WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2014

Mechanically inclined grandson and his friend (who's a mechanic at the Honda dealer) spent all their Saturday working on daughter's car - with no success. Well, they did eliminate the easy stuff and the did have to do it in the driveway, but they couldn't immediately pin down the problem.  They did a compression test and found 3 cylinders have zero compression; then they discovered the timing belt had oil on it, which could point to two possible causes: One inexpensive and one not so.  Grandson has offered to work on it at his house, but we need to think about that. In the meantime, daughter needs a vehicle for docs appointments, etc., so I left mine with her and hopped the train at Surf (and yes, it's a tiny station right on the beach a few miles from her house) and just got home.  It took just over an hour - about 15 minutes less than driving, but oh, it was soooooo beautiful. The train goes right along the coast; the sun was shining, the ocean was blue and the waves just rolled in one after another - and the beaches - miles of pristine sand.  

OK, friends who live nearby have invited us over for leftovers, so must wipe off face and get organized. Have a good Sunday everyone.

Thanks for starting us off again, Annette. Another week already! I got up thinking it was Thursday for some unaccountable reason, but its nice to change my mindset to a Sunday. Its wet here but we hope to go out for a walk later. The story of your daughters car is getting more complicated: do hope it can be sorted without being too costly. Your train journey sounds idyllic - what a beautiful place to live.

Hi, all. Happy Full Moon.

Margo: I was delighted to read your recent good news. I'm so happy for you. I hope you enjoy your holiday events.

OG: You've been very busy. I'm so glad you're enjoying the season. I loved your Harbour Light photograph. I've had misty, icy fog here, too. 

Heather: I thought of you this evening. I "liked" the Highland Folk Museum sites on Facebook and the web (the museum is in Newtonmore near Kingussie). I will enjoy looking at their information about Highland living and working history.

Heather/Lindy/Rita: When I was caring for my Mom and Dad, we were always getting deliveries of meds, equipment, etc. The delivery folks always managed to catch me looking awful and inappropriately dressed. LOL

Lynette: I saw your comment about needing the onesies to cope with the cold. I finished up a freelance project this past week, and I spent the entire time working in a thick, fleece onesie. LOL

George: Enjoy your new technology!

AQ: I hope you are much more comfortable with the new air conditioner. I'm sorry the babies are putting so much stress on your body. They sure are cute. I hope they will grow quickly and soon be less exhausting for everyone. Please put that Christmas chocolate pie in a backpack and send it to Indiana via one of your Pacific ducks.

Annette: I'm so sorry about your daughter's car. I hope you all will be lucky and it will be not be an expensive fix. (I can empathize.) Good luck with the cleaning of your OH's computer space. I'm embarking on my annual pre-New Year deep cleaning. My house is awful. The spiders had a banner year, and I'm finding webs everywhere. My brother loved House of Cards.

Hello to Clare, Limpy, dibnlib, and LizLFW and anyone I've missed.

Take care, all.

Here's something that happened to me recently, and I'm including a follow-up event from just this past week.

A couple of weeks ago I was startled awake in the morning by a loud noise coming from my living room. It sounded like someone was demolishing my house with a hammer. I staggered into the room with my eyes barely open. At first I thought something was trapped in the north wall. I pounded on the wall, and the noise stopped only to start again in 10 seconds. BLAM, BLAM, BLAM!

I threw open the curtains and found myself eye to eye with a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. He was earnestly drilling on the wood trim around my window! The cheek...! Whatever he'd found, he didn't want to give it up. I had to loudly say, "You know the rules: No damaging the house!" before he relented and flew away very reluctantly.

Then...this week, I was headed into the kitchen for some much needed coffee after working all night on my project. I heard this alarming "BANG, BANG, BANG" sound coming from behind my sink. I've had some very cold weather, and I've been worried about my water pipes, so I was immediately terrified that I was in the midst of a major plumbing disaster.

I was looking everywhere for the source of that awful sound, and I glanced out the window and down to the wooden deck. A Hairy Woodpecker (yes, we have Hairy Woodpeckers in Indiana! LOL) was drumming mightily on the deck where it meets the kitchen wall. I opened the window and shooed him away. He flew up to a branch and actually glared at me. LOL!

