All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

Margaret, I love that sunflower dress, looks very versatile (especially with an ecru/brown jeans jacket). I think it would be great on you.  Love the color of the teal, shape wouldn’t work for me at all. Love the red also. 

[laurspag]

So the last two dresses came.

 

The first is the one with the black background with brown leaves and gold flowers on it.  It is a beautiful dress.  It fits well, and the fabric is like a mid weight satin with stretch.  It adds a really nice, elegant touch.  I had trouble with the black.  I thought maybe it was me, but I could tell right off that my husband wasn't fond, nor was my daughter.  

 

if the dress appeals to any of you, I would try it!  I know most of you wear black and black prints.  It is such a beautiful dress, and it is easy to wear.  I just felt very pasty looking in it.  Don't be fooled by the petite sizing. While I don't know how tall any of you are, I'm 5'4 1/2" and it was much longer than the photo.  It went knee length on me.

 

I was just thinking...am I short???

 

Then there is the animal print swing dress.  The black is much more broken up on this dress, and the brown is rather prominent in person.  The dress lays really well.  I wasn't sure about that when I was ordering it, because in the photo, it doesn't drape, it kind of tents out.  So that is a keeper, and only $30.00 to boot.

 

I guess you just never know.  I try to keep an open mind, and try things on to see.

[awhfy]

I’m having to have more surgery on Monday. Wednesday at my post op visit the doc determined that my middle toe has to be removed due to bone death, it’s totally necrotic. We knew it might be a possibility. It’s a middle toe, won’t affect my walk or balance. I’m hoping that this will finally take care of the issue. Melody

[laurspag]

Melody, I'm so sorry to hear this.  Is this the result of the various surgeries you have had?  I know you have had issues with your foot for many years now.  I hope you have a speedy recovery.

 

Do you have any travel plans that may need to be postponed due to your surgeries?   Health comes first, of course.  

[awhfy]

This was the toe that was completely crushed in the initial accident in 2001. I likely should’ve had this fine years ago. My pt friend said I’ll likely have better balance without it because of how it drooped. Sure hope so. 
 

we didn’t book a winter cruise this year as I knew I was having surgery.  Nothing booked besides a tentative road trip this summer back East. Melody

[MJC]

Melody, best of luck tomorrow with your surgery. Sending good wishes for your recovery and better times ahead.

 

Laurie, that black flowered dress is tempting. And yes, we are short!  I am 5'6 and used to be average, but younger people are so much taller on average now that I feel like a short person. However, I am glad that it's easier finally to find shoes in my size. 🙂 Most of my nieces are wearing size 9 now! I will add that most models are so tall that judging where the hem will fall is a challenge.

 

That leopard swing dress is very cute. I am a fan of leopard because it is right in my dark autumn wheelhouse. I have a few leopard accessories, but not any clothes.

 

We have a long vacation break now until October, when we are doing a Norway Northern Lights cruise. I have been reading and studying, and we have already purchased some winter clothing items before the season ends here and we won't have options left. I need new base layers and we both just bought snow boots and those spring traction thingys for them. I am glad that I bought a new winter parka in the fall. We have plenty of winter clothes, but we may want to upgrade hats and gloves and neck gaitors to warmer ones. We especially need warm gloves that will still allow us to use our cameras, at night. It is not the typical Norway Fjords cruise but we are very excited about it.

 

We will have 3 formal nights. We won't go full formal because we already have so much to pack that's bulky. But, given that we'll be in Europe, DH will probably take a jacket and a couple ties, and I will try to pack so that I only have one pair of heels. I may go the dressy top/slacks route just because of the climate. We do have 7 sea days, and we do like to dress for dinner and go dancing. Since we're flying, we do have to be conscious of our luggage weight as well. So, not sure yet what I'll do. Plenty of time to figure it out.

 

We just had that wonderful cruise on the Gem out of NYC, but I recently learned that it's being redeployed and won't sail from NYC any more. It's being replaced by the much bigger Getaway. Oh well. Glad we did it when we could.

