Hallo all: Happy New week.
Well, what can I say? I can't even do stupid links these days; no idea why things aren't linking but life is too short to fret about it....
Rita is doing her knee exercises, which aren't the best part of her day, but she'll get there we know.
OG: I've taken the liberty of copy/pasting your anniversary dinner menu for all to enjoy vicariously: "Had a great meal at a country house hotel not far away. Even the bread rolls were wonderful - fresh-baked and therefore really crisp, not hard (I can't usually eat what are normally referred to as "crisp" rolls!). OH started with soup while I had a terrine of roasted vegetables; we both had beautifully roasted pork loin, with a theme of peas running through it: pea mash, pea puree and mange touts, as well as roasted root veg and garnished with a wee "haggis bon-bon" (breaded haggis). OH decided in sticky toffee pud to follow - pleased I didn't as it had a fig in the middle which I would not have liked to find in there! I had the most wonderful chocolate fudge cake ever - so beautifully light, whereas I usually find it very heavy. J is out at a barbecue this evening so it was nice to have a meal out on our own but without leaving him out." All sounds yummy (though not sure about the breaded haggis).
Brenda: I too am wondering how many floors up your son and DiL are in their new apartment. Have you started looking at airfares yet? OG has info on the Canada cake on last week's thread.
bjane: Hope you're too busy to post for all the right reasons. Take care; good to see you.
Margo: Hope you feel up to dropping in this week. Is your sister still popping by? Hugs to you.
Earth to Diane! Please call home. :-))
Fountain is behaving itself as I type; it usually goes about three days before pooping out. Am prepared for investigative antics next time.
Have a good Sunday everyone.
What on earth is happening to the typeface these days?
Unknown said: Earth to Diane! Please call home. :-))
Hi, all.
Annette: I'm back, I think.
The pet-sitting trip was stressful for several reasons: my friends were having personal issues and it was very tense there, one of the dogs barked at me to play ball with him relentlessly, and then there was the weather.
Indiana has been under a strange tropical front for the last two months. We've had severe storms and torrential rains every other day. (Most of our agricultural crops have been destroyed.) While I was pet-sitting in Indianapolis, we had ghastly storms: tornadoes/high winds and record rainfall. I was worried about my house the whole time.
I arrived home a couple of days late (my friends were too tired to bring me back right away). I pushed the button to turn on my computer and...nothing. It was deader than dead. One of the storms had fried it, along with the surge protector that I'd left it plugged into. I talked to a computer repair man, and he said that it would probably cost more to repair it than to replace it. I'd bought that computer in late 2011, and it was top of the line and expensive. I was heart-broken. I'm beating myself up for not leaving it unplugged (an oversight). The repair man said he's been run ragged by the storm damage to folks' electronics.
So I took most of the money I earned by pet-sitting (sigh...) and bought a new desktop. It was inexpensive, but still a pretty good machine. Luckily, I had unplugged everything else, so I still had my monitor, speakers, gateway/router, etc. So tonight, I'm installing the new computer. I had the option of upgrading to Windows 10, so I've decided to go ahead and do it, while this machine can still be returned if the upgrade fails. I'm downloading Windows 10 as I type this and biting my fingernails.
I don't have email yet, and I haven't loaded my security program (virus scan, etc.) so I haven't been on Facebook yet. I haven't had a chance to read back for all of your news.
I have missed telephone calls from OG and Annette, and I deeply apologize. I've had to see the repair guy, shop for a new computer, and catch up with my mowing. It's so bloomin' hot and humid, the yard work made me really sick for a couple of days. I also had to deal with mold on my walls from the leaky roof. Yup, mold on the walls....
Happy anniversary, OG. I'm sorry if I made you worry about me.If this Windows 10 upgrade fails, I may be offline again...Take care, all. Sorry this post has been so downbeat.
Diane: Yay!!! Wonderful to see you. :-)) But geez, what a difficult time all round and what a pain that the pet-sitting money went to a new computer. Boo. I've heard good things about Windows 10 (NPR had a piece on it). Hope everything is up and running soon. Don't worry about missed phone calls - just get yourself, the computer, the yard and the mold sorted and let us know how it's going then!
Sending hugs and some good weather your way
Thanks, Annette. The Windows 10 upgrade appears to have gone okay. It didn't take as long as I thought it would. I like it a lot better than 8.1! I've been hearing about the fires in your state. Hope you're safe. Sure wish I could have sent you all that rain.
I'm off to re-install my virus/security program and see whether I can get Dell to let me re-download my Word program.
I haven't read back to catch up with everyone's news, but I take it that Margo is poorly. Sending good wishes to you, Margo.
Good morning, all! What a day we had yesterday. Helen competed in the national final of the UK Riders yesterday, which meant we were all up well before the crack of dawn to head off to Lincolnshire with a group from her riding school. She was in one dressage class and two jumping classes - she placed in the top six in all of them! To say she's on top of the world is the year's understatement.
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 everyone
What a great start to the week (thanks, ANNETTE) for you, CLARE! Well done Helen, especially after having a flare up of her Tieze syndrome so recently.
DIANE- As ANNETTE said, what a pity to have to go and buy a new computer,especially as the previous one was still working well. It is good for us to have you back online :-) but even more so for you - to be online is an essential. I can imagine you being worried sick about your house while you were away. Not nice.
OG- My mouth is watering even though it is only breakfast time and I'm never hungry in the mornings! Good pork cooked well is a joy to eat and all those vegetables - YUM.
I'd better get moving,got to do some shopping or we'll not be eating this evening. I had a meal planned but OH has expressed a desire for something else and since it is very unusual for him to make a special request I thought I should make the effort!
Have a good day, ALL. Thinking about you, MARGO x
Tory MP calls OAPs and disabled 'thuggish gang'. You really have to laugh.
here
Alan: Just saw the photo of the "thugs." Don't like the look of them at all. A menace to society if ever I saw one. And I bet that lady in the wheelchair could really pack a punch. Seriously, it beggars belief... Shades of Donald Trump, except of course, he'd have something to say about the lady M.P.'s ancestors....
Heather: Could you pick up some pasta salad and some multi-grain rolls while you're out?
Good evening all- Family have gone over to the west coast camping tonight, back tomorrow night. It was brilliant blue sky when they left this morning but now it is pouring with rain here, I do not know what it is like where they are.
Clare- congratulations to Helen on doing so well in the Horse Show.
Diane - glad you are back online, hope Windows 10 proves a success.
OG - sounds a lovely meal last night, I think I might have enjoyed the fig in the middle of the sticky toffee pudding as I really love figs.
RITA- weather here awful, I agree. Sunny this morning but all downwards since then. OH is seriously fed up and saying 'what a b***** country, if I was younger I would leave it!'. Years ago I had the opportunity to buy a property in Madeira. OH put me off but now regrets that!!
ANNETTE- ha ha! doing my own shopping is stressful enough :-)
It looks as if another shop in Inverness bites the dust. East closed down last month. Now I see that Country Casuals is having a closing down sale. Seriously, all we have left is Markies and Debenhams plus one or two occasion wear shops.