|
Post by mgulfcoastguy on Aug 6, 2023 12:35:31 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, Do they take reservations? Worth trying anyhow.about all that happened Saturday is that the air-conditioning again overflowed and wet the hallway. Fortunately it is just bare concrete. That and washed clothes. Got to practice puppy training today. There won't be much outdoors until the worst of the heat breaks.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 6, 2023 13:08:43 GMT -5
Happy Anniversary, Laura_in_FL! Glad you had such a wonderful dinner together, and that it wasn't too hot for you. And now you're probably looking into making some of those yourself, right? I remember years ago my favorite restaurant to go to (I know, now you're the one in shock!) was a Cajun place, and my Mom would take me and my sister to it for our birthdays, which were very close together, and we also had many large get-togethers there, and everyone always loved it, since there was nothing else like it in the area. And, though some dishes were spicy, they weren't too hot for most people, as you described. They had various frog legs, crawfish, and alligator dishes. Unfortunately, the landlord of the building (looked like an old Inn) passed away, and they ended up moving, but the place wasn't the same (I think they lost one of their chefs), and they eventually closed.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 6, 2023 14:41:18 GMT -5
Happy Anniversary Laura!
|
|
|
Post by hairymooseknuckles on Aug 6, 2023 14:46:19 GMT -5
Happy anniversary Laura_in_FL , I like frog legs too. Most Cajun food, most Italian food, most Mexican food.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 7, 2023 8:51:17 GMT -5
Thanks for all for the anniversary wishes! mgulfcoastguy, that restaurant doesn't take reservations. However, it's possible to use the Yelp app to get in line before leaving home. We haven't tried that yet because we're not enthused about installing yet another intrusive app. But we may break down and do it. I hear you about the a/c overflow, too. That happened to us a few weeks ago (again), but thankfully when that happens the water overflow is in the garage, which is also a bare concrete floor. This morning was the first day of school for my youngest. It went surprisingly smoothly - even the traffic. We didn't quite hit the "sweet spot" with drop-off time, but close. I will adjust by 5 minutes tomorrow. However, I fully expect a traffic nightmare at afternoon pickup time for the first couple of weeks until all of the after school sports, clubs, and activities get going. It will also take time for all of the new-to-the-school students and parents to learn the pickup routine. Also, DH may have finally fixed the leaking dishwasher! Maybe the dishwasher heard him say that this was the last fix he would attempt before giving up and replacing the darn thing. I will have to use the dishwasher multiple times with no leaks before I will trust that the leak is actually fixed, but last night it ran a full cycle without leaking at all. In the meantime, we will be using trays and towels to protect the floor - just in case.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 10, 2023 20:01:50 GMT -5
I am drained. We decided to take a drive through Vermont to Maine and loop around down south back to Ohio in September. NOT easy to find reservations and especially not with a pooch. It will be our 42 anniversary road trip. Gonna hit Acadia National Park.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 11, 2023 11:08:44 GMT -5
Sounds like a great trip, though - if you can figure out reservations.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 11, 2023 11:43:52 GMT -5
Sounds like a great trip, though - if you can figure out reservations.
OH SNAP gottem! What a nightmare. We should have decided this earlier but oh well! Gonna leave Ohio, stay a couple of days in Vermont, then head to Acadia, Maine for several days, then down through Massachusetts, stay over night in Connecticut and then finally home to Ohio. Gonna be a huge loop.
Managed to get dog friendly reservations in hotels and everything! We are going before the leaves change so there were still some rooms out there to be found.
Now that I have shook off the migraine from looking for reservations, I am headed down to see my baby and help him pack. New people bought his apartment complex and they are trying to double the rent. Not worth it since he was able to find a duplex for $200 more a month. Now he has 4 bedrooms and a yard! BOOM.
