The economy and Life Part Two

Well, it is Black Friday, the big shopping day after Thanksgiving,  so lets hope the retail market perks up for all those companies who desperately need this to be a good day and keep their doors open and their employees on the payroll.   I must admit that it is hard for me to say “spend, spend, spend for the holiday season” when that is part of what got our economy into this mess in the first place.

Some of you have asked how the drop in the stock market and the housing market is impacting our life part two.   Several things have worked in our favor.

Bob and I have always been able to work when we want to.  The layoffs, restructuring, outsourcing and retirement when they finally happened worked to our benefit providing health insurance and severance packages.  We have been able to continue to work or consult as much as we wanted to since then.  Thank you U of MN, my web clients and ING!

As our financial planner Carolyn reminds us – we have lived within our means for many years and don’t have any debt except for the house payment.  When we sold our house in MN we kept most of that cash and put it in the bank and took out a mortgage on the new house so we do have a house payment but wanted that to get the interest deduction.  Long story behind that strategy so ask if you want to know more.   We will probably do this for 2-3 years and then pay it off.  Of course when we sold our house we didn’t get what we could have gotten two years ago but I think we got the best price we could get, given the market and we certainly got more then we put into it.  If we had waited another few months I think it would have been even worse.

It’s cheaper to live in Travelers Rest, SC and that was definitely one of the reasons we moved here.  Housing, utilities, insurance and taxes all make it about 15%  – 18% less expensive then the Twin Cities.

We have been planning this relocation and semi retirement for at least five years and in the last 18 months or more have been moving money into bonds and building up our cash reserves. Our investment portfolio is conservative and diverse.   However, at the end of last month for the money we do have in the stock market, which is still the majority of our retirement income, we lost our 30% like everyone else and if the market never recovers we have problems.

Right now we are confident we can wait it out but we are not over confident.   Bob is still working part time for ING so yesterday when they called and asked if he would fly back to MN and work Nov. 30 to Dec. 23 he said yes. It will make for a weird holiday at our house. I think my holiday decorations will be a couple poinsettias and the ceramic XMAS tree Bob’s mom gave us.  Maybe I will put a bow and bell on the cat!   I am still doing web sites and always seem to have a couple new ones to work on.

I check the stock market several times a day now which I never used to do but I don’t loose any sleep over what’s happening although I do admit to groaning and sputtering at the close of some market days.   My advice – don’t spend, spend, spend.   Instead save, save, save.

Happy Thanksgiving

To all who read this Happy Thanksgiving.  What are you thankful for this year?  We have much to be thankful for – our family and friends old and new, reasonably good health, a new roof over our head, a kitty to remind us when we have not spent enough time with her and Bob and I have each other.

Bob and I leave on Wednesday to see our friends Lyn and Bob in Charleston SC, just 4 hours from here and return on Friday.   We have tickets on Saturday for the afternoon performance of Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Show so I guess that means we will be kicking off  the Christmas season at the Choban home.

More Than A Day
As Thanksgiving Day rolls around,
It brings up some facts, quite profound.
We may think that we’re poor,
Feel like bums, insecure,
But in truth, our riches astound.
We have friends and family we love;
We have guidance from heaven above.
We have so much more
Than they sell in a store,
We’re wealthy, when push comes to shove.
So add up your blessings, I say;
Make Thanksgiving last more than a day.
Enjoy what you’ve got;
Realize it’s a lot,
And you’ll make all your cares go away.
By Karl Fuchs

T is for the trust the pilgrims had so many years ago
H is for the harvest the settlers learnt to grow
A is for America, the land in which we live
N is for nature and beauty which she gives
K is for kindness, gentle words, thoughtful deeds
S is for smiles, the sunshine everyone needs
G is for gratitude… our blessings big and small
I is for ideas, letting wisdom grow tall
V is for voices, singing, laughing, always caring
I is for Indians, who taught them about sharing
N is for neighbors, across the street, over the sea
G is for giving of myself to make a better me
by Judith.A. Lindberg

Now it really feels like home

It was a really, really big day for us because we just added the one thing we have been missing the most.  Our new spa came.  After 20 years of having a spa it has become a necessity and something we have missed greatly.  This is the third spa we have purchased and they have come a long way in 20 years.  The brand is Sundance Brand.  Definitely not the cheapest spa you can get but we were sold on the warranty, the power of the jets (yes we put on our swim suits and went and sat in a spa at the store), and the filtering system.   This new style uses almost no chemicals.  We got the smallest one they had and it was last years floor model so that helped.  What we were not prepared for was the fact that because our lawn is so steep they had to bring it in with a crane and even though we thought we had it wired by the contractor for the spa we still spent a chunk of change on a third electrician.

