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

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

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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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Originally posted by Brenda:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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Originally posted by Brenda:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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

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

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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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.

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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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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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

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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.

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

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Yup.

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

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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.

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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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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.

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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Yup.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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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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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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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.

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

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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.

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

#WEARAMASK

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

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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.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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

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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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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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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.

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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.

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

#WEARAMASK

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