Welcome new reader Ginny F., who writes: “My dear friend Murray C. is one of your biggest fans. Since I am one of her biggest fans, and I am an animal lover, I thought I would check out your website; It is wonderful! We are owned by three rescue cats… our Sammy is pictured below.”
Welcome, Ginny F.! We are glad to have you here. Sammy is a beauty and I hope to see your other two kitties here soon?
Dear Cutetropolis community, Sammy and i are so pleased to join you, and we wish you ALL a great Sunday. Thank you for all the lovely comments. I really enjoy this site and the reprieve it gives from the web of ugly….???
Welcome!
A friend of Murray’s is a friend of ours. Welcome!
No big plans this weekend, except tomorrow we will
go to the local tavern for the Eagles/NY Giants game
and chili. MyMike is a Giants fan from childhood, and
since I grew up in Philly, I must root for the Birds. The
tavern is a public place, so we can’t whack each other too
hard.
?Mawwage (Peter Cook quote – presiding bishop in…..which movie????)
As yoooouuuuuu wiiiiiiishh (Wesley rolling down hill)
FINALLY! I GOT IT! The marriage ceremony in “Princess Bride”. Phew…I reeeaalllyy needed to figure it out as it was driving me crazy.
I thought it was but wasn’t sure. My neighbor and I say that a lot.
My cousin and his wife are also in a mixed marriage. He’s Giants, she’s Eagles. Not sure about the kids yet…
Heya Allein, I picked up that book you mentioned awhile back that finally queued to me from my library – Real Food, Fake Food by Larry Olmstead. I am looking forward to the read; thank you for the suggestion! Mind you, I am all absorbed by Netflix’s The Crown right now so the read may be delayed.
Enjoy! Right now I’m reading one called Three Squares: The Making of the American Meal. And also working on The Big Picture by Sean Carroll.
Actually, right now I’m lying in a hotel in Poughkeepsie, NY having woken up at 6:15 and forgetting that the clocks changed and I don’t have to get up yet (but just as well because it was freezing in here and I just turned on the heater so it can warm up before I take a shower). Was at a surprise party for one of my college friends’ 40th birthday last night. Meeting my other friends (who are down the hall with their families) for breakfast at 8:30 before we head out. I set my alarm for 7 so I could take a shower and get my stuff packed up and in the car before breakfast, woke up and saw 7:15 on the hotel’s clock and thought my alarm didn’t go off…then I looked at my phone and realized it was only 6:15. 🙂 but then I was totally awake…why can’t that happen when I have to wake up at 6:15 on weekdays?
Welcome to the site Ginny F. the more the merrier.
No big plans for the weekend, it’s grey and rainy, a very good day to stay home under the covers and read.
Hello, Denizens. After returning from a Florida vacation this week, I promptly came down with a bad cold and I am feeling VERY low energy and a bit sorry for myself. I’m looking out the windows at a yard full of leaves that desperately need raking (already behind on raking due to the vacation) and there’s a garden full of now-frost-bitten plants that need to be put to bed for the winter. I can’t seem to get going at any of it. Netflix calls. I generally welcome my quiet & solitary life but these are the kinds of days when I long for a second set of hands around the house – someone to bring me a cuppa tea and to help with some chores while I’m down for the count.
I hear you on that! I have migraine this morning and SO much to do in the yard before they can put new siding on my house. Oh well, it’s pouring rain anyway.
(Why is it that cold’s strike when we get back from vacation? I came home with one too when I was in Utah a couple month ago. Ugh.)
Welcome Ginny! Sammy is one handsome little devil!
The weather may be the trigger for the migraine.
Low barometric pressure is the big culprit, according to
the neurologist I consulted years ago when the megrims
were at their worst. He said more occur during Autumn
than any other season. Plane travel was another trigger.
Feelbetter soon!
Usually mine are caused by hormones, but this one is probably weather as you said. Yesterday and the day before were clear and sunny and the rain moved in during the wee hours of the morning. It was so clear and cold when I went to bed last night I thought sure that there would be frost, but no!
I know what you mean, Birdcage! I generally enjoy living alone (well, except for the cats!) but now and then, when I am under the weather or just plain exhausted, it would be nice to have someone else around to do chores, cook, etc. Believe it or nit, the felines are not helpful in this regard! Anyway, my advice is to rest and relax today. The yard work will still be there later!
