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Healthy Living Thread

Happy Saturday kids!

Curby, we are going to visit Ilya and see "our" ruby on Monday! Still looking at settings... I would love just a three stone ring with either cushions or half moons on the side, but Size Ho here is worried about N/S size not being enough, so still toying with halo options.

Yesterday I managed to get seven listings up and wash about three dozen glasses to list today. One quick order to pack up this morning and then I can get to it! Tonight we're going to dinner with friends for a group V-Day celebration. Really hoping to get a nap in between now and then because I've been wide awake since four LOL!
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I agree - saving that much money should go towards a sparkly reward. I like how we think! Speaking of being excited for bling I sure hope the ruby meets your expectations - sadly there are a lot of ruby stinkers out there. I'd say they are almost harder to find than a decent emerald. You'll know soon. My setting search resulted in the same potential mountings you mentioned. Three stone, split shank, halo and I did like it as a solitaire since it's big (by Curby standards not Dee standards).

I'll go check out your new listings. Good deal going shopping at Costco. I plan on making a visit to our Sams Club soon and I am confident I will put a dent in the checking account there as well. Yay for not going out in the cold for an estate sale this weekend. We are near 50 degree for a few days here but then that 4 letter word of cold white stuff is back in the forecast.

I wish I was getting a permanent crown on my broken tooth but sadly it is just another temporary and I found out yesterday they are made of aluminum which is why they are designed to last about 2 weeks. The dentist didn't fit my temp and the girl doing it was awful. My gum is still sore today. I eat slowly and try to remember to chew to the right.

I bought Photoshop Elements yesterday and messed with it quite a bit. Between that and Lightroom I should be good to go on photo editing software; I just need to get out there and take more pictures.

Have a great weekend.
Curby
 
Happy Sunday kids!

Curby, I may need to test your photo editing skills! I've found a halo design that I think I love, and once I get a decent pic of the ruby I would be keen on seeing them together. Of course there's all sorts of "extra stuff" going on with the halo ring (inner halo, side stones, etc.) that needs to go away--all I want is the outer halo design. So this will be a "test" for you! If you do a good job I will send you a certification with a big "A" on it! :lol: No permanent crown yet... ? Oy! My temp fell off multiple times and eventually I just gave up and went without until I could get the permanent on. It doesn't sound like that's an option for you though, so just be careful! Tooth stuff is The Worst.

Yesterday I was WIDE AWAKE from about 4 am on. Of course I wasted a ton of time in bed internetting (but then again, I found the halo I love, so maybe it wasn't a total waste!), and then I got to taking pics. I actually photographed eleven listings before the light moved to the kitchen side of the house and I had call it. Then the need for a nap set in LOL. I did manage to post half a dozen listings or so before we had to leave for dinner with our friends, but I've got to get the rest up today. And unfortunately I don't have anything queued up for this morning so I'm not sure how productive I'm going to be. Damn--I hate to waste a Sunday without getting a lot done. Oh well, it is what it is.

My sinuses are acting up this morning. Either that or it's a brain tumor... Regardless, I need to go and indulge in the miracle of modern medicine in the form of drugs of some kind before my eyeball pops right out of my head and onto my keyboard. Now THERE'S an image for you! :cheeky:
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I will certainly give it a shot to combine pictures of your ruby and setting and edit as much as possible. The smaller something is the worse I am at it but I will try. And wow can I waste a lot of time with Photoshop Elements or what? Below is a shrunk down version I made with my car is flying.

My gum is really store where they kept pushing in the new temp crown - I had a pancake for breakfast as it was the softest thing I could think of to eat this morning. I very slowly and carefully chewed my Flintstone's complete vitamin on the right side.

Well crap for waking up at 4 am - I usually wake up between 2 and 4 but can go back to sleep eventually. I did check out your new listings. I still need to get you pictures of my glasses I have in case you run across them. I am down to 6 and sadly broke 2 in the last few years. They lasted me almost 30 years. Phooey.

