Now I really did it :((

[azstonie]

Good Friday Morning, NIRDIs!

Marcy, we cannot wait for the outdoor FIRE shots of those icy ear bombs! They look quite sizeable in your ears, btw, good going!

Jimmianne, AC, lovelovelove it. What brand did you go with? Trane, etc. Do you remember how many SEER? (We in Arizona KNOW our AC units, hee!) I'm glad you enjoy every bit of your farm. You've been there for 14 years? You feel alone sometimes? Before I married the first time, I remember sitting in my apartment and being able to hear every minuscule sound and wishing for someone to be with. Now I treasure the time I have alone, hahaha. Maybe its the human condition: When you're on your own, you wish for someone to take the journey with. When you're paired up, you wish for alone time and space. When I've read of your lifestyle and activities over the past almost year, its clear you have life in good balance and order in life

Missy, I'm putting together a list of possibilities for retirement locations. I will share it with you when its partly compiled. Thinking of retirement locations got exciting when i stopped including just the West and branched out to NC, Arkansas (I know, but there are some spots there that exceed pretty much every parameter on my list) and a few others.

On the OUTS for retirement:
Any desirable location in California. Vacation/visit there instead. Skip the taxes, crime, traffic and density of population.
Some parts of Oregon and Washington, unless you like rain and gloom all winter long.
New Mexico. No. Just no.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend

 

[MarionC]

AZ, it's an airEase - from Lennox and I don't know the specs.
I have 2 "mini-spilts" at the far ends of the house and this is for the middle.
Makes it sounds like a huge house : ) It was 1100 sq.feet - three rooms - until I added the mud room for the dogs and the pool room.

I hear you about alone & not alone. I think I'm happier generally alone [gregarious introvert] and can be tortured if I have someone in the house too much. There is no good solution!

The big surprise of the day - the AC men found my [very dead] ancient cat, Blodwed, who ran away last winter when she was dying. She was in the completely enclosed crawl space and they cannot find a place where she would have gotten in. I never get queasy about stuff, but I was a little shaky going under the house to get her. I had really not expected to ever find her and this was sort of awful - she was perfectly preserved. At least now I can bury her, but will never know how she ended up where she did.

I may just have to buy some bling to counteract this event! LOL

 

[Calliecake]

Hi Girls

Missy, The vet visit went great. She got her rabies shot so at least we wint be fixed and have some show up at the door trying to take her. She is going back at the end of next week for a flu shot and then back again two weeks later for the second dose of the flu shot. Then I got the bad news. Seems my little darling is having some separation anxiety issues where I am concerned. She has been acting up a bit and the vet gave me some hand outs to help with the issues. She said it's very important to deal with it right away so I need to change some of my behaviors. I think I'm just as much the problem as she is. She has done nothing but lay next to me or on my lap and sleep since the rabies shot yesterday. This is what happened last time and she was back to her self after the second day. Nothing big happening this weekend for us. He will be tired when he gets home tomorrow night. We will get together with some friends on Monday but that is about it. I'm goiing to meet a girlfriend tomorrow afternoon. I will speak to my husband and will get back to you on the retirement information we discussed.

Marcy, I love the earring and they really look large on you. So pretty! The color looks really white. Are you looking for another EC for a right hand ring? If you need enabling just let me know. I'm great at that especially now since I'm not buying anything.

Jimmianne, The house you picked for Missy looks wonderful. Even has her pool! Chapel Hill is one of the locations we have been considering. We really need to step up our search and try to figure out where we going to end up. I can't believe you take care of the farm by yourself. No wonder you are in such great shape. How on earth did you make it without AC. I'm with Missy, it's the best invention ever!

Kristie, What are you and Bob up to this weekend? Anything fun planned. Has it gotten warmer by you. It's finally supposed to warm up her this weekend. The house was 51 degrees when I woke up yesterday morning. I had to turn the heat back on. You know its's cold if I'm cold. Have you done any shopping lately? Be need to talk you into seriously look at North and South Carolina. We need to live near each other!

LLJsmom, I love the rings you posted. So pretty. How have you been? Are your children doing well? What did you decide to do about the Cartier Love bracelet? I miss you and think of you often. It's so good to see you back here.

Sharon, I can't wait for you to come back here. Hopefully you will start dropping some clues about your next purchase!

 

[azstonie]

AZ, it's an airEase - from Lennox and I don't know the specs.
I have 2 "mini-spilts" at the far ends of the house and this is for the middle.
Makes it sounds like a huge house : ) It was 1100 sq.feet - three rooms - until I added the mud room for the dogs and the pool room.

I hear you about alone & not alone. I think I'm happier generally alone [gregarious introvert] and can be tortured if I have someone in the house too much. There is no good solution!

The big surprise of the day - the AC men found my [very dead] ancient cat, Blodwed, who ran away last winter when she was dying. She was in the completely enclosed crawl space and they cannot find a place where she would have gotten in. I never get queasy about stuff, but I was a little shaky going under the house to get her. I had really not expected to ever find her and this was sort of awful - she was perfectly preserved. At least now I can bury her, but will never know how she ended up where she did.

I may just have to buy some bling to counteract this event! LOL

OMG buy bling IMMEDIATELY!!!! Overnight it to you too!!! I'm so sorry you had to go in there to get her out. That is one of those tasks that all of the mannoyance (this is a word I made up for those every-now-and-then times that Bob seriously gets on my nerves) you get from long-term husbands goes up in smoke and you're just glad to have them on hand!!! You are a trooper and I want you to do something compensatory ASAP, Jimmianne!!!! Isn't that odd, she wound up perfectly preserved, you must have enough dry weather to get THAT done. I'm so sorry.

 

[MarionC]

AZ you are making me laugh.
Overnighted bling - yes! LOL

and mannoyance is hilarious - I've gotta pass that gem along.

 

[Calliecake]

Oh Jimmianne, I'm so sorry about your furbaby. I can only imagine how shaken up you must have felt. A new piece of bling is a must. You more than deserve it after the awful day you had today. I hope you are beginning to feeling a little better now?
I'm so sorry Jimmianne.

Junebug, I hope you are havig a wonderful time at the beach house. I'm glad your son and daughter were able to go with you and your husband. Have a wonderful weekend!

Kristie, You are hilarious. How do you come up with these words?

 

[Sunstorm]

Hi Girls,

Missy yeepee I have been sooo worried! Really happy for Greg.

Marcy, I totally love your earrings, they turned out even more gorgeous than I thought. Yummy.

LLJsmom so nice to see you here again, I love the ring you posted with the ruby sides. I normally also prefer emeralds and love the combination of diamonds and emeralds but love them separately too thought recently beautiful rubies have been growing on me. Emerald is my favorite CS though, I have a thing for them.

