Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, the cinnamon raisin bagels that are toasted are good. I still think the only reason they ever really sound good to me is a good reason to eat cream cheese. Our bed isn't a sleigh bed but we have a big headboard and foot board and it does make getting those fitted sheets on a PITA. I used to change sheets weekly when we had a queen sized bed without a foot board; I'm not as motivated now.

Glad to hear Darth Vadar is growing on you; did you see if there is a Jared's near you? I am anxious to see what you decide. I just pinged the lady online about a larger ruby.

Good idea to go shopping while Liam and his cousin had their guy talk. How cool to find the glasses you want and for such a great price. That is pretty amazing to find the same glasses 2 days in a row. I swear so many pieces on your site could have been my mom's or something she'd want. That green Fenton ruffled vase is something I am pretty sure she had.

The fair sounds really fun. Nice of you to drive home - I know what you mean driving the pickup. Marty's F250 was extended cab and full bed; since it was red I felt like I was driving a fire truck down the road and forget me trying to turn it in to a parking spot. Straight lines were fine though. Marty always says he has to drink more if I'm driving home.

You are such a meanie telling the young feral to eat cereal late at night; maybe if he'd learn to clean up after himself you wouldn't tell him no. If he does learn that trick though can you have him get with Marty? Marty's Greek yogurt turns in to cement and he has a bowl every morning.

I hope you got your HR appraisals done today. I built NFL patterns for about 40 games - I have to copy and paste the requested names of local markets one at a time. I was cross eyed by the time I was checking my work so I'll do that tomorrow.

Other than work nothing new with me. Marty went to a concert in Denver tonight. I made myself some mini meatloafs and oven taters and ate some of my BIL's fresh from the garden raw veggies while they baked.

Take care.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, do you do anything special with your meatloaf? I used to love it as a kid but have no idea how to make it. There's probably more to it than just forming the hamburger into a loaf and sticking it in the oven LOL. I know what you mean about the things on my site being like the stuff our mothers and grandmothers had! Just last week a lady bought a set of glasses from me because her grandmother passed away last month and they are the same glasses they used to drink iced tea out of sitting on the porch. Stories like that get me every time!

Yesterday was just one of those days that you are happy to survive! I had a migraine so bad that I took three naps along the way. This morning when I alarm was off I was exhausted, which made the drive into the city absolutely no fun... and then my tire pressure warning started screaming at me. For the life of me I could not figure out how to find the pressure on all four tires on any of the settings and with so much road construction I was afraid I might have run over something sharp and was in danger of being flat flat so I got off the exit where the downtown Audi deal is at. Of course the showroom (which is what I drove to) is in a different location than the service center so I had to then make my way over there. The guy topped off the air in all my tires and said there is no way to see the PSI on the tires from inside in my car, it only tells you if there is an imbalance of pressure. WTF. So I guess I'll be buying a tired gauge and learning how to use it in case (when!) this happens again.

Liam is coming down tonight so I'm still here at my office and this is where he'll pick me up. I've been pretty productive these last few hours with everyone gone, but I just got pinged from the performance review system that I hadn't completed all my assessments. I went back in and lo and behold there is another one beyond what I'd already done today. That sucker got added in after I was already done -- not fair!

OK, better go work on that while I have some peace and quiet.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

We are getting rain this afternoon; it really cooled it off here. I was quite busy at work - I built 2 giant databases but it kept me very occupied. I got in lots of extra steps too - the wifi router near me isn't working well so I'd walk to the other side of the floor and hook to that router which would stay online for me anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour before it decided to hop back to the router near me and then of course not hook. I use my iPad mini pretty much as my second monitor so I missed it. Oh well.

That is so cool your site is giving people the chance to relive some memories. That is pretty special.

I make mini meatloafs which would probably work great for the ferals. My recipe is easy; but you may have to double it. I use 1 pound of ground sirloin, 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup rice krispies, 1/4 cup ketchup and mix all that together. Then I divide that in to 6 sections. I break cheese sticks in 1/2 and use 1/2 of a cheese stick in each "log" - I basically flatten the 1/6 of the batch in to a hamburger patty, put the cheese in the middle then wrap the meat around the cheese shaping a log. I bake them at 350 for about 30 minutes until browned and the cheese is just starting to melt out the top or side. They were something we had a kids and I guess my sisters still make them too. As a matter of fact I just baked a frozen one for supper (left it cooking a bit too long) but here is a photo - that is a salad plate. I ate my supper in 3 courses - first some raw veggies, then some oven fries and then the cheeseburger log.

Sorry you had such a bad headache - sounds miserable and ugh to driving in to the city then and having tire pressure trouble. I am surprised you can't see your PSI on your dash - my A6 was able to display it. I always found heat variations would raise or lower the pressure and give me fits. The Porsche doesn't seem as sensitive. Glad the Audi dealer got you fixed up.

