Now I really did it :((

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

Yesterday was absolutely vile, it rained non stop from morning til night. GOS (good old sausage ) took Dottie out on his own to save me from getting soaked, so I got on with some housework and laundry while they were out.

@Scandinavian you're earrings are stupendous, so glad they arrived safely and you were lucky enough to have Missy to help you find the perfect pair. Wear them in good health and enjoy.

@marcy I'm glad you've had some reassurance from the eye Doc, and that things will be monitored more regularly from now on. We take our sight for granted, so of course it's frightening when things aren't right. Happy that Marty has at last been reimbursed his expenses, hopefully future claims will be processed quicker.

@junebug17 fingers, toes and eyes crossed the condo works out for your brother and that you haven't been called for jury service. DH got called 3 times, to the Old Bailey in London, he went looking very establishment, and twice was immediately rejected by the defence counsel

@PierreBear the photo is stunning, hope you're enjoying Palm Springs, we always meant to visit, but didn't ever get there. Everything crossed you find your perfect OEC.

Dottie was sick this morning, (both ends ) so has been starved and is decidedly not happy, I'm just about to give her some scrambled eggs, poor thing, those big sad eyes keep looking at me I wish I could explain its for her own good.

Hope you're being thoroughly spoiled on your special day Missy.

Big wave to Callie, Rainwood, Pinto and Dancing Fire

 

[azstonie]

ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY! HAVE A PARTY! HAVE A GOOD TIME! MAKE IT COUNT!!!

 

[CJ2008]

OMG I would have been so upset if I missed wishing you a happy birthday missy.

Missy you are truly special.

Hugs and hearts and kisses.

We all love you so much!

 

[CJ2008]

The rest of the NIRDIs, hi!

I haven't made time to post here lately I've been preoccupied with kitty issues and posting huge long posts on that LOL

But hi everyone!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, I hope you have a wonderful birthday. You are very welcome for the birthday poem. You always great us with one so naturally I wanted to write one for you.
See that would be a good excuse to come visit you and Greg - Marty we have to go get my checked by a real specialist that Missy knows.
Thank you for all the tips on evaluating OEC.

Austina, I love your poem and cute Happy Birthday Kitty picture.
Glad that GOS took Dottie out in the pouring rain for you. I hope the rain lets us soon.
I think vision or heart would be the 2 biggest things I would freak out about; they are both so important.

Junebug, I hope you guys liked the condo and got made an offer put in that gets accepted. Good luck not getting picked for jury duty. Vision is something we shouldn't take for granted. My new normal isn't great but hopefully I find some work arounds for it.

Hi everyone who stopped by! It's good to see you here.

We had a crisis going on when I got here at work this morning. Luckily we only put the fire out; we didn't cause it. About 2 hours later though another issue came up that one of my employees caused so that took up the rest of my morning.

Since all of my reports at work at either lined or in a grid I decided I will just go on disability and told my girl friend I planned on living off her tax money. Ha! Actually I took a break between each report and found if I hold them in my lap the lines aren't as wavy and the greyed out smudged part isn't as obvious. At least now I know why I always said my left eye never seems to have the right prescription in my glasses.

We are in the 60's today and rainy here. I have on a winter sweater at work; it's always chilly with the AC.

Marty has his air compressor plugged in to something in the garage and that sucker kicked on this morning while I was in the shower and freaked me out. I have no idea why it is plugged in and turned on but oh well; at least it wasn't something wrong. I'm going WTH is that? Our sprinklers were running and at first I thought a pipe was struggling to come on and I had visions of the sprinkler system blowing up.

Have a great evening.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Thank you all for the lovely thoughts and wishes and generous comments. I read each and everyone of them more than once and it really touches my heart. Thank you so much!

Junie, thank you sweetheart for the happy birthday wishes. Thinking of you and hoping things work out sooner rather than later. Sending good sale and purchase dust your way.

Kristie thank you sweetie for your lovely birthday wishes and I hope you are feeling all better today. So sorry you were dealing with such a bad headache most of the week. Headaches can be awful. Sending healing dust and feeling well vibes your way.

LLJsmom speaking of healing vibes I hope L is feeling much better than yesterday and I am keeping her in my thoughts and prayers. (((HUGS))).

Austina thank you again for the lovely wishes and your wonderful poem and kitty picture. It means so much to me. (((Hugs))).
I am sorry your sweet Dottie was sick yesterday. How is she feeling today? I hope she is better today. And I am sending healing vibes her way too.

CJ2008 thank you sweetheart...you are so kind and generous and your words brought tears to my eyes. Love you too.
I am so happy that it is working out with the kitty you rescued. I am thinking of you both and sending lots of good thoughts and (((hugs))) and love your way.

PierreBear thank you so much. I hope you are having a fantastic trip in San Diego (love San Diego) and when you are ready please contact me at the above link in my last post. The more OECs you see the better you know what you love and want in an OEC of your own. It is definitely a learning curve and a work in progress and you might find you love many flavors of OECs. I do.

Marcy Glad that air compressor Marty left plugged in was nothing more serious OMG I could see the sprinklers releasing tons of water now. LOL you and I have similar worst scenario thoughts. Yet another thing we have in common. Our imagination runs wild doesn't it? I am so sorry you are dealing with this eye issue and I wish I could make it all better for you. But I am always here for you and if there is anything I can ever do please do not hesitate to ask OK. You know I mean it. And if you want to come here and see a retinal specialist I will take care of everything. Sorry about the ongoing work crises but yay for putting out the fires and not starting them. That's the way to do it.

