Man, that stinks, SiouzQ. I'm hoping it does show up somehow.
Printable View
Man, that stinks, SiouzQ. I'm hoping it does show up somehow.
I'm sorry, SiouzQ. You definitely didn't need this right now.
So sorry, SiouzQ. I hope it shows up or someone turns it in soon.
Oh man, that totally sucks! I am so sorry, SiouzQ.
Putting my dive gear together. Picked up regulators and tanks from servicing last weekend. Diving Saturday as long as the weather cooperates.
Friday is a country fair nearby so I get to go watch the saddle horse show and buy some local yarn for winter projects. It's also senior day where you get in for $4!
Sounds like a lot of fun! Related, yesterday I got my $2 lifetime Senior pass to all of Vermont's state parks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
That's so cool! My husband got the lifetime National Park pass super cheap and it's great.Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
You inspired me to go get one for myself in case I was ever driving to SC alone. His was 25, I think, and mine was 90, but it's still a good deal.
I got my state lifetime pass a while ago. Keep going online to get my national parks one and they as, as a veteran, it's best to wait until you go and do it at the gate. Not sure about that, but....
We were offered a National Park pass about 20 years ago during a visit to Mammoth Caves with our two grandsons. The older grandson has special needs and a Park Ranger at the Visitor Center gave us one, no questions asked. We've used it extensively since then, our original National Parks Passport is completely filled with stamps. We also use the pass at Corps Of Engineers campsites during our annual 2-3 month wanderabouts, it gives us a 50% discount on camping fees.
Alan, can you give us a list of your top 5 National parks, and tell us why you rated them? I have a limited experience with them--there are a few in the Northeast, but nothing like the big ones--Yellowstone, etc. I've been to the Delaware Water Gap in NJ, and I've vacationed close to the Appalacian Trail in a couple of states, but never walked it. I'd love to hear the ones you would recommend. (Anyone can chime in here, but Alan's the one with the RV and a ton of stamps in his passport)Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
My vote goes to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. Miss it so much!
That's a hard question to answer since I don't think there's a bad National Park anywhere and each of the ones we've visited have been pretty spectacular. I guess I'd start with one of the newer ones that we actually haven't visited since it became a national park but spent 6 or 7 years white water rafting on it's two Class 3,4 & 5 rivers before it received its designation. That would be the New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia where we rafted the New and Gauley rivers right up until the time we realized we were getting a little too old to be thrown out of the raft amid the boulders which create the rapids. In the picture below that's me in the back of the raft with the brown shirt and blue helmet, my wife is across from me in the yellow helmet and my youngest grandson is just in front of her in another yellow helmet.Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
https://scontent-det1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...Ig&oe=687F932E
After that I'd go with Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado which contains some of the best preserved Puebloan Ancestral sites in the country. We've been there twice and was a little disappointed during our second visit (during Covid times) when they wouldn't let us go into the dwellings but exploring everything up close on the first visit was spectacular.
My third choice would probably be the combination of Arches National Park and Canyonland National Park in Utah. Utah has an abundance of great parks besides those two such as Zion and Bryce Canyon, but Arches and Canyonland are the cream of the crop in my opinion.
For #4 I'd go with the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, specifically the southern rim. The terrain is simply magnificent.
#5 would be Yellowstone National Park which covers parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. We've been there 3 times and still haven't seen it all but its natural beauty and abundance of wildlife is breathtaking.
You'll notice that 4 of my top 5 pics are out west and I think that's probably because the landscape there is just so different from the eastern US and we find it a treat to marvel at all its wonders. We've been to just about all the western National Parks and the only remaining one on our bucket list is Glacier National Park which we hope to visit in the next couple of years.
We've also visited many state parks and if anyone is interested in visiting the most magnificent state park I've ever seen, at least in my opinion, don't miss Custer State Park in South Dakota. It strikes me as a smaller version of Yellowstone, with all the best features.
Great picture, Alan!
Thanks for the list. I haven't been to many states west of Minnesota, but I'd love to do a road trip out there! I'll keep your reviews in mind when I do.
Catherine when you say park, you probably mean nature in the great outdoors. But I like the historic sites run by the national Park service. We have some in Missouri that are not especially interesting to me, but I love the Lincoln Home National Historic site in Springfield, Illinois. It’s not just a house, it’s an entire block of Victorian era houses that would’ve existed at the time Abraham Lincoln lived there.
