Now I really did it :((

[Calliecake]

@missy , Do you know when the paint samples are arriving? I’m also interested to hear what everyone’s opinions are on the glass for the door. I hope you are staying warm and this weather we are having doesn’t head your way. Many places are going to be closed here tomorrow. It is supposed to be -55 below with the wind chill tomorrow morning here. Yikes!

@Tekate , Please write a book!!!! It will be a bestseller! I’m so glad Chris had a good day his first day on the job. Hopefully the apartment in Park Slope will work out for him. Fingers crossed, as I know this will give you peace of mind. Is Chris working for a large or small company? Nothing is better than knowing the kids we love are having fun and enjoying their lives. Both your kids are having fun. Autumn will be here before you know it. also going to be fun watching Mike being a parent.

@Austina , Glad to hear the weather is cooperating and you are enjoying warm sunshine! A massage, facial, pool and hanging out with your husband, what’s not to love? It sounds like you had a perfect day!!! Thank you for sharing your fun day. Reading your post makes me want to get away with my husband and I hate to travel LOL. Everything is good with my Stepdad today.

 

[Calliecake]

I wrote a long lost post that included Junie, Marcy and av and lost it. It’s late so I’m going to bed. I will post tomorrow. I apologize for this and have no idea what I did wrong.

 

[missy]

GM girls! Happy Sub freezing Wednesday. Brrrrrrrr.

I see a theme happening here lol. And OMG. Hope everyone is staying warm and cozy and out of any dangerous temperatures.

@junebug17 thank you for sharing your thoughts and we are leaning towards chord too because of that reason. Looks like waves in a way and is 10 on the scale of privacy. And also just as you wrote it sort of fits in with the house more than the simple plain satin etch (which was one of my top choices as well but Greg feels it is too plain for the house). Glad you are looking forward to your DD's visit this weekend. How is she doing? Is she still going with that nice young man? Have a good day Junie. Today is a day for doing chores around the house and I am hoping to accomplish some of those as well. I was sort of lazy yesterday and did not get to do much.

@marcy I am glad the temporary switch is holding and I hope it stays fixed till the new switch arrives and that will be the permanent fix you need. Very glad you have the fireplace there too just in case. Thanks for weighing in on the choices. Satin etch is one of my top choices but if you read my response above to Junie we might be going with chord. Today we will probably decide as we didn't discuss it yesterday. LEDs are bright. Greg likes them and they last a very long time IIRC. I think we have changed many of our lights here to LEDs. And we also have incandescents. Greg prefers the LEDs now as they are 5% of the cost of the operating cost of the incandescent and they last longer and the new LEDs are vastly improved over the previous LED models. Though one of our canned light LEDs in the kitchen just went bad and Greg had to change it. Nothing is perfect. I think we only had it a year or 2. Stay safe and drive carefully and hope all goes smoothly. My boots sadly did not arrive yesterday but hopefully soon. Ironically the winter ice and snow boots from Quebec are being delayed due to inclement weather. Hahaha.

@AV_ when your dream is your job you are a very fortunate person indeed. So happy you are happy. That is everything. Loving what you do day in and day out and having a passion for it. Marcy's generous offer of sending you the constellation book...you can find me on loupe troop if you would like to take her up on her wonderful offer.

@Austina glad you are enjoying your cruise. Happy sailing and looking forward to hearing all about your adventures at sea.

@Tekate how was the movie and the popcorn? What do you add to your popcorn? I have recently (past 6 months or so) started adding sea salt to my air popped non GMO popcorn and it is so good. As a parent you are always going to be concerned about the welfare of your children. No matter the age they are always your kids. You did a great job raising your children and gave them the necessary building blocks to be successful and also happy in life. 2 very different things and you and your dh are wonderful parents (and aunt and uncle and grandparents to be too). I hope you're enjoying a lovely week and that Chris is continuing to enjoy his new colleagues and his job. Any more photos to share?

@Calliecake well it seems as if our mail might be delayed due to weather because I thought the paint samples (and my boots) were arriving yesterday but nope. I'll keep y'all posted. Sorry you lost some of your post. I hate it when that happens. Frustrating. Hope you and J had a good day hanging around and relaxing inside and staying warm. Out of your bitter cold. OMG I think you guys hit or are hitting some subzero records in the next couple of days including today. Stay warm Callie.

@Sandeek how are you doing? Hope you are feeling good and doing well and that the longer days are bringing you cheer. Sending you more hugs and healing vibes. XOXO.

