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Post by jenny on Oct 25, 2024 20:04:14 GMT
And in me me me news - the Air Bnb I’m staying in is essentially a converted garage or shed I think, but it’s been very nicely done and is warm and comfortable. It has a living room with a kitchen area, a bathroom and a separate bedroom, and everything is modern and well equipped (except for the mysterious absence of a frying pan). There’s even a dishwasher and a washing machine, so all mod cons. I was able to go to my younger granddaughter’s school assembly yesterday which was very sweet indeed and she did very well. I had lunch with some old friends today, one of whom I’ve known since I was 18. Tomorrow it’s grandchild time again (and their parents of course) and on Sunday I shall have lunch with my son and in the evening my daughter has treated me to a “sound bath” which involves no water at all but something to do with incense and brass bowls and sounds and meditation. Tonight I’m catching up on sleep still and hopefully the cold that started the mi Ute I got on the bus to the airport on Wednesday.
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Post by amanda on Oct 25, 2024 22:09:13 GMT
9 am Saturday and I've already done a brief load of washing. My machine has a 'quick wash - 15 mins' setting and I used it now for two sweaty PJ tops (night sweats - thanks hormones) and a top where I spilt some avocado on it yesterday.
Now out on the line and should be dry later with the warm day scheduled.
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Post by crissdee on Oct 26, 2024 10:18:25 GMT
My machine has a "30 at 30" setting (30 mins at 30 degrees) which is plenty for stuff that is not actually "soiled" as such, just been worn for a day. 90% of my washing gets done at that. Jeans and bedlinen, that get used for weeks rather than days, and stuff that is actively stained, will get longer.
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Post by crissdee on Oct 26, 2024 13:29:58 GMT
Two things of little to no consequence that came to my attention today.
1) There is a plot in our local churchyard which commemorates if not contains, six members of the same family. This must, in itself, be fairly rare outside the nobility. What I noticed though, is that of the six of them, only one made it past 70, and two of them didn't even make it to 60. They seem to have got the rough end of the probability curve.
2) I don't know what qualifications they would want, or whether they even have any vacancies, but our local library seems to be a fairly easy gig. They are only open for a total of twenty-three and a quarter hrs in a week, spread over five days, split into blocks of two and three days. The longest they are open without a break is three and a half hours, then they get an hour for lunch, and do another two and a half hours. On Fridays they are open for three hours, and on Saturday two and a quarter hours. Even if there is work to be done when they are closed to the public (perhaps Awitt could advise?), given that they appear to have only slightly more books than me, if any more at all, this could hardly be arduous...
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Post by suze on Oct 26, 2024 17:13:56 GMT
One thing to bear in mind there: some of the staff at the library may not get paid for it.
Anyone who is there full time or who is called "Librarian" will do, because this is the public sector and they have unions. But those who stand at the counter and stamp out your books are increasingly volunteers, drawn from much the same pool of (mostly) women of a certain age and class who work in charity shops. Blame the Tories, mostly.
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Post by jenny on Oct 26, 2024 21:40:22 GMT
I spent the day with my daughter and granddaughters, which was a lot of fun. They fleeced me mercilessly.
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Post by amanda on Oct 26, 2024 22:16:02 GMT
Those little rural libraries (we have the same here in country towns) may have started with a paid worker who got a lunch break. Then the role was often taken on by a volunteer or two who, often being over half a century in age, requested the same thing.
I also doubt that there are that many people in those towns/villages to demand the library is open more.
I'm in a library group on FB and many American style small town library staff say the same thing. People in a new role mention things that their predecessor did/didn't do for the past 30 years that they are doing/not doing and the clientele complains.
A council chain in my area still opens at 1pm Wednesdays which is annoying to have to remember. This harks back to the past when overdue notes had to be found by manually going through the cards (the religious library where I work still has this system, though not as many borrowers) and then the letters typed up and enveloped. (is that a word?) So that was done on a Wednesday morning and despite the modern computer system, the council is still saving money by not paying wages until 1pm.
