Coffeecup

How scary! That's one of the biggest Florida sinkholes I've seen. If the car had fallen all the way down, the couple could have been killed. I'm so glad they got out of the car safely. I think I see a black and yellow road sign down in the bottom of the hole. I heard that sinkholes appear in Florida all the time because the local bedrock is limestone, which is soft and prone to crumbling away. We have occasional sinkholes in my area, metro Atlanta, GA, which is on solid, hard, granite bedrock. Our sinkholes are usually caused by water main breaks under the street, and the soil washes out from under the pavement. Our water system is very old, in many parts of the metro area, and those old mains are not in good condition. We are paying the highest water bill rates in the U.S. in order to fund a $4 billion water infrastructure repair project. I voted for that project, although every month when I open my water bill, I think I must have been crazy.

I'm so glad you decided to call your brother and he responded (more or less) politely. Now you have that chore behind you. Blessings to your mom and you. Holy shit, what a way for the bank to grab your inheritance. I wish elderly people would think it through before they sign up for a reverse mortgage. I'm seeing a lot of TV commercials urging elderly people to sell their life insurance policies to "pay medical bills" or "just enjoy your retirement" (complete with laughing, attractive middle-aged actors frolicking on a beach or otherwise enjoying themelves). It gives me the creeps. Description of this practice: "Termed a “viatical settlement” for the terminally ill, or a “life settlement” for seniors, close-to-death policy holders sell their life insurance to a third party for an immediate cash payout. That third party, known as a life settlements broker, then assumes monthly payments on the policy and becomes its beneficiary, receiving a large cash sum when the original policy holder dies. "According to the article, life settlement brokers, such Opulen Capital and Lifeline Program, are essentially reaping the rewards of betting on the patient’s quick death. When presented with the opportunity to purchase a person's life insurance policy, the broker takes ownership of that patient’s medical records, discusses his condition with his doctors, and talks to the patient himself to determine how much longer he most likely has to live. The reason for this is simple and significant―the longer the patient lives, the longer the broker has to maintain premium payments, which eat into his final profit. Therefore, patients with only several months to live are the most “valuable” while those with say, five years left to live, are less so..." source: http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/08/18/your-money-your-life-selling-your-life-insurance-cash-may-just-be-new-retirement "Your Money For Your Life: Selling Your Life Insurance for Cash May Just Be The New Retirement Fund" They sound exactly like vultures, don't they? Ugh. If you sell your policy, the original beneficiary -- your spouse, child or other loved one -- gets nothing when you die. ***

The "cultural appropriation" thing baffled me too. I thought camo garments were originally used by hunters and the military. What's cultural about that?

BronxBabe, I am keeping you and your mother in my thoughts and prayers. You made the right decision. Her Old Florida room sounds serene and lovely. I am glad the staff is so compassionate and helpful. About notifying your brother when the time comes, I agree with the advice others have given: call or e-mail him and let him know. It's up to him whether he wants to do anything about it. That's his problem. You will have the decision off your mind. Ennui made a good point when she asked whether he is in your mother's will. If you notify him of her death, then you can never be accused of trying to delay him receiving his bequest. Hmm, just thought of an alternative. If your brother was mentioned in the will, then you could ask the lawyer who probates the will to notify him of the death, instead of your having to do it. Lord Donia, I hope your dad's condition stabilizes and he recovers.

That's what has always puzzled me about her crush on Tristan. She knew from the start that his ex was having his baby. He seems to be the "babydaddy" athlete who's just going to write the child support checks, and otherwise not be an involved father. Is that what she wants? Well, she had a long sad storyline about Lamar. I guess she could get another "poor saintly Khloe" storyline from an affair gone bad with Tristan.

This website is having glitches today. There are many duplicate posts, from several different people, on this thread and the Shopping Channel thread.

Seahag, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your furbaby. It is so hard to lose them.

Seahag, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your furbaby. It is so hard to lose them.

Seahag, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your furbaby. It is so hard to lose them.

Seahag, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your furbaby. It is so hard to lose them.

Same in my area, lots of physical hospices, but they are for the people not expected to live more than six months. It has a lot to do with how long Medicare will pay the hospice -- I think their cutoff is six months. My husband had to put his first wife in a hospice when she was dying of cancer, and her doctor said no further treatment could help her. She lived two weeks. He said it was a wonderful, peaceful hospice and she received excellent care. They checked on her frequently to give her pain medicine and talk to her. He said everyone was very kind. A friend had the in-home hospice visits for her husband near his end. The nurses did many nice things for him in addition to nursing care. They sent a volunteer musician to play beautiful soothing music for him. They arranged for one of the top players from our pro baseball team to visit him in his home (this athlete takes the time to visit sick fans), and he was thrilled beyond words. Bronxbabe, I wish I knew how to advise you. I was not the one making the decisions for my parents; my stepmother made the arrangements for my father, and my older sister handled my mother's care. (My parents were divorced.) My father was taken to a hospice, where he lived only 24 hours, and my mother (years later) died in a nursing home after being there a couple of months. If it had been up to me, I think I might have sent Mother to a hospice, because, as others have commented, the staff in nursing homes are so busy they can't give what I consider to be enough care for individual patients who are in decline. I understand your feelings of helplessness and frustration, and the desperate wish to turn back time and be a kid again -- not have to be faced with these agonizing responsibilities and questions that have no "right" answers. I believe you will do your best, and you will make the right decision for your mother. We are all here whenever you need to vent. About the Italian thing of being awakened and immediately asking "Who died?" In my family, it's always been a phone call around 5:30 or 6:30 a.m. So I always wonder "did somebody die?" when the phone rings at that time.

