Now I really did it :((

[jaaron]

Hi Everyone,

It's been a madly busy week.

Marcy- Glad to hear you didn't end up getting too sick. There are some seriously nasty things around at the moment-- take good care of yourself. Did that guy really hang up on you? I'd be seeing red. I think you should volunteer to do his performance review next year. And holy crap is right about the wind. Is it really routine for trucks to blow over? I'm the type who's warning my husband that it's gusty out when we're driving and the wind is approaching, like, 5 mph. Maybe walking into it is why Marty is so fit? Do you snow shoe too? My FIL is a huge fan-- I like cross country skiing, but snow shoeing is way too much work to be enjoyable as far as I'm concerned. And I have to ask - is the sister in the mall the one with the rules on how to contact her properly? I do hope you haven't broken any... I'm enjoying the vicarious pendant shopping, and your new teddy is too cute. Does he (she?) have a name?

Callie - I hope you're starting to feel back to normal. Is it just me or is Pain Pills & Politics a timely name for a blog or podcast?

Missy- Wow! You had a when-it-rains-it-pours week. Glad the door turned out to not be too serious, and I hope your MIL feels better and doesn't need to be readmitted. My father had a scary medical incident last year which ended up getting so bad because he ignored the early signs (not only ignored, but got on a long haul flight to present a paper at a conference even though my mother 'suggested' he cancel). Thankfully, he made a full recovery. He did admit afterwards that now that he's nearly 80 he can't just do what he's always done and assume it's nothing and will go away on its own. I love all the pictures- the snow day ones look so happy and innocent,and the kitties are adorable--I hope the ferals are handling the weather ok. I hope you won't be offended if I say that your beach chairs don't look too tempting at the moment... My son's university cancelled classes today for the first time in over 50 years.

Re tv shows- We tried one episode of Schitt's Creek and didn't get into it. I watched a few episodes of Red Oaks and enjoyed them ok, but never got back to it. I've been liking This Is Us (if you liked Parenthood...). I also really liked Divorce and the first season of Catastrophe, but you have to be able to laugh at some fairly unpleasant people. If you want to try two British comedies, I highly recommend Outnumbered and Friday Night Dinner--both strange, but in a good way. I'm definitely going to check out Miss Fisher, as long as someone can assure me it's nothing like Midsomer Murders...

Kristie- Hi! Nice to meet you. Was it a felony or a misdemeanor (as you can see, I have no idea what we're talking about)?

Sharon - surely Canadians pride themselves on not needing wimpy snow days?! My husband grew up in Northern Vermont and they definitely look down their noses at people who think a measly foot and a half and windchill of negative 30 is anything to complain about.

Hi Junebug and Jimianne.

LLJsmom- Hi! That looks like a fantastic trip. How long were you there for? And did you go other places?

CJ2008 - Hi. Really sorry about the funeral. It must be so hard for everyone.

Scandi - Your girl is so gorgeous. I thought of her on the weekend - we were out in the country and met an 8 month old Italian Pointer who was in the midst of a training session, which she promptly abandoned to act like a hooligan with my two. I don't think her owner was too pleased. Is that a tracking collar on yours? I love the last picture. She looks like "Later, Mom."

Poodles4me- Hi! Thank you for seconding the recommendation. Will definitely try it.

I've been super busy with work and trying to juggle this ever-expanding long distance renovation. I can't decide if it's better to be in the middle of it or trust from afar that it's all fine. My main tasks are choosing/buying/ordering things on the internet and signing checks. Shouldn't be too bad, but somehow it piles up.

We had a little excitement here last night when, at 2:30 am someone got on our roof and tried to break in through the skylights in our bedroom. My H scared him off while I called the police, who arrived very quickly but there was no sign of him. We had some new security fencing installed on the perimeter wall today and the alarm is on tonight! We do have a monitored panic alarm next to the bed, but neither of us thought to use it Good thing we're not a gun family, one of us would probably be missing a limb today. And our fierce dogs... one of them was asleep in his bed right next to ours and didn't even crack an eyelid, the other was totally silent while someone was trying to smash the house in, but went insane barking and growling when the police arrived. Told them both today they might be getting traded in for a German Shepherd. I don't think they took me seriously.

