I’ve lost track of time again, which happens with midweek holidays. I keep thinking it’s Saturday, but it’s not, and I have to work tomorrow, but it’ll be an easy-ish day, so whatever. All I know right now is, it’s hot, and the fireworks are already starting, and Wendy isn’t happy about that at all.
As I’m sure many of you noticed, it’s a terrible Fourth of July this year, what with the shenanigans in Washington and all the rest of it. The wind was non-existent, so no sailing, either. So we did something completely different, and went to a walking tour of downtown, called “Enemies of Freedom: Monuments of Detroit’s Slaveowners.” We walked from statue to historical marker to statue to historical marker, while the guide, who specializes in African-American history, told us which ones owed their wealth to exploitation of human beings. (Spoiler: All of them.)
The constant struggle in American history, with one army giving way to another, an ocean of blood drenching the ground, a million little tragedies adding up to a paragraph in a history book — I guess this is what you call the long view. And it helped on a day when the short view is so gruesome.
Only one person fainted in the heat, a young girl. Her mother carried her into the Church of Scientology building, where she recovered quickly. The Scientology building had a marker on it identifying it as the original site of Sainte Anne’s Catholic Church, located in the original French fort. Its first pastor, this marker claimed, Rev. Nicholas Constantine De L’Halle, was killed by Indians in 1706, making him the first Christian martyr in Detroit. The guide added that the Indians were upset because one of their number had been shot by the French, after he kicked a soldier’s dog who was bothering him. So they retaliated by shooting the priest. But history is written by the victors, and so: Christian martyr.
The girl was fine, once she drank some water and cooled off. We ended up peeling off ourselves — the tour was already running 45 minutes over, it was 88 degrees, the stops were becoming less interesting and we both needed a beer and sandwich. So that’s what we did.
So, a little bloggage? Sure: An interview with John Waters. He’s funny:
Have you ever done drag?
I was only in drag once, and that was as the Wicked Witch at a birthday party when I was 8 years old. That ended my drag career. You have to be so careful of what you say. My friend told me this story, “You know, every gay man once tried on their mother’s shoes.” You did it once; you never did it again. But now, if you have a very liberal mother and they catch you, you have sexual reassignment lessons at 8 years old. And you might not really wanna do that.I don’t think that would happen.
Well, people have babies. That’s why Trump will win. Because of things like babies, where you don’t tell your child what sex they are until they figure it out themselves when they’re 3 years old, and then you give ’em a party and say, “You’re a girl.” These children will be in mental institutions. Your parents are supposed to tell you what to do. Then later, if you disagree, you rebel and do the opposite. I think that’s a healthy lifestyle.
That’s it for me this week, and you all have a good weekend.
Dexter Friend said on July 4, 2019 at 10:05 pm
Did nothing, just like Bruno Mars sang those years ago. We did go to Defiance for a fish and okra and hush puppy dinner , and discovered the fireworks were cancelled or moved to another day, so we gazed at the big mighty Maumee River and rode around looking at stuff and came home. My dog hates fireworks and so far a record…I have only heard one M-80 explode…it’s been very quiet this year here. This is good. I can’t be a happy patriotic American with a goddam ass clown in The White House. Glad that LA Mary is OK…my son-in-law and my daughter are on Oahu and they called his mom at home in Las Vegas…she said she did not experience any house shaking, but others in Las Vegas did…his daughter in Pahrump was just 66 miles from the epicenter and she had to have felt it. Biggest quake in 20 years:LA Times site….
832 chars
Deborah said on July 4, 2019 at 10:21 pm
The fireworks haven’t started yet at Navy Pier in Chicago. We can’t see them from our place because our unit’s windows are on the north and west side. We have a great view of the lake because there’s a major curve to the north that cuts in westward. But we can’t see Navy pier which is south of us. We could go downstairs and stand on the plaza outside, but nah, it’s not important to us.
Last year we were in Santa Fe for the 4th and the neighbors went crazy with fireworks. Why New Mexico allows fireworks is beyond me.
536 chars
Suzanne said on July 5, 2019 at 7:23 am
Apparently, someone did bring around the clouds to rain on Trump’s parade, FLOTUS showed up in a white dress which got wet and the few attendees were treated to the Independence Day version of the wet t-shirt contest (nice kidneys, Mrs T), and then the president gave a speech in which he spoke of defeating Cornwallis of Yorktown, attacking the ramparts to protect the airports which gave us the Star Spangled Banner. Just another day in America.
