Now I really did it :((

[junebug17]

Hi all!

Missy, I am really sorry about the situation with your medication, it is soooo frustrating and the decisions these companies make just don't seem to make any sense. I hope you can at least get the med for a fairly reasonable price, fingers crossed.

Thanks for the suggestions for my son, he has been exercising and doing yoga and it seems to help a little. He seemed in better spirits after we talked for a while last night, so I think I also have to keep asking him how he's doing, he tends to keep things bottled up. Very hard to see him having a rough time, as his mom I want to just "fix" everything for him lol. Thanks for listening, it helps to just share how I'm feeling. The estate process is going ok and you're right, I have gotten some things done - my mother's estate isn't large but there is still just a lot of paperwork to keep track of, forms to fill out, bills to pay, etc. Ugh. The real headache is going to be clearing out the house and putting it up for sale, I haven't done a thing yet and I need to start doing something. Thank you for your offer to help, you are so kind and I really appreciate it.

Scandi, sorry the Christmas play was a bit hard on you, feeling tired can make these school functions painful - I'm speaking from experience! Having a stomach ache doesn't help either. You're a good mom for working through it and being there for your dd. And yes, sometimes the only consolation is seeing your child having a good time! Lol to suggesting canceling it

Thanks for the supportive words about my son - it helps to just have a safe place to unload and share how I'm feeling so thank you for listening and caring! Hopefully it's just growing pains and as time passes he'll get more comfortable with what he's doing and more confident in who he is.

Sorry about the delays with the house and the expensive bills, it is definitely beyond frustrating and I hope the company can start speeding things up a bit.

LLJsmom, I'm sorry to hear about your dd's dental issues and that you've been upset about it, you're right though, at least the technology is available to help her and I'm sure she'll be ok. Big hugs to you, glad you're feeling better about it, try not to worry too much.

Sending good thoughts to all!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, it does seem strange to have the Christmas show at school in November. The set up and tear down definitely is work but I am sure the kids had fun. We faithfully went to my nieces concerts for about 10 years. They went to a small rural school where each class was maybe 4 - 12 kids. Let’s say there weren’t enough kids to make the singing sound good. But we always had fun. Ugh to getting bills from the construction company that is behind. How irritating. I have not Gibbs slapped anyone at work but I have fantasized about it.

Jimmianne, mm rum. A nice frozen daiquiri sounds fabulous.

Gypsy, interesting analogy about the difference between dogs and cats. But between you and Jimmianne I want some adult beverages. I am a big wine fan.

Rainwood, since I am really cold right now I was wondering is your heat working now?

Missy, it’s good to know you are a sky watcher. I have definitely sat for hours under a starry sky and loved every moment of it. I am glad Marty has some of his friends coming over to use his gym. I know he gets bored and misses people working from home. One of them would probably take me serious if I told him we were going to charge him to use the gym. The other guy would just say whatever. He knows me well. Rats that your medicine won’t be covered anymore. That stinks. I love your dog and cat comparisons; they are so true. I always enjoy reading the dog and cat diaries.

Junebug, I hope you do pick up a Snoopy decoration. I bed we have easily 3 dozen of them on the tree right now and picked up 2 new Hallmark ones tonight. I am going to get a sign made for the man cave that says “Killer Rabbit Casino, Bar, Grill and Gym”. That will be a great Christmas gift. I am sorry to hear your son is having stress and anxiety. It is tough starting out in the world. Good luck working on some of the estate stuff.

LLJsmom, I know what you mean - I wouldn’t just walk off of a job. Of course I’ve only worked 2 jobs since I graduated from college (not including teaching). As I was telling my boss today I am an adapter not a quitter or a whiner. Sorry to hear you DD has some much dental work ahead of her. My oldest niece had an extra tooth and a lot of her permanent teeth didn’t come in; they had to put chains on them with her braces and pull them in. I always felt bad for her.

Thanks Caf. Good idea! I know it’s a good idea to ask your doctor for samples too because they often have some.

I think that lady quit because of my boss. She worked directly for him before moving to my department. A friend of mine works with her husband and the job she got was something she’d been working on well before she moved to my team.

I missed posting last night because I was in bed before 10. I started yawning about 8 and could barely stay awake past 9. Wow that is unusual for me. I hate to get up but I can usually stay up pretty late.

Tonight we ran down to Kohl’s and picked up a few things. I had 20% off that expired today and they were way less busy than they were on Black Friday.

We got back and one of the gym guys was already waiting for us.

It is cold and windy here. I’ve been avoiding getting gas in my car and finally got some at lunch. Like an idiot I only had on my fleece jacket. Wind blocking my behind!

2 more work days then it’s the weekend again. Sweet.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!


LLJsmom, I'm sorry about your DD's dental issues and hope her dental work goes well and that she is soon on her way to a beautiful smile to match the beautiful person she is. I believe health care should all be not for profit because good health care shouldn't be a privilege but a right. Don't ask me how to fund it but that is what I believe. Of course I have worked at a not for profit health clinic for the past 15 plus years (we accept Medicaid and Medicare) and we went bankrupt so there are obviously no easy solutions but our system is totally broken.

Junie, relieved your DS is feeling a bit better and it is good he is on a regular exercise (for mind and body) routine. It is scary when something is wrong with our loved ones and we cannot make it all better. The feeling of helplessness and being out of control when someone we love is in pain is overwhelming. Sending you big hugs and lots of good luck dust to your son.

Your estate issues are challenging and I know it is a mountain of work. Seeing what my parents and aunt and uncle went through when my grandfather died I know you have a lot on your hands. One day at a time. You are making progress and you will continue to plow through it and don't be hard on yourself. Is your sister able to help you with this at all? I hope she can make it here to help you with some of the cleaning out of the house too and putting it up for sale. Sending you bucket loads of good luck dust for smooth roads ahead and for making it manageable.

