REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!!!

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 17:55
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Wednesday, October 7, 2020 7:32 PM

BRENDA


Foggy morning around here when I went out and now just around supper time nice and clear. See if the rain arrives tomorrow.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2020 8:12 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
You know your house better than I do.



You might be right though. I was originally thinking mesh when I decided not to put guards up this season, but then I wasn't. But after really looking at them a lot while I was out working today I realized that even though the downspouts are huge, I do have quite a few of them traveling a long ways somewhat horizontally at the bottom as a temporary measure until I cut them to a more reasonable size and get proper extensions for everything. They would probably build up quite a bit of gunk even though they're super wide. I'll see what the big box store carries for that this week, or I'll just fabricate something. At least for the front 2 gutters for sure.

Quote:

Wow! That is historic alright. There are houses in my city that go back to the late 1890s and early 20th century. They are protected and the owners have to keep them up to standards and any work has to be approved by the city so it doesn't ruin the historic value of the house.


Yeah. It's really a sight to behold, even in the state it's in. It's a shame that my bud wasn't keeping up on it after he started renting it out. It was beautiful 15 years ago, and so out of place in the neighborhood because of how unique it looks. Good thing when it's in great shape, but not when it is in bad shape and draws so much attention.

Quote:

Has the ground given way under the porch? Cause I don't understand that. Yes, I agree. That porch needs to be taken care of ASAP.


ASAP is right. I don't know exactly what is happening. I've never seen anything like it. It's as if a lot of the earth that used to be below those steps and the massive porch just simply washed away from underneath it. I really don't know what's holding it up. There has to be earth under it in the back. There's no way the house is holding up all that weight. But right under the first step in the front it's cavernous. You can blow a ton of leaves under the first step, and even though I did a great job clearing all the bushes and debris away so we can get to what needs to be done, I think it probably would have been better to do a bit at a time as we worked. On a quick look from the street, the place looks way better than it did 2 days ago, but if somebody really looks, the structural flaws are now all uncovered and easy for the city to spot.

Quote:

Didn't know that. Up here we don't get much local news from other states. Most local US news I get is from Washington State, Oregon and a little on California. Unless something were to blow up in Illinois, I don't know anything.


Yeah. Illinois doesn't exactly advertise their property tax scam. It's not the whole state, but everywhere close by Chicago is just terrible. It's probably pretty bad down by Springfield too. When my real estate agent finally got through to me on the convoluted way they screw you when you buy a home in Illinois a few years later after you lose discounts the previous owners were getting, my jaw about hit the floor. She had to start selling houses in Indiana and stop selling them in Illinois because she said she couldn't sleep at night after quite a few people she had worked for ended up being foreclosed on after a huge property tax increase they weren't expecting 2 years after they bought the house.

Quote:

Glad his tenants aren't stiffing him for rent anyways.



Yeah. Me too. It's even worse what they do with taxes for rental properties when you don't get the homestead exemption. I can only assume that beyond that he's paying an even higher tax rate.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, October 7, 2020 8:18 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Didn't get to the garage slab at all today, but cleared some of the stuff out and put back in their proper place now that the driveway and gutter work is done.

I actually spent all day working on lawn stuff again. Finished edging the curbs and then mowed and used the leaf blower and the property looks fantastic from the street today.

I cut down all the hastas and disposed of the leaves since they're just about to start dying. That will make leaf cleanup easier when the time comes, and it also exposed not only a few more mole holes I didn't know about but it appears that I missed one final Maple tree stump... and a large one at that. It's on my list of things to do tomorrow.

I also started destroying the raised garden bed that I never used. With a downspout right by it, it's nearly impossible to mow the lawn in that corner, and it was only going to last another year or two before it really started falling apart. I'm going to have to figure out what to do with all of the pavers I used to build it up. They're in great shape and I will probably be reusing them when I figure out what I'm doing with the ground where I tore the patio up last year.

Days are so short now...

Better get up early again tomorrow. So much still to do before it gets cold.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, October 8, 2020 12:00 AM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
You know your house better than I do.



You might be right though. I was originally thinking mesh when I decided not to put guards up this season, but then I wasn't. But after really looking at them a lot while I was out working today I realized that even though the downspouts are huge, I do have quite a few of them traveling a long ways somewhat horizontally at the bottom as a temporary measure until I cut them to a more reasonable size and get proper extensions for everything. They would probably build up quite a bit of gunk even though they're super wide. I'll see what the big box store carries for that this week, or I'll just fabricate something. At least for the front 2 gutters for sure.

Quote:

Wow! That is historic alright. There are houses in my city that go back to the late 1890s and early 20th century. They are protected and the owners have to keep them up to standards and any work has to be approved by the city so it doesn't ruin the historic value of the house.


Yeah. It's really a sight to behold, even in the state it's in. It's a shame that my bud wasn't keeping up on it after he started renting it out. It was beautiful 15 years ago, and so out of place in the neighborhood because of how unique it looks. Good thing when it's in great shape, but not when it is in bad shape and draws so much attention.

Quote:

Has the ground given way under the porch? Cause I don't understand that. Yes, I agree. That porch needs to be taken care of ASAP.


ASAP is right. I don't know exactly what is happening. I've never seen anything like it. It's as if a lot of the earth that used to be below those steps and the massive porch just simply washed away from underneath it. I really don't know what's holding it up. There has to be earth under it in the back. There's no way the house is holding up all that weight. But right under the first step in the front it's cavernous. You can blow a ton of leaves under the first step, and even though I did a great job clearing all the bushes and debris away so we can get to what needs to be done, I think it probably would have been better to do a bit at a time as we worked. On a quick look from the street, the place looks way better than it did 2 days ago, but if somebody really looks, the structural flaws are now all uncovered and easy for the city to spot.

Quote:

Didn't know that. Up here we don't get much local news from other states. Most local US news I get is from Washington State, Oregon and a little on California. Unless something were to blow up in Illinois, I don't know anything.


Yeah. Illinois doesn't exactly advertise their property tax scam. It's not the whole state, but everywhere close by Chicago is just terrible. It's probably pretty bad down by Springfield too. When my real estate agent finally got through to me on the convoluted way they screw you when you buy a home in Illinois a few years later after you lose discounts the previous owners were getting, my jaw about hit the floor. She had to start selling houses in Indiana and stop selling them in Illinois because she said she couldn't sleep at night after quite a few people she had worked for ended up being foreclosed on after a huge property tax increase they weren't expecting 2 years after they bought the house.

Quote:

Glad his tenants aren't stiffing him for rent anyways.



Yeah. Me too. It's even worse what they do with taxes for rental properties when you don't get the homestead exemption. I can only assume that beyond that he's paying an even higher tax rate.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



I am occasionally right about things I don't even know a lot about.

That is a shame. Walk around my city and see these old homes and they look great and still fit in the areas where they were built. It's the newer houses that are the eye sores.

Is there a drainage problem under the porch, do you think? That might account for the lack of dirt under it. Yipes! And on a historic house the city could come down on your friend.

I know Chicago is a major city and so I would imagine property tax to be higher than in a smaller city in the state. I remember finding out Springfield was a real place. That was funny. That poor lady and how nasty for those people and I don't imagine there was thing one they could do either.

