Oscars and Gasoline~~~

Hello All you wonderful Diva Darlings,

I hope you don't mind Darlings, but I had to just post this marvouls picture of a period pink bathroom, and I have to admit mine is pink too. Well why not? Certain shades of pink can be very flattering.

So did you enjoy the Oscar’s??? My friends and I certainly did, had a wonderfully marvelous party here, champagne, fingers crossed, wonderful finger food, and small plate food, pot luck as well as catered.

Yes My Dears, having an Oscar party is a wonder event to celebrate, to see all those lovely ladies in their elegant gowns. And you can dress up too just for the fun of it.

And especially since I’ve installed a huge plasma screen T.V.; did it just like the “executives” do in their homes, well it does help to have the funds to do it and I consider it an upgrade and improvement to my home.

I have this huge bookcase and right in the center is this plain blank wall created to hang paintings; well I had my contractor, who did all the work on my home before I moved in, to look at it and told him what I was interested in. The clever man knew exactly what I wanted, since I was planning on buying a new television and Juanita wanted my old one. (It has a larger screen).

So he very carefully removed the paneling and found the perfect recess for the screen, he finished it off, set up the mounts, and connectors for the screen. Then he installed a motor to raise and lower the panel on tracks so it retreats up into another alcove that actually holds the supports for my floor to ceiling book cases on one side and my floor to ceiling mirrors on the other, making sure that the vibration (if any, from either the motor or sliding) will not crack or loosen the mirrors. The motor is powerful enough to lift not only the panel but also any painting that I may choose to hang on it, up to a certain weight.

All was ready (after a number of test runs) so like a curtain rising on a theatre, up it went and we enjoyed the Oscars. I have to confess I did not see all of the films up for best picture but I was hoping that either “The Help” or “The Artist” would win and as I suspected “The Artist” won out, but just for the fact that “The Help” was even nominated told me how wonder a picture it is.

Of course we were “ooohhhing” and “Ahhhing” the clothes that the ladies wore, it was hard to say what was my favorite, but it was ‘sparkle, sparkle, sparkle”.

But sadly it all has to come to an end, and with much “air kissing” and “see you soon’s” it was over, I told Juanita that we would just put away any left over foods and drinks and leave the clean up for the next day. So with her and I working as a team we cleaned, washed and put away everything, and doing the usual “fluff and dust”. There are times when team work is very important. Fortunately it wasn’t all that much, you see Darlings, I do believe in paper and plastic, so the clean up was relatively easy, as long as you have hefty garbage bags.

And Juanita and I had enough food for two days, lunches and dinner, although we did have to be careful not to give Princess too much, as it can be not healthy for her tummy.

Ordinarily I would used Monday and Tuesday to go to my “office” but I instead decided to set it aside and use the time to go through my closet to see what needed to be repaired and spruced up by my shoemaker and labeling each one as to what need be done.

Currently going through my holdings, they are doing well, and I simply cannot see anything that I should be on the alert for, except I am watching the events as they unfold in Greece and other European Markets as well as the Middle East.

With the rising oil prices forcing the cost of gasoline to go up I am going to have to curb some of my driving excursions and plan my household trips a bit more carefully. I do use public transportation, bus, rapid transit, ferry to get to my office, since I have the luxury of having the bus stop only a few feet from my home, but other things cannot be frivolous.

As a matter of fact, talking with my “Ladies who Lunch”, the subject of gasoline prices came up. We all agreed that Jerry Brown’s statement in that we all have to use “green-cars” was ridiculous, there are people who cannot afford to purchase such cars, or are elderly and on a limited income. They cannot afford anything else, and then, as one of my ladies pointed out, the idiot in a “letters to the editors” column, stated everyone should use a bicycle, there are people who suffered from various health conditions such as sever asthma, heart troubles, rumitoid arthritis for who attempting to use a bicycle could either kill them or be extremely painful, it is even difficult for them to even walk to a bus stop or walk in general. Our general consensus was that the idiot was stupid to even make such a blanket statement like that.

