Barack Obama Wins

I have been a supporter of Barack Obama for quite awhile, though I did vote for Hillary Clinton in the primary election. As the campaign went on, I became a little worried about Bill Clinton's role in a Hillary administration. As we all know, Obama hung on to become the Democratic candidate for the presidency.

I started out pulling for Obama because he was Democrat and not Bush, but I soon began to listen to his speeches and saw something that I hadn't seen in years, a candidate to vote for, not just someone who was the lesser of 2 evils. I can't believe what that did to my outlook. Finally, someone to get excited about! I signed up to get emails from the Obama campaign, I donated to a political campaign for the first time in my life. I discussed the issues with friends and co-workers. I have to say, I went into election day with excitement, but with a little bit of forboding. After the disappointment of the last 2 elections, I guess I was worried that John McCain would pull a rabbit out of his hat at the last minute.

I was amazed at the early decision! I couldn't believe, at first, that the news was calling the election right after the polls had closed on the west coast. I held my breath for awhile,then let myself believe. I think when I saw McCain giving his concession speech, that it became real to me at last. A note on McCain's speech; it was very nice and like the "real" McCain was back. I'm not sure what happened to him during the campaign, but it didn't seem like McCain was the man that we'd known for years.

President elect, Obama, gave a very inspiring acceptance speech, bringing a lump to my throat several times. He seems fully aware that his job will not be easy. There is so much to do, so many problems, he's going to need all the help he can get. He's asked for our support and sacrifice. Isn't it nice for a political leader to ask that, rather than do tell us, like Pres Bush did after 9/11 to go shopping.? The American people are better than that, they just need to have someone believe in them, as Pres elect Obama does.

It's very early yet to make judgements,but I feel a breath of fresh air and a sense of change.

This and That 2

I was just noticing that I have only posted 2 times in October. October is 2/3 over. Opps! I guess I've been a bit lazy. I know I'm not writing in my journal as much either. I guess sometimes I either don't have anything to say, ot what I might say doesn't feel important enough to get myself writing.

I've spent the morning loading stuff picked up at the storage yesterday from the car to the house. I had a lot of jewelry that I've collected or been given over the years. Some I will take to the D.I. for give away,and some I will scavenge for parts for new jewelry.

I can't believe how many books I have collected, many of them unread! I've taken some to the D.I for give away, but it's kind of hard to part with some of them. Eventually, I will probably bring myself to give some more of them away. I noticed in the newspaper that the SLC public library was selling books for a rediculously low price and thought, "Wow! Just what I need, more books!"

The "Nearly"Last Rose of summer

I took this picture a few days ago. It's not as clear as I'd like, too wiggley. I planted about a dozen lilys on the east side of the house. MaryLou planted some bulbs in the front. I also planted a pretty lavender and white mum and a lavender plant. The strange thing about the lavender plant is that it ends up out of the ground every few days. The soil around it looks like someone either hit the plant with a ball or something, or that something, like a cat has been rolling over the plant until it's out of the dirt. It does smell very nice, though it isn't blooming. The leaves just smell good. I wonder if some neighborhood cat thinks it's as good as catnip?

Anyway, I've replanted it twice, this last time moving it to the front of the house, near the front porch. I hope it stays this time. I might have to move it to the back yard, but then I'll have to deal with Lady.

Life has been a bit strange lately. I suspect that's true for many of us. With all of the uncertainty due to our financial melt-down, plus the coming election, with the requisit mud-slinging, I guess we're entitled to be a little on edge. For myself, I have to add the fun of working in a retail setting with everyone worried about this next season,whether it will be okay or whether sales will be flat. I still have to increase my working days, and goals seem harder than ever to reach. Management seems to be pushing a bit harder than last year. One semi bright spot is gasoline prices coming down a bit.

I've been going through my smaller storage unit lately. The goal is to clear it out by this month's end, so I can save the money I'm spending on it. I've been going through some old pictures. In a way, that has been somewhat bittersweet, seeing my children as babies and toddlers, then growing up. I'm still dealing with Michele's loss and seeing her baby pictures is a bit hard, plus all the holidays coming up haven't helped. I just try to focus on good things. Like today, Maureen took MaryLou and I to breakfast. It was a beautiful day. The sky was so blue it almost hurt your eyes. No matter the worry, there's always something beautiful to see.

Quiet Sunday

It's Sunday, and I'm off work. I'm ignoring politics and the economy and spending a quiet day.