That doesn't sound like he's really doing himself any favours by owning and renting this house out. I would guess he bought it as an investment property for extra cash.

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Thursday, October 8, 2020 12:01 AM

BRENDA


Good dose of fog has rolled in for tonight.

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Friday, October 9, 2020 7:07 PM

BRENDA


Rain, rain, rain. Soggy weekend and a soggy start to next week.

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Friday, October 9, 2020 8:44 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
You know your house better than I do.



You might be right though. I was originally thinking mesh when I decided not to put guards up this season, but then I wasn't. But after really looking at them a lot while I was out working today I realized that even though the downspouts are huge, I do have quite a few of them traveling a long ways somewhat horizontally at the bottom as a temporary measure until I cut them to a more reasonable size and get proper extensions for everything. They would probably build up quite a bit of gunk even though they're super wide. I'll see what the big box store carries for that this week, or I'll just fabricate something. At least for the front 2 gutters for sure.

Quote:

Wow! That is historic alright. There are houses in my city that go back to the late 1890s and early 20th century. They are protected and the owners have to keep them up to standards and any work has to be approved by the city so it doesn't ruin the historic value of the house.


Yeah. It's really a sight to behold, even in the state it's in. It's a shame that my bud wasn't keeping up on it after he started renting it out. It was beautiful 15 years ago, and so out of place in the neighborhood because of how unique it looks. Good thing when it's in great shape, but not when it is in bad shape and draws so much attention.

Quote:

Has the ground given way under the porch? Cause I don't understand that. Yes, I agree. That porch needs to be taken care of ASAP.


ASAP is right. I don't know exactly what is happening. I've never seen anything like it. It's as if a lot of the earth that used to be below those steps and the massive porch just simply washed away from underneath it. I really don't know what's holding it up. There has to be earth under it in the back. There's no way the house is holding up all that weight. But right under the first step in the front it's cavernous. You can blow a ton of leaves under the first step, and even though I did a great job clearing all the bushes and debris away so we can get to what needs to be done, I think it probably would have been better to do a bit at a time as we worked. On a quick look from the street, the place looks way better than it did 2 days ago, but if somebody really looks, the structural flaws are now all uncovered and easy for the city to spot.

Quote:

Didn't know that. Up here we don't get much local news from other states. Most local US news I get is from Washington State, Oregon and a little on California. Unless something were to blow up in Illinois, I don't know anything.


Yeah. Illinois doesn't exactly advertise their property tax scam. It's not the whole state, but everywhere close by Chicago is just terrible. It's probably pretty bad down by Springfield too. When my real estate agent finally got through to me on the convoluted way they screw you when you buy a home in Illinois a few years later after you lose discounts the previous owners were getting, my jaw about hit the floor. She had to start selling houses in Indiana and stop selling them in Illinois because she said she couldn't sleep at night after quite a few people she had worked for ended up being foreclosed on after a huge property tax increase they weren't expecting 2 years after they bought the house.

Quote:

Glad his tenants aren't stiffing him for rent anyways.



Yeah. Me too. It's even worse what they do with taxes for rental properties when you don't get the homestead exemption. I can only assume that beyond that he's paying an even higher tax rate.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



I am occasionally right about things I don't even know a lot about.





Quote:

That is a shame. Walk around my city and see these old homes and they look great and still fit in the areas where they were built. It's the newer houses that are the eye sores.


I think the problem where he's at is that the neighborhood in general has just fallen off the cliff and the city doesn't care anymore. Illinois is beyond bankrupt too, and the only way they can keep afloat is to gouge their citizens even more, all the while stripping them of any benefits they used to get for the high taxes. Too many criminals in the Cook County/Chicago machine for decades has destroyed that state.

Quote:

Is there a drainage problem under the porch, do you think? That might account for the lack of dirt under it. Yipes! And on a historic house the city could come down on your friend.


It's a good question. It really looks as if a river has been running under it. It's on high ground, so I doubt its anything like the problems I'm having. I'm going to ask my bud if they ever complain of having a high water bill. Maybe something is always leaking 24/7?

Quote:

I know Chicago is a major city and so I would imagine property tax to be higher than in a smaller city in the state.


Property taxes are weird here, and usually pretty uniform statewide. Property taxes are lower down where my brother lives, but that's only because the houses are worth less than they are in the big city. The tax rate really isn't that much different. For example, the small 2 bed/1 bath houses I'm looking into down by him that cost 12,000 less than the one I'm in now will end up costing me $800 to $1,200 more in taxes than I'm paying now for a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom house with an extremely large amount of land.

Chicago steals from everybody living in the state. Even those living on that little tippy nub at the bottom.

Quote:

I remember finding out Springfield was a real place. That was funny. That poor lady and how nasty for those people and I don't imagine there was thing one they could do either.


Haha. Actually, The Simpsons never states which Springfield they take place in. I believe I read somewhere that there are at least 40 cities called Springfield in the US.



Quote:

That doesn't sound like he's really doing himself any favours by owning and renting this house out. I would guess he bought it as an investment property for extra cash.



It was a good idea when he bought it 15 or 20 years ago. Illinois was in a lot better shape and wasn't gouging property owners as bad back then. It was also before his baby's mama's lawyer found his rental listing on Craigslist and ended up giving a large portion of what little money he did make on it to her for child support too. At least that's going to end sometime soon for him, so there's that.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, October 9, 2020 8:47 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Cleaned out all the cracks in the slab with some cutters, screwdrivers, scrapers and finally with a copper wheel brush on the end of my drill.

Shoved the backer rod down for about 2/3rds of them in prep for the sealant.

I still had about 1/4 a tube of it when I filled the cracks on the slab outside of the garage when I restored the driveway, so I used that under where my tool bench is too see how it looks tomorrow.

Once again, a job I thought was going to take a single day looks like it may take 2 or 3 days.


Got some family coming by tomorrow, then I'll have at least a few hours to work on it. But then I have to help my friend on Sunday, so I'm hoping that rain we're getting on Monday doesn't actually happen. Would put a damper on things if I don't get the garage sealed up first.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, October 9, 2020 11:44 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
You know your house better than I do.



You might be right though. I was originally thinking mesh when I decided not to put guards up this season, but then I wasn't. But after really looking at them a lot while I was out working today I realized that even though the downspouts are huge, I do have quite a few of them traveling a long ways somewhat horizontally at the bottom as a temporary measure until I cut them to a more reasonable size and get proper extensions for everything. They would probably build up quite a bit of gunk even though they're super wide. I'll see what the big box store carries for that this week, or I'll just fabricate something. At least for the front 2 gutters for sure.

Quote:

Wow! That is historic alright. There are houses in my city that go back to the late 1890s and early 20th century. They are protected and the owners have to keep them up to standards and any work has to be approved by the city so it doesn't ruin the historic value of the house.


Yeah. It's really a sight to behold, even in the state it's in. It's a shame that my bud wasn't keeping up on it after he started renting it out. It was beautiful 15 years ago, and so out of place in the neighborhood because of how unique it looks. Good thing when it's in great shape, but not when it is in bad shape and draws so much attention.