Marcy, sorry it is really cold in Wyoming right now but I guess winter is (un)officially here. We are going to be getting some colder weather too though I have still not worn any of my winter coats. And I am not looking forward to starting. I hate all the clothing we have to put on and take off in winter. It's a pain in the neck. And I usually feel cold outside anyway in the cold weather despite wearing a heavy winter coat. It's like I am a reptile. But yes the winter sky is sure pretty just like the fall sky is but in a different way. Some of our favorite artists paint the fall and winter sky and I just love the beautiful way the light is during those seasons. Nothing quite like it. Summer and spring skies can be very pretty but just not like the autumn and winter skies IMO.

Marcy, A Charlie Brown Christmas is on ABC tonight so just in case you didn't know/forgot I am reminding you to record or watch it. I know you enjoy it! And it is from a very good (dare I say amazing) year. 1965.


Jimmianne, are you back on USA soil yet? Hope you had a good trip back home and are hugging and snuggling with all your fur babies.

Scandi, happy late morning. Hope your day is going well.


So, yesterday Greg brought my MacAir into the Apple store to get it checked out as it has been a bit buggy and my 3 year Applecare program is expiring. And they took it on themselves to change 2 of the keys (D and E) because they were worn out. Nice right? NO. Because those "geniuses" and I use the term loosely mixed up the D and the E keys and put them in the wrong place.
You can imagine how distracting that is for someone like me who can't type without looking at the keyboard. Unfrickinbelievable right?

And of course Greg didn't notice it when he picked it up last night because why would he check the keyboard??? OY. So we called them and after almost an hour of waiting between being transferred and then transferred again (they are sure difficult to get hold of via phone and internet) we got through to the supervisor but their response was underwhelming.

I am not a pleased Apple customer right now. Greg has to go all the way back and get it redone. They told us not to try it ourselves (that would have been the best case scenario). Can you believe what a stupid mistake the "genius" made? Genius Bar my foot. Oh and I don't have much confidence in the repair we brought it in for originally if they messed up something so simple and my AppleCare runs out December 14th.

Just putting it all in perspective and in the scheme of things big deal right? But sometimes I just wonder why is almost everything a challenge. And that adage if you don't do it yourself it doesn't get done properly is true. But we cannot be proficient in all fields. Oh that we could. So we need to depend on the so called experts to do their job correctly but for some reason this is a challenge in even the simplest areas.


Greg is taking all 4 kitties in to the veterinarian (my sister) this morning. So we couldn't feed them when we woke up and I feel so bad for them as I know they are hungry poor babies. Anyway fingers crossed they all have a good annual checkup with a clean bill of health. Fred is getting up there in age and has some issues so I am concerned about him (and I know he probably has more dental issues similar to Finn-so relieved Finnie boy made it through like the champ he is!) and Francesca has an iris mole that keeps growing and just hoping it isn't anything bad because there isn't anything you can do if it is something. Thinking good thoughts for a clean bill of health for all 4 and putting happy and healthy dust out into the universe for all our fur babies.


On the rescue kitty front the ferals appear to being doing well so far and we have solved the food shortage situation as of right now. Hoping that fix holds. And great news re Theo, Zeke and Yoshi. They all continue to do well and hoping the brotherly love starts happening soon b/w Theo and his brothers. But they are all eating and drinking and pooping and receiving lots of love!

Photos below.

First photo standoff b/w the 3. Theo in forefront, Zeke in middle and Yoshi in the other room looking in...LOL I love them. They have been through so much and are doing so well. SO grateful to J&P and SIL!!!!

Then next photos are of a Feral running across yard last night and Cola eating in the feeding station during the daylight hours yesterday.
And then sweet Yoshi and Zeke.





Have a great day girls.

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy, my day is OK just a lot of stress. Cola is my all time favourite

 

[rainwood]

Hi, ladies!

Missy, I agree the U.S. health care system is broken. Between my DH's many many treatments and my stint in the hospital for my broken ankle, we learned the hard way how screwed up our system is. The medical care is generally good (notwithstanding the less than stellar job done by the hospital) but the system for charging for it and insuring it and paying for it is broken in a thousand different ways. But only the people who've had to come up against that dysfunctional monolith truly understand how broken it is. I could tell such stories!!!!

Love the trio photos. I have a soft spot for Yoshi because he's such a handsome longhair. So glad the brothers are getting used to each other again and acclimating to their new home. I'm going to call them the Missy Trio! When I was in California, the house I stayed at near Santa Cruz came with a resident feral cat. I decided to endear myself to him by feeding him turkey leftovers. He's impossible to get near, but once he realized I was a food delivery device, he didn't run very far when I called out to him. And he suddenly was okay with it if I was standing on the other side of the glass doors. The power of food.

I've had really good luck at the Genius Bar on multiple occasions, including recovery from a hard drive death, but it does depend on who you get. Some of them really are geniuses. It's frustrating when they get it wrong, but I still think they are way better than the PC universe if something goes wrong. I've called Apple Care a few times and they've been good to deal with, and I reported a problem with an iTunes purchase a few days ago and they got back to me within 3 or 4 hours. Turns out the scratchy stuff is part of the song!! Seriously, X Ambassadors, stop doing that!! it sounds like an equipment malfunction. I thought it was my speakers at first!

Scandi, you were an excellent mom for going to the Christmas show. You were a logical mom for wondering why it should be in November. I've already gotten my first Christmas card and yesterday found myself inadvertently in the center of a Christmas parade with carols blaring out in every direction and I mean blaring. Are they assuming people who like Christmas are hard of hearing? Plus, it seemed too early. I'm sorry your house isn't ready, but going to the cabin with the snow for the holidays sounds wonderful.

LLJ's, this was the first time I've been to SF in many years, but will be going back this winter. That trip is actually to Napa Valley so just the briefest of stopovers, but would love to see you next time!!

Junie, don't sweat the estate stuff. It will get done when it's done. As for the house, here's the action plan (to be done at your own pace: 1) clean out all food, indoor plants, and other perishable stuff as well as anything that is truly trash or garbage; 2) call an estate sale company or two or three to see if they'd be interested and how much they'd charge; 3) hire one or an estate auction place if the estate sale people aren't interested; 4) hire a good realtor; 5) ask the realtor what, if any, repairs should be done before listing the property and get names of vendors the realtor recommends to do them; 6) get the repairs done; and 7) donate anything left over from the estate sale or auction. Then you're ready put the house on the market and it's the realtor's job. One step at a time, Junie, one step at a time.