Let's hope it's your sinuses acting up rather than a brain tumor. Hoping you feel better now. The wind is howling here again today. I was going to run out to the cemetery but since windn gusts look lower tomorrow I decided that I'll go then. Marty just left for the gym and I am considering doing laundry. I am thawing out some filet for lunch / dinner and hopefully the wind isn't too bad Marty can grill them. I keep telling him he needs to get another grill for the patio so when it's too windy on the deck he can still grill but he doesn't want to run and up and down the stairs to cook. I get that but grilling tastes so much better than frying or baking plus less dishes is a bonus.

I did goof off for hours yesterday with Photoshop Elements. I am using the guided projects rather than quick or expert but it is still fun. Marty was watching movies all day so we didn't venture out but I did walk over and get the mail.

Laters,
Curby

Here is my flying car against one of my sunrise photos.
FlyingWPM copy.jpg
 
Happy VD kids!

Curby, I'm sure your skill at combining my ring ideas will be better than the crayon-on-paper-towel versions I usually give to Ilya! Love the flying car! Yes, definitely send me a pic of the glasses and I'll keep my eye out for them -- I come across almost everything eventually LOL.

Yesterday I only took pictures for four listings, but I did dig out all the boxes of two sets of dishes that I'd gotten last summer and wash and asses them. Every time I go to a sale now I just start chanting in my head: No More Dishes! No More Dishes!

The drive in this morning wasn't too bad, and I didn't forget the bag with my computer and work phone this week, so that's a bonus!

Liam is coming down for dinner tonight. I can't imagine how on earth he's going to make it in time for our reservation unless he leaves mid-afternoon... I would rather eat earlier than later anyway, but the traffic around that time is just so bad that normally he lets it clear before he hits the highway. Are you and Marty doing anything fabulous?

Will keep you posted on "our" ruby today!
 
Hi Kids! Happy Valentine's Day!

Dee Jay, I hope Liam does head to the city early and you can make your reservation in time. Marty is on conference calls all day until he heads to the gym so unless I want to go eat with him after 8 to 8:30 tonight we don't have plans for today. I got him a card with a T-Rex that has his hands wide open and says I" love you this much" - and the inside says "well you get the point". Ha Ha. I also got him a box of dark chocolate covered cherries. Several years ago Marty bought the kids Snoopy Valentines and gave me one of each of them from the Kiiller Rabbits. He wrote funny and obnoxious comments on them so I dug those out today as well. They are always good for a laugh. We had a nice dinner yesterday because I kind of figured he'd be too busy today.

I am anxious to see "our" ruby. Even more so to attempt editing / combining something small in Elements. The smaller and more detailed an object the less skill I seem to have but I am anxious to try. I found kind of recent picture of me with my two sisters and cut out the background, put us on a pink confetti background, then added animated hearts to it and sent to my sisters today. I do like my flying car the best. I thought of sending it to my car salesman with the caption I'm never letting Marty drive my car again.

I totally laughed at you assessing the two sets of dishes in boxes because you left the last "s" off so I did a double take. Are you convincing yourself on "no more dishes?"

Glad to hear the morning drive wasn't bad and you didn't forget your laptop or phone. A win win!

We kind of watched the super bowl. Marty was bored well before halftime and went back to his office downstairs to finishing programming for his clients for the week. I started season 5 of 24 so that will keep me busy for days.

I am doing laundry today, need to run out to the cemetery and go pick us up lunch from Culvers. Hopefully they have my favorite flavor of the day - strawberry chocolate parfait. I also need to go buy us another meat thermometer. The little holder it goes in was on the dining room table this morning and I don't recall seeing it or washing iti after Marty used it on our filets yesterday. I even dug through the trash trying to see if I accidentally threw it out with napkins.

Laters,
Curby
 
Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, if Marty likes chocolate covered cherries you should check out The Cordial Cherry Company! https://www.thecordialcherry.com/ Their stuff is pricy but absolutely amazing!!! A friend of ours showed us these at xmas and I got a box for dad for the holidays and he absolutely loved them. They are a total work of art as well as being delicious! Oh no to losing the meat thermometer. Doncha just hate it when stupid stuff like that happens?! Liam and the ferals watched the Super Bowl, but I was up to my elbows in hot soapy water the whole time. I figured anything I need to know I'd be able to see in reruns, LOL.

