Taxes

It's time for us to pay our property taxes again... I dread this upcoming event - handing over $2300 in property & school taxes seems insane to me for the size of our house and school system.

Anyway, this led a few of us into a conversation recently on taxes. So I am posing my questions to everyone out there to see if anyone knows the answers.

1. Why do you have to declare your state tax refund (refunded money because you OVERPAID your taxes in the first place) to the IRS? Isn't that double taxation? Isn't that partly why we rebelled against the English centuries ago?

2. I just bought my new car last fall for $17000, but I talked them down to $12,000 because it was Fall and they wanted the 2004 models off the lot. So then I paid sales tax on the entire $17000. My question is since I've now paid sales tax on that car, why will the state make anyone who buys it in the future pay sales tax on it again? Again, the whole double taxation comes to mind. In Vermont, if you buy a used car, you must pay sales tax on it when you register and sales tax is based on the Blue book value of the car, not what you paid for it. So if you buy a car for $3000 used and the book value is $5000, kiss 6% of the $5000 value goodbye. Now if you paid $6000 for the car valued at $5000, the state will take the tax based on that $6000 value.

LOST addiction

I am totally hooked on the show - LOST. So last night, I arranged everything to make sure I was home in time. Now I've seen it and so many questions pop up. I'm beginning to think this show is all about careful planning - not fate. It has to be planned that Jack would end up facing a man from his past on this very island... And I would swear that his father has something to do with it all.

Movies anyone

Okay, it's time for the movie industry to explain something to me!! Because Ophelia felt like dumping some rain on Vermont this weekend, my husband and I decided the movies sounded good on Friday night. We had some free passes to use up, so we headed for the theater. Now WHY was the only PG movie showing playing a 1:00pm showing when kids were at school?

Thankfully our children are older - 9 and 12, so I felt okay with the movie we all ended up choosing. Though the fact that my children wanted to see a romantic comedy still stuns me - we went to Reese Witherspoon's JUST LIKE HEAVEN. Really the only issue was seeing an old man's behind in an Emergency room which is pretty accurate of what you can see in an ER, so that doesn't bother me.

I am bothered by the fact that the only movie at this theater that was under a PG13 rating was one we didn't want to see. Hollywood needs to look at the movies they are releasing and realize that there are kids out there who do go to the movies. More PG or G options would be nice, and I think it might get more people in the theaters. Had my kids not been interested in JUST LIKE HEAVEN, we would have skipped the movies completely.

Will it work?

I have been waiting for the show, BONES, to premiere and finally last night it did. I am just not sure I really like it.

I think my problem lies with the fact that Hollywood really changed Kathy Reich's character. I can see creating a whole new character with a new name, go ahead and keep the career the same, but I think taking a long-time fictional character - making her younger, more athletic, and changing her location is just maddening. The Temperence from the show isn't like the one from the novel. She kicks butt, she's young, no daughter involved, she is based in the D.C area instead of Montreal. In reality, she is a new character with the same name. To me that's wrong, it wasn't what I was expecting.

I think the show has promise, more so with those that haven't read every Kathy Reichs book. For the long time fans, this new Temperence is going to be hard to get used to and if you manage to adapt, the books will then feel wrong.

Posts with links

Twice now I've had posts with links on them. While I normally would allow such behavior, these two "links" have contained Trojan viruses that were caught and quarantined. I am deleting and banning all who post virus ridden links.

Red Sox

I grew up in a household where the Red Sox were the team to root for. I still remember in 1986 they made the World Series and for five days our geometry teacher brought in coffee and donuts for all --until Game 6 and then class changed!

I ended up marrying a Red Sox fan. The game was on in the background while I gave birth to my daughter, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

So this weekend, my husband discovered Bronson Arroyo's new CD. For those unfamilar with Bronson, he is the Red Sox pitcher who wore dreadlocks all last year. Now his hair is back to normal and I still say it looks weirder now than it did then. Anyway, the CD turned out to be quite a surprise. I'm still not sure he'd have gotten a recording contract had he not already been a sports star, but more power to him for realizing his dream!

