All Things EARTH... part 2

Laurie, have you priced a central air unit? They are usually much less than a wall central air unit & window units & definitely most cost efficient to run.

Our neighbor is having his deck redone with Trex & it’s outrageous what they’re charging him. They did have to tear off a second story deck first which I’m sure added to the $25K cost.

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I wonder if those wall units are loud . Last year I redid my Central air including new ducts and it sounded like a plane taking off until they made some adjustments and ours in in our garage under our house .We also have a few projects going on including getting rid of a lot of stuff so we can downsize in the near future .

I have no choice. I do not have duct work as I have hot water heat. I'm lucky because if they are loud, I won't hear it, lol. Seriously though, we asked about that and they aren't too bad these days.

Yes Trx and similar products cost more. In NY, it's a worthwhile investment. Even the pressure treated lumber version was high. That easily would have to be stained yearly and being close to the ground affects the longevity as well.

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That’s too bad Laurie, it’s a lot less to operate. We’re planning on Trex for our deck in the next couple of years, but we’ll likely do it ourselves with our son & daughter’s SO (he owns a landscaping company & I’m thinking his guys might like a couple of extra days work). On another note, we just had another hail storm roll through. Storm wasn’t even finished & our roofing company called & said they’re coming to check everything on Monday (another big storm anticipated tomorrow)

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Laurie, Have you thought about just getting a patio of pavers . They are so much less work than a deck . I have both and the patio just has to be pressure washed while the deck has to be stained and then replaced in so many years .My son in law just ripped out their deck and put in a paver patio . They live in Lakewood , Ny .

We have a 20x40 upper level deck & a 20x20 & 12x12 patio made of pavers. The pavers are highly superior, no upkeep other than an occasional weed tries to sneak in

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OK - we are going near the same time. We are taking our family on a Tauck Bridges tour (it’s our 50th anniversary). Am getting excited about this!

Congratulations on 50 years ! Have a great time !

Anita , I love the helicopter pictures . I would be up there with my eyes closed .

I just had to share these beautiful photos:

https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2015-11-27/the-50-most-beautiful-places-in-the-world?mbid=nl_081718_Daily&CNDID=53507426&weekend_photo=0&spMailingID=14077802&spUserID=MjY1ODU1MTg5NDgwS0&spJobID=1461502777&spReportId=MTQ2MTUwMjc3NwS2

Alidor congratulations on 50 years. Ours is next year

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Ours is really next October, 2019 but because of school schedules, etc., we decide to do the trip this Christmas. Kind of a 49 1-/4 anniversary! The cost is killing me but you know what - I don’t care. Everyone is looking forward to this so much and the 50th only comes about once, so we are doing it!

Ours is really next October, 2019 but because of school schedules, etc., we decide to do the trip this Christmas. Kind of a 49 1-/4 anniversary! The cost is killing me but you know what - I don’t care. Everyone is looking forward to this so much and the 50th only comes about once, so we are doing it!

Congratulations, alidor. I agree, we just can’t put a price on enjoying time with family and the memories made. BTW I think we met on the AMA Danube cruise a few years ago.

We did! In the lobby of the Hilton hotel in Prague before the trip! I really enjoyed the AMA cruise. We have done 2 more river cruises since then but on Tauck. One was a Tauck Bridges tour, with their family program and our small family, and one my husband and I just did in May that went from Berlin to Krakow. That was a great trip! We liked AMA so much that hope to some day do another trip with them. Have you done any more AMA trips?

We did! In the lobby of the Hilton hotel in Prague before the trip! I really enjoyed the AMA cruise. We have done 2 more river cruises since then but on Tauck. One was a Tauck Bridges tour, with their family program and our small family, and one my husband and I just did in May that went from Berlin to Krakow. That was a great trip! We liked AMA so much that hope to some day do another trip with them. Have you done any more AMA trips?

So nice to hear from you. Yes, that was a wonderful trip! We have not done another AMA cruise but would like to. It was an amazing experience. We have recommended AMA to friends who also really enjoyed their Christmas Markets Cruise. Sounds like Tauck is a good choice for family travel. Friends of ours prefer Tauck and have traveled all over the world with them.

Wishing you and yours an amazing trip.

Sharon

Alidor, ours is November 2019. We’re doing Vancouver to Hawaii with a week on Kauai and a week on Oahu. Our family event will be on Thanksgiving which falls on our actual anniversary.

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That sounds like quite a celebration! Is it me or does there seem to be more people celebratining their 50th? It seems a long time ago it was rare for people to do this and now it has become common.

That sounds like quite a celebration! Is it me or does there seem to be more people celebratining their 50th? It seems a long time ago it was rare for people to do this and now it has become common.

