Glass Chatroom Board

Good Morning to those that pop in here.
It is Perfect Autumn weather here today but that can't be said for a couple of days ago. Heavy rainfalls, dumping excessive rain and causing lots of issues .
Shelly @shellyrae37 I haven't heard anything about Jim passing away. Very sad if that is true.
Yes I do have a few trips planned for this year. In May I am heading off on a road trip, with no particular plans. I will be making it up as I go and I have no real time frame. But it will most likely be 2-3 weeks on the road travelling from town to town. I will have a friend, in her van, travelling with me for the first week and then after that I will be travelling solo. Also later in the year I will go back and volunteer at a BlaizeAid camp for a couple of weeks, helping farmers devastated by Natural Disasters, repairing and rebuilding their fences and whatever else is needed. At this stage I am not sure exactly where that will be. It will depend on Mother Nature and where we are needed
Carl @carma I'd say that Jenny has been a very good investment for you.
Nancy @jerseystar27 I heard about the earthquake on the radio and I immediately thought of you.

I see it is beautiful Betty's heavenly birthday. I still have the lovely Fenton basket she sent me when my DH was very ill. She was such a lovely lady

Good afternoon. Our crazy weather continues. We are now back to being cold.

Shelly @shellyrae37 the weather was perfect over the weekend and yes it was warm enough for a swim. I didn't go in the water though but the kids did. I sat and soaked up the beautiful sunshine and admired the perfectly blue clear sky and crystal clear ocean.

Our weather has had a turn around and we are now experiencing some lovely sunny spring days with cool evenings and early mornings . Just perfect.
Shelly @shellyrae37 I think most of the members that used this chatroom have now all gone over to Facebook or other social media sites. There are so many glass groups of all eras and interests for them to be involved with on FB. Carl @carma only pops in every now and then. He goes weeks without posting anything. Our dear Marson @panishklo always stops by on special occasions such as birthdays.

We had some unbelievable temperatures today. Some were record breaking and some were reported to be the hottest September day on record. A nice cool change has come now and it is very much welcomed by me.

Shelly @shellyrae37 yes Egypt does sound interesting, Actually lots of places around the world look very interesting and there's some great deals at the moment. I have been so tempted to click "book" on a few of them LOL I'll wait till after Xmas, though, to plan where and when I will be going. In the mean time exploring some parts of Australia will do me. There's lots here I haven't seen yet.

Its even hotter today 95F and a disgusting hot wind is blowing. High Fire danger alerts everywhere, bush fires have already begun and total fire bans have been put in place. It's going to be a very long hot dry summer. Bureau of Meteorology has formally declared El Niño weather event.
Shelly @shellyrae37 I have been asked to join 2 friends on a trip to Egypt in January BUT I am undecided. I think I might need a little longer to save for that , especially being so close to after Christmas. Now if they were going later in the year, I'd be on board with no hesitations. But I am a very spontaneous kind of person and can change my mind in a heart beat. So who knows , I might end up in Egypt next year LOL

Today it feels more like Summer then the early start to Spring. It's 92F atm and with a hot westerly wind blowing. Its not pleasant at all. Of course the media is making a huuuuge issue over it and the headlines are really over sensationalised. Yes its hot but I wouldn't call it a "Severe Heat Wave" and the headlines such as "WARNING SEVERE HEAT WAVE" is very much over the top for these temperatures in Australia. BUT that's the media for you
Shelly @shellyrae37 Nope I haven't gotten travelling out of my system yet. Always looking and always thinking about where to go to next. Though there will be no overseas trips for me till next year sometime, I'll be jumping in my van , every chance I get and doing short road trips for a few days, here and there. I am also planning a road trip, in November, heading south for a few weeks. I'll do a week or 2 volunteering at a BlaizeAid camp helping farmers rebuild fences and then some time afterwards travelling around and back home.

@shellyrae37 Wrong Jim. Julie & I were referring to Jim Davidson (aka Moose) who, among other things, collected covered animal dishes (CAD), Yesterday was his birthday (as noted here). He died a number of years ago (I think over 7 years ago). The Jim who does taxes always posts as JimL so as not to be confused with JimD.

Nonetheless, I am a little concerned that JimL hasn't posted in a while and didn't respond to all of our birthday greetings.

Shelly @shellyrae37 I am kind of caught up with the yard work. It's not perfect but acceptable I just have a few little areas that need tidying up a bit more. I think the glass you are referring to is called Goofus Glass. I suppose you could repaint the base if you wanted to but I can't advise you on how to go about that or what type of paint you would use
I will post some pics of the Taj Mahal. Here is one

Thank you all for the birthday wishes.
I had a lovely day. First I went to the School to see my Grand daughter receive two awards. Htis is her first year in High School so I am a very proud Grandma. My daughter cooked me a lovely dinner and my grand daughter made the dessert. Plenty of cuddles from my Grandson and after dinner he had me doing burpees and attempting to do box jumps and push ups with a clap. Push ups I can do, but with a clap....well ... Lets just say I need some work on those and also on the box jumps at the height he was wanting me to attempt 😆 I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Mumm Champagne too, it's one of my favourites. I'll be going out over the weekend with some friends to celebrate.Not sure yet where we will go.
Shelly @shellyrae37 what do you mean "the years seem to roll past fast after you hit 29" I am only 28 😆 😆 😆
@fyrqueen Katie I will be in good hands in India and will be well looked after.

Shelly @shellyrae37 No need to worry yourself over me "Things" can happen just as easily while I am at home. I wont be getting home till 2nd week in August.
As for the family reunion, we always have one every year in September. Plus during the year I catch up with my cousins and relations multiple times, we party together, we go camping together, we do a lot of things together.
Sadly I am actually now one of the elders in the family. On my Fathers side I only have 3 aunties (one 94-95 years old) and 1 uncle left. On my Mothers side none. I am at the top of the ladder there.