@PierreBear hey there, hope your week is going well. Thinking of you.


And LOL leaving you with this humorous sign.



Have a wonderful Wednesday girls!

 

[Tekate]

I would be Callie you would be the ONLY one to read a book by me! thank you kind lady for your thoughts! (((((((CALLIE)))))))))).

As to the where the heck did the rest of my post go? this happens to me, I think I hit backspace sometimes first by accident (or ON ACCIDENT as millenials say! how can one by ON an accident? grrr when my kids say that).. as we all KNOW! I tend to write tomes and sometimes I look and see 1/2 my tome is missing! What the heck? then I also think? maybe it's kismet, maybe I said something wrong??? maybe it's my mother telling me to shut up!!! actually ma'am it's BY accident

have a great and safe day, I'm watching wind move snow around and my dog is chasing rabbits in her dream.. made soup and all is good. take care Callie.

Kate

I wrote a long lost post that included Junie, Marcy and av and lost it. It’s late so I’m going to bed. I will post tomorrow. I apologize for this and have no idea what I did wrong.

 

[Tekate]

Good after noooooon!

@junebug17 daughter is visiting? that is wonderful, our fur/human kids give us all love (even when they dont!).. hope the visit goes well! Stay warm!

@marcy count me with everyone else who hopes the switch keeps working till the new part comes in.. it's danged cold (as we all know).. I read the headline "once in a generation" polar vortex and I thought, "now wasn't that the year b4 last's headline too"? who's lifetime btw! I read that the governor of Kentucky thinks people/parents are wimpls for closing schools and business because of the temperature, and I thought to myself, well have YOUR kids stand at the bus-stop for 1/2 hour waiting, freezing, I mean how do you dress for a negative windchill or reg temperature? I am sure I would not go out in that cold a temp when I was a kid in upstate NY.. I hate when you breathe and it's sooooooooo cold it hurts, glad this happens only once in somebody's generation. ! glad to see you are continuing to slowly feel better Marcy. Shades and the Teddy bears? sounds awesome. The movie I watched was "war of the worlds" with Tom Cruise, I love SciFi!!

@missy Aw Missy, you are so special, I was making my soup earlie and John was outside blowing the snow off the drive and Salley's run area and I was thinking about you, I was thinking that I was so lucky to meet you, and what true goodness of soul is, I thank you for your friendship and everyone's. I did put up a few pix on IG today and I'll post my soup here! Christopher's phone stinks and his MMM msg does not work on his phone. He thinks Neve is adorable so he asked me to post some pix of Salley so he could show them to her, so that is why I have been mentioning Neve on IG, Neve's nanny sent me a picture of another drawing that Neve made of Salley! I gotta tell you this story that Katie told me Missy.. Kate said she was walking with Neve and Kate said to Neve "If mommy and daddy got you a dog and the dog stayed with Grandpa at the Catskill house would you like that Neve" then Neve says "Don't be silly Aunt Kate, I already HAVE a dog, it's Salley" that kid, jeez she is something else.. (well actually at 38 Kate is a kid too so both of my nieces are something else! love them.. Neve is a pistol..

I love the changes you are making on the outside of the beach house Missy.. one thing I love is change, I have changed my style in homes several times over the years!

I read this morning that that Christie Brinkey turned 65 and she mentioned we as women get thinning hair as we age, and she said she handles that problem with extensions! I thought maybe I could do that, white hair is much thinner and lighter that my good old golden brown hair, which I miss immensely! so I put that in my database and I hope to remember it as more of my hair goes white (which it will I'm sure!).. stay warm.. How are you feeling Missy? any word on the meds arriving? I'm glad you had a great time with your friends!!! give Greg a huge hug for me.. and that he should stay warm! you know Chris told me the other day on the phone that was he was really surprised about living in the city was the WIND! (I guess he forgot I told him about it, which I did because I felt the same way when I moved to the city).. John went to college in Chicago and he said they don't call it the Windy City for nothing. Take care and have a great rest of the day girlie xoxoxox

@AV_ It's so rare that people like what they do.. for a few years (before I started working for IBM in the 80s) I worked for an group called Scenic Hudson, the groups main focus was to eradicate the PCBs in the Hudson River caused by Con Edison, Scenic Hudson and Hudson River Gatekeepers and Clearwater amongst other environmental organizations were instrumental in helping assist in getting a law passed that cleaned up the Hudson (of PCBs).. this! was my favorite job, I was the office manager, so much intersesting information, I learned and worked with the groups lobbyist, I met REALLY rich people, I saw the best in people and the worst in people - in people I mean the very rich the top 2%).. I left to work for IBM, in some ways I wish I never left.. but money talks an I didn't walk.

