Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 24 November 2019

AQ -- I'm sending a big consignment of wetness down to you. Went to feed the birds this morning, and the paths in the garden are full of water, like mini streams. Had to walk on them anyway, because the grassy lawn is worse! We've had two full days and nights of rain, but it finally stopped this evening.

Went out to get my C'mas stamps for the cards and had to wear my most waterproof boots to slosh through the streets and back to the car park. The Post Office is in the Co Op (supermarket) so on the way out I bought some mini doughnuts and an ice scraper for the car windows. "Be Prepared" say the Boy Scouts....

The doughnuts were delicious. :-)

Evening all:  Essentially a do-nothing day although chatted with friends and went for a nice walk.  Then home where I puttered on the computer with one eye on The Godfather, one of my all-time favorite movies on TV.  

PatO:  The thing is re Black Friday, I'm trying to export it!  Maybe we should have sent it to China or North Korea?  Sorry it ended up there, especially as you don't have a Thanksgiving Thursday to kick it off.  Of course, there's always the danger that we'll export Thanksgiving too.  :-)  Seriously, I actually purchased some Xmas gifts online this morning (household-type things for the AZ house that will keep them toasty) and at a good discount - from stores and brands I know that have good quality items. Still, I share your feeling that one  major holiday a year is quite enough.

AQ:  Will soon be in the position of shipping extra rain to you too. The weather is actually seasonal here this year - it can be dispiritingly warm and sunny but then you guys have Christmas in the summer!  Hope the power wasn't off too long.

Hallo to everyone else!  Stay warm and dry - I'm thinking bjane and Diane are under weather siege right now....

All: Dismal and rainy here. I walked up to the convenience store/petrol station to get a burrito, and when I came back the groundhog poked his head out of his burrow. I got a carrot and brought it out to him. He took it and scurried back under ground with it. I could hear him crunching. LOL!

Thanks for your good wishes for Thanksgiving. I need groceries, but I refuse to get involved in that ridiculous Black Friday frenzy so I'll wait until Monday morning to go. I intend to ignore Christmas in every way possible this year. Bah, humbug!!!!!!!

Annette: No weather worries here. I'm supposed to get snow in a little while, but I don't think it will be too deep. Then Friday night through Sunday night, I'm due to get a cold, hard rain. But, I think the worst of the "bomb cyclone" is going to go north of me. It's already getting really bad in Michigan on the Great Lakes: THIS VIDEO is only 20 seconds; click to turn on the sound. I dearly love the Great Lakes, but I'm glad I'm far enough from Lake Michigan to avoid the worst of that weather. I hope you won't have any debris flows/landslides where you are, Annette, due to the rain. Hope bjane stays safe and warm. 

I forgot to say that I enjoyed your info about the California Condors, Annette.

Harelady: Nice to hear from you, but I'm so sorry you've been so ill. I hope you can kick that cold very soon!

AQ: I will try my best to export all the rain to you. Sorry you've had power and Internet trouble. Hope it resolves. 

Lindy: I'm glad you found the carpet you wanted. I hope the installation goes smoothly. Also hope your finger heals quickly.

OG: I'm glad to see you posting again, but don't push yourself. I hope they can get your anti-arthritis medication sorted once again. I've been really worried about you. Hope you're on the mend, my friend.

It's very good that Scotland is trying to provide more rural doctors. In the rural U.S., including my area, we have a big shortage of physicians and healthcare in general. The only solution my state has come up with is to have doctors treat patients via Internet/computer. So, if a limb falls on me or I slip on the ice and break my leg, how in the heck is a doctor supposed to fix me through the Internet?!! We're pretty much on our own here in fly-over country. 

Take care, all. 

Heather B said:

ANNETTE - it seems to be my PC that signs me out without warning! When I clear history from my Kindles, I expect it to happen. Maybe it's me.....
I'm glad that things seem to be OK with you. Have been wondering.

Hey, Heather. Here's what could be happening. 

