Wild Blue Yonder

I got heating oil delivered yesterday. I thought prices might go even lower now that heating season is nearly over, but actually, prices rose a little from their low of $1.76 a gallon. (This is heating oil, like diesel, not the same as gas for the car.) I got about 140 gallons at $1.99 a gallon, still a huge savings compared to last winter and even a very decent price compared to all my winters here.

Because I'm a manic keep-track-of-everything-you-never-know-when-it'll-come-in-handy kind of girl, i can tell you the lowest oil prices i paid in the past 4 years was, in fact, $1.99 a gallon yesterday (!) and the highest was $4.24 a gallon in June of 2008. I don't think prices will stay that low, so that's why I topped off the tank, though I still had a third of a tank left.

It's times like this that i keep telling myself i should have a second oil tank installed in my garage next to the other one, and I could fill them both up when prices are low and know I'm covered for all of the next season. As it stands now, this one full tank will probably get me through mid-January.

I have updated some of my savings goals. Well, the goals remain the same, but I've outlined my strategy in more detail, and until I did the actual calculations, I had no idea how much I was really saving from a percentage point of view. I am in Super Saver Mode, to be sure. Saving 46% of gross income is no small feat.

Now if I can just keep it up and stay the course. Of course, that's the thing that trips up a lot of people. You start out with the best of intentions and then your plan falls by the wayside. If I can just hold onto my job and keep my goals uppermost in my mind, I can get there.

It's not that I'm awash in money. In fact, my income is average. But I am extremely disciplined and a little self-deprivation is something I don't mind doing if the long-term payoff is there. For me, financial independence is the ultimate goal and something worthy of deprivation in the short-term.

This is the story of the first day of the rest of his life...

I arranged to pick up Luther around 7:30 am so I could be home with him all day on his first day with me.

They put him in a new carrier I'd bought for Sitka, black vinyl with a kind of black webbing.

We started out on the 25-minute ride home. Luther started out with little meows. I can handle this, I thought. I kept talking reassuringly to him. Then the little mews turned into alarmed, louder meows. Then without warning, Luther went beserk, desperately trying to get out of the carrier. I was trying to keep my eyes on the road, and when I looked down at him, I saw he had chewed a hole through the webbing and his nose was halfway out.

I knew I had to keep him in his carrier at all cost and I had no time to pull over, so I put my hand over the hole so he wouldn't make it bigger. Then he bit me, but good. I had two small puncture wounds which started bleeding. The cat was still doing a pretty good kamikaze act in the carrier, so, still driving, I grabbed a pad of paper with a cardboard backing and pushed it against the hole. You don't know how glad I was when i pulled in my driveway.

I let him out once inside the house. He was pretty scared. I showed him where his food dish was in the kitchen, and his litter box in the upstairs spare bedroom, then put him in the bedroom figuring he'd feel most secure under the bed. Then I went across the hall to tend to my wound. I was in there for just five minutes, and when I returned to the bedroom, he wasn't under the bed. Before I picked him up I made a point to close all closet doors, plus the doors to the basement and 1 bathroom, just so it'd be easier for me to keep tabs on him. I searched the whole house upstairs and down and COULD NOT FIND HIM. I knew he was hiding somewhere, but figured he'd show when he was ready. Still, I worried he might be stuck somewhere, so I searched the house up and down a 2nd time, a 3rd time and even a 4th time in the next 2 hours. Still couldn't find him. Finally, I did. He was squeezed under a dresser in my bedroom which had a five-inch clearance at most. That's where he spent most of the day. Throughout the day I would take breaks from work in my office, lie down on the floor by the dresser and stick my hand in there (brave, right, after getting bit?) and pet him and he'd purr like mad, but he still wouldn't come out.

Then, at dusk, he found the courage to come out of his hiding place and to move over to under the bed, which was a bit roomier but still secure.

The next day I left for work, wondering how he'd do on his own. When I got home, I found evidence of play. A toy of Sitka's that had been on the counter in the upstairs bathroom sink was on the living room floor. A throw blanket on a chair was on the floor. Evidently he had been exploring when the house was quiet, but he would still stay in the bedroom when I was home, though he was super lovable and affectionate.

He isn't used to the normal noises of the house, having been born outside. My fir floor boards creak all over the place, especially upstairs, and I think that startled him for a while.

I don't think, for instance, he ever experienced a TV before and he has been watching it curiously.

Later in the week, I came home to find some drapes covering my interior French doors down on the floor; I hope the tension rod didn't hit him.

Today, he's really coming into his own. He's been coming downstairs now to follow me and hanging out all over the house. Despite the bite, he is a super-affectionate cat. (I don't think he intended to bite me, he was just trying to get out of the carrier.)

The second night here, he stayed all night with me in the bedroom, sometimes on the bed and sometimes on the rug. I could tell where he was at all times, even in the dark, because i could hear him purring nonstop. Like a beacon in the night. He seems very happy.

Oh, about that bite. I emailed the woman at the shelter to let her know how his first and second days went and I almost wasn't going to mention the bite. She strongly urged me to see a doctor and get antibiotics because she said cat bites are easily infected. I had washed the bite wounds out very well and used peroxide on it; it looked fine to me, though it was swollen and particularly sore on the first day.