Quote:

Has the ground given way under the porch? Cause I don't understand that. Yes, I agree. That porch needs to be taken care of ASAP.


ASAP is right. I don't know exactly what is happening. I've never seen anything like it. It's as if a lot of the earth that used to be below those steps and the massive porch just simply washed away from underneath it. I really don't know what's holding it up. There has to be earth under it in the back. There's no way the house is holding up all that weight. But right under the first step in the front it's cavernous. You can blow a ton of leaves under the first step, and even though I did a great job clearing all the bushes and debris away so we can get to what needs to be done, I think it probably would have been better to do a bit at a time as we worked. On a quick look from the street, the place looks way better than it did 2 days ago, but if somebody really looks, the structural flaws are now all uncovered and easy for the city to spot.

Quote:

Didn't know that. Up here we don't get much local news from other states. Most local US news I get is from Washington State, Oregon and a little on California. Unless something were to blow up in Illinois, I don't know anything.


Yeah. Illinois doesn't exactly advertise their property tax scam. It's not the whole state, but everywhere close by Chicago is just terrible. It's probably pretty bad down by Springfield too. When my real estate agent finally got through to me on the convoluted way they screw you when you buy a home in Illinois a few years later after you lose discounts the previous owners were getting, my jaw about hit the floor. She had to start selling houses in Indiana and stop selling them in Illinois because she said she couldn't sleep at night after quite a few people she had worked for ended up being foreclosed on after a huge property tax increase they weren't expecting 2 years after they bought the house.

Quote:

Glad his tenants aren't stiffing him for rent anyways.



Yeah. Me too. It's even worse what they do with taxes for rental properties when you don't get the homestead exemption. I can only assume that beyond that he's paying an even higher tax rate.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



I am occasionally right about things I don't even know a lot about.





Quote:

That is a shame. Walk around my city and see these old homes and they look great and still fit in the areas where they were built. It's the newer houses that are the eye sores.


Quote:

I think the problem where he's at is that the neighborhood in general has just fallen off the cliff and the city doesn't care anymore. Illinois is beyond bankrupt too, and the only way they can keep afloat is to gouge their citizens even more, all the while stripping them of any benefits they used to get for the high taxes. Too many criminals in the Cook County/Chicago machine for decades has destroyed that state.


That is a shame. It's also not right of the state to do that. That problem from my understanding goes back to Prohibition times. Al Capone and such.

Quote:

Is there a drainage problem under the porch, do you think? That might account for the lack of dirt under it. Yipes! And on a historic house the city could come down on your friend.


Quote:

It's a good question. It really looks as if a river has been running under it. It's on high ground, so I doubt its anything like the problems I'm having. I'm going to ask my bud if they ever complain of having a high water bill. Maybe something is always leaking 24/7?


That should be checked out then. Might be because the only thing I can think of is running water causing erosion.

Quote:

I know Chicago is a major city and so I would imagine property tax to be higher than in a smaller city in the state.


Quote:

Property taxes are weird here, and usually pretty uniform statewide. Property taxes are lower down where my brother lives, but that's only because the houses are worth less than they are in the big city. The tax rate really isn't that much different. For example, the small 2 bed/1 bath houses I'm looking into down by him that cost 12,000 less than the one I'm in now will end up costing me $800 to $1,200 more in taxes than I'm paying now for a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom house with an extremely large amount of land.

Chicago steals from everybody living in the state. Even those living on that little tippy nub at the bottom.



Now, my brain and numbers aren't friends but even to me that seems weird that you would pay more in taxes for less house and less land.

Okay, this is probably a dumb question but Chicago is the state capital for Illinois?

Quote:

I remember finding out Springfield was a real place. That was funny. That poor lady and how nasty for those people and I don't imagine there was thing one they could do either.


Quote:

Haha. Actually, The Simpsons never states which Springfield they take place in. I believe I read somewhere that there are at least 40 cities called Springfield in the US.




I know they don't. Way to make things confusing, so if you say that name you need to know almost which state as well. Learn something new.

I would have to do some looking up on Canada on certain city names.

Quote:

That doesn't sound like he's really doing himself any favours by owning and renting this house out. I would guess he bought it as an investment property for extra cash.



Quote:

It was a good idea when he bought it 15 or 20 years ago. Illinois was in a lot better shape and wasn't gouging property owners as bad back then. It was also before his baby's mama's lawyer found his rental listing on Craigslist and ended up giving a large portion of what little money he did make on it to her for child support too. At least that's going to end sometime soon for him, so there's that.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



Figured it was. Well, if you make a baby you should have a hand in paying for that child. That's just my feeling.

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Friday, October 9, 2020 11:47 PM

BRENDA


Have a good weekend Jack.

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Friday, October 9, 2020 11:48 PM

BRENDA


I really do need to figure out how to get a couch or something. Tried sitting on the floor for a bit last night. Not a good idea. Getting back up again was not fun.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 12:20 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Rain, rain, rain. Soggy weekend and a soggy start to next week.

Oh, that sounds like heaven if it was down here.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 12:41 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
I really do need to figure out how to get a couch or something. Tried sitting on the floor for a bit last night. Not a good idea. Getting back up again was not fun.

I imagine one of your considerations is getting it up to your place and installed? And maybe if you want to do some furniture rearranging how easy or hard it might be to move around?

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 12:42 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Just saying hey and goodnight, all.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 2:26 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Well, I'm happy to get to bed!

We have two more days of reasonable weather, then on Monday the temperature is predicted to go up 15 degrees(!) and the next day another three. which will be up at ... yep, 90-95, again, for another 5-6 days. It's weird, like roller-coaster weather: hot for 6-7 days, cool for 5, hot again for 6 then cool for 5, then hot for 7, now cool for 5, hot again for the future. So dividing my time between "indoor" and "outdoor" work.

So I'm flogging dear daughter and myself to get as much yardwork done as possible. Since she's a nightowl. it's up to me to renovate 1/3 of the front yard in the AM, then both of us work in the backyard in the afternoon. What's stressful about the front yard is that I know I need to dig out the Bermuda grass .... AGAIN ... level it, and put chipped bark on it, but after that I STILL don't have a firm plan for what goes next. I know I want to replace the one tree that was supposed to be prunus ilicifolia lyonii (Catalina Island cherry) but turned out to be hollyleaf cherry instead. Then add a shrub on the property line ... was looking at coffeeberry but it's too wide so decided on "Mama Bear" manzanita, which is a more upright (6'X3') form. After that .... ???? Goldenrod, (sterile) purple fountaingrass, salvia gregii, checkerbloom (maybe), cliff buckwheat, beach daisy (WR erigeron) and maybe Select Mattole epilobium.

In the back, just prepping for a "winter garden" of carrots, onions, red beets, sweet potatoes, spinach, lettuces, arugula, cauliflower, and mizuna. Also going to make a raised bed for asparagus, which is a permanent planting, and move all of my perennial pollinator flowers (lantana, Joe Pye weed, verbena lilacina, verbena bonariensis etc) into one bed, where I can see them from my kitchen window. Alot of this involves digging out Bermuda grass ... again. But since we weeded, torches, and sprayed last year, it's not so bad this year.

