Riding the Roller Coaster~~~~

Hello My Diva Darlings,

Now it is the beginning of September and where HAVE I been?

Visiting both of my brothers and taking a wonderful trip to Lake Tahoe.

I first enjoyed my younger brother’s country house on the lake, up north (not at Lake Tahoe); it was a wonderful reprieve although not as warm as expected, but lovely just the same.

Princess and I had been taking a lot of walks around my brother’s property, well I was walking and she wanted me to carry her, not that I blame her, she is such a tiny thing.

But it’s been fun to watch her and my brother Tom’s dog Smokey interact, she just bosses him around and he takes it. And then after an exhausting day of fun in the sun they fall asleep together.

With all the building and re-landscaping, they’ve made sure about having what is called a “defensible” area. Although my sister-in-law, Lois, insists on planting red geraniums for color and it’s looks wonderful.

It does have the look and feel of the Ponderosa; they hunted for a modern stove that looked old fashion and found Elmira products, and they are just wonderful. The kitchen has everything one could need and still look old fashion, including a farmer’s stone sink, and a chopping block that one would see on the T.V. series.

Although among the furniture it’s not an exact replica of the Ponderosa but as my sister-in-law says bit by bit they will get there.

Out of the dinning room area as well as the better bedrooms on one side, one has a fantastic view of the lake, my brother made sure that it was a little longer than the one pictured in the series, so that two comfortable chairs could look out onto the lake while indoors.

On the other side a view of the mountains and forest that is just as pleasing.

My brother also had a deck built on the back to enjoy the lake and mountain views in the evening but out of sight when one comes up on the road.

My brother and his wife are planning to move here permanently, get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, although they do plan on getting a pied a Terre in the City, like my other brother, just a one bedroom, small but comfortable, that way if the children come to the city they have a place they can go to.

I asked Tom if now was a good time to sell his house and he replied “No time is a good time to sell” When they bought their home some years ago it was very reasonable, and even now they will still get a very good price for it, enough to pay off what is still owed on their country place and buy the planned pied a Terre. So he will come out ahead.

Although he does sympathize with people who have low incomes their difficulties in home buying, “It’s the American Dream to own your own home, but it’s a nightmare now for almost everyone except the very lucky or the very rich.” He pointed out that Juanita’s children are very lucky to have their homes, and that they were able to re-finance them, but he asked “Why doesn’t Juanita buy her own home?” I couldn’t answer that, I hadn’t thought that maybe Juanita would like to have a place of her own to call home and I was both embarrassed and ashamed that I had not thought of that, I felt that she was content with the current arrangements, so I resolved to ask her as soon as possible.

He did suggest that if one is moving out of state and has a house to sell and the market is slow, to lease it out through a reputable agent, that way if an offer is made for the house at the price one wants they can do it, the new owner can finish out the lease. By doing it that way the agent is the one who has to deal with emergencies and make sure the house is in good condition when vacated.

We were looking at the Stock Markets crazy ride and what Standard and Poor’s has done, and could only shake our collective heads.

When I returned home, I had a chance to have dinner with my friend Wallace and his wife Sherry, and the consensus between my brothers, Wallace and myself is this, ride out the “roller coaster” and not to panic. I have been doing that and I always factor that as long as a certain amount is available I can always pay the bills, taxes, buy food and medicine, anything extra I slot over into a savings account for just in case.

If you feel very anxious then do a 50/50 mix of stocks and bonds, but depending upon your age you can start with a 80/20 mix of stocks to bonds ratio, as you approach middle age then go to 60/40 but it all depends upon your comfort level.

If you are young but prefer staying with the Treasury’s’, CD’s or savings account then it means a lower interest rate which means you’ll have to work longer, save a lot more and have less to live on when you retire.

I have a mixture of Stocks, Bonds, CD’s, Treasury and the old standby savings accounts, as I do not put all my “eggs in one basket” it’s a big mistake to do that.

