Now I really did it :((

[ringo865]

"Our asscher"! Holy cow, that third picture. I'm dying!!!!!

 

[junebug17]

Oh wow Jimmianne, it is fabulous!!! So bright and sparkly! Would you mind sharing some deets?

 

[azstonie]

Gahhhhhhhhh Unbelievable rock, JA!!!!!

Hi Everybody, I've been working on health issues with the Westies, renal failure for both, early days so trying to prevent further loss. I've been following you all in this and other threads, just haven't had the heart to write much myself.

I hope you all have a terrific Thanksgiving

 

[junebug17]

Oh no Kristie, I’m so sorry! Sending lots of support and good thoughts to you, and hoping your precious dogs stay as healthy as possible - (((hugs)))

 

[rainwood]

@azstonie Oh no!! I'm so sorry to hear about Finn & Maggie's kidney problems. They are the sweetest Westies on the planet and I know you'll do everything you possibly can to keep them as healthy as you can. Give them hugs and kisses from me!!

 

[MarionC]

AZ, I’m so sorry to hear that. Wishing for health for them. You take such good care of them, I know they feel loved.

 

[MarionC]

Yes, that’s our asscher!
So happy to share it with you and I’m glad you like it.
June, it’s 2.14ct [7.22x7.20mm]
G/VS1, strong Blue Fluorescence
I took some UV light photos just now, but they haven’t downloaded from the cloud yet.
I’m really happy. I thought it might be too “straight” for me, but it’s as quirky as Joy, but in a different way. I haven’t really figured out what the personality is yet, but it’s definitely a great toy.

AZ, please keep us updated.

Goodnight, all you NIRDI girls.<3

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Jimmianne, I absolutely love your asscher diamond. It looks like a great performing stone. How cool it’s a strong blue. Step cuts are my favorite shapes; I find them mesmerizing. I thank it is a perfect size to wear everyday. I know my diamonds are small by PS and NIRDI standards but I don’t like the large sized stones on me. Lucky for my pocketbook I like about 7mm sized stones. Beautiful flowers.

Missy, I will have to catch that movie and I will definitely watch it when Marty is home. I hate to watch a scary movie that sticks with me when I try to go to sleep.

PierreBear, that is pretty great to turn a work trip in to something fun. When I was teaching I went to a few teaching conferences and Marty tagged along to play golf. That will be nice to catch up with your friend who is expecting her first baby. I am sure your brisket and pork will turn out great for your Friendsgiving. I love gift wrapping, using ribbons and bows. Too bad there is no money in it. Enjoy your trip.

Junebug, congratulations on closing on your mother’s house. It’s nice to get that done. Did you order a new Christmas decoration? I was looking at some online the other day. I can definitely say I love my Macan and really enjoy driving it. I notice Marty has a smile on his face every time he is driving it. I went of 10,000 miles today. When I told Marty his response was only 4000 of them are air miles. He thinks he is so funny. That is pretty cool your sapphire was cut by Yorum. His stones look fabulous and your ring is gorgeous.

Sharon, our Home Depot gets in a lot of Christmas decorations. Thanks for reminding me to go see what they have this year.

Kristie, hugs to you and the Westies. I am so sorry to hear they are having health issues.

Thank you all for the kind words about my sunrise pictures. The colors have been amazing lately.

I am studying my program for the astronomy meeting tonight. I think it might be a short program but I usually get a lot of questions.

Marty should be home in the afternoon tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Have a great day.
Marcy

 

[MarionC]

A few more

 

[junebug17]

Marcy, yay to Marty heading home! I ended up not getting Christmas decorations - maybe I’ll check out pier one imports. I see things I like from there on Facebook...maybe sometimes that advertising does work lol. 4000 air miles, haha! Thanks for your nice words about the sapphire ring - I wore it yesterday and thought “I should wear this more often!” Hope your meeting went well - it actually speaks well to you that people have questions, It means you’ve been able to get their attention!

Jimmianne, wow!!! Love the pics of your new asscher! It is gorgeous! Oh I wish I could see it IRL - maybe someday ha! thank you for the details. I’m really excited for you and I hope you get this baby set asap!

Hope everyone is doing well, the weekend is almost here. Dh and I are meeting a friend and her bf for lunch tomorrow - kind of a cool story, he is her brother’s best friend and they’ve known each other since they were teengagers. Recently she and I saw him at a function and she said to me “yanno, S is looking pretty good these days!” I agreed and she ended up calling him lol. They’ve been dating for a while and things seem to be great!

