WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014

OG - see you've been out & about again. Your yummy lunch made me very jealous!! Glad you feel up to getting around & enjoying the Chr. shopping. Annette - Missed the landing of the capsule, but saw the take off on our News channels. I'm not sure about this project as not happy about the huge expense when there may not be that much benefit from it. Exciting, though!! ,(I realise I'm contradicting myself!!)

Another busy day today - getting our outdoor lights out from under the stairs, then a supervising role for me on my OH getting up the ladder to put them up!!

Good morning from a windy Inverness. It isn't as cold as we thought it would be, 0 Celsius last night has turned into 5 degrees this morning.

Good to see that you are getting along fine with your new toy,GEORGE.

ANNETTE- I keep meaning to congratulate you on the long awaited rain it was only when I saw your last post referring to wet earth that it popped back into my head if you know what I mean! Good luck with the dust bunnies. My bete noire is cleaning behind radiators:-(

OG I could just go a brie and cranberry toasted sandwich. Someone else can have my turkey.

I can't remember whether you got Amber's calendar, RITA. Sorry for not replying to everyone, the old memory isn't getting any better.

Talking of which, Sheana's memory or rather her grasp of things is noticeably poorer. Yesterday we were meant to be composing her annual message to friends but that task was squashed into the last ten minutes of the visit because of finding missing items and constant repeating of the same questions ie what day/date was it. Even using a calendar is proving difficult now. I'm going to have a think about how to help her orientation for date and time.

Alison and the two teenagers are coming today and the supermarket is calling. Better fly-

Good Morning ALL. Everywhere very white with frost this morning but with lovely sunshine now. Garden temperature sensor says it is 1.1c at the moment.

We attended a funeral for a bowls member yesterday so I need to catch up with jobs I should have done.

George, Glad you are enjoying your iPad.

OG, You really are being so energetic lately. I hope EE is managing to keep pace with you :-)) Pleased to read that your Rheumatology appointment went well and good that they don't want to see you for six months.

Linda, I hope all the Christmas lights work for you, although I wouldn't like to be your OH, being up the ladder, especially on such a cold morning.

Heather, When I last visited an ex elderly neighbour, who is in a residential home, I noticed that the daughter, who visits every day, writes a reminder list for her mother for the following day. She accused her daughter of having not visited her for over a week, yesterday. The daughter has now asked us to fill in a 'visitors' book' when we visit, so that she knows what her mother is talking about, or even if she remembers. I am sorry that Sheana is having problems, which obviously causes both yourself and her, some difficulties.

I hope to go and see a craft fair in the village hall later and I do need to do a 'top up' food shop. 

Hello All-   Weather quite nice today, not as bad as expected.  I am busy wrapping up presents at the moment , the ones that need sending off.    I am waiting on a book from Amazon, they usually come so quickly, I am a bit worried that it has'nt arrived.      It was quite cold yesterday and I took a break to go out in the garden for a run around with Amber, but after a minute or two she ran back inside and left me out in the cold!!

George -  so pleased that you are getting on well with your iPad,  I know I would not be without mine.

OG -  So glad that you are having some nice days out, everywhere looks so lovely and festive at this time of year, it really gets you in to the Christmas feeling.

Heather -  I hardly ever clean behind the radiators!!!   I look behind them sometimes!

Brenda -  Hope that you will enjoy the Craft Fair, I am going to one next week.

I will have to look out my Christmas lights soon, I have lots of them, one big bag marked  'working lights' and one big bag marked  'non working lights', I do not know why I keep the latter except that some of them are really quite unusual and I want to get them working.  I went online to 'Noma' lights and ordered lots of bulbs and fuse bulbs of different voltages but have not got around to sorting it all out yet, it takes ages.  Sometimes I think I will just scrap the lot and buy new led lights!

Must pop out to the shops now, hope to be back later.

I see we are all getting quite festive. My OH has put up our lights this morning, in a slightly different formation as we used to have a "blanket" of them along the top of the front hedge, which of course, is now not there any longer! Might do the same in a couple of years if the little trees we've put in grow fast enough. Now waiting to see the effect of our labours with the lights, as it gets dark - won't be long to wait as it goes dark so early now :-(

Rita - I know what you mean, its so hard to find the right spare bulbs. We did manage to find a good garden centre a few years ago, who stocked a lot of spares, which kept our creaking sets going for a while. Then last year we threw out all the boxes marked " some don't work" from our collection, and now have nearly all modern, white led ones. We do put an old cheerful set of multicoloured ones in our apple tree in the back garden, though!!

Brenda & Heather - its so hard to deal with, when an older person loses their memory. It can be quite devastating for relatives, and must be frightening for the person themselves. I heard about someone the other day who no longer recognises any of her children, and they feel upset if they visit, and guilty if they don't. Its very sad

Morning all: Quick look in.

Heather: I was at an Alzheimer's unit eons ago and noticed that the nurses had 8 x 11 in signs up in various places giving the day of the week and the calendar date.

Lindybird: We still have our ancient colored Christmas lights with large-ish bulbs. I've got a box of spares, but have to cannibalize a bit now and then so I don't get too many of the same color too close together. Such hard work.  :-)   They were talking about the cost of the Orion program here too and if NASA will run out of money again before they can send anyone off to Mars. The thing is: Governments typically balk at investing in massive projects - I'm reading a book on the construction of Hoover Dam, which had its own naysayers from day one. It was a godsend to some but had a massive impact on that region from an environmental/ecological standpoint.

Brenda/Rita: Have a nice evening.

Off to hose down and await developments - daughter's car broke down last night. Fortunately, mechanically inclined grandson was with her; the initial diagnosis is a bad starter (they called the AutoClub which came to the same conclusion), so I suspect I'll be chauffeur today while grandson puts in a new one. Fingers crossed that'll take care of the problem.

Our lights are lovely!! We went out in the dark (well, as dark as it gets in a street with street lights!) and had a peek - very pretty effect. Darnt tell my OH that I'd really like a few more in the bushes next to the driveway LOL!!! Wait & see!!