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maire_cate

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: Another "what to wear" thread
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maire_cate

I over pack too and always return home with clothes that I never wore. But I stick to one checked suitcase and my carry-on and fanatically check the weight requirement. The last time I was in the Dublin airport I watched a family trying to re-arrange the things in their suitcases so that they'd make the lower weight limit for flights inside Ireland. They were fine when they boarded American in Philly but didn't realize that the weight limit was lower on the flight from Dublin to Shannon. I think they finally bought an extra suitcase and paid the excess luggage fee.

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Sueb20



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maire_cate commented on a discussion: Finished Master Bath Pix (well 98.9% finished)
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maire_cate

You must be so thrilled - it's fabulous. I love all of your tile choices and fixtures, and how the tone of the vanity warms everything. Very clever to run the baseboard along the shower too. I know how much time and effort you put into researching and planning and it all paid off beautifully.

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Kendrah

Really nice job. Congrats. What is the wattage recommended for the lights and what do you have in there now? You can certainly get an LED equivalent that will be much brighter.

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salonva

Thank you- I am so happy with it.

This is the sconceMercer Single Tube Sconce Chrome . It says

  • BULB (1):
  • Type B 60 watts; (Bulb(s) not included)

that is what I got- an LED.FLSNT Dimmable Candelabra Light Bulbs 60W Equivalent E26 Base, B11 LED Chandelier Candle, 2700K Soft White, 6 Pack

I was on the phone with Pottery Barn asking if this was the bulb ( because Pottery Barn sold a bulb for a crazy $) and they said this was it.

I'd be happy to replace the bulb and see it brighter. I am just chicken as I thought this was the maximum. I'm thrilled t learn I was wrong....... do tell~ I'm not considering replacing the sconces. I'd love them to be brighter, but as I said, I do have additional lighting. Iwas just surprised that they don't actually offer more than good looks.

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: Gallery wall update
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maire_cate

That's a great arrangement - and at a good price too. I had Framebridge mat and frame a photo of our place in PA as a gift for DH one year. They did a really nice job - but framing one photo is much simpler than creating an entire gallery with different sizes and frames.

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rubyclaire

Yes, I sent my artwork to them and they returned it matted and framed. Can't remember the details exactly but I believe they sent the packaging to me to send the artwork to them.

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ajuju

That's gorgeous! I would love to do something like that in our hallway. What are the approximate measurements of the grouping as a whole?


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maire_cate likes a comment on a discussion: Rover
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Bluebell66

I have used Rover a few times with good results for our high maintenance 5-cat situation (one special needs, couple need meds, one pees outside of box, one vomits regularly, etc.). To find those few good people, I read tons of reviews and interviewed a LOT. Here are some tips: I made sure to read reviews and find people who had repeat customers. Weeded out the reviews made by mothers and friends. I would never choose anyone who says in their profile that they bring their kids or significant others along. I always ask, if they have pets, who they use as a vet and how do they like that particular practice. I ask about their pets - love the ones who get their phone out and show me a thousand pics. I watch how they are with my pets - love the ones who talk baby talk (even though personally, it puts my teeth on edge) to my cats, *ask* if they can pet before just assuming, ask about the personalities, etc. I like the ones who appreciate written instructions, ask for local backup contacts if an emergency happens and they can't get to my house (though Rover supposedly has provisions for that instance), and for the phone numbers of other people who will be with me just in case they can't reach me. I like when they confirm on the day we are coming home that we are still on schedule, and ask me to let them know when we arrive home - if we were to be a no show due to an accident or something, they would go over and feed/scoop until they heard from us.

Hope that is helpful!

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maire_cate likes a comment on a discussion: I don’t usually ask, but
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HU-127064464

Somebody please tell chisue ... "where to go" ... (with a smile, please).

At the grocer, early covid, a masked person used to direct us to which was preferable checkout, and sometimes I said "It's nice to sometimes have someone tell you 'where to go' - with a smile!"

On one such occasion another person in the waiting line asked "what do you mean - "With a smile - you can't see her face for the mask?!"

I said "You can see her eyes".

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maire_cate likes 2 comments on a discussion: Assisted suicide wisdom
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mtnrdredux_gw

Her daughter is giving her mother a gift, and by not standing in her way, a huge sacrifice. The Mom is fortunate to have this option and of course fortunate to have 96 years. I would talk about how wonderful her Mom is, and then mostly listen.

