Monday March 20

[Shirlv]

Morning All, 37°and sunny. Temps predicated to rise to mid 50’s after today. My kinda of weather. Can putz on the balcony in the sunshine and fresh air. Big equipment was out in force early this morning. Darn trucks must have been driving backwards everywhere since heard continuous beeping accompanied by what sounds like a pile driver. I will pull out the little white noise machine. Don’t want to listen to birds all night and rushing water will make me run to the bathroom. Will give that some thought. Lol jut saw a dog walking/dragging his human down the sidewalk. Going to finish my coffee and watching the world outside Be safe

[Acadianmom]

It got down to 34 last night and it's only up to 48. I wish winter would give up and go away. It's suppose to be back to the 80's by Thursday and rain again Friday. It rained almost an inch while I was gone. I thought my Bougainvillea plant had died but it was starting to have some sprouts when I put it on the carport. I hope this cold weather doesn't kill it. I forgot to put it back in the old house. I don't know what I will plant in the two tubs that are on the carport. The catnip from last year died.

I need to figure out who to call about the lights on the motorhome. I wish the Ford dealership would work on it. The shop I go to in New Iberia always wants me to leave it and it's a pain to try to find someone to come get me and bring me back to pick it up.

Martha

[Bethers]

Martha, can you check the fuses under the hood? One of those was causing me trouble with some of my running lights. Changing it would solve the problem, temporarily. It turns out the cover on one was allowing moisture in during rain and causing it to short that fuse. But that took a lot longer to figure out. Meantime I changed fuses. Just a possibility of an easy fix.

And if you're getting the weather we've had this week, we're seeing the last of it heading towards you and in a couple days we'll be seeing upper 80's and low 90's for highs again. Winds are gone today. Now if they'll stay at a reasonable level for my drive starting Sunday, I'd be thrilled.

There was a fire at my coop park in Benson. There's some mixed news but basically a Casita, a motorhome and a car in one lot. The husband and wife were both taken to the hospital. She came back home a couple hours later and he's being kept a day or two to make sure the burns are healing properly. Their cat was also saved and the woman and cat are staying with someone else in the park that offered them a place. It's believed the fire started in the Casita. Pictures look so scary!!

[MandysMom]

Good morning everyone! Rain yesterday, mostly sunny today, rain tomorrow. Seems how March is going for now.
Beth, I'm glad your neighbors will be ok, including their cat! Hope they determine cause of the fire for preventive purposes for the rest of you!
Shirl, sorry you are having all that noise near your place!
No big pland today. Son has barber appointment tomorrow. Handyman is apparently still out of town and electrician home on "baby watch" over his wife, daughter and soon a son! So guess if anything gets done here, it will be me doing it!
Have a good week everyone.
Velda

[Shirlv]

Velda, there is always YouTube. Lol Anyone else having trouble finding their favorite coffee. Amazon price is now double for mine. Just watched a woman erect a 7’ trellis to support her pea plants. I planted 5 in a 29” pot. If I disappear tell them to check the balcony. Geeezzzz. On a bright note #1 daughter just invited me to dinner at a local crab house.

[chalet05]

Good morning!

Cloudy and has rained, 41 degrees. Have had a waterfall outside my window from snow melting off the roof.

Beth, I looked at that fire. Latest is propane leak to tankless water heater while man was in the shower plus additional casita and RV burned. Martha, I get my 5% CDs through Charles Schwab. I order them myself online so pay no fees. So far I've left investments alone. We had this type downturn in 2000 right after Steven and I started full-time and again in 2008 right after I started out on my own. I agree with Beth about the fuse for an easy fix. Shirl, that beeping was crazy here when they were plowing snow.

I went to get moving boxes out of the car yesterday and couldn't unlock it. Changed batteries in the FOB and still nothing - dead car battery. Car is not 2 years old! Will call Subaru Roadside once I get ready for the day.

[Cudedog]

Martha, I get my 5% CDs through Charles Schwab. I order them myself online so pay no fees. So far I've left investments alone. We had this type downturn in 2000 right after Steven and I started full-time and again in 2008 right after I started out on my own.

Anita, would you care to expand on this Charles Schwab thing a little bit? I've got my ears tweaked up. That sounds like a really high interest rate, especially compared to what local banks in my area are paying (about a whopping .01%). Is Schwab safe? Is it FDIC insured?

What made you decide on Schwab?

I'm interested, if you care to share. Other ladies on here might be interested as well.

Thanks, Anita.

Anne

[chalet05]

Anne, happy to answer questions. I'm guessing we started with Schwab over 30 years ago. We were looking for a place to manage our own transactions and decisions without an advisor. Yes, I know many would not want that path. At some point, I believe after my husband died 20 years ago, they assigned an advisor who would call me periodically. Of course, he was trying to sell me on this or that. I took his advice one time and lost so never again. I think they have finally given up, but they are there if that's a better fit. I did have phone conversations after Steven passed away and they were very helpful. You can't see actual rates without creating an account which I believe you can do without actually opening one. This is a link from just now.

https://www.schwab.com/fixed-income/cer ... es-deposit

They have a variety of CDs from different sources, different maturing times, etc. Some pay at maturity, some more often. They also put out a One Source list for mutual funds quarterly that I have relied on for investing - their top choices with facts and figures.

