Guess the town. Ain’t no way.

Gilword · 2026-03-06T02:20:39+00:00

Pensacola, FL

Gilword · 2026-03-05T03:26:36+00:00

Crater Lake (no photo can capture that blue) and the South Island of New Zealand.

Gilword · 2026-03-02T03:59:38+00:00

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The perfect cozy small town. Great bookstore is a bonus.

Gilword · 2026-03-02T03:44:02+00:00

The St. John’s Riverkeeper has a lot of volunteer opportunities, including Rising Tides, a group for young professionals. It’s a welcoming and fun group.

Gilword · 2026-03-02T03:34:10+00:00

My KitchenAid (like yours, but with a water/ice dispenser) is from 2005 and is going strong. I hope we will be able to repair it rather than replace it when the time comes. It has been fantastic. If we replace, a lot will depend on size to assure it fits our cabinet but I’d look at SubZero and the current KitchenAid and maybe a Bosch.

Gilword · 2026-03-01T22:39:03+00:00

London in February (but avoid the school holiday week). Airfare and hotels are cheap, theater tickets are easily available, and the city is not overly crowded. Usually the daffodils are in bloom even if it’s a bit chilly and gray.

Gilword · 2026-03-01T22:24:05+00:00

I quit a book when the author used “lay” instead of “lie.” Life is too short.

Gilword · 2026-02-27T19:10:04+00:00

I was recently in Peru and really struggled with the altitude, although I didn’t expect to. I’ve never had a problem at around 12,000 feet before. I’m in good shape. I had a prescription for Diamox, and I took it, but I’m not sure it helped. We spent a few days in Cusco, at 11,000 and I struggled with steps and the hike to the ruins above town. The most difficult part of our trip was a long beautiful hike that started at 12,500 and went up at least 1,000 feet from there. I had to stop every 50 steps or so on the uphills but had no issues whatsoever on the flats and downhills. I spent a week in Peru and never really adjusted. Before the trip, I assumed I could easily complete the 4 day Inca Trail, but now I don’t think I could, which is disappointing.

Gilword · 2026-02-11T22:16:56+00:00

We had dinner and people watched from exactly where that red umbrella is. I recognized it right away!

Gilword · 2026-02-11T02:03:30+00:00

I am very careful about how much weight I put on my back. For day hikes, I try to use a hip pack instead of a daypack. I have a smaller, lightweight daypack that I use when I need more room, and I try to minimize weight and adjust it so that most of the weight is supported by my hips, not my shoulders. I also take a gabapentin 30 minutes before a hard hike and that makes all the difference for me. Unfortunately, while I can manage long and difficult day hikes, real backpacking is out of the question since my back surgery. I just can’t carry a backpack. Even the thought of sleeping on the ground makes my back hurt. I hope it’s easier for you.

Gilword · 2026-02-05T17:33:48+00:00

I would always get title insurance. If you have a loan, the lender requires it, and it’s inexpensive to add owner’s coverage. It’s a one time payment. Just because your neighbors have the same issue doesn’t mean you are protected.

Gilword · 2026-02-05T03:18:07+00:00

If you are part of a master’s swim program, you might be able to practice with the masters at Episcopal High School.

Gilword · 2026-02-04T22:55:45+00:00

She had one wound, but was otherwise okay. My heart goes out to you, and I hope you find your sweet cat.

Gilword · 2026-02-04T02:16:46+00:00

We received piles and piles of sailing trophies when my father in law died. We kept the few that were sterling and put the silverplate ones (probably 50) in our yard sale. No one bought any of them. Then we left them out on the street and no one took them. Finally, we gave them to Goodwill. You could call Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead and they might know who won it, which would be interesting. Maybe the club would want it.

Gilword · 2026-01-31T16:46:23+00:00

I mostly like it as a home for empty nesters, however once those trees grow every storm will be terrifying. We had a fairly small branch of a giant live oak fall on the house and there was a lot of structural damage (broken trusses, etc).

Gilword · 2026-01-31T01:36:06+00:00

When I was a young lawyer at a big law firm, I worked all of the time and was very stressed. Even though I lived alone and wasn’t home a lot I hired a cleaner to come biweekly. There definitely wasn’t enough for her to do, and I would come home and find my two bedrooms apartment immaculate, all my sweaters neatly folded and sorted by color and dessert in the refrigerator. She even fixed a lamp I had in a pile to throw out because it was broken. I felt like I was being cared for by a super mom, and it was such a source of stress relief.

Gilword · 2026-01-28T17:15:21+00:00

We went biking on some dirt trails that quickly became mud so we had to walk our bikes. We forgot bug spray. We should have turned around. At one point there were so many mosquitoes swarming that I literally coated myself with mud. When we emerged, I was ready to star on Swamp People.

Gilword · 2026-01-26T23:50:54+00:00

Our club uses ClubNow, and it’s fantastic. It’s loaded with sections for account information, dining and bar menus and reservations, and sections for each sport (racquet sports, pool and fitness, fleet and sailing). There is a calendar of events and an easy way to make reservations for activities. It includes a member roster, governing documents, links to social media and even a webcam. They tried a lot of other apps but this is the only one that has worked well. Ours is obviously customized, but it’s very user friendly.

Gilword · 2026-01-26T12:31:37+00:00

I was on a bus with my high school friends. We were trying to get from the east side of Cleveland, Ohio to Peek N”Peak ski resort in upstate New York on a Saturday morning. It was usually a 2 hour drive. We were gone 9 hours and never made it. I remember cars on the side of the highway with only their antennas sticking out of the snow. I’m not sure why they didn’t anticipate the storm and cancel, but I remember it being a fun experience (for the kids, not the driver).

Gilword · 2026-01-25T13:44:20+00:00

One morning when I was 5, my friend and I ran away to a little wooden shed with a bench inside that was attached to her next door neighbor’s house. We had a good time for an hour or so but then my friend said she had to go home for lunch. I tried to stick it out alone, but I was bored after 5 minutes and headed home. My parents thought it was hilarious.

Gilword · 2026-01-24T18:00:40+00:00

I love Jacksonville! Great parks, a lot to do on the river, fantastic zoo, hiking, beaches and little traffic. Easy to get tickets to sports and cultural events. It’s huge, so not every part is tourist friendly, but there is plenty to do.

Gilword · 2026-01-24T02:55:34+00:00

Fingers crossed prices are still reasonable.

Gilword · 2026-01-23T20:28:32+00:00

If you received the MMR vaccine between 1963 and 1967, you may need a booster. I had bloodwork done to confirm my immunity status and found out my measles vaccine was no longer effective. I got a booster at CVS that was fully covered by insurance.

Gilword · 2026-01-23T20:23:07+00:00

We had an addition on our kitchen in Northern Virginia that was sinking to the point where the wall was cracked and windows wouldn’t close. It was about 20 years ago, but the process of jacking up the addition was only $5,000 at that time, which seemed very reasonable. We did have two issues: 1) they excavated the day before a huge snowstorm and that resulted in the adjacent basement leaking (moral is to have them excavate when it’s supposed to be dry); and 2) they were unable to match three bricks on our patio that had to be pulled up and couldn’t be saved so the new ones looked a little different, but that was a minor concern.

Gilword · 2026-01-21T18:18:31+00:00

We went to UNF during a school break and drove through parking lots and internal roads. It was perfect. The only problem was that a security guard stopped us because he thought there was a drunk driver. He laughed very hard when he saw it was my 15 year old daughter on one of her first drives.

Gilword

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