Firewood

In this heat it really sucks getting firewood ready to burn for the cold winter months that are ahead us shortly. With the price of electricity who the heck can afford to heat their homes with the rising costs involved. So I’m trying to be a bit pro active and getting what I can get done while I can.

cutting wood
Being pro active by chopping wood in July

The Art of Blowing Glass

Hand Blown Glass Art is something that I enjoy. In fact I used to know a guy that did this lost art form and purchased several beautiful pieces that he had for sale, years ago when I ran across him at the flea market unsuspectingly. He was setting up there for a few months and then he was up and gone again and who knows when I will run into him again. I would really like to continue buying pieces from him to add to the ones that I have sitting on display in the living room that I get so much enjoyment from and love showing off to people that come by for a visit. His pieces are that beautiful.

I ran across the website of Hand Blown Glass last night. If you have any respect for this glass blowing field you really should go to their site and take a look, these pieces are truly amazing and are decently priced and guaranteed to arrive in one piece or you get your money back 100%.

Pet Peeves

One of my biggest pet peeves is the spamming issue, this is something that is continuing to get worse and not better and I just have to get it off of my chest.

I am so sick and tired of getting all of these spammed messages every single day, that state “I didn’t agree with you first, but last paragraph makes sense for me…” especially when the post is absolutely not about anything that could be agreed or disagreed upon! These folks need to at least put some type of thought into their comments! At least take the time to actually read the postings and than make your comment relevant to it, it really is not that difficult to do.

Computers and the Internet have made things so much easier for us and it is has become for us all a huge time saver, it really bites to get bogged down with such trivial nonsense.

Nady-HM-10U Headset Mic

With the Nady HM-10U being marked down to such a decent price, as well as getting the headset without having to pay for shipping and handling, just makes sense to go ahead order it. My nephew has his 13th birthday coming up next month and I think, no I know, that he would be thrilled with this gift idea that I have managed to come up without having to do much asking around and/or digging.

I hope the look on his face when he opens this gift, will be an exciting one. Hopefully it will be a Kodak moment that could possibly be captured by someone with all the cell phones and iPads, that everyone has on their person most of the time.

Affordable Bass Tabs

Good that that the bass tabs aren’t as pricey as I first thought they would be. You see my sister’s youngest son, my nephew Jeff, is going to be celebrating his 16th birthday in the second week of July. We are throwing him a good sized party to celebrate the birthday of all birthdays.

Sixteen, old enough to be behind the wheel. Hopefully close to being out of high school and most guys start shaving and trying to deal with what to do with all the facial that is sprouting all over their face. LOL!

Two more years and you will be legal,  you can vote and join the military if that is your choice. Five more years you can legally drink. And it’s all down hill from there!

Water-Based Fogger

One thing that always gets me is when I see someone on TV singing and/or dancing while there is a fog machine(s) spewing all this stuff into the air that they are trying to utilize to stay alive while entertaining. I’ve always heard that it makes it a bit more of a challenge for the artists so I don’t understand why they allow these interesting and entertaining pieces of technology to be used.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind of person that thinks the government needs to tell us what we can and/or can’t do. All of the rules and laws that are increasingly being passed, in an effort to “keep us safe”. But to me it just makes sense that this is a safety issue, something that should be addressed. I was looking at a Fog Machine the Chauvet Hurricane 1300 which is the one that my nephew is currently saving up to purchase.

He is in a band. A typical “Garage Band” that has an occasional booking that they want to start using a fog machine for to “step it up a bit.” Of course he won’t listen to me or anyone else about the concerns of using a fog machine, so I figured I would learn a bit more about them on the computer. I’ve got to say that I was surprised at how affordable they are.

You know the old saying “If you can’t beat them join them”? Well there you go. Do I have to say anything more?

Anything Else Is Just Your Ordinary Grille

I’ve decided that this year I will do what I can in order to fix up my 2002 Dodge Ram pick up that has been neglected these past couple of years since having to take over here at the homestead. I don’t think I’ll be able to afford a new pick up any time soon, the prices that I’m seeing and hearing on new pick ups are just down right outrageous. I mean a person could buy a house for that kind of money for goodness sake.

I don’t have a lot of money to throw around but the time has come that I do need to work on and do something for myself so I really want to do a few things for “Ol’ Betsy” as she is my one and only and I want to keep her around for a long time to come.

Having the Internet makes looking around, researching and comparing what is out there. I’ve found an awesome site, carid.com, that is an online automotive accessory superstore. They have been in the custom and OEM accessory business since 2003 and they have a great selection with really decent prices for all types of accessories for all types of vehicles. I’ve got my eye on a sweet looking billet truck grill that will be first on the list when I start purchasing the items that I want and need in the next couple of months. When I’m done I’ll make sure to take a picture and download it here for the world to see.

Good Quality Tarps

I could have sworn that there were plenty of tarps in the back shed that I was counting on using in a month or so, but I’ve looked time and time again and they are no where in sight, so I’m counting on using the Internet to find the best deals possible on a few good quality canvas tarps. I can’t stand those cheap cheesy looking blue tarps that we all see in a lot of folks drive ways and yards, they just stand out like a sore thumb, when I really think they should be blending in instead of being an eye sore to their neighbors.

Running this farm along with the house and all, it is always good to have plenty of tarps on hand. My father always bought good quality tarps, he refused to buy them from Home Depot or Walmart because he said they were not worth their salt in weight and so I would like to continue with his ways and wishes as much as I can. So I am going to take advantage of some of the promotions that are out there for online shoppers like myself and see what I can come up with, soon like.

Pea Coats

I should have known that Pea Coats and other military outer wear would be making a come back. They say that all that is old becomes new again and that usually holds true all though I’m not sure when we will be seeing the roaring twenty dresses that the Can Can and Black Bottom dancers used to wear. That would be a sight to see on the streets in this day and age!

I remember back in the 70’s when I just had to have a Pea Coat and my mother searched high and low trying to find me one and she ended up having to go to an Army/Navy surplus store to find one, but she found one and I wore it proudly for years and years. I’m not sure where it ended up at, most likely it got donated to a thrift store, since my mother never tossed anything out.

This year I would like another Pea Coat and have found several at Zappos.com. Zappos.com has always had wonderful selections from various well known manufacturers. Right now I have my eyes on a nice looking French Connection Dawson Coat and I plan on sending the link to several people that have been asking me for gift suggestions for my birthday.

Check out the looks of this Pea Coat. It is a classic double-breasted look with an extended length for warmth with full button front closure. It sports front hand pockets and long sleeves with banded cuffs. Dry cleaned only but that is to be expected with a nice coat such as this, so I’ll just have to be careful when and where I wear it. Certainly not outside around the farm and all the animals!

Zappos offers free shipping, both ways and 24/7 customer service along with a 365 day return policy. They accept Pay Pal which is something that I always look for when ordering online. They are still accepting orders and guaranteeing delivery before Christmas. So if you are still looking for good gift ideas you can count on Zappos!

Tax Day Right Around The Corner

Now that the deadline of April 15th is just a week away, there are plenty of people that are trying to get all the paperwork done in order to get their Federal taxes filed. I know an accountant in charlotte nc that is working day and night, as well as weekends in order to get all of his clients taxes done. This is the time of the year that accountants look forward to as well as dread because of their work load. A double edged sword, so to speak.

taxes are due on april 15th
April 15th