5.23.2010
Intermission
Let's take a quick break from the "Stuff I Bought with my Tax Refund" series and go see a movie!
Alex and Allison are watching all of the AFI's top 100 films over the course of a year, and tomorrow (May 24) is No. 60, Raiders of the Lost Ark. They've arranged to screen this film in the lovely 20th Century Theatre(er)* - and you're all invited! Yes, you. Even you in the back.
(*Dear 20th Century ... auditorium: Your URL is "theatre," but your website header is "Theater." Please make up your mind.)
Details are here, but the basics are: 7 p.m. Free screening. Food and drink (including cash bar) available for purchase.
Can't you hear that theme song already? Dah dah-DAH-dah, Indiana Jones!
5.01.2010
Economic stimulus, week three: Local food
This series is fast becoming a cataloging not just of $500 spent close to home, but of purchases I've wanted to make - have fully intended to make but haven't had the funds to justify making - for some time. I've wanted to visit Oakley Wines since it opened. I've wanted a Charley Harper print since the first time I saw one.
So it shouldn't surprise you to read that for the last three years, I've thought about trying a CSA. I love the idea of having a variety of fresh, in-season veggies all selected for me each week, of being delivered new produce and having to figure out what to do with it.
But I wanted to dip my toe in. I needed a half share, I needed a nearby pickup point, and I needed it to be not terribly expensive. So I was pretty happy to find (via LocalHarvest) Bergefurd's Farm Market in Wilmington. They deliver their CSA shares all over Southwest Ohio, including to the nearby Hyde Park Farmer's Market. They offer half shares. And they allow you to subscribe for just 10 weeks instead of 20. (From the photos on Bergefurd's Facebook fan page, which include a 20-week half-share subscriber's haul last year, it looks like the bag doesn't start to really fill up until the second half of the season - but at this point, I'm not sure how well I'll be able to use up just the 10-week share.)
That's what the share looks like by week 10.
A 10-week half share at Bergefurd is $150; after making sure there were still shares available, I sent in my check and added $12.50 for a half-dozen egg share. (Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to be SO SICK of frittatas by August?)
Summary:
Bergefurd Farms: $162.50
Total for weeks 1-3: $413.37. Just $86 to go!
So it shouldn't surprise you to read that for the last three years, I've thought about trying a CSA. I love the idea of having a variety of fresh, in-season veggies all selected for me each week, of being delivered new produce and having to figure out what to do with it.
But I wanted to dip my toe in. I needed a half share, I needed a nearby pickup point, and I needed it to be not terribly expensive. So I was pretty happy to find (via LocalHarvest) Bergefurd's Farm Market in Wilmington. They deliver their CSA shares all over Southwest Ohio, including to the nearby Hyde Park Farmer's Market. They offer half shares. And they allow you to subscribe for just 10 weeks instead of 20. (From the photos on Bergefurd's Facebook fan page, which include a 20-week half-share subscriber's haul last year, it looks like the bag doesn't start to really fill up until the second half of the season - but at this point, I'm not sure how well I'll be able to use up just the 10-week share.)
That's what the share looks like by week 10.A 10-week half share at Bergefurd is $150; after making sure there were still shares available, I sent in my check and added $12.50 for a half-dozen egg share. (Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to be SO SICK of frittatas by August?)
Summary:
Bergefurd Farms: $162.50
Total for weeks 1-3: $413.37. Just $86 to go!
4.21.2010
Economic stimulus, week two: Local art
For years, I've wanted a print by Charley Harper.
I mean, come on!
Beautiful!
Gorgeous!
Wish you were here!
Harper's a very cool part of Cincinnati's culture. So my sudden tax windfall gave me the perfect excuse to pick up a print by him.
All these images are from Fabulous Frames & Art, by the way - a local custom framing shop that specializes in all sorts of Harper material: prints, posters, and licensed stuff like notecards. They can do amazing things with mats; when I visited, the displays were, like, a print of a bird eating some seeds, but more seeds were printed on the mat, so it looked like the print extended beyond its borders.
But I'm a simple girl with simple tastes, so a simple custom-framed double-mat lithograph with nonglare museum glass was good enough for me.
It's called "A Good World," and it now hangs proudly above my DVDs.
(BONUS BLOG EASTER EGG! How many of my DVD box sets can you recognize?)
This is what's called an unlimited-series lithograph, meaning they still have the plates (etchings? Blocks? What's the right word for lithography?) used to print it, so it can be reprinted at any time. Limited-edition stuff is rarer and more expensive; the pieces I saw at Fab Frames were $500-$900, which is a little beyond my budget at this time. Maybe I'll invest in one of those someday. But this print and my Harry and the Potters glow-in-the-dark gig poster are a pretty good start to my fine art collection.
(You think I'm joking, but I love that poster.)
(I tried to take a picture of it hanging on my wall, but there was way too much glare. Maybe I should have it custom-framed with museum glass ...)
Summary:
Fabulous Frames & Art: $173.60
Total for Weeks 1-2: $250.87
I mean, come on!
Beautiful!
Gorgeous!
