All Things EARTH... part 2

[MJC]

Laurie, it seems like your cruise was so far away for so long, and now it's so soon! How did that happen? I'm looking forward to seeing your new tops in your pictodiary when you get back.

 

We are having our second big storm in a week. I am so sick of winter. It just changed from rain to snow, and we are supposed to get around 10 inches by tomorrow morning. I have to plan ahead in case they close the schools.

 

This week I've had a flat tire, a broken refrigerator, a dead printer, and an almost broken toe. I also found out they screwed up my graduate school admission when I got a letter that I was not accepted for the PhD program. Which is not what I applied for. At all. I am so ready for the weekend now. Wine anyone?

[awhfy]

Oh Margaret, what a week! You’re getting the weather that we should be having. Instead we’re having wildfires cause it’s so dry. I’ll have a virtual glass of wine with you . Not Friday, but you get the idea [emoji6]

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

Margaret , You are having a bad week so drink up ! I was using my water pick and it knocked one of my crowns off so I spent Monday at the Dentist so I think I will also pour myself a glass .

[laurspag]

Winter is easy to get tired of. We had a lot of snow on Friday. With the latest storm, they were so back and forth. As of right now, it is missing us but we are to expect about 4 inches. Then they are talking about another situation for this weekend, possibly...

 

Yes, my cruise is almost here! I feel almost too ready, if that makes sense. I am looking forward to it.

 

It seems like a lot of you have had a not so wonderful week. I had a few things going on at work that had me stressing, and I'm just trying to put it behind me. It's hard sometimes. When I took the two days off at the beginning of last week, I had something come up that Friday that was just hanging over me like a cloud. Then it wasn't too much better at the end of last week. I keep reminding myself that when you get knocked down, you have to pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and start over again.

 

I offer that same advice to all of you. But the wine helps. A lot! :D:D:D

 

Margaret, you have had a lot of things going on in particular. That is a lot in such a short period of time!

 

We are working on freshening up our den, which is where I am at this very moment. We got a different desk. I am just shocked with how much junk we have as I move things around and clean them out. My husband wants to keep so much. I have been shredding constantly, it seems. It is nice to get it squared away. I have enough room for what we need, so when I run out of places to put things, it will force me (my husband, actually) to go through things again.

 

I will often refer to the garage as his man cave, despite the fact that neither of us like the term of the overall assumptions associated with it. I think we all like to have a place we can retreat to, but I've never felt that a man has to have an area all to himself, or a woman, for that matter. Anyway, building a garage was a big deal to him, and he saved up for the shell to be built and has worked to complete it inside, a little at a time. It is functional, but also very nice. He has some great fire department memorabilia, since he was a volunteer for over 20 years.

 

I bring this up because the garage really reflects him, not us. And that is perfectly fine! I did ask if he had an issue if I created an area in the den that was more me, since I really am the only one who uses it, and I spend a lot of time in here. This is part of the main house, and we always try to consider one another, and we work to make it ours. He had no issues. We discussed what I wanted with the new desk as far as function, and then we figured out how we might rearrange the room to have it work better. He has given me a lot of leeway to do what I would like, but still has some ideas. And it is our home, after all. Ours.

 

So next up after I clean out the closet (which was made into a bookcase a while back) I am going to work on the decor a bit. There will be an area for some of my Red Sox things. We are discussing a chair, so that if I don't want to be right at the desk, there is a nice space to read, and to just make the room more welcoming than it currently is.

 

He wanted to paint the room a green color. Normally I'd be all for looking at new paint colors, but not this time. I just didn't see green walls with my Red Sox banner! That means I should consider a chair color that works as well. i was thinking a blue, textured fabric. I would like a smallish chair. This room is tiny. I haven' measured it, but I'm going to go with 10 x 10. The door to the closet was removed and shelves put in, creating a bookcase for all our photos. We then have a desk, a two drawer lateral cabinet and a bookcase besides. Based on the new furniture arrangement, a small chair in the corner makes it more than cozy. If I skipped the chair and the bookcase, it would look spacious. I think the room needs the softness, and the chair won't impose on the space.

