OMG

Has it been that long? Things have been a little weird.

The house: the screening is still to come for the front porch. All the wood involved has been painted, but the work is still to be done. The heating ductwork is all done, and it makes for a low ceiling in some places in the basement but it's really shiny and it isn't filled with dust and mouse turds. And we don't have TV cable, electrical cords, and whatnot running through ripped-out corners of the old ducts. One outdoor water spigot needs to be replaced, but the plumber, HVAC guy and electrician are all done otherwise, and we're only out $12,000 above our contractor's bid - which failed to mention any of this stuff.

The yard: after the contractor brought us "lots of good dirt," we had to go out and get 24 yards of black dirt and regrade the whole yard (OK, 3/4 of it) just to restore some flow away from the house. Then we laid patio block under the drip line, as much of the house doesn't have gutter. Then, on Sept. 7th, we began seeding. We actually have some lawn, and along with the return of some garden plants and the gift from friends of others, the yard is beginning to look semi-normal. We may actually have to mow a time or two before the end of the season.

The exchange student: Lena is still with us. She's a sweetheart, eminently self-regulated, finishing the tennis season, playing violin in orchestra and percussion in band. We think she'll move to an actual host family soon, but she wouldn't be the worst person we've had live here.

The world: oh, for God's sake. You name it: Teapot Dome, Saving & Loan in the 80's, any sports book. Some crazies invented a new way to bet on money, and the first few got out before it blew up. Remember the mergers & acquisitions madness of the 80's? Buyers would acquire a company which had a little debt but was paying its way. But the acquirer would rack up so much new debt to make the buy that the acquired couldn't pay both its old debt and the new debt. So the acquirer would go belly-up, and take the solid acquired company with it. Same stuff with the mortgages: a gamble, too many layers of debt on re-packaged "securities," and we're all in the shitter. Doesn't anybody ever learn? If any package involving my tax dollars is created, any company taking part had better pay their CEOs no more than I make... all right, no more than the President makes. Anybody makes $10 million off my taxes, I might reconsider my position on guns.