Hi all, welcome to the new week.
Evening all: Got a lot done today - OH's office is now dust-bunny free; we also put the outside lights up. Treated myself to extra chocolate after dinner and am about to topple into bed.
Diane: Always good to see you pop in here. That's a riot about the woodpeckers; is this the first time they 'attacked' the house? My OH is going to lunch in LA with some old work buddies Tuesday and I'm toying with the idea of cleaning the house while he's gone.
Brenda: That's fascinating about the banana-skin cards; I've never heard of them. Re cars, we also have a huge and ancient (1972) Ford truck that is a bear to drive and a nightmare to park in anything smaller than a football field, so who drives which vehicle depends on who's going where.
Lindybird: Oh very nice little Ode to Woodpeckers. :-) I bought a Winnie the Pooh pillow for Ms. D a couple of years ago and it ended up driving everyone up the wall coz we couldn't shut it up! It's more than a little disconcerting not to get a "thank you" - maybe there's still time? Wonder if the accompanying card could have got mislaid? I remember years ago I bought an expensive wedding gift for my friend's daughter and never heard a word.
Heather: What is a Big Issue seller? Oh dear, so sorry that Amy was rude to your OH; that sort of thing can really take you aback. She's had much more stress than most kiddies her age and is probably sick and tired of all things insulin ; I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt him. Still, it's no fun to be on the receiving end. And yes, I remember the rhyme - I've known more than one little girl who could be quite horrid from time to time. :-)
Lynette: Sounds like a nice evening service; enjoy your day with your friend.
OK, off to be with me. Have a good Monday everyone.
Morning, all. Annette, the Big Issue is a magazine sold by sellers on the street - it's meant to help homeless people and only homeless people are supposed to sell it, though that hasn't always been the case locally. There is one woman who has literally been selling it for years here - I'm at a loss as to why she (presumably) remains homeless after such a long time.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Good Morning, All and Happy Monday!!
We were woken by claps of thunder this morning, and since then we have had everything: sunny, showery, hail, rain, and its even tried to snow. Went out in our warmest coats to try & fix the solar Christmas lights in the back garden: the ones in our plum tree are twinkling manically and its rather distracting. Of course, we had to put a towel over the solar panel to get it to think it was night!! Hopefully now they will just twinkle prettily tonight.
After seeing two Goldfinches yesterday, we are pleased to see that they have returned again today. Also, we were totally thrilled to see a GSW on the feeders, he has not been here for ages.
Lynette: How lovely to go & hear a brass band, my sis-in-law was just saying on the phone that they have been to a concert with a brass band and it makes you feel really Christmassy.
Annette: Clare has explained the Big Issue idea. We also have had two sellars who in the past have been in the town for ages & ages. I began to think that perhaps its not so much homelessness as the difficulty in finding a job: afterwards they can prove that they were up to turning out regularly and trying to earn a living. After a while though, I stopped giving them anything as it just seemed to go on and on.
I'm doing lots of things today: cleaning, wrapping presents, tidying things up, writing Christmas letters. This year I have lots of news to impart to my old friends scattered around the UK, but I don't do a round robin letter, I write each one individually.
Here are some Monday Smile pics to cheer everyone:
Ying & Yang!
...........and another!
Good Morning Everyone. A brighter morning here. 3c. The frost is clearing.
Heather. I also worry about the people, who never ask for help and therefore suffer in silence. The food bank I contribute to, is for people in the coastal towns. Although the village I live in, does have a very good system of checking on the elderly and provides transport to a weekly club, where a meal is provided, alongside entertainment, I think most who attend do not need meals but just go for the company. We all will have heard of people, who, because of pride or even ignorance, do not even claim all the benefits from the government that they are entitled to receive.Sorry Amy was so rude to your OH. Maybe she will realise her mistake and will apologise to him. I hope so. I do remember that rhyme.
Linda, Loved your woodpecker ditty and your hilarious exploits with the noisy toy. I guess you will need to have another set of batteries before you part with it.
Clare / Heather, I notice that most people, including myself, who don't take the Big Issue magazine, but just give the seller the money.
Annette, I also try to do most of my HW when my OH goes out, especially when I want to clean the ' hidden places'. I get through it quicker and more thorough. One advantage of enduring having the house decorated was that every part of the house was thoroughly cleaned, even behind the radiators. The decorator did mention that the loft was dusty, though LOL.
Just a quickie from here to say thank you for posts!
Is there a theme developing here regarding chores achieved when OHs are absent with leave? I don't have the luxury of a husband who helps with housework but do seem to get more done when he is out bowling etc. BUT when he comes home (like a cat, when he is hungry) I am so happy to see him.
Heather, I couldn't have put it better myself. Having had years of OH having to travel to various countries with his job, I am so enjoying his retirement.
Precipitation here last night was just rain and no frost this morning, yet 5 miles away there was snow and 20 miles away there were accidents on icy roads. It actually turned out a very sunny day today – but we have warnings of high winds Wednesday.
Linda – when I referred to tasteless light displays, I had some particular houses in mind which are covered with multiple brightly coloured flashing Santas, Reindeer etc resembling commercial neon adverts! I am sure your lights are much more tasteful, and there are some reasonable white ones around here (but I do find blue ones, even non-flashing cause me some sort of visual disturbance). We had two Goldies Saturday, four Sunday and six today – of course, I am expecting eight tomorrow! Pleased to see your Goldies returned today; strange that we both unusually had GSW within a few days. The birds I am really waiting for are the beautiful Bramblings which don’t usually come until we have snow or ice.
Heather – according to my Grandmother, I was that little girl in the rhyme – and I had very curly hair when I was young. I don’t think it harmed me, I just tried extra hard to be very, very good!
Lynette – pleased the band-led service was as enjoyable as you hoped. I hope you have a thoroughly good time tomorrow, catching up with your friend.
Annette – well done with OH’s office!
Brenda and others – I am another one who likes to get jobs done when OH is out – although I usually get a good telling-off for doing too much!
I had a busy morning today while he was out for shopping, posting and other messages, but part of that was final orders for various Farmer’s Market producers, so I was sitting down to email those. All well at the optician this afternoon – no change to prescription, and the cataract definitely doesn’t need surgery yet. I have done ironing this evening. Busy at home for both of us tomorrow.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Still chuckling over Linda’s new noisy toy.
Diane, would you come & say a few words to the noisy miners who think they own our backyard. If they are not sitting in the crab apple tree, they perch on the clothes line and vent loud abusive squawks, even when we move about indoors.
Lunch with Friend yesterday (we meet for b-days & Xmas). On way home I bought the frozen turkey for Xmas Day and it just fitted in the freezer drawer of fridge. Alas the new fridge has less freezer space than the old, thus has been curtailing my usual way of cooking extra & freezing meals for busy days. Talking of busy days, they are getting busier. Dau2 has asked me for 2 afternoon’s help a week, my OH will do one and Miss18 two. For the next 2 weeks, then her OH has 2 weeks leave. After that, please please please may the babes grow up fast! They were 6 months old last week. Sometime I must clean windows (OH does offer but he delays until last day and then decides they aren’t so dirty after all!!!!!), meet another Friend, phone all those people who are “phone at Xmas” friends, wraps gifts for littlies. I think biggies will be getting vouchers or cash.