DEAR ABBIE,
A few years ago my husband and I hired employees to help us run our business.  We listened to many promises of what they would to do for us and we thought we hired honest, dependable individuals. 

Now we are in a bind.  Our employees decided to give themselves raises with OUR money and without our permission. They also decided, without our input,  that their healthcare, vacations, retirement, and other benefits should be much better than ours although it is OUR money that pays for this.

They have purchased jets, limousines, vacations, vacation homes, and other luxuries at our expense because they decided by "vote" that OUR money should be used for these expenditures. OUR money is not only paying for their expenses but also their relatives and friends' expenses as well as companies and corporations that these employees may have some shady dealings with. One of our employees even had the gall to hire some other people with questionable backgrounds to help him.  These unsavory people answer only to this employee although we are forced to pay their salaries.

The employees also "voted" to give OUR money to a few of the neighbors who have never bothered to hold jobs and have never taken an interest in seeking employment.

Most recently our employees have invited a few families to move into our home to live with us because they have nowhere to go.  Unfortunately they speak no English, have no jobs, and it is questionable where they are from since they have no legal identification. We were told that it's not politically correct to ask any questions because this make us racists and bad people.

We were told to remove any religious items from OUR home because it might offend them and also so they could display theirs. We were told that we should no longer celebrate our customs in OUR home because it would be in bad taste since our beliefs may differ from theirs. Our employees strongly suggested that we allow "our guests" to celebrate all aspects of their culture while living in OUR  home and for us to embrace their rituals to prove that we are not "ugly, snobbish, selfish, racist, capitalistic Americans".

We feel sorry for these people's circumstances mainly because our employees keep telling us that we are selfish and unkind if we refuse to help.  However, we are now working ten times harder to keep up with our employees' demands, our lazy neighbors, and our now intrusive guests. Our expenses in feeding, housing, clothing, educating, providing transportation, legal help, childcare, medical expenses, and more are getting higher and harder for us to meet. However, these neighbors and "houseguests" keep demanding more and more without contributing a dime.  We are told not to ask them to help earn their keep.......such as helping with chores...because this may be treading on their human and/or civil rights.


Are we stupid? What should we do? 

Confused


Dear Stupid  Confused,

What's the problem?  Fire your employees' sorry butts and make sure everyone around you understands what's happening so these parasites won't find another job or another sucker. And from now on keep a close eye on who you hire....call them on EVERY INFRACTION and make them responsible for what they do! Just tell them NO....it's YOUR MONEY...and without YOUR MONEY these leeches have absolutely nothing!

____________________

Ribes sativum

RED CURRANTS

For the past few years I have mainly used my red currants to make a few batches of jelly but I found a great way to preserve them in the freezer. There are some great sounding recipes using currants.

Place currants on a damp towel and remove stems, leaves, and other debris. Do not submerge in water.

Kitchen Pig  oversees the work.

Slowly roll/shake currants over damp towel and into a container.

Place them on a dry towel and slowly move them around removing any left over debris.

Place on wax paper on cookie sheet and freeze in a single layer.

Freeze in Ziplock bags and use as needed. (There are many more currants on the bushes to keep me busy for a few days!  LOL)

HELP, I'M SEEING RED, LOL!

I love the tropical look of Crocosmia and have Crocosmia "Lucifer" scattered around my garden.

  

MORE RED

A red-orange colored carpet rose.

A true red colored carpet rose.