Now I really did it :((

[marcy]

Scandi, your new baby is a cutie. Sorry you didn’t end up with the first pick but I know you’ll love your second choice just as much. It also sounds like the other puppy should live a more easy going life. I’ll make you some cookies. I hope you feel better.

Missy, I wonder if Fred senses your disappointment at leaving the beach house and that is why he meows all the way home? He is worried about his mama. I hope your problem with your toe becomes a distant memory soon. It is nice to be able to do small community events but try to get pizza delivered 24 hours a day here. Glad you are back at the beach house again already. I am definitely not eating whole wheat or chicken any time soon. I am used to all my weird allergy problems; I guess i just accept it since there isn’t a lot I can do to change it.

Calliecake, sorry your flowers aren’t looking as good as last year. We are getting pretty hot here (not Kristie hot but hot) and mine aren’t doing as well. I need to go pick off dead flowers again but think I’ll wait until tomorrow. I’m with you on a plain solitaire ring and a few side stones. I bought a halo RHR on impulse and traded it in a few months later. I love halos but they aren’t something I like on me. LOL at my children playing with scissors. I’d say they cut themselves a few times this week. We are slower right now so there aren’t any many things they can mess up but they still pulled a few good ones. Sigh.

PierreBear, I am glad your training conference went well. It is hard to hold a crowd for a long time in this world of smart phones. Your cooking / baking class sounds really fun. The pot luck with the church will give you a good place to try new recipes and techniques. Darn that the new cookie recipe didn’t turn out well. I sometimes have better luck the first time I try a recipe then I make it for company and it’s only so-so. I’ve wanted a SUV for about 10 years but Marty wasn’t willing to give up his sports car. With the Macan he can still drive a fast sports car and I get my SUV. I like the height of them for sure. It is amazing how rings we love online just don’t do look as good when we try them on. It is so hard to tell until you can see them on you in person.

Austina, glad you made it home even if it took 5 hours. Good idea to go home a day early to avoid wet road conditions. It sounds like you had a lovely time.

Marty and I went to supper Thursday night then did some shopping. We made our Sams Club run and we stocked up paper products - my linen closet it plum full. Last night I did some shopping on the way home then I watched a movie. My cleaning lady was coming this morning (I thought it was next weekend so surprise there) so I picked up Marty’s shoes and watches last night and did some laundry.

This morning I went out for breakfast then went to Kohl's. I got a few new tops and some new towels. Between what i picked up and when I checked out I was short a hand towel and washcloth. Oh well, if i like them I’ll go pick the other 2 towels.

My sister and BIL came up today. She turned in one of her sapphires to get made in to a pendant. She is getting the same mounting as my diamond pendant. We went to lunch at Olive Garden then visited for awhile.

My friend from down the street brought over some PDF to print some t-shirt designs for her. It was a busy day!

Have a great evening.
Marcy

 

[Scandinavian]

Good morning from the mountains!
Please forgive typos! Typing on my phone and the spell check is definitely not in English so it is trying to change half my words....
We drove up here last night to get the children (who were on holiday with my mother) and leave the dog. Furbaby is not so keen on Hawaii for some reason! We will be going home again later today, but first coffee, breakfast and a long walk. Hopefully in that order. I sure need coffee right now. Furbaby is so happy to be here she woke me up 4 times during the night to ask if we could go for a walk. I did walk her last night though. Twice. But the mountains are just so nice!! LOL

Missy, how is your toe doing? I keep thinking about it even if I am sure you are trying not to. Sorry for reminding you. (Not oyo. You. Come an. Stupid dictionary. I am not Finished. No. Finnish. You get my drift. LOL)

I have been thinking of a halo for my ring actually. Just had a feeling it might be more protected from me bumping into thing. Kind of scared I might chip it.

Marcy, if you are curby, I can be bumpy.....
Thank you for the cockies! They were wonderful! How is your allergi out break going? I know what it is like to react to food. My only concern is gluten. But OMG are they able to hide it in anything. And as ny body can totally discover traces, anything derved from wheat such as a lot of the glucose stuff. So just fish, meat and vegetabilsk for me on holiday thank you very much I am going to be the only one healtier on holiday than at home.....

I am counting on you to take me for ice cream though Missy! your pictures have made me want *your* ice cream for ages!

Jimmianne how is home? Good food in France? I realle like the kitchen pictures you posted! A very nice change and a big change without a completely reno! Bet Issy was over the mood happy to see you again! I love Issy

 

[Scandinavian]

Jimmianne. Not mood. MOON.

Callie, the new baby is a total sweetheart too. He is from the same litter and he was our second choice. They are impossible to tell apart except from their making really. So I am just being silly. Its just that I already was a little attached emotionally LOL. Oh yes! Come to NY! I am sure Missy would not mind! Just kidding. Not about Missy. LOL. Perhaps next time! I would love to come back and do some Christmas shopping in December Always saying that and never doing it so it should be about time actually!

