Egypt Buff

The east coast is reeling under another huge snow storm. D.C. has had 55 inches of snow this winter. Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas’  are  fighting conditions they just are not equipped the deal with. We live in a well insulated house on Long Island and have fuel and power so the snow storm has not troubled us too much. Jan and Lily have been shoveling to clear the long, steep driveway, but other than that we are OK.  I just feel sorry for them.

The trees may not be doing so well. The white pines are bent over but look fine. The oaks have not lost any branches and also look fine. The arbor vitae not so much. Looking out the window they I see that are bent double. Snow covers every branch and twig. Everything looks like the woods in Canada or Vermont. Also it’s bitterly cold so that it is dangerous to be outside for long.  Wonder how long the snow will stay around.

The recent news about the Baptists from Iowa or Idaho, I really don’t remember which, is puzzling. I mean they go down to rescue orphans and wind up in possession of kids who are NOT ORPHANS! They also mention that they wanted these children to come to know Jesus and be Christians. Well all the Haitians I know are Christians. Most are Roman Catholic but several are evangelical Protestants.

So that begs the question… aren’t they considered Christians? I mean if a Catholic   group went to, oh I don’t know,  an impovrished area of Scotland or Germany to “Bring the gospel” to  the people living there what would people say? I’m sure someone/newspapers would point out the stupidity of that action. But no, a Catholic country must be brought into the light of American style faith.

Another point. In all the press about the groups going to Haiti to help out only the CBS Morning Show interviewed the Catholic Relief workers who were in Haiti  before the quake and will be there helping the poor for years after the quake.  If you read the papers or watch the TV everyone including the Scientologists were there. Yet only one show had a 5 minute interview with the relief group that has been there the longest and DID NOT pull out its workers when the quake hit.

Gee, no there is no anti Catholic bias in the Media.

I don’t remember what program was on, it might have been NCIS, and the rule of law in this country was discussed. One of the characters said we could become what we fight against if we do as  our enemies do. Fanaticism is a very bad thing no matter who is the fanatic.  Both the Catholic church and the Protestant  churches have shown viciousness against those who differ from them. Now in the Middle East some of the adherents of the Jewish faith and of Islam are determined to ignore those parts of their holy books that could bring peace to that area.

Here in the United States we hear the voices of those who would deny the basic protections of law to people who threaten us. The rule of law is one of the things that have made this country great. So it was with glee that I read that the Christmas bomber has started to cooperate with the Justice Department and has given  accurate and valuable information about Al Qaeda in Yemen. Hey folks this was done without “enhanced interrogation.” WOW!

I hope, but don’t expect, that this will silence the yapping of the far right talk shows on the subject of civilian criminal trials for those that they call enemy combatants.

On Thursday we had a perfect snow. Big fat flakes that stuck to every branch, pine needle, and twig. No wind at all to blow the them off, perfect. As we drove down Vanderbilt Parkway  the aspect was magical. It felt as if we were in Rivendell in winter. Every thing,  except the roads, was covered in about 2 inches of snow. We were worried a bit about going up our steep driveway but the snow melted in just 3 hours.

Perfect snow –beauty and no shoveling.

I have always been a registered Democrat, not because they are so much better but because in NYC the democratic primary is usually the real election. George W. Bush managed to make me swear never to vote for the party that brought that posturing nincompoop to power. A triumph of  media packaging over substance. Pandering to our fears and cloaking themselves in “National Security” lead to the unconstitutional abomination of the Homeland Security Act.

HOWEVER… the Democrat Party is once again proving that it is the party of self interested amateurs! The health care debacle, the Massachusetts election, the horrid mess in Albany, and oh yes the total disregard for the people who are out of work. The tax code is a joke that is crippling the middle class and keeping the poor poor. Job creation is nonexistent and jobs keep going overseas.

Where is the revision of the tax code to make capital investment here in the USA attractive? If there are no production jobs there is little money to support the service economy. Occasionally you have to make and sell real goods.  People who make the goods earn money. This leads to spending and savings. The service economy grows on this not the other way around.After all the consumer has to have money to spend.

Blaming the consumer for bad sales is stupid. You need discretionary income to buy the new stuff. Bills and taxes come first. Then you can visit the mall.

Why are the Democrats waiting for the Republicans to win more governorships, congressional seats, and senatorial races?  Self interested amateurs who think pandering to the basest self interests will keep them in office, that’s what they are! Unfortunately we will be the ones on the short end of the stick.

