Baxter here. I am finally ready to Blog again after a Long Absence. As you Know, my Humans have procured a New Dog, and I am Not Happy About It.
Because the New Dog, Angel (Ceiling Cat knows why they picked THAT Name for her), is Bad With Cats, I, Baxter, have to Suffer. I am confined to the Second Floor so the New Dog doesn't chase me down and possibly Do Damage to Me. Of course, I have my Own Room, complete with All My Toys and my Scratching Post Perch thing, my Box and everything I need. And I can go into the other Rooms on that Floor, including the Bedroom where my Humans and That Dog, the one they call Diva, sleep. So I do get Some Attention.
But I'd like to continue to come Downstairs and sit with the Humans when That Dog is sleeping, as I did Before. But until the New Dog gets used to Me, I guess I'll have to put up with the Situation. She has come to my gate when I was in my Room and looked at Me. Once I gave a Mighty Hiss and Growl and she seemed Intimidated. But the next time she just Barked at Me.
So. Here I am, finally ready to Blog about Current Events. But the Current Events have been So Horrendous in the past Few Weeks that I don't know where to Begin. I'm going to Skip the most Tragic events such as the Terrible Events in Japan. So, that leaves Me with...Libya.
OK, so like the other Countries where the people are Revolting (well, the PEOPLE aren't revolting, they are staging a Revolt), Libya has its own Revolt going too. Unfortunately the Human, if You can call him that, Qaddafhi or Gadhafi or whatever Crazy Spelling you want to Use for him, threatened to Kill all the people who are Protesting. So our Country, in its Infinite Wisdom, has decided to Get Involved. We didn't Get Involved with any of the Other Revolts, but who am I, a Mere Cat, to Question the Government?
From what I understand, Other Countries asked us to Get Involved. And it is a Coalition Force, acting on a UN Resolution. Sounds Vaguely Familiar to me. What was that war called? Korea? Oh, wait, it was a "Police Action." Wonder what they will call This after the Fact? Jon Stewart had a few ideas:
Personally, as a Cat, I find it Foolish to Get Involved in what is basically a Civil War. If I am going along, Minding my Own Business, and see a big Catfight happening on the Other Side of the Street, you can bet I am not going to Get Involved. I certainly don't want to get in the Middle of it; it's a Good Way to Lose an Ear, or worse!
Of course, President Obama has said he's Not Getting Us Involved. He's just Protecting Civilians. He didn't seem to care that Much about Protecting Civilians in some of the Other Countries where Revolts are happening. Maybe we just Like their Dictators better.
At any rate, I hope this Ends Soon and we don't have another Big Mess on our hands. In the meantime, could the Pundits and Congresspeople ever think about the Economy once in awhile instead of Arguing over Every Last Thing that President Obama has ever supported or done? As My Favorite Human, Jon Stewart, noted, in the Eyes of the GOP, President Obama can't do Anything Right.
By the Way, my Female Human and her Friends were in the Live Audience at the show just Above. It was their Second Time there, and they are going to see Stephen Colbert next month. As a Cat, I would not be Allowed In, which makes me feel Discriminated Against. They also don't let Kids Under 18 in. I guess it's because All Those Words that get beeped on the TV show are said Quite Clearly in the studio. But Come On, what Teenager doesn't Already Know those Words?
Well, that's About It from MY end Today. Oh, before I go, How do you Like the New Format? My Female Human suggested that I Make Some Changes in honor of Spring, to perhaps encourage it to Show Up. So far, she tells Me, all these Sunny Days I observe from my Window, are still Very Cold and Windy. Let's hope that Changes Soon.
In the Meantime, keep hitting the Catnip and hope we are not Now Involved in Yet Another Costly War in an Unfriendly Country.
I don't know what it is about this winter that seems so endless. Maybe it's because I'm not working, and unlike last year, I am not keeping busy taking care of my mother. Last year, although I noticed the winter was cold, I didn't care because I was indoors doing things for Mom anyway. And then it seemed to get much warmer much quicker in April, right after she came home from the nursing home, and we were able to be outside.
