@FallGirl Iceland was great. We had direct flights to get there. We rented a car and drove over 2000 kilometers . The scenery was spectacular. We went whale watching and that was fun. I really recommend a trip to Iceland !
I added a more detailed post about my impending move on our groupâs private FB page. If youâre not a member (and donât want to join) and want more information, youâre welcome to PM me.
^I should probably join the FB group since I seem to be there more than here lately 
Kudos CQ, Pieson and PieMom +1 on the flask vote!
The chipmunk behavioral experiment has gone a bit sideways. They seem to have acclimatized to both the allegedly inaudible pitch that I now hear constantly like a ringing in my ears and the flashing lights that seem to be almost seizure-inducing to ME. The owl freaked out in a rainstorm for an interminable length of time and was shut off by the time his sickly hoots began to sound like a squeeze toy. Somehow his yellow eyes still light up at night at random intervals. Iâm not sure which part of âoffâ he doesnât understand.
Nor has the Nerf gun inspired any relocation activity among the party rats. One of my âbulletsâ was recently retrieved with a good-sized âbiteâ out of it. The squirrels and wood peckers, however, flinch at the mere sound of my reload.
Iâve concluded I need a cat. Except I now have a regular daily slow circling, low-flying visit from a very large hawk who seems to want in on the action. Perhaps he was attracted by the dying owl sounds and is gunning for a predator smack down. Beats me
On a more serious note, my sister has been diagnosed with rather large but non-malignant brain tumor/cyst which is unfortunately symptomatic and wrapped around her brain stem. Sheâd been scheduled for surgery tomorrow but then bumped with little notice to next week. She needs a full craniotomy, so it will be a longer recovery and higher risk than anyone originally anticipated.
I just finished undoing all my rescheduled scheduling to get up to Canada so things have felt pretty harried on several fronts, the least of which is the family dynamic under duress, which always feels a bit like te parade of neurosis. My sib is divorced, has 4 children, one who is pervasively developmentally delayed and a second on the spectrum. Her affairs are complicated to sort, to say the least, and until last week she did not even have a medical poa, so there have been some tough but necessary preparatory conversations. One cannot go lightly into a full craniotomy.
Mcson, of course, is stewing that the same surgery awaits him in middle years. (You may recall he has a brain cyst in his lateral ventricle that is observed for csf interference.) however, as I am quick to point out, the great thing about knowing its there is the capability to monitor it.
At any rate, send some fairy dust to my sis. Sheâs due for something to go her way.
Definitely will keep your sister in my thoughts and prayers kmc.
KMC - best wishes for your sib! Hopefully it will be an uneventful surgery. Love the âpestsâ stories. Recently we had to put our dog down due to an injury. She did keep the squirrels/critters off the deck â well they have figured out that she is no longer there and itâs like a free for all rave out there every day now. Looking for a new pooch but our SPCA has only had pitbulls. I have nothing against the breed - just not the breed for me. I donât find them cute and I think you have to really love your pet. I know people who have them and love them - just not for me.
So sorry to hear about your sister. Good luck with the surgery!
Still waiting on DIL to have the baby.
Did find a new puppy. I have been approved for the adoption and paid my âbillâ. She should be here Sat night. Coming from Arkansas. I couldnât find anything I liked locally. She is a redbone coonhound and lab mix. Looks mostly like a lab but with long ears. For those on Facebook picts will be up Iâm sure on Sun once we get to know her a bit. I canât wait!!! Been very sad about not having a dog. Was very difficult to let my last one go. I canât WAIT!!!
Hi all.
First off, thanks for the prayers. Surgery was way longer than expected at 8.5 hrs but she came out of it fine and is recovering well.
Secondly, McSon popped the question and he and GF are officially engaged Very sweet exchanges on that front.
So, bit of a good news whirlwind around here for a change
Congrats on the engagement! And glad the surgery went well.
Howâs the dog, RM?
Congrats to McSon and his fiancee and glad to hear the surgery went well.
What is McSonâs wedding date? congrats!
Any baby news yet?
cq, how are you settling in?
Folks here are feeling a bit on edge waiting for the earthquake.
So many disasters world wide that it just seems like the next likely thing.
