Now I really did it :((

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Kristie, how did the visit to the internist go today? I hope Maggie does well with acupuncture tomorrow. Did you get a picture of the band from Isarel Rose?

Poodles4me, glad you were able to get help for Mitzi. She is a cutie. I hope you got a nice nap and feel better soon.

Jaaron, glad to hear you are all good now after your dental work. I’ll look forward to your new bling.

Missy, Marty’s sister doesn’t play golf so she didn’t do well on Saturday but she finished 15 holes.

Sharon, I am sure those beautiful actresses all had things about themselves they didn’t like either.

Hi Austina. Please tell me about your avatar photo.

Hi June and Callie.

Our warm weather is gone. It’s chilly and rainy here today. I flipped the switch on our thermostat from cool to heat before going to bed last night and I am glad I did. They had a lot of hail about 60 miles south of here today. I hope we don’t get a big hail storm here but it’s inevitable being in this part of the country.

Have a great evening.

Marcy

 

[Calliecake]

Missy, I hope you get a good night sleep tonight. I love your new cluster ring and everyone here is in agreement that you have very lovely hands. The ring looks perfect on you.

Marcy, Oh no, I hope you don't get a hail storm. Have you planted any flowers yet this year? Is Marty going to be traveling a lot in the coming months? I know you stated not to long ago that it was a possibility. For all the traveling my husband did for years he sure hates it now. He is talking about retiring soon and I often wonder if he would want to retire if he didn't have to travel. I think he reallly enjoys his job just not the travel.

Jaaron, Is your mouth feeling better now? Do you have a Bling project in the works?

Rainwood, Your photos are lovely. Has photography been a hobby of yours for a while? Your trip sounded like so much fun. I'm glad you had such a good time. Sometimes just getting away puts everything in perspective. I've missed you in the political threads. I always love hearing your views.

Junebug, How was your trip to the beach? Was the weather nice? I wish it would warm up here. It's been cold here and I really don't want to plant flowers until it gets warmer. Are you still working on the estate?

Sharon, I remember all the women you listed. Guess you can guess how old I am LOL!!! How have you been?

Jimmianne, I'm glad you are happy to be in France. I can wait to hear what you have been up to.

Poodles, I hope you are beginning to feel better. It's no fun having a sinus infection.

Pinto Bean, I loved the story you told in the other thread about your neighbor. She sounds like she would be a lot of fun. I bet she has some wonderful stories to tell.

LLJSmom, I missed you today. We need to grab Kristie and go to NY.

 

[missy]

Poodles4me, I'm sorry you have a sinus infection and I hope you are feeling much better today. Thanks for your kind words and yes I guess we can all be too hard on ourselves. I appreciate your comforting words.
How are you feeling today?

Sharon, thank you for reminding me I am not alone and I wouldn't mind being in the company of those lovely women anytime. Come to think of it I love the company of you ladies here so I am pretty darn lucky to have you ladies who care and vice versa.
Any chance you would care to share a photo here of your gorgeous new ring? I am still drooling over its beauty and while I know you aren't ready to commit to a whole new thread about it I was hoping perhaps you might be so inclined to share a photo or 2 here with us? Of course I totally understand if you don't feel like it. No pressure.

Haha thank you Austina. And not only are we a couple of swells my hands and other body parts (i.e. leg!) love to get in on that action too.

Junie, thank you sweetheart. Adam is having his bench person resize it and add sizing beads before we to the route of reshanking it so we will see. If this doesn't work I guess my only other option is to reshank it. I was debating what to do what to do but more of a bigger picture thing than about the cluster ring. LOL. We girls are always thinking bling aren't we.

Thank you Marcy. Honestly as much as I don't like the appearance of my hands it is more about the fact I have issues with their function (swelling, burning and no circulation when it gets cold so ulcerating etc.) that mean more than how they look but it's easier to focus on their appearance at times. Little I can do about any of it so might as well make peace with it and be content. There are worse things of course and sometimes I need to be reminded about perspective. Not often but sometimes. Thanks to all you girls for reminding me of that.

I am impressed with your SIL for playing golf with Marty when that is not even her thing. Good for her completing 15 rounds of golf. Sorry to hear your weather is getting chilly again and hope the nice weather comes back soon. Once again there is rain predicted for our weekend here. Cold Rain. Oh well.

Callie, thank you honey. And thank you for your (and all the other girls) help yesterday. I once again woke super early and couldn't go back to sleep. I have diamonds on the brain arggghhhh.
Kristie so glad Maggie's appointment went well yesterday.
LLJsmom, thank you as always. I feel like you are my partner in OEC crime. Hahaha.



It is always a pleasure visiting Adam and he gave me food for thought yesterday. Why oh why aren't diamonds less expensive LOL. Especially the gorgeous ones. Sigh.

Have a good Tuesday girls.

Sorry for the print weirdness. It changed the print size again mid typing so I just tried to make it uniform now. IDK what I am doing. I just hit something on my keyboard and some of the print changes in size. Weird.