This year is different. Even though it is arguably almost the middle of March, the weather is cold, dreary and windy. Yes, it was above freezing today, but so dreary and cold it didn't matter. The other day there was ice on the deck again after the warm rain had ended and the cold front blew in.
So, I've been hibernating more than usual this winter. Whole days go by and I don't go outside the house except to walk the dogs. Now that there are two, at least that forces me to go outside twice since I don't walk them simultaneously.
I find I have let things slide...maybe I'm slip-sliding away, as Paul Simon would say. "The nearer your destination, the more you're slip-sliding away."
Well, I don't know if I'm anywhere near any kind of destination, but I do feel as if things are slipping. For instance, unless I have somewhere to go - I admit this publicly - I usually skip wearing a bra altogether. I mean, why bother? It's cold out, I wear fleece sweaters, no one can tell, and it's comfortable.
I also seldom take my shower until about 4:30 in the afternoon - again, depending on whether there's somewhere I have to go. Why bother? All I have to do is walk the dogs and sit by the computer.
The other thing is, the bunion on my right foot has become so painful that almost no shoes are comfortable. So I've been walking the dogs wearing my rubber-soled bedslippers. They're so comfortable. Who's going to see me anyway?
I asked DH the other day, "Honey, I've been wearing these (pointing to my feet) out in public. No one can tell they're bedslippers, can they?" DH: "Um, yeah. They can." Oh well.
I was walking Angel yesterday wearing said bedslippers, jeans (at least it wasn't sweats) and a bright red fleece sweater. I mean, bright orangey red. This look was topped off with a neon pink down jacket that I'd gotten on closeout from Lands End last winter. In addition, since I hadn't had my shower yet, my hair looked like an epileptic spider had walked through it in the midst of a grand mal seizure.
Unexpectedly, I saw someone approaching in the distance, and I saw she was heading in my direction. She was nicely dressed in a color-coordinated jogging suit and sneakers, apparently taking her afternoon's exercise. She did not meet my eyes as our paths crossed, although I smiled and said "hi," as I went by. Miffed, I thought, "How unfriendly." Then I looked down at myself and realized what I looked like, and couldn't blame her.
We have a weird guy in our neighborhood who wanders around at all hours of the day holding an umbrella up over his head (it doesn't matter if it's rainy, sunny, cloudy, or fair). He also usually has his shirt off and is carrying it over one arm. In addition, he frequently has on shorts, even if it is winter. He holds his hand to his ear and is talking at all times, as if to aliens. (No, he does not have Bluetooth.) I suddenly realized the unfriendly jogger might have thought I'm similar to this guy, and felt she should steer clear of me.
This made me think of the Madwoman of Chaillot. Maybe that's who I looked like. I didn't even know who the Madwoman of Chaillot was, just that it was a play that my parents were involved in as part of their little theater group back when I was a kid. Maybe my mother was in the play, I don't remember. But it sounded good.
I started thinking, maybe she was a character I could identify with during this miserable long winter of existence that seems to have no end. I've always had a tendency to narrate my own life as if I were in a novel. I started thinking thusly:
"Wandering aimlessly like the Madwoman of Chaillot through the streets of Bloomfield, Mauigirl felt the winter could not be any longer if it tried."
The only problem is, I had no frackin' idea who the Madwoman of Chaillot was and what made her mad, and I thought I should look it up. So when I got home, I went directly to the Google.
As it turns out, the play, The Madwoman of Chaillot, has a lot to teach us today, despite being written by some French guy back in 1943. From Wikipedia, here is a brief plot summary:
"The play is set in the Cafe de l'Alma in the Chaillot district of Paris. It is said that Molière, Racine, and La Fontaine used to frequent this cafe. But these days a group of corrupt corporate executives are meeting. They include the Prospector, the President, and the Baron, and they are planning to dig up Paris to get at the oil which they believe lies beneath its streets.
Their nefarious plans come to the attention of Countess Aurelia, the benignly eccentric madwoman of the title. She is an aging idealist who sees the world as happy and beautiful. But, advised by her associate, the Ragpicker, who is a bit more worldly than the Countess, she soon comes to realize that the world might well be ruined by these evil men—men who seek only wealth and power. These people have taken over Paris. 'They run everything, they corrupt everything,' says the Ragpicker. Already things have gotten so bad that the pigeons do not bother to fly anymore. One of the businessmen says in all seriousness, 'What would you rather have in your backyard: an almond tree or an oil well?'
