I can tell you what my upright bass playing buddy from high school drove.... A VW Rabbit convertible. We were in an orchestra together that required a 30 minute drive each week. He had that car and I had none, so I aways rode with him. That was a VERY cold ride on winter days as the top had to be down whenever the bass was with us. This was his parents' "solution" to your problem. I do not recommend. More than once we arrived soaked because it was raining. Many years ago, we were in a similar situation except we needed to be able to haul five people and a full drum kit. We brought the kit with us to test drive cars. The sales people were amused but it was 100% necessary. We were surprised at what vehicles worked and which did not. We ended up with a Honda CR-V which I assumed would have been WAY too small.

Me too! I don't usually post to this tread but had to come in and see if anyone else has this as their starter word. I have been waiting for this day!

I do listen to podcasts and music sometimes. But the waiting I'm talking about can be 3 minutes.....not long enough to get into a storyline. Normal people can just sit tight for that amount of time, but I am usually waiting on people who are not respecting my time so being distracted is helpful (for them). And often I think I will be waiting for 3 minutes and it turns into 15 minutes.

Good tip! And yes, I am already at the these-are-not-real-words part of the Wordscapes.

I spend time most days waiting around for various things. I typically have my library book on me to kill time while waiting. But sometimes those waiting times are in short spurts of 5-10 minutes. During those times I play Sudoku on my phone. The app I have has really annoying ads and frankly, I'm getting sick of Sudoku. So, yesterday, I tried one of the other games that are advertised called Wordscape. I enjoy it quite a bit but again the ads are super annoying and kill my phone battery. I don't mind paying a reasonable amount for my preferred games to get rid of the ads but have no idea where to start. I am looking for game recommendations that meet the following: 1. Easy to be interrupted and restarted 2. Ad free 3. Not time-based (like tetris where things get more frantic over time) 4. Puzzle/logic type....similar to Sudoku, Wordle, and Wordscape

Will it allow you to save the file as another name so you can work with it?

Quinoa really does not have anything sticky in it to clump (unlike rice and millet) so anything that clumps should break apart very easily once thawed.

I have never done the layer-on-a-sheet thing. And no, nothing that I freeze like that has been clumpy. Rice and millet can have clumps, whether frozen or just being in the fridge, but the clumps are easily handled with a fork. I usually cool the pot to room temperature, then put in deli containers. Other times, I don't know how much I will use before freezing so the whole pot goes in the fridge for a day or two before I transfer some to containers for the freezer. The only things I pre-freeze on a sheet is berries and green beans as those can end up in a frozen mass that makes taking just what I need difficult.

I use pint-sized deli containers to freeze quinoa (and beans, rice, millet, etc....). I always make 4+ the amount I need and freeze the rest in those containers. I just saved them from deli foods over the years but any plastic pint container works. I also sometimes freeze in 1/2 pint or quart size. Even pint sized ziplock freezers bags if I'm in a pinch. It is REALLY nice to be able to grab a quart of rice or a pint of quinoa from the freezer rather than starter from scratch on busier days. The deli container are nice because I can run toss them in a bowl of hot tap water to defrost if I didn't plan ahead. Many a 5pm dinner panic has been solved by grabbing a pint each of rice and beans, adding them to some sautéed onions, spices, and canned tomatoes....all of which I always have on hand.

I freeze quinoa with no problems at all. I cannot even tell the different from freshly made.

I am pretty sure it will fall off before I can get into my PCP. The earliest they have an opening is two weeks from now, although I am on the "cancellation waiting list." I have to have a referral from my PCP to go to a dermatologist. I took a photo and put it in my portal but am not too hopeful on that one. The last two times I have tried to communicate via the portal, it took a few days to just get an auto-response instructing me to make an appointment. Those were much simpler questions that should have been a quick yes/no from my PCP but I don't think the actual doctor saw what I posted. So, given all of that, I see my options as going to urgent care before it falls off or waiting for my appointment in which time I am quite sure it will fall off on its own. If that happens, do I keep it (ew ew ew EW!)? If I go to urgent care, they might be able to give me a referral to a dermatologist, but again, I don't think I could get an appointment at a time in which I can take a whole day off to travel for it until after it falls off. Or maybe they can remove it at urgent care? But probably not to be biopsied? I'm just not sure what to do next..... I am glad to know this has happened to others and is probably going to be OK.

