Now I really did it :((

[Scandinavian]

Good morning from Scandinavia
Back home and back at work So boring though. Working I mean. I like my job, but still. Some days - like today - I would much rather be on holiday, lol. Look forward to going to Grand Canaria on a mini holiday in May, only one month to go now

Missy and Marcy, I think you are both on to something about making men feel useful, lol. I know my husband would never expect me to change the tires on the cars, for example, I draw the line there. Equality should stop somewhere, lol.

Marcy, you are such a good wife to accompany Marty for golf! I hate smokers who insist on making me inhale that horrible smelly "air". I normally go "uffff..." rather loudly and start a fake cough.. LOL. Raining here now (a lot), the weather is very fall like and not a hopeful spring at all.

Helper monkeys sounds like fun! I think they are very intelligent animals and you could probably train them to drive the tractor Jimmianne! At least if you are like me that might be a good idea, lol. We have a tractor actually. Just a small old think. We use it for shoveling snow. It is very useful when you wake up and realise that the car will not be able to get to the "main" road and that our 200 meter road is filled with a lot of snow.. Just take a small trip with the tractor first, and then you are good to go - only takes 3 minutes Oh yes - back to the "like me" part. When I was younger, I thought the tractor was kind of embarasing (we do not have a farm) so I refused to drive it, hahaha..

Jimmianne, your house looks incredible! So nice and genuine and charming! The walkway looks like a very good idea! We live in the countryside also, and my hunter boots gets a lot of wear - always so muddy everywhere!

Missy, you are soooo luck to go and see so many fantastic shows So NYC of you I'm happy you enjoyed it!! One of the things I don't like so much about Scandinavia, even the biggest of our cities can be a bit "rustic" at times, lol. I love pearls, I try to convince you to wear yours more often, will try to remember to take a picture tonight so I can show you tomorrow

Missy, your nieces are adorable!

Missy, your health concerns worries me. I'm sure you are seing the best doctors, but if you are not, please go and find the very best of them!! I hate that they can not give you any good answers.

Junebug, I also love the classic and clean look of pearl studs I wanted some new ones for my birthday last year, that is when I got the new necklace, because my DH had bought it to match the studs he got me, so nice of him But that picture of your DH's golfing buddy.... I would have either (i) been terrified and run screaming, or (ii) run towards it to give it a hug. Difficult to say. I love animals. Both ideas are probably equally bad ideas, lol.

Marcy, your pearl story is fantastic! I loved reading that one I will show you some sparkly pearls, lol. Will try to get a picture tonight. (I have a few items where the pearls are mixed with small diamonds ) I love shrimps, I love Italian, and I love pizza. You are making me hungry...

Rainwood, I have not forgotten about your trip - I will make a whole big list for you when I have a bit more time! The trip sounds amazing That kitchen of yours is soooooo nice! I love a big kitchen too! As you might know, we are building an extension to our house now. The kitchen will be kind of big, maybe not as big as yours, but at least twice as big as the one we currently have. The room will be approximately 3.6x7m, so a bit "long" perhaps, but I think it will work. The dining table will be in the next room/space (no wall between) so hopefully room for a small island I'm waiting for the first design sketch from the kitchen supplier these days.

Oh - I have forgotten to tell you girls that we have ordered an AGA - http://www.agaliving.com/aga-range-cookers/range-cookers/traditional-cast-iron-cookers/4-oven-aga-electric
I'm exited about that! I have always wanted one, they are not so common here, but they look oh-so-nice in a rustic sort of way (Our house is in the country side, the forrest starts right behind it).

Jimmianne, how did the physical go??

Missy, the mountains were very nice as always I love to go there. But now I feel like having a weekend home, tired of driving so much! 3 hours each way, so not as bad as our cabin, this one belongs to my father, so not the same cabin as the one for Easter. But still. 3 hours each way is enough when its only Friday night - Sunday afternoon. So this weekend we have plans with friends First going out for a really nice dinner at a really nice restaurant on Friday with one of my best friends and her DH. Then visiting one of my other best friends and her family on Saturday. I'm very lucky and happy that my DH is very good friends with their DH's So now they are "our" friends instead of "mine".

Picture: Can you see what this is??



Azstonie, Sorry to hear that remodeling is not fun. Double sorry because I will soon be in the same position, probably, lol. Do share if you have any tips on what to do and or what to avoid.. And thank you for your kind comments re my dog She is a true sweetheart! And my very precious baby

Marcy, I love your bear story!! Apples, LOL. I have never tried feeding apples to a bear, but I might, lol. I have hand feed wolfs but they were "almost" pet-like, they have grown up inside a house as they lost their mother. But I think they preferred meat... The panda in China loved apples though

Rainwood, the look in Nina's eyes says it all. She loved you. I think that the animals we love become part of our soul and never really leaves us. But it hurts very much regardless.

I'm currently trying to find a few chandeliers for our "new" house. I would be grateful for help from you girls. I need something over our dining table, as well as something for your living room. In the dining room, the ceiling is approximately 2.4 m, and in the living room, the ceiling is approx 3.4m. But not sure if the chandelier should be over a table or just by it self. I have been looking at this for the living room:

http://www.krebs.se/produkter/kristallkronor/empire/308001703

But I'm concerned about the height. It is 1.3 meters, so that would require it to be placed over a table I think. Not sure how long the chain above the chandelier should be.. Oh well. Maybe a small round table that is a little higher than a normal table in the middle of the room - could double as a place for fruit maybe. The room is 7x7meters, so not too big but ok. I want something a little blingy to set of the fireplace, lol.

My plan for the dining room is to choose two much smaller versions (to put over the dining table) of the one in the living room, so I need to choose the living room first.

Please make all the suggestions you like! I'm not decided yet and quite flexible. Just want something that looks a bit blingy and luxurious

All the best to you all, fingers crossed for a good day!

 

[MarionC]

Scandinavian, I like the fixture you picked out. I think it would work well, but have you considered something more like a contemporary art piece, a little more bold or edgy? I tried to find what I mean, but will have to do more searching.
This is not what I mean, but thought it was interesting because it has - I don't know how to say - more "texture" & "contrast" than the refined chandelier. My two cents.




ah -so you have a tractor. I guess I would have been embarrassed as a kid too if my parents had one haha
but here you go - I have a friend who wears her big diamond when she is driving her tractor : )
so we can be practical and glam at the same time.

I had an excellent health report and the doctor [new to me] was wonderful. She routinely runs over-time with each appointment because she really listens. Worth the wait!
She asked what my DD and I do for fun and I said SHOP. She said she never would have taken me for a shopper! Can you imagine?!
Not only does Candy have a pole in the barn, she is a closet shopper. I hope you all are honored to know such an interesting person
What does a shopper look like??? I guess I am kind of an old hippy and wear good but well-loved, worn & comfortable clothes. Should I upgrade my image? Visit you Missy, and get a makeover in the Big Apple???

oh, Missy, did you read in the news where they have found jobs for feral cats in Chicago where there is a rat problem?

Rainwood, I'm with Marcy. I lost 5 dogs in about 5 years, 3 to old age and a mother & daughter to cancer. When I put down the 5th I walked out of the vet, drove home, got online and bought a puppy. I said - enough sadness. That puppy was such a job & so much fun to raise that it helped enormously. Everyone is different in how they grieve, but for me, at that time, Issy was a life-saver. My DD gave me a 'fridge magnet one time that said, "the only cure for love is more love". Maybe that's what it means!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Kristie, good luck today. Will be thinking of you at 3PM your time and soon you will be out of this renovation hell! Think ahead to that and your lovely new renovations! NIRDI party at Kristie's place.

