Jeepers

For some reason the squatter issue has been recommended to me on YouTube a lot lately. So I've been made more aware of it. One woman was murdered and one woman was arrested in her own home when a squatter call the police on her after he broke her door down. It was all recorded. There is something called 'squatters rights' now. If they can show they have been in a home for 30 days then something or another. I can't remember the details. But...its getting more and more common. I have two people watching my house in Indy. One who always speaks to me when she walks by said she would keep an eye out for strangers. Another family lives across the street and up one house, went to school with DIL and he has her number and said he'd watch for anything suspicious and would call her. They are the ones I let park in my driveway when I'm not there. And now that spring is here, son's will be over there mowing. At least it's in the country so there isn't a lot of foot traffic wandering by. My sleep is getting much better. The ambien (Zolpidem) is working. Regardless of when I take it, I sleep about 8-9 hours straight and wake up refreshed. It's a good deep sleep. I just have to remember to take it. I have to put my heart monitor on the charger 2 hours before bedtime and that has been delaying me. I have to sleep with it on. I need to start charging it earlier. I'm afraid to take the ambien earlier because I'm afraid I'll fall asleep with the monitor still on the charger. He only gave me 5mg. But said he'd gradually increase it to 10mg if need be. I have to take random drug tests. They tested for all kinds of drugs like fentynol, heroine, PCP, cocaine and a bunch of others including marijuana and alcohol. I got a print out from the lab. The first test I was ever able to ace. All negative.

Glad you all made it home safe and sound. Smart move heading out before the storm! Is your MIL house well secured? I've been seeing where squatters have become a real problem recently. Once they get in it's hard to get them out even legally.

You have really had it with the snow this year Mt. Rider. It has snowed for the past 3 days here but it was the really fine stuff. Then it rained just enough to melt it. So far my snow plow guy has only plowed twice this year. I don't think we've had any zero days/ nights yet either. Maybe one or two nights in the teens. Our weather has been so mild the past year or two. Last summer we didn't get any 90 degree days and struggled to get into the 80's most of the time. This winter we've only got a couple of inches of snow accumulated at one time. I'm not complaining. It has been very nice and easy on the pocketbook. Especially for northeast Ohio. Come to think of it, our mild temps last summer might have had to do with the fires in Canada. We had weeks of smoke filled overcast days? Have a good ride and hope your hubby feels better soon!.

My D-ex has to do similar thing at the end of every year. If he doesn't take so much out, he gets heavily taxed on it. So he is gifting it every year to G-son in a college fund. You really have to know what you are doing to capitalize on your money. And the laws keep changing too. My D-ex has a Masters in business from Case Western so he's a good advisor. And free.

The stock companies have until the end of February to send out their reports, so I usually can't get mine done until March. No choice. My taxes are complicated. This year will be even more so with a stock sell off. And some years there are spin offs. And some years there are buys. This year there was a sell off. It's hard to preplan when your financial portfolio changes every year.

Gotcha. That stinks. Rob from the seniors who actually paid in to it.

That's odd about your SS tax. If you are in Virginia, you shouldn't have to pay any tax on your social security. Granted, I don't know a lot about how it works but social security benefits in Indiana and Ohio are tax free.

I need to get my taxes done too. HR Block keeps making appointments for me without my knowledge. I keep getting emails that they set another one up. Two days ago I got one that said I had an appointment at 8:45PM. Today I got one that said I have an appointment today at 11:03AM. It was already noon when I saw it. The nerve. It's gonna hurt this year because one of my stocks had a sell off and I'm going to have to pay capital gains on it. I've got everything ready. I'll make an appointment when I'm ready. I got a message from my doctor today. My creatinine level has elevated again. Guess my kidneys aren't doing so well. He mentioned seeing a nephrolgist. I'm not doing that yet. I need to get the cardiologist taken care of first. Sheesh. Go see a kidney doctor with a heart monitor on. They'll think I'm a hypochondriac. I looked up how to lower the levels. It said among other things to avoid protein especially fish and beef and to cut back on alcohol and smoking. I don't drink and I don't smoke and I don't eat fish and only have a burger about twice a month. It said to eat blueberries and strawberries but last week I read where they are some of the dirtiest (chemical) foods there is. I bought some anyway. Thanks to the new icemaker, I am drinking more. If I was a horse they would have done shot me by now.

