The gold standard

When I was very young, I can remember learning about how the American monetary system was backed by gold that was stored in Fort Knox.  I thought that was fascinating, and I was rather disappointed when the system stopped being backed by gold.  I can remember I was still in school when it happened, and our teacher told us that the system was now based on “scrip.”  That never made much sense to me! 

As an adult, I purchase gold and silver when I get the chance.  A friend of mine used to work for a company that dealt in stamps and coins, and he got me interested and started and taught me how to purchase gold coins and purchase gold bullion as a hedge against the fluctuations of the stock market.  Sure, the prices of precious metals fluctuate, but the do have a history of increasing their value a lot more consistantly than the stock market!  So I encourage my kids to purchase gold coin and purchase bullion as investment choices when they tell me that they are looking for ways to invest their money.

Thought she was going to cry!

My wife’s birthday was today, and our son baked her a cake to celebrate the occasion. This was the first time in years that anyone has even thought about giving her a cake for her birthday. We’ve always just given her cards and gifts, but no cake. Well, this year our son decided to bake her a birthday cake. When he presented the cake to her after dinner, I thought she was going to cry! I couldn’t believe how touched she was by such a simple gesture! I guess we’ll have to remember that and bake her cakes in the future now!

Who you gonna call?

One of the most difficult things about moving into a new area is learning who to call for the best repair services.  I can remember when we first moved into this house, it was only a matter of weeks before our water pump broke and we had no water.  It’s never a convenient time for something like that to happen, but thank goodness it was after the showers of the day and the daily dishes were done and we were getting ready for bed.  The next day we were lucky enough to find a great local company (thanks to our new neighbor’s recommendation)  that came right out and replaced the pump for us so we were without water for less than a day!

Since then we have learned that sometimes the neighbor doesn’t give such great advice when it comes to repair services!  Especially when it comes to needing to help our niece Sarah in need who lives in Chicago!  So sometimes we turn to the Internet to find and research services such as Chicago auto repair when Sarah’s Toyota Camry started making funny noises.  She called me and asked me to tell her what was wrong with it.  She told me that it was making a funny chirping noise like a bird.  I told her that she needed to take it to the shop because it was probably a belt that needed to be replaced.  I told her to use the repairpal.com website to help her find a local repair shop that would treat her fairly.