I know I haven’t “blogged” in the last few weeks, but Moi developed a cold, and so did my dear Juanita, so here we were both of us coughing and sneezing, and just so sick.
Thank God Constance, Juanita’s daughter came to our rescue, with nourishing soups and teas, and getting us our medicines, she also wanted to clean the house, but I told her “no’, she had enough just making sure we were getting well. Well, both Juanita and I had to relent and allow her to change and wash the sheets.
Darlings’, getting sick is ‘no fun’, even though we did get our flu shots it does not prevent coming down with the common cold. Because of that I missed out on some of my usual Christmas events, but at a ‘certain age’ one’s health comes first.
***Sigh***
As my friend “Mean Kitty” would say “Its God’s and your body’s way of saying ‘time to slow down and rest’”, and she’s right. So I skipped going to the Art Deco Societies Deco the Halls event, the Ballet and seeing the Nutcracker, skipped seeing “A Christmas Carol”, seeing the decorations and Christmas Tea at Dunsmuir House and going to the Christmas Revels.
But the day after Thanksgiving, Lois, Tom, the family and I did go the Dickens Christmas Fair and we had a wonderful time, so much to see and do. I really can’t begin to start. But it did get us into the mood. And over the remaining weekend, I set up the Christmas tree and decorated it with Juanita’s help, and Manuel her son-in-law put up the Christmas lights, and then--- “Achoo!”
There was nothing either of us could do but stay in bed and get well. Fortunately Lois bought the Christmas gift certificates for me and I reimbursed her. She told me I had to get better for Christmas, especially for the after Christmas sales.
Ahhh the Christmas sales, I can’t miss that!
All day Friday Juanita and I have been wrapping the Christmas Presents to her Grandchildren that she had managed to buy before she came down ill. Her family has decided that although the adults can do without, the grandchildren can’t and so once again we were covered with tissue and wrapping paper, sticky tape, bows and curling ribbon and constantly looking for the scissors, with Princess attacking every stray piece of wrapping paper that floated down to her and growling at the unknown intruder.
So Darlings, even though I have been laid low by this “bug” I haven’t been lazy, resting yes, lazy no. And now that I have emerged from my “cave” I’ve been able to look over things and this is my recommendations to all you dear Diva’s.
Recommended Diva Reading for 2009~~~~~~~~
The January issue of Money Magazine and the December 22, 2008 issue of Fortune Magazines, their recommendations are well worth reading about and investing in.
The articles in Money Magazine especially on how the secrets of America’s top advisers and is well worth reading and implementing especially if you are young, get into the financial habits that they recommend starting On New Years Day 2009.
Surprisingly the articles in the January 2009 issue of Family Circle are also worth reading to organize your life and lower your carbon footprint, so I recommend that as well. But also read the AARP Bulletin, especially if seniors have been treated in a shabby manner by companies or find themselves in an upsetting financial situation, it can help you decide if the company is the one you want to invest in and secondly to be on the watch for any scams or underhanded dealings.
The January 2009 of Reader’s Digest is running a short article about 9 new scams to avoid and Oprah Winfry’s “O” magazine for January 2009 has an excellent article by Suze Orman on “10 ways to protect your money now”. Photocopy those articles from the magazines that your public library will have and put it on your work bulletin board in your home office.
On the entertainment front-----
With January just around the corner I always recommend that the time between Christmas and New Years, be a combination of taking in the sales and getting started on getting ones’ life in order, personally for me Christmas isn’t over until January 6, the traditional date for the Feast of the Epiphany.
What many people do not realize is that the real 12 days of Christmas is from Christmas to Epiphany when traditionally the 3 wise men presented their gifts to the baby in recognition of his special place in our lives.
And on “Little Christmas”, as some people call it, that is time to start taking down the Christmas decorations, you can even has a little after Christmas party, with everyone bringing something to eat, and have it as a joint effort.
As for me, well Darlings, I’m going to have a little party today, Sunday, with my “Business Ladies Who Lunch”, again Pot Luck. We will be discussing what has been working well for us in the “saving mode” and other plans to save even further.
I will be sending Juanita off to join her family for the Holidays and I told her to not come back until the evening of January 11. I had a Maid Cleaning service in to clean the house before this weekend’s party and I’ll have them in again after New Years that way Juanita won’t have to worry about having to face a major house cleaning or tiring herself out and getting ill again. When I had the Cleaning Service in earlier this week I chased Juanita off so she could find some more Christmas presents for the Grandchildren.
Any if any of you wonder why I’ve hired a maid service, please look at my Dec 2007 blogs and you’ll understand why.
As for Christmas, once again I’ll be going to Tom and Lois’s home for a delicious few days of family fun and wicked indulgences, (again back to the Gym for me later) Lois and I will be going back to that wonderful Spa that she discovered last year, and of course the Christmas sales!
It will be good to hear Tom’s plans for his country place that was destroyed by fire earlier this year and I’ll see how my Darling little Princess gets along with their dog Smokey. Roger and his wife will be up for a few days, they are thinking of getting a Pied a Terre here in San Francisco, I was wondering why but Roger told me in an earlier phone conversation, that some of his business investments have expanded to the East Bay and it gives his wife a chance to shop in the City.
And now with the terrible winter chill, I always look forward to a nice hot toddy and if the “Air Police” will permit it, burning a nice warm fire in the fireplace, I have found out that although there are a number of pre-packaged fireplace logs, Duraflame is the only one that is without any petroleum products in it so it can “burn green” and it’s much better than wood.
But it has been so cold even Princess is wearing a warm sweater tucking her tiny little paws to stay warm, poor Darling, I bought at Walgreen’s a couple of those inexpensive fleecy throw blankets, one for me, one for Juanita and one for little Princess to lie upon while she waits in her chair for me to finish writing.
Ahhhh Juanita is playing some Christmas CD’s big band music of the old favorites, she does know my moods. And Kevin is on the phone calling from Hawaii, so Darlings I must go, so much to do before my ladies get here.
I hope to “Blog” again soon before Christmas, but if not----Then Merry Christmas to all of you and Best Wishes for a Better, Richer Diva New Year.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Gold Standard, economic studies
Hello Darlings,
First I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Quantum of Solace, it’s different in its own way, and obviously they are re-inventing the Bond Universe, but for just plain fun, and lots of popcorn (back to the gym for me) I do recommend it.
Afterwards, Kenneth updated me on what is going on in his life, it seems that with working with a certain company he is being forced to have to travel more to make sure that all parts of it are running in the same direction and it does look like they may have to do cut backs, Kenneth is recommending to hold off on the cut backs until after the Holidays, and see what they can gain through attrition (retirement) which can mean less layoffs than expected and he’s looking at last hired first to let go, unless it’s a specialization. He has a lot of headaches on this, but his feeling is that we won’t see the beginning of a turn around until this time next year. He’s planning to ride this out, make sure that as much as possible is in place with his company and then look at retirement, his finances are in good shape, but he’s thinking of freelancing, there seems to be a demand for that and he says he doesn’t have to remain in one place for a long time.
I’m inclined to agree with him. The news in Barron’s is mixed, the stock market doesn’t know where to go, and I do hope that Mr. Obama will put serious regulations on profit taking.
I am so glad that my head has finally stopped whirling around and around from all the election “hype”, now a President elect is in place. I sincerely hope he does the right thing, especially with the economy.
There is an opinion article in the (Nov. 17, 2008) Christian Science Monitor; the author postulates that it would be good for our economy for the United States to go back to the Gold Standard.
Personally Dahlings I feel that in the long term it would be a very wise move, one needs to look at the various economies of different nations over the last 100 years and see that when they went off the Gold Standard, it was rampant recession and inflation, with goods not being priced at their true value, if we were on the gold standard we would have a true value of what our goods are worth.
But there are some caveats to all of this:
There are over 100 countries that mine gold and sell it on the market.
The five biggest producers are
China
South Africa
United States
Australia
Russia
As you can see only the United States and Australia are the least volatile in gold production or mining.
China out stripped South Africa because labor is cheap there, for they, like some other countries hold life as being cheap.
Here in the United States the primary gold producing countries are Nevada, Alaska, Colorado and California. And we are the second largest holder of gold in the world, yes Dahlings, there is gold in Fort Knox. Approximately about $134 Billion dollars worth as of the gold value in April 2008.
But here is the crux of the problem how does one mine the gold without it becoming an eco-environmental danger. Open pit mine is safest to the laborers but is an environmental disaster. Closed mining is far more dangerous. One can only find so much in placer mining.
And the cost of mining, so what is the best way to get that gold out of the ground? Considering all the up to date mining techniques I think I’d leave that to those qualified.
But I know some of you are asking is the Gold Standard really the way to go?
Lawrence White wrote a paper on that and even answered any objections in his paper that was published in the CATO newsletter of which I will print the summary here and if you go to the CATO website you will be able to read his paper in full.
His paper was presented on Feb. 8, 2008
SUMMARY~~~~~
Is the Gold Standard Still the Gold Standard among Monetary Systems? By Lawrence H. White
Lawrence H. White is the F. A. Hayek Professor of Economic History at the University of Missouri St. Louis and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute. He is the author of Competition and Currency, Free Banking in Britain, and The Theory of Monetary Institutions.
No. 100
Critics have raised a number of theoretical and historical objections to the gold standard. Some have called the gold standard a crazy idea.
The gold standard is not a flawless monetary system.
Neither is the fiat money alternative.
In light of historical evidence about the comparative magnitude of these flaws, however, the gold standard is a policy option that deserves serious consideration.
In a study covering many decades in a large sample of countries, Federal Reserve Bank economists found that money growth and inflation are higher under fiat standards than under gold and silver standards.
Nor is the gold standard a source of harmful deflation.
Alan Greenspan has testified before Congress that a central bank, properly functioning will endeavor to, in many cases, replicate what a gold standard would itself generate.
This study addresses the leading criticisms of the gold standard, relating to the costs of gold, the costs of transition, the dangers of speculation, and the need for a lender of last resort.
One criticism is found to have some merit. The United States would not enjoy the benefits of being on an international gold standard if it were the first and only country whose currency was linked to gold.
A gold standard does not guarantee perfect steadiness in the growth of the money supply, but historical comparison shows that it has provided more moderate and steadier money growth in practice than the present-day alternative, politically empowering a central banking committee to determine growth in the stock of fiat money. From the perspective of limiting money growth appropriately, the gold standard is far from a crazy idea.
So Dahlings, what does this all lead to? Simple, if the new president-elect is wise, he should push for the Gold Standard with all nations, and that they should switch to this standard on the same day so that no one country is left dangling as the first.
Of course those countries with a greater gold production will have a certain amount of financial power, and that should be regulated as well.
People are taught to save, if they are wise, and savings is important but the money that you are saving is fiat money, only alleging being back by the governments guarantee that it will buy you a certain amount, but if you look at the value of the dollar against the Euro it has devalued and buys less. Why is that?
Because people speculate; with the gold standard it will reduce that speculation and you will have a guarantee that your dollar is a dollar. Fiat money is only credit dollars and can be rendered worthless if safe guards are not in place.
But do save, to do those emergency repairs that come up, it’s not a bad thing, but remember prices, because of this inflation will go up, so be prepared for that.
And study economic principals to aid you in your Diva life style.
Now this Diva having gone to the gym yesterday and did her aerobic walking this morning, is going to freshen up and meet her friend Irma for a bit of lunch in the City and a bit of shopping, my brother Tom has said that it’s best if we exchange gift certificates for the Grandchildren (my great nieces and nephews) and they can select what they want, an excellent idea and fortunately their parents told me what is their children’s favorite stores.
Must go, my Diva Darlings.
Until Annon, Kisses Darlings.
First I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Quantum of Solace, it’s different in its own way, and obviously they are re-inventing the Bond Universe, but for just plain fun, and lots of popcorn (back to the gym for me) I do recommend it.
Afterwards, Kenneth updated me on what is going on in his life, it seems that with working with a certain company he is being forced to have to travel more to make sure that all parts of it are running in the same direction and it does look like they may have to do cut backs, Kenneth is recommending to hold off on the cut backs until after the Holidays, and see what they can gain through attrition (retirement) which can mean less layoffs than expected and he’s looking at last hired first to let go, unless it’s a specialization. He has a lot of headaches on this, but his feeling is that we won’t see the beginning of a turn around until this time next year. He’s planning to ride this out, make sure that as much as possible is in place with his company and then look at retirement, his finances are in good shape, but he’s thinking of freelancing, there seems to be a demand for that and he says he doesn’t have to remain in one place for a long time.
I’m inclined to agree with him. The news in Barron’s is mixed, the stock market doesn’t know where to go, and I do hope that Mr. Obama will put serious regulations on profit taking.
I am so glad that my head has finally stopped whirling around and around from all the election “hype”, now a President elect is in place. I sincerely hope he does the right thing, especially with the economy.
There is an opinion article in the (Nov. 17, 2008) Christian Science Monitor; the author postulates that it would be good for our economy for the United States to go back to the Gold Standard.
Personally Dahlings I feel that in the long term it would be a very wise move, one needs to look at the various economies of different nations over the last 100 years and see that when they went off the Gold Standard, it was rampant recession and inflation, with goods not being priced at their true value, if we were on the gold standard we would have a true value of what our goods are worth.
But there are some caveats to all of this:
There are over 100 countries that mine gold and sell it on the market.
The five biggest producers are
China
South Africa
United States
Australia
Russia
As you can see only the United States and Australia are the least volatile in gold production or mining.
China out stripped South Africa because labor is cheap there, for they, like some other countries hold life as being cheap.
Here in the United States the primary gold producing countries are Nevada, Alaska, Colorado and California. And we are the second largest holder of gold in the world, yes Dahlings, there is gold in Fort Knox. Approximately about $134 Billion dollars worth as of the gold value in April 2008.
But here is the crux of the problem how does one mine the gold without it becoming an eco-environmental danger. Open pit mine is safest to the laborers but is an environmental disaster. Closed mining is far more dangerous. One can only find so much in placer mining.
And the cost of mining, so what is the best way to get that gold out of the ground? Considering all the up to date mining techniques I think I’d leave that to those qualified.
But I know some of you are asking is the Gold Standard really the way to go?
Lawrence White wrote a paper on that and even answered any objections in his paper that was published in the CATO newsletter of which I will print the summary here and if you go to the CATO website you will be able to read his paper in full.
His paper was presented on Feb. 8, 2008
SUMMARY~~~~~
Is the Gold Standard Still the Gold Standard among Monetary Systems? By Lawrence H. White
Lawrence H. White is the F. A. Hayek Professor of Economic History at the University of Missouri St. Louis and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute. He is the author of Competition and Currency, Free Banking in Britain, and The Theory of Monetary Institutions.
No. 100
Critics have raised a number of theoretical and historical objections to the gold standard. Some have called the gold standard a crazy idea.
The gold standard is not a flawless monetary system.
Neither is the fiat money alternative.
In light of historical evidence about the comparative magnitude of these flaws, however, the gold standard is a policy option that deserves serious consideration.
In a study covering many decades in a large sample of countries, Federal Reserve Bank economists found that money growth and inflation are higher under fiat standards than under gold and silver standards.
Nor is the gold standard a source of harmful deflation.
Alan Greenspan has testified before Congress that a central bank, properly functioning will endeavor to, in many cases, replicate what a gold standard would itself generate.
This study addresses the leading criticisms of the gold standard, relating to the costs of gold, the costs of transition, the dangers of speculation, and the need for a lender of last resort.
One criticism is found to have some merit. The United States would not enjoy the benefits of being on an international gold standard if it were the first and only country whose currency was linked to gold.
A gold standard does not guarantee perfect steadiness in the growth of the money supply, but historical comparison shows that it has provided more moderate and steadier money growth in practice than the present-day alternative, politically empowering a central banking committee to determine growth in the stock of fiat money. From the perspective of limiting money growth appropriately, the gold standard is far from a crazy idea.
So Dahlings, what does this all lead to? Simple, if the new president-elect is wise, he should push for the Gold Standard with all nations, and that they should switch to this standard on the same day so that no one country is left dangling as the first.
Of course those countries with a greater gold production will have a certain amount of financial power, and that should be regulated as well.
People are taught to save, if they are wise, and savings is important but the money that you are saving is fiat money, only alleging being back by the governments guarantee that it will buy you a certain amount, but if you look at the value of the dollar against the Euro it has devalued and buys less. Why is that?
Because people speculate; with the gold standard it will reduce that speculation and you will have a guarantee that your dollar is a dollar. Fiat money is only credit dollars and can be rendered worthless if safe guards are not in place.
But do save, to do those emergency repairs that come up, it’s not a bad thing, but remember prices, because of this inflation will go up, so be prepared for that.
And study economic principals to aid you in your Diva life style.
Now this Diva having gone to the gym yesterday and did her aerobic walking this morning, is going to freshen up and meet her friend Irma for a bit of lunch in the City and a bit of shopping, my brother Tom has said that it’s best if we exchange gift certificates for the Grandchildren (my great nieces and nephews) and they can select what they want, an excellent idea and fortunately their parents told me what is their children’s favorite stores.
Must go, my Diva Darlings.
Until Annon, Kisses Darlings.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Changes and Holidays
Hello Darlings,
Well the weather has finally turned chilly, and now they have put on these “Spare the Air Days” for fireplaces. Frankly Darlings there are factories that put out more pollutants than fire places do, and I burn Duraflame logs, which are made from sawdust and tends to put out less pollutants than a standard fire wood burner.
But one Must follow the rules, frankly I think the use of Duraflame logs is far more greener than burning perfectly good wood that could be used to make furniture or for flooring or cabinets. But I do have a stand-by when it’s the Spare the air day, I purchased from Victoria Trading company these resin fire proof logs that have inserts for tea lights, and it’s very cheerful as well.
