Frugal Florida State Fair

 This year the Florida State Fair in Tampa, FL had a bargain day for us frugal folks. It was $2 after 2 pm, plus selected rides were $2 and most food vendors offered an item of their menu for $2. There were $2 cheese curds (from Wisconsin), hotdogs, corn dogs, sautéed mushrooms, lemonade, cheese fries, water, pizza and veggie pita. We still spent over twenty bucks but it was actually nice to just get a sample size of something. Definitely a diet buster day.

I started out back near the Equestrian center to see the Moto Maniac show, and happened by the #FairClysdales. These beautiful horses are having a nice time in Florida where amazingly it was an 80F day. And Sunny. Too bad for the rest of the nation where weather pretty much is typical winter.

 The ferris wheel

 The Lady Houdini was impressive, she stayed in that tank for 2 minutes unlocking locks and chains and padlocks while submerged in water.

 The Zaji #amazingacrobats was my favorite show, There was lots of activity, skill and fun.

 Plate twirling - not a single plate toppled.

 Amazing to watch 11 people climb on this bike while one dude was riding it.

 The circus has changed over the years, no more dogs, elephants or horses. The only animal act is the camels walking in circles, no riders. Still entertaining show though.

 All these aerial performers do their acts without nets or safety lines. Quite scary.

 The Clydsdales friendly pet, Bud

Night time for the horses, the handlers were taking out all the braids in their manes and tails.

 Bello Nock and his kids performed, includes being shot out a cannon over a running helicopter.

 The beautiful ferris wheel at night, changing colors

Not quite as good as the Minnesota state fair, but worth going to. The Florida state fair really is missing out on sponsorship and local participation. The difference from a Midwest state fair is that there are no give aways of bags and junk. They could add local radio station booths, TV broadcasts, local celebritys, local companies like Publix, Hospitals, Sporting Teams, Tourists destinations, Busch Gardenss, Disney, colleges, local police and sheriff agencies. There is very little corporate involvement, other than the Fl Dept of Ag. There is so much opportunity here.

2018 Florida Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday

The 2018 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Rick Scott. This sales tax holiday begins Friday, June 1, 2018 and extends through Thursday, June 7, 2018.

During this sales tax holiday period, qualifying items related to disaster preparedness are exempt from sales tax. However, the sales tax holiday does not apply to the rental or repair of any of the qualifying items. Additionally, the sales tax holiday does not apply to sales in a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment or airport.

For more information and a list of qualifying items, please see the Department of Revenue’s Taxpayer Information Publication on the 2018 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. For your convenience, the Department has provided digital downloads and social media posts for individuals and businesses interested in sharing information about the sales tax holiday. Promotional materials are available at floridarevenue.com/disasterprep

Practice Makes Perfect

It's been a year now since we lost our wonderful dog. We still miss her terribly, hug your pet today.

And, on to more mundane activities. A few minutes after our 5:30am alarm clock went off, we heard the crackle of the power transformer outside and the power was out. Apparently it will be out all morning. Lucky us, out of half of million people in Tampa, we're one of the 31 households with no power. Across the street still has power, and over a block has power - just not our side of the block.

However, I'm going to look at this as a lucky practice run for the summer lightning, storms and hurricanes that probably will affect us again. We happen to have dozens of glade candles still in the stock pile room for gifts, but they turned out to be handy for light this morning. We also have a couple plug in flashlights. Luckily, no activities requiring water involve electricity - except the coffee which DH had set on a timer to be completed at 5:25am. I thought we would be ready quicker than usual, but indecision on plan B for breakfast with no microwave or toaster, made cold cereal the choice. We took our real breakfast - a hard boiled egg and turkey bacon to work to eat later - minus the toast. The thought crossed my mind if we should get a generator someday, since we do have 3 refrigerators and a chest freezer full of food if there were a long outage, but I think I'll do that after about 24 hours of no power. We could always store stuff at our neighbors house across the street, since they still have power.

So,  a little list of Hurricane preparedness things to do when you lose power.

1. Candles and flashlight. Also need a lighter or match handy to light that candle.
2. You could preprogram the electric company into your phone, they let you text when your power is out. In Tampa, if you have TECO just text OUT to 35069.
3. Don't open your refrigerator or freezer, and if you must make it quick.
4. Unplug electronics that may be damaged from a power surge when power is restored.
5. Keep window coverings down to prevent sun from heating up the house.
6. Minimize opening doors to outside, keep the cool air trapped in your home.

We managed to get ready and eat and get to work, all without power in the house. Amazing.

2017 Florida Hurricane Sales Tax Holiday 6/2 - 6/4/2017

The 2017 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, June 2, 2017, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, 2017. During this holiday period, qualifying items related to disaster preparedness are exempt from sales tax. However, the sales tax holiday does not apply to the rental or repair of any of the qualifying items. Additionally, the sales tax holiday does not apply to sales in a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport.

Qualifying Items

Selling for $10 or less:- Reusable ice (reusable ice packs)

Selling for $20 or less:- Any portable self-powered light source (powered by battery, solar, hand-crank, or gas):

 Flashlights  Lanterns  Candles

Selling for $25 or less:- Any gas or diesel fuel container, including LP gas and kerosene containers

Selling for $30 or less:- Batteries, including rechargeable batteries, listed sizes only (excluding automobile and boat batteries):

 AA-cell  C-cell  D-cell  6-volt  9-volt - Coolers and ice chests (food-storage; nonelectrical)

Selling for $50 or less:- Tarpaulins (tarps)- Visqueen, plastic sheeting, plastic drop cloths, and other flexible waterproof sheeting - Ground anchor systems

- Tie-down kits- Bungee cords - Ratchet straps- Radios (powered by battery, solar, or hand-crank)
 Two-way  Weather band
Selling for $750 or less:- Portable generators used to provide light or communications, or to preserve food in the event of a power outage.


First-aid kits (always exempt)


See more Information at LINK