Cold, Stubborn, and Cheap!

My father informed me that last week another record was set in his bedroom...

He said the thermostat hit a mind- and body-numbing 37 degrees in the wee hours of the morning!

Why? Because he and my other alleged biological parent *like it cold*.

Now this isn't the North Pole; it's Massachusetts. And it's not 1800, it's the year 2013.

They started out young and cheap, which is fine.

But as they got older and wealthier, the *no heat* thing went from being a point of pragmatic cheapness to one of obstinacy. Hence now they *like it cold*.

This subject is always a fun conversation starter. Out with a group of earthlings....ask everyone what they set the thermostat at - in the summer and in the winter.

Not for nuthin', but most people are friggin' profligate wimps. They put the heat on to 70 at night.

We do 60 degrees at night and I haven't met anyone in my (wealthy?) social circles who does likewise. The lowest I've heard is 65.

Oh, and the Florida Morons are hilarious too...how they put the heat on at 65!

Man up, y'all.

Customers Versus Friends And Family

My teaching and tutoring side business is finally gaining steam.

My clients are not actually the students. More accurately, my clients are the *parents*.

And this is a completely new experience for me - not teaching math, but having customers.

I must say I'm starting to really like it!

Consider this...

These parents:

•  Respect me
•  Are very much interested in my opinions
•  Do exactly what I tell them (sometimes)
•  They PAY ME!

Up until now my entire life's social interaction had been mostly with *friends and family*....and y'all know how much of a pain in the rump they can be!

I've always had very, very strong opinions and beliefs. So it's nice to finally find some people who are genuinely interested in them.

Again, this is one of the many reasons I knew we'd be better off amongst the 15 million people in the NYC area. It's just easier here to find the people and the lifestyle that suit you best.

Throw Her Out!

It's coming at me from everywhere....but I saw it on Laura Grace Weldon's stream first.

Really, 25 million views in a week???!!!

The thing is....punishment like this at age 15 really won't/doesn't work.  These parents lost their daughter to the *youth culture* a long time ago.  This is what *school* does to families and generations - it estranges them from each other.

See also - Complete Book Review - Hold On To Your Kids.

Money - Can't Take It With You

My grandmother just became a complete ward of the State of Massachusetts.

Grandpa died 20 years ago. She lived on her own; then at a subsidized home; then at an assisted-living facility until recently when her money ran out.

She had - I believe - 300k after selling her house not long ago. But the monthlies on her care ultimately devoured all that cash.

So now taxpayers are footing the bill, er bills, but at a lesser place than she had been at.

When my father told me how this all worked (you have whittle your accounts down to zero to gain eligibility) I was a little surprised - but only because I was completely ignorant about typical end-of-life living.

It's all really sad. My grandmother doesn't recognize anyone and has all the usual maladies of a nonagenarian. She's not just dying alone, she'll have been living alone for many, many years before leaving this world.

I mean, is this what we all have to look forward too?

She is/was a very difficult woman and there was *no chance* that she was going to live with my father or his brother. Old folk, even if moderately healthy, do need around-the-clock care - even just for incontinence and whatnot. My father said he could have conceivably taken care of (butt wipe) his father but not his mother.

But still, theoretically my grandmother could have moved-in with my parents (or uncle)....they could have hired nurses to stop by here and there....much of that money would not have gone to waste....AND taxpayers could have been spared.

Obviously if they didn't have this *welfare* state those people that can afford their own end-of-life care would pay for it themselves - and the money would be spent a whole lot more efficiently. People would simply figure it out, as they did for thousands of years before the tyranny of Big Government entitlements.

And dotage might not be so lonely...

Nut Family - Youngest Bloggers AND Oldest Pilots!

This headline/article hit the wires recently:

But guess what...

My grandfather was a pilot in the Polish Air Force too...

He escaped Hitler and made his way to England as well...

And he turned 98 just the other day!

So he's older than that gentleman (the *oldest*) that just passed away.

