All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

I was all set when the Covid test was 3 days, now tgat it’s 2 days I’m really scrambling. We’ll already be in Galveston

[MJC]

Melody, we hadn't booked our airfare yet when testing moved to 2 days, and I am so glad. We were already in a bind because the third day that was dropped would have been Thanksgiving, so no help there. I booked us on a late afternoon flight so we have time first thing in the morning to do our testing. I think I will also order home tests for us as backup. It helps that we are only 15 minutes from the airport.

 

We scored on both flights with the exit row seats where there are only two, and they do recline, and aren't near a bathroom. The planes, so far, are maybe 50% full at this time?

 

Our county is up to 75.5% for at least one vaccine dose, which makes me very happy. Our neighborhood, which is quite large for NYC, is probably slightly higher due to the demographics. It's nice to see things looking almost normal out there again.

 

I am not even thinking about what to wear on my cruise yet. I am down 7 pounds from earlier in the summer, partly because of the dental work I've had. Between the soft diet and even now having to chew so carefully, at least there has been some benefit. 🙂

 

[awhfy]

Margaret, I feel you on dental work. I go back next week for more work. Over $11K since January in my mouth & not done yet. More bone grafts in my future before a stupid bridge 
 

our April Celebrity cruise just had a $1200 price drop!!! & now we also get a $350 military price drop. Now if they can only figure out how I have an airfare (not booked yet ) of $2332 I’ll really be happy!!!

[laurspag]

It looks like we are all having dental work done.  I just had my crown done for the tooth that had the root canal earlier in the year.

 

In the meantime I broke a tooth.  After a very long wait to see the endodontist, he recommended I have it pulled.  I can get an implant or bridge after the bone graft heals.  The work was done today!  The novocaine is wearing off.  I think it is the stitches that will bother me a bit.  

[awhfy]

17 hours ago, laurspag said:

It looks like we are all having dental work done.  I just had my crown done for the tooth that had the root canal earlier in the year.

 

In the meantime I broke a tooth.  After a very long wait to see the endodontist, he recommended I have it pulled.  I can get an implant or bridge after the bone graft heals.  The work was done today!  The novocaine is wearing off.  I think it is the stitches that will bother me a bit.  

Oh that stinks Laurie!  I’ve discovered the Premier Protein drinks (Costco, Amazon) are great. I hate mouth stitches with a purple passion, I get a busy tongue when I sleep, have to use a mouth guard when I have stitches. Melody

[laurspag]

It does, but I am not always the best with following instructions.  I am trying to this time, and really the swelling limits me a bit.  I actually ate chicken last night, just very slowly.  It bothered me a lot later though so I think I will behave.  I figured I was good because I wasn't chewing on the side where the work was done, lol.

[awhfy]

19 hours ago, laurspag said:

It does, but I am not always the best with following instructions.  I am trying to this time, and really the swelling limits me a bit.  I actually ate chicken last night, just very slowly.  It bothered me a lot later though so I think I will behave.  I figured I was good because I wasn't chewing on the side where the work was done, lol.

Chicken is the worst thing to eat with mouth stitches!  It shreds & gets caught in the stitches. Macaroni or even a hamburger are better  hope you feel better soon 

[laurspag]

I'm starting to feel better.  Dental pain is no fun.  Honestly though, I really feel better than I have in a long time.  I guess I never realized how much that tooth was bothering me.

 

For RCI, you have to have a COVID test two days prior.  You can order from them, and there is a website where you sign in using a computer with a camera or using your phone.  I understand this is done so that they can see your ID and watch you open the box, etc.  Your result are instant, and you have to show your results, etc.  Then the info is on the website and you can show the results when boarding.  

 

I am going to order soon, and check out some of the YouTube videos so that I am aware of what it should go like.  For me, it isn't worth it trying to see if a local tester such as CVS, Walgreens, etc. can do this in the necessary time span.  Besides, two days prior to boarding is Thanksgiving for me.  So before I start a whole bunch of cooking, we will be taking COVID tests!

