Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 26 January 2020

Some wildlife good news - this time lyre birds.

AQ: That's a fascinating article about the lyre birds. Astonishing that they would even get under a wet blanket with a human.

LINDA - can't imagine David Copperfield without "Barkis is willing" - probably the only quote I actually knew for my English exam - definitely the only one I know now!

LYNETTE - pleased you don't think now that the toe is broken. We watched the archaeology programme about Worsley - interesting, and some nice views of the village.

AQ - amazing about the Lyre Birds! Fire news is slipping out of UK collective consciousness, due to the coronavirus and stupid "Brexit" - but I see temps are rising again and fires still burning in NSW and around Canberra.

Cleaner is here, but J still in his shower - he has a few minutes spare to emerge! OH has a few messages to do locally, but mostly all at home today. I slept right through the night, but don't really feel refreshed.

J had a phone call yesterday to say he needs to up his thyroxin dose - blood test was done in December! So he has made a GP appointment to discuss this and the move to follow up care changing to Edinburgh. His next appointment at the Christie would have been in May, so they have time to sort it.

Good Afternoon. Missed coming on this morning, as it was hectic, as I was rushing to get off to the hairdressers. When I picked up my tablet to write Good Morning, I found it needed a power boost, so no time to sort it out.

Glad you slept right through, OG - it must have had some benefit, even if you don't feel much refreshed by it.

Lynette - Good that your toe isn't broken. Be kind to yourself.

AQ -- Lovely link about the lyre birds - I remember seeing them several times on documentaries, and being fascinated. They must be smarter than they look, too!

Been out for my hairdo - had a drama on the way as there was a large refrigerated lorry stuck in the road, unable to move either forward or back. By the time I had turned around the corner discovered it and joined the queue, I was stuck! Eventually, someone moved their car and everyone was able to go on their way. My hairdresser is still off work, I've not seen her since before Christmas - she has a bad chest.

I was wondering if you were OK, LINDY.
I had hairdresser this morning but it was rainy, so came home with wavy hair!

AQ;  Very interesting about the lyre birds, especially the snuggling under blankets with humans!  No time to fight or fret when lives are on the line I guess.  They are spectacular; hope the nature folks will be able to provide some help in their survival given the loss of their habitat.

OG: Most everything else has fallen off the radar here what with the doings in DC. :-(

Lynette: Glad toe seems just badly bruised or something, but no practicing your en pointes for a while!

Irrigation guy is busy finishing up reconnecting bad bits and then I'm hoping for a sort of quiet day before the Arizona contingent arrives tomorrow and it gets Very Busy.

Had a quiet afternoon, then when my OH was ready to do battle, we pulled out our TV unit with all its seemingly hundreds of cables & wires, and had a go at installing the new DVD player, which was delivered yesterday. We managed it, hooray! But not without noticing how much dust was hiding behind the TV.....

Waited in vain for a plumber today who said he would come and look at our shower unit, as we bought a new one ages ago but have not got around to installing it. Our present shower is so old it barely dribbles and I keep complaining I can't wash my hair properly. No one arrived today so my OH has just gone to get a shower and shave.

Hope the irrigation will be better after your birthday present visit, Annette. Enjoy your family visit.

Difficult to sleep as temp hovered around 30 c all night. Woke at 2 am, tossed & turned, read a book, had breakfast and now I'm gong back to bed - to sleep I hope.

Lindybird:  Irrigation is better, but guy noted (which I already suspected) that we have too many outlets on one line and to get full pressure would need to install something costing more $$$$s.  He offered options to avoid that and I'm going to try those - have no intention of undertaking larger project, especially as I'm planting more rocks, which need very little water.  :-)  Blech to absent plumber; no phone call either I suspect?

AQ; Sympathies - hope you got enough sleep to have a reasonable day.

OG: You commented on how quickly we were able to schedule workmen. I asked the nursery owners for good reliable people and I think they were able to fit us in because we had small projects.

ANNETTE: I think that your birthday presents are lovely. Help with things that need doing, and not having to decide where to put extra new things.

We have sprung another leak (or rather our boiler has). I discovered it before too much damage was done, although I have two very soggy rolls of kitchen paper, and a wet packet of dishwasher tablets which were on a shelf underneath
Apparently, the condenser has a hole in it, for those that know about boilers. I didn't. The plumber has put a patch on it and then went off with a photo of the innards of the boiler to order the spare part. Many different types, apparently.
You can tell that I have had a very exciting day!

AQ; I hope you manage to get some sleep. I can see how you are needing so many books.

LINDY; I hope your plumber comes soon. They are very hard to get hold of. They always have the excuse of an emergency leak. (probably often true!)

OG: I can't get that quote "Barkis is willing" out of my head now. I can't imagine David Copperfield without it, either.

Hello to Heather, Diane, Lynette (sorry about the toe), Pat and everyone else not mentioned.