Now I really did it :((

[MarionC]

Marcy, you have been without a camera?! That would make me crazy - we are so visual.
I got a macro lens for my iphone last week and it's pretty good...probably as good as it gets. It's what I used to take the recent photos of Joy and certainly easier than holding a loupe against the phone. ha.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ID3YDC6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I can't remember - do you heat with wood at all?
I know at least part of you stays warm - when you are driving that jewel : )

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy, good luck to Greg !!

 

[junebug17]

Hi girls!

Missy, I'm so sorry about your parents' neighbors, we were close to our neighbors too and it was very hard on my mother when her friend passed, so I understand how difficult a thing like this is - I'm keeping your mother in my thoughts and I'm glad she's feeling a bit better today. Also very sorry to hear about the woman on the co-op board as well, it is sad and hard to have two deaths at once, hugs to you.

Thinking of Greg today and hoping everything goes well.

I really like your blue bag, very pretty. And how cool that your friend's drawing is being displayed in a museum, that's exciting. I've always thought Iggy Pop had a very interesting physique and I think he makes a great subject. Beautiful pics of Aspen, those mountain views are just amazing. he ornament is adorable and that is a great pic of Tommy.

Scandi, I'm glad your grandmother is doing ok and I'm sending tons of good thoughts that she heals quickly and that she's back to good health soon, sending love to all.

Rainwood, I love seeing your ornaments, they are so cute and special. It's helping me get into the holiday spirit too. The mini soufflés sound yummy! Every year we make appetizers on Christmas eve - well, actually we heat up frozen ones lol - it's become a tradition/family joke and lately we've been getting them at Costco, and they are really good! Costco didnt' have them last year for some reason but I saw them this year so I snagged a box.

Jimmianne, I love your boots! So fun to see a pic of you, you're lovely! Agree with Missy, beautiful inside and out. And Joy is gorgeous too lol, looks fabulous on your hand, so glad you are wearing and enjoying her. She's just too purdy to be sitting all by herself in a cold dark safe! Love the pic of your class! Lovely ladies. And it's great that you are including them, I'm sure it's more fun for them to be doing something rather than just watching.

Great pics of the tour, looks like it was fun, I love going on house tours. The cranberry crackers look and sound SO delicious! I got hungry just looking at them lol.

Marcy, definitely a little scary to see someone you don't know at your door, that would make me very nervous too. It's good to know you can call the doorbell and talk to the person, that's very cool. I know you've probably mentioned it, but how does the person hear you? Is there a speaker outside?

Too bad about the rolls but they look perfect. My dh loves salt so he would love them lol. Your tree looks beautiful. It's good that Marty has company while he's working out, I'm sure it makes it more fun for him.

I ended up having a nice time this weekend at my friend's house, once I was there I was fine haha. A friend of hers joined us and we had fun. We went to a Gingerbread contest/display which turned out to be very cute. Watched the movie "Love Actually" which I had never seen and it was very cute and a good holiday movie. Also watched the first few episodes of The Crown, the show about Queen Elizabeth, and I thought it was excellent. Here are a few of the gingerbread submissions - the well made me think of Missy, it was done in support of adopting a shelter animal, and of course I had to get a pic of Snoopy!

 

[MarionC]

Marcy, you are a sweetheart

more later on THAT!

 

[azstonie]

Junie, those are AMAZING gingerbread artworks! Thank you for the pics!!!

I also loved "The Crown," my new favorite saying is from The Crown: The rot starts small.

heehee.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Rainwood, good deal you’ve got soufflés and meatballs ready for a party.

Scandi, I am glad to hear your grandmother is doing better.

Missy, I was sending PS good thought dusts Greg’s way this morning. Stay warm in the artic blast gets there on Thursday.

Jimmianne, your class looks fun. I have missed my camera. I have the camera in my phone but I generally use a Canon Sure Shot and have a DSLR as well. That’s great to hear you like your macro lens. The pictures of Joy looked great with it. We have a gas burning fireplace and I was just thinking about cranking it on.

June, the doorbell does have a speaker so they can hear me and they can talk to me on our phone. I probably like salt less than most people so I think the rolls will be fine with dinner. They turned out better this year other than the salt part anyway. The gingerbread houses are awesome and of course I like the Snoopy one the best. While I am home tomorrow I am going to get a few pictures of my favorite ornaments to post and naturally most of them will be Snoopy.

June and Kristie does the Crown show some of the Queen’s jewelry?

I am taking another day off tomorrow. I am using my last use or lose sick day. Next year our company is changing our time off to all vacation days, no more sick days but we still get the same number of days. 40 hours of sick days I didn’t use this year can be grandfathered in for next year so at least I won’t lose that. I need to start planning vacations for next year. Right now I am thinking somewhere warm.

More snow moving in tonight. Phooey. Only 5 to 6 more months of the white stuff and it’ll be summer again. Woo hoo!

Have a fabulous evening and day tomorrow.
Marcy

 

[rainwood]

I'm going to make this post all about me. I got some of the outdoor Christmas lights up, but what a freaking hassle!! The last 2 years I've only done lights on this little lace leaf maple. Lots and lots of lights on that little maple tree, but I haven't done the usual display partly because of my DH being gone, but also because the fence where I usually put them was so rickety that it would likely fall down (and part of it did last December on its own so it was a valid concern). I got all new LED lights this year and with the new fence I thought I'd do it up right. Silly, silly me.