Gas Prices, Part 3???

So I was just reading a story on gas prices and how they've reached this all-time high--


By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 18 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Damage to Gulf Coast refineries and pipelines by Hurricane Katrina pushed retail gas prices to historic highs in the past two weeks, with self-serve regular averaging more than $3 a gallon for the first time ever, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.

The weighted average price for all three grades surged more than 38 cents to nearly $3.04 a gallon between Aug. 26 and Sept. 9, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.

Self-serve regular averaged $3.01 a gallon nationwide, according to the survey. Midgrade was pegged at about $3.11, while premium-grade was at nearly $3.21.

So what I want to know is where are they getting these prices from????? The LOWEST I've found around here is $3.19 a gallon and that's effective only today after prices dropped. Last Tuesday when I tried to gas up, the cheapest was $3.49 a gallon in this area. I had to drive 30 miles to get a price of $3.39 a gallon. All these prices are regular - I won't even go there for the super and premium because no one can afford them!!!!

I would be thrilled at this point to have $3.01. Someone tell Vermont that their prices are screwy - and as we were in NY yesterday and prices were about 20 cents higher over there - someone needs to tell NY that they have their prices jacked up too high as well!!

I have two roads to go with - either there is some serious price goudging going on in this area, or the Associated Press needs to do their homework a little more thoroughly.

Demise of a city...

Growing up, I used to LOVE taking trips over the lake to Plattsburgh over in New York. The city had a military base and two malls which made it a treat in my teen years--the change of pace was refreshing, and taking the ferry it really wasn't a long trip at all - especially for a car load of teens.

It has been four years since my last trip to Plattsburgh. After the base shut down, the town started faltering. One mall closed down and the other seems to struggle. The weather was gorgeous yesterday, so my husband and I thought the kids might enjoy a trip on the ferry. I'm saddened to see that nothing has improved over there. I'll say I did enjoy the Super Walmart. Vermont keeps shooting one down here, but I've never seen a 10 lb bag of potatoes for under $2 in any of my local grocery stores.

What bothers me is that lack of change. Hooters shut down years ago, and the mall still has failed to bring in a new restaurant in the mall. The food court has lost three eateries since our last visit. Ames still sits empty. It's almost as if everyone has given up on even trying -- though I know the current mayor is struggling to revitalize the city. I'd like to think something will change, but after four years and still no improvement, I'm doubting it will happen.

When Ames shut down in Vermont - Kohls was quick to snatch up the space. In St. Albans - Ames turned into a TJ Maxx and the more useless Peebles. Those spaces filled rather quickly. I'd have thought the same would happen just over the lake, but it hasn't.

I hope years from now that I return to Plattsburgh and find major improvements, but some how I just don't see it happening...

The HUMANE???? Society

I guess my faith in mankind has been shattered partially today. As I'd stated in a post a few days ago, we found ourselves in the possession of a stray cat last Saturday morning. She's a good cat, but she HATES, and will attack to kill, other cats and dogs. So my own cats are not thriving, nor is my dog. All three have taken to hiding under beds in an effort to avoid the new cat. Despite shelling out $200 to pay for the stray's vet care, my husband and I decided she'd be happier in a home without other animals. It has to be more humane than our keeping her in a dog kennel all night - she yowls like crazy and it's been three nights since I've slept.

So today, we took her to the "Humane" Society who told us flat out that since we were from a town that didn't pay their "membership" fee, they refuse to take in an animal. It didn't matter that I just spent $200 on vaccinations, meds, etc. They told us to leave with the cat and not to bother coming back because they won't take her and that our local animal control officer only deals with dogs, so he refused to take her as well. At this point, I was ticked off. I understand the Humane Society's issue. However, since I walked in with meds, proof of vaccines, vet records from our visit, food and a cat crate, all they really needed to do is supply her with water and care until she is adopted out. Instead, the person agreed that our options are to continue caring for her or stop feeding her and hope she goes away. This cat was down to 6.5 pounds and not in good health, I'm furious that the humane society's stance is that I just should have let her starve to death. That's absurd and not very HUMANE.

