Now I really did it :((

[missy]

Good morning girls! Hope everyone enjoyed yesterday.

Callie what fun for your grandniece to be in a parade. I hope your sweet fur baby finally pooped last night. And that you and your dh had a lovely romantic dinner at home enjoying takeout and watching over your sweet pup. Sending more hugs and healing vibes her way.

Rainwood Greg and I make a great team. I was the one who thought of a recumbent as a way to solve my saddle issues and Greg thought of a trike and researched and voilà... If I could clone him I would believe me! Yes the kitties adore their new window seat. Especially Fred. He's there almost all the time. It's so sweet. We have an ottoman right there to help him get up to the window seat since he has pretty bad arthritis. Getting older isn't easy for anyone. So happy you are enjoying a rewarding new project and cannot wait to hear the details. Hope you are enjoying a lovely holiday week.

Austina, how is your dh doing now? Thinking of you guys. I'm with him. 3 courses of dessert sounds like my cup of tea or rather should I say coffee as that is my drink of choice. Hope all is going well and smoothly with your dh's recovery.
Thanks for asking about my toe. It was hurting overnight but I haven't yet checked it out under the bandage....I am a scaredy cat sometimes meoooow...emphasis on the owww.

Marcy those chocolate chip cookies look awesome and delicious. Glad you got to sleep in a bit and I'm glad you enjoyed the holiday yesterday and your after golf meal sounds yummy and talking about sapphires with a new friend sounds even better. Hope work goes smoothly today with no bumps in the road and no baby employee behavior.

We enjoyed a nice cycling down the shore ride yesterday. 55 miles and we got to visit more friends in Sea Girt. And of course we enjoyed Days Ice Cream. All in all a perfect weather cycling down the shore day for July 4th. Sadly work is getting busier for Greg now but he is juggling it all like a trooper. Lots of calls and stuff interrupting the next few days but fingers crossed we can do it all. Meeting Butch for cycling this AM so looking forward to that. Some photos of our day yesterday and also some gorgeous garden photos from my friend Kristy and Bob's garden (LOL another Kristy and Bob though my Jersey shore friend Kristy is spelled with a Y).












at the end of our long trike ride back where we began...happy 4th!



Will continue the photos of our friends garden in the next post as there are a lot of photos. Hope you enjoy.

 

[missy]

OK photos of our friends garden. So pretty!

Entrance to their garden.



















Last photo with Greg helping Bob figure something out...and may I add he was able to help him and we even got a video from Bob last night showing how successful Greg's solution was. Yes I wish I could clone him.



Scandi hope you are feeling better today.

OK that's all for now girls. Have a great day and (((Hugs))).

 

[PierreBear]

Hello NIRDIs! Thank you for the kind comments on my rings. Nothing truly out of the ordinary that you would see on PS but they are special to me as gifts from DH. It’s been almost 10 years with the e-ring and that was pre PS days so we really didn’t know what we were doing or what type of look I might prefer. We are looking forward to a “one ring the rule them all” as someone else has coined on the site for a 10 year anniversary upgrade. Taking our time with the process but once we get closer, would love to get ya’lls thoughts and guidance.

This past weekend, my DH and I both did the Precision Bike Fit testing. Thanks again for your recommendation @missy! It took about 3 hours and it was similar to what you did, except I was on my actual bike and there were sensor attached to my body to view the left and the right side. I didn’t expect to get a workout but I essentially peddling on the trainer to get data. I learned that my left side is shorter than my ride side. My lady parts/bottom shows more sensitivity/pressure on the right side than the left. I ended up changing to a new saddle, which makes me really nervous. Still doing my test rides… and I know it’s hard for me to adjust to new changes. However, at the moment, I almost miss my old bike set up. Though DH said I’m much faster with this new set up as I have better leg extension now.

@missy - Your DH is so creative and talented! Did he do that as part of his profession/career? How did he learn?! Wow, I got an old sewing machine from a garage sale once. The intention was to be able to hem and make simple projects. Well it was untouched for years before we just sold it again. Glad to hear that the canopy held up in the wind!

@marcy – Yes, I really do love the 5 stone band. It is comfortable, cost effective, durable and visually beautiful! In hindsight, I think I could have just done that as my e-ring and wedding band. I personally feel like the 5 stone and the e-ring is a bit much sometimes. I wish I went with smaller stones on the 5 stone band but it was hard to really understand the outcome with a custom ring. With my ring size, there just wasn’t something to try on to really understand the final product. We erred on going too big than too small. It overpowers the e-ring but I didn’t want my rings to just sit at home so I just wear both but take off the 5 stone band in certain situations when I don’t want to draw attention. If you are more interested in the band one day, I would be happy to share the process with you.

Good luck to Marty testing as a strength trainer! How very exciting. There is nothing wrong with doing basic stretches/hand weights. I often feel that the complex machines are just a bunch of fluff and achieve the same thing as using body weight/hand weights.

@Scandinavian – Oohhh la la on the new dresses! The best thing to wear during the summer time! Are you going to save it for a special occasion/date?

@Austina – Hope your DH is feeling better. Any progress yet?

@Spingerpaniel – Beautiful dog. Do you groom Clyde yourself?

@junebug17 – Impressive that Zoe did well on the car ride. What a tough kitty. We used to bring my cat with us on trips. Thought that starting him out young would do the trick. Alas, he just gets motion sick and eventually throws up. Was a painful process for him as it was for us so we just let him have the whole house to himself when we leave and have neighbors check on him.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, that is great your kitties really enjoy their window seat. I can understand why. I don’t blame you for not wanting to look under the bandage. Sorry your toe is hurting still. Get better! That’s great you guys went 55 miles yesterday; I am thrilled you are enjoying the trike tandem so much. Your friend’s yard is beautiful.

