I started the new job and finished up my first week. The 1st day was probably the worst, mainly becus I wasn't kept busy the whole day and felt rather useless and unproductive.And being new, I was anxious to demonstrate my value. Plus, the circular floor plan confused me and I had trouble remembering which way was the kitchen, and how to get back from the restrooms without having an ID badge yet.

I met my boss the 2nd day. On the third day, I felt better, because I just decided to start working on a project we discussed the day before, even though I wasn't explicitly told to forge ahead, but she did say during my interview she wanted someone who could work well on their own.

I'm just used to being given specific instructions on what is expected of me, and that didn't really happen here. I don't yet know if that's her style, or perhaps she wanted to see if I'd take the initiative. They consider me a "consultant," but really, I'm just someone who has a lot of experience and was hired through an agency.

I emailed some preliminary work I'd done to my boss on the 2nd day (she works in another state and is only up in my office 1 or 2 times a week), and then started second-guessing myself that perhaps I shouldn't have done so becus she hadn't asked me to do it, she might think I was jumping the gun, or working a bit helter-skelter when we weren't all on the same page. Then I started thinking, gee, maybe they'll fire me.

So I was relieved when she emailed me back, made a few simple comments on what I'd written and suggested I run it by another person in the office.

When I showed him what I'd done, I also showed him more copy I'd done by that time, and getting some positive feedback from him was reassuring so that I'd have more confidence when showing it to my boss and her boss.

What I really liked about my new employer is they gave me a choice of what hours to work, as long as someone from the dept. was there while I was. So I moved my starting time back a bit (to 9 am) so as to give myself more time in the a.m., and perhaps more daylight. Nothing I hate more than 1. getting up in the dark and 2. rushing to get ready for work. Becus I have just a half hour for lunch, not the mandated hour i had at my last job, I get home a half hour earlier, too, which is great. Yes, I'll miss having a full hour to walk on my lunch break, but there's not a lot of places at the new place to walk without getting in your car anyway. And if I ask myself if I'd rather have an extra half hour at lunch, or an extra half hour at home, the answer is simple.

On my 2nd day there, I invited the other new writer who started the same day I did to check out the cafe in the building. We brought our lunches outside and talked. i discovered that in his last job in another city, he was working in the building right next door to mine. Then I discovered that he worked a year at another employer's of mine that I left 11 years ago. Small world. He joined about a year after I left, so we never met.

Becus I'm working on contract now, I've been asked to keep my weekly hours to no more than 40 hours, so this means I don't have to worry about staying late for appearances as so many salaried employees do.

The people in my group are very professional, but also very friendly and approachable. I have my own roomy cubicle and even that is better than the "open office, collaborative" environment at my last job, which really just meant NO PRIVACY. Ironically, my employer at that time got an award for its innovative, architect-designed office space, but if anyone had bothered to ask any employee what they thought of it, they would have said they hated it, becus we all did.

My first project is actually fairly interesting and will require me to review each of the 100 or so courses they now offer, in order that I can write a synopsis of it in the catalog I'm writing. It's a great exercise for someone new to the company.

The building I'm in is very contemporary, in a newer corporate park with lots of big companies. It's 10 stories high and the nice thing about it is that you don't see miles and miles of parked cars and parking lots becus we all park in low-profile parking garages. In front of my building is a large circular drive and in the center there are lush flower plantings, tables and chairs for employees to eat lunch in and a large fountain. It's all very nice.

I am feeling the results of having lived a year extremely frugally while I wasn't working. I spent a total of about $600 (!!!) on clothing the week before I started the job: 1. 5 blouses, 2. 1 lightweight jacket, 3. 1 sleeveless vest, 4. 1 sweater, 5. 1 suede jacket, 6. 1 pair of shoes, 7. 4 pairs of slacks, 8. a pair of corduroy pants.

The clothes were really needed becus as it turns out, they don't really dress business casual, altho Fridays you can wear jeans.

But I didn't stop there. Today I went to a craft show and bought a bracelet, a watch, a necklace and some earrings. The prices at several tables was unbelievably affordable. At one booth, they were selling gemstone jewelery sets of a necklace with matching earrings for $25!

Of course, we can't forget the $725 I spent on a new computer a few weeks earlier. (That was before I even got the new job.)

Clearly I am feeling a little out of control and I'd better reel it in. I can afford it now, but it's not my intent to spend all the extra money I make. I'll be adding an extra $1,000 a month to the mortgage payment and $1,000 to my money market account for savings.

I was looking forward to just chilllin' today, but shortly before the new job, I got a huge new freelance assignment from my oldest freelance client. I didn't want to turn it down becus I intend to keep freelancing when I retire and I don't want to destroy connections. So I said I could do it (it's a 40 to 60-page case study he needs to submit in order to get a very valuable license designation) but I could only work on it on weekends. He just wants it done by the end of the year, so he was ok with that. I intended to start work on it today but he wasn't home when I called. well, the ball's in his court now.

No, these aren't my measurements, they're my heat settings, starting today.

Yes, I joined the No Heat Challenge, but I figured I would allow myself one true luxury: not freezing my butt off in my own home all winter. It's truly one of the things I hate about winter, aside from the shorter days and cold outdoor temperatures, not to mention snow.

Soooo, these will be the warmest settings I think I've had.

Here they are, broken down by time sequence:

Wake up at 6:30 a.m., 66 degrees.

Leave for work, 7:35 a.m., 63 degrees.

Arrive home after work, 6:30 p.m., 66 degrees.

Evening cool-down at 8:45 p.m. and thru the night, 62 degrees.

In past years, I've had the daytime temps while I'm at work much cooler, in the neighborhood of 59 degrees. But one of my new cats, Waldo, has short hair and seems to get chilled very easily.

Since my recent experience with his infection has shown me what a challenge it can be getting him to the vet, I'd like to keep him as healthy as possible. No sniffles!

And the temps while I'm home have never been warmer than 65 degrees, so 66 will be living in style!

I start the new job tomorrow. Getting REAL nervous!

Yesterday I went to a Sustainability expo. The keynote speaker was one of just 26 certified trainers for the Transition Towns movement.

I hadn't heard of this before, but it's based on taking action now (rather than wait for politicians to get their act together) to respond to two inevitable events: 1) peak oil, which many say has already arrived, and 2) global climate warming.

It's not a question of "if," it's a matter of "when." Those few people who still question the science of global warming can't help but remind me of those idiots who say the Holocaust never happened.

There are transition towns across the country. There are more, I think, in the west, an area that always seems to be more forward-thinking than the rest of the country, save for Vermont and Massachusetts.

It's a grassroots effort where people use a community-based approach to conserve energy and natural resources, reduce fossil fuel dependence, shop responsibly and maintain a green home and garden. (Personally, I love the idea of getting together with neighbors to share use of certain things, like perhaps a lawnmower and other garden tools, bulk buying of groceries, etc.)

The great thing about going green is that green behavior is always good for your wallet as well as the earth.

I've always had an interest in environmental issues, but they tend to get put on the back burner while other things take precedence. However, I always try to incorporate green behavior in my personal life, by:

* avoiding use of the clothes dryer
* reusing my own grocery bags
* driving an old Honda Civic
* growing an organic vegetable garden
* turning the thermostat down in winter
* installing CFL light bulbs
* getting a home energy audit
* reducing junk mail
* driving less and combining trips
* maximizing driving efficiency by avoiding speeding, or accelerating or braking quickly
* eating less than 1 meat meal per week
* not living in the biggest house I could afford
* curbing spending on useless or unnecessary items
* pursuing a minimalist lifestyle, using only what I really need (this is a work in progress)
* recycling as much as possible, including certain plastics, metal cans, newspapers, junk mail and electronics
* using a battery-charged lawn mower and weed whacker
* finding ways to reuse items rather than tossing them in the trash (library donations, Craig's List sales, gifting to friends and family, Good Will)
* avoiding the purchase of one-use food goods in over-packaged, non-recyclable containers, or disposal paper plates and cups. Walking out of a store carrying my purchase of one or two items WITHOUT the bag (but with the receipt).
* Cooking primarily with my toaster oven/convection oven instead of the full-sized oven. Using the energy-efficient microwave often.

On my list of future things to do, I'd really like to start a compost pile and give up using my car more, but in this area, the car is King.

I'm also interested in the concept of "co-housing," but have yet to tour one of their communities in Massachusetts. The idea is that you give up your private backyard, and the isolation that goes with it. Instead, you dine together in a communal dining room,sharing responsibility for meals, and you share outdoor living space. I have mixed feelings about it, but it's something I'd still like to explore to see how it works in practice.