Hope everyone has a great day-- stay away from the flu and be careful in the crazy weather.

 

[Calliecake]

OMG Jaaron!!! I am so glad everyone is okay. When you said someone was trying to break in I thought you had raccoons on the roof, not a person!! I hope you are going to be able to sleep again soon. I would be freaked out for months. Too funny about your Furbabies. Ours is really good about protecting me if the husband is out of town. The slightest noise she flies off the bed barking her fool head off and she doesn't stop until the whole neighborhood can hear her. When he is home if she hears something out of the ordinary she will often just growl under the covers. Pain Pills and Politics go perfectly together for the next four years. I'm in trouble because I only have ibuprofen. I'm tired of waking up and wondering what stupid thing Trump will do today. Then I remind myself that half of the country feels the same way. Misery really does love company.

Marcy, Skip the rocks and go straight to bricks!

Thanks for the recommendations for the shows girls. I love This Is US.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, Marty got me a Gund calendar for Christmas (they make stuffed animals) and that bear was on the cover. It’s what caught my attention when we were looking at calendars.

Missy, good question. I haven’t named my new Teddy Bear yet. Any suggestions? I think it should be a girl’s name; she looks so happy and content. I hope the cardiologist figures out how to get your MIL feeling better. That is very scary and worrisome for all of you. I can’t even imagine how much a diamond that size would sell for; it is sure pretty. There are not many shows I like to watch anymore but I like to watch movies. I turn some of them off pretty quickly though. I am anxious for the release of Planet Earth 11 series starting Saturday. I love the fabulous photography in documentaries like that. I actually just ordered a 4K IMAX blue ray that has 3 shows are it; tornados, Grand Canyon and the Universe. I had a $25 in Best Buy dollars so I thought I’d use it to buy a movie. Your view of NYC and my view of the sprawled-out city where I live is dramatically different. I see lots of buildings in your neck of the woods.

Jaaron, sorry you’ve had a very busy week. That guy has been very nice to me the few times I’ve talked to him since he hung up on me. That is such childish behavior. Yes, we have semis blow over here during our high wind storms. One time on our way to Denver we saw about 20 of them on their sides in about a 30 mile stretch. I swear I go 100 passing them on windy days. As you can tell from that video a gust can come from anywhere. I don’t snow shoe or ski; that is nice your FIL likes to snow shoe. I am glad you like to cross country ski. I know quite a few people who do that around here. Yes, that was the sister I ran in to at the mall. I have not sent her a text or an email; I should send her some blank ones and see how long it takes me to ask me about them. I am the “evil” sister. Ha Ha. She did say something that caught my attention. We were discussing taking flowers to the cemetery and I told her about the vase I got at the florist that has a spike on the bottom. She asked me why I’ve never put up the vases on their marker. I replied we didn’t get them on the marker. She says yes we did; you just have to unscrew those little circles and they are under there. I asked her why she never put them up to use and she actually said “I thought you were keeping them to use for yourself”. I wanted to say what kind of b***h to you think I am?” But I am the peacekeeper and I said I didn’t know they were there so please use them any time you wish. I asked Marty to go out sometime and see if they are really there. IMO I think it’s just the place you put the vases but I don’t think there are any vases under there. I am very glad to hear your father made a full recovery. I am glad he finally went to a doctor. LOL to your DH’s perception of bad weather. Marty works from home too; it can be nice and hard for him too. That is so scary someone tried to break in to your place last night. I am glad your husband was able to scare them off. Too funny your furbabies didn’t utter a sound at the attempted intruder but did a lot of barking at the police.

Callie, I hate to hear you are only using ibuprofen. I like Extra Strength Excedrin the best when I am really hurting. It seems to work the better for me anyway. I hope you continue to feel better every day. That is cute your furbaby is so protective when your DH is gone but just growls when he’s there. He’s like saying – okay there is a problem – you take care of it. I wish I could afford going for a brick. I am struggling to justify paying for a rock right now.

Hi Poodles4me.

Not much going on with me today. I went to work and printed out reports for 6 days instead of 3 days so I looked at everything through Saturday. Woo hoo! I’m ahead of the game this week.

