The economy from a gardener's point of view...

I've been listening to a lot of dialogue on the proposed stimulus package while on the computer or getting cleaned up. (The joys of talk radio.) I am not a person who loves politics or economics and don't claim to have any expertise in either. It did strike me yesterday that what we are experiencing could be expressed in a gardening metaphor. It may be simplistic, but I think the principles are much the same.

Our current inflated economy is not unlike a tree, that has grown to majestic proportions, not because it has over time, developed a deep and strong root system, but because it has been receiving regular doses of water and fertilizer from its caregivers. My mental image would be a tree that has been grown in a container, roots confined to their allotted space. With the gardener providing regular waterings and doses of fertilizer, the tree can sustain a beautiful top growth without increasing its root system... as long as the gardener is there to provide daily watering and regular feeding. It's a bit of an illusion. If left on its own and forced to survive on the natural rainfall and nutrients supplied by its limited root system, this tree will be in big trouble. There is an equilibrium for any plant. What you see above the surface under normal circumstances will be somewhat reflective of what is going on underground. Some root systems are shallow and widespread, some may be a deep taproot with side feeders... but the root system can only support so much top growth.

When the root system is injured, reduced or compromised, something is going to go on the top side. The wise gardener when seeing this, will often intercede and remove some of the top growth to a point the remainder can be supported by the plant's compromised root system. If this step is ignored, the plant will reduce its own top growth through die-back. Often this can weaken it to the point of death, but sometimes it will slowly come back over time and send out some feeble new growth. If the gardener removes some of the top before natural die-back occurs and provides essential care for the tree, it will go through an "ugly stage" but recover more quickly than when left on its own. This can take some time.

I fear our approach to the economy is to keep loading on the fertilizer (chemical, at that!) to keep the illusion alive. It really was an illusion. This economy we now "enjoy" was not based on a deep and strong root system... just way too much inflation from overfertilizing. The time has come to face certain realities and allow for the natural consequence ... instead of continuing the poor principles that got us here in the first place. This will make a lot of people miserable or unhappy... but is likely a consequence that cannot be sidestepped. We have to change some of our ways.

I'm not suggesting the government should be totally hands off in dealing with our current economic crisis... but in the world of gardening, it's not helpful to load up a struggling plant with a lot of fertilizer. The first order of business is to establish equilibrium.

But... I'm not an economist ... just a lazy gardener. :-)

... Well, to be fair... I'm not really a lazy gardener as much as a "low maintenance" one. ;-)

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Milestones and Changes

(January 20th, 2009)

I wanted to post an entry on the night of January 20th, but other things seemed to get in the way. Tuesday was an eventful day in the country and our family. Adrienne celebrated her 7th birthday on that day and we inaugurated the first black president in the United States. I've had some reservations about Obama as president (although none as to his intelligence, vision and writing abilities)... but I wish him all the best as he navigates his way into the mess he's taken on. We are certainly facing hard times. What I found most moving while watching coverage on Tuesday were the expressions of joy and validation on the faces of black people, who lined the streets as the motorcade made its way to the White House (and in interviews and coverage preceding that part). Having him take the oath on the Lincoln Bible was truly a full circle event. Whether or not a person voted for him in the election, I don't know how one could not be touched by the significance of the day's events and the joy it brought to so many.

While there is much to admire about the man, I hate to see people deifying him and putting him up on a pedestal before he's even proven himself as president. It will be a long drop if he disappoints or fails to meet their expectations. Most presidents promise all sorts of things that they find they can't deliver once in that position and receiving more critical information. At least there is a trust factor for many in his character, so his every move will not be cast under suspicion the way it's been for George W. Bush. The way some have treated him as he left office brought to mind how our vets were greeted when they came home from Vietnam. Whether one agrees with or likes the president, we should appreciate the burden he carries in order to hold that office.

