Blue Hill Smells Like Cow Poo

New Year's Resolution - Keep Up Blog

2008-12-26T11:26:00.002-05:00

Merry Gift Mess. Lots of stuff happened since I had to put this blog on hiatus. I miss Blue Hill Smells Like Cow Poo.

Because I'm really ill and lightheaded, I created this photo for a FARK.com photoshop contest.

Coal-Wood-Pellet-Gas Comparison Chart

2008-04-19T23:11:00.008-04:00

Warm up your calculators! In an attempt to be informative, I present a link to a chart on the cost comparisons between coal, wood, pellet, propane and natural gas heating stoves. Thank you Reading Stoves.

We looked into coal stoves, but found that the affordable (>2000$) models were not suitable to heating an actual home and didn't have the right hook-up to modern air duct systems. They are suitable for heating a barn, workshop or garage. The models that could heat a house were =<3000$, which is out of our price range. This was sort of disappointing, but hey - we did our research and that's all you can do.

Yankee Gravel-Spreading

2008-04-15T22:33:00.008-04:00

There is some debate where the idea for this contraption came from. Some of you will think this is a jim-dandy of a great idea. Some of you won't. Yes, it is a zero turn-radius mower with a homemade hitch hooked up to bedsprings with a boulder on top. The driveway turned out really well and we highly recommend it.

Jim Rockford Helps Me Think About My Blog

2008-04-10T20:53:00.005-04:00

The weather got lousy again and we're stuck inside watching the Rockford Files. Actually, the RF is a fantastic show. James Garner was the best as Jim Rockford. Did you know Magnum P.I. was a RF spinoff? We get to see RF on RetroTV, a mysterious and new digital TV channel that probably broadcasts somewhere in the Albany, NY area.

Now, what can I do to make up for the lack of blog posts? I just had a major change in my schedule, placed my kid in a home daycare 3 days a week, and have had to deal with some major personnel issues at work.

The blogs I read the most post several times every day. I don't think I can do that, but I should try to post every day or every other day.

The Care and Feeding of Everyone

2008-04-01T11:26:00.007-04:00

yeah, yeah, I know - I need to post more. Let me just describe a typical morning on Blue Hill:

I wake up as soon as the first ray of light peeps into the window. I stare at the ceiling, which has cool, weird smoke stains on it from when our kerosene heater plotzed out one freezing night in '06. The dog hears my eyes open and stands on the side of the bed, breathing on me and licking me. Husband and I tell her to go lay down. She goes over to the window for a while.

About 7:30, we hear bouncing and babbling from the baby's room. She's almost 2. She sounds really happy, so she must be unzipping her pjs and pulling off her diaper. Both will be tossed over the side of the crib, hopefully not into the stovepipe hole in the floor, which is open to permit heat to rise into the room.

When I get up, the dog jumps on me hysterically, because there could be a squirrel outside. The dogs across the street must hear the commotion, because they begin to bark too. I scrape pennies and quarters off my feet before placing them in sandals. The Toddler found a bag of change yesterday and I allowed her to toss coins all over because it enabled me to get dressed in peace.

Nadia is indeed, naked and jumping up and down as high as she can. There is a small puddle of pee in the exact center of her crib mattress. I inspect the zip-tie that Husband had to place around one corner of the crib, where all the jumping stripped the screw that holds the bar in place. I wonder where the screw went. Nadia sits down every time I have to pick her up. I have to pee. Really badly. After a few more bounces, she picks up every blanket in the crib and I carry her down the big curving staircase.

I put her down and get into the bathroom. Nadia knows I am helpless on the can, so she runs past me and grabs Husband's shaving cream off the counter, then disappears, still babbling. The dog wants OUT. As I walk through the house to the side door, June Bug stops several times to jump on me, ramming her pointy collie/lab feet into my c-section scar. I'm too burned out to yell. I hook her to her line outside the door and go back in. The cat wants FOOD. Nadia is sucking on the business end of the shaving cream dispenser. The stoves need wood. I pause, and try to re-bend my glasses into shape. Husband stepped on them last Friday after watching "Rockford Files".

I schlep into the back room with the cat food, feed Opal, schlep back to the cupboard, then take the can away from Nadia. It's diaper time. I find a diaper, and a wipe, and spend the next 3 minutes chasing Nadia around the living room. Once she's immobilized on the floor, she clenches her legs and butt so I can't change her. Then she scissor-kicks onto her side six or seven times in order to get up. I tickle her into submission, wipe her down, and re-diaper her. Then I have to find new baby clothes from the massive pile of unfolded laundry on the couch because she's naked except for a diaper. I do so, then spend another 5 minutes chasing her with the clothes. Finally, she is dressed.

I shuffle over to the TV and put on "Word World" for her to watch while I make her breakfast. I grab a sippy cup and put an eggo waffle into the toaster. Nadia runs into the kitchen and demands her gummy vitamins. I give them to her. She says "Tangy", and demands her waffle now. I pick her up and show her the toaster and explain how it has to cook first. She demands my cup of decaf. The waffle pops up. I put her down, she has a conniption and knees me in the c-section scar. She accepts her waffle and milk and races into the living room.