I usually do the outdoor lights (DH hated doing them) except he always put up what we called the electric wisteria because it required climbing all over our arbor which there was no way a klutz like me should ever attempt. But I did everything else so I know how to do the lights. I got all those infernal labels off and neatly wound the lights into balls because they are easier to handle that way. So then I go outside figuring this would take an hour max. Because these were different lights, I wasn't sure I'd have enough to wrap the top of the fence through every opening so did every other one. It was going further and faster than I thought, but did I stop to reassess? No, that would be way too smart. Instead I finished both sides of the fence and had lots of lights left over. Crap!! So I redid all of them and it was a lot harder because it was 40 degrees outside and the wires get stiff, plus I had to undo them and then ball them up again. So I do that and notice that in one place where I'd been talking to my neighbor at the same time, they were going in a different direction so I stopped to redo that section then realized I'd actually goofed much, much earlier so did that whole bigger section of the fence for a third time. So I then go to plug in the lights. One side works perfectly on the timer, the other side won't light. Turns out there is no power to any of the outdoor light sockets anymore, maybe from the new fence going in, maybe from something else. But I try all the different outlets and nada. No power on the south side and I can't light up just half of the fence because it would look weird and I can't just keep going with the first string because people have to be able to get in and out of the front gate.

But I don't want to give up so I come up with this brilliant plan to use two long extension cords and take the second set of lights from the same outlet up to the arbor and over the gate then down again to connect to the non-working set on the fence. I'm a freakin' genius!!! Except I can't do that. I don't have a male end plug to plug into because that's on the other end where they were supposed to plug in to the outdoor outlets like they used to. So I have to undo that whole side of the fence a second time, ball up the lights again, and start again for the third time so I'll end with a male end at the arbor. So I do all that and put some lights in the wisteria branches in the arbor. Finally, I'm done and I'm pretty proud of my resourcefulness. So I put the timer on and still only one set of lights comes on. Frack!! Then I decided that using two extension cords might be the problem so I figure out a way to run a string of lights along the inside of the raised planters inside the fence then plug into the lights that go up into the arbor and down to the non-working side of the fence. I turn the time on again and finally, SUCCESS!! It's four hours later, dark outside and I've broken every nail I have and scraped most of my knuckles, but I have lights. And they look pretty good. The LED aren't quite as warm a white as the old incandescent I loved and I didn't get all the places done I wanted, but that little maple tree takes 3 hours and it was already dark and 38 degrees. But the lights are fine. And I will take notes about what I had to do so I don't make the same mistakes next year.

So freakin' Merry Crhistmas to me!!!! And in the spirit of saying the "f" word to myself at least eleventy million times today, today's ornament is also an "f" word:



Now on to the Christmas cards which also need to be completely reworked because I didn't like the envelopes with the original cards (which I couldn't see when I bought the cards) plus I added a bunch of people to my list. So I got new cards and didn't think about the fact they come with red envelopes and I can't use the clear labels on them. Staples doesn't have the size we use in the white so I ended up having to re-type all of the mailing labels and add a bunch of new ones.

And I know I do this to myself. The Ghost of Christmas Perfect visits my house very single year!! Ack. I think I need some egg nog, heavy on the brandy and light on the nog. Oh, except I can't have that anymore. Maybe a nice glass of cabernet. Or two.

So that's how my holiday season is going. Hope everyone had a better day than me!!

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning girls

I'm very far behind, so please forgive my notverygood memory as I comment on a few things that I remember reading about..

Missy, first of all, how is Greg, how did it go yesterday? I was waiting for your update but there was none so now I'm worried too. Hope everything was ok. Christmas ornaments - was that cat in the Christmas tree yours?? I really loved that one!

All you girls have decorated your trees already!! Another thing that Scandinavia does totally different I guess. We do the tree 23 December. No ifs or buts about it, lol. The three outside we can do a bit earlier, though. A few years ago, my mother got such a lot of comments at work, because the outside tree was giving a reflection in her window, so it looked like she also had a tree inside! And mind you, that was only midway through December! So clearly that would warrant some comments at work.... oh joy, the wonders of living in the countryside...

Talking about Joy, Jimmianne! That ring of yours... spectacular!! I can totally understand why you are having issues finding an asscher that you like - because it is competing with Joy!! I do understand you about not wanting a diamond that is too big though. It is the same here. 1 ct is considered BIG. But I have stopped caring. I think most people think my ring is not real.. But I don't care about that either I'm a simple girls though.. not too much details on my rings.. I like a nice clean look. So how about something like this?

https://www.pricescope.com/blog/jewel-week-classic-asscher-cut-diamond-solitaire



Rainwood, I just love that hat and scarf that you bought! Thank you for the pictures! That dog - ohsocute! But I think they might just look even better on you so feel free to send us a picture of you too I'm sorry you had such a difficult time with the Christmas lights! But you kind of made my day (morning, at least ) - fun to read even if I'm sure very frustrating to experience. Frustrating is the f word you were using, right..? LOL

Kristie, yes, the beaches were really nice! And the temperature was just perfect, so you could just sit in the sand/water and enjoy the nice day The ocean was a bit cold though, so actual swimming time was a bit limited, lol.