The other change that became official on Tuesday is that Kristine and Alex are expecting a "baby Booth!" It's really early in the game, so there was discussion between them about whether they should announce it to the world at this point... but we know how women are with a first baby. You want to talk about it... speculate on whether you actually are as you wait for official word and in general... TALK about what is happening to you! :-) It's easier to keep it under wraps after you've already had a child or two. Anyway... Kristine had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and they concurred that her positive test at home was accurate. So, if all goes well... they are expecting a little one around the 20th of September. That is the EXACT day the trip to Scotland and England I've signed on for is supposed to depart... if it firms up the way they are anticipating. :-/ I thought about backing out on that, but I had such a strong feeling that I needed to do this now, when it will be affordable. Because of the value of the pound being down, this trip is much cheaper than it would normally be. It's not about the gardens as much as the place. My roots go to Scotland and the British Isles and I just need to be in that place. I can't tell you why. This is a once in a lifetime thing for a reluctant traveler such as myself. I'm crossing fingers that Kristine will do the typical thing and go a couple of weeks over her due date. That would put it in the first week of October and Ron and I could drive down after I get back on the 1st. We'll see how it all works out as it gets closer. Isn't life like that? Oh, well... babies come whenever they want. We don't get to vote. ;-)

Both Alex and Burt say "go on the trip!" ... and with internal conflict over the whole situation... I think I will try. Still need to get the passport stuff turned in.

There have been some Classic Pooh sleepers stashed in our closet for several years that were held aside for when Kristine had a baby... if it's a boy, there will be several. They only had one for a little girl at the time I saw them (or maybe that I liked?). She's had such a love for Pooh over the years... I just had to get them, despite no baby being on the horizon at the time.

The pictures of Colette and Edward were taken on Tuesday. Amber dropped off treats to Adrienne's school for her birthday and took her to the "Chipmunk Grill" at the hospital where she was born... a birthday lunch tradition. :-) I had the other two here for awhile. I had to smile at Edward here as she gets a little too close for comfort.

Burt called yesterday to ask if he could drop something off at the house on his way home from Port Ludlow. He'd taken a trip to Portland recently to purchase a few things and he brought a small camera for me to try out (Canon PowerShot A1000IS)... to see if I'd like to have it for the Europe trip. It's so small it almost feels like a toy in my big hands, but I put it together last night and shot a few experimental pics at about 1:00 a.m. I have a feeling I'll want something just a bit larger for the trip... but this would be a very handy size if you wanted to pack one in a purse or to have handy whenever. It uses AA batteries, so one might have to change them out sooner than with a rechargeable battery pack. Didn't have much in the way of inspiring subjects... so here is a sampling...

First... Alex's favorite "new toy" (I'm only guessing... he was glued to this one when they visited and they got their own after returning to Provo).. there was more orange glow when this was taken, but the flash washed much of that out. I was sitting at the kitchen table and used the zoom to the max for this.

Piano... I actually played the piano for a bit yesterday afternoon. It's been weeks and months and it's amazing I remember a thing! I really should spend more time, but it needs to be retuned and it takes some of the joy out of it when there are notes just a bit off. There is also an annoying squeak in the sustaining pedal when you depress it that goes away when you take the cover off the front. I'm going to make sure the tuner checks that out next time he comes. Ron couldn't pinpoint what was creating the problem. My piano teacher and parents, if they were here, would wag their fingers at me for leaving the piano idle for so long.Birdy... the "night owl." If uncovered, he starts his chirping and whistling routine around 12:00 to 12:15 a.m. ... just like clockwork.

Ron has decided he needs to get more exercise and take off a few pounds, so he's been getting up earlier and walking on the treadmill in the mornings. With earplugs in, this doesn't bother me at all... despite it being underneath our room. The positive side of him going downstairs is that he decided he needs to finish the trim on the doors down there... and he also put a door on the closet at the end of the hallway this week. It's never had one since the closet was finished and painted. The router and DSL modem are hung in that closet, as well as it providing space for the artificial Christmas tree and some camping stuff. It looks nice to see a door at the end of the hallway now, instead of blinking modem lights. :-) I've not yet made much headway on painting our bathroom, but we have some paint charts here and a decision needs to be made on color.

Yesterday I spliced about 6 small home movies that were in the box with the others in the closet. I'd forgotten we'd taken some from when the oldest kids were babies. I had to scan one of the strips to figure out who the baby was in it and estimate the year it was likely taken (before splicing the years together... hope I got them in sequence). Here is the better of the two scans I'd enlarged...
Yep! It's Robert in 1977! :-) What a chunk! Actually... all of the kids got kind of chubby looking in their first year. Once they were weaned and walking... they trimmed down pretty well.