Marcy, Ugh sounds like work was challenging for you yesterday. I hope today goes more smoothly! Ha re Marty behaving like a brat. I am glad he is enjoying his new iPad. Glad you had something delicious to eat since you couldn't have the shrimp. I like that your family looks out for you. I still remember the time we went to the aquarium (3 plus hours away each way so it was a trip) with Greg's family. His mom had brought sandwiches for everyone but me since I don't eat meat and she brought absolutely nothing for me. Who does that? Sandwiches for the nieces, nephews, sons and daughter in law but not for me. Well Greg refused to eat her sandwiches and he and I went out to get something to eat without them. Can you believe I still get annoyed remembering how selfish is family was and honestly still is though they are so much better now so I shouldn't complain. But it took time.

I don't know if you know but we call HRH Francesca the "bitchy" bear sometimes. LOL.


Sorry the Yankee game was cancelled yesterday. I had no clue. Hope today's game goes off without a hitch. Go Yankees.

Hope work goes well today Marcy!

Rainwood, I love seeing sweet Nina's beautiful face. What soulful kind expressive eyes. Thank you for sharing her photo here. There is no doubt she knew how much she was loved by you and your dh and she had the best life with you anybody could ever hope for...and I know she gave the same to you.(((Hugs))).

And yes you have my dream kitchen no exaggeration. I could be happy forever with a kitchen like yours!

Scandinavian, thank you for your concern and believe me I am being proactive. I just feel like the doctors are clueless (though I know they are doing their best and cannot help it that I have these mystery complicated symptoms sigh) and it is tiring yanno? Right now taking it one day at a time and not looking too far ahead. Thank you sweetheart for your good thoughts.

I am glad you enjoyed your mountain weekend and yes I hear you on the traveling back and forth. It is the one thing I really dislike about having more than one home even though our beach home is not far away (an hour to an hour and a half depending on traffic). It is not too much fun packing up the cats every weekend and going back and forth. We will be doing that again soon now that the weather is/should be improving. IDK it is a tradeoff for sure. Good and bad associated with having the luxury of different homes in different places and one day I just want one home in one place I think. Though it has satiated my need for travel in general so in that way it is a plus.

I like that chandelier you are considering. It is very elegant and sophisticated. However, we are not chandelier people however so I am not the best person to ask. We have all antique lighting at our NY home. They are genuine vintage from the 30's and 40's with lots of french art deco. We got them all at one of our favorite antique shops in New Hope called Cockamamies. We accumulated them gradually as they are pricey but now our collection is complete. I don't have any good photos but here are 2 photos showing the one in the library and the one in the dining room. But I really must take better pics and also take photos of the one in the hallways and bedroom as those are gorgeous. These 2 pics don't do them justice but just as an idea. And you can also sort of see some of our side lamps in the library photo and they are also genuine antiques from the same store.







I have no clue what we are going to do when we/if we move full time to the beach house as our beach house decor does not go well with french art deco lighting. I cannot bear (haha Marcy bear) to part with it though as I love each and every piece we have collected throught the years.

This is not a good pic but here's one of the PP metallic strands on my neck. The color is much richer in real life because this photo is washed out but thought you might enjoy seeing it anyway. They have a lovely metallic luster to them and glow. I have many many pearl necklaces and earrings and bracelets however most of them not photographed. I will think about wearing some of them more often so we can be pearl twins together though we are thousands of miles apart. I like that thought.





Thank you for the compliments re my nieces. And as for NYC and all there is to do here remember you are invited and I will be in charge of taking care of the entertainment and shopping but will fulfill any requests you may have!

Jimmianne, I totally agree. The only cure for love is more love! No I didn't read that about the ferals in Chicago. How wonderful they are taken care of or at least I hope they are. Tommy used to be a mouser at work and when I found out about his existence at work in the basement is when I started hatching my plan to rescue him. And Greg was onboard. He is a keeper!
Sharing the pic of Tommy from 2009 when we first found out about him. This is the very first photo Greg and I took of him and it's in the basement at work.





No you do NOT need a makeover at all Jimmianne. You are BEAUTIFUL and perfect just the way you are but when you visit me in NYC we will do whatever you want and if that's what you want I will make it happen and maybe I will get a makeover too! Just 2 hippy dippy chicks.



OK I know these are not chicks but the closest photo I had OK?


Yes I'm with Marcy and Jimmianne but everyone does what works for them on their own timetable. When Billy died I couldn't wait long at all because I had so much love to give a rescue animal and adopted Francesca, then Bobby and then Tommy over a 6 month period right after Billy died. We did it as a way to honor Billy's life if that makes sense. It helped me make sense of his death to give 3 rescue kitties a loving and safe home. But that is what worked for us and is not necessarily the best course of action for everyone.

Glad your physical went well yesterday! You go girl!
LOVE those puppy photos of Issy.

OK I hope I didn't miss anything but will be back later if time permits. Hope everyone has a lovely day. Hugs and Kisses to you all.

 

[missy]

Scandinavian re your photo... forgot to say...meooowww

 

[missy]

Greg is arranging his new basement at the beach house and he just sent me a pic of it in progress...
You can see part of his dust collecting system above. Work in progress.

 

[rainwood]

Missy, I love all the color in your apartment. It looks so warm and inviting! And the antique fixtures go so well. And thanks for the kitty photos. So cute! And now we know where Greg will be spending all his free time. You'll never get him out of the basement! Michael would have been so envious. And having a dust collection system is such a good idea. Makes it much safer not to breathe all that sawdust, plus cleaner too. Michael was so happy when he got his (which is still hanging from the ceiling of the garage). And I hear you about going back and forth between two places. Whatever I need always seems to be at the other place. I left the charger for my laptop over there this weekend so I had to go buy another one, but then I'd brought the laptop over there without its case. I never do that! I'm always amazed how much stuff goes into and out of the car. And now, I have to do all the packing and loading, the driving, and then all the unpacking and unloading. I fantasize about the day when all I do is bring a small tote bag (I don't have a thing about handbags, but I'm a sucker for a nice leather tote), but that never seems to happen.

Jimmieanne, those photos of Issy as a puppy make my heart melt. That much cuteness is a cure for anything! And I can see how running around after that ball of fur would have cheered you up. I was sure when Nina died, I wouldn't get another dog for quite awhile, that for the first time in a long time I'd be able to focus on what I want to do which is what everyone is telling me I should do (and I know they're right, or at least I think I do). I love to travel and I haven't been on an airplane in 5 years and only twice in the last 10. Plus, having the luxury of going somewhere for the whole day and not have to worry about leaving Nina alone for so long. And not having the distraction of my dog at the office (although I love that it's an option for me - yay pet-friendly workplace!) But I've started to waver this week, and one of my friends told me she knows of a really good dog sitter/housesitter. I think the right thing for me to do is wait until next spring. I'll be gone for quite awhile this summer, and there are a few other trips I'd like to take, then see how I feel. If I wait until spring, I can avoid all the late night trips out in the wind and rain. I haven't missed those two flights of stairs to get out at midnight in a torrential downpour. And if I wait, I'll know I'm doing the right thing. But don't be surprised if all that goes out the window because I met an irresistible face!

Scandinavia, I loved going to the website and seeing everything in Swedish! It will be good practice for me. That chandelier is beautiful and I'm assuming those are not real candles (which would be scary). The one thing to consider is how much work it would be to clean it - whoever that would be. Chandeliers only look good when clean, and that one has a lot of pieces, some of which don't look that easy to remove. I only know this because it was my job as a kid to clean our dining room chandelier and it was a real pain even though much smaller than that one. I've never wanted one since. And an AGA range sounds fabulous. I've never had one, but I've seen them and I like how they keep the kitchen nice and toasty! Plus they come in such great colors. Oh, and I'm assuming that photo was a bird in the snow?