Thank goodness for surprise sister visits, that’s all I can say. Went outside to do a bit of yard work in the front and she showed up as if sent by a higher power and stayed long enough to rake the front and back in half the time it would have taken me alone. It’s not yet lunch and I’m already back inside convalescing with a drink and an unsympathetic parrot.
YAY, Sis!
Hi, Gin!!! Welcome – you’ll love this bunch. (Ginny is also a librarian)
Birdcage, I so get it! I hope your vacay was great but facing all that yard work is daunting. I still can’t do any at ALL so a lot won’t get done – the spring will be a bear. The ivy is taking over again and pulling ivy is now verboten for me. The hubby will rake but he’s not a gardener – he refers to himself as my “gardening dolt” – I have to direct his every move.
Feel better soon and do what you can and bugger the rest. Maybe get some help in the spring? That’s what I’m hoping to do. “And yet they will be annoyed because I will follow them as surely as day follows night to be assured that all is correct as God and I intend.”
MyMike is the same way – yard work is against his religion. Helps if I ask,
but doesn’t do things the way I (the sergeant) would. I work better alone as
a result. This weekend is pot the parsley from the windowbox and bring in
the gerania (there are more than one, ye ken). Happy Guy Fawkes Day, all!
I got the plural – I’m so chuffed with myself. And thank you for the Guy Fawkes reminder – not that I celebrate or anything, I just like knowing. And it brings up happy memories when I did used to celebrate. Since you grew up in the Philly area, did you know the Dickens Inn in Headhouse Square? I (and my friend Gin) have many memories of time spent there – in our salad years.?
Don’t think it was there when I was living in the city.
Had to move to North Joisey in ’69, just got completely
back a couple of years ago. I will check it out, as some
No. Jersey folk want an historic tour of Philly complete
with “historic” food.
Dickens In is no longer there, sadly, but the City Tavern is a great place to get really authentic early American food.
At the Dickens Inn I was thrilled to have as a friend a man who was on the board of both the original Dickens Inn in London as well as the one here. His name was Cedric Dickens and he was the Great Grandson of the author himself. His Grandfather was Dickens’ tenth child. Cedric was such a character – conducted pub crawls, presided over the annual Dickens Christmas Feast at which I, dressed in some sort of costume, read a truncated version of the Christmas Carol – a different stave for each course of the meal. It was lovely.
That was a wonderful experience for you, and
a lovely memory.
Murray C … OMG are we married to the same guy!!??
Actually, Phred’s Mom’s hubby sounds suspiciously like mine too…
Egad, can there be more than one?????
Hi Ginn! Welcome to our cozy cute corner of the world which is a safe refuge from all the idiocy going on in the rest of the universe. You gonna love it here – cute animals (including some you never would think you’d say Awwww he’s sooooo cute), wonderful word play from the Master himself, Mike, and a great group of internet buddies.
Nothing too much going on today – hair cut, getting some items for my trip next week, and starting to pack. The countdown is on!!! 7 days til we say Aloha to Hawaii and I cannot wait!!!!!!!!
Oh, if anyone wants to watch a wonderful series, you have to check out Netflix’s “The Crown”.The first season is all about Queen Elizabeth II and her first few years being queen. It starts in 1947 just before she gets married and the detail on the show is amazing. Think Downton Abbey but more realistic, less soap opera. I think I read that the producers are trying to do a decade a season and bring it up to present day. I watch it from the site so not sure if it’s on DVD for those who don’t stream.
AJ, have a great time – tell us all about it, send pics of strange and wonderful beasties? (do they have many strange and wonderful beasties – mostly birds, I’d think)
And, yes, I do want to see The Crown – the ads are very compelling.
Heard a review of “The Crown” on NPR the other day. Can’t wait to start watching it tonight!
My black eye is healing, slowly but surely. The past two weeks have been kind of tough, for a variety of reasons, so I really just want to relax and enjoy the weekend!
Loving The Crown. Have been binging on it since yesterday.
Me too Birdcage! I am frustrated with the time change as I would love to watch Episode 5 but… must go to bed. Did you watch Wolf Hall? Claire Foy was brilliant in that plus I am a massive Hilary Mantel fan… argh! and blasted! shortened time change weekend. *yes, agreed, small problems*
Wait fall back! 😀 😀
Yes. Time change in US. Fall back one hour.