Public Service Announcement: I got some useless "window blinds" from Amazon the other day. They said they were the roller kind but they weren't. You had to Velcro the top of them to the window frame. Also cut the side of them off to the width you want. They came folded up. Basically a piece of folded plastic you velcroed to the top of your window frame. I should have known by the price. Too good to be true. I bought...8. Anyway, I've never returned anything to Amazon but I wasn't going to keep all 8 of them. I went on their site to see about returning them. Boy was it easy! I filled out a short form saying why i wanted to return them and they told me where I could go locally to return them. UPS store, Whole Foods, Kohls and some other place. Maybe Staples. UPS is right up the street. Amazon emailed me one of those q code things. I took the stuff to the UPS store and they scanned the code, gave me a receipt and that was it. Amazon emailed me back and said they received the notice from UPS and will refund my card as soon as it arrives to them. Just mentioning it incase anyone else gets a dud and wants to return something to Amazon. I thought I would have to go to the post office and pay to send them back. Glad I wasn't stuck with them and glad it was so easy to return. I'm not big on returning stuff but there were 8 of them. Everyone else beside me probably already knew all of this.

Darn you Midnightmom. I had to touch the screen to scroll up away from it. I almost had to touch that fish. The struggle is real girlfriend. The struggle is real. See. That there is why I used to lie and say I was allergic to fish. And yes I remember that terrifying commercial. Thanks for the reminder. Moving on....

Don't feel bad Annarchy. I'm right there with you. I don't understand how this is being allowed to happen. I've seen the violence too. When they beat up the cops, and walked out of the jail laughing and giving the camera the finger, my head nearly exploded. And our food and med shortages is no mystery. Don't get me started... I wondered what all you would see down there so close to the border.

Necie, don't you dare feel bad about fish pictures! I love seeing your darling granddaughter out there fishing. I was thinking about how brave she is to actually....fish. I can overlook a fish in the background. Close up...not so much. Nope, cooked fish don't bother me. Post away! Unless it still has the head on. People actually eat whole fish with heads and eyes and fins and skin and bones... I always wonder if they are even gutted. It happened to me once in Taiwan a big flat kind if fish on a platter. Whole. Then they brought out a whole duck. Complete with head and feet. And there was the octopus with their little suction cup tentacles. Eel soup complete with the bones. Fifty years later I can still see it all. I was a guest so when in Rome. Had diarrhea for a week. Seriously. It was the Dragon Boat Festival. At least I didn't have to eat a dragon. LOL. About once every 2-3 years I will actually eat a Long John Silvers fish smothered in ketchup. I try. We can still be buds. I just won't go fishing with ya. And I won't knock you over. Sounds like you might have some sort of vertigo?

Finally, after two dropped calls and one call that they never answered, I got my cable TV cut off from ATT. Only took an hour. What a hassle. Then they want me to sign up for all kinds of stuff. I'm old, not stupid. No means no the first time. Crimony. I hate to feel badgered. Now all I have is internet that I still can't get connected to. I'd cancel that too except I expect to have to use it with selling the house transactions. Since I unbundled, the internet price dropped by $30.00. Odd. I still have to send in my cable boxes. I think I have three of them...somewhere. I wish I could just take them in to an ATT store. That would be too easy I guess. Free shipping to mail the units back but I'll have to scrounge up a box big enough. I'll work on the internet when I'm in a better frame of mind. I know it will involve another call to India for assistance. I can barely understand them. Last time they told me to "Try harder". I understood that. When I rolled over my CD I told the banker that I was not interested in a financial advisor. I'm doing just fine. I don't want to be bothered. I don't need them. Both of my dollars are safe thank you very much. So guess who called today? I was rude to him. Don't care. Every time I do inside banking or do a money withdrawal from my stock company, I get calls wanting to delve into my money and offers that I don't want. I tell them no one time. If they persist, I become very rude. Don't care. P*sses me off to no end when they ask why. None of their business. And I tell them so. "None. Of. Your. Business." *crickets*. I get questioned about why I have this amount in this account and why I have that amount in that account and why don't WE roll it it over to whatever. I have zero interest in bonds or treasury notes and I really have no interest in a meet up. I probably should make an appointment with them just to waste their time after I've already told them no. I'm really grumpy today. Bet my heart monitor is really going off. And that's another thing, they call me every day just to tell me what day I'm on. Today is day 3. Yeah me. Only 27 more phone calls from them. A prescription is due to be picked up. I'm laying low though. I'm not fit to be in public today. Maybe tomorrow after I get my heart monitor robo call. Or maybe early in the morning before some other poor soul crosses my path. I'm carbing out in a huge plate of spaghetti for supper. Don't care.

Thanks for the info. I had to look it up. AKA Mucinex.

