Opinion

I was weeding through my closet, as I need to do much more often than I do. I bring my used clothing to my parent’s house, up north, because they have a very nice thrift store that employs the developmentally disabled people. It appears my old clothes find new owners quickly, so I don’t feel as bad about dumping my ill-considered clothing choices.

More than four-fifths of Texas public schools received an “A” rating for their financial practices, according to the Texas Education Agency, which released the final financial accountability ratings for the latest school year last week.

As I lay there in my super-duper borrowed-from-the-Army mummy bag, I had time to think about things. Mostly, I pondered how stupid I’d been to take a dog team out across the North Slope of Alaska in November.

It’s November, and so I’m writing a book. You may have heard of National Novel Writing Month.

The Texas electorate approved all 17 constitutional amendments on the ballot last week, the Houston Chronicle reported. Those included measures to raise the homestead exemption and reduce property taxes for businesses, and to provide $1 billion annually for a statewide water fund.

The window for signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act is now open through Jan. 15, with most Texans expected to pay considerably higher premiums, The Texas Tribune reported. Federal subsidies that reduced premium rates will expire at year’s end if Congress takes no action.

Sometimes I think we should stay someplace fancier. All our friends do.

Many of our Native American tribes call this month the “hunger moon,” and for good reason. The early fall hunting is generally over, the late season hunts in the snow aren’t happening yet, and the fishing? Well … let’s just say the salmon are all spawned out and dead, the trout? (Well, who can really figure out a trout’s thought processes) and the burbot is delicious and isn’t too hard to catch, but they are one of Nature’s ugliest creatures, giving even the mole rat a run for his money.

My sister and I told my mother we were throwing her a party for her 90th birthday. “Not everyone knows I’m 90!” she said.