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I first got mine to flee to Europe in the 70s. I don't think any of my siblings, nor even my parents, had gotten passports prior to that (or even for some time after). All of our international travels up til then were to Mexico, back in the days when Americans didn't need passports to go there or to return to the US.

 

Tried to read my insurance policy, but I'm not sure I'm reading it correctly. If I am correct the foundation probably is not covered. Still need to get a structural engineer out to assess it.

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I was in a family passport in 1965/66 when we went to London, England.   Here is a link to the rather dour family photo used in the passport: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9bK5PGV41Ud2zQVZ6 .  I am in the middle of the front row between Bob and Cecily.  My Dad is holding David.   I wonder if they still do family passports.  

 

I think the first time I got my own passport was 1982 when I went to a summer study abroad program at Oxford University in England.

 

Cathy

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@cdrdash, family passports stopped decades ago.

 

@Semisweet, that's one of the biggest gripes with the insurance industry. Making a successful claim against a third party's insurer and your premium goes up.

 

WorkBenz got a knock yesterday :mad:. I was turning at a junction, and the person alongside changed their mind about which way they were going, and turned straight across me. I'm lucky - it's taken a bit of paint off the bumper, but probably done about £1500 to £2k damage to theirs. 

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4 hours ago, cdrdash said:

Here is a link to the rather dour family photo used in the passport: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9bK5PGV41Ud2zQVZ6 .  I am in the middle of the front row between Bob and Cecily.

I love your expression! My current passport has the most terrible picture--i look like I'm 100 and was just dug up from the grave! The photographer wouldn't let me have even the hint of a smile (not allowed, he said, so I look very dour) and I also wasn't allowed to wear my glasses, without which I am lost. Needless to say, the result is not good and I'm embarrassed to have to show it. But I'm stuck with it for another 7 years!

 

9 hours ago, Muledeer said:

I wouldn't have a clue how to go about getting a passport or a visa or whatever is required for international travel.  I would really like to explore the UK, Ireland,  and Down Under after retiring this year or next. 

You definitely should! It's well worth the initial hassle. 

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3 hours ago, teatree said:

My current passport has the most terrible picture--i look like I'm 100 and was just dug up from the grave!

Same, and for the same reasons!

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9 hours ago, daveb said:

I first got mine to flee to Europe in the 70s. I don't think any of my siblings, nor even my parents, had gotten passports prior to that (or even for some time after). All of our international travels up til then were to Mexico, back in the days when Americans didn't need passports to go there or to return to the US.

 

Tried to read my insurance policy, but I'm not sure I'm reading it correctly. If I am correct the foundation probably is not covered. Still need to get a structural engineer out to assess it.

The reason I used the word flee is that Canadians have been convinced by the media and travel industry that our winters (especially in southern Ontario between Michigan and upstate New York) are similar to those of Siberia...

 

When I was in public school in the 70s, I only knew of 2 families that travelled south to Florida. Now it's everyone and their dog goes south.

 

3 hours ago, teatree said:

I love your expression! My current passport has the most terrible picture--i look like I'm 100 and was just dug up from the grave! The photographer wouldn't let me have even the hint of a smile (not allowed, he said, so I look very dour) and I also wasn't allowed to wear my glasses, without which I am lost. Needless to say, the result is not good and I'm embarrassed to have to show it. But I'm stuck with it for another 7 years!

I've had drivers licence photos that could pass as a mug shot.

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AllThisTime
3 hours ago, teatree said:

My current passport has the most terrible picture

This reminds me when I went to get my vulnerable sector police check done. The woman behind the counter looked down, then up, then said  "Don't go to Mexico with this passport".  It really is awful and I didn't realize just how bad until she said it!   

 

@will123 "The reason I used the word flee is that Canadians have been convinced by the media and travel industry that our winters (especially in southern Ontario between Michigan and upstate New York) are similar to those of Siberia..."

It's true, we've become a bunch of wusses ... someone was commenting (I was going to say whining) about the 4 inches of snow that got dumped the other day.  It's April in Canada, people! This is normal! 

 

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People are laughing at me for waiting until the second to last business day to get my snow tires off but it’s April!  It’s hot today and could snow tomorrow anyway.

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AllThisTime
1 hour ago, ryn2 said:

the second to last business day to get my snow tires off but it’s April!

I am getting my snow tires taken off today. I get a credit on my car insurance because my snow tires are on after April 1 (this is common, but not something that seems to be publicized).  I also have them getting quotes for a trailer hitch. I've purchased a little Leesure-Lite trailer (small enough to be pulled behind a motorcycle) that I look forward to using this year. soooo excited!

