Weekly Chat, Sunday 28 November 2010

Good evening Lindybird your holiday photos are good.  Lovely blue sky and obviously very warm which is more than you can say it is in the UK at the moment.  No snow here yet but there might be by morning.  Freezing cold though and the frost didn't leave some parts of the garden all day.

Your vegetarian sound great, just right for this type of weather.

I was sad slo to see that  Leslie Nielsen  had passed away, OH and I thought he was such a funny man but quite able to take on a serious acting role.  I had not realised he was that age.

I am concerned for Billy Whizz but he seems to be coping, as OH says he has a nice fur coat and I just hope he has found some sort of shelter where he sleep at night.  He will let my OH look at him from the kitchen window but if he sees me he just scoots.  Have just been out to check his food and milk and he has been in the last half hour as milk needs topping up again.  We think he might be quite elderly but he is obviously made of strong stuff to be coping this far.

Unknown said:

Latest waxwing map. Some locally but still have not seen any. 

 As many as 450 in Dalston, Cumbria today

http://twitpic.com/3bavur

Thanks Alan for the above.  See there are a few quite close to me now and I have a tree absolutely laden with berries just waiting for  a visit from them.

Hope you get to see them, margo!

Lindybird it would be a real treat if I do get them in the garden.  If they do turn up S---- Law says it will be tomorrow while I am out.  I will soon know though because all the berries would be gone.

Temp just over zero when I got up (latish), plus 3 late morning, down to just under zero late afternoon.  Switched off for computer wiring this morning, OH shopping afternoon – he left everything in reach so I made Bakewell Slices. 

Thanks all for posts and pix overnight and earlier today.

Lynette – I enjoyed a great mental pic of you in choir wearing shades!

Annette – my use of Access is mostly intuitive, and I am told I have very logical thought processes – in other words I think like a computer!   But I do have my own office assistant – OH did courses on it and makes wonderful look-up databases and stuff using macros.

AQ – lovely Rose!  Enjoyed computer help conversations too.

Lindy – enjoyed Smiles!  They make up for all the lady drivers.  Later Doggy in back seat has real aaaahhh factor!  Your recipe sounds good – beans must be “flavour of the month” – I made a Cassoulet for tonight, with root veg – very warming.

Dibnlib – so sorry about your scare with Mum – must be trebly difficult with weather, your ankle and Brother away!

Joan – hope the partial thaw doesn’t bring extra problems where you are.  SiL and Gdau#1 took 90 mins to get about 7 miles from N Aycliffe to Darlington for work and college today – they had extra 6 inches last night; Gdau#2’s school is closed.

Wendy – could you hold an old newspaper while reading online to prevent withdrawal symptoms?!! – I see from later post that farmer even provides newspaper – I know milk comes frae the cooos, but didn’t know they produced papers too.  Are milk tankers getting through to collect?  Love the bridge and the cooos photos – funny how they gather near poles in the field.  Laughed at Old Colin not saying which Wednesday!!

Alicat – poor wee Casper with his short legs in the snow!

Margo – glad you enjoyed your OH’s birthday treat.  Surprised you remember the show after all that whisky!!

Been writing this between various busyness and dinner – got a cold (not bad, but achy neck and sore throat) so everything is taking even longer than my usual slow normal!!

5 Blue Tits in Twisted Willow this morning – half the leaves are still on, and they are also twisty, so I reckon they have wee beasties rolled up inside – just right for B Tits.  They went when a road workman drove up.  He unloaded his mini tower again, removed one sign which he had put up last Friday, loaded up and disappeared!

OG: The paper thing would't work as I like to do a crossword with a real pen,on line it isso easy to cheat and OH gets cross with the marker pen all over the screen and when I get 2 across wrong tippex makes even more mess.

old Colins cooo's would get stroppy if you tried to milk them as they are not used to it just thier own calves as up here in the cold parts they are mostly beef herds.

We did have a partial powercut one Saturday night, electricity board were quick to find fault and popped in to tell us that one off the cows had rubbed up against a pole in the field so hard it had knocked a fuse out..that's country life for you.

Evening original goldfinch  sorry you have a cold, hope it doesn't turn out to be a real stinker.  My mouth is watering tonight what with Lindybird's casserole and now your Cassoulet, these meal are really what is needed while it is so cold.  You are making me smile with the continuing saga of the road workman.

As coos are getting a big mention today here are some heiland coos at Glenfiddich distillery in 2008:

Nice Waxwing map Alan, there seem to be several near S Cumbria. Do they like Cotoneaster and Berberis, I wonder ? Still plenty of berries on them.

You have reminded me about whisky mac, Margobird, Years ago someone recommended it for a cold so I tried it - very warming ! I must get some ginger wine in again. -it's the weather for it.

Wendy – lovely image of online crossword!!  Our lowland cooos are assorted – some farms exclusively beef, some only dairy and others mixed – but we do see a lot of calves with their mums, which is great, after England where they nearly all seemed to be bucket-fed.  OH used to work in electricity distribution, usually office based but in the good old days (when customers were more than a number in the system) he often visited farmers to discuss poles and cattle – loved that part of it.