Great update Sarah! But isn't it Oct 14 - Fall hun? That's ok Sarah. We know what you mean. It finally got down into the mid 50's at night here too.

Hugs,
Donica.

As you have been to Octoberfest !!!! maybe you can tell me if this is any good as our resident German cook is missing (Julia!) . On offer in local German super market (not selling?) was a tin of Bauernschmaus , white cabbage  with potato and sausage. Well will try anything once

Hi Sarah!

It's great to see you are keeping yourself busy. Lovely to see you are getting a chance to spend plenty of time with Kiddo. She will grow up so fast and you don't want to miss out on these special moments together.

The weather seems to be bonkers everywhere these days. We are having similar temperature shifts from day to day, where it will be 29C (85F) one day and 18C (65F) the next. This week the temps have somewhat stabilised but we have been having steady rain almost every day. I think I need to invest in my own weather station to start monitoring the crazy weather. It would be interesting to look for recurring patterns.

Congrats on starting bottom hair removal. It's a hurdle to get over the initial embarrassment but soon becomes just another clinical procedure that needs to be done. I have been doing electrolysis down there, but haven't tried laser in that area. I have to agree that some parts are very sensitive, causing you to squirm, but a lot of it is quite bearable, not nearly as bad as I had imagined it to be.

Yay!!!! for the surgery letter. Now you just need your second letter and to hear back from your insurance (hopefully with some positive news) and you will be all set. All that will be missing is a date!

Thanks for keeping your thread up to date. As our favourite northern angel says, we are your biggest fans and a curious bunch that wants to know how you are going. [emoji2] (Sorry Danielle, didn't mean to steal your thunder but it's not very often I can get a reply in before your lightning fast responses! [emoji12])

Hugs,
Jayne

Quote from: davina61 on October 14, 2018, 02:26:40 PM
As you have been to Octoberfest !!!! maybe you can tell me if this is any good as our resident German cook is missing (Julia!) . On offer in local German super market (not selling?) was a tin of Bauernschmaus , white cabbage  with potato and sausage. Well will try anything once

I have to admit I had to google Bauernschmaus. Not a common meal
In the area of Germany I grew up. When I looked up the recipe I realized that Bauernschmaus was served at the Oktoberfest After Party we all attended last weekend. It was quite delicious- I would have picked a different kind of sausage but besides that it tasted pretty good.
This Bauernschmaus however was handmade from scratch so I cannot comment on the quality of canned food. Not sure what your German super market is, if it is your average Aldi or Lidl, then I can say that we had somewhat good luck with canned food from there. Still nothing beats home made from scratch...

Let me know how it turns out!

Hugs,

Sarah

@sarah1972
Dear Sarah...   my East Coast sister.

I love your new Avatar/Profile picture!!!!!  [emoji173]
Heya girl, what is going on with you and your thread....   I need updates.   Your followers need updates....

How is work going for you?   Any more business trips and/or Gala Events that you have to attend?

... and how is your wife and kiddo?

Do you have your house and property all ready for the impending winter weather?   I prepared my place at the end of August and I am glad I did... it was like someone threw a switch to "instant" winter weather where I live.

So, curious minds want to know.  Your followers are eager to follow.
Every time I log in to the forums, I check  your thread......

Hugs and hugs,
Danielle

Oct 30 - Busy Bee

I realize it has been over two weeks since I posted my last update and I already received the first warning  .

It has been a very busy time for me. It seems the meds and the added therapy seems to finally kick in and I am starting to conquer the long list of stuff I had not taken care of over the past few months of depression. Now that I finally start to catch up, I have also spent a lot less time here.

So... what happened? A lot was just normal life as a woman.  Continued hair removal, worked out at the gym and have been really busy at work.

We also decorated our house for Thanksgiving, as usual, this includes setting up some kind of scene as well as computer controlled lighting. This year we went for skeletons on a campfire. I also started building a huge arch with pumpkins which I will continue next year. Each pumpkin can light up controlled from my computer.
Our town had their annual Halloween parade last week which we attended. It is usually over 2 hours with many participants and several thousand spectators.
We will be out trick or treating tomorrow night.