The difference is that my grandfather didn't actually fly combat missions in England. I'm not sure why but I do know there was a shortage of planes and other supply issues.

If he HAD FLOWN, there's a good chance he might not have made it, met my British grandmother, had the child that is my mother, etc.

But betting against his indefatigable man, over all these years, would have been unsavvy to put it mildly.

He's 98 today, still lives at home, has held off skin cancer for years with his herbal remedies, takes care of himself and gets about fairly well, and still can beat me at chess despite impaired vision...

For more on these Polish pilots that *saved* Britain see my book rec and post from nearly 6.5 years ago - Poland and FDR's Depraved Indifference.

Artic-Bound

My youngest cousin is getting married in York, Maine on Saturday. I'm very excited to go up north before the snow hits (next week?).

On my mother's side there were 12 of us cousins. And after this weekend they will essentially all have been married except for one, a forty year old, well-marbled male - who my first wife insists, despite innumerable girlfriends, is a closeted invert. Whatever.

Around age 30 we were in wedding-overload. Many were fun but there were plenty that were brutal - obligatory, boring, in undesirable locales, expensive, etc. Thank God we're finally out of this life stage. There are a few re-marriages on the horizon....but those tend to be, or SHOULD tend to be lower key.

It should be clear sailing once I get over the Throg's Neck Bridge tomorrow morning. It's been painful lately. The GPS says 5.33 hours to York; but it will take us 7 with stops and traffic.

The best part of the trip, sorry Cousin, is that I'm going to play Wentworth By The Sea Country Club with a long-lost buddy on Sunday morning in New Hampshire. This is my fifth private club invitation in the past two months....so why should I ante up and join a club of my own??? Plus I have nearby Bethpage...

Alright I was kidding.  I've very happy for my cousin and excited to see my entire family at what will no doubt be the last family wedding for several years.

Alternative Vacation Idea

Apparently now you can *vacation* on a farm. See - FarmStayUS.com.

My first wife always complains about my alternative vacation ideas: camping (trailer!) in Maine, homeschool convention in Ohio, canoe trip/camping on Delaware River, etc.

Though crashing at a farm sounds like fun to me - and the kids would surely love it - I have a feeling that if my wife wakes up to the smell of steamy manure and sunrise roosters she might stop bluffing and finally divorce me!

BTW, I don't think it's necessarily cheap. The couple I looked at are far from youth hostel rates at $100+ per night.

Avuncular Impropriety

Are you a baby butt-pincher?

I never was.

But my inlaw BILs are - all three of them.

My daughter's 5 now and I think it's wholly inappropriate for them to be grabbing the Princess' little bum. In fact my blood boils at the mere thought of this - and I might be prone to some f-bombs and threats should I witness it again.

I mean, what would they think if I was grabbing their 8, 12, 17, and 20 year old daughters' rumps? I myself don't think it's EVER appropriate for a man to revel in the butt of another man's child. At the very least, there's definitely a cut-off point, an age when this activity must cease. But as a male WITH A CLUE I myself have never and would never even touch ANY other child in almost any fashion.

Men are simply not to be trusted in these matters. It's an all-risk, zero-reward situation. They can admire....without touching..

In fact, every once in a while parents, *moms*, will leave their daughter at my house for playdates with my daughter. But honestly, I would never leave my young kids at a house, alone, with a male. I wouldn't leave my kids with me! So I try to arrange this stuff only on days when my wife is home - AND I'm sure to advertise her presence.

What kills me is the sheer stupidity of these men. Only a complete Moron would open themselves up to *accusation*.

I don't really know what my plan should be. I could be pre-emptive and tell them all to stop. But then when they inevitably do it again due to a pronounced lack of self-control, I might go even more ape-$hit at the defiance.

Pop-In Hell

Recall there was that one instance where Jerry complained that he couldn't get any work done because people kept *popping in* his apartment.

That pretty much describes our plight.

