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Post by auntkelly on Apr 21, 2023 13:11:05 GMT
Beautiful photos! Congrats!
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 19, 2023 19:38:17 GMT
My future son in law is named Kyle. Heâll be on his honeymoon, so heâll have to miss the gathering. đ
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 17, 2023 21:35:43 GMT
Before I passed judgment, I'd want to hear the flight attendant's version of the story. I'd also want to hear what the passenger's who witnessed the incident had to say about it.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 15, 2023 14:41:02 GMT
Itâs a beautiful place and I hope you get it.
Honestly, though, if it were my place and I was trying to sell it, I wouldnât rent to anyone with a dog, especially if it was a short term lease. I love dogs, but they can be hard on flooring. The floors in that condo are beautiful and Iâd be afraid the dogs would scratch them.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 11, 2023 19:58:57 GMT
I'm reading Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. It covers the first month of WWI and offers an explanation as to why Germany declared war on France and why other nations became involved. I'm reading it because my husband and I watched All Quiet on the Western Front and got to talking about how we really didn't know too much about WWI.
I'm also rereading The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave for book club. I seldom reread books, but I'm hosting book club and have to lead the discussion about the book so I thought I'd better reread it.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 11, 2023 14:48:40 GMT
I'd be okay w/ engineered hardwood floors. As I understand it, in some climates engineered hardwood floors are preferable to natural hardwood floors.
I don't care for the flooring in that house because I don't care for gray floors.
I posted on one of the other threads that I loved gray walls w/ white trim. However, I don't like gray floors. I think gray floors make a house look cold and sterile. Everyone's taste is different, and I don't think there are any right or wrong choices when it comes to interior design, but I know what my preferences are and I would never buy a house w/ gray floors.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 8, 2023 13:59:10 GMT
Have the organizers of the trip given any instructions as to what to pack and what size bags to bring? If not, I would have your son contact them. I think it would be very unusual for there not to be any instructions about what to pack and how to pack on this type of organized trip.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 8, 2023 13:46:06 GMT
My account is public. I have lots of hunky doctors who follow me because I am so beautiful! I donât even bother blocking them. I just ignore their messages. Iâve never had any problems.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 7, 2023 15:13:15 GMT
I love retirement.
I have not traveled nearly as much as I intended, mainly due to Covid and then because Iâve been busy helping plan my daughterâs May wedding. After the wedding, I want to start traveling a lot more.
I love the little things like waking up in the morning and having time to play Wordle and then take a walk before I shower.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 7, 2023 15:07:01 GMT
I think a set of books like Little House on the Prairie or Tales of Narnia would be nice. I read both of those series aloud to my kids each night before they went to bed when they were about 4-8. Itâs one of my favorite memories of their childhood. My son grew up to be a huge bookworm like me, but my daughter rarely reads for pleasure, so who knows if all that reading had any effect on whether they grew up to love books or not.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 7, 2023 14:56:56 GMT
I love light, cool toned gray walls with white trim. My furniture is mostly neutral tones as well. I have a cream colored couch. I feel like with that neutral background combination, l can use accent pieces to bring in any pops of colors I want. Cool gray looks as good with pastels in the Spring as it does w/ red in the winter. I change out my accent pieces frequently, so I never get bored w/ my color combinations.
