Now I really did it :((

[Scandinavian]

Forgot Throwback to China and the Terracotta army and Guilin river area

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!
I am bummed today and some of you know why and I need to talk to you privately girls for advice.

Jimmianne, love the mural and cannot wait to see what your artist friend does to complete it. So far so good!

Callie, how did last night go? I have been keeping good thoughts for you and your brother and another setback perhaps but really an opportunity for something good now IMO. Positive development with the change I hope. (((Hugs))).

Kristie, how was your day off from renos yesterday? Greg thinks he and the contractor figured out a good solution for the flooring and we will see. This is setting the whole project back by at least a few weeks. It was (for me) important to get this done by early March but that hope is dashed. They now have to wait for delivery of the new material and that will be at least a few weeks. Getting dangerously close to cycling weather! Though we do have snow predicted soon. LOL. Or should I say waaah waaah waaah...

Marcy, our wind was a bear ( ) here too yesterday. Sorry your trashcans decided to fly and glad no one was hurt. Those pesky winds. Ruined my hair yesterday as I left for work with my hair still wet and the wind just frizzed the heck out of it! I was wearing my antique pear earrings from Lang and OMG I was worried the wind would fly them away. Thank goodness for those tiny rubber backings!
You always make me smile and LOL in a good way. Thank you for that honey (((hugs))).

Scandinavian, sorry that PS ate your post. That has happened to most of us at one time or another. Grrrrr so frustrating! Sometimes when I am writing a long post I will copy and paste it to my email just in case PS goes haywire and eats it so I have it to paste here without having to recreate it. However I admit I have gotten lax about doing that recently. LOVE your newest photo additions.


Junie, I forgot to say my hair is super thin too and when the weather is cold and dry it falls limp. The only thing going for me is the curl I have that gets picked up when there is any humidity. But the humidity level has to be just right. Meaning if it is too humid it is frizzy and big and if it is too dry it is frizzy and limp. You get the picture and it isn't a pretty one LOL. SO you are NOT alone with hair issues and if it wasn't for my skin my hair would be the bane of my existence. LOL I needed that good laugh this morning for sure.
OK I am going to post a good hair pic. I don't have many of these because let's face it how many perfect humidity days do we have in NYC LOL. But somehow I managed to get a pic of me having a good hair day and so I am sharing it with you girls. Darn I should have gotten a pic of my hair yesterday to show the contrast. Haha well there will be no shortage of bad hair day opportunities to get a bad hair day pic to share with you. No worries!


WOW that pic is way too big. How do I get it to be a smaller version?


I hope your week is going well and your mom is enjoying some activities and her time with you.

LLJSmom, how are you doing? We contacted our CPA and are almost ready to get our taxes done soon. It sure takes a long time for everyone to get us the info we need to get them done. I know many of you already finished but we are still waiting on some papers. Hope all is well by you and (((hugs))).


OK I have so much on my mind and I think I will have a lot of time on my hands very soon. Oh I wish you girls lived closer to me for purely selfish reasons. Wishing all my NIRDIs good hair days and Hugs. Have a good day.

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy: just read that you are having a bad day. Sorry to hear that. Sending you lots of hugs! Please let me know if I can provide any "distance help".

 

[missy]

Thanks Scandinavian, you are a sweetheart. Just knowing I have your support makes a difference. (((Hugs))).

 

[Calliecake]

Okay Junie you just read Missy hair comment. Who gets to slap her first, me or you???? Missy your hair is So BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! Honey wait to you see me. I look like I have a thin stringy mop on my head. It a good thing I love you Missy, especially after that comment!!!

 

[VapidLapid]

I had an EP study yesterday
After some episodes of dizziness and fainting at the gym, my doctor sent me to have a stress test at Cardiologist that showed rate dependent left bundle branch block. After that i had angiogram that showed 50% blockage in left descending artery. Not enought for them to bother with a stent. They wanted to check for right bundle branch block, so i did the EP study at NYU Langone. I am thrilled there was no right bbb, and no need for a pacemaker.

 

[missy]

I had an EP study yesterday
After some episodes of dizziness and fainting at the gym, my doctor sent me to have a stress test at Cardiologist that showed rate dependent left bundle branch block. After that i had angiogram that showed 50% blockage in left descending artery. Not enought for them to bother with a stent. They wanted to check for right bundle branch block, so i did the EP study at NYU Langone. I am thrilled there was no right bbb, and no need for a pacemaker.

Vapid, I am so sorry you are going through this. While I am happy you don't have a right bundle branch block and you don't need a pacemaker what is the next step for you? What are the doctors recommendations? What can you do to improve the blockage in your left descending artery? Are there meds that can help and lifestyle changes that can make a difference?I remember you are pretty healthy and active so not sure if you can make any substantial changes in that department.

What can I do for you? Please don't hesitate to ask me to help in any way. I mean it from my heart. Sending you lots of good thoughts and positive energy and (((HUGS))). Emailing you now.

 

[canuk-gal]

I had an EP study yesterday
After some episodes of dizziness and fainting at the gym, my doctor sent me to have a stress test at Cardiologist that showed rate dependent left bundle branch block. After that i had angiogram that showed 50% blockage in left descending artery. Not enought for them to bother with a stent. They wanted to check for right bundle branch block, so i did the EP study at NYU Langone. I am thrilled there was no right bbb, and no need for a pacemaker.

VL:

Oh for goodness sakes. What a business. As Missy asked/moving forward, what is planned?

Are you feeling well?

Thinking of you and others who share, here.

kind regards, Sharon

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Callie, it sounds like things worked out for the best when your husband passed on that job. Marty seems to be fine with his decision so that is good. I know what you mean about an employee who thinks it is okay to get nasty with their boss. I have 2 of them that do that. The lady doesn’t realize how she comes across - she is always stunned when I pull her aside and tell her to knock it off. The guy acts almost he is having a temper tantrum. He always tells me he knows he has that tendency and he is working on it. How are you holding up?

Scandinavian, love the picture of China and terracotta army. That is so frustrating to lose a long post. I type them up in another program so I don’t lose it.

