Peggy's Ponderings

Controversy

2009-07-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

I heard a quote yesterday that might tick some people off but it started me thinking.
The first part is,
Men bond by doing activities together.
The second part is,
Women bond by complaining.

At first it sounds pretty bad, but there might be a bit of truth in it. Interesting.

The person who told me they heard this asked not to be identified.

Word Budget

2009-07-07T14:28:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I only have a certain number of words allotted to use a week. It's a little bit like a budget and only having a certain amount to spend. I get a lot of words to use but I run out after a while. When I use up the words I have available, I quit talking much. It's not hard. I have lots of family and friends in my life who love to talk and don't notice when I don't have much to say. They have a much bigger word budget than me. It works out very well.

Sometimes I just get tired of talking and of writing and prefer to let others do it all. Sometimes, silence is nice too.

Sales Tax

2009-07-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

The economy is down, a percentage of people are either losing their jobs when businesses close or getting less hours. Many are underemployed, which is employed, but at lower paying jobs that hopefully cover the bare necessities. The stock market is down so lots of people have lost lots of their retirement investments. Those who are close to retirement or who are retired may have been hit the hardest. Normally, that means lots of people are buying less. That means less sales tax revenue, mainly sales tax.

With less tax income, some federal, state and local programs and services must either get less money or be cut. The government's solution to this is to raise taxes and tax rates to get more money so programs can be funded as before. It's a vicious cycle. The more taxes are raised, including sales taxes and luxury type taxes (and "sin" taxes) the less people will buy because everything costs more. The people buying are not necessarily making more money and a percentage are still making less and less. It looks like it could be a vicious cycle.

There is an upside in one sense. When "sin" taxes go up, people buy less of those items too. Generally, "sin" taxes are taxes on cigarettes and alcohol. If people used less of both they would be a lot healthier. Our state uses "sin" taxes to pay for basic things like public schools, health and children's programs. It seems ridiculous to me that we need people to do unhealthy things in order for our children to get an education. Wouldn't it make more sense to tie education and other programs to something much more wholesome? It puts the government and schools in the business of promoting unhealthy practices in order to get funding. Gambling profits go under this nonsense too, but that's a whole different area. The more people smoke, drink and gamble, the better off the children are? Wow!

Our city keeps coming up with new ways to tax people these days. Restaurants now have to pay a "fee" (tax) for their mandatory inspections to stay in business, as of this week. The extra tax expense will be passed on to the consumer.

Special higher tax districts are springing up all over town. They use that tax to improve the immediate area. Those who are watching their pennies will simply choose to shop someplace else, especially for the higher priced items where taxes make a more significant difference. Little businesses vote for it in the hopes the high volume guys will bear the majority of the load of expense. Really, it is the customer who will pay the extra dollars for the same thing and customers are free to go wherever they like. An extra 1% is a penny on a dollar, $1 on a hundred and $100 on $10,000. $100 means something to many, especially if they are getting nothing extra for their extra expense. The high volume business person will either decrease in volume, lose customers to a point where they go out of business or have to relocate. Anybody who thinks the majority of people will gladly pay more if it amounts to more than a few pennies total is not living in reality. In a good economy, people do not pay as much attention to pennies, but they do in a difficult economy like ours.

Enough people will avoid CID's (city improvement districts with their higher sales taxes) that those hoping to bring in more revenue will be disappointed.

Restaurants are having to lower prices and do special promotions to bring people in because more people have less discretionary income. Sales are still down quite a bit overall, even with the slaes and promotions. The new tax on mandatory inspections, on top of the CID's in some areas, will raise consumer costs. If they raise their prices 25 or 50 cents or more, it will discourage those on the margins and sales will go down even further. We are still in a bad economy.

It doesn't matter to me if they keep raising taxes. I will vote against it but when they do it anyway, I just quit buying or buy less. So will most other people. Increasing the tax rates is not going to increase the income of the city, state or federal government over the long haul. Eventually the majority will develop a depression era mentality. Repair it, use it up, wear it out, make do, share with others or do without. To a degree we are seeing the beginnings of that.

I wonder what they are going to come up with next to tax extra? I heard there was some kind of energy bill that was passed last week that is going to cost everybody a lot of extra money every year. Dandy. The promoters say it is worth it. Everybody who wants a tax always says the extra expense is worth it. Maybe, but what about the total accumulation of taxes coming out of all but the poorest people's paychecks? At what percentage is it no longer "worth it"? When the total taxes hit 50% of everything we earn? (we are past that already if you include the hidden taxes such as licensing fees, phone fees and fees for any little things plus sales taxes, property taxes, etc) 60%? 75%? 90%? Looking at the aggregate tax rate, it seems a bit absurd to me.