Shelly @shellyrae37 My relative (2nd cousin) , who lives in Nepal, has organised the whole trip.She is the one that I go on treks with over in Nepal. I will be travelling over to India with her mother and two other ladies and meeting up with Jessica there. I am not real sure just how much internet coverage we will have while travelling up in the Himalayas .We will be, after all, on the worlds highest motorable roads. Some nights we will be camping and sleeping in tents. I doubt we will even have any electricity on those stop overs .But where possible and when possible, I will be checking into Facebook to let everyone know how things are going and I will post pics there ,that is, if the internet signals are strong enough to upload pics.
I hope you had good weather for the Family Reunion. I will have to think about organising ours when I get back from my trip

Good afternoon. Cold and windy here today, so I will be spending most of the day indoors out of the wind. Sun is shining and not a cloud in the sky. Such a shame it's so windy, It would be perfect sitting out and soaking up some of the warm winter rays

Shelly @shellyrae37 3 more weeks and I will be flying out via Singapore to Indian. The excitement is mounting.
I have just tried the Chatabout website and I got this message "This site can’t be reached chataboutdg.com took too long to respond" Maybe ask on the Vintage Glass FB Group, they will probably know what's happening with the site.

Good Morning, dark, gloomy and raining here and thunderstorms predicted. Hopefully that will ease the humidity.

Shelly @shellyrae37 I had a lovely few days away camping by the river. It was hot but I had a nice shady tree to sit under and a river to swim in to cool down. The camp ground was very well kept by the managers, truly a beautiful spot and they don't pack everyone in on top of each other. We had lots of room and were well away from everyone. And the beauty of it , it was only 30 minutes drive from home. We thought there was a total fire ban so we didn't take any wood for a camp fire.
Katie @fyrqueen glad you and Mike are over covid
Marson @panishklo enjoy your exercise time. I did my gym workout this morning at 6 a.m
Nancy @jerseystar27 Looks like we may be getting our summer back at the end of the week. Crazy weather
Carl @carma I hope by now you are all dug out and no more snow for you

Shelly @shellyrae37 nothing wrong with celebrating your birthday again 😆 😆 😆 A good excuse for more cake 😆 😆

Katie @fyrqueen I hope all goes well at the Drs for Mike

It's a warm sunny day here, with clear blue skies. It's Hot but not unbearably hot (26Celsius = 80 F)

@shellyrae37 Shelly -- birthdays should be celebrated early & often (as long as we only have to age one year not multiples!), so Happy Birthday again!!

I'm enjoying the relatively quiet weather. Feeling a little more like January today, but that's okay.

Marson @panishklo the best thing about me baking cakes, is they are never failures, look exactly like they are suppose to look and totally calorie free 😆 😆 😆
Shelly @shellyrae37 it's 30 Celsius here atm. and humid. But at least the breeze that is blowing is pleasant and is helping. It's perfect sitting on my front verandah. But I am sure the young man who is pressure cleaning my driveway is feeing it, working out in the afternoon sun. I hope you can get your frozen pipes sorted to prevent it happening again.
Nancy @jerseystar27 I do my banking and I pay all my bills online too. I am trying to remember the last time I had to actually write a date on anything.

@shellyrae37 Happy Birthday, Shelly!!

It's rainy here in NJ, supposed to get windy too. But doesn't look like we'll get ice or snow from this storm.

Good Morning everyone. It is a gorgeous day so far. A bit fresh this morning but sun was shining and not too hot. Perfect, My Kind of weather.

Shelly @shellyrae37 Your old FB account is active . I was just notified it is your birthday (Aussie time) It is your old account and I was able to wish you a Happy Birthday on it I am not sure if this link will work for you, It's the link to your old account https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1515223738

Nancy @jerseystar27 I am glad you are on the mend. Take care

Shelly @shellyrae37 I hope you are on the mend and feel better soon.
FB does do some strange things at times. I believe it all has to do with the robots that run it now. They are programmed to scan and pick up certain word or phrases, block them and send you a warning. They don't have common sense programmed into them to be able to differentiate between the true meanings of a sentence and those words used in it. They don't understand a lot Aussie slang either. And it gets near impossible sometimes to list something to sell e.g ornamental animals. The bots think you are selling real animals. Empty vintage/collectable tobacco tins, the bots block because they are not programmed to understand collectable tobacco tins. They are programmed to block tobacco items . And without those key words in your title , it does make it hard to attract the right kind of people that would be interested. And so many strikes and you are out LOL I was once put in FB gaol for 24 hours for a very innocent comment. I know of many others that got banned permanently and had to start a new account. I always dispute any warnings now. It's the only way to get the bots reprogrammed .

Our weather here has been so good. I am loving it. Cool, slightly chilly mornings and nights and lovely warm sunny days that are not too hot.
Shelly @shellyrae37 I think just about everyone has moved over to Facebook. It has lots of choices of different groups of every interest you could possibly think of. I know I am a member of way too many 😆
Family groups for my family to chat just among ourselves, several different camping groups, probably too many Glass Groups, a couple of Australian Pottery Groups, my Gym Groups, some Fundraising Groups, Collectables in general Groups, My Trivia team chat room.... You get my drift lol ....a lot .....and it keeps me very busy.

Our perfect weather continues here, so it is looking very hopeful for me to go camping tomorrow.
Hi Shelly @shellyrae37 It's lovely to "see" you here

Good afternoon Our beautiful weather continues.
I am exhausted atm. Had a training session at the gym this morning and then came home and tackled my yard. Spent almost 3 hours whipper snipping and mowing. And its just a rough job too. Grass was very long,thick and wet. It was hard work pushing the lawn mower through it. Now I have the paths, driveway and gutter to sweep. But I am just too pooped. I also do my neighbour's (on both sides) front section. In two more days I will do it all again. It should be a lot drier by then and I will tidy all the edges up much better.
Carl @carma great news about Marley and congratulations to Emma for completing her Masters Degree
Nancy @jerseystar27 I haven't had my 4th shot yet but will get it done asap.
Shelly @shellyrae37 that is a bummer about breaking your lovely creamer 🙁

@carma Carl, sounds great for both Marley and Emma, though it will make it harder to see them. Hopefully they will take the occasional vacation back home. Still, I suppose, it's better than one of my daughter's classmates. She came from Maine and went to Brandeis outside of Boston (not that far from home). But she did jr. year in Japan and then wound up working for various international relief non-profits. At this point she and her husband and children live in England. I highly approve of Marley's choice, by the way, chemical engineers are good people. My dad was a chemical engineer and I am/was a chemical/environmental engineer (now retired).

