WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) Sunday July 21

Hey Annette! Thanks for starting us off. (Just being silly and bumping us up).

Good morning and thanks, ANNETTE :-)
After all the phone calls yesterday - various offspring wanting to talk about various things, I went to bed and read for a while. Fell asleep, as you do, and in the middle of the night heard a message come in, on my mobile phone. Thought I'd better check in case it was urgent, only to find a group chat in progress. Two of my girls, youngest son in law and my niece by marriage in Canada, where the call originated. I love my Canadian family dearly but they forget the time difference....
Anyway, three of them are arriving here on 24th September. Not staying with me, are renting a house. I knew back in March that they wanted to come but had heard nothing since regarding dates. I'm not going to be here until the end of their visit - will be in Wales. This could result in a constitutional crisis. My eldest daughter will have to take over as Mother Regent.

Back later with replies

LOL, Annette!! - thanks for beginning a new week for us. Dry and sunny here. My OH has gone off early for one of his golf days out, where they travel to another course and have a small competition with one another, in his golf Society.

As I write, the weather forecaster is predicting a heatwave for the UK during next week, coming up from France, where they might get a record high of 41deg in Paris midweek!!

Crossed posts with you, Heather. Sounds like you're going to be busy soon. How lovely to have them all visit.

DIANE - I'm very glad that you are getting the benefits of a/c in Indianapolis and that you and your friend are on speaking terms. I don't envy you the dogs, though - I'm not fond of dogs. Don't know why, must have been some childhood trauma, maybe!

OG - it is indeed always good to be back home - I've always been a home bird as you will have realised by now!

ROSY - busy times for you - I've forgotten how long your G/D is with you?

LINDY - so you are a golf widow today! I did a lot with my OH but not the sporty things -

It will be good to see the Canadian family. We are all looking forward to it - they are very excited, especially my niece, as it is many years since she was last here. Their parents were Invernessians who emigrated to Canada in the late 1950s but they always refer to Scotland as the 'old country'.

Had a lazy day just pottering. Watched a film this afternoon, instead of gardening, as it became windy and cold when the clouds rolled over. My OH returned earlier than expected, and Bonnie was very excited to see him, as if he'd been away for 3 days!

I do have a set of golf clubs, Heather, which my OH treated me to when he took up the sport himself, quite a few years ago, now. At first, we practised together, but of course he got a lot more chances to play than I did, as several of his bowling friends were also keen, so he has left me way behind now if we wanted to play nine holes together. How nice that you will get chance to catch up with the Canadian branch of the family soon.

Heather:  I have the same time-zone-challenged family members in the UK.  My niece "gets" the 8-hour time difference but her Dad (my BiL) and her brother don't.  So I get photos of my sister in the garden at 3 a.m. and thank-you-for-the-birthday-gift messages from nephew's kiddies around midnight.  Talking of phones, albeit loosely, I was looking at the BBC's Reel segment on their web site and there was an item about a phone booth on top of a hill in Japan where people can go and have conversations (one-sided ones admittedly) with their dearly departed.  It looks like an old English phone booth, is painted white and has an old black rotary dial phone that's not connected to anything.  The filmmaker talked to two men who'd lost family members in the huge tsunami after the Fukushima earthquake and who came by to call a wife, son, etc. Very sweet and I suspect consoling.  I think you told us at what point where the Canadian branch lived, but I've forgotten.  Have you ever thought of visiting them?

Lindybird: One of my neighbors is on a walking tour of the UK and was praying for no rain before she left, but I don't think she was looking for a heatwave either.   I'm not patient enough for golf and I'm not sure my naughty words would be appropriate on a course.  

I parted company with a 5ft tall cactus this morning.  It had a lot of character but was too big, too heavy, way too unwieldy and had long and very nasty needles.  I called the cactus and succulent society offering it to anyone there but got a nice letter back instead telling me how to take care of it and how to cut off some bits for a new plant.  It was much too well shaped to do that so I put it on the neighborhood web site and a lady just had her very strong husband come by with his truck and pick it up.  He was thrilled; says they have the perfect spot for it.  I'm so pleased it's gone to a good home.  

Take care all.

Good evening! Good weather in the morning, so I changed my mind about church and went along with OH. A lot of people were missing, but there was good animated craic over coffee afterwards! I was glad I decided to go. After lunch, OH decided grass had dried enough to mow, but he only managed half before the battery ran out - last time it did the whole lot, but this time was more of a challenge after rainy days and a recent feed. After a few showers it is now seriously raining, but not expecting our river to flood, and should be dry Monday afternoon when we go to M&S Food. Been planning a day out (pleasure and some messages) this week, for the three of us - Tuesday looks best for our weather. Then hoping for biopsy result for J before end of the week.

ANNETTE - thanks for the new start and bump up! Sounds as if the Cactus went to a good home.

HEATHER - glad you now have dates for the Canadians - sorry their visit overlaps yours to Wales, but I am sure your daughters will "keep the home fires burning" for them!

May appear erratically this week, as church newsletter time is here again!

Good Morning. Dry and a little windy here.

Enjoy yourselves tomorrow, Lynette.