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Post by nov21987 on Jan 6, 2022 17:18:37 GMT
Happy New Year!
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Post by nov21987 on Jan 6, 2022 17:23:04 GMT
Hope everyone is having a good start to the year, keeping healthy and safe.
SO and I have been pretty much housebound as he recovers from his procedure, he's slowly improving. We are getting some more photos of the house and the architect still insists it will be done by end of January but we don't think so. This guy is not very good at managing the project, it is the first one where he is doing it all himself, previously he worked for developers or construction companies.
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jmg44
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Posts: 938
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Post by jmg44 on Jan 13, 2022 22:17:27 GMT
I just realized now that maybe a new thread was started! Had checked the other a couple times and wondered whether you were e route or something, Sue! Thanks for starting this.
I am back to clay—have been making cups and a platter and two oval serving dishes and the past two days made 3 nesting serving bowls that I think will be really neat—they nest perfectly—thinking I may make a fourth small “sauce” bowl for inside them. I must quit making as I have no more drying space. Hoping friend will fire a load within a few days! Today I shopped for groceries and now am finally going to glaze my low fire things I will fire myself—made two friends two more mini loaf pans as they requested and a bunch of test pieces for some new glazes.
I actually vacuumed my car too today. My accomplishment on Tuesday was that I sold DH’s Ascent—and I got a really great price for it—money is in the bank—he wanted to sell to CarMax and I asked for the chance to do better—he gave me a week—In five days it was sold and we got $3000 more! Yay! His Lincoln Aviator will be arriving in Aberdeen WA sometime in the next seven days and he will fly up and drive it back. He gave up on the one he ordered—Lincoln is now having trouble getting chips again and it will possibly be four months out! So he’s been searching everyday and found this small town in WA was getting one in and it had all the stuff he had ordered except it was white instead of Bronze —he wanted white anyway and had only gotten the color because of me—so he’s super happy.
I hoped to go back to gym but have given it up again in favor of staying covid free—or at least higher odds at covid free. DD here and DGS17 both have Omicron—DD is very sick—not hospitalized but really miserable—thank goodness she is fully vaccinated—I think she might have been a near fatality without vaccine. We luckily have not been around her for two weeks. She got this from a client to failed to disclose she was sick until she’d been in close therapy for 30- minutes! DD made her leave and she was so angry—now this! So rude!
DS park ranger has been =calling nightly for five days—he has moved out—they were very strange when here for Christmas—DIL was withdrawing from all of us and whispering to DGS16 all the time—like didn’t even eat breakfast outside with the rest of us—anyway, turns out DGS16 is using pot and possibly other drugs and DIL didn’t disclose this to our DS—and she’s enabling him in many ways—DS is angry—has opened up many “wounds” on both sides of a marriage that has not been working for some time—DS has drinking issues, DIL has social issues—both are in need of personal counseling and DGS has been raised in a family that on the surface looks functional but is actually dysfunctional. What a mess. Kids when older are much more stress than when young—they make such big mistakes and being adults you cannot influence the same way—you just get to feel the stress and try to communicate!
We had hoped to fly to FLorida and visit cruise BF’s and my cousin but with covid omicron insanity we are not. So sad that we cannot get back to a normal life.
Sue I hope SO is okay—thank good nesss whatever he needed will be done and recovered from before you have to move!
Holly, is your school staying in person? DGD21 said Columbia is going back on virtual for a few weeks to try to avoid person to person super spread since NYC has had it so bad. It’s terrible here-=almost everyone we know has it in their family somewhere now. Hospitals are swamped !
Hope you all stay healthy!!
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Post by holly2007 on Jan 13, 2022 22:45:27 GMT
Hi All,
We have a big winter storm coming through this weekend. Not sure whether it will bring more snow or sleet yet. We have MLK day off, so I am hunkering down for a long weekend anyway.
Yes, we’re in person. They finally reinstated the mask mandate. I taught classes last semester where I was the only one wearing a mask. Smaller private universities are at the mercy of their constituents, so we don’t have as much freedom to create rules like that.
Joan, I hope his outcome will be as good as your other DGS and that it will be a phase. It is scary how much teenagers have to deal with with the onslaught of information and social media.
Sue, how’s the house going?