Marcy, I will cherish that poem you wrote. The words brought happy tears to my eyes and touched my heart and it means so much to me that you wrote it for me. Everyone who takes the time and energy to share here-means more than I can say. And you have been here through it all my dear friend. I hope we always have more happy to share than sad but no matter what we are here for each other. Joys doubled and sorrow halved. NIRDIs are there for each other always. (((HUGS))).

We had a wonderful day yesterday. Cycling, shopping, eating and spending the day together. In other words no difference than most days we are at the beach haha but that is the perfect day for me. I am lucky because every day is special when I am with my sweet dh so I guess birthdays are not very different for me. Plus I am boring and a homebody so I like doing what I like even if it is the same thing every day.

Off to cycle soon before it gets too hot. Have a lovely Friday girls and sending big hugs to each and everyone of you and again thank you to everyone who sent me special birthday wishes and good thoughts and love. Right back at ya! I am so lucky to have each of you in my life and I love you girls.

 

[junebug17]

Hi everyone!

Missy, I'm so glad you had a lovely birthday at the beach doing all the things you love, including spending time with your sweet dh! Sounds like a perfect day! You deserve every joy life has to offer! I hope the fun continues and you have a wonderful weekend.

Marcy, sorry about your emergencies at work, I'll bet you're happy it's Friday! And you must have been so startled by that compressor turning on, yikes. I'm glad you found a way to make reading reports a little easier. Your poem to Missy is excellent!

CJ, sending lots of good thoughts to you, I know you have your hands full and I hope you are doing ok. You're doing such a great thing by caring for this kitty.

Austina, I'm so sorry Dottie has been sick, poor thing. I do hope she's feeling better by now. Your poem to Missy is very good and so sweet! LOL to dh dressing conservatively and being promptly excused, great idea

Luckily I never got called on to actually report...kind of a relief, I have so much going on right now. I'm not against doing my civic duty lol, but not having to go through a trial right now does make my life a bit easier.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

Happy to report that Dottie is fine today, must've been a 24 hr bug thankfully.

So glad you had a lovely day @missy I think you get to a point in life where is nice to go out, but staying in with the one you love is just as much fun Either that, or we're getting old

Glad you had a lucky escape @junebug17 , you've got enough on your plate at the moment without getting called for a potentially long and complicated trial.

Hope your daughter is recovering well @LLJsmom and not in pain.

Why do things always happen when you're own your own @marcy ? Having a husband who's away such a lot, certainly makes you resourceful. I'm sorry you're still dealing with stresses at work


Hi @PierreBear @azstonie and @CJ2008 hope you're all well and looking forward to the weekend

 

[LLJsmom]

Hi Friends,

@missy I totally missed your b-day. So sorry. I hope it was a really good day! Did you and Greg had time to spend together? What did you do if you feel like sharing? I'm so sorry about your toe. Not knowing for sure what is going on is so frustrating! I hope that it does not impede you from biking.

@junebug17 Sorry about that condo falling through. Ugh. Sucks. Real estate is like that. You can be THAT close and something happens. One time, my parents were on the brink of closing on a purchase, and the couple that was selling, who were getting divorced, decided to rethink. Didn't see THAT coming. Are you in jury duty? The doc that operated on L was almost called into jury duty this week. We are lucky that didn't happen.

@marcy So sorry about the eye. I think someone else also said that vision is one of those things you don't appreciate until you lose it. I am glad that you can still see normally. It's just weird. A couple of years ago, I got this bubble of fluid in my left eye, that is a little swollen and pink, that is still there. @missy saw it and asked. One doctor was worried that it could be cancer, and I never did get it checked. But it has remained unchanged for several years, and it doesn't affect my vision. My other optometrist said it was nothing to worry about. They tried to reduce it with some medication, and it's still there. I guess we will leave it for now. If it ain't toooo broke... I am sending you healing and normal vibes, that nothing gets worse and it is something you can live with.

@Scandinavian that studs ROCK!! Literally! They look amazing on you and what presence! Can't miss them. Yes, if you have Adam and Missy there, you can't go wrong. Hope you can wear them all day everyday. They are just amazing!!!!

@PierreBear I know the temptation that is the Single Stone showroom. Ugh. I remember so clearly, the hours I spent there. Their Sydnee held the top spot in my heart as my dream setting since 2012, until Victor's creation supplanted it. But I know it's so easy to just go with them if they have exactly the setting you want. And I loved the OEC they had in it. It was a GIA J, VS1 (or VVS...), over 3.5 carats, and it was stunning. However, when you think about the price, you need to be ok paying the premium. The setting itself, alone, platinum, no diamonds, $6750, today's prices. Back in 2012, it was $4750. At that price, I had to wait. I'm glad I did. Because now with the stone I have, I wanted a setting that would protect my stone more. The "dream" SS setting was a four double prong solitaire which would not have given me the protection that my mind needed.

I see that you contacted Adam, which really would give you more to choose from. And if after you have reviewed his options, and still love the SS stone and setting, you can always go back to that ring. Also, seeing Adam's prices, you will be able to compare them to the SS prices. In a completed ring, I think a large portion of the total cost is for the setting. If you want another set of eyes to look at any stones, Missy can give you my contact info too. I am very excited for you and the process of finding the perfect OEC for you. It's definitely more of an art than a science. There will be "the one" for you.

I have been kinda crazy here. My DD on Tuesday had oral surgery and she is definitely still in recovery mode. It's was very hard the first 60 hours. It seemed to be getting infected, and she was nauseous, in pain, groggy, running a high fever and coughing. So far, she has taken Motrin, hydrocodone, Amoxicillian, regular Tylenol, Delsum, Benadryl, and now a new antibiotic, Clindamycin, since the Amoxicillian didn't seem to work that well. Today she is more alert, and there is less redness and the fever has been lower. She's been willing to eat more, but only chicken noodle soup, jello and yogurt. I think we are turning the corner today. Thanks to @azstonie for being my on-call nurse and feeding me all the crucial questions to ask and things to request on a daily basis. Thank you ladies for thinking about LL. Your positive thoughts sustain me.

