Now I really did it :((

[Tekate]

@Austina thank you Austina.. this is my last stone, of course I plan more stackers etc.. we lived on a fixed income and no more upgrades.. Have a wonderful weekend Austina, I'm with Missy, DIAMOND tipped drill! of course How's Shirley? Such a conundrum... xoxoxo

@Mamabean sorry your thyroid hopefully this new med will work and your thrombopenia(?) sorry I can't spell, improves lady. Hypoglycemia? are you diabetic? you may have answered this and I missed it, sorry if so.. Have a wonderful weekend and hoiday Mamabean.. and I'm very glad your numbers were better than you thought, it's always a GREAT thing when that happens, I know

@marcy how is your horrid employee? how are you and husbster? have a wonderful weekend and holiday! xoxo

@Calliecake Have a super holiday and weekend Callie girl! xoxo

@missy Wow, what a day... I hope this 'fixed' wheel works... we did not get the storms you guys did down south.. we want it to rain because it means no watering.. Sounds like a LONG and stressful day yesterday, hope you are relaxing and the weather is fine and you guys are listening to the ocean.. BLISS, just bliss to live near an ocean, early in our marriage we used to go to Duck Beach in NC every summer, always rented a beach on the BEACH! I would get up hours early to just drink my Irish cup of tea and listen to the waves on the deck and watch the water, when I get totally stressed I think of the beach at Duck.. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Memorial Day Missy, my love and a hug to you and Greg, always and thank you for asking about my new and final ring..I appreciate it very much. Sorry you have started to have problems already, I will check in later today to see if you update on what is going on.. Be careful you two! xoxoxo

@junebug17 how are you doing? how's the pup? I think about your every day... I hope all is peaceful for you, I love my dog, our animals are our bonus kids. Have a wonderful weekend and holiday June. xoxo

@Keeliamira any news on the job? how are you and the family? xoxo

@Slick1 hope all is well, happy holiday and have a great weekend! xoxoxo

@AV_ have a wonderful weekend girl!

@canuk-gal Hi Sharon!!!

On my ring journey we are in motion, I chose the sleek line diamond with a Tiffany head, Becca said they will make the prongs as thin as possible. Lots to do on our and their part.. I'm stoked.

I'm posting a new pix of Autie! happy weekend and to us US citizens have a peaceful memorial day. I had a great guy friend back in 67 who was killed in Viet Nam 3 mos after arriving in Viet Nam. I'll never forget him, ever.

 

[AV_]

How's Shirley? Such a conundrum...

When will you be going, if you are going? It seems that your email made some difference for the best. Not that I'd wish to be in your place (a third time).

The weekend must be good - I need to get to the bottom of a thing or two or bust. LOL

 

[MamaBee]

@Tekate I LOVE this pic of Autie! She seems to be growing fast! I love the little bow headband..I wish I could hold her. I need a baby fix!
No..I don’t have Diabetes..My doctor doesn’t think so but will test me in six weeks when I get all my retests. I do have Hypoglycemia..but we’re not sure what type..I hope it’s the reactive type because it’s less serious and I can manage it through diet. She told me to eat a huge breakfast with protein, whole grains, yogurt and a fruit before getting the test in six weeks. I’ll also get my platelets retested..and of course..my wacko thyroid numbers. I don’t have a thyroid anymore. It was destroyed by radioactive iodine a very long time ago..I had gained weight and couldn’t lose it at that time...I was found to have nodules and a super low performing thyroid...I couldn’t even get off the couch.I had zero energy..I was able to diet it all off after the treatment.....Now..even though I don’t have a thyroid..I can’t lose weight...I lose a pound and then two pop up..It’s incredibly frustrating..but I love my doctor. We’ll figure it out. @missy I don’t think I can make any T3 out of the increased dosage of Levothyroxine but it’s worth a try.
Your diamond is GORGEOUS! I can’t wait to see it on your finger! When will you get it?
@missy I can’t believe you had to drive all the way to Pa! Where in Pa was it? I hope your problem with the bike wasn’t the wheel you just picked up in Pa. That’s a long trip to do in one day!
You guys must sleep really well at night with the amount of miles you cover on your bike! How long have you been cycling?
I always used to go to Point Pleasant and Spring Lake when we lived in NJ..I loved it there...
@marcy I know Marty’s back is hurting..but I hope he will be able to compete...From the way you describe him trying to continue to train with his back pain....I will feel so bad for him if after all this work he can’t do it...I am worried about him slipping a disk though...
@Austina You are a handy girl! You’re always patching or painting! You use a power drill to hang a cabinet? I’m impressed! Colin is so lucky! I did things like that when I was younger.. but all I do is think about doing that stuff now and I hurt for days! Does the groomer put a doggie perfume on Dottie after her bath? Mine does that to Bailey..She also ties a neckerchief on his neck. He looks so adorable but he can’t stand it. He runs around trying to bite it off! He’s at his doggie hotel now. I drive him a half hour there and then I drive a half hour back to my house just so he can go to this doggie hotel. He loves it there. He runs around with his friends..gets a peanut butter busy bone...playgroup..and a senior one on one playtime. I rub his baby blanket all over myself..clean of course..haha..so he has my scent when he’s in his room. They say he sniffs the blanket when they put him to bed.
I feel so bad about Shirley...That’s good that you and Colin wrote The Letter..My husband doesn’t like to think about the future..I’ve been after him to get our wills updated..but he keeps procrastinating.
TBC..It’s always something around here!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDI’s!

Missy, oh no to a heat wave there. We got up to 66 today; it’s pretty nice but my allergies came back. I thought I was cured. Marty did get his pickup back yesterday. The dealer sent a van to pick him up. He said it was driving a lot better. To be honest I am surprised he hasn’t traded it in yet; he drives through their parking lot all the time looking at what they have in stock in the 2 models he likes. Wow for your 70 mile ride. Your leggings look great. The ice looks delicious. I hope you find helmets you like. I am better today and even more so tonight. I am back to my normal self. Thanks for listening to me vent. Sorry you had such a hassle with the wheel and traffic.

AV, I hope you had a nice time out on the town. At least you know what the next step is and can work on it now. Good luck.

Kate, that ACA looks fabulous!!! Look at all those rainbow flashes - gorgeous. WF is great to work with. I can’t wait to see it mounted. How exciting. What is your estimated delivery date? I really like that setting; if I go with a new setting that is probably my choice. My ACA is 1/2 that size; I can’t imagine how awesome a 3 carat is going to be. My employee created a personnel error the day I was at the funeral. We’d gone 1104 days without one. I was just walking in the door from the funeral and got a phone call about it. I was kind of distracted but logged in and got things fixed as soon as I could. Since it was a mistake and not a case where she didn’t follow procedures she didn’t get any paperwork on it. Sigh. Marty and I are good, thank you. How are you and your DH? I am with you and the peace enjoying the beach can bring. I could be a beach bum pretty easily. Autie is so cute and has grown since the last picture.

Austina, Marty did better lifting tonight. He had me come spot him - I behaved and didn’t make him laugh or make faces at him. It took major will power. His back does still hurt quite a bit. The funeral was actually not a very sad one. Her husband wrote a few sentences here and there that the minister read then he picked songs he thought went along with those sentiments. I didn’t get too upset until I was talking to her daughter about some of the fun things her mother and I did the summer after we graduated from college. I will get your email from Missy and send you links to my articles. Darn that putting up your cabinet wasn’t easy. I hope it looks great! I’m like Missy - “diamond” tip drill bit caught my attention too.

Mamabean, sorry the doctor found some things but that’s good they have ideas on turning those things around. Good luck with that! Thank you about Marty; he told me last night he still hasn’t decided on competing. I worry that he hurts himself and does some permanent damage. His theory seems to be push through on the pain. How cute about the neckerchief on Bailey. That is awesome.

I was pretty sad and having dark thoughts when we got home from the funeral. Kind of having a pity party. Then I found out my team had an error and knew work wasn’t going to be fun yesterday because of it. Surprisingly my boss and his boss didn’t get that angry about it. I started getting out of my funk as the day went by yesterday but I told Marty to meet me for supper after work last night. It was nice to have a glass of wine and just visit.
I got off work 2 hours early today. Woo hoo! I didn’t do my usual work but decided to build some new reports instead.