As for me, I woke up yesterday without a headache for the first time and the "off" feeling is getting better. I don't feel 100% "on" but I'm improving so that's good. My neck is sore so it's time to do yoga again (it was time anyway but this is just another incentive). I also had a random wonderful thing happen today. I have blinds in my study that are both sheer and regular honeycomb blinds. You can have the blind completely up, the honeycomb down all the way or partway, or the sheer down all the way or partway. I've been able to have the honeycomb down or just the sheer down, but haven't been able to put up the blind completely for YEARS. Today, I went over and, for some reason, decided to try it and it worked. No problem. So now I have light from the east. Yay for things that fix themselves!!

I also made the plane reservations for 3 trips next year because there was a great sale going on this week. Really great prices. And speaking of trips, I thought I'd put up a few more photos from the Asian Art Museum:

A very wise old gentleman:


Pretty bird, pretty bird!:


And because I'm a sucker for a cute face:



I have a really great photo of a pair of bronze "buns" but wasn't sure PS would be okay with a butt shot even if it's a thousand year old Thai statue!

 

[rainwood]

And here's City Hall when we came out of the museum:


You'd never know from this photo that later, when we came out of the theater, there was a torrential downpour. I am quite familiar with rain, but this was really something. Go 10 feet and you'd be drenched, 20 feet and you'd look like you'd been through a carwash!

Thanksgiving morning, we walked along the beach trail in Aptos and lots and lots of people had their RV's parked at the beach for the holiday weekend. All kinds of different outdoor cooking equipment to cook the bird, decorations were out, and people were outside enjoying the sunny weather. A lot different from what I'm used to. We could have Thanksgiving at the beach, but we'd need wind and rain gear for everything and we wouldn't be sitting outside drinking a cocktail! One family was celebrating their 48th annual Thanksgiving family gathering here. You can kind of see the line of RV's in this shot:



And here's a shot of why concrete ships never really caught on:



After the walk, we got ready for the holiday feast. My brothers-in-law set a beautiful table:



And we served wine from my long-time friends' winery, LangeTwins. Excellent wine at a very reasonable price. I had both the Chardonnay and the Zinfandel and loved them both. I can't get their wine here so was pleased to see it for sale at the local grocery store down there. It was a lovely day.

So that's it for tonight. Tomorrow, pictures of surfers!! Take care.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, I think the cold is so noticeable because we’ve had such a mild fall so far; when it deeps to the teens it is just shocking. I gave up wearing my fleece jacket for awhile. My parka is so warm I only wear it in December and January when we get wind chills way below zero. I watched the Rockefeller Center special last night and saw it was raining there. The layers of winter clothing is a pain. I am enjoying using my Snoopy tote bag because I can dump my scarf, hat and gloves in it. I definitely will enjoy watching the Charlie Brown Christmas. Thanks for the reminder. The winter sky is my favorite; a lot of my favorite constellations and deep sky objects are out then. That is unreal they mixed up your D and E keys. What a pain to have to go back to the Apple Store to get it fixed. I am sure your local Apple stores are pretty busy. The ones in Denver are packed all the time. We have a Simply Mac here that we buy from but I doubt I’d let them work on any of our stuff. I was frustrated with my new laptop last night. Pages 9 must not work on this newer operating system and I don’t like the newer version of Pages. It doesn’t have as many features. Last night I was working on my club newsletter and you can’t link text boxes to flow text from one page to the next. I might have to figure out how to do desk top publishing on Word for Mac. That is fabulous news about the Missy Trio. I hope the kitties did well at the vet.

Rainwood, I love Missy’s Trio. Cute name. I am sure you made quick friends with that kitty since you were bringing food. I too have had luck with Apple Care the few times I’ve used it. They even helped me onetime with my cell phone even though I didn’t have the extended care plan on that phone. I haven’t got a Christmas card yet but I know they are coming soon. I was thinking of starting to work on my Christmas cards but I need to write my annual Christmas poem first. Success with the blinds! Nice! Good idea to buy tickets for your trips next year when the prices are good. What exciting places are you going to visit? Great pictures. I didn’t read the captions first and when I saw the concrete ship I was saying what is that?

Busy day at work. We interviewed a guy who I think would be good on my team. I don’t know if I’ll get him or if he’ll go to another team in our department. His uncle is an old friend of mine and his mom used to work for me at my last job. Small world sometimes.

I met a friend for lunch and we talked so long I was 30 minutes late from lunch but since I usually go in 20 to 30 minutes early all the time I didn’t feel bad.

Have a fabulous Friday.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Just lost a huge post. The wonderful week continues. Seriously I am going to lose it if things don't start working out right soon. I spent the past 30 minutes composing a long post here and poof computer resets.

OK just a quick recap because I don't have the energy to try reposting all I lost. Sigh.

Rainwood, thank you for sharing your latest photos. I love the table your BIL set. So warm, inviting and rich. Love the beach pics and the fact that the family in one of the RVs have come to that beach the past 48 thanksgivings. Very romantic spending it on the beach I think. And I sure wouldn't mind great sunny Thanksgiving and holiday weather. Living in sunny California doesn't suck. The sky in the capitol building is so beautiful. Love the colors.

Sorry you have firsthand knowledge about our healthcare system. Yes it is very broken and if you are healthy it works great but when one becomes seriously or significantly ill good luck because you might not always get the care you need. I don't have any answers but I know the for profit system just isn't working.

We have had good luck with the Genius Bar in the past too but not this time. Yesterday after work (and after the veterinarian appointments which I will go into greater detail about later) Greg brought the computer back and they fixed the keys and gave us a $50 gift certificate for our time. But I don't have confidence they fixed the problem re the original reason I brought it in for so we shall see. Case in point my computer just reset for no reason twice within 12 hours causing my post to go pfffft. Grrr. They said there was no problem with the computer. Hmmm maybe they are the geniuses after all because I might just have to buy a new Macbook Air.


