Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

Sure...go ahead and rub salt in the wound.

 

Maybe you can tell me how to get them to bloom then

My grandma's were all purple -- in May, the fragrance was intoxicating. She had about 8 or 10 bushes that lined the back of her yard and a few more that separated her house from the neighbors...The neighborhood was one of the post WWII pop-ups with tiny lots, identical houses, and picket fences.

The neighborhood used to be a Polish/Hungarian stronghold. With 3 Catholic Churches, 1 public school, 1 parochial school, and 2 neighborhood grocery stores all within a very short walking distance. I effectively grew up there - my grandma watched us when we weren't in school until I went to High School....K-8. It was a great place to live.

In the 1980's, the older generation started to go to their eternal rewards. Leaving behind small houses on tiny lots that were just not acceptable to the new generation. Houses with 4 bedrooms (each 10x12 if you were lucky) with a single bathroom and a single car garage. If you remember the old "All in the Family" show intro --- like those but bigger front yards and just a little more space on the sides.

The family house is still there, and owned by my Aunt. I wish she'd move. Although knowing this I know the house would fall into disrepair quickly..and the last vestige of my childhood be gone forever. Her home is one of the few that is not low incoming housing, suffering from the blight of lack of care.

The grocery (Mezzi's is how it was pronounced, spelled more like Mroczeszi) is the last to go. Then, it was a grocery and meat market. Now, it more of an amateur pharmaceutical company. Thats mostly what is left. I could reminisce about my favorite meals..."City Chicken" a skewered beef/pork/veal. I don't know why there was a need for fake chicken -- wierd if you ask me. But there's nothing like it.

Talk about a trip down memory lane there!

The lilacs are still there. I can still smell them. Scattered throughout the neighborhoods. But, sadly, they aren't producing flowers either.

 

I think they are low maintenance and nothing special to get them to bloom like a rose. It might be they are planted in the wrong soul. They do best in a slight alkaline soil with lots of sun. If they are in the shade they grow but not flower.

 

I don’t touch them at all. This is in my yard. My neighbor has one that is up against our fence.

 

Just be glad you aren't in North Dakota, where most of the state shut down from the storm that brought 28"-36" of snow. Our daughter and SIL lived in Minot for many years and they were often the hardest hit. This time around, Minot got the 36". Meanwhile, they now live near Wichita Falls, TX, where it is supposed to be 94°F. They actually miss the snow and prefer the cold weather. All in what you acclimate to.

 

I like the cold and snow and the feeling of being snowed in. What I don’t like is loosing power. This summer I’m going to install a propane generator. Currently if I loose power I loose heat.

 

Blessed Good Friday! Same ol' joe for me.

They are in full sun....for at least the majority of the day. I suspect "wet feet" may be a poblem --- our water table here is very high -- we have water running down our street for DAYS after it rains...

 

Well back to teaching Economics, but I’ll be daydreaming about my coffee from this weekend.

View attachment upload_2022-4-19_6-22-30.jpeg

 

Teachcing Economics? What regard? I sense a joke -- but am not sure where it is?

For me --- Its looking out of my back yard which 24 hours ago was coated with enough snow to cover the grass completely, with it coming down slightly faster than it was meling. Today, its cold - right at freezing. with blue skies and an exepcted high near 50. Saturday the expected high is 82.

Ol' mother nature is off her meds again.

 

I’m a high school social studies teacher and right now Economics is what I’m teaching. They are learning about the fun of loans today, car loans to be exact.

 

Teachers -- an often overused word of "hero" comes to mind. Dealing with misbehaving kids, and worse behaving parents...all while making next to no money. I salute you.

Just keep them far away from JMK, focusing on the evils of debt while extolling the virtues of compounding interest. $20 a week back then would have put me in a much better situation today...

 

If something is going to depreciate in value like a car then you should pay cash. If you can’t afford to pay cash you can’t afford it.

If something is going to appreciate in value like a house buy the best one you can barely afford on someone else’s money.

At least that is what I learned from J. Paul Getty.

 

Not terrible advise. Better than I received when I was young. But I've been trained by Ramsey that 100% down is the best possible option. Barring that, then you start getting into creative financing like First Lein Position HELOC -- where at least you can get the money back out of the house if you need it...

I know persons with houses with price tags the bank says they can afford...but that make me break out in a sweat to say the number. The common sense doesn't calculate risk into the equasion.

Pay cash and you don't have to worry about a sherrif showing up at your door...unless its for nonpayment of taxes.

-G

 

This year income taxes for me was the highest I’ve ever paid in my entire life.

 

Same here...But thats a modern problem, it means you probably made more too. Sadly, this year I lost most of my deductions, so I am at the point where I am only taking the standard deduction. This combined with a complicated financial payout that we took...yuck!

We need to figure out how to turn my hobby (camping) into a business at least that way you can expense things .... I know how to expense --- I've padded a number of expense reports in my life (Call my Jonnhy Dollar) but its the revenue side of the business I struggle with. For this purpose, I don't care if it looses money --- is a tax dodge

 

List your camper on outdoorsy for rent and voila it should become a business expense for the % of the year it's available for rent.

 

Trouble with that is you need to show revenue -- I learned Paintless Dent Repair and formed an LLC...had a couple grand in expenses to buy tools, and pay for instruction etc. This all happened in September through December. Becuase I showed no revenue the 2021, I was not allowed to take the expenses as deductions...

So, camper for rent would mean I HAVE to rent it, unless...maybe...form a corporation and put it in the corp, then 'rent' it only to yourself...

I suspect an auditor would have all kinds of fun with that...although, people who own privately owned airplanes do it all the time. Although in many cases they "lease back" to a flight school or club...I'm not sure.

Personally -- I hate progressive income taxes. But if we get rid of it, the government won't be able to control us ...so you know its chances of being repealed is about 0.000%

 

36F and overcast as I start the day with Folgers in my cup. If it doesn’t rain I’ll be working outside. I leave to get my Raindrop in 5 days.

 

......then it sounds like it truly was the best part of waking up.

 

Mother nature is off her meds here.

Monday last, we had 2 inches of snow. Saturday highs in the 80's, next wednesday near freezing again....