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16 minutes ago, AllThisTime said:

I get a credit on my car insurance because my snow tires are on after April 1 (this is common, but not something that seems to be publicized).

Huh, never heard of that.  I wonder if I should ask my agent.

 

Mine have to be off by May 1 as they are studded.

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3 hours ago, will123 said:

The reason I used the word flee is that Canadians have been convinced by the media and travel industry that our winters (especially in southern Ontario between Michigan and upstate New York) are similar to those of Siberia...

I get it. :)

I italicized my flee because it wasn't the same thing. I wasn't really escaping anything (except an unpleasant job). 

 

55 minutes ago, AllThisTime said:

trailer

Looks cute and handy

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2 hours ago, AllThisTime said:

. I've purchased a little Leesure-Lite trailer (small enough to be pulled behind a motorcycle) that I look forward to using this year. soooo excited!

Those are cool little trailers!

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10 hours ago, AllThisTime said:

This reminds me when I went to get my vulnerable sector police check done. The woman behind the counter looked down, then up, then said  "Don't go to Mexico with this passport".  It really is awful and I didn't realize just how bad until she said it!   

 

@will123 "The reason I used the word flee is that Canadians have been convinced by the media and travel industry that our winters (especially in southern Ontario between Michigan and upstate New York) are similar to those of Siberia..."

It's true, we've become a bunch of wusses ... someone was commenting (I was going to say whining) about the 4 inches of snow that got dumped the other day.  IT'S APRIL IN CANADA, PEOPLE! THIS IS NORMAL! 

 

I hope you're not including yourself in the wuss category. LOL

 

I have encountered some nasty snowfalls in April. I recall one bad one in the early 70s. I witnessed the aftermath of a hit and run car accident during another April in the 80s. Then last April we got 8 inches of snow in one snowfall (more than during all of March). A lot of people nowadays seem to think that since March 20th is the last day of winter, we shouldn't get any more snow afterwards :rolleyes: 

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8 hours ago, AllThisTime said:

I am getting my snow tires taken off today. I get a credit on my car insurance because my snow tires are on after April 1 (this is common, but not something that seems to be publicized).  I also have them getting quotes for a trailer hitch. I've purchased a little Leesure-Lite trailer (small enough to be pulled behind a motorcycle) that I look forward to using this year. soooo excited!

The Prolite trailers are a little bigger than that, but cool looking too.

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@AllThisTime, reading your comment about a discount for snow tyres made me giggle. In Britain, until into this decade, fitting winter tyres was considered a modification to your vehicle, and doing so could put your premium up, or, if you didn't tell your insurers, jeopardise a claim. Fortunately common sense now prevails. 

 

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Sleepy Otter
On 4/11/2019 at 3:39 PM, pickles mcgee said:

How close do you live?  I feel a little ridic having lived fairly close to Canada for the past going-on 13 years without ever going.  I'll be able to look across to Canada this weekend, as I have have been able to plenty of times.  That's how close I have gotten!

I am basically within an hour of Montreal.  Still catching up, have four pages to go so sorry if I miss something with this post.

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Montreal was a cool city to visit. :) 

(especially with a cool friend to visit it with)

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Sleepy Otter
On 4/14/2019 at 4:14 AM, Autumn Sunrise said:

I had the worst fright last night: Bennie (one of the two kittens my daughter adopted about a year ago) suddenly let out an loud, unearthly scream that seemed to come from the laundry. After I found him (cowering behind the chaise upstairs, with his tail up like a brush) I searched the entire house, but found nothing. However, the laundry door is mainly glass, and I think he may have spotted a fox - apparently there are a few in the neighbourhood. I don't want to hear a noise that that again any time soon!

 

My cats had an altercation with a racoon through a window years ago and made sounds I had never heard before nor do I want to hear ever again.  He saw something for sure.

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Sleepy Otter

I leave my snow tires on until I have to replace them.  Too cheap to pay the fee to switch them, and really, I use them from October to May, so what's the point?  Even when I did switch them, I had to buy new ones every 2 years, which is what I get out of them now, basically.  Maybe if I drove more it would make a bigger difference.

 

And I have had my passport since 1997 for a college trip to England and Scotland (it was awesome!).  I keep it current because I figure it is better than an enhanced license (which I have to renew this year, so that should be fun...).  Haven't needed to use it except to those 2 trips to Canada, but it was helpful then.  Renewing is easy if you have a good post office, and I had the same experience with looking 100 and glasses @teatree.

