shape
carat
color
clarity

Now I really did it :((

Austina, are you getting snow? I saw where it was going to be cold there with potential for some of that white stuff. I did contemplate taking a nap about 2 this afternoon but if I did take a nap I'd be wide awake all night. Marty did take about a 2 hour nap after he got home. Oh no that Adam singed his eyebrows; it sounds like his brisket was a hit though. Marty said he cooked bacon on the grill and it was almost perfect, then went back and it was disintegrated. Just flat gone. Good for you doing your bit for the economy.

I haven't bought a thing today. I rented some PPV movies but not much else. Marty got a laser for his dart board; I think it measures the line where you should stand. He had fun with the guys but was pretty tired.

My SIL got here about 3:30. She and Marty are training at the gym and supper is ready. Everything is covered in foil right now. I may eat soon if they don't show up. I don't like eating late.

One of the movies I watched was Wind River. LLJSmom pointed me towards it. It was a very sad, tragic story but a good movie. It's not based on an actual story but certainly touches on a major problem of crime and remoteness on a reservation. It's a story I will be thinking about for quite a while. I don't know if it was filmed in Wyoming but it sure looked like our mountains in the winter.

I gave up on 2 of the movies I rented; they lost my interest quickly. They were Almost Friends and Cook Off. Almost Friends bored me quickly and Cook Off was more like a reality TV show than a movie.

Take care.
Marcy
 
Hi nirdis -

Missy, Greg’s cherry cheesecake looks amazing :love: Your nieces are getting so big and they really are such lovely and sweet girls. So thoughtful of them to donate to Locks of Love, very impressive that they think of others at such young ages. The jackets you and Greg got them are adorable and fit them perfectly! What a great idea. Love the pics of your sister and her family at the parade. I’m glad the day went well and that you had a good time with your family. And you and Greg are such a beautiful and photogenic couple! Love your Thanksgiving poem, thank you for expressing such touching thoughts and I feel the same way.

Thanks for your support about hosting Christmas dinner, I agree that it’s ok sometimes to say no. It turns out that dh’s brother’s family will be away for the holidays so it sounds like it might turn out to be a more low-key Christmas this year anyway.

Jimmianne, spending a quiet and relaxing Thanksgiving with the animals actually sounds pretty good to me! I hope you enjoyed your day. Too funny you “scolded” Santa and It’s cute that he played along. Glad you like your pajamas from anthropologie, you’ve just given me an idea for a Christmas gift for dd lol.

Austina, love your new shoes, pretty! Getting a few new things to wear is fun, glad you treated yourself. I hope your new dentist works out, it can be hard making a switch like that. Too bad about Colin’s eyebrows and I’m glad he’s ok!

Rainwood, your pie crust is a thing of beauty! What kind of pie did you end up making? I love your necklace and earrings, so fun and they look great on you. I hope you had a great time at your friend’s house.

Marcy, very glad you had a good time with your family on Thanksgiving. It’s great that the weather was so nice. Your nephews sound like fun, glad they livened things up lol. My dd is the same way, never a dull moment when she’s around. Chicken and ribs sounds like a great dinner. Hope you had a nice dinner with your sil and Marty and that you’re enjoying your time off from work. Wind River sounds like a good movie, I’ll have to check it out. Ugh, too bad the other movies didn’t work out, I hate when that happens. Whoa, 92 mile an hour winds, that’s crazy!

Hi jaaron and CJ!

Thanks for all the support with regard to this house closing, it has helped me get through this process. I’m hoping to have this situation taken care of on Monday - the owners will have heat and I’ll have peace of mind!

We had a very nice time at dh’s brother’s house - everyone was in good spirits and got along lol. My sil is a great cook and the meal was delicious. When we got home dd and I went to a few stores and I ended up buying her a small tree and some ornaments for her apartment. We went to Best Buy and Old Navy and she bought her boyfriend a few things. I hadn’t seen her in a while so it was fun to spend some time with her.

Take care all, and have a good night!
 
Good morning girls!

Austina, Junie and Marcy, thank you for those lovely comments about my nieces.

Austina oh no poor Adam! If it makes him feel any better tell him I might not have singed my eyebrows but I am losing all the hair I have re my eyebrows and my left eyebrow is almost bald. Sad but true. And I cannot fill it in with makeup as I get a rash no matter what I use so I have given up and I go around with asymmetrical eyebrows now. LOL it's true. So tell him I get it and cheer up as they will at least grow back for him. Thank goodness he didn't do any permanent damage.

