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Monday, February 4, 2013

High horses; broad rivers; windowsills

My high horse is getting something done about gun deaths and injuries.  This time, there seems to be a LOT of national interest and momentum for some very reasonable steps:  background checks for every sale; stopping sales of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines.  Also, giving ATF a director, and the ability to do its mission; letting data be collected and crunched, so that we have a better sense of what helps and what doesn't so much.

That's right:  NRA's many efforts have included not wanting data collected.  I guess their horse is of the apocalyptic kind, but don't we need to know more about how 30,000+ people in the US are killed by guns each year, and dog alone knows how many more are injured?   So we can figure out how to not have the worst gun violence record in the developed world?  None of these proposed steps forward will make the cops come take your weapons, or infringe the rights of hunters.  They are all steps supported by police officers, and parents, and even most gun owners. 

In the broad rivers category -- sometimes important things take time to come to fruition.  Too much time!  Eyes on the prize.

Windowsills -- mine have mold.  Gah!  And if I was a better housekeeper, I'd be scrubbing the mold regularly.  But I'm not. Also, the dish fairy is MIA.

Son is home: eating the house, swapping out some stuff he left here during the move, working on his bike.  Fortunately, the crockpot has been working on a nice soup with chicken meatballs, onions, carrots, celery, mustard greens, lentils, peas, spices, broth. 

What's new with you?

27 comments:

Liz Miller said...

I've just been RIF'd.

kathy a. said...

oh, NO, liz! xoxo

Sue said...

Sorry, I don't know what that means.

Liz Miller said...

RIF is short for Reduction in Force.

I got laid off. Axed. Given my walking papers.

Two weeks notice, for which I'm grateful

esperanza said...

Oh no, Liz! I'm so sorry.

Whines abound around here: federal jury summons, therapist quits, insurance woes, 44 year old friend died from the flu, I am so very tired. Sleeping but not getting any rest. I think my brain is working on all of the above, plus some.

kathy a. said...

liz, i'm glad they gave you that much, at least. (my sister has worked at a company or two where the standard lay-off notice was accompanied by security officers and an hour to clean out the desk.)

but this is horrible. xoxox

kathy a. said...

((( esperanza ))) omg, that is too too much. especially your friend dying, but all the rest sucks completely.

Liz Miller said...

(((Esperanza)))

Sue said...

Oh no Liz! I'm so sorry. xoxo

Hugs esperanza - that is a lot to have on your plate. xoxo

kathy a. said...

liz, i'm sure you are on top of this, but just in case: any severance pay possible under your contract? apply for cobra for continuing health care; and get any pending medical concerns done in these 2 weeks. i assume you can get unemployment, which you have paid into, but that's a PITA application and process. updated resume(s)?

you are probably the most networked person i know; work it, sister! xoxo

Liz Miller said...

Will do.

I'm already using COBRA from my last job, and so that's covered.

I'm not eligible for severance, because I'm hourly. Which is why I'm grateful for the notice.

Anonymous said...

Oh no Liz!!!!!!
((((((Liz)))))))
and
((((((Esperanza))))))
I have no words already and my whines are too petty, which I guess is an antiwhine.
Hugs. Just hugs.
and girl sc0ut c00kies.
and chocolate. lots of chocolate.

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

NL -- petty whines are good whines!

jeepers, you have GS cookies already. sigh...

Anonymous said...

I am in the midst of massive sorting and dispensing of the cookies, as we are the cookie parents.

It is nice to be able to be super organized about one little project, as opposed to the things that I actually need to be organized about, which are too overwhelming....

--NL

kathy a. said...

NL, you have cooookies??? could really use some around here. also, totally love and understand being organized about one little thing. :)

esperanza said...

Thanks for the cookies, NL. I also get the totally organized about one thing (see: grocery shopping) when everything else is crazy.

Sue said...

W: I had to deal with a very sensitive and potentially volatile situation yesterday. I can't say much except that it was highly unpleasant.

AW: I handled it really well. I managed to be the "non-anxious person" in the room - for real! In tricky situations I am often the one who looks calm, but my insides are screaming. This time the calm was legit.

For the moment, the situation is diffused. Yay!

Sue said...

Breaking Whining News - Wah! We have no water at the church and it will not be restored for several more hours.

WW (Double Whine): We have the closing session of our winter group study this afternoon. I promised tea and snacks. I have the snacks but cannot make tea unless I start a fire in the parking lot and melt some snow.

AW: We are very close to a mall where the washrooms are not hideous.

kathy a. said...

bottled water?

good for calming the difficult situation, sue!

Sue said...

Well, no tea, but bottled water for group. It was fine. Now, I'm going to the mall!

kathy a. said...

don't you hate the mall, sue?

AW: got myself that hair trim. it looks better than it did. fit it in on the grocery and mail run, so i feel all multitask-ish.

W: just noticed that i have one potato and about 15 onions. this is not the correct ratio. french onion soup may be in the lineup.

esperanza said...

Hooray for hair trims.

Thanks for all the ((())) yesterday. It's amazing how some parentheses make me feel better, but it worked. Insurance meeting today revealed it's not as bad as I had thought. Everything else is still there, but easing up a bit.

And I had a brownie at lunch, which improves things greatly. Ahem.

Sue said...

kathy - yes I despise malls, but the one across the street from the church has a washroom. After study group and bottled water my "woman of a certain age" bladder needed some relief.

Yay for the hair trim!

kathy a. said...

well, then; malls are good for something! i assume the water problem got fixed?

esperanza, glad things are looking better -- especially the insurance things.

Sarah said...

Oh Liz. I'm so sorry.

And Esperanza, glad things are looking up, if even slightly. And more (hugs)

Sue - public bathrooms are useful, even when surrounded by malls. :)

NL: happy cookie sorting. That sounds stressful to me too.

KathyA: I hope that momentum on gun control gets more traction. Just fireplacing frustrating as a topic...common ground seems to be ignored.

W/AW: Sloppy snow, but not a blizzard.

W: I want a day where I just veg out & hang out & watch TV.

Sue said...

kathy - when I got to the church yesterday morning we had water. Yay!

We have snow on the ground today but it is bright, sunny and -20C, so no blizzard.

I'm thinking of everyone in the winter storm zone - stay safe!

Anonymous said...

w--canker sore on the tip of my tongue, and also, I think in my throat, since I have a sore throat only on one side.

aw: slow day today--no school due to impending storm. keeping fingers crossed for power....

--Neighbor Lady