Today, let our thoughts be with Laura on her wedding day. I hope this is one of the most wonderful days of her life. Best wishes to them both.

Yes, it is back to the doctor for both Molly and me.
Molly's bllod sugar still has not regulated, so I am
taking her to the vets this afternoon for another blood test. She gets 2 shots a day now, 8 units of insulin each time. She "loves" the shots because we reward her with a piece of chicken each time. It makes us feel much better that the shots don't seem to bother her at all.
My infected foot is still no better. I have not been able to wear a pair of shoes in almost 2 months. I feel funny going out to the grocery store in fuzzy slippers, but that is all I can stand to wear.
I made an appt. to go back to see the doctor tomorrow. I am having a hard time sleeping at night because of the pain.

I opened a mutual fund this week for my great grandaughter. This will be one of her birthday presents when she turns 3 the end of June. I chose vanguard star fund. Their minimum is $1000 to open a fund.
In the "good old days", you could open a mutual fund in many companies for any amount. I started my mutual fund savings with just $50 in the American Century fund, Heritage. I still have the fund.
I can remember going home every night and putting away 10% of my tips into a little wooden box to add to that fund every month. Tips were always low here, so usually my 10% was only $2. But, I faithfully sent the money that I saved, into that mutual fund every month.
I opened mutual funds for both of my granddaughters when they were born. Now they each have over $10,000 to help with a down payment when they buy a house.

I hope little Ava will enjoy her mutul fund money when she gets older and remember her old great grandma julie.

I got the March mortgage check today. It is due on the 25th, but she usually pays it early.
I use to have rental properties (38 years ago.)
Between being a landlord and being a mortgage holder, being the holder is a lot more fun! (and profitable)

I went to the doctor on Thursday afternoon. My left foot has been hurting me for over 2 months now. It is finally gotten so bad that I can not wear a shoe or even a mocassin on it. I am having to wear BIG slippers that flop all over.
He said that my foot had an infection and that is could be a sign that I have diabetes. So, they did blood tests.
I got the results this afternoon. My blood sugar is 118, but they do not think I have diabetes. While my foot still hurts like heck (they gave me pills, but no results yet), I am so happy that it was not diabetes. (I am keeping my lucky dime in my pocket all the time.) Thanks for your thoughts!

i went to the dollar store a few minutes ago to buy a notebook. When I got out of the car, I found a dime in the parking lot. I am carrying it around in my pocket and hoping it is a lucky dime.
My c.d. at Melrose credit union matured on Feb. 28th. They say that they mailed a check that day, but I have yet to receive it. If it doesn't come today, something is wrong. Hoping that dime is lucky for me!
Also, I went to the doctor yesterday. There might be something seriously wrong. I will find out Monday. Hope the dime is doubly lucky for me!

I am super surprised, we had our closing today. The couple buying the home could not come to the closing, so they handled it all by overnight UPS. She called yesterday to say they had received the paperwork and the attorney called this morning to see if we wanted to close today. Of course, I said yes!
We went to the attorney's office, signed a few papers and picked up our check! On to the next house! (p.s. this is a spec house and now we will start another one. My husband does most of the work by himself)

I had never gone on a blind date. I had recently moved out of my house and was going thru a divorce, when a friend from another town, called me. Her son had a best friend, who had a single, older brother.
She wanted to set me up on a blind date.
So I went. I met him at her house. He took me out that night. We went dancing. When we got back, we spent all night, sitting on the floor in her living room, just talking.
He had to be at work at 6 a.m. the next morning, so he never got to go home and get any sleep. I invited him to go to a party the following night. (It was a Jr. Woman's club party and I was president of the club.)
He declined and I felt very sad.
The next afternoon, after getting some sleep (and taking my phone off the hook) my girlfriend called.
My blind date had been trying to get hold of me all day and wanted to take me to the party. (As it turns out, he had another date and had to break it first.)

He showed up at my house, all dressed up and we went to the party and had a great time! We spent every evening together after that. Some of you may not believe in love at first sight, but I know it can happen. It happened to me. 39 years ago today.

We have been together ever since then, Feb. 18th, 1977.

Since the nation's eye is on the presidental contest right now, I would like to ask a question?
Who was President when you were born?


Since I am so old, it is obvious, my answer is:

George Washington!

