Rose Cottage Ltd

Patience pays off and since I’ve never had any patience anyway, I’m glad this little Gardenia is doing so well and blooming so profusely! I babied it all winter – making sure it got as much available sun as possible and now payback time is here! I wish I could make this a “scratch and sniff” image for those who are not familiar with the Gardenia scent. Very sweet – and what falls into my category of “old fashioned” flowers.

This week’s post is not really about real estate, but about the constant rise in our general cost of living. I’m not here to quote a bunch of statistics, but to do some research and rework of monthly household expenses.

There are many expenses associated with “living” as well as with real estate. Rent or mortgage, food and water, utilities, property taxes if you’re a homeowner, insurance, etc., etc. Some of these you can control. Unless you signed up for an adjustable rate mortgage, that payment will remain the same for the length of the loan (barring those potential property tax increases.) But there are those little sneaky payment increases that can blow your attempts at staying on budget right out of the water. Two of the major culprits of this are utility companies and cable/internet providers.

You can’t do a whole lot about utilities since our state and local governments have allowed basically monopoly businesses to control who offers service and how much we have to pay. Constant mergers of cable and internet providers is rapidly presenting the same situation for those industries. Remember when you could get internet access through your land line for $10 a month??? So, on the chopping block this week is Cable TV and apparently I am not alone:

++ Rising cable costs entice customers to other options

The article mentions digital antennas. Here’s one I found on Amazon:

++ Receives free broadcast High Definition TV signals with enhanced gain, range and frequency performance

++ Extra long high quality coaxial cable (15′) included

++ Black on one side white on other

++ TV reception may vary, HD antenna reception depends on the home’s distance from a broadcast tower, the terrain, and the surroundings

++ No Assembly required; Made in USA

UPDATE: You can check your local area for channels available and signal strengths here.

There’s a higher-priced “Extreme Performance” antenna that runs around $70, but for most of us, this little $35 option might solve one major monthly budget problem since we only have to buy it ONCE!!!

This is a GREAT solution for renters who either can’t afford or aren’t allowed to put a normal, outdoor antenna on someone else’s roof!

If you or I can drop the cable portion of our monthly expenses, how much does that save? For some or for those who don’t even know what they’re paying for cable – you won’t think making a change is worth the effort. But for the rest of us – or for those who think paying $13 a month for a DVR box that is REQUIRED for cable service is ridiculous, getting rid of this non-essential might feel pretty good.

My Ultimate Choice: Winegard FL5500A FlatWave Amplified Razor Thin HDTV Indoor Antenna

There are a LOT of monthly expenses we can’t control like the price of a gallon of gas, the ridiculous expense of municipal water and sewer, and ever-increasing food prices. But instead of focusing on those, pick away at what you CAN control – and last I checked, watching TV was not a requirement for life.

Although this cartoon is funny, the subject is not:

Companies have spent a LOT of time and effort trying to hide ingredients and additives that are just not good for the body. As a consumer, it is up to you to pay attention and do the best you can to limit your exposure to chemicals – many of which are not necessary to most food items anyway.

So what’s the purpose of using them?

Greed.

If a company can save one penny per purchase by replacing sugar with HFCS – they will consider that worth it to them – and the heck with your health!

My biggest beef – pun intended? High Fructose Corn Syrup. It has replaced good old sugar in a LARGE majority of products. And it is NOT good for you – especially if you are a woman. HFCS leaches calcium from the body at an alarming rate – something women do NOT need while facing the inherent and potential dangers of osteoporosis as they age.

Read more on HFCS:

++ HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP: Bitter Truths and Dangers to the Last Drop

Want to eliminate hazardous food and be able to enjoy what you eat? When possible – grow your own! Here’s a system that can get you started…

Happy Earth Day Mother Nature!!!

The Azaleas have already bloomed outside and most of them even seemed to make it through the recent rain.

Inside, my Gardenia is FULL of potential with about 30 buds that will soon add a really nice fragrance to my dining area.

The good news is that the pollen seems to be through the worst of its “season.” The not-so-good news is that with the warmer temperatures and enough rain, I swear I can HEAR the grass growing. Lawnmowers can be heard on almost a daily basis around town this time of year. But, lawns look fantastic and the heat and humidity has still not arrived. You don’t have to ask me twice to do almost anything outside this time of year!

And a Happy Easter Weekend!

++ Americans: Real Estate Best Long-Term Investment

++ Sales of luxury US $1m+ homes ‘explode’

++ Property priced at US $4,683/sqft?

++ Free Shipping on Select Items at BloomingBulb

++ The 20 hottest real estate spots in the world

++ Exterior-Accents – 10% OFF

Note: Speaking of square-foot prices, did anyone catch the one New York apartment for sale on the TV series “Million Dollar Listings New York” where the amenity fee for the apartment was $9,000 PER MONTH? Even worse, there were hardly any amenities…no valet parking, no security. Not very “amenitized” for $9 grand per month!!

++ Top 10 cities: Where to buy now

++ Connecticut estate sells for record $120 million

++ Most expensive residences for sale in the U.S.

And a few items to ponder the next time you dream about remodeling the bathroom…

++ Most Expensive Bathtubs in the World

And free shipping if your order is $250 or more!

You can’t have one without the other!

North Carolina is fairly covered with pollen at the moment. I noticed the first few bits of new foliage on the trees and within 12 hours – the yellow dust was EVERYWHERE!

But, one can’t argue that this is not a pretty time of year – temperatures are near perfect, lawns are going green, and bulbs and shrubs are providing their spring “fashion” show.

So take some OTC sinus medication, stay inside on the worst days, and just enjoy the rest for what it is!

Sorry this is a bit later than usual. Some “attack” on WordPress servers had me blocked out of my own blogs earlier this morning. Getting this out quick before they shut things down again. Damn hackers – you are a plague on humanity!!!

I am, like many of you, watching and wondering about what is going on at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada. I’m not going to get into the various sides of the disagreement, or reinforce my OWN personal concerns about some of the Bureau of Land Management’s policies, or pick sides on the particular issue.

What I am both concerned and annoyed about is the FACT that an agency of the US Government has launched a full-scale attack on a US Citizen, on his own land, on US soil.

This is the same government who is fining another landowner for building a pond on his own property – AFTER he got the “required” permits to do so.

You can read more about that here.

And the same government whose EPA is trying to stop people from using wood stoves. In their own homes, on their own property.

Here’s a bit about that proposed grab.

I am pretty fed up with the Fed right now – and not too happy with most of the states either. There is something very fishy about this entire Bundy Ranch assault. And why does the Bureau of Land Management have a “Special Ops” team? I read somewhere this morning they are sending in their “special ops” because they’ve found that quite a few “average” citizens are NOT happy when the government starts abusing those who are paying their salaries.

I don’t pretend to know what’s really going on, but I will tell you one thing – it is NOT a happy time in America when citizens are mass-assaulted on their on property and in their own country – while illegals come and go and do seemingly as they please. I certainly don’t see the Fed putting this much time, money and effort out to protect US ranchers being overrun by illegal aliens on our southern border…

Here’s a useful guide to some natural remedies – might come in handy some day!!