Turning the page to 2019, Looking back at a busy 2018

Our big shed is now gray with touches of light blue.

This past year we were stretched to the limit completing renovation projects.  Seems I could hardly breathe at times. Thankfully my husband took over when I pooped out or just got bored with a task. I do have a brain that likes to stay busy so finding projects is very easy for me but completion is another matter all together! My husband does such good work that I pester him until he can't stand it any more and finishes the project so I'll leave him alone.

I started 2018 by falling off the front porch backward while swapping out a suet feeder and fracturing my ankle. So I was worthless for a solid 2 months and gardening was near impossible!

Our little shed that was painted in 2017

While I was crippled up, my husband painted our large shed. I had no part of this for the exception of small design details. One day we will attempt to paint the house to match. At least the two sheds and coop finally look like they belong in one yard together.

Another fun project which was a little more complicated was to install an outdoor rain barrel shower. Only available for use when it's hot outside, I used it exclusively this past summer. I love outdoor showers and feel as if I'm doing my part to save resources by not turning on the indoor shower. It works amazingly well and saves time after you get out of the pool. Also no more tracking water through the house to get upstairs to the indoor shower! A friend donated a rain barrel and we used shutters that were in the shed as partitions. I picked up a shower head at the habitat store. Our only purchases were a hose and connector piece.

Our patio incorporating the outdoor DIY rain barrel shower.

Summer and leading into Fall was spent on two bathroom renovation projects. We still have not laid the floor tile in the master bathroom, due to other more pressing projects, but we've completed the hardest parts. I'm very happy with our tiny bathroom remodels. We enlarged one bathroom and stole some space from the other to even the sizes out. Ripped out an old plastic shower surround and installed wall and floor tile. It's such an improvement. Long lost friends came to visit during construction and their auto rental happened to be a TRUCK. Danny hauled some shower boards for the project, he loved every minute. Great timing for that visit! 

The last pair of Monticello Lions were tracked down!

Taking a Spring break from construction projects, we took a very quick trip to North Carolina to investigate a solid report that the Monticello Levy Lions were sitting peacefully gazing out over the lawn of a historic estate. One of our highlights of the year, we enjoyed lovely company and visiting with the lions! A massive discovery being they were the real deal with a long history. Catch up on this interesting mystery.

Jethro the magnificent.

During the summer months, our dear Roo Roo Jethro passed away suddenly. I so miss his morning call and alert noises. He was a commanding rooster that was well behaved. We were lucky to have experienced a flock with a rooster as so many are discarded due to noise and behavior. He was just plain cool. We miss his antics, it was a sad day when he passed. A friend gave us three hens early in 2019 so we now have six pretty girls. It's going to be a whole new egg laying dynamic this Spring!. Watch my funny viral video about the noises that chickens make.

Our little barn garage. Shutters to be added next.

For a solid year I interviewed contractors and researched an addition to our house in order to move mom here. We started big with a full on mother-in-law suite and ended up adding a 2-story garage. We decided to turn our basement into Mom's space. Getting the garage layout ironed out and the prefab structure here was not as easy as it sounds. I acted as the general contractor and independently hired a foundation guy and builder. After the foundation was poured, and the structure went up in an amazing 2.5 days, it was time for us to do some work. I installed most of the electrical wiring (we did hire an electrician to hook up the big wire from the garage to the house).

In the middle of all this, I had some weird health issues creep up. I developed something called Morton's Neuroma of the foot. It just made me so angry that I worked through the pain. It took several months to get in to see a doctor but it looks like a cortisone shot is forthcoming next week, which I hope will provide some relief. It is unbearable burning stabbing pain that worsens the more you walk. My nature walks have come to a grinding halt. This shall not do! I also developed an allergy to meat called Alpha-gal! Which sounds unbelievable but it's a real thing (it so happens the allergist that discovered this is right here in Charlottesville). My ankles and feet were attacked this summer by what I call chiggers (could have been seed ticks). Talk about horrible, the only thing that helped the itch was a baking soda paste. A week later I ate pork at a restaurant and thought I was going to die. Massively ill, hives all over, go to the emergency room ill! An antihistamine curbed the reaction but it was hell. At that time I thought it was food poisoning and I even called the health department! Because I only eat meat a few times a year, I did not realize this was a meat allergy until it happened again in the Fall after I ate a hamburger and I experienced the same violent reaction. A near vegetarian in 2018, needless to say, a complete vegetarian in 2019!

Two of the three cats, Cesar was injured in 2018 but better.

I still sell vintage online and hope to ramp things back up once we get mom here and settled. I sell online mainly on Etsy and Ebay on consignment for seven friends and family members. I also try to market art and vintage through my Facebook and Instagram pages for our local talented Etsy shop owners.

Looking back, it probably was the busiest year since we moved into our home nearly 10 years ago. We will be putting the finishing touches on the garage in 2019 (we just finished insulating and will begin hanging sheet rock ourselves this weekend) and next redoing the basement for mom. Hoping to get things wrapped up in a few months. Then we have to get mom's place ready to sell and her moved. I'm looking forward to possible rest in 2020 already!

