How was your day?

[suze]

I thought it was "The Other In-Law", to distiguish her from the wife of bigmartin's other brother.  The other wife hails from Texas and hence is "Texan SIL".

[jenny]

I am slightly cheesed off today. This evening was the last of the group of poetry classes I was attending and I had faithfully done my assignments. However, it is postponed until next week because the teacher is unwell. Next week I have a dentist appointment on that day at 4pm to have a molar extracted, so I may not necessarily be feeling up to a 6pm class myself.

[tetsabb]

Not my day, but Tuesday did not begin well for Ian Hislop

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ian-hislop-gun-shooting-taxi-london-news-private-eye-b2622443.html

This is rather worrying

[amanda]

Two nearly-hour long suburban train trips today to get to the end of one line/starting point for today's walk along another closed train line/now a rail trail.

The first two former station sections have been done and the next bit is still being worked on - this next section had a lot of trestle bridges that were burnt down in the disastrous 2009 bushfires that ravaged that area.

Seven km from the station to the current end of the walking trail, then another 3, 3.5 back to the next station from where we walked back to the main road for the bus back.

Those on FB will see some of the history signs that have been erected and landscapes.

[crissdee]

Oct 2, 2024 9:17:31 GMT tetsabb said:

Not my day, but Tuesday did not begin well for Ian Hislop

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ian-hislop-gun-shooting-taxi-london-news-private-eye-b2622443.html

This is rather worrying

It is rather worrying that a grown man, with presumably years of driving experience, has a window break and immediately assumes he is being shot at, in the absence of any supporting evidence, like the sound of a gunshot, no smell of burnt powder, no one seen running away or acting suspiciously, or any real reason to imagine that anyone would want to shoot at Ian Hislop....

[jenny]

I had a day with nothing in particular booked today, so decided to sweep out the basement. Our cats are in the habit of coughing up furballs on the floor, which looks like rolls of shit but isn't quite that disgusting (their litter boxes are down there and they are good about using those) so I went over the concrete floor with a garden hoe to scrape up wherever the furballs had stuck, then swept out the floor and disposed of the debris. There was enough cat hair in with all the dust to knit another cat if I were so minded (which I am not).

[RLDavies]

Crunch time at work all last week. As a result, my sleep-wake-meal schedule is utterly shot.

I thought yesterday that I would be able to go to bed at something like a normal hour. But instead I ended up going to bed at about 11 am. Woke up (briefly) about 3 pm, was going to get up but then went back to sleep, and didn't wake up properly until about 7 pm. Which means I'm still nowhere near a proper schedule, but on the bright side I had eight hours of sleep, which is the first full dose of sleep in a week. That was nice.

Another thing I haven't had a lot of in the past week is actual meals, as I've mostly been living off random snacks. There's nothing in the freezer except raw ingredients, and I'm not about to do any cooking, so it's Just Eat to the rescue with an order from a place called Wings & Tings. I've ordered from there before, and they've got very good wings and very good tings, if "tings" includes chips.

[tetsabb]

A pleasant evening in Portslade seeing Janine Booth do her song Middle-aged kicks, a tribute to the Undertones.
And a set from Joe Solo, lefty songwriter and protest singer. I had heard of him, but not experienced him. Very good, with lots of singalong choruses.  He was joined in fiddle by Attilla the Stockbroker.
Jjourney home was a lot easier than the slog to get there,  which involved a detour through Uckfield, and then turning round near Ringmer, due to something involving a lot of flashing blue lights

[jenny]

I went swimming this morning and am pleased to report that I am now up to three quarters of a mile (which I think is what 54 x 25 yard lengths adds up to). I started going swimming regularly back in March, and when I first did that, having not swum with any regularity for some years, I could only manage 26 lengths, so I'm happy to have more than doubled that distance.

[tetsabb]

To Cambridge and back to see sallycarr in Addenbrokes hospital.
She has been quite poorly since Midsummer, and is due an op on a heart valve on Tues or Weds.
I wished her well from all.
I had tried to arrange a meet up with swot, but we had to cancel, as I took a long time getting there: she would have probably had time to say hello before going to get offspring from school.

Memo to self -- even if desperate for a pee, make a good note of where your car is in motorway services. It took me far longer to find it than it should...

[jenny]

I'm sorry Swot hasn't felt like joining us here, but if you see her do wish her well from me.

[tetsabb]

Oct 5, 2024 20:14:38 GMT jenny said:

I'm sorry Swot hasn't felt like joining us here, but if you see her do wish her well from me.

I will be sure to do that thing.

In other news, we tootled down to Bexhill for a gig by Oysterband and June Tabor. The Oysters are doing their long farewell tour, with June to start with, and then on their own.  We see them again late in November in the company of AnneB, who is coming over for this gig.

Very emotional show. Lots of old favourites, and singing along. 
Ms Tabor has one of the driest senses of humour you could ever encounter. 
She performed 'the Hills of Shiloh', a song about the American Civil War, written by Shel Silverstein  most famous for doing many of Dr Hook's early humorous songs.
This was not humorous.
June and John also performed 'Love will tear us apart', with just guitar and cello. Breathtaking.
They also did a terrific version of 'White Rabbit'
Fabulous evening.