 

As I'm writing, our resident eagles are out there walking around on the ice. I love watching them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[laurspag]

Margaret, that sounds like a dream cruise to me.  Seeing the Northern Lights is a bucket list item for me.  I am very excited for you!

 

I know I have a bit of a reputation for not wearing clothes over again. And I'm a washaholic. (laundryholic?)  In reality though, I do wear clothes again before washing them.  Right now, I have a few pair of dress pants that are actually a heavier knit.  I wear those twice before they hit the laundry.  With jeans and sweaters, I wear them a number of times, depending on the time of year and weight.

 

I bring that up because this doesn't sound like a sweaty cruise for you, lol.  I'm not sure what the temp range is that you are expecting, but it sounds like you will be needing layers.  Those can be reworn, and can feel very different by mixing and matching.  I did this a bit on the Pacific coastal cruise.  I did not pack things that were warm enough over all, but I was planning on cool weather so I had different scarves and two lightweight coats to wear with different bottoms.  

 

I truly thought it was going to be a situation where I wore layers that would be shed throughout the day as it warmed up, but it was cold thru  and thru!  We have talked about doing the same cruise again someday.  I would like an extra day on the west coast to adjust to the time difference, and to be able to explore.  

 

The planning and researching must be a lot of fun. We haven't done too much planning for our cruise yet, but Cococay isn't new to us.  However, it has been a while so we will need to figure out St. Thomas and St. Kitts is a new port.  We kept thinking we had been there, but then when I was trying to look back, I couldn't find where we had gone.

 

I'm not certain, but I think on the southern Caribbean cruise, we were supposed to go to St. Kitts and it was changed due to the hurricane path.

 

How long is your cruise?  2 weeks?

[laurspag]

Oh, I forgot to tell you....the red dress I posted that I wanted to send back for a different size....

 

Well, it isn't on sale right now, and the regular price is $119.00.  Saks Off Fifth has it for $59.99, plus 15% off.  There is shipping, but the extra percentage off covers that.  To me, it's a no brainer at this point because it is half off.

 

It's always good to look for a bargain.  I saw a lot of good deals on the site overall.

[awhfy]

Northern Lights!  Fabulous!!  Can’t wait to see your pictures. 
 

St Thomas & St Kitts are two of our favorite islands. 
 

St Thomas is my jewelry shopping island. I love Ballerina Jewelers. We also love a steak & cheese sub at Bumpas. We prefer Emerald, Sapphire & Coki Beach to Magens Bay (it’s too crowded). Take a taxi (open air about $6 pp) to the downtown area for good shopping. Crown bay is crummy for shopping. When they docked at Havensight it was much better.
 

St Kitts if you haven’t been do a private tour with Thenford Grey, they do a great comprehensive tour, the fort & batik factory are fabulous. A ship excursion if you want to go to Nevis. Another great jewelry store is Colors on St Kitts (great watches). Melody

[57redbird]

3 minutes ago, awhfy said:

 

St Kitts if you haven’t been do a private tour with Thenford Grey, they do a great comprehensive tour, the fort & batik factory are fabulous. A ship excursion if you want to go to Nevis. Another great jewelry store is Colors on St Kitts (great watches). Melody

Another vote for Thenford Grey's tour ---- it was one of the best tours we've done!

[awhfy]

We’ve done 3 different Thenford Grey tours on St Kitts. Each one fabulous 

[awhfy]

Surgery went well. I got the OR laughing. They asked me, so what are we doing today?  I said you’re removing my ‘roast beef’ toe on my right foot. They looked perplexed then one of the nurses started to sing the nursery rhyme & they all laughed. Surgeon said he was going to print out the rhyme, frame it & keep it in his office to remind him of a patient with a great attitude. I’m another 8 weeks non weightbearing on my knee scooter. Good thing weather has been miserable, I don’t have any desire to be out & about. I’m ok, not much discomfort. Melody

[310Loves2Cruise]

Love your attitude as well, and best wishes! 

[Anita Latte]

I haven't been posting...but I keep reading along...

