What did you do today? 2019 version.

[ls99]

Drained water pipes at camp, filled pipes with winter windshield washer fluid. Camp is ready winter, several cords of firewood stored under cover for days when I show up and stay overnight. Let it snow!

 

[MRG]

Went to the springs this morning, it was 20° when we arrived. It was an amazing sunny day, the mountains snowcapped in the distance. Pretty steamy outside at that temperature and lots of hot water. Couldn't see too much but it was still nice as we had the place to ourselves.

Went to lunch on the river but skipped sitting outside. The river is getting frozen in that area, the banks are snow covered.

Washed DWs Wrangler on the way home. I'm not sure it's much cleaner now but it makes her happy. Came home and made sous vide chicken breasts for the first time. Wow, I'm impressed.

 

[O2Bfree]

Got some business done today. Gathered and mailed off the forms to transfer my HSA from my ex-employers custodian to a no-fee Fidelity account. Made an appointment to meet with my mom's FA to discuss how to proceed with her 2019 RMD and manage some cash she's accumulated from dividends. I had no idea she hadn't taken the RMD yet. Over the past few months she'd occasionally say her FA was going to get in touch with me, but he never did, and I wasn't anxious to deal with him. But I finally called and learned about the RMD and a few other issues, so I'd better dive in. Also talked to her CPA, who said she should consider paying her entire estimated tax bill for next year out of an RMD taken in the first quarter. Or, I should be checking on her to make sure she sends in her quarterly payments. He's noticed she's not as sharp as she used to be.

 

[pb4uski]

Drained water pipes at camp, filled pipes with winter windshield washer fluid. Camp is ready winter, several cords of firewood stored under cover for days when I show up and stay overnight. Let it snow!

Why fill with fluid? We just blow out lines with a shop vac and leave air in them... we keep all faucets open over the winter so if there is residual water in the pipes that freezes it has room to expand without busting the pipes. We have used this approach for 30 years and haven't had a problem. Seems a lot easier.

 

[travelover]

Why fill with fluid? We just blow out lines with a shop vac and leave air in them... we keep all faucets open over the winter so if there is residual water in the pipes that freezes it has room to expand without busting the pipes. We have used this approach for 30 years and haven't had a problem. Seems a lot easier.

Maybe he meant drain pipe traps.

 

[Koogie]

Found out yesterday a former colleague had died last week. Massive heart attack. He was made redundant at 59 and decided to take the "hint".
He was 64 when he died.


ER. Looking better and better everyday.

 

[Souschef]

Also talked to her CPA, who said she should consider paying her entire estimated tax bill for next year out of an RMD taken in the first quarter. Or, I should be checking on her to make sure she sends in her quarterly payments. He's noticed she's not as sharp as she used to be.

You can set up the quarterly payments through EFTPS. Just make sure she has enough in her account to pay them.

 

[pb4uski]

Maybe he meant drain pipe traps.

Ah... that makes sense... we fill the traps with RV antifreeze... not windshield washer fluid though I guess windshield washer fluid is also good to 20 below or more.

An interesting thing that I just found out... RV antifreeze has both a freeze point and a burst point... so it freezes one temperature and then expands at a much lower temperature.

 

[pb4uski]

... Also talked to her CPA, who said she should consider paying her entire estimated tax bill for next year out of an RMD taken in the first quarter. Or, I should be checking on her to make sure she sends in her quarterly payments. He's noticed she's not as sharp as she used to be.

You'd be better off to pay her entire estimated tax bill out of her RMD because for the purpose of underpayment penalties the IRS considers withholding to have been done ratably throughout the year no matter when it is actually done... so withholding in December is the same as withholding in January or each month during the year.

So no need to make estimated payments. I have used tIRA withdrawals and withholdings to "pay" my estimated taxes for the last two Decembers.

I would do the RMD in December with withholding for estimated taxes for the year (federal and state if applicable).

