Do you ever feel like events are just whip-sawing around you, and you're doing your best to stay on top of everything? That's kind of how it's been going today.

I was just headed out to the library so I could fax the job application paperwork over to the real estate company where it looks like I'll be temp working for 3 weeks. She'd said they needed it in hand before I began work, so I wanted to get going asap.

But just as I was leaving, I got a call out of the blue from an old friend of mine I haven't seen in ages. He's a court marshal and happened to be serving papers in my town, so we arranged for a brief get-together at a local hot dog joint. It was great to see him, but after that, I got to the library and faxed my papers. I've been assuming that I could be starting at that job tomorrow.

Then out of the blue I get a call from an Atlanta recruiter about a bank job (contract)I applied for earlier today. I probably didn't come across that well as she had roused me from a nap, and I must say she sounded rather nervous, but after a brief conversation, she said she'd schedule a phone interview with a more senior level recruiter there for tomorrow a.m., and that she'd send me an email confirmation.

After I hung up I realized I have some direct experience copywriting for several banks which I'd completely forgotten about becus it was a short-lived position right before 9/11 happened and then I was laid off. I needed to keep my resume to 2 pages and it seemed relatively unimportant compared to other work experience, so I took it off my resume, but in hindsight, other bank experience would be perfect.

She asked me about availability, and I didn't want to mention the real estate job becus it IS only for 3 weeks. The bank job is for 10 months. The pay for both happens to be the same ($35/hr). I figure by the time they get to the point of offering me the bank job, time will have elapsed and it might only be a matter of a 1 or 2 week delay before I could start.

So I'm juggling bank interview scheduled for tomorrow a.m. and the real estate job, possibly starting as early as tomorrow. Luckily, it's already 4 pm and I haven't heard from real estate job so I should be able to squeeze in the bank phone interview without trouble.

Seeing doc in a little while for the Lyme. Headache most of the day. Not good.

I was told I couldn't start til their home office has my application and credit check permission in hand. If she wants me to start day after tomorrow, I don't see that happening unless I fax them the app/credit check ok. The forms couldn't be filled out and sent via email, very inconvenient.

So I offered to fax them, which she said would be great. So tomorrow will go to library and pay the exorbitant fee of about $6 to use their fax. (Perhaps I didn't need to offer that, since the burden should be on them to pave the way for my start, but I was worried that the timeframe for me to do their work ends on a certain date, after which I couldn't work, even if work needed to be done. In which case, it would behoove me to start asap so as not to lose any billable hours.)

She also said I'd be treated as a temporary p/t person working 30 hours a week for 3 weeks. Which is what I wanted (instead of being an independent contractor).

I got my haircut today; I'm never really thrilled with my Great Clips cuts, but it does the job.

I also went to BJs and stocked up on 5 large, heavy boxes of cat litter there so I wouldn't have to buy them in winter. I'd like to get another 5 and that should get me through winter and into next spring.

I also made appt with my doc for tomorrow to ask about the Lyme. Or, more specifically, do they use a different antibiotic depending on what kind of tick-borne disease you have? If so, i need to get the blood test, which we dispensed with this time to save me money, since at the time I was without health insurance. I have a feeling it's the same antibiotic, but I'd like to be sure, cus otherwise, that might explain why I'm still getting symptoms.

I discovered when checking my Vanguard accounts online that the $8,000 I wanted transferred to a State Farm Bank CD never went through, and a rep on the phone said no record of that request anywhere. So then I had to get on the phone with State Farm. Turns out they didn't get my signature on something where they needed it, plus he needs a copy of my driver's license AND they want a copy of my Vanguard brokerage statement. NOT. This seems really intrusive, and I'm not about to reveal my assets to State Farm, so he said I could white out the numbers, they just want to see the account number. Well, I supplied them with the account number of the money market from which I want the transfer to take place, so I don't see why that's not good enough. So annoying. I spent at least 30 minutes with the State Farm guy there just to set up a CD, and as it was, he had to call State Farm to figure out how to do part of it. And now this. I hate ineptitude about as much as I hate unnecessary intrusive requests for personal information.

Back to the new temp job. It's quite possible I'll get some sort of assignment from my old p/t job, the one that was 3 days a week and turned into "as needed." I'd hate to discourage them from giving me work if I have to turn it down, so hopefully it'll be an at-home assignment I can do on the weekend (especially since the real estate job is just 30 hours a week). If not, then I guess I'll have to explain why I can't do it, but only for a brief 3 weeks time.

Still don't know where I'll be working. They have offices all over the place, although their CT corporate offices are in a town about 45 minutes away.

Got another email this am from the woman asking me when could I start and could I go into a certain city to meet the executive team and get a sense of what was needed. She also said there might be some paperwork to fill out with HR. I said I could come in as early as tomorrow and said that if they treated me as an independent contractor and they wanted me to commute in to said city or elsewhere, that I'd like to submit for reimbursement of commuting costs; if they treated me as a temporary p/t employee, I couldn't do that, but they would be paying payroll taxes on me. My preference, I told them, would be the latter. (This would boost earnings used by DOL to calculate my unemployment benefits, whereas freelance work does not count.)

I asked whether this would be work at home or on site job, as she hadn't specified. I don't mind commuting in, but the rate I quoted her was on the very reasonable side and it'd be nice to get gas costs reimbursed or, alternatively, get treated as a temporary employee and have payroll taxes picked up. Either way.

Things can happen very quickly and one must be nimble. So once I get confirmation of a possible meeting tomorrow or, if not, probably later this week, my agenda for today will be 1.haircut (using the $8 haircut coupon from Great Clips I've been hoarding) and 2. BJs.

I'm also still concerned about my Lyme. I've been headachey the last few days and was debating whether to go in to see doc again. Not sure what else she can do as I already completed 2 courses of antibiotics totalling 5 weeks of meds. I am still doing herbs but skipped the garlic this a.m. after over a week of heavy raw garlic intake as I'm not sure that was doing anything, either, and online research suggested some anecdotal support for it but no scientific studies that I could see.

I'll make some time to prep for meeting and familiarize myself with what's going on with this company. So this meeting she wants to have....is that a group interview sort of thing or is this a welcome aboard, you're hired sort of thing? I THINK I basically have the job, but I need paperwork from their HR to confirm the details.

My financial situation looks pretty bleak right now. Meaning, no work. I've gotten a few itty bitty freelance assignments since the p/t job ended, but nothing major.

But every time I say, OMG, now what do I do, something pops up out of the blue.

I just got an email from an old contact/freelance client from another real estate company. Years back, she gave me a ton of PR work to do for her; she's a sales manager for two key offices for this company.

I probably haven't heard from her in over a year, and now she says the company is rebranding itself and needs a freelance writer to help them redo their sales literature.

It would only be for the next 2.5 weeks but it could be f/t, not sure. She asked how many hours I could provide and what my rate would be.

I said I could work f/t if the need's there, and asked for $35/hr. Not sure if I could work at home or work out of one of their offices, but either way I HOPE I GET THIS.

I'm delighted to have gotten that email. It just goes to show, when you do a good job for someone, it often pays off down the road. I know she really likes my writing, so maybe they figure they have no time to advertise for someone. Crossin' my fingers. I hope I didn't suggest too low a figure.

In other news, here's a perfect example of how a little job turns into a big job, home improvement-wise. I have a bunch of half used paints sitting on the basement stairs. There's a paint recycling event coming up later this month, but there was a can of something in the ivory family, which I used on the tool shed. Instead of getting rid of it, (part of my general decluttering before I move) I reasoned, why not use the last of it to get one more good coat on the tool shed?

So I got the front of the shed painted, probably the side that needs it least, but it's the most accessible side as well. What really needed repainting was the wood plank floor/walkway, but before I could paint that, I could see a lot of green mildew on it that would need to be cleaned off.

I trudged back to the garage (over 100 feet away) and returned with some diluted bleach, a sponge and a scrub brush and set about getting rid of the mildew. Actually, I was back and forth for various supplies at least five times. Then I needed to rinse the bleach solution off, so I uncoiled the heavy double-length hose in garage and dragged the whole thing into the backyard. Now I had to wait for it to dry before painting, which won't take place til tomorrow. I was going to paint at 3 pm, but it wasn't quite dry.

But then I realized the only exterior paint I have is this ivory color I have on the walls of the toolshed. If I use that light color on the plank walkway, it will show every speck of dirt and mildew. I do also have exterior black, but it's a bit of a stark contrast to this ivory; not sure how it will look. Too drastic a contrast? Here's a photo of the tool shed colors now:


Sorry, I know it's sideways but it's not on my Picasa. Actually, those vertical posts you see aren't that flesh color anymore. They're the same color as the siding, so it's just 2 colors, the ivory color on the siding and the darker grayish-whatever which goes really well with it.

The idea is to avoid having to spend any money on this and use materials on hand. What color do you get if you add black to ivory?

I picked about a pound of stringbeans yesterday so today I made a huge stringbean casserole. It's pretty good.

Today was a pretty productive day.

I spent some time investigating alternatives to my Vanguard money market fund. While only about 9% of my investable assets are in cash, the bulk of that is a hefty $40,000 in the Vanguard fund. It's meant to give my overall portfolio some stability, yet that seems like a lot of money to just languish at a miserly 0.16%.

I'd gotten interested in I bonds cus they have a few things going for them. Issued by the US government, they're highly unlikely to default. They're exempt from state tax and offer an interest rate higher than most savings accounts. You need to hold them for 5 years, or you lose 3 months of interest with an early redemption.

Which all sounded pretty good, until I found they're currently only paying 1.18%. I soon found I can do better with a comparable 5-year CD paying 2% APY with State Farm. I'm not a fan of State Farm, but the rate is good for money that's been earning practically nothing. I'm also not a fan of locking up money in bank savings accounts, but in this case, it's portfolio money that needs to stay in a cash account, as ballast for my portfolio. Don't need to touch it, just need to keep it safe.

I'd like to do some CD laddering to take advantage of rising interest rates over time, so I'm thinking of buying 5 CDs of $8,000 each over the coming year or so.

I also mowed the front lawn and went to the landfill with some recycling for electronics that didn't sell in the tag sale and some early hypertufa creations that also didn't sell, so they went in the concrete/brick recycling pile, and while there, I found about 25 perfectly good stone blocks. Dropped them in the trunk for edging.

I must have good karma, cus whenever a job ends, little freelance assignments always pop up out of the blue. I wrapped up a sales brochure/website content for a new active adult community, got some legal editing from a court-appointed guardian ad litem done today and got a query from The Author about editing just 25 pages of another book so she can send it as a sample to book publishers. I'm waiting to hear back from her what the word count is.