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Jan 14, 2022 2:46:44 GMT
Thanks, Holly—me too—the fear with this grandson is that he’s never been into doing well in school—is smart and hates it—refuses to do homework—his mom has enabled a lot—does his math homework for him, etc. whereas DGS21 who started drugs at 15-16 never quit doing schoolwork and still got excellent grades even tho he skipped school a lot. Now in college he has all A’s all the time. DGS16 simply wants to DJ and make money—couldn’t care less about school and if he wanted to go I doubt he could get in. He lives in a tiny town—maybe when he gets out in the world and grows up he will have a turn around. His parents brought him up to think he was better than everyone else because he knew so much science, blah, blah, blah. So he has always had the attitude that he didn’t need school because he knew it all—DIL and DS were science/ forestry majors—thought they were raising the child progeny and everyone would be in awe—trouble is they convinced their son to be so in awe of himself that he didn’t need what anyone had to offer. Hate to say it, but we watched this for years and always felt they were making a big mistake.
Right now, DS really needs to work on himself—he’s a mess—and I do believe he is a binge alcoholic like DH was/is—only DH kicked the habit and knows he can never have a “little” wine or beer or booze. It runs in DH’s family as well as in his first wife’s family so no surprise that DS has a problem.
Think I will go back to using Instacart for delivery or use curbside pick up—covid is rampant here! I shopped three stores this morning so am set for the week but that may be it for a while! I feel so bad for people who need hospitalization for other reasons—the hospitals are overrun and understaffed!
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Post by nov21987 on Jan 14, 2022 18:12:59 GMT
Hi!
I can't believe it's mid Jan already. We are getting photos of the house and passed a major hurdle of getting the glass floor panels on both interior and exterior bridge installed (due to tempered glass shortage). There is a glass bridge from the main house to a casita that will be SO's studio and another bridge inside that crosses over the living/dining space on the second from the library to a guest bedroom. There is still no specific date yet for the move, but we think it will be maybe end of Feb. Our movers will only move after getting a certificate of occupancy. 1/3 of our stuff has been in storage since last fall and we've been paying a monthly fee. We are told the storage space is really nice...Sotheby's use it for storage.
Joan, did you get the group email I sent to you, Holly and Jojo? Sorry to hear about your DS and DGS16. My nephew went through a bad period last year when he came back home from college, never finished his first semester (basically wasted the tuition), his gf broke up with him - stayed in his room all day doing pot as well. Thankfully, he went back last fall and had better roommates and is doing much better.
I have a BMW 4 series coupe, we have had the same for 20+ years so I'm really used to this car and feel comfortable in it. I really hate the idea that in AZ every time I leave the house I will be getting into a car. We are so used to just walking out of our house and having everything we need within walking distance. Just now I popped out to the bagel place 1 block away to get some fresh bagels.
Holly, wow I can't believe your students last year did not wear masks in class.
Well, omicron seems to be peaking in this area. Deaths are on the rise though as that always lags behind the peaks of infection and hospitalization. Staff shortages is still a huge problem in hospitals here too.
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Jan 21, 2022 1:07:47 GMT
I just searched for the email—I’,m so sorry I overlooked it—am trying to clean up my email so that it doesn’t happen again!!
Hope everyone is staying safe—Omicron is really bad here. DD and DGS17 had it last week—fully vaccinated—DD was quite sick but thank goodness no hospital level required! She is back to work as of yesterday—said that it’s a weird illness—like nothing she’s ever had before. She now said she’s dealing with the brain fog they talk about—she said it’s hard to describe but it’s not normal at all!
we are awaiting news about our new car—have to be ready to make a reservation to fly to Portland on a moment’s notice—then drive in a rental to Aberdeen to pick up the car and sign the papers—the car is in Seattle awaiting truck transportation and we are at the mercy of not knowing when but sometime within the next seven days! Once we have the car, DH can finally use his trailer safely.
We have reservations to go to Death Valley for three days the first week of February—if we get the car we will definitely go. We will just hike around and explore the sand dunes and enjoy being outside a lot.
DGD21 is back in classes at Columbia virtually for the next couple weeks—taking 18 credits this semester—she plans to graduate in June of next year. So far she has avoided covid altho many of her friends have caught it.
I’ve been doing a lot of pottery building—experimenting with some new surface decoration—today we are firing a large load so I will have things to glaze! II’m doing well with my weight—I had one day where I binged on some chocolate—one of the worst days on the phone with DD Park Ranger—I think it was the stress of that causing me to return to old habits to handle things—but I feel as tho my stomach is back in control again—it’s that mind trip that messes you up! I’m still weighing once a week—hovering around only changing up or down by a pound so I’m super happy—starting to feel as tho this is my set point weight that I will be able to maintain without going back to old dieting mentality!
