It's da shizzle; one phonecall and all is taken care of asap

Oh no, Guests on top of all this?

We had to re-plumb every pipe in that house I bought my son; it hadn't been winterized, and every pipe shattered when we turned the water on. We went with PEX instead of copper or steel pipes. Cost less; and they can't corrode except at the fittings.



Oh no, this sounds like the water damage was extensive! Keeping my prayers up for you and the Grits abode that everything comes out better than you had hoped!

Like I said when you were telling me about this in game, you are more than welcome to borrow my Pariah’s for the family Thanksgiving dinner! Fires are lit, water is where it belongs, and the tables are loaded with yummies. Hope you don’t mind the MidWinter Tree being up . . .

For anyone interested: Bethesda is having a huge sale on Fallout 76 right now = good time to test it out!!!

My youngest Son got married today in a "Renaissance" style wedding. Everyone came in costume; mostly Renaissance; but actually all costumes were welcome. The ceremony was performed by Gandalf the Grey; I saw a few Harry Potters in the crowd (and on the wedding cake). My older son came as a giraffe at the insistence of my younger son (he instantly wanted a giraffe at his wedding the second he heard about the costume). One man came in his bathrobe and pajama bottoms, another came in a dress and blonde wig, lol.

I noticed (fake) daggers everywhere; which I assumed just was in keeping with the theme of the wedding; but no. The music suddenly changed to "The Rains of Castamere, " and suddenly all the groomsmen grabbed up the daggers and started fake stabbing everyone while the Photographer got shots of everyone getting (fake) "killed," while the "victims" all made appropriate "stabbed" faces; lol. (AKA = one of my Son's favorite scene from Game of Thrones: The Red Wedding, lol)

There was an enormous feast after the wedding: Cheesecake Factory catered it for free as a wedding present; plus some very great home cooking by numerous women and great grilling by men. (and Cheesecake Factory also gave my Son his promised promotion to management for another wedding present).

The whole wedding was just plain fun; even the vows they wrote each other to say at the ceremony were "down to earth;" nothing fancy but promises they could keep = really nice.

I'm glad they had a good Photographer; because my pics came out terrible (and once it got dark; my camera refused to take another shot, grrrrr). It actually was lit; they had gold Christmas style lights around all the trees and around the tent roof inside edge (and the house) - it just wasn't enough light for the camera to pick up light from.

Anyway; great times were had by all; and I got to see my older son for a day (he got "Leave" from the military to come to the wedding).



"The Rains of Castamere"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nvsGz70ZT0


"The Red Wedding" strikes again!


https://imgur.com/Cb9yL7f


My two Sons (without the Giraffe head, lol). = not sure what happened to the picture; I think I moved the camera, urgh.


https://imgur.com/dni7iqq

Congrats to the king!

All hail The King!!


Seriously, it does sound like quite a bit of fun. It also reminds me of this girl I dated many moons back, she was into this stuff too. As for me, I settled with a Mongolian style bow


Congrats to your son!


(unless he's the one throwing away Chip's Challenge... )

How neat, mALX. It looks like it was such fun. Grats to your younger son and new daughter in law, and so nice that you were able to see your younger older son as well. Woot!

Edit: Oops - older son.

@mALX
Was there much drinking? Seems like there should’ve been much drinking!!

Congratulations to your Son, mALX!

Sounds and looks like a unique wedding, definitely very unusual and memorable.

@ Everyone: Thank you all so much for your well wishes for my Son! There were close to four hundred guests; all of the Cheesecake Factory "family" came; plus friends and relatives from all over the U.S. The morning news actually mentioned "A very unusual party in South Knoxville" that I thought was going to be about my Son's wedding; but as it turns out that was a joke by the station over the Vols winning the game.

@ SubRosa: He actually did look like a king, too! He had that kind of rotund thing going on so he actually looked a bit "Henry the VIII-ish, lol). Thank you!

@ Lopov: Yes, much more fun and relaxed. It was a total blast; and most weddings are dreaded to go to as guests. All the guests had a great time at this one, lol.

@ Mirocu: No, the older one threw Chips Challenge away (the taller one wearing the red hat in the picture).

On the Bows = My Son had just mentioned wishing he had thought to have Bows/Arrows around before the ceremony; but after the wedding (when the food and drink started flowing) two people came in dressed as Archers with Bows of their own for the reception afterward.

