Check your tax bill: If you are 65 or older, you should be getting four tax exemptions. In the upper right-hand corner of your tax bill it should show “W-4.” And here’s a reminder, you have to go to the tax assessor’s office to “re-file” for your waste management exemption. That is the only one that has to be re-filed every year. It must be re-filed before March 1. We, in Georgia, have been fortunate to have back-to-back governors who have blessed us with these exemptions. Look at your tax statement. Make sure you are getting what you are entitled to. The first day in January that you can go before the board of equalization to appeal your property tax bill is Jan. 5.
More critter visits: I truly understand that right now all wild animals are in search of food. I put meat scraps and bread out on our docks for the animals. However, I’ve had to make sure there is no food on my deck left over from feeding the birds during the day, because a huge raccoon showed up on my deck a few nights ago. This may be a mother searching for food for her babies. He or she even dug up three tangerines that I had planted in my garden. The tangerines had gone bad, so by planting the whole fruit, there would be seedlings in the spring. This raccoon dug them up, and all that was left was peelings. At least I didn’t have the patio door cracked or this huge critter would have been in my living room.
Be cautious: Every day we read or hear on TV where someone has been robbed. During holidays, robberies increase. But people make it easy. I’ve not seen one lady shopping who buckles her purse to her shopping cart, even though I’ve mentioned it more than once in my column. Another safety tip is to wait until you are at your vehicle before hitting the “unlock” button on your key chain. Hitting it early, while you are still 10-15 feet away, gives a robber the chance to grab your keys, jump in your vehicle and drive away. Be aware of your surroundings. Look to your left, your right and behind you as you approach your vehicle. Don’t be a victim.
Asking AARP: If you enter a hospital for a routine procedure and the hospital makes a medical error, does the patient have to pay for this? If you are discharged with an infection that you didn’t have when you entered, do you have to pay for it? No, according to AARP. The goal of a law that went into effect Oct. 1 is to encourage hospitals to reduce medical mistakes.
Happy New Year: Start off the new year by coming by PoJo’s tomorrow. Bargains galore and you’ll have fun meeting and greeting neighbors. See how many hands you can shake! I missed last month because it looked like rain all day the day before. Hope the weather will be good for the January sale. Come and meet owners Al and Polly. Bring a lawn chair and hang out with us.
I couldn’t believe it: I went to Jesup last week to check out the sales and could not believe that the Ford and Chrysler dealerships are gone. The GM dealership is still there, but what a shock to see all those vehicles gone. I saw lots of yard sales. Something that caught my eye at Wal-Mart was a flock of birds in the garden department eating sunflower seeds off the shelf. Some brave bird broke open the bag and all his friends were enjoying the treat!
Loving the weather: I can’t believe the last two weeks of December allowed us to wear shorts and T-shirts. I feel sorry for those up north who are waist deep in snow. I have friends in Aspen, Colo., who moved there from Columbia, S.C. Were they nuts? Right now I am sharing grapefruits and kumquats with neighbors, family and friends. Where else but in the South? And reading about all those fishermen and women catching sheepshead, black drum and Southern shrimp just whets the appetite. I think Paula Deen has prompted many “snowbirds” to move south. We actually only have about two months of cold weather in Georgia, and we have 70,000 miles of rivers. We have 14 barrier islands off our coast. No other state can claim that. We have beaches and mountains. We grow cotton, peanuts, peaches, pecans, corn, soybeans, and we raise pigs, horses, cows, chickens, goats, bison, emu, ostrich and even guinea hens. In Georgia there’s so much fun to be had — Six Flags Over Georgia, the Georgia Aquarium, the Peach Village at Perry, so many quaint little towns to visit, even visit Switzerland at Helen. I was born at Parris Island, S.C., but have been in Georgia since 1958 and claim it as my home.
Happy New Year.
More critter visits: I truly understand that right now all wild animals are in search of food. I put meat scraps and bread out on our docks for the animals. However, I’ve had to make sure there is no food on my deck left over from feeding the birds during the day, because a huge raccoon showed up on my deck a few nights ago. This may be a mother searching for food for her babies. He or she even dug up three tangerines that I had planted in my garden. The tangerines had gone bad, so by planting the whole fruit, there would be seedlings in the spring. This raccoon dug them up, and all that was left was peelings. At least I didn’t have the patio door cracked or this huge critter would have been in my living room.
Be cautious: Every day we read or hear on TV where someone has been robbed. During holidays, robberies increase. But people make it easy. I’ve not seen one lady shopping who buckles her purse to her shopping cart, even though I’ve mentioned it more than once in my column. Another safety tip is to wait until you are at your vehicle before hitting the “unlock” button on your key chain. Hitting it early, while you are still 10-15 feet away, gives a robber the chance to grab your keys, jump in your vehicle and drive away. Be aware of your surroundings. Look to your left, your right and behind you as you approach your vehicle. Don’t be a victim.
Asking AARP: If you enter a hospital for a routine procedure and the hospital makes a medical error, does the patient have to pay for this? If you are discharged with an infection that you didn’t have when you entered, do you have to pay for it? No, according to AARP. The goal of a law that went into effect Oct. 1 is to encourage hospitals to reduce medical mistakes.
Happy New Year: Start off the new year by coming by PoJo’s tomorrow. Bargains galore and you’ll have fun meeting and greeting neighbors. See how many hands you can shake! I missed last month because it looked like rain all day the day before. Hope the weather will be good for the January sale. Come and meet owners Al and Polly. Bring a lawn chair and hang out with us.
I couldn’t believe it: I went to Jesup last week to check out the sales and could not believe that the Ford and Chrysler dealerships are gone. The GM dealership is still there, but what a shock to see all those vehicles gone. I saw lots of yard sales. Something that caught my eye at Wal-Mart was a flock of birds in the garden department eating sunflower seeds off the shelf. Some brave bird broke open the bag and all his friends were enjoying the treat!
Loving the weather: I can’t believe the last two weeks of December allowed us to wear shorts and T-shirts. I feel sorry for those up north who are waist deep in snow. I have friends in Aspen, Colo., who moved there from Columbia, S.C. Were they nuts? Right now I am sharing grapefruits and kumquats with neighbors, family and friends. Where else but in the South? And reading about all those fishermen and women catching sheepshead, black drum and Southern shrimp just whets the appetite. I think Paula Deen has prompted many “snowbirds” to move south. We actually only have about two months of cold weather in Georgia, and we have 70,000 miles of rivers. We have 14 barrier islands off our coast. No other state can claim that. We have beaches and mountains. We grow cotton, peanuts, peaches, pecans, corn, soybeans, and we raise pigs, horses, cows, chickens, goats, bison, emu, ostrich and even guinea hens. In Georgia there’s so much fun to be had — Six Flags Over Georgia, the Georgia Aquarium, the Peach Village at Perry, so many quaint little towns to visit, even visit Switzerland at Helen. I was born at Parris Island, S.C., but have been in Georgia since 1958 and claim it as my home.
Happy New Year.