Hello Again Darlings,
Well I did promise you on how my “Business Ladies Who Lunch” Potluck went, we had a marvelous time and so much information to share that what we all did is use our digital recorders to record what was said that way we wouldn’t have to rely on memory.
But my Darlings there was so much information that I’m going to have to break it down into much smaller sections.
So this “chapter” is going to be on reading material, and at home entertainment~~~
One of our Ladies Sherry showed us several magazines that she purchased---because there were so many articles in them it was better to purchase them, she said next time she’ll photo copy the any articles if her Library carries those particular magazines, but this time she wasn’t sure.
The magazines were Kiplinger’s Personal Finance for January 2009 issue; it had many articles on building up your portfolio, finding best deals in bonds and warning of scams.
She also came across a November 2008 copy of the same magazine with articles on getting out of debt and saving on your energy bills and made copies for us.
Laura showed us the January 2009 issue of House Beautiful and it contained an article titled “A Clean Slate---It Starts With Your Closet” it had rules about weeding your wardrobe, and she gave us copies of the article.
On thing that we all agreed on was that it was important to save as much money as possible, and buying the magazines at costs ranging from 3.99 to 6.99 was defeatist, but Sherry said that by going to places such as Borders or Barnes and Nobel, she would look at the magazines, make a note of which ones had articles that were of interest and then go to the Library and photocopy the articles there.
If it was impossible to get the magazine at the Library only then would she consider buying it.
Speaking of buying magazines, Laura our Fashionista says that she limits her fashion magazine purchases to only the March and September issues of her favorites, and she watches for offers of when the subscriptions are 2/3’s lower than the shelf prices. For instance she has subscribed to Vanity Fair at a price that is only $1.25 per issue; she likes that magazine because of both the articles and the fashions they show.
She takes one evening a week after leaving work to go to the Library and scan Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and any other fashion magazine that is available, she likes to decompress that way. Any magazine that she does buy she removes only those articles that she wants and then drops them off at the magazine exchange box at the Library.
It was mentioned by all the Ladies that it appears that many Libraries and their Branches have a magazine exchange box, and for everyone to see if their nearest Library had one, we decided to also bring our magazines that we were done with to our next Pot Luck Meeting and if anyone wanted to take one home they could, but if everyone wanted the same article then the owner of the magazine would photo copy it and we would reimburse them for the cost of the photocopy.
It was also mentioned that if the particular issues are no longer on sale at either the bookstores like Borders or Barnes and Nobel, check your Public Library to see if they have those magazines or can request them for you from another Library System.
It was also discovered that checking the Magazine Exchange Bin was a good way to find back issues of magazines that we might be interested in. As my dear friend “Mean Kitty” would say “Free is always good.”
Now on to Entertainment~~~~~
We all agreed that going out for an evening of fun can become expensive and even having home entertainment can be expensive if you have children that want the latest video game, especially the Wii system.
Terri is a working mother, her husband also works but his job often takes him out of town, so she has two children ages 8 and 10 who demand being entertained. Because of the economy crunch, she had them watching the early evening news, and she would watch it with them, when it brought up the economy and people being out of work or losing their homes, she would then bring the subject up to her children.
She said that she really didn’t want to do the “Scared Straight” routine, but she had to make her children very aware that there were priorities in life and that buying the latest video game or the latest DVD was not high on the list. Through carefully telling them what the situation was she got them into the game of finding inexpensive ways to be entertained.
Card and board games came up, but they found that it only worked if there were at least 4 children involved so Terri came up with a exchange of play nights for children on Fridays and Saturday evenings if there was no big homework assignment, and games in which two people could play, such as checkers, puzzles, pick up sticks, tic-tac-toe, they found a children’s toy consignment store, and there they discovered board games that were much cheaper than new. They even discovered the game of Jacks and Marbles, she said that the children were working together better, less hyper-active and they tired more at night when ready to go to bed.
She also introduced a reading time as well, at least 15 minutes to read a portion of a book that was borrowed from the Library. And that was after dinner, and then to any game.
But homework always came first with the idea of games afterwards. She noticed an improvement on their homework as well, so she believes that the games engage their brain functions much better.
Sometimes a movie is always good, but our Ladies didn’t want to have to buy or rent the latest films, Net flicks was discussed, the fact that it could be mailed to and from the Net flicks center for a monthly fee of $8.99 was considered an excellent bargain, the ladies did have some disappointments, like a film not playing well and it was not their DVD, but it was considered the chances one has to take.
If one is into films then it was considered that Net Flicks is a good deal, going to the movies was another thing discussed and it was agreed that for some films seeing it on the big screen is visually more exciting, but going in the evenings can put a hole in the pocket, if it’s a film that one Must See then going to a matinee is always good, but do not buy any of the popcorn or soft drinks to save money.
The Public Library was brought up as a free option to borrow films and music CD’s and was considered the best rock bottom solution for music and Films.
One of the Ladies says that she and her boy friend plan one movie night out a month and this would include eating out as well, it’s their treat to themselves and they include it in their budget, but she says that they stay with appetizers, and only ONE alcoholic drink, they buy one big tub of popcorn, but they sneak in her oversize purse their bottled water.
I told them about my “Game Night” parties, which would include Mahjong and other games, and puzzles and doing it pot luck style, and it could be done with any size group.
Other things that were discussed was finding free things to do around the Bay Area, most museums have free sections one can go to, but if it’s a special exhibit in which there is a fee, one should be prepared for that.
