Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

I started mine at 62, still working. They reduced my SS by the amount that was applicable as an over the $14,800 earnings allowed (50% of overage). Well, they don't reduce your check they just will not give you one UNTIL to have had their 50% withheld. So, I didn't get a check for almost 6 mos. Then 2 mos after I began getting the checks, my job was dissolved in a company merger. I began unemployment, reported to SS and they sent me the withheld $$ about a month later. The unemployment did not count into their figures as it was not earned income. Since I have always worked to some extent they have re-adjusted my check 3 times now. At my current age there is NO max earned income for me.

Well, Happy Labor Day weekend to all. I'm now just about 3 weeks away from becoming temporarily homeless, barring any further complications... As a result, I've been doing my best to eat myself out of house and home, so to speak. I'm really trying to NOT buy groceries (despite meat sales or any other bargains) and just feed myself off what I have here. That doesn't include perishables of course, like milk. My normal & zombie apocalypse supplies are rapidly dwindling and my cupboards, pantry & freezers are slowly getting emptied. When I was a younger man and a single father trying to feed hungry, growing kids, we all rather enjoyed hamburger helper. It was rather easy, quick and overall tasty. That was back when hamburger was actually hamburger made from real beef, and not pink slime and whatever all else is now called/in hamburger.

Anyway, over the past year or two I've come to the conclusion that something has changed... even adding spices and doctoring it, it just isn't the same as it was all those years ago. The problem is, I have 5-6 packages of hamburger in the freezer and about a dozen boxes of various flavors of the stuff, and I really don't want to make it and eat it. I mean if I was starving and had no choice I would, but that's not my present situation... I guess I could give the boxes to a food bank... I mean they were only like $1.25-2.00 each... no huge monetary loss. I can still use the burger for burgers, or chili or as I did today; spaghetti sauce. Yup, had 2 cans of Hunts spag sauce hidden in the back of the pantry and cooked up a pound of burger w/some fresh chopped onion and added it to a can of garlic flavored sauce. Wish I'd had a can of shrooms to add as well. So today was pasta day. Rotini for lunch, and regular spaghetti for dinner with a nice thick meat sauce. Not the little crumbly bits they call meat in their "meat" sauce, but real ground beef chunks and real diced onion. Delish Now normally I prefer my own home made sauce, but as I said, I'm using up zombie apocalypse stores too...

Now, I happen to have one more rather large frozen item I need to get taken care of... a 12 pound turkey. (there's a prepackaged double rack of beef ribs too, but we'll disregard those for the moment) I had hoped to cook it last weekend and then again this weekend when my daughter was supposed to be coming. Both times she changed her work schedule and it's still frozen. I'm thinking next weekend, daughter or not, that bird is gonna roast! Mel and I will eat very well for 3-4 days. So this is my final weekend of rest. Starting Tuesday, the real work begins as I start packing up all non-essentials and pre staging it to the garage. Gonna be going through all the boxes that have been in the garage since I got here and trash, trash, trash! I want to move light! Got some prettying to do this weekend though as the appraiser will be here Tuesday morning also.

Next couple of weeks ought to get real exciting!

What's the progress with the new place; loan etc? Don't blame you for wanting to move 'light' but don't be too hasty as there will be a day that you say "dar n, I should've kept the so and so". Yeah, give the boxed h'burger helper and stuff like that to the food bank. Cook the turkey, eat and use it for sandwiches, etc. Your daughter can always come for leftovers... How is the situation with her and your moving? I remember you were taking into consideration her possibly moving with you at one time. Have a good Labor day too!!

Yay! How exciting? So let's just make sure the zombies hold off until you are moved, unpacked and re-stocked. But seriously, I wish I had a reason (like am exciting big move) to make my husband get rid of the boxes of junk that will be useful "someday".

Isn't it funny how tastes change? I used to be able to eat that stuff, now it just tastes like chemicals.

Boxes unopened in 3 years? Give them to GoodWill unless they are family pictures and such that they don't want. You obviously don't need whatever is in them since I don't THINK your move to CO was planned to be short term

Maybe that nice neighbor that did the "parts cost only" electrical work for you would like to join you and Mel for the turkey and the ribs Any other local friends you would like to say goodbye too other than a wave on your way out of town could join too.

Be careful of what you get rid of. Make sure it really is junk before you toss it. But the flip side of that coin is that you don't want to take up space with crap you don't need. Food items, I'm a hoarder too and we ate down my pile of goodies before we moved. It takes awhile to get stocked back up. A garden sure helps on the grocery bill.

I have boxes of stuff left over from my pre-teen days onward (yeah... been following me around for 1/2 a century) as well as stuff my folks kept and then gave to me when THEY were downsizing... So much of it is just crap... I mean really... no sentimental value and most of it I don't even know what's in there anymore... Like Bruce said. It hasn't been opened or looked at for decades. Broken knickknacks and junk I kept because I thought it might be "useful" down the road. I do have collectibles like porcelain plate sets and such that won't go away. and some crystal, but the garbage is gonna be called for what it is. No tools will be sold/discarded (go figure, right?) and the necessities obviously will stay, but a lot of my stuff is just old and worn out and past time to be replaced. So why go through the effort of moving it? I have a 15 year old reclining sofa and reclining love seat. I moved them here because this place has 2 "living rooms" so I put one in each, not so in my new place, and I don't need/want them, so a neighbor said they were better than what she has so she's gonna take them. More power to her! I was gonna donate them to the epilepsy foundation. In the new place, I'd like a smaller love seat (maybe) and several recliners. So much easier to move around, and much more comfy. I expect this will be my last major item purchase to carry me through.

A big move sure does make you think about what's worth moving! I can't even imagine the work involved in a cross country move I've been in this place almost 30 years and have 30 years of accumulated 'stuff' to go along with it.

When we moved 8 years ago we moved ourselves and had plenty of time as the house we were leaving was going back to the bank We had lived there 23 years, raised our two sons there and stashed keepsakes in the attic for 23 years too. We moved 3 hours away so it took us 9 months of week end trips with truck and 20' trailer to haul it all here.

wow... can't imagine... 9 months one weekend at a time...