GAAAAAH, what is he removing, your freckles? Those look so adorable on you! I'll bet you do need a cocktail after all that, you poor thing!

Last night my youngest Son told me he is getting married in October! It is going to be a Renaissance Fair themed wedding; everyone is to come in costumes! They are going to roast a whole pig on a spit, etc. It is going to be a BLAST !!!

I've chosen my costume; but haven't ordered it yet = I'm going to be a peasant milk maid!

You should go as an executioner! Carry around a big ol’ axe. Whisper to your future DiL that if she messes up, she’ll get your axe!

I say go as a Witch, and pass out apples to everyone...

Ooo Khajiit likes that one! Do they dare eat them?

Oh my gosh, what fun!! October will be gorgeous, and no sweating through the outfit layers. Congratulations!!

Grits, hope all your bzzzzing heals up nicely.

mALX, congrats to your son and his gf! I love the sound of the venue and your costume sounds perfect. Of course, the Witch would be a pretty cool alternative. Or you could go as a medieval squirrel and pass out nutz.

No way, I want them to live with me! (and I'll have to go to sleep sometime, )





I actually did consider going as Melisandre = the Red Witch from Game of Thrones, lol. I think someone said there will already be at least one of them though.

The Bride to be is coming as an Elf! (ears-wise; not height-wise. She is almost 6' tall).








Poison Apples, huh? BWAAAHAAHAA!!!! *evil laugh*







Doesn't it sound like it is going to be so much fun? I was just looking up some tips for doing a Renaissance Fair wedding; it is going to be a blast !!!







We do have an huge professional costume and party staging place here in town that sells some really awesome costumes and stuff year round (not just at Halloween time) = I plan to do some shopping there; but have also been checking online to get ideas for what I want to do. If I see something I like better than the peasant milk maid, I'll go for it.

Can I dress up as the village idiot and just drool all over the place while mumbling about cabbages and that its almost harvesting season? Wait, did they have village idiots in the Renaissance?

Cabbages...

Oh, and maybe we can have a "Beheading the Cabbage" tournament in the middle of the wedding?


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...010-09-19_2.JPG


Well, we won't have horses, so each contestant would have to ride on another wedding party member...swinging swords, drinking ale, and riding each other = what could possibly go wrong?

Now that I had my covfefe I'm ready to watch to radar. Wear is it?

It is Mother's Day today in the US. Here's wishing a wonderful day to the ladies of Chorrol who claim that very special title!

Indeed! Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers at Chorrol!!!

Yes!


(But shame on all their children who throw away working computers with Chip's Challenge on)

I'll have to show this to him!

Aye, Happy Mothers Day.

That was Awesome! I never knew the history of Mother's Day; thanks for posting that Decrepit!

I no longer have my beloved Cavator. Yes, it's true; today I sold it. It may seem sudden as I have not said anything but the truth is all the work we planned for are finished and I see no reason for it to be with me anymore. I guess I could have kept it but it doesn't feel right to just have it sit there. Sure, the odd job will always surface but not enough to warrant continued ownership. And rest assured; I didn't sell it with a happy heart.

When I got it I had so much work lined up. I saw no end to it. Each year was filled with something and I imagined keeping it forever. And as mALX has said; it has well earned its place with me. However, when our firewood shed was done it all sort of hit me; I need to sell it. It was like a writer finishing a book. It was done. And truth be told; sitting around with nothing to do is not a fate suitable for a fighter like my yellow Cavator. It needs something to do, another adventure to look forward to. And from what I hear, someone's six-year-old son will have a field day

I remember when I got it, how unsure I was operating it and how little I could do. Throughout the years I have gained confidence and skills beyond what I could imagine to the point where I even felt safe working in steep slopes. And all those rocks, all those tree stumps that were in the way are now faded memories. All thanks to that yellow little digger.


-Thank you for your service, Cavator. You have performed above and beyond and I could not have asked for anything more. May your new life bring as much happinness as your old. And if gods are willing, we'll see each other again some day. Until then, take care.