Thank you and catch up with you all soon.

 

[marcy]

HI NIRDIs!

Missy, yes our imaginations do run wild. Of course something would have to the house when Marty is out of town too. I’d never worry about that kind of stuff if Marty was here.
Thank you for thinking of me with my eye issue. I have been reading a lot about it online and am working on accepting they can’t fix it or help it. My biggest worry is that since there is more scar tissue it will continue to clump and get worse. I also wish I knew what triggered it to clump; probably time but I am stewing that it might continue. It seems like it just got bad overnight. It sure explains things I’ve noticed for years. I noticed the double lines down the middle of the highway were a wavy trip today. I am considering seeing a retinal specialist but since you agree with my optometrist I guess I’ll wait and see if it continues to change.
Today was much better at work - no fires. Woo hoo!
I am delighted to hear you will cherish the birthday poem I wrote for you. I enjoyed writing it. I like what you said about joys doubled and sorrow halved. Yes, NIRDIs are there for each other and that is so nice.
Yes, you did have a perfect birthday. That is awesome. I hope you had fun cycling today.

Junebug, that stupid compressor kicked on again this morning but it didn’t freak me out this time. Maybe I’ll shut it off. Ha!
I am delighted it is Friday. I have limited plans for the weekend but hopefully I won’t be dialing in to work.
That’s a good deal you didn’t get called in for jury duty.
I hope the condo purchase and house purchase go through quickly and without issue.

Austina, I am glad to hear Dottie is better today.
The last time Marty was gone this much was 4 years ago. I do what a must though.

LLJsmom, I really can’t see normally but I know it could be way worse. Oh no to the bubble of fluid in your eye; the human body can sure develop some strange things. Good luck with that. Thanks for sending me healing vibes.
I hate to hear LL has had a rough couple of days but I am glad to hear she is getting better. Tell her I’m thinking of her and give her big hugs.

We had a serious but brief rain storm tonight. It rained for only about 20 minutes but water was running down the streets.

I met a friend for lunch which broke up my work day. Woo hoo!

I don’t have much planed for the weekend. If I wanted to spend money I’d go shopping but I probably should resist the temptation.

Have a great weekend.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Happy Caturday Saturday!

Marcy so happy for you that your Friday workday went well and that you enjoyed meeting a friend for lunch. Way to break up the workday for sure. Glad the rainstorm last night was brief and no flooding occurred. Bah to that silly compressor. Don't worry about your eye sweetie. Just keep a careful watch (haha watch) on it and hopefully it will remain stable...but yes I definitely like the idea of getting a retinal specialist to evaluate it. Your eye doctor sounds quite good and I am not taking anything away from him but a specialist well specializes in this specific field of study so might know more and/or have some clearer idea of progression and treatment plan. Or he/she might concur but in any case it wouldn't hurt. Perhaps after your 3 month follow up with your optometrist you can decide if that is something you want to do. (((Hugs))).

Junie thank you so much for all your good wishes and kindness. You are such a dear. You deserve all the joy life has to offer as well and in fact you are all so special and I cannot believe how lucky we are to have found each other in an online forum. Sending you more good vibes for the sale of your mother's house and your brother's purchase of the perfect home. And so glad you weren't called up for jury duty to serve on a trial. That is the last thing you needed right now and so happy you were able to escape that.

Austina so glad Dottie is all better woohoo!!! And yes we are (I am at least!) getting old. I am now 25 (in reverse ) and wow where did the years (decades) fly? OMG yes it is going sooooo fast.

LLJsmom so happy to hear L is doing better. Continued healing vibes and hugs her way! And thank you for your birthday wishes. No worries after over 5 decades of birthdays it really isn't a big deal. Though I guess every year we reach now is considered a milestone for having survived this long. Long may that continue for all of us!

Sharing some new Bea videos I took yesterday after our bike ride and Costco trip right before dinner. I tried calling 2 of my NIRDI girlfriends when we got back from cycling and errands but no one was available to chat so I decided OK, time for bling videos hahaha. Have to make good use of downtime right? So I took 5 short Bea videos and I think they all turned out pretty good especially for me because I am a terrible photo and video taker and using my iPhone since I don't own a real camera. She can be quite the looker though it truly depends on the environment. She seems to prefer the Beach just like the kitties.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXqxdc5AiyZ/?taken-by=missylovesvintage


So, we have been given an unexpected reprieve in the forecast today with a window for cycling woohoo!
We are off in a while to cycle b/w rainstorms today. Enjoy your day girls!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, Caturday. Ha Ha.
I am going to check my vision every week with one of the Amsler grids. If i see any change I'll get in to my eye doctor and find a retinal specialist.
Your Bea video is fabulous. Bea is certainly photogenic.
That's great your weather cleared enough today for cycling.

I got up at my normal time today since my cleaning lady should have been coming. I was wrong. She never responded to my text yesterday. Sigh.

I ran some errands first thing this morning and worked on laundry. There is way less laundry with Marty in LA. He said he did laundry today too. I was like "ha!".

I went back out for lunch then planned on staying in from the storms but had to run in to work for a little bit since my dial in access kept kicking me off. I beat the storm home though. We had lots of lightning and quite a bit of rain again.

I saw Marty bought something at Macy's so I told him "I see you bought me a teddy bear at Macy's." Strangely he responded "uh huh". Darn it; no new teddy bear for me.

Have a fabulous day!
Marcy

 

[junebug17]

Hey there everyone!

