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.

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.

Update on my Travels Darlings~~~~

Hello all you Fabulous Divas,

I'm doing my posting from one of those delightful cafe's that have internet access.

Well Michelle and I have been having the most marvelous time, and thank goodness we are using today as a chance to catch our collective breaths.

We took the Capitor Corridor train on its mid-morning run to Sacramento, and then from the station we took a taxi to the Delta King, our floating hotel on the Sacremento River next to "Old Town Sacramento". Poor cab driver, we had so much luggage that it couldn't fit into his trunk so we had to put some in the back seat, so I sat in the back and Michelle sat in the front. We tipped him handsomely for his hard work.

Remember that dear Diva's if anyone give you extra service or they take that extra step to help you out, be sure to tip them for their work, it's always appreciated.

It only took two hours by train to get to Sacramento, which is a marvel because if one drives it takes the same amount of time, so why stress one's self and it can be so relaxing.

The Delta King is just a beautiful thing, I almost felt like Rhett Butler was going to be walking the boards of it. Our rooms are comfortable and most importantly Warm.

Since it's on the river and since it is Winter time, it will be Cold, and since we were also going to Reno we packed for cold weather, which is a good thing, gloves, wool scarves are a must.

My dear Friend Mean Kitty has always said to me "If you're going to the North Pole, don't pack a bikini". And she is right Darlings, one of the first steps in traveling is packing, always check what the weather conditions are like where you are going and with the internet you can always get last minute weather conditions.

Well we arrived just a bit after lunch time, so we decided to get settled in our rooms first and then see about a late lunch and do a little sight-seeing in Old Town Sacramento. We lunched in Old Town, and I have to say I am so glad they were able to preserve it. It felt like we had stepped back in time or that we were some how between time periods. We didn't have much in the way of crowds because many people were not there yet to take advantage of the Holiday Weekend, and I do belive that the cold may have kept some people away. But it was enjoyable.

And at night it just lit up and took on a hazy feeling, like a dream in a way.

The Delta King even had that quality as a hazy fog from the River drifted up and surrounded it; it felt like old ghosts were paying a visit to the old dear.

Well we returned to the King after we had lunch and walked around the town a bit, so we rested and finished getting settled. Later we had drinks and a light dinner, and it was very good, there were some dishes that I felt could have been better but I was not disapointed. We finished off with de-caffe coffee and later an after dinner drink.

I thought that with being on a large ferry that when I slept I would feel some movement from being on the water but I slept like a baby. On Friday morning we had brunch, and took in the Sacramento Railroad museum. Michelle had never seen it and we felt in a way like school girls, just looking at the old history and in some ways all the idea of travel by rail. Michelle said that in taking the Coast Starlight up to San Francisco she really had an appreciation of travel by rail that in many ways it was a great improvement over air flight. That is was a shame that people had gotten way from traveling by rail.

I told her that half the fun of travel is getting there, it's not so much the destination but traveling to it.

Watching our time, we had an early dinner and then took a chauffered vehicle to the ARCO Arena. Yes darlings I said "chauffered vehicle" now remember when you were going to your Senior Promp and a group of you would make arrangements to have a chauffered limo take you around, well as Diva's you can also make arrangements to get you to events. We did not ask for a Limo but we did ask for a nice sedan. Imaging my surprise when a Bentley showed up to take us there and bring us back to our hotel. Michelle made the arrangements and I do not know what service she used but we made sure that if there was any parking fees for the Bentley that they were covered.

And the "Blue Man Group", Darlings I cannot begin to describe this experience short of saying it was fantastic, it was music and performance art at the same time. If any of you have a chance to see them or if they ever show any of their earlier performances on Cable or DVD do see it, sadly it is not the same as seeing a live performance that "sucks you in to it" and grabs your senses, but do see them at least once.

We were just so overwhelmed by it that after the driver dropped us back at "The King" we decided to have a drink to just analize what we had seen. Michelle said that if they had been around when she was managing in the entertainment industry she would have leaped at having them as part of her "stars". She said that it was so much lack of talent and so much posturing that is what made her leave the entertainment industry and start doing real estate and later investments, she like Moi had the sense of when was the right time to get out of something before the bottom fell out.

Saturday we both slept in and then had a very light breakfast, Michelle wanted to take in one of the historical tours and we felt that afterwards we could relax a bit before we took in the Mystery Dinner theatre on the Delta King. Fortunately I have excellent walking shoes and the tour we had around "Old Town" was so informative and entertaining. I was wishing that we had some time to take in Sutter's Fort and a tour of the Capital as well as the Crocker Art Museum but I'll have to save that for another time.

Afterwards we stopped at a Lounge for a drink and a nosh, and that's when Michelle and I had a chance to do a bit of catch up.

I asked her what she had been doing of late since it had been nearly 5 years since I'd seen her although we had kept in touch with cards, letters and e-mails.

She told me that after I gave her the warning to sell out of the dot.com investments based on my "gut feelings" (and just in time too) she put some of her money into hotels that were in the process of being renovated and upgraded.