The taxes on taxes are based on the premise that our behaviors will not change with the times. It is erroneous to believe because we spent freely before, in a good economy, that we will continue. The rate of unemployed is at 10% and those are just the ones looking actively. There are others who are not officially looking, experts say up to 15%. The percentage of sick, significantly mentally challenged and disabled people is at a similar rate, around 10%. Possibly a larger percentage is underemployed at low paying jobs that barely pay the bills or worse. I read that one person in 7 is incarcerated right now. That seems awfully high. That would add a bit over 14% to the number of citizens not working. A percentage are children, maybe 18%?, and a percentage are senior citizens who are no longer working, maybe 18%? There is even a percentage of illegal immigrants who pay no taxes at all, maybe 2%-4%?

That makes it look like only 15%-30% of the population is gainfully employed and lots of those work at minimum wage jobs. That can't be right. It seems like it should be more than double the top number, but maybe not.

Anyway, I think our government officials need to rethink some of what they do. It should be interesting to see how this all pans out.

Rejoice

2009-05-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is the day that the Lord has made. We shall rejoice and be glad in it!

The weather is beautiful. The dog is cute. God has blessed us.

Penny Update

2009-04-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Since the last time I posted about the penny quest 15 days ago, I have found $1.39 in pennies nickles and dimes. It really beats the few pennies interest I get a month! Either way, I will never be rich off it. That's okay. Rich comes at a price. I have enough and I am blessed. I have my family, my friends, the Lord and the church. My health is fine. And I have a good roof over my head (now that we replaced it). I love the simple things like birds, walks, coffee and tea, reading and studying and that sort of thing.

Names and Perceptions

2009-04-18T13:31:00.008-07:00

It is cute how easily some people get upset. We have a little bitty church, approximately 1/1,000 of the denomination. Sometimes I have commented that we would like to be the denominational headquarters and the center of the denomination. Now who would take that seriously? It sounds good to me because I live here and it would not be so far for me to travel. I like this city. There is less crime here than the city where the headquarters is now and prices are lower. The Assembly of God International Headquarters is already here and seems to do just fine and they send out many, many times more missionaries than our denomination ever thought of doing, so our airport is fine for travel anywhere. And, we are in the center of the US. In my mind, it is a good thought. Nobody else has to agree with me.

The name of our church is Cumberland Presbyterian Church. It has a "first" in front of it but nobody uses it. Since we are the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, it only makes sense that the denomination would center around us, right? Forget how small we are, how few financial resources we have (all of the money in all of the Presbyterial accounts magically vanished last year and our offerings are nothing to write home about) and how few of our denomination are in the state. We are less than a little hankie to a kingsize quilt or an ant next to a tree.

We plan to build a new church building soon and are adding a new name, in addition to Cumberland Presbyterian, like most other CP churches do. (White Oak Pond, New Hope, Orange, etc) That way, if there are several churches of our denomination in the area some day, (another dream) it would be possible to tell one from another by name.

I was at first surprised and then amused at a person who was worried that, if by adding more words to our name we would lose our Cumberland Presbyterian identity. Around here, very few people know that Cumberland Presbyterian is a denomination. They think it is the name of our church, named after either a road, a family years ago, something in the Bible they have never heard about or some other thing. Most people think we are just Presbyterian (PCUSA) with a quirky name, if they think about us at all. We are so small we do not make the radar of most people.

I guess the person, I can't remember who it was now, had a point (but they would not have been aware of it). If we are going to be the center of the denomination and the denominational headquarters, then we should remain THE Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Somehow, it isn't very likely that's going to happen but who knows? All things are possible with God. If it is His will, it will happen. Personally, it sounds like a lot of extra work to me. If it should ever turn out that God does this, that means He has work for me to do, and not something small. I will do whatever He wants but do I really want a lot of extra work?

In the meantime, we are THE Cumberland Presbyterian Church and life is interesting.

A Drama That Did Not Happen

2009-04-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a little rabbit named Bunny who lived in a beautiful meadow with lots of friends and family. Bunny was happy.

Bunny sometimes got allergies from the pollen in the air or the food she ate. Dr Rabbit did tests and said they weren't so bad. Bunny would just have to live with it. He did not have tests for every problem but he had medicine. Some medicines worked and some did not. One medicine worked but it made Bunny very sleepy, the worse the allergy, the sleepier it made Bunny.

