We finally made the furniture switch in the living room. We took the loveseat and the big easy chair downstairs and brought up these two recliners in the place of the loveseat. These are very comfortable chairs and it’s quite easy to take an inadvertent nap. The change also seems to open up the room some more as well. Next we need to get a floor lamp so we don’t have to turn on the lights over the dining table in order to read. Nina is in the middle of what must be a very funny book — somehow featuring a dog. Every once in a while (actually, more often than that), she’ll burst out laughing and then reread a page or so. She’s pretty sure that I’ll want to read the book as well. But, I’ll let her talk about the book in her blog if she wants.

There seems to be some political change going on as well. I went to vote right about 5 p.m. and the polling place was pretty busy. There was no line and only a short wait before I could get into a booth and cast my ballot. The ballot was two pages on both sides with several important state issues up for a vote. By the time I left the polling place about twenty minutes later, the line to vote snaked down the hallway to the front door. There were probably more than thirty people standing in line to vote. I think, at least here in Bannock County, Idaho, the turnout has been pretty good. That kind of a turnout usually means some kind of a political change — many people only go out to vote when they are stirred up about something.

There were a couple of fairly controversial items on the ballot. One had to do with the definition of marriage. Even though same-gender marriage is already prohibited in Idaho law, the proponents want this to become a constitutional ammendment and less subject to the whims of the legislature. Another issue purports to be a property rights protection but has folks on both sides hotly debating the issue. Finally, an item on the ballot has to do with school funding. If passed, it would mandate a certain level of school funding and require the legislature to meet those levels regardless of any other spending. The controversy about this one is that the Acting Governor (our governor was appointed to a federal cabinet post earlier this year by President Bush) called the legislature into special session to pass a bill significantly reducing property taxes and upping the sales tax by a penny (actually, making a temporary one cent tax permanent). I suspect that the school funding bill will pass which will hand the new legislature a real conundrum.

My stand on these issues? I voted for the marriage ammendment, against the so-called property rights initiative, and in favor of the school funding proposition. My expectation is that all three of them will pass. I’ll try to remember to post my score on this prognostication. Change is inevitable!