Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Deegee, sorry your diamond was damaged. Makes me wonder if my studs are okay. My earrings have hit the floor a few times. I did get a quote today. It’ll be $1070 difference. Not bad for a 1.4 ctw pair of studs in platinum. She did tell me to go read their new upgrade policy. I glanced it over, you have to up your purchase price for an upgrade by 50%. We have cold and snow moving in. I don’t know when I can get out to get FedEx boxes to pack them up and then return to FedEx to mail them. I’ll probably go through with it. It’s in my inbox now. I could also just have my current studs moved to platinum at a local jeweler for probably less. Hum. Decisions, decisions.

That’s great your insurance will cover your diamond. I get it thinking about upgrading though. Woo hoo your sapphire ring looks fabulous. Pictures, please. Good deal that Ruby is so fun.

We have some of that white stuff falling outside. I guess we can get up to 9” this week. And subzero temperatures. I had some groceries delivered this morning before it gets bad.

Marty’s Nespresso machine showed up today. He made several cups of coffee already. I should have moved the out of order sign to it.

I ended up working to 5 so skipped lifting today. I hesitated for another reason. I ordered a bag of cinnamon jelly hearts in I my grocery order. I darn near ate half of the bag over the day so had too much sugar. I threw the rest of the bag away so I wouldn’t finish them tomorrow. I love those things. My mom and I used to split a bag every Valentine’s Day. Now I HAVE to - ha ha - eat them all myself.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

DeeGee, stay strong -- get the upgrade! Curby and I support you! I'm not surprised the shelter was wrong about the age. When we got The Demon they told us he was four to five years old and when we took him to the vet she said he was barely out of puppyhood; probably one, but not even two yet.

Curby, cinnamon jelly hearts sound delicious! My kryptonite, with my great grandmother, were butterscotch hard candies. We ate those things like they were going out of style! To this day I can't pass one up. It's a miracle all my teeth didn't fall right out of my head by the time I was ten LOL.

Checking in from the land of cold vacation! Currently -12 here. Yesterday I did have a zoom call with one of the organizations I'm doing the accounting for, and now I've got some follow up stuff to do before our next call on Thursday, so that will give me a little something to occupy me. My one friend, who hurt his ribs slipping on the ice while carrying a bed headboard right before the trip, and I went over to where his wife and my friend were skiing yesterday for lunch. It's a brand new resort with an allegedly fabulous restaurant. I say "allegedly" because we didn't actually get to eat there ourselves. A lady told my friend about it on the lift the other day, but apparently it's only open Wednesday through Saturday so when we showed up yesterday it was empty. Literally not one single person there. The doors were unlocked and we walked all around, and frankly could have made ourselves drinks at the bar and cooked lunch in the kitchen, but there was not another soul there. So we came back and went to lunch at one of the restaurants in this resort. We're going to try again on Thursday for my friend's birthday lunch. Fingers crossed.

Not much else to report. I'm just selling glass I can't ship and eating and drinking too much. Someone's going to have to roll me onto that plane on Friday!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, sounds like you’re enjoying ski resort number three. You should have totally taken advantage of free drinks and lunch at the deserted restaurant. When we were in Bozeman last we ate at some steak house where everyone had their own room. I think it was for gambling or something like that. I don’t remember for sure.

Those cinnamon jelly hearts are like cinnamon bears with sugar coating. You know, to add more sugar. I am not sorry I threw some of them out. That’s exactly why my mom and I used to split the bag every year. Those butterscotch disks are delicious.

You’ll be packing a lot of glass when you get home.

I keep sleeping in after a round of insomnia in the middle of the night. Glad I don’t have set hours. I did get my Monday lifting done today. I worked on videos and a lunar eclipse article.

We rarely get each other Valentine gifts but I decided to order Marty a pichana since it’s one of his favorite cuts of beef. Hopefully it shows up by Valentine’s Day. Not five minutes after I ordered it, I get a link to a little telescope that takes pictures of the moon, sun and deep-sky objects that he was toying with buying me but decided to ask first. We can set it up outside or in the observatory and I can run it from my phone or iPad. Ideal for me since I am always cold.

