Tuesday Coffee Muses - Week 2771

The Mornings Weather

I see from the morning forecast that Spring has returned to the Blue Ridge Mountains. As a matter of fact, judging by the temperatures being reported this morning, many of you folks living in that beautiful part of the world might walk out this morning and think you slept through the season. Just don't think you'll get to enjoy the sun with the milder temps...Mother Nature seem to think the blooming flowers need a little watering. According to Ray though, all you folks need to enjoy the warmth today tomorrow will be cooler.

Here, we are already in the upper 60's. According to the weather prognosticator I listened to yesterday on our local Public Radio Station, that is 10 degrees above normal for this time of the year. I forget how many time in the last few years I have heard that term used. If the weather keeps doing what it is now, we may need to lose that phrase from our weather conversations.

Email Muses

Reading about the President's remarks on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War I was struck by the thought that we have now been in Iraq for full Presidential term. The reason this struck me is that had Bush started this war a little earlier in his first term, and given what we now know, he could have with the very same justification they have now settled on, he probably wouldn't still be in office. "Courage and resolve" will see us through. Mr. President, it is with courage and resolve that the American people wake up every morning to find out what new excesses you have committed in the name of "terror". Sadly, your war "on" terror has morphed into a war "of" terror for many around the world. "Courage and resolve", who are you Mr. President to counsel such practices.

From the Blue Mountain Meditation Center...
March 20

He that can have patience, can have what he will.
– Benjamin Franklin

Here is a tip for keeping the palate on the middle path. When it is craving candy or a hot fudge sundae, go for a walk repeating the mantram you have chosen, and bargain for time. Tell your mind, “In two hours, on our way home we can go to an ice cream parlor for a deluxe sundae.” Interestingly enough, two hours later the mind has forgotten ice cream sundaes and is thinking about the movie it will enjoy tomorrow evening. All you need do is put just a little break of time between the palate and its desire, for you can count on the mind to change its desires.

Treat the mind gently, patiently, and compassionately. Since it has been allowed free license for so many years, it is not fair to expect it to come round in a day or two.

- Eknath Easwaran

I have not discovered my mantram yet. But I go through live with an open heart waiting to discover it's path.

Source: Thought for the Day

Well, as usual the morning has run and I need to also. I'll leave you with a couple of lines from the Middlewesterner from yesterday...

A Quote For Today

"There is something to settling down into a place. You become the place as much as the place becomes a part of you." - Tom Montag

Monday Morning - Back to work...

Monday Morning Weather - From the sound of the wind chimes outside the kitchen door, it's a bit on the breezy side this morning. With the temperature already in the mid 60's though, that's a good thing. Since all of you folks that seem to read this are still in the throes of old man winter, I'll contain my pleasure at the spring feel that is in the air.

On the downside of all of this nice wet, warm spring weather we've been having, I had to fire up the lawn tractor and make my first pass of the season over this collection of weeds we call a lawn. I have never been a member of the "Home & Garden" or the "House Beautiful" set of suburban lawncare slaves. I don't get too upset about the assorted non-domesticated greenery that chooses to grace my yard. As a matter of fact, I have always felt if it's green and will grow here without being pampered, who am I to argue with Mother Nature. I don't believe in watering or fertilizing or poisons or herbicides. So for 2-3 hours yesterday I rode the Deere around this little homestead of ours. Not so much mowing the grass as evening up the height of the weeds.

Email Musing

The AG Scandal just keeps on going...
One of the U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration after Republican complaints that he neglected to prosecute voter fraud had been heralded for his expertise in that area by the Justice Department, which twice selected him to train other federal prosecutors to pursue election crimes.

Is there anyone in this Administration who doesn't see what these stories are doing to what is left of their reputation? Given the effect of the 9/11 tragedy on the first term of the Bush Presidency, and the way it stopped the original nosedive in his popularity and support, you almost have to wonder if they didn't need something like 9/11 just to stay in office.

Source: Justice Dept. Recognized Prosecutor's Work on Election Fraud Before His Firing - washingtonpost.com

Then we have this story from last week.
A national survey showing that a soaring number of homeowners failed to make their mortgage payments in the last quarter of 2006 rattled lawmakers in Washington and the markets in New York yesterday, as the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 2 percent, or nearly 243 points.

The report, which sent every major stock market indicator tumbling when it was released at noon, revealed that the problems in the market for "subprime" mortgages -- loans made to home buyers with blemished credit histories -- might be spilling over to the broader mortgage industry, analysts said.

And "they" wonder why the American people don't seem to be as confident in the country's economy as the heads of the companies that are "crapping out". Yet, I'll bet the heads of these companies ended up with a bundle.

Source: Mortgage Report Rattles Markets - washingtonpost.com

Work calls...Stay safe, be happy, catch you latter.

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