449 chars
Suzanne said on July 5, 2019 at 7:37 am
A clip of the aforementioned speech:
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1146996636561870849?s=21
97 chars
Deborah said on July 5, 2019 at 8:25 am
That’s hysterical Suzanne, although anyone can see Melania’s nipples on the internet at any time. And once again I’m reminded how the right wing went apeshit when Mrs. Obama wore a sleeveless dress and showed her lovely arms.
231 chars
alex said on July 5, 2019 at 9:12 am
A very nothing Fourth here. We cleaned the garage and repainted the tacky weathervane cupola on top of it. (A souvenir from the former homeowner’s trip to Shipshewanna, I’m assuming.) I would have gotten rid of it but for the big hole it would leave in the peak of the roof.
We also set a bucket trap for the chipmunks that have been destroying our veg garden this year. A 5-gallon Home Depot bucket filled 2/3 of the way with water, a layer of birdseed floating on top and a ramp to lure them there. This morning, instead of floaters we found chipmunk guts on the ground surrounding the contraption. I’m guessing some larger animal fished them out and ate them.
Those fuckers keep digging plants out of the ground and eating our produce. We tried a snap trap out there but unfortunately caught a bird in it. Our cat, Pussies, keeps the front yard under control but seldom ventures beyond it. So I’m hoping the bucket trap does the trick. We don’t even bother with the electric fence anymore because those sumbitches know how to tunnel under it.
Today going to a boat salvage place in Coldwater to scavenge some stuff for the pontoon boat we’re rebuilding.
1168 chars
Mark P said on July 5, 2019 at 9:14 am
I’m still laughing at the comments on Trump’s praise of the US Army Air Corp’s actions in the Revolutionary War.
But seriously, we’re living in an alternate universe, if you haven’t noticed. You thought it was just in science fiction, but it isn’t. It’s real. I saw a photo of Melania, with her nipples proudly saluting our great flag. Can you imagine what would have happened if Michelle Obama had shown her nipples in public like that? Or Hillary? (!!!!) I am not sure when the timelines diverged, but someone else got the sane branch, and we got the batshit branch.
571 chars
JodiP said on July 5, 2019 at 9:49 am
MarkP, you have come up with the most cogent explanation of what the heck is going on. Alternate timeline!
I did a lot of cooking, as it was my day to cook for the HIV care home. I had many little cooking hiccups, which is unusual. The worst was even though I had benas in a crock pot for 9 hours, they weren’t cooked enough to bring. We added more water, left them on overnight, and they’re now edible, but only just. The menu included baby back ribs, cornbread, watermelon, and potato salad with vinaigrette. We all had a great time together!
547 chars
Sherri said on July 5, 2019 at 10:01 am
While trump plays with his tanks, Alaska burns. It was 89 yesterday in Anchorage, and the governor wants to cut the budget for the University of Alaska by 40% rather than raise taxes or cut the permanent divedend.
In happier news, I’m in the design phase of a kitchen remodel. I know several of you have done kitchen remodels; what are the things you did that you’re happiest with?
386 chars
Jenine said on July 5, 2019 at 10:05 am
@ Alex : now I want to know what you do wear on your feet if no sneakers/running shoes.
I love the idea of rebuilding a pontoon boat. I think my husband’s only chance of boat ownership is if someone gives him a hulk.
218 chars
Scout said on July 5, 2019 at 10:13 am
Well, that was quite the spectacle, wasn’t it? Nipples and torrential rain and a speech that Hair Furor must have written himself. Twitter loves days like that. https://twitter.com/chunkled/status/1146933353242923008?s=21
221 chars
beb said on July 5, 2019 at 10:33 am
We horned our way into a Grosse Pointe fireworks show and had a good time. We had gone out to eat and on the way back noticed that a lot of people were lining up along the Detroit River. My wife then remembered that there was supposed to be a fireworks show at 10 pm, and what do you know but it was 10 pm. I drove past it slowly, turned around and came back even slower. Finally the car in front of us just stopped so we did, and then the firework started. Great view, close enough to see every thing but far enough away that the explosions didn’t trigger my sound sensitivity. A cop on a bike rode right past us so I guess it was OK to just park under the no parking / standing sign.
Afterwards we had to go up a mile to turn around and drove into The Night Of The Living Fishflies!” They are disgusting postage stamp size bugs that swarm for maybe a week and leave carcasses under every lamppost near the river. They were all over the car.
Got home just in time for a neighbor to light a box of fireworks in the middle of the street. So loud. So…. If I had a gun there would have been carnage. This morning I read in the paper that a St. Clair Shores man was barricaded after shooting at some people there who were setting off fireworks. There but for the grace of God go I.