My little dog, Molly, was diagnosed with diabetes on Dec. 29th.
Molly is a malta-poo. Her mother was a pure black poodle and her father was a pure white maltese. Molly takes after her father and looks Maltese.
We first started out giving Molly one shot of insulin a day. She has to go back to have her blood checked every few days.
The 2nd week, Molly started getting 2 shots of insulin per day.
I read in an online column about diabetes and dogs, that one couple gave their dog a treat every time they have to give her a shot.
I asked my vet if Molly could have a treat at "shot-time". She replied, yes, give her a piece of chicken.
So, we have cooked up white meat chicken for Molly.

When Daddy gets home, it is time for the shot. Molly paws at her bowl until I feed her, her regular dog food. (Call of the Wild) Then, she runs to the counter top where we keep the needles and jumps up and down. She knows it is "shot" time and, most
importantly, "Chicken treat" time. She can hardly wait, she is so excited.
She gets her shot, then gets her treat! She seems to love it! (so does the little one, Abbey, who also gets a piece of chicken just for being cute.)

It makes me feel so much better to see that Molly is happy over getting her treat that she looks forward to the shot that precedes it! I wish I was that brave! (I hate shots, even if I get a treat.)

Do any of you have any good advice for a good mutual fund to open for a child? Years ago, I used American Century Gifttrust for my granddaughters, but it is no longer offered. I have a great granddaughter now.

Well, I am attempting to open up a new c.d. at Navy Federal Credit Union.
Since my old computer won't let me get into the website, I have been trying, the old fashioned way.
I called Navy Federal and opened a very small savings account. (required) That gave me an access number.

Today, I sent a letter and a check to open a c.d. They have a special c.d. offering right now; a 30 month c.d. that pays 2.5% interest.
I have a big c.d. coming due from Melrose credit union next month. The most they are paying right now is 2.4 and you have to tie your money up for 60 months. (5 years) This seems like a much better deal.

Fingers crossed that I can open one up the old fashioned way. I will let you know. If it works, I will send my Melrose credit union money there next month if they have the same 2.5% deal for 30 months.

I went to the library yesterday so see if I could use one of their computers. I had a terrible time, it was nothing like mine. It did have a mouse, but nothing else was familiar. I did get one librarian to help me get "into" it, but I have no idea what she did. I was not even able to move the page I was on, up and down. I was so frustrated that I almost cried.

I mainly use a computer to handle my finances. Since no local banks pay a decent rate, I keep several accounts at online banks and transfer the money (for building the spec house) when I need it. I am trying to open a new account at navy federal credit union, but apparently my computer is so outdated, that I cannot get into view my account. Dh is not help, he has never used a computer. He suggests that I just keep our money locally and forget about trying to earn any interest.

I am finally ready to get a new computer. I got mine in 2006, my first. I had never used a computer in my life. When I worked, there were no computers.My computer has been telling me that I need to update my browser for over a year, that support has ended for windows 8.
I am not sure what that means, but I did try and get into a new account at Navy Federal Credit Union and I could not get access because my computer is so old.

Any computer suggestions? Remember, I need something really easy and something I am already use to like my Dell computer with a mouse. (No laptop for me)
I am a great grandmother and am really not into the new modern things. I don't have a cell phone or any other kind of devise. I need something really simple to use and understand.
(Maybe this is what my grandparents went thru when automobiles first came on the scene. My grandmother, on my mother's side , was born in 1873. On my father's side, they were even older than that.)

I took Molly to the vet yesterday to have her diabetes (sugar) checked. She has made no progress at all.
They switched her to a different insulin. This one is novolin n and the cost is about $140 for a small bottle. The needles I bought at Walmart were NOT correct, although a pharmacy worker told me they were.
I had to buy more needles, 60 of them for a month's use.

Poor Molly now hoas to have 2 shots a day. One in the morning and one at night. I pray that these shots will do the trick and her sugar will be under control.

I take her back on Thursday for testing! I will take the diabetes medicine that I already purchased and donate it to someone who needs it. Keep Molly in your prayers!

I took my sweet dog, Molly to the vets last week. She has been drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot. I thought it might be a bladder infection.

