We're getting  back to normal, or whatever the new normal is.

The temperatures are very low.  It's been below zero far more often than above it this week.  Josie dove back into the deep end of school and volleyball.  She was up too late one or two nights due to homework concerns but she's very conscientious about getting everything that's expected of her done.  Anyone in the world would be making a good bet to hire her, someday.

We've gotten a lot of snow so far this winter, too, which is a very good thing.  For the last few years, the Minnehaha creek has  been reduced to not much more than a mud streak winding it's way through town and that's not a good indication of things.  The lakes are all low and we need snow.  I expect we'll get a lot more of it before next May and that's all good, even if it's a pain in the ass to clear off our ten mile long, uphill all the way drive.  My job is to rake off the roof where the ice dams form.  I don't mind doing it but it's pretty darn cold up there.  I made a bunch of salt sleeves and put them in the gutters to thwart the ice.  I'll probably have to replace them soon but that's okay.

I'm trying to get back to work.  I've been designing needlepoint for over 35 years and I've always said it was recession proof.  I was wrong.  Yes, I still  have orders but the thing is that during the recessions of the 80's and 90's, which didn't last this long, I was much, much slower.  Back in those days, I had a house full of little kids and if I spent an uninterrupted hour a day at my drawing board it was a productive week.  Also there's no exaggerating the benefits of experience.  I can now paint in an hour what used to take me three.   The result of this is that in the past, where despite an economic downturn I still had several weeks and a few thousand dollars worth of orders in my inbox at any given time, now I only have a few hundred dollars worth of orders and while that's enough to keep me busy this week, what if there aren't any new ones next week?

Plus, I don't think this economy is going to turn around any time soon.  In fact, I'm of the belief that it's going to get a lot worse, due to rising taxes and inflation.  We haven't returned to the 1970s yet but we're still headed in that direction.  On the other hand, America in the last twenty years has gotten really good at turning on a dime so I'm not going to worry too much about a future that may not happen.

Enough of the gloom and doom!   Today I have work to do, a Christmas tree to dismantle and a basketball game to attend.  The sun is out, the temps are far below zero , I'm full of coffee and I still have two pieces of dark Godiva chocolate left in the box I got for Christmas. 

Life is good.

 

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