Brooklyn is beautiful in the Fall

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the holidays, the getting back to school feeling and of course the beautiful trees. It’s been a good three day weekend.

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2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God wants us to be strong and fearless.  Powerful words.

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Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

So it’s right there in the Bible. God is just telling us: We can do anything!

For today, I will be finishing decorating outside and painting in the house. It’s a beautiful day in Brooklyn.

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Late Night at Target

Karen and I left here at 8:45 pm. We were at Target at 9:10pm (exit 15 on the Belt Parkway). Target is open until 10:00 pm. We had the most relaxing time at Target because it was basically empty.  If you love Target, try going at night when no one is there – it is an amazing time to shop!

Shopping at night gave me a chance to stop thinking about my friend. God will take care of my friend. I thought of the words to the song “Be Not Afraid” and I know that God will take care of him.

Topics: Brooklyn | 1 Comment »

My heart hurts for a friend

Everyone knows someone like my friend. He’s the easy-going, loveable type of person who can talk with anyone about any topic. He’s a health and exercise nut. He has an incurable disease and there is nothing I can do, but pray and offer friendship.

I’ve been crying on and off all day. We all have so much to be thankful for.

God makes no mistakes. But I am praying for a miracle healing.

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Germs – Yuck

The teachers at my school wanted to encourage students to do more community service, so we are all doing a service project with our homeroom.  Our students and their families are always so generous when we have food drives and other collections. Yet, we wanted Since they are middle school students, it’s a good idea to have them pick what they would like to do. So I bring the topic of community service to my students and we discuss all types of community service. Then my students have a vote and decide that they want to clean up the neighborhood or parks in the area. Great idea you are probably thinking, right? Nooooooo. I wanted to do something less dirty and germ involved. I mean, yes I love cleaning. But I manage to pick up every germ and always wind up sick for weeks.  I need a bubble like the movie Bubble Boy so I don’t get sick from garbage that we will be picking up.

I’ll look for gloves at Lowes this weekend.

Topics: Brooklyn | 3 Comments »

Politics and a Season for Everything

 I watched Obama and McCain tonight. McCain knows the end is near. He’s a nice man, but his season has passed. We need change.

In NYC, we have the same situation, we have some politicians who just haven’t realized that their season has ended. Mayor Bloomberg, a financial watchdog failed NYC as Wall Street has crumbled and yet, he wants to stay to bring it back. Mayor Bloomberg had his turn and it’s time for him to move on. Change is good Mike.  It’s good for you and it will be good for NYC. We need new ideas and new people carrying out those ideas. Bloomberg has implied that he is the only one who can do this job. If NYC didn’t allow Rudy to stay after 9/11, why would we make the exception for any politician now?  Bloomberg has so many experts working for him, I find it hard to believe that none of them were able to forecast our current financial conditions.

Then there’s Marty Markowitz. There’s definitely some controversy about Brooklyn Borough President’s use of city funds. There is a large questionable amount that has been given to Markowitz’s not-for-profit, but I can’t figure out why the Borough President of any borough would be allowed to have a separate non-for-profit. If the Borough President wanted to have a concert, he would just throw a concert.  So now the Brooklyn Borough President is upset that people (especially the media) are questioning him. Markowitz Put Your Money where Your Mouth is! You have a website – you can easily post your expenses.  This isn’t the first time a finger has been pointed at Markowitz . Many people question his connection with Ratner and lack of support for the Brooklynites who lived in the homes in Downtown Brooklyn. What has their quality of life been like for the last few years as they had to fight the city for their home? The economy is dead and these projects haven’t taken off as Markowitz said they would.

I’m thankful for term limits. I think when Marty started in office, he had good motives. Then he worked the system and the system worked him. These politicians who are trying to extend their term limits are like the middle age woman wearing a mini skirt. Everyone knows what’s needed, but no one wants to hurt anyone’s feelings and tell the person their season has passed.  Hopefully, Mayor Bloomberg and Borough President Markowitz will have a kind best friend that tells them gently to move on.

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Bay Ridge Bank Doesn’t Know the Law

2014 Update: If you need a Notary in Bay Ridge click here

Yesterday, I went to get a document notarized. I drove on 3rd Avenue looking for an attorney’s office, drug store or bank. I stopped at several places that advertised they had a notary, but the notary is only in on Monday – Friday. When I stopped at Valley National Bank, I received some information that I had to question. Ya know, I can’t stand when professional people don’t know what that position entails.

