shape
carat
color
clarity

Now I really did it :((

OMG about to.sleep but I.miss.tbd NJ sky, thank you Missy.
 
Hi NIRDIs!

Gypsy, glad to hear Duncan is stable. Recounting the challenges of giving cats a bath makes re realize why my sister always has someone do that for her cat. Sounds challenging. That is tough one of your best friends and her kids are moving away. At least these days it is so much easier to keep in touch. Loved the story about giving you cat a pill; I was really laughing going through that. I copied it and sent it on to 2 of my friends with cats.

Kristie, I bet the Westies do put up a fight for a bath.

Calliecake, good deal for getting a day off watering your flowers. We are in the 70’s and 80’s here as well. Ooh a mudslide sounds great! I am working on packing this weekend. Lorna Doone’s are delicious. One of the hospitals my mom was in brought around warm cookies in the afternoon. I thought that was nice of them. LOL to John having a meltdown with his Xbox. I often asked Marty why he likes his PS3 if it agitates him so much. I just get a weird look.

Missy, ugh to such an early morning but glad you got in a nice bike ride today. Pretty pictures of the sky and sunrise; wow to 108 and the Soda Gang is enjoying a family dinner. It was fun shopping cars with you from my phone. Hm I wonder if there is a convertible SUV out there? The Macan has a huge sun roof with a screen so it’s always “there” but I know not the same as a convertible. I wouldn’t put it past Carl and Francesca to be emailing or texting each other with our iPads when we are at work or something. Halloween stuff out already? Really?

Not much going on here today. Marty left about 4:15 for a golf tournament in Colorado. They placed third so he is pretty excited. I actually slept in until 8:30. I love having a dark, dark bedroom. I went to Walgreens and picked up some “stuff” for our trip and have been working on laundry. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted for lunch so thought “mm if I go to Perkins I can have a piece of peach pie”. Sadly they didn’t have peach pie but I had a burger and fries and brought 1/2 of my burger home and the fries were just warm which kept me from eating more than a few of them. I did get a peach muffin for breakfast tomorrow.

I kind of freaked out today about the house on the beach we rented. As you may or may not know I don’t / can’t walk up and down many stairs because of my knees. The place we rented says “elevator goes from the parking garage to the top floor” and Marty assured me when we saw the info online that it surely goes up and down all floors. Fast forward to today and my in-laws forwarded an email from the owners with the key codes to get in the house and mentions you have to go up the stairs to the door. So I am in a panic that I’d have to walk the steps to get to the elevator from the garage. I go to the website of the rental house and in reading more recent reviews someone mentions their relatives stayed on the main floor because they couldn’t walk many stairs. So I am freaking out I won’t be able to stay there for more than a few days. So I emailed the owner and she said yes the elevator goes to all floors and I don’t have to walk any stairs if I don’t want to. What a relief!

Next project - figured out who to lighten the load in my purse.

Marcy
 
Gypsy, one of my friends responded already to "How do you give a cal a pill?" He said "You don't." :lol:
 
Hi, everyone, I'm back!

It was a physically demanding trip, 12 different hotels (including an overnight ferry), 7 different flights, 145 miles walked according to my iPhone, but we had a great time. My sister and I actually traveled really well together - we didn't know if we would because we've never done a trip with just the two of us. She headed back home yesterday and now I'm trying to get back in the swing of things here. And figure out what time it is!

I thought I'd share a few photos from our first stop, Amsterdam, today and do some of the other destinations over the next few days. I took about 3500 pics so have a lot to go through and edit.

Here's "our" canal. It's the one where our hotel was located:


And the Dutch love their flowers. These were in our room:


And these are just some from the Flower Market:


And here's some of the floating variety:


I'll add a few more in a new post.

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And it wouldn't be a trip to the Netherlands without one of these:


And now the reason we needed to do so much walking:

The Dutch love their waffles, including something called Stroopwafels. Aren't these absolutely irresistible? They were for us anyway! Here's a bigger, closer view of the deliciousness.


We ate well as evidenced by this:


I'll do one more post then tomorrow will be Sweden, just for you, Scandi!

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And now a photo just for the NIRDI's:


I did not get to the Diamond Museum, I'm a bad PS'er, I know, but I ran out of energy and time that day. And I probably would have been too tempted!

So these are a few pictures from Amsterdam and our day trip out to Zaanse Schans and Volendam. I have about 500 others, maybe more! I love taking photos and bought a big SD card and extra batteries so I could shoot to my heart's content. And when that wasn't enough, I used my phone. Hello, my name is rainwood and I'm a photoholic. And not interested in recovering!

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METHOD #1: CAT BATHING AS A MARTIAL ART

