The Chateau Diaries #92 Yucka yucka, snort, snort.

[Chocolategoggler]

Ok - the conversation earlier this week about health care in the USA. My husband had heart issues called SVT. So he went in to have bits of extra electrical bundles burnt off his heart. The surgery lasted 3 hrs. It was an out patient surgery. You cannot find out how much it is going to cost beforehand because they have no idea what is going to happen in surgery including you may end up with a pacemaker. Three pre surgical office visits. Total cost for surgery $225k I mean what. Insurance has said they cover 33k and there are discounts and we have am appeals process etc that we will go through and go back to the hospital, Dr office everything and make sure it was coded correctly etc. Now, this does not even begin to include the bills for my stuff, I mean this is both breathtaking and soul crushing. This, and student loans, which cannot be discharged in bankruptcy or even death, is literally how people with jobs and degrees end up under freeway overpasses in this country. It is overwhelming. So when people start screaming about socialized this and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps ever election cycle... really? So the alternative is a dead husband and a gif arm so I can never work. Ugh.

Wow, I'm surprised there's anyone left who wants to live in your country if that's how they treat people. Talk about kicking someone when they are down.My friend gets very angry when talking about political things like this and she's a calm person; All about the wealth being sucked upwards to the top level and bugger anybody else. Sorry if I"m putting my foot in it but I have never got my head round the USA healthcare situation. Sounds like you need some good luck and I hope and wish it showers down on you soon.

 

[Le Comte de Monte Cristo]

@Reader's digest
...adding to day 7 of tattvent...

View attachment 910511
View attachment 910497View attachment 910499View attachment 910503View attachment 910506View attachment 910508

omg that little whorehouse in crozon sur vauvre pic with Ollie...My mother isnt alive anymore..she would be IJ age by now..and my sister...to dress up like that...

 

[Beau Monde]

Congratulations, @LaFrancaise123!

 

[KiKiGee]

VIP @LaFrancaise123

 

[Maple fairy]

Oh @MidCenturyMadOne I hope this storm does not head your way!
House temperature got to 16C I kept thinking (with three heavy layers) how do they stand it there at LaLande. I remember her saying she likes it around 15C. Torture to me!

 

[après-le-déluge]

She reminds me of a beautiful woman I know who I never knew when she was young. I knew her sister who was always the fat one in the family but lost a ton of weight and was unrecognisable (in a good way). Her mother was dinky and her father was built like a rugby prop forward. When I met the beautiful sister she was built like a prop forward so I was thinking she must have taken after her father. She is both beautiful inside and out and very elegantly dressed no matter how big she gets When I have heard people talking of her dating history the men were commenting behind her back warning others off as it sounded like she wasn't big when she was young, but was said to be absolutely stunning and was famous in the area for her looks. It seems the men could see that she was going to be big and told men around her to steer clear unless they could cope with it. When she married and got larger her husband was unfaithful and then dumped her. She got involved with a narcissistic bloke who was also unfaithful. I am hoping I might get to meet her soon as I heard she was trying to lose weight for her daughter's wedding before the pandemic and I would like to see if she succeeded. She never lost her beautiful face all the way through and I would love to see her with a kind man. She is the nearest thing I ever met to a living angel.
I unfortunately show every pound of weight gain in my face and managed to get my weight down before the pandemic but that and ill health made it increase again and it is slowly shrinking back down again. Another 2 stone to go and I'm at goal weight. .
I hope Annalise will put her needs first at some point cos I care about her and want the best for her.

Beautiful words. And yes I do hope and pray Annalise realizes she can do this. I’ve lost 60 lbs and I’m 69 years old. So if I can do it so can she. Go on Weight Watchers ! It’s easy. Do it before Old Dans eye turns to some fancy London twiglet he’s filming for. You know he’s very excited about this new venture. Then there’s LaJarvais . I’d love to have a hidden camera in her boudoir

 

[MidCenturyMadOne]

Oh @MidCenturyMadOne I hope this storm does not head your way!
House temperature got to 16C I kept thinking (with three heavy layers) how do they stand it there at LaLande. I remember her saying she likes it around 15C. Torture to me!

I think it was passing though this afternoon, it hit Dorset first before going Ireland’s direction. Whereabouts are you?