Public Parks and Art Wine festivals with free entertainment was considered, free beaches was also thought of for the summer months, mention was made of some of the local events such as the Sand castle contest, and the Jam festival.
It was looked into the cost of parking and gas use and if it was possible to take public transportation to most events to save money, it was agreed that a number of events was easy to get to using public transportation and some not so easy, again planning and budgeting was considered the best way to make decisions.
Sometime during the Summer if a store is offering a special admission price to one of the local amusement parks that could be factored into one’s budge.
Terri told her children that if they collect cans and bottles for recycling the money from that could be used to go to a major amusement park one time during the Summer, but they had to decide which one it would be, and they created a Amusement Park Jar, which is a big glass jar and all the money that was raised by cashing in the cans etc was put into that jar, the children started including found money, that is money found on the sidewalks, etc. Terri says they do not turn their noses up at pennies anymore, and if they have any toys that are in good condition but they are no longer interested in they take it to the Toy consignment store for either credit or cash.
She also makes sure that the children wear gloves when they go on their hunts, she said it’s amazing the number of cans and plastic bottles that people carelessly toss out, she discovered teenagers are the worst offenders.
And Teenagers almost led us off into another tangent but we did get back on track.
Well Darlings this has gone to 4 pages, so I’ll have to end for now and continue at another time, my Dear Friends Betty and Bill are coming by in Bills’ Packard and we are going “Cruising”, and checking out some things, they are into Art Deco things, so I’m going with them just for fun. Besides you never know what might turn up or discover.
Until Anon Darlings, Kisses
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A Life Time Routine~~~~
Hello My Darling Divas,
It was so strange and yet not strange to wake up yesterday morning and finding cold, wet fog surrounding the house, feeling so cut off from the world.
The aroma of coffee was enough to perk me up, but it was so cold that even Princess has to wear a sweater; I have a special doggie heating pad so that her joints are not in pain.
The sun finally shone wetly through the fog, and as it lifted I was surprised to see a small flock of ducks had taken shelter under some of the bushes, on the mulch covering. I guess it was warm enough for them, poor things. I keep a small metal bin of duck feed in the garage and I put some out for them in a pan, Juanita has ‘clucked’ at me saying they make a mess on the wooden deck and that her son-in-law will have to come and wash it off, but even I have heard her muttering in Spanish “poor things”, I smile thinking about her soft side and yes her son-in-law will have to come and wash/scrub the area.
This last Sunday Juanita took a break from visiting her family and came by the house to take down all the indoor decorations while Manuel took down and stored the outside lights and put them away for another year, I don’t keep a live tree anymore, the artificial ones seem to work very well, then he and Juanita went to join the rest of her family for a special mass for Epiphany, I told her to have fun with her family she is to have a vacation through Jan 11. She didn’t have to but it is traditional in her family to be sure that all the Christmas decorations are removed by January 6 the Feast of the Epiphany, otherwise one would have bad luck for the year. I think it’s really to show that one is not lazy, but it was very sweet of her to help me.
For the last few days I’ve been starting to put together my paperwork for my Tax Preparer, now it’s just waiting for the paper work from the government agencies, my banks and my broker and put it all together in a packet.
Now as a reminder I want all of you to go to my blog posting for January 4 and 5, 2008, in these two blogs you will have information to help you put your paper work in order, especially if one of your resolutions is to be better organized.
I have another Magazine to recommend to all of you. It is again our old standby Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the February 2009 issue. Again they focus on how to rebuild your retirement portfolio, plus stocks that pay 5% or more.
I was happy to see that one of the stocks that I have an investment in, Briggs & Stratton (their symbol is BGG) was mentioned, granted it’s dividend share isn’t big, but what I did over a number of years is simply let the dividends buy more shares, (of course there is taxes to consider) so that I do get a nice little income now (not much but nice enough to put into a rainy day fund).
Remember Darlings, I always believe in something that is going to remain for the long haul and has less chance of going under.
A number of you who’ve contacted me, via my comments section (and please forgive me if I’ve deleted your comments but they were long and saying pretty much the same thing) were asking ‘You seem like such a social butterfly, how you keep up with all of this?’ or words to that effect.
Well Darlings it’s this---the key word is discipline, I have a schedule that I do adhere to, but I do vary it depending upon my health, weather conditions, commitments, appointments, etc.
Let us consider the week as going from Monday to Sunday, although calendars show the week as starting on Sunday and ending on Saturday, but think of it as I suggested.
Monday is for me is the start of my business week and I use it to find out how the stock market and other financial institutions are starting out, so that is a “work day for me”, while I watch what the market is doing I’m also reading all the news in regards to events both nation-wide and overseas, because I believe in the domino effect, what happens in one place will affect things and the economy in another. Having an idea of history is important.
This is also the time when I will flag stocks or bonds that show some promise of being a good investment, I don’t invest every week, most of the time I just monitor the progress of stocks holdings.
Tuesdays is when I make or return phone calls, I’m always careful in calling my friends in finance I know that they have busy work schedules, if they are unable to speak with me, I’ll make an appointment for when I can call them. This would also include my broker, now I know many of you invest on line and that is fine, I’ve done this for so many years that I prefer the personal touch.
Tuesdays is also a good day to call credit card companies, business companies, etc. if you have a dispute over your billing or to make doctor or dental appointments, beauty shop appointments etc. I try to have the calls completed in the morning; the only time I’ll make an exception is when I’m having my car maintance done.
