There seems to be a slow move away from Zoom calls to Google Teams videoconferencing. Is that a thing or just my small sample of two in the last month?

Anyway, I talked with my financial planner this morning and I am plenty solvent. And I said things like, "If we get to this threshold I'm thinking about buying property for my kids, or with family in Greece" and he didn't say "Are you fucking delusional?!" He just nodded in a "Yeah, that's doable" way, which I have to tell you, is very weird.

(Though not as weird as cutting a six figure check for the IRS this year.)

The most cutting irony, that I feel almost daily, has to do with all the trips that Jacqueline and I had planned to take, and having the means to take them just a little too late.

Sorry for that sad bastard trip through "my diamond shoes are too tight."

However, this summer I will start the process of turning the attic into something like Stede's library, Jeannie's bottle, the inside of a Gypsy/Romney caravan and the reading room of an exclusive Men's Club circa 1927. This is something Jacqueline and I had discussed extensively, so it's a project that will keep her close to me as I'm working on it.

So if you ever had a won-the-lottery fantasy about making the ultimate reading room/ library, I'm on it. And you're all invited to spend an afternoon in a comfy leather chair or sprawled on a loveseat reading Josephine Tey or All-Of-A-Kind Family or Georgette Heyer or Michael Chabon or Erin Morgenstern or Stephen King as you please.

My company was having connectivity issues during Zoom calls (a lot of freezing) and tried switching to Google Meet as the default to avoid that with some success. Possibly all coincidental, of course. It’s pretty random at this point which will be used for any given meeting.

Aw for the attic library, I love that

Sorry for that sad bastard trip through "my diamond shoes are too tight."

I don't really think that missing out on future trips with JZ (that would now be financially feasible) falls in the "diamond shoes too tight" category. If you were complaining about how international first class offered only your second-favorite caviar and your third-favorite champagne, then you'd be in that category, and we would mock.

Aw for the attic library, I love that

It'll be the first big project that's not just dealing with deferred maintenance issues, like the front windows or the back stairs. An actual remodel.

We wanted to turn the space inside the Cupola into something like Jeannie's bottle, but also Jaye's trailer on Wonderfalls.

And I just realized I could put a small bar with an ice machine up there. Maybe an espresso machine too!

I'm planning on putting solar panels on our slanted, south facing roof which will get light all day. And then a heat pump in the attic to control the temperature.

Fix the bedroom back up into a guest room. It's pretty much like a Tahoe cabin already so I can expand upon that.

Set aside the space for Jacqueline's desk, and have a beautiful book case of her favorite novels next to it. Maybe a display of her sweaters and shoes.

Figure out best storage space among the eaves. And that still lives a ton of room to create a variety of nooks and area for turntable and records etc.

At some point I'm thinking of expanding outward and creating a deck on the roof as well.

Gud, I'm hoping that one day you'll be able to recognize what a wonderful and caring person you are and allow yourself the rest, love, and free time that you deserve. Right now your home sounds more like a prison of neverending chores than a home. It shouldn't be like this, and you deserve better. Nobody has to work 24/7 on their homes.

Steph, all kinds of health~ma for that fiance.

Yay, Dylan!

OTOH, the modern/social justice Seder plate is already hella crowded - alongside the traditional elements we add the orange (feminism), tomato (farmworkers/modern slavery), and potato (hunger/poverty).

Oh, I didn't know about the tomato and the potato! Here I also add an olive, for peace.

I don't really think that missing out on future trips with JZ (that would now be financially feasible) falls in the "diamond shoes too tight" category. If you were complaining about how international first class offered only your second-favorite caviar and your third-favorite champagne, then you'd be in that category, and we would mock.

What Teppy said. "Damn it, I can now afford to do wonderful things for my family, but my wife died before we could do the travelling we'd dreamed about and could also finally afford." is not at all diamond shoes. Unless we're talking about sharp, pointy diamonds inside your shoes that poke you every time you take a step.

--What Steph and Plei said about your shoes.

Aa a tiny favor to a friend, wherever Jacqueline's desk winds up, would you try to hang her Turniphead picture above it. The combination seemed so delightful in the photo she shared.

The plans for the attic all sound wonderful. The Librarianologist FB group has some wonderful photos of snugs people have created in porches and attics and under-stairs, as well as some sweeping modern and upscale spaces that bear no relation to snugs at all. But the pictures are nice.

The seder symbolism is wonderful. Thanks for sharing that. And congratulations to Dylan, and to his parents for their influence and support.

I don't really think that missing out on future trips with JZ (that would now be financially feasible) falls in the "diamond shoes too tight" category.

--What Steph and Plei said about your shoes.

I've been thinking about it and it's almost like a monkey's paw wish.
"I wish we'd have enough money to travel without fretting about it."
::monkey finger curls up....ironically. [that would be narrative irony, not the rhetorical kind]::

As a tiny favor to a friend, wherever Jacqueline's desk winds up, would you try to hang her Turniphead picture above it. The combination seemed so delightful in the photo she shared.

Easily done! I was tagging you on a FB post today and under my breath muttering "Bevdog!"

Yeah, Hec, even I, who envy every one and wish I were doing something else, like, always, Can't quite get it up for "damn, I wish I had a root and a partner whose painful absence, way too soon, tears my heart up." Although I do think you're lucky that you found your one--kind of thinking that I won't, but that doesn't make me feel good that the Universe said "Psych!" in such a horrifying way. I don't blame you for having pangs about it. Even if I do have to invite people to stuff I'd(Almost) rather hide out than go to myself. Which makes me feel guilty and it's a whole thing. Sigh.

Gud that doesn’t seem like an equal share. Maybe consider your daughter’s words from recently, about how she sees your relationship with your wife?

Gud, I'm hoping that one day you'll be able to recognize what a wonderful and caring person you are and allow yourself the rest, love, and free time that you deserve. Right now your home sounds more like a prison of neverending chores than a home. It shouldn't be like this, and you deserve better. Nobody has to work 24/7 on their homes.

Yes to both of these comments.

What Teppy said. "Damn it, I can now afford to do wonderful things for my family, but my wife died before we could do the travelling we'd dreamed about and could also finally afford." is not at all diamond shoes. Unless we're talking about sharp, pointy diamonds inside your shoes that poke you every time you take a step.