Oh yes, pictures will be uploaded when I get back. As for strange and wonderful beasties, I don’t Hawaii is too bad, except for the large bugs. I think most everything in there is cute – dolphins, turtles, fish, birds – unlike Australia where almost everything wants to kill you.
Me too! I’ve watched the first three episode and am being very disciplined about waiting until this evening to keep watching. It is one of those good shows that I have to watch with my iPad and google images at the ready.
Thank you AJ…I will visit you all quite often!
Welcome Ginny, and hello to all the regulars (and, uh… irregulars… and I mean that in the most endearing way!). It is beginning to look a lot like fall around here. I just went for a long walk under a gray threatening sky. I wound up off the path and found myself in a dark and creepy part of the woods… all this has inspired me to write down the experience for future reference (my biggest dream is to write, but alas! I have a debilitating work ethic connected with my day job). So tonight, instead of preparing for classes on Monday and grading those last four activity journals, I am going to plunk myself down in front of the computer and WRITE!
Gor for it N. Fritz – unleash that creative urge. And check out The Golden Age of Illustration on Facebook to see illustrations that would probably be perfect for the finished story.
Oh, Murray C, I don’t have a FB account. I’ve tried and tried, and I become far too addicted and unproductive. I looked to see if the FB page is public (like Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/) but no dice. I can imagine pictures like Grimm’s Fairy Tales would be perfect in this case!
Well, the people who post get many of the the images from the Internet, so I imagine if you were to Google 19th/early20th Children’s Book Illustration you could see quite a lot.
N.Fritz: NaNoWriMo!!! http://www.nanowrimo.org
National Novel Writing Month
It’s a world-wide writing event that takes place in November, and there are events in other months as well.
The goal is to write a 50,000 word first draft of a novel in 30 days. It’s all about quantity, not quality, getting the words written (“first get it written, then get it right!”)
Very few people can “quit their day job” to write full time, but many people can squeeze in time in the evenings, or at lunch hour, or…
I’m behind on my goal at the moment because I keep getting distracted. I need to get writing soon and catch up because I start teaching an online class next week and will have to mark assignments at the end of the month. I need to get a good head start on my word count to compensate.
Since it’s a rainy day here, this is a good time to sit down and write instead of watching TV.
But first, I need to finish this chore, and that chore, oh and I need to make breakfast, and …. 🙂
I love writing. And painting. So therapeutic. But life gets hectic with making a living and suddenly there’s no time for things like that. Which is garbage I know because so many people much busier than I manage to do it! Somehow it seems that I don’t have what it takes to “free my mind” for creative pursuits when I do have some spare time. I call it stress “residue”. I once bought a book called “The Weekend Novelist” and it was a boost.
Welcome Gin – I am fairly new here myself! Really enjoy the cuteness, Mike’s humor and the thread posts!
Thanks for the tip, Belphebe! I tried NaNoWriMo a few years back (when I was only teaching half time – had I known at the time what a luxury that was, I would have devoted much more of my free time to writing, drawing, and other beloved activities). I got about 21 pages of a “novel” written, and my NaNoWriMo friends gave me good feedback on it. But somehow I drifted. The text I’m writing today is the same protagonist, just a different adventure.
I wish you an obliging Muse as you get back on your own NaNoWriMo track!
Quiet weekend for me, after having my first dinner party in Colorado last weekend. I’m planning on quality time with the cats, creative hours with dye pots, and lots of skein-winding while I finish a great audiobook. The dye pots will hold handspun yarn–much of it worked from raw fleece–that has been sitting around in bags for a fw years or more. Instead of buying lots of new yarn, I’ve been working through my stash and getting to projects that have been queued up for a long time.
Oh, and lots of cooking. When I prep lots of good food on the weekends, I eat better during the week. Last weekend, I made and froze two batches of crepes, so now I get to make the fillings.
My goodness, DEBG – you must have a halo, an aura, a starry crown for all the good and wonderful things you do – pre-cooking meals, spinning and dying yarn. Yikes, I am so impressed!
Well, I kind of don’t have a social life, Murray C. By choice, I hasten to add. I just make stuff and then enjoy it.
Good for you. Today is one of those days when I would
prefer to be alone. Don’t ask. Wish you lived nearer,
I’d join you for brief social bits.
I hear you DebG…sometimes I just can’t deal. It would be nice to have some instant “space”.
