Hugs To You

Good morning. We are suppose to have a huge storm moving in on us today, or tomorrow, depending on which of the weathermen you listen to. All we do know is that our four weeks of summer weather disappeared without notice and we are left with a daily report of another storm moving in. It has been cold this year, a deep penetrating cold that makes the old bones stand up and take notice. Well, weather is what it is and there is not much we can do to change it, but we can head for a cozy warm place and stay there.
I talked with my daughter Christine yesterday and she said there were snow showers up in the Seattle area. She was busy trying to finish off her day in the office and head for the boat and home. I wonder what it is like to ride the ferry every day in all kinds of weather. I wonder if the ride every gets bumpy, well it would have to when the big winds blow. She never complains and seems to enjoy the ferry ride and has caught up with her reading as well as her knitting so I gather there are some advantages of riding the ferry every day.
This is the weekend for the annual fund raising dinner in which twenty ladies produce beautiful tables according to a theme they have chosen. I miss helping as it used to be such fun to spend time searching for the items to make the theme of the dinner come alive. It is a festive occasion and the whole town comes out for it as every penny goes back into the community. There are fun filled trips for people to win, and many auction items, some baskets filled to the brim with wondrous items. I won a set of china mugs one year that are really beautiful. I should use them instead of just looking at them. The ladies work their hearts out so be sure you offer a small prayer for the success of the dinner.

Here at home, there is no dinner to go to, no fund raising this week although there was a big chocolate affair for Valentine Day. We have our Second Saturday Art Walk which is always fun, although there has been a big change in the past couple of years with some of the galleries closing. I think we have at least eight store fronts empty on the main street. That is sad, but our economy is such that everyone has to pull in their belts. This morning the news is about the gas prices. We never think of oil prices but with the revolutions on going in all of the oil countries, we are going to be the victims of some very high pricing. Maybe we should revolt and not drive our cars as much, maybe set up a neighborhood car pool. It has been done before and it does take a lot of cooperation to make it work. The gas prices can go up to five dollars a gallon, now that is beyond the pale, and it is time to think of ways to keep some money in your own pockets. Be like me, walk . . . or bum a ride . . . it is cheap at half the price to take someone to lunch or put a couple of dollars worth of gas in the car. All I can say is that I lost my freedom when I lost my car, but then I knew I couldn't afford the upkeep and that was twenty some years ago. You are laughing . . . well some of us just didn't have the income to buy a car, keep it up, fill it with high price gas to sit in a driveway or in a parking lot while spending eight hours inside working away. Seems to me there should be a better way . . . mass transportation. . . Disney did it with ease, wonder why something was not done years ago....oh, that's right, big oil companies . . . pledges to politicians . . . oops, the soap box is coming out . . . I'm off to make my day a good one.


So today, be thankful we are not in the midst of a revolution or an earthquake of tremendous proportions. Make your seconds count. Keep in mind there is someone you can hug today, and if you run out of someones, I'm here . . . Hugs. to all.