Anyway, it's several large projects, most of which I already know what I want and one ...not so much.

Puppy wuppy was acting really sick for a while... out of energy, acting like she wanted to eat but had been aversively conditioned to food, just not normal. I wondered if she had pancreatitis, or maybe gastritis, or an ulcer. Which made me wonder if she was B12 deficient. So I started chipping Super B Complex into her food along with a few mg of iron, and she's back to acting like a puppy again! It's so great to see her lively and happy. She must have been REALLY deficient in one of those B vitamins.


-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 9:29 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Going to get myself together and mail out a rebate I was going to put off as well as buy more sealant for the garage slab. I don't think it's going to be as bad as my miscalculation of the driveway, but chances are really good that I won't get it done in only 4 tubes and it's better to go out to the store before I'm playing with stuff that can only be washed off with mineral spirits.

Figure I can do that and a small amount of needed cleaning before the fam gets here, then I can go out to the garage and try to finish putting down the backer rod before they get here so I won't be getting too dirty.

I should have about 4 hours of daylight after they leave. Since some of the work requires going outside I'll have to tend to that first and hopefully I can wrap this up tonight and not have to worry about it raining before I get back to it.



You have a good weekend too, Brenda. I'll reply to your post later.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 1:27 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Rain, rain, rain. Soggy weekend and a soggy start to next week.

Oh, that sounds like heaven if it was down here.



It's dry right now but I have to be indoors for a bit. My laundry day.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 1:29 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
I really do need to figure out how to get a couch or something. Tried sitting on the floor for a bit last night. Not a good idea. Getting back up again was not fun.

I imagine one of your considerations is getting it up to your place and installed? And maybe if you want to do some furniture rearranging how easy or hard it might be to move around?



Yes, getting it here is a big consideration. Can't rearrange anything. There is only one spot it can go into.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 1:30 PM

BRENDA


Laundry day then out and about to do some things in the dry for a while. Later peeps.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 6:06 PM

BRENDA


Everything done for today. Now having a nice sit down with a snack.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 6:35 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.



Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:

Yes, getting it here is a big consideration. Can't rearrange anything. There is only one spot it can go into.


I personally for whatever reason never use my couch. But I have a comfy (cheap and light) recliner where I sit to watch TV, and with the leg/ footrest extended, I've dozed more than a time or a hundred, completely unintended. I know someone with a couch and a loveseat, and they both have low, flat armrests which act as pillows. For sure they both have been used as beds!
I guess it depends what you'd really like. Do you just want to sit, or do you want to fully lie down? But I don't see the need for a full-sized couch unless you intend to sleep on it and you're tall.
It might be fun to go shopping and give a bunch of things a tryout if you have stores nearby.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 8:44 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

That is a shame. It's also not right of the state to do that. That problem from my understanding goes back to Prohibition times. Al Capone and such.


Yeah. It's not like the state really has a choice anymore though. They know they can't get any more free money out of smokers. $15 per pack seems to be the equilibrium where they get the most tax revenue with the least amount of people smoking. They don't actually care about people quitting. They'd absolutely go bankrupt without that smoking tax. But if they raised it any higher too many people would start rolling their own to avoid the tax. I can't believe that so many people still buy it at those prices.

They even started selling pot on every street corner, but the problem is that it costs 4 times as much to buy it with the taxes, so most people I know are still buying it illegally.

The pensions in the city are bankrupt. They sold the revenue from the parking meters for nearly 100 years to foreign interests for a few billion dollars that was spent the second they got i. The museums that were all free to go to when I was a kid are so expensive now most people can't even afford to go to them unless they go on "deal day" and deal with the crowds.

Unless Illinois can somehow file bankrupcy and start over, that state is pretty much done. I must be crazy to think about moving back there for my brother, even if it's hours away from Chicago.



Quote:

That should be checked out then. Might be because the only thing I can think of is running water causing erosion.


Yeah. If it's not the plumbing, it's the land itself. It's high, but the driveway is butted right up to the house, and if it grades toward the house the runoff could be causing it on the way down. I've never been there in the rain to see it. I'm going to look at it more when I go back tomorrow and see.

Quote:

Now, my brain and numbers aren't friends but even to me that seems weird that you would pay more in taxes for less house and less land.


That's because I live in Indiana, which is much better off financially and doesn't need to gouge the citizens for property taxes. I even get a credit back on my taxes for making under a certain amount, so most years I'm paying around $900 in property taxes for the entire year. If I lived 30 minutes west of where I do now and was in Illinois with the exact same house and land, my taxes would be anywhere from $7,000 to $9,000 per year. Not only because the tax rate is so much higher in Illinois, but the property values are a little higher too the closer you get to Chicago. But it's mostly because the tax rate is so much higher there.

Quote:

Okay, this is probably a dumb question but Chicago is the state capital for Illinois?


Not a dumb question if you don't live there.

No... I think the mayors that run the place like to think of it as the Capitol, but it's actually Springfield.

Quote:

I know they don't. Way to make things confusing, so if you say that name you need to know almost which state as well. Learn something new.


It's always been kind of a joke with the show that they don't say it. But if my foggy old memory serves right, they had a few episodes way back when where it was made clear that The Simpsons and everybody in Springfield aren't human beings. (Not just the yellow skin and the fact they only have three fingers and a thumb, but they literally are 2 dimensional and there was a trippy Halloween episode where Homer entered some sort of wormhole where he was 3 dimensional and ended up on Earth with 3D humans and was kind of freaking out about it.

Quote:

Figured it was. Well, if you make a baby you should have a hand in paying for that child. That's just my feeling.


The thing is that he already was giving a sizable amount from his banking job for child support. They were never married, and he bought that house long after they had stopped dating. The entire time he renovated it before he put it on the market she didn't even know he owned it. Her lawyer found it and ended up taking most of what the state didn't already tax, so he's been basically just making the mortgage payments and tax payments on it, while playing landlord for pig tenants and then giving the rest of the money to her and her husband.

And all of that happened while he was paying a laywer big bucks to get some visitation rights because once she got married and moved 50 miles away she kept him from seeing the kid for almost 2 years and without any custody rights she wasn't even breaking the law by doing so.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 8:49 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Did my shopping and my rebates before the family came over, had a great time, then I managed to actually finish sealing up the garage floor and the cracks on the slab from outside by 7PM.



Already called my friend and know when to be at his house tomorrow. Now I can relax and not have to worry about getting up too early. He likes sleeping in on Sunday.



Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 11:40 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:

Yes, getting it here is a big consideration. Can't rearrange anything. There is only one spot it can go into.


I personally for whatever reason never use my couch. But I have a comfy (cheap and light) recliner where I sit to watch TV, and with the leg/ footrest extended, I've dozed more than a time or a hundred, completely unintended. I know someone with a couch and a loveseat, and they both have low, flat armrests which act as pillows. For sure they both have been used as beds!
I guess it depends what you'd really like. Do you just want to sit, or do you want to fully lie down? But I don't see the need for a full-sized couch unless you intend to sleep on it and you're tall.
It might be fun to go shopping and give a bunch of things a tryout if you have stores nearby.