We are going to Denver this weekend - jewelry shopping for me, dinner with my sister and BIL and going to a graduation party for one of my grand nephew. Fun. I like my emerald and diamond band so much I want to look at ruby and diamond bands. Of course my first question when I walk in the door will be do you have a peachy / pink sapphire? Then see if they have a larger EC ruby than the one I have. Then I’ll look at bands.
Take care.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Happy Memorial Day weekend Saturday!

@junebug17 sending you gentle (((hugs))) and much love. Keeping you in our thoughts and prayers.

@Tekate awww LOVE the latest Autie photo. She's a gorgeous girl. Your ring journey is super exciting and what you have planned for your ring divine. I am looking forward to you receiving your beautiful new ring Kate. It's going to be amazing. I agree the sound of the Ocean is restorative. Nothing compares to it IMO. And cycling by the Ocean is heaven. Though yesterday it was the windiest ever I think and we felt a bit beat up by the end of the ride. Fun nonetheless but beat up. LOL. Thank you for your warm wonderful Memorial Day weekend wishes and wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday weekend as well. Much to be grateful for and to appreciate this year and a big thanks to all those who have served our country in the most selfless way.

@marcy I am so glad you are feeling better. Losing a friend at any age is a shock. I am sorry your allergies have returned. Glad Marty got his truck back and who knows maybe he will be trading it in sooner than you think though I love to hold onto cars for as long as possible. I hate change. It cooled off here yesterday but getting warmer each day and it's going to hit the 90s again soon. Yup too soon for me. Very exciting that you are going to Denver jewelry shopping this weekend and I cannot wait to see what you purchase. Ruby, emeralds and diamonds oh my. I am always here to listen to you as you have always been here to listen to me. Always. On or off line Marcy. That is the beauty of friends. We are here for each other through the good and the bad. (((Hugs))).

@Mamabean I am sorry you are dealing with these health issues and I get it. We are similar with our thyroid issues and I have 3 nodules on my thyroid. I am supposed to get them monitored yearly via Ultrasound. I also have a few very weird and rare health conditions but it's not stopping us right? We are strong and stubborn and won't let these issues stop us from enjoying our lives and being active. Having said that yes we need to get them under control. The thyroid is proving tricky for me as I don't covert T4 (storage hormone) to active T3 and instead it becomes Reverse T3 which blocks the T3 sites making me more hypothyroid. I am extremely hypothyroid which is why I do not sleep well. I wake every 60 minutes or less because my extremely low thyroid is making my adrenals work overtime and the adrenals are what wakes me throughout the night. If this continues I could go into adrenal failure which would be very bad. That is why I am trying so hard to get the thyroid under control but it's been about 19/20 months with no improvement. I hope you fare better and I am here if you have any questions and if I can share anything helpful with you.

All that to explain no I sleep horribly. Despite all the cycling. We have been cycling together for over 20 years now but Greg has been cycling since he was a little boy. I used to cycle when I was young and through my teen years but stopped until Greg convinced me to start again. We started cycling together on single bikes in the 1990s and around 2001 we started riding together on our friend Rob's Tandem. It was Rob's wedding gift but he and his wife never rode it so he gave it to us for that summer to see what we thought and we never looked back. It was a Burly tandem and it was the beginning of our love affair with riding tandems together. After that summer we got our own tandem. Our first. A Cannondale tandem that is a white bike. Sharp. We still have it. Our second tandem is a Calfee. A carbon tandem that is custom and we still have that. 2 years ago we bought our recumbent tandem due to my discomfort on the upright racing tandems due to "women" (aka menopause) issues. I just started a local hormone insert replacement and am hoping I can get back to riding our other tandems as well as the recumbent but so far no relief. Still hopeful as I started less than 2 weeks ago so we shall see. In any case we love riding the recumbent so much but I just feel badly as we spent a fortune on the carbon tandem (price of a nice diamond lol) so I would like the option of riding that one occasionally if you kwim. Sorry if that is TMI. Being a woman is challenging at times especially one who is my age. And especially when in my head I am still 25.

Joanne, @Mamabean I don't know if you are interested in reading some books about your thyroid that might help you but if you are I recommend these 3 books.

"Stop the Thyroid Madness" Part I and Part II and The Izabella Wendtz book "Hashimoto's Protocol" and "The Root Cause"

https://laughinggrapepublishing.com

https://thyroidpharmacist.com/book/

HTH!

@AV_ hope you had a good day yesterday and knowledge is power.

@Slick1 enjoy a wonderful holiday weekend! You deserve it. Looks like the weather will be OK...fingers crossed. Stay cool and have fun!

@Jimmianne how are you? Hoping you are having a wonderful time in France and that all is well. (((Hugs))).

We had a great albeit super windy ride yesterday. As I wrote to Kate we felt a bit beat up due to the very extreme winds. I think the gusts were up to 35 mph and it was hard riding much of the time. Ask me again why I love riding? LOL sometimes I wonder. But I was very happy when we were finished hahahaha. Seriously though it was a great day.

The weather was perfect and the sky and sea gorgeous. A few photos of our journey.







and of course our requisite Days stop for ice cream. Well deserved yesterday.



We managed to cycle 55 miles yesterday but it felt like 155 lol


Our total for the season is 905 miles and hoping to break 1000 miles before June arrives. Fingers crossed.


Tonight we have our friend's annual Memorial Day party so it is going to be a looooong day. Cycling in a little bit and then a mad rush to shower/wash my hair and head an hour South to our friends Memorial Day shindig. It's always fun and the food is always awesome as she has lots of dietary restrictions herself and caters it with a special gluten/soy/dairy free menu so I actually can eat too. That's always a huge bonus as I love eating.

Have a wonderful Saturday girls! (((HUGS))).

 

[missy]

Sharing 2 more photos from yesterday. Look at that blue sky and the gorgeous sea. Blissful.
We go through so many different areas during our cycling journey. All near the sea but all very different.

Long Branch boardwalk


Atlantic Highlands trail



And in my previous post Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Sea Girt, and the Highlands. To name just a few of the towns we cycle through. OK enough from me. Off cycling soon. Have a marvelous day everyone!

 

[Keeliamira]

Ach. It has been a week NIRDIs! I’ve read through everything I missed ...so much! My week started off with dh trying to fly home from seeing his ailing father and getting stuck in Kansas City, MO. He made it out, but barely.

Tuesday morning I had to be up early to take my best friend Fabi for an epidural. Got to work late and found out both of my law school classmates (two of the four people in my unit) are looking for jobs elsewhere and both applied for a director position in another state. It makes the thought of moving a bit easier, but darn it! I love my work family!

Wednesday brought dd1 drama. The hospital said they needed to discharge her Friday unless her Medicaid issues were worked out. I went to my twins 5th grade graduation Thursday morning and spent the rest of the day at the social security office and the state Medicaid office. Each office acknowledges there are errors that need fixing but both say it’s the other office’s issue! By Friday, no resolution was found so the hospital gave us the weekend to get it sorted. Such a mess!

I am exhausted but will be spending the weekend going through the house with a fine tooth comb and throwing out/donating a ton. Trying to get the house ready to list. Dh’s In person interview went really well, but then two different board members wanted to have additional one on one phone interviews. One even interviewed me! After his seventh interview they told him to expect an offer shortly! So now we wait and hope the Hot Dog house we love doesn’t get snapped up.

So much to respond to... briefly...
@Tekate the stone you bought is TDF! Congrats to the moon and back! I can’t wait to see it! And Auti is absolutely precious!

@marcy I hope Marty’s back is mending. I’m glad the error at work wasn’t as bad as it might otherwise have been.

@Austina I hope things with Shirley have settled down some. It’s so hard to deal with the gamut of changes that can come with the aging of older family members, especially on top of our own.

@missy your tandem recumbent bike looks ah-mazing! I love cycling but had to stop due to herniated disks in my neck and back. I never considered a recumbent bike...food for thought! I hope you are wearing the holy hell out of your gorgeous new earrings and your Schaumburg’s isn’t giving you too much trouble with all the cycling you’re doing.

Love and positive vibes and good thoughts for all the other NIRIDs! Have a great weekend dears!

