Weekly Chat Thread April 16th - 23rd

[staytuned]

Good chilly morning, everyone! Couple "hiccup" days of brrrr before resuming spring weather. Crappy weather means back to spring cleaniing/purging, bah.  Reminder, if you haven't filed taxes yet, deadline is tomorrow. Hope everyone has a comfy day today!

and an unrelated but cute one:

[val2525]

You guys jinxed my apartment yesterday. The critter was back in the ceiling last night. Upstairs moved out Friday, so no way were they moving around up there last night WTH the office can't get this problem fixed is beyond me and it's also annoying as he!!. I'm seriously considering not renewing my lease at the end of the year. Sunny and high 70s on tap for us today.

[staytuned]

Sorry, Val, my fault for mentioning it.   I agree the office needs to do something asap to get rid of the critters from all the buildings once and for all.  Sorry you have to go through this and I know exactly how you feel having battled tree rats for the last 13 years.

[val2525]

The outside squirrels don't bother me. It's Kitty TV for the cats

Unpacked my yard sale boxes yesterday. I'm going to have to price the stuff anyway so I thought I'd see what was in the boxes since I didn't remember everything that was in there. I'm sure I'll have more to add to it before the sale

Is anyone here a regular shopper at yard sales? I need some help with pricing please. I don't want everything going at $1, but I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of stuff at the end of the sale either.

[jesmelric]

Apr 17, 2023 17:23:19 GMT val2525 said:

The outside squirrels don't bother me. It's Kitty TV for the cats

Unpacked my yard sale boxes yesterday. I'm going to have to price the stuff anyway so I thought I'd see what was in the boxes since I didn't remember everything that was in there. I'm sure I'll have more to add to it before the sale

Is anyone here a regular shopper at yard sales? I need some help with pricing please. I don't want everything going at $1, but I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of stuff at the end of the sale either.

I go all the time here. It's averagely $.50 for kids clothes and $1.00 to maybe $5.00 or so for adults, depending if it's a t-shirt, dress, what have you. Some people price a lot higher and the clothes sit and sit. Sometimes if there's a lot I'll hit one close to 11 and if the clothes are high there's still tons left. In my experience if it's a pricey brand it's best to skip garage sales, people aren't looking to spend a lot and aren't usually brand conscious (well except the under cover ebay sellers like me lol)

[jesmelric]

Hello everyone. We are having a beautiful day and it will last through tomorrow but the humidity returns Wednesday. This time of year is iffy, we enjoy whatever cool comes our way. We also had some rain Saturday morning which was much needed. I planted a bunch of Vinca and Begonia Monday so the rain was nice.

Well the good news for me is DS  had decided to stay with a friend rather than come stay with us. The friend lives in the area he's been living (about 30 miles from me) however he will be paying the friend rent. So I'm not sure how well he will be able to save and pay off credit cards, but he's 39 so I'm going to leave it alone. And that will allow us to start the hall bathroom shower. It's about 20 years old, DH installed a fiberglass surround, and over the years the finish has come off and it's impossible to clean, I just hate it. We bought the shower bottom and tiles and everything RIGHT before DS told us his situation. We delayed it thinking he doesn't want to put his grown butt in our bath tub (just a handheld shower) but now it's a green light. And if it doesn't work out with his friend and he has to come here eventually, well that's his choice and he will be stuck taking baths till we are done. Now that we are older everything takes longer lol.

We had a nice visit with mom today. She's looking forward to coming here for a visit next week, and a fun old science fiction movie.

I got this wonderful feedback the other day, I didn't know you could leave feedback this long?

My new favorite Eileen Fisher piece! Love everything about this dress; the length, the pockets, the material, and the fact that it requires a little something underneath it. Perfect for those of us mature women who would rather keep our arms largely covered. Also a great layering piece. Thanks to the seller, who was a pleasure to do business with.

[val2525]

Great feedback, jes!

I went out the door to go to the office...and the doorknob fell off in my hands. I put in a maintenance request and have the knob stuck on with tape right now. Fortunately I have a key deadlock too so I can at least lock the door. I need to turn in a request for the master bath toilet, it's broken. And another request to fix the water pressure in that bathroom. But I'll wait until tomorrow to do that Don't want to overwhelm the office with too many requests

[staytuned]

Apr 17, 2023 21:15:48 GMT val2525 said:

I went out the door to go to the office...and the doorknob fell off in my hands. I put in a maintenance request and have the knob stuck on with tape right now. Fortunately I have a key deadlock too so I can at least lock the door. I need to turn in a request for the master bath toilet, it's broken. And another request to fix the water pressure in that bathroom. But I'll wait until tomorrow to do that Don't want to overwhelm the office with too many requests

Sounds like the last tenants got out at the right time. Honestly, we've been here for over 27 years and haven't had nearly as many things go phooey as you have since you moved in.