Azstonie, my fingers are crossed for your remodel to hit the finish line soon. It will all be worth it when it's done. And if you haven't killed each other, you're both ahead of the game. And I should confess that for the longest time, I read your name as Aztonite and thought it was some kind of gem. Then, I realized the AZ was for Arizona, and so I thought it was for Arizona tonight, then I realized it wasn't tonite at all but stonie. And I finally got it. No Einstein awards for me!

Marcy, I hope that work gets better and that the earphones cancelled out the noise from your annoying cube neighbor. I don't think they work to cancel out bosses making your life crazy though! It would be nice if they did. And I'm sorry to hear you had to go through the elderly parents dilemma too. It's so difficult and there isn't much to prepare you for the rollercoaster it can turn out to be. And it's nice the big city isn't too far away. I've only been to Denver once, mostly Boulder for a week for a seminar, and the Rockies are so gorgeous. And the shopping must be great! I haven't been to Wyoming at all, though we almost got to Grand Targhee to ski once (my husband loved it there), but never quite made it. I'd like to go Jackson Hole in the summer now as you guys have real winters and I'm not sure I could take the cold.

Junebug, I was sorry to hear NC lost in the NCAA final, especially because they were my pick in the pool! I heard it was an exciting game with Villanova winning at the buzzer. Must have been a heartbreaker for NC fans. Hope everything is going well with your mom, and that you are doing well. And nice to hear you are a Costco fan as well. I know Missy is, and my husband used to joke that Costco was my favorite place on earth. I've been a member since they first opened. All the stores are numbered and I shop at Store #1. I think all the Costcos have the TV's at the front because that's as far as some men ever go. My husband hated to shop so he didn't even like to set foot in the place, and made sure we were out in less than half an hour. Which is why I usually went without him!

Geez, another long post! I promise I will get less long-winded (or is it long-fingered?)

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Hi, everyone! Sorry to just drop in every few months!!! So hard to keep up in here! I actually was searching for a picture of Junebug's ring and in the search I saw a mention of NC losing the game which brought me to this thread!

So...Junebug, what is your connection to UNC? I live in NC but didn't go to school there. We were just rooting for them last night and even though I don't care about basketball in general, it was a fantastic but heartbreaking game!

Jimmianne...I was thinking you live in NC, is that right?

 

[MarionC]

Hi, everyone! Sorry to just drop in every few months!!! So hard to keep up in here! I actually was searching for a picture of Junebug's ring and in the search I saw a mention of NC losing the game which brought me to this thread!

So...Junebug, what is your connection to UNC? I live in NC but didn't go to school there. We were just rooting for them last night and even though I don't care about basketball in general, it was a fantastic but heartbreaking game!

Jimmianne...I was thinking you live in NC, is that right?

Hi DS, yes I'm near Carrboro {Chapel Hill]

 

[azstonie]

Rainwood, feel free to go with Kristie for me It's been pointed out it could also be AZS Glad you benefitted from the Wobenzym. Its pretty amazing. Saved Finn the Westie quite a few times with his knee problems and then the msck issues DH and I have.

Jimmianne!!!!!
Where Jimmianne lives: Candyland!
Jimmianne's Boyfriend: The Candyman!!
His Theme Song: I Want Candy!!!
Jimmianne's Favorite Game: Candy Crush!!!!
Jimmianne's Favorite Treat: Cotton Candy!!!!!

 

[MarionC]

AZ This candyinsanity is just what the doctor ordered! thanks for the laugh.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Hi, everyone! Sorry to just drop in every few months!!! So hard to keep up in here! I actually was searching for a picture of Junebug's ring and in the search I saw a mention of NC losing the game which brought me to this thread!

So...Junebug, what is your connection to UNC? I live in NC but didn't go to school there. We were just rooting for them last night and even though I don't care about basketball in general, it was a fantastic but heartbreaking game!

Jimmianne...I was thinking you live in NC, is that right?

Hi DS, yes I'm near Carrboro {Chapel Hill]

I thought so! I think one of my daughter's best friends at college lives there, too!

 

[junebug17]

Hi everyone!

Missy, don't worry, I keep plenty of space between myself and the alligators! Luckily they mostly stay in the water lol. There is a lot of wildlife on the island - dh and I go out in kayaks occasionally and we usually see dolphins jumping out of the water, so beautiful. I'm so glad you like the house!

And…your apartment is gorgeous! My goodness, it looks like something out of a magazine and your antique lamps are SO amazing! They are works of art, really, and I can see why you love them so much. I love your pics of the beach and Brooklyn, really pretty views.

Thanks for the words of support - going through a weird time - feeling kind of unsettled and worried but I just have to keep going and not look too far into the future. Handling what's going on right now is enough lol.

And I feel the same way as you, having a vacation home has kind of quenched my desire to travel as well. Going to SC is enough of a trip! It must be nice to get away to the beach every weekend during the warm weather months, even though it's a bit of work rounding up the kitties. Speaking of kitties, what a great pics of RHR and Tommy, so sweet

Your pearls are beautiful! They look gorgeous on your lovely neck, you should wear them more often!

And whoa, the basement is really taking shape!!! It looks fantastic, Greg must be so happy

Marcy, sounds like you need a few days off to recover from your busy weekend lol - sounds like you had fun and it's nice you got together with family. Oh yeah, dh gets really frustrated when he plays badly! He played really well on the last day of his golf outing so I'm glad he ended on a good note. Sorry about the inconsiderate smoker Your pearl story made me laugh, omigosh what are the odds of that happening? And if I hadn't been told they are alligators, I would have called them crocodiles too! They're almost identical except for their snouts, if I remember my 5th grade Science correctly. They mostly swim around in the lagoons but they do like to sun themselves on golf courses too - needless to say, everyone keeps their distance Oooh, a cushion cut red spinel, would love one of those someday! But good for you for resisting temptation ha.

Rainwood, thank you for sharing your experience with your mother…you did a great job of making sure your mother was properly cared for. It is very challenging when an elderly person has a tendency to wander at all hours and honestly, just impossible to monitor that person by yourself. I truly feel you made the right decision with regard to both her safety and your well-being too. Thanks again and hugs to you, I'm glad you now feel more comfortable about how you handled your mother's care and I think you should feel proud that you were there for her. Caring for an elderly parent is really difficult and I'm so glad you are more at peace now with your decision.

Wow, your kitchen is gorgeous!!! I love the design and all the decorating choices you made.I think it makes perfect sense to have a large kitchen because let's face it, that's where everybody ends up when you have people over lol! And that is a really lovely view.

I'm so very sorry about the loss of your sweet Nina, such a beautiful dog - I can empathize with you a little because I lost my precious yellow lab Cowboy 5 years ago to spleen cancer. It is so hard and I'm sending thoughts of comfort and strength to you.

Aw, sorry you didn't win in your basketball pool! I'm actually not that into college basketball but omigosh the end of that game was amazing! I couldn't believe my eyes. Both teams were fantastic.

Jimmianne, congrats on the clean bill of health, woo-hoo! Love the pics of Issy as a pup, so adorable! And glad to hear you're getting a tractor, sounds like it will be a help and what's a farm without a tractor, I ask you?

Scandinavian, it's tough coming back to reality after a vacation sometimes, isn't it? I was tempted to not come back at all just kidding, sort of I think the chandelier you've picked out is beautiful - I can only imagine how much it will sparkle, and I'm partial to sparkly things! The layout of your extension sounds lovely. It must be so exciting to have such a beautiful new space to look forward to, although I know the process is very stressful. Love your AGA as well, very cool!