It was all worth it.   We sat out there this afternoon and the view was wonderful and the jets and lighting are really nice.  We will get a chance to enjoy the lights tonight and sit under the stars.  We even have a mini waterfall in it so we got our water sound.  We were both a little nervous about having it outside but we love it.  Enjoy the photos.  Yes I had to close my eyes for a moment when they moved the spa over the roof!

It will take us awhile to figure out what we need for furniture, rugs, plants and other decor but probably won’t be sitting under the deck out of the spa until spring so have lots of time to think about what we want.    Note the view of the trees.  The spa is under the screen porch so we should be pretty protected even if it is raining hard.

Interfaith dialogues help build bridges in Greenville SC

I was very pleased to read the article below in the Greenville paper.  It talks about an event here just a few days ago.  I wish I had known about it.  I might have attended.   I hope they have a follow up article.    It is sponsored by the Interfaiths Project   http://www.amazingfaithsproject.org/

As most of you know Bob and I are now living in the Bible Belt and have wondered how we would fit in.  I had my first experience today at a neighborhood coffee and prayer gathering  when my hostesses 15 year old daughter asked me if I wanted to welcome Jesus into  my heart.   I gave an honest answer but wonder how it will play out with the family.  Of course there is much more to the story then this but would have to explain it in a phone call if you want to know more.

I also found  this organization in Greenville and will put it on my “to do” list to follow up on.  Here is the link to their web site http://www.interfaithforum-sc.org/

Interfaith Forum

(formerly known as: Greenville Faith Communities United (GFCU))

Building Bridges of Understanding & Working Together for the Creation of a Beloved Community in the Upstate

This is the article on the Dinner Dialogues

As World War II was coming to a close a 24-year-old woman was joyfully preparing to marry her sweetheart, a dashing young Marine master sergeant, just back from service in the Pacific. As with any young bride she wanted her best friends to serve as bridesmaids — after all they had known each other since elementary school. They all were overjoyed to be a part of her wedding party, all except one of the young women. At the time her Roman Catholic bishop would not allow her to participate in a Protestant wedding.

(Here is Fay’s version of the above story and keep in mind that in 1964 a mixed marriage was between a Catholic and a Lutheran  – I was raised Wisconsin Synod Lutheran, very strict.  When I was about 14 I was at a church youth group meeting and we were planning a roller skating party.  The topic of who else could come beyond our Nicollet Church came up.   A town called Courtland is 8 miles from Nicollet and kids from both towns  went to the same high school together.  Naturally some of the kids from my church wanted to invite their boyfriend or girlfriend.  Only problem was most of the kids in Courtland went to the Lutheran Missouri Synod Church.  We were told they were not welcome.   I also saw these same Missouri Synod kids asked to leave the youth church group. I think that’s when my questioning of organized religion began. )

During my years of growing up, every time my mother retold that story, her voice would quiver and now and again a tear would fall. Even as a woman of deep faith, she never understood how institutional religion sometimes builds walls between friends instead of creating bridges of understanding.

On Thursday, Nov. 13, Greenville will be joining eight other cities around the country in building bridges of understanding across the chasms that divide.

Interfaith Forum, partnering with Greenville Forward and Nexus Center, will be hosting an evening of interfaith dinner dialogues; we invite all people in our community to gather in homes around our city in small groups of ten or so to enjoy a simple meal, and to engage in moderated discussion about the role of faith and spirituality in their lives.

These dinner dialogues are for people of all faiths, and no faith. They are for all persons who are interested in making new friends across religious divides, learning about different religions and finding shared values. It’s not an arena for debate or proselytizing. Each gathering of participants is pre-selected to enhance diversity and is led by a trained moderator who guides and facilitates the dialogue so that everyone can feel comfortable in sharing their thoughts, beliefs and experiences.