 

[pacergal]

DH learned of a high school buddy who died while on a trip for the holidays with his family.
This is the third friend who has died this year!

 

[Walt34]

Pulled out a desk drawer that was "wobbly" and found that it was coming apart in the back. Emptied that out and glued everything back together with Tightbond and it should be okay - it's still drying.

The new carburetor for the chain saw arrived and I installed that. It needed a couple of tweaks to the mixture settings and idle speed, cut a few "cookies" off a log that was already cut to check operation, drained the fuel, and put it away. I have no idea when or if I'll ever used it again in this location but it's a cheap fix with a China carburetor for $14.

 

[O2Bfree]

You can set up the quarterly payments through EFTPS. Just make sure she has enough in her account to pay them.

Yeah, sure, but she doesn't go for that sort of thing. I've tried over the past few years to get her to let me set up electronic payments for her. She doesn't do computers at all. The only epayment she's allowed is for her rent, where she had no choice. Last year her apartment complex stopped taking checks and cash, and went to an online-only payment service. She was really steamed about that.

 

[O2Bfree]

You'd be better off to pay her entire estimated tax bill out of her RMD because for the purpose of underpayment penalties the IRS considers withholding to have been done ratably throughout the year no matter when it is actually done... so withholding in December is the same as withholding in January or each month during the year.

So no need to make estimated payments. I have used tIRA withdrawals and withholdings to "pay" my estimated taxes for the last two Decembers.

I would do the RMD in December with withholding for estimated taxes for the year (federal and state if applicable).

Thanks for the tip. The taxes are mainly for the monthly payments from the sale of a business for which she's carrying the note. I'm not sure how or if that affects the schedule for her tax payments.

 

[Philliefan33]

I’m going to vent here, because otherwise poor DH will bear the brunt of my frustrations and he doesn’t deserve it.

The sump pump switch broke, so the pump was constantly running even when the sump hole was dry. DH discovered it this morning right before we were ready to leave to go to the Pocono house. I am supposed to be there by noon to help cook a banquet for 120 people tonight. The chef is counting on me to be there.

But we can’t leave this house without a sump pump, especially with heavy rain in the forecast. And I can’t just head up to the mountains on my own, because DH totaled my car last Monday (he was not hurt) and we are down to one vehicle until Monday when I pick up my new replacement.

So we hurry over to HD, buy a new sump pump and everything we need for a quick install. Everything, that is, except one gasket that DH just had to go back to buy. Meantime the clock is ticking and if we don’t leave here in 30 minutes I will be late to my commitment. Which if DH hadn’t wrecked my car, I could be on my way and leave him to finish the sump pump install.

A lot of my frustration is with the disarray. Our washing machine broke before Thanksgiving and flooded two rooms. Those two rooms are still torn apart and we are tripping over stuff. That’s scheduled to be fixed starting Wednesday 12/18. Then the car wreck, so tripping over more stuff because all the fire police gear and equipment that usually resides in my vehicle has to be pulled out and stored in boxes in the house.

Now today all I want to do is get to the firehouse to help, but DH is playing the “how many trips to Home Depot does it take” game. The sump pump box says it’s a 15-minute install. Not when someone has to drive back to Home Depot for a gasket.

Oh, and our water softener broke in August. I’ve had a new one sitting here since the first week of September but DH still hasn’t finished the install. But he won’t let me call a plumber because he knows how to do it. Meanwhile my skin is itching from the hard water. I think I’m going to threaten to call a plumber if he doesn’t hook up the water softener by Wednesday.

Thanks for listening.

 

[O2Bfree]

That's a bad run of events, sorry you're getting hit with so many things at once. I can sympathize with the water softener situation. My DH is a handy guy as well, but tends to procrastinate. Our water heater is over 15 years old and should be replaced before it starts leaking. I've been mentioning this for months now, and he keeps saying he can install a new one, but hasn't. He did install the current tank, no problem. I've tried the plumber threat, but get the "they overcharge!" response. Maybe I should pour some water in the drip pan?