Jimmianne, this is really shocking, I am with you and feel for you, very sad but at least now you can have closure albeit the shock may not have been easy. What happened to Blodwed? What was she dying of? I have no idea why cats hide the way they do when they are dying. Puma only wanted to be alone even though he was the most people oriented cat and Niello started hiding in closets. I did not understand it then. I have cats that love hiding away anyhow, Sapphie loves opening closets and hiding in there and I had before locked her in a small drawer overnight and thankfully she survived.

Kristie, Junie, Callie how are you girls? Any weekend plans?

Of course I am in a rush but had to write anyhow. Conference was nice but the weather has been really really awful. Yesterday was all day legal marathon, not easy to say the least. I simply cannot sit on my butt for too long, I have to get out and do things because otherwise I would probably go stir crazy. Last minute plan is that I am going to Budapest to see my friend and stay overnight, girls' night. Then in the morning I will come home.

Monday is a holiday so then I will surely have some time at home to be on PS, etc. I am just not the stay at home type anymore, never truly been but lately I have had a hard time being alone for longer periods of time as I need to get my brain off the really really serious stuff happening in my life. There are things that could affect your whole life but you cannot help them at the moment, if you go crazy, it does not help. So out and about is sometimes the answer. I wish I could shop more but now that is impossible to do.

Instead I think I will concentrate on gem prospects and bling making, some new stuff will be fun.)

Have fun and a great weekend NIRDIs, hope you all have better weather than we do here.

 

[MarionC]

I tried to pick just one thing, but could not decide...if I *have* to have new bling I want something from this page! Which one should I get?
www.google.com/search?q=jean+schlumberger&espv=2&biw=922&bih=498&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=u1lgVaOFFYvBggTG6oDgCA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg

Dear Blodwed had health issues - but she was OLD - around 20, and still hunting everyday almost to the last : ) A terrific soul, that one. Very independant and knew just how things should be done for a Princess Kitty.

It will be very interesting to see where the NIRDIs retire! and to follow the adventure. Why do those of you who are looking want to move? Weather? A change of pace???

 

[Sunstorm]

Jimmianne, the rope diamond ring.

Of course I love the Tiffany brooch with the famous yellow, I mean I am definitely not a brooch person but I love the diamond and in some cases, we can make an exception.

I only took a quick look as I have to finish taking care of the furbabies and then head out to my train to Budapest. I love pieces of jewelry that are pieces of art but I voted for the diamond ring for wearibility reasons. Even though I dress up for certain occasions, most pieces do not fit even my lifestyle but hey I can just see myself wearing whatever I want and cherish what I love. While I love pave for workmanship reasons too, I like to limit it a bit, I am not so into overcomplicated myself even though I like some complexity to certain cases but all the color going on is a bit much for me even and I am a color person. One big fancy colored diamond is enough for me. Ok add a bit of pave and exquisite antique style workmanship.

Wow, Blodwed indeed lived a very long life, I wish I had a cat that lived to 20 and remain so active. I hate it when they get up to a certain age especially now that Puma and Niello left and both were just under 14.

What are you doing this weekend Jimmianne?

 

[missy]

Good morning NIRDIs and happy Memorial Day weekend! And to those who do not celebrate the holiday happy weekend!

Jimmianne, thank you for that link. That pool is amazing. And for all that land and square footage in the house plus being on a golf course the price is amazing too. Wow to what you get for the money. The style of house isn't our taste but I could overlook that and just redo the inside for that location and pool. If you find any more beautiful homes please share. I love seeing them and it certainly makes us think. I showed Greg and he likes the location too. My reasons for looking for another city to retire in is twofold. One affordability as NYC/NJ where we are is super expensive and we have to delay retirement in order to retire here. Another important reason for me is the weather. We have more months here we cannot enjoy outdoor activities so that factors into my decision. Greg agrees but feels less strongly as he enjoys the cold and also enjoys working though he wouldn't mind the quality of life moving to a warmer and more affordable climate would allow.

I am so sorry about your sweet kitty Blodwed and the way you found her. Yes our kitties go and hide when they know they are dying. So traumatic what happened yesterday and I am sending you lots of hugs and love and comfort. She did live a wonderful long life 20 years that's great! Though it never seems long enough I know. At least now she can be buried and put in her final resting place. {{{HUGS}}} to you Jimmianne sweetheart.

I am sorry Thursday afternoon turned out a bit differently than you had hoped and I totally get what you mean about being alone. You can be alone and rarely lonely and you have so much in your life and the farm is certainly thriving under your care and attention. And what the future brings re companionship only time will tell. I am a big believer in what is meant to be. Sometimes with a little help though.

I am like you in that I too am a gregarious (haha Gregarious) introvert. I know people who meet me think I am an extrovert but I really am not. It is outside of my comfort zone to be around lots of people at a time and I really prefer one on one encounters most of the time. We have a party tonight and really I am not looking forward to it. Too much stimulation for me and I am already looking forward to going home lol.

These are what I like for you from that page. Or anything else on that page LOL. Gorgeous and you cannot go wrong.
http://images.arcadja.com/schlumberger_jean-bijoux_and_objets~OM32b300~10636_20090312_2173_276.jpg


Kristie, thank you for the info and I cannot wait to see your retirement list. I feel in my heart we won't relocate but it is worth exploring the possibilities. One biggie is health care and all our doctors are here and finding new ones we like might be traumatic as I have been with my main doctors (internist/dermatologist/gyn) for many years. However if we found a wonderful place to retire where the weather was warmer I could always travel back for yearly appointments and perhaps convince David too appointments in b/w via internet or something. But for Greg that would be more difficult for skin checks so maybe traveling back 4-5 times a year wouldn't be too much to do for a better retirement city. Hmm wheels are turning.

Haha mannoyance. LOVE that word and all the other words you have in your wonderful vocabulary. I love my dh but sometimes yes he is full of mannoyance lol.

Callie, YAY! So glad the vet appt went well!!! What a relief and now she is safe from the county. Sorry about her separation anxiety issues and I hope you can get a handle on that soon. With the kitties it is very traumatic if we leave them with anyone and fortunately or unfortunately as you might view it lol we have not left for any trips away from them for 8 years so basically besides Fred none of the kitties in our family have ever been away from us for more than a workday. I know they would not respond well to us leaving on a trip but I also know that day will probably come especially if (and this is a big if so please be patient with me) I can get the courage up to go on a plane to Miami in January 2016 for the jewelry show. I have to also find someone we trust to come into our home twice a day and feed them and clean the litter boxes. I know our kitties will not come out for anybody but us so I am not sure how this will go down but it is far away right now so not going to worry at this moment.

Yay Jeff comes home today! I am sure you are looking forward to it and your low key weekend plans sound perfect to me. I prefer it to a weekend of social engagements and parties. Enjoy!

