Absolutely Anything Else

HU Duna Boat recovery video:

HU Duna Boat Recovery


News story: HU Duna Boat Recovery Full Story

fluffy2560 wrote:

HU Duna Boat recovery video:

HU Duna Boat Recovery


News story: HU Duna Boat Recovery Full Story

So sad, closed caskets for sure...
Got news a couple days back that one of the nicest HU guys around is now a widower.
I have known this guy as long as I've known my husband, really nice, knew my sister and we used to all "party" in Hollywood together at a big crazy house in the hills were 5 or more HU guys lived in a big run down old home. He and his wife even lived in Hawaii for awhile when we lived there.
He met his wife about 30 some years ago here in HU and he has been so devoted to her ever since.
Brought her daughter and boyfriend to the US too, became their step grandfather for their handicapped son and did everything for his new family.
he bought a  big nice home in the hills in AZ.
His wife was nice, I liked how she spoke her mind about everything and never held back, super up front and honest.
We visited them for a few days years ago in AZ and they visited us in Vegas. My husband visited his family in HU and even hung out once in HU when all the old gang came home at the same time one summer.
I can't believe she had cancer and passed on so fast.
Not sure how old she was, around my age.
It's sad since his whole world revolved around her and her family,hope he is not shut out from them in the future.
Went to Balaton yesterday, was so quiet and peaceful there, was fantastic. Happy to still be kicken' it when so many others aren't around to enjoy  this materail life.
Sort of messed up to hear bad news to make you glad for what you have.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
I can't believe she had cancer and passed on so fast.
Not sure how old she was, around my age.
It's sad since his whole world revolved around her and her family,hope he is not shut out from them in the future.
Went to Balaton yesterday, was so quiet and peaceful there, was fantastic. Happy to still be kicken' it when so many others aren't around to enjoy  this materail life.
Sort of messed up to hear bad news to make you glad for what you have.

Sorry to hear about your friend.   Some cancers creep up and hit people suddenly.  They get diagnosed days or weeks before passing.  It seems very strange that it works like that - suddenly nothing is important any more.  Except family.  Paying the bills, servicing the car, visiting the dentist, who cares, just trivia.

My own bro had a terminal brain tumour and passed in 11 months.  I researched the survival rates, disease progression and statistically it was almost like he was on a timetable for the first 7 months.  Despite him being always very punctual and organised around it,  it didn't help him or matter towards the end as the result and conclusion was inevitably the same.   Cancer is a sh*t.   

There was quite a good article on very rare or individual genetic child diseases on the BBC web site - superb progress really - read here: Genome sequencing 'revolution'.   Take away fact for me was the quote...." give a meaningful result from whole genome sequencing analysis in just a couple of weeks".  Amazingly fast nowadays but not fast enough for many.

Balaton apparently was really busy - Mrs Fluffy and the kids were down there getting roasted.  The dog and I stayed behind as I had work to finish.  I also had some DIY to do and probably more to do today.   

The poor old dog was panting like crazy although we went for a walk at dusk. It's just too hot for the Hound of Fluffyville.  Strangely it wasn't drinking or eating much.

We saw the "anti-mosquito" planes flying over us (they are based at the local airfield here - Farkashegy).  They fly up and down the Duna spraying but don't fly over here directly - we have to rely on semi-manual methods - one of those electric fly swapping things that cost about 300 HUF!

Again, so sorry to hear about your mother's passing.
It is something we all must experience at some time.
When my mom passed i chose not to go to the hospital.
4 of my siblings and their spouses were with her.
12 days beforehand we all either drove or flew up past SF where she had moved to.
She moved to a small town with her husband, kept her cancer spread to herself although we knew something was up.
She wouldn't tell us and lied about seeing her doctors, she had given up and let it ravage her in secret.
She too knew we were there on that first visit, she somehow squeezed my hand and had tears running out of her eyes although she couldn't speak and for the most part wasn't there.
Still somehow she let us know everything was OK with her, it was her choice to go out without drastic measures.
We all last min also had to inform the medical staff to take out her breathing tube and let her go.
I wasn't there because I would of had a mental breakdown, those 12 days between finding out she was in hospital and her passing were too much for me.
I know my mom knew my sensitive nature and wouldn't really want me to snap.
I had to make funeral arragements and that was just about my breaking point.
My younger sister told me all about what happened when she passed on.

I heard my sister had just finsihed the last words of the 23 Psalm when mom let out her last breath.
Sounds dramatic but suppose it was a good time to leave, what more could be said?

