WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) Sunday, February 23, 2020

Thanks, Annette. I was watching the Nevada election coverage and forgot it was Saturday. LOL

Diane: Assume you're pleased with the Nevada result. Interesting that Putin is 'helping' Bernie.....

Thanks ANNETTE for starting us off. What a lovely thought to place the rock in memory of friend's OH.

LYNETTE - My sympathy on the loss of your b-i-l.

HARELADY – Congratulations on the arrival of your “leveret”

OG – Dau postponed photo-visit as s-i-l has a chest cold. Meanwhile OH has delegated 3 boxes of his paper stuff for me to cull. A riffle through all did not reveal photos or even any trip paperwork. Some dates were back to 1993 < big sigh> He can’t make decisions to toss and sometimes doesn’t remember What-For.

LINDA – I have so many piles awaiting disposal – charity shop & electrical waste (both require me to deliver), hard rubbish (collected twice a year), but the biggest pile is paper & old magazines. Alas the recycling collection is only every 2 weeks. By next Friday I shall have disappeared beneath a mountain of paper & cardboard.

ANNETTE – I meant to add that memorials are what I often photograph. One may say “in memory of Joseph Bloggs”, so I post my pic with a short biography of Joseph, together with names of family, extracted from the newspapers online.

OG —  Mostly I was photo-ing churches. Only recently have I diversified to old buildings, particularly those I like. I cannot get excited about modern glass & concrete boxes even though they will probably be heritage listed in centuries to come!

Annette: Yes, I'm very pleased with the results, but I'm highly skeptical that Putin is helping Bernie. Anonymous, unnamed "officials" just happened to leak this accusation a day before a crucial primary election--without any proof, evidence, or even a hint of explanation indicating what Russia is doing to "help" the Sanders' campaign. 

Bernie said that agents gave him a classified briefing a month ago about possible interference efforts by Russia or other countries, and "it was not clear what role they were going to play." So, why was this claim "leaked" the day before the Nevada caucus?

The Democratic establishment and their media are again resurrecting this tired and ridiculous narrative that Bernie is a Russian asset. If the Dem establishment wants to argue about policy and platforms that's fine, but I have no patience with the relentless stream of unsubstantiated, sensationalistic, slanderous accusations against Bernie, his campaign, and his supporters (those mean Bernie Bros, Russian collusion, etc., etc.). If the Democrats are so worried about Russian interference, maybe they should have fixed the massive security vulnerabilities in the app that failed in the Iowa election. The DNC had the contract.

This election isn't a reality TV show. Our people are dying because they can't afford healthcare. Our wages have been stagnant for 40 years. We have the worst concentration of wealth since the 1920s (right before the Great Depression). The 400 richest Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 60% of the entire population (150 million people). Every credible study shows that the majority of our workers are struggling paycheck to paycheck. Russian troll Tweets and Facebook ads are not our most pressing problem. 

Both political parties are so deeply mired in corruption that they only serve the interests of their wealthy donors, and our ordinary people have no real representation in government. I can tell you that here in the Rust Belt, our people are descending into desperation and despair, and if the Democratic establishment wants to win elections, they'd better address the suffering of our people.

Sorry for the rant, but I suspect that Bernie Sanders is not going to be allowed to win this election.

Good Morning. Grey skies here, and every time I awoke in the night, I could hear the rain. The garden is awash.

We both had a bad night, as my OH was struggling to breathe and I was laying listening to him! I hope that EE isn't too bad today, OG. These winter colds are so debilitating.

Diane, big dramas there on the political front. I hope the tide can turn.

AQ - I can see your love of the old buildings. Give me something built in the Victorian era any day, rather than the new glass boxes. Thankfully, here, there have been moves to save a lot of these beautiful examples from demolition or alteration.

We won't be doing much today, but at least we can sit and read. I seem to have collected everything that's been on paper for the last 40 years. Goodness knows what for. I suppose it's a symptom of something or other. I certainly had a few years when I felt an isolation of sorts, which I think is common with mothers stuck at home as I was when the children were young.

Very little breeze, occasional light showers, cold, OH noisy with his cold, J doesn't sound so bad this morning, my cold is very slight compared with theirs mostly affecting my eyes. That's all from here!

Thank you, ANNETTE.
LINDY, the great thing is that you are getting rid of stuff, now and saving your dear sons a big job in the future x
AQ - I enjoy your pictures ! Keep taking them....
ANNETTE,- rest, rest!
DIANE - I hear all the news about the (how do you spell the word? caucuses? Must admit that I don't fully understand it all but read your post with interest.

Usual quiet Sunday here. I do have an outing to look forward to, on Wednesday. Going by train to Elgin with eldest daughter, to pick up their new ( to them) car. Lunch with youngest and then driving back.

That sounds fun, Heather. Hope the weather is kind on Wednesday.

Yes, I'm spurred on by the thought of what a grim job my family would have if they came to sort out my stuff. My mother, bless her, must have had a good clear out in her last house move, and then subsequently spent some time organising all her paperwork as it was all tidy and neat. When she had a bad stroke we had to manage her affairs, and subsequently administer her estate, when she left us, and I was grateful that it was relatively easy.

Spent some time on the phone today, and didn't get around to the ironing. Left my OH to rest in between meals. He is still quite poorly and chesty, and has admitted that golf may be off the agenda for a while!

Hi all, another week started means another closer to the season beginning at LG. Blustery and showers today but slightly warmer although it says we're in for some mixed weather again this week.

Lindybird - talking of managing estates - talking to my SIL last Wednesday, she said she was having to open all her OH's mail which she'd never done before and also sorting things out with the bank.. They have separate bank accounts. Its all going to come as a shock to her to have to sort out OH's estate but according to him she said he had put things in order so hopefully maybe not quite such a burden but upsetting. Having said that, my OH does not discuss his financial situation so if it does fall to me , God willing it won't, that I have to see to his estate then I will just have to get on with it. It does make you think though - we are all very vulnerable and do not know when our time is.
Enough of the depressing side of things.
Sorry to hear that your OH is poorly, hope he soon starts to feel better.. Tell him that he has his golf to look forward to.

OG - hope you and OH are feeling a lot better soon and indeed anyone else who are suffering from bugs or chesty colds and coughs. Its the weather we are having I'm convinced that is making these sort of illnesses more frequent, no crisp cold mornings to kill those bugs.