The committee meeting has almost made me lose the will to live. The main problem is that everything is thought about too late, or shelved as deemed too soon to be considered. The Chair rules.
There's a Melbourne with an E in Leicestershire, Thomas Cook was from there. We have a plaque outside the parish church with the names and locations of various other towns with our name. Sometimes I look up something to do, think that sounds good and then discover that its in the town with the same name as ours not too far from New York.
Tea was sticky Korean style tofu with vegetable fried rice and very nice it was too. Afterwards my husband got a fit of energy and went and trimmed the hedge at the front of the house and mowed the front lawn. I was employed as general tidier-uper.
My suitcase is now in my bedroom, I just have to decide what clothes I'm taking tomorrow.
My husband also had a fit of energy today - he cut back a lavender bush that he said was invading the drive.
It was just about to flower, and he cut it back into the hard woody stems, so it will nor regenerate. I found the cuttings in a bag waiting to go to the recycling, but they are now in a bucket on the dining table so I can enjoy the perfume while it lasts, and it can remind him of the evil act of desecration he has committed.
Well, Moscow is in Scotland, New York and Boston are in Lincolnshire, Melbourn (no "e"!) is near Cambridge, Ipswich is in both Massachusetts and Queensland .... among others.
More confusingly, we have a Caerau in Cardiff and I think there's one in Anglesey as well.
I can be in Orkney, Heidelberg, Carlisle, London, Exeter, Kirkwall, Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford, Badenoch, Kelso, and even Palermo within an hour's drive from here (not to mention Punkydoodle's) in southern Ontario. Berlin used to be near here too, but they renamed it Kitchener during some unpleasantness just over a century ago.
Pain about the lavender @Roseofsharon but it might spring back, but then I am an optimist.
We're just about to have lunch then we're off to catch our flight to Verona. I'll pop in from time to time, but I'm back properly on Sunday. We get back on Sunday, but we're off to a party that evening.
Pain about the lavender @Roseofsharon but it might spring back, but then I am an optimist.
We're just about to have lunch then we're off to catch our flight to Verona. I'll pop in from time to time, but I'm back properly on Sunday. We get back on Sunday, but we're off to a party that evening.
Lavender is tough as old boots, I'd be very surprised if it doesn't come back even from a cut like that.
My garden has had attention from both my son and my daughter ( separately) this week and then I mowed the back lawn so superficially it is looking tidy. I have just noticed that the felt roof is coming off the shed. There is always something to deal with.
Tomorrow's cateract op has been cancelled
Have another appointment in just over 3 weeks.
What a nuisance - although 3 weeks isn't too far away...
Another rather grey and windy day in Arkland the Dull, with a few gleams of Sun Shine now and then. Tomorrow is supposed to be Rainy, so I guess we're back to the usual British summer...
Errands have been run, including a trip to Tess Coe, so there's no need to go out in the Rain (said he, hopefully). Lunch is LASAGNE - one of the Co-Op's specials, and very tasty. I add a sprinkling of Black Pepper, and would add some Parmesan CHEESE, too, if I'd remembered to buy some along with the Lasagne. Which I didn't.
Echoing what Mrs Beaky said - hope it goes well when the time comes!
First day back at work went off nicely - although there were a lot of file heaps waiting for me, most of them weren't too taxing, and I got nearly everything done.
HOWEVER ... the Saga of Piglet's Bed continues apace - I went to the Post Office after work to find the parcel had been delivered, but some blithering idiot at Royal Mail had forgotten to put a barcode on it, so they couldn't scan it and had to send it back to the sorting office.
I shall schlepp once more after work tomorrow. You absolutely could not make it up. 😡
At least supper only involves taking things out of packages and putting them on a plate.
Tonight is Beaky husband's monthly poetry night which involves food so after a normal Wednesday with grandsons I don't fancy cooking for one and I always buy a quick meal from M and S. Thought I'd bought a nice looking salad but should have checked the label more carefully...I really don't like mint 🤢
Take care, Karl - you don't want to jigger your hip!
It needs strengthening. At the moment there's compensation going on with undamaged muscles doing the jobs of the ones that were cut to do the replacement. As long as I don't twist it round and dislocate it it should be fine.
Good luck for all doing exams at the moment. Pain about the delay in getting your cataracts sorted @Roseofsharon. Hopefully the three weeks will pass quickly.
We’re in Verona. A friend of mine and her husband were one row back from us on the plane, but going to a different place. Very odd to bump into her though. We went for a stroll and pizza and wine last night as you do in Italy. We now need to get our act together and go and do some sightseeing.
What my siblings and I used to call a Mama's Soup Day - warm and wet but with nothing to recommend it.
My next door DiL is taking a few days leave so she and the au pair are in charge of the twins. Meanwhile, the kitten has decided to attach himself to me- and he now has a name, Iolo, because he sits up and holds his paws to his eyes, as if using binoculars.