 

I'll try to get pictures as soon as more is done. I don't think I ever posted any photos of the tiny, itty bitty half bath when it was done, did I? I'll post one shortly, and I'm sure it will be sideways. :')

[laurspag]

 

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[awhfy]

Laurie, you can buy Fenway Green Monster paint. It’s pretty intense, but makes a good accent color or trim. We used to have it as the trim for our house (for about 20 years!)

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

Laurie , How big is your house ? You seem to have so many rooms .

[awhfy]

Hope everyone stayed safe in these past 2 nor’easters. I have friends & family in Boston area that don’t have power from the first storm & they just got hit with 20-24” of concrete snow. Melody

 

 

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[MJC]

Oh Margaret, what a week! You’re getting the weather that we should be having. Instead we’re having wildfires cause it’s so dry. I’ll have a virtual glass of wine with you [ATTACH]415887[/ATTACH]. Not Friday, but you get the idea [emoji6]

 

 

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That's about the size wine glass I would need to deal with this week. :D

 

We actually got off pretty easy yesterday in my part of Queens. It was rain when I went to work but by the time I left it was a nasty rain/snow/ice combo. When I got home I just left all my clothes inside the entry door because I was wet down to my drawers and I didn't want to track water on my new floors.:eek: We ended up with about 3 inches but it was such a wet snow that it didn't stick in the streets. I'm very glad we didn't get the 10 inches they were predicting.

 

I talked with a friend up at the lake and they had 20 inches up there. We have a temperature alarm in our cottage, but I have my fingers crossed that there is power up there because there is no way I could get to it if the heat is off. Large parts of NJ are still dealing with the fallen trees and damage from last weekend's storm.

[Sailor_Sally]

The weather up north has been crazy this year . Everybody take care and stay safe .

[laurspag]

It seems like every year when I get another winter under my belt, I wear it like a badge of honor or something. I'm really nervous driving in bad weather, but in banking, it is very hard to stay home when bad weather hits. In my 34+ years at the bank, we have never been closed due to weather, except once after what we dubbed the Labor Day Storm. I've been sent home early a few times, but mostly, we just do our best to get to work, stay open for our customers, and drive home as safely as we can.

 

Margaret, I got to thinking that you would really like that navy and rust print shirt I recently got. At least, it seems like something you would like? The brand is Sanctuary, and they are rather pricey. When I find something that I like, I will get the brand and description and google it and see who else has it and for how much.

 

One of the things that I love about the clothing for the upcoming cruise is that I have some really nice olive, rust and teal/aqua colors. The olive and rust colors I think are my best. The teal/aqua seems to work well. I have two aqua shirts for daytime. One is earthy, bordering on fire. The other is fire, but it seems to work pretty good for me.

 

Melody, we will have to see when you are passing through Syracuse in the fall. It would be great to meet you in person!

 

Margaret, I hope everything is okay with your lake house. A few months ago, we had a thaw and there was flooding, and there were a lot of people very concerned because they were unable to get to their camps to make sure everything was okay. That is a tough thing.

 

I don't think I could have Green Monster walls. The room is cozy, and I think it would close in on me.

 

Our house is around 1700 square feet. we have a nice sized eat in kitchen, a family room, a great room (living room and dining room combined), a den, a half bath, laundry room and mud room. The mud room is worth mentioning as a room, because it is larger than the den. We built a pantry/closet in there a few years ago, and we are having some built ins put in around May. There will be a bench with a desk type area. I plan to use the desk area for my sewing, occasional craft project, etc.

 

My upstairs is not exactly set up the way I would like, but we are happy with it overall. There are three bedrooms. Two are a "normal" size, one with a normal closet and one with an extremely small closet. There was a master bedroom with a small room next to it and we took the wall out to make a larger room. It's a nice size, but it is narrow, and furniture arrangement is difficult. My husband and I share one closet that I wish was bigger. Since my daughters live at home, there is no extra closet space to use. We have one full bath.

 

I do love my house a lot. I think I'm fairly typical when I say I wish we had bigger closets and one more full bath.

[Sailor_Sally]

Laurie , Your house sounds lovely . I think we all wish for more closet space .

