Hey, -t, I am considering giving my MIL a round trip Ft. Lauderdale to NYC train trip on the Silver Meteor route, which is a 26 hour trip. She is 81 and refuses to fly, but her daughter lives in NYC and would drive her up to Otter Lake for a visit then I could take her back to the city for the return. The "Private Room" thing would be awesome, IMO, but do you think it would be good for the old lady. She says she has always wanted to do the train trip.
Sooner or later, you're gonna want it. And the second — the second — that happens, you know I'll be there. I'll slip in, have myself a real good day.
Spike ,'Conversations with Dead People'
Natter 78: I might need to watch some Buffy for inspiration
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Laura - May 12, 2026 10:32:57 am PDT #12651 of 12728
Our wings are not tired.
DavidS - May 12, 2026 10:39:42 am PDT #12652 of 12728
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I showed pictures of the new garden door to Jamille (my downstairs neighbor) and Matilda and they both immediately had the same reaction: It's too short! Why is there such a big gap on the bottom?
It wasn't big enough for a person to get under (though a raccoon certainly could, or an enterprising coyote). But it didn't look secure and it didn't feel secure to them.
Landis, my contractor, arrived this morning and I mentioned this and he assured me they would be putting a "kick plate" on the back of the door to close that gap.
Now I'm awaiting for EM to arrive with Second Coffee and to go through paperwork and onerous tasks.
DavidS - May 12, 2026 1:11:26 pm PDT #12653 of 12728
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Not very chatty today!
EM came by and we plowed through a lot of stuff.
Including super annoying insurance/mortgage stuff.
Off to Pilates...
Dana - May 12, 2026 1:33:49 pm PDT #12654 of 12728
I haven't trusted science since I saw the film "Flubber."
We are back home after driving down to Husband's parents yesterday. His mother passed away before we were even on the road, though we didn't know that for a couple of hours. So we went to the hospital, then back to their house, then back on the road this morning. Traveling again next week for the funeral.
No condolences necessary, btw. This has been coming for a while, which has helped the family with their grief so far. It's all just kind of weird. Very fruit punch at times.
erikaj - May 12, 2026 1:37:52 pm PDT #12655 of 12728
"Somewhere in this building is our talent." Toby Ziegler, my spirit animal
Not that this is interesting, but there was not a huge IQ-based or "Why do you liberals have to bring race into everything?"(Um, cause it is) kerfuffle on the disability page after all. Which is a relief, bored as I get as it gets hotter, I don't want one. It's just weird to wait like you started something and then you didn't. Also, even after all this time, I guess I'm not sure when something might jump off.
erikaj - May 12, 2026 1:49:53 pm PDT #12656 of 12728
"Somewhere in this building is our talent." Toby Ziegler, my spirit animal
cereal: Dana, that must feel surreal. My mother's mother was sick for a white, but we kind of weren't sure that it would be her final illness, despite her being over ninety. so it felt fast, in more than "it's always sudden," sense, when she finally passed. My brother deals with that by saying things like "Maybe T. would have lived longer if we'd done x." Never mind she was ninety-one already. I think I pissed him off by saying "Why would we want that?" But she did pick on me, and if he was talking about now, she'd be a hundred and ten or something. But he had the Golden Penis and stuff so... letting go is kind of a different vibe.
Steph L. - May 12, 2026 3:30:21 pm PDT #12657 of 12728
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
One of the cat welfare/adoption organizations in town is doing a fundraiser where, for a donation, they'll carry a big-ass picture of your cat (with the cat's name) in the Pride parade. So you damn bet Murderbiscuit is going to be in the Pride parade this year.
erikaj - May 12, 2026 4:50:38 pm PDT #12658 of 12728
"Somewhere in this building is our talent." Toby Ziegler, my spirit animal
aw...kitty pride.
DebetEsse - May 12, 2026 5:11:25 pm PDT #12659 of 12728
Woe to the fucking wicked.
Excellent BDSM rep: Biting, Disemboweling, Scratching, Meowing
-t - May 13, 2026 10:44:25 am PDT #12660 of 12728
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Excellent BDSM rep: Biting, Disemboweling, Scratching, Meowing
What a charming portrait of MurderBiscuit at Pride!
Laura, there are red caps at the stations and attendants on the trains to look out for people and they will jump in to offer assistance as we discovered when mom and I traveled together. You can ask for at least some of that when you book the tickets, although the lady I am sitting next to right now was told all the downstairs seats were full and she had to go upstairs with her bad knee, so don’t leave it to luck if you can avoid it. I would definitely advise getting her a room, she can head out to the lounge and dining room if she wants company and nap or look out her window in peace if she doesn’t (they’ll even deliver meals to the rooms, although I haven’t done that so I don’t fully know how it works). I think it’s a great idea - no transfers so relatively simple, just a question of whether she can sleep on a train which, really, I don’t think you know until you try