Definitely not fair to get pinged for a review added after you were done. Sounds like my luck.

Here is a picture of the sun this morning. I know the sun looks fake but that is totally the color of the sun on the horizon this morning. Smoke does give us pretty sunrises and sunsets.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

HI Kids!

We had rain most of the night but it warmed right up again today. Work was long and frustrating but hey it's over. I lifted when I got home then made myself a bacon, egg, cheese toasted sandwich for supper. I had an aggressive fly dive bomb me several times while eating and doing dishes so I made it my mission to end that sucker - which I did. I dead headed our flowers and took a few pictures. Then like an idiot I deleted all the images on my SD card - glad I saved the few pictures I like elsewhere already. Rats.

I have tomorrow off. Yay.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

There! I did it. I had an initial doctor visit and didn't die or get sent to the hospital. BP and heartbeat were high so he gave me a pill to try and help that. He wants me off aspirin and to take a baby aspirin and an anti-inflammatory every day. Most pills make me sick so I'll see how they work. No aspirin this afternoon and my right knee is killing me right now. He wants a MRI on that sucker! I went and had the blood work done and I'll go back in a month. Now I need to eat less. He suggested walking in a swimming pool for aerobic exercise with low impact on my knees. I don't see me signing up to do that. Not too bad so far for not having a physical for 15 years. Bwhahahahahaha. My heart, lungs and oxygen were good but he said I had a small heart murmur; now that I think about it I've been told that before.

My day off was non-exciting. I slept in, did laundry and really not much else. Between the doctor, lab work, 3 trips to the pharmacy I was dealing with that from 12:45 to 5:30.

Tomorrow is Friday! Yay! Any estate sales this weekend?

Take care.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Saturday kids!

Quick check in from Austin! My friend and I are down here for the memorial for the guy we used to work with. This place is HOT. And HUMID. ACK. We were delayed getting out yesterday because they had to put more fuel on the plane so we could go around some storms, but everything else went smoothly once we got going. Our hotel is great with a really nice view across the river. We had dinner at a BBQ place last night -- so good! Then we walked back across the bridge and waited for the 1.5 million bats that are supposed to come out from under it every night. It's supposed to be quite a spectacle, but it was so dark by the time they came out we couldn't really see anything. Today we're just going to tool around; maybe a run to Target to get something my friend forgot and then lounging by the pool until we go to the memorial this afternoon.

 

[Dee*Jay]

The view from our room.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Back from HOTstin! Whew, it is steamy there! We had a good trip, ate a lot of BBQ, "enjoyed" the memorial, and took a quick trip to San Antonio to see the Alamo and the river walk. Yesterday we were delayed coming back to Chicago due to weather here. When I was headed north from the airport Liam called and told me to get off the highway and head east and north on surface streets because there was a line of storms that looked like it was going to go right down the highway. I did, and boy was I glad! There was quite a bit of rain and wind even going away from the storm line so I was especially glad not to have to go right through it. Last night was all about unpacking, laundry and getting ready for an early drive into the city this morning. Work today has been non-stop calls... not sure how I'm ever supposed to get anything DONE! Alright, back at it. More later!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay it sounds like you enjoyed yourself in very hot Texas. Great view from your room and I bet the BBQ was great. Sorry you were there to remember a lost co-worker, I am glad the memorial went well. Those seem to kind of help everyone.

The trip to the Alamo, San Antonio and river walk would be a great trip. We plan on making that trip sometime and visit our nieces in Houston. One of them works in mission control at Johnson Space Center and has promised us a private tour. It’s on my to do list for sure.

Glad Liam called you and diverted you from the storm. Smart guy. Tell him he can read radar far better then me. I tried to avoid large hail coming home one time so keep checking the radar to see where it was, I swear I drove right in to the worst of it the entire way home. Oh well, I tried.

It is still really smoky here. I’ve felt awful since going to the doctor, which reaffirms my belief what do people have in common that go to the doctor? They are sick! Ha ha. The BP pill is working well but it sure makes me feel weird. The anti inflammatory meds are messing with my stomach. One of them or both are making me really tired. I’m assuming I’ll get used to the BP meds. I’m also having trouble falling asleep.

I have been trying to decide on another lens. The one that sounds the nicest is 2 pounds which would be like putting a brick on the front of my little camera. After hours of reading reviews and watching videos I finally picked one lens, then another and now I want one that appears to be difficult to get. I emailed that B&H Photo to see if they are expecting more. They hopefully can get me one sometime soon.