[chapeaunoir]

Val, your place sounds jinxed! 

We've been having squalls blowing through with sideways stinging rain bourne on biting winds, then a sunburst with pleasant smiling clouds, then another squall, then more smiling clouds. I managed to avoid the first one when I took my hike this morning, but got caught in it hauling stuff to the car from the Goodwill tag sale afterwards - the lot was full so I ended up parking on the street a couple of blocks away. Another was banging away at the windows a few hours later. I'm hoping it settles down to just straight rain because I have a long training run tomorrow - our usual fine rain is no problem, but squalls wet me right through to the underwear. For the last few miles I might meet my running friend and the dogs, and we'll take the dogs along. 

A few more blossoms on our Camellia tree but nothing else up really save a sheltered corner of one of our neighbour's house which has white and yellow daffs, and some daffs in our yard but no blossoms, just some leaves that have been the same size it seems for weeks. 

[val2525]

I think this place *IS* jinxed. It must be the apartment number - it ends in 13 My first place here was great - minimal issues. Of course, it was also an "upgraded" unit (aka fully renovated). They definitely need to renovate this place when I move out.  The rooms in this unit are smaller than my last one, because of the second bedroom - total square footage isn't that much more than the one bedroom so each room gave up some square footage for the second bedroom. The designer of this layout was a moron. The main redeeming quality is all the windows, which the cats love. As long as the cats are happy life is good LOL!  TBH, I love the windows too and will glady give up some amenties or square footage as long as I have lots of windows.   I love the largest 2 bedroom here but it's not worth paying $500 more a month.  If I'm paying that kind of money, I can move to Kritter's neighborhood (actually for a bit less than that unit here), and I can even walk to places   Including Kritter's house.     

What I don't get though is why don't more apartments have kitchen pantries? Do they think aparment dwellers don't cook? I converted my entryway closet to a pantry. My next door neighbors did the same thing, as did a friend of mine in Mobile (she's where I got the idea).

OTOH, no critter noises last night.  Well, none other than the noises MY critters were making. They were particulary rowdy last night    And insisted on chasing each other across the top of the bed...and me    Twila weighs next to nothing, and Simon's not too bad. But you KNOW it when Trixie runs over you. And then they decide to have a hissing fit on the bed. That's when I tossed them all off.  

Cloudy, humid and mid 70's on tap for us today.

[kritter]

If I'm paying that kind of money, I can move to Kritter's neighborhood (actually for a bit less than that unit here), and I can even walk to places Including Kritter's house.

And that would be a fun thing.  

[val2525]

If anyone is a wreath on the front door (or back door) kind of person, this one from Joann is really nice. Even nicer than pictured:


www.joann.com/bloom-room-spring-20in-eucalyptus-leaf-berry-wreath---green-ivory/19106624.html


Best part though is you can tuck some floral stems in it to match the season, and pull them out for the next month and tuck in the new flowers. One of the reviewers said she did this. I wouldn't have thought of it if she hadn't mentioned it. Wreath looks good plain or with the added seasonal flowers.  I was just goofing around with what I had on hand - I think I may need a few more blooms for the final version:







/PSA

[labbypaws]

Dreaded shopping day today. Of course hubby wasn’t home when I brought home the water and Gatorade Zero. I have a few items I have to go store to store for. Did that and a second trip to BJs to get dry goods. Still have to go back for meat but will go closer to the end of the week.

[denise15601]

Yay me! I finallllly made new garage door curtains which I really needed to do. My previous ones were getting rips just from getting so much sunlight.

I bought the fabric-light blue cotton, about 7 years ago. Then I permanently broke my shoulder a year later. So I just kept putting it off, since I knew it would be hard to wrangle two 9 foot wide curtain rods. But I survived.

Took about 5 hours total, including wiping down the garage doors. The curtains were 200" wide so that I could shirr them onto the rods.

So I wasn't a typical bum today.

[RetroMonde]

Haha Denise- I'd NEVER consider you a bum, lol! You work in your yard and house, list, are active with friends and family and us here, all while dealing with long-term health issues. You're very inspiring and appreciated!