@shellyrae37 Shelly, oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! Somehow it's always the special ones that get broken. Over the years of having cats and having glass only a 3 or 4 pieces have been broken. But of course at least two were special things that I was able to buy inexpensively. I could probably replace them, but it would cost so much more.

Very wet here again. It hasn't stopped raining since yesterday afternoon and at the moment it is realling pelting down and I can hear some distant thunder. We have totally skipped Summer this year ( I am not complaining) and we are now into Autumn. I know right about now my local farmer and his wife are out picking my produce for tomorrow. They really do it tough. Mother Nature has not been kind to them But they always have a smile on their faces and are such a lovely young couple. They have a passion for it. They want to provide locals with fresh, local, hand picked in season, organic produce, No chemicals, no nasties.

Shelly @shellyrae37 where I live, no we do not get snow. Maybe once or twice a year at the very top of Barrington Mountains,( 200kilomtres from me) they get a little dusting. Further south of me there are snow skiing fields

I too wonder how Jim is doing. I hope he is OK. Not much happens on this chat board these days, so maybe he just doesn't check in as often.

Good morning.
Shelly @shellyrae37 I am safe where I am. We did get some minor to moderate flooding. Yes I suppose a lot will pay high prices for the vegs they buy through the supermarkets (Floods and high prices of petrol will contribute to that) I buy directly from our local farmers, freshly picked and what is in season. I go to them, they don't have to transport anything. I am not a big fan of supermarket vegs that have been in cold storage for an undisclosed amount of time. One only has to use their brain (or Google) to know if it's out of season and on the supermarket shelves, it is not fresh. Gordon would have been talking about the East coast of Australia. Inland also copped it bad and a lot of clean up work needs to be done. It's mind boggling how wide spread the destruction is. I will be volunteering end of April to help the farmers with rebuilding fences and whatever else is needed in the area I decide to go.

Good afternoon I think today may be the hottest we have had this summer 34°C atm. There was a time when I thought this was extremely hot but given the past few years of the most brutal summers, with temps over 40°C, some days 45-47 day after day, it now seems mild to me.

Marson @panishklo Tim Tams do a dark chocolate one, they are good. I usually get the original Tim Tam when I buy them but every now and then I will try one of the newer range. I was feeling in a caramel mood. I love caramel.
I hope your son and his GF are ok and not too stiff and sore from their misadventure
Shelly @shellyrae37 I think we are just starting to get our summer now

Good Morning.
With the weather we have been having it is really hard to believe it is Summer , Down Under. It's very wet and only 16 Celsius atm with a top of 24C predicted.
Nancy @jerseystar27 and Katie @fyrqueen we have 3 wheelie Bins and I love it. One is for general household waste that goes to land fill. Another for recyclable items and another for garden waste that gets turned into compost.
Shelly @shellyrae37 how are you after your fall? I hope you were not too stiff and sore.

Shelly @shellyrae37 I don't have much of it left, anymore. I have sold most of it
I hope you get your FB account all sorted.

Shelly @shellyrae37 Yes we get 4 seasons here. But that really does depend on where you live in Australia too. Australia is a big country.Some regions only have 2 seasons...Wet and Dry. And as for our winters, yes they get cold but again it all depends on what part of Australia you live. Some places get snow, some are just a little chilly and some may get a frost and other regions are warm. From year to year we are never certain how cold or how hot our winter and Summers will be. Last couple of years our Summers were brutal with excessively high temps. This year it is mild, so far. Here we can go from droughts to floods in the blink of an eye. We can also have one section in year long droughts, while others are experiencing massive floods. It's Australia after all and how it is.

Good morning
Shelly @shellyrae37 24C = 75 F very mild for us down here for summer. I heard on the radio this morning we may reach 30 C today and get more rain too.

@shellyrae37 Shelly, good to see you here. The home contractor industry has been severely affected by the pandemic -- everyone who was stuck at home decided to do a home renovation. My son just bought a condo (one bedroom apartment in a complex of two story buildings). It's fairly old and the small kitchen and bathroom definitely need to be upgraded. He found a good contractor, but he won't be available to start working until February! Meanwhile, my son & his friends have painted the living room and started putting together his Ikea furniture. As our son has been living with us, there's no real rush for him to move into the new place. The best part is that it's only about four blocks from us so he'll still be available to cat sit and to come to dinner occasionally.

@shellyrae37 Happy Birthday, Shelly!! I hope you and your family are doing well.

In the odd, not fall except at night when it gets chilly, it's another pleasant sunny day. My forsythia bush is flowering, I have a rose on my rose bush and it's the middle of December. And I hear there's a major snowstorm brewing in the middle of the country.

Good afternoon. I have arrived back home from my volunteering to help the farmers . What an amazing experience! It was hard work(carrying bundles of star pickets up and down hills,some hills were at 45 degrees and hard going, lifting heavy rolls of barbed wire out of the trailers, laying the barbed wire and twitching it to the pickets etc etc) but so very satisfying. We achieved a lot in the 5 days I was there. I am very proud of the new skills I have learnt and I do plan on going back to help some more

I see I missed Marson @panishklo Shelly @shellyrae37 Susan @whodat111 and Reen @reen while I was away
I am so sorry to hear the sad news about your DH Reen, ((((((HUGS)))))

@shellyrae37 Happy Birthday, Shelly!! At least all of the snow melted while we were away -- yesterday it rained (not quite as warm a rain as in SF, but still rain). We are supposed to get some mix of precipitation on Monday evening -- hopefully not much.

Good Morning. All you can smell here is bushfires. The air quality is very poor, filled with smoke and dust. When is this madness going to end? I think Mother Nature has forgotten how to rain down here. I think maybe she has cried that much about what we have done to this country and she has run out of tears. I hang my head in shame that our Government thinks more of big Coal Companies and their greed then they do of our farmers and our rivers.......but that's a different story and this is not the place.

I took my 2 friends for the hike up the mountain yesterday . It took us 2 hours up and back. They did struggle which was totally expected. But they did not give up and they did it. I told them, compared to the mountains in Nepal, here in Aus ours are speed humps. LOL They have about 6 months to get ready. If they want it badly enough they will train and do what is required to be ready.
Gai @gailmacphee Nice to see you. Please visit here more often, I am sorry to hear about your DH. It can be hard work caring for another but I am so pleased you can still get out and about treasuring hunting.
Jim @dorbitz nice shades
Hi Shelly @shellyrae37 Good to see you pop in for a visit. It is very quiet here these days. The hike yesterday was just a little teaser for my friends and a very small fraction of what we will be doing in Nepal.
My family is doing well. Kids are growing

Belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Marson @panishklo and to Gail Mac @gailmacphee!!!

