All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

14 hours ago, MJC said:

I got an email from jjill today, 50% off. It made me think of Sally, and I realize we haven't heard from her in a while. Hoping everything is ok with you, Sally.

 

 

I had the same thought. Hope Sally is ok

[Anita Latte]

I looked at Sally's activity and it looks like she hasn't been around for about a month. l hope she's ok.

[MJC]

She was talking about downsizing, so perhaps she is busy with moving. She's not posting on other forums either.

 

We've had lots of cold and light snow, so we've been entertaining ourselves with future travel talk. So far the top 3 most likely to actually happen eventually are: 1) Norway cruise out of Southampton, followed by a week in London, and the QM2 back to New York, our favorite choice (and a good retirement present for DH) but probably farthest away in time; 2) Pacific Coast Highway meandering from LA to Northern CA, with a stop in Carmel to see an old friend -- who happens to be a professional chef -- as one post-vaccine option because it involves flying; and 3) Niagara Falls and some of the beautiful state parks on the way back, perhaps as early as Spring 2021.

 

Yesterday we watched the eclipse on TV instead of from Valdivia, Chile. It was rained out there so now we don't feel so bad! We have talked about the North American Eclipse in 2024 already and have narrowed it down to Austin TX followed by a trip to the Grand Canyon, or a cruise in the Gulf of California which will go south to catch the eclipse off the coast of Mazatlan. I would love to swim with the whale sharks again! The nearest location to us would be Erie, PA, but the likelihood of rain is pretty high there.

 

The other cruise that has been on our bucket list is the circumnavigation of Japan. But we might consider a land tour as well, since we still need to decide what exactly we would like to do and see there.

 

I am still hunting for a top in a good red for me. This is not a good time because of all the bright Christmas reds. I don't want rust, I want a nice tomato-ish red, like my favorite red lipstick. I have jewelry orphans that need that gap filled. :)

 

[awhfy]

Margaret, JJill had a nice tomatoey red tunic. I’m not sure if it was a sweater or knit

[Anita Latte]

I love Carmel-by-the-Sea!!! That area of the world is one of my faves...or at least it used to be...I haven't been there in ages. I think the last time I was there was the big Y2K New Years trip we took to SF with Mom and Dad. We spent time in SF and then down the coast to Monterey Bay and Carmel. I have fond memories of that area of the world.

 

Dad wrote the computer system software for the Monterey Bay aquarium when it first opened. How crazy does THAT sound? A very gifted software analyst my Dad... We loved that area of coastline forever but there are fun family stories related to the aquarium and it being built and stuff and such.

 

DH went to a conference there once. I can't recall why I couldn't go? But I didn't but he brought me home a sweet print with two sea otters. It is just perfect because so many of the aquarium stories include the sea otters. Fun to have things that bring up memories.

 

Talking about travel is fun. The Norway cruise is one we want to do as well. I have debated whether I would really want to do a cruise cruise or figure out a longer stay in Norway that includes cruising in the fjords but not by big cruise ship. I recall talking to my Brit lady friends in GA about Norway and one thing I remember vividly was the talk about how expensive it was. IDK if that was in general or because of exchange rates.

 

I am not in the market for any clothing. AT ALL. I can't say that I have a full wardrobe. I think I have enough options that fit me that I could put together at least one outfit that would be suitable for most any occasion...otherwise I have a bunch of super stretch clothing that still fits. LOL. I'm waiting again for my body to recover...

 

Meanwhile...we're at a good point with house projects but find ourselves increasingly frustrated by the state of the garage and the lack of unpacking and organizing there. This week has been dedicated to getting the house cleaned up and organized more. What goes where is really taking shape around here and things are finding homes. Getting Christmas out caused quite the mess and so there's some recovery going on there. My order for dry wall tools should be here by the end of the week and so while waiting for that I'm hoping to get things set up to move forward more efficiently with the projects.

 

Does anyone else get the laundry backlog? It's like there are things that need to be washed but they are oddball things and so they get put aside until such a time as they may make a fuller load? I'm getting all caught up on stuff like that too.