But I went to see the doctor yesterday, and I'm really glad I did. He said it was already a "first tier" infection and gave me the meds. He told me he could almost guarantee me that if I'd waited til Monday (they're closed Sat/Sun) I would have been in a lot of trouble. He said cat saliva has a bacteria that spreads very easily and cat bites on the hands are the worst because there's very little flesh there and the infection can spread quickly to the tendons. He said if I had waited until Monday to see him, he'd probably have sent me to a hand surgeon.

I was rather shocked. Also shocked at the meds. I remember years ago if you got sick or needed antibiotics, you'd get 200 milligrams, or maybe 400. I'm taking 875 milligrams twice a day! I shudder to think what it's doing to my system, but at Costco today I bought a case of Stonyfield yogurt and am also taking acidopholus.

One thing i especially like about Luther is that as a long-haired cat, he has these tufts of long hair growing out of his ears, so long they kind of curl up at the ends outside the ear, kind of like a cowlick. It's very cute. Did you ever see an old man with really bushy eyebrows? Kind of reminds me of that.

He loves to play and is just today getting into wanting to explore everything. He really seems to be relishing having the space and freedom to explore more than than the tiny room he shared with 5 other cats.

I was a little alarmed the 2nd day because when i cleaned out the litter box, there was pee and no poop, but i smelled poop in my office. OH NO, i thought, i CAN'T deal with another cat that doesn't poop in the litter box. This is just not possible. This can't be happening to me. I searched the office everywhere but couldn't find the poop, but my nose is very good. I finally found it. I have a large potted dracena with some florist dried moss covering the dirt. The cat had scratched off the moss and pooped in the dirt. So I cut a corrugated piece of cardboard into a circle to cover the top of the pot with a slit for the plant's stem, then used clear masking tape to keep it on.

Next day, I found poop in the litter box. I was thrilled. It's the simple things that make me happy.

I'm still considering whether to get a companion for Luther, but I'm a little afraid of rocking the boat with another cat who either may not get along with him or else create a situation where one cat dominates the other. (I've experienced both before.) So i don't know. There was a female tortie that lived in the same room at the shelter with Luther, and i know they got along, so she might be a possibility. But Luther is a needy cat, he is constantly with me looking for attention. I don't know if he'd be willing to "share" me with another kitty.

Yes, I can say it now because it is official. The shelter checked out my references and I "passed." I am now free to adopt the long-haired orange cat I went back to see a second time today.

He is a mush. Very sweet, gentle and mellow personality. He's just five months old. He and two siblings, both of whom were already adopted, were found with their mother living under a house in a not so nice town.

He's been there about a month and I was surprised no one had taken him yet, because he's very cute, but maybe it's because his photo was not up on their website yet. So no one would know about him unless they came to the shelter, and I think a lot of people like me browse www.petfinder.com before deciding which shelter(s) to visit.

The parents are still feral and loose, but I think they caught the mother and spayed her. I'm told that my cat is the spitting image of his dad, while his mother was a calico.

So would you like to help me name him? I have settled on two names that I like, though if you have others I'm all ears. Since he is a beautiful rusty orange, i was thinking either 1. Apricot, or 2. Luther.

I always wanted a cat named Luther. Don't know why. As for Apricot, it's a bit long, but I could see myself calling him "Appy" for short, which rhymes with "Happy."

I'm on LinkedIn, the professional networking site. What a blast it's been "rediscovering" old friends or colleagues from long ago. Today I reconnected with someone who worked as a news reporter at the same paper I did, about 25 years ago. Since then, he published a book (fiction) and has a contract to publish two more. He's a "success." I would be tempted to tell you his name, because he is the son of a very famous musician, but I will respect his privacy.

I also had a nice online chat with my very first editor at the very first newspaper I worked at on Cape Cod. She still works and lives on the Cape, but at a different paper. I had the opportunity to tell her how her solid editing skills taught me a lot as a young writer, and really set the stage for my future career. How often do you get to thank someone for changing your life in some way? I was grateful for the opportunity.

I don't usually read the blogs during the week, so it's possible sevenofseven, nomorecredit and/or swimgirl turned on the heat while I wasn't looking, but here, according to my best record-keeping records, are the remaining 3 finalists who still have not turned on the heat:

1. sevenofseven - Northern California
2. nomorecredit- NY
3. swimgirl - Northern California

This officially ends my record-keeping duties!

Those who already turned on the heat:
scfr - Texas - Dec. 12
Ima Saver - Georgia - Dec. 6
debtfreeme - Northern California - Nov 29
monkeymama - N. California – Nov. 23
canoineag – Denver – Nov. 9
Joan.of.the.Arch – MO – Nov. 9
Analise - northern California - Nov. 9
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
toyguy1963 - Ohio - Oct. 27
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

I've seen other people posting their 2009 goals. I thought about mine, the financial ones, that is, and they pretty much will be what my 2008 financial goals were:
1. Continue paying down my mortgage rapidly.
2. Continue building my emergency fund.

I will also continue contributing the max to my 401k, but that's a given. I'd also like to throw more money into investments since prices are so low, but building the emergency fund in case of layoff is the priority right now.

