Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

Ridgetop

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Two of the markets had a sale on standing rib roasts for $7.99/lb. I think I still have one or two in the freezer so maybe for New Years.

DS1 found good prices on turkeys this year. He bought several and they are in the freezer. We aways stock up when they are cheap, and it is a good thing since last year turkeys were hard to find especially in the larger sizes we need for our family. Luckily last year I found we had ONE turkey left and that was the only reason we had a turkey for Thanksgiving!

DD1 has a turkey too, so now we just have to tell her to bring celery, onions, and stuffing mix on Wednesday am so DS1 can teach her how to make the stuffing! I thought I was off the hook to make the fancy cranberry/orange gelatin salad this year (with the ginger/curry dressing) but DD2 says she loves it and had a small hissy fit about me not making it. However, she said if I give her the recipe, she will make it for everyone and bring it, so that will work out. :D =D We (I) have decided to buy my pies from Costco. They have extra large size (14") pumpkin, apple, and pecan. The pumpkin and apple are about $6.00/7.00 and delicious, so we have decided to make life easy and buy them this year. DDIL2 offered to have her brother get the pies, but we are picky about our pumpkin pies so told her we would take care of it.

DGS2 came over this morning and I paid hm for 1.5 hours of work to carry the packed boxes down to the shed for me. I could have made him do it for free but he needs to earn Christmas money. They are heavy and he loaded the on a trolley, pushed them across the driveway, then carried them down the stairs and put them on the shelves. He also brought the packed plastic bins down, and the boxes of bubble wrap and wrapping paper as well as the large box of collapsed packing boxes. I still have more to pack up and move out of the living room/dining room, but I can get most of that done tomorrow. I also brought in a folding table to put in the DR to hold the deserts and will probably bring over a hall console table from the Connex for the dining room wall. I planned to sell it in Palm Springs so it might as well be brought over anyway.
Offered homemade jam t grandsons and was told that they are not eating as much jam and jelly anymore now they are in jr. high school. ??? Offered it to DD2 and she was thrilled because they are using a lot for the 6-year-old and 2-year-old. I will go through it and take several jars of different kinds to Texas; she can have the rest. I have several cases.

DD2 also said that they are definitely moving to Texas next year. Her birth sister's adoptive parents have been renting a house in Anna, TX, while the sister was finishing college. They were doing daycare for her little boy (1 year younger than Annabel). Their lease is up in May and the house will be rented again so the parents have told the owner that DD1 and DSIL2 want to rent it. 3 BR, 2000 sf, small yard but with community pool, etc. DSIL2 will transfer to work out of Dallas and will move back there in May with their belongings and furniture. She will follow a month later. She plans to stay here in this house for a month, then move back with the children in July. They have decided tht if they can't get full custody, they will give up Maysie and move with Annabel, asking for summer holiday custody. Guess who gets to transport all their belonging back to Texas in the new 24' trailer? The joys of children just keep giving . . . .

:hugs
 

Mini Horses

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Woo wee...lot of life changes going on! Does this mean you will be making decisions about your current house now -- to sell in a year or two? Maybe this means the family will be renting/buying their own homes in TX in near future?

Or maybe, your running away wasn't totally successful...🤣

Years back I made down pay on a house for each kid. Over time, life happened and they were sold. Guess where both live now -- on MY farm! Maybe I didn't move far enough 🤔. Guess distance doesn't work either -- reading this post.😱😖🤣
 

Ridgetop

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No, we won't sell this house. Too much capital gains to pay until one of us dies. LOL If we have to come back due to health reasons, we will add a mother-in-law unit and live in it. The views are good and up here you feel away from everything. I am not sure what will happen, but just want to get to Texas and start living there.

I have almost finished clearing out the living room. I set up a folding table on the dining room wall. The empty bins are all stacked out of the way under the table, and in the corner out of the way. I have several more boxes to take down to the shed and out n the shelves with the other stuff to go to Texas. I have a large box with lamb bottles, nipples, and sealed packs of formula. Then I went through the boxes of jams and jellies and have separated out most of it to give the children. I am keeping most of the mulberry even though it is sort of old. 2 jars of blueberry jam had loose lids so I tossed the contents. I am keeping some of the raspberry and blackberry jelly, but everything else is going to the kids.

Tomorrow I will finish cleaning the living room/dining room - sweeping and vacuuming - and get the boxes moved out. Then I have to go get the footstool that goes to the 2 chairs from the Connex. That will give us an extra seat. I took one of the larger pictures I had not packed yet and hung is in the dining room wall so it doesn't look too empty. I still have the red Chinese screen mounted on the wall, a large painting on another wall, and hung a third up on the fireplace where I took down the large oil painting. The walls look rather empty, but not that bad - if you don't know what it looked like before I packed everything up. LOL At least we will have enough seating in the house for everyone. The wind has been blowing hard so if it doesn't die down by Thanksgiving we won't be able to sit outside. The wind is coming from the north took so the temperature has dropped and might be too cold to sit outside. I forgot everyone is coming around 4pm too so it will be dark. Oh well. :rolleyes:

I am pretty tired now, and ache from moving everything around. Did a couple loads of laundry and changed the sheets. Will take a shower and go to bed. I feel like I am catching a cold but it is probably just dust from cleaning - that room hasn't been cleaned since I started packing stuff up because it was covered in empty boxes and bins, filled boxes and bins, packing materials, etc. I should be finished by tomorrow. Still have another couple loads of laundry to do as well.

We need to get the turkey out of the freezer tomorrow to defrost as well. I hope I remember!
 

Bruce

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No, we won't sell this house. Too much capital gains to pay until one of us dies
I thought there were no capital gains taxes if you sell your primary residence and have lived in it 3 of the last 5 years.

Picked up the 14# pasture raised turkey today. $4.50 a pound. I know that is a lot more than Costco or other store cheap turkeys but SO much better and a once a year meal.
 

Ridgetop

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You don't have to pay capital gains on the amount of purchase price of the house, plus any improvements (not repairs) you have made, plus costs of sale. Then on top of that you do not pay capital gains on $250, 000 over that for a single person or $500,000 for a couple. If the spouse died during the year you sell the house, you still get the $500,000 extra added otherwise it drops to the $250,000 for a single person. In our case we bought before the incredible rise in values of property. At the value of our house now here in California, we would have to pay 30% capital gains on over $300,000. That is a combined 30% for both federal and state.

We might still decide to sell the house but not just yet. If our health doesn't hold up, we may want to return to California where our children and grandchildren would be able to help us out. We could either sell it to DS2, let him continue living here and "renting" it to him while putting a large trailer on the property and living there. If one of us is in a wheelchair or walker and the trailer is not an option, we might just a MIL section on to the end of the house. There is enough room, and we would then have access to the house through an interior door for emergencies, as well as our own entrance. I like to be prepared for all eventualities.

With our youngest daughter moving to Texas next year, it is possible that more of our children might make the move too. If not, it is good to have options for our "Post-Prime" years.

:lol: < I've fallen, and I can't get up!
 

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