Tomorrow will be a bit chaotic at work anyway; they are having 2 open Q&A sessions about our company change that will be broadcast from another facility. I am sure it will generate more questions than it answers. I set both broadcasts to record so I can listen to them at my leisure.

We had leftover roast beef for supper. I heated it up in the oven at about 250 degrees so it worked well then made some mashed potatoes and gravy. Marty brewed up a big salad.

Marty had the crud so he doesn’t feel well today. I told him that is what happens when he mixes with all the germs out in the world. Around the house he is exposed to me and some assorted stuffed animals.

I almost emailed WF today about a few diamonds. BG has a signature blue that has very strong fluorescence that seems about $1000 less than other ¾ carat signature blues. It makes me wonder what’s wrong with it. It is an I; I think that would face up with in a .71 carat size but worry the very strong blue might look too different from my ering diamond. I can go with that place in Denver because it will be very easy to upgrade if I want a larger sized diamond eventually but knowing me I will think it’s not as nice as my ACA.

I got the estimate on my yellow sapphire dangles and he said it would cost about $600. I was hopping more in the $500 region but agreed to the price. That is almost $400 less than the other place. I could have opted for studs but I have so few dangle earrings I like I thought I may as well go for them.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[azstonie]

Hey Marcy, re the fluorescence, more than mild can render a 'sleepy' appearance (what the GIA coursework says).

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning girls

Hope you are all having a nice week!

OMG Jaaron! I'm just happy you are all OK! How can people be so rude?? If they want to break in, at least they could stay out of the bedroom when you are sleeping! Not really dressed for company during the night... (sorry, bit of black humour there, kind of typical for my family..) So weird that your furbabies didn't mind though.. Probably because they were not coming through the door! Dogs are much smarter than criminals - they know that the proper procedure for guests is to knock on the door !! LOL to that pointer you met! No, I'm sure the owner was not too impressed with the "lets play" attitude - the hunting dogs are not supposed to even notice other dogs during training...

Funny story: my great grand uncle - or something like that - was really high up in the police. After he retired, they had a break-in in their house - and they slept through it... The thieves left his police badge on the table in the living room for them to find in the morning... My something-something aunt was not too happy... and very efficient in having alarms installed! (Not really normal with alarms here in the good old days).

Which reminds me - here, most people actually confuse the pronunciation of the words "aunt" and "ant" - can be quite amusing

Missy - stay safe in those winds!! The picture is really good! I like that - a pretty city! Our cities are no so big, so NYC is always looking super big Like something from the movies How are you holding up at work with all those extra patients? From the sound of it, many of the NIRDIs have some work issues these days.. I have a bit of an annoying situation at work as well, I feel like some people do very little and write up very many hours. Causing write-downs that affects us all. And I'm not really having that... so we shall see. I have a bit too much of a temper, so I need to calm down before I do anything (more) about it.

Re TV shows: I actually like Midsummer murders So maybe you should not listen to me But I don't thing Miss Fisher is very much like that one. Except that crimes are being solved and that a few nice big properties are in there.

Marcy, trailers blowing over is not good... But luckily your blue rocket should allow you to pass them swiftly. Perhaps trade it in for a super low car like in the movies? You know, like the ones that can pass under the trucks and change lanes that way? If so, please remember to light it up with blue fluorescent lights under the car...

Jimmianne, how are you? And DD?

LLJsmom, please share more from your trip if you have the time some day

CJ We have missed you

Callie, how are you today? Hope you are better. Re painkillers, no, those are probably not going to help much... I have some left overs from I broke my ankle that might do the trick though.. fast working post-surgery morphine capsules... But not nearly enough for 4 years, sorry about that... Too cute that your furry baby doesn't bother defending you when DH is home - probably thinks he should do the job instead... My little girls is really not aggressive at all. Ever. With one exception. We have a very (!!) large orange neighbour cat that keeps teasing her. It will come over and sit just a feet or two from our window and hiss at her, knowing very well that she can not go through the glass... Not very nice of the cat in my opinion, so I don't really blame her for barking at him.

