Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Well, we spent two hours on the phone with the company that is helping us select a new supplemental (to Medicare) insurance policy. For those of you who aren’t aware of it, the Screen Actors Guild, which is one of Don’s unions, told us we would have their union policy, (which was through Blue Cross) and I quote: “for the rest of our lives.” It was a great policy.

This year, they broke the news to union members that they couldn’t afford to do that any longer. Basically, the ‘rest of our lives’ was a lie. So now we have to scramble as this policy ends on December 31st. The company that is guiding us through the process is quite good and I liked the woman we spoke with, but the end result is that it’s going to be more expensive for us. I’ll have to buy a separate Dental Insurance policy, our deductibles will be higher, Don’s treatments for macular degeneration may not be fully covered as they were before.

We can’t afford these changes. But we have no choice.

I am so, so angry about this.

At the end of the conversation, we were both so upset at the realization of just how much is changing that we vowed to take a break and not deal with it until we get the info in the mail.

They promised us and they broke their promise.

I don’t know what we’re going to do. 2020 has been just plain awful.

In other news: we’re going to change the day we start using the dumpster as we now realize it’s going to rain nearly every day for the next 5 days. We think we’ll have them deliver it next Monday instead.

I did another dollhouse update video on Instagram. Just posted it yesterday. So it’s there if you want to see it.

What else? I’m going to work on said dollhouse today and try to finish up on the sanding of the front door, etc. I need to order the wood for the baseboards. As it’s going to rain today, going up to the office/studio sounds like a good thing to do.

As always on Veteran’s Day, I salute all of our armed forces, past and present, including my dad, who fought for four years in WWII.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Woke up at 4 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. Frankly, I read too much about the antics of the GOP and OM. When will I learn my lesson?

This morning, the first thing Don and I said to each other was no more news except vote count updates. That’s it. And, of course, anything President-elect Biden has to say. That’s a given. OM is going to make the next 70 days as difficult as possible but we have won. And that can’t be changed, no matter how many silly lawsuits he files.

If you don’t follow her already, I suggest you follow Jessica Yellin on Instagram. She’s a former CNN reporter with years of experience and she deals in ‘News, not noise.’ She has an update this morning that puts everything in perspective and it calmed me down.

So, I’m taking back my life once again and tuning him out. The less air we give him, the sooner his detestable flame blows out.

Today, we have a phone call with an organization that is helping Screen Actors Guild members change their insurance to a different policy. They’ve changed things at SAG and the policy we had, which I loved, is too expensive. So they’re offering a variety of policies. It’s a pain in the ass, frankly. And I’m so sleep deprived that I hope I can take it all in.

We have some chores to do outside over the next few weeks, not the least of which is emptying out the shed and ruthlessly throwing things in the dumpster that is arriving on Thursday.

We’ve had an unusually long and sunny warm spell here but that will change in a couple of days. It’s been lovely, truly, but I miss cooler nights, so I’ll be glad when things get back to normal.

I forgot to mention Alex Trebek yesterday. We were so saddened to hear he’d passed away. We watch Jeopardy every night. I grew up watching Jeopardy, starting way back when Art Fleming was the host. It was a nightly ritual at our house. And it’s been a ritual ever since. I rarely miss it a show. Alex was a kind, gracious, and slyly humorous host and I could always tell he was that way in ‘real life’ as well. Such dignity and grace. He will be greatly missed. Both Don and I had to take a deep breath last night before we started watching the show; the first time we’ve watched with the knowledge that he’s no longer with us. Rest in Peace, Alex.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Let’s look at something that has nothing to do with the election. What do you say?

I received this beauty in the mail on Saturday.

This beauty was made by the incredibly talented Arlette Shelton, who also made the sofa/settee that you all love so much. I’ve had this bookmarked on my browser and favorited in Etsy for a long time. I finally saved up enough money to buy it.

Arlette’s work is impeccable.

 

I always like a dash of red in a room.

A late in the day photo in the living room:

Still not sure about this wallpaper, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to take it all down and put something else up! So I will hang lots of paintings and artwork, which I’d already planned to do anyway. It will help break up some of the pattern. Though it should be said that I want a lot of pattern in the room like you see in many English cottages.

I found some wallpaper on another site that I like even more and I’m going to use it in the bedroom. It will be quite pretty up there.

Side note: I had so much fun late yesterday afternoon. One of the guys I went to high school with – actually, I’ve known him since I was 12 – organized a Zoom reunion of those of us who were involved in drama and Thespians . There were people there from the classes of 1968 – 1970 and it was so lovely to see them after so many years. We laughed a lot, sharing stories of our mentors and certain productions, but a lot of time was spent in simply filling each other in on our lives since graduation. My best friend Laural was there. Donna, my decades long friend who, incidentally, reads this blog, was there. It was such fun that we’re organizing another session in January and are tasked with finding more students from those years. I’m on it.

I was very active in theater from the age of 12 on and, between junior high school productions, summer theater productions, and high school productions, I made many friends from all over the city. Both Laural and I remember those days fondly, so seeing some of my friends from those days was just the tonic I needed. (Of course, I blow dried my hair and put on makeup! Heaven forbid they see me “as is.”)

Okay. We have to go to Lowe’s.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.