I was alone for so long and basically fine with it and am grateful for a big house where we can both retreat and do our own thing. I wonder how it’ll be when we’re downsized into a glorified apartment – it will be tough. Even now I’m shy to practice singing half a house away!
Start singing near him now.
You both should plan for solitary time. Alternate outside interests.
I used to play the Appalachian dulcimer whenever I felt
like it, and warble the Jean Redpath type old songs. No more,
too self-conscious with him. Playing music has dried up,
I’m afraid.
I LOVED Jean Redpath – knew her a bit when I traveled around singing in coffee houses. She was a lovely person and a wicked wit. My husband really likes when I sing but he can’t leave it alone if I’m singing and he’s nearby – he just has to add his two cents, parody words, tease me, whatever. He’s really supportive, just a bit of a joker. And sometimespracticing, vocalizing, can be pretty – well, UNpretty. When we finally do get together we will have much to talk about!!!?No fair that music shouldn’t be part of your life – we’ll sing!
I agree. Good for you. I never ran after people. I have honed down my contact to the five humans whose company I find consistently rewarding and who I enjoy returning the same to from me. Time is too precious to waste. I am very focused.
I’ve never run after people either, Faye. Sauntered over to the very
few that felt right for me, on occasion. Today I am in a forced lone
mode, since MyMike has taken offense at me for some reason.
I will let him continue his silent sulk alone, while I plant mums
and maybe go to watch the feetsball on my own. I think he thinks I don’t get my innards in an uproar over the election as much as I
should, or as much as he does. It is his main focus these days.
Thank goodness for Cutetropolis and its therapeutic goofiness
and good peeps.
And thanks for listening. *sigh*
I was going to ask you later about what you alluded to yesterday – so sorry. If one is not a transparently “knickers in a twist” sort of person there’s not much one can do – and that applies to the one who is. I know I can get my dander up but most of the time I’m pretty quiet about it – we are what we are. What if you staged an all-out rampage – he might decide he was better off with what he had!? Best luck with all that, enjoy your Feetsball. (I probably already told this joke – stop me if you’ve heard it!?”How do we know that the toothbrush was invented in (choose state name that best applies in your considered opinion)? Anywhere else it’d be called a teethbrush.” (autocorrect must be a taco short of a combination plate – it tried to say “tooth…” as well)
Good joke, thanks!
Remember Gallagher’s routine on
the English language? Genius.
How do you pronounce “ghoti”?
Answer: “fish”.
the GH from “tough”, the O from “women”,
and the TI from “nation”. He must have
been one heckuva great teacher (his previous gig).
I hate to burst your bubble, but that routine predates Gallagher by about a century. It’s attributed to GB Shaw, who had more than a passing interest in phonetics, but I’ve never been able to find a reliable source of verification that it was actually Shaw’s.
Just to give away my agedness, I thought Phred’s Mom meant Gallagher and Sheen, the Vaudeville act. Oops.
A rampage would only fan the flame, tempting as it is.
I’ll just fantasize one.. I will make him a little
crazy by putting on the Pat Nixon face in his presence.
He wants a reaction. Nope, not happening.
Greetings, all, and especially to Ginny, welcome!
I have pre-op jitters today; surgery is Monday at noon, Pacific time. Looking forward to my recovery time, as hubby has the week off and intends to outrageously pamper me. Once I’m on my feet again, only three weeks of school and then I’m freeeeeeeeee!
Oh, Duckie, I grok. I wish you the best and hope your pre thru post surgery goes well and is brief! Good for your husband pampering you – he’d better! OR he’ll hear from us!?
Oh Duckie – yes best of luck to you!! Hope it goes well and you come out feeling good. The post surgery pampering is the best! My hubby might last a day doing that. Anything past a day would be more like duty!
Best wishes for a speedy recivery from your surgery, Duckie! I hope your husband thoroughly spoils you. Let us know how you are doing when you feel up to it.
All kinds of good wishes to you for a quick, effective surgery and
a quick comfortable recovery.
Sending lots of good juju, Duckie!
I hope your surgery goes smoothly Duckie; I am sure it will. Speedy healing on the other side! 🙂
Best today, Duckie – hoping all goes swimmingly!
Hi, all, and welcome, Ginny. You’ve come to the best place on the internet. Nice people, and the best cute and funny with NTMTOM, who is one of a kind, to keep us all entertained!
