My ears aren't pierced but I'd like to explain my wifes experience for many years ago. She had her ears pierced in 1974 at which time ear piercing was not very popular, she had been thinking about it for a while and around the time of her 16th birthday, her mum suggested that if she went and had her ears pierced, her mum, would buy her some earrings. That decided it so she went to the local jeweller in Greenford, West of London and had to make an appointment to go back the following week to be pierced, that seems so strange now with ear piercing being immediately available. the man used a device called the Simplicity Ear Piercer which effectively pushed a needle through her lobes and then inserted hinged sleeper hoops into the holes. She had to keep the sleepers in for 6 weeks weeks turning them daily. After 6 weeks she took the sleepers out and tied to get in the earrings her mum had bought her. After half an hour of prodding and poking they would not go in and so she put the sleepers back for another two weeks and went and some some studs instead. Fast forward nearly ten years and I asked her one night if she still had her sleepers - to which she said no as they had broken, but asked me why i liked them particularly. I said because wearing them would make her look like she had just had her ears pierced. No more was said, and we went on holiday a few weeks later, having arrived at the resort she handed me a little brown envelope - and said 'present for you'. Inside was a new pair of hinged sleepers which she immediately let me put in her ears and wore them for the rest of the holiday. Wow. I have asked on a few occasions if she thought about having her ears re-pierced but she always said no, one hole was enough. So I got some spring loaded silver hoops and one night when i put these on her she said she would have another hole done. So far still only the one hole, but she did wear the spring hoops in public the other week and did look so good. Not sure where the earring/piercing fascination comes from as my mum did not have pierced ears and I did not have a sister, but just wanted to share this story

Hi ravencajun Zone 8b TX Thank you for your mentioning my product invisible clip on earrings. I think most of the people here have no idea what they are. I would like to explain. Invisible clip on earrings are made from resin and the earring findings are clear. So when you wear them, they look pierced earrings. This style of clip on earrings is popular in Japan since the population of non pierced people are high. And invisible clip on earrings are comfortable to wear. You can wear them for straight 6 hours at least comfortably since the resin clip on earring findings are soft. They fit your earlobes perfectly. So they are totally different from the normal metal clip on earrings. I don't get my ears pierced and had a hard time to find pierced look and comfortable clip on earrings. So I created. These invisible clip on earrings are available at MiyabiGrace on Etsy and you will have more clear idea what they are if you read my customers' reviews. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiyabiGrace?ref=hdr_shop_menu#reviews If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Jennifer MiyabiGrace

@Sally T how exciting! share pics of your reno! it really is SO much work - I had no idea at the onset of this! you bring up great points and one of the few things we won't do is move the window - this reno wasn't planned (our house flooded unfortunately) so we're taking advantage of the opportunity to start from scratch but window moving wasn't part of the plan. If we do change something, we'll turn the windows in the living room into slider patio doors. Honestly our house gets a TON of light - except the kitchen and I'm kind of ok with that. Even the window that's there doesn't get light like the rest of the house b/c of the direction it's facing. And let's totally talk sinks in island! I hear you on no sink in island - and I know most of my friends feel the same...BUT functionally, I love the sink in the island. It allows me to have the function of the dishwasher and trash right next to it and tucked away so you don't have to see them. The only pain in the behind is it's not as pretty to have a faucet emerging from the island. But I'm willing to compromise on the day to day function and hope that a beautiful brass faucet with Blanco sink won't be an eyesore at a party!

@murraysmom Zone 6a OH The preservation breeder we got Whisper from told us that the Phalene Papillon was nearly extinct in the US. When this breed was discovered by Americans it seems the prick ear style was preferred so the show folk started breeding exclusively for that trait & it’s what’s mostly seen in US. In Europe, the drop ear style is still preferred. There is no other difference between the two styles but the look is totally different. I think the prick ear style makes this dog look more like the rascal they are & the drop ear style does look very ’regal’. When we suddenly lost our Ginger, a prick ear style girl, my DH decided our home was too quiet and sad so we must have another companion. I agreed but didn’t want a dog that looked like Ginger - too painful. We also thought not a puppy but couldn’t find any available rescue Paps. A retired show dog was suggested to us which we thought a good idea and we met Whisper. We love the breed personality so we wanted another Papillon. We’ve had other small breeds - Yorkie & Poodle & loved each of them dearly during their long healthy lives with us. But the Papillon is the perfect fit for us in our retirement years. They are also called Continental Toy Spaniels. It’s easy to see the Spaniel bird dog traits in them with their natural bird flushing ability. Both of our Papillons demonstrate this trait - stealth stalking then rushing into a shrub full of birds that come flying out. Whisper looks so pleased about it when she comes out from under the shrub that was full of small birds. BTW in French Papillon means ’butterfly’. Phalene means ’moth’. Thus, the butterfly & moth eared dogs.