We’re frigid and snowy here too. It’s 5 now and feels like -3.

I decided to not upgrade my studs with WF. After what Deegee went through I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. Plus since I bought those diamonds with money from my parent’s estate, I don’t want to trade them.

Laters,
Curby

 

[deegee]

dee*jay-dang, that’s cold! I hope you get to enjoy the fabulous restaurant. Several people have said they think the shelter overestimates ages. They told us Ruby was 3-4, but our vet said more like 2 if that old. She was sick and under weight. They nursed her back to health but she was depressed. Now she’s a happy girl, full of zest for life!

marcy-I kind of don’t blame you on the earrings. The whole thing has left me quite irritated. I have a theory, but I’ll keep that to myself for now. Matt and I don’t usually buy each other Valentines’s gifts. I didn’t really date until later in college and I always hated the holiday! I think he feels the same way. But you know…my dad always bought my sisters and me a little candy heart another small gift. It’s wonderful memory!

Nothing to report today. We had a snow storm and I worked from home. I’m still trying to decide if I want to replace my stone through WF or just keep it. I plan to head to the office tomorrow, but my morning self will talk me right out of it. Have a great day!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Curby, I totally understand not wanting to change out the diamonds you got with the $ from your parents. If you're looking for a little more size what about a thin bezel? Or maybe a slightly thicker one with some engraving? Earring jackets? I got some jackets at a gem show ages ago that I absolutely love but my current studs are too big to use them so I had a cheapie set of pearls I would put in there and they looked great!

DeeGee, how much snow did you get? We're also supposed to be in for it. Liam got the snow blower out of the shed yesterday and put it in the garage so he'll be ready. Has Ruby seen snow yet? It's always so much fun to me to watch dogs romp around in it! The Demon absolutely loved it. He'd put his nose down and run fast, "plowing" up a big pile in front of him. Poor skinny no-fat Oscar wasn't such a fan though.

LOL to both of you on the V-Day gifts. I got Liam some chocolates at Aldi right before I left and hid them somewhere... Not sure exactly where right now, ha ha.

Last night we went to a BBQ place and it was AMAZING. I've got a big slice of brisket with sauce sitting in the fridge calling my name for breakfast. #2 is layering on the clothes in anticipation of the day's adventure. My big plan is to take a shower and do some accounting that I didn't get to yesterday, especially since I have another call with the guy tomorrow morning. A deadline is always a good motivator for me.

One more thing, and I wonder if you all have any ideas. For about a month now Liam has been having a weird, and progressively more and more severe, "reaction" to something. He wakes up in the middle of every night itching like crazy and has to take Benedryl. The reaction is getting worse and worse, and now it's even happening in the day. He's also getting bumps and some swelling in his hands and feet. And the first thing, although we didn't connect it at the time, was one of his eyes being super red and irritated. He actually went to urgent care last Friday but they didn't really do anything other than say it's probably either a virus or an allergic reaction. No sh!t. We've been using the same laundry detergent for years, but I'm thinking they could have changed the formula... ? We've also bathed the dogs and they don't have fleas (yikes!), and last night he used all new blankets and pillows and still had a reaction. Do you have any other ideas of what it might be or what we can try?

 

[deegee]

dee*Jay- we only got a few inches of snow and then it warmed up to just above freezing, and has been raining ever since. We had close to 2ft of snow in January and Ruby loved it, until the ice came. She didn’t like not being able to stand up! For the reaction thing…I have skin allergies to any kind of scented products. Lotion, detergent, dryer sheets. I had a severe reaction to oil of olay body wash for sensitive skin and had to have a shot and antibiotics. I also tried a lotion that ate my face and had to have a shot and antibiotics. My mom is having a reaction to something all of a sudden. The dermatologist ran all kinds of tests and the only thing they found was an allergy to blue dye. Who knows. The soap I have used since I was a kid has been discontinued-Tone soap. I found something similar and so far so good. Fingers crossed.

I didn’t go to the office today. I didn’t work at all. I hit my head pretty hard last night and I have had a whopping headache today. I’m probably slightly concussed. I did reach out to WF today, and they will reach out to the insurance company to see how to go about the next steps. Honestly, I’m on the fence about the whole thing. I may just keep wearing my sapphire as an e-ring. I’d be okay with that.