Now my Diva darlings, if you would like to have a fireplace you can purchase those false front ones and burn candles in it, being careful of course, and it’s so romantic.
My dear friend, Mean Kitty, has a fireplace at her home but she said that the previous occupants painted the inside of it so she cannot use it as a fireplace. Eventually when she has the funds she can have it redone, but for now she too uses the tea lights and she says that even they make things feel warm.
So candles darlings (burning safely) when you want cheering up and it seems to take the gloom off of things.
And I can’t believe it! Koit radio is already playing Christmas music, as my friend Mean Kitty says “Now wait a minute, Santa hasn’t even shown up at the Macy’s parade!”
Well I have been a bit busy, I’ve put my spring and summer wardrobe into storage and have finally brought out the winter clothes and today was just the day for it. Picked up at the Dry Cleaners my wool coats, and picked up from the furrier my mink for those really chilly days. I know Darlings they say it’s not right to wear fur, but frankly that faux fur is very tacky looking, and I never get fur from endangered animals plus my mink is 8 years old. I do have some vintage fox furs but I only wear those to one of those art deco bashes during the winter, it is one way of reusing things.
And I’ve been making holiday plans again, Tom and Lois have invited me to their house for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Lois and I will do our spa treat again. Roger and his wife and his oldest son Richard and his wife and their dog, will be coming up for Thanksgiving as well, they’ll be staying at a bed and breakfast that is near Tom’s home.
Richard talked to me over the phone “Everything is gone Auntie, just everything but it’s only objects, we have the photos that’s irreplaceable, but I’m not sure we’ll rebuild there”
He told me that he got an offer with a company in Colorado, so he’s going to have his lawyer handle a lot of the legal work and Melanie his wife will see to things here and then join him. I asked him when does his job start “Dec 8, so I’ll have a chance to take my time getting there and avoid the holiday rush but we’ll miss having Christmas with the folks. It’s going to be hard, but Melanie has some aunts and uncles and cousins that live near by out there so we’ll see how things turn out”
Change, so much change is happening. I’m beginning to feel a little down, but change has to happen. And that is another thing that Diva’s must be aware of Change is constant and flowing and a Diva must flow with it, but always never let your high standards down.
Someone is at the door~~~~
Well Darlings, this Diva must tootle, my dear Friend Kenneth has just shown up to surprise me, and he’s been out of town for months! And we are going to see “Quantum of Solace” catch the 7:40 showing, and afterwards an aperitif at someplace lovely, it will be so much fun catching up on things.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings
Well the weather has finally turned chilly, and now they have put on these “Spare the Air Days” for fireplaces. Frankly Darlings there are factories that put out more pollutants than fire places do, and I burn Duraflame logs, which are made from sawdust and tends to put out less pollutants than a standard fire wood burner.
But one Must follow the rules, frankly I think the use of Duraflame logs is far more greener than burning perfectly good wood that could be used to make furniture or for flooring or cabinets. But I do have a stand-by when it’s the Spare the air day, I purchased from Victoria Trading company these resin fire proof logs that have inserts for tea lights, and it’s very cheerful as well.
Now my Diva darlings, if you would like to have a fireplace you can purchase those false front ones and burn candles in it, being careful of course, and it’s so romantic.
My dear friend, Mean Kitty, has a fireplace at her home but she said that the previous occupants painted the inside of it so she cannot use it as a fireplace. Eventually when she has the funds she can have it redone, but for now she too uses the tea lights and she says that even they make things feel warm.
So candles darlings (burning safely) when you want cheering up and it seems to take the gloom off of things.
And I can’t believe it! Koit radio is already playing Christmas music, as my friend Mean Kitty says “Now wait a minute, Santa hasn’t even shown up at the Macy’s parade!”
Well I have been a bit busy, I’ve put my spring and summer wardrobe into storage and have finally brought out the winter clothes and today was just the day for it. Picked up at the Dry Cleaners my wool coats, and picked up from the furrier my mink for those really chilly days. I know Darlings they say it’s not right to wear fur, but frankly that faux fur is very tacky looking, and I never get fur from endangered animals plus my mink is 8 years old. I do have some vintage fox furs but I only wear those to one of those art deco bashes during the winter, it is one way of reusing things.
And I’ve been making holiday plans again, Tom and Lois have invited me to their house for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Lois and I will do our spa treat again. Roger and his wife and his oldest son Richard and his wife and their dog, will be coming up for Thanksgiving as well, they’ll be staying at a bed and breakfast that is near Tom’s home.
Richard talked to me over the phone “Everything is gone Auntie, just everything but it’s only objects, we have the photos that’s irreplaceable, but I’m not sure we’ll rebuild there”
He told me that he got an offer with a company in Colorado, so he’s going to have his lawyer handle a lot of the legal work and Melanie his wife will see to things here and then join him. I asked him when does his job start “Dec 8, so I’ll have a chance to take my time getting there and avoid the holiday rush but we’ll miss having Christmas with the folks. It’s going to be hard, but Melanie has some aunts and uncles and cousins that live near by out there so we’ll see how things turn out”
Change, so much change is happening. I’m beginning to feel a little down, but change has to happen. And that is another thing that Diva’s must be aware of Change is constant and flowing and a Diva must flow with it, but always never let your high standards down.
Someone is at the door~~~~
Well Darlings, this Diva must tootle, my dear Friend Kenneth has just shown up to surprise me, and he’s been out of town for months! And we are going to see “Quantum of Solace” catch the 7:40 showing, and afterwards an aperitif at someplace lovely, it will be so much fun catching up on things.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Gaming Parties, and family events
Hello Darlings,
I know it’s been a while since my last post but so much has been happening in my life and in other people’s lives as well.
As you know the economy has gone into the “tank” as some people would call it, but I’ve been able to survive well enough that with only a little cutting things will not be so bad.
I was worried because I had promised Juanita a raise and we were looking into a better health plan for her. Fortunately that turned out well and I was able to give her the raise, and we got her on a much better health plan and includes dental as well.
My lawyer was able to help out on that.
Then my oldest nephew Hank, was in the hospital, it seems he got a nasty bit from a spider or something, and his thumb turned almost black, his wife was not able to get in touch with Tom, his father so she called me and I said “take him into emergency Now!!” and I joined her at the hospital, Juanita offered to watch the children to take the worry off of Janet.
It was a horrible infection, they had to cut part of the tissue out, he was in the hospital for a week on antibiotics and watching for any necropsy, if it had gotten worse they would have had to amputate his left hand.
Tom and his wife were up in Canada visiting friends and I managed to get in touch and let him know that things were going fine for Hank and he was on the mend.
Then this last weekend the fire in Santa Barbara, that was so frightening, I managed to get a hold of Roger and his wife, they said they were out of the fire zone and the fire was moving away from them, but his youngest son and his wife lost their house, they grabbed the dog, the photo albums, the laptop, and the important papers and got out ahead of the flames, so now they are staying with Roger in the guest house until they can decide what to do next. Roger said that his wife took their daughter in law shopping for some clothes and also purchased some clothes for his son as well, so they’ll have something to wear when they finally go back to work.
Roger said that he loves Santa Barbara but he’s going to reconsider where to move to make sure he’s out of any future fire path. I think he’s going to move more into town or closer to the beach. And to think Fire has struck my family twice this year, sometimes I wonder if God is trying to tell us something, perhaps to not be so prideful.
A very big sigh----My friends and I are thinking of more inexpensive ways to entertain ourselves, oh there are fun things, but now a days with prices going up, we were not sure what to do, the theatre, the movies, gas, food, just dining out there is much less disposable income.
Many of my friends are thinking of going to more community theatre events, and only going to very special big ticket items like “the Phantom of the Opera”. But I simply refuse to give up seeing the San Francisco Ballet’s “Nutcracker” it’s tradition for me.
But less opera, less symphony, less ballet, less dinning out, more museums and little theatre, movie rentals and at home gatherings, lately my friends and I have started having “game parties” that is where you have several tables with different board games of no less than 4 players, and it can be 3 or 4 different board games. Monopoly is one, Scrabble is another, Yatzee, and there are even different types of Monopoly games, like San Francisopoly. Everyone brings a different hoer’s deuve and makes sure that nothing is repeated food wise as well as a beverage; the Host provides tea and coffee and desert, and those that have them bring a folding table and chairs, with the food on the dinning room table.
There are different card games as well, so it pays to have a number of decks, I’ve found some beautiful ones at the White Elephant sale and a current book of Hoyle’s rules.
I’ve even indulged in children’s card games, and a puzzle table, you never can tell what is in the offering.
And it seems that these “Gaming Parties” are going very well. My brother’s are doing it and so are their friends, it’s relatively cheap, and not a burden on any one person, sometimes for small gatherings like 4 to 6 people a puzzle table is the best because it can promote conversation and people can dress casually.
So what is the lesson for all you young Diva’s out there? You can plan a party where loud music is not essential nor getting “bombed” on drink or drugs should be considered the norm, this is a good way for people to get to know each other, really get to know each other. It will help you also to weed out those that do not have class nor do not have any self control, it will help you choose those friends that are really friends in every sense of the word.
Well Darlings, I’m going to relax with a cup of tea and a movie, I’m not sure what I will watch, Hmmm I think a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes film would be good, it’s that kind of evening. Juanita will be back from her family by 11 p.m. she’s been telling them about the idea of “Gaming Parties” as well, she told me on the phone that they’ve done several and the family really likes the idea.
To Inari, Thank you, I appreciate the feedback.
So now to relax, and forget worries.
Until Anon Darlings, Kisses.
I know it’s been a while since my last post but so much has been happening in my life and in other people’s lives as well.
As you know the economy has gone into the “tank” as some people would call it, but I’ve been able to survive well enough that with only a little cutting things will not be so bad.
I was worried because I had promised Juanita a raise and we were looking into a better health plan for her. Fortunately that turned out well and I was able to give her the raise, and we got her on a much better health plan and includes dental as well.
My lawyer was able to help out on that.
Then my oldest nephew Hank, was in the hospital, it seems he got a nasty bit from a spider or something, and his thumb turned almost black, his wife was not able to get in touch with Tom, his father so she called me and I said “take him into emergency Now!!” and I joined her at the hospital, Juanita offered to watch the children to take the worry off of Janet.
It was a horrible infection, they had to cut part of the tissue out, he was in the hospital for a week on antibiotics and watching for any necropsy, if it had gotten worse they would have had to amputate his left hand.
Tom and his wife were up in Canada visiting friends and I managed to get in touch and let him know that things were going fine for Hank and he was on the mend.
Then this last weekend the fire in Santa Barbara, that was so frightening, I managed to get a hold of Roger and his wife, they said they were out of the fire zone and the fire was moving away from them, but his youngest son and his wife lost their house, they grabbed the dog, the photo albums, the laptop, and the important papers and got out ahead of the flames, so now they are staying with Roger in the guest house until they can decide what to do next. Roger said that his wife took their daughter in law shopping for some clothes and also purchased some clothes for his son as well, so they’ll have something to wear when they finally go back to work.
Roger said that he loves Santa Barbara but he’s going to reconsider where to move to make sure he’s out of any future fire path. I think he’s going to move more into town or closer to the beach. And to think Fire has struck my family twice this year, sometimes I wonder if God is trying to tell us something, perhaps to not be so prideful.
A very big sigh----My friends and I are thinking of more inexpensive ways to entertain ourselves, oh there are fun things, but now a days with prices going up, we were not sure what to do, the theatre, the movies, gas, food, just dining out there is much less disposable income.
Many of my friends are thinking of going to more community theatre events, and only going to very special big ticket items like “the Phantom of the Opera”. But I simply refuse to give up seeing the San Francisco Ballet’s “Nutcracker” it’s tradition for me.
But less opera, less symphony, less ballet, less dinning out, more museums and little theatre, movie rentals and at home gatherings, lately my friends and I have started having “game parties” that is where you have several tables with different board games of no less than 4 players, and it can be 3 or 4 different board games. Monopoly is one, Scrabble is another, Yatzee, and there are even different types of Monopoly games, like San Francisopoly. Everyone brings a different hoer’s deuve and makes sure that nothing is repeated food wise as well as a beverage; the Host provides tea and coffee and desert, and those that have them bring a folding table and chairs, with the food on the dinning room table.
There are different card games as well, so it pays to have a number of decks, I’ve found some beautiful ones at the White Elephant sale and a current book of Hoyle’s rules.
I’ve even indulged in children’s card games, and a puzzle table, you never can tell what is in the offering.
And it seems that these “Gaming Parties” are going very well. My brother’s are doing it and so are their friends, it’s relatively cheap, and not a burden on any one person, sometimes for small gatherings like 4 to 6 people a puzzle table is the best because it can promote conversation and people can dress casually.
So what is the lesson for all you young Diva’s out there? You can plan a party where loud music is not essential nor getting “bombed” on drink or drugs should be considered the norm, this is a good way for people to get to know each other, really get to know each other. It will help you also to weed out those that do not have class nor do not have any self control, it will help you choose those friends that are really friends in every sense of the word.
Well Darlings, I’m going to relax with a cup of tea and a movie, I’m not sure what I will watch, Hmmm I think a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes film would be good, it’s that kind of evening. Juanita will be back from her family by 11 p.m. she’s been telling them about the idea of “Gaming Parties” as well, she told me on the phone that they’ve done several and the family really likes the idea.
To Inari, Thank you, I appreciate the feedback.
So now to relax, and forget worries.
Until Anon Darlings, Kisses.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Budgeting--don't do what the state of California did
Well Darlings,
It’s been a while, but I was having such a lovely time at my Brother Richard’s home in Santa Barbara.
But return home to the Bay Area I had to, my house sitter, a lovely person said that she could only commit herself until the 21st of this month and then had to go to her parents to watch their home while they went to visit other relatives.
So now I’m back in my own home, watching the ducks and other water fowl in the lagoon out my window. Princess, my little Diva darling goes out to the deck to warn them away but they don’t seem to mind a bit.
Juanita will be here later this evening, I told her to take her time as there was no urgency, my house sitter has done a wonderful job watching things, and my lawyer has been taking care of the bills, so no problems at all. Not that I want any.
And I have not been ignorant of the news either. This ridiculous hold out on the state budget by our own legislators is criminal and negligent of their commitment to the people of California and now after almost 3 months they finally come to an agreement. It is criminal.
The Governor’s attitude thinking that reducing the wages of state employees would bring the legislators to heel is foolish and harmful. If he wants to punish people and bring the legislators to finalizing the budget he should put the pinch on their wages not on the state employees.
My dear Friend “Mean Kitty” reminded me of an action that was taken by the people in the 1500’s when the college of Cardinals were taking their sweet time, over a year, choosing a Pope, what they did was lock them into the main meeting hall, without food or water, or heat (since it was winter) and told the Cardinals they could not come out until a Pope was chosen, they did it within 24 hours.
Perhaps that is what the people of California should do to the legislators, there is no possible way that the budget can be perfectly balanced or reconciled, if they over budget but use less money, that is excellent, but if they under budget and use more money, then they will know where to do Healthy cut backs, perhaps starting with the legislators own wages.
You do not put staff wage earners, seniors, people on disability, schools, educational support systems like Libraries, safety systems, and such at jeopardy that is irresponsible on the part of the State Legislators and the Governor. The only one who had any sense was the State Comptroller; you do not put hundreds and hundreds of staff people into bankruptcy and have them lose their homes and their lives.
All Diva’s should take a lesson from this fiasco and learn that budgeting is the most important thing a Diva can do. I believe it was Ben Franklin who once said, spend 19.90 from a working wage of $20 is happiness, spend $20.10 from a working wage of $20 is misery. That is how you budget.
There are many articles appearing in women’s home and money magazines that talk about budgeting and organizing. It appears to be the primary subject in people’s lives, the overspending 80’s and 90’s are gone now, the ‘chickens have come home to roost and peck you to death with debt’.
Now dear Diva’s if you are in financial debt, now is the time to get help from a financial planner, based according to your indebtedness, your income, and your needs, a good financial planner can tell you what is necessary and what isn’t. You may even have to get a second job to pay your bills.
If you own a home, one of the best things you can do is get an equity line of credit and use that to pay off all credit card bills, the equity line of credit is used against your home and is tax deductible, and if the interest rates are good will be lower than the credit cards, then cut up and cancel the credit cards that have the highest interests. It is important to have a credit card for emergencies, but shop around for one that has the lowest possible interest and if you have to use it, pay off as much as possible on it and pay it ON TIME.
Save up at least $3,000 for an emergency rainy day fund and if you use it replenish it immediately.
Do not be taken in by those offers that have 0 or very low Arps that are only temporary that can harm your credit. Work towards improving your credit rating, the higher your rating the better chance of obtaining that equity line.
It is a wise Diva who budgets and saves and can get the best for bargain rates. Do not be over spending and be wiser than our state legislators.
And now my Dear Diva’s, Moi is going out to have nice little dinner at a charming and inexpensive place, and I can sneak my little Diva darling in her little carry all. Later we will take a nice walk along the beach, Fall is here, I can feel it, that little tip towards winter, I think I'm going to have to stock up on firewood and candels to ward off the coming winter gloom.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
It’s been a while, but I was having such a lovely time at my Brother Richard’s home in Santa Barbara.
But return home to the Bay Area I had to, my house sitter, a lovely person said that she could only commit herself until the 21st of this month and then had to go to her parents to watch their home while they went to visit other relatives.
So now I’m back in my own home, watching the ducks and other water fowl in the lagoon out my window. Princess, my little Diva darling goes out to the deck to warn them away but they don’t seem to mind a bit.
Juanita will be here later this evening, I told her to take her time as there was no urgency, my house sitter has done a wonderful job watching things, and my lawyer has been taking care of the bills, so no problems at all. Not that I want any.