One big reason I didn't run to her hospital bed last min was there was a lot and I mean a lot of drama surrounding the circumstances of her last few weeks.
I had spoken to my mom on New Years Eve. I was about to fly to Vegas from Ca. to join my husband who was there with a few of his HU friends.
She wished me a happy New Year and told me she had received the gift I had mailed to her.
Told me over and over she was doing great.
Came home on the 1st., flew in while my husband and friend drove back to Ca.
I had flown because I had my 84 year old neighbor sit my 12 year old son and didn't wish to be gone for long.
Just got home and my bro called to tell me to hit the road and get to the hospital 800 miles away.
Early morning we drove like crazy in the pouring rain past SF.
My bro and others had flown in and we all got a hotel room to stay for a few days.
Again I had to ask my elderly neighbor to sit my son, she was a fantastic lady and didn't think twice about helping me out again.
Found out when we got to Santa Rosa that our mom had been down for 3 days before her husband called for help.
Not sure if he was too drunk or they had made a pack of some twisted sort to not take measures to save her.
It was not a way anyone wants to think their mother was treated.
In fact we children all went to the local police dept. the day after we got up there to make a formal complaint to find out if there had been some abuse or not. Nothing came of it, his father was one of the "good ol'boys" in town so that's that.
My mom hadn't eaten in weeks and had marks on her body, probably from her cancer but we wanted to make sure nothing sinister had happened either. Well, good ol' step-daddy was no where to be seen or heard from,hmmm. he hid out from us.
We had to break into our mom's place to find some of her personal things plus a large check she had made out to us, a cashier's check. Our step-dad had made off with a ton of her money, she had sold her Ca. home just 8months earlier and had more then that check was made out for.
Later I did get ahold of step- daddy on the phone I call the guilt.
Never really heard from him again, just once  more I called and his father who was well in his 90's told me he had passed on too.
Drama, way too much for me.
At least the hospital staff was also super nice to us. There was at least 10 of us there.
They gave us a nice room to ourselves with cold drinks and sofa to rest on while we checked on mom throughout the day. Her doctor told us that he had tried his best but for a few months our mom had told him she wouldn't be visiting him any longer, she knew what she was doing.
I  do wish my mom  had told me how serious  her condition had been though, I would of gone up sooner and spent some time with her alone.Her choice though.

Transferred from Today's Weather to this thread but now out of sequence.....

Yes, my poor old Mum passed 10 March 2019.  She was very ill with heart failure over some years and there was no hope for a recovery so we gave permission to "make her comfortable". She was fully aware of her condition, her brain was working fine and she knew it was the end for her.  Tears were in her eyes. In the last days she was drugged and possibly unconscious.   Mums are indeed the ones who will always love you. 

Strangely enough I didn't find her passing that traumatic - I was there more or less - and I just found it very sad.  As usual in these circumstances my Dad and I were there, we stepped out for a minute, and she went while we were not in the room.  We had to dash back from Costa Coffee.   

I found it very odd that she was laying in bed with the windows fully open and it was such a nice Spring day - very fresh air coming and the daffodils out.  Not so unpleasant a day to pass on but I suppose any day will do. 

The hospital staff were wonderful and of course, being the UK and the NHS, all her care was entirely free.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Again, so sorry to hear about your mother's passing.
It is something we all must experience at some time.
When my mom passed i chose not to go to the hospital.
....
She wouldn't tell us and lied about seeing her doctors, she had given up and let it ravage her in secret.
She too knew we were there on that first visit, she somehow squeezed my hand and had tears running out of her eyes although she couldn't speak and for the most part wasn't there.
Still somehow she let us know everything was OK with her, it was her choice to go out without drastic measures.
We all last min also had to inform the medical staff to take out her breathing tube and let her go.
I wasn't there because I would of had a mental breakdown, those 12 days between finding out she was in hospital and her passing were too much for me.
I know my mom knew my sensitive nature and wouldn't really want me to snap.
I had to make funeral arragements and that was just about my breaking point.
My younger sister told me all about what happened when she passed on.

I heard my sister had just finsihed the last words of the 23 Psalm when mom let out her last breath.
Sounds dramatic but suppose it was a good time to leave, what more could be said?

One big reason I didn't run to her hospital bed last min was there was a lot and I mean a lot of drama surrounding the circumstances of her last few weeks.
I had spoken to my mom on New Years Eve. I was about to fly to Vegas from Ca. to join my husband who was there with a few of his HU friends.
She wished me a happy New Year and told me she had received the gift I had mailed to her.
Told me over and over she was doing great.
.....
We had to break into our mom's place to find some of her personal things plus a large check she had made out to us, a cashier's check. Our step-dad had made off with a ton of her money, she had sold her Ca. home just 8months earlier and had more then that check was made out for.
Later I did get ahold of step- daddy on the phone I call the guilt.
Never really heard from him again, just once  more I called and his father who was well in his 90's told me he had passed on too.
Drama, way too much for me.
At least the hospital staff was also super nice to us. There was at least 10 of us there.
They gave us a nice room to ourselves with cold drinks and sofa to rest on while we checked on mom throughout the day. Her doctor told us that he had tried his best but for a few months our mom had told him she wouldn't be visiting him any longer, she knew what she was doing.
I  do wish my mom  had told me how serious  her condition had been though, I would of gone up sooner and spent some time with her alone.Her choice though.

So much in that post Marilyn.  Strange business with the Stepdad - obviously he had other things going on but who knows what was going on really.  Maybe his 90 year old Dad just said he was dead and he was really partying in Florida.

I wasn't sure myself if I should have been there at the end but actually I was OK with it if somewhat nervous.  Looking back on it, I just thought about it as an intimate moment with a special person but obviously not like voyeurism like a rubber necker at a car accident.

I thought if I couldn't get "personal" with my Mum then, then it would have been an odd thing. What is odd to me is how sort of matter of fact it all was. It wasn't actually a big drama, it was a quiet space amongst the hubbub of the hospital. It was a massive drama leading up to it and I can see that would put a lot of people off. 

I was talking to my cousin and I was discussing about being there and she was telling me that she was there at her Dad's end. She said I would not regret it and she was absolutely right.