Talking about holidays. We might be going to Cambodia in the summer together with another family of 4. I'm dying to see Ankor Wat etc. So I'll send out some "please make a nice suggestion for a family holiday" to a couple of traveling agencies today. Any of you been there? I do hope the experience comes with me saving the world on horseback whilst looking like a million dollars Angelina style.. LOL

Marcy, I have a feeling that you are going to have a lot of nice food for Christmas, just like Missy.. lol. I do envy you a cooking DH. My DH is my world to my bead and my heart, but my stomach does not agree, lol. How is the employment situation working out? Did you get that new guy?

Missy, food. Please make Greg learn a lot of gluten and dairy free recipes and send him to us for the holidays...

Rainwood, I think you are very much in the Christmas spirit already! I have never taken enough care to care about envelopes... You are doing good!! I do love Christmas though! And your ornaments are really nice! I have started looking forward to seeing a new one very day - kind of like a Christmas calendar!

Talking of Christmas calendars! I made one for one of my best friends, and she is such a nice person, so she keeps sending me that I'm a saint for making it for her LOL good girl LOL I think she might want one next year also.... LOL

Re Santa Lucia: It is an Italian tradition, I think. Santa means Saint. So Saint Lucia - a pretty blonde Italian girl (not really blond, but bear with me or you will ruin the story...) living in the late 200's. Lucia is derived from Lucis - light. Christian martyr, protector of the blind, etc. Killed during the prosecution of Christians under emperor Diokletian (or something like that) for (i) not giving up her faith, (ii) not marrying a horrible man (iii) ripping her own eyes out because said horrible man wanted to marry her for having such lovely eyes etc. Mix this with a romantic novelty of Jane of Arc in most people’s minds, and you have a nice children’s tale about a poor girls carrying a crown of light and being very pretty and kind. So - fast forward to modern days, we dress up our children in white "night dresses" and put a crown of light on one of the girls (traditionally, a pretty girl with long blonde hair, but now that is seen as somewhat politically unexpectable so we draw a name instead..) and have all the children walking in line, carrying lights, singing the traditional Santa Lucia song and giving out saffron buns They are wonderfully delicious, the saffron buns. I can't eat them, but still... smells fantastic! I'll try to find you pictures:





Merry holidays!! (I do know that is not a correct expression, but I really don't care )

 

[missy]

Merry holidays girls! Scandi, love that and am using it.

Rainwood, Holy Santa lights Rainwood (trying to be like Robin of Batman and Robin here in case I made the wrong reference and you don't recognize it ) what a lighting nightmare and good for you for persevering when lesser men and women would have given up! YAY for figuring it out and for having a lovely outdoor Christmas decor. Love the frog and yes the fact that he begins with an F seems proper and fitting for your lighting and envelope adventures. The Ghost of Christmas Perfect. Stay away Ghost Perfect and next year and instead the Ghost of Christmas Good will rule.

If it makes you feel any better (though I doubt it will but you are not alone) our day yesterday was not any better than yours...

Junie, glad you had a lovely visit with your girlfriend this past weekend. Did you wear your diamond cluster ring? Did she appreciate it? Does she enjoy fine bling like the NIRDIs do? LOVE that gingerbread display. How lovely. And yummy looking too. Thank you for saying it reminded you of me because of the animals. That made me smile. Thank you for helping the animals! And of course thank you so much for all your good thoughts for Greg yesterday. More on that below.


Scandi, love the Santa Lucia story and the saffron buns. Hey isn't that F in the photo? I'm sorry you cannot eat them honey and you are in good company that is for sure. BUT they do look delicious. I will ask Greg to make lots of gluten and dairy free stuff and will share the good recipes with you girls!

Scandi we do the tree later than most too. But not always the 23rd. We just do it when we have the time. One year we did it in the "Nick" (get it haha) of time on Christmas Eve evening. This year we are doing it this coming weekend probably since we will be at the beach house for the next 2 weeks starting this Friday.

Thank you for thinking of Greg yesterday. What a pain the day was.

How is your grandmother doing? Oh and that little girl in the photo you shared that are "not your kids"...well, I think she looks just like you!

Marcy, Thank you for your good thoughts and wishes for Greg honey. I appreciate them and so does Greg. That is sweet you get to carry over your sick days from 2016. I never had sick days or vacation days (always being an independent contractor at work) and it must be nice to have paid days off. Enjoy your day today! Oh no to more snow for you but yay only 5 or 6 months left till summer.
You and me both cannot wait.

By the way, I never got any info re Dee Jay from you and I don't want her to think I am ignoring her so please email and text me the info OK. Thank you.

Jimmianne, thank you for all your good thoughts for Greg. And a big thank you to the rest of you too.

Callie, a special thank you to you for keeping me company during the long ordeal of yesterday. It was comforting while I was waiting having your company. (((HUGS))).

Thank you to all you girls for always being here for me and being so caring and supportive. (((HUGS))).

So we got to the hospital at 7:15AM and the whole day was long and drawn out and exhausting and I will spare you the details and get to the heart of the matter. He had 2 polyps that were removed and are being biopsied and we should have the results in 10 days. So it was good he went to get the Colonoscopy as he didn't have polyps 8 years ago at his last colonoscopy.

And in fact I think Greg has convinced me to schedule my first Colonoscopy. One because Cologuard cannot pick up polyps and
2. because Joan and Bobby died of Colon Cancer and that is too close for comfort.
Sure it isn't common but I know 2 people who died of Colon Cancer recently and maybe I should listen to the universe and just bite the Colonoscopy bullet and do it.
Not excited about it and we shall see but I am mulling it about.

