Saturday, August 17, 2019

Heaving Breaths, Thrifted Colors, & A Tale Of Two Sinks

The last few weeks have had John spending way too much time in doctor's offices, calling doctor's offices, fighting with insurance, making appointments, filling prescriptions, going back to the doctor because they wrote the WRONG prescription, and so on.


The good news is John's lungs are perfectly fine. The bad news is when we went to a new general practitioner to get John a physical, she claimed his lungs were akin to a "80-year-old emphysemic." Then she put him on a $300 inhaler that made him feel terrible and sound like a pack-a-day smoker.

After two weeks of misery we decided to get a second opinion from an actual lung specialist. Many exams and x-rays later, (see above), we were told John's lungs are the picture of health, and that the first doctor is an idiot. Ha! Our American medical system at work, everybody. ::headdesk::

I think the moral here is: don't go in for a physical?


 Suki questions my conclusions. 

John's also been dealing with new medication stuff for me (no worries, I'm also fine) and I'm grateful every day that I have the world's most charming Brute Squad going to bat for me. I tell ya, getting good health care is a full time job even when you're NOT sick.

Oh! There IS some really good stuff that came from the expensive lung debacle, but I'll tell you about that next time. Right now I have more important things to show you:


 Like my latest thrift store haul!


I convinced John to hem my new shorts (the middle ones are Men's sizes, so they're pretty long) and I was ridiculously pleased to find we already had matching thread for all of them. Look at those color matches! SO SATISFYING.

I wore two of those this week:




My Wal-Mart shoes are still going strong!


 More happy news:

 
Our old sink cracked and needed to be replaced, and by a minor miracle, John found the exact same one (which isn't made anymore) on Craig's List!


 We also replaced the old faucet plate, which was a cheap metal that corroded terribly. Blech.

The faucet itself is still doing OK, though:

This dragon faucet is only $50 on Amazon - but definitely buy a nicer faucet plate with it, so you don't have the same corrosion problems we did! (Here's the plate we just bought. It already seems better quality; heftier and with a solid base.)


Ta-daaa! 

It's so nice to have a crack-free sink basin and non-rusty faucet again.

 
 The corrosion did take off some of the finish at the base of the faucet, but I can live with it.


Oh hey, here comes another fantastic beast:

 ::CHOMP::

I wish it was easier to share my IG videos here, because I have so many great ones of the girls, ha. If you ever need a little Eva and Suki time, just click on my saved highlights on Instagram. I have so many cat vids there I had to start a new Highlight category!


It's hilarious how much white Suki hair ends up on Eva.

 

I could never be a food blogger (well, not a REAL one) because most nights all I want for dinner is some variation on chicken-and-rice, ha. That said, John made two new versions lately that were verrrrrry tasty:


Plus both are Low Fodmap!

The Sesame Chicken on the left is maybe a little too sweet, but otherwise fantastic. The curry-like dish on the right is more savory sweet with coconut oil and ginger and red peppers. (It's a little strange, but in a good way.) I've linked both recipes in case you're curious.


Now some eye candy:

 
 Grandma Thunder Pants (which is the best name ever) adds gold leaf in with her alcohol inks, and it is GORGEOUS.


In TV news John and I just finished up Blown Away on Netflix, the glass-blowing reality competition. It's pretty good! Still a little catty drama among the contestants, but worth it to see some of the super cool things they make.



And finally, John and I've been talking through all the big projects we still want to make this year. I'm curious to see what you'll make of this sketch from one of our brain-storming sessions, ha:


I mean, it's super clear TO ME what's going on here, but... any guesses?

:p


I hope you're having an awesome weekend!

60 comments:

  1. All of this is awesome, but the thread matches just blow me away! That *never* happens. I'm the proud(?) owner of too many spools that I bought for one small alteration.

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    1. I agree! So much joy seeing those perfectly matched spools!

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  2. Pretty clear to me that your sketch is of two people tossing a baby back and forth in front of a Christmas tree.

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  3. Have you watched Chasing the Cure with Ann Curry on TNT? I have two takeaways: People are more awesome than I thought, and way too many Americans are financially ruined seeking health care, or can't afford to follow the medical advice they get. Maybe someday we will catch up to the rest of the world...

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    1. I haven't even heard of that one, no! I'll see if it's streaming anywhere that we can watch. So true about the medical financial ruin; it's terrifying that in the country we're all one diagnosis away from bankruptcy, no matter what kind of insurance we have. o.0

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  4. Well, obviously it's a clown whose top half is cake being poked by a fireman on the right and Stitch on the left.

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  5. I totally agree with you about the bland colors on offer these days. Mainstream fashion can be so disappointing.

    I'm guessing the sketch is some kind of Nativity scene.

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    1. No, but it'd be fun to brainstorm some geeky twists on a Nativity. Although that would probably get offensive pretty fast... hm.

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  6. I totally read that handle as Grand Math Underpants. Which is also a great name.

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    1. Most folks on IG saw it that way, too! Either way, it's a win-win.

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  7. I see two ghostbusters guiding... something with a smiley face (Slimer...?) into a trap. Maybe a light-up kind of deal?

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  8. OMG Ghostbusters taking down the New York Library ghost?!?!?! That's going to be amazing!