[amanda]

Lazy Sunday here, the start of daylight saving which takes some adjustment for me, both in the mornings now that it's darker for longer again, and then in the evening when it's lighter.

Saw a notice in the newspaper here where I think they put the wrong one in: Daylight saving ends, put your clock back an hour.

[jenny]

I checked out when the Oysterband/Tabor farewell tour was happening, and buggerit but none of the gigs are happening while I'm over there at places I can readily get to (though I do admire AnneB's determination, she doesn't have to negotiate family entanglements when making that kind of decision).

[bigmartin]

To clarify - yes, TOIL is "the one I love". I coined it partly as a bit of a joke as, for various reasons, the relationship can be a bit of hard work at times. Still approaching 30 years on I still only have to hear her voice...

[crissdee]

Awwwwww!

[amanda]

Another lazy day here, due to the on/off rain, and still feeling tired from the change to daylight saving, I didn't go to the city like I had planned but I can do that message on either Wednesday or Friday.

The neighbour has continued her clean out of drawers etc - finding no less than eight potato peelers in her kitchen drawers.

[crissdee]

Ironic, my friend was only recently bemoaning the price of a new one....

[jenny]

I received my postal ballot today and filled it in - I will return it to the city clerk in person rather than trust it to the mail, I think. This is permissible and there are two locations to choose from at which to do that.

Guess who I voted for, for President.

There were also ballots for places on the city council and the school board, and some bond issues, three of which I voted yes for and one of which no. There was also a vote about replacing the current state flag with a new design that neither Woodsman nor I think is at all good. There were also votes for one of our US senators and one of our US representatives (term limits for senators and representatives do not necessarily align with presidential elections) and for our local state senator and representative. Oh I've been a busy citizen today.

I also went swimming this morning and am pleased to report that I have now upped my distance to ¾ of a mile, which pleases me immensely. I started going swimming back in March, just after my birthday at the end of February, and at that point I was managing about ⅜ of a mile, so I've doubled that. My aim is to get up to a mile by my next birthday, when I will turn 75.

[suze]

Oh, very well done there!

My target when I go swimming is 2,500 meters, which is about a mile and a half - but I consider myself a strong swimmer, and I'm not 60 yet.  The guidance for a woman of 75 is that a one mile swim should take about one hour.  If it takes much more than that then you might be better settling for a shorter distance, while if it's below 40 minutes you should be entering national age group championships!

[celebaelin]

I woke up breathing easily for the first time in 10, maybe 12, weeks.  I have coughed briefly once or twice since but my feeling is that on the whole I'm just about back to normal; it has not been pleasant and were I an older person it might well have proven terminal.

*takes a deep breath without any accompanying rattles, wheezes or racking thoracic spasms and muses on the thought that such great pleasure can be derived from something so commonplace*

I actually spent the first part of the day beathing in and exhaling so deeply that I got an oxygen high!

[RLDavies]

That's good to hear, Cel! I also seem to be getting over my nasty wheezy feverish cough. Not nearly as bad as yours was, though!

After a few weeks of (a) prolonged work hours, (b) severely skew-whiff sleep-wake schedule, and (c) aforementioned wheezy feverish cough, I'm finally getting back onto my more usual hours. AND managed to stick my nose out the door for the first time in all that time. (Except for putting the bin out.) Took a stroll to the corner shop to pick up a few things, which stroll nearly creased me -- but even panting hard I didn't wheeze, so things must be improving. I'm in desperate need of more exercise.

[jenny]

I'm glad to hear that both of you are getting better!

[jenny]

Oct 7, 2024 21:38:34 GMT suze said:

Oh, very well done there!

My target when I go swimming is 2,500 meters, which is about a mile and a half - but I consider myself a strong swimmer, and I'm not 60 yet.  The guidance for a woman of 75 is that a one mile swim should take about one hour.  If it takes much more than that then you might be better settling for a shorter distance, while if it's below 40 minutes you should be entering national age group championships!

A mile would take me longer than an hour. Three quarters takes me about 52 minutes. I calculate that a mile ought to take me about an hour and five to ten minutes on that basis, so it's worth a try. 

[bigmartin]

Very wet day at Newark Park today. Large number of flooded roads on the way home. I managed to ease my little car through them all, but it took me nearly 2 hours to do the 18 miles home!

[crissdee]

Positively flying compared to a couple of days I had back in London! I worked in a timber yard in Forest Gate, and during that time, I lived in two different places, both about four miles away. One two occasions (once for each home) I took two and a half hours to get home due to accidents on the North Circular....

[amanda]

Same thing happens here. One accident/break down in peak hour on our freeway network and the whole lot grinds to a halt. Depending on the severity, as the news gets out, people not yet there (to the accident location) get off on the other main roads which are then blocked. 

[crissdee]

I often thought that a few strategic bomb scares to close roads in east, west, and north London would swiftly bring the entire city into gridlock...

[tetsabb]

From a dear friend of sallycarr, who has been visiting her daily and cat caring. Yesterday early evening

Hope everyone sees this. Sally Carr is through the surgery and getting the best one to one care. I popped in and she was just waking up, Dr and nurses said all had gone well and hopefully she will be out of ICU tomorrow and back on the ward.

[crissdee]

Good oh! Healing waves sent from Cambria......