 

I am loving the pictures @cdrdash, @Muledeer, and @Tja.  I will say, that yellow building really made me smile!  And glad your house is finally under way.  And as for your house @daveb, probably looking to knock something off the price or they liked the house except for the way the foundation was constructed (as in, it needed to be their definition of perfect).  Hopefully things go better in the next round.

 

Hang in there @Spotastic!  We are all pulling for you.

 

I love that little trailer @AllThisTime!  I hope you get lots of enjoyment out of it.

 

Welcome to the newbs!  I haven't been here that long in the grand scheme of things, but have found peace with my world and hope you do too : )  I have found the people here to be amazing.

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26 minutes ago, Sleepy Otter said:

And as for your house @daveb, probably looking to knock something off the price or they liked the house except for the way the foundation was constructed (as in, it needed to be their definition of perfect).  Hopefully things go better in the next round.

Thanks!

Well, I arranged to bring in a structural engineer to assess the foundation in a couple of weeks. That's not cheap, but if there are any issues better to know about them and have them fixed, and if there aren't then I will have an official report to back me up. And maybe I will just end up staying in this house anyway, and fix some things over time so whenever I do sell it some day I can get a good price.

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1 hour ago, Sleepy Otter said:

Too cheap to pay the fee to switch them

Mine are studded, so on before Oct. 15 or not off by May 1 = ticket and fine.

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2 hours ago, Sleepy Otter said:

 

Welcome to the newbs!  I haven't been here that long in the grand scheme of things, but have found peace with my world and hope you do too : )  I have found the people here to be amazing.

That's a great way of putting it!

 

And yes the folks here are great. I've asked some pretty dumb questions (in my mind) and they've been answered without hesitation or judgement :) .

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Awesome hike today on my Friday off at Pinnacles National Park about 100 miles south of San Jose California.  The wild flowers were amazing!   I also enjoyed having a new hiking companion for this hike, Jeannie.   We had a fabulous time.  

 

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8ffkfAo7BkfZ87GBA

 

Two more hikes to go this weekend!!  Tomorrow is Briones Regional Park north west of Oakland, California.  Then on Sunday Sharon and I will go check out the wild flowers at Harvey Bear Coyote Lake park in Morgan Hill California.

 

Cathy

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@cdrdash, great photos as always 🎂 🎂

 

@Tja, new flooring is definitely progress 

 

Nothing so adventurous here, an eight mile (thirteen Km) amble along the riverbank between Eastleigh and Winchester 

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15 hours ago, daveb said:

Those old market buildings are interesting, with all of the open space underneath. Very distinctive.

Amazing it was built in 1655.  Are all the market buildings perches on pillars?  Do they have an open market beneath the building?

@Tja I like the color and style of your flooring.  Is it real hardwood plank flooring?

@cdrdash interesting rock formations and wildflowers.

@Skycaptain I think an eight mile hike along a riverbank is plenty adventurous!

 

I spent the last two days raking the thatch from my lawn, by hand.  My back and legs are still kind of sore.  More outside work planned today - it finally feels like spring.

 

Today is 420 Day.  It is the unofficial day that America celebrates the culture of Cannibus.  Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a canibus  dispensary in Colorado.  Here's how legal weed is sold:  In Colorado, it is legal to possess and purchase.   The regulation of the sale and distribution is left to the local governments.  So some towns have dispensaries, and some do not.  When you enter the dispensary, you must present your legal ID and it is scanned.  Only people 21 and older are allowed inside.  Then you can enter the bud room, where there are usually 3-4 "budtenders" working the sales counter.  You must wait in line for the next available budtender, then they will show you and let you examine (sniff) the different strains and varieties, which are displayed in gallon -sized clear containers behind the sales counter.  The cost ranges anywhere from about $100 per ounce to $90 per quarter ounce (7G), depending on quality and preference.  They sell strains of weed with names like Sour Diesel, Moby Dick, and Gorilla Glue.   The THC content of all strains has been tested and is listed on the label.  They also sell edibles.  All the edibles are precisely dosed so they contain either 5, 10 or 20 mg of THC.  CBD products are also sold.  

You may purchase up to the equivalent of one ounce of marijauna in plant form and/or edibles.  You must pay with cash.  It is illegal to leave the state with any of it.     It has been legal in Colorado now since 2013.  Things haven't fallen apart or gone to Hell because of it, in fact, Colorado is thriving!      Happy 420 Everyone!

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