 

We're going camping on Jan 1 and 2. New Year's Day is DH's bday. I'm hoping that the weather is decent. We have cold weather kayaking pants...they are neoprene capris. We have a kayak hack planned involving stadium seats and our budget friendly kayaks. We'll see how that goes. The plan is to do some kayaking and be somewhere else for a couple nights. 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Anita Latte

[awhfy]

Finished decorating. Hoping to stand for awhile to make cookies & fudge. Macaroons, Hershey kiss cookies, raspberry thumbprint, chocolate butterscotch cookies & peanut butter balls. Lots can be done sitting 

[laurspag]

Everything looks great, Melody.  Be sure to take it easy.

 

Do you use your fireplace much?  We have a gas fireplace, and we love it but we don't use it as much as we would like.  We find that the size that we got was a bit bigger/stronger than what we really needed.  When we use it, we put it on the lowest setting and use the temp control.  There are a few very small spots of peeling paint on our mantle from the heat so that is why.  

 

Margaret, how much snow did you get?  We did not get a lot, but the roads were very slick this morning.  I haven't really given it a lot of thought, but I think we got around 5 inches.  Poor Binghamton...it will take them a while to dig out!

 

This weekend I plan to finish my wrapping and do a little bit of baking.  It doesn't make sense to make a bunch of cookies just for us, but I do want to make a few small things.  I'm taking some of our favorites and making smaller batches.  I think we will have about three types of cookies: peanut butter balls, thumbprints and these Almond Joy cookies that my husband makes.  

 

I work next week, including Christmas Eve day (until 3) so I want to make my cheesecake Tuesday or Wednesday night.  

 

Meal wise, we are doing Christmas Eve very casual and comfy.  We will watch It's a Wonderful life, and we are making appetizers.  I think I told you guys all this before, but we will have things like bacon wrapped scallops, crab cakes and some other yummy stuff.  I plan to make eggnog martinis this year although I often make something called a white Christmas martini.  I have the ingredients for both so we will go with whichever sounds good at the time...or one of each.

 

Christmas day is beef tenderloin, roasted asparagus with garlic butter sauce, smashed potatoes, popovers and the cheesecake I mentioned earlier.  I was thinking that for Christmas Eve, we can always have cookies but I have a strong desire to find a red velvet mini cake.  There is just 3 of us, so a mini sounds like a good idea.  Most bakeries are at their max on orders but Wegmans carries a wonderful red velvet cake.  It's a bit big but they often offer minis so maybe that will be an option.

 

Christmas day will include my older daughter as well.  My grandson will be with his father so unless I have them over early enough, I will have to delay seeing him open his gifts for a few days.  😞 

 

Anita, I have never had laundry backlog, lol.  I know what you mean though.  As it turns out, we wear a lot of orange because it is our team color in Syracuse, but I also wear rust and orange as well as my husband.  I don't have a lot of purple, but I seem to have pajamas that color so I always end up with a small load that I can put together of those colors.

 

I'm looking forward to getting back to my projects after the holidays too.  Starting things and seeing some results really inspires me to do more.   My husband is planning to call on the chairs to get a progress report, but I think I will tell him to wait until after Christmas.  It would be hard to pick them up next week anyway, and if they were done he would have called us so I think it makes sense to wait.

 

We have a customer at the bank that we spoke to today.  He just got home from the hospital after having COVID.  He was hospitalized for 3 months.  He is in his early 60s, and was in great health with no underlying conditions up to this point.  It got me thinking that we don't realize how lucky we are sometimes.   While I feel young, I am 55 so I think about these things so much more than I used to.

