medieval mud-fest

the day began wrapped in a cloak of warm fog. i rejoiced in the lightening sky all morning; the rain was clearing off and we would have a gorgeous day out in the no-doubt moist woodlands for the renaissance faire. just as i set off from work, the sky darkened again and abruptly opened the heavens upon us all. not to worry. we have rain slickers and wellingtons (boots to all you colonists) a-plenty. well, i opted for sandals, knowing that my feet would be wet. and it poured the whole journey to the festival grounds. good. get it all out of it’s system now!

we were greeted by costumed lords and ladies, advising us that the king of france delivered abundant gifts of mud, plenty for all to be had. and how. we tramped right through the muck, unlike the unprepared who tip-toed in their bright white (for now) street shoes along the very edge of edges of the shops. we pointed and laughed. we took in the shows, laughing at the “hey nunnie-nunnie!” song about the constipated men in the bible and marveling at the jugglers and their knives, glinting in the afternoon cloud-shine. we ate chicken and steak and cheesecake on stakes. and no one poked their eyes out because we are well-behaved savages who eat sitting down. we suffered not one, not two, not three, but FOUR more torrential downpours that afternoon. after the first one, people began to leave in droves. BYE! good riddance, weenies! leaves more dry space for the rest of us! fortunately the temperatures were moderate enough that we were not cold. as far as rainy weekends go, we could not have asked for nicer weather.

we mucked about, spending far too much money on our fun, but not caring this time. how often do you get to wander around in the rain and mud, watching your imps love the fact that they are filthy and allowed to be so? lars enjoyed the mud far more than the rest of us, leaping into and out of puddles and bogs the whole day. he was mud up to mid-thigh. the girls all got henna tattoos, the boys got new sword/shield combos, all the kids got to take a ride on a pony, and we grownups had some quiet moments while the kids played in the wee bairns tot lot. at one point i just gave up and carried my sandals. really. what is the point of sandals in the mud? we ran into a few acquaintances from work and scouts, finished up the day with warm apple dumplings and cinna-buns and headed home into a clear sunset.

how ironic.

i have put up all the slide shows i have neglected to put together since june. you're welcome to view them all at http://katerooni.slide.com/

*some* swearing? not when it comes to money.

I’ve been away.

To save you the boring (and probably flawed) math equations, (I won’t pretend that I’m good at balancing our budget) I will simply say that we’ve been working our asses off. The raise and unexpected bonus on Tad’s side, and the increased hours on my side have merely done one thing: kept us from going completely underwater.

Our grocery bill has gone up – almost double – in one year. ONE YEAR. We spend one of my entire paychecks feeding our family every month. Fuel expenses for our cars and our home electricity and comfort have doubled in one year. ONE YEAR. My other entire paycheck every month pays for those. We lowered our thermostat to 65 degrees last winter to save money on heating expenses. We raised our thermostat to 83 degrees this summer to save money on a/c expenses. Did you just read that? Our bills went higher despite our discomfort.

We scrimped and saved for more than 2 years for a family vacation this past summer. We stayed within our budget, skipping dessert and canceling a few excursions when we spent more than we planned.

But do you know what we have not done? Defaulted on our loans. We have kept current. We haven’t eaten dinner “out” in a month. Unless you count fast food. I shopped online and found bargain basement prices for my kids’ birthday prezzies. We do without. We pay our bills and try to have fun with the pittance that is left over.

So please, somebody, please explain to me, Joanna Q. Public, why the fuck I should give a good goddamn if the rich have dropped the ball.

I’m waiting.



The private financial institutions that decided it would be a good idea to give out mortgages like cheap Christmas candy to any and all who could sign their own names, (regardless of whether or not they could prove they could actually pay for said mortgage) now need public government funding (provided by whom, children? me? a responsible account holder???) to balance their books. Fan-Fucking-Tastic.

Spread that government cheese this-a-way. I was in debt first.

You know what those companies would do if I couldn’t pay? They would take away my possessions and sell them to pay for my mortgage. My ass would be out on the street without even so much as a backward glance. I think there are more than a few fat fucks who need to be sold. Aerosmith really had it right when they said, “Eat the rich; there’s only one thing that they’re good for...” Take that $700 billion balance out of the paychecks of the boards of directors and move on. They screwed up, make them pay for it.

Our elected government officials are stepping back and asking for more information. I am floored. For the first time in a very long time, I applaud their actions. Go get that info, dudes. Ask those questions. Hang onto that caution; it’s pretty windy up there on Capitol Hill. “One key demand (being made by our lawmakers) is that Wall Street executives not be allowed to walk away from the mess with multimillion-dollar severance packages.” [ABC2news.com] Demand that those wall street execs get kicked to the curb with nothing but the shirts on their backs. Severance packages for failure? Kiss my dirty broke ass.

“The legislation the administration is promoting would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other rotten assets held by troubled banks and financial institutions. Getting those debts off their books should bolster those companies' balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend and easing one of the biggest choke points in the credit crisis. If the plan works, it should help lift a major weight off the national economy that is already sputtering.” [Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer]

Hold the mayo. So, the gub’mint is going to bail them out so they can lend more money? To whom???? I certainly can’t afford any more credit, especially since my taxes are going to go up to pay for all the slobs who didn’t pay for their homes in the first damn place. And dudes, it gets better.

“Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said, ‘This massive bailout is not a solution. It is financial socialism and it's un-American.’” [Ms. Aversa again] You’re damn right it’s un-American. Can you believe it? I’m siding with a Republican. Somebody take a picture.

“Paulson was asked repeatedly why taxpayers should accept the burdens of a bailout.

‘You worry about taxpayers being on the hook?’ he replied at one point. ‘Guess what — they're already on the hook.’ Paulson suggested that the fallout from the credit crisis would hit almost everyone in the pocketbook unless forceful action was taken. Moreover, the flawed and outdated regulatory system, which didn't catch abuses, needs to be overhauled, he said.” [Ms. Aversa again]

So, wait a minute......I’m fucked either way.





I say let them sink. They would absolutely do the same for me.