Missy, I feel the same way about you - I am so thankful and happy to have made such a great friend as you! Glad to hear that the weather held out so that you and Greg could fit in a bike ride LOVE the videos of Bea!! Her faceting is just gorgeous and she is so sparkly and vibrant and alive - such a joy to look at!

Austina, so glad to hear Dottie is feeling better!

Marcy, good idea to keep checking your vision for changes. I'm glad you're getting good care and your eye doctor is keeping on top of things. I like the idea of seeing a specialist too. I'm sorry these eye issues flared up so quickly on you. Sending lots of good wishes that your eyesight remains stable; hang in there and try not to worry. I'm glad you met a friend for lunch, sounds like fun. I hope you aren't bugged by work this weekend, and that the weather improves for you - those storms sound pretty bad! I hope you're enjoying your weekend and relaxing a little.

Oh no to the compressor going off again!! At least now you know what it is now haha. And darn that it wasn't a bear that Marty bought at Macy's - although maybe he was just faking you out lol.

LLJsmom, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry your poor dd has been having such a rough time recovering from the surgery! It's very hard to see our kids in pain and I'm so glad she's heading in the right direction. I hope she continues recovering quickly and is back to normal very soon. Hugs to all, I know it's been hard on everyone.

Dh is still away so I'm just catching up on laundry and I plan on cooking some things for ds and I to eat during the week. Felt kind of drained today for some reason so I'm actually looking forward to going to bed lol!

Have a great night all!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

NIRDI!! After hiking in the mountains, I developed a Bakers cyst behind my right knee. While it has subsequently erupted, it has left me in pain and rather incapacitated. And I thought exercise was supposed to be good for me!! Of course, it has been a very busy week but I am unable to go to a big fun event today because I can't walk or stand for long periods.

Happy belated birthday Missy--my son's BD was yesterday.

Marcy--hope your eye improves.

JuneB--keep up the good work on your Mother's estate! End is in sight!

hello to all other NIRDIS.

cheers--Sharon

 

[junebug17]

Oh no Sharon, I'm sorry!!! Sending tons of healing vibes to you, I hope you heal quickly and are feeling better soon.

 

[missy]

Good afternoon girls!

Sharon I am so sorry about your Baker's cyst and pain and sending bucket loads of healing dust your way. Yes exercise is often *not* good for us. I mean most of my health issues are all exercise (i.e. bicycling) related. Grrrrr.
Happy birthday to your son who is a fellow Leo. Hope he is enjoying a Rooooarrrrrrring fun weekend. Thank you for your birthday wishes.
I hope you feel lots better very soon. (((Hugs))).

Marcy, I am sorry the cleaning lady was MIA this weekend. And doubly sorry Marty's purchase wasn't a teddy bear for you. I think you should choose the one you want and order it for yourself. He's away and it can be a consolation prize till he returns.
Ha to Marty having to do his own laundry while he is away. Give you a break. Yesssss. Checking your eye with Amsler Grid every week is definitely the smart thing to do. Thank you for watching my Bea videos and enjoying them. We sure love our bling. Hope you are enjoying a lovely Sunday.

Junie hi there. Thank you sweetie. Mutual lovefest. I hope you did all your chores and are enjoying a peaceful and restful weekend. I hear you on looking forward to bed. Generally I start doing that by 7PM most days.


We enjoyed an early cycling ride and hit over 1K on the new recumbent tandem trike. Woohoo. And we did 700 miles on Calfee so far this year (before we got our tandem trike) so we are almost up to 1800 miles. However, sadly, we are far behind our cycling mileage compared to the previous 2 years but hey I am doing the best I can and that's something given all the recent health challenges. So I am not complaining. I am grateful I can still cycle and hope that long continues. Fingers crossed.




Greg started working on a new canopy for me with more opaque spf material but the sewing machine broke so he wasn't able to finish it. Hopefully he will be able to finish it in Brooklyn with the sewing machine there though I have no idea how he will find the time so I am not counting on it.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday.

 

[PierreBear]

Hey Ladies! I certainly missed ya'll!! I'm back from our trip, visiting family. It was great to escape the heat but learned that there are hotter areas than Texas. Palm Springs feels like being out with a hair dryer constantly going on your face! I feel like a new woman, trying out uber and lyft for the first time (to and from the airport) and had my first Acaci bowl and Poke bowl. Behind the times but understand what the delicious hype is about now! Came home though to a lot of cat throw up. I'm a bit worried that he's not eating, which is so unusual for him as he's the type of cat who doesn't know how to graze and will eat non-stop. I borrowed some cat food from my neighbor and he wasn't interested in eating that either. Hopefully it's just an adjustment period of being by himself and nothing serious?!

@marcy - I love your sassy comment about your nephew wanting some bacon and eggs for breakfast but you encouraged him to help himself! Cooking is a great life skill and now the growing boy can eat all the bacon he can cook. haha!

How is your knitting project coming along? DH once got me a sewing machine at a garage sale as I had the endeavors to try and hem my own items. Got lessons from my mother in law but just never practiced it and by the time I actually needed to hem something, I forgot how to get started! Impressed that you can knit! I'm sure you have some other hidden talents up your sleve as well.

Goregous collection! When do you wear your RB versus your EC? Love how you have a set of earrings that go with both!

@junebug17 - Thanks for sharing those bling pictures. Really enjoying your nail polish as well. I'm impressed as I'm right handed and can paint my life hand decently well but the right one looks pretty awful so I end up just adding color to my toes.

@Scandinavian - Love the sleeping puppy picture.

@missy - Thanks for sharing the general concepts to guide with the OEC search. I def need all the help I can get so I'm more than thankful for an expert looking at it with me.