I often fall in love with the communities I write about. The active adult community of which I wrote was quite interesting to me. Because the complex has septic systems, the town wouldn't allow anything but one bedrooms. So the builder created units with the master bedroom on the main level with a huge loft and equally huge storage area (about 12 x 13') on the upper level. The loft lacks a bathroom (both baths are on main level) and a closet, and it can't be marketed at all as a possible 2nd bedroom, just a space that could be used as an office, art studio, gym, theater room, you name it. The total square footage of these units is 1700 to 2400 sf, so they're not small, yet the price for this NEW CONSTRUCTION is just $229,900. That’s very low for Fairfield County. And taxes and common charges are also very low, partly becus they can only be sold as one-bedrooms, even though there's so much more space. Oh, and gas heat and central air.

These are very appealing to me. It doesn't bother me that much that there is no bath on the upper level. The kitchens have granite, s/s appliances, maple cabinetry. Wood flooring on main level, tile in baths, patio or deck outside, 1 car attached garage.
The ONLY thing that doesn't really appeal to me is the way the older units already built on site look. It's one building of about 25 units and it sort of looks institutional, maybe even like a nursing home. UGH. I think the new units will be designed to blend/complement what's already there, but maybe they will be more home-like. The model won't be ready for another 3 months.

I also calculated my third quarter estimated tax payment, which wasn't much, so will mail off the check tomorrow.

Tuesday and Wednesday I helped my mother load up the car with her art and then drove to 2 different galleries to install them for different shows. I've done this from time to time to help her when I can, but this time she offered to pay me ($100), which I gratefully accepted.

On tomorrow's agenda:
1.Start cleaning up the vegetable garden, which is really winding down. Tons of damaged tomatoes on blighted vines.
2.Mow the back yard.
3.Go to State Farm to open up the first CD, fill out forms.
4.Move 2 box fans and AC into the attic.
5.Make some time for a country walk.

I wanted to go the Labor Day parade, but friend couldn't go, and I didn't feel like going by myself. However, here at home this morning, I could hear the sounds of the marching bands in the distance.

Since the parade ended, we've been having a series of thunderstorms and intermittent rain, sometimes heavy. It hasn't done too much to relieve the oppressive humidity, but at least the sun isn't out.

Today was an absolute do-nothing day. I had hoped to start a new freelance project, but the realtor never called me back.

As part of my widening regimen fighting the Lyme (I'm still getting headaches, after finishing 2 courses of antibiotics), I'm dosing myself with lots of fresh, raw garlic. I've been doing that for a week or so but after further reading determined that I wasn't consuming enough garlic to get a benefit from it, so I stepped it up day before yesterday to 5 sliced up cloves, 3 times a day, or 15 cloves daily, enough to do away with any vampires within a 100-mile range. That's a lot of garlic! Luckily, I don't mind the taste. If I know I'm going to be with people, I do the garlic later.

I felt kind of borderline at times today, but did not have actual headaches, which was not the case in recent days, so perhaps it really is working. Garlic is anti-bacterial and Lyme is a bacteria. Garlic can cross the blood brain barrier. I'm also trying to eliminate most of the sugar in my diet.

In addition to the garlic, I'm downing a huge assortment of herbal pills containing resveratrol, astagalus, cat's claw and sasparilla, among other things.

I did 2 loads of laundry yesterday and changed the bed sheets. Also began sorting through the remains of my garage sale. Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll drop some of it off at the dump, will recycle a few glass pieces and keep the rest to try to sell again in a month at friend's tag sale. The Teac stereo system I'd hoped to sell I couldn't when i discovered the CD player wasn't working, so that I can recycle at dump.

I have begun dipping my toe back into the online dating waters. Yesterday i met Bachelor #2. (Bachelor #1 was too ho-hum to write about.) It's hard for me to find someone who really interests and attracts me, so I was somewhat excited about Bachelor #2, and I think he's interested as well. However, I'm really not sure if we should proceed because I've observed we've made very different lifestyle choices in some ways that could make it hard to enjoy time together.

The biggest thing is that he has 2 Harleys. While I used to enjoy riding around with a boyfriend or two on a motorcycle when I was much younger, it's not something I want to do now. I think it's a high risk behavior. Even if you're a perfect driver, you can't control how other drivers react, and an accident on a bike is much more serious than an accident in a car. Plus, they are way too noisy. I don't think my neighbors would appreciate hearing it. However, B #2 really seems to enjoy riding them and taking them on trips, and if I'm unwilling to hop on with him, it would kind of put a crimp in any free time we might spend together. He does have a car, of course.

The other thing I've noticed is that alcohol seems to be a regular part of his dinner routine, and probably his social routine as well. I've always been a light drinker, and in fact recently decided to never drink again, based on new research that suggests that ANY amount of alcohol increases a woman's risk of breast cancer. Used to be they'd say 1 drink a day was ok. Now they say there is NO safe threshold. Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/breast-cancer-alcohol-how-much-is-safe.html

Normally I would just take it a step at a time, but I'm worried that if I came to develop feelings for him, it would be so much harder not to cave in on my beliefs to better enjoy time with him. I really do believe that "your body is a temple," and a good diet and a healthy lifestyle really is important to me. So I don't know.

On the plus side, he lives nearby, about 25 minutes away. He's also just a year older than me; so many of the men who are interested in me are like 90 years old. That's an exaggeration, of course, but I'm not interested in dating someone in their 60s. Sorry, grandpa. While he was married before, he has no kids, which to me is a plus becus it just means fewer complications.

He works as an engineer for the US government and drove to Ohio to adopt a rescue dog that had been a breeder in a puppy mill. The dog is terrified of all people now except him, and it's especially afraid of women. I don't know what they did to that poor thing.

He is also quite handsome, which let me to tell you, is increasingly hard to find when you're dating men of a certain age. It's true for women too, of course, but so many men just get old looking, gain too much weight and just don't look that appealing. I had very nearly given up on ever being in a committed relationship again.

So what to do about Bachelor #2? I've been feeling very tentative about the whole thing and have more or less indicated I want to take it slow.

The garage sale has concluded. The results? Drum roll, please. ... $101.

After deducting the cost of the ad, my net is $92.

It was an awful lot of work, and this reminds me of why I don't do this more often! As I recall, I made about the same amount last time I did one.

The sale was today, 9-4, but people began showing up last night, and as early as 7:30 am today, which, frankly, I think is really rude.

Then a police officer pulled up my drive, and I had a feeling he wasn't there to buy a pillow. Unbeknownst to me, he informed me there was a road race going on and that they were directing traffic to detour down my road. He told me that people visiting my tag sale had to park at least 50 feet from the curve. (My house is located right at a very sharp curve.)

I began running up and down the driveway whenever someone pulled up to ask them to please park in the driveway, in my neighbor's driveway (I was able to get permission from their teen son, as his parents were off on vacation) or up the road a piece. I was afraid that the police might give me a ticket if I didn't do anything about it, or worse, shut me down. Some people didn't want to get blocked in my drive so they drove on the lawn without asking.

Another cop came by 5 minutes later and repeated the advice about parking. They were very nice about it but I didn't want it to seem like I was ignoring the hazard I was inadvertently creating. The police actually stopped by THREE times during the road race, and I was doing my best to tell people to move their cars, which of course doesn't help with tag sale attendance; I also made up signs about where to park at the bottom of my drive.

Things eased up after the road race was over. The weather today is sticky hot, very uncomfortable humidity, but we had a steady stream of traffic up until mid day, and then it really died down.

People are ridiculous. My friend was asked how much something was, and she said "$2." The person put the item down and walked off. I mean, how cheap do they want it??

An Indian guy saw a large copper wash tub I had and snatched it up and kept walking around with it. When he went to pay me, he was under the impression it was .50 when it was actually priced at $50. He actually thought it was just .50!

Actually, I sold that wash tub to my friend's husband when he came to help my friend pack up at day's end. It was my biggest sale of the day!

I also sold an antique auger ($25) and rolling pin ($5), a hardcover book ($5), a charcoal grill ($5) I'd previously had trouble GIVING away, 3 large Tupperware containers for .50 each, thumb tacks (.50) a pair of wine glasses ($1) and a whole bunch of little stuff for exactly .50. Two old birdhouses sold for $1 a piece. Some plastic combs for .50. Two muffin trays for $3 and $4 each which I won't use anymore becus they're aluminum (same goes for the plastic Tupperware). A vinyl laptop bag went for $5 to a woman who seemed to want to use it as a handbag. Two old matted photos of sunflowers by my sister went for $3 each. There was nothing really special about them.

I met a few of my neighbors in town, which is always nice, and I met a few creepy groups of people who made me nervous. There was one family with kids and the wife asked me if her daughter could use my bathroom. I was very uncomfortable with that idea and as an excuse I said i had to be there with all the people walking around. As I glanced around the garage, all the people had left, but my friend was sitting there, and the woman saw that, hoping I would then relent. I still said no, feeling a little guilty, but later my friend said I'd done the right thing and she thought they were trying to scope out my house or something becus the husband had said 3 x that his daughter had to use the bathroom.

Another woman wanted to know if I'd take a check. Umm, I don't think so.

I'm satisfied. I wanted to make money, but my secondary goal was getting rid of stuff I really don't want.

My friend had mostly a lot of cutesy signs given to her during her teaching career, a bunch of old pillows, a whole lot of porcelain dishes and a rocking horse. She only made about $25.

She said she wants to have another sale end of September, so I might pack up the best of my leftovers and bring them there again. Other stuff I think I'll bring to the dump or recycle.

Yet another post thoughtfully written last night completely disappeared into the nether. I can imagine how it would cause newcomers here to give up in disgust. Ah, well...

I had my interview with media giant yesterday. I think it went okay. Met with 3 people. I sent a very nice follow-up letter. It took me a while to truly understand what the job entailed. What they told me in person was actually somewhat different than what the posted ad described. Interestingly, if I got the job, it would be the first time since college that I had a non-writing job!

It's more about curating/organizing a high volume of photos and creating/building numerous photo galleries that would go on the news website. Also building and managing a team of freelance photographers who I'd assign to go out and shoot various cultural events in the paper's coverage area, like fairs, festivals, auctions, fundraisers, etc. I'd need to learn how to use their content management system and train the photogs how to tag photos, etc. Right now they have just 4 freelancers while she'd like to see around 20.

Sounds kind of like fun, huh?

One thing that would probably drive many applicants away is that becus so many events would happen on a weekend, the work week for this job is Wednesday thru Sunday. Which doesn't really bother me much.

Becus they pay the freelancers very little, I'd probably be called on fairly regularly to go out myself to get the pix. I did a lot of picture-taking when i was a news reporter years ago, but this is even easier becus i wouldn't have to stop and get the names of those i photographed. They just want a high volume of photos, like 75 to 100 per event.

Photo galleries apparently draw a huge number of clicks, and the idea is to help increase page views and get people onto the site. There is some creativity involved in coming up with thematic photo galleries that will have universal appeal; you know, like photos of little kids, people with their pets, etc.