Marcy, I hope you and Marty have a wonderful holiday weekend and that you are enjoying those gorgeous new earrings!

Ovi, I am so glad you are going to Budapest! Enjoy and have a great weekend and come back Monday when you have time. (((Hugs))).

Junie, I hope you are having a lovely beach weekend with your family and enjoying much needed R&R!

We had a lovely cycling day yesterday. It got so windy by the afternoon however that I wasn't sure we would get home! Seriously when we were on the last of the 3 bridges we ride on coming back on the return bike ride we were pushed sideways the whole length of the bridge. I thought we should get off and walk the bike over the bridge but Greg thought we could handle it so we did. The winds at that point were gusting to over 25 mph. Crzazy winds. But the ride otherwise was great.

With the exception of finding these sweet ducklings during the middle of our ride in Ocean Grove. Some idiot had put bird feed in the road so 15 newborn ducklings were vulnerable to being hit by cars. I pleaded with one of the employees at the senior center right where this was (they were having an outdoor barbecue for family members there) to let me put one of their outdoor benches where the ducklings were to prevent cars from parking there and killing them but he refused.

SO I went to a construction site about a mile down the road with Greg and picked up a cone and rode back with it (not easy on the bike) and placed it there to protect them. And luckily a like minded woman came a short while later and called her bf who worked for the city and he parked in front to protect them and by that time they finally went up on the grass. And then another employee from the senior center promised he would wash away the rest of the bird feed/seed so they wouldn't sit out in the street again. I just don't get why some people are so stupid. Who puts bird seed out in the street for the babies to get hit by cars potentially? It is busy there especially during a holiday weekend yanno?

Some quick pics Greg took without me knowing while I was trying to shoo the ducklings back on the sidewalk. I was crying because this was before I figured out a solution and I was trying to shoo the ducklings back onto the sidewalk without any success. Crying sometimes helps me come up with solutions though it has done nothing to help me figure out the solution to my POD. But fortunately the ducklings were all on the sidewalk in the grass by the time we left. That was an hour detour from our day that we didn't really have since we have lol. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. Hoping the sweet ducklings are all safe and sound and today hoping to see they are OK. Greg was upset I counted them (haha he knows me so well) because now I will keep counting them to make sure they are all safe. Poor sweet Greg. He was so supportive and patient during this detour yesterday and he had so much work to do and was just waiting for me to be comfortable with leaving them.

OK off to cycle soon. It is cold here right now (49 degrees I think) and windy but hoping it warms up soon. Party tonight and then guests over our house tomorrow. Will check in though with you girls. Hope you all have a marvelous day and HUGS to you all!

 

[MarionC]

Missy, what an adventure! Lucky ducklings to have someone who cares. They are adorable. The photo of your shooing them away from the street will be the new Missy Classic.

When I saw the earrings you picked out I blurted out OMG. I had not seen those. He really was a master at portraying nature in jewels.He must have been wonderful / had a wonderful mind.

 

[Sunstorm]

Missy, they are adorable! So hard because I love ducklings too and they are so vulnerable and not a whole lot you can do to protect them since they are not normally "pets", well, anyhow you cannot take them to your NYC apartment. I always want to save animals too and had to cry last week when I saw an orange tomcat who was obviously in ok shape but unwell crossing a very busy road and he only made it because some unusually nice drivers stopped. I saw that and felt so panicked and could not find him later, what can I do anyhow if he is ill, bring him in and everyone gets sick here? Soooo hard, I want to save them all. People here are not nice. Years ago one person intentionally killed a kitten we all helped by speeding and you do not want to hear the rest. Anyhow, we saved the two momcats and as many of their kittens as we could at the end but some did not make it sadly. Heartbreaking for sure and they were always born under my back window in the courtyard of my apartment house in Budapest. One person in the building adopted one mommas and three of her kittens. I hated this situation because while I once saved a whole litter by running out in a storm and pulling them from where they were going to drown and mom looking at them like she is stupid and this whole litter made it and was adopted, I could not save them all.

Jimmianne I missed what happened on Thursday. For me it can be hard because I am very social, there are times when I can be an introvert but I think it is a bit different when you have a spouse or a farm. For a day or two I am fine but generally I prefer action in my life and definitely people. I love being with people especially in situations like this. I wish I was more introverted than I am sometimes. That said yes we can be alone but not lonely, I have quite learnt that.

Have a great weekend.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDI’s.

Missy, it is very scary to start all over for retirement. Unless a person is lucky enough to have enough money for pay for a new place those pesky mortgage payments are bound to cut in to retirement money. Are you going to spend the long weekend at the beach house? I am glad you had a nice bike ride and that’s too bad you had to deal with the wind. The ducklings are so cute but GRR to people who would put birdseed in the road where the ducks would get run over. I am glad you and some other people helped take care of them. Great photos of you coming to the rescue.

Jimmianne, I am sure your farm keeps you very busy and you enjoy doing the work and living there. You can’t ask for a better spot for you to be right now. That is very cool you always take time to smell your magnolias. Yay for getting new AC. I am so sorry about your cat but at least you found her and can give her a place to rest in peace. Poor kitty. Definitely buy some new bling for yourself.

Kristie, I wish we’d get some nice sunny days. The forecast looks bleak. I think they look larger than I expected them to be. Why isn’t Wyoming on your list? Ha Ha. Mannoyance is awesome. We used to have a 25-foot travel trailer and that was not big enough for the 2 of us on a rainy weekend. We wanted to kill each other. We heard a news story about a couple sold everything they owned, bought that size of trailer and moved to the desert to live off the land. I told Marty if we did that one of us would be dead and the other one would be in jail. And I wasn’t willing to say which one would be where.

Callie, glad the vet visit went well. Glad your furbaby is snuggling up to you after getting a shot. I hope you had fun spending time with your friend today. The EC I have in my RHR is a Si2 so I am considering getting a better clarity diamond. Florescent stones intrigue me too so I might look at EC diamonds with that. For a RHR I don’t know that I want to spend a lot more to simply going up in clarity. I am sure you are happy Jeff gets home today. Do you use some of the plane apps to track where their flight is right now? I sure do.

Ovi, I am glad you like my earrings. I am pleased. Glad the real estate conference went well. Hopefully you’ll get lots of new business from the exposure. I hope you had a nice time of your quick trip this weekend. Our weather is awful too.

Speaking of mannoyance – it looks like I am going to have to womanplain to Marty if you make up a plate of cheese and crackers it’s nice to have the same number of crackers as the number of pieces of cheese. Logic! It works every time it’s tried.

I got off work early yesterday. I went down to hang out in the man cave and was sad Marty quit working when I got home. I wanted to set down in the recliner and start yelling “Beer!” He ruined my fun. We went out to supper and made our first stop at Simply Mac and then wandered around Lowes. (I made 4 trips to Simply Mac we kept exchanging iPad cases and ended up returning them all.)

