Hallo all. Hasn't stopped raining here all day - two more days of it - BUT the weather in the UK has been making headlines on the radio and telly! Will catch up with chat later.
Lindybird have replied to you but hoping it has worked. Half the time I don't know what I am doing.
Margobird
p.s. My pc seems to be a bit happier now that I've thought to empty the 'Recycle bin'!
Lindybird just checked to see if my message had got through but it appears it has not. Hope you don't mind but I will copy in here.
"Linda thank you so much for your message. It means such a lot to know that you have been thinking of me. Spoke to my other sister earlier and we said that if anything happens to her we will be the only 2 members of our family left I am finding it incredibly hard to take in especially at this time of the year, although anytime is awful. We lost our dear Mum on December 13 2000 so when Christmas comes round it is always a very poignant time for us. Have just received a Christmas card from her and her husband which has not been written by her but by her daughter in law. Of course I am in floods of tears again to think that my sister is not able to do this herself. We will be going to see her as soon as we can weather permitting. Weather has been bad where she lives and roads are dangerous as she is out in the country a bit. OH as usual being brilliant and I am managing to hold it together sort of but there are so many things that come into your mind. I am looking after myself and cooking meals and eating if only a small amount. Sleep is the worst thing as I go to sleep, wake up a couple of hours later and can't settle again. Sorry to read about your sad loss too, 51 is no age. My sister is 62 but was always very active especially since she retired, she put me to shame by going to the gym 3 times a week, doing a lot of walking and so enjoying her retirement. Sorry I am rambling but thanks again to you and my love to you and hope you have a wonderful Christmas and also you will see little Tomasz. xx
Quick pop in here.
Trish: Great to see you! Don't worry about keeping up with all the daily stuff; good to see when you can get here!
Djoan: Great card - made me smile (you do have Santa hats for a late osprey Xmas right?)
Margobird: New batch of hugs just sent your way.
Gotta go.
Thanks, dear margo.
Have been fighting with my printer to get it to put my latest pics into memory, so now am hopefully able to put on here two of the pics I took of the fantastic sunrise the other day, over the snowy fields at back of our house:
Thanks to all for posts – just a few quick replies.
Brenda – I hope you got away ok – see you are taking lap-top so will get to see this.
Lynette – nice that you had lunch out after the final shopping for Christmas – always good to have something you haven’t had to prepare!
Annette – pleased time with friends was good. Son’s interview is not for a job – just to start signing on at the Job Centre so he gets his Job Seekers Allowance and (hopefully) housing benefit.
Patricia – I hope your trip to the shops was safely completed. Do you keep your roof-box on permanently?
Trish2 – good to see you again. Don’t worry about coming in occasionally – you’re always welcome. Lovely to read about your Sparrowhawk sighting – I hope she got breakfast somewhere soon after.
Joan – that is a truly wonderful card!! Thank you.
Gary – are you a Kentish Man or a Man of Kent??!!
Margo – still keeping you, your Sister and the family in my thoughts and prayers. Great to have that taster of the Gordon Buchanan and Black Bears series.
Lindy – sorry you had more snow – I didn’t realise it was still falling anywhere. Pleased emptying recycle bin has cleared some memory! Thanks for bright sunrise pics. This was our sky that morning:
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Hi Everyone: Well it has been one really cold day up here. Had to defrost front door with hairdryer again. OH took the afternoon off and when we left at 12ish it was minus 13.5 so I hate to think what it was when I was very snug under my duvet.
We went to Spey Bay and the amount of ice coming down from the Spey was amazing and where it was frozen at the edges it was really noisey as the water was moving around underneath. Came back via a local garden center for a cheese toastie and a warming coffee.
Annette: The credit for the 12 days of Christmas goes to the boys that look after the RSPB reserve at Arne in Dorset (just over the water from Margo) and they are all the birds they see there. It is also where the Ospreys will congregate before heading up north or down south depending on the time of year.
Visited Willie and Maisie my 90 year old next door neighbours before we popped out. Willie has just lost is collie cross Randy he was 15 years but his health had been going down for a while and it was a big decision to put him to sleep. He does have the company of one of his daughters Lassie who is now being spoilt rotten and she is keeping his spirits up.
Just found out Amazon have had a "glitch" in their system and one of my prezzies has not even been despatched. Luckily it is a freephone number and steam is still coming out of my ears.
Shortest day done and dusted roll on the longer evenings.
Son has phoned several more times updating us on conversations with landlord (who wants to get on with his holiday) and builder (who will have access to the Museum building but who says the plumber is “snowed under with work”. They both told him that he won’t find the stop tap for the flat, which we advised him to turn off, because there isn’t one, just an isolator in the Museum boiler room! So the two of them visited and went in there to turn off the isolator to avoid a flood if there is a sudden thaw. Just after they left, he heard a thump, and his toilet cistern suddenly filled with water! He flushed it and it re-filled. Doesn’t that suggest, or am I being over-suspicious, that someone had already been in and turned something off, which turned out to be the water supply to the flat, and they actually re-connected it?!
His car won’t be ready until 11am Thursday – part coming from Aberdeen – so he will have to go on the bus to Inverness Job Centre and pick up the car when he gets back – and then he definitely intends to set out on Friday morning to come here for Christmas – no idea how long he’ll stay, but I know we are going to spend several days catching up on his laundry – don’t mind, so long as he does his own ironing!!
We are having a quiet evening – and need it!
Here is a picture of Mrs Rufus Black enjoying the last rays of afternoon sun today (all natural colour as I saw it, no digital enhancement):
Osprey with icicles and river with icebergs!!!!
Evening all,
I have had no end of bother getting on here today. Something to do with the AOL browser.
Thanks everyone for the chat and pics
We have had a fair amount of snow today and it is now freezing at - 1.1c.
Wendyb : Spey Bay looked somewhat different when I visited it a couple of years ago.
The Dunedin webcam appears to be working again but there are no ospreys there at the moment.