@Calliecake parental unit still doing fine?

@Jimmianne how's things in the southland?

gotta go walk the dog, will upload a pix later and post it of my Black Bean Soup!!! it was good.

xoxxox

 

[Calliecake]

@missy, I saw a meme yesterday that would have made you LOL. It said
You know it’s cold when you have to put your wig on over your hoodie. The young woman in the picture was adorable. It’s scary cold here. Hopefully the new boots will arrive today. Everything is closed here today. We will probably have a movie marathon kind of day.

@junebug17 , Do you and your daughter have any plans for the weekend? I hope you are having a great day. Everything is fine with my Stepdad. They are complaining that they are stuck in the house the next few days, so all is good.

@Austina, it’s great to hear the weather is cooperating and you have sunshine and warm weather. A facial, a massage, a pool and the love of your life sure sounds like a perfect day to me. Thank you for sharing your vacation with us. We woke this morning and the first thing my husband said was why do we live in cold weather LOL.

@marcy , I hope the furnace worked well last night and the problem is fixed now. Thank goodness Marty is home. Temps in the 20’s sound pretty warm to me today. I’m glad your head is finally feeling better. Everything is fine with my Stepdad. Both my parents are badly bruised. We asked that they please just stay in the house the next two days.

@av , It’s great that you love your work. It makes for a much happier life.

@Sandeek , I hope you are feeling well. Sending lots of healing dust your way.

 

[missy]

OMG just started storming here. Winds fierce and snowing hard. All of a sudden. It's crazy out there now. So glad Greg came home early today.

@Calliecake hope you are enjoying movies all day with J today and staying warm and cozy.

@Tekate aww I feel the same...I am lucky to have been able to meet you too and next time hope we can meet your dh as well. Yummmm to soup and cannot wait to see your pics. Neve sounds like a pistol. IF I looked like Christie Brinkley then I would be OK with thinning hair let me tell you. Yes it is super windy in the city. We have a wind tunnel right on our corner that is scary. Meds should be here soon I think. I am feeling OK, thanks for asking. Just tired. How are you feeling Kate (the very great). Thinking of you and please hug yourself and your dh from me and Greg. Hope you are having a warm wonderful day.

@Sandeek is it storming by you? This weather is crazy. Hope you are comfortable and having a good day.

 

[Calliecake]

@Tekate , I would read anything you write! You could make cleaning the house sound fun and interesting.

Little Neve sounds like a doll. She is probably already telling everyone Salley is her dog!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDI's!

Callie, it is scary cold there. I hope you are staying inside. I am glad to hear your stepdad is doing okay but hate to hear they are bruised. That is pretty funny to put your wig on over your hoodie. I bet 20 degree weather sounds great to you. We got a bit warmer today. They were saying tonight on the news the polar vortex is receding but you still are in the thick of it. Stay warm!

Missy, I love that sign. Truer words were never spoken. I liked the chord and thought that was appropriate since you are by the ocean but I didn't think it looked that opaque; glad it is. So far the furnace is still working. We have a lot of LED lighting in our house too. My team's room had their lights updated last night and those drama queens acted like someone asked them to cut off their arm. How about give it a try for a day or two before you start squawking about it? They ended up going out to buy fabric to cover them up and mute the light. The biggest complainer wasn't there either. We'll get to listen to her tomorrow. Definitely something you can't make up that your snow boots are delayed by a snow storm. Oh no that it started snowing there; I am glad Greg got home early. I hope your meds arrive soon.

Kate, you are right - that same headline was used last year, the year before that and the year before that. . . They can't get your attention unless it's an over-dramatized headline. Around here those dangerous subzero wind chills are just part of winter. War of the Worlds was a good movie. LOL to what Neve said; that is awesome. How was your soup? I hope Chris's new job is going well.

I met a friend for lunch today and it was so nice to get out of the office. I am not in the best of moods probably because tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of my dad's death. I am sad to the point of being angry. I'll work on turning that frown upside down. I swear. I had my last cup of homemade soup for supper; it hit the spot.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Here is a sunset picture:

 

[marcy]

Early risers tomorrow morning check out the eastern sky. A crescent moon will be very near Venus. The next bright star will be Jupiter.