[awhfy]

House sounds great Laurie. THe Fenway green makes a great trim with a toast beige wall

 

 

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[awhfy]

I actually turned our smallest bedroom (off our master) into a closet, but it’s still classified as a bedroom on floor plans

 

 

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[Anita Latte]

 

We're back!

 

That's the graphic representation of our crazy college bound road trip over the past week...just to refresh everyone's memory...and probably because I didn't give too many specifics prior to our trip...we left last Thursday after DS' classes and hit the road for Ann Arbor at 4:26 pm...so we arrived in the wee hours on

 

Friday...Tour University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

Saturday...rest (we saw Black Panther)

Sunday...drive to Bloomington, IN

Monday...tour Indian University and Jacob's School of Music...drive to Tinley Park, IL

Tuesday...tour University of Chicago...drive to Cincinnati, OH

Wednesday...tour University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music...drive to Cleveland

Thursday...tour Oberlin College and Conservatory...drive home

 

And it snowed, and rained, and we had generally cold, windy, wintry weather the entire time. So the midwest was true to form and showed us it's true colors...we just finished washing all the brine and salt off of our 4Runner which was a champ of a vehicle to have driving through everything that we did.

 

Margaret...I didn't take many pictures...but I took this one in front of the lake that is sort of shaped like a grand piano. Was that there when you were there? It's at North Campus.

 

 

That's my wonderful North Face jacket that I got here in Winston Salem. It's a vintage/antique white with an olive/army green colored lining. The red boots are ones that I bought before we visited Chicago last year. Still great warm water proof boots...Columbia brand. The cross bag is that sling backpack.

 

I give that bag high marks Laurie. It's a great size. Seemed to have room for everything that I wanted and then some. It would be a great shore excursion bag, I think. So long as you weren't trying to carry anything too precious since it is carried more on the back...you can flip it around though and have it be right there in front, which I only did a couple times when we were walking along and I wanted to dig for something in the bag.

 

ProTip for everyone...because we checked in to our hotel at 2 am on Friday morning for a multiple night's stay...we were only charged for two nights...Friday night and Saturday night. We thought we would have to pay for Thursday night as well, but it seemed that they just gave us an early check in on Friday and only charged us for two night so SCORE on that! I think this would only apply to multiple nights stays though...

 

Hope everyone has weathered the storms well...

[awhfy]

Anita, what a whirlwind. Has DS interest in one more than the other? Love your outfit!

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

Anita , That was a whirlwind tour ! Is your son leaning towards one of the colleges ? I guess I lucked out I only had to tour Rutgers & U of Mass .Love the picture ! Are you glad to be home to warmer weather ?

[laurspag]

Anita,I was thinking about you and wondering how the weather and driving was. Looking at colleges must be so exciting for your son. Does the thought of being farther away other him at all?

 

We were supposed to get an inch of snow. Then they changed it to none. Then they said an inch or two. Then they issued a special weather ststement. I think we got about 5 inches of snow in two hours. It's almost 11 PM and my husband is snowblowing the driveway because we go to the gym esrly. [emoji16]

 

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[Anita Latte]

DS has no qualms about being far away from "home". I think partly because we don't know where we'll be in the next couple years. It's not likely that we will stay in Winston Salem after DS graduates...where will be the best place for us will likely depend on what DH's job situation is like. So that is all up in the air in it's own way so I think that frees DS to really just think about what is the best thing for him and what he wants to do.

 

Music composition is his first love. However, during the Arts Intensive last December he was exposed to some information about music and dementia. In the film that was part of the seminar, they were showing people who were in their 90s and had dementia. Some of the people were having a hard time even forming words to answer questions and the answers to simple questions were difficult. Then they would play a song that was popular at different times in the person's life and they could go into great detail with an ease of speech talking about the weather on the day that this event occurred and who was there and what they were wearing, etc etc. DS has become fascinated by this link between music and cognition.

 

And I guess there's a new field of study that is a cognitive science that combines elements of biology, psychology, philosophy and who knows what all...and he is now showing a great interest in pursuing a double major of music composition and cognitive science (which falls into different schools at the different universities, but is usually found under a neuroscience umbrella). So how crazy does that sound? But I think it's amazing actually and something that is likely to be very timely with the way things appear to be in the world today.