It rained yesterday and snowed in the mountains. It's October and time for the LDS Conference, so it storms. I'm not sure why, but probably 90% of the time, we do get storms during fall conference and spring conference as well. The timing of the events is probably the most logical reason for the inclemant weather.

I worked yesterday and it was just sprinkling when I arrived at the store, but throughout the day, I would see members coming in with wet hair or wet overcoats. On my way home, there were still patches of rain, some even heavy. I turned to the south, on my way into Tooele. I looked to the southwest and I could see a little clearing of the clouds on top of South Willow Peak. There it was, the first snow of the season! As I traveled closer to Tooele, I could see snow above Middle canyon and Settlement canyon. It was very pretty.

It seems strange that I welcome the snow, when just a few months ago I was cursing it. I could say that snow in the mountains is welcome, which it is. We live in a high desert state and we depend on snow in the mountains. Still, I will admit that snow can be beautiful for it's own sake and I certainly can enjoy a quiet snow falling outdoors while I view it from the warmth of home with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate. I even enjoy being out in a snow storm, as long as I have nowhere to go and can retreat back indoors when my feet and hands get cold. I guess there's just something compeling for me, in the changing of the seasons. Isn't it a shame that we so quickly, get tired of each season, and look forward to the next one. The one season I really like to draw out longer is Fall. I enjoy October and November very much, especially October. It has to be my favorite month. I love the cooler temperatures, the turning leaves, the harvest. I love pumpkins. We'll soon be buying some, displaying them on the porch, and looking forward the the grand smashing on Halloween, to honor Michele's momory.

I'm Confused

I've got to say, on one hand, I'm somewhat pleased that the House of Representatives didn't pass the bailout bill. I will say that I'm quite surprised though. I thought they were all scared by the financial crisis. I guess they were more frightened of the voters, at least those who are up for re-election this year. I'm sure they heard from many of thier constituents who were against taxpaper money being used to prop up the companies who gambeled and lost. On the other hand, if the government does nothing, we're most likely in for a deep recession, which may last for more than months, more likely for 2 or 3 years, according to some accounts I've read. I'm not too excited to go through a recession. In my job, I'm already seeing customers curtail thier spending to mainly necessities.

I read an article in the Christian Science Monitor that says that the government should not artificially prop up the economy, that it will only postpone the changes that need to be made in our ways of doing bussiness. They also feel that we just will get another melt down later on that will be even worse. Unfortunately,what the US does or doesn't do affects the rest of the world. Our markets and finances are so intertwined throughout the world, that a recession won't just affect the US, but much of the rest of the world.

I am certainly not qualified to figure out what we should do. My heart goes out to those who are facing foreclosure due to subprime mortgages. I have certainly been there myself. In fact, the company who held my mortgage, has already gone under itself. I guess we just watch and hope and do a little praying that those in power do the right thing. I don't think "we the people" are helpless though. We can mend our own dealings as much as possible, pay down debts if possible, don't take on any more debt if we can help it. Maybe it's time we got away from the instant gratification attitude many of us have and think over any big purchases we may have been planning, even though that might make a problem for retailers. We just need to get back to living within our means. Buying on credit and buying anything that's new has a lot to do with the problems we're facing now, the housing bubble bursting was just the trigger.

Questions About Economics

I have often scratched my head, trying to understand how it is that the American economy seems to depend on my spending money. Everytime there's a blip on the economic radar, it seems it's because people didn't spend as much as expected on back to school products or on holiday giving. Is our gross national product the spending of money by the populace? It seems so much of our economy depends, not just on our spending money, but on our investing in companies, and even on our using credit.

I was reading an oped article by Harold Myerson, who is a writer and editor of American Prospect and the L.A. Weekly. He is of the opinion that the failing companies like Lehman Brothers and Merril Lynch deserve to die due to their poor management and greed. He mentions that over the last 8 years, the U.S. economy has created only 5 million jobs, and the median income of American households has declined. Our infrastucture is failing,(bridges, roads, airports) New Orleans has not been rebuilt. He asserts that American productivity within the United States is no longer the prime target of investment. Now household consumption, known as shopping, comprises 70% of our economy---that's 70%, people. We get to keep our country afloat economically by spending more of our decreasing income on products from China.