PierreBear, I’m not sure those of us afflicted with the bling bug will ever truly find the one ring to rule them all - but it sure is fun trying. Sounds like the precision bike fitting found some things for you to tweak; I hope the new seat works great for you. It’s nice you can change out the look with your rings; sometimes full bling, sometimes alone. It’s all pretty, right? I swear I want to go out and try on a 5 stone ring right now. I suggested my sister do that with some of her small sapphires. I’d love to hear your band story and it’s hard to know ahead of time what you will really like on your hand. That’s kind of why I have 4 wedding bands and I do like them all. Thanks for the wishes for Marty - his testing is next weekend.

Okay so I didn’t have nearly as much fun driving to work today as I did Monday. I only got up to 93 mph before I caught up with a car and they didn’t move out of my war. DARN!!

Marty left at 4:31 am. I kind of woke up when he got up and figured I’d get up when he was leaving but he was gone before I got to the garage door. Then I had a hard time going back to sleep. He forgot to reserve a car so he will be using taxi and Uber for a few days. He comes home Friday morning so it won’t be too long. We got a bill in the mail from National Car rental today for parking (or tollway) so I paid it. When he was in the UK several years ago he got 2 speeding tickets that his company had to take care of over there. At least these were easy for me to handle. Lead foot Marty there. Oh wait ignore that since I just bragged about speeding in the last paragraph.

I hope you have a fabulous evening and day tomorrow.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

PierreBear so pleased for you that you and your dh's Precision testing went well! Yes it was quite a little workout wasn't it? Haha I needed a shower after mine that's for sure. Since we ride a tandem I don't think we could have had the test done on our bike but not really sure about the set up if we didn't ride a tandem. We still have to return the awful saddle he gave us LOL.

My dh taught himself sewing with the instruction manual that came with the Janome and that one is in Brooklyn and he also supplemented his self- instruction by using Youtube videos. He also got a Singer sewing machine at the beach house once he decided he liked sewing with the Janome. It's a win win for me because I get alterations and other things made and I like it. I have never sewn in my life and no clue how to nor a desire to learn. Maybe your dh wants to learn?

Marcy OMG don't drive so fast! Sorry to sound like an old lady but what if you get a blowout? What if someone else gets in your way and you don't have time to react because you are going too fast? You and Marty are speed demons LOL. And I get it believe me. I had a lead foot too when I was younger and my need for speed was intense but after a few close calls I decided not worth it...so please use my experiences as an example and stay safe!

Awww, Sorry you got ill last night from the chicken was it? (just catching up on the 200 texts from overnight my time LOL). Hope you are feeling better this AM! Sending big (((hugs))) and healing vibes your way sweetie.

Austina, how is your dh faring? I hope he is feeling better and his healing is going smoothly.

Had an intense bike ride yesterday and my dh is feeling it in one of his knees. This getting older stuff is slowing us down grrrrr. But going out soon for a (shorter) bike ride. Plus my dh has 2 conference calls today. Work getting in the way of fun. LOL. We had time for a delicious ice cream at Days yesterday but sadly will be skipping today . But took a photo of our yummy cold treat yesterday for the NIRDIs.



I added pb cups to mine. Not as good as it sounds. Next time I add anything I will be adding Heath Bar crunch. That rocks in ice cream. My favorite flavor of ice cream when I was young was Ben and Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch. That was seriously AWESOME. And probably still is!

Toe update I am not sure. The doctor actually called me yesterday late afternoon to check on me and I asked for a follow up appointment and he said it isn't necessary unless my toe gets red. I didn't want to push it and wanted to see how it feels this AM. He said stinging is normal so that made me feel better because it still stings quite a bit.

This AM when I removed the bandaid to change it there was a bit of blood for the first time since the procedure day. Hopefully though it is healing well and not going to get infected. Fingers and toes crossed. I am a nervous Nellie I know but it is because of the metal plates in my leg. If it wasn't for that this toe issue would not be causing me so much angst. Thanks for listening!

Have a great day girls and hope all the fur babies are doing well and that everyone is having a good week.

 

[PierreBear]

Hello ladies!

@marcy – 93 mph?! I wish I had more confident in my car handling skills. I don’t think I could pass a parallel parking test at the moment.

Is Marty nervous about his testing? Does he know what to expect or is it something you can’t really prepare for? Hoping he will be rested the night before and ready for the big day.

Sure, I’m happy to share a bit about the 5 stone band. I’m no expert like the other people on the forum about the technical aspects of diamonds so it was more comfortable to use a well-known vendor that could give us comfort in quality. We visited both WF and BG since we are located in Texas. DH had a better experience with BG since we met with one of the owners and so we started to work with BG’s company. The sales rep was responsive and attentive. I really wanted the band to show the curvature of the diamond, creating that scallop look but with U prongs from the side profile. With those two combinations, I had to go the custom route which means you can’t return the setting. So many ladies have already created such bands so I didn’t feel anxious about this process. The more confusing part was whether to go with 0.4 pts or 0.35 pts or 0.3 pts on a ring size of 4.25 for my right. Unfortunately, my left hand and my right hand has different sizing so I can’t really wear it on both hands. We didn’t want to go down the path of “too small” since I felt that I could go bigger on my e-ring so we ended up with the 0.4 pts. I also was thinking the larger the diamonds, the more you could see the curvature or scallop look. I don’t have any regrets with going with the 0.4 pts but my biggest learning point was on the color of the stone. My e-ring supposedly is an H (per the GIA certificate) and the 0.4 pts were a J as that’s all the BG had in stock. I had heard that as long as you go 2 colors down, you can’t really tell the difference. Well, I don’t think I’m that perspective or sensitive to color but I can see there is a variation between my e-ring and 5 stone band. It does occasionally bother me since I wear both at the same time. I went to BG in person to discuss a possible upgrade or change and had a pretty terrible experience. I hate to say negative things but he wasn’t really a good listener. What we might have concluded on is that my e-ring wasn’t cut well and since it is “cut deep” it actually appears a bit dead in the center but looks whiter than an H. Anyhow, long story short is that even with the bountiful knowledge of PS, my first ring/band after following this website I still found challenges. However, I’m still content with the end product. It is study and you see nothing but diamonds. There is minimal spinning and is very comfortable since your fingers sit right on the smooth band. Hope that helps but if there is something specific, please feel free to ask!

