WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY JUNE 28, 2015

'Allo all.  Hope it's a good week for everyone.  Ghastly news from Tunisia - those poor people, sitting on the beach enjoying the sunshine....

Heather:  There's at least one situation like yours in every family (sometimes two or three!).  Makes you wonder where these folks came from  I mean, can they really be related to sensible grown-up like us?  :-)  

Diane: We're on the edges of a tropical storm system heading into the Southwest which could end up in your neighborhood in a few days.  What a pain. It must keep on on edge the whole time.  I do hope the trees around your house are sound   We don't have many needs when it comes to cars, but we just have our trusty Honda Accord and our lovely old 73 Ford Ranger, which guzzles gas big time and is a bear to drive down Santa Barbara's narrow streets (narrow because of parking on both sides - and not narrow at all compared to some roads in England!).  The truck is in great shape but sits out most of the time and it's is beginning to rust in a few places. It takes up the entire garage and I'm the one who takes it and the stepladder to the do-it-yourself car wash where I nearly get blown off the ladder by the water pressure. Truck is too big for a drive-through wash.  Anyway, it's slowly deteriorating and I'd rather see it go to someone who will really care for it - it's pretty much a classic a this point.  I'm thinking sort of long term for a newer SUV with minimal bells and whistles that is versatile and economical.  We're looking at hybrids, but there's not a big choice in the smaller SUVs.  The Toyota RAV 4 will come in a hybrid version for 2016 - at a cost of about $30K!  Typically we buy newer used vehicles but with the recession, folks seem to have hung on to the popular models much longer than usual and the ones advertised on, say, craigslist, have lots of miles on them.  Still, there are much, much worse dilemmas to deal with in the world.

Lindybird: Good news from Glaslyn then.  Ha! Liked the 1-in-5 joke.

That tropical storm that's east of us has brought clouds, humidity - and a sprinkling of rain!  More sprinkling possible in the next two days. Hey!  It's wet. we'll take it.

  • Hello All -  Cooler here today but I believe hotter again tomorrow.   Thanks to everybody who has sent me good wishes for my operation, it helps a lot as I am a bit apprehensive about it all.   The bad news is that now my daughter-in-law has gone down with the norovirus bug and is really bad today although better than yesterday.  She works as a Dietician at Warwick Hospital (not the one I am going to) and they have got it there at the moment.    My son has been washing everywhere down with disinfectants,etc. in an effort to stop any of the rest of us from getting it, otherwise I may not get my operation after all for now, the hospital will not take me in to spread norovirus around.   So fingers crossed!  

  • Clare that is great news something for you to really enjoy.

    rita fingers crossed you will steer clear of the bug.

    Lindy you would be very welcome to sit on my knee. I just love going to see him.

  • Clare - Congratulations on becoming a volunteer at Minsmere, I am sure you will really enjoy yourself.   Will you be doing the same days as Limpy?  I suppose it would make the travelling involved easier?  

    Margo- lovely to hear from you    Glad that you are enjoying the Tennis, it is a lovely idea to plan on getting tickets next year.  No wonder Billie was feeling the heat yesterday, our cat Hugo was too.

    Lindy- I hope you enjoy your visit to the family.   Did your OH have any success with the Dog Trainer?      I took Amber to classes when she was young and although she was good at everything else, she always pulled on the lead a  bit and still does.  She is always so excited about being let off the lead which of course is not always possible.

    Annette - Hope you have a lovely day with the family, I expect Ms D loves the beach.  I have never seen those Sail type sun shades you mentioned, they do sound a bit tricky to get fixed,  It is hardly ever hot enough in Muir of Ord to need that sort of thing!

  • Rita R said:
    Congratulations on becoming a volunteer at Minsmere, I am sure you will really enjoy yourself.   Will you be doing the same days as Limpy?  I suppose it would make the travelling involved easier?  

    Funnily enough I'll be doing different days to Limpy.  One of us needs to be available as a teenager taxi.

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • RITA - Do hope that you can get your op done, now that you've steeled yourself to get it sorted.
  • Margo - lovely to hear from you. Hope friends funeral goes OK, its always sad when we know someone who has passed away but it is always good to celebrate their life and what it has been to many people.

    I know what you mean about Billie - our two just couldn't settle , particularly yesterday, as it was our hottest day and quite unbearable.  They kept finding the shade and eventually was pleased when the evening came and they could lie in the cool!! of the night.

    Clare - so pleased for you that you are now going to be a volunteer at Minsmere.

    Lovely to read all about your news.

  • I've had a Wildlife Drama, just when I was thinking that Diane has a more interesting life than I do! I was getting ready to go out this morning, when I realised in the hallway, that I Was Not Alone! ------- someone was watching me! Someone sitting on the carpet, looking nervous, and rather greenish.......a toad!!! I shrieked at first, startled, then realised that as my OH was out, I must deal with this. I thought "Well, they don't bite!" so decided to try & catch him/her and pop him out of the front door where he must have come from. I reached out with my hands, so of course he jumped! I shut some of the hallway doors (thankfully Bonnie was asleep on a chair) then had another go: I managed to corner him and cup my hands around him - he was wet and slippery, and did a poo in my hand! Poor thing must have been terrified. I grabbed again, and hung onto a long leg.... managed to get him into the front porch & wrenched the outer front door open - he got away again and tried to escape through a tiny gap so I had to shepherd him towards freedom....suddenly, he was outside - phew!!!! Quite big in my hand, surprisingly, and damp. Don't know if he'd been in the hallway all night or if he'd come in when I fetched in the milk. Glad all is well now :-)
  • Rita – Good luck for new knee. I had one knee replaced in 2012, and I am so glad. Of course I grumbled when “grounded” for first few weeks and it took a few more months before I was fully fit. As Annette said, try to do some exercises before op, even if only a few days as it does make a difference to recovery. I went to a physio before & after. I still do the leg lifts to strengthen the muscles for the other knee which my Doc says is “not bad enough yet”.

    Linda – Will we get to see a pic of The Outfit after the wedding?

    Clare – Ah those days being a teenage taxi driver. They’re soon over, the teens get a license, your car disappears. <grin>

    I got up this morn (temp 3 C) and read about the horrendous heat Up Over. Glad I’m here.

    We survived immunization day. Doc was ½ hour late, twins ready for nap, 7 of us crammed in room (Dau with bad cold, 3 kids, doc, nurse & moi). They wasted time weighing, measuring length, head, temp, etc and finally gave MissJ her 2 jabs, simultaneously in each arm. Long before this, MissL was fed up waiting and crying. Repeat for screaming MissL. All over. Miss3 had been quietly playing with her toy in the corner (Doc’s toy box was far too young for her) and she announced to Doc “Ï am toilet trained”. This reminded Dau to detour to toilet while I minded overtired twins. They fell asleep on drive home and slept in car for an hour. No apparent after affects but by mid pm while Dau was dozing & coughing, I managed to put J then L down for a 2nd nap. BTW J is 9.4 kg and L is 12.8 kg. No wonder my back aches, my arm is sore, etc, etc.

  • Lynette - I meant to say yesterday, that I remember Devon Malcolm ( although I'm not a cricket fan). Hope you have a pleasant evening.
  • Welcome to Linda's Wildlife Refuge. LOL