I hope trick or treating will not go too long, I have a 6:30 AM flight to Boston the next morning, I guess I have to leave home around 4:30 to be there on time. It will be a long day too, I'll fly back home the same day. That is the fun of my job, occasionally having to fly somewhere to give a 30 minute PowerPoint presentation. Since I do not want to miss trick or treat with the kiddo, I decided to fly the next morning before the meeting.

Last weekend, we decided to go on a last minute road trip to the mid-Hudson area. We drove up Saturday, Sunday we focused on fun things for the kiddo to do. We visited a friend of ours and they have a kid the same age. They spent all morning playing together and chasing each other through the house. In the afternoon we went to a children museum and ended the day with a nice meal. Kiddo was so exhausted and fell asleep almost instantly. Since we all shared a hotel room, we got to sleep very early too, so it was kind of relaxing even though we drove 800 miles this weekend. I took off Monday to have an extra day. Kiddo was just so sweet and enjoyed all the being together time. Very unusal for me, I spend no time on the phone and did not even unpack my computer. I also barely checked in to the forum.

I did get a big surprise from my wife during the trip, she started calling me "Sarah" in public. Something she has not yet done. My heart jumped a few beats.

Transition wise:
I talked to my insurance and in general, they cover GRS. I need to get the exact billing codes so they can validate again but as it stands right now, I do not even need pre-approval. Also since there is no in-network surgeon in reasonable driving distance, I can send in an appeal asking for a non-network doctor to be paid as in network (80%).

And of course, my surgery consult is coming up next week.

As mentioned in the beginning, I am feeling a lot better recently and finally get some of my focus back. I even noticed my typing speed has increased and I do move a bit faster. So, I am a lot better.

@Alaskan Danielle -

My dear Danielle [emoji173] -

Thanks for poking me to update my thread. To answer your questions:

Unfortunately, no Gala events coming up. Work has been cutting down on travel quite hard, so we try to travel a lot less. I do my usual quarterly trip to Montreal in December and you saw my day trip to Boston this week.

We have started getting the house and yard ready for the winter, we are a little bit impeded by waiting for a pool safety cover. We will get into high gear once I am back from my surgery consult. This is also the usual start for our holiday setup, once the yard is winter prepared we will get that part started. This year kiddo will help me and I am very much looking forward too it.

The weather here switched also very instantly, we still were in the pool one day and two days later it was thick coats and winter boots. I already put away all the sandals. Not as cold as where you are Danielle, but it dropped below freezing for a few nights. It is very strange, we had that happen a few years in a row now. It stays nice and warm, then we get two days of bad weather and a nice little storm come through and the next day it is cold.

And then, of course, I am looking forward to my BFF visiting in early December... I heard rumors she has booked her tickets....


So much for my lengthy update today. 

Hugs,

Sarah

Great update Sarah! It sounds like you guys are really enjoying life. I'll bet the Kiddo is happy to be able to help you this year. Have a safe to Boston.

Thanks for the update!
Hugs,
Donica.

@sarah1972
Dear Sarah:
Wow... a very nice and timely update, and please notice that I was trying to be kind with my friendly reminder that you were due for an update on your thread....  and you did not disappoint!!!  Thanks for bringing your followers up to date with your life endeavors.

I am so glad that you are getting over your depression and other ailments.   As you know, spending time here on the forums is optional to doing things like real life stuff.   You have a job, a wife, a kiddo, property to maintain, etc so of course your time on the forums and on other on-line recreational activities rightfully so plays second fiddle.

Ahhh, time at the gym, busy at work, etc....  important tasks to be sure.   Have you been able to develop any gym buddies yet???   For me, the best thing about going to the gym on a regular basis is having fellowship with my gym-gals group, then after the gym of course more time together having a meal or game night or whatever.

Wow, you went all out for Thanksgiving decorations....  much more elaborate than what I am doing.