She still was representing talent but it was getting more and more exhausting for her. She said "I was representing 20 somethings that had not paid their life dues and wanted everything on a platter and just try and keep the drugs away from them, selfish, spoiled and without control the minute they had cash and this was long before the Paris Hilton
and Brittany Spears fiasco. I did have a few really talented people and I knew I had to get rid of those that were trouble but part of the problem is that those trouble makers were also my biggest money makers.

The decision came after I fainted in my office and was rushed to the hospital. It was what the doctors told me that made me make the final decision to get out of the business. I wasn't going to die for spoiled babies. But what to do with those that really counted?

I had to be brutal and yet find a way that would preserve my reputation in the business. I decided to let the "spoiled brats" know that I couldn't represent them any more and why and gave them the names of others that I said would take them up in a heartbeat. I didn't even recommend anyone to them.

But those that I knew worked hard and were paying their dues, those I gently guided them to those that I knew could give them the right venues, give good advice and treat them fairly, they are doing well. The "spoiled brats" ? Well some of them faded away on their own drug induced dreams, and some are still out there but not as well.

My hotel investments paid well and steady, and then when I felt better I did real estate on the side until I had that feeling that things might go down the "tubes" and got out at the right time. My investments are paying me well and I'm contacted by charity event coordinators about talent recommendations and seeing who would be available for fund raising events, so I act as a laison making the initial connections and then guide them through the rest of the process. It's not too tiring and leaves me with plenty of free time to see what other talent is out there and connect with them for future charity venues, keeps my hand in and saves me from heart attacks."

From there we talked about changes in L.A. and S.F., families, politicial issues, and the future.

Then Michelle stopped talking and was listening to the piano player who was singing in the Lounge, after the player stopped and took a break Michelle went up to her and exchanged cards with the singer, and then joined me "She is good, local preferrs, to stay around here, but I've got some people and such that might be interested in her for a few events around here. Smart too she's got a good manager, I've heard of him. I'll give him a call after I get back to L.A."

I could only smile, no matter what, my friend was still working and she just grinned at me when I smiled, it was like a silent secret message. Even I have to confess, I was looking around for things that might become a sign post towards good investments.

We returned to the King and freshened up and went to the Mystery Diner Theatre they have on board, Michelle and I had a lot of fun, I'm not going to even explain it to you, but I have to say you never know if you are going to be seated next to the victim or the killer. The food was good if not spectacular but I feel that one is in there more for the Mystery, but having good food helps.

Michelle said one drink after and then to bed, Sunday is going to be a busy day----And she was right!!

I have never seen professional bull riding or a rodeo and this was unbelievable! We had wonderful seats very up close and it was so dangerous, diffinetly a young persons sport. Forget Football, Soccer or Rock Concerts! Darlings THIS is something else!! It's one on one, mano e mano but between human and bull. It was in a way a sense of something almost primeval, and yet in the back ground I could sense that all though there was competition there was a form of comadre as well, not perfect because every one wants that prize money, but it's like they all know the chances.

I have seen Portugues Bull Fighting, which I preferr over Spanish Bull Fighting and I've seen the running of the bulls in San Marcos and this bull riding had all the excitment that one could ever want as in Portuguese Bull Fighting. It felt very Hemmingwayish if Hemmingway ever wrote a western, it was more competitive and the danger was more immediate. It was like grabbing a Tiger by its tail and knowning that it was trouble. And they breed these bulls for their abilities and strength, they were not going to be someone's meal after the ride.

Even Michelle was taken breathless by it all and she had seen it before. "It's Earthy" she said "but it's real and more exciting than any football game or rock concert and not snooty like a highclass horse or dog show. Not as glamourous as horse racing but more exciting."

Well Darlings I am "Hooked" as they say.

Well I must go my time is almost up and Michelle is has lunch for us planned. Once I get my business cards of all the places we've been too sorted out I'll post the places we've stayed and lunched at and what I recommend you see.

Just a quick up date for all you pet lovers----Princess is doing very well, I called Betty and Princess and Jezebelle are having a lot of fun together and Princess is eating well. A sort of Diva Darling vacation for her too.

Tomorrow Michelle and I will catch the Capitol Corridor train connection to Reno and we'll be staying at the Silver Legacy. One of the first things we are going to do is get a massage from head to toe, traveling and seeing the sights is fun but so tiring.

Until Anon Darlings, Kisses

Diva Ideas for a tax deduction for one's car------

Darling Divas

It seems I’ve opened a whole new chapter of information, I was enjoying my little trip to the city yesterday, I like to take the BART system (but the cars do need some clean up) and on my train I ran into an old friend of mine, Wallace.

Wallace is a wonderful gentleman who introduced me to my tax preparer. I told him about my “blog” and he said that he had come across it by accident and thought that it sounded familiar, and has it flagged when ever a new posting is put up.

He loved the information that I had come across, but he felt that I left another part off.

He informed me that just as it is important to keep all paperwork on home repair and improvement on one’s home, especially for re-sale, it was equally important to keep all receipts on work done on one’s automobile or van.

I thought that was a bit unusual, but he said that if one plans to sell one’s vehicle, by having a copy of what has been done and at what mileage, when it comes time to sell your car to a private party, you as the seller, can give all full information on what has been done to your vehicle, as a form of full disclosure.

