It wasn’t until almost dawn that the somber men arrived. They were older and fatter and better–but now showily, never showily–dressed, and moved with the gravity of serious money. They were financiers, too, richer than kings (who are often quite poor), but hardly anyone in the city outside their circle knew them or would notice them in the street, They spoke quietly to Cheeseborough as to one who’d suffered a bereavement, and then talked among themselves, and sued little gold propelling pencils in neat little notebooks to make figures dance and jump through hoops. Then quiet agreement was reached and hands were shaken, which in this circle carried infinitely more weight than any written contract. The first domino had been steadied. The pillars of the world ceased to tremble. The Credit Bank would open in the morning, and when it did so, bills would be honored, wages would be paid, the city would be fed.

They’d saved the city with gold more easily, at that point, than any hero could have managed with steel. But, in truth, it had not exactly been gold, or even the promise of gold, but more like the fatansy of gold, the fairly dream that the gold is there, at the end of the rainbow, and will continue to be there forever–provided, naturally, that you don’t go and look.

This is known as Finance.

–Terry Pratchet, Going Postal

I think someone failed to remember they weren’t supposed to look.

All of them have had to be replaced or have major repairs this year. Some of the repairs are still pending. I think that i should start a pool on what will go next, maybe I can raise the money to pay for the repairs

I didn’t get mugged or anything – It was in my purse and then it wasn’t. I suspect that it fell out or got filched on the very short bus ride between work and the train that I take when i am lazy or late.

We found out it was stolen when the bank called Wednesday night to ask about a charge on one of our debit card accounts that they thought was suspicious. Thankfully they tried to charge a large amount on an account that has very little money in it and so the charge was declined, but it alerted us and we closed down my debit cards. There is only one charge that we’ll probably have to dispute and it was for just a little over $100. All in all so far not so bad.

Really the worst part is that I had not yet quit myself of the habit of carrying around more personal id information than is adviseable these days. So we are going to have to keep a close eye on our credit report for the next while, and I have a lot of painintheassery to go through to get new ID. (and yes I know I was dumb, please don’t anyone remind me, I feel stupid enough already)

as a side note: One of the reasons I haven’t been posting all that much recently (meaning months and months and months) is that life has been throwing Evan and I a fair chunk of pain-in-the-ass. Its been a hard year, and while very little of it is huge, quite a bit of it has been both money and time consuming. In lieu of complaing every month/week/day I’ve mostly whined to those I see most often and attempt to hoard the resources that I do have to deal with the shit as it comes. Some of this can be seen in the cancelling of regular events (like music and craft days), and me dropping off of many people’s radars. I am truly sorry that I/we have had to do this, but I REALLY am trying to learn to take care of myself first, Evan second and worry about ya’all further down the list. With this in mind, I am going to ask that if anyone feels they have the ability and energy to intercede with the fates/energy/god/dess/chi etc on our behalf please do, I could really use a uneventful end of the year.

I am sure would be happy to buy a CD if it was on one that was available that would funnel money to Smac.

Two of my unpublished (because they are always unpublished – all the easier to cheat) resolutions for this year are to eat better, and to be a bit more fiscally responsible. One little step of this is to change the way we are eating breakfast. Evan and I both tend to purchase a muffin in the morning at the train station. I am not good at doing money breakouts, but I suspect that making them at home is cheaper per piece, and I can guarantee healthier.

Like usual I browse the Internet looking for recipes that appeal to me and then doctor them to suit my own purposes.

Today’s doctored winner is:

Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffin with Cranberries and Pecans

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 30 Minutes
Yields: 12 large servings

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1-3/4 cups buttermilk
1 t Vanilla
1/2 C Dried Cranberries
1/2 Chopped Pecans
1/4 t Nutmeg
1 t Cinnamon
2 egg, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup and 2 melted butter or oil
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a bowl, soak oats and cranberries in buttermilk for 15 minutes.
2. Mix the egg, sugar and oil together in a separate bowl. Add it to the oat and buttermilk mixture.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; together before you stir them into oat mixture. Mix until just moistened.
4. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16-18 minutes or until muffins test done.
6. Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.