Clearly, I need to convene a Woodpecker Summit of 2014 and negotiate some kind of "No Drumming on the House" Treaty. :-)

Oh, Heather, I meant to send my best wishes to Amy. I hope her condition is now stabilized with no more fearful nights for the family. Good luck to your OH for his op.

Brenda: I hope you're enjoying the season!

Good Morning Everyone. A dull, drizzly morning, with heavy rain forecast. We bought some extra cards in Church this morning. They are made from banana skins and designed by poor people in Rwanda. They really are lovely cards. The food bank, ( donated by parishioners) which is run by Churches Together, has accumulated far too much food and is now able to help other charities further afield. It is so sad that people in this country need these food banks.

Annette, Thanks for starting the week again. What a headache for your daughter and her car. Sounds as if the repairs could be expensive. I presume that you now use your OH's car. I can foresee some problems :-))  The train journey sounds lovely though.

Diane, We used to have a woodpecker problem in a previous house. It would drum on a fence, which joined the side of the house, very early, every morning. I do love your woodpeckers' names, red bellied and hairy.

Linda, Enjoy your walk. It is definitely not as cold here this morning.

I won £25 on the lottery last night. 

Woodpecker Neighbours The house I have is sturdy/Its made of wood & stone/I'd love to live here all my life/If birds would just leave it alone! I worked so hard/All night and day/To earn myself a crust/But when I tried to take a break/The peace & quiet was bust! Now, I do love the critters/I feed the birds and all -/ I speak nicely to the bunnies/And love the owl to call/But one thing I am fussed about/Is keeping my house strong.../If Woodpecker keeps drilling,/I fear it won't be long/Before I'm driven to erect/A notice on the drive/Saying plain in letters bold/"No Woodpeckers Welcome Here"/So then he will be told!!!

Brenda, sadly, the weather deteriorated into heavy showers, so in the end we got the car out and went to Aldi's!! I bought: Biscuits, chocolate, a h u g e tub of bird fat balls, some Christmas present labels, loo rolls, and a knitted woolly hat! (for me!). The hat is navy blue and very cosy, I put it on when we got home & I had to take it off again in 5 minutes, as I got too hot LOL!!

THE STRANGELY, VERY NOISY PARCEL: I bought a few things from Am****n in their recent sales promotions, and decided to test out their "Order & Collect" service, where your parcel is delivered to a local shop for you to fetch when its convenient to you. So last Friday I set out to town with a list of errands, amongst them the first port of call was to go to the newsagents. Here I showed my ID and reference number, and the girl popped into the stockroom to find my parcel. After a couple of minutes she came out holding a small package and saying ,"I'm so glad you've come for this, because every time I've had to move it, its made strange noises!!". I laughed, and said "Oh dear, sorry - the explanation is that its a small child's toy - a pretend remote control which beeps. I didn't know it would come with the batteries in!". I then went on my way - next stop was the local auctioneers as I had in my bag an old picture my mother had had framed: I wanted to give it to charity but thought I'd better check on its possible value first. The man examined it & decided that although it was nice ( it was a black & white drawing woven in silk, of children playing on a log) it was not valuable especially. I thanked him and as I walked out of the door, heard a beeping noise coming out of my bag!! I rushed outside quickly, and as I ran, the thing started playing a tune!! I opened my bag, ripped open the cardboard package, and found the toy. I was rewarded by a loud rendering of " The Wheels on The Bus Go Round and Round!!". Horrified, I looked around the car park but thankfully, no one had heard it.....frantically, I jabbed at all the multi coloured buttons on the front of it, but the more I did, the more noises it made and the louder it seemed to become!! There was no "Off" switch to be found and I would not be able to get the batteries out without a screwdriver.... I laughed manically and thrust it deep into my bag again. I managed to walk two streets with only the odd "beeep" and went into the stationers for some ink. All the while I was being served, I was getting ready to smile and say "Oh, its only a toy I've bought!". - but I was lucky and it did not make a sound. Once back out in the street again, it began to mutter......I found myself praying.......I got to the Charity Shop and gave them the picture, hoping all the while that there would not be a musical interruption. I almost ran out of the shop, no chance to peek at their goodies! When I finally got back to the car, I flung the bag onto the back seat: the parcel gave me a parting set of bleeps and my nightmare was over!! PS: we still can't find out how to turn the darned thing off.......

LOL!!!!!!!  I bet the child who gets it will switch it off in a twinkling.