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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-26-2000
| Sunday, September 13, 2026 - 9:43 pm 
Kudos to Carrie for self-dosing with the shoes. Procuring new shoes as medicine in times of crisis is both brilliant and likely cost-effective.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Friday, September 18, 2026 - 7:21 am
Lots of updates and other stuff:
1. We’ve been watching the local BestBuy website to see if there has been any updates on the availability of our new refrigerator. After the second failed delivery we had been told it would be late October before they received a new shipment. Yesterday afternoon Carey noticed the store had updated availability to September 27 so we called the number we had for delivery updates. Turns out they had put our order on a priority reserved list and supposedly they’ll try again this coming Monday. Hopefully third time is a charm.
2. Still waiting for all of our window order to be received by the installer. Not sure what the issue is other than it is a large order with many of the windows having to be made to a custom size. Actually that’s fine with us as we have more than enough ongoing projects to keep us busy.
3. Related to the window replacement is the upgrade or replacement of several window treatments. Had a designer in and have contracted with her company to install a mixture of pleated cell shades and plantation shutters. We’ve gone through all the material selections, colors, etc., and now have to wait for the new windows to be installed for the final measurements of the new window treatments. Not replacing every window treatment and will reuse about 1/2 to 2/3 of what we have now.
4. Signed a contract to have our guest bath upstairs and our powder room downstairs remodeled. Guest bath is going from a tub/shower arrangement to a walk-in shower. We were going to do just that but the extra cost to also replace the vanity, lighting, mirror, vanity top, and toilet was actually just a little more so we’re going for a full remodel. Since the company would have their crew here we asked about doing our powder room. As it was we had already decided to change the wallpaper but decided to do another full remodel. The company is coming today to do measurements as the vanities and their tops are custom sizes. The floor of the upstairs shower is a one piece custom piece. All this leads to an 8 to 10 week lead time. That puts us too close to the holidays and then we have our already booked South Pacific cruise so looks like February next year for the remodels.
5. Carey has been working on our pantry. Her initial goal was to make room for our home canning efforts and moved them from a cabinet over our washing machine and dryer. That has actually snowballed into a full reorganization of the pantry. It’s been a steady stream of Amazon deliveries of new racks, canisters, etc. She’s about 2/3 done with that and we have a dining room table full of garage sale or donation stuff.
6. Speaking of the washing machine and dryer…..those are in a separate laundry room also off the kitchen. I decided to do what started as very minor upgrades from builder’s quality towel racks to more substantial brushed stainless steel racks. That was no big undertaking and once I got that done, along with minor repairs and painting, we were looking at the builder’s grade laundry tub. Long story short the new stainless steel one gets delivered tomorrow along with a new faucet. Once again Amazon to the rescue and we’ll probably do the sink swap ourselves early next week.
7. On top of all of the above I have kept myself busy with other relatively minor projects all over the house. Lots of painting, replacing things like toilet paper holders, changing lighting in the upstairs buddy bath, etc. I figured Carey wouldn’t take to kindly to me being a couch potato while she worked so hard on the pantry.
So that’s it for now. Still on the radar is cleaning out and reorganizing the master closet, cleaning out the master bathroom vanities, cleaning out storage areas, etc., but those can wait until the other projects are done.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Friday, September 18, 2026 - 10:01 am
Already a change and not for the better. BestBuy just called and said yesterday’s change in delivery was in error and we’re now back to late October. Carey has escalated the situation to a manager and she’s waiting for a call back.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Friday, September 18, 2026 - 10:51 am
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Friday, September 18, 2026 - 12:40 pm
Apparently GE sent out a bad message. Yes, they shipped refrigerators but not the model we bought. Checked Lowe’s and Home Depot and same story there.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-26-2000
| Friday, September 18, 2026 - 10:39 pm
Damn, I feel like a vampire - feeding off all of these newly retireds' stories.
And we already made our last ever move to an over-55 community ten years ago. And the previous owner had just done a $135,000 remodel, which we LOVE. We ain't remodeling squat.