EDIT: I forgot! I thought that my English was OK, but I have learned a new word from you girls! Snowshoe! We have some, of course, LOL, but only use them when the snow is too "puffy" and deep and the skis sink through. It is kind of fun though! And very much like regular walking if you keep a normal pace instead of trying to run - which is really more of a workout, lol.

Ciao!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Poodles 4 me, it's nice to see you here and thank you for taking the time to share your recommendation of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Foyle's War has been on my radar but we haven't yet gotten around to checking it out. Is it violent? The War in the title has been giving me pause (and lol not the kind of paws I like hahaha) but I will investigate further now that you have kindly recommended that to watch.

How are you doing? I hope you stay a while. I hope all is well with you and your family.

Jaaron, Oh my! How scary! It's one thing to have a break in when one is not home but to actually be home is terrifying. Thank goodness you scared them away and have now taken the proprer precautions with security and an alarm system. I know it seems silly but when we are at the beach house I just prefer having the alarm on the stay mode. Though we are in a relatively very low crime area we all know crime happens everywhere and after the Connecticut family was terrorized and murdered in their home I decided we needed an alarm system. Which I have been very pleased with because it alerts us to other issues (i.e. door open, flood sensor, fire sensor etc.) which is critical since we are not there full time. So relieved you and your family are OK!

LOL on your dogs. To be fair to them you don't know how they would have reacted had the criminals succeeded in breaking into your home so let's not write them off just yet.!!! Hugs to you and your fur babies and again just so relieved you are all OK.(((Hugs))).

Appreciate your recommendations on what to watch and I LOVE British comedies and shows in general. I did not care for Divorce because as you wrote you had to be willing to find humor in very unpleasant people and I just couldn't find it within me to find theme amusing. I guess my frame of mind at the time wasn't receptive to that given our political situation in the USA. I find it colors my perception of people in general and I am less forgiving of people who are not "nice" and not kind overall. If that makes any sense. Have never heard of Catastrophe but will check it out. Thanks.

Re long distance renovation that is challenging. When we renovated our first home together we were living very close by and checked on it every day and there were mistakes to catch. Thank goodness we weren't living through the reno. That I just refuse to do. However living so close by was quite stressful since we were checking on the reno every day. So maybe long-distance is A-OK because even if small mistakes are being made it will all get sorted out in the end. This might be the best way to maintain calm sanity. Good luck and I hope it turns out wonderfully. Have you already shared what you are having done? I am sorry I don't remember if you did and if you care to share I would love to hear the plans.

Thank you for the good wishes for my MIL. More on her below.

Marcy, woohoo on finally getting and accepting the quote to get your sapphire earrings started! I think dangles is a wonderful idea for you given you don't have any. They are versatile and I love the feeling of them swinging gently on my ears. Makes me feel pretty.
Thanks for the recommendations on the documentaries and the Planet Earth series. I enjoy documentaries too sprinkled in with fiction because reality is fascinating but sometimes I want a break from real life. I will give your new (girl) Teddy bear's name some thought. Thanks for your good wishes for my MIL. Good luck with the company change and I hope the Q&As alleviate any worry and stress about it for you. I hope Marty is feeling better today and ooh Brian Gavin Blue is very tempting...

Scandi, your English is better than mine! Plus I am sure you speak more languages than many Americans. I took 2 full years of Spanish in college with one full year being Advanced Spanish literature. Where we read the great Spanish authors in their original text and now I don't think I could read one of those books in Spanish anymore. But I can carry on an eye exam in Spanish. And forget about Hebrew. I attended Hebrew school after regular public school till I got Bat Mitvahed at age 12 (and I graduated with honors too) and now not only don't I know how to read Hebrew I don't remember any of the language at all and couldn't even manage a rough conversation. Sigh. All those years just down the drain with foreign language skills. And as I wrote above I have not even mastered English yet.

OMG that story about your great aunt and uncle's break in and sleeping through the whole thing. Scary. And LOL ant vs aunt. We think people who pronounce it aaaaunt are affected and we say the down to earth ant. But hey that's Brooklyn fer ya. Yo.


