HAPPY NEW WEEK!
I hope everyone has a wonderful week.
PoinsettiasU.S. Dept. of Agriculture photoLabeled Public Domain (Copyright Free)
Sounds like a school report but “must make more effort” so have sat myself down to write! Thanks for all the recent communications here. Loads of groaning in our house – OH and I trying to help each other, but he says he will be safe to drive today to get to Tesco and the butcher, where we have an order to pick up.
Annette – all that smoke sounds ghastly; I do hope your area gets cleaner air to breathe soon. Had to laugh at all the cleaning being done – especially by your OH when you were out – I have the impression that he and the vacuum are not close pals!
ForestBoar – sorry you missed your pub lunch – but a good thing you didn’t struggle to get OH there only to find the chef absent and no lunch available! Our weather station battery was also apparently knocked out by frost, seems to go off at about minus six. Still no snow here, but seems to be worse weather west of Dumfries. Pleased to see the cats got their food from the shed!
Heather – good that your SiL came and scraped and swept snow around your house – a job I used to love to do in the past – so warming. Pleased they are all thinking of you.
AQ – glad you went for advice on the back – now you just have to do as you are told! Hope you can feel better soon.
So, what was I so busy with yesterday? More mince pies and other preparations, checking shopping lists, sending birthday cards – why do they have to have birthdays around Christmas – so difficult to time deliveries! Two degrees warmer this morning, but more cloud – just the high white variety, nothing threatening.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
OG - hope that EE will manage OK.
Yes, it was a pleasant surprise to have the paths cleared by son in law because I was about to do it myself! What was a little disconcerting was when I popped outside to say thank you. His reply -'got to help the old folk!'. He had just returned from his parents' home in Conon Bridge, had been to clear their path, also. Now, they are both in poor health and in mid eighties. I am a tall strong woman in my early seventies! It is rather lovely that they are all so protective since my OH died but I don't want to be swaddled and old before my time... My OH's late first wife didn't do any gardening or painting/ decorating - they had clearly defined roles. When I came here it was clear to me that I was expected to follow the same pattern - so I did, in the interests of harmony etc. Sometimes I was 'allowed' to do wallpapering but only small places like the office etc. And of course, I got Sheana's vegetable garden up and running again. Happy days.
LINDY - I meant to say that I liked the sound of your lamb dish -thanks for pointing us in the direction of the recipe.
Middle daughter slipped and fell on ice this morning but it would appear that only her dignity was hurt.
FORESTBOAR/OG - my weather station has also been less than accurate, I think!
AQ - good that you got help from physio - you will have to do your Christmas cards in short bursts! Silly question, maybe, but what do Antipodean Christmas cards have in the way of illustration? Apart from religious pics, of course.
Great to read all the posts on here and Hello to all that I haven't replied to.
I see you're busy as usual OG - but I'm sorry you're both still groaning a bit. Hope that EE doesn't aggravate things by driving, but at least you can get supplies in. It looks as though it will be tomorrow or even Thursday before the weather lets up.
My OH brushed the snow off Ruby and has sallied forth as promised, with the cards: most of them he will put through the doors, but he has both of his sisters to visit, plus some old friends who live buried out in the countryside and who we don't see as often, now. I'm not expecting to see him again until lunchtime.
We received a picture of our Amber also in the snow, with a snowman, so it must have been just as snowy down in the home counties.
I was glad to see that Heather has such caring relatives and that her driveway is clear. Keep warm, Heather!
Hope that Annette is now getting some relief from the smoke now and its receding: what a terrible thing it has been for so many families. Also hope that AQ is looking after her back - no fun.
Everyone take care today.
Heather - you came on whilst I was wittering. Sorry to hear that your daughter fell, very lucky that she's not hurt.
You may be fit, but you could also hurt your back or pull a muscle by doing the snow clearing yourself, and it might spoil your festivities < wags finger! > -- so I'm glad you had help.
LINDY - I know you are right. I've also been forbidden to climb ladders except my little three step one. Also told not to climb Ramsay ladder into the loft. Sigh. When did my children become my parents???!!!!!