1282 chars
Brian stouder said on July 5, 2019 at 11:17 am
OK you made me look; Uncle Google lead me right to the First Lady’s party hats – and I was suitably impressed. Gotta say, this (or those) was (or were) a definite step (or steps) up from the graffiti jacket boner (so to speak) from last year…
260 chars
Jakash said on July 5, 2019 at 12:30 pm
Deborah,
I don’t know if you’ve seen this exhibit at the Chicago History Museum, but it seems like something you’d enjoy. We saw it yesterday after attending the 4th of July festivities on the plaza of the museum, and I thought it was very good. There were several references to designers who were influenced by Mies and his minimalist approach. Plus some swell videos of the Burlington Zephyr making it’s famous inaugural run from Denver to Chicago and a horde of workers in the 30s punching out Radio Flyer wagons.
https://www.chicagohistory.org/modern
565 chars
Jeff Borden said on July 5, 2019 at 12:58 pm
On the scale of ugly rhetoric used by the Orange King, yesterday’s speech didn’t move the needle, though him calling for national unity after acting as the divider-in-chief since Day One was pretty funny. So, too, was his encouraging young Americans to join the military. Cadet Bone Spurs equalled old Five Deferments Dick Cheney, in avoiding Vietnam and his spoiled little brood never served. Neither did his father or grandfather.
Meanwhile, the twisting of history in his address was abhorrent. The man honestly doesn’t even have an elementary school student’s grasp of the Revolutionary War. Damn, he’s dumb.
We avoided the entire shit show on TV and stayed home from the fireworks. Glad we did. A panic on Navy Pier led to more than a dozen people being trampled after the Chicago fireworks. Some asshole yelled “Gun!” and the crowd went berserk. I love my city passionately, but if I never set foot on Navy Pier again, that’s fine by me.
949 chars
Deborah said on July 5, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Jakash, thanks for the heads up about the design exhibit. I’m definitely interested and it’s going to be up until Oct 2020.
We leave for France tomorrow, an 8 hour flight then a 5 hour train ride. It’s still hot in the south of France but lower humidity than Chicago, not as low as NM though. The second week of our trip will be less hot, in Paris.
Uncle J and his caregivers leave for France today, they fly to Heathrow first then Marseille, they rent a car for about an hour drive to Le Thor. We fly directly to Paris then a train to Avignon, rent a car there for a half hour drive to Le Thor.
I have no idea if the place we’re staying in Le Thor has air conditioning, probably not, which is going to be fun when the high is 99°. They have a lovely pool.
774 chars
LAMary said on July 5, 2019 at 1:55 pm
Deborah, Le Thor is not far from a little village where I once spent the good part of a winter. Lapalud is about 45 miles from Le Thor. I was staying there with friends so nothing posh but a lot of fun and very good food. I still smoked then and I would walk to the village center to the tabac to buy Gauloises. I was so effing artsy.
334 chars
Deborah said on July 5, 2019 at 2:30 pm
Sounds like it would be fun, to be young, staying in the south of France in the winter with friends. I was looking forward to walking in quaint villages nearby but it will probably only happen in the mornings. Drinking wine will be happening of course.
252 chars
JodiP said on July 5, 2019 at 3:17 pm
Deborah, I don’t know if you will have time or inclination, but there is a very cool “thing” to do near Le Thor; it’s called Les Carrieres des Lumieres. It’s an old quarry and art is projected onto the walls, ceiling and floor, all set to music. Les Baux is also near there; it’s an old village that used to be part of a small kingdom’s fortress. Now it’s lots of shops and restaurants. At times during the summer, the museum connected to it has demos of trebuchets, a type of catapault. I loved that whole area when we were there last fall.
542 chars
Dexter Friend said on July 5, 2019 at 5:05 pm
I was in the US Army with Jean-Paul Raut, a man who was on a work visa in NYC in 1969. He had overstayed his time and was apprehended…somehow, with 569,000 soldiers fighting in Vietnam and replacements constantly needed as many died every week (hundreds, to be accurate) , he was given a choice: return to France immediately or join the military of the USA. They did give the option to take the draft time, 2 years, and he took it. He was in my unit in California…I only bring him up because every month he’d get a care package from Lyon…a carton of Gauloises. Jean-Paul was a helluva dude, but ask him for one of his precious smokes? <> … hell no! I never had the privilege of tasting one.
