Useful Links

NW-Bound · 04-03-2017, 07:34 AM

Ah, for the redwood in my deck, I stain it. But for the garden trellises, I want them to blend in with the backyard block fence, which is painted white. I use redwood here for weather resistance, not for look.

pacergal · 04-03-2017, 09:43 AM

Went to SILs so DH could help pull a tree stump in her garden. She has a beautiful rose bush she no longer wants, so will be transplanting it to our rose garden in a few weeks. Getting our vegetable garden ready for the seedlings. Only a few days of sun off an on here, just now getting out of risk of nighttime frost.

**braumeister** · 04-03-2017, 01:20 PM

Slept late to recover from spending a week in Switzerland. Mostly Zürich with a side trip to Luzern and Mt. Titlis. We had plenty of well-meant advice to change plans and do a different trip (bad time of year, cold, rainy, boring city, etc., etc.) but we absolutely loved it.

Shirtsleeve weather the entire week. No rain, lots of sun, temps in the mid to upper 60s (°F) every day.

Zürich is not tourist oriented, but we had a wonderful time. We just enjoy old European cities for their walkability, old buildings, and casual charm. Zürich met all our benchmarks in spades. Hotel was right in the heart of the old town, just a 5-10 minute walk from the train station. It's an expensive city ($36 for a hamburger was typical in a restaurant), but the fondue and raclette were marvelous and we never had a meal that was less than wonderful. The locals were very friendly and helpful.

This was my first visit to Switzerland and it was a complete treat. Happy traveler!

Fedup · 04-03-2017, 01:34 PM

Nothing, it was terrible weather. I got really depressed especially after a bad night. I dreamed I was robbed, must be the responding to the " old cash" thread, I must have woken my husband up because of my scream for help. Dreadful morning because of that. Then I went to check my credit card bills, and I got charge for late fee. First sign of aging. I've always paid my bill on time but my eyes misread 3/23 to 3/28. So that's why it was late. I need to be careful next time, check everything twice.
For a minute, I thought I was losing my mind, now I've realizing it's only my sight. I still don't wear glasses for computer and close work. Only for long distance driving.

Accidental Retiree · 04-03-2017, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R

According to your public profile, you live in California so I guess you're out of luck, for now.

Maybe you can try it for the first time later on.

I'll suffer with H-D and my new favorite, Kroger Private Selection Black Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chunk. ��

Accidental Retiree · 04-03-2017, 01:41 PM

We finally went over and checked out the Senior Center in our "new" town. (We moved here nearly 3 years ago, but it still feels a bit new to us.)

They just added a fitness center which will cost us $20/each/year to use. That will be worth it for the recumbent bikes and ellipticals, I think.

Zumba Gold and yoga will cost $6/class, which is a much better bargain than my previous Jazzercise classes.

Huston55 · 04-03-2017, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski

Paint redwood? I could never understand that as redwood is so naturally beautiful... when we stripped some of the siding off our previous summer home we found out that it was redwood that the previous owner had stained a dark brown.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound

Ah, for the redwood by in my deck, I stain it. But for the garden trellises, I want them to blend in with the backyard block fence, which is painted white. I use redwood here for weather resistance, not for look.

+1

I would never paint (or stain) the redwood by my deck.

NW-Bound · 04-03-2017, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister

...Zürich is not tourist oriented, but we had a wonderful time. We just enjoy old European cities for their walkability, old buildings, and casual charm. Zürich met all our benchmarks in spades. Hotel was right in the heart of the old town, just a 5-10 minute walk from the train station. It's an expensive city ($36 for a hamburger was typical in a restaurant)...

Everything in Switzerland is expensive. I recall going into a convenience store just to look around, and saw a instant ramen Cup-o-Noodle for more than a couple of Swiss francs. Here, it's 25 cents when not on sale.

At the border crossings with France, they had guard stations that I read the purpose was to make sure people did not sneak out into France to buy goods at a lower price to bring back.

MRG · 04-03-2017, 01:58 PM

We have been putting off signing up at the recreational center and finally went to sign up and lift a few pounds.