Remember what happened with those that trusted Bernie Madoff. And I look at stocks that will withstand the long haul, and I make sure that that it’s not concentrated in just Europe or Asia, be sure you’re spread around.

A little gold in an exchange-traded fund is fine but only if you have bought it at a very low rate, with gold climbing to the $2,000 level I’m not sure it’s a good investment at this time. Some real estate investments trusts or (REIT’s) are fine just be sure to check them out.

But no matter what, My Dear Diva’s, a cash reserve for emergencies is important---plan on at least 3 but even better 6 months of savings, to cover your rent, bills, food etc. for any job loss, medical emergencies or even when the Stock Market faints, until things recover. Although my “Ladies Who Lunch” tell me that the minimum of 1 year’s savings is by far the best, considering how the economy is going and I am inclined to agree with them, this is a very, very bad economic situation.

Just remember if you have 50 dollars in your saving account you’ll always have 50 dollars in a FDIC-insured account but if you have 50 dollars in your bond fund brokerage account there is no guarantee, because it could become $45.00 tomorrow.

My Father always said it’s hard to go against the crowd but that is how the House of Rothschild did it. And even the legendary “Witch of Wall Street” Hetty Green did it, her motto was “Buy cheap, sell dear” or buy low sell high, which means that if one is very astute buying stocks can be a fire sale right now, especially if you buy the right stocks.

I have systematically contributed to my 401(k) and by doing that have reaped the rewards of the upswing in the stock market in the last few years. I will buy stocks that are on sale but by doing it through my 401 (k), IRA and my other retirement accounts it’s far better than shopping for individual stocks.

Manage your portfolio by sticking to a balanced, diversified mix of stocks and bonds, and do not try to time the market, you will come out better in the long run, do not run in fear towards gold or cash when things dip or over buy, in better times, stocks, you will be just following sheep and you my Dear Diva’s are not sheep.

On stocks as I recommended before, go for something that no matter what, the consumer will need, what I call my “Mac and Cheese” stocks. I mean no matter what children and adults will always want Mac and Cheese, or John Deer Tractors, or Tires etc. Find out who is the holding company, check out their ratings and how well they are doing, even with a slow growth rate if they are weathering this bad economy then they are the ones to buy.

And now for something completely different----

I visited my older brother down in Santa Barbra, he sold his house in the Santa Barbra hills, the fires that they had made him too nervous, and he has paid off his house with a wonderful view of the Ocean on the beach. “I don’t have to worry about beach erosion” he said in an oblique reference to the condo’s that are just south of San Francisco that are in danger of falling off the sandy cliffs.

Of course he has his Pied a Terre in San Francisco for when he travels up for business, and his wife Diana can shop till she drops(and I do love her). They sold off most of their collection of paintings and antiques, only keeping a few that are their favorites at their beach house.

It was relaxing in Santa Barbra, we went to a few Summer Fund raising events, but watching the Ocean is hypnotizing in its own special way. One of my nephews’ and his family came to visit as well, it was good seeing them and we all made plans to get together for the holidays.

My great-niece Cynthia (aka Cindy) has discovered Etta James and Dina Washington on CD and begged me to take her to this music store in town to see what one could find, realizing that I had nothing by these two artists I was able to pick up two Etta James CD’s and suggested to Cindy a CD of Julie London that had her signature tune “Cry me a river”.

Then it was time to return home, so driving Ms. Wicked I enjoyed listening to Etta as I and my little Diva Daring, Princess, drove up 101, then flipping over to 880 and home.

Juanita elected to stay in my home while I was off vacationing, taking a day here and there to visit her children, but I made arrangements with my friend Ralph who had been burned out of his apartment, he still hasn’t found a good place to stay and is just staying in a studio apartment that he’s sub rented on a month to month.

Anyway Ralph was happy to stay at my house for a week while my friend Michelle swooped me up to Lake Tahoe in a friends’ private jet. That way Juanita could visit with her oldest Grand Daughter in Los Angeles and have fun in Disneyland.

