Purchasing Life....

          Now as life progresses and you have the opportunities to be involve in big ticket items, following certain common sense logic and post "what did I just do" and "where do we go from here"  after thoughts will get you thru the basic concerns and worries that come with such acquisitions.  
           As I have had those opportunities to purchase either new cars, every 12 years or so and a once in a lifetime chance to acquire a home, I do have somewhat of a perspective of how to process the information and details of such contracts.  First, it is best to go out either in public or on the internet, or God Forbid, the newspaper and do research as far as what the cost is, what the problems are, and what attributes you desire in the purchase at hand.  Second, since most of us don't have the cash laying around to purchase either of these items outright, so consideration needs to be taken as to what added cost are, including such items as insurance, interest on the loan, and maintenance costs.
            As for the concepts involved with buying a car, there are two things to consider here, either it will be new, or it will be used.  Either way, you must think about the different costs between the new car and the used one as to what the insurance will run you.  The second is any warranty on the car, and any additional extended warranties that you can purchase.  At the time of purchase, when you buy a new car, you should consider, even though it seems like a lot of money to purchase these additional warranties, you must look at it is broken down on a monthly cost over the time of the loan, and the difference between what it would cost if you didn't have these coverages over the length of time you keep the vehicle in question.  Next, the best way to purchase a vehicle on credit is to put as much as possible down, so over the length of the loan, the monthly payments are as small as they can possible be.  
             If you are lucky enough these days to purchase a home, not necessarily for an investment, but to live in most of your life, then there are also some compelling concepts to remember here.  Obviously you want the type of house, new or used that has the requirements that you desire.  This could be the architectural style, the square footage, the size of the yard, and how much maintenance will be required to take care of the yard, and the condition of the house itself.  How much care will it take to bring it up to a comfortable standard of living, or is it in good enough shape to have a few years before there are major issues to contend to.  What type of neighbors are involved, if any, and if it is necessary to be involved with them, make sure you introduce yourself before you purchase, so you know the parameters of joint custody on purchases to maintain the property down the line.  With a loan for a home, the best thing that we thought was to get an impound account with the bank or credit union that holds the deed.  This way, you will know the cost of the property tax and the insurance, so you can realize in your budget the total monthly cost, and also someone else is taking care of the insurance and property taxes for you, and that impound account, though in small increments, collects interest, so it is another savings account that comes to fruition when you actually pay off the loan down the line.  We have been lucky because in both the original purchase and the refinance we were able to borrow the entire cost of the loan, including points.  It is not in your best interest not to put some money down on the loan, so the monthly payments are lower.  Secondly, if the monthly loan amount for the impound account is low enough, please, in your best interest, pay something each month toward the principle, so as to cut the length of the loan down over the course of the loan.  If hard times prevail at  any time during the loan, you can always back off of the extra payment to the principle, until you get back on your feet again.
                    