Missy, I hope you are feeling better tonight. Yay for Greg and the contractor figuring out what to do about the floor. Sorry to hear your wind was a bear. Stupid wind. Aren’t those rubber backs earring savers? I actually gave my friend a handful on Monday night. While we were playing cards she noticed one of her dangle earrings was missing. She has a lot of big dangle costume jewelry earrings. Luckily she found her earring in the car. I am delighted to hear I can make you laugh. Life is too short to face without having a good laugh every day! Your hair looks fabulous on your good hair day. I hate those days when my hair looks like I am a wild woman. Good luck rounding up everything for your CPA.

Vapidlapid, I am so sorry to hear your test results. As Missy and Sharon already said - what are they planning for you? How are you feeling? Sending get better PS Dust coming your way.

Hi Sharon! How are you doing?

I got to work 45 minutes early today. My mind was too busy thinking about work last night so I didn’t sleep well. When I get tired and stressed my eyes start twitching so you guessed it that was going on today. I always wonder if someone would notice it when they talk to me. Ha Ha.

I got my work caught up, helped my team do a few of their updates and looked over everything through Monday so I feel better going in to the weekend.

So I am sure hoping the 3rd times the charm and that tomorrow is my lucky day. Yesterday when I went to work early I thought “donuts sound good, I should pick some up” but I didn’t. Then one of my employees came in with a box of donuts. This morning heading to work early I thought “I should stop and pick up an apple and cherry pie” but I didn’t. One of my boss’s employees showed up with apple and cherry streusel. So tomorrow on my way to work I am going to think “being thin and rich sure would be nice”. I hope it works!

We had leftovers for supper. Marty is getting tickets for a flight to Arizona next month. He is going down for a few days to play golf. I am not going (sorry Kristie) because I am saving my vacation time for this summer.

Have a great Friday.
Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning from Scandinavia!

Snowing here today! Hope you are all doing well! Thank you for your feedback regarding the tiles  I do love blue pearl also  We have that on the floors of the bathrooms in our mountainside cabin. Might go for that now also, just have to check to see if the colour is a good match with the Alta slate tiles – we are using those for the floors I think.
Re floors, I agree with you Missy, slate is very hard to walk on. But we will just be using them for the bathrooms, hall, washing room and the living room. For the kitchen, dining room, upstairs living room/library and bedrooms, we will have wooden floors  Oak downstairs (more wear and tear there) and pine wood floors upstairs, because I love the feeling of walking on solid pine wood  So rustic and nice.

Healthcare system: I’m only to happy to share my knowledge of Scandinavia as long as you are ok with my general memory – don’t really have the time to look up details, lol. The system is very simple. You get what you need when you need it, and it is free (covered through taxes). For example, when I broke my ankle two years ago: First, I crashed the car, lol. (No big deal, driving really slowly, just sooo icy, so our car and the car coming towards us met in the middle of the mountain road. Unfortunately, the corner of our car was somewhat pressed in, and that is where my ankle was..) So, first the police showed up to help with traffic and to make sure that we hadn’t been driving too fast. No worries there.. And then the ambulance came to take me to the hospital. The doctors at the hospital checked everything and told me that my ankle was broken. Kind of knew that already, lol. Needed surgery. But I didn’t want surgery at that hospital, because it is a district hospital, so I talked myself out of that one with wanting to go to a hospital closer to home because of the children. So stayed there for the night and went home the next day. Check up at our hospital (biggest in the country and also where one of my best friends is a doctor, so that feels better) and scheduled for surgery two weeks later – needed to wait for the swelling to go down since I opted out of the “on the scene emergency surgery” before the swelling starts.
Day time surgery, went home with painkillers. That didn’t really work. Started throwing up from the pain a few hours later, so ambulance back to the hospital. There, the doctor (head of department) was really upset that they had sent me home, because the surgery had been a lot more substantial than they had expected, so I should have been transferred to “stay over” surgery department instead of day time surgery department. Apparently, 4 days of morphine was standard for this surgery procedure (two plates (?) and 12 screws implanted in my ankle). So 5 ampules of morphine later, the throwing up stopped (apparently it takes a lot of painkillers to reduce pain if the pain curve has built up to a too high level). Stayed for 24 hours, and then went home. A few later check-ups and x-rays etc. All free. And the ankle is 100% now. We have really good surgeons and doctors in general, its just that the system is a little messy sometimes. Might also have helped that my friend kept pestering them, lol. And my husband almost got snappy because the head of department doctor was so nice to me LOL LOL.

The “all is free” system has a small deductible, but that is very small. You normally just pay for some of the medicine that you take home with you. I don’t think I even did that. If you are not a country citizen, it is however more complicated. But all with a “staying permit” is basically taken care of. Tourists also off course, but then with some kind of reimbursement arrangement. Dentists are not free after you turn 18 however. But if you really can’t pay, the system will help – but that is the welfare system, not the health care system, so more on that another day, lol.

Missy: I love my ring too  
Hope you have a better day today! But honey! YOUR HAIR IS NOT THIN!!! You should have seen my Scandinavian excuse for a hair! The colour is nice – but omg is it thin compared to yours! All I can say is that your hair looks really good on your good hair day, and I’m going to require proof that it is ever anything else, lol. Wish I could be there for you to give you some in-person-support. Please let me know if you want us to yell at someone for you…

Jimmianne: So (!) glad to hear that your DD is feeling better!! A pool room. So nice. I only dream of that.. The dermapen hurts. But they put on some anesthetic cream and that helps. And it is only for 20 minutes or so. I think it is worth it, but it does take a few (10?) treatments to really see results, so it is kind of pricy. But I prefer it to laser treatment, that has such downtime (2 weeks before you can be seen in public..) and I’m afraid of pigmentation issues with the laser. I read somewhere that up to 10% can get pigmentation from the laser treatments. If you can’t catch up on the thread, just skip along happily, that is what I do.. LOL. Any progress on the floor?

Marcy: I hate it when the trash can decides to run away from home – so rude of them! We have built it a house to keep it happy… lol. Getting to work early is always so nice! I get such a lot of work done really early in the morning before people starts disturbing me 
“being thin and rich sure would be nice” LOL Thank you for a good laugh! I ditto that one! I’m sure you look great as you are, but don’t we all just want to be “perfect” without having to work for it? I know I do  By the way: In Scandinavia we always say that “In the US, they have a saying, that you can never be too rich or too skinny”. But I don’t know if you actually have a saying like that or if it was invented here generations ago, LOL. So looking forward to summer vacation!