He said that sometimes for those that use a personal vehicle for their job by having all these receipts for repair and maintenance it maybe possible to take it as a tax deduction, but always check with your tax preparer because the tax laws change every year.

But even so it did make excellent sense to keep this information on your vehicle, especially if there is any sort of warranty on the repair. It did make sense especially if your job is in real estate or as a wedding or event planner or something of that sort, which a lot of traveling to different locations or clients is required, therefore because of that type of work it then requires keeping receipts for tax information, but to also have it for your personal information on repair and maintenance is equally important.

Now the tax law does vary a bit if your vehicle is used both for business and pleasure, so I do believe keeping a mileage report is important, but do ask your tax preparer about the tax laws covering this.

He also said that it didn’t make sense to buy a brand new vehicle especially since one loses value the minute it leaves the lot, but to buy one that has low mileage, is gently used and is from a reputable dealer that has gone through it completely to check it out to ensure that it is safe makes sense, and to hold on to it for no more than 10 years at the very most, perhaps only 8 years, because after that time it begins to cost more to repair than the worth of the vehicle , unless one has a car that is a collectable (like a Packard or an Aston Martin) or has proven very reliable in the long run.

I have a dear acquaintance of mine who is in advertising and she has a car that’s 20 years old and is so reliable that she is loath to get rid of it. She told me that she will use it until is drops and can’t move anymore, which is what I was planning with my old car, until it was stolen by those 3 hoodlums (which the police eventually caught, we are now in the process of going to court) and wrapped around a pole. This forced me to buy a new car, Ms. Wicked, which I adore.

Although I do have to confess that there are times when one just simply wants a brand new car, in spite of the drop in value once it leaves the show room and even Wallace agreed with that, he said there are times when nothing but a brand new car will do.

Another thing, have full insurance which would also include being hit by an uninsured driver or catastrophic damage such as fire, flood, or falling trees, if you want to know who are the top quality insurance companies you can check with Consumer Reports, for their ratings, but rule of thumb for many people is this~~~go to an insurance company that also has a “brick and mortar” office, so you can deal with real people, not over a computer or over the phone. It may take some of your personal time, but the personal touch to get your claim processed is very important.

My Dear Friend Mean Kitty had that happen to her, she and her husband were traveling and were at a stop light and they were in a multiple rear end collision. Fortunately their car was drive able, so with the information from CHP, and everyone exchanging insurance information, Mean Kitty also had the added photo information of taking pictures of the entire accident to confirm that her car was not at fault.

When she got to her destination she called her insurance office to report that she was in an accident and when she would be coming into the office to do the claim since no one was injured in the accident, if there was an injury of course reporting the incident immediately even over the phone, is very important.

She was very pleased by her insurance company, they made the process of getting their vehicle repaired, the rental of another vehicle and processing their claim very painless, and it went smoothly, she did recommend that it’s best to be patient about receiving your claim especially if multiple vehicles are involved or if there maybe a dispute or investigation. But she received her claim in less than 3 months. She also said that the auto repair shop that was recommended by her insurance company made the process very easy and the car rental company also was very accommodating.

(Now I have to say that Mean Kitty had her auto insurance with State Farm and the car rental company was Enterprise, I mention these companies because they are fairly nationwide, although I’ve been told other well-known insurance companies also give excellent service, but remember the “brick and mortar” rule.)

She recommends and I do to, to keep no less than 2 disposable cameras in one’s glove compartment as well as your insurance information, by taking pictures right at the time of the accident showing the location and positions of the cars and the damage it can strengthen your claim.

She also says refresh or replace those cameras on Dec. 31 of every year, and use the ones that you’ve removed for holiday pictures. She said that if one does it at the same time that you replace your batteries in your smoke alarms as part of your check list it helps to remember these things.

Now why disposable point and shoot cameras? Well Darlings, they are there, they won’t fail if your camera cell phone is dead and it’s much easier to have the film developed especially with one hour processing. Nor do you have the worry that the pictures will be accidentally erased which could happen.

Well with this delightful and informative chat that I had with Wallace we also exchanged cards, so I could update him on my new home location, and we could plan on having dinner together with him and his wife Marsha and I with possibly Kevin or Kenneth (I do love to have several handsome men dancing in attendance)

So it seems that I have started a new venture with gathering this very practical information to share with all you Diva’s and Diva’s in training. This is all very important, even Mean Kitty has to agree about this.

Oh and why was I going to the City? Well darlings, there are a couple of stores that I love to purchase my DVD’s and music from, Rasputins just below Union Square and Virgin Records, I couldn’t take my Diva Darling, Princess, but I’m so glad that Juanita is back, she loves watching her and spoiling the little dear, although she said I made her work very easy for her because I called in Molly Maids, so Juanita tells me she is going to go through my closet to see what needs to be repaired, she is so through, sometimes I feel like I have a mother watching over me, that is why I just want to do my best for her as well.

And clothing maintenance will be another subject I will be touching upon in the future my Dears.

Until Anon Darlings, this Diva is going to treat a dear friend to lunch, and relaxation. Kisses Darlings.