WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2019

Only 24 shopping days to Christmas!   

PatO:  There was a discussion on the radio this morning about Black Friday having spilled over into the preceding and following days and even weeks.  Watch out!  It will soon by Cyber Monday, to be followed by Giving Tuesday.  (Today is Small Business Saturday.)    Then it will be When Will-It-Ever-End Wednesday,  Thoroughly-Fed-up-with-It Thursday and For-Heaven's-Sake-Enough-Already Friday! etc., etc.....

Lindybird: Hope Tomasz had a super b/day and that you had a good ride home.

OG:  No speech necessary to Chat here!

Raining again today.   I went down to Ventura to look for a couple of things early this morning.  Found them all at TJMaxx after fruitless and overwhelming brief stop at the nearby mall, which was still very quiet that early.   If you know Ugg boots, the company that makes (Deckers) them has its corporate headquarters a mile from us just across the freeway - and an outlet store in Oxnard, where things are half price or less. This morning, they had Ugg ankle boots for $14.99 - all in large sizes (didn't need any; didn't buy any).   I watched a couple take an entire stack and load them into their car, presumably to sell somewhere else for more money, which I though was a bit rude, but nobody asked me.

Anyway, have a good Sunday all.  

  • A bit warmer here today - so it managed to drizzle this afternoon when J was walking home. He and his Dad are heads together over the dreaded form right now - I am keeping out of the way!

    LINDA - broken leg was 2017.

    HEATHER - pleased your computer has plenty of space available, whatever My Passport actually is (I don't know!)

    ANNETTE - I can't remember anything significant in 2010 - there was a wedding in 2011 which probably made the previous year seem less important.

    Now I really will check addresses on the Christmas card list - several folk have alternative addresses, so I am risk of sending to Lancashire instead of Fort Worth, or Ecuador rather than Shetland, for example!
  • OG - apparently it is a type of external hard drive whatever that means!!
  • Annette, we have a lot of books in our study, too. When we worked out, a few years ago, that we had books in every single room, except the bathrooms!! we decided to try and banish most of t hem to the smallest bedroom and call it a study. My OH put in shelves all around the room against the ceiling, one book deep, to hold paperbacks which we both like to re-read. Then we used existing bookcases to store a whole lot of reference books which I still enjoy in spite of being able to Google... Plus, other old furniture is storage for hats & scarves, and stationery. etc. And more books, in spite of two big culls.

    Now we're having a new carpet in there, I've decided to splash out on some better bookcase type units with storage at the base. There are so many out there, it's going to take a while to choose some. Meanwhile, some of the old storage is going to the tip soon.

    Thanks for the advice on how to cope with all the cables! I'll let you know how we get on!
  • Just seen your post, Heather. An external hard drive is extra storage, in addition to what's already in your system . There ends my knowledge! My clever I.T. expert son put an extra one onto my desktop a few years ago, saying that I would then have "backup" for my many photos and files. But I've no idea how it works, or even if it's still working!
  • OG - In the Olden Days, builders took 3 weeks holidays in January (our summer & school holidays). However nowadays some seem to continue regardless.

    LINDA - Colours & hence photos on computers can be different, as are on OH’s & mine. I think it is something to do with settings.

    ANNETTE – We don’t know design of house. It is wait-and-see unless I hear our other back neighbour in her back yard and yell over the fence. She may not know either.

    2010 was the wedding year in our family. Also the year I started seriously photo-ing churches.

    I have tried to cull my books, donating unwanted novels to nearby charity bookshop. I have been through bookshop C-mas catalogue and noted all the books I would like to read –  but borrowing from library. Cheaper and no storage problem.

    No nanny duty this week. I have an important date at twins’ kindy – their end-of-year concert this pm. Photos may only be taken after the event, not the outdoors performance, as one parent objected. I don’t photo other kids and if anyone accidentally appears, I crop picture or blur the faces. I even blur car number plates when parked in front of churches etc. Once again minority rules because some idiots misuse social media.

  • AQ:  Oh my, I sympathize with you re the sole objecting parent.  I'm sure some parents will sneak photos though - we typically take videos!  Re the business with color reproduction, etc. I took my photo of the flames on the iPhone, which typically does a good job rendering true colors; didn't bother to move it to the laptop..  Not sure at what point Lindy's photo paled....   Do have fun at the end-of-year concert. Kiddies put so much into them - and the teachers too.  

    Heather: My external drive is also My Passport  I periodically copy all my Docs and photos onto it (but probably not often enough).

    Lindybird:  New bookcases equals another opportunity to downsize.  My OH has a small bookcase in the bedroom - also jammed - and now we have two piles of books on his bedside table  :-(   Like AQ, I keep the library in business.

    Nice and sunny today.

  • Annette, I didn't mention the two piles of books in our bedroom which are all unread..... nor the three books next to my bed, similarly waiting for me to have time.. .. One is about organising your time, it's been there for two years, LOL!!

    AQ -- We get instructions if we receive pics of school Sports Day, etc, not to put them on the Internet because of other children in the background. Which I understand, but think is a shame. Enjoy the concert! (Matthew is going to be a sheep in the school Nativity this year, but we couldn't go even if we lived nearer, because space is limited in the school hall)

    My good Friend loved reading and read at least two books a week. She cheated by going around bookshops and choosing books, then going home and ordering them on her Kindle.
  • Good Morning. Another fiery red sunrise outside as I write. My OH is out with Bonnie, who doesn't mind the weather as long as it's not too wet. Two days ago they came home with an armful of newspapers, which he found underneath a hedge - we reckon a paperboy ran out of time to deliver them before school, and just dumped them.

    I'm off to the town to get a few errands done, then it's time for me to roll up my sleeves and start on packing up the books....
  • Books: ours much reduced when we downsized to this bungalow - so just one wall of bookshelves in the lounge now mostly non-fiction - and practical books (recipes, gardening etc) in dining room. Fiction comes and goes. J has his own bookshelves. Of course the study has relevant books among the paperwork.

    Christmas card envelopes all labelled. Will start writing in time-sensitive ones later to post this week. Feeling able to get to M&S with OH this afternoon - coughing much reduced - so must get showered now.