 

Melody, so glad to hear that your surgery went well. You have such a wonderful attitude...it's like, what can you do? If there's nothing you can do about it, you just deal with it and move on and don't let circumstances dictate your feelings and emotions. Whether that's how you feel ALL the time...well...keep it up! Does seem like a good time of year to have to be off your feet...so glad you aren't in too much discomfort.

 

I was in your neck of the woods around Christmas having a small family Christmas with my SIL and her to kids. DH has 3 sisters, but this is the one that went to college with DH and I. We're all of an age and so are our offspring with the other 2 being much younger and my youngest nephew just turning 4. All our kids are in college so we had the older sibling/grandkid Christmas where we woke when we felt like it on Christmas day... We hiked in Garden of the Gods on Christmas Eve...it was gorgeous that day as you know, being the first warmer day after that major cold front.

 

DH changed jobs over the summer and now he travels on and off to CO where the "mother ship" is in Louisville. Hoping that I can join him on a few trips this year. It was lovely being back there...remember we lived in Loveland while DH was in grad school at CSU.

 

I'm still dealing with some after affects of having had COVID late summer 2021. I don't think I shared then, but I had been in the hospital for 5 nights. I don't have long covid necessarily but having recovered from having the pulmonary embolism, I am in need of daily moderate cardio to help deal with what they are calling Isolated Diastolic Hypertension. Yay. It's all recoverable if I am consistent and do what I'm supposed to do.

 

Meanwhile...I stopped buzzing my hair in August. I liked it for the summer months, but with DS graduating this July, I decided I didn't want that look in the photos...so I've been growing it out. It's gone from about a quarter inch long to over 3 inches since then. I've got a professional hair appointment tomorrow for the first time in about 4-5 years! 

 

Laurie and Margaret...I've been enjoying cruising vicariously. I've been debating a getaway cruise if I could find a cheap cheap fare but with the airfare prices to get to London and be there for DS's graduation...thinking my budget isn't up to it.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Anita Latte

[awhfy]

Anita, so good to hear from you. 
 

Covid with a pulmonary embolism, nasty. Keep moving. Wish I’d known you were here, we could’ve had coffee!!  Hard to believe your DS is graduating already!  Grad school plans?

 

below is my mantra. I’m feeling ok, not used to being so inactive, that’s the hardest. 
 

hope everyone is doing well. Melody 

[Anita Latte]

Melody...I thought about letting you know but I was only in town from Friday to Monday for Christmas. DH and DS were there for about a week but I stayed behind with our Gracie kitty...also giving the cousins some time to have time on their own while SIL and DH actually put in some work hours during the day... But thinking that if I can get to CO again, I'd really enjoy meeting up.

 

I LOVE that. 

[laurspag]

Melody, I'm glad to hear you are doing well.  You have a good attitude.  It can be easy to get disheartened with things sometimes, and it's so important to fight back.  mental attitude has such a big impact on our physical health.

 

Anita, I had no idea that you had covid.  You had a very serious case of it!  I'm glad you are taking care of yourself and working toward overcoming the side effects from it.  It's an awful illness. 

 

I've always thought it would be fun for all of us to meet up some day.   

 

My elliptical is together, and I have been using it.  I definitely need to remove the bed from the room though, I think.  The elliptical fits, but I want to get a mat to use for stretching exercises and for when I use weights.  It only makes sense to have it all in one area.  As is, the elliptical is higher than expected, and when I'm on it, I'm not all that far from the ceiling!  I feel a bit claustrophobic, lol.  

 

I know I have said similar things before, but here I am repeating myself:  You are all friends to me.  I'm glad you stopped in to chat with us, Anita.  I worry when it's been a while since we have heard from you.  Melody, I'm glad you let us know how your surgery went.

 

I've wondered a lot about Sally and Mousey.  I hope they are doing okay.

[awhfy]

Laurie, I’m thinking of getting an elliptical, what brand is yours?  Thinking about maybe a Peloton. 
 

I bought a new pair of OOFOS clogs for around a pool. Aren’t they cute!  Total weight is .4lbs for both

 

i too think of Sally & Mousey. Melody

[Anita Latte]

Those look like great pool shoes! Very fun.