When Bunny got allergies, it would make her skin kind of itchy and things that normally did not hurt would hurt Bunny, like rabbits touching too hard. If they gave her a friendly thump, it sometimes left a bruise. Not all the time. Only with the allergy.

Bunny's allergies sometimes made her head hurt and made noises seems very loud and painful. Allergies made everything uncomfortable.

One day Bunny's rabbit friends wanted her to go with them to an activity with lots of other rabbits. Bunny said no, she did not want to go. Maybe another time. The rabbit friends did not understand allergies and how Bunny felt because it had never happened to them. So the rabbit friends kept asking why over and over.

She tried to tell them about allergies and being very sleepy fi she took the medicine. They wanted to know what it felt like. Bunny told her friends that Gabby rabbit's talking was loud and hurt her ears sometimes when she had allergies. Rabbits did not understand that it was not Gabby's fault. It was an allergy. So Tattletale rabbit ran and told Gabby rabbit that Bunny said she was too loud and didn't want to be around her. Of course this hurt Gabby and made her unhappy at her friend Bunny. Bunny was not mad at Gabby and knew the allergy had nothing to do with Gabby. On days there was no allergy, Bunny liked being around Gabby.

Tippy rabbit decided that Gabby was too loud too, and proceeded to tell others. Poor Gabby! Gabby was not too loud. Bunny had an allergy.

Bunny told the rabbits that it hurt when Bear hug rabbit thumped her playfully and hugged her when she had allergies. So Tattletale rabbit ran and told Bear rabbit that she was too rough and Bunny was mad at her. Then all the other little rabbits decided Bear rabbit was too rough too. Bear rabbit was not too rough. Bear rabbit was sad that everybody was so critical of her all of a sudden. Bunny had allergies and some things hurt when she had them that did not hurt normally. Other bunnies who gave big bunny hugs hurt too.

Hearty rabbit decided that Bunny must be sickly all the time and started treating her like she was an invalid. That was annoying because everything was fine when there were no allergies.

Skeptic rabbit decided that, since Bunny did not have allergies every day, she must be making it up. She got together with a few other rabbits to lecture Bunny on how she was just a hypochondriac, and a wimp and a liar. They didn't believe it at all. Rabbit hollow was not a happy place.

There is not always somebody at fault when things do not work right.

If Bunny had not told what hurt her, it would have saved the feelings of several rabbits. The only one any rabbits would have been upset with was Bunny for saying no.

Real life is much more complicated than a Bunny story (based on someone I am related to and known many years). We do not know what is going on for other persons. We need to be kind and assume the best, just as we hope others will assume the best about us.

Is that car that is swerving in front of us because of a drunk driver or a toddler who got loose and is trying to escape the driver, or a person who had a momentary lapse,as we all have, that was unintentional?

Kindness and grace, something we can all use and give.

Thinking

2009-04-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Those who have known me a long time wonder why I do not post as much as I used to about what is going on. Others just wonder why I post less. Life is still busy and getting busier all the time.

It's different now though. I know who is sick, who is in crisis, who has issues, who is mad and who is happy, who is broken hearted or struggling and all sorts of things, but to tell most of these things amounts to gossip. Each person has their own story to tell and it is not my place to tell it unless they want me to or say it is okay. Even then I hesitate. While some things are fine to tell one on one, they are not appropriate as front page news. Much of my life right now centers on people. And it is quite an adventure! Things have happened that I never expected to happen.

When I am writing about people blog readers do not know, it is just a story about an anonymous person. It's different if many know them. It can become gossip. There are those who feel it is their job to question others. There are those who judge and act judgmentally. There are those who feel their job is to confront. There are those who will ridicule. There are those who will take on a condescending attitude. There are the phonies with all their creepiness. There are the saddists who will try to make it worse. There are those who take advantage of others. There are those who say hateful things. There are those who get their jollies out of rubbing salt in other people's wounds. There are people who like to blame. There are people who use things as an excuse to exclude others or to look down on them. They humiliate and upset others without much empathy or conscience. (This is all sin but those who do it often do not recognize it. They see the splinter in the eye of the others and not the log in their own.)

I am not a private person but I understand those who are. After a few attacks, I have become a little more private too. (I'm not going to tell you who attacked. That's gossip and one might have been you??)

Every so often someone has said to me that they have said something to a pastor only to hear it come back in a negative way hours, weeks or months later and it is upsetting to them. It becomes a breach of trust in their mind. I want to avoid that. If I wrote what was going on in my daily life, much of it would sound like a soap box series or a gossip columnist. Everybody has issues but most of the time it should stay between them and God and the others involved.