Wish you were here!Harper's a very cool part of Cincinnati's culture. So my sudden tax windfall gave me the perfect excuse to pick up a print by him.
All these images are from Fabulous Frames & Art, by the way - a local custom framing shop that specializes in all sorts of Harper material: prints, posters, and licensed stuff like notecards. They can do amazing things with mats; when I visited, the displays were, like, a print of a bird eating some seeds, but more seeds were printed on the mat, so it looked like the print extended beyond its borders.
But I'm a simple girl with simple tastes, so a simple custom-framed double-mat lithograph with nonglare museum glass was good enough for me.
It's called "A Good World," and it now hangs proudly above my DVDs.
(BONUS BLOG EASTER EGG! How many of my DVD box sets can you recognize?)
This is what's called an unlimited-series lithograph, meaning they still have the plates (etchings? Blocks? What's the right word for lithography?) used to print it, so it can be reprinted at any time. Limited-edition stuff is rarer and more expensive; the pieces I saw at Fab Frames were $500-$900, which is a little beyond my budget at this time. Maybe I'll invest in one of those someday. But this print and my Harry and the Potters glow-in-the-dark gig poster are a pretty good start to my fine art collection.
(You think I'm joking, but I love that poster.)
(I tried to take a picture of it hanging on my wall, but there was way too much glare. Maybe I should have it custom-framed with museum glass ...)
Summary:
Fabulous Frames & Art: $173.60
Total for Weeks 1-2: $250.87
4.15.2010
Economic stimulus, week one: Local shops
The week after the IRS accepted my tax return, I had a four-day weekend, which I spent wandering around my neighborhood to see what I could see.
(One of the things I saw was a singing fish based on this commercial, but I refrained from buying it. Worst decision ever? Only time will tell.)
I was excited to be able to stop at Oakley Wines, which is a fairly recent addition to the Oakley shopping scene (and one whose limited hours make it tough for me to stop by after work). The shop is owned by Joe and Lois Santangelo, who were setting up for their usual Friday tasting when I dropped in. (It's 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and I believe $5 gets you six tastes, but I could be wrong about that.) They were both super-nice, very excited to talk about wine, and happy to inform me that their shop is now open on Saturdays from 1 to 5.
From now on, if you invite me to a party and I bring a bottle of wine, it will probably be from this shop. Oakley Wines specializes in wines you might not have heard of, and they make a point of selling no bottle over $20. I picked up a Malbec, a Pinot Grigio, and a Sauvignon Blanc for just over $40.
The next day, I headed over to Hyde Park Square on a more specific mission: to purchase many fancy cheeses from Hyde Park Gourmet Food & Wine. This shop sells crazy crackers, fun little jams and jellies, tiny desserts - basically everything you think of when you think "gourmet." (They also sell sandwiches, which I didn't realize before I stopped in.) Naturally, they have an extensive cheese case, and with the help of a nice saleslady, I selected four: a Camembert, a brie made with goat cheese, something sharp that involved white wine, and five types of Cheddar compressed into a single stripey block. Yum!
Summary:
Oakley Wines: $40.44
Hyde Park Gourmet: $36.83
Total for Week 1: $77.27
(One of the things I saw was a singing fish based on this commercial, but I refrained from buying it. Worst decision ever? Only time will tell.)
I was excited to be able to stop at Oakley Wines, which is a fairly recent addition to the Oakley shopping scene (and one whose limited hours make it tough for me to stop by after work). The shop is owned by Joe and Lois Santangelo, who were setting up for their usual Friday tasting when I dropped in. (It's 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and I believe $5 gets you six tastes, but I could be wrong about that.) They were both super-nice, very excited to talk about wine, and happy to inform me that their shop is now open on Saturdays from 1 to 5.
From now on, if you invite me to a party and I bring a bottle of wine, it will probably be from this shop. Oakley Wines specializes in wines you might not have heard of, and they make a point of selling no bottle over $20. I picked up a Malbec, a Pinot Grigio, and a Sauvignon Blanc for just over $40.
The next day, I headed over to Hyde Park Square on a more specific mission: to purchase many fancy cheeses from Hyde Park Gourmet Food & Wine. This shop sells crazy crackers, fun little jams and jellies, tiny desserts - basically everything you think of when you think "gourmet." (They also sell sandwiches, which I didn't realize before I stopped in.) Naturally, they have an extensive cheese case, and with the help of a nice saleslady, I selected four: a Camembert, a brie made with goat cheese, something sharp that involved white wine, and five types of Cheddar compressed into a single stripey block. Yum!
Summary:
Oakley Wines: $40.44
Hyde Park Gourmet: $36.83
Total for Week 1: $77.27
In which I take seriously my charge to stimulate the local economy
Happy tax day, my fellow Americans! My tax refund was much bigger than normal this year - I would say by about $500! Boo-yah!
As a patriotic American with no real debt other than my car payment, I've decided to take this extra $500* and use it the American way: to participate in the age-old tradition of conspicuous consumption!
*The amount of my normal refund will go into savings; I'm not completely reckless.