KMC - so glad your sibs surgery went well - even if long. Better to be slow and careful with a surgery like that.
Congrats on your Sons engagement. So much fun headed your way!
S and DIL had the baby yesterday. Another girl - Alexandra Marie weighing in at 8lbs 12oz. I had the day off so that was nice and didnât need to leave work early or take time off. Now oldest is a boy and the 2 youngest are girls. Son said last night that this is it - no more but we will see. I can see them perhaps having one more.
Puppy is doing well. Last night I was only up with her once and then up âearlyâ - 30 minutes from the time I would have gotten up. She seems afraid of my husband so I need to figure that out. He isnât big or yell at her or anything. I just donât think that she has had that much exposure to men. Her name is Mocha. She was more a chocolate color than black when we picker her up. The pictures we had seen of her looked like she was a black then brown when in reality she is more brown than black. She will keep me on my toes. 
Congrats on the new family member(s)
No date yetâŠtheyâre predicting a lonnnnnng engagement, but we shall see!
KMC - my daughter was engaged 21 months. She wanted to avoid being rushed or any stress. Well that worked okay until the venue pulled out 6 months prior to the wedding.
Such great news here! Pie sonâs job and Pie momâs engagement definitely top the list but so does Roch momâs new granddaughter, KMCâs sonâs engagement! (I always love your stories, KMC!) Glad your sister and Shaw wife are doing well. Of course, I followed all the wedding news over the summer - such fun!
CQ, best of luck in Hâs new position and your new digs!
Kind of boring around here - no weddings, babies, job changes, illness (thank goodness!) or major trips. Just enjoying every day and having fun at work while trying to keep my head from spinning off listening to the news!
Peace to you all!
Hello all! Back from a great trip to Italy. We were all over the place â Amalfi coast, Sicily, Lucca, Cinque Terre, and Bologna. We planned the trip based on places in Italy none of us had been previously. We did it all in terms of transportation â planes, trains, automobiles, buses, subways, bikes and feet. (Alas, no horseback riding.) We had perfect weather â warm and sunny every day; not 1 drop of rain. And whatâs not to like about the food and wine? Oh, and the sights were pretty spectacular, too!!
Anyway, now weâre back at the beach for a couple of weeks to wrap up the fall chores before heading back to Cambridge for the winter. Iâll get in a few more rounds of golf, too. S has officially deployed to the âsandbox;â it will be a long 6 months.
@missypie - Iâm with RM; did I miss earlier news about your momâs wedding? How did it all go? Adding my congrats to pieson on his teaching job.
Congrats to others on various new jobs, engagements, grandchildren, and puppies. Best wishes to ShawWife and KMCâs sister for continued recovery.
Welcome back CBB. Sounds like a fantastic trip.
Picked up my new sewing machine this weekend. Had a full day class on it. It has not hit my sewing room yet as I made a pact with myself that it wouldnât end up there until I actually cleaned the room. I want it such that the puppy can come up and snooze while I sew so need it clean enough for that. It will take a bit.
Wonderful weekend weather wize here so we spent it cleaning the gardens and getting the outside ready for winter. Managed to get through it all even with an all day sewing class.
Puppy is doing great and loves being outside. Yesterday we did a bit of nail trimming and a bath. The nail trimming didnât seem to bother her but the bath she really wanted no part of. We will need to keep doing that so she doesnât mind it.
Granddaughter and DIL are home and doing well. DIL is tired but I think I would be also with a 2.5, 1.5 and a newborn. I canât even imagine! Nice thing is that S has a month off to help out.
RM, what kind of machine did you get? I am mulling a quilting-only machine with a wide throat. I use my old small Viking for that now, but would like something simple and rugged so I can quilt without having to rent a longarm.
What is pieson teaching, missy?
Mine although is rugged isnât simple CountingDown. I do a LOT of sewing and would like to do more. Mine is also an embroidery machine as I do like machine embroidery although I still do hand smocking. I just bought the new Pfaff Icon. Look on the Pfaff site. I love that it has a deep throat so that I can use if for quilting and heavier objects like making chair covers - last one I did in leather and it was difficult on my last machine. The extra couple of inches on this one will make a difference.
Happy Halloween to all!