Today I will be caulking interior windows; the home energy audit I had 2 weeks ago revealed small loss of warm air in the the window trim that goes over the windows themselves. The cracks were too thin for the guy to caulk, but I'm confident I can do it myself.

Here are some random Thursday thoughts...

Briefly spoke to recruiter; looks like my start date for the new job will not be this Monday, but this Wednesday. Fine with me; it'll be a short work week and I can EASE into the f/t schedule. (I have a terrible time staying awake from about 1 to 4 pm and must drink gallons of strong tea.)

I found a dead squirrel in my yard this a.m. I wanted to make sure it was dead so I held off on burying it, but i guess i should do so before the torrential downpour tonight.

Went to Kohl's to do more clothes shopping for work and i found 2 very comfortable pants that with coupon cost $15 each. They have elastic waistband but look very professional. I think I'm all set on pants now. Still can't find blue shoes, but I did pick up a pair of good brown leather shoes I dropped off at the cobbler's. He lowered the heal by a half inch and it made a huge difference, so I let him have a second pair i have of the same shoe, in black. Gee, maybe i should give him some leather boots i rarely wear for the same reason; heel too high.

My neighbor's begun the process of paving his gravel driveway, which is about 200 feet long and goes alongside my house. Dump truck and other heavy equipment making a racket all day, starting at 7:10 am. HATE IT. They've left now.

Waldo is still shaking his head but now i think it's becus the vet put a sticky ointment in his ears which is sort of leaking out now. His fur's a mess, and he doesn't like the taste of it and of course I can't clean it up for him, although he will rub his head against me, so now I've got ointment smears all over me. Eww. He has completely forgiven me now, so that's good. No more stares that say, "You betrayed me."

I got a big freelance project from a longtime client; didn't feel i could turn it down altho i'd rather not be bothered with it now that i'm starting a new job. Somehow, I'll have to squeeze it in. I already told him I'd have to limit my freelance work to weekends, and luckily his timetable is "this year," so i have time.

I picked up a nice set of 9 glass food containers with locking lids from Costco today. $30 - $6 coupon = $24, or $2 and change for each container, which i thought was a decent price. I just don't trust plastic anymore, or anything made in China, for that matter. Sheetrock, anyone?

At Costco, I got in a conversation with a guy who was behind me in line but asked if he could rest his case of water bottles on my cart. We talked about BPA and he got into a story telling me about these shakes he drinks for breakfast with pea extract for protein, various fruits and flax seed.

I let him go ahead of me since all he had was the water. He said if you want to know more, give me a call, and gave me his card. Since he talked so much about smoothies, i assumed he was in the business of selling them or something, and I was surprised to see that "Karl" is actually a certified financial planner with offices in NYC, but lives local to me.

Was he interested in me or something? I noticed no ring on his finger. If so, it's been a while since i've been hit on! Wow. After passing 50, I feel completely asexual. How flattering.

I scheduled a vet visit for Waldo today for his ear infection after seeing that he would enter the open cat carrier to go after treats I threw in there.

Once he stepped inside, I closed the door very quickly on him becus he is SO quick, I didn't want him to bolt out of there.

He was very upset, but surely it was better than having the Cat Wrangler return. Now that was traumatic.

Anyway, the vet, who got his schooling at Cornell, seems to be very good. He used a gas mask over the cat's face to sedate him and thoroughly cleaned out his ears, gave him an antibiotic injection. I also asked him to check out his teeth and luckily, they were fine. No more teeth needing to be pulled. He gave me more antibiotics in pill form to start giving him. The culture results indicating what kind of infection it is won't be back from the lab for 10 days, but i guess knowing what it is would help indicate which antibiotic to give him, although as i said, he's got me starting him on them right away.

I thought I was prepared for a big vet bill. I was thinking $200-something. Umm, no, the bill was $405. I nearly keeled over. Let's hope I don't have to return with him.

Right now, Waldo is back home but hiding in the basement. I feel terrible becus I brought some food down there for him (I didn't feed him since last night becus i had a feeling they might have to anesthetize him to clean out his ears) and when i walked away to clean the litter boxes, I saw Waldo slink away to hide behind my well tank. In other words, he's afraid of me.

I sure hope he gets over that soon. I hate the thought that this would set him back. He's made such great progress. I also need him to accept treats from me so i can hide his pills in them. I doubt that will happen today but am hoping for tomorrow.

Today was the day I had to report for possible jury duty. When it was my turn to be individually interviewed, the judge was reviewing my form on which I wrote I'd been out of work for a year and just got a job offer last week.

She said, are you trying to say you'd rather not do jury duty? I said yes and she said to the plaintiff's and defendant's attorneys, in this economy, I'd be inclined to dismiss this juror. Do you have any questions for her?

Neither did, and so I was free.

The case would probably have been interesting. It was a criminal case involving a 44-year-old man (he was there during the proceedings) who robbed and cut someone with a knife on a street corner in broad daylight, 1:30 pm. I didn't feel much pity for him.

Hooray. It would have really put a kink in my plans for this week.

When I got out home from jury selection, it was such a nice day that i was able to sufficiently motivate myself to work on the door and 2 windows on the west side of the house, meaning, caulking and scraping the top trim above the door and windows, which doesn't last long since it's fully exposed to the elements.

Tomorrow I hope to repaint them.

I also started weeding the long neglected backyard perennial beds. I mostly concentrate on the front yard becus that's the part viewed by any visitors, plus it's sunnier and more open and I guess I gravitate toward that more.

I also planted 10 allium bulbs.

Tomorrow is painting those west facing windows, bringing the cat to the vet in the morning and on to Kohl's with a coupon to wrap up my clothes shopping in advance of starting the new job.

I still don't have a specific start date, though I'm planning around it being this Monday. Maybe tomorrow I'll email my contact at the agency and see if they've finished (or started) their background checks on me. Truth be told, I'll really like to have an additional week before I start, but don't know if that will happen.

If I had another week, I could possibly get more insulation in my attic and sneak in an overnight trip to see my dad. And maybe a single kayaking trip.

It was a busy day.

This morning I left for an MS luncheon sponsored by Teva Neuroscience, the makers of the drug I take. They usually have one of these a month, and since I wasn't working, I've attended 3 or 4 over the summer. They're usually held in a nice hotel and are dinner and a physician lecture, but this was a lunch at a rundown pizza joint called "Italian Pavillion."

Still, it was a free lunch. I had 3 slices (!) and a cannoli for dessert.

Afterwards, I dropped off a pair of work shoes at the cobbler's. I wanted him to take a half inch off the heel becus I find the ideal height for me is 1 1/2 inches; the heel was 2 inches, and it just makes me tired walking around in them after a while. His charge is $20, which I thought was a little high, but while I knew i could probably shave a few dollars off that by going elsewhere, this place is just a few miles from home. If I like how they turn out, I have an identical pair of shoes in another color and will have him do those as well.

Then I went for a mammogram.

After that, I stopped at the bank to make a deposit and also to buy some postage stamps (at S&S). Then I went to Wal-Mart to stock up on Fancy Feast for the boys so I don't have to make a special trip there once I start working.

After that I stopped at Xpect Discounts, the place I go to buy Revlon Color Silk at $2.99 a box, but for the 3rd consecutive time, I saw they were out of "Light Brown" and still hadn't restocked it. Annoying, plus I'm all out so will have to go to Walgreens, I guess.

I had to call a special court number to see if I indeed need to show up for jury duty tomorrow. It was confirmed. DARN. That really will screw things up if I get called; I was counting on using this week to do last minute stuff before I start work. I hope I don't have to waste the better part of a day hanging around there waiting to be called in. DARN

I was hoping to get Waldo to the vet finally for his ear infection. Another shelter worker loaned me 2 really large carriers. I've set them up in the bedroom and have thrown cat treats in there so Waldo gets used to walking in there. Once I have an appt. set up (they're closed on the weekends) I can simply close the door, SO much simpler than having the cat wrangler here, who, in any event, never called me back when I asked her for help a 2nd time, so I can only presume she doesn't really want to.

I'm trying to make every day count before the job begins. My start date is still TBD, but I'm guessing it'll be 9/20.