 

[Austina]

Hi @marcy my avatar is a AAAA tanzanite, 8 x 10mm oval (can't remember ct weigh off hand) with 6 tiny Si g/h diamonds in 18ct y/g bypass setting. If memory serves, I bought it in 2004. I had it appraised by Safeguard (allied to the Assay Office in the U.K.) for more than twice what I paid, and the guy was very complimentary about the cut and quality of it. Tanzanite was just starting to become a bit more readily available then, and I just fell in love with the beautiful vivid blue/violet colour. I also have a pendant which is about 7cts I think.

 

[azstonie]

Nice tanzie, Austina!! Pretty settings too.

Marcy, Maggie's appointment went well. Bob met us there. We start the new arthritis med, Galliprant, on Saturday. Maggie was on an NSAID (Metacam) and you have to have a washout period when you change NSAIDs or you get GI bleeding. So Saturday is the first day we can put her on the Galliprant. Another dog at the practice started Galliprant and the owner said she saw big changes in about an hour, said she had a different dog. So we are hopeful that Maggie would have that result too. Galliprant targets 1 pain receptor of arthritis (other NSAIDs are broad spectrum) so if that isn't where Maggie's pain is originating, it won't work for her. But if it is, she should realize a nice reduction in pain and increase her activity level back to where it was.

The good news is that the CBD oil has really kicked in for her. At the 10-day mark, I saw an improvement in pain and activity level. Also in anxiety. Last night we had an enormous thunder and lightening storm at 10 PM and normally Maggie freaks out. Last night, when we'd get a loud thunderboomer/lightening crack, she'd sit up on the bed, then lay down and go back to sleep. NICE for all of us!

Today is day 4 with no crazy anxiety and aggression for her. No attacks on poor Finn, whom I believe is showing signs of HEARING LOSS so the poor little guy doesn't even HEAR HER COMING.

I hope you are seeing some spring-like weather and no wind!! Bob and I are planning a trip to Fort Collins and to Colorado Springs to think about for retirement. Our other locations are Coeur d'Alene/Sandpoint area. I'm investigating Canada also, BC,---both Bob and I will be covered for life on our State of Alaska medical/hearing/vision/dental insurance starting at 60, so we would be insured at no cost while waiting out the 5-year waiting period for Canadian emigration. Without our own insurance during that 5-year period, it'd be unaffordable for us to do that.

 

[MJ_Mac]

Hello everyone, thanks for your concern. I'm on the mend. I'm on a different antibiotic this time and it works a bit slower but is still effective. At least I didn't wait this time till I was flat on my back and so sick I could barely move. I'm learning to read the signals. I took it easy yesterday and lounged with the girls while watching re-runs of Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries.

Kristie - I'm anxious to hear how Maggie's appointment goes with the acupuncturist. It's sure hard when our fur babies are sick or not themselves. I get booted out when my girls have their appointments. They won't work with the physiotherapist with me in the room so I get ejected. They are way too attached to me and won't respond to her. Poodles are strange little beasties (as my hubby says). All three of mine are in to see the physiotherapist/acupuncturist today (back, hip and knees) so I have some time to myself. I like to schedule household appointments when they're out of the house. Nothing like having 3 yipping poodles!

Missy - I actually like the larger font size in your last note. It's so much easier to read, even with my computer glasses. You'll appreciate this and understand my pain. I am far sighted with presbyopia. My add is +3.0.

I understand the issues you have with your hands. I get those too and it's very uncomfortable. What I find strange is how overynight my joints can swell and then the next day they're fine. I don't know what it's called and if it's related to the Raynaud's but the worst is when my fingertips almost collapse. They get dented and crinkly. I'm probably not describing it correctly but it you have it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Marcy - I still think about the video you posted of the semi overturning onto the police car. I hope you didn't get hail. It sounds like you get wicked weather and extremes. The weather seems to be very unsettled these days. Parts of Canada have had extreme flooding.

Marcy, I'll have to take to heart what you told Missy. I'm attending two work functions with my husband this week and I feel like wearing a paper bag over my head. I've had the worst breakout in my entire adult life (the joy of hormones and being sick). You're right, no one else is going to notice and worrying about it will just make it worse. As I said, we're our own worst critic.

Rainwood - I loved reading about your trip. I think we all could use a little zen in our lives. Your photos are lovely. I especially loved the various shots of the fountain.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm still trying to catch up with everyone here. Hope everyone has a good day.

Here's another picture of Mitzi being cute. I love it when she smiles. I was scratching her belly and she was doing her Thumper routine with the back leg going.

 

[MJ_Mac]

Kristie, I guess you were typing as I was typing. It sounds like you had a good appointment. I'm curious about Galliprant. Our second dog Emma has to get Metacam injections when she's in pain because she can't take it orally. It upsets her stomach too much. I give her codeine sometimes at bedtime when I can tell she's in obvious pain. She's okay with it but it doesn't do anything for the inflammation.

Our Lucy lost her hearing at a young age. She adjusted well but he also didn't have siblings doing sneak attacks. Poor Finn!

What area in BC are you contemplating?