Austina, we drive a lot too! Most trips are betjene 4 and 6 hours. Hate that but love where they take us

Kristie, how is Maggie ? And Finn? And you? Any holiday plans?

 

[Scandinavian]

betjene = between LOL

I will stop typing nonsense now. Hugs!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Austina welcome home!

Marcy glad you are feeling better from your food allergies and that is wise thinking. I always remember the saying-give me the strength to change what I can and accept what I cannot change and hope for the wisdom to know the difference. Though sometimes my stubborn nature wants to fight against that and change the impossible. But hey a girl has got to dream right?Yay for stocking up on paper products from Sams Club. That's what we do at Costco and I am always happy when we have a full supply closet. I don't like running low on supplies as that means there is a chance we can run out and I have grown quite attached to toilet paper and paper towels and tissues LOL. Glad you enjoyed a lovely day with your sister and BIL and I am sure her pendant will be gorgeous.

Scandi! I wish there was time and you would be here a whole weekend because then I would take you to Days in Ocean Grove NJ. This is just for you. Our sweet treat from yesterday. And we also got to enjoy live music as they were having a fundraiser too. It was a lovely surprise and we just made the live music performance. I took a quick video but sadly cannot share it on PS darn. Toe is coming along, thank you for asking. Here is your ice cream Scandi.



We enjoyed a lovely but very warm bike ride yesterday and as you can see above had a sweet treat during the cycling break in the middle of our ride. And when we got back Greg grilled us some more delicious fresh bluefish. Bluefish for us means summer at the shore. It was so good.









Today is another warm day so we are heading out early on the bike. I have another cycling challenge but my dh is on top of it so fingers crossed this solution works.

Hope everyone is enjoying a fun weekend and see you later.

 

[CJ2008]

Hi girls! Just a quick pit stop to say hello. Hope you all had a lovely weekend and that you're doing great. Hugs.

(missy that fish looks DELICIOUS. DH made chicken yesterday on the grill. I love when he grills. It's so good).

And hello furbabies and scary bears and rabbits!

(hey, I'm missing a smiley it's one of the ones I use really often. )

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, i bet you are excited for your trip to Hawaii. How exciting. It sounds like you had a great time in the mountains. We are Curby and Bumpy. Ha ha. I always freak out when I bump my rings on something. I don’t have any halo rings but I would guess they would protect your diamond more than a solitaire; but then I would worry the diamonds in the halo might be high maintenance. Someone with a halo would know better than me about that though. I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies. I am doing good today with my allergies. Thanks for asking. I was going to go pick off dead flowers but it’s really windy today so decided I’d wait until it’s just breezy. Darn it that gluten finds it’s way in to your food in unsuspecting places. Good plan to stick with meat and veggies on your trip. It’s miserable to be sick and worse when you are sick away from home.

Missy, your ice cream looks delicious and how nice to get treated to live music. That is a very wise saying to follow - but I agree sometimes it’s hard to not keep trying to change things we can’t. It just shows we don’t give up easy, right? I am so OCD that when I am down to 3 or 4 things left I go out and stock up again. In the winter that makes sense since sometimes a blizzard can keep us home for a few days. My sister’s pendant will be pretty. It’s a 6mm round blue-green sapphire, it’s a medium color so it should be good in a pendant. Your grilled fish looks tasty. Oh no to another biking challenge; I hope things worked out okay and you and Greg had a nice ride.

CJ, I hope your are doing well.

I had a lazy day today. I slept in, finished the laundry, watched some movies and read a little while. Marty should be home in about an hour or so. He leaves for business in the morning, gets home Friday, then leaves next Monday for a week.

I found a series on the Smithsonian channel about First Ladies. It was pretty interesting. This segment was on first ladies during war so this one covered Mary Todd Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt and Laura Bush.

I downloaded a NASA power point to use at our astronomy meeting about the upcoming solar eclipse. I love NASA and JPL’s outreach programs that has already made programs you can use. I tweaked it in a few places and my talk is ready to go. Sweet.

Have a fabulous evening and happy Monday.
Marcy

 

[missy]

GM girls! It's Monday again.

CJ Hey there. Hope everything is going smoothly. A few of the emojis I like are still missing and also it is another step now for me to add them on my laptop. Weird. Hope all your fur babies are well too!

Marcy, glad you enjoyed the weekend and that you had a lazy day yesterday. Thanks for reminding me it was National Ice Cream Day yesterday btw. Glad your astronomy power point talk is all ready to go. You are super prepared and on top of things. I don't like getting low on supplies either and I guess I'm a bit OCD too. We had a good ride yesterday thanks. It was warmer than I would like but going with the flow. One thing I realized is there is a dearth of recumbent cycling gear for women so now I have to figure a solution out and perhaps engage Greg's seamstress skills LOL. My poor dh's honey do list keeps getting larger and larger and larger.
That first lady documentary sounds interesting thanks for letting us know about it.
Hope work goes well and that Marty gets home to you fast from this business trip and that his next one is a short one too.