 

[Slickk]

Hi all, we had an early dismissal yesterday, a snow day today, and so far a two hour delay tomorrow. I took advantage of the time off and was quite productive. I finally got around the house and cleaned, putzed around, bathed the pup, did report cards. It’s been awhile since I could do all of that. There was an intense snow squall that moved through @missy but I made hubby take me out to dinner anyway. Love a mid-week dinner out. Even if my eating is still somewhat limited. The snow was crazy!
Seems like everyone’s in a deep freeze now so lots of cabin fever.
I hope @Austina you are enjoying your trip. Sounds delightful. Lucky you!
@missy I look forward to seeing what color you decide for your door. And I am loving your alternative hair styles.
What a beautiful picture @marcy. Thanks for the tip on looking into the sky for Venus tomorrow. I’ll try to check it out.
Omgoodness @Calliecake I am sorry about your parents. I hope they heed your advice and stay in. My in-laws need to be told what to do sometimes too. Thank you for thinking of me. I am definitely feeling better.
I’m waiting on DK to finish my ring. Super excited to have that AVR on my hand finally. I also ordered a 2.5mm brushed rose gold comfort fit band to add a little rose to my repertoire.
I am thankfully feeling sooooo much better! Eight weeks after the surgery and I am finally really getting around, albeit still with a compression sock since the leg swells terribly when I am on it all day at work. The tummy is also agreeing with me now and the jaw plate infection seems under control too. Woo hoo! I ended up at a 75% off sale at Lord and Taylor with DD on Saturday and we left with six pairs of boots and shoes. I’m embarrassed to admit, it was the happiest I have felt in a long long while. Probably since my DS’s engagement party back in October. Amazing what retail therapy can do for one. It was such fun! It really is the little things.
Hope everyone is staying cozy and warm!
Leaving you with a pic of my 15 1/2 year old apricot poodle, on his Mickey Mouse toy, who is clean and smells wonderful today. He hates the grooming...:roll

 

[Calliecake]

@Sandeek , Thank you for the update and the pic of your sweet furbaby. I think of you often and send good thoughts your way. It’s wonderful to hear you are doing well and feeling better. I’m so happy for you. Don’t feel embarrassed at all about the retail therapy making you happy. You have had a really rough time and I can pretty much guarantee you there isn’t a women on this thread who hasn’t engaged in retail therapy when they were feeling down. Some of us are actually pretty damn good at it when nothing is wrong (we all raise our hands)! It’s bitter cold here but your post made me feel warm and fuzzy. So happy you are feeling better Sandeek!

I’m so sorry @marcy. Please be good to yourself tomorrow. I wish I could say something to make you feel better. (Hugs).

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning from Scandinavia!
Poor furbaby F got a urinary infection and can’t be home alone so I’m working from home this week. And it’s so cold we have to drive the children to and from school and everything else. So the days are going by just a little too fast. And now DH had to travel to London for two days. Lol.
Stay warm, stay safe. Talk to you later

 

[Slickk]

@Tekate Hie are you feeling? I think I missed that in my post. I do hope you are doing well.

Thank you for your words @Calliecake You are a sweetheart and I am so grateful the NIRDIs took me in. Such a wonderful group you all are!

Stay warm!

 

[missy]

GM Girls!

@Sandeek yay glad you enjoyed an early dismissal yesterday and got so much accomplished and got to go out to dinner. That was a crazy snow squall and it was over as fast as it started by us. The snow is still around though but not too bad. It's the ice I am concerned about. I too love a midweek dinner out and we are planning a Valentine's Eve day out that Wednesday before Valentine's day...no way would I brave the Valentine's day crowds. Oh I love a clean smelling puppy. Sweet that you got to bathe him yesterday. I am so pleased you are feeling better and enjoying your normal activities. And soon you will be back to eating almost everything you could before. And there is no reason at all to feel embarrassed about enjoying a sale at Lord and Taylor and scoring shoes and boots. You of all people deserve to be pampered and showered with gifts and shoes and anything else your heart desires. And you might recall Sandeek that I enjoy shopping and purchasing things too...I mean it is good for the economy right? That is how I look at it. And when I dont wear all of it others benefit because we give it away so win win whether we wear them or not. Just sayin. And glad your DD got to enjoy the day shopping with you too! Bonus. OMG your puppy is precious. I LOVE seeing photos of him. He is poodleicious and I am super jealous of his beautiful apricot hair. Please kiss and hug him from me. XOXO. Have a good day and be careful if you are heading out to school. Anything that was snow/water is now going to be ice I think. (((HUGS))))

@Tekate good morning girl. Hope that soup is yummy and keeping you warm and satiated. I love hearing/reading about all your stories Kate especially your family and fur baby stories. Warms my heart and soul. I am glad you enjoy change. I am learning to embrace it and not be scared of change. Of course changing one's decor/doors etc is not scary but I am talking about real change which can be scary. But I always remember a saying that I have taken to heart. About change and how wise people embrace it.
Charles Darwin said:
It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.