I continue to read the news or watch CNN especially with on going situations.
Wednesdays is when I make financial decisions if I might buy either more shares in a stock, continue to watch it, invest in a stock that looks promising, or flag those that look like they may be in trouble. I also use Wednesdays to balance my banking accounts and for bill paying as well as certain days that I have flagged when I know certain amounts are going to be deducted to pay bills, this way I can keep tabs on my income and outgo.
I do not necessarily buy stocks on that day and not every week, it could be months before I make a purchase.
This is also the day my house keeper clips coupons and we do grocery shopping when I get home.
Thursdays I meet with my “Business Ladies Who Lunch” I find that this is a good time for me to hear what is happening in their business world and if they have heard of anything that is shifting, these are savvy ladies and if anything feels “off” with them they are usually right.
Fridays are when I look in to see how the markets have faired and how the flagged stocks are performing. I make notes and check on my notes from Monday and Wednesday.
I try to make Fridays my final decision days as well, if I’m going to buy or sell, but most of the choices I make is for the “long haul” that is what I prefer in my stocks. An excellent source is Value Line Investment Survey, some people prefer the print edition and some the on line source. I like the print because sometimes things will jump quickly out at me, but, and I know it seems redundant, I also subscribe to the on line version only because sometimes my print copy doesn’t come in a timely manner in the mail. I also do not keep a print copy beyond 6 months (it does add up since its weekly) but what I do is tear out those stocks that I’ve flagged for future reference and put them in a folder for safe keeping.
Saturdays, the only thing I do is check the news and see how things have closed I use the rest of the day to pick up and drop off any Dry Cleaning, run errands, and anything else.
Sundays is when I catch up on my reading both news and magazine articles I also use Sundays I try to go to Church at least twice a month and sometimes more, I find that getting up early even on Sundays keeps me on my toes and to not get lazy, then on the early part of the afternoon is use that for planning my week and looking over my “Day runner” for appointments and create my “tickle file” after that on the later Sunday afternoon’s I go to the Library and quickly read a weeks worth of Christian Science Monitors newspapers, drop off any magazines I’m done with in the exchange bin, look for at least one good book to read to off set my business reading and select several music CD’s for the week.
Now it is not all business for me, I try to end my day after the close of the New York Stock Exchange which is 3 hours a head of us since I’m on the west coast, but I do check in on the performance of a few of my overseas stocks.
Once the market has closed then I use the rest of the day for any appointments, or do some shopping, I make every effort to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, not necessarily the same day, and before I go to the gym I give my little Darling Diva Princess her little walk. It’s just several blocks to the beach and then along the beach trail and back, it’s a good time for me to think and muse on things, of course when crossing the streets one has to be careful and Princess cannot be hurried in leaving her “messages” and her “Mommy” does have to clean up after her.
Because it gets dark so early we go about an hour before Sunset, during the Summer of course we go later,
Weekends are for fun, sometimes I have things planned and sometimes I have nothing planned, when I have quiet evenings I use it to catch up on correspondence, writing for my Blog, calling friends or family, catch up on my reading.
When I come across an article that has promising information I first flag it and then when I’m done with the magazine I remove the article and put it into recycling, or if I have not removed anything out of the magazine I take it to the Library and put it into their magazine exchange bin.
And I have to admit it is a lot of reading, I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, our local paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Business Times (includes the Bay Area) and most of the magazines that I have mentioned. My library is my home office and I have a fast DSL line although I’m thinking of upgrading.
I do go into the city Mondays through Thursdays, and on occasion on Fridays, I rent a very small office space from my late husbands old firm where I keep much of my file information and I have a computer on line with a T2 line that is part of the office building, I am able to access the use of that for my use, now I had to get a business license, but I am in business for myself, I do not take clients, but because I am in business for myself I can take tax deductions. It’s complicated but it works well for me.
Years ago when I was learning about investing from my father and mother (yes she was a very sharp lady) and going to college to learn business, I started this routine and kept it up when I got married, I was fortunate in that I had a staff to help with the upkeep of the house, and although I’ve down sized my home (which was a good thing for me) Juanita although an employee for me, is also my helpmate, she keeps a keen eye on the house and makes sure things are run well, she also comes to me if there is a situation, I really view her as a partner, that is why is was so important for me to increase her income and improve her medical and dental insurance. I also established a retirement fund for her when she feels she is unable to work for me anymore.
I’ve also guided her daughter and son-in-law in solid investments to help them gain a better income. One of Juanita’s grand daughters is going to college and also has a keen sense of investment banking, she is a very sharp young lady and has started making modest investments with money she got from working part time and of all things, collecting cans and bottles, the income she’s getting from her investments is paying for most of her college, which has taken a burden off of her parents.
Juanita’s other grandchildren and children are doing well following her daughters’ Constance’s lead.
Now I know a number of you are wondering how can I possibly be able to do all this reading, it’s simple, I can scan an article in a magazine to see if it’s worth reading in depth, with newspapers, I skip the fluff articles, although Juanita loves the gardening and cooking section, and go directly to the financial section and then I scan local, national and international news as it would relate to affecting the economy, I save the comics, theatre and movie reviews for when I take a brief break. After all, the mind does have to play. In the evenings if I’m not going out, and television is a bore I will read for a bit from a novel and then meditate to relax my mind before going to bed
By meeting my “Business Ladies Who Lunch” on Thursdays, it also gives me a break from routine and keeps my mind relaxed and active as well.
