Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 30 August 2015

Good morning Everyone.

I spent Friday, lunching and shopping with my daughter and yesterday spent a very long day at the bowls club. It was the club competitions finals day. Rounded off by a lovely meal to  celebrate two Diamond wedding anniversaries and one Golden WA. Now praying that the thunderstorms stay away until tonight, as OH is playing in an away match this afternoon.

Thanks Diane for starting the week. Thanks also for carrying over the condor links. I have yet to look at them. Everything crossed that you find the job you really want.
Wonderful panther photograph.

Heather, Please let us know how your family are in Florida. I really do hope all will be fine for them.

Must go and check lunch as we will have to eat earlier than usual.

A quick Sunday post from me as I missed Saturday!

Annette and Heather – not much racing around on the scooter – mostly driving from one event to another this weekend!

AQ – pleased your OH can hear again now, and you got the faulty spray replaced. Why do the twins have to nap in the daytime since they don’t sleep at night and often don’t want to nap? Take care of your back and sore joints; I hope you are well enough for your next bus trip – sounds a lot to fit into two days!

Annette – I hope you are getting the cooler weekend you need! Your watching schedule seems rather gloomy, with ice trucks, hurricanes and sink-holes!

Diane – lovely moon the last few nights, when we were sometimes without cloud. Very high tides with it, but despite rainwater from the hills I haven’t heard of any flooding here. Thanks for starting our week again, and for bringing forward the Condors – I have also been enjoying them.

Heather – pleased you have enjoyed spoiling the two girls and that you are to be forgiven! I agree about occasional cooler nights; one morning our heating came on with the thermostat. I hope the hurricane will not give your family big problems in Florida. Thanks for the maths answer – relieved it was the simpler solution, but whoever set the question needs English language lessons!

Clare – thanks for Monty capture – I believe he is now home alone – I think I read that the younger chick left yesterday.

Brenda – hadn’t seen a post from you recently; seems you have been dashing in and out like me!

I am now going to be whizzing to and fro to the kitchen cooking lunch! Friday’s talk on Gallipoli was very interesting – we learned several new facts about that campaign. The evening at the Arts Centre was almost a failure for us as they had moved the fiddle performance to an upstairs room. We could just hear it from below and the lady on reception gave me her chair so I could watch on the CCTV monitor! She then announced she would do something cheeky and ask him to give me a performance on the ground floor, which he did. It was a beautiful piece which he composed for The Droving Project. I think she might have got into trouble with her bosses as they had failed to do anything useful themselves when approached, but at least this way she got to hear it too!

J decided not to go on the vintage bus tour of the factory yesterday, so gave his ticket (which OH had paid for) to OH. He enjoyed it (and I took photos of the bus and of some young pipers) while I waited at the museum, listening to some of the audio exhibits and then enjoying a mug of hot chocolate. We then went to see the vintage rally vehicles (cars, motorcycles and an unusual tractor) lined up at Gretna. We didn’t wait to see them in procession through to eastriggs, as we would have ended up driving behind them, and I am not sure how they got on, because, as we entered Annan, there was a huge rainstorm sweeping through the town towards us which we drove in and then had to wait before we could get out the car – it was streaming down our road like a river.

We have not been to any of the evening celebratory events. Separate from the Festival, we were going to go for coffee at the distillery this afternoon to see an exhibition, but we shall miss it as I slept very late this morning, so I must have been really tired, and I want to be awake at church this evening and for a few final daytime festival events tomorrow.

J is home form morning service, and dinner nearly ready.  Excuse any typos - no time to proof read!

Morning all: Very warm all night; cloudy this morning, but that just may mean hot and sticky this p.m.  Everyone is very lethargic.

Diane: Was looking at all the stuff I have to move/trim back and yes, it always takes more time than I think.  Colors will be exactly the same as before.  Ah! Missed your comment to Liz that you'll be looking for a regular job - sounds like a good idea as freelance income is notoriously uneven.  Will you be looking locally?  Any temp agencies?

Heather: Re that homework question, I wonder why it was written to appear as a trick question when no need to?  (I was one of the 132 proponents!)

OG: TV program had snow, rain and cold temps - something we're all fantasizing about here.  :-)  What a lovely gesture from that lady in reception to arrange a private concert for you! Hope you impressed on her bosses how grateful you were and what a wonderful asset she is to their museum.

Off to the gym this morning before it closes for week-long maintenance work and hose down.  It hosts summer camps for kiddies who've all just gone back to school and heaven only knows what they left behind!

Urghgh!  Horrible thoughts of what might be left in the gym after kids hols!

OG: Was reading (not necessarily in kiddie context) that gyms are great places to find MRSA!  

Hi again and a belated thanks to DIANE for getting us going!

I got it wrong, family visiting Florida are travelling to Naples today, not yesterday. I am awaiting the next FB message. I haven't yet checked the weather there. Will do so in a minute. Last message I got was from last night, they were having a

tremendous thunderstorm. Daughter in law said she was very grateful for HUGE American beds because she, OH, Sam and baby Bella were all in the same bed!

Nothing as exciting here, cloudy with some sunshine from time to time. OH gardening all afternoon,then fell on to a garden seat and enjoyed a gin and tonic with loads of ice and then roast chicken for dinner.

Thank you, DIANE for all the info about the Naples area. I will have a look and see if I can do a Google walk.

BRENDA- you have indeed been occupied! I don't do any sporty things so OH is on his own when it comes to the bowling:-(

ANNETTE- thinking about you and the hot weather. I couldn't tolerate it but I guess that one learns to do so. Even in Brittany, my brother can't work in the sun, he is still adjusting to warmer Summers. Things there remain uncertain. I'm always expecting a phone call with dire news but as my dear OH says, no point worrying about something over which I have no control....

Take care all

OG- So glad that you got a personal fiddle performance. Rotten luck that they moved it upstairs :-(

I was going through my recipe file today and found one from you that I had quite forgotten, golden potato medley You sent it to me in 2012. That is what happens here. I make something a few times and enjoy it and then slip back into the old routine (OH's old routine). I am really going off meat these days but must cater for OH who is a meat eater. I will have to cook two different meals if we are both to enjoy our food !

Hey, Annette: Weekend All Things Considered on NPR West just did a long segment on the California Condor. They were extinct (only captive birds left) in 1987, and now over 425 birds are in the wild! Thought you might want to listen to it on their site.

Hi all, thanks for your news and for Diane for starting us off.   Watched the final programme Big Blue Live from Monterey Bay this evening and what a programme. Right at the last minute the helicopter spotted the Blue Whale. Managed to get a shot or two off the tv.

He looked huge and considering he was just under the surface, not bad shots.

Brenda, hope you have fully recovered after your full day at bowls. My brother plays bowls in different leagues during the week and thoroughly enjoys it.

We've had rain for most of the day and it only cleared up towards evening. Still not as bad as some areas, I believe.

Take care all.