1. Know that although the kitty cat has the advantage of quickness and lack of concern for human life, you have the advantage of strength. Capitalize on that advantage by selecting the battlefield. Don't try to bathe him in an open area where he can force you to chase him. Pick a very small bathroom. If your bathroom is more than four feet square, we recommend that you get in the tub with the cat and close the sliding-glass doors as if you were about to take a shower. (A simple shower curtain will not do. A berserk cat can shred a three-ply rubber shower curtain quicker than a politician can shift positions.)
2. Know that a cat has claws and will not hesitate to remove all the skin from your body. Your advantage here is that you are smart and know how to dress to protect yourself. We recommend canvas overalls tucked into high-top construction boots, a pair of steel-mesh gloves, an army helmet, a hockey face-mask, and a long-sleeved flak jacket.
3. Use the element of surprise. Pick up your cat nonchalantly, as if to simply carry him to his supper dish. (Cats will not usually notice your strange attire. They have little or no interest in fashion as a rule.)
4. Once you are inside the bathroom, speed is essential to survival. In a single liquid motion, shut the bathroom door, step into the tub enclosure, slide the glass door shut, dip the cat in the water and squirt him with shampoo. You have now begun one of the wildest 45 seconds of your life.
5. Cats have no handles. Add the fact that he now has soapy fur, and the problem is radically compounded. Do not expect to hold on to him for more than two or three seconds at a time. When you have him, however, you must remember to give him another squirt of shampoo and rub like crazy. He'll then spring free and fall back into the water, thereby rinsing himself off. (The national record for cats is three latherings, so don't expect too much.)
6. Next, the cat must be dried. Novice cat bathers always assume this part will be the most difficult, for humans generally are worn out at this point and the cat is just getting really determined. In fact, the drying is simple compared with what you have just been through. That's because by now the cat is semi-permanently affixed to your right leg.
7. You simply pop the drain plug with your foot, reach for your towel and wait. (Occasionally, however, the cat will end up clinging to the top of your army helmet. If this happens, the best thing you can do is to shake him loose and to encourage him toward your leg.) After all the water is drained from the tub, it is a simple matter to just reach down and dry the cat.
In a few days the cat will relax enough to be removed from your leg. He will usually have nothing to say for about three weeks and will spend a lot of time sitting with his back to you. He might even become psychoceramic and develop the fixed stare of a plaster figurine.
You will be tempted to assume he is angry. This isn't usually the case. As a rule he is simply plotting ways to get through your defenses and injure you for life the next time you decide to give him a bath. But at least now he smells a lot better.
 
This guy is inexperienced (you fill th tub first, have shampoo ready to go and do not have anything near the tub the cat can hold onto the isn't a fixture you can remove) and you should move a lot faster than this. And instead of running the spout have a bucket full of warm water standing by that you just dump on cat to rinse. Preparation is key with cat bathing.

But the cat is a typical cat, and reacts exactly as mine do. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E63jwyMTPDQ
 
Welcome back, Rainwood! You certainly covered a lot of miles and I am delighted to hear you and your sister traveled well together. Amsterdam looks beautiful; love the flowers and wind mill. Those waffles look amazing. I had an eggo waffle this morning - doesn’t compare. Ooh to tax free diamonds but I wouldn’t trust myself to go in there either. I will be looking forward to more pictures.

Gypsy, your cat stories are killing me. They are so funny!

We just got back from supper at Olive Garden and then shopping at Kohl’s. Marty is out for a walk now.

Laters,
Marcy
 
Hi everyone -

Missy, thanks so much for your supportive and kind words, they do give me comfort and make me feel better. My mother is still refusing food and liquids most of the time, I just keep offering and asking her is she wants something. I've stopped trying to force/cajole her, it doesn't' work anyway. My sister is coming a little sooner than she planned and will be here sometime this week and that will be helpful.

Good for you and Greg for getting out early to get some cycling in. This weather has been brutal. I'm thrilled that Sprite has been seen eating, that's very encouraging and I hope she starts feeling more comfortable as time goes by. The pic of the kitty and raccoon eating side by side is just amazing. Love your early morning pics, absolutely beautiful.

Gypsy, I'm glad Duncan is stable but I hope the vet can figure out what's going on with him, I know these ups and downs are beyond stressful. It's really nice you're all trying to make things easier for your step-dad, it really helps and I"m sure he appreciates it. I hope your mother is healing well. I'm glad Lily is doing well so far but I can't believe the things she'll eat! Yay to having a computer again, how did we ever manage without them. Your posts about giving a cat a pill and a bath are really funny, thanks for the laugh. I had to give my cat anti-seizure pills and I know how hard it is so I really empathize. Love the pic of Penny and Lily, they look adorable. Big hugs to you on your friend moving, that is such a difficult thing and I'm so sorry you have to experience it. I love that you are considering writing a YA book, I hope you give it a try sometime soon. Sorry the job search isn't going well right now and I'm hoping it improves soon for you. I know you're having a rough time of it but please try to hang in there, take care of yourself, and try to find enjoyment where you can. (((hugs))))

Marcy, you're right about my mother eating in the evenings when she's more alert, that's when I'm able to get her to eat and drink a little. Thank you so much for the support. The meeting with the social worker went ok and they're giving my mother some time to see if the stimulant and anti-depressant help. I'm so excited about your vacation, it will be great for you and Marty to get a break. Too funny about getting ready to watch the Broncos! The regular season will be here before you know it. You're not alone, my husband is very psyched about watching the Cowboys tonight. Whew, I'm glad it turned out you won't have to deal with any stairs on your vacation.

CJ, thanks for the good wishes! Please don't ever feel embarrassed about sharing how you are feeling, all of us NIRDIs are dealing with various problems and stresses so please share any thoughts and emotions you're experiencing. Life just really sucks sometimes lol. Glad you're doing better with the cookies, I struggle with overdoing the sweets too and it's tough to get back on track sometimes. I hope your project is going well and you're not feeling as overwhelmed.

Kristie, I'm impressed you were able to cut your own hair and I'm glad it turned out so well. You're going to save a boatload of money lol. You should just put the money you save into a bling account, that sounds fair to me hehe.

Thanks for the good wishes, and for thinking of us.