Many people have things happening in their lives that are not exactly secret but they do not want announced either. We need to respect those wishes.

And now, it is a beautiful day. Time to attend to tasks and enjoy the sunshine.

Really?

2009-04-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

James 2:18-19 This scripture is bad news for some who claim to be believers. I think some have been deceived. What's the fruit?

Penny Update

2009-04-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

I have now collected 50 plus pennies and rolled them to deposit in my bank account to help out the pathetic interest. I found another penny today. Eccentric is amusing.

Respect

2009-04-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today I had a conversation with a young teen while waiting in a business. It was interesting to see things from her point of view. One of the things she told me about was being angry at a doctor because he would not talk to her or answer her questions as he was examining her. He would only talk to her mother. He treated her as if she were not there. It upset her a lot.

I can understand that. Nobody, at any age, wants to be treated like a non person. I told her about a friend of mine who is in a wheelchair. When she and I would go out to eat, the waitresses would talk to me but not to her. When the waitress would ask me a question about my friend, such as what she wanted to eat, I would have to tell her to ask my friend.

The young girl was surprised to hear that this was a common experience for the elderly too. When an elderly person and a younger person are together, almost everybody talks to the younger person about the older person as if they were not there. It's pretty rude, but really common. I guess that's why little kids and the elderly often get along so well. They understand one another. People talk about them and over them but not to them.

The young teen got mad and fired her doctor (her mom let her). She has a new doctor now who talks to her, listens to her and answers her questions and she likes that just fine.

Penny Update

2009-04-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Personal issues have led to a short delay in arriving at a retreat. It is beginning to get late so I will wait until tomorrow to drive there now.

While taking care of business today I found one more penny. Yesterday I found 1 penny and the day before I found 1 penny. Three cents in three days, that's half a month's interest on my tiny savings account. Maybe more than half a month if the interest rate goes down even more. Eventually I might have to invest in something like a cheap bicycle or a good pair of shoes when this pair wears out. At least gas prices went down for a while. The price of everything else is going up.

Parking Lot Pennies

2009-03-31T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today I spent more time than normal waiting in parking lots for cars with issues. Actually, it is not normal to spend any time in parking lots waiting on car issues but today I probably spent at least an hour total on three different lots. So I got some exercise while I waited and walked around the parking lot looking for pennies. I came up with 11 so far today. That is almost two months interest in the pathetic savings account! Parking lot pennies sometimes look a big rough.

Yesterday I found one chair I missed when diving for pennies. I came up with one more puncture wound from the upholstery tacks and two dimes!

I'm intrigued with the concept of becoming eccentric. I think my dog is working on it too. Just a few minutes ago I fed her one of her favorite snacks, ice cubes.

There is a new way to grow tomatoes I am told and I am going to try it out. You grow them upside down in a special container that hangs on a hook outside. Looks interesting.

When I bought the upside down tomato planter, I also bought some seeds for my little veggie bed. I bought things like brussels sprouts, beets, turnips, squash, cucumbers and even green beans. I don't like green beans much, but they grow well and, if I am going to be eccentric, it's okay to plant things I do not like and give them to someone who does. Or I could just grow them, let them go to seed, save the seed, and plant them again next year. That's more eccentric than just giving them away.

Penny Diving in the Furniture

2009-03-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

I checked under the cushions and fabric on the couches and chairs and found no money. Ihere was almost nothing under there. I did get some puncture wounds from the upholstery tacks. Sharp buggers.

Onward to the next adventure. For me, frugality is a form of amusement.

Monday Banking Update

2009-03-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I found 32 cents to add to my bank account. Today my son's car broke down. While we waited for the tow truck in the apartment parking lot, I walked around and looked for pennies to help out my pathetic bank account. I found 8 pennies walking around. Later, I found 4 more at various places parking lots. That brings the total to 50 cents in just over a week. That's 8 months interest on my little savings account (at 6 whole pennies interest a month). By next week I may have found enough pennies to equal a whole year's worth of interest.

It is interesting being a tad eccentric. While wandering around the apartment complex looking at the ground, people asked what I was looking for and so I told them about the broken car and the pathetic savings account interest. Most people who hear what I am doing don't seem to think it is odd at all.

I wonder if pennies found on the ground are subject to income tax? Our world is getting pretty wierd to even think that question.

I think I'll go out for a while on another wild penny hunt.