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Missy, Thank you for the kind words about my ring. In the 14 or so months I've owned it I think I've worn it but a few times--outside of the 8 weeks at the High Jewelry "Spa" (department lol) at Cartier in NYC, it has been in at the bank. All of my jewellery has.

cheers--Sharon

 

[MJ_Mac]

HI:

Missy, Thank you for the kind words about my ring. In the 14 or so months I've owned it I think I've worn it but a few times--outside of the 8 weeks at the High Jewelry "Spa" (department lol) at Cartier in NYC, it has been in at the bank. All of my jewellery has.

cheers--Sharon

Sharon - how can you not stand to wear it every day. It's so gorgeous! And it looks so elegant on you.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Callie, we didn’t get any hail here but several places in Colorado really got pounded. I see you are holding off on planning flowers. I usually plant things after the beginning of June. We invariably get one or two more freezes in late May. It looks like Marty will be traveling a lot until next fall. Unless his company decides his travel costs too much money. Marty loves the travel so I hope it works out for him especially since it’s nice he is busy for a change. I am sorry to hear your DH is tired of traveling so much. I can see how it would get old after a while.

Missy, which finger are you having your ring sized to fit? I hate to hear your hands give you so much grief. My hands are becoming my mom’s; very twisted and crooked from arthritis. I guess I wear rings to give me something nice to look at when I look down. Phooey that you will have cold rain this weekend. I am sure Adam is more than willing to show you pretty diamonds and jewelry.

Austina, your tanzanite ring and pendant are gorgeous. I love tanzanite and yet I don’t own any right now. I’ve had some over the years but they went in to my jewelry liquidation sales to fund more jewelry.

Kristie, I am delighted to hear Maggie’s appointment went well. I am sending her feel better dust hoping her treatments and meds make her more mobile with less pain. That’s great she didn’t get upset from the thunderstorm last night. I know a lot of fur babies that hate those. Poor Finn, I hate to hear his hearing showing signs of hearing loss. Hug them both for us. We had some spring weather for about 5 days; now it’s chilly, rainy and gray again. As for wind; that is always present. You and Bob have some great places to explore for possible retirement locations. What a relief for you guys to have medical benefits no matter where you go.

Poodles4me, glad to hear you are on the mend. I hate to hear you have trouble with your hands too. I swear when one of my joints starts moving I can’t pick up a tissue for days without uttering my curse words. Sadly, we do get bad hail storms here; I’ll cry if my new car gets it this summer. I might use all of my vacation days when they are expecting severe weather. Yes, I believe we are our own worth critics. I am sure you’ll look great. Smile and enjoy yourself. Mitzi is a cutie.

Sharon, what gorgeous ring did you get?

As for my ongoing babysitting saga at work –I had a hectic day at work today. My team had another error - 3 in a month now. So I added another small task to double check this "thing". My passive aggressive employee sends me an email complaining about having to duplicate this task. She said she doesn't understand how come they have to do that now because a few people made a mistake and didn't do their job right. I had my original response as "because I said so" but decided to set on it since we had a one on one this afternoon and I was going to ask her lots of questions steering our conversation towards getting her to admit she makes mistakes. Naturally she went home sick before our meeting - she's wily that way - so I sent her an email thanking her for her input. Then I pointed out I feel there are other tasks we do that duplicate and overlap tasks giving her 2 examples. Then I said "this policy - like all of our processes, policies, check lists and procedures can be eliminated or cut back when I feel they are no longer beneficial to the team". I'll see if she talks to me tomorrow.
My boss informed his direct reports today that this summer we need to train our replacement and cross train across his 3 departments. That's always comforting to hear when we've had layoffs in the last few months. Good luck for him finding someone for me to train as my replacement. Ha!
We had crock pot roast beef for supper. Seems like my quick supper had more dishes than normal but it was quite tasty.
We are having a nice rain storm now with very cool lightning. There was one big bolt I could see through the windows on both sides of the house. Cool!

Have a great evening.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Sharon, thank you. I am seriously in LOVE with your beautiful sapphire ring. It is gorgeous in every way and thank you for sharing it with us. I get why you keep your bling safe at the bank. That is bling that deserves protection!


Marcy Sorry your baby employees are misbehaving again. OMG. Glad you instituted new rules to double (and triple) check their work because the mistakes are unacceptable. Hard to fathom adults behaving like this too. Bad work and bad attitude. An unforgivable combo IMO. Uh oh for cross training but you are right. They could never find a replacement for you! Nice you enjoyed a pretty lighting storm last night. Looks like we are going to be enjoying our own this weekend. Coastal storm. The fun with the weather never ends. Cycling is looking like a distant memory. I'm hoping to fit my middle finger right hand that way when someone pisses me off I can give them the finger and I can enjoy my pretty ring at the same time.

Poodles Glad you are feeling better and hope that nasty sinus infection is all gone. I am glad you like the larger font. Come to think of it I need the larger font to read anything up close these days. It's why I like my huge phone. The print is easier to read when I make it larger. Maybe I will start doing larger print here on purpose. I don't think anyone would mind. I get what you are saying about your fingers. Same with mine. I think it is autoimmune related. It is weird how it can change from minute to minute.

Mitzi is such a sweetheart. Love seeing her photos! Good luck with your work functions. I get how you are feeling and I hope that you enjoy yourself and feel good too.


Kristie, I am sorry Finn is losing his hearing and hope it isn't too severe. Poor guy. Glad Maggie is feeling better and that the treatments are working for her.

Rainwood is so right. We all need a little (or more than that) Zen in our lives!

Austina, your tanzanite ring and pendant are lovely. I love blue. My favorite color in any shade.