I visited Valley National Bank located at 7726 – 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to have a document notarized. The bank associate at the front desk, as well as another bank associate sitting inside the bank told me that the notary at the bank only notarizes bank documents. Apparently, the bank officials and more importantly, the notary public don’t know NYS Law. When the individual became a notary, he/she was aware that they can not refuse to notarize unless a person does not have proper identification. I was told by two bank officials that the notary only notarizes bank documents. This is incorrect and not only can your notary lose their license, but they also can be charged with a misdemeanor.

Here’s  is the law:

Q: Can a Notary refuse to serve someone?

A: Only if the Notary is uncertain of a signer’s identity, willingness, mental awareness, or has cause to suspect fraud. Notaries may not refuse service on the basis of race, religion, nationality, lifestyle, or because the person is not a client or customer.
 

Notary must officiate on request.
The Penal Law (§195.00) provides that an officer before whom an oath or affidavit may be taken is bound to administer the same when requested, and a refusal to do so is a misdemeanor. (People v. Brooks, 1 Den. 457.)

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/lcns/lawbooks/notary.html

Valley National Bank needs to get their bank associates onboard! Not only is it illegal to refuse to notarize, it’s also bad business. I didn’t find a notary and I will need to look for one tomorrow.

Last year, an employee at a branch of the Anchor Savings Bank and another at a branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank, both in Brooklyn, were found guilty of refusing to perform a notary service because the applicant was not a customer.

Topics: Brooklyn | 10 Comments »

Life gets in the way sometimes

Wow it’s been a busy week. I loved spending time with Lee. He had so many things he wanted to get done and I wanted to relax and just spend quiet time with him.

It’s great to get away from the computer sometimes.

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Praise the Lord

The Lord does such amazing things in my life. My prayer today is that you are all blessed and feel His love, especially those who are having a hard day.

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Vets in Brooklyn – Dyker Heights & Park Slope

 I saw these two sweet dogs sitting outside the Animal Kind.

I am lucky to live in an area of Brooklyn where there are two fine pet clinics. I highly recommend St. Francis Animal Hospital on 73rd Street and 13th Avenue. The clinic was started by two vets who were friends, Dr. Steven Brigande & Dr. Frank Battiato. I know when I go to St. Francis Animal Clinic that my pets receive the kind of care that these doctors would give to their own pets. When we went to the clinic with a hurt stray cat, Dr. Battiato split the cost of a necessary surgery with us because he realized it was very expensive and he knew we wanted to keep the cat.

Animal Kind in Park Slope is equally wonderful. When Karen’s dog was pregnant, the vet who did the examination called several times to check on Becca. Although Becca delivered her pups successfully with no help, it was comforting to know that the vet cared and continued to check on her progress.

At both places, when we have brought pets in for a procedure, the vets and technicians have spoken very kind to our pets. Yup, we’re very lucky to have such dedicated professionals in Brooklyn.

Topics: Brooklyn | 2 Comments »

Works for Me Wednesday

Our refrigerator door is a center of organization for us. The kitchen drawer scissors was always missing when we needed it, so Lee found this cool scissor and magnetic holder at Crate and Barrel.

We used to have a pretty magnetic memo pad on the door to keep a grocery list, but it kept falling off the door when we opened and closed it. From Staples, Lee purchased a memo pad that had a hole in the top. He bought a large magnet from Home Depot and attached it to the top with a screw.  He also purchased magnetic pens from Staples. This memo pad is thicker than most decorative memo pads and lasts a long time too. Finally, we added a magnetic calculator because we do calculations in the kitchen a lot (finance, flooring, new homes square footage).

This has worked for us for over a year and it may work for you. If you are interested in more kitchen organization ideas see Shannon’s blog Rocks in My Dryer.

Some of my favorites are:

•  A Proverb’s Wife’s plate menu idea
•  Perfectly Provident’s Modern Spice Rack
• I love Deanna’s house rules and I bet a lot more homes would run smoothly with rules similar to them.

Note: I can’t help but think that Organizing Junkie must be salivating at her computer over the many great ideas that have been shared. Finally, great giveaway list here.

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