Kristie, SO good to hear from you! Sorry about all the aggravation with the remodeling but escaping reality for a while with the nirdis is just what you need says Doctor Junie. Thanks for the kind words about the house, glad you like it and I hope my nirdis can all visit someday!

Hi DS! No affiliation to UNC but a good friend of dh's is an alumni, and dh likes Roy Williams because he used to be the coach for KU. As good a reason as any I suppose ha! It was quite a game, wasn't it? Yes, those poor kids looked devastated and I felt so badly for them!

Ok, I guess I've done enough rambling on for one night, take care and have a good night!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Rainwood, that is awesome Woebenzym has worked so well for you. I agree with you dealing with aging parents will leave behind feelings of remorse and inadequacy. But as you know we do the best we can. Nina was very cute; I know you miss her. I think I need headphones to cancel out everyone at work but sadly that won’t happen. Ha Ha. As I am sure you know the rollercoster ride of elderly parents is so hard but I sure miss them wishing I’d had more time even though it was rough. Circular logic there I know. The Rocky Mountains are very pretty and the Jackson area won’t disappoint either. Yes, we do have real winters here. DH sure complains about it too. He grew up outside of DC so he still thinks winter should be 2 - 3 months. He wishes.

Scandinavian, yay for being able to count down the days until your vacation. Good idea at drawing the line somewhere on what our DH should do. Marty likes to tease me that is “woman’s work”. I always say “what isn’t?” I guess rain is better than snow unless you are getting too much. We’ll get weeks of rain in May / June and start having problems with flooding. Good idea to have a small tractor to shovel out your drive. Ooh pearls and diamonds. Your AGA oven is fabulous. I really like it. Are those paw prints in the snow? What kind? That chandelier is very pretty.

Jimmianne, your fixture is very interesting. My parents had a traditional crystal chandelier that was disgustingly dirty - our local Habitat for Humanity took it and we replaced it with a 5 lamp lighting fixture. Weird thing it almost matched what they had in the kitchen for 30 some years. Of course I feel privileged to know you and you like shopping for jewelry. How can that be bad? I am delighted to hear you got a good report card at the doctor. I really like the saying you have on your frig - “the only cure for love is more love”. Issy is so cute. He poses well for photos too.

Missy, Francesca is quite a photogenic cat like Issy and LOL to her nickname. Marty is enjoying his new iPad. He did go in to Amazon and delete a bunch of our Kindle devices so we couldn’t log in to our Kindle account. We got it worked out tonight but weird thing we had to use our old logon and password. I told him tonight “that’s why I never deleted any of our old devices.” Yes, my family does look out for me and they look out for other people as well. My in-laws are just like yours though. I can’t believe your MIL wouldn’t bring you something to eat. Greg is such a keeper - he went with you to get something to eat. I am chuckling though because my MIL has pulled crap like that on me too. When they first moved here they would play golf with Marty and take him to lunch - not one of them thought of inviting me. About the 4th time they did that I said something to Marty that I felt that was very rude since I was waiting at home to see what they wanted to do for lunch. He didn’t realize it bothered me until I said something but it never happened again. Your library and kitchen / dining room look fabulous. Your pearls are gorgeous. Greg’s basement is looking terrific.

Diamondseeker, I am glad you enjoyed the game last night.

Kristie, LOL at all the plays on “Candy”. Are you done yet?

I think I’ll take in a blender and margarita ingredients when I go to work. No one will care. I might make a lot of friends. Today ranks up there in my top 10 bad days at work. Oh well I lived through it and some people just take this sports stuff way too serious. I would say this sums up my day

I am way behind at work so I might go in to work early tomorrow. Maybe. I’ll see.

Take care.
Curby / Marcy

 

[junebug17]

Ugh, I meant HRH Francesca, sorry for being a knucklehead!

Marcy, sorry you had such a bad day at work, I agree people take sports way too seriously - and I think Margaritas at work will make everyone much happier! I really hope you have a better day tomorrow, hang in there.

 

[Scandinavian]

Goooooood morning!
I hope
I have an appointment with a "skin specialist" doctor this morning, so update later. Here is the picture I promised:

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Rainwood, I know Michael and Greg would have liked each other and would have been friends. So much in common.
Greg took down his old dust collecting system from our previous beach house and he actually reused some parts. There have been some advances in dust collecting over the past decade and Greg said he seriously underestimated the amount of dust that would be generated. So there are new parts to his new dust collecting system that make it more efficient especially where the fine dust is going outside vs filtering it and going back into the shop. Anyway sorry to bore you lol but Greg is fascinated by the whole dust collecting system and is still working on getting it just right.

Thank you for the color (and antique lighting) compliments. We were into color quite a bit in 2004 when we last renovated the Brooklyn apartment and have repainted since but with the same colors. We painted color swatches on larger portions of the walls before we chose and fortunately all our choices worked. Unlike when we recently repainted the beach house colors a year ago and I changed my mind after the whole living room was already painted. And the living room is sort of big so we had to have Julio redo the whole room and so that was a waste of money and you know what? I am still not completely sure I love it but I think Greg would kill me if I wanted to redo the colors again lol. Each room downstairs at the beach house is a different shade of blue and OMG there are so many blues out there. I was searching for the perfect blue gray and well never got the exact color I had in my mind.

When we redo the beach house kitchen I know exactly what I am doing because it is what I wanted to do in Brooklyn when we gut renovated in 2004 but Greg was against it but now over 10 years later has relented and will let me do exactly what I want. I have always been an all white kitchen fan before it was so popular but that's exactly where I am going this time. Silestone probably for the counters/island and all white wood custom cabinets and a 48" subzero freezer and a 48" subzero fridge so I have plenty of storage for food. The only problem is our space in the kitchen at the beach house. Way too small but Greg said don't worry he will make it work. So we will see. We are a way off from doing the kitchen right now but plan on doing it before we move there (if we do) move there full time because I cannot live through a renovation living there. No thank you.

Yes I am with you. I am always forgetting something. Either in NY or NJ and I have had those moments where I go arghhh and had to go out and purchase a duplicate. So now basically I have duplicates of almost everything important. Duplicate chargers definitely and computers even so we don't have to lug everything back and forth. Many of my favorite outfits (and shoes and boots LOL) so I rarely have to bring clothes with me. We even have duplicate Vitamixes talk about unnecessary. I buy things on impulse and then after the newness wears off I stop using it. So 2 Vitamixes and cannot remember the last time I used it. Same thing happened with the Yoyonana and I just had to buy 2 and then stopped using it and when we got the 2 Vitamixes one right after the other I knew that was going to happen yet somehow in the moment it seemed like a fantastic idea.
And of course all my good exercise equipment is the same at the beach house as Brooklyn so even in bad weather when we cannot cycle I have my workout equipment right there. Same elliptical, same treadmill (don't use the treadmill however but we do have 3 of my Precor treadmills at the beach house don't ask long story lol) etc.
Fortunately I haven't duplicated my bling yet but really that's due to money restrictions. Otherwise...

I love beautiful leather totes. They are a sophisticated smart way to carry things. I am regretting not buying a beautiful leather bag that was at Costco a week or 2 ago and instead I bought the smaller handbag and now the vendor is gone but I sort of wish I got the bigger bag that was like a tote. It was lovely. And you know it. I LOVE Costco so much. SO much that when/if we move away from where we are now a prerequisite is that there be a Costco not more than 25 minutes away lol. Right now at the beach house there is one about 20-25 minutes away and in Brooklyn about 15 minutes away depending on traffic. Cannot be too far away from my Costco.