And then there's this quote that I love too:
Change is inevitable in life. You can either resist it and potentially get run over by it, or you can choose to cooperate with it, adapt to it, and learn how to benefit from it. When you embrace change you will begin to see it as an opportunity for growth.

So you are very wise Kate the Great to say you enjoy change. You go girl! And waiting for some soup pics

@Calliecake yikes you broke record temps yesterday I think. Glad you get to enjoy it all from the comforts of your home with dh. That's the way to do it. Hope you, dh and your sweet furbaby are staying cozy and that your mom and step dad are staying inside and remaining safe.

@marcy beautiful sunset photo. Reminds me a bit of the twilight zone for some reason lol...spooky but beautiful. Stay warm and may your furnace keep on heating. I read a disturbing article about LEDs not being safe for our eyes. You would think I would have known that but LEDs are still relatively new sort of so the research and data wasn't out when I was active in the profession. Now I have to dig around some more and figure out if we need to replace all the LEDS in our homes. Not sure but I will keep you posted. Sorry about the work drama queen(s). Hope today is a non complaining type of day from them...or hope they stay home if they cannot manage to just do their jobs without squawking about it. Aw darn, I got up late today so missed the beautiful sunrise. Thanks for letting us know about it anyway.

@Austina hope your travels are going well and that you are having a blast.

@Scandinavian sorry to hear fur baby is under the weather with a UTI. Sending you hugs and healing vibes. XO. Hope DH has a good trip in London. I can think of worse places to have to travel on business too. I love London. Hope he brings a nice little souvenir home to you. Glad you can work from home. Stay warm.

@Jimmianne hope you are staying safe and warm and the animals are all doing A OK. (((Hugs))) to you and to all your furbabies and a special shout out to your sweet elderly blind and deaf pup. XO.

@CJ2008 thinking of you and hoping all is well at home. (((HUGS))).

So Greg just arrived at the beach house and here is a photo hot off the presses. (haha hot off I wish)...





Have a wonderful day girls and sending you warm (((hugs))).

 

[missy]

@missy, I saw a meme yesterday that would have made you LOL. It said
You know it’s cold when you have to put your wig on over your hoodie. The young woman in the picture was adorable

Haha yes I saw that meme too. LOL. Scary cold is right.

 

[marcy]

Morning ladies. Here are a few shots from this morning.

 

[missy]

Morning ladies. Here are a few shots from this morning.

Wow LOVE this Marcy, thank you and a very good morning to you too.

 

[junebug17]

Hi Nirdis -

Don't have much time right now but wanted to jump in to say...

@marcy, thinking about you today and sending comfort, support, and lots of hugs.

@Scandinavian, so sorry to hear about your sweet dog, and those bitter cold temps...how great you can work from home, stay safe and warm.

@Sandeek, SO happy to hear you are feeling better! Wonderful news. And your furbaby is absolutely adorable

@Calliecake, I'm glad your parents agreed to stay put for the next few days! Very relieved they are both doing ok and I hope they heal up quickly. The cold temps you are experiencing are terrible, stay safe!

Will be back later to catch up, until then have a great day everyone! <3

 

[Tekate]

@marcy Marcy that picture is gorgeous, I mean seriously it could be an internet sensation, looks like the vortex above your street! beautiful shot!! And your morning shots? perfect, one thing I noticed when the weather get's really cold here the sky at night and morning is crystal clear (maybe I noticed that when I was a kid? you don't notice it in TX I tell you ) the crescent moon is a fantastic shot, gonna show it to John, he's an avid astronomy fan like you! Glad the heat is holding up.. and employees can't live with 'em can't live without 'em.. wankers all and dear girl, I understand the anniversary of death too well, I am sorry your dad died, it's so hard, I couldn't walk down the aisle at the grocery store where cards are sold around mother's day because it just made me dizzy, sad and angry.. when my dad died 7 yrs later I just gave up going down the aisle period. So know that I know how you feel, honor your dad, do something like get a coffee/tea/which/soda he would like you to have, he produced you and you are special.. so sorry (((MARCY))).