@shellyrae37 Shelly, glad you were able to stop by!!

Drizzly this morning in NJ. Already had a full morning -- Yoga class at 7:45AM and then raced home to get DH to his CRT (cognitive rehab therapy) session. No session on Thursday as his therapist will be with her little one for Halloween.

Good afternoon. Back home after my couple pf days away.
We had the most perfect weather. I was actually wearing shorts and singlet top during the days. Nights were a bit different though. As soon as the sun starting going down it became very chilly but nothing a nice roaring camp fire didn't fix.

Shelly @shellyrae37 pretty hen but I am no help.

Good morning It was a very foggy and chilly start to the day but I think it is turning into a beautiful warm sunny day. I hope this keeps up for Sunday. I am doing a fundraiser walk to raise funds for Mitochondrial disease. The walk is called "The Bloody Long Walk" It's a 35 klm (22 miles) walk along our coastline with what will be some spectacular views, so that will make the going a lot easier to handle LOL I'll be too busy enjoying the views to worry about my tired legs.LOL Wish me luck

Today I am meeting up for lunch with friends that I use to travel with doing the markets and swap meets. Always great to catch up and hear all the gossip of what has been happening around the traps.

Shelly @shellyrae37 that theatre is DDG

Good Morning. The chill has gone and looks like we are going to have a nice warm sunny winter day.
I went to a concert last night at an amazing theatre here. Built in the 1920's and it has been kept in its magnificent art Deco decor.It's not a big theatre but OMG it is beautiful inside. We saw THe Doors Alive. a tribute band to Jim Morrison and The Doors. They were without a doubt , FANTASTIC. A night of good music done exceptionally well
Hi Shelly @shellyrae37 Yep I am home, for now. Yes the Grandkids did come with me and so did DD and DSIL. Also nieces, great nephews, a sister in law, a brother in law and a great nephew's partner. 14 of us all together.A big family affair and we had a ball

@shellyrae37 Shelly, good to see you! Every now & then I visit the pottery board and see you there. So sorry to hear about your son -- glad he's still able to get around some.

Hot & sunny again in NJ -- supposed to be getting storms later today, we're under a flood watch.

Shelly @shellyrae37 This cool change is only going to last a few days and we will be back to high temps again. I'll take our Winter over our Summer any dayLOL Our winters are usually very mild. No snow for my area and maybe a day or two of morning frost. Only time it gets really uncomfortable(for us, anyway) is when there is snow up on "The Tops" ( which really isn't much snow at all) and the wind is howling. It can cut right through you. BUT in saying that. it is anyone's guess these days what Mother Nature is going to throw at us. Up north, 8 years of severe record breaking drought and the farmers desperately needed rain And they got it. So bad that 1,000's upon 1,000's of livestock have drowned. Worst floods up there on record. It has wiped out huge areas. 1,000's of rotting carcases everywhere. Unbelievable the damage that has been done. And so heartbreaking .It will take many years for anyone to recover from this.

Good Morning. It is truly a lovely morning here. Clear blue sky and perfect temperature. We've had a strange bird around the neighbourhood lately. I haven't seen it but hear it all the time. Kind of reminds me of a little puppy yapping LOL
Shelly @shellyrae37 It is beautiful spot, I am trying to plan another weekend there before I go to Nepal.
I also often wonder how MM is doing. She did show up on one of the Facebook groups a while back but haven't seen her since

Good Morning.While you freeze we melt. Although right about now it is bearable. 23 Celsius atm.No sun yet, the sky is full of grey clouds. I am still hoping for rain, even though I am going away camping/glamping. Today is suppose to reach a high of 36C
Shelly @shellyrae37 Nice to see you

Good afternoon. today was a little cooler than it has been. Another storm came through late yesterday and eased the humidity and heat a tad. It's school Holidays here so I have been busy with the Grandkids
Jim @dorbitz LOL I am glad I was not the only one re Xmas LOL I do my grocery shop on Tuesdays This Tuesday I bought some food items for Xmas day and thought to myself that I'd get the rest of the Xmas day food on my next grocery shop. Came home and realised that there was not a next grocery shop because Xmas was the following Tuesday LOL WOW it has really snuck up on us
BTW nice Jug
Shelly @shellyrae37 It's lovely to see you come by for a catchup. Yes the grandkids are growing up so fast. I read their school reports today and I must say I am a very proud
Grandma. They are both doing very well in school.
Sorry to hear your son has so much pain.
Marson@panishklo take care waddling on those slippery paths

@shellyrae37 Wishing you a wonderful HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

@shellyrae37 Shelly, Happy Birthday!! I hope you had a great day.

@wattleihavenext Julie, {{hugs}} I can't believe it's 10 years.

@panishklo Marson, {{hugs}} to you too.

@dorbitz & @carma JimL and Carl -- glad you're both feeling & walking better!

@george George, glad the shots are helping your eyes.

We've been back & forth to DD's in Virginia a few times in the past month. DH had two different conferences down in DC -- I went down for part of each. Besides DD, DH's sister & BIL live down there as well as their daughter, SIL, and two grandkids. And my brother's son & his fiancee are also down there, so we have lots of people to visit.

Good Morning. This morning's weather has been absolutely perfect!! I do love Autumn
Hi Shelly @shellyrae37

Good Morning, we are still enjoying some nice moderate summer temps. But it is predicted the weekend is going to be a scorcher.
I'll be spending my day again with the grandkids. I'll be babysitting them most days during the school holidays. Today may be a day by the pool

Shelly @shellyrae37 Stay warm . I am not the best photographer but yes I will take some pics of my trip. Hopefully others on the trek with me will be better photographers and I can borrow their pics LOL This trek is going to be amazing but one that you have to be fit before hand. Not one that you do to get fit. So it is keeping me very motivated to continue with my training sessions.

Julie

Good Morning everyone, sunny here and its going to be a hot one for our first day of 2018
I had a great time last night celebrating seeing the old year out and the new year in. Now lets see what 2018 will bring us. Lots of love, laughs and adventures I hope. Please no sadness. I've had more then my share during 2017.

