The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[Shyheels]

I like tea as well - Lapsang Souchon, Russian Caravan and Darjeeling being my favourites, although I keep half a dozen other types in board as well. I’ve nearly always got a hot drink going of some sort.

on the subject of ankle bracelets I always think of the one Barbara Stanwyck wore in Double Indemnity, which caught Fred MacMurrays eye and led to such catastrophic consequences. 

[CrushedVamp]

21 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

My wife is very strange. She actually prefers Coffee Mate to actual cream or milk. Then again, she keeps tomatoes in the refrigerator. Some things, you just learn to accept or ignore.

After one week back in the saddle, it's not so bad. My only objection to the job is that there's too much of it. I will be heading to work today shortly (on Saturday). That ain't no way to live, but the old bank account is going to recover quickly.

I do not judge anyone on what they take in their coffee...

My tastes in coffee have really swung wildly over the years. Like most young people I started out going light on the coffee and heavy on the sugar and cream. Then somewhere in the middle I was using that French Vanilla stuff that has more sweetener in it than a sugar factory. Seeing that was not good I switched to half and half, and finally now just a splash of whole milk.

Myself, I wish I never started drinking coffee. Granted I have never drunk alcohol, ever smoked, have ever done any kind of drugs, or ever gambled, so in light of those vices, having coffee is relatively minor. But when I think about all the money I have spent on it over the years it is pretty disgusting. Granted I have never broken into an elderly lady's house and smote her over the head just to get a good fix of java, but I am not sure anyone would want to be around me in the morning without it!

I also commiserate with you on your Saturday work. I had an emergency call-in Friday Night and had some work yesterday to do that took an hour. It sucks, but when you work on the largest machine in the world (the grid) people expect electricity to be on 24/7/365. As the Blackout of 2003 proved, people die when there is no electricity.

Edited March 23 by CrushedVamp

[Shyheels]

I take my coffee black. I love coffee but drink only the good stuff, no guzzling instant or badly made real coffee. Espresso, Turkish coffee or pour-over filter coffee with beans I’ve chosen. 
 

as to alcohol, I drink sparingly - the odd ale or tot of rum or glass of red. 
 

life’s to be lived! 

[Puffer]

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I like tea as well - Lapsang Souchon, Russian Caravan and Darjeeling being my favourites, although I keep half a dozen other types in board as well. I’ve nearly always got a hot drink going of some sort.

on the subject of ankle bracelets I always think of the one Barbara Stanwyck wore in Double Indemnity, which caught Fred MacMurrays eye and led to such catastrophic consequences. 

One of my favourite films, superbly cast.   My only grouse is a purely technical one:   a life insurance contract is not a contract of 'indemnity' as the sums ('benefits') offered are purely arbitrary, on a scale according to the cause of death (or injury etc) - so dying from an accident (as plotted in the film) that would attract a doubled 'death' payout should be 'double scale benefits', not 'double indemnity'.   Doesn't sound so snappy for a film title, however!

[Shyheels]

Double indemnity is an insurance term though - or at least it was.

it’s certainly one of my favourite film. Did you know that in the scene where Walter Neff emerges from Keyes’ office and walks along the mezzanine the man sitting in one of the chairs is Raymond Chandler. It’s the only known film footage of Chandler in existence 

[mlroseplant]

I suppose in the strictest sense of the word, "indemnity" is not correct, since you can't really put a number on a person's life like you can a house or a car or a hospital bill, but yeah, it's a catchy film title.

And now, for something completely different. Yet another subject having nothing to do with high heels. So, last week, my son bought THIS f'ing thing! It has a 455 Rocket. Mama was not real happy, but she has stoically accepted it, just as she has my high heels.

[Shyheels]

That’s certainly a classic. I’ll bet it’s a thirsty beast too.

[pebblesf]

So cool!  Always loved full sized Olds, and this four door body style looks great as well.  Sure, will suck down the fuel, but I'm sure he will only use it for special occasions.   I hope there is a nice dry place inside to house this behemoth, so the rust won't consume it....  Wish I had my 73 Chevy back...

[Cali]

(sorry) We call those vehicles land yachts.  To large to maneuver the mountain roads around here (with speed). But if he learns how to parallel park in that, then everything else will be easy.

Edited March 23 by Cali

[Shyheels]

Try mooring a 58’ narrowboat in a tight space!

[pebblesf]

48 minutes ago, Cali said:

(sorry) We call those vehicles land yachts.  To large to maneuver the mountain roads around here (with speed). But if he learns how to parallel park in that, then everything else will be easy.

Land yachts for sure, but relatively easy to drive, good visability, and comfortable for long trips, provided there are plenty of fuel stations along the way

[Cali]

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Try mooring a 58’ narrowboat in a tight space!