Have a good day girls. Off to work soon and lots of stuff on the agenda this week. I have butterflies in my stomach but just taking it all one day at a time one hour at a time. (((Hugs))).

 

[azstonie]

Where is Sharon's sapphire ring??? I'll go check over in SMTB...

Poodles4, I love Mitzi's pretty face and smile! My great-aunt had a mini poodle (is that what Mitzi is, a mini?) and he was so damned smart. He was smarter than children are, that's for sure. He was also really fun and a great companion. I love all poodles, starting from standard on down. Oh, poor Lucy to lose her hearing while young, I'm so glad she had you to help her through that.

I did not take Maggie for acupuncture yesterday---the internist vet asked me to wait on that just a few days to see if the Galliprant works on her. She starts Galliprant on Friday. So I rescheduled her acupuncture for a little later in the month.

Re BC, I did some internet research on Canada's website for emigration and there is no longer a retiree category! That makes retiring in Canada an impossibility, because you can't apply without filling one of the categories of employment. The closest you could come would be *if* you claimed to be an "investor" AND you brought in $1.6 M (I'm assuming Canadian dollars) AND were willing to 'loan' the Canadian government half of that immediately ($800,000). DAMMIT. I could never hand over $800k, it'd kill me. I'm in good health and I have my own private insurance in retirement from the State of Alaska, so I would never be a burden on Canadian society---$800k seems steep considering I'd get there around 63 and lifespan predictors mean I'd probably be there 20 years, 25 years at most.

All foreign countries that fit my parameters of retirement possibilities require having certain amount of assets and you either bring your medical insurance with you or you buy into theirs at a greatly reduced price (by our standards). Understandable. So far I've looked at Canada, Ireland, and England. Ireland is a mess right now in terms of emigration/retirees, they don't have a uniform policy so each county's bureaucrats interpret it their way, and quite a few previously full Irish citizen/Americans have been given 2 weeks to get out, which is not much when you need to sell a house and handle pets, for example.

I'm stuck here in the US. Bob and I should have gone to Canada when we left Alaska and came to Arizona, we both were the right age/stage in life and had professions that the government needs/ed. Now, with Canada not having a retiree category, its not possible. Ah, timing is everything, isn't it! Will just have to make the best of it and take lots of trips to BC!

Poodles4, I take it you are a Canadian. Which province? My great-grandmother came from Ireland to Toronto.

 

[Austina]

We are in the opposite situation to you @azstonie Our son is planning on becoming a US citizen and wants us to go and live there too. As our income will all be from pensions, the drop in the exchange rate has a huge impact. Property tax is enormous compared to our equivalent and health care is extortionate - mine here is about $1000 per year which covers me for everything. We do of course have the National Health, which is better than nothing, but not something we rely on.

The logistics of packing up our lives will be challenging to say the least, but my biggest worry will be our beautiful girl, who will be quite elderly by the time he's a citizen.

 

[canuk-gal]

Where is Sharon's sapphire ring??? I'll go check over in SMTB...

Poodles4, I love Mitzi's pretty face and smile! My great-aunt had a mini poodle (is that what Mitzi is, a mini?) and he was so damned smart. He was smarter than children are, that's for sure. He was also really fun and a great companion. I love all poodles, starting from standard on down. Oh, poor Lucy to lose her hearing while young, I'm so glad she had you to help her through that.

I did not take Maggie for acupuncture yesterday---the internist vet asked me to wait on that just a few days to see if the Galliprant works on her. She starts Galliprant on Friday. So I rescheduled her acupuncture for a little later in the month.

Re BC, I did some internet research on Canada's website for emigration and there is no longer a retiree category! That makes retiring in Canada an impossibility, because you can't apply without filling one of the categories of employment. The closest you could come would be *if* you claimed to be an "investor" AND you brought in $1.6 M (I'm assuming Canadian dollars) AND were willing to 'loan' the Canadian government half of that immediately ($800,000). DAMMIT. I could never hand over $800k, it'd kill me. I'm in good health and I have my own private insurance in retirement from the State of Alaska, so I would never be a burden on Canadian society---$800k seems steep considering I'd get there around 63 and lifespan predictors mean I'd probably be there 20 years, 25 years at most.

All foreign countries that fit my parameters of retirement possibilities require having certain amount of assets and you either bring your medical insurance with you or you buy into theirs at a greatly reduced price (by our standards). Understandable. So far I've looked at Canada, Ireland, and England. Ireland is a mess right now in terms of emigration/retirees, they don't have a uniform policy so each county's bureaucrats interpret it their way, and quite a few previously full Irish citizen/Americans have been given 2 weeks to get out, which is not much when you need to sell a house and handle pets, for example.

I'm stuck here in the US. Bob and I should have gone to Canada when we left Alaska and came to Arizona, we both were the right age/stage in life and had professions that the government needs/ed. Now, with Canada not having a retiree category, its not possible. Ah, timing is everything, isn't it! Will just have to make the best of it and take lots of trips to BC!

Poodles4, I take it you are a Canadian. Which province? My great-grandmother came from Ireland to Toronto.