 

I am mentally planning out my outfits.  I only have a 5 night cruise, and formal night is now called dress your best.  I am looking at a few different things, but considering the time span, I am thinking a red dress will be festive since this is around the time they start preparing ships for Christmas.  Oh, who am I fooling?  I just like red.  🙂   Seriously though, I have two red dresses that are dressy, but not long.  One of them I purchased planning on wearing for my cruise in 2020.  The other was a more recent purchase.  Both would be great for dress your best.

 

There is normally a tropical night, and I have a favorite dress I like to wear.  If I don't want to wear that one, I'll make sure I at least go with something that gives a vacation vibe.

 

I know I have a lot of things to try on.  I must have gained your seven pounds, Margaret, plus a few extra.  Sadly, no matter what I am doing I can't seem to shake the weight. I am exercising, and eating right, so I will keep trying.

 

I definitely have a few ideas to work with for which dresses to bring and what I would like to wear during the day.  As you know, I love planning the outfits and all.  I am really just so happy that we will (hopefully) be able to cruise that my focus this time is on just having fun.  

 

Melody, I honestly think that I am not interested in implants.  I think I'm going to get one of those bridge/partial thingies.  It is two molars, since I had a tooth pulled next to this one a good 20 years go.  I have always felt that the first extraction wasn't done right, somehow.  My current dentist said that I probably needed a bone graft back then, and that led to the issue with this tooth, which has bothered me for years  So getting the bone graft done this time (it covered both areas) will hopefully keep me from having more issues.

 

I think I'm going to try on dresses and outfits this weekend!  With me needing to start bringing out cooler weather clothes and put away the summer stuff, I am going to probably leave out what I plan to wear, when it comes to shorts and tops.  I even have an after dinner "wandering" outfit.  That is what we call them...usually, it is some sort of cropped jeans or pants with a cute top.  

[awhfy]

Laurie, it’s amazing how much a bad tooth impacts you (it could be why you aren’t losing weight too). I lost 8 lbs after this last implant removal & bone grafts, it’s the first time in years I’ve actually felt good

 

this was today’s harvest from our daughter’s garden (she’s getting this much & more every day). We’re making spaghetti sauce & roasted tomato soup this weekend. The picture on the right is my winter canning 😉
 

im pulling out my cruise clothes this weekend (35 days!!!). We’re ordering the do it yourself test from Royal this weekend, I’m not chancing getting to Galveston & having an appt cancelled. Melody

[awhfy]

I haven’t seen Anita nor Sally on any of the boards, i surely hope they are ok. Melody

[MJC]

Anita has been busy with her son being home from college this summer and all her house projects. It is disturbing that Sally has been absent given her last post about her health. Hoping she is ok.

[PurpleHays]

13 hours ago, awhfy said:

The picture on the right is my winter canning 😉

 

Now *this* is my idea of canning!

 

[awhfy]

13 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

Now *this* is my idea of canning!

 

I know, right!!

[awhfy]

13 hours ago, MJC said:

Anita has been busy with her son being home from college this summer and all her house projects. It is disturbing that Sally has been absent given her last post about her health. Hoping she is ok.

I’m glad she’s got her son home for awhile, hope they’re enjoying that boat!!

[laurspag]

Oh, that is good news about Anita!  I too was worried.  I'm happy she is getting things done and spending time with her son.  He is probably due to to go back soon so I am sure she will do whatever she can to maximize the time.

 

I'm worried about Sally also.  You all are friends to me, and I think about you all the time.

 

I am down a few pounds, so maybe dental work isn't too awful, lol.  The thing is, I notable go up and down by 5 pounds all the time, so I never know if it will last a day or 5 days.  It's up and down that quickly!

 

I am seriously going to try on some dresses today.  Once I have a few things narrowed down, I might look to pare down choosing by color.  My usual thought process is that I don't want to look the same every single day, so I pack a variety.  In addition, as my wardrobe has become earthier, it is easy to mix and match.  I find that when it comes to dinner, and liking to wear dresses, it can be hard to narrow down the shoes so I might play with that a little bit.  

 

I don't mind packing whatever I want to bring, as you know.  With a five day cruise, it is easy to bring a few alternatives without seriously overpacking, so that is currently where I am at.  

 

I have my vacation week scheduled for when I will work in the den.  The room is a disaster right now, but I decided that I will go through everything now.  I think I already mention that the closet bookshelf fell apart - all the shelves came crashing down.  I patched the little holes and I am going through things now, and fingers crossed, I can get my husband to do the same.  