I slurp on my decaf. Caffeine has been not been helping me remain calm, so I stopped drinking it. I also quit smoking two months ago, and that has helped my breathing. I breathe and sit at the dining room table, listening to the cluster flies in the window. It's springtime. I check the clock. I'll have to get washed up and into my work clothes if I don't want to be late again.

I take a vitamin E capsule, which instantly lodges in my throat. I can breathe around it, but it's there, stubbornly stuck. I keep drinking decaf to no avail. Later on, I change the crib sheets, capsule still lodged in my throat. Soon it will be noon, and time to wolf down my lunch. Ah, another morning on Blue Hill.

June Bug-O

2008-03-23T13:18:00.003-04:00

"IjustheardaTicTacboxbeingopenedinMiddleville!They'reMinty!Minty!Minty!Minty!"

Christmas Cacti - What Gives?

2008-03-22T21:25:00.013-04:00

My Christmas Cactus goes nuts this time of year, even in our dining room, which is one of the coldest areas of the house. And cold it is. The house is just freezing - we didn't get any warm weather at all this March.

Anyway, I think the cactus loves the light, which is ample and intense at this time of year. In December, there is no "light". I water my Christmas Cactus twice a week, and it seems to enjoy it. The branches actually perk up when it gets water and sunlight. The cat has eaten the flowers and barfed them up, leaving nice bright pink stains on our unfinished floors. (Way to go kitty. Way to keep eating something that makes you barf.)

Christmas/Easter Cacti are Epiphytic, meaning they are not native to typical deserts. They grow in jungles and rainforests on treetrunks, branches and rocks. They are found in Central and South America and the West Indies. The pink Christmas Cactus is a hybrid variety, a Schlumbergera truncata. There are white, pink (Pink Beauty), orange, striped, magenta, and gold varieties. The Easter Cactus is a close cousin (Rhapsiladopsis gaertneri), with smooth oval segments and fluffy red-orange flowers. It's really beautiful. This information comes from the book entitled Cacti, by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Keeping Christmas/Easter Cacti alive in your home is easy. If mine has stayed alive for 20 years, so can yours. In fact, mine belonged to a now-deceased bachelor uncle-in-law who wasn't exactly a plant guy. It probably served as a beverage caddy for whoever was sitting in that part of the room. I think the majority of the illumination came from the TV. The soil in the pot is probably the original soil, scarily enough. I've never fertilized it, however it might be time to put just a very little in the pot. The Cacti book suggests keeping the soil moist and not turning the pot around once they start to bloom, otherwise the buds will fall off. I've never had an insect infestation or disease attack my cactus, but if this happens, use insecticides sparingly. To get cuttings, snip a segment at the bottom, straight across. Then be sure to let the cuttings dry before potting them in moist soil (regular potting soil will do). Place in a sunny spot and there should be new roots fairly soon.

Coming up next: Coal heating stoves Vs Pellet stoves Vs Wood stoves.

Ho No! (D-Dumbass)

2008-03-12T09:37:00.009-04:00

Our satellite Internet dish broke over a week ago and was fixed on Monday. I was reduced to grumbling about the condition of my kitchen floor, which Husband started to strip a long time ago. I guess he got bored. I'm more then grumbly about it - I'm filled with cold fury. It's been a year and a half.

Well, the Love Gov is going to resign. "Ho No!" The headline of the NY Post yesterday made me laugh my ass off. Today they actually called him a "Horndog". I'm sorry to see him go, as he seemed to be the only governor who actually cared about the part of the state west of Saratoga. I think these guys in Albany have no idea that there's people inhabiting other areas of the state, not just bears. They only show up when they need votes. The politicians, that is. Parts of Upstate are like Appalachia, to paraphrase some of Spitzer's State of the State address. I've lived in Western New York, Central New York, The Adirondacks, and now the Mohawk Valley so I can say that with some authority. Ever been thru Ausable Forks? I rest my case.

Even though there is a lot of shocked giggling and jokes, I get the sense from everyone I've spoken to about this Spitzer thing that they're dismayed. It's just such a horrible situation.

Coming up next: Christmas Cactii!

Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit: What You Need To Know

2008-02-26T15:38:00.005-05:00

*I am not a tax professional. This isn't tax advice - just helpful information.

You may be eligible to receive 10% of the qualified costs of renovating, rehabilitating or reconstructing buildings built before 1936 or 20% for certified historic structures.

This IRS PDF booklet: Tax Aspects of Historic Preservation, is incredibly helpful in describing how the tax credits work. I'd be repeating most of it, if I tried to sum it up here.