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Olychick

Thank you all again for your kind words and thoughts about this. I finally worked up my courage to call her, worried that I wouldn't be able to squeak out any words, but just start crying. But it was a really upbeat conversation and she made it very easy to stay positive. I had sent a waxed Amaryllis bulb to her via her daughter and she told me how it was in full bloom and such a delight. Then she told me how in 1924, her grandfather had moved in with her family for a few years and brought a tub of Amaryllis bulbs with him that bloomed every year. He kept them going for many years, then in the 1980's he passed on the bulbs to his great-grandson, who has kept them going all these years. Her daughter (my friend) recently visited the great-grandson and brought home 4 of these bulbs. So, in telling me this story, she was relating how special having a blooming Amaryllis is for her at this time.

She was a teacher and our conversation ran the gamut from Socrates to her thoughts about humanity going forward. One take-away for me when we talked about the current political climate and happenings: "It's always been hard to be a human." And another, "I think humanity, despite how it might look, is still headed in an upward direction."

So we said our good-byes, expressed our love, and I had a good cry after I hung up.

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maire_cate likes 2 comments on a discussion: OMG - fabric fiasco Serena & Lily
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mtnrdredux_gw

Update - they are sending all new yardage, free of course, 2-day Fedex, and a label to return the incorrect yardage. Whew.

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ratherbesewing

When I order fabric, even if it’s 20+ yards, I re-measure to ensure the correct yardage was delivered. While I am counting, I look for any flaws in the fabric too. Once you start cutting, you are potentially out-of-luck. Glad to hear you had a happy ending with customer service.

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maire_cate likes a comment on a discussion: Best Large Compact Umbrella?
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Olychick



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maire_cate likes 3 comments on a discussion: Cat ID help - is this any particular breed?
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barncatz

Thanks for the update!

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Jupidupi

Beautiful coloring, but it's not a special breed, just a plain ol' DSH (domestic short hair.) Cats generally don't roam more than a block or two from their house, so it probably lives nearby.

It reminds me of when I was staying in the country. One morning I was home alone, lying in bed, looked out the window and saw a cat. At first I thought our cat had gotten out; then realized that the color was wrong. I grabbed my phone and took a video to help find the owner. The cat turned and ran with kind of a hopping motion. So then I thought, "Poor rabbit, something happened to its ears." I felt guilty that I hadn't gone out to feed or rescue it, but I wasn't dressed and didn't want to get out of bed. When my husband returned, I showed him the video. He said it was a good thing I hadn't gone out because what I had seen was a bobcat!

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gsciencechick

Daisy being the queen of the screened porch with big brother Romeo. 😻

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: Craig Ellwood home demolished
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maire_cate

What a shame. If it had been listed there's a good chance someone who appreciated it would have bought it --- without tearing it down.

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palimpsest

I am thinking about both sides of this, because there is some discussion surrounding turning my neighborhood into a historic district. There are already many historic designations within the neighborhood, but no blanket designation of the neighborhood.

As with most things, this could be good, and it could be bad. On the one hand it could stop people from doing overbuilds or hideous modifications of their houses, or from tearing something down. On the other hand there could be a great deal of trouble if you want to replace windows.

So often in this city this seems to play out that a lowly homeowner can be requested to remove and replace a brand new but non-complying basement window, but if you are a developer with enough influence, you can be granted permission to tear down an entire row of 18th c. buildings by claiming it would be a hardship to redevelop them in a historically sensitive way.

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Jennifer Hogan

This is the outcome when you have the filthy rich who can have it all. Why would they care about anything beyond their own wants?


When I look at the homes that were built in the early 1900s in my home town it is so obvious what an economy where you had great income disparity looks like.


Here is the house owned by the founder of the steel mill

13,588 sqft





Then we have what became known as Mansion Row - The upper management housing.


Each home between 3500 sf - 5000 sf.



And then we have hundreds of the homes built for the workers 1000-1200 sf boxes. There are basically 2 floorplans. You walk in the front door - stairs are ahead of you. To the left is a living room, that either leads directly to the kitchen or may have a small dining room between the living room and kitchen. Go up the stairs and at the top of the stairs is the bathroom, beside the stairs there are either one or two smaller bedrooms and at the front of the house over the living room is the master bedroom.