Mr Meyerson goes on to lambast Wall Street for turning thier backs on America, only caring about profit and themselves. He says that it wasn't always this way. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bankers like August Belmont and J.P. Morgan invested European capital in American rail roads and steel. The Whig party, a forerunner to the Republican party, committed to develope the country's infrastructure. Later, as the Republican party, they created land grant colleges to help the populace get an education. The currant Rebulican party seems to have loyalty only to large corporations. These are the same corporations that want Americans to take on more debt to buy more things that they probably don't need, then cry foul when these people can't pay their debt. Now these corporations are beginning to admit that they may have pushed credit onto people who really weren't able to handle that much credit.

I'm not totally comfortable with the Treasury's huge bail-out proposal either. Other than the government buying subprime mortgages, there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on what will actually be done. The fact that one man will have all that power with little or no oversight is a recipe for disaster. I know Congress is trying to put in oversight, as well as some help for individuals,but it is tough going. Hopefully, they will stay in session until it gets done better,and not take the easy way out just so they can get home to campaign for re-election. It seems, to me, that the electorate would be more impressed by seeing them doing thier jobs.

Rain

Since the subject today is rain, I thought I would add a picture of a rain storm we recieved on Labor day this year. We received over an inch of rain in this storm. Since Tooele is in the foothills of the western side of the Oquirrah Mountains, any appreciative amount of rain will run downhill to the North or West. This day, it even ran over the parking and onto the sidewalk.

We got a lovely rain yesterday morning. It was gentle, one of Mother Nature's gifts. I enjoyed watching it. I was also thankful that we didn't have to do our usual Monday lawn watering. I was able to start the laundry early, and finished just after 1 pm. Usually, I have to wait until 10am, when we're supposed to finish the morning watering. That puts me later finishing the laundry. There's just not enough water pressure to water the lawn and run the washer too.

The rain reminded me of the storm we had Saturday in Salt Lake. We had several minutes of thunder, then it started raining on our store's metal roof. What a racket. I was regreting that I couldn't get out to see the rain. That's the trouble with having no windows. The skylights just aren't the same thing.

A member came by my cart to try a sample of my chicken salad. He had a baby with him that looked to be no more than a year old, or less. We talked about the storm and he went on to tell me that he had rushed up to the front door so he could show the rain to his little son, but by the time he got there, the rain had stopped. I thought about how sweet it was that he wanted to share the storm with his child. A little later, I heard the rain start up again and I hoped that he had been able to share it with the baby.

Fall Outing

Ididn't have to work last Sunday, and MaryLou didn't have church, so we decided to take a little trip into the mountains and see whether the fall follage was out. We invited Maureen and planned to make a day of it. We went to the Alpine Loop above Timpanogus. I discovered that while I don't get carsick when I'm doing the driving, I don't do too well as a passenger.

The leaves were just beginning to turn, mostly the scrub oaks and box elder trees. Only a few of the quakies were turning. The colors weren't as bright as I had hoped. It's been a very dry summer. That's usually the case when the colors are a bit on the dull side. The picture on the bottom was taken as we went on the Mirror Lake highway, the one on the top was on the Alpine Loop. We went on to Evanston.WY. We stopped there for lunch.

We've had a disease in the lodge pole pines aroung the state for several years. I was really sad to see how bad it has spread. There are many trees that are like dry sticks, and many others with the red, dry needles of the disease. It almost looks as if there are as many diseased trees as there are healthy ones. I'm not sure whether loggers could get to the trees on the steeper slopes or if they would even want to. To be truthful, we could probably use a fire to clear out the diseased trees. Of course, that would take out the healthy ones too.

We probably would see more color in another week or so, but with me working weekends and gasoline still a little too pricey for another trip,I guess this will have to do for this year.

We Need To Read Carefully

I've been reading an article from The Christian Science Monitor, whom I consider to be fairly objective. This article advised people to be careful about reading articles about Sarah Palin, and not take things written at face value. The author chastises the media for not reporting objectively and backing down from doing their research and homework,bowing down to the GOP campaign people. Things that were reported in the early days of Gov. Palin's pick as Sen McCain's running mate, were not followed up on. Soon, the press was parroting the party line,as the GOP tries to "create its' own reality".

The problem for many average, busy people, is that they see campaign spots repeatedly, and because they either don't have time or don't know where to research for whatever is true, they end up believing what they see and hear constantly and vote that way. Later, we all begin to wonder how we got into another mess, or why things don't get any better.

Considering the last nearly 6 years, I think it's important to look at many sources and read as much as we can before we make up our minds on election day. We need to use our brains as well as feelings to decide how to vote. Please don't vote on looks, your nieghbors' advise or the wishes of whatever group you may belong to.

