Yep.....it was in the upper 40's with a southerly wind blowing today.....and most of the ice and snow melted and it felt really, really great outside!! Tomorrow.....my hopes are to open up TheHowserHouse on wheels......and then attempt to mow the leaves, albeit they will still be wet, but perhaps......just perhaps I can get a bit of very late autumn yard work completed before we head to Texas.
First things first: A comment was made from someone who receives their internet service from SE Missouri State University concerning the Frommer blog which I copied and put on here last night.......and that comment simply reflected a one-way outlook on this problem of raising the fees to get a visa to visit the USA. Yes.....there are those who can afford to pay an extra $31 dollars: businessmen from Asia and Europe especially.......however, if you are coming to the USA from anyplace in the world to visit relatives living here, to spend a vacation in Florida or anywhere in the states.....AND, you are traveling with a family then that $31 CAN make a difference in a decision to visit our country or not............ Many people who come over to visit relatives have saved and saved to make this kind of trip.......not everyone IS capable of paying the extra high costs of a USA visa.
On the other hand, those of us who travel overseas to travel throughout the world may, and probably will, be faced with much higher costs for obtaining visas from countries we will be visiting. Not only will the visa costs be higher, but our poor old American dollar is soooooo damn low in comparison with other currencies that it is VERY costly to travel overseas......not like it used to be before the past six years descended upon us. AND.......another problem is that if you are traveling to several...SEVERAL...other countries, then you will be faced with quite a bit more costs in obtaining a visa for EACH of the countries you plan to travel in. On our trip this past month, we not only had to purchase a visa for each of us when we entered Egypt at the Cairo International airport, we then had to purchase visas upon arriving at the Omman International in Jordan.....and THEN.....we had to purchase visas again when we returned to Egypt!!!
The citizens and ordinary people of Egypt and Jordan that we talked with, had tea with, sat in coffee shops and talked with, stood in lines at various sites with, and even when we were invited into the home of the Nubian Tribal Chief.........all of them continuously mentioned the fact that they felt they were NOT welcome in America....that they were not wanted there!!! Is that what we want people in other countries to feel???? This is a 100% complete reversal of our attitudes towards the rest of the world's travelers who always came and enjoyed our country.......leaving their hard earned cash in our own country............and, I am still upset over all of this!!!!!
OK.....I will get off of my soapbox ......for a while.......
Today here was a very relaxed and laid-back day. I was up and going early to take my truck in to Duncan's 4x4 Garage in Doe Run. An hour and half after arriving, the truck was pronounced that it is doing very well and in great shape for the trip south........and that included an oil transfusion, along with a new fuel filter, etc., etc.
The rest of the day was spent around the inside of the house......the yard is still mud and very, very soft.....perhaps too soft for me to mow tomorrow??? Soooo, I did get out the old "sucking machine" for the carpets....and did my weekly task of getting things cleaned up just a bit!!
This evening the 1st Lady went into Farmington to meet her friends for the final monthly dinner she will be able to attend until we return the 1st of April. Me????? I just puttered around......spent some time online(might you have guessed that?).....and watched some tellie.
And soooo, it was a good day.........and......as always.....
LIFE IS GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
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