We couldn't leave the hospital yesterday till 1:15PM. So there from 7:15 till 1:15 PM. Exactly 6 hours. For one darn Colonoscopy. My gastro doesn't do them in the hospital and has his own center and if I do mine that is where I am doing it and hopefully it won't be a 6 hour ordeal. All I care about now is that Greg's biopsies are negative. Fingers crossed!!!!!

Do any of you girls have Colonoscopy stories to share? Have you had it done? I know Callie has but I am not sure about the rest of you. Rainwood? Marcy? Junie? I know Scandi you are too young. Lucky girl.

Aaaaand today is the first day of the new EHR system at work and I have no friggin clue how to even start an exam on it. Sigh. It is going to be a looong few days for me. I am taking strength from you girls and from Greg and from within and will do the best I can. But I know no matter what if I cannot do the best by my patients I will be handing in my resignation.Of course I will give it some time and I will see how it goes but I am not going to lie. I am apprehensive about it. Wish me luck.

Have a great day girls. And merry holidays. Couldn't resist Scandi.

 

[MarionC]

Scandi, your post cracked me up. Merry Holiday is very nice. I think we should adopted it as our standard NIRDI holiday greeting. Politically correct, but still Merry!
Thanks for the eye candy. What a beautiful asscher. I had that on my computer for a long time last year. I was hoping your story would be about the girl with the candles on her head. It's such a sweet and beautiful image. I will pretend I don't know the horrible story behind it!
Hope you get to go to Ankor Wat. That would be fabulous.

Rainwood, you are funny this morning as well. "Ghost of Christmas Perfection" indeed. My Mom did that very well. I don't even have decorations this year ["feeling sorry for self, boo hoo"] but it's not too late. According to Scandinavian custom I can't put the tree up until the 23rd anyway! [thanks, Scandi]

Missy, we are posting at the same time. Is that synchronicity or what?! It happens almost every morning, dear earlybird.

Marcy, maybe we could all share your snow so you don't have so much and then there is a white Christmas everywhere. I hope you enjoy your day off and have some fun. I forgot to mention how fierce that rabbit photo was. Somehow the teeth looked sharper than usual. Would you like a tooth file for Christmas? rubber tooth guards? Let's figure out something to thwart those fangs.

So, today I am waiting for Fedex to bring me an asscher "before noon". Already I am planning to upgrade, so it's just a bit of fun, but not in the WOW & excitement category. It's a little under 6mm and right after I ordered it I decided to go bigger and maybe even go hunting in NYC. So it arrives in time for my birthday tomorrow and I can wear it for up to a month while looking for the next "holy Grail". [hey! isn't there only supposed to be one of those? we seem to keep finding them and then looking for another one].

Back in a bit.

 

[Scandinavian]

I'll try for a quick transalate of the traditional (well, one of them anyways) Santa Lucia songs

Black lowers the night itself
In stables and in homes
The sun has gone away
shadows threatens
In our dark house
Striding with candles lit
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia

The night is dark and silent
Suddenly a soft sound
In all silent rooms
As wings rustling
Look, at threshold stands
White dressed with light in hair [re story: often interpreted so that also the hair should be light to give of a soft glow]
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia

The dark shall flee
From the valleys on earth
As she speaks words
of wonder
The day will then again
Rise from the red cloud
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy, GOOD LUCK at work today. Fingers crossed for Greg !!

June, I just can not believe I missed commenting on you new ring! I have looked at those pictures soooo many times!

 

[junebug17]

Hi everyone!

Missy, I'm so sorry Greg's colonoscopy took that long. I haven't had one yet (I'm 56) but I"m going to schedule one soon. I know there's some debate on whether it's necessary and some people opt not to have one, but I'd rather err on the side of caution I guess. Dh had one a few years ago and it was done at a center, and the whole thing went quickly and smoothly. He had a polyp removed but everything was ok. My sister had one recently and same thing - everything went well, had a few polyps removed and was fine.

I didn't wear my ring to my friend's house, but we were looking at pics of the gingerbread display on my phone and a picture of my ring came up - I was a bit embarrassed at first tbh, I know bling pics are very common for us diamond lovers but let's face it, most people don't take pics of their rings! But both ladies were very nice and complimentary - the funny part is my friend thought it was terrible that I saw the ring before Christmas lol! I explained I had to look at it because there was a return period on it, so that seemed to mollify her a little. I didn't bother mentioning I've been wearing it around the house She is definitely in the "wait until Christmas" camp ha.

Ugh, so sorry about the issues at work, I know it's stressful, just try your best and hopefully someone can help you figure it out. Right now I'm feeling very upset and angry that you've been put in this position, you shouldn't be feeling this way at work, it's just not right. I don't mean to make light of the situation, but if you did retire I could figure out how to get into the city and we could do lots of fun things lol. Just sayin'

Marcy, I thought of you when I saw Snoopy! Enjoy your day off, it's nice to have a break. I love the doorbell intercom, that is so cool and such a great idea. Our house actually has an intercom for the front door, which was pretty neat for 1994 lol - after 20+ years I don't think it works anymore though, but I should check it.

Rainwood, I am VERY impressed by your determination to get those lights up and working! Congratulations, a job well done! I love Christmas lights, they really do lift the spirits and are just so pretty. I hope you had that glass (or two) of Cabernet, you deserve it!