Update on my MIL. She was right and the cardiologist admitted her to the hospital yesterday (different hospital this time) and she needs an electrical cardioversion today to attempt to get her heart rate back to normal. Hoping this works and fingers and toes crossed. Not sure how it is going to go down and I just hope her electrophysiologist knows what he/she is doing and can manage to get her heart beating correctly again without much trouble.


Thank you all again for all your kind good wishes for my MIL. Both Greg and I appreciate it very much. My MIL is very religious and she told me she appreciates all my friends thinking good thoughts for her and for those of you so inclined she appreciates your prayers.

Have a good day girls and I am leaving you with a Valentine's day poem. It is from last year with just a few small changes but I thought it would be OK to repost since it is the thought that counts. Well, as long as diamonds are involved that is... (((HUGS))).

Happy Valentine's Day to all my sweet NIRDI girls
You are each more valuable to me than diamonds or pearls

The weather here is harsh and so cold and freezing
that is true, yes
but in our hearts we have love that is warm and comforting
and simply the best

And so I lovingly reach out to each of you and sing
Here's hoping this year to each of you will surely bring

Great health and love and all possible joys
and lots of love from all their girls and boys

May this year bring all the best to each and everyone of you
May health, happiness, joy and prosperity come to each of you

May all the NIRDIs experience only happiness and no more sorrow
And may sweetness and love be with you for each tomorrow

kisses and hugs
and lots of love
Happy Valentine's Day
this 14th of February

 

[junebug17]

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

I'll be back later but wanted to tell you Missy that I'm keeping your MIL in my thoughts…I'm sorry she had to be readmitted and I'm hoping this procedure will work for her.

 

[marcy]

Happy Valentine's Day Ladies!

Missy, sending mega get better wishes to your MIL. I will keep her and all of you in my thoughts.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Happy Valentines Day to all.

Missy, I hope your Mother's procedure goes well (heart on Valentines Day!)

Jaaron: Glad you are safe. Your story gives me shivers--as our house was burgled this year, my car stolen along with personal items. I am still traumatized, and my life has never been the same.

hello to the rest of you NIRDIs.

cheers--Sharon

 

[LLJsmom]

Happy Valentine's Day dear NIRDIs!! Hope you enjoy being with your loved ones. I am going to try to schedule a lunch date at a great burger place with DH. Hugs everyone.

 

[MJ_Mac]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. Happy Valentine's Day to all.

Missy - I'll be sending out long distance good wishes for your MIL. Will they keep her in for a couple of days after the procedure to monitor for complications?

Regarding Foyle's War - don't let the title deter you from watching it. It is a story about a police officer trying to keep peace in war time and his own personal war. There is a certain amount of violence but it's more implied than shown. It is definitely not a gory show. The first episode "The German Woman" is probably the most graphic and it's not bad at all by today's standards. Many of the crimes are a direct result of the war and escalating racial and moral tensions. It gives a good insight into human nature. I won't lie, the show can be very sad and has made us both cry a couple of times. Michael Kitchen is wonderful as the main character Christopher Foyle. Apparently the show was originally cancelled after season 5 so they had to quickly wrap up the series by ending the war. They had many more scripts set in wartime which had to be scrapped which is very unfortunate. Seasons 6 to 8 deal more with the post war aftermath and the cold war. You can tell by the way I go on about this series how much I enjoyed watching it.

Jaaron - how scary! I can't imagine waking up to find someone trying to break in my skylight (if I had one). This is a good reminder to activate the alarm system at night. We got out of the habit because our youngest dog would go nuts barking when my DH would disable it when he left for work in the morning.

Have a good day everyone.

 

[Scandinavian]

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

[marcy]

The Killer Rabbits and the rat out did themselves for Valentine's Day.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

I hope you had a nice Valentine’s Day.

Kristie, I’d worry about that too. I think I’d buy a strong blue diamond for a RHR but probably not what I want for a pendant. I am actually considering looking at I and J super ideal cut though. From what I read online they face up white and especially in the ¾ carat range they aren’t that big of a diamond. Decisions, decisions.