Like Abercrombie & Fitch's Hollister brand? That one was named after Hollister, California. It used to be a big seller in the teen market.

Now we know she really went -- she's posted her bikini photos. http://people.com/style/kim-kardashian-thong-bikini-photos/

"Can I Afford It?" was my favorite part of the Suze show too. I would sit there rolling my eyes and laughing at the extravagant things these people wanted to buy on their income. But then I would remember some of the stupid decisions I've made about buying things, and imagine Suze growling at me: "DEE-nied!"

I love hearing stories like this. It gives me hope for the future.

Shame on Meghan. I guess she figured it was worth the deception to get more social media followers. TMZ said her number of followers doubled after the fake story appeared. However, the whole Kardashian family plants a lot of fake stories too, so ... shame on the lot of them.

Khloe said a friend who is "like family" has been stealing from her, charging tens of thousands of designer clothes on Khloe's credit card (why was she letting her friend use her credit card? And doesn't Khloe keep track of the charges made on her card?). The friend was also stealing clothes designers had sent for Khloe to wear. TMZ says Khloe has not filed charges yet but has talked to her lawyers about it. I wonder if this "friend" is someone we've discussed on the "Friends, Romans, Jonathans" thread? http://www.tmz.com/2017/06/05/khloe-kardashian-robbed-friend-stole-clothes/ "Khloe Kardashian Former Friend Robbed Me Blind!!! ... Allegedly" 6/5/2017 11:45 AM PDT *** Edited to add: Heavy.com suggests that fans think the thief is Monica Rose, the stylist the Kardashians dropped after using her for several years.. http://heavy.com/entertainment/2017/06/monica-rose-kardashian-stylist-stealing/ Monica Rose: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know Published 5:38 pm EDT, June 5, 2017 Updated 6:49 pm EDT, June 5, 2017

At first I read that as "I wonder how long it took her to read that book cover?" LOL

Those are gorgeous rhodochrosite samples. JTV just had some Southwestern style rhodochrosite jewelry a couple of days ago. They showed a couple of the same pendant with different stone markings to tell us that each stone would be different. I appreciate that, but it still doesn't mean that the one you get will be a pretty one. I had a rhodochrosite pendant made from a stone I selected on eBay. Also bought one from HSN which turned out to be a nice stone. You have the same problem with malachite. The stone you receive may have pretty banding, and it may not. I love malachite.

I don't remember Moonstruck, but Google says it was made in 1987. Mom and Sis had their situation in the 1940s. Maybe so many sisters had that kind of problem that the scriptwriter used it in the movie, thinking that lots of women could identify with it.

Probably true! Theme for this season of KUWTK: "Let's Hate Cait."

I wish fatherhood would change Rob for the better, but I have a feeling you're right.

My mother had that problem with her older sister. The sister got mad at Mother back when they were teenagers over a boy both wanted to date. My mother got him, and Sis held a grudge against her for the rest of her life, almost 60 years. Strange, because Sis married twice and her husbands left her very well off; she did just fine without that boy she'd wanted in high school. I don't think she thought he was her soul mate or anything. It was just that she saw him first, so she thought she was entitled to him. Sis did help my mother financially when they were both older ladies living alone, maintained regular contact with her, and took her on nice trips, but always acted bossy and belittled Mother. Seahag, Booney and Jaded, I'm sorry y'all had to go through such distress with your fathers. I don't mean to sound callous, but sometimes it's for the best when a bad parent (or bad husband) passes away.

I know what you mean. Jay tries too hard. Many of his stones are pretty, but many look like drab rocks you'd find in your garden. I remember his line from way back when it was "Santa Fe Silver" and he sold many beautiful pieces made by Native American artisans. I cherish the pieces I bought then. I wish he'd go back to Made in USA artisan designs, or maybe concentrate more on designing than finding new rocks. Most of his bead necklaces are very plain, and he always uses a hook closure now instead of lobster claw like he used to do. I don't care for the hooks because they tend to scratch my neck. I never order his rings any more, because most of them have those extra-wide bands you can't wear unless you size up. His earrings are so plain they look often like amateur arts-and-crafts stuff, just a couple of tumbled pebbles on a dangle hook. He does do some unusual designs in pendants, though.

Me too! I'd love to have a collection like that.