I think you are right and maybe it’s because people are living longer so more likely to make it to the 50th? On the other hand, with so many couples now putting off marriage until their 30’s, I wonder if this will hold true going forward?

We celebrated ours in June and plan to take the family on a cruise as soon as we can get everyone’s schedule sorted out. Our land trip to Italy with the family was amazing so hoping the cruise will be just as memorable.

Enjoying this thread as I love the earth colors and have learned a lot from the posters here. Bonus “meeting up” with you again:)

Margaret, I love those pictures. There are so many beautiful places to visit, and those photos capture so many of them.

My daughter and I painted her room yesterday. It's a soft, dusty green. It is a very peaceful color.

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Laurie, our guest room is a similar color and everyone says how restful it is. :)

This is my "go through the closet and assess work clothes" week. I'm not planning on replacing anything but worn basics because my weight is finally starting to stabilize. I have another hormone test this month to see if we're nudging my scores in the right direction. My cold is finally winding down so I did Pilates today, yay for exercise. I'm seeing changes in my skin and nails so I think we're on the right track.

Someone turned off the switch for summer last night. It went from 90s to 60s overnight and we are headed for mid-70s days for the foreseeable future. We had another torrential storm on Friday and there are several big trees down in the lake. I feel bad for the people who lost a big beautiful weeping willow.

I purchased our last needed items for Africa, summer wool socks as recommended by Anita. I may have to buy some convertible pants but I'm holding off for now in hopes that the ones I have will fit by then. The next project is to make a list of our necessary lotions and liquids and see what I can convert to solid form or do without for two weeks. DH is easy: I'm the one with sensitive skin who needs more products, and specific ones at that. We made our appointment for yellow fever vaccinations, and I'm glad we did because the shots are in short supply.

One thing I often forget about is how complex travel can be outside the U.S. you really have to do a lot of planning and research!

I think that is another reason why Alaska will not occur right away for me. Not only do I want more time for the trip, buti think I could really benefit from researching and planning.

Margaret, I will have a guest room soon, as my older daughter recently moved out. Her room doesn't need to be painted, and the color we painted it a few years ago is a light gray blue color.

Since the room went get a lot of use, I'm wondering if we should get a double bed or get a sleeper sofa. I plan to work on putting certain things in this room that I've had a while, but I don't want it to look like the home to the cast offs. I'm going to be selective and have a little fun with the decorating.

We just had the temp cool down too! We went for a ride earlier and I got cold!!

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Margaret , When we took our last big trip I found I needed less liquids than I thought . I brought a travel size container filled with shampoo that lasted the whole trip . I also bought a few travel size items and tossed them as we traveled .

Laurie , I would keep the room as is for awhile .Kids change their mind and move back.

Laurie, I got a Soma 25% off coupon in my email today, maybe you have one too.

We're flying through Heathrow which is very restrictive for carryon: all liquids, gels, creams, and pastes have to fit in an 8x8" clear bag. I'm prioritizing sunscreen, bug spray, hair conditioner, face cream, rosacea cream, anti-itch and anti-biotic ointments, and toothpaste, and we'll see what room is left. Things DH and I share can go in his bag, I think. He's low maintenance, he just needs a teeny bottle of aftershave. :)

According to international rules, the airline of record from your starting point (in our case Delta going, KLM returning) determines your luggage allowances/restrictions. But once we leave the US, I don't trust that it won't be a problem if we are scanned again for some reason (if we follow US rules which don't include lotions and pastes). So, I am erring on the side of the most restrictive of our our flights and airports.

It is a bit freeing, actually, that we have to do with less. I've been giving myself no-makeup days to see how I feel about that. :) One of the results is that I think I have the wrong hair color (again).

Lush makes a product called "Toothy Tabs" which is an alternative to toothpaste. They are small tablets about the size of an aspirin that you chew and then brush your teeth with. They foam up just like toothpaste and do a good job. They come in several flavours. They are packaged in small plastic bottles. I love them for travelling.

Thank you for the excellent tip, Daisy!

Before I forget...I want to say, Margaret...for bug spray...I completely 100% recommend Alpenglow.

http://www.alpenglowskincare.com/html/insect_repellent.shtml

It works against all kinds of biting insects, not just mosquitoes. ALSO...the big thing about it, because it is oil based, a little goes a very long way. You will not have to bring as great a quantity of this repellent. You can spray it on your hands and rub it everywhere you need it. Like a body moisturizing oil. And you don't have to freak out about getting your hands totally clean afterwards, too, trying to remove that poison before you do anything else with your hands.

The smallest selling size is 4 oz. I brought one with us to Alaska (we crossed our fingers that it looked normal enough for going through security and it did.) That said, we hardly used any on our trip. Like we didn't make a dent in the bottle really...for the 3 of us. You could package it in a smaller spray bottle and be totally good.