Weekly Chat, Sunday August 22, 2010

I've come on here to try & reply to some of your interesting posts of the last couple of days.

OG:  Those muffins and the gingerbread sounded so good I could smell 'em!

Annette:   Surprised you are trying to keep in touch on such a long and ardous trip - do take it easy when you can.  Hope you have a nice 'visit' at the end of your journey - before you have to drive back again! (sounds hot & uncomfortable)  Enjoyed your pics.

Heather:   Glad your GD is not feeling too bothered about her arm now - expect the bruises will last for a while, but when young,  they heal up more quickly don't they?

AQ:   Enjoyed the Burra pictures.  Britain was once all forests from end to end almost,  but they were cut down long ago and now people think that fields are 'normal' landcape,  without a thought to the farmers who labour to keep them tidy! 

margobird:  I know I shall wake up in the night now, wondering and worrying whether you are on 'toilet watch' - but joiking apart, that amount of water sounds alarming.

We had a tiring day today (seemed like half of it was spent in B & Q as we went from one to another branch in search of our requirements) but while dinner was cooking this evening, I went out and repotted the darned acer tree which was laying on the lawn without a pot - it was certainly ready for it as almost completely root bound but I was expecting that, as I have been trying to keep it small a bit like a bonsai idea but much bigger, if you know what I mean, as there is no room in the garden for any more full sized trees. The pot I had handy for repotting it is only a bit larger, so expect I will have to do the same again within twelve months.

Spoke to D. in  Law tonight and she is fine,  feeling Sweetpea moving around a lot so we decided he/she is going to be a swimmer like Mum.  Also discussed baby names in the light of David Cameron's wife producing hers early, and calling it 'Florence Rose' - we all quite like Rose.

Must go & empty dishwasher now, as no elves will do it when I'm asleep unfortunately.  'Night.

Goodness, that sounds a nightmare, patriciat!  2.30 am plumbers?? you are joking, I'm sure...  its hard enough to get one to come out in the daytime!

Didn’t really go back to gardening – unless you count watering Tomatoes and Peppers.  OH picked Blueberries so I washed them to freeze.  Then he fitted a splash back between hob and cooker hood – kitchen fitters did it all round worktops, but left us a huge sheet of the darn stuff (specially ordered for our job) – took up acres of space in the garage.  He has used a piece in the kitchen and cut the rest to fit behind and beside the double utility sink at the back of the garage.  I meanwhile did the monthly missionary mailing for September.

Heather – when I read that you will be your “normal bouncy self” tomorrow, I had a vision of a middle aged Mum/Granny on a space hopper!  Our Collared Doves are still coming as a pair – and three Feral Pigeons and up to six Woodpigeons!  The Woodies are greedy, but I do like them.  We did have a Pigeon wearing a ring for about five days last week, but it seems to have moved on again. 

Margo – sorry your toilet was already gurgling – maybe having done it earlier means it won’t be so bad in the night – hope so.

Patricia – Good to “see” you again.   Your experience with plumbing and electrics during the extension work sounds horrendous!

Lindy – we had two Acers being kept small in pots.  One did well; the other was feeble for about six years.  This spring, the stronger one died, and the other now has beautiful coloured growth!

Annette – I hope you had some quality time with your Granddaughter, as well as helping to make her place into a home – and I wish you again a safe and comfortable journey home.

Hi, don't come on very often but have just trawled through a number of pages.   

Thanks for your good wishes, had a lovely evening with a meal I cooked at home and we shared it with our daughter who still lives at home.. She can't afford a place of her own, not on the salary they pay her as a Nursery Nurse. Still we don't mind, she does a lot to help out in other ways.

Annette - your photos are great, remind me of my South African trip.

Alan - nyjer seeds at £1.99. kg. at Wilkinsons, must remember to look out for some as we have a store in Northampton and close by as well.

Read all that is going on with you all, very interesting.  It is sad when a loved one goes but so glad it was a peaceful end after  a great deal of suffering. Prayers and thoughts are with those who have lost a loved one.

Sounds strange but I wish my mum would pass away peacefully - she is in a home with dimentia and doesn't really know my brother or myself anymore.  Its not the person we knew as our mum, anymore.

Birds are absent from the garden at the moment, I have heard that not many are around during August as they are in the molting season, is that true.  Anyway have started to put food out again for them so hopefully they will get the message and start visiting.

Evening all:  Came back to hotel for nap this afternoon after lunch and tour of old town Prescott with granddaughter. Picking her up for dinner this evening then leaving for home early tomorrow.   Temps quite "cool" here today - somewhere in the 80s with a nice breeze and low humidity. Bit of a pain though with all this a/c which dries out eyes, lips, nose, etc. California has a dry heat too but right by the ocean it's nicely moderated, which is why most Californians are huddled along the coast.