I also offer suggestions to my friends if they are in a “puzzlement’ over something; not too long ago my dear friend “Mean Kitty” and I were having coffee and she told me that she was thinking of closing her savings account at a particular bank, I asked her why and she said that because she could not maintain $300 in her account for a full 30 or 31 days that $5 dollars is taken out as a fee. I suggested to her to ask her bank officer why that was happening, but do it in the bank, I told her that I have several standard savings accounts with attached checking and what I do is have once a month a certain amount automatically transferred from my checking to my savings and there is no fee and you can have the savings account go as low as you want, I told her to find out if that is possible and find out what is the minimum she can transfer without having to have fee charged.
That worked for her. She now has $10.00 a month transferred she doesn’t feel it, and it will build up in her account and as her finances increase she can have more money transferred if she wishes.
I try to post my blog when I can, and I write my blog when I can between everything else. Some postings may take a little longer, and of course I do take vacations when I feel that things will hold just fine. And since my investments have been for the long haul with solid companies I’ve very seldom have had to do any sell off.
Now that so called banker Madloff who got arrested, well years ago he approached my (now deceased)husband and me at a function and we did get together for lunch with him when we were in his area, and although he spoke of glowing reports on things, there was something about how he was describing things that made me want to hold back.
When my husband and I had a chance to get away from Madloff’s influence, we looked over what he had presented to us, and we both agreed that there was something a little “off” we couldn’t put our finger on it, but it didn’t have that solid feeling like Apple Corporation did when we first invested in Apple. We wisely decided to not invest with him; my husband felt it was some sort of pyramid scheme, which could collapse. Although it did appear to be solid, there was something just “off” with it. Now people have lost their retirement funds and Madloff is in jail. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is some sort of trap.
But that is my routine, I do have a beauty routine, an exercise routine, but I won’t bore you with those.
Now a quick investment suggestion, go to Value Line on line they have a 6 tips for investing or selecting stocks, an educational section, Do read that Darlings, also I'm going to look further into Logtectic, they supply add on's to computers, they've just been listed on Value Line For January 9, 2009 and they seem to be a good investment, I'm always cautious on computer stocks, so I don't have many (here today, gone tomorrow) but they seem to be a good solid company, so it's something I may take a few shares out on, and see how they do for the year, don't go overboard, always be cautious and always diversify your portfolio.
Just remember my Dear Divas and Diva’s in Training, you are in business, you are your own CEO’s of your life and your life is your business, Remember That.
Until Anon Darlings, Kisses.
It was so strange and yet not strange to wake up yesterday morning and finding cold, wet fog surrounding the house, feeling so cut off from the world.
The aroma of coffee was enough to perk me up, but it was so cold that even Princess has to wear a sweater; I have a special doggie heating pad so that her joints are not in pain.
The sun finally shone wetly through the fog, and as it lifted I was surprised to see a small flock of ducks had taken shelter under some of the bushes, on the mulch covering. I guess it was warm enough for them, poor things. I keep a small metal bin of duck feed in the garage and I put some out for them in a pan, Juanita has ‘clucked’ at me saying they make a mess on the wooden deck and that her son-in-law will have to come and wash it off, but even I have heard her muttering in Spanish “poor things”, I smile thinking about her soft side and yes her son-in-law will have to come and wash/scrub the area.
This last Sunday Juanita took a break from visiting her family and came by the house to take down all the indoor decorations while Manuel took down and stored the outside lights and put them away for another year, I don’t keep a live tree anymore, the artificial ones seem to work very well, then he and Juanita went to join the rest of her family for a special mass for Epiphany, I told her to have fun with her family she is to have a vacation through Jan 11. She didn’t have to but it is traditional in her family to be sure that all the Christmas decorations are removed by January 6 the Feast of the Epiphany, otherwise one would have bad luck for the year. I think it’s really to show that one is not lazy, but it was very sweet of her to help me.
For the last few days I’ve been starting to put together my paperwork for my Tax Preparer, now it’s just waiting for the paper work from the government agencies, my banks and my broker and put it all together in a packet.
Now as a reminder I want all of you to go to my blog posting for January 4 and 5, 2008, in these two blogs you will have information to help you put your paper work in order, especially if one of your resolutions is to be better organized.
I have another Magazine to recommend to all of you. It is again our old standby Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the February 2009 issue. Again they focus on how to rebuild your retirement portfolio, plus stocks that pay 5% or more.
I was happy to see that one of the stocks that I have an investment in, Briggs & Stratton (their symbol is BGG) was mentioned, granted it’s dividend share isn’t big, but what I did over a number of years is simply let the dividends buy more shares, (of course there is taxes to consider) so that I do get a nice little income now (not much but nice enough to put into a rainy day fund).
Remember Darlings, I always believe in something that is going to remain for the long haul and has less chance of going under.
A number of you who’ve contacted me, via my comments section (and please forgive me if I’ve deleted your comments but they were long and saying pretty much the same thing) were asking ‘You seem like such a social butterfly, how you keep up with all of this?’ or words to that effect.
Well Darlings it’s this---the key word is discipline, I have a schedule that I do adhere to, but I do vary it depending upon my health, weather conditions, commitments, appointments, etc.
Let us consider the week as going from Monday to Sunday, although calendars show the week as starting on Sunday and ending on Saturday, but think of it as I suggested.
