Happy Independence Day! Yippeeee! What a great day! On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was drafted and we became AMERICANS. You can check out a post I wrote about the Declaration of Independence at my other blog, New York Traveler.net. Have a great day, and be sure to read the Declaration of Independence today!
Well, our second car (we have two Grand Caravans) looks like it has bitten the dust. It has 150,000 miles on it and has seen a lot of action. The transmission just blew (again) and we don’t think it will be worth the cost to keep the thing going. Too bad, because we really need a second car, as the husband is a mailman and uses hiw own vehicle for mail delivery. With no other van, he will be using the nice family van to deliver mail. Mail delivery takes a lot out of a car, so goodbye “nice” family van!
I’ve had the idea of getting a sedan for the family, anyway. We have six in our family (and as far as I know, sedans only seat five :-p ), but we could make do. Or just strap someone on the hood, lol. But with gas prices rising and rising, do we really want to get another gas-guzzling minivan?
And how about a turbocharger for it? Ever heard of a Volkswagen turbo? LOL, wow. When I think Volkswagen, I think Herbie the Love Bug. Imagine it turbocharged! Does turbocharging a car make it more efficient? I read at Turbochargerpros.com that adding a turbocharger forces more oxygen into the engine system, which increases horsepower and torque. Hmm. Turbochargerpros.com has a turbocharger for everything! If turbochargers improve efficiency and save on gas, I’m in!
I love paint! When I first moved to this house, the walls, trim, and even parts of the floors had all been painted white. Talk about ugly! So that was the first thing I did, paint everything and add some color. 
I added some bright colors to my walls and trim and spruced up the place very inexpensively (as compared to a gut-and-remodel). I even tried some painting techniques on some walls– lightly sponging diluted white paint onto yellow walls; blotching greens and reds for a different room.
Paint can save a ton of money, and it’s the least expensive decorating activity I know. It won’t save enough for Las Vegas vacations, but it’ll put a dent in the decor budget! So I’m always looking for cute new ideas to tide me over until I can get new walls, lol. I saw “doodle wall art” at My Insanity and was floored. Isn’t that beautiful! What a great idea, and doodling is “in” these days. Plus, when you grow tired of it, just paint over it! Love it!
Photo is from My Insanity, too. It’s a great blog to peruse for neat little things like this.
Chief Justice John Marshall once said, “The power to tax is the power to destroy.” I’ll let that sink in for a minute. 
I was at the gym a week or two ago and saw the most appalling “infomercial” I have ever seen in my life. (No, it wasn’t for maternity clothes or acne treatments!) It was John Beck’s “Free & Clear Real Estate System.” I’m not going to complain about what bunk the “system” is and how it’s a rip-off– I’m going to bellow at the top of my lungs the absolute tyrannical immorality of the governmental system that John Beck is using. I am still so angry about something like this!
Here’s what happens: a homeowner gets into financial trouble, for whatever reason. 
The homeowner cannot pay his property taxes. The homeowner may be keeping up with his mortgage payments, but not the property tax payments. In such a case, the government (usually the city or county) can confiscate the ENTIRE property and auction it off for tax default. Any capital the homeowner has gained from paying years and years of mortgage and tax payments disappears. The homeowner is evicted from the home and the government sells it. Usually, the property sells for a very low price, because all the government wants is the back taxes that are due.
This is absolutely unconscionable. I am outraged– apoplectic- that this can happen! What happened to property rights in this country? In all essence, there are NO property rights. If you do not pay your taxes, the government can take your hard-earned property and turn around and sell it to a speculator. (That’s where John Beck’s “system” comes in– he snaps up those properties and resells them at market value.)
The infomercial feeds on the greedy “small-business” American speculator. But no one stops to ask– Is this justice in America? And what old lady or impoverished family is being evicted, so that I can buy my new house real cheap? And a lot of times, it’s the government or banks that snap up the foreclosed property. It happens right here in Utica, NY. The government forecloses, owns the property, and sells it for a hefty profit. Criminal!
