What Do You NOT Regret Spending Big $$$ On?

[iLander]

My 9' 2" German Grand Piano and the hand-knotted 60-Raj Tabriz Persian the piano lives on.

I knew it! "Kenny" is Elton John!




Please tell me about rug buying, a fabulous Persian is on my life list, but I'm afraid I'll overpay. What color is yours? How do you judge quality? I've always wanted a red or maroon one, even though it doesn't go with anything I own (I don't care about coordinating, the rug would be art, art doesn't match).

ETA: By overpay, I mean pay more $$ and get a lower quality. I know the best ones are very expensive and worth every penny.

 

[Autumnovember]

My 9' 2" German Grand Piano and the hand-knotted 60-Raj Tabriz Persian the piano lives on.

I knew it! "Kenny" is Elton John!

This made me laugh

 

[TravelingGal]

Oh, definitely travel.
I can't think of a better way to spend my money. Or time, for that matter.

We're going to Spain this summer. I can't wait! I'll definitely start a thread soon. PSers gave me some of the best travel advice for our last few trips.

EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I love Spain! I only lived there for 4 months, but it was a blast. I think I might head there for a weekend this summer (I never made it down south to Sevilla or Andalucia). I'll keep an eye out for your thread!

Me too! I'm heading to Spain for that silly tomato fight. One of those bucket list things.

But yeah, travel for me (no brainer!)

And I am hoping I will add to this list the latex mattress we just ordered.

Also what I thought I'd regret spending money on is my Carrera necklace, from a Pricescoper point of view because it was a lot of money for what it is (it's a name, and not even "huge" one at that). People were telling me that I could get a diamond solitaire pendant easily for the money. Well, I've never regretted it and it's easily one of my favorite pieces. I LOVE wearing it.

 

[iLander]

It took me a little while of staring blankly at the walls to answer this one ... and then I realized I wasn't looking at walls as such, 'cause I haven't got an inch of wall space free.

Books. I have spent at least ten times what I've spent on jewelry on books over the course of my lifetime, and I have no doubt I'll continue the pattern in the future. Now, back to Maisie Dobbs before I have to dive into Freud for the night ....

P.S. - Also travel. Though both things take you beyond your borders, in their own ways ....

What a great quote!

I'm a huge book fan I have a whole library room, full of books. I love antique books with woodcut illustrations, and unusual and odd books. I like fine editions, beautiful renderings, art books, folios, limited edition quarterlies, great stories, (think Rizzoli's fine books room, not barnes and noble )they all have room in my library. I also have a book stand, and I like to "feature" a different one each week, even though no one notices it but me. I know one day I'll have to downsize, though, so I've been slowly selling them on ebay, but they're expensive, so I know they will go to live with other book lovers.

 

[Enerchi]

I'm so happy I spent extra money on my surgeon.

When I had cancer I found out the best surgeon did not accept my insurance, so I paid him out of pocket instead of going with what I felt was a less qualified surgeon.

Oh Kenny!!! (or should we say ELTON?? ) That would have been the best thing to spend your money on for sure! I'm hoping you are ok now??? Hope you are cancer free??

Glad you are here to post so we can learn from you and enjoy your humour!

 

[kenny]

I'm so happy I spent extra money on my surgeon.

When I had cancer I found out the best surgeon did not accept my insurance, so I paid him out of pocket instead of going with what I felt was a less qualified surgeon.

Oh Kenny!!! (or should we say ELTON?? ) That would have been the best thing to spend your money on for sure! I'm hoping you are ok now??? Hope you are cancer free??

Glad you are here to post so we can learn from you and enjoy your humour!

Thanks.
AFter my surgery they said 99% chance cancer-free, but my 6-month check up in April will up it to 99.99999%.

 

[Black Jade]

My 9' 2" German Grand Piano and the hand-knotted 60-Raj Tabriz Persian the piano lives on.

Whew! Tell me the brand, please. Is it a Bechstein, Bluthner or (gasp!) Bosendorfer?
I have a Knabe from when they still were made with with ivory keys which has a beautiful tone--it is a console.

 

[Enerchi]

I'm so happy I spent extra money on my surgeon.

When I had cancer I found out the best surgeon did not accept my insurance, so I paid him out of pocket instead of going with what I felt was a less qualified surgeon.

Oh Kenny!!! (or should we say ELTON?? ) That would have been the best thing to spend your money on for sure! I'm hoping you are ok now??? Hope you are cancer free??

Glad you are here to post so we can learn from you and enjoy your humour!

Thanks.
AFter my surgery they said 99% chance cancer-free, but my 6-month check up in April will up it to 99.99999%.

Fingers crossed you go up to that lovely amount in April!!! I would love for you to be rid of cancer forever!!!! Glad you are healthy
you can play your piano for years more to come

 

[soocool]

Art! I have a number of original pieces - oil, lithographs, etc that have to my great happiness appreciated in value. I have several pieces that individually cost more than my Ering

Do you have pictures of your art, soocool? I collect art too, I'd love to see yours.