We're having a classic cool, wet spring here in the PNW and I'm really tired of the rain. I got spoiled with our Or/Cali weather the last few years (except for the heat waves) and want to do yard work so bad. But I did get our taxes filed & paid online and (and they were accepted this time). We've also started taking our kitchen apart for our mini remodel. We have SO MUCH STUFF that I'm overwhelmed. DD is a whirlwind tho and keeps us focused and on track.

[denise15601]

(Retro). Thanks.

I mostly hibernate, which makes me crazy. I used to be able to do so much back in the day. Now I get upset with myself that I can only do yardwork for an hour and then have to take a nap. But there is so much to do here to keep my place looking okay.

Meanwhile, I don't envy you for remodeling your kitchen!

[val2525]

Wow. Upstairs unit is vacant AND the unit above that is vacant. That explains why last week and last weekend was so noisy in the breezeway - 2 apartments moving out.

I really want to put some fake flowers on my patio. Even if I'm not going to sit out there, I still like to look at it out the window. I had a ton of fake flower arrangements on the patio last summer. I think that is what caused the wasp problem - they'd gotten down in the planters and made nests. I didn't realize it until I went to clean up the balcony for the move. Nexts in every single planter pot  Some of them pretty large.  No wonder I couldn't go out on the balcony last summer. So maybe I'll just stick to shiny things like spinners and wind chimes, and tall plants that don't afford a place to nest (like fake palms for example). I can spray those kind of plants with an essential oil mixture that will help keep the wasps at bay. Nowhere to nest and annoying scents - maybe I'll be able to use the patio for morning coffee after all.   

[chapeaunoir]

Val - I'd be renting that top floor apt in a shot! I hated having clunking around over my head when I lived in one. 

It was raining until mid-morning when it cleared up and we have partly sunny! I'm being a lazy putz, hanging around my espresso machine and need to stop making shots and get something productive done so I can finish up with my selling chores and go out and enjoy the weather. Rain is coming back so may as well take the rest of the day off. 

Temu keeps showing me this and I have a strange urge to buy Spawn of Basement Cat. 

[val2525]

Apr 19, 2023 20:05:20 GMT chapeaunoir said:

Val - I'd be renting that top floor apt in a shot! I hated having clunking around over my head when I lived in one. 

Third floor? No thanks. I'm not hauling stuff up three floors and paying the power bill for a vaulted ceiling Nor do I want to lose wall space or window space to a fireplace I'll never use. Plus I don't think the cats would like being on the third floor. Not enough stuff to watch out the window at that height. There's soooooooooo much more action for them to view out the window on the ground floor. What little noise there is from the upstairs neighbor isn't bad (in either apartment) unless they decide to run laps around the living room or drop really heavy stuff from a ladder (which, so far, none of them have done LOL)

[staytuned]

Makes me wonder if the other 2 apartments above have as many things going wrong as yours, Val, so might as well stick it out and get what needs to be fixed gets fixed and that will be it for a long time. We're on top floor and worst part is having to go up and down 3 sets of stairs, especially hauling up heavy stuff. Plus, we get the brunt of the heat or cold. I will say these apartments are pretty solid and rarely hear anything from other apartments unless in hallway. Doors aren't very soundproofed so you can hear vacuum cleaners in living room, people arguing, dog barking and smell strong aromas, good and bad, from cooking. We've had several tenants below us thank us for being so quiet.

[val2525]

Given that some of the recurring problems stem from the building plumbing Stay, I think it's a safe bet to think that other neighbors in the building are also having issues. It's like they need to tear this building down and rebuild it. Maybe it was built over an ancient burial ground or something

[chapeaunoir]

Vaulted ceiling and fireplace sounds nice to me. We have the opposite problem to you in that we have to run the heat 10 months out of the year, anyway, and an upper floor is warmer.  If we had to run the air conditioner or at least keep windows open all the time in the heat, the upper floor would pretty much bake.  Guess you choose your poison. My last apartment, I lived in the building for 10 years - it was on one of the busiest corners in north Seattle and you had to shout to be heard outside. Inside our old building wasn't bad, but it was fortunate I'm a heavy sleeper because I still had to ignore a lot of street noise. 

Had my run today, but I don't think I'll try a long run again after doing Orangetheory the night before - my legs were tired after about 2 miles and I had to just slog my way through the last 6, and ended up powerwalking more than I wanted toward the end, but I do need to polish my powerwalking chops, too. Then I got home and was too tired to eat dinner - I had frozen Mexican because I couldn't face cooking, it was food, I stuffed it in, that's all I can say. 