Glad the brisket was a hit!

Good for you for doing what you can for the economy. I did a little more spending as well yesterday and bought a blue leather jacket. No clue if it will fit as I got it online but I will keep y'all posted. I am also anxiously awaiting my "new" OEC earrings and I have heard nothing yet from the PSer so not sure she sent it as I think she would have sent me the tracking info. I am trying to be patient lol.

Marcy hope your SIL and Marty made it back soon after your post last night so you didn't have to wait too long to eat. Sorry they were late. Hope they had a good workout. Glad you enjoyed some movies though some weren't worth watching. Based on what you and LLJsmom commented re Wind River I am not sure I could bear to watch it but maybe. I am not good with violence so probably it won't make the cut. But maybe. Haha how is that for decisiveness?

Hope you have fun at the Christmas parade today if you do and stay warm. Gorgeous sunrise photo. Love it.:love:

Junie thanks so much. That cherry cheesecake is really unbelievably delicious. :lickout:So much so that I am going to enjoy eating it till we are done. Usually I resist and after the actual holiday I let Greg finish the desserts. Not this time. This has got to be my favorite dessert of his now. It has been a few years since he made cheesecake and now let me tell you I will be asking for it more often. Perhaps as soon as we are done with it and that will be soon cause sadly there isn't much left.:cry2: And his apple pie doesn't suck so I am sucking that down as well. I am telling you my sweet tooth is back. Oh noooooo8)

I am so glad you enjoyed Thanksgiving at your dh's brother's house and I am also glad it will be a low key christmas for you. Great that you spent time with your dd and got to buy things too. Win win.

Sending you lots of good thoughts for this Monday and hoping it will be the end of the furnace issue and it will all be resolved and the new buyers will be satisfied and content and peace will be finally yours....(((Hugs))).

We had a lovely day yesterday and strolled our neighborhood as the weather was beautiful. I found out my Rx meds have gone up astronomically and out of pocket costs are cuckoo. But what can I do. I have little choice. As Greg pointed out at least we can afford it so yes I am grateful for that but pissed at big pharma and the insurance companies. They all suck. IMO.

Today we are heading to the beach house to fill the feral feeders and then meet with Joe to see if we are going ahead with the kitchen reno and if so we will be signing the contract today. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly and that we decide to go full steam ahead and that it works out well. It would be nice to have a lovely new bright fresh kitchen at the beach house.

And we have so much food left so if any of the NIRDIs want to make a trip here tonight or tomorrow you're invited for leftovers.:bigsmile::cheeky:

Have a good Saturday! It feels like Sunday to me...:wavey:
 
Austina, stay warm and cozy! Seems as though we have a singed eyebrow fad here this week. It’s not funny, right? :rolleyes2:

Marcy, I see your dh had to go rogue and singe the bacon instead of his brow. That is a sad tale. As a bacon lover i am throughly distressed. Hope you have fun with your SIL this weekend. Nice to have company.

June, it sounds as though you had a geat holiday too! Yay for that. I miss my extended family, but too lazy to go to Home for the holidays. And, no one in my family likes to shop anyway :lol:

Missy I thought it WAS Sunday.
Now, which house should I show up at for the leftovers???
 
I am so upset right now. Just got off the phone with my health insurance company and they are rejecting my Rx request for my oracea med. I cannot even breathe right now and it is Saturday and I cannot do anything. Waiting till David's office opens next week and I just hope I can get my med. Being without it is just not an option I can live with. I cannot go through what happened to me when I had to discontinue it in 2014. This is surreal. I freaking hate big pharma and the forking health insurance companies. :cry2::cry2::cry2:

Hi Jimmianne, come to Brooklyn for leftovers.
 
Missy, ugh. Sorry. Please dont freak out too much. I know there will be an answer.

Oh so tempting! Thank you!!
 
Hello lovelies

Oh nooooo @missy. Why? Cost? They’re quick enough to take the money for the premiums and hike them up every year:angryfire: hopefully David will be able to help you with a solution on Monday. Please try not to get too upset, there must be a way around this. Sending big hugs.

The temperature has really dropped here @marcy, but I think it unlikely snow will hit us. Sorry 2 of the films were a bust, I find a lot of hyped films are like that these days.

