<p>Hello everyone! It’s been so long since I’ve been on here. I just read everything and am now caught up. Thank God spring is finally here. We are all fine. Odessagirl getting lots and lots of sub teaching jobs. She is definitely much more confident about having her own classroom than she was when she graduated last May. I hope, hope, hope she will get a full-time teaching position this fall. It’s just about time for her to move out of our home, I feel. She needs to be on her own, but I will miss her terribly. Hubby is doing well. We have been working in the yard and flower beds a lot. I love not having a “real” job - I call it “in between jobs”. I have the time to just be creative and do things that I want to do. I bought items from Goodwill and Salvation army and we made a daybed on the screened-in back porch. The back is two white wicker headboards ($32) and the sides are two This-End-Up headboards ($10). We bought a new mattress and quilt to cover it, etc. It is so wonderful. Between hubby and Odessagirl, someone is sleeping on it every night. I have also made beautiful curtains for the west side out of drop cloths and embroidered sheer curtains. I have been sewing swing cushions, pillows out of old denim dress or quilts, etc. I am very happy these days. Um…what else? Down-to-Earth - I hope your surgery was a success and you are feeling better and better. Missypie - So sorry for what your Mom (and you) are going through. I hope your D2 gets her head on straight in the near future. NorthMinn - I want to come to your lake house and meet you and do crafting together. Shaw - as always, you are the best Dad and hubby. KMC - Sorry to hear about your uncomfortable feeling concerning your S’s GF. I miss Sabaray, too. Fallgirl - Glad you spend time with your parents and that your Dad is feeling pretty good right now. Boyx3 - Sounds like you are enjoying your move to DC. Countingdown - Sounds like you are busy with your own quilting and doll making these days. Sorry if I forgot anyone - Oh, RM - your boss sounds like the pitts. </p>
<p>Oh, and I spent a week in WV with my MIL and SIL. SIL was just home from knee replacement surgery and I went to help out in taking care of MIL (with Parkinson’s dementia and heart failure, etc.) I was really ready to leave once the week was up, homesick, and sick of their stupid financial decisions. I tried to correct some things for them about the people living in their “old” house and not paying monthly. These people were $1,700 behind and my SIL and MIL didn’t EVEN KNOW how much they were owed. Just stupid, stupid, stupid. It is actually a deed of trust and the people are buying the house from them for $500/month. So I drafted a letter, worked on it with MIL and SIL, edited it, and mailed it Certified Mail to the people living there and also sent a copy to the lawyer who did the Deed of Trust. As I suspected, the rental people came to SIL and MIL in tears begging for more time, etc. Gr…
And the other issue with my stay - I didn’t feel like SIL was able and willing to keep MIL up to date with the meds she needs to take 4 times each day. SIL always forgets. BS! Once I was home, I FB’s my BIL and let him know my concerns. Sure enough, 17 days later, MIL is hospitalized. I was so angry. If SIL were hired to care for MIL, she would have been fired. Well, probably not. That family is from the “lets put our heads in the sand” school. If they don’t admit to a problem, it surely doesn’t exist. Okay, end of my rant of the day.</p>
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<p>In contrast to my family of origin, which knows the problem exists, moans over it forever, and never does a thing about it…Either way, you’re right…Grrrr…</p>
<p>Older D’s semester in Budapest is over. She and her friend are heading to Greece for a week…a day in Athens, then island hopping for the beaches. And here we all sit…not in Greece, not on the beach.</p>
<p>I think the Facebook thing is basically a way for people to use their Facebook accounts and post on here… not sure how that translates to “liking” a post from a non-facebook logged in person.</p>
<p>Missy - I am so jealous of your older D! How fun… Greek beaches at 21… absolutely jealous. I never did anything like that either when I was 20 nor yet!! </p>
<p>Eddie… you are very handy! You would have loved my Mom’s treasure trough of material. Seriously… all sizes, kinds, patterns, solids, sail cloth. The woman was always one project behind another project. </p>
<p>Started watching fargo. Not sure how long I will last, but tonight it will only last till Weds night TV… cannot wait to watch Modern family tonight. Love Cam and Mitchell.</p>
<p>Whoo-hoo, EddieO! So happy to read your post!! Welcome back!
So jealous of Greece! My nephew and his fiance will be honeymooning there in October. They are getting married in June… can’t wait!
Today is D’s b-day. How can my baby girl be 23??? Poor thing is still at work but is having a huge celebration with friends this weekend. BF is in from Alaska. (I’m beginning to wonder if something is happening there!)
We’ll see her on Sunday with her brother. and his GF. She wants to go to an Italian restaurant on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx. Pasta here I come!</p>
<p>So nice to hear from you, eddieo!
Happy Birthday to woody D and (one day late) to NM. I got a Happy Birthday phone call from my MIL this morning, and then a text from my brother - my birthday is actually tomorrow. My family and I are going to Greece in July, but I had to wait until I was 57 to get there! </p>
<p>eddieO, all sounds good!..other than stupid family problems. I would love to have a daybed on a bug free porch. I loved sleeping on my cousins’ sleeping porch while I was growing up.</p>
<p>NN–Happy Birthday!</p>
<p>DTE–wishing for a full and speedy recovery for you.</p>
<p>MP–two of my three did Greece after European semesters. They absolutely loved, loved, loved the beaches on Santorini. Of course, I have never been so lucky…</p>
<p>Shopping for our condo renovations…the dollar signs are getting scary. We don’t want to spend more than necessary–we also don’t want to cut any corners we might regret later. NOT fun. I hate making these kinds of decisions.</p>
<p>Lots of birthdays! Happy Birthday to woody’s D, Happy Belated Birthday to NM . And Happy Birthday, FallGirl. Hope you have a great day tomorrow!</p>
<p>Actually, I was thinking how wonderful that meal sounded, northminn and didn’t wish you a Happy B-day!!