And I have not been ignorant of the news either. This ridiculous hold out on the state budget by our own legislators is criminal and negligent of their commitment to the people of California and now after almost 3 months they finally come to an agreement. It is criminal.
The Governor’s attitude thinking that reducing the wages of state employees would bring the legislators to heel is foolish and harmful. If he wants to punish people and bring the legislators to finalizing the budget he should put the pinch on their wages not on the state employees.
My dear Friend “Mean Kitty” reminded me of an action that was taken by the people in the 1500’s when the college of Cardinals were taking their sweet time, over a year, choosing a Pope, what they did was lock them into the main meeting hall, without food or water, or heat (since it was winter) and told the Cardinals they could not come out until a Pope was chosen, they did it within 24 hours.
Perhaps that is what the people of California should do to the legislators, there is no possible way that the budget can be perfectly balanced or reconciled, if they over budget but use less money, that is excellent, but if they under budget and use more money, then they will know where to do Healthy cut backs, perhaps starting with the legislators own wages.
You do not put staff wage earners, seniors, people on disability, schools, educational support systems like Libraries, safety systems, and such at jeopardy that is irresponsible on the part of the State Legislators and the Governor. The only one who had any sense was the State Comptroller; you do not put hundreds and hundreds of staff people into bankruptcy and have them lose their homes and their lives.
All Diva’s should take a lesson from this fiasco and learn that budgeting is the most important thing a Diva can do. I believe it was Ben Franklin who once said, spend 19.90 from a working wage of $20 is happiness, spend $20.10 from a working wage of $20 is misery. That is how you budget.
There are many articles appearing in women’s home and money magazines that talk about budgeting and organizing. It appears to be the primary subject in people’s lives, the overspending 80’s and 90’s are gone now, the ‘chickens have come home to roost and peck you to death with debt’.
Now dear Diva’s if you are in financial debt, now is the time to get help from a financial planner, based according to your indebtedness, your income, and your needs, a good financial planner can tell you what is necessary and what isn’t. You may even have to get a second job to pay your bills.
If you own a home, one of the best things you can do is get an equity line of credit and use that to pay off all credit card bills, the equity line of credit is used against your home and is tax deductible, and if the interest rates are good will be lower than the credit cards, then cut up and cancel the credit cards that have the highest interests. It is important to have a credit card for emergencies, but shop around for one that has the lowest possible interest and if you have to use it, pay off as much as possible on it and pay it ON TIME.
Save up at least $3,000 for an emergency rainy day fund and if you use it replenish it immediately.
Do not be taken in by those offers that have 0 or very low Arps that are only temporary that can harm your credit. Work towards improving your credit rating, the higher your rating the better chance of obtaining that equity line.
It is a wise Diva who budgets and saves and can get the best for bargain rates. Do not be over spending and be wiser than our state legislators.
And now my Dear Diva’s, Moi is going out to have nice little dinner at a charming and inexpensive place, and I can sneak my little Diva darling in her little carry all. Later we will take a nice walk along the beach, Fall is here, I can feel it, that little tip towards winter, I think I'm going to have to stock up on firewood and candels to ward off the coming winter gloom.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Blogging From Santa Barbara
Hello Darlings,
I’m blogging from Santa Barbara, it took me a bit longer to get here than expected, just so much to do. I’ve been busy taking care of business at home, such a bore but it needs to be done.
Juanita returned for a few days, but I sent her back to her family so she has more family visiting time and a wedding to go to, so she is going to be busy for the next few weeks as well. My house sitter is back on duty, so I tied up a few things and then I was off with my darling Princess in my car, Ms. Wicked.
Some people have asked me if I am afraid to travel by myself, taking into account the dangers of a woman traveling alone. Well they are right about that, but there are some things one can do.
I’m going to post here some suggestions for you, there is much, much more that you can research but this should give you a good idea.
1. Never travel in clothes that scream “tourist” that is only for when you are at your resort. Travel in clothing that matches in colors, and choose neutral colors like black, grey and khaki, it’s easy to mix and match things that way and you carry less shoes to match you can always accesorise with a colorful scarf.
2. Remain low-key a much as possible do not wear expensive jewelry while traveling and that includes watches, purses etc. I have a watch and a purse that I bought at what my dear friend Mean Kitty calls “Wally World” (Wal-mart), I chose them to not be flashy and that is important. Some pieces of costume jewelry are fine as long as it’s not flashy.
3. Pack as much of your luggage into the trunk of your car as possible, anything that you put into the back seat, cover with a dark blanket so it will blend in. Get good but non-descript luggage if at all possible. (I’m afraid I sort of over indulged when I purchased my new, well now nearly new, Samsonite Retro collection---just love it) Just make sure that your luggage will hold up to heavy use. When you are traveling on a Airplane, train or Greyhound bus you can use something to make your luggage stand out, like a colorful ribbon or identification tag.
4. Pay attention to your surroundings and the people in it. Try to spot possible trouble makers. When walking to your car or to your room, always turn around to see who is behind you, have your cell phone ready to take a picture just in case.
5. Have 911 on your speed dial on your cell phone. Carry Pepper spray and don’t be afraid to use it. (Not good to take on an air plane because of cabin pressure)
6. Park your car as close as possible to the restaurant doors or Hotel that you are staying at and in a lighted area.
7. Never get a room that is too close to the emergency stairs or elevator, it’s too easy for a trouble maker to invade and escape. But make a note of where the emergency stairs are.
8 Never carry your purse just over your shoulder; always carry it so it is mounted across your body, that way the thief would have to pull it over your head, instead of snatching it off of your shoulder.
9. Never carry identifiable things or credit cards in your purse, there are little travel pouches that you can pin to the underside of your clothing or the inside of the pockets of your jacket.
Only have a little cash, some aspirin, and a lipstick, a cheap purse can always be replaced.
One time I was stopped for going over the speed limit (Yes, bad Moi) and the officer needed to see my driver’s license and I told him I had to un-pin it, He was surprised that I had it pinned to my bra strap, but he understood.
10. Never flash a large amount of money or large bills, if need be use your debt or credit card, never carry a check book while traveling, but get American express travelers checks they can always be replaced.
11. Always carry in your car a first aid kit as well as a disposable camera and car insurance information in case you are in an accident. Call the police and get an incident report if need be and contact your insurance agent right away.
12. Designate one credit card and one debt card for traveling only (you can have a separate checking account for that purpose). Put your travel money that you have saved onto the debt card, and never use that credit card for anything else except hotels, food, and gas. On the credit card make sure you have a high credit line, incase there is an accident and you have to pay for repairs while traveling. But when you get home pay that credit card off.
The extra debt card is only to hold your traveling expenses money. I know some people who sell things on line like e-bay and they have a pay-pal card, the money they make on-line is used for their travel expenses and they use the pay-pal card for traveling.
Keep the phone number of the debt and credit card company in your hidden travel pouch in case the cards are stolen or to find out what your balance is. Report stolen cards immediately.
13. If you are traveling for business, whether your company or your own, always keep an expense list and mileage list for tax purposes.
14. If you are a woman alone and a charming young man tries to make your acquaintance to the point of romancing you, be very aware that he maybe charging all those meals, drinks, and services to your room. Check with the front desk and insist that all charges must be approved by you in writing or else in person; no one else is to sign for it. Also beware of handsome young charming men who try to romance you, they are not in love with your but only after your money, your body or a way of becoming an American citizen---there are too many scam and con artists. Remember all those news stories of young girls disappearing, never to be found.
15. When staying at a Hotel always make a note of where the fire escapes are so in case of an emergency you can find it quickly even in poor visibility. Always have your most important things on your night stand when you go to bed, in case of an emergency you can sweep it into your tote bag that should be next to your bed, and always have good solid flats next to your bed in an emergency. Slippers do not hold up well.
16. If the Hotel has a safe and you want to make sure you don’t have important things stolen make use of it.
17. Always use the hotel locks, if they don’t have those special locks, you can buy them at a travel store, or put a chair angled in front of the door and under the door knob.
18. Always find out about the roming limitations on your cell phones, there are parts of the United States that may not have your cell phone service, select a cell phone service that is nation wide and have full roming service. Be aware that there maybe dead zones.
19. Have a good reliable Road Side Service that is nation wide, AAA is almost everywhere, keep the 1-800 number for Road Side service in your purse or glove compartment along with your insurance. Also have the phone numbers for Car Rental agencies such as Hertz, Avis and Enterprise.
Remember a person may come along and offer help if you break down, but always be careful, use your cell phone to let a relative know if you've had a break down tell them when and where and what your situation is, update them frequently. So even if a good Samaritin comes along do call Road side service, never leave your car unless you are with the Highway patrol.
Now these suggestions are fine if you are traveling within the United States. There is more if you are traveling overseas, but unless you are doing it for business then always travel with a tour group, in that situation Never, Ever travel alone.
There are many more suggestions on how to travel safely, like always carry a bottle of water in your car; you can become dehydrated easily, especially in hot weather.
There are new laws now when driving your vechile such as you must use a hands free device if you are going to use your cell phone, I have blue tooth myself. Do not wear an IPOD to listen to music you cut yourself off from hearing the outside sounds and that could put you at risk. NEVER, EVER Text Message anyone while driving, just one second your eyes are off the road and you could be killed.
Do not drive when tired, if you fall asleep at the wheel, it will be permanet.
Stay at Reputable hotels or motels that have AAA approval, of course some of them may not be the Hyatt or Regency and the pillows maybe flat, but they have been inspected.
I have stayed in some of the "funkiest" motels while traveling, but I've always judged by the manger and if I found them to be agreeable then their rooms while aging have been agreeable.
But always inspect the sheets, even 5 star hotels have been found to be infested with bed bugs, and it's not so much the hotels cleanliness but the previous travelers filtiness.
How to travel with your pet, how to pack for a trip, etc. All these suggestions can be found on line by just googoling it all in, or by going to Wiki-How and typing into the search engine “how to pack for a trip” “How to be safe on a trip”, etc. print the information out and create a binder to refer too and also include a master copy of a check list that you can print out and use over and over again for each trip.
I travel with one tote bag that is my medicine chest, you can get sick while traveling and it can be hard to get to a drug store, although many of the better hotels have a small concierge service they may not have what you need.
If you travel frequently then you will eventually use some of the things in your medicine tote, but in January of each year check the expiration dates of some of those items use them before they expire if you need to at home and keep a list in the medicine tote of what you should have in there.
Never wear on a vacation what you would never wear at home; always make sure your clothing is comfortable. I have no idea why some women wear muumuus and silly straw hats, and the men in Hawaiian shirts, shorts to the knees and sandals with socks, it’s just so tacky.
Mean Kitty use to tell me that when traveling up North towards the “Trees of Mystery” you always knew who had been up there, they would have this wired on bumper card that said “Trees of Mystery” it labeled them as vacationers, she said she doesn’t see it so much anymore, the bumper stickers usually say “Beat Bush” or “My cat is smarter than your honor roll student”, but bumper stickers like that label you as a tourist and as a target, besides Darlings, bumper stickers are so tacky.
Souvenirs—your pictures are your souvenirs and postcards work well because they can always be put into the photo album, just be sure to label your photos. Those tacky trinkets just take up so much space. Keep a journal as well and add the journal pages into your photo album.
Oh darlings there is just so much more, just check on line or read the Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel Magazine. Wiki-how will tell you what to pack and everything else.
Another thing that I’ve known for a long time, when people reserve their hotel reservations through either Expedia or Travelocity or other online discount reservation services via the internet, it is the policy of a hotel if it’s over booked to look at the internet reservations and “bump” them because many times those people cancel and the hotel is never informed, also the hotel makes the least profit off of internet reservations.
If you want to guarantee a hotel room, call the hotel directly yourself. You do not have to accept what is called the “rack rate” you can inquire about discounts and many times they have them plus special packages, especially now with the gasoline prices and the economy being what it is and you will always get better service because you do not use the internet reservations. When you call you always get a confirmation number. That means the room is guaranteed, of course you must notify the hotel if you have to cancel and if it’s at the last minute you will be charged for at least one night. BUT Dahlings you will get good service.
Now there are many hotels that will accept pets, call to inquire, there will be a non-refundable fee for this but it’s worth it and always ‘crate train’ your pet, and inquire on the hotel policy for pets. Traveling with pets is not easy, and requires very careful planning. Never travel with your pet on an airplane, they put them in the luggage compartments, and many times the luggage compartments are not pressurized, killing your pet, or they will lose your pet at the baggage handling, this has happened more frequently than you can imagine.
I prefer to travel with Princess in my Car, no matter what, and be sure to carry copies of all your pets’ shots.
Princess is ‘crate trained’ but because she is so tiny (only 4 pounds) I’ve managed to sneak her into places in her little carry all, as long as she has water and can relieve herself and has her favorite chew toy she is fine.
Zoos will not accept your pets, not even seeing-eye dogs, an animal quarantine thing.
Well Darlings that is all I can think of about traveling as a woman alone.
But I have to admit for the last few weeks I’ve been having fun, I had chance to go to a Fall/Winter fashion trunk show for all the top line designers, I must say I think I’m going to be looking forward to the fall/winter fashions that will be coming out.
Before I left Kevin treated me to dancing to the Glenn Miller Band on the U.S.S. Hornet, we had the admiral seating, so had a great view of the Band and the Andrew Sisters Tribute, very good food, so much fun to see everyone in costume or dressed up, I had to be careful with my ankle but Kevin and I danced to the slow tunes.
I came across my friend Mean Kitty and her wonderful man, she couldn’t dance poor dear, a very nasty injury to her knee, she is not sure if she will ever be able to dance again, but one can hope, but she was enjoying everything food, music and people. I, of course was dressed in my glamorous best ala la Marlene, and we had our photos taken. The men in uniforms, the women looking beautiful, it was a delightful evening that ended all too soon.
So now today I’m at my other brother’s home in Santa Barbara, Ms. Wicked is always ready to roll, and so is Princesses she knows when I pack her things it’s going to be something special. Of late the open road has been frequently beckoning me, and I get a restless feeling that I can hardly wait to see what is around the next bend or over the hill.
I e-mailed my friend Mean Kitty and she said that I should tour Highway 49 and stop and stay at some of those quaint bed and breakfast places in those old time gold mining towns she said I should select some harvest festivals and see what looks interesting. I think she has a point.
My brother Tom has called me and he is going to purchase a small, gently used trailer to put on his home site in the next few weeks, that way he and Lois and Smokey have a place to stay while they make plans to build their new cabin ala “Ponderosa” Lois has made contact with some people who knew the set layout as well as the layout of the actual physical Ponderosa up at Lake Tahoe, she said she is going to have to do some back extensions for the Bedrooms that will be up stairs because if one looks at the pictures there is no real upstairs there, because of the window factors. So this will prove to be interesting. But Lois is going to have fun and that is what is important.
Must go Darlings, there is a wine tasting and art exhibit fund raiser that my brother and his wife are invited to this afternoon and I’m included as their guest, who knows I may come across something I’ll simply adore.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
I’m blogging from Santa Barbara, it took me a bit longer to get here than expected, just so much to do. I’ve been busy taking care of business at home, such a bore but it needs to be done.
Juanita returned for a few days, but I sent her back to her family so she has more family visiting time and a wedding to go to, so she is going to be busy for the next few weeks as well. My house sitter is back on duty, so I tied up a few things and then I was off with my darling Princess in my car, Ms. Wicked.
Some people have asked me if I am afraid to travel by myself, taking into account the dangers of a woman traveling alone. Well they are right about that, but there are some things one can do.
I’m going to post here some suggestions for you, there is much, much more that you can research but this should give you a good idea.
1. Never travel in clothes that scream “tourist” that is only for when you are at your resort. Travel in clothing that matches in colors, and choose neutral colors like black, grey and khaki, it’s easy to mix and match things that way and you carry less shoes to match you can always accesorise with a colorful scarf.
2. Remain low-key a much as possible do not wear expensive jewelry while traveling and that includes watches, purses etc. I have a watch and a purse that I bought at what my dear friend Mean Kitty calls “Wally World” (Wal-mart), I chose them to not be flashy and that is important. Some pieces of costume jewelry are fine as long as it’s not flashy.
3. Pack as much of your luggage into the trunk of your car as possible, anything that you put into the back seat, cover with a dark blanket so it will blend in. Get good but non-descript luggage if at all possible. (I’m afraid I sort of over indulged when I purchased my new, well now nearly new, Samsonite Retro collection---just love it) Just make sure that your luggage will hold up to heavy use. When you are traveling on a Airplane, train or Greyhound bus you can use something to make your luggage stand out, like a colorful ribbon or identification tag.
4. Pay attention to your surroundings and the people in it. Try to spot possible trouble makers. When walking to your car or to your room, always turn around to see who is behind you, have your cell phone ready to take a picture just in case.
5. Have 911 on your speed dial on your cell phone. Carry Pepper spray and don’t be afraid to use it. (Not good to take on an air plane because of cabin pressure)
6. Park your car as close as possible to the restaurant doors or Hotel that you are staying at and in a lighted area.
7. Never get a room that is too close to the emergency stairs or elevator, it’s too easy for a trouble maker to invade and escape. But make a note of where the emergency stairs are.
8 Never carry your purse just over your shoulder; always carry it so it is mounted across your body, that way the thief would have to pull it over your head, instead of snatching it off of your shoulder.
9. Never carry identifiable things or credit cards in your purse, there are little travel pouches that you can pin to the underside of your clothing or the inside of the pockets of your jacket.
Only have a little cash, some aspirin, and a lipstick, a cheap purse can always be replaced.
One time I was stopped for going over the speed limit (Yes, bad Moi) and the officer needed to see my driver’s license and I told him I had to un-pin it, He was surprised that I had it pinned to my bra strap, but he understood.
