What are you up to today? This week?

[Selkie]

Nothing like the sound of the ocean waves. It's THE most wonderful sound in the world to me. So relaxing.

[morgansmith]

Nothing like the sound of the ocean waves. It's THE most wonderful sound in the world to me. So relaxing.

A HUGE ditto on that. We are at the coast 4 times or more a month. This always requires a picnic or quick stop in front of the water. Sometimes we drive down onto the sand and enjoy it from our car, close up.

[Sable]

Taking a 5 day vacation from my retirement. I'm at my beach cottage in Vero Beach, Fl. DH is joining me tonight. I have a benign skin condition on my legs from my ankles to my knees so bathing suits, shorts and dresses are out for me. I usually wear black leggings and dream that someone would create a colorful legging in a bathing suit material. I finally found a shop in Vero which has them! They even have matching tops! Yippee! So comfortable, too.

[chapchap73]

Well, the cabinet is finished! So much better then the old, broken desk. I moved the room around so I can have more room when I set up my dollhouse space; I'm so hoping it will be soon! I put a couple pics in the gallery; someone (can't remember who) was asking about my pond last week. When I find the better ones, I'll post them as well

[pdlnpeabody]

Looks like the house is probably a no-go. My suspicions about the job were right- they cut me loose this afternoon. Trying to learn new protocols and software in a busy, under-staffed law office is a recipe for disaster.

If we buy the house, I could make the payments working for less than I was making, but that means we'll be stuck in the lowest paying, most over-taxed county in the entire state, for at least a few years.

Our choices are to either move without knowing If I'll find a job in our new location, or buy and stay here, where job options stink. Neither option is very good, but I have to figure out which one will keep a roof over my family's head.

[KathieB]

Dang, Jeremy ... sometimes life is just annoying. We'll have some sage advice for you when we see you on Tuesday. You can ignore it if you want to.

We stopped at the Miniature Cottage in Nashville this afternoon. Renée bought the contents of my general store. Oh, my, is it ever a nifty shop! Incredibly well stocked and lots of room boxes on display. I wish I lived nearer to take advantage of some of the classes she offers.

I bought some glass eyes for the still-to-be-made potter and something else.

Tomorrow we're off to visit Sandy (Mandystar) ... looking forward to it!

[pdlnpeabody]

Well, on the upside, I'll be available all day when you visit on Tuesday and any advice is welcome!

[Sable]

There are plenty of law firms here in South Florida=West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Ft Lauderdale, Miami

[kat57]

I had a nice afternoon:My mother and I attended a birthday party for our 100 year old cousin,who I call Miss Annie. I have always been amazed at this sweet little lady,who has been a hard worker her whole life. She just 'retired' last year from working as a clerk at a local drugstore,a job she has done as long as I can remember. You would all love her! She has always been a serene and graceful soul,never meets a stranger,is always smiling,and has something good to say all the time. You just feel so wonderful,just being in her presence. The church annex building where the celebration was held was packed shoulder to shoulder while we waited in line (over an hour for us) to greet her. She's always been a beautiful lady and looked as young as ever,but tired,and said her legs hurt-she was seated in a comfortable chair,of course-but that otherwise she felt just fine. She has no signs of senility and is just so awesome that I had to brag on her! The other good thing is that while we waited our turn,we got to visit with lots of other relatives we often don't see any other time than funerals. Someone said it was like our old family reunions-it was great! I hope you all had as great a day!

P.S. The local news interviewed Miss Annie-saw it at 10-she was so sweet and humble!

[Deb]

I'm way behind on this thread so forgive me if I miss some things, but Nutti, I'm thrilled that you're thinking about Maricopa! There's definitely a LOT more house for the dollar here and the houses are all brand new and HUGE! Ours is 4000 sq ft of living space plus another 750 sq feet of garage. We have a living room/great room, a giant family room, another smaller family room, two lofts, four bathrooms, and five bedrooms.........and we're paying a whole lot less than a house half that size goes for in Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, or Phoenix. It might seem like it's a long way into town but Bruce doesn't drive any further/longer than a lot of his coworkers who live in the metro area. During rush hour, it's still only 45 minutes and the last 15 of that are because we live out in the farthest side of Maricopa. We found a shortcut last weekend that makes it only about twenty minutes to Casa Grande and I *love* that town for shopping. <grinning> I must be happy here because after five months, I'm still gushing over it. LOL!!! Somedays I feel as contented as a cat who just licked the cream and found a sweet spot of sunlight for a nap.

Jeremy and Sandy, I'm envious that you get to see Kathie and Lloyd on their trip! You already know and love Kathie but were you prepared for just how much you'd love Lloyd within about the first thirty seconds of meeting him? Kathie, if I might be allowed to compliment your husband just a bit, I have to say that Lloyd is one of the most genuinely happy people I've ever met. It comes from deep down inside him and it sparkles around him like a crystal clear aura. <giggling> I know you're probably laughing and thinking, "That's coz you've never seen him before his morning coffee", but you know what I mean. I've always wondered if it was love at first sight for you and Lloyd because the two of you go together like diamonds and velvet.

