Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 12 March 2023

Lindy - you sound to be well prepared for your holiday with all those glasses!!!!! What about shoes though??? I suspect your OH’s golf club will be closed. Mine is - it’s waterlogged. It rained a lot last night. It fell as snow on the hills I can see from my house.
AQ - I love the account of your bus journey! Full of characters wasn’t it? I like observing people on the bus if I am not in a hurry. I wonder if all 3 of your one library book will arrive at the same time?
I went to Chester on the bus yesterday. In a 50 minute journey we went through 6 sets of temporary traffic lights!!!!!!! I went to a cheap bookshop where a friend had told me I could get some of the latest detective series I am reading. I got 3 for £6 so was very pleased. I then met the friend for lunch (as you do!!!)

Thought we couldn’t have anything more chaotic than last week – then Monday came along! J set off in good time for his bus…..
OH phoned to book an electrician to phone and arrange to call in between jobs to do the shower switch – just a half hour job.
Phone rang; could engineer come to do the outstanding chair repair between 2 and 4? We said yes although that is cleaners’ time – we decided they could just ignore the lounge for one week.
Phone rang; J was okay but would be coming home – via the optician to mend his glasses. He had been attacked by a grumpy boy with a football. He was to catch a bus, get the lens put back with the frame straightened then stay home the remainder of the day. He had a snack in Subway and did some business at the bank, before walking up from town. Cleaners arrived, then ….
Phone rang: electrician was available in half an hour! Cleaners hastily did the main bathroom before he and apprentice arrived – job done – satisfactory.
Cleaners continued, finishing in lounge as usual. They and we were on tenterhooks in case chair man turned up – no sign or message and they left at 4 – not satisfied with what they had been able to do, but we were happy they did the best they could.
Phone rang: could chair engineer come on Tuesday between 8 and 10? We said yes. He had stayed locally overnight and the company couriered his tools up – he had the new seat but someone had removed his tools from the van!
This morning, J left early for his bus – I think he wanted to be well out of the way! I made a supreme effort to be up – and dressed – and swallow my porridge … 8 o’clock came – and 9 – and 10. We were just going to phone the company, when the engineer appeared – now working on E-E’s chair (full rebuild). He will then check mine.

AQ – I thought you had a good crop of tomatoes this summer, with less of them getting sunburn. Good that you have some to freeze – we are still enjoying some of ours from last summer.
RUSTY – a very dreich day here too yesterday but today is better, despite a small shower of sleet early morning.
LINDA – thanks for the recap – I hadn’t realised it was the Canaries again! Oh, just seen that it has been 3 years since last time – I thought you had been away every year! Have a good trip. Amazed by the catalogue of glasses – dreading the shoes!
PAT – always so practical. but I didn’t know anyone packed without filling their shoes with smaller things!

OG -- You certainly filled your day yesterday! Hope you don't get a repeat. Sorry about Js glasses, what a nuisance. We went to the Canaries, Lanzarote last autumn but it was the case of being way too hot which spoilt it. This time its spring in Fuerteventura which should be just pleasant. I meant that we had not been for 3 years meaning our annual trip to Fuerte, as we have been going now for over 22 years, except during the pandemic.

Rusty, nice to get a bargain set of books. My OH knows a market stall where they do 3 for £5 and he's thrilled if he can find 3 he hasn't read already!

My OHs golf was called off today as the course is virtually flooded - we had so much rain. He's been watching old films whilst I pack.

Just saw a good quote: quite appropriate for recently, as there's been a scandal about free speech versus hate speech.

Without freedom of speech,
We would not know who the idiots are.

Just a quickie to wish LINDY and her OH a lovely holiday x

Thank you so much Heather.

Hi all, and thank you Diane for starting us off. Hope the pelicans can soon be on their way after the predicted storm waiting to you you.

OG - look like is been busy days for you all but hopefully all will turn out ok.

Lindybird - have a lovely trip to the Canaries and hopefully you will get your full stay there this time.

Talking about airports and transits, the only really big one was Dubai when we were on our way to Sri Lanka. What an enormous airport that is. We were under Assistance help so we were driven on one of their carts from one end to the other, had to get out to go through immigration and then hop on again to be taken to the stairway to mount the steps to the plane. All went well for us and they took good care of us at the other end too.

Had very heavy rain last night but it has been a pleasant day today.

Very entertaining goings on all over!  

AQ:  Loved your bus trip, felt as if I were along for all the entertainment too.  I share the same frustration re library books.  Popped up Sunday to pick up a book - they had two on hold for me, except one was a young adult fantasy-science-fiction thingy.  Not mine, I say.   Got home to find an earlier e-mail telling me I had two books waiting, neither of which was a young adult read.  Wonder who ended up with the memoir I requested......

PatO;  Brilliant solution to Lindybird's glasses/shoes conundrum.  :-)   I usually stuff shoes with socks/undies.  I have only one pair of graduated-lens glasses plus a couple of clip-on Polarized sun-glasses (one pair in car; one in the house).

OG;  Oh hectic!  Hope everything/everyone got things sorted.

Lindybird:  Have a WONDERFUL time.  Dine out for me too!  Like OG, I thought I'd 'missed' some trips but now remember your uncomfy one last summer.

Pouring with rain here.  Area schools all closed in face of dire flood warnings;  really heavy rain due this afternoon.  Meanwhile, finally found a potential landscaping person who had a professional demeanor and some ideas and who, thank heaven, spoke fluent English.  Most of our landscape/gardening folks hail from various south-of-the-border nations and some aren't entirely comfortable with English, if at all, so even if the crew isn't fluent, it's critical to be able to communicate clearly with the person in charge. This guy has a good local reputation; I got his card from the (plant) nursery up the road.

Granddaughter has interview for a big promotion Thursday.  She applied for this job last year knowing that she would probably lose out to a more experienced person, which is what happened and she was fine with that.  That person was apparently bumping up his final year's salary to boost his retirement income and he is now retiring a year later.  It's between granddaughter and another 'senior' person with an absolutely terrible attitude and work ethic who also didn't get the job last year and responded by calling in sick on and off for a month or more and leaving his colleagues picking up the considerable slack.  Several employees have made it clear that if he gets the job, they'll quit, but strange things happen in the world of work..... We shall see.

Take care everyone.

Lindy - I hope you and your OH have a lovely, warm, relaxing holiday.
I will reply to everyone else tomorrow. I have read and enjoyed all the long posts.

LINDA, PAT – I would pack some glasses in carry-on luggage in case luggage goes astray.