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Aug 11, 2023 19:56:35 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, sorry I missed your anniversary...sounded like a great time. I just wish we had more choices for dining, but the old stand by the best Mexican place in the state does us just fine. Have not had frog's legs in years. Used to love them. Will not be buying an electric car.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 12, 2023 13:33:44 GMT -5
Will not be buying an electric car.
|
|
|
Post by mgulfcoastguy on Aug 12, 2023 19:59:49 GMT -5
To be fair, its problems are not a patch on the 1998 Mercury Mystique. Nor the 1986 Chrolet Spectrum which required 3 manual transmissions. The VW ID4(2021 FE model) has had exactly 2 problems requiring repair. The first is a fault in one out of 12 battery modules. The cells in the modules were made by a company called LG Chem. LG Chem has had to recall the batteries that they sold for the: Chevrolet Bolt, Hyundai Kona, and most recently Jaguar I Pace. Starting about 13 months ago VW switched to batteries made by a company called SKI in the state of Georgia USA. No problems with the SKI batteries so far.The second problems a sensor that tells the air-conditioning compressor when to switch on. Similar ACs are on gas burning cars and it was fixed within 3 days of showing it to the service department. It took a day and a half for the part to arrive which isn't unusual for today's supply chain issues. So I wouldn't say not to buy an electric car though I would recommend waiting untilll 2025 for a long list of reasons. Also battery electric pickups are not a good substitute for actual working pick ups. I did see this though, he said that he had to stop and charge every 100 miles or so. If you have towed one of these you know what it does to your mpg.
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Aug 12, 2023 21:04:36 GMT -5
So long as I am able we will be driving Toyotas. Since 1991, and our first try at a Toyota Camry, then another, then a Rav4, then another, the a Highlander and then 2 more Ravs. Not one time have any of them had more than oil, filter and tires (averaged 70,000 miles on the originals). There was one recall to be sure some bolts were tight and an airbag replacement that most all cars had to go through. The latest is a hybrid but mostly gas. 500 miles on a fill vs 100 on a charge.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 13, 2023 14:31:04 GMT -5
The trouble with being an early adopter of any new technology is that you get to find all of the kinks and figure out how to get them fixed. When EV batteries can get a full day's worth of driving miles on a charge reliably - even in winter - and when charging availability is better everywhere more people will be willing to move to them. The charging situation gets better every year, but there are still swaths of the country with little charging availability. Tesla Superchargers are the most prevalent fast chargers out there, but even their system has some gaps. And stopping every two hours for ~30 minutes to charge, and having to plan your route to make sure you get to the next charger in time gets old. (DH has a Tesla and that's how it goes when we travel in it.) But for around-town driving it's great. He goes where he needs to all day and just plugs the car in when he gets home. For for now, I am pretty happy with my hybrid. Over 500 miles on a fill up like paulf said, and gas stations are everywhere. ~5 minutes to fill up and we're back on the road again. But hybrid technology is expensive because it requires both a gas engine and an electric motor. For the same reason, hybrids have even more potential repair issues. So I think in the long term as EV battery technology matures, hybrids will slowly disappear.
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Aug 14, 2023 9:35:06 GMT -5
We have a 2017 Toyota Tacoma pick up that serves us well. We have no interest in electric. I don't feel that the infrastructure is ready for electric just yet and I question the longevity and cost of the batteries. We also live in a rural area and I don't see many charging stations, not that I would want to sit at one for 30 minutes, if it is even available and not already in use. No thanks.
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Aug 14, 2023 10:12:31 GMT -5
The electric pushers have gotten the cart before the horse. We do have a station in our small town, one more 10 miles away and then fifty miles to the next but not many where we travel. As soon as there are as many chargers as gas stations I may consider an electric if it will go 400 miles with the air or heating system working. But then we need a power grid to handle the extra electricity needed. With all the red tape and excessive bureaucracy it is nearly impossible to build new electric generating facilities.
Too many politicians trying to be in charge of how we can live our lives and they want to make us into clones of their petty ideas. A Washington desk jockey has no idea what it is like out in the real world. I never thought I would be able to spout red neck philosophy, but those people don't have a clue.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 17, 2023 13:35:15 GMT -5
Yesterday afternoon I took my youngest son to get his Learner's Permit. Yikes, time flies! I could almost swear that he was a little kid last week.