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

Everything crossed that you can get DD1’s Medicaid issues sorted out @Keeliamira, what a palaver. You’d think there’d be some co-operation between state agencies to stop problems like this. That sounds so encouraging that there’ll be an offer too good to refuse for DH, they’re really stringing it out. Hopefully, it’ll allow you to move on with your plans.

Your ring is going to be stupendous @Tekate, the perfect diamond in the perfect setting At over 9mm is going to be really substantial. When I was planning my 40/60 gift, I was looking at WF for a stone that size, then I saw PB’s OEC. Then I met Missy - and the rest is history I can’t wait to see it when we’re both in Austin at the same time.

Glad Marty is feeling a bit better, hopefully his back will completely better soon. Argh to the work issue when you got back from the funeral. A night out sounds like the perfect antidote to the stresses of this week, and woohoo to jewellery shopping. Can’t wait to see what you find.

I hope your thyroid issues aren’t causing you too many problems @Mamabean, I know Missy has plenty of experience in dealing with her own to be able to offer good advice and support.

Have fun today @missy, how great to know there’ll be plenty of yummies for you to eat at your friends get together. Always love seeing the pix of your cycling adventures, hopefully no more problems with the tandem to stop you getting out to enjoy the scenery.

We stopped at a specialist tile shop yesterday to get advice on the best drill bit to get. Colin bought what they recommended, then of course you had to have the chuck adapter, so it ended up costing nearly half the price of the bathroom cabinet

When I got back from getting my hair done, we started trying to put it up. I taped up the template, and eventually Colin managed to get the drill bit and adapter in to the drill. It just kept sliding off the template and made no impression in the tiles. So back to the tungsten tipped drill bit and I managed to break the surface of the tiles and get a start. Between us we finally managed to get 4 holes drilled. I kept stopping to measure, because it’s one of those stupid systems where the 4 screws have to be in exactly the right places for you to slot the unit on and then it drops into place. Colin was getting anxious it wasn’t going to work. We got the rawl plugs and screws in and held our breath. It worked!!! We stood back and looked in amazement

Colin said “DON’T EVER suggest doing anything like this again”

Had a busy day as we’ve got friends coming for dinner, so got all the food prepped, and cleaned the whole house.

Thinking of all the lovely NIRDIs and wishing you all a great weekend.

Leaving you with a couple of pix from our walk at the meadows yesterday.


Dottie enjoy her cool down


One swan a-swimming


One tired pup

 

[Calliecake]

@Tekate, Love the sweet picture of Autie! They have so many cute bows and baby clothes . When do you think you will make the move to Austin?Are Mike and Cara freaked out about the measles scare? My niece is considering staying home and not working. She said by the time the baby can be vaccinated for measles she will probably start trying to have another baby. She said all their friends who have children in daycare, have children that are always sick. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that once they go to school, they will also catch everything the other kids bring to school. The new diamond is gorgeous! I can’t wait to see it on your finger. It was so much fun to read and SEE your diamond and read your post about the ring. Your excitement jumps off the page Kate. The setting you chose is also beautiful. I have to ask, do the neighbors leave the boat in the driveway for long periods of time? I seriously would have thought a boat that size had to be stored somewhere and not sit in a driveway. If you can afford the boat, you should also be able to afford the storage facility.

@missy, You had quite the Thursday and Friday. If Greg can’t fix it, it’s a big problem. I hope today is just a beautiful day of cycling and no repairs. The picture you posted in the thread are beautiful. How lucky you get to spend more than just a few days at the beach. Can’t wait to hear about how today went. You do more miles cycling then I put on in my car during the summer months.

Thinking of you Junebug and sending you hugs. Your and kindness and gentleness helps more people than you can possibly know. I hope you know how much you are loved and how special you are. You are one in a million June. Hugs sweetie.

@Austina, I’m sending you hugs about the whole Shirley situation. It’s understandable that you are dreading a visit her, although I think it may do her a lot of good. Sometimes just talking with a close friend is so good for the soul and can make things seems better, even if it’s only for a little while. It’s always great to know you have people in your corner when life gets hard. You have been a wonderful friend to Shirley. I keep hoping a great deal of her anger is misdirected and really anger due to her whole world being completely ripped apart and knowing that the life she loved with never be the same. Depression and grief do strange things to people. How funny the drill bit you needed includes the word diamond. You and Colin sure had this project covered together well. Thank you for mentioning your project. It reminded me I need to pick up caulk and supplies to redo the caulking in our master bath. DH said he wants to watch how I remove all the old caulk and how I redo it. Needless to say he’s not very handy LOL, but how I love him. I told him I’ll do it on a nice afternoon and he can go golf 9 holes while I’m caulking. We should both finish at the same time and we can go out to dinner afterward. We will both happier at dinner if I just do it. Love the sweet pic of Dottie after her adventure packed day. She sure looks like one tired baby.

@Mamabean, Even though your doctors appointment didn’t go perfectly it sounds like it went better than you thought it would and your doctor is staying on top of everything and coming up with a plan. I hope you are able to breathe a small sigh of relief with the appointment over with. Have a great weekend with your DH and David. You are lucky to have a place Bailey loves going to if you can’t take her with you.

Marcy, I’m sorry you had such a rough week. Are you feeling better now? It is so easy to let your mind go to dark thoughts after attending a funeral, especially when the person is younger. I hope you are feeling like yourself again now. Having Marty meet you for dinner was a great idea. DH and I have always loved going out to dinner together. I know you also enjoy it. Is Marty’s back feeling better today? Lucky you, having a fun day planned looking at jewelry today. I can’t wait to hear what you found and if anything was screaming buy me and take me home!!!

@av, Were you able to get out and enjoy the day? You live in such a beautiful area. I imagine you having wonderful, fun walks.

@Keeliamira , What a pain in the neck getting the issues settled for your daughter. I hope you are able to get this settled out soon. It’s frustrating and scary enough to have a family member who needs hospital care with out having to worry about insurance and Medicare issues on top of it. How wonderful an offer is in the works for your husband!!!! And how flipping strange the company wanted to speak with you too. I’ve never heard of that before. The multiple interviews aren’t surprising but them asking to speak with you sure is. Hopefully the hot dog house is still available and you are able to make an offer on it. When you find the perfect house, that fits your family, you know it immediately! I so hope this works out for you Keelimira. Your truly deserve some happy, happy new. Let the paint color choice decisions begin! I’ve got more a Benjamin Moore color deck I can send you. It will bring you hours of color indecision.

Not much new going on here. We have been working on the yard and trying to come up with a plan for landscaping that will block our view of the neighbors driveway. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend.

 

[marcy]

HI NIRDI’s!

Missy, I am glad you are getting in so many miles on your tandem bike already. Sweet. You will hit 1000 before June - no problem. I hope you can rotate through your different bikes some this summer. Mmm ice cream. I hope the party was a lot of fun tonight. Woo hoo to having food there you can eat. Loved your pictures. I kept wanting to get pictures of the snow capped mountains today but whenever we were out of the car buildings were in our way; the view was great in the car. We got off the interstate and took a less busy state highway and not only made better time but was closer to the mountains. Our outing to Denver today was a much needed getaway for me. We had a nice time and as you know I did get a new ring. It’s nothing like what I have but I sure like it.

Keeliamira, You did have a rough week. I am sorry to hear about your DH’s father. What was the problem getting home - snow or bad thunderstorms? Good luck resolving the Medicaid issue with DD1. That’s pretty exciting DH is going to get an offer. Good luck! Too funny they interviewed you too.

Austina, darn that the drill bit cost half as much as the cabinet. I swear any project Marty does the tools he needs for it end up costing more than his project. Sometimes I think it’s a ploy to get new tools. It sounds like a challenge getting your cabinet up but yay that it looks great. Too funny Colin doesn’t want to do that again though. The pictures from your walk are lovely. I hope you had a fabulous time with your friends coming over for dinner.

Callie, you must have patience and a steady hand to do caulking. It is not a skill I possess. I am doing better today and back to my usual self. It was a rough week. Thank you for asking. You guys are probably like us; we seem to relax and talk a bit more when we go to dinner than eat at home. We always have the TV on so we don’t just visit. I also like the no dishes part. Is your garden planted yet? Good idea to block the neighbor’s driveway with landscaping.