I’m glad you’re all enjoying yourselves. We’re beginning to think the campaign is trying to KILL us. Yes, transcribing all those speeches for a nice fat pay rate is a very easy, profitable exercise — until it starts being speaker after speaker after speaker after speaker. We all decided a few days ago that we might as well have our coffins ready because they’re gonna kill us all at this rate! Either that or just work us till our hands fall off. Honestly, I’m not only glad that the election will be OVER Tuesday, but that this campaign contract will be, too! It’s been nice, but it has been ENOUGH. I suspect I’m going to spend a week staring at the walls and doing absolutely nothing when it’s over!
Ooh, Hawaii, AJ? Sounds wonderful!
And I’m sorry you brought a cold home, Birdcage. Where in FloriDUH were you?
Tomorrow’s my birthday, but I’ll be working, I’m sure, so we’re going to do my birthday celebration either later this month or in January. My wonderful hubby is going to take me over to the Kennedy Space Center and watch a launch from as close up as they let you! I have *always* wanted to see a launch, and these are apparently pretty big rockets, Atlases, so it should be great fun! I’ll have that to keep my nose tied to the grindstone the last few days before the election. And the irony is that I’ve already voted, so it feels over for me, but all this mad campaigning is proof otherwise. My husband’s working the polls Tuesday; I sure hope none of the feared shenanigans happens, at our polling place or any other!
Everybody have a great weekend. Melody just spent the morning at the troubled kids home, so she’s ready to crash for the day. As am I, but I don’t have her excuse! Everyone who can, take a nap for me, okay?
Oh, Laura, you do need a nice, long extremely well-deserved rest. Let’s hope all your good work ends up in the positive column. And Happy Birthday!??????
Happy b-day! I too voted early (Colorado has mail-in and drop-off ballots) so I just want the election to be OVER.
I voted by mail a couple of weeks ago…so easy and convenient. Will be so glad when it’s all over!
And Laura, I hope you at least get to enjoy a piece of birthday cake or other decadent treat of your choice, which after this campaign may be a stiff drink! 😀
Thanks for the birthday wishes, guys. I think at this point we all deserve more of a stiff BOTTLE of our favorite libation! But a week to just sit and knit and listen to audiobooks and skritch the pups sounds like pure heaven. Heck, an HOUR of that sounds pretty darn nice! The whole group of us is so tired that it’s taking all of us noticeably longer to get anything done. I think the campaign staffers feel the same way, judging by their exhaustion seeming to match ours!
Best wishes on your surgery, Duckie — I hope all goes well and that you’re back with us in one piece as quickly as possible!
Happy Birthday, Laura. May the election hoo-ha not get you down.
Have a stiff one for me and enjoy everything.
I hope you have a wonderful birthday Laura!
Best of luck Duckie. Preplan an after surgery treat and focus on that when you are nervous.
Welcome Ginny: fellow librarian and cat lover.
I’m paying bills and budgeting today.
I am approaching my Medicare date. My shrink is opted out of Medicare and he is also a non-network provider in what will become my medigap insurance. So long story short… the entire fee is on me. I’m determined to figure it out as he has already reduced/frozen my fee.
On a happier note I have found an art studio near my home where I can learn painting and use as a studio for linoleum cutting which is a long lost passion. Reasonable fee for two hours, once per week. Hence, second budget change!
On the agenda for the week: total closet reorganization and organization of art supplies.
After the holidays will commence opening boxes of rescued family keepsakes and my craft supplies in storage for four years since Hurricane Sandy. Sigh.
Ok. Here goes budget. Step one: balance checkbook. Lol. ?
Good luck with all that, Faye – you sound so organized and so on track that I have no doubt you’ll find a way to do all you need to!
Faye – linoleum cutting? I am intrigued…need to know more!
Also I have a saying about budgeting…can’t BUDGE IT.
My first thought was flooring, Faye, but you probably meant block printing?
Yes! Linoleum Block Cutting. Lol! I have not taken to chewing the drapes or gouging craters in flooring yet. It may come to that at some point later in life but hopefully I won’t know it or if I do I won’t care one whit.
Dulcie, do some googling. Linoleum block printing can be done very simply for not a lot of money. Limited equipment if you work small, stick to black ink and hand rubbing prints: pencil, linoleum, gouges, ink, roller, table spoon, butter knife, paper. Done. There are children’s kits if you want to give it a try.
