Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Cranberry sauce was not part of Thanksgiving until the late 19th century. I feel this was their loss. This is the one part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal that I love, but not that jellied gunk that comes in a can — which is probably mostly sugar and red dye. The real sauce is delicious… Continue reading The Daily: 25 November 2024
I have never been particularly attached to Thanksgiving. It feels all wrong. It is supposedly a harvest festival, but it falls well after the harvest. It is lavished in the colors of autumn — which faded away weeks ago in the real world. It is based on a story that is neither factual nor especially… Continue reading The Daily: 24 November 2024
Subsidies It began with one of the cockier tellers asking politely to be paid a mileage rate commensurate with driving on Vermont roads, something that might cover at least the gasoline of driving up and down and up again to cover shifts in different bank branches. He hinted that car wear from those mountainous and… Continue reading The Daily: 22 November 2024
It's supposed to snow this week. We have had a few days of flurries, which is sort like flirting with winter; but we've not had Snow yet. That is what is coming. This is one of those forecasts that keeps oscillating between rain and snow, just on the border of freezing. There is no question… Continue reading The Daily: 20 November 2024
It's activity time! We're going to analyze the US economy... How's that for ambition on a Tuesday! But anyway... here are some useful tools. First, here is a handy take-home pay calculator that estimates a bi-monthly paycheck for a given annual salary, based on taxes where you live (if you live in the US). It… Continue reading The Daily: 19 November 2024
What Do We Do Now? Four years ago, we were adjusting ourselves to a future that did not include Trump. Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election on November 7th, four days after voting ended. However, the counting had not ended. Republicans were filing lawsuits in crucial states, claiming that the counts were… Continue reading The Daily: 18 November 2024
Here in central Vermont, the Winter Sleep Moon, also known as the Beaver Moon (Old Farmer's Almanac), is full today at 4:29pm. The moon rises at 3:55pm, and the sun sets at 4:22pm. This full moon is about as close to moonrise as I have ever seen. Moreover, the moon was just at perigee yesterday… Continue reading The Daily: 15 November 2024
“We’ll stop them,” Collum said. “They’ve always invaded and we’ve always stopped them. There has to be a way.” “Not this time,” Morgan said. “Because they’re not invading.” “Well, what the hell do you call it?!” “Emigrating,” Morgan said. “Fleeing. They can’t stay in Saxony. The sea there is rising and flooding their lands, and… Continue reading The Daily: 14 November 2024
So last week happened... It was not entirely a surprise; however, it still left most of us in a state of enraged shock for many days. But... While Trump et al have terrifying new capacities for causing harm, we have survived this once and I'm pretty sure we will survive again. As people. I am… Continue reading The Daily: 13 November 2024
When I was a young adult, I found November difficult, a month of endurance, of feeling increasingly irritable and often ill, incapable of concentration and yet unable to relax, hungry but never an appetite for anything. November brought darkness and cold, but not the snow and peace of winter, lethargy and apathy, but no time… Continue reading The Daily: 12 November 2024
By My Solitary Hearth 