Scandi, how completely scary for your relatives to sleep through their house being robbed. I am a very light sleeper. I doubt Marty would wake up though. I love those workers who don’t put in much effort at work; but to hear them talk they worked very hard all day long. Luckily it’s not always that windy here; the semi driver in the video was fined because that stretch of highway was closed to high profile vehicles that day. Another one of my favorite type of people “rules don’t apply to me”. That is pretty mean of the neighbor’s cat to come over and tease your sweet furbaby.

Missy, that murder in Connecticut was so awful. We got our alarm system when Marty started traveling for work. Dangle earrings are definitely fun to wear and you have so many gorgeous pairs of earrings. I do have a few dangle earrings but none of them are very nice except the aquas but I never wear my aqua ring. I generally like documentaries about science and nature but I hate when they show the real nature of animals in the wild. That upsets me. Thank you for the great Valentine’s poem. It’s awesome. I continue to get PS dust to your MIL.

June, how are you doing? I keep thinking how pretty your fleur ring is; it looks perfect on your hand.

Sharon, I hate to hear you house was burglarized and your car was stolen. I can understand that would be very upsetting.

LLJsmom, how was the great burger place with your DH?

Poodles, Foyles War sounds interesting. I liked the HBO series Band of Brothers.

I’ve been looking at diamonds all night. Oh oh, I’m obsessed now.

Poor Marty is pretty sick. I guess he got up about 2 and went downstairs. He fell asleep in one of his recliners down there. He came upstairs and went to bed when he heard me up and taking a shower. He slept until about 1:30 this afternoon. He sent me a text asking what to cook for supper and I told him not to bother so I picked up burritos for him for supper and got me some tacos.

He’d lined up all the Killer Rabbits on the banister (along with his new rat) and they all had a Peanut’s Valentine for me and a Peanuts pencil. Of course, since the rabbits call me names since I won’t let them eat my Teddy Bears I can’t post pictures of all of them online. I was impressed Marty did that especially as bad as he felt. Marty also bought me 2 new Snoopy charms for my bracelet.

Marty did ask me before he went to bed if I wanted to go look at diamonds in Denver this weekend but I told him I was leaning towards buying one online. It’s a toss-up. I can easily upgrade at the place in Denver but they don’t have ASG0 diamonds anymore. I know I can find a great GIA XXX but I think I’d always wonder if a super ideal cut look better? Monetary wise is probably a wash. Online diamonds are generally cheaper with higher priced jewelry. If I go to Denver I can trade in 2 diamonds I have in earrings to get some credit but I can always use those for my next sapphire ring. Either way Marty wants to take me to dinner in Denver soon since we didn’t have a nice dinner tonight.

Well it’s past my bedtime. Off to dream of diamonds.
Take care.
Marcy

 

[rainwood]

Hi, NIRDI's, I'm back!! I don't have time to try to catch up with everyone tonight, but wanted to touch base at least briefly.

I was cloak and dagger about where I was going because I went to join the CIA. It's true!! No, not that one!! The one that has to do with food in the Napa Valley - the Culinary Institute of America. I did a 3-day Culinary Boot Camp there with one of my BIL's then we headed to Sonoma for a few days. It was great fun, very intense at times, and I now understand why chefs go out and drink when they finish work. I'll provide more details, but here's one shot to show you it was serious: my chef's coat:


And someone insisted on wearing my toque when I got home:


I have a really full day at the office on Wednesday, but will try to check back in with everyone either Wed. night or Thursday.

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning from Scandinavia

Girls, please forgive me for doing a "me post" today. But apparently I don't type fast enough to do both, because I have been meaning to ask you for your opinions regarding floors for weeks. So: to the point! I would really value your inputs regarding a stone floor for our house.

The walls are timber logs that are white washed - or at least will *be* white washed LOL. The window frames and doors are in a muted kind of deep autumnlike orange-yellow. So! In most rooms, we are doing oak flooring. However, in the hallways and in the living room that has access to the garden, we are going to do stone flooring. As some of you might remember, I was all set for slate tiles. But when I was going to choose tiles, I could not for the life of me find a pattern / tile size that I liked and that didn't look like a cabin style floor. In result, we are not doing slate tiles. So now I need to find another stone that will work like a fantasy dream with the white wash and the autumn coloured windows and doors. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

We are OK with both marble and granite. So any and all suggestions and opinions are more than welcome. Black honed marble? Superdark green? Alaska white granite? I'm all over the place as you can see...