Lindybird:  OH and I are both keeping in touch with various folks about various things and as I've got the laptop....  What a shame that August has been such a bore - let's hope for an Indian Summer for you in Sept/Oct.  Condolences on the procrastinated pot calamity. :-(

OG: Pix were a bit dark, but hard to aim and shoot from moving car (at least it is for me).\

BrendaH:  Glad OH's specs finally sorted.  With these huge horizons, you can see storms way off in the distance and watch them move across the mountains and mesas; they are a normal and kind of refreshing phenomenon at this time of year in the desert Southwest.  In fact, at this elevation (5,600ft) it's surprisingly green with roses in bloom and lush trees.  But oh my, they have locusts in the trees in the main square and along the creeks and what a racket!  Still, no screeching like certain ospreys we know.

Margobird: Miles and miles of emptiness is nice - as long as you don't have to drive through it in the dark! Hope your toilet doesn't back up again!

Heather: Roads are well and truly empty once you get off the interstates and take the "short cuts"!  Glad granddaughter is coming along - even though multicolored a la Margobird (from last year!).

Patriciat:  So what did you do at 2:30 a.m. for a plumber?  Could you turn off the water at the mains?

Lynette:  We've been saying on here how alike various parts of the world are (OZ, UK, USA - and now Africa!) Sad about your Mom; hard to know what to wish for in this world sometimes....

Have to hose myself off and get ready to pick up granddaughter for the evening.  Take care all and thanks all for posts!

Morning nearly gone and all I’ve done is food shopping (I dodged the rain), shoved stuff in fridge & cupboard, and brought last of Mon’s washing in to drape around. Not so cold today, temp still same but wind is less. Yes, Patriciat, Adelaide can get chillly in winter. But not as cold as some of you have. We just had the most August rain for 18 years (113 mm, that’s 4 ins in old measure). The average is 67 mm. Our garden is sodden. The weeds are rejoicing as it is too mucky to deal with them. Irises are blooming, and the Scilly lilies that I nearly lost a few years ago are in bud.

Annette - Thanks for pics. It’s great to see your country. Safe trip back home.

Brenda - Thanks for the reminder of steak & kidney pudding - so we’re having that tonight.

OG & Linda - Most oldies deplore teenagers’ language. They speak too fast! They speak but say nothing! They are picking up US lingo with so many USA programs on TV! And yes, some of them can only grunt. On the bus I overhear conversations (particularly mobile phone drivel). I am surprised we still have regional accents with so much TV in everyone’s life. We even have different accents across little old Adelaide. The eastern suburbs speak with what we call a "plum in the mouth".

Hello to everyone else - I’d better stop nattering and start doing something useful before it’s time for empty nest watching. LOL

Morning Everyone:   another grey start to the day, here.  Yesterday the sun did come out in the end, so can't complain that we never see it I suppose. Even if I did have to spring out to save the laundry from the showers.

Laughed at the mentions of Steak & Kidney Pud - gave that to my OH last night as its one of his favourites (but not one of mine, so it was from M & S!) while I had some frozen leftover chicken breast in sauce.

We are following Annette across the States - feel as if I should have a big atlas on the wall, with pins stuck in it to see your progress, Annette!  Safe journey back home.

Sorry to hear about your Mum Lynette - its so sad, when they don't know you.  A friend of mine has a mother who now does not know her grandchildren when they call, and they are upset about it.  My mother was ill for over 8 years after a series of bad strokes, and couldn't even speak for a lot of that time, but at least her face lit up when I visited her.  She lost a lot of what made her 'herself' so I know a little of what you mean when you say it's not the Mum that you remember. Hope you can remember the good times you had together, before.

Great programme on TV last night -  'Mountain Gorillas' - very moving seeing how they care for the young ones.  Some of those being filmed were in the mountains in Rwanda, the very name of which makes me shudder knowing some of its awful history for the human race.

On a lighter note, I'm off to the cinema again this afternoon, so will let you know what we thought of the film, later. Going with the friend I went to Lytham with - she has now paid the awful parking Fine  - the only sharp words we had all day were arguing about my contribution to the £50  (she did not want me to contribute), so as I left her car I stuffed some money into the glovebox.  Another friend I have who does not live near me but keep in touch with, has just found that she too is about to be a Granny - so now we have something else to gossip about.

Have a good Thursday, All.  Don't have too many osprey withdrawal symptoms!

Morning all,

Thanks for the chat and pics.

Auntie : I have been watching that cam off and on and have seen osps fishing there. Also saw a heron and one of those raccoon dogs but was too slow to get a pic.

Today I was going to go to Rutland Water but have had to cancel my plans as it is still raining. It has been raining almost non stop for 20 hours now and no sign of it clearing up. 

Good Morning All. Still light rain here this morning and windy. Torrential downpours last night. I have heard there are trees which have fallen but haven't ventured out yet, so don't know what the roads are like. I hope Margo had no problems down in Poole. Yet more heavy rain to come tonight.

AQ, I hope the steak and kidney meal was a success.

Annette, I am enjoying following your description of your journey. I can understand why you needed an afternoon nap. I quite like the idea of those empty roads.

Lynette, I do understand what you mean about your Mum's illness. My OH's father suffered with the same illness and it was heart breaking to see this highly intelligent man reduced  to not being able to hold a conversation or recognise his family.

Patriciat, We had a similar plumbing problem, which happened overnight, in a new house, about 10 years ago. I remember the shock I got as I went into the utility room that morning.

No plans for today, but that may mean HW !!