Riding Fiscal Waves of Navigational Policy into the Shore

           Neither the coastline with it's many faceted indulgences or the permeating factors fog entitles one to, can bring about, without some type of navigational tool, like say for instance, common sense or counter intuitive measures of restraint, economic anomalies.  Putting emotional matters over the sound economic mind, often times, makes symbolic concepts like going over the cliff or precipice when involving monetary policy, seem quite literal as sudden emergencies throw themselves in front of the oncoming bus.
                  In riding the cash cow, or waves of uncertainty during spiral economic interpretations, one finds that standing up can bring about some form of dizziness, allowing deviating forms of falling to occur on the fiscal horizons.  
           One begins to conceptualize alternative awareness of day to day finances when such stormy economic patterns emerge.  It is entirely possible to circumnavigate your way into what seems to be a lost art form, that nuanced fiscal painting of living within your means.                                                                                                      Before someone leaves any road trip to ride any of the coastal breaking waves onto the shore, having the right fiscal equipment, and a safety net that ensures viability, irregardless of whatever mediocrity it entails, is good sound economic policy to adhere to.    
           First the realization of whatever cash flow is involved helps to begin any of the road trips primal urges.  Then most of us must be aware of the differences between what is coming in, and what the most basic going out precepts are.   No matter the experiences you have negotiated in any historical sequences, as the permutations enter into the picture, having snapshots of those images will help in any deciphering that is necessary at any given moment.
          Glancing at necessities becomes the first of many strokes putting yourself out into any wave pattern to catch your early peaking sets of monetary indulgences.  After getting out beyond the initial sets, finding your balance between got to have, and want to have, influences your ability to ride the wave into the shore, and gives you the chances to catch multiple rides in your daily and yearly routines of riding each fiscal wave.
           It is at this point that one sees that saving until you can afford the luxury one desires that starts the credibility to access your ability to paddle numerous times out into the sets.  Having the credit is not so much the allure to a monetary freedom, but understanding that you pay the bill off when it comes, is the second point in any navigational policy one ensues.
          Being conscious of the fact that you get what you pay for, is another crucial tool in riding these fundamental waves. This means that spending a little more to get a better tool, rather than having to purchase a cheaper tool, multiple times, is one criteria.  The other fiscal criteria then, is maintaining any of the tools you have, rather than finding yourself riding that same relentless wave of you can either pay less for it now, than paying a lot more for it later.  This of course is commonly known as preventative maintenance.
           Consider this possibility also when you consider your own health.  To save time and money, watching your diet, not only in what you eat, but in how much you eat, can also provide you with the savings that will help you down the line, in order to provide yourself with a nest egg, but also with the navigation of any emergency that you find yourself in, from one experience to the next. The concepts here also is keeping not only your body fit with either work or play, but to continue to keep those neurons firing by learning new things and meeting new people that give you alternative perspectives of not only in paddling out to the wave sets, but also the nuances involved in riding each of your chosen waves into the oncoming shore.
             To add to your circumstances in indulging your desires, when possible, two things should be considered.  One is putting savings away into a vacation fund, so when those opportunities present themselves from time to time, you have the tools necessary to provide yourself with the initial indulgence, and to maintain your peace of mind, while enjoying your seaborne extravagances. Two, after that discerning calculated move, it is time to realize that giving in to a retirement fund of sorts, on a thought pattern of a long term involvement, riding the rise and fall of certain economic fiscal waves, provides another fundamental solace to monetary responsibility.
           In retrospect, when one learns skills that provide the ability to maintain the tools and equipment used in everyday living, it too brings some of those beneficial savings that add to the additional nest eggs one requires to balance the board on incoming and outgoing waves.  Acquiring friends, family and neighbors that hold skills that you don't possess, and can be used in a bartering type of alliance, can also add to the emotional, physical and monetary health of your shoreline road trips.
            In summing up these navigational policies, finding the time to be positive, in helping those around you, and when possible buying things in quantities, and when they are on sale, and saving them in numerous ways for later usage, brings the cultural adaptations in providing functional responsibility to riding those elusive, and yet common fiscal waves, and ensures good judgement to ensure those and other anomalies the capacity to land onto and  into the warm and tender loving arms of the coastal monetary and fiscal shoreline.

Adele, Joyce and Roxy's Annual Road Trip to Dillion's Beach

     Sometime on Friday afternoon, Adele, Joyce and Roxy, made a road trip to Dillion's beach to celebrate their Annual Birthday at the Beach event.  For a few years, they have all packed up the car

the food, the fire wood, and their best stories of the past, and the dreams of the days to come, and found their way out thru Sebastopol, turning at Dinucci's and winding slowly down to their dream

real estate nestled on the frontage road at the beach.  

      As they all remembered the early morning fog, and then the sky clearing, it seemed as this history was not in any

way going to repeat itself.  Each night brought a great dinner, and a small but warming fire, to go with the heater, since the weather was cloudy, cold, with lots of murky visuals out toward the horizon.

       Steven came out on Saturday and helped celebrate with appetizers and lunch early in the afternoon.  Then a few walks with Adele, Joyce and Roxy, before a warming fire, and another great dinner

brought to them all by Joyce.  While the night grew on them all, Joyce and Adele played number games in the kitchen, while Steven kept his toes warm while watching the tube and the sunset on the

horizon.

        Sunday morning early brought rain, and made the road slick and shiny, as a lot of people left early.  Joyce fixed zucchini cakes, along with fried potatoes, cantaloupe and sausages for breakfast.

     Adele had caught the Echium and the Rosemary as they had grown and spilled either over the wall to the ground, or had climbed up into the Juniper.  It looked as though it was going to clear.