Hey! Why don't you ring Justin....I have his number...somewhere....OH sorry that is the other Justin. Sorry the Biebs might not be of help with your immigration inquiries..... LOL

How about Australia? I think their requirements might be like Canada's.

cheers--Sharon

 

[azstonie]

SHARON YOU NAUGHTY GIRL---Australia??? I must have impressed you as a criminal

I like Canada. I know Canada, every vacation I get I figure out how to get to BC. I got married in Canada. My family came out of Ireland to Canada.

So where's the sapphire ring, Sharon? I promise not to steal it, . Its not in SMTB and I checked backwards in NIRDI too.

Austina, first of all I love that furry girl in your pic. What breed or mix is she? She's marvelous.

So you are Canadian and your son is planning to become a citizen. Well. Its every man for himself here, and its a damn rude place, particularly compared to Canada. I worked at Mayo Clinic for almost 10 years, met lots of Canadians being treated there, and what I learned from them is that if you want to control your healthcare when your diagnosis is unclear OR in an early stage, you either pay for that privilege in Canada or you pay down here at Mayo, or Cleveland Clinic, etc. I'm not a big believer in overdiagnosis/overtreatment, so I could work within the Canadian model of healthcare. I don't see much in the way of high quality medical expertise here anymore. You're lucky if you receive C- level of expertise and they don't give you MRSA or hepatitis C or HIV if you have an operation or procedure. The apathy in the medical field here is HORRIFYING.

Regarding property taxes: Here in Arizona, mine last year were $2500; you can split it into 2 payments if you prefer, no penalties. My friend's nephew who lives in Los Angeles, his property taxes are $24,000 per year (he's an actor in a successful prime time comedy).

Can't predict the exchange rate but I also would not be comfortable subjecting my retirement pensions to it. Can't your son settle in the northern portion of the US (in order to be close to Canada) OR pick a place that is one nonstop plane trip away? Honestly, I can't think of much to recommend a Canadian to move to America. I'm not being hyperbolic or cranky post election, I thought America was rude and stupid and incompetent during the Obama Administration also.

Has your son factored in the CRIME? God, its awful here now. Every nutbag has to have a semi automatic weapon, a rifle, etc etc.

DON'T DO IT!!!!

 

[canuk-gal]

SHARON YOU NAUGHTY GIRL---Australia??? I must have impressed you as a criminal

I like Canada. I know Canada, every vacation I get I figure out how to get to BC. I got married in Canada. My family came out of Ireland to Canada.



Have you seen the results of the Provincial election in BC? Arizona might not seem too bad in the bargain.....

 

[azstonie]

Marcy, there was a good article in the psychology column in TNYT this week, it was about the difference in using the word "don't" versus "can't" when turning people down or denying them something they want you to do.

In your employee's case, you would reply to her email with: This procedure is what management has decided is necessary to correct the errors rate. I don't disagree with it. When the number of errors drops, management may reexamine the need for this procedure. Until then, we follow the procedures.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, I love watching storms and weather but mostly from inside. I totally laughed at the delight you take in showing off your middle finger. That sounds like me. I especially have fun if I have a cut on my middle finger. You’ll be cycling again soon. I hope you like wearing your ring on your middle finger. It looks fabulous.

Kristie, I hope the Galliprant works for Maggie. You are so right that timing is everything; mine always seems to be a day late and a dollar short. I will have to go hunt down that NYT article.

Austina, great picture of your cute fur baby.

About 10:30 this morning my boss sent a meeting request for 1:30 titled “Review Team’s Strength and Weaknesses”. I spent about an hour compiling a list of pros and cons for each of my employees. I wasted my time he just wanted me to tell him who he should assign to train what for the cross training. While we were talking, I asked how I was doing and where I stand. His response was positive and he has no complains. He once again mentioned he’d like to get me promoted so I guess I am doing okay.

The weather continued to be chilly and damp today. It should start warming up again tomorrow.

I am getting the oil changed in my car on Tuesday. I wonder if I’ll faint when they give me the bill? Afterwards I think I’ll go do some swap-up shopping at my favorite jewelry store in Denver. I have quite a few pendants and bracelets I don’t wear from them. I have to spend double what I trade in on jewelry. I am contemplating a 3-carat diamond bracelet, a 5-stone diamond / ruby ring or a 1-carat diamond cluster bracelet. The one carat bracelet has infinity links and little hearts made of three 2 pointers. I swear I won’t look at loose sapphires or rubies but you know I will. I would spend more money that way though. That will teach Marty to go to LA.

Take care.

Marcy

 

[Austina]

@azstonie we're English, so the move will be transatlantic, which is a 10 hr flight, plus all the time preflight, which is my biggest worry for Dottie. She's a pedigree brown roan Italian Spinone, and the sweetest, gentlest girl imaginable.

Our son lives in Texas (tell me about gun toting nut jobs ) but he is our only family, so it makes sense for us to move to be near him. He's not married at the moment, but hopefully in the future he'll have his own family. There'll come a time where we may not be physically able to do the journey regularly, and if he does have a family, it'll be more difficult for them to fly here, than us there.

The area where he lives is pretty safe, as safe as anywhere in the world today, so that doesn't unduly concern us. There are trade offs financially, lower income taxes and no state tax, our taxes here are huge. There are areas near him where the property taxes are just over 2%, and living close by, we wouldn't need a large home.

In the meantime, we wait for what seems like forever, for the time to come.