I don' t post photos of my artwork online. But I started way back in the late 1970s early 1980's when my friend would give me signed prints (all limited editions, no restrikes) of his mom's works as birthday and Christmas presents and I eventually began collecting more prints (all first state prints) - lithographs, etchings/drypoints, and I have one monotype. I have many watercolors and a few oils (all originals) that I have purchased at local art shows. I also have a passion for Steuben glass.

 

[kenny]

My 9' 2" German Grand Piano and the hand-knotted 60-Raj Tabriz Persian the piano lives on.

Whew! Tell me the brand, please. Is it a Bechstein, Bluthner or (gasp!) Bosendorfer?
I have a Knabe from when they still were made with with ivory keys which has a beautiful tone--it is a console.

Knabe pianos were fantastic back then.
The rights to use the name was sold off and they are now made in China.

Mine is a Blüthner concert grand, the brand with four strings per note for the highest (almost) two octaves. (All other pianos use 3 strings)
The 4th string is raised a bit so the hammer does not strike it.
It resonates sympathetically for added depth and power up at the top of the range where many pianos wimp out.

Blüthner has a very clear and transparent voice; it's very even and balance throughout the scale.
Like Bosendorfer it is not a beefy kick-you-in-the-chest, gutsy bass-heavy harmonic-thick piano tone like Steinway or Mason and Hamlin.
That said the large size brings the bottom octaves up to be balanced with the rest of the piano's range.
It has a wonderfully lyrical tonal pallet for Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel and Chopin.
The action is like butter on silk, responsive and able to whisper or roar on command.

 

[maplefemme]

Art! I have a number of original pieces - oil, lithographs, etc that have to my great happiness appreciated in value. I have several pieces that individually cost more than my Ering

Do you have pictures of your art, soocool? I collect art too, I'd love to see yours.

I don' t post photos of my artwork online. But I started way back in the late 1970s early 1980's when my friend would give me signed prints (all limited editions, no restrikes) of his mom's works as birthday and Christmas presents and I eventually began collecting more prints (all first state prints) - lithographs, etchings/drypoints, and I have one monotype. I have many watercolors and a few oils (all originals) that I have purchased at local art shows. I also have a passion for Steuben glass.

Art is such a personal expression, I always like looking at people's art when I visit their houses. I have a number of oils and original drawings from some of my favorite artists and other individual pieces that have caught my eye over the years. I adore Kelly Reemtsen especially, but in contrast, I am a huge fan of Guy Denning.
One artist in particular has become a dear friend across the miles, I'm so honored that she has entrusted me with some of her favorite original paintings and I'd love to visit the museums that hold her works and see them in such a setting.
Steuben is beautiful, very tactile, I love art glass...

 

[madelise]

My eyesight was 20/950 for most of my life, but now that I'm approaching gray hair, my eyes are getting better (wore contacts/glasses). They're now down to 20/700, which is great. Does Lasik still work when your eyes get better? I would think so . . .

I don't know to what you're referring your eyesight to? **confused**. those numbers, i.e. say 20/20, means you can see "normally". what you're saying is that, you can see "normally" at what a typical person would see at 950 feet's distance? 20/200 is considered legally blind.. and if that's true, I'm so sorry. But considering you're typing away at a computer, that can't exactly be true! I think it'd help more if you can post what diopter your eyes are? Written on a prescription, it'd be something like -6.00 or so.

Oh, I know about the 20/200, but you're only considered legally blind if you are 20/200 with correction. I've been trying to get the legally blind tax discount for years. Yes, what appears fuzzy to other people at 950 feet appeared fuzzy to me at 20 feet, but they could correct me to about 20/70. Now, with my new vision (-7.4 on my prescription) I'm down to 20/20 with contacts. Without contacts, I see shapes and colors. A person looks like a big peachy blob, very large and distorted, there are no edges to things. Plus I have a severe astigmatism, so they're crooked blobs. They didn't invent contacts for my vision until I was in my mid-20's, everyone else had contacts for over a decade before they got around to me. Taking a shower or doing anything without glasses was really an adventure.

That is good information, I have considered Lasik. I will have to talk to a Doc, but your info is a great start![/quote]


OOH. lol. -7.4? that's very.. accurate. On contacts and glasses, they go by .25 increments. I had -6.25 with astigmatism when I got my Lasik, and my aunt was at -8.some. go talk to your doc!! seriously, i appreciate it to the fullest. It's amazing how impaired you can be if you can't see without help. My final kicking point was during an earthquake that occurred in the middle of the night. It woke me up, and my dogs were crying and so scared.. and I couldn't find my darn glasses. I realized that in the event of anything MORE drastic, like a house fire, or a worse earthquake, I don't need to be spending 10 minutes fumbling around for my glasses. Those 10 can be crucial for survival..