Mondrianyone

I feel you. My sympathies. If you happen to be a handyperson, maybe you could patch the damaged areas with wood filler of some kind (two-part putty, for instance) and then sand and reshape the handle. I'm the sort of person who would do that, but I get that some people need to just let go and move on. I've been meaning to post this link to the gadget guy on Epicurious's YouTube channel. I love Dan, and he has an amazingly impressive résumé (I Googled him). Most of the videos are merely for entertainment, because who would buy some of these wacky products, but there are some gadgets he tests that I've actually considered buying (or already own), so it's fun to get an expert's take on them. For anyone who's interested: I tried to link to the main page that lists all his videos, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

This is my first season watching. Not sure I'll last till the end if the tone stays as saccharine as in these initial episodes. I'm just wondering about Khela (sp?). Is it her goal for some reason to be perceived as an alcoholic? She seems to be trying very hard to give that impression.

I got a very graphic lesson in that at the bank one day. I was probably in my late twenties or early thirties, and I was waiting in line and trying to juggle half a dozen things. I put the cash I was going to deposit between my lips so I could have the use of my hands. An elderly woman ahead of me in the line got a glimpse of that and started shaking her finger at me very vigorously. "Young lady," she said, "get that money out of your mouth right now! I saw a documentary on life in prison on TV last week, and do you know where the inmates put their cash to keep it from being stolen?" I thought a minute, and the obvious answer flashed across my brain. I've never put money in my mouth again. Sometimes I put my money where my mouth is, but never in my mouth.

Agree it's important to distinguish the genuine idiots from the amateurs. I love that movie so much.

I would've handed it right to them and said, "Oh, it was meant for you, then." I don't seem to attract people like this, luckily. Or maybe I just need to get out more.

So that's what they mean by a "shit-eating grin"!

Thanks, @Ohmo! But what if he was just showing her photos of some other house in progress? I only wonder because I knew a woman who was conned in a kind of similar way. And it seemed odd to me that Andrea was a librarian and he worked at Home Depot, so they probably weren't knee-deep in cash, they lived in a very modest apartment, and yet they were building a beach house? I watch too much true crime, I guess.

Did they happen to mention whether Andrea had actually seen the beach house? (Honest question--I could've missed it if they did, since I dozed off at one point.) What if there was no beach house, and all the money she was contributing was really going to pay for his porn addiction? Just an icky speculation. And a powerful motive, I'd think.

It's not a grammatical error, more an error in word choice and word order. Normally it would be something like "We're not sure what's going on inside [or within, or some other preposition] the head of each member of the ***** family."

Could be grounds for prosecution.

I watched one of those "supersized" episodes the other day (I think that's what they're called), and there was an aw-shucks cowboy with a very large bump over his knee. He didn't like doctors, so when his first attempt to get it looked at didn't go well, he just let it go on growing. Dr. Lee made an incision but sewed him back up again when what she saw seemed beyond her scope. She told him she'd put him in touch with an orthopedic surgeon in Tennessee. The follow-up (I didn't see how long after the visit with her it was, but I assume it was at least a few weeks, more likely months) just said he was "in the process of being diagnosed," whatever that means. That felt very unsatisfactory, and I wish I knew what the upshot was. I even Googled his name, but nothing. I'd rather no follow-up at all than some no-result obfuscation.

That may be the weirdest autocorrect I've ever seen.

I would have to hold myself back from cutting in front of your mom to get a slice of that chocolate cake. I still have manners, but it would be hard. 😋 At first I thought those were chocolate coffee beans on top, but then my brain came up with the idea of chocolate dragées, which I didn't even know were a thing, but Google tells me they are. Now I have to get some. Congratulations to you on some very wonderful-looking cakes! And a very happy birthday to your mom!

I wish it were for free advertising! Because if it were, then we'd know who was selling the pieces and where to find them. I've been especially coveting that pink gemstone pendant she's worn a few times, and I spent several hours Googling in vain. Andrea's wardrobe is kinda nuts, but her jewelry is usually very much on point.

My dog had itching problems that got progressively worse through the years, going from seasonal to all the time. Our vet gave her prednisone shots, which I wasn't crazy about, but they helped somewhat. It was awful to watch her scratching constantly. Then one day we were in a pet shop in another town, and we got to talking to the owner. We told her about the scratching, and she suggested that we remove all foods that contained corn, wheat, or soy--or any combination. We went home and got rid of everything that had those ingredients on the label and switched the dog's diet to foods that were free of them. Within two weeks the scratching stopped completely. It made me weep to think of all those years we could have spared her. So this is what I suggest to anybody who tells me about a dog with itching problems. Better to approach the problem nutritionally, because if it works, it's like a miracle. Best of luck with sweet Daisy.

A good online dictionary will tell you. Hit the little speaker icon and you can hear someone pronounce the word properly.

I know. I edited. I'm losing IQ points as I type.

Duh. Thanks, @SuprSuprElevated! I thought it was a hairy mouse. Deleted because I'm nuts. Time to go to sleep before I get dumber.

I know that about Jersey. There always seem to be bears lurking about. Maybe it's the saltwater taffy. (I just spent ten minutes looking for a bear emoji. Either there isn't one or I'm bear-blind.)

Yikes! A porch-pirate bear! Can I ask you what general part of the country this is? We live in the Maine woods and have never seen a bear. Moose, yes, but not a single bear. (Well, I don't know if they're single or not. Never spotted a ring.) Your friends should send the clip to one of those YouTube doorbell-camera sites.

And beautiful!

First, I'm so sorry for your loss. Just wondering, can you separate the pieces without thawing them? (Or is that what you meant to type when you wrote "repackage them with defrosting them"?) I think that's what I'd try to do. Here's a page of suggestions, since I'm guessing it all depends on how they're frozen together. Refreezing meat is usually thought of as a bad idea, as it can change the texture. I hope this helps, and again my condolences.

Well, that's a comfort. And probably proof that I've never taken out a policy on someone I was planning to kill. Maybe they could name a rider to that law after me, then, that says insurance companies must have a database that alerts them when someone takes out a ridiculous number of policies on another person with other insurers. And notifies that person before the policy goes into effect just to ensure their consent wasn't falsified. If those are also things, then I'll just say they're not working flawlessly.

I've been telling my husband for years (or maybe "warning" him is more like it) that there should be a federal law (named after me, of course) that anytime someone takes out an insurance policy on someone else's life, that someone should be notified and have to sign off on it. It seems pretty damn elementary to me, that if somebody has a financial incentive to kill you, you have a right to know about it in advance.

When I go to Wallet, there's a subhead called Cards & accounts, and under that are shown the various credit cards I've used there over the years--one of them is highlighted as the default card. Everything I purchase at Amazon shows up on that monthly statement. There's also a blank slot that gives you the option to add a payment method. So if there's a credit card you want your purchases to automatically be charged to, that might be your opportunity to simplify things for yourself. Good luck!