Sounds like you had a good time at your BIL’s, and a real bonus your SIL is a good cook @junebug17 Not long til everything is sorted with the house. Good news about Christmas, less stress for you, win, win.

Hi @Jimmianne hope you and the animals are all well.

Big wave to all the NIRDIS, hope you’re enjoying the weekend.
 
Missy, oh no, so sorry! Try not to panic, there has to be something that can done. Hopefully David can help you out on this. Sending hugs and comfort, hang in there and try not to worry.
 
Hi Jimmianne, Austina and Junie, thanks girls. Hope you ladies are enjoying a nice Saturday. I am OK. Just feeling exhausted and a bit beat up by the reality/state of health care and health care insurance. Not my first round with them and probably not my last. But they always end up the victors as one cannot fight them. They are too powerful and their word is the final and generally only word that matters when it comes to these matters. Sadly I have too much experience now with them.

This latest round with Cigna brings back some unpleasant memories. The words of the health insurance healthcare professional still haunt me from 2014. My PT and surgeon were trying to get me PT coverage as I had just started to be allowed some weight bearing and they refused to cover any more PT for my rehab ( though I hardly had been allowed any and it was all when I was unable to do weight bearing yet and I had been immobile for so many months) and the health insurance company healthcare "professional" told my physical therapist and surgeon, well, we aren't covering any more PT. She will either get better or she won't.:knockout:

And so we paid out of pocket. However that was finite and I am not doing PT for years and years but rather did it for months while I was healing and rehabbing.

Of course worse comes to worse we will once again pay out of pocket but this is a med I will be on forever and the cost will be prohibitive. And we have health insurance but what good does it do me when the only med I need isn't covered at all. Not an experimental med no but one I have been on for well over 11 years now. One I tried discontinuing after a terrible side effect and found out nope cannot stop taking it because so many worse things happened when I did.

So right now I am a bit scared because yes we can pay for it out of pocket now while Greg is working but it really adds up if this is the new normal and now they just won't cover any part of it at all and it is one expensive drug. I checked out different discount plans online but it is still so expensive when it is a medication I have to take the rest of my life.

Unless the rest of my life isn't long and at this rate who knows. I know the health insurance company would be happy the shorter it is because then we won't be fighting them every step of the way.:rolleyes:
Haha just adding a bit of levity with my morbid humor. ::);))

One other piece of news today is we signed the contract for the kitchen renovation and put down 50% and we are on! We chose a quartz material for the countertops and the color and details of the shaker cabinet. So woohoo :appl:and fingers crossed the end result is fresh and clean and pretty.

I am sorry for monopolizing the thread (more than usual even haha) :boohoo:and thanks for the tea and sympathy. Hope you girls can share some good things with us to make this not so much a downer thread right now.
Hope everyone is enjoying some lovely autumn weather.
:wavey:
 
Hi NIRDIs!

Junebug, that’s nice you had a good Thanksgiving with your DH’s family and planning on taking it easy at Christmas. I am glad you DD livens up things. It’s fun to be around entertaining people. I watched The Hitman’s Bodyguard this afternoon; it was pretty entertaining. It has Samuel L. Jackson in it so there is a lot of cussing (in case that bothers you) and violence but I enjoyed it. It has amusing spots in it. Sounds like you and DD had a nice time together shopping. I hope you get the furnace handled on Monday.

Missy, I don’t think you’d enjoy either Wind River or The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Definitely harsh stories and violent stories. We didn’t make it to the Christmas parade, Marty and his sister ran down to Colorado to pick up an old exercise bike he found on Craigs list and they didn’t get back in time. I don’t blame you for eating Greg’s cheesecake and apple pie. That really stinks about your medicine costing so much money. Hopefully David can help with the insurance situation. I do remember your battles with Cigna on your rehab. It is such a pain to deal with. Woo hoo for signing the contract for the kitchen renovation. How exciting.

Jimmianne, I know - what was Marty thinking destroying some bacon? I know - I am tempted to show up for leftovers at Missy and Greg’s house too. I didn’t eat much today.

Austina, stay warm and I am glad to hear you probably won’t get snow. We rarely go out to movies anymore because they are expensive especially if they aren’t good.

I am starving. I didn’t eat much today and now that I’m ready for bed I am hungry. Phooey.

