Monday Meanderings - 1.13.2014

Wow. Had to dig deep in the dresser drawers to find my old long johns this past week. In one week the temps went from the 70's to 12 degrees and then back into the 70's. There is a reason that I live in the South and I guess periodically I need to be reminded of that reason.

Now the pollen is blowing off the cedar trees in yellow billows. Pollen count yesterday was in the 16,000 grains range - a record. On the news last night they showed the view from Loop 360 and the pollen looked like smoke from wildfires! I think I will just not breath in for the next few days. Only out.

Striving to eke out every tax deduction available, I itemize the things that we donate to Goodwill throughout the year. Some years are easy. This year is not. Between the stuff that we got out of the attic, the stuff Barb cleared out of the kitchen, the stuff we gathered when we were going through the boxes of Christmas decorations, and a few other cleaning frenzies, we ended up with pages and pages of items to identify, price and record for the taxman.

I use ItsDeductible.com to help me estimate the value of these items. It is a free program that has hundreds of common household items listed and for those, it is right on the money (heh, heh). But some things we passed on to Goodwill are somewhat esoteric. See if you can figure out which items I could find in the list and which I could not:

• Hand towels
• Wastebasket
• Mary and Joseph nutcracker set
• Plastic dinosaur figurines

One more thing to add to the list of things our grandchildren have never seen - an airmail postage stamp.

You may remember that I was among the first to warn you that our devices are spying on us. First CPAP machines, then hearing aids.  Now I see in the news that a French company has introduced what they're calling the world's first connected electric toothbrush, which syncs wirelessly with a smartphone to track brushing habits, announce whether you, or your kids, have brushed thoroughly enough and reward you for good oral hygiene. Oh, and did I mention the new wrist bands that keep up with your steps and sleep and perhaps how much coffee you drink. Pretty sure the NSA has already hacked into these devices. Just saying.