Conflicting signs of economic recovery in South Riding

A couple of things caught our eyes and ears this past week in South Riding, which seemingly contradicted each other regarding the true gravity of the current US economic condition, hard-hit by the housing downturn. On the other hand, these "news" clips may only be the result of real journalists on vacation.

In this week's Easterner, "South Riding Scoop", mention was made of the fact that the nail salon traffic was way down....and therefore the authors, trying to understand why, were offering free do-it-yourself nail kits to see if these were the source of the issue. Obviously, the first thing to go in a tough market are your nails. (Good work, Easterner, with this amazing scoop...!)

Separately, we overheard several mentions and referrals to (A) local Botox parties, and (B) the "new granite".

(A) the Botox parties could either indicate actual upturn in local wealth, or perhaps a knee-jerk reaction to the "worry-lines" caused by the bad economy.

(B) the "new granite" refers to the latest "must-have" accessory around the house, new Boobs. That's right, you heard us...where once all neighborhood conversations revolved around which kind of granite upgrades were being put in, now this. All over the place, evidently.

Heads are spinning, over here.