What did you do today? 2016 version

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..

Exactly!

As much as I love my Dream House, I think it probably would not excite most people. It's over 50 years old, kind of small, and the decor hasn't been renovated very much. But to me it is the most beautiful, perfect home one could ever have. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

So, I think notmuchlonger should buy that car, even though it leaves me cold.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder..

Fify

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Just closed on DM's house. Whew.

Turns out this wasn't quite over. During the weekend I was organizing my files, and looking over the closing statement noticed that the realtor's commission was mis-calculated. They shortchanged the buyer's realtor by $90. I sent an email to my attorney pointing this out, she quickly figured out what happened. I'll put a check in the mail tomorrow morning to square things.

Sheesh, a room full of well-educated people, a basic math mistake, and no one checks the numbers. And we want people to manage their own retirement finances!

[braumeister]

I suspect that's more common than we would like to think. When we closed on our home last year, when they passed over the legal description for us to initial, we noticed that they had slipped in a couple of pages from somebody else's closing documents. Instead of a little condo, we were apparently buying a multi-million dollar office building in another city.

Pointed it out to the closing guy from the title company, who just shook his head and promised to send us the correct paperwork the next day. He did.

[MBAustin]

Saw one of the Google self-driving cars today for the first time.

It was in heavy pre-rush hour traffic on a freeway. We saw it make a tight lane change.

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBAustin Saw one of the Google self-driving cars today for the first time. It was in heavy pre-rush hour traffic on a freeway. We saw it make a tight lane change.

Was anyone in it?

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBAustin Saw one of the Google self-driving cars today for the first time. It was in heavy pre-rush hour traffic on a freeway. We saw it make a tight lane change.

Wow!!! That would scare me so much! Did it bother you to see a car with no driver like that?

What I did today: Went to my routine doctor appointment and he was ecstatic with my blood tests, especially my A1C which was essentially back down to where it was before I was diagnosed with Type 2 last summer. He said all my other blood tests were normal too. I don't understand why my lab test results were so good, but then he also said I lost 2 pounds that I didn't think I lost. (Hint: How to make a woman like me happy: tell her she lost weight and got healthier.)

Then I came home and found out that while I was at my Dr appointment, F was at a restaurant where he played just one and only one game of poker at a video poker machine and won $1,045.00 !!!! They gave it to him all in cash, in small bills, so he flashed that big wad of cash at me to see how I would react. I am so predictable (jaw drops, eyes as big as saucers ).

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger I went and talked to a dealer about the 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT. He didn't need to talk about the car. I talked to the car and it was beautiful. I haven't signed yet....yet There is no logical fiscal reason why I want to get this car... Reminds me of my taste in women..lol

For $62,495 you can get the 707 HP version, but there is a waiting list. Me, I'd add a few grand more and try to buy back my 1965 Corvette Stingray roadster, but DW would have me killed if I did that.

Today: spread a bag of "weed & feed" on the lawn in preparation for the coming rain this week.

[spncity]

After having a little talk with the new CPA firm last year about needing improved communication about "stuff"... I just called and found out that the materials they said they were mailing to me a couple of weeks ago are sitting in their office........

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Fify

Yeah, that too.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Turns out this wasn't quite over. During the weekend I was organizing my files, and looking over the closing statement noticed that the realtor's commission was mis-calculated. They shortchanged the buyer's realtor by $90. I sent an email to my attorney pointing this out, she quickly figured out what happened. I'll put a check in the mail tomorrow morning to square things. Sheesh, a room full of well-educated people, a basic math mistake, and no one checks the numbers. And we want people to manage their own retirement finances!

How noble of you. I probably would have just waited for them to come to me... not out of a care for keeping the $90 but more out of an interest to see if the buyer's realtor or anybody else ever figured it out.

I always ask for closing statements in advance and recalculate everything (just the former auditor in me I guess) and I have found errors.

[MBAustin]

Yes, there was someone sitting in the driver's seat of the Google self-driving car. DH got a better look and and was pretty sure his hands were not on the steering wheel, though.

[Walt34]

Planted some grass seed in bare spots in the front yard. I doubt it'll "take" though because I could feel rock just under the surface when I was mixing it in. There's a lot of shale rock around here and it just isn't suitable for growing anything. Trying to get the rocks out is an exercise in frustration so I've long ago given up on that.

Put a Blade 230s RTF helicopter on the Amazon wish list. Still thinking about it. I've tried two of the el cheapo made-in-China helicopters and they don't last long. This one has good reviews.