After talking to our vet, he said our best option is to try to give her away through the local paper - but that odds are we will not get any takers. The only other option is to keep her outside year round and hope she can take a Vermont winter. At this point, I'm almost thinking it's more humane then to have her put to sleep. 40 degree below windchills are not anything I would force an animal to try to survive.

Flood aftermath or pets???

I haven't decided where to go with today's topic, and I thought about it all day, so I've decided to make two comments.

FIRST - I question the looting in Louisiana. I read yesterday that massive numbers of police officers have turned in their badges and a couple have committed suicide. I'd like to think that as humans in tough times, we would have the strength and decency to remain civil, yet for some reason it hasn't happened. People smarten up. Yes, you've faced a horrendous tragedy and things will get worse before they get better, but the story I heard yesterday sickens me. My son's classmate's parents are from Louisiana and have friends down there still. One of their friends was given permission to go back into his house to get additional clothing and rescue his dog. He walked into the house and was shot at point blank range by someone who had taken his house over as a shelter. That's so wrong. What's worse is that the hospitals are so overworked, they all turned him away because he was the victim of a gun shot wound. And for those who want to cry racism - I'll have you know this man is white, so don't even try to say he was turned away because he was black. I find both acts to be inhumane and unjustifiable.

#2 - I will never understand and probably never will--- if you have a pet, why abandon it? There has been a stray cat hanging around all summer, I know it had been raiding my bird food for the past week until I put it into a lidded bucket. All of my neighbors have chased it off numerous times and no one knows whose cat it was, but bets are on it being the cat of a young guy who was living down the road temporarily this summer as that is the house it kept going back to. Finally this weekend out of desperation it came crawling up to my husband begging for food. We fed it and now happen to be the proud owner of a two/three year old recent mommy. No one knows if the kittens survived or where they might be, but this poor cat is the most friendly cat I've ever seen. We took her to the vets today and she's clean of everything except ear mites. Why someone tossed her out so easily is beyond me. We happen to live near Lake Champlain and it is quite common for a summer camp resident to up and leave without their pets, but she is a sweetie and I just can't imagine abandoning her. If you really like a kitten or puppy, but don't want to stick with the pet come adulthood - do everyone a favor and foster your pet temporarily - talk to your local animal shelter - they are almost positive to have a foster program.

Site update

I've had a bit on my plate, so the update is going to be late. I have been watching a five-year-old in the mornings, so I'm not on the computer much. I am also throwing a b-day party tomorrow, so that's taken up my afternoons.

Rest assured, by Monday all the reviews will be online!

Tracy

Gas Prices, Continued.

$3.19 a gallon compared to $2.519 a gallon two days ago. This is insane. I would like to see actual statistics that shows the U.S. is severely low on fuel and that the gas companies and government aren't just using the effects of the hurricane to gain more money. I keep hearing that there is a shortage now because refineries were affected, but I still haven't seen anything statistical.

What scares me most is that the gas stations and the news are saying that the price will top $4 a gallon in the Northeast before there is any relief.

My husband and two of his co-workers are looking into setting up a carpool, even if it is only the three of them. We're all for car pooling anyway, but my husband's hours (7 to 3 with no room for moving a schedule) have made it harder in the past. This time, it's worth it for me to drive my husband 7 miles north so that he can then head south. 7 miles is much better than 17 miles.

I know I've heard people having to choose between gas or groceries, and without a job groceries are more of an issue, so they are skipping groceries to pay for gas. Others are in a panic over fuel prices when winter comes. I now feel much better that we tapped into our home equity line of credit to pay for a full year of propane - it locked us in at a$1.89 rate. But my parent's are paying over $4.00 a gallon for their propane - when is this going to end????