Unfortunately, no. I live in a geographically isolated location and have to travel 2-4 hours to see one.

About a year ago, a largish, dark brown, mole developed right in front of one of my ears, within the hair line. It grew rapidly, both in diameter and height. I had my PCP check in out at my annual in October. She was not concerned. It continued to grow. It was big enough that I kept catching it on all kinds of things...mostly glasses, sun and reading, which I probably take on and off 100 times a day. But also, hats, mask elastic, my hair brush/comb, etc..... I had an unrelated appointment with my PCP a couple of weeks ago and had her check it again. She was still not concerned. A couple of days after that, I was doing my hair and noticed that it turned from dark brown to grey and that part of it seemed to be detaching! It has continued to detach and now is hanging on by about 20% of the original base. This is very VERY gross! I need to know if this is normal or if I need to go back to my PCP. And also, if it is normal, can I just pull it off? It is now catching on everything, looks really nasty, and totally grossing me out! Aging is so great......

I am super curious about this. Is this a thing?

Has she tried the salt crystal type? I find it is not as effective as the super chemical stuff but works well enough if I remember to reapply periodically.

I carry a large purse that can convert into a backpack, which is handy because I walk for many errands/outings. It is usually 90% empty with room for a water bottle, book, lunch, purchases, and/or my small laptop as needed. I routinely carry the usual things. But there is one Item I carry at all times that I make use of often - pair of clean, dark colored, cotton socks. I have used them for many things. The most obvious use is as socks. I wear Chacos all summer and it is not uncommon to end up somewhere outdoors later in the evening when things cool down and my feet are the first to suffer. I put them to use in so many other ways. Makeshift mittens, "paper towel" (to do anything from cleaning up a spill to wiping the water off of an outdoor chair), small bags (for collecting beach rocks and other small items), can/bottle coozies, napkins, glasses case, pot holders (don't ask.....), emergency sanitary napkin, etc..... I first tossed a pair in my purse 20 years ago on a summer night when I thought I might want socks later and forgot about them until I spilled a coffee in my car a couple of weeks later and found I could soak most of it up with the pair of socks. I was sold after that and find a use for them at least once a month and often more frequently. People test me about it but no one is laughing when they ask to use them. In summer I also usually carry a small sarong. It rolls down into a tiny ball and can be put to use as something to sit on in the grass/sand/dirt, a cover-up when I am outside with no sunscreen, a light jacket, a way to keep mosquitos off the neck/head, a blanket for sleepy small children, an instant accessory to spruce up a plain outfit when plans change, draped over groceries in the car on a hot day, etc.....

We have Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is insurance that most, if not all, Americans over a certain age are eligible to use. Medicare does cover nursing home facilities for a limited time (90 days, I believe) for people who have an unexpected accident or illness. Medicaid is a safety net that only people who are out of significant assets and under a certain monthly income level are eligible to use. You have to be pretty poor to qualify, hence the "spend down" situation in which one must use up their assets to become eligible. It is not meant to be used by everyone nor is it funded in a way in which it could be. People of means who want to protect their assets to hand down as generational wealth have the option of purchasing their own insurance to cover end-of-life care (as well as co-insurance to supplement Medicare) without depleting their assets.

The fact of the matter is that if most Americans needed to spend some of their end-of-life time in a facility of some sort and it was 100% covered by Medicaid, we'd go broke immediately. That care can top 6 figures within 8 months. And most Americans are not paying 6+ figures in taxes over the years.