Originally conceived in Houston by Mayor Bill White in collaboration with Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston and the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University, these “Amazing Faiths Dinner Dialogues” have grown into a national initiative.

Mayor Knox White has proclaimed Nov. 13 as “Amazing Faiths Day” in Greenville as our community joins similar events taking place that evening in San Antonio, Austin and Houston, Texas; Oklahoma City; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Syracuse, N.Y.

Greenville is a leader in the Southeast in encouraging international development and welcoming new residents from around the country and around the world. We have a reputation of being a warm-hearted Southern city whose citizens care about each other. The Amazing Faiths Dinner Dialogues can be a way to continue advancing and living out that reputation.

I can’t help but think that sharing a meal and joining in fellowship with people of other faith traditions, be they Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Baha’i or the various Christian denominations that call the Upstate home, is an opportunity to celebrate both the diversity and cohesiveness that makes Greenville such a distinctive place to live.

Paris Mountain Fall Colors

It was a beautiful day on Sunday so I drove the three miles to Paris Mountain State Park.  The drive was beautiful.  I don’t know what I expected the park to be like but it exceeded expectations.  I got there pretty early, 11 a.m. and families and people walking their dogs and bicycle riders were just starting to arrive.  They have a nice lake there called Lake Placid with swimming, paddle boats.  Compared to Como Park the park is much more natural.   Many trees, lots of picnic tables.  By the time I left it was getting very busy.  Probably not a good choice to go on a Sunday.  In addition to the recreational purposes one of the mountains early important contributions was to provide very clean water to the city of Greenville.  I am learning that water plays a very important part in the history and growth of this area.

I have to admit my Minnesota heritage kicked in when I was driving the relatively narrow winding paved road.  I got a little nervous when I had to pass cars and when I had to back up because a truck and camping trailer could not get through I was almost scared.  Guess I better get used to it.

The mountain is more like a big hill.  The park was constructed in the 1930′s as part of the government Civilian Conservation Core.  All the roads, beautiful building etc. pretty  much build by hand with hand tools.  I bought our annual park pass.  Lots of hiking trails and nature programs at Paris Mountain.  There are 47 state parks in SC and about 10 are within an hours drive us us and another 15 maybe within 2 hours or less.   The rest are more toward the ocean, which is only 4 hours.   They have camp sites but many have rustic or not so rustic buildings so I look forward to exploring what is close by and staying for a night or two at those that are a little farther away.  One of our best trips was when we stayed in Northern California at a rustic log building at a state park.

Originally the building was a bath house but in 2006 they converted it to a educational area.   Beautiful stone work.  The steps could use a railing.

Enjoy the photos.

Girls night out and building community

Last Saturday I went to a Chocolate Pampered Chef party.   It started when I called to invite this neighbor I had never met to my Mary Kay Facial party and she invited me to hers.   There were about 10 women there and I met Two more new neighbors who I invited to my party.  People are really interested in making a connection.  Getting a “phone list” or “directory” of people in Glastonbury Village (name of our housing development) is one thing they are interested in as well as just meeting people and maybe doing a few community events together.

On Thursday I had my Mary Kay party and 7 women came, everyone I invited plus one who invited another neighbor.   We ranged in age from mid 20′s to late 70′s.  Tanya was also a big hit, she is one of the girls also.  One neighbor, Joy, is planning women’s self defense classes.   I handed out a sheet of paper to each of them and encouraged them to fill it out (name, address, a little about their family) and said I would start putting together a directory.  I gave them the one I filled out about Bob and I so they could learn about us.

One of the things I put on the form was “What do you have to offer the community?” and “What do you need from the community.”  So for Bob and I, I said we could offer computer network help, computer help, info on blogs, websites, publishing books and would be willing to house sit, take care of plants, pets, etc.   I said we needed a kitty sitter and a high school or college student to help Bob with yard work.   I also said I wanted to host a spa day this winter.   That was a big hit.   Several of the women made good use of our massage chair.   I asked if now we could go from being referred to as “the house with the big basement” to “the house with the massage chair.”  They said no, we were now “”the house with the big basement and the house with the massage chair.”  The women are from all over – California, Indiana, SC, NY, etc.