I never imagined I'd still be reporting so close to Thanksgiving on those stalwart souls who haven't turned on the heat.

I give you guys a lot of credit. I'm with you in spirit. Although my heat is regularly kicking on, it's set at 59 degrees. You get used to it, for the most part. I hope I can keep it this low all winter long. In past years, my indoor high temp was set at 60 or 62, so this is my own ongoing personal challenge.

Here are the remaining 6 finalists who still have not turned on the heat (as far as I know):

debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
nomorecredit- NY
swimgirl - Northern California

Those who already turned on the heat:
monkeymama - N. California – Nov. 23
canoineag – Denver – Nov. 9
Joan.of.the.Arch – MO – Nov. 9
Analise - northern California - Nov. 9
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
toyguy1963 - Ohio - Oct. 27
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

There are still nine stalwart souls who haven't' turned on the heat. Most of these folks, I must point out, don't live in warm climates!

I turned my heat on weeks ago but it really hasn't kicked on much, 1. Because it's still been mostly mild and 2. It's set at 55 overnight and 58 for about 4 hours daily on weekdays.

Still no heat:

debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
nomorecredit- NY

Those who already turned on the heat:
Little gopher - Minnesota - Nov. 7
monkeymama - N. California - Nov. 4
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
Koppur - Massachusetts - Oct. 29
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
Buckeye - Ohio - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - Wisconsin - October 1
homebody - October 1

Another big bill looms ahead.

There's still tread on my car tires, but just barely enough to touch the head on a Lincoln penny.

Car tires weren't really on my radar, but I've experienced some skidding this past week coming home from work. The road was wet and i skidded easily on a level surface, without even applying the brake that hard. I was on a busy interstate highway doing about 50 in heavy commuter traffic.

So my next stop will be at the library to check Consumer Reports recommendations. I'd rather not take any chances.

I have a set of four snow tires that have a little less wear, so I may just defer the new tire purchase until spring.

In past years, I put the snows on in fall and took them off in spring. I do get noticeably better traction with four snow tires. More recently, someone told me that frequently putting tires on and off the rims and can possibly weaken the tire. I haven't had any luck looking for an extra set of rims at a junkyard.

I see from my records that the last time I purchased tires, I bought Dunlop SP Sport A2 tires, which were ranked #1 among all-season tires by Consumer Reports in their Nov. 02 issue. The four tires cost just $240.

The tires were warrantied for 50,000 miles, but mileage was one thing I didn't make note of when I purchased the tires. By checking the mileage noted on a few receipts I saved for oil changes and rough annual estimates, I calculate these Dunlops had 40,000 miles at most. It doesn't appear I could have benefited from that warranty because I didn't have a Dunlop authorized dealer do my tire rotations all these years.

I may wind up at Town Fair Tire when I'm ready to purchase. They'll do those rotations, and fix any flats, for free.

When I bought my Dunlops last year, I wound up purchasing them from Tire Rack online. When I priced tires at Town Fair Tire, their prices were significantly higher.

But using four snow tires meant that twice a year, I shelled out $40 a pop to have the snows put on, then taken off in spring, adding $80 annually to my car expenses. So that extra traction the snows afforded me actually cost me an extra $480 over the six years I used them.

I've heard from a few more contestants who have turned on the heat during the past week, so I've adjusted the list of finalists below. For all those still going with no heat, bravo.

Still no heat:
monkeymama - Northern California
debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
sevenofseven - Northern California
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
Buckeye - Ohio
Koppur - Massachusetts
nomorecredit- NY

Those who already turned on the heat:
princessperky - Charlotte, NC - Oct. 30
snoopycool - Florida - Oct. 28
Boomeyer - Missouri - Oct. 26
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
ann link - Oct. 22
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1

I was browsing personal finance blogs yesterday and came upon a post that really got me excited. The author was talking about the upcoming February 2009 conversion of analog TV to digital TV.

I heard before that if you already have cable TV, you won't lose your reception, but if you don't, and you have an older TV, you won't be able to get a picture without getting a digital converter box.

But what got me excited is that the author was saying you could get a picture with the digital converter box and WITHOUT cable. In other words, by getting one of those $40 coupons they're offering online for free and then spending $10 out-of-pocket for the converter box, that could give you a picture if you're willing to settle for the basic network channels. Hey, that's what I'm getting now, but I'm spending $15 a month for the privilege.

It would be great to do away with that monthly expense if I could, since I don't watch much TV.

The author of the post also noted that they got a better set of rabbit ear antennas for their TV and said they didn't have an outdoor antenna on their roof.

Still no heat:
Boomeyer - Missouri
monkeymama - Northern California
debtfreeme - Northern California
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
snoopycool - Florida
sevenofseven - Northern California
princessperky - Charlotte, North Carolina
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
Buckeye - Ohio
Koppur - Massachusetts

Those who already turned on the heat:
Househopeful - Delaware Oct. 23
dmontngrey - Massachusetts Oct. 22
Fern - Oct. 19 Connecticut
mbkonef - SE Pennyslvania - Oct 17
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1 - Wisconsin
homebody - October 1

Halloween in my town is a big event. If yo want to have a rockin/ time, even if you don't have children, Main Street is the place to be. What better backdrop for pint-sized ghouls and goblins to do their trick or treatin' than among the many Victorian and Colonial era homes on Main Street? The homeowners go all out to decorate their historic homes.

