shape
carat
color
clarity

Now I really did it :((

Calliecake

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Scandi, Your beach photo is killing me!!!! Not a fair thing to do considering we will be getting up to 10 inches of snow tonight. I forgot to tell you how great you looked in the dress photo. I loved the chipmunks too!!
 

rainwood

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Okay, Scandi, rub it in!! I hope you have sunscreen on!
 

rainwood

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I'm having a little trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. I powered through and got the annual Christmas poem done, but haven't decided about the tree yet. I thought I might get in the spirit by posting a shot of my favorite ornaments, one a day. MY DH and I collected the ornaments from when we were first dating so almost 40 years. All of them are cloth. Here's the first one:


Okay, NIRDI's, your turn!

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marcy

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Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, now that looks like fun relaxing on the beach.

Kristie and Jimmianne, I hate when computers don’t work. I am not the patient type.

Missy, definitely it’s okay to be cold as long as you are wearing fleece jackets with a cool Francesca logo. Good deal you cleaned out so many clothes. I have several drawers of stuff I could easily pack up and give away. I’m with you – I’d rather not be shopping this time of year. I hope your week isn’t stressful. Something I worked on for years after college was when I started getting upset about something to keep telling myself “Oh well. Not much I can do about it”. It took me probably a year before it actually started working for me. And that’s my offering of Silly little mind games that worked for me. I know hugging one of your kitties probably does the same thing. You’ll be glad to know we’ve already had the earliest sunset; the latest sunrise isn’t until early January. We’ll be heading back to longer periods of sunlight soon. Next week we are going to been in the low 20’s or colder with lots of snow. If we get what is expected every day, we’ll be over a foot by the middle of the week and that isn’t the end of it. Great pictures and Bea is gorgeous as always.

June, you’ll probably enjoy staying with your friend after you get there. I get that sometimes we agree to something thing wish we hadn’t. I like that you wear your Christmas bling until Christmas. I can’t wait until Christmas if it sparkles and goes on one of my fingers. I’ve even noticed when a jeweler cleans my rings they appear cleaner. Since I clean what I wear every day they are usually pretty clean. I’ll have places ask me if I even wear my jewelry because they are so clean.

Callie, ugh to 10” of snow. ‘Tis the season for that white stuff.

Marty “loves” to scare me so he was wandering around and looking out the window in the den and I came up behind him and when he turned around I said “Boo!” He jumped quite a bit. I know I will pay for that but at least I was highly amused.

Speaking of Marty we baked our rolls for our Christmas dinner today and he’s obviously not skilled at doubling recipes – he was going to warm the milk, butter and salt on the stove while I measured out the flour, yeast and cracked open the eggs. He had to double ¾ tsp of salt and ended up using 1.5 T of salt. The hot rolls are kind of salty. I’ll see what they taste like cold. I don’t think they are bad enough not to put out at Christmas. Phooey.

Take care.
Marcy
 

marcy

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Killer is ready for Christmas. Can you smell the hot dinner rolls?


Marcy

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marcy

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Love your snowman ornament, Rainwood.
 

missy

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Good morning girls!

Love your Christmas ornament Rainwood and the tradition you had of choosing a new one each year with your dh. I would love to hear more about your christmas poem if you wanted to share with us. You know I enjoy poems. :)) I think that is a very lovely tradition too-sending out a year poem to friends and family.


Junie, I respect traditions and get it. You will savor the anticipation of being able to wear your beautiful cluster ring soon and the excitement of waiting can add to the joy once you actually open the gift and get to wear it whenever you want so I get that. That ring is worth waiting for. :love: Glad you are having a little getaway and hope you are having fun at your girlfriend's house.

Marcy, those hot rolls look TDF but sorry about the excess salt. I don't like salt at all so probably I would have to start all over again (if I did the baking that is lol) but looks like it may be salvageable for you guys. They look delicious no matter. And I bet the house smells yummy too. Haha sometimes I do that to Greg-yell boo and scare him but he doesn't like it. :lol: ::) I think I might stop that because as we get older I don't want to cause a heart attack g-d forbid or anything. :shock: Hope Marty doesn't get you back Marcy...watch out! :cheeky: Thanks for the info re sunset and sunrise. Cannot wait for spring!

