While on the subject of tea, this "stone-builder" can no longer have it due to high oxalates. I used to drink a lot of herbal teas. Rooibus was a favorite among many classics. Any good brand recommendations?

eta--Reading online, green tea may be permissible. Also, white tea which I've not tried. But not black teas. 😢

I haven't been a big fan of green tea because it always came out bitter. I bought some organic green tea from Ocha &co So far I've tried the Fukhamushi. They have instructions for brewing and I follow them..I actually like it. It's mild and it has such a beautiful green color. I have others, but I haven't tried them yet

Thanks, Printesa. I read some good reviews. Is Ocha & Co. a favorite of yours?

dsimber, it's the first time I tried them. I looked into organic green tea from Japan for a while and this company looked good..couldn't find any negative reviews. There are others such as Pique tea, which also has good reviews and gets recommended a lot, but they were a lot pricier.

Any other recommendations before I place an order? I'm hoping for small quantities to discover what I like best. This is going to help with my two-year struggle to drink enough fluids every day.

https://www.clipper-teas.com Recommended: organic fair trade.

Also available on Amazon. They have green tea in a few different varieties plus you can also get decaffeinated green.

Dsimber, I drink this every evening: https://www.amazon.com/Pickwick-Rooibos-Original-1-05-Ounce-Packages/dp/B003YBH384

Thanks for the tips, all you tea drinkers! I might have to unpack some pretty tea cups, Lia. Then again, I just recieved an email from my son's former pottery teacher. My new mugs are on the way. Is there any advantage to tea cups like there is for different wines? I don't want to ruin the tea!

Dsimber, you must be careful. I love tea, too ,but learned that tea has a high amount of oxalates. I know you had looked at that list when you had been in the hospital. So, I drink GREEN TEA or herbal teas ( which aren’t really tea, but are a nice substitute and come in many flavors ) . Maybe you ruled out limiting oxalates as having had caused your particular episodes. It seems my urologists don’t rely heavily on the oxalate restriction and diet, but Not knowing what caused my stone formation, I try to strike a balance between just not overdoing any of those foods as well as, staying hydrated with water, lemon and sometimes apple cider vinegar, as well as citrate supplements - magnesium citrate, potassium citrate. This is certainly between you and your doctor. I just love tea, so I have modified, as I said to green tea or herbal ( warm and soothing - just not real tea, haha ).

I meant ruled out limiting oxalates as a precaution. . Also, having ruled out that method because your kidney stones were not calcium in nature and thus not affected by the oxalate level.

Ooops, 😳 so sorry. I just read backwards and see that you were perfectly aware already. Should not have jumped the gun before catching up on the thread ! 🙄

Just a rough day all the way around, Seajay ! I’ve been stepping in it all over the place, lol !🤪

Nicci, it was sweet of you to be concerned. I tend to use the word "tea" too loosely. And you're right...I have to limit oxalates. My ordeal has not ended; it started last March!!! How are you doing?

Dsimber, as you may recall, I was in the emergency room last March as well, with something else actually, when it was discovered that I had k.stones. Since I already had to have a stone surgically removed in December of 2019, I now am regularly monitored and will have to go back for tests and X-rays this year. One surprise ,and source of frustration for me, has been that the doctors seem to focus less on preventative intervention than I would expect. They seem almost cavalier about using surgery to address stones. Easy for them to feel that way - surgeries are how they make their living ! In my opinion , there should be more focus on and help available for people prone to stones , but also, perhaps, have other medical conditions , to guide non surgical, more holistic care. The supplements and low oxalate diet I eat derived from my own research. I’m currently fine , but try to stay diligent. Thanks for asking.

Nicci, I understand your frustration, and I agree. Thank you for reminding me of your circumstances. I wish no repeat episodes for you! 🥰

Fiss. Has TSFP seen the house yet?

Following

Long enough to set up the bar, unpack the Target run and then leave to go skiing. They are still sanding and finishing the front hall floor and the floor at the top of the stairs.

😉

It’s about relaxing and having fun together like old times!😀😎

🤣Their priorities sound good to me.

Sounds like a good way to distract you from the insurance adjuster and MIL.

Well, Her Majesty apologizes for the nearly two year gap in the story…we had to put down a couple of Peasant Revolts (and please, this is all tongue in cheek, there are no peasants, just neighbors, and lawyers). But best when dealing with these things it is best to keep a low profile. Within a month of purchasing the property, we were contacted by an attorney who was talking about an adverse possession claim on some land behind our back lot…it is a “paper street”, a remnant from the original subdivision (circa 1907). By statute, it “belongs” to us…although not covered by our title insurance. Because that was the first phone call I made! We commissioned a survey, and half of the paper street is, indeed, ours. Our attorney made them a proposal, and we have heard nothing. The survey also revealed that another neighbor’s fence was five feet over the property line, and he had a poured concrete skate park that was also 5’ over the property line. Hence the multiple needs for the attorney. Thankfully, the fence and the skate park were on our property “with permission”. Which means that permission can also be withdrawn. Which it was. Being the nice people that we actually are, when the skate park neighbor mentioned that he couldn’t budge it with a sledgehammer, our response was “For the love of God, we have to get an excavator in here anyhow, we will deal. Saw cut where you need us to rip it out. No guarantees, but no we’re not going to bill you”. Excavator ripped the offending part out very neatly, neighbor still doesn’t like us!