You are right to say that it will be hard to find the one ring to rule them all so I would love ya’lls help when the time comes! Perhaps I can avoid some of these issues that a more well versed person would know to think of. I bet a 5 stone with sapphires would look gorgeous and a great idea for your sister. Wish I had a sister to talk bling with. Haha!!

How do you pick between wearing your 4 wedding bands? Stack them all? Rotate based on outfits? How fun!

@missy – Your ice cream photos are the best! Hilarious to think that my DH would learn to sew. He can be crafty but it is more in the realm of landscaping/building. We have a plantar that contains bamboo, which is a plant that requires a lot of water. He connected a pipe from the ac unit so it drips into the plantar, which is a good way to safe on water. I commend him for that but thinking about him hemming my dress seems too far out of reach! Give your DH a high five for me on sewing the canopy!

Sorry to hear that you are seeing blood on your toes. Will be praying that healing takes place and hopefully that stinging feeling is just your body working hard to repair itself.


Ya’ll have a great week as well. Thankful for this short work week. Seems like most people took the whole week off so traffic has felt very light!

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

We went out yesterday for afternoon tea, a lovely Georgian country manor hotel that DH found. We'd originally booked for my birthday last week, but had to cancel as he felt so bad. It was one of those places up a narrow winding lane, with trees overhanging the road to form a canopy. We sat outside under a big shade and enjoyed the lovely gardens.

Thank you all for asking, DH is feeling so much better, I took your advice @missy and gave him some pro biotic yoghurt, I'm sure that's really helped. Sending healing thoughts that your toe is all better soon.

Yum, yum, yum @marcy your cookies look delicious. I do like to drive fast, but they've just upped the fines and penalties for speeding, so I have to be careful now, DH rarely drives these days, so I can't afford to lose my licence

I'm so relieved my ring turned out exactly as I'd hoped, after hearing your experience with such a well regarded vendor @PierreBear, it could've been disastrous. I have a 3 x .40 band, which I'm going to remodel soon. Yours sounds lovely, may we have a photo please (not for me of course, but I know the others would love to see it )

It's pretty warm here, we have windows and doors flung wide open, our silly girl has been out sunbathing, but it's so hot, she's come in to lay on a cool, tiled floor.



We took her to Virginia Water this morning and met a lovely Old English Sheepdog, Teddy, who was desperate to play with her. She was having none of it and told him to get lost It was lovely to see him as we've had 3 OES in the past.

Hope you all had a good 4th July, big wave out to you all

 

[springerspaniel]

Missy--sending toe dust your way! It sounds like you are paying close attention, so you will catch anything brewing before it gets too serious. Sorry you had such a lousy experience with the first doc. I am really enjoying vicariously your trips on the tandem.

Hi PierreBear--ever since I ended up in the ER after slashing my ankles to bits trying to shave my legs, no one has let me near razors or even electric shavers, so I don't groom our Springers. We go to PetSmart. This is what he looked like when he got his championship:



Scandi--still waiting to see pictures of the new puppy! And updates on the house.

Austina--I never get tired of seeing Dottie. Glad your husband is doing better and the tea place sounds wonderful.

Marcy--did you say what kind of testing Marty is doing? I wish him the best. DH goes out of town a lot and I know that sound when the garage door opens and closes in the God awful early morning and they are gone for awhile.

Sorry, I need to cut this short. Shout out to all the rest of the NIRDIs, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, I am really craving ice cream now. Mm. I bet Heath Bar crunch is good with ice cream. Those mint girl scout cookies crumbled are pretty good too. How is your toe doing today? That’s really nice the doctor called to check on you.
That’s really cool Greg likes to sew. All the women in my family sew; I preferred knitting but I am missing my sewing machine. I gave mine to a good friend of mine with kids when we moved. I used to make quite a few things for myself like tops, shirts and skirts. One of the nicest things I ever made was a denim shirt for Marty with all sorts of top stitching and detail on it - I was very proud of it and then he put it on and I had not adjusted for his extra long arms. His cuffs hit about half way between his wrist and his elbows. He wore it for years though and always rolled up the sleeves.
Not to worry about my occasional bursts of speed. My car isn’t even working hard at that speed and the tires are rated V (velocity) so i am fine. Also that area is flat and wide open - I can see another car coming a mile away. It’s as safe as being in bubble wrap. I’ve always said our tombstone will read “it wasn’t the Audi” of course now I have to change it to Porsche.
I am feeling fine today, thank you. I remember Kristie saying the poultry reactions get worse every time - I should have paid more attention to those words of wisdom. I probably won’t be craving chicken for a while anyway.
I hate to hear Greg’s knees are bothering him; maybe adjusting to different motions on the lower bike? I hope he feels better.
Darn that work interfering with fun.

