Is it a holiday Wednesday?

missJeanLouise

At least I think it is Wednesday. 
I was supposed to start my class work today but DS had to stay home for what looked like conjunctivitis so I didn't get a lot done. Also, DH had his friend/coworker over and he "stole" my desk chair. Then! By mid-afternoon, DS's eye looked absolutely terrible. So I took him to the hospital, opting to skip seeing his regular pediatrician who would have just given us a referral to the hospital. We left with antibiotic drops, cream, and oral solution. So yay.

charlotte989875

Ugh, hope he feels better soon @missJeanLouise! 

MissKittyDanger

@missJeanLouise yikes! pink eye is no fun I've had it once and it's just awful.
Glad easy/quick fix!

Yesterday I had a delightful taste of how it'll be during the school year.
BK was home with M yesterday, so they made dinner and I basically came home and ate lol
Granted it won't be as easy every night but good to know it CAN go well lol

charlotte989875

Not much here, working from home today and I love being able to wear running pants and sandals. Had a super great run this morning so feeling good today! 

CharmedPam

@charlotte989875 love those days! 

@MissKittyDanger here’s to many more days like that
@missJeanLouise ugh! No fun.  Hope all that works quickly on him

i’m here just trying to take my mind off life. SIL’s bleeding was due to her finding out she has stage 4 colon cancer, so we’re just not sure of the next steps. I’m thinking of heading there this weekend and maybe next.  There’s nothing I can do.  And that’s the damn frustrating part! And they’re all out of network for the hospitals they want to go to.  33 years young

charlotte989875

CharmedPam said:

@charlotte989875 love those days! 

@MissKittyDanger here’s to many more days like that
@missJeanLouise ugh! No fun.  Hope all that works quickly on him

i’m here just trying to take my mind off life. SIL’s bleeding was due to her finding out she has stage 4 colon cancer, so we’re just not sure of the next steps. I’m thinking of heading there this weekend and maybe next.  There’s nothing I can do.  And that’s the damn frustrating part! And they’re all out of network for the hospitals they want to go to.  33 years young

CharmedPam said:

@charlotte989875 love those days! 

@MissKittyDanger here’s to many more days like that
@missJeanLouise ugh! No fun.  Hope all that works quickly on him

i’m here just trying to take my mind off life. SIL’s bleeding was due to her finding out she has stage 4 colon cancer, so we’re just not sure of the next steps. I’m thinking of heading there this weekend and maybe next.  There’s nothing I can do.  And that’s the damn frustrating part! And they’re all out of network for the hospitals they want to go to.  33 years young

Oh Pam that’s awful, I’m so sorry. 

climbingsingle

@CharmedPam oh my god! How awful. I'm so sorry! I'll be keeping you and your family in my prayers. 

missJeanLouise

Oh Pam. That is horrible. My heart breaks for her and all the families involved.

kerbohl

Only 33!?!  How awful, that is so sad @CharmedPam.  Yes, all you can do is be there.  I can't imagine the frustration as well of being out of network.

short+sassy

@missJeanLouise,It's been slow on the boards for this whole week!  I hope DS's eye starts getting better. Poor little guy!

My work Keurig isn't working right. I'm going to try and troubleshoot later today.  It's less than 3 years old, so I'm hoping it is something I can figure out myself.

More sagas of my elderly friend/neighbor.  Quick recap.  She wanted me to buy her house last year, with the caveat she could stay living there for her lifetime.  I agreed to that and her price and prepared a Purchase Agreement.  For 6 months she never signed it and then suddenly backed out of the deal to list it with her friend's realtor.  Because that REA fed her a massive line of bs about how much it could be sold for.  The REA told her, as soon as she emptied the contents from the upstairs unit, it would get listed.  My neighbor never hired someone to do that, because of course she didn't.  My H and I already knew she wouldn't.  So it never got listed.

Now she wants to move to an assisted living facility.  That is FANTASTIC!  She's fought against it for too long, convincing herself that she can take care of herself.  However, she needs to sell her house to do that.

Another friend sent her a RE investor who does fix and flips.  I was pissed off she didn't approach us again but, whatever.  That dude wouldn't even make an offer, because it was more work than he wanted to take on.

But, when I heard that and heard she's not planning to stay in the house, I made her a much bigger offer than what we had previously agreed to.  She said she was going to think about it and never got back to us.  Fair enough.

Then, she contacted that same s**t REA again.  Who now thinks the property should be for $95K less than before, but is no longer requiring my friend to clean out the upstairs unit.  Even that lower list price is still shockingly overpriced, considering the entire house needs to be gutted and the renovations will be around $200K.  The house was listed a few weeks ago.

Not even one request for a showing.  And RE investors aren't shy about making an offer that's a lot less than the list price.  But the value compared to the list price is just so out-of-whack, they aren't even bothering to come see it.

Plus her timing is terrible.  Interest rates have shot up over the last month or so.  And interest rates on construction loans are always higher than purchase loans anyway.  If she were to come back to me and want to take my more recent offer, I'm not sure I'd even want to buy it anymore at that price.  Because now my own loan costs would be higher.