I can't imagine the job would pay that much, but then again, I don't need to make a ton to get by. I just want to pay the bills and have something left over to add to retirement. $50 to $60K would be great. I know I can live on $50K, as I did that before, when I had a mortgage. Even $45K would probably be doable, although I don't think I'd want to go much lower than that. I figure a job like this should pay at least $40k, which is very low, but being mortgage-free now gives me more flexibility to consider jobs like this without having to make money the #1 consideration.

But as per usual, i see the job was advertised online, so god only knows how many responses they got.

I was planning on putting up my tag sale signs tonight (for tomorrow's sale) but there is still a 30% chance of rain today and tomorrow. I'd hate to see these signs get rained on and possibly illegible. I suppose I could go out EARLY tomorrow to do it, though I'd rather not wait til then in case i get early birds.

I did a little of this, a little of that.

Prepared for my job interview tomorrow; I do this by anticipating the kinds of questions I might receive, and also developing my own list of questions.

I ironed and laid out my clothes for tomorrow. In the a.m., I'll be putting in a half day proofing at the p/t job and then I'll head over to the interview just a few miles away. I'll bring an extra top I can change into to feel fresh and unwrinkled.

I starting putting price stickers on my garage sale items and made a list of everything I'm selling, with asking price in 1 column and a 2nd column for selling price. Everything is really dirt cheap, but is it cheap enough?

I purchased the ad in local paper ($9.50), placed a free ad on Craig's List and another free ad on our local Patch. I have a bunch of signs to put up Friday.

I also cleaned a number of items. Things are coming together, and the bulk of the stuff will fit in the garage, so in case it rains, it won't be a huge deal, although I plan to put an old rocker and a cabinet and a bed coverlet outside. They're saying 20% chance of rain. Worst case scenario, if I sell less than expected, I might consider having another sale sometime in September. God knows I'll certainly have the time now.

I also went to the dump and the bank where I got a bunch of singles and quarters. And I explained to 2 contractors why I could no longer get the work done that I wanted them to do. It really bothers me to have to pull the plug on that stuff considering how much time I spent looking for the right person to do it, and being so close to having it done after deferring it for so long.

Tomorrow when I get home I hope to mow the front lawn. Friday I'll devote again to the sale, if needed. A friend may be dropping some stuff off that night. My other friend should also be coming over to help price stuff, though at this point I've attached prices on most items. Didn't want to leave it for the last minute. The vast majority of stuff is less than $20. I may have her drive me around as i jump out and put up the signs. Easier with 2 people.

After I get the sale out of the way, I may plan an overnight trip to see my dad on the Jersey shore. Haven't been down there all year.

I've been picking sooooo many tomatoes and can't wait to share my final tally with you soon.

I'm still waiting to receive 2 new bonus credit cards in the mail, and by paying my car and homeowners insurance, both due in September, I'll be able to quickly meet the spend targets and earn myself $200. I was going to apply that money toward me tree take-down, but now it will go toward general living expenses.

With yesterday's news that my three-day-a-week job had deteriorated into occasional freelance work, I've rejiggered my projected monthly expenses and income to see where I stand.

It ain't pretty.

Total minimum monthly expenses: $1845
This reflects somewhat higher car insurance since I bought the new car. It also includes (ranked from highest to lowest expenses on a pro-rated basis): health insurance ($589, will drop somewhat 1/1/14 with Obamacare), property taxes ($488), food ($240), heating oil ($101), gas for car ($60), electricity ($55), homeowners insurance ($40), cats (mostly food, $38), phone/internet ($38), car fees/taxes ($23), water ($16, this fee will rise soon), dentist ($16), out of pocket medical ($15), borough taxes ($14), furnace tune-up ($13), gardening supplies ($12), sewer fees ($11, I paid off the loan itself last year), annual dump sticker ($7), haircuts ($5), allowing 4 a year at $15 each), car maintenance ($5, for 2 annual oil changes at $30/ea), printer cartridges ($3, allowing 2 at $20 ea) and mortgage ($0, I paid it off last year).

My budget does NOT allow for: home maintenance, retirement savings, clothing, dining out, the vet, entertainment, birdseed and Xmas.

Anticipated, estimated monthly income: $1272
This includes projected unemployment benefits of $161 a week. I could be off a bit, but that's what I've come up with. I won't open a claim right away and may wait til October becus it appears I might get a little more if I do wait. (They based the payment on average of 2 highest quarters, not counting immediately preceding quarter, so Oct 1 is start of a new quarter and works in my favor.) It also includes guesstimate for freelance work as well as occasional work from my current employer.

So my monthly shortfall is -573 a month.

While I continue to look for a job, I'll attempt to lower this shortfall with credit card rewards (I just opened 2 new cards that will deliver $200 in rewards when I hit the spend targets) and possible product studies. If I get busy with freelance work again I can do even better.

It was almost 4 years ago to the week that I was laid off in September of 2009 at age 50 and finally, after all that time of scrambling for work, my back is up against the wall, meaning I may for the first time have to start living off my savings to address that $573 monthly shortfall.

I hope that doesn't happen, I hope I get that job I'm interviewing for later this week, I hope the cats stay healthy, I hope the tree I was going to have cut down won't fall on the house this winter in a storm.... I hope, I hope, I hope.

Are you getting sick of hearing about my job woes? Go ahead, you can tell me. I know I am.

Today my boss at my 3-day-a-week job told me that because work has been unusually slow, she's going to have me continue on an "as needed" basis, probably through the end of the year. I can work on the occasional writing assignment at home, she said, but she wants me to come in to the office when doing the catalog proofing.

Which leaves me with next to no income.

They think I'm an "exceptional" writer, but that's not what they need long-term, so they'll be hiring a perm editor 1/1/14.

So even more is riding on the interview I have this Thursday for a f/t job with xxx. I don't go back to my regular employer now til Thursday, which is convenient becus since my interview is the same day in the same city, I can eliminate one day of driving down there, or two hours of my time and gas.

I'm depressed, discouraged, tired. I'll have to cancel two of the three home improvement projects that were very close to getting done. The third one, installing the furnace humidifier, will proceed, since I already mailed in a $200 deposit and I really do want to be comfortable this winter.

I did have a nice time yesterday with R. He wanted to go to the Harley Davidson open house with free cookout, etc. If he doesn't die of prostate cancer in 4 years, he said, he's going to buy a Harley. He's not going to do it before then, since it's a high risk thing and his dog and 95-year-old father are still alive. After that, I guess he figures, he's entitled.

When we got there, there was no lunch; it was the day before. And since he had his dog with him, and the dog couldn't go into the showroom, guess who got stuck sitting in the car with the dog while R. went in to browse? Moi. After that, R. ferried me to BJs where I picked up a few things. We dropped that off back home to my fridge, then we set off to make a surprise visit to my sister's in neighboring town. The surprise was on us cus she wasn't home; i left a note in the door.

After that we paid a visit to a childhood friend of R's, who lives in the same town. I hadn't seen him since I broke up with R. 30 years ago! He sure looked older, but then of course, I bet that's what he's thinking about me. I gave R. some tomatoes from my garden, one of the few healthy things he eats.

The weather forecast for Saturday looks good so I'm committed to doing my garage sale then. Will buy ads in 2 papers on Wednesday and advertise it on Craig's List, too. I'll have Friday to get ready for it. I have a s***load of crap to get rid of.

Once again I only worked the equivalent of two days this week. I went in yesterday (my 3rd day) and it was a continuation of having absolutely nothing to do. Since one was away on vacation, the other one who sits right across from me now knows he's the only one who would be giving me work to do; I have a feeling if I could somehow stick it out sitting at my computer, pretending to be busy and doing nothing that he would have let me finish out the day that way, but it was more or less unbearable to do that and incredibly boring, so around noon I suggested that unless he anticipated having some work for me that afternoon, that maybe I should leave. He agreed, and so I went.

I'm guessing they maybe feel that since they initially said 3 days a week (earlier had said full-time), that if they tell me to leave early too many times I might look elsewhere for steadier work and so perhaps want to retain me for the time being. I certainly need the money, but I had already spent most of Tuesday trying to "look busy," ie, having a few screens open on my monitor, which anyone could see as they walk past or behind me, and occasionally typing on a word document.

I have of course been looking elsewhere for work. No calls yet.

I finally decided to hire one firm to install the furnace humidifier mid-September. I also found an affordable ($35/hr) freelance carpenter to repair the water damage in back of hall closet. While others quoted me $600+ to re-sheetrock the whole closet, he suggested I could save money by letting him see if he could repair the damage first. Which I'm all for since I hope to sell this place soon and it is the back of a closet. He spent a lot of time here discussing and thinking about different aspects of the work. He's a friend of my friend's husband. He'll start it next Friday. It should save me quite a bit, depending on how long it takes him, and if all goes well, I can use him for a number of other must-do projects around here.

That leaves the humongus tree take-down. I have one more guy coming to price it; I may wind up giving it to another one for $1200. I am nervous as all get-out about getting it done safely as the tree is in between my wires and my neighbor's wires, plus my neighbor has a telephone pole with those wires very close to the tree, so the guy taking it down has to know what he's doing. I had another guy here today who priced it at $2400, which includes taking away all the wood and bringing in topsoil and repairing divots on neighbor's lawn, which I think is probably unnecessary, though I am nervous about a heavy bucket damaging my neighbor's lawn. They’ve already given me permission to have the truck access the tree from their side becus my side is way too overgrown/brushy, but I don't want any complaints or hard feelings from them should the tree guy mess it up.

Nothing else much new. I've really been focused on collecting bids for these 3 different jobs. It's hard to spend @ $2300, which is what I'm looking at, especially when I consider that eats up about 4 months of my "discretionary" monthly income from my p/t job. But it all really needs to be done. (In my "money" days, say around 1995 through 2001, I wouldn't have worried about it at all and certainly wouldn't have spent so much time collecting prices, but that was then and this is now. )

It'll be another $350 or so to fill up my oil tank for fall heating season.

I'm still prepping for my garage sale. Here's a peak at just some of the stuff collecting all around the house.


An old rotary style phone (how retro), record albums from the 60s, a few kewpie dolls, a mirror my neighbor retrieved from the dump and then gave to me and a million other items. I have piles all around the house....

This weekend I hope to scrounge around for some white foam core, to make a bunch of signs to put next week.

Also, since I have so many pressing expenses, and because I remembered that I'll be billed for both my homeowner's and car insurance next month, that it would be great to get some more credit card bonuses by charging the combined $1200 or so bill. So I applied for 2 new bonus credit cards at the same time (to avoid being turned down by one due to recent application for the other) and was approved for both which should net me $200 cash back. I'll charge the car insurance with one card which will earn me that $100 bonus with just that one charge, and charge the homeowners with the other card, which will require just a bit more spending to receive the 2nd $100 reward.

