WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2018

Hallo all!

  • Annette- I loved all your pictures. My younger sister and I are heading to Arizona next weekend to celebrate my other sister's 90th Birthday. Hope to get her out a bit as she is pretty housebound now. She has had psoriatic arthritis since she was 40 and has lost most of her fingers and toes to it. She also had a stroke 20 years ago but still lives alone with her cat. She is quite amazing.

  • bjane:  What part of AZ are you headed to?  If you're going to the Painted Desert/Petrified FOrest, there's a lot you can see from the car and very close to the road. It's a good one-day round trip drive out of Flagstaff. Still, there's a lot to see, no matter where you go.  How long will you be gone for?

    Diane: The NPR has only about 20% of the petrified wood in the forest; the rest is on Navajo or private land.  You can buy polished samples in the park gift shop, but those are mostly from private land; none from the park itself. And I can't imagine trying to sneak one of those pieces in the photos out!

  • Hi all - EE typing for OG again.  Doctor phoned as promised this morning.  He has changed my painkillers to morphine derivatives for another two weeks.  He also prescribed creams for sweat-rash resulting from lying or sitting around all the time).  EE still doing all the cooking, sometimes quick meals from the freezer.  Good to hear everyone's news (read by EE as OG finds it difficult to read when in bed).  Still bored with no TV and no computer: only a radio for company when others busy elsewhere in bungalow.  All for now.  Goodnight.

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Annette- Will not be gone long as we don't want to tire her too much.

    She lives in Apache Junction at the edge of the desert. There are no transportation services out there. Her youngest daughter lives in Gilbert and gets her groceries for her. We went to the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert when my OH and I lived out there and her OH was alive. Gorgeous place. I think she is making a list of where she wants to go if she is up to it. I sent her a wheelchair earlier this year so we will be able to use that.

  • Annette - Thank you for details of the book about the Panama Canal.  I've just bought myself a Kindle (couldn't imagine carrying around enough books for four months - I'd need a separate suitcase!) so I'll see if I can download it.  Haven't quite worked everything out yet …

    OG/EE - Hope the new medication works.  Sorry to hear you are so bored.  The radio is good for a limited time (such as overnight, for we World Service addicts!) and the pictures are far better than most of the television programmes - but there is a limit and it sounds as though you have reached it.  Hope you will be up and about again soon.

  • OG/EE - I don't suppose it will help but if you have a radio that will receive BBC World Service and Radio 4 extra you will have more to listen to. Also you could probably get audio books on your small computer? Have the medics come to any conclusions about the cause of the pain? Sending love xx

  • bjane:  OK, so a bit east of Phoenix. Good she's making a list; you can get her to prioritize and then see how she feels..

    PatO; You can get on Amazon and do their "peek inside" option that lets you get a feel for the writing, etc., to see if it appeals.  Or, here's a radical thought, take a look at it at the local library/bookstore!

    OG: So sorry your bedbound and bored!  What a combo. Are you feeling any better at all and do they know what set this off?

    We arrived in Sacramento later than expected.  I'd forgotten what an incredibly boring ride it is up Interstate 5.  The San Joaguin Valley is flat and unchanging  You can't see the coastal range to the west or the Sierras to the east.  I used to drive to the Lake Tahoe area years ago when daughter and grandkids lived up there and took the Highway 99 just because it had lots of farms and small towns and the mountains were on the horizon.  Highway 101 is the prettiest - and of course the longest - so we'll probably go home on I-5 too. At least we get to cut over to the 101 for the last 1.5 hours.  We've got another 5-6 hours in the car tomorrow.

    Take care all

  • Good Morning. Goodness, Annette, those are long journeys! As you know, we're not used to such distances here.  Hope the miles go by and you arrive safely and happily.

    Bjane - It will be lovely for you sisters to get together. Hope you all have a great time.

    OG - So sorry to hear that you're still in some pain and now also getting bored. How horrible. {{HUGS}} to you All.

    Had another busy day yesterday, ending with a visit to sis in law, who has announced that when Awful Cousin comes next year, she will be in Majorca!! LOL!!  If nothing else, AC has been a huge source of amusement. :-)

  • Grey and raining here.  We are preparing to go to our Youngest's in the Midlands tomorrow, it will be little Matthew's birthday at the weekend.

  • Bonnie's Blog:

    I still have a very busy life.  When my Dad takes me out for my afternoon walk, I often find the sweetcorn cobs laying on the ground left over from the crop the farmer had this year.  I think they are edible toys!  I pick them up and run around with them, then chew them.  Later, my poos have little golden corn niblets gleaming in them, laying on the lawn in the garden!

    Here I am with one I brought home last week, and wouldn't give up:

         --   --   --  I have a silly look on my face, because I know that my Dad is going to try to take this away from me. I would never ever bite him, but I can keep my jaws clamped shut very hard for an extremely long time.