what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[O2Bfree]

Sunday, I found one of our cats had died. He was 12 years old and we thought that he was our healthiest cat. They are indoor cats and he was the only one who could still jump up on the counters and he was not overweight. We have 2 other 12 yr old cats and 2 14 yr old ones, so we expect more of this in our future. For some reason, I thought they would live until their 20's. It makes me think of those of us planning on our money lasting until our 90's or 100. I don't really think I will last that long. We buried our sweet Elo. It was hard, since my DH is not supposed to bend or lift over 15 lbs, due to his cataract surgery.

We lost our dear, oldest cat awhile ago. She had a good 15 years.

This gets me teary-eyed even now, but Garrison Keillor wrote this touching little poem about the death of his cat: In Memory of Our Cat, Ralph - Garrison Keillor | Garrison Keillor. Bitter-sweet.

 

[NW-Bound]

... My brothers have each owned a tux and tails as well for all of their lives. Not the same ones! But they always have formal wear that fits and looks nice, just in case. They tell me that there have been many more opportunities to wear them than one might at first expect, and hopefully that will be what you discover as well.

Seeing no white tie outfits in the store, out of curiosity I asked the salesman about them, and he said that they are more popular back on the east coast, not out here in the west.

A black tie outfit does not cost more than a suit, of which I own several as most men do. But other than in a few functions, I do not have many chances to use one. In 3 recent family weddings of nieces, no one other than the groom wore a tux and I would stand out too much. It would have been a faux pas.

We and our guests all had on some formal clothes, and in fact our photographer jokingly said he felt so underdressed when he first saw us. Yet, that was at the morning reception, not the dinner party. We hosted a brunch at home to introduce close family members to the groom family in a more intimate setting than the usual dinner at the venue which would be crowded, and people dressed a bit less formally in the morning (I had a light-colored suit, not the tux).

The point is that people wear less formal clothes than they used to. Out of curiosity, because of what the young salesman said about neckties vs. bowties on a tux, I searched the Web and saw that many celebrities were doing neckties now. It was not to my preference, but fashion changes.

 

[MichaelB]

The necktie vs bow came up when DD married earlier this year as well. I am clearly in the old phart seating section because I think a bow-tie is far dressier. Buying a tux when DD#1 married 8 years ago would have been a better option vs renting twice, after all the fees and hassle are considered.They fit much better, you look better, and a daughter's wedding is one of the last opportunities one has to look good outside the casket.

 

[NW-Bound]

The necktie vs bow came up when DD married earlier this year as well. I am clearly in the old phart seating section because I think a bow-tie is far dressier.

A bowtie is not just dressier, but a necktie ruins the whole thing in my view.

Buying a tux when DD#1 married 8 years ago would have been a better option vs renting twice, after all the fees and hassle are considered.They fit much better, you look better, and a daughter's wedding is one of the last opportunities one has to look good outside the casket.

Yes, the rent is 1/3 the cost of buying at the store where I shopped.

Having only one daughter, I still have another chance with my son. Alas, he is enjoying his single life too much and it may never happen, or rather I may get buried in the tux.

About having your own tux, I was lucky that the store had one for me in a slim cut. Yet, they still had to do a little alteration to tighten up the coat to make it fit better. On top of that, they were able to have it for me in two days.

Yes, the well-fitted tux made me feel good, and the confidence showed in my welcome speech and toast (people told me this afterwards ).

 

[Meadbh]

The necktie vs bow came up when DD married earlier this year as well. I am clearly in the old phart seating section because I think a bow-tie is far dressier. Buying a tux when DD#1 married 8 years ago would have been a better option vs renting twice, after all the fees and hassle are considered.They fit much better, you look better, and a daughter's wedding is one of the last opportunities one has to look good outside the casket.

I recently attended a wedding in the eastern US. There was a very consistent black and white theme. All the men in the wedding party wore black tuxes of the same design. The groom and groomsmen wore black bow ties and the fathers wore black neckties. The bride wore white but the bridesmaids and mothers all wore black. The flowers were white. They all looked fabulous.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Finished putting my garden to bed for the season before I am Baja-bound...which meant gathering fallen leaves (mostly maple) and covering all my vegetable beds with about a 6 inch layer of them. Also planted some garlic and covered them with leaves too. The idea is that over winter the leaves will prevent the PNW rains from robbing the soil of nutrients and the decomposing leaves will in turn provide the soil with lots of organic matter come Spring.

I do the same with my garlic and leaves.

Carved pumpkins Tuesday night and toasted pumpkin seeds.This AM I went shopping and then started crock pot chili. Also took the pumpkin pulp, cooked it, made curried pumpkin white bean peanut butter soup. Goofing off online now, then swimming.




Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[BBQ-Nut]

San Diego has been getting some high tidal surges along with high surf.


So, I went down to La Jolla Cove to check it out today.


Pretty impressive - when the big waves hit the cliffs, you could feel the 'thump' and it sounded like canon fire.


Got some decent shots

 

[pb4uski]

Threw away about 75 pounds of old magazines. Mostly sports illustrated from the 70's & early 80's

I hope that you at least kept the annual swimsuit issues.

 

[rodi]

San Diego has been getting some high tidal surges along with high surf.


So, I went down to La Jolla Cove to check it out today.


Pretty impressive - when the big waves hit the cliffs, you could feel the 'thump' and it sounded like canon fire.


Got some decent shots

The seals seem to be saying "meh" to the big waves. FWIW - I was married about a 1/4 mile south from the childrens pool (aka seal beach). I love that stretch of coast.


... My day. Busier than I prefer. Up early, but DH took the kids to the bus stop so I took the dog on a local walk (vs beach) and then worked out on the elliptical. After a shower I headed to Costco for gas and groceries... got home and stowed the groceries then it was off to lunch with a former coworker. Got home just in time to head out to get the boys from school. Dropped younger son off then took older son to the dentist to get some fillings. Thank goodness DH made dinner.

 

[harley]

A bowtie is not just dressier, but a necktie ruins the whole thing in my view.

Plus,

 

[NW-Bound]

Sunday, I found one of our cats had died. He was 12 years old and we thought that he was our healthiest cat.

We lost 3 cats in our years together. We only had one cat at a time. The first one was an orange tabby outdoor cat. One day, he never came back, and we never knew what happened to him. So, we pledged to keep our future cats indoors.

Our 2nd cat was a sweet white cat with blue eyes. She was not deaf as many white cats are, and always came when called. She suffered from kidney failure at a young age of 12, and it broke our heart having to end her misery.

Our 3rd and latest cat, a calico, suffered from an unknown disease, and we were still working with a vet to diagnose when she died of a violent death. And we happened to be home to witness the seizure right before death. Again, it was heart breaking.

My wife says she will not have any more pet. It's too sad to see them go.

 

[Meadbh]

Bow ties are definitely cool. I discovered this late in life, but better late than never.

Now, look at the photos below. I prefer a smaller tie to the big one. What is the preference of the gentlemen (and ladies) of this forum?

I prefer the big bow tie because it looks like an authentic piece of fabric. The small bow tie looks too perfectly shaped to have been tied by hand, and has dots which I think make it look too "twee".

The shirts are different too. The top one has a wingtip collar, which I think some men might feel awkward wearing. But if the wearers are comfortable wearing it, why not?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Tonight went to see a performance of Opus by Cira - a contemporary circus with 14 acrobats and a string quartet:

https://vimeo.com/69438521

 

[NW-Bound]

I prefer the big bow tie because it looks like an authentic piece of fabric. The small bow tie looks too perfectly shaped to have been tied by hand, and has dots which I think make it look too "twee".

The shirts are different too. The top one has a wingtip collar, which I think some men might feel awkward wearing. But if the wearers are comfortable wearing it, why not?

I deleted my post with the photos because I realized that I was getting carried away on this subject, still excited about my daughter's wedding. But with my post gone, your response was left hanging there. Hence, this post now.

I was asking for opinions on the preference of a smaller tie vs a larger one. I like the smaller size myself, as the larger one looks dominant on the wearer's throat. And I should have used better photos to ask for a comparison, because I agree with you that the design with dots is certainly not appropriate for a formal attire.

Well, enough about bow ties for now.

 

[Meadbh]

I deleted my post with the photos because I realized that I was getting carried away on this subject, still excited about my daughter's wedding. But with my post gone, your response was left hanging there. Hence, this post now.

I was asking for opinions on the preference of a smaller tie vs a larger one. I like the smaller one myself. And I should have used better photos to ask for a comparison, because I agree with you that the design with dots is certainly not appropriate for a formal attire.

Well, enough about bow ties for now.

We had a fashion discussion. Perfectly legitimate use of ER time!

 

[NW-Bound]

Now that my daughter's wedding is a week past and all that remains is just memory, I am fading back into the normal life. It's back to shorts and T-shirts for me.

But there's some residual effect. This morning, going for a walk around the block with my wife, I checked to make sure that the T-shirt I put on was relatively new and not too faded or got holes (but the older thin T-shirts are so comfy!). Perhaps I will even start to wear my polo shirts more often.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We had a fashion discussion. Perfectly legitimate use of ER time!

Some days being in a fashion discussion on e-r.org might be my most productive activity of the day.

Share away the details of your daughter's wedding NW-bound. It is a big life event. We're excited for you.