[Shirlv]

Itty bitty. You could care less about my maintenance issues but thought it might be helpful information for those that might have an apartment in their future. I have preventative maintenance inspections every quarter. It’s a pain but no choice. Guess a good thing since they are replacing a needed hot water expansion tank in my unit. They really do inspect. Lol

[Colliemom]

Late afternoon here at the 45th. Been mostly cloudy todsy but sun came out for a couple hours and really warmed things up. It’s 41° out now since the clouds move back in and there is a bit of a wind blowing.

Just came back in from walking the pups. Was running errands in town this morning as I had about three places to go. Stopped atWalmart, which was a big mistake, because they are resetting the store as it’s called. In other words moving things around. They are moving the shelving systems and it’s kind of a mess here and there. Instead of taking everything off the shelves, they are leaving the stock in place and they put a line of those wheels with long handle lifts, so many feet apart along the whole length, and then they’re lining up a whole mess of people and as a team they move the whole kit and caboodle. But they are placing those stacks here and there, and in some places you can’t get through with a shopping cart. They aren’t working in the grocery section though at least now. I don’t go to Walmart that much because I really do not like shopping there. But they had a couple things I wanted that I couldn’t find any place else. Picked up a shop light at Lowes then went shopping at Meijer.

I too am sitting tight on my investments. I was going to sell one stock, but changed my mind this morning. I just sit tight through all these ups and downs. I do my investing with Edward Jones and I have had a really good financial advisor over the years. My dad used to do some investing with other companies, but he got tired of the advisors calling him about buying or selling this or that. . Edward Jones doesn’t work that way. We switched after we moved up here. As to CD interest rates, I get mine through my credit union. They are known to have higher interest rates than banks. I was able to lock one in for one year at 5% and another one for 24 months at 5.10%. Both are bump up aCD’s, so if there is a rate increase, I can take them up. I think though, that rates will be falling before this year is out. Hence the reason for the 24 month one.

Anne, I left a post in General Talk for you, on Michigan’s volcanic past. That’s interesting about the Oroville Dam. Hopefully like you say, it’s just a recording glitch. Shirl, sounds like things are kind of a lively around your neck of the woods forgot to mention the other day that a small little solitary leaf has popped up on one of the mums. Haven’t seen anything on the other one yet.

[Bethers]

Anita, I've seen pictures. So sad. The pictures of the second casita show only damage to one side of it. The explosion was to the other casita with the tankless water heater believed to have a loose connection. Obviously the RV between the two casitas went up. I know a car was totaled also. I haven't heard about a 2nd RV but that's very possible. The man who was in the shower in the casita that blew up is still in the hospital but all indications are that he'll be fine. His wife was taken to the hospital yesterday and released a couple hours later. Everyone effected by the fires have been invited into various neighbors places at this time. I have replacing my tankless water heater at my casita on my agenda eventually. Right now it's been disconnected a couple years and no propane tank to it. When it gets replaced and propane brought back I'll be making sure I know as much as I can about connections and maintenance. I do know some people don't have propane detectors in their casitas because many have the outside tanks so they aren't required. Hmmmm, that makes nervous. I don't know and will not presume that was the case with these folks.

On other news I've defrosted and cleaned my freezer today. I gave a few things away I'll never use. One of the couples in my park here left today suddenly. She had found a lump in a breast a few weeks ago. After tests and removal of lumps, etc her prognosis is excellent but they called their northern doctor and he's got an appt for her this Friday so of they'll go home where she'll start her treatments there. I don't think they intended to tell the entire park, but after going to the manager to get their electric read and coming to tell me, they had people coming by to see why they were leaving early. I think she had hoped the manager and I could tell most everyone. But I hope she felt good from all the well wishes received.

I've already gotten half my steps in to reach my daily goal. Maybe it'll actually happen today. Lol

[Redetotry]

Good morning!

Cloudy and has rained, 41 degrees. Have had a waterfall outside my window from snow melting off the roof.

Beth, I looked at that fire. Latest is propane leak to tankless water heater while man was in the shower plus additional casita and RV burned. Martha, I get my 5% CDs through Charles Schwab. I order them myself online so pay no fees. So far I've left investments alone. We had this type downturn in 2000 right after Steven and I started full-time and again in 2008 right after I started out on my own. I agree with Beth about the fuse for an easy fix. Shirl, that beeping was crazy here when they were plowing snow.

I went to get moving boxes out of the car yesterday and couldn't unlock it. Changed batteries in the FOB and still nothing - dead car battery. Car is not 2 years old! Will call Subaru Roadside once I get ready for the day.