I was so upset when the vet told me she has diabetes. She is only 6 years old. I cried and called my husband, then he cried.
She will have to have a diabetes insulin shot every day for the rest of her life.
We got the insulin and needles and started her on it right away. My husband is giving the shots. If ever a dog was good about getting shots, it is Molly. You could not ask for a sweeter dog.
The insulin in very expensive, $50 for a tiny bottle and you have to use a new needle everyday. However, there is no amount of money that would matter to me, Molly is worth a million dollars!
We go back again tomorrow for her to be retested. I
see no difference in her yet. I read that most dogs have to have 2 shots a day. We have to be careful to feed her at the same time and don't leave any dogfood down for the other baby, Abbey.
Hardest on my husband is that we cannot give her any snacks after our dinner.

Have any of you dealt with a diabetic dog? Of so, any advice you can give me would be appreciated.

Instead, we are under a flood watch. The creek came out of its banks yesterday and more rain is forecast thru Monday. Right now, the creek has gone down a little bit and I am glad. It is a wet and warm christmas.

Merry Christmas to all! Dh and I will be alone for christmas, but I can't think of anyone else that I would rather spend christmas with! Have a great day!!

We got invited over for Christmas dinner by the young couple that bought our last house. I thought that was so nice of them to think of us.
They both work and have a 2 year old duaghter, so I told them that we appreciated it very much, but they needed to spend the day, resting up and enjoying each other. It warms my heart to think that they wanted us to come over.

We went to a christmas party last night at the home of one of our friends. We built their house. (It seems we make good friends with all the people we build for.)
The young couple that bought our last house was at the party. They bought us a beautiful gift basket.
We are holding the mortgage on their home because they had trouble getting a mortgage. They finally sold their condo in Florida last week, so that has helped them out financially a lot! I am so happy for them!!
Hey SA friends, I need your advise. What do I call the young couple.? My mortgagees? There are NOT my tenants, they own the house, I just hold the paper!
I am not sure, I need your advice.
They had there beautiful baby girl (she is 2, almost 3, with them. I had a gift for her. A special BIG piggy bank and a child's purse with lots of coins to put in her new bank. Might as well get her to start saving while she is young!

I got the sweetest note from my youngest granddaughter yesterday. (She is 25)
She said that she wanted to thank me for the wonderful christmas memories that she had as a child.

"If it wasn't for you and grandpa, Christmas would have been awful. I wanted to thank you and tell you that I will never forget it. Not just the gifts, but the fact that you guys came and picked us up, played with us, did stuff with us, let us destroy your closet, spent time with us. For us, that was the best memories that we have (she and her older sister)
That was my favorite time, when we got to come to your house"

My 2 granddaughters were left by their mother, when they were only 3 and 5. They lived with their father and step mother. We looked forward to the days we got to go and pick them up. We all squeezed into the corvette. Yes, 4 people can fit into a corvette, when 2 of them are small people!
Their favorite thing was to play dress up in my closet. They love to put on all my dressup (cruise) clothes and high heels and put on fashion shows for hours! We did not mind the "mess" in the closet at all. It was fun for us too.
Those were some of my best memories of christmas too. I wish I could have kept my two little granddaughters forever. Now they are both beautiful, grown up women.

I watched that old movie last night. I still think it is a wonderful movie, even if it is older than I am. (Hard to believe) Has anyone else seen it?

I got a package in the mail yesterday. It was the new corvette jacket I got my husband for christmas. It is black with yellow trim to match his yellow corvette. Of course, I also got myself a black/red one to match my red corvette.
Unfortunately, they sent the wrong size for me, so I had to return it today.
I often buy my own gifts. He is so busy working that he just doesn't have much spare time. This way, I also make sure I get what I really want. I sure hope the new jacket fits! (and comes back soon.)

We spent the evening with friends last night. We have known them for 15 years, when we built their first house up on the mountain. We have since built them a "cabin" on the creek, which they use for their vacation home. (It is 7 miles from house #1, making it a very easy vacation destination.)
Their 19 year old grandson was there, a very cute boy. He works as a server (waiter) making $2.75 an hour plus tips. That always interests me cause the only job I could find when I moved here, 30 years ago, was a waitress making $2.15 an hour. Tips were almost non existant because locals did not tip and we had very few tourists.
Just think, after 30 years, the pay for waitresses and waiters has only gone up 60 cents an hour!
That is why servers depend on their tips so much.
The young man showed me several pictures on his phone and told me that it cost $700. I found that hard to believe. My first car cost only half of that.
Amazing!!

