Dutch Government Resigns

In a display of irony, probably lost on them, the Dutch government (which in the past has berated other nations for failing to implement austerity measures) has resigned this morning.

For why?

Talks about implementing austerity measures broke down.

Not so easy is it, when you have to implement cuts in your own country?

The Netherlands now faces a general election, which of course will further destabilise the EU's attempts to pull itself out of its self created financial crisis.

Unfortunately, for the citizens of the EU, the financial structure of the EU (ie the Eurozone) is not "democracy friendly". One or the other has to give way, either financial dictatorship is imposed in order to try to resolve the crisis or the current structure (ie the Eurozone) will fail as democracy once again reasserts itself.

The latter option is infinitely preferable, as the former will lead to civil and social chaos.

Greece Oil Shock

In January I warned that the EU embargo on Iranian oil would cause Greece problems:

"There has been much hype and sanctimonious puffing of chests from the EU about its agreement "in principle" to ban imports of oil from Iran.

However, as Paul Stevens economist and emeritus professor at Dundee University in Scotland notes, Greece currently imports 30% of its domestic oil from Iran on favourable terms.

Were Iranian oil imports to be banned, where would Greece get its oil from?

Saudi Arabia?

Maybe, but at an economy busting $150+ per barrel.

As with all EU "plans" this one has not been thought through."

In February I noted that:

"They are currently negotiating for supplies of oil from elsewhere, any admission that their supplies have been cut will negatively impact those negotiations and cause panic buying in Greece."

As predicted, things are not going well; as reported by News.AZ:

"The EU has postponed an April deadline to review the impacts of the bloc’s embargo on oil imports from Iran due to Greece's concerns on finding new oil suppliers."

As ever with all EU "plans", no one has bothered to think through the consequences of them.

Oh The Irony - Panic Buying Saved Britain

In a twist of irony, it seems that the panic buying of petrol caused by the government mishandling of the tanker drivers' dispute may have helped pull Britain out of recession.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a 1.8% month-on-month increase in retail sales volumes and a 3.3% year-on-year rise. The increase was above economist forecasts, and were partly helped by a 4.9% increase in petrol purchases.

Open Kitchen Shelving

Open shelving in the kitchen can be a little controversial.  People have a tendency to think, "I don't want everyone seeing all my mismatched dishes." or "I don't want the pressure of having to keep everything neat and organized all the time."  

But if you choose a few specific, key items to keep on "display" and have a certain spot for each of those things, open shelving can be really pretty and open up the room.  

In our kitchen, our glass cabinet shelving holds our everyday plates and bowls, as well as a few decorative wooden bowls and my favorite Mikasa chevron plates and cups. 

The light olive plates are from my single days and are made by Calvin Klein.  The off-white place setting is from our wedding registry at Crate & Barrel.  The wooden bowls are from Pottery Barn.  

Jimmy's bachelor white Ikea plates and bowls are still with us.  

It's easy to keep things organized when you don't have more things than you have room for.  Every dish has a specific place where it goes. Whoever puts the dishes away knows exactly where to put them.

Lately, I've been considering doing something with the back of the cabinets (paint, wallpaper, fabric??).  

I still love these Calvin Klein plates and bowls.  I remember they were my first "set" of dishes as an adult and I searched all over before finally deciding on them.  They have a great weight to them.  (p.s. I found them at Macy's).

The black plates with the gold rim are from Z Gallerie.  

Do you like open shelving in the kitchen or prefer to keep your things behind closed doors?  

French Downgrade Rumours

The Twittersphere is awash with rumours that France is to be downgraded.

Sacrebleu!

HomeServe Fined £750K For Cold Calling

HomeServe have been fined £750K by Ofcom for cold calling during the period 1 February 2011 and 21 March 2011:

"HomeServe confirms that it has been notified that Ofcom has imposed a fine of £750,000 pursuant to section 130 of the Communications Act 2003 in relation to Ofcom's finding, that between 1 February 2011 and 21 March 2011 ('the Relevant Period') a number of outbound marketing calls made on behalf of HomeServe by one outsourced supplier, did not meet Ofcom's rules regarding silent, abandoned or repeat calls. HomeServe is reviewing the detailed determination.

HomeServe identified the issue and promptly reported it to Ofcom, following an internal audit of all of HomeServe's telemarketing operations. The problem was identified as having resulted from the incorrect use of Answering Machine Detection (AMD) technology via an outsourcer. HomeServe can confirm that it no longer works with outsourcers on its outbound marketing and that AMD is no longer used in any calls made by the company.

HomeServe can also confirm that all of its dialler systems have been fully compliant with Ofcom regulations since 22 March 2011, following the rectification of the errors identified during HomeServe's audit.

HomeServe is providing goodwill gestures of £10 to customers who received a silent, abandoned or repeat call from the referenced outsourcer over the Relevant Period. Anyone who believes they were subject to these over the Relevant Period should contact the company before 31 May 2012 on 0800 389 5280 and the claim will be investigated.

The above details will not have a material impact on HomeServe's financial results and the Company’s financial guidance remains consistent with the pre-close trading update of 29 March."

That's all very well, maybe.

However, why did Ofcom only fine HomeServe for that period and what about the people (such as myself) who were bombarded with cold calls in 2010?

UPDATE

To HomeServe's credit I have just received a call from them, and have been promised £10 for my poor experience of their cold calls.

Guest Room- The Fabric Plan

The guest room is coming along, and as you saw yesterday, I even cleaned out the closet!  But the room needs drapes!  I originally bought plain, white cotton panels, but they looked too boring, especially against our very pale gray walls (and I'm not in the mood to paint right now).  I couldn't find ready-made drapes that I was in love with, so I figured I'd make my own- or have my seamstress sew them!  We'll see, I've done both before.  (I made the curtains in my office and it was such a chore working with all that fabric for a beginning sewer, but I had my seamstress sew our living room and dining room drapes).



I was browsing Spoonflower for fabric online and found several in the aqua color I was looking for.  It's hard when you're looking at fabric online because obviously, if you haven't seen it in person before, you don't know how true the color is, how the repeat will look etc.



My duvet cover is an orange and white geometric pattern from WalMart, but I also have an orange and white Greek Key duvet cover from Z Gallerie that would work in the room.

Originally, I planned to use the Z Gallerie duvet and make drapes from the WM duvet (the orange side), but changed my mind when I decided to add aqua to the room.  

I just placed my order for the fabrics below, so I hope they work out. 

The first one is what I'm thinking of for drapes.  I like that it's aqua with a bit of a pattern that looks like texture.  I won't really know until I see it in person if it looks like how I picture it.

Blue Grid

I'm thinking of using the fabrics below to make throw pillows.  I'm not very good at mixing fabrics and patterns, so I appreciate your feedback.  I'm hoping the coral in the fabrics goes with the orange in the room.  

Beyond the Sea Ikat

Garden Party Collection- Large White Pattern

Tuscan Floral in Coral- Railroaded

Thanks to The Handmade Home for posting about great fabric sources.