Welcome to a new week. Hope ALL the familiar faces will show up this week! :-)
Go back to page 8 of the previous thread to see Mike's link to the question: How do you free a Golden Eagle caught up in a very high tree without the use of a ladder? Page 9 shows Bowie posing for his closeup. OG and EE are busy shooting at cats and cheering on Housemartins in the midst of home repairs (the birds that is).
Brenda: Well, there always seems to be one lavender bush that I missed! I have to tidy them up and take off all the dead blooms once during the summer, then in the winter, I whack 'em all back by a third. Trouble is, they're all getting old and woody.
OH and I bought tickets to a concert tonight - Jean-Yves Thibaudet is playing Rhapsody in Blue and since the Music Academy is hosting the show, the tickets were super cheap. But now we're looking at each other and thinking we'd rather stay home in our comfy togs and relax. But no. Must hose off and rise to the occasion.
Was amazed that Djokovich got knocked out at Wimbledon so early. Shocker!
Have a good Sunday everyone.
CHRISY - I saw your friend request, but didn't properly read it, and when I accepted it disappeared, so now I don't know what you said! Am I silly, or what? Would you like to repeat it in a PM?
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Hello, All. We are packing to head for home in the morning, after a nicely peaceful few days.
I hope everyone here is well: I see that Keith has been busy and that the funeral went alright. So pleased for you, it must have been hard trying to arrange things even though you'd barely had time to grieve. Funny things, funerals - you often meet folks you havn't seen for ages and it turns into a social event, although it started out as a totally different thing. It does sound as if you can be very proud of your brother.
Annette - Well done on the poetry!
Heather - Good to see you back with us.
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I started to feel more normal yesterday, after a long week of not being sure what to eat or even whether to eat anything. Then this morning, my OH said he had stomach cramps. Really don't know if he's caught something or what. Mine was so horrible I still feel it was good poisoning. Ho hum.
Lindybird: Good to see you and glad that you're feeling much better but too bad about your OH. Have a safe trip home.
OG I thought I sent a PM just now but it said Exceptional Error, so maybe it did not go...
Lindybird, Glad you are feeling better now, and do hope your OH has not got that bug!
Mike, thanks for the link about drones and Insh marshes. It must certainly cut their work down being able to do it by this method. Responsibly used I am sure they are a great help.
Annette - hope you enjoyed Independence Day fireworks with dau.
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home
Hello, just back from a few days/long weekend of sunshine in sunny Majorca. Glad everyone is doing well. Good to hear Lindy that you are feeling a bit better (if still on the mend)- I hope you didn't pass anything nasty on to OH. Here are a couple of blue sky snaps
Lovely pics Lmac - glad you enjoyed yourself.
Forgot to say hope all our USA friends had a good 4th July.
Unknown said:AQ: Compulsory voting? How do they know? You mentioned the procedure was different from the first knee op - any idea how? It sounds really promising
Compulsory voting in Aussieland. What that means is that a person has their name marked off on the electoral roll. What happens on ballot papers after that is secret. Some people say they pretend to mark the papers. Some write nonsense or make mistakes. Previous election 6% of votes were considered “informal”. And yes the authorities do check – $20 fine if not “a valid and sufficient reason for failing to vote”. Failure to reply, may be dealt with in court, up to $180 fine + court costs + possible criminal conviction.
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Knee op was different in several ways. Surgeon packed painkillers (slow release?) into wound as he closed it up. Also I had different pain relief, first the push-button-when-I-need-it stuff. (It locks, so one cannot get it oftener than 5 mins and I only needed it half-hourly.) After 24 hours they tried a low dose of the dreaded Endone which made me so ill last time. Panadol + low dose made pain bearable. Surgeon now works even more closely with hospital Physio. Also this time he was more concerned with bending knee than the lifting leg muscles (quads). A big difference this time has been the short time to prepare. First knee I had 4 months to exercise beforehand. This time I could hardly walk for 2 months, hence quads took until last Sunday to respond to my commands. I expect a gold star this arvo from my local Physio!
AQ: It would be interesting - if not impossible - to compare the extent to which those required to vote educate themselves about the relevant candidates/policies and subsequent election results with those who aren't required to vote (but if they then don't vote, no valid comparison is possible, so I'm just blathering!). Hmm. Clearly a lot more to knee surgery than I realized. Your surgeon seems to be ahead of the curve. Just had to Google "arvo." So. Did you get a gold star?
Diane: I see Juno successfully entered Jupiter's orbit - what a wonderful sense of achievement the people involved must have. Google's logo acknowledges the success today.
Lmac: Through a glass - but certainly not darkly. More like bubbly! Was that champagne? Lovely photos. Welcome home (I think). :-)
Lynette: Fireworks the usual great display, except a three minute lull in the middle to fix something that obviously didn't go off. Traffic back through town was ghastly (a volunteer with one of the sponsoring groups was directing traffic - where were the sheriffs?!) so my daughter and I took the very long way round but made good time and at least we were moving.
Just about to topple into bed. Have a good Tuesday all.
Good afternoon everyone -
Another strange day here. For days now we have had sunshine, showers or torrential rain, in turn. We keep trying to do wee bits in the garden but like OG, tidying up and dead heading is all that can be done.
KEITH - The time it takes to sort out someone's affairs is often so long and tedious. I find that solicitors are very fond of saying 'all that remains to be done is this or that' and it takes ages for them to do it! I agree with LINDY - often a sombre occasion turns into quite something else, with chat and reminiscences about the deceased. My OH's first wife planned her funeral service from beginning to end. She told the old friend who was going to speak at the service that she wanted him to make the congregation laugh, not cry. He did just that, I have been told.
OG - I love hearing about your plans and trips. I envy you, getting away so often. I think that our trip to Denmark will be our only holiday this year. The new kitchen has yet to be organised, it has been agreed in principle with the joiner but we always tell him to come back to us when he can. He is incredibly busy and we will happily stay at home and wait for him to fit us in. This will be the first time that OH and I have not had a winter holiday. I'm missing it already.
DIBNLIB - You have achieved a lot of swimming miles and even surprised yourself, I think!
ANNETTE - Glad that you enjoyed the celebrations for 4th July! I heard about Juno last night, the sound of the cheers from the workers etc. In fact I heard it about a dozen times (!) One of those sleepless nights and plugged in to the WS.
MIKE have yet to look at your link, but Thank you.
LMAC - lovely pics, I especially liked looking at the BLUE SKY. I shouted intentionally....
OH has just returned home from his monthly Probus meeting. the talk was about Geomorphology of the Highlands. so I will be hearing all about it over lunch. Fortunately he could hear the speaker who is a retired teacher and used to projecting his voice.
Eldest daughter and her daughter are off to Edinburgh by train today. They will stay a few days, sightseeing and shopping. Katie is very excited as you can imagine. They are booked into an hotel in Haymarket so very handy for things.
Eldest grandson, Callum has a girlfriend! His mother has had 'the talk' with him but she is finding out the hard way (is there any other way?) about young love. He comes home from work, has a shower, often can't wait for his dinner etc etc before going out to meet his lassie. I think that his mother has conveniently forgotten her younger days. I haven't...
Better go and attend to my kitchen duties.
Take care, all.