        Steven packed his bags, and left the troupe to weather their final day at the beach and headed home the back way, which had always been the front way for Adele, Joyce and Roxy.  This is Steven, the chronicler of events, the teller of tale tales and the history of what goes down in Sonoma County, Child....wishing anyone and everyone a delightful last Sunday and Monday morning of the Month of September, 20011

David and Mary Lou give Ray a Touch Lamp

Gather round and amaze your eyes, as Ray or Joyce or Mary Lou or David can touch this lamp, and it will go higher three times and then off.  Someone says it won't last long the way you're going at it, and Mary Lou says, and it's guaranteed for one year...wow.

The Clamor around Ray's 95th Attempt at Life

        One moment, I rose above the clouds of confusion, voluntarily submitting myself to see what "Condition" Ray Widdifield's  "Condition" was in at his 95th attempt at Life, specifically and generally speaking.

       And just to clarify for one's own imaginings, if I were to ever say I was a "Wise"  man, then surely I have given up the right to such a judgement, both literally and figuratively.

              Now, believe it or not, being a humble and grateful person to be in such a position, in the course of human events, to gaze and be gazed at, at the Widdifield's home, and yes, it is only with the ethereal nature that the ethernet provides, I can only say that the conversational patterns jump around so quickly, that there is no time for singular

epiphanies, chasing rabbits or putting Humpty Dumpty back together again, but fortunately enough time to chime in with historical commentary, which I hope, stirs the soul to glorious crescendos of group laughter.

          Though I must say here, with Adele having that far away look in her eyes, sort of with that thought that says, "Where do we go from Here?", one can only for this day, in particular, Dillion's Beach comes to mind.

        Ray sat stoically at his usual end of the table seat, and took aim, not just with his eyes rolling, but managed to make his own rhetorical remarks from all directions, as each of the individual Widdifield clan

 members, took turns in brandishing their own personal cultural and historical memories. One only hopes that all were full of merriment and clamored for more of the round table enthusiastic conclusions to each and every attempt of buffoonery.

        Pastor Brian got in his remark of the day, as he smelled the lavender ball in front of him at the same time asking what this particular item was, and having no instantaneous response, remarked intuitively,

 " It smells like something!!!  ".  At this point, such an incredulous remark,  drew everyone's cajoling commentary and forced Brian to retort with " I guess the Pastors in Sonoma County don't command the same reverence as

pastors from others areas or arenas that he had been a witness in " .  You have to realize, here, as the panoramic view of Pastor Brian was symbolic of his two personalities being displayed in the Widdifield Arena.  The Pastoral Brian and the Personal Brian.  The jams, Raspberry from Gladys, Apricot-Pineapple from Joyce, and the Orange Syrup from Adele, drew raves from the adoring crowd,

as individual mandates of epiphanies about how wonderful both the crowd and the culinary delights of the 95th Brunch for Ray were culminating their morning delights.  David and Mary Lou had the most excellent gift of a Touching Lamp, where when anyone found the time to touch any part of the lamp itself, it would go thru a three way sequence, and then on the fourth attempt at mayhem, it would turn itself off, only to renew the cycle of life upon a fifth touch of antiquity.  This tomfoolery was followed by many simultaneous remarks about how the lamp would be worn out in no time.  Mary Lou quickly retaliated with " It says here, it is guaranteed for a year...".  Wow, what were these manufacturers thinking?.  This is Steven, a member of a small clan inside the Widdifield home, still pondering weather or not, after a another round of rousing commentary, canning is a generational thing as opposed to a rural or city folk phenomenon, and is, or is not, a lost art of culinary folklore, Child

Ray hits the Ripe Age of 95

It was, I think the smallest glimpse at Ray Widdifield's 95th birthday Brunch, of whether canning, as a natural phenomenon, culturally speaking, is a generational thing, as opposed to a rural versus either a suburban or city folk epiphany....go ask Pastor Brian when he's chasing rabbits, and is ten feet tall on his bully pulpit....Steven, walking backwards, and not being able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, Child

The Ice Cream Social

       The long and winding road of weekend events for celebrating Adele's 85th year on this revolving globe of our's came to a climax on Hoen Ave. yesterday.  Here in Adele's backyard a host of people from church, the

 neighborhood, friends and family gathered to visit and remember the life and time of our good friend Adele Mortensen.  The tables were set, the cake was addressed, and the ice cream and toppings found their way to their

perspective resting places.  The women from church were first to arrive, and found a wonderfully shady spot under the trees.  Then came some family, followed by 

 neighbors, some close family friends, and then the suprise of the day, Bill and Marion Mortensen, from Oakland walked thru the gate and into the back yard.

