New York Renovator

Oh my gosh, it’s April already. APRIL! We haven’t got our taxes done yet. Usually the husband gets them done in the first few weeks if February. But this year, we might actually owe money. So, haha, we’re putting it off until the bitter end.

Because I am self-employed, the sheer amount of paperwork is overwhelming. Then there are the deductions, the interest calculations, the child credit, the charitable giving, the blahblahblah and blahblahblah. WHY does it have to be so stinkin’ complicated?! I am all in favor of a flat tax, across the board. It would simplify everything and would enable each citizen to be an active part in the government. Plus, it would lower taxes. And federal salaries. It’s just a good thing all around! lol!

Here in New York State, we are taxed to the hilt, several times over. We’re taxed on our income. Then if we buy something with the income we have left over, we have to pay sales tax. And if we buy a service with the product we purchased, we have to pay tax on that. So when all is said and done, we’ve paid taxes multiple times on the same chain of products or services. There’s something evil about that….

My area of Upstate New York is a popular “senior citizen” hub. I’m not sure why– winters are bad here and you figure they’d all move to warmer climates. Maybe it’s the terrific Medicare Supplement Insurance, or the beneficent New York medicare supplements? It sure isn’t for the weather or the political climate…. I don’t know much about the quality of life for the older folks here. I know life insurance for seniors is a little pricey unless you shop around. Eons ago, when my husband was working in insurance, there was a new kind of insurance marketed to folks– extended care insurance (I think that’s what it was called). It was insurance for when you had to go into a nursing home. It was REALLY popular at the time.

But senior citizenry for me is a long way off. If I make it that long. Because I have to get through the income taxes first…. *sigh*

Thinking about it makes me very queasy, but the topic must be covered. Bedbugs. *gag* *wretch* And I thought fleas were bad.

Bedbugs are making a comeback, especially in New York. Bedbugs were practically wiped out from the industrialized nations thanks to DDT. But DDT is now banned, and critters like malaria-bearing mosquitoes and bedbugs are coming back. The nasty disgusting creatures are spreading like wildfire in schools, hotels, even lawyer’s offices. YUK!!!!

I am a bit of a bug-o-phobe. I hate bugs, HATE the disgusting, dirty little creatures. The family is on quarantine— that is, no more thrift store clothing, and no more curbside or hand-me-down furniture. Not unless it’s fumigated!

We have some very nice furniture, some are pretty hand-me-downs from family members. But the sofas are much too large for my living room (which is crammed with desks and office equipment). We are thinking about downgrading to a smaller living room set. And to be honest, I’m very hesitant to take another hand-me-down, just because of bedbugs. Oh it would be horrible to have them, horrible! So no more second-hand anything. I’m going to have to be a very savvy shopper and get my discounts from the retail or online bedroom furniture store and etc. I’m not taking any chances.

How about you? Has news about bedbugs changed the way you do things? I am not 100% sure that bedbugs have been discovered in my county, but I don’t live dangerously. I’m allergic to fleas and God forbid a nasty bedbug touches my skin! From now on it’s BYOS– Buy Your Own Sofa!

Is it any surprise that home entertainment has made tremendous advances in the past ten years. Remember WAY BACK when, about 15 years ago, when we all had one of these?

But now, there are these:

Yow. I have the first TV but certainly not the second. Actually, I’d purchased a newer, fancier model with a flat screen just a few years ago, only to be completely outdated by the plasma, HDTV, super fancified models. I feel so old.

TV really isn’t all that important to us. I still have a barebones tube TV (we picked it up off the curb, for pete’s sake), but I have a very high-end, high octane computer and an iPad for watching stuff. It’s all a matter of priorities.

As a family, we like to watch DVDs and Internet documentaries during dinner, but since we have no television reception, we are limited to watching movies on my small laptop screen. I’ve been investigating my choice for a few months (I take forever to make sure decisions), and am leaning more toward HDMI cables or a converter to rig the laptop to the TV. Getting the cables or converter at Optimization-World.com is WAY cheaper than buying a digital TV. They also sell nice VGA cables for computer to monitor connections.

So I’m pleased as punch that there are affordable options out there for old fogies like me. Maybe I’ll even write a tutorial once I finally get the ball rolling on the project….

Besides being a clock freak, I LOVE signs. I love retro signs, safety signs, traffic signs, goofy posters, everything. I’m just as happy having a framed copy of the U.S. Constitution next to my tin sign “DRINK COFFEE! Do stupid things faster with more energy!”

Finding funny signs is another matter, though. I have located a very few online stores that sell retro signs, but they charge an arm and a leg!! But I just found a new website called http://www.safetysign.com/. This is neat! They have EVERYTHING– parking signs, stop signs, facility signs, recreation signs, OMG the lists are endless. AND I can create my own sign! *snicker* So I can be as eccentric as I want, and they’ll make it for me. This is very cool. Hm, I’m currently looking for a “Toxic Waste” sign for my kitchen, lol. Or maybe hang it over the dog’s area. :-p

I liked this one. Ha!