10. Never flash a large amount of money or large bills, if need be use your debt or credit card, never carry a check book while traveling, but get American express travelers checks they can always be replaced.
11. Always carry in your car a first aid kit as well as a disposable camera and car insurance information in case you are in an accident. Call the police and get an incident report if need be and contact your insurance agent right away.
12. Designate one credit card and one debt card for traveling only (you can have a separate checking account for that purpose). Put your travel money that you have saved onto the debt card, and never use that credit card for anything else except hotels, food, and gas. On the credit card make sure you have a high credit line, incase there is an accident and you have to pay for repairs while traveling. But when you get home pay that credit card off.
The extra debt card is only to hold your traveling expenses money. I know some people who sell things on line like e-bay and they have a pay-pal card, the money they make on-line is used for their travel expenses and they use the pay-pal card for traveling.
Keep the phone number of the debt and credit card company in your hidden travel pouch in case the cards are stolen or to find out what your balance is. Report stolen cards immediately.
13. If you are traveling for business, whether your company or your own, always keep an expense list and mileage list for tax purposes.
14. If you are a woman alone and a charming young man tries to make your acquaintance to the point of romancing you, be very aware that he maybe charging all those meals, drinks, and services to your room. Check with the front desk and insist that all charges must be approved by you in writing or else in person; no one else is to sign for it. Also beware of handsome young charming men who try to romance you, they are not in love with your but only after your money, your body or a way of becoming an American citizen---there are too many scam and con artists. Remember all those news stories of young girls disappearing, never to be found.
15. When staying at a Hotel always make a note of where the fire escapes are so in case of an emergency you can find it quickly even in poor visibility. Always have your most important things on your night stand when you go to bed, in case of an emergency you can sweep it into your tote bag that should be next to your bed, and always have good solid flats next to your bed in an emergency. Slippers do not hold up well.
16. If the Hotel has a safe and you want to make sure you don’t have important things stolen make use of it.
17. Always use the hotel locks, if they don’t have those special locks, you can buy them at a travel store, or put a chair angled in front of the door and under the door knob.
18. Always find out about the roming limitations on your cell phones, there are parts of the United States that may not have your cell phone service, select a cell phone service that is nation wide and have full roming service. Be aware that there maybe dead zones.
19. Have a good reliable Road Side Service that is nation wide, AAA is almost everywhere, keep the 1-800 number for Road Side service in your purse or glove compartment along with your insurance. Also have the phone numbers for Car Rental agencies such as Hertz, Avis and Enterprise.
Remember a person may come along and offer help if you break down, but always be careful, use your cell phone to let a relative know if you've had a break down tell them when and where and what your situation is, update them frequently. So even if a good Samaritin comes along do call Road side service, never leave your car unless you are with the Highway patrol.
Now these suggestions are fine if you are traveling within the United States. There is more if you are traveling overseas, but unless you are doing it for business then always travel with a tour group, in that situation Never, Ever travel alone.
There are many more suggestions on how to travel safely, like always carry a bottle of water in your car; you can become dehydrated easily, especially in hot weather.
There are new laws now when driving your vechile such as you must use a hands free device if you are going to use your cell phone, I have blue tooth myself. Do not wear an IPOD to listen to music you cut yourself off from hearing the outside sounds and that could put you at risk. NEVER, EVER Text Message anyone while driving, just one second your eyes are off the road and you could be killed.
Do not drive when tired, if you fall asleep at the wheel, it will be permanet.
Stay at Reputable hotels or motels that have AAA approval, of course some of them may not be the Hyatt or Regency and the pillows maybe flat, but they have been inspected.
I have stayed in some of the "funkiest" motels while traveling, but I've always judged by the manger and if I found them to be agreeable then their rooms while aging have been agreeable.
But always inspect the sheets, even 5 star hotels have been found to be infested with bed bugs, and it's not so much the hotels cleanliness but the previous travelers filtiness.
How to travel with your pet, how to pack for a trip, etc. All these suggestions can be found on line by just googoling it all in, or by going to Wiki-How and typing into the search engine “how to pack for a trip” “How to be safe on a trip”, etc. print the information out and create a binder to refer too and also include a master copy of a check list that you can print out and use over and over again for each trip.
I travel with one tote bag that is my medicine chest, you can get sick while traveling and it can be hard to get to a drug store, although many of the better hotels have a small concierge service they may not have what you need.
If you travel frequently then you will eventually use some of the things in your medicine tote, but in January of each year check the expiration dates of some of those items use them before they expire if you need to at home and keep a list in the medicine tote of what you should have in there.
Never wear on a vacation what you would never wear at home; always make sure your clothing is comfortable. I have no idea why some women wear muumuus and silly straw hats, and the men in Hawaiian shirts, shorts to the knees and sandals with socks, it’s just so tacky.
Mean Kitty use to tell me that when traveling up North towards the “Trees of Mystery” you always knew who had been up there, they would have this wired on bumper card that said “Trees of Mystery” it labeled them as vacationers, she said she doesn’t see it so much anymore, the bumper stickers usually say “Beat Bush” or “My cat is smarter than your honor roll student”, but bumper stickers like that label you as a tourist and as a target, besides Darlings, bumper stickers are so tacky.
Souvenirs—your pictures are your souvenirs and postcards work well because they can always be put into the photo album, just be sure to label your photos. Those tacky trinkets just take up so much space. Keep a journal as well and add the journal pages into your photo album.
Oh darlings there is just so much more, just check on line or read the Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel Magazine. Wiki-how will tell you what to pack and everything else.
Another thing that I’ve known for a long time, when people reserve their hotel reservations through either Expedia or Travelocity or other online discount reservation services via the internet, it is the policy of a hotel if it’s over booked to look at the internet reservations and “bump” them because many times those people cancel and the hotel is never informed, also the hotel makes the least profit off of internet reservations.
If you want to guarantee a hotel room, call the hotel directly yourself. You do not have to accept what is called the “rack rate” you can inquire about discounts and many times they have them plus special packages, especially now with the gasoline prices and the economy being what it is and you will always get better service because you do not use the internet reservations. When you call you always get a confirmation number. That means the room is guaranteed, of course you must notify the hotel if you have to cancel and if it’s at the last minute you will be charged for at least one night. BUT Dahlings you will get good service.
Now there are many hotels that will accept pets, call to inquire, there will be a non-refundable fee for this but it’s worth it and always ‘crate train’ your pet, and inquire on the hotel policy for pets. Traveling with pets is not easy, and requires very careful planning. Never travel with your pet on an airplane, they put them in the luggage compartments, and many times the luggage compartments are not pressurized, killing your pet, or they will lose your pet at the baggage handling, this has happened more frequently than you can imagine.
I prefer to travel with Princess in my Car, no matter what, and be sure to carry copies of all your pets’ shots.
Princess is ‘crate trained’ but because she is so tiny (only 4 pounds) I’ve managed to sneak her into places in her little carry all, as long as she has water and can relieve herself and has her favorite chew toy she is fine.
Zoos will not accept your pets, not even seeing-eye dogs, an animal quarantine thing.
Well Darlings that is all I can think of about traveling as a woman alone.
But I have to admit for the last few weeks I’ve been having fun, I had chance to go to a Fall/Winter fashion trunk show for all the top line designers, I must say I think I’m going to be looking forward to the fall/winter fashions that will be coming out.
Before I left Kevin treated me to dancing to the Glenn Miller Band on the U.S.S. Hornet, we had the admiral seating, so had a great view of the Band and the Andrew Sisters Tribute, very good food, so much fun to see everyone in costume or dressed up, I had to be careful with my ankle but Kevin and I danced to the slow tunes.
I came across my friend Mean Kitty and her wonderful man, she couldn’t dance poor dear, a very nasty injury to her knee, she is not sure if she will ever be able to dance again, but one can hope, but she was enjoying everything food, music and people. I, of course was dressed in my glamorous best ala la Marlene, and we had our photos taken. The men in uniforms, the women looking beautiful, it was a delightful evening that ended all too soon.
So now today I’m at my other brother’s home in Santa Barbara, Ms. Wicked is always ready to roll, and so is Princesses she knows when I pack her things it’s going to be something special. Of late the open road has been frequently beckoning me, and I get a restless feeling that I can hardly wait to see what is around the next bend or over the hill.
I e-mailed my friend Mean Kitty and she said that I should tour Highway 49 and stop and stay at some of those quaint bed and breakfast places in those old time gold mining towns she said I should select some harvest festivals and see what looks interesting. I think she has a point.
My brother Tom has called me and he is going to purchase a small, gently used trailer to put on his home site in the next few weeks, that way he and Lois and Smokey have a place to stay while they make plans to build their new cabin ala “Ponderosa” Lois has made contact with some people who knew the set layout as well as the layout of the actual physical Ponderosa up at Lake Tahoe, she said she is going to have to do some back extensions for the Bedrooms that will be up stairs because if one looks at the pictures there is no real upstairs there, because of the window factors. So this will prove to be interesting. But Lois is going to have fun and that is what is important.
Must go Darlings, there is a wine tasting and art exhibit fund raiser that my brother and his wife are invited to this afternoon and I’m included as their guest, who knows I may come across something I’ll simply adore.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
Friday, July 18, 2008
A Fire Vacation~~~~
Well Darlings,
My brother had decided that it would be best to cut short our vacation at his cabin.
And what an adventure it had been.
For a while we were not worried about fires because most of them were far from us, but a new fire started a bit nearer to us and at first it seemed that things might be fine, but my brother has a bit of a sixth sense and decided to call his other son, Ronnie to rent a large U-Haul truck and get some of his friends up to the cabin quickly; we were going to pack as much out of the cabin as possible.
Lois and I didn’t argue with my brother’s decision, so we started boxing all the small things first while we waited for the truck to get here. My brother checked on his neighbors and they too were considering packing some of their things just in case.
It was a few hours but Ronnie and two of his friends got here, so we started with the boxes first into the overhang, we had already put the important papers into Tom’s car. The boys made quick work of everything thanks to the fact that Tom, Lois and I had already dismantled the beds and took down all the curtains and unplugged and boxed up everything. Amazing what one can do in a hurry.
Tom made reservations at a motel that was safely away from the area, so all of us could stay there overnight to rest before we came home. The last thing that was packed besides my little Princess was Lois’ western town painting, while Tom took pictures of the cabin and property “For the Insurance” he said. Lois put the painting into their car. “I’m not taking my eye off of that painting” and she was right, she even took it into the Motel Room instead of leaving it in the car. It turns out that her $25.00 painting is worth several hundred dollars, it had been painted by a minor western artist in the 1940’s.
So now Princess and I are home, my house sitter is still here and I told her to stay a while as I was planning to go someplace else, it’s just making up my mind what to do next. I called Juanita at her daughter’s house and updated her. She wanted to come back home right away but I told her to stay and have fun with her family as I was going to plan another trip and I would update her on that.
The air has been so poor here from the fires that I need to find a place where it’s as clear as possible and since I was here, I needed to refresh my wardrobe and take care of any bills, while I was gone I had my house sitter delivered any bills to my lawyer so he could take care of them for me, I’m not ready to do bill paying on line yet.
My house sitter has done an excellent job of taking care of the house, neat, clean and the plants are doing well thanks to the drip irrigation. So I think taking another few weeks off would be good but I just need to think of where to go, considering all the smoke haze we’ve been having.
I’ve called my friends and let them know I am back for a little while, Keith came by the other evening to take me out to dinner, he had some suggestions and then dear Kenneth is coming by today to treat me to lunch, so we shall see.
I just feel so bad about my sister-in-law and brother, Lois took one last look at the cabin and then straightening her shoulders she said to me “If it burns it can be re-built, we are in a more fortunate position then some of our neighbors, but we’ve had it for 20 years.” I said to her “Lois you were always saying that except for the fire place there were a lot of things you wanted to change, if it burns think of it as serious home remodeling” and she laughed “That’s right, I really want to do it in all old fashioned knotty pine and river rock, maybe like the Ponderosa” referring to the homestead in the T.V. program “Bonanza”.
We shall see; I just hope everyone else comes out of this disaster well. We had heard on the news the night at the motel that one person had died in the Butte Fire, and we kept looking at each other then we hugged, realizing we are blessed.
I’ve not seen anything like this in 40 years or since the Oakland Fire Storm. We can just hope for the best for everyone, for many they are losing the only home they’ve known. But I’ve realized and this is a lesson for all you Diva’s, material things can be replaced, but family and good friends cannot.
If anything save your pets, your family photos and important papers, all else just have good insurance because it’s transitory.
And I’ve found out just how transitory I just received a telephone call a few days ago from Lois, she and my brother had got their things all packed away in a large storage unit but had decided to go back up to check on the status of their cabin.
She told me they had not been permitted to go to the area, so they went to a shelter for up dates, and she told me a very sad story, which has a happy ending.
They had tried to get to their cabin but had been turned back by the fire department, as they were driving down they noticed a dog slowly limping along the road, he looked like an Australian Cattle Dog and was in pitiful condition.
Lois and Tom managed to persuade the dog to allow them to pick it up and gave it some water, poor thing was thirsty. They had no idea where the poor thing came from; Tom knew none of his near neighbors had a dog of this type, so they took the poor thing to a Veterinarian.
Tom gave all the particulars and said to charge the bill to him, and if possible see if anyone had reported a lost dog answering that description.
Lois told me that the poor thing’s fur was singed, and he was soot covered, and its paw had been burned, the Vet said that it was also hungry and dehydrated, but should be fine. The strange thing is Lois was calling the dog “Smokey”.
She and Tom stayed in a Motel near their cabin area and keep checking on things.
During that time Moi had been in touch with her brother Roger in Santa Barbara and said that the air quality was good and to come down and spend a few weeks with them; Tom’s other son Richard and his wife and children had changed their plans because of the fires and will be visiting Roger instead in August, so it’s good to know they are safe.
So for now I’ll be staying at home for a few weeks and then off to Santa Barbara, my house sitter can accommodate the arrangements so she is going to visit relatives and then come back to house sit. Juanita will be with me for a few weeks make sure to her satisfaction that everything is just right.
I’d been in touch with my friend “Mean Kitty” and she told me and I quote “I think your brother and his wife are going to have themselves a dog, when you start giving some critter a name it starts becoming a part of you” and I think she’s right.
I’ve asked her if she and her husband wanted to join me at my brothers but she had to say no, “Work has got me tied up here and I’ve got some plans to do a yard sale or two, so I’m going to have to beg off.”
She showed me some of the vintage stuff she was planning to sell and I offered to buy this Victorian plant stand, I think Tom and Lois will like it for the cabin or new cabin which ever happens, it needs some restoration, but I think Lois will like the challenge.
“Mean Kitty” has been telling me how much the terrible economy has affected her and her husband, but she thinks some things may improve, “I have a plan and I just need to keep to my goals” she says. She is trying to stay positive about it “My house is in no way in danger ‘cause I’ve got a fix loan, through a good bank, so just have to stay with the budget.” I’m glad for her.
In the mean time I treated her to our favorite restaurant, after all one has to have a bit of fun in all this doom and gloom
I’ve been in touch with my brother Roger and he told me he has been looking around at things in his home, knowing about all the fires that have happened in his area and he has come to a conclusion. All the things that have extreme monetary value he is going to have auctioned off and simply put the money into some good long term investments.
He’s renting several safe deposit boxes to hold the originals plus negatives of family photos, what he has put up are copies.
I asked him about what he would do with his bare walls after he’s sold his art work and he told me that there are some painting galleries for people that just want a pretty picture on the wall that are inexpensive, so he’s going to do that.
Most of the antique furniture he’s going to sell, and just put in reproductions that are far more comfortable.
It’s this ‘Wildfire’s/Firestorm” attitude or feeling, just getting down to basics. And I can understand that. My brother said that since he has a guest house in the back I could always move in there if I wanted to. I thought that was very dear of him to suggest that, but I said that right now I just simply could not leave my current home, but to not be surprised if one day I show up with a U-haul and all my Samsonite retro collection luggage.
Now just an hour ago I got word from Tom and Lois, their cabin had burned down, the shed that held the ski’s and bikes was spared and most of their neighbors came through it fine, with only a couple of exceptions. Tom said that it looked like the fire just rolled through the trees but left the upper half of the trees alone; he said he’ll know better how much he may have to clean up after the first rains.
Lois said she gets to do her house remodeling, and about “Smokey” the dog they rescued a few days ago? Well they found Smokey’s owner, a very elderly man who had been pulled from his home by his neighbors, but they couldn’t find the dog at that time, the old gentleman thought that Smokey was dead. Lois told me the tears that were in that man’s eyes to know that Smokey was just fine and healing made her cry.
Lois said that they are now Smokey’s new owners, it seems that his former owner’s heart is in a bad way and he has to go to a care facility, he had a minor stroke and now he has no home to go to since it burned, but the old gentleman said that as long as he knew Smokey was fine and with good people he could go to the “old people’s home” with a clear heart and soul.
And, here is the surprise, Smokey is his real name, Lois said she had no idea that was the dog’s real name but it felt right and he responded to it.
So all’s well that end’s well---well as well that can be expected.
Tom is going to see what he can do to help his neighbors that lost their homes, put them in contact with some agencies that can help them. And Tom and Lois are going to see that Smokey’s former owner gets to see Smokey from time to time and make sure that the old man is doing o.k. it turns out that he has no family, so Tom is going to make sure a trust is in place for the old man’s care, the doctors’ said he really doesn’t have much time left and seems contented to go, so Tom has been talking with him about final arrangements.
It really doesn’t surprise me that Tom and Lois are doing this, they always wanted to do more for our father and mother, but sometimes things simply got bollixed up and it was left to Roger, not that Roger ever resented that, he’d always simply shrugged his shoulders and said “Man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.” And Tom and I always supported Roger’s decisions.