New York State Tax Breaks for Owners of Historic Homes: What You Need To Know

2008-02-23T10:03:00.013-05:00

Finally! Tax breaks for historic homes! Before I describe them, however, please don't regard any of my information as tax advice. I am not a tax professional. There are two Credits. (A tax credit is an amount you can deduct from your total taxable income. Then you figure your NYS Tax using those tax tables.) The first is called the Claim for Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Credit. The second is the Claim for Rehabilitation of Historic Properties Credit. Not too confusing, eh? Some of the following info is lifted directly from the tax instructions. Some of it is my own interpretation. Please look at the tax form instructions because there is a lot more information there. Let's break it down:

Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Credit

What form/instruction number is it? Form IT-237 Instructions IT-237-I

How much is the credit? 20% of your qualified rehab expenditures (see below). The max is $25,000 per year. A husband and wife may each claim up to $25,000.

The facts: To qualify, you have to own a qualified historic home in New York State (duh). "You" can be an individual or tenant-shareholders of a co-op. A qualified historic home must also be a certified historic structure - one which is listed in the state or national register of historic places; or is located in a state or national registered historic district and is certified as being of historic significance to the district.

A qualified historic home goes further than being a certified historic structure, in that it also has to be located in a "targeted area" within the meaning of section 143(j) of the Internal Revenue Code. It has to be within an area of a city, town, or village whose governing body has identified by resolution that such area is in need of community renewal and, by local law, has adopted a historic preservation and community renewal program.

Your rehabililitation expenses must have totaled $5,000 for the tax year, 5% must have been spent on the exterior, and the rehab must be certified. This means that your work should have been approved before it began, approved after it was done, and certified as being consistent with the standards established by the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) or a local government certified pursuant to section 101(c)(1) of the National Historic Preservation Act, or a local landmark commission established pursuant to section 96-a or 119-dd of the General Municipal Law. It would be the OPRHP or the local government who does all the approving in the first place.

Qualified rehabilitiation expenditures is any amount properly chargeable to a capital account (1) in connection to the certified rehab work and (2) for which depreciation would be allowable if hte home were used in a trade or business. Only money spent on the residential part of the home is included. The purchase price of a historic home is not a qualified rehab expenditure, neither is the cost of enlarging a structure.

Claim for Rehabilitation of Historic Properties Credit

What form/instruction number is it? Form IT-238. Instructions IT-238-I.

How much is the credit? 30% of the federal credit amount allowed with respect to a certified historic structure (see above). The credit is equal to the lesser of: 30% of the federal credit or $100,000.

The facts: Individuals, estates/trusts, partners in a partnership (includes LLCs), shareholders of a New York S corporation or beneficiaries of an estate/trust are eligible. The home must be located in New York State (duh) and it must be a certified historic structure (see above). The rehab work must be certified (see above) and the expenses must be qualified (see above).

There are all kinds of specific instructions for which forms to use, depending on what type of owner you are.

IN SUM.... The Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Credit (IT-237) requires that the structure be a Qualified Historic Home, which requires that it be in a historic district or an area designated for community renewal/historic preservation. The Claim for Rehabilitation of Historic Properties Credit (IT-238) only requires that the structure be Certified (on the state or national historic registers or is located in a historic district and certified to be part of the historic district).

The Inaugural Post

2008-02-22T18:47:00.015-05:00

I'm so excited. It feels like a coiled spring.

I hope this blog can offer some decent information about rural life, homesteading, gardening, home renovation, the joys of owning a historic home, the joys of married life and in-laws, pets, wood stoves, and maybe even childcare. I also hope it's funny as hell.

What you're seeing in the masthead photo is actually Red Hill as seen from our lawn on Blue Hill. I think I've got to change that this spring to a view of Blue Hill from Red Hill. You won't find Blue or Red Hill on any map - they are old names, so we are told. There's nothing I can think of that would inspire these names, except maybe from the beginnings of Herkimer County when the towns were formed. Red Hill is the northernmost border of Little Falls and Blue Hill is in Fairfield. Maybe Blue and Red are mapmaker or surveyor terminology. The vanished village of Eatonville lies in the valley between.

I live up here with my Husband, insane toddler daughter, Opal the Orange Tiger female cat, and June Bug the Lab-Collie Mix. The old part of our house was built maybe 1800 and the new part was added on around 1840. We bought it at the end of 2004. Now we're broke because we had a child, I can't work much, and we spent an ungodly sum on a new well last year. It's 420' deep. Yes, you read that correctly. Well casing is apparently forged from solid frickin' gold. It's a little-known fact. The old well was the original hand-dug, stone-lined version, dug when the house was built about 200 years ago. It's 11' deep. Soooooooo, we were unable to flush or wash much laundry during dry times. When it really ran low, we'd fill up huge plastic barrels down at a relative's house and dump it all in there. The resulting churned-up sediment fouled up the filters and well pump. We'd have to go downstairs with a piece of plastic to jam between the electric contacts to get it to shut off. No, it wasn't a pressure tank issue. I could go on and on about the well. Some other post.

You see, there's just an endless supply of things to write about. OK, since I'm getting over the flu, I'll have to get some rest now. I promise to post some photos tomorrow.