Views from Raven's Nest: Daily Reminder # 296

Think I'll stick with mostly gratitude this evening. I don't know if it's my imagination, but I think I can really feel a difference in the house since the weatherizing folks did their work. The furnace has seemed quieter and hasn't had to kick in as often. And even with the thermostat at 50, I felt pretty comfortable most of the day. I'm hoping that next winter will be much cheaper - and warmer too. Next Thursday the other part of Delaware Opportunities will come for a walk through of contractors to bid on widening the bathroom door and upgrading my electric. I didn't expect them so soon. Everything seems to be moving very fast. Got another incomprehensible letter from Social Services yesterday. I think they are going to take away some of my food stamps. It's never clear what their letters mean. They are written in Spanish and English with all sorts and they genuinely are (in my opinion) designed to confuse and obscure the information they are supposed to be sharing. The government could save a fortune in wasted paper, trees and postage if they streamlined these letters. In the age of computers they ought to be able to sort Spanish from English speakers and send only one copy to each family. They ought to be able to condense 6 pages of nonsense into one or two that are understandable to any reader. The money they save could feed people. Or go back into the government coffers. I think that is one of kinds of waste President Obama has talked about. I don't know that he factored in working with a Congress that would rather punish the poor than help them survive or fix broken things in the system. Easier to wail about entitlements and the lazy poor than to correct waste that serves no one except many paper manufacturers. Oops. Ranting. Sorry. Despite all the waste and all my grumbling, I'm very blessed to receive the help I get. I am aware of that and grateful for it.

Yesterday's snow (mercifully) is mostly melted, but we are expecting another 4-8 inches tomorrow. That's just wrong. It is Spring now. 4-8 inches of snow and Spring are incompatible. Spring should be robins and flowers and budding tree branches, not snow.And now I'm whining. My apologies again. Think maybe I'd better move on to gratitude before I think of something else to complain about.

Some things I'm grateful for today: (items in red are pre-gratitude, an effort to connect my own creative energy with that of the Universe to help manifest my needs and dreams)