Jimmianne, I can't wait to see your asscher! You made me laugh with your comment about Holy Grail rings. Every once in a great while I play around with the idea of selling my rings and buying one big honker, one ring to rule them all - but I think I would miss my rings, and I probably couldn't get as large a stone as I would like anyway. PS puts bad thoughts into my head lol.

Just want to send you a hug, sometimes I think it's healthier to just go with how we're feeling and not try to force certain emotions. We nirdis are always here for you and of course there's always bling!

Scandi, thank you so much for explaining Santa Lucia, it's a lovely tradition and the children must love it. I enjoy learning about the traditions of other countries. It's so fun to know someone from Scandinavia lol! Those saffron buns look really good. Yes, I guess we tend to put our trees up early in this country! But when I was young my parents put the tree up on Christmas Eve.

Thanks for the nice words about my ring - And I've been meaning to mention that you look absolutely gorgeous in the pics you posted and your dresses are stunning! They look like they were made for you, just beautiful.

Thinking of you all, have a great day everyone!

 

[Scandinavian]

Jimmianne!! I forgot !!! (How could I?? Bad bad me...) You look absolutely stunning in your cow-girl boots! And your hair... oh what I would give for hair like yours..

June, the gingerbread (we call them pepper (as in salt and pepper) cakes, lol) houses are wonderful! I especially like the first one!

Marcy - that is so nice that the sick days are transforming to holiday-days! That is so much more fair!!

 

[azstonie]

Jimmianne, you look great in your pic! Keep on truckin'!

I've been waiting for my lawyer to call, he is now 90 minutes late for our teleconference. So to fill the time, I felt like a little limerick:
*************************************

There once were eight ladies called NIRDIs
Not old but frankly no longer in their 30s.
Big diamonds they wore
Blingie sparklies never bore
So they strive to avoid a jewel box filled with turd-ies!

 

[MarionC]

AZ, please, you have me almost rolling on the floor.

june, thanks for the hug!
How funny your bling photo came up... whoops! But WE understand that no one understands the obsession the way we do. Sometimes I think - what if I pass away and my family sees the 2000 photos of diamonds on my computer. They'll just shake their heads and say - we knew something was not quite right. haha
but you girls would be saying "awesome!".


The asscher came and it was love at first sight. Then h-m-m...Not a bad size for staying under the radar, but not big enough?
Meanwhile I am patting myself on the back for knowing a good one when I see it. A far cry from the days when they all looked alike {???!!!}. So, probably not a keeper, but time will tell. Fun to get and open the box.


Then...that was fun. I want to do that again with another one : )

 

[azstonie]

Heehee, there's nothing like unwrapping and the REVEAL, is there, Jimmianne?

Its quality, I like the cut, but it is a bit small for a Pricescoper finger. Pendant?

 

[marcy]

Here are 3 of my favorite ornaments. Snoopy as a Flying Ace, a red mustang (I had one after college) and a Koala bear that my mom gave me for our first tree. I wasn't in to teddy bears then but I always loved Koala bears.


Marcy

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Rainwood, I bet your lights look fabulous. Sorry it was such an ordeal to get them put up. Your frog ornament is very cute.

Scandi, that is interesting about the Christmas trees. Too funny people were commenting to your mom about putting up her tree “early”. I am glad you had a nice time on your vacation. Marty is a good cook but he honestly just started cooking a lot the last few years. Before he always cooked on the grill and I took care of things inside. I am discovering if I empty the dishwasher at night he’ll actually put his dishes in there during the day. Sweet. We are going to make an offer to that guy at work but since my boss has an opening in his department I’ll believe I get the new guy when he is setting at that 6th desk. Great story about Santa Lucia.

Missy, I agree Merry Holidays is great. Thanks Scandi. Fingers, toes and eyes are crossed for Greg’s polyps to come back negative. Wow that you were there 6 hours. I have not had a colonoscopy. Good luck with the new system at work. Hopefully someone at work will help you learn the ropes. Nick of time – ha ha ha. I have no idea what is going on with my email. I sent Dee Jay the info by text so I’ll send hers to you from another email as well as text you.

Jimmianne, your asscher is beautiful. I love step cuts. Is it fluorescent at all? What are the stats again? I hope you decide to put up some Christmas decorations. We did that twice and I hated it both times. It just didn’t seem right. Our forecast is through Christmas now and we are expecting snow on Christmas. That will be nice. I will send you some of my snow but I can’t promise what condition it will be when it arrives. BTW just mentioning missing taking pictures made me go camera shopping today.

June, I chuckled about your friends and showing them pictures of your ring. Our digital frame has tons of macro shots of jewelry in there and I know my in-laws found it really strange. There is plenty of pictures in there of their son. I hope your intercom still works. It comes in handy if and when I remember to use ours.

Kristie, I hope your teleconference went well. Your limerick is fabulous.

It was cleaning day so I only slept in about 45 minutes. Once the cleaning lady got here I was going to go look at cameras but since it was snowing I was going to stay home but Marty offered to take me around and then we could stop and get groceries. I found a Canon we both liked but neither place had one in stock. It was kind of lucky we didn’t buy one though because there is a newer model out for about $100 more so I ordered it tonight. This one takes screw in filters so I ordered a close-up filter set tonight and I can even get a solar filter for it since there is a total solar eclipse next summer. I am all excited for a new camera. I have a nice DSLR but just don’t like lugging all of that around with me. I want one stop photo shooting anymore.

We had light snow all day and it is very cold out there.