Thoughts and Feelings

Yesterday, I was doing some cleaning and dusting in my room. I was cleaning one of the 8x10 pictures I have of Michele, when I suddenly felt such a wave of grief and disbelief that it almost felt like punch in my stomach. I thought,"I can't believe she's really gone!" These things hit me, usually with no warning, just some little thing can trigger it. Later, I realised that it was Sept. 8th, Michele has been gone for 4 months. It still seems quite unreal to me, for some reason.

I'm working a little bit more lately. We are so short handed at work right now. Last Friday we had 4 people call in sick, plus our new co-ordinator has been in the hospital. There has been lots of shifting of demos and hours. Next month we will probably see an increase in the amount of demos with the up coming holiday season. I'm sure I'll be pressed to work more days. I'll probably work some more, but with every extra trip, it costs more in gasoline. Prices are coming down a bit, but Utah still has one of the highest costs, tied with Montana, in the nation. Unfortunately, with the higher food prices, it's getting harder to get our sales goals. Thank goodness I've already had my yearly review.

The weather is cooling some and we've actually had a couple of good rain storms. Our summer water total by Aug. 27, was just .41 inch. Over Labor Day weekend, we recieved 1.11 inch of rain in Tooele. We finally have some green in the yard. I was afraid we were going to have to convert to sage brush. It's cloudy and breezy today. We're expecting rain this evening and tomorrow. It will be welcome. I must say, I've certainly remembered , with fondness, MaryLou and my trip to Long Beach summer before last. There was so much water compared to Utah!

Book Review

I just finished a book by Sue Monk Kidd called "The Mermaid Chair". This is a very good book about a woman going through, essentially, a mid-life crisis. She begins feeling restless when her only daughter goes off to college. The woman has what most would call, a very successful marriage, but the cracks are starting to show. She is an artist who has limited herself to making little art boxes. Things come to a head when she is informed that her mother has cut off her finger with a cleever.

The woman, Jessie, goes home to be with her mother on the little South Carolina barrier island where she grew up, a place she had happily escaped to go to college. Now, she must deal with her mother's possible madness,and her own confused feelings about her home, her mother, and her fathers' violent death when Jessie was 9 years old.

A very important feature is the monestery where the Mermaid Chair resides, a chair honoring its' patron Saint. She resists any help from her psychiatrist husband, in fact tells him to keep away.

We meet very colorful people from the island, and dog Max. Jessie also meets Brother Thomas, to whom she is instantly and strongly attracted. We get to know several of the other resident monks.

It is a book told with compassion and passion. Jessie finds a part of herself that she repressed at the time of her father's death. In fact, in many ways, his death is the focal point of the book. I highly reccomend it.

Sundays

Here I am, playing hooky, not going to church. I have just started to get every other Sunday off. For my whole time working for Sam's Club I have worked every Sunday unless it was a holiday, like Easter. I took one off because of a flat tire. I took one off for illness and 2 off when we lost Michele. I'm wanting to enjoy a day of not needing to do anything. I've never been particularly active in church, not since my teens in an almost totally Mormon town. Now, the thought of spending 3 hours in church on Sunday, does not really delight me. I really don't have much to wear except my funeral outfit. I worry that I'm letting my Aunt down, as she is secretary of the ward relief society.

While I suppose that I'm not particularly religious, I do consider myself to be very spiritual. I speak to God every day, and try to remember to be grateful for His gifts every night. I've studied many religions as I was growing up, and I found truth in all that I've studied. There may not be total truth, but most have quite a bit of truth.

I think that you can always find answers by praying for them and listening for answers with your heart, not your head. For a person, like me, who seems to need to analyse everything to death, that can be hard. I'm working on silencing the mind a bit, so I can hear my heart. I guess the answers from the heart have more emotional feeling, and compassion. I guess I'll keep plodding along, trying to do my best and trust in the Lord.

Healthcare Vs. Health Caring

I just read a short article in the magazine, Spirituality and Heath, Sept./Oct edition. The article was written by James Duffy, MD, who is the director of Religion and Health at the Texas Medical Center. He starts off by stating that our healthcare system is growing at such a rate, that it will constitute our whole gross national product within 65 years. I'm not sure if that is, indeed, a correct assumption or not, but it really gives me a frightening picture of how big our healthcare system has become. I have certainly read reports that of any modern, industialized country, we pay more for healthcare and recieve, many times, less care than other countries in the world. Yet, supposedly, we are one of the richest nations in the world, or we were. That may not be true anymore, given our national debt. There are still many people in America who earn reasonable salaries, but fewer people can afford to pay for insurance, and having insurance is no guarentee of finding medical service.