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Post by jenny on Oct 28, 2024 11:17:58 GMT
I am having lunch today with an old friend who lives not far from here, and with whom generally stay in touch by playing Scrabble Go, at which we pretty much take turns in winning, though probably with some advantage on her side.
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Post by amanda on Oct 29, 2024 10:52:17 GMT
Well....this morning after getting up early to again go into the history library for official 'work', I discovered that I didn't have to. I'd gotten the dates mixed up and two weeks ago, the 15th, when I couldn't attend due to the constant headache, was one of my work days.
Despite this, there was still enough for me to do including another inter library loan. And with the small post shop that's closest to the library closing next month, it was decided that we should get enough pre paid post bags to last awhile. A pack of about ten bags costs like $80 so not exactly cheap.
Busy at the shop, with about $25 worth of sales.
I offered to go and get more milk and the accountant has nicely filled the till with all the coins, but our 12 sided 50 cent coin all packed in, standing on their sides, meant it was a bit hard for me to get a couple of them out.
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Post by bigmartin on Oct 30, 2024 13:18:10 GMT
Drive up to Dumfries in the early hours of Monday and back again yesterday afternoon/evening. Can't explain why, but it was rather essential.
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Post by suze on Oct 30, 2024 18:24:29 GMT
The day began with maps. Jessica needed to be shown that the serious flooding which is affecting the east coast of Spain is a very long way away - which it is, more than 1,000 miles - and she need not expect anything of the kind to impinge itsellf upon us. A North Atlantic hurricane does affect the Canary Islands once in a longish while, but otherwise they continue to vie with Southern California for having the best climate on the planet.
Once that was out of the way, we crazy golfed. Jessica won't be introduced to the "proper" golf that her parents play for a few years yet, but - and despite an stated minimum age of 6 - the man in the booth saw no reason why a fairly tall 4 year old shouldn't get crazy with her parents and grandparents. I'm not sure that the Royal and Ancient completely approve of kicking the ball into the hole when it comes to rest a few inches away, but it certainly wasn't the only piece of cheating among the group. She understood what she was trying to do, and was no worse at it than Granny. One of the holes involves hitting the ball up the behind of a smiley plastic octopus hard enough for it to emerge from the mouth and drop into the hole. Whether 4 year olds are really supposed to know words like bumhole yet I'm not sure, but calling a spade a spade is something of a family trait.
Oh, and she said Hola to the pirate teddy bear (suspiciously akin to Pudsey, but the bandana is different and he has a cutlass) who guards the 18th. "If he lives here, he can't talk English", apparently. I might have to start learning Spanish sooner than I planned.
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Post by crissdee on Oct 30, 2024 18:44:54 GMT
She sounds adorable!
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Post by suze on Oct 30, 2024 23:29:18 GMT
Well, she is!
But I am well aware that Other People's Children is not everyone's idea of a fun subject, so I try to be sparing on it - except when I'm holiday with her, when it cannot and will not be avoided. We're coming home on Friday, but the Olney contingent have a couple more days. It was very considerate of the primary school to arrange an INSET day for Monday so that pupils are not back in school until Tuesday!
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Post by amanda on Oct 31, 2024 7:47:09 GMT
Had a normal day at the religious complex today, gaining an extra shopping jeep as a gift from one of the staff there. As this one has a fancy press stud side and front pocket I will start using that now.
Met my mum for a bit by the station, lugged everything home, then ducked back to the local shopping complex for a couple of things. As I walked down the outdoor mall, I heard sirens and saw people walking out the door like an evacuation, which it was.
Don't know what it was, hope it wasn't a Halloween prank. While not a big deal here, people were dressed up to go out and I saw two boys around the outdoor mall - one on a scooter, the other on a bike and wearing an orange helmet who seemed to be Up To No Good, coming through the mall twice while we were standing there.
Fifteen minutes later we got the all clear to re-enter. I saw abandoned baskets and trolleys at the supermarket and it seems that some of those people hadn't returned.
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Post by alexanderhoward on Oct 31, 2024 7:55:13 GMT
Happy Reformation Day, everybody!