Marty and his sister ran around most of the day. The car dealer wouldn’t deal with her at all on the pickup she wanted. This is the first I’ve heard of this - but they had discounts for people with low credit scores and her’s wasn’t low so they wouldn’t give her those discounts? Huh? They were charging her $8000 more than what was listed online with their assorted discounts.

I got laundry done and ran a few errands. I was a good sister and called my sister that likes to talk on the phone. It was almost a record time too - I got off the phone in 49 minutes.

I have 3 of my fingers taped up with waterproof bandages - no it’s not an accident with a knife but my hands are so dry I have splits / cracks in my skin that won’t close up. I’m trying to keep them away from water for a few days. No way am I taking off my nail polish even if it needs it.

We watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles tonight. My SIL had never watched it before.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.
Marcy
 
Good morning Marcy and all you lovely ladies!

Marcy, glad you enjoyed a lovely and not too long phone convo with your sister yesterday and that you got all your chores done as well. Sweet.

I am sorry your hands are so dry they cracked and split and need to be bandaged up. I feel your pain as I have eerily similar issues. I use heavy moisturizers on my hand and I find they are very helpful. CV skin labs body repair lotion is very soothing. I buy it online in case you want to see if it can help you too.

https://cvskinlabs.com/shop/body-repair-lotion/

Phooey is right going to bed hungry is not fun. Come here we have soooo much food (and desserts too!)...you and Marty and your SIL are invited and I am really not joking. Leftovers are even better/tastier than the original meal IMO.:appl:

Weird the car dealer wouldn't work with your SIL because her credit was too good. This is a perfect example of how outrageous our country is right now. That is seriously messed up. :knockout:

Thanks for the movie reviews and warnings and I will skip them. Violence is definitely a huge turn off for me and while I love Game of Thrones and that was violent I had to hold my hand over my eyes for probably about 50% of it. Though it was worth it for Game of Thrones it doesn't sound like it would be for those 2 movies. Haha one of the best lines Greg uses on me when we are arguing is he says(when he thinks I am being unreasonable or mean) c'mon Cersei or calm down Cersei with the emphasis on the Cersei. Gets me laughing out loud every single time.:lol:

Thanks for understanding how I feel about the medication situation. It's surreal and I feel like I am in a bad dream.

Glad you enjoyed that fun movie with Marty and your SIL last night.
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Rainwood I had a dream about you last night and you were visiting and we (you and Greg) were cooking up a storm. Hahaha I wonder why I dreamt that LOL. Food is on my brain I guess.:lol:

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Don't forget tomorrow is Cyber Monday. :whistle:

:wavey:
 
Good morning NIRDIs! (OK I started this post way earlier! ::))

I really enjoyed reading through all your posts while having my cup of coffee.

Missy. Thank you so much for your poem. I love you and all the NIRDIs too. It's true. The pies look delicious and I am so glad you've decided to enjoy a couple of more pieces. Your nieces are so so adorable and I'm glad they liked their jackets. Sorry to hear that you're having some family issues :(( I asked about your parents because it dawned on me I hadn't heard you mention them in a while, and then I think the same day I read in the other thread that you felt somewhat distant from them. I'm having some of the same feelings and as a matter of fact may ask for some advice on how to handle a particular situation with my parents. I hope you enjoy the rest of the day with your furbabies and Greg and any NIRDIs that stop by for leftovers. 8) And missy, thank you so much for what you've been doing on Mousey's behalf I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart and so does Mousey. <3

Marcy sorry to hear about your hands sounds painful. My DH loves this cream

https://www.target.com/p/amlactin-a...tra-smoothing-intensely-hydrating-cream-4-9oz

BUT - the alpha hydroxy acid would not be good if you have cracked skin, so it might be something you could try once they heal.

And very, very sorry to hear about your 49 minute phone conversation :| but, glad you were a nice sister that was nice of you. :)) Wind River sounds like a good movie although for some reason it's reminding me a little of that movie with Leonardo DiCaprio The Revenant which I hated. Way too violent like non stop. We watched "The Debt" last night and I liked it. So did you end up eating with Marty and his sister or did you eat on your own?

jimmianne a holiday with just furry creatures sounds really nice. Maybe next year the mice can join you ::) (don't kill me :saint: ::) - I know it's not the ideal situation to have saved mice.)

june don't you love it when something that you wanted happens all on its own? Glad to hear you'll likely be having a low-key Christmas. And so glad to hear you got to spend some time with your DD. <3

Austina cute shoes :) and LOL at the eyebrows I immediately thought of PB's cat's curly whiskers too. Hope you're feeling warm and cozy right now just like you wanted. :)

Hi Rainwood! :wavey: hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.

