Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 13 March 2016

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

Last week's Chat Thread is here.

In the U.S., we change to Daylight Saving Time tonight.

I shared this link on my Facebook page, and I thought I'd include it here. This is Shades State Park (Forest), which is just down the road from me. My grandfather was a park ranger there for many years. It's one of my favorite places in the world. I'm so ready for spring weather.

Everyone have a wonderful week!

  • DIANE    what a lovely picture, thank you.

    Had coffee at Tiso before heading fro Loch an Eilein in glorious sunshine. We saw the loch and surroundings at their very best. We did note that we now take about 1 hour 30 mins to walk round instead of 1 hour 15 when we first walked round 20 years ago!!!!   A late lunch at MC. OH had curried cauli fritters with soured cream and mango chutney and a bed of lentils. I went for salmon  and smoked salmon salad. We both enjoyed our meals very much.

    I think the forecast for tomorrow is good again.

  • Hi guys...

    My week with girlies on Lundy was amazing. Lucky with the weather one day of a gale which made any walking difficult. All the old walks revisited and childhood poses reprised with much laughter. Lots of good food and drink. Wildlife everywhere and the predominant noise was the song of the Skylark. A musical family had an intimate wedding on the Saturday and much to their surprise there were visiting bell ringers which added their joy. On the Sunday night they played a gig in the Tavern and invited others to join them. A young chef on a weekend interview borrowed a guitar and blew everyone out of the water. He sang Caledonia as he came from Edinburgh. Our advice was to give up the day job.

    Now in Bath enjoying a bit of retail and home on Thursday.

    Strange feelings as it is our Silver Wedding Aniversary today so we will crack open the bubbles then.

  • Hello, everyone.

    Hoping Linda and her OH have had a good final day and will have a comfortable homeward journey.

    Margo – been thinking of you through the day – and extra thoughts for tomorrow too.

    Brenda – I seem to get more done if I start “early”, but have to remember to take breaks during the day.

    Diane – I don’t really seem to accomplish much – maybe I talk about it a lot; my Dad said I must have been “vaccinated with a gramophone needle”!  I loved the wee White Tailed Deer’s urgent snack in the middle of the highway!

    Heather – I often flit from one job to another, but generally if I have a proper plan I can stick to it.  We haven’t treated our grass against moss yet – OH will scarify first to remove the winter “thatch”, but I gave him non-grass things to do today!  I was going to return just to bump the thread up, but I see you had the same idea – not seen it slip that far down for a very long time!  So pleased the knees returned to their normal colour today and your OH had a happy outside day and sat down between jobs.  Good that you had a visitor who could fix the garage door.

    Dibnlib – sounds like another lovely day out – glad the sun shone for you.  Lunches sound good too, although I don’t eat smoked salmon.  Noted the extra time needed to walk round the Loch – you could blame it on Benson and his shorter legs!

    Wendy – good to hear from you – sounds like Lundy was everything you hoped for!  Sat night at the tavern sounds wonderful!

    We had quite a lot of sunshine in the end – and even the less bright patches were still pleasantly warm.  Did all we set out to get done, with the interruption of our appointments.  Chiropodist is opposite hairdresser, and we saw banners for the owner’s 60th birthday; we popped our heads in to wish her many happy returns, and were given slices of cake, which we had with our drink when we got home!  Won’t accomplish much tomorrow – dentist just before lunch, so no time before that, and may not feel up to much in the afternoon.  OH has to start the day with a visit to sorting office to pick up his birthday present from me which they attempted to deliver this morning when we were outside – well, assuming it’s mine, could be from one of the girls.

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Can't believe it - my Dad also said that I was vaccinated with a gramophone needle!!!

  • Funny, that!

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Hallo all:

    dibnlib: Wonder what's behind the sulking at suppertime with your Mom (tired of the menu?)  Don't know Bruar, but had to smile at the thought of temporary portaloos being more elegant than the regular ones - let's hope the renovation will take care of that!   Nice that your friend's OH made the lunch.

    OG: I remember people rolling lawns, but forgot the purpose. We don't see it here - at least in California.  Oh that is SO funny - vaccinated with a gramaphone needle. :-))

    Diane:  That's a great shot of the deer. I'm doing better - inhaling a bunch of steam on a regular basis and slurping thimble-full doses of a cough product that makes me sound like a 5-pack a day person. Yuk!  :-)  Energy level better today.

    Heather: I'm pretty well organized, but also compulsive, which means I have to be careful I don't try to organize everyone around me. Our vacuum cleaner has gone kaput - it's 30+ years old and the repair man says that if it's the motor (which we're pretty sure it is); it'll be more expensive to find/install one for a model that old than buying a new one, which sent me off to Consumer Reports web site to peruse reviews and options. Interestingly, the same make and model (Kenmore Progressive) is still rate highly. Big smile at the thought of your OH's blue-knees syndrome! Must confess I had the same reaction as OG (where has he been kneeling?)  Glad they're back to normal. I don't think I could be a nurse (think I'd be okay at the empathy bit, but it would be the blood and guts that would do me in).

    Wendy: Love that the predominant noise was a Skylark. Happy Anniversary. 

    Brenda: Congrats on getting the washing on the line. :-)

    Off to sort out some stuff.

  • Annette: I don't have good luck with vacuums. Mine always end up on fire. Seriously! But I have a Bissell Lift-Off model that has taken a beating for several years and has endured well. It's really handy because the center comes out if you need to carry it into small, awkward spaces. It works well for spider webs and all the stuff from the woods (seeds, pine cone parts, bits of brush, rocks, etc.) that I drag in from outdoors. :-)

  • ANNETTE   Brauers loos were always posh and why they needed renovating is a surprise. I meant Briars temp loos were better than the permanent loos in most other places. It is worth googling House of Briar. It is the Harrods of Scotland and is sited really well. It is half way between Inverness and Edinburgh and Glasgow.

  • OG    Benson may have got shorter legs than the Goldies, but he is definitely not slower. Those legs can really move!!

  • Heather B said:

    Yes, DIANE, the job is stressful and while experience counts for a lot it is a fact that when I retired there were very few 'older' people working in that field in our hospital. We had a system of mentoring and clinical supervision but there were still cases of 'burn out' amongst the staff. I'm sure that must happen in other similar fields where folk are brought face to face with what can be life and death situations. It is so hard sometimes to employ empathy - to be able to understand and experience someone's feelings yet not jump into the pit with them. Then you are quite unable to help them and have become too emotionally involved. Some staff were naturally empathic but others had to learn the skill. Sorry to ramble.


    Heather: I hope your OH's knees will be okay now.

    That field of nursing would surely take a toll on a nurse emotionally and physically. It's a very fine line between maintaining one's empathy but not being consumed by it. I am naturally empathetic, but I've always struggled to know where that boundary should be.

    Caring for my parents for so long left me emotionally drained, depressed, and riddled with all kinds of guilt. I think I could learn the science, but I could never do your job.