Overcast And 38º

7:50

8:02

9:00

Up early, at 6:00, to a cold morning, cloudy sky, and choppy lake.  At least it did not snow as predicted.  I expected to see white on the lawn and roofs.  I have been listening to C-Span, first a discussion of US/Turkey relations and now, whether churches should be allowed to be political. Between these two shows, reading the NYTimes, and watching what is going on outdoors, I have been busy.

Here is an interesting quotation from Conservative Republican Presidential Candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964 on why he thinks there should be a separation between church and state.  It was quoted by a C-Span caller.  It punctuates clearly how today's Republican Party differs from its past.

“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem.  Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise.  But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise.  I know, I've tried to deal with them.”

Our Dock Sitting Bachelor Mallard, Looking For A Mate

Yesterday was like the three previous days, an inch or more of rain, cool, and threatening skies, with hardly a chance to get outside.  We had had our fun the night before, with a 'small bites,' dinner at Bemus Point's Hare N' Hound.  So we did not want to go out two nights in a row; it would scandalous as well as unbecoming and too much fun.  So we decided to stay home, have leftover pork cutlets for dinner, and relax in the evening, not having to shower and get gussied up because we were going out. Sometimes just staying home sounds so good.

I did head off around 11:30 to the Transfer Station, to get rid of our trash, then continued on my way to Ryder's Cup, then Wegman's, to pick up some groceries for a Sunday dinner with Linda and Ron.  I am not sure why we often put off shopping until a Saturday when we could shop any week day when it's not as crowded.  But I seem to end up at Wegman's, nevertheless, on most Saturdays, with a packed parking lot and store.  When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn, a mantra that's been going through my head the past couple of days.  The answer, never.

Because of the nasty weather, it was a long Saturday afternoon in the house, looking for things to keep us occupied.  It's time like this that we adjourn to the TV room, to watch a movie, this time a strangely compelling film called MAGNOLIA, about a series of seemingly unrelated lives during one day.  We had to eventually give up on it because it was three hours long.  Our attention span is about an hour and a half.

We looked forward, however,  to an early wine time, enjoyed it despite the dreary outdoors and an easy dinner, pork cutlet sandwiches, with mayo and tomatoes.  Yum.  We watched Friday night's episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, then HGTV's building of a Smart Home.  We can win it if we choose to go to their website and sign up in their Sweepstakes.  Wow.  Just like the magazine sweepstakes in the 1980's that we entered for a couple of times, to no avail obviously.