[braumeister]

After reading so much praise for Aldi stores here, I've been looking forward to trying it. Got a $5 coupon in the mail and they recently put a store less than two miles from me so I went today.

Pretty impressive operation -- I like the shopping cart deposit trick.

Bought a few things that were similar to items I buy often, and thought "Hey, this is cheaper than Costco!"
But when I got home I discovered that the package sizes were smaller, and the actual unit prices were about the same.

However, I got a couple of slabs of baby back ribs for a dollar a pound less than anywhere else around here, and that made it a good trip.

Overall, it's a good store but I'm spoiled by having an extremely large Kroger even closer to home. I'll definitely keep Aldi in mind for meat purchases, though.

[imoldernu]

Early morning walk... the bunnies are huge, tree sparrows so busy that even clapping hands didn't phase them. Robins bob-bob-bobbin', and a flock of starlings (1000+) swarmed the neighborhood. A cardinal perched in my neighbor's tree, and I traded songs with him. I cooed to the doves, but they're not lonesome any more. Am a bird song practitioner, and getting better at it in my dotage.

72 degrees and sunny. Magnificent!!!!

After the walk, a short ride in the car, which turned into a ride to Woodhaven Lakes. I've been avoiding this because winter can have bad effects on the camper, sea walls, and trees. It was absolutely perfect... inside and out, and clean as a whistle. The lake is clear and the ice-out did zero harm.

The ride up and back to WH was incredibly beautiful... fields clear and ready for planting. Can see 15 miles on the flat, and the hundreds of wind towers moving gracefully in the light breezes. We get used to this, and the windfarms become a thing of moving beauty.

Took a ride around where the tornado hit. (90% of the 500 destroyed homes have been removed, replaced, or repaired). Thousands of new trees planted, but small. Will be years before the bare areas recover. You just don't replace 15,000 of old growth trees in a few years. Most residents are staying... "Woodhaven Strong" the operative phrase.

Saw about 20 deer on the drive-around. Easy winter means they look healthy, with smooth coats.

Looking forward to a great year!

[rodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philliefan33 I also just submitted a j*b application! It's with a whitewater rafting company that DH and I worked for 20+ years ago. It's very close to our vacation home, where I spend most of my time in the summer. The money is not much, but that's not the point. If I get the j*b as a rafting guide, it means I will get paid to spend my day on the river. There's also some fringe benefits such as free rides on the bike shuttle that the same company runs, so I could do some nice long rides on the rails-to-trails path without having to arrange drop off/pick up.

Pocono Whitewater? I did three raft trips in the 90's with that company... all on dam release weekends. Very fun!

[rodi]

Did my usual morning beach walk with the pooch... more beach erosion with the latest storm - not much beach left. Talk to a guy who works at one of the mansions along the water about whether they were worried about the sea wall in front of the house... I guess they were worried enough - they'd had an engineer out to inspect the previous week. I've observed some undermining of the sea wall footings on houses up the block from them. Waves this morning were once again coming over the parks sea wall - and waves were crashing into the mansions' sea walls hard enough to shoot water 40 feet in the air.

After that excitement I came home and completed our taxes. Filed and no identity theft issues. Thank goodness. Bought an I-bond with part of my refund for the first time.

With that done I finished putting together a website for my husband's latest endeavor... He's working on un-retiring... Against my wishes. LOL.

[Souschef]

We flew an Angel Flight mission from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara. The patient had just gotten a liver transplant and looked very good.
The exciting part was the strong winds, but fortunately, the winds were right down the runway

[mh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI Today I spent several hours in the backyard trimming bushes, planting...ummm plants and spreading mulch. DH is on a m/c trip and called me this afternoon to tell me about a new toy one of his m/c bud's has. He said I needed to go online and check it out. I did....I have to say I'm impressed with the look.... Polaris Slingshot : 3-Wheel Motorcycle - Reverse Trike Of course if we get one of those, he'll need to sell his m/c so we'd have room for the new toy in the garage....and I don't think that's gonna happen.

I occasionally fantasize about getting one of these:

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/3-wheeler/#


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

[Philliefan33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi Pocono Whitewater? I did three raft trips in the 90's with that company... all on dam release weekends. Very fun!

Yes! When DH and I last guided with them, it was before the agreement to hold back water to supply dam releases all summer long. It was a short, cold season from mid-March to mid-May. Now there are trips in June and July...so maybe I won't be cold all of the time.