Here is a link to the same kit I used in high school in the 1960s! http://www.dickblick.com/products/speedball-deluxe-block-printing-kit/?clickTracking=true&wmcp=pla&wmcid=items&wmckw=38001-1009&gclid=CLuNqYGektACFQcfhgodloICaA
Let me know if you have questions. ?
oh this is exciting! I will Google away thanks for the links. Children’s kits…perfect!!
Also, you can get children started making stamps with white erasers, like Staedtler. And if you look at Dick Blick Art Supplies, they’ll have different sized blocks of what is basically the same material as the eraser – and very easy to cut out. Linoleum is rather brittle and a bit finicky as a result. More detail possible, but definitely trickier. I just realized that Faye sent you their link – my apologies for my repeating! Oops.
Oh Faye – sounds fun. Have you seen this stuff? It’s clear linoleum! I have a sheet that I’m saving for “just the right project” so I don’t know how it works.
http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/finelineDisplay.php?id=281028
I should just dive into it and try it out….
Cool! That’s a great idea. I guess it’s a bit like those stamps one sees that are clear.
I have recently joined a linoleum block group on FB. I am only reading posts for now. I saw the clear. I’m about a month or two away from gathering information.
Faye, I thought at first that you said “linoleum ROCK group”. Bet they have a great floor show…
Ohhh, Duckie….?
I luv it ?
Kind of embarrassing but the kids kits would be for me…when it comes to craftiness I have to start s l o w…
A very find place to start! the disadvantage might be that the tools needed might be rather less than stellar – the gouges, I mean. tho’ an Exacto knife can work just fine on certain materials. They wouldn’t provide kids with something so dangerous. There is a little pack of gouges that one can get that are very basic, good value – they used to have wooden handles, not sure now. But there’s an array of 8 to 12 tools – v-gouges, u-gouges, knife blades. If you go online you’ll probably be overwhelmed with choice. If you go with a kids’ set, make sure it’s for somewhat older kids – 12-16? An adult set would still be for beginners, so you’d be safe with that, too.
OK great advice. I am really keen to try this out!
I did linoleum cutting in art class in 9th or 10th grade and loved it. I wonder if there’s an art studio around here where I could pick it up again? It was really fun and was the only artistic thing I was even vaguely good at!
Have you looked into Medicare Advantage plans, Faye? Maybe your shrink participates in one of those since they pay better than standard Medicare. I know what you mean about figuring it out. I’ve still got two years to go, and I’m already trying to find a plan that includes all my meds as well as all my doctors. At least most of my doctors are part of a medium-sized clinic that has offices spread around this part of the city, so they’re all either in or out. But one of my meds is just not on ANY of the plans, and it’s hideously expensive, so I’ll have to find a substitute. I could stay on our retirement insurance from the government, but it’s hideously expensive and there’s just no reason to stay on it at this point since my mega-expensive back surgery (375K! I kid you not! of which we, thank heaven, only had to pay 5K) is behind me and any others will be far less extensive if I even need any, which I hopefully won’t, knock wood. I really wish we’d go to single payer! My husband, as a disabled vet, has full VA coverage and it’s basically single payer except he has to pay $6/month for his prescriptions. That’s ALL he has to pay for. I’m extremely envious!
Anyway, end of Medicare/insurance rant. But you really might want to check out Medicare Advantage plans. They fill in where there’s gaps in Medicare, which can be very helpful.
Hi Laura!
Just adding to the insurance discussion: We retired from UF and kept the state plan as secondary insurance. It includes prescription drugs, which is so confusing in Medicare. My husband takes several meds and at least this way we know what is covered.
That’s what’s nice about Medicare Advantage plans — each one has a pharmacy formulary, so you can look up every medication you take and see if it’s covered, and check their doctor list, too, to help you pick your plan. Fortunately, all but one of my scrips is covered under every Advantage plan in our area. I’ll probably test out alternatives before I go onto Medicare.
