Can't get rid of this blankity-blank cough! I don't know which is more bothersome; the cough or that uncomfortable feeling of fluid in my chest. Still, I think I'll be rid of this by the end of the month, unless I have a relapse. My sister keeps harping on me that I need antibiotics. I also need a higher income, not getting that, either.

I've stopped following the health care debate and legislation in Washington, D.C. It just makes me sicker than any illness, all this stupidity and wrangling and greed-mongering over the very literal lives of millions of women, children and men. America isn't the land of sunshine and dreams a lot of people like to pretend that it is. There's a whole nightmare of ugliness and meanness that lurking in the darkness of this country...and much of it comes from perfectly ordinary, "normal" people.

Well, I just had my blog post interrupted by a knock at the door. UPS guy. Gosh, can't resist a man in a brown uniform...if I were rich, I'd be sending stuff by UPS all the time, ha-ha. Hey, I'm an old maid, I'm not dead! :))

It's really sweet and thoughtful, that my friend has sent my cats a treat...and helpful to my budget, as well. I told my cats it was a prezzie from their auntie overseas...I swear, Flamey knew the box was for her, cos' she was climbing all over it, the minute I set it down. It was four boxes of gourmet tinned cat food. Flamey loves her gourmet cat food. The only thing she likes better, is cheese and popcorn. :)

Would you believe she and Charlie licked the plate completely clean already? They're sitting around washing their paws. Boots wouldn't wake up, so he lost out, I'm afraid. He was so zoned out, he slept through the man knocking at the door--normally, a knock at my door sends Boots running for cover. Well, he'll get some tonight, at their regular feeding time.

I'm out of fries (chips) and a couple of other necessities, so I'm going out shopping up the street. I thought about trying out the buses today, but I still have some housework that needs doing in here, and some phone calls to make, so I think I'll wait to tomorrow to take a day off.

I was tired after all the bustle of yesterday. I watched Antiques Roadshow on PBS at 8pm, then turned off the television, and hung around the computer and read an Agatha Christie book I got at the library, before turning in early. Unfortunately, about half an hour after I went to bed, I started my coughing festival again, so wound up being up until 2am, before I nodded off again. Meh, at least the cough isn't a 24 hour thing, like before, and I can sleep. Sleep's a wonderful healer.

I'll have to figure out how to get to a supermarket this weekend. Not having a car really is a pain. A 45 minute to one-hour shopping trip by car, can easily take two hours to half a day, by bus. Not fun.

I have a lead on a work at home job. It would be working for a former co-worker who started his own business, doing much the same work as I did at my last employer. A lot of my former co-workers have gone to work for him. All you need is a landline phone and high-speed internet...which I have. I'm going to check it out this week. The extra funds would be great, and, I wouldn't have to worry about commuting by bus. And, you don't have to live in the area, as I've been told that one of my co-workers also moved away and works for him.

I heard from my farm-lady friend. They're strugging with the farm. It was a bad summer for haying and other crops, as June and July were unusually cool and wet. They lost some calves at birth. Had to sell several heifers--including my lovely Paige, to help pay the feed bill. She's not working, so all they have is the farm income, and the income from her guy's job as a NY state lock tender. I hope she finds a good job, soon.

New York is doing their best to assist family farmers--agriculture is one of this state's top industries...still, from what I'd heard back in October, it's not really going to be enough, and some farmers are going to go under. For people who don't care about that, think about the extra you'll have to pay for your food, when it's got to be shipped from a longer distance...and about the higher taxes you'll pay when local businesses go under and can't pay their taxes--true, farmers get tax breaks, but they still have taxes nevertheless, not just business-related taxes, but all the same taxes as their non-farming neighbours...and, there's land taxes, as well. Farmers have hundreds of acres they have to pay taxes on.

Well, no snowfall today. It's overcast, but not cold, not by my standards, anyway. It was colder in October, than it is in November. Of course, where I was living was a good 10 degrees or more colder, than where I'm living now.

I have to be very careful with spending. I had to get some things I needed for my new place. I'm a bit nervous about spending the $50 to go to my sisters. I only get one cheque on the 3rd of each month, and there simply isn't anything else. Just like the food stamps, once it's gone, it's gone forever, there's nothing more until the next check comes on the 3rd of the next month, and the 7th (when I get food stamps). Hand-to-mouth existance, they call it, and people who don't live on a fixed income, are really clueless how hard that sort of life really is.

Save your supermarket recipts for a month, see if you could live on $200 from the 7th to the 7th! I looked it up, $200.00 equals 119.511 GBP.

Well, I'm off for a jaunt up the road to the shop. Hope you all are having a good day. Cheers.