Aurelia resolves to fight back and rescue humanity from the scheming and corrupt developers. She enlists the help her fellow outcasts, the Street Singer, The Ragpicker, The Sewer Man, The Flower Girl, The Sergeant, and various other oddballs and dreamers. These include her fellow madwomen: the acidic Constance, the girlish Gabrielle, and the ethereal Josephine. In a tea party every bit as mad as a scene from 'Alice in Wonderland,' they put the 'wreckers of the world's joy' on trial, and in the end condemn them to banishment—or perhaps, death.
One by one the greedy businessmen are lured by the smell of oil to a bottomless pit from which they will never (presumably) return. Peace, love, and joy return to the world. Even the earthbound Pigeons are flying again."
Wow, who knew The Madwoman of Chaillot was such a contemporary play with such contemporary, pertinent themes? Ah, well, I guess it's as the other Frenchman said, "Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose." (The more things change, the more they remain the same).
I guess I could do worse than being the Madwoman of Chaillot. At least she had an optimistic attitude - which is hard to come by these days. Plus Katharine Hepburn played her in the movie. How can I go wrong?
Sorry for not being around for awhile. I have some sad news - Little Cat (Zoe) started going downhill over the past few weeks, and about four days ago she lost interest in her food. So we took her to the vet on Thursday and they gave her IV fluids and nourishment, but it didn't help this time. She was just fading away. So we took her home and let her be in her own little bed. She spent a quiet day yesterday and slipped away a little after 7:30 p.m. last night. I'm glad she went so peacefully. She looked as if she was just asleep.
The vet had her down as 15 years old, but we've long thought she was older than that. My mother had gotten her at a shelter so her real age wasn't actually known at the time she adopted her. We knew when we got her after my mom died that she wouldn't be with us for that long. I'm just glad she had so many good times up at the cabin with us and that her last months were so pleasant.
In the meantime, we have decided to keep Angel, the pit bull who showed up at our house three weeks ago on a freezing cold night. She was probably used for breeding, as she had obviously recently had puppies. She was also emaciated, very smelly, and had very long toenails, as if she was never walked. After she had a bath we took her to the vet and she got her shots. She's completely housebroken, and sweet as can be. Her only flaw is she goes nuts when she sees cats and small dogs. But we hope training will help. Angel is gaining weight every week and is looking really good now.
Unfortunately, we also realized that she has an itchy skin condition which the vet and I think must be mange. The vet didn't find any mites when she did a skin scraping, but sometimes they don't show up. So we're treating her for mange. Luckily it isn't necessary to do horrible things like dip the dog in insecticide as they did in the old days. The vet gave her a shot of Ivermectin, which must be repeated in two weeks, and we have to shampoo her with a medicated shampoo once a week. It's always something! Sometimes I feel as if I live at the vet's office!
Luckily she and Diva get along well, amazingly enough. I thought Diva wouldn't put up with another dog, especially a female, but she is being surprisingly tolerant. We can even have them in the same room and they get along well. So we are keeping her. She is the most affectionate dog; all she wants to do is sit next to you and cuddle. She walks well on the leash, is great in the car, and just lives to please you. How anyone could have mistreated her like that is beyond me.
Here are her latest pictures. We gave her a toy and she was beside herself. She'd apparently never had one before. This one is actually from about a week ago but I love the way she cocks her head (which is why it is a little blurry as we captured her doing it!).
So, that's the news from our household. I'll be back again soon and may actually write something of substance now that things are calming down around here. Hope to be visiting your blogs more too!
Baxter here. I'm finally Back. Sorry to have been Out of Touch, but I had a Health Issue over New Year's Weekend. My Humans went away to that Cabin place with Little Cat and That Dog, and left me here to fend for Myself as usual. But I didn't feel Good.