710 chars
Deborah said on July 5, 2019 at 5:58 pm
Jodi P, thanks that all sounds interesting, especially the museum. Uncle J would be very interested in that if he hasn’t already been there on past trips.
156 chars
LAMary said on July 5, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Coco Gauff is improving my mood.
32 chars
alex said on July 5, 2019 at 7:21 pm
Sherri, one of the best things we did was putting our kitchen island on casters. One of the things we wish we had done was seal our tile grout immediately and not put it off. We’re going to have to have someone come in and clean it one of these days, maybe re-color it, then seal it.
Jenine, I wear Keen shoes and sandals mostly, and Dingo and Frye boots. I bought my last pair of athletic shoes maybe 15 years ago and although they were lightweight, I found the synthetic linings inside stuffy and uncomfortable. Too confining, even though they were soft. I like shoes that breathe and have some room in the toes.
We struck out at the boat salvage place. We found one intact set of pontoon railing in a pile of the stuff and it was the right size, just not the right price. It was old and kind of beat-up and they wanted $400. We figure we can do better on e-Bay or craigslist. Besides, my hubby’s a sheet metal fabricator and he might be able to create something from scratch.
985 chars
Julie Robinson said on July 5, 2019 at 8:29 pm
Our island is on casters too, and has hinged expanders on each end. It’s wonderful for buffets or baking projects.
I’m also really glad we installed white cabinets instead of the dark cherry, which was beautiful but sucked up all the light in the room.
We replaced the built in kitchen desk with cabinets and countertops and gained a dedicated baking center. It’s lovely to have the supplies and mixer all at hand.
I do regret not getting cabinets that are compatible with standard organizers. Should have researched that better.
I don’t regret formica counters; granite and marble feel cold to me and I would hate having to baby them. We aren’t in a fancy neighborhood anyway and I don’t think it would help resale value.
The island is a piece of butcher block we found on clearance at IKEA for next to nothing. It’s mounted on a standard base cabinet, with the aforementioned casters. Practical and beautiful, exactly the way I like my kitchens to be.
972 chars
David C. said on July 5, 2019 at 9:28 pm
I never thought of having an island on casters. It’s such a great idea. It wouldn’t have worked in our present house because the dishwasher is in the island but it would have been so useful on our last house.
208 chars
Deborah said on July 5, 2019 at 10:13 pm
Our kitchen in Chicago is tiny and sad, I’m looking forward to a remodel, but it’s down the road. It’s a long story but if we would have remodeled the kitchen when we did everything else we would have tripled the cost because our co-op building has levels of renovation, light, medium and heavy and there are requirements that must be met for each level that can be quite costly. At the time we opted for the medium level. I hate our stove, can’t wait to replace it, that’s really my biggest complaint about the kitchen. It has cheesy laminate counters and cabinets but that doesn’t bother me near as much as the stove.
LB and I renovated the kitchen in Santa Fe by the seat of our pants. We did all the work and it shows, but it’s still way better than it was.
778 chars
Sherri said on July 5, 2019 at 11:30 pm
We’re looking at replacing the current island with a peninsula, which should fit the footprint of the space much better. Right now, we’re leaning towards white upper cabinets and darker lower cabinets, probably something slate blue, with a gradient tile backsplash to tie it all together. We spent today looking at appliances, because we’re replacing everything but the dishwasher (we had to buy a new dishwasher last year when the old one broke.) We bought the refrigerator when we moved in 16 years ago, and the rest of the appliances were original to the house when it was built in 1993.
No walls are being moved, but I’m going down to studs. Once I survive this, then it’s time to do the bathrooms…
718 chars
LAMary said on July 5, 2019 at 11:31 pm
Holy shit. We just had another quake, an aftershock 11 times stronger than the original quake. They’re calling it as a 7.1.
123 chars
alex said on July 6, 2019 at 1:47 am
Sherri, it’s funny you should say that. Our island used to be a peninsula and my hubs had to use a chainsaw to separate it from the rest of the cabinetry — that’s how well-built our cabinetry is, which mitigated in favor of keeping it and refacing it. The peninsula jutted out as a sort of arbitrary room divider but had great drawer and cabinet space inside and of course matches everything else. So we just re-faced and re-topped it and put it on wheels that you can’t even see, and now we can reconfigure the area to suit our needs at any given moment.
We refinished the cabinets in an olive gray and did stainless steel counters. We felt that granite would have been too fancy for this particular house but the steel was very much in keeping with its midcentury modern vibe. We also got rid of a standard shallow double sink and installed a deep open bar-type sink that makes it much easier to wash tall stock pots and that sort of thing.