JoAnne are you still spending time in CA or did your DDIL get her babysitting lined up now?
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Post by holly2007 on Jan 28, 2022 22:31:52 GMT
Hi All,
This week was crazy. I had to teach 5 classes. They were all English 102 library research how to’s, but different instructors had different variations on the assignment. I’m looking forward to working with English majors next week who will be much more interested in the topic they are researching.
I tried this online grocery store called Thrive Market. I am having stomach issues with anything processed, so I’m trying to figure out what the trigger is. I do know that I can’t have much sugar at one time. I got some avocado oil to try.
We’re supposed to get some snow tonight for the 3rd week in a row. The Northeast is supposed to get the brunt of it.
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jmg44
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Posts: 938
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Post by jmg44 on Feb 3, 2022 3:25:33 GMT
We flew to Portland a week ago last Sunday—picked up the car in Aberdeen, WA on Monday and drove back to Eugene for the night—the car is wonderful—rides beautifully—DH loves it. Has lots of power but gets about 21 MPG even in town. DH got everything set up for towing the trailer and we will drive to Death Valley next Sunday and spend two nights—hike and just hand out. It’s cold here again so the 70’s temps will be nice.
DSIL from Sacramento drove back same day as us (we spent the night with them last week on way home) as his mom had another stroke—he spent all week here and Will leave for home tomorrow. She is out and about—but does not drive and needed lots of dr appts and blood checks, etc so he has been playing the “good son” this week. His Brother will come Friday (not staying here) and help and another brother will come next week. She lives with some other women in a house sharing thing but DSIL says everyone in the house has issues—didn’t make him feel very comfortable.
tomorrow we will get back to better eating. DSIL had a birthday Monday so we had cake and ice cream and finished off the cake the last two nights—I feel so yucky full having had dessert even tho I kept it small-=-have been cooking things he likes all week so tomorrow we will pare it down!
thought I had covid yesterday as my allergies were so bad that I actually felt sick—took a test tho and I’m negative. Today has been a bit better as I stayed inside all day—very windy out there—there is a lot of pollen from trees blooming.
really enjoyed the road trip home from WA—such beautiful trees and greens—lots of fog tho and pretty chilly for us! we say My Fair Lady Sunday night—it was done so well—the singing was so outstanding we were just amazed. Was one of the best tour shows we have seen. To get in you have to be vaccinated and masked so you feel a bit safer but still DH was hestitant about going—he was glad he did tho after seeing the quality of the production.
stopped and shopped at a big ceramic supply store in Portland—I brought back 200# of clay for myself and two friends. Also bought a few more glazes—Oh my, I could have spent a thousand dollars in there—it was the best store!
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Post by nov21987 on Feb 3, 2022 19:47:28 GMT
Hi!
Been kind of busy. We got new pictures of the house, it's now looking like first week of March. There is a fence required by code that is supposed to be in front of the pool and they are having difficulty getting material and workers. It's crazy. We got word that our furniture from Italy won't be delivered until "maybe" last week of March, ugh. We will have some furniture from our condo though. We are still going to use our current bed and our living room furniture now will be in the family room.
Joan, glad you enjoyed your trip!
Holly, I've been using avocado oil for cooking for years. Love it for its neutral flavor.
Wellllllll....sit down ladies.....I have some news SO and I got married. LOL We decided that it would just be easier financially with inheritance laws and taxes, etc. We do have wills but it would just be more of a pain to transfer money when not married. We did it last night, had some neighbors who would be witnesses over for drinks and take out and we all signed the papers. We kind of decided to do it on Monday because we wanted to do it Tues 2/2/2022! Love those numbers! Plus Groundhog Day!
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jmg44
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Posts: 938
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Post by jmg44 on Feb 3, 2022 22:33:37 GMT
Oh my gosh—CONGRATULATIONS! Sue, this is so funny—my DSIL said last night it was such a great day to get married yesterday! And so you did! I think it’s wise—I’ve tried to tell my son and his SO that they would actually find it easier financially to just get married—actually, I think they are married—he always said if they did get married it would be on their terms—I’d never probably know. The reason I suspect they did is because he has insurance through her now and he made her a partner in his business—pretty sure they just quietly did that!
So fun that you had some friends over and spontaneously did that!