Thank you for feeding that feral and I am glad he became more friendly towards you. Haha the Missy trio should really be renamed the J&P and SIL trio! We all lucked out so much finding J&P. The kitties and Greg and I couldn't have gotten luckier with them. Amazing wonderful kind generous people who love animals and are willing to do what is necessary to give them a wonderful life.


Yay for scheduling some great trips for 2017 and so happy you woke up without a headache finally! Now you have some amazing experiences to look forward to next year and I know that will be so great for you. (((HUGS))).

Looking forward to tomorrow's photos of surfers.

Yes please post the bronze "buns"!!!!


Marcy, glad you got to watch the Rockefeller tree lighting and that you were planning to catch the Charlie Brown Christmas. Hope you enjoyed it. Yes it was raining here the past 2 days but mild in temps. I am not looking forward to those teen temps at all. Not ready and our ferals aren't ready either. Glad you enjoyed a good long lunch with your friend yesterday and you deserved it. Hope you get your new computer issues worked out soon. Hope the newsletter writing went smoothly after the initial issues. Hope you get the new employee you want and yes it is a small world for sure.

Scandi, I know and that is why I shared Cola's photo with you. I remember she is your favorite.


OK our day yesterday continued our not so great week but going to share it in next post because I don't want to lose this post that I just tried (badly) recreating. Hope you all have a good Friday!

 

[missy]

Post continued....OK our "wonderful" week continues.

Greg brought the 4 cats in to my sister yesterday for their annual check up. And I hope everyone is sitting down. They have fleas.

Imagine our shock. OMG. Fleas. Sigh. Never had any experience with them and have no clue about anything to do with fleas.
And the worst part is we don't know how they got them and if we don't know how they got them how do we prevent it from happening again after treatment is over? And having 2 homes is a real pain once again as both homes must be treated.

Debbie treated all of the 4 yesterday as soon as she diagnosed them though Tommy was flea free. The other 3 had a few dead fleas and the fleas poop remnants on them but no live fleas. Not sure what that really means except we have fleas but I guess it could have been worse if there were more fleas or live fleas found. They will be treated once a month for at least 3 more months or until my sister says they are good.

We got home from work yesterday and Greg washed all our bedding and the cat bedding in HOT water and I vacuumed everything as best I could. The cat trees, the rugs, everywhere the cats hang out but it was challenging vacuuming the cat trees as they are deep and curved and I am not sure I did a thorough job but I did the best I could do. And today we must do the same at the beach house. The fun continues.


As soon as Greg called me yesterday AM I arranged exterminators to come to both homes today. Now I know that is crazy because the kitties and Greg and I have to evacuate both homes and we will be homeless for a while but I was anxious to start this process knowing the sooner the better and we might have to repeat the extermination of the fleas in both homes a few times. I also know the chemicals are toxic but I researched this issue yesterday and the "natural" less toxic treatments don't work as well. period. So I am anxious about the toxicity to the kitties and to us but I chose what I felt to be the lesser of the evils as I am freaked out about the thought of these fleas sucking all our blood. Only big issue today is us having to evacuate both homes and since I didn't speak personally to the exterminator I don't know how long we need to be gone.


Today we are heading to the beach and washing everything we can and vacuuming and b/w 3 and 4 PM the beach house is scheduled for the extermination services. We are going to have to leave when the guy arrives and head back to Brooklyn. I have no clue how long we must stay out of both homes but we are hoping we can go back to our Brooklyn home tonight or else we are in trouble with 4 cats. The super arranged the extermination of our Brooklyn home and the exterminator will be here b/w 1-3 PM today so I just am not sure how all this is going to go down today. I just wanted to get this started and didn't want to wait. We cannot stay with my parents as they have their FeLV positive kitty and I cannot expose our cats to him sadly. And my good friend who lives in our building is terribly allergic to cats. Hoping it all works out and we can come back to Brooklyn this evening. I hope the toxicity wears off enough within a few hours so we can return.


And the other (way more terrible) news I received this week that I had not yet shared with you girls because I was (and still am) in shock is that 2 wonderful men who I greatly admired and respected tragically died recently.
I am in shock because they were both young and the saying "Only the good die young" has been ringing through my brain all week.

These 2 men were there for me (way before I found you girls or PS) during a traumatic time of my life and reached out to help me without my even asking. Brilliant, generous, kind men and the world has lost 2 very special people. D was only 37 and P only 48. My heart has broken and the grief is strong. My heart goes out to their families, their loved ones and all the people they have touched their too few years on this earth. RIP D and P.

Sorry to share this tragic news here and I am still processing all of this as I just found out earlier this week. But since it is weighing heavily on my mind I felt I had to share it with you and I knew you would listen and understand.

I cannot make sense of their deaths and the way the world works and as a good friend said to me earlier this week when I shared this news with her-the universe can really suck. It sure can.

When I say these men were just the best the kindest and most generous and brilliant men I am not exaggerating. Why did this happen? Why does the world work like this?

I am sending lots of good energy out to all of us and all our loved ones for good things to start happening to everyone and for life to be a little bit sweeter for a (hopefully) long while. Lots of good luck ****DUST**** and positive vibes being sent to everyone and lots of love and hugs too. Light to cast out the dark and hope to cast out the despair and good to cast out the bad and love to cast out the ignorance and hate in this world and love to make our lives sweeter and kinder and more gentle. ((((HUGS))).

 

[Scandinavian]

Oh Missy, I'm so sorry for everything !!! You week really isn't the best..

I wanted to add a "I'm very sad for you" symbol, but all I could find that looked sad was "snore" and that really is not the same..

Tons of hugs !!!

 

[missy]

Oh Missy, I'm so sorry for everything !!! You week really isn't the best..

I wanted to add a "I'm very sad for you" symbol, but all I could find that looked sad was "snore" and that really is not the same..

Tons of hugs !!!

Thanks sweet Scandi. You are a bright part of my life sweetheart and I want you to know that. When I wake up every morning I look forward to our chats here and our chats off the forum too. Thank you for being my friend. (((HUGS))).

 

[Scandinavian]

Oh Missy, I'm so sorry for everything !!! You week really isn't the best..