@ Khajiit: Oh yeah there was a lot of drinking! There was bottles of wine everywhere; plus a bartender with a full bar in a side tent. It was the most fun wedding I've ever been to!

@ Acadian: Yes, it was so nice getting to see my older son; even if just for that one day! He had just returned from deployment in Korea; and the Army doesn't usually grant Leave for family stuff; but somehow he managed to get it for his brother's wedding (though just for the two days; one of which was taken up in the driving here and back). He left in the middle of the night last night to drive back to the Base.

That's a lot of guests, weddings in our parts have between 50-100 hundred guests at most, with most weddings having less than 50, sometimes only close relatives are invited. We had close to 90 guests at our wedding and it was considered a huge wedding. The further south from Slovenia you travel, the more the number of guests increases, in countries like Northern Macedonia and Albania it can be up to 400 or 500 guests. If a wedding there takes place in a village or a small town, usually all residents are invited, so it can also be up to 1000 guests. Weddings there usually last a few days, well the actual wedding is on one day only, but the party goes on for 2 or 3 days but it can be up to one week. I was on one such wedding some years ago, it was very exhausting. In Slovenia, a wedding and a party, if there's a party involved, last 1 or 2 days at most.

Luckily; the guests came in shifts; though. For the actual Wedding itself there were not as many; though many of the guests had to stand to watch the ceremony because there weren't enough bales of hay to sit everyone = but as the evening progressed and people began getting off work they kept showing up till the numbers swelled; and the whole house and property were filled with people. They had a very long wooded drive; and the whole way out there were cars pulled in between trees where people made their own parking spots and walked in to the house, lol. We saw people emerging through the woods throughout, lol.


The weddings you described above where they celebrate for three days to (up to three weeks) = yes; where I grew up that is how the Weddings were done. The ceremony was the small part; the celebrating afterward was the big event, lol.

mALX, congratulations to your son and daughter-in-law! What a fantastic idea for a wedding, it sounds like amazing fun!

Thank you so much, Grits! It really was a blast; absolutely the most fun wedding I've ever been to! Most people dread being invited to weddings; but people were really happy to come to this one, lol.

Even if it hadn't been my son's wedding and reception; (if that hadn't been part of it) = it was the most fun party I've been to in years even without that part of it. The wedding vows were like the icing on the cake; just a really fantastic part of the party.

It really seemed to ease the tension off the Bride for "everything to be perfect," too. She was the most relaxed Bride I've ever seen before the ceremony, lol.

Glad the wedding was such a blast!

I'm glad you got to enjoy a wedding and the reception afterward so much, mALX. I usually find such events to be a drag, and typically get drunk as fast as I can so it's not so painful

I have news of my own. My new pulmonologist ran a full battery of tests to determine the cause of my chronic lung disease, like me he felt it was either hypersensitivity or immune. The biggest thing to come out of that is that I have nearly zero antibodies, and minimal reaction to the pneumonia vaccine they gave me at the same time. Because it was not only IgG that was severely low, but also my IgA, he sent me to an immunologist.

Saw this immunologist for the first time today. First she said my pulmonologist already did such a thorough job of testing for everything she didn't see the need for further tests. Then she diagnosed me with Common Variable Immunodeficiancy. She had me fill out paper work to enroll in a trial for subcutaneous IgG infusion that I can do at home on my own. It may take up to three weeks before I'm approved and get the equipment/drugs I need to do this. She did give me a flu shot, because as she put it, a minimal reaction is better than no reaction at all. In other words, if I don't try, I can't win.

And she thinks the reason I've been so tired and achy these past few weeks is because I'm fighting a flu infection. She thinks I should stay on prophylactic antibiotics for the time being.

Overall, I feel better just having a diagnosis, even a vague one like CVID. It sure explains a lot of what I had been seeing/experiencing since 2012.

That sounds rough. I do hope you get what you need as soon as possible.


Best wishes, h-e-r!

Hopefully this means you can start to turn things around and start getting better in the future.

Rider, I hope this diagnosis is the start of big improvements for you.

On balance sounds like good news, Rider. As you say, simply to have a diagnosis is a good step. Hope this is a turning point for you.