 

Ellipticals are tall...I'm not surprised you're close to the ceiling Laurie...especially if your bedroom ceiling is a standard 8' one. Repurposing the bedroom as an exercise room...definitely want to move the bed or at least change the style of the bed. If you need it on occasion maybe you could get a Murphy bed frame? I'm thinking along these lines...we'll see what happens with our home depending on what happens with DS.

 

He's applied to grad school, ONE grad school...it's such a great program that it changed his original projection of a gap year between undergrad and grad school. He's on the wait list. Among other policies that affect admission, one is that if you complete your undergrad at this school, you are automatically admitted to the grad school, if you apply. So this would be a "safe" school for many, I believe...and in all likelihood, many of those may go to a different school. Other similar rules of admission exist so we do have high hopes of DS ultimately being accepted...he was wait listed for the high school program at UNCSA also...so...

 

So maybe we'll be moving some things into a new living situation for DS to start grad school in August. And maybe we won't and he will be living that gap year here at home. So his bedroom here at home may suddenly become available...OR the guest room (fourth bedroom) may become his studio if he is here...because he needs his own work space and we need our own work space. When he comes home for visits currently, he uses one of two desks in our office...it's fine for such a temporary arrangement but definitely not long term. Time will tell what will happen...meanwhile...I'm back on that pantry project.

 

We had gotten the pantry finished to the point of needing texture, prime and paint and then whatever shelves, etc., would be in there. In the hospital, I'd come to the conclusion that that project wasn't going to progress and we needed to just put some temporary shelves in there and start using it to figure out how best to actually use it. I had purchased garage shelving which is strong and sturdy and ultimately could be used in the garage when we got the permanent solution installed. The pantry is all emptied out now...it's contents spread around and accessible so that the kitchen isn't stalled by me not knowing where all our stuff is. Next week, I'll be mixing hot mud and cleaning up the installation of the vinyl corner bead and then moving on to the skim coat and texture. I can't express how amazing it will be to have this feature in our main living area be finished.

 

I did take a look at some cruises...Celebrity has some amazing deals going on right now...some are crazy low priced and others look like what used to be "normal" prices. Nothing that really works for our schedule though. I might check out the lines that sail out of Port Canaveral and the other FL ports...looking for a quick weekend getaway type cruise that wouldn't eat too much DH vacation time. There's some President's Day sails going on.

[awhfy]

Anita, if you’re Elite (or above) on Celebrity you’d have reciprocal Diamond status on Royal. Lots of Royal ships out of Port Canaveral. 
 

your pantry sounds like an interesting project. We’re still trying to decide on a 24” vanity for our updated bathroom. Love our new shower. Vanity can’t be over 24”. Our SIL has said he’ll install it when I find it (good guy). Melody

[laurspag]

Melody, I have a Nautilus.  I was looking at reviews online to try see what people liked after they made their purchase.  I then received a Consumer Reports that gave good reviews of the one I purchased as well as the other one I was looking at.  Off the top of my head, I am not sure Peloton has an elliptical.  Ellipticals are my go to.  It seems they work a lot of different muscles at once, especially if you use the levers.  It seems easiest on my hips as well.  My other favorite is a recumbent cycle, but I feel like I'm only working out from the waist down, if that makes sense!

 

This particular one elliptical has a lot of resistance, even on the lowest setting.  I am easing into it, and continuing my regimen of Naproxen daily.  I need the movement, or my hips get sore and stiff.  If I overdo it, then my hips get sore as well.  It's a balance.

 

Anita, I do have those 8 foot ceilings!  I can reach up and touch the ceiling, reach to my right and touch the ceiling fan....honestly, both my husband and I are looking forward to the conversion to a gym. I have never had a spare room, and always wanted one.  We realized pretty quickly that it wouldn't get much use.  My daughter's friend used it overnight, and then my other daughter used it for two weeks when she and her husband first split up.  We still had the crib too so it worked out well.