Monday is for me is the start of my business week and I use it to find out how the stock market and other financial institutions are starting out, so that is a “work day for me”, while I watch what the market is doing I’m also reading all the news in regards to events both nation-wide and overseas, because I believe in the domino effect, what happens in one place will affect things and the economy in another. Having an idea of history is important.
This is also the time when I will flag stocks or bonds that show some promise of being a good investment, I don’t invest every week, most of the time I just monitor the progress of stocks holdings.
Tuesdays is when I make or return phone calls, I’m always careful in calling my friends in finance I know that they have busy work schedules, if they are unable to speak with me, I’ll make an appointment for when I can call them. This would also include my broker, now I know many of you invest on line and that is fine, I’ve done this for so many years that I prefer the personal touch.
Tuesdays is also a good day to call credit card companies, business companies, etc. if you have a dispute over your billing or to make doctor or dental appointments, beauty shop appointments etc. I try to have the calls completed in the morning; the only time I’ll make an exception is when I’m having my car maintance done.
I continue to read the news or watch CNN especially with on going situations.
Wednesdays is when I make financial decisions if I might buy either more shares in a stock, continue to watch it, invest in a stock that looks promising, or flag those that look like they may be in trouble. I also use Wednesdays to balance my banking accounts and for bill paying as well as certain days that I have flagged when I know certain amounts are going to be deducted to pay bills, this way I can keep tabs on my income and outgo.
I do not necessarily buy stocks on that day and not every week, it could be months before I make a purchase.
This is also the day my house keeper clips coupons and we do grocery shopping when I get home.
Thursdays I meet with my “Business Ladies Who Lunch” I find that this is a good time for me to hear what is happening in their business world and if they have heard of anything that is shifting, these are savvy ladies and if anything feels “off” with them they are usually right.
Fridays are when I look in to see how the markets have faired and how the flagged stocks are performing. I make notes and check on my notes from Monday and Wednesday.
I try to make Fridays my final decision days as well, if I’m going to buy or sell, but most of the choices I make is for the “long haul” that is what I prefer in my stocks. An excellent source is Value Line Investment Survey, some people prefer the print edition and some the on line source. I like the print because sometimes things will jump quickly out at me, but, and I know it seems redundant, I also subscribe to the on line version only because sometimes my print copy doesn’t come in a timely manner in the mail. I also do not keep a print copy beyond 6 months (it does add up since its weekly) but what I do is tear out those stocks that I’ve flagged for future reference and put them in a folder for safe keeping.
Saturdays, the only thing I do is check the news and see how things have closed I use the rest of the day to pick up and drop off any Dry Cleaning, run errands, and anything else.
Sundays is when I catch up on my reading both news and magazine articles I also use Sundays I try to go to Church at least twice a month and sometimes more, I find that getting up early even on Sundays keeps me on my toes and to not get lazy, then on the early part of the afternoon is use that for planning my week and looking over my “Day runner” for appointments and create my “tickle file” after that on the later Sunday afternoon’s I go to the Library and quickly read a weeks worth of Christian Science Monitors newspapers, drop off any magazines I’m done with in the exchange bin, look for at least one good book to read to off set my business reading and select several music CD’s for the week.
Now it is not all business for me, I try to end my day after the close of the New York Stock Exchange which is 3 hours a head of us since I’m on the west coast, but I do check in on the performance of a few of my overseas stocks.
Once the market has closed then I use the rest of the day for any appointments, or do some shopping, I make every effort to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, not necessarily the same day, and before I go to the gym I give my little Darling Diva Princess her little walk. It’s just several blocks to the beach and then along the beach trail and back, it’s a good time for me to think and muse on things, of course when crossing the streets one has to be careful and Princess cannot be hurried in leaving her “messages” and her “Mommy” does have to clean up after her.
Because it gets dark so early we go about an hour before Sunset, during the Summer of course we go later,
Weekends are for fun, sometimes I have things planned and sometimes I have nothing planned, when I have quiet evenings I use it to catch up on correspondence, writing for my Blog, calling friends or family, catch up on my reading.
When I come across an article that has promising information I first flag it and then when I’m done with the magazine I remove the article and put it into recycling, or if I have not removed anything out of the magazine I take it to the Library and put it into their magazine exchange bin.
And I have to admit it is a lot of reading, I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, our local paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Business Times (includes the Bay Area) and most of the magazines that I have mentioned. My library is my home office and I have a fast DSL line although I’m thinking of upgrading.
I do go into the city Mondays through Thursdays, and on occasion on Fridays, I rent a very small office space from my late husbands old firm where I keep much of my file information and I have a computer on line with a T2 line that is part of the office building, I am able to access the use of that for my use, now I had to get a business license, but I am in business for myself, I do not take clients, but because I am in business for myself I can take tax deductions. It’s complicated but it works well for me.
Years ago when I was learning about investing from my father and mother (yes she was a very sharp lady) and going to college to learn business, I started this routine and kept it up when I got married, I was fortunate in that I had a staff to help with the upkeep of the house, and although I’ve down sized my home (which was a good thing for me) Juanita although an employee for me, is also my helpmate, she keeps a keen eye on the house and makes sure things are run well, she also comes to me if there is a situation, I really view her as a partner, that is why is was so important for me to increase her income and improve her medical and dental insurance. I also established a retirement fund for her when she feels she is unable to work for me anymore.