This morning we had an orthodontist consultation to get him braces. The bad news is that braces are expensive. The good news is that the orthodontist is only asking about $100 more than they charged me for his brother's braces 1.5 years ago. With the way inflation has been recently, I was worried that they would have gone waaaaay up. My youngest son can get the clear braces because his teeth don't need as much correction as his brother's teeth did.
Oh, and they confirmed that he'll need all of his wisdom teeth out in a year or two. The X-rays showed quite clearly that none of them have room to grow in. So I'll need to cough up a few thousand more dollars for that, but at least I have a year or two.
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Aug 17, 2023 16:53:44 GMT -5
All six grandchildren have had or have braces. Of our three, only one needed braces and he took almost five years before he was finished. As a kid growing up I don't remember that anyone I knew had braces. Is it a relatively new thing?
My wisdom teeth were pulled when I was in my mid-forties when they began to bother me. Our daughter had hers pulled in high school. It was done in the morning and she ran in a track meet that same afternoon...she did very well at the meet. She was one tough cookie!
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 18, 2023 10:11:22 GMT -5
Dr. Weston A. Price believed that most dental problems like crowded, crooked teeth and needing wisdom teeth extracted are the result of nutritional deficiencies associated with modern diets. He became convinced of this after ten years of travel to see indigenous peoples all over the world. He observed and photographed them, noticing that those who maintained their traditional diets had wide faces with broad dental arches and straight teeth with no cavities. However, those who ate a modern diet from birth or young childhood had crooked, crowded teeth, narrow faces and trouble with tooth decay. Whether or not you agree with his dietary prescriptions to fix our diets and lifestyles (I don't agree with everything, for sure), you may find his photographs compelling. He took photos of natives from the same tribe showing the differences between the faces and teeth of tribe members who ate traditional vs modern diets: www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/nutrition-greats/weston-a-price-dds/#gsc.tab=0, scroll down for a few photos. And here is some old film footage from his travels: . I have also read that a contributing factor may be that traditional diets involved a LOT of chewing, including some really hard chewing. All of that jaw exercise stimulated the body to develop larger, stronger jaws, in the same way that weightlifting and hard physical labor during childhood and the teenage years prompts the development of larger, denser bones as well as more muscle.
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Aug 18, 2023 11:55:09 GMT -5
This morning the concrete man and his two sons showed up to make our back doorstep look more like a patio with a larger landing at the doorway. This is something I have wanted for many years but just couldn't bring myself to do the work. Last week I saw a family doing a driveway and asked if he considered small jobs. He came up, looked at the situation, gave a bid and said he would be back in a week.
Amazingly he kept his word...not very common with many tradespeople in our area since there are so few with so many jobs to do. Three years ago I asked a concrete company to do the same job and after the look at what we wanted, that was the last we ever saw of them even with several calls.
Now we are waiting for the concrete truck to show up to fill in the forms that have been built.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 21, 2023 13:54:51 GMT -5
Nice, paulf! I know you'll enjoy that. We got back yesterday afternoon after our weekend trip to take son #3 down to UCF and pick up plants on the way home. The trip went fine, but I am tired today (carrying things down stairs from the parking garage and then back up stairs to the dorm room wiped me out). So, I am taking it easy. My son seems to be settling in; he texted today that he had gone to his first class today and that his roommates are "chill." So that sounds good. Also, it turns out out that one of his high school friends (a girl, but they are just friends) has a dorm room in the building next door, literally one minute away. So perhaps if they come home for visits at the same time, they could ride together to save on gas and have some company for the drive. But I am not expecting him to come visit for several weeks. However, he is missing our cats - quite possibly as much as he's missing us - so we have texted him a few cute cat pics.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Aug 22, 2023 21:58:02 GMT -5
Today I sat on my backside >,< Well I did some laundry but Sunday was yard work all day and yesterday I managed to get in the garden and pull the beans. Almost had a heat stoke so I took it easy today. Let me just add: OH BOO HOO I was in my garden long enough to almost get heat stoke!! How wonderful is that. Well not really but WOO HOO I was able to defy the mud and get beans
|
|
|
Post by mgulfcoastguy on Aug 24, 2023 16:33:17 GMT -5
Well I finally cut my grass yesterday. I had pulled something in my hip and walking was an issue for a week. Packing up to go see my parents this weekend. Got to take Dad to the cardiologists and ask him point blank if a pacemaker installed in 2013 needs a new battery, take both of them to get new glasses, and take both of them shoe shopping. Likely nothing garden related.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 25, 2023 11:48:15 GMT -5
Good luck with the weekend with your parents, mgulfcoastguy. It sounds busy, but hopefully productive and helpful for them. Glad your hip is feeling better!
