Good News, Gracie!
 

I am so glad to hear this wonderful news! I hope the next couple of weeks go by very quickly for you so that before you know it, you'll be back again in Paradise! You ALL will feel so much better being back in the sunshine and warmth again! Kiss the Cinci grey skies good bye! Sunshine and good wishes to Gretchen for a very speedy recovery! :pepper2:

rshoffer, what are you doing in Girls Talk!! :throwtomatoes: This is where we talk about underwear, bikini waxes, and other unmentionables!

When we started this topic two years ago, the guys (feeling instantly competitive as guys do) started a "Guys Talk" thread. Sadly, it only lasted about five minutes! Apparently there isn't a lot to be said about cars, sports and hunting! :1rotfl:

I just love Girl Talk. Women instinctively enjoy and support each other. And like to trade secrets. We find each other's thoughts genuinely interesting. Girls Rule! :highfive:

A long story about the life-changing powers of Invisible Fence
 

Hi Barefoot,

About that Invisible Fence....I think our Invisible Fence probably saved Annie's life -- or lifestyle, for sure. (Yes, she is still here beside me, sleeping at my feet, and probably dreaming about what she would like to have for her 16th birthday, coming sometime in April -- we think.)

Annie showed up at our back door one day in early September of 1994. We tried to find her owner. We put the "Found Dog" notices in mailboxes and on phone poles and in the newspaper.

And then, after a few days of all that trying to do the right thing, we got worried that somebody might claim her....she was our dog -- we knew.

She came to us housebroken, calm, sweet, loved kids, and knew what a refrigerator was. Annie was somebody else's dog first. But she had run away from them. How? Why? We never found out for sure. But we soon developed a theory.

(There was a line in the play Sylvia where the dog says to the man who finds her when she is lost, "There are some things about me that you will just never know." -- and that is what Annie said to us.)

We named her Annie because she was an orphan when she arrived.

As we got to know Annie better, she soon revealed her secret vice. Even though she never got bigger than about 35 pounds, she has always had big ideas. Annie chased deer. Herds of deer. Bucks and does and fawns. Whatever. She chased them.

And at that time, we lived on a few acres with a woods in the back. And Annie knew the deer's schedule and she waited and watched and ran after them. Mr. Boomer would chase after her. We were all a lot younger then.

One day, Mr. B, in pursuit, was in a clearing just to the north of our woods, when out of those trees came a thundering herd of whitetail deer. Nine of them. The herd split, 4 on one side, 5 on the other, ran right around Mr. Boomer. Geez! And following behind, in hot pursuit, was Annie. Running like a deer herself. She could not catch any of those deer, though she was barking threats of what she would do to them if she did.

Finally, Mr. Boomer caught her when she quite simply ran out of steam -- for that chase anyway.

That was when we decided to spend the money to fence an acre with Invisible Fence.

Had Annie lost her first home because of her vice of chasing deer -- for who knows how many miles? Well, she won't tell us for sure. But we do know that we would have lost her eventually. And that she might have ended up dead or with somebody who would not take good care of her.

And so Annie spent a lot of years, watching for those deer. And if she was in the yard, she would chase after them and threaten them, shouting, "If I did not have this :censored::censored: collar with this :censored: battery around my neck, I would come after you and I would kick your :censored::censored: asses, every last one!"

Now, we have downsized to our geezer ranch-style house with the small yard. And we put in Invisible Fence again.

And Annie is old, really old. She sniffs the trail where maybe a whitetaill has passed through in the night But she does not run anymore. Not much anyway. But she still wears that collar with the battery pack. She wears it proudly. And I think I hear her, every once in a while, out there in the yard, shouting, "If I did not have to wear this :censored: collar with the battery, I would chase you :censored: deer and I would so kick your :censored: asses!"

(That Invisible Fence gave us all these years with Annie. I just know it.)

Boomer

OMG, wasn't that a wonderful play? We saw it many years ago when our own version of Sylvia (Ranger, a very large collie) was many years old. It still gives me warm feelings.

Hi Barfoot:
We don't have an invisible fence for our Shih Tzu Poodle but my husband's parents have one for their Goldens. I don't know if this is common, but my in laws do not even have to put the battery in the collars any more. The dogs were trained within a week. And, yes, you are correct that the "shock" is not as bad as we all would imagine. Our son decided to put the collar around his leg and walk through the invisible fence. He definetly felt it, but claimed it was "no big deal".
How is the new house?