Marty just ordered some snap front shirts from Amazon. He is having his shoulder surgery next Tuesday. They should be easier to get on than button up shirts.

take care
Curby

PS I did reach 100 today on the way to work. Sweet.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

I am feeling better today but this morning was fun! My temp crown definitely had a rough spot so they squeezed me in at the dentist and replaced it. Since my lunch was probably too chewy for a newly seated tooth I stopped at Wendy's and had a baked potato and ate a burger without the bun for lunch. Then I decide to get the CurbyMobile washed and let's hope this video doesn't end up on YouTube. Having short arms I pull up as close as I can to the touch screen and ended up dropping my debit card on the ground and it went under my car. So I wiggled my big butt out of my card and got my card - then trying to get back in my car without really bending my right knee was quite a challenge. Finally made it though! Then I returned to work with a new temp crown, a full stomach and a clean car. The rest of my day was incident free!

I lifted tonight and had another hamburger and a peach. I cut up some cherub tomatoes but they seemed a bit chewy so I only ate a few of them. This new temp crown is way better than the first one. I don't even feel it anymore. The other one was rough and foreign feeling so I guess it's a good thing it needed replaced.

I got some more flower pictures tonight. Wish the skies would clear up so I can venture away from our front yard.

Take care.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Curby, you and I are in the temp crown club together. I had mine put on yesterday morning... and it took two hours to get it done! The dentist wants me to keep it on longer than normal (four weeks instead of two) to make sure there's no "nerve involvement" and the crown fixes my problem or else I will indeed need a root canal. I'm a little sore this morning, but it is what it is. I can always have vodka for breakfast once I drop my packages at the post office, right?!

This week has been a blur. I was at the office until almost 10 pm on Tuesday because Liam was coming down and usually just picks me up at work now when he does that. Well due to storms his departure kept getting pushed back, so I just kept working (god knows I have enough to do!). It was great though -- I made it clear to the bottom of The Drawer of Death! That's the place where things I don't want to do "right now" (translation: Ever!) go to die. I hadn't cleaned it completely out since before covid. Needless to say a lot of the things in there didn't really matter any more, ha ha.

Yesterday I worked and worked and worked some more after the dentist experience, and finally left downtown around seven. When I got back here to The North Estate (LOL!) I had five orders to pack up, three of which I knew about when I left the city, one of which sold while I was driving and one of which sold while I was packing the others. I also have a lady who wanted something I hadn't listed yet so I just put that up for her real quick and once she buys it I can pack it up and create the label and take it with everything else today. Whew!

No idea what the rest of the day will bring, other than some laundry... including sheets. Ugh!

OK, off to get this show on the road!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

I can't believe I'm typing this... but I am NOT standing outside at an estate sale right now waiting for a number! There are two where I want things, but I just didn't have it in me today. Yesterday happened in a haze; my allergies were SO bad I took pills twice (the kind that say take ONE every 24 hours ) and even tried to take a nap, but Liam came home just as I closed my eyes. I am going to mosey over to Fed Ex to ship a package and then run by and see what I think at the two sales, but I'm so buried under unlisted items right now it's kind of daunting. Liam keeps warning me that this level of inventory will dry up come fall/winter so I do understand the need to buy now, but uh... So Much Glass In The Dining Room! And I am shipping out more than I'm brining in at the moment (six boxes yesterday, one already for today), but uh... So Much Glass In The Dining Room! Anyway, you get the picture.

My new Brooks tennis shoes came yesterday. I got the Ghost and the Glycerine. The Glycerin is super cushioned. Maybe TOO cushioned because they make the "hump" in y orthotic on the right foot very prominent since the front and back of my foot sink down when I walk. That may not make any sense, so just trust me, ha ha! I'm probably keep them though, and I like the other pair too. Going with the wide width was key!

Alright, let's go see what this day brings!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, ugh to spending 2 hours in the dentist chair; I hope your mouth feels better today and you don't need a root canal. Strange you mentioned keep the temp on for 2 to 4 weeks; if I don't get in to the periodontist before November mine will be on way longer than that. Yes, you can have vodka for breakfast; it will sterilize your mouth.

Darn for working in the office until 10 pm but yay for getting to the bottom of the Drawer of Death. That stinks Liam had to drive down in storms though. I have drawers like that at the office and at home. LOL to things no longer needing done since they've been there since B.C.

I totally like the idea of "the North Estate". That's perfect. Nice to have several orders to send out. You are rocking the vintage glassware sales. Did you end up going to any estate sales today? That is interesting the estate sales dry up in the fall and winter; I guess it makes sense because of spring cleaning but estate sales from cleaning out someone's house is probably year around. Like I'm an expert - NOT!!!

Are your allergies better? Oh no for taking such strong allergy pills; I can't sleep off one of those. Marty couldn't sleep one time so I told Marty to take one because "I can't sleep it off". Poor guy was awake all night.

Nice you got your new Brooks. Are the Gylcerin on foam soles? I saw some in the store (Brooks and other brands) and just can't imagine I'd like them. Glad the new width is working for you. I was totally thinking of getting some new Brooks soon. I have a pair of Hoka I like but do prefer Brooks.