PierreBear, when I was younger and had more guts than brains I used to drive my cars way too fast. Now I probably still have more guts than brains but I feel my car can handle the speed and I only do that when I am the only car around and I am away from busy places. I am careful!
I think Marty is anxious about his testing and kind of worried because one of his shoulders is hurt. He went to one of these before last fall so he does know what to expect. Five strength coaches will be judging, critiquing and grading him and they determine if he passes it or not. This is the place they interviewed him for the podcast a few weeks ago; the owner mentioned some guys take 5 or 6 times to pass. Each try is $945 so hopefully he passes.
I think .4 pointers for your 5 stone band sounds perfect. Definitely a nice presence and with BG diamonds it has to be a sparkler. That is too bad you sometimes notice the difference in color between the band and your diamond. I would think .4 pointer J’s would face up pretty white but side by side sometimes a color difference is more noticeable in different light. I’d love to see pictures of it; the design sounds wonderful. Do you have a link on it? I’ll go look after I post here too. I hate to hear they weren’t very responsive to an upgrade. At least you enjoy your pretty band.
My sister has always been kind of interested in jewelry. She has inherited quite a bit of my previously loved jewelry. She has definitely gotten in to gemstones in the last year or so. She is enjoying digging through bags of tailing and finding sapphires then sends them off to be cut. Most of the ladies she works with got to pick a sapphire and she had rings made for them. She’s having fun.
My 4 bands resulted from my search for the one ring to rule them all. I bought the Tiffany Etoile band before I got my new ering and diamond. So I bought the WF 3mm scattered diamond band and had them make it in to my ering and it matches the Etoile pretty well. Marty wanted me to get another Tiffany band and have them mount the diamond on it but I thought 8mm of band was a bit much for me. I bought a 3mm scattered band from WF so I had a matched set initially but rarely wore it since I liked the Tiffany band better. I traded the 3mm band in for WF’s 5 pointer channel set band and do really like it but it’s slightly wider than the Tiffany band. Then I had WF make me a custom 3 pointer channel set band (a mini me of the 5 pointer) and do really like it because the bands are about the same size. Then like I needed another band I had WF make me a custom Danielle with 5 pointer sapphires and 3 pointer diamonds. Of all the bands I think if I ever went with a matching set I’d go with the custom Danielle. I honestly like all 4 bands and even though I think of changing out my ering sometime I’d want the new ring to go with my bands. I’ll pull out the Danielle when I am wearing my blue sapphire RHR’s but I honestly swap out the bands about every 5 days. I have never wore them as stacks; I know I should.

Austina, Happy Belated Birthday! It sounds like you had a nice time. I am delighted to hear your DH is doing better. I know you have speed cameras there - I wouldn’t speed around town if they had them here. Like you; it’s not worth getting caught. Ooh to thinking of remodeling your diamonds in to a new ring. You ladies are really making me want a 5 stone band. I’d do one with sapphires or rubies as a RHR. Wait I don’t have any jewelry money. Never mind. Your yard, flowers and bushes is lovely and of course your fur baby is enjoying basking in the sunlight.

SpringerSpaniel, OMG to cutting your ankles up so bad shaving. You can join Missy and I there - we aren’t allowed to play with knives. That is awesome your fur baby won the championship. Very cool! Marty is working on becoming a strength training coach.

A friend of mine brought over tacos for supper and we played cribbage. I beat her 3-0. I am pretty lucky at that game; Marty usually wants to strangle me when we play because I am so lucky at it.

I found my in-laws anniversary card on the dining room table and ran it to the post office tonight. Hopefully it arrives in Arizona by the 12th. I had that things for 3 weeks and forgot to mail it. Blonde moments there.

Tomorrow is Friday and Marty will be home tomorrow evening. Sweet.
Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

PierreBear, I found your thread on H & J stones. I think your rings are really pretty.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Marcy wishing Marty lots of good luck on his testing! Fingers and toes crossed for him.

Thanks for explaining you are super safe when speeding. Keep it that way my NIRDI babe! And hahaha on your tombstone engraving. Love it. Hope you are fully recovered from your poultry episode. Stay away from those chickens.

Yesssss to heath bar and the girl scout mint cookies. I am not generally a fan of chocolate and mint but I make an exception for those cookies.

LOL on Marty's extra long arms and you not taking that into account when you made him that lovely shirt. You might remember I have "freakishly" long arms and legs myself. Yet something else we all have in common.

All of Greg's work calls yesterday (4 of them) lasted a total of 10 minutes. Wow to his being super efficient. If we had something critical to do I could bet they would have lasted much longer LOL. You know Murphy's Law and all that jazz.

Re his knees it is because we were riding hard and fast and furious. We overdid it mainly because it is so much fun. Greg loves taking the turns super fast on the trike and we pedal furiously as we are turning and it feels like what I would imagine a go cart would feel like. Though I have never been on a go cart. Or a little sports car. Which I am well acquainted with having owned one with my dh for many years. And the trike? It's way more fun! Greg's knee is better this AM thanks for asking.

Springerspaniel, thank you for the toe dust! I appreciate that. Your sweet spaniel is beautiful. Thank you for sharing his photo. Marcy is quite right. We all need to stay away from knives and blades etc. I won't go into the time I almost carved my finger with a knife as I was trying to de-pit an avocado.

Austina your belated birthday celebration sounded lovely! I am so pleased for you that your dh is doing well and I am continuing to send lots of healing dust and good vibes his way. Love your Dottie and love all your photos that you share here.

PierreBear your rings are very pretty! Yes our dhs have much in common though yours might not want to sew. I am quite happy with how handy my guy is as I know you are with yours. Greg loves building things and fixing things and creating things. He is as creative as I am not so we have a good balance.

It is raining right now but hoping it clears by 11AM and if it does we are going cycling. We have a dear friend's art opening to attend tonight so looking forward to that. I am slightly anxious about my toe as it is still hurting and this AM when I soaked it the toe was throbbing quite a bit which it hasn't done before. But as soon as I was done soaking it in the Epsom salts it calmed down and I think it looks OK. Just nervous because of my metal plates. Darn metal. I just want peace of mind but it is elusive until I know I am OK re infection and the metal in my leg. I did call the doctor yesterday because I was concerned about the pain but he never called me back. I guess he is already sick of me.

Happy Friday girls and enjoy the day!

 

[PierreBear]

Well, Happy Friday! DH is working from home today and is smoking brisket and chicken. Ya’ll want to come over for dinner to eat up some of this meat?! : ) I generally eat a pretty boring lunch during the work week and pack one for DH as well when he’s not going out with the team. I shred up the meat and freeze it and throughout the week, it gets defrosted to go on my salad for a little bit of interest. We will hopefully do a bike ride in the evening to try out our new fits again after getting some more guidance on changes. Glad it is Friday as we woke up to the smoke alarm beeping as the battery was low. Remember to always have extra batteries in the house! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

@Austina – Happy belated birthday! It sounds like ya’ll had a relaxing time being outdoors. I’m glad your ring turned out exactly how you wanted. So wonderful to hear about success stories to not give up on trying to make a ring you will enjoy for years to come. I’m not great with photos but I did make a few postings when I first got the 5 stone. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/5-stone-anniversary-ring.225372/

@springerspaniel – Thanks for sharing that photo! What a champ! Sorry that you had an accident with razors/electric shavers. I’ll be honest and mention that I don’t do as much shaving as I should be doing. I don’t have a lot of leg hair due to my heritage so it’s very sparse but can get long though on the soft side. Haha but still… not an excuse for a lady!

