Recent content by BoldPelikan

Eclipse glasses from NASA We are in Akron, Ohio and will be watching from our driveway and the golf course across the street. I ordered glasses from NASA in Cleveland -- https://www.nasashop.com/nasashop/shop/product-detail/1000785

Good problem to have! City of Akron, Ohio recently reassessed real estate for tax purposes. Our 1951 house saw an increase of 49%! We bought this 9 years ago for a very reasonable price. But values have skyrocketed here and we will now be paying much higher taxes as a result. Would love to see...

Milwaukee I am a DIY homeowner. We bought current 1951 built house in Fall 2014 and I had to do some extensive cosmetic work throughout the house. I decided to go with Milwaukee and have been extremely happy with their 18V line. I have a decent collection of their stuff by now and have no...

Ham Pot Pie If you are ever in central Pennsylvania, you should check out Traditions restaurant in Martinsburg. Ham pot pie is one of their PA Dutch specialties. You can also buy the pot pie noodles at various groceries in the cove. They are basically just thick squares of egg noodle dough...

Hydrate! When I moved from CA to NH over a decade ago, this winter split thumb thing popped up out of nowhere and I had it every winter thereafter. Two things have stopped it / drinking a lot more water and using Aquaphor at night and wearing white cotton gloves to bed. Works like a charm!

Wallpaper Bought current house from original owner. Built in 1951. Some switches and plates were wallpapered to match. They also wallpapered the bathroom ceiling, garbage cans, inside closets, etc... Anyway, replaced most of them except for this room - stripped wallpaper and painted dark green...

Time time time Time won't wait. My DW is 10 years and 3 months older than me. She is 66 and has had stage 4 cancer for the past 4 years. I worked for a public utility for 5 years and one month, just long enough to vest in a small pension. When my employer called us back to the office full time...

Weight loss Same for me --- I usually lose 7-10 pounds by Labor Day and put it back on over the winter. If you are concerned, book a physical. I actually booked mine this morning and the earliest appointment was Jan 3, 2022. Lots of us skipped these things due to covid...

My wife and I have our assets split between Vanguard and Fidelity. We made this decision quite a few years ago to try and mitigate against hacking risks, etc... Over time I have come to love Fidelity and tolerate (barely) Vanguard. We recently created a joint trust and had to change ownership on...

Monadnock Region - SW NH We own a lakeside house in this area. About 15 minutes to MA border and 40 minutes to Brattleboro VT. 1600' square feet, 1.5 baths, 2 beds, unfinished basement, oil furnace, woodstove, septic and a well. House value according to Zillow and Trulia has gone nuts lately...

Drug costs for cancer We have spent this week working on this exact issue - will be transitioning DW to Medicare A, B, D and G starting July 1. She is a cancer patient and one of her drugs is a Tier 5 specialty medication taken at home. Bottom line will be $18,000.00 per year for premiums...

Can confirm - eviCore stinks My employer healthcare uses eviCore for pre-authorizations. DW has stage 4 cancer and we have a hell of a time every now and then getting things approved. No rhyme or reason, many peer to peer reviews, etc. Her oncologist ordered a brain CT prior to initiating...

I work for a large public utility with both union and non-union staff. We office folks have been home for the past year, but union staff have been in the plants all along. Huge political pressure to bring everyone back. The process has already started for single occupancy office-dwellers, and we...

Vintage-Panasonic-Auto-Stop-Electric-Pencil-Sharpener-Model-KP-110 These are available on eBay and are around at estate sales. Blackwing pencils are fantastic!