Unutterably Silly So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?

[issybird]

I put up my tree today and am in the process of trimming it. I prefer real trees, but prelit fake ones are so much easier and cheaper in the long run that I got seduced several years ago. I admit this tree is looking rather seedy, but I contend it's part of its charm.

Trimming the tree is always somewhat melancholy. Some of the ornaments go back to when I was small and no matter how tarnished, on the tree they go. And the first thing I put on it every year is an angel my oldest nephew made when he was little; he died of cancer twelve years ago.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

I put up my tree today and am in the process of trimming it. I prefer real trees, but prelit fake ones are so much easier and cheaper in the long run that I got seduced several years ago. I admit this tree is looking rather seedy, but I contend it's part of its charm.

Trimming the tree is always somewhat melancholy. Some of the ornaments go back to when I was small and no matter how tarnished, on the tree they go. And the first thing I put on it every year is an angel my oldest nephew made when he was little; he died of cancer twelve years ago.

My cats are far too rambunctious for me to put up a tree, but I have ornaments that belonged to my great grandparents in storage. I have some stuff from the teens and twenties I'll never let go.

I just gave little Sei cat her last dost of post-op meds (we have been medicating her every four hours since Wednesday, so I am deliriously tired at this point. I hope to do the Christmas decorating on Monday since its an office day for my wife.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by issybird

I put up my tree today and am in the process of trimming it. I prefer real trees, but prelit fake ones are so much easier and cheaper in the long run that I got seduced several years ago. I admit this tree is looking rather seedy, but I contend it's part of its charm.

Trimming the tree is always somewhat melancholy. Some of the ornaments go back to when I was small and no matter how tarnished, on the tree they go. And the first thing I put on it every year is an angel my oldest nephew made when he was little; he died of cancer twelve years ago.

In the same boat as @astrangerhere - cats preclude trimmed trees - but I still have one ornament from childhood - a red plastic Santa boot that I used to fill with tree needles every year.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I have a serious question--if you've completely forgotten what TYPE of mattress you need--firm, soft, feather-top, not, yadda--how the holy hell do you figure it out? I can no longer sleep in my mattress.
Hitch

I have been loving AIR mattresses for the last 15+ years. I bought "ComfortAire" but they've now been subsumed into "Sleep Comfort".

You can CHANGE the firmness to what you like. If you get the right one, you can each change your side separately. And you can change it again next day if that proves not quite right. You still get to choose pillow top vs less so, in the store.

They're also light, so changing the sheets is much easier. (Though I also splurged on a QuickZip sheet, where the extra-deep elastic part of the sheet stays on, and you zip off and wash the top part only!)

Air mattresses are also much easier to move, though you have to lay on them to get the air out, and the interior plastic bladder is still not light . It folds and fits into a UHaul small or medium size box, though. One box for each bladder half, one box for the fabric and foam coating, plus an engine underneath to pack. It doesn't run during the night, only when you change the buttons. Nearly silent in any case.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I have been loving AIR mattresses for the last 15+ years. I bought "ComfortAire" but they've now been subsumed into "Sleep Comfort".

You can CHANGE the firmness to what you like. If you get the right one, you can each change your side separately. And you can change it again next day if that proves not quite right. You still get to choose pillow top vs less so, in the store.

They're also light, so changing the sheets is much easier. (Though I also splurged on a QuickZip sheet, where the extra-deep elastic part of the sheet stays on, and you zip off and wash the top part only!)

Air mattresses are also much easier to move, though you have to lay on them to get the air out, and the interior plastic bladder is still not light . It folds and fits into a UHaul small or medium size box, though. One box for each bladder half, one box for the fabric and foam coating, plus an engine underneath to pack. It doesn't run during the night, only when you change the buttons. Nearly silent in any case.

Well, hunh. I'm definitely going to have to look into that. Should I ask about the reality of air mattresses (of course, I'm thinking about the kind we had as kids, vis-a-vis camping and the like, not modern bed air mattresses) and big-ass cats with big-ass claws?????

Hitch

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Well, hunh. I'm definitely going to have to look into that. Should I ask about the reality of air mattresses (of course, I'm thinking about the kind we had as kids, vis-a-vis camping and the like, not modern bed air mattresses) and big-ass cats with big-ass claws?????

Hitch

Nothing like the camping kind, really. The inner "bladder" looks like that air mattress, but it's really thick rubber. It is zipped into a cloth and foam shell, with a "pillow top" on top (if you choose that) so that no cat claws can get near the delicate part. It LOOKS just like a mattress.

