Erm, long time, no post. I DO have a reason -- I've been busy with my newest hobby, home winemaking. And while I HATE cooking (food), I find this activity very interesting and absorbing; it's sort of like a scientific experiment sometimes! :-)

I had my first batch of homemade wine mature at the first of the week, quite a lot of work with that...and found that one batch was okay, but another one was truly exceptional! That encouraged my efforts, so I started up other varieties and that took most of my week. If you haven't tried it, you should. Lots of fun, and a great way to get some wine. (As an aside, I live in a dry county -- ridiculous, yes! -- so it's over 50 miles to the nearest wet county...and making my own wine -- since I LOVE wine -- is also a productive and inexpensive enterprise.)

What else? Not much to report, just the same old, same old. I AM reading a fascinating novel, "The Midwife's Tale"....and enjoying it greatly.

I do think DH and I are going to take a break from house/property hunting, as it seemd fruitless in these times of low mortgage bank rates. Maybe later when it becomes a "buyer's market" we'll start looking again. After all, it isn't as if I'm miserable here; I really like city living, especially in our modest-size southern town. Besides, what would happen to all the stray cats I feed?

I read that poverty has increased in the USA since the Bushie has been Prez. Is anyone naive enough to be surprised by that? The Repubs enrich themselves at the expense of those less fortunate; that should be Repub 101 in any college course and/or life in the USA course. And in the meantime, the poor (mostly) are suffering the loss of loved ones over in Iraq; you don't think RICH folks allow their kin to go into ACTUAL combat, do you?

I'm still riding my bike every day, and my weight is holding steady at 93 lbs. I can't complain, since I eat almost all I want, except sweets. I wonder if everyone gave up sweets, how much weight they'd lose? Perhaps that is a great weight-loss secret -- one that even Dr. Phil might not have discovered!!

Here's a quote I came across that is so true: "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." --Robert A. Heinlein

That's a wrap for today.