I was very perturbed/disappointed that Amex would not give me the $100 bonus I thought I'd be getting after meeting their charge requirements with the Blue Cash Everyday card, but they said I was ineligible for the bonus becus I already owned another reward card, an old green cash card. I won’t be doing Amex rewards again.

Still, I'm not doing bad with the credit card rewards. YTD, I've received over $900 cash back from cards plus another $75 in gift cards. So, about $1,000 for 2013, compared to just $371 in cash back last year, though I did also get quite a bit in gift cards...at least equal to the cash back amount... in 2012.

There are very few times of the year when working in the attic is feasible. It's either blistering hot up there or freezing cold. Today, though, it was quite reasonable, so I wound up working all morning and then some up there scrounging for things I might like to get rid of in my garage sale and tidying up in the process.

I was VERY UPSET to discover something. About 5 years ago, I bought a beautiful new rug, about 8 x 10. Gorgeous. Shortly after that, I adopted Luther and Waldo, so rather than watch them slowly destroy the brand new rug, I decided to store it in the attic. It's not rolled up, but it is face down on the floor. The better to protect it, I thought. I discovered in cleaning that all around the edges it looks a little...not exactly frayed, but like something's been nibbling it! Has got to be a mouse/mice!!! I’m very upset. Don't know what the heck to do with it to protect it from further damage. I could bring it downstairs, but then the cats will be scratching at it. Gosh darn.

I do have a pile of stuff for the sale, but I have a feeling the bulk of it will go unsold, even if I price everything very reasonably. I will have to aggressively advertise it in at least 2 local papers, maybe a third as well to build traffic. Becus if I don't sell it all, much of it will be donated to Good Will, and all that prep work for nothing.

I brought most of my stash down from my upstairs spare bedroom, where I'd been accumulating stuff, downstairs by the front door. Up and down the stairs about 50 times. I figure, with still 2 weeks from planned date (unless we have another heat wave OR it rains), no use hauling it down to the garage becus things tend to get dirty in there just sitting around. So bulk of work still to mostly be done on the Thursday and Friday before the sale.

I was able to borrow a full-size folding table from friend R., and I remembered I do have 2 smallish (about 18" diameter) folding wood tables I can easily put out there. And I have one long counter in the garage, plus a makeshift job I made with bricks and wood.

It's so hard knowing how to price things. I have a friend who sells a lot of stuff on eBay who will be coming over to help me with that. There were a few things I thought might be worth more money that I researched online. An ironstone teapot made in England, 2 kewpie dolls I'm having a little trouble letting go since my grandmother gave them to me and she crocheted them both little gowns. But so much stuff just sitting around in storage. A rocker that is rather nice but needs new fabric seat, lots of kitchen stuff, just a lot of tsotchas, etc etc.

This weekend I also managed to do two loads of laundry, mow front and back and I got another estimate on rebuilding concrete sill on side garage door and taking down that tree of paradise ($1200). He wants too much. If I move, why spend all that $$ on having a tree taken down? For peace of mind. If we have another storm similar to Hurricane Sandy, this tree could drop more limbs, possibly on the house. They say we're going to have another "active" hurricane season.

The price of ripping out damaged sheetrock and putting in new sheetrock, and taping it, was $670, I think, from one company. A lot when you consider it's just sheet rock. It’s all about the labor. I have another guy coming sometime this coming week. He's supposed to be "reasonable" and was recommended by a friend.

After having finished up the antibiotics for the Lyme Disease I believe about 2 weeks ago, I had 2 days feeling very headachy all day. Pretty sure it's still the lyme. So doc gave me antibiotics for another 2 weeks, which she said sometimes helps. I don't like taking antibiotics all the time, but it's very troubling to be having these headaches, and there’s no other treatment available. So antibiotics it is.

I made a peach/wineberry crisp yesterday.

I like to count my produce (the stuff I grow), and so far I'm up to 457 cherry tomatoes and 59 beefsteak tomatoes, plus smaller quantities of other stuff. It's really hard to believe. I've given away a lot of tomatoes to my mother and frozen even more. Tomorrow I may try digging up some potatoes. Perhaps a bit early. If the voles got to them before me, it'll be a washout.

I was wryly amused to notice another deception in the prominent ad I'd seen from the tree guy. He said he had "27 years of experience."

Since I researched him by name online, I learned from Intellius and other data collection resources that he's 42, so with 27 years of experience, he'd have had to start tree cutting work at age 15. Not wholly outside the realm of possibility, except that I also learned from my online research that he used to drive a truck before he got into the tree cutting business.

The funny thing is, he came across as unusually friendly, reassuring and polite when I spoke to him. The last person you'd think might be lying to your face.

...last night I spent a few hours helping longtime friend R. clean out his dad's assisted living apartment since his dad (age 95) has been moved to the nursing home on the same property.

I worked in the kitchen, packing up dishes and other stuff for Goodwill, and occasionally asking R. if he thought his sister might like this or that. R. also let me take a number of things I know I can use, like half-used rolls of tinfoil, and a few items he said I could try to sell in my upcoming garage sale. Like, there was a nice set of 3 largish pots with lids, the dark blue metal with speckles in it? I forget what that's called.

The clean-out was one of those necessary things, but it was a little sad at the same time. As R. commented, it was hard to believe that a person's lifetime could be reduced down to three small rooms of stuff. I reminded him later that it's life experiences and relationships that are most important, not "stuff," and in that sense, his father had lived a rich and full life. I mean, he was still golfing with R. up to age 94!

Like my mother, R's father was a child of the Great Depression, and so it wasn't surprising to find untold quantities of metal soda tab pulls, plastic containers, the plastic caps from dish detergent bottles and other stuff that most people would throw away, all stuffed inside the kitchen drawers. There were also pieces of dried up orange rind thrown inside the cabinets as a means of non-chemical insect control. (I wonder if it worked...I never saw any signs of bugs.)

We recycled a bunch of stuff. There were a lot of old mugs with "World's Best Dad" and similar sentiments written on them, but they were too dirty to just box up as is. R. said don't bother washing them, just throw them away. (R. can be very sentimental, about some things, but old mugs aren't one of them.) I got about 3/4 of the kitchen dishware wrapped and boxed up and told R. I could come back to help him on Thursday, my next day off.

Afterwards, we stopped in at the nursing home to visit his dad, who looked smaller and more frail than last time I saw him when he and Ron. came to my house maybe 6 months ago. He took my hand as he often has and said I still look like I was 14. It's nice to know that, at least to a 95-year-old, I look like a teenager.

He was a little confused. He said a few things that didn't make sense. He mentioned he'd just had his breakfast, when actually, it was dinner.

Meanwhile, I spotted lobster at $3.79/lb at Caraluzzi's, alerted my mother and now we're supposed to enjoy lobster dinner together later in the week. She's very excited.

I don't have anything specific lined up for today, although I did buy some organic peaches with the thought in mind that if they're ripe enough to use today, I might make a peach/wineberry crisp. I also need to think about workday lunches for the upcoming week.

I haven't taken a walk for a very long time, and this seems to be the day to do it.

I am getting more and more push back from the recruiter about having to keep paying me that extra $1/hr difference each week for my job. He keeps saying he's going to try to "get you more money" on an hourly basis, though I'm thinking, why would they agree to pay more for someone who's already working there? He's going to make a case that I've been underpaid to start with, but since the agency accepted the employer's lowering of my pay rate to start with, I don't see why the employer would now say yes, you're right, we need to pay her more. Even if I'm worth it, and it's the right thing to do. Because employers just don't do that. Employees are not their most important constituency; shareholders are.

I foresee that extra $1/hr going by the wayside soon; of course, the job may not last long either.

Man, can you trust anybody in this world today to be what they say they are?

As mentioned yesterday, I had 5 contractors over my house yesterday to give me estimates for three different projects. One of them being the takedown of a huge ailanthus (tree of paradise) tree that is too close to my house (maybe 20 feet) and has already dropped a large limb in the last big storm.

One guy who was highly recommended passed on it, saying it was a little too big for him and I'd need someone with a bucket truck.

The next guy climbed trees and didn't use a bucket truck. He quoted me a price of $930 which would include mulching the smaller branches, cutting and then stacking the rest of the tree. Unfortunately, I don't have a fireplace so don't have much use for the wood.

I called my next door neighbors (an elderly couple) to see if the tree guy and his crew of 4 could drive a truck over their lawn with the mulcher. I figured they'd be fine with it because this tree threatens not only my power lines on one side, but theirs as well, on the other side and all of us, I think, are getting tired of big trees dropping in storms.

Sure enough, they were okay with it and so I called and told the tree guy he had the job. He was going to do it tomorrow morning.

It was around 4 pm today when I suddenly remembered I hadn't called the contact number tree guy gave me when I asked about his insurance. Tree work is inherently risky and dangerous work, and if someone got injured on my property, I could be sued. So I called and checked out the insurance; they said he had general liability insurance but not worker's comp.

I decided to do some quick due diligence online to check out the guy's background; this is something I do with most contractors I do business with. I noticed like so many others, he didn't put an actual address on his estimate paperwork and I learned years ago when I wanted to sue someone in small claims that you can’t serve someone if you don’t have their address.

While I didn't dig up his address, I did learn that he had only recently (a year ago) arrived in CT from PA. A man by the same name as him and going by the same business name had a long list of complaints filed against him by customers who said he completed part of the work, asked for more money and then never returned to finish the work. There were 16 complaints of that ilk. BBB of PA gave him an "F." Others also said he treated his workers very poorly, yelling and cursing at them. He was arrested for drug possession. There was even a local television station in PA that did an expose-type story on his business practices!! Amazing what you can find online when you dig a little.

So, I decided to back out and left a message for him. I was actually a little nervous about telling him the truth about what I found, lest he get angry with me and blow a fuse, so I lied and told him my husband lost his job today. Sorry, but you can't be too careful.

I'm just frustrated that I have to start from scratch again, and I'm pretty sure future estimates will be higher. His $930 I thought was fairly reasonable, given the size of this tree. I don't know if it even makes sense to spend money taking the tree down when there are so many other home improvements I need to make before selling my house, something I keep saying I want to do. It's just that after last winter, I truly am fearful of going through other storms like the 2 or 3 bad ones we've had, including Sandy.

Certainly, there are probably a half dozen other trees that could, theoretically, hit the house, but this one was the one I worried about the most.

One of the furnace humidifier guys got back to me with an emailed quote of $985 to install an Aprilaire humidifier, which I thinks is ridiculous. I hadn't realized what a top notch company this was, and they do a lot of business, he was telling me, with all the mega-mansions in Greenwich and southern parts of Fairfield County. They charge $130/hr for labor for cripes' sakes. I want to get the price from the other HVAC guy and then make a decision. This, too, is a project that is debatable as to usefulness if I sell the house in a year or two. Could I make do with the single room humidifier I use now, but perhaps more consistently, in just the bedroom? It gets incredibly dry in this house with forced hot air. I don't know; don’t really want to have to deal with that anymore. It's a $600 question.

