Last night was I looking through a lot of pictures posted on the internet of the California wild fires and the horrific destruction they have caused. This picture really grabbed my heart. It looks more like a war zone than a fire. My heart goes out to the people who have lost their homes and their belongings.
One place that we can tighten the belt and save a little money for the household budget is to re-examine insurance policies. I know that we can save some money each month on Car Insurance. We have one car that is broken down and not drive-able, so it makes no sense to keep insurance or tags on that car until we can afford the new transmission.
If we are going to change our car insurance we might as well shop around for the best rates on the cars we drive now and perhaps combining our car policy with a home insurance policy will save even more with a company that offers discounts for combining all our insurance business.
The first time I ever tasted a Honeybaked ham I was hooked. This is the absolute best ham you can buy. My first taste was at a party hosted by the VP of Logistics when I ran a warehouse for a bit computer company. Since he was my boss I had to make an appearance, and it turned out to be a great party. The food he had put out was delicious, he had hired a bartender to host an open bar, and a mobile DJ to play dance tunes out on the patio so people could dance under the stars.
Ever since that first Honeybaked ham I have bought my own ham two or three times a year. I alway get one for Christmas dinner, and also at Easter, and usually at least one more ocassion during the year. It is not too salty, not too sweet - although the honeycrust is wonderful. And it is always so tender you don’t need a knife. With their special spiral slicing, each piece pulls easily off the bone.
Now I see a coupon in the Sunday newspaper for $5 off a ham - sounds like I’ll be heading down there this weekend to take advantage.
Grandma lives alone in the house she and Granddad had since the 1930’s. They built the house themselves, with help from Granddad’s two brothers who had come to America and bought land next to his. The three of them ended up building a lot of houses for relatives over the years, and eventually the town named the street where they all lived after the family surname. I always thought that was cool.
After Granddad passed away a few years ago we hired a housekeeper to come 3 days a week and look after Grandma, make sure she has a good hot lunch, and just keep her company for a few hours during the day. My Aunt Jenny sleeps over at Grandma’s house each night and makes her breakfast before leaving for work.
I’ve been wanting to get Grandma a cell phone to keep in the pocket of her housedress, but she has been reluctant to get a cell phone. She says she can use the house phone when she wants to make a call, but if we call and she doesn’t answer we get worried that something is wrong. Most of the time she doesn’t answer because she is either outside or even in the bathroom. But a cell phone would solve that issue and I could even get one for Aunt Jenny.
So I started looking for Gifts for Senior Citizens with Christmas in mind and hoping to find a cell phone that she would like. Most of the cell phones are way too complicated for her basic needs. But it seemed that I saw an advertisement in Parade Magazine for Senior Cell Phones and wanted to find that phone. Turns out that the phone I had in mind is called the Jitterbug. It has a lot of features designed for senior, like a backlit dial pad and large, easy to see numbers. Their web site is easy to click through and they have very economical services, from as little as $15 per month and pay as you go, to unlimited minutes with all the bells and whistles for only $80.
You can buy the Jitterbug over the internet and over Gifts For Seniors like Jitterbug accessories if they already have the phone. I think it is good to have an extra charger and an extra battery pack on hand in case of emergencies. So I’ve got a good start on my Christmas shopping for this year with Grandma and Aunt Jenny taken care of.
Have to say that I’m not a big fan of winter. I don’t mind a little bit of cold weather - especially if you are dressed warmly, have gloves and boots, and aren’t stuck in a snow drift somewhere. But I would rather fly to Colorado or Utah and go skiing in their snow, then come home to balmy warm temps. So I’m not looking forward to tonight’s forecast of dropping temperatures and the chance of snow flurries. That’s going to make it a long miserable night for us.