Thank you for asking about Marty’s back. He tweaked it pretty bad again tonight tripping on a rug going in to a restaurant. I thought he was going to fall because he just froze when he did it. He took Advil and went to bed when we got home. Poor guy.

We hit the road at about 10 today and stopped for breakfast on the way. We were at the jewelry store from 1 to 4:30 - they take so long there. I took in my assorted pieces for them to clean and check which they always do before they even wait on you. I looked at what they had in the showcases and only liked on ruby and diamond band but decided that’s too much money after buy my earrings and pendant set recently. So then I start having them pull out loose sapphires - they can only bring you 3 at a time and they do stop and help other people while you look over what they bring you. I have gotten so I tell them since I have quite a few pieces we’ll go set at one of your desks in the back. Makes it nicer than standing around that long. They had a great pad-like color round sapphire but it was only 5mm and too small for something I’d wear. Then I went through peach, orange, blue, cognac sapphires and the blues were nice but I have some already. We finally really liked a square cushion cut raspberry sapphire and I decided to get it so the search for the setting began. It only looked good with YG which is the least plentiful in their selection. I ended up getting a thick YG solitaire mounting for it and of course spent more than the ruby band I passed up. Back to paying myself off again - haven’t I been saying that for a year now? What was nice is they agreed to size my ring and mount the sapphire while I waited.

We met my sister and BIL and had supper then we all ventured over to my grand nephew’s graduation party. 5 of the graduates decided to have a party at their church, I bet there were over 100 people there between all of their families and friends. Most of the kids were outside playing volleyball but the rest of us mingled around inside.
Take care.
Marcy

Here are some iPhone pic. The close up is the loose stone setting in the mounting. The other 2 are the finished ring when we got home.

 

[missy]

Good morning girls! Happy Memorial Day Sunday! Thank you to everyone who served and is serving our country. Brave men and women who sacrificed so much.



@junebug17 (((hugs))). Keeping you in our thoughts and prayers.

@marcy As you know I LOVE your new bling. Pretty in purple. SO glad you found something you love and so lovely a day you enjoyed. Happy graduation to your grandnephew. Oh no to him hurting his back again last night and I hope Marty's back is feeling better today. Ugh poor Marty.

@Keeliamira oh my gosh, what a week. Sorry about your DH's dad. I hope you can get your DD's issues settled soon. You do not need this on top of everything else. I am disillusioned with health care in this country and can share stories at a later date. A friend of our had to wait almost 2 months for a critical nephrectomy. Not right. Sending you and your family continued well wishes and hoping good news is yours soon. (((Hugs))). And I hear you about your work family. Hope if they move it isn't too sad for you and maybe you can move somewhere near them when you guys find great jobs. Fingers crossed.

@Austina oh no to the bit costing so much but woohoo to successfully completeing the job and I am glad it looks great. Worth the cost and yes I hear you and Colin. Don't want to repeat that again haha. Love your photos and I have some outdoor pics to share with you now. I love when you share pics with us.

There were 2 families of geese in the lake yesterday. Awwww.




@Tekate great Kate sweet and sassy how is our amazing Autie? Hugs to all of you and hoping you are having a good weekend.

@Slick1 hugs and hello and happy Memorial Day Sunday! XOXO.

@Calliecake so glad you are enjoying your garden. Hope you have a lovely rest of the weekend. It's weird when one is retired every day is a weekend and holiday haha. Glad you are enjoying your DH's retirement. Sweet.

We had a great day yesterday. Our cycling was amazing yesterday Perfect weather. Cool a bit breezy and east wind. Ahhh. Today is quite a bit warmer and more humid but still looking forward to a good ride. And of course we enjoyed Days ice cream too.

We also stopped by our friend Joe's house to see Louie his new puppy. A 3 month old rescue. OMG he is super yummy. I couldn't stop hugging and kissing him. I just might have to dognap him...












Got back home and I took a shower, washed my hair and took a nice hot bath before the party. The party was fun and it was good catching up with friends we haven't seen for a while and friends we do see too. Good food wonderful company and a cool night.



Off cycling again in a while and I just wanted to wish you all a lovely Sunday.

 

[Tekate]

@Keeliamira quite a lot going on for you. I am so happy your husband is going to receive an offer! makes life easier there anyway. So sorry about DD1's medical paperwork, nothing works less effeciently than government paperwork, hope she is doing well Keeliamira. Thank you for your kind words on my new ring. The logistics of getting money out of one of our money market funds to our bank to and WF has been nothing short of frustrating, and Vanguard, WF and the bank are all closed on Monday.. I'm not sure when my ring will go into production at this moment, I put a deposit on it, hopefully things will move and I will get it in 3-6 weeks. Thank you again for your words. This is my this is it ring hope you can buy the house you want!.. Keeliamara I remember when I lived in Raleigh NC in 93, I joined a playgroup for 2 year olds as Chris turned 2 in early fall, all those girls except one were southern and all of them were interviewed also by their husband's companies, I had never heard of such a thing, IBM didn't do that. Also the first thing (the VERY FIRST) thing the southern moms asked me was "Where do you go to church" lol, I'd lived in Raleigh 2 years by the time Chris was born so while I wasn't dumbfounded I was a bit shocked, these girls served sausae balls on china haha! but I ended up being very good friend with them all, fine ladies. cute kids and I enjoyed my time in Raleigh.

@Calliecake Hi Callie, I hope to move there within the year, or by next summer, we have to sell this house and that make take a while, my house is a ranch in Colonial land, I paid too much for it so it could take a while, we will have to see. Thank you sweetie for asking Boy do I understand wanting to block your neighbors driveway. I'd like to block my neighbors whole house but it would cost thousands.. we aer looking into blocking some of their house at this time anyway, we are scaling back on this since we decided to leave Maine. No they haven't left the boat in the driveway this long EVER in the 5 years we have been here, this is a first. We were in Austin for a month and every morning I checked our driveway and there it WAS - THE BOAT.. they are nice enough, they have lots of toys, they keep the snowmobile in a far corner of their property they have a trampoline, he plays rap and country LOUD LOUD LOUD, ya know, that is life in a subdivision, but not one we expected, their house was built two years ago and we never expected anyone to buy the lot as it was one of the last in here and not very nice. Oh well life in the slow lane here in Maine. as to are Mike and Cara freaked about measles? a BIG YES! Mike is so freaked that he is mad at me for not moving quicker (meh on that - adult kids can be just as much spoiled brats as 7 yr olds). Cara is only going to work 3 days a week when she goes back in July. Crazy times Callie. We are so lucky to be friends Callie, I so agree about what you said about June, and @missy to me is the most awesome and kind person I have ever met, Missy always takes all sides with merit, I think that is just something that most people cannot do..Love Missy, love her and you and Junie and everyone here. Everyone is kind, funny and lovely here. xo Callie girl.

@Austina Hi Austina, thank you for your kind words about my 'this is it' ring I am very happy about my decisions (I think ) I am hoping your Shirley visit goes fine Austina. You are a great friend to her. I LOVE your stone Austina, I LOVE OECs, I would have loved to have gotten one, I had one for 25 years, a 1.5 E color beautiful stone, I wore it as a pendant as it was my engagement ring from my 1st husband, BUT 25 years after we divorced my ex's mom asked if I would mind giving it back since it was originally my ex's grandmothers, and then his mom's engagement ring, I said sure because when Tom and I were engaged he specifically said, "My mom say's if we break up that the ring comes back as it is a family ring, I of course said 'of course'. " So when we broke up in 85 I gave it back to him and he returned it to his mom and then he came by my apt and said "My mother wants you to keep this" (he was pissed at me and probably still is).. so I took it back. So segue 25 years later she called me and asked because her grandson was getting in engaged and her daughter wanted to know if her son could use it.. Of course I said "of course" I loved my former MIL and while I didn't think I HAD to give it back since she gave it back to me, I felt bound by it being a family stone.. I miss that stone, and wish I could get it back so I bought an AVC, and gave that to Mike for Cara.. So I think someday I will get an OEC not a modern cut, but for now I'm going to take my engagement ring from John and put it in a pendant, which has always been my goal, to have a new diamod pendant. So if you have read this far I can say I went for the WF stone because I am a size hog and I thought it was a good all around stone.. Hopefully it will be. How's your son and future DIL? hope you are doing well, and Dottie? I love Dottie, the most beautiful!

