All Things EARTH... part 2

[MJC]

2 hours ago, Sailor_Sally said:

Laurie , The dress is pretty . I think a smaller size may not drape as nicely. As for the shoes I would wear them around and keep  the most comfortable pair . The wedding day will be a very long day so comfort wins over style .

 

I agree 100% about comfort. You'll be on your feet a lot. The kitten pumps are my favorite, followed by the first pair with the wrap straps. I like that style myself because the x in front keeps your foot from sliding into the front of your shoe and getting smooshed. The peep toes would be next (depending on whether they will abrade your big toe). I dont wear slingbacks because they have never been comfy for me, just how I'm put together I guess.

 

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Margaret , I hope you get good news from the Orthopedic specialist . Your big trip is coming up.

We leave in just under five weeks, which should be sufficient for a hairline fracture to heal if I behave.  Ironically I found pants for Africa earlier that day,  $6 each with the store closing final clearance. I think the bag cushioned my left hand when I fell. Yay shopping bag. 🙂

 

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Last year at this time we were getting ready for Gary's sons wedding . It was a beautiful wedding at a beach location and then they did a two week honeymoon in Italy . They split at three months .So this has been a crazy year . I will be glad to see 2018 leave .

 

Wow that was fast.

 

The earliest I can see the ortho is next Wednesday, so its just a matter of being patient. This morning I woke with all sorts of new little aches and pains, not unusual I hear. I move around as little as possible because the shoulder I landed on is not playing well with the crutches. I'm pretty sure my pinky has a small break too. We were supposed to have a cocktail party tomorrow for about twenty friends but had to cancel it, and I cleared my schedule until Christmas. Am not sure we'll be able to travel to my sister for the holiday, we'll just have to see how well I'm getting around.

 

I'm sad I missed my last class yesterday. Some of my students will not be back and I didnt get to say goodbye. I had an amazing group this term, enough to have me rethinking retiring so early. The day I fell was a particularly good one. 😞 I do have to squeeze in one day at the office before Africa for meetings and paperwork, and planning for Winter 2019.

[Sailor_Sally]

Margaret , Make sure to keep all your injuries iced .It will help with the swelling .

 

About the wedding we never thought it was a forever marriage but no one expected it to be a three month marriage . They were both 37 and professionals and had lived together for a year and a half before the wedding  .

[awhfy]

3 hours ago, Sailor_Sally said:

Margaret , Make sure to keep all your injuries iced .It will help with the swelling .

 

About the wedding we never thought it was a forever marriage but no one expected it to be a three month marriage . They were both 37 and professionals and had lived together for a year and a half before the wedding  .

That was quick!  Obviously not meant to be. Too bad they didn’t realize it before the wedding. 

[Sailor_Sally]

We were all shocked when it ended so quickly .She moved out into an apartment so when Gary's son sent separation papers she said I thought we were just taking a break .Crazy !

[laurspag]

This website has been giving me conniptions this weekend.  IF you are having trouble also, and get email notifications, this is what I did.

 

I clicked on the link, and when it kept refreshing over and over, I clicked on the 'X" to stop the download.  Then I was able to move along as planned.  It's just that it kept refreshing over and over, and nothing else I was doing would stop it.

 

The dress is much prettier in real life.  I know that I'm not posing or wearing the right things underneath, etc.  The nice thing is, jersey is usually unforgiving but the fit is so nice that you don't see any kind of lines or anything.  That is partly due to the size.

 

I am a bit partial to the slingbacks and the ankle strap sandals.  As it turns out, I was looking through my closet and I would get a great deal of use from both pairs, if  decide to keep them.  The pointed toe kitten heels were my favorite initially, and i loved the lace.  I still love them, but I felt like the detail was lost in the high low dress.  A thought that I had is that we have a few odd events that they could be ideal for, outside of a normal party.

 

Each year, the bank has what we call an appreciation reception.  It is is nighttime event, and it is held in a very nice location.  Because we are representing the bank and greeting real estate agents and other real estate professionals, there is a need to dress "work like" so I make sure I wear a matching suit, but I dress it up.   I can imagine these lace kitten heels, with my Calvin Klein heathered khaki suit, and some sort of nicer top.  It is a mid tone, not light.  A dark suit is best, but I currently have been unable to find one.

 

I did find a teal like color suit in WHBM, at 40% off.  Although it still feels expensive to me, the sale made it much more reasonable so I ordered it.  Myself, I am all for wearing it.  There is always a lot of black worn, but there are also people like me, looking to wear a different color. 