I agree with you in non end-of-life situations, that insurance should be a way in protect one against financial ruin due to an accident or random illness. Even in the case of end-of-life situations, one can take out *insurance* to cover assisted living or nursing home care while still preserving assets. Medicaid coverage of a nursing home for end-of-life care is not insurance. It is a last ditch safety net for those who have no way to pay for their care at that stage. One that most people hope to never have to use.....which is why people save for retirement and may opt to purchase long term care insurance. Once assets and/or insurance limits are exhausted, Medicaid steps in. I just don't see why that should "step in" if a person can still pay for their own care. It is especially distressing to me because it can be another way for the haves to win over the have nots. Why should someone be allowed to hand down generational wealth while also drawing on tax-payer Medicaid? That is why there are spend down rules. I am not saying the system does not have problems and is especially difficult for people that are not at the end-of-life stage or having complications like a living spouse and/or other dependents. But my basic opinion is that yes, you should indeed use up your assets for end-of-life care before asking tax payers to pay for it.

I understand the sentiment but also don't understand why someone should not use their assets to cover their end-of-life care. Why should tax payers be footing the bill for a nursing home if someone has the means to pay for it? I say that as someone who is in the soup right now, being the POA for someone in spend down. I would be the recipient of any assets left at the time of this person's death, but I still believe they should pay for their care until they are no longer able to. I am super uncomfortable with a number of situations I know of first hand where family members are "taking care" of someone they have neither the desire or skill to so safely, all in the name of "preserving assets" that the elder will not live to benefit from (or even worse, to get the SSA check each month). That is obviously not what the OP is referring to but it all ties together. I would not be comfortable doing something legally-sketchy in order to try to preserve someone else's assets for myself. (I realize that my opinions above do not work as well when there is still a living spouse or a person who may recover and need those assets.....)

As someone who is in a similar situation, I would not be willing to do this.

I've only been through this once and bungled enough of it that I should not be giving advice. But I would talk to your tax preparer before deciding how and when you will use any 529 funds. We had very little in our 529 and thought it would be easiest to use it all up in one year so as to not have to deal with that mode of payment again (it can be a PITA to get 529 payments to the school within the correct deadlines). That small amount was enough to just barely push us over the threshold to qualify for the AOTC. Had we split it into two calendar years, that would not have been the case. We basically "lost" the entire 529 money because the AOTC would have returned more to our pockets than had been in the 529 to begin with. In fact, I thought we HAD split it over two years because we used it for fall and spring semesters, crossing January 1. But because the tuition payment for spring was due BEFORE 1/1, it counted as all being used in the prior calendar year. I think, but might be wrong, that this is especially true for students living at home because they have lessened "qualifying expenses" without room and board.

We have/had three Subarus as a family. One older Outback (2009) was a total lemon (electrical gremlins) but we didn't let that sour us on Subarus in general as we did not know anything about its history and it was very high miles. We replaced it with a 2015, that still has higher miles (110K) and have been happy with it. I find the seats uncomfortable but it is my 20yo dd's so I don't have to deal with that. If you live in a snowy climate, be aware that almost all Subarus that are older than 2020 have an issue with the gas tank door release pull ceasing to work in deep winter. That is true of dd's as well and we see them all over town with their gas doors always left popped open. I know several people that have attempted to get this fixed and if they do get fixed, they don't last. It has something to do with how the release cable travels through the car, snow build up, and corrosive salts. But I see that as very minor and with the easy workaround of leaving the door popped and/or carrying a junk credit card you can use to wedge it open if needed. We also have a 2021 Crosstrek that dh loves. No issues with that one yet.

My 20yo kitty has chronic kidney disease. We elected to skip the prescription food and kept her on her raw food diet with a kidney supplement that our vet prescribed (which I later found for half the price on Amazon....). My kitty will not eat canned wet food at all. She LOVES dry food but a bout with urinary crystals 15 years ago put an end to that forever. I use commercial raw food (Darwin's) and for whatever reason, my cats don't equate it with canned wet food and eat it just fine. 20yo kitty does go through phases of having very low appetite. When that happens, a little Churu on top of her food does the trick. It does not take much.

Interesting that you ask this because this is another thing we begged her to get addressed. However, she is of a generation that "does not believe in mental illness" so we never got anywhere. But it's a moot point now. She has dementia and lives in assisted living now.