There was another project I called a guy over for...the north side of my house with a large picket fenced-in area, all totally overgrown and beyond my control. (It would scream "high maintenance" to any prospective buyer.) He was here for quite a while talking to me about my options, which included his using a rototiller-type machine or something else I forget the name, to dig up the pachysandra and invasive brambles but we both agreed he wouldn't be able to get every last bit of pachysandra and the stuff would grow back. He wanted more money for doing that anyway. So he suggested that he had his 2 sons simply rake up all the debris and growth in there, take it away, trim it real short and dismantle the picket fence which is falling apart and rotting. For that he wanted $1200, again a ridiculous price. The idea of just cutting it all down low would be that I could then stay on top of it with my lawnmower.

When I didn't call him back in a day or two, he called me and left a message saying hey, I'm working in your town next week and I can save you some money by doing your job same day and hauling your stuff away same day, thereby only having to pay dump fee once and he brought the price down to $950. Somehow I suspect he's just trying to get my business and isn't necessarily working in my town. Anyway, that's way too much money. I might as well just wait til spring and again attempt to stay on top of the growth in that area with a mower/trimmer.

I keep feeling like I'm getting nowhere. Probably the biggest thing I’d want to try to fix with the house before selling it would be my damp basement issues. In the past with very heavy rains in spring I've had water coming through the cinder block walls. I have used Thoro-Seal and believe that's mostly plugged up. But I still have damp areas of the concrete floor in there during times of high humidity or in spring when there's a high water table. It's not wet, per se, and not standing water, just damp areas along the perimeter of the walls.

In years past I had not one but two separate underground drainage systems installed and spent probably $10K+; still I have these problems and I dread tackling this problem again. But I feel this would need to be addressed becus, unlike when I bought the place, state laws now require that any house seller disclose certain key problems (like wet basement, termites, etc) on a special form that's given to the buyer.

I've poured so much money into this place, installing a top of line furnace, new roof, hook-up to city water, hook-up to town sewers, all new Whirlpool kitchen appliances w/ s/s fridge and dishwasher, new washer/dryer, sun room conversion, new attic windows, French doors, new I-beam in basement, rebuilt front stoop, rebuilt brick patio, replaced all faucets, attic insulation, blown-in wall insulation, vinyl siding...

Other shortcomings of this house are...the driveway is in bad shape, but that's another expensive fix I wasn't planning on doing. And while I replaced the roof 18 years ago, it should probably be redone soon because the plywood boards underneath it are soft and no good. And the final big problem is the walls in the dining room and living room...it's paint over wallpaper and, you guessed it, the paint is cracking and coming up because the underlying wallpaper is starting to come up. I tried with one small area of the wall to scrape the whole thing down and it's a mess, with several layers of old wallpaper from I'm guessing the 50s. It would probably be easier to just replace the beaverboard with new sheetrock and then tape it, but that again is an expensive and time-consuming project. I also thought it might be easier to have my handyman guy just install vertical wood paneling over it, but then you have baseboards and moldings to worry about, and things like electrical outlets won't be flush.

If I had the $ I could just wave my hand and say, make it so, but now, every dollar is precious and I have to be careful of how I spend it. If I had a handy husband, that would be enormously helpful right about now.

So, a while back I had an HVAC guy here to give me a price on installing a new humidifier. The price I got with labor was about $500 or $600, depending on how long it took, and his estimate of time (3 to 4 hours) seemed a little high to me, especially at $95/hr. He wasn't familiar with the Desert Spring humidifier I extensively researched, but said he could install it.

Today I had another guy come out. He said it usually takes a little over an hour to do but mine might take 2 hours max becus I was asking them to replace some sheet metal that rusted out after the old humidifier leaked. I'm eager to hear his price.

I was pretty much set on the Desert Spring furnace humidifier, but with the Aprilaire 400 seems like there won't be mold issues, it won't use excessive water and maintenance is just replacing the panels twice a season. I guess I'm concerned that neither of the 2 guys who were here had ever head of the Desert Spring brand but they were both very familiar with the Aprilaire. So may end up going with that in case I have issues down the road.

Getting this humidifier installed is my #1 spending priority this year. I think it will make a huge difference in my comfort level during the winter months.

Also had a guy, highly recommended, come out to look at an ailanthus tree I want taken down. It's a humongus tree of paradise, too close to house for my liking. One limb already came off during Hurricane Sandy and it dropped maybe 15 feet from the sun room. It towers over everything.

He said the tree was a little too big for him to handle, plus it is rather close to my power lines and my neighbor's. He said he'd have a friend with a bucket truck give me a call. I also have another tree guy come over later for another estimate and I have one more humidifier guy coming, too.

Aside from the tree issue and the humidifier, I unexpectedly discovered some old water damage from ice dams last winter in the back of an upstairs hall closet I was cleaning out. It looks terrible; the sheetrock will either need to be repaired or replaced. I called one guy who didn't call back; my neighbors love him, but I suspect he's not interested in small, low-paying jobs like this. I suppose I could call Handyman Connection but I know they'll be higher priced. There's my other handyman guy but I sometimes question his skills. Meanwhile, I'm a little reluctant to put anything back in the closet so it's strewn all over the hall floor.

I agreed to help my friend R. clean out his father's apartment on Saturday. His dad is 95 and is having enough health issues that he's going to have to go into the nursing home he was moved to from his assisted living apartment. He said he'd pay me $10/hr for maybe 3 or 4 hours. I'd help him anyway; we've been friends a very long time.

I have a bit of work from my p/t job...writing some very brief bios for some architects.

I was able to get the payroll person at the agency confirm they are now in receipt of my time sheets from the last 2 weeks and that I'll be receiving 2 paychecks tomorrow....thank God.

Handyman Connection guy came and went; estimate tomorrow. It's just the back wall that's damaged by ice dam melting, but the other 2 walls are paint over wallpaper, so since he'll be disassembling the shelving in there to get to the back wall, I asked him to give me a 2nd estimate based on putting in new sheetrock all the way around.

Just got car my car tax bill today; it was apparently mis-delivered as someone hand-wrote on the envelope "deliver to correct address." Thanks to the mailman, it's already past due and I have to pay a few extra dollars in interest.

Oh, now my neighbor just dropped by to show me his latest puzzle designs. (He knows I'm home on Thursdays and Fridays.) We sat around the dining room table and talked for about an hour. I showed him the closet with the water damage and told him I was getting estimates but couldn't get a hold of the guy he recommended. He kept telling me I could do it myself and told me exactly what to do, but it's really not something I'd feel comfortable doing. He finally wound up saying he would do it for me for $200 and will come next Thursday.

I've been enjoying plenty of tomatoes, lots of cherry tomatoes and small beefsteak tomatoes, from my dad's plants that he grew from seed. The plants are five feet high. I'm also getting a few yellow squash, which surprised me since I have such a terrible infestation of cucumber beetles. Also a few cucumbers and green bell peppers.

I had something really spectacular growing in great profusion with little white flowers, but forgot what I had planted. It was in the general area where I planted my sister's parsnip seeds, so I figured that was it.

But when I mentioned it to her, she said, no, parsnip wouldn't be in bloom now. She suggested I dig one up to check for a tuber. I did, and got absolutely nothing. So I've apparently been giving free rein to some sort of weed that looked like something important. I ripped it all out this afternoon.

Finally, I have several celery plants which I bought on impulse and stuck in the ground. They're doing quite well and appear to be insect-free. I am really looking forward to starting to cut off a stalk or two as needed.

I made a new drink today….a pitcher of cold water with a handful of mint leaves from one of my plants and the juice from two limes, with some stevia thrown in for sweetener. Will let brew overnight in fridge, and will be curious how minty it will be. The limes were 10 for $1 at Shop Rite, so I figured what the heck.

I also made my lunches for the coming work week: a cold salad of equal parts black beans, corn and edamame. You don't cook anything, just let the edamame and corn dethaw. You also add some red onion, chopped red tomatoes and your favorite salad dressing, and oila! Yummy healthy salad.

Today I checked out an open house with a friend in town. I've been looking for the most part at condos, but this was a small house about 1200 square feet. A little too small for me, I think, with very small rooms. A cape built in 1947 but totally updated with 3 small bedrooms and 2 baths. New siding, new plumbing, new electrical, vinyl windows, nice patio out back. Central air and instant hot water. On a dead end street and a half mile from Sandy Hook Center. About a third of an acre, but still seemed like more grass to mow than I care for. Short sale situation.

It was cute, but a little claustrobic on second floor and steep stairs leading to a bedroom/bath due to the slanted walls that really made it necessary to watch where you were walking lest you hit your head. It also lacked a garage. They dropped the price to $249K.
After looking at the house we stopped in at the coffee shop for an iced tea and sat outside on the deck overlooking the Pootatuck River. It was such a nice day. A. is going to help me with my garage sale.

After that I went grocery shopping and rushed out to mow the back yard when it began raining. I was able to finish it and then do the trimming. Then it stopped raining and the skies cleared, so I trimmed a very large viburnum which keeps growing into my driveway. I picked some more tomatoes from my garden. Also potted up some groundcovers I hope to sell in my garage sale. I figure I'll pot them up now (4 varieties) and get them all good and healthy looking, though don't know how much interest there'll be in perennials in late August/September.

Inexplicably, the agency did not issue me a paycheck today. It wasn't in my checking account (direct deposit) and I confirmed on their website the check wasn't cut. I sent an email to the woman who does payroll, only to get an auto reply saying she was out til Monday. I then called my recruiter contact John at his office and I get a fast busy signal. (I'm getting a wee bit nervous now.) I called again and this time someone answered and said, "No one by [that name] works here." I finally get my contact John on his cell. He said everything was fine at his agency but they were having phone problems. And that he'd look into the paycheck issue.

Despite my having emailed my timesheet to payroll with a copy to John, they claim they didn't get it. And no, they can't cut a check for me until next Friday's payday.

This happened this morning and I'm still feeling ticked off. Partly because the payroll people over there apologized very nicely to John and never bothered to get back to me. Listen, people, I'M the one who didn't get the paycheck, not John. You’d think as a courtesy they would make a simple apology, but no.

Can you tell I hate dealing with this agency? How much effort is it to send a quick email?

Today I did 2 loads of laundry and was totally annoyed to find the "Start" button the GE dryer I just bought 2 years ago is not working properly. That is, the dryer won't stay on unless you keep holding the button down. I got it to work by applying duct tape over the button. (It's an auto shut-off.) I don't think it's under warranty.