So yesterday I spent $200 on clothes. I got 3 pairs of slacks ($25 ea), 1 blouse ($10), 1 sweater ($52), a 1ightweight jacket and 2 bras ($14 ea). Everything was reasonably priced, except for that sweater, and I'm debating whether I should return it. I mean I like it, but I'm not in the habit of spending that much on one piece of clothing. I got everything at Macy's, and between my coupon and all the sales they have, it's sometimes hard to tell exactly what price an item will ring up at the register.

I was also looking for a good pair of shoes in navy, but could not find navy anywhere, except in suede which i don't like cus once it gets dirty or scuffed, it's hard to clean. I also wanted navy pants, but again, the clothing industry has something against this color, for I could not find navy slacks.

I think I'm going to get a half inch taken off the heals of 2 pairs of leather shoes I have. They're just a little too high to be comfortable in all day long. I meant to do it years ago, but at about $15 each pair, I hesitated. Now I think I'll do it as the shoes are in good condition.

Yesterday I also caulked, sanded and repainted the tops of the outdoor trim above 3 windows on the house. I'm glad I'm getting to this, though I'm not sure I'll be able to do the rest of the windows. Next I have the back of the house, which will be easy to access.

I started reading a big fat Nolo book on estate planning, just to brush up. I probably should do a review of variable annuity product features. It's been a while.

I made a BIG pot of chili today so I could use the tomatoes from the garden I cooked up yesterday. I had to use it today becus there is NO room in my freezer. So I added green bell peppers from the garden, plus dried kidney beans I soaked and cooked beforehand, plus onion and ground turkey and chili powder.

I just saw the second half of a charming movie on Channel 11 (WPIX) about the life of chidren's author Beatrix Potter. It starred Renee Zellwiger and it was just delightful with wonderful scenery. I was entranced.

I really need to lose weight. There's nothing like a department store dressing room mirror to make that painfully obvious. I've been telling myself to walk all day, but have yet to go.

I sold a pile of firewood to someone today for $55. I measured its length, depth and width and calculated it was about 40% of a cord, so I priced it low for a quick sale. Just one guy responded, but that's all I needed.

I went to the recruiter's today and filled out a bunch of paperwork for health insurance, permission for background checks and stuff like that.

It does appear that if I wanted to keep my COBRA, I'd lose the subsidy, so it would be cheaper to go with the recruiter's plan ($250/month) than COBRA sans subsidy (about $500/month).

I plan to call my COBRA administrator tomorrow just to verify I can't keep the subsidy if the recruiter's company offers health insurance, and that I can't get COBRA back if the contract job ends and no perm job materializes.

I will only be on the recruiter's health plan for 2 months. I'm not eligible until I've worked 30 days and then you start on the first of the month, so that means I wouldn't go on it til Nov. 1.

I'll be able to order the one med I take on an ongoing basis, the Copaxone, using my current plan, and it's a 3-month supply that would take me into January, when, hopefully I'd be able to pick up the employer's plan as a permanent employee.

So I may not even use the recruiter's health plan at all, but I'll still have to pay out a total of $500 for the 2 months' coverage just so I don't have a lapse in coverage. If I did, that would enable future insurers to deny me coverage of my pre-existing illness for a year. Don't you just love the ins and outs of our current health system?

I just need to pick between the POS and HMO plans they offer. I can't remember the difference, but I guess I'll do a quick online check to make sure that either or both list my current doctors as in-network. If my doctors are in network for both plans, I'll just choose the plan with the cheapest monthly premium.

Using paycheckcity.com to calculate deductions from my future paychecks there, I see I'll net $5449 a month. I can live on $3,000 to $3500 a month, so with that nearly $2,000 surplus I'm tempted to save half and apply the other half as a prepayment to my mortgage each month.

Tomorrow I'm going clothes shopping, but not before I do an inventory of my closet. I'll list how many pairs of slacks I have for instance, and can fit into them, and in what colors; same for tops. That way I won't accidentally duplicate what I already have.

I'm still about 11 pounds heavier than I was before I was laid off, and that bit of weight make a big difference in how clothes fit me. If I haven't lost that weight having so much more time available to lose it, I doubt I will once I go back to work. One can dream, though.

I got a job offer today, contingent on my passing the background checks, which will be no problem.

I spoke with the recruiter and will meet with her for the first time tomorrow to give them a voided check for direct deposit and fill out a bunch of forms.

She expects I will start in a week or week and a half.

I haven't even met the hiring manager (!), nor have they asked for references.

This is the full-time contract job that will last the rest of 2010 and then I would presumably and hopefully renegotiate my salary for a perm position with the company for 2011. My hourly pay will be $50 an hour x 40 hours = $2,000 gross a week.

Sing with me now, "I'm in the money, I'm in the money...."

I have emailed my contact at the other place I interviewed at and explained my situation and that if an opportunity existed for me at their company, I would need to know fairly quickly.

In the event they came through with an offer as well, I doubt it would be as highly paid as the first place, but if it was competitive and a decent offer,I might just go with them becus that job is a perm job while the other one is a contract job with no guarantee it'll go perm in 2011, although that's the plan and they don't think there will be a problem.

So I'll be curious to see if I hear back from the 2nd company, one way or the other.

September marks my one-year anniversary of my layoff in 2009. A year is a long time not to have worked, so you can imagine my delight and excitement at the thought of landing such a high-paying job.

Still, it's going to be a demanding job and I have all the usual feelings of nervousness about whether I can do it. The commute is longish (45 to 50 minutes) and I'm sure it will be an adjustment working for such a large company (about 2,000 people in this location).

But anyway, i spoke to my friend,my father and my mother about it and now i'm telling you! It was all I could do to restrain myself from yelling outside from my front door step, "I got a job!"

Soon, I will be an expert on all things estate planning-related.

I have been living like a pauper for so long, but you know what? I don't plan to change things much once I start; I plan to sock away the max, although 401k eligibility won't happen til 2011 if all goes well.

So, if you're curious how I made my $27, here's what I sold:

* 3 Beatles records for $3
* An unopened piece of florist foam for .75
* A VCR for $10
* An Indian style throw rug (small) $9
* A book I got for free, $5

I hung around the house most of the day waiting for the vet to call. The 7 days of meds for Waldo's ear infection doesn't seem to have done anything, and I'd left the vet a message asking if we could try something else.

Anyway, by the time he called, I didn't have time to bike ride to the farmer's market, but I did drive over. I bought a loaf of bread ($6) and 8 oz of pesto sauce ($8). Not cheap, but a treat.

I also made a quick drive over to Costco cus i was out of milk. I can no longer get 2 or 3 gallons at a time and freeze some as my freezer is completely full of garden produce. While there, I also bought a rotisseries chicken that i had for lunch and a fresh pineapple.

I was on the phone again with Dell tech support to get help in taking apart my old computer so i could remove and destroy the hard drive. I succeeded in removing it and then took out in the driveway where I proceeded to pound it with a hammer. The metal is hard and it took a while to really dent it up good, until I could shake it and hear pieces rattling around inside.

It was a hot, summer-like day; I believe the rest of the week will be much cooler,and more fall-like.

Tomorrow will be very busy: a run to the vet to pick up more meds and probiotics for Waldo, a dump run with my old electronics to recycle, helping my neighbor drop off all her unsold garage sale items AND I want to start work sanding and then repainting the top trim on my first floor windows. I noticed the other day when I was doing touch-up painting on the exterior from a ladder that the top of one window I was near was all peeling; if I let it go it will quickly rot as it's exposed to rain and snow, which in fact collects on it. It should be slanted or something, but it's not; it's more like a shelf.

It should be fairly easy to do becus I would only need to do the first floor windows; the 2nd floor windows are protected by the gutters and soffits and the first floor is easier to access by ladder than the 2nd floor. Plus, I only need to sand and repaint the top of the trim, not all the trim around the windows. So I figure I have 8 windows to do. I'll start with one and see how it goes. Of course, it'll take longer than a day to do but if I even do just 1 a day, I'll feel like I'm accomplishing something.

This week should be a good time to do it; no real rain forecast and cooler than we've had, but still warm enough for painting outside.

I've been picked (again) for jury duty in a few weeks, but i doubt i'll be chosen becus of a certain job i had investigating insurance fraud cases years ago. I think that will disqualify me, according to their questionnaire.

My days are always filled with things to do; I don't know how I'd squeeze a full-time job back into my life.

We must've spent 6 weeks getting ready for my neighbor's garage sale.

The sale took place on Saturday and Sunday, and my neighbor netted about $335. I brought a few things over and made $27. My friend Shawn, who cuts my neighbor's lawn, also sold some stuff.

