Sunday, August 31, 2008
Fort Housac (part 8)
Ok, I promised you a photo of Jamie's room after having arrived less than 12 hours ago. (top photo) Bottom photo is work in progress with the help of two friends from Sierra Nevada. It wasn't completed when I left, but major progress had been made, by Jamie, and her promises to be the best decorated in the entire house. Of course it will be! It's Jamie.
The town is somewhat spread out and if there was a main street, which is called Spring Street, it would look like this. The building with the water truck in front of it, is the Post Office. The other pic is that of the B&L building and houses a very nice coffee shop that is looking for workers.
Williamstown is the northwesternmost town in Massachusetts. The town is bordered on the north by Pownal, Vermont, on the east by Clarksburg, North Adams and Adams, on the south by New Ashford and Hancock, and on the west by Berlin, New York and Petersburg, New York.
Originally called West Hoosac, the area was first settled in 1749. Fort West Hoosac, a blockhouse and stockade, was built in 1756. The town was incorporated in 1765 as Williamstown after Ephraim Williams, who was killed in the French and Indian War. He bequeathed a significant sum to the town on the condition that it were named after him and started a free school. In 1791, the school opened, becoming Williams College in 1793. So it's kinda old compared to Manteca, CA.
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,424 at the 2000 census. A college town, it is home to Williams College, the Clark Art Institute and the Tony-awarded Williamstown Theatre Festival, which runs every July and August
Williamstown, MA (part 3)
Can you spell 'r-u-r-a-l'? These are two pics from the back of the shack. Nice covered deck, a bike rack (strong hint from Jamie that she wants a bike) and doors that lead into the dining room and family room. Absolutely a gorgeous setting for a college, for museums, and for grad student housing.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Retire in 8 years or less! That has been my slogan, one that is on my business cards and tee-shirts. For those that haven't heard my 'speech', the basis for this is based on a simple program of saving $1.50/day, and investing it wisely. That's about $45/month. I call it my spare change retirement account. Just last week I deposited $39.00 in spare change. Note the key word: deposited, and not spent or cashed-in.
Every month I find ways to save at least this amount and today's tip is rebates. I needed insulation for my garage project, and when the local hardware store put it on sale, I was there. Then I learned that the manufacturer was offering a 25% rebate, so today I'm mailing that in for a nice $16.50 rebate. Yeah, I had to cut off the upc codes and fill out a form and spent 47 cents on a stamp, but so what. I would do that for a $1.00 rebate. Where else to you get a 100% return on your investment in a just a few weeks!
Designing your weekly meals around the grocery sale items, can also save you many dollars and freezing those sale items also works. Finding a good IPA for $6.00 versus $8.00 has saved me thousands. lol When TP went on sale for $4.00, I backed the truck up and saved hundreds. (extra tip: it doesn't work to freeze it) It doesn't take long to save $45/month, is my point. Now where you invest it is also very important. If you're getting 5%/year from your savings account, it will take you 47 years to amass $100,000 and then what, can you live on $5000/year? But if you were to make 5%/month, then it would only take you about 8 years to reach the $100,000 mark, and could you live on $5000/month?
I shall leave you with that thought for now.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
For those that love numbers, twice today it will be 08-08-08-08-08-08.
Now this picture might need some explanation or you can make up your own story. Your choice. For my birthday, a good friend of mine gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure. Perhaps a strong hint that my feet smell and my toes look gross! It was sooooooo nice to be pampered while they ground off my nails, sandpapered my scaley hooves, and painted. The short twinge of feeling gay left quickly. Thanks Lisa. I highly recommend such a treatment to all the guys out there. BTW, the lucky girl to do the work is Andrea Gilson who works at Rob's Riverwood Salon & Spa. I misread it the first time and thought it was saloon & bar, so I was pretty excited when I walked in and they asked me what I wanted to drink.