@Sandeek Hi girl! how are you? I'm good, went to my NEW dentist last week, you know the fancy kind, office looks like a millenial heaven! fireplace etc.. they gave me a piece of paper telling me that my treatment could be between 400.00$ and 100K hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! etc. stay warm! hope work is going good. My infection is slowlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy improving.. ((SANDEEK)) I cannot wait to see your new ring.. I think DK does very good work.. it's always FUN to get new sparklies.. Sandeek love your pup!!!! That Mickey Mouse brings back memories! my older son cajoled my parents into buying him everthing at Magic Kingdon 26 years ago and that was one of the stuffed guys he wanted! I still have it somewhere in the basement!

@Scandinavian working from home? GREAT! the BIG FREEZE of 2019, let's hope none of us have to go thru it again.. hope the kids are enjoying the drive to school, I know I would when I was a kid! have a great day. And so sorry about your pups UTI between our fur/kid/adult kid babies we are very lucky!

@missy Morning lady... Boy do I like what Darwin said, if we cannot change we will be lost, we will be unhappy and we will be yesterday in a today world, I'm not saying we have to fall all over our changes (no!) but I said to Chris 'if you get a boss you don't like, don't try to change him/her, just go around that boss, under that boss or sideways to get where you want to go, because the boss can't, won't, change to what YOU want'.. change in our lives all the time.. what is Is so comfortable, but change is where our lives always go... xoxoxoxo u girl. And of course buying things is also good for the soul! I know that we all don't have much of a problem going to L&T or Amazon to buy and I NEVER take that for granted, but on the other hand, I did work very hard to create my life and feel I must share some with my community and SOME on ME!! so I'm with you in telling Sandeek don't feel bad, you work, you went to college.. I don't feel guilty for all I have, which isn't as much as many here, but I feel DAMN LUCKY! to have my jewelry, my life and my dog! actually my life does come first but I DO love diamonds and sparkly things..

Whoa it looks cold at the beachfront, but also Beautiful!!! Greg, another accolade, such a good man. ((GREG)) u da bomb. Hopefully you and John can get together and talk about wives who love diamonds! (hint hint Greg, tell him Kate needs a 2.8 3 carat OEC D-K somewhere in there, thank you Greg! )

My stories.. thank you Missy, thank you everyone.. my mom used to say (of course this was in here drug/drinking days).. "Catherine, when the lord said all who want a brain step forward, you took a step back!!" lol.. she didn't mince words lol.. I guess I'm a natural loquacious, never ending talker! I forgot to put the pix of my soup up yesterday so I will at the end of this tome!!! (((MISSY))).. have a warm day...

Oh and @Calliecake and @missy you can tell this girl is freezing but face it, she was going outside! she's cooler than cool imho..

@junebug17 Morning junie! you have a super warm day! when is your daughter coming? what plans do you two have?? hope all is well in your neck of the woods and family!

@Austina GIRL!!!! you could NOT have picked a better time to hit up the Caribbean! enjoy enjoy enjoy! says my green litte words xoxoxo

@Calliecake how are you doing Callie? I read the vortex is moving out of your area so sending good vibes your way..

some pix below.. there's my black bean soup I made yesterday! it is lunch today again! it was darn good, if you all want the recipe I will get it, I made many changes because I didn't have everything, John loved it! me too. Okay 2nd picture is me and my Dad at my wedding in 1975, in honor of @marcy marcy's dad.. the pictures we have of our mom's and dad's who aren't here anymore but in our hearts does get better, for years I couldn't look at my wedding pictures (okay I tossed the BIG album when Tom and I split hahaha! but I kept all the proofs), on 2/14 my dad will be gone 12 years and now I look at any picture of him with bittersweet longing and love, I loved that he sobered up and was a great dad in 76.. he did his best to try and be a good dad and he was a GREAT GREAT grandfather to my sons, seriously the best, so all things did work out for me anyway. I hope you can get there Marcy, takes time... knowing you the way I do here, I know your dad is proud of you! the last little pix is of my brother Bobby who died of lung cancer in June 15, he was such a funny funny funny guy.. he worked in metal work (sheet metal, metal fabrication, POWDER coating ((which imho was what caused the cancer) I miss him, because while I always rate a 4 on the funny factor, he was totally a 5 outta 5.. miss him.. but I know he's cracking my mom and sister up!

ETA: he made the cross and powdercoated at his job, he was a good Christian compared to me!! but he was a true funny funny guy... that white look on him is the powder breathe that stuff in for few years oh well miss him but he's with my mom, dad, sister, grands, he's in fine company!