So in about a week or so I’ll be heading off to Santa Barbara, I do hope things will be better, but just knowing that some things have turned out well is enough for me.
Until Anon Darlings, Kisses.
My brother had decided that it would be best to cut short our vacation at his cabin.
And what an adventure it had been.
For a while we were not worried about fires because most of them were far from us, but a new fire started a bit nearer to us and at first it seemed that things might be fine, but my brother has a bit of a sixth sense and decided to call his other son, Ronnie to rent a large U-Haul truck and get some of his friends up to the cabin quickly; we were going to pack as much out of the cabin as possible.
Lois and I didn’t argue with my brother’s decision, so we started boxing all the small things first while we waited for the truck to get here. My brother checked on his neighbors and they too were considering packing some of their things just in case.
It was a few hours but Ronnie and two of his friends got here, so we started with the boxes first into the overhang, we had already put the important papers into Tom’s car. The boys made quick work of everything thanks to the fact that Tom, Lois and I had already dismantled the beds and took down all the curtains and unplugged and boxed up everything. Amazing what one can do in a hurry.
Tom made reservations at a motel that was safely away from the area, so all of us could stay there overnight to rest before we came home. The last thing that was packed besides my little Princess was Lois’ western town painting, while Tom took pictures of the cabin and property “For the Insurance” he said. Lois put the painting into their car. “I’m not taking my eye off of that painting” and she was right, she even took it into the Motel Room instead of leaving it in the car. It turns out that her $25.00 painting is worth several hundred dollars, it had been painted by a minor western artist in the 1940’s.
So now Princess and I are home, my house sitter is still here and I told her to stay a while as I was planning to go someplace else, it’s just making up my mind what to do next. I called Juanita at her daughter’s house and updated her. She wanted to come back home right away but I told her to stay and have fun with her family as I was going to plan another trip and I would update her on that.
The air has been so poor here from the fires that I need to find a place where it’s as clear as possible and since I was here, I needed to refresh my wardrobe and take care of any bills, while I was gone I had my house sitter delivered any bills to my lawyer so he could take care of them for me, I’m not ready to do bill paying on line yet.
My house sitter has done an excellent job of taking care of the house, neat, clean and the plants are doing well thanks to the drip irrigation. So I think taking another few weeks off would be good but I just need to think of where to go, considering all the smoke haze we’ve been having.
I’ve called my friends and let them know I am back for a little while, Keith came by the other evening to take me out to dinner, he had some suggestions and then dear Kenneth is coming by today to treat me to lunch, so we shall see.
I just feel so bad about my sister-in-law and brother, Lois took one last look at the cabin and then straightening her shoulders she said to me “If it burns it can be re-built, we are in a more fortunate position then some of our neighbors, but we’ve had it for 20 years.” I said to her “Lois you were always saying that except for the fire place there were a lot of things you wanted to change, if it burns think of it as serious home remodeling” and she laughed “That’s right, I really want to do it in all old fashioned knotty pine and river rock, maybe like the Ponderosa” referring to the homestead in the T.V. program “Bonanza”.
We shall see; I just hope everyone else comes out of this disaster well. We had heard on the news the night at the motel that one person had died in the Butte Fire, and we kept looking at each other then we hugged, realizing we are blessed.
I’ve not seen anything like this in 40 years or since the Oakland Fire Storm. We can just hope for the best for everyone, for many they are losing the only home they’ve known. But I’ve realized and this is a lesson for all you Diva’s, material things can be replaced, but family and good friends cannot.
If anything save your pets, your family photos and important papers, all else just have good insurance because it’s transitory.
And I’ve found out just how transitory I just received a telephone call a few days ago from Lois, she and my brother had got their things all packed away in a large storage unit but had decided to go back up to check on the status of their cabin.
She told me they had not been permitted to go to the area, so they went to a shelter for up dates, and she told me a very sad story, which has a happy ending.
They had tried to get to their cabin but had been turned back by the fire department, as they were driving down they noticed a dog slowly limping along the road, he looked like an Australian Cattle Dog and was in pitiful condition.
Lois and Tom managed to persuade the dog to allow them to pick it up and gave it some water, poor thing was thirsty. They had no idea where the poor thing came from; Tom knew none of his near neighbors had a dog of this type, so they took the poor thing to a Veterinarian.
Tom gave all the particulars and said to charge the bill to him, and if possible see if anyone had reported a lost dog answering that description.
Lois told me that the poor thing’s fur was singed, and he was soot covered, and its paw had been burned, the Vet said that it was also hungry and dehydrated, but should be fine. The strange thing is Lois was calling the dog “Smokey”.
She and Tom stayed in a Motel near their cabin area and keep checking on things.
During that time Moi had been in touch with her brother Roger in Santa Barbara and said that the air quality was good and to come down and spend a few weeks with them; Tom’s other son Richard and his wife and children had changed their plans because of the fires and will be visiting Roger instead in August, so it’s good to know they are safe.
So for now I’ll be staying at home for a few weeks and then off to Santa Barbara, my house sitter can accommodate the arrangements so she is going to visit relatives and then come back to house sit. Juanita will be with me for a few weeks make sure to her satisfaction that everything is just right.
I’d been in touch with my friend “Mean Kitty” and she told me and I quote “I think your brother and his wife are going to have themselves a dog, when you start giving some critter a name it starts becoming a part of you” and I think she’s right.
I’ve asked her if she and her husband wanted to join me at my brothers but she had to say no, “Work has got me tied up here and I’ve got some plans to do a yard sale or two, so I’m going to have to beg off.”
She showed me some of the vintage stuff she was planning to sell and I offered to buy this Victorian plant stand, I think Tom and Lois will like it for the cabin or new cabin which ever happens, it needs some restoration, but I think Lois will like the challenge.
“Mean Kitty” has been telling me how much the terrible economy has affected her and her husband, but she thinks some things may improve, “I have a plan and I just need to keep to my goals” she says. She is trying to stay positive about it “My house is in no way in danger ‘cause I’ve got a fix loan, through a good bank, so just have to stay with the budget.” I’m glad for her.
In the mean time I treated her to our favorite restaurant, after all one has to have a bit of fun in all this doom and gloom
I’ve been in touch with my brother Roger and he told me he has been looking around at things in his home, knowing about all the fires that have happened in his area and he has come to a conclusion. All the things that have extreme monetary value he is going to have auctioned off and simply put the money into some good long term investments.
He’s renting several safe deposit boxes to hold the originals plus negatives of family photos, what he has put up are copies.
I asked him about what he would do with his bare walls after he’s sold his art work and he told me that there are some painting galleries for people that just want a pretty picture on the wall that are inexpensive, so he’s going to do that.
Most of the antique furniture he’s going to sell, and just put in reproductions that are far more comfortable.
It’s this ‘Wildfire’s/Firestorm” attitude or feeling, just getting down to basics. And I can understand that. My brother said that since he has a guest house in the back I could always move in there if I wanted to. I thought that was very dear of him to suggest that, but I said that right now I just simply could not leave my current home, but to not be surprised if one day I show up with a U-haul and all my Samsonite retro collection luggage.
Now just an hour ago I got word from Tom and Lois, their cabin had burned down, the shed that held the ski’s and bikes was spared and most of their neighbors came through it fine, with only a couple of exceptions. Tom said that it looked like the fire just rolled through the trees but left the upper half of the trees alone; he said he’ll know better how much he may have to clean up after the first rains.
Lois said she gets to do her house remodeling, and about “Smokey” the dog they rescued a few days ago? Well they found Smokey’s owner, a very elderly man who had been pulled from his home by his neighbors, but they couldn’t find the dog at that time, the old gentleman thought that Smokey was dead. Lois told me the tears that were in that man’s eyes to know that Smokey was just fine and healing made her cry.
Lois said that they are now Smokey’s new owners, it seems that his former owner’s heart is in a bad way and he has to go to a care facility, he had a minor stroke and now he has no home to go to since it burned, but the old gentleman said that as long as he knew Smokey was fine and with good people he could go to the “old people’s home” with a clear heart and soul.
And, here is the surprise, Smokey is his real name, Lois said she had no idea that was the dog’s real name but it felt right and he responded to it.
So all’s well that end’s well---well as well that can be expected.
Tom is going to see what he can do to help his neighbors that lost their homes, put them in contact with some agencies that can help them. And Tom and Lois are going to see that Smokey’s former owner gets to see Smokey from time to time and make sure that the old man is doing o.k. it turns out that he has no family, so Tom is going to make sure a trust is in place for the old man’s care, the doctors’ said he really doesn’t have much time left and seems contented to go, so Tom has been talking with him about final arrangements.
It really doesn’t surprise me that Tom and Lois are doing this, they always wanted to do more for our father and mother, but sometimes things simply got bollixed up and it was left to Roger, not that Roger ever resented that, he’d always simply shrugged his shoulders and said “Man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.” And Tom and I always supported Roger’s decisions.
So in about a week or so I’ll be heading off to Santa Barbara, I do hope things will be better, but just knowing that some things have turned out well is enough for me.
Until Anon Darlings, Kisses.
Friday, June 20, 2008
At my brother's cabin and a future investment idea~~~
Hello Darlings,
I am 'blogging' from my brother's cabin up here in the wilds (sorry Darlings for the sake of my brother's privacy I can't tell you exactly where).
My brother always needs to be in touch with his business even when he's on vacation, although he knows the business runs almost on it's own, he's set it up so well.
We're right on the lake, and there is a stream that runs near the cabin that you can hear it, but this drought is very bad, the lake is so low that my brother had to run his boat out onto a floating raft and we can walk through the low water to it. Where the raft is the edge of the lake drops down deeply, but still one can see the effects of the drought
Lois my sister in law, has planted native plants that deal with this type of weather very well.
They've done a marvelous job of re-decorating the cabin with their finds from the White Elephant sale. The lovely cowboy painting over the fireplace gives it a perfect finishing touch.
It's so relaxing up here, even Princess is enjoying it although it is warm, I had her fur trimmed down just enough so she's not too wrapped up in her fur, and I've put down wet towels for her and she is in the shade, with lots of water. And a fan for her. I stay in the shade as well, I'm so fair skinned, that I would burn before any tan.
Juanita is on vacation as well visiting family all over, I have a bonded house sitter staying at the house while we are gone. Although Juanita has told the house sitter that she will be coming back from time to time to check on things. That's why I love her.
Although I love to go into the city to keep up with my investments, there is something just so decadent being up here. It gives my mind a chance to relax and percolate as well with ideas.
My "Business Ladies Who Lunch" e-mail me with ideas although they are also planning vacations as well.
I know, who can plan a vacation when gasoline is so high---well for one thing---let someone else do the driving. One lady I know has had for over 18 months reservations to stay at the Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite, so she and her husband have taken the train and the bus shuttle to the lodge, they rent bicycles there or take the tram to the various spots. Now they were planning to drive to Yosemite originally, but when gas hit $4.00 a gallon they starting thinking, so a friend drove them to the station and they were off. When they get back they will call a taxi.
In the long run it will cheaper.
That's is one way----you, my Dear Diva's will have to put on the thinking caps---because there are other ways as well.
I have to admit I drove to my brother's but then I wanted my car to be available to go anywhere at anytime. But it is no trouble to ride a bicycle around here to go to the store or anything. My brother made sure that the bikes were heavy duty and have baskets to carry groceries, including insulated bags for ice cream---I'm going to pay for this at the gym, but maybe not, it's usually Lois and I cycling to the store together so maybe with that exercise I won't need to.
Today is the First Day of Summer---and we are seeing a number of people on the Lake, my brother always worries that someone will have an accident. That is why he has a red, yellow orange bouyes around the raft and boat, and a blinking beacon on at night. "People don't use proper caution or their eyes" he says.
My nieces and nephews have been here and gone on their trip.
But they will return in August.
My brother has been directing some cleaning team to make sure that all the dead fall and dried shrubs have been removed to avoid any fire hazards. A friend of his, who lives up here year round who is a member of the fire dept. showed my brother what he needs to do. Fortunately a lot of work was done last year, a ceramic roof, vents screened, pine needles swept away, some natural firebreaks created and a water pump system to wet the area should the unthinkable happen, now it's just maintaining it.
Lois said that should a fire start and we have to leave the one thing she's going to grab from the house is the painting. Everything else is replaceable she says but that painting is one of a kind.
As a matter of fact my brother and sister in law are planning to retire up here in a few years.
Lois told me that they will just sell off everything at their San Francisco home, all they need is their family pictures "Everything" she said " was bought both to use, admire and as an investment, we can sell it all, and give to the children anything they want. We accumulate so much, that as one gets older one has to see what is really important in life"
What she told me has given me an idea for a future blog which I'll address at another time.
But right now Darlings there is something I want to pass on to all of you.
My brother has been following this story, and even I had noticed it back in 2007.
There is a venture company called LS9 in the Silicon Valley area---just Google in LS9 and you'll find the stories---it seems that they are developing nano-bacteria that will turn garbage into oil, or as my brother calls it "they poop oil". The only draw back is to develop a refinery to create enough oil to meet the U.S.'s current needs would require an area the size of Chicago. However, there is no need to use trucks to transport this oil---it can travel through the current pipelines that we now have.
My brother is watching this development very carefully, right now LS9 is privately owned but with the right breakthroughs, it could become the future "Apple Corp" to invest in.
I have to agree, anything that is reasonable that can produce oil at $50 a barrel and is less hazardous is worth investing in especially if it can take our garbage and "Poop oil" and get us away from foreign oil. As 'Mean Kitty' told me when I told this to her---"anything to stick a stick in the Foreigner's eyes".
So Darlings, watch for the future investing in energy, there are companies out there, check the latest Forbes and Fortune magazines for suggestions. But energy development is going to be a new wave of investing.
And that is one to put your thinking caps on my Dears.
For now this Diva is going to enjoy a nice ice cold Lemonade drink and relax.
Until Annon Darlings, Kisses.
I am 'blogging' from my brother's cabin up here in the wilds (sorry Darlings for the sake of my brother's privacy I can't tell you exactly where).
My brother always needs to be in touch with his business even when he's on vacation, although he knows the business runs almost on it's own, he's set it up so well.
We're right on the lake, and there is a stream that runs near the cabin that you can hear it, but this drought is very bad, the lake is so low that my brother had to run his boat out onto a floating raft and we can walk through the low water to it. Where the raft is the edge of the lake drops down deeply, but still one can see the effects of the drought
Lois my sister in law, has planted native plants that deal with this type of weather very well.
They've done a marvelous job of re-decorating the cabin with their finds from the White Elephant sale. The lovely cowboy painting over the fireplace gives it a perfect finishing touch.
It's so relaxing up here, even Princess is enjoying it although it is warm, I had her fur trimmed down just enough so she's not too wrapped up in her fur, and I've put down wet towels for her and she is in the shade, with lots of water. And a fan for her. I stay in the shade as well, I'm so fair skinned, that I would burn before any tan.
Juanita is on vacation as well visiting family all over, I have a bonded house sitter staying at the house while we are gone. Although Juanita has told the house sitter that she will be coming back from time to time to check on things. That's why I love her.
Although I love to go into the city to keep up with my investments, there is something just so decadent being up here. It gives my mind a chance to relax and percolate as well with ideas.
My "Business Ladies Who Lunch" e-mail me with ideas although they are also planning vacations as well.
I know, who can plan a vacation when gasoline is so high---well for one thing---let someone else do the driving. One lady I know has had for over 18 months reservations to stay at the Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite, so she and her husband have taken the train and the bus shuttle to the lodge, they rent bicycles there or take the tram to the various spots. Now they were planning to drive to Yosemite originally, but when gas hit $4.00 a gallon they starting thinking, so a friend drove them to the station and they were off. When they get back they will call a taxi.
In the long run it will cheaper.
That's is one way----you, my Dear Diva's will have to put on the thinking caps---because there are other ways as well.
I have to admit I drove to my brother's but then I wanted my car to be available to go anywhere at anytime. But it is no trouble to ride a bicycle around here to go to the store or anything. My brother made sure that the bikes were heavy duty and have baskets to carry groceries, including insulated bags for ice cream---I'm going to pay for this at the gym, but maybe not, it's usually Lois and I cycling to the store together so maybe with that exercise I won't need to.
Today is the First Day of Summer---and we are seeing a number of people on the Lake, my brother always worries that someone will have an accident. That is why he has a red, yellow orange bouyes around the raft and boat, and a blinking beacon on at night. "People don't use proper caution or their eyes" he says.
My nieces and nephews have been here and gone on their trip.
But they will return in August.
My brother has been directing some cleaning team to make sure that all the dead fall and dried shrubs have been removed to avoid any fire hazards. A friend of his, who lives up here year round who is a member of the fire dept. showed my brother what he needs to do. Fortunately a lot of work was done last year, a ceramic roof, vents screened, pine needles swept away, some natural firebreaks created and a water pump system to wet the area should the unthinkable happen, now it's just maintaining it.
Lois said that should a fire start and we have to leave the one thing she's going to grab from the house is the painting. Everything else is replaceable she says but that painting is one of a kind.
As a matter of fact my brother and sister in law are planning to retire up here in a few years.
Lois told me that they will just sell off everything at their San Francisco home, all they need is their family pictures "Everything" she said " was bought both to use, admire and as an investment, we can sell it all, and give to the children anything they want. We accumulate so much, that as one gets older one has to see what is really important in life"
What she told me has given me an idea for a future blog which I'll address at another time.
But right now Darlings there is something I want to pass on to all of you.
My brother has been following this story, and even I had noticed it back in 2007.