So we decided to go for a morning bike ride today and maybe leave for Brooklyn later in the afternoon. We could leave tomorrow AM but honestly it was stressful to get back on Tuesday last week and have Greg make sure everything was working and then rushing off to work so I prefer going back later if work permits for Greg to be away from the phone while we are traveling back. So afternoon undecided at this point. But couldn't pass up a ride this AM since the weather is still nice as the rest of the week through Friday will be unbearably hot and humid I think. Plus the next few weekends we have to come back early due to social engagements so want to get the most of the time here that we can...

Hope everyone is well and have a good day girls and I'll try checking back with you later.

 

[PierreBear]

Nice weekend with the DH. Saturday morning run followed by a baby shower. Sunday morning we did a long bike ride and whew… I’m glad to have my old saddle back on. We also did a quick swim at our local gym in the evening for fun. Did some landscaping work, which was really trying to rescue our fig trees from the heat. Two of the small trees were getting burnt up from the sun. Moved them to the side of the house but hopefully the shock of the move doesn’t kill them.

I hope ya’ll don’t mind me airing out my dirty laundry but I felt really out of place at the baby shower, with my lack of knowledge of baby information and products. Said something pretty embarrassing. No one laughed at me but I just felt like it was a scene out of a movie where the audience was snickering. The ladies were giving their tips on whether “black out” sleeping was beneficial for their kids. I first had to learn that meant putting curtains up so the room was pitch black. Kids sleep longer but all the moms agreed that it wasn’t beneficial in the long run if they have to travel or sleep in a new place. I didn’t think too hard before trying to make some conversation and asked if they made baby eye masks, which is what adults do if they sleep in a new environment etc. I got a reply that the kids probably wouldn’t keep it on their face and worst case is that it becomes a choking hazard. Felt like such a dummy and didn’t know how to recover from that but eat more brunch snacks. I guess I’ll just stick to cat tips?!


@marcy – Glad ya’ll found a good compromise between cars. DH used to have a manual. I gave it a good college try to learn. I can get someone to the hospital but if it involves stopping on a hill and then putting it into 1st quick enough, I would probably roll back and hit the car behind me. This reminds me of a true practice story. I meant to put the car in reverse but it actually went forward with the front tires on the backyard grass and the back tires on the car port concrete. Didn’t have enough leverage/speed to reverse the car back onto the car port area so we did the next logical thing…. which of course is to drive the car further into the backyard so then you can get enough speed to reverse onto the car port. Wrong move! Our poor neighbors had to see our car in the backyard and probably gave us dirty looks. We had just moved in and it was only a few months before we became those weird neighbors. We had our car in the backyard for a good half a day before we finally figured out to used sand bags to make a mini-ramp and get the car back to where it should be. No more manual attempts for me. Don’t worry, I won’t ask to borrow your Porsche one day! I’m a terrible driver and always opt to ride when I can!

@Callicake – Glad you have a niece who knows pretty jewelry when she sees it! It’s always fun when there is history behind a gift you are given.

@missy – The bluefish looks delish! We don’t do much grilling but how does the fish stay in-tact as a filet instead of crumble? I find that fish is so delicate to cook with, even on the skillet that doesn’t have grates. What do you season it with and do you eat it with a sauce? Just eager to learn if you don’t mind sharing!

 

[missy]

Hi PierreBear, Glad you enjoyed a nice long bike ride this weekend with your dh! So is the new saddle recommended by the Precision fit professional not as comfortable as your old saddle? We enjoyed a lovely Monday morning bike ride today and are heading back to the city soon. Sad the weekend is over but hopefully next weekend will be nice riding weather too.


Regarding your bluefish questions my dh is the chef but happy to share.



Bluefish is one of those fish that stands up to grilling very well and does not crumble. The critical factor with Bluefish is it must be fresh to be delicious. Like out of the ocean that day and preferably within a few hours. Then grill it that day and it is amazing and not fishy at all. Greg uses olive oil only while cooking and sometimes adds lemon when it is on the plate. We add it to a fresh salad and it is amazing. We add grilled onions, mushrooms, and sometimes grilled corn. We mix it up but generally my fave combo is grilled mushrooms and onions and my dh loves adding mozzarella cheese to make it a caprese salad.









And my dh just this moment finished grilled fresh corn on the cob. OMG cannot wait for dinner tonight.



Adding a gorgeous sunrise this AM.





Adding one last photo of HRH from last night as the last of the sun was vanishing. She was just soaking it up. She is super precious.

OK I am off to start getting ready for the trip back to NYC. Have a good afternoon girls!

 

[junebug17]

Hi everyone!