Wishing all you lovely ladies a good, stress free day, enjoy whatever it has in store for you.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Marcy, I am glad your boss recognizes how valuable you are to them and I hope he gets moving on your promotion. You deserve it! As for which bling choice my question to you is which piece do you see yourself wearing more? Price notwithstanding is there one clear winner? Is it bad all I heard was "cluster" hahaha. SO jealous that Marty gets to go to LA. I think you and I should accompany him and meet LLJsmom for some bling shopping. Though that would be quite the trip for LLJsmom too. But oh I know the weather would be lovely compared to our damp and chilly weather. There is a coastal storm coming here this weekend. I think we will be staying in NYC instead of going to the beach house. Oh well. Gotta be flexible and make the best of it right? Thanks for the ring wishes. I'll share a pic below. And I would never ever give *you* the finger. That is reserved for people I don't respect and love. But now that I think of it I have never given anybody the finger. I am so boring! But I do occasionally (Callie no comments please-OK maybe more than just occasionally lol) say a bad word when someone really pisses me off...

Austina, your darling girl is beautiful and I understand your concern about her if you travel here. I am not as negative on moving to the states as Azstonie is and I hope your son will be very happy as a citizen here. I am not very familiar with Texas though I hear Austin is very lovely. There are always tradeoffs of course and that saying comes to mind- the devil you know-but having said that I would feel similarly. If my only child lived in the states and I was getting older I would want to move closer too. If you move here there are some amazing antique bling shows so just another silver (or platinum haha) lining of moving here...
thank you for your good day stress free wishes and sending good wishes right back at ya.

Sharon, I would love to live in British Columbia but for the cold weather which I find myself more and more intolerant of sadly. But then again I also find I cannot take the heat. I have thought about Australia. So beautiful there too but there requirements are too stringent I think for older individuals since we wouldn't be contributing the way a younger person would. I don't blame them. It is about self preservation and they cannot allow all of the people from the USA who want to get away from Trump to move there. Though Jordyonbass promised he would help us if we wanted to...
Plus my parents live here and I wouldn't move so far away from them. Especially now that they are older. We have a very small family and I want to stay close enough in distance that I can see them whenever I want to.

Callie sweetheart, sending you lots of love and hugs.

OK sharing a few quick pics I took yesterday when I got home from work. Adam and my dh are the best. My dh left work to pick up my ring that Adam had resized and I was stuck at work due to an initial patient who came in very late. But when I got home the ring was waiting. I think the solution of sizing up and adding sizing beads (though Adam said that is not what they are called but I forget the word he used) but I will know more when I wear it today. My knuckles are very stretched out. They are over a whole size larger than my actual finger and I wonder if it will keep getting worse. The option of re-shanking in the future to the shank that opens up over the knuckle is a real option if this solution isn't successful. Anyway a big thank you to Adam and to Greg. I only took a few photos yesterday when I got home from work because I was tired but I promise if this solution works and I keep the ring and don't have to send it back to Adam I will share more pics.








and a blurry in motion perspective shot of Tommy wanting some attention as I was trying the cluster ring on lol.




Enjoy the day girls!

 

[missy]

Adding 2 of my favorite pics of the cluster ring so far. I am not wearing it this way on the same hand as Bea (though it does fit on the right and left hand index finger too) but for some reason I think these are cool pics of Bea and the Cluster ring.







OK I promise no more pics (today at least ).

 

[Calliecake]

Missy, They are both beautiful!!!!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Austina, I hope things work out the way you want to move near your son. Family time is precious.

Missy, thanks Missy. I would be excited if I got a promotion but I am not counting on it. Good question about what would I wear the most for an upgrade? I often walk out of there with something I wasn’t looking for but tonight I am leaning towards moving my EC ruby to a YG halo ring and the cluster bracelet. I’ll post pictures of the few things I am considering. That would be fun for us to catch up with LLJsmom. A bling shopping extravaganza. Woo hoo! I saw you were expecting driving rain there this weekend. Good idea to stay in the city. I don’t go around cursing or flipping people off but I do like to tease people and show them my middle finger if I’ve got a bandage on it. But was we’ve established before I am easily entertained. Love the pictures of your cluster ring and Bea. They are both gorgeous.

Hi Callie! I swear I am going to pull my dead flowers up this weekend.

We went out to dinner tonight and ran in to an old friend of ours. We’ve known him since he was in junior high. He used to come to our star parties and I always thought he was a nice kid. Now he’s married and has two adorable daughters. I don’t think we’ve seen him for 10 years.

Tomorrow is Friday. Woo hoo!

Take care.

Marcy

 

[marcy]

So here are the things I want to look at:
Top Row: 3 carat bracelet with 5.8 pointers, pink sapphire band 1.5 total ctw, 1 carat infinity / infinity bracelet with three 2 pointers in a heart
Middle Row: 1 ctw yellow sapphire earrings, 3 carat bracelet with 8.3 pointers, yellow sapphire hoop earrings 5/8 ctw,
Bottom Row: 5 stone sapphire or ruby ring 1.5 ctw and a halo ring my ruby would fit in - has 3/8 ctw
I could have them add a halo on my current ring that has the ruby they the halo heads are WG and my ring is YG

I have more loose stones to trade in towards a new gem but I truly want to trade some of the jewelry I'm not wearing. Decisions, Decision.