 

My grandson is 3 so he isn't in a crib, and no one has used the room since.  We have some thoughts on our space.  The gym is needed, and very much wanted and anticipated.  We are keeping the chair and the little nightstand style table off to one side.  I've already used the chair more than it has been used since we set up the room.  If I get up before everyone else, I go in, sit down, put on my sneakers, etc. 

 

We do want to be able to have room for someone in a pinch.  My grandson splits time between his parents, and we haven't had him overnight.  As he gets older, I see it happening more.  I was thinking that today's futons look so much more stylish.  They can be used as a couch too.  More than likely, when my other daughter gets her own place, we will get a futon for that room, along with some other things we have discussed.  I would like to have a room with a square table for putting together puzzles or maybe playing games.

 

Keep in mind that my husband wants to stay in our home for as long as possible, despite the fact that we will have too much room by then and stairs that may be difficult for him. I understand...we love our house, and we try hard to make sure we are using all the space.  Honestly, if we were to look for something different, it would mostly be to have everything on one level.  It isn't really about square footage.  We discussed recently having a stair runner put in. The oak treads can be slippery.  We have rails on both sides, so there is that.

[laurspag]

Such exciting times with your son, Anita.  I can imagine it has been an adjustment for you and your husband having him away at school.  With my younger daughter, she went to school locally.  She lived on campus the first two years, then went from home.  She did a summer session overseas, and also did an internship in Albany.  

 

Now that she has her master degree and a job in her intended field, we don't see her a lot even though she lives at home.  She takes care of herself so she just asks before she starts laundry in case I am about to do mine, etc.  It is different.  I think she is ready to move on, but the cost of renting right now is outrageous.  She has so many friends, that I thought for sure she would share a two bedroom apartment as her first place.  However, she had a gap between graduating college and getting her master's degree so one friend is married, another lives with her boyfriend, another lives across the country, and so forth.  She also has the opportunity to increase her salary greatly with her employer paying for CPA license so I think her focus right now is that.  

 

She has told us many times that unless she is out of town for work, just let her know when we wish to travel!  My dogs do not do well at doggy daycare type places.  Last cruise we went on, she took care of them except for two days when she had to travel.  As it turned out, my other daughter was able to stay over those days because that is when her son was with his dad.

 

Havey is 13 and showing lots of signs of his age.  Mason is 9 and will be 10 soon.  We are very aware  that we have seniors in the house.  It has a lot to do with how we live.  Traveling is so much more than just making reservations and saving up, my husband working late means I need to head straight home, day trips can only happen when I have my daughters to assist.  

 

I had cats for a long time.  It was so much easier, lol.  The food bowl and water was kept filled by whoever we asked, and then there was a litter box. One of our friends would stop in after work at 3:00 each day and spend an hour with them and leave.

 

With dogs, the schedule is much stricter for going outside and so forth.  In addition, both of mine suffer a lot of separation anxiety.  They start to get worked up just by seeing our suitcases.

[Anita Latte]

Yeah...I was very tempted by a weekend Allure cruise in November... I was on the Allure TA with my parents so I haven't seen it since that dry dock. DH and I did the Harmony...but I think I like the solarium on the Allure better since it has the pool in there, I think...if I remember right...OMG...

 

Mariner is still here too...and we did that one for a quick weekend in 2019...

 

But then I realized that there's the possibility that DS will be in the house and I'm not sure how I feel about cruising without him and leaving him behind. I'm very aware of the preciousness of time with him...and while I think that'd be super convenient in terms of letting him have time alone and/ore also being with Grace kitty...I think I should just continue to wait on cruising again...

 

I just finalized a week-long vacation in North Carolina. DH and I will be backpacking for 2 nights in Grandfather Mountain State Park. The plan is to drive up on day 1, overnight in a fun little mountain town, backpack 2 nights, then back to our old stomping grounds in Winston Salem for a night, then Raleigh for a night, and an overnight stay with my childhood friend who recently moved from California to North Carolina...recently being a year or so ago?

 

I'm working on the London details for graduation...airfare is INSANE...sigh.

