Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 1st May 2016

However did I manage to get in ahead of the lovely Annette and the excellent Diane to start this thread?  Goodness only knows.  Perhaps both ladies are all Trumped out!!

Have a good week, everyone - and special thoughts to Margo, her lovely hubby and Billie!

Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • Evening all: Well, the Leicester win made our national and local newscasts here tonight!  An amazing victory.  When my BiL was here, he was surfing the TV channels in one motel room and was amazed to come across an Arsenal match on a Spanish-language station (Hispanics are big fans). He couldn't understand a word, but didn't seem bothered...

    Brenda: Oh my - sounds like crisis central at your house.  Fingers crossed tomorrow will be much quieter. In the meantime, your halo just got brighter. :-)

    Keith G: Welcome!  You must hold the record for Longest Lurker.  So sorry to read you and your OH are struggling with such a wretched disease, but we have a very caring group on here, so don't hesitate to join in the general chat. It's important to find activities that provide some relief.  Have you been to LG this year?  My granddaughter lives in Prescott Valley, Arizona, and they have critters called javelinas, which look like a boar but are in fact peccaries (according to Wikipedia "a medium-sized hoofed mammal [associated] with Old World pigs." ) Not sure I understand the difference.  Anyway, I've driven down the road from her house late a night and seen four of five of them racing down the dirt track ahead of me. Quite a surprise.

    Lindybird: Hate to see police/ambulances racing by - never good news for some family.

    Rusty2: Have I missed you on here before? Anyway, hallo there.

    Lynette: I love gardening - it keeps me away from housework!  Ugh.

    Diane: Hope you had a good weekend with the teens - and that you survive the Indiana primary. 

    OK. So 14 whales went by before my shift - not even a hint of one while I was there (though more showed up late in the afternoon). However, Mike  took me off to see a one-day old Snowy Plover chick. These birds nest in sand dunes and are endangered. Many beaches are closed during the season and volunteers keep an eye out for beach goers with dogs, etc. that might disturb them.   Someone spied an abandoned nest on the nearby beach with some eggs that had hatched, but one that wasn't. He/she popped it in an incubator and here's what emerged.  So cute!  But, my, what big feet you have.

      

  • Lindy: Glad you, OH, and Bonnie had a nice time in Wales.

    Clare: I loved the stork story! Thanks for the link. Wonderful that your new job is going well. Thank you for starting the thread this week.

    OG: I hope your eye is recovering now. And I hope you have a wonderful holiday! I'd love to see the Kelpies.

    Brenda: Congratulations to your daughter. I'm so glad that she got the permanent post that she really wanted. Congrats to your son for completing the Iron Man Triathlon. I'm sorry about the break-in, though. Awful that it put a damper on his accomplishment.

    bjane: Wonderful to see you. I respect your dedication to your daughter. I know you're very busy, and I wish you well. Try to take care of yourself.

    Lynette: I'm glad your OH is healing. Hope you enjoy your upcoming trip to North Wales.

    Rosy: I hope you thoroughly enjoy your visit with your sister!

    Keith G: Lovely to see you. I'm so very sorry that your OH suffers from muscular dystrophy. Best wishes to her. I love your avatar. Once when I was hiking in the Florida Everglades, I came face to face with a wild boar. I spoke to the big fella and backed up. He went on his way. Wonderful creature! I looked up your Forest of Dean on Wikipedia and it looks very beautiful!

    Margo: I hope you will feel better after the transfusion. Hugs and good energy to you.

  • Annette: I'm so, so glad that you had such a nice time with your sister and brother in law. It sounds like you had a nice combination of sight-seeing and visiting with each other. Definitely heed your commitment to see her again soon. Sorry you missed all of the whales. That Snowy Plover chick is absolutely adorable. It looks a bit like our Killdeers, which is a type of plover.

    I had a good weekend. My niece is 12 and my nephew is 15. They are very good kids and gave me no trouble. Kids lives are very different today than when I was young.

    Indiana votes tomorrow. The candidates for president have been in the cities near me, along with the journalists covering the campaigns. Some close friends went to the Bernie Sanders rally in Indianapolis tonight. Polling shows that Donald Trump is way ahead in Indiana and will almost certainly win here. That means he will be his party's nominee, unless some wild shenanigans occur at their convention.

    Right before I left last Thursday, both of the Red-Tailed Hawks flew over me closely. My brother said they were saying goodbye. LOL

  • Diane: Glad the kids behaved. Hope the RT Hawks don't wake you too early to welcome you home.

  • Good Morning. Sunny here, and my OH has gone off to golf. I must tidy up all that we have scattered around since we got home.

    Diane - Good that all went well with your family duties!   Did you have dogs to look after as well? It must be hard not to be involved with the dramatic political scene there, at the moment.

