Omnishambles
Omnishambles. That, declares the Oxford English Dictionary--OED, to friends and family--is the word of the year, 2012, presumably, though it seems to have got its...
Mind Health Matters: Keeping it real when it comes to family history and mental illness
My usually good natured husband was looking troubled when I returned from my shopping trip several Sundays ago. How could he have guessed about...
Did You Hear That?
As you hear the echoes of whirling winds throwing leaves and while changes in weather chills your bones, October is a month rich in...
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock!
Here comes the Crocodile! In my role as drama critic for the Weekly Villager (No rest for the wicked, as my father used to say),...
The Big Fandango
So here I am at the BIG FANDANGO at the Longaberger Basket Outlet Store at Aurora Premium Outlets and I’m making a basket…me, Little...
It’s Navy Week
Avast, me hearties…and a “Yankee Doodle” doo to you! It’s Navy Week. It’s Navy Week and it’s being observed in Boston by the first sailing...
Curiouser and curiouser…
Curiouser and curiouser…as Alice said during her adventures in Wonderland…. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)’s Mars Science Laboratory has just succeeded in landing the...
“I’m interested in railway to bike trails…”
“I’m interested in railway to bike trails; the ones that are constructed along abandoned railways. Can you find me a map of the railroad...
Friendly People…
My! There are so many really friendly people on the internet. An individual named Trixie--doesn’t she sound friendly already--lets me know that somebody wants to...
Reflections…
Heroes have been celebrated in song and story for generations and millennia. One local hero has lately left us--too soon--and three songs/poems come to...
Business Plan?!?!?
Awwwrighty-tighty, here’s the plan. Dick, Larry, Casey…. Listen up! What you need to do is put the entire village of Garrettsville under roof, hire all or...
In Transit
June 5, 2012. LOOK! Up in the sky! Nah. It was not Superman. He’s out making movies with the other Superheroes. It was the transit of...
How Can I Benefit from Tax-Advantaged Investments??
For many people, tax-advantaged investing is an excellent way to reduce their taxes. And while many of the traditional tax-advantaged strategies have been eliminated,...
Coming This Summer….
So, vacation time is here. What to do? Where to go? How about museums--educational, right?--of culinary phenomena? You could start with the National Mustard Museum(...
Speaking of Graduation….
And speaking of graduation…. Well, isn’t everyone? High schools…colleges…pre-schools& kindergartens…wait…pre-schools & kindergartens? Yup. Saw it in the R-C picture congrats. All very well and...
Is a Home Equity Loan Right for Me?
Taxes are becoming an ever-increasing burden to Americans. Through the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Congress reduced or eliminated many of the ways that...
Garden Fun…
So… I’m out playing caretaker here at the Manse and I’m deciding that what we’re running at this location is the animal equivalent of...
Will Social Security Retire Before I Do?
People have traditionally seen Social Security benefits as the foundation of their retirement planning programs. The Social Security contributions deducted from your paycheck have,...
No Pun Intended
There are funny things out there, folks. A radio program the other day had on it a gentleman who had just had a new...
Law & Government
The primary election is over. Except for the Presidential campaign, some of you may not have known there were elections. Let’s be honest. Many...
Busy Week! Heckuva weekend.
Lots of it was just stuff. You know, things that have to be done but really not planned for except in a sort of...
How Can I Better Manage My Short-Term Cash?
For the vast majority of people, it is essential to keep a portion of their assets in liquid form in order to meet monthly...
1031 Exchanges: Deferring Gains on the Sale of Real Property
For investors who seek to defer capital gains on the sale of investment property, one complex yet effective option is a 1031 exchange (also...
Election Red, White and Blues
Can we please have a rest until closer to November? Good Grief! It got so that I was seriously thinking of just letting the phone...
Vernal Pools: Murky Puddles of Fascinating Life
The word vernal is Latin from “vernus,” meaning “belonging to spring.” Vernal pools refer to any wetland that fills annually from snow melt, spring...
I also love seed catalogs!
I also love seed catalogs. They’re coming in now and probably will continue until Memorial Day; Hope springs eternal! I used to get lots more. ...
IRA Rollovers: Helping Retirement Savers Defer Taxes, Avoid Penalties
If you participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you may have concluded that you don’t need a traditional IRA. Many people see the IRA...
Law & Government
Many friends and neighbors are talking about drilling leases. I have had several clients bring them to me and have had dozens of people...
Nearby Nature
Finally some snow! How does the old song go “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go”….well something like that. Since...
