Caoimhe

The former standard 30-pin? I still have a couple of those hanging around from our iPhone 4/4S before Lightning replaced it. I couldn’t agree more about the outlets and voltages, I’ve had to replace too many things throughout my life because they wouldn’t work in the place I was moving. Sometimes a step-down transformer would do the trick, other times nothing would make a device work. I only own the (overpriced) sewing machine brand I do because they’re dual voltage and could move with me, but for their overlocker I couldn’t bring myself to pay the price so I’ve had to buy new ones.

I feel your pain. Our trees and grass are still covered, the driveway and steps haven’t melted, and we aren’t getting anywhere near the forecast temps as it still feels below freezing. It’s supposed to be spring. 🤬😡

YES. We did this all the time, I was really shocked that it’s not a “thing” in the US and trying to transfer money electronically is difficult and expensive. Before we sold the house there it was how we paid everyone, we still do it to send money gifts to the family (since actual gifts get picked up for customs charges regardless of being marked as a gift, which is a huge peeve of mine). We can transfer from Ireland to the US easily, it does cost but not too much. From the US to Ireland has been impossible to figure out.

The landscape people don’t offer any option other than cheque so I still write them for snow removal as well as spring cleanup. I know there are other things, husband’s golf club membership and the HOA are the two that come to mind. I can pay online for some things with a $1 fee from the checking account and I prefer doing that where I can, it’s worth the fee not to mail a cheque. Credit card fees are too high for that to be a viable option.

The bark mulch outside my window is white but thankfully that’s it. As desperate as I am for some warmth we still have shovels and the snowblower at the front of the garage and will likely leave them there until May. Last year we had a big snowstorm on April 4!

No, but I have so many books I mightn’t notice. They’re sorted by recent and nothing has ever appeared that I didn’t buy or borrow myself. At the moment I’m trying to get a new Kindle set up with my 2800+ Amazon books and another 700+ from my pre-Amazon days. I think it’s time to go through and delete the few I don’t want to keep. I’m also trying to convince myself that I don’t want to purchase a particular favourite series AGAIN just because I can’t get the Kindle to put them in order as I bought them from Fictionwise way back in the past.

I love brown bread and made it for years (when I didn't buy McCambridge's!), but it doesn't agree with my husband and I've given up bread so I don't do it any more. One thing I miss was the packs of mixed smoked fish I could get in any supermarket, it made fabulous meals and one of the things I used it in was a chowder.

I was wrong! In a WhatsApp chat I brought it up only to be told several McDonalds around the country are actually selling these. There was only one anywhere near us and they never did, but apparently many others do!

No, it’s not at all religious for many years now. Mainly just a holiday with the odd parade in many towns but no particular meal, at least not in our families. I recall an American place on Grafton Street in Dublin used advertise “green beer” and places like the Abbey Tavern would do corned beef and cabbage for the American tourists. It’s a day off work/school and a junket for the Irish politicians who jet off around the world to celebrate it in other countries and promote Ireland. The Taoiseach, Tanaiste, and eight ministers visited the US. In all 38 politicians visited more than 90 cities in 40 countries this year. And no, I’ve never seen Shamrock Shakes in an Irish McDonalds @PRgal

No, that was Rumpole of the Bailey.

Our two senators voted with the MAGAs. It feels like there’s no point in my voting any more because even our Democrats wouldn’t stand up to Trump, I can just imagine the triumphant posts he’s making on his platform. While one senator is standing down when her term ends they are both a huge disgrace and I will never vote for the other if she decides to run again.

I've downsized physical books to one single (small) bookcase so I'm not adding more, but wanted to say I love those Roman series! I have all of Falco and Flavia plus Gordius, a few Ruth Downie and about half of the Corvinus on Kindle. Edited to add: My husband has now decided NOT to stop sending cards and asked me to make some for the five birthdays coming up in the next month and a half. The cards I make these days don't use half of the supplies I have so there is scope for downsizing anyway! It's the kind of thing where I see something I like, buy the supplies to make it, and never touch them again. I once bought a kit to add lights to cards which is ridiculous because posting a card with a battery inside and all the bulk of the copper "wiring" and little LED lights is impossible. I made a few and gave them in person but did get rid of the leftovers. I need flat cards to mail! I've also discovered yesterday that some of my markers and ink pads have dried out so there's an easy decision.

