WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY MAY 17, 2020

ANNETTE – I would if I could but there are no flights & canoe is not an option. Since 25 March all Aussies are banned from travelling overseas. A few exceptions but I don’t my travel would qualify as “of national interest”. Maybe on “compassionate grounds” – to keep you company?

I'm swimming over, to share the fudge, Annette!

Good Morning. Three drops of rain at five minutes to 4 am, here. Then the dawn chorus began at 4.05. I was awake, having got up for a bathroom break at 2.00am and then tossed & turned afterwards. But I did go back to sleep listening to the birds.

Annette, glad that the hamper was acceptable goodies and will be enjoyed. Sounds like an interesting mix of things. Hope your OH enjoyed his meal and his special day.

AQ - The consensus here is that incoming visitors from abroad should have been stopped/quarantined much earlier and it's welcome now, but rather late. I bought two new pairs of sandals in the last few weeks, online, but only showed my OH one pair: he just sighed and knows that they will be joining the pile of various bits of footwear underneath my bedroom chair. One of my weaknesses. There are many others, LOL!!

Just realised that it's a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK!

Lots of discussion yesterday, and some lovely garden photos again from LINDA.

Finding it hard to concentrate this morning, so no individual replies, but thanks for all.

Actually, I have asked OH to do an overdue job in the study, because outside is too windy and a bit wet, so I shall have to vacate my desk soon.

My kitchen floor has been calling to me for quite a long time - 'Clean me! Clean me!' So today was the day. Got out the rather elderly steam mop, which got warm but refused to 'steam'. Looked online and found a YouTube video showing what I should do - you can find everything on there!! However, I decided that is a job for a man, and as there isn't one around, I had to do the floor with a small sponge and kitchen cleaner. Bearing in mind my physiotherapist told me many years ago my kneeling days were over, I did a lot of bending and stretching. So I have had a really good workout, and the kitchen floor looks so much better! Will I manage to find someone to repair my steam mop? It would be easier, but I wouldn't get the aerobic exercise I have had this morning. Decisions, decisions ...

Dibnlib...Off to collect scones for the freezer and a carrot cake loaf tomorrow ...
I like MC but hate the queuing up the stairs .
Windy day here but more progressing on redoing all the borders.

Such a long, damp day with very little sight of the sun, and extreme wind - expected to last most of the night. OH did the fixing job in the study, so I have spent some time on the mag. I think it might be another evening to pull the curtains after tea and play Trivial Pursuit!

Morning all:   Hints of May Gray here with two hot days before back to slightly-above-normal.    Dinner last night was good (massive piece of Key Lime Pie that accompanied it was way too big) and I'd bought a nice bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay at Trader Joe's which we shared. It's not an expensive wine, but more than we typically pay for daily plonk.  OH's daily plonk is pure rotgut as far as I'm concerned, although I'm sure anyone who knows anything about wine would consider what I normally drink pretty low on the scale.  It's Memorial Day here this coming Monday.

AQ:   I like 'compassionate grounds.'  But why is canoe not an option?  Think of Kontiki and the Pacific Islanders who seem to have gone all over the place in equally humble vessels - and Lief Erickson!  And those modern people who insist on sailing around the world by themselves...    Where's your spirit of adventure?  :-)  

PatO:  I feel the same way about gardening - I could pay someone to bend and stretch but I figure it's good exercise (I could be wrong though....).

OG:  Trivial Pursuit sounds like a good option under the circumstances.  

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Mmnnn.... Key Lime Pie. I would've helped you through it, Annette . We drink all kinds of wine, paying anything between £5 and £12, but will only push the boat out and pay more if it's for a gift for someone else. When we go out, of course, there's always a big mark up on the drinks in restaurants, which you sort of have to pay or do without. We are very fond of Australian wine! (Not just saying that to get into AQs good books!

Strange weather here today, not cold but not as warm as recently. The wind is still blowing but easing off as the day goes on. The big gusts we had yesterday & this morning blew some stuff over, including an acer tree which we have in a big pot. On examination, it's very pot bound now and there's hardly any soil in it, so I watered it well to make it heavier and we moved it to a more sheltered spot.

I cleaned and tidied, and had a zzz after lunch to make up for my missed hours last night. My OH keeps going down to the allotment to check on things - he forgot the greenhouse door the other day on a very hot day so the baby tomato plants were very limp. They seem to be recovering now.