 

I really like the vanity we ordered from Wayfair. We needed a double sink 55" vanity...and I wanted maximum storage so it has all drawer space. I'm very happy with the quality.

 

I've slept on various forms of couch conversion beds. I do prefer that type of sleeping situation to a pull out couch. In addition to the normal futons, there are many styles out there. I think they are way more comfortable than the normal pull out. 

[laurspag]

Cruising without our kids is a major adjustment.  To backtrack a little bit, we always went with the girls.  Then when my daughter lived on campus, my other daughter watched the dogs for us when we went on a few cruises alone.  It was such a weird experience for us.  When my younger daughter was graduating, we got to thinking that with the changes that occur in life, we may never go on a cruise as a family again.  Coordinating with one adult child is one thing, but with two?  So we had our epic family cruise in 2014 on Freedom of the Seas.  We all went into that vacation feeling happy and excited, and it didn't disappoint.  

 

Since that time, it has been just my husband and I.  The exception was when my daughter got her master's degree, and her and I went on a short cruise together.  The plan is to go to Disney with my other daughter and my grandson in the next few years, but she is going through a rough time right now so we will see.

 

To be honest, cruising with just my husband created separation anxiety for me at first, but I quickly realized that we were all getting an opportunity: my kids had the chance to grow independent and take care of themselves while we trusted them to keep the house and dogs situated.  For us, we had the ability to do what we wanted, when we wanted.  I married just shy of 19, and did not have the opportunity to travel or even go on date nights for many, many years due to my divorce.  Meeting Brian, we were in a situation of bringing a very dated house up to standards while trying to save more for retirement (we couldn't do much when we were single) and try and help the girls as they went to college or whatever.  

 

So this is a very different time for us.  I know your situation is different than ours, but I share because we all go through so many different experiences.  If my husband felt healthier, our plans for the future would be different.  We are taking the approach that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. 

 

He has been going through a good stretch since his most recent flare, so we have been squeezing in some fun stuff.  We have a week off in April, and we are catching up on some things like eye appointments, meeting with our financial advisor and so forth.  We are also putting aside some money to do fun stuff!  A beer garden opened up in the city recently, so we are going to go there for lunch.  We plan to catch a movie at Movie Tavern, the place that serves food while you are in a recliner, etc.  We are going to take a day trip, but we aren't sure where yet.  We are contemplating an overnight stay in Skaneateles, but we aren't sure.  Since it will be the second week of April, we could have anything here as far as weather goes.  It could be sunny and 50, cloudy, windy and 60, or we could get a snowstorm.  Take your pick!

 

I think dates are important to go on, at any age.  I don't think I mentioned it, but we had the week long experience of no heat, and the next weekend we had to work on the leaking sink drain and replace the faucet.  When we went to get some of the supplies, I suggested we stop for lunch.  My husband likes to just do things, and I just go with it.  I'm an over planner; he is a creature of habit.  While we drove, I was wondering what restaurant we would end up.  He drove by the usual places and jumped on the highway.  I was very curious, but assumed it would Dinosaur Barbecue.  He went past that exit though.  He ended up driving us to the university, where he had already purchased us tickets to the lacrosse game.  It was fun and I loved it!

 

We need things like that sometimes.  

 

You've been on Harmony?  This will be our first trip on her.  I was on Allure back around....2017?  I think.  We avoided sailing on bigger ships after that for a while, but we are looking forward to this trip.  We are more prepared now regarding the size and lack of having he ocean to look at.  The oceanview balcony room was a must, but it is when walking around that it throws me off.  I remember how stunned my husband was that the lounges didn't have windows in them.

 

I'm mentally planning out my outfits, even though we don't cruise until September.  Not that we can do this now, but I would love to book a cruise on short notice and just pack in a hurry and go.  With work, it takes a great deal of figuring out for time off.

[awhfy]

Laurie, by a stair runner do you mean a seat that travel up the stairs?  We looked into one here, but with our sharp turn it wasn’t economical to do. A straight flight isn’t too expensive

 

i did say Peloton, I meant to say NordicTrack. Melody