There is a venture company called LS9 in the Silicon Valley area---just Google in LS9 and you'll find the stories---it seems that they are developing nano-bacteria that will turn garbage into oil, or as my brother calls it "they poop oil". The only draw back is to develop a refinery to create enough oil to meet the U.S.'s current needs would require an area the size of Chicago. However, there is no need to use trucks to transport this oil---it can travel through the current pipelines that we now have.
My brother is watching this development very carefully, right now LS9 is privately owned but with the right breakthroughs, it could become the future "Apple Corp" to invest in.
I have to agree, anything that is reasonable that can produce oil at $50 a barrel and is less hazardous is worth investing in especially if it can take our garbage and "Poop oil" and get us away from foreign oil. As 'Mean Kitty' told me when I told this to her---"anything to stick a stick in the Foreigner's eyes".
So Darlings, watch for the future investing in energy, there are companies out there, check the latest Forbes and Fortune magazines for suggestions. But energy development is going to be a new wave of investing.
And that is one to put your thinking caps on my Dears.
For now this Diva is going to enjoy a nice ice cold Lemonade drink and relax.
Until Annon Darlings, Kisses.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
More Budget Ideas....
Hello again Darlings,
I am happy to say that I am making excellent although slow progress, last Sunday I was able to take my little Darling Diva Princess for a walk, granted it was only two blocks, but it was a start.
I am hoping that the weather will warm up mildly; I’ve had just enough of the chill and the wind for one winter.
The other evening I had a wonderful telephone conversation with my Brother Tom, he has invited me and Princess to join him and his wife up to his cabin in the mountains for a few weeks, the grand children will be up as soon as school lets out, they spend a few weeks up there, then off to see a fantastic place like Zion National Park, or historic places, then they come back and spend August with the grand parents. But part of their arrangement as encouraged by their parents is to write a two page essay about each of the places they saw and how it historically created our society. I was very surprised to hear what their parents are doing but they told me it was to help expand their education and awareness---of course they will go to Disneyland, that is their treat for keeping their grades up, poor grades no Disneyland. I think it’s a fair deal.
But even I have found it to be so restful out under the stars, which is why my niece and nephew love to go camping with their children and have them see historic places as well. Good education they say, and I have to agree.
But interesting enough my brother and his wife are going up and staying there for a while because of some legal business, not that he is having trouble but he’s decided to make sure the Homestead on his property is up to date and he is having the land re surveyed to make sure the property lines are still correct.
Then he informed me that he was going in to buy the timber, mineral and water rights as well as any other rights to his land where the family cabin is located plus making sure that the right of way is correct. He told me that the rights were still available, but many people do not realize that when they buy property they forget all these other property rights and the homestead option to protect their holdings.
Especially if you are buying land in the country, by having the homestead and all these rights, no one can get the land out from under you, if nothing else they will be forced by law to pay fair market value, and they will have to pay you for the rights or to lease the rights from you. I don’t know all the ins and outs of this but to you my Dear Diva’s and Diva’s in training one other person to add to your people to assist you is a real estate lawyer or property lawyer.
Never assume that your property is going to be safe, not with the government trying to condemn the land right out from under you and then giving them over to private developers.
Always Darlings protect what is yours, never surrender it without a good fight and then make sure they pay dearly for it.
Hetty Greene, whom some people referred to as “the witch of Wall Street” was a very sharp investor, her policy was buy cheap and sell dear, invest in something that there will be a demand for. The thing of it is, what is it that they will want, that is the trick.
Personally I’ve been looking at food products and products that people will always need, a child will always love to eat Mac and Cheese, so who makes a good product that sells well? Then find out who owns it, and then find out who is the ‘parent company’, that would be the best one to invest in for the long term. Other products as well such as toilet paper, Supermarkets, commodities. But go in for the long run, the sustainable run, not a quick profit.
Gold besides being used for jewelry is used in electronics, dentistry, and other applications, that will always go up. But I also invest in Silver as well.
And how are all you Diva Darlings doing?
I hope you are all doing well. Especially with all the sticker shock that is going around.
My “Business Ladies Who Lunch” and I had a gathering this last week and had been talking about the economy.
We do agree that part of the problem is the cap on oil production with demand increasing especially in China and India. As well as the useless and dangerous concept of using Corn for a Bio-Diesel fuel.
As one of my Ladies said “We can’t all convert to Bio-diesel or buy a Hybrid or Electric Car. Our current budgets simply don’t allow such purchases and there are places we want to go where such resources of that type of fuel, or plug in’s are not available. So we are stuck with gasoline/oil.”
Another said that the use of Corn, a staple of most food products, is financially dangerous, “We should look into other products such as sugar cane, or a form of sedge grass that seems to work well, even soy---something that grows fast, is quickly renewable and is not the foundation of the food economy, even reusing cooking oil from our homes or restaurants, didn’t they do something like that during World War II (yes they did as an oil/glycerin substitute). Looking into what Brazil is doing is important.”
I have to agree but for many people who have cars that run on gasoline, if they do not have a vehicle that runs on diesel such a conversion is not possible, the only thing is to hope for that more people will buy diesel engines, run on bio-diesel and in turn lower the cost of gasoline because the demand will be less.
And currently the investment return on Hybrids would be a long time in coming.
Another of my ladies said that Bamboo is an excellent wood crop for floors, plywood, furniture, and even paper products, etc., it’s fast growing, strong, and quickly renewable
“Cissy” mentioned that she re-discovered her LP collection when she was given as a gift a combination record-player with Radio, CD player and Tape player recorder. She loves it because it looks so old-fashioned.
She began to look over her unused Long Play 33 1/3 speed vinyl records, especially the classics, so carefully cleaning her records she began to play them and tape some of her favorites so she could play them over and over again without wearing out the records, and she tapes some of her favorite songs off the radio. Granted she has to put up with a brief bit of commercials but it’s worth it and again a saving instead of buying the entire CD she gets the music she wants---“later on” she said “I’ll buy the best of ‘so and so’ but I’ll save up my cans and plastic for that.”
Other suggestions were ~~~~
Plans your meals in advance, see what you already have in your pantry and then only shop with a grocery list; avoid impulse buying at the Supermarket or anywhere. Make a check list of your pantry so you’ll know what you have and what you’ve run out of, and only buy store brands if possible and be sure to use coupons.
If you simply have the urge to shop then go to Garage or Yard Sales, but also go with a list, only get what you need. Another suggested Holding a Yard sale at least twice a year, “cleans out the closet and you make money, then what is left over I list and donate and get a tax write off.”
The concept of cans and plastic for money was also brought up---Crush them (cans) so you can store more, but be sure to spray for ants and such, they get attracted to the sugar.
One of the ladies said that she was sure if she saved the money from turning in the cans and plastic she could save up for a nice vacation.
Another said that when she bicycles she carries several bags with her to collect the cans she finds (wear gloves as well). She also is fairly close to her grocery store, so she bicycles there, she found a place that sells second hand sports items and she found what she calls a tag-a-long, mostly people put their kids into them, but she found that it works well to carry her groceries, especially that she uses the recyclable cloth bags from the store. It works very well but put a flag on it so people in cars can see it since it rides low and follow all the vehicle laws, don’t just blast through a stop sign and stay to the far right of the road.
She saw someone who didn’t follow the rules, run a stop sign and got hit by a car, she told the police that the bicyclist was in the wrong, which ticked the bicyclist off, but as she said---he broke the law.
Several of the ladies said that the idea of Ipods and other portable electronic equipment are “…just useless” with the exception of the cell phone, “… there are times when you have to be in touch with the office and your clients…or if the car breaks down….emergencies…..if you can write if off as a business expense that would be good, check with your tax person…it’s stupid to use that at your main means of communication with friends to just ‘chat’ that’s what e-mail and land line phones are for…..I still need my lap top for my job but to write that off in taxes would be good.”….this was all the round-robin talk on electronics.
But one of the ladies mentioned a news article that appeared in the May 25, 2008 issue of the Los Angeles Times that said that the old services that most people had abandoned are coming back, railroads, Steel Companies, mining concerns, and agriculture, what is old is now new again.
All the tech. industry has offered things that occupy our minds and entertain us but it seems that in the long run people are now running back to that which you can hold, whether its cotton, cooking oil, or metals like copper or steel or fertilizer for food crops. In comparing U.S. Steel to Microsoft, Microsoft has flat-lined while Steel has shot up 1,000% in recent years.
Now I had told the ladies several years ago just after the dot coms had deflated that in time the old-fashioned tried and true will become the new wave of the future, I had been saying one needs to look to what is China demanding, what China demands is the wave of investments of the future.
I kept my U.S. Steel stock because it was given to me by my grandfather and I held it out of sentiment and just allowed it to grow and do what it does, granted it’s fortunes have been up and down and when it was down is when I bought more stock, and just let the funds come in.
Yes there are towns in the mid-west that are dying, but they can be re-vitalized with the new demands in solid tangibles, mad cow disease be damned. Although it could be at the expense of the coastal areas, unless one invests in shipping or Ports, the U.S. can increase its export potential.
The only problem is that job growth in these sectors is slow and in some areas jobs have been lost. The ladies believe that it’s because of improved ways of farming that use less labor.
But it’s much more---If any of you can, do read this article from the May 25, 2008 Los Angeles Times it is written by Peter G. Gosselin, and he’s right---one just needs to look at the raw materials demands of China, India and Brazil which the U.S. is rich in.
That may be the wave of the future and a possible bull market for 20 to 40 years, even if the U.S. dollar maybe slow to bounce back.
In the meantime, the ladies and I are still looking for ways to budget and cut back, another thought is overextended consumerism.
One of the ladies is going to try for a year to only buy food, medicine, hygiene products, just pay bills, insurances, purchase only what is needed for the upkeep of her car, and see about getting for free her magazines, books, DVD’s and CD’s at the Library and avoid buying clothes. Of course she does need to maintain her hair cut, and she will get her shoes re-heeled and such. But she’s going to try to put some of our suggestions into action and see what happens.
As a matter of fact all of us are going to try to do the same, it will be interesting to see how much we can save.
But in the meantime I’ll also be packing and selecting my clothes for my little vacation, it will be nice to be out under the stars and enjoying peace and quiet.
Until Annon Darlings, Kisses.
I am happy to say that I am making excellent although slow progress, last Sunday I was able to take my little Darling Diva Princess for a walk, granted it was only two blocks, but it was a start.
I am hoping that the weather will warm up mildly; I’ve had just enough of the chill and the wind for one winter.
The other evening I had a wonderful telephone conversation with my Brother Tom, he has invited me and Princess to join him and his wife up to his cabin in the mountains for a few weeks, the grand children will be up as soon as school lets out, they spend a few weeks up there, then off to see a fantastic place like Zion National Park, or historic places, then they come back and spend August with the grand parents. But part of their arrangement as encouraged by their parents is to write a two page essay about each of the places they saw and how it historically created our society. I was very surprised to hear what their parents are doing but they told me it was to help expand their education and awareness---of course they will go to Disneyland, that is their treat for keeping their grades up, poor grades no Disneyland. I think it’s a fair deal.
But even I have found it to be so restful out under the stars, which is why my niece and nephew love to go camping with their children and have them see historic places as well. Good education they say, and I have to agree.
But interesting enough my brother and his wife are going up and staying there for a while because of some legal business, not that he is having trouble but he’s decided to make sure the Homestead on his property is up to date and he is having the land re surveyed to make sure the property lines are still correct.
Then he informed me that he was going in to buy the timber, mineral and water rights as well as any other rights to his land where the family cabin is located plus making sure that the right of way is correct. He told me that the rights were still available, but many people do not realize that when they buy property they forget all these other property rights and the homestead option to protect their holdings.
Especially if you are buying land in the country, by having the homestead and all these rights, no one can get the land out from under you, if nothing else they will be forced by law to pay fair market value, and they will have to pay you for the rights or to lease the rights from you. I don’t know all the ins and outs of this but to you my Dear Diva’s and Diva’s in training one other person to add to your people to assist you is a real estate lawyer or property lawyer.
Never assume that your property is going to be safe, not with the government trying to condemn the land right out from under you and then giving them over to private developers.
Always Darlings protect what is yours, never surrender it without a good fight and then make sure they pay dearly for it.
Hetty Greene, whom some people referred to as “the witch of Wall Street” was a very sharp investor, her policy was buy cheap and sell dear, invest in something that there will be a demand for. The thing of it is, what is it that they will want, that is the trick.
Personally I’ve been looking at food products and products that people will always need, a child will always love to eat Mac and Cheese, so who makes a good product that sells well? Then find out who owns it, and then find out who is the ‘parent company’, that would be the best one to invest in for the long term. Other products as well such as toilet paper, Supermarkets, commodities. But go in for the long run, the sustainable run, not a quick profit.
Gold besides being used for jewelry is used in electronics, dentistry, and other applications, that will always go up. But I also invest in Silver as well.
And how are all you Diva Darlings doing?
I hope you are all doing well. Especially with all the sticker shock that is going around.
My “Business Ladies Who Lunch” and I had a gathering this last week and had been talking about the economy.
We do agree that part of the problem is the cap on oil production with demand increasing especially in China and India. As well as the useless and dangerous concept of using Corn for a Bio-Diesel fuel.
As one of my Ladies said “We can’t all convert to Bio-diesel or buy a Hybrid or Electric Car. Our current budgets simply don’t allow such purchases and there are places we want to go where such resources of that type of fuel, or plug in’s are not available. So we are stuck with gasoline/oil.”
Another said that the use of Corn, a staple of most food products, is financially dangerous, “We should look into other products such as sugar cane, or a form of sedge grass that seems to work well, even soy---something that grows fast, is quickly renewable and is not the foundation of the food economy, even reusing cooking oil from our homes or restaurants, didn’t they do something like that during World War II (yes they did as an oil/glycerin substitute). Looking into what Brazil is doing is important.”
I have to agree but for many people who have cars that run on gasoline, if they do not have a vehicle that runs on diesel such a conversion is not possible, the only thing is to hope for that more people will buy diesel engines, run on bio-diesel and in turn lower the cost of gasoline because the demand will be less.
And currently the investment return on Hybrids would be a long time in coming.
Another of my ladies said that Bamboo is an excellent wood crop for floors, plywood, furniture, and even paper products, etc., it’s fast growing, strong, and quickly renewable
“Cissy” mentioned that she re-discovered her LP collection when she was given as a gift a combination record-player with Radio, CD player and Tape player recorder. She loves it because it looks so old-fashioned.
She began to look over her unused Long Play 33 1/3 speed vinyl records, especially the classics, so carefully cleaning her records she began to play them and tape some of her favorites so she could play them over and over again without wearing out the records, and she tapes some of her favorite songs off the radio. Granted she has to put up with a brief bit of commercials but it’s worth it and again a saving instead of buying the entire CD she gets the music she wants---“later on” she said “I’ll buy the best of ‘so and so’ but I’ll save up my cans and plastic for that.”
Other suggestions were ~~~~
Plans your meals in advance, see what you already have in your pantry and then only shop with a grocery list; avoid impulse buying at the Supermarket or anywhere. Make a check list of your pantry so you’ll know what you have and what you’ve run out of, and only buy store brands if possible and be sure to use coupons.
If you simply have the urge to shop then go to Garage or Yard Sales, but also go with a list, only get what you need. Another suggested Holding a Yard sale at least twice a year, “cleans out the closet and you make money, then what is left over I list and donate and get a tax write off.”
The concept of cans and plastic for money was also brought up---Crush them (cans) so you can store more, but be sure to spray for ants and such, they get attracted to the sugar.
One of the ladies said that she was sure if she saved the money from turning in the cans and plastic she could save up for a nice vacation.
Another said that when she bicycles she carries several bags with her to collect the cans she finds (wear gloves as well). She also is fairly close to her grocery store, so she bicycles there, she found a place that sells second hand sports items and she found what she calls a tag-a-long, mostly people put their kids into them, but she found that it works well to carry her groceries, especially that she uses the recyclable cloth bags from the store. It works very well but put a flag on it so people in cars can see it since it rides low and follow all the vehicle laws, don’t just blast through a stop sign and stay to the far right of the road.
She saw someone who didn’t follow the rules, run a stop sign and got hit by a car, she told the police that the bicyclist was in the wrong, which ticked the bicyclist off, but as she said---he broke the law.
Several of the ladies said that the idea of Ipods and other portable electronic equipment are “…just useless” with the exception of the cell phone, “… there are times when you have to be in touch with the office and your clients…or if the car breaks down….emergencies…..if you can write if off as a business expense that would be good, check with your tax person…it’s stupid to use that at your main means of communication with friends to just ‘chat’ that’s what e-mail and land line phones are for…..I still need my lap top for my job but to write that off in taxes would be good.”….this was all the round-robin talk on electronics.
But one of the ladies mentioned a news article that appeared in the May 25, 2008 issue of the Los Angeles Times that said that the old services that most people had abandoned are coming back, railroads, Steel Companies, mining concerns, and agriculture, what is old is now new again.
All the tech. industry has offered things that occupy our minds and entertain us but it seems that in the long run people are now running back to that which you can hold, whether its cotton, cooking oil, or metals like copper or steel or fertilizer for food crops. In comparing U.S. Steel to Microsoft, Microsoft has flat-lined while Steel has shot up 1,000% in recent years.
Now I had told the ladies several years ago just after the dot coms had deflated that in time the old-fashioned tried and true will become the new wave of the future, I had been saying one needs to look to what is China demanding, what China demands is the wave of investments of the future.
I kept my U.S. Steel stock because it was given to me by my grandfather and I held it out of sentiment and just allowed it to grow and do what it does, granted it’s fortunes have been up and down and when it was down is when I bought more stock, and just let the funds come in.