At the end of the day, I put a few items down by the road with a "Free" sign, including a small sleeper bed, a wobbly coat rack, upholstered chair, ironing board and old filing cabinet, plus a real tobaggan. Every one of those things was taken.

Now she can park her car in the garage!

Tomorrow I'll help her load all the unsold stuff to drop off at either the landfill, Good Will or the Senior Center for their white elephant sale.

She's thinking about having her NEXT sale in the spring becus she has a houseful of unwanted possessions, and what we sold this weekend was just the stuff stored in the garage.

She said she might use the money to take all of us out to a nice lunch. (She had 2 other friends who showed up for the tag sale.) I urged her to spend it on something she's always wanted but couldn't afford, so now she said she might buy a digital camera with it. (She's always used those disposables, which are so not practical.)

All I can say is that it sure was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it becus I'm a natural de-clutterer.

Yesterday, I got up on the ladder and did touch up painting of three separate spots on the front of the house where the paint is peeling. Actually, the paint is peeling all over the place, but these were among the most visible places. I plan to forestall painting, or possibly vinyl siding until next spring.

I also got my new printer hooked up to the computer and I cut up the last of a huge 7-foot length of that Tree of Paradise branch that had fallen in my yard a month ago. I added it to the small wood pile growing in my driveway which I plan to try to sell on Craig's List for some cash. As soon as I calculate what fraction of a cord my pile represents, cus I know a cord goes for $200 around here, delivered.

Today I'll be biking over to the farmer's market for a nice loaf of whole grain bread. I may also read the local weekly paper at the library, a favorite haunt of mine, and I hope to hear from one or the other of the 2 jobs I interviewed with sometime this week.

My computer problems are now mostly history, although I still can't print; my new printer has been ordered and should be here on Friday.

I'm loving my enhanced 4 GB of memory; what a world of difference it's making.

A technician came to the house last night and replaced the motherboard, memory and power supply on my brand new Dell, and whatever was causing my problem was fixed by those replacements.

As for what's happening with that job interview, I had, I can tell you now they're doing a background check on me, so I guess i'm still in the running.

On top of that, I also have a phone interview set up with a large financial company in my area. They need a content writer for their continuing education programs, to focus largely on estate planning.

This, after many months of inactivity on the job front.

After that phone interview, which I'll spend all morning preparing for, I'll head south to do another focus group thing with a potato chip company. I'm the "floater," meaning I'll only be interviewed on my potato chip eating habits should one of their scheduled participants fail to show up. Either way, I'll collect $125 for my trouble.

On Friday, I'm having my home undergo an energy efficiency test, complete with blower door test to detect hidden drafts, up to 25 CFLS bulbs, insulation around doors and windows, etc. The work is subsidized by the electric company and normally costs $75, but I got a discount coupon from the Sierra Club website so i only have to pay $50, and i think the cost of those CFL bulbs will practically add up to $50, so it will be worth it.

I'm curious what that blower door test will reveal. This is a 75+ year old house so I certainly expect drafts to be present, although they don't seem severe enough that I really notice them, except for under and around my doorways. The windows seem ok, but who knows?

I went to the bank that holds my mortgage and gave them a check for $22K to apply to my mortgage, bringing the balance down to $38,000. I didn't plan it this way, but having done that means that with my normal payments, I'll have the thing paid off in 6 years, which is the same timeframe I'd been planning on for the many years I've prepaid the mortgage.

I still plan to continue with prepayments, once I get a job, so I expect and hope to pay off the mortgage before the 6 years are up.

Now I don't have to feel so bad as I continue to pay 6% on my mortgage (can't refinance when you don't have a job) and my investments make around 1.2%.

About $12,000 of that $22,000 prepayment came from a taxable mutual fund I liquidated. That will be considered taxable income, but I still think that even with that I should remain in a lower 15% tax bracket.

I'd been planning all year to do a Roth IRA conversion becus i knew my tax bracket would be low, since I'm unemployed. But I decided that paying down the mortgage would have a bigger impact on my finances then doing a big Roth IRA conversion.

So, I got my new Dell Inspiron 570 MT computer this past Thursday.

I spent the better part of Thursday, and part of the day on Friday, resolving various issues, and I'm still not completely up and running.

On the plus side, I am internet- and email connected. The difference in speed between my new computer and the old one is like night and day. I love the wireless mouse and keyboard, but I'm still getting used to the keyboard.

But here are some of the problems:

In the package, I purchased 3 years of McAfee software, but when I got the computer, it indicated I only had 30 days. So that necessitated a phone call to Dell, and then a 3-way phone call with McAfee, and about an hour of time to resolve this simple omission.

A bigger problem is that the Word/PP/Excel that's apparently on my machine is not accessible to me until I "unlock" it using a product key code which Dell was supposed to ship to me under separate cover. (I guess this prevents people from loading the software onto more than one computer.) I was supposed to get that from UPS last MONDAY, but despite the UPS website indicating each day that it was "in transit," I never got it. So Dell finally agreed to send out another product code key which I'm now supposed to get Monday or Tuesday.

It's a real pain in the butt becus i can't use my computer now to respond to a job posting I saw over the weekend, if I want to attach my resume and writing samples, or do any work involving Word documents.

The 3rd and final straw was when I couldn't get my printer to work. When I called Dell tech support yet again, they said that my Dell printer was not compatible with Windows 7. It'snot that old,maybe 5 years, and works fine. You would have thought that the Dell salesperson who sold me the computer might have inquired what printer I had, especially since I ordered a print cartridge from him in the same purchase. Since I needed to tell him the model printer so he could determine the cartridge size, you'd think that would have alerted him to the fact I couldn't use it.

So that means yet another outlay of money for the printer and cartridges. I did make arrangements to return the cartridge I purchased which is now useless to me and i have a call in to Dell sales asking for a callback.

I hope to get a credit toward to purchase of a Dell printer for all the inconvenience of having to wait over a week to use the computer waiting for the software key, and now the lack of a printer.

It's all been very annoying.

On top of that, all the photos i copied onto disks apparently didn't take. It looks like I copied empty folders. I know i could have used a flash drive instead of 4 disks, but i had them here and didn't want to spend more money if i didn't have to. Looks like I'll now have to reconnect to the old hard drive and try the process all over again, this time using a flash drive.

BA, I do wish you were here to help me!!

I had no luck trying to get ointment in the cat's ears. I called the vet and asked if they have an oral antibiotic I could try instead. They agreed (why didn't anyone suggest that before?) and Waldo's now into his 3rd day on the pills, which i can much more easily hide in the center of a soft snack and which he'll then swallow whole. I have yet to see any lessening of head scratching and shaking but I pray this does the trick. Is it possible it could be a fungal infection, not a bacterial infection, that wouldn't respond to antibiotics??

My other piece of major news:

Had a conversation with my absentee builder/handyman..you know, the guy who doe great work, like my sun room, but who never finishes a job o time. Anyway, he finally did show up on Thursday, but only to say he hadn't forgotten about me and would definitely be here by Saturday. (He wasn't.) But anyway, we had a talk which got around to Dave Ramsey and paying off the mortgage and all that.

This was the final nudge I needed to finally take definitive action. I cashed in 1 mutual fund and $9,000 from an online money market fund for a total of $22K going into my checking account. When it clears my checking, I'm writing out a check to the bank that holds my mortgage and I will pay off not the whole thing, but a big chunk of it, thereby saving myself a lot in interest.

Yeah, I may be unemployed, but it just doesn't make sense to have money sitting in accounts earning around 1.25% when my mortgage is 6%. (I can't refinance becus I'm unemployed.)

Hopefully I'll be able to pay down that mortgage next week. I'm not sure I'm ready to pay off the whole thing (cashing in more mutual funds would be considered taxable income that would bump me into a higher tax bracket, and right now I'm in the comfy 15% bracket where I'd like to stay this year), altho I could, but doing this much will make me feel better. The balance should then be about $38K.

Even after paying down the mortgage, I'll still have about $94K in taxable money left.

I had a 9:30 a.m. appointment at the vet to bring Waldo in to treat his ear infection.

At 8:30 a.m., a woman I hadn't met before, Kelly, came over to the house as prearranged to catch Waldo for me and put him in the carrier. She's the person I referred to before as "the cat wrangler," and I had been put in touch with her by a volunteer at the shelter where I adopted Waldo.

I had corralled Waldo into a small spare bedroom upstairs with very little furniture in it earlier. He was already freaked about that, but there was no avoiding it.