Scandi, love your beach photo. I feel like I am there. Thanks for the additional photos this AM. Such a pretty dress and view.

We had a good day yesterday. Went to the Brooklyn museum and I got to see my friend's drawings displayed there. She was part of an art class where Iggy Pop served as the model one day and they have an Iggy Pop exhibition where all the art class students drawings are displayed. So cool to see her artwork there. :appl:

I bought a pretty blue bag from the museum gift shop at the end of our visit there yesterday because I like supporting our museum plus I love blue. :bigsmile:

Took a quick photo of the blue museum pocketbook when we got home. Forgot the name of the designer but she is well known here. I will check the receipt later.

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Next up photos of my friend's drawings and then the photo with Iggy Pop. She said he is super nice IRL.

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MarionC

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Scandi,

Love your dress and never get tired of the chipmunk face : )

Here's me yesterday in my cowboy boots...without my chipmunk face!

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missy

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Jimmianne, LOVE your cowboy boots and seeing your beautiful face! :love: :appl: Beautiful inside and out. :wavey:
 

missy

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Sharing some old photos I found this AM going through trip photos from years ago. Aspen Ski trip from March 2003.

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missy

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missy

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Marcy, forgot to say Killer is so fierce. And sweet. :appl: And in honor of his photo I changed my avatar to Francesca wearing her Santa hat. :))

Rainwood, here is the first Christmas ornament we bought together.


And since we have not yet put our tree up I will share a photo from last year's tree. Can you spot odd cat out? :lol:

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MarionC

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That ornament looks exactly like you & Greg. I recognized the hug ;))
I hope everyone is staying warm.
Did that 10" of snow materialize?
very cold here & horses in their blankets, but warming after tonight. yay!

Bea inspired me to play with Joy. Now I'll stop fooling with the camera and get ready for more of the local art Studio Tour. I was on the tour until 2 years ago. Too much work sitting around 8 hours a day for four days. It's much more fun to visit all my friends' studios.

Playing with Joy makes me want new toys.

and THAT is my Christmas poem!



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marcy

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Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, I am loving your pictures – the chipmunk makes me laugh.

Missy, I only add salt to popcorn and potatoes and don’t use much so those rolls were salty to me. Marty loves salt and thought they were okay so I guess we won’t make another batch. When you are eating them with a meal it will probably be less noticeable. That is exactly what I worry about too when Marty scares me – I’m going to keel over sometime. I had an article in my December newsletter about the earliest sunset and latest sunrise so that is why I had that info in my head. Spring is my least favorite season here because that is when we get blizzards and tons of snow. How cool your friend has some art displayed in the Brooklyn museum. I love that blue bag. It looks very nice. Your first ornament is pretty darned cool.

Jimmianne, I love your boots and you are looking beautiful as always. Joy is looking fabulous as well. How was your art tour?

I was going to make my mini cheesecakes today but I didn’t have a can of sweetened condensed milk and I am way too lazy to go back to the store to get one.

I did keep busy last night and today though. I finished my Christmas cards. Sadly my glue stick was all dried out so I licked 60 some envelopes but oh well I got them finished.

I wrapped some presents, worked on laundry and went shopping.

I was rather surprised the post office was open when I went in there today about 9:15 and there wasn’t anyone in line. I picked up some greeting cards. I love that our post office has a nice selection of greeting cards.

Then I went to Kmart (I prefer that store over Target because it’s never busy) and when I came back out an hour later it was snowing.

Marty went to Denver today to help his sister and he ran in to ice about 60 miles from here. I hope the roads are dry to come home.