One home in particular features a gigantic spider that each year sprawls across a web that extends from the rooftop of the house and across the front yard. It's all great fun.

Despite all the fun that Halloween promises, I must admit to falling asleep early last night around 10 pm. I intended to stay up late to watch Tina Fey.

I woke up rather suddenly around 1:50 a.m. for no particular reason. But this is why I know exactly when my heat kicked on. Yes, I'm afraid I'm out of the contest. However, I set the thermostat to 55 degrees, day and night, round the clock. I set it last night because temperatures were supposed to get down to freezing, statewide. I heard the heat kick on at 2:05 am, and then it cycled back on and off throughout the rest of the morning as I tossed and turned.

It'll hopefully stay there, at 55, for this month and next. When we get into the bitter cold, I'll have to notch it up, but I never go above 65 degrees. I don't like to start out at that temp since I'll get accustomed to it, so I'll do it by "degrees."

I have a bad habit of writing things down on a notepad by my bedside when I waken in the middle of the night, or early in the morning before I'm fully conscious. I do some of my best work then (!), but if I don't turn the light on and scribble down my thoughts, I'll forget most of what I "wrote" in my head by dawn.

And that's what happened last night. Actually, I was writing this blog post, but i forgot half of what I intended to say.

I watched the best movie last night. It's called American Splendour. Have you seen it? Normally, I'm pretty stingy with my 5-star Netflix ratings, but this one was really good.

Without giving too much away, it's a story about a down and out guy living and working in Cleveland as a file clerk in a VA hospital. Not much in his life is going well. Actually, there's not much going on, period. One day, while filing away records in the "Deceased" section, he reads one file which lists "Born, 1938, Cleveland. Died, 1979, Cleveland." You know he's wondering if he's going to have that kind of seemingly meaningless existence.

He starts writing a comic strip that chronicles the minutiae of his life. It's real, it's gritty, and it takes off. He lands an appearance on the David Letterman Show. He develops a following. And he ends up doing this for 20 years, although he never gets rich from it. I think it's a true story.

Anyway, if you get a chance, check it out. I loved it.

Still NO HEAT:
Boomeyer - Missouri
monkeymama - Northern California
debtfreeme - Northern California
mbkonef - Southeastern Pennyslvania
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
snoopycool - Florida
dmontngrey - Massachusetts
sevenofseven - Northern California
princessperky - Charlotte, North Carolina
Househopeful - Delaware
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
Buckeye - Ohio
Koppur - Massachusetts

Those who already turned on the heat:
Fern - Oct. 19
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15
Nancy - Oct. ??
MilehighGirl - Oct. 11
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1

Here's where we stand again, with a few corrections...

Still NO HEAT:
Me, aka fern - Connecticut
monkeymama - Northern California
debtfreeme - Northern California
mbkonef - Southeastern Pennyslvania
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
snoopycool - Florida
dmontngrey - Massachusetts
sevenofseven - Northern California
princessperky - Charlotte, North Carolina
Househopeful - Delaware
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Gamecock 43 - Florida!!!
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
Buckeye - Ohio
Koppur - Massachusetts

Those who already turned on the heat:
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15 (You gave it a good shot!)
Nancy - Northern Colorado, turned it sometimes last week?
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1

Here's who is still in the game for America's #1 No Heat Miser! There have been a few dropouts.

Me - Connecticut
monkeymama - Northern California
debtfreeme - Northern California
mbkonef - Southeastern Pennyslvania
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
snoopycool - Florida
dmontngrey - Massachusetts
sevenofseven - Northern California
princessperky - Charlotte, North Carolina
Househopeful - Delaware
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California
Gamecock 43 - Florida!!!
Nance - northern California - has a wood stove!
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
Buckeye - Ohio

Those who already turned on the heat:
Creditcardfree - Oct. 15 (You gave it a good shot!)
wyozozo - Wyoming - Oct. 10
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1

I'm thrilled that it's exactly mid-month and I've wasted no drops of my precious heating oil. I'll be patting myself on the back sometime in January when I squeeze an extra week out of my tank before the next fill-up.

Still, the really hard part is coming soon, here in the Northeast. Tomorrow, temps will begin to drop and this weekend I believe we're only expecting highs in the 50s. I can deal with indoor temps of 55 degrees, but not much cooler, during the day, anyway.

So the challenge is rapidly becoming, well, a real challenge! If you crank up the heat, please remember to post a reply on this post because I may otherwise miss it if you post it to your own blog during the week.

I've been tracking my fuel economy for the last 10 tank fill-ups. I'm getting an average, since this past mid-July when I started taking note, of 38.4 miles per gallon with a high of 42.6 miles per gallon and a low of 34.9 miles per gallon.

I really can't complain, but what will I replace my 10-year-old car with when the time comes some day? Only a hybrid will beat my Honda Civic's gas mileage.

How important is fuel efficiency to you when you're considering a new car purchase?