For Halloween night I am staying late at my office to give out candy to the town kids and some adults too.   No big costume event for me other than showing up as myself.

Ahhh, I remember early mornings to catch business flights...  working for myself with my little business is so much more relaxed... a 5 minute or less drive to work, in the good weather I can walk it in about 20 to 25 minutes.

It is good that you had your family drive to Hudson and that kiddo had a wonderful time... and you did too, no computer, nothing other than enjoying real life.

Wow-zers... your wife calling you by "Sarah"   ... I would well imagine that your heart jumped when you heard her use your new name in public... wow, her acceptance of you has certainly taken a big turn to the positive.

That is wonderful news regarding your insurance and GRS....  just keep continuing with your down-below (ouch) hair removal and  you will be ready.

I am so very glad that you are feeling much better now.... no more sickness or depression... that is very good!!
.... and your typing speed is up?  Perhaps we need to compare our speeds some day.

I figured that your BFF    was either coming to visit you or you were going to visit your BFF.    Too bad I did not know any of my friends yet on the Forums when I was in my old job.   I traveled extensively and frequently, now I am just a home body... it is rather nice to not wake up in a different city on a regular basis.

Thank you for bringing us up to date... 
Hugs and hugs,
Danielle

@Alaskan Danielle

My dear Danielle - thanks for your nice reply! Always great to hear from you. No worries, I know I need to be poked every now and then and I really appreciate you reaching out and reminding me.

It was an odd experience this weekend, to be mostly abstinent of the online world. I have to admit, I did not miss it too much. I did check in on two of my best friends here (including you!)

Somehow I still have not made any gym friends. Part is that I usually have to rush after the gym to get back to work, sometimes I am already on a call when I walk out of the changing room. I do block time in my calendar but people still find possibilities to sneak in a meeting right after. The other part is simply the area. Everybody is in a rush all the time. There are a few regulars from Zumba class and we exchange a few words here and there.

On the bright side: I know one other girl here has signed up for the same 5K run I do. So we get to meet and we are planning for a Zumba session together. 

Ha, Halloween. We did not decorate as much as last year. Here is a little part of our setup. Colors keep changing and there is a spooky soundtrack to go along with the lights.
I should go and paint their toenails... (not sure this would actually count for your "hot toe" collage.)

I have to admit, my travel calmed down a lot in the past two years. There are a few times where I travel a lot, but outside of the Olympics, I have only been to Montreal twice and once more in December. And now the one day trip to Boston. I do remember times where I would be in a four or five different cities within one week. I realized this is not good when I stepped off a plane and had to call our office asking where I am and what I am supposed to be doing here. I am pretty happy about this, it gives me more time with my family and all the transition-related time hogs (like hair removal).

Yes, I am very much looking forward to meeting one of my BFF's... I hope one day I can meet the other BFF too! When you mentioned going for a work trip to the lower 48, I was considering to fly out to where you are... I am also trying to convince my wife to take a trip to North Pole, AK so we can show kiddo the candy cane striped street lights and maybe stroll down Santa Claus Lane...  If a very well known little coffee shop is not too far out of the way, I'll stop by with a coffee for you! (Great, now I cannot get "Here Comes Santa Claus" out of my head, hahaha!)

I am still not even close to your typing speed, but I did take the same test form August again, and I improved from 50 words to 70 - 75 words per minute. That is not bad and really shows how much better I can focus and concentrate, something I do notice when working on work stuff everywhere, emails, IM, and the lengthy documents we love to write.

Thanks again for your lovely reply in my thread!

Hugs and more hugs [emoji173]

Sarah

Quote from: Alaskan Danielle on October 30, 2018, 05:15:01 PM
@sarah1972
Dear Sarah:
Wow... a very nice and timely update, and please notice that I was trying to be kind with my friendly reminder that you were due for an update on your thread....  and you did not disappoint!!!  Thanks for bringing your followers up to date with your life endeavors.