Hi marcy!

 

[deegee]

marcy-here’s my sapphire. I took this picture at the cabin we rented for winterfest in Tennessee. My blue suv is in the background. I just had this ring appraised by a GIA appraiser while it was being repaired. The sapphire is a 4.56 ct Ceylon sapphire and the side stones are antique old mine cuts. I love this ring. Can you guess my favorite color?

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

DeeGee, I luuuuuuuurve that ring!!! What about continuing to use that as an e-ring and have the "damaged" diamond put into a pendant? I definitely want video of Ruby romping around in the next big snow! All this allergy stuff is so scary. Liam slept with sheets that came out of the linen closet from a long-ago wash and his reaction was much better last night. There's a really good chance those sheets were washed in detergent other than the current version. Honestly though, I'm going to do a big wash of his stuff in a totally different soap and only let him wear that for several days to see what happens. Fingers crossed.

Well I'm home! Kind of... Looking at the weather yesterday, getting back to the midwest on Friday was kind of iffy at best so #2 and I switched our flights (she's going into Kansas City) and flew back today. Liam has a board meeting that couldn't be rescheduled so he's doing that right now and then he'll pick me up at O'Hare. Not problem -- I've got cheese and crackers, chocolate cookies, a fully charged laptop with free wifi and 75% of a surprisingly good book to keep me company. I could hang out here all night!

Alright ladies, I've got a question. My LinkedIn page now says "retired" from my last Chief Compliance Office role. Should I put my store's banner at the top and list the site under current info? Or is that kind of hokey? I realize most people wouldn't look at it as "real job"... but it is what I do now... What do you think?! Otherwise I feel like just saying "retired" with nothing current makes it sound like I've moved down to Boca and joined a clique of Ladies Who Lunch and play bridge on Tuesday and Thursday LOL. Not that there's anything wrong with that BTW!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Sunday kids!

I've been a busy little bee -- or should I say Dee!

Thursday night I packed about half my orders and finally went to bed after midnight. It took me until mid-afternoon to finish the other half on Friday. Yesterday Liam and I picked up YF. Right after saying how proud I was for getting through my inventory... I bought four dozen more glasses. Now that YF is all about thrifting, on the hunt for football jerseys, we are spending "family time" in Goodwill and Salvation Army's. I'm never going to be caught up... Ugh.

Today I've been taking pictures and enjoying a good audio book. Liam is a little alarmed because every time he comes into the kitchen a particularly violent part is playing. I'm pretty sure he's going to avoid all food and drink until this particular book is over LOL.

Alright, off to empty the dishwasher and wash more of Liam's clothes with the new detergent in an effort to see if that's the thing causing his issues. I really hope that turns out to be the problem because it's the easiest to fix. Otherwise, based on his symptoms, he's either got Lyme disease, chlamydia or gout. Perhaps all three.

 

[deegee]

dee*jay-I’m not on LinkedIn so I’ve got no opinions there, but running your ETSY store is certainly impressive!! I wish we had decent thrifting places around here. Then again, I have never actually set foot in a goodwill. I’ve sure dropped a lot off though. Poor Liam! That’s miserable. He’s probably hoping Dr. Dee is wrong about Lyme disease, chlamydia and gout. I have had sensitive skin since I was a baby. Mom had to buy special detergent to wash my clothes and diapers. I always have to buy perfume and scent free everything. I remember one time in my teens, dad tried to sneak in a detergent that was on sale. Big mistake there.