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Post by efros on Oct 31, 2024 14:02:18 GMT
Apart from a dull ache and some heat in my upper arms I seem to have recovered from the ughness induced by the covid19 and flu jabs I had on Monday. Back to work and seeing that it will be an unseasonal 73F today, I just got a text from my wife who had just spotted a bobcat on our back lawn, she dove for her phone but it had scarpered by the time she located it and went back to the window. She then spotted our, frankly stupid, next door neighbour heading towards the overgrown banking where the bobcat had scarpered to. Some people need to realize that wild things ain't your pretty little moggie. Anyway local animal control and the cops have been duly informed, I'm sure they'll be around knocking everyone's door to make sure small children and dogs/cats are kept indoors and under tight control for a few days. The wife lost a pet dog to a bobcat about 25 years ago and Finnie will be held on a tight leash over the next few days
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Post by tetsabb on Oct 31, 2024 20:16:54 GMT
It has been my Better Half's birthday.
She likes the t-shirt that reads 'National Sarcasm Society... like we need your support'
Her sister came over and brought a very cool bird feeder that sticks to a window. Rae has an immense list of medical issues, but seemed in very good spirits.
And a friend dropped in with a stack of books.
No trick or treat muggers.
I am about to put nut roast and spuds in th'oven and get sprouts ready for birthday dinner
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Post by crissdee on Oct 31, 2024 20:52:33 GMT
Many happies to Mrs Tetsabb!
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Post by suze on Oct 31, 2024 22:55:08 GMT
No trick or treat muggers.
Those are one of the reasons why I do like going on holiday in the October half term fortnight.
They don't have Hallowe'en in Spain. By now, the young people probably are aware of tricking and treating because they've seen American movies, but they haven't taken it up for themselves. Contrast with Portugal where they have, although they do it "tomorrow" on Todos os Santos, as it is known in those parts.
All Saints is a public holiday in most predominantly Catholic countries - it certainly is in Spain - and is also a Day of Obligation. Accordingly, it is not appropriate to prat about on the evening before it. We're coming home tomorrow anyway, but those who are still here will find many of the shops shut. Once upon a time, everything would have been as firmly shut as it is on a Sunday in Stornoway, but those days are gone in Spain.
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Post by Dix on Nov 1, 2024 7:57:12 GMT
Her sister came over and brought a very cool bird feeder that sticks to a window. Rae has an immense list of medical issues, but seemed in very good spirits. The glass dome one? Very cool, but it turns out that our birdies are too stupid to find it! Ours is on a first floor window, maybe they prefer it lower down but that wasn't practical. |
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Post by amanda on Nov 1, 2024 10:18:55 GMT
After missing the music library a fortnight ago due to bad weather, I decide with my assistant that I'll still go and he won't bother. Get to the station this morning to hear possible news of delayed trains - staff say there'd been a fatality part way up the line and if that's the case, there will be replacement buses that would take an hour to arrive.
I decide to get the train to where they're terminating and see what's happening re the buses. Get out at the station, look across the road and see another suburban 'smart bus' route and it hits me - I can get that bus that takes me close to the main road of the music library, I'd need that bus then. So I do that. Then nearly can't get into the church due to roadworks directly outside, about which I have not been informed.
The man and woman with a lollipop 'stop/slow' sign allow me to get around the hole in the road and into the church. Then I have to repeat this process 45 minutes later.
As I pass this suburb's station, I check the signs and it seems the trains are back and running which is good. Usually a fatality means police investigations which can close that section of a line for a few hours.
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Post by tetsabb on Nov 1, 2024 11:06:02 GMT
Her sister came over and brought a very cool bird feeder that sticks to a window. Rae has an immense list of medical issues, but seemed in very good spirits. The glass dome one? Very cool, but it turns out that our birdies are too stupid to find it! Ours is on a first floor window, maybe they prefer it lower down but that wasn't practical. All plastic Here is the image on the box Piccy |
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Post by crissdee on Nov 1, 2024 11:35:30 GMT
Due to lack of gainful employment, my finances are a bit stretched at the moment. Within my emails this morning, is one from Tiffany's, asking if I would be interested in purchasing a £14,000 ring...