Missy, glad you were able to get in a ride this morning. Lol to the kitties missing the beach, I know how they feel haha! Love the pic of Greg swimming, and the canopy on the trike looks great. Those raccoons do look pretty cute - I feel a little bad for them too but it's definitely for the best that they can't get into the feeding station. The bluefish salad and corn look sooo delicious, now I'm hungry lol. And of course the ice cream looks positively yummy, such a perfect treat after all that cycling Aw, Francesca looks so sweet sunning herself, and that sunset pic is just gorgeous - the colors are amazing!

Marcy, apparently there is a really good spot to see the eclipse in NC, I think it's a town called Franklin? around an hour and a half from Asheville. My sister said people in this small town are expecting thousands of people. My sister isn't going but my bil and his friend probably will. I think you can also get a decent view of it from the SC beach we go to. Maybe dh will use it as an excuse to go back in August lol. Love your pics of the sky after the storm. The pic of the rainbow is amazing! How cool it was used on the news. And oh my gosh to your co-worker making comments like that! I get the feeling he thought he was being complimentary, so you actually did him a big favor by mentioning it to his boss so that he doesn't continue doing it and eventually really puts his foot in his mouth! Sounds like you handled your one on one with your employee well and hopefully you got through to her. Sorry Marty is going to be gone a lot in the next few weeks, but we will keep you company! Sounds like you had a nice time with your sister - she made a good choice on the setting, I love it.

Pierrebear, love the bicycle sculpture, very cool! Yes, Zoe is an indoor cat although I think there are times she wishes she wasn't lol! Yes, she chirps and chatters at various animals outside, it's pretty cute. I think she thinks she's a tiger or something ha. So glad you had a lovely weekend with your hubs and a nice dinner at home with friends. Sorry your cookies didn't come out quite as planned but I'll bet they were delicious! A trip to CA sounds wonderful, and it will be fun to visit Singlestone, they have such gorgeous pieces. Please try to not feel badly about the incident at the baby shower, your question actually made perfect sense considering the topic of conversation so don't give it a second thought!

KaeKae, congrats on the quick sale! Great news - Showing a home is such a pain, so I'm really glad it's ending up that you didn't have to do it for long. Good news that they agreed to 45 days. I hope things are going smoothly.

Jimmianne, what a beautiful pic of you, you glow and are just so lovely, really and truly. Love your biking outfit! You did a great job sprucing up the bathroom, what a difference. It looks really nice.

Calliecake, sorry to hear you're dealing with a raccoon problem, I hope you've figured out a way to keep them away from the house. Are you having a nice summer so far? Doing anything special this summer?

I'm sorry you're not loving your halo ring - any thought to a reset into a solitaire setting? Just thinking out loud, it's a shame to have a diamond and not wear it!!!

Scandi, your new doggie is adorable!!! I'm sorry things didn't work out with the other puppy and I understand that you would feel a little sad about it - but this way each dog is going to be in a home that best suits their needs. This cutie will make such a wonderful addition to your family, can't wait until she is with you. I forgot you are going to Hawaii, so exciting!!!

Austina, glad you had such a nice getaway! Sounds like fun, especially for Dottie It must have been enjoyable meeting fellow Spinone owners.

We got home from SC yesterday, hit some traffic around Washington DC so the trip took longer than usual - but we made it home safe and sound and Zoe did fine on the ride. Had a very nice time, the weather was warm and sunny except for a few quick thunderstorms so dh got a lot of golfing in. It was fun spending time with dd and DS as well. Now back to reality, boo.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

 

[CJ2008]

@PierreBear LOL on the baby masks! (totally not making fun of you, laughing with you.)

OMG that fish missy.

And HRH looks so black she looks almost blue. So cute.

You know what's funny I went to Whole Foods this morning to pick up bread and I went to look at the seafood section to see if anything already prepared caught my eye. I am just now realizing I had fish on my mind because of your post! (I didn't find anything I wanted by the way. And I lookd through the prepared chicken and everything had sugar added to it. )

Hi Marcy Hi June!

 

[junebug17]

CJ, I'm sorry, I meant to say hello to you in my last post! Hope you're having a good summer!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, sorry the weather was so warm durning your bike ride. I hope you can figure out clothing that works well for you; I am sure Greg won’t mind working his sewing magic to get some things fixed for you. That is rough getting back to Brooklyn and having to rush around and get everything done before Greg goes to work. When we used to run a big star party for my astronomy club for a week we’d always take the day off after we got home. There was way too much to do. That is some fish Greg is holding. Your salads and corn look fabulous and the sunrise is gorgeous. Naturally HRH is looking great bathing in the sunlight.

PierreBear, it sounds like you and your DH had a lovely weekend. I hope the trees survive the move okay. I wouldn’t worry about the black out mask comment; you were asking a logical question. I’m not experienced with kids or babies either. BTW I recently discovered black out sleeping myself and it’s fabulous. I haven’t driven a manual for years; and having the car in the backyard gave your neighbors something to talk about. Just be like a cat - act all cool and project the attitude - I totally meant to do that.