I started mowing the lawn but then it started raining so I had to give up. It only lasted 5 minutes, but it was enough to make everything wet, so I decided to bag it until tomorrow.

I vacuumed both floors.

I made good progress on my weeding schedule. Everything here got real overgrown during all that heat we had, so this is catch-up time now in the garden.

I got a phone call this a.m. from my #1 freelance client. I was very surprised to learn (and so was he) that his right hand woman (she was at director level), quit the job to pursue her personal passion: thoroughbred horse rescue. She was very capable. He told me he wound up hiring 2 different people to cover everything she did. This past month had been very quiet and I'd been wondering why…now I know. After I got off the phone with him, I was thinking hmmm, maybe this is a good time to suggest we restructure our own work relationship. That is, instead of my continuing to freelance for him, I could work for him as a p/t employee 1 or 2 days a week, on-site. The advantage to him would be to not have to always worry about my availability and having me there on a regular basis would only improve the quality of my work since I'd have easier access to him when I needed info. The advantage to me, of course, would be more consistent income.

I was thinking how good it would be to have a steady p/t job with them now. For as long as my other job lasts, it would mean I'd be working 5 days a week. And if and when I lose the other job sometime later this year, most likely, I'd then have the other job to rely on.

He hasn't responded yet so don't know if there's any interest there. I know he likes my work and we have a very long work relationship, 20 years, in fact. I have worked as a staff writer there in the past, as well as part-time and now freelance. The question would be do they have room in their budget for this? I'm pretty sure they could keep me busy with all the work they have. I charge them $50/hr now; if I get that same rate working on-site for 15 hours a week. I'd gross $39K and I'd be golden.

I mean, I recently learned my HVAC guy charges $95/hr, for gosh sake's, and I'm pretty sure he has only a high school diploma.

I had a long overdue talk with my boss today at the p/t job I started after Memorial Day weekend. They're happy with my writing, love my fast turnaround and my great attitude, but she thinks that, like her (her words) she thinks I'm a stronger writer than editor, and she's unsure what the right "balance" is between writing and editing skills for the perm position.

(Note that the job was originally advertised as a writing job, so to hear her say this was complete news to me. It also is a painful reminder of what happened at Prudential; I started working a contract job there as a writer and then mid-way through that assignment, which I was hoping would go perm, they decided to rejigger the job description so it ultimately included certain skill sets I didn't have. All along they said they were quite happy with my work but my background, they felt, was no longer a great fit for their future needs.)

She said she will know from HR if she will have funding for the perm position (to start 1/1/14) this fall, but wants to start whoever it is working beforehand to see how they work out. She didn't rule me out as a candidate either. She was pretty candid about it and about as nice as could be, so I can't really fault her for that.

While I've worn dual hats at many smaller companies I've worked at as both writer and editor, out of necessity, I think she's probably right about my strengths. There are many companies out there who are less concerned with the exact correct placement of a semi-colon and more interested in getting a high volume of work done. I think it comes down to priorities and is the company doing well enough to afford to be so picky.

So I'm thinking I should be able to work through August no problem, but then after that, who knows how long I'll have? If she learns in September she has funding for the perm position and decides to advertise the position and they get the right person, I could be out the door fairly soon. Or I could still be there in December...don't really know.

I did inquire when we talked whether she'd be open to my working a 4-day week, if they wound up picking me for the position. She was not at all open to that becus she felt the workload was such that my being absent one day each week would burden other employees.

So the job for me would be all or nothing. I told her I was still interested. I have to be careful how I handle this and can't reject a f/t offer even though I'm very reluctant to take it, if offered, due to the lengthy commute. But if I declined any offer they might make to me, I would not be eligible for unemployment benefits, and I really have no backup plan for income other than that if I don't get this job. So I will have to accept it if offered.

I already told recruiter about the conversation and asked him to keep an eye out for other opportunities for me, and of course, I'm looking too, as I have been since before I even took this job.

In other news...
July was an expensive month, to the tune of $5200, but that's because I had to pay my semi-annual property taxes of $2928. Moving forward, I'm going to insert the monthly cost of $488 into each month's expense report. I haven't done that in the past; I would simply record the expense when I paid it. But doing that distorts my expense picture and makes it appear I'm doing better, expense-wise each month than I really am because I'm only paying the property taxes twice a year, and then it's a big wallop.

Other big expenses this month were my sun room blinds ($317), medical treatment for my Lyme without having health insurance coverage ($249, should have been more like $50), Luther's vet bill ($141) and a variety of one-time annual expenses that all hit at the same time, like my borough taxes ($156), car registration ($90) and dump sticker ($85). Groceries were also higher than I budget for, at $248. Sigh.

It's gratifying to see that my net worth increased by $19,456 (!!) since last month, but it's not because I saved it. (My cash on hand has decreased by about $2,000 since I started this new job).

No, the big increase in my net worth is purely due to the bull stock market we've enjoyed of late. In fact, my net worth August 1 is $70,286 more than it was a year ago at this time. Pretty amazing if you consider I have not worked full time during that year! Plus I spent $20,000 of savings to buy a new car. Compared to 4 years ago (2009), my net worth is $147,724 higher. My net worth is now at a lifetime high. But what will happen if the stock market takes a corrective turn?

Today, we start with a clean slate on August 1. I need to immediately revert back to my "survivalist" lifestyle with minimal expenses. Since starting this new job, I'd indulged a bit with just a few fast food splurges along with some discretionary spending on clothing, those sun room shades and my maharaja chair.

To help offset some of that, I've decided on having a garage sale September 15. I've enlisted a friend to help on the day of the sale and suggested she try to sell some of her own stuff, too. I figure the weather should be decent by then (not too hot) and it gives me plenty of time for further organizing.

My real problem is the lack of tabletop space. What I need is a few folding card tables but it doesn't make sense to buy anything since I never make much money at a sale. I might scrounge around at good will but not sure I'll be able to find anything. I have one long workbench in the garage that I could clear off to put items on, but it would be nice to have enough stuff that people can walk all around the garage.

I plan on having some furniture, mostly chairs, as well as the usual housewares, kitchenware, old records, books and so on. Also some hypertufa and perennial groundcovers though most people aren't thinking gardening in September.

After all the drama of Luther's escape, it is nice to have a peaceful Saturday and Sunday. He no longer seems to be favoring the one paw. He is eating well. I only managed to get one painkiller in him, on the day I took him to the vet, but after that he wouldn't take it in a soft treat. I don't think he needs them anymore. He is his old, loving self. I managed to pull another tick or two off from around his eyelids and they appeared to be dead, so I think the tick meds are working.

Expenses for the month of July are way out of whack, but that's what happens on the two months a year I have to pay property taxes of $2928 each time. So, with just a few more days to go in the month, it looks like my monthly expenses will be in the $5100 range (that's way high, not only due to the taxes but also a bunch of unusual or once annual costs like my borough tax ($156), car registration ($90), dump sticker ($85) and of course there were my sunroom blinds ($317) the cordless drill ($42) I bought to put them up, plus medical expenses for the Lyme ($250) and I guess that's about it.

My income was good this month (including $563 from freelance income and $435 in credit card rewards) but not good enough to absorb 6 months' worth of property taxes.

I did a little email editing for one of my clients, and expect to have something else to do for him tonight. I like working for him on a weekend when he doesn't need me to turn it around immediately.

Yesterday I got some long overdue weeding done in the front perennial bed and spread the last of my mulch over layers of newspaper. It looks much better. This morning I got started on my back brick patio. I'm about halfway through with it. Pulled up some poison ivy with plastic disposable gloves and filled up a wheelbarrow full of weeds. Hope to get out there again this afternoon to more or less finish that section.

The whole yard has gone wild due to my not tending to it for the past month of brutal heat.

I made another pitcher of hibiscus tea as well as a cold salad for work tomorrow: homegrown cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I may slice up a homegrown green pepper for it too.

Contemplating going to Shop Rite later. Not sure if I will.

I also put up the little brackets for the shades that allow you to tie the cords around them. I had delayed doing that as I wasn't sure I wanted to mess up the nice, clean look of the window trim, but I'm glad I did, because otherwise you'd see the cords dangling on the benches and it looks better now, I think. It was easy, didn't bother using the cordless drill except to drill starter holes.

I probably should do some vacuuming.

I thought he was doing okay after the 2nd floor Leap to Freedom, but he is favoring one front paw, and he is definitely having trouble doing very low jumps up now, in the house.

So I took him to the new emergency vet center right in town. No appointment necessary. The good news is, vet said obviously no broken bones, since he's walking, though he could have a sprain or pulled tendon. Hard to know which, but he didn't think x-ray were necessary, lucky for me since they run $300. He said rest is best, though easier said than done. He gave me some pain meds for 4 days.

He declined to try to remove the 4 or 5 tiny ticks on the cat's outer eyelid. Yes, gross. I removed 2 tiny ticks from his ears. He said if I give him the over the counter stuff I got at Wal-Mart (a cheaper version of Frontline), they should drop off. I'm afraid I'll jab him in the eye if he struggles if I try to remove them with tweezers.

It cost me $140 for the exam/meds, plus another $22 for the Pet Armor. I gave him his pain med in a treat and he ate it fine. Then I applied the Pet Armor and was determined to sit with Luther in one room for an hour to make sure he didn't try to lick it off his shoulders, something that Waldo did once and had a horrible reaction with frothing at the mouth. Luther did fine, and didn't seem to know I'd applied it.

They always say on the directions to make sure you get it on the skin, not the fur, but of course his fur is so thick around his neck and this liquid stuff doesn't really seem to be absorbed by the skin alone. You're supposed to apply it all on the same spot. I did the best I could; I hope it works as those ticks around his eyes are gross.

I finished my own meds for the lyme disease a few days and have noticed a few headaches returning since I stopped them. They would probably have me do a 2nd round of 3 weeks of antibiotics if I wanted to, but thing is, I can't see the doc again until next Thursday, Aug. 1, since I am not effective on my new health plan til then. Til then, I will have to tough it out and continue my herbs which I've been doing with the meds all along.

I would really like to move away from here to a place where I don't have to think so much about ticks and disease.

PS I managed to pull off 2 of the tiny ticks from around his eyes with blunt tweezers. He really didn't struggle, but after that, he started protesting, so will let him be for a while. There are at least 2 more there that I see.

Where did the day go? I left in the morning to hit Trader Joe's, the bank, the gas station and the landfill. When I got home, I had lunch and then decided to drive up to my neighbor's behind me as he'd said I could pick berries on their property. He invited me in for some tea and we shot the breeze for about an hour; then I went to pick berries.

I got home I guess around 3, and at some point after that, I decided to mow the front lawn. 40 minutes later, I'm done and go back in the house. Feeling tired, I went to lay down for a while, and got up around 6 to make dinner.