@marcy – Sorry to hear that Marty is having to go through testing with an injured shoulder. Hopefully with the adrenaline, rest, and preparation, there won’t be any issues!

I appreciate the encouragement that 0.4 pointers weren’t a bad choice on the band. Just to clarify, all the 5 stones are J’s I think but it’s the e-ring (though worn on my left hand) that I see a tint even in the aerial view not just the side view. I guess I just tell myself, well I saved a bit on the band and only I would detect the color difference if I’m looking for it. To be fair, BG was open to an upgrade but it was clear to me that it would be inconvenient to swap out stones even if I were to pay the difference. For a desirable color such as H, they would rather cut a diamond that wasn’t such an odd ct size such as for my band. For the lower color diamonds such as J, they had 0.4 in stock. Anyhow hope that makes sense and I feel guilty even typing these words out. In the future if I had a simple project, I would elect to use WF over BG.

Thanks for sharing your story of the 4 bands! I was looking through your threads and they look great. I’m really enjoying the yellow gold look, so it’s so beautiful to me!

@missy – Thanks for your ring compliment. Sorry to hear that the DR didn’t call you back. Ugh so frustrating when you need some advice/guidance especially. He shouldn’t make you feel like you aren’t able to follow up, especially when it’s an issue that was caused by him. I hope the soaking starts to help your toe feel better!

 

[missy]

Thanks PierreBear. The doctor was slammed last night and didn't leave till after 9:30PM so totally understandable.

Toe Update: Dr LaPorta called me back this afternoon and asked for me to text photos to him. We were in Target at the time LOL but luckily I just happened to have lots of toe photos to text hahaha. Right after I texted the photos to him he texted me back saying it looked irritated on the other side and wanted to see me now so he waited for me as he was about to leave for the day. He is such a nice man! Anyway we got there after much traffic (it's pouring here) and he checked me out and I am A-OK!!!

No more soaking and no more topical antibiotic. Bandaid over it for just another few days.

I am super grateful to him because he is not only an excellent doctor (which he is) but also very very nice man too and that is the perfect combination IMO when you are dealing with worrisome issues. So a big thank you to an excellent doctor!!!

We should start an excellent doctor thread and he would be first on my list.

Hope everyone is enjoying a lovely Friday.

 

[KaeKae]

Missy, I am so glad your toe is doing better and I agree about the Excellent doctor thread! So often it's the bad seeds that get the attention, making everyone in the field look bad. (Lawyers, anyone???)

Well, it's official. The house is on the market. Our realtors just left with the photographer. My house hasn't been this clean since...ever, too. Man, I hope I can keep that up for as long as needed. I love having it sparkle, but hate the work needed to keep it that way.

 

[PierreBear]

@missy – So glad to hear about the toe update. Glad that he is giving you the care you need. Sorry, I was getting heated on your behalf. I should preface that I am exposed to the medical realm due to work so I was being a bit biased. It is wonderful to hear of excellent doctors and glad that you have found one caring for your toe!

@KaeKae – Woah good luck to the sale. Hope it goes quickly!

 

[junebug17]

Hey there everyone!

Missy, I'm very glad you got good news from the doctor and that you are healing well! Love the pics of the trike all decked out for the 4th, it looks great! The sunrise and sunset pics are beautiful. Your friend's garden is so gorgeous! Such a peaceful and lovely retreat from the real world.

CJ, I'm glad you found a lawyer and I'm so sorry for the stressful situation. I probably wouldn't ask for a discount, and I would just use someone else next year. Sorry about the weirdness, his behavior is definitely puzzling.

Marcy, your cookies look so good! Lol to the rabbits trying to get them. I don't blame them! I'm glad Marty is back in town. I hope he does well on his strength training test.

Calliecake, I'm very happy to hear your furbaby is feeling better and you and dh were able to go out. Did your niece enjoy the parade?

Rainwood, I'm glad you're working on a project that is so fulfilling. Good to hear from you!

Austina, glad your husband is progressing well and feeling better. Dottie is such a sweetheart, I can tell just by the pic that she's the sweetest thing ever. Your afternoon tea sounds so lovely.

Scandi, sorry to hear about your cold, I hope you're feeling better soon. What stain did you decide on?

PierreBear, your 5 stone is just amazing! The .40 stones were an excellent choice, it looks fabulous on you.

Springerspaniel, what a beautiful pic of your sweet dog! He definitely is a winner.

KaeKae, sending lots of good luck wishes to you for a quick sale!

Thank you to everyone for all the Zoe love! Having a nice time here in SC - weather has been hot and sunny so spending time at the beach and pool - DS is coming tomorrow, and DD will be here on Monday.

Take care, and I hope everyone has a great Saturday!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, that’s great your doctor waited to see your toe and gave you a good report card. I’m very impressed he called you and then asked for pictures. Sounds like a good doctor. I didn’t get to speed at all today going to work - only about 55 mph. I did get up to 64 mph coming home though - trying to beat a thunderstorm that might have hail. I am glad Greg’s work calls were so brief; Marty can’t get much work done right now with all of the conference calls he has to be in. I’m glad to hear Greg’s knees are better and that is so cool you guys enjoy taking the turns really fast - see you are being speed demons like me. I hope you guys had a wonderful time at your friend’s art show tonight.