I wanted to add a "I'm very sad for you" symbol, but all I could find that looked sad was "snore" and that really is not the same..

Tons of hugs !!!

Thanks sweet Scandi. You are a bright part of my life sweetheart and I want you to know that. When I wake up every morning I look forward to our chats here and our chats off the forum too. Thank you for being my friend. (((HUGS))).

Always

 

[MarionC]

I like the snore emoticon- so useful for so many occasions

I'm back! I'm back!
On a real computer where things can be read and responded to.

I don't even know where to begin [about the last month] and there is so much catching up to do.
So, after a little reading of "As the NIRDIs Turn" will catch up with you all later.

 

[junebug17]

Hey all -

Will be back later for a proper check-in but just wanted to tell you Missy that I am so very sorry for the loss of your friends, so very sad and tragic, sending thoughts of comfort and support to you.

Ugh, so sorry to hear about the fleas too, it's a mystery as to how they got them, for sure. You've been having a rough time of it and I'm thinking of you. (((hugs)))

Jimmianne, so happy to have you back! (although I know you were sad to leave France - but I'm selfish that way! )

 

[missy]

Hi Junie, thank you honey and (((hugs))) back at ya. Love your hugs.


Hi, Jimmianne, welcome home!

Scandi, (((hugs))).


I just spoke with the extermination company in Brooklyn. They don't do the fog flea treatment. They only use a spray. Hope that is effective. They said as long as we don't have respiratory problems we can return in a few hours. But if we have asthma or other respiratory issues we need to wait 12 hours before returning. Greg, I and Fred have respiratory issues but I'm hoping we will be ok because 12 hours isn't feasible. Fingers crossed.

I don't know what our NJ extermination company uses but since we will be there when he comes to treat our NJ house I will find out in real time. It's just we aren't going to be in our Brooklyn home when the Brooklyn extermination person comes there so just wanted to find out beforehand.

I'm already tired and the day is just starting. Wish me luck girls as we need it today. Thanks and have a good Friday!

 

[missy]

Rainwood this photo is just for you. From yesterday. Yoshi all comfy and cozy. He is a love. They all are.


Omg I love them so much and am so happy and relieved they are together and well and happy! And I know all you girls were there with me every step of the way wishing them all the best and sending good thoughts their way. Thank you so much for all your love and support and good wishes for all the fur babies.

 

[rainwood]

Missy, thanks for the lovely photo of Yoshi!! So cute with his front legs folded over his tail. And HE loves a tote bag too, just like me. Yoshi can be my virtual cat!!

Sorry to hear about the fleas. What a pain for you and Greg and the cats!! Can you have a few windows open in Brooklyn when you get back and turn the heat up to compensate? At least you know about it though and are doing all the right things to prevent a big infestation, and the fleas haven't spread to Tommy or you and Greg.

And I'm very sorry to hear of the death of your two friends. Something like that can rock you to your core. I lost a close friend in January who died in a car accident. I'd just been to his house for dinner a couple of times less than 10 days before and it was a shock. Everybody has their own way of dealing with death. I never found the question "why?" to be helpful because there is no actual answer. There are lots of platitudes and cliches (don't get me started on those) that people say in response to that question, but no real answers. There is only the loss and the privilege of having known them while they lived.

And in the worst possible segue, I will post the "buns" photo just for you when I'm at my other computer. Hang in there, Missy.

 

[MarionC]

Missy, I'm sorry to hear about the death of your friends. It IS hard to fathom, well, impossible really.
Sending you love and good thoughts.
Good lord, fleas. I hope you have seen the last of them. Where in the world did they come from?!
Here it's a given...fleas, ticks...you name it, but where you are it seems you should not have that darned problem. Your kitties are too precious to have fleas. Not fair : (

Rainwood, I enjoyed your photos of the ancient art and the lovely Thanksgiving table. I hope you are doing well. You are quite a traveller. When did you get the travel bug? and what is it, do you think, that makes it so appealing?

Marcy, you really do stay in a job for the long haul. Quite impressive. People tend to make people like us crazy, so I know you've got to have some serious discipline going for you.

LLJs I've got to go back more pages...did you ever decide on a setting?

June, someday this will all be behind you. I wish I could come help with going through the house. Sometimes it's easier for someone not emotionally involved to do some of the work!

Gypsy, how's it going? I think of you and can relate to the ups and downs. It's quite a pain, but you are so strong. yes. I'm glad we are all together here on this thread and can share both the good and the not so good times.

I have a serious jet lag thing going on, but I am so happy to be home. I think I've advanced in my weird "split-life dilemma" and can be happy in both places. I am loving being back on the farm. I guess it helps that it was bitter cold in France...and was 74 degrees here when I got off the plane : )
Still on abroad time and got up at 2am and painted 2 upper kitchen cabinets. I'll have to post a photo. Please don't tell me if they are awful. My mind is not working quite right perhaps, but I like them : ) The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was that my kitchen was so GREEN. and I didn't like it, so I found a can of lavender paint under the sink and thought - why not. KITCHEN is my new passion after taking the cooking lesson. Yesterday ordered a bright red counter top oven and meanwhile made the garlic-ginger chicken in filo from the cooking class. Amazingly, I can cook! and a microwave does not have to be the main kitchen appliance!
I will share the recipes soon.

hugs everyone

 

[rainwood]

Missy, here's the buns photo. He's in excellent shape, don't you think? That double beaded thong must be quite uncomfortable though. Ouch!



Jimmianne, if your paint job on the cabinets has kindled a desire to cook, then it's perfect regardless of what it looks like. If it brings you joy, it's exactly right. And I so admire your gumption to buy a house in France. And that you now love both places. That's the sign of a great decision.

I didn't have the resources or time to travel until later than most. We always vacationed with relatives when I was a kid and as a young adult, vacations were short and almost always close by (i.e., the West Coast). Had only been east of the Mississippi once until I was in my 30's. But I love to travel and really haven't been able to for the last 10 years because of DH's health and not being able to find a good care option for our Lab (we tried EVERYTHING). So now's my chance to catch up and see other places. I love being able to see how people in other countries live, what makes a place special, what they eat, how they shop, what they appreciate, and bring some of those ideas back with me as memories, photos, or tweaking how I cook or eat or decorate or think. It makes life better and richer for me, and I hope I can always be open to new ideas and ways of living in the world.