This tyrannical confiscation of property is not American. It is socialist/fascist. Let’s not pretend here– it’s the government that really owns all the property. If you don’t pay the “rent” in the form of their high property taxes, then you are thrown out into the streets (or jailed or fined, or both) and you lose EVERYTHING you have built on up to then. What kind of system is this? This is more akin to serfdom- slavery– where the lord is the government and we are the tenant farmer serfs. And the government works hand in hand with the banks and credit card companies to do this. And what’s worse is that the property tax is after the income tax and the sales tax, and all the billions of little taxes on top of that! There are so many taxes in this country that we lost the concept of what it means to be free. We are slaves to the taxation departments, the government, and the banks. What a hateful system.
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” Thomas Jefferson
I hate the humid weather, and Upstate New York seems to be in its clutches this week. :-p These are photos I snapped the other day, as the humidity descended. Moments later, large raindrops burst from the air, as if the atmosphere had been wrung out like a wet rag.
I love the growing season but I have a hard time tolerating the humidity. Needless to say, we’re not getting much done this week, lol.
This is my dream. Wow. When I saw this site, I flipped. I AM going to do this, someday, you know. I’ve joked about with my husband, but I mean business. When the kids are older and we have the time, hubs and I are going on one of those amazing motorcycle adventures. 
I just found out that Eagle Rider rents motorcycles! It is the COOLEST thing I have ever seen! I used to ride on motorcycles iwth my step-dad when I was a little girl. He had these beefy Yamaha (he always wanted a Harley, but couldn’t afford one– this was before you could rent them at places like Eagle Rider) bikes, and boy– riding a hog was such a blast for a 10-year old gal. I vowed that I would get one, one day.
Well, I still don’t have one, but I found out that I don’t NEED to buy one. At Eagle Rider, you can RENT one– even one-way rentals! It is my dream to bike across the U.S. continent. Wow. Looking at these bikes is a thrill. They are gorgeous machines. I want to go now, lol!
Eagle Rider also has ATVs, snowmobiles, watercraft, scooters, and more, too. But the bikes are the beauts, lol! You’ve gotta see their selection! They also sell them. Eagle Rider has a huge selection of bikes and other machines, with locations all around the world. With gas prices the way they are today (with no prospect of them changing any time soon), the motorbike vacation is looking better and better. Eagle Rider was established in 1992. They sell used bikes, too– call 888-814-3399 for more information, or visit their website at EagleRider.com.
Some kids make big pirate castles or monster mansions with their Legos. What do my kids create?
It’s a recreation of the Auca Indian village of Ecuador and the five missionaries (including Jim Elliot and Nate Saint) who reached out to them (and were killed). Later, the wives of two of the men (Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint, with Elisabeth’s young daughter) moved into the village to translate the Bible into the Auca language. The Aucas were so stunned by such forgiveness and love that they all became Christians. My kids recently saw the movie “Beyond the Gates of Splendor.”
P.S. Guess who wrote this in his book:
In a voyager to forget these things is base ingratitude; for should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck on some unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary may have extended thus far.
Here’s the section:
There are many who attack [the missionaries]. They expect the missionaries to effect that which the Apostles themselves failed to do. Inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of this high standard, blame is attached to the missionary, instead of credit for that which he has effected. They forget, or will not remember, that human sacrifices, and the power of an idolatrous priesthood— a system of profligacy unparalleled in any other part of the world—infanticide a consequence of that system—bloody wars, where the conquerors spared neither women nor children— that all these have been abolished; and that dishonesty, intemperance, and licentiousness have been greatly reduced by the introduction of Christianity. In a voyager to forget these things is base ingratitude; for should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck on some unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary may have extended thus far. ~Charles Darwin
I won I won! I was awarded the prestigious Arte y Pico bloggers award by Lapidary Queen Wannabees and Buddy’s Fitness News. I am deeply honored. Buddy gave it to me because he likes my blog design. *blush* He has great taste for a dog. 