Yesterday flew by, and Liam actually made it into the city early. Parking was a big PITA, but we got it sorted out. Dinner was fabulous, but I was soooooo tired when we got back to my place that I fell asleep on one of the couches almost immediately. Then of course I woke up and went to bed... and couldn't sleep.

My work pants are once again at a weird sizing point. The pair I put on this morning were fine at 8 am, but I'm sure they will "grow" by the end of the day. Time to dig through the closet again and see what other options I've got.

This morning I walked to the office. It was cold, but not horrible, so I'm happy to get in a little extra exercise. Maybe I'll go hog wild and walk to and from Ilya today at lunch. Woah -- Dee is Out Of Control! :cheeky:

OK, off to get some work done!
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, did you get your ring ordered? That is going to be gorgeous.

Thanks for the link to the cherries - we both really like them. There was a place in Fort Collins that had them with huge cherries - easily well over an inch for the cherries then of course covered in either milk or dark chocolate. Because of COVID they couldn't get them anymore and the other company they went with are AWFUL.

Marty knew the brand of the meat thermometer so I found it online and ordered it and then this morning Marty found it on the floor under by the dishwasher. Now I guess we will have two.

Dinner last night sounds fabulous. I was thinking of seeing if we can go eat at one of our favorites places in Fort Collins or Denver on Saturday. Darn you couldn't go back go sleep after falling asleep on the couch.

I hope you find the perfect size pants shopping in your closet. The blouse I had on yesterday needs tossed; it has a boat neck so was very gappy or should I say sleazy? Ha Ha.

It is really nice outside today. In the low 50's and not windy. I'm like did I get transported to a parallel universe? Hopefully I'm thinner and richer in that universe.

I was very busy today. I was about ready to leave for the grocery store when the cleaning lady showed up early and blocked my car in; I could have asked her to move but decided it's not like it matters when I go shopping. I wasted time on Angry Birds instead and then went shopping about 2 hours later. After I got home I went back out and bought us lunch at Arby's. While loading the dishwasher my tax lady called and had that ready for me to pick up. We only owed about 1/4 of what we owed last year so that's a bonus. Our income will drop about 22% this year since I retired so who knows how this year will turn out. I was just looking up the form to fill out to change my deductions to my social security. They have 4 set amounts (you probably know that) and I don't see the logic in dropping it from 22% to 12% so I'll see how this year turns out. I did print the form out so if I decide to change my deductions next year I'll have a head start on how to do it.

After the tax lady stop I went and picked up my free 8 x 10 from Walgreens; my first print from my camera. I printed a frosty tree; it turned out great. I love coupons. While I was there I got in line to pick up Marty's prescription only to find out it's not ready until 11 am tomorrow so not sure why they sent him a text it was ready to pick up. They said I could wait 20 minutes but I said no thanks. I am probably going back out in about an hour and hopefully get some pictures i in the park.

Laters,
Curby
 
I just ordered us an assortment of their cherry cordials. It will ship to Marty and I put a message in it "Marcy is great!" Ha Ha.
 
Here is the sunset picture from tonight - not much color but still pretty.ParkFeb15D copy.jpg
 
Happy Wednesday kids!

Curby, I can't wait to hear what Marty has to say about the cherries! These are really works of art -- they had a "nativity" set of chocolate covered cherries at xmas right down to the three wise men, LOL. I wish I'd been able to snag those for dad but their specialty things like that sell out super fast and I didn't learn about them in time. This year though! Good for you for not owing the gov't a lot of $$$! I have to get my stuff together and make an appointment with my guy. Are you going to frame the print you picked up from Walgreens? Speaking of framing, remember that mash up of a frame job on my xmas present? Well... The second frame came in (completely different than the first one)... but the image is even MORE crooked that before. So I went over there AGAIN and had to pick a THIRD frame because the second one is now out of stock, which is too bad because I really liked it. The matting also has to be completely redone. No idea how this one is going to turn out...