Last night I dropped Marty off for poker and came home and there was some guy in a pickup out front of our house. I pulled in the garage, shut the door immediately and came in the house putting the alarm on stay. I go in to the den and kind of look out and sure enough he is coming up to the house. I don’t know the truck and he doesn’t look familiar in the dark. So I pick up the phone figuring he’ll ring the bell and I can talk to him on the phone doorbell to see who he is and what he wants. But no - he opens the screen door (mental note start locking that thing) and knocks on the door. So I turn off the alarm and open the door and it’s some guy looking for the poker game. I don’t know his name but he comes sometimes with another guy. I let him know it’s at this other guys house and he says thanks and leaves. Scared the crap out of me though. Marty told me I can call the doorbell with our phone and talk to them but I didn’t remember that.

Marcy
 

rainwood

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Just a quick drive-by as I'm trying to stay focused on essential tasks (non-holiday version).

Missy, that cat ornament is so lifelike!!! Love the ski photos. Met my DH on a ski trip to Utah.

Jimmianne, you go cowgirl!! And glad tidings of comfort and JOY!!!! She's a beauty.

Scandi, you're killing me with those photos!

Hi to all.

Today's ornament:

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marcy

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Here's our tree.

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MarionC

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Please keep up the holiday photos and the new-blue-bag photos and the bling photos!
Here is a photo from the Tour. It was fun to go to everyone's studio, but this particular house was the best - very old and she has left it in it's "unfinished" state for the beauty and had candles everywhere. Very arty and fun. She's the floral designer for the 4-star hotel nearby and does all their weddings. I loved seeing her house. Reminded me a little of Ryan Gainey the designer.
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Missy thanks for the reminder that the shortest day will be over soon. This low light & holiday with so much of family gone really gets to me. I left my light box in France and should probably order one for here ASAP. On the up side, this is the time of year for retail therapy for sure!
I thought the east coast was supposed to be bitter cold overnight, but this morning it is balmy.

Marcy, what a pain about the rolls, but they look beautiful. If there are any left they would make nice Christmas ornaments [? ] lol
They are so perfect! That's impressive. I hate when there is too much salt as it cannot be undone. Hope you are staying warm.
Here is a photo from the cooking class I went to. Everything we cooked was very good, but these were the best! and served with hot mulled sangria. yum.
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Christmas Cranberry Crackers
2 oz dried cranberries soaked in orange juice for 30 minutes and drained
mix with the zest of one orange, 3.5oz cream cheese, 1.5oz ground almonds, one egg yolk & 1oz powdered sugar.
chill for 30 minutes.
cut filo pastry into 10x7.5cm
brush one piece with butter, then top with a second piece. put a dollop of the cranberry mixture in the center and then wrap as though you were wrapping a sweet. squeeze pastry 1cm from the ends to form the "sweet".
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until filo is golden and crispy. Finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar.
 

missy

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Good morning girls!

Jimmianne, it is raining here and in the 40s. Not freezing but I think our temps are dropping and we are expecting arctic air soon enough. WOW, Joy always takes my breath away. Gorgeous. Those chunky monkey facets, those pastel colors, her bright white face. She is always a "joy" to behold! Thank you for sharing more pics and please post more whenever you can. I so enjoy seeing her. :love: :love: :love:

And thank you for the tour photos. I love tours like that. So much fun seeing what other people do and how they live. Greg and I always used to do a few house tours every year as they are popular in our area and we always enjoyed seeing the older homes and how they decorated and renovated.

Those Christmas Cranberry crackers look amazing. :lickout:
Thank you for sharing their recipe. I will share it with Greg.

Rainwood, love your mouse ornament. Adorable fun. :love:

Marcy, nice tree and nice decorating job. Good for you for finishing your holiday cards. You are always so productive. I can understand why spring would be your least favorite season with the storms and all. :errrr: Sweet that the PO had no one in line. That is a holiday gift in itself. Wow you are brave to have opened the door to someone you didn't know when you were all alone. I sure would have kept the alarm on and yelled through the door who are you LOL. I have done it before. :lol: I don't open the door if I don't know you and I am alone. But come to think of it if Greg is with me and I open the door an armed bandit won't be stopped by my dh so maybe I should rethink that LOL. No opening the door if we don't know you. Hahaha I am sure Greg will love (not) my new rule. :cheeky:
Hope Marty had no issue returning home last night and that his trip was easy.