Rainwood, welcome back - your pictures are amazing, and I can't believe all the ground you covered on this trip! Now I'm craving waffles, they look so,so good. I love the pics of the canal, very quaint and picturesque. It's great that you and your sister traveled well together, what a wonderful experience for you both. I'm really happy you had such a lovely time.

Callie, thanks for thinking of me sweetie - wish I had better news - thank you so much for the good wishes. (((hugs)))

Love to all of my wonderful nirdis, have a good night and I'll check back soon!
 
So a quick update and then I promise a longer post tomorrow.

I took a "mental health day". I did not go see my mother. I did not cater to the cats. I did not do anything other than go the Lithuanian Restaurant that has the borsht I am addicted to. Their cabbage rolls were underwhelming unfortunately. And then I went to my favorite cafe in town and sat in the garden having iced tea and a nectarine tart that rocked. Then I went to the beach and sat on the sand, soaked in some sun, played in the sand and made a stick sculpture.

After that I went to the store and bought dinner for the next few days so I don't have to worry about that. We had Korean marinated pork chops tonight. I braised some short ribs for tomorrow. I bought some NY steaks we'll grill on Monday. I plan to make my OWN cabbage rolls (which rock) tomorrow with John, and those will be for lunch during the week. I also bought some bratwurst and hot links for lunch. I have some paneer (indian cheese) for tikka masala I will make later in the week with sweet potatoes. And a half ham I will glaze at the end of the week. So that's done.

The kitten has been a demon the last couple days. Duncan is having a 'reaction' to the appetite stimulant. He is basically stoned, agitated, and EXTREMELY talkative. I will have to call the vet about it. But it lasts for 72 hours so, I have till Monday for that. He is eating though. We have to give him IV fluids tomorrow. One pill tonight. And the liquid medicine. So he's still stable if acting weird.

Coming up are some pictures from my time at the beach.
 
At the beach.

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Good morning girls! Welcome home Rainwood!

Rainwood, wow, you and your sister walked a lot of miles and what an amazing adventure! Those photos are gorgeous. Love the flowers, love the canals, LOVE those waffles. And LOL you are not a bad PSer. You were not there to buy diamonds and while I might have tried visiting that diamond museum I think I too would have preferred seeing the sights you saw instead. I am so happy you had a terrific trip with your sister and that you both traveled so well together. :appl:
Thank you for sharing some photos and I am looking forward to seeing more. What a terrific trip! :appl:

Junie, one day at a time and you are doing so well dealing with all of this. Keeping you and your mom in my thoughts and sending lots of love and hugs your way. And yes this heat is brutal. The perfect word to describe it.

Gypsy, I am glad you enjoyed the pics of the Jersey summer sky. Haha loving your funny cat anecdotes and stories and you had us laughing LOL while reading them this morning. Thank you. I am glad Duncan is stable though you still don't know what is going on with him and I hope he continues to improve and that his behavior gets back to normal and that the side effect of those meds dissipate. I am so glad you took a mental health day and it sounds like a fabulous day. Relaxing in the sand, enjoying the waves of the ocean and having some good food. Perfect. I love feeling the sand b/w my toes. It feels so good. Thank you for sharing those relaxing beach photos. I can feel the sand b/w my toes just looking at your pics. :sun:

Marcy, that is a relief that your beach house has an elevator going to each floor and that there are no stairs. So glad that is the case. That peach pie you were describing would have hit the spot and sorry it didn't work out.
Now I am craving waffles and peach pie. :lol:
Yes we drove a few cars that had an entire sun roof the length of the roof. Crazy. Greg said I am always keeping it closed anyway on the sunny days because of my sun sensitivity so that might be a feature we really don't need. But I want one anyway. :cheeky: What I have determined is it is much more cost effective to not get another car till we absolutely need one. Cars are expensive especially with my taste! But I know you know what I am talking about. 8)
How did Marty's golf tournament go?
Yay for sleeping so late yesterday morning. That feels so good doesn't it. Hope you are enjoying another restful sleep right now.
We have to keep an eye on Francesca and Carl. Is he going with you to the beach?


I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday! :wavey:
 
callie I haven't had Lorna Doone cookies in a long time. Now you've got me curious. :Up_to_something: But yeah they are my downfall too because when I crave them I will eat them by the box over several days. I don't know if you saw this in my other post but I am working on not limiting them to a specific day of the week or weekend, and telling myself I can have cookies whenever I want. BUT - and this is the big but - I can have some ONLY if I am truly and desperately craving them and I'm also hungry. And then I'll have a few, enjoy them, and not think about it too much. I got the idea from a blog on binge eating. That is a huge mindset shift and if it ends up working it will be awesome. The first week I tried it I ate huge amounts of cookies every day so it didn't work well :lol: but I know it will take some time to engrain it into my system. We'll see. I just see how much when I eat well has an effect on how my body looks so I am really interested in breaking this last piece of the chain.

Is your brother OK now? I hope so.