When it first arrived in 2014
Orange Brick Road
In the rain

Very wise of you, mirocu, to send Cavator off to a new life of adventure! May tree stumps, big rocks and gravel paths fill its days.

Inspector Clouseau/ Happy digging, ma leetle yellow friend. /Inspector Clouseau

A good decision, 'rocu. The excavator would pine away if it did not have work to do.

Did the new buyer open its mouth and check the teeth?

*Sniff, sniff...*

"BWAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"





*mALX wipes tear from eye...*


"Bye, beloved Little Yellow 'Cavator..."






She has been a VERY good girl, and brought me a lot of joy seeing what she and you did together. I hope she brings a lot of fantastic new things to her new family.

From what I hear, its immediate days will be about digging for fiber and a pool


Yes. Just sitting around is not good for any of us


Indeed! Well, on one of the buckets anyway. The other one is toothless


I'm sure she will. And I agree; our journey together has been fun and I've enjoyed sharing it here. We've solved so many problems together that before her arrival seemed so impossible. I will treasure the memories and rejoice in the fact she will make someone else happy now

Sorry to hear that you felt your time with the ol’ ‘Cavator has come to an end, ‘Rocu. Khajiit knows you had some good times with it. At least it won’t just sit around.

Happy Midsummer, everyone!

Ooo! Do y’all do something special for that?

Not really. Usual get-together at the cottage.

Let’s hang our enemies from that tree, crow

+1

And in "You Know Your Age? It isn't 'Just a Number'" news...

So we have had some storms over the last few weeks, which have cracked loose some decent-sized limbs from a few trees.

Me, being me, likes fiddling about with trees and sorta kinda "cleaning up the yard" (such as it is.) And since I couldn't find my pruning saw, because of the ongoing house repairs (and possibly ALSO because I didn't bother to look for it), I used my ax. Lopped of some limbs from the most recent blow-down and added them to the brush heap. All was well- until the next morning, when my back/right shoulder had a complaint to register.

OTC pain relievers helped a little, but by the morning (4:30) of the third day, the pain was really starting to spike- to the point of queasiness and cold sweats.

Off to the doctor where I was told I have arthritis in the right shoulder blade as well as a really nice inflammation.

So- thanks 50 plus years of doing lots of manual labor. (Grumble)

Woo Hoo!





Aw, so sorry to hear you are in that kind of pain! At the corner of Kingston Pike and Neyland Drive is an Orthopedic Clinic that has a therapy area for injury recovery = they do miracles with healing up something like this quickly. They are the same orthopedic team that takes care of the Vols; and are fantastic.

They will put hot packs/cold packs/ultrasound treatment/and massages to make you feel brand new again quicker than you can believe possible.

I hope you get feeling better!

Hello all, I've been remiss in attending to posts and folks on this website, and I apologize for not keeping up with everyone. Please be assured that all of you are in my thoughts as I go about my life.

Many of you may remember that back in 2012 I was very ill with a mystery lung condition that was never properly diagnosed. Since then, I've been in a sort of a holding pattern with it - unable to resume my former activity level and dealing with respiratory infections, to which I am now more prone. My pulmonologist left practice in February, and my primary care provider recommended two. I decided on one and met with him for the first time this past Monday. After I presented him with the facts of my case, but not my own conclusions (which had been kind of waved off by my previous pulmonologist), he looked me in the eye and said "You either have some kind of hypersensitivity or some kind of autoimmune disorder." I could have kissed him, because I had been thinking those things for so long. So on Thursday this week I go for a battery of blood tests for hypersensitivity and autoimmune disorders, plus a repeat chest CT scan. I also have a follow up CT scan as well. It should be interesting to see what develops from these latest tests.

Last Wednesday I got another piece of good news - finally I am now working full time instead of part time. Yes, I will be spending less time in ESO, but I will be able to gain more financially and perhaps start rehabilitating my abysmal credit rating which has been in the cellar since my bankruptcy back in 2011. And it also means something I haven't had since 1999 - paid vacation days!

I hope this finds all of you doing well, enjoying your summer (for those of you Down Under, winter), and finding plenty of joy in your lives.