Your PC may be set to clear your browsing data automatically, without you doing it manually. When a PC or a tablet clears your browsing data, it will delete your:

1) browsing history, and/or
(2) cached images and files, and/or
(3) cookies. 

If it's clearing your cookies along with the history and other stuff, that's why you're being signed out.

The cookie that the RSPB puts on your machine is what keeps you signed in. If their cookie gets deleted, then you're signed out. 

You should have settings on your PC and your tablets that will allow you to tell them exactly what to clear and how often.

You should be able to set your PC and your tablets to clear your history and your cache, but leave your cookies alone. Then you won't be signed out, except when the RSPB does weekly maintenance. Hope that makes sense.

Diane:  I think I mentioned this program after I watched it - it's one PBS's America Reframed series - about a nurse practitioner in Indiana and the challenges she and her patients face accessing health care.  Here's the link; take a look although I suspect it's all too familiar!  https://worldchannel.org/episode/arf-invisible-patients/.   I was looking at the national weather forecast this evening. Hope that huge storm does miss you and bjane..  Got chills from that video!

We had a surprisingly tasty little TxGiving dinner; there's enough for a repeat tomorrow.

Have a good Friday everyone!

Power returned early, by 1 pm. By then I had finished cleaning shower, hunted  for Cmas wreath for front door (Advent next Sunday) and was beginning to think |I would have to turn out pantry of clothes or. Yeay. Saved. I was able to indulge my addiction with an internet fix.

Thank you for the rain. It has arrived, all 0.2 mm so far today. Further shower expected.

OG - I believe this item about the City of Adelaide aka Carrick will interest you.

Hope that OG and family are more comfortable now, and able to get back into some sort of routine.

Diane: Love the story of the groundhog!! Please take care of yourself in this grim weather.

Annette: We have been saying swearywords about the pesky Black Friday thing you've sent us -- the adverts are everywhere, and it's tiresome as every business tries to climb on the bandwagon! I do hope that some companies will drop the idea, eventually, when they find we're not impressed. Nice that you enjoyed your celebration dinner :-)

Hello, ALL. Finished magazine yesterday – a concerted effort by the two of us together, integrating my earlier efforts with the late news. OH will print Saturday morning as is his wont.

I cancelled the cleaner last week – couldn’t cope with her being here – but she also missed yesterday to go to a funeral (she must have had a large family!). So OH is doing some cleaning – set him the loos as his task for today. J had an earlier start this morning, but got to work on time, with a lift from OH. He has put aside tomorrow morning to apply to get his own driving licence back soon, a year after his last seizure.

Everyone is still coughing somewhat, but I don’t think we need any more antibiotics, so I sought advice from the practice Pharmacist (this is new to us, having a pharmacist available at the GP surgery) and she said I should be fine restarting the arthritis med at normal strength after the three week gap.

ANNETTE – I was so relieved when your wetter weather began – and even snow in the hills. I hope there will not be any mudslides this year. Pleased you enjoyed your Txgiving dinner – with leftovers to come tonight!

AQ – sorry about the power and communication interruptions; I have obviously missed some of the back story: are these stoppages planned for maintenance? We actually want to replace our television, but to choose a new one we shall have to go to the store and are just not brave enough to go while some stores are having their Black Friday – I had one offer of it lasting till Christmas Eve! I have been sending all emails mentioning the “event” straight into my Trash folder. Thank you very much for the link to the article about Carrick (City of Adelaide).

PAT – sorry about your roadwork woes – so frustrating sitting in traffic when you have things to do.

LINDA – donuts sound a reasonable antidote to getting wet going for stamps. I have only just begun to check our card list for this year – they are not all getting homemade this time – and I don’t think I’ll be sending the usual letter as it would just be full of medical matters!

DIANE – great to know that Groundhog is safe, and even begging for a carrot. I assume his burrow is on high ground away from the creek.

Now awake enough for a shower, so here goes …

DIANE - thank you. I hadn't thought of that! Now I will investigate the settings on my PC.