Yeah, trying to look better/younger is addicting. I am really surprised I have not looked at my nasolabial folds in a while - that's a good thing - because I was obsessed with them. Maybe it means they're not as bad as I think and they're horrible only when I focus on them.

june thank you - and yes my project has been going better. I kind of "let go" of it a little bit. Sweets are an ongoing issue but I am working on it, not food wise, but mind wise. I'll see how it goes. How are you holding up?

missy when I looked at the Halloween pictures I could not figure out why you'd be posting that so early. I can't believe the stores are already advertising for that. And I can't believe we're already mid August and close to Halloween. :? Time goes too fast it feels like.

gypsy so glad you had a "me" day yesterday. Wish the cabbage rolls had been better though. I hate when I search out a specific food and it doesn't live up to how much I was looking forward to it. I hope Duncan gets better soon.

rainwood those pictures are absolutely gorgeous. And how cool that you went with your sister and that you ended up being good traveling partners. That's always nerve wracking to go away with someone because if your style of "enjoyment" are totally different it can ruin a vacation.

marcy thank goodness for those elevators. Now you can be excited for your trip again.

I am loving the fact that it is darker out in general. Does anybody else like this? I kind of hate the long summer sunny days believe it or not. Yeah, hermit at heart. ::)

Enjoy this beautiful Sunday everyone! (and anyone I may have missed!) :wavey:
 
Missy, I am still amazed everytime I see one of your pictures with the racoon and kitties eating together. I'm glad you were able to get a bike ride in today. Hopefully the cooler weather will be coming your way. It's sunny and 82 here today. My landscaper came by today to try to come up with a better way to water the flowers so I'm not out there over 2 hours everyday. Honestly if he can just get it down to where I'm out there an hour I'd be more than happy. I told my husband I want to add about 60 more boxwoods and he told me to think about it because that's 60 more bushes I will be trimming every other week. I really need to stay off the garden pictures on Pinterest. We were supposed to go shopping today but my husband's brother called yesrerday and he has been dealing with a lot. I told him to ask his brother to golf today. So they are off golfing and we will go out to dinner when they are through. He took tomorrow off so we will do something fun tomorrow.

Marcy, I'm so glad everything worked out well with the beach house. The beach house looks gorgeous and I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. I bet Marty was happy about the golf tournament. My husband gave my nephew a set of clubs. The two of them have golfed quite a bit this summer. I usually meet them for dinner afterward.

Gypsy, I love the pictures of your feet in the sand! I'm glad you took some time out just for you. You certainly deserve it. Duncan sounds like a riot on this medicine. Do you think the vet will keep him on it much longer? Do you enjoy cooking? I wish I did. I keep telling myself that I'm going to start cooking again but I never actually do it. Do you go for your infusion this week? Do you notice an improvement in how you feel right away after you have one? I have no idea how you give your cats pills. My dog will not take them no matter what trick I try. I'm so glad we found a pharmacy in the area that makes her perscriptions in a liquid form and they give a syringe that works in a second. Your cat bathing stories remind me of my dog except for the part about getting clawed. She hates getting a bath and I usually give her one once a week because I have allergies. Somedays she tolerates it pretty well and others she fights it every step of the way. My husband laughs because I have her towels in the dryer getting warm as I bathe her. He wants to know why a 7 pound dog needs three very large warm towel for her bath. I guess she is a little spoiled. She clings to me the whole time and looks at me with such sad eyes. I feel like I'm torturing her. No matter how many treats I give her I still feel bad for putting her through it. I quit working a few years ago and got her about three weeks after I quit working. She is our baby and I cannot imagine not having a pet now that we have her. We almost lost my brother at the beginning of the year and she always seemed to know when things were really bad. She would not leave my side. I can understand how you feel about wanting your own home. The older I get the more of a home body I have become. My husband wants to retire before he is 60 so now we are trying to decide where we will go. We have a couple years to decide but I don't want to give up what I have in our home and I want a beautiful yard where ever we end up. At least he realizes that if we purchase a used home I will be redoing the kitchen and baths. I am very close to my brother's family so the idea of moving is getting harder now that my niece has a 2 year old daughter. I also watch her for my niece a lot. She loves to come over and help in the garden.

CJ, I'm sure you look great. If your folds were showing you would notice it right away. At least that has been my experience. I'm starting to think the aging thing really is a losing battle but I'm still not going down without a fight. I currently have a cookie ban in my house. You must have a lot of will power because even if I tell myself that I'm allow a few, I end up eating the whole darn box. When I was really stressed I was eating a box a day. Not good! It's amazing how quickly the pounds go on. If only it wasn't such a struggle to get them off. My brother is doing great so I am very grateful for that. I put back most of the weight I had lost when he was sick but it sure didn't come back where I wanted it to. Menopause wrecks your body. I also don't mind when it gets darker outside earlier.

June, I hope today is a better day with your mom. When is your sister coming back? I know your husband was coming home soon. Please try to give yourself a break and do something fun for yourself. I know after being at the hospital for long hours every day I took a day and a half and went downtown shopping with my girlfriends. It really helped a lot. I was an hour away in case anything happened but just that day away really had me feeling better. It gets too overwhelming when you don't do that once in a while. I'm worried about you honey but do feel better about your suste coming back. I know she takes pretty good care of not letting you get too run down.

Rainwood, Thank you for posting pictures. Please post more. They are gorgeous!!! I'm glad you had such a good time with your sister. Does it feel good to be home?

Hi Kristie and Jimmianne!
 
Hi NIRDIs,

Junebug, sorry to hear your mom is refusing food most of the time, but ti’s nice she’s more likely to take a bite in the evening when she’s more alter. Maybe she’ll be more responsive to your sister. I noticed my mom perked up when someone she didn’t see all the time came to visit. I hope the meds help your mom; it’s such a slow process. It will be nice to have your sister there again for a while. I watched most of the Cowboys game too. I need to figure out who to pick for my fantasy football soon. You and your family are in my thoughts.