Junebug, it looks like totality is definitely in parts of NC and SC. All of the U.S. can see at least a partial eclipse. I think Marty is kind of disappointed I’m not going camping with him to see totality but like I told him - I prefer to breathe. I still feel bad about telling on that guy but it’s better he gets talked to than ending up in HR with a complaint against him. My employee showed her lack of procedures again today; so I’ve got another example for her next one on one. It’s always little things that with time she just decided oh we do that this way and it’s always wrong. Thanks for keeping me company over the next 2 weeks. I think my sister’s pendant will be pretty. Zoe sounds so cute chirping at things outside. I am glad you made it home okay and had such a lovely time on your vacation.

CJ, how are you doing? Mmm bread. I need to pick up some bread that’s not whole wheat.

Marty got home about 9 pm last night. I greeted him with hi honey and if you need anything washed I need it in the washing machine NOW! I got everything out of the dryer about 10:45 (whether it was dry or not) and then set the dryer for 50 minutes longer for Marty's jeans and a towel. Marty left for the airport this morning at 10 am and now he's enjoying LA.

Marty is pretty bummed about his coaching results this weekend. He had 1 hour of sleep Friday night and was coaching someone on squats Saturday night who was really struggling. Marty said he didn't do well with him and the guys grading Marty had to keep interjecting things. He thinks he did okay in the other 4 areas. He'll get his results tomorrow. I hope it is very thorough either way so he'll know what he did right and what he needs to work on for the next time.

I was a good sister tonight and called my sister who loves to talk on the phone. I need to be better with that.

I also been worked on my program about the solar eclipse tonight. I ordered a pair of solar viewing binoculars tonight. I am sure Marty will take all of our good stuff to the boy scouts camp for the eclipse. It looks like the sun will be eclipsed about 76% in NYC.
Take care!
Marcy off to now

 

[marcy]

Junebug, I just checked the eclipse map. That place we stayed at last August with Marty's family if it's not in the path of totality it's like 10-15 minutes away. Just my luck we were there on August 21st last year.

 

[Scandinavian]

Hello girls!
Just popping in to wish you all a good summer!

Missy, Greg is a miracle! That fish looks amazing! Never mind about diamonds, just bring some food LOL. Just kidding! BTW, DH says we are taking the two of you out for dinner, so now you are officially warned!
Marcy, I'll try to get some good star pictures for you if possible. Sorry about Marty's review. Hope for the best!
June, I agree. It really is good that the breeder is prioritizing each puppy's best interests. Hugs to Zoe!
Pierrebear, no worries re babies. Just imagine they are a cat and take it from there. No point in a sleeping mask for a cat, is there??? LOL A baby is not as smart as a cat...

I plan to "take you with me" on our holiday, but mostly pictures probably. Will read along but might not have time for too much writing on my phone.

HUGS!

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy, forgot to tell you. Will keep in touch through FB! Hugs!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Marcy Aww I'm sorry the coaching didn't go as well as Marty would have liked. Fingers crossed it works out for him anyway or at least that he gains invaluable info from this and goes on to realizing this dream. Your sister's pendant sounds like it will be lovely. Glad you were a good sister and thanks for reminding me perhaps I haven't been the best sister to my sister recently. Family ties can be challenging and frustrating. Glad your relationship with her is good. Interesting that the sun will be eclipsed about 76% here...maybe a good time for a visit?
Don't feel badly about not joining Marty on the camping trip. I know he understands and if you are uncomfortable the entire trip it would be misery. You made the right decision.

PierreBear I'm sorry! I forgot to say you didn't ask anything stupid at that baby shower and I might have suggested the same thing. So don't feel silly at all and anyway you are in good company. I think you might be onto something with a baby proof black out mask...hmmm Shark Tank might be the way to go. LOL I am always looking for a get rich quick scheme and that sounds like a potentially good idea. There must be a way to baby proof it. Anyway please don't feel badly and shame on any of those women if they made you feel foolish.

Junie welcome back and so happy you had a great trip. Sounds like Zoe loved it too and glad your dh got to golf lots. Hope your first week back goes smoothly and that everything is easy to get back into...sending you lots of good thoughts re your mom's estate.

CJ LOL sorry about the subconscious fish thoughts while in Whole Foods. Often we get our best and freshest selections at the Seafood coop right near us at the beach house. Way better selection than Whole foods for fresh fish I have to say. Ha yes HRH does look blueish in the photo. That will be me in a few years. A little old lady with blue hair. Blue is my favorite color after all...
How's your case going? Any updates you feel comfortable sharing? If not please ignore the question no worries.

Scandi! Great minds...haha we might have a tug of war on our hands LOL. I emailed you this AM about reservations etc and then saw your post so will message you on FB. Safe travels and excited to see you and the whole family. (((Hugs))).

Have a great day girls

 

[Scandinavian]

Missy, I always check emails too, but FB goes "pling" so that is faster if you want to reach me "now" and not just "within 24h". Hugs! See you soon!