At this point I would take either. I am not tall so a recliner would do me as well. I'm after something that when my back and such start annoying me I can stretch out and if I feel the need crash on.

Watching movies is no fun because I am uncomfortable sitting on a kitchen chair.

Unfortunately there are no furniture stores near me. Need buses to get to them.

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Saturday, October 10, 2020 11:56 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

That is a shame. It's also not right of the state to do that. That problem from my understanding goes back to Prohibition times. Al Capone and such.


Yeah. It's not like the state really has a choice anymore though. They know they can't get any more free money out of smokers. $15 per pack seems to be the equilibrium where they get the most tax revenue with the least amount of people smoking. They don't actually care about people quitting. They'd absolutely go bankrupt without that smoking tax. But if they raised it any higher too many people would start rolling their own to avoid the tax. I can't believe that so many people still buy it at those prices.

They even started selling pot on every street corner, but the problem is that it costs 4 times as much to buy it with the taxes, so most people I know are still buying it illegally.

The pensions in the city are bankrupt. They sold the revenue from the parking meters for nearly 100 years to foreign interests for a few billion dollars that was spent the second they got i. The museums that were all free to go to when I was a kid are so expensive now most people can't even afford to go to them unless they go on "deal day" and deal with the crowds.

Unless Illinois can somehow file bankrupcy and start over, that state is pretty much done. I must be crazy to think about moving back there for my brother, even if it's hours away from Chicago.



Quote:

That should be checked out then. Might be because the only thing I can think of is running water causing erosion.


Yeah. If it's not the plumbing, it's the land itself. It's high, but the driveway is butted right up to the house, and if it grades toward the house the runoff could be causing it on the way down. I've never been there in the rain to see it. I'm going to look at it more when I go back tomorrow and see.

Quote:

Now, my brain and numbers aren't friends but even to me that seems weird that you would pay more in taxes for less house and less land.


That's because I live in Indiana, which is much better off financially and doesn't need to gouge the citizens for property taxes. I even get a credit back on my taxes for making under a certain amount, so most years I'm paying around $900 in property taxes for the entire year. If I lived 30 minutes west of where I do now and was in Illinois with the exact same house and land, my taxes would be anywhere from $7,000 to $9,000 per year. Not only because the tax rate is so much higher in Illinois, but the property values are a little higher too the closer you get to Chicago. But it's mostly because the tax rate is so much higher there.

Quote:

Okay, this is probably a dumb question but Chicago is the state capital for Illinois?


Not a dumb question if you don't live there.

No... I think the mayors that run the place like to think of it as the Capitol, but it's actually Springfield.

Quote:

I know they don't. Way to make things confusing, so if you say that name you need to know almost which state as well. Learn something new.


It's always been kind of a joke with the show that they don't say it. But if my foggy old memory serves right, they had a few episodes way back when where it was made clear that The Simpsons and everybody in Springfield aren't human beings. (Not just the yellow skin and the fact they only have three fingers and a thumb, but they literally are 2 dimensional and there was a trippy Halloween episode where Homer entered some sort of wormhole where he was 3 dimensional and ended up on Earth with 3D humans and was kind of freaking out about it.

Quote:

Figured it was. Well, if you make a baby you should have a hand in paying for that child. That's just my feeling.



The thing is that he already was giving a sizable amount from his banking job for child support. They were never married, and he bought that house long after they had stopped dating. The entire time he renovated it before he put it on the market she didn't even know he owned it. Her lawyer found it and ended up taking most of what the state didn't already tax, so he's been basically just making the mortgage payments and tax payments on it, while playing landlord for pig tenants and then giving the rest of the money to her and her husband.

And all of that happened while he was paying a laywer big bucks to get some visitation rights because once she got married and moved 50 miles away she kept him from seeing the kid for almost 2 years and without any custody rights she wasn't even breaking the law by doing so.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



I understand about smoking tax. I don't smoke but my dad did. I can remember him starting to roll his own when the cost of smokes went up higher than he thought it should. And mind this was back in the early 70s in BC.
People who are addicted hardcore to the nicotine will pay any price for their fix.

Wow! From what you are telling me Illinois is a mess. Doesn't sound like a place that I want to visit any time soon. No, what you are thinking about doing is being a good brother.

Yeah, sounds like that section of the house needs some serious attention. I hope you can help your friend sort out the problem.

Okay, I sort of understand and you have said that your state is in a better financial state than Illinois. I know up here that property taxes are higher in Vancouver because it is a bigger city than the one I live in. So it makes sense that it would be the same down there.

Okay, I got ya. It's kind of like Toronto thinking it is the capital of Canada when its not. Too big for their britches.

I have never watched the Simpsons so I know almost nothing about the show except what I have heard over the years.

She must have had quite the lawyer for him to find out your friend owned property.
Some mess but I've heard stories like that up here too. Sounds like she was just using him.

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Sunday, October 11, 2020 2:03 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.



Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Watching movies is no fun because I am uncomfortable sitting on a kitchen chair.

Shoot. I can relate. I know someone where, when I go and visit, she insists on sitting at the kitchen table to chat. I don't know why. It's gotten so bad I've asked if we could please chat somewhere else like the living room because my back hurts sitting there.
Quote:

Unfortunately there are no furniture stores near me. Need buses to get to them.
When I'm trying to get an idea of "what's out here and which can I best use" I almost always go online and start a google search and go to images. And going to those websites I get more information about features and terminology to help me refine my search even further. I'm in the process of doing that right now for a new recliner since the very very old one is literally breaking - the frame is coming apart. I had to tip it over too many times looking for my cat, I guess, and it wiggled apart at the joints. And I will get a new couch after I get a recliner; my current one is one I got used from somebody and it too has seen better days. But I now know for the recliner and for the couch I don't want what a friend called "barricade furniture", the heavy huge kind you pile up on the streets when the tanks start rolling through. I want lighter furniture that's up on legs. And a friend had a very comfy couch that's really firm, so I know I want that, not something at all soft and plushy.

Good luck on your search!

Speaking of which, how's your laptop behaving lately? Any new glitches or does it seem pretty stable in its peculiarities?

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Sunday, October 11, 2020 6:05 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
Watching movies is no fun because I am uncomfortable sitting on a kitchen chair.

Shoot. I can relate. I know someone where, when I go and visit, she insists on sitting at the kitchen table to chat. I don't know why. It's gotten so bad I've asked if we could please chat somewhere else like the living room because my back hurts sitting there.
Quote:

Unfortunately there are no furniture stores near me. Need buses to get to them.
When I'm trying to get an idea of "what's out here and which can I best use" I almost always go online and start a google search and go to images. And going to those websites I get more information about features and terminology to help me refine my search even further. I'm in the process of doing that right now for a new recliner since the very very old one is literally breaking - the frame is coming apart. I had to tip it over too many times looking for my cat, I guess, and it wiggled apart at the joints. And I will get a new couch after I get a recliner; my current one is one I got used from somebody and it too has seen better days. But I now know for the recliner and for the couch I don't want what a friend called "barricade furniture", the heavy huge kind you pile up on the streets when the tanks start rolling through. I want lighter furniture that's up on legs. And a friend had a very comfy couch that's really firm, so I know I want that, not something at all soft and plushy.