Gypsy, your mental health day sounds fabulous, relaxing and your certainly deserved one. Great idea to have your meals planned out for the next few days. It is amazing how much that takes off your plate when you are so busy. A demon and a stoned cat sound fun to deal with. Love your beach pictures.

Missy, how about waffles with peaches and whip cream? That would be AWESOME. I am hungry now too. I had a muffin and 2 tacos so far today. No wonder. I don’t care for sunroofs at all; I tried to order my Porsche without one but Marty wants it. I never open them. This one with just a screen worries me because I go snow blind really easy. It is behind you though. Good idea to put off buying a car until you need one. You guys can still go around and test drive cars at your leisure to find what appeals to you. Marty’s golf tournament went well. They place 3rd. They had better scores than the 1st and 2nd place but the tournament organizers did some weird handicap numbers on different holes. It wasn’t explained well but they had fun and were happy with their score. Carl will be staying behind to guard the house and Killer Rabbits. He’ll have one of my iPads too so he and Francesca can plot their plan for world domination.

CJ, I have been craving cookies for a few hours now. Sadly there isn’t ONE of them in the house. Darn it! I don’t mind the long summer days; what I do notice and don’t care for is when I leave work at 5 and it’s dark. I wish they’d quit DST.

Calliecake, I am sure your landscaper can come up with some kind of watering system for you. That is a lot of time to water and trim bushes. Sorry your BIL is going through a difficult time; I hope a day of golf with your DH makes him feel better. That is nice your husband and nephew play golf together. I like to meet Marty for supper or lunch when he is done too. Every time i try to plan a meal the timing never works out right. I am glad to hear your brother is doing great now.

I have been busy today. Didn’t work on packing but got September’s newsletter done already and printed out some handouts for the astronomy meeting this week. Strange I can’t get our OLD and I do mean OLD hardwired printer to print from my laptop anymore. I exported my handout to a flash drive and opened it on the big computer (where the printer is hooked up) and printed the handout on that. It is so much cheaper to print stuff on a laser printer than the ink jet. Looks nicer too. Of course it’s painful when the laster printer needs toner cartridges but since I don’t teach now that is few and far between.

Marty got home from golf at about noon and I made tacos for lunch. Marty ate everything except the shells. He is really sticking with no processed foods. I snagged a few ounces of the extra hamburger for lunch but he ate the rest of it. I will probably have a peach and toasted English muffin for supper.

I was going to go to the mall and try to find an inexpensive band to wear with my heart diamond RHR - my temporary wedding set for SC. But then I decided it’s stupid to spend several hundred dollars for something I’d wear for 2 weeks and probably never wear again. And we are talking mall quality jewelry too. So I decided NOT to go look.

Is tomorrow really Monday already?
Marcy
 
Missy and Marcy, I tried getting my car without a sunroof and was told they all came with one. i will never use it. I thought I was the only one who didn't like them.
 
Kitties in harmony.

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Good morning girls!

Junie, sweetheart, (((HUGS))) to you and I hope your mom is doing OK and that you are OK too. Thinking of you both and sending more love and hugs and good thoughts your way.

Callie and Marcy, the only time I use the sunroof is when it is raining. Then I like it. :bigsmile: Greg enjoys it however so since we use the same car I am glad for him to keep it open when I am not in the car with him. Callie I think some models do come without sunroofs in the lower end models. For example Kia offers an SUV without a sunroof and it is only in their "higher" end SUV where you have one. Lexus however has a sunroof in all their SUVs (I think). Right now Lexus is my preferred SUV of choice and I just love the comfy ride it provides. One thing I have noticed is that there are not a lot of colors to choose from and if you want light interior leather seats you are even more limited. Callie, I hope your landscaper can figure it out so you can spend less time watering your beautiful garden. Have a good day with your dh today.

Marcy, Yay for getting your September newsletter done already. Yes to the peaches and waffles please but no thanks to the whip cream. I am not a whip cream fan. Though I don't hate it and will eat it if necessary. I like it best with Jello and it reminds me of when we were younger and my mom used to serve jello and whip cream. Glad Marty's golf tournament went well. What is this handicapping thing they do? Seems like they deserved first place but glad they are satisfied with how it turned out. I think you made a wise decision in not buying a band for 2 weeks. Personally I would bring my ER and band(s) and not worry about it but I understand why you might not want to. Smart decision not spending money on something you are really not going to wear very much. Better to save that for more useful bling. That Carl and Francesca lol. Well they cannot do worse than the way our current and aspiring political leaders are handling things so more power to them for world domination. :lol:
No I cannot believe it is Monday already and we are heading back to the city. I am not ready. And it is still beastly hot here.

CJ, I am one of those people who LOVE the longer days so I am sad it is getting dark earlier and staying dark later. I hate waking up and it is pitch black for hours but mainly in the autumn and winter I hate leaving work when it is already dark. Makes me feel down. I prefer the natural light. My mom is just like you however and loves the shorter days. She says it is her excuse to get into bed earlier. LOL I don't need any excuse believe me and have no qualms about getting into bed when it is not yet dark. No problem at all. :cheeky:

Rainwood, hope you are adjusting well to being back and savoring the trip still. More pics maybe when you get a chance? Pretty please. :appl:

Scandi, hope you are enjoying the rest of your vacation and looking forward to seeing you here tomorrow or the next day or so. Hope you are having lots of fun.

