The Misery Index~~

Day 11 of freezing temps - Our dogs are following the sun spots around our house. Built in 1909 (or somewhere there-abouts), our old farmhouse has 28 windows (or 30 - I can't seem to get an accurate count and can't seem to figure out why that is, but that's another story...) - unlike the new McMansions which typically have only front and back windows, there are at least two windows in every room and therefore, windows on every side.....and the dogs follow the sunshine~

It's cold down here in Florida (just in case you haven't been watching the national weather because you're so caught up in it where YOU live). And we are all feeling some of that Misery Index that we hear about in political punditry. Used to the wetness of swampy air we Floridians are all feeling the affects of living inside with heaters drying out all the air we breathe. Several times a day, I step just outside to breathe in the freshness of that outside air - its a bit like our dogs following that sun around the rooms of this house...I'm looking for something that alleviates that misery just a bit.

As Hunter and I drove home yesterday, the news man gave us warning from the Power Company that our electric bills will probably be double what we're used to.....that's pretty scary since December and January's bills usually are already double what we pay the rest of the year down here......

Many of us are still caught up in the mess of this recession - some are still without a job, some have just rolled off the Unemployment Rolls, some have just gotten a job but are making less than they were before and a whole lot of folks who kept their jobs have lost hours, salary, bonuses etc. ....now here, in Florida, we're looking at crop loss - personally, we have lost our oranges, lemons and quats - I'm still holding out some hope for our strawberries, but not too much. So, doubled energy bills and higher prices for all of Florida's fruit produce......unemployment at 10.8%......3 terrorist attacks in less then one year......a deficit that is unfathomable to most of us.....

That Misery Index.....it will have an affect/effect on things....like, let's say, our already shaken belief in global warming and the Cap and Trade bill that will come back on the table this year - these freezing temps in many corners of our world are more indicative of a mini ice age than global warming and when we think of the email scandal where data was "hidden" to avoid having to explain to folks why temps have actually fallen over the past 11 years instead of risen~

As for me...right now I'm just going to act like my wonderful fur kids and just follow the sun spots around my house......and dream of better days and the warmth of a Florida spring.....