[awhfy]

Laurie, fabulous menu!  Bacon wrapped scallops, my all time favorite. 
 

we went to Costco yesterday & I found a jumbo shrimp platter (4 dozen giant shrimp). Les looked at me & said, Christmas Eve dinner?  We won’t have to share. We laughed like loons in the middle of Costco & bought the shrimp platter. I was feeling down about not getting our traditional Christmas Eve service & soup extravaganza with the family. He perked me right up. Melody

[Anita Latte]

Very festive Melody! I've been slowing decorating here and there as I get the house sorted. Finally cleared off the buffet/sideboard and the little bar top. Outside Walmart they had the most wonderful looking poinsettias! And only $4.97! I couldn't resist. 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't been back to Lowe's for a few days...much earlier they had the most beautiful Cyclamen plants. A Christmas tree farm we used to go to in TX had the most gorgeous cyclamen but they were always so expensive...I never got one. They can grow outdoors here! They are like cheap landscaping plants! LOL. With the house finally getting sorted...and the horizontal surfaces being cleared of all the cases of the dropsies...I'm totally get one...and an orchid too I think. 

 

Laurie...I figured you never had laundry backlog. I'm steadily making my way through. I got all the spare sheets and other linens (tablecloth) that we use for beach and camping done yesterday. I still have to figure out how to wash DH's kilt. It's a cargo kilt and not wool. Stuff like that...I just set it aside and do my Scarlett impression...thinking about TOMORROW. Or the next day. Or the day after that...or heck...2 years later...LOL. Not really...only 1.

 

I'm not joking btw.

 

We went to the Renaissance Festival over around Tampa last February...Sigh.

 

I would think of your Christmas dinner as Tapas or small plates! Sounds very fun...especially with more than two people! Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years have usually involved a spiral ham and a whole salmon in some combination. I like doing the big roasts like turkey and ham...I like having the food for days after. And I love the bean soup that I make with the ham bone and what is left clinging to it.

 

So...if you look again at the pictures I posted...the wall with the mountain scene artwork leaning against it is the wall that I have been talking about making into a pony or half wall. You can see the front entry door in the background (my magnet hooks are on it with a couple face masks hanging from them LOL). What you can't see is that the wall is a freestanding wall...here...

 

 

I can finally take this shot because my house is somewhat clean! LOL. So there's our little bar top on the right and behind the buffet is the wall that I want to take down to just above the electrical outlets on the other side. It'll completely open up the kitchen.

 

With the proximity of the front door though...just to the left of this photo...it doesn't really make sense to make a whole big bar top across the whole kitchen...what I need is to maintain that wall space so that buffet continues to have a place to live! 

 

On the right in this photo...you can see our pantry work in progress. DH got the thin set off the section where the old tile floor was still in the old pantry. The pneumatic hammer was PERFECT for that job. And you can see how I'm talking about needing to do the back wall (the cathedral ceiling wall) before we frame the pantry so that the scaffolding will still get in there close to the wall. And THAT freestanding wall...on the other side of that wall is what is planned as a dining room (because there's a chandelier)...the room that we think of as a flex room...that we call the yoga room because that's our plan for that room. 

 

You can also see that dining set I bought on Craigslist kind of floating in the room. 

 

That thing that kind of looks like a big flat florescent light is a sky light. There are three in the whole space...that skylight is one reason why we're not going to put a "roof" or ceiling on the pantry...just leave it open above. We saw some great closet lighting in Ikea last weekend...and I realized later that it would be perfect for the pantry...so we'll use that for when we need artificial light in the pantry.

 

All the freestanding walls...this is why I think the bullnose corner bead will be so much more attractive that the squared off corner bead. Because the current wood top is not going to be replaced. The wood cap and the trim still on the one wall is what was on the other wall and I don't think it is in keeping with the whole vibe that we're creating. It's such a traditional design element...and we don't have a traditional home. I think squared off naked dry wall would look unfinished but I think the rounded dry wall will look more purposefully unadorned. 

 

My latest wanderings on the world wide waste of time let me find a waterproof wall treatment called tadeladt. I think it is getting to be somewhat popular and making the rounds on some social media...from what I was reading in some blogs. Anyway, this is a comparative wall treatment to the Mormorino Venetian Plaster that I had found before that I decided to do for a backsplash alternative. Well...turns out that tadeladt is a traditional MOROCCAN wall treatment! LOL...cracks me up! I just really love that Moroccan influence...even if I don't know that what I like has Moroccan influence.

[MJC]

Such pretty decorations! Ours have to be somewhat cat-proof so we don't have a whole lot, just a few carefully chosen spots.

