Weekly Chat, Sunday April 10, 2011

Dibnlib, sorry that your OH is feeling so bad. I have never had sinus problems, but have heard people say how painful it is. Sounds as if you are now ready for the summer in your garden. I won't blame you if the weather changes as I saw the forecast for next week and the temperatures are going to drop.

Linda, Glad you all had a good time at Tatton and Buzz had his swim. The only thing I had against our dog having a swim, was the smell of wet dog fur in the car when driving home, even though we would try and towel dry him before returning home.

Annette, We used to have a big spoonful of 'Malt and cod liver oil' every morning, when we were children. I just couldn't stand the taste, even though the malt was supposed to hide the taste of the cod liver oil.

Lynette, Hope your OH has successful results from his scan. You should not mention self assembly furniture on here. Alan can get very upset and has his own names for it.

Joan, I thought I was going to just supervise in the garden today, but OH was up a ladder pruning large bushes and I stupidly volunteered to cut the grass. I definitely went wrong somewhere.

OH is watching the golf on TV. The greens are so manicured, just like our lawns ( not)

Brenda - I remember that 'Malt and cod liver oil'... every morning just as I was going to school ... and it left a horrible 'tinny' taste in my mouth :-((     I definitely got off lightly in the garden today ... OH is always afraid I hurt my back again, so won't let me do much bending!!!

D.I.Y. Invariably means Destroy It Yourself. 

Brenda H wrote - Lynette, Hope your OH has successful results from his scan. You should not mention self assembly furniture on here. Alan can get very upset and has his own names for it

OK Brenda, dread to think what it might be.  Success though after getting one part of the media unit the wrong way round - soon put it right - so both pieces done and dusted. Now just waiting for dau. to clear the old table, remove it, and then between us we can put the new furniture into her room.  All part of a days work!!!!!

My OH is now watching the closing stages of the golf after being out most of the day to watch our local rugby team play.  They won!!

Hi, all. Sorry I haven't been on the chat thread very much. I've been busy trying to make some decisions about what I want to do with the rest of my life. :-)))  I'd already concluded that I want to stay here in my country house, but now I have to figure out how to make an adequate income. I have this habit of wanting to eat a couple of times a day. LOL And then there are utility bills and insurance and taxes... I'm too young to retire, and there aren't many career opportunities in this area, but I think I'm figuring out a solution. Just have to finalize some details. Will tell you all when I'm sure. Anyway, sorry about the lack of replies from me!

Annette: You're so funny. I had to laugh at your reference to "rose rustling". I'm picturing you in western boots with a lasso, shouting yee-haw as you bring in those wild roses. LOLOL Such a shame about the bear and the BMW. I didn't know that the Chumash are the local tribe in your area. In my local area, it's mostly Kickapoo, as well as Piankeshaw, Miami, Delaware, and Shawnee. Indiana's earliest inhabitants were Mound Builders, and there are lots of historical mound sites here. I think one of the hills on my property is an AmerIndian-built mound. (The mounds were built as burial sites, temples, forts, etc.)

By the way, a few years ago, we had lots of moles -- mole hills all over the lawn. But the moles have all mysteriously disappeared. I didn't see any evidence of them last year and none so far this year. Not sure what changed in the environment. A bit disturbing.

Here's a funny mole story. One time I was washing down this house, trying to remove the mold and mildew that always accumulates on its north side. Unknown to me, the outdoor faucet had sprung a big leak. By the time I noticed it, there was a deep and wide puddle around the faucet. I rushed in to turn the water off, and I sank in the mud up to my thighs!!! I was struggling to get out, and the thought occurred to me that a mole might bite me. Ours have HUGE teeth!!! You should have seen me clawing and scratching at the ground trying to get out of that mud hole. I lost a shoe but finally hauled myself out of there. LOLOLOL

More, next post.

Phew!  Long day – dried washing outside, so it was almost a pleasure to iron it tonight!  News from Son – his start date was given him wrong – it is the following Monday, not tomorrow.  His first three weeks are short due to bank hols etc, which will help him get used to working again.

Dibnlib – we took a long time to get a pressure washer too – probably only had it three years, and it certainly makes things easier.  Sorry about your OH’s cold affecting eyes and sinuses – and sorry you couldn’t go to Daviot for lunch.

Lindy – sounds a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  Hope all goes well tomorrow morning.

Annette – sorry for Bear, but pleased he had an appropriate destination with the Chumach people.

Lynette – will be thinking of your OH and his scan tomorrow.

Joan – agree about leaves appearing – had them just on Willow, now see them on Alder, Birch and Acer too.

Brenda – my mowing days are over, but I used to love doing it when I was a teenager – think it was because I got out of bending over jobs if I ran up and down with the lawnmower!

Diane – sounds like a very important decision coming up!  Thinking of you.

Expecting some rain tomorrow – and very likely it will, as I made OH water some container plants this evening!!

Margo: I am so very sorry about your sister. My thoughts are with you. Terrific news that little Billy Whizz is bonding with you. Good for him and you!