Carl @carma I did have a little goggle reading your post about DW's car battery LOL

Shelly @shellyrae37 Yes a lot of stairs and a lot of uphill trekking and high altitudes .I hope I am ready for that. I have been training anywhere from 7- 9 sessions a week to keep fit.( I've been training for just over 4 years). Two of those sessions in the last 12 months have been Stair sessions where my trainer has me running , lunging, jumping and what ever else she can think of, up and down the stairs and across the railway bridge.down the stairs to the train platform and back up etc. I managed the 365 stairs up to Swayambhunath Stupa (Monkey Temple) all right each morning when I was in Kathmandu in September. Hopefully and fingers crossed, I can remain fit till the trek LOL.

Thanks George @george

Shelly @shellyrae37 My niece (sister's DD) her 5 yr old son and my BIL(sister's DH) will be spending Xmas here with me. None of us are looking forward to the day but we will support each other and try to make the day fun as brest we can for the little one.

@shellyrae37 Shelly -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope you have a great day and get to celebrate with family and friends.

Not quite as cold here in NJ as up in Maine -- it's 18F at the moment, high of 28 today. But we're supposed to get some more light snow late afternoon, early evening.

@wattleihavenext Julie, thank you for the beautiful Chanukah greeting!

Good afternoon.Its school holidays here and I have been enjoying spending the time with the grand kids
Weather is unchanged here, blue skies, warm and sunny. One can't really complain(especially during school hols) but we are still in need of rain.
Carl @carma WTG!! Nice to know there are still bargains to be had on eBay
Hi Shelly @shellyrae37 I hope I am never finished with travelling. My trainer has more health and fitness trips planned for the future and I'll be taking part in some of those. Not sure of the destination yet, Maybe Thailand or Vietnam. And I am hoping to go back to Nepal to do some trekking at some stage. Plus there is a lot of Australia I need to see , in my van

@shellyrae37 Shelly, thank you for your concern but I don't live near the coast and we haven't had any of the hurricanes threaten NJ. (We did get some rain last Saturday into Sunday from Harvey, but it was just rain.) Jose still seems to be deciding on his course but doubt we'll see anything except for some rain.

Good Morning everyone, back to winter it is for us here. Brrr it's cold and it's windy. On a plus at least the sun is shining, so if you can get a spot in the sun out of the wind it would be very nice. Sadly I don't have such a spot here LOL
Shelly @shellyrae37 my Bali trip WAS lots of fun. I loved that trek. Yes it was hard but it still was fun. But I suppose we all have different ideas of what fun is LOL Yes Nepal will be fun but there will be some challenging times as well 365 steps to climb to one of the Temples,But I have been training stairs 2-3 times per week for that. My trainer makes me run up and down them and lunge up them etc .We thrash out at least that many in a session so all should be good for me doing that, as I'll only be walking them in Nepal LOL
Jim @dorbitz rest up. I hope you feel better soon. I've only ever had gout once and that was in my hand. Too much ham caused mine. I have never been a big pork-ham -bacon eater BUt one Xmas we had a couple of big leg hams(won in the annual Xmas Ham raffles) so I was eating it every meal.
Carl @carma beautiful pic . You can see just how proud you are of Emma

One more pic of my veiw when I reached the top of Mt Batur

Hello from a rainy NJ -- but it's real rain, not just a t'storm that is here and gone. My garden will be very happy!

@shellyrae37 It's good to see you Shelly. I took a mini-vacation last week, starting at my daughter's in Virginia for a pre-birthday dinner followed by a birthday breakfast for me. From there I drove to Pittsburgh, something I'd not done before. Interesting ride on the PA Turnpike -- up and down the "hills" with lots of trucks and construction (and a few accidents) made for a very long ride. Destination was the Phoenix & Consolidated Glass Club annual convention which was a lot of fun. Field trip this year was to the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Garden, which featured Super.Natural.Glass Art by Jason Gamrath (https://www.phipps.conservatory.org/calendar/detail/super-natural-glass-art-by-jason-gamrath) -- plus they still have a few pieces of glass by Dale Chihuly. The next day was their auction (run by Tom Burns). Needless to say, my collection of Phoenix and Consolidated glass is now larger. I then went back to my daughter's so I could take her out for a pre-birthday dinner (along with two of her good friends). And then it was back home. Back in June, all four of us (DH, daughter, and son) went to Israel for a week. And later this month we'll have our week at the Jersey Shore.

Hi SHelly@shellyrae37 I have been training very hard the past few years, doing a anything from 6-9 sessions a week. I am so pleased I had the fitness and strength to get to the top, It was well worth all the hard work. Here is one pic of the sunrise

Good Morning. Our weather is still very much the same as it has been for days now. Cold mornngs beautiful warm sunny days.
Carl @carma glad you got your vent in with out any issues
HI Shelly @shellyrae37 nice to see you pop in for a visit 😀 Yes I do have a currant passport. Have had one for over 10 years. Same here it does take awhile to get one.
Julie

Good Morning everyone. The heat and humidity continue

Shelly @shellyrae37 re retiring. sometimes its not about the money. Some ppl love their work and enjoy going. Others like to continue on to keep themselves and their brains active.

G'day everyone. I had a fabulous weekend away. Very very hot. And our rooms at the pub were not air conditioned. Out at the Rally site it was also extremely hot but later in the afternoon we got a lovely storm and it cooled things down. We were literally dancing in the rain LOL

Shelly @shellyrae37 I am glad you are enjoying the tea sets
No my sister did not have her last chemo, she had her last radiation treatment and they can never do any more to her spine again or she will end up paralysed. The radiation is to help with the excruciating pain she has in her back/spine/hips where the cancer has spread.She can barely move the pain is that bad.Very sad to see.She commences another course of chemo tomorrow. That will continue right up till April.