Not to say that I can't be a princess. I still want a comfortable bed and good food and a nice shower so camping is now something I leave to others, but I'm willing to try a lot of things. I wish I could post one of the videos of the rib boat trip we took through the Norwegian fjords. We were just blasting through the water. It was so much fun and I'm glad my sister is up for those kinds of things even though she's even older than me!

Headed to the island tomorrow after not being there in ages so will wait to post my surfer and beach photos when I come back. I need to be a responsible adult and take care of some business and paperwork today. Plus do some much needed cleaning. Have a great weekend!

 

[MarionC]

Rainwood, yes I love the paint job. In the past few years I've gone minimalist and low key, but suddenly I want to wake up my house. I think I was depressed as there was a total void of warm color. I think these lavender cabinet fronts will go well with the new red counter top oven across the room. I had thought the France house would be Boho Chic, but when I got there, it really wanted muted peacefulness, so I guess the farm is going Boho instead!

I'm so happy for you that you get to do what you love in terms of travel. You are very adventurous. Have you ever thought of starting a travel blog? It would be fun to read and look at photos.
Speaking of photos, that buns shot may send quite a few PSers to the gym to get in shape : )
It's really a beautiful sculpture and a Very interesting, uncomfortable outfit!

Did you say you bought three tickets this week? Where to?

When I got home my photos would not load from my phone and I ended up with Apple Tech support on & off for half a day. They had me download El Captain and it changed the way every function works on the computer plus I can't send emails from it and must use my phone. I googled El Captain and it is notorious for bugs and problems, so beware.

I'm getting la fever diamond again. why oh why?! I left my asscher ring in France on purpose to stop obsessing about it and am thinking, Missy, that we should visit Adam early in the New Year. Did you see that cute video on facebook of the Aussie playing with the kitten? I'm also thinking that Issy might like a kitten for christmas. I know your area is known for diamonds and kitties

 

[MarionC]

Pink bedroom. Before, in progess, more progress:

removing the "too much" furniture through upstairs window...

starting to dig to see what was under the carpet

The old tiles uncovered


garden laundry & WC. before and after:

 

[MarionC]

The road behind the house


Sunday flea market

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Rainwood, Ooh I like that photo. Hate the umm contraption he is wearing however but yes to that photo. Those are some nice buns. Carb free.

Haha yes Yoshi is your virtual kitty who enjoys a nice handbag or 2.

I am so sorry about your friend's death this past January, what a horrible shock and tragedy. Of course you are right. Asking why is just a colossal waste of mental energy and I usually don't do it except for specific situations like this. Where someone so good dies so young. But yes it is just wasted energy and no point. It reminds me of another friend who died in his 20s who was in this same group of friends. I knew him only for a few years before he died though I got to know him well enough to know he was an angel on earth. Good, noble, brave, strong and kind. And so smart. And so young. It was a great loss to all who knew these men and it was a privilege to know them and consider them friends.

I forgot to respond to something you said to CJ a few pages back. Thank you for sharing what to say to someone whose spouse has died and how to be more sensitive. Not to ask how they are doing because it puts them on the spot and puts them in an uncomfortable position. I don't have many friends who have lost their spouses and I don't think it is always intuitive to know the right thing to say or do or if just listening is best so I appreciate your input and am going to go back and reread your response.

This thread can move fast and sometimes I forget to respond to specific comments until weeks have passed and sometimes I forget completely. The Holy Basil suggestion is another piece of advice I forgot to comment on though I had bought it (twice over the past year or 2 lol based on your rec). I took 2 pills last night and it seemed good but then I woke at 2AM up until 4 AM but then I took an antihistamine (Chlortrimeton) and was able to fall back to sleep. It sure takes me a lot of effort to sleep and stay sleeping sometimes. But I feel OK this AM because I slept until 8AM.

I am very happy you are going with your urge to travel and enjoy new places. Traveling to different parts of the world is very exciting and satisfying and I always enjoyed meeting new people when I traveled and learning about the different cultures and ways of life in other places. I used to enjoy traveling a lot and went to many different countries and also visited lots of states in the USA and enjoyed all my travels.

But for some reason as I got older that travel excitement left me and I am (for now) content to stay near home. Though I enjoy road trips very much. I am just so picky about where I sleep (as in mattress and pillows) and what I can eat comfortably without issues that travel has become less fun. Not to mention my irrational (yes I am aware it is irrational) fear of flying that I cannot or do not want to get over so right now I am content to travel b/w the homes. And a critical factor are the cats because with 4 very finicky difficult cats there is just no one I have who can watch them successfully and make sure each of them eats and is OK. Even with Greg -if he feeds them very often Bobby and Tommy won't eat and I must be there to coax them to eat. Seriously. So there is no suitable pet sitter as of now and I am OK with staying here with my loved ones.

So I am glad you are getting to live that travel dream and I like the suggestion Jimmianne had of starting a travel blog if you are so inclined. But no matter what you decide I like seeing all the places you go and the different ways of life you get to experience and I am living a bit vicariously through you right now if that is OK. So please continue sharing the experiences and photos with us and thank you.
Looking forward to the surfer photos when you have time and I hope you are having a wonderful weekend at your island house! Hope everything is in working order and that you have just the most lovely weekend there after a long time away.

I dreamed last night about forgetting my black tie accessories including shoes and handbag and it was an upsetting dream because I had no shoes to wear and we were heading to the event. LOL. My dreams are always so not peaceful or restful and I wouldn't mind if I worked out the issues in my dreams so my life was peaceful and calm. I think I was working that particular issue out in my dreams due to the black tie reception we had scheduled to go to next weekend. Good news is Greg spoke to his colleague about the black tie event this past week and told him we just weren't going to be able to go because too many things were happening and he totally understood. We told him with enough time that he wouldn't have to pay for us and of course we are still sending him a great gift. So I feel immense relief.

