A hearty, “Damn it, Woman!”

Matt snuggled back into bed to say, “You won’t want to read your Wall Street Journal this morning; economies are crashing around the world.” Of course, I didn’t follow his media blackout advice, and the news was indeed grim.

From The Wall Street Journal Online:

• “The stock market’s prolonged tumble has wiped out about $2 trillion in Americans’ retirement savings in the past 15 months, a blow that could force workers to stay on the job longer than planned, rein in spending and possibly further stall an economy reliant on consumer dollars,” Congress’s top budget analyst said.
• “Overall, the combination of the incoming data and recent financial developments suggests that the outlook for economic growth has worsened and that the downside risks to growth have increased,” Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech addressing the financial crisis.
• The Fed said it will bypass ailing banks and lend directly to American corporations for the first time since the Great Depression, and it hinted strongly at further interest-rate cuts—a cocktail of unconventional and conventional remedies for an economy whose prognosis is deteriorating rapidly.

In today’s New York Times:

• U.S. Markets Plunge Despite Hint of Rate Cut
• Facing a Financial Crisis, European Nations Put Self-Interest First
• Tokyo Shares Lose 9.4 Percent, Other Asian Markets Slide
• With Bonds in Trouble, States Seek Federal Help

For me, the most apt statement was published in the Times on October 6:

This crisis doesn’t wear you down over time. It hits you over the head with a two-by-four. On a daily basis. –“Talking Business: A Day (Gasp) Like Any Other” by Joe Nocera

While our portfolio of love, passion, desire, friendship and fun is recession-proof, I felt a wave of nausea overtake me as I flashed on the numbers associated with the materials and labor going into this renovation. The dollar was worth less, so the project was costing us more. I shrugged, showered and watched the sun rise over the lake.

Just yesterday—and Saturday and Sunday—Matt and I were shopping for finishes and accessories we’d need in the near future. Every time, I’d gravitate to the most expensive item in the store. He’d respond in a variety of ways, the most effective being to utter a hearty, “Damn it, Woman!” He was right, of course; we don’t need the most over-priced item to make the house both cozy and cool.

Our Style Meister friend Barry has said the same thing to me many times. As in, “No, you cannot have the $900 Karbon faucet for the downstairs bathroom.” And Matt would say, “Listen to Barry.” And I’d hear them both, know they were right, and happily purchase a sleek-enough $98 chrome faucet at Lowe’s.

Perhaps the bank did us a favor by dramatically cutting our loan?

Nonetheless, progress on the project continues. For example, the barrier in the great room and our living quarters is currently down. We are already seeing a return on investment.