Okay, the previous owners put really cheap carpeting, which is now buckling, in two bedrooms, so we might need to replace that, so it doesn't trip and kill us.
Hey, Mack, so much for a tranquil and blissful retirement, eh? I always chuckle at folks who wonder what they are going to DO with all of their TIME if they retire.
There simply IS NO TIME when you retire. Bigdog and I went about 17 places today, AFTER water aerobics.
There is NO time after you retire. Surprise!
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Saturday, September 19, 2026 - 5:39 am
As it is turning out there is no time after retirement. Now when Carey was still working I took care of the immediate issues with the house. I was the house husband planning meals, cooking the majority of our meals, doing the shopping, doing the laundry, etc., which pretty much took up my days. Because Carey was working 60+ hours a week the weekends were mostly for her to relax and recover. That meant we built up quite a list of “when we around to it” projects for later. Well later has arrived.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-26-2000
| Saturday, September 19, 2026 - 11:06 pm
Mack, almost exactly same story for us, except we got to retire at age 52, and then we traveled the world. I was Travel, Planning, and Transportation. Bigdog was Food, Home, and Maintenance.
But, we had a whole lot more time to adjust to the changes than you do. Oh wait, I think you might be supposed to have professional insight into this?
Oh, honey, don't be proud. Old age is not for sissies.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 11:29 am
Check number 6 off the list. With help from Carey the new stainless steel laundry sink and faucet got installed this morning. One of those improvements most people wouldn’t notice but for us it’s a nice improvement and we like it.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-26-2000
| Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 9:59 pm
Yay checklist.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Monday, September 21, 2026 - 1:41 pm
Our cats have a pet water fountain. They both like running water and both like drinking out of the stream rather than the bowl. It takes routine cleaning about once a week and today was the day. Like normal I unplugged it and took it to the kitchen sink to clean. Carey pointed out we have a new laundry sink that is bigger than the divided kitchen sink. She added I should use that and not the kitchen sink. I responded that was true but that meant I’d get the new sink wet. 😁 Apparently she didn’t see the humor in my response so I got “the look”. 😳 The new sink worked really well. 😬
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-26-2000
| Monday, September 21, 2026 - 9:57 pm
Yay new sink and the re-education of new retirees!
IT WILL ALL BE FINE!!!
Oh, and also: - OLD AGE IS NOT FOR SISSIES!
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 6:36 am
It has been a two-way street of education and re-education. As with any couple we have our routines and chores. For instance, the cats are pretty much my sole responsibility. I feed them, maintain their water fountain, clean the litter box, and do cat yack patrol and clean up. Carey has found out towel paper doesn’t just mysteriously appear in our bathrooms. As I said above I have been the house husband for several years so a lot of the chores were transparent to Carey, they just happened while she was at work. The reverse has been Carey seeing how things were done and has made changes or suggestions on how they might be done differently. She’s also taken on more of the functions and chores around the house as she has more time and energy now. For instance, Carey has always divided the clothes, towels, etc., for laundry and we pretty well split the washing and drying chore 50-50 depending on if we did it on the weekend or during the week. Since she retired she’s maybe doing 80-90% of that now. While we have always helped with the cooking, switching roles between chef and prep helper, it is a bit more balanced with Carey doing the chef role a bit more. Happy spouse, happy house is alive and well in our home. 👍🙂
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 9:31 am
Mack, its so nice to hear how things are going so well for you guys. There's not enough good news stories these days.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 10:00 am
So, my bf wants to replace 6 windows that he hadn't gotten around to yet.
He got a quote from this couple who he met at his yard sale that live down the road. I think he said they are general contractors. He must have really schmoozed him at the yardsale.
Guess how much the quote is to replace 6 regular windows that are stock windows with grade 2 Anderson windows, put gutter guards on the gutters and put Azak underneath the gutters on the back of the house? And they expect to get it completed in 2 months?
The quote was Spoiler
Click below to view spoiler | | $20,000!!! |
Am I missing something here? I told him to get another quote, but he doesn't want to. It needs to be done and he just wants to get it done.