When they returned, I hid under the Bed and wouldn't come out. Finally I did come out and then stayed All Night by my Litter Box, just lying there, and refused to Eat. My Female Human then stuck me in that Zippered-Up Bag they put me in to Travel in, and dragged me to that place they call "The Vet." I was Not Pleased; especially when they shaved some Fur off my chest and stuck me with a Needle. Most uncomfortable. It turned out I had Something called Anemia and they didn't know why, plus I'd lost 3 pounds; I was down to a svelte 19 pounds.
So my Humans started giving me some Pills that made me Hungry and I started gobbling down Wet Cat Food, something I don't usually like to do; I've always been a Dry Food Type of Cat. But I figured why not - Little Cat has been getting All the Attention. Now it's My Turn. I started being Finicky and only eating Fishy Tasting Stuff. (I'll sneak Dry Food once in awhile when I'm sure the Humans aren't watching though). I'm off the Appetite Pills and doing Fine.
They still don't know what was wrong but I'm back to my Old Self and am feeling Quite Perky. Losing a little Weight didn't hurt me any; I have started Running up and down the Stairs again in the Middle of the Night as I used to do when I was Younger. My Human says she'll take me back for a Check-Up in a month or two and make sure my Anemia is gone. But since I'm acting Healthy she isn't as worried now.
However, something Else has happened since then. My Humans seem to have found Another Dog. Mind you, I haven't gone anywhere near It. But I've seen It from my safe perch on the Bed in the Spare Room.
From what I understand, The Other Dog appeared out of the Dark on Thursday Night and seemed lost, so the Humans took It in. Apparently It's a Girl because my Humans say she recently had Puppies. She was Very Skinny, had Really Long Nails and could hardly walk on them Properly, and smelled Very Bad. They gave her a Bath and took her to the Vet. Now she's getting ear drops for an Ear Infection, but is Very Healthy otherwise. I heard my Female Human saying something about her having had Shots and that she will be Spayed in a month, whatever THAT is.
My Personal Dog, the one I usually complain about, is Unhappy. I think she's Jealous of the New Dog. If she's Not Happy the Humans will have to find Another Home for the New Dog. I think they call her Angel. I don't really know why, because, as a Cat, I can vouch for the fact that NO Dog is an Angel. Far from it. But that's what they call her.
So, the Household has been Disrupted ever since the New Year. Little Cat and I are eating lots of Wet Food and there are Dishes of food lying around All Over, the New Dog is kept in the Kitchen to keep her Separate from the Old Dog. The Old Dog can't get out in the Yard through the Kitchen so My Humans have to walk her more than Ever. (That she's probably Happy about). The New Dog gets Jealous if the Humans pay attention to the Old Dog, and Vice Versa. It's a Real Circus around here.
Just thought I should check in and let you know What's Happening around the Maui Household. There has been Lots of News I haven't been able to keep up on, but either my Human or I will be back soon with some Updates. Oh, and here is a Picture of The New Dog. Anyone want to Adopt her so this Place can get back to Normal?
I just spent about an hour trying to find a suitable cartoon or other illustration of how totally dreary the weather is today. However, I couldn't decide on any one thing and finally gave up. It was fun trying though.
In the meantime I'll provide a few February-themed haiku to tide myself over till the next time I actually get up enough energy to write something.
Freezing rain today Drizzling on the grayish snow February's here.
Huge mounds of old snow Obscure everyone's driveways Driving is risky.
Snow looks so pretty Right after the snowfall ends Then it gets dirty.
I'm tired of winter Spring is still so far away Days are creeping by.
Sooner or later Even this much snow will melt Hard to imagine.
People in Egypt Having a revolution Too cold for that here.
Hi all, Just wanted to let you know, if you ever e-mail me on my e-mail address, it has changed. I had to cancel my Yahoo account because it was contaminated somehow by a virus that proceeded to send all my contacts a nasty little executable file. Luckily a couple of people warned me they received it, and I sent out a note to everybody telling them not to open it. Hopefully no one got infected with some rotten virus.
The new e-mail is available via the "email me" link to the right under my "About Me" profile description. So if you have my old one saved somewhere, just delete it and replace it with this one. If for whatever reason the link doesn't work, the new e-mail is: Mauigirl5224 at gmail.com.
