My Views Today

Looking out the dining area window as I type this, the snow is flying sideways, adding to the eight inches already on the ground. It's wet and heavy and we're warm and content. We considered driving to town to gather some Thanksgiving foodstuffs but, after listening to the weather report decided to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Besides, we haven't plowed the drive, though in four wheel drive we could make our escape if need be.

I'm finishing off the last of the chili I defrosted yesterday and Sweetie's eating a bowl of double tomato soup - that's tomato soup and canned diced tomatoes mixed together for those of you unfamiliar with this delicacy.

Yesterday we had a buck and three doe in our back yard. They lingered there for about an hour and then crossed to our south drive and headed west to cross the road. They repeated this pattern a few times and managed to outsmart the hunters who, gauging from the gun blasts, are all around us. A nieghbor just called and asked if we were baiting (banned by the DNR here due to chronic wasting disease) because his deer blind is about 1200 feet east of our back yard and, as he said, "I'm getting tired of them hiding in your woods every time I think I'll get a decent shot." We're not baiting but do enjoy watching the deer parade. Neither of us eat venison but we wish the hunters well.

The economic news is gloomy all over, grocery prices are still rising, though gasoline is now $1.89 in town, and Citigroup is laying off 53,000 people. Our realtor sent us another packet of the house sales in this county. Same news as last month. It's a forclosure fire sale with investors snapping up most of the "deals."

So, here we sit, still wishing we were up north, but thankful we have what we do. I've grown increasingly conserned about the availability of food, not just the cost. So my mind was thinking of ways to further stretch what we have while building our stock. I haven't made my "ongoing pot of soup" in awhile so that's one solution. I mentioned this while home visiting my father and he said, "You mean the 'everything but the kitchen sink soup'?" So today I went in search of ingredients. Mind you, the frig is not full of leftovers as those were cleaned out before we left on our trip, and we've only been home a couple days. But, in the freezer I found a quart of chicken stock, half a quart of frozen green beans and one pork chop. I diced up the beans and pork, added some frozen chopped onion and garlic powder and have it simmering on the woodstove. I'm thinking a can of diced tomatoes and a cup of brown lentils will round it out. Who knows what tomorrow's flavor enhancer will be?

You know, watching this snow, which is now what the weatherman would call "blinding", is a metephor for these times. The news is gloomy and no matter which way we turn there is loss, struggles, and uncertainty mixed with glimmers of hope - like lower gasoline prices. So maybe people will start driving more because gas is cheaper. My hope though, is that they won't be lulled into a false sense of security. With their gasoline "savings" they should be paying down debt and stocking up.

Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm buying more beans. Treesong