OK see I go on way longer than anyone Rainwood..sorry! OMG once I get started I cannot stop. I write my thoughts as they are happening and that is not always a good thing but the good thing about posting is you can just skim and skip whatever you want so I don't feel guilty. So don't feel obligated to read it all and if you even made it this far thank you!
It is cathartic in a way sharing things here with you girls and I hope you feel the same in that getting some of our thoughts out and sharing them with each other helps us feel better.

I am looking forward to Scandinavian's help and info guide for your trip.
Hi Scandinavian, beautiful necklace. It looks great on your lovely neck! Good luck at the skin (dermatologist?) doctor today!


Junie, thank you for all your lovely comments. And yes, you are going through so much that breaking it up into one day at a time is the only way to deal with it all without becoming overwhelmed. And rest assured you are doing a wonderful wonderful job. You have a big heart and generous soul and I know I have said it before but you are taking excellent care of your mother and it will all fall into place. Just one day at a time and don't be hard on yourself OK?

You have a distance to go to your beach house but when you are there it is an amazing respite from it all and it is so beautiful there. It really is. I forget but are you thinking of retiring there and selling your NJ home at some point or keeping both homes?
Glad you are keeping a safe distance b/w you and those alligators. They look cute but I know they can be mean.


Marcy, oh I am sorry work is so difficult as of recent and I hope it calms down and gets better very soon.
It will I know but right now it sucks. I am sorry your in-laws behaved that way and I feel your pain. I chalk their (past) behavior up to a few things. One my SIL was truly jealous of me and my relationship with Greg. She definitely had a huge crush on him as her dh (Greg's brother the surgeon) is not an emotionally available person in general so she always had nice long deep heartfelt conversations with Greg until I told him I thought it was inappropriate. The things she was sharing with Greg were not OK and he just was in the middle of it all and didn't realize it until I pointed it out. But even before that she didn't like me because I was not who she thought Greg should be with and well I could go on but this is not the place. This is the SIL we have no contact with now. Sad but necessary. And my MIL didn't like me for Greg either. Different religion and she is extremely religious and again I was not who she pictured Greg should be with. Haha a Jewish girl from NYC who they just didn't "get". I am not sure my MIL gets me now however she is so much nicer and warmer towards me that I have moved past the past and I feel genuine affection for her now as I think (and hope) she does for me.

Anyway you are right in that none of this matters because both Marty and Greg are indeed keepers. They watch out for us and will make things right and things that need fixing will be fixed. I often say to Greg I wish he went to medical school because perhaps then we would know what was going on with me.

Thank you for the compliments and your teddy bears and killer bunnies are quite photogenic themselves. You know, I caught HRH Francesca texting your killer bunny last night way past her bedtime. Curby, please keep a lock on your iPad and change that password because your killer bunny is texting some inappropriate stuff to Franesca. Oh young love. I am for love in general but well some of that stuff she is too young for yanno?

I am with Junie and you. Margaritas over sports any day.

Kristie, good job getting what you needed accomplished yesterday and I promise we will all be thinking good thoughts for you this coming Monday on getting the job redone right this time.

Callie, all I can say is woohoo!!! And sending more PS ***DUST*** your and your brother's way sweetheart.

Hi Jimmianne, hugs to sweet Puff! Hope your DD is enjoying being back for a while.

Diamondseeker, hello and glad to see you no matter how many months have gone by. Hope all is well.

Have a good Wednesday girls!

 

[MarionC]

Scandia [trying out nicknames. lol would you like to be a Candy too? S'Candi?]
I am still trying to find out why someone said Missy's was Muddy. I like to call her our QB [queen bee] since this long term thread was a result of her. Missy
anyway...necklace=

I swear, this thread has gotten faster and faster.
Happy dust to Marcy and June.
White kitchen - yes! to Missy. and encouragement to duplicate all your jewelry. Good luck doing that with Bea : )
I love the look of your apartment, the colors and the beautiful lighting.

AZ that is my name for you that stuck. I think it stands for "Always Zestful". or maybe it's Adorable Zebra. Still trying to find a Z-word with connotation more pole-dance-like.

I am going to ask for a little dust myself this morning. Please bear with me while I figure this out. I am very conflicted about going to France. I am afraid I will be lonely and homesick in a foreign country. I have my sitters lined up for the entire month of June and booked them 6 months ago, so I feel an obligation to leave the farm in June and...it's an opportunity! I DO want to have adventures! [life is short, etc.].
But my last trip was exhausting and disorienting. My first trip was amazing-I fell in love with the family and the country.
The second trip - not so much. The cultural differences became more evident and I did not feel as welcome. I saw wonderful things, but had few connections - it's like moving to a new town and starting over, only you can't understand the language or how things work, simple things that one takes for granted in the US.
Should I fly 4500 miles to be alone where I am fairly clueless? I know good and amazing things will happen if I go, but I keep thinking - why should I fly all the way to France?! ugh. Am I making too big a deal out of making a decision?
It is time to book a fight and a hotel. I know I will probably end up going but I am dreading rather than being excited. I feel sad about this trip, yet if my DD is going to live there, I will have to make a life of my own there, yes?

Enough of that! We had a frost last night and it is beautiful and clear today. Yet another derm appointment today. This seems to be the NIRDI day for derms : )

 

[missy]

Jimmianne, sweetheart, good luck today at the derm and also with your decision. My gut says go and you will have a good time but I will think about it more. I get what you mean and how initially it may be a bit lonely for you but I know you will make connections there that will be strong and true. (((Hugs))).

As for my nickname Missy is good. LOL Kristie calls me Muddy sometimes because that is what her phone autocorrect changes Missy to when she texts me but honestly while I don't mind it when she uses it since I know it is coming from an affectionate place I think if it started becoming a thing it might make me feel badly because my complexion is getting muddy if you kwim. I don't want to cry here now but the GI gave me the wrong instructions as I suspected after doing some of my own research and then calling my pharmacist. I just want to scream yanno because I am going through so much and can't the medical professionals at least know about or do the correct research re drug interactions? And in the meantime I have body burning and face irritation and I am getting overwhelmed and scared again.

OK calming down and sending good thoughts your way and I know you will make the best decision for you. Big ((((hugs)))).

 

[Scandinavian]

Hello from Scandinavia
Yes you are right Missy, the doctor appointment was with a dermatologist, lol. He is quite good I think, I have not been there before, but he was a specialist at the best hospital before starting a private practice. The skin in my face is a little (or a lot) read, and it annoys me. He said that nothing is wrong, only that my skin is a little too active. Lots and lots of little blood vessels right at the surface of the skin. But the good news is that he say they can fix with a bit of laser treatment. A "kind" version one that will not result in any downtime or flaking. It will simply "kill" some of the small blood vessels. I will need a few treatments, as well as a yearly follow-up treatment, but that's fine with me. I'm sick of wearing make-up all the time.

You girls are simply the very best! Thank you so much to all of you for all your helpful comments re lighting and chandeliers. I have a lot to think about! And Missy, your apartment is so gorgeous! I simply love it! So if you would just pack up all your lamps, I'll send you my home address, LOL. No seriously, maybe I should also look for something antique. (And yes, I totally understand why you would like to take them with you if you ever move, antique + hand picked and collected is a very nice memory as well as a perfect way to personalise a home in a good way )

I have been looking at this lamp since my last post
http://www.krebs.se/produkter/kristallkronor/retro/505002202
It comes in "silver" and in "gold".
I like this company, because it has really good quality products. Also, I love that everything is hand made in the company's old family factory, even the crystal parts are made the old fashion way by professional glassblowers (no idea if that is the right word, but you will probably understand what I mean regardless.. lol).