Callicake: Like your story that your husband found an even better position just by doing the right thing and prioritising family  I’m sorry that you have had a difficult couple of months. I feel like asking you to consider some shopping therapy, but that sounds too shallow so I will resist. I love how our furbabies have such strong personalities  Thank you for your support! I always feel so silly when I flare-up – at least 5 minutes later when I have calmed down again.. The picture with the kind of pink sunset is from late fall I think – snow here now, even at the seaside cabin / summer house. Sorry for the confusion 

VapidLapid: Hugs!!!

 

[Scandinavian]

Keeping with the China theme: The great wall of China

 

[Scandinavian]

And a jade horse
(no idea why the picture is this way - please tilt your computer... lol)

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Callie, sweetheart LOL. That's a pic of a good hair day so please don't hate me or my hair. It has multiple personality disorder and it behaves very badly most of the time! When you visit we will definitely make an appointment at those stores we were talking about and find some amazing hair solutions so our hair can be anything we want it to be.

Marcy, you have been putting in the extra time at work for sure and I am glad you accomplished a lot yesterday and hope your weekend is easy and peaceful free from work worries. I am sorry you aren't sleeping well and I hear you. It is challenging to sleep easy when there is so much on our minds. Honestly your employees sound like little children and I am not sure how they keep their jobs. That would not fly where Greg and I work. Not even a little bit. Sorry you are dealing with a few nasty people at work.

Haha I like the way you think. Think it and it will come. Sort of like the Field Of Dreams movie. Build it and it will come... so OK today I am going to *think* all my problems/pains/worries are going to dissolve and good things are happening to all of us. Fingers crossed!

Glad Marty is getting to travel to Arizona and play golf. Kristie, if I remember correctly Bob does not play golf, is that right? If he did I think you should send him to meet Marty and then you and Marcy can come here and visit me.
All of you are welcome to join us.


Scandinavian, thank you again for your kind offer of support. I appreciate that. It helps knowing you guys are on my side. I am going to focus on having good things come to all of us and try to not think of all the unpleasant stuff. Newest issue is tooth pain that went away for a couple of years (all the dentists, endodontists, oral surgeons could not figure out what was causing the pain and mercifully after dealing with it for a couple of years it mysteriously went away) but has now returned. I have been trying to block it from my mind but this morning it reminded me not to forget about it. Oy, don't need this and will redirect pain to go away please.

As for all the other stuff on my mind I am just taking it all one day at a time. Always a good thing to do when one is feeling overwhelmed. That quote by John Milton always makes me feel better about the mind being a heaven or hell...

'The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..'

Thank you for that explanation of health benefits. I am so glad you received wonderful care re your broken ankle and that you are doing so well in the aftermath. One never really appreciates good health care until one is in need of it and I know how thankful I was for Hospital of Special Surgery and my trauma surgeon during my ordeal. Thank goodness we both had excellent care. I too was fortunate in that I had no out of pocket expense for my surgery or hospital stay. I was quite surprised but so grateful. I guess for all my bitching and moaning about health care here we do have excellent doctors/surgeons etc and it can be affordable. It's just not that way for everyone and I firmly believe *good* healthcare should be a right. Plus Obamacare has not worked out too well for most people I know so I feel our healthcare is definitely spiraling downwards and it concerns me greatly.


Did you have a lot of PT while you were recovering from your broken ankle? My healthcare cut me off after a couple of months and I had to pay out of pocket for the rest. I remember being frustrated about that given the major break I had and the long road to recovery that 2 months of PT didn't really touch. Just for fun attaching some of my X-rays. We are metal sisters.
Do you have stainless steel in your leg? I remember being surprised it was mainly stainless steel that was in my leg vs titanium or something else. Of course there are some impurities in the stainless steel (i.e. nickel) in my leg that are now causing me a bit of an allergic reaction but no biggie.




I would love to have your beautiful blonde hair Scandinavian. Please believe me when I tell you my hair is thin. My hairdresser confirms that fact. It's just that by being curly it looks like it is not as thin as it really is but when it is less curly you can tell how thin it is. Attaching another pic. Look at the ends. You can see it is thin.



Maybe you can join Callie and me when we go shopping for hair alternatives.


It's snowing by us too this morning but probably not as much snow as you are getting. I think we are just getting a dusting today. Thank goodness. Hope you have a fun weekend planned. Any skiing or winter sports involved? Do you guys go snowshoeing? That always seems like such fun. Greg and I bought snowshoes during my broken leg recuperation in anticipation of doing fun activities again but didn't get around to trying them out yet. Thanks for reminding me about that.

Love the pictures sideways and all. Pretty jade horse and wow beautiful great wall of China.
I just have to tilt my computer no biggie. I cannot do it with my iPad because the picture goes back to the way it is originally when I tilt it darn autocorrect but on my laptop I can tilt and change the perspective.

Sharon, it's nice to hear from you and I hope you are doing well.

Vapid, more (((hugs))) and hope you are feeling well. Thinking of you.

I hope everyone has a good day and would love to hear about your weekend plans. Woohoo it's Friday!

 

[Scandinavian]

Weekend plans: Work.

But you girls are bringing me good luck So happy I could do a dance, haha. One of the suppliers for our "new" house has found me some Norwegian marble tiles, in the colour Arctic green. This is almost impossible to come by, and I think it will be very luxurious for the shower niches. So by-by blue granit (for the bathrooms at least) and HELLO MARBLE

 

[missy]

Weekend plans: Work.

But you girls are bringing me good luck So happy I could do a dance, haha. One of the suppliers for our "new" house has found me some Norwegian marble tiles, in the colour Arctic green. This is almost impossible to come by, and I think it will be very luxurious for the shower niches. So by-by blue granit (for the bathrooms at least) and HELLO MARBLE

Ooh that is very pretty. I think it's a terrific choice for your shower!

 

[Scandinavian]

Working and bored... so I just wanted to stop by and show you the amazing colour on these rubies Got it back from the jeweler today - I lost one of the stones so it had to be replaced.

 

[junebug17]

Hiya everyone!

Missy, love the pic of Penelope, she is SO sweet! I hope she finds a forever home really soon.

So sorry about the delay with the basement project Very stressful when complications like this happen on a project; and I can understand how anxious you are to get things going, I'd feel the same way.