Interestingly enough, we (my siblings and I) are very cooperative and my mother was super organised.  We had all the records and paperwork to do finalisation of her affairs.  It's only taken us about 3 months to fully finish the paperwork.

There's a system in the UK called "Tell Me Once" where you inform (online) that a person has died.  Then that system informs everyone else - central government tax office, social security, pensions, passports, local government tax office and even disabled parking permits and free bus passes.  Amazing because my experience of government efficiency is that it's an oxymoron!

Apart from that, domestic affairs have been to the fore today - guy and his son came to fix our drainpipes and very unexpectedly he spoke English which was rather a surprise!  He also had the gift of the gab - he could talk the hind leg off a donkey.  As for his work, it was sufficient but I had to finish it off myself as I've got more tools than him.  But it's just another thing ticked on the list amongst many things and I had other stuff to do.

We thought today was the day our land dispute would take a step forward with the arrival of the surveyor.   Mrs Fluffy phoned him and the guy must be truly a local as he'd decided he was going to be on holiday until early July! 

Well, thanks for telling us you were intending to stand us up!   Appointments, bah humbug, who needs 'em, just for the birds.

All around our area we noticed people do  home repairs .
Lots of windows being placed outside buildings etc.
I would never in a million years start a dirty hot job in this weather.
My husband said they do these big jobs in the summer because many people leave the country in colder months to work elsewhere, don't know about that.

It's odd that at the end I chose not to see my mom pass. I was the closest one to her, we told each other everything and she told me family tales that no one else ever heard.
We both fought like cats and dogs when I was young but after I became a mom myself we got on great. She always gave me the best advice and looking back now she usually was 100% correct about things.
Yes, I also wondered what old step-daddy no. 2 was up to but he loved to drink and my mom was the only person who could slow him down with the bottle. He probably did drink himself to death afer she was gone.
Just pissed us off that he got so much of her money. My 1st. step-dad worked super hard and raised all of us 4 kids then 2 of his own, he bought the house she sold and literally worked himself to death to make everyone's life easier. Then no. 2 comes along and just takes, oh well I shouldn't care that much about money but my half bro and sis should of been considered more I think since it was their father who worked so hard.
Mom bought no. 2 a boat, a brand new truck and helped him slow way, way down on his drinking, he would of died years beforehand if not for her giving him a home and getting him back into society and helping him find a job to keep busy etc.
My mom had a funny way about her, she always said strange things like," A man without a job is like a dog without a bone". She was funny with those quotes which were based in reality.
His dad was "in" with the police, lived in the same town his entire life and was a red neck jerk.
He signed step-dad no. 2 up at age 17 into the US Navy during WW11, who would do that to a minor?
That tell me one time thing in the UK sounds great. I knew a lady in the states who's husband died and they only gave her 2 legal copies of his death certificate. She needed about a dozen copies and had to pay  a large amount for each extra copy just for the bank, SS and other official places.
My mom knew what she was doing, she sold her house before hand to make it easier on everyone after her death, she even purchased a cashiers check at the bank and had it sitting on the table waiting for us to get it. Sad thing is step dad was no where to be found so my skinny older sister just went through the window on the roof, we broke in! We even told the police we had to break in when we reported our step - dad missing and mom not looking well. He told us he saw her down passed out cold for 3 days before he called an ambulance! Sounds like murder to me or he was on one huge bender!
It wasn't the nicest way to treat a lady who did so much for him over the years.
The medical staff thought our mother was a black person when she came in, they looked shocked to see her pale children. Her skin tone was so bad that they couldn't figure her out.
At least step-dad had her body taken to our home town for her funeral, she looked finally at peace and her color was better( what sort of drugs did they pump into her?) It was nice to see so many of her old neighbors come say good-bye to her.

When I go people may or may not get an e-mail from my husband... He hates to write.

Just thought of something else, my mother made sure she paid off all her debts to everyone before she died. All credit cards, store cards everything. I think that older generation had a thing about leaving and not having any ties like debt behind them. They wanted to "meet their maker" free of earthly debts. Dang, she could of gotten away without paying a good about if she hadn't cared about her rep after she was gone.
I hear about so many people knowing they are dying and rining up a lot of debt before they check out.
Even all of her hospital bills were covered.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

All around our area we noticed people do  home repairs .
Lots of windows being placed outside buildings etc.
I would never in a million years start a dirty hot job in this weather.
My husband said they do these big jobs in the summer because many people leave the country in colder months to work elsewhere, don't know about that.

One does not normally replace windows in the winter, or when it is raining. I suspect with all the rain we had this spring, there might be quite a backlog of window replacement work to do.

We thought a bit about changing our windows but then that would mean a paint job and then we would find something else to do inside. It could be a never ending job with these old places.
The good thing about so many windows being changed out and left for the junk pile is it is easy to find a whole replacement window for these old flats.
We were able over the years to find 3 or so good windows in the frames that fit our apt. perfectly.
Even were painted the exact same color inside and out.
We have windows to the street, 3 of them and the kitchen windows are facing the yard. Can get a nice cross breeze in the early mornings to air out the place before sealing up for the day.
I once how ever forgot to put a window stop up and bang, broke my bedroom window when the wind started. Guess that could happen with a new window as well as a 119 year old one.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

We thought a bit about changing our windows but then that would mean a paint job and then we would find something else to do inside. It could be a never ending job with these old places.

True. Oh, so true.

How well I know.....

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

We thought a bit about changing our windows but then that would mean a paint job and then we would find something else to do inside. It could be a never ending job with these old places.
The good thing about so many windows being changed out and left for the junk pile is it is easy to find a whole replacement window for these old flats.
We were able over the years to find 3 or so good windows in the frames that fit our apt. perfectly.
Even were painted the exact same color inside and out.
We have windows to the street, 3 of them and the kitchen windows are facing the yard. Can get a nice cross breeze in the early mornings to air out the place before sealing up for the day.
I once how ever forgot to put a window stop up and bang, broke my bedroom window when the wind started. Guess that could happen with a new window as well as a 119 year old one.

I think in those older buildings there's a problem with keeping the style right.   

In this house, which is completely rebuilt, we have just run of the mill uPVC windows which are utterly boring but very easy on maintenance.   

What sold us on the design were the hidden features are what make them "special" - triple glazing, double rubber seals, "twist and turn" opening modes, insect blinds and multiple locks (some doors/windows only have two locking points but these have six for security).   

We're not sure if we could have found more traditional windows which could have looked posher and even nicer but it's a modern house so not really worth it. 

We did see some which were made of aluminium or wood but they'd need painting every 10 years and we thought, nah, we'll be too old to bother with that nonsense in 10 years time.   The uPVC will last 20+ years, maybe long enough.

I'm looking at my outside thermometer and it's showing 34 C.  Windows are excellent for keeping the heat in but not that good at keeping it out!

BTW, my BIL painted his apartment windows "the wrong colour" and within a day, the building manager was there telling him to change it back to the standard colour.  Some people have nothing better to do!

We were the first in our building to put in a new metal front door. We asked if it would suit the building etc. before we bought it, made sure it was the shade of dark brown like all others in the house.
This was the first thing we did 12 years ago when we bought the place.
Since then almost everyone has followed suit and put in a new metal stronger style front door but not all of them look right in the house.
Our neighbor next door on one side redid the whole flat before they moved in, their windows are brown but don't exactly match the basic color of the house. Now some people have new windows with white metal style frames.
We thought we were suppose to keep this old building looking classic but seems not so after all.
Last week we were speaking of fixing our flat, probably never going to get around to it.
At age nearly 72 my husband couldn't care less about fixing a place up . We did mention that only 15 to 20 years ago we could of and would of done most of the work ourselves and it would of been done right.
My husband really takes these things seriously when he decides to finally do something.
He worked in a commerical painting crew in Paris France in the early 70's . He  learned a lot about painting plus he helped a bit when his step-dad built 3 houses in Erd.  That entire painting crew was all Hungarian and the older men were all in the French Foreign Legion during WW11. What a trip for a bunch of young Hippie Hungarians to work with those insane old dudes. A ton of interesting stories and adventures in France.His step-bro was a mason and he watched him do our old house in Ca. Plus he has half a brain and their is always tips on U tube.
Problem is he may get tired half way through the job so why start?.
Sad really , could of made a showplace out of this flat with just a few weeks of sweat.
Last week he did take down all the top windows for cleaning, we hung up new sheer inside curtains and yes, his shoulders were a bit sore the next day.
Not a job for "old people" although we know how to do it if we really had to.
That's one reason we always sort of enjoyed just renting a place, just call the front desk and say this is broken or that needs work and presto, it's done for nothing.

fluffy2560 wrote:

(some doors/windows only have two locking points but these have six for security).

Two or six. Same difference to a real thief. Doors of plastic or wood are easily defeated by a sledge hammer and battery powered chain saw or similar. Serious thief will not care how many locking points around the frame. Security is mostly only about keeping honest people honest, and for salesmen to raise the price of a product. Rather gauge the "local honesty" and buy accordingly. All else is false security. Real criminals always have ways around every security issue.

fluffy2560 wrote:

We did see some which were made of aluminium or wood but they'd need painting every 10 years and we thought, nah, we'll be too old to bother with that nonsense in 10 years time.   The uPVC will last 20+ years, maybe long enough.

One should not paint wood windows in this climate. They should be stained. And this just for "cosmetic reasons".

When replacing the original wood door and windows in our house (maybe 100 years old), they were structurally fine (just a bit warped, and single pane, so could not keep in/out the cold). Only the outer, maybe few millimeters were "weathered". A metal window may last that long, but I doubt plastic may last than long.

We replaced all with wood doors, and wood windows.

Okay, I admit, I doubt anyone here adding a new window cares if the window lasts a century as that will be longer than our life span. But wood does look good. Gives a nice feel for the house. And a century window of wood can maybe add to the resale value. Long term planning. I may not live here till I die.

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, my BIL painted his apartment windows "the wrong colour" and within a day, the building manager was there telling him to change it back to the standard colour.  Some people have nothing better to do!

That is funny. And by "funny" I mean odd. I could list a few dozen violations around me about such "unapproved" modifications and violations, and nothing happens to such people. I guess it is where you live and indeed how many busy bodies there are around.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Sad really , could of made a showplace out of this flat with just a few weeks of sweat.

There if often a huge benefit of renovation and resale value. Money, time and sweat now can pay a lot of fiscal gains later in resale value. And that is even after enjoying your renovations by living there a few years. Think about that.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

(some doors/windows only have two locking points but these have six for security).

Two or six. Same difference to a real thief. Doors of plastic or wood are easily defeated by a sledge hammer and battery powered chain saw or similar. Serious thief will not care how many locking points around the frame. Security is mostly only about keeping honest people honest, and for salesmen to raise the price of a product. Rather gauge the "local honesty" and buy accordingly. All else is false security. Real criminals always have ways around every security issue.

It's not so much to stop them as to slow them down.  What they do here is look for tools on site - so get in the shed or garage, get a bar or a large screwdriver to lever the door or window open. So anything  that slows them down or make it harder like shutters are going to mean less likely to be a target when there are other places that are easier.  The longer it takes, the more chance of being discovered during the naughty deed and the more chance of a confrontation with someone more dangerous than them.   

Having lived in Africa, they move to another level unheard of here.  There, they'd drug or kill the dog,  climb on the roof and remove the tiles, then cut through the ceiling or simply attach a 4WD to the bars on the window and rip them out the wall.  In some compounds, we had armed guards with shotguns. They were mainly for visibility as it was known if they were faced with a determined and armed threat, they'd run away or simply let them in, even  if not for share of the spoils. In other more dodgy places, the guards had real guns, pistols and rifles and were wearing  vests and would fight (even if just for themselves)!  Anyone looking to break in there would have to be insane. 

But such things aren't necessary in this village. 

klsallee wrote:

One should not paint wood windows in this climate. They should be stained. And this just for "cosmetic reasons".

Dunno about that.  Wood should be pressure treated but here, who knows if they do it. If you get an off the shelf door from OBI, it still needs painting or varnishing.  It'd be bonkers to leave it untreated without protection.  I do like wood, did consider it and it looks excellent but I couldn't face maintaining it. 

Metal window frames aren't so unusual but it needs insulation otherwise it's all condensation.  They use metal in surrounds or even in uPVC to stiffen larger sizes and where there's a chance of the building moving slightly - e.g. settling - where the frame might get twisted out of shape. Some of ours have metal inserts as the spans are quite big on some windows.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, my BIL painted his apartment windows "the wrong colour" and within a day, the building manager was there telling him to change it back to the standard colour.  Some people have nothing better to do!

That is funny. And by "funny" I mean odd. I could list a few dozen violations around me about such "unapproved" modifications and violations, and nothing happens to such people. I guess it is where you live and indeed how many busy bodies there are around.

Oh, busy bodies and a village - perfect information base.  People walk past my house and say hallo and I have no idea who they are but they seem to know me as they speak English to me.  Mrs Fluffy has to keep filling me in on who is who as she seems to know everyone!   

Strangest one lately is our land dispute neighbour waves at me and says "szia" when the last time I spoke to him on the phone, we really argued about the boundary.   He seems to have totally forgotten! Strange he's not bearing a grudge!  Mrs Fluffy is really friendly with the wife so maybe I've been forgiven by proxy.

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's not so much to stop them as to slow them down.  What they do here is look for tools on site

So you are only preventing the opportunistic thief? How would such a thief know if your window has two, four or six locking points? For the opportunistic thief, a good solid *looking* window of wood with two locking points may be a better deterrent than plastic window with six. And the glass pane is easy to break, as are the latices between panes. Easy entry points right there. Just saying.....

fluffy2560 wrote:

Having lived in Africa, they move to another level unheard of here.

Got some advice from a long term resident in Africa who never had a break in: Don't hire locals.

Even for security.

It is an extended family issue. (Not too different from Hungary, actually).

Somewhere, somehow, in some way, someone talks. About when you are away, or what are the weakness of the house security, etc. Just get a good gate. And glass shards on top of the wall.... Anyone who has spent any time in Africa knows what I mean by that.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

One should not paint wood windows in this climate. They should be stained. And this just for "cosmetic reasons".

Dunno about that.  Wood should be pressure treated but here

Paint is an external covering.  Stain is a penetrative preservative (at least a proper stain is, but there are plenty of lousy surface stains sold in Hungary). Wood contraction and expansion means paint will soon loosen and it will fall off. Pressure treated wood means nothing in that regards to paint (even pressure treated wood will expand and contract), and few window frames are pressure treated since such wood is actually toxic and not something you want on the interior of your house.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Strangest one lately is our land dispute neighbour waves at me and says "szia" when the last time I spoke to him on the phone, we really argued about the boundary.   He seems to have totally forgotten! Strange he's not bearing a grudge!  Mrs Fluffy is really friendly with the wife so maybe I've been forgiven by proxy.

There are plenty of people in our village that have hated us for one reason or another (property disputes, legal issues, etc). But I still say "hi" when I see them, or rather "jó napot", and all reply, even if it is at least nodded to me. All but the former Mayor, who lost an election to my wife, and who she reported to the court for illegal activities, and he was convicted. Some people just can not forgive..... 

klsallee wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Sad really , could of made a showplace out of this flat with just a few weeks of sweat.

There if often a huge benefit of renovation and resale value. Money, time and sweat now can pay a lot of fiscal gains later in resale value. And that is even after enjoying your renovations by living there a few years. Think about that.