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Post by alexanderhoward on Nov 1, 2024 15:08:26 GMT
Calming down after a calming-down week. Several days in Canterbury - which is a huge cathedral with a pretty town attached. The Archbishop wasn't in. (I have been to his house in Lambeth, and he wasn't in then either.) Visiting at the end of October is not the best time to enjoy the gardens, so I will mark it down for future weekends away. Finished with excursions out to Whitstable (as in ' Peter Cushing Lives in Whitstable') and the wilder coasts, all at the edge of the civilised world. The rest of the week spent remembering all the things I thought I should get done if I have a moment, and battling through those. Why is tax so complicated? Painting, leaf-sweeping (yes, but I need something to pick them up with, and those old half-planks are mouldy, so before i sweep the leaves I have to make new plastic ones, but I bought the plastic planks are for blocking the hole in the fence against badgers, so first I repair the fence, then use the off-cuts - out come the workbench, saws, drill, 18 mm auger bit.... Now I can sweep the leaves. And I still have to write that article. After I have answered all the urgent calls from the office (how dare I take a holiday?!) Maybe I can have the weekend off. |
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Post by crissdee on Nov 1, 2024 15:22:20 GMT
(I have been to his house in Lambeth, and he wasn't in then either.) My donor friend used to live in a flat that overlooked his garden...... |
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Post by celebaelin on Nov 1, 2024 15:49:14 GMT
Cousin once removed by marriage and former official Lambeth Palace resident The Right Reverend and Right Honourable The Lord Williams of Oystermouth PC FBA FRSL FLSW didn't take office until 5 years after I lived in Lambeth so he never invited me round for tea (including buttered bara brith naturally). Had the timings been convenient I feel sure he would have done so as a priority on the first suitable occasion that presented itself.
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Post by bigmartin on Nov 1, 2024 19:31:44 GMT
Up early to get to TOIL's house before the traffic got too bad. Pest control man met with, stuff collected to bring down whilst she's temporarily living here, shipping order of her meds picked up from pharmacy. Also, it's been sorted for her brother to collect her car from Lockerbie police station on Monday.
Back for a crash in front of the TV all afternoon as we're both suffering from missed sleep. Texan s-in-l dropped Lucy the Yorkie in as her afternoon visitor is allergic to dogs. Luckily, she and TOIL's dog (also living here now) get on very well, so they were chasing each other round the lounge etc.
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Post by amanda on Nov 1, 2024 21:19:10 GMT
After finally sorting out the Microsoft issues with my laptop, I was able to update one half of my extensive booklists (all hardback listings including local history and gardening shelves, both of which have had new additions, and removals out to the garage. These books then go on the software program)
I now have around 1070 books in this part, and nearing 1000 in boxes in the garage.
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Post by suze on Nov 1, 2024 23:20:52 GMT
The Right Reverend and Right Honourable The Lord Williams of Oystermouth PC FBA FRSL FLSW ... never invited me round for tea
How remiss that was of Professor Professor Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Dr Williams!
He appears to have twenty five doctorates to his name, including the unusually high number of two which are not honorary. Sir David Attenborough OM GCMG CH CVO CBE FRS FSA FRSA FLS FZS FRSGS FRSB, who has 32 at last count, is believed to be the only living British person to have more.
He has also been awarded the Орден Дружбы, the Russian Order of Friendship which is in the personal gift of V Putin. Most of that award's holders in the Western world have sent it back over the last few years. Whether Lord Williams has done so is not recorded, but I accept that it's probably not a matter that you'd raise over buttered bara brith and tea anyway.
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Post by tetsabb on Nov 2, 2024 10:46:29 GMT
I received a call to say that something I had ordered was now ready, much earlier than expected. A local shop has a device on which one can order items to have photographs transferred on to tea towels and tge like. So I went and picked up a keyring I had arranged as a slightly delayed birthday prezzie for Wendy, featuring one of my favourite pictures of our belovèd Theo.
She is quite made up with it
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