I also got a few presents wrapped for Marty; they are just the ones that won’t fit in his stocking. He wasn’t happy to see 5 presents under the tree since we are only doing stocking stuffers after buying the TV. I told him only one was from me; the rest were from the bears or rabbits.

I made my mini cheesecakes for Christmas and did some laundry. I’ll be glad to go back to work tomorrow and relax.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[rainwood]

A very quick post as it's been a long day and I'm beat.

Missy, I hope Greg's results from his colonoscopy are clear and that everything is okay. I haven't done one, not sure I want to, and have a somewhat fatalistic view toward cancer after being around it for 20 years. I will probably change my mind at some point, but haven't reached that point yet. And I hope work went okay with your first day on the new record-keeping system.

Junie, those gingerbread houses are something, aren't they? I went to a gingerbread house display last year in Canada and will likely do so again this year. I'll have to share some photos of that.

Jimmianne, it's a lovely asscher. Is it what you wanted it to be?

Scandi, I think Merry Holidays is perfect.

I'm feeling like it's time for a little reindeer action so here's the ornament of the day:



I went to a floral design class this evening from a florist who does really interesting and unique arrangements that I really like. I thought it would be holiday-themed but she went a completely different direction and it was more like spring. She was urging us to go low and asymmetrical with lots of negative space, but I just couldn't do it. When it comes to flowers, I like lush and taller and more is more. So I don't think she liked my look as much as some of the others, but the design is way more me. The greens are two kinds of eucalyptus so the arrangement smells wonderful.

I'm only in town for another day so will give it to a friend to enjoy while I'm gone. And as requested, Kristie, here are a couple of photos of my effort: one for the overall effect and one close-up, Mr. DeMille. And, yes, that is kale in the front.




Have a good Thursday!!

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning from Scandinavia And Merry Holiday !!

Good night Rainwood

Re Christmas tree, we have never done that in the Nick of time (haha good one Missy!) but we came pretty close once. We were remodelling the kitchen, and there was just so much to do at work, so we didn't have time to go shopping for a new oven... until late at night on the 23rd.. A very very very late night later - CHRISTMAS

I should probably tell you a bit more about Scandinavian Christmas traditions - but for now: Fun fact number 1: We have Christmas dinner on the 24th, and open presents after dinner! So hah! 25th is first day of Christmas, and then the season of visiting and eating (!) at every family member's house begins

Missy, how did everything go at work? Veni vidi vici? Or oh-no-I-want-to-leave-this-mess-and-go-home kind of day? I really think a new system should come with some kind of information/training program? As for the colonoscopy - I think that it can never hurt to check. Better safe than sorry, etc. Haha that little girl with the lights in her hair - you really are too sweet for saying that she looks like me Same kind of colouring I guess, but otherwise... lol. I am very blonde though. When I was a child, my hair was white (!) and tourists would ask to take pictures of me.... My genes are actually *very* blonde, my DH had me tested once I descend from the first people that walked north to Scandinavia, so my skin has been here for a loooooong time getting paler and paler to try to soak up some vitamin D (Well, perhaps the Sami people were here first, don't remember, lol.. but they came via a different route and are not closely linked genetically to the blonde Scandinavian)

My grandmother is improving each day, but her blood works still shows heavy signs of infection. But she is in the hospital (where two of my best friends work, so we are keeping a close eye on her treatments, lol), and they are taking good care of her. She has celiac decease, so she is fuzzing over food, scared that they will forget. But so far, so good.

Marcy, I agree, your boss is quite likely to steel your employee.. sorry about that. You will have to say horrible things about him between the work offer and the day he starts, so perhaps they dump him on you...

Jimmianne, I love your asscher. It looks very nice. But you can not ask me about size.. I love BIG. Sorry... But I know that you have Joy for when you want big bling, and that you are looking for something a bit more - relaxed? I still think that you might be happier if you get one that is just a tad bit bigger. It will still look very elegant and not so "in your face" as Joy. I do love the look you chose!! So nice and clean and fresh! My engagement ring is not very big. (The big one is not my E-ring, just a Scandinavian thing, we don't generally trade up, so I just got one more and wear the new one with my wedding band, and my E-ring on my left where it has always been sitting. Left is for the heart, right is for the "wedding contract", as in legally binding, based on how you close a deal by shaking hands with your right hand.. lol) Back to the point. My engagement ring is approximately 6mm and even that is big here. For me, it has always been the perfect size for a "never take off my hand" ring. Ring size 48, now idea how that translates to US sizes.. Now, I never take off the big one either, but that is all due to the fantastically practical diamond shrinking syndrome..

June, you are WAY to sweet for your comments re my dresses! I love dresses, I have to admit.. and especially white lace ones.. LOL. So I have too many.. Yes, the children love Santa Lucia! Where we live, the youngest children to the "Lucia train" (direct translation, you know, walking in a line like a train, lol) in the nearby hospital, and that is a big thing for them. Its just a rehabilitation centre for those who have permanent lung damage, so no contagious patients, so that is a good thing, lol. But it still teaches compassion, I think, and makes the children fell like they are contributing something of value.

Kristie, you should make limericks more often!!

Marcy, I just LOVE your ornaments!! So much fun! You are always fun When our "new" house is finished, we will have 2 dishwashers - maybe DH will get it then, when one of them are always empty... ? I will not hold my breath though... LOL. I might have to tell him... he is not so good with riddles.. Envious of your new camera! I love taking pictures too, but I'm not very good at it, and I keep forgetting to take my (well, my DH's..) camera with me and end up with only cell phone pictures.. Your day sounds exhausting! Good thing you work so that you can rest 5 out of 7 days per week..

