Julie in CA
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Posts posted by Julie in CA
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Ha! How United States centered am I? It never occurred to me that someone might think CA=Canada rather than CA=California. :D
My dh, while not a mechanic professionally, is very, very experienced with cars. He's not seeing anything worrisome, though we know that there can still be hidden issues. From his perspective, at this price he can replace the motor and/or transmission if necessary, and still not come out terribly behind financially. If it were an accident such that it would cause frame damage, it would likely show on the CarFax, or there would be signs of repairs made.
I think it's possible that this guy is so difficult to understand on the phone that people are simply not making the effort to follow through. He mentioned that he's had calls, but that no one commits to coming to see the car. Honestly, I almost gave up also, until I finally sent him a text and his return text was easier to understand. His english is fine, but his accent is impossible.
If there's a catch, I'm not finding it, and I'm not sure what else to even check. :confused:
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Do not pay him unless he has the actual title.
Yes, I made it clear to him that there was no sale unless all paperwork was present & in his name, and that it matched his id. He said that that would be no problem and that he has clear title & registration.
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We have been looking for a used car for dd. She has been working hard, and is looking for a car under $10,000.
There are no used cars in that price range from dealers that have less than 90,000 miles on them.
We found a car on Craigslist, a 2011 Chevy Impala with 64,000 miles on it. We went and looked at the car, and it's nice. A little dirty, but no visible issues. No oil drips in the parking spot or on the undercarriage, oil on the dipstick looked clean, no rust, a few dings here and there. Motor sounds good & smooth, and the car drives well. The tires have some wear left in them. The air conditioner works, but could be a little colder. Owner was asking $9,900
Here's where it gets worrisome--
The owner of the car has such a strong accent that it was difficult to understand when he told us the address to come see the car. He was easier to understand in text messages, because I didn't want to keep saying, "Pardon me?" every time he said something. The neighborhood was not super-trashy, not really wealthy either, just middle-of-the-road small condo.
The owner of the car explained (when we asked why he was selling the car) that his friend had owned the car, but had to go back to Russia unexpectedly. The friend had checked into having the car shipped, but found that it was too expensive, and had signed the car over to him, telling him he could drive it for a while (he has a toddler and a baby on the way), or sell it and get what he could for it. Sounds shady, right? Hmm...
We pulled a CarFax report, and the ownership seems straightforward, it was a rental, then sold to a private party (friend), then title was transferred to this owner. There are some routine service records shown in the CarFax, and it appears to be fine. No accidents, no title issues, no service issues shown, and no recalls on that make/model.
We looked at the car last night, and texted him this morning, asking if he would take $9,000 and he countered with $9300. We said that we had $9000 only, and he accepted that offer. I asked him if the registration was in his name, and if it matched his driver's licence, and he said that it does. We will confirm that in person before buying the car.
Should I worry? I know that on the face it sounds...suspicious? I can't figure out what else could be wrong, or what else to check. The ownership seems clear, and he's not doing anything fishy like asking us to send a check somewhere else, or anything like that. What do you think?
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Yeah, Mass is more important than any dinner party or any emergency or any conversation I could have.
Sunday worship is more important than any dinner party, or any conversation. Perhaps it's the age of my dc. We are no longer always in worship together. In my world, spirituality is not really limited to that 1-2 hours on Sunday, andI am blessed to be able to worship freely any day. Responding to a text that your teen has been in an accident though? Definitely worth interrupting my worship. I just mean that while I place a huge value on uninterrupted worship, that 5 seconds that it takes me to receive an emergency notification is worth the interruption. As always though, I understand that people have different perspectives on that. :)
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And I wouldn't read a text at church. If I even brought my phone, I wouldn't look at it.
Eh, I guess I *wish* I wouldn't look, but the fact is, I definitely would.
Everyone who knows me knows that on Sunday morning I'm in church. If I receive a text message during that time, it's almost guaranteed to be an emergency, or at the very least, extremely urgent. In all these years, I've only received two text messages during church, and both times I was glad I'd gone ahead and glanced at the message rather than ignoring it until later.
