what are you doing right now?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

May 27, 2023 10:41:54 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I just found a random can of cat food and I've never owned a cat.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Good morning! 
I had a tantrum last night. It was very immature of me, but it's May, and I work in public schools. 



Anyhoo,  today I'm doing 30-minute rotations of my dissertation and housework. 

[Opti]

So after that I was not home, worked a lot of hours, not good. DIL doesn't know what she wants to do, she gets hot for something then forgets it. She is talking spending $75k to become a dental hygenist but knowing her she either won't finish the course or get into it with someone. I did explain that is a job where you can deal with a lot of nasty stuff, I don't think she thought about that. I said if you don't mind it would be ok. After she is anywhere for a bit, she claims people are mean to her and are a..holes. She really has an attitude, I have seen her interact with people and she is not very nice to them. I'm sure she doesn't realize it and I am not about to say anything. I just overlook it. Don't get me wrong I know her and like her but she never sticks with anything. Son told her if she just wants extra money McDonalds close by is hiring. Problem is he travels a lot so never know for sure if she will have someone to get him.

I'm starting to feel more and more compassion for DIL. Your son chose a demanding job, that should not mean she can only take hard physical low end retail jobs. One is going to deal with lots of nasty stuff in front facing retail. At least as a dental hygenist she could have semi regular hours if it is not a big practice. 

Maybe you could try betting hired at the same place when you are there, and see how she is actually treated. There are far too many people who treat Asian women way different than English speaking white women. You really do not know how accurate she is as a self reporter. Maybe you could try to be there and explain cultural differences. I think she should highly consider ESL classes. Some are at night some are daytime. What is offered locally? Is there a community of people from her country that meet regularly where she lives?

I've changed jobs and have less public contact than I did, but that doesn't mean I got rid of any category of customers. I still have the unreasonable people who couldn't plan their way out of a paper bag with directions but want to pretend it is my fault. Not taking that crap anymore, but I have learned pushing back is a last resort. I deal with male customers that want to leer at me externally or internally. There is an older gentleman of dubious respect for women who comes in frequently to multiple branches. Apparently he had not really been in while I was gone. I was back only 4 half days, and guess who strolled in? Some people treat you well, some do not. Depending on the job determines how and what you can or will do about it. MHO.

[Opti]

May 27, 2023 10:24:11 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

My WaterPik quit charging and Google says it's likely the charger so I've hooked it up with DH's charger and we shall see.  The damn thing is less than a year old  .  

Is it too humid or hot where it is charging?

[Opti]

Moon Shadow is doing his traditional low whoopling noises, I think he wants things cleaned and his lettuce. Washed the other base layer in fleece laundry last night, so will swap everything out today of tomorrow. Depending on will & strength. Right knee really hurts, will be hard to kneel on hard wood floor even for a short time.

[susana1954]

My neighbor and her husband came to look at the house.  Good news: they don't need financing.  Bad news: it is more than what they "wanted to pay" for an investment house.  Why doesn't that surprise me?  They will get back to me tonight (I don't really believe that but maybe tomorrow) to either make me an offer or tell me to go ahead and list it.

We will see.  On one hand, what they might offer may be comparable to what I would actually net.  Or it may not.  It is a great house with a new roof, new hot water heat, freshly painted, LVP flooring, etc.  But it might be too good for a rental home.

I hate stuff like this, particularly when I have a shot at a house I really want, keeping Penny and me out of an apartment.  But I don't think the seller will wait.

Yuk.

[Opti]

May 27, 2023 11:26:59 GMT -5 susana1954 said:

My neighbor and her husband came to look at the house.  Good news: they don't need financing.  Bad news: it is more than what they "wanted to pay" for an investment house.  Why doesn't that surprise me?  They will get back to me tonight (I don't really believe that but maybe tomorrow) to either make me an offer or tell me to go ahead and list it.

We will see.  On one hand, what they might offer may be comparable to what I would actually net.  Or it may not.  It is a great house with a new roof, new hot water heat, freshly painted, LVP flooring, etc.  But it might be too good for a rental home.

I hate stuff like this, particularly when I have a shot at a house I really want, keeping Penny and me out of an apartment.  But I don't think the seller will wait.

Yuk.

Proceed with your plans and ignore them. You can revisit it if for some reason your house needs to be sold on the investment house level, i.e. at least 20% or more below market value. Rental homes usually are refreshed with the base level of flooring, toilets, cabinets, etc. unless they are looking for a higher end 3/2 home. MO. Things may have changed much since I looked into being a house finder and potential house flipper. What won't have changed except it might be even lower, is how much discount a investor wants on the property to make it worth it for them.