Glad that you are still cycling! You are a cycling machine and 1800 miles is amazing! I can't wait to see the new canopy that your DH will make. How about the next one he can use fabric with some cat designs on it?

@Austina - Thanks for the compliment on my fingers. I have my mom to thank for that attribute. By the way, I don't think you were missing too much with Palm Springs due to the weather. However, they do have very neat architecture. There were a lot of houses with the mid century look. There is also an aerial tram that takes you up to San Jacinto mountains. Other than that, I'm scratching my head on why people would want to retire there as it was one of the hottest places I've ever been to before. Beautiful but hard to enjoy the outdoors.

@LLJsmom - Hello hello and thanks for sharing your SS experience. Their showroom is goregous and I was able to try on quite a few rings though kept going back to the Arielle setting. I wish I took pictures of their other rings to share with ya'll but DH and I were focused on figuring out next steps than just taking in the whole experience. My apologies ladies! Anyhow, I have known that SS has a premium but is that just with the setting or is there a markup with the diamonds as well? I def would love to chat with both you and Missy offline as I am just so nervous and want to fall in love with the ring the way you do and not have any regrets!

So sorry to hear about DD's surgery. The recovery process must be hard as I can only imagine how tiring eating only soft foods can get. I didn't see that ice cream was on the list though?! hehe

@canuk-gal - Oh my gosh so sorry to hear about your cyst erupting. That sounds absolutely painful and terrifying! What are your next steps for recovering? Wishing you well and hope that you can get back onto your feet for hiking!

Hope ya'll had a great Sunday and hello to anyone that I might have accidentally missed out on!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Junebug, I hope you had a relaxing day. Did you cook some meals up for the week? It’s nice to get some food ready ahead of time.
Thanks for the well wishes for my vision. I think my vision changed within the last 6 months and now that I’m “checking” it more I am noticing it more. I kept thinking it was the crappy monitors at work and maybe needing new glasses.
Sadly I had to work for a while this morning but it’s been quiet the rest of the day.
I can’t believe Marty has gone shopping in LA 2 days in a row and didn’t buy me a new teddy bear. His rabbits might get banned to the man cave this week.

Sharon, I am so sorry to hear about the cyst on the backside of your knee. Sending you healing dust and get well wishes. Do you have to take it easy for a week or so?

Missy, ooh I like ordering myself a new bear. He can take up residence on the couch. Ha!
Looking at the grid isn’t very fun for me but I know I should do it. Of course most of my reports at work are lined or have grids. I took off as many as I could on Friday and it kind of helped me.
I watched your Bea video more than once; it is so pretty. Yes, we do love our bling.
Woo hoo to over 1000 miles on your new tandem trike and for cycling over 1800 miles this season. Did your rash flare up again from riding? I sure hope not.

PierreBear, oh no to coming home to a sick cat. I hope it is just he’s upset you guys were gone and he’s doing way better now.
Your trip sounds fun but too bad it was so hot where you went.
LOL about my comment to my nephew; I am a firm believer in encouraging people to learn to do things for themselves.
I’ve been working on my scarf quite a bit. I put it up Friday night believing the cleaning lady would be coming Saturday. I may as well get it back out. Plus it keeps me off my iPad. I can sew but it was never a favorite hobby. My mother and my 2 sisters was / are amazing seamstresses. I picked easy patterns most of the time but I can sew if necessary.
Oh and trust me I always have something up my sleeve. It keeps Marty on his toes.
I wear my EC are a RHR. Since EC are my favorite shape I don’t know why I didn’t go for an EC for my ering instead of the ACA but I wanted to make sure I got a keeper.

I slept in today; that was divine.
I dialed in to take care of a few things for work.
I made some ribs and cheesy potatoes for supper and have 4 lunches left out of that. Sweet.
I rented “Snatched” today. It wasn’t bad; it was entertaining anyway.
Back to my book now. I am reading the latest Michael Connelly book “The Late Show”. It is pretty good.
We had another brief rainstorm with maybe more expected tonight. I guess the wet weather is moving out in a few days though.
I practiced taking pictures of the Sun and figured I need way more practice at that. I bought a screw in solar filter for it but if I put it on over my UV filter I get a reflection in my images. That UV filter and filter adapter are both kind of skinny so it's hard to get the UV filter off - I solved that problem by ordering another adapter from Amazon. $9.95 wasn't too much to make my life easier.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning girls!

Who knew a puppy could be so much work??? LOL I did. But not sure if I remembered to remind DH of that before we bought T. Maybe his name should be changed to Trouble? Hahaha. He is a good boy, and I don’t mind much during the day – though it makes working impossible – and that is starting to be a big problem! But I’m getting better at speed working during his nap times. There is always a silver lining! I do wish the carpenters would get getter at sped working though. Feels like the “finishing touches” are taking forever. They estimated 2 more weeks of nitty-gritty this morning so I just said no. We’. Se. Perhaps they scare easy and are actually capable of working faster. Most people are, I think. Marcy, any tips?? LOL.