Kristie hope you and your doggies had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Hi Callie - I like to put either orange or lemon peel in my rice pudding - it gives a subtle flavor that I really like. It came out OK this year, not my best one though. A little undercooked and too creamy. I like it more milky. But it was good. I still managed to have quite a few servings. :???:

I didn't overeat too too bad so I'm happy about that. I mean I wasn't perfect but for being a holiday not too bad. DH and I went shopping and got a few little things on sale so that was good. And we had Thai at a place we have never tried before and it was really good. Then we watched a couple of Walking Dead episodes and had pizza. :) So an overall really nice weekend.

Well I hope I didn't miss anyone - but if I did a big hug and hello too :wavey:

Have a great Sunday girls :kiss2:
 
Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, thank you for the recommendation for lotion. I will look in to it. I use Neutrogena hand cream that is about as thick as Vaseline and have decent results. I know i am still shaking my head over a $1500 credit for a low credit score. They had roughly $8000 assorted discounts and didn't give my SIL any of them. This particular dealer is known locally as a pretty shady place to do business with and they certainly lived up to their reputation. That isn't a bad thing to have something that can break the ice when you and Greg are arguing. I have not watched Game of Thrones so I don't get the reference. I was pretty pouty yesterday at Marty and he thought I was mad but told him no he hurt my feelings. I don't think he saw things by way but I felt better getting it out there. I sure hope the doctor can help with your medicine. My boss was telling me his co-pay for his son's epi pin is over $200 and they expire in a year. The pharmacy tried to give him one that expired in a month and he pitched a fit until they got him another one. I don't blame him for that.

CJ thank you for the lotion suggestion. I agree I should wait until my splits heal. I need to take off my nail polish and I am sure that will get my attention. Wind River is no where near as violent as The Revenant. I use the Revenant as my reference point whether I had a bad day. So far, I haven't had that bad of a day. I'll look for the Debt. On Friday night we did all eat together at about 6:45; that wasn't bad. I am glad you had a nice weekend and got some shopping in too.

Marty got our Christmas lights up today; his sister helped and I checked all the lights and stood to the right of the ladder holding the lights up. Marty had to splice about 15 inches on the front of the house and ended up blowing a fuse 2 light strings ago so that took him over an hour to find and fix. Those fusees are tiny in a string of lights. Hopefully our timers are set right and all the lights will come on about 5 today.

We took the bike Marty picked up off Craig's list down to his gym and then went out to lunch. Marty and his sister are at the gym now so she can work out. Marty is leaving for LA again this evening. My long weekend was nice but quickly coming to an end.

I crashed my iPhone today. I had to change my pass code today (work email related) and then couldn't remember what I changed it to. 15 attempts later the phone said screw you - reset. :wall: Sadly my last backup was Aug 16, 2016. I am slowly working through it and finding what I am missing and trying to remember logon and passwords to things. I lost photos but they are on my iPads too so I'd best say them if I find something I really want.

Have a great day.
Marcy
 
I use the Revenant as my reference point whether I had a bad day. So far, I haven't had that bad of a day.

:D

I wuv you marcy ::)

(and sorry marty hurt your feelings. sad :(( maybe the rabbits or the bears can take care of him? ::))

Oh! Girls I forgot to tell you I have some Christmas stuff up already (Marcy reminded me when she said about the Christmas lights.) This is a big deal because usually I put things up like on December 23rd :D I still have more to do, but at least we'll get to enjoy them for more than a day and a half :D
 
CJ, compared to that guy I don’t even know what a bad day is like. Marty would never deliberately hurt my feelings but I’m a sensitive girl sometimes. It’s all good. Yay for putting up some Christmas decorations.
 
CJ, compared to that guy I don’t even know what a bad day is like. Marty would never deliberately hurt my feelings but I’m a sensitive girl sometimes. It’s all good. Yay for putting up some Christmas decorations.