Have a great day all!

 

[missy]

THUD!
(Sound of me falling speechless onto the floor as the beauty of this diamond knocks me off my feet)

Good gawd Jimmianne, it is just GORGEOUS. And WOW to the bluetiful blue fluorescence. Blue is my favorite color so just saying...happy to baby sit this baby anytime. Of course you already know what I think but OMG I cannot say it enough. LOVE LOVE LOVE and most of all I LOVE that you are thrilled with it.

Good morning all. It is a chilly bricks November morning at the beach. We left early afternoon yesterday spur of the moment as we usually come down here Friday early AM. But it worked out that we could leave well before rush hour traffic and we got down here in 61 minutes almost a record so woohoo for that.

Speaking of woohoo yay Marcy! Mr Marcy is coming home soon! I am sure you and he will be so happy to reunite and hope you have a lovely weekend planned.

Junie more good thoughts and dust for your closing on Monday and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Have fun with your friend and her boyfriend at lunch tomorrow!

Kristie sending more good thoughts and hugs your and Maggie and Finn's way. I am so sorry and hoping your changes will turn it all around for them. No one could care for them and love them as much as you. And they know that and cherish and adore and love you as you do them. (((Hugs))).

PierreBear have a great work trip and enjoy and so glad you can make it a fun time. Enjoy your friend visit too and congrats on her upcoming baby. Love your friendsgiving plans when you get back. It's our holiday to host and a whole lot of work as Greg does ALL of the cooking. My parents bring the bread haha and well my sister probably isn't bringing anything but store bought so harumphhh as HRH would say and yay to my sweet dh cooking and to me eating. One thing I can do quite well. Another NIRDI here who LOVES to eat and has a hearty appetite. I love food so bring it...I am ready.

It is going to be a busy day and weekend here at the shore. Going to a few different stone distributors over the next few days. Not sure what is going to happen with our countertop search but I am on the edge of calling the whole thing off. Suddenly our beach kitchen doesn't look too bad to me haha. Totally functional and so what if it is all beige...
Seriously though it is amazing what a hundred grand can do to change one's mind.

I will keep y'all (is that the right word?) posted though so stay tuned...of course my wish is to find a gorgeous countertop we can afford and go forward with the kitchen reno. But I am aggravated because Joe called yesterday to say he found what we want but it is double our budget for the countertops. And he added he cut his usual markup on it in order to accommodate our request for the Thassos Extra. Yet it is still going to be double our budget for the countertops and he has to get it from 2 different quarries so it won't match exactly. He said he would use one for the island and the other for the rest of the countertops.

IDK it all leaves a bad taste in my mouth. YES I expect him to make a profit but I don't like that he said that he isn't making as much on the markup of the marble. Isn't he making enough on the markup for everything else and the installation? I get the feeling we are being advantage of but Greg doesn't feel that way. Hmmmm. I cannot help but feel big diamonds would make me happier than a new kitchen at the beach. Bad girl I know.

OK so I am off and ready to start my day soon. Have a lovely Friday (woohoo it's Friday!) and leaving you with a sunset sky from last night. Thanks Marcy for the inspiration. (((HUGS))) to all of you.

 

[junebug17]

Missy, ugh, so sorry the marble is going to be double what you budgeted for. That is frustrating and I hope you can find something you love this weekend. Keeping the kitchen “as is” is always another option lol. It’s a shame this issue is ruining your excitement over this project. Hope you can still enjoy your weekend in spite of this aggravation. Love that pic of the sunset, wow, such gorgeous colors!

 

[CJ2008]

Good morning! I'm awake but feeling so tired. So happy it's Friday!

Aztonie, sending you good thoughts and hugs.

Junie hope everything goes well at the closing and have fun at lunch.

You know I don't consider myself a jewelry lover like you guys are but I have to say every time you guys post a diamond or jewelry it is always so gorgeous. Jimmianne that is a gorgeous diamond.

And missy I am so glad you're keeping Bea. Do you know that my heart actually felt a pang of sadness when I saw you were considering exchanging her. Sorry about the marble and feeling like the contractor is taking advantage that is not a good feeling to have.

marcy did the program already happen and how did it go? and so glad marty is coming home I know you miss him enjoy his company.

Hi everyone else enjoy the weekend!

