Mayflies and June Bugs

In April! They're all over the place! What is the world coming to?

Yesterday we broke all kinds of heat records. Officially in OKC we hit 98. It reached 102 in Stillwater. Today is supposed to be a little kinder but still way above normal, and then tomorrow its back to more normal temperatures for April (70s). I wonder how long that will last.

The taxes are finished. It was rough. I don't understand how we can be just holding our own and still end up sending a large chunk in to the state. We could really use a few things like living room furniture (we have been using R's parents things--think cream with an avocado, gold and rust flower pattern--that they gave us when they got new furniture several years ago) and carpet (the berber in this room did not hold up well under constant traffic patterns over the past 10 years), but the chances of that happening any time soon are now pretty much zero. I guess it's a good thing we save before we buy instead of using credit, or we'd be in a world of hurt. We're putting a child through college, which "they" continue to say is so important, we're paying medical bills that we're too "wealthy" to get help with, and now energy and food costs just continue to climb and climb and climb. Still, the hand is out demanding my cash to pay for programs that aren't working. They keeps saying that this thing and that thing needs more funding and I know that while some may sincerely think more money will do it, IT WON'T! What is needed is not only better management, but for greed and laziness to be eliminated. Can't legislate that.

Even with all that complaining, I'm grateful. Grateful that we have learned how to be content with sustenance and covering and that we have guarded ourselves and our children from the love of money that brings no happiness. There are better things to pursue than money.

I'm happy to be back to normal, as well. I'm looking foward to a writing conference this weekend--a one-day thing that's small in comparison to OWFI. I'm supposed to take the first page of a children's work; they're going to collect them and then do random critiques in a panel some time during the day. So I need to figure out which first page I want to take with me.

My house looks very neglected; I have so much to get done, but I'm going to pace myself. :)