I'll attach a few pictures. You know I trust you to be completely honest! So don't hold back

 

[Scandinavian]

Dark green Italian marble Verde Alpi - this one has a lot of veins, but you can aslo find them almost without veins

 

[Scandinavian]

Same with this one, Rosso antico red marble

 

[Scandinavian]

Verde Alpi flooring

 

[Scandinavian]

Black?

 

[Scandinavian]

Another question is: Polished? Sanded? Honed? NoIdeaWhatTheyAreAllCalled? Thinking that perhaps polished is not a good idea as it might be a bit slippery when wet?

 

[Scandinavian]

Alaska white granite

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Junie, Callie, Sharon, Marcy, Kristie, LLJsmom, Scandi, Poodles4me, Jaaron, and everyone else, thank you for your good thoughts for my MIL off and online. Really appreciate it. She is home now and resting and the cardioversion went well. The cardiac specialists are adding to her medicine regime to help keep her heartbeat controlled so hopefully it will remain stable. Thank you all for thinking of her and wishing her well.

Rainwood, how fun! I cannot wait to hear all about your culinary adventures!
My dear friend (who I miss very much as she now lives in Canada where she is from originally) did the CIA in NYC. I think and it was a long time ago so not sure but I think the course was over 6 months long as she did evening class after her full time job and she loved it so much she quit her day job as a speech pathologist to do it full time after she completed the course. She was offered a job as sous chef and Gramercy Tavern. This was years ago. And she worked there for a few years until her hands were just a mess and she needed surgery. The repetitive movements really can do a number on your hands. Anyway she is now retired and caring for her ex husband who had no one and needed medical care and assistance and she is in Canada tending to him. And I miss her because I used to see her every week and talking on the phone just isn't the same.

Sharon, I LOLd when I read what you wrote. That had not even occurred to any of us. Her heart was fixed on Valentine's Day. How appropriate! Is your winter weather calming down a bit? Signs of Spring on the way? Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day.
How awful to have gone through the burglary and I could understand how you are still feeling traumatized. It is such an invasion of privacy and well being and peace. I am so sorry you experienced that. (((Hugs))).

Junie, how is your week going?

Poodles4me, thank you for the detailed description of Foyle's War. Definitely going to check that out.

Marcy, I love your wall art and new Snoopy charms. Sweet. I am sorry Marty is ill and hope he is all better soon. And yay for a belated Valentine's Day celebration when he is feeling well. Something to look forward to. That is a tough decision where to purchase the diamonds but enjoy shopping online and off and take your time! Much of the fun is in the hunt for bling.

Scandi, I don't have much time to check out all your choices but I love black honed granite with marble. Black and white are classic choices IMO.

Quick question-wont that be hard on your backs? Such a hard flooring? I might have missed the reason but you don't want to consider a softer more forgiving flooring? Hardwood flooring is my very top choice but I am sure there is a good reason you aren't considering that but I would be remiss not to mention my preference.

As for color schemes, I am going through a similar dilemma however and am leaning towards Carrera marble in our kitchen but black honed granite is a close second right now. What fun deciding. I have a feeling many NIRDIs will chime in here and help you out. Wish I wasn't going to work today so I could spend time and really evaluate all your choices...good luck!

Today is my Monday so off to work. Have a great day girls!

 

[Scandinavian]

No more red wine, only Champagne, and do white marble? Calacatta gold?

 

[Scandinavian]

Happy Monday Missy Have fun!

 

[missy]

Happy Monday Missy Have fun!

Thanks Scandi. My computer just reset and I lost a post to you. ugh I hate technology. I see you are only doing a small portion not hardwood so I get it now. LOL skimming early in AM compromises comprehension.

I think all those choices are pretty but I am partial to black or black and white or mainly all white. It is hard to accurately see color on the screen and all your marble choices look blackish. Keep in mind how often you will need to have those floors cleaned. The colors you choose will definitely impact how long they stay clean looking. Our dark hardwood floors at the beach shows everything immediately.

