Furniture shopping was horrible, same crap over and over again. I did buy a coffee table and almost bought a sofa till I realized it was "bonded leather", what the hell is that!!!!!! Last time I checked, vinyl was vinyl. I'm sure the salesman's jaw is still on the floor.

And a pic of your butt....

Oh lord, save me from this traffic hell. We went from one cr**&@le to the next. Interstate 78 is not any better. But at least I don't have to flip any part of my anatomy at anyone, unless I get really bored. Think anyone will throw mardi gras beads?

mforr, there's only one way to find out :)

No pictures, please, but thanks anyway :))

Hi all... Sis looks good! Boy oh boy did she ever get a talking to... not only by the doctor, but everyone on the staff... LoL... I am pretty sure she won't be waiting to see if it goes away, if there is a next time...
Here heart looks good... BP is pretty high... They think it came from the front of the neck, but want to check her legs tomorrow to make sure... Must say, it's pretty strange to see her in the bed and J in the chair... J is the one with the back problems... They both have the week off so I won't need to sit with her and postpone and important meeting I have with a client on Wednesday, so that's a plus...

That's good news, Patty and I'm glad she got an earful!

Guess I better go check my flowers to see if they need water and clean up the fireworks pieces off the deck...
Grrrrr... Hugs..

I know Kim... She is so stubborn, and one of those people that has always gotten away with ignoring something in hopes it will go away.... Tend to think she's too old to be taking those chances anymore...

Gotta go...

Patty, glad your sister's heart is good, bp needs to come down but you don't need me to tell you that. Prayers for her and J and you, too!

Reminds me of a friend of mine who had a mole on her leg and said to me, "I was ignoring it because I thought it was cancer...." Omg. She did get it checked and it wasn't, but good grief!

Ooohh... "Magic Mike" is on TV...

SQUIRREL!!

Home at last. I didn't know I could pee for sooooooooo long. Thank goodness the roads weren't bumpy!!!

Thanks for sharing that, Michele!

Anytime Bobbi, anytime :D

Have a good night all, TTYL

I am happy for you pattyannb. Shopping trip today was not fun at all. No luck with closet door. Think my allergies are acting up also, scratchy throat and headache....Going to try to get some sleep.

Bobbi-did you finish plastering today....

Angela! Did you see the pic I posted for you above? Guess who we ran into at Burger King!

Morning all, very quiet today. I have to confess it was rather nice not to have 280 emails in my inbox.

Ez - here all the kids wear rash vests, kids costumes are designed with them, you rarely see a bikini for a kid they will have the pants and then the vest as the top, usually a short sleeve that comes to about the elbow. A lot of men will wear them too. There are many types of hats made from the UV protective material, the most common one the little kids wear is like a desert cap with a flap covering the ears, neck and upper back.

Candace - I was wondering when you guys were saying about putting the sunscreen on well before going out whether there is a difference in the sunscreens. You have to be able to constantly reapply here it so it wouldn't be very effective if there was a delay. Interesting thought. I just don't go out in the sun uncovered, although I am trying to get out a bit more for the D3 benefits, D3 deficiencies are becoming more prevalent here because everyone is covering up too much.

I've heard about Skin-So-Soft for mossies too but never tried it. If we are outdoors, especially at night, we burn citronella candles. We really don't get them during the day. Sandflies are another problem, they come out at dusk and bite like heck.

I have to say I just love your yellow school buses, I can't believe the style of them never changes.

Hi ya! Anyone know anything about Boston Ferns? I bought one the year we moved down here 1987... A little one...
Well, I turned one into two since then... The #2 didn't make it... But the #1 that is still in the same place has just gotten so darn big... I am afraid to do anything else with it other than put it in a bigger pot.... However, it has gotten too big for the space I have it in... It's like 36" across on all sides...Do I so the 1/2 thing again? I just don't want to kill it... *sigh*

classics roo. I'm off to bed. Night ladies, see you tomorrow :)

I had two enormous Boston ferns! They developed some kind of mold so I returned them to the store. Patty, can you take it to a nursery and have them divide/feed them?

Love Boston Ferns, I always wanted one. They are used indoors here in hanging baskets often in front of a window. No idea about maintenance and upkeep though.

They love light and humidity, and then they get moldy!

There. My workout is done for the day. I ran double what I intended. 10.77km or 6.69mi in 1:27:37. I'm eating, showering then off to bed. Have a good night all!

Well I doubt you will have trouble sleeping Robin.

Patty - did a Google for you

http://www.ehow.com/how_2319472_divide-boston-ferns.html

There is also a You Tube video on how to do it and also a few other sites on caring for them and the diseases they get, and how to treat them. If they like humidity, they sure would do well here.

Well, Jack Reacher is calling me so I'll say Buenos noches now! Everyone sleep well, ok? Except you, Roo!