Rainwood, I love your flower arrangement! Negative space ??? For a flower arrangement ??? Nah - don't think so Love the reindeer too! Never enough Rudolf around Christmas!

Time to do some work and make some money! Ciao!

 

[MarionC]

Heehee, there's nothing like unwrapping and the REVEAL, is there, Jimmianne?

HA! YES!

Its quality, I like the cut, but it is a bit small for a Pricescoper finger. Pendant?

EVIL EVIL. LOL yes it's too small. ha that's a given. No matter how large, too small : ) The PS mantra!
or...no matter how large it looks today it will be too small tomorrow.

So I got the ASETS back on the larger asschers [the ones that will be too small tomorrow], and posted them in Rocky Talk.

Good afternoon Scandi. I would join you for lunch but haven't had breakfast yet. You are the trend setter here - always ahead of us!
It's true!

Missy, I'm ahead of YOU this morning lol but I'd better hurry, I know that.
So I'll post THEN edit to finish. tada!


Rainwood, that is a gorgeous floral arrangement. success!

Marcy, the Very Too Small asscher has medium flour...I can't find my UV flashlight so I'm frustrated. It's an "I" and faces up very white. I am getting attached to it, but BIGGER things to come, I think. Don't want to let you girls down and get kicked out for having a small stone haha
Oh! it's the time of year when you figure out how to send cheesecakes through the internet. I'm glad you can go back to work so you can relax. LOL I hope everyone there is behaving themselves this week.

Dear Missy, I hate that you have to wait to get results for Greg, but I get the distinct feeling everything will be fine.
It must be wonderful to be in NYC at this time of year, seeing all the decorations and feeling the holiday cheer. I hope you will have some photos for us??

I am very happy to hear that you got some validation at work. I am so hoping it works out for you so you can relax there and just do your job, darn it. They are so fortunate to have you they should be bowing down at the door when you enter! Tell them I said that. haha

On "too small" I agree - oh you are such an enabler! and I love you for it. Sometimes we need that to get where we want to be. I am so FRUGAL and then have regrets.
Well, part of the problem is that I fall in love with every diamond I meet and want to take it home. Better that than men though, yes?
I hope you have a great day a'way up North where you are closer to Santa's workshop.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Rainwood, love your beautiful flower arrangement and I am not a fan of negative space in any way either especially regarding floral arrangements. You made a lovely bouquet. Love the reindeer ornament too.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the colonoscopy. I have a fatalistic view but only up to a point and I think Colonoscopies can save lives though perhaps not as high a percentage as necessary by some health insurances to cover them in some countries i.e. Canada has stricter requirements re age minimum than the USA does regarding colonoscopies. But not sure of the exact details because they keep changing. I think in general things happen but I also think to some degree we can change things for the better or worse so I feel we do have some control. Not complete control but some control. And colon cancer is easily treatable compared to some other cancers if it is caught at an early enough stage. That is the reason IMO to do them.

Junie, yes I get how you feel about showing pics of bling to others. In fact if someone looked at my phone pics right now I might be super embarrassed depending on who is looking because it is filled with pics of bling. Literally 90% of my photos are bling photos. LOL.
Thank you for sharing about the colonoscopy. I am surprised so many of us haven't had one yet. But somehow comforted that I am not alone. Though I might be encouraging everyone to do their colonoscopy if I find the courage to do mine. Greg is really pushing me to do it and he rarely pushes me to do things so I know he thinks it is important.

Scandi, I always enjoy hearing about your traditions and appreciate your willingness to share and educate us. Love the poem you shared. And hahaha to "Veni vidi vici or oh-no-I-want-to-leave-this-mess-and-go-home kind of day"- well not exactly either one though the latter was almost in the forefront till I spoke to the powers in charge but the day ended up being somewhere in b/w perhaps. Will explain below.

I am relieved your grandmother is improving and hope her infection clears up soon.

Marcy, I love all your ornaments (and I love the snoopy Flying Ace ornament best -adorable) and thank you for sharing photos. Glad you had a nice day off and got to sleep in an extra 45 minutes. And how nice you now have a freshly cleaned home.That always feels good. Yay for wrapping some of Marty's presents and doing some delicious baking. Sounds delicious. And thank you for connecting me with Dee Jay. Oh please send some cheesecake our way!

Jimmianne, complete honesty as always. I am not in love with the asscher but of course that doesn't matter. I would like to see a little bit bigger to better appreciate those gorgeous facets. But please feel free to ignore me as you must be comfortable with the size. I agree sometimes diamonds can be too big but I think looking at your finger you can and should go bigger. And personally I don't care what France or the French think about big diamonds. Vive la différence. Just saying.

And yes you are ahead of me this AM. I needed more coffee in my system before I posted. Hope you finished your editing.

So work went down like this. We had been promised to have the prior records available to us for a long time (and legally I thought we needed to have access to them for years and years) but yesterday was told the management/admin were only allowing us 2 months access to the prior records from our previous EHR system. Unacceptable. But they won't pay for longer access.

I told them (the chief of the clinic) if they cannot find a way to transfer the eye records to the new system or allow us access to them for at least a year (ideally we should have a few years at least) I would walk. I wasn't threatening but was calm and matter of fact.