I am finally feeling better today. I think the anti inflammatory made my sinuses drain - I went through a box of tissues yesterday and then coughed most of Wednesday night. How much can our sinuses hold? Marty has a mini meet at his gym tomorrow; one of his clients daughters is leaving for college next week so she and him are having a competition. Too funny. Other than that I have no idea what is going on this weekend. I took some more flower pictures tonight and was tempted to get get some of the lake in the park but it is still smoky; not as bad as it has been but hazy. I am trying to decide which new lens to buy. Canon apparently is cutting back on many of the DSLR lenses and making new lenses for mirror-less cameras. Sadly that's not what I picked so all the nice lenses I am interested aren't in stock and may never be in stock again. Also since I bought such a small and light weight camera some of the heavier lenses may not work well on my camera. Oh well. Maybe I'll spend money on jewelry instead.

Take care.
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids! Happy Saturday!

Not much exciting going on here today. Marty had a small lifting meet at his gym today but I stayed home. I still have a runny nose, cough and sore throat. I checked symptoms of the 2 meds I started and one of them has that as a common side effect. Marty thinks his crud a few months ago was when he started the same anti inflammatory medicine. Interesting.

I wasted time today trying to get software to work to transfer photos directly from my camera to my laptop but didn't have much success. I did find in search people with Macs running Big Sur IOS have issues. Then I tried to hook my computer to a "cloud" Canon has and sadly that didn't work for me either. Marty's Sony works great at that! Phooey!

I finally took pictures of a few "Dee" things for you. Here are the 2 tulip bowls my mom gave me, the small sugar and creamer was my grandmother's - she put them out when she had the ladies in for canasta, then the bowl with flowers was something my mom's grandmother gave her along with the note her grandmother wrote her. My mom gave us girls and her grand daughters-in-law each a bowl at Christmas one time.

We chased a sunset last night but didn't catch it. I saw it briefly on the way. The orange sun was right on the horizon, it has a halo around it with rays shooting out and the sky was all orange. Very cool! I should have taken a picture from inside the pickup with my phone., We are going to go out tonight earlier.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

Happy Sunday Kids!

A smoky day in Wyoming. I am working on my last batch of laundry. I did my lifting this morning. I ran to Walgreens to get some Nyquil, cough syrup and cough drops. While I was out I picked up burgers at Wendy's for us for lunch. It's a lazy Sunday!

I ordered my new camera lens this morning. Woo hoo!!! Marty sat on the deck last night and got some star pictures. Amazing you can record constellations in 10 seconds now.

Have a great day.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Curby, I love the pictures of your mom's stuff! I picked up some more of the tulip bowls at an auction earlier this summer but I haven't listed them yet. I just love those little things for some reason. The sugar and creamer set is absolutely adorable! And that note in the salad bowl is a true family treasure! You're lucky to have a family you like; mine is causing me a bit of heartburn lately (well, if you consider the past 50 years "lately" ). Liam ordered some Brooks too and they are way too short on him. Interestingly enough I have to get them in a 6-1/2 and I'm a 5-1/2 at best in regular shoes. Do you get your normal size in them or do you have to go up? When is your new lens coming? How are you feeling now?

I went to an estate sale on Friday, but not at the a$$ crack of dawn. Of course the glasses I was most interested in were gone, but that's OK. I went back to the same sale on Saturday when things were 50% off and picked up other glasses that I wanted but it didn't make sense to pay "full" price for. I sold eighteen of them that same afternoon to a lady who had bought six more of something specific earlier that week, so those are going to Fed Ex this morning. I spent the rest of Saturday and yesterday taking pictures, although I confess to a nap yesterday afternoon. Liam made a big lunch instead of a big dinner and we had steak and lobster and corn -- oh my! Between that, a glass of wine with my meal, and an allergy pill I decided to take a break from the photos and visit the bed for a bit, ha ha.

Today is Monday. Working from home!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, that’s great you sold some of your new glasses already. I was very sad last night when one of those crystal glasses I’ve had for 30 years collided with the edge of the granite countertop. You know which one won. And now there are 6. Maybe you will list some of them someday and I can snap them up!!! Marty said nice job. To which I responded shut up!!! The brat.

Sounds like you had a nice weekend. Liam’s dinner sounds delicious! How are your allergies doing? I am better today with this cold / allergy thing. I was afraid to take both NyQuil tablets so only took one. I ran Marty off about midnight with coughing but after that I slept over 5 hours solid. I was going to call in sick but our current company policy is you have to fill out an illness report and get a COVID test before returning to work. Forget that! I checked several times and these symptoms are not matching the big C! My boss would probably send me home if we actually met face to face but luckily he canceled our meeting. Marty wanted to know if he needs to find alternate transportation for his surgery tomorrow. I told him we can handle it.