PierreBear, I’ll come have some delicious brisket but pass on the chicken. Ha Ha. Don’t you hate the batteries in smoke detectors going bad at inconvenient times? The highest one in our house always goes off when Marty is out of town. Enjoy your evening bike ride. I think your 5 stone ring is gorgeous. That is too bad BGD wasn’t overly anxious to help you change out your diamonds. I almost went with them on a band one time and kind of got that feeling as well. I’ve had nothing but great customer service from WF. If I ever decide to change out my ering I want to go visit WF in person. Thank you for the kind words about my 4 bands. I do like diamonds in YG but of course I don’t snub my nose at white gold or platinum.

KaeKae, good luck with getting your house on the market. Good luck keeping it sparkling clean. I know it would be a challenge to do that around here.

Junebug, it sounds like you are having a fabulous time on the beach. I am glad to hear your DS and DD are coming to visit too. Is Zoe enjoying her new digs?

It’s finally Friday evening. Sweet. Marty is home and won’t be going back to LA any earlier than the 18th. Woo hoo! I’ll tell him all of your good wishes for his testing next weekend.

We had a rain storm move through here about the time we got off work today but luckily the quarter sized hail didn’t fall out of the sky.

Have a fabulous weekend!
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Happy Saturday!

KaeKae Wishing you the best of luck with a speedy and successful sale! Yay for getting that part done as getting started is the most challenging part I have found. Fingers and toes crossed for you.

PierreBear, thank you and no need for apology! This doctor isn't the one that massacred my toe and believe me I have plenty of grrrrr in reserve for that first guy. Feel free to get heated on my behalf anytime and I am happy to do the same for you. Love the support and hugs and good wishes and ready ears to listen and care here. (((HUGS))).

Junie how wonderful your DD and DS are joining you and that the weather is behaving itself! Sounds like a perfect beach getaway vacation and so happy Zoe is doing well in her new home. I find the kitties love being at the beach house and while the travel isn't so much fun for them they recover. I forget which NIRDI mentioned that their kitty gets car sick so they cannot travel with her/him but my solution for that is keeping them on your lap. That helps them not get car sick. Works like a charm with HRH Francesca who without fail gets car sick in the carrier but never vomits (LOL I hope I didn't just jinx us ) when she sits on my lap the entire ride. So that's where she sits.

Marcy so pleased for you that Marty is home at least till the 18th and I hope you have a wonderful weekend together. Glad you made it home last night without getting a hail storm. Super scary to be driving in one and as you know we have the experience of being caught in a fierce hailstorm on our tandem years ago. That wasn't fun and we ran for cover but we did have to ride back lots of miles in the thunder and lightning in the rain after the hailstorm was over. Fun times.
Yes please let Marty know we are all sending bucket loads of good luck dust his way for his testing next weekend.


Yesterday afternoon when we got back from the doctor's visit it finally stopped pouring so we went for a bike ride but it was a mad dash to get ready for the art opening that evening when we got back from our bike ride since we got such a late start. But I'm glad we got to ride because it was nice after the downpours with a cooler East wind. Unlike today. It's going to be very hot here with a west wind so we are leaving early for a bike ride.

Last night there was a great turnout for our friend's art opening. He is very talented. For our wedding gift he took all our photos and did a great job. We also have some of his art work hanging in our Brooklyn apartment and I joked with him last night I'm going to sell them and retire when he gets "discovered".


Here's a photo of us last night. Taken by the artist's wife.



Sorry about the print size. It did the weird switching thing while I was posting and I cannot for the life of me fix it to normal size. So it's either small or large print to choose from when it does that so I just choose the size 4 font size because the size 3 is too small to read.
I hope everyone enjoys a lovely Saturday.

 

[springerspaniel]

Marcy and PierreBear--the last time DH was out of town one of the smoke alarms went off in the middle of the night. He had shown me what to do ahead of time. I was singularly unable to repeat what he said. I got on a chair and did everything I could think of with the thing blasting away about unsafe carbon monoxide levels, telling me to get out immediately--tried to spin it, push on it, pull it apart, etc. Finally, I pulled it out of its socket and threw it in the freezer. Dogs and I could still hear it. I then wrapped it in a blanket and put it in the drier. Problem solved.

 

[MarionC]

Hi guys! I'm back home and mowing like crazy. It's so green here!
Bought and put together a new bike for riding on the trails around the farm.
I now know more about bikes, and adjusting them, that I ever dreamed possible or cared to know LOL
My most exciting news is that I had my antique earrings from the French flea market appraised yesterday and they actually are diamonds! I assumed they were glass paste set in gold and was very happy with them already.

Missy, good morning and happy Saturday to you. Love that photo of you and Greg. I'm so glad I met you last winter because it makes seeing photos more fun : )

June, so glad to hear you're a the beach and having a good time. You deserve that and much more.

Hi Marcy, I'll have to go back and see what Marty's testing is about but I'm wishing him good luck right now. I wish we lived closer because I know he would be a great coach. Maybe sometime he'll start an online coaching service to help us all stay strong, even if we can't visit his business in person.

Scandi, Be Well Soon! Sorry you have a cold.

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies.

We're in Wales! Took 4 hours to drive here, but the cottage is lovely, and Dottie has been transfixed by all the bunnies hopping around in the garden. I'll try and get some photos tomorrow.

Hope the toe is continuing to heal @missy ,thank you, as always for the photos. So glad it stopped raining so you could get out and ride, and that your friend's show had a good turnout.

@springerspaniel what a handsome boy He has beautiful facial markings.

Welcome home @Jimmianne, you clever thing, enjoy your new bike.

Hope you get a quick and easy sale @KaeKae with no timewasters!

Have fun with your DS and DD @junebug17 hopefully the weather will stay absolutely perfect for you.

Thank you @PierreBear , I checked out your thread, wowser! It's beautiful and suits your lovely long fingers so well.

Yay to Marty being home for a while @marcy I sympathise as DH was away an awful lot during his working life. I hope things went well for him, although I'm sorry that I also have no idea what it's about

Did I mention we are in Wales for the Spinfest ? Lots of mad owners and their dogs getting together to walk, go to the beach and socialise. Going to be a busy week.