Kelly went up there, closed the door and I waited nervously downstairs in the kitchen. There was a lot of commotion and bumping around and I heard Waldo's plaintive, distraught meow, as if to say, "WHY are you doing this to me?"

She got him in the carrier and brought him downstairs. I thanked her profusely and offered her some homegrown tomatoes, which she refused. She had taken time off from work to do this for me and I was very grateful becus I HAD NO OTHER OPTIONS.

She said he looked very healthy and did not think he was underweight; she said he was all muscle. (She works with a lot of very sickly, unhealthy wild cats who live outdoors.)

It was too early to leave for the vet appointment, so i figured Waldo would have 30 minutes or so to settle down in the carrier. He was hunkered down and pretty quiet when I looked in there.

I went upstairs and was getting ready to go. I heard some scratching and figured it was Waldo trying in vain to get out. I didn't go to check immediately, but did so perhaps 5 minutes later.

The door to the carrier was off its hinges and Waldo was gone.

I couldn't believe it. I decided to try to get Waldo back in the that spare bedroom. I first called the cat wrangler back and got her machine, so i left a message and said if there's any way you'd be willing to come back and do it again, that would be great.

Waldo was hiding in the basement. I got him out of the basement, but this time, Waldo wouldn't go upstairs to the 2nd floor becus he knew i had all the doors closed except the one to the room he'd been trapped in before, and he didn't want to go up there. I kept chasing him around downstairs in a circle, from living room to dining room to kitchen, hoping that as he rounded the front, he'd go up the stairs, but he wouldn't go up any more.

Finally, i got him up there and closed the door. He was panting and totally scared.

The cat wrangler called me back and said she didn't like to try catching a feral cat more than once in a day cus it was too traumatizing to the cat. She ended up calling the vet's for me and explaining the cat could not be caught and the vet's office agreed to give me the meds for his ear infection so i went down there and picked it up.

I have serious misgivings about whether I'll be able to administer the ointment, but I have to try. It will probably be a few days before Waldo even trusts me again to let me touch hm. I feel terrible for him, but what else could I do?

If I had thought through how difficult it would be to get him to a vet when needed, I probably wouldn't have ever adopted him. I just hoped and assumed at the time that I wouldn't need to get him to the vet for a while and that, in the meantime, I'd be able to get him used to me and unafraid.

He has made great progress. He often sleeps in bed with me, curling up behind my legs, and he loves to be petted and sometimes brushed. But if you move the wrong way, or too quickly, he leaps away.

He's still a very, very timid cat and I can't pick him up. I've been in a real quandary about this ear infection. I used to know a few vets who made house calls, but 1 stopped doing it cus i'm guessing it wasn't profitable enough for the trouble you go to, the other won't come out to my town (too far) and another one would, but wanted to charge me exorbitantly to do so, and being jobless for so long i have to be careful about expenses.

So you can imagine how relieved I was to have the cat wrangler come over to help me, only to feel incredibly at a loss when the cat escaped after she left.

It was an enjoyable, if not exhilarating day. The weather was overcast and on the cool side, and quite blustery outside, so unlike the late August weather that should be here.

The guy came to clean the furnace, to the tune of about $136. Didn't want to pay it, but I skipped the furnace cleaning last year and if there's one thing I always want running in tip top shape, it's the furnace in the middle of winter.

I guess I'll cave and schedule an appointment for a chimney cleaning, for the same reason: I skipped it last year as a money-saving measure.

I continued reading one of my favorite authors, Dr. Weil. I'm reading Spontaneous Healing, and I think this the third one of his books I've read.

Made a run to the landfill and also grocery shopping. I plan to make falafels tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be a stressful day, getting the cat to the vet. I'll be glad when it's over. The Cat Wrangler will be here around 8:30 a.m. to catch the cat and put him the carrier (hopefully).

And the trip to the vet will mean another big bill. (Sigh.)

Hoping to hear sometime this week from the place I interviewed at. They didn't say it would be this week, but I am hoping. At the same time, I don't want the job becus I enjoy my independence. Oh well. It's either one extreme or the other. If they think my salary request is too high, I hope to propose a 4-day week at a proportionately lower salary. I'd take less money for a permanent 3-day weekend any time. I did that once before with another job, and while I said, well, I can try to freelance on that 5th day, i never really did, just enjoyed the extra free time to myself and to be honest, the work week seemed just as long!

Waldo has a probable ear infection. I need to get him to the vet, but I can't catch him. He won't let me pick him up.

I contacted the shelter volunteer who helped me adopt him. I met her at a vet clinic midway between my house and the shelter, where she loaned me an illuminated magnifying scope that vets use to look for ear mites inside the ear. Luther's ears looked very clean, but Waldo won't let me look at his, especially since I have to lean in close right in front of him.

The shelter volunteer was at the vet's with another shelter cat who also had ear problems, and she invited me in to the exam room when the vet looked at the cat. This was nice becus I got a chance to meet the vet, who handles all the animals from the shelter, even while the head of the shelter owes him $90K in vet bills, which he's unlikely to pay since the shelter building is in foreclosure. The vet seems pretty nice, and he's treated Waldo before when he still lived at the shelter, when he had a really bad ear infection, so he's somewhat familiar with the cat.

The shelter volunteer also gave me the number of a woman in my town who's got a reputation as something of a Cat Wrangler. Meaning, she can catch any cat, or at least, that's what they say. I need to call her today to see if she'd be willing to help me. I'm really running out of options, and Waldo is very uncomfortable scratching and shaking his head all the time.

I hope to get him in to the vet's tomorrow if I can get an appointment then and have the Cat Wrangler help me.

So, I'm hopeful I'll find out this week whether I'll get a job offer or not. If a full-time job doesn't work out, freelance will be better than nothing.

If the best case scenario happens, I began thinking of things I'd like to take care of before I started work. Things that might otherwise require time away from work or coming in late to work, which I'd rather not do with a brand new job. I need to have my furnace cleaned (skipped it last year) and the chimney cleaned (skipped it last year). I don't need an oil change, so all set there, I may let my hair get a little longer for a while anyway.

It would be nice to squeeze in a kayak ride as I haven't gone all year, as well as a bike ride.

Someone I know invited me to pick some (organic!) peaches at a nearby farm, so I collected a small bag of small, hard, blotchy and green peaches, not expecting much. I let them sit on the counter for a week, then checked them and discovered they were all suddenly very ripe. I had to throw 2 out, but I tried eating one and it was very sweet.

So, adapting my grandmother's apple crisp recipe, I made a peach and wineberry crisp, using a bag of wineberries I'd picked on my property in July. I had to peel the peaches because they were so blotchy, and since they were so ripe, it was pretty messy. But oh so worth it. The crisp, with walnuts and raisins, is quite yummy.

If you'd like to see what else I've been picking, check out the photo at my gardening

I've had Windows XP since around 2003, I guess. It sucks. Nearly every day, I battle with my computer. It crashes, it locks up, I get strange error messages telling me a script is still running. Most of the time, after failing to shut down non-responsive programs, I have to just shut the computer off and re-boot.

And it is SUPER slow.Slow. Slow.

I guess it was the thought that I might possibly get the freelance writing job with this place I'm going to interview at tomorrow that got me thinking about replacing this wretched beast called a computer.

I'm looking at the Dell Inspiron 570 MT. It comes with 3 GB of memory, 2010 Word, Excel and Powerpoint and free shipping. It doesn't include the speakers or monitor, which I already have and will keep from my current computer. The only accessory I splurged on was a wireless keypad and mouse, which would be great on my cluttered desk. The security software I think I would buy separately as Dell only offers McAfee. The cost for all this is $624.

I'm not a gamer and I don't save videos; mainly, I use word for text documents and like to fool around with photos. So this is supposed to be more than ample for my needs.

It's gotten solid reviews, even the Editor's Choice, from PC Magazine.

It's still a lot of money, and I'm not working steadily. Also, I dread the thought of set-up and transferring all my documents/photos from my old computer to the new one.

If you have any feedback on my choice of computer or have experience with it, please let me know!

Isn't she a beauty?



I plan to eat her tonight.

This a.m. I turned in my Census bag and ID badge, so it's official. I'm done! I wished my crew leader (and her husband, who just got laid off) luck in finding a new job. She wished me the same.

I'm meeting a friend for lunch in a little while; it was a rescheduled birthday lunch for me that never came about last week. And I have a coupon good for a free appetizer, which we can split.