I feel the most normal today than I have in the almost week since I hit my head. My headache is mostly gone and the fog is lifting. I’m off tomorrow, so I’m taking Ruby to the vet for some booster shots and one of my cats, Milo, for his yearly shots too. We’ve had 2 days of warmish weather but flooding rains. The temp dropped today to below freezing and now it’s snowing. Dee*jay- I think I’d be fine retiring to Boca and joining a group of ladies for lunch! I’m tired of this cold.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Deegee, your ring is fabulous. Love the color. It does match your car. I did that same thing with my blue Macan. Took a picture of my sapphire ring over the hood of the car. It’s fun that they match. Oh no to hitting your head. Are you okay? That’s awesome Ruby found her happy home. I’m with you on being a bit irritated with WF. I was really put off how difficult it was to upgrade my dangles. Then the quote to move my studs … I don’t know why I was thinking of doing it again. I am very sensitive to scents and soaps. Marty buys this dang stuff for Dr. Squatch and we’ve exchanged many words about it. They are really strong. He recently got some stupid “fresh scent” deodorant that if he puts it on after a shower before he goes to bed, I had to cover my face to fall asleep. Glad you are feeling almost normal.

Dee Jay, sounds like Demon loved snow. How is Liam doing? It is so hard to find what trigger the reactions. I have a lot of food allergies and combos of some of them are really bad. A change in detergent or soaps can be awful. I hope you guys can figure it out. I liked Cheer Free better than All Free, but there isn’t much variety in hypoallergenic detergent. While I do have a Linked Inn page, I haven’t devoted much time to it. I don’t see what’s wrong with sticking your ETSY store there.

I think I’ll enjoy the little astrophoto telescope Marty got me but of course it’s been cloudy and snowy and frigid here. That’s the curse of a new telescope.

It cleared up enough today that.I didn’t feel bad getting some groceries delivered. It was only cloudy and cold. We are right by the interstate and I couldn’t see the highway for most of the day. I could see out to the observatory. We did have a big batch of bunny tracks yesterday. And not the ice cream bunny tracks, but I do like it.

Laters,
Curby

 

[deegee]

dee*jay- we had a snowstorm today, but I think Ruby is over the snow and cold. She does her biz and runs straight back in. No running and playing at all. She was picked up by the humane officer as a stray, so she’s thoroughly enjoying being inside by the fire.

Marcy- Do you remember way back when you tried to enter a department store at the mall and the perfume counters were always at an entry? Those always really messed me up, all the smells and fumes. And Ulta Beauty. I’ve never made it all the way in one of those stores because my eyes immediately start watering. So what’s bunny tracks that’s not ice cream? I wanna know!

I went to the office on Tuesday for a meeting and the main person in the meeting was out with Covid. We had the meeting remotely, and I could have done that from home. Since that person is who I had meetings with today, I worked from home and we did the meetings remotely. I decided to go ahead with an upgrade with Whiteflash. Insurance is paying slightly more than my trade was going to be, so tomorrow I need to go to the bank to do a wire and to fedex to send back my stone. I ordered the legato sleek line solitaire. I decided I don’t want anything fussy with any small side diamonds or halos. Just more things for me to break or knock loose.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Deegee, I’m with Ruby. I have no intention in venturing outside. I think we got about 6” of snow here. I do recall all those perfume counters. Almost anything that smells triggers me. I prefer to breathe. Spray Lysol really gets me. I used to lose my voice when both of us used aerosol deodorant. Marty always teases me he’s going to secretly use them again so I can’t talk.

We have huge jack rabbits out here - they are bigger than small dogs. So we see bunny tracks in the snow.

Sweet to go ahead with your upgrade. I’ll be excited to see your new ring. I agree with going with a solitaire. I have always picked low maintenance pieces with them since I can’t just show up at their store if I have a problem. I’ll go look up that mount. I think I know what it is, but not sure. What carat size are you getting again?

Marty was sad the HOA sent a snow plow around so he didn’t get to plow our little cul-de-sac out. He did blow our driveway and shoveled the sidewalk. All the bolts have broke off his blade. He had another one to at least get the plowing done today.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

DeeGee, big hairy Blue is still loving this cold snowy weather, but Sunny is Out! Business! Back In! I can't wait to see your new ring, and I fully understand not getting any melee or other stuff that can be more trouble than it's worth. Remote meetings are the best (if you have to have a meeting at all, that is!). At the last place I worked we would have zoom meeting with people who were literally in the next office. At first I was like... uh... do you want me to just come to you... ? But then I realized it was their culture so I just went with it.