|
|
|
Post by paulf on Aug 25, 2023 13:23:45 GMT -5
I also mowed the lawn today after a week of way too hot. Only did the riding mower. Maybe to push mower tomorrow since the temps are supposed to drop into the 80s. Weed eating will have to wait a day or two and a couple of other chores outside may not get done for a while. Too hot...but then it is August.
|
|
|
Post by rdback on Aug 26, 2023 9:54:02 GMT -5
Had to replace broken linkage to the "gas" pedal on the Kubota. Of course, it is located WAY up in the belly of the beast, with little room to work. NOT fun, but finally done.
|
|
|
Post by mgulfcoastguy on Aug 28, 2023 14:20:42 GMT -5
Took Dad to a cardiologists Friday. I had to negotiate a truce between him and the cardiologist. Dad is pitching 7 kinds of Hades over the price of a blood thinner and wanted off of it. The cardiologist started to go into "if you won't listen to my warnings it's on your on head mode". By the time I was through the Doc volunteered to try to get him a discount and gave him a months supply of free samples. He also recommended him for a Watchman's Procedure that would eliminate, eventually, the need for blood thinners. That resulted in me staying over till this morning and taking him to get an echogram of his heart valves. I will also need to take him for a visit with that specialists. There I will have to negotiate again. Fridays visit showed that his pacemaker batter was only good for between 1 and 7 months. If he is going to be in the hospital for this procedure anyway, why not replace the battery then? I feel like Henry Kissinger did now.
Oh and take them to Shoe Station and help find shoes for both of them. Then search online for coupons, 3 pairs for $179 wasn't bad. The eyeglasses were easy they just wanted new lens put into their old frames .
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 28, 2023 15:31:00 GMT -5
Good luck negotiating with the specialists! And good on you for taking such good care of your parents.
|
|
|
Post by spike on Sept 5, 2023 14:00:40 GMT -5
This is a fun filled action packed week. Friday and Saturday I drove 1 1/2 hours(3 hours round trip) to help my son move 45 minutes away from where he is now. Both days a couple of trips back and forth, loading and unloading the Tahoe was gross. Hubs went down on Sunday and on Monday we laid around and whimpered lol Today is my Aunts 94th birthday so flowers were bought and I got to see her beautiful smile. She lives one house away from me, still lives alone and is one tough old bird. The bro gets a pacemaker put in tomorrow so I will be at the hospital all day and hopefully bring him home Thursday. Friday we pack for our trip to Maine, Saturday hubs college buddy will be here and Sunday we leave for Maine. (our anniversary trip) Got a 29.4 ounce tomato out of my garden!! Rotten brother ate it sigh. Yes I am rambling thank you very much.
|
|
|
Post by september on Sept 5, 2023 14:52:59 GMT -5
spike, I am so glad that your hubby has recovered and is able to travel around with you! Sounds hectic, but fun!
|
|
|
Post by spike on Sept 6, 2023 17:49:22 GMT -5
Spent the day at the hospital. Bro has a nice new pacemaker! His heart rate went from 36 beats per minute to 60 beats per minute and his heart is no longer causing him pain plus the fluttering has stopped. Great day but man am I done in tired.
|
|