 

Laurie, we didn't get as much snow as anticipated, but the roads are icy because it's so cold. Our neighbor at the lake had his driveway plowed and I had asked them to do ours too, so we are set to go back to the lake tomorrow. Fortunately no power outages up there. I have been doing a lot of cleaning at the apartment the last two days. Even though it has been empty, it still gets dusty and dirty from leaving the windows cracked a tiny bit. Otherwise it's like an oven in here.

 

Anita, I heard about the aquarium when we did our cruise from LA. I would have liked to go there, so it's on the PCH to-do list. Also I would love to go to the Griffith Observatory in LA. We didn't have time to go so far afield and didn't have a car anyway.

 

I decided to treat myself to some fashion magazines during these days of covid, so I have some pics to post in a bit. First, though... Millie Bobby Brown... ICE? AIR? EARTH?  Pretty sure she's not a FIRE.  Sometimes she looks a lot like Natalie Portman, and sometimes not at all. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=millie+bobby+brown+fashion&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjz0-_TwtjtAhXHFN8KHckTAlAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=millie+bobby+brown+fashion&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgYIABAIEB4yBggAEAgQHjIGCAAQCBAeMgYIABAIEB4yBAgAEBg6BQgAELEDOgcIABCxAxBDOgQIABBDOgQIABAeUM8KWOQmYMQpaANwAHgAgAFAiAGQBZIBAjEzmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=TiXdX_P0Ccep_AbJp4iABQ&bih=908&biw=1680&client=firefox-b-1-d

[MJC]

Some of these are from Vogue, some from InStyle.

 

Something about these shoes by Sarah Flint just makes me love them.

 

 

 

I rarely see a selection like this where I like every piece (except for the gray vest thing). Replace the white with a light taupe and this could be me. I love the modern take on the blue striped oxford shirt #7.

 

 

I like this Chloe updated look for argyle.

 

 

 

Harry Stiles does orange. Would totally wear this coat.

 

 

 

Cool pants, couldn't wear them, but how fun are they?

 

 

 

All my fave colors plus fringe, plus a print, so happy and fun.

Edited December 18, 2020 by MJC

[awhfy]

Laurie, in response to our using the fireplace. It is a wood burning fireplace, between Les’s COPD (thankfully mild) & our burning restrictions we haven’t used it in about 4 years. We are seriously discussing converting it to a gas insert as the lower level of our house can get quite chilly (we used to use the fireplace a lot). 

[laurspag]

Melody, one thing that I love about a gas fireplace is the convenience - you can turn it on, you can turn it off.  I get it checked when my furnace is cleaned and check every year, so I don't feel like I have to worry about safety issues either.

 

Anita, I love your decor.  I find holiday decorating to be a lot of fun to do.  I am feeling very festive this years, and I'm determined to make the best of what most people would agree has been a crappy year.  Today we went to breakfast, something we seldom really get to do.  My grandson was visiting with his dad, so it was the four of us.  We made a quick stop in Target after.  It was so much fun.  I consider my older daughter and grandson part of our pod, in the sense that we don't interact with others in general.  We go to work and wear masks and social distance.  We don't socialize right now, except for our small group.  So while my daughter and grandson don't live in our house right now, we get together regularly because we are the only ones in the pod.  I hope that makes sense.

 

Anita, your space in Florida has me thinking a lot.  One thing I often do is ask myself how I would direct a space.  I've never had a lot of openness in the houses I've lived in, so I find it so interesting to see your home, and how you are planning out the space.    It is a lot of fun to see everything take shape for you.  

 

Currently, my husband is making his almond joy cookies.  It smells good in here!  I'll be making the peanut butter balls soon. After going to breakfast, I didn't feel like we would be wanting to make a bit dinner, so we are just going to have soup whenever.  It's a good day for that anyway, since it is still pretty cold.  We also have cranberry cream cheese bread to snack on later that I made last night.