And in the last 6 years or so, our public transit system has eliminated runs, discontinued stops that were needed, shifted others to area’s that are and difficult or dangerous to get to, raised the rates and generally has made the public transit system an impossible, useless joke. Especially with the Van Hoole buses that are so dangerous that an elderly person is in danger of falling down and in some cases cannot even climb up to the platform seats. Some elderly people have to use a walker or one of those rolling market baskets to carry their groceries and it is impossible to get them on board because of the design of the bus.

Definitely one of our Public Transit systems worse choices.

And some of our ladies have said that being environmentally concerned is fine except for the Environmental Nazis, we need to develop our own oil resources and cease to be dependent upon foreign oil and not sell our oil to other countries, “American First” is our war cry, enough with making people rich when the economy is hurting, even I no longer have any stocks in oil or auto manufacturing, with the exception of John Deer.

And with the “saber rattling” with Iran, and Israel has said they will attack on their own schedule and not even give the United States or any free country any warning of their military moves, this is serious Darlings.

So what can you do now?

First --- see if it’s possible that public transit can take you to work, you may have to plan on leaving from home sooner and get a transit card or pass that will help you pay your way without having to dig for change.

Second—if that is not possible see whom you can car pool with.

Third --- If you can take public transit to work, then plan your car trips very carefully to maximize travel with the least amount of gas, combine trips, make a route map so you will know where to go. Go to the Farthest out place first and also find out about each places’ hours. Then work in, in some cases you will see that you maybe working in a loop, if so and 2 or more places are close by, park your car at the best location and walk to the different stops.

For example, my shoe repair person and my tailor are within two blocks of each other so I park between the two and I take one thing to one, then walk past my car to pick up what I need to take to the other.

In a shopping mall that also has banking, and a grocery store, I will go to the bank first, and finish with the grocery store, in some case though you may have to re-park since many grocery stores now have shopping carts with locking wheels.

So plan your route and note where every place you need to go to is located and pick the best parking location.

Fourth---if you have no choice but to drive to work by car, consult with a seasoned, knowledgeable tax preparer about mileage and see if you can get a tax deduction for your car if used to get you to and from work or as part of your work routine, it is possible that you maybe entitled to a tax break of some sort. See also if your transit pass is also tax deductible as well. It will mean that you will have to do some bookkeeping but keeping a small notebook in your purse should not be difficult.

One of my Ladies does not use a gasoline credit card because she objects to the high interest rate, so she uses one of her lower interest rate credit cards (she keeps two) and goes to the one of the better grocery store gas stations where she frequently shops for groceries, just the other day, she received a 43 cent per gallon discount on her 20 gallon fill up, a savings of $8.60 or the cost of two gallons of gasoline at the current rate.

So Darlings NOW is a time when a Divalista must also think like a Frugalista.

Until Anon, Kisses Darlings

Hello 2011

Hello Darlings!!

I know Just where Have I been?? Busy My Dears, just simply Busy.

The Holidays were fabulous, but then being with my family is always fabulous.

Juanita and her family are doing just fantastic, the baby is growing, discovering things, and is just so beautiful.

I have been busy with the Holidays, Taxes, and house hold repairs---the roof for one, it developed a leak over the kitchen so it was decided to replace the whole roof instead of layering over it, which I could have done but I wanted to see if there was any serious structural issues. Of course the heating bill went up until the work was completed, but the good thing is that during that time we had a wonderful window of opportunity to get the work done.

Princess is trotting around with her new hair do and pedicure from the Doggie Salon, I’ve found a wonderful one that also is a day care center for dogs if one has to be gone for the day. And yes she is spoiled.

My brother Tom and his wife Lois are making plans to “attack” the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale, they’ve already made early purchases by donating some goodies, mostly for their newly build cabin---and yes Darlings it DOES look like the Ponderosa, with 4 bedrooms on the second floor, the master bedroom has it’s own bathroom, walk in closet and a small fireplace, the two smaller bedrooms share a bath, and the 2nd largest bedroom has it’s own bath.