Warning, unsolicited advice - I would recommend having at least three different realtors see your home and tell you what they think they can sell it for and why unless you have a good realtor recommendation already.

[countrygirl2]

DIL is white as can be, whiter then me. Beautiful complexion, has gained some weight but still not big. 

Her sister is a workaholic and works for the VA. Her accent is very heavy but I'm sure she is a good employee. The two  have different dads so different personalities. But both have tempers, LOL!

DIL has been to many ESL classes, in NY, here, in Washington, I think she took it twice. She has to use computers and while she uses her phone, she doesn't use a computer. She did take some computer classes, didn't hear how that turned out. I don't know if she finished.  She has access to computers at home, obviously. I don't know what else to say. When something gets hard or she misunderstands what folks say she gets mad and quits. That's why we can't help her. She is in her early 40's so she could do lots of things, but son even takes grandson to the doctor as she can't deal with a lot of the paperwork and at school too. She has been volunteering some at school, don't know if she still is. And yes, she has Russian friends but she needs to be totally immersed in english to help her here. I help when I'm there.

Son said she is going to have to figure a lot of this out on her own that the other women have. He has helped and helped her. I worry if something happens to him if she can deal with the paperwork. He has insurance and pensions for her and grandson so she will be fine if someone doesn't take her. Long as we are alive we can help. I must be harder than hell to deal with another language, I'm not saying I would do any better, I haven't a clue.

[countrygirl2]

And it sure didn't help that she lived in S Korea for 20 years and had to
deal with that language too. Don't get me wrong she speaks english and if she doesn't understand something she asks me to explain it, doesn't bother her. But it does with others.

Enough of that, I will be up there end of June and I'm sure we will have fun July and August so that will be good for both of us. And little guy will enjoy it and I think son too. Hubs grumbles but I know he is having a good time too even if he is working while there. He isn't killing himself doing it. And DD and I and the cats are enjoying ourselves too.

I'm sneezing my head off, must be the dust and pollen. It's so nice though I don't want to close up the house and use the AC. DD and I don't get hot till the humidity really goes up. Right now it's 39% again and 77 inside and out. In fact I have a long sleeve shirt on because I'm chilly.

About ready to hang out another load of clothes. Need to go the 
basement and get some storage bags for things.

The darn bird in the gutter, is pooping all over my windows in the area. I hate to get a ladder up there with hubs not home. I f I fell off that could be a disaster. Don't expect too but never know, guess if I had my phone I could call someone if I did.

At the lake this weekend having all kinds of live bands, food and such, but DD said she doesn't want to go, so home we stay. I think tomorrow we will go to the movies and eat lunch somewhere. Don't know what I want though, maybe oriental. There is a good place in the city we like. I don't mind staying home since we are going to be gone for 2 months.

And yep, MPL, I watched those John Wick movies too, not bad.

I'm tuning into some shows while the laundry is washing, this one is called Deputy. It's so so likely one of the mass produced ones.

Also, I'm working a puzzle and should be dusting. That is one of my least favorite tasks to do. Why I have no idea. I need to dedicate a half day to do it or less, just have to make myself do it.

[Pink Cashmere]

Mister already had the grill going when I came outside. After 20 or 30 minutes he asked me to come here. He was standing next to the other grill. He took a deep breath and opened it. It was a nest in it. He said “and the bitch had babies”. I asked how he knew, and he said eggs, while still looking away from it.

A little while later he said something else about it and I said to you want me to get it out. He nodded and said yes. I said it creeps you out? He nodded and said yes. I was amused because he looked like a little kid.

He didn’t look that way even once while I was getting it out. The oddest things creep him out lol.

[countrygirl2]

My sweet kitty is out today. He is following me all over like a puppy dog. That's why I knew something happened to him yesterday. Thankfully he was just in the garage. He curled up with me and slept last night. Tigger on hubs bed. They will be shocked when hubs gets home.

I'm in a very good mood today. Hung out another load of clothes. I love the smell of sheets, blankets, and pj's dried outside, so fresh smelling. 

DD and I are running to town soon and pick up a few items from the grocer. DD wants some Boars Head luncheon meat so I will get her some and extra sharp cheese. I will also get a couple of apples and a small head of cabbage. DD had soup for dinner last night and I had a raw potato, apple, and a small can of tuna. 

I like raw foods but have to cook for her. I could live on things like grapefruit, but too many pills. Also oranges, apples, carrots, pears,  mangoes, apricots, strawberries, all kinds of berries, cabbage, in cole slaw or fried. of course I like meat too but not all the time.
And we both like oriental food, barbecue, and lots of other stuff.

[weltschmerz]

Countrygirl, very nice. You're very good at sewing.

