Horticulture Part II
“The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell, Hi Ho, the Dairy-O, The farmer in the dell.” Anybody else remember that one? Isn’t there a chorus or something? Or is that the chorus? “Chick chick here and a chick chick there” is “Old MacDonald’ isn’t it? Well, anyway, I’m planting things again (There are chickens across the street. Does that count?)...
Your “Once in a Lifetime” Summer
When The Talking Heads released “Once in a Lifetime” in 1980, the world backdrop was anything but calm. Inflation was high, recession fears were real, and uncertainty seemed to be everywhere. More than four decades later, the feeling is familiar — and it has us singing, same as it ever was. And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I...
Rummage Around
Rummage is one of those interesting words that can be both a noun and a verb–and two kinds of a verb, at that, both transitive and intransitive (and even a sort of an adjective, as in a “rummage sale”). All of you grammarians out there got that, right? All of you non-grammarians don’t give two hoots in a hot...
On Uncertainty, Extremes,
One easy way to spot AI in writing is through something called contrastive framing: it’s not x, it’s y. For example, “It’s not me, it’s you.” That formula can force ideas into opposition, and lately it mirrors the way many people are discussing world events. More and more, topics are framed in extremes — danger or opportunity, loss or gain,...
A Holiday Reminder About an Overlooked Asset
Some of the most important investments in life never appear on a statement. As Memorial Day reminds us, life is shaped not only by what we build, but by the people we share it with. While we often focus on growing financial assets, it is just as important to invest in the relationships that give life meaning, support, and resilience. For...
Spring into Summer knowing your Air Conditioning is Working Properly!
Homeowners interested in making home improvements often consider their project in terms of its long-term investments - will this increase my home's value if I decide to sell? Kitchen upgrades are a good bet, as are bathroom improvements. But there's one investment that's always a wise move, no matter where you live and what the climate is: central air...
Cat Walk
The kitties–Rusty and Nipper–and I tried to go for a walk the other day–not a real big success in any terms that I might use in a family paper. See, I had been taking them, intermittently, to yoga on Saturday mornings, not when it was too cold for any of us to be out, not when it was so miserable...
Local Highlights
Step right up ! Bargains galore ! OOPS. Cover everything. Garage Sale weekend had its moments–some of them rather damp. Lots of stuff out there to be checked out, maybe bargained over. Lots of evidence of families outgrowing all sorts of things. Lots of families growing into new fashions and looking for a bargain or two. Clothes…toys… appliances…you name it,...
Some Surprisingly Super Financial News
For all the headlines telling us people are burned out, overspending, under-saving, distracted, anxious, and financially behind… there’s actually some good news emerging underneath the surface. Last week, reports showed that the number of Americans with “super prime” credit scores — generally considered 780 and above — is growing, especially among younger adults. Even amid inflation, talk of AI taking...
Living Longer Is Easy. Affording It Can Be The Harder Part
We’re living longer than any previous generation. The real measure, though, has never been the length of a life but the quality of it. And that raises a question that doesn’t get asked often enough: is your financial life structured to support the kind of life you actually want to sustain? Graduations, Mother’s Day, summer plans, and climbing healthcare costs...
May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month
If you have asthma, allergies, or any respiratory symptoms while in your home, you may want to consider this special national Asthma and Allergy Month offer. You may not realize this, but poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is a health risk according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The air in your home is typically more polluted than the air outside! ...
Oh, To Know What You Don’t Know
It sounds like a page out of Dr. Seuss: Oh, to know what you don’t know. But playful as that sounds, it captures a familiar impulse for investors in both the U.S. and Canada right now. If we could anticipate every policy shift, market reaction, trade impact, or economic turn before it arrived, decision-making ahead of summer 2026 would...
Your Financial Countdown to Summer 2026
“Money is like gas in the car — you need to pay attention or you’ll end up on the side of the road — but a well-lived life is not a tour of gas stations.” Author Tim O’Reilly’s observation feels especially relevant this week as inflation and conflict with Iran add pressure to summer travel costs and everyday expenses. It’s...
Aww… Take A Hike Folks
The 28th Annual Portage County Park District Foundation Awards Dinner and Auction on April 25, was a full-grown success. The evening featured a celebration of fifty years of the county’s original park, Towner’s Woods –and its not-well-known-enough features of a Hopewell Indian Burial Ground, a historic Railroad Switch Tower, a pristine Glacial Kettle Hole Lake, woodlands, wetlands and meadows....
April Showers….?
Nothing was said about April snows, was it? Earth Day coming up on the 22nd is about it for celebrations this month but maybe someone can rustle up a snow sculpture contest. Heaven only knows that after having the warmest March ever recorded (since dinosaur days when nothing was being recorded anyway) and one of the latest cold snaps anyone...