Our company moved to gmail today. What a mess!!!! None of my email that is on a distribution list is showing up. Yay less work. Suckers.

my lens has shipped so hopefully I’ll get it Wednesday.

laters.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, I'm so sorry you broke one of those glasses! I've lost a few too in the battle with harder things and it's always a sad moment. Send me a picture of them and I'll keep my eye out. If I see any I'll snap them up for you! My allergies are hit and miss. One day I'm fine and the next I think I'm going to die from them. Praying for an early first frost this year... Like TOMORROW would be fine!

Yesterday I did stuff all day but I couldn't show you any actual thing that was accomplished. In the middle of the night I got a message from a customer who is unhappy with something they purchased. The nature of selling vintage stuff involves a lot of inspecting and hand washing and inspecting again, but I missed seeing a crack on a mug handle. Totally unintentional, and I definitely would have disclosed it if I'd seen it, just like I do with all the imperfections I'm aware of, but I still feel bad. I've offered to send them a return label and they can just wrap it back up and ship it back for a full refund.

Anyway, that message kept me up staring at the ceiling so when my alarm went off I was not ready for it! My plan was to drive Billy Ray today but I completely forgot and as I was backing out of the driveway Liam came out and said, I thought you were taking the fun car. Well by then I was already headed out so I just kept going. Next week!

I have big plans for today, starting with throwing out a bunch of old files so I can more things off of my desk and into the soon-to-be-empty space in the drawers. Do I know how to live or what?!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I totally chuckled what you said about an early frost - I was thinking that yesterday when I was having a sneezing fit. I am again better today but not well. I took cough syrup before we headed to Colorado for Marty's surgery so they at least keep my coughing up a lung at bay so they didn't kick me out of the place. Stupid allergies. Smoke was awful; if you could see mountains at all they were just a shadow.

I will get pictures of my glasses for you. They were sold in a blue box - does that help? I am thinking Mikasa or Lennox - does Oneida have glasses? It was a brand I was familiar with at the time.

Oh no about having an unhappy customer. You are doing everything you can to make it right so hopefully she is okay with that and won't be a nasty Karen and post a bad review on your page. It's hard to see those cracks. I have that Lenox Holiday china and some of their bake ware that matches is porcelain. I bought a few pieces on sale after Christmas so didn't use them until the next year and when I washed the 9x13 baking dish it had a big old crack in it that showed up when it was wet. Too late to return it now. I use it more as a serving dish or to heat rolls in at Christmas.

Phooey for leaving Billy Ray home this week. I almost got creamed leaving the surgery center today; I was lost and was pulling over to turn around and this huge SUV went racing my me. I told Marty his scariest part of his surgery was riding home with me driving.

Nice to throw out things at work and have an empty drawer.

My day was spent freezing at the surgery center. They brought Marty a warm blanket when we were in pre-op. He didn't want it so I inherited it and took it with me every place they moved me. The room I waited in while he had surgery was set at 68 degrees, I kept trying to boost the temperature but no dice.

His surgery went well but they found more damage than expected so it was about 75 minutes. They did a nerve block on his arm so it feels really weird like his arm is missing. Tomorrow the pain will start. I don't see how he can get that sling on or off by himself. He has a chair he has to use several times a day that passively moves his arm for him. There are a few exercises he has to do as well.

We got home about 3 and ordered in food from Door Dash. I went out and picked off dead flowers and then put them in the trash can and since Marty wasn't all the way in the garage with his pickup I ended up pushing in the garage door lock and darn near broke the door. I had to have him come look and glad I didn't brake the thing; the track was all bent trying to open the door. I didn't want to force it but thought that brace was what I accidentally pushed.

Take care
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Marty is pretty miserable today. He propped up pillows in our guest bedroom and slept (or tried to sleep anyway) in there. The nerve block wore off about 1 am; he said that was awful! He did manage to get dressed and back in his sling by himself this morning but said putting that shirt on was horribly painful. He has done his arm lift chair twice already today and the few exercises they have him doing and they all hurt like heck to do. I have hovered around trying to help but not much I can do so I guess I will go to work tomorrow.

We did go out to breakfast and then picked up some groceries. Marty got stew meat and frozen assorted peppers and hash browns so he won't have to chop up things to cook his breakfast.

I haven't done much today. Did a batch of laundry, lifted and got some things ready to mail. My lens is now listed for expected delivery tomorrow. Darn.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Curby, I'm sorry to hear Marty is miserable, but hopefully he'll be on the mend and feeling better quickly! I'm sure it's hard for someone as active as he is to be hobbled like this. My unhappy customer turned out to ultimately be very reasonable. I really thought it was going to be an "ordeal" so I'm very glad I was wrong! I hope whatever happened to the garage door isn't too bad. Hopefully the fix-it people can take care of it easily!