[laurspag]

This is the suit, in heathered taupe.  It is warmer and a little darker in person.  Unfortunately, the pants don't fit me nice like that.  Everything these days is made curvier, so to fit my waist, they tend to fit baggier in the hips.

 

https://www.dillards.com/p/calvin-klein-two-button-suit-jacket/506074572?googleShop=Y&cm_mmc=GooglePLAs-_-Vendor+-+Calvin+Klein+-+Shopping-_-g-_-null&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq9HojsmB3wIVkLrACh3gFAJFEAQYBCABEgIoKvD_BwE

Edited December 2, 2018 by laurspag

[laurspag]

This may show you the color better, depending on your monitor.

 

https://www.calvinklein.us/en/two-button-heather-taupe-suit-jacket-14701706-136?pla=pla_00700289102777&cvosrc=cse.google.00700289102777&source=CAPLA_DF&cid=ppc_ggl_00700289102777&cvo_crid=206978213924&cvo_campaign=PLA | Brand | Womens Apparel&cvo_placement=all\female\sale-price\apparel+%26+accessories\clothing\outerwear&cvo_adgroup=Outerwear&cvo_device=c&ogmap=PLA|BRAND|GOOG|STND|c||FEMALE|PLA_Brand_Womens Apparel|Outerwear||ken=kid:c3988ad0-d80d-477c-b869-1ddc8194e1a0||330663796989|8690770|4800068&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwaXbycmB3wIVlbXACh3tpQ_7EAQYBCABEgKJbfD_BwE

[MJC]

Laurie, that suit is a great find! Love the color. I bet it will work in any season depending on the weight. You and I seem to have enough dressy events in addition to cruising that having several pairs of fancy shoes is actually a good thing. My motto is if you find a comfortable pair you should grab them. I never seem to find them when I'm desperate. I have bony feet, too, so I go through shoes quickly from the inside out.

 

I had the same trouble last night with CC loading and loading and loading. I thought it was because I was using my tablet and maybe didnt have the right settings. I'm getting CC notifications on my phone since the redesign too, and can't figure out how to turn them off. I'm not super techie but I can usually deal with stuff like that. I can blame on my recent head injury for now. 🙂 The side of my face is a beautiful shade of green today.

 

Thanks for the reminder about icing. Yesterday I was very diligent about ice and Advil and it helped so much. My neighbor is so sweet, she brought us a big veggie plate and some homemade pumpkin muffins, and that helped a lot too!

 

Here are some nice colors from Orvis.

 

https://www.orvis.com/p/brushed-brocade-print-tee/2h8h

 

https://www.orvis.com/p/long-sleeved-everyday-silk-shirt/0k3k

[laurspag]

Christmas party night.  Not a good color for me, but I e been trying to find something with sleeves for a while, so it will d

[awhfy]

Laurie, I like that dress, & I like the color on you. It’s not as red as you’d like, but it is very pretty. I love the lace sleeves

[Sailor_Sally]

Very pretty dress ! That color looks good on you .

[Joby]

Trying to catch up here a little. DH's mom died last week and we have an impromptu road trip coming up, so it has been busy. We're driving from Denver to San Jose in 3 days and stopping at Arches NP and Las Vegas along the way. Also going to spend a day and night in Monterey, CA at the end. We're excited!

 

Margaret, I'm glad you got the bad luck out of the way before Africa--now the trip will be smooth sailing😁 All kidding aside, I hope you're healing and on the mend.

 

Laurie, you're so meticulous in planning your wardrobe. I wish I was a little more but, I pretty much just throw on a top and a bottom and go 😂 Now, when it comes to actually planning a trip, activities, etc. I'm meticulous there!

 

 

 

 

[MJC]

Kim, my sympathies to your DH. Losing your mom is always a hard thing. Please travel safely and rest in the comfort of family.  ::hug::

 

[laurspag]

You know what is funny?  I'm not nearly as detailed with my work clothes.  Sort of.  The thing is, we have always been so conservative, and jackets have never done anything good for me.  Then I struggled with getting well fitting pants.  (it's always cool, so I prefer pants over skirts and dresses.)