I'm so glad you heard from Ann about the TNR! I was starting to think maybe she had thrown in the towel, contacting you shows commitment on her part.

And wow, you have lovely hair missy! I guess most of us have good and bad days when it comes to hair. My hair always seems to come out differently when I style it, which is annoying - sometimes I like it and other times I hate it. I do the same thing every time, you'd think it would always look the same, frustrating! I also have to use mousse and blow-dry it with a round brush for some extra volume, what a pain.

Sounds like something serious is going on that might be work-related maybe? Really sorry to hear about your tooth pain too, please know that I'm here for you whenever you need someone to vent to and for moral support. (((hugs)))

Marcy, sounds like your presentation went well. I think it was a good move to hold off on the one-on-ones with your employees. I'm so sorry to hear work has you so stressed that it's interfering with your sleep. That really stinks and I sympathize. So hard to shut out problems and worries.

Glad to hear Marty is feeling ok about the job - sometimes you have to weigh the pros and cons, and not wanting to move was an important consideration in a decision like this.

I hate high winds, it's scary when it reaches the point of heavy things flying around outside Sometimes when I'm driving home from my mother's on a really windy day the car moves and it scares the heck out of me. It's frightening when Mother Nature seems to be getting out of control.

Scandinavian, sorry about the lost post, that has happened to me too and I had to restrain myself from throwing my computer out the window lol. I've been copying my posts as I go along, I figure if I lose it I can paste the post and at least save some of it.

It was really interesting to read about how an office functions in Scandinavia. My husband has worked in a corporate setting for many years and I'm anxious to tell him about your post. I had to smile when you said you are direct and to the point, my husband is the same way and it would be difficult I think for him to have to be so diplomatic all the time with his administrative assistant - not that he is demanding or nasty - in fact he does a lot of his own typing, copying, scheduling, etc. and he is nice to his admin assistant. But there are those times he just needs help and needs it quickly!

I'm glad your skin procedure went well and you're feeling ok. I'm not that familiar with the treatment so I read a little about it, very interesting!

I'm glad to hear your grandmother is doing so well and is happy in her new home! It's wonderful that she's in good health and still so active at 85. And it's fantastic that she's with people she's known for a long time. That's huge! I think companionship is really important for the elderly and I'm sure it brings your grandmother a lot of comfort to be with people she knows. I'm thinking my mother might like listening to books so I'm going to look into that.

Thank you for the recommendations for my daughter, I'm going to let her know about them and I'm going to look into them for myself too!

Love your pics, especially the Great Wall of China. I'll probably never see it in person so your pic is the next best thing! Love the jade horse too, really beautiful.

And congrats on finding the arctic green marble, it's gorgeous! I'm so happy for you, it will look amazing!

Oooh, those rubies are luscious!!! - I love rubies, it's my son's birthstone.

Jimmianne, I feel like I'm struggling to keep up with the thread too but we're both making a good effort lol. I'm glad your dd is feeling better, both physically and emotionally. Being ill really can make you feel very down. I'm sure you're relieved she has bounced back.

So sorry about your skin issues, I empathize with you - my goodness, you'd think at this stage of the game we wouldn't have to worry about our skin of all things! :roll eyes:

I love your mural, your friend did an amazing job! Wow, it looks great and it really makes the space much more inviting - it will look really nice with a blue sky, can't wait to see pics.

Calliecake, lol to missy's hair! Yes, it's gorgeous and I hate that I have to fuss so much with mine to get it to look merely acceptable! Thanks for the suggestion about the word searches, she might like that. She does knit a little, which helps pass some time in the evenings when she's more alert and restless.

Ugh, I hear you on looking older…the stress I've been feeling lately has taken it's toll on my appearance. I think about you and your family a lot and I know things are very hard for you but I hope you are trying to take care of yourself a little too. I keep reminding myself that if I'm not doing well I won't be in a good position to help others. Easier said than done, I know. I'm so happy you're posting a little more, I've missed you!!!

Kristie, I hope the renovations are going well.

Vapidlapid, I'm so glad to hear that you're doing ok after your health scare! do you need to have any other treatments or is it a situation where you just need to be monitored?

I was supposed to go to a friend's this weekend but she had to cancel because she came down with a bad cold. I actually don't mind because dh has been away all week and I would have gone directly from my mother's to my friend's house and not see him until Sunday. Then it's back to my mother's on Monday. Crazy, I know. The girls' weekend has been rescheduled to another weekend that's better for me so it worked out for the best.

I hesitated a lot before posting this pic - I used to do decorative painting as a hobby but have not done it in a few years. I bought this jewelry box years ago but never painted it so I thought I would paint something simple on it to give to my friend. I know florals aren't exactly "in" with regard to interior decorating right now but my friend loves florals and the colors match her bedroom. I can't believe I'm posting it, considering our Jimmianne is a serious artist and this is so simplistic, but I just wanted to share it for some reason. I guess I'm glad I finally had the desire to do something lol!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandinavian, thank you for the interesting view of your healthcare system there. We got in a rather intense discussion with my friend who was here on Monday about the government taking over our healthcare system in the U.S. I am delighted to hear you recovered well from your broken ankle. I know it is rude of the trashcans to run away by themselves. Your little house for it sounds like a great idea. I know what you mean, I get so much more work done if I go in early or stay late; no one is around to bother me or stop by to visit. And trust me on this I could stand to be much thinner and I wouldn’t snub my nose at being richer. Yes we do use that saying in the U.S. about you can’t be too rich or too thin but I don’t know where it came from originally. Great pictures of the wall of china and jade horse. The arctic green marble tiles look fabulous. Very pretty ruby bracelet.

Missy, I slept better last night but I was dreaming about work. Did you get some sleep? How are you feeling today? I was thinking of that line from Field of Dreams too. Sadly my morning wish didn’t materialize but that’s okay I’ll send my good luck wishes your way so your thinking your problems, worries and pains away will work. Sending them NOW!!! I’d have to come visit you with Kristie on the sly because I won’t go to Arizona because I am “saving” time for our vacation this summer. I hate to hear about your tooth pain. I hope it gets better. I have 2 upper teeth that occasionally flare up. When I used an ultrasonic toothbrush they caused me horrible pain from the top of my head to the bottom of my chin and neither the dentist or doctor could find anything wrong with them. The tooth on the right side eventually had a root break and start coming through my gum. I eventually had the tooth pulled. I bet the same thing will happen to that tooth on the left side. I attribute it to my normal body state - Abby Normal. I love John Milton’s quote. That is spot on. Your hair does look thick. I have super thick hair. I have never been able to wear a pony tail; I have too much hair. My pig tails are bigger than most people’s pony tails. It helps keep me warm though.