For example, yesterday members of my wife's family popped in an astounding five separate times, unannounced, throughout the course of the day. In fact the last one followed a jarring 10:15pm phone call (we were in bed!) and occurred at around 11pm. It involved 10 car door slams and a bellowing cell phone call made right outside our bedrooms - again we were trying to sleep. And believe me, none of these urgent visits are half as important as the cushion Kramer wanted to borrow!

Heck at 6pm I was complaining to my wife over a rare dinner together about this very issue - for the umpteenth time - when, on cue, her brother burst in screaming "HELLO!" to interrupt our meal AND the work the kids were doing.

This happens all the time. My homeschooled kids are doing *work* off and on all day long, ALL WEEK LONG, ALL YEAR LONG. We squeeze their workbooks, reading, computer time in between activities, parks, and down time. But I have trouble getting everything accomplished when people keep dropping in and lingering until who knows when. And I'm not even counting the quiet family time that the four of us need for marital health OR the hours I should be putting into my website either - nor am I broaching how nasty a few of them are to me.

You see not a single member of my wife's family has a *hobby*. I mean they have NOTHING in the way of personal passions outside of color TV (sports and news), booze, food, shopping, and moving old furniture back and forth across Long Island. Nor have I ever seen one of them reading a book. So they spend weekends figuring out elaborate ways to get involved in each other's lives.

(For example - Once my BIL, called his mother, my MIL, who asked her daughter, my first wife, to ask me(!), if we had any *Tums* and if I could bring one to my teenage nephew who was 15 minutes away, at work, and had an upset stomach. Needless to say I refused to indulge this inanity insanity!)

Each one of them probably has no clue that collectively we get bombarded all day long with pop-ins. But knowing them for 13 years now I'm quite sure none of them would care anyway. And I doubt any of them care that stuff like this is causing serious problems in my marriage. In their minds, they conveniently all think I'm the one who's out-of-whack...

A guy I knew from my trading days, an older guy, told me that his otherwise decent marriage was destroyed single-handedly by his old school Brooklyn Italian inlaws. He said every weekend the extended family spent sitting around eating, drinking, and watching TV. Unfortunately he couldn't extricate his wife from that cycle. So his poor daughter ended up being raised by divorced parents.

Revisit Boston Market

Shoot....after karate yesterday I took the kids out to lunch at Boston Market.

And I was shocked at what we experienced.

For $17.30 the three of us ate *the best meal ever* - according to my 50% Italian son. (Those people are prone to hyperbole.)

And it was good. Not only did they bring the food to our table, but I was also given the privilege of actual silverware and a washable plate. A sign on the table asked us not to clean up either - no doubt to avoid trashed silverware, etc.

I can't well remember the last time I ate there (10 years?) but I'm sure I didn't walk out so all-around satisfied.

It is amazing/pathetic the things that excite you as an aging family man!

My Travel Ambitions

My wife has to go to South America next month for 11 days for work. She asked me if I had any desire at all to accompany her to Brazil (and Uruguay). After all my sister and her family just moved to Brazil so perhaps I could visit them.

But it wasn't a serious question in the sense that I don't know what we'd do with the kids. I couldn't imagine taking them; we don't really have good/cheap family *help* that we could tap; etc.

Regardless of the children I told her that I had ZERO desire to go to South America....and she was shocked.

In fact, I have had ZERO desire to go anywhere exotic really for quite some time now.

Sure I enjoy Florida in the winter, but that is more of a negative trip - an effort to get away from the painful Northeastern winter.

If you pressed me, I'd tell you there are only a couple of places I presently have the urge to go to.

One, I'd like to visit the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

And two, I'd like to fly to California and drive all over the state - sightsee from top to bottom.

(I'd also like to hike Mt. Katahdin in Maine, something I hope to pull off this year since we have two weddings up there to attend.)

The other week my wife spent working in London and Geneva with those *global banking criminals*. I was surprised when she came back beaming about London. She said it was *hip* and *hopping* and that we should definitely think about her doing a 2-year stint there.