 

These days, we are trying to loosen up a bit, with the exception of certain meetings such as board meetings.  I need to try on more things and figure out what will work for my figure and still look right in the work place.  We have one lady who is very petite, and today she was wearing the cutest pants...they had a tie at the waist, and were ankle length.  They had a nice narrow fit without being tight or like "skinny" pants.  There is a line where pants go from looking tapered to looking like leggings. I have a few pairs of pants on order from WHBM with the sale they were having, so I will see how that works out. 

 

But dresses.  Vacations.  I love getting clothes just right for those things.  I feel like I have more freedom, you know?

 

What I am hoping to do with work clothes is be able to remain professional looking but to appear more polished, and more like myself.

 

Margaret, I hope you are feeling better!  I've been thinking about you a lot.

 

I have two pairs of shoes now, and I can choose which pair I want for the wedding.  I am almost positive I am keeping both, but I am wondering if the lace kitten heel pumps would be a good thing to add.  I may wait, but I have some ideas about different styles of shoes I want to look for.  That is another thing about the whole pants deal...Sometimes, I will think a pair of pants will work and then I realize they look weird with some of my shoes.  Often, you aren't just changing up one thing because you have to think about how everything works together.

 

As of right now, we have definite plans (tickets purchased, hotel reserved) for Boston in June, a week after the wedding.  Then we have a 6 day cruise out of Bayonne at the beginning of August.   The only other thing on the agenda right now is an overnight trip to Buffalo, about 4 hours away, in March.  I am going to attempt a concert.  I think with adjustments to the volume of my hearing aid, I can make this work.  In a worst case scenario, I won't follow it too much but i will be experiencing it with those I love.  We are going to see Fleetwood Mac, which has been on my bucket list for many, many years.

 

I will actually need to lower the volume on my hearing aid in order to try and hear without being overwhelmed by the noise.

 

I was thinking that we can make the best of the long winter by doing some fun things.  Once again this year, we are going to Christmas at the Palace, and I am hoping to get to Lights on the Lake soon.  My husband's birthday is in January, so maybe we can stay overnight somewhere near by.  Quite a while back, we went to Glenora Wine Cellars and it was soooo nice.  But we live in the Fingerlakes area, so lake effect snow is always a possibility, and it was the last time we went there.

[Sailor_Sally]

Kim,Sorry to hear about your MIL . It is never easy to lose anybody and the holiday season makes it worse . Take care !

[pacruise804]

Prayers for safe travels, Kim.  My sympathies to you and your family.

[awhfy]

Ah Kim, please hug your DH (& yourself) for us. Never easy to lose a parent, but even harder at the holidays. Our best to you & your family.

 

Be safe on your drive. If you’re going I70 through Colorado please be careful, the mountains have had a boatload of snow & there have been many delays. Melody

[MJC]

 

So happy!!!!!

Ortho says no fracture, just badly bruised. I can walk on it with crutches until I get some strength back, plus 4 weeks of PT, and I'll be good to go. To Africa!!!  Yippee!!!

[Sailor_Sally]

What Luck ! No fracture ! Africa here you come !

[Joby]

Thanks so much for the thoughts, well wishes and prayers everyone. DH's mom was 95 and in failing health, so not unexpected.

 

I'll shoot for a pictodiary but, we'll see :) Wish we were going back to Africa though.......

 

 

[awhfy]

Yay Margaret!  Now rest up & heal for Africa.

 

We’re doing cookies at our son’s house on Saturday. Much easier to do here, but he wants to host.  At least I’ll get really good tamales out of it! & a lot of fun with the grands.

 

Les had laser surgery to correct the retinal tears this morning. Totally unexpected, went for a checkup & doc said have you had anything solid to eat this morning?  Les said banana & coffee. Doc said walk next door to surgery center, I’ll meet you there.  Why asks Les?  Doc says, if I correct this right now you won’t get a retinal detachment this weekend. Okay then!  Off we go. Two hours later he’s home cosy on the couch all fixed. I’m glad we had the very first appt & I do feel sorry for the patients after us that got delayed. Getting old sure ain’t for sissies!  Melody. 

[MJC]

Melody, how is Les doing?

 

I'm happy to report I feel a bit better every day. A friend sent me Living Forever Chic, have any of you read it? I think it fits our streamlining theme here, though I haven't started it yet. I didn't read her first book. I also got What Your Clutter is Trying to Tell You from the library. We've been binge watching Altered Carbon and rewatching Glee. I got some beautiful flowers from my office and DH got some delicious dark chocolates from a client, so it hasn't been too terrible around here. I start PT tomorrow and I see the hand specialist on Wednesday. 

