Petty Vents

[Cooking Goddess]

Boston traffic has been horrid for as long as we know. It was hellacious the first time we visited in, maybe, 1976? It's only gotten worse. LA is bad, too, but at least they have way more lanes, and real signage.

*****

I feel like someone ran me over - kinda like I have side effects from the flu shot without getting the shot. Had to cancel my dental check-up for today, and can't see my hygienist for three months! (I have a favorite. Apparently she is everybody's favorite.) Hope I feel human enough to see my stylist on Thursday. I won't have a real chance to go for a trim before we head out for our next road trip if I miss this appointment. I know, I know, first world problems.

 

[Andy M.]

Traffic in the Boston suburbs has gotten worse as well. Yo can be in stop-and-go in the middle of a weekday on some of the highways surrounding the city.

 

[Addie]

Traffic in the Boston suburbs has gotten worse as well. Yo can be in stop-and-go in the middle of a weekday on some of the highways surrounding the city.

I personal think building the Big Dig made traffic worse instead of better. The only people it helps are the folks who don't live here and are taking a flight out of Boston.

 

[roadfix]

Traffic here has gotten worse ever since the State started issuing drivers’ licenses to EVERYONE a couple years back

 

[caseydog]

My property tax invoice arrived last week. I've been avoiding looking at it. I just took the plunge. Ouch!

CD

 

[Cheryl J]

One of the pleasures of owning property. Just got mine too, here in SoCal.

 

[Addie]

Traffic here has gotten worse ever since the State started issuing drivers’ licenses to EVERYONE a couple years back

Don't you have an age minimum? In this state if you attend a state approved driving school, kids can get their license at 161/2. But with restrictions. Otherwise they have to wait until they are 17. And restrictions apply to them also. No driving between dusk and dawn and no other kids in the car. If you have a certificate then the insurance is lower.

My great granddaughter turned 16 last week. On her birthday, she raced to the bank to take out her money for driving school. That was one of the requirements her parents put on her. She had to pay for driving school out of her own money. Of course, you know what comes next. She has already started to save for her own car.

 

[caseydog]

One of the pleasures of owning property. Just got mine too, here in SoCal.

Toyota is moving their US headquarters from LA to about ten miles from my house, and the LA transplants are going nuts here. To them, a house like mine for 250K is a steal. It would be worth at least a million bucks in LA. My house is worth 100K more than it was a few years ago. Good news if I want to move, but bad news on my property taxes. My property tax rates haven't gone up, but the taxable value of my house has gone up by 100-grand. Have I said, "OUCH," yet?

CD

 

[caseydog]

Don't you have an age minimum? In this state if you attend a state approved driving school, kids can get their license at 161/2. But with restrictions. Otherwise they have to wait until they are 17. And restrictions apply to them also. No driving between dusk and dawn and no other kids in the car. If you have a certificate then the insurance is lower.

My great granddaughter turned 16 last week. On her birthday, she raced to the bank to take out her money for driving school. That was one of the requirements her parents put on her. She had to pay for driving school out of her own money. Of course, you know what comes next. She has already started to save for her own car.

I don't think he is referring to age. Just guessing.

CD

 

[rodentraiser]

Addie, he's talking about the state issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Washington does the same thing so they'll be legal to drive in the eastern part of the state for the apple growers.

 

[Farmer Jon]

My petty vent for today is that tap talk keeps logging me out of my forums. Grrrr. Then won't let me in. I haven't been able to get in for a few days. I know I put on my pass word correctly. Then today first try. Irritating.[emoji35]

 

[Farmer Jon]

It'll be a traffic nightmare for me as I head home from work in a few minutes. I live less than a mile away from Dodger Stadium.

When I was trucking long haul I had to bring a load in from Los Angeles to Boston. I must have had to go through 4 round a bouts. This poor ole farm boy never seen a traffic circle before. I was so lost.

https://youtu.be/qDxVJ471hyg

 

[Addie]

Addie, he's talking about the state issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Washington does the same thing so they'll be legal to drive in the eastern part of the state for the apple growers.

Aha! I see said the blind carpenter as he picked up his hammer and saw.

 

[roadfix]

My property tax invoice arrived last week. I've been avoiding looking at it. I just took the plunge. Ouch!

CD

Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home. When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax. I need to move out of LA.

 

[blissful]

Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home. When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax. I need to move out of LA.

When I was a child, my parents explained to me that their mortgage was $200 per month, every month, for 30 years, as it was. They explained that as time went on, the property bill would get bigger until finally at about 30 years, the property taxes would be $200 per month, even though the mortgage was done being paid. So even though it is a big bill to pay, it is made with money that has less power. Now, they owned the house, and still own it, for 53 years, and the property tax bill is about $300 per month. If they wanted to rent, they would be paying 2 to 3 times that much per month, essentially paying the property owners mortgage and property tax. Unless you are squatting on land, there's no way around it.

The down payment on a house is about the cost of a brand new vehicle. Some things never change. Oh to live on some land where there are no property taxes!

 

[Vinylhanger]

How many of you use up an entire bag of 8 hamburger or onion buns before they get tossed? Buns should be sold in 4 paks too, not just 8 paks. Hot dog buns are slightly different in that I usually use them up. Not so with large burger and onion buns. I buy the onion buns for when I cook up a roast. Thin beef slices, with Swiss cheese, mashed avocado, lettuce, onions, tomato slices, mayo and a little mustard...all on an onion bun.

With 8 onion buns in a pak, they just don't last until I want to make that sandwich again. The same goes with 8 paks of large hamburger buns. Unless you plan on having a family BBQ and use up all the buns, they go moldy. Yes, I've wrapped two onion buns and two large hamburger buns and placed them in the freezer. Hell, they always thaw out shrunken.

Heck, I eat 8 burgers at a time when we grill. They need 10 packs for me.

 

[roadfix]

Sandwich and burger buns freeze well for future use.

 

[Addie]

Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home. When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax. I need to move out of LA.

Back in the 50's/60's the banks here would take out of your checking or savings account the monies for your taxes, insurance and water bills. They would hold it and had also notified the city/town of what bank your mortgage was in.

Then one couple had paid off their mortgage and wanted this practice to stop. The bank refused. They took them to court and won. The courts said that what the banks were doing was illegal. And if you had a 30 year mortgage and had only one year to go, the bank had to pay interest to the homeowner at a certain percentage set by the courts for all those years. A lot of folks got some very big checks. Including my sister. The courts stated that what the banks were doing was taking a loan from the customer's money and should pay interest like any one who has a loan. My sister never told her husband about the check she received.

 

[Cheryl J]

Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home. When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax. I need to move out of LA.

I hear ya, RF. I'm mortgage free too, and can't really complain too much when compared to other areas. The property taxes down there in L.A. County are MUCH higher than here in Kern County. I cringe when my daughter in Valencia mentions her property tax bill.

 

[rodentraiser]

I'm looking at property to buy now and some nice lots are only taxed at $150/year. I cringe when I see that, because it sounds so good and I know as soon as a house goes on the land, that amount will shoot up to $750/year or more. Probably more.