Amy Currioman

Sue decided to spend a week in Chicago, visiting with Aunt June.  Aunt June hasn’t been feeling well lately, and wasn’t able to come visit with us like she usually does.  We’ve been quite unhappy with air travel of late, so Sue decided to drive up instead of flying. So Sue borrowed my EZ Pass and drove her Toyota Corolla to Chicago.  We figured that was the best idea because that would make her departure and arrival days and times flexible.

While Sue was in Chicago, she was driving Aunt June around town to run some errands and her car overheated.  She took it to a Chicago auto repair shop and they told her that she needed a new water pump.  I had to give Sue my credit card information so she could get the car fixed.  That’s one of the drawbacks to taking your own car on a trip!  Maybe next time she’ll rent a car for the trip.  Getting a rental with unlimited mileage just might be the best way to go; if it breaks down you don’t have to pay to get it fixed, you just trade it in for a different rental car and you’re on your way!

Post from Stephen Liggins

I have always been a lover of animals. I have two dogs who are just like a part of my family. I make sure my dogs get their yearly checkups and shots from the vet. I feel like keeping up with their yearly maintenance is saving me a lot of money it would cost me if they got really sick.

I have noticed over the past few years that the cost of their tick and flea medicine just keeps increasing. I thought I would do some research online using my direct tv internet services to see if I could save myself a little bit of money. I found the same product that my vet sells for a lot less money. At the vets office I pay $180.00 for a three month supply. If I buy the product on the wild blue internet I will only pay $30.00 for that same three month supply. I often wonder why the markup on this product is so high.

The most important thing to me is keeping them healthy and happy. By saving myself $50.00 per month I can use that money to buy them a new doggie pool for my backyard this summer. What’s that old saying, the lazy dog days of summer. I think my two dogs wrote the book on that.

Last night I was driving home around 9:30 pm. It was pretty dark out! Just as I was getting ready to turn into my driveway, I noticed my headlights bouncing off of something that was not supposed to be there – a reflection of light bouncing back at me. One of my neighbor’s cows was walking down the road. The cow was black; if I had not been getting ready to turn my car, I’m not certain that I would have avoided running into it! As soon as I got inside I called the local police dispatcher and let them know about the cow. I don’t know the phone number of my neighbor, and he is not listed in the phone book. I hope the cow got safely home!

When we were faced with expanding our house, I had the pleasure of drawing the blueprints myself.  I especially enjoyed designing the new kitchen and bathrooms.  I hired our new neighbor across the street to custom build our bathroom cabinets.  He had spent some time in vocational training as a cabinet maker, and he offered to build our cabinets for cost.  They came out beautiful!  I hand painted the knobs and pulls to coordinate with the wallpaper.

And the luxurious towel warmers made me feel like pampered royalty!  There simply are no words to describe how wonderful it feels to get out of the shower or bathtub and have a warm towel ready for you.  I only wish that I’d had enough space and budget to put in a large spa tub too! 

For some strange reason the dehumidifier that I’ve had for a few years has decided to trip the circuit on the surge protector it is on every time I turn it on. So I’ve decided that it is time to buy a new dehumidifier. I really hate to have to buy a new one; they are so expensive! But without one the basement gets that musty smell that permeates everything that is stored down there, even though I have a couple of fans running down there to keep the air moving. Maybe the basement is just so big that I need larger fans; I really don’t know. I have to say it is a royal pain in the neck to have to go down there every day to empty the dehumidifier, but there is no drain or window that I can have it drain through. So I’ve been spending about an hour online looking for the best price on a dehumidifier, and getting more and more depressed! Those buggers are more expensive than I remembered! Geez, I get tired of “biting the bullet!”