Junebug, that is strange you do the same thing to your hair every day and it turns out different. I know humidity can make a difference. I have absolutely no skill whatsoever with blow drying, styling or using a curling iron on my hair. I am all thumbs. That is why I go for wash and wear hairdos. I used to get perms but now it’s straight. Since I have very thick hair though if I get it layered it has quite a bit of body. I used to use electric rollers but the curl never lasted anyway. I found out tonight Marty is not as okay about not getting that job as he said earlier. They still haven’t announced who got the job yet and he feels bad he didn’t even make it to the second round of interviews. He is kind of worried about who might get it and if he’ll like working for them. I mentioned again that we could of moved if he wanted to and he said he didn’t want to live in Atlanta. I guess he wanted to be asked but didn’t want the job? His work is so slow I think he has too much time to think. He seems rather upset about it today anyway. The wind here is brutal. I hate it when it moves the car like you said. That jewelry box is beautiful. You are very talented. I love it. I am sure your friend will be delighted. I tried tole painting for awhile. It was right up there with my cake decorating skills. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t in my skill set.

As I mentioned earlier I finally slept most of the night. I got to bed about 20 minutes early and did sleep soundly until about 4. Then you know the old do I have to get up and visit the little PS room or can I get back to sleep. I finally gave in, got up and then had a hard time falling back asleep. Once I did though I slept until my alarm went off. I didn’t go in to work early either.

I met Marty for lunch and both of us had tacos. Someone brought in cupcakes this afternoon so I had dessert at work.

Speaking of wind the umbrella Marty bought for our deck is history. Marty was on the deck yesterday grilling some chicken and stayed out there while it cooked. He put up the umbrella and forgot to fold it back up. Today he heard something and the wind snapped the pole on it. Grr. We generally keep our drapes and shades closed and I almost opened the drapes last night while we were eating so I could look out the window. Now I wish I had done that.

Our new cleaning lady is coming in the morning so I have to pick up the house tonight. I don’t want my cleaning lady to think I am a slob.

Not much on tap for the weekend.

Have a great evening and wonderful weekend.

Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning girls
Just a quick hello before starting to work from home today. My husband has to work also, so the children announced that I was boring and that they had arranged to visit their grandmother, hahaha. They are getting big

Missy: so sorry to hear about your tooth pain! I hate that! Hope it goes away super quick this time and that it has already left you! As for your attitude to life, I think it is very good - always do one thing and one day at a time and everything will work out. As I sometimes tell my grandmother (she loves to worry about everything), as it went well, at least she got to worry about it so it was not a total disappointment, lol. Just joking. I have a feeling you have a more serious issue on your mind. Off course you have my support! I really like that quote, I have not heard it before. If you do get to much time on your hand, you can always come visit
Re Obamacare: I remember when it started, and all the newspapers etc was so positive and now.. not so much so. What happened?
Those x-rays of your leg looks almost scary, lol. Mine are also stainless steel, in some sort of surgical version that doesn't bip in the metal detectors at airports. At least not yet. I travel a bit for work, so that could be fun... not. So annoying that you should react to the steel. I'm thinking about having mine removed. Apparently, they say that when you get old, the steel might cause you pain, especially in the cold, as the steel gets cold and might cause reumatisme in the ankle. And when you are too old, the healing process in the body is not so good anymore, so it's not so good to taking out then. In result, I think I might take it out next year. Its such a lot of steel, so my left ankle is almost 2cm thicker than my right ankle.. lol. Your hair actually looks thinner in that picture. Still quite thick for Scandinavian purposes, but not as annoyingly thick as in the first one, lol.

Junebug17: LOL about offices. Most of my colleges are men, so I'm probably a bit like them, the culture is rubbing off on me.. lol. But I agree, sometimes its just a matter of getting things done. QUICKLY. hahahaha... Especially when I'm working really hard and late hours, my patience is a little shorter and I really do expect people to do their best without having to be babied... Lol. I'm working this weekend, and already you can probably tell that I starting to get into that zone... not good
My skinprocedure: started flaking really bad Wednesday, so had to go for a facial yesterday. Just couldn't face the weekend looking like an elephant, lol, even if I'm just working. So now I look ok again. Silly how much I care about my looks. I try to contribute it to having had acne when I was younger and feeling insecure about my looks then. Or I'm just shallow.. LOL.
So sorry about your mother. Do you go back-and-forth every day or do you stay there for several days at a time. It sounds exhausting, I think you are a true trooper for hanging in there and doing so much for her!
The box is oh-so-beautiful! Please make my one any time you like I couldn't paint like that in a million years of trying. In Scandinavia we have a long tradition of that kind of paint work, and I would have loved (!) to be able to do it I'll try to find a picture to show you

Marcy: If we had a cleaning lady, I would let her think anything - maybe even make her think I was a total slob to make her work even harder to keep the children safe... LOL. I hope your work is starting to calm down a bit - sounds even worse than mine some days. The ruby bracelet is from Istanbul, the picture doesn't really do the colour justice, they are really true pigeon blood red. I'll try to get a better picture with my other red beauties one day Sounds like the winds are so strong, be careful!

All: Thank you for your lovely comments re pictures and marble: I love China, and the Great wall was a real treat to experience. Wish we had had more time for a full day hike along the wall, not just a couple of hours. The jade horse is even better in real life, haha, it came home with me Its quite big, almost 50cm tall and cut by hand from a single piece of jade. All legal though Bought from the government of China (they have official stores for such things) with stamps and everything. I had to be cleared for shipping though, so it came on boat approximately three months after we came home. And thank you for liking my green marble tiles I think they will look nice with the white log walls and the slate stone floor. Need a bit of bling though. Maybe a chandelier and / or some gold somewhere.. Gold framed mirrors maybe... ?? LOL. A girl needs her bling..

Anyone know of a kind of tub for the shower? I want a big shower, something like 1x1.5m or 1x2m? But I would prefer a kind of floor/tub/base/drain on top of the floor to protect the house a little better. Not common here, but I think that I want it anyway.