Here’s the lovely award. I will cherish it forever.
I am so very happy to have readers of my humble bloggy abode. I appreciate all the links, comments, and awards. Wow. I’m speechless!
The rules for passing this honor on:
1) Pick 5 blogs that you would like to award this honor to.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. http://arteypico.blogspot.com/.
I think the hardest part is choosing who to award! I have so many favorites! I decided to choose my favorites who have not been awarded the Arte y Pico Award already. If you have already received the award and I didn’t realize it, please pardon the repetition. Here goes!
Carole’s Thoughtful Spot
I love this blog. Carole is so witty! There’s always some new and surprising at her whimsical blog. She is one of the most creative bloggers I know, and I look forward to her updates!
The Foundation Forum
This is not an Entrecards blog, but it is one of my favorite blogs, and one of the best blogs ever, in my opinion. It’s about American history and constitutionalism, which are my passions (besides everything else, lol). And the author has taken on the pen name of Hercules Mulligan, who was a close friend of my hero, Alexander Hamilton. Anyone who is a friend of Hammy is a friend of mine.
Toandos Peninsula, WA - Back to the Land
This blog is of a similar vein as mine, except that Bonnie is building a new house on the other side of the continent. We both enjoy blogging about our plants and gardens and projects.
Rodney Olsen.net
Rodney Olsen is a blogger from Australia, and we share common interests- blogging, radio hosting (I was in radio for several years before staying home to raise my kids), and we are both dedicated Christians. Rodney’s posts are thoughtful and meaningful. Cheers to a great blogger.
New York Chica
Another fun blog! She talks about anything and everything from a more “urban” perspective. And what’s neat is, she is from New York, too. 
Ugly Mailbox
I don’t know much about the guy who does this blog, but I like it. My husband is a part-time mailman, so we get a big kick out of all the zany mailboxes he discovers.
Congratulations to the winners! Feel free to continue the honor by awarding your own winners. And thank you for all you contribute to the blogosphere.
I hate vacuuming. I always have. When I was a kid and my mother wanted me to vacuum, I pulled out my secret weapon: my cockerpoo. Do you know what a cockerpoo is?
A cockerpoo is a dog, half cocker spaniel and half poodle. We loved that little mutt. 
His name was Skippy. And he ate EVERYTHING. Crayons, balloons, potato chips, the yukky peas that we kids tossed on the floor during dinner. (The stuff that came out the other end of Skippy was always very colorful and a bit of a scavenger hunt). We were bad, I know. And I still hate peas, to this day. But I no longer toss them under the table! Instead…. I…. vacuum. *sigh* but I still hate vacuuming.
At least, I DID hate it. I have seen that vacuums are finally starting to improve. For one, they are smaller and easier to handle. (Those avacado green canisters of the 70s were monstrous– remember those?). 
Another important feature is energy-efficiency, which I haven’t seen on too many vacuums. The Dirt Devil vacuum crushes all competition! There’s the new AccuCharge Stick Vac and Hand Vac! The AccuCharge is the first cordless machine to get Energy Star approval. The Dirt Devil uses 70% less energy– amazing!
Now, the Dirt Devil is not as cute as Skippy was. And Skippy was pretty energy-efficient, too, although I doubt he would have received an Energy Star rating. But let’s face it, what housewife really wants a dog’s saliva slobbering all over her floors? Not me. I’ll have the dog in the doghouse and the Dirt Devil AccuCharge in the broom closet! And seriously, any new appliance that saves energy– and energy is very expensive here in New York State– is worth it’s weight in gold.
I have an award-winning blog! I just wanted to give a preliminary THANK YOU to the two bloggers who nominated me. Gee, you like me! I will have more on this exciting event as soon as I can. I have to nominate award-winners to pass it on.