This is the same man that won't fill up the oil tank with heating fuel because they charge more if you don't buy at least 200 gallons. By the time we use that 1/2 tank, there might not be any oil to be found, or at the very best, the price will be double of what it is today.
So, I called my bil to discuss this, and we got ahold of the guy who did all the construction on the house last year and built the garage. He came by this morning to take measurements and he will get me a quote by tomorrow morning.
I hate going behind my bars back, but he sounded angry when I suggested getting a 2nd quote. It's not like he's got extra money to waste.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 10:40 am
That quote is way too high even for Anderson windows especially grade 2. Run do not walk away.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 1:01 pm
Thank you, Mack. I feel horrible going behind his back, but at the same time, I can't let him be taken advantage like this.
My bf is in the city during the week for work, so he told me about it over the phone. When i told him that it sounded high to me, I got "the tone" in his voice, like don't start with me, which is very unusual for him.
Even my bil, got that feeling when my bf told him about it, too. My bil said that the only thing he told him was why the #2 windows. You can't flip them to clean them from the inside. My bil told me he said that to get him to stop and think about that and he'd talk to him this weekend about it, but he got the feeling not to push either.
Are these people such great shmoozers? Are they going to be doing even more work that he isn't telling us about?
When our old contractor came this morning, my bil walked him around the outside of the house so he could take measurements. My bil gave him part of the story (don't want to let him know how much the quote was.) And my bil told him that they were contractors down the street.
Our contractor lives about a half mile from me, works for the town, and is a volunteer fireman.
He said he didn't know of any other contractor in this town.
Well, I found a piece of paper with the name and phone number of these people. I googled them. What I found was their business name. They have no web page. But they are on Angie's List, and some other same type of list. The lists say they've been in business for 20 years. There were 3 positive reviews. Angie and the other list don't recommend them and said to check to see if they have insurance.
And the other thing I found out is that the woman used to be married to the Captain of the Fire Department, but he passed away a few years ago. And I've seen her name pop up a few times in the minutes of the town's monthly minutes of meetings.
So my old contractor must know who she is since he's a volunteer fireman (We probably have around 20 or so.)And he's not aware that she has a contracting business in town?
So strange.
And there's really nothing to replacing these windows. Pop out the old ones and pop in the new ones.
It is so bizarre. I don't know why I feel so worried I did this. Well, what's done is done.
Oh, god. What if he already signed the contract when he told me? That's why the attitude.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 3:12 pm
Did he give them some kind of payment? Have they actually come to measure the windows? Kind of hard to have a binding contract without those.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-26-2000
| Tuesday, September 22, 2026 - 10:32 pm
Also, it is his house or your house? Who has the greater financial risk? NOT asking you to reveal that here, but obviously there are a LOT of things to consider about a $20,000 investment in windows on somebody's house. If it is his house, and he will be paying for the windows, and you are just trying to keep him from getting cheated, AND he has the financial means to take the hit, sometimes it is better to just let things happen.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Wednesday, September 23, 2026 - 7:44 am
This is in no way aimed at Grooch or her significant other. Carey and I come to home ownership and construction, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, etc., with quite a bit of experience. We do a fair amount of minor DIY projects like the recent laundry sink replacement and upgrade. One, we enjoy the sense of accomplishment. Two, the projects we do ourselves are well within our joint capabilities and experience. Three, some of the DIY projects we tackle save us money. The laundry sink project alone would have been in the $700-$800 range for parts and labor if done by a plumber but cost us only $300 plus our time.
The window and door replacement project is well beyond our abilities and never ever even in our youth would we have attempted such a project. I will say we, contrary to our typical planning and programming, did not get bids from several companies but went with one we had experience with. It helped that our neighbor, who we’ve known and been friends with for 23+ years, and my son shared their experience and costs of going through window replacement with Anderson. The company doing our total window replacement and remaining two exterior doors is the same one that did our three door replacement last year. Same project manager and same head installer/foreman as we had for the previous door project. Our cost versus what neighbor and son paid is about 20-25% less and all they did was windows no doors. No we’re not doing Anderson windows which are arguably the very best but we’re also not going with some low end product. While Anderson is rated as A+ our windows are rated A to A-. At our age not enough of a difference to justify the cost.