You probably know what a "bucket list" is, even if you didn't see the movie by that name. I didn't see it, but after a friend started talking about it, I began musing about what would be on my list.

I thought it would be fun to come up with a Bucket List made up of learning experiences.

1. Travel to every national park in the country. I love visiting national parks. Aside from unique and fantastic scenery, our national parks are an incredibly affordable vacation destination. And with park ranger-led talks and walks, it's a learning experience as well.

I get my Parks Passport book stamped each time I visit a national park. It's a nice memento of your travels. It would be fun to plan a week's vacation around a string of parks in close proximity to each other that you could hit all in one trip.

2. Read a biography of every American president, starting with George Washington and ending with President Obama. (Just making sure you're reading this.) I'm more interested in recent history that i've lived through, but I'm sure there are interesting things to learn about our earliest presidents. I'm getting more and more interested in history, and this would be a good way to go about it.

If I were really ambitious, I might add this goal: Read three books of my choice from the New York Times best-seller list each year.

In other news...
I filled up my oil tank last June, which is usually a time when prices are depressed. But when I scheduled my furnace cleaning, I asked what the going rate was now, and they told me $3.09 a gallon. That's cheap(!) compared to the $4.24 i paid in June x 192 gallons = an overpayment of $220 with just that one fill-up, but who knew?

However, the Energy Information Administration has forecast an average per gallon oil price of $3.90 this winter, so my advice to you would be, if you haven't filled up, do so now! Especially since OPEC is concerned that the dip in oil prices to around $87 per barrel is getting a little too low; they like to maintain oil prices at between $80 and $100. So they're meeting in November and will likely cut production.

Today's high was about 69 or 70 here, so I threw open all the windows at about 1:30 pm when I saw it had reached 68 outside and my indoor temp was still 60! Despite doing that, and then closing all those windows around 3:45 pm, I managed to increase the indoor temp to only 61.

This house seems to retain the cooler temps, a nice thing in summer but not so nice now. Still, with mild temps forecast through at least Wednesday of next week, I'm thrilled to continue deferring use of my heating oil. Each day I avoid turning it on now means an extra day's worth of heat I'll get in the dead of winter, when I really can't avoid using it.

In case you were in any kind of denial, here's an excerpt from a story on

Market Watch.

"All major categories of homeowner expenses increased faster than incomes between 1996 and 2006, the center reported in "Stretched Thin: The Impact of Rising Housing Expenses on America's Owners and Renters."

"While mortgage payments increased 46% during those 10 years, utilities increased 43%, property taxes increased 66% and property insurance increased 83%, according to the study. But homeowner incomes increased just about 36%.

Here's the full story.

Kudos to all those who remain in the no-heat contest. No one else has written to tell me they turned on the heat, so we're all still in this together.

Fortunately for us in the Northeast, we're expecting mild temps in the low 70s for the rest of the week. And with all the terrible economic news (the Dow dropped again today like a lead weight), I'm looking at this no-heat challenge as more and more a necessity, not just entertainment.

On top of that, Accuweatheris forecasting the coldest winter in the Northeast in five years. So hang onto your mittens!

I thought I'd do a final weekend update on the "contest." But first, I just want to say that we don't want you to do any harm to your health by sitting in a cold house. So if you are in poor health, or have seniors or very young children at home, please don't go to any extremes.

That being said, here's who is still in the running for America's #1 No Heat Miser!

Me, aka fern - Connecticut - takes hot baths before going to bed at night!
monkeymama - Northern California
wyozozo - Wyoming
debtfreeme - Northern California
mbkonef - Southeastern Pennyslvania
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
snoopycool - Florida
dmontngrey - Massachusetts
sevenofseven - Northern California
princessperky - Charlotte, North Carolina
Househopeful - Delaware
toyguy1963 - Ohio
Analise - northern California

...and 7 new players!
Gamecock 43 - Florida!!!
Nance - northern California - has a wood stove!
Little gopher - Minnesota
Joan.of.the.Arch
canoineag - Denver
creditcardfree
Buckeye - Ohio

Those who already turned on the heat:
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1

If there's anyone else who's turned on the heat, 'fess up now!

Looks like I need to update my list as some have turned the heat on and others are still stubbornly clinging to their sweaters.

Here's who is still in the running for America's #1 No Heat Miser!

Me, aka fern - Connecticut
monkeymama - Northern California
wyozozo - Wyoming
debtfreeme - Northern California
mbkonef - Southeastern Pennyslvania
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
snoopycool - Florida
dmontngrey - Massachusetts
sevenofseven - Northern California
princessperky - Charlotte, North Carolina
Househopeful - Delaware
toyguy1963 - Ohio (I'm sorry, you were on my handwritten list and somehow your name dropped off on the post)
Analise - northern California

Those who already turned on the heat:
Mech - Oct. 3 Massachusetts
ME2 - Oct. 3
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1

So four have dropped out and there are still 14 in the running!

I must say I wavered a bit this weekend. This morning it is 55 degrees in my house and very chilly. Yesterday when sitting at my computer I couldn't seem to get warm. I started the day with a turtleneck, then was still cold, so I put a lightweight sweatshirt on over that. I was STILL cold, so I put on an over-sized corduroy shirt on top of that and finally Ii was warm, though I couldn't move!