 

[Nodak]

Finally finished unpacking CDs, DVDs, and books.

 

[Walt34]

Dropped off a return package at UPS for DW. A jacket she'd ordered had a non-functional zipper.

Gym, hour and 15 minute workout.

Returned some books to the library, checked out four more.

Light grocery run.

 

[W2R]

So much rain is predicted for tomorrow night here, that local officials are urging families to do their trick-or-treating tonight instead of tomorrow. So, I updated my avatar to a scary one for Hallowe'en.

Having been a kid myself at one time, I predict that instead of obediantly going out tonight instead of tomorrow night, at least some local kids will be out trick-or-treating BOTH nights. ("Let's have Hallowe'en twice and get twice the candy!! Oh goodie!" ). We'll see.

Other than that, went to another post-operative checkup with my ophthalmologist. All is well.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Usual morning routine (fix lunch for DS, coffee, some internet time), but then dashed off to meet the San Diego Tracking Team for my first volunteer tracking survey at Iron Mountain.

Watched the sun come up over the mountain in the pleasant crisp cool morning air.

Spent 4 hrs on the survey looking, analyzing, and documenting tracks for rabbit, woodrat, coyote, bobcat, kangaroo rat, squirrel, deer, and various bird. I'm logging more 'dirt time' in identifying tracks and what they mean.

We also did see some Coopers hawk, some rabbit, bird, and a large roadrunner.

I met some new people and look forward to more such surveys!

Did some errands on the way home, picked up some groceries for the weekend.

Now just chilling before DW comes home with some pizza - got the wine cooling now.

DS is off to the high school football game after work -so we have the evening to ourselves.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We took a road trip to the closest Fresh and Easy store. They are all closing now so we stocked up on wine and some of the other closeout deals.

Later on we took the dog for a walk at a park with some pretty mountain views, gardens, fountains and a small lake. We like to just sit in the garden near a stream with a little waterfall and enjoy the views.

 

[MRG]

When I weighed this morning the scale said I have made my goal! Six months and fifty+ pounds are gone. Obese to having a normal BMI in that time frame. I was taking medicine for tachycardia, hypertension, triglycerides, GERD, insomnia; now I take nothing and all symptoms are gone, all my numbers are great. BP runs right at 110/70, in May my average resting heartrate was 96 BPM, this October it's 71! Oh I don't snore anymore, neither does DW.

I feel amazing, things I couldn't do or struggled to do are now easy. My mood is better, I have more energy than I've had in 31 years! What a great adventure this is.

Food tastes so much better and we're both enjoying trying new foods all the time. My DW who hated all vegetables now thinks Brussels sprouts are wonderful.

 

[powerplay]

When I weighed this morning the scale said I have made my goal! Six months and fifty+ pounds are gone. Obese to having a normal BMI in that time frame. I was taking medicine for tachycardia, hypertension, triglycerides, GERD, insomnia; now I take nothing and all symptoms are gone, all my numbers are great. BP runs right at 110/70, in May my average resting heartrate was 96 BPM, this October it's 71! Oh I don't snore anymore, neither does DW.

I feel amazing, things I couldn't do or struggled to do are now easy. My mood is better, I have more energy than I've had in 31 years! What a great adventure this is.

Food tastes so much better and we're both enjoying trying new foods all the time. My DW who hated all vegetables now thinks Brussels sprouts are wonderful.

Congratulations! You are doing great and imagine how wonderful retirement will be now.

 

[Theseus]

When I weighed this morning the scale said I have made my goal! Six months and fifty+ pounds are gone. Obese to having a normal BMI in that time frame. I was taking medicine for tachycardia, hypertension, triglycerides, GERD, insomnia; now I take nothing and all symptoms are gone, all my numbers are great. BP runs right at 110/70, in May my average resting heartrate was 96 BPM, this October it's 71! Oh I don't snore anymore, neither does DW.

I feel amazing, things I couldn't do or struggled to do are now easy. My mood is better, I have more energy than I've had in 31 years! What a great adventure this is.

Food tastes so much better and we're both enjoying trying new foods all the time. My DW who hated all vegetables now thinks Brussels sprouts are wonderful.

And even more congrats!

I've found that shedding weight in ER doesn't seem to take as much effort, no longer dealing with the demonic stress levels (insert workplace images of Halloween monsters here) helps quite a bit. Have a ways to go yet, but have already noticed much improved BP and heart rate as well although doc hasn't yet given me a reprieve on the meds. Maybe at my next checkup. Same goes for enjoyment of food, flavors are now much more appreciated over quantities. Last time we went out to eat, DW ordered a 9oz tenderloin and I got a 16 oz ribeye. Brought the leftovers home and we had enough for 3 more satisfying meals each!