I've ordered a new bulb for the old projector and hope it comes today. Then we can attempt a transfer of these old movies from 1971-86 onto DVD. We'll basically be shooting video of the movies being projected onto a small white piece of paper. If it's terrible, I'll go ahead and send them out to have them done professionally. Some folks will do a better job of the process we're doing and some have pretty nifty equipment ... all charge by the foot. At least I'd have a rudimentary copy of all of the movies before turning loose of any of the original films.

Well... it's afternoon and time to get on with some other projects! I hope all are having a good week. The witch hazel next to our bedroom window is starting to emerge with tiny filaments of yellow... won't be long until all nature comes alive. Maybe in another day the fog will even lift! We've had an inversion going on all week with burn bans in place. They think it's about to move on.

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Closet adventures... or... "Oh, my aching neck!"

Here we are going into a weekend already. Is it possible that January is half over? We've been watching coverage of the amazing jet landing on the Hudson River in New York! Someone put it well on the radio yesterday when they said the "stars lined up" for the pilot in that deal. But, he also had the training, extreme intelligence, skill and cool head when the chips were down. I've never given a lot of thought to birds when we've flown (!), although I know flocks of starlings used to be a problem to aircraft in years past... and I do mean YEARS. So glad all of those folks made it out alive. I think I heard the worst injured was a woman who sustained two broken legs.

I had Colette and Edward here for a few hours this afternoon while Amber finished delivering papers. I get a kick out of them. He followed me around for much of the time. I managed to get dinner in the crockpot, but it took a lot longer with interruptions. Brings back memories, although with my own children, I had a house that was more baby-proofed. Colette said she liked carrots, so I had her pull up a chair and cut her a couple of small carrot sticks. Edward seemed interested as he watched me peeling them but I feared he'd choke on carrot at this point. He has incisors but I don't think any bicuspids have come in yet. I shaved a couple of small pieces off and offered them, so he could see if he was really missing anything. You should have seen his face when he spit them out! ;-)

We brought a high chair over to the table so he could sit nearby like everyone else and he was still fascinated with the carrots. Guess the previous experience hadn't put him off. They were yet to be washed and cut before adding to the stew, so I let him play with them while I finished up on the other vegetables. One by one, he would pick up a carrot and try to put the large end into his mouth (almost like those annoying song flutes). Pretty soon he was gnawing on each one like a little bunny rabbit. Colette thought this was the most amusing baby behavior and with each carrot munching she was snickering and smiling with delight. It was as much fun to watch her face as to see what he was doing. I finally spoiled his fun by retrieving the carrots and taking him down from the table... which caused a little fussing. Suffice to say, some of the carrots had to be trimmed a bit before being added to the pot.

When it was time to check the mail, I carried him with me so as to keep an eye on him. Colette wanted to go along. After she got her shoes on, I decided to use the wheelbarrow as a means of transport. They must have liked it okay... no one tried to climb out before it was all over. Not only to save my arms... it was a favorite "ride" for me as a child. We had a burn pile way in the back part of the property and I'd sometimes get to ride on a barrow load of leaves, or back in the emptied wheelbarrow. Riding in one has its own feel and as long as the person steering is strong enough to keep things upright (such as a parent and not a sibling nearly the same age!), it's all good. Simple pleasures. :-)

This week has been devoted to finishing up with cleaning and organizing our closet.... a job I initiated about 18 months ago! I'm happy to say, that job is as done as it's going to get! There are some old photos and movies I pulled out that will need to be reviewed and stashed with the other family history/genealogy related stuff. I don't even remember what is on some of the old movies taken after graduating high school. I know some date from before leaving for BYU (1971) and one reel was taken at college with my roommates, etc. Costco now has a service where they'll put those on DVD for you, but I've not priced it yet. I'd be a bit worried about letting them very far out of my sight, so maybe there are some other ways to get it done in-house. Will need to check that out. I do recall some of the last ones were when Michael was a toddler. The film was old and turned out really poor and grainy (at the time). We were showing him how to use this little manually operated wooden train. Our black kitty was lying in the middle of the oval track and would swipe at the train as it passed. I hope all the movies are still good enough to be transferred. One of my BYU roommates died at the tender age of 22 after contracting encephalitis while on a mission to Thailand. I have her on there doing her "fish" impersonation. We were all up in the wee hours being totally goofy... which is one of the joys of college.