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

Wow the photo is stunning @marcy Glad to hear the gate had blown open and wasn't an intruder. Our side gates to the back garden are always padlocked, and as soon as we're in for the day, the front gates ar locked. Sounds like we live in a high crime area, we don't, but Colin likes to ensure people can't walk up to the house, especially now it's dark so early. Enjoy having Marty home.

Sorry the meal was a bust, hope it didn't spoil your evening too much.

I'm glad everything got sorted with the signing @junebug17 I'm sure you're relieved it's over with, but I expect the relief was tempered with sadness that your mother's home has gone now.

I hope the conference goes well @PierreBear, enjoying meeting up with your friend. Hopefully her condition isn't catching

The diamond is absolutely stunning @Jimmianne and such a good size. I think an overly fancy setting will detract from its beauty.

I'm very impressed how well your bulbs have grown, you've obviously found the perfect spot for them.

I'm so sorry Maggie and Finn have got renal problems @azstonie it's just so hard to think of them not being 100%. I'm sorry that I know nothing about their condition, but I hope you can find a way to keep them as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

@missy, what a total pain that not only is the marble going to cost double, but you feel the contractor is taking the p*** as we say here! Im not surprised you're questioning whether it's worth proceeding. Hopefully, you'll have come to a decision after the weekend. I will say that when we decided to have ours done, we got 3 quotes, and although we really liked one company, we weren't impressed with the tradesmen they were going to use. As soon as we met the people who ended up doing ours, we liked them immediately and felt comfortable having them in our home for 3 weeks. You need to go with your gut, otherwise the whole process will be extremely stressful.

Hi @rainwood, @canuk-gal and @CJ2008 have a great weekend.

Very chilly here, but dry, which suits us fine. If it gets colder, we'll throw some logs on the fire

Colin has suggested ordering my bangle from WF, but I'm going to wait till we're in Tx in March. I'm just a bit wary of them sending it in case it gets lost or damaged, but I'm excited to get it on my paw

Nothing planned for the weekend, just some household things to catch up on.

Have a good one ladies

 

[MarionC]

Missy, sorry the marble is complicated. When I wrote you I had forgotten the details. I know you want something in your life that you feel great about.

CJ, if you do not have diamond fever already, you should run away fast!
I was okay until I came back to PS. Now I am in trouble. Beware!!! LOL

Austina, I agree, nothing too fancy. A weekend of household things sounds good. I hope you have a relaxed weekend and don’t end up working too hard.

June, what a nice story about your friend. A warm fuzzy
: )

Thank you for all the nice things you all ...or y’all as they say in NYC....about our asscher!

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Junie hello there and no worries. We are having a lovely time despite the kitchen issues. Honestly I am more leaning towards forgetting the whole thing. I do not like being taken advantage of and right now I am feeling that way. Only 2 more days till your closing woohoo!!! I am and will be thinking good thoughts for it all to go smoothly for you!


CJ aww me too. LOL I sometimes think I am the least sentimental person alive and then at other times I think I am the most sentimental person alive. I feel like I am enigma wrapped up in a conundrum. If I ever do trade Bea in the only thing that would lessen the blow is if I knew her new mama would love and adore her.

Jimmianne that video blew me away this morning when I woke and opened my email with my first cup of coffee. Thank you for brightening my otherwise aggravating morning after a poor night's sleep. That asscher is a firecracker and just WOW. Cant wait to see "our" asscher in person.

Austina ooh exciting that you are getting a WF bangle when you visit Texas this March.

That was smart of you to get 3 quotes. We did our due diligence and Joe is highly recommended but yes he isn't cheap. I don't mind paying for a good job and I definitely support people making a profit at their job. I just don't like being nickled and dimed to death and I am more annoyed than before. Details below.

Good luck with your household chores this weekend and I do love a log fire. Yumm to the smell of the wood burning and the warmth of the fire on a cold autumn day/evening. Enjoy!

To summarize as succinctly as possible (not my strong point hehe) yesterday we found another marble we love called Opal Marble. How perfect is that LOL. But again found out there is a 10K up charge associated with this marble as well. It leads me to believe that Joe didn't budget enough in the plan he drew up for us so he lowballed us to get the total budget at 85K (hardly a lowball budget right?) and then when we find a marble it suddenly isn't in the budget and now it's an extra 10K bringing it (before appliances) to 95K. Not cool.

