Boom, Boom, Ain't It Great To Be Crazy

I've got a lot on my plate for the next month or two, and I don't know how much blogging I will be doing. (I generally post only when something is nagging to get out of my head, but that happens a lot. I guess the nagging thoughts will have to stay put a little more for the next few weeks!)

It took a special bit of blundering for me to end up overseeing a piano recital, three Girl Scouts selling cookies, two science fair projects (and one small demonstration project for Science Night), and the culmination of a Junior Girl Scout Bronze Award project... all in the space of thirty days. (It's really more like two months, but the actual events all take place between mid-January and mid-February.)*

Once, as I bemoaned a similar situation, a friend said to me, "Katie, you realize we're crazy to do what we do, don't you?"

Yep. Got that. :O) But I'm not nearly as crazy as I was last year. Last year I was the Cookie Mom for Mariel's Girl Scout troop as well as much of the other stuff. This year, I steered clear of that volunteer opportunity. And I did let a friend talk me out of doing our regular science assignments this month, so we have a little extra time in each school day for science fair projects. (And, oh, we are so excited about our science fair projects! Fun, fun, fun.)

*My dad is going to be on his trip to Kenya during part of this time as well, so naturally I am (and will be) praying for and considering his journey.

Trouble for Cottage and Secondhand Industries?

I've been following this story for the past couple of days. I wonder if I am understanding it correctly. Surely the lawmakers realized when they wrote this law that it would adversely affect small businesses, the secondhand industry, charitable organizations. (Maybe not, but I just feel like I'm missing something. I can't believe a law that seems so all-encompassing, with so few exceptions, made it all the way to law status without a fight. It was passed back in August.)

A succinct article detailing how this law came into being.

An article on Etsy. Apparently, the CPSC asked for "comments regarding component testing and natural materials exemptions," and the deadline was today, January 5th. Etsy has also been asking for some kind of interactive communication with the commission, and it looks like that may happen.

There is a show on BlogTalkRadio tonight at 9 pm Eastern, entirely about this issue.

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow