Big Blue Huddle

I hadn't heard that about the Baldwin's, Ric. That's a great story. The power of Wegmans!!

Perhaps you don't appreciate Wegman's until there really is no Wegman's. That's where I'm at with it. We have Aldi's, Trader Joe's, and even Whole Foods. We have grocery chains the equal of Price Chopper, Weiss, and Tops. I've shopped and Kroeger, Food Lion, and hell, even Piggly Wiggly. But goddammit, I miss Wegman's!!

Dammit Weeze you old curmudgeon, this news hits hard. I am so very sorry to hear of your struggles, but I'm happy to hear Drake and his Mrs. are able to be with you now, I know you're both very close. May you find the strength to face this latest challenge head on. You are in my prayers.

Quote from: squibber on November 18, 2024, 03:45:35 PMWe learned a quick and easy three ingredient pasta dish from Wegmans.

Tricolor tortellini from the refrigerated section of the supermarket.

Lipton noodle soup mix

One package of frozen spinach

There's a few things, (and people), I really miss since moving from NY to the west coast. One of those things is definitely Wegmans.

Ric, my curiosity got the best of me, I had to research Little Venice sauce.

Q. Is apple sauce the secret ingredient in the famous pasta
sauce?
A. NO! and contrary to many rumors there is no peanut butter or grape jelly in the sauce either. Thick, smooth and sweet Little Venice's homemade tomato sauce is unlike anything other. The sauce recipe is a guarded family secret known only to 3 people. During the 6 plus decades that Little Venice has operated only 6 cooks have ever made the sauce. Rumors persist about the sauce recipe, but the truth is the correct recipe is not on the internet

https://littlevenicerestaurant.com/faq/

Quote from: gregf on November 15, 2024, 04:20:58 PMBill, covered California plans supplement based on income. I currently have VA coverage. I'm not very impressed with it so far, definitely appears a downgrade from Kaiser. My employer provided a medical cash account. Plan is to use VA for 2 years, then possibly switch back to Kaiser through California covered and budget my cash plan .  At 65 Medicare kicks in. 62 extra money from ss available

After 35+ years I was laid off from IBM in 2012, but with enough time to qualify for full retirement, including pension). As part of my severance I also got a check for 6 months salary and  like you Greg, I was provided with a medical cash account. I can buy into IBM's retirees Medicare Advantage PPO plan with UHC. But I can only access the medical cash account if I use the insurance IBM contracts with, (UHC). So far it's been good with just a $5 co-pay for my Dr. visits and a $30 co-pay for any specialist visit. Also comes with vision, dental, and eyeglass coverage. I can also use the medical cash account to reimburse myself for Medicare part B that SS automatically takes out. My wife has excellent healthcare as well through NYS schools (she was a Librarian). Her Medicare Advantage plan only costs about $200 per year, with excellent coverage, PLUS they reimburse her Medicare Part B cost.

Although I'm grateful that we both receive very good healthcare benefits in retirement, the vast differences and overall unfairness regarding healthcare costs across this country is very disturbing to me.

Thanks for the clarification on the sauce, Ric.

You're right, I don't recognize much in those pictures. Although Wilson/UHS looks a bit familiar, likely because I spent some time there two summers ago with my mom who had been admitted following a severe stroke which ended up claiming her life. That was the last time I was back in NY. I'm not sure when or if I'll ever be back there.

Ric, having lived in Endicott for over 50 years, you're making me crave some of that good triple cities cooking. My favorite from back in the day was Duff's on the northside of Endicott. It's the place I went with my wife on our first date back when we were 16. Hands down the best homemade pasta I've ever had...anywhere. Love Cortese but not a fan of Little Venice sauce. As you say it's a sweet sauce, which doesn't do it for me. Years ago The Binghamton Press used to occasionally feature recipes from area restaurants in the "local" section of the paper. I remember Little Venice sharing their spaghetti sauce recipe, and If I'm remembering right it contained a bit of apple sauce in it. Or maybe I'm confusing it with something else. Not sure. At any rate I felt the same way about that sauce as I did about Brozetti's pizza. A lot of people love it but too sweet for me. Actually I have no idea if Brozetti's is still there. I'm losing more and more touch with the triple cities with each passing year.

Very good advice Rich. In our case we work with someone who is both a CFP and CPA. He's able to advise us both from an investment as well as a tax perspective.

Congratulations Greg, @gregf  It sounds like you have a well thought out plan which is key. Do the things you most enjoy while you're able to, I'm sure you've worked hard to get to this point, and you've earned it.

And good luck with your plan Tim, @T200 those two plus years will fly by. Sounds like all the pieces are falling into place for you and your wife. It'll soon be time to really enjoy the fruits of your labor. The golden years as they say.


My wife and I retired for good a little over two years ago. It was a hard decision for me as I truly loved my job, it was a second, somewhat unexpected career that I really enjoyed. Going into work every day those last few years didn't even seem like work at all. It was a couple months past my 65th birthday when I actually retired, a tough decision for me, but now I'm glad I did. I still meet a few of the guys I worked with for lunch every couple weeks. My wife and I are fortunate in that both she and I each are collecting two pensions. Together with social security gives us 6 income streams, which puts us close to what we were making before we retired. Additionally, I had a healthy 401k from a previous job that I took with me when I left in 2012. It has since more than doubled, and I had some of it converted to an IRA and some converted to a Roth IRA. We have yet to start drawing down on any of those, but we'll start soon. We want to continue to travel while it's still relatively easy for us to do so.

I'm torn. I think in order DT, OG, CB.
Or, in order OG, DT, CB.

Jeez Ed, you're killing me here. What makes it worse is my wife is out of town for a couple weeks and I'm left to fend for myself. Believe me, my meals while she's gone don't look anything like the pictures above.

Mmmm pasta. All the above dishes sound fantastic!

I make a nice lasagna which has become our "new traditional" Thanksgiving meal after years of plodding through roast turkey while not really enjoying it.

My wife makes cavatelli with broccoli and mushrooms which I love. But cavatelli seems a bit harder to find out here than when we lived in NY.

A couple times a year we enjoy making Haluski, which reminds me of dinner at my grandmother's. And my other grandmother used to make egg noodles in butter and onions with cottage cheese melted in. Sounds weird but tastes good. I think it's a dish that originated in western PA / Ohio.

My mom used to make macaroni with cheese and tomatoes, which sounds a bit strange until you taste it.

When we go out to dinner at an Italian restaurant I'll generally order spaghetti with mushrooms and meatballs. That's the dish I use to judge how good the place is. Bonus points if they make their own fresh pasta in-house.

I think pasta just goes so well with other things as well, thus adding to the enjoyment. Veal cutlet (or parm) with a side of spaghetti. Chicken Piccata over angel hair pasta with butter and olive oil. Damn I'm getting hungry!!

Quote from: LennG on November 12, 2024, 06:12:37 PM12. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

I like that one. It kind of reminds me of another one...

Show a man how to light a fire and he will be warm for a day.
Light a man on fire and he will be warm the rest of is life.

Does this mean Greg Stroman inches up the depth chart?