True but we always live  on the fly so to speak.
We brought our BIL from HU for 2 months to work on our home in S. Ca.
He did so many things from painting the house, new kitchen tiles and bath, put in  new lighting inside the 2 showers , put in a new diving board, new brick wall with metal poles inside to protect against earthquakes, new patio tiles outside, new concert walkways leading to the front of the house, new wallpaper in 2 rooms, spent so much time and energy fixing the place that by the time we were done the housing value dropped a good $30,000.
We sold the home about 2 years after the redo.
I'm a bit afraid I may leave HU any time now for whatever reason.
I can just see us spending another 10 million or so fixing this place up and then the market drops or we decide to move. If I had a guarentee we would either live another 20 years or we would get great new neighbors ASAP we might consider fixing this place up.
At this late date we really don't care if we make a few extra bucks or not, we are just fine as it is either way, not even sure what to do with what we have already.
Guess we just got used to a simple life without too many frills.
Most times when you fix a place up to sell, the next owner hates everything you've done and redo's it themselves to their liking.
I doubt our son is ever going to live here in this flat and the next owner may turn it into a B&B for all we know.
If it ain't broken why fix it...

klsallee wrote:

....

fluffy2560 wrote:

Having lived in Africa, they move to another level unheard of here.

Got some advice from a long term resident in Africa who never had a break in: Don't hire locals.
....

The ones who were really tooled up were "locals" in the form of South Africans - ex-police and ex-special forces.  They were all heavily built Afrikaners.  I was even worried about them and they were on my side (supposedly).  Formidable adversaries you wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of.    The ones on the gates were indeed more locally local.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I'm a bit afraid I may leave HU any time now for whatever reason.

There is no indication that the housing market in Budapest will fall any time soon. In fact, now is a sellers market. There is no need to spend 10 million on renovation, but a smart home/apartment owner should see the benefits to even minor renovations to up the resale price. Timidness and fear of what "may happen" never gains a positive fiscal dividend. Just saying....

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.... spent so much time and energy fixing the place that by the time we were done the housing value dropped a good $30,000.
We sold the home about 2 years after the redo.
I'm a bit afraid I may leave HU any time now for whatever reason.
I can just see us spending another 10 million or so fixing this place up and then the market drops or we decide to move. If I had a guarentee we would either live another 20 years or we would get great new neighbors ASAP we might consider fixing this place up.
At this late date we really don't care if we make a few extra bucks or not, we are just fine as it is either way, not even sure what to do with what we have already.
.....
I doubt our son is ever going to live here in this flat and the next owner may turn it into a B&B for all we know.
If it ain't broken why fix it...

I know about that kind of experience.

One house I spent a good EUR 25K on it and I sold it for what I paid for it and I was happy to get rid of the stupid thing.  Waste of time but I didn't have to pay rent at least (haha, yes, I know that's not a logical argument  ).

I think a lot of people are into the AirBnB thing at the moment, if they can get 1000 EUR for a luxury place in town for say, 5 days for people out on the town, why would they rent it out to a family or ordinary people for 500 EUR a month?  I think those kinds of numbers are what we're talking about.

Prices at the moment are a bit too high in the real estate market around here for sure and there's hardly anywhere to rent.

Might be worth fixing up the main bits, then if you move elsewhere, then simply rent it out long term via agents who take care of the maintenance too. At least you retain the capital and have some backup income. You never know if you might need to come back and if the bridges are burnt....well!

This place we've got now we think could actually be turned into apartments with some relatively simple  building work and a bit of juggling.

We have 2 Air B&B's in our house now.
The thing is perhaps they make a killing during some months but most times they seem to be un used.
Last summer they were busy on weekends and not a lot of action during the weekdays.
Both flats are 2 of the larger units in the house.
Over all it may work out better to rent to students , I've read if they pull any garbage like don't pay their rent etc. You can report them to their uni and that is not going to work in their favor.
If we ever redid this place we would have to move out while the work was done, just lazy on our part to deal with all of that.
We really don't need the stress and worry about anything like making money.
We are not rich by any standards but money has never been our goal in life, if it was, believe me ,we had many opportunities to rip off, legally work hard and or take advantage of situations.
We know many , many HU who came to the US when my husband did and many are super well off, also on the crimmie side as well.
We put sleeping and a stressfree life before money though.
When my husband opened up one of his machine shops years back, he hired a American cowboy guy to help him out with minor things around the shop. My husband was working full time for a HU guy making good money and trying to start his own shop at the same time. Not easy, working 16 hours a day.
My husband only took home his pay from his job and everything else he made from his shop went back into the shop to expand.He paid the guy over double min. wage and they guy wasn't even a trained machinist. Of course he was honest and hard working and did his best, good pay was worth it to him.
Our biggest stress in life is our son, still waiting for him to grow up and not rely on us all the time.
We were thinking of selling out and buy a nicer house here away from the city center but then thinking of mowing a yard just gives us a bad feeling, hate to be slaves of a house also.
More stuff , more problems.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

We have 2 Air B&B's in our house now.
The thing is perhaps they make a killing during some months but most times they seem to be un used.
Last summer they were busy on weekends and not a lot of action during the weekdays.
Both flats are 2 of the larger units in the house.
Over all it may work out better to rent to students , I've read if they pull any garbage like don't pay their rent etc. You can report them to their uni and that is not going to work in their favor.
If we ever redid this place we would have to move out while the work was done, just lazy on our part to deal with all of that.
We really don't need the stress and worry about anything like making money.
We are not rich by any standards but money has never been our goal in life, if it was, believe me ,we had many opportunities to rip off, legally work hard and or take advantage of situations.
We know many , many HU who came to the US when my husband did and many are super well off, also on the crimmie side as well.
We put sleeping and a stress free life before money though.
....
Our biggest stress in life is our son, still waiting for him to grow up and not rely on us all the time.
We were thinking of selling out and buy a nicer house here away from the city center but then thinking of mowing a yard just gives us a bad feeling, hate to be slaves of a house also.
More stuff , more problems.