I am so glad that you are getting over your depression and other ailments.   As you know, spending time here on the forums is optional to doing things like real life stuff.   You have a job, a wife, a kiddo, property to maintain, etc so of course your time on the forums and on other on-line recreational activities rightfully so plays second fiddle.

Ahhh, time at the gym, busy at work, etc....  important tasks to be sure.   Have you been able to develop any gym buddies yet???   For me, the best thing about going to the gym on a regular basis is having fellowship with my gym-gals group, then after the gym of course more time together having a meal or game night or whatever.

Wow, you went all out for Thanksgiving decorations....  much more elaborate than what I am doing.

For Halloween night I am staying late at my office to give out candy to the town kids and some adults too.   No big costume event for me other than showing up as myself.

Ahhh, I remember early mornings to catch business flights...  working for myself with my little business is so much more relaxed... a 5 minute or less drive to work, in the good weather I can walk it in about 20 to 25 minutes.

It is good that you had your family drive to Hudson and that kiddo had a wonderful time... and you did too, no computer, nothing other than enjoying real life.

Wow-zers... your wife calling you by "Sarah"   ... I would well imagine that your heart jumped when you heard her use your new name in public... wow, her acceptance of you has certainly taken a big turn to the positive.

That is wonderful news regarding your insurance and GRS....  just keep continuing with your down-below (ouch) hair removal and  you will be ready.

I am so very glad that you are feeling much better now.... no more sickness or depression... that is very good!!
.... and your typing speed is up?  Perhaps we need to compare our speeds some day.

I figured that your BFF    was either coming to visit you or you were going to visit your BFF.    Too bad I did not know any of my friends yet on the Forums when I was in my old job.   I traveled extensively and frequently, now I am just a home body... it is rather nice to not wake up in a different city on a regular basis.

Thank you for bringing us up to date... 
Hugs and hugs,
Danielle

What a great photo Sarah!  I love the baby crib.  You really go all out.

Judi

Hey girl!

You have been a busy bee indeed! It's such a delight to see you bouncing back out of your depression. I honestly don't know how you manage to cram so much into your days. I can barely keep on top of looking after myself. I have so many jobs around the house on my to do list and the list keeps growing, and I don't even have a kiddo to take care of. All I can say is well done!

I love your skeletons around the campfire and the computer control pumpkin lights themed to music...how cool! Have fun trick or treating with Kiddo. It should be fun for her getting dressed up and going around in search of treats.

Hope your day trip to Boston goes well and you get back home in time before a Kiddo goes to bed.

Your weekend family road trip sounds like it was some good quality family time together. Nice to also catch up with a friend and Kiddo had a playmate to entertain her. I'm glad that you also got a chance to unplug from work for the weekend.

The most exciting part of your update was your wife calling you Sarah in public. That is a great step forward with her coming to terms with your new normal. Congratulations to both of you!

You must feel so relieved since you learned that your insurance will be covering most of your GRS. And OMG!!! How exciting your surgery consult is only a week away. You could potentially have a surgery date by the time your consult is over! This is something you have been waiting for and now the process has been set in motion. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

I can't wait to come visit and give you all those real world hugs that I owe you. I am counting down the days!

My eyelids are getting heavy. Time for some beauty sleep.

Goodnight,
Hugs,
Jayne [emoji171][emoji1299]

Quote from: sarah1972 on October 30, 2018, 04:09:12 PM
Oct 30 - Busy Bee

I realize it has been over two weeks since I posted my last update and I already received the first warning  .

It has been a very busy time for me. It seems the meds and the added therapy seems to finally kick in and I am starting to conquer the long list of stuff I had not taken care of over the past few months of depression. Now that I finally start to catch up, I have also spent a lot less time here.

So... what happened? A lot was just normal life as a woman.  Continued hair removal, worked out at the gym and have been really busy at work.

We also decorated our house for Thanksgiving, as usual, this includes setting up some kind of scene as well as computer controlled lighting. This year we went for skeletons on a campfire. I also started building a huge arch with pumpkins which I will continue next year. Each pumpkin can light up controlled from my computer.
Our town had their annual Halloween parade last week which we attended. It is usually over 2 hours with many participants and several thousand spectators.
We will be out trick or treating tomorrow night.