    Lynette - Trefor is only a few miles down the coast from where we go - lovely bit of coastline and the mountains behind.

    Annette - Love the Snowy Plover - aaah! (So called 'Builders Tea' is so named because traditionally they take it very strong - I always say it looks as if you could stand the spoon up in it! - not my kind of tea LOL!)

    Hope others in UK have some sunshine today!

  • Lindybird said:

    Diane - Good that all went well with your family duties!   Did you have dogs to look after as well? It must be hard not to be involved with the dramatic political scene there, at the moment.

    Lindy: No pets to care for. I will be pet-sitting for a friend in July. That will be 3 dogs, unless she rescues one between now and then. I've watched the politics avidly on TV for the last week. My car isn't in great shape, so I didn't drive to any of the rallies or events. Don't work too hard on your housework.

  • Good Morning Everyone. A beautiful sunny morning here.

    Annette, Sorry you didn't see any whales, but that snowy plover is lovely. A success story because somebody cared so much. Builder's tea, definitely not for me. Yuk !

    Diane, Pleased to see that you had a good weekend with your niece and nephew.

    Rosy, Enjoy your time with your sister.

    Lynette, What a pity you were unable to see The Jungle Book. We find that we have to book ahead for a popular film.

    Trying to see what they are doing on the building site. Should I hang out my clean white bedding ? LOL

  • Grrrr!  Not in the mood for joining in today - trying to sort out a silly Carlisle hospital appt sent after I was told I was discharged and referred back to Dumfries (where I have already been seen).  I have told them I appreciate follow-up on offer, but not at two hospitals and not with a surprise reminder that I had cancer!  I could just refuse to attend, but I guess that will go on my record as a black mark if I ever need them again.  Expecting another call from them this afternoon - my next response is already composed in my head - "I am a person, not a number to comply with targets".

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Dear All

    Thanks to you for your continued support which means such a lot to both of us.

    Long day at hospital last Friday but fortunately I was allocated a bed. More comfortable than being in a chair for 7 hours and I was able to get some sleep. Benefit of transfusion now working and I feel better than I did last Friday when I could hardly walk and had trouble with breathing. Hoping that extra unit will keep me going for 3 weeks But time will tell.

    We had a quiet weekend but did manage to go for a steak meal and even managed a small glass of red wine. Both enjoyed it a it is over 5 weeks since our last meal out.

     Brenda sorry to read about the loss of a friend, even though expected a shock when it happens suddenly. Also what a shame for your son, very upsetting to find that your car has been broken into and things stolen. You are such a good neighbour but it must have been a tiring day for you.

    Rosy  good to see you are also a good-neighbour. Enjoy your visit to see your sister. Wiltshire is such a beautiful county. we often used to drive there as we are close in Dorser, just to admire and enjoy the beautiful countryside.

    bjane lovely to see you. So sorry to read about your daughter, it seems your retirement is just as busy and full of admiration for you in that you are still working. Billie is my constant companion it as though she knows I am not too well. OH and Billie are such a joy to have around.

    Lindy pleased to see you are back home safe and sound. Shame the weather let you down a bit But hopefully you enjoyed some relaxation.

    Clare thanks for the link to George, what a heartwarming story. Pleased you are enjoying your new job.

    Annette enjoyed reading your story of how you ended up living in America and it does sound as though life has been good to you. I am sour though that you do miss your duster. Hopefully it will not be too long before you see her again.

    Heather very true that as we get older family time together is very important. Due to my circumstances I feel that even more.

    OG see you are busy as always. Hope your eye is improving. Pleased you enjoyedFiddler on the Roof. Saw the film years ago and enjoyed it very much. Enjoy your  days away and hope you get some decent weather. Just seen your post about hospital appointment. How very annoying.

    Lyneete good to hear your OH is back on track after his op. Enjoy your Welsh break in a couple of weeks and hopefully you will have one decent  weather.

    Keith G welcome to the forum. As you will have seen a lot of very caring people on here. Sorry to read about your OH but you are being strong and getting as much of life as you can.

     diane pleased to see you enjoyed your few days away. I am sure your RT hawks are pleased to see you home.

    Have a good day all and take care.

    Love Margo x

  • Hello all

    Just a quick pop in to say that I am reading all your posts, thankyou, everyone.

    My brother is on his way South, he will pick up his new to him car tomorrow and sail on the ferry on Friday morning. I felt very weepy after he left but have just been trying to keep busy.

    I've just had a phone call from youngest daughter - her OH has just heard this morning that his job is safe - until the next round of redundancies in 30-45 days time. As you can imagine, relief mixed with apprehension, again.

    I'll come back on here with proper replies at some point but can't honestly say when, the Danes arrive the day after tomorrow and there are many chores to catch up with. Looking after one man is fine - doing everything for two of them for a week has been ...rather tiring!!