The buyers that are buying our cabin got here today from Florida. I was so worried that they would not like the hardwood flooring. She picked it out herself; but when you are looking at an 8" x 12" sample, it is hard to tell what the entire floor is going to look like
Fortunately, she like it. It is a dark color, in contrast to the light pine walls and it looks like its old. Apparently, that is what she wanted and she is happy. I like more modern things myself and would have chosen a lighter color, but what I like does not matter, it is what they like that counts.
So, it is a happy thanksgiving for all of us and I am thankful that she liked her new flooring.
I am also very thankful for all my friends here at Saving advice, my wonderful husband, sweet puppies, Molly and Abbey and my friends. Happy Day!

Today, I am offically the oldest member of my immediate family. My mother lived to age 70, my father, age 55 and my sister, age 59. All of my grandparents, aunts and uncles have long passed. I check on the computer and all of my cousins (aunts and uncles children) have passed also.
George Burns had an old song and I still have the record.
"I wish I was 18 again,
and going where I've never been,
cause old oaks and old folks
standing tall, just pretend,
I wish I was 18 again."

Yesterday, my husband received a call on his cell phone from his brother's wife. He was on his way to his job. (He is a builder)
This is amazing, because SIL has never called us, even once, in the 40 years we have known her.
She is very quiet and never talks unless you directly ask her a question. This drove my MIL crazy!
She has also NEVER invited anyone over to her house.
We have never been inside of their house and neither had my FIL and MIL (or his live in girlfriend after MIL passed) When they would spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together, BIL, SIL and their kids would always come over to FIL's house. Poor FIL's girlfriend always had to do all the cooking, cleaning and the dishes. She was in her 80's and that is a lot of work for an elderly lady.

She called to ask for money to pay the cremation bill. When my husband suggested that they just pay a few hundred dollars a month until they sold some of the estate, she stated that they did not have a few hundred, they lived paycheck to paycheck! (He owns his own business and makes over $100,000 a year plus she works full time too.)

They inherited a house full of antiques; collectibles from a life time. They could sell them, the house (which is a duplex) and there are four antique packards. (from the 40's and 50')

Dh told her he would talk to me and let her know.
Last night we wrote a letter explaining that we did not feel like we should pay for the final expenses.
We have paid part of the house taxes for 15 years and for all the housecleaning this year. We are not asking for any money. DH (nor I) was even mentioned in the will.

I am hoping that BIL and SIL can catch up on all their outstanding debt once they sell the house and that they will learn a lesson. They need to learn how to live within their means and advoid debt.

Just last month, husband's brother went on a 2 week fishing trip to Canada that cost him $3500. (which he put on credit cards) They live far beyond their means and our bailing them out will not teach them a thing.

It is sad when this happens when a parent passes. Unfortunately, I think this is all too common.
When my mother died, my sister, who was 9 years my elder, (I was 32) moved into my mother's house the following week and changed all the locks. I never got any of my mother or father's possessions, not even a picture. I know pictures would mean a lot to my husband right now.
Now, my husband feels like he has no family left. Fortunately, he has me. He told me the other day that I was his best friend. That means a lot to me.

As you all (might) know, my lucky number is 13. I got married on Friday the 13th (almost 39 years ago.)

I called the funeral home yesterday to see if there was any service scheduled for FIL. I was told that there was a military service at the Fla. national cemetary yesterday afternoon.
BIL never informed us of any funeral service. Obviously, he did not want my husband or myself to come to Fla.

Well, let's hope today is a lucky one for me!

Tuesday night, about 6 pm, the doorbell rang. It was the young woman who (with her husband) bought our last house. We decided to hold the mortgage for them, since they were having trouble with the bank.
He is now self employed and could not prove his income for the past year.
The mortgage payment is due on the 25th and she brought it on the 10th. Tha was nice!
She explained what happened to the lost check she mailed me last month. (She came over in person to give me a replacement check) It had my old address and the post office returned it to her about 10 days later!
I hope she is as prompt for the next 24 years, 8 months!
They are a wonderful couple and I got to meet their beautiful daughter, who is 2 1/2. I found out her birthday, so I can get her a little present in March.
I found a real cute large piggy bank that I am going to give the little girl for christmas. I want to get her thinking about saving at an early age!!
It is never too early to start!

I want to say thankyou to everyone who is serving or has served in the military. Thank you for serving our country. FIL, who just passed, was in WWII. My own father, who passed when I was 9, was in WWI and WWII. He served as a captain in the army for 30 years. I am very proud of him.