This morning Marty played golf and I went to Simply Mac for round 2 and also bought a few groceries. We went out for lunch, went back to Simply Mac and saw 4 C41 setting on the airport runway so we went and watched them take off. That was cool. We stopped by DQ then and had a blizzard. Some old friends came in while we were there so they set with us and we caught up with them.

When we were leaving the mall we saw four C41 on the runway so we went and watched them all take off. It was kind of cool because it was so cloudy you’d see them in the sky then they’d disappear in to the clouds. I love watching planes.

I took some pictures of my earrings this morning. I did have a few brief periods of sunlight so I got busy.

Have a great weekend.
Marcy

 

[azstonie]

Marcy, pics? I've been waiting for FIRE shots blazing forth from your ears

Lol re Wyoming/retirement. It didn't make the yearround shopping or weather cuts!!!!! Jackson Hole in the summer, though, I'm there! Beautiful and great food/drink. I'm babying my right knee now and snow/ice is too dangerous for me. I'd have to be a reverse snowbird in Wyoming. I would love to go to Jackson again and this time tour Yellowstone too.

 

[marcy]

Kristie, I am in complete agreement and understanding about knees and ice. I am terrified every time I step out the door on icy days. Jackson and Yellowstone are certainly fabulous.

Here is a few more photos. I need a good steady stream of sunlight. This morning was more of a tease.

 

[junebug17]

Hey there everyone!

Missy, that house Jimmianne posted is amazing! It's huge! And that pool, my goodness.

I'm glad you were able to get the ducks out of the road eventually - they are so adorable! I too worry about animals that are trying to survive outdoors and I know it's just part of nature but it still makes me want to protect them all. It was really great of you to take the time and effort to make sure they were safe. How horrible that someone would put birdseed in the street like that, I just don't understand that.

I hope you end up having a nice time at your parties this weekend. I'm also more comfortable in one-on-one situations, being around a lot of people is kind of draining for me.

Jimmianne, I'm so sorry about Blodwed. That must have been traumatic for you and I'm sorry you had to experience that. I hope you are being good to yourself and pampering yourself a bit and yes, I think maybe a little bling is in order. Hugs my friend, I hope you're doing ok.

And so happy to hear the AC will be up and running!

Calliecake, I'm glad the vet visit went well - It is not a pleasant experience, for either pet or owner! Have a nice time getting together with friends this weekend!

Ovi, have a great time in Budapest, it will be good for you to have some fun. Sounds like the best thing for you these days is to stay busy and get out as much as possible. I can understand how being home for too long can make you feel isolated and depressed. I know you are going through a lot so do whatever it takes to feel better and get a little joy out of life!

Marcy, I laughed at your trailer comments! Yeah, don't get me wrong, I love my husband but I need my space and there is no way we could handle living in such close quarters.

I'm so glad you're enjoying your new earrings, they really are fabulous - you did such an excellent job of picking out gorgeous stones.

Sorry you're having such lousy weather

LLJsmom, so good to hear from you! I'm loving the rings you posted, I think you are on the right track

Having a good time at the beach and enjoying spending time with the family for a few days! My sister and her husband are here too and we're having a good visit. It's been warm and sunny, and not very humid.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, thinking of you all…take care and I'll check back with you soon!

ETA - Marcy, just saw the new pics - SO beautiful!! Now that is what I call icy white!

Kristie, I so agree about Jackson Hole in the summer…dh was there for a business meeting and my son and I joined him for a long weekend a few summers ago and we had such a wonderful time there. We went to Yellowstone too, loved it. Also went on a raft trip on the river, I could not believe the amazing scenery, I was in awe.

 

[MarionC]

Thanks, everyone, for your kind thoughts about Blodwed. I decided while mowing yesterday [my scheming time lol] that I want a one of a kind iconic piece of jewelry.[who doesn't?!] Those Schlumberger pieces really get me going. However, back to reality...I bought a Paloma Picasso ring on eBay last night. Iconic, yes. One of a kind, hardly. Scrolling thru all the jewelry is so soothing.

Marcy, your whole post made me grin. I'm glad you are schooling Marty in the mathematics of cheese-to-cracker ratios!
and I your new photos! I can just imagine you seeing those rays of sunshine and your first thought is - oh! must take photos! now!

 

[missy]

Good morning and happy Memorial Sunday NIRDI girls!

Marcy, be still my heart. Those earrings look gorgeous on your ears and you have such pretty hair color too. With the ring it is a worthy collection of emerald diamond bling.
And I have to say again those earrings look huge on your ears. If those babies were mine and looked the way they do on you I would never need to upgrade the earrings. They are the perfect size. LOVE them.

I hear you on starting all over for retirement. And I really do not want to but am overwhelmed with what the best option is for us. Cost of living, quality of life, and I cannot ignore my skin. With my skin the way it is warmer weather would be helpful because I see how it flares even in 60 degree weather. It is discouraging to say the least. As soon as I successfully focus on other issues the skin starts saying hey, look at me, don't ignore me, or I will make you miserable. But I do love being on the bay here and I love being close to NYC and I LOVE our Brooklyn home which we don't have to sell right away when we retire according to our financial advisors. They said we can hold onto it for a while after we retire if we want to. The only problem is we know that somewhere in the equation there will probably be a real estate bubble and we must sell before that or we will be in trouble. Or if real estate tanks before we retire we might just have to wait it out. So many things to think about and it makes for a complex decision. And a headache LOL.

I just am hoping to avoid a situation like some of our acquaintances and friends have dealt with and that is not retiring in time before a loved one gets sick and you can no longer enjoy the retirement you envisioned with your partner. Of course no one can predict that but just saying. A friend from last night unfortunately dealt with just that. As soon as he retired his wife had an accident and now she is paralyzed and not doing well. To say they are not enjoying retirement is an understatement and it breaks your heart. They are such lovely people and her quality of life is just awful now. She missed the party last night though she had been going the last few years after the accident but she is doing even worse now.

I am sorry your weather is less than sunny and nice this weekend. If you and Marty (or any of the other NIRDIs and their SOs) want to hop a plane and come here today is supposed to be perfect weather. 80 and sunny. And Greg is cooking so you would be well taken care of and meet some of our lovely friends to boot. We are having a very small gathering today (that's how I like it). Unfortunately Roxy is sick with an URI since last weekend and had to cancel poor sweetheart. So I will miss her not visiting today but we will reschedule with her. She has been through so much and I just wanted to pamper her a bit today with some home made goodies and the healing ocean air. Plus, the matchmaker in me sort of wants her and Buck to get back together lol but neither of them have a clue that is what is in my head.

