We've had a quiet, rainy day here. The rain has been steady until around 4 o'clock, and then things began to brighten up a bit. The temperature is beginning to drop and it looks as if things will freeze tonight. The pond had water on the ice, so when it freezes, there may be some skating, although there was quite a bit of snow on top of the ice, I think, and that doesn't make good ice for skating.

We had a brief e-mail message from Bill and family today. They are in Johannesburg, South Africa, hoping to get an appointment at the embassy so they can finish Jo-Ann's paperwork. This was the first time Jo-Ann had been in an airplane, and Bill said she loved it. He's thinking that's a plus since they have a long trip ahead of them to get home. We're planning to call them tomorrow to see if they have been able to get the embassy appointment. They have one for late in January, but don't want to stay in Africa that long, so will try tomorrow to get an earlier appointment and then they'll be able to leave.

I think I may have mentioned before that the Vermont State Treasurer's Office has a web site where people can search to see if they are on the list of people who have unclaimed financial property being held by the state. After losing contact with a customer for a certain period of time, financial institutions turn over property such as bank accounts, uncashed paychecks, money orders, or insurance policies, contents of safe deposit boxes, or stocks, bonds and dividends, to the State in order to protect the funds until the rightful owners are found. To be listed, the value must be at least $75. To see if your name is on the list, go to www.missingmoney.vermont.gov

There is no cost to file, and no time limit. Even if you no longer live in Vermont but you may have had a bank account or some other financial connection here in the past, it may be worth your time to check the site at least once a year. Who knows, you may be reunited with some "found money."

That's my tip for the day. Fred and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend, and I'm sure you're looking forward to 2010 with hope and trust that it will be a year that sees great progress towards peace and prosperity for our nation and for people everywhere.