Talking to myself again

What's up with Tasters' Choice? We used to buy it all the time. It was the only coffee we drank. But when our income went down, we switched to regular ground coffee in a little Mr. Coffee machine. When the machine broke we bought a jar of Tasters' Choice (now made by Nestle), but we found it to be weak. On reading the label, we saw the suggested measurement and realized that we were not using enough crystals for the size of the mug. But we were using the same measurement and the same mugs as before!

We wonder if the bean-counters at Nestle wanted to keep the price down, and did it by making the crystals fluffier or somehow with less coffee in them. This is one of the reasons "They" say there is no inflation.

My Mac is dying. Well, not really, but the logic board is bad and it's putting these vertical lines all over the screen, In a month or two we will be unable to read stuff. We went to the genius bar at the local Apple store to have it checked, that's when we found out the logic board will cost $800 to replace. Husband says we should get a new Dell for that price, but Son (who helped buy this one) and I hate that idea. I know lots of you are PC fans, but spare me the sermons please. I've used Win-doze machines for years at work and I still want a Mac.

We could get a new Mac in maybe two years because we have no money now, or we could get a restored mac the same age as this one for a little more than the logic board fix.

I guess we have time to decide. but not much. Santa also has no money for this.

We woke up today to "snain". That's when it looks like snow coming down but it's too warm and too early in the year and it's rain when it reaches the ground. We knew it would be too cold and wet for the Friday flea market, but this was more than we expected. Tomorrow won't be any better, and Sunday will be very cold. I don't like the idea of setting up at a market when it's 40 f. at 4:00, but when it's only 40 f. at the highest, I hate to go. Husband said maybe he'll do the Sunday market alone, but now I feel guilty. I never did these markets with him when I was employed, and I didn't feel guilty then, but I do now. Well, I'm still helping him prowl for stock at the tag sales, research the prices, and sort for the markets.

Today we found some nice record albums at the Goodwill store, just for listening. I found some scrapbooking supplies. I got seven packages of paper goods, for 25cents each, that would be $1.25 at Wal-Mart.

Goodwill stores, or other Charity-run second hand shops, are a good way to find things for cheap. Some things are still in their original packages and good enough to use as gifts! Lots of things can be used as containers for baked goods, or grooming supplies. Dolls and bears in good condition can be dressed up with ribbons or whatever, paired with a box of candy or a book, and given to a child.

I always find my creative juices running after a trip to the charity stores.

Husband and I sell stuff at the local flea markets. He's been doing it for years, and now I join him. Sometimes we do really well, brining home several times more cash than we paid to get in. Other times we hardly break even, considering the gas and food we buy. Even with bringing sandwiches from home, sometimes it's a bad day.

And then there's the weather. Guessing if the weatherman is right, then getting rained on, is very discouraging. Many times the rain has ruined some paper goods before we could get the plastic sheets over everything.

One of the fun things about a flea market, is seeing the same faces every week. We don't know everyone's name, but if we have seen someone before, we usually have a nice conversation, and it passes the time.

We cancelled our plans for this weekend because of the rain, but I think we can still do a market Sunday. I am hoping to sell enough to cover the cost of heating fuel.

Today Husband did a brake job on the old gray K-car, and when he finished he took it for a short drive to test the brakes. He came walking back, swearing, because the car stalled and wouldn't start. So we both went back with the other old K-car to push it home. Turns out it was a problem with the coil cable (?). Fixed that, but it stalled again. Now it's dead in Son's parking spot.
It would be like such a luxury to have a local mechanic to take the car to and just say "Fix it."

We do save a LOT of money when he does this work himself. Since it's money we don't have, it means we have two cars to use instead of none. But the poor dear is not so young anymore and these all-day sessions are very hard on him.