Hope you all enjoyed your extra hour in bed!
Main Street of Beacon, across the Hudson river, and a lovely old house, now a B&B. Then a view across the Hudson River from the smallest of the Vanderbilt mansions sprinkled liberally across the state! Very ornate and modeled on the stately homes across the Pond, but used only for entertaining small parties of 18 (that's all they could seat in their dining room!) on Spring and Fall weekends!
That's all for tonight! Take care all.
Lindybird you may already be travelling but take care and enjoy the day. You must be bubbling over with excitement.
Good morning all and what a miserable morning, steady rain and very misty. Such a change from yesterday. Billie declined an offer to go out, faR too damp for her. What a difference the continuing positive news makes. Thinking ahead for the first time in ages.Sister and I will be doing our big Xmas shop soon, a day we will both enjoy. Joe Brown's gig is during my December chemo but I am sure I will be able to go. Xmas cake will be started soon and it is just the little things I feel able to do will make life enjoyable again. We recorded Alex Politzzi's new programme about Italy and watched it last night. She had italian grandparents and she is visiting all the places that she loves and visits at least once a year. She visited Venice and Milan in this episode. Venice trip brought back wonderful memories for us. Venice is so beautiful. We took a water taxi from the airport and the views are just outstanding. She said the best to look round is early morning before the tourist arrived and how right she is, hardly a soul around. St Marks Square is very difficult to walk round later in the day. Looking firestorm to the next episode when she visits Rome and Le Marche which is a place we intended to visit but never managed to get there. Again Rome is going to bring a lot of good memories for us.
Annette the family especially my younger sister are smiling for me. My deae sister has not found it easy to come to terms with. She supports me all the time but told me that she could not bear to lose me. Have assured her that I am not going anywhere just yet and she seems more relaxed about things now. So enjoying your photos, beautiful scenery and so different from the America we see pictured on the news etc. The little cottages remind me so much of cottages in Cornwall and how impressive those mansions are even if they did not have that much space inside.
Heather goodness Englisn strawberries at this time of the year this does seem late. Xmas cake stirring will be taking place a week Saturday.
rita that was lucky that window fitters were both gardeners and your plants are all OK.
bjane delighted to see a post from you and hearing you are OK. As you can see we are over the moon about the success with the particular drug being used. It will be ongoing now, every 4 weeks for 5 days for as long as it continues to work. I am sure you must be looking forward to your retirement after working for so long. Your list of to do things up ill grow steadily.
OG grumpy days or not, you are still impressive and I am going through a learning curve at the moment and getting on with life.
Lynette thanks the drug they are using is working miracles as far as I am concerned and long may it continue. Never thought after bad experiences last year that I woukd feel as well as I do. Sorry about your continuing leak hope this can be resolved as soon as possible.
AQ thanks and it makes me very happy to post in such a positive wayagter posts that were rather miserable. Having a great time looking at all your photos.
diane thanks hope you are keeping well. How is your weather at the moment.
Brenda good to talk yesterday. I will have to have a quiet talk to Billie and tell her it is rude to interrupt when I am talking lo. Guessing you have same weather as we have this morning.
Going to watch some tennis for a while, Andy Murray plays later today. Will be interested as he looked totally exhausted after he won the final in Valencia.
Have a good day all and take care.
Hello Everyone - Started off sunny today but now gone dull and quite cold. Tortoises stay in their house under the heat lamps, only a few days now until I put them down for the winter, I always miss them at first!
Margo - Lovely long post from you, so glad that you will be able to go out Christmas shopping with your sister. and get to the Joe Brown concert. I have also enjoyed the new Alex Politzii programme.
Annette - Thanks for your latest photos, I am really enjoying them.
OG - re-sisyerinchiums - I have a lot of the tall yellow ones which I love, also small blue ones and a little white one I bought this year and put in one of my alpine pots but the one I like best is posted in a picture below, I think it is called 'Quaint and Queer' ! shown here growing with a nice Heuchera. I have also posted pics of two lovely acers in their autumn colours, a hydrangea which is beautiful at the moment and a ginger lily that has just finished flowering in the conservatory.
I'm looking forward to seeing the new arrival, Lindy. Glad the traffic wasn't queued up in your direction.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
I’m enjoying the pics posted by Annette & Rita.
We saw this fine fellow posing in Albany. I shall claim it is an Australian raven, having found this quote online –“So what is the difference between ravens and crows? The correct answer at the end of the day appears to be 'nothing'. If you rephrase the question to 'how can you tell the difference between the different species?' the answer, at least in Australia, is 'not easily!'. Australian corvids are almost identical in appearance. The most reliable way of knowing is simply knowing which town you are in. In Melbourne and Adelaide your local 'crows' are Little Ravens. In Perth, Canberra and Sydney they are Australian Ravens. In Hobart, they are Forest ravens, and in Brisbane and Darwin they are Torresian Crows. Note, however, that there may be other species about, such as the elusive Australian Raven visitors in Melbourne.”
What lovely photos from Annette and Rita to cheer us up.
Margo - lovely to see you are continuing to feel you can now plan ahead. Enjoy your big shop with your sister and hope you get to see Joe Brown. Must remember to download Alex Polizzi's programme, I saw it advertised but forgot it was on.
We had some rather sad news tonight. My dau. is friendly with a young man who is engaged and had been invited to be a bridesmaid at their wedding. Unfortunately today the young lady died from what we believe was a pulmonary embolism. She had an ongoing condition of hip dysplasia and was awaiting an operation. She was my dau's age - a young woman in her prime.
Well we still have the leak and our builder is supposed to be coming round tomorrow afternoon to hopefully put it right. I do hope so, I'm fed up with the mopping up and ringing out of towels not to mention the water that is being wasted.
Hopefully will get to the gym tomorrow for a swim and swim the cares of the world away for a short time!!
Take care all.
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home