HEATHER - sorry to see that Alison fell on the ice - hope she won't find bruises later! Going into the loft is one thing I have forbidden for OH - so maybe no Christmas trees this year! Also empty boxes waiting to go up, so I keep falling over them in the study! Maybe he'll be allowed to try by Friday!
Freezing rain out west in Galloway - still okay here, and sun did come though eventually.
Good afternoon, all. Don't laugh but I've just brought in a load of washing off the line - to be honest it was far more of a 'letting it get the fresh air' exercise than a 'getting it dry' exercise!! It has been a gloriously sunny day here but I don't think the temperature has risen above zero.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Morning all: We have two older ladders - a huge expanding one I used to haul out when I went up the orange tree (very few oranges last year, a smaller one that I don't like at all because I tend to lean into it and get bruises on my shins, and a spiffy new one, which has two very broad top steps plus handles at the top you can hold on to. We also have what you call a Ramsey ladder to the attic - it's wood with rails on both sides and brilliant until you want to start back down and have to sort of back onto it, which I do on my knees while hanging onto various attic beams, etc. with OH lurking tentatively below (he gets dizzy easily). Don't need to go up it too often.
Lindybird: Your OH brushed off Ruby? What did I miss?
AQ: Oh boo hiss. I know you'll do those exercises faithfully but not being able to sit for more than 15 minutes at a time? What about laying down?
Heather: What? "the old folk" indeed. Watch out or you'll find yourself being pushed down the High Street in a wheelchair! :-)
OG: OH had the best of intentions, but as everyone woman knows, you dust first, do the surfaces and all the other stuff, etc., etc., and then vacuum all the bits up. Anyway, living room got cleaned backwards yesterday.
Weather unchanged here; air still bad; humidity very low and fire still blazing away, but winds in this area calm. Am trying to figure out if I can hose away(gently, gently they're telling us) some of the ash on the patio and front walkway so we can at least go and and out of the house without creating a toxic blizzard. Thing is, once we get a decent sea breeze back, there's all that ash on the roofs and in the trees.... Still, there are far worse places to be in the world....
At one point the California Condor Refuge back in the hills was threatened by the fire - in fact it's still threatened, but apparently the firefighters are protecting it. We have about 7,000 firefighters working this fire from all over the western states - these people are amazing given the conditions they're enduring. Unsung heroes.
Still no Christmas lights up due to ash, and now I'm wondering if I'll bother at all...
I'm concerned about Lightning - again. Caught her weeing on the carpet in my room the day before yesterday, then again in the kitchen yesterday. Her diabetes is under control and we recently spent a small fortune on all kinds of tests that showed nothing. She did have a UTI a couple of months ago but isn't showing the same symptoms this time. It's all getting rather difficult - she has pretty much destroyed the living room carpet with past ailments, etc., but other than that doesn't seem to be miserable, although OH claims she's deaf and can't see well. We've now got a prescription for a pain reliever (Adequan) for her hips, but I'm wondering how long this will go on. I really don't want to put her down just because she's old and inconvenient... :-(
Stay safe all of you in the UK.
Forecast - rain 12 noon, heavy snow 3pm, heavy rain thereafter.
Actual - sunny 12 noon, light rain 1pm, lighter drizzle following.
Temp rose with rain to 2.5 positive degrees and still steady at that.
OH was okay shopping - hardest part was getting in and out of car. Been preparing various meats for meals to come in next few days and weeks. We have decided against two church events Thursday and Friday, so postponed tomorrow's tasks to have a lighter day.
Can smell the fresh-aired washing, CLARE: would love to do that!
ANNETTE - I can't recommend being pushed down the High Street in a wheelchair - not if it's anything like ours with potholes and badly finished repair work - very bumpy, I hate it when I can't avoid being taken out! Sorry to read about Lightning - easy for me to say, but it does seem to me that maybe the time has come ... as a person who is "old and inconvenient" I often consider it for myself.
We are just back from a couple of days away. We went to Aberdeen to see Michael Ball and Alfie Boe in concert. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We also took the chance to see an old school friend of mine who lives in Fochabers. She had all her Christmas decorations up and everything looked lovely. She also fed us a delicious lunch. Will catch up with posts another time.