No problem, all you need are externally mounted independently operated (remote controlled, ideally AI driven) bow and stern thrusters.

Edited March 23 by Cali

[Shyheels]

People have bow thrusters, a few have stern as well, and curiously enough those who use them are often less able than those without to moor up in a tight space because they rely on them and never learn proper boating skills. I have bow thrusters on my boat but the only time I use them is when I am sharing a lock and the wash at the end of the lock causes the bow of my boat to drift and get in the way if the boat entering the lock beside me. 

[Puffer]

23 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Double indemnity is an insurance term though - or at least it was.

it’s certainly one of my favourite film. Did you know that in the scene where Walter Neff emerges from Keyes’ office and walks along the mezzanine the man sitting in one of the chairs is Raymond Chandler. It’s the only known film footage of Chandler in existence 

 

 

23 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I suppose in the strictest sense of the word, "indemnity" is not correct, since you can't really put a number on a person's life like you can a house or a car or a hospital bill, but yeah, it's a catchy film title.

...

'Indemnity' is certainly a legal term and a key one in many insurance contracts (such as fire or liability), the concept of indemnity being to put the insured back into the position he enjoyed before suffering some tangible (measurable) loss or damage.   And, for that reason, as mlroseplant says, insurance against personal injury or death cannot be 'indemnity' insurance as the sums insured are purely arbitrary - the chosen and pre-agreed 'scale benefits' set out in a schedule to the policy.   In the film, the scheduled death benefit sum was doubled if the death occurred as a result of accident, but it cannot be described as '(double) indemnity'. 

I didn't know about the Chandler appearance - and will look out for it next time I (re)watch Double Indemnity.

[mlroseplant]

On 3/23/2025 at 4:57 AM, mlroseplant said:

I suppose in the strictest sense of the word, "indemnity" is not correct, since you can't really put a number on a person's life like you can a house or a car or a hospital bill, but yeah, it's a catchy film title.

And now, for something completely different. Yet another subject having nothing to do with high heels. So, last week, my son bought THIS f'ing thing! It has a 455 Rocket. Mama was not real happy, but she has stoically accepted it, just as she has my high heels.

The Oldsmobile almost rides again! My son, though quite sensible for his age, was not really grounded in reality when he decided he had to have this land yacht. What initially began as simply needing a starter has ballooned into completely cleaning out the entire fuel system, including dropping the gas tank, to get rid of the skunkiest gasoline I have ever encountered in my life. I tried to light a paper towel soaked in this gasoline. It would not burn. I am somewhat impressed by him though. There are not very many 16 year old kids left in this world who can take a carburetor to pieces, put it back together, and still have it work. Next, with the 455 Rocket engine back in the game, we blew a hole in the side of the radiator. New radiator. Next, the brakes ceased to function. That's kind of where we're at right now, waiting on parts (which are surprisingly available and cheap).

He, in his teenage brain, did not see all of this coming, but I sure did.  .  . Oh, and we need to buy tires, which are not cheap. Good thing I'm employed again.

Edited March 24 by mlroseplant

[Shyheels]

That’ll be a great education for him!

[pebblesf]

3 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

The Oldsmobile almost rides again! My son, though quite sensible for his age, was not really grounded in reality when he decided he had to have this land yacht. What initially began as simply needing a starter has ballooned into completely cleaning out the entire fuel system, including dropping the gas tank, to get rid of the skunkiest gasoline I have ever encountered in my life. I tried to light a paper towel soaked in this gasoline. It would not burn. I am somewhat impressed by him though. There are not very many 16 year old kids left in this world who can take a carburetor to pieces, put it back together, and still have it work. Next, with the 455 Rocket engine back in the game, we blew a hole in the side of the radiator. New radiator. Next, the brakes ceased to function. That's kind of where we're at right now, waiting on parts (which are surprisingly available and cheap).

He, in his teenage brain, did not see all of this coming, but I sure did.  .  . Oh, and we need to buy tires, which are not cheap. Good thing I'm employed again.

Sounds normal and expected to get the Olds running reliably again.  He will learn alot for sure.  We all went through it when we were younger, "the curse of youth"...  Good lessons learned one at a time.   Just hoping he isn't planning to use the Olds as a "daily driver"...  The gas will kill him, and it will rust quickly in the winter...

[mlroseplant]

I will let you know when the Olds is reliable enough to actually drive it. Sometimes I worry that I don't say "no" enough to my kid. This certainly would have been a time to do so. However, I figure I'm doing the public a valuable service. Not only is my son too busy to get into trouble, he usually has someone over to help him, either work on the car/motorbike, or play music. By extension, I figure I'm keeping several young boys out of trouble, which is good for them, and good for the community. See how I justified all this expense? Plus, once mowing season starts, my son owes me some money.