 

So with that said, the schools that facilitate that dual degree in the best way are forerunners in his list of choices. So, for the schools that we just visited, Oberlin is probably the most attractive. Cincinnati is also very attractive. They are the best of both worlds having a world class conservatory combined with a very good university. DS didn't seem to click as much at the big state school, Indiana and Michigan. Chicago was amazing but the music aspect would be challenging because it would be so much more difficult to get his pieces played and recorded because the music department is not a big attraction there. But the school itself was outstanding...I didn't want to like it as much as I did.

 

There are still several schools of interest in the NorthEast. We're trying to figure out how we can visit them. Some of that will be dependent on what summer program DS is accepted to.

 

I am glad to be home to some warmer weather but it really isn't that warm overall. I truly am getting sick of the cold though...my trip to AZ wasn't really that warm either...so I feel like the cold is more intense this year. My birthday is this month and I just might have to figure something out to get a hit of warm weather.

 

I quite enjoyed going to the different schools. It was very productive to visit them. And in each place we had some fun...in Ann Arbor we ate at this wonderful Korean restaurant. A super fun treat. In Bloomington, we ate at a small Turkish restaurant where the woman running it was such a gracious host, giving us food to test out for possibilities on her buffet lunch. And the food was all outstanding. In Chicago, we had pizza, of course, and the pies were all they should be. Oh, and we had food truck food for lunch and that was really good. In Cincinnati, we ate at Skyline Chili, a local franchise that serves up authentic Cincinnati style chili...so we had the chili on spaghetti noodles. Oberlin is a full on rural town, so the choices there were very limited, but we had really good bar food there. So the trip was a fun venture all around, even though there was so much driving and most of that driving was in the dark so we didn't get to enjoy much scenery on the road.

 

My Smartwool quarter zip shirts were the perfect thing to wear. I was so happy that I bought a second one before the trip. And gloves. And hats. You just need to have your accessories to help out, even as you walk around a campus and go in and out of buildings. You just put them on and take them off and put them on and take them off...and it's totally worth it to do that.

 

I did get a fun splurge purchase for myself. There was an Athleta store in the mall in Ann Arbor and our hotel was on the mall perimeter, so we walked there to check it out. I'd had my eyes on a pair of trail tights, thinking that they would be great for at home and for Alaska...and they were awesome, so I got them. And I got them in a great Anita color.

 

http://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1066257&pcid=1059481&vid=1&pid=210999012

 

Mine are a green color, but this green color is a terrible representation of it. It's the muted gray green that you would all associate with me, not this weird bright one. I love the pockets. And the high waist.

[awhfy]

I’ve seen those tights Anita! If all I’d had to go on was the picture, I’d never have looked at them in person. Sounds like lots of thinking is coming up for your DS, god luck to him in his decision

 

 

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[laurspag]

Anita, I've been eying those same tights in the on fire color. It's clearly a very bright orange, but a good Syracuse orange, from the looks of it. I think I love Syracuse sports way too much! :D But it's fun to have things you love and enjoy, and I feel like I'm at a stage in my life for adding more of that. It has been a tremendous help to me from a mental standpoint as well, since work has been a bit rough.

 

The color online that is green is jade - it looks kind of teal like? I am thinking about what you said with them being a gray green. I can envision that in my head, but the color online is so difficult. The closest Athleta store to me is near Rochester. Me and my daughters went to that mall a few years back. I want to say it is an hour and a half away? We planned it out as a day long trip, and stayed overnight in a basic hotel, then took our time going back in the morning after breakfast. It was fun.

 

I love the store, but I wait for sales and sometimes I can't get what I want by then. They need more sales!

 

Speaking of which, I saw a dress I liked online at WHBM. They have a bunch of new things in stock suddenly. All winter long, I haven't really seen much of anything of interest until today. This dress is described as black orchid. I have no idea how they came up with that name, but the color caught my eye. I struggle finding warm purples, and this looks warm to me. Maybe it's a fire color?

 

I noticed that the purple dress I recently purchased is still hanging outside the closet, tags on. I have not taken it to have the shoulders adjusted. I really love it, and the color seems like a decent earth purple. There are times when something isn't perfect, and that's okay. I just give it extra thought, because of cost, how frequently I can wear it, etc. So that is telling me I'm not sure I want to keep it. It's beatiful on and really seems to flatter my shape.