I am the same way with DH...I am super sensitive to his words and tone of voice. Most times I am sure he has no idea what's happening :D
 
CJ, I think it's kind of natural for us to be sensitive to what our DH's say or do. I generally feel bad I even say anything because he is always so stunned that I came to that conclusion. Reminds me of a joke I saw one time about the lady wondering why her husband is so quiet and she is coming up with all the varied and horrible reasons he's quiet and he is thinking something like did I put the cap back on the gas can when I filled the lawn mower?
 
Hello girls!
Good morning! Just wanted to lett you all know that I really miss you, and that I'm so sorry for being such a horrible friend. I'll do better. Soon. The house is taking all my time these days, desperat to be finished before Christmas! As you might have seen on IG, it is going forward, steadily but slowly! Hugs hugs and more hugs!
 
Missy, why is the insurance company giving you a hard time? Do they want you to use another medication instead? Evil people!
 
Hi Scandi:wavey: Glad to see you surface from your big project!
No pressure, but i hope you will write more, even if a sentence or two on how things are going.

Marcy, I’ve seen something similar. The couple is out on a special romantic date. He seems awfully quiet. She is wondering if he is getting up the nerve to propose, because it’s about time, and he is trying to remember when he last changed the oil in the car.
Oh, bah humbug i lost all my contacts when i got the ipad. It is most annoying.
Sending you the dust of perfect recall” :doh:
CJ, yay for more days to enjoy holiday cheer!!! I think in the climate of the world today, we should celebrate happy thngs as often as possible.

Has anyone seen the Northern Lights? Scandi? Sharon?
It is at the top of my bucket list and i would love to hear more about them.
 
@CJ2008 – How did your rice pudding turn out? What a fun twist to add in orange peels. Yum! I love rice pudding.

@Austina – The restaurant we checked out was called Swift Attic. By the time we finished our workout and made our way over it was after the lunch hour rush so it felt a bit unusual that there were only 2 other tables filled. The food wasn’t bad but wasn’t good enough to want to repeat. I was a bit sad that part of the sandwhich bread was soggy but wasn’t going to let that ruin our date!

Exciting that the bangle is coming. The Whiteflash/Brian Gavin experience isn’t as exciting as visiting the Singlestore show room in my humble opinion. For WF and BG, I’m sure they have some eye candy but you would have to request for them to bring it from the back and to take a look. I have a hard time asking to see stones if I’m not truly interested in it and it feels like wasting staff time. SS had completed pieces and a showcase that was more of a store front feel where you could point and say oohhh please let me try that on. I felt more encouraged to play and enjoy. Maybe that might change your mind if you wanted to make a trip to Houston? : )

Look at your lovely shoes! Stylish lady!

@marcy – Glad you are enjoying the new glasses.

Hurray for amazon prime! I started watching Downtown Abby again.

@Calliecake – No you can’t really see the tan lines from the dress well but honestly if anyone can see it, they are looking too hard and shouldn’t be staring at my back! How did going out for Thanksgiving meal turn out? All the family members enjoy taking a break from cooking the big meal?

@junebug17 – Hope the furnace situation has been resolved now. Is it all wrapped up in a big red bow now?

@Jimmianne – I hope santa brings you a companion. My friend who is in her 50s just started dating again after her 2nd husband passed (first 1st husband unfortunately passed as well). I got to meet the new boyfriend and he’s a really nice guy and was someone who lives in the neighborhood. I’m excited for her but I was thinking that she’s great at finding people and is that unfair compared to the other friends in my age range who hasn’t even had a long term boyfriend before… come on! How does that work out?! Haha… but it just shows that life is unpredictable and your next guy might be right around the corner.

@missy – Wow that cherry cheesecake. Oh those cherries look luscious!

Your nieces are adorable. They look like they get along great and the matching jackets… ohhh sooo cute! What a wonderful family you and Greg are a part of.

Yikes sorry to hear about the RX meds. Is there a solution yet?

Excited that the kitchen counter top etc have been selected. That’s the hardest part!

@rainwood – Oohhhh what a wonderful pie crust. I tried baking my first pie this past Thanksgiving break and realized that the pie crust shrunk significantly. Any tips? I did some googling and it mentioned to chill the crust after rolling it out. Then chill it again after filling it. I did neither of those things so perhaps that was it? Or perhaps I need to just roll out the pie crust an inch above the pan? Way to continue the traditions of being a wonderful pie maker!!! So impressed!

Your necklace is so fun! Didn’t even know that piano wire can be used in so many ways. Looks lovely on you especially with the matching earrings.