I'm leaving my investments alone also, except for one I have been watching for awhile. Van Guard used to be really good as far as following online but of course they 'upgraded' and I can't find diddly! One thing I really liked was you could get the returns for ytd, 1 yr, 3 yr, 5, & 10 yr on each of your investments all on one site and print it off. It was a great way to see which were doing well and which you might want to sell The other thing is now it is very difficult to get a person when you call.
My husbands '17 Subaru that he just traded for a Rav4 had battery issues until he took it to the woman who has always worked on my Toyota's. She said they had added too much technology and hadn't upgraded the batteries. She put in a stronger battery and that took care of it.

It's still cold here but at least the sun is out but rest of the week looks both wet and cold until Thursday, oh and the wind makes it feel even colder.

Shirl I just found what sounded like good coffee at Home Goods for $8.00 a pound but it is really strong. DH liked it though. TJ Max and Home Goods seem to always have good prices on grocery items. I get carried away with the candy and cookies especially the Scottish shortbread.

[Irmi]

After reading about the fire in Beth's neighborhood, just wanted to let you know we also have a tankless water heater in our casita, but ours is electric. Everything in the casita is electric and our motorhome is also totally electric. After reading about this, I have my doubts about having anything on propane. Our secondary heat in the motorhome is Aqua Hot, which runs off electric. Our heat pumps and a/c in the motorhome are electric and our cooktop is induction and we also have induction cooktops in our casita. Our electric panel is manufactured by Square D. If there is any fault in the electrical system, the breaker will trip. I worked for an electrical contractor for almost 35 years and know which ones to trust. That had to be scary for the couple that happened to and I hope they recover from their burns.

We have been with Edward Jones forever and are comfortable there. Everything is conservative and we've done well. Schwab is also a very reputable company.

It's cold here and we woke up to 45 degrees this morning and topped off around 65. Tomorrow we'll get into the 70's and the rest of the week we'll be back in the 80's. I really hope this is the last cold snap of the season.

[OregonLuvr]

Spring has Sprung.............just curious where tho??? That silly Mother Nature is having a definite meltdown of her bipolar self in many areas. We are chilly in the morning, cloudy, but it is 54 out so not bad. Especially because I am inside LOL

I spent a little time this morning trying to fix Alexa so she would do what I wanted her to do LOL like an unruly teenager she was!!!! BUT after a couple of Youtube videos I got her back on track. I just tried to tweak one little thing this morning....well, guess you know that didnt go well. So ended up fixing several other things too. Henry was on the job in the middle of my efforts ha ha but he finished then I could finish. Then put on a small pot of Tortellini soup, I really like that soup for now. So easy to fix. I do that when I like something sometimes, eat it often then not for months. So far it is still tasting mighty good.

Got my finances all staightened out last week, they are mailing me a check and then I need to decide what to do with those funds. I didnt take all of my stuff out just a portion. My financial fellow said I was smart to start enjoying it. He said they have a saying "you can go first class now, or your kids can go first class" I thought that was pretty darn true. I dont really want for anything. If I want something and it is reasonable I get it. I am not totally frivolous (sometimes tho) I am kind of car shopping right now. Mine is going to be 14 years old this year 83k miles and set up for towing with the tow bar and base plate so dont think I will have any trouble selling it myself when I get ready. Nothing wrong with it and I am in no hurry. I did find out they sure want alot of money for some of these cars. Oh well I am just looking for now...that doesnt cost much ha ha

Beth was sorry to hear about the fire but glad everyone and the cat was safe. Sue I too hate Walmart but it is the only place I can buy the ribs I really like so I suck it up and go early. Might have to go tomorrow since I ate all my ribs LOL Shirl, I am not having any trouble finding my coffee but I use the K-cups. What kind are you looking for??
Anita I have been with Edward Jones and I like my financial guy he isnt pushy at all so I like that. But I cant buy my CD's from them without them taking a percenage upon maturity. Well I can manage CD's did for years so that is my plan. I always make sure they are FDIC insured of course. I quit CD;s when the interest rates went so low it wasnt worth it but now that they are coming up I am pretty happy.

Well time for my afternoon Hazelnut Mocha

[Colliemom]

Talking about fires and RVs. My neighbors across the road go out to Montana every year with a group from here. . One couple owns a ranch on the Yellowstone River. While they were out the one time, the neighbor was the first one up and went out to just kind of walk around. It’s a good thing he did, because he spotted the motorhome which was plugged into the house on fire. So he ran back in and told everybody to get out and they called the fire department. Fortunately they were able to put the fire out before I did any damage. If he hasn’t gone out for a morning stroll, it could have been much worse. The motorhome was totaled.

And across the highway from me here there was a bad fire involving an RV too. There was a motorhome plugged into a pole barn, and I don’t know if the motorhome started the fire or a fire started in the pole barn but a couple of high school students on their way home from the prom spotted the fire and went to alert the owners. The house was away from the pole barn. But with the intense heat from the fire with the motorhome and the pole barn burning, the nearby propane tank exploded and the fire spread to the garage, then to the House. Turned out to be a five alarm fire. Took 5 Fire depts. to put it out. The owners were sleeping when the kids pounded on the door to wake them up, and they just ran out in their Jammie’s, not expecting the house to burn, so they lost everything.