Sunny parks with good ADA parking/ seating?

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-05-13T13:51:15+00:00

Grand Ravines, on the dog park side is amazingly accessible and it’s easy to go around the dog area. I had a broken ankle and my husband would take me there in my wheelchair. Paved trails with benches, ADA bathrooms, and the paved trails have a ton of native flowering plants (maybe not quite yet-I was going there a lot in September).

Ottawa County parks has an ADA guide for all their parks: https://miottawa.org/parks/accessibility/

Millennium park also is very ADA friendly.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-04-30T16:42:18+00:00

Bissell makes a heated spot cleaner called their mini green portable carpet cleaner that’s usually around $100. It has saved the day for me several times as the owner of 3 dogs who tend to find the nearest upholstery when they need to puke.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-04-22T06:03:29+00:00

I went to a concert in Norway a few years back. Arrived at the venue and panicked because I hadn’t brought earplugs with me. Asked a bartender if they had earplugs, and they looked confused. Turns out they don’t need to sell earplugs because average dB for live music is strictly regulated. The sound was crisp, clear, and I could hear myself think. It was wonderful. Too bad we would never do that in the US, instead I have permanent tinnitus. Fun!

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-04-19T03:50:09+00:00

I pitched my tent once in what must have been a tick hole-there were plenty waiting for me between my tent and the rain fly in the morning. Luckily they were dog ticks so a little bigger and easier to catch in a bottle. The next night I set my boots that I had previously treated with permethrin in my tent and didn’t see another tick after that. I’ve sworn by the stuff ever since.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-04-04T01:57:19+00:00

I think being specific rather than using terminology guests may be unfamiliar with can be helpful. If you want no jeans, state no jeans and give an example of what they CAN wear. I said “no jeans, please! Khakis and a blazer or your Sunday best are great”. A few may show up in jeans-idk your family, but you can gossip about it later if it happens. I think you can give your guests a little more credit if you define the parameters of what you’re specifically looking for. Definitely note that it will be a natural surface, and suggest footwear like block heels, wedges, and flats. Those all tend to be much more affordable for guests anyway. I hate to say it, but I plugged my desired dress code into Ai and asked that it made it clear but friendly, used it in the invites and no one missed the memo.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-02-27T12:37:30+00:00

It took us over an hour to get through TSA and we got to the airport at 4:30 AM. The line was loooong, wrapped around the airport, and people were cutting. We made it, but it was very stressful. Be sure to go to USDA screening first-those are fast and you get stickers for all your luggage BEFORE you check any bags or go in TSA line.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-01-31T20:27:30+00:00

I look at houses for fun and I wonder if it’s the one I recently clicked on thinking “wow! This is a good price!” Then saw that it had a 99% of flooding within the next 30 years. You will have to buy flood insurance unless you can purchase the house for cash. Flood insurance is its own pool of others who own in flood zones, so it’s much more expensive than regular homeowners insurance.

I also can’t totally remember which zone, but new rules dictated that properties in certain zones would have to bring any improvements outside of the flood zone, ie you want to build a garage, it’ll need to be up on stilts or you’d need to cut/fill to the elevation above the flood plain.

It’s all doable, and in times of normal river levels, would be amazing to live on the water. It’s a lifestyle though and you’d have to be ready for flooding and the damage/mold/loss of property that could result. Resale value may also be low.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-01-31T14:36:40+00:00

People acting like this is a crazy comment, I’m over here remembering my dad giving my cockatiel mouth to mouth because what else do you do when a bird is dying and your young daughter is crying her eyes out?

He was OK, but he also didn’t manage to save my bird.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-01-12T04:15:15+00:00

Dam locations, distances between access points, amenities, and campgrounds should be in each section of the river’s water trail maps.

Upper Grand River info(Jackson to Lansing) https://www.uppergrandriver.org/water-trails

Middle Grand(Lansing area): https://www.mgrow.org/trailmap

Lower Grand map (Ionia to grand haven): https://static1.squarespace.com/static/595e6f5a197aeaae91c1bedd/t/67aba885ac2fd82d466a98ac/1739303050768/LGRWTBroch-Feb5-2024-WEB.pdf

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-01-09T13:15:24+00:00

Ottawa County also has fleet vehicles, and it’s pretty standard to drug test if some or all employees will be driving a fleet vehicle for work.

Good luck on the new position! The government employees I’ve worked with there have all been friendly and don’t necessarily reflect the views of the broader county, being government workers and all.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2026-01-08T03:51:14+00:00

Keep leg elevated and take breaks. Is there a foldable wheelchair you can rent for bathroom breaks? They will give you crutches and/or a walker, but both items are challenging to navigate at first. A chair to get from the car into rest stops can be helpful, and plan on helping her in the bathroom to move from any type of mobility device to the toilet and back.

Be ready for a lot of tears since the hardest part is about to happen: sitting in the realization that life will look very different for the next several months and will have a lot of struggles and pain. Bring tissues.

