WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY, AUGUST 2, 2015

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. 

  • He's a sweetie, Alan. Looks happy and healthy! Hope you and the Lady P are well.

  • Diane:   Read your links - both interesting and scary....     My late father predicted such conundrums, long before the computer age. He liked to set me problems that wer'nt found in books, such as "Prove to me that we all see the colours in the world, the same..... that the blue you see is the same blue that I see, and not for instance, green or red!"   He was the first person I knew who owned a calculator, and it cost him a large lump of his salary at the time. I think I still have it:  I do own one that was his and its quite "clunky" by today's standards.  He also got me reading Asimov when my friends had never heard of such a writer.

    Went to see the Nurse who tested me for all sorts of things, and didn't bother to weigh me, surprisingly she took my word for it as to how much.  She was not very chatty - perhaps she'd had a bad day.  When she started to take my blood pressure, I laughed and said that my b.p. always goes up when they take a measurement.  And of course, it did!!  So she waited a while & asked more questions, then took it again.  It was still high so now she wants me to go in & get a cuff fitted which I'll have to wear all day.  Darn it.   Hate the things, had one once before. Also have to pop into the local clinic on another day to give a blood test, for cholesterol.  Hopefully it will all amount to nothing.

    Annette:  Hope you feel better and can enjoy your family visit.

  • Hello all

    Just a quick pop in this evening but ANNETTE I have ordered the first Alexandra Fuller book and DIANE I have ordered the film. Such is the ease of doing things on Amazon :-) Thank you both for the tips!

    LINDY- I hope that your BP will be fine, as you say, it will probably be OK when you are relaxed but what a pain having to have the monitor in order to prove the fact.p>I'm somewhat ashamed to say that I know who Isaac Asimov is/was but haven't read anything of his. My son has mentioned him though, from an early age he read Arthur C Clarke and similar.

    Going to see Sheana tomorrow. Her nephew is going to come up here some time this Autumn, he says. I think he will see a big change in her and not for the better.

  • Unknown said:

    Diane: I see you're honing a reputation among the locals as that crazy lady from down the road...  What a hoot.  Don't imagine they had smart phones stuffed down their dungarees, so no fear of your showing up on YouTube.  :-))  Re the dangers of artificial intelligence, I can't help but wonder if it's all that bad when I look at Donald Trump!  Are you going to watch the first Republican debate on Thursday? I might just because it looks to be an absolute circus with him on the stage.

    Annette: I will watch the debates, if I can find a place on the web that is streaming them. NBC News might.

    Oh, dang! I hadn't even thought about the men taking cell phone video of me. LOL!!! They probably did have smartphones. Sheesh.

    In my area, most of the small farmers have gone under financially. The big farmers have bought up all the tillable land, and they farm vast stretches, often 1000s of acres. They are very wealthy.

    Oddly enough, some of those big farmers are the most knowledgeable about technology of anyone here. They use very sophisticated "precision agriculture" methods. Their massive farm equipment -- tractors, seed spreaders, grain harvesting platforms, combines, and sprayers -- are all guided by very precise GPS and mapping software.

    The software controls navigation (so the operators avoid skips and overlaps when they move through a field) with a guidance system that measures down to the inch and compensates for changes in terrain. It also maps planting rates, harvesting, and fertilizer/pesticide application in the field. Because the computer system is in control, the operators can farm at night and in bad weather.Then the software compiles cost, yield, and weather data for financial records.

    My ancestors wouldn't recognize farming today!

  • Hi, Lindy and Heather. Hope you like the movie and don't hate me for recommending it. LOL. Will respond further after I finish mowing. Ugh...

  • You need a mower which is automatic, with Satnav navigation, Diane!! ;-))

    Then you could put your feet up LOL!

  • Just been enjoying the BakeOff - lots of yummy looking cakes this week.

  • Hi - just calling in to say we have been very busy, so haven't had time for more than a glance at the posts here.  I did notice the picture of Bowie!

    We have been tidying the garage and, I am pleased to say we threw away A LOT!  We even got rid of the ancient shelves and bought new ones!  We haven't totally finished, but I am pleased with how much we have accomplished with "all hands on deck".

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Good Evening. Nearly time for bed.

    I thought you would like to hear that I was hanging out the washing this morning, when the phone rang. I was thrilled to see it was Margo's number. We chatted for about an hour. She told me she had already posted on here.

    We have found two large field grasshoppers on the hall carpet. I am not used to seeing such large ones and they are not easy to steer back outside LOL I have been so pleased to see a thrush in the garden,for the last few days and we seem to have an invasion of gatekeepers ( butterfly ) on the myrtle bush, which is covered in flowers. I locked OH in the kitchen while he chased a hornet out of there this afternoon. That is the second one to venture into the house this summer !! One of the hazards of living by a wood.

    'See' you all tomorrow.