Say what?

NO FREAKIN' WAY!

For crying out loud, I told her, we live in New York - it's hip and hopping aplenty here.

There's no sunlight in London, take note you SAD sufferers.

I don't even have an urge to VISIT London, no less make it my 7th home in the past 10 years!

Sure I sound like a closed-minded, provincial here - someone not fit for educating young minds, but whatever.

I'm well aware that my life and family priorities will evolve over time. Heck if you told me 1.5 years ago that I would be moving to stinkin' Long Island - a place I've long detested - I'd have advised you to get your head examined.

Perhaps one of these years I'll tag along with my first wife to South America with the kids.

And perhaps one day I'll see a tremendous opportunity in moving overseas or something.

Realize it's only because we homeschool that these options will be available to us.

Color TV Serendipity

For a few years now on this blog I've discussed cutting color TV out of my life and my family's life.

And just yesterday I mentioned how our house, with my multiple-TV MIL moving out, now has ZERO color TVs in the common rooms. All that's left is one in my bedroom which my children are almost never permitted to watch. They only get to watch it, as a last resort, when we have company over so that adults can socialize unmolested for a few brief moments - and that hasn't been too often in the past 8-9 months!

Anyways, there were a couple people over our house last weekend - people who needn't be further identified - that according to my wife, they left our house on account of a lack of a color TV. Seriously.

Now the brain benefits of tuning out the boob tube have been at the forefront of my thinking on this matter...

BUT I had never even considered the *socialization* benefits from removing the *idiot boxes*!

I knew a bar owner in Philadelphia who owned and managed many different bars over the years including The Rose Tattoo and my favorite from back in the day Chaucers.

He didn't allow his bartenders to turn the color TVs on except for very, very special events. He insisted that TV destroyed the social atmosphere of a bar.

Really, what value does a houseguest add to you life if they just want to sit and watch TV at your place? They can be reading to my kids - or playing with them.

I swear, this societal TV addiction is a DISEASE.

Recall I was completely ignored at a family reunion while my *relatives* all scrambled to watch a meaningless Red Sox game. See my feisty related post from 3.5 years ago - Family Dissolution.

Distance Breeds.....?

My first wife finally made it to Naples - she rented a car and drove over from Miami today.

I hadn't seen her in 12 full days - the longest stretch I'll bet in the 12.5 years since we started dating!

So it was her first real vacation from me in ages....I'm sure IT was enjoyable.

I believe the space has been very healthy for our marriage. If familiarity breeds contempt then the corollary must hold true, no?

Recall my MIL moved out of the house recently. I am strongly considering *separate bedrooms* for me and my beloved going forward. Everyone who's tried it tells me it's been a blessing to their marriage. As a night owl, I think most importantly it would amp up my productivity a couple notches. I'm doing my best to channel Tim Ferriss here. Don't think for a moment he'd *waste his nighttime* making small talk with a woman over Law & Order...

He most certainly would not!

Nor would Rush Limbaugh.

Of course Rush is well past his first wife...

And Tim Ferriss is still thoroughly single into his mid-30s!

Pooped From Paganized Christmas Festivities

I just got home today from 4 days at my parents' place in arctic Massachusetts.

I was met by 2 feet of snow in my driveway that needed to be shoveled.

That was on top of the 12 inches I had to help remove from my parents' house; AND I also helped shovel out my BIL's cars in Connecticut this afternoon. He had thrown out his back.

1.5 weeks ago I picked up my brother at the airport and since then it's been non-stop eating, drinking, entertaining, shopping, wrapping, unwrapping, and driving all over the place.

To say that my *productivity* suffered is to put it mildly. And I'm freakin' exhausted.

I'm supposed to be on the road to Miami now except that I haven't been able to secure a place to my liking as of yet. Of course there are tons of places to rent down there - given the imploding economy and the *overdevelopment* - except that these condo owners mortgagers are too Moronic to consider reality-based bids.

