Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 23 October 2022

It sounds as if you are glad to be home Lindy. I had been wondering where you were. I hope, in the end, you feel your holiday has done you good.
I am having a “quiet “ day at home after my outing yesterday. However, I have got the washing blowing nicely outside and I have batched cooked a curry which is bubbling away!!! I have also fed the birds. So much for having a rest. I am now sitting down with a coffee.

Can't catch up with the whole week, so just hope all are well and having a good week.

Our week was a difficult one with appointments (thankfully not the medical kind), deliveries, delayed deliveries etc.

Tuesday visit from Grandson, his wife and weans was a good one. Baby (now 4 months) is wonderful, 6 year old big sister is great company now - can't say much about the 4 year old boy whom I particularly found very difficult!

Wednesday visitors could not call in - they had caught covid further north in Scotland - all the way round the world from Far East via Canada, and they got it here on the last leg of their big tour! None of them seriously ill.

Hoping I shall cope better with the coming week - but don't expect to hear from me every day! Take care, all.

Hi all. Nice to hear from you OG and of course its only when you feel able to but just let us know you are OK.

Thanks for all your news.

Lindybird - always nice to get back to your own beds but do hope you manage to enjoy the break, pity about the
plane passengers.

Went for a lung test today so have to wait and see what the result is - it felt very strange but finally got the hang of them,

Have a good weekend all, keep your peckers up.

Lindybird:  Sounds like your vacation wasn't quite as restful as usual.  Welcome home.

Harelady:  Yes, that road looked too dangerous for a walk. I thought you'd retired? If so. what's all this about going in to work?

OG;  Little boys can be quite a challenge and it takes some of them sooooo long to settle down, but nice that you had a good visit anyway.

Am finishing up my freelance assignment today, so if you hear lots of cheering and sighs of relief, it's me!

Still can't get on here, when on my mobile. So using my tablet again.

Annette - Congrats (?!) on your last assignment. Definitely best to stop doing it if you're no longer enjoying it.

OG- Glad you had a nice visit from family. Don't worry if you can't get on here every day.

Did some laundry and managed to dry some outside, as after a wet drizzly morning, it was dry with sunny patches this afternoon. I went to sleep in my chair but it did me good. No chance of finishing either the laundry nor the final bits of unpacking yet!

Have mixed feelings now about our break -- it was good to be spoilt by someone else cooking etc., and to revisit places we've loved in the past, but we have now both agreed never to go anywhere where there is a chance of it being especially hot, again. I did not enjoy the experience of feeling totally knocked out by it. It should have been pleasantly warm there, not so not that I was looking for shade all the time. The global warming has been underlined by our coming back to find that we don't need coats on, nor our heating on, when it's nearly November.

LINDA – Glad you are back. Too bad you don’t feel fully refreshed. How old was the screamer on the plane? I find some parents are deaf to their child’s “noise”.

OG – As long as you report in once a week, you are forgiven. <grin>

Two loads of washing dried and put away; very little in ironing pile. We are expecting rain, even thunderstorms tomorrow and showers all week.

Having been warned that the Miss11 & twins do not like scary stories (books), I was surprised when Dau suggested Cluedo as one of my Cmas gifts. Huh? Finding a body in the library is not scary? Luckily it was “on special” this week in the pre-Cmas rush and it is not even Halloween yet!

ANNETTE - I don't think you'll miss the writing assignments, by the sound of it. My garden girls were so nice and when they did the Autumn and Spring tidy up it all looked - well - tidy. But at £40 an hour things were a bit ridiculous. Plus, my son in law found ivy that was spreading like mad. I perhaps should have been more involved and given specific instructions to the girls. I just don't have the same interest as when my husband was alive, sadly. If I decide to stay here I might try and find an old fashioned proper gardener who will take care of things for me. I created two gardens from scratch years ago and loved doing it, but times have changed.
LINDY - I'm sorry that it was so hot in Lanzarote this time. A friend of mine was there the week before you and said it was 27 degrees. When we used to go to Tenerife in November it was usually about 24 degrees but things are changing. Plus, we took a siesta every afternoon. Madeira is cooler - further North etc.
I got a shock yesterday - my gas supplier proposed increasing my direct debit by £100 per month. I already pay a three figure monthly sum. I phoned them to challenge this. Apparently it was a guesstimate and then some. My meter is outside the house and it hasn't been read for a long time, by them, I was unaware of that as they don't always ring the doorbell . Anyway, I've asked for a smart meter which they can read remotely. My account is in credit by quite a lot and they have agreed to cancel the proposed increase. Watch this space !

Good Morning. Overslept, in spite of having an hour & a half asleep in the daytime yesterday! Will probably still need the extra hour tonight when the pesky clocks go back again (you gather I don't approve of mucking around with the time).

The noisy child was 4 or 5, AQ. In front of them, were a family with a baby of only a couple of months old, who they passed back and forth over the seats like a parcel. Behind me were a family with a girl of about 7, who was thankfully quiet. Whilst we were in the queue to board the plane, I noticed a family of five - three children: the baby was so small I felt as if we were in the labour ward - it really must have been two weeks old at the most! What were they thinking? The mother, naturally, looked weary.

My OH has set to, to remove more kitchen tiles ready for replacement. He can't bear things half done, which I suppose is a blessing in a way - less disruption. I will sally forth to get in some food supplies. We could have gone South to visit the Birthday boy, but I cried off as too tired, and we're going to go next week instead.

Heather, just read your post. You're right, you need to challenge their "estimates". Maybe a smart meter will help, although when we got one we couldn't make head nor tail of the reading. They didn't even notice, themselves, when it malfunctioned and we didn't get asked for payment for months. By the time my OH realised we hadn't been paying, they asked for a massive amount based purely on estimates. We had a big row with them before it was resolved. Even now we're not sure what their readings mean - my OH refused to have one of those indoor display things.