I know Medicare is a bit of a nightmare where drugs are concerned, what with the government not being ALLOWED to negotiate for lower prices — Congress had to make sure their friends in the pharmaceutical industry got their pound of flesh from us! — and the donut hole and all, so it’s a real mess. If Clinton gets elected, I know she’s hoping to change that no-negotiation policy, but it all depends on Congress, of course. 🙁
Your idea of a secondary insurance is a good one. Unfortunately, our US Government insurance in retirement acts as a permanent primary, and costs as much as COBRA — we can keep it for as long as we want, for life if need be, but for something like $600 a month. Eek! We’ve kept it only because I’m too young for Medicare; my husband certainly doesn’t need it. He doesn’t even need — or pay for — Medicare, since the VA handles 100% of his medical coverage. I’m self-employed, though, and always used his insurance; looking for myself, the cheapest plan I could find even under Obamacare was more than what we have now. So we’ve bitten the bullet and kept it. Only 2 more years!
Thank you Laura. I do have excellent secondary based on my 32 years at the library. We were NY State Civil Servents and I pay $450 per month for excellent coverage including medications. I even get reimbursed for my monthly Medicare cost. Medicare will be my Primary and NY State HIP will be my secondary and meds all for $450 per month.
It just this one Doctor and of course the most important one and the one who can never be replaced. He has opted out of Medicare.
I am so lucky over all I can’t complain. I have debt that will improve in two years and then in three etc. I didn’t plan as well as I could have or far enough in advance. I should break even before I die. Lol!
But I did do my budget and I think I have his fee covered!
Thank you all so much
You’re lucky that where you live there are doctors who take your supplemental insurance. I also worked for NYS but I live in Manhattan. It’s a problem finding doctors here who take Medicare , and finding doctors who also take the NYS-provided supplemental insurance is really a problem.
Hi Ginny! Welcome to the cute!
I have no plans this weekend. Spent a good part of the week at my kids’ homes, hanging out with their father. I was the designated driver for the zombie pub crawl, which was strange seeing my baby (she turned 21 in June) ordering drinks. I took my brother to the bus station at 4 am this morning, to go to Denver to visit his grandson. At least his return bus comes back in the afternoon tomorrow.
I’m a little upset at my step-daughter. She’s the one I got Sophie from, and they have a great dane puppy. Turns out Sophie is not housebroken, and ruined her son’s carpet (they told me she was). Also, she is looking for a dog house for the great dane. IMO, a dog shouldn’t live outside, especially in Kansas in the winter. Did they not know how big a great dane was going to get? Do they not know how to housebreak a dog? Personally, if dogs are using the carpet as a pee pad, I’d get rid of the one that makes bigger puddles, and keep the one who would likely be easy to train to peed pads or even a litter box. Sophie will go outside to pee, but she doesn’t tell me. I have to watch her close and keep in mind how long it’s been. The last couple of days. she will get on my lap. stand up, and put her cheek on mine. If I move my head, she moves hers to keep her cheek against mine. I’ve realized she does that when she needs to go, so that’s improvement. It’s also very sweet.
That’s so adorable!
Hello Wonderful People of Cutetropolis!
Hello Ginny! – and thanks for the gorgeous photo of one of your owners. Black cats are really special – I’m owned by one too. He is currently sitting in a sunbeam, while intermittently squawking at me that he wants to go out.
I’m heading back to the studio in a minute. Am prepping for the book arts fair at the Free Library next Saturday, also known as – using up papers and supplies! I did have to put a sign on my front gate for no more election surveyors or anything after the fourth visitor today. We think it is because the upstairs neighbor is registered independent. Funny how no one is asking for me, even though I volunteered for the last two elections. NOT that I’m complaining. I am also avoiding the radio and other news at all cost, just listening to Harry Potter for the umpteen-millionth time. I love it.
Hi, Tara, I just Googled the event and couldn’t find anything about it, just that the one on the website was cancelled and that was April 2015! Good job they did keeping up with their website! Anyway, what are you doing for it? Sounds interesting.
Hi Murray C., The event is Book Paper Scissors, sponsored by the Philadelphia Center for the Book. I just looked at the Free Library’s website of events and all that shows is a workshop for kids to make books!? I don’t understand why BPS isn’t on their calendar. 🙁 I think I shall take it up with the PWPs (People with Power) so thanks for pointing it out.
Anyway… I’m making notebooks, blank journals, password books, and probably some note cards. We shall see. I have to look through my inventory and see what needs a boost.
Our black beauties are just terrific. PLus his fur matches many of my clothes…My Sammy is currently enjoying his sunny window perch. and snoring!