Kids will always give you stress - small kids small problems, big kids big problems. 

One of my kids is throughly organised, earns own money in decent job, own house, own car etc.  Another one, I dunno but seems to manage but I know nothing really of where that particular kid lives and what work is being done.  Never  been there and only seen the other half once.   

I've come to the conclusion that they will all come to a point where "physics" takes over - i.e.  they gravitate to stability, job, relationship and so on and chaos dissipates with age.   

You don't have to mow the grass.  In the apartment building we lived in, some guy used to come and cut the grass and was paid from the common money.  People on the ground floor had better access to the garden than those on the upper floors which was annoying but then again, we had a balcony.  But even if we were on the ground floor or on the balcony, it could just be covered plants in pots to keep it a bit green but limited in scope.

AirBnB might be a market in oversupply.  I've heard from others that there are many empty places these days.  I am not sure about students though - single ones yes, but with many of them together might be a problem with parties and damage.

There is a big problem with Airbnb around the world as its used to avoid paying tax on rental properties, lots of loopholes but cities and countries are tightening up on them. I think New York was one of the first to tackle this.

Okay, let's settle this once and for all...

What is the perfect colour for a cup of tea? ☕️

SimCityAT wrote:

Okay, let's settle this once and for all...

What is the perfect colour for a cup of tea? ☕️

[img align=C]https://scontent.fvie2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/64317360_10157529193082122_1819089967511502848_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&_nc_ht=scontent.fvie2-1.fna&oh=fe4edea5dfffa4e82f616022cf6d99ae&oe=5DC482DF[/url]

I'm thinking 3B.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

but then thinking of mowing a yard just gives us a bad feeling

Remove the lawn and landscape with shrubs and bushes and trees. Rock or bark chip mulch on the ground over geo-fabric. Pretty trouble free. Maybe some spring pruning, but that is only once a year.  That is what we did in our "yard".

I have enough problems mowing the vineyards and orchards, I refuse to waste time mowing a lawn around the house.

SimCityAT wrote:

Okay, let's settle this once and for all...

What is the perfect colour for a cup of tea?

What is the tea? Darjeeling? Ceylon? EB (English Breakfast)? African? Other?

To me, it matters.

So much for settling this once and for all.....

P.S. For EB, I would say 2D... But looking twice, not sure there is much difference between 2D and 3B... maybe it is the lighting.

klsallee wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

Okay, let's settle this once and for all...

What is the perfect colour for a cup of tea?

What is the tea? Darjeeling? Ceylon? EB (English Breakfast)? African? Other?

To me, it matters.

So much for settling this once and for all.....

P.S. For EB, I would say 2D... But looking twice, not sure there is much difference between 2D and 3B... maybe it is the lighting.

2D is similar to 3B but 3A seems out of sequence and possibly a bit watery.

Tea is fantastic - best with milk (lemon? Pfff....really?). I'm having an Assam phase currently, went through Kenyan phase and even an Earl Grey and Lapsang Souchong period.  The latter two along with Darjeeling and Ceylon while nice are a bit too delicate for me these days.   

In the UK, we have Builders Tea which is very very strong and served in giant mugs.  To qualify, you have to have steel toe capped boots, beer belly, stained T-shirt and very loose fitting trousers showing a bit of rear end cleavage.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Tea is fantastic - best with milk (lemon? Pfff....really?).

Lemon in tea is an American conspiracy to overt proper tea drinking.....

This is the only reason I can consider why Hungarian restaurants give me lemon with my tea. Ick. What next? Massive amounts of ice in my water????? 

Wishing there was a "face palm" emoji here, but there is not, so will select the best next one available: 

It's funny, as a Brit... I don't drink Tea. Only coffee for me, Black!!

SimCityAT wrote:

It's funny, as a Brit... I don't drink Tea. Only coffee for me, Black!!

Hmmm.....are you sure you are British? 

One of the credentials is drinking AND liking tea.

The others might be a hankering after warm beer, liking fish and chips, understanding Monty Python and recognising (and giving) sarcasm.

I enjoy my tea the Hungarian way, spiked with wine!

No, mostly just drink herbal teas lately.
Picked some fresh Dandelion leaves at Balaton a couple days ago.
Good for a whole body detox.
As a child we were told not to pick the dandelion flowers or we would be running to the WC, there's a reason for that tall tale, does clean out the bladder to drink that in tea form.

SimCityAT wrote:

It's funny, as a Brit... I don't drink Tea. Only coffee for me, Black!!

Love black coffee. But only if the coffee is really good.

Not much really good coffee where I live in Hungary. It is mostly nescafe. And nescafe is not coffee.

klsallee wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

It's funny, as a Brit... I don't drink Tea. Only coffee for me, Black!!

Love black coffee. But only if the coffee is really good.

Not much really good coffee where I live in Hungary. It is mostly nescafe. And nescafe is not coffee.

Most of the coffee seems to be produced (roasted/ground) in Germany or The Netherlands.

I think possibly there's an opening in the market here for Hungarian produced ethical civet coffee.

Maybe it's possible to build a special digester emulating the process.

klsallee wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

It's funny, as a Brit... I don't drink Tea. Only coffee for me, Black!!

