Strangest phenomenon, this large-ish issue in the United States where businesses are closing because they can't find employees who want to work, even though the hourly wage for many, many jobs is quite high now. People are just up and quitting their jobs because they can no longer work from home and were denied the request to continue doing so, following the requirement of the return to the office after pandemic directives lifted. I've seen this up happening up close on multiple occasions, and it boggles the mind.
If a person's job was not remote before and the requirement to return to the office was fair and equitable, then why the pushback? If it was okay to work at the office before, why isn't it now? The biggest kicker is that many of these people just up and quit with no job to go to. I have seen this firsthand, and I have to wonder "are they so loaded financially that they don't need the income or health insurance??" I do realize that there are people who left their jobs due to other circumstances, and that's understandable. But this overall phenomenon is hard for me to understand.
And the surge in home buying! Isn't it crazy??! I'm not sure what the future looks like for the people buying too much house just because the interest rates are good right now, but they certainly know how to justify living paycheck to paycheck, apparently. Are they counting on never having financial hardships? Or do they just figure that they'll declare bankruptcy if it gets too hard? Or that the government will continue to issue check after check and they're factoring that in? I don't get it.
I'm not a financial expert, but, then again, are all the people going these routes of up and quitting a job or buying too much house financial experts? I'm watching the next five years very carefully. This is going to play out, I believe, to the detriment of a lot of people. I'm truly not a scaremonger or one of those people who think everything is a conspiracy. Those people can be exhausting, they really can. But I AM a realist. I have a feeling that the government will get tired of bailing out the people who have made unwise financial moves such as quitting their job without another one lined up or buying too much house. The result will be that the government will eventually begin seizing property. Those in power will get richer and richer. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't trust the situation at all. Something feels "off" about it.
Enough of that. Isn't this drink lovely? It's semi-homemade, ha ha. In the bottom is about three tablespoons of homemade blackberry syrup, made from our very own blackberry patch. Over top of that I have poured a Mountain Dew. That's it. It creates this gorgeous color, and the froth at the top just happens when you pour the Dew over top of the syrup. It is a wonderful summer flavor, the citrus of the Mountain Dew with the blackberries.
On Saturday mornings, I go through and clean the fridge and cabinets in an effort to salvage and use up any leftovers and to note what we already have so that I don't duplicate items at the store or over-buy. Often the result is a casserole of some sort, like the one below, a lobster bisque casserole that has cornbread and squash from the garden, vildalia onions, an egg, some Dukes mayo and sour cream folded into it and topped with a really strong cheddar. I like cheese-topped casseroles to get slightly brown on top. I really do think the cheese tastes best at that stage. This tastes like the deep south, comfort food for sure.
My baby girl, Georgie, has the sweetest ears. She's my tiniest kitty at barely nine pounds, and she is my geriatric baby, as well. I never tire of looking at her with her autumn-colored patches and seafoam green eyes. She's a very loyal companion, always nearby or lying right beside me on the couch. She is the best comfort kitty ever and loves me with every ounce of her tiny being. She makes me feel special.
As I went through the freezer yesterday, I found some items from our local bakery, as well as a couple of slices of homemade cake a friend had made for us. The items have been in the freezer about as long as they should be, so they are defrosting for us to enjoy today. I'm not sad about it, that's for sure! The bakery items are apple fritters, and the cake is an old-fashioned pineapple cake with an old-fashioned white frosting that has been flavored with pineapple juice. It tastes seriously old school and has been one of my favorite summer cakes that I've ever had. It will make today even better!
I have my home office window open, and the rain just started coming down somewhat heavily. It's a really lovely sound and, unless the rain starts coming in through the window, I'll leave it raised for the ambiance. There something about a summer rain, isn't there? The trains don't appear to be running this morning, but on the off-chance that they are, maybe I'll hear their whistle in the background soon, as well.
We are, sadly, closing in on the last couple of weeks in July. August and the first part of September will fly by, you watch. I'm going to enjoy the heck out of the remaining summer weeks, and I hope you do, too. The county fair is coming up, and I'm still undecided about going to it. I hope you have a blessed week, and that your weather is gorgeous. It will be Crocktober before you know it!!
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