Good luck on your search!

Speaking of which, how's your laptop behaving lately? Any new glitches or does it seem pretty stable in its peculiarities?



Yeah. I have a couple of movies from my library that I want to watch but don't feel like it because of that.

I also go on line to look at stores like Ikea and such to see what they have.

Thanks I'm going to need it.

My laptop has its good days and funky days. Today has been a kind of odd day. FB wouldn't let me originally post and got weird when I tried. Here has been odd too now. I just deal with things one day at a time.

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Sunday, October 11, 2020 6:18 PM

BRENDA


Okay, my boss and her husband called me three times today about Turkey Day which is tomorrow.

I was out when the first call came in and so I called them back. Said okay I can come over for supper tonight. She said we'll talk around 5:30 about maybe picking me up because it is raining cats and dogs out. Hang up.

Then they called back saying what about Turkey Day instead and I said okay but it would be lunch instead of supper. I said fine and what time. They said 11:30 as they have to be somewhere in the afternoon. I said okay and hung up.

They call back again and to ask if I want to go canoeing with them after lunch. Which they should have asked me the second time they called. I was first talking to my boss then her husband got on the phone and asked me about canoeing and I said no basically. He's like, "We are happy to have you over for a meal and get together but(we are disappointed that you don't want to come canoeing). That's in brackets because what he actually said was, "We're happy to have you over for a meal and get together then for you to be on your way to do what you want."

In other words he was offended that I turned down their offer. They will be with other people who I probably don't know and I'll be uncomfortable.

I get the feeling now that the husband doesn't want me around anyways after I've come back to work. He was leaving on his bike the second time I was coming to the house and he asked, "If Cathy(my boss) was expecting me and knew I was suppose to be there." I said yes that she knew and expected me to be there. Then he said, "I guess she told me but I didn't pay any attention."

At this point I am basically putting him on ignore.

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Sunday, October 11, 2020 6:31 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


AT BEST they sound peculiar AND oblivious!

I'd say have a good time, but I think you'll be doing well if it's tolerable. Anyway, if we don't chat anymore till then - let me know how it went afterwards, if you feel like it. I'm really, really curious. I imagine a kind of Alice in Wonderland tea-party meme where everyone is in their own peculiar little headspace, all on full display in a group setting.

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Sunday, October 11, 2020 6:58 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Oh, just some non-important stuff. I was looking for an old classmate for various reasons. And I didn't find her but I found someone else whose name I recognized tho I don't specifically remember him. Anyway, he's a case study in downward mobility. I wonder what happened. Fresh out of college with a useful science-focused degree he spent 3 years as a research assistant, working more or less in his field. Then he went downward and sideways into finance ... then another downward and sideways step into insurance ... and so on, and after all these decades he's a sales associate at Home Depot.

Now, it looks like he never left the area, which has had a brutal job market all these past 4+ decades, very similar to what the country is going through now. But other people with that degree I know did very well in the region and in their field.

I wonder what happened. Was it wrong place/ wrong time? Is he part of a bigger picture of attrition that I don't know about? Was it something with his life (like early marriage and kids) or with him in particular?

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Sunday, October 11, 2020 10:49 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
I understand about smoking tax. I don't smoke but my dad did. I can remember him starting to roll his own when the cost of smokes went up higher than he thought it should. And mind this was back in the early 70s in BC.
People who are addicted hardcore to the nicotine will pay any price for their fix.



Most will. A lot actually have quit if they didn't go to rolling. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't an actual net health benefit to the prices rising. I'm just saying that they don't actually want everybody to quit though. They'd have nothing if they lost all that smoking tax revenue overnight and be totally screwed.

Quote:

Wow! From what you are telling me Illinois is a mess. Doesn't sound like a place that I want to visit any time soon. No, what you are thinking about doing is being a good brother.


Yeah. It's really bad especially in Crook County around Chicago. At least my brother is pretty far away from it, but considering that it's practically the boonies compared to anywhere else I've ever lived in my life the cost of living is still really high because of the tax situation in the state. I really wish I could get him to move out by me instead, but I still want to get out of this house and he's kind of put down roots out there and it wouldn't be fair to him.

Quote:

Yeah, sounds like that section of the house needs some serious attention. I hope you can help your friend sort out the problem.


We didn't even get to it today, but his old man was out there and I was stressing the importance of that situation. I think once we get done what we're working on we're going to tackle it.

Quote:

Okay, I sort of understand and you have said that your state is in a better financial state than Illinois. I know up here that property taxes are higher in Vancouver because it is a bigger city than the one I live in. So it makes sense that it would be the same down there.


Yeah, but out here, at least in the states that I've lived in, the property taxes have an equal rate across the board no matter where in the state you live. The only thing that makes it cheaper from area to area is that the value of the houses are lower and higher. I just happen to live in a state where the rate is extremely low compared to Illinois, and since I'm practically right across the border it doesn't take long to go and see them. A ton of people have moved to Indiana in the last 10 years because of this.

Quote:

Okay, I got ya. It's kind of like Toronto thinking it is the capital of Canada when its not. Too big for their britches.


Yup.

Quote:

I have never watched the Simpsons so I know almost nothing about the show except what I have heard over the years.


I haven't watched it in decades. It's insane that a show that came out when I was around 10 years old is still on the air.

Quote:

She must have had quite the lawyer for him to find out your friend owned property.
Some mess but I've heard stories like that up here too. Sounds like she was just using him.



Yeah. I couldn't believe it when he told me that her lawyer dug that up. I'm thinking that it's more likely her lawyer had some really good interns, since I can't imagine a lawyer charging by the hour would waste time doing stuff like that when chances are low it would come up with anything.

I actually knew the girl pretty well back in the day and she was kind of a friend since we hung out a lot back in the partying days. I don't think it was about using him. She wasn't a gold digger. She was in love though, and he wasn't. She was on birth control for years and then an "accident" happened.

I really don't blame her for what she put my friend through. I blame the system that allows women to take more than they should be entitled to. My dad had to spend 3 years back in his mom's house before he could get back on his feet after my mom took the house, over 50% of his salary after taxes and almost full custody of my brothers and I. And she took that money and bought a brand new car every two years, smoked 5 packs of cigarettes a day and we ate out for dinner every night. Not a dime was put away for college.

It's rediculous. And I hate seeing my friend go through the exact same thing. At least his kid doesn't seem as messed up as my family was.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Sunday, October 11, 2020 11:52 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:
AT BEST they sound peculiar AND oblivious!

I'd say have a good time, but I think you'll be doing well if it's tolerable. Anyway, if we don't chat anymore till then - let me know how it went afterwards, if you feel like it. I'm really, really curious. I imagine a kind of Alice in Wonderland tea-party meme where everyone is in their own peculiar little headspace, all on full display in a group setting.



Yes, they are and have been all the years that I've known them.

I'll be able to tolerate them for a couple of hours. Actually I am amazed they called at all. I didn't think I would be seeing them.

I probably will. I need somewhere to vent.

