Friday, November 05, 2010

RA Is Not "arthritis" - A PSA about Rheumatoid Arthritis



Rheumatoid Arthritis is certainly NOT your grandmother's arthritis. I will die close to 10 years sooner than I would have without it. I am gradually becoming more crippled all the time. Please watch this video, then consider how to help. We are trying to increase public awareness of RA. Please share this video with your family and friends.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

We ARE the Economy!

We decided a while back to re-do the kitchen.

We are helping the economy by purchasing:
24 cabinets and their associated hardware, and 24 feet of beech chopping block countertop from IKEA
200 sq feet of Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) laminate flooring, 2 ceiling fans, and assorted hardware, piping, venting, etc, from Home Depot
3 ceramic tile murals through Overstock.com
40 cobalt blue bullnose tiles from finecraftsimports.com
1 new 24 sq ft upright freezer (the old one died at the wrong time), 1 new sink and a new faucet assembly from Lowes
1 18 x 24inch Pella triple paned window with Argon between panes and a miniblind between two other panes (30% of cost will be a tax credit, but that's not much)
Employing 1 worker for 7 weeks - full time
Paying another worker for 8 days of work - full time - to do the electrics
Paying an HVAC company for installing vents and changing some of the air runs
Spending money on gasoline going to and from IKEA more times than we can count, trips to Home Depot, trips to Lowes
Spending money on food delivery (PapaJohns, Locos, etc) that we otherwise would not have had delivered
Spending money on paper plates and plastic cups, plasticware, and many more paper towels that we otherwise would not have purchased.

Now, just what is the economy going to do for us? Can we get income tax credits or a "chunky" income tax refund for all this? Only for the Pella window.

I will shortly detail some of the processes in this undertaking, but just wanted people to understand that there are economic implications other than just the money we are spending on this project. And there are economic implications other than just the money YOU spend on similar projects. We people who purchase "things," be they groceries, items for our homes, maintenance items, fuel for autos, lawnmowers, blowers, gas grills, motorcycles, etc, are the backbone of this economy. We ALL deserve some recognition for our economic support activities!

"The Economy" is not just the trillions spent by the government, it is, even more, the trillions that "we the people" spend personally. We ARE the economy!