I went to the dump yesterday, but now the dump is closed on Mondays, so this was the SECOND time I had to return back home with my smelly trash and unload it back into the cans. The worst!! Went to the dump again today and got rid of it, finally.

After reading the aptly titled book, "Get a Life! You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well," I decided to recalculate how much $$ I'll need in retirement.

In past calculations, I never included or counted on Social Security benefits because of the uncertainty the program would remain intact or would have any money left. Perhaps politicians will tinker with it but I highly doubt it would go away completely just before millions of baby boomers enter the system.

Anyway, in the past, I always aimed for a million dollars, plus an extra $250,00 for out of pocket healthcare expenses. So, $1.2 million.

Now I've redone my calculations including Social Security benefits and I am happily surprised at how much LESS I'll need, even when factoring in 3% inflation.

My target retirement age is 60, just 9 years away.

Here, then, are my detailed calculations, if you care to follow along to the remarkable conclusion.

Social Security Benefit Estimates
(These numbers are based on the annual statements we all get from the SSA. Since my income varies widely from year to year, I decided to include the last 3 years worth of estimated SS benefits so I had a low and high range of expected benefits.)

SS Estimate If I collect benefits at age 62
2010 $1454 x 12 = $17,448
2009 $1430 x 12 = $17160
2008 $1355 x 12 = $16,260

SS Estimate At age 66 + 10 months
2010 $2094 x 12 = $25,128
2009 $2064 x 12 = $24,768
2008 $1949 x 12 = $23,388

Expense Estimates
To calculate my average annual expenses in retirement, I knew I could start with my existing annual expenses and then subtract certain things that won't be an issue when I retire, such as my mortgage, the bulk of what I spend on gas (for commuting) and a portion of what I spend on clothing (office attire).

I've tracked ALL my expenses for over 15 years, so I already know what I spent, pretty much to the dollar, for any given year.

Average annual expenses from last 5 years: $43,300
Average mortgage payments, last 5 years: $10,400
75% of average commuting gas, last 5 years: $486
(Last year, I had a 45-minute commute while prior to that I had a 3-minute commute.)
50% of average spent on clothing, last 5 years: 365

To calculate average annual expenses in retirement, subtract:
• Mortgage payments
• 75% of average gas expenses, last 5 yrs
• 50% of average spent on clothing last 5 yrs

Projected Average Annual Expenses in Retirement: $32,049

Retirement Scenario 1: Retire at age 60 and start collecting SS at age 62.

From age 60 until age 62 + 10 mths: (3 yrs)
Personal Savings needed: $32,049 x 3 = $96,147
SS benefits: 0

From age 62 + 10 mths. through 93 (30 years)
Personal Savings: $438,030 to $473,670

SS benefits, low-end estimate: $16,260 x 30 = $487,800

SS benefits, hi-end estimate: $17,448 x 30 = $523,440

Total Needed for Retirement at age 60 and Collecting SS at age 62: Between $534,177 and $569,817

Adjusted for inflation (assuming 3%) and 10 more years:
Between $715,797 and $$763,554
(Source p. 259 inflation chart, Get a Life book)

Retirement Scenario 2: Retire at age 60 and start collecting SS at age 66 + 10 mths. (full retirement age)

From age 60 until age 66+10 mths.(7 yrs)
Personal Savings: $224,343
Social Security: 0

From age 66+10 mths through 93 (26 years)
Personal Savings: $179946 - $225,186
SS benefits, low-end estimate: $23,388 x 26 = $608,088
SS benefits, hi-end estimate: $25,128 x 26 = $653,328

Total Needed for Retirement at Age 60 and Collecting SS at 66+ 10 mths:
Between $404,289 and $449,529

Adjusted for (3%) Inflation and 10 more Years:
Between $541,747 and $602,368

If Congress tinkers with SS benefits, it seems likely that any new law would affect benefits for those not yet collecting SS, and that any newly enacted law would take at least a year to take effect; even so, I could watch the news and take steps to start collecting SS at next birthday anniversary if I saw that Congress was discussing limiting benefits. (Of course, that's assuming they don't meddle with SS in the next 9 years, becus if they did then, I'd be stuck.)

Calculations DON'T account for 1) lower expenses due to selling house and moving into condo or 2) income earned from p/t work.

So, the interesting takeaway from all this number-crunching is how much LESS personal savings I'd need for retirement if I wait to collect Social Security until my full retirement age, 66 and 10 months, vs. taking SS benefits as soon as I was eligible to do so, which would be 5 years earlier, at age 62.

For all my money worries, if would seem likely that looking at my current investments of $459,000, I would reach the minimum target of $541,747 even if I made no further contributions.

So while I plan to add to my retirement anyway (once I get a job again), it's a huge comfort knowing that all I really need to do is stay the course, preserving the investments I already have. I won't be touching principal except to withdraw about $18K in a few years to buy a new car (the Ford Fiesta). I pay cash to avoid interest and car payments.

What do you think?

My productivity of yesterday has slid away today as quickly as the humidity returned to my area.

When it's warm and humid, I don't want to do anything! Can't muster up the energy!

So I headed for Wal-Mart this a.m. as I was running low on cat food. My cats go through cat food like crazy, and what a cost difference between my previous cat eating just dry food and my now 2 cats eating canned food only. Between the 2 of them, they eat 5 cans a day, plus Luther begs for his dry food by day's end, too.

Anyway, for someone who's trying her darndest not to spend anything, sometimes I just like to go to Wal-Mart and browse the store. I got a case of TP at .46 a roll (I guess that's good), 3 pairs of panties for $1 each and a summer top for $10, plus about 6 cases of cat food.

I also stopped at Ace to get more paint so I can finish painting the tool shed. Back when the Benjamin Store store was the only place in town, I'd often go there for paint just to avoid the longer drive to Home Depot. Well, what a price difference. Ben. Moore paint was approaching $50 a gallon (ridiculous, right?) while an gallon of Ace costs about $23.

But due to the just returned crappy heat, I won't be painting today, or the next few days, as far as I can tell.

Aside from that bit of shopping, I spent some time reading my newest book from the library, Insects and Gardens.

I was in touch with my contact with one of the focus groups and sounds like she's got one for me, but we kept missing each other on the phone so hope to connect with her on Monday.

I'm also going to sign up for an energy-efficiency home audit, which includes the blower door test that detects unseen drafts. There's another type of utility company-sponsored home energy audit I could get for free, since I'm unemployed, but that one doesn't include the blower door test. It normally costs just $75, but i found a coupon for $25 on the Sierra Club site, so I think it's worth the $50 since they do all the fixing right there on the spot, plus all the CFL bulb replacements and other stuff. I'm a little concerned about how freaked out my one cat will be since they'll be in every room of the house.

Nothing else terribly exciting around here.

Yum.



Wading into the jungle that is my vegetable garden to find hidden treasures is what makes gardening so rewarding.



I blanched and froze 4 zucchini tonight. I steamed the string beans with my tilapia and roasted sweet potato fries.

That's my first harvested acorn squash. I'll be very excited to eat it tomorrow for dinner. That small, round, dark green thing is an ornamental gourd that I grew just for fun.

It's amazing how productive that little garden is. Unlike past years, I'm making a concerted effort to not only enjoy the produce this summer, but to put some away for the depth of winter. So my freezer is already stuffed with bags of wineberries, blanched zucchini (for soups) and tomatoes, too.

Considering that I routinely buy 2 or 3 gallons of milk at a time and then freeze 2 of them, which saves me extra trips to Costco, and that I do the same with half gallons of Tropicana OJ, which I stock up on when it's on sale for $2 or $2.50, I have VERY little room left in the freezer.

But having lots of food in the house, especially food that I grew myself, makes me feel good. I feel like the ant in that fable about the grasshopper who had fun and fooled around all summer while the industrious ant worked hard to prepare for winter.

Today was an extremely productive day. Here's what I did...

1. Worked over 4 hours painting the tool shed. Here's what it looked like before I started:



I'm doing the same colors but eliminating one of the 2 trim colors; I never liked the pinkish looking color.

I only planned to do one side, but ended up doing 2 and a half sides and finished up the 3/4 of a gallon i had. So I'll have to go get more paint tomorrow.

I see there are 2 small, simple repairs I need to make, but otherwise, the tool shed that my dad built has stood up pretty well over time. I also see green mold I'll have to remove with bleach before I can paint over it. I'll do a second coat on the trim only. It's a lot of work, and much of it must be done from a ladder on a steep slope.