 

Did I mention to you that we are doing a beer advent?  We call it Beermas.  we have a local craft beer store and they were selling a limited number of beer advent boxes, with individually wrapped beers for each day of December up to Christmas.  We missed out, but then they offered the wrapping paper wrapped box, bags, and number tags where you could come in and make your own.  At first I wasn't going to, as buying 24 craft beers can add up. But, they were giving a discount and we were supporting a local business, so we decided to go ahead.  The fun thing is that we picked our own choices, not the store.  One beer is split three ways between my younger daughter, my husband and I.  We do this every night around 8, and then my daughter posts it to her Instagram and Facebook page and tags the local craft beer store.  It's a nice way to give them a shoutout, and it has been a lot of fun.  We have tried some things that we know we will buy again, and some things that were so-so.  There have been two so far that I didn't like at all...but that's okay!  It's all about trying something new, and we are getting a third of a beer each so it isn't like we are drinking much.

 

Try Ipso Lacto at your own risk, lol.

 

Millie Bobby Brown is hard to figure out!  It's like she morphs.  I think we need to see her with no makeup, up close.

 

I would wear the coat Harry Styles has on too, but am wondering how I would do with the print?  It's a great coat.  I used to subscribe to In Style Magazine, but I let my subscription lapse. It was always fun to see what they would have!  I was thinking about that oversized blazer with the belt.  I think that could be adapted a bit.  I remember doing something similar once.  It was a very lightweight blazer, single breasted.  I created a few pleats in the front from the belt, and it was pretty neat.  That was during my younger, string bean days, lol.

[Anita Latte]

I have had so much fun looking at Millie Bobby Brown pics! OMG. I pay attention to such things and so I had no idea who she was or how she dressed "IRL" LOL or anything. She dresses FUN! Of course, she's young but I must say that I really enjoyed looking at all her pictures.

 

I can totally see how you see Natalie Portman, Margaret...I agree. Especially when her hair is lighter. I don't think she's either FIRE or AIR. She doesn't look horrible in black but she doesn't look all that great in white, so that's confusing on the ICE possibility. I feel like she looks better in richer colors...with more color. Whenever she wears the paler colors...I think she looks more washed out. You know how I'm a Soft Autumn? What are the different ways of ICE? Winter? I'm curious... She's definitely not a Soft Autumn...with her creamy skin and dark eyes...and I have no idea what her real hair color is...but she's definitely a more high contrast person than a "soft" person.

 

I love those pants too M but definitely have too much butt/thigh to wear them...I think Mom could wear them...she looks great in the skinny pants...so I think she could get away with the fuller ruffles. That whole outfit is fun...but I couldn't wear those ruffles near the neck either...

 

I could see you in the coat. Totally. Not me though. Too much contrast. Too geometric for me.

 

You're making me want to look at fashion mags. I think I did get an Instyle at some point since March. 

 

Laurie...I'm very familiar with the whole pod idea even though it isn't talked about much here in the states. That concept has been talked about a lot in UK. I think it's too bad that it wasn't talked about here...but I know of at least one other family that has the same thing going on with the grands.

 

Your Beermas sounds so very fun. A really great idea. I'm going to keep that in mind for DH. Definitely expensive though for sure. We love craft brew also and if you're fortunate enough to have a place that will sell singles...what a fun thing to do!

 

This home is the first real open concept home I've lived in. I've had homes where the kitchen is somewhat open to an informal dining and family room area...but not like this. The full vision of what could be will be realized when we take down that wall to the half wall. Then the kitchen will truly be open. 

 

We've only had a gas fireplace in one house...gas starters yes, full fireplace? Just one. I didn't like it personally but I wonder if it was installed properly. The glass would fog up on that fireplace or something like that...and you couldn't see the fire well through the glass. I really missed the crackle of the fire also. I understand the appeal if you live in an area that is subject to no burn days though. I really love a fire...we've often used the fireplace and the kitchen to heat heat up where we "live" in our homes...and leave the heat off or down very low to be able to sleep in cool bedrooms.

