what are your summer plans?

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sdlee

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with gas pricese what they are or what they will be what is everyones summer vacation plans? In my family and in my house hold we have decided to go no where!!!

but then again we live in one of the United States Best kept secrets as far as vacation lands go.

If any of you are planning to go through The Black Hills/Mount Rushmore or even making us your stay be sure to let me know. Im down for meeting any of you.
 
So far going to stay in Greenville.Want to go to the RC area,but costs on the airlines to get there are high-and of course the high gas prices discourage me to go there-and I have other freinds there.as well as my Dad.
 
No travel plans here.

With the economy in a tailspin I'm staying home. I still have a good bit of work to do on the house (rebuild shutters, reglaze windows, start on the upstairs rooms restoration, etc). I have started replacing the grass in the backyard with gardens and plan on removing as much lawn as possible. I have planted over 30 tomato plants, okra, squash, potato, 5 kinds of pepper, carrots, herbs and that's not counting my small kitchen garden. I want to plant an olive tree and some figs this year and clear some space for apple and peach trees.

I plan on doing some canning and soap making. A local carpenter is doing some repair work on a neighbors plantation and has dicovered a huge honey bee nest. They are going to collect the bees and move them and I get the bees wax, about 50 lbs. so it looks like time for some candle making as well.

My partner has several 18th century ladderback chairs he wanted me to weave the seats in so that will take up a few hours in the evenings over the summer. By fall I hope to have put away a good harvest for winter. And, as always, there is a list of books for summer reading. I'm sure my partner will have several projects in mind as well for me that he has yet to tell me about. I usually find out about them over Sunday dinner when guests are present.

Given the state of gas prices and the economy we are preparing for possible harder times ahead. Exxon will get as little of my money as possible. I am expecting gas to be much higher by the end of the summer. Entertaining at home will be the order of the season and the door is always open for visitors.
 
My only plan is the Vac convention in N.Canton OH this August all being well. Thankfully it's about a 4 hrs drive because I'm pretty much through with flying anywhere these days.
 
This will be the first time since 1982 I won't be going to Seattle for a couple of weeks during the summer. I have to replace 18 sections of privacy fencing and the roof is getting reshingled, so I'm going nowhere. I'll be lucky to get to Minneapolis a few times, even!
 
Pete, I am so glad to hear that you are planning on coming to the vacuum convention. I think it is going to be one our very best. Can't wait to meet you. Terry
 
I'm taking my first real vacation since 2002. My brother & I and a couple of friends are heading to Alaska the 1st week of June. We rented a 30ft RV for 2 weeks. Gas is going to suck (both literally & figuratively). We've been planning this for almost a year & it's finally almost here. I'm looking forward to some relaxation & some good salmon & halibut fishing.

As an aside, I haven't found the economy to be too bad in my neck of the woods. We're up more than 35% compared to last year. I didn't believe in the stimulus checks, but I gotta tell you, the first week they started to be direct deposited, we were busy as heck. I had a lot of people say they were using the money to buy another appliance. Now if we could just keep the local school board from jacking our real estate taxes another 15% things would be nicer.
 
Such comments

are not in bad taste during times like this iheartmaytag.

My partner and I are making plans just in case things get really bad. Hense the large vegetable garden and returning back to the tradional home crafts. I can make bath soap cheaper than I can buy it. That's because I come from a farming background in Appalachia and grew up being very self sufficient.

Crime is way up around my neck of the woods. The crimes are related to hard economic times. Shoplifting in the grocery store for example. I watched a mother get busted at Publix. She was stealing baby food. Wrong I know, she should have gone to local charities. A desperate act to feed her child.

I asked several colleagues about their plans. No travel plans at all for any of them. And all due to gas prices and economic issues.
 
Thanks Oldhouseman

I just got a notice from my homeowners insurance that they are doubbling my rates because I had a claim last year and because I have a collection on my credit report.

I asked them to look at the reason I had a collection was because they didn't pay the medical bills in a timely fashion when I had a car wreck that wasn't my fault.

So now I am looking for a new insurance carrier, after 30 years with American Family. A**holes, I had to sue them to get them do do the right thing when the drunk hit me in '04 and now this.

I do a lot of baking, and was shocked that Crisco is $5.99 a can in Dillon's last night. Bread is up to $3.15, and it cost me $60 to fill my Jeep.

WARNING BAD TASTE REMARK
I'm so poor if I didn't wake up with wood, I wouldn't have anything to play with.
 
At least

you have a morning hobby to start the day with iheartmaytag. :)

Speaking of baking, do you have any good bread recipes? I want to figure out a way to make it more economical to make bread at home rather than buy it.

Good luck on home owners insurance. A world all it's own. I couldn't get any insurance on mine at all because it is so old (Federal period, late 1790's). I ended up going to Lloyds of London. They laughed when I told them the reason I couldn't get insurance in the States. Not cheap though.

