Exchange rates

When we lived in Scotland we always kept our eyes on the exchange rates. The day we closed on our little place there, the Pound=$1.32 (if my memory is correct). As George Bush's ill-advised policies began to weaken the American prestige and economy, the dollar began a long slide against the Pound until it was over $2.00. We could no longer afford to live in our dear Scotland and essentially had to move back to the USA.

Today the Pound is sliding against the dollar and is now equal to $1.37. This will certainly help restore the flow of American tourists to the Great Britain- and they do constitute the largest group of visitors to Scotland. Both countries have economies in free-fall but the world market has expressed it opinion that Obama probably has better solutions than Brown.

Here on the farm it is finally warming up to freezing; it has been about a week since the mercury reached 32F and it is expected to top out at 40F today and maybe as high as 56F tomorrow before returning to more seasonable levels. What a cause for celebration after this prolonged deep freeze.

The cat who adopted us, Jack Tar, is ingratiating himself nicely - he brought us a mouse a couple of days ago. He sleeps in the ground floor bathroom on these cold nights and seems perfectly content to be warm and full. Not once has he scratched at the door to be let out or uttered a single unhappy meow. In fact, when we go in to check on him, he wants mostly to have a warm lap to lay in. During the day, he stays close to the house and has become our official greeter of visitors. Life is good here for us all.