The main point that Dr. Duffy makes, is that there is a need for this country to revamp our healthcare system and create a healthcaring system. He goes on to point out the differences in each system. He comes up with 13 different points, but I'll just mention the ones that resonate most with me.

Number 1; Our healthcare system is an industry driven by the profit motive. Heathcaring describes a system motivated by compassion for our community. Number 2 strikes me as so obvious; healthcare benefits from disease, while healthcaring benefits by the preservation of wellness. Number 6 makes such sense; healthcare tries to treat disease by subjugating nature, while healthcaring realises that nature should be used as an ally in treating disease and maintaining wellness. Number 8; healthcare sytems consider religion and sprituality to be irellavent in the outcome of disease, while healthcaring recognises the human spirit in finding wellness. Number 12; healthcare has demonstrated that it is not finacially sustainable, while healthcaring models have demonstrated financial stability.

I have not included all 13 points, as they can be found in the currant issue of the magazine. The points that Dr, Duffy made, I think, is that our currant healthcare system ignores the human part of the equation, it discounts the heart and soul of people, both the people being treated, and the people doing the treating. The patient is reduced to his/her disease and symptoms and many of those doing the treating are required to treat too many people in too little time in order to make a living, thus becoming less personal and ultimately, less caring.

Michelle Obama

I recieve regular emails from the Democratic party and Barrack Obama. Today, I received a video of Michelle's speech at the opening night of the convention. I read in the newspaper that she had given a good speech. After hearing and seeing it on video, I can say that is my opinion, it was a great speech! Now I feel that I know more about where Michelle and Barrack came from. She went into the kind of upbringing they had, parents and grandparents working to provide a better life for their kids, just like the lives most of us have had. She talked about the kind of work they had both done after college. She talked about her two daughters and her hopes for them

She reminded everyone that it's the 88th aniversary of women's right to vote and it's been 45 year since Dr Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech. The point she made about us having a choice to work for the America that can be, rather than settling for the America that is, really struck a chord with me.

She talked about workers and their needs, veterans and their families, the everyday average American that just wants to make a good life for his or her family. That sounds like the political party that I chose years ago. Hopefully, it's back and Washington is not too corrupt and set in it's ways to change.

The Olympics

I've been watching the Olympics. Thursday night, I stayed up until past midnight to watch the American women take gold and silver in the gymnastics "all around". I figured I wouldn't sleep if I tried to wait until the next day.

How about Michael Phelps?! What a great swimmer, what a great team that helped with the relay races! It was wonderful to see 41 year old Daria win a silver too. I watched the men swimming the 1500 meter. That's 30 laps of the length of the pool in around 15 minutes. I used to swim laps, for exercise, not speed. I would do 20 or25 laps in around 30 minutes, but I was swimming the width of the pool!

I watched the Romanian woman surge out of the pack in the women's marathon about half way into the race and never looked back. She finished way ahead of the second and third winners. I'm pretty impressed with anyone who even finishes a marathon. One woman,who lives in Salt Lake City, but runs for her native country, Slovakia, finished the marathon in 67th place. She had to stop twice toward the end because of hamstring cramps in her legs, but she kept going until the end. I think that takes as much courage as the winners. They were running to win and will have thier medals. The other woman was running for her country and really probably to finish, maybe as a point of honor to herself, though I'm only speculating.

The Jamacian, "Lightening" Bolt really put on a show. I watched him on Friday night during his trials, and he was almost dancing, he was so hyped. When he ran for the gold on Saturday,he broke a world's record, but I think he could have gone even faster, but just before the end, he looked around at the others and realised he'd make the gold, then he just glided into the finish, and he even kept running. Of course he orignally started running the 200 meter, not the 100.

On the whole, so far, the Olympics have been very nice.I always enjoy watching these people, who have devoted much time and effort get the chance to compete with others like themselves from around the world. It's very exciting to see them strive no matter what country they are from. I do enjoy seeing Americans win, but I get a kick out of seeing someone from a small country that doesn't win much, kick butt and win over the odds and bring a medal home.