Building houses—ugh—always something! Even our little tract home we chose a tile that was from Italy and the same time they were building the Bellagio Hotel on the strip and they chose that tile—so for a while it appeared we wouldn’t get any tile because they would get the whole next shipment from that company—then somehow we ended up getting it and had the house on time. But the bigger and more involved the more stuff to delay—and in this Covid atmosphere even needing a special plastic jar can stop whole shipments—I say that because one of the largest glaze producers is Amaco and they are having major stocking issues because of jars and some chemicals, etc., etc. It’s crazy. Our audiologist cannot get DH a thing for the Smith Performing Arts center to send the sound to his h.aids because they are on a ship in the harbor off CA somewhere—have been there two months!
I am still feeling kind of yuk—again today—not sure if it is allergies or if I should test again. Might take one in the morning if I wake up like this.
I don’t even feel like playing with clay.
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Post by holly2007 on Feb 4, 2022 0:45:06 GMT
Congrats, Sue! Haha. Makes sense. My great uncle and his partner did that for similar reasons.
Joan, every time I feel stopped up, I’m like, oh crap! is it covid? They lifted the mask mandate at the university again, so it will be back to teaching classes full of students without masks, ugh.
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Feb 15, 2022 6:01:56 GMT
Happy Valentine’s Day! Nothing happening here in that light other than that we did go get a small frozen yogurt after dinner—mini celebration—very mini—LOL!
Whatever I had I think it’s finally out of my system—other than terrible allergies which are seeming like the new normal, I am fine. I did find two other people tho’ who had a similar thing and kept testing for covid as well. DGD17 had covid all last week and DGS21 in Reno had it also, for the 2nd time—now he’s had the Delta and the Omicron. Starting to feel as tho we should have a covid variety game board and get tokens to fill it in!
we had a great time in Death Valley—went there with the trailer for 2 nights—hiked the sand dunes for about an hour—i love it out there—such beautiful sand waves and dunes. It was 80ºd our first day there and it felt so hot! On our way back home we were driving through a small town Parump and an old guy pulled out on a red light and ran into our trailer. We were so scared to look—but fortunately he hit the actual trailer fender and it absorbed the blow and saved the trailer. Had he pulled out a second earlier he would have smashed the side in! Also luckily, a cop was at the same place and saw it happen! It’s towable and usable—looks as tho they will get it replaced (fender) on Thursday and check the axel alignment—hoping that is fine—if so we had a lucky day!
I’ve been playing in clay the past two days—made a nice casserole/baking dish and a lasagna baker—kind of excited about the latter as I made it just for two rows of noodles—so half a recipe—which would be perfect for us for four servings! I may make another one so that each time I make lasagna I’d just freeze one unbaked.
DS park ranger was here with us the day we got back (TUes) till Friday—he is definitely going to start divorce proceedings—there is no meeting point between the two of them! They have so much real estate and so much stuff—what a mess!
Sue it’s like you are on a count down but they keep restarting the counting! Where are you now with dates?
Holly they lifted the mask mandate here but we are still wearing ours—many of the grocery stores are continuing to have staff wear them.
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Post by holly2007 on Feb 19, 2022 18:06:35 GMT
I’ve had a sinus thing going on all week too. I got tested to be on the safe side, but was negative.
I am liking cooking with avocado oil and agree about the neutral flavor.
We’re on a roll with concerts. We’re going to Bob Dylan at the end of March, The Eagles in April, and Styx and REO Speedwagon in September. I’ve always loved The Eagles. I wish we could hear Fleetwood Mac. Probably should find a band whose members are younger than 80, lol. We live within an hours drive of Asheville, Charlotte, and Greenville, SC, which is nice.
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jmg44
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Post by jmg44 on Feb 24, 2022 4:02:08 GMT
Wow, Holly, you are definitely concert hopping! So apparently music is something you and BF really have in common. That’s nice.
We are in a cold snap—even had snow flurries a bit today! I did my walk in 43º—woke up to 36º. Very cold for Vegas. In Montana my friend in Bozeman posted a picture of her inside doorknob on her front door—it was completely white with frost—inside her house! It was -29º wind chill up there.
My test tiles for my new pieces turned out unsatisfactory so yesterday I threw together a bunch more test pieces—hoping they get dry by the weekend so I can try several glaze alternatives—my new pieces should be bisque fired this weekend. I’ve made a really cool piece for our super volunteer at the gym who is moving to CO the end of March—have to have her gift done and ready to gift by 3/22. Yikes! So much can go wrong—hoping it doesn’t
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