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.  

  • Gave some thought to who in our family might be described as 'dramatic' but except for a distant cousin no longer with us, can't think of any. Except perhaps myself, on occasion! My OH is at a loss if I begin shouting, either to make a point or because something is annoying, as he & his family are pretty undemonstrative.

  • Lindybird:   Fab photo!!!  Talk of "distant" cousin reminded me of "awful" cousin who skipped a UK visit last year.....Perhaps she'll be up for it next year??   :-))

    Went for long walk this morning: Gray but not as cold and more rain due tomorrow night for the weekend.  Garden still very happy. The House has decided to impeach Trump; it will never get approved by his craven sycophants in the Senate. 'Nuff said, but it was interesting to see Macron, Trudeau and friends comparing notes.

    Have a good day everyone.

  • Awful Cousin has been ringing members of the family hoping to keep in touch. She hasn't mentioned coming over here again, for a while, though. We have fingers crossed that she will be getting too old to consider coming, as she is in her mid 80s now.

    Been mega busy and have moved huge amounts of books. My OH helped when he came home, and we shifted some of the bookcases into the conservatory - I took photos of them for our Youngest.  Think I already said that, sorry.

    Also did ironing and sink scrubbing to keep up to date with the HW, so that we can be on schedule by the weekend, have a bit of a rest, then face the carpet fitters next Monday.

  • Blood test was "interesting" - back to my old trick of not bleeding! One hole in one arm, two in the other. Anyway, senior GP sent a request to Lab for immediate result - got a call this afternoon that all is good for me to resume arthritis medication with normal dose. Cold wind today, and got a bit wet returning home.

    Installed the new gizmo this evening - been told to call it FreeView Recorder or FVR. Still got old one connected, so could record six programmes at once if ever there was that much worth watching. (not sure why we bought the new thingy!)

    Posted a bundle of Ch cards this morning, and also made a list of all the goodies which we had bought and stored - far too much as usual.
  • Good that you're back on your meds, then, OG. Surprising how many people can find it hard to summon up blood!! I'm so full of prominent veins, they used to love me at the Blood Donor sessions!

    Annette, I saw Nancy Pelosi and am always impressed by her dignity. If only they could get this Impeachment thing to work.....

    Off to my bed now as shattered.
  • AQ - glad the Kindy concert went well. Agree with your dau, its not about receiving but rather about giving which is the more important. Let's hope that SS corrects themselves.. Oh AQ that is a dilemma, having to look at both at the same time and trying to please everyone - which I'm sure you did with aplomb.

    Hope you enjoyed the film, Annette.
  • just posted before my last post or thought it had but not appeared - perhaps I didn't.

    Just skimmed through all your news and mad for interesting reading.

    OH's computer has arrived and will be sorted in the week just before Christmas, have arranged for my tech guy to come then.

    A few cold and frosty mornings but now changing to windy and probably wet, will have to see in the morning. Once curtains are drawn we are oblivious to what is happening outside.
  • LYNETTE – I have had plenty of practice reading “2 at once”. Now I have the twins trained. They take turns to be first – to have her book first or to help with rinsing dishes. I just have to remember who (by consulting my diary as my memory does not keep such trivia).

    OG – It will be good if you can return to normal meds. I agree TV screens are ridiculously large. We only have small rooms. Our house is not a vast mansion and the audience is small. Besides there is so much reality rubbish that is not worth watching any size.

    More houses lost in NSW bushfires where 100 are burning. Smoke from these fires has reached New Zealand. QLD still bad too. One of the fires has been burning in the Wollemi National Park where, in a secret location, are the only known living wild Wollemi Pine trees. This report says they were still safe a few days ago.

    Yesterday I completed my C-mas gift shopping for the Little People, with a few extras picked up for next year’s birthdays. On way home I detoured to the hardware/garden centre for some greens – perpetual lettuce and spinach. Also what last year they called “chard”, this year it is “rainbow spinach”. I finished with 2 punnets of snapdragons and celosias so my view from window is not all brown. Of course we could have water restrictions since rainfall this winter has been so low.

  • AQ/OG: Have to agree that good TV is pretty dismal, especially at this time of year when we're subjected to "specials" that are not only stale, but also not special.  Consequently,  I'm watching - as I type - dSeason 2 of The Crown (courtesy of my local library) while Season Two of Killing Eve is on the 'hold' shelf awaiting pick up. :-)

    AQ:  Really not happy - though not surprised - to read that the fires are still so bad.  We have some ancient Bristlecone Pines in the Eastern Sierra mountains (at 9-11,000 ft. altitude). The oldest - the Patriarch Tree - is more than 4,000 years old.  

    Lindybird: Congrats on the clear out.

    OG: Good the meds are back on track.  I go into Costco and see banks of huge TVs with so many bells and whistles - but they do sell smaller ones too.  We have two: ones a 42", in the main living room, and the other is 32 or thereabouts (in my 'office').   They aren't smart at all (but neither are we).  

    Lynette:  We did enjoy the film actually - me more than OH who can always see room for improvement!  :-)

    Have a good Friday everyone!