Kris... (and Vanean... who should be on it too)... if I'm eventually able to get that done, I'll make you a copy. ... or maybe I'll blackmail you with it. ;-)

Some things unearthed in the closet (in no particular order):

Old yellowed newspapers from when Mt. Saint Helens erupted

A fleece jacket I'd sewn for Michael when he was about 12, that he practically lived in.

Old small dresses and a pair of toddler pants that I'd sewn for the kids... back before the sewing area was torn apart for remodeling in our now bedroom

A copy of a paper I'd typed up for a college boyfriend before going home on Christmas break in 1971 (he had notoriously terrible handwriting). I got to meet and retrieve it from his teacher after he'd left on his mission ... Cleon Skousen. He was a sweet man. Also are some typed letters I'd received from him toward the beginning of his mission (Navajo).

A manicure set of Ron's that has been missing for a few years

A big piece of white cardboard with "CHOCOLATE CRINKLES" written on the top in Karen's handwriting (I think)

A lovely carving set that was given to us by Aunt Joanne and Uncle Pete when we got married. It was very classy and somewhat sharp (dangerous to little folks), so was stashed in the closet where it wasn't getting used. I've moved it to the sideboard in the dining room.

The genealogical information and old photos my father's cousin, Lucile Knox, left to me in her will when I was in my thirties. I need to pick up the threads of research where she left off and archive those old photos.

A prize-winning Pinewood Derby car of Robert's with his blue ribbon tucked inside the box.

My old, now crusty "Treasures of Truth" book with items tucked inside like report cards, adjudication sheets from piano auditions, clippings from the Bremerton Sun from said auditions, a booklet from a worldwide LDS Laurel Conference I was privileged to attend in 1970 and the booklet from our ensuing stake Laurel conference. My responsibility in that venture was to lay out and arrange printing. The 7 girls from the stake that attended the conference at BYU, became the launching committee for the stake Laurel conference in Tacoma (where our stake meetings were held in 1970). We promoted it leading up to the event and were required to visit various wards to speak or perform musical numbers. I have a foggy recollection of playing a piano solo at one ward visit in Tacoma somewhere. I remember driving to planning meetings at the Stake Center on Pearl Street in the old Nash Metropolitan. In fact... it threw a rod coming off the freeway on the way to Criddle's in Bremerton for one of those meetings. I would later marry Carla Criddle's second cousin (Ron's mother is a Criddle). ;-) I don't think she really knew Ron, but I'd later find out they were related to him.

Getting back to the closet...

The kids' baby books (the first three that had them... I fell off the wagon when Diane came along and the house fire didn't help).

Old photos that my mother must have sent this direction that I have no memory of. One is a Navy photo of Dad that I don't recall seeing. And two are of my brother that I need to send to him... or to his daughter. One graduation and one as a toddler.

Robert's notebook from high school when he worked on the school paper... maybe junior year or senior? He was going to toss it I'm sure, but that thing is a time capsule!

The cake topper from our wedding reception.


Well... that's enough. Suffice to say, it was a time consuming but interesting experience cleaning out the upper shelf of the closet. :-) My guess is that I put in at least 24 hours (work) all toll to do that closet.

The new quilt came for the downstairs bedroom also... on Tuesday. So that room looks a little bit different. Here's a photo... I know it's laughable compared to so many of your beautiful homes... but progress is progress! ;-)

That little round machine embroidery thing on the shelf is a blast from the past also. Years ago I saw that at Marsha Terry's house and loved it so much, I asked her if I could take hers home to draw up a pattern. She got it at a craft show somewhere, I think. Then I made several. Mine has long since bit the dust, but this was the one my mother had at her house. The colors went really well with this quilt, so it will go downstairs.

Andy Lester came by for a visit on Wednesday and it was good to catch up with him. I unloaded one of the leftover bags of Christmas M&M's before he went, and some of the homemade rolls we'd not used at Christmas. I think all of the Christmas "goodies" are nearly gone now and I have the waistline to prove it. Where are kids when you need them? ;-) We still have a single pie crust in the fridge that should be used soon. Think that will be the last of the holiday foods.