 

I've come to the conclusion that I don't want to waste money, so things that aren't right go back. I just try to figure out what isn't right so I can learn from it and go on. Anway, here is the WHBM dress that caught my eye. I think I have a $50.00 off $100.00 coupon, but it's still too much.

 

https://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/product/mock+neck+instantly+slimming+dress/570226384?color=1093&catId=cat5669276

 

I am intrigued with your son's thoughts regarding music and it's connection to things. My older daughter recently went back to school to become an occupational therapist assistant. She has done her major research projects on things such as yoga and dance as therapy, and recently finished a two month field work study at a nursing home. There, she was working with elderly so there was some yoga put to practice. Also, based on the age of many of the patients there, she planned out a lot of baking - the use of hands to measure and mix and so forth.

 

It's very different than music and dementia, but it is similar in the sense of using different things to treat health issues.

 

I love that you have used this time as family time, and to explore new places while visiting schools. I have not been to a lot of places overall. I'm so close to my cruise now that my main focus is on that. Then we have our weekend in Boston, but I don't know what we are doing in October yet. I have a strong desire to plan another cruise, my husband is looking at other things. I think I want to make sure I can disconnect from things a bit. We love to be on the go, but I would like some downtime too and I don't want to be cooped up in a hotel room. So I think I am aiming for some place that will be warm. We've discussed Key West. I am never fond traveling to a busy area, and having a rental car and constantly trying to figure out where I am.

 

Maybe our focus can be on a part of Florida where we can be centrally located, and go to the beach, Kennedy Space Center, maybe Disney or Universal Studios? Or maybe combine that with a 3 day cruise out of Cape Canaveral? (something for everyone, lol)

 

Anita, I am finding with the high waistbands that are so popular in the tights now that the waistbands roll on me. It's not that I'm buying the wrong size, I'm short waisted. Does that happen to you at all? And I really need to stay off the Athleta website, as I'm seeing more swimsuits I like and I don't even need one! Virtual shopping is fun...

[laurspag]

Oh, and I want this too.

 

https://www.whitehouseblackmarket.com/store/product/floralprint+poplin+bodice+top/570230177?color=1925&catId=cat11679370

[MJC]

"And I guess there's a new field of study that is a cognitive science that combines elements of biology, psychology, philosophy and who knows what all...and he is now showing a great interest in pursuing a double major of music composition and cognitive science (which falls into different schools at the different universities, but is usually found under a neuroscience umbrella). So how crazy does that sound? But I think it's amazing actually and something that is likely to be very timely with the way things appear to be in the world today." Anita

 

This is exactly what my goddaughter is doing at WashU, but flipped. She's majoring in psychology and neuroscience with a minor in music (she's a singer). She's more interested in research than being a clinician.

 

They do a lot of music activities where my dad is. My mom could hardly string a sentence together last year but they both liked it when the pianist was there, and she would sing along and knew all the words, and her mood and level of engagement would be so much better for a while. Music is strong stuff.

 

Music is a great tool in language learning as well for its ability to develop and activate schema. We often do activities involving songs with our students.

[MJC]

Laurie, I was pleasantly surprised at WHBM last month, even though the store I visited was very small. Some of the colors were yummy. Unfortunately nothing in there works if you have a belly like me. It is motivating, though.

 

Those Altheta tights in jade... right up my alley. :)

 

I've had my eye on this blouse and now it's on sale. Debating....

 

http://www.coldwatercreek.com/outlet/shirts-and-blouses/gathering-of-feathers-blouse/13013.html?dwvar_13013_color=943#start=17&cgid=outlet-shirts-blouses

Edited March 10, 2018 by MJC

[laurspag]

Margaret, that shirt is pretty. It looks like it has great earth colors in it. Style wide, I can see you in it too. I've noticed some pintucks and peasant style tops in your wardrobe. It looks like it would be a great addition.

 

The WHBM store at our mall is tiny too. I think it's to create a boutique experience. They are true to their name. But I love how they bring in color schemes.

 

Did that color seem like it could be an earthy purple to you?

 

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