I do think it can be very tricky to mix and match grays. Iâve brought home accent pieces I thought were cool toned grays in the store, only to find out they were warm toned grays when I get them home. Therefore, I donât buy a lot of gray accent pieces.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 5, 2023 14:15:00 GMT
I think that was my first reaction until I started to read about the design and the fact itâs based on an English wild flower meadow is SO King Charles. Also âThe invitation for the Coronation has been designed by Andrew Jamieson, a heraldic artist and manuscript illuminator whose work is inspired by the chivalric themes of Arthurian legend.â Legendary images/Disneyesque images? Either way I think itâs rather nice and, as someone mentioned up thread, reminiscent of illuminated manuscript. The more I look at it the more I think itâs very appropriate. I just looked up what illuminated manuscript is and I can kind of see the resemblance. But at least in some of the older pieces I saw, there was a difference in size of the shapes and flowers and usually with a swirl or something connecting them to add some cohesiveness. I generally think that knowing more about the inspiration should add to the story of the piece, not be the justification for why it is âniceâ. And I donât get that vibe here. But if they like it I guess that is what matters. I'm not an art critic, but I agree w/ iamkristinl16 . I would have expected all the wild flower meadow elements (flowers, birds, strawberries, butterflies, etc.) to help direct your eyes around the manuscript to all the more important elements like the coats of arms and the green man (which I love). The design would have been more pleasing to my eye if the elements were different sizes or had been grouped together or if the artist had left more empty space. Art is subjective, of course, so what I love someone else will hate. However, in case Charles and Camilla read this, I want them to know I'll go to the coronation if invited, even though I don't love the invitation.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 4, 2023 14:36:51 GMT
Wondering if it is worth the shipping costs to avoid the home improvement stores. We buy Proven Winners at a locally owned nursery. They carry a huge selection and I know the plants have been well taken care of by the workers at the nursery. Last summer, the nursery workers recommended some Proven Winners drought resistant plants for a new raised flower bed I was planting at our lake house. We're only there on the weekends, and don't have automatic sprinklers, so the plants go days w/out being watered. We lost lots of established bushes and trees last summer, but the flowers in the raised beds bloomed all summer. I think it was a combination of the plants being healthy before I planted them and the nursery staff's expertise in picking out plants that were truly drought resistant.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 4, 2023 14:11:30 GMT
I agree w/ Merge. Interview at least three realtors and ask them open ended questions about painting the woodwork. Listen closely to their answers. If all three tell you that you are going to have a hard time selling the house w/out painting the woodwork, then you should paint the woodwork. On the other hand, if you live in a sought after location and painting the woodwork will only slightly increase the value of your house, then you probably shouldn't bother.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 4, 2023 13:12:48 GMT
Orate is the word I start wordle with every day. It has never been the wordle answer as far as I know, although I do forget to play every once in awhile. However, yesterday orate was the answer to a clue in the NYT crossword, so that made me happy.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 31, 2023 18:54:28 GMT
My kids were the same age as your kids when we took them to London.
You've gotten lots of great tips, but the one I think is the best tip is to arrive at the Tower of London a few minutes before it opens, and then as soon as it opens, head straight to the building where the Crown Jewels are displayed. We were able to ride the people mover through the Crown Jewels three times w/ no wait before we moved on to see the other sites at the Tower of London. By mid-morning, the line to see the Crown Jewels was all the way down the sidewalk outside the building. I was pleasantly surprised at how much my kids enjoyed seeing the Crown Jewels.
My son, who is a big history buff like me, was completely in awe of the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum. I don't think I'd even heard of the Rosetta Stone until I was in college, but clearly my son had a better grasp of Ancient History than I did at his age. We split up to tour the museum on our own. When I walked into the area where the Rosetta Stone was displayed, I saw my son circling the display case and his jaw was literally dropping. He looked up and saw me and whispered "Mom, it's the Rosetta Stone!"
I think that's one of the fun things about traveling w/ teens-no matter how much you plan, you never quite know what the teens will love and what they will find boring.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 31, 2023 17:56:26 GMT
Congrats on your daughter's engagement!
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 26, 2023 12:52:17 GMT
Iâm very happy for you!
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 25, 2023 13:44:26 GMT
One thing that I really like on my taco salad is crumbled queso fresco. I like the texture better on a taco salad than shredded cheddar cheese. It somehow seems more authentic to me than cheddar, but I donât really know if that is the case.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 25, 2023 13:20:05 GMT
When the answer to every question you ask a health care provider begins with the phrase, âAs we
age . . . .â
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 24, 2023 15:36:01 GMT
Iâm sorry.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 23, 2023 17:22:08 GMT
So fun! And it doesn't look like there is a single axe murderer in the group! (The first few times I was part of a pea meetup I was scared to death an axe clutching, blood thirsty murderer would show up. However, all the peas I have met in real life have been lovely!)
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 23, 2023 14:14:42 GMT
I hope he voluntarily quits driving. Nothing is worse than trying to convince a loved one they shouldn't be driving anymore due to age.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 23, 2023 13:33:45 GMT
I havenât watched much of the trial. I just saw a few clips from the opening statements, so I donât know if I believe this claimantâs story. However, if the claimant can convince the jury that it is more probable than not that the accident occurred as he said it did, and that he suffered damages as a result, then he is entitled to monetary damages.