Uh-oh Houzz is having a funny again, getting notifications of emails from 4 hours ago.

Candace, feel for you with your shopping, with our limited choice it can take weeks to find something. I guess "bonded" leather would have to be leather but maybe not good quality as it needs a backing for strength. Here you have to call a spade a spade or you can be prosecuted.

OK thanks to Wiki - it is vinyl but does contain a small amount of leather

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonded_leather

Obviously you have to do a mass of homework before going shopping.

You get a good sleep too Bobbi.

Hi Ms Roo! What do school busses look like in Australia? Ours are the same yellow school busses as in the US. They haven't changed since I was a kid, although I have seen lately a few more modern looking ones with newer styled cabs, but they're still basically the same.

Robin -- good job on the workout!

Bobbi -- I can't wait for the newest Jack Reacher book, it's coming out in September!

Angela -- sorry your shopping wasn't a success.

I had a productive day. Did tons of work, two loads of laundry, went grocery shopping and just finished giving myself a pedicure. Glad I didn't play golf today.

Re: bonded leather: Avoid.

Well done, kd, at least you will rest well tonight knowing you have broken the back of a lot of work.

We don't have specific school buses, they just put normal buses on at school time which is generally after the peak hour traffic of a morning and just before the evening rush. The buses are fitted with flashing lights on all four corners front and back which are activated when the buses stop so cars know to slow down and be alert for kids running out onto the road. This is a typical bus.

Wow... your kids travel in style! The yellow school buses are pretty utilitarian inside. The seats were padded but still were always so rock hard!

Bobbi... thank you so much... Yes, my plant is an indoor plant... It is in a North window... High humidity as you can imagine... The DH said "you know they don't live forever"... I am, let's say, a bit like my sis...
As long as you take care and love them, they will love you back... :-)...

You know guys... The DH drives bus for the school Dist.... He loves it! He loves the kids... He will not call in sick when he is... When it's cold (when he usually gets sick)... The snow, sleet, he says " I am not going to let someone drive my kids to school".... I get so mad at him sometimes because he loves his job...
I am like... OK I want summers off... But to drive a bus? Naw... Takes someone special... I would have a bag of duct tape, and get fired the first day... LoL...

Well Kim, I did 1 load of laundry, did go shopping after seeing my sis...No pedicure which is so needed...
Saw my sisters son, wife and daughter today... gave all of them a hug... told the little one "geez you are going to be taller than me soon"... Then realized, I had on my 3" flip flops.... Damn... Such a pretty young lady... Don't get to see much of them....
Funny thing is, her dad has brown eyes... her mom has kinda green, brown eyes... But hers are blue... Just like J...... Gotta love it....

Guess I should have said grandpa J... :-)

kd, it just wouldn't be cost effective for us to have separate school buses, they are only on the road a few hours a day. Kids here have a lot more choice of schools too, it is nothing for them to travel 30 mins to an hour to get to and from school, so many just use normal route buses and trains, even ferries. They have a special swipe card for fares too that can be used on all services but I have a feeling there are time limits to when they can use them. Been away from it all too long and changes are constantly being made.

Storming again...but I love thunder and lightning and rain at night. So cozy. Sweet dreams lovelies... xoxo

Enjoy your day, ms roo!

Sleep well kd, I wish we got more lightning and thunder storms, especially at night and in winter to burrow under the doona.

I gotta get to the shops.

Roo - Apparently Americans aren't as smart as Aussies, because we need bright yellow school buses, not only with all the flashing lights, but with "flippers" on bars that open up into the roadway with a "STOP" sign on them! :)

REVISED POST: Look at these fun Japanese school buses. This kind of fun decorated bus is for Kindergarteners. Kindergarten is not part of the Japanese public school system. Kindergartens are all private schools.

Oops. I deleted the bus stops. Look below...

Those are adorable

Love the library one

Eztia - Those are so creative. What does it say about us, that in America people would ruin things like that with grafitti?!

the lending library stop is great. city bus stops ought to have them for magazines.
our metro buses have full advertising wraps. some are cool. some can be a driving distraction..

@DIAspoton. I agree that the advertising wrapped buses can be a distraction.

My City used to have a program callled "Books on the Bus." There was a little book rack on the back of each seat with a few children's books. Children and their parents were encouraged to read while on the bus. They could take book with them. The idea was to promote literacy, and hopefully the people would return the book the next time they took the bus. Many people donated books for the project, but eventually the program ran out of books and funding.

Fun buses there, what kid wouldn't want to ride in Thomas.

We once had a really clever bit of advertising on one of our buses for a pet food. Under each window was a photo of a dog sitting, they had all sizes and breeds of dogs, but the dogs were headless so the heads of the people sitting on the bus became the dogs' heads. It used to look so funny but people actually started to try to choose their seat according to the dog they wanted to be.

Fun bus stops/bus shelters.