Reminds me of that old joke: about the two men in the desert (should be jungle, shouldn’t it?? What would a lion eat in the desert?) that are spotted by a lion. One of the men stop to put on his sneakers. The second man ask why, as it will not help him outrun the lion. The first man answers that he does not need to outrun the lion, only the other man… Oh well. Perhaps I should buy a lion to stand guard over the workers. He might make them work faster or at least longer days…

Anyways! The house will be finished soon! The new part, that is. Renovations of the old part is starting soon, hopefully next week. So we will spend the weekend moving from the old part and into the new one, I think. I seriously look forward to Christmas in the finished house

I have been meaning to write a travel letter but the time just - pofh! At least let me start one! Los Angeles was nice. I could not live there, but for a weekend trip, I think the city was pretty perfect. I need my countryside LOL. The last day there, DH and the children wanted to do some sightseeing, and as the genius that I am, I said yes, and half way there asked the driver to stop – come on. Rodeo Drive wins over the Hollywood sign! Hahaha. So I got 3 hours to myself and some shopping. Didn’t really plan on buying anything, but stopped by Dolce & Gabbana so that plan failed. But I was a good girl! I only bough 1 dress, and not even the shoes to match! Admittedly, only because they did not have a purse/bag that I liked that matched the shoes, but still! It’s the result that counts!! LOL. But oh that dress!! So lovely!! A typical Dolce dress, with flower print and a sweetheart neckline, corset style top and a flowing skirt. Can’t really blame me, can you??

The first day in LA, we went to Disney Land. The children had a fantastic time! I had a really good time too, don’t get me wrong. But as most of the rides are child friendly, the adrenaline rush was not too much for me, LOL. One of the rides was a blast though! A space rocket kind of thing where the roller coaster was combined with a 3D movie that surrounded the whole roller coaster and made it feel like you were traveling between the stars . Fun!

The second day was even better: Universal studios. OMG so much fun! I could have gone there again even without the children! The special effects were unbelievable! Seriously! The roller coasters were also here combined with 3D movies. Plus special effects such as water splashing, wind cannons, actual heat producing “explosions”, and you have pretty nice ride! LOL. And don’t forget the dinosaurs that came through the roof.

Harry Potter castle – Hogwarts – was the best though! The light show on the castle at night was pretty special. Looked like a 3D lightshow though I have no idea how they made that snake circle around the castle or the birds fly off like that! Truly spectacular!

Have to go take care of T now, nap time over. But will be back, hopefully later today!

Hugs!

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

So sorry to hear about your knee @canuk-gal, that sound really nasty, I hope it's not feeling so painful today and is soon healed. Yep, exercise is definitely bad for you - that's how I shredded the cartilage in my knee!

I've always said Disney/Universal is wasted on children @Scandinavian You have confirmed my thoughts that puppies are hard work, and pre-loved is the way for us

Thanks for the heads up on Palm Springs @PierreBear , I can cross that off the list now. Did you say you lived near/in Austin? Sorry to hear about puss, hope it's all recovered well.

Hope you're feeling more rested @junebug17 and have slept well over the weekend.

Boo to having to work over the weekend @marcy I hope they appreciate you. I'm glad you're able to take steps to help you cope. Hopefully Marty will surprise you with a teddy on his return

Hopefully your DD is recovery well @LLJsmom with no lingering infection from the surgery.

The video of Bea @missy, if I could figure out how to upload a video to instagram, I'd finally be able to show you all how sparkly my ring is, it looks so flat and dull in photos. Wowser on covering so many miles, don't beat yourself up on it not being as much as last year, it's an amazing achievement. Hoping the rash isn't being a (literal) pain.

We've had a quiet weekend, just pottering about and walking with Dottie.

Big wave to @azstonie and @CJ2008

 

[junebug17]

Hi everyone - leaving for my mother's in a while, and have some things to get done before I go, but wanted to pop in and touch base -

Missy, congrats on the miles you've cycled! I'm glad that the recumbent trike has worked out so well and you are still able to do something you love so much.

PierreBear, good to hear you had a nice trip! Although yes, definitely too hot a place to live full-time. I'm sorry your kitty is out of sorts and I hope she starts feeling better very soon.

Marcy, sorry you had to deal with work over the weekend, but yay for sleeping in. I cooked some things to have for dinner during the week - veggies, brown rice, and a few chicken dishes. Hopefully it will get us through the week lol. I enjoy Michael Connelly books and have read a lot of them, I should get back into them.

Scandi, yes, a puppy is a lot of work! It's like caring for a small child lol - hang in there, it will get easier but I know you have your hands full right now. Sorry things are moving slowing with the finishing touches, I'm sure you are so anxious to be done and settled in your new living space. Hopefully we'll see some pictures!! Your trip sounds wonderful, you saw and did a lot of things! I'm glad you were able to do some shopping on Rodeo drive, very fun! I love the Harry Potter ride too, it's amazing.

Austina, I think your rings pics came out great! I know what you mean though, hard to capture that sparkle sometimes. I adore your ring. Glad you had a nice, quiet weekend, imo they are the best ones!

Sharon, hope you are doing ok.

LLJsmom, I hope DD is feeling much better by now.

My weekend was ok - I won't bore you guys with details but this house sale is not going smoothly and honestly the stress of everything is starting to get to me. Feeling lousy physically and having bad dreams. Just stress related. I know there's an end in sight but right now it seems like it's very far away. I'm plugging along and doing my best but to be frank this just sucks. Ok, thanks for attending my pity party ha. And for letting me vent!

Ok, better get going, I hope everyone has a good day!

 

[missy]

Hello girls! Just got back to NYC and settling in here with the kitties. It's always an adventure coming back lol. Hope everyone is having a nice Monday.

Marcy yay for sleeping in and not being bothered (too much) by work. Glad you are enjoying reading a new book and also got to watch a movie. I have not read that book nor seen that movie. I am glad you got the UV filter to make your life safer and easier. I ordered new Maui Jim Sunglasses with the new blue hawaii lenses this AM. 2 pairs since I wasn't sure which one I would like (or either) since I didn't get to try them on. I ordered from Zappos so hopefully returns aren't difficult if I don't like one or both pairs. And that darn NYC tax. Grrrr $50 just for tax pisses me off since so many other states don't have to pay sales tax when ordering online. NYC people do though. It seems we get the short end of the stick always. More expensive to live here and buy things too. Oh well.

