Odds and Ends

Last week, DS drove 40 minutes to drop off her mom's old cast iron kettle, a pot and two lids at a sandblasting place for cleaning. The items were supposed to be ready by Friday. She didn't get a receipt. The guy said he lived near us, so he would bring the items home for pickup, rather than have us drive out. We called Friday and the 'receptionist' said they needed to be redone and knew nothing about it. Monday, the guy was there and said they'd be ready Tuesday and he would call for pickup. No call. I sure hope DS hasn't lost these items; she'll be heartbroken.

The septic guy called Monday evening...checking on the dates. I said Tuesday, because we still have to clear the way for the discharge to the stream...He asked if we were there all week. I got the feeling that he's got a conflict, but he assured me that it will get done next week.

I've been thinking about using the firebricks left over from the old fireplace to make a bench next to the hearth. Just high enough to accomodate boots underneath, for drying. It would be a place for mitts and stuff to dry, and be more thermal mass.

The big news this week is the financial crisis in the U.S. resulting from the slowing economy and that huge sub-prime mortgage fiasco. I was reading an article the other day that talked about retailers with associated credit cards, who are thought to be the next sector of dominoes to fall. The article explained that it depended on the business model used by the retailer. If the business model was based on customers paying their bills, they should be fine, but if the business model was based on customers not paying their bills, it could pose a problem. Not being well versed in economics, I didn't really grasp this whole concept. A business model built on customers defaulting on their credit card balances just didn't make sense to me.

Big Orange helped me understand. If you've read all these posts, you will know that they have financed the renovation of our current house for various periods, at no interest. In 7 years, we have paid them less than $4 in interest. We almost always have one of those 'no interest, no payments for 6/12 months' things on the go. This year, we had 4 on the go at once. Three were due between Feb and June, the last was in July. It got confusing at times, but they all got paid off on time. Now we have three more on the go for various dates next year, and we are nearing the $2000 limit on that card. Yesterday, they sent me a special 'Thank you' offer for 12 months no interest. One of those cards you keep for the next 3 months and can keep reusing. Regardless of date of purchase, the due date is December 2009.

That's when I figured it out. Our card has seen more activity in '07/08 than ever before, because of the cottage. Our balance is up there. Now, we know that we have budgeted accordingly and that we will pay no interest on these plans, but they don't know that. We're nearly to our current max on that card and they are offering to loan us more money, in chunks of a minimum $300. I'm sure if we requested an increase in our credit limit, they'd accommodate us. It looks to me that they use the business model based on customers not paying their bills on time. This nets them more interest revenue. Now I get it. Thanks for the lesson in economics, HD!

That said, I am contemplating suggesting to DS that we go for it. It would be worthwhile to change some of the baseboard heating units in the cottage to more efficient ones with electronic thermostats, particularly since we're doing some wall work now.