2. I aired out a musty smelling antique wood trunk I have in the sun. I think it helped.

3. I finished mowing the front lawn.

4. I blanched and froze those 4 zucchini in freezer bags.

I'm pooped!

It's official....I'm over the hill now.

But because my birthday is a week-long celebration, I can ruminate on my old age for seven full days.

We did the family birthday luncheon this past Sunday. On Thursday, my friend is taking me out to lunch at a very nice place in town. And today? I was supposed to walk with my friend and his dog this a.m., but my Census meeting from yesterday got rescheduled to this morning due to a tractor trailer accident that shut down the Interstate yesterday.

So we pushed back the dog walking to Thursday, leaving me with not much to do today. So I called my mother last night and she's coming over with lunch. If it's nice, we may walk, and we may hit the organic Farmer's Market and get an ice cream cone at the farm dairy.

I set a personal best for myself in July doing online surveys. I usually average about $50 a month, but in July I earned $75 from Pinecone and Toluna surveys. That was more than enough to pay for my electric bill, thank you very much!

Unfortunately, I spent about $575 more than I earned in July due to some larger expenses that all hit at the same time. I took advantage of (hopefully) somewhat lower oil prices by filling up my oil tank to the tune of $375. That usually gets me into January.

I also had a plumber come out to repair a leaking fitting on my water tank for nearly $200 (sigh). And then there was my car insurance ($210), borough tax ($165) and car tax ($90). Doesn't it sometimes seem that everyone wants a piece of your pie?

I was able to stay mostly within budget for my food bill at $204 and I spent nothing on clothing, eating out or entertainment.

I'm reading a new book called Get a Life! You Don't Need a Million to Retire Comfortably. So far I'm a little disappointed as I thought it would talk more about why you don't need a million. So far, the author's talking a lot about how to figure out what you'll do when you retire. (I have no problems there.)

Going over to mom's for a special lunch today. (More on that later in the week.)

I have a Census meeting tonight. My Census work should be over very, very soon. Like sometime this week.

I did that focus group this past Thursday. I missed my turn for a highway and stupidly went way out of my way and had to speed to try to get there on time. I was about 5 minutes late and thankfully, they hadn't started, although it was too late for me to participate int the raffle for an extra $25 for those who arrived on time! But I got my $125 and I'll try to keep that crisp $100 bill in my wallet for as long as possible before breaking it!

I now have 4 different focus group/survey places where I can try to get work. Most of these places require you to wait at least 3 or 4 months before focus groups, so knowing now about 4 different places will allow me to do more work without the long wait. Three of the places pay pretty well, while the 4th pays poorly, but it can be better than nothing.

Wrapping up the Census work this week will free up some time to weed my badly neglected gardens. Crab grass is everywhere and the place looks like a mess.

Today is my half-brother's birthday. Although my birthday comes just 2 days after his, he has never once sent me a card or called me to wish me a happy birthday. So I'm not sure I'm going to bother calling him today, and I didn't send him a card. It's never really acknowledged.

It's now impossible to walk inside my fenced vegetable garden without treading on squash vines. My tomato plants are taller than I am. (I'm 5'4".)

Yesterday, I ventured inside to tie up a few tomato branches that were being pulled down by a squash vine.

I discovered a giant cucumber hidden under all those leaves, as well as two over-sized zucchini I hadn't seen before. It's kind of like a vegetarian version of the game Hide and Go Seek.

Well, you know what that means....zucchini bread! I also picked another medium-sized tomato and a few string beans.

Here's a rundown of what's growing:

Tomatoes: Lots of green tomatoes, but thus far, just a few mid-sized tomatoes that had ripened. I could have sworn that I bought cherry tomato plants, but it appears all 5 of my plants produce a mid-sized variety of tomato.

Zucchini: This has been my best year of the last 3 for zucchini. I made a special effort to hand pollinate this year and i'm getting a lot of zucchini.

Spaghetti Squash: I think these may be able to be picked soon. They went from a greenish-white color when formed to a pale yellow now. But I'll have to check online as I've never grown these before. But I have 4, maybe 5 loaf-sized squashes...HUGE. Can't wait to try them!

Acorn squash: I just spotted one large one yesterday, but that's all so far. Guess they take a while to grow.

String beans I usually grow bush beans and get plenty of beans, but this year i decided to try pole beans. I have 2 tripod structures made of 6 foot high branches and these have been absolutely covered by the beans, but so far, lots and lots of leaves (I haven't fertilized) and very few beans. Disappointing.

Potatoes: I had great fun with potatoes last year, so this year i planted both red and russets. They appear to be dying back already; this is supposed to happen by end of August, after which time you can dig up the potatoes. I expect to have a great crop.

Ornamental gourds I planted a row of these but only 2 plants came up, I think becus I was stepping in this area while weeding and forgot I'd planted something here along the fenceline. I only noticed one small gourd; let's hope more will come.

Cucumbers Last year I had maybe 4 plants and I was awash in cucumbers. I decided to pare it down to just 2 plants this year, and now it seems I don't have ENOUGH cucumbers. I've only gotten maybe 3 or 4 at this point.

Bell pepper I've never had huge successes with bell peppers. It seems to take so long for them to really take off. Haven't gotten any peppers yet, but the plants themselves finally seem healthier, with more foliage. Of course, they're being shaded out by the squash vines, which are hard to contain and control.

I also planted some sort of vining annual flower, just to add some color and attract pollinators, but while they also got off to a slow start, they have yet to flower. Just green....

I'm off to a focus group this a.m. about an hour's drive from here. I'll return mid-day with $125 cash in my pocket.

I want to lay my new soaker hose in the garden and also head over to friend's house to continue cleanup work in her garage/house and start getting ready for her garage sale. She's basically cleaning out a lifetime of accumulated stuff. I've already gotten 2 nice lunches out of it (a bison burger at the local diner, and a shrimp caesar salad and dessert at a good Italian place).

I also need to mow the lawn!

Since the end of July is approaching, I wanted to tally up my year-to-date gross income. I anticipate remaining in the 15% tax bracket ($8,375 to $34,000) this year, and for that reason, I plan on doing a Roth IRA conversion from one of my traditional IRAs. I'll pay a lot less in taxes than if I did a conversion during a year of full employment. Given my normal salary range, I'd likely be in the 25% tax bracket.

So anyway, I can't complete the total gross for 2010 becus I have one more unemployment check coming in this week.

But I was able to tally up the total the Census Bureau reimbursed me for gas mileage from the time I started work in late April through end of July = $751. Because I always track my monthly expenses, I could see that what I actually spent on gas for my Honda during that time was just $231, and that included my usual running around doing errands and grocery shopping when not working, etc.

So I made a net PROFIT of $520 just on mileage reimbursements, on top of my Census wages! Cool!

Looks like my gross YTD income through end of July will be in the vicinity of $16,647 reportable income (with $1,490 of non-reportable income earned through surveys, focus groups and Craig's List sales).

So if my year-end income (mostly unemployment benefits) comes out to about $26,167, and factoring in about $1,900 in investment income (on a par with last year), that means I can do a Roth conversion of just $6,000 if I want to be taxed at 15% on it. I guess if I did a greater amount, that portion that runs over the 15% tax bracket, $34,000, would be taxed at the 25% tax rate. Is that right?

I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon running errands, mainly becus it seemed I was saving money left and right.

I had planned to hunker down at home to wait out the awful hot/humid weather today, but after reading the local paper at the library and browsing for some DVDs, I was still feeling restless, so I headed out again to run some errands.

1. Stopped at mom's to deliver about 12 oz. of fresh wineberries, picked this a.m., with strict instructions to consume immediately or freeze.

2. Filled up the gas tank at the cheapie gas station ($2.75/gallon), since it's down in the area.

3. Headed to the pricey health food store where I never shop to return a box of hair color purchased about 3 years ago! There was no expiration date, and of course i didn't have the receipt, so i was nervous that they wouldn't accept it. The guy at the register said, gee, this looks old. The only thing I can think is that the label, which had the store's name and phone number on it, was old. I cringed, afraid they wouldn't take it. He picked up the phone, as if to check with his manager, and at the same time, he said, is a store credit ok? Yes, I said quickly, and he put down the phone. Crisis averted! Score 1 for the consumer! So I got over $11 to spend on some dried papaya, dried apples and, a favorite treat, some Panda black licorice.