I hope trick or treating will not go too long, I have a 6:30 AM flight to Boston the next morning, I guess I have to leave home around 4:30 to be there on time. It will be a long day too, I'll fly back home the same day. That is the fun of my job, occasionally having to fly somewhere to give a 30 minute PowerPoint presentation. Since I do not want to miss trick or treat with the kiddo, I decided to fly the next morning before the meeting.

Last weekend, we decided to go on a last minute road trip to the mid-Hudson area. We drove up Saturday, Sunday we focused on fun things for the kiddo to do. We visited a friend of ours and they have a kid the same age. They spent all morning playing together and chasing each other through the house. In the afternoon we went to a children museum and ended the day with a nice meal. Kiddo was so exhausted and fell asleep almost instantly. Since we all shared a hotel room, we got to sleep very early too, so it was kind of relaxing even though we drove 800 miles this weekend. I took off Monday to have an extra day. Kiddo was just so sweet and enjoyed all the being together time. Very unusal for me, I spend no time on the phone and did not even unpack my computer. I also barely checked in to the forum.

I did get a big surprise from my wife during the trip, she started calling me "Sarah" in public. Something she has not yet done. My heart jumped a few beats.

Transition wise:
I talked to my insurance and in general, they cover GRS. I need to get the exact billing codes so they can validate again but as it stands right now, I do not even need pre-approval. Also since there is no in-network surgeon in reasonable driving distance, I can send in an appeal asking for a non-network doctor to be paid as in network (80%).

And of course, my surgery consult is coming up next week.

As mentioned in the beginning, I am feeling a lot better recently and finally get some of my focus back. I even noticed my typing speed has increased and I do move a bit faster. So, I am a lot better.

@Alaskan Danielle -

My dear Danielle [emoji173] -

Thanks for poking me to update my thread. To answer your questions:

Unfortunately, no Gala events coming up. Work has been cutting down on travel quite hard, so we try to travel a lot less. I do my usual quarterly trip to Montreal in December and you saw my day trip to Boston this week.

We have started getting the house and yard ready for the winter, we are a little bit impeded by waiting for a pool safety cover. We will get into high gear once I am back from my surgery consult. This is also the usual start for our holiday setup, once the yard is winter prepared we will get that part started. This year kiddo will help me and I am very much looking forward too it.

The weather here switched also very instantly, we still were in the pool one day and two days later it was thick coats and winter boots. I already put away all the sandals. Not as cold as where you are Danielle, but it dropped below freezing for a few nights. It is very strange, we had that happen a few years in a row now. It stays nice and warm, then we get two days of bad weather and a nice little storm come through and the next day it is cold.

And then, of course, I am looking forward to my BFF visiting in early December... I heard rumors she has booked her tickets....


So much for my lengthy update today. 

Hugs,

Sarah

Great Halloween picture Sarah. That's how I feel after a long day. Dead tired lol. Nice tough with the baby crib. Be safe in Boston.

Happy Halloween!
Donica.

Nov 1 - Halloween recap (second try)

Somehow my carefully types post vanished after I hit "post", so I just try again :-)

Halloween turned out to be really nice. Temperatures during trick or treat where still 18C / 64F, so I could sport a shoulder free fancy top. I had bailed on a costume after I discovered, I currently don't fit into last years costume. Kiddo had a blast and we have been out for a good 90 minutes before she wanted to go back home. She collected over half bucket full of candy, not bad for such a little girl. Of course, she was dressed as a Princess. Maybe next year we can both go as a Princess, even though I am more of a Diva.

For Halloween night, we usually add a few more things to our decoration, this year we had a bubble machine and a smoke machine for the campfire. Kiddo loved both and had a blast chasing after bubbles. (Picture below).

Being out trick or treating is always one of these more stressful moments for me. While I do pass reasonably well, having to interact with many parents and treaters on our tour just add a little bit of stress for me. Lucky enough nothing happened, even though kiddo yelled "Papa" a few times.