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  9. I gasped when I saw the photo of the thread and the shorts. Gorgeous.

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  10. My son was really into the satisfying thread color match up!

    I LOVED Blown Away, though I guessed the final two in episode 1. There's less cattiness than in most similar shows, just from the one woman who is super defensive and territorial... everyone else was so nice that it bothered me that she wouldn't relax.

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  11. Ok, so I am trying to post this on my husbands computer this time, because apparently your site HATES my iphone! I think it is Agnes Nutter.

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    1. And I think that's Crowley and Aziraphale on either side.

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    2. Agnes is also the first place my brain went, but my brain is on Good Omens 24/7 atm, sooooo

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    3. You're not alone; my site hates a lot of phones, lol. (Sorry!)

      Also that guess is amazing.

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  12. Knowing your obsession with Disney, I can't help but see baby Aurora in her cradle with the fairies around her!

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  13. I feel for you after my expensive liver scare. I was seriously seriously ill, the tests said, although I felt fine. And then there were more tests and more tests and then...oh. Well. Never mind. Just get a checkup next year. And it was all over except the bills. I felt like I was the unwitting solution to the doctor's office's cash flow problem. I hope your bills are paid and gone quickly and it doesn't happen again.

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    1. Oof, a close friend of mine had the exact same thing with HER liver! (I'm assuming you're not her...?) It's frustrating that no one is accountable for medical errors; we're just expected to shrug it off and pay the mountain of bills.

      Fortunately ours wasn't so expensive because we have good insurance, but that kind of thing is scary!

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  14. Totally off topic-though ghost busters sounds amazing-but our library (where I’m the Children’s librarian) is planning a Harry Potter Family Reading Night in November!!! I’m completely geeking out and rereading all your HP party blogs! The title is “Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them!” Of course!

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  15. Loving that purple outfit!! And that thread matching photo is r/oddlysatisfying goals <3

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  16. My son desperately wanted those flamingo shorts to match the button up shirt with the same print. However, they didn't go small enough for him. So I bought him more of the fun shirts. ^_^ WM had some really fun patterns this year in the guys section. That thread match photo is goals.

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  17. Not sure if they ship to the USA but Frugi have gorgeous bright clothes - they're not the cheapest but are organic cotton, fairtrade & they give 1% of their turnover to charity. They started as a children's clothes company but now do women's clothing and have just started doing men's t shirts too. (I have no affiliation with them, just a fan!).

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  18. Spotlights on two Rocketeers throwing a baby into the Eiffel tower?

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  19. I celebrate your thread match with my weekend win- an EXACT match to the 15 year old paint in our hallway!! One coat needed!!!

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  20. I definitely thought that name was Grand Math Under Pants...

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  21. I think the sketch is two Puritans trying to burn a witch but she's smiling because she's fireproof. And I love seeing your pretty cat pictures. [PS: don't get discouraged by stupid doctors. Good ones are out there.]

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  22. The sketch has to do with Ghostbusters....maybe?

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  23. It reminds me of the scene in Sleeping Beauty when the fairy godmothers are preparing for Aurora's birthday!

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  24. Great minds think alike - I love wearing my Figgy shirt with my mustard colored jeans! You know colored denim is my life and the rest is just details. ;)

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  25. Light saber duel with a youngling? In front of a Star Trek insignia? Or you and John shrink wrapped another Christmas tree plus the nativity set to save even more time.

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  26. That sketch is obviously a small child wearing a birthday hat while sitting in one of those huge fake birthday cakes to referee a sword fight. Obviously.

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  27. I feel you on your frustration with the current color scene in fashion. My closet is a sea of black, maroon, and blue. I would LOVE some more color but I can never find anything colorful 1) in my size, 2) work appropriate, and 3) that flatters my body type.

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  28. I hate seeing the new fall colors appearing in stores -- they're all shades of mustard and burnt orange that are boring AND look terrible on me. Bah!

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  29. Sketch is Superman's mom and dad blasting him off a dying Krypton.

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  30. All I can see is two firemen putting out a clown in a straight jacket.

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    1. ROTFL

      If I were an artist I would draw out all these guesses for real.

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  31. Harry Potter "creche", for Halloween. (October 31, 1981, to be specific.)

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  32. To me, the sketch looks like two people working together to roast a baby over a fire like you would a marshmallow.

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  33. Okay is this like a Rorschach test? Because the first thing that I saw was two firefighters putting out Joan of Arc. I'm not sure if that says more about me or your sketching talent!

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  34. I think your sketch is of a Good Omens/Harry Potter/IT mashup cosplay.

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  35. 2 yrs ago I was really sick and couldn't stop coughing but my regular dr wasnt available so I saw a different one at the same practice. He made me do the lung tests, told me I probably had asthma and gave me inhalable steroids.
    After a week I was still coughing like death and I got a sinus infection as a side effect of the steroids.
    So I went back and saw a different dr. She started talking to me about a med I was already on for blood sugar and how it was good that I was working on losing weight.
    I couldn't talk for coughing so I glared at her instead until she realized, got to the point, told me I had bronchitis and prescribed me a Zpack.
    Within a couple of days I was fine.
    I will never ever go to that other dr again.

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  36. Your sketch is of a cake golem/robot hybrid.

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