So with survey in hand, the Queen commissioned the royal builders to come up with a plan…very quickly, it was determined that the new stable addition for the royal carriage would require a new driveway…just to build the place, never mind how dysfunctional the old drive was for daily use. Ka-Ching. 1st pic is 104” wide gap in the wall original driveway…picture 2 is new drive, picture 3 is a young King and very young Princess.

We then had to discuss the trees. I love trees, but with a background in horticulture, I am fully aware that disturbing their roots as we were about to do is VERY BAD! There was one venerable old sycamore that I was willing to try and save..but then one of the other trees attacked! It lost a limb within an hour of the builder and I standing under it. Maybe the neighbors are right, perhaps I am an Evil Queen!

So having decided to remove the sycamore, it was time to start digging the foundation. The plan was to complete this project in two phases. Phase 1 was to build the garage structure and a breezeway.
The garage was planned to have a 1 bedroom unit over it. Then the Princess and the Royal grand dog were going to move into the unit during Phase 2, while the rest of the cottage was rehabbed and restored to its original single family glory.
It’s so cute to have a plan like that when renovating…..it’s called “Setting yourself up for failure.”
As they prepared to dig the new foundations, it quickly became apparent that the odd structure on the back of the original house, which we planned to tie the breezeway into…had no foundation. At all. We already knew it was seriously understructured, but we had hoped to not have to deal with it until Phase 2.
It had to come down completely. The up side was that we gained a lovely heated two story space in its stead. The upstairs is “the laundry room of dreams” for the main house, and the downstairs is a flex space behind the main house kitchen. TSFP will put her office there, but it could be a dining space or a playroom or a family room.

I think you have had amazing progress considering what has been accomplished with supply chain issues. Also, you must have very dependable contractors. Unlike the ones down here.

It’s fun to read about things we didn’t know and revisit things that we did.

So my contractors are, how do we say this politely? The State of Maine’s most high end? They mostly build in a very fancy summer community down the road from us…and, they also have a maintenance division! In the summer, they are banned from construction in the fancy community, so my projects fill a void in their schedule. At the moment, most of their worker bees hail from the outposts of the former Soviet Union. Russian is the lingua franca on the job site. And, they are mostly non drinking Baptists….

Those workers might be from Ukraine where there are lots of protestants like Baptists, but mostly Pentecostals..they were all from former USSR. I hope the project goes well. It's a beautiful home

Interesting!😀

What a saga…TSFP (Dr. TSFP) must be very pleased.

It’s hard to know how to structure “The Gingerbread House Chronicles”…I think if I show the upstairs laundry all finished at this point it will flow better! Ta da! The built ins use all of the space under the eaves for storage. The bottom drawers are 42” deep!

😳 Fiss, that looks like a piece of heaven to me! I wouldn’t even complain about doing laundry there!

No wonder it’s been called the laundry room to die for.

Exactly Sam!

So very nice! I live all the storage!

…love!🙄

The new downstairs space is referrred to as the “palatial puppy parlor “…. It has underfloor heat and a/c provided by a Mitsubishi mini split….
it is a flex space. For TSFP, it will be her office….

Nice what a treat!

Office… she’s a veterinarian? By office do you mean treatment space?

My idea of having died and gone to Heaven is a laundry room. I’ll take that one thank you very much. I wonder how much I’ll have to pay the gods to have them deliver it here?😝

Home office for paperwork!

Tuned it a bit late, but love what I see!!

Btw the "fairy tale" lead in is the best write up ever...your talents are wasted on here, Fiss...😘

The Queen has spent a very warm morning gardening at the Gingerbread Cottage. Even better, the construction cleaners are presently there, so the paper will be coming off the floors, and we can install the few bits and pieces that are ready to go!

So, Fiss, Princess the elder lives a couple of hours South of you and I take it she's doing fine. How's the reno on her MCM coming along? Has Princess the younger (TSFP) been able to move into any part of her new home yet or is she living in a rental for now? How is she liking her state-side job? You may have answered all these questions at some point and I've forgotten. I know you and OH are proud of these two princesses.

Our eldest child is working for an Israeli company, and spending much time in Israel and Europe! Technically working from home…ha! Princess the younger, aka Dr. TSFP, has been living in the Gingerbread Cottage whilst the Garaj Mahal has been under construction. Working within walking distance of the Garaj Mahal. We have a busy August planned, our annual Lobstahfest is on Saturday, and two weeks later the extended family arrives…Miss Peanut and her entourage, including her Pop-pop (Beloved’s evil twin, Skippy), and his latest fiancée….and Beloved’s sister (we are true sisters because our mothers’ only provided us with brothers!) who is dropping her youngest at Berklee in Boston.

You’ll be ready for a vacation in September!

What a fun time for you Fiss!😊