Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 20 September 2015

Thanks, OG for the heads up x

Morning all: Just baked brownies for afternoon volunteer gig while keeping an eye on the Pope at the 9/11 memorial (the most moving memorial I've ever seen) and digesting news of the resignation of John Boehner (Leader of the House Republicans), which will have very interesting ramifications... The 9/11 ceremony includes a wonderful interfaith service.   Meanwhile...

dibnlib: Fabulous pix of your trip! Thank you! Did you see/hear anything about the refugee crisis while you were there? Re all those chance meetings at the airport - it never ceases to surprise me how often they happen.  Re those collectibles, perhaps you can donate them to a charity that might be able to sell them and put the proceeds toward a good cause?

Brenda: Thanks for letting us know about Lindybird's connection problems.  Oh those automated dairy farms sound ghastly, but I know they have them here too... :-(   There's a sustainably run, "humane" cattle ranch  en route to my daughter's. They have Black Angus cattle that roam over the hills and canyons.  Sorry about the doughnut (a treat you were looking forward to).

Lindybird: I watch the Great British Baking Show - the one where they're all in a tent?  Great fun - I know for sure I wouldn't even warrant the ghost of a consideration to participate!  :-)  Re Satnav - typical male response; does your OH ever stop and ask for directions?

Alan: Amazing isn't it? (the VW scandal).

AQ: How lovely to have a family window, but how frustrating that they've "lost" the info.  Will look for that and pix of your grandfather's house on your photo page. The fate of those small towns sounds very familiar - a shame. We live in such fast-changing times...

OG: Hope J is enjoying his new car - nice that we can help our kids (and grandkids!) with these big purchases. Oh how I wish I were your neighbor and could at least smell all those wonderful pastries! Thanks for that link to the blog.

Heather: OK, so your place for dinner; OG's for dessert.  Hope you showed your OH those blind receipts?  Can you send  him off somewhere (Budapest?) for a month and have your kitchen redone? (He probably won't notice when he comes home - he'll ask you if you've cut your hair or something.....)

Wendy: Wobbly were you? Don't blame you for avoiding the hospital on a weekend. You'd still be in the waiting room!  My OH passed out at a party once - not enough eats on offer (after "dinner" was advertised)  plus standing plus two glasses of wine equaled low BP, low blood sugar, etc.

Diane: Thanks for webcam link and offer to start new thread. I may be around to do it (if not napping!)

Still energized from coming home to a clean(ish) house that I've stripped the covers off the sofa and they're now in the washer...

OK, service at Ground Zero has just concluded; must check on laundry, rustle up some breakfast!

Heather B said:

LYNETTE - a self cleaning oven?!! Sounds good to me. I seem to recall having such a thing, years ago but you still had to clean the shelves

Heather - yes you do still have to clean the shelves but I'm afraid I am guilty of not doing so after a while and have left them alone - naughty I know.

Hi all, just caught up with all your news.

Dibnib - glad you had a lovely time in Budapest and the pics are great.

Lindybird - pleased to hear you are back on the net and also feeling a little better. Glad OH is too.

OG - pleased to hear J has his new car and is pleased with it.

Annette and Diane - good to hear your news

Saw the news story on that farm and really do not agree with keeping animals indoors all their lives just for the sake of a mega milking operation. To me its cruel when they should be outside when the weather is good and only brought inside for the winter.

Next week sees the super moon and eclipse - mind you to watch it it is in the early hours around 3am but can't remember the day that was given.

On a sad note - Breaghe appears to have gone missing presumed dead. Blog by new leader at LG - Jess.

Hope you all have a good weekend - weather looks reasonable.

Hi, all. I saw R.T. Hawk's mate on Monday. I was near the end of my driveway lane, on my walk to the bank in the nearby small town. She was soaring in circles, hunting. She flew above me and looked at me. She never screeched. I told her that there's a white-bellied field mouse who's been coming in and out of my garage. I don't know whether she understood. :-)

The local roads are full of massive farm machinery for the harvest. I'm really looking forward to the Full Harvest Moon and the total lunar eclipse on Sunday night/Monday morning. I'll post details when I start the new thread tomorrow night.

Margo: It was nice to hear from you. I hope you enjoyed your OH's holiday.