Really nice place, saltwater pool and hot tub. Racquetball and basketball courts.
We spent an hour on the weight machines. Should have had a soak too. We took six months off and I feel it.

I was pleasantly surprised $300 a year for the two of us. Classes are extra.

NW-Bound · 04-03-2017, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huston55

+1

I would never paint (or stain) the redwood by my deck.

I still have not completely finished redoing my large deck. I redid the deck with the best Trex boards (tired of maintaining it, so went all out). However, the railing in Trex is very expensive, so I will rebuild it in redwood.

I will still stain the redwood railing with a light penetrating stain for protection. I started the project last summer, but did not finish it due to some other problems with the main home. Will try to finish it this summer, after the early summer trip. It's a large deck of almost 1000 sq.ft., with many feet of railing.

Christine · 04-03-2017, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound

Everything in Switzerland is expensive. I recall going into a convenience store just to look around, and saw a instant ramen Cup-o-Noodle for more than a couple of Swiss francs. Here, it's 25 cents when not on sale.

Could be different in Switzerland - but here in Norway ramen Cup-o-Noodle would be considered exotic food from the US and priced like it. We have other local brands that are more reasonably priced.

38Chevy454 · 04-03-2017, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup

Nothing, it was terrible weather. I got really depressed especially after a bad night. I dreamed I was robbed, must be the responding to the " old cash" thread, I must have woken my husband up because of my scream for help. Dreadful morning because of that. Then I went to check my credit card bills, and I got charge for late fee. First sign of aging. I've always paid my bill on time but my eyes misread 3/23 to 3/28. So that's why it was late. I need to be careful next time, check everything twice.
For a minute, I thought I was losing my mind, now I've realizing it's only my sight. I still don't wear glasses for computer and close work. Only for long distance driving.

Call your CC company customer service and talk to a real person. Explain your mistake and most all cards will give you a grace removal of the late fee and interest charges, assuming that you have always paid on time. At the least you have nothing to lose except a bit of phone time.

Philliefan33 · 04-03-2017, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454

Call your CC company customer service and talk to a real person. Explain your mistake and most all cards will give you a grace removal of the late fee and interest charges, assuming that you have always paid on time. At the least you have nothing to lose except a bit of phone time.

+1

We just did this last night. One of my CC was due 3/16 but my payment didn't arrive until 3/17. That resulted in over $60 in fees and interest being added to the balance! With a phone call (and our payment record -- never late before) DH was able to get those charges reversed.

Fedup · 04-03-2017, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454

Call your CC company customer service and talk to a real person. Explain your mistake and most all cards will give you a grace removal of the late fee and interest charges, assuming that you have always paid on time. At the least you have nothing to lose except a bit of phone time.

I did and they refused, so I cancelled my card. This is a new card I got for my miles. They were pissed and so was I.

target2019 · 04-03-2017, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup

I did and they refused, so I cancelled my card. This is a new card I got for my miles. They were pissed and so was I.

I've never been refused a waiver for my mistake. I would have done as you have.

brewer12345 · 04-03-2017, 06:54 PM

Walked the dogs, went to the range for a few hours (have not been there since last summer), and came home to clean the kitchen and chase kids. Went out to the hen house just before dinner and found our very first egg:

pb4uski · 04-03-2017, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup

I did and they refused, so I cancelled my card. This is a new card I got for my miles. They were pissed and so was I.

Are you going to pay the late fee or short your last payment by the amount of the late fee?

W2R · 04-03-2017, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accidental Retiree

I'll suffer with H-D and my new favorite, Kroger Private Selection Black Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chunk. ��

Yummmm....

aja8888 · 04-03-2017, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup

I did and they refused, so I cancelled my card. This is a new card I got for my miles. They were pissed and so was I.

Same thing happened to us. Somehow forgot to set the auto pay date for that month. Missed by a few days. Had the card for a decade and never missed a payment deadline. We cancelled the card after they refused a grace period payment.

I suspect we were not attractive customers as we never paid any interest on using their money in 10 years.