Yesterday of course my focus was on Trifecta and her setting! But I did manage to get some work done too. I left the office around 7, swung by my friend's house (the one who gave his girlfriend the diamond earrings to VD) to pick up a check because I paid for those so the charge wouldn't show up on the card since it was a surprise, and made it back to the north estate by 9.

Today, once again, work will ruin my day. :cheeky: And I've also got all those dishes washed and ready to photograph, so I'd like to get them out of the kitchen and downstairs. Beyond that, who knows what the day will bring!
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, if those cherries are awesome Marty may never get one - I'll say "What cherries?" Ha Ha. They shipped already - I am so excited.

Yes I am glad I owe less on taxes this year - I would rather I spent my money foolishly all year instead of the government. Good luck with your taxes!

I did put my picture in a white frame that I had. Oh no version 2 of your poster was crooked. WTH? I sure hope version 3 turns out better. I've always had luck with them framing things.

How soon will your new ring be done? It is going to be beautiful! The milgrain really added to Pinkie. I haven't even put on a ring or earrings today. What was I thinking?

Nice you got work done in addition to ring shopping plus picked up the money for the earrings and then made it back to the North Estate by 9, You had a busy day!

I woke up when Marty left for the gym at 4:30 so got up and started a roast in the crock pot. I did finally go back to sleep but not long enough. It started snowing while I was in the shower so I had to trudge through snow to put the trashcan out. Looks like over 2" of snow already.

I did my lesson 11 for class; I skimmed through most of it because I am not interested in rating and categorizing my pictures. One more lesson to go then the final exam.

I finished Marty's wool hat version 2 today and sure hope it fits him better than V1 because although I have one more skein of wool yarn I don't want to knit with wool unless I have too. It makes me sneeze and itch so I have to be careful not to touch my face while working with it.

I was going to wash bedding today but that sounded like work so I washed the tablecloth instead. Way easier since I don't have to wrestle a mattress to get that stupid fitted sheet back on.

Laters,
Curby

Hat #2
IMG_1357.JPG
 
Happy Thursday kids!

Curby, Marty’s new hat is great! Abs it looks fabulous on the dog! Your snow is coming our way. The city and south of there is supposed to get hit hard, but I think here up north we might get missed. Then again… who knows?! I didn’t know you were allergic to wool. Is that the only fiber or are there others? What about cashmere?
 
Oops — not done yet but I hit the wrong place on my screen!

Yesterday wasn’t very productive at all…. And right now I’m sitting in front of a house waiting for an estate sale to open so I can buy — wait for it! — a set of dishes. :lol: They are in the same line of some I bought last summer and did really well on. I hope there are more than they just showed in the photo. Liam also gave me a list of things he wants me to look for. I could leave here with a full car! I also need to reach out to the packing supply place today and see what’s going on with my order because I used the last of my foam peanuts packing an order last night.

No idea on the timing of Trifecta. This is always the hardest part…!
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I hope you don't get much snow. We ended up with about 3 inches. I can wear wool as long as it doesn't touch my skin. Cashmere is definitely out though and I knit myself an angora sweater once and could only knit on it an hour a day, wore it to work when it was done and had to take it off by 9 am - my mom got it. Stupid allergies!

Did you get some good stuff today? Did you pack your car with treasures today?

I seemed busy today. I did wash our bedding then had the joy of wrestling the fitted sheet to get it back on the mattress! I did more laundry since I started.

Our cherries arrived - they are delicious. Thanks for the tip. I left the box unopened so Marty would see the message about Marcy is the best.

I made mini meatloaves and cheesy scalloped potatoes for lunch today. Quite tasty. I lifted this afternoon which hopefully negated the extra scoop of cheesy potatoes I had. I only ate one cherry.

I've been watching more segments of 24 today.

And I still hate angry birds.
Curby
 
Happy Friday kids!