After the holidays I had planned to write a typical New Year's post reflecting on the past year, and talking about this year's resolutions. I hadn't gotten around to it before the tragedy in Tucson took place. Now it seems like a moot point. Given the larger issues surrounding us, my paltry resolutions to have more self-control, eat less, drink less, etc., now seem totally petty.
I spent two days on Facebook, reading and commenting on a myriad of links, articles and other people's postings. Immediately after the shooting, many of us on the left, including myself, blamed those on the right who have fomented violence through their hateful rhetoric.
But as time went on, it became apparent that Loughner was not particularly political, despite the fact that he talked about currency and other subjects sometimes discussed by the far right; he seemed to be mentally unbalanced, possibly a schizophrenic. His obsession with Gabrielle Giffords did not seem to be directly in response to any right wing speech, but instead tied in to his bizarre beliefs about government, the currency, and other strange delusions that he had harbored for several years. In fact, he had attended one of Giffords' Congress on Your Corner events as long ago as 2007, and disliked her response to a question he had asked. Friends said he had changed radically from the person he was earlier in high school, consistent with the age at which schizophrenia often begins in young men.
Could the partisanship and hateful rhetoric, the gun imagery and other events have given him encouragement? Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know. If anything, he seems to have been out of touch with reality and living more in a world of "lucid dreaming," which was a subject he was most interested in during the last few months, according to acquaintances. There is no evidence that Sarah Palin's "crosshairs" map had anything to do with him shooting Representative Giffords.
I have to admit I was as riled up as anyone right after this happened, and was posting links to petitions saying Sarah Palin should be prosecuted for being an accessory to murder. But the more strident these accusations became against Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, O'Reilly and the rest, and the more I read about Loughner, I realized it just wasn't their fault that this troubled man pulled the trigger.
That said, do I believe that hateful rhetoric COULD lead to violence among radical followers of these rightwing pundits and politicians? Absolutely, yes. We know this can happen, we've seen it before. Did it happen in this case? Hard to say.
So, how have the spokespeople on the left and right reacted to this tragedy?
The first responses from the right were to strike back against the left for accusing them of fomenting this madman's rage. Bill O'Reilly called out the New York Times, Paul Krugman, and the left in general, calling them "merchants of hate" and castigating them for accusing the right of causing the shootings. Later he said that he himself has to have security at all times due to threats he receives but the New York Times never mentions that.
And what did Sarah Palin do? After her first response (on Facebook) expressing her condolences for the victims and their families on January 8, on the 12th she posted a video, which probably was meant to make her look Presidential, in which she took the opportunity to reaffirm her right to exercise her freedom of speech. There was no inkling that maybe, just maybe, she might have gone too far in her gun-related metaphors; that maybe she, among others, had contributed to a climate of violence in this country not seen since the 1960s. Oh no, it was all about her being the victim of people who were "attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event." And on top of that she called this an attempt to establish a "blood libel." She has to have known this was a painful reference for people of Jewish heritage, since it refers to the canard that Jews murder Christian children and use their blood in their religious ceremonies. Did she know this? Did she care? If you can stomach it, here is Palin's speech:
Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo. OK, so what about the left? Are they innocent of fomenting a climate of hate? Maybe not completely. During Bush's tenure as President, there were many left wing radicals who did post hateful rhetoric and protesters carrying signs that urged others to "kill Bush," showing him as a Nazi, etc. (See below for a few examples:)
However, there is a big difference. The left has never had the kind of media pundits that the right has had, nor as many; these signs were carried by ordinary people - shameful, yes, wrong, yes, but people who did not have a lot of power to influence others. In addition, during Bush's administration, protests were often carefully kept at a distance and out of the headlines. We didn't see these signs on television all the time the way people have seen the Tea Partiers and their signs during the Obama administration.
The left has various publications and blogs to get their message out; and Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann and a few others on television. But liberal talk radio has never really taken off, for whatever reason. Maybe liberals are just less apt to waste their time calling in to spout off their views on the radio. Maybe liberals are more apt to write rather than talk. I don't know the reason.