 

As I get closer, the room will be emptied and then all the painting begins.  I am only bringing back what we seriously want to keep.  I am capable of letting go of things, my husband...not so much.  It will be challenging, but we will get there.  It's exciting to get it done.  I've been going through a lot of things, but there is so much more to do.  

 

I went looking for a level in the garage where my husband keeps the tools, and I found old dog collars in a drawer.  I was certain we got rid of those.  I think he has things hidden!

[PurpleHays]

I have to sneak things out of the house to get rid of them. Hubby wants to have a yard sale to make money since we can't write donations off our taxes anymore. I just. Want. It. Gone!

[awhfy]

We completely cleaned out the garage!!!  Huge job but we got rid of so much!  Les had 5 tubs (big ones) full of hats (he wears the same 3 hats, always). Also had 10 large tubs full of t-shirts from our running days, we’re going through them to see which ones (if any) still have meaning. Cables, cords & computer pieces, old tools, screws…. It’s amazing we still had room for cars!!!  All this to paint the inside of the garage…it looks sooooo much better 

[MJC]

I have four bags for the thrift store and a pile of things for the recycle center in the garage. Three things currently posted on our local FB swap and sell page. Plus four large bags of brush for another dropoff site. It's a constant chore.

 

We are 68 days from cruising. 🙂  I am not thinking about clothes at all yet, and I don't plan on buying anything new. I will have to start wearing heels around the house, though, since I am out of practice!

 

I have had these sitting around since late spring.

 

Melissa McCarthy... I love these colors.

 

 

Spring trend that continues this fall:

 

 

Classic look, would choose different shoes though:

 

 

 

[MJC]

How luscious is this camel leather skirt? and with lilac!!

 

 

This was my favorite, looks too pink here but not IRL... dress from Coco:

 

 

 

This reminds me of the season where it was "declared" that you could wear navy and black together. Khaki and silver... I just don't like such a mix of opposites:

[MJC]

What season am I? 

 

Lisa Bonet, looking washed out in olive green:

 

 

Sarah Silverman, love the burdundy/brown dress but don't you think she's ICE?

 

I don't remember who this is, but my fave is the green in the bottom right corner:

 

[Anita Latte]

I appreciate your concern Laurie and Melody! I'm fine. DS was home for several weeks and I was changing some of my habits to maximize my time with him. I was so happy to see him! It had been almost a year since we had seen him. WOW, he looked great. He had really trimmed down...his hadn't gotten a single hair cut so his hair was long...OMG...it was great fun to see how he had changed in that year. We did our best to have a fun Florida time while he was here...so much seafood! etc.

 

DS wanted to be home to go through getting vaccinated...we managed to get him fully vaccinated before he went back to London so he didn't have to quarantine. There had been talk of that change coming to the UK when he headed home, but it wasn't official until about halfway through his visit. So grateful for that and hope that it doesn't change because right now we're planning on him coming home for the holidays. Very much hoping that this year will be more normal in terms of seeing him...although...we haven't had a "normal" year yet for him at uni, so...hoping this year is what we had hoped it would be like for him to be away at school.

 

I'm so glad that something changed with the boards so that I can sign in again on my MacBook! My MacBook is VERY OLD...we bought it refurbished because I wanted the small 11" one and they didn't make it anymore back then, don't think that has changed, but anyway I've reached the end, I think, of my ability to update the OS...so I'm not able to use some websites. But man I am happy that I'm not typing this on my iPad!

 

SO DH and I have decided to chill on the home improvement projects and just start using our spaces no matter what the finished condition is. So we started using the pantry and the yoga room. It's very exciting to be able to use these spaces even if the walls aren't completely done. They "need" to be textured, primed and painted...and in some places there is still some sanding to do on the basic taping areas...but we're just worn out on the projects...feeling the need for just living and not constantly trying to do these projects. It was so nice while DS was here to just put everything on hold...and when he left DH and I were like...you know what? Let's just keep putting the projects on hold. Let's get into some maintenance mode now and just live in the house for a while. So that's what we're doing.