Curby, this is probably a stupid question, but aren't the rabbits pretty much out of food at this point? I can only imagine they're digging under all that snow for a few more blades of grass to tide them over 'til spring... but what do I know?! If Marty is inclined, he's always welcome to come over and blow our driveway when it snows! Liam did it while I was gone and he apparently didn't move his truck,, which was parked right in front of the garage door, so now the rest of the driveway is clear but there are snowy tracks to get into the garage. Insert eye roll here LOL.

I feel like I live in the land of never ending laundry. I'm working my way through Liam's stuff, using the new detergent. The challenge is keeping the stuff that's been newly washed separated from the older washed stuff. Ugh. Who knows how long this is all going to take. And when I ask him how he's doing to see if this is really working he's always got some new mystery symptom that may or may not be related to this original problem at all. I give up!

After taking packages to the post office today I ran to Meijer and picked up a few things, including pork chops for dinner. After we ate and I cleaned up the kitchen I washed up some vintage snack sets that have been sitting in the dining room since last summer. At the moment I'm tempted to go dig out a box of pink depression glass cups and saucers and wash those up for photos tomorrow too... but my motivation is dwindling pretty fast... I think I might go to bed early and read a book!

 

[deegee]

marcy-so you were talking about REAL bunny tracks! We had tons of rabbits when we first moved here (not the size of bunnies there!), but we also have coyotes so we haven’t seen rabbits for years. Hmmm… sneaky of Marty with the aerosol deodorant idea. Have you ever heard of the cleaner Fabuloso? Our janitor at work nearly killed me with the stuff. Her mixtures were very strong, and one day she was walking through the building spraying it in the air. I am slightly asthmatic and carry an inhaler, and I had to grab it and run outside many times. Thankfully our new building belongs to the Department of Environmental Protection, and they don’t use cleaners that trigger an asthma attack. Marty has a plow blade? That would be handy, especially where you live! We normally don’t get as much snow as we’ve had this winter. Not a fan. The new diamond is 2.19ct VS1. It’s a little deep and it’s a J, but it’s an ACA so hopefully it’s fine. I’ll return it for something else if I decide I don’t like it.

Dee*jay-Ruby sounds like Sunny! I did a DNA test for her and it came back pretty much what I expected. She is equal parts pit/boxer/lab. She has a really short, single coat of fur and she seems to get cold. She really likes wearing her little sweater. I hate to be in the office and have remote meetings with other people in the office. Sometimes you really do need face to face meetings. Since I really hate going in the office, I can’t believe I just said that! I hope Liam gets the reaction thing figured out. That’s so miserable. And laundry-UGH! There are 2 of us and we have so much laundry. We must have people living here that I haven’t met. Do you get nervous shipping glassware? Or worry about it making it to where it’s going? My diamond is damaged and I STILL fretted over packing it correctly and I keep checking the tracking. It’s in Houston, but I’ll be freaking out until they let me know on Monday that they have it. I told Matt if I end up returning the new ring, we’re flying there with it and returning it in person.

I finally made it out yesterday to do the wire and stop by FedEx. Since the bank is across the street from my office, I decided to go in. I hope I don’t end up getting sick because it turns out about 2/3 of our staff is out with either flu or Covid. Yikes! Okay, off to clean house and do laundry. Have a great weekend!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, that is pretty strange to do zoom meetings with people down the hall. I hated that part of working at home. More meetings and people just wanting to talk. But not driving to work in crappy weather was nice. That MIGHT have been a deciding factor in I'm out of here on December 24.

I don't know what the rabbits are eating. There are sure a lot of track every morning. I chucked at how Liam shoveled, sounds like how Marty picks up after himself. I might have mentioned this before, but if you haven't watched a video on the magic table or magic countertop, you should. It's hysterical. It is sto hard to figure out what triggers a rash or reaction. How is Liam doing?

Deegee, we had bunnies in town at my house before the last house, but these suckers are larger than bunnies. I still am amazed at how fast they can move. I have not heard of that cleaner, How awful it was that strong and I am glad you could get outside. I am glad I've never been around it. Yes, we bought a UTV and got a windshield on it and added a snow plow. I'll post a picture of it. I still haven't tried to drive it, but it's kind of fun. I do remember now the stats on your diamond. I think I tried to look it up before. I am sure it'll be a gorgeous diamond. I am anxious to see it. I agree, usually a face-to-face meeting goes better. It is amazing how much laundry two people can generate. Of course, I wear two or three tops at the same time when it's this cold. It is quite scary shipping your diamond. It'll be fine, but I get it.