Since I started working all this overtime, my son has stepped up and is cooking three meals a week, which was about three times more than I expected. I figured one, maybe two occasionally. On Sundays, we go through the cookbook, make a list, and go grocery shopping together. For having little experience cooking, he doesn't do all that bad! Even Mama has quit yelling at him in Vietnamese quite as frequently these days. I don't mind spoiling him a little bit.

[pebblesf]

1 hour ago, mlroseplant said:

I will let you know when the Olds is reliable enough to actually drive it. Sometimes I worry that I don't say "no" enough to my kid. This certainly would have been a time to do so. However, I figure I'm doing the public a valuable service. Not only is my son too busy to get into trouble, he usually has someone over to help him, either work on the car/motorbike, or play music. By extension, I figure I'm keeping several young boys out of trouble, which is good for them, and good for the community. See how I justified all this expense? Plus, once mowing season starts, my son owes me some money.

Since I started working all this overtime, my son has stepped up and is cooking three meals a week, which was about three times more than I expected. I figured one, maybe two occasionally. On Sundays, we go through the cookbook, make a list, and go grocery shopping together. For having little experience cooking, he doesn't do all that bad! Even Mama has quit yelling at him in Vietnamese quite as frequently these days. I don't mind spoiling him a little bit.

Working on an old car can be a great bonding experience as well.  My buddy managed to connect my old Camaro with a telephone poll so many years ago, just after I had ordered and received a new long block for it.   We spent most nights in his garage pulling the front of that car off so the subframe could be straightened, and we could find used body parts to put it back together.  Became best buds sharing this project together for sure.   

It's great to hear about young guys doing something other than the usual phone stuff these days, especially sharing a project like the Olds with a friend.  "Free time" is surely not a friend to most youngsters, they usually find "unproductive" ways to fill it.  I know I sure did!  So, having a project like this is a great learning experience, and will make owning and driving the Olds even more special.  Plus, the guys are hanging out at home, so less worries about what trouble they might find while "out and about".   I know they will have many great memories taking road trips in that great old beast of a car.  

[CrushedVamp]

23 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I will let you know when the Olds is reliable enough to actually drive it. Sometimes I worry that I don't say "no" enough to my kid. This certainly would have been a time to do so. However, I figure I'm doing the public a valuable service. Not only is my son too busy to get into trouble, he usually has someone over to help him, either work on the car/motorbike, or play music. By extension, I figure I'm keeping several young boys out of trouble, which is good for them, and good for the community. See how I justified all this expense? Plus, once mowing season starts, my son owes me some money.

Since I started working all this overtime, my son has stepped up and is cooking three meals a week, which was about three times more than I expected. I figured one, maybe two occasionally. On Sundays, we go through the cookbook, make a list, and go grocery shopping together. For having little experience cooking, he doesn't do all that bad! Even Mama has quit yelling at him in Vietnamese quite as frequently these days. I don't mind spoiling him a little bit.

That is great to hear. My co-worker just bought an old car to drive around and restore as well. I don't know what it is, but I know it has a 455 CID engine in it!

My daughters are all into Theater which I have always supported. There is so much too it, from breaking out of their shells, to public speaking, to the creativity of making the costumes and scenery, as well as engineering for some of the sets, and obviously not getting into trouble after school because they are so engaged in theater. So there is a lot to it than just what meets the eye and so we support them. So much so that we went to a Broadway show just to keep encouraging them.

Great to hear your son is also stepping up while you're at work so much. Sounds like you are doing well as a parent!!

[mlroseplant]

I did not expect to be writing this so soon, but the Oldsmobile rides again! She starts, runs, moves forward and backward, turns, and most importantly, stops. I drove it about 5 miles last night. It's all right. Pretty much what I remember from when I was a kid. Whitewall tires are ordered (almost impossible to find now), and the beast actually has insurance on it now. Once the tires get here, we'll have to take it out on the highway and see how she behaves. Ain't no way I'd go over about 40 mph with the tires that are on it right now.

To bring it back in, no, I did not wear heels on my first time behind the wheel. But I did wear my favorite nude patent flat sandals! I don't know if my son really wants me wearing heels in that car anyway. It would be a shame to poke a hole in pretty much pristine 52 year old carpet.

[Shyheels]

That’s such a great project and one that will bear nice fruit in the future. Wonderful for bringing you closer together and giving him some valuable skills and treasured memories. 

[mlroseplant]

I don't have any more car stories today. Actually, I do, but I think we're all getting tired of car stories. Today, I wish to complain about my shoes. When I say complain, it's in a softer sense. It's more of a puzzlement.

