The other day I enjoyed a conversation with a local friend. We were discussing our childhoods in Itawamba County, Mississippi and how times have changed especially in the area of frugality. Both of us were raised in typical middle class homes yet our parents practiced frugality in all aspects of their lives and that frugality rubbed off on the children. It was simply a time of waste not want not and a penny saved is a penny earned type of living.

Times were drastically different growing up in the late 1950s and early 1960s around these parts. Most of our parents had survived The Great Depression and through that experience, always knew the value of a dollar and crafty ways to stretch that dollar as far as possible.

It was a time when our moms saved used aluminum foil. Called tin foil by the folks in rural northeast Mississippi, the used foil would be rinsed with water, dried, neatly folded and placed in a special drawer in the kitchen. It was a time when every glass jar was saved from the mayonnaise jar to the pickle jar those glass containers were washed and put away for future use. The brown paper sacks from the local grocery store were saved. Many of those sacks were cut, opened up, and used as coloring paper for us kids using our Crayola crayons. Kites were made from week-old newspapers and sling-shots were made from a tree branch and rubber from an old auto tire inner tube.

It was a time when kids would collect soda bottles and get paid a penny for each bottle at the local market. Redeeming 100 of those bottles would buy a jumbo bag of plastic toy soldiers at Whites Store in town providing months of entertainment and fun. Thirty-five of those redeemed bottles would buy you a Saturday afternoon matinee double feature at the New Dixie Theater complete with a soda and candy bar.

It was a time of make do with what you had and fix what was torn or broken. Patches on jeans, mended socks, and trips to Tallants Shoe Repair Shop with the painted motto on the window greeting visitors with We dont preach but we save soles were a part of everyday small-town life. Everyone in the household was taught when you leave a room, you turn off the light and doing such was just second nature.

It was a time when most everyone had a small garden even families living in town. Home canning was the norm not the exception. And natures bounty was enjoyed by all. Some of the best eating was wild muscadine jelly, blackberry jam and dried fruits from local apple and peach trees. There was nothing more sumptuous than a grandmothers warm spicy apple pie made from home-dried apples, taken from the oven and served with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Perhaps its time to return a little frugality to our daily lives. Living with that same type of waste not want not attitude that was instilled in us from a simpler era in times past would not be a bad thing in todays world.

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Watch as West Texas football teams compete for the state title. ; davis; stacy; 7 on 7; texas; Frenship; aerial; brad; Football; Booher; west; Frenship hosted a West Texas Ariel Football tournament this past weekend. ; 7 on 7; Football; High School; texas; sports; today; Frenship; tigers; west; Monterey High School's Gage Mayer takes 6th place in the Class 5A high jump at the State track and field meet in Austin.; The Coronado Golf team wins second place in 5A at the state tournament while Andrews High wins the class 3A title.; The Coronado Girls Golf team is in the hunt for a State Title after the first day of play.; The Coronado girls golf team interviews each other before the Class 5A UIL State tournament in Austin.; Outakes from the interview session done by the Coronado girls golf team.; Athletes from Olton and Muleshoe compete in the UIL State golf tournament.; Check out the challenging greens awaiting the athletes in the Class 5A UIL State golf tournament in Austin.; During the final day of the Class 5A UIL State tennis championships, two Coronado High School's teams go after titles.; The first day of UIL State championship play in both Golf and Tennis.; The Texas UIL State Golf Tournament begins on Monday. Listen to interviews with Olton's Macalee Lane and Frenship's Kandise Ybanez.; Meet Monterey quarterback John Paul Floyd or, the Pope, as friends call him in the November 5, 2007 A-J's City Player of the Week video feature. ; monterey; Football; High School; most recent videos; texas; sports; South Plains; lubbock; most recent video; Meet Lubbock High's Dvonic Freeman, the A--J's city player of the week for October 29, 2007.; Football; High School; most recent videos; sports; South Plains; lubbock; Meet Coronado runningback Evan Dickson, he's the A-J's player of the week for October 22, 2007.; High School; most recent videos; Estacado's Jeremy Watson is the A-J's City Player of the Week for Oct. 15, 2007.; Football; High School; most recent videos; sports; lubbock; Estacado; Matt Hill, from Frenship High School, is the A-J's City Player of the Week for Nov. 12.