Curby, which cherries did you get? Are they as pretty as they are tasty? I seriously love these things! Wow -- wool, angora, cashmere... !!! That's too bad. I did get my treasures yesterday... but I was the strangest estate sale experience ever. I went super early (as is my MO, LOL)... and sat there utterly alone until literally a few minutes before they gave out numbers. Normally people start showing up around 6:30 and certainly by 7:00 for 8 o'clock numbers, but yesterday only one other guy showed up around 7:55 before they gave them out. I grabbed a number for Liam because there were some things he wanted too so he decided to zip over after checking in at the bank. After I got my number I ran over to Meijer to pee and grab a dozen donuts and when I got back there were other people there, but it was sooooooo odd. All I can think of it that it's unusual for an estate sale to start on Thursday instead of Friday so maybe people didn't realize it, and/or there just wasn't anything really good there and I didn't need to get up uber early to snag the few things I wanted. Oh well, what's done is done and I got what I wanted!

I got all the Irish dishes listed yesterday (took for.ev.er.) and one set of glasses, but that was it. Hopefully today will be more productive! The packaging company still hasn't let me know my bubble wrap, peanuts and boxes are ready so I pinged them again. Hopefully today. I'm happy to buy local, but two+ weeks for this stuff is way too long. May need to reevaluate.

Not sure what happened in the city or down south yesterday in terms of snow, but we got almost nothing. The roads were a bit slick in the morning through, and my ABS kicked in at a stop sign. I just hate that stuttering feeling as I sliiiiiiiiide through the intersection!

Alright, off to shower and take some pics!
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I bought an assorted box with 8 dark chocolate, 4 milk chocolate and 4 white chocolate. I tried the milk chocolate yesterday and white chocolate today. The white chocolate was almost too sweet but I'll manage to take onne for the team and not waste the other 3. They have little swirls on top.

That is strange there were so few people there at the estate sale this morning. I would agree maybe being on Thursday made a difference? That's nice you got what you want? And BTW I've been tempted to buy a donut. I should go visit my dad's coffee buddies some morning just so I can get a donut. Ha Ha.

I hope you get your packing materials soon.

Glad you didn't get much snow. We were above freezing today and tomorrow - come Monday though we have at least 5 days of deep freeze. Joy. Plus more of that cold white stuff. Phooey! I also hate that feeling of rough feeling when you car starts to slide and the brakes kick in. My first A6 was the stickiest car I ever owned; I was impressed if it slid on ice. The Macan has been quite good on ice as well. I always say German's know how to build cars that can handle snow and ice. Did you see one of those car cargo ships caught fire in the mid Atlantic? If is full of VW, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini - it holds 400 cars and I would imagine it's a total loss. Luckily they got the crew off safely.

Is your ruby ring done yet?

My day began with meeting Marty for breakfast. Then I finished my Lightroom class. I got 83% on the final exam - I wasn't willing to hunt through 12 PDF lessons to find a few answers and hey that was a passing grade. I got a certificate to download that said I completed the course - I showed the teddy bears but they just stared at my with blank looks in their eyes. I ordered Door Dash from Applebees for lunch for us and a friend. She came over to eat lunch and play cards. I knit most of the afternoon and finished season 5 of 24. Now I'm on episode 2 of season 6.

Have a great weekend.
Curby
 
Happy Saturday kids!

Curby, Once you make it through the cherries I think you should order the truffles... yanno... just to make sure they're good too. :cheeky: I picked up the packing materials yesterday. More accurately, WE picked them up. I had to have Liam meet me there and take the bubble wrap home. When I showed up at the dock and said I was there for the pick up the guy rolled up the big garage door and looked at my order... and looked at my car... and looked at my order... and looked back at my car... :lol: I was like, don't worry, I've got someone else coming with a truck! He then decided to "help" me with the giant bag of peanuts, and a hole got torn in the plastic in the process of manhandling it into the back of my SUV. There are now styrofoam peanuts blowing all over the midwest thanks to that part of the adventure... "I didn't realize there was snow in the forecast... ? Oh wait! That's just Dee's peanuts!" Ha! No ruby ring yet... I think I'm actually going to get another CAD because Ilya said he wanted to increase the "finger rail" a little for added durability. I'm not even sure what part of the ring the "finger rail" is, but I was like, Sure! Who could argue with added durability?! I did see the headline about the ship full of cars. Ugh. How sad, especially because of what's on it. I mean, a cargo ship full of Kias is one thing, but this... Double ugh.