As for the guest bathroom and powder room project, again far beyond our capabilities, we did get two bids. The first bid was from a Jacuzzi contractor and was only for the walk-in shower in the guest bedroom. Nothing against Jacuzzi, we think their products are very good, but the bid bordered on outrageous. After quite a bit of research we did find a highly recommended local family owned bathroom and kitchen remodeling company. They sent out a real designer who first looked at what we wanted to do. She then put together a full package that included the shower, replacement cabinets, hardware, lights, toilets, etc., for both the guest bath and downstairs powder room. All top notch products like Kohler, Delta, quartz countertops, etc. Their bid was only a bit higher than what the Jacuzzi company bid for just the walk-in shower. Helped that all the work from demolition to install is all done by in-house crew, no subcontractors. We saw no need to look further.
Point of this long post is what we call critical thinking and due diligence. We want a nice house and to be comfortable but not crazy overboard.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Wednesday, September 23, 2026 - 12:15 pm
Hello! I wrote a long post last night and then I lost the post and decided to go to bed.
So.... first, let me answer Jujuwisedog.
Juju, the house and money for the construction is all his. He'll be retiring in a year, so he will have a lot less annual income to do these type of things. Also, I expect the economy to take a deep depression era nose dive by the end of the year, so who knows where anyone will stand when that day arrives.
I've thought about minding my own business, and normally I do, but it's scratching at the back of my mind of what is this really all about? And I need to get a better understanding.
I wonder if, when all the construction on the house was going on, and it took forever and I was living there, and our contractor worked on my 2 days off, so I was losing my mind, has something to do with it.
So, I probably complained a lot. And I still make comments now and again. But, I like him otherwise. He's just not a social person at all and he does not talk at all and I was stuck with him in a small house for 8 hours a day. But, he did a good job and I adore his father.
So, I also wonder if because I complained, he went off on his own and found somebody else to do the work to spare me any grief. That is so sweet, but I will put up with Brad doing 6 windows any day of the week (quite literally) if it saves $10,000.00. Geesh. I'm well worth it, lol! But, I will not let it happen, if thats the case.
Posting now, so I don't lose the post.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Wednesday, September 23, 2026 - 12:34 pm
So, the rest of the story. I haven't heard from Brad, the contractor, yet. I don't expect to. He doesn't talk to me. He will call my bil instead, * and give him the info.
Now, this is my complaining I do.:
Geesh, I don't know why he can't call me up, and he can only talk to my bil. It's ridiculous.
And if I said it to my bf, his reply would be: He doesn't talk to me either, he only talks to your bil.
----
So, anyway, I haven't heard from my bil yet, but he had some doctor things to do today, so I will text him in a little while.
But, an interesting thing happened at work today.
We had a new customer, and at first I thought he was stuck up and rude, but he turned out to be a nice guy as far as I can tell.
I was listening to him talk to Boss Jr (the son) and he is actually in the construction biz. He does jobs all over the country and he said he does all the remodeling jobs for the mansions that are under the Whitesboro Bridge in the city. He doesnt want to do them anymore but they only want him. These are multi million dollar homes there.
So as he was leaving, I ran out the door and asked him how much should replacing 6 windows that are 3x3 with stock Anderson windows. All the framing is there and everything. Just pop them in. He thought about it a few minutes and he said about $7,000 to $7,500.
I told him about the quote for $20,000 and he said no way.
So, I have that for confirmation, too. I didn't bring up the Aztek and gutters part, but there's no way that would cost more than the windows.
And for all I know, he could have been using NYC prices for labor. Which to be fair, probably isn't much more than where I live.
Funny, how this guy should up on this particular day. I wouldn't be surprised if my mother sent him because she thinks its ridiculous, too.
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