What's on Your Mind Thread - 2024

[NY cat man]

I remember the wood burning stove on my uncle's farm (actually, a cousin, but my mother's generation, so the young cousins called him "uncle," the norm in her family). It was a lovely thing, but MISERABLE in Georgia summers! No, these guys are replicas, and either gas, electric, or a combination of the two. They LOOK authentic, but COOK 21st century. I considered an Aga cooker, but kept running up against "keep your kitchen cozy and warm." NOT what one needs in the Deep South in August!

But in WNY in winter? I remember standing my frozen pants on the floor behind the stove so they could thaw, or the winter my father was cutting trees for firewood and came across a bee tree, and how my mother cooked down gallons of honey on that old cast iron stove. In a way, I think that kids today have been deprived of the experiences that kids like me had in our formative years. Call it character building, if you will.

 

[game misconduct]

Never know whats not to far out in the ocean off coastal waters like this wolf eel a pretty big one to

 

[Kwik]

My utilities cost has doubled, my insurance cost has doubled and my taxes have nearly tripled in the twenty years I have owned this home.

Same here plus the monthly maintenance has TRIPLED
The sad thing is that the only reason it has drastically increases is because of incompetence and the inability to manage finances- we pay 3,times as much and get nothing for our money-full time maintenance and housekeeping and it looks like a low income housing developement,no amenities,it does not take all that money to cover monthly costs- management company is $100k a year unecessarily- the grounds look like the local paperboy cut the grass for $50 bucks and they're getting $80k a year.......there are places in Boca Raton with 6amrnenities,the grounds look meticulous and they pay far less than we are- with full time maintenance worker you should not have to hire people to power wash curbs,do minor plumbing or electric repairs- etc etc...... we are an ATM machine for some very bad people

We've reported these things to the State with documentation as proof ,they want everything handed them on a silver platter( months and years of giving them everything you'd need to prosecute) and ZIP! "YOU NEED TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY-CIVIL?" How is breaking the Law civil?

There's other Condo's for less,less taxes,less maintenance fees plus they have amenities and even cable &satellite discounted- but everything that " looks good" scares me with Boards of Directors that change every year or 2 or 3......I tell you when it's good it's good but if it goes bad it's super bad

I'd move in a heartbeat into a single family home if I had the means- I had plenty of money saved to retire and never worry- thought I had good heath insurance too until it capped out on cancer treatments and was literally wiped out

Funny thing is if you are poor or indigent and never worked a day in your life you get help-100%,if you have money and earn well they take it all. Something is seriously wrong with this system.Now I've got nothing and get more( in health care)

 

[Kwik]

N NY cat man , that is the way to go when buying a house. Get what you can afford, put as much down as you can and pay it off as quick as you can. I was able to do that on 2 homes that I owned myself.

I agree that the increase in RE taxes is due to the high home sales in the neighborhood even though some of those homes have no comparison with the ones we live in or that are even within a 5 mile radius.

I would've been homeless now if I had a mortgage to pay!My first home I put 50% down,2nd one paid cash and so on- this Condo I bought for my mother and figured eventually I'd retire here....my Dad used to tell me your monthly bills should not exceed your weekly earnings,I can't see that even possible for this younger generation ( they need 2incomes these days) The scales are really tipped unevenly

 

[nurseangel]

Oh, no! The plumber is here! Looks like it'll be Ramen noodles for dinner!

Disclaimer: I love Ramen noodles. But this is really going to cost us. We called for a price check, and he just showed up at our house! He is now underneath our house.

Update: The plumber says our homeowner's insurance will have to cover the disaster! A blessing, for sure.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I think that kids today have been deprived of the experiences that kids like me had in our formative years. Call it character building, if you will.

I certainly agree with you in principle. HOWEVER, at 71, my own character is as built as it can be. And I still don't want an Aga cooker (as much as I love them in theory) or wood stoves heating my kitchen to near-solar temps in a Deep South summer. We're talking about temps in the 90s, with a humidity of 75-80%.

 

[NY cat man]

I certainly agree with you in principle. HOWEVER, at 71, my own character is as built as it can be. And I still don't want an Aga cooker (as much as I love them in theory) or wood stoves heating my kitchen to near-solar temps in a Deep South summer. We're talking about temps in the 90s, with a humidity of 75-80%.

I spent two years in Charleston, S C , where my ship was home ported. Believe me, I know about summer heat and humidity in the South.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Food. I am thinking about FOOD!

I've been craving meatball subs so I finally made a huge pan of meatballs yesterday and had that for dinner. Some meatballs went into the freezer for later. (I mix pork and beef and they only had 2lb packages of ground pork and this is the only thing I typically use it for... so I made a huge batch and I'm set for later. Might drop off a dozen to bestie too.) I had to whip up a quick little pot of sauce that turned out amazing too.

It really hit the spot! But now.... I can't stop thinking about FOOD. It's probably hormonal or something but GOSH. I have 2 sub rolls left and I REALLY want to make another for lunch.