Somewhat of a digression, but we live within shouting distance of the Saugus Ironworks National Historical site. Back around early covid times, they made a decision to keep the grounds open 24/7/365, although the tours and museum are on a limited seasonal schedule. This was great for us, giving us another lovely destination for walks. I often walk to the library at the center of town and circle home through the Ironworks. They have a little nature trail and a lot of native plants and river wildlife, and a group of Adirondack chairs that are always empty, just waiting for me to sit and watch the river. The second picture is the view from "my" chair.
Attachment 6440
Attachment 6441
ETA: This to me is a perfect example of a Simple Living pleasure, sitting and looking at the river with a new haul of library books on a beautiful day, all free!
Have been to one or two National parks, but just recently got my passport book. I'm excited to start collecting stamps!
I LOVE Sleeping Bear Dunes in my home state! I LOVE all of Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula as well.
Ditto on Arches (but not during the high season) and Canyonlands. One of my favorite local places close to where I live now in New Mexico is Tent Rocks (Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument) in the Cochiti Peublo.
I don't know how to turn them right-side up...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]6442[ATTACH=CONFIG]6443[ATTACH=CONFIG]6444
One of our favorite national parks in Colorado is the Black Canyon on the western slope side of the state. Unfortunately, dry lightening started some fires recently and it has been devastated.
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison? We were there 8 or 9 years ago, very nice!Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkytoe
https://scontent-det1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...lw&oe=68804921
We’ve been to many national parks too. Very few compare to Glacier National Park IMO.
I wasn't sure if I was going to put this in the Rave or Rant thread but I am going to give myself "the win" for resisting the temptation. I spent the past two weeks decluttering seasonal and holiday decor. I decorate for every season and holiday and while I don't have a lot for each season/holiday, it ended up being a lot collectively. Now I find myself looking online for things to replace what is gone. Telling myself things like I don't have much for the mantle now. But... the whole point of decluttering the decor was because I had TOO MUCH before on the mantle. That was truly the catalyst for doing the declutter. But I keep telling myself that less is better. I knew I had a seasonal decor addiction but I see that it is worse than I thought. I almost feel like I am now going through withdrawals and I got rid of too much. I know I didn't because I literally got rid of only the excess. Those things that made a space look overwhelming. I am proud of myself for not buying new stuff. I am glad I got rid of so much and am looking forward to the calmness of the upcoming seasons and holidays without so much stuff on display.
Good for you, Klunick! I need to do the same. Since we've moved to a smaller home, much of the Christmas and holiday decor I used at the old place came with us, and I really don't have room to display it. So come fall I will post it on Freecycle, or I'll take it to Value Village. Someone will want it.
Good for you, Klunick!
Klunick that's inspiring--maybe I will go through my Christmas boxes and think about jettisoning some of the stuff. Maybe. It's so tempting to just leave it in the attic, but I like your method of looking at it as a whole.
I am very thankful for taking pictures each month of how my living room looked decorated for that season or holiday. While I did declutter some that I used in the kitchen, most was used in the living room. Seeing it as an outsider gave me a different perspective. I saw the trouble areas and it was easier than I thought to decide what needed to go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
I finally have the health insurance stuff figured out after many weeks of going 'round and 'round with the state Medicaid office and the ACA Health Insurance exchange in New Mexico. The crux of the issue was that when I applied for health insurance earlier in the month right after K. got laid off, our income was very low because it took a few weeks for him to get his unemployment benefits. So they put me on the Family Planning Medicaid which literally didn't help me at all but then they said I was eligible for regular Medicaid on August 1st. But I kept telling them that when K. started getting his benefits our income would be too high for me to get Medicaid. I was finally able to report his income last week which did get me kicked me off the regular Medicaid before I even had the chance to use. I got the final denial letter yesterday which I needed in order to be eligible to apply for BeWell New Mexico (my state's version of the ACA). I was also able to get a $775 per month subsidy so my final monthly cost will be $368.62 for a BCBS plan.