Hope your Monday is going well.

Junie I am sorry the sale is not going smoothly and it is understandable the stress is great and you are feeling overwhelmed and having bad dreams. Keep telling yourself one day at a time and this will pass. You know we are always here for you and vent away. Remember sorrows shared are sorrows halved and we are intent on making those sorrows and stress disappear for you. (((HUGS))). One day at a time and this will pass!

Scandi puppy love is worth all the work. Oh I want a sweet puppy of my own to hug and kiss and love! My mean dh. Grrrrrr. No JK I know he isn't mean he is right. We cannot have a puppy now with 4 high maintenance kitties. But one day....Please hug and kiss your puppies (both of them please!) for me.

Austina your rings are gorgeous. Please download a video to IG and share the link here. If I can do it anyone can honestly! I just take a video from my phone and then hit the + sign on IG and voila it's downloaded on IG. I agree with Junie. Quiet weekends are the best.

PierreBear so glad you enjoyed a lovely trip. I hope your sweet kitty is feeling better. It is hard on our fur babies when we are gone. They don't understand why or when we are returning. (((HUGS))).

Have a good Monday girls!

 

[Austina]

I'm obviously doing something wrong I've uploaded the video to instagram but when I click on the 3 dots, it's not coming up with copy link.

 

[PierreBear]

Happy Monday! I’ve got a cat update. Turns out he wasn’t interested in eating dry food but didn’t mind a little bit of tuna. I even mixed around the tuna with some of his dry kibble. The little fancy cat ate around the tuna and only minimally ate his dry food. This morning though, he wouldn’t eat the dry food out of his auto feeder but would eat out of my hand and in a different bowl. I called the vet and she said he might have associated “nausea/bad feelings” with the auto feeder and might not want to be there. The goal is to get him to eat anything right now until his irritable bowel syndrome calms down. Just a suspicion and I hope it will just be some TLC until the inflammation goes down and he’s back together. My cat says “meow” and thanks for all the well wishes to ya’ll!

I’m attaching some animal/creature discoveries from the trip. Seals from La Jolla cave in San Diego. Also we went tide pooling and each little crevice was like its own aquarium. Pretty neat! Enjoy!





@marcy – Wow I dream of the time to wear a scarf. It’s still way too dreadfully hot over here. Hope you take pictures of it when it’s complete. I’ll have to agree that I love the shape of ECs and other step cuts but I can’t deny the bling and sparkle of OECs. Aww heck, I haven’t really met any diamond I haven’t liked!

@Scandinavian – Good joke! I’ll have to use that sometime. I didn’t realize that you were in LA as well. We did completely different activities though. Went to the Getty museum and the Broad museum. Checked out Venice beach and rented bikes and road along the boardwalk. We drove through Rodeo Drive but didn’t stop into the stores. I think you owe us a picture of your Dolce dress!!! Sounds like a great vacation!!

@Austina – Yes, I live in Austin. It’s been home for over 10 years now but it feels like a very different city with all the new changes.

Don’t feel bad about Instagram. I have an account but never post it. In fact, Singlestone sent me a video of a stone and it took me a good while before I found out where it is. I haven’t delved into how to post my own videos but I tend to use you tube as a tool. “how to do x, y, z” and then someone walks you through it. Can’t wait to see your sparkly ring!

@junebug17 – So sorry that the house sale is not going well. I know when we were going through condo renovation/sales it really impacted my mental health as well so you aren’t the only one. It’s a big overwhelming burden but we know you can do it! Keep on going!

@missy – You are right that avoiding sales tax goes a long way. Hopefully though the sunglasses look so good on you that you will forget about it! It seems like the metallic shades are so popular right now. Is that the kind that you got?

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, your contractors sound like my employees. I know what I’d like to say to them but I prefer not to spend the next few weeks in human resources. That is great your house will be finished soon. How exciting. I’ve heard that joke; it is a good one.
Your time in LA sounds like a lot of fun. You restrained yourself at D&G. I had a copy D&G bag from Hong Kong. It cost me about $35 U.S. dollars. It was purple and that either and or dye stunk to high heaven. It still smelled awful 3 years later so I finally threw it out.

Austina, quiet weekends are always good. When will your pendant and earrings be ready?

Junebug, I hope things get settled and worked out with the house sale; it does suck and I hope it is behind you quickly. Good deal to get some meals for the week; if we are lucky our time in the kitchen will be minimal this week. I think Micheal Connelly writes really well so I’ve read all of his books.

Missy, I am totally with HRH about going back to the city. How exciting to get some new Maui Jim sunglasses. They had them in the optical shop the other day. My sunglasses are Ray Ban and I am going to be more faithful about wearing them. I know my glasses have transitions but I figure the prescription sunglasses might be a little darker. Ugh to $50 sales tax. Wyoming just recently started requiring online sales tax. Darn.

PierreBear, I hope feeding your kitty away from the auto feeder is all he needs. Cats can be temperamental about “their humans” changing things. The cat I had in junior high used to do all sorts of things to me when he realized I was going somewhere. Great critter pictures. I am with you that I like all kinds of diamonds but like RB; all EC are not created alike and some far outshine others. Luckily the one I got is amazing. Other shapes don’t sparkle like a RB but then again other shapes do things a RB can’t do. I’d take any of them. I can’t imagine you’d ever need a knit scarf where you live. I will take a picture when I’m done. It’s going to be my help keep me warm at work scarf.

Not much new here. I worked on reports at work all do so my day went by really fast and I rather enjoyed doing something different. I bought window food on the way home since I didn’t feel like doing dishes.