~Rebecca

Supreme Court ruling to Collect States Sales Tax trickle down effect of Rising Costs of Shopping Online

Vintage mirror for sale in my online store, ForsythiaHill

Online sellers have been dreading this day. Shopping online just got a little more expensive today due to the Supreme Court 5 - 4 ruling allowing states to collect sales tax from ALL buyers.

As with many things these days, it's complicated. I think many of us pay sales tax for any retail store purchase without thought. It's a little fee added to each receipt that we have no option of reducing or avoiding. It's just THERE. But we might notice this fee when buying products online. Sometimes it appears, other times it's missing (which is an extra bonus). The reason you often do not see a sales tax fee on your online purchase is because you live in a different state from where your item is located (technically, it's where the sellers business is registered that you are buying from). 

One of a kind vintage dress in my shop, ForsythiaHill

The real complication comes in when states - and even jurisdictions within states - are allowed to set their own sales tax rates and rules. To any small online seller, the tracking, collecting, and submitting sales tax fees is akin to getting a root canal. It's a total downer, brain buster, and all around pain in the A**. I can only imagine that Apps are being developed (or probably have been developed) to manage this headache / toothache.

In order for states to begin collecting sales tax on EVERY single sale regardless if you buy a product in a retail store or online, each state will have to pass a law to do so. The problem is that when states begin make individual laws to begin collecting tax for online sales (and they will in droves) they can craft any rule they please. Congress needs to act ASAP to restrict the crazydom that can develop from this ruling!

I'm need one of these after writing this blog!

There are two states that have already begun collecting sales tax from anyone and everyone no matter if you reside in that state (Washington State and Pennsylvania). Fortunately for small sellers these states only require those that sell $10,000 in sales a year to their states have to collect and remit. So at least some guidelines exist as to how to draft these laws. Given that over 40 states and DC have their very own rates, one can imagine the laws will also vary. 

So in a nutshell, if you buy online you will see sales tax added more and more as states adopt the permission to collect sales tax from not only buyers living in the state of product origin, but from just about any US buyer. I'm going to really have to think if an International sale can have a state sales tax added. Hum? 

Small sellers need your business to stay in business!

Currently the purchaser of the product (BUYER) pays the tax and the seller has to submit that collected tax to the proper state. I sell mainly on Etsy and so far they are collecting this tax - so far - for WA and PA (from the buyer) and submitting it to the states for the millions of sellers - THANKFULLY. If they did not, I would feel many sellers would leave their platform, so it is in their best interest to do this. The problem comes about if you have your own website and YOU have to collect this fee and distribute it to over 40 states. To a small seller the thought of calculating this is astronomically time consuming. I will note that South Dakota has proposed to limit the burden of collection to higher sellers -- more than $100,000 in sales annually.

Higher prices are not liked by online sellers or buyers!

I do see the foreshadowing of higher fees charged to sellers by Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and other online webstores. For them managing sales tax collection will be fairly route and simple but you can bet they will use this as an excuse to charge sellers higher fees. Amazon has the highest sellers fees and has been paying state taxes to over 40 states for years because they have warehouse locations in nearly every state. Etsy just raised their seller fee and is now also charging this fee on the shipping cost as well. 

There doesn't appear to be any break for the small online seller at the moment or for the consumer. Buying online just got a little more expensive. As the cost of running an online store increases, sellers throw in the towel. Consumer choice suffers as the variety of items that can be purchased declines. 

When will buying online be looked at as too costly and consumers dream about the good old days when you could just go to that thing once called a mall. The evolution of the shopping experience has yet to be mapped out. 

~Rebecca

Wrapping up 2014, It's a New Year!

I'm very much a forward thinker and rarely think about past disappointments. Luckily this year was a pretty darn good year to remember.

Our last 2 chickens.

We didn't have any pet deaths, thankfully, and only lost 2 chickens because they were given back to my neighbors when they returned from Hawaii. It was a sad transfer but their original yard is deep in the forest with lots of worms and Blueberries to enjoy. We hope to get more rescue Chickens and are even contemplating raising Bees! I've switched so much of my sugar consumption to honey that it really does make sense so I'm trying to develop a bee and bird friendly habitat.

My mail carrier is wonderful, I would die w/out Debbie!

My blog title "wrapping up" 2014 is appropriate because this past year I shipped over 400 items from my etsy shops and ebay. Setting lofty goals in 2014, my expectations were exceeded! I've streamlined shipping, designating an area that my friend Cindy helped me set up. My only frustration has been the tape dispenser that will soon be beaten to a pulp!

My favorite flower photo of 2014, one of Ted's Dahlias.

I continue to shop responsibly, bringing reusable bags and mugs everywhere I go. Keeping two bags in my purse and backups in the car! I've also started emailing junk mail companies to remove me from their mailings. Our disposables are showing up in our oceans and is deadly to wildlife.

Lot's of balloon landings around our house on Forsythia Hill.

I still use grocery coupons but have changed my habits to include more fresh organic vegetables and fruit instead of cardboard boxed items. Coupons for produce are far and few between but I still managed coupon savings of nearly $1,200.00. I'm still keeping my life pledge to only purchase organic eggs hoping the treatment of the hen is better.