Carl @carma glad your DW procedure went well

Marson @panishklo sorry to read you had been unwell.I hope you are continuing to improve and are now feeling 100%

Good afternoon everyone. So so very hot here today. It was unbearably hot with a very hot drying wind blowing at 9.30a.m when I had to go out for an appointment. Hopefully this is the last day of it and our temps start to cool down.Bring on Winter!!!! LOL
Shelly @shellyrae37 I had almost forgotten about that site. I am a member of the group and a number of years ago when it was started, I added quite a few pics and info to it. They have moved over to Facebook these days

Julie

Not as cold here in NJ as it is in Maine, it's 17 (feels like 10) but by Wednesday it will be in the 40s and rain and even warmer by the end of the week. @shellyrae37 Shelly, I don't live by the coast (or what we would call The Shore), we get snow. Actually the storm that just came through hit the coast harder than inland as it was further out. We got between 3 and 4 inches of snow, down at the Jersey Shore (which sticks out further east) they got more snow, Long Island got about a foot.

Good Morning (just @ 11.50a.m)) Everyone. It's Hot , very hot here today and the worst and hottest part of day is yet to come.
Shelly @shellyrae37 No I don't swim much at all these days. I am very busy doing bootcamp up to 6-9 sessions a week, so no time or energy to get up early and go swim my laps. When I was swimming it was every day and yes all year round, even in winter.

Good afternoon everyone. I've been away for a few day and nights in my van.Beautiful weather where I went. Hot but lovely seabreeze.
Temps have now dropped and we have had some lovely welcomed rain since last night.
I hope everyone had a Happy New Year. I had a fabulous time celebrating the old out and the new in.
Shelly @shellyrae37 yep I have a big enough yard to warrant a ride-on mower. But I'd like to continue with a normal mower for as long as I can. Keeps me active
Carl @carma I wish you all the best in your retirement.

p.s George @george and Shelly @shellyrae37 that obstacle in the pic was one of the easier ones. I had no problems doing that one

Good morning everyone, very overcast here. But I'm not complaining, I am enjoying the pleasant temp.
George @george It was a great adventure. Hard work and challenging though but lots of fun. My heart was up in my throat a few times LOL But I did it and felt so pleased with myself
Shelly @shellyrae37 yes we had safety harnesses on, I was very very safe,though I didn't get to test them because I never fell. But knowing that you can't fall to the ground helps with the confidence of negotiating the course. I did come very close a few times but I managed to hang on.

Julie

@wattleihavenext Julie, what Shelly was referring to was a tragic fire here in the US. It was in Tennessee and burned through many homes and several people died. It turns out it was set by three teenagers. This was a tourist area and beautiful nature area, and included the area where Dolly Parton's resort is located. She has pledged to help people who lost their homes and will be giving them money -- she is a real classy lady. And I was thinking of you today when I went past the Buena Vista -- though I didn't stop for an Irish coffee. (And I think the people on the cable car yesterday were Australian -- one of their kids, who was standing in front of me and wasn't always holding on properly because his hands were cold, was named Perry. Twice I grabbed the hood on his jacket because I was nervous about him falling.)

@shellyrae37 Shelly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Glad to see you back -- I'd actually raised the alarm on your absence, but Irene reminded me that you were going to Texas and there wasn't a computer there.

I am so enjoying this lovely cool change. Aussie weather!!!! so hard to keep up with it. I was melting yesterday, today I'm wearing long sleeves
Shelly @shellyrae37 Lucky for you your birthday is today and not yesterday. With the high temps of yesterday, there would have been no way I would have been baking a cake LOL
At this stage no one has been arrested for the fires, though it is believed to have be deliberately lit. And there have been no lives or home lost.Not sure where you got that info.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

@dorbitz JimL -- one of our local radio stations (the one that plays classic rock) plays that every year on T'day at 12 noon. We turned it up nice and loud and sang along as we finished up the side dishes in the kitchen. (Then we headed over to my parents' house.)

@carma Carl -- sounds like a lovely visit and how wonderful for Amy & Jack and Jordan!

Has anybody heard anything from Shelly, @shellyrae37? It's been 3 weeks since she posted.

Good Morning, It's a beautiful sunny morning here. It's going to be a fabulous day and I think today I will be a tad lazy.
Shelly @shellyrae37 the board looks OK to me. I am using Chrome as my browser

Good Morning! Shelly (@shellyrae37) Everything seems to be okay as far as I can tell. Are you still having a problem?

Good Morning. Sunny here this morning but a bit of a chilly wind blowing. We had plenty of rain yesterday and it felt like we were back to winter.

Shelly@shellyrae37 it's a red cross towards the bottom right hand corner of pic
Glad your DH got a clean bill of health.

Julie

Good Morning everyone. The rain has gone, but now its windy.
Shelly @shellyrae37 The Home page where you sign in for Chatabout is working but not the Gallery. Yep something is amiss. Its been a long time since I have actually visited that site. And now I can't remember my sign in info

Good afternoon everyone. Been out all day. First to training at Bootcamp, then took sister for her Radiation treatment. Stopped for coffee,on the way home, at a lovely cafe over looking the wetlands.
Also been busy packing the van for a swapmeet this weekend. Seems like forever since I have been away to a swapmeet.I have dropped back on doing a few as they just aren't as good as they use to be and the cost of travelling that far negates any money I do make.I'm much better off just going away camping for a weekend and kicking back.
Shelly @shellyrae37 yes it is starting to warm up down here. It is Spring now. Our schools have holidays throughout the year and yes we do have Pre-Schools here as well as Day Care, also Before and After school Care.

Good Morning everyone. Our DDG weather continues.
Shelly @shellyrae37 the weather was perfect for Mum's funeral. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.
My sister is very ill, her pain is severe and she is on some very strong pain killers but she is trying to hold it together as best she can.
BTW why waste your time explaining to those scam phone calls. Just hang up. I have caller ID so I never answer any calls from phones interstate, international or numbers that I do not know.
Julie

Good afternoon everyone. Very chilly and foggy start to the day but it turned out to be just gorgeous. It is starting to chill down again now, now the sun is going down.