Just got done prepping food for a cookout tomorrow and love my island and ginormous sink.
1037 chars
Dexter Friend said on July 6, 2019 at 2:29 am
LA-M…been on TV since I saw your post on FB…now , many neighborhoods are dark…you have power? Las Vegas people said they sensed vertigo and sea-sickness feeling as the floors rolled…it was hotshot #1 #1 Zion Williamson’s pro debut in the NBA summer league in Las Vegas and 18,000 people sat, saw the giant jumbo scoreboard shaking & swaying and headed on out. Lots of ruptured gas lines = many fires from Ridgecrest on down to LA. The baseball stadium shook but the game went on. The Cal Tech guy just said the 6.4 foreshock was followed by this 7.1, which in earthquake talk means 11 times stronger. I see Mary just said that… Stay safe Angelinos!
664 chars
Julie Robinson said on July 6, 2019 at 9:45 am
Once again I’m glad to know that you’re okay, Mary. I haven’t heard from all our Cali family members yet but am crossing my fingers.
Our kitchen also had a peninsula, with cabinets overhead, and it cut the room into two smaller rooms. Removing it opened up the space beautifully. We also replaced a tiny wall oven and an ancient and crusty cooktop with a range, which made me very happy.
Here in Orlando we have a galley kitchen, my least favorite design, and another wall oven/cooktop. One of the burners is out and would cost $160 just for the part, before the labor costs. No thanks, we’ll be remodeling in a couple of years, and anyway, how often do you need to use all four burners at once?
702 chars
susan said on July 6, 2019 at 11:02 am
Big Bear Lake eagle nest shakes and rolls during the 7.1 temblor.
159 chars
Sherri said on July 6, 2019 at 12:10 pm
Our current island effectively makes our largish footprint kitchen half the size from a working standpoint. The cooktop is in the center of the island, the refrigerator is at one end, the sink opposite the cooktop on side and the wall oven opposite on the other. So the place that everyone wants to work is the countertop on the island next to the cooktop, and even with a French door refrigerator, if someone is getting something out of the refrigerator, you can’t get by them.
The peninsula will go in at the end of the kitchen, without overhead cabinets. Our cabinets have very heavy oak doors with demountable hinges, and that’s not holding up. As the mortises start to wear, the weight of the door is really stressing the hinges. I’ve had one large door mortis tear our completely, and I can’t get replacement hinges of the correct size anymore. We have these cabinets all over the house: kitchen, bathrooms, family room, office. The family room ones are going as part of this remodel.
1002 chars
beb said on July 6, 2019 at 3:17 pm
I never understood the advantage to an island in a kitchen. To me it always seemed to divide a large kitchen into two small kitchens. If you need something from the fridge, it’s probably around the island. Need a pot, it’s on the other side of the island. Need to get pass someone working on the kitchen, you have to negotiate down a narrow space that’s already occupied. If you want a large kitchen design the house with a large kitchen but don’t try to squeeze more counter space into it by sticking an island into it. It just blocks traffic.
544 chars
David C. said on July 6, 2019 at 4:28 pm
The kitchen we had with an island was “L” shaped, with all the main appliances and the sink in the “L”. The island was never in the way and it gave a lot of extra cabinet space. Not that islands could never be in the way. My brother-in-law has a kitchen that my mother-in-law calls the racetrack. It has an island just as you describe it, beb. You can’t get anything without having to run around it.
399 chars
deni menken said on July 6, 2019 at 6:51 pm
We had an island put in that has deep drawers with pegboard-y grids that you set your stacks of plates and bowls on. Then you plug these large curved pegs around each stack to keep them in place. Easy access. Also had one end of the island made with an edge and open horizontal slats for platters. Space saver and easy to get to.
Skip a griddle insert option in a stove top. Cleanup nightmare. Still regretful that I didn’t choose extra burners but, you know….so fancy.
480 chars
Julie Robinson said on July 6, 2019 at 9:18 pm
Our kitchen is more L shaped too, and the island isn’t in the way, but I’ve been in kitchens where it was. Also where it was too small to be of any use.
The power went out, so we’re out on the lanai catching whatever breeze there is, and playing Dutch Blitz with headlamps. It’s more than a little challenging.
315 chars
Sherri said on July 7, 2019 at 12:08 am
I’m leaning toward an induction range, so cleanup will be easy as can be. Still trying to figure out refrigerators. Probably going to go with a built-in, but a water dispenser is essential, and if I try to match the range and the refrigerator, the only option for a built-in with a water dispenser is a side by side, which I don’t like. I like the GE induction range, but not the refrigerator.