And a shout out B-day wish to FallGirl! Greece… I would love it but H is dead set against it. [-O< </p>
<p>Happy Birthday Fall Girl and Woody D, and NM. Nice to hear from you Eddie.
I think we should all celebrate on a beach in Greece. Who’s sending the bus?</p>
<p>I am fighting a wicked cold…and losing. I haven’t had one for a year and a half. I think this one only took hold because I allowed myself to get run down from that big event last week. I need a rest, but you know what they say about rest and the wicked :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the birthday wishes.
Hope you feel better, kmc.
I would love to take the bus to Greece with the group here onboard.</p>
<p>Happy birthday to all. Just got off an overnight flight to London. At the lounge eating and then on to Germany. Give been to greece but Greek isles are on my list. This summer, I think we will hit Croatia and Montenegro. Maybe Serbia. I’ve always wanted to go tonprague but I think we will do this in another trip. </p>
<p>Happy early birthday FallGirl! I was born on Mother’s Day many years ago so my birthday tends to also be celebrated with Mother’s Day.</p>
<p>missy…how exciting for D! Greece! I would love to be there soaking up some sun.</p>
<p>eddieo…Oh, how I have missed you! Sounds like you have been so very busy in a good way. Happy that you are happy with the Spring sunshine. I have been busy redecorating and freshening things up for the looming wedding. Invites were mailed out yesterday. Still working on making a digital scrapbook from my fall trip to Paris and London. I really prefer traditional scrapbooking. D2 made me the cutest bday present! She painted terra cotta pots with chalkboard paint and then wrote the name of herbs on the side with the herb planted in them. So cute! I have the template ready to make the seating chart for the wedding and then I have to make table numbers and place cards. So much to do!</p>
<p>Can you believe I am waiting for the dryer repair guy to come? The venting has come apart that they just installed after our carbon monoxide scare. I am not a happy camper! D2 noticed it again thank heavens! After he leaves I head to the lake for the weekend. </p>
<p>Oh Nmn - this was us last year at this time. The good news was that my SIL was doing all the creative making the table “numbers” which were actually places, the programs, signage to the reception (since it was a little stroll of a walk), menus for the tables, etc. And while I started the seating, my D took it over and mixed everyone up completely,which everyone loved even though I was honestly skeptical. Each side had a parent table and we had one grandparent table since my SIL has none living. So glad my Mom was well enough to attend… Gosh, has it been a year already since we did all this? And no, I can’t believe the dryer is an issue. Seriously… PITA for sure.</p>
<p>We STILL haven’t made an offer on the house. Not sure what’s behind H’s procrastination on this score - although it is a little more than we want to afford. But it is kind of buried in that it’s not on Trulia nor does it show up on a normal search using some other websites. On zillow it’s still at the original price - not even reflecting the reduction or the current “Inquire” tag. Not sure why they would do that but like I said, it’s not being marketing properly in my mind which makes it a hidden gem, really! Still… to stall on the offer when it might be the case they don’t even counter seems a missed opportunity. Kind of frustrating because I will leave in a month with no where to come back to!! And for all my love of the nook, it’s not big enough to call a family home. It’s a nook!</p>
<p>D2 will come home for a few weeks before she leaves for New Zealand and not only do we not have a room for her, we don’t even have a bed! Not sure how we are going to resolve this as there is barely enough room here for the two of us, let alone three! Still, H&I are having so much fun together these days that I hate to rock the boat with pushing him to pull the trigger.</p>
<p>Moda, I sympathize…actually empathize is more like it. But as a cautionary tale, I will tell you that mch dragged his feet on this house…and we lost it to a quicker bidder. That I remained tenacious in jinxing that other deal and that we remained a backup cash offer was the only thing that saved us…and as you know, meant we eventually got the house.</p>
<p>Mch is pretty quick to say today that we made the buy of a lifetime and he’s delighted to be here…but frankly, left to him, we’d not have it :)</p>
<p>If you feel sure about this house, I would not play around In this market. My friend listed something Sunday, had 18 showings Monday and sold firm above ask after multiple offers with pre-approval yesterday. </p>
<p>Ask him to decide tonight. Period. As long as you can live with a no. There’s no point in delaying. You can’t do the inspection until you have an accepted offer. There’s really nothing to what-if about. That is, IF you can see it ;)</p>
<p>News flash! The sellers of the gross neighbor house let my aunt out of the contract. She - being the proverbial piece of work - is bemoaning the loss of $1500 in earnest money, but it’s a great outcome for her.</p>
<p>Another “last” to celebrate - my last booster club board meeting ever tonight!</p>
<p>MP–So glad she was able to get out of the contract. And I don’t miss all of the booster club meetings that I used to attend although I do miss some of the people I got to know ; they sort of faded away with the end of my sons’ sports careers. But 7 years of boosters was enough! </p>
<p>I would love to have our bus take all of us on a tour of each other’s nooks and houses in fun locations. I love imagining all of these in my mind’s eye.</p>
<p>Rant warning.
I love S, but I will not miss the constant mess and piles of “stuff” that seem to be all over my house. Had to pick up this AM (cleaning ladies coming) and it is the usual game of putting everything into piles on the dining room table, the coffee table and his bed. There seems to be paper (school papers, receipts, forms, etc) everywhere. Can’t get rid of any of it until school is over and unlike D’s HS, his school does not wind down after AP’s. They will keep it going full on until the bitter end (senior finals till June17).</p>
<p>Aside from that I had a nice birthday. Decent day at work , then we ordered in and had cake and ice cream after dinner. D came home for the weekend so we are all here.</p>