What I do know is, that Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann, although clearly liberals, don't go around comparing the Republicans to Nazis and implying death threats. And how did they react to the Tucson shootings?
Rachel went through a litany of previous horrific killings that have all taken place since Jared Loughner was born, showing that he did grow up surrounded by violence, and that America is a violent country. She also pointed out that, after Yemen, the United States is THE most heavily armed country in the world.
And what of Keith Olbermann, the more outspoken partisan of the two? He called for an end to using gun metaphors, and called for violent rhetoric to end. But in addition he apologized for any times he himself has gone over the edge in this regard.
You'll never hear Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly or Sarah Palin ever apologize for anything. Yes, they were right to say this tragedy should not be politicized. But they are the ones politicizing it themselves and refusing to share in any regret for the possibility that their words could spur violence - maybe not for this particular incident, but for another incident yet to come. And that is one of the differences between the left and the right.
Overall, the right has a stronger effect on the national discourse than the left and the results have been skewed against the left.
"Despite words to the contrary from CNN’s Jon King and others, there is no equivalence of violence-inciting rhetoric from the left and right. Nor is there anything remotely approaching equivalence when it comes to violent acts against public officials and political candidates."
But he goes on to warn that if the current climate continues, it's only a matter of time before both sides get in on the violence. Please take the time to go read his excellent post.
The hateful rhetoric needs to stop to keep us, as a country, from going over the edge into chaos.
Jon Stewart summed up his reactions on Monday night's Daily Show. His thoughts were what made me start to rethink my initial reaction to blame the right for the shooting.
"Did the toxic political environment cause this?...I have NO f*cking idea."
He then points out that the urge to blame is understandable, because it would mean that there could be a way to prevent this kind of incident. However, he goes on to say that unfortunately, that's not the case: "You can't outsmart crazy."
But the other important thing he said was that it would be "really nice if the ramblings of crazy people didn't in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on TV." Watch:
"For all the hyperbole and the vitriol that's become a part of our political process, when the reality of that rhetoric, when actions match the disturbing nature of words, we haven't lost our capacity to be horrified...Let us hope we never become numb to what the real horror, what the real blood of patriots looks like..."
He goes on to say that it would be a "shame if we didn't take this opportunity...to make sure that the world we are creating now...isn't better than the one we've previously lost."
Once again Jon Stewart, a comedian who is starting to be the voice of reason in our time, struck the right tone in the face of this tragedy.
Below is President Obama's speech at the memorial yesterday in Tucson. The President was comforting, inspiring and non-partisan in his speech, encouraging us to heal and not to blame. I hope everyone who heard this speech will really listen to him and take his message to heart, on both sides of the aisle.
And with that, I'll sign off. I'll save till another day my thoughts on what can be done, if anything, to prevent these ongoing tragedies in our country. During my days on Facebook earlier this week I got into some long conversations with a conservative friend of mine about gun control, and of course there is also the issue of how we address the problem of mentally ill people in general.
Members of Congress are proposing laws about having a gun within 1000 feet of an elected official (impractical and rather self-centered I would say), adding Plexiglass to the Congressional chamber (what, on top of the metal detectors I'm sure are already in place?), and worst of all, trying to pass a law outlawing certain types of speech and images (First Amendment rights, anyone?). But those are topics for another day.
I hope that in the coming days Representative Giffords will continue the amazing progress she has made so far, and that she eventually recovers completely. I hope that's not too much to hope for. I also send my deepest sympathies to the families of those killed and injured and I hope that the political discourse will calm down of its own accord in the wake of these events and maybe, just maybe Congress might try to work together for a change. I know, probably too much to ask for. But one has to have hope.
I have to tell you, if I haven't already done so, I have Seasonal Affective Disorder. This year, for a brief few weeks, I actually thought now that I'm not working and could actually enjoy preparing for Christmas, that maybe I'd beat it. Maybe this time, I wouldn't get those winter doldrums, the cabin fever that hits me every winter without fail. But I was wrong. It doesn't matter if I have to go out in the winter weather or not, whether I'm working or not, I still hate winter.