I'm just glad this debacle is finally over and that I have coverage once again. Another good thing is that I was waiting on a possbile bill for the EMG test that I got on the same day he got laid off (our insurance ended two days later). It looks like our former BCBS plan actually did pay for that test and that I will not get a bill for it which is HUGE because I just looked up how much that test would have cost out of pocket and it was over $2500!
However, I am keenly aware that healthcare subsidies will probably get reduced and monthly payments will go up next year due to the Trump administration's strangling of healthcare. I think I will be eligible to get on early Medicare due to being on SSDI; I need to go to our local SSA office and find out more about that. So all of this is sort of a temporary situation to get through until I can get my Medicare. I'll be 64 in October so I am getting pretty close.
I'm glad things are working out for you! Your monthly cost seems very reasonable. DH and I each pay about the same amount for Medicare. Hopefully you won't have to jump through hoops to keep it.
I think we are each paying $449 for regular medicare part B and a supplement, Plan G.
Glad it has worked out, SiouzQ
I pay a total of $584 monthly for all of this health insurance stuff, not including the fee to my direct care physician.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
breaks down as:
Medicare gap coverage G plan $235
Medicare A, B, D: $349
Our part B coverage is higher than usual in 2024 due to a big cash payout of a stock, so that raised our income to a level where they charge more. I expect it to come down a bit later.
sorry, I added mine wrong, it is 185 for part b and 269 for my supplement which totals 454, plus another 49 for drugs so that is 503 per month. That does not count my doctor that I pay each month, as well.
This was a useful exercise for me. It forced me to re-create an account with Social Security and review what is coming out of those SS payments before the check hits my account.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
I once had a Social Security Admin account but it is no longer there. I have some vague recollection of them closing accounts some years ago if they were inactive. To open a new one I took photos of my drivers license, a photo of me, and they matched the two. Also confirmed SS number.
I do a lot of stirfry type cooking and I’m tired of the grease floating around my kitchen even though I have a pretty good exhaust system. So in the past couple of months, I’ve been taking our electric frying pan out to the deck and cooking. Since that works so well I bought a much smaller electric frying pan that is easily portable
so may I present my “outdoor kitchen “which cost about 20 bucks rather than the $18,000 other people spend on their outdoor kitchens. We also have the typical gas grill, but we never use it
Attachment 6466
IL, I like that!
My outdoor cooking area consists of a gas griddle, an electric pellet smoker and a typical charcoal grill. I haven't used the griddle in over a year, the smoker gets used 4 or 5 times a year and so far the charcoal grill has been used once. They all look nice on the deck though.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
When we go to Texas, DH loads up the back of the car with post oak and mesquite since he only cooks outdoors with wood. He is smoking some Hatch chilies tomorrow for making green chile sauce.
In my little town there are several old houses with tiny brick buildings behind them. I think I’ve been told these tiny ones are smokehouses from 130 years ago. I never saw these in the city so it must be a country thing.
My grandparent's farm had a spring house, a smokehouse, a chicken house, hog barn, butcher shed, large hay barn, tobacco shed, corn cribs (wooden, they never got one of the "new fangled" metal ones), and a wagon shed. (oops, forgot the milking shed, for some reason referred to as "the milking parlor") OH - and a summer kitchen. And of course a privy. This was pretty typical, from what I've gleaned. Most of the buildings were wooden structures and fell into decay as practices changed. Most farms today, even in Amish country, don't have all of these little buildings cluttering up the place, lol. Country living/farming required a lot of specialized buildings back in the day!
Wow, what a great idea--at least for the summer! DH is a stovetop cook, and he loves sauteeing in a lot of fat. Our house probably reeks of grease. We don't have an exhaust system, although I did just recently purchase a portable one.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
Regarding early morning's outbuilding post, our little quarter-acre is starting to fill up. When we bought the place, it was a house, two storage sheds and one "workshop" shed. We also have three lean-to's for wood and garbage cans. We added the camper two years ago for DD/DSIL. DS#3 and DDIL have just purchased a shed kit that will be assembled in the footprint of a fallow garden bed in a couple of weeks. They come up here so often (nearly every weekend), they didn't want to keep imposing by sleeping in my office. I'm a little nervous about what the neighbors will say, but we don't need a permit if it's 100 sq.ft or under, so it's really none of their business. But still. This is it. No more adding ANYTHING to our yard. Really.