 

[Scandinavian]

Hi girls!
Thank you all for your good wishes for F. She appreciates it a lot
She is such a sweetheart, I love her so much it hurts. I actually started crying in the vet's office because she is sick again. LOL. She will be fine, nothing dangerous, but she whimpered during the check-up and then. Well, you know me.

I think I need to take a photography class or something. Marcy you are really talented!

And Missy, I simply love those beach shots.

But not as much as I love that sweet little poodle of yours, off course, Sandeek! OMG such a sweet sweet face!

Callie, I feel like sending you some propper thermal merino wool long underwear. LOL. SOOOOOOOOOOOO COLD right now. Stay warm. Hot coffee and fireplace recommended. And perhaps that survival movie, what is it called again? The day after, or something? The one where everything freezes.

Talking about London. Will be going there in June with the children and DH to visit - amongst other things - Harry Potter studio. Anyone got any good suggestions? I have been there before, but always love recommendations.

Missy, and oh yes. Forgot to comment on that. Yes, you will be seeing me in not-so-long if you don't hide LOL. Will send you an e-mail to discuss some possible dates

My head is not on straight today. Please forgive all I have forgotten.

Oh, and I'm trying to make some food thing I have never made before. Should be "fun"...? Do you know what "gravlax" is? Kind of raw fish that is semi preserved / cooked by a cocktail of salt, sugar and spices. Well, you can do the same with high-quality tender meat. So I'm trying to turn Rudolf into a super delicious and extremely tender appetizer. (Having dinner guests on Saturday, but no worries, I'm also serving blinis with caviar and entrecote and tons of sides and cake and home made ice-cream, so they'll survive either way, LOL)

Forgive typos. In a hurry and spell-check is not set for English right now.. lol.

 

[Scandinavian]

Kate, OMG to your mom! LOL. But I really am so sorry for your losses.

And MARCY please forgive that I forgot to write that I wish you all the best. I hope you will cope ok the next coming days, and we are here for you in any way we can. I know your father would have been very proud of you.

 

[Tekate]

here's two pix I forgot to add! hahaha. smh. front of the house this morning and side of the house from the nook thingy.. cold!!!!

 

[AV_]

@Scandinavian I've just had a late lunch & now all I can think of is gravlax, blinis and icecream! You give me good ideas though: a wild pig meet (close to boar) is traditional here, so why not spice some up...

@Tekate It is a bit of a miracle that I got to call 'work', a line of academic research I have kept on tinkering at for pleasure; does it pay? - most of the time, but not all of the time. I have lost count of how many times things seemed to be over & just weren't, many times better than I would have dared ask of life! Last year must have been my worst. This spring - the best yet. Next? I do not quite want to know.

@marcy Thank you for the sky pictures ! I could stand such a news service - reporting where starts will be each morning & no more (do I ever need to know the darned rest!)

@missy Beautiful winter sea... You are just reminding me that this is a new year - so, again, I owe that visit to the sea. Better early than late! (and, finally, it is warm again after a couple of miserable week - if nothing as bad as I hear of the East Coast!). I am expecting to travel, but every useful trip is inland (darn!). TBA.

@Sandeek You do know how to live through anything! (retail therapy - I do it so infrequently, I am also surprised how well it works when it finally gets its turn)

-
Then,
today ain't over (back to work ...)

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

I hope all your happy memories of your Dad, sustain you through the dark and sad times @marcy . Your photos are absolutely stunning, thank you so much for getting up early to share them with us. Hopefully the furnace is holding up, and you’re keeping warm.

Wow, that’s really a lovely snowy scene @Tekate although much better enjoyed from inside than outside! Yum to the bean soup, I often think if I was on my own, I’d live on soup and crusty French bread and not bother to cook anything else. Thank you for sharing your photos too.

Oh no @Scandanavian, poor little F, I hope she gets over the infection quickly. I expect the munchkins are enjoying the snow as only children can. How great to be working from home in the lovely warmth of a big roaring fire. You might enjoy seeing London from the top of the Shard, or the London Eye, and Windsor Castle is not to far to get to if you like history. We went to Harry Potter world at universal studios in Florida - Colin and I felt sick on the rides

I hope you’re staying safe & warm @Calliecake, that is SERIOUSLY cold and I hope your parents are being sensible and staying in.

