Great trick!
I’ve been able to revive stale italian bread by running it under water and zapping a bit in the microwave. However with that method you need to eat it immediately.
I learned today that the Y I go to participates in a fitness thing through the Medicare supplement my husband has. I go on Medicare this year, and if I have the same plan I’ll be able to save $95/month in membership fees.
8 Likes
Wow, I learned that the Y’s in my area have reasonable fees compared to other areas!
1 Like
Yay—last night, I learned that making an outfit have a slightly larger hole for the head is not really that difficult. I just took out a few stitches in hood that had it sewn shut tightly and then used a little bit of seam binding to make it a slightly bigger neck and head hole and hand sewed it all on. It made the hole for the head about 4” bigger or so.
5 Likes
I was in Walgreens behind another customer. The clerk was talking about people not registered to vote because registration would put them on the list for jury duty and they could not afford to miss work and get a small stipend.
In my privileged mind, I had never thought of that.
6 Likes
RE: gas fireplace update
I just got an updated estimate for installing two new gas fireplace inserts. One upstairs in the main living room and one downstairs in my living room. Made a deal with D & SIL that if they will pay for the electrical lines that need to be in place prior to installation that I will pay for the fireplaces and their installation.
After some negotiation with the fireplace store, I’m getting almost $2K knocked off the estimate.
I’m going to go sign a contract tomorrow.
8 Likes
In my county they also use driver license records so it would be hard to evade that…
2 Likes
I learned that I am not allergic to Penicillin. Took an oral challenge at the allergist and I did not have any reaction.
I also confirmed that I have white coat syndrome. I don’t have high blood pressure (like my PCP claimed). My blood pressure was perfectly normal during my 2.5 hours in the allergist’s office (after an initial high reading).
8 Likes
port·man·teau
/pôrtˈmantō/
noun
plural noun: portmanteaux
-
a large trunk or suitcase, typically made of stiff leather and opening into two equal parts.
-
a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel (from ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’) or brunch (from ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’).
“podcast is a portmanteau, a made-up word coined from a combination of the words iPod and broadcast”
5 Likes
I learned that second world blending definition today too!
3 Likes
“Portmanteaux” occasionally pops up as a Jeopardy! category.
2 Likes
Haha, being an Alice in Wonderland reader pays off. Per Wikipedia:
The term “portmanteau”, derived from the French porte-manteau, literally is a two-part piece of luggage that was first applied metaphorically in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass (1871) to describe the combination of words.
1 Like
LOL I did too!
Seems a lot of posters were playing Connections today.
11 Likes
I learned that a FedEx package going from Connecticut to Boston travels through MEMPHIS, TN.
9 Likes
If your microwave sparks you may just need to replace the waveguide cover.
Microwave sparked and I quickly turned it off and unplugged it. Told H and he had to try it himself because….I don’t know. I lie? I don’t know what sparks are? He has a magic touch? It sparked for him too. I began researching a new microwave. Didn’t like any of the choices in the price range I wanted to pay. I really like the one we have which is maybe 8-10 years old. Googled “what to do if microwave sparks.” Learned about waveguide covers. Never knew what that piece was called or what it did. Found a 2-pack on Amazon for $5.99. Microwave works again! I will pay more attention to the waveguide cover (which was a little grungy) in the future.
8 Likes
I don’t know why but this just me laugh so hard. Sounds very much like my DH. 
5 Likes
I learned that Samual Clemens picked the pen name Mark Twain because it was a nautical term that means 12 feet deep.
5 Likes
I learned that even though a treatment is in a syringe and sent to you from a specialty pharmacy, it can be classified as NOT a drug! I was so confused about why it wasn’t being covered as a drug and called the manufacturer several times as well as the specialty pharmacy and its billing department.
They kept telling me it was declined so I finally called insurer to see why I was expected to make an enormous copay and was finally told it had NOT been processed as a Medicare B as it should be. I told the nice person I didn’t want to be the “monkey in the middle,” so she took pity on me and arranged a conference call with the billing department of the manufacturer. After a bunch of discussion, they finally agreed drug company would recode and rebill Medicare B (my primary) and then it would go to insurer (secondary), and then I would have just appropriate $0 copay!
After the drug company hung up, had a 2nd conversation with the nice insurance lady and told her we have been going round and round about a drug bill for H’s care at medical center in April 2025. She set up a conference call with the insurance billing office of medical center and helped get that straightened out as well. Yay!
I encourage 3 way conference calls set up by insurer for future hassles & snarls! Even writing to CEO of the med center didn’t help much—hopefully this will help us finally get the bill resolved.
10 Likes
I learned that grain free dog food can be deadly to dogs. Dogs can develop a specific type of heart disease called Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) as the result of being fed that kind of diet.
9 Likes