Weekly Chat, Sunday, March 14

Margobird - Sometimes all these pesky things seem to happen all at once. Don't get "rubbed out".

Annette - I have a small collection of jewellry but where does one wear any these days? Shopping? Library? Doctor? Even on special outings no-one dresses up any more. Maybe when I'm ironing? After all that is a rare and special occasion. LOL

Dibnlib - I must slow down my reading speed. I first read your post as "Busy day out in the garden, pruning weeding and face painting . ."

Maureen - For Bold, hilight the required word(s) and press Control and b (at same time). For Italics it is Control and i. Underline doesn't seem to work on this blog. (Elsewhere it is Control and u.)

State election day today. Everyone will be out and about as we have compulsory voting. Though as some wit said - it is compulsory to attend, but with a secret ballot, who knows whether anything is marked on the paper. Next week our letterbox will be free of all that junk "Vote for me" mail.

Evening all: Nice day today - saw daughter and Oro, who took me for a brisk walk.  Fog along the coast (not good for the whale counters) but warm in the (Santa Ynez) valley.  Bright orange California Poppies along the sides of the road so must plan my trip to Figueroa Mountain in the next week or two.  Sounds like several UK folks have been out and about in the warmer weather, which must be wonderful after your horrible winter.

Margobird: Hope the eyebrow survived.  On the rare occasions I wear mascara, I can barely make out where to aim the brush and often end up poking it in my eye, causing my eye to run and the entire effort a watery waste of time; doing an eyebrow too would probably put me over the edge!  Even Alan's photo of the Derby peregrine looks all fuzzy.   :'-))

dibnlib: If you can't use that cream opal ring, just pop it in the mail to me.  Is your Mom still around so you can ask what happened to the second ring?   I have to have something on telly or a phone call to a friend to occupy me while ironing. My OH complains that I clear the table and have everything tidied up while he's still finishing dinner. Hmm. Beds are due to be stripped tomorrow - wonder if I can wait 'til he wakes up.  Did a nice slicing job on the tops of three my fingers years back; didn't feel a thing until the doc submerged my hand in something strong - and then it hurt for weeks, and fingertips were super-sensitive for more than a year. 

Djoan: Do you have a cat? They say stroking cats can bring blood pressure down.  Don't think dogs are into such self-indulgence.

Heron:  Maureen is correct about the roller coaster ride - and she should know, being one of the "oldtimers" on this blog. This is only my second year and I fear that this year I still won't be able to tell the difference between whichever chicks arrive!  My personal wish is that they all get fitted with "Hallo, my name is ____" labels as soon as possible.

AQ: Indeed. where to wear our finery is a dilemma. Ironiing is a possibility.  Taking out the trash?  Chatting over the fence to the neighbor? Lots of opportunities if only we racked our brains.  We don't dress up here either. I think they might dress up more in the UK. Maybe someone will let us know. 

Diane: If you're watching the Weather Channel (after all, this is Friday night), did you notice that next week is "Tornado Week."  Should have some good video!   Trucker dude is heading south to Atlanta for his next trip...that guys spends a lot of time driving; looks like he sleeps in the cab too, many of which have internet access, microwaves, ovens, etc., and are quite cozy.

OK, should make a list of things to accomplish over the next day or so. And it's Saturday - again.

Hey, Annette. I am watching the Weather Channel. LOL Yay, "Tornado Week"! Love it! We just had Tornado Preparation Week here in central Indiana. Most of the cities tested their tornado sirens and practiced preparedness. Lots of news coverage for Kokomo, Indiana, a manufacturing town that has been economically devastated and can't even afford tornado sirens. Unemployment rate there is nearly 19 percent. Central Indiana is sort of in "Tornado Alley", and we get lots of them here every year. In 1995, a big one took the roof off the garage and damaged the roof on this house. My parents were delighted because they needed a new roof anyway, and the storm meant that the insurance had to pay for it. LOL!!!

BTW, have you watched that Storm Chasers program on Discovery Channel? Love the footage of those awesome storms. Extremely warm here today for this time of year. We're supposed to have thunderstorms Saturday night, so I'll probably turn the computer off. No webcams for me.