 

I haven't done anything for Christmas yet. Tonight is the last night for Hanukkah candles, so I think we'll get our tabletop tree out tomorrow. I have to do all my shopping online this year. 😞 It's a bit disappointing because I was actually in the mood to enjoy Christmas this year. I'm looking forward to our visit to FL... and there are more people to wait on me down there. 😉

 

NYE with friends will be all about comfy for me this year. Time to take a peek in the closet and see what will work. What about everyone else? Any special holiday outfits? 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2018 by MJC

[awhfy]

Les is doing great!  His vision is back to 20-20. Our cookie extravaganza went well & tamales (what an intense process to make them) were amazing. Today is a concert & dinner downtown. Whoever said “you’ll have so much extra time when you’re retired” was just crazy!  Meanwhile “baby, it’s cold outside!”, high of 17 today, brrr. The concert clothes will be turtleneck sweater (it does have glitters), heavy slacks, boots & Michelin man parka with warm hat & gloves. I’ll try to get a picture. Melody

[laurspag]

Margaret, I'm so happy to hear that you are starting to feel better.  Sometimes, we forget how hard it can be to come back from injuries.   Do you have a timetable for when you will be able to get around more, or do you need to wait for your upcoming doctor visits to find out?

 

Melody, how is Les doing from his surgery?  I'm absolutely shocked they did the surgery on the spot like that.

 

I had a doctor's appointment myself this week.  It was just my routine thyroid blood work but I took the opportunity to speak with my doctor about the neuroma in my foot that has been acting up.  He said that many people respond well to the cortisone shots, but that it's hard to say how many I may need or how long it will last.  I told him I'd like to give it another week, and I will stop back if it is still flaring up.  He was very informative, because he suffers from the same issue.

 

My main dress up of the holiday season is my work Christmas party, and I already posted pictures from that.  That was a great dress to wear.  Very comfortable, and the sleeves gave me a little something to ward off the chill.  The only thing I'd change about it is the color, but it worked out overall.

 

Tonight we are going to Christmas at the Palace, which we have done yearly for a few years now.  It is wonderful to hear the orchestra and just get into the spirit of things.  I rely on the latter, but the acoustics there are such that I hear everything fairly decently.  Last year, I fussed and fussed over what to wear, knowing that I should dress nicer, but not necessarily dressy.  We saw everything, including a lot of jeans.  Overall, people dressed casually, but a nice casual so it was mostly casual non denim pants and sweaters.  I have a pair of "skinny jeans" in a caramel color that I wore last year.  I think I will do the same today, I just have to figure out the sweater.  The lighting is dim there throughout the event, so a dark navy jeans would look no different than navy pants, to be honest.  I have a pair of bootcut jeans that are a very dark navy...they may look dressier than the skinny caramel colored jeans.  One thing about an evening event too - I prefer something dark.  The whole outfit doesn't have to be dark, but some of it.  So if I wear caramel bottoms, I would prefer a darker top of some sort.

 

In the big scheme of things, I could wear just about anything as long as it isn't sloppy!

 

Christmas eve, I work until 3:00 then we head to my daughter's house.  She and her fiancé want to host Christmas eve dinner for his family and us, so I will bring some food and head over.  It is casual.  Christmas day, we have everyone in and out and it is a casual appetizer style party, also fairly casual. 

 

New Year's eve, I work until 3:00 again.  It's just us at home, eating homemade pizza and the like.  So super casual! 

 

I think this is one of the reason I enjoy the events where I plan my clothing so much.  Even if it isn't for dressing up, it is about planning what to wear to fit the occasion. 

 

We have an ugly Christmas sweater day coming up at work.  You have no idea how hard that was for me...not one earth color to be found, lol.  But I found a gray sweater with a cat on it, with a three dimensional  red and white scarf.  That will do, even though I don't like stripes!

 

I do a lot of shopping online.  Once I decide what I'm looking for, I'm all about finding the best deal.

 

[Sailor_Sally]

Glad to hear everybody is on the mend . We put up our tree yesterday . For the first time in almost 20 years it is an artifical  tree .It does look gorgeous and having the lights wired in makes it pretty easy  .We have several parties to attend for the holidays so I have been looking in my closet . I have several things that will work for both casual and slightly dressy parties .I even found a JJill red velvet top that will go nicely with pants .We usually host a large Christmas Eve party but Gary's son is doing it this year .New Years Eve we meet friends for dinner and a few drinks and then go home .