Banking Update

2009-03-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

I found 1 penny yesterday and three pennies today! Only 46 more needed to make a roll of pennies!

Banking

2009-03-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

Some day it might be interesting to be an eccentric old lady just for fun. Yesterday i decidedc to get started on it. Our little bank account gives interest in less than one percent, very dismal. It comes to less than a dime per statement. I have decided to pick up any pennies I find on the street and roll them when I get 50, then deposit my 50 cents in rolled pennies. I have learned that, if I let my bank account sit for a while, the bank starts charging me a $5 a month service fee. If I take in my roll of pennies and deposit it, they will even give me a lollipop if I ask.

The interest is so pathetic, I get tons more picking up pennies. This week I've found 2 cents already. On with the game!

Value quote

2009-03-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Every man stamps his value on himself... man is made great or small by his own will.
-- J.C.F. von Schiller

Knit wit and wise

2009-03-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

I read this and it makes sense to me on several levels.
Life is too short to knit with bad yarn.
Yes, life is too short to waste time and effort on the wrong things. We only have so much time and so many resources. In the areas where we have choices, we should make wise ones.
If we spend all of our time shoring up our weaknesses, we will never have time to capitalize on our strengths. Our strengths, talents for the Christian, are what we were born to use to make the world a better place.

Recipes for Lemon Curd, Spinach artichoke casserole and coconut candy

2009-03-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

These recipes looked good.

The writer of this recipe recommends one use this tart and creamy topping on toast or biscuits, or spoon it over cake or gingerbread. I like it spooned over cream cheese and served with crackers. I've never made it yet, but have eaten it.

Lemon Curd

1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs finely grated lemon peel
3 Tbs cold butter cut into small pieces
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Combine the sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a non-reactivesaucepan. Stir in the butter and eggs and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats theback of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not boil.
Pour into two sterilized 1-cup jars and seal.
Store refrigerated for up to 2 months.
Makes 2 cups .
--------------------------------
This sounds really good. Cream cheese, grated cheese, artichokes and chopped spinach are delicious together, in my opinion.

Spinach Artichoke Casserole

Blend:
8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Sour Cream
1 Package Dry Onion Soup
Add:
2 Ten Ounce packages of frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and well drained)
Place:
One can (14 oz) of artichoke hearts, chopped into chunks and cleaned of those tough little edges, on the bottom of a 14" by 9" casserole dish
Top artichokes with:
Cheese-spinach mixture
Top entire casserole with:
A generous amount of grated cheese -Monterey Jack, Muenster, or Pepper Jack
Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350 until slightly browned and bubbly.

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This candy looked interesting.

Coconut Joys
2 cups powdered sugar
3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 cup softened butter
2 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together powdered sugar, coconut, and butter.
roll into about 1 inch balls, indent middle with finger and fill with chocolate.
Chill till set.
Keep these well covered in the refrigerator.
Set out at room temperature before serving.
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Grandma Said

2009-03-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

My grandma used to say, "There is no rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any."

Then she would say she must be wicked because she was tired but had so much to do she was not able to get much rest. I'm tired today and I understand how she felt. I've hit my limit and I am a bit over it.

Foolishness

2009-02-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Cor. 1:18

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." 1 Cor. 1:25

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-the things that are not- to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before Him."
1 Cor. 1:27-29

"Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Cor 1:31

All One

2009-02-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Gal 3:28

The Lord

2009-02-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped." PS 28:7

A good verse for uncertain times and the news is dismal daily.

A Cat, a Bear and Faith

2009-02-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

Have you ever come across a territorial animal? There's a cat that lives in New Jersey who chases all nonhuman intruders off his property. His name is Jack and he is an orange and white, 15 lb. cat. The unique thing about Jack is, he doesn't care who it is or how big it is. He knows what he wants (no creatures except him around) and he is determined to make sure it happens.

Recently a black bear, several times larger than Jack, came into Jack's yard. Jack chased the bear up a tree. After a while, the bear came down from the tree. Jack chased him up another tree. Jack's owners came out to get Jack and take him inside before he got hurt. After they went inside, the bear got down out of the tree and ran into the woods. I suspect the next time they let Jack outside, he went and checked to see if the bear was still invading his territory.

Jack had faith. He did not doubt that he could chase off a large bear, and he did. The Bible says, "...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matt. 17:20-21

Many times we have huge obstacles in our life. With faith and determination it is possible to be victorious even when it looks impossible. When we walk with our Savior and pray as He taught us to do, then he will help us and even the impossible will be possible and we will be able to overcome the "bears" in our own lives.