Alan: Loved the photo of the supremely gallant Hamish of Scotland! Beautiful! Gorgeous swan photo you posted, too!
dibnlib: Glad Dillon is responding to the Metacalm. Hope your husband gets better soon.
Sheila: I loved the post about your lovely spring day and all the wildlife you were seeing. Beautiful!
Alicat: That new Bobbie doggy of yours is just adorable. So glad that you two found each other.
Brenda and Joan: Cod liver oil is nasty stuff. Yuck! Although good for you. LOL
Lynette: So sorry that your husband is feeling poorly.
Paul: I've been enjoying your osprey commentaries on the Daily Thread!

Joan: Sounds like things have been rough for our barn owls. Hope they ultimately nest in the box. You can see 4 young owls in this nestbox in Chula Vista, California: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bonnie-and-clyde-owlcam They are the offspring of the barn owls named Bonnie and Clyde. The folks call the babies "owltlaws". LOL The webcam picture is good.

AQ: I have so enjoyed seeing the photos and reading the commentary about your recent Riverland trip. Beautiful country! I love hearing about your trips. Flooding must be widespread throughout Oz right now. I've just seen some interesting video of the effort to rescue hundreds of wallabies that were stranded by flood waters around Lake Argyle (western Australia). http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2011/04/08/3186737.htm

Lindy: Glad Buzz enjoyed his swim. Sorry you didn't join him. LOLOL Good for you, having a refreshing nap in the sunshine!!! Hope your morning appointment goes well.

OG: I have so enjoyed the photos that you've been posting. I loved the herons -- one of my very favorite birds. And the picture of the chaffinch is really professional quality and spectacular! Also loved the photo of the host of daffodils. I have yellow and white ones in bloom here. A good crop of them this year. I'm so very glad that you son has found a job. I hope it's a good work environment and gives him the structure that he needs. Wonderful!

Hello to everyone that I've missed. Sorry I can't go back any further and mention everyone. :-(

It was a freakish 83 F (28.3 C) here today. I think we broke the heat record for this day. That's waaay warm for this time of year in Indiana. Now we have a cool front moving in, and it's predicted to storm like crazy tonight. So I might not be back this evening.

Everyone have a good Monday!!! 

Hi all not been on last couple of days been busy with Bobbie and trying to block her off from getting out of the front garden and blocking off were i dont want her in the back in my flowerbed were we have a shallow pond with floating garden ornaments in it she jumped in it the other day so have bought some fencing which we have now put up that seems to have done the trick. went into garage to get something out of the freezer for tea and as i walked past the place were the tool box is it fell off and landed on my foot which hurt so am now hobbling around hope that by morning it doesn't hurt OH said i must have knocked it i said that he can't have put it back properly after geting sone tools from it this afternoon

I’m having trouble catching up. Completely forgot it was Friday - thanks Annette for the words of wisdom. Thanks to ALL for pics of eagles, daffs, gorse, Thunderdog, birds, birds, birds. Also for news of dogs young & old, and general chatter. Painting has progressed, undercoat finished & we have a stark white hospital-like room. Excursion tomorrow to buy cream, having decided sample will do. It changes colour in various light, time of day, etc. Who cares what colour, I want my tidy room back!!!!! Gutter, kerbing & resurfacing of road seems to have concluded in our suburb. The car that caused a gap has disappeared (I believe our council has a by-law about vehicles not remaining in street more than 24 hours) and that patch has been filled in. Now all we need is another service to dig holes in new road . . .
OG - That car had backed down ramp to launch boat (I hope!!!).
Lindy - I think you have farmer’s markets rather than roadside stalls. We have a few FM.
Alicat - Ow-Ow-Ouch. My OH makes comments like yours.

Riverland continued (I’ll get to some birds eventually.) Arriving in Renmark late afternoon, we were driven around to see the sights before ending up at the hotel for the night. What a surprise! The Paddle Steamer "Industry" was celebrating her 100th birthday with activities on the river & riverfront - bush dancing, blade shearing, vintage cars & motor bikes, and lots of little engines going putt-putt-putt-whoosh. Lots of paddle steamers and wooden boats on the river going toot-toot-toot.
http://www.visitrenmark.com/html/renmark-ps-industry.html  One PS from Goolwa didn’t arrive as the river was so high it was too dangerous to use the lock at Blanchetown. This, after years of drought when many boats couldn’t travel on the river. Originally PS Industry removed snags from the river, later a museum, now she runs cruises. I snapped this as she passed us on our river cruise.

 This character belongs to the "Chook Man". His rooster was tethered to a decorated gopher with food & water in reach. Notice the "number-plate".  Annette - Gophers are what we call motorised mobility scooters.

 Dinner at the hotel was the usual simple choice for a group booking - choice of seafood platter or roast beef. We selected our hot veg or salad from servery and ate that before the "meat" arrived! Desert was either cheesecake or apple crumble.
Next morn, with the change back from daylight saving to normal time, the sun rose at 6.30am. Some idiot decided to walk around town with her camera, meeting this character strutting down a street, looking over his shoulder as if encouraging her to follow. She tottered back an hour later for a hearty breakfast.