The local gov. is doing home tax accessments this year. I expect a big raise in property taxes.

I used to do portrait painting as a side line and may go back to it for extra income. I had a few art shows in Atlanta but dropped the hobby when the house restoration started. I'm giving serious consideration to picking up any extra business I can to bring in the bucks (there's a country song in that line I do believe).

I gassed up the truck at lunch today -$98.47! I wish we could errect a guillotine as a warning to politicians and oil company execs.
 
Bread Recipes

I don't know how much cheaper with the cost of flour, which went from $4.59 for a 25lb bag to $7.89 for the same bag. I like Hudson Cream flour. Then there is the cost of yeast, I go to Sam's and get the 2-1lb bags for $3.49 much more economical than the little packets.

I do all of this in the KitchenAid mixer.

2 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
5 tsp yeast or 2 pks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 egg
7-8 cups white flour (if using whole wheat flour you will want to monitor your moisture and flour as it can tend to get dry).

Place first six ingredients in your bowl and wisk together. (What I ususally do is leave out the oil at first this way you can tell if your yeast is going to froth--if you don't have a froth the yeast won't rise.)

After these are wisked together add about 5-6 cups flour and process with dough hook until it pulls from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball, continue to kneed for about four minuts. Stop and let dough rest for about five minutes and then kneed with machine for another 2 minutes or so.

At this point your dough should be tacky but not sticky. This will depend on your relative humidity and the humidity of your flour. Sprinkle flour on your work area and hand kneed the flour for another couple of minutes until it is damp but not sticky. It is better to add your flour slowly and dry it than to try to make it moist again.

Grease your mixing bowl, then form your dough in a smooth ball. Cover with a damp dish towel, or plastic wrap. Let dough sit in a warm area until it doubles about 45 minutes to an hour.

Slightly press the dough down to expell the air. You aren't wanting to work the gasses out of the dough just punch them down a bit and redistribute them.

Let rise again. After the second rise which will take about half the time as the first, you can split this batch into your baking pans. This amount will make about 24 rolls or two loafs.

Bake at 350 until done, about 45 minutes for loafs.
about 20-25 minutes for rolls.

You can also make this up the night before when expecting guest and allow the bread to rise the first time in the frit. When you take it out punch it down and let it sit at room temp to rise the second time. This usually makes a dryer bread in my opinion because it sits more before baking.

I hope I didn't leave anything out, good luck.
 
if we could just keep the local school board from jacking ou

Don't wanna hijack the thread, but a quick comment on the above...

We have a little thing called Proposition 2 1/2. If the town wants a tax increase of more than 2.5% for something, it has to go to a public override vote. Neighboring towns like Ashland, Framingham, and more have been sportin' a lot of signage like, "Vote No on 2 1/2. Enough is Enough," and, "No More Overrides!" We didn't have a prop 2 1/2 override to vote on this time, or I'da put out a big lit NO sign!!!

Chuck
 
And, as far as I know, our time will be spent here doing a lot of the things we've wanted to do for the last 5 or so years, but didn't do because we weren't sure of what was happening with the house.

Chuck
 
perc-o-prince

We have a bond issue coming up to. It will raise the taxes on a $100,000 home by about $45. Add that to my insurance increase and I am about at breaking point!!!!!!!

Sorry for the hijacks :-0
 
Property Taxes & summer plans

Property Taxes
When we lived in central IL we lived in a ranch that we bought for $100,000 and sold for $125,000. The taxes on that house were between $1800-2000, this was back in 1996-2001. We then moved to the Chicago suburbs and bought a house for $213,500. Taxes were $4000 and when we left there in 2005, they were up to $6400. Then, we bought a house that was $384,000. Taxes were $8400 and when we sold last year, they were $9500. Now that we moved to Wisconsin, we had people telling us to watch out for Property Taxes. We bought a house for $380,000 on one acre and our taxes are only $6500.

We are planning to fly to Phoenix to stay with family for 2 weeks. We got good prices on airfare from Milwaukee, $218 R/T plus taxes/fees. I think that they reason we got the good deal is that we were open to flying on any day and time. It got pricy when I was trying to price out specific days and times.

We are also driving to The Dells for a week in August but that's only 2 hours from us (if that). Hubby has a VW diesel that is getting about 48 MPG so we won't use much gas to get there either. Luckily it is a fully paid trip form his work so that makes it even better!
 
I don't like summer very much, so I usually don't make summer vacation plans. I might like to go to the beach for a few days (about a 3-hour drive), but other than that, no plans.
 
I've baked bread, and I'm not sure that it's a great way of saving money. My local grocery stores, particularly the one where all the rich snobs shop, always has a good selection on its clearance shelf. The bread isn't as good as home baked, but it's passable.

"As good as home baked"...that's the real reason many people bake.

