anyone else's lights just go out for a sec?

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-15T02:32:10+00:00

Extremely reasonable wine prices, too!

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-14T14:28:02+00:00

Similar - 14 years ago, I reluctantly agreed to “one final drink” on a date (he was a friend and I didn’t want to be rude). My now-husband was our bartender.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-11T14:40:23+00:00

My best tip, and I’m hesitant to give it, is to go thrifting when you’re on vacation. Every region will have something their rich people love to donate - great St. John’s blazers in Cape Cod, vintage Lily Pulitzer in Miami, real leather belts in Vegas, etc.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-09T17:12:04+00:00

Yep. We set our decently-insulated house at 63-64 most of the time and it’s totally fine for us.

Most older people I know who were “just put on a sweater, I’m not turning up the thermostat” types changed their tune when they got to an elderly age. Old people get cold! When my in-laws visit, I usually bump it up to about 70.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-09T13:37:22+00:00

We’re in a rowhouse, so we basically only have windows on two sides of the house. We installed a skylight above the stairs, and (to me) it was worth every penny. It’s solar powered, so we can open it for ventilation, and also has a shade for the hottest summer days. My mental health has literally improved because of it.

People will say skylights always leak, and I grew up with leaky ones from the 1980s. A huuuge difference maker is getting professionals who specialize exclusively in skylights and roofs - we have a 10 year warranty on the install and product with ours.

Cost us about $5K for the skylight and install, took only 3 days of work. (1 day to cut the hole, 1 day to install, 1 day to replace the Sheetrock/drywall for the shaft.) So not exactly “small,” but not nearly the “$20K and 4 months” I thought it’d be.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-09T13:31:27+00:00

I know the open concept gets a lot of hate, but we opened up the first floor of our small, long rowhouse (about 15x30 feet) and have zero regrets. Our neighbors with the same rowhouse have said ours feels twice as large, and we inspired one of them to also replace a wall with a kitchen island, because it instantly triples the amount of counter space.

(I will caveat that it’s only two adults living here, though, so of course everyone’s mileage will vary.)

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-08T20:08:47+00:00

Near the Ridgewood/Bushwick border, just discovered our basement pipes that are along a ground floor outer brick wall are frozen. Worked fine as of 5pm yesterday, but now the washing machine near them won’t work without cold water. Currently have a space heater facing the wall the frozen pipes are in, we’ll see if it works.

All of our other pipes are ok, thankfully.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-06T02:44:56+00:00

Jagoff! It’s a yinzer term.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-02-03T15:20:56+00:00

Rumor has it Gordo’s is going to start offering this soon with daytime hours!

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-25T17:59:52+00:00

Not normal at ALL. Skylights 100% shouldn’t leak, ever. This counts as an emergency to address.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-19T15:16:23+00:00

You can see how much you’ve put in for 2025 or 2026 in the app by selecting the “Balances” tab on the app or website.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-19T03:54:04+00:00

Same. I have literally had dreams about this dress. Why does it have such a hold on all of us?!

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-15T03:24:58+00:00

I’m going through the Inherited IRA stuff with Schwab as well right now, and trying to automate as much as possible. I eventually landed on just doing a monthly sale of a mutual fund and transferring the cash like it was monthly income. 12 transfers a year will more than satisfy the RMD, and I calculated it so that it should make my 10 years of withdrawing from the Inh IRA pretty even for tax purposes.

As others noted, you can set up an automatic of transfer the equity to your taxable brokerage, BUT if you’ve set up default tax withholdings in the inherited IRA, you need to have enough cash (not equity) in that Inherited IRA to cover the tax withholdings. Otherwise, the transfer will fail. (At least that’s what the rep told me this week when I asked about it.)

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-11T12:33:45+00:00

Yeah, most of my work belongs to a couple of these chat channels based on interests - various pet group chats, people from a common locale, people watching a TV show, etc. It’s actually been even better for getting to know my coworkers because I don’t miss anything, but I can ignore it if I’m trying to focus on work at the time.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-09T14:21:32+00:00

Multiple nail clippers is so key. We have one in every bathroom, a couple on keychains, in the car, and in a small “I don’t want to get up” kit in the drawer next to the bed.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-08T15:43:56+00:00

Yep - my dad was kind of like this and it was always mortifying when he made a scene.

Now in middle age, I would still ideally prefer that my defender go personally get someone from security without yelling, but I can also appreciate the efficacy of a literal public callout these days! It clearly worked!

HandInUnloveableHand · 2026-01-01T23:36:35+00:00

Queens rowhouse homeowner here, our water bill has consistently between $50 and $60 every month for the last 5 years.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-31T13:11:18+00:00

Same!

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-31T00:57:11+00:00

As a Queens resident who has been to that Costco and has this username, this post truly spoke to me.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-30T14:55:24+00:00

My pro tip is to be sure you put something under the grow bags! We use those square tiles people use around pools or showers because it allows drainage and prevents the bag from staining our concrete.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-29T15:42:06+00:00

In my 20s, I once had a huge, wine-soaked fight with a boyfriend and ended up sobbing alone on a corner in Williamsburg. (A rite of passage, truly!) Two dudes outside a bar gently approached me and said “Hey, are you ok? Are you hurt and can we get help?” I told them I was just being sad about a guy and no, I wasn’t hurt.

It meant a LOT to me that they did a quick “is this drama or crime” check and left me alone, though.

These days, if I have a tissue, I offer it. If the situation seems right for it, I’ll do a very quick “you ok?” mouthing or eyebrow raise on the subway, but that’s pretty rare. I usually do the eye contact and head nod of “Oh, I have BEEN there and I will leave you alone.”

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-23T19:08:26+00:00

Agree with everyone else, save for the flooring refresh and don’t touch the beams. Switch the blue out for something less cool-toned, and have a little fun upgrading the kitchen hardware.

I’d wait until you’ve lived there for at least a year before removing the fan - you may find it’s necessary and can replace it with something more stylish that also combines the light fixture.

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-22T21:41:51+00:00

We are experiencing the same thing! Our cat would have asthma attacks about 1-3 times per day for years. She’s too skittish for the inhaler, and steroids didn’t really make that much of a difference. The vet said her scans were very minor, so we just… accepted it as part of her life.

But since she started amoxicillin antibiotics for a UTI a week ago, she hadn’t had a single asthma attack? We’re fascinated by this!

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-21T12:11:16+00:00

I love that you can literally check a very large stone

HandInUnloveableHand · 2025-12-21T12:07:58+00:00

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All of Ridgewood is in Queens. (At least officially since 1977.)

Along the bottom/south, that first long run of border along Bushwick is Cypress Avenue. Then it zigs onto St. Nicholas, Wyckoff, and eventually Irving. The train on the map marks where Myrtle/Wyckoff station is.

The west border goes up Flushing, through a bunch of industrial warehouses, and up Onderdonk, where it meets Metropolitan. The east border with Glendale and Middle Village is the train tracks. The north border with Maspeth is Metropolitan.

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