It comes down to this…

Where I vote. That’s a sample ballot taped to the door,
for those who need a last look at their choices.
The flag shows that, today, this school is a polling place.

Tens of thousands – hundreds of thousands? – of everyday places all across the United States, converted for one day to places where people come, one by one, to step behind the curtain of the voting booth and, alone with their opinions and their consciences and the voting machine, officially state who they think is the best, or the least bad, choice to run the public business of their country. (It’s not just the president – this morning, I voted for a President, and a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (New Jersey state assembly members will be elected next year), and three county freeholders out of our seven, and a county sheriff.) Such a quick, ordinary matter, with so much riding on it.

No, I’m not going to tell you how I voted. This isn’t a political blog. But if you’re reading this on November 6, and you’re a U.S. citizen, and you didn’t vote before election day, get out there and vote! It’s your job.

Unintended PSA, or How to Change Your Dinner Plans Fast

Do you own any oven-safe glass dishes?

You might want to think twice about putting them in the oven.

A few hours ago, dinner was cooking away when I heard an odd popping noise from the direction of the stove. And this is what I found –

I’ve used this same pie plate the same way any number of times. Obviously, I won’t use it again. And I’m wondering what to do with my other glass pie plates and baking pans – and what to replace them with.

PSA of the week – don’t forget Stamp Out Hunger on Saturday

Just a reminder for those of you here in the U.S. – on Saturday, May 12, day after tomorrow, please leave a bag of non-perishable food near your mailbox. (No glass containers! I assume that’s because they’re (a) heavy and (b) fragile.)

The Post Office is collecting these food donations and taking them to local food banks. Help your neighbors while saving gas and time 🙂

(From the Stamp Out Hunger web site –
“Donate items like canned meats, fish, soup, bottled juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal and rice that do not require refrigeration. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.”)

This is important.

Do you know what the graphic above means? I didn’t, until yesterday.

It indicates where you can find an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) – and, in some situations, knowing that could help to save someone’s life.

But I’m far from an expert on anything about this topic. Please go read Huffygirl’s post at http://huffygirl.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/save-a-life-learn-cpr/ to find out more about AEDs and CPR and why everyone should become familiar with them.

Meanwhile, I’m planning to take the next basic CPR course offered in my area. So now you know where I’ll be the first Tuesday evening in May.