We aren't breaking down walls either so WTH. We called Joe after our quarry visit and asked him to meet us halfway which was no longer another 10K because the manufacturer came down 3K when we discussed the issue with the liason who met us there so really not a lot of extra money if Joe splits the difference with us at this point.

However he hemmed and hawed and said the window replacements are costing a lot and cutting into the brick with one of our windows he might actually lose money that he didn't charge us for. Really??? OMG there is nothing I hate more than being taken advantage of and lied to and being nickeled and dimed to death. (OK I just named 3 things I hate haha but you kwim).

The problem is I don't really know the truth. Is he lying? Is he taking advantage of us? IDK but I know he isn't going to lose money on our reno and I sure don't want him to lose money. I just want a fair price. And it is his fault for not budgeting anything near what we needed to cover the cost of the countertops. That is on him. He knew from the get go I wanted as white as possible marble or granite and that I hate quartz as it looks lifeless to me.

I am (as is Greg) a big supporter of small businesses and believe wholeheartedly people deserve to make a profit and live well when they do a good job. However this isn't the problem as I believe he is making a good profit. Joe gave us the estimate including the price per marble that was impossible for us to find. That is on him. 85K is my top in terms of what I am willing to spend on this reno and I am not picking a cheap countertop.

So now the ball is in his court. If Joe cannot meet us halfway then I will call off the reno. He is supposed to get back to us today but my gut says he is going to play hardball and that is OK because Greg and I don't have to do the reno. This is a luxury reno and not a necessary reno. We do have to replace our kitchen windows but that won't cost us near what the reno will cost us.

OK so of course I will share pics with you girls.
The opal marble. It's pretty. Prettier in person than in pics. Hard to convey how it looks IRL but this is the best I can do.







I hope everyone has a wonderful Saturday.

 

[MarionC]

You guys are adorable, always. Love your outfit, btw <3

That marble is very nice. Best of luck with the “much ado” with it.

AZ, how are the kids doing?

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Jimmianne, your diamond is completely fabulous. It looks amazing!!! I can’t wait to see what mounting you decide for it. Have fun planning and exploring. Great new avatar picture.

Junebug, I was thinking of going to Pier 1 too. They get in some neat Christmas things. I am glad to hear you enjoyed wearing your pretty sapphire ring. I love that style with sapphires. Every time I see a picture of Kate I look to see if I can see her ring. My program went well at our meeting last night. We had 4 regulars and 2 guests and I had quite a few questions. There is one regular who thinks he knowledgable about astronomy but is full of miss information; that’s tough for me when he tells people things that isn’t right. I let some of it go but last night he said our Sun would nova someday and I felt I had to counter that one. He means well. I hope you had fun at lunch. That is such a cool story about your friend and her brother’s best friend.

Missy, you beat to me offering to babysit Jimmianne’s pretty Asscher. I know I’d take good care of it too. What a speedy trip to the beach house. Were some of those “air miles?” I’ve never heard the phrase chilly bricks. I’d say that applies here this morning. I am sure Greg will cook a marvelous feast for Thanksgiving. My one sister doesn’t cook or bake so she always brings things like raw veggies or chips and salsa. The other sister is a fabulous cook and won’t bring a darned thing she makes. She brings fruit and relishes. Sorry to hear the problems with Joe. There is nothing saying you guys can’t get other bids on your kitchen. I think that granite looks fabulous. You are Greg are always the great looking, stylish couple. Gorgeous sunset picture. I love the colors and puffy clouds.

CJ, I am a jewelry lover but PS certainly has driven up my jewelry acquisition desire and skills. My program did go well. Thank you. It was a low turn out but that’s not unusual for meetings around the holidays. Marty was teasing me last night and this morning so I feel better. Things are back to normal.

Austina, that’s not a bad idea to padlock the gates. I can go zip tie the latch. We are along a walking path on 2 sides of our house which I think can be a good or bad thing. I wouldn’t say we have a lot of crime around here but because of all the construction around us we get dumpster divers pulling out scraps of things and the contractors have had tools, equipment and even a trailer stolen before. Once everything is built on our street those problems should go down. Good idea to get your bangle from WF when you are in Texas. Are you going to order it so it’s ready to pick up? I have told Marty when I decide (or if) to get a new ering we are going there in person. I’m not trusting anyone else to move my ACA to a different ring.

Kristie, how are Maggie and Finn? Thinking of all of you.