S

 

[Scandinavian]

Todays picture: Rosepaint work

For more examples, http://rosemal.com/

Or just google "rosemaling"

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

My tooth/nerve pain is persistent and I am feeling anxious and upset. It is Saturday and yesterday I called the endodontist but his office was closed. I just don't know what to do. Do I page him and beg for an appointment Monday morning? I hate to page him and have not seen him for over 2 years because thankfully the pain had finally gone away but it is back. I have tried rinsing with dead sea salt water as I read that might be helpful but not so far. It is a throbbing aching feeling and I am trying to remain calm and zen but I am feeling overwhelmed once again as it is always something. I swear I did not come here to write all this about how I am feeling but here I am sharing it once again. Very tired of all this. I cannot even take painkillers because of another health concern so I am just toughing it out.


OK onto happier events.

Junie, I LOVE your artwork and you are very talented! It is gorgeous and I would proudly display your artwork in my house. I am impressed!!! Yes my hair also has a personality of its own and I refer to it as my MPD (multiple personality disorder) hair. LOL.
The basement project floor dilemma has been figured out but now unfortunately there is a delay as the new floor was ordered but it has a 2 week due date so Greg moved the movers appointment to the very end of March. Oh well the main thing is he gets his basement and so what for the delay. In the long run he will be very pleased with it.

Sorry your friend came down with a bad cold and your plans were changed. Hope she is feeling better soon and you can make plans to see her soon.


Marcy,I am happy you had a better night's sleep but sorry you were dreaming about work. I am sorry you also have experience with tooth/nerve pain. For me the most frustrating this is I am always proactive but it just seems the doctors can never figure these things out and it takes so much time and suffering to get relief. This is an issue I have been dealing with for years but it did go away for a long time and I don't know why it is back. I am praying it is something the endodontist can figure out and finally do something about it because until they know what it is I cannot get relief.

How did your new (temporary substitute) cleaning lady work out yesterday? I see you switched days compared to your previous cleaning person. Are you happy with her work?

I am jelly of your super thick hair. Oh I would love thick luxurious hair. I make do with what I have but it is the opposite of yours. When I put it in a ponytail there is hardly any width there at all.


Scandinavian, interesting about the metal and as we get older (I am already there however lol) and the cold. My surgeon does NOT want the metal removed unless it is causing me a major problem as there is so much in my leg he said he would not be able to remove it all anyway. IDK but I have been concerned about that. How long ago was your surgery?

I am glad you like that John Milton quote. It is one of my favorites. That and the Gandhi quote about animals.

Your grandmother sounds like me LOL. Worrying is not a good thing but it is good to know she is doing well!

That jade horse you purchased is beautiful and a great way to remember your trip. I love your latest pics of the rose paint work. Just beautiful. I also love the rubies you posted. So lovely. Is it a necklace?

Enjoy the day girls.

 

[MarionC]

june, I love the box you painted. That is seriously good!
I like that we post a lot of non-bling photos. It helps get to know each other in a way that words alone do not.
So here are two totally random photos.

thinking of Missy's Kitty Retreat...Here is a kitty playground that could even be built under a deck.


No ear shots!, Missy. Not until I visit the dermatologist, so here is a photo I snapped before heading out the door for the latest "hair-adjustment"
: )
When did I get that bad haircut [where she cut into the crown and made it puffy]? Last Fall? - it is STILL growing out. Someday; the haircut will grow out, my dermatologist will figure out the skin issue and I will have my braces off. A little side trip into adolescence right now LOL


Scandinavian, was travel in China very challenging? I would like to hear more about your experience.

Marcy, I hope your new cleaning person found something to do! Did she work out OK?
I am still apologetic to mine for leaving anything to clean haha and figure I am really paying her to make me get organized before she arrives. Does anyone's cleaner do dishes or make the beds or do laundry?

I'm very slightly under the weather with sniffles, just enough to be an excuse to spend this chilly morning watching TV. [House of Cards, new episodes, NCIS, new episodes, after finishing the last episode of 30 Degrees in February]. The work will wait!

 

[MarionC]

Missy! Very unhappy to hear about your tooth pain! HUGS and wishes for fast relief.

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy: Hunt down your tooth doctor guy! No point in going around with pain!! Scream, shout, and / or beg. Just get an appointment!!

 

[junebug17]

Hi NIRDIS!

Missy, I'm so sorry to hear about your tooth pain - it's so frustrating to have this phantom pain and not know what's causing it. That throbbing sensation is just terrible, it's constant and is very draining. IMO this is an emergency because you're in pain so I think it's fine to try to set something up for Monday. I'm hoping it lets up because I know how painful this is. (((hugs)))

Thanks for the encouraging words about my painting! I'm really rusty. I have a bunch of things I've bought over the years to paint on and I'm thinking I might start up again. The fun thing about this is you can paint on lots of different surfaces - wood, glass, metal, plastic. The other good thing is this method is very simple and it doesn't take a long time to complete a project. I have an etsy shop and I sold a couple of things but when my mother had the stroke I just lost interest. Maybe I'll start it up again, just for something to do.

Glad you're feeling a little better about the basement delay - so true, the important thing is Greg gets his work area. I'm excited for him about that.

Marcy, sorry that Marty seems upset about the job - It's understandable and I get it. But I definitely believe the only reason he didn't move on in the interview process was that he didn't want to relocate and hopefully with a little time he'll see it that way too. And I can see how he'd be worried about who gets the job, who you're working with is very important to being happy at work. I hope he's feeling better about the whole thing soon.

I'm glad you slept through the night, it's terrible that work is so stressful for you right now. Lol to having to get up to use the bathroom! That happens to me too and sometimes I just lie there hoping the feeling will go away, but I usually give in and get up haha. Ah, the joys of getting older

That's a shame about your umbrella Wow, those are some heavy duty winds out in Wyoming!

Thanks for the nice words about my painting, I'm glad I was motivated by wanting to do something for my friend and I'm going to try to ease back into it. Funny you mentioned cake decorating - I've been tempted to try it but honestly I think I would be all thumbs! And everyone is watching their weight at my house and the last thing we need are a bunch of baked goods hanging around lol.