Today is Friday and I made the executive decision, based on nothing thrilling to me in the estate sale photos, not to go camp out in front of a house first thing this morning waiting to spend money! Yesterday however, I did. And let me start by saying I was confused by the ad; at first I thought the sale started on Wednesday (which it DID, but more on that later) and then I thought it started on Thursday. Long story short the estate sale site only lets them list four dates so when I looked at it on Wednesday night Wednesday had already dropped off and it looked like Thursday was the beginning. So I got there RIDICULOUSLY early... only to find out from someone else who had been there the day before what was really going on. Anyway, the two things I wanted from the pics were of course gone, but I ended up buying FIVE BOXES of glasses. At first the estate sale lady was going to have me unwrap every single thing and count it and put a price on it and I was like, LADY, pulllllllleeeezzzzze, we need to come up with a better system here. So finally she was like how 'bout $200 for whatever you want? DONE. I have one entire moving box of nothing but pink stemware, which is turning out to be harder to find than I'd imagined, so I was THRILLED. And another medium sized box of really cool blue footed glasses. And three other smaller boxes of just great stuff. At the rate I'm going though I might not even get to these until around Labor Day... NEXT YEAR!!! Actually, Liam thinks I'm going to kill it at Christmas so I need to get stuff listed like mad. I hope he's right!

Today is all about laundry and cleaning up... and then pictures. But first, clean clothes and a clean(ish) house! I also need to make a trip to Costo and probably also the regular grocery store. I was thinking I'd take Billy Ray out for a stroll, but if I'm going to Costo that's not really in the cards. I guess I could strap the toilet paper to the top, ha ha!

Alright, off to go be Might Maid!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, that's great your unhappy customer was decent to deal with; what a relief. I am sure you'll run in to some whoppers now and then but probably few and far between.

The garage door has been fine - lucky for me!

Marty is doing amazingly well! He is only taking his pain pills at night. Being strong plus having long arms makes it easier for him. He doesn't need help getting the sling on or getting dressed. We pulled his bandage off Friday morning and he has been taking a shower okay. He was going to a poker game last night but decided to invite them over here so he could prop up his arm easily so he even had a poker night. They all had fun but Marty didn't come out ahead on poker - I gave him $60 when he ran out of his cash. I told him today I expected to be paid back - he told me to get it at the bank. Ha Ha.

Phooey about the confusion on that estate sale and yes that would have been a PITA to unpack all 5 boxes and price each thing. Glad you worked out a deal to get those boxes. Nice you ended up with some nice glasses including a box of pink stemware. You don't see that often but hey - it's pink. I don't know why not? It sounds like you have a lot of items to get listed but I bet Liam is correct - your supply will be quickly depleted at Christmas time. You'll be making tons of trips to the post office!

I did end up going to work both Thursday and Friday - I think Marty was anxious for me to not be home all day. He has stayed home from the gym all week and didn't work at his day job either. His arm therapy takes at least 3 hours a day and he has the option of doing one more hour. Yesterday he only got 1 1/2 sessions done though. My sister and BIL stopped by right when I got home from work and were here until the poker guys started showing up. My sister brought us homemade dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls and chicken nuggets. I already tried a dinner roll and a cinnamon roll; I am anxious to try the chicken nuggets too.

I was sure ticked off at work on Thursday - they almost sent me home for the rest of the week for coughing and sneezing. Someone turned me in to HR for coming to work sick. My boss calls me down to his office and I had to tell him my new medicine drains my sinuses and gives me a runny nose - guess what happens when your sinuses drain? You cough!!!! And I have ALLERGIES and it's SMOKY out there along with high grass and weed pollen - that makes me SNEEZE. HR finally decided I should fill out an illness report form checking off my symptoms to see if I could stay on sight; I had to answer some required medical questions (isn't that illegal?) and explain what the "issue" was - I got a response in about 2 minutes saying based on your symptoms you can continue business as usual! I printed that email, highlighted that sentence and hung it on my cube. I was rather irritated that anyone would think I am such a jackarse I'd come to work if I was really sick or contagious!!!!

We went to a funeral and the following reception today. We had lunch while we were out but other than that I've been working on laundry and my article for the local newspaper. Actually I wrote 2 articles; I decided the first one was too boring so tried another subject. We had a brief rain that kind of cleared up the smoke so I ran to the park and tried a few pictures with my new lens. None of them knocked my socks off but I was overall happy with how the lenses performed; let's face it I may just have to suck it up and use a tripod sometimes. When I got home I tried a few pictures of the Sun with my solar filter. I think this new lens might be good for jewelry photos too. Maybe tomorrow I'll try a few of them.

You can tell fall is out there - the winds are getting chilly, it's getting dark sooner and my September article does mention the upccoming solstice.

Take care.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Sunday kids!

Curby, I'm glad Marty is doing so well. As for having long arms, that's something neither you nor I will ever know about! Speaking of poker, a lady bought those poker playing card glasses and is going to give them to her BIL as a gift. I hope he loves them! What a load of hassle about the illness report. If we had that protocol at my work I'd have to do one every single day from March to October given my allergies! Your new lens sounds great. I can't wait to see some pics!

