Food Prices on the Rise

The article came as no surprise today after having just filled my gas tank at the local SaveLow station where I paid $3.60 a gallon for regular unleaded (yikes!), the least expensive price in town. When oil prices go up, so go up food prices…up goes everything. As long as Big Oil runs the Govt we will find ourselves held hostage. At a time when americans can least afford it, when more and more americans find themselves jobless, homeless, without health insurance, without savings, with one or a combination of these factors, there seems no relief in sight. Nothing but more of the same coming our way in the next years. I try to remain optimistic, to believe this too shall pass, that everything goes in cycles, right??? But we seem to have been hit by the Perfect Storm and this ship is taking on water big time!

The news this past week has brought to our attention the mass demonstrations in Wisconsin regarding Governor Walkers Bill to take away most of the State Employees Union’s powers to collective bargaining, this Bill actually passed today, and I wonder is this the beginning of a nationwide effort to take away all workers rights. Opponents say it will lower wages and hurt workers, and Indiana AFL-CIO President, Nancy Guyott claims the bill is “a big political payoff to wealthy campaign donors“.

Polls indicate the country is more or less equally divided when it comes to the existence of Labor Unions, with the west coast, New England and northern midwest states favoring Unions, while the southern and central Midwestern states are more anti-Union, “right to work” States. Governor Walker in Wisconsin insists removing the power of the Unions is fiscally responsible, in order to cut the States deficits. Proponents of Walkers Bill tell us such a move will attract business to their States. Sounds to me like the Reagonomics myth … the “trickle down” theory which, for all intents and purposes, turned out to be “trickle up”economic …the rich getting richer, the poor, poorer, and the middle class fighting for its very existence.

Personally from what I’ve read this battle in Wisconsin seems more politically and personally motivated, and in time all will be revealed. I am not swayed by the “right to work arguments“ and we’ve all seen abuse on both sides of the issue. Still, it seems a no-brainer we stand to lose more than we gain if we lose our collective right to bargain for better wages and working conditions. In Wisconsin the Unions capitulated to all of Governor Walkers demands, everything except giving up collective bargaining. The fact Walker refused any compromise that would allow collective bargaining to remain in place (as well as his comments in the “fake Koch” phone conversation) has convinced me this was more about the Republican party’s interest in the destruction of the labor unions which clearly benefits Corporate America, and a case of quid pro quo for Walker. I find it impossible to trust any of our Government officials anymore, to believe that very many of them honestly have the good of the country at heart with the actions we are seeing.

Strange, and dangerous times.

Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up. ~Author Unknown

Ted and Susans Excellent Adventure

Ted and Susan have returned to Washington State after a wonderful, long visit with us. They’d driven down from our “hometown” of Oroville to spend a week, combining a much needed vacation with a catch up visit. Their son Dustin is an old school chum of Coreys, and they (the parents) have remained in touch with Corey through the long years of his encarceration. Corey was excited to see them, and they were able to spend not one, but two full days visiting with him as, happily, the Warden decreed Monday (Presidents Day) a “free“ day for visiting (meaning no points were charged the inmate for the visits that day).

I had driven over to the Taft Camp with them, thinking perhaps I would "ease" them through the "processing" part of their first visit. I wondered what thoughts were going through their minds as they drove the slow 20 mph speed limit along the prison road that circles the Main Institution, around back to the Camp. The Main Facility (now an INS Prison for non-US Citizens) is very imposing, surrounded by its high chainlink fencing and 2 rows of razor sharp barbed wire, and the grounds within are bare and harsh in appearance. I am sure it was with a sigh of relief they realized that was not our destination, as we pulled into the Camp parking lot and made our way in the direction of the "fence free" visitation building! That Main Facility HAD been "our destination point" however, for the first 3 years of our sons encarceration. I will never forget the huge weight that lifted from my shoulders, from my entire body (!) the day he was transferred from there to the Camp he has now resided in for the past 3+ years.

I digress...later that day, when Ted and Susan arrived back at the house after their first day of visiting (friday), they were smiling ear to ear, saying how good Corey looked and how much fun they had had, how enjoyable the day had been. I know our son was feeling the same, and he made it a point to call not once, but twice, to remind us all to come in extra early on the monday visit :).

Rod and I enjoyed our lengthy conversations with them as well, many hours were spent around our dining room table or sunk deep into the comfy cushions of the family room furnishings, sipping local Oroville wines they had brought with them. The weather was not the “normal sunny, southern California” weather we’d hoped for, but perhaps contributed to the coziness we felt as we “holed up” and whiled away the hours. Finally on Sunday the sun broke through so we quick jumped in the car and headed for the coast where we enjoyed the sights of the breaking surf, the tourist packed downtown sections, and some good seafood at Pismo Beach and Morro Bay. Knowing it was snowing and the temperatures were dipping down into the low “teens” back from whence they had come, made even 50 degree days here seem like summer!


Never explain. Your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe it anyway. ~Elbert Hubbard, A Thousand and One Epigrams, 1911

A small sampling of Old Town, San Diego

Double-click on the pictures to get more detail...

La Casa de Machada Y Stewart...back of house with clay oven and vegetable gardens.

One corner of a U shap

ed hacienda that I've posted about before, La Casa Estudillo, with its clay oven off the kitchen.

Covered and uncovered wagons of yore dot the picturesque landscape.

The first school house in San Diego, built in 1865.

The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it. ~Wendell Berry

Fun in Old Town

My husband had business in San Diego earlier this week, so after visiting Corey at the Camp from 8 am till 2, we made the 4 hr drive south. We arrived at our hotel , The Hacienda, in Old Town, a wonderful district of the city that is actually where San Diego got its start. Over the years the area has been restored, there are original buildings dating back to the early 1800’s and the main street is lined with wonderful restaurents, shops, boutiques, and museums. An altogether fun and happy place to spend time.

I highly recommend The Hacienda! Besides being a beautiful Mission-style hotel, it sits on the hill just above Old Town, right in the center of town so is central to everything one wants to see while there. We could walk out the Hotel and whichever direction we headed we had any number of entertaining and interesting shops, museums, and restaurents at our disposal. An added bonus was the spectacular view of the city of "Dago" off our veranda!

The second day of our stay, while Rod was off instructing a Safety Class, my friend Susie drove down from Carlsbad and met me at my hotel room. After taking a tour of the newly built and opened Mormon Museum, just across the street from the hotel lobby, we walked down the street to Guadalahara Restaurent, where, in the sunlit, brightly colored Spanish décor we lunched on Chili’s Relenos (Susie’s choice) and the huge chopped chicken/avocado salad I had ordered, topped off with lime and crisp, red tortilla strips. Yum! The rest of the day we wandered around enjoying the warm, sunny day, the boutiques and shops, and even the restored, magnificent Victorian houses at Heritage Park (which is, incidentally, directly across the street from our Hotel.

All too quickly the day passed, and Susie headed home with jars of my homemade Asian Plum Sauce and Vanilla Plum syrup, little gifts from my pantry I had brought with me for her to try. I had a bumper crop of two plum varieties last summer and put up several jars of the preserves. I have already gotten a thumbs up on the Asian sauce, am waiting for her to try the syrup, with club soda and ice it makes a light and refreshing Italian Soda.

California is a queer place - in a way, it has turned its back on the world, and looks into the void Pacific.... It's sort of crazy-sensible. Just the moment: hardly as far ahead as carpe diem. ~D.H. Lawrence