Turns out, buying appliances is complicated. There are all these hidden deals and tie-ins that you don’t realize when you’re only buying one. One store we went to wanted to schedule a 1-2 hour appointment with us just to go over everything.
646 chars
basset said on July 7, 2019 at 12:49 am
One of the houses Mrs B and I looked at recently had a kitchen with no outside windows, just a kind of cramped alcove with an island right outside the opening and the pantry on the far side of the adjacent room.
Griddles… early in our marriage we moved into a rental house in Jackson, MS, in which the previous tenants had removed the grease catcher cup from the gas stove and just let everything run down inside. Took us over a week of soaking grill parts in ammonia inside plastic bags and blasting the remaining grease off at the car wash to get the stove into halfway usable condition. It even had grease between the inner and outer panes of the oven glass, and the hood was completely blocked with dried grease and dead cockroaches.
742 chars
Sherri said on July 7, 2019 at 12:44 pm
I hate car dealers. Even when you’re paying cash, even when you’re not negotiating price (because Microsoft discount program), there’s so much bullshit and lying. We walked into a deal yesterday evening already knowing exactly what we wanted, just wanting to test drive and buy if we liked it. We had called ahead, they weren’t busy. It took over three hours.
They insisted they had to run a credit report, even though we were not financing at all, not even from another source, “to verify we were who we said we were.” They had our DL, insurance card, SSNs, but they need a credit report? Such nonsense.
Anyway, we bought a Toyota Camry Hybrid, to replace the Prius my husband has been driving. The Prius will go to my daughter, and we’ll get rid of the 16 year old SUV my daughter has been driving.
822 chars
Icarus said on July 7, 2019 at 1:14 pm
Beb @ 12: same thing, except we were at Lake St Clair. NN, sorry I didn’t let you know I was in GP, it was a short visit. Beers next time!
Speaking of remodeling, one thing to think about…we have a broken cabinet door and even knowing the brand name, finding the right match is going to a bitch. We plan to put the house on the market so there is no point to remodeling.
Also, I wish there were an easy way for people to post pictures of the kitchens they are describing… I’m not very good at visualizing from descriptions and they sound very interesting.
564 chars
Deborah said on July 7, 2019 at 1:24 pm
Greetings from the south of France where it’s hot but lovely. Thankfully the place we’re staying has air conditioning, surprisingly. The travel was exhausting, plane, trains and automobile. European trains are so much nicer than in the US.
Our suite is very quaint, as French as it gets.
I’ve been reading “Fleishman is in Trouble”, during the traveling and I watched 2 movies on the Flight, “The Favorite” and “Can You Forgive Me”, all excellent.
Going to dinner soon, looking forward to that.
524 chars
LAMary said on July 7, 2019 at 2:18 pm
Sherri, it always takes 3 hours no matter what you’re doing at the car dealership. When I paid cash, 3 hours; cosigning with my son, 3 hours. Also it’s always stuffy at the dealership, they have bad coffee and they try to sell you extended warranties and assorted other things you don’t want.
292 chars
Julie Robinson said on July 7, 2019 at 2:47 pm
The extended warranties really bug. I think that was 30-40 minutes for the last car. We were paying cash so I guess they didn’t think they’d squeezed enough profit from us. I finally said that they had just finished telling us about the car’s wonderful reliability, now they were saying it was a piece of crap? Then I stood up and started towards the door. That convinced them that no meant no, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
431 chars
Snarkworth said on July 7, 2019 at 2:57 pm
Our kitchen island works pretty well because it divides the work triangle from the rest of the kitchen. Stove/sink/fridge area is one one side; the table is on the other.
170 chars
Sherri said on July 7, 2019 at 3:32 pm
I loved the Nike ad after the soccer match.
https://youtu.be/S29GZOR-k9U
75 chars
Sherri said on July 7, 2019 at 3:49 pm
FoxNews made the mistake of doing a live shot from a sports bar in France after the US win. Warning, a profane chant ensued!
https://mobile.twitter.com/skenigsberg/status/1147922695188881409
193 chars
beb said on July 7, 2019 at 6:15 pm
Who would have thought this would be controversial.
Why an Award for Books Without Violence Against Women Is So Controversial
https://slate.com/culture/2019/07/staunch-prize-violence-against-women-controversy.html
The Staunch Prize rewards books “in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered.” Some how is one privately awarded prize is regarded as an existential threat to thriller novels. I would imagine there are a lot of people (and not just woman) who would be happy to find does that commercialize the abuse of women.
