WEEKLY CHAT (Non-Osprey) SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021

LINDY Thank you, that is so beautiful. I did see it on facebook, but didn't know where it had come from. Hope I have time to show it to OH before the rugby starts.

We received a shared Valentine card - from the two Great-Grandchildren. Gave us a warm feeling.

Morning all:   I was at Costco yesterday (did not loll as originally planned) and bought myself a dozen mixed-color roses because if not me, then who?   :-))   Costco has the very best roses - they all open up, they last forever, they're inexpensive and they're sourced from the Rainforest Alliance, which gets the top rating from Charity Navigator.  A win-win-win-win for everyone.   Got traditional card from OH and a funny one for him.  We are getting take out from our favorite restaurant again tonight.

AQ:  I hope you're enjoying that yummy Lindt chocolate all by yourself.  How was the turnout at the church?

Diane: At the very least, I imagine it's not just your brain that's frozen right now what with the weather.....    Don't like to think of  you struggling with even more challenges.

Lindybird: Thank you for the lovely Jacquie Lawson card.  I didn't realize you could upload those things...

PatO:  That's a wonderful gesture from your church. With outreach like that, I imagine it has a fair-sized congregation of chocolate lovers. :-)

Annette, we have a reasonably large congregation - I don't know how many of them are chocolate lovers! Quite a number, I would guess. I haven't eaten mine yet - saving them for tomorrow. For no particular reason. Actually I should really save them for Tuesday - Shrove Tuesday. I won't be making pancakes, so I could have the chocolates instead.

Our snow is disappearing fast, largely due to the rain falling now. Oh it's going to be soggy tomorrow ...

Hope everyone is keeping well. Here we go into another week. Is it just me, or are the weeks going more quickly than they used to? Lockdown or Anno Domini?

Pat, I don't know. Time seems to have taken on a strange elasticity. One moment it feels as if we've been in this strange limbo for about three years, but then as you say, the weeks also go quickly. We're halfway through February already,

We keep getting emails about cruises and are very undecided about whether to book another, after this year's trip (in May) was cancelled. We could book for 2022 but it's a bit of a stretch of the imagination as to what the situation will be, worldwide, by then.

I fought with the uploading of the Jacquie Lawson card, I don't find it easy but I wish I'd known earlier that I could: I've been sending cards to friends for ages. Glad it was enjoyed.

Hello all, thanks to whoever started us off again.

Annette - OH did have Covid symptoms but had already had his jab so the symptoms were mildish - a rather bad cough which turned chesty but has now more or less cleared. I have had a bit of a cough but that could be normal and not associated with the virus. Anyhow we are all on the mend now, dau off for half term so it gives her chance to fully recover before going back to school.

Heather - notice that Amy has not been well but do hope she is recovering.

AQ - it was nice to go to "real church" before the latest lockdown, coming together as a fellowship suitably distanced but lockdown has put the mockers on it again so they are podcasting a service each week.: Love those quotes.

There were no Valentine cards from either of us as we have been isolating but his keyboard has packed up so I said as a Valentine gift I'd get him a new one. He had been having difficulty getting into his bank online and it was only when my dau tried my keyboard that things began to work out. Thankfully I am on a month's Amazon Prime trial so it will be here tomorrow.

Loved the card, Lindy.

PAT – A lovely idea by your church. I see Thiem lost in next round; it happens so often after a long 5-set match.

LINDA – A toe-tapping tango for the flamingos – thank you.

ANNETTE – Our church service was at capacity which, due to covid restrictions, is currently half the number that could fit.

LYNETTE – Good news your OH only had mild symptoms. How long after the jab did he get sick? Here, with your cough, you would have to have a test and isolate for 14 days or until negative.

While being flippant about returning to church yesterday, I forgot to say that I prayed for those of you who wish to & can’t attend services.

Just a thought

It is funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything’s different.

Annette: Yup. My whole self is now frozen and parts are frostbitten. I've had an awful day, and I had a good cry tonight. I almost never cry.

I already had 5 inches of snow in my driveway, so I've been putting off getting groceries. The National Weather Service had warned about the upcoming blizzard, but my local media were assuring that it was going to arrive diagonally and not hit my county hard.

This morning my radio began screaming alerts. We'd been placed under a full-blown Winter Storm Warning, and the National Weather Service said that the blizzard could cause "Impossible Travel Conditions." When they say that, it means we're in real trouble. They're warning that this could be the worst blizzard in many years, and temperatures will break the records. We could get a foot of additional snow between now and Tuesday morning. Then, the blizzard behind this one will bring several more inches of snow on Thursday.

I got scared that I wouldn't be able to get food. Under those conditions, the tiny little general store within walking distance would sell out of food quickly, as would the convenience store on the highway. So I went outside and started my car, luckily the battery was okay. My doors were frozen, so I had to take a hair dryer and warm them up to get in. I had to put some air in two tires because the wind chill temps were way below zero. Then I shoveled snow in the drifted parts of my driveway. I think I have some mild frostbite, even though I was wearing gloves. I also have an abscessed tooth that hurt mercilessly in the cold air.

I jumped in the car, revved the engine, plowed my way out of the driveway, and headed north to the supermarket in the center of the county. On the highway, the snow was gone but there was dangerous black ice in sections. I was very nearly rear-ended by a truck that was following too close when I had to stop for a car making a sudden turn. I was shaking all over.

I bought a massive amount of groceries, as well as bottled water, batteries, and aspirin for the tooth, and I topped off the gas tank. On the way home, it hadn't started snowing yet, but I could smell the blizzard in the air. The snow that had been lying in the fields was now blowing over the roads making them one lane at times and the ice was treacherous.

As I was unloading groceries and water, I heard squawking, and I looked up to see hundreds of geese flying south. Several long skeins of them went over me. Apparently, the geese are smarter than my local media and they're leaving.