I'm having trouble finding a "cut-away" pic online; maybe they are private about that detail. Here's a small blowup of the parts that surround the actual air bladders (plural if you get 2 separately controlled one, for his-and-her). The air bladders are the 3rd layer down. Below that, the next layer is the outer foam bumpers, and the last is solid. PLUS the cloth zip shell to make it look like a mattress.

They require a firm foundation - one pic showed "bunky board" things underneath. I've used them in 2 different waterbed frames, since I liked my furniture, and it provided the required firm base. But check measurements, cuz waterbed "Q" isn't the same as regular.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Nothing like the camping kind, really. The inner "bladder" looks like that air mattress, but it's really thick rubber. It is zipped into a cloth and foam shell, with a "pillow top" on top (if you choose that) so that no cat claws can get near the delicate part. It LOOKS just like a mattress.

I'm having trouble finding a "cut-away" pic online; maybe they are private about that detail. Here's a small blowup of the parts that surround the actual air bladders (plural if you get 2 separately controlled one, for his-and-her). The air bladders are the 3rd layer down. Below that, the next layer is the outer foam bumpers, and the last is solid. PLUS the cloth zip shell to make it look like a mattress.

They require a firm foundation - one pic showed "bunky board" things underneath. I've used them in 2 different waterbed frames, since I liked my furniture, and it provided the required firm base. But check measurements, cuz waterbed "Q" isn't the same as regular.

I'll definitely look into it, BadGood, thanks! That--something where we could each adjust the bed--would be fantastic. I've looked at that one line, of course--the Temperapedic or Whatever-magic or whatever--that costs the earth, and if I have to spend it, I will--we're lucky that way--but I'd rather not, if I don't have to (cheap old cow). I honestly don't mind spending when it's needed, but there are some areas where I wonder if I'm being gouged just because they can.

We have had a platform bed for...hell, nearly 40 years. I dont' know if this line would need a new bed, but heck, I haven't replaced the bedroom furniture in 100 million years either. Whole new look, eh, and a good back. That would be nice.

Thanks, BadGood! I really do appreciate it.

Hitch

[poohbear_nc]

Replaced all the cardboard inserts in the scratching boxes - Pixie cat is in heaven - esp. since I dusted them with catnip ...

[Rumpelteazer]

Preparing to go see the next house. Both my sister and I are very curious about this house. It isn't big, but it seems like it's got a good lay out. Currently a house painting company is registered at that address, so hopefully the paint work is good.

Today is also the deadline for this house we saw last week. My sister fell in love with it (mostly the older details), me less so. It's about the same size as the house we're seeing today but the lay out is less good, especially the attic's got a lot of wasted space (due to where the stairs are). The deadline to put in your offer is noon, my sister's going to put in an offer, but not overbid a lot. We both expect there will be higher bids than ours.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Preparing to go see the next house. Both my sister and I are very curious about this house. It isn't big, but it seems like it's got a good lay out. Currently a house painting company is registered at that address, so hopefully the paint work is good.

Today is also the deadline for this house we saw last week. My sister fell in love with it (mostly the older details), me less so. It's about the same size as the house we're seeing today but the lay out is less good, especially the attic's got a lot of wasted space (due to where the stairs are). The deadline to put in your offer is noon, my sister's going to put in an offer, but not overbid a lot. We both expect there will be higher bids than ours.

Y['know, they both look pretty good, newer...I hope one of them works out for you, Rumple, I really do.

Vis-a-vis space--I realise you don't need lectures, but as someone who did end up with less storage space than I'd hoped, I've noticed that in the last 10 years, hell, five, the number of incredibly creative storage solutions and ways to make use of "odd" spaces and wasted spaces have multiplied like Bunnies on Viagara. When you see something like space (below stairs) or the like, take out that "other hat" and start thinking outside the box for what could be done creatively with it.

It used to be that if you were pressed for space or had odd spaces, you were sorta stuck with pullout drawer/trays inside a cupboard (kitchen) or those stacked doodahs, under the small sinks, OR those over the door storage things that look like where people used to put shoes, but all those things have been massively upgraded now so that they are massive, (storage-wise) easy to assemble, easy installation, etc. They make a "back of the door" medicine chest now--no kidding--so that you can have what is effectively a giant medicine chest on the inside of your bathroom door. They seem to be remarkably sturdy and you've made use of utterly wasted space. Is it as pretty? Will Architectural Digest come knocking? No, but...it's not wasted and for some folks, that's the end-all be-all.

My SIL made a Harry Potter room under stairs (a very nice one, don't get me wrong) for visiting family kids. Another cousin made a cat's abode (seriously). A wee house, with a resting couch for the cats, etc. HA!