Lots of things happening here and we just received some more bad news about 2 people dying this past weekend who were ill and it is terribly sad. My mom's good friend and next door neighbor for 40 years just died Saturday afternoon. Two months from diagnosis to death. :blackeye: And only a couple of years after her dh died from a similar diagnosis. And then a woman on our coop board died after a battle with lymphoma. She had been in remission and then a month ago she got sick again and died Saturday evening. My heart is heavy with all this death in the recent months and I feel for their loved ones. But taking Rainwood's advice I will think about their happy lives while they were on this earth. We need to celebrate life and our cherished friends and loved ones while we are here. But it is challenging when so many sad things happen at once. My mind goes to J and other people we have lost this year and in years past. Thinking good thoughts for all my dear friends and family.

Our week got rearranged by Greg's gastroenterologist and I am none too pleased but rolling with it and hoping it goes smoothly. Tomorrow is now Greg's new appointment for the colonoscopy and I had to switch my workday back from Tuesday to Wednesday and that caused a headache for my front staff. I won't go into it but some doctors are incredibly inconsiderate and that is all I will say. Please think good thoughts for him tomorrow for good results and all to be well. :pray:

Have a good Monday girls and (((HUGS))). :wavey:
 

Scandinavian

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Morning girls!

It is not good, so I skipped that part.. Missy, sorry for missing my good morning to you before you logged on.

My grandmother ended up in the hospital yesterday - a ruptured appendix (is that what you call it??). I'm so mad at the doctors. She was in the ER twice, and they kept sending her home. My mom had just forced them to send her to the hospital when I got home yesterday. And they rushed her straight into operation. She is "OK" now, but she is old, so she did not need this. Because it was ruptured, it will take a lot longer for her to heal. Oh well. All that ends well etc. Life sure has a lot of contrasts some times. From being sad for leaving the beach to being sad for my grandmother. Kind of sets everything into perspective..

Hugs to you all!
 

junebug17

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Will be back later for a longer update…but I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother Scandi, it's a shame the doctors missed this and I'm sending lots of good thoughts that her recovery goes smoothly and she's feeling better soon. Big hugs to you, I know this is tough but it sounds like she got the care she needs and she should be fine. (((HUGS)))
 

missy

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Oh no Scandi! I am so sorry! Praying your grandmother will be A-OK and sending good thoughts and healing vibes her way and big (((HUGS))) to you honey. (((((HUGS)))) and PS *****DUST*****.
 

MarionC

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Scandi, I'm sorry it took so long for your Grandmother to get the proper help. Thank goodness she is OK despite how things went before the surgery : (
 

azstonie

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Thinking good thoughts for your dear grandmother, Scandi.

And how is it these events always happen when we are TRAVELING????????

Love your chipmunk pics and the trip looks like a lovely locale.
 

marcy

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Hi NIRDIs!

Jimmianne, I am glad you enjoyed the tour of art studios. It would be interesting to see where everyone creates their masterpieces. Your cranberry crackers look delicious and those roses in the background are gorgeous. I so agree too much salt cannot be undone in a recipe. I am staying warm but my laundry is larger than normal – I am wearing 2 shirts and a sweater every day. I am enjoying all the holiday pictures too. I am missing my camera; I don’t have a SD card reader in my new laptop and Santa is supposed to bring me the adapters I need but I’ve missed taking pictures. I can try a few ornaments with my phone though.

Missy, sending good luck dust to Greg. Good plan to not open the door to someone you don’t know even if Greg is home. I am sure our guys can take care of themselves but we don’t want them in danger either.

Sorry to hear about your mom’s friend and the lady on the coop board. It is never easy.

Scandi, I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope she is doing better soon. Big hugs to you and her.

Not much going on here today. No snow on the ground but cold and windy. Work was busy so the day zipped by. I met a friend for lunch and came home on time.

I had leftover beef noodle soup for supper. That hit the spot on a chilly night.

Marty has his strength training buddies here again tonight. I sure hate hearing those darned weights hitting the platform down there. Marty built it up and has padding on it but you know me; I am the nervous type. He’s enjoying having company in his gym though.