@Scandinavian – Hello again! Hope the house is coming together! Feel free to share some photos over here too!
 
Apologies for playing catch up and whether I missed anyone in the process. It has been a true Thanksgiving break trying to stay away from the computer etc. We did a short day trip without much traffic. Our new thing to do in the car rides to pass the time other than chat is to stream a live comedy show via Netflix. All you need is audio so it works out well. Good family time together but there was some stressors due to Hurricane Harvey and living in tight quarters. 3 generations in one home can make some drama appear but being thankful certainly puts things in perspective.

DH and I spent some of our free time in the kitchen together. As much fun as it is to try a new restaurant, we were reminded how exciting it is to try a new recipe together. We made some posole and oohh did it turn out fantastic. Who knew that a can of red enchilada sauce would add so much flavor. Feels like cheating to add in something canned but it worked out great. We also made our own fresh version of "chipotle" with rice, beans, corn, cilantro etc... put that over a salad with sauteed shrimp. So quick and yummy! We also made gumbo (DH's family tradition) this past weekend. Tried having friends over but everyone was out of town! More left overs for us I suppose.

Put up our little Xmas tree. We inherited the tree from DH's grandmother. The top part of the tree lights don't work. Wondering if we should buy a new tree after Xmas this year or just keep the tree as is and enjoy it for it's own unusual beauty since DH's grandmother did pass away last year so it seemed a bit fitting that the lights were off.

Those were the main highlights of the break. I did notice that my right knuckle seems to have gotten bigger. I can still wear my ring luckily but it made me nervous... uh oh.. what did I do and will it get worse? Washing too many dishes by hand?! hahaha....

Hope everyone is enjoying their last week of November because it's almost the most WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!! Hurray advent season!
 
Hello lovelies

I hope you managed to speak with your doctor today @missy and found a way around the medication issue? Yay to signing up for a new kitchen, something to look forward to in the new year.

I had to look up Posole @PierreBear looks tasty. Sounds like you had a good thanksgiving, and it never does any harm to have a break from technology. I won’t be going to Whiteflash, I’ll order online. Like you, I couldn’t go in and ask to try on things that I have no intention of buying. I think if I went, I’d want everything.

Hi @Scandinavian hopefully the work is all coming together and you’re able to get back home in time for Christmas.

Oh dear, sorry about your chapped hands @marcy I hope they heal up quickly. What do you think has caused it? I’m constantly having to change passwords because I can never remember them :lol: Hopefully you’ll be able to sort out your phone and retrieve all your info.

Hi @CJ2008 yum to the rice pudding, I don’t know if you like coconut, but that’s really good added to it too.

Colin was only talking about going to see the Northern lights yesterday @Jimmianne We have been to places where they were visible, just not at the right time :roll

Thinking of you @junebug17 and hoping the house situation is all sorted now.

It was really cold yesterday, had to put my snood on, don’t you just love the word snood :lol:

We went to Costco today and I bought a lovely battery operated ‘lamp’ painted with poinsettias for Christmas, sounds tacky, but as we’re not putting up the tree this year, I thought it would add a bit of festive cheer :D

Big wave to all the NIRDIs :wavey:
 
Hi girls just checking in to say good afternoon!

Marcy ugh technology and I don't mix well and I feel your pain. Sorry you had some trouble with your phone and weirdly enough I had issues too yesterday. Crazy devices. (Haha or are we the crazy ones LOL). Hope they are behaving today. Glad Marty got the lights up already. I am sorry he hurt your feelings and sending you big (((HUGS))).

Junie hoping it is all going well sweetie.

CJ big hugs to you. I am sorry you are having challenges with your parents too. Aging isn't for sissies and it takes its toll on all of us. Sending you good thoughts and lots of good luck dust for it all to work out. And hugs to Mousey too.

Welcome back PierreBear and it sounds like you had a lovely holiday.

Scandi anytime you pop in and say hey is a wonderful time and no worries. We all understand. No pressure. We are here when you have time.

Austina your Costco lamp sounds lovely. Was Costco mad crowded today? I am thinking of ordering a 75" TV (Samsung) from
them but not sure I feel like going through (Greg going through it to be exact LOL) the hassle of setting a whole new TV up to our TIVO etc. It won't be simple and right now our 55 inch suits me just fine. But I am tempted...

Hi Jimmianne, how are you and your delicious new asscher doing this crisp cool day?

