Hi Friends,
A new day.... another day of choices. We actually had snow on the ground yesterday and folks hauled out their winter coats.
It isn´t that that is all that unusual....but it was still October....yesterday.
It has been predicted that our area in Northern Ontario is going to have a drier and warmer winter than what is ¨normal¨. But we do have a lake nearby and that can skew the results.....
(it´s called lake effect snow).
Do you have certain rituals or household preps you do every year before the cold weather sets in? Do you cover some of your windows and plug up some of the drafts coming in from your doors?
So far, all that I have is a sweater that I knit many months ago....warm and snuggly, but altogether too heavy to wear in any weather other than ¨freezing¨. Oh, yes, I forgot...I also knit a hat and a few vests too. We will see if I will dare to wear those....they have a ¨different¨ look that takes some courage.
Some folks who heat their homes with woodstoves have taken care to load up their wood piles earlier this year, to be sure the wood had time to mature and dry out. Those who rely on natural gas to heat their homes are imploring our federal government to halt or slow down the carbon tax that is scheduled to impact natural gas costs.
With rising interet rates, I see that folks are simply spending and investing more conservatively....counting their coins first before splurging. It hasn´t stopped folks from travelling, but perhaps they are scouring for cheaper air fares and better package deals for accomodation. Folks still drive a lot....our roads and highways are full.
Those who are savers, who simply accumulate cash and sit on it in a savings account, are enjoying these higher interest rates. But folks who use debt to build businesses, buy real estate and other investments are scratching their heads. A technical recession is on the way into the 3rd quarter in Canada. That means a lot of Canadian investments will be ¨ön sale¨ and ripe for the picking.
Are you the type to buy when things go down in price? Do you wait until your dollars fetch more in a bear market? Or do you hunker down and wait until the bull market returns and ride the upswing?
What´s nice about the markets and real estate is that there is always something brewing, no matter what the weather is doing outside. Always a trend to watch, a category that looks interesting and someone having an opinion somewhere in the world aching for someone to listen.
Colder weather beckons me to good books and warm steamy mugs.What´s on your reading table today?
Peace,
Carla
