HAPPY NEW WEEK!
I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe week.
Here are some links to pictures of the Indiana winter. You can look at them if you want to.
My region has had so much snow, rain, and ice that the long Wabash River has been flooding in many areas. It flowed into Prophetstown State Park, near Lafayette, Indiana, up on the prairie where I grew up. The flood waters turned to ice, trapping the fish, and groups of juvenile Bald Eagles have been gathering on the prairie ice to peck out the frozen fish for their meals. PHOTO HERE
Ice is building up in the canyon at Bear Hollow in Turkey Run State Park, which is just down the road from me. PHOTO HERE
The polar vortex winter has been piling up the shelf ice on Lake Michigan north of me. PHOTO HERE The structure is a light house.
An extremely rare (endangered) Whooping Crane has been spending the winter socializing with a flock of Sandhill Cranes, a couple of counties south of me. PHOTO HERE
Take care, all.
An unwelcome invader, then, AQ! Good Morning All. Another pleasant day forecast (what can I wash?) after a beautiful day yesterday. Record temps for February in many parts of the UK.
Our Youngest sent photos of Tomasz and Matthew enjoying their time on their new trampoline, which was erected at the weekend (we bought it as their Christmas present). I went to visit G in the afternoon and found her, not surprisingly, depressed. She is making no progress and her family are concerned - some advice and action are hoped for tomorrow, when she will be attending at The Christie. I must make a start on my packing for our holiday, and write a few emails.
Good morning; OG here again. Another bright frosty start – temp is rising rapidly. Heather – what a busy Sunday. I hope the plumber was helpful on Monday! Linda – wow; Canaries trip has come up suddenly! Imagining you counting the shoes ready to pack! Lovely that the Grandsons have been able to play on the trampoline in the sunshine. Thinking of your friend G today – and her family and friends, yourself included. Annette – sorry the weekend away was stressful; must be difficult getting caught up in a friend’s family politics! Hope you get a few days respite before the coming busy days and weeks. Lynette – garden centre lunch was really good – they hadn’t put any of their salads out on display, but I asked and they made me an absolutely fresh Greek salad – feta, loads of lovely olives, etc. OH had a ham salad and we shared a small bowl of chips – real chips not skinny fries! The shopping trip was also successful, and I am finding it so much easier to get into the car now I don’t have to make my legs do the doorsteps first! AQ – we did manage a short time in the sunshine (I had a chair on the “refuge platform” of the ramp) before going out, and got the Geraniums sorted – hopefully will do Fuchsias today. I had to teach my OH gardening when we first married, and he mostly does quite well. Your invasive grass sounds like the “couch grass” (pronounced “cooch”) here in the UK; we had it in past gardens in England but haven’t seen it here. Diane – I hope – fingers crossed, positive thoughts, prayers – that cheque arrives today! If not, you must put a rocket under them! Another busy day for OH here – he was painting inside his built-in wardrobe late last evening – and finished! That was after all the other things he did. Toady, he’ll be putting the shelves in there, gardening - and all the routine of the house, and we have the annual service guy coming for my scooter. Haven’t heard any more from Fix It Guy re solving the problem with our front lawn! This is the longest post I have attempted since the changes, so will see whether I can post it – composed in Word, so at least it shouldn’t get lost!
Evening all: Diane: Have you contacted the folks about that check? AQ: I immediately recognized the name (Kikuyu) from British colonial days and the Mau Mau uprising, which was the backdrop for Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller, who grew up there. Didn't realize it was a grass though! Lindybird: Trampolines are great when it comes to giving kids a place to burn off all that energy. Our neighbors had a set and their kids were always out there shrieking and leaping about (!!!) :-) So sorry to hear about G and her family..... Have fun sorting through those shoes. And have a wonderful time away. OG: Hurray for the ramp and getting things done around the house and garden! Had sticky start to the day when I tried to SuperGlu the rubber toe of one of my Nike's back to the shoe itself but only managed to glue my fingers together. Lots of sweary words and I had to ask Google for the remedy with just two fingers! Went off to the gym to use the weight machines; have decided to do yoga practice on my own as the most recent instructor is nice, but her classes don't seem to have any structure and I'm tired of trying different teachers, none of whom are as good as our original one. A first-world problem. Tomorrow I'll be glued to the TV watching Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen being questioned by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He's been giving closed testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee and will do the same Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee. I know you're all fascinated (not!). :-))
Take care all.
Well, its been another beautiful day here: folks were out and about, and smiling a lot. I went to several shops, including Boots, M&S, Tesco and Sainsburys! - Don't usually call in them all at once but we wanted different items from each. I like Sainsbugs Red Label tea for instance. Got a coupon from there for cheap(er) petrol so also called into their Petrol Station and filled up my tank. Went to M&S to collect some trousers for my hols which I had ordered online (more choice) but then saw another pair when going through the shop, so bought those, too! When I got back I found the online ones looked awful on me (short legs.....me, not the trousers - - - well, yes the trousers too, which is not a good combination) But the ones I bought on a whim are great, and only cost fifteen pounds! Yipee! Sadly, I needed new clothes as I have put on weight with all the stress lately. Normally I diet and manage to lose a few pounds before going away, but this time nothing seems to fit. Salads whilst away seem to be the order of the day! Sorry about the dratted seagulls, Heather. Maybe they're trying to break snail shells up or something. We get scraping noises and pecking sounds as there is a lot of moss on our roof, so all the birds love to have a go. Hope your hand is not too much of a problem, it must be a darned nuisance when you try to get dressed.
By the way, my OH has gone through a list of things I left him to do. He put out the laundry (upside down, to me!) and built a new top to our bird table which had rotted through the winter. When I left he said he had plenty of wood for it but then found he had to go out to buy some, but got it cheaply. Yesterday he fixed sis in laws garage door which had come off the runners and put up a hook for her plants to grow up the fence. Quite a handy person to know! Annette, the trampolines are very very popular here now. Nearly every house with children has one, possibly because its good exercise. Although they all shriek, its nothing to the noise of a young man four doors away from here who got a basketball hoop for his birthday last autumn. Its out on the front driveway and he and a friend play with it every day after school, plus for several hours each day at weekends. If I was next door I think I would have turned to violence by now, as we can hear it from here and the repetitive booming of the ball is driving me crazy.