“Change For The Dollar,” in the Chicago Tribune fascinated me. As a country, we could save $522 MILLION a year, if we gave up our one dollar bill and switched to the one dollar coin. The US Treasury has tried to accomplish that with the Susan B. Anthony dollar, and the Sacagawea dollar, without much success. They are currently producing a series of one dollar coins with the faces of the presidents.
For those who are circulating an e-mail saying that “In God We Trust” has been dropped from this coin, please take a closer look. The dollar coin has a smooth edge (unlike the quarter, which has perpendicular ridges along the edge), and “In God We Trust” is cut into the edge of the coin. The coin is slightly larger than a quarter, and is a pale gold/bronze color.
Go read what Tom Hundley had to say at the Trib. It’s an interesting story.

Many of you know that I live in the Chicago suburbs. We receive the Chicago Tribune, and each day there is a crossword puzzle in the Tempo section. Elegante Mother used to do them in ink, and it never occurred to me to make a copy of the puzzles so that we could both do them. I discovered that the Monday through Saturday puzzle is available on-line, with the added bonus that the program tells you if you have entered an incorrect letter. (Master solvers have the option to do it without the assist.)
I’ve become addicted. I take my mug of tea and head for the computer at 5:30 in the morning. With the computer’s assistance, I can finish almost all the puzzles. Without the “wrong-letter” clue, I’d probably have to Google for some of the answers. I’m really glad to return to this form of entertainment. I used to do the Dell crosswords that were edited by Eugene T. Maleska. He designed “expert” puzzles. Of all the expert crosswords, his were the ones that I was most likely to solve. I think you find someone who “hears” words as you do, or perhaps has the same life experiences, and their clues are more likely to make sense.
While I was looking for crossword sites on-line, I also discovered a blog for those who do the Tribune puzzle. The blogger gives the answers for the current day’s puzzle, comments on the construction of the puzzle and quality of the clues, and those of us who are also doing the puzzle respond in the comments. It’s as though I’ve found a family! Some of them are my age, and some are younger. Both men and women participate. Some of the solvers have science backgrounds; others are more experienced in the arts.
The group is a nice cross section of puzzle solvers.
If you’re interested, join us. You can find us at the “Star Tribune Crossword Corner.”

I’m having a quiet day at home, a day “off.” My-Sister-The-Nurse is visiting with Elegante Mother. I’ll visit with her tomorrow, when I can take the Sunday papers and clean clothes. I have to think of something to take to tempt her to eat at breakfast.
Elegante Mother continues to improve, but we are a little confused. When we (her family) are with her, she can barely take the three steps to transfer from chair to bed, but both the occupational therapist and the physical therapist have said that EM walks from her bed, through the corridor to therapy and back. I wonder if she is just worn out by the time we see her?!
The nursing home will have a meeting this coming week with MSTN to determine EM’s status. There is some thought that she might progress more rapidly if she were at home. Elegante Mother is refusing most of what she is being served at mealtime. I thought it was a major breakthrough when she ate half her fish at noon yesterday. We’ve been taking her favorite things (that fit within her meal restrictions), when we visit, and her appetite has improved the past two days. Unfortunately, as her appetite has improved, so has her irascibility. Sometimes it’s like dealing with a two-year-old. In her defense, she has been in the nursing home two full weeks, and has hated every minute of it. I’m not surprised, especially now that she is more aware of her surroundings, that she is unhappy, and wants to go home.
So, we are waiting to meet with the nursing home staff to determine what the best plan is for her future care. Of course, I’ll post an update.
Meanwhile, I realized that I was never going to get my gardening done. I still had the stretch across the front of the house to clean up, and I’d been obsessing about the trees growing in the twin evergreen pods on the lower southwest lawn. I asked my favorite landscaper to return and give us a bid. We told Dear Husband the bottom line, and he said “DO IT!” So, all the maintenance landscaping has been done with the exception of the herb garden. That’s still my baby. I plan to cover myself with a long-sleeved shirt and mosquito spray and work for an hour early tomorrow morning. I think that hour might make an incredible difference in the garden. Later, I’ll use the string trimmer to get some edging done. What a relief to have the gardens looking so good!
I’m going to spend the afternoon with my sewing machine, working on two projects I wish to finish. I am antsy to get one of them off to my machine quilters, so I can get them finished. The other is a baby quilt for my youngest granddaughter, who is already nine months old! Better get cracking, Gramma!
Dear Husband is off sailing today. Bee met last night and they left me all this wonderful food. I won’t have to cook today, but I’ll have a sumptuous meal this evening! Dear Husband took me out to dinner Thursday night. We tried a new restaurant in the next town over, and had the most pleasant evening together. Both of us ate just half out steak, so I may have steak salad, or a steak sandwich for lunch. Thank God for leftovers! *G*
That’s about all I have to share with you. Remind me on Tuesday to water the houseplants, won’t you? I got them done this morning, and they were really dry. I’d hate to stress them out by creating a drought cycle.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, filled with pleasure!