[awhfy]

Our pod is our middle daughter, her husband & our granddaughter. Our son is a semi pod (they both work from home & get everything delivered). Our oldest daughter is a Type 1 diabetic, we haven’t seen her in person since it got too cold to be outside. 
 

we should be in the second wave of vaccines due to our ages, we’ll take them as soon as they’re available to us. 
 

we’re going to try to see the planets conjoin just after sunset tonight, hope the skies cooperate!!!  Melody

[Anita Latte]

Yes! We needed to get out of the house for a bit on Saturday I think? Anyway, we hit the Starbucks drive thru and I wanted to watch the sunset. We headed westward to a good location and were sitting in the car watching. Another car showed up and the man asked if we were there to see Jupiter and Saturn. We talked to him a bit about it and were able to see how close they were on Saturday but today is the big day right? I’m thrilled that we’ve figured out a really good viewing location away from the city lights...well head out there again tonight. Does make me wish I had a telescope. The man and his friend had a big ole telescope they set up on a stand. In other circumstances I would be forward enough to ask for a look and the man was so nice, he would likely have offered...but not these days.

[awhfy]

My best picture (not great) but fabulous Aloha teriyaki burger with Canadian bacon, provolone, grilled pineapple & pico d Gallo. Yummy

[Anita Latte]

So I realized that yesterday I went to what could be called a "super spreader" event LOL.

 

If you aren't aware of the Jupiter and Saturn Convergence...it was last night. It's when the two planets' viewing line from Earth makes them appear as one star because they are so close together. It only happens every however many years...and I think I read something about how Earth's current "close" position in relation to the Jupiter and Saturn hasn't happened since 1226? Don't quote me on that though...I'm relying on memory here.

 

Anyway...here's my story...and if you aren't interested...don't read LOL.

 

So Saturday...I didn't get my second latte in. We were busy and it just didn't happen. We've been trying to cut down on our eating out spending...things like the Starbucks drive thru...it starts to feel bad when you are in a huge drive thru line waiting a fair amount of time for the privilege of spending way too much for what is admittedly a tasty drink...but still. Well it was late...almost sunset...I was feeling a bit bummed about the news out of the UK that will impact DS's Christmas plans...DH was like, let's go get lattes and sit somewhere and look at the water.

 

Being able to just go and look at the water whenever the mood strikes was a motivation for us to move closer to the coast and away from Orlando...so off we went.

 

It was almost sunset and I wanted to be looking westward and so we headed out to the St Johns river area to admire the sunset. One other vehicle was there and they left soon after...but then these two older than us adults show up. It was very odd. Here we are with our vehicle literally pointing directly at the sunset and there's plenty of space for these guys to get a good view and they stand RIGHT in front of our truck and I'm like...What the?!?

 

So he walks around to DH's driving side and almost apologetically starts to ask us about whether or not we were there to look at Jupiter and Saturn? Say what?

 

So we learn about the convergence...again...a good friend had told me about it but I hadn't been thinking about it Saturday. So we could see the planets that night! And we realize that this little spot is a great viewing spot. The river valley is HUGE and there aren't many lights nearby...so we made a plan to go back there Monday night...

 

And so did a LOT of other people LOL.

 

We showed up shortly after sunset...the little lot is pretty packed and cars are starting to park all along the highway. It's a bit like a rocket launch in the way that the crowd is parking wherever there is room. We were fortunate with our 4Runner to be able to access a spot right at the opening of the parking area. As we were walking to the end...to the water overlook...we realize that there are so many people around...and a lot of them are wearing masks...DH headed back to get our masks for us.

 

And then we went straight to the end where there was plenty of room.

 

I'll say this right now...there were obvious "pods" of people where households or close family or friends had arrived together and were maintaining distance between their GROUP and other GROUPS. The crowd looked worse that it actually was. I've been closer to people in the grocery store...for instance. Many people were sitting in the bed of their trucks...things like that.

 

Here's the sunset...

 

 

 

There was a man there with an absolutely INSANE telescope. There is something to be said for living on the Space Coast when it comes to astrological events.

 

 

The owners were nice enough...they let those of us nearby take a look with the caveat that you couldn't touch it and you couldn't get your eye too close. He had it pointing at the moon first. Just amazing...

