Good Morning. Great to hear about your day, Clare, and that you had a good time at Minsmere: I'm sure you'll be fine at reception, you sound very friendly and helpful to me! Brenda: Love your tale of the Anniversary flowers! Hope you're able to celebrate at the weekend. I'm getting ready to go out so will pop back in tonight to tell how we got on today at the Show. These days we both find it very tiring, walking around in crowds. We arrive as early as possible, before the gates even open, but as the day goes on it gets very crowded.

Good Morning Everyone. Light rain at the moment with the heavy rain due around lunch time. The roadworks still continue, but they will definitely not finish today. They are still digging and scraping.

Clare, So glad you had such a wonderful time at Minsmere. I would think you are well suited to working in reception. Well done.

AQ, Sorry your nanny day wasn't as easy as your previous visit. The car ride is often the answer to parents' prayers.

I do hope Rita's recovery is progressing well. {{{ Hugs }}}

I have to post this. It is just so funny.

Angry protesters chase Scotland’s only Tory MP out of town after he turned up to open a Food Bank.

Morning all:  Major shopping event yesterday, but still have to buy organic, non-antiobotic, etc. meat from good market near the gym - oh and I forgot olives, but no biggie.

Lindybird: Hope the weather was perfect for the flower show.

Heather: What is it with these "final" medical tests - we have a cut off date for some standard tests too. It's as if there's no point in finding out what's wrong coz, Lord knows, we'll all be pushing up daisies soon enough (in fact, probably not soon enough for insurance companies, etc). When we were shopping for cars, my OH remarked that "this will probably be the last car we buy."  I told him to speak for himself.  :-)   Re hard-of-hearing OHs, I feel like one of those dolls where you'd pull a string and it would repeat the same sentence over and over.  

OG: Hmmm. No chance they mixed up your hearing test results?  :-)  

Clare: Isn't it nice to feel you're part of such a group? When I was training for a stint as guide at the Santa Barbara Mission, the joke was that the most-often-asked question was "Where are the bathrooms?"

bjane: Not surprised at all to read about Sunbrella. We've had the two remaining cushions from the original set left by the previous owners 10 years and no fading at all. I was looking at replacing the tatty cheap ones I bought wtih Sunbrella, but the actual patio set is old with some rust spots and the one "rocking" chair is getting pretty iffy. Not planning to replace the set until something breaks so a bit reluctant to splurge on top-quality cushions at this point.

Brenda:  Cannot believe there are that many "righteous" people in sunny climes  and just read that "...and He sends rain to the righteous."  Hmmmm. Mixed messages if you ask me.  :-)  I bet the workman got a kick out of delivering your flowers. What are your plans to celebrate?  Nice dinner out somewhere?

AQ: My OH can nap in our car when I'm driving, but I can't stand that "passenger fatique" you get on a long ride....   What knee pills?  Did you have one or both replaced?

Alan: We'll trade you that Tory MP for Donald Trump any day!  David Letterman (former talk show host) was joking around about Trump recently and said "That's not a haircut; that's a wind advisory!"  :-)

Take care all.

Unknown said:

I have to post this. It is just so funny.

Angry protesters chase Scotland’s only Tory MP out of town after he turned up to open a Food Bank.

Indeed this report is so, so funny because there were about eight "protesters"  outside the food bank, and I believe four or five followed his car to the end of the street!

Hello, I'm back again after a most enjoyable visit to the annual Flower Show. The weather held until just before we left, mid afternoon: it was actually quite pleasant to have it a little cooler, as for a couple of years its been very warm which is so much more wearying. Then at the end of our visit we had to put on our rain jackets as it started spotting with rain. We only bought one plant, a Crocosmia, which is a beautiful shade of yellow. But I couldn't resist some metal flowers, red poppies! Bought three of them to put into an outdoor tub later, with perhaps some green plant: my OH said that they were attractive enough to have indoors! Then we spied a metal figure of an Egret - my OH said he would buy it for me. :-). I will take a photo of it later. I took over 100 pics of the Show, all taken with the new camera, as its a nuisance to keep getting another out of my bag, so I bit the bullet and got to grips with the new one. Good practice for Sept. when I hope to use it at our son's wedding.

Ah but you must remember 5 Scots are equivalent to about 50 of other ethnicity. Anyway what a nerve opening a food bank when his party has caused the need in the first place. It is a wonder he was not lynched.

Bonnie enjoyed her stay at sis-in-laws, & played with a half grown Labrador all day. She's very tired now, so that's a bonus! We're tired now, so just going to pop a bought quiche into the oven & put our feet up.

OG/Alan:  Just looked at the "protest" images on the BBC Scotland website and had to smile at one sign that read: Down With This Sort of Thing.  :-))  So polite and so versatile!

Lindybird said:

Bonnie enjoyed her stay at sis-in-laws, & played with a half grown Labrador all day. She's very tired now,

Lindy - You have the answer to Bonnie's exuberance. Get another dog. LOLOL

Annette - I had one knee replaced, the other is, according to Doc, "not bad enough yet". Anyway I don't want to go anywhere near such pain until they devise new drugs that I'm not allergic to. I only use the anti-inflammatories 3-4 days a week when knee is paining badly. These days it is my back, my shoulders, my arms that trouble me. The twins must grow up one day!

Expecting rain. We have a family gathering for a'tea at sis-i-l.