Greeting cards. Among my clutter(!) is a LOT of cardmaking supplies - machines, cutting dies, stamps, inks, stencils, and SO much more. Yesterday my husband commented that it's time for us to stop exchanging cards, partly because of the price to purchase one (for them) and the ridiculous €2 it costs to post one. So I now wonder if it's time to decimate that section of my craft room. It's emotionally difficult because my mother LOVED doing paper crafts and making cards and a lot of the items I have came from her craft room. But she's been gone over a decade now and I can point to many things I got from her that haven't been touched in all that time. So maybe letting go would be good, and the local Girl Scouts office happily took everything the last time I decluttered. Anyway my real issue is about continuing to send cards or not. These are all people we talk to over FaceTime regularly and visit for "major" birthdays. We send money gifts for the young ones via bank transfer to their mams' accounts. I know cards are mainly sent by us oldies these days and wonder if I should get with the times rather than feel guilty about stopping. Opinions?

This is what I'm ready for us to do NOW (mid-late 60s)! But my husband isn't on board at all, and even when I found a lovely apartment last year that we could buy (and where it might be noticed if we're dead...) No. We are staying in the house because he's "not ready to leave it". All I can say is that I need to die before him because this house is WAY too much for me to deal with. I have told my husband to just throw out all my sewing machines and supplies, I have no quilting friends locally so that's not an option. The newest machine is particularly expensive but no one I know personally would want it and he'll have more important things to do than dealing with my sewing room. Our house is decidedly cluttered (another reason I really want to move) and sadly most of the junk belongs to me.

The local City Hall will accept a copy of my driving license to verify my identity and residence then post things out to me, no idea why the library won't. I'm only interested in ebooks but as long as they insist on me walking into the building I won't bother with it. Someday things may change.

Library cards. I'd like to get one so I can borrow ebooks from the library system which shouldn't require going near the actual building. But while I can apply for one online it can only be collected in person which is ridiculous, just mail it to me!

I use that mix as a fabric starch substitute!

So many foods I miss and Branston Pickle is definitely on that list! There is no substitute.

I remember heavy carry on bags with several books for my frequent air travel, I couldn’t be sure what I’d feel like reading so I needed options. Between the convenience and the lack of storage space needed (not to mention a large number of moves) digital content just suits my life better. My husband has a small bookshelf of paperbacks but I find them difficult to hold these days. The other advantage was that I could read at night in bed without waking my husband. I’ve never been a good sleeper and having a book to distract me is how I would get through the night. Now I have earbuds and Audible!

I’ve typically had friends who were older than me. Part of it, from my mid-30s on, is that their children were grown and independent so they had time to get together and do things. People my own age mainly had children at home so they were incredibly busy. As a former Catholic I wish the best for Pope Francis, whatever that outcome may be. He’s always struck me as a good man who cares about people.

I believe you’ll be fine. I am a control freak, own ebooks from many sources other than Amazon, and want the option to move my huge ebook library to a Kobo device with page turn buttons when my last Kindle Oasis dies. Much of my library is side loaded from my old files, Amazon wants me to upload them to their cloud instead which I won’t do. But most people will not see any changes to what they do now and how they use their Kindles.

I’ve been purchasing ebooks for decades from defunct sites like Fictionwise and BooksOnBoard plus others like Baen (who have always been DRM-free). Because of that I began using Calibre many years ago to store my purchases so I wouldn’t lose them. I still lost some very old MSLit format ebooks that I didn’t decrypt in time but my Kindle ebooks up to now are saved on my computer. I’ve just cancelled two Kindle books I had pre-ordered for later this spring and will start buying from Kobo or other places that will allow me that control. I’m just happy I wasn’t in a mad panic like so many others I’ve seen trying to download years of purchases in just a week!

While it's not quite the same thing I had one of the infamous 2019 16" MacBooks that only stayed running if it was plugged in and never allowed to "hibernate". Even then it would have GPU panics and restart for no good reason at random times. I lived with it for over five years (I also have a Dell desktop running Windows) . I didn't feel sad sending it off for trade in even though I got next to nothing for it!

My husband was on the train home from work years ago and overheard a speakerphone conversation that shouldn't have been happening in public. He rang his counterpart in that company the next day and told them this transaction was being discussed in public. So yes, you never know who can overhear you OR who they know!