There is a half bath down on the main floor, and off the main living room is a Library and it too has its own fireplace for heating, although it is propane driven.

Towards the back of the house is a two car garage that has a door that leads into the hallway of the house, separated by a mud room which will hold boots and such.

Some of the trees that were close to the house had to be cut down, they were so badly burned that there were deemed a danger, so my brother got some plantings to replace the burnt trees.

Lois is going to plant red geraniums around the grounds for color. The furniture from the original cabin has been installed and already Lois is thinking of changing some things, the painting that she saved has been placed in the Library, and she’s think of having a rotating collection of books there, although bound volumes of the Louie L’Amour westerns will have pride of place, as well as a thesaurus, dictionary and a Encyclopedia.

Now there is another room just off the mud room on the way to the living room and it has a pool table in it, all knotty pine, Lois is going with the Western Victorian theme, she also wants to put a pot belly stove and a card table like you see in the western movies, but in much better shape.

Right now the snows are much too heavy to go up there, but earlier when there was a nice break in the weather they were able to get much of their things up there.

Their dog Smoky, that they rescued a few years ago has settled in with them just fine and seems to have his own routine, Tom and Lois love taking walks with Smoky, but being a Cattle Dog he needs extra mental stimulation, Lois said that Tom is looking far more trim than ever thanks to Smoky.

And for myself, well for the last two days I’ve been putting together all that needs to be done for our annual “Oscar Party”. A number of friends including my “Ladies who Lunch” came over for the festivities; Costco has such wonderful bargains for entertaining. And passion was high between “Black Swan” and “The King’s Speech” not having a chance to see either of them I couldn’t make a choice, so I will have to wait until they are out in DVD, ***sigh*** “such is life” (I’m joking of course). And, of course, “The King’s Speech” won.

And where is all the snow that we were promised??? Although I do remember it snowing in 1976 and even earlier, but we really don’t need it now.

Now on entertaining---Darlings it’s always best to do it at home and have your friends get involved as well to bring over goodies. Being a member of Costco is very good if you can afford the annual membership, but it really only works if you entertain a lot, have an at home business and/or a large family. But for a number of people that I know the annual fee seems worth it.

Right now gasoline prices are devastating, I don’t need to tell you that it’s nearly at $4.00 a gallon. My Ladies who lunch are being Frugalistas by taking the bus or other public transportation, even car pooling if need be. One of my Ladies took advantage of an offer at her job, they are offering in conjunction with the local transportation organization bus passes that she can use unlimited, coming into the city, going around the area. She even uses it to help with shopping. By doing that is has lowered the mileage on her car and she is getting a break on her car insurance.

Some of my ladies are trying to see if they can take a tax write-off by using public transportation to get to work as a work related expense, if they have to pay for their passes. Always check with your tax preparer to find out if you can.

In the Feburary 26, 2011 New York Times, a short article by Floyd Norris talks about the prices for oil and natural gas and touches briefly on what is driving the oil price up and what could bring it down. He mentions that Libyan production was falling (as we know because of the rebelling that has been happening) and has influenced the rising of oil, but since Libya produces only 2 percent of the world oil and the United States does not buy Libyan oil that should not drive up the prices---it is what is called “panic pricing” being done by those who are investing and manipulating the upward oil prices.

The United States needs to look at its untapped oil fields that are in the Rocky Mountains and also back in the outlying areas of Los Angeles, we have vast oil pool reserves that have not been tapped, and there are better more eco-friendly ways of getting to that oil, if anything it will give the United States a chance to get back on top again, have prices based on the U.S. dollar, between that, budgeting on the Federal and State Level, bring back manufacturing to the U.S. and stop selling our patents to foreign countries the United States can be back at the top of the mountain where it is now topping from.

If the U.S. doesn’t, we will be taken over by China and the U.S. will be made a “slave.”