There are soooooo many choices and decisions to make with a house! I know we are only building an extension, but it is kind of big - at least bigger than our current house - so there is a lot to organise in the building process.

Jimmianne, I love your idea to (only) drive a tractor wearing big diamonds Very happy that you had a good health report! Off course you look like a shopper! Did she not see your diamonds?? Or maybe you look like you were born with them For the record, I think that it can be really cool with well worn clothes and big diamonds, preferably combined with wellington boots, lol but not kidding. I like to be "me" and not confirm to anyone's idiotic ideas of what you should or should not wear - for example for picking up children in the kindergarten. Were I live, it looks like you HAVE to have really big and old sweat pants for that job.. But the mud does sometimes require my darling hunder rain boots So I was talking to a friend who is a buyer for one of the biggest department stores here, and I was trying on a Herve Leger dress, and she dared me to wear it to the kindergarten to get the children. So off course I did. With my hunter boots. If Kate Moss can pull it off then so can I.... LOL. NOT. The pictures of Issy are so adorable! She looks like a true sweetheart even as a puppy! Her eyes are so kind!!

Missy, all your cats are so beautiful! But I have to admit that HRH Francesca is maybe my favourite. I love her, she looks like she is the Queen of the whole world and knows it Your pearls are beautiful!! I love pearls, as you have probably guessed, I like to change around the things I wear a little, and I always think pearls look "professional" if I have a big meeting or something. My standard pearls I mean, not the one in the last picture with a diamond heart - that is more for fun days The colour of your pearls is gorgeous! I love the richness of them. Looks like a really good match for your skin tone too, and that is always a plus in my book
The picture of the "chicks" made me laugh really loudly, especially your comment that it was the closest thing you could find to chicks. I think having more than one animal is a good strategy. I'm trying to talk my DH into a new puppy - we shall see. I think I have him now, because he has started to say that we need to finish the house first - and that is almost yes... And the meooowww picture! Toooo good for words!

You are all quite right off course. The snow picture is the imprint in the snow of a bird taking flight - our version of the grouse. It is a bit different from the English version as the Scandinavian version becomes white in the winter, as you may recall from some of my other endless winter+snow+dog+bird photos, lol. The bird jumpes/runs forward, whilst batting its wings, so the wings also leave a trace in the snow. These were so good that I had to share. As you can see, it is quickly airborne, just two "jumps" and off it goes!

Missy, the workplace looks like it is going to be just perfect! Good idea to have the dust collector. I'm so "Scandinavian", so at first I thought it was a joke, and that the piping was collecting dust - as in needs to be cleaned, lol. Silly me. A system that collects the dust in the air is so much better than my version, lol. MILs are always difficult are they not, lol. But not bringing any food for you was so obviously not a very nice thing to do - I can't understand how she could possibly think that was a good idea?? I thought MILs normally wanted the DIL to look bad, not making themselves look bad. Mine really irritated me once when we went to lunch - including with the children - and she would take the blueberries from my DHs plate and eat them. I just blinked. And she said that he did not like blueberries, did I not know that? I responded that our children are rather fond of blueberries. And she said that "but they have their own desserts?". OMG. Now it makes me laugh. Then, not so much.

Rainwood, thank you for your feedback! Yes, I look forward to the AGA and the nice cosy warmth it gives I agree that animals are a big responsibility and sometimes difficult to combine with work and travel! You are so lucky to be able to take a dog to work! I would love that - until I tried probably, lol. My "baby" is not very good at being "invisible". If I'm there and the sun is up, she WANTS TO GO FOR A WALK RIGHT NOW PLEASE, lol. She is a sweetheart, but she does need her exercise, and office life is not her thing.. I'm very lucky because my mother helps out a lot, and she works only 4 hours each day and her work place is 5 min from our house. So - long story short - she stops by our house each day to walk the dog when I'm at the office. Travel is more difficult, if my parents are home, they will "dogsit", but for the summer holidays, sometimes they also want to go on a holiday, lol. Can you believe it?? LOL. But one of our friends is a professional dog trainer and she loves him, so she sometimes stays with them, sleeping in the sofa and getting all sorts of bad habits - should he not know better?? He has a masters in animal behavioural psychology... LOL. (I'm not willing to put her in a kennel, she would probably die from shock.. she is a little spoiled...)

Kristie, how are you doing? Is the remodeling making you crazy? We have only just started again today (a little brake due to the snow) and I feel like I might loose my mind before the first Monday arrives, lol.

Junebug, thank you for your comments re lighting options. I also love sparkly things - even chandeliers, lol. I have a different type of version at our cabin, similar to the round ball like one I linked in this post, and I do love how the light - and the sun - sparkles on all the walls from hitting the crystals I hope the AGA will be a success, kind of a leap of faith, but nothing risked nothing gained - or something like that...

Marcy, LOL to "women's work" - off course it is! We can do anything!! The prints in the snow is from a bird taking flight - due to not liking my dog too much, lol. It is a Scandinavian grouse version - goes snow white in winter My dog loves them, she will run for hours and hours looking for them. Not too much fun now, "leash season" is upon us, so no more running around in the mountains until mid August. Poor baby. A blender and margarita ingredients for work sounds perfect! I might move to a cube near yours.. Hope today is a peaceful and quiet day at work!

Missy, I think it is good that our DHs lets us do the renovating colour scemes without too much interference, lol. To me these things are important - the colours, not the interference, lol - and to my DH it is not. So - I get to play He will tell me what he thinks if I ask him, but after an hour or so discussing different shades of white, I can see that his eyes are becoming a bit blank, LOL.

Jimmianne, go to France! I always look forward to holidays soooo much when planning them, and then I dread leaving because it is a lot of hassle, lol. I think you are doing such an AMAZING thing, thinking about moving for the sake of your DD, and I think a lot of good things will come to you!! You so deserve them! And good carma is good carma! If it is truly horrible, you can always go back home! Or go somewhere else in France. I don't know too much about your art and projects etc. but how about signing up for some art stuff? A few classes in something "new" or inspirational things? Give some lectures? Paint-groups in the park? I always find activities a good way to meet new people

All the best to all of you - S

EDIT: re nicknames: if you need another one, you can always use Blondie, lol.

 

[MarionC]

Thanks for all the support! I was feeling vulnerable this morning. ugh.
Sometimes it's better not to dwell on details, but to decide what you want and let things fall into place : )

Talk to you all tomorrow

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Junebug, today was better at work. Thanks. About a month from now I’ll look back on this month and still think it was awful.

Missy, the plans you have for the kitchen at the beach sound terrific. You’ll have a wonderful kitchen. LOL to not duplicating your jewelry between your 2 homes. That pesky problem most of us have - money. That is too bad your SIL and MIL didn’t approve of you marrying Greg; I guarantee the same thoughts were going through my in-laws mind about me. I am glad your MIL is nice to you now and you both have grown closer. The Killer Rabbit says Francesca started it. Kids these days. Oh no you got the wrong instructions on your meds. Hugs to you sweet lady. I am very allergic to codeine so when I got bronchitis I would have my allergy doctor give me a prescription for cough medicine and always said to make sure it wasn’t codeine. Every time I’d get really sick. I finally said something to the pharmacist and she said “that cough syrup has a codeine derivative in it”. I swear we all need to be self informed and aware.

Candy, this thread has been hopping lately. I hate to miss a day because I’ll never catch up. I think you’ll have a great time with lots of warm memories if you go on your trip. There are those friends out there just waiting to meet you. Good luck at the dermatologist.