Hope you alol have a lovely weekend

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, going home on your tandem in a bad thunderstorm does not sound fun. I am glad you don’t have to do that often. I did tell Marty today all of you are wishing him luck; he said he is sure he’ll need it. Good deal you got a ride in yesterday and enjoyed the art show last night. That is a fabulous picture of you and Greg last night. I hope your toe is way better today and Greg’s knees are doing better too.

SpringerSpaniel, naturally those smoke detectors go off in the middle of the night. I love that you tried putting it in the freezer and then the dryer. Problem solved indeed.

Jimmianne, welcome back!!! I bet you have a lot to mow; glad it’s green there. Sweet that your antique earrings are diamond; now you like them even more. I am glad you are enjoying your new bike. Marty is testing for his strength coach training next weekend.

Austina, enjoy your time in Wales! What is a Spinfest? How is your DH's nose doing?

We went on a road trip today. The spot my club is going to watch the eclipse is a remote spot in the mountains and I’m a total city girl so it wasn’t my idea of fun. The director of the camp was there and he took us around everywhere. It was in the 90’s, buggy, weedy and had outhouses more than real bathrooms. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the guy wanted to show Marty a bunch of spots and a telescope they had donated and cabins, etc. My allergies are pegged bad tonight. I don’t foresee me going there to watch the eclipse; I would not be breathing or having fun. The area is pretty and we had to drive through a herd of American bison.

We spotted at a restaurant on the way home for a late lunch and got home about 4. We rented a few movies tonight and had some popcorn. We watched John Wick 2 (it was okay) and Life (pretty good but made me nervous).

Tomorrow is total laundry day and picking up the house.
Have a great Sunday.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

A few pics from today

This shows how open and flat it is around here



The Bison weren't phased by us driving through them and honking. This is a Wyoming Traffic Jam.



It was pretty area but rugged

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Jimmianne woohoo on your diamond flea market find! And yessss to being so bike knowledgeable! It will serve you well you sweet French country girl. Greg calls me his little Italian girl because one of my first bikes with him was the Milano and he said I looked like a little Italian girl. Haha. The Milano is such a pretty bike. I still have both of my Milanos. Cannot wait to hear all of your adventures! And I hope you can visit us again soon by the way...

Marcy nice road trip yesterday. Love the Bison and LOL on a Wyoming traffic jam. Beats NYC traffic jams all the way.
Sorry your allergies sucked though and hope you feel sweet relief now. Your evening last night sounds perfectly relaxing and a nice way to end the day. You know I LOVE popcorn. Good luck with laundry and such today. Thanks for sharing your lovely photos!

Austina, so glad you are enjoying your cottage in Wales and big hugs to Dottie. Your spinfest sounds like fun and I love active vacations. Enjoy your busy week and I hope your dh's recovery is continuing to go well.

Hi Springerspaniel. LOL on your smoke alarm actions. Those things can be quite maddening can't they? Glad you got it to STHU.

We enjoyed cycling yesterday AM and then went outlet shopping in the afternoon where I got my first few pairs of croc sandals. They are quite comfie and I never knew they made a sandal. Not attractive but I don't care as comfort is #1 for me these days.

Cycling with our friend R yesterday AM.


It became super hot so we could only cycle 40 miles. I was melting.


Then before we went shopping we spotted Tigre in the backyard



Shopping loot score



And my dh while he patiently waited for me


and even my dh scored...(some shopping loot)
I love the expression he makes when he tries clothes on lol.
Pink pants.




The sky last night



NYC skyline



And that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed the photos and have a lovely Sunday!

 

[junebug17]

Hi Nirdis!

Missy, I'm glad riding in your lap helps Francesca with her motion sickness, sounds like the perfect solution. I'm just worried Zoe wouldn't stay in my lap the whole time, especially for such a long trip. She didn't seem to be in distress so I don't think she was feeling sick, just a bit miffed ha! Love the pic of you and Greg at the art show, you both look great and it looks like it was a fun night. I'm glad you're getting some cycling in in spite of the heat. I love your new crocks! They are really cute. I do agree with you about comfort coming first these days! Love Greg's new pants too, they look great. Such a sweet pic of Tigre Your pics of the sky are really beautiful.

Marcy, great news that Marty will be home for a while! Zoe is settling in pretty well at the house, she seems to have adjusted to the new place, especially with regard to where the kitty litter is, thank goodness lol. Sorry the camp didn't work out but I hear you, I wouldn't be into it either. At this point in time I'm just too used to creature comforts, like indoor plumbing haha! Can you see the eclipse from your home decently enough? Your pics are just beautiful, what gorgeous scenery. And those bison are amazing. How wonderful that there are still such untouched and natural places in our country. I went to Wyoming some years ago with dh and we went for a raft ride on the river, and I was spellbound by the beauty and grandeur of the scenery. My bil was saying SC is a good place to see The eclipse so he and a friend are coming back here to watch it - not sure if my sister is joining them. Dh might be interested because it will be a good excuse to go back to SC lol.

Springerspaniel, lol about your smoke detector story! I've had to do a similar thing when dh was away - i stuck it in a closet but the dryer is a great idea haha.

Jimmianne, welcome back! Great news about the earrings, talk about a pleasant surprise! Congrats on getting the bike and learning so much about it, it will be really enjoyable biking around the farm.

Austina, have a great time at your cottage in Wales, it sounds really lovely. Sounds like it will be a fun week, with lots to see and do.

DS got here yesterday and we've been having a good time enjoying the pool and beach. he and I are Twin Peaks fans so we're all set to watch it tonight. Here is a pic of Zoe checking out the birds, this little window seat makes a nice spot for her to hang out.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, your pictures are fabulous as always. Yay for shopping loot and beautiful sky last night. I am with you on comfort being important. I need to try Croc’s some time. I hear many good things about them.