Oh Haute, we were just talking about this a week or two ago! I so hope he has solutions too; and is able to find the diagnosis that will give you both some clear answers! You have been through a lot these past few years!

Thanks for the update, Rider. It is so nice to find a doctor that you click with and who 'gets' you. Hope you continue to make progress.

Good news! I hope this means you will be turning your health (and wealth) around!

Great to see your situation improving haute!

Good to hear from you Rider! Glad things are lookin’ up for you!

My dear haute- I am so happy you are with someone who is now asking the right questions. And the job news is also most excellent.

Here is hoping that things continue to move in a positive direction for you.

Keep moving upwards and onwards, rider!

Ride your e.coli haughtily to good health, Lady Haute! May you recover soon.

Always wondered what the ‘ecole’ part of your name stands for tho

It is from horseback riding. Haute Ecole means "High School", it is part of classical dressage, and focuses on leaping with a horse. What is often called "The Airs Above The Ground". The famous Spanish riding school of Vienna is really noted for it.

As ever with the wisdom of our own Sage. Arigatou, Sabburoza-Sensei. TIL what it means kekeke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51ybp_YFo7I

Having coffee and freshly baked toscakaka

I had to look up the cake - sounds pretty good!

Sorry for being too lazy to translate it


Also; having the same again now

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, as may have been mentioned previously, we are currently without a kitchen. Our cooking options consist of a hot plate, a toaster oven, a charcoal grill (if it isn't raining- see below) and a portable microwave. And all of that means we tend to have to get carryout. But we are a bit... particular about it.

There is one specific pizza we like, which is of course only available in one place- a town about 15 miles from our house. We had an “opportunity” yesterday, due to Mrs. Treydog having cataract surgery at 8 in the morning, with a followup appointment at 3 in the afternoon.

With much driving in the bands of rain, which seemed to wait until we were actually on the road, as opposed to inside when it wouldn't have mattered, we made plans on our second return trip to go to the home of the crusty, cheesy amalgamation we craved. Now, of course, that town is NOT the same one as where the eye surgery was performed- because that would just be too easy.

With her eye reconfigured (insert Six Million Dollar Man sound-effect here), I drove the Mrs. in search of enough pizza to see us through several days- in the rain. It was there- it was hot- we each ate one slice before getting back on the road. Because it is tradition when one has had surgery, we also decided to stop for ice cream. And because I tend to end up wearing the contents of my cone in the best of circumstances, we ate it on the premises of the ice cream parlor. (Key Lime for me- Sea Salt Caramel with Almond for her). The pizzas were safely ensconced on the back seat of the vehicle- Mrs. Treydog's car, I should note.

Homeward bound, through more bands of rain. The which are not too bad, UNTIL we get into our driveway. At which point, the sky opens up and decides to hammer down like the OTHER sort of cataract. We waited until it became clear it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Dashed inside, not bothering with the pizza- because the ice cream had kinda filled us up anyway- and the boxes would be fine there on the back seat, with the other cardboard that the Mrs. had accumulated- for... later.

Once inside, I check the weather and the radar makes it clear that the heavy deluge will not be over until after midnight. (They also had pictures of animals lining up two by two... but... pizza). So I made the dash out into the looming gloom and rain and retrieved our sustenance for the rest of the week. As I dashed back in (again)- I thought I felt something on my arms, but... I melt if I get rained on too much- and also... pizza. Once I put the precious cargo down, I glanced at my arms.

Ants? Ants! The little bitty black ants- skittering and scattering on my arms! Obviously, they had colonized underneath the cardboard in the back seat of the infrequently driven (and less frequently cleaned) car. Back out onto the porch to brush them off. Mrs. Treydog, who always has her priorities in order, ignored me and checked the pizza boxes. More ants! Quick- get the boxes outside! Brush the critters off! Save the pizza! So- in the darkness (with me holding a flashlight) and the rain, we unboxed the pizza, checking each slice for unwanted added ingredients, dumped them onto a baking sheet and tossed the boxes (and their inhabitants) into the yard.

So- if any of ya'll want to come by, we are having Mr. Gatti's pizza- with pepperoni, green olives, and black ants....