I am sorry Scandi because I know you are probably a little disappointed as I won't be getting all dolled up and wearing my pretty new black tie dress next weekend but I just don't have the energy and didn't want to suck it up if you kwim. Not only am I am old soul and an old lady and I am no fun either. It is going to be a huge extravaganza with 3 live bands, surprise guests and pulling out all the stops and if I was in a different frame of mind maybe but even on my best day I am not that social with large groups of people. Greg said he was totally fine with me not wanting to go and he was the one who insisted on me telling him the truth so I did and he spoke to P and explained it to him. So HUGE relief and no disappointment at all.

Scandi, how is your weekend progressing? Hope you are enjoying the last of autumn and looking forward to more pretty snow that I know you and your kids (fur baby included) love.

Jimmianne, I LOVE the colors you painted the kitchen cabinets and it does give a peaceful calm vibe. Very relaxing and lovely and the colors are complementary. And I should know I am a Project Runway fan as well as all those home shows on HGTV. I LOVE this stuff. Looks great and very European IMO. As does that Flea Market wow! LOVE that. That photo of the flea market actually looks very similar to a flea market we went to last month in Englishtown NJ. LOL they all have similar wares though you can certainly find little hidden gems there too. Greg got a great set of tools there last time we went and a wonderful set of shears too.

Your bedroom is coming along quite nicely. Cannot wait to see the whole house finished. Greg and I watched a great tv series on HGTV this past summer about couples competing redoing a home one room at a time. LOVED the show and it was so satisfying seeing how amazing the transformations were at reasonable costs.

When are you heading back to France? I hope you are recovering from your jet lag. It is an unpleasant side effect of long distance travel. Greg used to keep himself on EST when he traveled anywhere for business and that helped him avoid jet lag but that is only manageable for shorter business trips and when you are away for a month plus it won't work. You must get on their time.

Anyway hoping you are recovering and feeling good and we are glad you are back! OH and yes please put me down for a trip early 2017 to visit Adam!!!! And you!!! Let's do it! Winter is so sad for me and it would be lovely to have your visit to look forward to and you never know what either of us might buy. I haven't bought bling for many many many months and have a bling buying desire burning a hole in my soul (and pockets LOL) so bring it on.


Oh and Boo to Apple Support. How could they have you download something known for bugginess? ugh. But at least it didn't give you fleas. Sorry I couldn't resist. Gotta make it a funny situation so I don't cry about it yanno? And things are looking (cautiously) optimistic. Got both homes exterminated yesterday and the cats are being treated and we vacuumed quite thoroughly before extermination of both homes and well now we wait. Neither extermination services noted any fleas in the home but we were not present at the brooklyn extermination services so I am just going by what our Super said. And at the NJ home our exterminator said there were no fleas but I don't feel he did a thorough investigation but well Greg said let's trust them and their expertise and take it as it comes and see what happens so that is what we are doing.

NJ guy is coming back in 2 weeks to reevaluate and retreat but we have no such follow up appointment in brooklyn so I have to contact our Super next week and ask him to please schedule a follow up. Not sure of the Brooklyn company's protocol and perhaps they don't do a follow up but I would like to get them back here to respray. It turns out no one does the fogger process anymore as it is too invasive to people and pets but I sure hope just spraying certain areas is sufficient. From my research on fleas they can be challenging little buggers to get rid of and I don't want to be dealing with this issue for years to come if you kwim. But one day at a time and just happy to be finished with yesterday's exhausting day. But I am still quite itchy. Uh oh... Please let it not be from fleas or anything bad. Let it just be dry skin from dry air from the winter lack of humidity...


Hope everyone has a great weekend and sending hugs your way.

 

[missy]

Hahaha forgot to share what happened last night on our way home from the Beach house. First time ever and for it to happen after our day yesterday well oh so appro pro LOL. Fred managed to unzip his carrier while we were on the expressway and there was no where we could pull over.

So he escapes and climbs onto the Poland Spring waters we had just bought at Costco on the way home. OMG and we were traveling at 60 mph and there he is balanced very precariously on the waters that were not an even surface. And he is elderly. And my heart was in my throat because we couldn't stop and we couldn't slow down as we had to keep up with all the traffic. OY. OY. OY. Well I had to put Francesca back in her carrier (as she sits on my lap during our road trips back and forth to beach house due to her motion sickness tendencies) and lean back and contort to try getting him back into his carrier. He was unreachable though but finally he decided he had enough fun (LOL) and went back and I reached back and zipped up his carrier and relief. We arrived home about 30 minutes later and fortunately no kitties were harmed in the taking of these photographs. Enjoy!

 

[Scandinavian]

Good afternoon girls

I'm so far behind, I don't know where to start..

Jimmianne, WELCOME HOME !!! I love your pictures, very French The house is coming along so well and it looks like you had a wonderful trip / stay But the one picture that really stole my heart is the one labelled "road behind the house" or something like that. So *so* beautiful! Good idea to leave your ring and go bling shopping

Marcy, hope you get the new guy and that he is really good, and that he does not leave.. Fingers crossed! How is your weekend?

Missy, I don't know where to begin! I just want to give you a hug! The fleas! That is so horrible! I would have totally freaked out.. And you have "inside" cats, so how oh how did they get them?? Perhaps you have fleas and have given it to them, lol. Sorry. Not a nice joke. But it is just so hard to understand. Same with your friends that died. Sometimes the world is not fair or possible to understand. Same with some people in it. I have given up trying to understand parts of it, it is just bad luck or coincidences I guess. Does not make it any less horrible though.

Jimmianne, I love your lavender colour! I would not have picked it, because I'm boring, but it is a very nice colour! We are going for a blue kitchen when the house is finished (in other words: next summer) and I love to see that not everybody choose a white kitchen. Gives me hope that I'm not insane, lol. I also love that you just painted it on impulse. I do those kind of things, drives my DH nuts, lol. Like when I threw out our bed because I decided that the matrass was horrible. He thinks that I should have checked delivery dates for a new one before throwing out the old one.. But where is the fun in that??

