Month: November 2010
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the mathematics of a bargain
I get up early on Black Friday to snag the best buys. I check the price tags in grocery stores for the cost per ounce, but, the real financial challenge comes with the online discounts for a family calendar of our extended family. The tradition began with a clearance item priced so low I had…
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Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving brings moments of nostalgia – for some folks, but not for me, not this year. This year I am extremely thankful to be living in a time of modern medicine. So much of what we have in our hospitals did not exist 10 years ago, let alone 40, 50 and 80 years ago as…
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Chinese bus ride
Several years ago I met a couple who taught English as a second language in China. Jody Smith writes occasionally about her experiences of living in modern China. Recently, she and her husband decided to make adjustments to their budget. One cost cutting measure was to take more buses and fewer taxis. She gave me…
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don’t donate disposable diapers
“They came knocking at my door asking for money to buy disposable diapers. I didn’t give them any. If they used cloth diapers like I did, they wouldn’t need disposables,” the mother of many children exclaimed. Having put in her time wrestling wiggling children into a diaper as she poked a diaper pin in place,…
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Kitchen magician
The minute the garage door slides up at the end of my work day, my husband begins salivating. Rushing to the cupboard, he pulls out place mats, plates and silverware. He thinks I can just come home from a day of work and magically present him with supper within 20-30 minutes of entering the house.…