Yesterday I took photos and put up five listings (or was it six?). I put myself on a buying ban until I can get some of the dining room cleared out... and then a friend texted and said an estate sale nearby was going "fill a bag for $5" in the last hour of the sale and they had a ton of glass. Well Of Course I went over there... and came back with three bags full. None of it is particularly thrilling, but for $15 I got probably four dozen pieces, including a decanter and a crystal etched pitcher and also a mirrored tray I can use as a prop, so it was worth the four mile drive!

Today I am going to have to wash some things to be able to take pics. If I had been more ambitions I would have done the washing last night so I was ready to go today... but I was just TIRED.

Last week I made the executive decision I need to go on a diet, and I convinced Liam do it with me or else there was little hope of success. The only eating plan he's willing to do is low carb (bacon! bacon! bacon!) so that's what we're doing. I'm fine with that, and went to Costco on Friday to stock up on cheese sticks and nuts. I also got these protein shake things that are only 5 grams of carbs. They aren't fabulous by any means, but when you want something chocolate they will have to do!

OK, off to plunge myself elbow deep in dishwater!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Yesterday I was rolling right along taking pics and creating listings, but I only had three done when Liam called and said he'd bought me some glass at an auction and had no way to pack it up so I took a drive over and got two sets of some lovely things and other random stuff. That kind of cut into the middle of my day. We headed home then and had an early dinner. After that I got motivated and washed up four of the five boxes from last week. SO much fabulous pink! I'll go through the last box this morning and then start listing those. I'm sure I won't get through all of that, but I'll do at least some and then put the rest safely in the dining room for now. I also have an order to pack up and take to the post office, but I think I'm going to hold off on that until late afternoon in case I sell anything else today so I can do it all at the same time.

My office is ratcheting up the covid procedures again. We are now required to mask up unless we're in our own offices and there is mandatory testing every Monday. Not sure what I'm going to do since I don't go in on Monday's. Maybe he HR person will give me a batch of tests I can do at home... ?

Day five of Liam's and my low carb adventure. So far, so good!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, you are so right - we will never know the benefits of having long arms. That's why I have one of those "grabbers". When my dad broke his hip they sent me with a list of things to pick up for him - I got myself one at the same time.

That's great the poker glasses sold. I am sure anyone would be thrilled to have them on poker night. The guys that came over the other night mostly brought their own mixers in big gulps. Only one guy used one of our glasses downstairs and Marty wasn't drinking. Very easy clean up.

I totally know what you mean about that illness reporting at work - March to October will be challenging for me. Stupid allergies. Maybe you'll luck out at the office and not have to do weekly testing. My company only slightly eased masks a few months ago so not much has changed. Joy.

I did check out your page and new things during lunch today. Lots of great selections there. Nice to get 3 bags of glassware for $15. You can't beat that. Nice that Liam picked up some boxes for you too; I can totally envision the "north estate" with glasses every where you can see! You'll be washing and photographing for weeks.

Good luck with the low carb diet; high protein diets do keep you full. Marty is doing low carb now too since he can't lift. I have been really good at less snacking and less chocolate; and trying to eat less in general. Watch I'll have put on 5 pounds when I go back to the doctor in a few weeks.

Marty has had a long day. He left for the gym before 5. He was doing his arm chair lifting about 9 and has to do it a few more times today. He did cook breakfast here anyway. He usually gets done with the gym about 7:30 or 8. He was planning on working his day job too; poor guy will be tired when he gets home. He said today his pain wasn't too bad but everything takes so long to do now.

I spent half my day trying to get a formula to work in a crystal report. My boss is an "Awful" teacher and usually acts like "you should know this" so I guess tomorrow I'll suck it up and go ask him to help me get that one formula started. Then I'll have about 80 more versions of that to update before the reports pull correctly. The best part is this will eventually be a HUGE time saver for my team. I've got MLB done, just have to do the same for NBA and NHL.

Off to do more laundry. I completely forgot to get my last batch washed yesterday plus I decided to do a batch of towels tonight.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, I know what you mean about not wanting to go to your boss because "you should know this," LOL. We had a thing a few years ago (I'm still p!ssed off about it!) that involved a very specific division of expenses based on a legal agreement... that I had read once when I joined the firm in 2013. Uhhhhhhhhh... That is one of the many MANY things that did not specifically stick in my head! Didn't Einstein say don't bother remembering things you can look up?! I forgot about a load of laundry the other day too. I apparently washed it and never put it in the dryer. When I lifted the lid to put a new load in I was like... Ah! That's where my new T-shirts are! The load had sat in there for a few days at that point so I just ran it through again.