JimL @dorbitz Glad you like the coffee mug. BTW I have a turntable, though I hardly use it, even though I have over 1,000 LP's and a decent collection of singles.
Shelly @shellyrae37 they are doing the best they can for my sister. The tumour is inoperable, too dangerous because of the organs involved. Only thing they can do now is hope the chemo and radiation will shrink it.She is still in hospital and we are still not sure when they will let her home. She will be allowed to go to Mum's funeral. At this stage it is one day at a time, no promises. Chemo starts next week. As with all cancers and cancer patients, it's never predictable so as for giving a prognosis that is impossible.
Julie

Julie

Good afternoon everyone. Clear skies and sunny here, shame about the cold howling wind though.
Shelly @shellyrae37 Very little change with Mum, though she does look a fraction brighter. Still not eating enough to keep a sparrow alive. Yesterday she would have been lucky to have had 2 teaspoons of soup that I had made.
Gail @songbreeze glad to hear sales are going well for you. Seems like forever since I have listed anything online. I have also dropped back on the swapmeets and markets I do.Last market I did was the beginning of June

@shellyrae37 Shelly, sorry to hear about your well. We haven't had any heavy rains in my part of NJ -- it rains north of us, it rains south of us, it rains west of us, but we only get a little rain. I watered my tomato plants yesterday and today they're dry again.

@wattleihavenext Julie, sending prayers for your mom and sister and for you for strength and peace and healing and sending gentle {{hugs}} to all.

@shellyrae37
I fully understand the $ challenge! It's so heinous that insurance will pay only if you do what they want you to do. Dana Farber, the cancer factory of the universe, now approves this testing and follows the results to the letter IF AND ONLY IF the patient is willing and able to pay for the tests!!! If they use it, and I'm sure other biggies use it as well, isn't that proof positive that it's an acceptable and helpful approach to cancer care? I hate Big Pharma and the entire medical business of this country.

As for fund-raising, go to gofundme.com and set something up for her. It gives very simple directions and you set it up to shut off when there's "enough". Important that these things don't go forever unless there are forever expenses. If you need help, get a kid to help you! They're brilliant at this cyber stuff!

And the best care and cures come free - from prayer and meditation! Gather your friends to have a prayer session, including a guided meditation. Surround her with angels - figurines, pictures, etc. Let her know she's not in it alone -- she has all of you and angels, too!

Best of luck to her.
Janice

Good Morning everyone. Very cold here this morning. Heavy frost on my car brrrrrr But sun is shining and skies are clear, so should turn into a lovely warm day.
School Holidays here so I'll be having the grandkids most of the time.

Shelly @shellyrae37 I actually had a quiet birthday this year. I did go out Saturday night but that was a night out. Nothing to do with celebrating my birthday.

@shellyrae37
Oh, my heart goes out to your friend! It's a heinous thing, cancer, and it's all around all of us. The testing I suggested at RGCC is very, very expensive (it's in euros but I think about $1700 for naturals, $2300 for naturals and chemos.) If she could afford it, she'd know what treatment(s) would help. I had to absolutely max out my credit to get it done but now I know and I'm not wasting my $, time and/or my life.
I hope they do not opt for "whole brain radiation" which would probably get it, but would have any one of several bad side effects. As for the vision.... how much must we give to this god-awful disease? I HATE IT!
My lovely friend in Panama, a british woman, is fighting colon cancer that is probably 25 yrs old! Too large to operate so chemo for now 'til it shrinks, then surgery, then more chemo/rads. My heart goes out to her and everyone in the battle.
No matter what treatments are offered a patient and what of those are chosen, it must be in the hands of the patient. No one can make the choice for you. I wish her wisdom and peace with whatever she's facing. (your friend and mine!)
Janice

@shellyrae37
Yes, wormwood (artmesia, artemisinin, artecin) can be greatly helpful in some cancers. But not all cancers will respond nor in all people. There is a very helpful testing facility called RGCC which will take your blood sample and test it against 47 natural substances and dozens of chemotherapies and tell you just what your cancer cells react to. Or you can test for just chemo or just natural.
Then there is finding the right combo. Mine came up with a dozen naturals that were effective but taking all of that at max dose could overload the liver/kidneys, etc. and put you off balance. Of the 10 or so mine came up with, only 5 were chosen as optimum in combination for me.
All cancer patients wanting to try natural therapies should have an expert on their team. e.g., I tried mistletoe which was shown to have 0% effectiveness on my cancer, although many women have had great assistance from it. IV Vitamin C was my most effective, by the way.
Good luck to all in the battle - no matter what path you choose! I send my warmest thoughts and gentlest hugs!
Janice

Good evening A chilly start to the day at 3Celsius but the sun came out and it warmed up a little bit to 18 Celsius It made travelling in the car to go visit Mum very pleasant.
Shelly @shellyrae37 I really didn't mean to imply our winter was winding down. It was more 'tongue in cheek" than anything. I was meaning that my cold winter is nothing compared to a lot on this board.The lowest and coldest this year was 1 celsius and that will be about it as far as cold goes for me in my area.

Good Morning everyone. It is freezing down here. But I am sure a lot of you that live in the snow regions would think its warm LOL.
Sun is shining and it is gorgeous if you can find a spot out of the breeze and soak up the wamth of those sun rays. It's beautiful driving in the car.
Shelly @shellyrae37 I love to have one good fresh ground coffee per day.I like a cappuccinos and strong. I have mine with Almond milk most of the time.
Carl @carma nothing beats local and fresh. And nothing beats meals prepared from scratch with all fresh ingredients. Not only are they healthier (because you know exactly whats in them) but they are also tastier. No preservatives, no MSG or any other additives that are factory produced. I honestly think I would throw up if i had a canned soup. LOL

Shelly @shellyrae37 I have many wardrobes and drawers busting at the seams with clothes and I have no room to hang them all. I had stands that totally collapsed when I tried to add a new handbag . And more hats then I care to admit I own. More shoes then Imelda Marcos, shoes I have not even worn yet. (I didn't part with any though LOL. Maybe another time I'll sort through my shoes and boots) Not much point in keeping clothes that no longer fit me. I am not planning on gaining weight to fit in them all that are too big.My handbag stands are now 20 handbags lighter and I still have plenty left to choose from. My hat rack's easier to pick a hat from now too. And so much so, I bought myself a new hat today LOL
Juolie

Good afternoon everyone. weather is just perfect. It is hard to believe it is winter right about now. And the same goes for the past 4 days. The mornings have started out chilly but once that sun comes up and gets some warmth in it, it is DDG weather.
Carl @carma condolensces for your loss
Jim @dorbitz ditto
Shelly @shellyrae37 we had perfect weather for the markets and a good crowd that were spending their $$ Though I didn't sell as much collectable bric a brac. Mostly my sales were for items from my wardrobe, hats , handbags and clothes.I moved a lot of it on . I'm very happy with that
Gail @songbreeze It does my heart good to know that you are getting around so much more
Don @donscns welcome home. Glad you had a lovely time

@shellyrae37 Shelly, tell your DH my dad had knee replacement surgery when he was 85 -- his only regret was that he waited that long. Now his problem is that the other knee is bothering him, but at 94-1/2, he's not going to have surgery again.

