The Long, Slow Melt & Responsible Behaviour

Riley was out this morning checking the depth of the snow on the grass.  Every night the temps go into the below freezing (27) degrees and then the sun has to start all over again to warm and melt before the day cools at the other end.

I was awakened this morning by a phone call for G.  His work was looking for him.  I walked around the house, still half asleep, looking for any sign of him.  But G was not here.  He was somewhere else prepping for the class he is teaching later today.

We had a very delicious dinner out.  G had duck breast with mashed potatoes and parsnips  alongside roasted Brussels sprouts.  He had cream of tomato soup as a starter.   I had mussels and the Bistro steak with cognac cream sauce.  We had coffee and dessert at home because G is loving the apple crumb topped pie I baked for him.  There were six people in the restaurant.  We left at 7.  Then there were four.  An excellent indication that the economy is in trouble.  Another indicator is the stock price of McDonald's shares.  When times are rocky, people eat at fast food places to get value for their money.

Yesterday was Tuesday.  I stopped at the grocery on my way home from work.  Tuesday is the day all the handicapped/challenged/special issues people shop at the grocery.  Hooking up.  Waiting for taxis.  Smoking. Under the influence of "substances" or not (when they should be). All on some form of public assistance or Social Services.  On days like this, I wonder why their families aren't being responsible for them????  My daughter has already lectured me.  They are adults (using age as the only criteria) and as adults can direct their own lives.  That self direction being financed by my tax dollars is what bothers me. Does it bother you?   I think this social structure is more evident in my Town as the local grocery is right in town, very central to everything.  Not in a drive to the suburbs area.  Not out of sight/ out of mind.

G brought the Spooky House home yesterday.  He was sad to report all the damage done to the house.  Shingles pulled off, feathers pulled off the big crow on the roof, all the windows poked out, spiders ripped off the sides of the house.  He was also depressed by the anger of parents when he asked their small children to stop pulling things off the house and note the "Do Not Touch" sign.  The parents would say "they can't read" as some excuse for the child's behavior.  G would ask if they, the parent, could read.  And perhaps instruct their child? Which only made the parents more angry.

G does not want to take the Gingerbread House to work for the Christmas Holidays.  The GH is shorter and closer to children's hands and it looks more like "candy" than the Spooky House.  Even adults have gripped a hot glued fake gumdrop on the house and twisted and pulled until they are stopped.  Regular customers enjoy the houses and delight in seeing them.  Customers just "passing through" feel free to plunder and destroy, on their own, or standing by and watching their child do it.

Later today, I will heat up the glue gun and repair the Spooky House.  As best I can.  The window "glass" may be a lost cause.  G plugged the SH lights in and set the house where I could see it glowing from my seat on the couch.  He opened the door so I could see the little rubber rat.  I think he was trying to say "I'm so sorry" this had to happen to the project you worked so hard to create.

Life is difficult some days.  The majority of people in this world are kind and careful of others.  But the ones who make the biggest impression are the awful, self centered mean people.

I don't really want to go into Town today to straighten my glasses.  Just in case there are "mean people" out there waiting to ruin today, also.