The plumber threat might work on your DH though. That seems warranted after over three months of having the new parts available.

 

[Koogie]

Ladies, ladies, ladies. We get around to those things. There's no need to nag us every 6 months.....

 

[misshathaway]

Bought an outdoor motion-detecting floodlight for my porch. The porch walls are stucco and I'm a renter so I bought a lightweight one that I hope I will be able to put up with command strips.

Somebody was up on my porch last night. My apartment is on a main drag so it's not that surprising, but I didn't have the Blink cameras on. I know because somebody took the tablecloth off of the little camp table i have out there. It's fastened with a binder clip so the wind won't blow it away. It was on the table this morning but lopsided and barely clipped on. The wind could not have done it.

Two days ago at 5:30am a woman was at the community gym alone and a man tried to get her to open the door. We have fob keys to get in. Somebody called the police. When the police came they arrested the guy and found that some power wires to the building had been cut. I used to swim in the pool there at 6am, also behind a locked gate. No more.

Editing to add that I found out about the arrest from NextDoor. It can be very useful.

Currently creeped out.

 

[O2Bfree]

Ladies, ladies, ladies. We get around to those things. There's no need to nag us every 6 months.....

Nag, then threaten to call a professional, and then the biggest threat of all: gather some tools, put on some work jeans, and start doing it yourself!!

 

[Walt34]

Nag, then threaten to call a professional, and then the biggest threat of all: gather some tools, put on some work jeans, and start doing it yourself!!

That goes beyond cheating, that's terrorism!

 

[Gumby]

Today, I watched my one football game on TV for the year. Fear the Goat!

 

[MRG]

Woke up to fresh snow, only a couple inches. I didn't feel like cooking breakfast so I went to McDonalds. The road was slippery with a lot of ice, one person passed a tractor going 10 mph to drive 12. When we got closer to town there was a tractor trailer with a moving van who attempted to back into a driveway, he was in a ditch blocking one lane.

After breakfast the snow stopped and I ran the snowblower. Later we walked around our neighborhood and watched another storm start snowing. It stopped now but the forecast says it will snow all night and through Sunday.

 

[O2Bfree]

Went to the gym, then stopped by my pharmacy and got my second Shingrix shot. The first one gave me a bad headache, fever, chills, body aches, and mild nausea. The pharmacist said many people have a worse reaction to the second shot, and some folks here have said the same thing, so I'm standing by with Tylenol, chicken broth, and an ice bag. So far, 4 hours post-shot, my arm is getting sore and I feel just a tad wonky.

Started making a big batch of kimchi, which I'll finish this evening. Tried the sauerkraut I made 3 weeks ago. It's good, but could be a bit more sour, so I'll let it ferment for awhile longer before storing in the fridge.

An old classmate from grade school, junior high, and HS contacted me about next years' 40th HS reunion. We chatted for a long time on the phone, and might meet for lunch or something soon. I haven't been to a reunion since the 5-year one, and am not sure I'll go to this one. I was a wild child, and most of the kids I hung out with didn't graduate, so I wouldn't expect to see many old friends there, just old acquaintances.

 

[zonicles]

I am camping with my pony in Florida. Because he needed to get some exercise, I hitched him up to his carriage and walked and trotted for about 5 or 6 miles. Then seeing some friends walking, we picked them up (pony uber) and visited a half a dozen other neighbors, inviting them to a get-together on Monday.

I also bird-watched while carriage driving.

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[TromboneAl]

Years ago, I found the perfect recipe for low-carb eggnog: 1 tsp Davinci sugar-free eggnog syrup, 1/2 heavy whipping cream, top with nutmeg.

We stopped by a store to get another bottle, and apparently it's been discontinued!

I found a source online when we got home, and ordered three bottles.

 

[RobbieB]

I decked the halls!