This morning was a really early start, I had to get up at 3:30 for my flight to Boston. Right now my return flight is over an hour delayed, so I use the chance to re-do this post. Meetings went fine and I used the opportunity to update my picture with the "Clear" system for expedited security procedures. My old picture was pre-transition and it had caused issues in the past.

Besides that? I keep binge watching a TV series. It really made me very observant and thinking: There are romantic and (tasteful) seductive scenes in many episodes. I carefully try to observe the female behavior - which is of course vastly different than male behavior in similar scenarios. It really made me think how I would behave if it ever came to such a scenario again. I think this would take a lot of practice. Anyways, just crazy thoughts going through my head.



Hugs,

Sarah

Your daughter look so cute chasing the bubbles. I'm glad you all had a wonderful Halloween. These are the must fun times when your children are young.

Ah yes. The wonderful innovation of travel that we love so much. The airlines. Are they ever not late? Have a safe trip home Sarah.

Hugs,
Donica.

Hi Sarah

Really happy to see you posting an update. I too have found myself inundated with "life" and have not exactly been all over what everyone is up too. Sounds like your 800 mile road trip was a lot of fun for you all. Those are the kinds of events that make indelible memories for your family. How wonderful to have your wife use your real name. It is a big step for her and you and no doubt will mark the start of further changes. My family have developed their own "pet" names and ways of addressing me that respectful and fun and feminie. I think as you progress and your family become more comfortable with everything in general then using your correct name is the natural thing for a supportive person to do....doing it is an incredibly powerful affirmation.


Halloween is not really a thing here in Australia although they have tried for the last 10 years to make it one...Aussies just don't seem to take to it....we never got a knock at the door. Good on you for getting out there in front of all those parents...you can always count on your kids to keep you grounded.

So what was the TYV series? Just curious

Take care

Liz

Thanks for your post Liz, I know how busy you must be with your big day not too far away.

I have to admit, my wife has been incredibly supportive all along. Even though it is really hard for her and we still try to figure things out, but she did not run away and helps me wherever she can. You are right, the longer I am Sarah, the better and easier it gets for everyone and that in turn, helps improve the entire situation.

You asked about the TV Series: It is called "The Americans". It is situated in the 80's towards the end of the cold war. The main premise is, that Russian KGB operatives are living as normal Americans in suburban America (funny enough, the Town they pretend to live in is one, I have lived in for 3 years). While they do run a Travel Agency, they also moonlight in all kind of spy activities. The entire situation gets really complicated when an FBI Agent moves in next door.

It was on Amazon Prime...

I hope you are not too nervous!

Hugs,

Sarah

Quote from: LizK on November 03, 2018, 06:02:54 PM
Hi Sarah

Really happy to see you posting an update. I too have found myself inundated with "life" and have not exactly been all over what everyone is up too. Sounds like your 800 mile road trip was a lot of fun for you all. Those are the kinds of events that make indelible memories for your family. How wonderful to have your wife use your real name. It is a big step for her and you and no doubt will mark the start of further changes. My family have developed their own "pet" names and ways of addressing me that respectful and fun and feminie. I think as you progress and your family become more comfortable with everything in general then using your correct name is the natural thing for a supportive person to do....doing it is an incredibly powerful affirmation.


Halloween is not really a thing here in Australia although they have tried for the last 10 years to make it one...Aussies just don't seem to take to it....we never got a knock at the door. Good on you for getting out there in front of all those parents...you can always count on your kids to keep you grounded.

So what was the TYV series? Just curious

Take care

Liz

Nov 4 - Weekend Update

As I am reminded by my BFF, only two more sleeps until my GRS consultation... I am already checked in for my flight. Still need to print all the paperwork (it is completed, just needs printing) and of course decide what to wear. I am ready for this!