Love black coffee. But only if the coffee is really good.

Not much really good coffee where I live in Hungary. It is mostly nescafe. And nescafe is not coffee.

Don't you have a Starbucks?

We have pretty good coffee over here. Our coffee machine takes the beans so I have a fresh ground coffee every time. I am spoilt now, I can't drink instant.

SimCityAT wrote:

klsallee wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

It's funny, as a Brit... I don't drink Tea. Only coffee for me, Black!!

Love black coffee. But only if the coffee is really good.

Not much really good coffee where I live in Hungary. It is mostly nescafe. And nescafe is not coffee.

Don't you have a Starbucks?

We have pretty good coffee over here. Our coffee machine takes the beans so I have a fresh ground coffee every time. I am spoilt now, I can't drink instant.

Starbucks - inventors of the £3 (and up) cup of coffee.

Us tea drinkers don't have such complicated production methods - get tea bag, hot water, dunk, leave to strew, dash and a half of milk, get it down.

I am going off topic over at "Where can I find", so posting here.

fluffy2560 wrote:

WD-40 I don't have a problem with

I use WD-40 all the time. 
For what it was designed for.... A penetrating oil. it is not a rust remover (some people think it is because oiling a minor rusty part can "release it" by the oil. But very rusty parts can be damaged if the rust is not rather removed and "forced" apart. 

fluffy2560 wrote:

Problem with acid is that it'll remove material (same as grinding) whereas electrolysis will convert/move it.

One should not really grind off rust on such small projects. One can use wire brushes, but that is not grinding (and too much work IMHO).

A properly adjusted weak acid will not remove any significant amount of base metal within the time frame needed to remove Iron Oxide. For example, a weak acetic acid will create some iron acetate from the base metal.... but I doubt you could measure and difference with a caliper. So while you are correct, it is such a trivial amount one need not worry about it.

Electrolysis is the best of course. But requires proper equipment.

So, what I am saying is.... on the WD-40 level of consumer grade "around the house options", anyone can use an easy to buy household acid to clean off rust, takes less work, and one can usually get better results. IMHO.

klsallee wrote:

I am going off topic over at "Where can I find", so posting here.

fluffy2560 wrote:

WD-40 I don't have a problem with

I use WD-40 all the time. 
For what it was designed for.... A penetrating oil. it is not a rust remover (some people think it is because oiling a minor rusty part can "release it" by the oil. But very rusty parts can be damaged if the rust is not rather removed and "forced" apart. 

fluffy2560 wrote:

Problem with acid is that it'll remove material (same as grinding) whereas electrolysis will convert/move it.

One should not really grind off rust on such small projects. One can use wire brushes, but that is not grinding (and too much work IMHO).

A properly adjusted weak acid will not remove any significant amount of base metal within the time frame needed to remove Iron Oxide. For example, a weak acetic acid will create some iron acetate from the base metal.... but I doubt you could measure and difference with a caliper. So while you are correct, it is such a trivial amount one need not worry about it.

Electrolysis is the best of course. But requires proper equipment.

So, what I am saying is.... on the WD-40 level of consumer grade "around the house options", anyone can use an easy to buy household acid to clean off rust, takes less work, and one can usually get better results. IMHO.

I always thought WD-40 was for (mainly) water displacement (hence the WD moniker, formulation 40) and was invented or commissioned by NASA. I didn't Google it - I resisted the urge.

Because of the WD bit, it's useful for getting the water out of electrical connectors on cars.  I believe a US alternative for bolts is PB Blaster which from videos I watch seems to work a lot better. 

For my applications - usually automotive - I try to avoid anything too abrasive but sometimes, you have to use something like a wire brush on a grinder.  Makes short work of many things like paint removal.   Tolerances are sometimes vital.  Depends what it is of course. You wouldn't want to use acid on bearings etc as it could end up with pitting.    But for really rusted up stuff like metal panels that needs to be preserved, I'd go for electrolysis in the first round. 

While I'm having a whinge here, I don't know why they don't use stainless steel for some nuts and bolts on cars as the damn things can be seriously rusted on.  I mean, if they can use them on boats and ships!  I've just replaced one of my ABS sensors - bolt head was totally rusted and rounded off and once again, a funny and strange size of thread. I have "reverse sockets" which cut into the surface. I got it out using those but the head was destroyed. In the end to get it back in, I had to weld a new nut head onto the bolt and then file it into a suitable shape.

But I digress....

Rather strange here that one can buy weak acid easily (rust remover) in OBI etc.  It's harder to get in my own country.   I also want to find  Isopropyl Alcohol for small parts cleaning purposes but that seems harder to get in cheap quantities (1-2L bottle would do - probably last me 10 years!).

https://www.argep.hu/trend/ISOP/Isopropyl-alkohol.htmlhttps://www.hestore.hu/prod_10029244.htmlhttps://daniella.hu/vmd-17289l-isopropy … lite-24878

Any electronics, electric or computer store sells Isopropyl alcohol.

Rawlee wrote:

https://www.argep.hu/trend/ISOP/Isopropyl-alkohol.html
https://www.hestore.hu/prod_10029244.htmlhttps://daniella.hu/vmd-17289l-isopropy … lite-24878

Any electronics, electric or computer store sells Isopropyl alcohol.

Cool!

Know where I can get a larger sized ultrasound cleaning machine - say 60cm square and 30cm deep?

I want to clean some car parts.