But here's the deal: All $500 is going to be spent in local businesses. No video games from Amazon; no new TV from Wal-Mart, no pretty, pretty dresses from Target (hmm, maybe I should rethink this). I want to feel like my money is packing as big a punch as possible, and I think the best way to do that is to go local.
Let's see how far this $500 goes.
UPDATE. Here's my completed series.
As a patriotic American with no real debt other than my car payment, I've decided to take this extra $500* and use it the American way: to participate in the age-old tradition of conspicuous consumption!
*The amount of my normal refund will go into savings; I'm not completely reckless.
But here's the deal: All $500 is going to be spent in local businesses. No video games from Amazon; no new TV from Wal-Mart, no pretty, pretty dresses from Target (hmm, maybe I should rethink this). I want to feel like my money is packing as big a punch as possible, and I think the best way to do that is to go local.
Let's see how far this $500 goes.
UPDATE. Here's my completed series.
2.20.2010
All the drama, none of the commercials
It must be fate that I set up my new TiVo the same week as the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Olympics seem tailor-made to put the TiVo through its paces: I set a Season Pass for it and can now pause before the big figure-skating final, fast-forward through the compulsory ice-dancing routine, and watch Stephen Colbert be interviewed in full Mountie regalia without having to stay up until 1 a.m.
Because I can control what parts of the coverage I'm watching, I find myself absolutely riveted by the Olympics this year. I get all teary-eyed at the footage of the men's super G winner's dad cheering and jumping up and down. I adore how finishers in cross-country skiing events cross the finish line and then just fall over. I'm enthralled by how Evan Lysacek somehow avoids getting tangled up in his own limbs, each of which are approximately 17 feet long. I thrill to biathlon.
(By the by: Biathlon? Is going to be the next "curling" in the sense of a wacky, off-the-beaten-path sport that everyone loves to talk about. I know it. NPR knows it. Captain Awesome knows it. So study up.)
Watch out, Bob Costas - there's a new Olympic expert in town. (Just don't ask me to watch the entire second heat of men's skeleton in real time. I'll fast-forward to the medal round, thanks.)
[Images come from the Olympics' gallery.]
2.15.2010
A TiVo post: IR code for RCA STB766C
(This is not so much a blog post as a public service announcement, because I spent several hours looking for this information , and now that I have the solution, I would like to put it in a place where a search engine can get at it.)
Perhaps, dear stranger who happened upon this page by searching for rca stb766c ir codes, you are trying to set up your new TiVo to work with a digital converter box you purchased at Target. It has RCA printed on the bottom of it, so you choose that when the TiVo asks you what brand your converter box is. And then you go through the infrared setup so that the TiVo can change the channel when it wants to start recording something - and NOTHING HAPPENS. And you're about ready to tear your hair out.
Here is what you do: You will notice on the TiVo page that lists which converters are compatible with their service, they list a box with a model number very similar to your RCA STB7766C: the Venturer STB7766G. You know what? It turns out that that's close enough!
So go back through your channel changing setup and say your box is a Venturer instead of an RCA. I can't guarantee that it'll work for you, but it worked for me. I hope this helps you.
P.S. Just in case you were wondering, stranger who did a search for rca stb766c ir codes, I am not a tech head. Everything I know about this issue I learned from Googling various configurations of my problem. If this does not solve your problem, I PROMISE YOU, I will be unable to help. I apologize in advance, and I suggest you try browsing the help forums at tivocommunity.com.
Perhaps, dear stranger who happened upon this page by searching for rca stb766c ir codes, you are trying to set up your new TiVo to work with a digital converter box you purchased at Target. It has RCA printed on the bottom of it, so you choose that when the TiVo asks you what brand your converter box is. And then you go through the infrared setup so that the TiVo can change the channel when it wants to start recording something - and NOTHING HAPPENS. And you're about ready to tear your hair out.
Here is what you do: You will notice on the TiVo page that lists which converters are compatible with their service, they list a box with a model number very similar to your RCA STB7766C: the Venturer STB7766G. You know what? It turns out that that's close enough!
So go back through your channel changing setup and say your box is a Venturer instead of an RCA. I can't guarantee that it'll work for you, but it worked for me. I hope this helps you.
P.S. Just in case you were wondering, stranger who did a search for rca stb766c ir codes, I am not a tech head. Everything I know about this issue I learned from Googling various configurations of my problem. If this does not solve your problem, I PROMISE YOU, I will be unable to help. I apologize in advance, and I suggest you try browsing the help forums at tivocommunity.com.
1.03.2010
1.01.2010
My New Year's resolutions (more or less)
Less clutter. Less piling of junk into corners. Less stuff in my life.
More thank-you notes. (More thanks in general, in fact.)
More veggies.
I would say a lot more (less sugar, more moving around instead of sitting at the computer all day, more blog posts), but let's try to keep it simple for now.
How about you?
More thank-you notes. (More thanks in general, in fact.)
More veggies.
I would say a lot more (less sugar, more moving around instead of sitting at the computer all day, more blog posts), but let's try to keep it simple for now.
How about you?
11.30.2009
Time for an adventure!
Also: Pink!
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