Yesterday was grocery day which means that today is "rest quietly" day but I do want to putter around planting four new succulents out front and if I'm feeling up to it later on, I'm going to have my husband take me out to dinner at a bar and grill in the old Maricopa Wells part of town. It looks like it might be our kind of place where you can get a good steak on a platter or a burger in a basket and they have a pool room in the back. In fact, the marble kings have a club called the "Over the Hill Hustlers" and methinks Bruce would fit right in. If there are old bikers there, I'm good. It's a 40 year old diner based on rock and roll, motorcycles, and muscle cars so I'm hopeful that it might turn out to be a great place to hang out and make some new friends. The name of the place is the Raceway Bar and Grill and if you're a fan of American Pickers and remember the episode where they bought the airstrream trailer; that's the place. They have a consignment store next door with things like old neon lights, jukeboxes, an antique safe that I'd kill for...............so yeah, if you add in the vintage shopping, I like this place already!

[L Swearengin]

ROFLMAF!!!!!! Clampets!!!!!! Sounds like me and Mr Hillbilly (my spouse).....Hope to be a neighbor soon Jeremy. I want to move SOUTH

[chesterfieldzoo]

Sarah, it was me who asked for pond photos. I can't wait to see the whole pond and not just the flowers.

Deb, that's a lot of house! You need more houses to fill it up. ;)

[Mandystar]

Deb, you write so beautifully!

You are absolutely right about Lloyd. Quiet but charming, and that twinkle in his eye (never mind the morning coffee)? Oh, you just have to smile if not giggle! Diamonds and velvet -- what a perfect analogy. We had a marvelous visit -- no one (least of all, us) would believe that we'd all only just met!!!

[L Swearengin]

cleaning my dollhouse mess up. I have enough boxes from my spending spree to fill with the extra stuff . Need to get organized. Not gonna happen this late in my life HAHA

[chapchap73]

Well, we went to a friend's for BBQ lunch after church yesterday. Yours truly decided it would be a good idea to break my tooth on some chips. Thank goodness, no pain yet, but of course the dentist is not open today so I'm babying it until tomorrow. My son was marching with the high school band in 2 parades today(he plays trumpet) so he and my hubby were out of the house early this morning. I decided to make my special french-toast casserole for late brunch for them last night, and when I turned on the microwave to melt some butter, it made some horrible noises complete with sparking and smoke. Now instead of a lazy afternoon, my hubby is going to be working on installing the new microwave/hood combo. I think I need a vacation from the weekend!

[Selkie]

Sounds like us yesterday. We invited a new couple home from church for a cookout dinner and found out we had no gas for the grill!! DH raced off to get a new can. We live out in the sticks so this is no small thing. When they got here she wanted to take a nap first because she had a migraine so we set her up to do that and bribed the kids to be quiet. They had decided to bring their own meat to grill, bison. It was still frozen solid and they wanted me to somehow defrost it in a flash so we could cook it at the same time as we did the marinated chicken I had prepared. I made a cole slaw with dried cranberries and, come to find out, he hates cole slaw. I had orange ambrosia and they don't like that either.Then, I had made a cake and sprinkled coconut on the top of it and the gentleman hates coconut. I had made fresh rhubarb sauce to go on vanilla ice cream and found out he hates rhubarb and she hates ice cream. They were exceptionally vocal about everything. On a positive note, they did like the green beans, rice and dinner rolls. It was quite an "adventure" and very awkward to help the kiddos understand.

[Mandystar]

Sounds like the typical "No good deed goes unpunished!" Dontcha just hate when that happens -- then you just can't wait until the day/time/event is done. Adventure, you say? You're a better man than I am, Selkie!!! I'm either too old to put up with these things, or too old to care any longer about putting up with them!

[Deb]

Selkie, you're a much better hostess than I am because if someone was that vocal about not liking the dinner I'd prepared for them, I'd have invited them to take a look at the front porch and then closed the door behind them. That was sooooooooo rude of them! You really went out of your way to make a lovely meal (I'd have savored every bite of a menu like that). Obviously, their mothers didn't raise them right, bless their hearts.

I always try to please my guests by making things that I think they'll like but if it's a good friend I just tell them that if they want a hot breakfast, they can set their cheerios on fire. <cackle> You're only a guest at my house once and after that, you're family.

Sarah, you really had a wild weekend! Anytime an appliance goes up in smoke, it's too much excitement for a relaxing weekend. I'm sorry about your tooth. Hopefully the dentist can fix you up quickly and easily.