Y'all, for my friend's sake, I would truly love nothing better than for some starry-eyed and foolish newbie investor, to come along and buy her overpriced house.  But, especially after how badly she treated me last year, there is also a petty part of me that feels vindicated.

MissKittyDanger

@CharmedPam oh jeez I'm sorry to hear

@short+sassy keurig doesn't live long often We had one that lived ... max 3 years?

short+sassy

@CharmedPam, I'm so sorry to hear that!  It's especially awful that she is so young.

@charlotte989875, I'm glad you are feeling better and that it was a productive morning.

@MissKittyDanger, thanks for the perspective!  The one at our house is at least 5 years old and used more heavily, so I assumed they lasted longer because of that one.

MissKittyDanger

@short+sassy last 2 we had lasted 2-3 years.
What kinda thing are you looking for? We got a coffee pot/k-cup compatible one not long ago.
Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Coffee Maker, Single Serve & Full Pot Includes Permanent Filter

missJeanLouise

Ditch the kerigs. All those pods are terrible for the environment. 

short+sassy

@MissKittyDanger, thanks for the recommendation, but that's a good bit bigger and more expensive than what I would want for work.  I'll probably get one of the smaller, single cup Keurig ones.  But that's a good idea to look for non-Keurig ones that might be cheaper.

@missJeanLouise, they can all be used with a refillable cup.

ILoveBeachMusic

I'm so sorry about your SIL @CharmedPam! So young! I will keep her and your family in my prayers.

Today I've been playing catch up. We had company over the weekend who left first thing Monday morning. I went to spin class at the Y right after they left. While there H texted me to say the power had gone out. Ugh! It was out until yesterday afternoon. I didn't sleep at all Monday night because it was so hot and humid. I had book club yesterday afternoon. Thankfully it was at a friend's house with a pool. So we were in the pool all afternoon. So today I'm doing all the laundry that didn't get done earlier in the week. We are headed up to DD's on Friday for a long weekend.

Books were Lightning Strike and Ordinary Grace both by William Kreuger for those of you who are interested in what we read.

MissKittyDanger

@short+sassy it's not super big and it definitely depends on how much coffee you drink. We've found we drink more coffee now, and I like the kcups for a london fog or hot chocolate in cooler weather in evening.

banana468

I'll be honest - I don't *get* the K-Cup love. The coffee is mediocre and the individual cups are a racket that is adding to so much garbage.  Think of every grocery aisle and warehouse aisle and how many k-cups you see and where it goes and the trucks that took it there vs. the amount of retail real estate a bag of coffee occupies and where it goes.  I'm not a tree hugger AT ALL but getting them out of the system seems to be one of the single great ways to help reduce a carbon footprint when YOU CAN MAKE A REGULAR CUP OF COFFEE.

Sorry - off my soapbox.  This is also reminding me to pour out my cold brew into a carafe for the fridge. 

CharmedPam

Thanks for the T&P’s all, appreciated and needed

@ILoveBeachMusic that is the complete worst.  I remember when my electricity went out. You cannot sleep.  Cannot.  And opening a window just brings warm air in.

i ditched my kcup.  I agree they don’t last long.  But also, even for disposables, I find the coffee weak.  I broke and bought a small 4 cupper (because It’s just me, and 4 cups really equal one lol) and I add some espresso grounds and it’s like WOAH that’s some pretty strong coffee!

banana468

CharmedPam said:

Thanks for the T&P’s all, appreciated and needed

@ILoveBeachMusic that is the complete worst.  I remember when my electricity went out. You cannot sleep.  Cannot.  And opening a window just brings warm air in.

i ditched my kcup.  I agree they don’t last long.  But also, even for disposables, I find the coffee weak.  I broke and bought a small 4 cupper (because It’s just me, and 4 cups really equal one lol) and I add some espresso grounds and it’s like WOAH that’s some pretty strong coffee!

Exactly!  There are great other ways to get a cup of coffee but I cannot get behind or support that K-Cup love even for just the taste - and I'm not that picky.

short+sassy

For the environmental side of k-cups, it's really not as simple as all that.  I didn't think it would be so, out of curiosity, I looked it up.  I found an article from Wired UK about which types of coffee brewing are the most environmental.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't let me copy/paste the link.

The worst environmental impact of coffee is the growing and harvesting of it.  K-cups, even the disposable ones, use a lot less coffee for just 1-2 cups, than brewing a full or half a pot.  Assuming some of that coffee goes to waste.  

Keurig-type machines also use less electricity to make a cup of coffee than a traditional coffee machine.  They use exponentially less electricity if someone leaves the coffee pot on for a few hours, to go back for refills.

But here was the list from most to least environmentally friendly, in most circumstances:

• Instant coffee
• K-cup style coffee makers (disposables)
• Drip coffee maker
• Espresso

The refillable k-cups are the best of both worlds (my statement).  It's a typical coffee bag, instead of being in a disposable cup.  While only making one cup of un-wasted coffee, and using less electricity.  When I used to use a drip coffee maker just for myself, I'd make half a pot because I couldn't get the right proportion if I tried to do less than that.  At least half the time I threw coffee away.  