Yes there are towns in the mid-west that are dying, but they can be re-vitalized with the new demands in solid tangibles, mad cow disease be damned. Although it could be at the expense of the coastal areas, unless one invests in shipping or Ports, the U.S. can increase its export potential.
The only problem is that job growth in these sectors is slow and in some areas jobs have been lost. The ladies believe that it’s because of improved ways of farming that use less labor.
But it’s much more---If any of you can, do read this article from the May 25, 2008 Los Angeles Times it is written by Peter G. Gosselin, and he’s right---one just needs to look at the raw materials demands of China, India and Brazil which the U.S. is rich in.
That may be the wave of the future and a possible bull market for 20 to 40 years, even if the U.S. dollar maybe slow to bounce back.
In the meantime, the ladies and I are still looking for ways to budget and cut back, another thought is overextended consumerism.
One of the ladies is going to try for a year to only buy food, medicine, hygiene products, just pay bills, insurances, purchase only what is needed for the upkeep of her car, and see about getting for free her magazines, books, DVD’s and CD’s at the Library and avoid buying clothes. Of course she does need to maintain her hair cut, and she will get her shoes re-heeled and such. But she’s going to try to put some of our suggestions into action and see what happens.
As a matter of fact all of us are going to try to do the same, it will be interesting to see how much we can save.
But in the meantime I’ll also be packing and selecting my clothes for my little vacation, it will be nice to be out under the stars and enjoying peace and quiet.
Until Annon Darlings, Kisses.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
An Update
Hello Darlings,
To all of you who personally know me, Thank you, Thank you for all the wonderful get well cards. I will have by now been in touch with most of you, don't worry I will catch up with everyone.
Just an update darlings who have been following me on my "Blog". I am getting better, I can get around now quite well, but I will need to use a cane from time to time and a light weight wheelchair if I have to stand or walk for more than a half an hour.
But I can move around my home again, drive my car again and generally take care of business again.
The Doctors have told me that I injured the tendons around my ankle a bit more than what was first realized, and as with anyone of a 'certain age' it will take me longer to heal, but heal I will.
I know can get around with out the use of my nurse, and I was very sorry to see her leave, but all is not lost. My dear friend Dolly is having her elderly mother live with her instead of those care homes, the dear lady is very alert and in her own way very active, but she does need assistance. So when I told Dolly about my nurse, Dolly immediately interviewed her and since her mother and her are fluent in Spanish and other languages, it worked out very well.
So arrangements were made that as soon as the doctor said that I no longer needed Isabella that she was available to go to Dolly's home. Dolly told me that with having Isabella to watch her mother and take her mother places, she has much less worries while she is at work.
Juanita does miss her, but since she knows where Isabella's new place is they will still be able to visit.
Oh but Darlings it is just so wonderful to finally be able to get out and do things again, even if at this time I'm still a bit limited but to be able to have my spa and beauty treatments again is just so wonderful.
Alright I'm vain, but it does feel so good.
Now to all you Darling Divas, it is good to budget especially during these bad financial times, but on my routine trips to the city (which I'm so glad to be able to do again) I've managed to 'chat up' several young ladies who are in the business world and we manage to get together for lunch once a week.
(side note to Lauren who I know checks this blog every day---don't sell those rings yet---I have a suggestion for you and I'll tell you about it when we meet for Lunch this coming Tuesday)
Any way Darlings, in talking to these bright young ladies, we've come up with suggestions to save some money here and there.
Now this is only a few ideas and there will be more added---
One young lady use to have a weekly mani-pedi but by only having it just once every 6 weeks, and bringing her polish choice from home, she can do touch ups at home and save over $200 every 6 weeks.
Another young lady use to drive her car to work every day, pay for monthly parking, and Fast Track as well as the cost of gasoline, now she leaves her car at home 4 days a week and takes public transportation, she has stopped the monthly parking, lowered her gasoline costs, and dropped fast track. Especially since she found out that the transbay buses have WiFi, so she is able to start on her work sooner.
And in just two months she has been able to save, in her words, "A Bundle". She only drives her car on Thursdays so she can do her grocery shopping straight from her job.
Another young lady brings her coffee and lunch from home instead of buying the 5 dollar coffee's at Starbucks and eating out. With the exception of our weekly lunches, and even she has noticed more money in her checking account.
They are are using coupons, watching sales on products they want, buying store brands, and using the public library to save money, they plan their shopping errands and keep a note book so they will know the times when some shops open and close when they plan their trips.
One of my young ladies has said that in stead of buying a gift she gives a gift card for a certain amount at a store that they know their family member or friend likes to go to. It saves money.
And this is only the start.
Now I do recommend my dear Divas to look for "Money" Magazine for June 2008, in it there is an article for creating a good investment portfolio for each stage of your life towards retirement.
Now there is one thing that all my young ladies have said, getting a spa treatment or a massage every two to 3 months as a treat is a must just to feel good.
But it seems that the adventure of Saving Money seems to be catching up with them, how creative can they be?
One young lady told me that because she has been working on saving money that she has reduced her attendance at some of the hot spots, and when she does go she has found that falling back on the most inexpensive drink (not beer) has been a savings for her as well as not having more than two during the whole of the evening, she told me that she has found it to be more of a 'prop' to have in front of her than as a drink. And she has found more fun and educational things to do that are free. For her she has put her savings into her investment portfolio.
So much to think about---Now to all you Darling Diva's and Diva's in Training---I put the challenge to you. What can you do to save money and still have fun? Time to put your "thinking caps" on.
Until Anon. Kisses Darlings.
To all of you who personally know me, Thank you, Thank you for all the wonderful get well cards. I will have by now been in touch with most of you, don't worry I will catch up with everyone.
Just an update darlings who have been following me on my "Blog". I am getting better, I can get around now quite well, but I will need to use a cane from time to time and a light weight wheelchair if I have to stand or walk for more than a half an hour.
But I can move around my home again, drive my car again and generally take care of business again.
The Doctors have told me that I injured the tendons around my ankle a bit more than what was first realized, and as with anyone of a 'certain age' it will take me longer to heal, but heal I will.
I know can get around with out the use of my nurse, and I was very sorry to see her leave, but all is not lost. My dear friend Dolly is having her elderly mother live with her instead of those care homes, the dear lady is very alert and in her own way very active, but she does need assistance. So when I told Dolly about my nurse, Dolly immediately interviewed her and since her mother and her are fluent in Spanish and other languages, it worked out very well.
So arrangements were made that as soon as the doctor said that I no longer needed Isabella that she was available to go to Dolly's home. Dolly told me that with having Isabella to watch her mother and take her mother places, she has much less worries while she is at work.
Juanita does miss her, but since she knows where Isabella's new place is they will still be able to visit.
Oh but Darlings it is just so wonderful to finally be able to get out and do things again, even if at this time I'm still a bit limited but to be able to have my spa and beauty treatments again is just so wonderful.
Alright I'm vain, but it does feel so good.
Now to all you Darling Divas, it is good to budget especially during these bad financial times, but on my routine trips to the city (which I'm so glad to be able to do again) I've managed to 'chat up' several young ladies who are in the business world and we manage to get together for lunch once a week.
(side note to Lauren who I know checks this blog every day---don't sell those rings yet---I have a suggestion for you and I'll tell you about it when we meet for Lunch this coming Tuesday)
Any way Darlings, in talking to these bright young ladies, we've come up with suggestions to save some money here and there.
Now this is only a few ideas and there will be more added---
One young lady use to have a weekly mani-pedi but by only having it just once every 6 weeks, and bringing her polish choice from home, she can do touch ups at home and save over $200 every 6 weeks.
Another young lady use to drive her car to work every day, pay for monthly parking, and Fast Track as well as the cost of gasoline, now she leaves her car at home 4 days a week and takes public transportation, she has stopped the monthly parking, lowered her gasoline costs, and dropped fast track. Especially since she found out that the transbay buses have WiFi, so she is able to start on her work sooner.
And in just two months she has been able to save, in her words, "A Bundle". She only drives her car on Thursdays so she can do her grocery shopping straight from her job.
Another young lady brings her coffee and lunch from home instead of buying the 5 dollar coffee's at Starbucks and eating out. With the exception of our weekly lunches, and even she has noticed more money in her checking account.
They are are using coupons, watching sales on products they want, buying store brands, and using the public library to save money, they plan their shopping errands and keep a note book so they will know the times when some shops open and close when they plan their trips.
One of my young ladies has said that in stead of buying a gift she gives a gift card for a certain amount at a store that they know their family member or friend likes to go to. It saves money.
And this is only the start.
Now I do recommend my dear Divas to look for "Money" Magazine for June 2008, in it there is an article for creating a good investment portfolio for each stage of your life towards retirement.
Now there is one thing that all my young ladies have said, getting a spa treatment or a massage every two to 3 months as a treat is a must just to feel good.
But it seems that the adventure of Saving Money seems to be catching up with them, how creative can they be?
One young lady told me that because she has been working on saving money that she has reduced her attendance at some of the hot spots, and when she does go she has found that falling back on the most inexpensive drink (not beer) has been a savings for her as well as not having more than two during the whole of the evening, she told me that she has found it to be more of a 'prop' to have in front of her than as a drink. And she has found more fun and educational things to do that are free. For her she has put her savings into her investment portfolio.
So much to think about---Now to all you Darling Diva's and Diva's in Training---I put the challenge to you. What can you do to save money and still have fun? Time to put your "thinking caps" on.
Until Anon. Kisses Darlings.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Twisted ankles and frustration~~~
Well Darlings,
I guess you've noticed that I had not posted for almost a month. ***sigh*** Sometimes life can be so frustrating.
Here I was, taking care of things, enjoying life, content that I've paid my income tax, took care of the property taxes, paid the house and car insurances--(I like to get all of that out of the way by April)---and then I think, I'm going to have a bit of fun.
It was not to be, a few weeks ago I was planning to post on my blog, but I decided to take Princess for her walk first, she loves to go to the beach, not that she gets dirty in the sand but there are so many nice people with their little dogs, and it's fun for her to exchange greetings.
I have fun too meeting on occasion a friend or acquittance that I've not seen for a while, I thank the Gods above that it was not raining and the weather was mild for March. Princess and I walked home and I was just even with my house, just 30 more steps and we would be home, when I tripped over an elevated portion of the side walk. I landed heavily, but I kept my hand on Princess leash.
I have to confess I was frightened, I found that I could not get up, my ankle was sending sharp pains, and I feared it was broken, all I could do was call out for help, but it was a late Sunday evening and most of my neighbors were out for the evening. Thank God Juanita was in her room, and her window was open to allow fresh air in and she heard me.
Running out to the front she found me helpless on my back with poor Princess just whining with fear, she helped me sit up as best as the pain would allow, then she used her cell phone to call 911. And the firemen and the paramedics showed up***sigh*** they are so handsome and as "mean Kitty would say" hunky.
Well the up-shot was my ankle was so swollen that they could not tell if it was broken or sprained, and they were concerned about any other fractures I might have received, so I got Juanita to get my purse and while the ambulance transported me to the ER, Juanita took care of Princess and called my brother Tom in San Francisco.
So spending 4 hours in the ER (and I'm not complaining--there were people coming in who had life threatening injuries, so they had a higher priority) They found that my blood pressure was severely elevated, my ankle was very badly sprained and I would need to be off of it for several weeks, seems some tendons were injured as well. But they kept me in the hospital for 3 days to make sure that my blood pressure would come down to normal. And the Television programing was such a bore, one can stand Jerry Springer and Maury Povich for just so long, my room mate an older woman just loves them, so I endured it, I felt she was much closer to meeting her end than I was so who was I to deny her what pleasures she got.
Fortunately Tom and Lois came by and we all had a chance to talk to the doctor who wanted me to have a practical nurse for a week or two to help me bathe, get to the bath room and monitor my blood pressure, which was good thing, I didn't want to put any strain on Juanita, but Juanita took a bit of a personal affront about all of this, but I talked to her privately and told her that she had enough to do without injuring her back helping me, I wanted her to stay healthy or we both would be bed-ridden, then who would take care of Princess?
With that she was satisfied, and then it turned out that the practical nurse that Tom had found was a friend of Juanita's daughter Constance, so with the two of them helping me I began to make my recovery, the hard part was driving, I couldn't drive with my ankle, so Isabella my nurse drove me to the Doctor's office in her car.
It was very nice, and as a treat for all of us, since Isabella was going to be staying with me for a while in the guest room, we all watched the Telenovella stations (I do speak and understand Spanish) and I didn't feel bored.
But sometimes my ankle would throb so badly that I couldn't think straight and I hated taking pain pill, but to sleep I had to. I put off any decision making, both financially and otherwise which was a good thing, by letting some of my investments ride, they came out better and stronger in a fluctuating market.
We finally reached a point where I could finally maneuver myself into the shower and with one of those shower stools I could bathe and wash my hair, what a blessing!!!
I now can get around the house with a cane for support, but to do any shopping or any walking my ankle was not well enough, I was given a temporary handicapped placard, and Juanita insisted that I use the electric carts that the grocery stores have. Wheeee it was fun and Princess could ride in my lap.
But my friends were concerned, there were several events that we had all planned to go to, so I rented a small lightweight wheelchair---not one of those big clumsy ones---it just folds up and fits into a trunk.
And it was wonderful to finally have my hair styled again.
In another month or so the doctor says I should be well enough to do away with the wheelchair and the cane, but I have to say that what concerned me was the feeling of helplessness, I began looking at my lovely house with a different eye, and as soon as I am able I'm going to install things to help me get around especially when I get older. I never thought of becoming old and frail, but this was a wake up call.
Diva's need to know that to everything there is a season, you can be glamours at any age, but you have to acknowledge that there will come the time when you have to look at the frailties of old age, and to consider being prepared for it.
If nothing else My Dear Diva's please learn from this personal lesson.
I guess you've noticed that I had not posted for almost a month. ***sigh*** Sometimes life can be so frustrating.
Here I was, taking care of things, enjoying life, content that I've paid my income tax, took care of the property taxes, paid the house and car insurances--(I like to get all of that out of the way by April)---and then I think, I'm going to have a bit of fun.
It was not to be, a few weeks ago I was planning to post on my blog, but I decided to take Princess for her walk first, she loves to go to the beach, not that she gets dirty in the sand but there are so many nice people with their little dogs, and it's fun for her to exchange greetings.
I have fun too meeting on occasion a friend or acquittance that I've not seen for a while, I thank the Gods above that it was not raining and the weather was mild for March. Princess and I walked home and I was just even with my house, just 30 more steps and we would be home, when I tripped over an elevated portion of the side walk. I landed heavily, but I kept my hand on Princess leash.
I have to confess I was frightened, I found that I could not get up, my ankle was sending sharp pains, and I feared it was broken, all I could do was call out for help, but it was a late Sunday evening and most of my neighbors were out for the evening. Thank God Juanita was in her room, and her window was open to allow fresh air in and she heard me.
Running out to the front she found me helpless on my back with poor Princess just whining with fear, she helped me sit up as best as the pain would allow, then she used her cell phone to call 911. And the firemen and the paramedics showed up***sigh*** they are so handsome and as "mean Kitty would say" hunky.
Well the up-shot was my ankle was so swollen that they could not tell if it was broken or sprained, and they were concerned about any other fractures I might have received, so I got Juanita to get my purse and while the ambulance transported me to the ER, Juanita took care of Princess and called my brother Tom in San Francisco.
So spending 4 hours in the ER (and I'm not complaining--there were people coming in who had life threatening injuries, so they had a higher priority) They found that my blood pressure was severely elevated, my ankle was very badly sprained and I would need to be off of it for several weeks, seems some tendons were injured as well. But they kept me in the hospital for 3 days to make sure that my blood pressure would come down to normal. And the Television programing was such a bore, one can stand Jerry Springer and Maury Povich for just so long, my room mate an older woman just loves them, so I endured it, I felt she was much closer to meeting her end than I was so who was I to deny her what pleasures she got.
Fortunately Tom and Lois came by and we all had a chance to talk to the doctor who wanted me to have a practical nurse for a week or two to help me bathe, get to the bath room and monitor my blood pressure, which was good thing, I didn't want to put any strain on Juanita, but Juanita took a bit of a personal affront about all of this, but I talked to her privately and told her that she had enough to do without injuring her back helping me, I wanted her to stay healthy or we both would be bed-ridden, then who would take care of Princess?
With that she was satisfied, and then it turned out that the practical nurse that Tom had found was a friend of Juanita's daughter Constance, so with the two of them helping me I began to make my recovery, the hard part was driving, I couldn't drive with my ankle, so Isabella my nurse drove me to the Doctor's office in her car.
It was very nice, and as a treat for all of us, since Isabella was going to be staying with me for a while in the guest room, we all watched the Telenovella stations (I do speak and understand Spanish) and I didn't feel bored.
But sometimes my ankle would throb so badly that I couldn't think straight and I hated taking pain pill, but to sleep I had to. I put off any decision making, both financially and otherwise which was a good thing, by letting some of my investments ride, they came out better and stronger in a fluctuating market.
We finally reached a point where I could finally maneuver myself into the shower and with one of those shower stools I could bathe and wash my hair, what a blessing!!!
I now can get around the house with a cane for support, but to do any shopping or any walking my ankle was not well enough, I was given a temporary handicapped placard, and Juanita insisted that I use the electric carts that the grocery stores have. Wheeee it was fun and Princess could ride in my lap.
But my friends were concerned, there were several events that we had all planned to go to, so I rented a small lightweight wheelchair---not one of those big clumsy ones---it just folds up and fits into a trunk.
And it was wonderful to finally have my hair styled again.
In another month or so the doctor says I should be well enough to do away with the wheelchair and the cane, but I have to say that what concerned me was the feeling of helplessness, I began looking at my lovely house with a different eye, and as soon as I am able I'm going to install things to help me get around especially when I get older. I never thought of becoming old and frail, but this was a wake up call.