Someone asked if using an electric blanket was "cheating." I don't think so. I imagine the energy used for that is a lot less than heating the whole house. My own strategy last night was to soak in a hot bath and then jump in under flannel sheets and two lightweight quilts, with a heavy comforter on the side, just in case.

Truth be told, even the most stalwart among us will have to cave in when the temps drop to the freezing level, since no one wants to risk frozen pipes. But even when I do turn the heat on, I plan to start off gradually with the thermostat set only at 55; at that setting, it will only kick in at night.

I remember last winter that I kept the heat down so low that I actually looked forward to getting in the car or going to the office because I knew it would be toasty warm!

Here in Connecticut, tomorrow will be the chilliest day of the week with a high of about 57, but by the end of the week it will warm back up to a high of 71. Go figure.

It's great to see so many of you are game for the No Heat Challenge.

Here in Connecticut, the weather has turned decidedly cooler, with highs in the mid 60s during the daytime. This morning it was 38! I think we had a frost last night because I can easily see the white stuff on the roof of my family room from my bedroom window.

I'm going to summarize where we stand now. If any of you have turned on the heat since my original post last weekend, please let me know what day you turned the heat on so I can update the list. Also, if you're willing to share what state you're in, that would be good for further "analysis."

Three cheers for those who are still "in the game" with NO HEAT turned on:

Me, aka fern - Connecticut
monkeymama - California
ME2
wyozozo - Wyoming
debtfreeme
mbkonef
Ima Saver - Georgia
scfr - Texas
snoopycool - Florida

Those who already turned on the heat:
myenglishcastle - October 1
homebody - October 1

The clothes are on the line, hopefully drying. I'm skeptical they will; as I recall, even with temperatures in the 60s, unless direct sun is shining on them all day,it won't be enough to dry damp clothes. It's pretty cloudy out right now. I just hate like the dickens to start using the dryer again. (It's just like turning on the heat.)

As I recall, it's usually sometime in early October when I have to turn the heat on. It's been awfully warm here lately, so I have high hopes of perhaps setting a new record for living without heat. Care to join me??

You may have caught on this morning's news how Hershey, trying to control costs and retain profits, has replaced the cocoa butter in many of its chocolate candy products with vegetable oil. The FDA says it's not real milk chocolate without the cocoa butter, which gives it its rich, creamy taste. So Hershey's has changed its labeling and wrappers. Will most consumers take the time to read the new labels that say "chocolately taste"?

Yesterday, I saw another interesting way that retailers are trying to save costs, and this idea, at least, wouldn't seem to hurt consumers or give them less product for their money.

I had a free-after-rebate offer (courtesy of this website) to try Arm & Hammer's Essentials Multi-Surface Cleaner. When I found it on the shelf, I was surprised because the plastic spray bottle was completely empty. Attached to it was a much smaller vial which contained a powder that is designed to be mixed with water in the container. You can then buy the small vial refills as needed, and continue to reuse that same plastic spray bottle.

Now this was a good idea. Just think how much Arm & Hammer is saving on shipping costs if their bottles are, well, filled with air rather than liquid. And consumers are actually helping the environment by avoiding the need to buy additional full-sized, plastic spray bottles. (Of course, one could help the environment even more by using a home-made vinegar mixture in your own reusable spray bottle.)

Have you come across other ways you've seen retailers trying to save some money?

My garden is winding down. What with the cooler temperatures and shorter days, you can tell the growing season is coming to a close as the produce is considerably smaller.

But early on, i decided to track how much produce I harvested, in part to determine how worthy this undertaking was from a strictly financial standpoint.

Of course, I can't tell you how satisfying it is to walk down to the garden after a day's work and see what the day's pickings are. (Organic, of course, and noticeably more flavorful than store-bought veggies.)

So, without further ado, here's what I harvested this summer:

Enough lettuce for 2 large salads
Several servings of snap peas
3 zucchini (The zucchini rapidly got shaded out by everything else)
7 green peppers (Three plants)
33 cucumbers! (Just 1 or 2 vines)
108 tomatoes! (I had no more than 6 plants!)

I gave some produce away to family and friends. And when the tomatoes threatened to take over the kitchen, I chopped them up and froze them for later use this winter in soups and stews.

As for costs, I did sit down to calculate that as well. My expenses included seeds, tomato seedlings, deer netting, poultry fencing, wood stakes and Miracle Grow. I estimate all this came to about $50.

So, that's $50 for 108 tomatoes, 33 cukes and an assortment of other produce. I don't know what a tomato goes for in the summer, in the supermarket, but I think i came out ahead.

I'm planning a much larger garden next year to accommodate the same vegetables, plus more pepper plants and definitely string beans.

Ever wonder what your car really costs you? Not just the purchase price, but the gas, repairs and maintenance, insurance, license, registration and, if you're lucky like me, car taxes?

I figured it out this morning, just for fun. I had finished reading an article in Kiplinger's about whether hybrids are worth the price, and they mentioned that the Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid are tied for lowest total ownership costs over five years, at $39,780.

So I decided to see how much my '99 Honda Civic HX has cost me since I purchased it. I track all my expenses anyway, so it was easy to do.