 

[PierreBear]

Hello hello! Hope everyone is doing well. DH is out of town so I had dinner with a friend yesterday. Picked two items off of the happy hour menu for half price and shared an entrée. Food was pretty good but not memorable enough to go back again. Perhaps it’s how I feel about Italian food in general though. I don’t drink because I am essentially allergic to alcohol but my girl friend got a glass of wine, which was on tap. Very interesting and perhaps this is the new trend as craft beers has already been exhausted? Curious if ya’ll noticed anything in the restaurants around your areas.

@missy – Thanks for showing the additional pictures. Wow that’s a big fish! Did your DH catch that or is it something that’s just picked up fresh at the market? The salad looks amazing! I could eat that right now and it’s only breakfast time. Yum Yum!

Thanks for your kind words regarding the baby shower. The ladies didn’t say anything hurtful it was my own insecurities of being this age/married so long without kids that makes me feel like an odd duck. I know it’s something I’ll have to work on for the rest of my life.

@CJ2008 – I appreciate the laughs! Wow surprised to find sugar added to a protein? Strange combination or perhaps I usually prefer savory items.

@marcy – Waiting with Marty to get his results must be a bit nerve-wracking. I hope there will be good news and celebrations to be had this weekend! By the way, does he do very specific coaching to have to travel for it? I envisioned it was personal training/coaching at a local gym.

Way to go on calling your sister. I need to be better about calling my mom!

@Scandinavian – You know, I’m much better at holding a cat than I am at holding a baby. I can flip my cat on his back and rock him back and forth. Can’t seem to do that well with a baby. Funny though that you mention a mask for a cat. I’ve seen my cat use his paw to cover his face/eyes sometime. I wondered if it’s to block out the sun. His other resort is climbing into my already made bed and go under the covers. It’s summer time!! Hot in the house!! I don’t know why he likes to suffocate under there. Oh well…. Cats will be cats.

@Junebug1 – Welcome back and glad the travels went well. Do you golf with DH as well? I tried learning and gave it a good 3 months trial. I even got a ladies golfing glove (didn’t get clubs though) that I don’t know where it is right now. Haha! I can play Top Golf casually and not embarrass myself but can’t play a round of golf. Hard sport to learn!

 

[junebug17]

Hi all!

Missy, glad that you, Greg, and the kitties are all settled in and I hope everything is working ok in Brooklyn! Thanks for the nice words, this is how I'm feeling about the estate stuff right now Nuff said lol

Marcy, I totally get why you're passing on going to look at the eclipse and I'm sure Marty understands too, even though he might be a little disappointed. There's no sense in going if it's going to cause you a lot of discomfort. My sister isn't going with her husband either, she says she's not that into portapotties and huge crowds these days haha. You definitely did that guy a favor, otherwise some day he would say something to the wrong person and have to deal with the hassle of a complaint. Ugh to your employee continuing to make mistakes. Sorry Marty is unhappy with how he did for part of his testing and I hope he ends up doing ok. Poor guy, it's hard to do anything on one hour's sleep, let alone go through a testing situation. It's a shame you were in a good place for the eclipse last year, isn't it always the way?

PierreBear, glad you had a nice night out with your friend, sorry the food wasn't that great though. Lol to your kitty going under the covers! Cats are so goofy sometimes lol.

Scandi, I would love it if you would post pics of your vacation! Always makes me feel like I'm on the trip too haha. Here are a few random pics from SC - the first one is pelicans flying by.

 

[Scandinavian]

June, amazing pictures!

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

All this talk of ice cream is doing my waistline no good at all. We went shopping this afternoon, and stopped for an ice cream at Thorntons (chocolate makers), I had lemon meringue and DH had cherry cheesecake. It was delicious but probably a million calories!

What a shame about the puppy @Scandi, but if he's not the right one for you, I'm sure he'll get a lovely home looking for a less active dog, and your pup looks equally lovely.

Hi @CJ2008

Lovely to 'see' you @Jimmianne, you look tres chic!

Great photos @junebug17 I've never actually seen a pelican fly, they are such odd looking creatures.

Oh @PierreBear, don't give those women another thought, you can't win, we have just the one child and got the 'spoilt brat' 'too selfish to have anymore' carp.

I'm with you @marcy, the thought of camping leaves me cold, if there's no en-suite there's no me! I hope Marty gets the results he's hoping for. My DS gave up his job last year to concentrate on the app he's developed to help online coaches and their clients. It's a tough business, but he's ticking along.

@missy is there anything that darling DH of yours can't do? I'm not much of a fish eater, but that sounds good and something I'd like. Lovely photos as always, especially your 'blue' puss.

I have finally got round to contacting some local jewellers about remodelling my trilogy in to earrings and a pendant, so I'll see what they come back with.