We had about 8" of snow. The sky finally cleared yesterday and I got to try out my new mini-me astrophoto telescope. Of course, Marty being Marty, he ran it for hours before I finally said let me try it. My hands are so small and my right hand is so sore and lame, I am afraid to carry it. I had him take it outside and set it up and bring it in. I have a padded tote bag that might work to carry it in and out of the house. Yesterday, I brought it in with a laundry basket.

Work was busy this week and I ended up working several hours today. Not by intention though. We went out for breakfast. I think that's the first time I've been out of the house for weeks.

 

[marcy]

Here is the little UTV with the plow. Marty has fun with it.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Saturday kids!

DeeGee, once the diamond leaves your hands it's all up to the carrier -- and you have insurance on the shipment I'm sure, so at this point you're golden! How many mm are you gaining with the upgrade? I do worry about shipping glass, but since I volunteered to make this my cross to bear I can't really complain. My packing has also gotten better of the years, so if something breaks at this point someone really has to be making an EFFORT ha ha.

Curby, I just showed YF the pics and he's VERY impressed! Marty's UTV looks like a toy, LOL. I WISH I could not leave the house for weeks. If someone gave me an adequate supply of prosecco, access to all the books I want, and some chocolate I think I'd really be set for an entire winter! Eight inches of snow... ?!? Ugh. We're still cold here but heading into the 40s next week.

The Liam symptom saga continues. The newest theory is that he might have developed an allergy to the little dog. It actually kind of makes sense based on all the things we've done and tried. No idea what to DO about that though, because we're obviously not getting rid of him. (HIM = Liam AND/OR the dog )

I've had a few days of inventory acquisition... Yesterday I went to a sale near me and got a bunch of stuff. This morning there wasn't a SINGLE thing I wanted at the local auction so I was feeling pretty good about coming home and listing... and then a friend of mine said, "Oh, you have to go by Janet's sale on Alpine, there's a whole basement full of pink depression glass." Five boxes later... Ack! There was one more sale I could have swung by too, but I restrained myself and went straight back to the house!

No idea what I've done with the rest of the day. It's going on dinner time and I swear I haven't accomplished a thing since I got back here before noon.

Alright, off to see if we've got all the stuff for tacos in the house because I think tonight is going to be a Mexican fiesta!

 

[marcy]

Greetings. I got some videos of the sun today and used an online converter to get these images The full fun and a closeup of a sunspot group. I have NOOOOO idea what I'm doing yet, but I am having fun.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Curby, I swear, you are THE BEST astronomy photographer EVER!

BTW, I have proven the existence of little green men (who apparently live in champagne coupes) in the daily happy hour thread on hangout. Check it out!

Yesterday was not as productive as I'd have liked. Liam and YF convinced me to go thrifting with them. The two Goodwills we went to were sheer pandamonium and I only found two lonely champagne glasses, one at each store. I did manage a few pics when I got back, but the light was waning pretty fast.

Liam's trauma / drama continues. Of course the logical thing to do would be See A Doctor... but noooooooo.

Today I have to do some accounting, see the chiro, and go to Costco for a big shop. This one is going to be $$$!

 

[John Bo]

Greetings. I got some videos of the sun today and used an online converter to get these images The full fun and a closeup of a sunspot group. I have NOOOOO idea what I'm doing yet, but I am having fun.

Hi;

I skimmed through all the replies, and you actually have been chatting for more than ten years.And I reply to the message from 13 years ago.（oh..god）

marcy, your photography skills are really great, I have only seen photos like this from professional astrophotographers!

thank you for the photo
John

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Not much exciting to report here. Went to a charity event last night where I won $100 of gift cards to the local Goodwill, so that was the highlight of my evening LOL. Orders have been slow and I'm getting some pics taken, but I really need to be working on more accounting right now. I'm mocking up some business cards so you'll be receiving drafts of those for your opinion at some point Curby! That's really about it for now.

