Saturday, March 31, 2007

Why The Ugly Attitude – Did The Car Make Him Do it?

I drive the Interstate highway every workday to and from work. Entering the Interstate can be a very frustrating experience when the traffic is heavy and sometimes even when it isn’t that busy. What is merely difficult becomes downright dangerous when speeding up to enter the highway, and a driver in the lane you are entering speeds up on purpose to make it even more difficult and unsafe.

Yesterday was just such an occasion. A man in a large older vehicle decided to speed up so much that that my car would have needed to drive on the side of the road if I could not have speeded up myself. Fortunately, my little car was able to speed up safely into the traffic. The man then felt it was necessary to tailgate me for the next several miles. I just ignored him. Too bad the State Police weren’t there to see it all and point out his “mistake” and check his breath. He apparently wanted to intimidate or annoy someone, but it wasn’t his lucky day.

Guess he didn’t realize that his actions screamed out loud that he not only had no brains, but obviously no control over himself or legitimate concern for the safety of others on the road, especially because there was no provocation for his actions.

I hope someone tells him that real tailgating is done in parking lots before football games, whoever that idiot was.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Now I Am Personal Chef For My Dog!

So many people were affected by the dog and cat food recall, some even losing their beloved pets. My cat died about 3 years ago, but of old age. He was 23. Now our little dog is getting older also. The pet food recall was extensive and frightening. I was relieved as I studied the list of items on the recall that we had not fed her any of them.

At this point in time, we decided that we would not supplement her dry meal with canned pet products. I'll be surfing the net soon to find good recipes so that the homemade people food supplement she receives will be nutritious for her. I also intend to talk to her veterinarian about the arrangement and what is good for her, and whether or not she will need a vitamin supplement.

In the meantime, the supplement (about 1/4 of her dry food meals) is cooked at home. Low fat, low salt, meat, vegetables and rice.

1/3 pound fresh boneless skinless chicken breast (not using frozen as it contains a lot of salt)
Remove any pieces of fat from chicken and discard)
2-1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon Wylers no salt chicken bouillon
3/4 cup mixed vegetables (I use frozen peas, green beans and carrots, some thin sliced celery)
3/4 cup rice

(You could substitute low fat beef and Wyler's no salt beef bouillon instead of chicken, with beef, the cooking process will take longer.)

Cook chicken until done on low heat and covered. (There should still be around 1-3/4 - 2 cups water left in pot).

Remove chicken, cover and cool. Add rice, mixed vegetables and bouillon until rice and all vegetables are cooked. (Add water if necessary, finished mixture should still have some liquid on it.)

When chicken has cooled, slice and cut into small pieces. Return chicken to pot and gently mix well with rice and vegetables.

Since this supplement has not been cleared with her veterinarian first, if you wish to use it, please check with your own veterinarian first -- and don't forget to ask about the portion amount you can provide for your own dog. I'll post later the information I receive when I get a chance to ask whether or not my homemade supplement is okay. I just don't want to take the chance that the canned supplement I was feeding her will make the recall list.

The link below will give you some important information on the dog and cat petfood recall.

Menu Foods Income Fund - Annual General Meeting

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Kids!!! Just What Do They Know?

My favorite Aunt Marty loves to tell little stories about me when I was very young. Actually, there’s one story in particular that she never forgot when she was a young woman herself and living with us. We were all very poor and very frugal and that makes for some great stories remembered.

We lived in our own home, and the extra bedroom was used by my Aunt Marty. Just one bathroom in the house sometimes caused a waiting line outside it. It wasn’t unusual for me to just walk in on someone as I was too little to care about the finer points of proper behavior.

It turned out that I must have overhead something my dad said and when I walked in on my aunt, I grabbed the toilet paper from her, tore off a couple sheets, then tore them in half and said “Aunt Marty, my daddy says you use too much toilet paper!”

Perhaps we were years ahead of our time? Anyway, there are some questions I would have liked to have clarified in the article linked below, but the answers weren’t there and perhaps we are better off not knowing.

The Year Without Toilet Paper - New York Times

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Hedging My Bets Doing The Math

“In the good old days” of the previous century and longer ago than I will admit to, you could purchase electric appliances – toaster oven, refrigerator, calculator, washer and dryer, even gas furnaces and they would last 20 years and much more. My mother once had a refrigerator that just wouldn’t die. It was 45 years old and still working when she sold her home and bought another. My upright freezer is still going perfectly strong and it’s about 35 years old.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case with today’s new and “improved” products. It seems that all of them are preprogrammed to self-destruct or become obsolete in a much shorter period of time. If you read the “warranties” on various items it’s likely you might also buy a separate insurance policy for it as well. You would spend a lot of money over the years paying for these policies, especially if every major appliance is covered.

My family tends not to purchase the insurance, although we have occasionally purchased items that should have come packaged with pictures of big lemons. We basically get our money’s worth on purchases without the extra insurance. It’s a gambler’s risk. And this is where I gamble. Mostly, however, I win.

My philosophy on purchasing anything for our home, especially any item with a large ticket, is never to pay full price. If you search, it is on sale somewhere, or it will be if you can wait. Our busy lives make it painful to spend time searching for the best item at the best price. It’s a penny pincher’s life.

We normally also duck delivery costs by imposing on a busy relative or friend with a truck if we can’t haul it home ourselves. Since we will repay favors when they are in need, we just have to coordinate everyone’s time to get it done.

Calculate your savings on the sale price, delivery cost and insurance. If you are financially able, establish a separate bank account and save what you would have spent. Then add to this account the additional cost of insurance over the term that the policy will cover. The total of these amounts (for all your purchases) plus a little interest can be surprising.

If your refrigerator or other item doesn’t quite live to an expected self-destruct date, you still have the money you put away to help get something you want. It’s also possible that you might not use or need it until you want something new. In any event, you are in control of your cash. That’s the important factor here.

Always read the warranty information, get full information on the price of the policy and what it covers, consider the alternatives and what ifs. Do the math and make informed decisions about how you will spend your money – or not.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Couch Potatoes Like Technology Too


Blogger isn't cooperating today, so cut and paste the link. It's a "must see this". Imagine the possibilities. Obviously, it follows the larger the fridge, the longer you could sit – and not miss a play the whole game. Add a generator or battery backup in case the electric goes out and you still wouldn’t have to get up or miss the opposing team’s fumble.


http://kdka.com/video/?id=25560@kdka.dayport.com


Sunday, March 4, 2007

Surf the Web. Get Interesting Things For Crafty People With Time To Enjoy

For all those crafty ladies out there, I wish I could join you. Creation of handmade, beautiful and durable knit or crochet clothing was never in my range of talent. I own one handmade afghan, courtesy of a friend with talent.

Lovely, and free patterns and more can be found at the following website: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/