We're due for lots of rain and lightening later, hope it doesn't ruin the pots that I managed to plant up yesterday

Have a great day everyone, must go, I've got a puppy batting me with her paw for a strawberry

 

[Calliecake]

Junie, I love your pictures. I need to plan a trip to SC very soon. Do you enjoy the area? You must be glad that Zoe didn't mind the trip. We need to check out different cities as this is an area my husband wants to check out for retirement. I wouldn't mind staying here for a few extra years but I think my husband wants to leave winters behind as quickly as possible.

Missy, I hope you are having a wonderful afternoon.

Scandi, Are you looking forward to your trip? I can't wait to hear what you and your family think of New York.

Marcy, I'm with you on camping. My husband mentioned camping ONCE while we were dating. I'm pretty sure I told him if it can't be done in heels, I'm not doing it. It must have worked because he never mentioned it again. He knows I consider staying at a Holiday Inn camping. I hope this week is going better for you at work. When does Marty get the results for his training?

Pierre Bear, Don't worry about not knowing much about babies. I had my nieces and nephews a lot when they were small and there are always new gadgets coming out that are better than what was previously used. It sounds like you had a nice night out with your friend.

Austina, I laughed about your puppy batting you for a strawberry. My furbaby stands next the refridgerator and barks looking for a carrot. When barking doesn't work she sits there and lifts her paw up. It's as if she is saying look I'm doing a trick, now please give me a carrot. Nothing is helping my waistline. It drives me crazy how hard it is to lose weight after menopause. My husband was in your country last week. It was funny as all he could talk about when he called was how everyone felt about Trump. He wanted to know what people here were saying about Trumps visit to Paris. It was reassuring to hear everyone on your side of the pond feels he is a jerk too.

 

[springerspaniel]

Scandi, what a beautiful puppy! I get it with having bonded already with another then having to change your mind set. (BTW I also have an omphalocele which probably explains why I can't hunt...) How exciting that you are coming to NY!

Marcy, I bet Marty did just fine with his test. It's often the challenging clients that bring out the best in a trainer and the test judges ought to know that and look for it.

Pierre Bear, I always feel awkward around people that have had children and am very aware of this wherever I go. I usually apologize for only having dogs as an analogous comparison. Kudos to you for creativity! DH always says I look panicked whenever anyone asks if I want to hold their baby. Now if it were a dog, would be a totally different story.

Austina, I do not tire of seeing your Dottie's picture. She is a gem. Welcome back!

Calliecake--don't get me started on postmenopausal weight gain. What a pain in the a$$, right? No matter how hard you try, somehow the cards are stacked against you. Metabolism slows down, exercising does not do what it used to. Blech.

I am so envious of all of you in the path of the total solar eclipse. Please enjoy responsibly! I am looking forward to the partial here in the northeast. Y'all are so lucky!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, I’ll watch for some star pictures. Do you see aurora from the mountains?

Missy, a good friend of mine I haven’t seen for about 8 years will be up there camping for the eclipse and I would love to catch up with him. But I’ve made my decision and I’m sticking with it. I made plans here already. Family ties can be challenging but you never know when you don’t get another chance for a chat or a hug. How is your toe coming along? We get the sun eclipsed 98% here so that will be pretty impressive. Plus I’ll have AC, a bathroom and no traffic. Good idea on a baby proof black out mask. Maybe something that could attach to a hood on their little sleepers?

Scandi and Missy how exciting you guys are going to meet in person.

PierreBear, I am glad you spent some time with a friend while you DH is out of town. It helps pass the time. I love happy hour prices; one of the places we go has a $2.00 bar pizza during happy hour that is basically a 6” pizza with 1 topping and that more than fills me up for supper. Cheap supper except for my wine of course. I haven’t run in to a place that serves wine out of a tap. Marty travels for his day job and is attempting to get in to coaching on the side. He is helping a few buddies and hopes to end up coaching online. That’s pretty cute your cat will cover his eyes or get under the covers.

Junebug, I’m with your sister of porta potties. I had to use one that day we went up to check out the place. It was in the 90’s so I was pounding down cold water and you know what happens then. Darn. Beautiful pictures; I especially love the colors in the sunrise / sunset photo.

Austina, no worries on the ice cream. Calories melt out of ice cream when it’s warm outside. Glad to hear your DS is ticking along with his ap; it is a tough world to get in to especially starting something new. Our 5th wheel was roomy and nice enough I didn’t mind camping but it’s just not in my top 50 list of things I want to do. How exciting you contacted a jeweler about making your trilogy in to a pendant and earrings. Who won the battle for the strawberry?

Calliecake, I think our DH’s want a warmer place for golf when they retire. I hear that all the time anyway. That’s a total LOL for me that you consider staying at a Holiday Inn camping; being away from home is roughing it all right. I like my comforts of home. Before I met Marty I never camped. If my club had a star party I stayed until I needed a little astronomer’s room then packed up and when home. Our star party in the mountains was near my parents cabin so I did the same thing there. I want heat, showers and running water. I’ve always said if I came west on a wagon train someone would have shot me and left me on the side of the road - I’d be whining all the time about it’s hot, it’s dirty, there’s too many bugs, etc. That’s pretty cute your furbaby does tricks to get carrots.