Uniquity like that can be charming.

Let us know how it goes! Good luck! (If it's any comfort--I'm sure it's not--one of my guys is having a DREADFUL time securing a flat in Venice. I mean, apparently, you nearly have to donate blood for DNA samples, sign your life away, get on waiting lists and all this crap just to rent an apartment, in Venice. I guess I'm boringly old-fashioned that way--I think "I have apartment, you have money, huzzah!" Sigh.)

Hitch

[astrangerhere]

Cleaning the windows and floors in my new offices before the furniture is delivered on Monday.

[badgoodDeb]

Hey Hitch == I think the air bed company I mean, that’s still around, is Sleep Number. I conflated the older and current names.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Hey Hitch == I think the air bed company I mean, that’s still around, is Sleep Number. I conflated the older and current names.

Hi:

I've been looking all over--I mean...that sounded like if you conflated names, that you caused me damage or effort and NO, you did NOT, Badgood, so don't give it a mo's thought. I've tried looking at the uber-affordable versions, the not-so-affordable versions ("They want what, FIVE GRAND for a damned bed!????") and everything in-between, so don't worry about it one iota. At the moment, my entire brain is awash in sleep-this, slept-that, did-this-other-thing, something-numbers...it's ridiculous.

(Not to mention, you realize, when you make a significant bed change--go from a double to a queen, say, or to a King, or a split King, or like these split airbeds/sleep-numbers, all, I mean, basically, ALL your lines are toast. You can't fit a 15" fitted over a 17" mattress, for example. Can't use your fitted for any bed where the mattress splits and adjusts separately, oh, no. Can't do that. I don't even KNOW if I can fit the sheets that I like (yeah, yeah, shocker, I know, I'm a pissy old thing about sheets--I am indeed that Princess and the Pea around anything on my skin, whether it's clothing, loungewear, towels OR SHEETS...my skin has been aggravatingly sensitive to that stuff since I rolled out of the womb, they tell me...to that environment. GRUMBLE.....)

I remember when this was so easy..if the bed wasn't perfect, meh, shrug, you just adjusted. NOW my "adjustability" is pretty damn pathetic. Sigh. And a whole bunch of Groooooooooooooowl, too. Dangit.

Thanks, Deb! You really did help me get started and get my tuchus in gear.

Hitch

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Y['know, they both look pretty good, newer...I hope one of them works out for you, Rumple, I really do.

This morning my sister got a call from her realtor that we were overbid on the house in Gouda. One offer was a little higher than my sister's (€505,000) and one a lot higher. I don't mind it. I just didn't have a click with that house.

Yesterday we went to see the house in Nieuwegein, which we both really liked. Only two things need to be done before moving in; insulating the floor downstairs, it's got floor heating and without the insulation you'll lose a lot of heat. And the fuse box needs updating; it's still got the older style porcelain fuses, which are hard to get nowadays. And of course some rooms need painting to make it to our taste. Other things can be done when you've moved in.

This house was put on sale for €399,000 which seemed low to us. Luckily our realtor had worked with the selling realtor at the same office in the past. He advised to put an offer in between €460,000 and €465,000. My sister put a bid in at €471,000. Today at noon was the deadline for sending in bids. Just before 2 pm my sister called to tell my she made the highest bid!

My sister has already started sending me links with furniture she wants to get for the living room.

Fun fact; my uncle (yes, THAT uncle) used to live right around the corner from our house.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

This morning my sister got a call from her realtor that we were overbid on the house in Gouda. One offer was a little higher than my sister's (€505,000) and one a lot higher. I don't mind it. I just didn't have a click with that house.

Yesterday we went to see the house in Nieuwegein, which we both really liked. Only two things need to be done before moving in; insulating the floor downstairs, it's got floor heating and without the insulation you'll lose a lot of heat. And the fuse box needs updating; it's still got the older style porcelain fuses, which are hard to get nowadays. And of course some rooms need painting to make it to our taste. Other things can be done when you've moved in.

This house was put on sale for €399,000 which seemed low to us. Luckily our realtor had worked with the selling realtor at the same office in the past. He advised to put an offer in between €460,000 and €465,000. My sister put a bid in at €471,000. Today at noon was the deadline for sending in bids. Just before 2 pm my sister called to tell my she made the highest bid!

My sister has already started sending me links with furniture she wants to get for the living room.

Fun fact; my uncle (yes, THAT uncle) used to live right around the corner from our house.

YEAH !! HUZZAH!!!!

Hitch