barley soup yesterday using pork neck bones. My Grandmother taught me how to make this soup, she always used pigs feet and called it "Trotter Stew". As much as I loved it, it had a lot of fat that had to be taken off. The neck bones had some, but not much, and the soup was just the ticket on a cold, blustery day. One of the Officers from the PA National Guard brought me a cheese cake as a thank you on Friday and it's sitting in the ice box calling to me. Always seems the things that are bad for me have the loudest voice in the ice box. The carrots and celery can't seem to get above a whisper. Tomorrow is Monday and is suppose to be my last day of work for the year. I've once again went over my carry over cap on vacation time and, darn the luck, am being forced to use it or lose it. The boss is frantic since my last remaining employee left for a job in Korea and he has no one to monitor my operation. Sucks to be him. Merry Christmas. Tuesday I'm going to dig out the microwave booties Jan gave me a few years ago, sit back, relax, and let visions of sugar plums dance in my head. Wednesday is the first day of winter vacation for the kids, so DS and I will find a tree and spend the day decorating. It's going to be a simple Christmas, filled with simple pleasures...my child and me. Now it's off to find that special piece of meat for the carnivor. If I procrastinate long enough, I might stumble upon a reindeer carcass!

My friend who lives in the woods told me today that she has a box turtle who keeps coming back to her trailer to eat dog food and ask for a drink of water. Her chihuahua seems to enjoy his company! Tammy, one time I backed over one with my car on the driveway. I am "marked" for life by that event, it was so traumatic. I just wish the powers that be in Washington would have as much kinship for Iraqui children and Lousiana families as we do for turtles and frogs. Maybe someday, when we are no longer on this earth plane, we will understand the intricacies of the human heart. I love this quotation: "What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?" At some point, a leader must emerge in the western world who echoes the humanity of Gandhi. peace, claire in sanford Wonderful meeting you and your family too!

I am a boomer that relies on SSA and two tiny pensions to survive. I worked my entire life from age 17 on, paying into the system all along the way. I fit into that group of now retired workers that didn't really have an opportunity to contribute substantially to any retirement savings account like a 401K (instituted too late along the career path) and was not employed at a high enough salary level to be able to save much of anything anyway. My husband and I (when I was married) barely made enough to make ends meet, let alone save. In fact, we lost our home to foreclosure (the real estate crunch and a sub-par lender – bad combo) and divorced soon after. I am not alone in this situation. Other than utilities and car insurance, I have no bills. My car is paid for (nearly 20 yrs. old), no credit cards. And other than Medicare, no insurance. I simply cannot afford it. My biggest expense aside from rent is food and as a single person, that's not all that huge an expense but boy, have I ever noticed a sharp increase in my grocery bills over the last couple of years for essentially the same goods!! Right now I am looking for a new place to live – my tiny 650sf rental property of more than 6 years is about to be developed. I am finding that anything that fits my budget is barely livable – most want an income level 3 times the rent, whereas I barely can cover twice my current rent (although I have managed it successfully for the last 6 years). What's the alternative........homelessness?? For those retirees that can afford to live comfortably and securely without SSA, good for you!! But there are a lot of us out there that cannot, through no fault of our own. And Social Security alone – even with my small additional pensions – is barely a living income. Let me tell you, it is a tough row to hoe and causes me some sleepless nights and more stress than I would like to have to deal with. I have put off some major dental care I need simply because I couldn't afford it. Thankfully, a family member is coming forward to help out with that or I'd be walking around with no teeth in my mouth! I do receive some additional income from a small home business I conduct, however it is very seasonal and somewhat unreliable in its size and predictability and so cannot be used for income calculations for my housing situation. But it does just manage to keep the wolf from the door :-) As I said, I am not alone in these circumstances. I can think of any number of seniors in the same boat in my area. Please do not begrudge those of us who are forced to live in the reduced circumstance of just our SSA income, such as it is. It is not a pleasant or secure way to live out our “golden” years.

I'm late getting back to this thread, but, Nik, I'm sorry for your heat wave, and hope it has passed! No one should have to deal with temperatures in the nineties this time of year. The weather here has finally turned kind in September. Rain, clouds and sun in decent proportions, liveable temperatures. I'm gardening!! Planning on transplanting peonies today (and having a look at the long-neglected big garden). I've been working on a series of holes that, once the rocks and clay that got dug out of them have been amended with organic matter, will get planted with trees of various sorts. Associated with this project is brush clearing and further soil improvement and, one hopes, an improved tiny patch of Planet Earth. On the other hand we're going to be putting about thirty-five miles on our gas-fueled auto today, having unavoidable running around to do, and so will be dumping more carbon dioxide in the air. My family is part of the problem. We need solutions on the national level, and I'm glad some governments realize that.