Aye, it sounds like a very possible step in the right direction. Had my own pulmonologist visit not long ago. To the plus, my situation has not worsened. On the other hand, it's no better. Like you I'm on antibiotic doses, in my case one 10-day treatment per month 'if all goes well,' with additional 10-day treatments as needed in case of flareups. Had a number of those recently. Leastwise I assume that's what they were. Scary thing about my condition is that flareup symptoms are very like those of heart problems. I've long said the time will come when I experience what I assume is a flareup, medicate it as such, and drop dead from stroke or heart attack. Such is life. Speaking of which, I've a heart echo-cardiogram schedule early December. Am anxious to see how it turns out, more so than in the past, as I've felt rundown lately.

Aw, Haute! I'm so sorry you have been going through all this. I really hope this Doctor's diagnosis is the answer you have needed to finally get back to having your life return to normal again. You will stay in my prayers until then, dear friend.







I worry about you as much as I do Haute. I'm glad the VA is giving you a Cardiologist to keep up with what is going on with you. I was going through the same thing before they put me on medicine to regulate my heartbeat; it has made all the difference for me. Hope they find the issue and fix whatever is causing it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all at our Chorrol family!!

-Happy American Thanksgiving!

Woot! Everyone to mALX's house for dinner!

From what I've read from her, she makes the smashiest of dinner parties!

Haha!

Don't miss apartment life. My neighbors are quiet. Apartments I always had loud, obnoxious neighbors.

????


Did a conversation take place that I missed?


Okay everyone who DIDN'T come to eat Thanksgiving dinner with me; we had:


Turkey
Ham
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Corn Bread Casserole (Mmmmm!)
Candied Yams/sweet potatoes
Pumpkin Pies
Red Velvet Cake
Corn Bread
Rolls
Banana Pudding
Banana Bread
Banana Nut Muffins

I hope Happy Thanksgivings were had yesterday!

I am about to start heating up leftovers. We moved back into our house in the nick of time for cooking and dined in the shadow of unpacked boxes, but the family was here along with some dear friends, so it was good. The fridge broke Wednesday, the oven thermometer doesn't work, and the kitchen floor is cardboard sheets that we taped together. But at least we have a wall now (so no toilet in the kitchen). I think we will always remember this year's celebration!

Wow, mALX. You sure can make dinner, like I said. I can't imagine anyone going from that table with their pants still buttoned

So glad you were still able to celebrate your Thanksgiving this year!!!







You are right; and although Thanksgiving is my favorite meal of the year to cook = I didn't cook this one. This came from my new Daughter-in-Law's extended family Thanksgiving dinner. We didn't have one at our house this year due to my oven still being out of commission (unfortunately).

Was a page or so back, talking about the pains of home ownership.

I didn't quote.

That list looks like food coma. Love it.

Ah, I see!

Wishing a very Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone in our Chorrol "Family!"

Happy New Year!

Tonight we are having porkchops with cabbage and Hoppin’ Johns! Just got done sautéing peppers, onions, garlic, and sliced hog jowl for the black eyed peas and it’s all in the slow cooker!

MMMMM!!!

It was so good!

This one goes out to Treydoggie, who knows first hand exactly what whoever made this was saying, lol.



https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0...amp;oe=5E9B645A

Absolutely true!

I saw that, and knew you would get a kick out of it, lol.

Just wanted to mention that my Gramma turned 96 this Tuesday. While she has a bad knee, hearing and vision, she's as clear in the head as she's ever been and today we played poker again, as we always do every Friday afternoon. While I have been on a winning streak lately, I do not take it for granted. Her luck with games and lotteries is legendary! She always gets full house when I get a flush!!


I can only hope to be as clear-headed as she is if I even reach that age myself. I'm so glad she's been around for so long

Happy birthday to Grammocu. I'm glad she's doing so well. We lost Acadian Sr just a few months ago at almost 99. He also had a very good and long run at life and remained sharp till the end.

Oh, no. Did I miss that or wasn't it mentioned perhaps? Either way, I'm very sorry for your loss, Acadian

Happy-est Birthday wishes to Gramm-acu! I hope you have many more years of poker games together! I love so much how close your family stays with each other; it is heartwarming!

Thanks, mALXie

No worries, mirocu. I didn't mention it. It was not a surprise and, like I said, he had a good long run!

Happy 96th to granny mirocu, and all honors to Acadian Sr. I've one aunt in her mid nineties. She's doing fine, so my brother tells me. I've not had contact with her since attending her husband's, my favorite uncle, funeral late 2017. (There might well be one or two more survivors from that generation of the family, but that aunt & uncle are the only extended family members I've had any knowledge of in years, other than the afore mentioned funeral.