@missy thank you for asking about Autie and me and everyone. Autumn is good, I have some new pix but I will wait for another day (don't want Autumn over load here with my NIRDIs). Going to be 80 here in Maine, yee haw! Missy Autie is great, she is getting BIG.. I will talk to Mike today and will hear the latest on her growth etc.. Mike is a math guy like Johnn and often he goes all math on me about things I agree with you about every day is a weekend when you retire. Yesterday I was supposed to call Katie and I thought yesterday was Friday since we had to get my stone back to Whiteflash by Tuesday because the mailing label was only good for two days, man it was a lot of work in one way, I am thankful for John in many ways but yesterday he figured out how the back the ring the way they wanted, a lot of packing etc to ensure no theft, I'm sure you know the routine with some of your purchases. Now to get the money moved around, another PITA, I have set up my account at my CU that it doesn't accept Vanguard deposits (why? I have no clue but I would bet dollars to donuts John told me to do that, I am glitter girl not math girl -) ) so hopefully we will set this in motion on Tuesday on the money end. What a beautiful puppy! You look so happy.. You and Greg look debonair and beautiful for the party, glad you had a great time Missy! happy Sunday to you and Greg and your fur family (and your human family too while I'm at it ) I bought a new pair of sneakers on Thursday, I always seem to buy sneaks where on my right foot my big toe breaks through eventually, this time I bought a size up! they felt fine. You see if you look closely Missy that they have tiny little fake diamonds on them, I didn't see THAT till I put them on yesterday to do our daily walk! I am glitter girl! xoxox to you sweetie.

@marcy I could NEVER caulk either, steady hand and patience, okay that's not me! I woud love to see pix of your mountains Marcy. Mountains and oceans are my loves, so peaceful and majestic. Jeez, I am sorry Marty annoyed his back again I am hoping it's just a slight setback and you will post how he's doing soon. Hugs to Marty from Kate. (and you cause sometimes when our DH's get hurt they get baby, or just my two did). Marcy your new ring is STUPENDOUS! it's beautiful, it's substantial and I love it.. the setting is perfect.. do you have earrings and pendant to go with it? if not, I'm sure you will at some point! I wish I had a relationship with a jewelry store like you do. I find all the stores here in Portland area have young girls and they are trying to sell you HOF diamonds (no thanks), and they are sweet but not someone I could make a long term relationship with.. Calivin's in Austin was a wonderful place, they would redip my white gold rings for free. very nice people there so I know these types of jewelery store employees exist. Did I say I love your ring, it's modern! Sounds like you had a wonderful day Marcy.

@Slick1 happy Sunday! hope all is going well in your area, have a wonderful memorial day!

@Jimmianne hey lady! how are you? what is new? hope all in going smoothly in France? any new paintings, you are VERY VERY talented Jimmi! xoxoxoxo

@Mamabean Hola Joanne? what's up? how's all your kids and you? hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend. xo

happy Sunday to you all.

First pix is of Salley trying to get into the pix and 2nd is the shoe, if you look closely you can make out the teeny little fake diamonds!

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDI’s!

Missy, great photo for Memorial Day weekend. I enjoyed your pictures of the goose families, sweet Louie giving everyone puppy kisses and you and Greg dressed up for the party. You had a wonderful day! Glad the weather is cooperating for you guys to go for bike rides and what a nice treat to have ice cream along the way.

Kate, hope the financial transactions go smoothly to get your ring placed in the production rotation. I’ve gone the credit card route with WF (not doing that again), wire transfer and PayPal. Credit Card was interesting; they called me and asked me all sorts of personal questions to verify I was who I said I was and some of the questions they asked (they were multiple choice) didn’t have the correct answer. Next purchase I tried PayPal and it looked like it didn’t process so I ended up paying them twice so had to call and have WF cancel one of the purchases. After that the wire transfer and Pay Pal worked fine. That is too bad about the OEC your ex MIL wanted back but I kind of understand why they would want it to stay in the family. I am glad you are going to get your diamond from John put in to a pendant. Sweet. I do remember the instructions WF sends to pack up your return; I sent in my 1 carat as a trade and then returned the 3mm scattered diamond band that matched my ering because I preferred my Tiffany band with it and also wanted some WF channel set bands. You and me both on lack of patience. It’s not in my skill set wheel. Yes, mountains are as pretty and enjoyable as oceans. I would miss seeing them as well. I’ll try to get some pictures sometime. As for Marty he is kind of a baby when he’s sick but stubborn and grumpy when he’s hurt. He is doing all sorts of moving weight lifting stations around today. That can’t be doing him any good. I am probably only going to buy jewelry from Whiteflash or this place in Denver anymore. The place in Denver does treat me well since I have so much from them. Their upgrade policy on loose stones (which I mostly do) is you can trade it in for $1 more on another loose stone. They jewelry can be traded in on something new for something twice the original price. Some of my things are so old from there (over 20 years now) so it’s not hard to find something I want at twice the price. They were pretty limited on loose sapphire selection yesterday in their top cut probably because of Mother’s Day and graduation. I usually try to go in late March or early April when their selection is better. I like what I ended up with though. Hi Sally! Cute diamond flakes in your shoes.

Not much going on with me today and I plan on keeping it that way. I lifted, went grocery shopping (online ha ha) and we’ll go pick it up at 3. Marty gave a friend of ours one of his weight lifting stations to set up in her garage. They just got all of that moved. I am going to run out and swap cash for food through a window for our lunch. I do plan on doing as little as possible today. Read, watch TV and enjoy being a love seat potato. I tried the new Coke flavor - orange and vanilla. It’s okay but I like Coke Classic better.

Have a fabulous day!
Marcy

 

[junebug17]

Hi all -

Thank you all for thinking of Zoe and me and mentioning us in your posts. All your sweet and encouraging words have helped a lot. Sadly I had to put her down this past Wednesday. She was declining and I had promised her I would not let her suffer. She was a special little kitty who meant a lot to me and my family. She showed up in my mother's driveway 6 years ago and my brother gave her some tuna so she stayed. She lived at my mother's house and was a source of joy for my mother, brother and me. When my mother died she came to live with me. She was affectionate and sweet, and she was also quite a character and made us laugh. This little kitty was a link to my mother, so I think that is adding another layer to this loss.

Thanks for listening I want to try to catch up a bit...

@missy, I'm glad you are able to spend some extra time at the beach and are having fun cycling with Greg. So glad you were able to figure out a way to control your Schambergs. I love looking at all your pictures. Louie is so cute. You and Greg look great, and your dress is really pretty. Great pic of the Stone Pony; I spent some time there back in the day. Thank you SO much for your compassion and kindess about Zoe's illness, <3

@Austina, I forgot to tell you I'm so sorry your sweet Harry had mouth cancer too, it is horrible. I can see why you would be apprehensive about Shirley's trip but you are a great friend and are very inuitive and seem to know the right things to say. I have a feeling Shirley is going to be happy to see you and I think it's going to go fine. That is so great you and Colin got the medicine cabinet up; any type of job like that always turns out more complicated than expected. Love the pics of your sweet Dottie.

@Keeliamira, getting dd's insurance straightened out sounds like such a hassle and so stressful, I'm sorry. And I'm so sorry to hear about dh's father, such a sad and difficult time for everyone. Great news that dh is waiting on an offer. My gosh, 7 interviews, he must be completely wiped out by now. I've never heard of the wife being interviewed! You sound busy and have so much going on right now and I hope you can take a little time to rest and give yourself a break occasionally.

@Tekate, that diamond is absolutely gorgeous! What.a.rock. Seriously, it's huge and beautiful and perfect. You must be going crazy with anticipation. I think it's so sweet John gave you a hand packaging up your current diamond. And with regard to you worrying about overloading us with pics of Autie...you're kidding, right? Do NOT hesitate posting pics of that beautiful baby, she brightens my day and I mean it. The pic of her on the washing machine is adorable. And I love her little bow. It's too funny, I feel the same exact way about boats - and I'll throw in RVs as well. I'm usually pretty easy going but omg talk about an eyesore. Your blinged out sneakers are awesome.

@Calliecake, your sweet and kind words overwhelmed me...I don't feel I deserve them but I thank you. I feel I should say the exact same words back to you and I cannot thank you enough for your understanding and support. Xxx. I hope you are having a great weekend and enjoying working in the garden with your dh. And I'm impressed you're so good at caulking - It's really hard!

