Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 8 May 2022

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

I hope everyone has a joyful week! 

Please check back to read the posts at the end of last week's thread. Lindy has provided another lovely poem. 

Temperatures here are due to shift dramatically from cold to hot, beginning Monday. I just had a stern talk with myself, and I've vowed to find and buy a vehicle THIS WEEK. So, I may not be on this thread until I have four wheels parked in my driveway! 

The Black Vultures have not returned since R.T. Hawk and his mate not so politely asked them to leave. The Northern Cardinal pair is very busy completing their nest on the roof of the edge of my porch. The Pileated Woodpeckers are happily drilling on their tree on the creek levee. 

Take care, all!

  • HEATHER – If I have more than one cup of coffee a day, I have worse trouble sleeping at night. I like to drink it with my lunch, not before, not after, and not cold. OK, so I am an eccentric old lady. Cafe was definitely not busy, only a few tables in use out of 30 or more and there were 3 staff behind the counter.

    RUSTY – I hope you can trace the ants back to their entry or nest & “treat” them there. Vinegar or lemon juice are supposed to deter them on inside surfaces but best to find the nest. OH regularly wanders around outside dusting certain areas. Our house is built on a concrete slab and the ants seem to have homes beneath. One day we may just disappear into a big hole!

    Memory test today – I left my food shop list home <sigh> I only forgot the cream for the choc cream pie which has been deferred from mouse-chaotic birthday. Maybe next week. It’s not worth an extra trip out. I see our state had high numbers of new covid cases yesterday. Reason given was the high number of people getting tested. Really? Not the fact we’ve just had school holidays with people visiting hither & thither?

  • AQ - Sounds like yet another example of If You Don't Live The Way I Do Then You Are Wrong! We are all different. We all like our coffee at different times - before a meal, with a meal, after a meal. We are ALL RIGHT! It's those who don't understand us who are WRONG!! I just tried to check who said, 'I may not agree with you but I will defend to the death your right to say it' - I always thought it was Voltaire, but now there seems to be disagreement. Anyway ... I defend to the death your right to drink your coffee when it suits you!

    Rusty - aarrgghh! So sorry to hear about the ants. I heard about lemon and vinegar as well - probably less of a problem than ant powder. I do hope you manage to encourage them to go and live somewhere else.

    Hope everyone is OK. Like others, I'm concerned we haven't heard from OG and EE for some time now.
  • AQ - I hadn't read your previous post properly - but do understand now, after you and LINDY spelling it out for me! I hardly take any caffeinated drinks these days but have never liked hot drinks with a meal.
    Don't think I have mentioned the White Van on here. It's large and long and has been parked outside my front wall since last Thursday. It obstructs the view of traffic when folk drive in and out of driveway, both here and next door. We have been investigating and have discovered that the owner has a habit of doing this and has been moved on by the Council before. More investigation shows that he has a clothes stall in our local shopping mall and doesn't appear to have any fixed abode. Stepson is on the case - watch this space !
  • PAT - Thank you, I shall call on you to defend me when necessary. Too bad we can’t have a coffee together.

    HEATHER – It is more than annoying – it can be dangerous – when people park where they please. May Stepson have a fast response.

    Yes, it is quiet from the abode of OG & EE. I hope all is well and they are simply relaxing.

  • RUSTY - I hope that you can get rid of the ants, sooner rather than later.
  • Struggling to post -- forgot my phone last night so now it's flat. Two days ago I lost my phone charger, and it's definitely in the house somewhere.......

    Writing this on my tablet and that's playing up!! Technology, grr!!
  • Edit: Thankfully my OH has a similar enough phone for his charger to work on mine.
  • LINDY - Hope your charger turns up. I find when I go away that I have a small bag full of chargers and wires!!!! A modern development I think!!!
    HEATHER - I don’t like the sound of that white van. It’s sounds a bit creepy - not to mention the fact that it is blocking your view, I am glad your stepson is on the case.
    Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions re the ants. I will try the lemon juice first as it will be more pleasant in the kitchen than vinegar. I will put it in all the corners etc tonight before I go to bed. This morning I fully disinfected all the counter tops!! Yuk.
    Golf cancelled due to the rain. I am not unhappy about that!! Got a nice quiet day at home now before picking my friends up at the station at the end of their holiday.
  • HEATHER Hope that van is removed PDQ.
  • Morning all:  Spent yesterday afternoon in the garden trying to figure out what the heck the original landscapers were thinking when they laid out the irrigation in one area where I removed some screening plants that had ambitions above their station (due to my neglect). Meanwhile, need to find why another area where the sprinklers are behaving properly is still getting wet in all the wrong places.  I suspect a leak somewhere in the main tubing and shall have to investigate.  Can't waste any water!   Also, one of my favorite tools broke while I was tightening a loose screw and the cheap watering thingy sprung a leak, proving that you get what you pay for.

    Rusty:  Ugh to the ants. You really have to put on your detective hat when it comes to finding their entry points   I've found them sneaking in between the top of the bathroom cupboard and the ceramic basin unit that sits on top, not the open hole in the wall behind the cupboard which would seem so much more obvious.  Also, after finding them on the kitchen counter one time, finally tracked them to an entry point about six feet away where a cupboard met the ceiling. They'd formed a very orderly and discreet trail around the top of the cupboard at the ceiling and then down a corner joint to the counter.  It didn't help that the granite countertop already had small black bits which made it hard to spot the critters.  Good luck.

    AQ:  I've left lots of shopping lists on the counter top, then have to call OH to read it to me only to have him claim he can't read my writing. My pet peeve is  when the wine arrives long before the meal and I sit and wait for the food to show up before I have a sip (or gulp in my case).  OH and I often split a second glass, which then typically shows up after we've finished eating and have lost the urge.  Talk about First World Problems!!

    Heather:  Let us know what happens with the van.  Wonder if the owner is camping out in it....

    Diane:  Hope the vehicle-shopping is going well.  Let us know what you get.  I assume you have to cast a fairly wide net given your rural location.

    I also hope OG and EE are okay and merely taking care of themselves.

    I have a freelance assignment from the magazine, which isn't too difficult this time round, but I had a word with the editor-in-chief about the chaos surrounding the previous assignment.  The person involved that time (my first partnership with that individual) was let go at the end of the probationary period - unheard of at that company - and they've revamped their coverage to the point where there's more computer research and almost no writing 'fun' remaining.  It makes perfect sense for them but I think they should take this particular section inhouse, which would be ultimately more efficient.  We'll see.  I won't lose any sleep if they do.

    Meanwhile, I'm having lunch with a friend today and a group of ex-Brits tomorrow.  All coming along okay with the Arizona appendages....

    Take care everyone.