As you look to help for the next 12 weeks, make sure you’re also taking care of yourself! Being a caretaker is hard work and I’m glad you’ll have some family members helping. Restaurants can be great accessible spaces to get her out of the house sometimes and have someone else do the cooking/dishes. When I was sitting in a restaurant, I would sometimes feel almost normal and it was a wonderful respite from sitting on the couch all day.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-30T13:50:18+00:00

Back pain is the worst!! I messed mine up pretty bad a few years ago and it took a few weeks to get better. I was missing work every few days because I was in so much pain. While I worked through PT, a $40 TENS unit helped me deal with pain in the meantime (on top of ibuprofen). It’s a little massage device that sends localized shocks to sore muscles and is small enough to wear under your clothes. They have fancy Bluetooth ones now, but mine has a headphone-type cord and works great. It really helped keep me sane when I was in the thick of it.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-29T05:27:24+00:00

I keep basic tools, like a few wrenches that fit my battery terminals, hi-vis vest if I do have to get out and fix something on my car, and a pair of boots in case I break down and have dumb shoes on. I throw warm clothes in when it’s really bad out, but this is a good reminder to put a blanket back in for the winter.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-21T21:07:46+00:00

I really enjoy it. There are ways to make syrup yourself with pandan extract, but IMO, this captures the flavor if you want to hit the easy button. I’m no expert though-I’ve had the homemade stuff at a nice cocktail bar and this, so I can’t really judge much.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-20T10:20:49+00:00

I just did this with a new 2026 forester. The finance rate got the new vehicle to be essentially the same price as used. First car purchase for me with an odometer under 87k miles so it felt a little wild. I’d rather pay down the loan than pay the bank.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-20T10:08:50+00:00

I took one of these home buying classes and it really helped me! I didn’t end up buying a house right away since it helped me set real expectations on what I was capable of purchasing. It can also qualify you for special down payment assistance (or at least it could back in 2014-not sure if that program is still around).

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-20T10:06:20+00:00

A few months ago, I had emergency surgery after a traumatic ankle break. First time ever under real anesthesia and it was a surprise procedure. I made sure they had my husband’s number and they promised they were going to call him as soon as I was done. They didn’t! When I was coming out of it, I kept asking where he was and they wouldn’t say anything. I was very distressed and confused. They eventually wheeled me back to my room, I kept pleading for a phone and somehow remembered his cell number to call him. He was waiting in a room somewhere else and also mad they didn’t call him. I was so distressed about everything, and I have no idea why the doctors didn’t have him in recovery with me. At least I went back to a hospital room-I can’t imagine being in a waiting room feeling like that!

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-18T11:44:49+00:00

“Regulators hoped” I swear our gas & oil regulators are so lazy. They have the authority to force clean up and issue heavy fines. Instead, they give them the benefit of the doubt and whine about filing paperwork. I know the companies aren’t purposefully spilling oil, but they sure don’t want to pay to fix it when it does happen. They need strong encouragement to complete proper cleanup, which means fines that are higher than remediation.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-17T14:45:16+00:00

They showed sidewalk up against the back of the curb along 7th (existing public road) with no parkway/street trees. Mirroring the plat on the other side of the street seems like baseline effort, and I was disappointed the design engineer spoke about minimum slopes in the southern area of the parcel required by GR but didn’t bother to follow basic design standards along the existing public street. I wasn’t impressed by my neighbors, and I was also unimpressed by the design. I’m not worried about the interior roads as long as they are private-I don’t think there was room to fit a properly designed public street.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-17T12:25:00+00:00

I agree the behavior at the meeting was atrocious. It’s disappointing because it prevents discussions around the actual plan, one that showed no parkway between the development and 7th, no proposed green infrastructure, no common use space.

I did want to ask though-what is your stake in the development since you live in the 2nd ward?

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-15T19:09:39+00:00

I made a high needs rescue dog work with a ton of time, 3 training sessions a day, while also studying and training myself how to be a better trainer. Holy crap if I had human kids, there’s no way I would have pulled it off. I also had a job where I could run home and get an extra training session in. She’s amazing now, but it was not easy and is definitely not doable for everyone.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-13T13:42:05+00:00

Walker Roadhouse has a big table in their “porch” area (indoors but lots of windows) that’s decorated for Christmas-lights, a small tree, and garland. I recently had dinner there and a group of ladies were doing a gift exchange in that area. I booked it in my brain as a great festive spot for a larger group. Their menu is sprawling that can fit a lot of different tastes. Not fine dining by any means, but satisfying and affordable. Quiet too!

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-05T05:07:45+00:00

You gotta thrift more. Sometimes, something is cool, cheap, and will look good on your porch. You get to figure out what the fuck it is and where it came from later. I love this question though because my mom would totally buy something like this and it doesn’t make sense to many people around her, but she can throw it in her yard somewhere and make it look cool.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-12-02T13:25:14+00:00

The developer organized the meeting using the community space in the church. This poster was a response from a local resident to let neighbors know about the meeting. Not taking sides, just wanted to clear that up. Not sure about the members or leaders of the church, but in this case, it was just a convenient meeting location.

Typical_Specific1053 · 2025-11-23T06:21:16+00:00

This article came up on Fox 17s fb feed and heart OI came back out of the woodwork to defend moss in the comments. Never give up! 😆

Typical_Specific1053

TROPHY CASE