Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 13 August 2017

Evening all:  Almost 9:30 here and the temperature has finally dropped below 100F.  It was 106 when I arrived at 6 p.m. (after a very slow drive through Los Angeles) and apparently it reached 113 today. Won't be hanging about here in the a.m....  Daughter flew back early Thursday morning so it's just me on the road.

Diane: Thank you!!!  I had good intentions, but....   I went out to dinner and had a salad and lovely glass of wine when I arrived, but have been working on the next issue of the magazine since then - had to get some e-mails out. The editorial staff is shorthanded right now so they were late getting their info to me and I know I won't have time to work on it once I get to family.  Hope you're freelancing is going okay....  I envy you being so close to the darkest part of the eclipse. I was listening to someone on the radio the other day who said that even 99% can't compare to a complete 100% eclipse. My friend in Seattle is driving to Salem, Oregon, and has been trying to talk me into flying to Seattle and then driving back with her. Apart from all the stuff I have to do here this week, I'm not sure that's such a great idea because the Oregon tourist board is warning everyone that the roads into the area won't be able to handle the traffic and that cell phone service may go down too.  I have a friend in Kansas City, which is right on the Path of Totality; all she has to do is look out from her balcony.  I'm kicking myself that I didn't organize something sooner - um, maybe 5 years ago from what I'm hearing!  Still there's another total eclipse in the US in 2024 - all I have to do is stay alive.   Hope the skies are clear for all the people who'll be traveling to see it.

AQ: One of the guys working on the electrical upgrade was from Victoria. We had a little chat before they started  - he's been here 16 years.  Miss J has a wonderful cheeky smile - and such curly hair. Does her twin have the same? (Can't remember.)  I gather you didn't have any luck persuading Lynette to let you carry her bags, but I'm sure Lindybird will need someone to lug all those shoes around on her next vacation!

Harelady: Good to see you.

Lindybird: Re the Washington Post story - I'm not surprised at all. After all, "scoring" in one way or another is what he's all about.  :-(    We are all asking the same question re his tenure!  Not mad about the giant bee (or the ant -eeek). Have to wonder about the background of the person with the garden tank.  The  more photos I see of Tatton, the more I appreciate how much nicer it would have been if the sun had been shining. Pesky weather. Still, as OG points out,  you did get some lovely shots. I'm guessing that shot of the llamas/alpacas is in South America.  I keep forgetting what alpacas look like (we have lots of llamas in our area, so that's not a problem). I gather Usain Bolt's leg gave out at some point during that race. Oooh,  will trade oranges for plums.

ForestBoard: Hope you have a lovely time and that the house business will be sorted by the time you come back.

Heather: Yes, salad for dinner that night. How did you guess?  Did you get the power to the shower fixed?  Didn't realize you were operating a car wash and serving refreshments too.  No wonder Callum is a regular.  :-)  Oh my, too bad that person lost a goodly amount of pounds - what a shame you couldn't locate him/her, not for lack of trying though.  Lucky tourist! Very good of you to give up the loot - I bet it made his holiday. 

dibnlib: Pizza and a sundae sounds like a lovely treat.  Stilton and walnut salad too!

Lynette: Thanks for the pic of Durdle Door and the coast. My niece is going there again soon so I can imagine where she'll be.  Hope you have (had!) a lovely trip.

OG: How about cucumber with sour cream - or yogurt - and dill (with salmon of course!). Yum.  Although sounds like you'd have to eat it day in day out for a while.

Clare:  Fading fast so will have to check those photos later.  

Am sitting up on the bed watching the headlights from a continuous line of cars and trucks heading east into the desert.  Nothing much beyond Indio (next town and typically the place you top up your car tank before the boonies) until Phoenix - about 4 hours away. This is the drive my granddaughter prefers to do at night when it's cooler and the roads aren't jammed).  Anyway, take care all! Have a good Sunday!

Good Morning, and thank you to Diane for starting off the week for us.

Just watching the News, and so sorry to see the USA in such pain over the recent events. :-(

Ooh, Annette, that’s too hot to be driving.

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A lovely day, sunny, 23 C. The spring stars (bulbs) reckon it is spring and one lone daffodil is blooming. “I wandered lonely as a daffodil.” Apart from some weeding, I have been shuffling paper stuff. Result - one small pile for recyling and one empty box. I watched a program on recycling last week. In NSW it is cheaper to import new bottles than to recycle old glass. Hence half of NSW recyled glass is sent overseas (not sure where) and half is put in huge bales, transported to Victoria and stored in humungous warehouses. Quite ridiculous.

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OG - I can’t help with recipes for excess cucumbers. Is there anyone you can barter them for another fruit/veg? I’m off now to make homity pie for tea.

Thanks for your post en route, Annette. Hope you have an uneventful and safe journey.  

Diane --  How exciting, about the eclipse!  I went outside at 11.30pm last night, just before bed, as we'd been told to look out for meteor showers. We were lucky here to have clear skies and so I could see lots of stars. Then one or two twinkling lights appeared, and one of them skated across the sky very fast, and broke up in spectacular fashion!  I gasped, and glued myself to the sky with an aching neck, standing in our cold back garden. Then I saw another, which looked like a pretty firework....  Soo exciting!!  My OH had gone to bed as he had to get up early today, so I dragged myself away and went to bed.

Good morning - thank you, DIANE.

LINDY I hope that your family enjoyed the athletics. I felt sorry that UB was injured and couldn't end his career in the way he and we had hoped

It is a beautiful morning here. My bedtime reading was all about pruning clematis :-(

Today's pic:

"But I've got so much energy, Mum!"

Heather -- An amazing tale about the lost money!  Hope the tourist enjoyed!  I get confused about the clematis, as there are different kinds, some of which you don't prune :-(

We watched the Athletics, which was very exciting. Don't know where our son was sitting, but couldn't help looking for his face amongst the thousands! A shame about Mo not managing a Gold medal, but it just shows how hard it is to gain one. The sight of Bolt grimacing in pain was very sad, too. But how I cheered for our two relay teams!!

I get confused too, LINDY. I seem to read that summer flowering ones don't get pruned until Spring, when you can see new growth at the bottom. I'm not even going to attempt the Montana, which is scrambling through next doors huge sycamore tree. The neighbour isn't complaining -

Good morning, all.  I've sorted through my Sculthorpe photos - if you click on this beautiful Bully you'll see more:

Lovely photos as usual CLARE.  You certainly are good a spotting them all.