Am so sorry to give one those bits of bad news but one has to face facts, but by being frugal, and by slowing down oil demand it will make the oil rich countries have a hard time and only if the Asian markets (China ) stumble and decrease their demand for oil will we have a chance to truly recover and give our manufactures a chance to develop a fuel that is not dependent upon corn or any other high-end product, so that the U.S. can be independent again.

Again my Dears be Frugalistas’ to be Divanestas.

More later.

Until Anon. Kisses Darlings.

More Reading information and a bit of Fluff~~~

Hello Again Darlings,

My Dear Friend Mean Kitty has advised me that I overlooked several publications in my last Blog, and she was so right.

I had overlooked 3 mainstays of business news, and they are Forbes, Fortune and Barron’s. Forbes and Fortune are monthly magazines with some supplements and Barron’s is a weekly newspaper that is tabloid size. Most good size public libraries will carry all of them or at least the two magazines.

Another magazine that my dear friend mentioned is “Essence” magazine, now it is geared to the African-American woman, but as all Diva’s know, any information on savings, investing, finances and job performance is always important and Essence magazine devotes a regular section to just that and it is worthwhile reading, (something that I wish Cosmopolitan would do). This is a magazine that most metropolitan libraries will carry, and again I recommend that you photocopy the information that is in this magazine for your files.

Another magazine in which Diva’s can find wonderful nuggets of information is Ebony magazine, they have wonderful articles, which of course focus on African Americans, but there can be information found that is beneficial to all. For example in the current issue (March 2008) there is an article about “overexcercising” which is harmful to the health; another article about “Dressing the part”, another about “Growing up CEO”, “living with Diabetes”, “how to be a good Christian”, fantastic recipes, and many more.

Now again Darlings I do recommend photocopying the articles, because not every magazine will have wonderful articles every month. Also you can build up your “tickle file” to cover different subjects to refer to. Of course for those magazines that you subscribe to you can always cut out the articles as well.

And if you are a Fashionista like Moi I always purchase the fashion magazines that come out in March and in September of each year, that way you can be up to date on what is the latest fashion trends, but on Fashion, well Darlings I always say don’t follow trends or what is the latest, look for what will look good on you and what is classic. You can always keep it up to date with accessories. And trust me Darlings, classics never go out of style.

Now Darlings for something a bit different and Fluffy; have any of you been following the Hi-jinks on either “Cashmere Mafia” or “Lipstick Jungle”? Well I have been following the latter, and I have to say that although the plot is a bit predictable, there is something that is sinfully enjoyable, I must say that Brook Shields has really grown into being an actress, I find her very believable in the role. And the really interesting promo is the creation of a Bonfire magazine on the web, a “good gimmick” as my friend Michelle would say. But what Brook Shields’ character did to “that woman” is something that I wish I had the nerve to do to several that I have encountered, but then I took my “revenge” on them in a different way and it was much more satisfying. As they say “Revenge is a dish best served cold”. Still the program is a sinful indulgence.

Some of my dear friends are planning an “Oscar Party” for February 24th. It seems to be a developing party event for those who are very into the movies. Everyone can dress in their best clothes or be very James Bond casual, or dress as your favorite movie character, there’s Champagne, hors‘durves, a simple buffet and it seems a ‘betting pool’ on who selects the most winners. All in all a really fun type of evening; some people would use it as a time to raise money for charity especially if it’s well planned.

I must confess I don’t go to the movies as often as I use to, but there is, as I hope, will be winners now that the writer’s strike has come to an end.

So if you want to plan a party this is one where you can go all out, costumes and all, really a great way to kick off the Spring season--- after Mardi Gra, Easter and Mother’s Day of course.

Ahhhh but for now the dreary rain is back, making the days grey and the nights cold, even the ducks are taking shelter under the awning that I have to sit outside when the weather it fine, poor things, but they are use to this type of weather, but still….

And my little Diva Darling is missing her walks; I think I shall have to plan on doing something this weekend to get out of the doldrums, but what I’m not sure. I think it’s time to put on my “Thinking Cap”.

Until Anon Darlings, Kisses.