The weather has dried out this week but is still pretty nippy. It almost felt like snow in the air a few days ago. Yesterday, I succumbed to the siren's song and took pruners outside for a bit of late winter trimming near the front porch. I only intended to cut back two fuchsia plants, but of course couldn't resist some tidying in the oak bed also. Those areas will soon be filled with bloom from hellebores... some of which are showing buds and color. Spring will be upon us before we know it. I hope this year I can get some momentum going and keep it up long enough to make a bigger dent. Last year medical events and weddings took precedence.

Next thing to get done is the passport for the possible trip this fall. Ron wanted to apply for one also, just to have it. He has an old one from a work trip to Scotland when I was pregnant with Michael. The applications are on the kitchen table and we can get the photos done at Costco to keep things simple. So... I hope we'll have those done by the end of this month... then the next project (fingers crossed) will be painting our master bathroom.

Well... this has been quite a mundane post when there are so many more weighty things happening in the world and in our country (such as the inauguration). Guess this is the time of year for clearing the decks. :-)

Have a great weekend!

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From White to Wet :-P

The above photo might have been from last season, but is a pretty good representation of how certain parts of Western Washington were looking this past week (not ours, thankfully). We were essentially cut off from the rest of the world east and south of us for a few days. The passes were closed due to mud slides, avalanche danger, etc. Interstate 5 was underwater near Chehalis. Truckers and travelers had to suspend their itineraries and plans until something opened up. On Saturday around lunchtime, the freeway was opened to truckers first... then motorists after the first hour.

Snoqualmie Pass was finally cleared of the debris you see here and motorists were able to get over the mountains. People in the flood plains are still dealing with the mess. For some it was totally devastating. One town fell victim when the powers that be released water from a dam but failed to give notification in advance. No one was prepared for the deluge that ensued and much damage occurred. That was an exception... for the most part people were warned and given time to evacuate if that was their choice. Some stayed to protect their homes and belongings as best they could.

The following are a few photos lifted off the Internet ... starting with the mudslide at Snoqualmie Pass:
In the town of Snoqualmie, this was how things looked... and Snoqualmie Falls are shown in the next picture...Puyallup River, I believe. They even evacuated some folks from Fife... near the freeway we travel to and from Seattle.
I think the blue house was in Ferndale and the one after in Gold Bar.Freeway Closure:The rains have lifted for a few days and we can only hope that trend lasts long enough for these poor folks to dry out a little. It's been such a crazy winter here so far.

Kristine and Alex had a substantial snowfall last week and she posted a few photos on her blog of their driveway/yard. That stuff was DEEP!

Looks like Alex finally initiated the snow blower that was in the garage. She said it was kind of fun. She's used it now also.

The next three photos were from Rachel's blog when their family visited Diane at Disney World. I recall Robert saying they were a bit jet lagged on this day, but it looks like Charlotte was having a good time. She was a bit nervous about Stitch (the costumed person), but finally warmed up enough to give a hug. Diane has since left for college at BYU-I and is getting settled in with new roommates. She spent a weekend with Kristine after flying to the Salt Lake airport... then drove her car to Rexburg (between snowstorms!). She likes her new roommates really well so far. They seem to be tidy by nature and already knew one another from last year. Diane is the "new" person.

The story on this next photo is that Stitch was trying to demonstrate how non-threatening he (is it a he?) was by hugging Diane's little Mickey talking toy that Charlotte enjoyed so much (while she looked on).
Guess it must have worked! :-)

So what is new around here? At the moment, Ron has gotten kind of a nasty cold. He stayed home from church today after having a bad night of sleep. I think he took a nap much of the time while I was at church and then later in the evening took another. He's in bed right now sleeping lightly while I have "Messiah" going to mask typing noises. For some reason this music puts him to sleep like a baby. ;-) It's like magic... classical white noise.

Despite feeling the early stages of a cold, he went to Redmond with Michael yesterday in order to replace the fuel pump on Lynda's car. It ended up being an all day affair, with doing the auto repair, going out to eat with Lynda and visiting a couple of wrecking yards with Michael on their drive home. Michael wants to replace the dented trunk on one of his cars and Ron has been keeping an eye out for a new side mirror for Alex's vehicle. So far, no luck. They had a nice day but he was really beat when he got home.