It's now 5:23 am and I have been wide awake for a solid hour. That's what happens when you go to sleep at 9! I actually wanted to go to bed ever earlier, but I made myself stay up, LOL. While Liam was off getting the ferals I cleaned up the kitchen and washed up glasses for ten listings and put them on the counter. There is an estate sale I want to go to this morning too. There was nothing worth paying full price for yesterday based on the picture, but today is day two so it will all be half off. None of it is spectacular, but at half off I'll check it out. I'm also making good headway in the dining room, so that's encouraging! Getting those two big sets of dishes out of there and listed this week definitely helped.

We got some snow yesterday, and it was pretty windy too. If I didn't know better I'd think I was in Wyoming! :rodent: The weather kept referring to it as a "squall," but I just thought it was normal February in the midwest!

Alright, might as well get this show on the road...


https://www.uline.com/Grp_41/Peanuts-and-Dispensers
 
Happy Saturday kids!

Yesterday was another early morning... another estate sale... another day of picture taking and listing. See a pattern here?! :lol: After a big lunch of roast in the crock pot I took a nice lonnnnng nap. I got up long enough to run to a friends' house for a nightcap, and then came back and went to bed. And that was my day.

On the way over last night we were talking in the truck about being off Monday for President's Day. I had a moment of panic because I couldn't remember seeing the message about our office being closed Monday. I had to double check the calendar when we got home to be sure. Whew! That would have sucked! I have been going around with the whole three day weekend mentality so to find out that wasn't the case would have really bummed me out. No need to comment Curby Of The Seven Day Weekends Now!

Liam just brought me coffee and I'm waiting for his come come up again with Round 2 -- bacon! Then a quick shower and back to the grindstone.
 
Yanno when I said "Happy Saturday kids" up above... ? Well that was before my coffee. So... uh... Happy SUNDAY kids! :lol:
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, ooh I love truffles too. I am a total chocoholic.

I bet that was kind of funny showing up in your small SUV to pick up all your packing supplies. Good deal Liam showed up with his pickup. It reminded me of watching a couple trying to get a big flat screen TV in their small SUV at Best Buy one time; it was entertaining.

Ooh another cad on your ruby ring - I have no idea what a finger rail is either. The funny thing will be if you don't notice the difference in the new CAD.

I do remember the ship full of KIA's. I guess our dealer had 3 Porsches and 9 Audis onn that ship.

Well crap you woke up so early yesterday. That is precisely why I don't go to bed early because I wake up too early. I never take naps either. If I do then I can't fall asleep at night.

I didn't send you our Wyoming weather - we still have it. Top gust in the last 24 hours was 99 mph. Glad I wasn't out walking in it.

Good deal you got some things at the estate sale. I'll probably do a crock pot roast one day this week; they work great on cold days.

Yay for Monday being a holiday. Not to brag or anything every day is a holiday for me. Ha ha you said no need for me to comment.

How nice of Liam to bring you coffee and bacon. I had toast and a banana for breakfast.

Ha Ha - I didn't notice the wrong day of the week.

I am now on season 6 of 24. Marty got engrossed in it yesterday and said "darn you" because he didn't get his scheduling done for the gym yesterday.

I did get some things done this weekend. I wrote my March article for the paper and got it emailed out. I have almost 40 inches done on a scarf I am knitting, I went grocery shopping and helped Marty take down our Christmas decorations outside. The iceberg on our front lawn finally melted enough to safely use a ladder. The yarn I am using for a scarf is thick/thin and fuzzy so half way through the skein of yarn it was all knotted up so I spent an hour fixing that and rolling it in to a ball of yarn.

I was going to make chicken alfredo today but after grocery shopping and helping take down decorations I ordered us lunch from Outback. I'll make our the chicken alfredo tomorrow.

I have on one of my pinkie rings today.

Laters,
Curby
 
Happy Monday kids!