SpringerSpaniel, I chuckled when I read that your DH says you looked panicked whenever someone asks you if you want to hold their baby. I am sure I get a look of panic on my face too. I’m like no; I’ll break it. I’m not sure where you live but the smallest percentage of partial eclipse is 48% in upper Maine. So hopefully you’ll get to see a nice eclipse. I am still amazed at home many people are excited to see the eclipse.

I haven’t heard Marty’s coaching results yet but I am guessing if it was good news would have told me already. He’s having a crazy, bad day at work and has to do a conference call at his 9 pm local time tonight. Ugh.

I didn’t sleep well for the second night last night so I’m kind of beat today. I need to deadhead my flowers but it’s pretty windy so decided it can wait.

Last night I had a disturbing dream so I’d best watch something funny before going to bed tonight to get that stuff out of my brain.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

This isn't an eclipse picture but something I thought was more cool than that. This is watching Venus starting to transit the Sun. Of course Killer Rabbit got in on the action. This is a Sun spotter than projects an image of the Sun on the piece of paper. It works really well. Venus is the little black dot at the edge of the Sun and the rabbits upper ear it pointing right at it.

 

[springerspaniel]

Another celestial event I was very interested in! Thanks to the rabbit for pointing it out.

 

[marcy]

SpringerSpaniel, here is a better picture of the Venus transit including a few sunspots. It was very cool. My top 5 astronomy sights wouldn't even include an eclipse.

1. Watching Comet Hyutake's tail flip as it rounded the Sun
2. Seeing bruises on Jupiter when Comet Shoemaker Levy 9 hit the planet
3. Seeing a 2nd magnitude star popping in and out between the rings of Saturn
4. Watching Venus pop out from behind a crescent moon in a dark morning sky
5. Seeing a naked eye nova in Cygnus.

Eclipses are cool but I've seen dozens and dozens of them so they just get me all excited. I know I haven't seen a total solar eclipse and still won't but it just isn't pegging my "I must do" this meter. Now if I had booked a hotel and could watch it from the comfort of a nice parking lot or a lovely patch of grass with ice water and facilities nearby; I'd be all over it.



BTW, Mercury will transit the Sun again in 2019.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Junie Love the vacation photos! Just beautiful. I'm sorry estate issues continue to be challenging for you and your family and a source of stress and I hope you find resolution and peace very soon. Greg and I started watching (the original series) Twin Peaks on vacation and it held my interest till the last few episodes of season 2 and IDK if I should just push on to watch the new series. You are enjoying it very much right? Makes me think I should just get to the new series to see if I love it too. We just started watching Game of Thrones 2 nights ago and I am enjoying that series very much surprisingly so. I say surprisingly because of the violence and gore but I just try to miss those scenes and hide my eyes when they are coming. LOL. But other than that it is good. We are only up to episode 4 of season 1 but I am hoping it continues to surprise me with how good it is. It's nice to find a show that Greg and I both enjoy since I cannot seem to get him to watch The Bachelorette.

Hi Callie, stay cool it's a hot week and take it easy. Good luck with the appointment today and tomorrow for you and your dh. Thinking of you both. And when you are ready we can get you on a workout program that doesn't involve aggravating your shoulder. It's not a perfect solution though as you know even with my working out every day. That darn metabolism sure does slow after 50. Heck it started slowing well into my 30s if my memory serves me correctly but remember the wisdom and experience and life memories we gain is worth it...right? (((Hugs))).

Austina how exciting. I cannot wait to see your remodeled trilogy. 3 pieces from one. That is definitely expanding your options and with bling that's always a good thing. It will be lovely to have "new" bling. Hope the rain and thunder didn't hurt your newly potted plants.

Marcy I'm sorry you're missing out on getting back in touch with an old friend but I'm with you. Camping is not one of my favorite things and while I enjoy hiking and nature I need a hot shower and a comfy bed to sleep in at night and I don't like bugs. Cool pics. I hope Marty's conference call went well last night and my fingers are crossed for him to get good results from the coaching tests. Toe is sort of red and swollen and hot and of course I am worried again ugh. It started all of a sudden last night when I wasn't doing a thing. I just don't know if it is something to be concerned about as my body has weird reactions and I know you have similar weird reactions. If it wasn't for those darn metal plates in that leg I wouldn't be so concerned. Just want some peace on these issues. LOL that killer rabbit of yours just gets into everything doesn't he. That sun spotter is so cool. I wish we could get a sun maker or perhaps just a nice weather maker so we could make the weather always pleasant and lovely.

Scandi, safe travels my dear and I will see you soon!

Have a great day girls!