Close up of the heart bracelet

 

[MarionC]

Missy!you decided on the ring! Yay I love it and it looks beautiful on you. I must shrugs with you...You have young beautiful hands.

Az I'm glad you are finding the right medications for your baby. It is such a worry when they are not well.

Poodle, nice to meet you : ) Mitzi is adorable!

Marcy, that's a pretty diamond bracelet.
So many choices-what are your favorites?

Hi Austina, my sister lives in Texas part time and loves it. I am in the USA on the east coast and got a house in France to be near my daughter who is my only child. When it comes down to it, family and friends are everything so it nice that you are willing to make a big change. An adventure!

Hugs to everyone I didn't mention. I may go get an iPad as the phone is not convenient for reading posts and communicating .

Yesterday I bought something called an SDS driver drill for working on the stone wall. Missy it is safe ... like a big drill with an oscillating chisel. I was thinking it would be a big scary jack hammery thing, but it's actually gentle. So far I uncovered a 45" x 35" limestone cornerstone in my kitchen wall.(!)
So I have a big "rock" to brag about on PS! Lol

 

[MarionC]

Oh for petes sake
Missy I meant I must ARGUE with you, not shrug
Spell check is very creative!

 

[jaaron]

Hi Nirdis,

I know I don't have a real prayer of catching up, so just replying to this page.

Poodles4Me- Your dogs are gorgeous. Sorry to hear you've had a sinus infection. I went through a phase where I seemed to have them constantly, one after another, and I was just miserable. The funny thing was that once I got my thyroid issues stabilised, they went away completely and I haven't had one in years-- it was actually the ENT who figured out that although my thyroid levels looked ok on first glance, my T3 was ever so slightly below the ideal, and taking care of that seemed to take care of the sinus issues. I also have a (fortunately very mild) case of Reynaud's (frequently goes along with autoimmune thyroid stuff) and I have to say, sorting out the T3 plus adding some anti-inflammatory vitamins does seem to have helped that. I have noticed, though, that when they do turn red, my right hand is always redder than my left, so not sure what that's about... And I hear you on the sinus/infection breakout situation. I recently managed to stand up from getting something and smash my head into the corner of a drawer that I hadn't closed and had to go to two events with a glaring bruise on my temple.

Hi Callie - I hope you're doing well. My H has also started to dread his travel more and more, and I think is in the same boat as yours on loving what he does, but not really wanting the travel part of things. Unfortunately, the two go together, but he does try to minimise it as much as possible. Do you ever go with yours? I tend not to (unless it's somewhere I really want to go, of course). Rattling around a strange city while he's locked in meetings all day isn't really my idea of a good time.

Austina- Your Tanzanites and your dog are equally gorgeous!

Azstonie - My fingers are crossed that the new med works for Maggie, but I'm sorry to hear both your guys are having issues. Have you tried hydrotherapy at all with her? We've done both acupuncture and hydro, and while I think both are effective, the hydro seems to have had more lasting results- possibly because it works to strengthen the key muscles and takes some of the stress off the joints. I had to laugh at your comment about Americans being rude, stupid and incompetent. I hate to break it to you, but rudeness, stupidity and incompetence knows no geographical boundaries, although, granted, I do appreciate the fact it's delivered without semi-automatic weapons where I live.

Sharon - I saw that ring in the cluster thread, and it's gorgeous! I think you should at least be camped out outside the bank so you'll be close to it.

Marcy - I'm glad things are improving on the work front for Marty and that he enjoys the travel even if you don't so much. What effect will that have on his new venture? Whenever I hear about your weather, I always think it would be nice if it could be transferred to the UK - English people love to talk about weather. I remember hearing a comedy show on the radio a couple of years ago about there suddenly being no weather and all the conversation here drying up. Good for you for being in line for a potential promotion. Does that mean you would be overseeing a different group than you are currently? It sounds like you deserve combat pay! Did you mention you used to be a teacher? That must have been good training, because most of your employees sound like kindergarteners. And, by the way, I'm partial to those yellow sapphire earrings

Missy - that ring is gorgeous and looks fantastic on your hands. I don't see what you seem to when you look at them- they look long and elegant and gorgeous. Besides, with those gorgeous rings, who's even looking at your hands? I do like the mental image of you giving the finger with that big honking ring, just so the recipient can't miss it... I hope work has calmed down, even slightly?

Jimianne - Yay for you being on this side of the pond. Let me know if you want to hop over to London for a bling excursion... Power tools welcome.

And hi to Junie and Rainwood and Scandi and anyone else I've missed! Hope everyone is well.

My dental work is all fine- thank you to everyone who asked. And my bling purchase, was a bit of an impulse eBay buy- I don't know how much wear I'll get out of it, but got it for a great price. When I brought it in for an appraisal and to have a link taken out and the clasp re-done, the jeweller tried several times to get me to sell it to him. As always, my terrible iPhone pics don't do it justice.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Austina]

The ring suits your hand so well @missy, I too only see long elegant fingers (unlike my fat sausages )

Thank you all for your good wishes on our move Stateside. Our son lives in Bee Caves, a lovely area near Lakeway and the hills. TBH we didn't envisage a major move, we downsized here a few years ago, in preparation for retirement and subsequent old age, but him wanting us there is reason enough to go.

