Author: Connie Moser

We’ve lived in our home for 24 years. We redesigned it, rearranged it, and built an addition on it. We moved the kitchen from a tiny hot room upstairs to a large room downstairs that we created out of the two lower level bedrooms. We extended and widened the driveway, built a garage, replaced the roof, and installed new windows and siding over that span of time.

We re-built our home a little by little, remodeling by removing walls and ceilings, installing new wiring, plumbing and insulation as we went. Every piece of woodwork is hand stained, as is every door. We learned to garden. We learned as we went sometimes out of necessity like when water seeped into the family room and I (not we!) dug down to the footers. I learned to parge on that project, wedged in a narrow trench between the driveway and the house.

I’m going to ask you to work a little bit today. Normally, I blend links into my column so you can just click if you want more information, but the links are not obtrusive, Today, I’d like you to take a few minutes and click these links. Try to keep an open mind. Try not to let what you already think influence you.

These thoughts, ideas, stories and images are shaping my opinions:

My husband and I have just celebrated four decades of marriage.

We had a rough start as a couple. Both of us had been married previously, both those relationships were disastrous. I was only sixteen the first time and married a man seven years older than I.

Is respect for the American flag a vanishing concept? It is still a U.S. code, with many stipulations, yet everyplace I look I see the flag used as advertising to sell products. I am mindful that not everything dressed in red, white and blue represents the flag. Red white and blue are simply three colors, commonly used to represent patriotic themes.

I’m also aware of free speech and I understand the U.S. code is not a law, but rather, a guide, intended to be followed on a voluntary basis to insure proper respect is allocated to the flag.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors recently passed an amendment to the Prince William County Zoning Ordinance. This amendment, Motor Vehicle Repair ZTA #PLN2013-00326, addresses the size of the lot where a homeowner may work on vehicles of his own or for his friends and family.

I want to tell you, right off the bat, this is not a new ordinance. The only change I discerned was the adaptation that reduces the impact from lots smaller than 10 acres, to the newer “less than 3 acres.”

Did you see this video of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV or better known as drone) being knocked out of the sky by group of rowdy hockey fans who were celebrating the LA Kings taking home the Stanley Cup?

The video disturbed me on a number of levels. First, in the description, the words “rowdy” and “celebration” are used. I think that language diminished the impact of the crime. It sounds like a bunch of children were misbehaving instead of destroying an expensive piece of police equipment.

In case you were on space travel to Mars and missed it, Eric Cantor, the Republican House Majority Leader, lost the primary to his opponent, David Brat.

If you read my columns, you know I don’t frequently discuss politics. There are lots of great reporters and political analysts who can pick apart the nuances of political discourse. I try to stay in the practical venue of my community, where I can speak with authority and possibly convey some good information while getting you to think about topics you might not discuss without my nudge.

We are storing stuff in closets and basements, in attics and sheds and garages. We store stuff in the trunk of our car and we build shelves and buy containers to store more stuff. Our cabinets are full of stuff. There’s stuff under our beds- Hell, we buy storage beds!

This fact sheet from SSA, (Self-Storage Association) states America has 2.3 billion square feet (as of Q4-2013) or an area well more than 3 times the size of Manhattan for self-storage space.

How did climate change became such a divisive issue? How did the warming of the Earth evolve into a line in the sand for politicians? I don’t know those answers.  What I do know is that it is definitely hotter earlier in the season, year after year.

I don’t need scientific data, I can just look in my garden. All plants come up earlier. June bugs arrive in May. Lenten roses are blooming in February.