Hi all: Thanks for chat and Ernie info - don't forget to read the last few posts of last week to catch up on folks.
Brenda: My sister has been to the Chelsea Flower Show several times and has always loved it. Do hope the weather is kind on your day.
Patriciat: How nice that people were so generous with your fund-raising efforts. Good for you - you must have a winning way!!
dibnlib: Thanks for spelling out Ernie's "real" name. Doesn't sound half as much fun as his more familiar name. Actually, I remember now - Premium Bonds - they were being sold when I was still in the UK. I think my sister also has some that she bought way back when....
Emma: Painting is done - although just noticed a smudge of Pot of Cream (the paint) on a wood ceiling beam. How did it get there!! Took all the blue painter's tape off the glass panes this afternoon and put the hardware back on and it looks pretty nice. Do need to do some tidying up where paint trickled under the tape and also onto the hinges a bit, but all pretty minimal.
Have been keeping tabs on Trucker Steve, whose cat has an eye problem. He's going to take her to the vet. He's got a hard trip this time - three days of 11 hours a day to the next stop in Wisconsin. He's in Montana now, where it's well into the evening.
Off to see how EJ is doing. Have a nice Sunday morning all.
Sandy - that's a lovely pic of the Deby peregrines ... and lovely to see both parents in the shot!
Joan - avid bird and nature watcher in Northumberland!
Index Thread
Morning all: We are definitely in our May-Gray/June-Gloom mode - marine layer of cloud comes in at night and stays until late morning; this close to the coast it often stays until mid-afternoon these months. Always feel bad for tourists who come expecting to sit on the beach and get a tan.
Patriciat: Better "Pot of Cream" on the walls than in the fridge, but come to think of it, there is a carton of Creme Fraiche somewhere... :-) I think the whole idea of naming paint after yummy food is to make the whole process sound more appealing.
Sandy: Such lovely photos of the Brighton family. Thank you.
Lindybird: Had to laugh at the thought of Margobird slumming in Venice. It's a hard life!
BrendaH: Re garden ideas, I've taken to walking the neighborhoods to see what other folks have planted and how those plants have grown up. When we bought this house we had a Duranta on the walkway to the front door - it had been sold as a patio tree, but in fact it really is bushy shrub. We got tired of being poked by the new growth and constantly having to prune it back just to get in the front door, so transplanted it to an area in the back yard where it's now living happily ever after at 9 ft. tall and 5 ft across. In my landscaping class, the teacher's mantra was "the right plant in the right place." (I tend to look at plants (or anything) these days and think: How much work is that going to take?)
Djoan: New gas boiler? Moan away. Sounds about as exciting as our neighbor's new roof, which cost her a bundle and, as she wails, "I can't even see it!" Our paint color was a mix too, but at Home Depot where it wasn't expensive.
Trucker Steve is barreling through Montana today. I'm going to Ventura to a watch and clock sale to try and flog a few not-very-valuable-but-too-good-to-toss watches; also to stop by Target - a fabulous all-purpose store - where it's fun to just potter up and down the aisles.
Take care all.
PATRICIAT. well done on going through 3 collecting tins. All donations much needed. Met someone on the walk this am with a springer she has rescued from the SSPCA a few weeks ago. She heard of her through someone who works there. Poor thing was horrifically underwight and the new owner was not allowed to see her till she had put on a few kgs. Charley is now a decent 22 kgs and has a great new home with a resident springer of 8 years old.
Less than a week till the first hatching.
For anyone who doesn't know "Springwatch" starts tomorrow on Beeb 2.
dibnlib My goodness, what a big springer! My biggest collie (Tweed) is about 19 kilos and the girls about 15-16. Tweed and Indy are both rescue dogs - Tweed as a pup whose Mum was given away when pregnant. Lucky to be fostered and then sent to our local sanctuary, as he had tot be kept on a drip in the vet's to keep him alive. Indy was about 7 months and had been around a number of homes. I could understand why but she's much better now.
Been out today as we decided to treat ourselves to a 'cheap n cheerful' carvery lunch at local pub. He had beef with all trimmings, I had turkey with same including, Oh Joy, parsnips, which I love but rarely have because Husband is not bothered with them. Did not have puddings as we had already had roast potatoes which are not on the diet sheet (which is drawn up in my head). Then spoilt that by having just the one biscuit with our coffees on return home later...