The snow is falling again, for the third week in a row we are experiencing snow cover. Very considerate of the weather to keep the disruption to a minimum. No snow day for the schools and commuters aren’t delayed too much.

The first snow was very deep and everyone was glad that it happened on the weekend. I mean two feet of snow on the rails and highways! The accidents just piled up and even the L.I.R.R. had stopped trains to deal with. The next was relatively light, two or three inches. This one looks as if the Lord sprinkled confectioners sugar over every thing. Once again the white pines at the back of the property have stolen the show.

How I love this house and yard.

My mothers’ family was gifted with beautiful voices and the ability to play musical instruments. My Dad’s family, not so much, they sang enthusiastically but flat. I always wanted to play the piano so… when Alek took lessons so did I. This ended when we moved to Fresh Meadows as the house did not have the room for the piano. Alek still made music in the school band playing the baritone horn. The darn thing is a baby tuba. After the first practice session he played in his room.  He was quite a good player but really a baritone horn is LOUD.

Those days are long gone and a new generation has arrived. Little Katherine has a very good voice and rhythm looks forward to the music lessons she will start in the third grade. They start the kids with the recorder to learn the notes.  Tom is in the third grade and has started. I thought “This is nice.”  Well I was wrong.  Tom now must practice in the guest room. The piercing sound of the recorder is worse than the baritone horn.

My son Alek gave Katherine a recorder for Christmas.  Now I have  squeaking  coming from two recorders. Isn’t this just ducky.  Perhaps this is revenge for making him practice in his room.

I love music, recorder practice does not qualify.

This year I was bound and determined to get the shopping done before the 23rd of December. Well the snow storm has put a spike in my plans. It is still possible to get things done if the driveway is not iced up,  really we only have 3 or 4 gifts left to get. Today we will leave around 9 a.m. to try to get a parking space. Once we are at the mall we will not move that car until we have finished! I never liked the Walt Whitman Mall but today I think I love it.

It is cold and the snow and ice don’t look as if they will melt soon, but the driveway is pretty clear so we will go out today.  Meanwhile at least the snow reflects the sun light and made the first day of winter beautiful.

For the last 10 years or so we have lived in our son Jan’s house. The one job  Leo & I were always did, was put up and decorate the Christmas tree.  Last year health issues kept my husband from setting up our Christmas tree.   The tree was put up by our son and he did a great job. We always put tons of lights on the tree. The lights alone were beautiful, the ornaments were the icing on the cake. We are all healthy this year but Jan will put the tree up again.

Tom and Katherine are ‘helping’ Dad to do this and so a new generation will carry  on the tradition. Jan has decided to put fewer lights on this year.  That is to say that we will be using many, many more lights that sane people use, but not excessively more than sanity dictates.  Once the ornaments are on the tree we will again have the best tree anywhere.

Now I have no excuse. I must start the Christmas cookies and make the Coquito. Coquito is the Puerto Rican eggnog  and is so very tasty and so very easy. This is a combination too good to be believed,

My mother didn’t talk too much about the Christmas in Puerto Rico. The Three Kings Day celebration was more festive. We forget that Advent was (and is) a solemnn time in the church year.  Christmas was for church, after that the parties began. People would go house to house singing carols and getting louder and louder until they were fed. On Three Kings Eve children would leave carrots,  hay,  and water for the camels. In return the Magi would leave gifts.

Once we moved to the mainland Christmas was the holiday we celebrated. Perhaps the camels were too tropical for the cold gray north. I don’t have memories of specific Christmases just scattered images.  The old fashioned lights that looked like candles, if candles were clear glass with colored water and lights in them. Angels’ hair– fiberglass hanks that were teased out and spread into webs that caught the light and spread it into halos. Glass light bulbs that could go out and you knew which ones could be individually replaced.  The angel hair looked pretty but like all fiberglass it itched like Hades. Stencils for the windows that were filled in with a window cleaner called GlassWax. It made cute frosted images on the window and when you wiped it off the window was clean.

The one gift that I remember is my Dale Evans cowgirl outfit! It was the whole deal. A skirt, vest, shirt and best of all– the guns and holster.   As  tomboys my friend Marie and I usually beat the boys at every game, but Cowboys and Indians needed guns. When Marie and I got our outfits we were in kid heaven. Now we could play every game and beat the other side there too. So strange as I now detest guns.

I hope my kids and grand-kids have as warm memories when they are my age.