For example:

I emailed some guy - actually a bunch - with my standard questions, "Do you have internet?" and "If you would consider $2,500 for the month of January, please let me know."

The knuckle-head CALLS me back:

CaptiousNut - Wait, I've contacted a lot of people. How much are you looking for?

KnuckleHead - It's $3,200 for January.

CaptiousNut - I'm sure in my email I told you my price point was $2,500.

KnuckleHead - Well, you're never going to find a 2 bedroom for $2,500....maybe a studio...

CaptiousNut - Okay. It's December 26th, right? And you're not rented, right?

KnuckleHead - Yeah.

CaptiousNut - How about considering that YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO RENT YOUR CONDO, for January, for $3,200?

What pissed me off as much as his demonstrable stupidly was the fact that HE CALLED ME. The whole point of my emailed bid was to avoid conversations like that.

Then I had another one right after him. It was some woman who wouldn't answer any of my questions "Internet?" and "What price?" over email. She's just like my MIL. They do this so they can *screen* people over the phone. Whatever. I took her call and eventually she got around to telling me how much she wanted for her 2 BR condo on Key Biscayne:

DumbRealEstateWoman - It's $4,000 for the month.

CaptiousNut - Well, I'm looking to spend only $2,500 a month....my wife has me on a budget. (laughing)

DumbRealEstateWoman - It's *the season*. That's what it costs.

CaptiousNut - But the place is unrented still for January, right? It's December 26th...

DumbRealEstateWoman - I have two other people that are very interested. One is just about to take it.

CaptiousNut - So it sounds like you're all set then. You don't need me. (I'm trying to get off the phone)

DumbRealEstateWoman - Listen, I'm in the real estate business. It's THE SEASON. $4,000 is the going rate...

CaptiousNut - But you're not rented right? (still trying to hang up)

DumbRealEstateWoman - I'm a broker. I've been in real estate for 17 years.

CaptiousNut - So what? I've been in the real estate business for many years also. (slight embellishment!)

CaptiousNut - Look, keep my number and if you change your mind call me back. My price is $2,500. Thanks.

These fools would rather be unrented than step down in price!!!

The thing is, any deal they give a last-minute lowballer like myself would COST THEM NOTHING. It'd be a 100% private transaction. They could still hold out for their fantasy rates going forward.

For point of reference, 2 years ago I paid $2,200 for a typical 2 BR condo in Naples for the month of January - another last-minute, lowball situation.

Now Miami is more expensive than Naples, by a little, and I could very easily pay the *going rate* for a month down there.

But I always have my price points and I stick to them. Heck, an extra $1,000 is 5 days at Disney or a new computer for my Princess. Or new golf clubs for me!

A month in Miami is surely worth 4k but I can't pay it, not on December 28th, to one of these buffoons, on principle alone!

I'll talk more about this process as it unfolds.

Right now I'm going to try to get some rest.

Living With The MlL Chronicles 7 - Grand Finale?

Well it's been a long and interesting 7 months living under the same roof (hers) as my MIL.

But this week she *closed* on her new condo and is slowly, though eagerly, starting the process of moving her stuff out.

Her plan all along was to vacate and leave the house for us but it temporarily changed when we moved in. Back then it seemed like she had changed her mind and was going to cohabitate here with us.

She spent most of this brutally hot summer out in the Hamptons but when she came back I think she reverted to her original plan of moving to this fancy shmancy retirement community.

I could elaborate, colorfully(!), a whole lot more but will just leave it at that - for the moment. Anyone who is thinking about living with their MIL or own mother....shoot me an email on the side and I'll helpfully intervene.

The house is very big here, almost too big for the four of us; it needs a lot of TLC/renovation but should be spectacular before long. I expect the entire next year to be filled with household projects. In fact I may even do a walk-through with my camera and post the floor plan to solicit ideas from y'all.

