The times I've stayed at hotels/motels with breakfasts, I've been less than impressed by the food (albeit I'm not generally staying at very high-priced locations). Like many parts of my life, my eating habits are simple. I do the no-sugar, low-carb thing so many of those high-carb breakfast items just aren't on my radar. I'd happily stay at a nicer hotel (without breakfast) and bring along my usual morning meal: a bag of nuts, some sliced meats and cheese and--one of my weaknesses--a can of diet Coke.
YES!!! In our retirement community, I'm often amused by the 'value' people place on their own items. "This set of china cost me $1500 forty years ago so I'm asking just $1400 for it now." Good luck with that. People have a difficult time realizing their stuff is only worth what someone else will pay for it. And most people don't want your china, curio cabinets, nick knacks or most "collectibles".
I think one of the things that makes our community somewhat unique is the number of activities available to residents. I think there's over 100 chartered clubs and 40 or 50 purely 'social' clubs as well. The club activities range from sports (tennis, pickleball, lawn bowling and probably 20 other different activities) to other more 'specialized' hobbies (there's a shop/garage for people who restore vintage cars, a huge woodworking shop, etc.). It's rare for people not to be involved in at least one activity. The latest addition to the activity roster is dog training :-) and we've gotten some great feedback from that.
I agree--it sounds like I would get along splendidly with your Christine. I will take a night at home with our dogs over...well...just about everything else. How do you like your 55+ community? We really like ours and are learning how much we appreciate having so many easily-accessible services. I also adore how much the folks here look after one another.
LOVE this post! Good job dealing with all that 'stuff'. Where we live, I've seen entire houses and garages filled--floor to ceiling--with lifetime accumulations of 'stuff'. I generally don't get attached to many items. If I haven't used something in more than twelve months, I tend to get rid of it. The exceptions, not surprisingly, are anything related to my dogs. I still have every ribbon won by any of my dogs in a competition. I have individual scrapbooks for each of them (past and present). I have tubs of leashes and collars and training tools and toys. But even all of that would probably fill just a single hall closet in most homes. Earlier this year I parted with two boxes of old report cards, diplomas, letters and cards (from my childhood). I scanned many of the items and they are now stored in a cloud-based drive so I can access them again if I ever want to. It felt good to purge many pounds of paper from my life.
Interesting. We never have people ring our doorbell. I wonder if it has anything to do with the three Shepherds and (large) Corgi who guard our home...or the sign near the doorbell that warns people of the protective dogs that live inside....
Yep--add me to the list of divorcees who relied on dogs to help ease the transition. I had two Corgis (Riley and Zoey). My ex wasn't a dog person so there was no question about who would get the dogs. Even if there had been, I would have given up everything else to keep my pups.
Comments
The times I've stayed at hotels/motels with breakfasts, I've been less than impressed by the food (albeit I'm not generally staying at very high-priced locations). Like many parts of my life, my eating habits are simple. I do the no-sugar, low-carb thing so many of those high-carb breakfast items just aren't on my radar. I'd happily stay at a nicer hotel (without breakfast) and bring along my usual morning meal: a bag of nuts, some sliced meats and cheese and--one of my weaknesses--a can of diet Coke.
Post: Free Breakfast
Link to comment from September 10, 2026
YES!!! In our retirement community, I'm often amused by the 'value' people place on their own items. "This set of china cost me $1500 forty years ago so I'm asking just $1400 for it now." Good luck with that. People have a difficult time realizing their stuff is only worth what someone else will pay for it. And most people don't want your china, curio cabinets, nick knacks or most "collectibles".
Post: Make the Attic Great Again
Link to comment from September 4, 2026
I think one of the things that makes our community somewhat unique is the number of activities available to residents. I think there's over 100 chartered clubs and 40 or 50 purely 'social' clubs as well. The club activities range from sports (tennis, pickleball, lawn bowling and probably 20 other different activities) to other more 'specialized' hobbies (there's a shop/garage for people who restore vintage cars, a huge woodworking shop, etc.). It's rare for people not to be involved in at least one activity. The latest addition to the activity roster is dog training :-) and we've gotten some great feedback from that.
Post: Make the Attic Great Again
Link to comment from September 2, 2026
I agree--it sounds like I would get along splendidly with your Christine. I will take a night at home with our dogs over...well...just about everything else. How do you like your 55+ community? We really like ours and are learning how much we appreciate having so many easily-accessible services. I also adore how much the folks here look after one another.
Post: Make the Attic Great Again
Link to comment from September 1, 2026
LOVE this post! Good job dealing with all that 'stuff'. Where we live, I've seen entire houses and garages filled--floor to ceiling--with lifetime accumulations of 'stuff'. I generally don't get attached to many items. If I haven't used something in more than twelve months, I tend to get rid of it. The exceptions, not surprisingly, are anything related to my dogs. I still have every ribbon won by any of my dogs in a competition. I have individual scrapbooks for each of them (past and present). I have tubs of leashes and collars and training tools and toys. But even all of that would probably fill just a single hall closet in most homes. Earlier this year I parted with two boxes of old report cards, diplomas, letters and cards (from my childhood). I scanned many of the items and they are now stored in a cloud-based drive so I can access them again if I ever want to. It felt good to purge many pounds of paper from my life.
Post: Make the Attic Great Again
Link to comment from September 1, 2026
Interesting. We never have people ring our doorbell. I wonder if it has anything to do with the three Shepherds and (large) Corgi who guard our home...or the sign near the doorbell that warns people of the protective dogs that live inside....
Post: He Said I Wasn’t Very Nice
Link to comment from June 19, 2026
Thank you for sharing your family's story.
Post: What Bangladesh Taught Me About Enough
Link to comment from April 16, 2026
I can't wait for Part 3: "I Become a Dog Mom Again!" :-)
Post: Buying and Selling our Condo (Our Big “Little” Move, Part 2)
Link to comment from April 16, 2026
I think they still exist in Oregon--at least they did when I left in 2022.
Post: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Link to comment from April 15, 2026
Yep--add me to the list of divorcees who relied on dogs to help ease the transition. I had two Corgis (Riley and Zoey). My ex wasn't a dog person so there was no question about who would get the dogs. Even if there had been, I would have given up everything else to keep my pups.
Post: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Link to comment from April 13, 2026