I have a friend that is a writer, and she had a book release last Thursday, so when there to lend some support. Kind of fun. Not really my thing, but I think it is so great of her to follow her dream, and now she has gotten her third book published Wish it was in English so I could send it to you all. Very Scandinavian, lol.

Friday - working. DH had a work thing, so I was working from home until he came home late. Efficient but boring.

Saturday - today Long walk with doggie

Sunday - shopping and a out door kind of Christmas show with friends. Should be popular with the children I hope - the show part at least. My mother is dog sitting so that should be fine for furbaby too

Merry weekend!! (I'm getting ready for the holidays )

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, I am so sorry to hear about your friends. Big hugs to you. I hate to hear about the fleas too. I hope you can get rid of them easily. Grr to having problems with your Mac Air. Great picture of Yoshi. I don’t blame you for not wanting to go to that big extravaganza. I’ll go to things sometimes because Marty wants to go but it never breaks my heart when we come home. What an adventure on the road that Fred got out of his cage. He wanted to see what was going on out there.

Scandi, my weekend has been good so far. How is your weekend? How cool you have a friend who had a book published. I am sure she appreciated you showing up at her book release. Speaking of books in foreign languages last year for Christmas we gave a friend of ours a Gordon Ramsey cookbook that was in Serbian. Marty found it in a book store when he was in Serbia. She keeps saying she is going to make us something out of it and have us over for supper.

Jimmianne, welcome back! I am an adapter that is for sure. Your purple cabinets look great and the frog handle is so cute. Ooh diamond fever. I was looking at home dangle earrings but reminded myself I am not spending money on jewelry for awhile. Really.

Junebug, love the buns photo. I am glad you are adventuresome and enjoy traveling.

This morning I saw the price on the TV we bought was $300 less than what we paid so we headed off to Best Buy to get a partial refund. It worked great. The customer service lady didn’t bat an eye. Gave us credit and then told me watch prices through Christmas because if it goes cheaper we can come back and get the difference again. We of course spent that money while we were there. We got a Blu Ray 4K player and a few 4K movies. We just finished Reverent. Holy cow! I don’t know if you’ve seen that movie but it was intense. I kept looking away from the TV frequently. I told Marty next time I think I’m having a bad day I’ll think about that movie and realize my bad day is nothing like the life those people in that movie had every day.

We also went to our favorite kitchen store and then ate Italian for lunch. It was a fun day.

It is cold and windy here but no snow until later this week. Winter is definitely getting our attention now.

Marcy

 

[marcy]

Here is my niece's sapphire ring on her hang. The sapphire is kind of a teal color and is a sapphire my sister found in her bag of tailings from a mine in Montana which she then had faceted.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls and happy Sunday!

Scandi, hope your weekend plans are progressing nicely and that all are enjoying. I love long walks with the dog. I used to walk my friend's dog every week when she was working and then when she retired I accompanied her on my days off and went to the park with them and long walks. Sadly Harry is gone now for a few years and they aren't getting another dog so I have no one to live vicariously through re dogs right now. Maybe one day we can get our own but I don't know if that dream will ever come true. Having animals takes work and energy especially when things (and they will) go wrong. But so worth the love and companionship animals bring. Have fun today at the show with the kids and friends.

Marcy, I love your niece's beautiful ring. Where is your other niece's ring? May we see a photo if you have one? Lucky lucky girls! Yay for saving a few hundred on the TV and then sharing it right back with the economy buying more stuff! We sure do our part to get the economy moving don't we? I bought another pair of Stuart Weitzman boots yesterday but ouch on the tax. It was a spontaneous purchase as I don't need any more boots. They are the 5050 city boot in gray suede so since I don't have the city boot I thought oh well might as well and honestly if it wasn't for Greg I would have passed on getting them but he is such an enabler. He and Callie were urging me to by both pairs (gray and brown suede lol). But I resisted. Greg was like just get both of them and then I sent Callie photos and she said yes get both but I chose the Gray. Seriously NO MORE boots for me. I literally have no place to store them! But they sure are purty.

Winter is getting our attention too Marcy speaking of cold and windy. That is our weather right now. Wind chills in the 20s this minute though it is too warm and toasty in our apartment. Even with all the windows open. Winter weather can wreak havoc with all the indoor heating and outdoor dry wind and cold temps.

We went to the Oculus yesterday downtown Manhattan. Called a transportation hub. And what a fantastic day. We accidentally and luckily caught a performance of the Nutcracker that was amazing and the whole place is gorgeous. They had live music and live acts throughout and lots of great (case in point Stuart Weitzman) stores. We really enjoyed ourselves and got to do a lot of walking indoors but with the sunlight streaming through as it is glass and open to the outside with marble floors everywhere. Really pretty place and the first time I was there. But it won't be the last. I am a fan! Will share some photos. Of course.

First up the outside of the Oculus and then the Freedom Tower next to it.

Photos continued next post.

 

[missy]

More pics. Including the performance we caught of the Nutcracker. It was wonderful and it is inspiring me to buy tickets for the performance at Lincoln Center in January. Hope we can get tickets and that it is not all sold out. I miss doing that stuff with Greg. Ballet, Opera, classical at Carnegie Hall and the Philharmonic. Time to enjoy all that this winter and I hope I'm not too late in getting tickets. I usually plan way more in advance but have dropped the proverbial ball this year!

 

[missy]

And they have an Apple store at the Oculus which is the store Greg went to this week to get my computer fixed and then re-fixed lol after they placed the keys in the wrong position. So we went there too. And wow it wasn't crowded at all. Amazing because every Apple store in NYC always seems mobbed. Anyway I had the opportunity to take a few Bea photos because she enjoys the lighting there so much. And she ahsnt been cleaned for over a week (bad PSer !) but I think she still looks lovely. Minus my red hands though. My hands get red easily and I had been just trying on boots at the SW store. LOL the salesman had me try on all the styles for fun because he knows how many pairs I have and that they are all the flat boots and he wanted me to try the ones with higher heels. So I did because hey what boot lover would pass up trying on boots LOL. But it was warm in there and hence the red hands while taking pics of Bea.

Sorry the pics are out of order. It is taking a long time to send them to my email from my phone and download on my laptop to share with you so please bear with me.