Yesterday I took pics for half a dozen listings, four of which I put up and the other two I'll get to tonight to tomorrow night. The drive in today was slower than normal. There was one single piece of construction equipment sitting well off to the side at a certain point and for some reason every driver in Chicago had to slow down for it. ??? I tried to use the thingy to take my temperature this morning on the way in but it was flashing some sort of message that indicated to me it wasn't working. So I just kept on going into the office, and here we are half a day later, all still alive! We've moved to single serve lunches here at the office and today it was either a selection of sandwich (low carb = no bread!) or a salad. I went with the salad but frankly it was rather disappointing. I might have to go and see how many carbs are in the yogurt we have in the fridge because this little pile of lettuce didn't cut it! Tonight we're having happy hour somewhere up north (not too far, just a Lyft ride away). Liam is supposed to come down too so the easy early night I'm craving isn't going to happen!

OK, off to work on a government filing. I need to track down some info and that's always an uphill battle so might as well start now even though it's not due until the 31st.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, this morning while I was revving up the Curbymobile in the garage before I left I wondered if you do that with Billy Ray? I do amuse myself! Marty said "yes, I heard you!"

Don't you love those "you should know this" moments? I did tell my boss on the way out today I need to get with him on a formula. I swear I tried every formula I found plus those I googled!!! Oh well. I have my work cut out for me with blackout patterns for a while. I don't know if Einstein said that about looking things up but he was smart and that is a valid point. I would definitely have washed that batch of laundry again. I'll do that with my last load in the dryer. Usually that is underwear though so it doesn't get wrinkled.

Nice to get some pictures taken and posted online. You did have some great new things when I looked yesterday.

Isn't it stupid how a vehicle on the side of the road can slow traffic down for hours? Grr. Too funny you couldn't take your temperature. I do like it when our tablet tells me I am "normal" every day. I laugh and say sucker! Good luck with the government filing and I hope you have fun at happy hour.

I stopped at a farmer's market on the way home and got a fresh batch of peaches; the ones we bought and put in the frig were getting nasty so I threw them out. The new peaches look way better. I picked up Culver's today since the flavor of the day is that Strawberry chocolate parfait; I had it with a swiss butter burger but only a partial bun. The sky was actually blue so I ran to the park and got some pictures. I am happy with my new lens. I just shot with the scene landscape mode because I didn't feel like messing around too long.

Marty was excited - he got a t shirt on today. He does wonder how easy it will be to take off but he said since it's stretchy it was easy to get it on this morning.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Curby, I forgot to tell you... Challenge Accepted! Billy Ray and I were at 111 the other day... when a Kia decided to take his life in his own hands and pull into the lane I was in. No idea why, other than he was being a d!ck, because there was plenty of room all over the road in every lane so I just zipped to the right and got by him. And then I was at my favorite off-ramp with the big sweeping curve and there was no one in front of me, so it was a lovely little jaunt!

Yesterday our department happy hour turned into SIX happy hours, LOL. We started on the roof deck of a hotel. The storm clouds were steadily rolling in so they partially closed the retractable roof, which was glass with metal cross beams. The rain was TORRENTIAL. And then the lightening started. Did I mention the metal cross beams?! So we moved down to the restaurant on the first floor. And then an even bigger wave of torrential rain came through and water poured in under the doors of the restaurant that open out to the patio area. It was just a TON of water. Oy. But we all waited it out and then made it home safely.

Today I have one thing that NEEDS to get done and other that SHOULD get done, but I have to get input from two other people who have no real interest in actually DOING it, so that one is iffy... ok... doubtful... !

Alright, off to see what I can make happen!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay - 111? That's awesome! I was only up to 74 today. How rude of that Kia to pull in front of you. Glad you had fun on the exit ramp with a great curve; those are the best!

I like 6 hour happy hours; oh no to having torrential rain though at some point you probably didn't care. Ha Ha. Glad you made it home safely.

Did you get the one thing done you had to get done today? Did those reluctant people cooperate so you could get the other thing done? I was excited - I was able to get one of my huge spread sheets built today. I found a way to work smarter not harder.

I lifted when I got home and then got dishes done. Marty cooked some splatter food today - yay! He said getting the t-shirt off was easy. He can now go back to his normal "work" clothes.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay challenge not accomplished. I didn't go over 65 mph today. LAME!!!! I'll lose my Porsche card if I keep driving like that. Stupid people driving the speed "limit" in my way.

I wasn't as ambitious at work today as yesterday but I did make sure I looked busy. Ha Ha. I even left a half hour early so I could go express my displeasure with a window company. They poked a hole through our window frame in June, Marty has called a few times and left a message to see if they are going to replace the window and no one ever calls us back. The service guy at least knew right away what I was talking about. Apparently they are working on building the new frame and hope to come install it next week. I of course said why didn't anyone ever call us or let us know? Their response was they are busy and communication is not good around here. I got the guys name now though so I told him if we don't hear from you by next Friday I'll give you a call.

I picked up an Arby's for supper on the way home and got a second one for lunch tomorrow. My stash of "lunch" supply in the freezer is sorely depleted.

Tomorrow is Friday. Woo hoo!
Curby