I made it up to the sewing room and pin basted the mosaic tiles baby quilt last night. I'm using a green fabric with frog designs on it for the backing. That should make some little boy happy. The yellow in the top isn't really for a boy, but it's not a pastel yellow. And I think I am going to quilt it with yellow thread, just because that is what I have that will go with it the best.
My hesitancy to start free motion quilting on it is strong. I just am not confident in my ability in this area. It's just going to be a sink or swim situation and if I ruin the top, I ruin it.
Last night we all had something different for supper. The kids had toasted ravioli and garlic bread. I had some boiled ravioli, and made darling husband a frozen skillet dinner. It was supposed to feed two, but I think he may have eaten it all unless he put some away for his lunch at work tonight.
We still don't know what's going to happen with his job. It will be a couple weeks before the dust settles. I'm asking for prayers that he keeps his job, please.
I went to Aldi at lunch to pick up some ground beef for salisbury steak tonight. Today is the first day of the month. Someone needs to remind me NOT to go shopping, especially to Aldi or Wal Mart. They were packed with people.
The next part of my blog today is not quilt related. It is not upbeat. If you want to stop reading here, feel free. What it is, is a reality check.
I know I primarily talk about quilting and family on my blog, however, because it is weighing heavily on my mind, I need to vent about the state of the country. We are really in some desperate times. I work at the state unemployment office, not for the state, but for a training program. Our office, usually not very busy at all, has become very busy the past couple months. The county I work in has a 12.5% unemployment rate, I believe the third highest in the state. Last week another company in town closed it's doors, idling 52+ workers.
Coal mines have closed. Factories have closed. The remaining factories are closing, laying off or hiring only temporary workers, and at a lower rate of pay. What can we do? We need to come together and find a solution for these problems NOW. RIGHT NOW. As much as I am a proponent of green energy, and I truly am, I worry that may take jobs away from the remaining coal miners. However, I can also see that green energy may be able to work in tandem with fossil fuel. We need to open up the closed factories, put people back to work making parts for windmills, or solar panels. We need to get the auto workers that have been laid off back to work making 'green' cars. The people in power have lost touch with reality, sitting in their ivory towers. Our new president has to spur this into being. If anyone is reading this that can do any good at all to improve this situation, please do it. We have to think of a solution and get it moving FAST. And we have to work together.
This personal desperation of mine is mostly borne out of the uncertainty at my husbands place of employment, however I have known the situation was desperate for a long time, working where I do.
The actual lack of income would be difficult, the loss of insurance horrible. I've said this before. Unemployment insurance in my state without taking taxes out, combined with my income, would allow us to keep things going for a while. However, when you factor in the amount of insurance premiums we would have to pay, even at the 35% COBRA rate, that reduces the unemployment benefits by one third. And after nine months the COBRA rate goes up to 102%. Do the math. We would hardly have any income at all. There are too many people already facing these same issues. How long can it continue? Extensions of unemployment benefits can only go on for so long. We have to create jobs. And they need to be jobs that a person can work at and support a family on. Minimum wage gas station jobs and fast food jobs are fine, and are necessary for the economy. But a person laid off from a factory job, supporting a family that may have kids in diapers or in school or college cannot survive on minimum wage.
Any suggestions? Solutions? Comments? Leave me a note on this blog. I don't have a plan or know what I can do by myself, but with help I think we can come up with a solution. Let's not leave it to fate. And if you just want to leave a comment about your own personal situation, if it will make you feel better to vent, whatever, feel free.
We are Americans. We are not going to lay down without a fight. Let's take action before we are all too beat down to do anything. And pray God upholds us all through these difficult, but not impossible times.
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