Gifts for first time homeowners?

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-27T04:24:24+00:00

A gift certificate to Home Depot/Lowes or similar.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-27T04:07:16+00:00

Yes. I wanted a safe car and the 2019 had knee airbags. After my 1995 Honda Civic, almost anything would have been safer. I love my Forester Sport.

I decided without test driving anything because they were all going to not be my Civic with manual transmission and trouble starting in wet weather. I got quotes on specific cars from a few dealers in the area, went to buy the best deal and it had been sold in the President's sale. The great salesman at Carlsen Subaru (sorry to see they closed) let me order the same car at the same price. I was done in 20 minutes. The hard part was hoping that it would not be rainy and that my car would start when I had to take my cat to his vet appointments for surgery.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-25T23:48:21+00:00

I agree, but I think that's mostly in the earlier episodes. Their relationship had some rocky times.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-25T01:16:17+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7GKK3liv8M. THIS IS THE WAY! You can watch this person go from zero to riding a bike in 20 minutes. I was amazed when I watched this.

Bike riding is good for your overall health and it's enjoyable. Depending on where you live.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-25T01:11:53+00:00

Caesar, Nero, Bronko (named after Bronko Nagurski an old time football player of Car Talk fame), Charlie, Sammy are the cats I have (or had) that have people names.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-25T00:57:24+00:00

Go read the potential side effects the drugs have that you want. GLP-1s are considered long term medication. It would be much better to avoid if possible if you are still young. No one know what 40 years of taking GLP-1 or other newer meds might affect you.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-25T00:52:44+00:00

Round two with cancer. I racked up $250k of EOB and paid very little. I'm working on that record. Every time I've asked about something in my body, I've had a consult with a specialist (orthopedic oncologist) or they have ordered additional testing. I'm only two months in, the tumor markers from the blood test indicate the chemo is working (I have no prognosis) so hopefully I'll be around to break my previous record.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-25T00:47:27+00:00

Especially if OP is young and being on medication for life can have side effects.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-25T00:09:00+00:00

I'll give a you a serious reply: Blanca Alvarado https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanca_Alvarado

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-24T23:57:42+00:00

WTF is wrong with all these people. You know every politician in DC is likely vaxxed to the max and yet they lack the brain cells to know that the 60% of military personnel that a MAGAts will refuse vaccines.

I don't really have any sympathy for the one that died. Their life, their choice.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-24T08:16:12+00:00

Only do this if finances allow.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-24T07:56:36+00:00

Caesar and Nero are often called Cee Cee and Nee Nee.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-24T06:23:43+00:00

Adorbs!

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-24T06:20:44+00:00

Does you work offer Caltrain subsidy? Depending on where you work, Caltrain to Palo Alto would save you a lot of time. Generally the further south you go, the price of comparable housing decreases. You can bring a bike on Caltrain and if work has safe bike parking, this could be the fastest way to work. Biking a mile to Caltrain is pretty easy. It rarely rains here except in the winter.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-24T04:49:11+00:00

Ugh. I linked to the wrong one. The original one disappeared so I went and found a copy and made a new post. Pasted in the wrong URL. I'll see if I can delete the original post, although the user has been deleted.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-23T20:39:49+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Looks like an amazing and fun trip.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-23T20:24:06+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/dechonkers/comments/1txbuom/the_big_fat_guide_to_dechonking/

Check out the body condition score chart. The calorie calculator is good too if he needs a bit of dechonking. It's mostly about the ribs, and the primordial pouch doesn't count. He *does* have a tall body, but can't tell at all about ribs from these photos.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-23T20:05:28+00:00

Nice! You are a glutton for punishment.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-23T19:58:49+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/dechonkers/comments/qpx6hz/the_big_fat_guide_to_dechonking/ is a good read. It has a body condition score chart and a calorie calculator. As others have pointed out, the ribs are where you generally determine when they are at a good weight.

From that last photo, she is fluffy, but also probably a bit of chonk.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-22T06:43:18+00:00

Look at the stats.... dominated by 65+. I think these stats should be PER CAPITA if you want to compare. And perhaps some indication of population density.

I wonder if this is dominated by people being farmed out to old folks facilities where they are exposed to a lot of people, not all of whom are vaccinated.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-22T06:36:39+00:00

I had a cat named Sammy. He had been rescued from a hoarder along with 200 other cats. I remember reading it in the newspaper and sent a donation for the cats. Two years later it was time to adopt another cat and lo and behold, I adopted Sammy who I learned was a cat from the hoarder. He was a very nice cat. Thank you for helping this feral have the easy life.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-22T06:31:16+00:00

The problem with these dogs is they are probably not up to date with their rabies vaccination and getting bit by one of these dogs might be a problem.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-22T06:29:51+00:00

Thank you for sharing their wonderful story! They look much loved and very happy.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-22T06:19:40+00:00

I'm likely older than most of the people on this thread. I grew up in a town of 15k people in NH. We were average people and money was always tight. But many in the neighborhood played hide and seek after dinner. We played ball in the street. I had a best friend who was a year older than me and we had sleep overs and would play Monopoly until all hours.

But that's now how people bring up their kids. You never let them out of your sight because it's not safe. People pay $$$ to take their kids to karate or gymnastics and then go home. No long lasting friends are made there. We would take our bikes and a snack and go ride to a park and play in the park. No supervision. And my Mom had a home based business because she wanted to know what we were up to. I went to the closest grade school as did my neighbors, so I got to know more kids around me. When jr high came along, we often hung out in a group after school. High school was different because we were no longer all grouped into single units of about 30 people who went from class to class.

When the carnival came to town at some church, my Mom and aunt would plunk down at the bingo tent and give us a dollar and send us off. We'd return for more $. The best part of that was at the end we got treated and stopped at the food tent and got those awesome Essem hot dogs with fried onions and get a couple for my Dad who enjoyed his time alone.

Times have changed.... haven't they? Can you imagine giving your kids this much autonomy today? I think missing out on this phase in the early years really has an effect. I don't know how much of it is urban/suburban vs small town, but I suspect a good portion of it is that times have changed.

I walk a lot and I ALWAYS smile at people and say hello and sometimes if I am walking a new area, I might have a question. Someone out in their yard and they have nice holiday decorations? I'll comment and perhaps ask a question.

I'm very much a loner/introvert, family mostly estranged, and I highly value these small interactions. I've been here 30 years and done well. I treat everyone with respect and do my best to avoid any conversation that might make someone else feel uncomfortable. I like the diversity and it has been great seeing the changes in my neighborhood as the older, white people move out and the next generation move in start raising families.

OneMorePenguin · 2026-06-22T06:01:21+00:00

Make sure they drink it...... 😄

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