I am right with you with space and sanity. I think I told this story somewhere on PS but when Greg proposed one of the first things I said was OK but I need us to have a big enough place so we each have our own space. Haha not very romantic but hey at least I am practical and know myself well enough to know what is necessary. My theory is lots of marriages that break up do so because the couple does not have enough physical space. Just my theory.

Kristie, I am eagerly anticipating your list. I respect your vast knowledge in many areas so I know the list you put together is a good one. No pressure. I hope you get to go to the auction today and find something amazing! Large OEC perhaps?! Fingers crossed! And I hope it is warming up by you. Finn and Maggie want to go swimming!

I have never been to Jackson Hole but now you have me wanting to visit. Greg said when he was there it was 20 below zero. In January though but OMG that is cold. Brrrr.

Ovi, I hope you are enjoying Budapest. As for stray animals you know I am a magnet and must try doing everything I can to save them. Now there is a cat that we occasionally see at the beach running across our backyards and I think she/he might be a stray. Greg doesn't think so because he thinks the cat is plump but I do not see that at all. Not plump IMO and good chance the kitty is homeless. Now what do I do. The last time we were faced with a similar situation was right before Hurricane Sandy and OMG I do not want to relive that rescue though it was successful it was heartbreaking doing the capturing and holding until we delivered Blu safely to the horse rescue farm in Saratoga. Hope your sweet Sapphie and other furbabies are well!

Junie, so glad you are having a great time with your family and it's nice your sister and her family joined you guys too. Thanks for understanding that it drains me to be around lots of people. I am an HSP and perhaps you are too? I sent this to Jimmianne the other day because we share similar traits and maybe you are interested in reading this too.

Do You Cry Easily? You May Be a ‘Highly Sensitive Person’

Michael Hassard, a former engineer for NASA, hikes and camps, takes long motorcycle rides, mows his lawn, fixes leaky faucets, and loves football.

He also cries—quite often: Whenever the Battle Hymn of the Republic is played or if the checkout clerk at Wal-Mart says, “God Bless You;” when the country song about the guy who fixes a tire and refuses payment comes on; and once when he donated some winter coats his children had outgrown to a family he knew from church.“I keep tissues handy at all times,” says the 44-year-old engineer for an oil and gas company, who lives in Houston.Meet the Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP—someone who responds more intensely to experiences than the average individual. Experts say HSPs process both positive and negative information more thoroughly, and so they can easily become overwhelmed by stimuli. They are acutely aware of sensations, whether of taste, touch, sound or smell. And they are particularly sensitive to emotions—their own and those of others.Research studies show that about 20% of the population fits into this category, and the trait is found in the same numbers in men and women.HSPs are currently having a moment: Last week, the First International Scientific Conference on High Sensitivity or Sensory Processing Sensitivity was held at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, with panels on sensory processing sensitivity in children and what we can learn from successful people who are highly sensitive. There is a documentary in the works titled “Sensitive.” (The trailer features Alanis Morissette, a self-proclaimed HSP.)

Mr. Hassard first noticed he was highly sensitive in his early teens. Singing in his church choir, there were songs that he says he “had a hard time getting through” because they moved him so much. Sometimes friends noticed his tears and asked him what was wrong. His rote response: “Nothing, I’m fine.” Eventually, he learned to curb his emotions by playing the songs over and over again in his spare time.Sometimes called Sensory Processing Sensitivity, high sensitivity isn't a disorder or a condition but rather an innate, permanent trait. It was first identified in the 1990s by Elaine and Arthur Aron, research psychologists who developed a 27-item scale to assess it. (Take the quiz to find out if you are highly sensitive.) People who are highly sensitive have a deeper depth of cognitive processing, are easily overwhelmed, have bigger emotional responses and notice subtleties more, says Dr. Elaine Aron, who has a clinical practice in Mill Valley, Calif.Today, several hundred research studies, from brain scans to genetic analyses, have been done on topics related to high sensitivity. They have found that high sensitivity may occur on a spectrum, just like many other personality traits. It isn’t the same as introversion, although HSPs find the need to withdraw from social interactions or stimuli when their brains get overwhelmed.

Brain-scan studies of HSPs show differences in their neural activity, compared with non-HSPs: HSPs are more empathic, pay closer attention to their environment and are more attentive to social clues from their close friends and partners.A study, lead by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and published in April, 2014, in the journal “Brain and Behavior,” found that people with high sensitivity show more neural activity in specific regions of their brains when looking at the face of a loved one than do people with average sensitivity.The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imagining, or fMRI, to scan the brains of people about to be married, looking at photos of their loved one. They also asked them to respond to questions about their sensitivity levels. Highly sensitive people showed more activation of their primitive reward system, compared with non-HSPs, when looking at photos of their partner smiling. Another area of the brain concerned with empathic responses was more active when they looked at both happy and sad photos.The researchers believe this shows that HSPs are more empathic and feel happier when they see their partner happy. “They think more deeply about things,” says Lucy Brown, clinical professor of neurology at Einstein College of Medicine in New York and a researcher on the study.

Experts say that high sensitivity can be found in at least 100 species, including fruit flies, sunfish, dogs, cats and monkeys. In modern times, HSPs make excellent counselors, teachers, artists, pastors and, reporters (or relationship columnists).The trait has its downsides. HSPs get worn out by too much stimuli. They can become easily hurt or offended. And they have been known to overreact to a situation. “They’re processing information more thoroughly,” says Dr. Arthur Aron, research professor at Stony Brook University in New York and a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. “So they are more easily overwhelmed.”

Researchers now believe that high sensitivity has a genetic cause. While they haven’t yet identified all the genes involved, research suggests that the serotonin transporter gene—which is involved in the recycling of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that impacts emotional well-being—plays a role. They also believe that psychological factors—your temperament or personality—have an effect on your level of sensitivity, as does your physiology, specifically how you respond to stress.

HSPs can learn to cope with their feelings and reactions—sometimes even better than others. A study published online in March 2015, by the journal “Personality and Individual Differences,” looks at how 166 girls ages 11 and 12 respond to a school-based mental health program in England. It found that those who were highly sensitive benefited from a 12-week class on reframing their depressive thoughts much more than girls who had an average amount of sensitivity.Only the highly sensitive girls’ depression symptoms also decreased over the subsequent 12 months. “The more sensitive ones were probably more likely to internalize what they’ve learned and apply it,” says Michael Pluess, a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and the lead researcher on the study.

Mr. Hassard admits that sometimes being overly sensitive can cause problems such as “when you can’t hide how much arguing with idiots upsets you.” And he’s sometimes noticed that women he’s dated have become uncomfortable when he is more emotional than they are. “Nobody loves a crybaby,” he says.Over the years, he has taught himself how to modulate his feelings and reactions—and to “dehumanize” situations to remove emotion.

And he has learned to see advantages in being so sensitive. He feels he is a better father because he can empathize better with his children. And he says he recently saved a multi-million-dollar deal at work because he was the only one on his 12-member team who picked up on the client’s apprehension, enabling the group to address it.