       At the point that all were gathered around, Joyce and Margie, lit the cake, followed by a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday Adele, and then sliced and slowly had the

 grandkids walk each piece of the cake that had been provided by Jennifer McMurray, to each of the guests who so desired to participate in the downing of Birthday cake.

        After all this pomp and circumstance came to a conclusion, Joyce got up and went around and introduced everyone, and one by one they all got to tell their story

on how they knew Adele, and how long they had know her.  As I recall, one person, and don't ask me who, claimed 71 years of knowledge of knowing Adele here on Earth.  Some of the kids just said, all my life.

      Before I forget, anyone so inclined found their way into the ice cream and toppings, and settled into the enjoyment that comes with such pleasures.

      Later, as people slowly left the event, and gave their good-byes, we all knew that Adele had been given the accolades of her life, and we had all seen the joy and

companionship Adele had shared with each member of the crowd.  This is Steven, the wanderer and chronicler of Adele's weekend of mischief and mayhem, with family, friends, relatives and neighbors, Child, wishing many more years of contentment and satisfaction in Adele Mortensen's life.

Like a Good Matriarch, Adele Mortensen is There

      Once upon a time, there was the small town Hamlet of Santa Rosa, nestled into the valley of Sonoma County, where Adele Mortensen and her family slowly passed into the future, being

raised generously on Hoen Avenue.  Here now, in the sleepy hollow of Occidental in 2011, at the Union Hotel, Adele had gathered with the now expanded multi-generational extended

 family, comprised of her kids, in-laws, grandchildren, a small sprinkling of relatives, along with the new band of great grandchildren, to celebrate her 85 years of existence.

         Slowly, as the troops filtered in, greeting Adele the Matriarch, after being driven over in Bob's MG, they all spilled the present day beans of their daily lives, and their past historical memories.

      At first, while everyone was milling around, dispensing the usual chatter, they all felt out the banquet hall, where the Union Hotel's history was strewn about the surrounding walls.

     Then it became time for the family meal, everyone in attendance took a familiar seat.  A toast was given by Adele's daughter Joyce, and then everyone darted into the salad, bread  

and two types of soup, both Clam Chowder and Minnestrone, that was placed in front of them at the dining hall's table. Then came the main meal, where


Ribeye Steak Plate

Chicken Pot Pie

Personal Pan Pizza

Shrimp Scampi

Raviolis

Pizza for the Kids

Chicken Parmigiano

Meatball Sandwich
(with "The Works")

everyone chose a variety of different things. While this was all in play, the the Long Table of Conversations ensued and everyone laughed, cajoled and scampered to and fro, divulging long time stories of various encounters with life.  A few tables away, another family was celebrating their

Matriarch's birthday, and down the time line, she came over and visited with Joyce and Adele, and even later, both groups sang Happy Birthday in Unison to their perspective Guest of Honor and all seemed very pleased and comfortably satiated.  At this point, Adele drove herself around the table,and spoke how

how we had all made her day, her life, so precious, and how these were the times she lived for.  Afterwards, we all had banana and apple fritters, and the Birthday Girl, herself was treated to a

Ice Cream Sundae, by the folks of the Union Hotel, and preceded to share it with most of the great grandchildren.  Before everyone left for home, we gathered outside the Dining Hall for a

group picture to be taken by a curious, well spoken and innocent bystander.  The day dispersed into the horizon, as each generation took to their personal Happy Trails and headed out in different directions, for their domiciles of choice.

         This is Steven, who had an actual history at the Union Hotel back in 88' and our host, Barbara Gunnella, having worked in the kitchen, making fettucini in cream sauce, salads, baked chicken, and Apple Fritters

and had been at Kendall-Jackson one year for the tomato festival, with Barbara, where the Union Hotel had actually won best of show, and one year for Mother's Day, had cooked off 600 half

chickens, and is doing his best to chronicle the history of the things that evolve around his own personal being, Child, hoping all of you tread such Happy Trails, until, we meet again on these arcane, and undulating keyboards of life.....