 

[après-le-déluge]

Oh @MidCenturyMadOne I hope this storm does not head your way!
House temperature got to 16C I kept thinking (with three heavy layers) how do they stand it there at LaLande. I remember her saying she likes it around 15C. Torture to me!

it’s unconscionable that she hasn’t fixed the heating system !!!! I’m mean really. Who the duck lives like that ?

 

[Sparrowsfart]

anyone interested in seeing a photo of a portion of my sewing room???!!!View attachment 910217 I will charge a nominal fee for the hilarity it will cause. xxView attachment 910217
[/QUOTE]
I would and could raise you my sewing room too....and bedroom, dining room oh hell most of the house. But my life is not on youtube

 

[The Cheshire Cat]

Congratulations @LaFrancaise123!

 

[MidCenturyMadOne]

Halcyon- here’s my xmas gift to you - type in ‘AJ and Kai , couples choice, strictly’ into youtube for a fine figure of an Englishman , who is the same age as BJJ , but is a million times hotter. You are welcome! Forgot to say, he likes women I’m afraid, but quite happy to dance with men too!

Sorry to keep derailing and all that - @HalcyonOrganic he also does a dance to Edelweiss in a very fitted Captain Von Trapp suit. Just saying. Right I’m shutting up about him now lol!

 

[Maple fairy]

I think it was passing though this afternoon, it hit Dorset first before going Ireland’s direction. Whereabouts are you?

I am in Atlantic Canada. I’m not sure where it is currently as I didn’t have TV to check the weather. Typically hits Newfoundland & heads for the UK or Europe.

 

[après-le-déluge]

So now she’s hawking snotty snorts videos in her channel. Good God! Guess not a huge crowd interested in table settings.
Look I am the first to adore a beautiful table and love to set one. But this is like he’s just discovering all of this for the first time.
he need to branch off and give some meatier content if he wants to attract viewers.

 

[shaken&stirred]

Wow, I'm surprised there's anyone left who wants to live in your country if that's how they treat people. Talk about kicking someone when they are down.My friend gets very angry when talking about political things like this and she's a calm person; All about the wealth being sucked upwards to the top level and bugger anybody else. Sorry if I"m putting my foot in it but I have never got my head round the USA healthcare situation. Sounds like you need some good luck and I hope and wish it showers down on you soon.

Medicare for all. This should not be happening in a wealthy country. I am so sorry you are going through this, it’s a nightmare.

 

[lolander]

It’s almost as if Squirrel is constantly underfoot and wanting to “help” but getting in the way, so SJ said “go vlog” (just to him something to do). He says “perfect, but what should I vlog about?” And SJ says…”I don’t know…show how to set a table.” (How could that go wrong? ) It’s like a mom who gives her child some busy work to keep them out of her hair. And when the child shows off the questionable results, mom claps and raves…oh how wonderful!

We should do the same in her comment box. If we want him out of there we should be complementing and fawning over him and forgetting her. A narc won't share her limelight. He'll be sent packing faster than we can say "Philip Janssen is a star!"

 

[JackSpratt]

IMO YES of course Annalise is a gem and a fine woman…. But……and I’m going to be brutally honest here……she needs to get her weight under control. I’ve been there and done that. I was up to 210 during the tail end of my miserable marriage. Even though I am considered to be a beautiful woman I was treated with disrespect by a bloody alcoholic husband. She needs to look after her looks. She’s a young woman and her husband is lurking about with Jarvis whom I wouldn’t trust as far as I could throw that scanky body of hers.

We'll I'm considered a larger lady and my husband said looking at LaJarvis, he finds her utterly sexless. I think Annalise and Dan have a strong and secure relationship. They've moved here probably with not much behind then financially and it's a long hard slog, been there done it. We took the leap like them with a house the needed doing top to toe with no jobs to come out to. They'll be fine, they're a lot younger do the move than we were. All Dan needs to do is get his home:worklife balanced and not run to the tune of LaLande too much.

 

[nuff said]

Beautiful words. And yes I do hope and pray Annalise realizes she can do this. I’ve lost 60 lbs and I’m 69 years old. So if I can do it so can she. Go on Weight Watchers ! It’s easy. Do it before Old Dans eye turns to some fancy London twiglet he’s filming for. You know he’s very excited about this new venture. Then there’s LaJarvais . I’d love to have a hidden camera in her boudoir

It won’t be the madam in charge of the brothel, more like the hangers on that keep coming back.