I was just finishing up the dishes after dinner when I realized I hadn't seen Luther in a while and it was feeding time for them. He loves his kibble.

I start doing a whole house search. Can't find him. Then I remembered with a shock that at some point earlier in the afternoon, I'd noticed a screen from an upstairs window had fallen down to the brick patio below. I'd thought nothing of it, really. I knew that screen did not fit well in the window and had fallen out before. But I'd totally forgotten that I'd left that window open maybe about 4 inches at the bottom. Enough for Luther to squeeze through….and jump to the hard brick patio below, a distance of maybe 12 feet.

I couldn't believe he'd done that. But then, this is the same fearless cat that clawed away my flexible dryer vent in the basement and crawled through the 4 inch wide circular opening for the hose to gain access through the basement wall and then jump about 8 feet down to the hard concrete floor of my garage. Thank God I hadn't left the garage door open that day.

But getting back to Luther's escape today. I began freaking out because I couldn’t remember when I'd noticed that fallen screen. Either Luther decided to squeeze himself through the window and then pushed the screen out himself before jumping, or the screen fell out by itself and he at some point discovered it when he jumped onto the window and took advantage.

I circled the perimeter of my yard, calling and calling for him. I brought out his kibble and shook it as the sound usually gets him running. I called my neighbors behind me (where I'd been picking berries earlier) and asked them to keep an eye out, but by this time it was around 8 and already getting dark. I was feeling increasing alarm as I knew once it became completely dark I couldn't find him and he'd have to stay out all night. And we have coyotes around here. Who knows if he'd be around in the morning, or if I'd ever see him again. I don't think there's a very good track record of people finding lost pets, especially those that are indoor animals to begin with.

I drove up to my neighbors and walked around calling for him there, but I didn't really think he'd go that far away. I was picturing him being so fascinated by the vegetation that he would just slink into the undergrowth to explore, and could very well be within earshot of me but ignoring my calls.

I went inside the house and gave vent to my fears, sobbing a little, and then decided to go out one more time around 9:30 pm. I bundled up in a hooded sweatshirt and pants and my rubber boots so the mosquitoes wouldn’t eat me alive, and grabbed my flashlight. I'd left the garage door open, and checked in there for the 4th time, just to be sure the cat hadn't wandered in there. And there he was, mewing, and looking a little scared. I picked him up and brought him toward the front door, when he had the nerve to hiss at me. Evidently, he wasn't ready to end his little adventure.

I am so relieved. I pictured coyotes getting him, or my neighbor's three dogs, who just two days ago got a hold of a woodchuck. Luther doesn't like me to touch him or check him out too much; he’s a very independent cat. I observed him to make sure I didn't see a limp, a possible injury from jumping from that height, and I didn't see any swelling in his paws. I did notice him scratching a little.

I will have to run out first thing to get some Frontline, which I think is prescription-free now, and maybe a flea comb. I sure don't want him transmitting fleas to Waldo or anywhere on the house, or ticks to me.

I will have to be super careful with cracking windows open. Generally, I open the top half of them only on the second floor, in case the cat should push open the screen with his weight, since the screens (Andersen) actually have a warning printed on them about children possibly doing that. But it's been so hot lately (today is quite cool) I'd opened the windows at the bottom as well, but only a few inches. Luther is getting better at crawling in tight spaces.
So he was probably out there for at least 6 hours. I sure hope he doesn't have fleas/ticks, or if he does, that I can rein it in quickly by applying Frontline.

Inside my house it�s 88 degrees; outside temp is 95 and with humidity, over 100.

Cats still in basement; me a glutton for punishment, upstairs with ceiling fan a-whirl.

I left around noon and went to the landfill first. Then to the library, then to fill up on gas at BJs. Connecticut already has high-priced gas, so they thought it fitting to raise gas taxes by .15. BJs is the cheapest around, at I think 3.86/gallon. Inside, I took my time, looking in every aisle, in the air conditioned space. However, I was lazy and didn�t bring my cooler with ice paks, so I really didn�t think I should be buying anything refrigerated or frozen. Which is too bad, as I�m a little low, but I may just shop locally tomorrow, with the cooler. Maybe Trader Joe�s.

I did buy two refrigerated things at BJs: some of their organic salad greens and something new: Holy Guacamole. I got 6 small containers and froze 5 of them. Woofed down the 6th with some nice crackers. It wad delicious. I�ve bought avocados before but they seem to go bad in a day, and I can�t use a whole avocado in one salad.

I�ve begun to pick wineberries in my yard. This is the time they ripen. I won�t go crazy like in past years since that�s a good way to pick up ticks and more Lyme disease, but I am picking from the relative safety of a mowed lawn. About a cup a day. I�m freezing them for winter use when berries are scarce.

No freelance work for the past few weeks. I have about $420 in outstanding billables that should be paid any day now.

Tonight is a Netflix night.

I�ve completed my spending for the last bonus credit card. I am waiting (so impatiently) for rewards on 4 different cards.

Heat index to be over 100 today. Ugh. I hate this weather. It�s much easier to deal with when I can get in my air-conditioned car and head to my air-conditioned office.

Today I�m off though. The good thing is that for the past 3 days, I put both cats in the basement with their water dish and food, and blocked the little cat door at the top of the stairs with 2 44 lb boxes of cat litter Luther is quite strong, but not strong enough to move that.

They seemed to weather it okay. They mostly sleep anyway, as far as I know. And now, it seems Luther voluntarily goes down there even before I lock them in.

I�m trying to give them a little break from the dank basement, though, so am hoping to hang out here until about 10:30 am, when I suspect it will just get too hot; at that point, I�ll put them in the basement and head out to do my errands, which today will include a trip to the landfill, a gas tank fill-up and maybe BJs.

My new health kick these days is drinking hibiscus tea. I came upon a new healthy food website (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/better-than-green-tea/) and liked this video comparing the antioxidant levels of nearly 300 beverages. #1 on the list, even higher than green tea, was hibiscus.
I especially love making this because there�s no need to use energy or heat up the kitchen; a cold brew is all that�s needed. Simply take 8 cups water and add 4 hibiscus tea bags (I used raspberry hibiscus�just make sure hibiscus is listed s the #1 ingredient), add a healthy sweetener like Stevia and lemon juice from a half lemon.). Let it sit overnight and oila�you�re done. Tastes like a healthy version of fruit punch, no kidding. I�m also trying to cut back on black tea, partly because the tannins interfere with the body�s ability to absorb Vit. D, so then you have to take extra magnesium. I�ll still have 1 cup of black tea daily and then the rest of the day drink the hibiscus tea.

Anyway, I�m rather liking the nutritionfacts.org website. The doctor in the video presents all the scientific studies and he�s a bit dorky, but the subject matter and topics are right up my alley.


I got in my full 3 days, or 23.25 hours, this week. I got a brief email reply back to the job fair email I just sent John this a.m. He didn�t say anything further about the money he owes me, so hopefully he�ll just mail it. His nickname for me is �Thunder Goddess.� I think this is a carry-over from when we worked together 4 years ago. I am rather fond of the name. And he alternately refers to himself as �the Thunder Goddess sugar daddy� and the checks as �Thunder Goddess tax breaks.� He cracks me up.

I�m in this weird, uncomfortable situation with my job.

As you may remember, the recruiter agency that told me about this job arbitrarily lowered the rate of pay, from the $35/hr that it initially told me about to $34/hr when I got the offer from the employer. After a few weeks on the job, they tried to lower it AGAIN, to $33/hr. and when I balked, the recruiter (a friend I worked with on a previous job) told me he�d pay me the difference of $1/hr out of his own pocket every week. His hope is that the relatively small upfront outlay will pay off down the road if they get more business from the employer who hired me.
So I�ve been there about 7 weeks now and each week he�s cut me a check for usually about $25. (I�m only working 3 days a week.)

I�ve been unhappy with the weird arrangement, but what am I going to do? I need the job. I�ve also been concerned because I�ve worried that if this job goes long term without a perm offer, the recruiter is not going to want to keep paying me that extra $$ forever.
Last week, my boss at the job told me not to come in on Monday because it so happened that neither she nor 2nd in command would be in. Wasn�t happy that my 3 days was shrinking to 2, but again, I don�t have much say in the matter. She said work has been a little slow.

So as has been my habit, I told my recruiter friend the total number of hours worked, so he could mail me a check.

I got an email from him yesterday saying given my abbreviated week last week, he thought it was safe to say we�re �all set�with the money he pays me. In other words, he wants to skip the check for last week and he�s hoping I won�t mind. Umm, given my abbreviated work week, I need it even more! I�m pissed that he�s using a shorter work week as some kind of excuse to not pay me, perhaps because it would amount to $15 for that week. I�d like to tell him he can just add that on to this week�s check.
I mean, his company/recruiting company already ripped me off from the $35/hr.

Not only that, but I was told by him the job was full time, and it wasn�t until 10 minutes into my very first day on the job that I learned from my manager that they decided to start me at 3 days a week�.�Didn�t anyone tell you?� she said.

Umm, no, no one did. Who dropped the ball? Was it the employer who didn�t tell the recruiter or was it the recruiter who didn�t tell me? In hindsight, I could have kept my other p/t proofreading job AND this one and I could have been working full time all this time. (Truth be told, I was happy to leave the other job, so boring and low paying.) But it would have been nice to have a backup plan, just in case.

So how would you deal with the email? I was going to just let it go, it�s just $15. Every dollar counts with me, believe me. I�m not working full-time and I have a lot of deferred expenses from almost 4 years of under-employment. Yet I�m reluctant to pressure my recruiter friend becus he sincerely is a very nice guy. I guess this is one example of how mixing business with personal friendships is not always a good idea.

Rather than wait for my friend-with-a-drill�s availability, I decided to buy myself a cordless drill ($40 at Home Depot) and drill set ($4 at WalMart) and get my six bamboo shades up myself. I figure it�s about time a woman of my age learned how to use a drill instead of struggling mightily for hours with screwdrivers and such.

Here they are:



Aren�t they great? It still took me twice as long to get them up and to figure out how they work (very simple). They don�t hang perfectly straight, but that�s not a function of how I installed them; it�s because of the way the bamboo rolls up.

I am pretty happy with them but I�m still left wondering what these narrow strips of bamboo are for.



Usually ties like these would be used to tie back fabric curtains to the side, but obviously that wouldn�t work with bamboo shades. They already come with little metal prongs you screw into the side to wrap the cord around. Haven�t done that yet as I�m a little reluctant to install more hardware to the wood trim around the windows. Any idea what they�re for? I also doubt they�re meant to wrap around or otherwise support the shades when rolled up, as there�s no attachment or hooks on these little strips at all. I will have to call paylessdecor to find out.