And we used to have hundreds of even smaller - 720 SF 2 br 1 ba boxes. Most of those have been torn down and replaced with apartment buildings or small business complexes.


My mom lived in the one that is now boarded up when she first got married in 1938.



After the WWs the town grew around the existing town, the middle class thrived and lovely developments were built with homes with yards centered around elementary schools. Two shopping centers were built. There were still some rich, and some poor, but most lived in typical typical middle class neighborhoods instead of the masses living in the boxed row homes.




Sadly, our economy looks much more like the economy of the 20s than the 60s.


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Ally De

Wise advice from maire_cate.

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maire_cate likes a comment on a discussion: Have you used A'zon pharmacy?
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bbstx

m_c, alternating would be such a pain for everyone involved that it would not be worth it. There would have to be a transfer of the script each time I went to the different pharmacy.

I value their friendship and their many kindnesses to my family for 3 generations now (my grandparents were also patients of the father). They vigorously support our community and our free health clinic. I have the cell phone numbers of the owners and can call them anytime. I seriously doubt Jeff Bezos is going to give me his cell number or donate his time or money to our clinic for the underserved.

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: (lions and tigers and....) BEARS, oh my!!!
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maire_cate

We were aware of the wildlife in our woods when we first bought our property in upstate PA. We've encountered bears, foxes, bobcats, owls, hawks, coyotes, lots of snakes (rattlers, black, garter , copperheads), possums etc. I'd love to put out bird feeders if I could find one that was bear proof.

But the only damage has been minor. The porcupine chewed on the deck railing and the aluminum capping on the patio door and the bears love to swat the landscape lights. We've had more damage caused by invasive insects - the spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth), the wooly adelgid.



This photo is from last fall when a mother cub and her 3 little ones walked through our back yard.

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maire_cate

Cindy - it isn't, it just happens to be behind a branch on the ground. I am always amazed when I see them - they are the blackest animal I've seen - like a black hole. Honestly they look like cardboard cutouts.




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arcy_gw


Thars bears in them there woods!!!

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chisue

Lovely scene, arcy!

Deer, coyotes, and others can travel from Southern Illinois up through Wisconsin and Michigan -- probably to Canada -- right through Chicago and small towns, thanks to forest preserves.

We have very few in our north suburb now though, thanks to contraceptives meant to thin deer herds. Still, 'the wild' will probably outlast humans. Last week I saw a hawk lunching on a rabbit in our back yard. Small animals are about to have a feast here for about six weeks as the 17-year cicadas emerge. Will we have enough coyotes to deal with the result?

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: Happy Birthday Funky!
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maire_cate

Funky - wishing you the merriest of birthdays!




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Funkyart

Thank you all! I had a nice day! ❤️😎

I won't be celebrating until Friday but then I am a Birthday WEEK kind of gal!

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roarah

I hope your day was filled with love and joy!

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maire_cate likes a comment on a discussion: Aging... what products do you use?
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Bookwoman

I would like it if just once, the before and after photos were in exactly the same pose, with the same hair and makeup. I'll bet you'd see much less of a difference.

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: UPDATE: Who went grey and how painful was it?
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maire_cate

Jojo - I'm so glad you posted an update! Your hair looks great and so natural. I think the fact that it has different tones adds interest. I still color mine every 3-4 weeks and it would be a shock to my system if I stopped - at this point my hair is all white. it reminds me of Barbara Bush, the elder.

And congrats on the newest addition to your family. That's a really nice photo - relaxed and happy.

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dedtired

Looking good, Jo. Ill go natural one of these days.

Hope you enjoyed your visit with Compumom and her DH. I hada fun lunch with them the day before.

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: Fashion question!
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maire_cate

Speaking of animal prints - Susan Blakey (une femme d'un certain age) features them quite often in her blog. This morning she's showing leopard print sandals with wide leg linen trousers. Personally I do not care for the sandals, but the linen-cotton blend sweaters are great.

https://unefemme.net/casual-linen-sweater-outfit-idea-bold-color.html?utm_source=Une+Femme&utm_campaign=98931eea62-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_00482ff391-98931eea62-298395789

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Jilly

My mother had a long faux leopard coat in the ’60s, how I wish I had it (I do have my grandmother’s c. 1940s red coat with big brass buttons).

