Relief on the Way/Tax Credit Stimulus Recovery/Corn Crop

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There is a moderate risk for severe weather for a portion of Missouri and Illinois on Wednesday. Highs will be it the 40s, 50s and 60 across the northern 2 rows of states and in California. Look for some thunderstorms in Florida and some showers in the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies and northern Plains.

Houston will be hot and humid again. But there is some big news!!! Less humid air will arrive early in the coming week, giving us mornings in the middle 60s and more pleasant conditions into Wednesday. Afternoons will still be in the 80s. This might be our last real break before the onslaught of summer. So, get ready to enjoy! A few showers and thunderstorms are possible over the weekend.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do corn or elote, pronounced eh-LOW-tay. I've got a miniature corn crop growing in my backyard. See AND MORE section for more information.

Our kids grow as fast as weeds. Time is short, especially the optimal time for learning languages--primarily before the age of 8...that is when 80% of neurological development has occurred. Brain scans show that children who learn multiple languages have more neurological development in their brains. So get going...stimulate those young minds! Order our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/,http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. Volume 2 is almost ready for release and Volume 3 will follow soon thereafter!!! For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, got to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
I am growing corn in the backyard (as mentioned in previous posts). Check out the latest photo at right. The instructions say you need a minimum of 4 rows. I have exactly that. I may help the fertilization process along by using a Qtip to swab from tassle to tassle. But I did see a good sign...wasps buzzing around. They can serve as that mechanism.

We have a leak in our ac coil and are considering replacing the entire system. I did some checking and this is a good time to do so. In fact, if you use approved products, you can deduct 30% up to $1500 for an installed AC system (labor is included). This is part of the stimulus recovery. And you can do this through 12/31/10. Also, if you have been recharging you system, you should know that the ozone harming R22 will be phased out in about 2 years...then you will have to buy a converter so that your system will be able to handle the more environmentally friendly type of freon. This should cost about $700.

Check out this site for approved HVAC items:
http://www.ceedirectory.org/ceedirectory/pages/cee/ceeSearchMain.aspx

Also for 2009 and 2010, there are similar tax credits for eligible window and doors, insulation, roofs (metal and asphalt), water heaters (non-solar), biomass stoves. Through 2016, you can get credit for geothermal heat pumps, solar panels, solar water heaters, small wind energy systems and fuel cells. For more information, check out this link:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits

I had the pleasure of visiting with the fine folks at Dow in Freeport this morning. I gave them a presentation on important points from Ike and some things that folks still need to know. I had never driven down to Freeport. So, this was really interesting. The people at Dow were very knowledgeable--asking great questions!!! I enjoyed the visit!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman