Well, the sun was shining (for part of yesterday, anyway) and it started to feel almost like spring!
As well, there was lots of good sunny energy at my office what with what the postman brought.
First, there was my parcel from Sivia Harding with all the goodies I had bought in her yarn auction:
crabapple red linen!
Blue Moon lace merino! And lots of Handmaiden (gasp!) mohair... now discontinued, by the way:
It's even all wound up! I was so chuffed.
And then, as a surprise, I got a package from a friend in Ottawa containing a pattern, the Estonian Garden shawl by Evelyn Clark:
AND... (drumroll please): not one, but two skeins of Malabrigo laceweight in the Jewel Blue colourway!!!
(Methinks the friend is hinting that I should make her a shawl. Sucker!)
So, that's my personal news... but what about the rest of the world?
Well, one of this week's hot news topics is the annual publishing of the list of people known as the Sunshine Club - public servants who get paid $100,000 or more per year in the province.
Last night on the news there was the usual back and forth and jumping up and down in Parliament over this issue. Defending the government: our esteemed Deputy Premier the Honourable George Smitherman. His most recent claim to fame was announcing a plan to wear a diaper in order to see how seniors in care homes live - and you can imagine how this went over.
No idea where the Right Honourable Dalton was for the Sunshine Club debate - maybe he was hanging George out to dry?!
(I know, I know... I couldn't resist).
Anyway, George of course defended the huge increase in salaries. He had a tough time of it from the Honourable Bob Runciman:
(doesn't he look happy here!!?! I wonder why...?)
... big-time small-town Tory, who kept shouting how ridiculous it was that the number of people on this list has increased by 110% since 2003 when the Liberals were first elected.
But Bob has a short memory. He certainly wasn't complaining last year around this time when all the MPPs got together and voted themselves a 28% pay increase.
Hmm... let's see where they're at on the Sunshine list:
RUNCIMAN ROBERT Leader, Official Opposition $143,303.03 plus taxable benefit of $260.00
SMITHERMAN GEORGE Minister, Health & Long Term Care $161,039.88 plus taxable benefit of $292.15
Oh - now I see why Bob's pissed off!
What continues to amaze me about this list (although I don't know why it should, really) is that well over 50 per cent of people employed with the power utilities are making more than $100,000. Obviously I'm in the wrong gig....
Oh - and by the way, the salaries shot up immediately the government (Mr. Runciman's party at that time, mind you) allowed power provision companies to privatise in the late 1990s.
Like I said, a short memory. Ah, politics.
|