RYou

We’ve had an income tax for years. I don’t recall not paying a state income tax. It’s basically a flat tax with the exception they amended it about 10 years ago to allow for medical expense deductions, insurance costs + out of pocket expense. 2.25% up to $1,000,000 and 7.5% of income over $1M.

NJ also has an Exit Tax that applies if you sell…[Read more]

The one concern I always had before pulling the trigger was, what am I going to do? Wifey settled that. We were in a townhouse. The first year was OK, I renovated the inside but had no maintenance to do outside. Coming off 2.5 screes, that was a lot of free time. The first year was fine, probably because I was bust renovating the interior.…[Read more]

I got to live that final year twice. It was during COVID when the majority were working from home. I was supposed to terminate in 2020 when COVID hit. The plan was to indoctrinate my replacement with my clients, but that was all shot up when they instituted a hiring freeze. They asked me to stay an added 6 months, then another 6 months when…[Read more]

Merry Christmas Eve. packing the house with GK families and a few aunts and uncles. It’ll be crazy, big late lunch and then late dinner with leftovers before everyone heads home for Xmas morning. We get clean up but will catch up with the kids tomorrow PM. Hope you have a great day with your families.

The cold blitz is over. It hit 50 today and will hang around through Friday. With it comes a fierce storm with lots of rain. It should melt the snow but not before the road piles block the flow and cause some backup flooding.

No’1 grandson is playing a hockey game at Prudential Arena tomorrow, home of the NJ Devils. He’s pretty excited. Not…[Read more]

I read about the state flooding. I hope you aren’t impacted and that stream out front doesn’t take out any crossing.

Tat snow we had was the typical wet stuff we get and the temp dropped to 17F. 2 days now of sub 25F so everything is ice. The streets are clear but everything plowed to the curb is block ice. The temp is supposed to rise to +50…[Read more]

The final snow prediction as it started falling was 3-5″. We got 11. I spent the afternoon shoveling out and finished as the sun and temp dropped. We won’t be seeing anything above 32F until Wednesday. Then mid 50’s Thursday and Friday. 11F this AM. More of the same tomorrow.

48 hours of misery, but it’s gone now. Upside, it’s a great diet tactic, lost 4 lbs. 1st snow is predicted to hit. The weather guessers are back at it. 1 – 6 inch forecast. Nuisance or big headache. 2 weeks ago they predicted 7 inches in the state but by passing us. The Gov declared a snow emergency the day prior which triggers slating the…[Read more]

That much rain would cause a bit of flooding around here. Been down with a bug for the past few days. Cold and extremely tire. Slept 14 hours yesterday off and on. Feel better today but not 100% Didn’t eat a bite yesterday, woke up hungry and gorged myself.

We’re experiencing one of the coldest Decembers on record. It seems the El Nina weather flip is real. Last December was one of the warmest. We’re not going above 30 until Wednesday. I pulled my horseradish roots just in time. It made for some wickedly hot cocktail sauce

Buffalo hides and fires in the wigwam I guess with lots of dried buffalo and deer meat. What’s surprising is that they didn’t 19 or 20 kids. That’s a lot of snuggle time in a studio apartment.

Kids tourneys can be brutal. Stands are packed with parents, friends and wrestlers. Kids crowed the edge of the mat. You haven’t a clue when your kids next bout will be on deck so you fear going for a bite to eat, and when you do, nearly all the food is gone. You can’t leave to eat because you’ll never find a parking space. This year it looks…[Read more]

Smoking a turkey is my favorite way to cook it. It just takes a really long time. If haven’t tried a fried Virginia ham you should. It’s not greasy at all if you the tempo high enough.

They do a 30-30-30 for tournament overtime, but no OT in dual meets, ties if even at the end.
Age 4-7 its 1-1-1, 8 and up 1-2-2 for bouts. The wrestling…[Read more]

Hope you had a feasty Thanks giving with the family. We had 26 including the parents of the in laws. Tables all over the place. No.1 son fried a turkey and Virginia ham and one in-law made lasagna, meatballs, sausage and spaghetti. 26 and we still had a ton of leftovers.

They plow ever snow here too, but then leave a slick layer of compacted…[Read more]

We rarely see dry snow here, always wet, and heavy to move. Salt, salt, salt the towns buy mounds of it. One year the northeast ran not of salt in mi January and we usually get most snow in February. The Gov had to step in with an allocation and distribution plan. He declared a road emergency and directed towns not to salt certain residential…[Read more]

Had a great time in St Pete. Low 80’s. The warmth felt great.

Our rain is exactly the opposite. We rarely get the misty stuff which we common calla fog. rain is rain, droplets of any size. Hard rain is when there an unusually high volume of droplets.

I enjoy working in the rain. Just need a cap to keep it from dripping into the face, It’s messy but nothing a hose can’t handle.

I surprised my wife with a trip to St Pete Beach Florida for our anniversary. She needed it more than me. Low 80’s and sunny. NICE !

I guess there is only one way to find out. The Simpson won’t fail, but the nails or screws holding it in place may pull out.

If a bear sheared the deck bolts, I don’t think you can find something stronger except a thicker bolt or a Grade 8 bolt. They use them on carnival rides because of the shear strength. I’m pretty sure the only come in carriage bolts, no lag bolts.

A northern blow rolled in last night leaving us with 29F in the AM. It never beat 40 F today and…[Read more]

I enjoy working in the rain, but it has to be warm out so I don’t need a coast. Add a hat to keep it off the face and I’m good to go.

Building a deck is always a chore. Thankfully this house is one step off the ground so I don’t need a deck.