Let’s Start With What’s Annoying You
April is both National Stress Awareness Month and Financial Literacy Month, which feels like a contradiction, since for many people, finances are the stress right now. We’re just days past the April 15 tax deadline, AI FOMO is everywhere (because apparently we should all have digital agents running our lives by now), and oil tensions in the Middle East are...
Chasing a Magic Number and Other Ways To Fool Ourselves in April
April has a way of encouraging magical thinking. Some are convinced there’s still plenty of time before the April 15th tax deadline. Others imagine a refund check or a raise will solve more than it actually will. And according to a new survey, Americans now believe they’ll need $1.46 million to retire comfortably, up $200,000 from just a year...
Cat Walk
Y’ know there’s a saying that goes, “No good deed goes unpunished.”--mostly meant in fun when things seem to go wrong, but sometimes more true than we’d like to believe. I decided to try giving the kittens, Rusty and Nipper, (more like CATS now, they’ve been growing) a little treat by letting them come outside with me. They’ve been hanging...
It’s 2026: Where Are Our Flying Cars and Three-Hour Workdays
In the 1960s, the TV show The Jetsons promised us flying cars, robot maids, and three-hour workdays. Six decades later, we’re still getting stuck in traffic — but we’re also carrying supercomputers in our pockets, talking to our appliances, and video-calling from anywhere on the planet. The future didn’t arrive as advertised, but it showed up in ways nobody...
Coming or Going??
What’s that old one about March ? Comes “ in like a lion and out like a lamb” ? Or is it “comes in like a lamb and out like a lion”? Which was it that we got this time? The OFA (Old Farmer’s Almanac) closed out its entries on March with a saying that seems to have straddled the differences...
Shop Til You… What???
Well, here we are at All Fools’ Day and I’m not even talking about politics–not yet, but the primaries are coming; are you registered? Never mind. I’m talking about shopping today. Shopping for anything is practically a contact sport now-a-days. One lunch group at church recently got onto the topic of prom dresses…and young persons’ fashions in general. We were...
Reasons why Ignoring HVAC Maintenance Can Be Costly
Presented by DeBord Plumbing & Heating of Chardon, Ohio There are countless reasons why ignoring HVAC maintenance can be costly. While many homeowners balk at the thought of annually hiring a professional HVAC technician to check on the status of all of their appliances —or attempt to do the required maintenance themselves— the cost of ignoring maintenance in the long...
What the Best Predictions Have in Common
Every year during March Madness, billions of dollars are wagered. A younger generation watches closely, absorbing lessons about prediction, risk, and reward that extend well beyond the brackets. Meanwhile, AI is reshaping industries, global conflicts continue shifting markets, and real questions persist about where disruption begins and opportunity is present. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, you are...
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
The saying goes that only, “mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.” (This was a remark from colonial times when the British Empire was spreading into tropical lands where they had no climatological experience at all and besides that, they were sure to be sending other, lesser locals out into the sun to do work and...
The Conversation You Almost Skipped
What if the most valuable meeting on your calendar this week is the one you’re least looking forward to? It’s mid-March, and there’s no shortage of things competing for your attention. Spring arrived last week. Tax deadlines are approaching. And the world beyond our windows remains restless—markets reacting to an unpredictable trade environment, persistent geopolitical tension, and an interest rate...
And Yet, We Persist
A bold-faced phrase from a New York Times article last week got my attention. It consists of only two words, yet it speaks volumes about facing the future: And yet. These two words introduce a life-changing perspective, especially in times of uncertainty. Financial professionals see a distinct pattern repeat itself more often than people realize. When headlines turn alarming — conflict...
Why Knowing What to Eat Is Not the Problem
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone say, “I know what I should be eating. I just don’t do it.” That sentence is usually followed by frustration or guilt, as if the problem must be a lack of discipline. But knowing what to do and being able to do it consistently are two very different...
Annoying? …. “To a T”
This is high on my list of recent rants. We are all starting to sound like Brits–and not the upper crust, Oxford & Cambridge near-royal types either. I blame it on the Beatles. They showed up here and were followed by hordes of others in the same genre–not that I object to the music, for Pete’s sake, but their...
On The Road Again
The Road Apple Roubaix has come and gone once more, and left us with memories of probably the most “spring like” day yet. Makes one think that the Vernal Equinox might not be just a fig newton of our imaginations. Beautiful morning to be out riding, and lots of the riders seemed to be having a fine time and...
Keep Calm and March On
The month of March traditionally carries a good deal of tension within its 31 days. There’s a reason people say, “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” And so far, 2026 fits the pattern. Between escalating tensions following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran; the Supreme Court’s recent decision on tariffs that led to a bit of...