Do I understand that your doggie is suffering with arthritis @azstonie ? When one of our old boys really started struggling, we actually found glucosamine helped a lot.

Oh my goodness @jaaron, what a great find, is it Art Deco? Always a good sign if a jeweller is interested in it.

What is it with children that they want to live in other parts of the world @Jimmianne ? Do you visit France often?

@marcy those yellow sapphire earrings look so pretty and vibrant, but then again, all the pieces you're looking at at lovely.

I hope you ladies don't mind me joining in the conversation with you, I wouldn't like to intrude, please do say if I am?

Have a great day y'all (getting in some practice ahead of the move)

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Bonjour Jimmianne! I miss you. And thank you sweetheart for the lovely compliment. I will accept it but not agree completely. But I appreciate that and to all the girls who so kindly commented on the cluster and my hands thank you. I am sorry I monopolized the thread complaining about so silly a problem and appreciate your sweet comments. Very much.
Jimmianne be careful with that drill OK? I told Greg and he laughed when I asked him if it was safe. He said if you operate it safely. OMG be careful! And wow on the limestone find. You take the prize for biggest rock! Photo pretty please?

Haha Austina good morning ya'll. LOL. That works in Texas but if you visit NYC what you should greet people with is hey, how you doin? And emphasis on "you doin" with a bit of a down inflection. Heck I have to show you in person so you just have to visit NYC once you are in the states.

Marcy, I love the sapphire halo earrings best. But it doesn't matter what we love best but I bet those will look gorgeous on your ears. Do you have more earrings or rings? How nice you saw an old friend last night. What fun to catch up and I bet after 10 years you had a lot to talk about. Did he bring his wife and DDs? It's funny I always see the same person in the mirror (well not exactly but you probably know what I mean) and in my head (that is for sure because in my head I am still in my twenties!) though after a few decades we all change a lot but you don't notice it as much as the person who hasn't seen you in a long time. Then the change is quite obvious isn't it? What are your weekend plans? Hope your weather is good.

Jaaron, I love that art deco bracelet. Yummy yummy yummy! What a great purchase. Did you ever keep any of those cluster rings you were deciding between? I love talking about the weather too. As in how it is wrecking my free time hahaha. Another weekend down the drain. Sigh. No cycling for us this weekend. As Marcy mentioned it is a coastal storm with driving rains. And rain should never drive if you kwim. Let's leave that to the dhs and their golf carts. Driving that is. OK bad joke but I am very sleepy still so please forgive me. Attempting (weak) humor to cheer myself up because of the stupid weather. Grrrrr.

Junie, thank you so much for always being such a dear and always being there for me. I trust you 100% and really cherish our friendship more than words could ever convey. (((HUGS))).

Callie and you too my dear. I cherish and love you and am so looking forward to our get together. Perhaps earlier than expected? And (((hugs))) to you because I know it has been a challenging week and yet you are always your sweet and loving self. You are the best. XOXO.

I hate leaving out the other girls but hopefully you know I am thinking of you all and sending happy Mother's Day wishes your way. (((HUGS))) to you all.

OK more thoughts and I am adding a few photos of wearing the cluster ring yesterday at work. I switched it up and found I am more comfortable while working with the ring on my left hand. I guess I should have realized that but having never worn a ring for any length of time on my right hand I didn't. D'oh. Oh well. I decided for work if I decide to wear it I will adapt and put it on my left index finger but for social occasions/weekends/ not working with my hands as much I will wear it on the right middle finger. So that is a compromise I can live with and it won't really be a daily ring anyway since at work I wash my hands in between patients and often more than that so wearing another big ole ring isn't that practical I guess. Though I still wear it at work occasionally I think. I LOVE looking at it on my hand even with Bea on the same hand. It's a whole lotta BLING. LOL.

Actually I am going to hit send and then find the photos. I dont want to lose this post and the print has already changed on me three times as I was writing this! OK stay tuned and enjoy this Friday. As Marcy says...WOOHOO it's Friday!!!

 

[missy]

I sure hope you girls enjoy seeing more photos. Please let me know if I am posting way too many pics. I just love seeing pics from all of you so I always think everyone feels the same way but speak up if you dont because I have a feeling I am abusing the photo posting privileges here!!!

OK first Tommy this AM. He is so adorable. Always inserting himself everywhere and anywhere. LOVE this little baby!!!! LOL Greg is the one who took this photo. He randomly takes pics of all the fur babies. How sweet is that? And I just noticed he is next to our framed wedding invitation.




The cluster under fluorescent lighting close up. I hate fluorescent lighting but this is the work environment.



Next up the ring at work yesterday. Half the day on the right hand middle finger and half the day on the index finger left hand.





And last quick pic at work. Hard to get decent pics with the horrible lighting at work. Diamonds just look better with natural light IMO. But then again I have never been a fan of fluorescent lighting. It's horrible for everything !



And when I got home yesterday after work. My rings had been smashed into the gloves (on subway had to wear gloves to hide the bling and the rings leave marks for a while lol) so you can still see the imprint of the rings on my hand because I took this pics as soon as I walked into the apartment because we were on a tight schedule last night.