TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER

 

Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.

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February 4, 2006
Volume 4, Number 3
ISSN 1554-6330

In this issue:

1. Carpenter Country
2. Top Drawer Article
3. Top Drawer Tips
4. Top Drawer Book Review
5. Top Drawer Satire

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CARPENTER COUNTRY
What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human Experience

 

Spring means new merchandise has hit the stores. Ads tout great prices, the latest styles - and here in Carpenter Country, leave us wondering if we’re weird because for us shopping is not a pleasure.

We still own a forty-five year old sweater that cost five dollars. That ancient red wooly gets hauled out of the drawer every winter and, we’re happy to say, is still in good shape. We wear it when we sport around in our seven year old car, which is running just fine, thank you, gets thirty-five miles to the gallon, and is parked in the garage of our forty year old home.

No, none of these items were purchased from eBay. Our red fashion statement came from a store that went bankrupt years ago, probably because they didn’t upgrade their prices and downgrade their merchandise. We bought the house when expensive meant low $20’s, and the auto when quality aspired to a certain degree of excellence and came without a high priced service contract.

Hopefully the pendulum, which has swung from affordable longevity to over-priced immediate extinction is finally moving back to center, not only for clothing styles, but for big ticket items as well.

The latest flash from knowledgeable chattering heads is that homebuilders may soon begin constructing affordable housing. In the near future, automobile manufacturers could improve miles-per-gallon and make a more reliable product. And any day now clothing designers will refuse to change styles until after we get our purchases home from the store.

Are the forecasters of new trends correct? Will quality go up and prices come down? We’re holding our breath and smiling.

That’s what happy shoppers do.

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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

Tax Info for Volunteers
by
HL Carpenter

 

Helping others is worthwhile work with many rewards, and it’s unlikely you volunteer solely for tax benefits. But rising gasoline prices and other out-of-pocket expenses may make you wonder if you can take a deduction on your return.

Read the entire article here

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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits

 

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TOP DRAWER BOOK REVIEW

by
HL Carpenter

 

The Martha Rules
by Martha Stewart
ISBN 1-59486-470-5
205 pages; hardcover; $24.95
Rodale, United States, 2005

Martha’s back, and in fighting form.

No matter what you may think of America’s lifestyle diva, there’s no denying she’s a successful businesswoman. In her usual sunny style, she says it would be a Good Thing for you to be successful, too. Her book, The Martha Rules, which she outlined while serving her prison sentence, sets out ten guidelines she believes will help.

Read the entire review here

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TOP DRAWER SATIRE

Hello?
by
HL Carpenter

 

News that the US Telephone Yakkers Administration will soon be issuing mandatory etiquette standards for mobile phone users has the rudeness industry in an uproar.

Read the rest here