A few tokes sound good right now, but I haven't been able to use my vape since I had Covid, I still burst into fits of coughing (still not over the effects). My running friend just smokes joints so I'm going to pass him one of my vape pens. 

[denise15601]

Wow-72 degrees already at 10:00. I did go out early to shovel more pine twigs and cones....got 3 wheelbarrows full done. I might be able to finish up with about 5 more loads. That would make about 30 loads of pine stuff. TG that I have woods across the road from me where I dump the stuff.

But it does look better. Interesting though, although there's probably a foot deep amount of pine needles, I have some wild violets growing there now, and some other kind of weed with white flowers.

It will hit 82 degrees today, so maybe I can hose down my back porch. That will be refreshing.

[frakinfashion]

Well, I just got back from Miami for a few days visit with the family. It was lovely to see all of them--8 adults and 7 children!-- and we really hit some high culinary heights. Got the mosquito bites to prove I was there too. The place is unrecognizable practically since I was born and raised there many, many years ago. It's funny how all these chic people who work there greet you like you're some tourist since my family arrived in the 1940's.

[labbypaws]

I follow a Myrtle Beach page the features the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. We used to camp at Arrowhead Lake campground. I think that was the name. Can’t even recognize that area now. And in the mid to late 80’s an old boyfriend had former in-laws that he stayed friends with. They had a condo on Fort Meyers Beach. I don’t recognize that area anymore either.

[RetroMonde]

Edibles are an option too Chap- happy 4-20 lol :-) It's the twins 1st birthday today. I know they don't know it's a special day but I still had to visit them for hugs & kisses anyway. It's been raining here all week. Sure hope the weather forecast is right this time and we get some sunshine next week.

We're still emptying our kitchen- it feels like it's been a month! I keep reaching for stuff that isn't there anymore, like dishes & coffee. We haven't removed the stove, fridge and long counter with pots, pans and utensils but DD & DH emptied a big cabinet & pantry while I was finishing up the taxes. No idea where anything is and probably won't for 2 months. Hopefully I'll have the rest moved by the end of the weekend. I'm actually itching to get back to work lol.

[staytuned]

Happy Birthday Ramona and Riley! Hard to believe it's already been a year since they were born.

labbypaws, we've been going to Myrtle Beach all but maybe 4 or 5 years since 1991 and the whole area's changed so much. Small mom/pop motels torn down replaced by large resorts, Old Pavilion gone but area's still tacky with tourist trap beach shops and attractions, but the worst part is it's gotten more unsafe through the years and keeps spreading as well as number or homeless everywhere.

[denise15601]

Retro-kiss those beautiful babies for a Happy Birthday from me. We need pictures!

[val2525]

Apr 21, 2023 3:35:16 GMT staytuned said:

labbypaws, we've been going to Myrtle Beach all but maybe 4 or 5 years since 1991 and the whole area's changed so much. Small mom/pop motels torn down replaced by large resorts, Old Pavilion gone but area's still tacky with tourist trap beach shops and attractions, but the worst part is it's gotten more unsafe through the years and keeps spreading as well as number or homeless everywhere.

Maybe it's time to check out somewhere else, nearby but possibly cheaper, less crowded and not as much crime?

www.outerbanks.org/plan-your-trip/towns-and-villages/kill-devil-hills/

[staytuned]

Apr 21, 2023 15:01:48 GMT val2525 said:

Apr 21, 2023 3:35:16 GMT staytuned said:

labbypaws, we've been going to Myrtle Beach all but maybe 4 or 5 years since 1991 and the whole area's changed so much. Small mom/pop motels torn down replaced by large resorts, Old Pavilion gone but area's still tacky with tourist trap beach shops and attractions, but the worst part is it's gotten more unsafe through the years and keeps spreading as well as number or homeless everywhere.

Maybe it's time to check out somewhere else, nearby but possibly cheaper, less crowded and not as much crime?

www.outerbanks.org/plan-your-trip/towns-and-villages/kill-devil-hills/

We've considered the Outer Banks, but we go at one of the worst times for possible hurricanes and several times one heading to Myrtle Beach decided to hook to the north at the last minute and slam into the Outer Banks, which stick out at the end of NC and more vulnerable. Fortunately, North Myrtle Beach is still a good choice and after spending a couple days prior to shifting south for a week in Myrtle Beach, I'm trying to get DH to book entire vacation there.