Annette: What a good idea to look at your neighbourhood gardens - one of our Gardening Gurus, Alan Titchmarsh said that once, "if you move to a new area, always look and see what does well in the local soil & conditions."
DjoanS: Come on here & have a good moan, do! Nothing worse than workmen who make you move stuff out of the cupboards.
Very quiet here again today, as Manchester Airport is closed once again. Strange that we only miss them when they stop flying over. I'm hoping that Margobird will make it back as all the London Airports are still going (I think) but I'm not sure when she is due back. If its tomorrow she could be in trouble. I'm off now to water the plants all in pots in the garden, as not enough rain here (!) lately to keep them watered enough.
PATRICIAT met up with someone ages ago who had a Battersea dog and this was its 5th home. Battersea had said that if the dog was returned they would not attempt to find it another home, so he made his mind up that no matter what he would keep the dog. Like you he said it was very hard work, but that time and patience had worked and the dog was much better, so well done to you both.
LINDYBIRD luckily OH likes parsnips but even if he did not I would certainly be cooking them for myself, just love them. Least favourite veg, probably runner beans, which OH also enjoys but doesn't get too often.
Hallo all: Back from pretty successful trip to Ventura. As I was a first-time attendee at the event (and probably a last-time attendee too), I didn't have to pay entry fee and I got a free lunch! What a treat. Then managed to sell three of the four watches I took. Not for much at all, but the nice old guys who bought them were happy enough with them and the watches aren't sitting collecting dust anymore. Think I'll have to put the "good" one in a consignment shop and see what happens. Also had a nice tootle around Target where I bought a bunch of little household necessities. Then - most wonderful of all - came home to find OH had vacuumed and dusted the entire house while I was gone! What a sweetie!
Patriciat: Good for you sticking with Indy. That must take real perseverance (sp?) , but so great for the animals.
Hi, all.
FYI for Falconheads: The Indianapolis Peregrine Falcon chicks will be banded Monday (17 May) at 10 am EDT. That's 3:00 pm UK time (I think) and 7:00 am California time. No clue what time that is in Australia. Sorry. They will also name the chicks at banding. By the way, last week was Kinney's birthday (he's the adult male), and he turned 17 years old! I believe that's quite old for a wild peregrine. Happy Birthday, Kinney! Kak-Kak-Kak!!! http://blogs.indystar.com/falconblog/
Annette: Glad you had a fun, successful day in Ventura. Also glad that you took time for a Target tootle. I enjoyed a stroll around the hardware/garden store today. I love hardware stores. I looked at your Pot of Cream color on the Behr website. That's lovely! Really nice!!! Please send your husband to my house to do vacuuming and dusting. He can have oatmeal-butterscotch cookies that I baked for my Dad.
Cirrus: Welcome back. Glad you had a nice trip on Mull. Lindybird: I also wondered about Margobird's travel plans. I see that authorities have just closed the Heathrow Airport. DjoanS: My sympathies on having to buy a new boiler. We had to replace our furnace in February. Expensive to buy and messy to install. Feel free to moan! dibnlib: Congrats on the ERNIE win! Brenda: Would loved to have gone to the flower show! Patriciat: Good for you on the successful fundraising. 3 tins. Yay!!!
Diane: OH is going to UK in July; I can arrange a stopover in Indianapolis for dusting, vacuuming, etc., Let me know if you can wait that long. :-)
Hey all, thanks for all the news, pics, videos, natter & chatter that I missed while away for 2 days on bus trip to Quorn and many other places. We had a great time. I shall post a few pics over the next few days. Some idiot took so many she filled her memory card !!! Fortunately it was towards end of the second day and didn’t miss much. Here is the Snowtown wind farm taken thro' bus window. A farmhouse is hidden amongst the trees. The country is very dry.
Near Carrieton we saw a giant River Red Gum (Eucapyptus camoldulensis), 10.4 m (34 feet) around trunk, over 500 years old. Red gum was once used for fence posts and a tree this size would have yielded 1400 posts. Now a tourist attraction. And that's our 40-seater bus.