Just Back from the Richmond Home Show…

We just got back from the Home Show and Maymont Flower and Garden Show. For the first time in several years we went without the now 12-year-old, so we didn’t have to drag him away from the gutter guard guys.

I’m not really sure if we were disappointed, or if after so many years there are just fewer vendors we want to see. Some of the things we’re planning for the house are still a few years off (we have a list). So talking to the window guys, and flooring salespeople just isn’t on our list. It’s not that we want to be rude. But there’s no use to give them our info only to have to tell them every month for the next year “not yet.”

We wish we’d also avoided the magnetic gemstone salesman, but unforunately someone, not me, said “Ooo, shiney” and before we knew it we were being shown necklaces, bracelets and anklets. Supposedly I should have felt better in 60 seconds. But when he said “here I need to spray this on you, lift up your shirt.” That’s when we left.

I’ve already talked about seeing myself in the mirror. There are very few places in life where I just take off my shirt. The Greater Richmond Convention Center is not one of those places.

So, we moved on.

We were still in a bit of a snarky mood when a woman selling shoe inserts yelled to my wife, “Ma’am, what size shoe do you wear?”

I began to wonder if we were at the wrong show.

Still, we did manage to be intrigued by options to redo our kitchen counters and refinish the upstairs bathtub. Those people we might actually call back.

And as usual, the arts, crafts and plant displays from the Maymont show are fun to look at. We came home with some willows to root and plant in the spring.

All in all, not a bad day. But the show seemed smaller to us. I’m not sure if that was because we’ve seen most of the vendors over the years, or if there were actually fewer participants.

The show goes through tomorrow at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

Don’t Think the HHS Mandate Controversy Is Over

The Obama Administration wants you to think that they’ve fixed the problem and that they’re no longer trampling all over religious freedom.

Hold onto your faith. But just don’t waste it on this Administration.

Here’s a roundup of some of the latest commentary.

I Am Altering the Contraception Deal
Post Libertarian
This is the kind of monarch-like behavior that our system of government is supposed to prevent. Everyone seems caught up in the issue of what kind of contraception mandate Obama should decide to give to employers and insurance providers. But the real issue is whether or not Obama should have the authority to decide it at all.

Religion burns Obama again
The Hill
The furor over contraception that consumed much of this week is just one more instance of the president having been put onto the back foot at the intersection of faith and politics.

The Contraceptive Mandate’s Shaky Justification
Right Side News
Are you buying the Obama party line that the administration is merely protecting people who work for religious organizations — such as Catholic schools, hospitals, and charitable organizations? Ensuring they are not denied these “reproductive services” that are covered under health-insurance plans ordinary businesses arrange for their employees? These claims do not pass the laugh test. Nobody in America is denied access to abortion, let alone birth-control pills.

Religion And Birth Control: Not Just A GOP Fight
NPR
All this week, Republicans on Capitol Hill bashed that policy as a violation of religious freedom, and some of the president’s fellow Democrats added to the heat.

GOP conservatives unite against birth control coverage
USAToday
President Obama’s political shifting over contraception coverage has united conservative Republicans in protest even as they split over which GOP presidential hopeful should face him in the general election.

Decision could raise premiums
The Hill
Under Obama’s new plan, health insurers are required to cover contraception for people who work at religious institutions such as Catholic hospitals and universities. Those employers don’t have to pay for the coverage, and neither do the employees.