See also:

Living With The MIL Chronicles 1

Living With The MIL Chronicles 2 - Off The Hook Phone Ringing

Living With The MIL Chronicles 3 - Already Over?

Living With The MIL Chronicles 4 - Leading 'Old Coots' To Water

Living With The MIL Chronicles 5 - What is it?

Living With The MIL Chronicles 6 - Kitchen Scrapyard

Living With The MIL Chronicles 6 - Kitchen Scrapyard

Check it out. That's what my MIL *stores* in her oven.

So every time WE NEED TO USE THE OVEN....that pile of scrap metal has to come out and find a landing spot.

And in a kitchen with ZERO counter-space, it invariably has to go on the stove.

But if you're cooking, chances are you've got a whole lot going on on the burners already!

This is insane. Not only is there ample storage space in the cabinets and whatnot....but also this is PURE GARBAGE. She saves every piece of aluminum that enters the house. Every time someone gets take-out she has to wash and salvage the containers and whatnot (and metal coffee cans, jars, etc.).

The worst is when you forget the junk is in there and pre-heat the oven.  Then you have a whole pile of hot metal to manage!

One day, finally, I asked her if I could throw that stuff away.

MIL - NO.

CaptiousSIL - Are you going to take it to your new fancy retirement home?

MIL - YES.

CaptiousSIL - WHY? (holding up the circular pan/sheet)

MIL - Because my mother-in-law gave me that.

At a minimum that means the cookie sheet, pizza pan, or whatever it is is 40 FREAKIN' YEARS OLD - but it could easily be half a century old.

Do YOU think it's sanitary to cook on that crap?

She moves out in about three weeks...

OH, the blog material I've been sitting over the past 7 months!!!

See also:

Living With The MIL Chronicles 1

Living With The MIL Chronicles 2 - Off The Hook Phone Ringing

Living With The MIL Chronicles 3 - Already Over?

Living With The MIL Chronicles 4 - Leading 'Old Coots' To Water

Living With The MIL Chronicles 5 - What is it?

Thanksgiving Escape!

I just endured 5 years AND 3 extended visits since departing in May(!) around my extended family in Massachusetts.

AND I've just spent the last 6 months living in a *section* of my MIL's house - with the rest of my inlaws close by as well.

So I figured I needed a break I'd give them a break from me for Thanksgiving.

A couple of weeks ago I called up my cousin in NJ and essentially invited my family to her Thanksgiving dinner.

Now this is one stupid holiday, way too close to Christmas, centered around an inedible bird, and is a travel-nightmare.

Nonetheless, with my cousin accepting my self-invitation....we're going to face-off with insanity and spend 3 hours in traffic, trying to get across Manhattan and over the GW Bridge tomorrow....just so everyone can get a healthy break *from me* on this holiday.

I do hope my inlaws and outlaws are thankful!

Living With The MIL Chronicles 4 - Leading 'Old Coots' To Water

It was painful and took MONTHS of convincing, but I finally got my MIL to buy a new computer.

Though maybe it wasn't necessarily my persuasion that did the trick. It might have been the fact that HER COMPUTER WOULDN'T BOOT UP.

In fact, it was so bad that you couldn't even start it up in *safe mode*.

Being five years old and no doubt riddled with viruses and malware, it was certainly time anyway.

'Old coots' just ALWAYS get computer viruses. But that's what happens when they forward emails to EVERYONE in their inbox, ALL THE TIME.

I told my MIL that she positively has to get rid of her AOL email account because, first of all, it costs her money (she pays for *technical support*!). Secondly, clearly her inbox has already been a portal for viruses. So it'd be downright Moronic to access it from the brand new computer I ordered and set up for her, wouldn't it?

But she won't change and doesn't want to hear it. She doesn't want to *learn a new email system* - because they are soooooo complicated.

She also leaves her computer on perpetually. And it's not just on, browsers are open as is her AOL inbox.

