Weekly Chat, Sunday November 14, 2010

Well, totally mixed up this and next weekend's events. Arrived at the showgrounds this morning with daughter to see - nothing at all, not a hint of a horse!  Asked someone we found wandering the grounds and he confirmed - as we by then suspected - that we had the Wrong Weekend.  Bah!  Instead, we tootled around the neighborhood and stopped by some garage sales before heading to Stearn's Wharf for a late breakfast.  Then daughter decided she'd like a little harbor cruise (lovely sunny day) while I lolled about on the wharf reading the Real Estate section of the Montecito Journal and almost fainted at the prices, even in this wretched housing market.  Someone has money and it isn't me!  :-)   Then it was back to our place for a light lunch and nap/read before daughter headed home.  Tune in next Sunday for an update on which of the week's events I've messed up!   Just read that our MidWest is under an early blanket of snow. Diane and Gary, hope you're not in its path.

Chloe: More amazing pix of starlings. And great shot of your sparrowhawk (wonder where he/she went)Thanks!

Gary: Thanks for relaying that info from the vet. Interesting; we'll follow up.

Margobird:  Glad you enjoyed Joe Brown - again. And what's this? Off to London? You do get around.

dibnlib:  Glad the ITALL/PDA lesson (what's that?) facilities worked well. Any estimate of when your ankle might be back to normal? Sounds really difficult to get around. Crutches (so I hear) take quite a bit of practice and are tiring. Poor you!  Feel free to moan away.  :-)    Toothache is lurking quietly. I'm beginning to think it's the same problem/tooth I had last year (was it Max Bygraves who used to say: "Have you had it before? Well you've got it again." ?)  Anyway, last year I had part of an upper tooth sanded down coz it was bashing away at the lower one and making it tender. 

Wendyb: Welcome back. Didn't realize you'd suffered such horrors last year.  Sounds ghastly all round.  Here's hoping for a much easier time of it this winter.

OG: Sounds nice and calm at your house. Enjoy it while it lasts.

AQ:  Oooh - are we going to get photos of Dau1's wedding gown?  Hope the weather was kind.  Too bad you missed Tiger's amazing starling video  - wonder what it is that we in the U.S. saw it but  you couldn't...  Your browser isn't set to block animated media is it?

Tiger:  Of course they have July 4 in England - it's right between July 3 and July 5! (Or was that too obvious?)My OH claims the average man/woman has one birthday.  And all 12 months have 28 days.  No idea what men in California get up to with sisters-in-law.  Divide 30 by one-half of what? (My OH says it's 70!!)  Daren't even hazard a guess about the missing apples.....  (OH says 2).  Hmmm. Oh, I see other people have figured out answers but not posted them -- but don't worry, mine will all be wrong anyway.

Have a nice Sunday all.

 

Hi, all. I saw and heard the big pileated woodpecker today, so I guess he and his mate are going to stay through the cold winter again. They've moved closer to the creek/burn and are staying in a giant old tree on my levee. He is very surly and screeches at me whenever I take the rubbish bins down the driveway lane. For new people, this is what he looks like (public domain photo). I just love them.

All: I hope no one had any damage from the gales and severe weather in the UK. Sounded really dangerous. Some replies:

Brenda: So sorry to hear that the woman lost her life when the tree fell. Awful.

Chloe: I left a message for you on the old thread (an answer to your question to me). I blathered away. Hope I don't bore you.

Tiger and Chloe: Thanks for the starling formations. That is a glorious sight! We used to have some significant starling and blackbird flocking events here, but then West Nile Virus wiped out many of the birds and the populations haven't recovered -- at least not here.

Auntie: So good to hear from you. I wish you could have been with me when I saw the hawks. They are special birds. Wish we could go birdwatching together. Thanks for asking about my Dad. He is on a strong course of antibiotics, which he is grumbling about daily. I'm making him eat yogurt, per his doctor's instructions, to replace the "good" bacteria, and he's not fond of it at all. I hope you aren't working too hard at your job.

Gary: I'm so sorry about Pud. Poor little thing. You're kind to care for her.    
dibnlib: Glad the museum was well equipped and you were able to attend the ITALL/PDA lesson. I hope you are healing well and quickly. Must be so frustrating. Glad the dental work is coming along. I don't envy you that.
WendyB: Nice to see you, and I hope your winter isn't so harsh this year. Last year's sounds just terrible! 
Margo: So glad you enjoyed the Joe Brown show. Hope your weather hasn't been too severe.
AQ: I hope the wedding went smoothly and the weather cooperated. I look foward to photos and descriptions of the day.

