Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey Topics), 5 June 2016

Evening all:

Llindybird: Have you put a time limit on how long you guys plan to "battle on"?  I think you discussed professional training for Bonnie at one point, but can't remember.. If not,  maybe therapy for you and OH? Anyway, suggest you keep those nice new plum pink wellies well out of her way. They sound delicious.  :-)    Those potatoes sound yummy too.

ChrisyB:  Have packaged up sunshine and popped it in the mail. Hope it gets there in time for the wedding.

Brenda: Continue to feel better.

OG:  Any photos of your garden? 

Diane: What a treat! I watched both videos plus others. I bet those guys in the cab had a marvellous time blowing the horn.  I Googled the engine number and got the Fort Wayne Historic Railroad site but there was a warning that it may have been hacked. No matter, Wikipedia came through and I see that the once-again-restored engine will be part of Amtrak's excursions from Chicago to Galesburg. I was interested in the Pullman coach at the rear.  The Amtrak trains here now have a 1940s/50s Pullman-type car at the rear for private parties to rent out...  Anyway, a lovely post. Thank you.  :-)

Hi to every one else. Have a good Thursday!

Annette: I think that Google warning on the historical society is an error. I did a scan with SmartScreen, Malwarebytes, and Norton, and they didn't find anything wrong with the site. But just in case, I removed that link from my post and just left the YouTube link. Can't be too careful. :-)

Good Morning.  Not   q u i t e   as hot here, but still warm....

OG: My OH says he planted the potatoes on around the 20th March.  They were not marble sized when we dug them up, as we like to let them get to "small" size.  Ate them with lots of butter (naughty!) and mint sauce.

Going back later to look at Diane's train link:  I think trains are romantic, Diane, especially steam ones.

I'm dashing off soon with Friend - we're going to a Craft Village where there are lots of things all gathered in one place.  She can only spare an hour or two, though, as she is off on holiday again tomorrow - she only got back from two holidays a couple of weeks ago!!  She is also very involved in her village life, and on two committees - I have to make appointments to see her, LOL!  Hence we've not been to the cinema for ages, which is a point of sadness for us both.

Have taken dozens of photos in the garden lately:  the warm weather has brought everything out at once, and we have never been so colourful.  Sadly, this means that this week all of my peonies are blooming pretty much at once, on a bush which usually gives us pleasure for a couple of weeks at least. The poppies are all rushing to join them.

Here is one of my favourites:

Sun is breaking through high cloud, pressure and humidity both down, temperature a more comfortable 18 degrees.  OH is painting second end of shed, and I am doing filing and correspondence indoors, before we get ready for church lunch.

Brenda – Ants: I admire them and hate them in equal measure – just mentioning them makes me itch.  I know you get a lot more of them in the south – remember a visit to a Kentish vineyard where I was listening with great interest to details of viticulture, and suddenly realised the little horrors were crawling up my legs – ouch!  I hope you are feeling much better today.  We have been eating lettuce from the garden for at least six weeks now – we grow the “cut-and-come-again” type, starting them off in cold frames.  We had real Scottish Strawberries at the weekend, from Blairgowrie.  We always try to find Strawberries from Perthshire and Raspberries from Angus (most Raspberries are named after the Angus glens, even many grown abroad!)

Diane – enjoyed the Wabash Cannonball – again.  Will always enjoy Steam Trains, and get quite emotional watching them. 

Annette – not a lot of garden photos this year; with veg taking priority, colour is rather dotted about where there is space.  May take a tour outside later with camera.

Linda – think I should stick to the Good Friday rule this far north, for planting spuds.  Have a lovely day out at the craft village.  Beautiful Poppy pics.

Must go; BBL.

Hello. Still very warm but still waiting for the sun to burst through.  

Spoke to Margo this morning. She is fine, but finding the humid weather rather unpleasant.

Went to check on neighbour's dog and played with her in the garden for a while. So I haven't really done anything this morning.

Diane, I do love steam trains. They do have characters. Thank you for the link. I so enjoyed watching. We have our own local steam train here, but it only has track for about 25 miles. It can be hired for special functions, when meals are served in the Pullman. During Spring and Summer it gets packed with people on holiday.

Linda, Your poppies are way ahead of our local poppies. I was looking at my neighbour's this morning and her's have the flower heads, but no sign of them opening yet. She does have a beautiful garden. Love your photographs.

Waiting to hear what you bought at the craft village.

I haven't had lunch yet, so SYAL.

Had an enjoyable morning at Blakemere Craft Centre - you might be able to Google it. If you do, you'll notice that there is a Falconry & Birds of Prey centre there, also -  but Friend can't abide birds, so we didn't stop: I took a leaflet for future reference.

I'm wearing my halo as we stopped for a cuppa in a cute little shop where they serve everything on bone china, and you can also buy the various china items! We had pots of tea, and Friend could not resist having a croissant with clotted cream & jam, but I said "I'll just watch you eat it!"

Went right around the various little shops, some lovely things there. Friend bought a cotton top with a nice band around the neck, and I got a bargain cardigan. I was trying it on, pale blue marl with batwing sleeves, when I noticed it had some "pulls" in the fabric. The owner said she would take off 20% if I bought it and mended the pulls myself! Sold!

Also very pleased as I bought Friend a beautiful glass handmade pendant for her birthday - it's one with a zero at the end :-)

Have been agonising over what to get her, so was happy for her to choose one at my suggestion.

Brenda - Nice to hear from Margo.  I have been thinking about her in this weather, which can be unpleasant.

Glad everyone liked my poppy - all 3 pics are of the same one. The tiny yellow flowers in the background are not buttercups, but some of those small yellow or orange poppies which set themselves.

Church “Strawberry Lunch” was excellent: they did it plated-style, with four savoury and four sweet items on a large plate, two of the sweet items containing Strawberries.  OH has now offered to help with the setting-up for the monthly lunches as we go each time anyway; no good me trying to help, I would just get in the way!  We sat with a lady we always used to sit beside when we attended the CoS church in town – ex school-teacher and very pleasant to talk to.  When we were magazine editors, she was very faithful in providing a regular item for each issue, usually about her visits to Switzerland, where she used to have a small apartment with a friend.  Sadly, her friend died, but she has decided to be brave and go on her own for two weeks this month; she will be arriving there just as our Granddaughter leaves, but visiting all the same places!

Weather has returned to very hot this afternoon, but with a little breeze to make it a bit more bearable.  OH has just washed another pile of plant pots in the garage – still lots to do, but not worth doing more now as it’s best to leave them in a single layer to air-dry.

Brenda – pleased you spoke with Margo – sorry the heat and humidity are affecting her when she is otherwise doing so well; I think the thought of having her OH at home with her has given her a real lift.

Linda – my halo definitely slipped at lunch – although I gave OH an egg sandwich, I didn’t give away anything relating to strawberries and cream!  Pleased you enjoyed your trip to the Craft Centre, which sounds very interesting – sounds a bit like one we found near Dyfi, called Corris Craft Village, and another near Bispham, near Blackpool.

Time to prepare for dinner, which J wants early to go out.  That means a nice quiet evening – but watering to be done again!