Friday fun

It is Friday, and Fridays are for fun. In the last week, I have made a couple of trips to the Ramsey County yard waste site near my home. I am actually ahead of schedule on my yard work this year. Hazah!

I bring my yard waste and hope to leave (pardon the pun) with “free” compost. So far, no luck. The compost pile is full of 70-somethings, and I can not get near it. They sit on the compost and in it, too. I suspect that some of them sleep there.  They sort the stuff and strain it, too, methodically and thoughtfully.

I decided not to take pictures; you will have to check for yourself if you don’t believe me.

The food waste I compost in my backyard will have to be enough. At least I won’t have to compete for it, or sit in it or on it.

If, for any reason, you want to attract people in their 70s and older, you can probably do it with a pile of compost and a “free compost” sign.

 

 

It is Friday, and Fridays are for fun.  We don’t grow coffee in the US. Most of the coffee we drink comes from Vietnam and Columbia. We have to import coffee and chocolate too.  That orange-faced baboon in the White House just imposed pretty hefty tariffs on imports. I am guessing, but coffee prices should increase by about 50%. Think of it as a new tax, along with all of the other new taxes.

Consider the fact that the gap between the rich and the poor is going to get even larger.

I can’t think of anything fun about tariffs. More than 3 trillion dollars of wealth in America was wiped out yesterday when the stock market tanked on the news of Trump’s tariffs.  Some of that money was mine, and some of it was yours.

I’ll drown my sorrows in an extra cup of coffee today.

 

 

 

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. Today is planting day. I’ll start my tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and some flowers by planting seeds in small containers. I like to use the plastics that bakery products come in. I use some seed starter potting soil and put them on a shelf by my kitchen window. By next Friday, some will have sprouted, and in six weeks or so, I’ll start bringing the plants outside.

I’ll buy some plants at the Farmer’s market in May, and anything else I plant in the garden will be from seeds. I also have plants that I brought inside last fall. They will be going outside in May. I really do love gardening season.

 

 

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.

I wrote this on Monday, March 16, 2020. That seems like a century ago:

The Mayor of St. Paul declared a state of local emergency to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  The schools are closed and so are the libraries and the zoo. Water shutoffs will be suspended for 30 days and permits will not be issued for gatherings of more than 50 people.

Social distancing is recommended and that means putting some space between yourself and others. Six feet is recommended.

From what I understand toilet paper isn’t a cure for the virus and soap and water actually works better than hand sanitizer for washing hands. The water that comes out of the faucets in St. Paul is quite drinkable. If you can’t find bottled water in the stores try filling a reusable glass with water from the faucet.

The stores near me ran out of bleach and disinfectant wipes weeks ago. You can use bleach or disinfectant to sanitize surfaces. Read the directions on the bottles. Be careful where you use that bleach it can damage surfaces.

We have been using isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)  to disinfect our germy phones and iPads.

If you have to stay home you might want to consider limiting your time on Facebook or Twitter. There is more drama than usual on Facebook.

Later in the week I’ll look at some data and try to figure out what kind of impact COVID-19 is having on the local real estate market. It was quiet over the weekend. Unless your house is on the market or you sell real estate chances are you are not thinking about real estate.

Local Information about Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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I didn’t get Covid 19 until last October, after having all of the vaccinations. I caught it in a health care setting where persons with the virus were not required to wear masks.  The pandemic was life-changing for some of us and things are still different from the before time but I guess change is a constant in life and we don’t always notice it.

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. I can look forward to a day of marketing messages that include a reminder about daylight savings time. I can count on my insurance agent and the lenders and title companies I work with to send cheery messages about turning the clocks ahead.

Here is my reminder to you:

 

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. As I mentioned a few Fridays ago, my goal is to buy nothing new in 2025. So far so good. I have to buy food and medicine and what I need for my business. There is a thrift store in the neighborhood where I can buy used items, but only what I need.

I did this back in 2018 and learned a lot from it. I ended up buying one new pair of shoes and a new bike. Normally I would buy a used bike but I am happy with my purchase, which was made at the Lowertown Bike Shop, a small local woman-owned business.

One thing the government can not control is the economy, but as consumers we can. It is all in our hands and the wallet is even mightier than the vote. We live in a culture that worships money, and where money is more important than anything or anyone.   Don’t buy anything today. Nothing at all from 12:00 AM until 11:59 PM but if you can go longer, do it. I can easily make it through the weekend and probably most of the week without buying anything at all. Eventually, I will need groceries nd other consumables.