Oh, this would be PERFECT over my desk!

And I’d put this in all the kids’ rooms. (And in mine, ai chihuahua).

So there’s a sign for every body for every situation, lol. I there are a gadzillion different signs. The prices are actually pretty good, and you can order U-Channels Posts with mounting hardware in different colors. VERY COOL! Because I need to place a few “DO NOT PARK IN PRIVATE DRIVE” in my front yard. I live near a popular ice cream store, and all summer long I am asking people to please move their cars so I can get out of my driveway.

Check out the site! It’s cute. The site has mostly safety signs and such, but if you like quirky decor, or are in need a of gentle reminder for traffic passers-by, it’s a great place to get some signs!

Did you ever have a treehouse when you were a kid? We didn’t. We had an old shack (“the fort” we called it) made out of scrap wood from my stepdad’s building projects. It was a pretty cool little shed. But I always wanted a treehouse. My neighbors’ dad built one for his boys, and WOW did I love that. I think I spent more time in that than they did!

I always wanted to built a treehouse for my kids here, but there were no suitable trees. Still, we may just built one, anyway, even though we are all older. I don’t think I will ever outgrow a treehouse, would you? And here are some very, very cool treehouses I found on the web!

This is interesting, and it brings up a good point– what about winter?

The next treehouse is lovely. They are “prefab” houses– all the parts are pre-made, all you do is snap it together, kind of like those cheapo laminate board shelves from Walmart, eh? I love the spacious feel and the colors of the wood. I think I would love one of these in my yard!

Photo courtesy Freshome.com

Photo courtesy Freshome.com

This is a video of a Free Spirit Sphere, designed to fit seamlessly and naturally within a forest environment. It’s pretty cool, but it looks way too cramped for me. And I don’t like the idea of a porta-potty 50 feet from the house– what if it’s raining at night and ya gotta go? You’d have to slog through the mud and snakes and bugs! No thanks. And what about the “natives,” huh? After a little “vacation” in the rainforest, you may have to get a little tattoo removal back in civilization, eh? And I like electricity and running water as much as any gal, too. So while I would love to live in a treehouse, it doesn’t mean I want to live like a monkey.

Still, the design is cool. It would be nice to stay for a day. Maybe two.

So what do you think? Would you build a treehouse just to play in it when you felt like it, or maybe build something lrger and live in one? I always admired The Swiss Family Robinson– their treehouse was COOL. I think I would do both. JUST as long as there was a bathroom in the house. And NO snakes.

We’ve had tons of snow days this year. When I was a kid, we ran wild outdoors and in the neighborhood. Times have certainly changed; parents, including this one, are more hesitant to let their children meander aimlessly down the streets. Communities have built structured activities and activity groups for kids. Problem is, finding these groups.

Enter ActivityTree.com! This is a really neat resource. ActivityTree.com is a website loaded with information on kid’s lessons, classes and camps. You can search your area using the handy search engine feature, to look for thousands of activities in your location. I was surprised to see so many activities in my area– I had no idea! The results show all sorts of goodies: activity group information and descriptions, contact information, website links where available, maps and directions and more.

ActivityTree.com also helps parents locate information on kids scholarships for various activities and summer camps. And if you run an organization, you can register your group with ActivityTree.com to get your event or activity listed.

The whole thing is great. It’s free to use, and you just may make some new friends, too. Check out the Get Kids Active! Facebook Campaign on Facebook, too.

Don’t get me wrong! I’m not making New Year’s resolutions! Several years ago, I resolved not to make them, and I don’t want to break my winning streak! But now that it’s January and soon February will be nipping at us, my mind turns to projects to be done for this year. I don’t always get them all done, but some I do. Late winter is the perfect time to assess the projects, because I generally have nothing else to work on!

Clean up the vegetable garden.
We totally let the gardens go last summer. The renovation consumed all our energy, and therefore the gardens were a mess by autumn. I never tilled them, either. We have a lot of work to do back there this summer.

Finish the kitchen projects.
My window seat/bench is still unfinished.

It requires a lot of piddly, meticulous sawing, so I have put it off for the winter. It’s TOO cold to work in the garage. The area is a disaster, because the family really has no place to store boots, coats, etc in an organized area. But it must wait.

Get new clothes.
The teens have worn out their clothes. That, and they wore a lot of different outfits during the renovation (which were consequently ruined, GRRR). So while they have several pairs of work clothes now, the good clothing has depleted. Good thing the kids like their t-shirts. And they aren’t too proud to wear fun or goofy shirts, like Incredible hulk apparel at Personal Creations. One of my readers sent me a hilarious Chuck Norris t-shirt, after reading that we loved these kinds of shirts. Haha!!!