Yes, the blizzard was exciting, and fun, for a day or so. And it sure looks pretty. But I'm afraid to walk on the ice, I hate bundling up to go out, and now that I don't have to work, my tendency to hibernate in the winter is worse than ever. I don't want to leave my house for any reason whatsoever. But at the same time I hate being cooped up and held prisoner in the house.
I need to move somewhere that doesn't have winter; a place where I can go outside all year, and maybe, just maybe have to put on a light jacket or raincoat from time to time.
Yes, I'm talking about San Francisco, of course. Some of you already know that San Francisco is my favorite city, at least here in America. The climate isn't too hot and isn't too cold; the views are spectacular, and if I lived there, the constant walking up and down hills would probably get me in shape without any effort on my part, unlike my habits living in car-dependent suburban New Jersey. San Francisco has great restaurants, lots of things to do, and beautiful scenery. And if you get tired of the city (hard to imagine), the surrounding areas are equally wonderful to visit.
Since today is the middle of the week of lost time between Christmas and New Year's, my cabin fever has risen to new heights, and I decided to immerse myself in daydreaming, via Realtor.com.
Did you know that the prices for houses and condos in San Francisco are lower than I have ever seen them? And believe me, moving to San Francisco has been DH's and my fantasy for over 20 years, so I've been watching real estate prices out there ever since Realtor.com ever came on line, whenever that was. Up until about 2 years ago, when all hell broke loose in the economy, there was not a single condo or house in the City of San Francisco that would be remotely affordable no matter how valuable our house in New Jersey might be. I saw prices of $500k and up for the tiniest studios. Well, that's not the case now! Prices are so low out there from what I see that we could actually buy something right now if we could sell our house immediately and move out there.
Unfortunately, what with DH's aging parents and my aunt still in the picture, that possibility is not going to happen in the near future. And certainly I don't want to hasten the time when aging relatives are no longer with us. So what is the solution to my winter daydreams? Any suggestions are welcome. Because with our luck, by the time we can sell our house, the prices in San Francisco will be back to the stratosphere.
In the meantime, enjoy a few pictures of affordable pieds-a-terre in the City by the Bay. It's the way I'm getting through my Seasonal Affective Disorder, for today anyway. Tomorrow I think I'll move on to Hawaii, where prices have also dropped dramatically!
Here's a condo at 240 Lombard Street, right near Telegraph Hill, for just under $350k. Here's one for $339k on McAllister Street, right near Alamo Square, where people take that famous picture that's on the postcards (see below). And if we want to be near the ocean and Golden Gate Park, check out this one, a 2-bedroom condo for $343k.
Now, I know these prices may still sound high, especially if you live outside the metro NY area; but the 1-bedroom condo in that last building is only $209k, and there are plenty of others in the low $200s and even below, if you aren't looking for an ocean view or a short walk to Telegraph Hill.
For instance, this studio for $199k with views of the city, a swimming pool, community exercise room, and other amenities in Diamond Heights. Or, if you're willing to be a little farther from downtown, here's a one-family house for only $239,000.
Oh, I know, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The condos with the low prices probably have high monthly homeowner's fees, the single family house probably is in need of TLC, and so on. But the fact remains, suddenly San Francisco is at least in the realm of possibility. And that helps get me through my winter blues.
And, since this is how I spent my afternoon, here are the Mamas and Papas singing "California Dreaming."
Well, for once the predictions of a real blizzard came true. Usually they start with the dire predictions and then it turns out to be a bust. This time they went in the opposite direction. First they said the storm would probably miss us and be out to sea. The next thing we knew they were saying 11 to 16 inches of snow and then they upped it to 18-24!
I think we got closer to 24 inches than 18. I'm posting a link to our local placeblog, Baristanet, which features a lovely slide show of the conditions in our northern New Jersey area.
And here are a few pictures of my own. Enjoy the snow, everyone!
For your viewing enjoyment, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart sing a holiday duet for you. May all you who celebrate Christmas have a lovely Christmas Eve, a Merry Christmas Day and a wonderful weekend of fun, festivities and family get-togethers. And everyone else enjoy their weekend and time off!
Baxter here. I am finally ready to Blog again after a Long Absence. As you Know, my Humans have procured a New Dog, and I am Not Happy About It. 