Now I don't care what anyone says - and I've heard the techno-quacks myself. One should not leave a computer on all the time. The fan is running hard and the longer connected to the internet, the more prone a PC to those ubiquitous viruses.

You know what, fine. Leave it on all day, mine essentially is. But there's NO REASON whatsoever not to turn it off at night.

I even put an e-sticky note reminder on the middle of my MIL's screen *TURN OFF PC AT NIGHT* but she still won't heed it. She actually tried to tell me *I don't think it's bad...* before I cut her off. Now all of a sudden she's a computer expert. Behold this one:

The other day she went into Manhattan to pay homage listen to Karl Rove at some event. After she left I walked up to her PC - which hasn't been turned off in maybe weeks - and turned it off.

But when she got home, she had NO IDEA how to turn the computer back on. Completely helpless, she called me frantically...

CaptiousNut - Do you see the big box under the desk? That's the CPU. Press the button in the middle of it.

MIL - I don't see it.

CaptiousNut - It's a circle in the middle of the box.

Now, after much agony, she probably found it and may have even pressed it.

MIL - IT'S NOT WORKING.

CaptiousNut - Calm down.

MIL - IT'S NOT WORKING!

CaptiousNut - Calm down. We just turned the CPU on. Now we have to turn the monitor on.

Oh, and forget that. New monitors today have those semi-invisible buttons built into the frame. She couldn't find that either. On the road and at my wit's end, I had to end the *tech support* call.

Essentially, despite spending 10 hours a day on the computer - forwarding and reading political nonsense - she HAS NO IDEA how to even turn a computer on. It's only two buttons, right?

Forget it. My MIL and technology make oil and water look like life-long best friends!

But they're all disasters with it, these 'old coots' and 'old bags'.

Check out my own parents:

I Swear...

My Crazy Parents - 1 - Tiny Pics

See also:

Living With The MIL Chronicles 3 - Already Over?

Living With The MIL Chronicles 2 - Off The Hook Phone Ringing

Living With The MIL Chronicles - 1

Longevity Incarnate!

My grandfather, pictured above with two of his great-granddaughters....turned 97.0 years old today!

He's still fully aware, still cooking for himself, shops, bowls, and still very much enjoys food.

Recently he raved to me about a $5 lobster roll at his local supermarket. One might think it was manna from heave they way he described it!

Although the old man is indeed tired, very tired.

Living With The MIL Chronicles 3 - Over Already?

Four or five years ago, my widowed MIL put down a fully-refundable deposit on a unit in some new fancy schmancy retirement community here on Long Island.

Construction kept getting delayed, and delayed, and delayed. I worried that it would be yet another casualty of this foundering economy. However, NYC is still doing well on account of its leverage to the printing press/bond bubble. So this *community* is now just about complete.

Now last May when we moved in with her, my MIL was telling everyone that she wasn't going to go to this 'old coot' home - not now that her *daughter moved back in with her*. After all, this house is pretty big and who really wants to spend 4k a month on cafeteria food and doormen?

But recently, for whatever reason, the tune has changed.

Supposedly, the latest word is that she's going to move into Long Island's Del Boca Vista - with a mid-December target date.

Now this woman changes her mind constantly, so I'll believe it only when she's out the door. And even then, there's a one year money-back trial period.

What does this mean for the Nut family?

Well, if she goes, we'll lose the built-in babysitter and shared living expenses.

But we'll gain a TON of space. We'll gain her master bedroom, the den, and substantial closet space; and she'll move a lot of her furniture out so we'll recoup the attic and garage which are currently filled with our unpacked furnishings and whatnot.

Personally I think her going there is a big mistake, a ridiculous waste of money.

But it's not my decision and it's most certainly not my money. One just never knows what's going on in the mind of others - particularly crazy old Italian grandmothers!

More on this as it unfolds.

See also:

Living With The MIL Chronicles 2 - Off The Hook Phone Ringing

Living With The MIL Chronicles - 1