Nobel laureate economists, anxiety, diminishing dollars, building a house

February 14, 2025

Not the happiest of days, though I do still love my husband dearly.  It is Valentine’s Day.  Have I gone through the normal progression of a long-time married person or am I just lazy, not planning well, or taking too much for granted?  I went from making a romantic pencil-drawn Valentine years ago…a beautiful woman in a long dress, sitting on a tree branch dreamily thinking of her love, a drawing on white paper, surrounded by red construction paper cut to form a heart, with a border of white lace paper.  My future husband was very impressed.  I wonder if it is in the bottom of a box somewhere?  Would it be like I remember it, if I could dig it out?  Most likely some yellowing, a couple areas bent or folded, possibly soiled by mice, no longer pristine. 

I saw a great cartoon yesterday- a couple, each on their own couch- sprawled exhausted on their backs.  The caption says “The state of our busy lives these days” (or something like that).  The man, without looking up, says, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”  The woman, also not moving, responds “You too.”

I did get a bag of heart-shaped chocolates a couple days ago.  And the day is long…I could still rally.

Anxieties pervade my life right now instead of gentle musings on love.  I am now convinced that our American democracy is ending as we know it…those 1776 declarations and 100- and 200-year anniversaries proudly celebrated as though they were going to go on and on. We are AMERICA after all!   

But a Nobel Laureate economist, Paul Krugman said yesterday that his biggest fear is for our democracy.  He said he thinks the last legitimate election may have been November 2024.   

I will use a borrowed phrase- the beginnings of 2025 have provided ‘a perfect storm’ for the undoing our 1776 experiment.  An elected president who told us he would be a Dictator on Day 1, a Congress with Republican power that follows that Dictator completely (with fear or what must be blind faith), a favorable Supreme Court put in place by said Dictator, a South African white man who is a billionaire and knows how to change code on U.S. government systems to stop payments to promised people.  Like magic they have Made America Great Again.  Poof!  No checks and balances anymore. 

My only hope is the economy is as blind as half of the American people seem to be.  Or at least ‘slow’.  So, with that hope, I move forward with the Ridge Road house plans.  Real estate is always a good investment, right?  Over the long-term it tends to retain its value.  So, while we have money, I want to go full steam ahead with our building, rather than wait until 2027 as planned.  Our money might not buy us a house by then. 

Starting this year in April, our excavator/civil engineer will build our septic system!  How appropriate to start with that system at this time in our history.  I could come up with analogies and inappropriate words, but I won’t.  This is a family site. 

This young man who is a genius with an excavator has already been at the site and shot the topography for the septic and will draw it up in CAD.

We’ll move on to the well.  Same excavator. 

Then he will pull out the old stones from the foundation site and save them for us, to use as we see fit later.  He can prepare the new foundation hole.

The builder can then do the cement, full-basement foundation this year as well and cap it.  I want to research more about proper insulation and risks of cracking and heaving cement foundations in a Vermont winter. 

Then in 2026 the builder can go ahead with the house building!  This is a year earlier than planned or needed but it would put our money into the house rather than the stock market.  Time will tell how well we weather this current storm.