@marcy, you beat me in ordering groceries on line- I definitely have to get that set up. I'm so sorry to read about Marty's ongoing back pain, it's frustrating to not be able to do the things we want to do. Your new ring is stunning, I LOVE it. That color is so rich and vibrant. Looks like a really well cut stone too. And the setting is so perfect for it. I love how substantial it is. It's completely understandable you were upset and sad after the funeral; your friend was a part of your youth and there are many memories associated with her. I'm glad you're feeling better. Life is very hard sometimes. (((Hugs))). I'm glad you took it easy today and just did whatever you felt like doing, you deserve it and it's good for the soul.

@Mamabean, I really feel for you and your anxiety over tests...you have every reason to feel that way after your experience in the 90's. I'm glad your results weren't as bad as you thought they could possibly be but I'm sorry things are not right and I hope the doctor can help you get your levels back to normal soon. and I hope you hear from David soon about your earrings, you must be so anxious to get them. They sound beautiful. Would love to see a pic of your pink tourmaline ring if you get a chance.

@AV_, sounds like you've been even busier than usual lately! I hope you're having a great weekend.

DS had a show in Avalon today (beach town in NJ) and forgot some of his equipment...he called me and asked me if I could bring it to him...an hour and 20 minutes away lol. Of course I did it because he's my sonny boy...he's a good guy and has been a big help with Zoe, and what are families for. Dh was golfing and I wasn't doing anything anyway. It was actually nice being down the shore for a while, although I didn't stay long. Dh and I really should go there more often.

Thanks again for all of your support and I hope everyone has a good day tomorrow xoxox

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

@junebug17 I might have a typo cuz my eyes are leaking and I can't really see. My heart is breaking for the loss of your beautiful furry MissZ.. Her beautiful face and sweetness brought joy to so many and thank you for sharing her.

kind regards--Sharon xoxoxox

 

[sarahb]

Awe @junebug17 -- I just stumbled across your post & wanted to send you my sympathy also, losing a fur baby is the worst, and with Zoe representing memories of your dear Mother...sending you hugs & dust...

 

[Austina]

I’m so very sorry @junebug17 , poor little Zoe, however hard it is, and knowing you’ve done the right thing, doesn’t make it any easier to bear. Oral cancers seem to be very aggressive and invasive, and saving her from any unnecessary suffering was the kindest thing to do. I know it’s hard to reconcile your feelings at the moment, but please remember that your family gave her the best 6 years of her life. It was truly her lucky day that she showed up at your Mum’s house. xxx

 

[missy]

Dear @junebug17 we are so sorry for your loss. Sending you continued gentle hugs and keeping you in our thoughts. I hope you realize you gave Zoe the best life you possibly could and she had a warm and wonderful life with you despite it being too short. You made her years here safe and filled with love. And I know we both find comfort in the thought she is now at Rainbow Bridge frolicking along with all our beloved furbabies who are now gone from this earth. One day we will be reunited with them all.



Greg and I are sending you much love and gentle (((hugs))). We are so sorry for your loss.


ETA: Junie in case you were wondering that poem I wrote in Random Comments was for you and Zoe.

 

[missy]

@Tekate love your new sneakers and I am the same. My big toe gives me issues since my bike accident and now I buy my shoes a size larger. I used to be a size 9 but I always buy a size 10 now. Just bought 2 pairs of new bike shoes in red and hope they will fit. Got them online so have no clue if they will fit as I never wore these brands before. Yes I lose track of what day of the week it is too now. Not a bad thing. I cannot wait til you get your WF bling and I am super excited for you. How is Autie doing? How are your kids? How is your sweet niece Kate doing? Hope your weather has cooled down. Ours is cooler today but hit 90s yesterday. I was sweaty lol. And even after my bath and 2 showers (a shower before the bath and one after) I was still sweating lol but that is because I took too hot a bath. Trying to detoxify. Thank you for your lovely compliments. What are you doing today on this Memorial Monday?
Sending you (((hugs))) and love.

@marcy I love your birthday bling and the color is so beautiful. Wishing you many decades of health and happiness wearing your beautiful bling. How is Marty's back? Glad you lifted yesterday and hope you did nothing much and just relaxed the rest of the day. And hope you enjoy more of the same today. Interesting about the coke flavors. I cannot drink soda anymore (gives me tummy aches) and miss it occasionally. My favorite flavor when I could drink it in my adolescence was Sarsparilla.(((Hugs))) and have a good Memorial Day Monday.

@Slick1 how is your holiday weekend going? Hope you are feeling much better and having a lovely time with family. (((HUGS))).

@Austina I too am so sorry about sweet Harry and his oral cancer. Our beloved furbabies are gone too soon from this world. You gave him a wonderful life filled with love and security. (((Hugs))).

@AV_ how are you doing? How was your weekend? Sending you (((hugs))) and love and hoping all is going well with you.

Thinking of you @Keeliamira and hope your family is doing well. XOXO.

@canuk-gal hope you are getting some enjoyable cycling in and that you are having nice weather.

We had a lovely ride yesterday despite the heat and make no mistake it was HOT here yesterday. And we visited Louie again. Cycling, furbabies and the sea all with my dh by my side. Pretty sweet. Hoping for more of the same today. Have a wonderful day ladies and leaving you with a few photos from our adventures yesterday.

The beaches were crowded yesterday and we were glad we were cycling away from the crowds. It was madness. And the traffic omg crazy.



Look at the line of traffic...this photo doesn't do it justice. The line of traffic extended for miles and miles. Madness.




A morning visit with Louie yesterday...

Louie rushing up to greet me


and one big happy family..did I mention I want to dognap him?



@marcy you were quite right...we broke the 1000 mile mark yesterday well before my June deadline. Woohoo.



Cycled over 60 miles yesterday in the 90 degree temps but there was a breeze so it wasn't as bad as it sounds.



Love you ladies...have a wonderful Monday. (((Hugs))).

 

[missy]

Memorial Day Morning sunrise here...so pretty.

 

[MamaBee]

Happy Memorial Day! I wrote a long post but had to stop because we were heading to Scott and Allie’s house Saturday. I should have sent a partial one like I usually do but thought it would still be there!
I hope everyone is having fun today whatever you are doing today! I’ll be driving home from Maryland. I drove here on Friday with my mom and David...but I had to drop Bailey off at his dog hotel first which added another hour. So...I drive from 9:30 in the morning until 5:15 when we walked in the Maryland house...I was the walking dead.. My husband couldn’t make it because of a problem with work so he stayed behind on Friday...I drove the crew to Scott and Allie’s house on Saturday in Virginia on Saturday. My hubby met us there..Lately I’ve been schleping everyone and all our junk and he shows up later. Same thing today. We stayed over their house on Saturday..My husband had to make a meeting in Delaware so he left early from their house..I got to schelp everyone and everything to drive back to Maryland. This morning my husband left for another meeting so I will schelp us back to Pa myself. I’m getting a little bee in my bonnet as you can probably tell. I think I need new jewelry..
@marcy Last night we saw the most horrible movie ever..Cold Pursuit..with Liam Neeson. I love him but the movie was awful. I thought about you during the whole movie because of all the snow. He drove a snowplow through walls of snow and people would follow him..I kept thinking that’s Marcy and Marty!
I love your new ring! The color is so pretty! I know you’ll enjoy it!
@Austina..You are a MrsFixit..which is what people called me when I was younger. I never drilled into tiles to hang a cabinet though! You’re something!
@Tekate I wrote this in my lost post but had to come back and say I love your new gorgeous and big juicy rock! When will you get it?
@junebug I’m so sorry about Zoe..My heart breaks for you. You were the best momma.
@missy I loved seeing all your pics..I smile seeing you cuties together..Perfect match! The little puppy is too cute! I could use a puppy cuddle!
No response from David. I’m very disappointed in him..really...It’s not right...He should have someone answer his emails..
I have to catch up but hugs to you all and will be back tomorrow morning....Have fun today!

 

[MamaBee]

Here is a pic of the pink tourmaline I just bought. I bought it from Ruby Lane. It’s much lighter than in the top photo but I actually like that..The tourmaline is one carat..and there are diamonds on the sides. I haven’t louped them to see what are..but I think they’re princess cuts because they’re square..but they are clear and very sparkly..I’ll stack it like in the pic..