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How old are her cheap ice cube trays? If the cubes aren't coming out, maybe there's a buildup of minerals over time that's making them stick? I think I'd try soaking them in vinegar, rinsing well, and then giving them another try.
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Okay, here goes:
Small fruit basket
Two ceramic rabbits, one on each side of the fruit basket.
That's it.
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Keurig
KitchenAid Mixers (yes, plural - 2 :blushing: )
Toaster
Food Processor
Cooking utensil round thing
Knife block
Crockpot
Drinking cups for the day
Phone charging cords
I like clean counters and I have a lot of counter space (every appliance has it's own outlet, lol), so my kitchen looks pretty clean. I would like to put my toaster in a cabinet as we don't use it a lot, but it makes a terrible mess every time it is moved, so it just stays out. The crockpot actually has a space in a cabinet, but we are using it often enough, it can stay out. The one thing that does need to get off the counter is our phone charging cords. Need to find a place for them.
Okay, about the mixers, you're my kinda gal!
About the toaster, I found a metal serving tray that has sides about 1" tall. The toaster lives on the tray, which I keep in a cabinet and pull out when we need it. All the crumbs are contained in the tray. :thumbup1:
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My dh pronounces the "th" in Thompson. 'Ya know, like everone says "Th"omas Jefferson. :huh: :eek: :willy_nilly:
Drives. Me. Insane. He's been doing it his entire life and refuses to believe that's not the correct way.
Actually, it wouldn't be so bad, because it's not like he's often called to specify which variety of grapes we buy, and he doesn't often discuss the founding fathers. BUT, he does a lot with cars, and his favorite tire mfg. is "Mickey Thompson". At this point, I have to pretend not to hear it, and not to worry about how stupid it is when he says it in front of other people. :rolleyes:
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Rhubarb is notoriously watery & sloshy when baked. I don't think you'll get anywhere with putting it back in the oven, but could you repurpose the pie? Maybe scoop out the filling and use it over ice cream, or layered with some simple cake cubes and whipped cream?
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What would you serve with chicken pot pie to make it a complete meal? They cannot have salad or any raw veggies, or any fruit that has seeds or skin. Just bringing the pot pie on it's own will feel too sparse to them.
Along the same lines, what sides would you serve with these other main dishes? I have things I'd usually pair together, but I'm interested in hearing what other people would do:
Pulled pork sandwiches
Chicken cordon bleu
Grilled chicken
Marinated London Broil
Pot roast
Potato cheese chowder with bacon
Salisbury steak
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I have brought meals for an elderly couple before in the past when one or the other hasn't been feeling well. Often I'd bring a meal for their freezer, a meal for their fridge to heat & eat the next night, and a hot meal for that evening.
The husband has been hospitalized recently and continues to bounce back and forth between home & hospital.
The wife sent me an email asking if I'd be willing to supply them with meals for a couple of weeks, since they've loved my cooking in the past and they really need the help.
I'd be glad to do so, but there are dietary restrictions right now, and I'm looking for meal ideas. Here is part of her email to me:
For at least two weeks Richard cannot have any raw veges because he has severe diverticulosis and probably diverticulitis because the doctor wants to rest his bowels. He likes most veges but he does not like brussel sprouts. He is to be on a bland diet so he cannot have bran, wheat germ, bread or cereal with nuts, seeds or wheatgerm flour, brown or wild rice, corn, corn meal, corn bread, fruits with seeds or skins: raw veges.
Will this be a problem for you? He can have flake cereal, mashed potatoes, pancakes, waffles, pasta, white bread, rice, applesauce, bananas, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, cooked veges without seeds. He really likes sweet potatoes and anything chocolate and the diet did not say he could not have them. The one pasta he does like is the very thin spaghetti. Let me know if all this is possible for you.