 

[missy]

Ooh forgot to mention we found a wonderful Amazon Prime series (sadly only 6 half hour episodes) called Fleabag. LOVE it! About a single woman living in London who is dealing with life and loneliness after losing her best friend. Excellent series so far.

 

[jaaron]

Popping by super quickly on matters of flooring-- personal opinion only.

Those both seem like awfully kid and dog unfriendly surfaces- they're hard and cold. Polished, they're slippery, and honed they'll stain and etch easily (the marble anyway).

I've had both black granite and marble countertops in recent years and hated both. In London, the water is hard, so any time you get a splash on black granite, it leaves a film when it dries. And marble - don't get me started. In my opinion, it looks fabulous the day it's installed or if it's been footworn for about a thousand years- in between it's a nightmare of staining and etching. I'd maybe do a marble mosaic as they're more forgiving, but I wouldn't do a sheet.

This place does some lovely floors - both new and one off. I got a salvaged old french limestone floor from them a while back that was fabulous.

http://parisceramics.com

 

[Scandinavian]

Popping by super quickly on matters of flooring-- personal opinion only.

Those both seem like awfully kid and dog unfriendly surfaces- they're hard and cold. Polished, they're slippery, and honed they'll stain and etch easily (the marble anyway).

I've had both black granite and marble countertops in recent years and hated both. In London, the water is hard, so any time you get a splash on black granite, it leaves a film when it dries. And marble - don't get me started. In my opinion, it looks fabulous the day it's installed or if it's been footworn for about a thousand years- in between it's a nightmare of staining and etching. I'd maybe do a marble mosaic as they're more forgiving, but I wouldn't do a sheet.

This place does some lovely floors - both new and one off. I got a salvaged old french limestone floor from them a while back that was fabulous.

http://parisceramics.com

Jaaron, thank you! I will look at the site you mention!!

Not really concerned about them being cold - all floors are heated. But hard, yes. That is part of what we want, as the wooden flooring in the rest of the house is not very shoe friendly.. So for the hallway and the living room that opens up towards the garden, we want some kind of stone floor to avoid screaming at people... And to get the dog safely to the washing room for hose downs after running around in the forest We live in a very rural place outside the city.

Edit: forgot to tell you all that the hallway and living room are both quite big rooms... So we need to take that into consideration also. I love mosaics, but not sure how they will look in a large room.

 

[jaaron]

Popping by super quickly on matters of flooring-- personal opinion only.

Those both seem like awfully kid and dog unfriendly surfaces- they're hard and cold. Polished, they're slippery, and honed they'll stain and etch easily (the marble anyway).

I've had both black granite and marble countertops in recent years and hated both. In London, the water is hard, so any time you get a splash on black granite, it leaves a film when it dries. And marble - don't get me started. In my opinion, it looks fabulous the day it's installed or if it's been footworn for about a thousand years- in between it's a nightmare of staining and etching. I'd maybe do a marble mosaic as they're more forgiving, but I wouldn't do a sheet.

This place does some lovely floors - both new and one off. I got a salvaged old french limestone floor from them a while back that was fabulous.

http://parisceramics.com

Jaaron, thank you! I will look at the site you mention!!

Not really concerned about them being cold - all floors are heated. But hard, yes. That is part of what we want, as the wooden flooring in the rest of the house is not very shoe friendly.. So for the hallway and the living room that opens up towards the garden, we want some kind of stone floor to avoid screaming at people... And to get the dog safely to the washing room for hose downs after running around in the forest We live in a very rural place outside the city.

Edit: forgot to tell you all that the hallway and living room are both quite big rooms... So we need to take that into consideration also. I love mosaics, but not sure how they will look in a large room.

Oh, I hear you on kids, shoes and muddy dogs- that's why I think plain slabs of marble or granite aren't great-- they show everything and are either slippery or (in my experience- others may vary) if you don't go for polished, high maintenance. I've had floors done by this company, also, and they have some bigger mosaic patterns that are good for large spaces that are really stunning - they'll customise colours, materials, etc.

http://newravenna.photoshelter.com/package-show/Mosaic-Tile-Product-Gallery/P0000eERatY8B6NY