Leopard/other animal prints will always be in style to me. I don’t overdo it, but always have them in my wardrobe and decor.

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summersrhythm_z6a

I have dyed rabbit fur coat and fur hat (brown), sheared raccoon fur coat (red), 3 sweaters, a jacket and a pair of shoes in leopard print.

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maire_cate commented on a discussion: Fall Shoes - What are you liking this season?
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maire_cate

Well James - considering this post is over 6 months old and now it's April then 'gearing up for the cooler temps' is rather anachronistic.

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HU-163897337

Haha KSWL! You have a shopping addiction 😂 Hopefully you will wear the new booties.

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Bumblebeez SC Zone 7

I will get multiple pairs of the same shoe if I love them. Last year I ordered four different colors of Cole Haan zero grande explorer, shearling hiking boots.

I could wear them for light hiking, but they're more of a fashion boot. They're not a danner!

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maire_cate

We have 2 Blue Star gas ranges (a Platinum and a RNB) and are very happy with them. DH loves the high BTU burners and the ease of cleaning. Ours take about 20 minutes to preheat. We've have the Platinum for 7 years and have never had an issue with it. It's at our primary home and we also have a 30" Thermador electric wall oven. We use the Blue Star most of the time but if we're cooking for a crowd then the extra oven is handy.

At our vacation home we installed a 30" RNB about 3 years ago. Again - no complaints or issues with it. The RNB has an option to have the door hinged on one side and then it opens like a refrigerator door. We paid extra for that but since DH and I are older it makes accessing and cleaning the oven much easier.

Both kitchens have BlueStar hoods with make-up air.

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awm03

Jennifer Hogan, did you check the notifications settings on your phone? I have a Sansung Android phone; notifications alarms are separate from phone call alarms. I usually keep phone on & notifications off, so no audible alerts from my oven. But if I turn notifications on, I get dinged all day by email & text spam & all the push notifications too. So turn on notifications to hear your oven when you need it, turn it off when you dont.


My dil loves her new 30 in Cafe all gas range, & she's a fairly demanding cook, experimenting with multi-step recipes but also cranking out quantity for her growing family. Surely the 36 in version isn't radically different? Personally, I like the bells & whistles of GE ovens (cooking modes, phone control), & the DIL, with four kids & a newborn, is discovering their usefulness too.

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dan1888

Since you have dual fuel capability, explore an all electric induction range. Bosch 800 or Electrolx are choices. Wolf also.


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maire_cate commented on a discussion: My DH died , I am heartbroken UPDATE
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barncatz

Thank you for your post, Lyban. Seeing something other than the huge hole left by your loved one is just a tiny reassurance that your life will still have joy. DH and I were at a poetry reading yesterday and an author read one about that "rogue wave" Annie described so well. It is still such early days for you, keep taking care of your grieving heart.

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maire_cate

Just sending hugs your way and prayers for healing.

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maire_cate likes a comment on a discussion: For those with little ones……food fun
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eld6161





And, the show offs!



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maire_cate

Lyfia - checking in to see if you picked up your new wheels yet?

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summersrhythm_z6a

Peace on the road! Be safe!

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gsciencechick

Oh yeah, looking great there! Congrats! 🤍

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maire_cate likes 2 comments on a discussion: While We Are Talking About Bowls
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OutsidePlaying

Maire_cate, how funny. If i had been home i would have posted a photo of the same bowl! Actually i still have 3 plus one that has a chip out of it I’ll use occasionally for popcorn, etc since the chip is under the rolled top edge and you can hardly see it. I reach for those bowls for warming soup in the microwave because of the handle. Yes, i have some prettier pottery bowls, but seem to always reach for these white ones.

Jennifer Hogan, my dishwasher load varies with my cooking….sometimes the bottom is full of plates and there is barely anything in the top, and other times it’s all bowls and a couple of saucers. Plus the silverware that seems to multiply when i close the door.

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bpath

Mairecaite, I have that bowl, too! It’s perfect for the two of us, for cooking something small or for leftovers. The lid broke, too, which is to bad because it was also handy.

We have the ”colored” bowls, and the blue (we also have a yellow in the same small size) perfect for egg salad and tuna salad. The big yellow is the right size for microwave popcorn!

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