The weekend was a nice mix: Saturday was a relaxing day and we basically did not much all day long. Sunday I finally started getting the yard ready for winter. I was on a roll... started the day with blowing out the sprinkler system, then decided I could remove 2 bushes and a larger tree we wanted to have gone for a while. I made 1/2 cubic yard of wood chips out of it which is ideal composting material. Then I did winterize our pool, lowered the water level, blew out all the lines and plugged them Now I am waiting for a contractor to come and install a new safety cover... I have another weekend or two to finish everything up.

I have not had that much energy in several months, and I noticed I get a lot more done in the same amount of time. Another sign of me feeling finally better. Not much more to report, guess the big update will happen Tuesday night :-)

Oh - yeah, pictures or it did not happen... here you go...

You are now down to one more sleep. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! I'm not sure who is more excited, you or me! [emoji1744]‍[emoji3601] This is a big day for you, one you have been waiting a long time for it to become a reality. I hope the consultation goes well and you feel comfortable with the surgeon to move to the next step.

As I write this, you are on your way to the airport to catch a flight and I'm on my way to bed to catch some zzzzzz's. Safe travels.

[emoji126][emoji2532][emoji126][emoji2532][emoji126][emoji2532][emoji126][emoji2532][emoji126][emoji2532]

Hugs,
Jayne

@sarah1972
Dear Sarah: 
Thanks for posting your weekend update... you were a busy girl... and a picture of you with a chainsaw....  look out for women with power tools, both the woman and the power tool can be dangerous!!!

Up here where I live all of the winterization around my home was done in September....  it sure has been very cold, down to -4 deg F last night and today only has gotten up to +7 deg F   ........ and more bitter cold to come this week.

The days are definitely getting shorter and the nights are longer and now with the end of Daylight Savings Time last Sunday, it sure is getting dark very early in the afternoon....   Today Sunrise was after 9:00AM and Sunset will be before 4:00PM  ... and the days will continue to get shorter and colder as the winter solstice approaches on December 21...

I will be thinking of you tomorrow and trust that your consultation goes as you have hoped...  I will be eager to read your report when you post your update.

Thank you for sharing.
Hugs,
Danielle

I keep thinking about your cold @Alaskan Danielle. Also the much shorter days. I really enjoy long days, even where I live, they are too short for me. I guess I would need a summer residence up north and a winter residence further south to make the best out of both worlds. The summer solstice is always a sad day for me since I know the days will get shorter fairly quickly. Around the winter solstice, it gets dark around 5:00 PM. I know, for you it is less than two hours of sunshine. I am glad you have such a tight knit community to keep each other entertained during the winter.You seem to be hit especially hard with with the cold this year.

Late October / early November is usually the time we get our yard ready. Given that we still could swim in the pool mid October, sometimes up to Halloween, we are still not bad this year. We also made a last minute decision to get a custom made cover which had to be produced first before it can be installed. Once the yard is all cleaned up, I start setting up my Christmas lights.

Am I now considered a dangerous girl with the power tools?  And this was only the small chain saw... the large one is double the size  - I shoudl mention I do have protective gear too, but a hard hat would have not looked good on the picture...

I have safely arrived in Raleigh, lokking very much forward to tomorrow. I will provide an update after my consultation.

Hugs,

Sarah

Quote from: Alaskan Danielle on November 05, 2018, 02:46:48 PM
@sarah1972
Dear Sarah: 
Thanks for posting your weekend update... you were a busy girl... and a picture of you with a chainsaw....  look out for women with power tools, both the woman and the power tool can be dangerous!!!

Up here where I live all of the winterization around my home was done in September....  it sure has been very cold, down to -4 deg F last night and today only has gotten up to +7 deg F   ........ and more bitter cold to come this week.

The days are definitely getting shorter and the nights are longer and now with the end of Daylight Savings Time last Sunday, it sure is getting dark very early in the afternoon....   Today Sunrise was after 9:00AM and Sunset will be before 4:00PM  ... and the days will continue to get shorter and colder as the winter solstice approaches on December 21...

I will be thinking of you tomorrow and trust that your consultation goes as you have hoped...  I will be eager to read your report when you post your update.

Thank you for sharing.
Hugs,
Danielle