I'm not allergic to fish. They just freak me out. I used to lie and say I was allergic to avoid confrontation and explanations. But I grew up and now I just admit I'm afraid of them. I don’t mind being teased about it. It is ridiculous. But I didn't want anyone to know in case they thought it would be fun to tease me with a real or fake fish. So telling a fib was easier...and safer. I can enjoy an aquarium though. But if someone (G-son or son) touches the water then they have to scrub their hands before I'll even talk with them. Just incase they forget to wash their hands and touch me. To me a cooked fish smells like a live fish. Ugh. But other than that, I'm fairly sane.

I like meat. But only the actual flesh. I love ham and beans. And chicken veggie soup. But only with shreds of meat visible. No skin, bones nor fat. I'm terrified of fish. It's a real phobia. If one touched me I'd probably pass out. Or die. I can't even touch a picture of one.

Ambergris, I'm glad they look after you regardless of the reason.

I eat so little meat that saving enough bones for broth/stock would take forever. Especially from one person. BUT, it's on my to-do list. When I get over there I will enlist the help of sons to save me some bones. What I plan to do is buy some rotisserie chickens for them (their favorite) with the promise of saving me the bones. They can freeze them and I should get enough in a couple of months. Seriously, it would take me years to get enough by myself. 99% of the time I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts. I only have a texture issues with skin and fat. And sometimes chicken bones. Especially when there is cartilage or pink spots involved. It will be easier with beef. Especially with summer grilling season. Or I can buy a some bones at the butcher. I don't have as much problems with beef. It comes skinless. . I just have to watch out for the fat. I think I could very easily be a vegetarian

Littlesister, I'm glad your doctor finally looked at your knee and shoulder. You've told him about it long enough. Hope you get some relief soon. Necie, I pressure cook my beans for about 15 minutes to the al dente stage instead of soaking them over night or doing the quick soak and boil for an hour thing. I don't raw pack them. About 15-20 minutes and they come out like they have been soaked over night. I have meat issues too. Surprise surprise. I can't do the ugly chicken with that white stuff in the jar. So I cook the meat first. Plus. I make a lot of soups and I want the meat cooked and shredded in the jars. Especially the veggies soups. I can't eat the skin or fat (texture issues) and I can't eat meat off of the bones. Pick the meat off of the bones, throw them away, then eat the meat. I usually only eat the breast meat after it's been picked off of the bone. I can't do wings, legs, or thighs. Don't judge. I'm nuts. I like meat but could easily do without it. Fish will never touch my lips. Well, except for tuna salad and tuna casserole. Occasionally. Or maybe during Armageddon, or maybe the Zombie Apocalypse. PS if anyone reads this and wants to do the speed pressure cooking beans to get them ready to can, you must put some cooking oil in the pressure pot to prevent the foam from bubbling up and clogging the valve.

I got my heart monitor on today. It was easy peasy. From the time I walked in til the time I walked out was about 10-15 minutes. It's two electrodes. One under the breast and one on my chest. I have to unplug it when I bathe and when I charge it up. I figure I'll bathe while it's charging. She said about two hours before bedtime will last it 24+ hours. I don't have to do anything else unless I'm in some sort of distress. Then I have to report the issue to a website so they can mark where it was on the monitor. I have to be sure to sleep with it on too. I don't foresee any issues with it but you know me. I wish it was a little lower on my chest so it wouldn't show so much. She said to line up the electrode under my breast with my nipple. I asked her if I should line it up when I'm sitting down or laying down. Big discrepancy there. I'd have to go searching for it under my arm pit if in the prone position. She laughed and thumped me on the head. My d*amn brain won't shut its big mouth.

I had another productive day. Voted and returned the window blinds to Walmart that were too short and a trash can that was too tall to fit under my sink and bought a button up shirt. Dropped off some recycle papers and a bag of trash. I went to the bank and renewed my CD. It was odd because you usually get a better rate the longer you lock it in. Not this time. It was 5% for only 8 months. It was 4.5% for 13 months. I mentioned it to her and she said people are afraid to tie their money up for too long and the interest rates are too unpredictable. I usually get it for 13 months. I got my Indy banking done on the phone. One hassle after another with that bank. I hate that bank and told her so. But I have enough in the mortgage account to last me nearly all summer. I'd like to refinance to Key Bank when I sell this place but they sold this house to BOA so its 6 of one and half dozen of another. I got all excited a Walmart. I saw a cute little Instant Pot thingy. About half the size as my regular one. Would be nice for pressure cooking beans and chicken and beef. I like to pressure them before I can then. Its only $30.00. I put it in the cart and as I was scanning it I noticed....its a freakin' rice cooker. It looked just like the Instant Pots only smaller. I paid and went right over to the service desk, again. Sigh.

My version would be more like 'the can't-can't'

I didn't know either. She touched on it in a video called "In My Brokeness." It was a sad one. She certainly deserves happiness.

Oh lawsy...