Here's the breakdown.

Purchase Price: January 1999: $14,500

Year Tax/Reg Gas Repairs Ins
1999 1175 639 200 813
2000 365 409 235 718
2001 507 516 507 874
2002 325 370 739 894
2003 302 520 466 719
2004 149 393 945 796
2005 214 377 614 655
2006 130 496 1020 393
2007 206 514 1029 388
2008 YTD 89 888 980 378

Totals 3462 5122 6735 6628
10% 15% 20% 20%

Total costs: $36,447
Minus sale of old car: 2,850
Balance: $33,597 divided by 10 years of ownership = $3,360 per year to operate.

Just think how much you'd save if you used your legs, bicycle or public transit to get to work.

A few interesting items to note:

1. Total costs for state taxes and registration, etc. fees was a substantial (10%) part of overall ownership costs.

2. Gas and repairs each accounted for 15% of total costs while insurance counted for 20%.

3. The cost of the car purchase itself represented 35% of overall costs over the 10-year period.

4. Gas, interestingly, didn't show a unilateral upward projectory leading to 2008. In the year I bought it, I spent $639 for gas, which is more than I spent in 2007. 2008 is already the year showing the most spent on gas for the whole time I've owned the car.

5. The cost of repairs has steadily risen each year. Guess that's to be expected.

6. Insurance, happily, has fallen, especially from 2006 on, which is when I dropped the collision/comprehensive on the car, in year 8.

So I spent less money to operate my car for 10 years than the new Prius and Honda hybrids will cost over 5 years. While gas costs for these hybrids will be lower than my costs, I don't think that alone makes up for equally high expenses for registration, insurance and repairs, not to mention the purchase price. Unless, of course, you really need a new car. But otherwise it's clear that coaxing an old car along is a great deal cheaper than buying a new one.

So while I grumbled a bit last week to pay over $650 for repairs to my car's emissions system, it's still a small price to pay compared to new car ownership costs. But you knew that already, didn't you?

Quite some time ago, I bought a case of Fancy Feast cat food at Costco. But the little kitty didn't like it; she really prefers her dry food.

I thought I'd go to Craig's List and try to trade my 19 cans of Fancy Feast for a bag of dry food.

First, one woman expressed interest but eventually dropped out. Then I reposted. Another woman responded and said she didn't have a bag of dry food at home, but she could go to the store to get me one and asked me what brand I wanted. I told her my cat's not too fussy and I gave her my number to schedule the trade. She never called, and I figured it was because at some point it dawned on her that she wasn't really saving much money when you factor in the time and gas needed to run to the store for a single bag of cat food.

Then a third person responded, and we did in fact, finally accomplish the trade-off, although he, too, said he'd have to go buy the bag of dry food. I had priced the little tins of Fancy Feast and saw they could be purchased for as little as .55 a can, so that's about $10.45 worth of canned food. So when he asked me what kind of dry food I wanted, I asked for a bag of Iams, Hairball Remedy.

I was surprised that he showed up. He left the receipt in the bottom of the bag and I saw that he paid $7.99 for it. So you could say he made a $2 profit, but of course, he had to drive to my house and to the store. (There were no other items listed on the store receipt.) So WHY DID HE DO THIS?

I just don't get it. I guess some people just like the idea of barter, but it only makes sense to me if you already have an item to trade.

I'm happy I managed to convert something that had become worthless to me into something that will feed my cat for about a month.

At some point earlier in the season, I decided to keep track of how much produce my modest garden generated.

If you're a vegetable, you're just hitting your stride now in Zone 6, when both days and nights are warm and often humid. And here in the Northeast, we've gotten a heck of a lot of rain, saving me at least one chore.

The garden plot is just about 6 x 6, not over-sized by any means. I threw seedlings and seeds in the ground so quickly that I forgot how large the plants would become, so now the entire garden, with its flimsy deer netting and spindly wood posts, is slowly imploding toward the center. I can't walk inside to weed, but I can pick produce by reaching over or under the flexible fencing.

So here's what I harvested so far:

2 large servings of lettuce
several large servings of snap peas
2 zucchini
9 cucumbers
25 tomatoes
6 green bell peppers

Not bad for such a modest space, and I project my overall harvest will double by the end of September, at least if we're talking tomatoes!

As for expenses, this is only an estimate, but the cost of seeds, seedlings, fencing, posts and Miracle-Gro must've come to about $46. And I have plenty of seeds and more deer netting, left over. I will have to come up with a better fencing system, though, when I expand the garden.

I visited with family for an enjoyable three days on the Jersey shore.

We fit in some blueberry picking and a trip to Island Beach State Park.



In my last post, i talked about how I got 39.4 miles to the gallon with my 99 Honda Civic HX. I clocked the mileage driving down to the Jersey shore. It's a three-hour trip one way. It was all highway driving but I took pains to maintain an average 60 mph and was curious to see how I'd do on this trip compared to the 39.4 miles per gallon I got driving my daily commute.

I'm happy to report I got 42.6 miles to the gallon. I chalk it up to hardly any any braking.