In the past they've been mostly meat & potatoes people, so I'd bring pot roast with gravy and mashed potatoes, or pan-seared herb chicken with cream sauce and roasted potatoes, or marinated london broil with garlic bread and sauteed veg. Sometimes a chicken pot pie with a green salad. Some of that may not be okay now.
I'm looking for meal ideas! :bigear:
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If so, can you convert a file from .Dpp into something I can actually open/view?
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I missed it. :-(
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Erm...I guess I was, as I've told my dc many times, the meanest mom in town.
If it made my life more expeditious, or if I thought it was an educational opportunity for them, they did indeed watch a video together, discuss, whatever.
I'm trying to think of how I enforced that. :001_unsure:
Okay, I think what I did was in the beginning, I sat the kids in assigned places in the family room, with trouble-makers & button-pushers farther away from each other. In the beginning, I had to sit there with them to make sure they didn't talk during the video, but over time they became very good at working together without my direct moment-by-moment supervision, so I could be working on something else while they watched (if I needed to).
When my kids were young, I had 5 kids age 7 and under in a 1000 sq. ft. home. It was survival mode for all of us. One of the rules was that they should try not to disturb me during the 30 seconds that I would allow myself to go to the bathroom without them. If they knocked at the door, they knew the routine:
"Mom?"
(No reply)
"Mooom?"
(No reply)
"MOMMMYY!"
Finally my reply, "Is anyone unconscious? Dripping blood? Bone sticking out through skin? Is anything on fire? No? Well then it'll have to wait until I come out."
I had to be no-nonsense in that same way when it came to watching educational stuff together. They were not allowed to talk. At all. (Or at least not in the beginning). If they did talk, I'd mention that I thought we'd probably missed out on some of the content due to the interruption, and I'd rewind/start the video over. It did not take very many times before they understood the routine. If they made it difficult, it cost them time & boredom, because they knew I'd start it over 10 times if necessary. I also often had them take notes during videos, and graded their notes, or offered the one with the best notes a bribe...uh, I mean, a reward.
It didn't take very long for them to get on board, because they knew I'd follow through Every. Single. Time. They knew doggone well that I'd hold out longer than they did, so they didn't push it after the first couple of times.It did get to the point where I can happily have them work through the same video series for an entire semester, without any problem. Sometimes I drop the requirement that they take notes, but since the kids have the routine down, they do just fine.
Occasionally, I'll have them watch something and then make up a quiz for their sibs to take. They find this highly entertaining, and some of the quiz questions are reasonable, some of them are obscure, and it definitely keeps them concentrating on the content, so they can both make a miserable quiz for their sibs, and so that they can be sure to pass whatever quiz their sibs come up with.
One thing I can say: Like many great things, it does take a LOT of discipline to get the routine set. After that though, it's rainbows and unicorns. Naw, not really! -But it does indeed make everyone's life easier if they can learn to work together successfully. Really, I think of that as a skill that's gonna make their lives much easier in the future, and that's what I'm here for--to help equip them for their future.
In a nutshell, you can make it happen if you want to, but you have to bite the bullet and do the training/teaching that gives them that skill. :)
ETA: I hope this came off as encouraging. You can do this!
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So how do you picture me?? ;-)
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I'd totally eat it. :001_smile:
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Whew! So I did the right thing. :thumbup1:
He is trying to make my problems go away in terms of making a city-owned building work for my possible new business. Very, very nice man, and I'd like to address him respectfully, but also in a way that acknowledges how friendly he's been towards me.
Thanks all!
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I have a business issue that I've been corresponding with our city manager about.
I've been addressing him as "Mr. So&So" but I noticed that in his last email he signed off with a shortened version of his first name. Does that mean that I should be using his first name now? :unsure:
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While we are clarifying who is to be invited to a wedding, tell me your thoughts on this one. Dh's brother got married 3 months after we got engaged. Dh received an invitation that said "dh and guest". Yes, they had met me and knew of our engagement. I was rather offended. Dh told his mom, who told his brother and I got an invite in the mail a week later. I wouldn't have been offended if one invite was sent to dh and it said "dh and me".