I’ve also guided her daughter and son-in-law in solid investments to help them gain a better income. One of Juanita’s grand daughters is going to college and also has a keen sense of investment banking, she is a very sharp young lady and has started making modest investments with money she got from working part time and of all things, collecting cans and bottles, the income she’s getting from her investments is paying for most of her college, which has taken a burden off of her parents.
Juanita’s other grandchildren and children are doing well following her daughters’ Constance’s lead.
Now I know a number of you are wondering how can I possibly be able to do all this reading, it’s simple, I can scan an article in a magazine to see if it’s worth reading in depth, with newspapers, I skip the fluff articles, although Juanita loves the gardening and cooking section, and go directly to the financial section and then I scan local, national and international news as it would relate to affecting the economy, I save the comics, theatre and movie reviews for when I take a brief break. After all, the mind does have to play. In the evenings if I’m not going out, and television is a bore I will read for a bit from a novel and then meditate to relax my mind before going to bed
By meeting my “Business Ladies Who Lunch” on Thursdays, it also gives me a break from routine and keeps my mind relaxed and active as well.
I also offer suggestions to my friends if they are in a “puzzlement’ over something; not too long ago my dear friend “Mean Kitty” and I were having coffee and she told me that she was thinking of closing her savings account at a particular bank, I asked her why and she said that because she could not maintain $300 in her account for a full 30 or 31 days that $5 dollars is taken out as a fee. I suggested to her to ask her bank officer why that was happening, but do it in the bank, I told her that I have several standard savings accounts with attached checking and what I do is have once a month a certain amount automatically transferred from my checking to my savings and there is no fee and you can have the savings account go as low as you want, I told her to find out if that is possible and find out what is the minimum she can transfer without having to have fee charged.
That worked for her. She now has $10.00 a month transferred she doesn’t feel it, and it will build up in her account and as her finances increase she can have more money transferred if she wishes.
I try to post my blog when I can, and I write my blog when I can between everything else. Some postings may take a little longer, and of course I do take vacations when I feel that things will hold just fine. And since my investments have been for the long haul with solid companies I’ve very seldom have had to do any sell off.
Now that so called banker Madloff who got arrested, well years ago he approached my (now deceased)husband and me at a function and we did get together for lunch with him when we were in his area, and although he spoke of glowing reports on things, there was something about how he was describing things that made me want to hold back.
When my husband and I had a chance to get away from Madloff’s influence, we looked over what he had presented to us, and we both agreed that there was something a little “off” we couldn’t put our finger on it, but it didn’t have that solid feeling like Apple Corporation did when we first invested in Apple. We wisely decided to not invest with him; my husband felt it was some sort of pyramid scheme, which could collapse. Although it did appear to be solid, there was something just “off” with it. Now people have lost their retirement funds and Madloff is in jail. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is some sort of trap.
But that is my routine, I do have a beauty routine, an exercise routine, but I won’t bore you with those.
Now a quick investment suggestion, go to Value Line on line they have a 6 tips for investing or selecting stocks, an educational section, Do read that Darlings, also I'm going to look further into Logtectic, they supply add on's to computers, they've just been listed on Value Line For January 9, 2009 and they seem to be a good investment, I'm always cautious on computer stocks, so I don't have many (here today, gone tomorrow) but they seem to be a good solid company, so it's something I may take a few shares out on, and see how they do for the year, don't go overboard, always be cautious and always diversify your portfolio.
Just remember my Dear Divas and Diva’s in Training, you are in business, you are your own CEO’s of your life and your life is your business, Remember That.
Until Anon Darlings, Kisses.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Years Darlings!!! 2009
Happy New Years to all my Darling Divas and Divas in Training,
Isn’t it good to get rid of 2008?
Well really Darlings, one should really take the experiences of 2008 and use them as a learning lesson. It is really Reality knocking on one’s door.
Take all those financial fiascos’s and see what you could do to prevent it from happening to you. All those Home Loans that were nothing but disasters, the housing market bubble popping, all those companies whose worth was nothing more than paper.
This is where learning finance and investing can really be the best thing that a Diva can have in her financial arsenal.
Now I was fortunate, my Father always said that you can’t go wrong in investing in durable goods, even if they are slow growth, my U.S. Steel Stocks always a steady but unremarkable performer has held solid for me. Of course that is just one example, but remember when one invests in something, there is always a “domino effect”, what affects one will always affect another.
So here is a quick recommendation, look at the 2008 back issues of these magazines, Money, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and the Kiplinger Report, Fortune, Forbes, Barron’s and others, and see what they recommended and compare it to what recommendations performed well, that will give you an idea of where to invest.
Right now there are things that can be picked up for a low cost. Hetty Green, the “Witch of Wall Street” always said “Buy cheap, sell dear” meaning buy low, sell high. I’d say the same thing too, but I also say that it’s important to look at the steady income stocks as well, see how their performance was during the crisis.
Now Darlings I’m still putting together my “report” on my “Business Ladies Who Lunch” Pot Luck and there is a lot to assimilate. But I will have it up in the next few days.
Now for my personal update:
As you all know, if you have been following my blog, my plans were to go to my brothers house in San Francisco for the Christmas holidays and I did, it was so good to see everyone, my nieces and nephews and their children, my other brother Roger and his wife. We also received phone calls from other far flung members of the family.
It was a wonderful time, very much like last year only more people. Roger and Diana are going to be staying in a hotel for a week or two (now that is expensive but they’ve been planning it) and are looking at Pied a Terre’s to buy, they are looking at 1000 Van Ness, it’s right on the Geary line and it has parking. He told me that just a few years ago the small condos were going for a million dollars each now he can pick and choose for a song.
