Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 2 June 2019

Glad you managed to get out and about today, OG. It's been the same here, sunny but a chilly breeze.

Heather, it sounds delightful in the church. Pleased that you had such a good time. We will be going to two Christenings this year, all being well with our expected grandchild (mid July, which is fast approaching).

OG: Thanks for passing on the info about George - what a difficult time he had.

Unknown said:

Diane: I'm watching a 1.5 hour documentary on PBS entitled Monrovia, Indiana, which I believe isn't too far from you.   It's a sort of "a day in the life of...." approach little structured dialog, just the camera's eye view of people going about their normal lives.  Interesting....

Annette: I'd never heard of that documentary, so I watched it today while I ate my lunch. In general, it was a good representation of small town life in Indiana. Usually, Indiana small town people are more talkative; those folks were quiet because of the presence of the "outsiders" doing the filming.

Monrovia is about 50 miles southeast of me. It's less than half an hour from Indianapolis, so that small town has a little more money and opportunity than mine does.

If I drive about 3 minutes north of my house, the land looks like Monrovia -- sweeping prairie crop land, where you can see for miles. My house, though, is in the Wabash River Valley. My place is on the line where the land becomes more forested, with steep hills and "hollers." Where I live, it starts to look a little more like Appalachia than Indiana prairie. It's still agricultural land, but it was once also dominated by coal mining, mills, logging, etc. My great-grandfathers were coal miners. 

I think my area suffers more from a lack of jobs and services than Monrovia does. They're closer to a major trauma center hospital, mental health and addiction treatment, Planned Parenthood, etc. Thanks for posting. :-)

OG: I'm so glad you were able to get out and enjoy yourself!

George (if you're reading this): I'm so very sorry for your losses and the sad times you've had recently. 

Heather: That sounds like a wonderful christening! I hope the entire family enjoyed the day. 

Lindy: I know what you mean about weeds. Where do they all come from?!!!

ForestBoar: I'm glad that you've had good news and that you will feel progressively better. 

Lynette: Hello to you!

Diane: I watched half of it last night before I toppled into bed.  Apparently the guy who made it is known for minimalist style and dialog.  Just looked him up (Frederick Wiseman) and realized I recently saw another of his films:  Ex Libris: The New York Public Library.  I seem to remember it being a bit on the slow side and losing interest at some point.....which I didn't expect.  Anyway, I've still got the rest of iMonrovia to watch - was scanning more negatives tonight (just finished 1991!!! - arghh!) and had Fargo going on the TV for light relief - :-)).  

Take care everyone.

Good Morning. Wet here, with mixed weather ahead.

My OH has an appointment this afternoon with a skin specialist, to look at a mole on his chest: I suspect they will also want to see the rest of him. He has always slathered plenty of sun cream on when outside, but has had many years of driving a tractor without his shirt on, when younger. In those days, no one bothered with sun protection.

Fine this morning - expected to change at midday. Busy day fitting everything in as OH has to take J to his "Occupational Health" appointment this afternoon - would be hours extra out of work is he uses trains and/or buses. He (J) saw GP yesterday - the senior partner, who went through all his health issues and possible connections - very helpful and several extra tests arranged.

Will pass the messages to George - will obviously be contacting him soon.

LINDA - I hope your OH's skin consultation is satisfactory.

Must away to the kitchen and try to "keep the show on the road" - OH keeps wandering in to his PC for "a little rest" - not surprised as he was awake with me in the night. I finally slept about 3:30 till 6:00 am.

OG - I'm sorry that you both had such a poor night. I'm also glad that EE is taking breaks. As you say, he needs to pace himself in order to be all he can be to you (and J). He is a treasure, indeed x

it is a slow start for me today - for no reason except talking on the telephone to various offspring. Youngest son in law and his colleagues from Aberdeen, also the Norwegian lads, have been laid off from the Egypt job. The (Italian) company who hired the British and Norwegian boys have decided that they can manage without them, despite signing a two year contract. Son in law says that the local boys are very nice but have a different work ethic to the Northern Europeans.

Morning all:

HEATHER: What options does youngest SiL have now? I seem to remember this might have been expected?

No news here; just desk work. Need a good long walk at some point to shake out the cobwebs...

Haven't mentioned birds for a long time! Young Starlings are beginning to grow up in plumage and self-feeding albeit still a rowdy bunch when you get 25+ altogether! Jackdaws and Woodpigeons showing up frequently to find food - Jackdaws are dominant, but Pigeons often have their mind on "other" things! First baby Goldfinch appeared Sunday, and I have seen three today. Greenfinch, Chaffinches, Robin and Dunnock are still calling in - including a young Dunnock. Siskins notable by their absence. Sparrows in great numbers everywhere around here - young and old. The House Martins had deserted our gable end for a couple of years, but they have built a beautiful nest this year, and Mrs is sitting - lovely to have them back. Blackbird sings up to 10:30 at night and starts again at 4:30 in the morning! I don't think I have left anyone out - except crows, oyster catchers and various gulls ...