Scandinavian, your pendant is pretty. I can’t look at your lamp right now - our internet is down. That’s right women can do anything. The impressions the birds leave behind taking off is pretty cool. I think I’d make a lot of friends at work if I was making margaritas.

Work was slightly better today. Yippee!!!

We had breakfast for supper tonight. We are meeting some friends for supper tomorrow night.

Laters,
Curby

 

[rainwood]

Jimmianne

I'm glad you're feeling better about France. I don't know all of the details of the June trip or your reasons for going there, but if it's to be with your daughter for a month, go without hesitation. It won't matter where you are as long as you get to spend time together, and you can maybe take some side trips either together or by yourself. And don't put pressure on yourself or your daughter about deciding now whether you should move there. You have lots of time to make such a life-altering decision.

By the strangest coincidence, I picked up a couple of books on clearance when I was in Canada visiting my sister last year. Both of them turned out to be written by American women who married Frenchmen and moved to France. I'd highly recommend both of them because they give real insight into French society and cultural norms from an American perspective. One was called 'Lunch in Paris' by Elizabeth Bard. It also has some great looking recipes! I don't have the other one handy but could get you the name. I could also send them both to you because I've finished reading them (and photocopied the recipes I was thinking of trying).

I really do think they would help. I found them very enlightening. I also read a book a long time ago that's called something like 'French or Foe' that's more tourist oriented but quite helpful in understanding the French psyche. We like to think we're the same the world over but there are true and significant cultural differences. And I'm saying this as someone who is part French in heritage, but definitely American in demeanor. It made my trips to Paris better because I understand more of what was going on, and I didn't feel so disconcerted by it all.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Just lost a long
post darn PS server being down I guess. And I cannot
recreate it but here's a quick fly by post because Bobby is
sick and there was blood in his stool this AM with him
hiding under the couch and vomit all over and something is
very wrong with him. Bringing him to my sister's as soon as
she gets to the animal hospital. Greg unfortunately threw
out the stool sample before I knew about it and that is a
big mistake but what can we do now. Please think good
thoughts for our sweet psycho kitty Bobby. I have never seen
him this lethargic before and not eating and hiding. Never
in all his years. Very worried.

Jimmianne, I get your concerns especially after your
last trip but I know it will work out. With time it will
become more of a routine travel adventure for you vs a
stressful long trip. And there is no rush in deciding about
purchasing a home in France. Take your time with it and in
the meantime your DD and her FI can visit you here and you
can stay with them in France. There are options. I
love that Rainwood recommended those 2 books and think you
should read them. What a big help they would be from the
perspective of women who traveled a similar path. No pun
intended.

Cannot wait to see what Tony is doing re your Asscher setting!

Marcy, we have much in common besides just bling my
PS sister. I remember how careful you must be re meds and
food too. And our in-law (or should I say out law lol)
experiences. Hugs to you dear Marcy. Glad yesterday at work
was better and hope today even better than yesterday. And
yay for breakfast for dinner last night. Have fun with your
friends tonight!

Rainwood, you always have so much wisdom to share and
are always ready to lend a helping hand. You are such a
love. No pressure but just want you to know I look up to you
and am in awe of you and your strength and positive spirit
and generous heart. Thank you for being a friend even when
you are going through so much. (((Hugs))).

Scandinavian, what a pretty overhead light. I keep
thinking what Rainwood said about cleaning it though and
IDK. My cleaning people don't even do windows let alone
overhead lights. I am glad you are having fun with the
process of redoing/renovating/adding an extension. Enjoy and
cannot wait to hear more about what you are doing and
choices. Glad your dermatology appointment went well
yesterday!


Everyone please think good thoughts today for Callie and her brother, Sweet Callie we are sending lots and lots of good luck dust your and your brother's way!!!


Have a good day girls and ttyl.

 

[MarionC]

PS is crazy this morning. I wrote & posted. The post showed up on the thread, now it's gone.
Need to dash, but good morning to everyone!

 

[Scandinavian]

Good after noon from Scandinavia!
I was not able to post this morning - in fact I was not able to open PS at all..

Today = work + house (all the contractors keep calling me to get information/decisions on things I know nothing about.. I have been trying to calculated m2 for some wood panel for part of the hallway etc. horrible even if I'm actually good at maths, I have a 5 year master in economics/finance - but still - not exactly an architect..)

Thank you for all your good wishes re dermatologist and house and interior design and everything else!

Missy, I think I read that you want to paint the kitchen in your beach house white later on. I love white - I plan to have all our walls in some kind of white shade I'm not sure if I have told you girls, (Jimmianne, don't scream..) but we have ordered yellow windows.. similar to this colour:

So I really need the white walls to tone it down and bring it all together. I think it will work. If not - will have to pay a lot of money to have someone paint them white.. The key is that the house will have to be dark dark brown on the outside, and we have seen a brown house with this yellow on its windows and doors and other "details" that is just stunning colour wise. So we will give it a go.. As the house is modelled in a 1900's style log house, the windows have crossbars (right word?) so we need the same colour on the windows on the inside as on the outside.

Hungry, should start to make dinner.. Marcy, its all your fault! Breakfast for dinner sounds oh-so-good. I actually love dinner for breakfast also, lol. How was work today? I hope it was ok, if not good.. Thinking of you and wanting to kick someone on the leg for you, even if I'm not quite sure who I should kick. Not UberMarty. Some at your work place probably.. Meeting friends for supper sounds very nice! We are doing that tomorrow (Friday) - we almost never do as we live outside the city and normally hurry home when we finish work because of the children and the dog. So I really look forward to going to a nice restaurant tomorrow! The restaurant is very beautiful, very high ceilings in a house from 1600s with most of the original decor still there. I'll try to take pictures if I can do so undetected, lol. I have to admit I don't get the nickname "Curby" so I have to ask because I keep getting more curious..

Rainwood, you sound like such a nice person! I like you very much already even if I do not know you

Missy, yes I do thing I like that light Don't worry about the cleaning, I never clean, LOL. I actually have a similar one to the ball version at our cabin, and it is very easy to clean. You just take a large soft and fluffy "duster" and swish-swosh it over everything, and the dust sticks on the duster - no biggy just takes 2 minutes Gotta love technology for cleaning - I have no idea how they survived in the old days with washing clothes by hand in the stream etc.

Lots and lots and lots of good thoughts for Callie and her brother! Wish there was something more I could do.

Good morning Jimmianne! You always have our support!! I agree, sometimes it is easy to over analyse - if I dread doing something (like giving a lecture was probably the last example) I try not to think about it at all. Which results in panic when I start thinking about it on the way into the room, but at least then the worrying is very limited in time, LOL.

Junebug, how are you doing with everything? You are such a good person, I hope you know that!


Best wishes to you all!

 

[rainwood]

Missy, I hope Billy is okay. It's so hard when our fur babies are sick. And thank you for your kind words. I'm so touched!

Scandinavia, I'm envious of your confidence with color. I always think of my style as kind of Scandinavian because there is a lot of white and wood and gray with a few touches of blue, but it's clear that it's also all about color in Scandinavia. The walls in both my houses are white or off-white, but I ventured into color with the bathrooms in one and the laundry room in the other which are kind of a buttery yellow. Thought I'd have a heart attack when I first saw color on the walls! It seemed so strange.

Jimmianne, the name of the other book is 'French Toast' by Harriet Welty Rochefort. I liked "Lunch in Paris" a little better, but it was interesting how different these two women were, as well as their situations, but they often had the same impressions and experiences and difficulties. Not necessarily the same solutions, but it was interesting to read the commonalities as well as the differences. And the tourist-oriented book was 'French or Foe?' by Polly Platt.