I’m so pleased to hear you’re doing so well @Sandeek , onwards and upwards! Yay to having some new bling to look forward to, if anyone deserves it, you do! To the other purchases don’t tell anyone, I have at least 12 prs of unworn shoes sitting in their boxes. My feet aren’t growing, so when I see a good deal, I buy them, I’ll get round to wearing them eventually glad your little poodle is still going strong, he’s a good age.

It’s our civic duty to help the economy any way we can @missy, it would be negligent of us not to keep our countries afloat I’m sorry your boots haven’t arrived yet, hopefully soon so you can actually get the benefit of them. I hope Greg has a safe journey back from the beach, and that the roof is holding up till you can get it repaired once and for all.

Hi @junebug17 and @AV_ hope all is well with you both.

Yesterday was another hot sunny day in Guatemala, we’d also been there before so didn’t do much, and today we’re in Belize, a private island called Harvest Caye. It absolutely thrashed down while we were out, so we got soaked. It’s going to be one of those days where it’s going to rain off and on, but hey ho, we’re sitting outside under cover, enjoying watching dolphins swim by, and pelicans dive for fish.

We’ll be in Costa Maya tomorrow (or maybe Cozumel, can’t remember ), haven’t decided what we’re doing there, if anything. We’re just enjoying being away and eating copious amounts of food

Stay safe and warm my lovelies

 

[PierreBear]

Hi NIRDIs.. checking in to say hello and thanks for letting me pop in and from time to time as I come up from air. Hope everyone is doing well and I have to say that I still think of ya'll often and when big life events happen, I always mean to share them with you lovely ladies. DH and I are going to counseling today to be more at peace about whether or not to have children. No big arguments just good discussions from family/friends etc but wanted to seek professional counsel as well to be thorough. Wish us luck!

@Austina - got to read your post above and well goodness enjoy all the beautiful places that start with a C and get that beautiful tan to complete your physique! Enjoy!

 

[Austina]

Good luck @PierreBear I’m sure whatever you decide will be the right decision for you.

Hopefully see you soon

 

[missy]

Paint samples came...not sure which I prefer but maybe Lake Tahoe. Poolside is a bit more green...Lake Tahoe is one shade lighter than we painted the beach house door on our first beach house in Sea Girt. Let me see if I can find a photo of that house and door. In the meantime here are the samples side by side. When we go to the beach house we will stick it on the door and see what looks better.

Lake Tahoe to the left. Poolside to the right.




Of course no boots or anything else I was waiting for. LOL at least the kitties are happy.

Here's an old photo of our first beach house. And the door color.

 

[missy]

@junebug17 hope you are doing OK and having a lovely day.

@Tekate love all your stories and please keep being the loquacious lovely lady that you are. We love you just the way you are girl. And I am enjoying all your photos so very much. Thank you for sharing them with us! And I feel so grateful not for the material things in my life but much more for the people in my life. Yes we got super lucky with our dh's and also with our friends. I count my blessings every day. Things are just things and I am with you. Giving back is what makes it all worthwhile. To the ferals to the rescues and to others in need. That is what makes me happy and brings me peace. It is hard for me to think of all those that suffer all over the world and we do what we can and I have to compartmentalize or this HSP would never get much done but for crying all the time about all the misery in the world. I wish I wasn't so empathetic because it can be more of a curse than a blessing. But we must all soldier on and do the best we can. LOVE LOVE LOVE that photo of you and your dad. Warms my heart too. And hugs to you and I am so sorry your dear mom and dad and sister are gone but they live on in your heart dear girl.

@AV_ yes it is a work day after all. Sometimes I forget what day of the week it is since I am not working. I don't miss it I cannot lie. I enjoy not having a regimented schedule and time I must wake up but of course not all jobs are like that and it sounds as if you have the best of all worlds with yours.

@Austina thanks for checking in and glad you are enjoying your cruise.

@PierreBear hopefully everything will get sorted out at work and with your personal life. Sending you good thoughts and hugs.

@Sandeek hope today is a good day for you and that you are staying warm.

@Calliecake I cannot stop thinking about Trader Joe's and their flowers now lol. Cannot wait to see what you choose. I know it will be beautiful.

@Scandinavian I love London. No recommendations but for the obvious. You cannot go wrong there and the shopping is stellar.

@marcy hope work is going OK for you. And that you are staying warm. And sending you (((hugs))). Missing your dad I know and I am sorry sweet marcy. It is so hard when our dearest loved ones are gone. Almost time to go home to your dearest loved one Mr Marty.

Speaking of home my guy is home now. Have a great rest of the day girls. XO.