Diva's need to know that to everything there is a season, you can be glamours at any age, but you have to acknowledge that there will come the time when you have to look at the frailties of old age, and to consider being prepared for it.
If nothing else My Dear Diva's please learn from this personal lesson.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Have Been Busy---White Elephant Sales and all~~~
Well Darlings,
You are just going to have to forgive me for not posting for so long, but I have been very busy.
First of course, were the taxes and fortunately they were exactly as I had expected. My tax preparer is always so happy that I keep excellent records; well it does help to work with him throughout the year, especially if one has any questions. When I was with my friend Michelle in Reno, I did have some substantial winnings, but they will be for the 2008 taxes.
Then the garden, while we had some good weather I had my gardener work on the garden to make sure that I would have blooming flowers all year round and right now the plum and cherry trees are in magnificent full bloom, but it does aggravate one’s allergies, but I’m a bit fortunate in that regard, just some sneezing and sniffles and it’s worth it to see all that beauty.
I hired Manuel, Juanita’s son-in-law to work on the platform dock that I have to make sure that it is solid and to upgrade it so that when the weather is fine one can have coffee or cocktails without it sinking into the water. He did a wonderful job, and I was surprised to discover that he is such a fine craftsman with wood furniture, an artist really; I’m going to recommend him to a number of my friends who are doing some remodeling in their homes.
And I’m still decorating my home, well Darlings it never stops. I had a spare bedroom that I had not furnished yet, I wanted to continue my art deco/art moderne theme, but it was finding the right bedroom set. Now my house has 3 bedrooms, mine, and one that I converted for Juanita’s use and one spare bedroom but it wasn’t ready when Michelle stayed a couple of nights earlier this year.
But finally I found it and could get a nice tax write-off, The Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale, my brother Tom and his wife, Lois and I never miss it and this year we were prepared as always, Tom’s two sons and their wives were also coming with us and we had their trucks with rented trailers attached for our haul.
I asked Juanita if she wanted to come with us and she did. It was there that I found it, the perfect bedroom set, it had that wonderful round vanity mirror with the vanity and matching chair, two night stands, a dresser, double bed and an armoire with a mounted mirror. And a bonus, I also found the perfect table that would go with my Bogart Lux Dinning chairs; I just could not believe my luck with all of that.
My brother found some furniture to go into his cabin to replace some odd pieces that were there and that would match the décor a bit better and Lois, the girls and I found some jewelry we couldn’t live without (I know it sounds so, well you know, but it was fun). I also found a statue in the art deco style, my sister-in-law Lois came across a painting of an old western town street scene and we agreed that it was perfect for the cabin, Tom and the boys fell in love with it.
Juanita was also very lucky, she found the perfect chaise lounge chair and reading lamp that she had been looking for her room, just right to rest in with one’s feet elevated to read or watch T.V. and also a good sturdy table for her T.V. and DVD player.
So with all the loading and unloading we were delightfully tired, but it didn’t end for Tom and his boys, they all were going up to the cabin at Donner Lake to take the furniture and to check on the Cabin for needed repairs. So after a late lunch off they went while Juanita and I dusted and polished our hard won prizes.
But poor little Princess was feeling a bit neglected so I moved her little bed into the spare bedroom while I polished and cleaned everything to my satisfaction and she had the fun of trying to curl up in my lap as I sat on the floor cleaning every single bit of carving on the furniture. She even fell asleep. Juanita came in and laughed at the fact that I dared not move with my little darling sleeping in my lap, but move I must much to the little darlings’ complaints.
Juanita was very proud of her finds and they fitted into her room just perfectly.
Just when we took a break to have a bit of coffee the door bell rang and it was my sweet darling Kenneth, asking if he could treat me to dinner and an auction preview and I said only if I could go casual.
Then I took a look at Kenneth’s shirt and it was the exact type that Charlie Sheen wears on “Two and a Half Men” (well I do like the humor in that show), so with my (dare I say it) jeans, flannel shirt, tennis shoes and my hair it a cherry print scarf, and his Dockers and Charlie Sheen bowling shirt if that is not casual, then we don’t know what is, so off we went. But I had to sneak Princess with me; she had been neglected enough for one day.
Juanita was fine as her daughter called and she and Manuel were coming to pick her up to go to a relatives house for dinner, so freshening up my face, bundling Princess in her carryall off we went and had fun at the auction preview and made plans to come back the next day for the auction itself.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend, Tom and his family arrived at their cabin just fine without any problems and would be staying there for the week I had asked my friend ‘Mean Kitty’ if she had wanted to go with us to the White Elephant Sale but she had to work that day and hoped she would be lucky on Sunday.
I got lucky at the Auction as well and was able to purchase some jewelry at below their value. And here is where there is another lesson for all you Darling Diva’s.
Jewelry is also a good investment, no matter what, the value of gold and silver is always going up, so are gems, there is only a finite amount to go around, the only one that can be manufactured is pearls and to a certain extent coral, but if the seas or waters are not the right temperature then even pearls will not be available.
There are two prices to look at in terms of jewelry, their cash value (that is the amount of gold or other precious metals or gems) and their design value (that is the design if it is unique and by a well know company or designer) the second can be more valuable than the first.
I have a friend of mine and she will buy what she calls “casual jewelry” at Mervyns or T.J. Max, and sometimes at Macy’s on sale---what she does is takes photo’s of the pieces, puts them in a catalogue binder, tapes the purchase price and what was the original price next to each picture of each piece, this way when she plans to sell them she’ll know what to ask for it. And she has always made a profit.
But this is also true with your good pieces as well, always keep the receipt for the purchase price on file, and then after 5 years get an updated appraisal on it as well.
And all you Diva’s out there who get engaged, remember this---there are several rules about the engagement ring, one of which is traditional, if you break off the engagement you are suppose to give the engagement ring back, if he breaks off the engagement you can keep the ring because it is also a gift or promise to be married.
The only time I would absolutely give the ring back even if it is he who breaks the engagement off, is if the ring is a family heirloom from his family, even if you are the one who breaks the engagement off and the ring is a family heirloom return it, since it would not have any sentimental value to you, by giving the ring back (since it’s an heirloom) you would be looked upon as being an honorable person. If you keep it then be prepared to be sued in court for the ring or its value. A true Diva does not wish to have the head ache of going to court. But always find out first if the ring is an heirloom or if he bought it.
Now there is a gray area here, if he bought the ring and you break off the engagement, then you should give the ring back, but sometimes the ring is kept by the ex-future bride, in that case one of two things will happen either the ex-groom will demand the ring back and even go to court (so be prepared to be sued) or he will walk away and forget the whole thing, the latter rarely happens so it would be best then to give the ring back when you break the engagement, but anything else he gave you (and make sure even in writing) that these are gifts, so you may keep them---if he includes a card or something that indicates it was a period of gift giving, write on the card the date and what he gave you, this will be at least limited proof of his gift giving. Whether this will hold up in court will be up to the judge, but by having the gift cards with the dates it could help your defense. If he asks any questions just say you’re sentimental and also for insurance purposes.
If you do go ahead and get married and then eventually divorced, the rules are this, if he bought the rings you keep them. If they are family heirlooms give them back, it is so much simpler that way---but any jewelry that he buys you or you buy your self---that is yours, only family heirloom jewelry that is from his family should go back. Unless it is stipulated that it is to go to your daughters, in this case it would be best to be magnanimous and speak to your mother-in-law in regards to the heirloom jewelry without interference from your soon to be ex-husband and let her know that you wish to know her feelings on that matter. She will look upon you in a different and positive light, even if her feelings towards you maybe hostile and she acts like a witch, she cannot deny that in regards to the matter of the family jewelry you were honest.
But if you are single and having fun and your man of the hour gives you “bling”, then be calm and collect it, and make sure that the gift card lists the date and the item he gave you and then lock it up in a bank safe deposit box where he can’t get his hands on it.
Just on the news last night, I heard about gold going over $1,000, of course weakening the dollar, but I knew that was coming, since I follow the business and stock news. That is why I have been looking at stocks with growth potential that can weather this unsettling economic situation so remember even jewelry is going go to up in price , don’t waste you money on something that is 10k unless you regard it as just above costume jewelry, make sure it is at least 14k or 18k.
And also about all those little doggies that were going to the Marin animal shelter being rescued from an elderly couple that had over 800 dogs in their home!!! Well I wrote out a check as a donation to help out with the feed and care of those poor things.
Now before anyone thinks that I think more of animals than of people, I do think of people, there is this one charity that I donate regularly that supplies wheelchairs to needy disabled people, I also donate to a women’s shelter and several others that help women in need and children. Women, Children and pets are the one’s that have no voice in this world.
Of course some of you are going to say to me, “but you don’t have children” I have nieces and nephews so I know how it’s like for a child, I am a woman so I know how it’s like for a woman. And yes I do eat meat and I do wear fur, but those are from animals that are specifically bred for that, but even then I do believe that when an animal is made for human consumption it should be done humanely. And I will make no further excuses. Diva’s never make excuses Diva’s just do it.
Well Darlings, it is now Friday and I have plans for this weekend, so Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
You are just going to have to forgive me for not posting for so long, but I have been very busy.
First of course, were the taxes and fortunately they were exactly as I had expected. My tax preparer is always so happy that I keep excellent records; well it does help to work with him throughout the year, especially if one has any questions. When I was with my friend Michelle in Reno, I did have some substantial winnings, but they will be for the 2008 taxes.
Then the garden, while we had some good weather I had my gardener work on the garden to make sure that I would have blooming flowers all year round and right now the plum and cherry trees are in magnificent full bloom, but it does aggravate one’s allergies, but I’m a bit fortunate in that regard, just some sneezing and sniffles and it’s worth it to see all that beauty.
I hired Manuel, Juanita’s son-in-law to work on the platform dock that I have to make sure that it is solid and to upgrade it so that when the weather is fine one can have coffee or cocktails without it sinking into the water. He did a wonderful job, and I was surprised to discover that he is such a fine craftsman with wood furniture, an artist really; I’m going to recommend him to a number of my friends who are doing some remodeling in their homes.
And I’m still decorating my home, well Darlings it never stops. I had a spare bedroom that I had not furnished yet, I wanted to continue my art deco/art moderne theme, but it was finding the right bedroom set. Now my house has 3 bedrooms, mine, and one that I converted for Juanita’s use and one spare bedroom but it wasn’t ready when Michelle stayed a couple of nights earlier this year.
But finally I found it and could get a nice tax write-off, The Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale, my brother Tom and his wife, Lois and I never miss it and this year we were prepared as always, Tom’s two sons and their wives were also coming with us and we had their trucks with rented trailers attached for our haul.
I asked Juanita if she wanted to come with us and she did. It was there that I found it, the perfect bedroom set, it had that wonderful round vanity mirror with the vanity and matching chair, two night stands, a dresser, double bed and an armoire with a mounted mirror. And a bonus, I also found the perfect table that would go with my Bogart Lux Dinning chairs; I just could not believe my luck with all of that.
My brother found some furniture to go into his cabin to replace some odd pieces that were there and that would match the décor a bit better and Lois, the girls and I found some jewelry we couldn’t live without (I know it sounds so, well you know, but it was fun). I also found a statue in the art deco style, my sister-in-law Lois came across a painting of an old western town street scene and we agreed that it was perfect for the cabin, Tom and the boys fell in love with it.
Juanita was also very lucky, she found the perfect chaise lounge chair and reading lamp that she had been looking for her room, just right to rest in with one’s feet elevated to read or watch T.V. and also a good sturdy table for her T.V. and DVD player.
So with all the loading and unloading we were delightfully tired, but it didn’t end for Tom and his boys, they all were going up to the cabin at Donner Lake to take the furniture and to check on the Cabin for needed repairs. So after a late lunch off they went while Juanita and I dusted and polished our hard won prizes.
But poor little Princess was feeling a bit neglected so I moved her little bed into the spare bedroom while I polished and cleaned everything to my satisfaction and she had the fun of trying to curl up in my lap as I sat on the floor cleaning every single bit of carving on the furniture. She even fell asleep. Juanita came in and laughed at the fact that I dared not move with my little darling sleeping in my lap, but move I must much to the little darlings’ complaints.
Juanita was very proud of her finds and they fitted into her room just perfectly.
Just when we took a break to have a bit of coffee the door bell rang and it was my sweet darling Kenneth, asking if he could treat me to dinner and an auction preview and I said only if I could go casual.
Then I took a look at Kenneth’s shirt and it was the exact type that Charlie Sheen wears on “Two and a Half Men” (well I do like the humor in that show), so with my (dare I say it) jeans, flannel shirt, tennis shoes and my hair it a cherry print scarf, and his Dockers and Charlie Sheen bowling shirt if that is not casual, then we don’t know what is, so off we went. But I had to sneak Princess with me; she had been neglected enough for one day.
Juanita was fine as her daughter called and she and Manuel were coming to pick her up to go to a relatives house for dinner, so freshening up my face, bundling Princess in her carryall off we went and had fun at the auction preview and made plans to come back the next day for the auction itself.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend, Tom and his family arrived at their cabin just fine without any problems and would be staying there for the week I had asked my friend ‘Mean Kitty’ if she had wanted to go with us to the White Elephant Sale but she had to work that day and hoped she would be lucky on Sunday.
I got lucky at the Auction as well and was able to purchase some jewelry at below their value. And here is where there is another lesson for all you Darling Diva’s.
Jewelry is also a good investment, no matter what, the value of gold and silver is always going up, so are gems, there is only a finite amount to go around, the only one that can be manufactured is pearls and to a certain extent coral, but if the seas or waters are not the right temperature then even pearls will not be available.
There are two prices to look at in terms of jewelry, their cash value (that is the amount of gold or other precious metals or gems) and their design value (that is the design if it is unique and by a well know company or designer) the second can be more valuable than the first.
I have a friend of mine and she will buy what she calls “casual jewelry” at Mervyns or T.J. Max, and sometimes at Macy’s on sale---what she does is takes photo’s of the pieces, puts them in a catalogue binder, tapes the purchase price and what was the original price next to each picture of each piece, this way when she plans to sell them she’ll know what to ask for it. And she has always made a profit.
But this is also true with your good pieces as well, always keep the receipt for the purchase price on file, and then after 5 years get an updated appraisal on it as well.
And all you Diva’s out there who get engaged, remember this---there are several rules about the engagement ring, one of which is traditional, if you break off the engagement you are suppose to give the engagement ring back, if he breaks off the engagement you can keep the ring because it is also a gift or promise to be married.
The only time I would absolutely give the ring back even if it is he who breaks the engagement off, is if the ring is a family heirloom from his family, even if you are the one who breaks the engagement off and the ring is a family heirloom return it, since it would not have any sentimental value to you, by giving the ring back (since it’s an heirloom) you would be looked upon as being an honorable person. If you keep it then be prepared to be sued in court for the ring or its value. A true Diva does not wish to have the head ache of going to court. But always find out first if the ring is an heirloom or if he bought it.
Now there is a gray area here, if he bought the ring and you break off the engagement, then you should give the ring back, but sometimes the ring is kept by the ex-future bride, in that case one of two things will happen either the ex-groom will demand the ring back and even go to court (so be prepared to be sued) or he will walk away and forget the whole thing, the latter rarely happens so it would be best then to give the ring back when you break the engagement, but anything else he gave you (and make sure even in writing) that these are gifts, so you may keep them---if he includes a card or something that indicates it was a period of gift giving, write on the card the date and what he gave you, this will be at least limited proof of his gift giving. Whether this will hold up in court will be up to the judge, but by having the gift cards with the dates it could help your defense. If he asks any questions just say you’re sentimental and also for insurance purposes.
If you do go ahead and get married and then eventually divorced, the rules are this, if he bought the rings you keep them. If they are family heirlooms give them back, it is so much simpler that way---but any jewelry that he buys you or you buy your self---that is yours, only family heirloom jewelry that is from his family should go back. Unless it is stipulated that it is to go to your daughters, in this case it would be best to be magnanimous and speak to your mother-in-law in regards to the heirloom jewelry without interference from your soon to be ex-husband and let her know that you wish to know her feelings on that matter. She will look upon you in a different and positive light, even if her feelings towards you maybe hostile and she acts like a witch, she cannot deny that in regards to the matter of the family jewelry you were honest.
But if you are single and having fun and your man of the hour gives you “bling”, then be calm and collect it, and make sure that the gift card lists the date and the item he gave you and then lock it up in a bank safe deposit box where he can’t get his hands on it.
Just on the news last night, I heard about gold going over $1,000, of course weakening the dollar, but I knew that was coming, since I follow the business and stock news. That is why I have been looking at stocks with growth potential that can weather this unsettling economic situation so remember even jewelry is going go to up in price , don’t waste you money on something that is 10k unless you regard it as just above costume jewelry, make sure it is at least 14k or 18k.
And also about all those little doggies that were going to the Marin animal shelter being rescued from an elderly couple that had over 800 dogs in their home!!! Well I wrote out a check as a donation to help out with the feed and care of those poor things.
Now before anyone thinks that I think more of animals than of people, I do think of people, there is this one charity that I donate regularly that supplies wheelchairs to needy disabled people, I also donate to a women’s shelter and several others that help women in need and children. Women, Children and pets are the one’s that have no voice in this world.
Of course some of you are going to say to me, “but you don’t have children” I have nieces and nephews so I know how it’s like for a child, I am a woman so I know how it’s like for a woman. And yes I do eat meat and I do wear fur, but those are from animals that are specifically bred for that, but even then I do believe that when an animal is made for human consumption it should be done humanely. And I will make no further excuses. Diva’s never make excuses Diva’s just do it.
Well Darlings, it is now Friday and I have plans for this weekend, so Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