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Monday, October 12, 2020 12:18 AM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
I understand about smoking tax. I don't smoke but my dad did. I can remember him starting to roll his own when the cost of smokes went up higher than he thought it should. And mind this was back in the early 70s in BC.
People who are addicted hardcore to the nicotine will pay any price for their fix.



Quote:

Most will. A lot actually have quit if they didn't go to rolling. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't an actual net health benefit to the prices rising. I'm just saying that they don't actually want everybody to quit though. They'd have nothing if they lost all that smoking tax revenue overnight and be totally screwed.


Well, there is a definite health benefit if they quit. I think I get what you are saying.

Quote:

Wow! From what you are telling me Illinois is a mess. Doesn't sound like a place that I want to visit any time soon. No, what you are thinking about doing is being a good brother.


Quote:

Yeah. It's really bad especially in Crook County around Chicago. At least my brother is pretty far away from it, but considering that it's practically the boonies compared to anywhere else I've ever lived in my life the cost of living is still really high because of the tax situation in the state. I really wish I could get him to move out by me instead, but I still want to get out of this house and he's kind of put down roots out there and it wouldn't be fair to him.


I think I understand. People for the last decade or more have been moving out of Vancouver into my city and farther out so that is causing rents to go up in my city and others.

Quote:

Yeah, sounds like that section of the house needs some serious attention. I hope you can help your friend sort out the problem.


Quote:

We didn't even get to it today, but his old man was out there and I was stressing the importance of that situation. I think once we get done what we're working on we're going to tackle it.


Think that is a good idea. I'm sure between him and you, you'll figure it out.

Quote:

Okay, I sort of understand and you have said that your state is in a better financial state than Illinois. I know up here that property taxes are higher in Vancouver because it is a bigger city than the one I live in. So it makes sense that it would be the same down there.


Quote:

Yeah, but out here, at least in the states that I've lived in, the property taxes have an equal rate across the board no matter where in the state you live. The only thing that makes it cheaper from area to area is that the value of the houses are lower and higher. I just happen to live in a state where the rate is extremely low compared to Illinois, and since I'm practically right across the border it doesn't take long to go and see them. A ton of people have moved to Indiana in the last 10 years because of this.


That makes sense. It happens up here too. People moving from Vancouver to outlying areas looking for better deals.

Quote:

Okay, I got ya. It's kind of like Toronto thinking it is the capital of Canada when its not. Too big for their britches.


Quote:

Yup.


Don't know about down there but when the weather in winter is bad in Toronto, the West Coast gets to laugh at them.

Quote:

I have never watched the Simpsons so I know almost nothing about the show except what I have heard over the years.


Quote:

I haven't watched it in decades. It's insane that a show that came out when I was around 10 years old is still on the air.


Not insane to me really. When I was a child the 2 biggest Westerns were on the air Bonanza and Gunsmoke. Both came on the air in the late 50s. Bonanza in 1959 and Gunsmoke in 1955. Both had been on the air for 10years by the time I was born in 1964 and both went off the air while I was still in elementary school in the middle 70s.

Quote:

She must have had quite the lawyer for him to find out your friend owned property.
Some mess but I've heard stories like that up here too. Sounds like she was just using him.



Quote:

Yeah. I couldn't believe it when he told me that her lawyer dug that up. I'm thinking that it's more likely her lawyer had some really good interns, since I can't imagine a lawyer charging by the hour would waste time doing stuff like that when chances are low it would come up with anything.

I actually knew the girl pretty well back in the day and she was kind of a friend since we hung out a lot back in the partying days. I don't think it was about using him. She wasn't a gold digger. She was in love though, and he wasn't. She was on birth control for years and then an "accident" happened.



I'm sure his interns did the work. That's how they learn the ropes of the profession.

Okay, I understand now. Well, the nothing is full proof when it comes to birth control.

Quote:

I really don't blame her for what she put my friend through. I blame the system that allows women to take more than they should be entitled to. My dad had to spend 3 years back in his mom's house before he could get back on his feet after my mom took the house, over 50% of his salary after taxes and almost full custody of my brothers and I. And she took that money and bought a brand new car every two years, smoked 5 packs of cigarettes a day and we ate out for dinner every night. Not a dime was put away for college.

It's rediculous. And I hate seeing my friend go through the exact same thing. At least his kid doesn't seem as messed up as my family was.

Do Right, Be Right. :)



That was rough on your dad for sure and of course rough on you as well.

Fingers crossed things keep going good for your friend's kid.

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Monday, October 12, 2020 12:19 AM

BRENDA


Went out today for a nice belated birthday lunch with the head of my mah jong group.

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Monday, October 12, 2020 1:09 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


So this week I only put out 1 bin of greenwaste from my yard even though my goal is 2 a week. But that 1 bin represents hours of work cutting back my neighbor's tree that was growing over, and on top of, the fence. And I'm only half done. The tree is Chinese ash, and those suckers (so to speak) grow like weeds. Once I'm done with the tree, I'm pretty sure in 2 years I'll be doing it all over again.

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Monday, October 12, 2020 4:50 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:
So this week I only put out 1 bin of greenwaste from my yard even though my goal is 2 a week. But that 1 bin represents hours of work cutting back my neighbor's tree that was growing over, and on top of, the fence. And I'm only half done. The tree is Chinese ash, and those suckers (so to speak) grow like weeds. Once I'm done with the tree, I'm pretty sure in 2 years I'll be doing it all over again.



I know the feeling, and so does SIX, I'm sure. Congrats on the greenwaste! I hope the Chinese elm doesn't undo your efforts so quickly.

I can't believe it, but I'm actually glad this upcoming heatwave has put a damper on the yardwork! I'm in the middle-ish of three big projects: renovating 1/3 of the front yard (which means digging it up and starting all over again) and preparing the (former) pollinator garden and re-preparing the veggie garden for winter veggies, which include prepping a raised asparagus bed. I'm 90% done with the veggie garden, about 40% done with the flower garden (going to leave the cosmos and borage and marigold and nasturtium for the very last moment before planting), about 40% with the weeds and Bermuda grass in the front yard, and 0% on the raised asparagus bed. But we have three hard-won bin of greenwaste to go.

Yesterday I finished up this portion of yardwork by edging and trimming the lawn, sweeping and raking up in back. Will still be working, albeit at a lower level of intensity, on the back yard. I've discovered, under all of those weeds, several areas where the borders and pathways are incomplete and allowing grass to grow thru freely, so I'm going to fill in with brick and cement. Also flame and spray the garden edges to keep the Bermuda grass from re-invading the garden areas, fix a sprinkler pipe, and just general raking and cleanup. And, ordering seeds!

That's the plan for the next six-day heatwave, anyway! Plus, yanno, housecleaning. No big progress on anything, just the regular autumn cleanup.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Monday, October 12, 2020 7:36 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


If you need edging material I have a bunch I could give you!

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Monday, October 12, 2020 8:42 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:
If you need edging material I have a bunch I could give you!



Cool!

ANd if you ever need long-handled loppers than can take up to 2" ... well, I got those!