#theexcitementcontinues

 

[deegee]

Marcy-that’s an awesome picture of the sun! Your astrophoto telescope takes great pics. And the UTV, I see those in our neighborhood. We live in the sticks and the end of my road turns into woods. People have created a trail through there with their off-road vehicles. If you’re not afraid of wildlife and snakes, it’s a good walking path too. One year a neighbor plowed everybody’s driveway after a big snow with his UTV and blade. They do look fun.

Dee*Jay-Im gaining 1.33mm with the new stone. My old ring was a 3-stone with pear side stones. I’m going to have to get a colored stone for that setting. Liam may end up going to the dr. Mom went to her dermatologist and also an allergy specialist and they never figured it out. Here’s to hoping Liam has better luck!

I swear I’ve been asleep for most of 2 days. I went to the office Monday and about halfway through the day I had a tickle in my throat. By the end of the day I had a fever, hacking my cough, no voice, terrible headache and I feel like I got run over by a train. My Covid test was negative, but it’s been expired for years. I’m guessing flu, even though I did have a flu shot in October. I’ve been awake for a couple of hours now, and I’m feeling a nap coming on.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Thanks for the kind words about my photos. I am working on two tonight.

Dee Jay, I’m with Liam, I keep thinking tomorrow I’ll call a doctor about my wrist, but noooooooooo. Trying to figure out a reaction is a challenge. That’s why I only eat a few things that I know won’t trigger something. You’ll have fun spending that gift card. I’ll watch for your business card designs. I have to do the gym accounting this weekend, Hopefully my streamlined spreadsheet works well for me.

Hi John Bo, I swear I have looked through old posts to remember when something happened. It’s almost like my daily blog.

Deegee, I don’t know if I’d like walking through the woods. I screamed at a teddy bear yesterday. I went in the pantry to get something and Marty shut the door on me. When I came out he stuck a teddy bear in my face and yes, I screamed. I should expect these things. Marty does enjoy his UTV. Oooh to a new colored stone. What are you thinking about getting? I still one a nice spessartite and a red garnet. That’s too bad the dermatologist couldn’t figure out what was going on with your mom. One of my favorite doctor memories was some scars just growing on my back and the dermatologist said “hum, I’ve never seen anything like that”. And that was it. Thanks, doc. I hate to hear you are so sick. I hope you are feeling better.

We are in the 40’s and 50’s this week. But windy. I posted on Facebook telling Mother Nature I want to cancel my subscription of these stupid wind storms. They BLOW! So far, they keep coming. Marty is planting our prairie grass seed this weekend. This summer we need to get 8 trees planted per HOA and we want to get travel all around the house to help keep fire away from the house.

Work is the same. Poor Marty is still having headaches with his job. He swears this one guy in Canada is messing with him and just testing him to see if he can trouble shoot their equipment.

Here’s a photo I took earlier tonight It’s the Crab Nebula. It’s a supernova remnant in the constellation of Taurus. This supernova was visible in to the unaided eye in 1054 and was so bright you could read by it at night and see it in daylight for about a month.

Take care.
Curby

 

[marcy]

Here’s the Horsehead Nebula. It’s a dark nebula in front of a bright nebula and the Flame Nebula is partly visible at the top.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Curby, I keep getting reels of people pranking other people by scaring them. I have to admit some of them get me laughing out loud! We're pretty wamn too (in a relative sense) and also windy. I just went out to see what the dogs were up to and I got pelted with leaves as I stood on the deck. I looked up what a nebula is. You'd think I know that -- I did actually take an astronomy class in college. Apparently I wasn't paying much attention!

Yesterday turned out pretty well! I retrieved the lot of glass I got on the online auction the night before and at first checking they are all in good shape (as opposed to some lots where they look like they were attacked with a chinsaw!), stopped at the Salvation Army where I got two more good sets of glasses, and had a crystal vase sale to someone in Qatar. I don't even know where Qatar is -- yet another thing I had to look up LOL. I wrapped the thing TO DEATH, and of course double boxed it, so I hope it makes the journey safely.