Scandinavian, your kind words about my painting are really appreciated! And thank you so much for the pics of the rosemaling, those pieces are gorgeous! I couldn't do such detailed work but the colors used are beautiful and are inspiring me to try something simpler using those colors. I especially love the colors in the first pic.

Yes, my schedule is a little crazy - I spend 4 days and 2 nights at my mother's. I've been doing this for over 5 years now and I'm starting to get tired of being away from home so much. Trying to think of alternatives, and I will post some thoughts on this soon.

And in my opinion I think it is very healthy to care about one's personal appearance! I don't think it's shallow and I think looking our best helps up feel better about ourselves. I have gone through periods where I felt down and it affected how I cared for myself, including my personal appearance, and that's not a good thing. I think caring about how we look means we care about ourselves overall and that's very important.

Jimmianne, lol to going back to being a teenager! Hey, maybe it will keep us young to still be concerned about all these things at this point in life! And I am completely serious when I say you are a knock-out and look fabulous! And I know you're unhappy with your hair but I am also very sincere in saying it looks fantastic! I love it, I wish I had hair like yours.

And thanks for your nice words…ugh, I'm embarrassed because you're an accomplished artist but at the same time I think you understand how even creating something simple can be rewarding and a good outlet.

That cat playground is SO cool! Fantastic idea, I love that it gives kitties a chance to get some fresh air but stay safe.

Sorry to hear you're a little under the weather, but glad to hear you're taking care of yourself and getting some rest.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far! Oh, here's a pic of Zoe the cat burrowing under the covers. She had been hopping around and when she went under the covers she immediately got really sleepy! It's as if the sensation of the blankets made her fall asleep lol.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandinavian, that is awesome your kids think you are boring so they are off to see Grandma. Ha! She’ll probably bake them cookies too, right? You certainly do have a lot of metal in your ankle. It makes sense it would bother you more as you age. There is nothing silly about caring about your looks; that is a good thing. My cleaning lady said compared to some of her clients our place looks great. Our master bath, Marty’s kitchenette downstairs and our kitchen probably get the most use. The rest of our place is barely used. My job can be very stressful and there isn’t enough time in the day from March to May but overall I am proud of the work my team puts out all the time. What type of work did you say you do? I could scroll back through the threads or just ask again. I would love to see your rubies. I have a fabulous but small ruby in a RHR; it’s only 6 x 4 but the color in it is amazing. I have a pair of 4mm studs that are Berma rubies but my ruby bracelet shouldn’t ever be displayed on PS. They are red and that’s about all I can say about them. The rosepaint items are lovely. Again skill I don’t possess.

Missy, I’d call the endodontist and see if they want you to start something like antibiotics. I am so sorry it is still so painful and I know how awful that can be. I hope you get relief NOW! I had a root canal onetime and by the time I got it I welcomed it. The funny side of the ultrasonic toothbrush was I got it at my dentist’s suggestion and I asked Marty when I bought it if he wanted his own brush and he said no. So I went through the entire cycle 3 times - used it - got incredible tooth pain - went to the dentist and doctor who found nothing - so they ultrasonic went in the trash. Every time we saw an ultrasonic toothbrush after that Marty would say “I could have had one of those”. He got one when he got his braces. My defense was if you had that much pain you’d throw it away too. Ha! My new cleaning lady was awesome. It’s actually the sister of the girl who usually cleans for me. I am quite pleased. She can only clean on weekends so that is why I switched days. Since I’m always so cold I guess it’s a good thing I do have my own built in hat.

Jimmianne, I love your closed in deck. That is awesome and of course the kitty is enjoying life in there. Thank you for the picture of you heading out the door. I love seeing who I am talking to - you are a beautiful lady. I know it takes a long time to grow out hairdos but at least it’s never permanent. I liked the new cleaning lady. The girl who is on maternity leave now would do dishes and make beds if I don’t have it done so I try to make sure none of that needs done when she comes because I’d rather pay her to clean. One time I’d started laundry and she put it in the dryer and took care of it too. I so agree if you have the sniffles you should stay home and catch up on some of your favorite TV shows. I am a fan of NCIS. Feel better.

Junebug, you are very talented at your paintings so yes I think it’s a great idea to take it up again. You are so right about Marty’s job; I told him the same thing they eliminated him when they called and confirmed “you don’t want to move to Atlanta”. I think he is so slow with his job right now he has too much time to think. Some of the stuff he stews about is not like him at all. I hope he accepts this eventually and he likes whoever his new boss ends up being. I should get a picture of the busted umbrella. It looks like it’s beating up our railing out there now. I totally enjoyed the cake decorating classes. They design them so over the 4 monthly classes they offer (I took them at Micheals) you will buy most of Wilton’s pans and tips but you can make do with different shape cakes and tips aren’t that expensive. You have to make lots of frosting up ahead of time with different colors so I bought those disposable containers and put the different colors in them and used plastic spoons with them. That way after class I could throw it all away and not have a ton of clean up when I got home. The frosting is out of Crisco so it’s greasy and I started rinsing my tips at class meaning even less clean up at home. Ha! I don’t like frosting so I was never tempted to eat much of it but I like cake. I took cakes to work or gave them to my parents. Very few made it home. I stopped at a fire station after class one time and gave them the cake. I got shells and daisies down really well, did okay on leaves and writing but more detailed flowers were out of my league. Marty took one of the sessions with me and he was awesome at it. I think he was stronger and able to control what was coming out of the tube better than I could. Zoe is very cute and looks like she is ready to doze off.

My new cleaning lady did a great job. Everything sparkles. She picked up all the rugs and cleaned under them, cleaned the air returns, outlets. WOW!!! I heard stuff hit the walls frequently though.

Marty will be messing up the place thought but I'm finally getting drawers for my cupboard where we keep out bowls and container. Sweet!!!

Marty also put a hinged door in the garage attic door. The wind here just blows that door up and out and since it's sheet rock it is getting utterly trashed. He made one out of plywood and crawled up in the attic and put a hinge door on the one side. He had my friend's husband come help him because he didn't trust me to get the ladder back in place for him. Weird. Let's hope the wind doesn't start tearing up the hinges then ripping out the trim. We will see. Looks like a great solution so far.