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Watch as West Texas football teams compete for the state title. ; davis; stacy; 7 on 7; texas; Frenship; aerial; brad; Football; Booher; west; Frenship hosted a West Texas Ariel Football tournament this past weekend. ; 7 on 7; Football; High School; texas; sports; today; Frenship; tigers; west; Monterey High School's Gage Mayer takes 6th place in the Class 5A high jump at the State track and field meet in Austin.; The Coronado Golf team wins second place in 5A at the state tournament while Andrews High wins the class 3A title.; The Coronado Girls Golf team is in the hunt for a State Title after the first day of play.; The Coronado girls golf team interviews each other before the Class 5A UIL State tournament in Austin.; Outakes from the interview session done by the Coronado girls golf team.; Athletes from Olton and Muleshoe compete in the UIL State golf tournament.; Check out the challenging greens awaiting the athletes in the Class 5A UIL State golf tournament in Austin.; During the final day of the Class 5A UIL State tennis championships, two Coronado High School's teams go after titles.; The first day of UIL State championship play in both Golf and Tennis.; The Texas UIL State Golf Tournament begins on Monday. Listen to interviews with Olton's Macalee Lane and Frenship's Kandise Ybanez.; Meet Monterey quarterback John Paul Floyd or, the Pope, as friends call him in the November 5, 2007 A-J's City Player of the Week video feature. ; monterey; Football; High School; most recent videos; texas; sports; South Plains; lubbock; most recent video; Meet Lubbock High's Dvonic Freeman, the A--J's city player of the week for October 29, 2007.; Football; High School; most recent videos; sports; South Plains; lubbock; Meet Coronado runningback Evan Dickson, he's the A-J's player of the week for October 22, 2007.; High School; most recent videos; Estacado's Jeremy Watson is the A-J's City Player of the Week for Oct. 15, 2007.; Football; High School; most recent videos; sports; lubbock; Estacado; Matt Hill, from Frenship High School, is the A-J's City Player of the Week for Nov. 12.

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I had a great time at ArmadilloCon this year. I spent so much time chatting with cool folks I knew and folks I had the pleasure to meet (I won't do the name thing, as that's an easy way to leave someone out, and I'm terrible at remembering names) that I missed panels and readings I wanted to attend such as the Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading, where an LSS Reader advance reading copy was given away. So, I don't really have much of a con report to relate. That said, I enjoyed both of the panels I was on and the couple I attended. The electronic publishing panel on Friday was pretty well attended, and the discussions were interesting. I decided to focus my comments on electronically published short fiction (big surprise), which included podcasting of the same. The next day I sat on the recommended reading for 2008 panel, and that went well too with quite a few people in the audience. Sheila Williams was on the panel, and she directed people to nifty-sounding Asimov's works, so I decided to recommend other print and online publications where they could find other cool works. I did manage to get a little reading done before the panel and recommended a few specific stories and anthologies. Thanks to everyone who offered short fiction recommendations last week!

I stayed through early Sunday afternoon, then headed home to get chores done. (My wife and daughter were out of town during the con, so I didn't want them to return to a massive pile of laundry, etc.

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The average premium for a standard home warranty policy is $315 a year, according to HWAC, which consists of nine member companies that account for 95 percent of California's home warranty sales. However, some premiums may be higher if the house is very large and has duplicate systems or extra coverage is selected to cover such things as pools and spas. Also, most policies have a $50 to $100 deductible. Adams says that the number of consumer complaints is few, although they are typically due to homeowners not understanding their policy and coverage.

According to HWAC statistics, warranty companies sell about 800,000 home warranties annually through a combination of renewals and new contracts, and approximately 90 percent of all resold homes in the state carry a home warranty. Betty Carter, regional manager for American Home Shield in Santa Rosa, says, "Home warranties in California are more of a competitive-sell-almost everyone here has one. In the rest of the nation, for instance in states like Montana where the percentage of home warranties is about 20 to 30 percent; it's more of a concept-sell."

According to Adams, one of the biggest problems warranty companies have is when a buyer closes escrow and is simply told by the seller or broker that the home has a warranty. However, the new owner usually doesn't receive the warranty contract until five to 10 days after close, due to paperwork and payment processing. Then, if the homeowner has a problem during that first week-HWAC reports 15 to 20 percent of its claims occur in the first 30 days-the owner will go out and get the problem fixed, mistakenly assuming that reimbursement is due from the warranty company.

"Our policies explain that homeowners must call us when they need a repair, not their own contractors," says Adams. "They often don't get the best price. Whereas we can put a water heater in for $300, some contractors will charge $1,000. We recommend that the REAL TOR@ gives the buyer a sample of a contract prior to closing so the new owner knows exactly what's covered and who to call if anything happens.

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Keywords: Shop Hop by the Bay, San Francisco Bay Area
This event involves driving to a bunch of different quilting stores in the Bay Area, collecting goodies (if any) and spending $$$ buying fabric and whatever else catches your fancy at each of the stores. You get to meet other people who also think this is a fun thing to do and their bored companions. This year you also get to make the oil companies happier.

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