I've always found bread to be pretty easy. The nice thing is that it's forgiving. Unlike other baking, where everything has to be exactly right, or it's a total failure.

The one word of advice for those who don't know--the only critical thing is the temperature, particularly of the water the yeast gets dissolved in. If the temperature of the water is too high, then the yeast is killed. (Every yeast brand I've seen prints a suggested range for that brand and type on the package.)

As for insurance companies, I've been told they are all evil when it comes to a claim. The best bet might be smaller companies, sold through an independent broker. I've been told that smaller companies don't nickel and dime as much. Even better, a good broker will supposedly help the client fight if needed. And the rates can be lower. One person I knew had Allstate. After her son totaled her car, the rates went sky-high. She went to a broker, and got insurance that was equal to her old coverage, with a price equal to or better than the pre-accident Allstate rate.
 
I am planning to attend the Eastern National meet of the Lincoln and Continental Owner's Club, which is being held in Columbus, Ohio August 14-17. I certainly won't be driving my '73 Continental, with it's prodigious appetite for premium fuel, and flying, though expensive, seems like a less time consuming (but less interesting) alternative. It'll be interesting to see how many Lincoln owners show up with their beautiful vintage cars. I daresay the price of gas will keep many at home but the wealthy and the trophy hunting die-hards.

http://www.lcoc.org/documents/OVR_Meet_2008/2008ENM-Info.pdf
 
Lots of fun

My partner and I started off the summer last weekend with a three day stay at the Mirage in Palm Springs-a private mens resort and had a blast.

I leave thursday for three weeks in San Francisco where I will be running a gay B&B for a friend while he visits Argentina.

I have a conference in Milwaukee in late June and will stay a few extra days to sight see.

We plan a long weekend in San Diego in mid July, checking out the loca talent.

We (or possibley just I) will attend a wedding in Boston in late July and will take the train to DC for some fun and then off to my parents for a few days.

Other than that it is relaxing by the pool, sipping Mai Tai's and Chardonnay. All the while, I will be teaching an online consumer rights class and supervising 35 or so interns.
 
Dave the LCOC meet sounds excellent. I had a '64 convertible for over 20 years and sold it a couple of years ago. It blew up on the buyer about a month later. I had a feeling it was ready to do something costly. He wasn't upset. He buys and sells vintage cars so he knows things can happen. He sold it as is to a guy in the UK and shipped it outta here.

Also sold him my dad's '69 Mark III. A nice car, a pleasure to drive, and he said he was keeping that one to himself. Haven't heard but I'm confident the Mark hasn't given him much grief at all.

My dad's '65 sedan ended up with a collector in Michigan.

I thought I'd miss the convertible more, but I really don't. Even with its classically understated lines, it was still too flashy and stereotypically faggy for me. I'd like to find a nice '63 sedan someday. They have a more sporty look in my opinion. The Kennedy Lincolns are such nice driving cars.

Have fun!

Ralph
 
Oh, and no big summer plans here. Maybe a trip to LA. We lost our private clothing optional beach & campground which was really convenient and didn't accept reservations, or we would have been over there this week!
 
Looks like I`m staying home too, but I enjoy being at home. We had a couple of lay offs so ive used the time working on our house. Oldhouseman, I would dove to see your house! heres a link to our blog, although I`m too busy to update it now as my projects are scattered and I spend most of my time hunting tools that I have misplaced. This is our parlor during the recent house tour. I may not get it this clean again till the holidays!

http://teapottreasure.blogspot.com/
5-17-2008-16-35-16--drmitch.jpg
 
Cape Cod Here.

Work,Work, Work !!!!!!
Between the Whale Watch Boat and the Restaurant, who's got time to think about a vacation. I'm still looking for a Unimatic or anything else that finds my interest. I'm very happy at home as long as I get a new appliance every so often. Top loading KitchenAid, Speed Queen , you know....
 
Summer Plans

Staying close to home.... If there happens to be a washing machine convention or wash in I would consider going...

Jim
 
Bev & I are going to MN the 1st weekend of June for a family anniversary party. Other than that, just going to a few of the local church picnics and regional polkafests. Beer & polkas, it don't get no better for me and da' missus. hahaha
 
Thanks drmitch

Your place looks great! I like Victorians but my heart always goes for colonial or federal. You have done an amazing job on your renovation. With projects like these going on a summer trip is definately out of the question.

Please do come visit sometime. Spring and fall are the best times of the year. Sparta is 20 miles east of Milledgeville. I am currently starting the renovation of the plaster walls in the guest room. One of the summer projects. I have 14 ft ceilings in my bedrrom and this room. You can see the damage from the leaking roof. Replacing the roof was the first order of business of course. The door on the right goes out onto the front porch, the one to the left opens into the formal parlor.

5-19-2008-10-24-7--oldhouseman.jpg
 

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