My poor feet have been taking a beating lately, in more ways than one. As the weather gets warmer, I am gradually breaking out the lighter shoes and sandals. They who had been my longtime friends are not necessarily so friendly at present. During a particularly warm day a couple of weeks ago, I ventured out in my Bebe wooden sandals, which are normally good for several miles/all day. I consider them mid-heels, and they are real leather. Not the nicest looking things, but they are comfortable. However, they ate holes in my feet in under two miles on their first journey of the season, severe enough that it's taken about three weeks for them to heal completely.

And then last night, I wore my Steve Madden beige colored pumps for several hours, including to choir rehearsal. Although they did not do any visible damage to my feet, I could feel a lot of pressure on the outsides of my feet around the bases of my little toes (left and right equally). The pain was limited to that, but that's bad enough. It's very distracting when you're trying to have a conversation with somebody, and all you can think about is that you want to get out of those shoes. That ain't no way to live.

So what gives? Why would these former friends turn on me like this? Do you suppose I'm pregnant?

[Puffer]

16 minutes ago, mlroseplant said:

I don't have any more car stories today. Actually, I do, but I think we're all getting tired of car stories.

...

Apologies for going back to car talk, but I'm impressed with the Oldsmobile and its swift resurrection.   Is it necessary/obligatory to have an old or rebuilt car officially tested as being 'roadworthy' in Iowa (or elsewhere in the US), as with the annual UK MoT test (for anything over three years old)?

[Shyheels]

Funnily enough a couple if my pair of boots have been doing something similar. One of my low-heeled boots, I wear almost daily, and one of my OTK mid-heeled boots have both started rubbing in the top of my third toe on my left foot. Weird. And for no reason I can understand. 

[pebblesf]

15 hours ago, Puffer said:

Apologies for going back to car talk, but I'm impressed with the Oldsmobile and its swift resurrection.   Is it necessary/obligatory to have an old or rebuilt car officially tested as being 'roadworthy' in Iowa (or elsewhere in the US), as with the annual UK MoT test (for anything over three years old)?

Most states do require some sort of inspection every few years....

[mlroseplant]

23 hours ago, Puffer said:

Apologies for going back to car talk, but I'm impressed with the Oldsmobile and its swift resurrection.   Is it necessary/obligatory to have an old or rebuilt car officially tested as being 'roadworthy' in Iowa (or elsewhere in the US), as with the annual UK MoT test (for anything over three years old)?

In Iowa, there is nothing like the MoT inspection required. There used to be. They got rid of that when I was a kid. I remember the sticker you had to put in the corner of your windscreen every year. Then they went to requiring inspection only when you sold the car. A decade later, they got rid of it completely. I remember as a pre-teen looking through the newspaper classifieds (remember them?) at used cars. The seller would list them as "red title" if the car couldn't pass inspection. One used to be able to pick such cars up for a little bit of nothing. We have never had any kind of emissions test. I am completely ignorant of what the other 49 states do or do not require.

Expanding on the general subject, and again this is for the State of Iowa, if a vehicle sustains damage that exceeds 70% of its fair market value before the damage, then it is given a Salvage title, and cannot legally be operated on public roads. If one repairs such a vehicle, at that point it must be inspected. If it passes inspection, the vehicle will be given a Rebuilt title (which, up until a few years ago, they used to call a Prior Salvage title).

Edited Friday at 09:29 AM by mlroseplant
Clarity

[HappyinHeels]

Hi All, 

Interesting topics indeed. As to your son’s car the mechanical issues don’t surprise me but it is quite the chance for him to show his ability to work through it. As for inspection Wisconsin nor Arizona have vehicle inspections. There is an emissions check every 2 years in the counties bordering Lake Michigan but not elsewhere. There is an emissions check in the Phoenix area but not out here in Yuma. 
As to shoes which formerly fit but which now feel different let me offer a possibility. I have noticed over the last five years or so some of my heels fit a bit differently and I believe it is because of water retention in my feet and ankles. Not terrible but subtle differences that the vamp and certain types of straps seem to fit more snugly than before. I have used a shoe stretcher on those I really liked but have worn knee high hose or even trouser socks recently. It is worth considering this may be the cause for some of you.

HinH

[Shyheels]

Narrowboats have to gave a safety inspection every four years.

my troubles stem from the top of a toe rubbing on the boot - no idea why that should suddenly happen, and only one toe in my left foot!

[Puffer]

I too have noticed a recent tendency for some discomfort in otherwise comfortable footwear, with or without heels.   In my case it is a couple of sore toe tips on my right foot and a tendency for the skin there to be slow to heal - almost certainly the result of poorer circulation in my legs as one element of increasing age and declining health.   The good news is that the condition has been improving and heels are again practicable, despite the obvious tendency for toes to be pushed forward into a boot or shoe.   Thicker socks do help too.