OG: Glad your road is progressing, albeit slowly. Also glad that it's quieter for you. I hope your husband is recovering from his cold, and that you don't get it!

Lindy: Congratulations on your lovely new cabinet. Wish I could see it. Sorry about the damage to the windmill at Lytham St. Annes. Do hope the money can be found for repairs. That was an amazing story about your vacation. Wonder what the contractors did wrong to make the ceilings fall like that? (I'm getting ready to restore an old ceiling, so I viewed your story as a cautionary tale. :-) It worked out for you in the end, because you got a pleasant view, though.

Joan: Thanks for the Hauxley Nature Reserve link. Such a beautiful place.
Alan: Congrats on hitting the lottery! :-) I hope your back is returning to normal.
Sheila: Loved the link about the paper plane. Great science! 1984 is a great book.
Cirrus: Nice to hear from you; I'd been wondering about you.

Annette: I so hope that Lightening recovers well. Poor kitty. And I hope that your tooth heals on its own -- without dental bills. Bah! That Santa Barbara courthouse may be the most beautiful building I've ever seen. I just adore that Spanish architecture, especially the archways and the tiles. Just wonderful! I really enjoyed those photos, and I'd love to see your town. By the way, are you watching the Great Migrations bird and animal series on the National Geographic channel? Pretty good.

Hello to Emma, Lynette, Alicat, Patriciat, George, Terry, Paul and anyone I've missed. Everyone have a good Sunday and a lovely week.

DIANE  lovely woodie pic,  nice to have them around for a while. Hope your Dad behaves himsef and eats his yogurts and improves.

ANNETTE Introduction Training in Adult Learning Literacies/Professional Developemnt Award. If I am really lucky the stookie will be off just before Christmas, till then Just call me "Hopalong" have review at hosp on Tues and stookie changed.

Off to church in a mo for the remembrance where OH is doing the reading. As usual the remembrance festival at The Albert Hall got us both emotional    

Hello, Everyone.  Hope your Sunday is as nice and calm as ours - no weather to speak of today, except its darned cold!

Thanks to Diane for the lovely pic of Woodpecker - he's a handsome fellow!  Was sorry to hear that your Dad is not well, but sounds as if you have him in hand - can you disguise the yogurt somehow?

Hope you can cope a little longer with your ankle, dibnlib - sounds such a nuisance.  We shall watch the Remembrance Service on TV today.

Annette:  Glad there's someone else who gets their dates mixed up!   Sorry you had a wasted journey, but sounds as if you still made the most of time with daughter.

We are off for a short walk with Dog, as its not raining or anything.

....Just read back the end of last weeks thread-   Glad you had such a good time at the Joe Brown Concert, margo!   I can just see you, jigging away & wanting to get up & dance! - I would have been the same!

Diane:  thanks for interesting thoughts on the spiritual side of the Hawks - loved that.

Gary:  Well done on trying to do your best for Pud, poor thing.

OG:   Those roadworks are taking some time - you will be glad when they finish.  Sorry to hear in earlier threads that your son has to look for a job, hope he is lucky.

Annette It seems that you got them all right except number 4. I guess someone will tell us about SIL's in California. :)

 

Unknown said:

Hi, all. I saw and heard the big pileated woodpecker today, so I guess he and his mate are going to stay through the cold winter again. They've moved closer to the creek/burn and are staying in a giant old tree on my levee. He is very surly and screeches at me whenever I take the rubbish bins down the driveway lane. For new people, this is what he looks like (public domain photo). I just love them.

Wow Diane! What a striking bird. His head looks rather prehistoric doesn't it? Sort of reminds me of a Pterodactyl.

Hi everyone.

Been a bit busy the last few days.  Much too boring to be of any interest.  Weather's been mostly rainy, apart from one day when it was quite cold and I woke up to about half an inch of ice on the bird baths.  Today the weather is fairly sunny.  Made even brighter by a pair of Goldfinches that paid a visit.

Thanks for all the posts and pics.  Apologies for the lack of individual replies but I'd end up getting something mixed up.  Anyway my best wishes and kind thoughts to you all.

Happy Sunday.



Paul.