Curby, in addition to the finger rail, Ilya asked me if I wanted to do something with the under gallery. I also had (have!) no idea what THAT is, but I *think* it's the part that goes next to your finger underneath the stone, and sometimes it's decorative. However, since I didn't know and therefore didn't want to commit to something I might regret I was like... yeah... let's just skip that. :lol: 40" on the scarf -- you are knitting MACHINE! One of my grandmothers was a wizard with all things knit and crochet. I used to love when she'd start a new project because it was my job to take the skeins apart and make a nice balls that would just roll along as she went. Talk about hours of free amusement, LOL.

Yesterday I only got four listings up (one of them sold already!), but I packed up four orders after dinner which I'm happy about that so I'm not slammed tonight. Unfortunately I didn't queue anything up for today, but I have a few ideas that should be quick to set up. I was looking at another site for picture ideas because I am not feeling like my creativity is very high at the moment. Unfortunately the pics I liked the best looked as though they were taken in a lovely blooming outdoor garden. I can either haul a bunch of glass down to the botanical garden for a shoot, or wait for things to green up around here... so I'll be doing those pics around mid June or so!

Alright, I'm committed to an early start today!
 
Hi Kids! It's Monday? Ha Ha.

Dee Jay, I would think the same thing about under gallery - it makes sense to me annyway. I can't wait to see your new ring.

That was nice of you to roll up balls of yarn for your grandmother. I used to knit all the time until I was teaching 12 or more hours or more of credit classes in my "spare" time. I can crochet as well but I have to pay attention to what I'm doing, knitting I could probably do in my sleep.

Good idea to look around and see what other style of pictures you might want to use. It would be a major PITA to haul things to the Botanic Gardens to take pictures. I wonder if you could set up a floral type of background with silk flowers? My parents had big and thick lilac bushes in their backyard that worked great as a background for pictures - but they were only good for a few months of the year. I do think your pictures look good.

It is snowing and feels like -18. Joy! I walked a card over to the mailbox this morning and although I bundled up my face got cold. I'd give up jewelry before I'd give up my Land's End Squall Parka. Blocking the wind is essential here. When I was out I thought it was blowing snow but it was fog.

I got up at 6 and peered out the window and since there was a bit of color on the horizon I got up. Mid sunrise photo shoot Marty sent me a text from the gym to get up to see a nice sunrise and I replied I am already taking pictures. Both of us made the fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken for lunch. It was delicious. I was going to make us toasted garlic bread too but forgot to pick up fresh garlic and decided I shouldn't be eating crunchy bread anyway to I sliced the french bread and put garlic powder in melted butter and just brushed it on the bread and warmed up the loaf in the oven. My temp crown is still in tact - I think.

I watched some more episodes of 24, got to level 299 in Angry Birds (Marty is on 522), did 3 batches of laundry and lifted.

Laters,
Curby
 
Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, I wonder if I can get some backdrops to use, or McGyver something to use as backdrops. Maybe a couple of pretty inexpensive posters... ? I'll have to look at Ikea because they always have some big interesting ones that aren't too much $. Then again, maybe I should just keep it simple and stick with the kitchen counter and the white sheer on the deck door, LOL. The bad thing about that though is I have a very finite amount of time where the light isn't too bright or too dark, and as we move into summer I think that time frame will shorten even more. The dining room is also an option for the afternoons because the sun has moved to the kitchen side of the house by that point... but... the dining room has been 100% loaded with glass for a year now... uh... Anyway, If you have any ideas throw 'em right out there! We had a big lilac bush in one of my grandmother's yards and I absolutely adored the smell when I was a kid! If the wind blew in one direction we got lilac, and if it went in the other direction we got mint from the ONE SPRIG she planted... and that eventually took over the entire side of the house! That stuff is AGGRESSIVE! Monsanto should just combine food type seeds with whatever is to aggressive in mint and the world's hunger problem would be SOLVED! :lol:

Yesterday I got about ten listings up and started (for the first time in ages) to move things around in the dining room. I have about twenty trays that I use as props and they were spread all over. Last summer at a garage sale I got some racks that they fit really well in and I organized all of those. It's only one thing, but at least it's a start!

This morning the drive was crazy. It was raining for the first thirty miles... and then for the next ten the highway was covered in slush and ice... and then it went back to raining. I actually made it downtown plenty early, but only because when I woke up (well before my alarm went off) and heard the rain on the skylights I figured I might as well get going.