Mr. Hassard’s girlfriend, Julie Matte, a surgical nurse, says that although his wear-it-on-his sleeve emotions have taken some time to get used to, she now loves how sensitive he is. “Stoic has its place,” she says. “But engaging, thoughtful conversation about things that matter with someone who feels and isn’t afraid to show it is a welcome and unexpected change from the norm.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/do-you-cry-easily-you-may-be-a-highly-sensitive-person-1431971154

Here is a quiz to see if you are a Highly Sensitive person. I wonder if any of the NIRDIs besides me fit into this category. I bet some do.
http://hsperson.com/test/highly-sensitive-test/

It would be wonderful to be close by to you and Jimmianne if we did relocate to the NC/SC area. Which brings me to our dear Jimmianne.

Jimmianne, how are you feeling after that traumatic ordeal of finding Blodwed? Did you buy any of the bling you posted. Any of those choices were good ones. OK I see you bought a Paloma Picasso ring on ebay! Pics pretty please.

I hope you are enjoying your AC. Your farm is a wonderful place to be and with your animals and land I can see why you decided to stay there and I think it keeps you young to be working on your farm. In a way you are living a dream of mine but one that we probably will never realize. Maybe in another lifetime if such a thing exists. It's a nice thought that we have many lifetimes. And in it I think we find our soulmate all over again so we are never truly separated by death. Anyway not sure why I am thinking these thoughts right now lol so please excuse the morose conversation. Just wanted to say your life on the farm is one I admire, respect and I can see why you love it there.

Any plans today?

Callie, how was Jeff's trip home? I hope it went smoothly for him and that you and he are enjoying a lovely day today. He must be exhausted. Did he bring back anything for you? I know he brought back something special for someone else but hopefully you got a gift too. Of course the best gift is having him home so that is all that matters! I also hope your sweet doggie is feeling well after her vaccination. Hugs and enjoy a great rest of the holiday weekend.

We cycled yesterday and had a lovely long ride and then went to our friends party which was nice. And of course we checked on the ducklings. There are several duckling groups as I guess it is that time of year and also a few goslings too though I didn't get pics of that. I took a few pics of the ducklings yesterday when we checked on them. They were enjoying the lake and also the grass. Including the (blurry sorry) pics. When I take pics with my phone they do not come out as clear as Greg's pics with his phone. Friday were his pics and here are mine from Saturday's ride.

Enjoy the day girls and (((hugs))).

 

[marcy]

Sun has returned to Wyoming. Picture time.

 

[missy]

Ohh la la Marcy. GORGEOUS pictures. Your new babies have sparkle, scintillation and lots and lots of fire. Look at the colors shooting from them. Swoon!
We love the sun.

 

[marcy]

Thanks Missy! I was so excited to see the sun this morning. I made Marty and I breakfast, did the dishes and then took pictures. I haven't even got in the shower yet but I'm on my way now. Bling pictures before bathing.

 

[Calliecake]

Hi Girls, I am behind again so I sure I will something in my post.

Missy, i hope you and Greg have a great time today with your friends. I loved your pictures of the babies. I too would have stopped to do everything possible to help the poor little ones. What is wrong with people that they would put birdseed in the road? We have baby geese in our backyard as I type this. There have been five of them out back with their parents on and off the past few days. When we first moved here I had a paddle boat that I took out almost every day. One year a duck with about 8 babies used to surround the boat everyday. The mom and babies would come swimming over to me as soon as I got in the water. One if our neighbors witnessed it and said he couldnt believe she would come so close to me with her babies. I tried to feed them a couple times but they never seemed to eat the food. As they got older one of the babies jumped in the boat with me. It was the cutest thing.

I'm so sorry your friends wife is not doing well. We have also been discussing what to do with retirement. As soon as my parents retired my stepfather was diagnosed with cancer. I wish they had chosen to retire in an active retirement community. If we were to lose my stepfather my mom would have to move. She lives in a neighborhood with all young families. I've told my husband that I would not want to be in a situation where I would need to move if something were to happen to him. It really is hard to know what to do. My MIL had wanted to move to a community where you had your own home and help would be provided if needed. It was a wonderful senior community that we knew she would enjoy. In the end she chose not to move there. Her life seemed so isolating and she loved being with people. We all felt she probably would have been much happier had she moved.

Marcy, Your stories made me laugh. I told my husband early on in our relationship that I would never share a bathroom. It's funny we do now that I'm not working but I never would have done so when I worked. I think most married people would agree with you on the space issue. This is why my husband has always had a man cave. It has kept us from killing each other on a few occasions! We lived in a hotel for 6 weeks while we had work done on our home a few years ago. We were both dreading it but we actually ended up having a lot of fun. We surprised ourselves with how well it went. It kind of felt like a long vacation as we were surrounded by the best restaurants and great shopping. It was also five minutes from where I worked and was nice not to spend two hours in the car everyday.
I hope you and Marty are having a nice weekend even though your weather is not cooperating. I live the pictures of your EC collection. So, so pretty!

Jimmianne, How fun that another piece of jewelry is coming your way. No one is more deserving then you especially after the day you just had. Do you have any plans for today and tomorrow?

Kristie, Thank you so much for our conversation the other night. You know how much I love our talks. My husband thanks you as he says no one can calm me down quicker than you do, especially if it has to do with the furbaby. My baby was sick again yesterday morning when she woke up. I contacted the vet and they feel it was a side efrect of the rabies shot but she still isn't herself. My husband took her on their normal Sunday morning routine and he said she wasn't herself at all. The vet told me not to worry to much if she is continuing to eat and drink normally which she is doing. It just bothers me as later next week I have to bring her back for her flu shot. They said they haven't heard of any dogs having a bad reaction to this vaccine. What are you and Bob up to? What is this about you looking for an OEC now???? I expect to hear all about this show you are attending!

Junebug, It's sounds like you are having a lovely time with your family. How nice your sister was able to join you. Did you show her the new beach house? Did she fall in love with it also? I read your post this morning and told my husband I want a beach house!

OV, I'm glad you were able to get away with friends. It sounds like it's just what you needed right now. I can't wait to hear all about it. I hope you are relaxing and enjoying yourself.

