When the extraordinary becomes ordinary.

We've had a momentous couple of years, both in Bend and in the wider world. But once the shocks wore off, we were back to the drudgery of digging ourselves out of the hole we dug. No fun in that. So we're back to the gambling by Wall Street, and they have rewarded themselves for having survived.

One of the reasons I reinvested in the stock market last month is because I was certain that the stock market 'wanted' to go up.

I have a feeling the economy is like an old rickety building that some house flipper has bought and slapped on a new coat of paint, laid in a cheap new carpet and a couple of other eye-distracting flourishes and called it good.

Meanwhile, the dry rot is still eating away at the foundations.

Still, such a house may stand for a long time, still keeps out the rain (mostly) and maybe the cheap rent lets you save enough money to fix it up later. We can hope.

So we muddle through and hope that the easy quick fixes are enough.