We had a dusting of snow enough to make it icy. I had Marty put down some ice melt on the porch since my sister, BIL and cleaning lady are all coming today. My sister had a knee replacement in August and the other one is being replaced in a few weeks. I’d hate to have her slip on ice.

I need to pick up groceries sometime this weekend and get cheesecake made for Thanksgiving. I know Marty needs food so we’ll probably go shopping after my sister and BIL leave. She is bringing some sapphire projects for the jeweler here she likes. I need to dig out my sapphire Ore and see how it’s coming. It’s so messy though and I just had my house cleaned. I am not going out on my icy deck.

Have a fabulous day.
Marcy

 

[springerspaniel]

Kristie- My springer Yogi had chronic renal failure for several years. We managed it with prescription food and antihypertensive medicine. There were 2 things I wish I had done differently, although I am not entirely sure they would have made a difference. I would have insisted on starting an ACE inhibitor and I would not have renewed the rabies vaccine. If you want to talk offline, I would be more than happy to. I love your little guys; they are so sweet!

 

[MarionC]

Springerspaniel, is that Yogi in your avatar?

 

[springerspaniel]

Springerspaniel, is that Yogi in your avatar?

Hi Jimmianne--I meant to tell you what a spectacular Asscher stone you have! I really love the fluorescence. My avatar picture is our newly adopted 3 year old Clyde.

 

[azstonie]

Finnie Boy and Miss Maggie after I got a new recliner delivered to the house; they wanted to "test drive" it first

Big thank you to Missy, Jimmianne, Junie, Rainy, CJ, SpringerSpaniel, Marcy, Callie and Austina for the good wishes/vibes.

They were diagnosed last month. I took Finn in before we went to Coeur d'Alene because he was having some very occasional urinary dribbling in the evenings. Found the renal disease on the urinalysis and SDMA/bloodwork/BUN slightly elevated. Put him on Enalapril (Springer, is this what you had Yogi on?), a low-protein/high-quality-protein home cooked renal diet (I cook this food every other day, its a commitment), Omega-3 fish oil, vitamin C and B50, and seaweed calcium, and then the other meds they are on for arthritis pain management. It got so difficult to handle that Bob administers the meds while I prepare the food and include the supplements

Took Maggie in for a UA and blood work too. and OMG, her urinalysis was just as bad as Finn's and she is 5 years YOUNGER than he is So she is now on everything except the Enalapril and I'm about to start her on this ASAP.

Finn got weird on the new food, he's my picky eater, and he went without food for a few meals and got shaky and dehydrated and his quick slide down scared us. I've got him back on track now, though.

Finn has another UA and blood work on Monday and I am hoping so very very much that we will see an improvement or just a holding-steady on proteinuria/urine and in his BUN. I'll get Maggie in in December for another check of same.

Maggie is just as bossy and fun loving as ever. I went out for breakfast with a girlfriend plus a little shopping at the mall, and when I got back I had to offer Maggie an appropriate bribe to regain her affections.

Here it is below. She is my little HomeSlice!

 

[azstonie]

 

[azstonie]

It has a squeaker (!) and that crinkly material that drives dogs NUTZ! Lots of fun!

I want to make it rain toys on them this Christmas, both Finn and Maggie ADORE unwrapping gifts. I'll just have to find a way to ensure that Maggie doesn't take each and every one of Finn's before he even has them completely unwrapped.

I just took delivery on a $600 treadmill for Miss Mags, I don't believe she thinks that qualifies as a FUN TOY!

 

[azstonie]

Springer, I would appreciate a correspondence with you, do we do that via LoupeTroop?

Which prescription food did Yogi have? Finn is a finicky eater. I plan to ask the vet for a sack of the prescription food on Monday, I wonder if its the same as what Yogi had...

The food I'm home cooking for them is white rice, eggs, some ground beef, cooked carrots, iodized salt, and seaweed calcium. I keep the protein grams tightly counted/controlled. They have added to their bowls omega-3 fish oil, vitamin B50, vitamin C. They take probiotics to work on that BUN.

Quite a few vets now don't think that reduced protein helps at all.

Did Yogi do a probiotic or Azodyl? I cannot bring myself to believe that Azodyl is adequately refrigerated on shipping to my casa here in the Inferno/Hell/Phoenix.

 

[springerspaniel]

AZ, I will post my email addresses on Loupe Troop for you. You are doing a lot for those wonderful Westies!

