u/Lostinhighweeds

My husband (M66) and I (F75) bought our home in 2002. We raised a family in it. It is a friendly neighborhood. Homes vary in size and lot size. Ours is on a big lot which was great when we were raising kids but now i feel overwhelmed. It is a walkout basement ranch style home but laundry is on the main so we rarely have to go downstairs. Homes in the area are selling for around $300,000. My house probably would sell for a little more since my house has 3 bathrooms & a finished basement. In total probably 3500 sq feet. Acre fenced yard.
The house is paid for. We have a decent income ($150,000) from my pension & we have maybe $400,000+ in IRA’s
My question is do I sell and try to downsize into a smaller space w a smaller yard to keep up or stay where I am and just hire someone to take care of the yard? Maybe also hire a housekeeper?

Last night I was chatting w a former officer in the local Democrat party about an upcoming event. This individual has been in a leadership role for a number of years, has run unsuccessfully for office but remains a vocal member of local activities Part of the discussion centered around fundraising & campaigning for the person who did win. The individual knows a lot of people & seems to be reasonably influential for some reason. Their assistance could be very helpful.
I had campaigned for the person who lost but the day of results I immediately volunteered for the campaign of the guy who won. IMO they were both decent candidates & the person that won just ran a much more aggressive campaign @ had better Social media coverage.
The response of the person I was chatting with wss “I will vote for your candidate but I still need time to heal”
The comment caught me off guard. IMO this type of attitude and behavior is counterproductive to getting candidates elected. There is less than 3 months before general
Elections. The current divisiveness within the party is understandable in some quarters BUT these 2 candidates held very similar positions. To withhold your support at a critical time does zip to get good people elected.
I had also hosted a couple of fundraisers for the losing campaign. The candidate has been missing in action since his loss, has refused to share information about potential voters etc. as I try to put together list of invitees for the general election fundraising events
What is your reaction if your primary candidate doesn’t make it thru? Unless there are huge differences in their positions or proposals, it just doesn’t make sense for me. Even then, the concern about “democratic socialists” taking over the party is pretty absurd too, given how relatively conservative many democrats have turned out to be once they get elected and I personally am appreciative of some of the idealism some of the younger people are expressing. Having done this kind of thing for over 50 years it is high time we learned to pass the torch.

I have never been much of a television watcher, much more of a reader. With reliable newspapers no longer available, I have subscribed to several online sites such as the Guardian, BBC News, Substack and watch some podcasts like Raging moderates. I still tune into NPR regularly and occasionally watch network news but not frequently.
I have recently been spammed with offers of various other sources like Ground News that claims to be able to differentiate bias & tell what news is not getting reported
(Truthfully there is SO much going on I sometimes just tune it all out with a splif on my back porch)
That being said, any suggestions for new sources, podcasts etc?

Husband was diagnosed with Wernicke encephalopathy in January. He spent several days I the hospital and had quit drinking alcohol (except he did drink a beer when Spain won the world cup) He has improved his diet, takes vitamins and sees his regular physician twice a year.

We are both concerned about the long term consequences of Wernicke. Can an occasional drink cause more damage? What are the long term effects of Wernicke and do you ever fully recover?

I pay my house cleaner $150 every 2 wks I am retired and frequently am home when they come but try to make myself scarce or sometimes leave to run errands. They clean 1 br, 2 baths, kitchen, dining room & living room. I am not sure if I am expecting too much of them or not but they do not vacuum under my bed or sofa. They do not open or close to dust my wooden blinds in the Lr or Br. While they use a duster to dust, they do not use any kind of furniture cleaner like pledge etc. I do not thjnk they get the top of my fridge every visit. Should I expect more or is this pretty standard?

Rainy day & decided I want to make lasagna. There was a place I went to in my youth that had the best lasagna. They put sliced hard boiled eggs in the layers. Not a lot but maybe using 2 eggs. Is this recipe from a particular part of Italy? Does anyone have a recipe that includes that ingredient?

Finally got a break in weather so we had dinner outside this evening. Afterwards took the dog for a nice mile walk & when I got home the hubs had a scrabble game set up on the patio. We play wordle online & he does some crossword puzzles online but it was nice to play an actual board game. He quit drinking in January & it has really upped the quality of our time together.

I have a long time friend who was married to one of my other long time friends. I introduced them to one another. He and I had been in a relationship but we weren’t meant to be but remained close for over 50 years. He died this past spring.
Prior to his moving into a LTC facility and death he had an in home caregiver that his wife retained as her “helper”. She is not impaired but had developed an attachment to the man and pays him $700 a week for whatever. I do not like him and believe he has taken advantage of her. Her children do not like it either but she made it clear this is her money and her decision and a long story by itself.
My problem is when she and I spend time together there is very little to talk about that doesn’t involve her referring to “we” as in “we have to finish painting the house” or “we are meeting w the flooring guy” etc.
He influences everything she does from picking out paint colors for the house she is trying to sell to light fixtures. And I cannot stand hearing about it because I cannot stand the thought that she would pay this guy to be her “friend” and refuses to allow anyone else to help. I know she views me as one of her best friends and I do love her. I think if this guy were not getting paid to be in her life I would feel differently. But i get upset even though it is none of my business and I find myself distancing from her.
Has anyone else experienced similar situation?

I have never been a good housekeeper but my home is not “dirty”. I just have too much damn STUFF. I get so much damn junk mail & it seems like every flat surface has shit sitting on it. I can’t seem to even keep my dining room table clear of stuff.
I go to friends homes & they always look so nice and orderly. I feel like a slug or worse. How DO they do it?