Callie, much dust to you and your brother!

Marcy, Kristie, Sharon, Junie, and everyone else, I'm thinking of you too and hoping you're out enjoying spring!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Rainwood, haha it's more like winter here now. We are expecting snow (well a coating I hope not much more) tomorrow and cold temps all weekend. Winter's last hurrah I hope!

Thank you for your good wishes and thoughts for Bobby. My sister said it could be a gastroenteritis but there was a shadow that seemed like it might have been in the small intestine (but could have been in the large intestine and that would be better) on the Xray so we also need to watch out for blockage. We started him on Flagyl last night and let me tell you under the best of circumstances pilling a cat is not fun but with Bobby it's a whole new level of I tried 3 times last night with Greg when we got home from work and 2 times he fooled me and I thought it went down and then he promptly spit it out after we let him go. LOL. This morning it only took me two times but he did puncture my finger a bit. Greg holds him wrapped tightly in a towel so he cannot scratch and I pry his jaws open and put the pill as far down his throat as I can. I wrapped it in jelly this morning because it is a bitter pill. I tried peanut butter last night but that didn't work out well. Only a week more of this LOL. Not sure we are going to make it. Getting blood work results today.


I went through a black and white phase (before Greg) in my twenties where my apartment was all black or white and very minimalistic. I had all 50s retro furniture and I loved the feel of it all. Greg just loves color and warmth so that is really all him. I like the colors too but if left to my own devices I would probably revert back to my previous preferences re styling/decorating.

Scandinavian, I love the photo of the log house you posted. It's beautiful and I love the colors. The way you clean your lights sounds very doable and so I say go for it. It's so pretty. And yes I'm with you. Would never have gone for washing clothes in a stream with a rock. LOL. I love our modern conveniences!

We painted our beach kitchen with light blue walls. I don't have any pics of that I don't think I do anyway. We are planning on redoing the granite we have there now with white Silestone and white glass or very light blue glass tiles as the backsplash and wood floors like the rest of the house instead of the ugly ceramic tile floor we have in the kitchen there right now. Attaching a pic of the beach house kitchen. Not the best photo but to give you an idea.



This is from the past summer and just including it to show the granite I dislike so much. So generic a pattern and the kitchen is so beige which is my least favorite color of all time. Not a beige fan at all.




The whole kitchen at the beach house is just not my taste. It's sort of a country kitchen style now and it was the one thing I didn't like about the house when we bought it 5 years ago and is our major renovation plan. In the past few years we put in all wood floors upstairs to match the downstairs as there was carpet upstairs and I don't like carpet and repainted every room to our taste. Greg had the basement expanded this past winter so now the only other major renovation is the beach kitchen. Have to figure out how to maximize the space as it is too small right now. I definitely want to be able to fit two 48" sub zeros there. One refrigerator and one freezer both 48" so I have plenty of storage for food. And then of course I need lots and lots of cabinets and storage space for other stuff. LOL I bet you are thinking those crazy Americans and their need for everything big. Like I wrote before I think I was a depression era baby in another life and that is why I have this need for having lots and lots of things i.e. food, supplies etc.

And while I love my kitchen in Brooklyn I am planning on almost the opposite when we redo at the beach. Though I love how we maximized the space in our kitchen in Brooklyn and I do love the colors and our custom backsplash and cabinets and the matte granite. We did this 13 years ago and IMO it is still up to date.



Hi Callie, not fun getting up at 4AM I know but finally it is going down and wishing you lots and lots of good luck today. Fingers crossed.

Kristie, have fun with the sink installation and AC repair today and hoping it goes well.

Hey Jimmianne, what's your ring update? I edited this post to add photos of the kitchens.

Marcy, hope you had fun last night with your friends.

LLJsmom, only another full week and then things will quiet down. Thinking of you!

Hi Junie, how is your week going? How is your mom doing? Any updates re getting someone to assist you in her care? When is your next beach house trip planned? Can you believe we are well into April already?

Orsi, thinking of you and hoping things are going well.

Have a lovely Friday girls. Tomorrow is Saturday and a bit snowy one predicted for us in the NYC area. Everyone stay warm and dry!
Leaving you with the picture of the day (from yesterday) from the security camera from the beach house backyard. Love the shadows and crisp sky.

 

[MarionC]

Scandinavian, I love that color. I am not usually a big fan of yellow, but that is a gorgeous color - like butternut squash with butter : )
I am so happy for you to be doing this great project.

Rainwood, thank you for your wisdom. I agree with Scandinavian, you are so nice, a good NIRDI. I am not sure if I explained, but my DD is in France a lot with her FI and I am getting to know the country. First trip I fell head-over-heels in love, second trip was difficult [bad jet lag, cold grey weather, introduced to cultural differences/family politics and felt less comfortable] - and now I am pondering my options and my energy level for a third adventure. I would go alone and perhaps visit my DD a couple of days while there. She is in a city 5 hours from my preferred destination.
I have a farm and had to book farm sitters 6 months in advance, so I feel I should go somewhere! There is an expat group I met at Christmas - delightful women - two have B&Bs and I could stay with one of them as home base.

So! now to sort out what everyone has been doing.

Missy, I want to hear everything - more about your kitchen ideas, more about Greg's move into his new space - but first, how is the dear boy this morning? I am hoping you will say there is an improvement.

Marcy, how are you feeling today. TGIF! Remember what Charlie Brown said? "No problem is too big to run away from". You can always come here as a refuge! There is always room here for NIRDIs to visit.

Callie, June, LLJsmom, AZ, Sharon hi.
Am I leaving anyone out?
I need to start making charts again. boo. LOL

 

[MarionC]

Missy, we posted at the same time [great minds think alike?].

Here is the progress of the CADS. We are still working on the top. Not much to see.
So many ideas and so little space to put them! haha
I just need a solid/ not too big ring for travel/stacking. We could not use tapered baguettes - not enough room, and I cannot decide what to do with the plain parts. Maybe even leave them plain and do some secret fun thing on the underside.
The ring is 12mm at widest point and the melee is? are? 1mm.
I just feel I want to do more and/or unique but this design IS nice & solid for a square stone. The asscher is larger than I have drawn it on my paper rings, so the proportions are better - the Golden Mean.
We though of using onyx in the side bars or engraving them, but they are so tiny. Maybe melee? but then it will look like things that have already been done, which I was trying to avoid.
[ is there enough here to comment on??]

 

[missy]

Jimmianne, thanks for your comforting support yesterday! I edited my post above to add some more pics. I cannot wait to redo the kitchen at the beach house and the only thing limiting me will be money hahaha. Not sure about how Bobby is doing yet because I didn't check the whole house for vomit or check the litter box. I didn't sleep well and woke up at 2 AM and then was pretty much up for the rest of the night/morning not that its 's a good excuse but I am so tired. Will check right after I post this here for you though. But he did eat after we pilled him so that is a good sign.

And HA I need charts now too to keep it all straight. Half the time I go into a room and forget why I went there LOL. But I figure this is good brain exercise to keep our minds thinking and young. You know what the experts say...use it or lose it and the NIRDI thread makes you use it no?

I need to think about your ring ideas and will get back to you OK? I like where it is going so far...


Attaching a pic of one of my dream kitchens. This was in a house not too far from us but on such a busy road we didn't consider it. Also in a flood prone area. Otherwise I loved everything about this house. Isn't the kitchen beautiful?

Forgot to say hello Sharon! Hope all is well by you.