Crowned Slug Moth Caterpillar hiding in leaf litter.

Gardening for me is constantly evolving. Initially I grew for food, then incorporated flower gardening because of the beauty and diversity. Now my focus is on the creatures that need our plants to survive and how to best support their habitat. I stumbled upon a few interesting critter activities that were totally foreign to me. If I had not been photographing my garden, I never would have noticed an amazingly strange bug and a bee living in my cut Peony stem. I've changed my garden ways of totally cutting back stems and clearing out beds until I'm pretty sure that critters have finished doing their thing. I've also learned that organic and natural remedies for killing "bad bugs" is not always a good thing. A friend informed me that my sprinkling of Cayenne Pepper to deter Deer can harm Bees!

I video taped the refinishing of my freecycle find.

This Spring I will focus on rooting cuttings instead of growing seedlings. Something I've never mastered and have a big fail rating as far as that goes. I'll have to provide bottom head inside and better control the process in order to succeed. I have big plans to put in trees in the front yard, probably Magnolias among others (but husband assistance is required so we'll see how that goes).

Cute Coffee Cup set for sale in my vintage shop.

On the home front, I hope that we find a flooring solution for our basement and paint our shed (a rollover from 2014). We continue to make progress each year with a few minor improvements that seemed pretty major at the time! We still love the kitchen floor that we installed in 2014 and somehow still remain married after it was all said and done.

Wishing you a happy 2015, let's focus on the positive, support one another, and be kind to our amazing planet.

-Rebecca

Beautiful barn in Tennessee when visiting the in-laws.

What's the Plan, It's a New Year

A cool Leo the Lion pin Brooch for sale in my Etsy Shop.

As a new year begins it's time for reflection and future plans. It's the perfect time for me to cozy up beside the wood stove and tie up loose ends for my online business. Tax submission is always last minute for me and I enjoy it like a root canal but at least I have a jump on it with all income and expenses logged online in my accounting software, outright.com.  I would die without this free online software, it has really made tax preparation a breeze. 

TV Room before painting.

TV Room after painting.

Now that we have been settled into our home for 4 years, I anticipate 2014 to be the year for tweaking. We've checked off many of the major home repair projects but there are a few small jobs still on the list.  Several rooms need paint touch ups, our little shed needs to be painted, our kitchen still needs decent flooring, and we need to lay some tile in front of the wood stove. This past Fall while I was in New York City my husband painted the dark paneling in our TV room a bright neutral color.  It seemed like a project that would never be completed since it's the most used room in the house and room deconstruction seemed improbable. That was a major undertaking as was installing a liner for our wood stove, the prior year, but thankfully both are behind us now. 

Annual patch of Cosmos we grow from seed each year.

This gardening season, I'm going to try and not to add new plants or beds and simply tweak what I have and grow my usual tomatoes, peppers, and herbs from seed. Last year I found a wonderful seedling lamp at a yard sale that I'll put to good use. I hope to visit more gardens this year and my husband and I even talked about a trip to Nashville to check in on the Levy Lions at Cheekwood Gardens. That all depends on if we can find a chicken sitter that wants to rise at the crack of dawn to let the girls out!

NEW cute patent leather black shoes I'm selling for a friend.

In reflecting on last year, my online business continues to grow. I have 5 online shops now, 2 on Etsy, and shops on Storenvy, Bonanza, and Ebay. I have three consignment clients which makes it all the more interesting and it's fun to see who buys what and where it ships. We now have a tablet that cha-chings whenever I make a sale - how fun is that! So far, each year I sell 100 more items than the prior year so I hope to continue down that path as momentum and experience sets in.

Dear Simba

Sweet Sally

We experienced several losses last year in the pet department. Our dear old doggie, Simba, finally passed at 16 years and we lost several sweet chickens of natural causes. My favorite chicken, Sally the Comet died a week after Simba, most chickens only live 5 - 6 years. 

As far as saving money, I did a fast tally on what I saved last year by couponing and buying on sale.  I was happy to discover savings of over $1,300. This year I am going to try and do more crockpot cooking, and of course continue to seek out organic and non-GMO foods.  It's my own personal protest again what is happening to our seed diversity and purity! I've found that vegetables really DO taste better organic (compare some bananas or potatoes for starters). We eat mainly vegetarian and non-prepared foods so will continue down that path as well. 

Ivy Creek Natural Area where River meets Reservoir.

To welcome in the New Year, my husband and I hiked along the Peninsula Trail at Ivy Creek Natural Area. It's a hard time of year to find something green to photograph but I always seem to snag that perfect unexpected shot. The only wildlife we spotted was one lone deer, some Chickadees, and across the Reservoir the green heads of several male Mallard Ducks. I hope to exercise in some manner each day but that continues to always be difficult, it's only day 3 in 2014 and I couldn't manage to get off the computer yesterday to meet that goal.

My favorite photo I took last year, Kevin Floodlight Dahlia

Wishing you a Happy New Year and find something meaningful to submerge yourself into during 2014 but only tweak not twerk... you wouldn't want to hurt yourself!

-Rebecca