Junebug, I am with you and Missy about comfort coming first. I love the picture of Zoe on her cushion looking out the window, she’s checking out the scenery and action out there. Our club is going to go ahead with the Scout camp for the eclipse; I just don’t think I’ll want to go. Even having Marty come get me the day before would probably be a big hassle with all the traffic. The eclipse is 98% here so it wouldn’t be bad; just not a total eclipse. I don’t know what I’ll do that day yet. I did see the eclipse was total across parts of SC. That’s nice you can view it from your beach house. Wyoming does have some pretty places and some not so pretty places. I bet the river rafting was fun. Have fun with your DS watching Twin Peaks tonight.

Poor Marty woke up at 4:30 today. I’d woke up and got up for a minute and decided the room was hot so I turned on the ceiling fan; that woke Marty right up. I was able to go back to sleep until about 7. I sat around in my pj’s for 2 hours reading.

Marty pulled out all of our telescope stuff to get it ready for the eclipse. I picked off dead flowers and did laundry; it seems like i had a lot of it this time but it is always more than I want to do.

We ate healthy today. Marty grilled some stuff and I made veggies and fresh fruit salad. I did have a mini Magnum ice cream bar tonight though.

We are watching Hot Shots and Hot Shots Part Deux. They are silly movies but entertaining.

I kept thinking about the Martian in the movie Life last night. I’ll have to watch something funny before going to bed tonight.

Have a fabulous Monday.
Marcy

 

[KaeKae]

We have an offer on the house. Full asking price. I/we have some concerns, the biggest being that they have a good down-payment, but are not yet pre-approved. Why NOT? Hopefully that will be rectified in the next day. 5heu also want a 21 day escrow. We'll need to negotiate on that.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Marcy, sounds like a great Sunday and yummm to grilled veggies. And ice cream. Always a personal favorite. I have to check out those movie recs. Haven't seen any of them. Hope you and Marty got a good night's sleep last night. I can keep Marty company because generally I am awake by 4:30 AM. Especially on a night before I have to go back to work. Oy. Anyway hope you had sweet dreams last night.

Junie so happy you are enjoying your family and just LOVE the sweet Zoe photo on her window seat. She looks so comfy and cozy and at home there. LOVE. We are almost finished with the Twin Peaks original series and hopefully by the time we get home we can have it ready for us to watch the new series. We've been gone for 12 days so there is a (good) chance our TVs need to be reset (yes one of the maddening quirks of all our electronics when we go away LOL) so not sure it will be on TIVO waiting for us but I sure hope so!

KaeKae woohoo!!!! Congrats and hoping it goes smoothly!

We are staying here till tomorrow AM as Greg's work schedule is too busy to travel back right now (work conference calls all day long) so I am "stuck" here with little to do but will workout shortly and do some laundry of our linens and chat on the phone and hopefully the day will be relaxing and calm.
Hope everyone enjoys a lovely Monday!

Leaving you with our ice cream photo from yesterday. It was worth cycling 50 plus miles in order to enjoy it!
Can you see the heath bar crunch addition to my (coffee) ice cream? YUMMMMMmmmmmmy.

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies.

Wow that was quick @KaeKae , hope it all goes through smoothly.

Great photo of puss on lookout duty @junebug17 glad she's settling.

Love the photos @marcy, kind of like here, but substitute the bison for cows.

Great haul @missy, I've not seen crocs like that before.

We were out most of the day yesterday, it was beautiful weather and we all went to Saundersfoot for a beach walk. Caused quite a stir when people saw us all with a pack of Spinoni. We stopped at a pub for a drink, then walked all the way back.

We took Dottie to Tenby beach today, it's cooler but lovely walking weather.

DH's nose is healing well, and looking a lot better. He's definitely decided he doesn't want plastic surgery to tidy it up, which is fine by me. It's his birthday today, we're going to eat in, fillet steak, asparagus, baby corn and dauphinois potatoes.

Dottie is zonked from all the exercise, she's bunny watching at the moment.

Have a good day everyone.

 

[PierreBear]

This past weekend was a good one but a short one. My DH is traveling for work and had to leave Sunday morning. We the made the most of our Friday night and Saturday though. The highlight was doing a surprise date night. In our almost 8 years of marriage, he’s never taken me out to eat without me figuring out where we are going. I have a new thing where I send him a list of restaurants to try out and he gets to pick. Makes it still a surprise. Food was good but portions were a bit on the smaller side. Going fancy is sometimes fun but I dislike leaving the restaurant feeling somewhat hungry. The interesting thing was they had “dim sum” type carts pushed around. It wasn’t Asian dim sum food there were serving but it was similar concept that allows the chef to experiment with fresh ingredients that they might not have enough of to put on the menu.

We also visited a neat sculpture that was recently put up along one of the running trails in town. It’s called Forever Bicycles. Pretty neat and just wanted to share with ya’ll. OK have a great rest of the week everyone!




@springerspaniel – Your story about the smoke alarm was hilarious. You are a resourceful woman! I’m not sure if there are any Friends TV show fans but there is an episode that Phoebe just couldn’t get the smoke alarm to stop beeping. She would call it a noisy b***ch and eventually just wrapped it up in a blanket and I believe threw it down the trash chute. : )

@marcy – Love the bison photos! How magical and I think a road trip to Wyoming might be on my list of travel to dos in the future. I agree with you that I’m a city girl but more and more now, I enjoy the outdoors. It still has to be the right weather conditions for it to be fun for me. Hope your allergies have subsided.

@junebug17 – Love your Zoe picture. I’m assuming she’s just an indoor kitty? Does she ever “chitter/chatter” at things she sees outside?

@KaeKae – Wow way to go on an offer on the hosue already! Good luck with the negotiations!

@missy – Glad you got some miles in on the bike and found some goodies at the outlet store. Yes, I think sandals are the way to go given the 90 + degrees you mentioned. By the way, I love how trendy your DH likes to dress. I can’t imagine my DH wearing pink pants. Pink shirt is doable but he would say he couldn’t pull off pants. Haha!

@Austina – Yes, enjoy your vacation in Wales! Hope the weather is nice over there.