The trucker does do a lot of driving. Long-haul big-rig trucking used to be a good, well-paying job, but now they work like dogs and don't see much reward. He does sleep in the cab. It's a hard life, and I think those folks should be better compensated for what they do. But then, nobody consults me about these things. :-) He struggles to keep that webcam going because the donations/ads don't cover the big expense, but he loves doing it.

I love those orange California poppies! Do you drive or hike on Figueroa Mountain? Do you stay overnight and camp? Enjoy your weekend and don't try to do too much.

Hey Diane:  Eeeew. I'm not sure about tornadoes - but at least you have warnings; unlike earthquakes.  I have watched Storm Chasers; in fact Reed Timmer, who hosted the most recent series, was the "Not My Job" guest on the Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me. show we saw here last year.   I heard that there's a 100 percent turnover in the truck driving field - they barely make ends meet - and if they buy their own rigs, it's really really hard.  Those things are amazingly expensive.   You can drive and hike Figueroa Mountain (I shall be driving, sitting, picnicking and snapping photos).  I have to call the Forest Service office to find out what's blooming and where - there are several prime locations and the wildflowers bloom in waves depending on the elevation.  Watch out for those storms!

Hi, all. Very happy Spring Equinox to everyone in the northern hemisphere! And very happy Autumn Equinox to Aquilareen, Wattle, and any other Aussie folks! May this turning of the wheel of the year bring you all joy and abundance!

Hi, Caerann! Hope the job search is going well!     Paul/Heron: Don't worry, the owls have accepted me as one of their own. They will make you an honorary owl, too, if you keep staying up late. :-)     TerryM: You were practising your scales? What have I missed? Are you a singer or a musician? My feeble ol' brain isn't what it used to be. I should probably remember.

DjoanS: 7th of April for the first barn owl egg, eh? Perhaps I was a bit premature in my prediction of an egg very soon at the Barn Owl Trust site. Do you know whether this is the same pair of owls as last year? The female looks different to me. If I remember correctly, last year the resident pair left the barn and had another clutch very late in the year at another location. Have they returned?

Lindybird: I'm so delighted you're back, even if you arrived covered in other people's booze :-) I was going to make you a catch-up summary, like I did for Gary, but wasn't sure where to even start. Sounds like you are getting through the past posts, anyway. Absolutely agree with you about politicians and elections. I seem to be climbing up on my soapbox a lot lately -- wearing the thing out. Hope Dog got his pantaloons groomed without incident. LOL Sorry your car stalled on the hill. I used to have a much beloved Ford Mustang, and during its last days, it would always stall smack in the middle of the busiest intersections. I talked to it a lot!

Margobird: Hope you don't have to buy the hearing aids. Very expensive. So very sorry that you must have another skin cancer removed. Dreadful news. Hope you can get the procedure done and over so you can concentrate on ospreys.     AQ: Compulsory voting? That's interesting. I know what you mean; our election campaigns go on forever and are obscenely expensive.     Alan: Thanks for all of the bird updates and alerts!

DibnLib: That's hilarious that you say thank you to theautobank when it produces the money. I talk to the birds on my deck all the time, and they all recognize my voice. A few days ago we had our first spring thunderstorm and the power was flickering wildly. I found myself pleading with the lights and TV to stay on, until I started to feel like a dotty ol' woman talking to her house. LOL

Sorry for writing two long posts. I won't be on for a day or two, due to more storms. Night all.

Oh, I intended to say hello to OG. OG: Take care of yourself and get enough rest. Everyone does seem to be coming out of hibernation, and I think the temptation is to try to do everything at once now that the sun is shining. Happy spring to you!

Morning all. Will it be today that EJ arrives or do we have to wait another five days as the coundown clock on my desk suggests?

Meanwhile what a picture today's APOD is. See http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Tiger: That picture is extraordinary!!!

Hi Tiger

I have been keeping an eye on your countdown clock.......... I am so excited and can hardly wait.

Can you imagine how we will all feel when we see EJ again. And all the questions!!!!

How many eggs......boys or girls? Let's hope that Odin returns.

Picture on APOD......beautiful.

Maureen xxx