Hi Linda,

I know. I love that play. When we saw the production at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park several years ago, I kept the program because the drawing of the dog on the front looked like Annie. If I were not so inept with pictures, I would scan it and put it here along with a picture of young Annie and a repeat posting of old Annie.

That play would be so perfect for a community theater group in TV to do. A good production of that one could run forever there. There would have to be rotating casts probably because the performers would need a night off once in a while.

Kind of a weird little aside here -- imagine that -- While I was typing that story about Annie's deer-running younger days, I let her outside. When she came back in, she started running like a maniac-dog, through this room, through the family room, into the kitchen, spun around, ran back in here. Ran! I tell you. She ran! Maybe she had been reading over my shoulder and was re-living those younger days??? She hardly ever runs anymore. But she sure did...just now.

Boomer

Great story
 

Boomer, that was a wonderful story. I had tears in my eyes reading (may be my menapausal emotions contributed). Seriously, what a wonderful storyteller. I could visualize the entire story. What a way with words. I had an Australian Shepherd for some 17 years. I trained him to know his borders within my property. I contemplated an invisible fence when he was a puppy but the cost was too much. He lived to run along side the real fence and chase the cows someone pastured in a field behind my house in the country. He's gone now and I'm sure he's in doggie heaven running after cows trying to avoid a swift kick from a protective mommy. B.K.

Boomer, thanks so much for your tender story about Orphan Annie. You are so funny! Annie is very lucky to have found you for a mum. I feel much better about the invisible fence thing now, after reading your comments. And other comments from Halle and annie2.

I loved the play Sylvia. And it would be just perfect for The Villages. I'd line up to see it again.

I was peeking.

wella
 

I go to Urban Hair Studio on 466 and they use wella.

A year ago, I spent quite a while on Girl Talk, boring everyone senseless, raving about my first try at artificial nails ... "Pink and Whites". :blahblahblah: How I loved those little darlings. Well, "pride goes before a fall", or so my mother used to say.

Sadly, I'm now cursed with fingernail fungus. And I had my nails done at reputable TV salons, or so I thought. Now, instead of pretty pink and whites, I have the ugliest little stubs for nails imaginable. Lesson learned.
:cryin2:

Barefoot
 

I had a friend years ago who got the same type of nail fungus. She went to the pharmacy and asked, you have to ask; they keep it behind the counter, for colorless or clear iodine. (Since it has no color, it could be dangerous since iodine is poisonous) Anyway, apply that to your nails and it will get rid of the fungus.

I went to a place (don't say it out loud but it was in The Villages) while we were on our LSV in December and had acrylics put on. There were things that happened to the application of color to the nails that have never been seen before by me or the others in the salon. Some weird film kept appearing. We deduced the nail polish was contaminated. As I sat there, I thought the place was dirty but was so far into my nail job I just sat there.

My nail salon back home keeps everything that touches my nails in a box with my number on the box. When I go there, the utensils for my nails are sanitized and used ONLY on me.

Thanks BK for the tip about the iodine. I've also been told to soak my fingers in listerine and also in vinegar. I also put drops on each night, probably the iodine product.

I definitely should have been more careful about the salon I used. But it is an extremely popular place here in TV and I guess I'm naive.

I have two nails that are very discoloured from the fungus. Of course the rest are tissue-paper thin from having had solar nails.

I'm wondering .. does anyone know how long it takes to fix fungus?

Hair Dye Hell and Heaven!
 

I need therapy when it comes to dying hair! What a nightmare I have been through! I have long hair that is naturally dark brown and after dying my own roots for 18 years with Natural Instincts, it coated my hair and turned it black! Nothing would get it out! (Don't use Natural Instincts to cover grey roots if you don't want it to coat your hair FOREVER!) Since I have vitiligo and have a white face with no pigment, the black hair looked hideous! (I looked like a DEAD WITCH!) The black hair had to go even if it meant I would have to go to a short spiked hairdo! After 6 1/2 months of nightmare, peroxide and bleach washes, color removers and a born blonde lighteners, the black is gone, FOREVER!!! Hallaluia! My hair is a pretty red and I get lots of complements and I am HAPPY! It damaged my hair, but I managed to keep it conditioned heavily in between lightening, and it's still long! Some fell out, but I wear hair extentions to fill it out, but don't have to and it stills prevails!
Oh, yes, I found out that cheap Revlon Colorsilk (strawberry blonde and light auburn) lighten my roots beautifully after spending many bucks at Sally's trying all their many red colors that looked too red. My hair looks natural!!
Happy days are here again!!

Do you know which eye makeup and lipstick line does not have perfumes and is safe for sensitive skin?