562 chars
David C. said on July 7, 2019 at 7:07 pm
The last car we bought didn’t take three house, but by the time we were finished with the F&I salesperson I was ready to tell them to stuff the car. First they showed us a video advertisement for the paint protection. The one where they spray lighter fluid on the paint and set it on fire. I told her I didn’t plan on setting the car on fire like that. Then she started in on the extended warranty. I said they don’t sell them because they’re nice people, they make money on them. She said, “if the radio goes out it’s $900 to fix. Can you afford that?”. I said yes, we could. I also checked and it’s nothing like that much. She just kept hitting us with different what if scenarios. I finally told her enough and that we could deal with pretty much anything. Then she said “you hope, hope isn’t a plan”. Well, that’s Fox news, RWNJ bumper sticker crap. Mary can see when I’m about to lose it and she was pinching at my leg and giving me the look. About five minuets later we were done, but damn I was ready to walk.
1020 chars
Sherri said on July 7, 2019 at 7:33 pm
The latest thing car dealers want to sell you is prepaid maintenance plans, where you pay upfront for service at the dealer (or any participating dealer.) Or maybe that’s what the credit check is for, to see if you’re likely candidate for such a thing, I don’t know. I just know I was hungry and getting grumpy and wishing I had just walked out when they wanted two references on the credit check for a cash purchase, and I would have walked had I been alone, but I’d been trying to get my husband to think about replacing this car for a while and he was finally engaged, so I put up with it.
600 chars
LAMary said on July 7, 2019 at 8:17 pm
I walked out once when the extended warranty pitch got to be too much. The salesman told me that he couldn’t sell me the car at the price he quoted unless I bought an extended warranty. So I said ok and walked out. He called me later and said his manager had okayed the quoted price without the warranty. I had found the same car at a different dealer by then.
361 chars
Sherri said on July 7, 2019 at 9:12 pm
I’ve ordered this t-shirt: https://breakingt.com/products/rapinoe-bird-2020
77 chars
susan said on July 7, 2019 at 9:35 pm
Don’t mess with Rapinoe
108 chars
brian stouder said on July 7, 2019 at 9:55 pm
Posts Sherrie-52 and susan-53 are like the window-rattling Grand Finale of this 4th of July weekend thread!
107 chars
alex said on July 8, 2019 at 7:48 am
Anymore, when salespeople try to push extended warranty coverage on me for cars, appliances, anything I just respond by saying “So you’re telling me that what I’m buying is an untrustworthy piece of shit, eh?” Or “The reason I’m buying [brand] is that I expect it to be trouble-free and I’ve never needed an extended warranty before.”
As for service contracts, that’s a new one and I think I would be brutally frank with any of the dealers from which I buy my vehicles. I’ve never liked their service departments and never use them because they’ve burned me enough times to never trust them again. And I can cite numerous cases in detail. For instance, the Toyota dealership bent one of my tensioner pulleys during service. On another occasion, they sold me a set of tires and one of them had a plug working its way out of the sidewall. When I returned to complain they accused me of trying to pull some kind of skullduggery. The VW dealer installed my struts upside down in the front and did the same in the rear, only they didn’t even bother to attach them in the rear and just left them free-floating. I don’t know whether it’s incompetence or deliberate sabotage, but there’s a special place in hell for their service departments.
1237 chars
Julie Robinson said on July 8, 2019 at 10:09 am
It’s not France, but we’re in NYC. Or technically, NJ at the moment. We’re seeing three shows and as many museums as we can fit in. I’ve been rehabbing my knee like crazy but it’s not good. Luckily I have three adults available for wheelchair pushing if it comes to it.
270 chars
JodiP said on July 8, 2019 at 10:10 am
I last bought a car in 2010 at a used dealership that has a very good reputation. They set a price, and there is no negotiation. I still drive my 2008 Mazda 3, and when it comes time to replace it, I will go back to Poquet Auto. Next time, I’d love to get an electric or hybrid, but am worried about how they handle in winter. My current car isn’t great. I think I’ll be proactive and get a car next year, as my wife’s student loans will be paid off and we’ll have more $.
We watched the Cup at a neighborhood bar that was pretty empty, because their TVs are small. We still had a fun time, good beer and short ribs poutine. We’d planned to watch it at a single-screen movie theater, but got there 10 minutes too late–they’d given out all 699 tickets. A friend who got in said they all lost it when Rose Lavelle scored.