Have you ever checked your car's fuel efficiency? Up until recently, I hadn't checked mine, but the EPA rates my 1999 Honda Civic as getting 29 City/35 Highway. (You can check your car's efficiency on www.edmunds.com.)

I suspected it might get quite a bit less than the EPA estimates because when I bought my kayak a few years back, I had a kayak rack mounted on the roof of the car, causing considerable wind drag. And are my car tires properly inflated? I don't really know; it's not something I check regularly.

My Honda isn't an EX, DX or LX. It's an HX. What makes it unique is the CVT, or "Continuously Variable Transmission." As explained in the sales literature, this transmission works a little differently and is supposed to eke out a little more fuel efficiency. That's the extent of my knowledge on CVTs!

The car has an automatic transmission.

So I made note of the odometer reading when I filled up 13 days prior, and then again this weekend. I drove a total of 390 miles during this interval. Most of that is my RT 47.5 mile commute. I divided 390 by the number of gallons on the second refill.

I was astonished to see that I'm getting 39.4 miles to the gallon! To what do I attribute beating the EPA estimate by 4 miles to the gallon?

I am a master of fuel-efficient driving techniques. I've driven this way for years. Here's what I do:

First, my entire commute is on back roads. The county I live in is largely residential and there just aren't any major north/south highways; the only alternative to the back roads, if you're traveling north/south, is a single two-lane highway that is heavily commercial and greatly congested. Most commuters I know avoid this highway like the plague because it's a notoriously stressful and slow route to take, and in fact mile-wise, it adds eight miles to my drive. In any case, the back roads are very scenic and you pass by some lovely reservoirs.

On these back roads, the fastest you can drive is 50 or 55 mph.

I'm guessing my average commute speed is 45 mph, which is close to the "sweet spot" of maximum fuel economy.

I try to drive at a consistent speed and, importantly, leave enough room between me and the car ahead of me so that if the other driver brakes for any reason, it may be possible for me to simply take my foot off the gas; if I do brake, it's gentle and gradual. So no tailgating and no hard braking!

When starting off from a stop sign or traffic light, I accelerate gradually.

Basically, I treat my car as if it were a slow-moving senior who needs extra time to get where they're going, and I don't push it to do spectacular feats. (Actually, its 4 cylinders never really made it a speed demon, so that's just as well.)

Like many food shoppers, I'm not loyal to a single grocery store. Depending on what's on sale, I may frequent Stop & Shop, Trader Joe's, Costco, Shop Rite and Expect Discounts, a discount supermarket with a large Latino customer base.

But with grocery prices ever rising, I'm forced to reexamine the price of everything. About a month ago, I started another price book, which is really just a list, organized by both store and food category (dairy, canned veggies, fresh produce, frozen, grains, beverages, etc.) recording the prices of those items I most regularly purchase.

Recently, I shifted my allegiance to Expect Discounts and spent less time at Stop & Shop. Fresh produce, for instance, was always cheaper at Xpect as long as you didn't mind picking through over-ripe fruit in their unrefrigerated bins.

I pored through the Shop Rite circular. I was quite surprised to see that in some cases, Shop Rite prices beat Expect's. Take ketchup. I happened to have just bought ketchup at Xpect, a 1 lb, 8 oz. bottle for $1.18. I thought it was higher than before but assumed that since everything was going up, it wasn't out of keeping with anything else. Shop Rite's price was .99 for a larger 2 lb, 4 oz bottle. Imagine that!

I thought i was getting a "deal" at Xpect when I found two pound boxes of pasta at .80 a pound, but Shop Rite had one pound boxes on sale at .74 a pound.

Not everything at Shop Rite was cheaper. I bought a two pound bag of pre-cooked frozen shrimp at Stop & Shop for $6.99, while the same item cost $9.99 at Shop Rite.

Until food prices stabilize (and that won't happen until oil prices do), keeping an accurate price book will continue to be a challenge.

Until then, I won't buy many food items until they go on sale. Pepperidge Farm Dark German Wheat Bread is just great, but once I learned it goes on sale at regular intervals, I'll wait until it's offered at one-third off. Then I'll stock up and buy four loaves, freezing those I'm not using.

I do the same thing with Lean Cuisine entrees. They're handy and easy to bring to the office for lunches, but their regular price of $3.50-plus is too high, so I'll wait until they go on sale at $2.50 each. If they don't go on sale, I don't buy 'em.

As I was researching a story on aggressive credit card marketing tactics for a story I was writing at work, I came across mention of a James Scurlock film called Maxed Out. The independent documentary was filmed in 2007 as a result of a lawsuit the Ohio state attorney general brought against Citibank and a sandwich shop which got students on college campuses to sign up for credit cards by enticing them with free food. The suit was dropped against the sandwich chain in exchange for their cooperation in making the film.

I'll be watching the Netflix movie tonight.

Credit card marketing on college campuses was never something that was done when I attended school, but it apparently became a nearly universal practice not long after I graduated. Nearly every major university developed "affinity" relationships with credit issuers, a partnership in which the credit card companies paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to budget-strapped schools in exchange for exclusive rights to market to college students.

The schools provided credit issuers with students' contact information, disregarding students' privacy rights. I wonder what most parents would think of this. It's not something that comes up when you're getting the campus tour.