The heavy rain came and went overnight, so are town was able to have the Memorial Day ceremony outdoors (by our town monument) followed by the parade. As they had announced last night that the parade would be canceled and the ceremony would be held indoors and then sent an email this morning, not all of the participants showed up. Still a moving ceremony and a fun parade.

Shelly
@shellyrae37
Yes, I still do have Lyme and may possibly always have it. Well-controlled most of the time but do have flares and Herxheimer reactions. That last is like a healing crisis when there's a large die-off. Not fun. Tick-borne disease is from spirochetes - little snaky looking germs that can change shape, revert inside of cell when danger is present (medication) and lie dormant until it's safe to re-emerge. That's why you hear of people on 'long term antibiotics' or in my case, on herbs for life. So although I get around most of the time, I never know when hips or knees or something will just rage at me. But I'm so much better off than many fellow patients so I try to just adapt. I rarely have neuro or cardiac symptoms anymore. TG!

It's beautiful on Cape Cod today --- about 10 degrees cooler than Boston which we'll be grateful for over the holiday weekend as it's predicted to get into the 80's & humid. Hubby blew his knee out again and is hobbled. So I'm hiring a carpenter to do the completion of the cabinets & install exhaust fan --- to prepare for the dude to come tile the walls and then someone needs to paint ceiling and yada yada yada. So many picky things like put knobs on cabinets, does it ever end? I almost hope the house doesn't sell right away so I get to enjoy it!

DH can't have arthroscopic again on that knee so the deal is to wait until knee replacement is warranted. Doc shot it up with cortisone and he's down from the stiff brace to an elastic sleeve but needs to not bend the thing much for a good while. Meanwhile, he's got severe tendonitis in his wrist so that's braced! Anti-inflammatory for knee will help that, too. Poor guy!

I'm off to Mexico again a week from Sun. Monday at the clinic and back home on the red eye. I still go to Doc who treated my cancer if only once or twice a year. It's a fast trip ----- 37 hour turnaround including 12 hrs in air. ugh. Add to that the drive to and from airport of 2 hrs each way. I dread going thru TSA check now with all the delays. I hate taking my shoes off and walking thru filth of the last million people to walk the same path. All because one moron made a failed attempt at blowing up a plane with his shoe. And I don't breathe well from the time I enter the airport until I leave the destination airport. 10 hours of staleness!! Wouldn't it be awful to work in an airport all day long every day?

It's about 2 weeks til shower for the coming great-grandson! The carriage/car seat combo we bought is sitting in the living room in its box and I'm DYING TO OPEN IT! DH says no - leave it - but I'm thinking we'll open it anyway outside of shower to roll it in to parents so why can't I open it now? DH is afraid I'll dress up the cat and put him in there and go for a walk. HAH! Actually, my favorite task as a young mom was pushing the carriage daily as far as the wee one's nap would allow.

Breakfast time. spinach and jack cheese omelet. Fresh pineapple. And more coffee!
Janice

Good Morning everyone.
Shelly @shellyrae37 My sleep in wasn't that big LOL Instead of getting up at 5.30a.m to get to Bootcamp I was up at 6.30a.m , which meant I missed my BC session. But I made up for that last night and worked twice as hard at bootcamp. It was a Tabata session.Hard work LOL
I have a swapmeet this weekend at a very chilly little country town where the temps can drop to minus 6 clesius at this time of year and everything (including my stall) is covered in a thick layer of ice.
Katie @fyrqueen hope you are feeling better soon

Good evening everyone. A very windy day here. It would blow a dog off his chain. Just terrible, so the day was spent indoors, except for taking granddaughter to and from school.
Shelly @shellyrae37 No house cleaner for Mothers day BUT those two little darlings did not leave any mess in my kitchen everything was put back in its place when they finished preparing my breakfast. So that was great to get up and my kitchen as I left it the night before.Who would think that a 3 and 5 yr old would even think to clean up.
Carl @carma My kind of shop 🙂 I use to have that exact same Wash Bowl and Jug Set. Sadly the bowl had a huge crack through it, which eventually continued on till it fell apart and I ended up giving the jug to my sister.
Julie

Good Morning everyone. Our picture perfect weather is continuing. A little chilly in the mornings but that warm sun and clear blue sky is just glorious. Temps will reach 26Celsius for us here.
Jim @dorbitz are you going to just tell or will you show us your new addtion 🙂
Reen @reen sounds like you have lovely day planned. Enjoy!
Shelly @shellyrae37 Aren't I clever making such a beautiful cake LOL Wished I was that talented
Don @donscn you will be busy

It turned out a lovely day after all, so I got some pruning done that I had planned to do yesterday. But Mother Nature didn't let me, It poured rain all day.
Shelly @shellyrae37 yes looks like it is a good thing you didn't take those weeds home.
Marson @panishklo simple pleasures are always the best, especially with friends. I hope you don't have any issues with the mozzie bites. (((((HUGS))))) to you
Julie

@shellyrae37
You're right about Prilosec.... I only take it 2 wks at a time and the last time I had to take it was 18 months ago. As we know, the best treatment is lifestyle changes. (yawn!) I found that I was snacking just before bed which is lethal.... now I force myself to sit up for an hour after the last morsel!

@panishklo
Til you meet up with Mom again, may she rest in peace and may you see her smile in your heart at least once a day.

Glassies,
Why on God's green earth is it too cold for a walk on May the freaking first!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Janice

Good Morning everyone. I am enjoying having the grandkids over. Both very well behaved and such good manners. Love them to bits.Shame though they don't know about Sunday sleep ins LOL BUt how beautiful to wake up their gorgeous smiling faces, along with big hugs and kisses.
Shelly @shellyrae37 as soon as the kids go home I will be heading off for a few days, in my van, to relax by the river and maybe do a bit of kayaking, if the mood takes me.NOt sure eaxatly how lopng I'll stay. At this stage I am thinking till Wednesday.
Julie