I lucked out coming home; I was the first car at every light – zoom I was off when that light changed green. Fun for me.

Take care.
Marcy
 

rainwood

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Missy, I'm sorry to hear of the most recent deaths. And it's okay to be sad - it's almost impossible not to be. These are people who were in your life and now they're gone. It must be really hard for your mom as this was a close friend of hers. And I hope tomorrow goes okay for Greg. Colonoscopies are no fun.

Scandi, I'm sorry about your grandmother not getting the care she needed when she needed it. I hope all continues to go well now that she's had the necessary surgery. Emergency room visits are always a bit of a roll of the dice. One of the reasons I wasn't willing to go when that suitcase hit me in the head.

Jimmianne, love those cranberry crackers. Wish I could eat them, but at least 3 ingredients in them showed up on my allergy tests - the cream cheese, the egg, and the almonds. I was surprised about the last two. I'll have to enjoy the photo instead!

I went to Costco to return a few things I bought (kept the earrings at least for now) and they had the appetizers - mini souffles - I bought two years ago and LOVED but couldn't find last year for my holiday open house. They are like gougeres for those of you who bake. Very tasty. So I bought as many boxes as would fit in my freezer (4) and also some of their Italian meatballs. They were sampling them and they were really tasty - as good as the ones I made from scratch for the open house last year doing all the extra work of soaking the bread in milk, etc. So I'm ready to throw a party! Haven't decorated yet, but may try to get outdoor lights up on Tuesday if it doesn't rain.

Here's today's ornament - the Christmas goose:


That's it for now. Happy Tuesday!

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Scandinavian

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Good morning from Scandinavia :wavey:

I really enjoy all your winter/holiday pictures! Please keep them coming !! :)

Lots of work to do today, I came in late because we had to show up for Santa Lucia with the children first. Do you have that tradition? With the candles etc?

Tons of hugs! And thank you for all your dust and well wishes for my grandmother, looks like it migth be helping. She is feeling a bit better, but they say she will need some weeks to recover.
 

missy

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Good morning girls!

Marcy, sweet at being the first in line for every light on the way home. Nice way to end your workday. Glad you had a good dinner to help stave off the cold night. We are getting arctic air here by Thursday morning. Brrrrr. Thank you for the good wishes for Greg. Fingers crossed. Like you would be for Marty I am nervous for Greg while he is calm. LOL. Hope today is a good day.

Rainwood, thank you. I feel for my mom but she seemed better yesterday. It is hard seeing friends pass away especially when her friend already had been through so much losing her dh a few years ago and she barely had time to start her new life. I passed on your good thoughts for Greg today and he says thank you.

Gosh I love Costco so much and glad you stocked up on one of your favorite appetizers they started carrying again. What time is the party and can we come early to help? :dance: :cheeky:

That is a sweet Christmas goose. Much better on the tree in artificial materials then on the plate ready to eat. :halo:

Scandi, glad your grandmother is going to make a full recovery and hope the healing goes smoothly and that she is back in no time to 100%. (((HUGS))).

We are leaving for the hospital soon as we have to be there before 730AM though he is not going to be taken in until 945. Lots of waiting for us today. So I am going to have to practice being patient. Not one of my strengths especially when I am nervous. ::)

Have a good day girls! :wavey:
 

MarionC

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Scandi, not to be frivolous about your Grandmother but my first thought was she needs some Christmas bling! Tell more about the Santa Lucia, please.

Rainwood, thank you for posting an ornament every day. It's good for the holiday spirit. I'm sorry you can't eat the crackers. When you told me that I thought of the MacDonalds in France where you ordered your food from an interactive screen and tell it your allergies. It then tells you if your choices are safe. We need that here.

I really enjoyed teaching the class yesterday. The women were very receptive and came up with some fun things. They said usually their visiting artists do a demo - but I wanted them to do the work and they had a great time. We are meeting again after the holidays.
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Hi Missy, you are posting while I'm writing : ) The East Coast is up and awake!
I'll hang out with you while you wait, OK?
 
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