Was I wrong to be offended?
Sorry to hijack the thread, it just brought up the bad memory.
For some reason, I've had the impression that it's completely improper to send an invitation to an unmarried couple unless they are already residing together. I'd have sent it to dh and guest, unless you were someone I knew and would have invited anyway. Then I would have sent one to you at your address and one to him at his.
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I'm thinking "The Whisk and Spoon" is a cuter name and you could integrate the whisk and spoon in the lettering.
(I'm a graphic designer, but I have little time right now).
Describe more about your business feel using adjectives:
classic, modern, comtemporary, homey, up-town, downtown, etc....?
I may be able to whip up some prelim idea sketches, but, again, I can't promise.
I do these kind of things for fun now, if I have time.
I like "4th St. Cafe & Bakery" because it answers the question about where the restaurant is located, each and every time someone mentions it or sees it in print.
The location is also an integral part of the small-town business district, so the fact that it's on 4th St. is a bit of a status thing in my little town, and would add to the feel that the restaurant was sort of a "community fixture", if that makes any sense.
The concept is a breakfast & lunch cafe + bakery. Nicer than greasy spoon or hole-in-the-wall. A place where the farmers (who are more sophisticated businessmen than you might think) could come & meet for business over a hearty breakfast. At lunchtime, I'm expecting to serve the people who work at city hall, the police department, and the farm bureau. All of those places are right across the street in one direction or another from my corner lot.
I don't want it to be too cutesy for the farmers & other businessmen, while keeping in mind that it really is a small-town cafe and needs to fit in & blend with the rural community.
I want the whisk & spoon forming an X to have simple & clean lines, just black & white. I think that would be a good choice because it would look equally as good on a sign above the door as it would in very small size on a business card. I'm not sure about how to incorporate the business name along with that.
I appreciate your help, but completely understand if you're too busy. :-)
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I need a logo for my business idea, and I don't really know how to go about getting it done. Anyone able to answer that for me?
I want a crossed whisk & wooden spoon, just a line drawing, and then the name of the business (4th St. Cafe & Bakery) in some creative way.
Any ideas?
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Off topic Julie, but have you got a picture/link of the dress you'll be wearing??
This dress in gunmetal: ETA: The dress is longer on me than it is on the model in the picture.
http://www.jcpenney....d=SearchResults
These shoes with this bag: ETA: All of the shoes & bags were ordered online & are set to arrive tomorrow.http://www.zappos.co...lie-lynn-pewter
http://www.zappos.co...na-larry-pewter (as long as the bag isn't too shiny)
Or these shoes and this bag:
http://www.zappos.co...na-forbes-steel
http://www.zappos.com/nina-logan-steel (I bought the bag in "steel" color, they're just out of it now, I think)
I admit that the shoes & bag are pretty pricey. Definitely more than I would spend on my own, but I had a set amount of money gifted to me to spend on my outfit, and it all added up to the right amount after I got the dress on sale.
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Ds is getting married next weekend. I have made arrangements to have the rehearsal dinner at a nearby community hall, and I've arranged to have a caterer friend take care of the meal.
Do we have to do anything else for that dinner? Like, are we supposed to say something before or after the meal, or anything like that?
I don't know why I can't remember how that usually goes. :001_rolleyes:
Is this a used car scam?
in The Chat Board
Posted
Just how far away *are* you? :bigear:
I'm hoping that his is one of those things too. I almost felt a little sorry for the guy. He seemed surprised that no one who called would even come to see the car. I almost didn't myself. Hopefully I'm not just being a chump. He seemed like a nice guy who's trying to support his family, and he can't get someone to even look at the car because he can't make himself understood on the phone. {sigh} I think maybe I've done all I can do, and that if the paperwork is in order, we should do it.
ETA: When we asked him for the VIN number so we could check for accidents on the record, he didn't seem concerned, just said that as far as he knew, his friend had not been in any accidents, and that he didn't think the friend would have bought a car that had.