Gypsy, love that photo. That is sweet contentment. :love:

Sharing some pics from our early morning yesterday. We got to ride all 10 days of vacation which is quite the accomplishment given the heat and humidity. We didn't do as long bike rides as we usually do however but something had to give and despite starting at 6AM or just before we really couldn't go past 10AM or even 9AM some days. But we got to ride every single day and made the best of it and I am satisfied. And because we didn't ride 60 miles each day we got to do a lot of other things that normally we wouldn't have done so it was a more varied beach vacation than usual. We got to test drive a few different models and also went to more open houses. It was fun despite having to be indoors most of the afternoons due to the excessive heat. I cannot believe how fast the week went however and Marcy it is your turn for vacation now so you're up. :sun:

First pic is of the sky right before the sun came up yesterday and right before we left on our ride. Second pic as the sun was rising. And third pic is of Fred being a purr baby last night in my lap. He is so loud. LOL I wish I could share the apple pic on my phone which caught his purring and movement. I love those pics that get the first second before and after. It's like a little movie.

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marcy yes it's really Monday. :/

Looking outside right now and trying to remember all that's good, like the sun and the trees and the kitties.

I hate when I am craving something and I don't have it in the house although it's save my butt a few times. There's times the craving is so intense though that I will go out and get whatever it is I'm craving.

I don't mind getting up in the darkness it makes me feel like I have *more* day ahead of me.

Are you sure you wouldn't wear the replacement band at other times, or other vacations? I mean either way if you din't feel like going or didn't feel like spending the $ it's totally ok I just thought that you might actually wear it other times, so if you felt like getting one you should. :)

Hope you have a productive day today. :)

(and, Marty is on point with skipping the shells! Wow)

missy the darkness is just an excuse for me to not go outside ever. haha and I love not having to wear sunscreen what it feels like 24/7 when the sun is always out.

I don't like sunroofs at all - never use them, during the day it's inviting the UV light in :knockout: , and during the night I just never even remember I have it.

I was so happy to see you had responded to me, I was starting to think you were a little mad at me. :blackeye: I couldn't figure out what the reason could be the only thing I could think of is that maybe I had gone too over the top with your birthday wishes and specifically with what I said about Greg. Or just too over the top in general, maybe it felt fake, even though I really did feel every word and felt the warmth when I wished them. I hope this is just all in my head or was reading into things too much. I know I'm probably way off base and feel silly for feeling this with people I've never met but I'm smart enough to know that if I don't say it it will sit in the back of my heart and won't go away and that is how things begin decline.

gypsy love the kitties snuggling - hope things go well today, and that Duncan is not agitated any more from that pill.

callie the pounds come on so quick - I'm thin so even when I gain weight I'm still thin, but my thighs blow up and jiggle more than usual. I do get curvier though which I like, but sorry curves on me mean jigglier thighs and triceps no thanks. So I have to be thinner than I'd like up top to look less sloppy and more toned all around. But yes, getting older, sucks, and age is showing in all kinds of ways even though overall I do still look OK. I haven't had Botox in a while, definitely need to get that done, I look so mad all the time without it. Glad to hear your brother is OK now. :)

Everyone else, hello! :)
 
Rainy, beautiful pics, thank you for sharing them! Travel is WORK, hahaha, most definitely. I never gain weight on trips, all the walking and no grazing in the kitchen :lol: Holland looks wonderful, its #1 on my visit list and has been for far too long. Beautiful flowers and food and surroundings. Glad you had a good time with your sister, now you will rest up!

Gypsy, I also loved your pics and I would like to hire you as my mental health advisor because your mental health day was terrific. Great stick sculpture, loved the blue-blue sky against the beach vegetation. BTW, I read carefully your posting over on the immigration thread here. Compelling writing and story. I was in college in southern California (USC) from 1977-1981 and I knew quite a few Persian (Iranian) students (and also Saudis, Bahrainians, and Kuwaitis, they were mostly studying engineering/emphasis on petroleum). The Persians were world traveled, sophisticated and cultured, and educated in the UK prior to university in the US. I remember that my fellow American students were mostly distrustful and resentful of them. It was my first experience with Americans as xenophobes. I'm sorry for the rude at best and abusive at worst treatment you and your family had to endure. FWIW, I've had terrible experiences at the hands of the police and I do believe that our female gender is the first attractor of abusive a-holes and then once they get a closer look they go for other things, like skin color/race, economic indicators, etc. Thinking of your mom's encounter with the police/traffic stop.

CJ, please be informed that it is 'wrong' to use the words "jiggly" and "thighs" in the same sentence!!!!

Marcy, are you on your way to Beachville yet????

Junebug, thinking about you and hoping for the very best.

Missy, hang in there because sure enough something DIFFERENT will rear its annoying head!!!

Hi Jimmianne and Hi Calliecake!!!
 
CJ honey, nothing could be further from the truth! I am so sorry I made you feel that way! Did I miss a post of yours perhaps? I try to be so careful about that because I never want to leave anyone out. Please accept my apologies because I don't want you thinking for one second I am upset with you in any way. I am not. I loved your birthday wishes and everything you said. You are a dear and I appreciate you! Thank you and (((HUGS))).

Good point about sunscreen lol. I usually never leave the house without it on my face either. Darn UV rays. I love the light and the warmth of the sun but don't love the damage those UV rays do especially to my rosacea and POD. I don't need any more damage to my face that is for sure. I am glad to see I am not alone with not loving those sunroofs on the cars. I like to think I am a convertible girl (oh those convertibles are so purty) but really I am just not that cool. Oh well. Fortunately Greg likes me just the way I am. Kltuzy and uncool. :bigsmile:

Hi Kristie! LOL I sure hope not. I am ready for some calm right about now. Just got back from visiting J and I wanted to check in to PS but texting you to see if this time works for you. Hope you are having a good day.