Marty says this project they are working on doesn’t look like they have a light at the end of the tunnel. I hate to hear that since his company continues to lay people off.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Not much to report this morning just wanted to say hello and wish everyone a lovely Tuesday.

Austina can you open your IG on your laptop and then go to the top heading and copy the link that way and share it here? I don't know the technical terms sorry! But I just go to the top of the page and hit copy (where the https heading is) and then paste the link where I want to share it. If that makes sense. If it doesn't it is because I am doing a horrible job at explaining it.

PierreBear thank you for the wonderful animal/sea creature photos from your trip. Lovely! And hoping for your sweet kitty starts feeling much much better very soon.

Marcy darn Wyoming starting online sales tax too. Man this is going to cut into our purchases I fear. Especially larger ones. Grrrrr. I am glad you enjoyed the HRH video from the car ride back yesterday. LOL she is quite the fierce panther. I wish we could share non IG videos here because I think all the girls would enjoy seeing HRH on my lap roaring.
I am glad your workday went smoothly and quickly but sorry about Marty's company laying more people off. That is scary. Sending you and Marty lots of good luck dust. Yes please make sure to wear your sun protection re glasses and clothing. Those UV rays are damaging. Even on cloudy cold days.

Enjoy your day girls.

 

[missy]

Adding a few pics from the other night. 2 new ferals hanging out in our backyard. I heard some vocal meowing happening and saw these 2 outside. Tommy was watching calmly which is quite unlike him. Usually his tail swells and he gets agitated. I guess he is getting used to the outside visitors finally after all these years.

I just wanted to go outside and protect these feral kitties and take them in but I knew they wouldn't allow me to so all we could do was watch from inside. I am glad at least they feel comfortable hanging around our property and getting nourishment and taking shelter as best they can. Makes me sad but happy at the same time that at least they have somewhat of a (limited) safe haven by us.

 

[Scandinavian]

Hello girls!

I don't even know where to start, I'm so far behind, I feel like if I comment I'll miss half the important things and/or people, and that is no good. But then again, missing everything is probably worse. So here goes!

Missy, I know your ferals have a hard life. But they always look happy at M&Gs bed&breakfast! More to the point, you are doing *everything* you can for them, so nothing more to do than to be happy when you see them enjoying the sun Very happy to read that you had a really good birthday day! I think the nice perfect days without too much ado really are the best. The ones where everything is just right. Can’t get any better than that! Hope your rash is OK and that your toe is starting to behave itself..

Marcy, I’m really sorry to hear that Marty’s job is a little uncertain still. That must be stressful for you both! Luckily, you can never lose yours, or the whole department would probably stop working within three days, LOL. Hope you are having some nice alone time and hopefully some pizza or other takeaway that saves you cooking and dishes. I love pizza but the gluten free one is just not the same so please eat some for me! or some cinnamon buns! Those are just soooooo nice! Perhaps they could be called dinner…. If you eat them with a knife and fork…?

I’ll post and then continue because the doggies are helping me type so I keep losing things..

 

[Scandinavian]

Callie, how are your niece and furbaby? I think of them both! And of you of course! So sorry that your family has had to go through such a lot of sadness.

Austina, good news your Dottie is better again. I hate when my babies are sick. So horrible that they can’t tell us if they are hurting or not. Just hate that. Especially if they curl up whimpering. Makes my heart break.

LLJsmom, how is your DD doing? Thinking of her and sending a ton of get better soon vibes your way!

June, oh no to the condo not selling! So annoying!! I’m sure it will all work out eventually, but I really don’t like how that broker is not doing his job!! Surely if he was going on holiday he should have transferred the sale to someone else before he left? He annoys me on your behalf, LOL. You should go to a spa and get a luxury facial or something. You sure deserve it after all this!

 

[PierreBear]

Good morning friends! Woke up in the middle of the night to some cat vomiting noises. Good thing that it was on the bamboo flooring and not the rug. I was too tired to get up and clean it and was afraid once I did that I wouldn’t fall asleep. Glad I remembered not to step in it this morning. My cat still isn’t back to complete normalcy of engulfing all the food from the auto feeder. I started to combine tuna with the dry kibble in the auto feeder serving area to prevent an aversion from the device. He’s eating the food but only in larger quantities if there is tuna. I’m hoping it is all progress!

Oh this evening I’m getting analysis done on my running. They taped me in previous sessions, running with shoes on, going barefoot, and with the little insert in. Today they will discuss with me what they are seeing and hopefully detect what might be irritating my leg. Good news is that we put in more miles running/hiking on vacation than usual and my leg wasn’t bothering me. Not sure if it’s the deep tissue massage that helped the healing process. Or maybe it’s a sign that cycling was triggering it so just running on it was fine. What a blessing though that we didn’t have to shorten/avoid any of our outdoor activities on vacation.

@marcy – I’m a fan of scarfs for sure. I have a handful that I use to accessories with more with an outfit than it is for warmth. I’m ready for winter already!

Sorry to hear that Marty’s company continues to lay people off. Does that give him anxiety?

@missy – Neat picture of the feral cats. It looks like they are having a deep but possibly heated conversation? I always wish I could talk to my cat. Curious what he’s thinking off. DH is silly and gives my cat a voice and his usually statement is “I can’t help it mama.”

@Scandinavian – How many pets do you have and how are they getting along with T? I wonder if they are excited for a new family member of it’s a change that could cause stressors? I bet the kids are loving the new pup though.

Is the carpentry work in the home you are living in? I can only imagine the challenges of doing renovations while trying to maintain a normal lifestyle. I felt so “off” when I came back home from vacation and things didn’t feel clean and orderly.

@Austina – Hope you figure out Instagram and can’t wait to see your sparkles!