I know Dahlings---A Private Jet??!!! Well why not! Michelle had a friend who needed to fly up to Tahoe to conduct business and offered to take Michelle and “a friend” (Moi) for the long weekend, it was a beautiful Falcon Jet, off white cabin interior with pale beech wood trim, the most comfortable seats, and we could conduct business on the plane if we wanted to.

It was good seeing her again, so off we flew on a Wednesday morning, landing at the Lake Tahoe airport, it had been years since I’d seen it and it has improved so much. A private Limo was waiting for us to take us to the MontBlu Resort and Spa and while we were there enjoying the beauty that is Tahoe we enjoyed a Gatsby weekend at the Valhalla Arts festival, with Friday a Gatsby Dance with the Tahoe Dance Band, followed on Saturday by Murder Mystery Radio Theatre with a local play titled “Lights! Camera! Murder!” about murder at Lake Tahoe 1920’s style, wine and hors d’oeuvres included, we finished off on Sunday with a Gatsby’s tea on the lawn of the Valhalla hall, that included a fashion show of vintage clothing just right for a 1920’s summer.

It was more than enough for a vintage fashion maven like Moi, I felt that I was back in the Lake Tahoe of the 1920’s and the money’s to go to the Tahoe Heritage Foundation to help preserve Lake Tahoe history and those locations that could easily disappear if they were not saved.

We also contributed to the Tahoe Youth and Family services organization, although we could not attend their Gatsby Gala, we felt it was a very worthy cause.

But all too soon our Gatsby fantasy came to an end and by Tuesday afternoon we winged our way back home and reality, Ralph was just fine taking care of the house and Princess (she couldn’t come on the plane) and she was terribly spoiled by Ralph. Ralph was going to stay at another hotel for a week, until he could line up another apartment, he still preferred month to month until he could make up his mind where he wanted to stay.

Juanita returned as well saying she needed to rest from her Disney Vacation. I could only laugh at her remark. Princess was happy to have her “Mummy” back home.

And “Mummy” also needed to rest from her vacations as well. Michelle stayed with me for the week so she could rent a car and visit her family in San Francisco, then she flew back to L.A. over the weekend. I’ll miss her company, we had so much fun catching up and enjoying everything. But I HAD to get back to going to the gym and my walks with my little darling, not that I’ve gained any weight, as a matter of fact my clothes are a little loose, but I know the holidays will start putting on the pounds again---can’t be helped.

After I got my head back to reality, one evening I had a chat with Juanita about the possibility of her owning her own home, I was surprised when she said “I am home Senora, I’m with you, where would I find a home with a beautiful view with the birds, where I work is only steps away, I have my own comfortable room, I make meals that we both like, and little Princess to play with. My family know I am safe, I can call them anytime, they are like family to you. When I am too old to work, then I move in with Constance, by then the children will have moved away and she will be lonely…or not…I have both things, for that I am lucky. You are ‘La Senora’ I am Juanita, but we do things together and you are very kind to me and my family, many of my friends they are not so lucky and are treated badly, but you … you see me…you see my happiness and my pain…but you do what you can to ease my pain…your family they are kind to me, you always see that I have plenty of time with my family, so why do I want to buy a home? I am home.”

Well that left my head spinning, she was fine with the way thing are, all I could do was hug her. And with that we had fun watching a tellanovella that we both enjoy.

The Labor Day weekend is here and I suggested to Juanita to spend time with her grandchildren…I mean I’ll be fine for the few days she’s gone, and she does love seeing her family. There are a few local events that I and a few friends are going to take in, or I might “vegetate” for the whole weekend, sleeping in is such a delicious thought although my little 4 legged darling might have different ideas. We shall see.

So what is this post all about??? Well Darlings, first an update (and I was bragging a bit), but also what to expect when the Stock market goes insane, just hold tight is the best thing, and thirdly, if you are going to have fun make sure it’s a tax right off as well. You’ll get more “bang for the buck”.

Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.