The drill worked great, although even then, I still had to start each screw with a screw driver til it grabbed the wood, and then hand-tighten as well as I was working in tight quarters.
On the weekend�s agenda:

� Check out a condo open house (something I do frequently)
� Groceries, including one more 6-pak of blueberries at $1.18 at Shop Rite, before sale ends EOD today
� Library book sale tomorrow
� Continue mowing

I put in my measly 2 days of work this week and won�t have to return til Monday.

Meeting a friend to see a matinee with this morning. She�s picking me up at 9:45 am for a 10:30 am movie. I like matinees, but first thing in the a.m. does feel a little weird. We�re seeing something mindless with Sandra Bullock in it. My first movie of the summer! She suggested lunch afterwards but I had to decline�.too many expenses these days.

This is a relatively new friend (the person I used to share a job with) and the one thing I�ve found I don�t like about her is that she talks fairly loudly and doesn�t seem to mind or care if other people overhear our conversations. I do, especially since she�s sometimes talking about off color things that are a little embarrassing. But she seems completely incapable of lowering her voice in deference to others around us. Hmm. Oh well, could be worse, I guess.

It�s just 7:27 am here and while it thundered and rained for a while, it did little to cool things down. The air is as thick as a Costa Rican jungle. Not having AC, I hate it; it�s been like this for over a solid week; it looks like Sunday we may see a meaningful drop in humidity.

I was watching The Bachelorette on Hulu the other night. It was the episode where they all go to Madeira, Portugal. My gosh, what a beautiful town. I actually wrote down the name to remember it. (As if I�m traveling anywhere anytime soon.)
My Lyme symptoms have been mostly gone since I started the combined antibiotic/herb regimen, but I woke up with a pretty bad stomachache this a.m., which I can only attribute to the herbs. I hope it goes away before I leave for the movies. Note to self: Bring earplugs to the movie theater. Last time I was at a Loew�s, the volume was way high.
I may get a haircut this weekend. I have a 50% off coupon at a salon I don�t usually frequent.

I used some Amazon gift cards I earned thru surveys to buy some new sneakers, a new nozzle for my garden hose (the old won�t turn off now when you use it). Now I�ve earned another $20 worth of Amazon gift cards from Delicious Living e-news, so would really like to get an updated AP style book. The one I have is 12 years old; don�t imagine it changes much from year to year, but my job really requires that I know it.

I bought a cheapie pear of knee-high rubber boots which I use often in my yard (ticks) but they�ve already developed cracks in front where you do a lot of bending, at the front of ankle. Rubber is rubber, or so you would think.

Who was it that was looking for more credit card rewards? I can�t remember, but if you go to My Money Blog, they did a July 8 post on Southwest Airlines card: 50,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 in 1st 3 months. Easier than the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Still waiting on my quote for the whole house humidifier; guess I�ll have to call him. He was here on was it Monday?

At about 5:30 a.m., I heard the telltale sound of crashing glass bottles and cans, a sign that the recycling pickup truck was on my street. Of course, I�d once again forgotten to put my recycling out last night. Darn.

So I�m thinking as for credit card rewards, once I wrap up with the last one I�m working on�a Bankamericard Travel Rewards card (get $100 for spending $500), I may cool it for a while and catch up charging on some of my other cards. Eg, I have a Citi Forward card which enables me to get free Netflix for a year, provided you make some periodic charges to the card, which I haven�t really been doing cus I�ve been so focused on my bigger rewards cards. Also need to charge something to my Amex green card; they actually cancelled it on me a few weeks ago due to inactivity but reinstated it after I called and made a special request. I still haven�t charged anything on it! Same goes for my USAA card, which isn�t a rewards card at all, but that and the Amex card are my 2 oldest cards so I don�t want to lose them or it would zing my credit score.

But after I catch up on all that, I may do just ONE more big card this year, and that would be the Southwest Card mentioned above. I�ll wait and time my online application to right before a bigger bill comes due, like my car and homeowners insurance in October.

After a fairly anxious few weeks, I received a letter in the mail saying I�m approved for state health insurance program ($589/month). Because these are state bureaucrats we�re dealing with, there were various unnecessary delays in processing my application, so instead of getting onto their plan July 1, I will finally be on it effective Aug. 1. I�m mailing my premium out tomorrow.

So I foresee being on this plan for the rest of 2013 but will probably look for something better October 1, when the state healthcare exchanges are all set up. In a way, it�s better for me that my COBRA expired because in June their premiums jumped to $770 a month.

I just have to stay healthy and out of trouble for the rest of July!

My bamboo shades are due to arrive tomorrow, so that means the earliest I can put them up is Thursday. I sure hope they fit properly and that the order was filled correctly. I have 6 sets for my 6 windows. (The French door I may consider doing later.) I was counting on my friend R. to come over with his drill and help me install them, but he�s always busy and it�s been so hot here lately, I don�t want to delay the installation by even a week. So I went ahead and ordered a small cordless drill (Skil, $40) from Home Depot; I should have it in a few days, or at least soon enough to get those shades up this weekend. (I hope.)

Today would normally be a work day for me, but the 2 people I report to are both out, so she told me not to come in. I wasn�t happy about that. My 3-day-a-week pay will now be 2-day-a-week this week. .
I had a contractor over earlier to check out my oil furnace. I want to get a whole house humidifier to make it more comfortable here in winter months. I always get a sore throat when I wake up in a.m. because the air is so dry. Forced hot air. Should have done this years ago but when I replaced the furnace way back when, they convinced me I should not hook up the existing humidifier becus of concerns about mold. Well, that�s not an issue with the newer units.

He said it would take 3 to 4 hours to install, and since I already know the price of an Aprilaire, which he recommended, is about $250 retail, I can�t imagine the total price being more than $700 with labor, although there are a few other parts he pointed out that he would replace.

In another month I should have another $600 in credit card rewards (Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Blue Cash Everyday and BankAmericard Travel card), so that will help.

I already made my work lunches for the next 2 days: a black bean and corn salad. I usually bring some sort of fruit salad with me as well. Shop Rite had 6 packs of blueberries for $6.99, which works out to $1.15 or so per pint, which is very good these days. So I got a 6 pack and set about rinsing and then freezing them on trays, and then putting them in freezer bags, for winter use. I also went to Caraluzzi�s today to get a BOGO deal on Ben & Jerry�s ice cream, plus I had a $1 coupon for B&J, so the 2 pints cost just $3.18.
Tonight I mow the back lawn, use the trimmer and color my hair.

Indoor temp is now 85.I am frustrated that no matter what I do, it always heats up inside, whether I�m closing windows and/or drapes or keeping windows open with drapes drawn. Doesn�t really make much difference either way. It is true that I have alwys had minimal windows treatments here as I have plenty of privacy. Some windows have valances only, some have wood shutters and some have vinyl binds (which I hate). Soon will have bamboo shades in the sun room. If I had money to spare, I�d invest in insulated drapes for both hot weather days like this and winter, but for now am making due with the single pair of long insulated drapes I bought years back for frrench doors. I have closed off most of the upstairs rooms to the cats (except my office, where I�m sitting now). Don�t want to close the door at top of stairs cus it will just keep all that heat on first floor.

To while away the time indoors, I spent at least an hour on a most unglamorous job: cleaning my kitchen cabinets and other surfaces. With white cabinets, you can see all the smudges around the knobs, and cleaning like this is not something I do often, but I think I made an improvement using those Mr. Clean�s bleach sponges and some old-fashioned vinegar. I also worked a while cleaning the banisters on the stairs, which tend to get mold spots on them in this weather.
I made some iced tea this a.m. and am just sitting around as I often do in the heat with nothing but a pair of short shorts and a bra on. I�ve been running the ACs more than I usually do�wondering what the electric bill will look like.

I spent a few hours tidying up the basement yesterday, again, it gave me a reason to stay down there. It could really use a vacuuming down there, but then I�d dislodge the cats. I have a gazillion cans of half-used paint down there and was able to locate 3 gallons of exterior paint I can recycle next month since I now have vinyl on the house.

I did also manage to vacuum the upstairs, but aside from that, nothing too strenuous. Oh yeah, I did run the soaker hose for about 1.25 hours this morning in the veggie garden. I have lots of green cherry tomatoes and can�t wait to start enjoying them. I also suddenly noticed I have yellow wax beans ready for picking. Haven�t spent much time in the garden at all, and I really need to do some weeding there and tie up some gangly tomato vines. I did hang a 2nd cucumber beetle trap today.

Been listening to the radio and doing a few odds and ends online. Got paid $68 from my IT client, for editing his memos and emails. The hardest thing I�ll be doing is part 2 of lawn mowing at around 6 pm. Has to be done. I�ll reward myself with an ice cold Beck�s beer in a freezer-cold glass.

It�s hard to find the get-up-and-go on such hot days like this one. I made 3 calls to have guys come out to give me estimates on a whole house humidifier for my furnace.

I made my own German potato salad, which uses vinegar and chicken broth instead of mayo. It also has chopped up hard-boiled eggs. I cooked up the entire (5 lb?) bag of organic potatoes for it becus organic potatoes tend to go bad on me very quickly and I hate wasting the money.

Before I knew it, it was time for lunch at mom�s. I brought some extra potato salad in a cooler with me. Spent some time there catching up with her and browsing her studio since I get to pick out some art for my upcoming birthday. I discovered an oil painting that looked VAGUELY familiar, an impressionistic painting of 3 sailboats on the water. I liked it a lot. She informed me it was �very old,� and then when I became curious, she went to see if she could find a record of when she did it. She discovered that she�d painted it early in her career, in the �60s/70s.� Nothing more precise than that. It could well have been painted when I was just a child. Knowing that made me want to own it even more. Who knows? It�s possible we may have a family photo somewhere with that painting in the background. Wouldn�t that be cool?

Before I�d left for my mother�s, I decided I was going to put the cats in the basement with their food and water. So I was able to turn all the fans off, but I had to put 2 44 lb. boxes of cat litter in in front of the cat door at the top of the basement stairs to keep Luther from scratching his way out. He tried, but when I chastised him several times, he seemed to settle down, and when I came home I was happy to see he�d found a spot on a blanket on a lawn chair down there.

I may have to put them down there again tomorrow for the afternoon, when it�s been hottest. I don�t think the heat is good for them, especially Luther with his long fur. I�ve tried cutting it a few times, but he always hates this and hisses at me. It doesn�t hurt him at all but he�s so fussy about things like that.
I knew I had to start mowing the lawn soon so I went out there to sit and contemplate the growing grass. I really had a hard time getting started because it was still too darn hot at 6 pm. Indoor house temp was 83 degrees, to give you an idea. But, I did finally begin the mowing and will have to continue it 2 more nights to finish front and back.

Oh, I finished my spending on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, the holy grail of cards. Now i can just focus on my bankamericard travel card for a $500 spend; have also racked up $122. Easy peasy.