[weltschmerz]

I'm watching a great documentary called Scrap.

Abandoned airplanes are turned into housing in Thailand. People love them. they wont blow away in bad weather or hurricanes.
Abanddoned ships are turned into churches.
One guy turns scrap metal into gorgeous sculptures.


www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/docs/scrap

[chiver78]

it's only 130pm and my parents have already left. I've got a bunch of half-finished things in progress, which is exactly what I had intended. I only needed to keep Dad here for the stuff that I needed either extra hands and/or his construction expertise, since they also have a mile-long list of shit to do this weekend. I figured yesterday, they would mostly relax with the pups and today we would hit the ground running. well, Dad showed up in work clothes and started cranking through stuff while I was still logged in to work. thankfully, he'd sat down with a deck of cards at my dining room table by the time I left for the house show around 5. we did do a quick HD run before I left, to pick up landscape timber for the back walkway, just to have one less thing to worry about today (which was good, b/c we filled the hatch with top soil and levelling sand for under the pool). 

yesterday alone, he pulled out 3 completely dead trees and 3 more that weren't far from it and happened to be where the pool was getting moved to. we moved the pool deck, and he measured out the landscape timbers. 

today, we levelled off under the pool deck and bolted down the timbers. I also plotted out where I need to fill in the top soil and drop EZ seed later. then we mounted the TV out in the tiki bar (the TV that's been in my dining room since Punk was recuperating from knee surgery) and made sure that worked. we also tried to finagle combining the two 'pocket hoses' I have to make a single one long enough to use the spigot out front in the driveway. the one in the backyard is busted, mooch needs to replace it. but something's corroded in the quick disconnect on the backyard hose, so there wasn't hardly any water pressure.      I need to power wash the pool deck before I fill the pool. where it had been under the huge tree, it was surrounded by dirt and mulch. so anytime it rained, the deck would get splashed up dirt that would dry and cake on.     oh, and then whatever hung out under the plywood cover that was there all winter, too. it will all look great after a good bath! 

taking a minute to grab a bite to eat, and then back to it! hope y'all are having a great Saturday 

[Opti]

May 27, 2023 12:30:48 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

My sweet kitty is out today. He is following me all over like a puppy dog. That's why I knew something happened to him yesterday. Thankfully he was just in the garage. He curled up with me and slept last night. Tigger on hubs bed. They will be shocked when hubs gets home.

I'm in a very good mood today. Hung out another load of clothes. I love the smell of sheets, blankets, and pj's dried outside, so fresh smelling. 

DD and I are running to town soon and pick up a few items from the grocer. DD wants some Boars Head luncheon meat so I will get her some and extra sharp cheese. I will also get a couple of apples and a small head of cabbage. DD had soup for dinner last night and I had a raw potato, apple, and a small can of tuna. 

I like raw foods but have to cook for her. I could live on things like grapefruit, but too many pills. Also oranges, apples, carrots, pears,  mangoes, apricots, strawberries, all kinds of berries, cabbage, in cole slaw or fried. of course I like meat too but not all the time.
And we both like oriental food, barbecue, and lots of other stuff.

Fresh food is great for you. When my mom was still alive and not mostly under control of Alzheimer's she sometimes sent me a little money for fresh produce. 

I love grapefruit too and prefer grapefruit juice over OJ. Now that I am done with the Zpak I should see if its still good and have that in the morning instead of cranberry juice. I really want some cherries, but the delivery choice was 2lbs!  Yikes. I usually get a 1/2lb or less because its just me eating them and I do not make pies. Maybe I should learn how to make jam though. Easy, no canning involved jam for a month or some such.

[Opti]

May 27, 2023 12:23:57 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Mister already had the grill going when I came outside. After 20 or 30 minutes he asked me to come here. He was standing next to the other grill. He took a deep breath and opened it. It was a nest in it. He said “and the bitch had babies”. I asked how he knew, and he said eggs, while still looking away from it.

A little while later he said something else about it and I said to you want me to get it out. He nodded and said yes. I said it creeps you out? He nodded and said yes. I was amused because he looked like a little kid.

He didn’t look that way even once while I was getting it out. The oddest things creep him out lol.

I think he is sad he didn't notice it right away. Were the eggs cooked?

[andi9899]

May 27, 2023 9:34:34 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

May 27, 2023 9:14:33 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

You are not a hoarder - you are a "Senior Product Acquisition Manager"

You've not met her makeup bag. The one she brought up to chiver's was more complete than my makeup drawer! I'll say she's an Acquisition Manager.

You have no idea. What I brought was minimal. You would either be in heaven if you came to my house and saw all the makeup or wonder what is wrong with me.