 

[Sunstorm]

Hi NIRDIs,

Missy I found your description of HSPs really thought provoking, of course I know that I definitely fall into that category, even other psychological tests have shown that I am a very emotional and highly sensitive person. But and here is the interesting thing, I no longer cry much. I think this is way worse because I internalize pain and I feel a certain numbness and much deeper pain than I would if I normally started crying and released tension. I used to cry a lot. I cry rarely these days but certain situations, high stress and certain people still bring it out of me and it is can completely inappropriate. I mean that my father makes me cry within five minutes every time I see him and my ex Daniel often had such an effect on me even last I met him, which cannot be good. People should make us feel good and not make us cry. Others like my mom only create tension within me that is awful

Speaking of which she really upset me yesterday. I talked to my friend about this too and honestly it would really be better to just reduce contact with her but she is so controlling and so invading that this is impossible. I do not feel that my relationship with her is healthy. Every time I talk to her it is about me being not a good person, must change, not ok, no one likes me this way, etc. These things are entirely untrue and most of her complaints are really not valid points or not things that make someone a bad person. She blames me for everything and creates guilt feelings in me about things I cannot control like what I am going through and that she will surely die from this, not be able to survive and I cause it because she is the true victim here.

Another example is that her biggest problem with me is that I am really not the type of person in my habits that she is and nothing wrong with that either way, she is in her sixties and I am in my late thirties. I am very artistic and much faster than her and concentrate on things that are very different from what she cares about. So back to her biggest issue, it is that I have a six room house and in one spare room I have storage. I have nowhere else to put a couple of bags of towels and things like that but she thinks that because I have this, no one would ever like this or accept me which I find totally ridiculous. If I am busy she thinks I should be unpacking. I admit I am not the tidiest person on Earth but I still fall well within the norm and am very clean but I am like I said a lot more artistic and do not care about many earlthy things but other stuff to do with psychology, creativity, people, friends, etc. I do not like to sit at home like she does and cannot stand it when they are here and for an entire week I cannot go anywhere and plus I get scolded for having two empty bottles in the recycling.

She thinks that I will never change, true, I do not even want to change things that are minor to me, but I do feel that her reasoning that people will not like me because of this is very wrong. I have things beautifully taken care of normally and in fact can be quite obssessive about my belongings being extremely clean and tidy. Yet I am never good enough. But you know when you are never good enough to certain people then maybe it is not you that should change but what can you do if this person is a parent that is otherwise not malicious, I no longer want her to treat me like a kindergardener and I do not feel that I deserve this but yet I am not sure what a healthy way to handle this would be.

Missy your pic of the ducklings made me smile. It is incredibly tough when it comes to stray animals, it is a concern to bring in an untested stray, I have done it before with isolation but if the kitty is sick that can easily kill your existing pets. Bringing in a kitty from the streets definitely has its risks. If you do that, you should be prepared and have the room to strictly isolate for many months and do several rounds of testing and even so certain diseases you cannot entirely avoid. But sometimes it is worth the risk. I definitely would do that in certain cases. I tried with the Persian girl living in my garage last year but it was impossible to catch her and now I have no idea what happened to her. She was half feral and half nice, must have been abused as she would sometimes strike out and run away but she did allow me to approach her and give her food and even purred. I just hope my dogs did not hurt her. Last I saw her was a year ago when she was in heat and I truly wish I had caught her. I kept talking to rescue about her but she was so afraid of humans that she would only come at night and only when I way away for extended periods. She liked me and I think I could have definitely tamed her and it still hurts. She was a blue eyed white and though I do not care what breed she was, I loved her. I wish I could have helped. I am not sure how she ended up on the streets. Another momma in my neighborhood of people with animals they do not care about is very pregnant now and I saw her crossing her street two days ago with a huge belly. If I did not have the dogs, I would still be feeding the cats in the neighborhood but the dogs would likely kill them and it haunts me that at one time I found a lot of long white fur in my backyard and even what looked like a piece of skin. I hope they did not kill my Persian girl. But people tell me then I would have found other signs and surely that is the case.

Besides these thoughts I had a great time with my friend in Budapest, we stayed up very late, almost till early morning and drank wine and talked, it was really nice. I kind of wish we had more time but she now went to Lake Balaton with her now fiancee and you know I have had my concerns about this marriage but what can be done. We talked about their wedding rings, lots of bling talk but lots of talk about life in general.

Weather sucks here once again, I hate this area for that reason, it is sunny but cool, tomorrow it will start raining again and I am sick of that. To answer the question everyone is asking, I would be thrilled to move. Not to retire but for the change in the weather, bad weather makes me depressed, I love endless summer. California was good enough for me. I am considering a place near a sea, something mediterranean, does not have to be hot all the time. Antwerp or Israel have come into my thoughts but really this is only a dream. Hey we can all dream sometimes, not? Now that I am building up my life, I am likely staying in this area for a while but then we shall see.

Tomorrow is a holiday for us too so that is good because I will need to do some housework as well and rest a bit as then I will have two days of work. How is your weekend going girls?

More shopping Callie? Kristie, I have not heard from you in ages. Marcy, I love your earrings, ECs are growing on me. Jimmianne, show us your new bling when you can. I think my passion for bling projects has returned with a vengeance,not that it was ever gone but I was not as crazy about bling project as usual, which but now this is a good thing as I have a lot coming up and will be doing some for myself too. At least I hope. Yeepee.

 

[azstonie]

Be still my heart! The EC ring, I didn't know you had a 3-stone EC ring!!! Was that your first one? I'm confused, help me out!!!

Great earring pics, they are great diamonds

Missy, the ducklings are so sweet and fuzzy, you just want to hug them but better not to! Hope your beach house GTG goes well today. I'm not sure what I love more, a good party at your house, buzzing along, or that quiet time after the last guest leaves.

Re retirement, we'll sell this place and the goal is to spend 2/3 of those proceeds on the next house. I want a smaller house than what I have now (which is a lot to clean and heat/cool for two people) BUT we will build a separate shop/office for Bob and I expect he will spend quality time in there If necessary or possible we will buy the right property and design the house and shop/office and have it factory built and then assembled on the lot. When I was looking on-line for homes in Oregon, Washington and idaho, there was so much inventory circa 1970s and 1980s that was ugly, tired and dirty that I'd have to look at them as knock downs.

 

[Sunstorm]

Hi Kristie , how are you and the furbabies? What are you up to this weekend with Bob? Is the weather nice over there now? I miss talking to you.

Marcy, what a talent you are, we definitely want to see more pix of that ring.

 

[Calliecake]

Marcy. How,the heck did I miss all those pictures. This will teach me to start a post and put the computer down for a while. This is definitely bling ****!!! Gorgeous!!!!!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Sarahb says hi to all of you.

Junebug, I love looking at beautiful houses. I know exactly what you mean about no matter how much you love your spouse there is such as thing as too much togetherness. One time we were camping in our small trailer and I was kicking Marty’s butt at cribbage,. After the 3rd time I skunked him Marty went out and sat in the cold and rain just to get away. He doesn’t like playing me in games of luck as I tend to be lucky. Thank you for the kind words about my earrings. I am glad you are enjoying a nice time with your family and relaxing this weekend.

