Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 28 June 2020

Lilies are opening, in the rain!

OG Do hope your toe improves. It sounds really nasty.

Afternoon all from a changeable Suffolk. I had a lovely weekend as my Daughter and her 2 girls - Seraphina and Luna came to stay on Friday. We had lots of fun on the beaches at Aldeburgh, Dunwich and Sizewell. Friday was very hot,Saturday very windy and cloudy in parts and this morning a mix of everything. They have left now for the 3 hour drive back to Silverstone in Northamptonshire.

I still have not seen my Son and his family since end of February so hoping we can meet up next weekend now the regulations have changed. We will be ultra careful still and like everywhere, today on the beach there was a huge family gathering of perhaps 30 people with distancing at all. We waked some way away where it was empty.

I am waiting to hear if my Furlough ends this month - but given my age I am hoping that It can carry on for a bit longer. Our building had a variety of different  business in in and we share Toilets and Kitchen so I'm in no hurry.

I hope everyone has a good week and the weather improves. The sky here has gone very dark and the wind is getting up so I expect rain or a storm.

Hareday:  What a nice get together with Seraphina, Luna.and daughter. Hope you can get together with son and family and that the weather is nice enough for the beach.

Heather:  Interesting about hair lengths - I got the same feedback from my granddaughter during AZ visit and plan to follow her advice.  :-)

Wendyb:  I know there was some financial help for so-called independent contractors but I suspect they had to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it.  I'll find out Tuesday if my lady got any but I suspect it wasn't enough to make up for her normal income.

Stay well all.

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Still lacking motivation, actually worse after a very bad night with leg pains. We all got up late this morning and are having a slow day! We did spend some time discussing a new kitchen – OH and I have talked about it for a year or more, so we decided it was time to involve J and find out his thoughts. Definite decision is “yes” – now need to decide exactly “what?”. Not rushing into it, but if it doesn’t happen in the next year it will be too late to spend the money on it – each time we have installed a new kitchen before, we have moved on and not got the benefit of it!

Weather is miserable, doesn’t exactly inspire anything energetic. I have been watching old clips from “Keeping up Appearances” on YouTube. I think the two men are washing up right now. I did have to watch the service this morning as someone messaged to say it was good to hear me doing the reading (Scottish Synod of URC) so I decided I was brave enough to listen! Will now attempt some replies.

Not sure where to begin so will start from LINDA’s introduction of Lulu. I couldn’t work out her size, so decided she might still be quite young. EDIT – so I was wrong! Pleased she settled well. LATER – I see Sue allowed the unforgivable and welcomed Lulu into her bedroom! What’s that about “start as you mean to go on”? Sorry about Lulu’s potential leg problem – does Sue not have pet health insurance? Nice flower pics again – I hope your garden isn’t getting too much of a battering in this wind.

PAT – you seem to have been getting very active lately! I like that idea about writing a letter to ourselves about lockdown feelings and then looking at it – much later.

HEATHER – Thunderstorms don’t seem to get stuck in our estuary here – they come nearly to Annan, the turn left and go up to Moffat where it is “always raining”. We were used to living in places where they reached a valley and couldn’t get away. I’m sure you and the young family enjoyed their visit and the roast lamb!

DIBNLIB – various birds do seem to love pastry; I always cut excess pastry off my portion of any pastry items, and they seem to appear at just the right time and gobble it up. Pleased about the dog walks and coffee in the garden!

ANNETTE – I hope you succeeded in keeping OH protected from the carpenter’s noise. EDIT – I see you have a postponement; will that mean your OH will go out of the way somewhere? We have a hairdresser visit booked – just for cutting – on 21st July. Don’t mind the slight wait from now as I don’t yet feel safe, although there has only been one death in our part of town – or may even have been in nearby village, from the way they drew local boundaries.

AQ – sorry about your Grandchildren’s other Grandfather - not easy for them at their ages – but good they were able to see him. Thanks for the thoughts post yet again – found “Is the deer crossing the road, or is the road crossing the forest?” very meaningful in this day and age. Good idea to combine outing to church with a camera trip – pleased the church can be more open next week.

DIANE – thanks for another new week. Sorry about all that rain – stay safe. Did that lead to cancelling the shopping trip?

WENDY – it was indeed a very windy night – a few minor branches broken off our trees (all small, so no danger). Birds are battling to stay airborne and to get a steady grip on the feeders.

HARELADY – good to see you again! Pleased you are getting some family contact; Daughter up north had planned to visit in June, but no such contact yet allowed here – Inverness to the border is rather over the 5-mile limit! I hope you won’t be called back to work sooner than you feel safe.

This has become rather long – hope I don’t bore you all! Because of the late start, dinner (braised steak) is at 6:30 today and we are having the first baby carrots (thinnings) from the garden.

OG:  I see you snuck in while I was prattling away.   New kitchen sounds exciting.  Do you have any 'house makeover' programs on TV?  Great sources for ideas that you can downscale according to needs, etc.  Oh and congrats on good feedback from the congregation!

Just received this - apparently Rosie loves yogurt!!!

OG what fun designing a new kitchen... I hope it works out.
Very wet until about 5 the garden loved it dogs and husband didn’t .
I woke up feeling quite unwell I am putting it down to tiredness brought on by heat old age 2 dog walks a day and gardening Went back to bed after the 3 had breakfast and slept till early pm. OH has been working and doing garden project so it was good to have a rest.
Once that’s finished ( edging) next project sorted. My double length beach hut needs 2 sides redone as they have taken a battering over the last 3 years. So I have ordered paint, brushes and sanding discs for electric sander.
Spoke to eldest who is chuckling as she lives on the River Wye the English side. The pub in her little village opens next Saturday but the one a short walk across the bridge is in Wales with no date planned

Could be interesting, Wendy. I gather the Welsh border is still officially closed to English visitors? I can see pints being passed across the bridge ...