According to the claimant, Paltrowâs kids, who were skiing with her and two skiing instructors yelled âwatch us ski.â They went down the right side of the slope. Paltrow allegedly went down the left side of the slope and was watching her kids ski instead of paying attention to what was in front of her.
My understanding is that Paltrow is alleging the claimant ran into her, but I didnât hear much of her attorneyâs opening statement.
I understand one person claims to have seen the accident. I assume that person will testify. Iâm also guessing that both sides will have experts who will testify as to how they think the accident occurred, just as in car wreck cases. The jury will have to decide whether the claimant proved his case by a preponderance of the evidence, which is the standard in civil cases.
Iâm not sure, but I got the impression that the claimant is not alleging that Paltrow ran into him and then just skied off without checking to see if he was alright. My understanding is she thought he was okay and then skied off. He initially thought he was okay too, but later had to be carted down the mountain.
Itâs an interesting case regardless of whether a celebrity was involved. Iâm sure it wouldnât be making the news if a celebrity wasnât involved though. If I was still teaching business law, Iâd have my students follow this case. It would make for a great class discussion about negligence.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 22, 2023 19:22:26 GMT
I read Fatty Fatty Boom Boom by Rabia Chaudry for book club. It is a memoir about the author's lifelong obsession with food. The author was born in Pakistan and immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was only two. I really liked the book, but most of the members of my book club thought the writer's obsession w/ food was weird. I enjoyed it, but I think I am the only one in my book club who could relate to the author's obsession w/ food.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 21, 2023 18:00:52 GMT
Our family line is "and don't call me Shirley" from Airplane.
For example: "Surely you're not going to eat that?" "Yes I am. And don't call me Shirley."
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 20, 2023 14:39:10 GMT
Aunt Kelly was a silly nickname I gave to one of my college friends when we were out drinking one night. I would explain why I gave her that name, but it's not very funny if you haven't been drinking.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 19, 2023 13:08:11 GMT
Congratulations!
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 14, 2023 15:25:51 GMT
I remember in 1996, when I got married, my invitation person having a fit because I refused to send invites to my friends labeled "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith" when the wife didn't go by misses and had her own first and last name. Tradition! Propriety! Rules! Meanwhile none of those things kept up with women who didn't want to go by Mrs. Dude'sName. Anyhow, it's fine for things to change. The etiquette books and the invitation vendors have definitely caught up w/ the times. My husband and I are both lawyers and therefore a lot of our friends are lawyers and some are judges. We've invited six active or retired judges to our daughter's wedding and just about everyone of them was in a slightly different circumstance-one of the judges was a male whose wife used her husband's surname, another was a female judge who used her husband's surname, one was a retired judge whose wife didn't use his surname, one was a female judge married to a doctor and two were female judges who didn't go by their husband's surname. Every case was covered by the current edition of Emily Post's wedding and etiquette book. My friends would have come to the wedding regardless of how the invites were addressed, but all the "rules" in the Emily Post book made perfect sense and seemed much less awkward than how we were doing it w/out the help of the book. (For example, if only one party has a title, their title comes first: Dr. Jane Smith and Mr. John Doe. If both parties have titles, go in alphabetical order of surnames: The Honorable John Doe and Dr. Jane Smith.
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 14, 2023 14:34:12 GMT
Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe. I really wanted to like this--I like Anderson Cooper and I know he has really grappled with grief and reassessing his life after his mother Gloria Vanderbilt died a few years ago. He says in the book that he was never really interested in his Vanderbilt heritage, it wasn't part of his life, so this is an attempt to tell the story of some of the more famous Vanderbilts and set them against some of the major themes of American history. It wasn't really successful, in my opinion. There are many books about the Vanderbilts, and frankly they were not interesting people apart from being obscenely wealthy. Iâve read one really good book about the Vanderbilts- The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home by Denise Kiernan. I agree that the Vanderbilts were pretty boring people in general, but I think George and Edith Vanderbilt were an exception. George had an incredible vision for the home he wanted to build, Biltmore, and he spared no expense in seeking out the finest artisans from around the world to construct and decorate his home. Edith genuinely cared about the people of Asheville and tirelessly promoted and supported its artisans and other industries. The book not only follows the lives of George and Edith, but it also tells the story of many of the artisans who worked on the house. It would definitely make my list of top fifty books I have read.
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