Today I've got big plans here at the office to get some stuff DONE. Wish me luck!
 
Curbbbbbbby... I'm having a moment of madness...

So I really really love old quilts.... and I was wondering what you think of the idea of adding that sort of thing to my Etsy Empire... ?

I'd have to learn quite a bit, but that's OK! And how refreshing would that be -- to ship something I don't have to worry about arriving shattered?!

Just thinking out loud here...
 
Dee Jay old quilts are pretty cool. No reason you can’t pursue it and see if it pans out.
 
Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I copied one of your pictures and played with swapping backgrounds in Photoshop Elements. Flowers behind them seems too busy to me. Plane green leaves isn't bad. A very subtle background like confetti paper or small patterns looks good. Solid colors looks good. You'd have to play with what you like. I like the back lighting in your photos but I know that timing is difficult at time. You could maybe get a few light stands to use and get different backgrounds. Fabric might be worth looking at that you could change out - maybe even seasonal like leaves, hearts, Christmas, etc. A lot of fabric will show light through it as well so your spot might work with fabric hanging over the drapes. Of course if something doesn't sell you'd have to take another photo if you made is holiday related. The sky looks nice behind them but rather weird since it's like they are hovering in space.

Small world on lilacs and mint. I wasn't happy when our lilacs were in bloom; my hay fever kicked in to full gear then but yes they were pretty. Funny you mentioned mint because we had some in the front yard and we loved putting it in iced tea. It does grow like a weed.

Yay for organizing trays and things in the dining room.

Glad you made it to work okay and the roads were awful. Did you get some work done? I was rather restless today. A lady from corporate sent me a text and said my senior manager is really sick with COVID and sounds horrible. He told her he misses me. Then I heard from a provider I worked with this afternoon. It's nice to know some people think of me.

Do you see many old quilts at your estate sales? Are they in good shape? My grandmother used to make them but I was a "late" mistake so by the time I was born she didn't make them anymore. My sisters both have a quilt she made them. After she died my mother let me pick one from her collection and I took one that was kind of worn so I don't use it but all the squares were done by relatives and have their names on it. She had 13 siblings so that is kind of cool. I saw it the other day; I've got it in a plastic bag.

I slept in until about 8 today. I knit quite a bit and watched more segments of 24. I'll be glad to get through all 8 seasons!!!! I made burgers and oven fries for lunch. I think I'll do another roast tomorrow. I feel like a one trick menu planner. When beef is pretty much all I can eat there isn't much variety and I keep things down to minimum ingredients in case it's something I can't eat.

One of Marty's new clients took my astronomy class about 20 plus years ago. Hopefully she didn't follow up with she was the worst teacher ever!!

Laters,
Marcy
 
I forgot to tell you I did get to use my "welcome to the party pal" comment on Facebook. One of Marty's good friends who lives in Arizona and works where I did came to Denver this week for work - he was complaining about he should have picked a warmer week to visit. So naturally I had to go with welcome to the party pal. I am glad I crack myself up.
 
A single rose in a vase would be a nice background prop sometimes. And maybe subtle mini lights.
 
Happy Wednesday kids!

Curby, thanks for the backdrop ideas! One of the estate sales this week has pictures of at least a dozen quilts, plus a bunch of fabric and sewing machines, so I'm guessing the lady of the house actually made them (or at least some of them...?). I'm debating between going the first day or waiting until the second day and getting them for half price, but of course they might be gone by then. What to do, what to do... ?! I really love the idea of your quilt with all the names on it! OF COURSE they miss you at work -- did you doubt if for a second? I didn't! And "welcome to the party" -- HA!

I had the brilliant idea to walk to work this morning. Let's just say the minute I got here I looked up our new office in West Palm and then did a zillow search for nearby condos. :lol: Yesterday I was moderately productive, hopefully today will be better... if I ever warm up!

Tomorrow I have to do a six and half hour live continuing education webinar to renew my real estate license. Oh joy. I really really hope I don't have to keep the camera on the whole time. That would just be sheer torture.

Alright, off to the races!
 
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