It is super hot here OMG and the AC wall units are not cutting it. At all. I miss the central AC from the beach. I am melting just like the wicked witch of the East (was it East?)...oh no I am melting... :o :oops:

Hope you are all staying cool and comfortable. Big ((((HUGS))).
 
azstonie :lol: ::)

missy I am so glad to hear that.

And no, please don't worry about me that whole thing was just a fluke. Please don't feel you have to go out of your way or make sure you say anything specifically to me or make sure you answer me. It is so hard with so many people. I don't know why I felt that way.

I'm just glad I asked, and I'm so glad to know everything is OK. :wavey:

((hugs)) back
 
Missy, hot weather is the worst especially when the A/C can't keep up! I'm glad you had a good vacation at the beach house though. And you guys are brave going to open houses! And don't fall in love with any houses because you can't move, You can't because now Greg has his workshop and the ferals know they can get a meal.

Junie, I'm sorry your mom isn't interested in eating much. You're doing the right thing to try and figure out her patterns, and see if you can find a way to get her to eat more. Ultimately, it's up to her though and that's such a hard thing to accept.

Marcy, I hope you have a great time on your vacation. You've certainly earned it with all you put up with at work. And good for you not getting a vacation ring just for 2 weeks. Wear what you want, it will be fine. And soon, a German motorcar will be coming your way. And my favorite waffle was with raspberries and kiwi fruit on top, no whipped cream. But my absolute obsession became gluten-free caramel licorice from Copenhagen. I brought some home but am rationing it so it lasts for the next week or so. Sounds weird but super, super tasty.

Gypsy, love your photos from your mental health day. You have a great eye. And I hope things work out okay for Duncan and the rest of your feline family. It seems like bad things arrive in bunches, but it sounds like some things are starting to sort themselves out for you and John and the kitties.

Scandi, hope you're having a great time on vacation. I'll be posting some of my Sweden photos shortly. You live in a beautiful part of the world.

Jimmianne, hope all is well with you and your furry friends.

Kristie, thanks for the kind words on my photos. Vacation was a lot of work and I'm still trying to recuperate. And Amsterdam is not the place to get over jet lag. You need to have your wits about you to negotiate the streets with all the bikes and cars and a system that only they understand. I don't know how many times we were either in the bike lane or traffic without knowing it until someone either rang their bell or honked.

Callie, thanks for your words as well. I can't imagine spending as much time watering your flowers as you do. It will be nice for you to get a system in place that will reduce that. I admire your gardening prowess. I just can't muster the enthusiasm. I wish I were a gardener, but have finally admitted it's all yard work to me.

CJ, thanks for your kind words as well. I hope things go better the rest of your Monday.

If I left anyone out, I apologize. I'm trying to include everyone, but not sure I did. Next up, Sweden photos!
 
So the Scandinavia part of the trip started in:

That's a trivet I bought. Loved it the moment I saw it.

And here is the classic tourist photo - the changing of the Palace Guards:


Here's a photo from Gamla Stan, the beautiful old town part of Stockholm:


And the lovely view on the walk back to our hotel:


Such a lovely city, Scandi! More photos to come.

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Here's a photo of the Vasa ship that was resurrected from the harbor. It's impossible to really capture the immensity of the ship:


And the beautiful City Hall. This is a ceiling, believe it or not:


And an even more amazing room:


And here's how your dinner would look if you won the Nobel Prize:

I don't think I need to worry about that, but it was beautiful to see.

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And then we headed out into the countryside on a beautiful (but hot) day:


And, of course, the waterfront:


And a beautiful trip to Kalmar Castle:



We had great weather in Sweden except for about an hour in Stockholm when we were waiting for the ferry to go to the Vasa Ship Museum and the temperature dropped about 30 degrees, the winds started to blow, it began to pour then we were pelted with hail the size of peas! Not much fun when you're wearing a t-shirt and shorts. But we dried out quickly and it was fine. We're drip/dry kind of people so no problem. I didn't have enough time in Stockholm and would love to go back.

A few more photos and then it's off to Denmark tomorrow.

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And here's a beautiful Swedish rose that had such an amazing fragrance. So many of them don't but this smelled like the old-time roses my mother grew:


And this is self-explanatory:


I didn't see the dog, but loved the sign.

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Hi NIRDIs!

Calliecake, I think we get $1000 off the Porsche if we don’t order the sunroof but Marty wants it. I’ve had a sunroof now for about 11 years and I maybe opened it 5 times (if that). They seem worthless to me.

Gypsy, great pictures of the kitties.

Missy, too funny Greg uses the sunroof and you rarely do. Every time Marty takes my car he opens the sunroof. I will never forget how luxurious the interior of the Lexus we drove felt; it was some upgraded leather package but wow was it plush. If the engine hadn’t been so gutless we probably would have bought it instead of the A6. I actually like cool whip better than whip cream. I know cool whip is oil but I like it. Jello and cool whip was one of my mom’s frequently served desserts as well. I am not quite sure how the handicapping works but it figures in something about your average scores and I think for this tournament it was difficulty of each hole. But I am guessing here. I’ll probably end up taking my ER. I am more worried about it getting dirty than anything which is just silly. When I am traveling I shouldn’t be obsessed with taking off my rings to wash my hands. You got that right on Carl and HRH ruling the world! Sorry to hear it is still so hot there. Great pictures of the sunrise and Fred. How is your friend doing? I know she appreciates your visit. My AC is making me cold right now so between the two of us we are just right.

