Hallo all. Seems like Central Indiana, including Diane's neighborhood, got hit by high winds, downed trees and power outages as Hurricane Helene traveled north (not a hurricane at that point but still very strrong winds). Do hope no damage to her little house in the trees..... I'm sure she'll be in touch when she can.
We are having a low key birthday celebration tomorrow for daughter and granddaughter whose birthdays are two weeks apart. Granddaughter was working on hers and will also be working on daughter's so we're combining both. Grandson will - hopefullly - be home and fast asleep: He'''s been gone from home fo 31 days, working 16-hours a day on various fires around the state. Spoke to him a few days ago and he was completely exhausted.
It's been a busy week and Monday will be busy but really hope thing will slow down after that!
Hope everyone has a good week and that various health concerns will be laid to rest. Take care everyone.
Hello all and Thank you, ANNETTE. I hope that the joint birthday party went well and that your grandson gets a break from firefighting. Fingers crossed...
RUSTY and OG - I spilt cranberry juice on the carpet yesterday ! My stupid hands - I have Dupuytrens in both of them.
OG - the study/office here was an untidy mess following my son's visit early in the year. He moved my desktop computer and desk downstairs as I couldn't/ shouldn't tackle the stairs. My daughters told me about the state of things. I had been very naughty and was way behind with filing/shredding. So I ventured up there on Saturday and spent a long time doing both of these things. I was cross with myself for just piling up papers, my son just dumped them on OHs desk.. I am quite a tidy person so why that got neglected, I don't know ! Anyway I made good inroads and hope to finish it soon. My OH kept. so much paperwork but he did file it all away. I cannot for the life of me understand why he needed to keep so much stuff which was years old. He bought this house in 1980 and every single repair/ work done since then resulted in yet another bit of paper to be filed away :-( The tall filing cabinet is full. One day I will start shredding all the stuff therein.
I know I have missed some replies - sorry ....
Harelady: My mum left Ireland to work in England too; she was very young and did domestic work. She was a Fenton; her mother was an O'Brian and we also had Buckleys in the family.
Heather: Sounds like my OH's office! Trouble is he hasn't filed anything the last year or so but that's now sorted, though I'm still finding receipts from 2020 etc. squirreled away in drawers. Arghhh. Re the house, we keep everything so we know when, why and what we did when various bits needed work, but separately we keep records on capital improvements (upgraded windows, remodeled bathrooms and the like) because it's all tax deductible when you go to sell a property that has increased in value.
Niece will be back from Oz this coming Saturday; hope she has a better flight coming home than going.
Take care all.
Congratulations Heather on all the tidying. It sounds as if you have made a good start. You had an excuse for your spillage. Mine was all down to clumsiness!!! French went very well. We discussed David Hockney’s 4 Seasons which he “painted” on his iPad in Normandy during lockdown. If you look on YouTube for David Hockney - son projet titanesque en Normandie. The commentary is in French with French subtitles but you get an idea of the size of the work. After that we compared it to some more traditional paintings about the 4 seasons by Bruegel. Finally we had some general questions about how we feel about the changing seasons and which season is our favourite. I quite surprised myself that I found things to say about the paintings given that I know nothing about art and that it had to be in French!!!!!
Annette - My Dad was born in 1913 and came to England I think in 1930 to live with his 2 brothers who were already here. He married my Mum on Christmas Eve 1939. He was an O'Mahony and we still have relations in Cork - last seen in early 2001.
HEATHER – well done with tidying the office – but don’t get too adventurous on the stairs!
RUSTY – pleased to see French class went better than you feared. I don’t think I could discuss David Hockney in any language!
Only one Irish connection we know off – we discovered a three-generations back stepfather born in Dublin – never traced why! This was in OH’s family.
We got through most of the jobs intended for yesterday – car business and timing of journeys went well, so some cleaning got started – wish it had been one or two jobs done and finished rather than three or four started and still to be completed – feels like whole house is muddled! Have to change J’s curtains today to take to the cleaners tomorrow. I got on with quite a few communication tasks yesterday – and more now today.
Sorry I've been off again- we are OK - well, I am, but my poor OH has had a tummy upset yesterday & has been even quieter lately. I got weary of trying to be upbeat, and we had a quiet day with just some tidying up and then reading our books before TV and early bed.
Today we went on a mission to find a place which advertises metal gates as our small back gate which is made of wood is disintegrating. After riding along the street twice we found the entrance and then no one in attendance, but eventually, a man appeared who said "Oh, but we don't do any small gates now- only large metal ones, which are all electric!!" I was annoyed as we had studied their website which we now realise is well out of date!!
After that, we went a matter of yards along the road to find a country pub recommended to us, to get some lunch: they offer a special menu for pensioners so we took advantage of that and I had baked brie and he had Soup of the day, followed by fish and chips for us both. Very nice & we might return as lovely views of the canal right out of the windows.
Lindybird: Jollying everyone along is exhausting after a while. Forgive me but what is the next step in OH's care? The serendipitous discovery of a the pub was nice, but still hope you find some small gates. I've found plenty of websites are not only out of date, but some of the companies they advertise may no longer be in business.
Rusty: All I know about David Hockney is that he was a Brit, was afraid of flying (I think or was that someone else?), did some paintings in Los Angeles, where he lived though I gather he lives in Normandie now. Just Googled that work - an amazing piece! Wonder what program (if any) he used to create it and how on earth did it get enlarged yet still retain the detail? Hmmm.
OG: I'm doing my 'one room at a time' cleaning routine. House has been neglected of late. Wonder where your cleaning ladies disapppeared to.
Hope to work in garden today - they're forecasting a quick little heatwave but I still see the fogbank sitting over the beach so it probably won't be too hot here. We have our Vice-Presidential debate tonight; I feel about as positive about JDVance as I do about the Orange Menace.... Not sure if I'll watch or wait for the reviews and highlights. Can't stand the vitriol that DT's supporters spew and it's an awful way to end an evening... Almost guarantees a bad night's sleep.