 

[Tekate]

@junebug17 I am so sorry about having to lose Zoe, what a wonderful story June about how you all loved her and how she became a member of your family. I understand connecting our mothers to our lives today after they have died. Your post today was beautiful, I was in awe of how caring you are June, every word you said to us all was kind, thank you June, thank you very much. Thank you about your wonderful words about Autie and my ring to come, thank you for caring, thank you for being my friend. And you are a great mom, our human kids are our joy and your post reminded me of the love I have for my sons and not how frustrating they have been lately, thank you again June.

@missy Hello sweetie! today is beautiful in Maine so I see it's gorgeous in NJ too! I talked with Kate yesterday, she is thrilled! she bought 3 pepper diamonds.. I see them on etsy sometimes and she plans to make some rings to sell to millenials who really like the earthen look. Me? GLAM! she's good, she has a tortuous relationship with Anne Danny's wife and there strife at times but we talked and talked and talked and I hope she set's a new path for a better relationship with Anne and all Anne's kids (Danny just puts his head under a rock).. Anne is a uber uber uber performer, a 2 time Olympic medalist, an attorny, type A, argumentative if she thinks you are wrong and she loves her children FIERCELY, and I feel she finds Kate a threat with Neve because of course Kate's the AUNTIE Mame.. also Anne get's art like I get quantum physics. So there is strife there but hopefully Kate has some good ideas to work around this. I hope anyway, as it makes me sad that Katie is sad. Danny sent me a pix of Evan yesterday, I'd post if but they are uber serious about no pix of their kids on the web. I understand that. I can't wait for my ring, I hope I made the best decisions, I did my DD and think it's my best shot at a superior stone at a superior price of course we will be away in two weeks when it's supposed to be shipped ha! my life story, waiting.. We are doing a small barbecue with us today, pot salad, 3 bean salad, deviled eggs and ribs.. no desert (we had doughnuts this a.m.).. Here's Autumn yesterday, she's growing! love you girl, have a peaceful Memorial Day Missy and I like you salute all those who lost their young, old and in between lives and those who have died, these men and women make America free. xoxoxoxo



Aw @Mamabean THAT is a lot of schlepping lady! you are a wonderful mother, daughter and wife. I think Liam Neeson movies keep getting worse and worse as he ages! glad for the shout out because I'm tired of him only playing a jedi or an avenging father! I am sure your husband thinks you are the JEWEL of his life.. I'm doing nothing today other than vacuuming the rug, IT'S SHEDDING SEASON for Salley! so right now my robo vacuum is going and to quote my mother "well that is a half assed job" while they are cute they miss 60% of dog hair so out Kate comes with her truly UPRIGHT vacuum to get the rest.. I hope you are have a wonderful day today Joanne.. I love to read what you are doing, you and all our ladies here are just wonderful. ETA: @Mamabean gosh that stone is B E A U T I F U L.. the setting is gorgeous, I love princess diamonds, my SIL has a 2 carat princess set in platinum, it's gorgeous.. great taste as usual Joanne, it looks perfect on you! !!!!!

I'm going to post a few pix of my 2.94er for you guys, opinion appreciated, but it's all in motion, I should call out MrsB because she likes WF.

Shouting out to all who died protecting America and the world and those who died. xo





This will be the ring MINUS the diamonds on the side, with my forever stone I want just platinum, that is JUST me, I love everyone and anyone's rings. I just have alwas wanted a plain setting for my unicorn. Now, I may reset it into something more, but this works and it really is hard to find anything with 6 prongs, now I really don't love 6 prongs but I love my stone and think 4 prongs is not enough. Jeez Louise also on insurance, it's 600 bucs almost a year! ha, good money though I think and eventually I will cancel it down the road a long way

sending love to you all.

 

[MamaBee]

@Tekate Wow! Your diamond looks super white and gorgeous even upside down! That’s a winner for sure! I love the plain setting..I should have done that with mine. That’s another post..haha...I’m sooooo happy for you!
Thank you for liking my new ring and the nice compliments!
I can’t believe how fast Autie is growing! I’ve had three children and I’m still in awe at how fast they grow. I’m going to post a photo of Jackson but I have to blank out his face. His parents don’t like him being on social media either..

 

[Austina]

Hello lovelies

Woohoo @marcy, your sapphire is TDF, what a gorgeous colour, the size, the setting, just perfect! Oh no to Marty wrenching his back, I hope the Advil did the trick and he’s not in too much pain. Sounds like you had quite a day on Saturday. In the end, if you love your choice, it doesn’t matter how much you ‘owe’ yourself, write yourself an IOU and stick it in the drawer

Wow Autumn is getting so big! You forget how quickly they grow @Tekate, it’s been so long since I held a baby, I don’t think I remember how Your ring is really going to be beautiful, I find I colour really white and yours certainly is. I’m so excited for you, I’ve worn Bella every day since I got her, and I know she’s my IT ring. I just can’t imagine ever wanting anything else.
When are you next in Austin?

Wow @Mamabean you’re tourmaline is beautiful, such a lovely feminine colour. You’ve reminded me I have a small pendant and some floral earrings somewhere, I should really dig them out and wear them. I hope you had a safe and stress free journey home today, I imagine you’ll be zonked later!

Aww what a cute pup @missy, maybe a staffieXlab ? He certainly seems a friendly little chap, and you both look smitten Lovely pix from your ride, no wonder the beach was busy, looks like it was a beautiful day, perfect beach weather.

Well done on hitting the 1000 mile mark ahead of schedule, you’ve really been busy and so fortunate the weather’s been so cooperative.

Thanks for the kind words @Calliecake, I always try to be a good friend, but unfortunately over the years, people have let me down which is so disappointing. Shirley seems a bit calmer now the trip home is getting nearer, I think she’ll be OK with us there, it’s just sad that Bob won’t come out to greet us with a smile and a big hug when we get there.

We had fun with our friends Rob & Sue on Saturday evening. I used to work with Sue at the dentists, and she had a really hard life till she met Rob. I’m so happy they found each other, they really are a lovely couple and so looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together. Sue said to me a while back that she wishes she was like us and had found each other years ago. I told her that it just took longer for her to find her destiny, and they’ll have lots of time together.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but we’re all going on holiday together next year. They got married last year and bought a new house together, and have spent all this time getting it fixed up, so they wanted to do something special for a honeymoon. I happened to mention that we were looking at a new cruise ship, and she asked about it, long story short, we’re going on their honeymoon and Colin’s 70th next year. Sue is so excited about it, it’s quite different to anything they’ve done before. Colin has made the arrangements for us all, he really enjoys doing it.

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the holiday weekend, it’s a holiday here too, not that it makes any difference when you’re retired

We had a late night on Saturday, and Dottie was zonked

 

[Tekate]

@Austina sounds like a full day Austina, also it sounds wonderful that you are going on a holiday/honeymoon with good friends. As I age I have lost so many wonderful people Austina, my sister, my aunt, a dormmate from college, 2 of my best buds at IBM, a wonderful g/f from the time we lived in Raleigh. I feel very much for you and your missing Bob to greet you, it is very sad and hard. Sending you love. Autumn is getting so big, holding her was something, I was scared to be honest with you, but I got the hang of it, and Mike would make sure that John and I held her correctly. Not sure when we are going back to Austin, first up is going to the city to see Chris and family, 2nd up, my niece Tara is finally getting married to her boyfriend (Tara and Katie are 10 days apart) she is getting married July 7th in CT, Tara has 3 kids, her oldest is 21, 19 and 12) so I have a grand nephew who's 21 and a grandnephew who is 8 weeks old! ha! Then we will go to Austin probably in August.

Thank you for your comments on my new ring coming. as @marcy said, paying is a pain in the derrier (well she didn't say that specifically to be honest ) my account wasn't hooked to my credit union so I authorized this today BUT it will take 2 business days to process. Then my CU won't do the full amount they will only do it in 2 day interval.. It's convaluted to say the least. I am pleased with the stone and I am hoping all goes well. Thank you Austina!

Dottie, so so so adorable!

Have a wonderful week.