Lynette: I'm glad you enjoyed your Harvest supper. Good of you all to donate to the food banks.

Brenda: I had to laugh at the doggy helping himself to your doughnut.

dibnlib: Your holiday photos are wonderful. I'm so glad you enjoyed yourselves.

Heather: I hope you like your new blinds. I can empathize with your frustration at neighbors blocking your driveway. My neighbors at the beginning of my driveway lane (on the highway) know that I don't drive often, so they're always parking vehicles in my lane. Of course, that's always the time when I do need to get my car out.

Lindy: I'm so glad that the wedding went well. Sorry about the sat/nav and your illness. The photo of Matthew is very adorable. I hope your eye is healed.

EE and OG: I've already chatted with you on Facebook, but I'll add my condolences on the death in your family. I'm so sorry. I wish EE a smooth trip to the services.

Wendyb: I hope you're still feeling fine with no more incidents.

Alan: That VW mess gets bigger every day! They've been talking about it a lot on NPR and BBC World Service.

George: Best wishes to you.

AQ: How wonderful to visit the site of your great-grandfather's house! Also, must have been so meaningful to see the stained glass window dedicated to your family. I enjoyed your reports and photos of your last bus trip. The cast iron lacework reminded me of New Orleans, too. Many of our small rural towns are also dying. The family farms are disappearing here, too, so if a town isn't near a city with jobs, it withers away. My local small town was much larger way back in frontier days when the railroads came through here and even when my mom was a child.

Annette: I'm so sorry about the dent in your beloved old truck. My license plate light is out, because some time ago I was backing up my car in the dark and got the back bumper over my front step. Sigh... I must have snapped the wire to the light. Congratulations on finishing your freelance project. Did you make your deadline? That John Boehner resignation changes everything. You are correct about the sweeping ramifications.

Everyone have a good weekend!

Diane: How often do you see RT's mate?  Hope you didn't give too much info about the whereabouts of that little field mouse.  I completely missed hearing about the upcoming lunar eclipse; small wonder given how busy things have been around here.  Not only made the deadline; made it a few days early (I started it early coz I knew I'd be busy around that time).

Have a good Saturday all.

Annette: I don't want that field mouse to take up residence in my car for the winter and chew wires, so I wouldn't be too despairing if Ms. RT would make that particular mouse her dinner. A hawk's gotta eat. :-))) If I'm outdoors for a while, I usually see at least one of the hawks. I haven't been outside much lately because it was so hot. It's starting to get chilly at night now, though, and the days are cooling a bit.

Well done for making your deadline!

Good Morning, All.   Sunny here.  My OH has just gone out as we were both supposed to be going on a trip today - I've had to cry off as I'm really not up to a day out.  He is taking a couple of relatives who are here on a visit from Canada, to The Lake District and Barrow.  They are staying for part of the time at my sis-in-laws, and my OH volunteered that we take them to visit North to see old friends they used to live next door to, this weekend.  He will come home alone and they will return on the train, on Monday.  They are both very talkative so I expect my OH will just switch off his brain whilst driving!!

I am off on foot to a Charity Sale, I shall take a couple of small things for the sale table and have a poke around.

Annette:  Yes, the Great British Bake Off is a real institution here, now, and Mary Berry who is one of the judges has always been a heroine of mine: she wrote really good cookery books many years ago and it's nice to see that she is still working and enjoying herself - she seems to be a bundle of energy in spite of her age!  The programme grew in popularity after the first series, and is now a Must See for a lot of the population, it's nearly as popular as Strictly Come Dancing!   EDIT:  Just looked her up, and she is now 80 and with no intention of retiring....    Congrats on making your deadline, especially as you've been so busy lately.

Lynette:   I have had a couple of ovens with non-clean panels in the sides, and no, I don't bother to clean the shelves much, either! Better things to do!! You can also buy a silicone oven liner which will fit into the bottom of your oven (as long as its not one of those which heats up from the bottom).

Diane:  They have been talking about the Super Moon on our weather reports in the last few days, it will be huge tonight and tomorrow, I think. I talk to the wonderful skeins of Geese which we get flying by at this time of year, and I do love the way they all Honk to each other as they travel along.  "You're gorgeous!"  I shout to them as they wend their way South.  Glad its not so hot now for you:  that's so tiring.