We are on a news blackout as well. It is scary to me, esp since I live in Arizona, a beautiful, but traditionally RED state…
Oh a book art fair sounds fun! I love altered books…I will find the link somehow…
Do you enjoy art postcards? You might want to investigate The iHanna Postcard Swap. (Just google iHanna) Many artists use book pages, spines, etc. as part of postcard collages they create, then send to various other artists…all over the world..Costs $8 to get the addresses, and it is great fun to receive art in the mail instead of bills and supermarket ads…
This group is alive enough to perhaps do it among yourselves. I will post an animal themed card I have made. Enjoy Harry P!
Incoming!!! DUCK!
Okay. That is so funny – and it looks like so much fun!
I can’t stop watching this – second time this week this has happened. I will never in my life get another thing done.
I needed this, thanks.
Love it! Reminds me of a winter my husband and I fed the ducks just to watch them skid. So adorable!
Looks a bit like that sport Curling. The other ducks need to get out their brooms to smooth that ice. Maybe the ducks put a marker on the ice to see who can slide the closest.
Yes Faye, agreed! 😀 😀
The (sentient curling rock/ crokinole disc) duck moving away at the end makes it even better. 😀 Seriously, how cool of a landing is that?!
Here’s Lily rocking her new collar! She hated it at first, but is slowly calming down about it. She’ll wriggle out of it after a while and I give her a treat when I put it back on, so maybe she’ll learn to put up with it. What I really want is to get her to wear a harness so that I can take her places with me. I wanted to start the harness training much earlier but couldn’t find one small enough for her. I tried a ferret harness, but it didn’t fit her right, and I didn’t want to make a huge battle out of wearing it.
Oh my. Very classy looking. Purple looks good on Lily. I can just see her out and about perched on your shoulder.
She just gets cuter and cuter. What big eyes you have, pussy cat! And I love her two-toned nose.
Jan, it sounds like Lily’s got you well-trained. She takes the collar off, and you put it back on and give her a treat, so that she can take it off again and get another treat when you put it back on! Very clever cat you have there!
What can I say? I’m easily trainable! 🙂
Yes, purple is definitely her color! She does like to perch on my shoulder, although she’s getting a bit heavy for that. Still, she makes a great neck warmer!
Hmmm, I shall have to take a good picture of her nose for Nosevember…
Oh god. So true.
Hi all! I and hubs are just trying to stay sane until Tuesday night (please God/Godddes, let this election be over Tuesday night!).
Until then, I am bingeing on Netflix’ Call the Midwife (highly recommend it!), haging out here on CT, and trying to stay away from Fivethirtyeight.
If you do want to look at poll websites, there’s a number of other good ones out there that are not as depressing as 538 — Princeton Election Consortium, ElectoralVote, PredictWise, the New York Times. Each of them also base it on a whole bunch of polls and a fancy algorithm. We’ll see who comes out the most accurate this time — I don’t think it’s going to be 538. From what I’ve seen of the turnout in Florida, for example, 538 is way off.
I ‘m afraid that no matter which candidate wins, the hoo-ha will not stop.
This election is like no other I can remember. I saw Adlai Stevenson at
Independence Hall in 1952 when I was twelve. Now, there was a class act.
Thank you, Laura. I’ll check those out though my tendency is to prepare for the worst and not get my hopes up.
Hey all. It’s been a lovely weekend here in MN. It’s been warm & sunny again. We haven’t had a freeze yet in the Twin Cities and broke a record yesterday for warmth. IMO, we’ve had a lovely weather year in 2016. The season for craft shows & bake sales has begun, so I hit a couple yesterday. Have to admit, I’m there strictly for baked goods. I’m too lazy to do it myself. Picked up some krumkake, sandbakkels, kransekake bites and almond cake. My sister had invited me over for a pot roast dinner, so a true foodie Saturday. Today I’m going with a friend to a performance of Pericles, done by one of our favorite theater companies. Their mission is to bring theater to under-served audiences (prisons, homeless shelters, etc.) so for paid performances, the shows are done in the round with no lighting, minimal sets & costumes–just like you’d see them in locations without auditoriums. They also use minimal casts with most playing multiple roles. They did The Music Man with a cast of 8! Simply amazing! So glad there’s a vibrant theater community here. Hope you all have an uneventful week.
Wow! Music Man with 8people!!???? Smoke and mirrors? That’s amazing – would’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall at meetings working that all out!