 

[AV_]

@AV_, sounds like you've been even busier than usual lately! I hope you're having a great weekend.
... It was actually nice being down the shore for a while, although I didn't stay long.

Good guess... I did spend the weekend clinging to work, until a couple of hours ago, when the end just got cleanly in sight.
Chores are the best pretext for a nice day off (note to self too).

@AV_ how are you doing? How was your weekend? Sending you (((hugs))) and love and hoping all is going well with you.

...we broke the 1000 mile mark yesterday well before my June deadline. Woohoo.

All is well, thank you very much indeed! - I feel as if I walked 100 miles though.

Your collecting tens of hundreds of miles is very amazing & very, very tempting too!

Anne... she loves her children FIERCELY, and I feel she finds Kate a threat with Neve because of course Kate's the AUNTIE Mame...

I might say that kids are not born knowing that one can only have one mother, I didn't.

Of cuorse the diamond is Ideal, and so would be a D/E broad faceted kin of the give/take/give/take/give stone... & you saved me some thinking through kitchen duties tomorrow: there will be three beans salad - where two out of the three must be fresh (to buy) & dry (to soak) habas; then, if there is no cod & ham near them I'll be deported for breaking the highest law of the land.

_

Ending the day thankful for NIRDI! (I mean it)

.

 

[marcy]

Junebug, I am so sorry to hear about Zoe. She was loved and will be missed. Big hugs to you. Keeping you in my thoughts.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Mamabean, very pretty pink tourmaline ring. I love the color.

Kate, you can’t go wrong with an ACA. Your diamond looks gorgeous and I think a platinum solitaire will be perfect. I insure my ering too. Peace of mind if nothing else. I figure as long as I have it then I won’t need it.

Will catch up tomorrow with everyone.
Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

@junebug17 thinking of you and hoping you are doing as well as you can be...sending you continued hugs and love.

@missy Hello sweetie! today is beautiful in Maine so I see it's gorgeous in NJ too! I talked with Kate yesterday, she is thrilled! she bought 3 pepper diamonds.. I see them on etsy sometimes and she plans to make some rings to sell to millenials who really like the earthen look. Me? GLAM! she's good, she has a tortuous relationship with Anne Danny's wife and there strife at times but we talked and talked and talked and I hope she set's a new path for a better relationship with Anne and all Anne's kids (Danny just puts his head under a rock).. Anne is a uber uber uber performer, a 2 time Olympic medalist, an attorny, type A, argumentative if she thinks you are wrong and she loves her children FIERCELY, and I feel she finds Kate a threat with Neve because of course Kate's the AUNTIE Mame.. also Anne get's art like I get quantum physics. So there is strife there but hopefully Kate has some good ideas to work around this. I hope anyway, as it makes me sad that Katie is sad. Danny sent me a pix of Evan yesterday, I'd post if but they are uber serious about no pix of their kids on the web. I understand that. I can't wait for my ring, I hope I made the best decisions, I did my DD and think it's my best shot at a superior stone at a superior price of course we will be away in two weeks when it's supposed to be shipped ha! my life story, waiting.. We are doing a small barbecue with us today, pot salad, 3 bean salad, deviled eggs and ribs.. no desert (we had doughnuts this a.m.).. Here's Autumn yesterday, she's growing! love you girl, have a peaceful Memorial Day Missy and I like you salute all those who lost their young, old and in between lives and those who have died, these men and women make America free. xoxoxoxo

I am sorry Kate that there is strife between sweet dear niece Kate and Anne and hope that can be resolved relatively easily and soon too. It's so challenging dealing with family issues at times. I too am sad that Kate is sad and hope things improve in that department soon. As for pepper diamonds I am intrigued and have no doubt she will make something gorgeous with them. She is very talented. I agree it is best not to post photos of Evan unless his parents say it is OK. I hope you had a great BBQ yesterday and that 3 bean salad sounds yummy. Aww Autie is so gorgeous. Thank you for sharing another beautiful photo. Hope you had a wonderful rest of the weekend sweet Kate. And your new ring to be looks amazbling. Cannot wait to see it on your hand. (((HUGS))).

Aww what a cute pup @missy, maybe a staffieXlab ? He certainly seems a friendly little chap, and you both look smitten Lovely pix from your ride, no wonder the beach was busy, looks like it was a beautiful day, perfect beach weather.

Well done on hitting the 1000 mile mark ahead of schedule, you’ve really been busy and so fortunate the weather’s been so cooperative.

Thank you dear @Austina yes we have been busy bees in the cycling department and luckily so because this week doesn't look too promising for cycling. Not a bad thing as we have lots to do plus Greg is still working so there are business conference calls scheduled for the next few days at least. Yes lovely Louie is a rescue mix of Mastiff and Golden Labrador and is such a love. I love rescue dogs so much and he was rescued from a kill shelter and flown out to NJ where our friends picked him up and took him home. He is sweeter than sugar. Thank you for sharing that sweet photo of darling Dottie and please give her a hug and kiss from me.

So pleased you have a wonderful trip planned with your friends Rob and Sue and so happy she found happiness with her soulmate even if it is later in life. Doesn't matter as long as she is happy and in love now. The present is what matters and hopefully they have a good future to look forward to and enjoy together.

Here is a pic of the pink tourmaline I just bought. I bought it from Ruby Lane. It’s much lighter than in the top photo but I actually like that..The tourmaline is one carat..and there are diamonds on the sides. I haven’t louped them to see what are..but I think they’re princess cuts because they’re square..but they are clear and very sparkly..I’ll stack it like in the pic..

Ooh this is super pretty Joanne! Love it. Cannot wait to see what you do with it.

@missy I loved seeing all your pics..I smile seeing you cuties together..Perfect match! The little puppy is too cute! I could use a puppy cuddle!
No response from David. I’m very disappointed in him..really...It’s not right...He should have someone answer his emails..

Aww yes I agree and am very disappointed for you dear Joanne. I have n doubt he will respond soon but he should have contacted you before now. I am sorry honey and sending you comforting hugs. Pretty bling will be yours soon but cmon David make this right. Not fair and not nice to keep our sweet Joanne waiting like this. An email would be nice letting her know what is going on OK? (((Hugs))) @Mamabean


Hi @marcy hope the rest of your weekend was good and NO MORE SNOW for you. Oh my goodness. Hope Marty is feeling much better too. (((Hugs))).

@Slick1 (((hugs))) and hope you had a wonderful rest of the long weekend and that it is a good week too. XOXO.

All is well, thank you very much indeed! - I feel as if I walked 100 miles though.

Your collecting tens of hundreds of miles is very amazing & very, very tempting too!

Thank you @AV_ and pesto accomplishing lots this past weekend and walking the theoretical 100 miles. That is good. Good exercise for the mind and soul if not body. For me cycling represents that. Not just the physical workout but a good mental one too and any activity that combines the two is A OK in my book. Or should I say 3. Mind, soul and body.

Ending the day thankful for NIRDI! (I mean it)

A big yes to this and starting the day thankful for all the NIRDIs too. Thank you lovely ladies.




We had a great cycling Monday yesterday and saw lots of sights and enjoyed a wonderful Memorial Day Monday. So much I cannot recount it all. The highlights. Cycling, Sea, Puppies, Friends and Ice Cream. We stopped by 2 of our dear couple friends yesterday and saw their pups. Louie who you already had the pleasure of meeting and Luca who our other friends dog sit for much of the year as their friends travel all over so Luca has been with them for the past 6 months. What a love he is. Then we cycled some more and had ice cream (of course) and by the time we arrived back at our beach house we were completely exhausted but exhilarated too. It was a wonderful long weekend. Today I have to see my podiatrist. Yup another problem with that toe darn accident that keeps giving back with that ingrown nail. I have to have another "surgery" and rip out the nail all the way down to the bed which is no fun with those big needles etc but I am a big girl and have been through this more than anyone should but sucking it up. Then we have to run errands in between Greg's work calls. Supposed to be a stormy day and the week is looking iffy. But it's OK. We need a rest from cycling lol. Have a wonderful day ladies and leaving you with some photo highlights of our cycling (and other) adventures from Memorial Day Monday. XOXO.

Louie!





Luca!



Days!


And remembering all those brave men and women who sacrificed everything for our country. Remembering them on Memorial Day and every day. Thank you.