Rainwood, raspberries and waffles sound great. Caramel licorice sounds interesting, I love good caramels. I plan on ignoring any text or email I get from work when I am on vacation. Really! I am very much looking forward to getting my car! I saw a Cayenne today coming home and was all excited. Beautiful pictures of Sweden and I especially love the yellow rose! Cool thing to see the table setting for a Nobel prize winner.

CJ, darn it that is was Monday. This week is going to zip by for me. Good idea to think about the good things in life. I like Pepperidge Farms Chessman cookies really well; they are kind of like Lorna Doone. If I bought a nice band I would wear it but trying to find something at the last minute is kind of silly. I have 4 wedding bands already. I will probably end up wearing my ER anyway. I change my mind several times a day. I have tried looking at stars through the open sunroof but it’s too limited of view. I tried! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could lose weight as quickly as it comes on?

Kristie, isn’t it amazing how traveling wears you out? LOL to jiggly and thighs. Beachville - I’ll be there soon.

We went out for supper so I didn’t work too much on laundry.

My hairdresser moved my appointment to tomorrow so I’ll get my hair cut after work.

Laters,
Marcy
 
Good Tuesday morning girls! It's another boiling hot day here in NYC and all I can say is OMG. Cannot wait for this heat wave to be over with please. When Greg came home from work last night he opened the door and walked in and said wow it's hot in here. :lol: I am laughing because it is funny somehow. Despite the wall ACs being on full blast all afternoon it was still too darn hot. The real problem is it's a brick building and we have a wall of windows facing west and the brick just retains all the heat and we were gone for 10 days and it had 10 days to bake in the sun. And it's a huge open area of living room, dining room and kitchen so it is just hard to cool that area down.
Needless to say I sweat quite a bit yesterday and it should be interesting to see how it goes today. I am going to workout early this morning before the heat becomes unbearable but just enjoying more delicious ice coffee first.


Rainwood, I love all the photos you are sharing. So picturesque and beautiful. I love the red barn house. So lovely. And Kalmar Castle. Wow. But the Vasa ship is just gorgeous. That is a beautiful city hall ceiling. Love the elegant dinner table. Can you imagine washing those dishes and silver ware etc. How careful would you have to be. They are all probably priceless antiques. Just a beautiful table. The changing of the guard photo haha. I remember that when we visited London. They are so professional and you cannot get them to smile. Not that I tried or anything. 8) Love the photo of old Stockholm. So romantic. And thank you for the dog pic and that yellow rose is gorgeous. I can imagine how beautiful it smells just from your description. Thank you so much for sharing some of your photos and experience there. I am enjoying it all. Just beautiful. :appl:

Hope you are settling back in to being home and that your week is going well. :appl:

Marcy, Now Greg is talking about test driving a BMW. I think we are ultimately going to end up with the Lexus RX 350 at some point. A cushy ride (critical for me as I am prone to getting motion sick and those German cars provide too stiff a ride for me) and the engine is more powerful than our current car which was a negative. It was not as responsive or fast as we would have liked but we are talking about 1999 and things have changed now. When we drove the RX 350 it had decent pick up and seemed much improved over the 1999 Lexus SUV. Plus we don't have much opportunity to go that fast here LOL. Darn city traffic always slowing us down. :devil:

I am glad you are going to take your ER and band. You should and please don't worry about getting it dirty. It is easy enough to clean yanno and you should enjoy the heck out of it. I am going to share a secret with you. I don't clean my ring obsessively and I still enjoy it. It looks pretty even if it is not sparkly clean all the time but it is easy enough to clean anyway. Do you have the Dazzle stick? I got it from drugstore.com but Amazon has it too and you can get it in 1-2 days. It is so easy to clean your diamonds this way. One two three and literally sparkling clean. Wear your rings and enjoy them!

Haha I like that you are too cold and I am too hot and we are just right b/w the 2 of us. LOL. Greg always says I am like Goldilocks. And it can be challenging finding the just right everything but together we can do it Marcy. :lol:

Good luck with your haircut today after work. Hope it turns out just how you want it. Countdown to beach vacation is well underway. :appl: :sun:


CJ, I am glad you asked too! I am a big fan in getting out how you are feeling and sharing them so there are no miscommunications or hard feelings. I am a big communicator and believe the source of much heartache is failure to communicate or miscommunication. So please always let it out and let me know if there are any questions or problems. I like airing it out and keeping friendships real and meaningful that way. I hate the word authentic but it applies here. I don't like fake relationships and thank you for sharing how you were feeling so we could clear that up. (((HUGS))).

Callie, I hope your internet is all back and working right today! I feel your pain as you know and sending strong internet vibes your way.

Kristie, It seems all of us are on the same page now buying vs leasing. I am nervous about making a big commitment to a car that is not our current car but Greg seems fixed on buying a new one sooner vs later now. Thanks for all your CR reports and insight. It has been a big help and we appreciate that. Good luck with Maggie's allergy appointment today and I hope it goes as well as Finn's appointment went yesterday.

Hey to everyone else! Hope you are all enjoying a good week and staying cool and comfortable. (((HUGS))). Have a good day!
 
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