Also, last Tuesday morning, early, the neighbor Kathy who first asked me to coffee, called me again and asked if I wanted to meet her in Greenville while she waited for her daughter.  I said yes and we got to know each other better plus I found a nice new shopping center. 

I think I will have fun with this new group and maybe even find someone to go walking with or do yoga or tai chi with!  If any of you have ideas for us please let me know.

Remember the Veterans who fought for you

Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. No matter what you think about the politics of the various wars and conflicts our country has been in from World War 1, World War Two where my dad  Randy/Harold fought in the Battle of the Bulge, the Korean War, Vietnam where Bob served  and our current conflicts we must support those who are fighting for us.  Bob is still hurt over the names he was called when he returned home from Vietnam.

All the veterans and their families have paid a terrible price so that our country can be free to voice our opinions about these wars.  Say a prayer tonight for all those soldiers and their families who have fought and are fighting for our freedom.

This history comes from wikipedia.

Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually observed on November 11. However, if it occurs on a Sunday then the following Monday is designated for holiday leave, and if it occurs Saturday then either Saturday or Friday may be so designated.^[1] It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)

The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran’s Day or Veterans’ Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.^[2]

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday; “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’. In 1953, Al King had the idea to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. So he began his campaign to turn Armistice Day into “All” Veterans Day. King was an Emporia (KS) shoe store owner actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. King had promoted his notion so much that the Emporia Chamber of Commerce decided to get involved. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.^[3]

Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, by replacing “Armistice” with Veterans and it has been known as Veterans Day since.^[4]

Veteran comes from originally meaning a person of long experience or skill. Derived from the latin term veteranus, after the American Revolution the word veteran came to be associated specifically with former soldier of old age who had fought for independence. As time went on veteran was used to describe any former member of the armed forces or a person who had served in the military.

New color theme on blog and you get to vote

In honor of the beautiful fall colors, I will have the blog in fall orange until the Christmas holidays.   You can vote, do you want red or green for Christmas or there are also some totally new winter/holiday themes that might work?

How much did you pay attention?   What color was the blog before it was orange?

Follow up on Kudzu – the other side of the story

A comment on kudzu got caught in the spam bucket and I just found it today.   Kudzu has some pretty interesting qualities as a medicine.  The Chinese used it 2000 years ago.  Alcohol treatment is one of it’s properties.  Below is the comment.   I did a google search on kudzu and medicine and it is quite well documented.   Here is just one of many links: http://www.peacehealth.org/KBASE/cam/hn-2119009.htm

1. Charlotte Fairchild Says:
   October 21, 2008 at 6:27 pm eYou didn’t mention much science. Kudzu has been listed as a medical plant for 2000 years, and Harvard has two peer reviewed medical articles they published in the last 5 years! They have a lot of catching up to do.

   The citations are on http://www.kudzus.blogspot.com in the links below the splash page.

   Great article. Please include http://www.kokudzu.com for people who want to know how to eradicate kudzu without poisons. Jim Miller supports this experiment station and the research.

Supporting the local economy

Last week was busy with construction crews to help us finish off the lower level.  One room will be done we hope by early Jan. and will be the new “spa room/guest room with king size bed” with the spa outside.  We also have a large storage closet and a half bath in this part of the project.  One room will be unfinished until we decide if we want to make it into an apaprtment and the third room will be partially finished for storage and work room for Bob and I.  However, all need heating and electricity and insulation.  We had 2-3  heating/cooling guys here for two days putting in a heat pump, air conditioner and lots of duct work.  The electrician was here for three days and on Thursday we had two young guys, who I found on craigslist.com, come and cut down three small trees and clear out a lot of brush from the 120′ by 50′ mini forest behind us.   They exceeded expections. They worked about 10 hours, and that is in addition to the 8 hours Bob already worked out there.  I will soon take some photos.

Monday we get the large 10′ by 40′ cement slab acid stained and Friday the new hot tub comes!!!!!!  Wait until you hear about that.

When Bob returns from MN he will insulate all of the rooms and hopefully by then we have someone hired to sheetrock, tape and sand the spa room and work room.  After that ceiling and floor and bathroom.  Whew!