There are others but the fact that it’s close to a major bus line is the attractiveness to them, they just want something that’s “basic”.
We all went to Midnight Mass and of course it was only standing room, now in a time of crisis people are coming together even more so.
And Lois, Diana and I had such a delicious time at that wonderful Spa that Lois calls her own.
Princess and Smokey got along very well, Princess even bossed Smokey who is a much bigger dog but he took it all in stride, it was so precious to see the two of them sleeping together, my little Diva Darling all curled up next to Smokey’s ample body. And Smokey is doing so well, Lois said the poor dear adjusted very well to being with them.
The elderly man who was Smokey’s pervious owner has seen him several times now but they got word that he’s beginning to have kidney problems and has been to dialysis, so they were going to go up before New Years to have him see Smokey again, they do not hold out much hope that he will see spring.
Tom, with Smokey’s owners’ wishes, has made all the funeral arrangements, and has made sure that his estate will cover the medical costs. The land that the man owned will go to the estate and be used to pay for all the medical expenses, but Tom has pre-paid all the funeral costs. He said it’s the least he can do, Smokey has been such a treasure and so devoted especially to Lois.
Lois showed me the preliminary drawings for their “cabin” that is going to be built on their property, she was able to get copies of the plans for the cabin that was at Incline Village and from there, she and her architect have been able to come up with a design that will incorporate the Ponderosa plus their needs.
She told me that she was able to locate a company that re-builds old fashion cooking stoves, so she is looking at one that is a combination of gas burners and oven with wood burning features so that if their gas/propane gets low she can still cook on the wood burning part and she also wanted it to have a hot water reservoir even though they will be installing a hot water system that will be hot water on demand, much like mine only larger for when the family visits.
And she was able to find refrigerators and freezers that look like pantries to install in the kitchen, and a place that makes the old fashioned stone sinks.
They figure it will take two to three years to build it properly; they don’t want to rush it, and their have to look at everything first to make sure about codes.
But Lois is so excited about this “adventure”.
We had fun at the Christmas sales, although exhausting, again I found some wonderful bargains, and I especially hit the perfume counters. Juanita asked me if I could purchase a perfume or cologne set of J’Adore for her daughter Constance, which I did find.
But all the Prêt porter clothing was just so unremarkable, except for some selections by Ralph Lauren, that was very interesting and I can see that they will remain in style for some time. But Lois and I had to laugh at the silliness of most of the shoe styles, the heels were so high who could or would walk in them. I have beautiful shoes and stylish too but I make sure that they are comfortable.
But again all too soon it ended and I and my Diva Darling came home. Which was good really, I had time to catch up on my mail, had the maid service come in for a good “fluff and dust” Then once again I and Kevin whisked ourselves off to the Hornet last night for the New Year’s Party, so lovely and so romantic.
But this morning I surprisingly got up early, showered and dressed and made coffee, Kevin is getting dressed now as I type, we are going out for breakfast, do a little “cheap” shopping--- It’s at Target and Rasputins, then a light lunch and we will go and pick up my Diva Darling at Betty’s house, but I will be staying at Betty’s and Bill’s house for dinner and they will bring Princess and I home, Kevin unfortunately must catch an evening flight to (and here I am jealous) Hawaii. Because Obama may make his White house home away from the White House in Hawaii, there appears to be some investments that may develop out there and Kevin wants to investigate it.
Then on Monday, back into the real life, I’ll be meeting Wallace for Lunch next Monday in the City, we’ll be talking about the financial course that I must plan on for durability. Then putting together my records for my tax preparer, Tax time my Dear Diva’s waits for no one, and it pays to get the jump on things quickly, why should the Government make anymore interest on your money.
Oh and here is a suggestion, but you really should talk it over with your professional Tax preparer or CPA and I’m not talking about H and R Block either. One item that was suggested by one of my Business ladies is to look at how much is being taken out of your income for income tax, put in a form with your job so that most of that comes to you, but DO NOT SPEND IT, put that money that would go to your Federal and State income tax into your own savings account or something that will give you a good return and you get the interest not the Federal or State governments, then just pay them what would have been taken out for your income tax, why should they make interest on your money.
But if you are not prepared to do that, then file early and get your refund early so it can make interest for you.
Now I must go Darlings, Kevin is waiting and looking so handsome in a Daniel Craig sort of way, well he does have at least a “4 pack”.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
Isn’t it good to get rid of 2008?
Well really Darlings, one should really take the experiences of 2008 and use them as a learning lesson. It is really Reality knocking on one’s door.
Take all those financial fiascos’s and see what you could do to prevent it from happening to you. All those Home Loans that were nothing but disasters, the housing market bubble popping, all those companies whose worth was nothing more than paper.
This is where learning finance and investing can really be the best thing that a Diva can have in her financial arsenal.
Now I was fortunate, my Father always said that you can’t go wrong in investing in durable goods, even if they are slow growth, my U.S. Steel Stocks always a steady but unremarkable performer has held solid for me. Of course that is just one example, but remember when one invests in something, there is always a “domino effect”, what affects one will always affect another.
So here is a quick recommendation, look at the 2008 back issues of these magazines, Money, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and the Kiplinger Report, Fortune, Forbes, Barron’s and others, and see what they recommended and compare it to what recommendations performed well, that will give you an idea of where to invest.
