WTF-Beta

Beautiful home, and a lot of house for the money. (Though I know nothing about the housing market in Henderson. You would pay 2-3x that for a similar house in MT). Can you swim in the pool in the winter? Does it stay that warm there?

Spectacular!

Baronial. And I don't mean that as a compliment. Apparently it's a challenge to furnish. And the heating bills are a nightmare, I'm guessing. Now, if there were stable...

As someone who suffered as badly from neuropathy for a few years as this man's mother, I truly empathize with her agony. And I also faced claims denials by our insurance. And I didn't have a choice of insurers--we went with Mr. Pique's employment policy because that's all we had. And when he went to work for the county, they were self-insured, and they were exempt from oversight from the state insurance commissioner, so we had zero recourse when they turned down my claims. Pretty outrageous. (There was one smug asshole in the insurance administrator's office I would have loved to have seen die, at times.)

So this is a hot button issue for many, many people, and I haven't seen much empathy for the CEO who lost his life, or for his wife, or for his children. People have had enough. I can't say I am surprised by the reaction, though I think it is unfortunate.

From reading the manifesto, I'm surprised by this man's obvious intelligence and education. He threw himself on his own sword. To his credit, it has sparked a lot of serious discussion about the abomination that is the American insurance industry. But, I think he certainly could have achieved that notoriety and attention without killing another human being. However much you might revile the CEO of United Healthcare, his death is not the appropriate remedy.

Being on Medicare (original, not the joke that is Medicare Advantage, which United Health Care is a huge purveyor of) has been relief. What they cover and what they don't is clearly defined. I have never faced a denied claim. The biggest problem now with Medicare is that doctors are dropping it because they get only pennies on the dollar for Medicare claims. My own excellent doctor will no longer take Medicare patients after the first of the year. "We aren't a charity," he told me, apologetically.

Darn! No place to put the horses.

Everyone's trees look so nice! Steve, I love how Sharon really went for it with those bows. And MA, your gold ribbon garland is so beautiful on that tree. I used to do that, too, when I had a live tree. Looking forward to seeing more of your new home.

Thanks, SK.

And thank you WTG for the link to the Christmas playlist. That looks like a great collection and perfect for what I have in mind, but unfortunately it wouldn't arrive before the party. And $40 for a used CD .... hmmm.

I guess I'm going to have to mine whatever I've already got on hand. I'm not too great at planning ahead. Oh well.

The chair and sofa are from the 80s and Mr Pique is very attached to them. I want something more mid-century modern--like an Eames lounge chair and a very different kind of sofa in a bright color, maybe eggplant velvet or deep burgundy. Next house, the leather stuff will live in the man cave. We're not buying any more furniture until after we've moved. For now, this stuff works okay; it's a 70s house and could really use some updating.

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I caved. Turned out our artificial tree, which we haven't used in years, is just the right size to put atop our free standing gas fireplace (which we don't use, because we have three other fireplaces and it would dry out the room too much and hence the piano). I deep cleaned the living room, even reconditioned the leather sofa and club chair using a spray-on product I use on my cavalry saddle, and did lights as well as decorations. All ready for the neighborhood party on Sunday. OK, now how do I post pictures again?

Since I got my 1970s Marantz tuner rebuilt and turned the living room into the concert hall, and the den into the movie theater/art studio/gymnasium, we really don't have a place to safely put a tree any more. So I am going to string lights on our gigantic hibiscus in the front hall, and we have a small metal tree with decorated egg and heart ornaments on the piano. Last year I strung it with tiny lights run on a battery, and have left it there all year. (Probably should dust the ornaments).

We are going to have a neighborhood holiday gathering in a week (mostly to get me to clean the house already, but also to stay connected with our neighbors, and friends in the neighborhood), and I'm going to need some Christmas music for the party.

Any suggestions for things I can put in my CD changer? I don't want to keep getting up to change LPs.

Love this video, Bernard! The machine seems almost primitive, but then I think what a revolution it must have been to not have to sew by hand!

My curiosity is piqued by the small glimpses of your home. I would love to see a video showing the details of your decor and the whole rooms.

Are you going to stuff this sewing project to make pillows?

So sorry to hear that Jodi. Nobody locks houses or cars around my neighborhood, same when we lived in town. I have heard crime is up significantly in Missoula--meth is a big problem there.

@wtg said in Learned some stuff:

@ShiroKuro said in Learned some stuff:

@wtg yikes! I wonder if having your purse cross-body style in the front is enough to prevent that...

If you zip the purse shut, it greatly reduces the chances that a pickpocket can reach around you, unzip your purse, and take out your wallet or phone.

Mine has a longer strap, but I carry it in front of me like that. There are some damn good pickpockets who could get something out of a crossbody, but deterrence is the key here. They're far more likely to go after someone whose purse is gaping open on their back than someone who is clutching a closed bag. My friend had her purse/wallet stuffed in a backpack that wasn't zipped shut, so she was an especially easy target.
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My grandmother had her wallet chained to the inside of her purse

@Mik Mastiffs don't have to do anything they don't want to do. If they don't want to do something, they just lie down and refuse to move. Game over.

The NYT published Biden's explanation for why he decided to pardon his son. I agree with every word of it. I would have been disappointed in him as a father and as a human being if he hadn't pardoned Hunter. I feel a lot of relief that he had the wisdom and compassion to do this. It was the right thing to do. Hunter was being treated very unfairly.