4. Next stop, Xpect Discounts, where I wanted to use two $1 coupons on Sunbelt granola. I was able to print out SEVEN of these coupons from online, and I already used 2 last week. I have 3 more left, and they expire end of the month, but I was afraid if I tried to use 3 or 4 at a time of the same coupon, they'd question it.

So I got the granola, plus I saw a really nice outdoor chair, the kind I've been wanting for my front door area. I usually sit on the front stoop, but it's hard and there's no back support, plus ants can walk up your leg.


It's nice to relax at day's end and survey my kingdom.

The chairs were marked $14.99. As I drove home, I said, why did the guy only charge me $8 for my total purchase?? I realized he must've read the $14.99 as $4.99. Score 2 for the consumer!!!! I saved $10!

5. Next stop, Home Depot, where I wanted to replace the 50-foot soaker hose I use in the veggie garden that sprung a big hole. (I tried first for the $5 gadget repair of the hose, but it didn't work and to try to do that repair, you have to slice the hose in half, so after bravely doing that, I now had no hose at all.)

I didn't have to pay anything for the new soaker hose, which I noted cost the same as Ace Hardware's 25-foot hose, because I used the Home Depot gift card I got when I returned the clothesline that had sat unused and unopened in my basement for several years. Score 3 for the consumer!!

I noticed, too, that the soaker hose I bought had a 7-year warranty, which made me feel good that the old hose I had was purchased about 25 years ago.

And this morning, I sold for $5 a plastic toolbox to a Craig's List guy who drove 45 minutes to get what would have cost him $11.50 new. I figure the cost of his gas pretty much negated any savings for him. Don't people think of these things???

I bought a nice piece of salmon yesterday and planned to have it for lunch today. Problem was, it's just too darn hot to heat up the kitchen.

I had me a brilliant idea. Carry my little convection oven (not much bigger than a toaster oven) downstairs and into the garage and cook it in there.

Hey, people grill outdoors all the time, so what's wrong with a few mouse traps, paint cans and dirty stuff all around the oven?

I laid out some tinfoil and lined the tray with it, then placed the yummy salmon filet on top, sprinkling some rosesmary on it. I placed it inside the oven and carried it down into the basement that way. As I stepped through the doorway from the basement to the garage, I somehow lost my balance, the oven door flew open and that darned salmon filet went flying, landing on my FILTHY DIRTY garage floor.

Well, we're not going to waste a perfectly good $7 piece of salmon. I brought it back upstairs to the kitchen, where I rinsed off the dust and grit.

Back into the oven it went, where it's broiling now.

I'm really pretty careful about how I spend my money. Still, there are occasions when I end up buying something and never using it. I may have intentions of returning it, but maybe at the time I figure it's a small purchase and not worth a special trip.

Well, I recently started noticing that all those little unused purchases were popping up around my house, and so I recently began returning things to stores for a refund or credit. All these purchases were made over a year ago (!) and I didn't have the receipt, but most retailers these days will process the return.

Here are a few examples:

1. Retractable clothesline. I had one I loved and used often, but it broke. I went to Lowe's for a replacement, but they were out. I found one at Home Depot a few weeks later, and snatched it up, even though I had already switched over to collapsible folding racks in the driveway. Still, I was so attached to this particular product that I held onto it, "in case I needed it." Well, I finally realized I really didn't need it, several years later. I was able to return it to Home Depot with no receipt for $17! Cool.

2. Bow saw. My trusty old bow saw got stuck in a tree limb I was trying to cut up. The weight of the branch slowly separating as I cut it locked up the saw and would not let go. There was nothing to do but buy a new bow saw to free the old one. I figured the blade on the old one was dull anyway. I bought a new one at Wal-Mart for $5. Well, that new blade was so thin it actually wobbled as I used it, resulting in a curved cut. Very cheap product. After freeing my first bow saw, I threw the new one in the garage, disgusted, but later realized I could probably return it and get my money back. And I did.

3. A gallon of ammonia. A friend of mine promised to help me seal off my basement to mice. He gave me a laundry list of supplies to buy before his arrival. One of those supplies was a gallon of ammonia, which in hindsight would appear to be a useless/pointless mice deterrent. It irked me that my friend completely failed to show up, and I had that gallon of ammonia sitting on the laundry shelf for over a year. Luckily, it was the Shop Rite generic brand, so I marched over there and got $2 and change.

4. Hair color.I purchased a special brand of hair color at a health food store years ago when I wanted to get away from using peroxide on my hair. But after reading the directions, I realized it wasn't going to work for me. That product sat in my linen closet for years. Luckily, the price tag has the store name on it so a return should not be a problem.

In other money news, I've also return to selling stuff on Craig's List after a few months' hiatus.

I reposted 7 or 8 things that haven't yet sold. One was a plastic Stanley toolbox an old boyfriend gave me. One Xmas he got 2 of them, so he'd given the spare one to me. But I have no need for a toolbox, so I checked the price of a new one at the Stanley website and included a link showing the $11 price in the Craig's List posting where I am just asking $5 for a quick sale. I got a taker, and he's coming over tomorrow for it.

I also got a taker, hopefully, on an old 300 mm camera lens I bought 25 years ago. It cost a lot of money but I hardly ever used it. I'm asking just $90 for something I spent several hundred on, but I will be thrilled to have converted this particular item to cash as I hadn't thought anyone would still want it. I've gone totally digital.

I hope to meet that buyer next week when I'm down in his area for a focus group that will pay me $125 (tax-free) cash for 2.5 hours of my opinions on groceries.

I'm still working for the Census. I'm in week 12 of what was originally said to be a 6 or 8 week assignment.

The Census work has been a godsend for me. Normally, after a layoff, I would fall back on my freelance real estate copywriting. But of course, the current real estate slump means very little work has come my way. I lucked out in that i happened to be laid off in the once-every-10th year they do a census, so all my census work has really made up for the loss of income from the freelance writing. I've grossed $5,200 from it so far.

I got called for Jury Duty, something that's never happened to me while I was unemployed. Surprisingly, they continue to pay unemployment benefits, but only for the first 5 days of jury duty. After that, if you're so unlucky as to be selected, they reduce your benefits to 75% of your normal amount. Note to self: make sure I get disqualified for Jury Duty.

Same old, same old.

Still living with minimal spending.

Today, though, will be a treat. After my morning census meeting (God, i hate them, they drag on for over an hour while you sit there waiting for them to review your completed surveys....), my friend and neighbor is taking me out to lunch at a favorite Italian restaurant in town.

It's the 2nd lunch and "thank you" for my help in clearing out her garage, which is still far from done. I think I've been there 5 times now, usually 2 or 3 hours at a time, hauling books to donate to the library (probably about 12 boxes), loading and then unloading trash at the landfill, and lots of heavy lifting since she's way out of shape.

I don't mind it too much, though this weather sucks. Strangely, I do get a great deal of satisfaction out of decluttering, even if it's someone else's stuff!. (Perhaps a new career direction for me?)

In garden news, I smelled a bad smell in an area of my yard north of the house. I've smelled that smell before...dead animal smell. It didn't take long for me to discover one big, and yes, quite dead, woodchuck, probably 8 feet from one of the three woodchuck burrows on my property.

It was gross. Flies were buzzing around it. I couldn't tell how it died becus i didn't really want to examine it closely. But I'm wondering, since I saw that coyote puppy in the same area just a week ago, if coyotes and the woodchuck crossed paths.

The thing stinks. I don't even feel like going near it to toss dirt on it. Gross.

Part of me feels a little sorry for its short-lived life, but another part of me is glad becus that darn woodchuck kept munching my black-eyed susies, my astilbes and my autumn joy sedums, which I'd planted becus they were impervious to deer.

So...I'm hoping that's the only area woodchuck and that I could even be woodchuck-free for the rest of this season. Could I be so lucky?

I'm wrapping up my 10th week of Census work. I'm maybe averaging 4 hours a day, but with the mileage reimbursement, it does add up so that I gross about $100 or so a day. But I'm with my fourth crew now and these 2 crew leaders really take forever. The Census meetings occur daily, and you're forced to sit through an inquisition-like process where they study each survey you're handing in and question you closely, sometimes handing it back to you for further investigating if they don't think it will pass muster with higher-ups. It gets very, very frustrating. Why should it take over an hour for them to review 4 surveys?

With this crazy heat and frequent thunderstorms, it's been tougher finding time to go out. I typically don't head out until about 4 p.m. or even 5 pm becus i know i'll catch more people home. But if it's hot, i don't feel like going out at all.