 

[marcy]

Kristie, I love the picture of Maggie and Finn in your new recliner. They look so cute. That is awesome Finn had to be bribed to forgive you for going out with morning. That is good news Finn adapted to his new food. Sending mega dust for good test results on Monday and Maggie's tests in December have good results as well. Big hugs to all of you. That is so cute Maggie and Finn like to open their own Christmas presents.

 

[MarionC]

AZ, it’s mind boggling to me how well you take care of your Westies.
I love the pizza pix.

Springerspaniel, thanks. Clyde looks like a character. How long have you had him, and what is his personality?

I made a problem for myself. I don’t kill anything living except ticks and fleas. I had a mouse in the kitchen last week, out on the daytime, which I thought was odd. I trapped it and released it at the barn. Turns out it was a mom bravely looking for food in the daytime.
Last night I found three babies Where I had caught the mom. They just old enough to have solid food, about 3/4” long. So totally adorable and tiny. I cannot catch and release them because they are too young, so I’m feeding them until they are old enough to forage for themselves at the barn. I KNOW I should call an exterminator, but in my heart I can’t bear to think of anything suffering.ugh.
So I have a lonely chicken who sleeps in the dog room with the cat at night [in a crate] and now these mice.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls and happy big and small dog Sunday! Special shout out to all the NIRDI fur babies.
Finn and Maggie, Issy, F and T, C, Dottie, CLyde, and all the other sweet fur babies. (((HUGS))) and lots of kisses from me to them.

Marcy haha it was an auto correct. It was supposed to be chilly crisp. I really must proofread before hitting send. Though I have to add I rather like the term chilly bricks now. It is another chilly bricks day here. Wind gusting up to 45/50 mph. Brrrr chilly bricks!

I am sorry your family doesn't put as much energy into the holiday entertaining as you do. It's OK for me because I prefer Greg's cooking and baking to my mom's and sister's food so I don't mind and I get to keep lots of leftovers too.

Oh no to the dusting of snow you got making everything icy and I hope your cleaning lady and sister and BIL made it safely to and from you. YAY for cheesecake next week. I LOVE cheesecake. Greg hasn't baked it for a while...hmmm I am thinking now. Greg's sitting beside me right now as I type and I mentioned Marcy is making cheesecake for Thanksgiving and he said if I want he will bake it too. YAY thanks Marcy!
Enjoy playing with your sapphires. And by the way we can both babysit Jimmianne's asscher. Jimmianne won't mind. Sharing the love.

Jimmianne THANK YOU!!! For not killing the momma mouse and her babies and for taking care of them. You are such a good soul and I love you so much for doing this. You really are the best. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!(((HUGS))).

Kristie big hugs to you as well. Hope Maggie is still enjoying her treadmill. Love that pizza. Hahaha if we had that toy I think I'd be forever craving pizza.You are moving mountains for Finn and Maggie. Always sending healing vibes and good thoughts their way and (((hugs))).

Hello SpringerSpaniel. Your puppy Clyde is adorable!

Please feel free to skip the following explaining more about the kitchen mess.

So yesterday we went to another quarry and I fell in love with the Snow white marble that I saw last year but forgot about. It is the white I want and it is GORGEOUS. However they are having trouble getting it from Italy (price issues) so we arent sure if it will even be available in the 2 slabs we need and of course we aren't sure of the price because we went without the fabricator yesterday so couldn't get a hard price.

But it all doesn't matter because Joe didn't call us yesterday as he promised. I think I know where this is going. LOL. OK better to see his true colors and unprofessional behavior now vs later once we started the renos. Just disappointing but it is OK. Now more than ever since he didn't call us as promised I realize he isn't being upfront and transparent about costs.

And perhaps more importantly we also found out yesterday (from another manufacturer/distributor who we visited yesterday morning and who we have visited before) that we can get the opal white marble we saw Friday for half the cost from him. Saving 10K. So Joe and the marble quarry and distributor Joe is using and Joe himself are really taking advantage of us up charging us way too much. If I could have gotten it at the agreed upon budget price (set for us initially by Joe) the whole thing would have gone smoothly with the marble choosing on Friday.

Adding to this the fact that Joe did NOT call yesterday as promised on Friday evening to discuss the huge up charge and try to figure out an agreeable solution brings me to the conclusion Joe is not someone I want to move forward with...which means we cannot do the kitchen this winter delaying it for at least another year so I don't miss the good weather here. Right now (and I might change my mind) I don't want to do any kitchen reno period even in the future. We could do simpler things i.e. change the floors, redo the windows, and change the countertops and maybe even the cabinets at a later date so we could spruce it up a bit if I wanted to in the future. Right now I need a break from the kitchen drama.