I changed my mind about going out to eat since I'm drooping rapidly this afternoon. Besides, I'd forgotten it's Memorial Day and I'd rather avoid crowds on a holiday. So I "helped" Bruce put up the misting system on the patio (aaaahhhhhhh.......) and then sat there enjoying the cool mist for awhile. There was a monarch butterfly attracted to the water and once he figured out he could fly in and out of the mist safely, he was fluttering around over my head, doing figure eights around the pillars and in general, being a very happy butterfly. Wait til the hummingbirds see it! They'll be up on the patio with me all the time! However, I needed to come inside and lay down for a bit so I'm doing that now and considering whether or not my hands are up to working on some jewelry later on this afternoon. I have two designs ready to start on..........one is a steampunk mini diorama inside a pocket watch case that I'll turn into a pendant and the other is a two chain set with a peacock pendant and wire wrapped fire glazed beads. Or I may just close my eyes and take a nap.

[GirlPiper]

Sounds like us yesterday. We invited a new couple home from church for a cookout dinner and found out we had no gas for the grill!! DH raced off to get a new can. We live out in the sticks so this is no small thing. When they got here she wanted to take a nap first because she had a migraine so we set her up to do that and bribed the kids to be quiet. They had decided to bring their own meat to grill, bison. It was still frozen solid and they wanted me to somehow defrost it in a flash so we could cook it at the same time as we did the marinated chicken I had prepared. I made a cole slaw with dried cranberries and, come to find out, he hates cole slaw. I had orange ambrosia and they don't like that either.Then, I had made a cake and sprinkled coconut on the top of it and the gentleman hates coconut. I had made fresh rhubarb sauce to go on vanilla ice cream and found out he hates rhubarb and she hates ice cream. They were exceptionally vocal about everything. On a positive note, they did like the green beans, rice and dinner rolls. It was quite an "adventure" and very awkward to help the kiddos understand.

How rude of them. Did they never hear of "no thank you?"

[Mandystar]

I repeat. And there IS such a thing as being too nice. And you are!

Rude isn't a strong enough word for their actions. I'm quite ready and willing to say, "Don't let the door smack you in the _ss on your way out" in a case like this, but I'm sure you are too nice to say that, Selkie!

[chesterfieldzoo]

Selkie, may I be so bold as to ask you to ask me to dinner? That menu would be fabulous! I can't put into print here what I probably would have said.

Deb, I am also not having a good day and I took 2 naps.

Sarah, new appliances are always a fabulous thing - unless it's under duress. I dislike having to just buy something without time to shop around. I hope it all installed quick and easy so you could enjoy the holiday!

I had a crappy day all day and now that it's evening, I am beginning to perk up. I think I will go to bed while I feel good. Just way too much family drama this weekend as well as other things that did not go as planned while I was home alone and I had to deal with them.

[L Swearengin]

That is just stupid Selkie. I think when the headache came on she should have gone home. I know they would never get another invitation. Your menu was divine. The Witch (with a B) that I am, the children would NOT have been told to be quiet. I have 5 (not at home anymore) and they would have been more than happy to make sure it was a short visit. Just plain rude and self centered.

Got any leftovers??????

[chapchap73]

Sorry about your grumpy company, Selkie. Just use it as a teachable moment for the little ones. Tooth is still ok thank goodness, but the microwave is becoming a 2 day project. Good thing I know how to cook without one:)

[Selkie]

Sorry to hear the microwave isn't fixed yet. Hope you can get into the dentist quickly before some infection sets in.

We've been without a dishwasher for a couple months. I purposely didn't rush out to get a new one because I thought the kiddos needed to learn some homemaking skills. We divided up the dishwashing chores and went for the gold. It's getting old now and I'm tired of "teaching" so it's time to get a new one. Those little beasts aren't cheap I've discovered in my internet searching. Yikes!!

Thanks for the comments on my company. It was very stressful to say the least. I think they are not on my "re-invite soon" list!! I was just trying to be nice.

We had the leftovers today. My kiddos were glad they didn't like the rhubarb sauce because they love it. They had it on their vanilla yogurt for breakfast and on ice cream for supper. It's real popular around our house.

[KathieB]

We're in a McDonald's near Valdosta, GA, this morning, heading for Gainesville and Jeremy and his family. I read Deb's laudatory words to Lloyd and got an "aw shucks" out of him. As for love at first sight, I guess so, kind of. We met in a chat room on the internet 11 years ago, long before eHarmony and its lookalikes made online meeting socially acceptable. After three brief chats he asked for my phone number 'cause he'd rather talk than type. I NEVER gave out any information in such situations, but to my surprise, I watched my fingers typing my number. The rest is history, as they say. We'll celebrate our 10th anniversary with a soak in the historic mineral baths at Berkeley Springs, WV, on June 19. I made sure to confirm our reservation before we left home.