After the cleaning lady was done we went out for dinner. I was starved but now I’m stuffed. We had some chicken fingers for an appetizer then Marty had a buffalo ribeye and sweet potato fries and I had a sirloin and potatoes. We split a pecan ice cream dessert.

Have a great day.
Marcy

 

[MarionC]

June, I love your sweet kitty. Very pretty as well as Zen...She has the look of a well-loved being.

Marcy, I must say that is not MY kitty playpen LOL just inspiration for my DD's project.
Construction for her cat's happiness started at her house today...
She bought the house partly for the comfort of her kitty, but the HOA kept waffling on letting her put up a kitty-fence - two years! and you can't even see it from the street. Criminal!
She finally decided to take matters in her own hands. What she is doing it Very Cool. She is having a kitty-tunnel [walk-way with wire roof and side] attached to the outside of her house. It starts at the cat door next to her front door and wraps around 2 sides of the house to a kitty pen in the wooded back yard.

Did NOTHING today, except the have-tos. I hate that feeling of non-accomplishment, but ah well.
30 Degrees was too grim and dark, so now watching House of Cards season four, seems lacking so far. Will love seeing NCIS. They are my family : ) NWIM?

Hope at least some of us have exciting plans for Saturday night.

Waiting for Missy's dental report.

 

[Scandinavian]

Good very late morning 

Was working until 23 last night, then dinner and a glass of wine, so had to sleep in a bit this morning.

Missy: I’m hoping against hope that your tooth is a little better this morning. Please share though, I think it helps just a little to get it out sometimes. Glad to hear that your basement floor will be ok even if it takes a little more time. I’m starting to get scared for our house extension, if one floor can cause that much trouble… LOL. The rubies are a bracelet. I also have a white gold necklace with one ruby, earrings and a small ring. Nothing big, just nice classic delicate things. I fell for the bracelet when we were in Istanbul a few years ago, so I “pretty-please” asked my husband if perhaps I could get it as a birthday present, lol. I just love the colour, its deeper than the rubies available here. The stone in my necklace also has a really good colour, because it was shipped in from Nederland (I think?) to make the necklace (present from my husband when our oldest was borne). I have a lot of bling, but mostly not-so-big things, this is Scandinavia LOL, only big bling is that ring I showed you

I love to buy things to remember our trips  Painting in Rome, jade horse in China, rubies in Istanbul, carpet in Marrakech. The carpet is so nice – in Istanbul – as I’m sure you know if you have been there, they sell carpets everywhere. Looking around in the market is fun, but you (at least I) don’t really know what kind of quality they are selling and it is difficult to assess if the price is right. But the government has a few outlet stores where you get what you are paying for, including really good service. The price is approximately 10-20% higher than you can get at the markets if you are good at negotiating prices. But at least the risk is so much lower. The carpet is a really good quality, and really big. I think it’s 5x6m. Will go perfectly in our new living room I think  (The current living room is being made into an extension of the current dining room to make a nice big dining room  I love to be able to set a truly long table for guests.) It’s a Persian rug with the base colour in an antique like faded red. Not actually faded, the yarn is washed (or something) prior to making the carpet to reduce actual fading over time.
Interesting about Scandinavia though – normally everybody say “oh-so-nice-is-that-new?”. My new ring – nothing. Not a word. Not even from friends. Only one girl has commented/asked so far. LOL. Scandinavia in a nutshell.

Marcy: So happy that your new cleaning lady is working out well for you! Hope it was just the vacuum cleaner that hit the walls, lol. You are so lucky to have thick hair!  Sorry to hear about Marty and that he maybe wanted the job after all. I think men are often like that. They feel like they have been passed over, even if the only reason he did not get the job was because he did not want to move. Perhaps he secretly wanted you to tell him that you wanted to move because he wanted the job? Or perhaps he feels he has let you down somehow? Most of the men I know are very protective and want to be the “provider” in the family. And that can cause some weird emotions sometimes I think. But I kind of understand how he feels. If it was me, I would have wanted them to think that I was so much better than the other applicants, so that they gave me the job even if I was the only one not willing to move. And I would have been so upset if they didn’t think I was thaaaaat good and much better than everybody else, LOL. I wish you all the best for both you and Marty. I really hope he likes the person that gets the job. My rubies are not big, but I love the red colour. 
Ah – my job – Scandinavia is such a small community One country has approximately the same number of people as a medium sized / small Chinese city, lol.

Jimmianne: That kitty retreat look sooo good! And I can see that your hair is really thick! So jealous I think your hair looks good. But I understand what you are saying. I had a bad hair cut experience like that when I was 12 and I still remember it.. lol. Sorry that your skin is not good at the moment, it sounds like we are all having some skin issues. Stupid skin.
Traveling in China was a breeze. We were two families, each consisting of 2 adults, one child, and one grandmother. So in total, we were 8 people. Because the children were quite small, we only stayed at 5 star hotels and ate the hotel restaurants mostly to avoid food poisoning etc. Chinese people in general don’t speak much English, even at 5 star hotels. So that can be a challenge. But the problem is very easily fixed. Just learn Chinese before you go there! Hahaha kidding. Just hire a guide. We did 6 different cities/places, changed location by plane 5 times. For each place, we had hired a guide and a car with a driver to take care of us. They stayed with us 24/7, almost camping in the lobby at night, lol. These were organised via the traveling agency, and we had no problems what so ever. Really recommend that. It is not so expensive, and really makes everything nice and simple. We started in Beijing and ended in Shanghai 3 weeks later.

Junebug: You are such a good daughter. I hope you find a better solution soon. I worry that you will get exhausted. I think you should start selling your paint work. It is really sooooo good! 
Zoe the cat is just beautiful! So adorable! And those eyes!!

Now: Coffee and work. All the best to you all for this last day of the weekend - S

EDIT: I really don't mean to be rude or secretive. My husband insists that I'm a bit careful what I share online, our country is so small and we are therefore easy to identify if someone should want to do that. Wish I had you girls on my Instagram or Facebook where strangers are blocked out

 

[Scandinavian]

My furbaby last fall when we went hunting and stayed at my father's hunting cabin

 

[Scandinavian]

And the oil painting we brought back from Rome. Maybe not gallery quality, but I love the colours and I think it will fit in nicely in our new dining room


EDIT: approximately 1x1.5m

EDIT2: any recommendations for more modern art? I'm clueless but I would like some nice / interesting things for our new walls