My hats and has been going through both homes this year and replacing the supply lines for the washers and toilets.
Our daughter’s apartment was just flooded by a broken supply line on a toilet in the unit above theirs. H: “See! That’s why I’ve been doing that!”
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Many crawl spaces in our area are truly that - not very good for workers. Because of where our septic tank and field lines needed to be, we had some extra rows of block and a more generous crawl space. You don’t stand upright in it but it is generous. If building a home, if not in an area where you have besements, have a generous crawl space. I would fear a slab-built home because of tear up if there is a problem.
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But aren’t most crawl spaces uniform under the house and accessible from outside the house? In ours you have to climb up a 5’ vertical wall of dirt from the basement to access those portions of the house.
We have a normal looking crawl space under the addition in the back that is only accessible from a panel door in the back wall. You can’t get to it from the basement.
And if you have a well…I think it’s all yours!
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Our crawl space is accessible only from an outdoor door.
We had a home in our area that was built in the 1980’s that had a sloped crawl space because the home was built on the slope of a hill, also accessible only from the outside.
As far as uniform, there is a code minimum. In our case we had a deeper crawl space for a reason. Most won’t build a deeper crawl space than required because that costs more to do.
Our basement is about half unfinished, regular height and half crawlspace (under kitchen and family room). We just have one interior entry. We wish we had asked for another, to shove in wood etc from the shop area). I have to stand on a chair to climb in. There was a great period of time where the kids were my “crawl space monkeys” for getting Christmas stuff out/in, but now I do it. The furnace is in the regular area, so crawl space is all for storage not maintenance needs.
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A friend of mine recently did quite a nice Oceania Cruise, some of the time with her husband, and later did more traveling with her son. They had arranged to change their accommodation from H/W to mother/son - I suspect that was with an extended back-to-back cruise. Her DH is still working (tax attorney). Started in Japan with 6 port stops, one stop in Busan S Korea, then Shanghai which also included Suzhou; Okinawa, Shigaki, Taiwan mainland Taipei and Kaohsiung, then Hong Kong.
I got a nice tour package (program sponsored by my large university) for ‘Cherry Blossom Splendor of Japan’ Tokyo to Tokyo for 12 days on Oceania April 2026, and it also includes Busan S Korea. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are included in the 10 city stops. If one desires to see a lot of Japan, to me this is a way to go. They also have an extended cruise from Tokyo with 8 cities ending in Singapore.
Since my DH has been to some of these places for work (in addition to Malaysia) he has no desire to ever go. He has no desire to ever do a cruise.
I don’t see in my future to get back to Europe either for the next few years. Will see if the plans to sell our home and move to DD1/SIL/Gkids’ city/state will happen in 2026.
Got a pick-me-up with seeing DD1/SIL/Gkids for 3 days in IA 9 days ago. A lot of travel and effort, but very rewarding!
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I have been looking at Oceania tours, particularly those with the smaller ships- they look lovely. Maybe in the next year or two!
Anyone else here do a Seabourne Cruise? We are doing one with some friends who really liked one they were on previously. It’s our first time, and we wondered if anyone had any tips we should know about, or ideas.
Seabourn is classy without being snooty. Enjoy!
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Yes, this ship was for 670 guests. The pricing for ocean view was $700 more per person from their bottom accommodation (inside stateroom). The Veranda Stateroom (and up) had floor to ceiling panoramic windows which looked really lovely - and that was a $1900 more per person than the ocean view room (deck 3). Veranda staterooms were on deck 6. The ‘top suites’ were owner’s suite on decks 6, 7, 8.
My only cruise years ago was with NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) and it was with 750 guests; Carribean for a week. I went with a girlfriend as DH did not want to go (it was right at our 10th wedding anniversary as well). Had fun with my GF. We had the lower priced room - we only slept/showered/got dressed there and spent our time elsewhere.
Yes, I was looking at them as well! I’ve got all these plans but seems like the places I want to go may not let us go there by the time I get around go going! 
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Japan is one of the few countries where I wouldn’t choose to travel by cruise. I want to immerse myself in the local experience—ride all the different types of public transportation, savor authentic regional food, and soak up the unique atmosphere and shopping culture. We’re going this October for two weeks in Japan and one week in Taiwan, traveling with an English speaking US based Asian tour agency that doesn’t cater to the typical American palate, which is exactly what we’re looking for.
I’ve been to Japan and Taiwan several times before, but I always discover something new and exciting each time I visit.
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Can you share the name of the tour agency? We’re aiming for a Japan trip possibly next summer.
I’m tired of being tied to the needs of the garden in our backyard in the summer, so in preparation for retirement, I’m going to start transitioning the high maintenance stuff to lower maintenance plants. Less watering, less trimming, etc., etc.
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H just bought a car he really enjoys—a small Lexus sedan. It’s set to arrive late August, early September. It’s the 1st new vehicle he’s purchased from before we met over 40 years ago. I told him to buy what he LOVES!
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That’s great! Lots of bells and whistles to learn on new vehicles. For our Lexus NX, we found helpful youtube videos… watched them together on our big tv.
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Supera Tours
Yes, we had Supera Tour to Japan and had a fabulous visit! They really give 1st class treatment and the guides tested frequently to be sure they didn’t have covid.
One of our guides was the VP of Supera. Another was a guy who was an American living in Japan trying to form a partnership with Supera and the 3rd was a tour guide fluent in Mandarin that was trying to practice her English. We also had a local Japan guide. All the guides were excellent and fluent in Japanese as well.
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Friends of ours are selling this lake house and taking on another lake house project on the same lake. They just did a new home move and sold their other home (not downsizing in price or amenities, but new home is one level). If I was living here long-term, I would have the lake house as primary residence and just have a small condo in the city. $800K on Smith Lake, in Logan AL. Lewis Smith Lake is very popular in central AL.
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