Mom, Still Missed

I was looking through some of my pictures and this one btought back memories of Mom. This was taken at Murray Park. It was the summer picnic for the clients of Oquirah Dialysis Center. This was Mom's last summer with us. I'm really glad that the picnic was here where there was a stream and woods for her to enjoy. She was getting to the point where she didn't get out and around so much. This was a nice break for her and she could be around the people she saw 3 days a week in a more relaxing and social way. I've looked through so many of the pictures that I took that last year and realised how sick she had gotten. When you're around them daily, sometimes you don't really notice how thin she had gotten. She had gotten forgetful sometimes, but she always had a really beautiful smile that she flashed often. She's been gone for a bit over 2 and 1/2 years, and I still think about her sometimes and miss her. Still, when I look at some of the pictures that show how sick and weak she had become, I know that I would not wish her back to that kind of life. I know she's happy and well and enjoying being with all that have gone before. I expect that she can enjoy having Michele sit on her lap again. I miss you both, and Dad as well, but I'm sure I'll see you all again.

Odds and Ends

I've been enjoying watching the Olympic coverage. Unfortunately, I end up staying up too late. I didn't get to see the opening ceremonies as I had a friend getting married on the auspicious date of 08/08/08. I didn't get home from the reception until most of the ceremonies were over. It's too bad there have been some things marring the "One World" goal of things.

The fact of Russia attacking Georgia is pretty sad. The Bush Administration's denoucing of Russia's act may be how the country feels, but to have Bush making noise to Russia for doing something that our own country, under Bush's command, did to not one, but 2 countries, seems a bit strange. It's like the pot calling the kettle black.

Bush seems to be enjoying watching the Olympics, like he's kicking back, ready to get into private life. Still, he's got 5 more months to do some damage. The latest thing he wants is when building projects come up, and decisions need to be made about enviornmental impact, he wants to take the scientists out of the loop. Whatever department is involved in the project can use thier own bosses to make decisions rather than letting anyone with scientific knowledge study things and make recomendations. I suppose that might save time and red tape, assumming that any government department could cut down on red tape, that is. Bush has always seemed to look upon scientists with distrust. I wonder how we got such an anti-intellectual as President. Just lucky, I guess.

Lady,Not To Be Left Out

I wouldn't want to leave out the animal that I'm currantly sharing a home with. This is my Aunt MaryLou's dog. Lady. She's probably Labrador and Retriever, and who knows what else. She's a little on the portly side. She really likes her food. If you are in the kitchen, making a sandwich or fixing a bagel, she will grab it and have it eaten if you're not aware of her love of bread. She loathes cats, will snag an unwary or slow bird, but she's afraid of thunder storms and fireworks. Today, I had her playing in the water, trying to grab it from the hose. It's been hot and she needs cooling off once in awhile. Maybe we should get her a haircut.

Jake,A Sweet Companion

This is Jake, my cat for quite a few years. I no longer have him and sometimes I miss him. He had a sweet disposition and was always ready to eat. Not surprising, he weighed 18 pounds. He also had short legs and the back ones toed out, so he looked a little funny from the back view when he walked. He was also quite long in the body, sort of like a feline dachshound. He was my alarm clock,since his tummy woke him early. It's pretty hard to sleep in with a 18 pound cat sitting on your chest meowing. Thank you Jake for the company and love for those years.

Sunday

Hey! It's Sunday, and I'm not at work. It feels a little strange, but nice. My team leads have started something new. There have been some people who have requested to only work every other Sunday and have been accomodated, while the rest of us have continued working every Sunday. It was believed that with a little tweaking, everyone could be changed to the every other Sunday schedule. We just have two groups exchanging Sundays and Thursdays with each other. This is my first Sunday, so I've decided to really enjoy it, just relaxing and doing mostly just what I want to do. It's kind of a good and not so good change though. One week, I only work 2 days together, Fri. and Sat. The next week, I work 4 days, Thur, Fri, Sat and Sun. The 4 days will make me tired I guess, so it's a trade off. Right now with having to mow the lawn and do the laundry every week, I get some exercise at least.

We're still waiting around to find out who our new boss is going to be. Hopefully, it will be someone who is willing to go along with the new schdule. Of course, when the Holidays roll around, we'll probably get busier and may have to work more Sundays. Who knows.

Speaking of holidays, we have some Halloween decorations in, as well as Fall decor. We've even got new toys in for display. Of course retail stores always jump the gun on new seasons and holidays, and warehouse stores are even more ahead.