ETA: I'm head acquisition manager. Thank you very much.

[Opti]

May 26, 2023 22:17:38 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

There was a fire in a Montreal Heritage building.  An old monastery built in 1846. It was converted to over 55 residences. Nobody was hurt but I hate losing Heritage buildings. This is the second one this year.  A beautiful even older building had to be demolished, because some Airbnb asshole wasn't careful and started the fire.  It could't be saved.

Sorry. 

[andi9899]

May 27, 2023 10:51:09 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

May 27, 2023 10:41:54 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I just found a random can of cat food and I've never owned a cat.

 Sorry but I just spit Diet Pepsi all over the place. Thanks for my full out belly laugh this morning. It's gonna be a great day for sure!!!

I know I didn't buy it, so I imagine T2 did. She's never owned a cat either, so I'm at a loss and she went out of town and isn't here to ask about it.

[Opti]

May 27, 2023 12:53:34 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

May 27, 2023 9:34:34 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

You've not met her makeup bag. The one she brought up to chiver's was more complete than my makeup drawer! I'll say she's an Acquisition Manager.

You have no idea. What I brought was minimal. You would either be in heaven if you came to my house and saw all the makeup or wonder what is wrong with me.

Head Acquisition Manager for the US.   

[andi9899]

May 27, 2023 10:56:18 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

May 27, 2023 10:41:54 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I just found a random can of cat food and I've never owned a cat.

There are so many things in this house that aren't normal. Me being one of them.

[Opti]

May 27, 2023 12:56:02 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

May 27, 2023 10:51:09 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

 Sorry but I just spit Diet Pepsi all over the place. Thanks for my full out belly laugh this morning. It's gonna be a great day for sure!!!

I know I didn't buy it, so I imagine T2 did. She's never owned a cat either, so I'm at a loss and she went out of town and isn't here to ask about it.

Maybe the dogs were stocking up before they brought a cat home? 

[Pink Cashmere]

May 27, 2023 12:53:25 GMT -5 Opti said:

May 27, 2023 12:23:57 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Mister already had the grill going when I came outside. After 20 or 30 minutes he asked me to come here. He was standing next to the other grill. He took a deep breath and opened it. It was a nest in it. He said “and the bitch had babies”. I asked how he knew, and he said eggs, while still looking away from it.

A little while later he said something else about it and I said to you want me to get it out. He nodded and said yes. I said it creeps you out? He nodded and said yes. I was amused because he looked like a little kid.

He didn’t look that way even once while I was getting it out. The oddest things creep him out lol.

I think he is sad he didn't notice it right away. Were the eggs cooked?

We have 2 grills. He usually uses both when he’s cooking a lot of food. But he didn’t use the second one because it had a nest in it.

[seriousthistime]

May 26, 2023 10:03:51 GMT -5 susana1954 said:

Ever since I decided to list the house, I have been busy, busy, busy.

The neighbor behind me says they would like to buy it and propose to pay for an appraisal.  Super. But that was two days ago, and I am still waiting for them to tell me when the appraiser is supposed to come.  Meanwhile, I am proceeding as if they aren't buying it and fixing it up to sell.  Yesterday I finished pruning the hydrangeas, put a coat of kilz on some basement shelving that had water stains from a leaky pipe to the refrigerator (pipe fixed years ago), and washed a few windows/curtains.  Today I put the second coat on the shelving.  I discovered a gallon of paint (white, the color of the shelving) marked "bathroom cabinets" from before I renovated that bath.  It is half full.  Nice way to use some of it up!

Working in the basement is depressing because DH is the one that painted those shelves in the first place.  And all his models and model kits are down there, waiting for me to do something with them. I don't have time to find them a good home so they will go to the church yard sale to be saved until then.  But I have to box them up and I have no boxes . . .

On a brighter note, I may have found a house in the community I want to live in.  But I can't move forward until this house is sold.

Confession time: I am turning in my YM card.  I am going to take the difference between what I get for this house and the cost of a new house from my Roth and pay cash.  I may take a small portion from my regular IRA instead, but it is the same principle.  I don't want to restart a mortgage when I am 2 years away from paying this one off.  Plus, this one has a $315 month HOA fee (covers roofing and other outside maintenance of the house as well as lawn service, pest control, washing windows, recreational facilities, etc.)  That and insurance/taxes will be $500-$600 a month.  That's very manageable on just my SS/pension.  I think I will hire a house cleaner for once a month, too. 

I talked it over with my daughter, and she said she agreed.  It is my money, and she would rather I spend it now on something that will make my life better than save it for a nursing home.  There will still be over $450k in there so it is doable.