At the very end of the day the medical director came to me and wanted to talk with me and talk about all my concerns. He completely agrees with me and is furious the management/admin went above him and decided this on their own. A financial decision without regard to our quality of patient care.

That is where we stand. I can and will learn the new EHR but if we don't have access to our prior health records I cannot in good conscience stay as the quality of eye care I can offer will be compromised and that is not acceptable. And it is entirely preventable meaning it is super easy for them to pay and allow us to have access but they are making a poor financial decision and I won't support it as it absolutely will compromise the care I am able to give my patients.

Sad but true and I am not delusional to think they even care if I stay. The medical director said all the right things to me and is acting as if he is in complete and total agreement with all my suggestions and comments but well when push comes to shove I know what happens will have little to do with what I want and say.

I am taking it one day at a time and we shall see. I won't be back till January and learning a new system for 2 days and then being away for 3 weeks sort of sucks but again the powers that be decided to teach this new EHR the 2nd week of December. Another questionable decision for sure. I am feeling more zen about things and will of course as always keep you posted and as always I appreciate your good wishes and thoughts.

Have a great day girls.

 

[missy]

Ooh you sneaky girl! Just realized your birthday is today!!!! Ha we wouldn't miss it for the world. Please forgive the short poem but it doesn't mean we are short on our love for you. Quite the opposite...


Dear Jimmianne today's your birthday
So we come together to wish you HB and say
Today's the celebration of the day you were born
And in that we are in complete agreement and not torn


That we are so lucky to have you here
You are kind and caring so sweet and so dear
You are the nirdi with so much love and joy to share
With beauty within and whether you are far or near
I couldn't let this day go without saying how much we care

You are filled with a love of life and a glow of joy
Haha yes not just the Joie de vivre which yes you do possess
But your beautiful OEC full of antique charm and old world elegance

Joy is not just a piece of bling or toy
She's a work of art and object of joy
Just like her wearer full of dazzle and love
Peace and kindness and calm like our beautiful skies above

Deep full of beauty inside and out
And for that we have to shout
How much we love you and value you so
I hope you realize and really know

We appreciate your friendship and love
So from the valleys below and mountains above
Wishing you health happiness much joy and love
Hope today's a wonderful birthday
And that the upcoming year is filled with adventure and love

Yes this poems shorter than my usual
But you are a real gem among jewels
And know you'll forgive me
Being it a crazy week you see
And knowing how much we love you and care
And how much we value your friendship Jimmianne dear

Happy birthday sweet NIRDI
Whether you're here in the USA or France
We do a little happy dance
Cause you share your time with us
And no matter what comes your way
You handle it with sophistication and finesse
And we know you are simply one of the best

XOXO XOXO Happy birthday!!!!!






Sent from myMail for iOS

 

[MarionC]

Thank you, Missy for my wonderful poem. Just the right length and perfect.

Here is a photo of the Flatiron Building in NYC from the BBC this morning. I thought it was beautiful and blingy.


oh - and to add to the list of "mysteries of life" ...
my friend sent an email to my computer asking if I wanted to get lunch "next wednesday". Suddenly my digital calendar on my phone said I had an event with her on Dec 21st.
Also, since downloading El Capitan I no longer have to transfer photos to my computer from my phone. They just show up.
This may be so normal to you all, but these are amazing tech things to me and a bit disconcerting. Who's in charge here LOL

 

[Scandinavian]

Jimmianne !!! Happy happy happy birthday !!! I'm very glad that you were born and that I get to know you

 

[junebug17]

Hi everyone!

Missy, I'm glad you're feeling a little better about what's going on with work, it's so unfortunate that a financial decision takes precedence over what's in the best interests of your patients, very frustrating. It counts for something that the medical director understands how you're feeling and agrees with you. So sorry about all of this, you have the right attitude about the situation and I hope you can just put this out of your mind and enjoy your vacation.

Your poem for Jimmianne is perfect and I agree with every sentiment in it!

Jimmianne, sending lots of good wishes to you for a very Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day.

The asscher is so pretty and I think it looks really lovely on you. Obviously, the size is totally up to you, I know it's a tough call, having a more sedate ring is a really nice option to have. If you find yourself wishing it was a bit bigger it might be worth it to go up in size. I agree that the feeling of opening the package is intoxicating, almost addictive lol. I do like the octagonal one that you posted on RT as well.

Marcy, love all your ornaments, the mustang is really cute. Congrats on your new camera, sounds like it will be a lot of fun to use.

Rainwood, your floral arrangement is absolutely beautiful and your reindeer ornament is so sweet.

Kristie, your limerick is too funny! Love it.

Scandi, I think it's so sweet that the children go to the rehab center. I learned from my mother's experience that the days get very long and boring and I'm sure seeing the children definitely adds something very special to the patients' day.

I'm keeping your grandmother in my thoughts, I'm glad she's doing ok but I hope she improves even more soon.

Doing ok here, feeling a bit down today so not feeling too chatty but I wanted to check in with all my wonderful nirdis. Have a good day all!

 

[marcy]

Happy Birthday Jimmianne.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[azstonie]

Happy BIrthday, Jimmianne!! Make it special!!!

 

[azstonie]

Rainwood, your arrangement is TDF, I love it!!

The colors, the textures, the overall shape. HAHAHA, if you ever get tired of your present employment, you could always bend flowers!!

Eucalyptus is my favorite smell. Reminds me of Carmel/Monterrey area before the eucalyptus all died off.