Jimmianne, I bet you do a lot of thinking and planning while riding around on the mower. Only those of us who love our bling immediately think of taking photos in good diamond light and sunshine. I need to browse around on Ebay more. I keep wishing I’d snagged that Tiffany Etoile in platinum that was under a thousand.

Missy, my hair is blonde, brown and red all in one. If I get out in the sun it lightens it up but it varies. My earlobes are pretty small and I know it’s personal preference but I do like smaller sized stones for studs. Saves me money that way. The things you and Greg think about and discuss for retirement may as well be the conversations Marty and I have. Housing is pretty high here for this area of the country and if the real estate market goes down we will be pretty screwed with our house. It is so hard to know now what was a wise decision in the long run. I am so sorry to hear about your friends; I hate to hear about her accident and now there lives are changed forever. My dad had several of his friends die as soon as they retired. All within 6 months. We just never know what is around the bend. I hope your friend Roxy gets better and I know you’d pamper her at your party. You are a good friend. It’s good you know your limitations on space and let Greg know up front; I need my space. Thanks for more pictures of the cute ducklings.

Callie, it’s interesting that you prefer your own bathroom. At our last house I used our front bathroom all the time. Our current house has a double sink and I try to get ready for bed early so we aren’t in there at the same time. It doesn’t bother Marty at all but it does me. Having the man cave here has been really nice. We only had a living room and a den right by the living room at the last house. Luckily I worked 2 jobs most of the time we lived there so I was out of the house 2 nights a week. Your 6-week mini vacation does sound fun though. I am sorry to hear your furbaby isn’t acting normal. I am relieved she is eating and drinking. I hope she gets better soon.

Ovi, I hate to hear your mom continues to say hurtful and untrue things to you. I am glad you had a nice time with your friend in Budapest. Staying up late and talking with a friend is always good for the soul. I hope your weather improves. We usually start drying out and warming up in early June with frequent but quick afternoon thunderstorms.

Krisite, my EC is a RHR. I’ve had 3 EC in this ring now (.71, .91 and 1.01 ct.). When I was looking in the case for a setting they kept trying to pull it out for me to try it on and I kept saying no I don’t like it. I couldn’t find anything I liked with the EC so I finally said I’d try on that baguette one and I loved it the minute they plopped the EC in the mount. It is amazing how different things can look on your hand.

Thank all of you for the kind words about my photos and bling. I’ll post a few more pictures of the EC ring. It is G 1.01 Si2 and you can see the inclusions in some of the pictures but it is a pretty diamond.

We had waffles for breakfast and Marty is brewing up our lunch. Other than potatoes and London Broil I have no idea what he is making. I see lots of dishes piling up.

Marcy

 

[Sunstorm]

Hi Callie nice to see you on here, missed talking to you too.

Hi Marcy, love love love that ring, never thought that I would start to love ECs, I do more and more, honestly I am ashamed to admit, I never liked them and lately something has happened. It was the type of cut but first I fell for certain aschers and now ECs but Marcy yours is truly stunning and surely being an SI2 does not hurt the beauty of this bling. Nice to see pix from you.

I forgot to mention in my novel that I wanted to say hi to everyone else too and Junebug your kind words towards me always touch me.

I am so glad I got away for a day, I badly needed that. My friend is also one of my lawyers, she is a wonderful person, I love her to pieces and feel the closest to her. Too bad we live a bit far.

I am also glad because tonight I got some horrible news. I do not want to say them over here.

Things with my mom are fine. Whenever she gets like this, she is always really having a hard time emotionally, problem is they are always dumped on loved ones and sometimes not the right way or a very wrong way when someone else is already having a hard time too.

I think that tonight I will listen to some relaxation music, wish I could have gone to the Lake with my friend but I wanted to make sure she could spend some time with her fiancee. Maybe next weekend or the one after.

 

[sarahb]

Greetings to all the lovely ladies at NIRDI!! I hope everyone is doing well & enjoying the Memorial Day weekend. I must give my PSA (Public Service Announcement), & thank all the brave men & women, past & future, for all the they have given & continue to give this country. If anyone has read the Outlander series, (I am one the last book) am really amazed at what the early Americans went through, what life was sort of like in those days (the book is a great historical fiction read FYI) as they broke the ties from England. Then all the major wars leading to where we are today, so many lives given, we are so blessed.

I wanted to tell all of you with your new jewels, they are all so gorgeous!!! Marcy & Missy, your earrings!! & I have ALWAYS wanted a pear & a yellow diamond, & Junebug, your ring is beautiful! JimmiAnne, your new ring is gorgeous as well!! Its so fun. Congrats to everyone!!

For anyone who loves weather & I am one of them, I watch the tornado chasers live online on this web site. Its really cool, & one of the drop down menus you can see who's broadcasting that night & where they are. I saw a wedge tornado last week, its just wild. Here's the link: https://tvnweather.com/live The guys that have the most viewers are usually where the action is. Some have audio--some don't, some have better camera set-ups than others, but its really interesting--I had the weather channel on the same night I saw the wedge, & they (TWC) called into the chaser I was streaming & the chaser gave TWC live, on the ground reports. Right now I'm watching Matt Grantham in Liberal KS. Another consuming hobby.

Marcy asked in her SMTB thread how I was doing, & here's the update. Am glad to report that I am off the cane, just this week. Except when I'm out in public & really tired. My leg is officially shorter than the other one. Not much consistent pain, well beyond pain pills etc. only the occasional Motrin. The pins in the leg allowed for the leg to shorten as it healed, which is what the surgeon told me would happen as I sat in pre-op. Didn't really have much of a discussion about the surgery prior, in fact that was it. So I do need to get an insert made for my shoe. Right now I have a bunch of different Dr. Scholl inserts to see which height is better. So. Thats where we are. As soon as I get this insert made, it will make walking far more natural feeling--we're almost there. I can't believe how much ground has been covered since those awful Jan & Feb weeks--egads. What a journey. Lastly but certainly not least: you guys gave me something to hang onto during those difficult days. The friendship & support was incredible, & I thank each & everyone of you for your outpouring of care & concern over these pages, thank you so much. PS'rs are the best!! XOXO

 

[Sunstorm]

Hi Sarah,

So nice to have you back here with us and that you are letting us know about your progress. You are a fighter and it sounds like you are doing well in general. I am very sorry to hear about your leg being shorter, is it by a lot and is it causing you discomfort? This is not easy for sure but what could have been done under the circumstances to prevent it from happening? This is a difficult situation that is not easy to learn to cope with but I am glad that you do have use of both of your legs. Think that it could have been worse not to say that I cannot emphatise with you now. You sound really positive, you are such a trooper. How have you managed this period of recovery? I think it must have been very trying. I am happy that you are getting around and not even really using a cane anymore.

Any new bling, is your bling giving you much happiness? All the best to you and I do hope you will sometimes find the time to join us over here as we certainly care about you. Hugs to you.