The airlines announced today massive layoffs in the tens of thousands. No one can travel.

Disney announced they are firing over 38,000 employees because no one can come to their theme parks.

In NYC, over 90% of restaurants are going to close their doors forever. No one can dine in their establishments anymore.

Over 70million people in America are out of work. They are considered ‘non-essentials’.

Over 61million of those unemployed people are eligible for unemployment benefits. Some are receiving the funds. Some are not. Many may never work again because there isn’t any jobs in their line of work anymore. No worries. Amazon is hiring 100,000 people and so is WalMart. For the holidays. As if anyone really has any money left over to buy holiday presents.

Oh, and by the way, our president Trump and his wife just came down with the coronavirus. You know the one? The one that killed my brother in like a few days because both the Governor of New York and the Mayor of New York said back in March 2020 that Manhattan was a safe city to tourist in. So, my brother believed these politicians and lost his life when he came to NYC to visit with a cancer specialist.

Oh well.

my baby eggplants happily growing

I made a discovery yesterday while I was tending to my garden. Ever since I started eating vegetables that I have grown myself, I found that I have been connected to the earth more. I’m not connected to a government. I’m not connected to another human being. I have found a soul mate and she is Mother Earth. The bees and birds that flap about here aren’t worried about jobs or rent or their next meal. The deer, the squirrels, the chipmunks, the beavers and the coyotes don’t give a hoot about what goes on in Washington DC. And neither do I. God said he’ll take care of everyone and He does.

No matter who gets or stays elected won’t be making any dent in my life. Long as I pay my taxes on time, no one really gives a hoot about me. Jesus said to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and I do. After that, we’re each on our own.

I don’t live rich, but I live well. I don’t buy new but I buy like-new. I have a standard and I’m not being separated from a standard I have set up for myself. I’m not utilizing hand-me-downs or toss-aways. But I’m utilizing style and comfort. I have always saved for a rainy day. I have never lived paycheck to paycheck. I live the ‘what if’ lifestyle. What if things go wrong because they always do. Always. When they do, I have a Plan B or a Plan Z. I don’t live to impress you. I live to impress me.

This is my basic, new 18cu ft fridge. Nothing fancy. It does the job. For less. I’m not waiting on a bread line in my new SUV to get food for the week. I’ve always grocery shopped wise, smart and inexpensively. Oh, and I’ve always bought gently used cars for cash. I learned my lesson after a brand new car I had a loan on got repossessed in the 1990s. Live and learn. Quickly!

I’m just happily tending to my garden. Picking the last of the harvest, cooking up and either canning or freezing what I prepare. And I’m planning for the next growing season. I’m preparing the raised garden bed soil to rest, recoup and restore back to its natural balance so the soil can happily produce Mother Earth’s fine vegetable and fruits next year. Hopefully, God willing, I’ll still be here. Not up to me. It’s up to ‘Him’.

I cooked up some new dishes (to me) with my eggplants: moussaka and baba ganoush. I ripened my tomatoes in a cardboard box with 1 apple inside with them. The gasses from the apple helps the tomatoes ripen faster. I made great BLT sandwiches with the tomatoes as well as a 40 year old soup recipe I’ve been cooking every summer: tomato/carrot/dill. I made butternut squash soup using my own chicken broth that I boil up with just the often discarded chicken backbone. Roasted chicken over potatoes, onions and peas. I roasted up a great piece of pork butt to perfection, served in its own juices. I baked a fresh pumpkin pie and I’m back to making Friday night $2 pizzas with my freshly picked tomatoes. All delish!

As for my final closing comment on the state of our world, on the surface it doesn’t look good. Hopefully this pandemic taught the majority of us what is important. Family is Number One. We need to be kind to our neighbors. We need to cherish our friends. We need NOT be judgmental and we need to honor and respect each and every one of us. There is NO government that is going to help us anymore. It is each one of us who is going to help. If you see someone struggling on the cashier line to pay their food bill, help them out as best as you can.

Hubby and I have started giving away some of our stockpiles to our local food bank here in town. Every time I shop, I always round up if the extra cents goes to a food bank or helps out the poor and more needy, if possible. No one should go without a meal. NO ONE! Our library is asking for donations of necessities like toothpaste, shampoo, kotex. We’re donating whatever we can.

The game is over, people. It’s check mate.

(please, please, please, do not send me nasty political rants or obscurities. as i said, we’re all in this now. we all need to work together. we will get through this. and pray, pray, pray.)