 

[Margot Lane]

Tiny homes. My carpenter neighbor is selling his and it’s sweet. It’s got reclaimed redwood, walnut, ash and fir, all used in amazing ways. It has a fridge, bed, shower, mini deck, kitchen, baseboard heat and insulation. The most lovely tiled backsplash I’ve ever seen, portholes and a ladder to the rubber covered roof. I want it and dream of it. I don’t even need a tiny home but I crave it.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Tiny homes. My carpenter neighbor is selling his and it’s sweet. It’s got reclaimed redwood, walnut, ash and fir, all used in amazing ways. It has a fridge, bed, shower, mini deck, kitchen, baseboard heat and insulation. The most lovely tiled backsplash I’ve ever seen, portholes and a ladder to the rubber covered roof. I want it and dream of it. I don’t even need a tiny home but I crave it.

I don’t have a lot of time to “play” with my home design software; but when I do there is something so satisfying about coming up with tiny homes. I don’t think I’d want to live in one full time! Especially having big kids. But a little getaway place sounds so nice sometimes!

 

[susanm9006]

I don’t have a lot of time to “play” with my home design software; but when I do there is something so satisfying about coming up with tiny homes. I don’t think I’d want to live in one full time! Especially having big kids. But a little getaway place sounds so nice sometimes!

My first house was 24 x 28 when I bought it and that was as tiny as I ever want to get.

 

[Kwik]

Tiny homes? I remember that TV show- very cute,practical,w here's the walk in closets? Not for me,maybe for a guest house but not for me and 5 cats...

 

[Kwik]

My mind can only think about Timmy right now- just waiting for Vets call to pick him up

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I don’t think I could do it full time. But maybe a little weekend place for either solo or kid free getaways would work. Especially if it was somewhere I might enjoy getting outside. Reading in a hammock sounds amazing right now. Although I’m not sure hammocks are as comfortable as they used to be.

I’m sitting next to DSxwhile he is writing his rough draft on a research paper about Applebees. Considering this kid used to find writing 3 sentence paragraphs extremely hard; he’s doing AMAZING! The way he acted in past years you’d think I wanted it written in a foreign language. Now just sitting here giving minor prompts and ideas has him doing MUCH MUCH better!! Tomorrow is the last official day of school. But we will be finishing up a few things over the next few weeks and working on the math skills he still needs help with. I just need a minute to revel in his growth! He does too.

 

[susanm9006]

As I was walking into the Goodwill this afternoon a young man came out. I am generally not shocked by any clothing choices but he was in shorts and shirtless except for an open hot pink bathrobe. I do hope this look doesn’t catch on.

 

[NY cat man]

As I was walking into the Goodwill this afternoon a young man came out. I am generally not shocked by any clothing choices but he was in shorts and shirtless except for an open hot pink bathrobe. I do hope this look doesn’t catch on.

I was hoping- in vain, as it turns out- for the same with guys wearing their pants at half mast, or wearing pajamas in public.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Yesterday and for the last 20 yrs + we've been in this neighborhood and for hard telling how many decades a black walnut tree.

Today, because it was dirtying her pool, even though as I mentioned to her in the past other people have kept the pool beautiful with the tree there.

Could have just trimmed but she destroyed. I hate our new neighbor.

 

[NY cat man]

Our back-fence neighbor has a large black walnut tree almost on the property line- probably why we have so many squirrels hanging around- and I have encountered roots from that thing more than 30 feet into our yard. Too, there is supposed to be some substance given off by the roots that can kill certain plants. Lilacs, for example, can grow on a bowling ball, it seems, but every one that my late mother-in-law planted anywhere near one of the black walnut trees on their property died. My only problem, squirrels aside, is the shade it casts, which limits the area that I can use for growing things like tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers, to name a few. Even on the longest days, about 25% of the back yard gets only 4 or 5 hours of direct sun. Too, the shade means I have to constantly battle the moss on the garage roof. A couple of years ago the guy had a crew come in to trim some of the lower branches, but none of those that hang over our yard.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I’ve been concerned about an oak some squirrels planted under the propane tank on the property next to us. The house was condemned and has been gone a while; along with the tank. DH used to do the lady’s yardwork and had kept cutting the tree but it kept growing back. Now it’s probably 15’ tall but doesn’t have a central trunk. It’s also close enough to the property line that it will eventually touch my house. And overshadow my own landscaping; which was planted for sun exposure.

The property is up for sale now and DH and I are considering asking the owners if we can cut it down and replant another oak farther in their yard. We don’t want to lose trees; but it’s not really set up to be healthy in the long run. Its a rental property (which has sat empty for a while too) so they might go for it; they might want to just pass on the issue to whoever buys it. And that’s kind of awkward to approach new people about.

I was on the arbor foundation website looking at trees to order for our front yard; so getting one more doesn’t seem like a big problem. And they have oaks. Offering to get a good replacement seems like the least we could do if we are going to ask about a poorly placed and shaped one. Especially since I keep hearing people are getting dropped by their homeowners insurance for having stuff too close. That and roofs over 10 years old (which is ridiculous).

 

[dustydiamond1]

Still butchering.
Lord only knows how many birds nest were lost. It was a major squirrel food source and about the only shade we had in the late afternoon.

She could had it trimmed.
I've been crying all day. It was the oldest and largest walnut tree in our 100+yo neighborhood.