While Ron was away with Michael, I finally got myself back into our walk-in closet. We'd started that job last week after purchasing a shelf at IKEA. There were some tall piles of pants, sweatshirts, PJs and towels on the one side of the closet and they'd grown like a cancer over the years. I don't remember how many loads of laundry I ran after we pulled all of that out and several big bags of clothing were donated to D.I. This weekend I cleared out some more of my unused clothing and also bagged up the old formals and unwanted dresses the girls have had in our closet for years. That was kind of bittersweet, since many memories are tied up with those pieces of clothing. Karen's senior prom formal had been dry cleaned and was in great shape... but off it went.

I did keep some of the little dresses I'd sewn when Kristine was little and before the sewing area got torn apart with remodeling. It feels like sewing is something I did in another life. I pulled out a suit that had seldom been worn, and I have to say, I'd not think it was handmade if I'd not done it myself (from the outside... inside seams always look different). If I tried to do that now, I suspect it would look pretty terrible. I'm so out of practice and my machine has gotten like an old car with a sticky accelerator (even after paying to have it cleaned). It's sluggish to start and then takes off much too fast. If I ever get serious about sewing again, it will be time to upgrade the old Bernina that I loved. Wearing bifocals or reading glasses makes it interesting too. Try to thread a needle at 56 without them... what a riot! Glasses are good but not as good as young eyes with no correction.

This is the shelf we put in behind the little chair. I still need to go through the stuff on the top shelves and under the ironing board. Those will be next. It's no wonder a person can put this sort of thing off... it's TIME CONSUMING!!! Great feeling when it's done.

Yesterday's portion of the items pulled out for donation.
Ron picked up a lightly used queen mattress from a fellow at church who manages storage units and we put that in Lynda's old room. The situation won't come up for a long time, but next time we have married kids staying overnight, we can put up more than one couple in the downstairs. I've ordered a new quilt for the queen bed in Karen's old room and hope it looks like the picture. For jollies I'll drop that in here...
If it looks like this, it should pick up the colors from a picture that hangs on the wall over the headboard. We'll find out on Tuesday.

Well, sorry for the rambling, mostly about the trivial. Sometimes the trivial can be a saving grace. It's been kind of a reflective week. Lots of babies have been born recently to kids who were once friends of our children or in one case, one of the girls in my Laurel class when Karen was in high school. Those have been happy events. Two of Michael's high school friends (who married each another), just welcomed an 8 lb. little baby girl into the world and lost her a few days later. She had some sort of heart abnormality that routed blood back to the heart before its time, so the baby had an enlarged heart and insufficient blood flow to the brain, which caused brain damage. I don't know if she died from the condition itself or their attempts to do surgery. They have a cute little boy that is 2 years old and were so excited about this baby sister. I know they have a loving network of family and friends with them right now. They are living in Utah while he attends college. They've just been on my mind so much since Amber called with the sad news. :-/

Ron will be home again tomorrow and maybe I'll dive back into the closet (to clean, not to hide!). There are a couple of things on the radar for this month. I want to finish that first. Then the passport application needs to be completed and taken to the post office (by appointment it says). The garden tour trip is not all firmed up as yet, but getting the passport process in the works is important. I'm told they are kind of slow these days. After that, I'm hoping to get up a head of steam and paint our master bathroom. It SO needs it! Gardening season is not far away and it would be nice to do that painting before February. Some of the earlier blooming hellebores are sending their bloom stalks up now and they are showing color.

I'd best proof read and get ready for bed. Worthy Is the Lamb just started... so my typing coverage is just about over (I love this piece!). While working on the closet yesterday, I listened to some favorite classical music from iTunes. The Rachmaninov 18th Variation on a Theme of Paganini made me get teary. It had been a long time. When you hear it in context it just shines like a jewel. It's no wonder it became so popular. I don't know if most people know what the original theme even sounded like. I think I heard that Rachmaninov turned it upside down for the 18th and went from there. I like some of the others in that work, but that one was truly inspired!

I hope you all have a good week and stay healthy. :-)

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