 

Our focus is turning toward health and fitness. My weight had just skyrocketed...I'm pretty sure my weight was back where it was, if not higher, when I first started trying to be serious about it before I started Zumba. Hence, the yoga room...which really is for any exercise that needs space...whether that's physical therapy of what.

 

I have lost some weight with changes in food. I'm needing new clothes which is fun...but I'm hopeful to keep losing weight so I'm not investing too much in clothing until I feel like I've reached my goal. 

 

I've started really taking care of my skin. I'm super picky about chemicals and what I use on my skin and generally have defaulted to using nothing...yes, seriously...nothing...but recently I've decided to change that. I've found a great cleanser and moisturizer for me. The company is Osmia Organics and the products I have been using are a Rose Clay Facial Soap (soap isn't really accurate because there are no "soap" ingredients) and the Purely Simple face cream. Both are listed for sensitive skin, which I have. I've been using them for about a week now and I like it so much. I do use a serum after washing and before the cream. If anyone is interested: if you sign up for the newsletter you can get a 15% discount on your first order.

 

https://osmiaorganics.com/products/sensitive-skin-face-kit

 

I'm on a serious hunt for a daily SPF. That is so hard. So many chemicals!! And I don't want white face...or clogging pores. But talking about how the sun is fading sofa fabrics etc with friends makes you realize how even if you don't leave your house, you are still dealing with sunlight and should have some SPF on.

 

Laurie, Margaret and Melody...so fun that y'all have cruises to plan for! Personally...I'm not there yet with the wanting to cruise. I'll be very interested to hear how all your cruises are...between y'all you are covering 3 major cruise lines so it'll be interesting to see how your experiences are. Looking forward to some virtual travel!

[awhfy]

Good to hear from you Anita, glad you had so much fun with your son!  House projects will always be there. 
 

We’re getting a third Moderna vaccine this evening. Our GP highly recommended it & our hospital agreed. 
 

fun day, dentist this morning & vaccine tonight. But…

 

Margaret, interesting fashions. I agree about the only color I liked was the bottom right (no clue who any of them were!!)

 

31 days till we cruise, can’t wait. Ordered our Covid vaccine test kits this morning. Melody

[MJC]

I love the colors in this jjill sweater, though I am not buying anything new at the moment. I have so many sweaters!  I will say that in the catalog it reads much warmer.

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/autumn-sky-lightweight-textured-sweater?color=3TS

 

They also have a beautiful red right now. It's called cherry and the catalog photos are very different from the website, which looks much more FIRE to me. Since their store is near my dermatologist, I may pop in next month to have a look.

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/we-pleated-back-midi-dress?color=2QI&searchTerm=pleated back midi

 

 

 

 

 

 

[awhfy]

6 hours ago, MJC said:

I love the colors in this jjill sweater, though I am not buying anything new at the moment. I have so many sweaters!  I will say that in the catalog it reads much warmer.

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/autumn-sky-lightweight-textured-sweater?color=3TS

 

They also have a beautiful red right now. It's called cherry and the catalog photos are very different from the website, which looks much more FIRE to me. Since their store is near my dermatologist, I may pop in next month to have a look.

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/we-pleated-back-midi-dress?color=2QI&searchTerm=pleated back midi

 

 

our jill closed about 60 days ago, so sad. lucky yours is still open

 

 

 

 

[Anita Latte]

Color wise that sweater has my name all over it…but I don’t love the neckline. And it seems a bit boxy. 
 

I’m only buying a few items as I need them. I found a comfortable pair of high waisted shorts at Target. 
 

https://www.target.com/p/women-s-high-rise-shorts-a-new-day/-/A-82281265?preselect=81797290#lnk=sametab

 

The purple was more Air than Earth but I have a few Air shirts and also I can make purple work. I liked them so much I decided to order the dark pink color…I’m hoping it’s more coral than pink but I can make dark pink work too, especially with my concert tees for casual wear. When I ordered the shorts last weekend, they said delivery on Tuesday but they were coming from Oregon and there’s shipping delays…but they should be here tomorrow.

 

DH and I realized our passports expire in December. Holy cow!! Expected 18 weeks for normal processing on renewals!! We’re going to get pictures taken this weekend and get them sent off. I hate renewing my passport and having all that time without it but I guess I’m not going anywhere so it’s not a bad time to do it.