 

After it was darker...he pointed it towards the convergence. Only those that were in the immediate area were alerted to the generosity of this couple. Both DH and I got to look at both the moon and the convergence. We could see 4 of Jupiters moon...Jupiter's clouds...the rings of Saturn. Such a wonderful experience...

 

After checking out the planets through the telescope...we headed back home. We were getting attacked by the mosquitoes LOL.

 

There's nothing like a great cosmic event to put into perspective how small you are...

 

IDK if this is going to translate with all the compressions that may happen to the file...but zooming in on this photo...you can see the "Christmas Star" which is the convergence. It's the white dot to the right of center in the pic...above the main grouping of pink clouds...just below a dark cloud. If you see the white dot to the upper left...that's an airplane.

 

 

[Anita Latte]

Yum Melody...

[awhfy]

Awesome experience Anita!  That’s what I miss about living on the Space Coast

[laurspag]

Anita, that sounds like so much fun.  We are very fascinated by astronomy.   We have chairs that we use in our yard, essentially loungers, that are specifically for night sky viewing.  We are fortunate in that we do not have streetlights on our street, and our backyard faces a very large field.  So it gets nice and dark for us.

 

That being said, we have had a lot of clouds so we were unable to see all this.  We were sad about that, but we have really enjoyed being able to see pictures.  Anita, when we enlarged your photo, we could see it!  Melody, you got a great picture too.

 

That burger...wow.  It looks good.  One of my favorite burgers is one from a local restaurant that has blue cheese and crumbled bacon on it.  Then thee is another one that is a bruchetta burger with bruchetta topping and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and arugula.  That one there is probably my all time favorite burger.

 

Guess what?  We decided not to call on the chairs but the guy called us yesterday.  Since my husband is off this week, he went and picked them up today.  Wow, what a difference they make.  They came out so nice.  They are not tiny chairs, but they aren't big and overstuffed like the other ones were.  The old chairs were beautiful, they just didn't work well for the room.  We will be able to sell them easily after the holidays so that someone else can enjoy them.

 

One of the most difficult things for me is that I probably won't be able to see them in daylight until Christmas Day.  I leave and it is somewhat dark out, and I come home to darkness.  My husband got a few decent pictures for me.  When looking at the color, keep in mind the up close photo of the drapes.  I think that considering I didn't have a swatch of the fabric we choose for the chairs, we did pretty good.

 

This first picture was taken when he was picking them up.  There is nothing on the chair so I think it gives you a good idea of what they are like.

 

 

Here they are in the living room.  I plan to try down alternative pillow inserts, but I think the pillows are still a bit too big.  Since the pillows were part of the package, I'm not against making smaller pillows out of them but I definitely don't want that stuffed look.

 

 

I have to say too that from a comfort standpoint, the chairs are so comfortable!

 

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by laurspag

[awhfy]

Laurie, those chairs are perfect in that room!  They came out just beautiful. I, personally, don’t think the pillows as they are look bad, they don’t look overstuffed to me. What a great room!  Melody

[Anita Latte]

Your chairs look wonderful Laurie! Nice nailhead trim! And the tufted backs. They look great. I think chairs with a more upright supportive sit are more comfortable long term. The color looks good too. I don't know about the pillows being overstuffed? But they do look a little large overall. I think those chairs would look really nice with a more lumbar style pillow...more of a rectangle than a square. I might keep those pillows as they are and maybe have a basket or something for them? Those are the type of pillows that I put on my lap to support a book or my iPad... They are handy.

[MJC]

Laurie, how beautiful! Those chairs look super cozy. Have you thought about lumbar pillows? That would show off the pretty backs a bit more, I think, but still provide the pop of color and a comfy cushion. Your room looks just lovely! I'm still giving props for sewing your own drapes.

 

We were out on Saturday night and saw both Jupiter and Saturn very clearly right from our driveway. The rest of the nights were completely cloudy. Very disappointing.

 

We're expected to be 57 degrees on Thursday, but with 2" rain so no visiting outdoors. Christmas day should be warm and rainy as well with temps going down to 22 overnight. We won't see temps in the 50s for quite a while after that.

 

 

[awhfy]

Taken from Ball University planetarium