Hope everyone is enjoying a lovely Cyber Monday and we are in full holiday swing now aren't we?
 
It wasn’t too bad @missy.

We ordered a TV from Costco a little while ago and their tech support was brilliant. I set it up, but couldn’t get our Sky box to channel through it. I rang their freephone number, and they talked me through it. I could hear the guy on the phone to someone else asking for help, and relaying the instructions back to me :lol:
 
@Austina, Haha yes I love Costco. They are super helpful and cheerful too. Makes a difference and I am a loyal customer.
Greg just got home and picked up Loofy who is now running and purring like a baby instead of the 1999 model he is LOL. So fingers crossed our lovely car can continue running well and that it was money well spent. Since we just put down a lot of money for our kitchen reno it would be very nice not to have to purchase a new car right now.

Along those lines I have decided to not go ahead and purchase the 75" TV for now. We really don't need or even want one at this point but I just felt since our TV here is so old it might be a good idea before we need to purchase one. But decided against it for now. I am glad you are enjoying your Costco TV and you really cannot go wrong with Costco.
 
Hi NIRDIs!

Scandi, good luck with the house. I am sure it’s keeping you busy. Are you going to be done by Christmas?

Jimmianne, have you picked a setting for Mildred? Did you see Meghan’s ering from Prince Harry? I really like it. Darn that you lost your contacts on your iPad. I’ve seen the Northern Lights several times. I bet you can see them from your place since you live out of town. Right now they are predicting a chance of a geomagnetic storm on the 29th. Look for the app called Aurora and it will tell you the chances of visibility from your location. They can by a gentle glow or dynamic and vibrant from mid northern latitudes. I am sure Sharon and Scandi can see them better out of town where they live.

PierreBear, my old glasses are working well for closeup vision. Hopefully my new glasses come in quickly and they are right the first time. Phooey that Whiteflash is so limited in person. I thought they built up a showroom in recent years. I bet 3 generations in one house can be tense. Sounds like you had a fun road trip, enjoyed cooking with your DH and decorating the house. Oh no about your knuckle. I’m with you - it has to be doing too many dishes.

Austina, I often find more things to buy than I intended or can afford but I do want to go to WF someday. My hands always dry out and split open in winter. Between the cold and low humidity I don’t stand a chance. I just have to be very faithful about using lotion and if I skip a day I pay for it dearly. They still get bad sometimes even I am using lotion. I try to stick with the same few passwords but work has some ridiculous rule you can’t use them in the last 40 times or something like that. What is a Snood? Sorry it was so cold there.

Missy, darn that you had issues yesterday too. I found more things today missing on my phone. I had to pair it again with my car and then Car Play wouldn’t work since I hadn’t set up Siri yet. I’ll do that later. I am fine now that I got it off my chest Marty hurt my feelings. He honestly had no clue I would think that. Thanks for the hugs. Yay for Loofy purring and running well. No worries on the TV - they are always on sale these days. Did you talk to David about your medicine? How are your hands doing?

I sure wasn’t ready to go back to work today. I watched the clock quite a bit this afternoon. It was a busy day though. I did some babysitting and lecturing to some cry baby whiners about having to do their jobs. I should record these things and put them on YouTube - then I can just email the link to my employees. Then when I catch them watching them I can say no streaming video at work - go home. Problem solved. They are in an uproar that the company is going to a multi factor authentication login on our laptops when you log in from home. It takes 10 seconds more of your time; get over it. You don’t like it look elsewhere. I feel better now.

Marty had a short night. He got to bed about 1:30 am and woke up about 6 and sadly didn’t sleep well. I suggested he shift his training days to T, Th and S but I think he went to the gym anyway.

I stayed up until 11:30 watching to see if our Christmas lights went off okay. Half of them shut off in 6 hours but the other ones were still on when I went to bed. I checked again at 3:30 and they were off. Naturally that timer is on the other side of the house and up high so Marty can fix it on Friday when he gets home. His sister set up the timers and maybe that one was set for 8 hours. I bet our house looked goofy with lights on half of the house.

I am still getting popup ads from that stupid Mac Cleaner. I have Apple Care I should call them. I paid for their help, right?

Take care.
Marcy
 
wutsnorthernlights.jpg
This is from one of our star parties at 9100 feet in dark Wyoming.
 
Thanks SpringerSpaniel
 
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