823 chars
Sherri said on July 8, 2019 at 11:01 am
For so long, male sports bureaucrats have acted as though women’s sports is a blackmailed concession to social engineering. The gents at U.S. Soccer and FIFA seem to think they granted these women a favor and allowed them to grow the game out of sheer benevolence. In fact, these organizations have been grudging obstacles every single step of the way, declining to adequately promote the game despite clear evidence of a vast new audience and revenue. For pure obstructive pettiness, how about this? As of 2016, U.S. Soccer was still giving men’s players $75 a day in meal money while paying the women $60.
Sally Jenkins on the US soccer team: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/the-us-women-didnt-wait-for-their-moment-they-demanded-it-and-thats-what-real-power-is/2019/07/07/d723460c-a0db-11e9-b732-41a79c2551bf_story.html
850 chars
Connie said on July 8, 2019 at 12:01 pm
I also started to walk out after the third time they didn’t take no for an answer on the extended warranty purchase.
I just spent several days in Cadillac (Home of Bassett’s early reporter days). The first two were a somewhat boring family reunion of my husband’s mother’s side of the family.
The third day a cousin from the other side of the family took us out on Lakes Mitchell and Cadillac for much of Friday afternoon. We had great fun. I learn more every day about living in the land of newly legal marijuana. There is a spot on Lake Mitchell where all the boats pull up to a beach to party and swim. There were joints being passed from boat to boat. Complete strangers!
I also met Eric the former Marine, who had a large USMC brand on his chest. He told my husband it was not his choice, he was drunk and his fellow soldiers did it to him. It looked it really hurt. Today Eric is the ft stay at home dad of 3 small children.
948 chars
Deborah said on July 8, 2019 at 12:17 pm
So today turned out to be kind of a bust in the So. of France. We were supposed to go to Sault, to a restaurant for lunch. We have to go in 2 cars because there are 6 of us. The drive is supposed to be beautiful on country roads through quaint villages and past lavender and sunflower fields. So one of our group set up our GPS systems in our cars and it went awry from there on out. Our GPS systems were giving conflicting directions so we decided to follow the other car because they knew where to go from previous trips. We still got very, very lost. We were so far out that we had to cancel our reservation for lunch, then we stopped at the closest village to where we were to get lunch because most places around here close for lunch at 2. The only place we could find open in that village was a greasy fast food chicken place, but because of Uncle J’s blood sugar we had to eat then and there. I had a few fries (bad) that my husband ordered, it was awful.
After lunch we decided to go to Orange a relatively nearby town to the village where we had lunch. Orange has an interesting Roman amphitheater in the middle of town. It was impressive to tour but it was 93° when we were there and much of it was in the sun. Uncle J and his caregivers sat in the shade in a plaza so that he wouldn’t be overheated. We drove back a scenic way, thank goodness and saw some lavender fields etc. tomorrow we’re going to try going to Sault again, but this time with a paper map.
It seems that when you use GPS systems they often give you info for the fastest route, but we wanted the prettiest route. And it seemed to be giving us just plain wrong directions. Jodi P, did you have that problem when you were here in the fall?
Some of the villages we drove through were sad, with many restaurants and cafes and other small businesses boarded up, out of business. It reminded me of taking road trips now in the US where once cute little small towns are all dried up. Things will probably never be the same here or anywhere. I get how the yellow vest people were/are rioting in Paris, their way of life in the Provences has changed drastically and they’re mad as hell.
2175 chars
JodiP said on July 8, 2019 at 2:36 pm
Hi Deborah, we really just used the GPS once, to get from Avignon to Arles the day we arrived. From then, we were able to get around because things were so well marked. We tried it another day, but due to my confusing some village names, we got turned around and there was a little delay. It was kind of hard to use, as I recall, as you needed very specific addresses, which we didn’t have.
390 chars
basset said on July 8, 2019 at 4:51 pm
Connie, Mrs. B and I were at a family reunion in Michigan this past weekend too, down near Kalamazoo… no weed though. Did get into a conversation with a grizzled old uncle or cousin or something, he was wearing an American Legion cap and looked like a stereotype Trumpie so I thought I’d provoke him a little and to my great surprise he agreed with me, going on about Kim and Putin and how clueless 45 is. Maybe there’s hope.
Trying to picture that spot on the lake, is it near 115?
And I just ran across a couple of pictures from my Cadillac days in the late 70s, me at TV 9/10 with more hair and a polyester sport jacket… fun times, shooting film and driving a Pinto wagon. Still impressed with the station every time I go up there, though, they really are one of the best small market newsrooms I’ve seen.
823 chars