 

[Le Comte de Monte Cristo]

You forgot also the rodents chewing on the wires.I cannot imagine having real trees up for so long. Knowing them not one person is in charge of watering. Maybe they think because it is so cold in there that it is half frozen.

well i can answer that one..because it costs a fortune to heat a chateau...actually you never can...there is always draft, huge rooms..we have the place...but i certainly wouldnt buy one.. .we also move out in winter..we celebrate christmas in the big house..thats great fun...we heat the whole chateau up to 15 degrees..otherwise you get damp , problems with the parquet, artwork and the furniture..but i find 15 degrees a bit cold..so we move out into a cottage..most people do that btw..there is in these days nothing nice about living like that...you are never finished..always dust..draft and things that needs to be done..it costs a fortune to run...the fun thing is you have a lott of space..its very nice in summer..lotts of people can come and stay..i like the walks with the dog.in our own park...have to say its all very muddy these days..Most people think a chateau is a fairytale...its not..its a lott of worries and the work never stops..Btw i have never been to someone who lives like Fan...Chateaux are not built to live in in winter..most owners in the past went to the city in winter...to a much more comfy house..

I am not Stephending (that includes the Pethericks), however I know from personal experience that heating old buildings can be a tricky issue, in particular when you have to maintain some historical elements. Even worse when you have high cielings and monumental staircases, that would be the Pethericks case, not mine, and neither SJ's: her place has farmhouse dimensions, with those low cielings, which should make heating easier. So, there is a difference between nearly freezing, and heating just enough to be confortable wearing thicker winter clothing (which is fine for me). In SJ's case there seems to be a major problem in the whole heating system, she should scrap it all, and start again, she would have the money for that.

Fans farmhouse could be very comfy in winter..put some doors in that enfilade..make sure the out doors fit..and close well...put new windows in and proper heating..she needs heating that can be separated..keep the livingrooms warm..the rest less..woodburners in stead of the fireplace..a fireplace only warms up the sky...but her thoughts are on another place...so she doesnt wanne spent..every chateau has heating isseus...why do you think they sell them all...

 

[Sparrowsfart]

You mean unless it's Stephanie having a affair with Phil? But let's move on
[/QUOTE]
I think it is different because Dan & Annalise have 2 young boys. They are a family. Suggesting two single people are having an affair is very different than suggesting someone who is committed to their life partner and Mother or Father of their children is having an affair.

A mean person suggested to me my husband was playing away because he was working long hours, when my boys were young. He was not, he was working extra hours to help pay the mortgage (when interest rates were 20%) And anyway he has too much integrity to do that. BUT THIS SUGGESTION STILL HURT ME. Comments like that can break up families.

 

[KyBourbon]

Wow, I'm surprised there's anyone left who wants to live in your country if that's how they treat people. Talk about kicking someone when they are down.My friend gets very angry when talking about political things like this and she's a calm person; All about the wealth being sucked upwards to the top level and bugger anybody else. Sorry if I"m putting my foot in it but I have never got my head round the USA healthcare situation. Sounds like you need some good luck and I hope and wish it showers down on you soon.

At some point, everyone will require healthcare…everyone. Some may be healthy for years and not see a doctor, but eventually age catches up. And in the US, if someone is sick and needs a doctor, they can go to the Emergency Room. They can’t be turned away if they can’t pay…doctors take the Hippocratic Oath (do no harm). But someone else is paying for it. It’s a weird combination of caring for others in a capitalist system. Many are afraid that if you put cost controls or caps on drugs or procedures, it will stifle or hinder innovations, research, and medical breakthroughs (they say without the money and financial gain, there’s no incentive to innovate). That’s why I always thought the US Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a good compromise. Everyone was required to have health insurance, and the plans had to be of a minimal standard of care. You had the choice of going with your own insurance company, or participating in health care exchanges that pooled people together to get the best rates. It kept insurance companies in business, and in theory made plans more affordable for everyone with the exchanges. In theory, it was fair for everyone because, at some point, everyone needs healthcare. But, since it was passed, congress has effectively gutted the ACA. Without an “individual mandate” requiring everyone to have insurance, there’s not enough healthy people participating to help offset the cost of unhealthy people on the plans. So, we’re essentially back to where we were before.