I love my daughter!

That's pretty much what I did, sold my condo and moved to a lower COLA and used the equity plus savings to avoid a mortgage.  Taxes and insurance are enough.  And I hire out as much maintenance as I can.  I think your $315 HOA is quite reasonable. 

You probably already know this, but just to be sure, the IRMAA thresholds are based on MAGI, and income of even $1 over a given threshold requires you to pay the higher premium for a year.  It's really more of a cliff than a threshold. 

Having gone through this process within the past year, I don't envy you.  But I can say it was worth it to me to do it.  At this point I figure my next move will be to a nursing home, and I hope that doesn't come anytime soon. 
 

[Deleted]

May 27, 2023 11:06:40 GMT -5 Opti said:

May 27, 2023 10:24:11 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

My WaterPik quit charging and Google says it's likely the charger so I've hooked it up with DH's charger and we shall see.  The damn thing is less than a year old  .  

Is it too humid or hot where it is charging?

No, same temp as the rest of the house.  It appears to be charging rapidly on DH's charger

[andi9899]

Taking a break. The bathroom floor is drying. Then I get to move stuff around and mop the other half. After I put the bathroom back together I'll mop the kitchen. I'm glad I started this yesterday. I may be done with the downstairs by tonight. Maybe if I get froggy I'll break down my grill and clean it on Monday.

[andi9899]

May 27, 2023 11:26:59 GMT -5 susana1954 said:

My neighbor and her husband came to look at the house.  Good news: they don't need financing.  Bad news: it is more than what they "wanted to pay" for an investment house.  Why doesn't that surprise me?  They will get back to me tonight (I don't really believe that but maybe tomorrow) to either make me an offer or tell me to go ahead and list it.

We will see.  On one hand, what they might offer may be comparable to what I would actually net.  Or it may not.  It is a great house with a new roof, new hot water heat, freshly painted, LVP flooring, etc.  But it might be too good for a rental home.

I hate stuff like this, particularly when I have a shot at a house I really want, keeping Penny and me out of an apartment.  But I don't think the seller will wait.

Yuk.

In this market if they pass, the house will sell in days. I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep cleaning and packing because it will sell in no time.

[andi9899]

May 27, 2023 12:50:02 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

it's only 130pm and my parents have already left. I've got a bunch of half-finished things in progress, which is exactly what I had intended. I only needed to keep Dad here for the stuff that I needed either extra hands and/or his construction expertise, since they also have a mile-long list of shit to do this weekend. I figured yesterday, they would mostly relax with the pups and today we would hit the ground running. well, Dad showed up in work clothes and started cranking through stuff while I was still logged in to work. thankfully, he'd sat down with a deck of cards at my dining room table by the time I left for the house show around 5. we did do a quick HD run before I left, to pick up landscape timber for the back walkway, just to have one less thing to worry about today (which was good, b/c we filled the hatch with top soil and levelling sand for under the pool). 

yesterday alone, he pulled out 3 completely dead trees and 3 more that weren't far from it and happened to be where the pool was getting moved to. we moved the pool deck, and he measured out the landscape timbers. 

today, we levelled off under the pool deck and bolted down the timbers. I also plotted out where I need to fill in the top soil and drop EZ seed later. then we mounted the TV out in the tiki bar (the TV that's been in my dining room since Punk was recuperating from knee surgery) and made sure that worked. we also tried to finagle combining the two 'pocket hoses' I have to make a single one long enough to use the spigot out front in the driveway. the one in the backyard is busted, mooch needs to replace it. but something's corroded in the quick disconnect on the backyard hose, so there wasn't hardly any water pressure.      I need to power wash the pool deck before I fill the pool. where it had been under the huge tree, it was surrounded by dirt and mulch. so anytime it rained, the deck would get splashed up dirt that would dry and cake on.     oh, and then whatever hung out under the plywood cover that was there all winter, too. it will all look great after a good bath! 

taking a minute to grab a bite to eat, and then back to it! hope y'all are having a great Saturday 

I'm definitely coming back when you have everything done.

[andi9899]

May 27, 2023 12:57:24 GMT -5 Opti said:

May 27, 2023 12:56:02 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I know I didn't buy it, so I imagine T2 did. She's never owned a cat either, so I'm at a loss and she went out of town and isn't here to ask about it.

Maybe the dogs were stocking up before they brought a cat home? 

The dogs aren't good with cats so I doubt it. My nephew has a cat. I'll give it to him. The can says it's still good.

[andi9899]

You know the hoard is serious when the smallest room in the house takes the longest to mop. I have to move around all my makeup drawers and mop that area and let it dry then move the other makeup drawers and repeat.