Thanks for listening.

Today we are just running errands and shopping for our Thanksgiving gathering and heading back to the city tomorrow.
Have a wonderful Sunday girls!

 

[missy]

Oops we are on a new page so just adding what I wrote last post on previous page here on the new page so you don't have to go back and forth...

Good morning girls and happy big and small dog Sunday! Special shout out to all the NIRDI fur babies.
Finn and Maggie, Issy, F and T, C, Dottie, CLyde, and all the other sweet fur babies. (((HUGS))) and lots of kisses from me to them.

Marcy haha it was an auto correct. It was supposed to be chilly crisp. I really must proofread before hitting send. Though I have to add I rather like the term chilly bricks now. It is another chilly bricks day here. Wind gusting up to 45/50 mph. Brrrr chilly bricks!

I am sorry your family doesn't put as much energy into the holiday entertaining as you do. It's OK for me because I prefer Greg's cooking and baking to my mom's and sister's food so I don't mind and I get to keep lots of leftovers too.

Oh no to the dusting of snow you got making everything icy and I hope your cleaning lady and sister and BIL made it safely to and from you. YAY for cheesecake next week. I LOVE cheesecake. Greg hasn't baked it for a while...hmmm I am thinking now. Greg's sitting beside me right now as I type and I mentioned Marcy is making cheesecake for Thanksgiving and he said if I want he will bake it too. YAY thanks Marcy!
Enjoy playing with your sapphires. And by the way we can both babysit Jimmianne's asscher. Jimmianne won't mind.Sharing the love.

Jimmianne THANK YOU!!! For not killing the momma mouse and her babies and for taking care of them. You are such a good soul and I love you so much for doing this. You really are the best. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!(((HUGS))).

Kristie big hugs to you as well. Hope Maggie is still enjoying her treadmill. Love that pizza. Hahaha if we had that toy I think I'd be forever craving pizza.You are moving mountains for Finn and Maggie. Always sending healing vibes and good thoughts their way and (((hugs))).

Hello SpringerSpaniel. Your puppy Clyde is adorable!

Junie good luck tomorrow. Fingers and toes crossed for you. Please let us know how it goes. I don't think you are attending but hopefully it will go smoothly!

Please feel free to skip the following explaining more about the kitchen mess.

So yesterday we went to another quarry and I fell in love with the Snow white marble that I saw last year but forgot about. It is the white I want and it is GORGEOUS. However they are having trouble getting it from Italy (price issues) so we arent sure if it will even be available in the 2 slabs we need and of course we aren't sure of the price because we went without the fabricator yesterday so couldn't get a hard price.

But it all doesn't matter because Joe didn't call us yesterday as he promised. I think I know where this is going. LOL. OK better to see his true colors and unprofessional behavior now vs later once we started the renos. Just disappointing but it is OK. Now more than ever since he didn't call us as promised I realize he isn't being upfront and transparent about costs.

And perhaps more importantly we also found out yesterday (from another manufacturer/distributor who we visited yesterday morning and who we have visited before) that we can get the opal white marble we saw Friday for half the cost from him. Saving 10K. So Joe and the marble quarry and distributor Joe is using and Joe himself are really taking advantage of us up charging us way too much. If I could have gotten it at the agreed upon budget price (set for us initially by Joe) the whole thing would have gone smoothly with the marble choosing on Friday.

Adding to this the fact that Joe did NOT call yesterday as promised on Friday evening to discuss the huge up charge and try to figure out an agreeable solution brings me to the conclusion Joe is not someone I want to move forward with...which means we cannot do the kitchen this winter delaying it for at least another year so I don't miss the good weather here. Right now (and I might change my mind) I don't want to do any kitchen reno period even in the future. We could do simpler things i.e. change the floors, redo the windows, and change the countertops and maybe even the cabinets at a later date so we could spruce it up a bit if I wanted to in the future. Right now I need a break from the kitchen drama.

Thanks for listening.

Today we are just running errands and shopping for our Thanksgiving gathering and heading back to the city tomorrow.
Have a wonderful Sunday girls!

Snow white Marble. It is impossible to photograph white LOL but here ya go.






Reminds me of summer and winter at the same time. LOVE this IRL. Beautiful and lively and not busy. Perfection in marble.