Pay off the renovation debt.
I incurred several thousand dollars of debt for the renovation. I want to pay it all off this year. Yes, it’s a big goal, but if I am careful, I may be able to do it. We’ll see. I have hope of renovating the upstairs (not insulated, and it feels it!), getting new windows, creating a family room from the attached garage, and getting central heat…. but all that must wait until I pay off the debt. So I’m very motivated!

Start an herb garden.
We’re going to make our own teas and grow medicinal herbs this year. I have assigned a daughter to do some research, and I will bankroll the project. The kids drink a lot of tea, and it’s so expensive. Here’s hoping we can create our own tasty teas this year.

I think that’s enough for now. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, or I will grow discouraged. What projects do you have in mind to do this year?

… I haven’t had much of anything exciting around here, have I? Sorry! But in all truth, it has BEEN pretty boring around here.

Just hanging around...

I haven’t done any projects in a long time. The window seat/bench remains unfinished. The dining room closet still has no pole for the hanging of coats. No window trim for the siding around the kitchen window, nothing. We’ve been puttering around with tiny projects, such as setting up the phone station (and trying to get a computer that works). And I did *finally* clean the living room, organize my desk, and get all the business papers in order. That took a week! I made a few trips to various office supply stores in search of desk organizers and a hutch, but the traffic was crazy and I didn’t find anything. So I’m making do.

The kids have been on winter vacation, and we’ve been lounging.

Just lounging...

Unfortunately, some of them got serious bouts of the flu/strep throat. So we’ve been out of sync here. My kids are rarely sick; this is a shocking anomaly.

I have no fun or interesting stories. No yarns or tales of historical tidbits. I’ve run dry right now. Perhaps after a time of rejuvenation, I’ll do better.

Did you hear about the lunar eclipse last night? It was a unique event, because it occurred on the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year). Unfortunately, I missed it (I actually do try to see these astronomical events, I think they are amazing!), but someone made a very cool video of it! I’m glad some folks broke out their adirondack chairs and super cameras– this video is so clear it’s almost like you are there, watching it with your own eyes. The video is best played in full screen mode– SO impressive!

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

After watching an eclipse I have to wonder if people really did believe in the “Flat Earth” theory. I mean, all you have to do is watch an eclipse to see that this isn’t so. I don’t know where the idea came from, I’ve only heard insinuations that folks back in the Dark Ages believed it, just like they believed that maggots sprang from meat left on the butcher’s butcher block table, or that scientists could turn lead into gold in their magical utility sinks. :S

Anyway, eclipses are cool. I hope you liked the video!

Wellll…. I still haven’t gotten “a round tuit” with some of the leftover projects after the renovation. Honestly, I have been having a bit of a hard time adjusting to the new kitchen. The dining room isn’t much of a big deal– I designed it to have the same colors and etc as the old one– but the kitchen is a shock. It is SO different. I have found it rather hard to adjust. I’m kind of ashamed. It’s totally, totally new, and I was so used to banging around in the old one. Now I have to be careful what I do on the counters– NO knifes! NO food stains! NO standing water! And the floors– are the planks staying together OK? Hey, you with the muddy shoes! And it goes on and on. I’m still walking on eggshells. The new room is a bit of a shock. I wanted it SO much, and now that it’s here, I’m stunned that it’s actually here. It’s like moving into a new house without going anywhere. I must be getting old or something…

Anyway, I still haven’t built my bench for the shoe area, nor have I constructed shelves for the phone area. Both areas are in the kitchen, so the half-completed construction looks out of place with the finished sections of the kitchen. The phone area is important right now. It’s the “dumping” area for my husband’s work paraphernalia. It’s important that he has everything neat and organized, so that he doesn’t forget anything when he goes to work. And I dislike the mess of it all, too.

I have been on a bit of a hunt for ways to organize the area. One thing I can do is make a small charging station for all the cell phones and mp3 players. I saw this at Buy.com and love it! It’s the SDI Technologies iB967B Charging Cradle, very affordable at $25 with shipping. It keeps all the electronic doodads in ONE location, charging them while they sit. I could hug the guy who invented this thing! Charging stations come in a billion shapes and styles, but this is nice to me because it’s so simple.

This is a great time to get anything. Buy.com has a ton of stuff on sale right now. They are gearing up for the Black Friday sale… but their prices are usually so low anyway. The customer service and speedy shipping just amazes me– I bought some software on their last sale, and the package arrived– priority shipping– in TWO days. And the shipping was free!

So I’m slowly, very very slowly, trying to chip away at all the leftover projects around here. Buy.com is a big help.