After all that though, a migraine kicked in. I went to bed pretty early and stayed there until about noon today. Not even the usual meds are helping, so I hope this is a short one. We're going to a concert at the local casino tonight and I'm draeading the idea of loud music. Ack.

Alright, I think I might try cleaning up the family room. The excitement abounds here at The North Estate!

 

[John Bo]

Hi, Marcy!

Very beautiful starry sky photos！

Can you take a photo of betelgeuse? I saw a popular science video some time ago. It is said that this may be the explosion of a star that we may see during our lifetime. If it explodes, its light will exceed that of the full moon and last for several months!

Hi, Dee!

Hope your migraine has eased.

I see that you have mentioned your migraine symptoms more than once. You can try to solve it with Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture or massage, which is very useful because I also have 2-3 migraines every year.

If you want to try it, I will tell you the relevant acupoint distribution and massage techniques through drawings and texts next time so that you can relieve your symptoms when you have an attack.

I would most recommend that you go to a local Chinese medicine clinic and receive professional and systematic treatment.

Hope this is useful for you.
John Bo

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I even saw some geese flying north. I fear they will be in for a rude awakening. Marty said they were avoiding the rush. I am sure we’ll have more snow. Good deal you found some glasses at the Salvation Army and the auction glasses were good. Wow to mailing some to Qatar. I hope they arrive okay. I hope your migraine subsided and the concert didn’t bother you. Mine usually don’t last more than a few hours.

John Bo, yes, Betelgeuse will explode someday, who knows when. Recent studies indicate it may have a companion star and if that’s so, it might not be as massive as originally thought. If and when it explodes will be quite bright but think about how strange Orion will look once it fades from view. I can get a picture of Betelgeuse but it’d look like a bright star. I did get a picture of the Orion Nebula tonight.

We stayed up late last night. Marty was messing electronics in his observatory and I was nursing a very agitated right wrist. I’ am making a doctor appointment on Monday. Wow did it get agitated yesterday. I did find heat helped it more than ice. Yay.

Marty got the prairie grass seed planted today, let’s hope it comes up okay to keep weeds at bay. He also worked in his observatory until we met some friends for supper. After supper we all came here and played cards. I did make chocolate chip cookies today for dessert while we played cards.

Laters,
Curby

 

[John Bo]

Hi, Marty!

Thanks for sharing the photo. It is really beautiful. It may be strange when it disappears, but I still want to see it with my own eyes. I think it must be very spectacular.

What happened to your right hand? Why does it hurt?
If it is caused by a fall or sprain, I can tell you a piece of knowledge that can be used for post-fall or sprain care. There are two professional medical terms, "acute phase" and "recovery phase". When you fall or sprain, use cold compress in the "acute phase" and hot compress in the "recovery phase".

They are very easy to judge: "acute phase" means that the symptoms of pain continue to increase. At this stage, the injured part will continue to be congested and edematous. Using cold compress can relieve this symptom. The "recovery period" is when the pain no longer worsens or has slowed down. At this time, use hot compress to speed up the internal metabolism.

Through the above methods, you can effectively reduce pain symptoms and speed up recovery.

I hope this is useful to you

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Sunday kids!

Curby, I (over!) medicated myself for the concert in anticipation of the noise. It was pretty much OK... until the fvcking HARMONICA. I swear, I about wept the whole way through that piece. Ugh. But now I'm on the upswing and will probably be fine by tomorrow. That photo -- WOW! I think the last dystopian novel I read had that exact image on the front.

Hi John! Marcy's injury is unfortunately an old one. I'm pretty sure the only thing that will help her at this point is booze.

Yesterday wasn't much of anything special. I packed an order and went to the post office, where I got the skinny on how that minivan ended up IN the lobby the day before, and ran to two estate sales. No major treasures, just a set of candle sticks and a vase, but it's not like I'm lacking LOL.

Today is The Day Of The Family Room Clean Up. (I'm hoping by putting that out there in the universe it will actually happen!) So far I've made NO progress... but I'm hopeful! Maybe this second cup of coffee will fuel my motivation. (If not, there's always prosecco!)