Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 10 September 2023

Lindybird said:

Santa Claus has the right idea - visit people only once a year.
Victor Borge.

In the case of the Awful Cousin, not at all!

Quite right CLARE

Where was I on Saturday? Dunno! We couldn’t go out due to diverted traffic through the high street, so must have been at home. I know OH mowed. Maybe I slept! Braved the roads today and went to church – short service with meeting after quite productive. Had a long chat with moderator’s wife after – she is seriously deaf, so people seem to give up trying, such a shame. We were late home, so lunch was late; J apparently had a long service at his church, so we all ate about 2pm. None of the threatened thunderstorms, but a few intermittent showers this afternoon – air is cooling nicely and there is also some breeze at last.

Re vaccination mayhem – we shall get them for flu and for covid – it has been known for OH to get his first, at the vaccination centre, and then mine a few weeks later at home – he is my carer.

ANNETTE – I hope the weekend is progressing smoothly. I suppose you will be up early Monday to see the AZ folks off home, but do try to have a rest after that! I do hope you found some shade at the venue.

DIBNLIB – I do hope the legal business will soon be over for you.

HEATHER – our dog next door has been very noisy for a few days – not sure whether to blame the weather or the roadworks – he is usually very quiet.

DIANE – thanks for the new thread – and sorry about the power outage.

Good to see that others are getting some cooling rain too. The Robin has just popped back from somewhere, wondering whether the garden is any better from the rain – and glad that the pigeons have disappeared as they disrupted his last feed about an hour ago!

OG Thank you. Glad your Robin is back. We had 4 blue/great tits in the garden this morning. Derek (the DC) has told us he will let us know when he hears anything. I have kept my brother on facebook just in case he posted anything useful. Unfortunately that means that I saw this afternoon that he and other golf friends were boarding a plane in Edinburgh. That has probably scuppered our hopes that he will get a revised court hearing this week!!

Morning all: All survived the wedding. Was 'only' 97F but lots of shade and large swimming pool with multiple fountains/slides/configurations that helped keep things ever-so-slightly cooler. Grandson super happy with wall-to-wall smiles all day, Bride able to relax - finally - after all the planning and associated consternation. They're a great match. Ceremony was, shall we say, non-traditional? Also, minor hiccup in that no-one was entirely sure when it was supposed to start. I thought 4; bride's uncle though 3:30. Maybe delayed because the officiator apparently decided to rehearse everything one more time?? It actually got underway at 4:30, but since it was a private venue we weren't holding anyone else up. Met bride's family; a nice down-to-earth group, especially liked her Dad. About 40 people present for ceremony, drinks and eats. A much bigger come-one/come-all party today at a local private club that I'll pass on. Daughter, g/daughter and Ms. D (flower girl) going to that then coming back to Santa Barbara tomorrow afternoon. Granddaughter and Ms. D leaving for AZ Tuesday. Ms D doing homework and other school projects during down time and when in the car.

Diane: Thank you for so generously persevering! We've had two brief power outages here over the last two weeks, not sure of the causes but they were resolved quickly.

dibnlib: Your niece is right up there at the top of the scale with your friend who had the accident. They are both remarkable women.

Rusty: congrats on getting the pots cleaned out - anything else planned for your b/day other than a trip to the nursery?

Muggy, warm and cloudy first thing today; took Pearl for a walk before the wind came up and we got a sudden rainburst. I suspect Pearl had the most boring day of her life yesterday although OH said she didn't bark at squirrels, crows much at all. She's a lovely dog.

Take care everyone

Unknown said:

Bride able to relax - finally - after all the planning and associated consternation.

Consternation is the right word!

Unknown said:

Maybe delayed because the officiator apparently decided to rehearse everything one more time??

Blimey.  How many times had they already rehearsed?  I'll confess that if any wedding needs rehearsing then there's too much fuss in it.  People having this kind of wedding tend to avoid inviting me (thankfully!).  That doesn't mean I don't wish the couple all the best - and it was good to see your comment that they are a great match.

Unknown said:

I'm once again in the midst of a regional power outage.

For the past 10 years I've been closely following the Barn Owl (and any other incidental) cams at Audubon Starr Ranch, SoCal, and got to know the personnel somewhat.

Currently they're undergoing outages because SoCalEdison is renewing poles and cables with updated, more fire-resistant materials (not before time, I hear you say) - I expect this must be going on all over the USA, and will be a work in progress for years to come !!!

Yes, we in the UK have been fortunate to avoid power outages - just don't mention our sewage-saturated rivers and polluted coastal waters, thanks to the privatised utility companies who have enriched their board members and shareholders while amassing billions in debt

Otherwise - how nice it is to catch up with y'all

scylla said:

Otherwise - how nice it is to catch up with y'all

This is getting to be a habit!  Good to see you on here, Scylla.  I should add that it's nice to see Cirrus and Wendy on here as well.

Annette - thank you for the account of the wedding. I am glad it went off well and that you think the couple are well suited. Gosh. A bigger party tomorrow!! I would have given that a miss too like you are. I once went to a wedding in Canada when I was staying with my friends (it was kind of the people to invite me) The following day we went to the gift opening in the bride’s parent’s garden. It seems like a strange tradition to me. I had bought a Welsh love spoon as the bride had Welsh grandparents. Does the gift opening happen in the US too?
Dibnlib - I am amazed that your brother is even allowed to go on a golfing jaunt!! That must really rub salt into the wounds!!
OG - glad that church was good for you all. A late lunch though.
In answer to Annette’s question re my birthday. In a mad moment, I invited the family here for a lunchtime buffet. My birthday falls on a Saturday this year. That means I will be catering for 7 adults, and 3 children - 1 aged 7 and 2 almost 5!!!!! My great nephews and niece. The 2 almost 5 year olds are cousins!! They love each other to bits! My sister’s 2 daughters gave birth within 5 weeks of each other!!! I have done a similar event before and have an idea of what I will provide. I hope we will be able to get into the garden so that the kids can run around. I am quite calm about it at the moment!!

Blimey, Rusty, you're brave! I hope it works out and you all have a good time.