Right now there are things that can be picked up for a low cost. Hetty Green, the “Witch of Wall Street” always said “Buy cheap, sell dear” meaning buy low, sell high. I’d say the same thing too, but I also say that it’s important to look at the steady income stocks as well, see how their performance was during the crisis.
Now Darlings I’m still putting together my “report” on my “Business Ladies Who Lunch” Pot Luck and there is a lot to assimilate. But I will have it up in the next few days.
Now for my personal update:
As you all know, if you have been following my blog, my plans were to go to my brothers house in San Francisco for the Christmas holidays and I did, it was so good to see everyone, my nieces and nephews and their children, my other brother Roger and his wife. We also received phone calls from other far flung members of the family.
It was a wonderful time, very much like last year only more people. Roger and Diana are going to be staying in a hotel for a week or two (now that is expensive but they’ve been planning it) and are looking at Pied a Terre’s to buy, they are looking at 1000 Van Ness, it’s right on the Geary line and it has parking. He told me that just a few years ago the small condos were going for a million dollars each now he can pick and choose for a song.
There are others but the fact that it’s close to a major bus line is the attractiveness to them, they just want something that’s “basic”.
We all went to Midnight Mass and of course it was only standing room, now in a time of crisis people are coming together even more so.
And Lois, Diana and I had such a delicious time at that wonderful Spa that Lois calls her own.
Princess and Smokey got along very well, Princess even bossed Smokey who is a much bigger dog but he took it all in stride, it was so precious to see the two of them sleeping together, my little Diva Darling all curled up next to Smokey’s ample body. And Smokey is doing so well, Lois said the poor dear adjusted very well to being with them.
The elderly man who was Smokey’s pervious owner has seen him several times now but they got word that he’s beginning to have kidney problems and has been to dialysis, so they were going to go up before New Years to have him see Smokey again, they do not hold out much hope that he will see spring.
Tom, with Smokey’s owners’ wishes, has made all the funeral arrangements, and has made sure that his estate will cover the medical costs. The land that the man owned will go to the estate and be used to pay for all the medical expenses, but Tom has pre-paid all the funeral costs. He said it’s the least he can do, Smokey has been such a treasure and so devoted especially to Lois.
Lois showed me the preliminary drawings for their “cabin” that is going to be built on their property, she was able to get copies of the plans for the cabin that was at Incline Village and from there, she and her architect have been able to come up with a design that will incorporate the Ponderosa plus their needs.
She told me that she was able to locate a company that re-builds old fashion cooking stoves, so she is looking at one that is a combination of gas burners and oven with wood burning features so that if their gas/propane gets low she can still cook on the wood burning part and she also wanted it to have a hot water reservoir even though they will be installing a hot water system that will be hot water on demand, much like mine only larger for when the family visits.
And she was able to find refrigerators and freezers that look like pantries to install in the kitchen, and a place that makes the old fashioned stone sinks.
They figure it will take two to three years to build it properly; they don’t want to rush it, and their have to look at everything first to make sure about codes.
But Lois is so excited about this “adventure”.
We had fun at the Christmas sales, although exhausting, again I found some wonderful bargains, and I especially hit the perfume counters. Juanita asked me if I could purchase a perfume or cologne set of J’Adore for her daughter Constance, which I did find.
But all the Prêt porter clothing was just so unremarkable, except for some selections by Ralph Lauren, that was very interesting and I can see that they will remain in style for some time. But Lois and I had to laugh at the silliness of most of the shoe styles, the heels were so high who could or would walk in them. I have beautiful shoes and stylish too but I make sure that they are comfortable.
But again all too soon it ended and I and my Diva Darling came home. Which was good really, I had time to catch up on my mail, had the maid service come in for a good “fluff and dust” Then once again I and Kevin whisked ourselves off to the Hornet last night for the New Year’s Party, so lovely and so romantic.
But this morning I surprisingly got up early, showered and dressed and made coffee, Kevin is getting dressed now as I type, we are going out for breakfast, do a little “cheap” shopping--- It’s at Target and Rasputins, then a light lunch and we will go and pick up my Diva Darling at Betty’s house, but I will be staying at Betty’s and Bill’s house for dinner and they will bring Princess and I home, Kevin unfortunately must catch an evening flight to (and here I am jealous) Hawaii. Because Obama may make his White house home away from the White House in Hawaii, there appears to be some investments that may develop out there and Kevin wants to investigate it.
Then on Monday, back into the real life, I’ll be meeting Wallace for Lunch next Monday in the City, we’ll be talking about the financial course that I must plan on for durability. Then putting together my records for my tax preparer, Tax time my Dear Diva’s waits for no one, and it pays to get the jump on things quickly, why should the Government make anymore interest on your money.
Oh and here is a suggestion, but you really should talk it over with your professional Tax preparer or CPA and I’m not talking about H and R Block either. One item that was suggested by one of my Business ladies is to look at how much is being taken out of your income for income tax, put in a form with your job so that most of that comes to you, but DO NOT SPEND IT, put that money that would go to your Federal and State income tax into your own savings account or something that will give you a good return and you get the interest not the Federal or State governments, then just pay them what would have been taken out for your income tax, why should they make interest on your money.
But if you are not prepared to do that, then file early and get your refund early so it can make interest for you.
Now I must go Darlings, Kevin is waiting and looking so handsome in a Daniel Craig sort of way, well he does have at least a “4 pack”.
Until Anon, Kisses Darlings.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Merry Christmas Darlings
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.
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, 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.
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