Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 24 June 2018

J has just gone out as he usually does on Saturday - but about 4 hours later than usual!  OH is strimming at the front.  I am doing very little, as usual!  New neighbours opposite seem to have  a lot of visitors, parking all over the road and pavement - we are hoping they will diminish as time goes on as most seem to be arriving with items of recycled furniture can't be room for much more!  They had a SKY TV aerial put up this morning.

I remember the dry summer of 76 because our Dau#1 "disappeared"!  Her Aunt, Uncle and Cousins had called in overnight (Lancashire) on the way home (Cambridge) from a holiday in Scotland.  They all said goodbye and started getting in the car, and she came up to me and also gave me a "goodbye" kiss!  Sister-in-Law said "she can come if she wants to", so they all got out of the car and we packed her a bag and off they went!  I had to explain when her Dad came home from work, and later we had to arrange a trip down south to fetch her home!  We thought we had quite a drought, until we saw the crisp brown lawns in East Anglia!

Eyes are sore and running and I just realised - we have a BBQ somewhere close by again!  I hate having the weekends ruined by paraffin fire lighters and cremated animal!

Quiet around here, OG and no BBQs - yet. Next door often light a bonfire on days like this but no smoke yet! I've been chopping bits of the grape vine that are hanging down and sticking out etc. I hope that your neighbours will eventually settle in and peace will return for you. Amused by your tale of daughter #1's holiday!

Morning all:

Diane: I saw that; not so sure about dividing the state, although there are three distinct cultures. Maybe the "big one" (major earthquake) will come and conveniently slice California off at the borders with Arizona and Nevada and we can float away! (Washington state can come too and Oregon, as long as it behaves itself.)  Did you see that the city of Seattle has banned plastic straws and utensils?  I'm a bit horrified in that this area of AZ is decades behind in neighborhood recycling.  Don't laugh, but I'm taking two huge trash bags full of plastic bottles back home (they have a California 5-cent redemption value) to give to the lady in our neighborhood whose church collects them to supplement their budget.  I'm also stashing glass bottles with the same value but not sure I can handle all the rattling on the drive home. I did see a "glass recycling" tub at Walmart I believe and may drop them off there.  Not as worried about glass as plastic.  I can start the thread, but probably not as early as you - as it is, I keep finding half-drank cups of coffee around the house that I never got to finish.

Lindybird: Yes, time does change things, but then I think about the 1930s in Germany and what it took to change all that. And the McCarthy era here. OK, enough of all that!  :-)  Hope your cushions got ironed without too much sweat, toil, and  tears.

OG: Had to smile at "cremated animal" although it's not that funny. Daughter is thrilled with the new shower, which has a built-in tile seat and is much more accessible; I suspect she'll be getting requests to share from granddaughter and Ms D who seem to be equally impressed.  Re Lindy's comment about "shower with somebody" I think they could all fit in it.  :-) .   Neighbor's traffic will probably slow down once furniture has been sorted and friends/family have come to inspect the "new" home.

A quiet day today; daughter is going off on errands; granddaughter is working; Ms. D is off at her father's house.  I just wish the monsoon season would start - AZ desperately needs rain. Everyone is hoping it won't be a case of storms no rain but with dry lightning, which frequently start wildfires. I see that the moorland fire in Lancashire is still burning..

Must go in search of eats.

Didn't get the ironing done, in the end. And not starting it now (I've just had a large glass of white with my dinner, and am back in front of my fan again!).

Sat in the garden reading for an hour when the sun got less hot, late afternoon. Third book I've read lately! -  a record for me, these days.

The new bathroom sounds wonderful, Annette.

Agree, LINDY, ANNETTE- the bathroom sounds great!

ANNETTE - a word of warning - don't sit on shower seat with a soapy B***side - you could slide off!  But the whole thing sounds wonderful!

OG: Not too much info at all - very valuable in fact. I was actually thinking of looking for a little cushiony non-slip seat pad (they sell them - somewhere) to ensuree a soft landing!

OG - that sounds great, cool room lots of cold water to drink and relax.

Lindybird - yes, Rivington area, Winters Hill area, know it well. Something now about a fire in the sanddunes nr. Southport.

Its been another scorcher of a day and apart from putting things back in the conservatory have tried to do very little. Followed the shade all day.