bobmacliberty

Stinks that Linda got it also, although it probably was inevitable. Hope you both feel better soon.

We've got a few areas in our house that are 95% complete, waiting on one or 2 final touches. Sometimes that's because Micheline has not yet found the perfect thing for the space, sometimes it's because it will cost a good chunk of money and is not yet a financial priority, and sometimes it's due to supply chain issues that still exist. In the latter category, we finally received the undercounter refrigerator that we ordered almost 11 months ago. Our beverage area is complete for now. I'm thinking of maybe replacing the cabinet under the coffee machine with an ice maker, but we don't go through a lot of ice unless we have people over or are making frozen drinks. I'm afraid the ice might get "stale" for normal use. I'd at least get away from relying on my Samsung fridge for ice. I need to do some research first. Anyone have a separate ice maker and can comment?

Let's not debate anything Covid related here. Plenty of other places for that.

Are you at the beach or Ocala? Any Nicole worries by you?

We live right across the street from the Ritz but on the other side of the magic line that separates Zone A from Zone B. 😁 We were planning on going to trivia night in one of their restaurants tonight with friends. Nope. Our club also closed until Friday. I think both (and other businesses) are mandatory closings due to the county evacuation order. If the evac order didn't exist, I don't think they would have closed. I could be wrong as they may have closed just to be on the safe side anyway. I wonder what they do with guests who are already there?

Shoot. I was hoping that I could use whiskey as a Covid vaccine. 😁 Hope that you only have mild conditions.

No. We're in zone B. The evacuation zones are A and D, which are right on the coasts and more susceptible to flooding. Sounds like you might already know this, but here is the zone map for Nassau County if you want to check your new house location. There's a more detailed map on the Property Appraisers web site. Evacuation is for possible storm surge and flooding more so than wind. Possible 3-5 feet of surge. We're a half mile from the coast and are a few feet more elevated. This is still fairly new for us, but I know many people who live at the southern end of the island in zone A and none have evacuated. I don't think Floridians get nervous until at least category 2...maybe 3. Nicole is still predicted to be a TS near us. Those who live along the southeast coast of Florid (I think there are a few people here...maybe @molly361 Ellen?) where the storm is forecasted to make land probably have more to worry about.

I was going to say that it says we like to have fun, but I'll go with OB's answer instead. Makes us look better.

I'm in the know, but I still didn't know. 🤣 🤣 Have a great cruise!

Let me know if you need any recommendations for people who do various things. We've been here long enough that we either have a guy, or know someone who can recommend a guy, for just about everything. Our realtor also gave us a very complete list. We've got an especially good painter. He's painted almost every room in our house (and eventually WILL paint every room in the house) and even sprayed our stained oak bedroom set from Cincinnati so that it's now white and better fits in a coastal home. Looks perfect.

No real concerns right now. 100% chance of rain (less than 1 inch) and 25-35 mph winds forecasted on Thursday. We'll move some outdoor furniture against the house tomorrow just to be safe but that's all we currently plan to do. I think I've said here before that hurricanes tend to bounce out to the ocean around us. This time, Nicole (who should only be a TS) looks like she'll horseshoe around us on land. Should be 77F and sunny by Saturday. Probably upper 60s for your closing next week. If you like Spanish food, make a reservation at Espana (if still possible) to celebrate your closing! Congrats!

Now THAT is truly next level. You should write a book. 🙇‍♂️

☹️

Thanks for a great review Deb! I love it when you find a bar with friendly bartenders and fun people who you get to know. It makes it feel more like a neighborhood pub (Norm!). Good to hear that Explorer is still in good shape. I really like the look of the Schooner Bars on the V/F class. Glad you made it home in one piece.

I played golf this morning in the 25+ mph (aka 2+ club) wind that's hitting us before Tropical Storm Nicole. Some of the gusts were strong enough to blow you over. Watching what the wind would do to a golf ball was initially frustrating, but then just became funny.

Thanks for this. I've never heard that before. I'll be ready.

That's not surviving, that's thriving. I bow down to your superior bachelor skills. You do know that when she returns, you need to pretend like everything fell apart and that you're not sure how you actually did survive...correct?

I admire your ambition, and your liver.

It's fancier looking than a postcard, and it is put inside an envelope, but it's just a single piece of stiff paper. Here are some examples. A more traditional invitations is a folded card with tissue paper inside and often a card inside with RSVP details, plus wording like "Mr & Mrs blah blah blah invite you to the wedding of their daughter...yada, yada, yada. She wants something that's both elegant and somewhat informal. As I was typing the reply to Dani above, I again typed "weeding of their daughter". 🤣 For the cake, she wants to skip the whole cutting ceremony. She might compromise and have a separate small cake that they cut, without the face smashing. Either way, they will serve cake. Not sure how this will actually play out. They'll probably skip the tossing of the bouquet & garter (to avoid a strange guy pushing the garter up a girl's leg), and even the father/bride and mother groom/dances. Her groom doesn't really want to dance with his mother (nor she with him), so they'd drop both dances. It's an awkward part of some receptions that I've been to, so they may skip it completely. Exactly, although I think she's going with a "second look" for the reception after making her entrance. Still, she doesn't want to ruin her make-up and dress. My daughter has a very large and very tight friend group and she wants the reception to just be a fun party. This is her special day and I'm not as much tied to tradition (in anything really). Micheline is similar but wants to be sure that our daughter doesn't regret skipping something and then not having that memory/picture.

Scary stuff. Good to hear that the FAs were on top of things. FAs seem to have the kind of job that is very routine most of the time but must be ready to respond at a moment's notice if an emergency happens.

Sept 8, 2023 (yes...a Friday). We are sort of in a lull period right now. When I say we, I really mean Micheline and our daughter, but all of the important stuff is booked. A few more details to finalize with the venue but nothing urgent. We're having a "discussion" about traditional vs. modern day wedding etiquette. Everything about the wedding is online on The Knot web site they've created. There's info about the ceremony/reception, hotel info, the gift registry, background info and pics about how they met, info about the weeding party, the ability to manage RSVPs, etc. Our daughter wants to send out nice postcard like "hold the date" cards in the next couple of weeks but also use those cards to tell people to RSVP on The Knot. The hold the date cards essentially replace the more formal invites that typically don't get sent until a couple of months before the wedding. Our daughter will just send email reminders (which she can do from The Knot) reminding people to RSVP as needed. I like the idea of letting people RSVP early...why wait until right before the wedding? But I'm not sold on skipping the formal invitations. She's also not sure she wants to "cut the cake" and a few other more traditional things during the reception. That's all for her and Micheline to decide. I'm not getting involved. I wasn't born yesterday.

Do those guys need to be single also? Asking for a friend. 😜

Micheline has long ago given up loading up the fridge for me when she leaves. She knows that she'll just end up throwing most of it away. 😁

Surprise is not what I was feeling. I think Josh said it best in his post game press conference opening statement..."It's tough to win in this league when you're playing a good team and your quarterback plays like s**t". Sums it up for me. He'll bounce back though...hopefully without any arm injuries.

For those of you who are ocean boaters, there's an app called Whale Alert that helps prevent whale strikes from boats. That's one of the leading causes of whales being killed.