From what I read, environmental-wise, I think the drip coffee maker would beat out the K-cup style (disposables) if all of the pot was being used right away.  But that isn't what happens most of the time.

The article didn't say anything else about instant coffee, so I'm not sure if a refillable k-cup would be better than instant or not.  

The reason espresso is at the bottom of the list is because it takes a lot of electricity to make a tiny amount of liquid.

MissKittyDanger

@short+sassy yah that was one thing about the coffee maker i got. Reuseable filters - great for M to make a large cup if he wants out of the single cup maker. And I think coffee liners are a waste? So we toss grounds into a tupperware - IL's and my mum use it in their gardens.

short+sassy

MissKittyDanger said:

@short+sassy yah that was one thing about the coffee maker i got. Reuseable filters - great for M to make a large cup if he wants out of the single cup maker. And I think coffee liners are a waste? So we toss grounds into a tupperware - IL's and my mum use it in their gardens.

My H does that all the time!  He's our gardener and coffee grounds work great for that.

On a totally different subject, I am massively rolling my eyes again at the local agency who handles Section 8 here.  My last Section 8 tenant is moving in tomorrow.  Not to be confused with my non-S8 tenant who is moving in on Friday, lol.  Though they are both moving to the same duplex.

Technically, before I let a S8 tenant move-in, we are all supposed to sign a HAP contract.  That's basically the 3-way contract between myself, the tenant, and S8.  The local agency is the one who prepares it.  Her case worker has known for TWO weeks that she is moving in on August 4th.  I sent that case worker an e-mail message yesterday reminding her that I still didn't have the HAP contract (nicely and professionally, of course).

No reply yesterday or today.  But I told my tenant about it this morning and asked if she could get in touch with her.  Fortunately, she was able to speak to her this afternoon and passed along to me that the contract would be sent sometime tonight (it can be electronically signed).

Okay, great.  But Geez!  I try to be understanding.  I know they're overworked over there.  But it's the final step and therefore the most important one.  And really?  She can't even take 30 seconds to to reply back to me about when the HAP contract is going to be prepared?  I was even debating not allowing my tenant to move in, until the contract was signed.  Though I ultimately decided I would and then hope for the best.  Really aggravating.  And then these organizations wonder why rental property owners won't accept their participants.

I already refuse to take Unity participants.  That's a national program that helps homeless people transition to permanent housing and Unity pays the rent and security deposit.  Great cause!  But I've never been able to talk to anyone at the local Unity office.  Participants tell me, "Thanks, my caseworker is going to call you!"  They never do.  I've even tried calling the Unity office to learn more about their program, multiple times.  No one answers the phone.  I can only leave a voice message.  I was never called back.  No way in hell am I going to work with an organization...and relying on it to pay the rent....when they are that impossible to get in touch with.     

banana468

short+sassy said:

For the environmental side of k-cups, it's really not as simple as all that.  I didn't think it would be so, out of curiosity, I looked it up.  I found an article from Wired UK about which types of coffee brewing are the most environmental.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't let me copy/paste the link.

The worst environmental impact of coffee is the growing and harvesting of it.  K-cups, even the disposable ones, use a lot less coffee for just 1-2 cups, than brewing a full or half a pot.  Assuming some of that coffee goes to waste.  

Keurig-type machines also use less electricity to make a cup of coffee than a traditional coffee machine.  They use exponentially less electricity if someone leaves the coffee pot on for a few hours, to go back for refills.

But here was the list from most to least environmentally friendly, in most circumstances:

• Instant coffee
• K-cup style coffee makers (disposables)
• Drip coffee maker
• Espresso

The refillable k-cups are the best of both worlds (my statement).  It's a typical coffee bag, instead of being in a disposable cup.  While only making one cup of un-wasted coffee, and using less electricity.  When I used to use a drip coffee maker just for myself, I'd make half a pot because I couldn't get the right proportion if I tried to do less than that.  At least half the time I threw coffee away.  

From what I read, environmental-wise, I think the drip coffee maker would beat out the K-cup style (disposables) if all of the pot was being used right away.  But that isn't what happens most of the time.

The article didn't say anything else about instant coffee, so I'm not sure if a refillable k-cup would be better than instant or not.  

The reason espresso is at the bottom of the list is because it takes a lot of electricity to make a tiny amount of liquid.

What is interesting to me is the other parts of the K-Cups
-Plastic packaging for individual cups
-paper and aluminum for lid and carton
-What does a box of K-Cups equal in storage space in a store and on a freighter? How many cups of coffee is that?  What is the storage space of an equal amount of whole and ground beans?  What is the packaging cost of both?  Cost to truck both?   

Also, not included in the above is a cold brew.  For at least 5 months or more I make cold brew coffee.  I use my own coffee grinder and grind the beans whole.  They're put into a metal reusable filter that goes into a glass carafe and 24 hours later the only electricity involved in making that pot is the coffee grinder and my water (well pump). For the rest of the year, I brew into a thermal carafe. We buy whole beans and grind in either a burr grinder or the grinder in our grind N brew. We have had the same drip coffee maker and carafe for 15 years.