In fact, I have a corded string trimmer and a push-mower, plus the most fantastic rake possible, and a really nice ash-handled (sharpened) round-tipped spade. So if you feel you need any gardening tools, just ask!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Monday, October 12, 2020 8:51 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Just a note about sofas ...

when we first moved to LA we bought a sofa and loveseat at a cooperative store that catered to government employees called Fedco. Fedco is long gone, but I digress ...

They were leather, rather low, and had built-in "bolsters" in the back. When we had them re-upholstered hubby built frames to lift them up off the ground some more because they were REALLY hard to get in and out of, plus we had the "bolsters" removed bc we were going for a more traditional, less "Italianate" look.

Bad moves. The frame that was added made the sofa and love seat just a little TOO tall, so when someone my height (which is pretty average) sits in them, feet don't comfortably reach the floor. Also, without the bolsters the seat cushions are too deep, which also makes sitting uncomfortable because there's no back support. We did, however, request the stiffest foam padding possible, which is extremely conmfortable, and because they are so wide they're wonderful for napping.

Point is, make sure that your sofa/couch is as comfortable as a chair to sit in. Your feet must be able to reach the floor, and you must have good back support. If not, you won't use it much for sitting anyway.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Monday, October 12, 2020 6:44 PM

BRENDA


Lunch went okay today. Nothing drastic happened. They said to be there by 11:30 and I was early but I'm fair certain we didn't sit down to lunch until at least noon. But that's normal for them. No sense of time what so ever.

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Monday, October 12, 2020 6:45 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Just a note about sofas ...

when we first moved to LA we bought a sofa and loveseat at a cooperative store that catered to government employees called Fedco. Fedco is long gone, but I digress ...

They were leather, rather low, and had built-in "bolsters" in the back. When we had them re-upholstered hubby built frames to lift them up off the ground some more because they were REALLY hard to get in and out of, plus we had the "bolsters" removed bc we were going for a more traditional, less "Italianate" look.

Bad moves. The frame that was added made the sofa and love seat just a little TOO tall, so when someone my height (which is pretty average) sits in them, feet don't comfortably reach the floor. Also, without the bolsters the seat cushions are too deep, which also makes sitting uncomfortable because there's no back support. We did, however, request the stiffest foam padding possible, which is extremely conmfortable, and because they are so wide they're wonderful for napping.

Point is, make sure that your sofa/couch is as comfortable as a chair to sit in. Your feet must be able to reach the floor, and you must have good back support. If not, you won't use it much for sitting anyway.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK



I will Sig.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2020 11:44 PM

BRENDA


Wind warning for the coast of BC. Ferries were delayed because of heavy wind this morning.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2020 11:46 PM

BRENDA


You know if my boss' husband doesn't want me at the house on a holiday why doesn't he say something to my boss.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2020 11:37 PM

BRENDA


This laptop sure isn't happy about being turned back on for a couple of hours. Stupid thing.

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Thursday, October 15, 2020 1:40 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
This laptop sure isn't happy about being turned back on for a couple of hours. Stupid thing.

Oh dear. I remember you've had many many problems with getting updates to complete, and lots of funky glitches.

My experience with computers that die from the heat is that they start occasionally acting weirdly in little ways so you end up thinking to yourself ... weird, I thought I clicked on that/ shrug ... then they start really unmistakably malfunctioning more and more often, then they won't turn on ...

Do you have a USB and does your laptop have a USB port? Because if there are stories etc you want to be able to save, you might want to copy them over to a USB from time to time in case your laptop craters. At least you'll have them ready to copy over to a different computer.

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Thursday, October 15, 2020 3:08 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
You know if my boss' husband doesn't want me at the house on a holiday why doesn't he say something to my boss.

You would think, huh!

They both sound passive aggressive, and if there's one thing that drive me bug-nuts. it's passive-aggressive people.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Thursday, October 15, 2020 3:22 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Haven't been posting much, just been too busy. Did yardwork during the last cool spell and got three hard-won bins out to the curb. Plan getting back to that, weather permitting, on Tuesday. SO during this heat wave been busy with legal stuff... again ... our lawyer is balking at adding some provisions and I've been kind of negotiating with her while trying not to piss her off too much. So all kind of stuff going on, things I absolutely hate dealing with because it scares me a bit. I'm looking forward to the day all of the papers are signed and done with.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Thursday, October 15, 2020 4:57 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
This laptop sure isn't happy about being turned back on for a couple of hours. Stupid thing.

Oh dear. I remember you've had many many problems with getting updates to complete, and lots of funky glitches.

My experience with computers that die from the heat is that they start occasionally acting weirdly in little ways so you end up thinking to yourself ... weird, I thought I clicked on that/ shrug ... then they start really unmistakably malfunctioning more and more often, then they won't turn on ...

Do you have a USB and does your laptop have a USB port? Because if there are stories etc you want to be able to save, you might want to copy them over to a USB from time to time in case your laptop craters. At least you'll have them ready to copy over to a different computer.



Yeah, this thing has been really acting up today. It froze this morning I turned it off to go for my walk and such. Came back and left it off while I did other stuff then turned it on. Google wouldn't load or anything else. Came with a not connected, so I turned it off and reconnected everything. Still nothing so I called a friend to let her know that this thing I had thought had finally died and was going out to see about a new one. I left it on since it was being a b&tch. I am now back and it is playing nice AGAIN.

I've got the over heating part solved. I keep the curtain closed on the balcony until the sun sets which annoys me because I like the light but...

Anything I have written on here is on this site and also I write everything out long hand before I post it. Most I've got on here is some pictures that I saved from the internet and yes, I am going to get them on my memory stick one of these days. There are USB ports on this.

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Thursday, October 15, 2020 5:11 PM

BRENDA


Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by Brenda:
You know if my boss' husband doesn't want me at the house on a holiday why doesn't he say something to my boss.

You would think, huh!

They both sound passive aggressive, and if there's one thing that drive me bug-nuts. it's passive-aggressive people.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK



I think they must be. He's really starting to annoy me now. Monday lunch at times was just ugh! with him.

He can't let go that as 5year old child I could use nice big words and knew the meaning of them. I was also using them correctly. His own children couldn't do that.

The first time they took me canoeing on a local lake I got the hang of it right away. That got him bent out of shape. Said, "I must be recalling a "race memory". Had to remind him that my ancestors were a plains people so that means no canoes. I said, "It was probably a family memory." meaning my French Canadian great grandfather probably learned how to use a canoe. He was a trapper.

Going back to lunch on Monday he asked if I had ever been over to a friend of my brother's who lives just a few blocks from them. I said yes a couple of times. He was hinting I think that I should go over there. They don't invite me over there. As they know have 2 grandchildren and another single daughter who probably has a boyfriend. So full house.

Last Christmas my boss set a mini-harp down in front of me to play. I said I haven't touched one of these in 10years. She said play anyway. So I did, I read music. The thing wasn't in tune and I told her, so she proceeded to tune another one and I moved over to it when she was finished. This time I played it perfectly. Comment from her, "Well, at least we know it's not your playing."

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Thursday, October 15, 2020 5:13 PM

BRENDA


For now this is behaving again. So fair warning if I disappear this thing may have died for sure.

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