For the last couple of decades, my husband's working hours precluded him doing anything car related. Services, MOTs etc were my department. Getting the car serviced / fixed / MOT'd was usually a positive experience because a) I was doing something necessary / worthy BUT I had a bonus time between dropping off / collecting to enjoy myself guilt free. The lovely Hazelhead Park, with its cafe, is only a two mile walk away. Den of Maidencraig Nature Reserve is just under two miles walk away. Dobbie's Garden Centre is only a mile and a half walk away.
Today my husband said that he would come with me when I took the car to get new front tyres. We dropped the car off at 7.50, and the garage person said we were the first job today "after they finished off jobs left over from yesterday" and it would take "about 1 1/2 hours"
I interpreted this as meaning the car would be ready between 11 and 12, probably nearer 12. My husband interpreted it as meaning the car would be ready by 10. I said that in my experience, there was no way it would be ready by 10. I could tell my husband was thinking that there must have been some ineptitude on my part if I'd previously waited 4 hours for a 90 minute job.
I wanted to head for the garden centre. Husband felt that we didn't have time to fit in a walk to Dobbies and back. Instead we went to the adjacent Tesco. We had a coffee, then a browse round Tesco, then another coffee, then another browse. Obviously we couldn't actually shop in Tesco for stuff we need, as we'd have had to lug it back to the garage. My husband was convinced that the call saying the car was ready was going to be any minute.
I phoned the garage at 11, who said they hoped the car might be ready by 12 noon. We had a third coffee in Tesco, at which point the server asked if we really liked the Tesco Cafe, or if our car was in the garage. Then we had a third browse round Tesco.
Finally, at 12.10 came the phone call that the car was ready to be picked up.
Four hours, ten minutes in Tesco.
On the plus side, I now have enough points for a free coffee in Tesco, if I can face going back.
Warm here and I would define the weather as almost drizzle.
Yoga this morning followed by coffee with the ladies as usual on a Thursday. As my students have finished I can now actually take my full day off for a change. I’ve done a little weeding and am now having a browse before doing some tidying.
For the last couple of decades, my husband's working hours precluded him doing anything car related. Services, MOTs etc were my department. Getting the car serviced / fixed / MOT'd was usually a positive experience because a) I was doing something necessary / worthy BUT I had a bonus time between dropping off / collecting to enjoy myself guilt free. The lovely Hazelhead Park, with its cafe, is only a two mile walk away. Den of Maidencraig Nature Reserve is just under two miles walk away. Dobbie's Garden Centre is only a mile and a half walk away.
Today my husband said that he would come with me when I took the car to get new front tyres. We dropped the car off at 7.50, and the garage person said we were the first job today "after they finished off jobs left over from yesterday" and it would take "about 1 1/2 hours"
I interpreted this as meaning the car would be ready between 11 and 12, probably nearer 12. My husband interpreted it as meaning the car would be ready by 10. I said that in my experience, there was no way it would be ready by 10. I could tell my husband was thinking that there must have been some ineptitude on my part if I'd previously waited 4 hours for a 90 minute job.
I wanted to head for the garden centre. Husband felt that we didn't have time to fit in a walk to Dobbies and back. Instead we went to the adjacent Tesco. We had a coffee, then a browse round Tesco, then another coffee, then another browse. Obviously we couldn't actually shop in Tesco for stuff we need, as we'd have had to lug it back to the garage. My husband was convinced that the call saying the car was ready was going to be any minute.
I phoned the garage at 11, who said they hoped the car might be ready by 12 noon. We had a third coffee in Tesco, at which point the server asked if we really liked the Tesco Cafe, or if our car was in the garage. Then we had a third browse round Tesco.
Finally, at 12.10 came the phone call that the car was ready to be picked up.
Four hours, ten minutes in Tesco.
On the plus side, I now have enough points for a free coffee in Tesco, if I can face going back.
Fine. You just sit here in Tesco. I'm off to Dobie's. If it is ready by 10, you can drive over and collect me. Otherwise I'll be back about half 11.
There's the rub. He's been told he can't drive for a month after the TIA.
It wasn't even one of the big Tescos, with clothes and household goods to browse! Just a medium size Tesco, with a cafe small enough for the barista to recognise us on our third coffee.
I think what annoyed me so much was that my repeated assertions that in my 20 year experience of that garage, nothing had ever taken "just two hours" counted for nothing.
Also, of course, although I am venting here, in RL I am very conscious that his blood pressure is still too high, and that we were extremely lucky last week that he had nothing worse than a minor TIA. I am doing my level best to be a good wife and not cause him any stress.
Grey, windy, and intermittently drizzly in Arkland the Dreary. I've bought some new paint scuttles and roller handles - they arrived today - but the uncertain weather has Upset My Arrangements (as Thomas the Tank Engine's Fat Controller would say).
Ah well. Maybe we'll get some dry weather next week. Or next month.
There's the rub. He's been told he can't drive for a month after the TIA.
I'd forgotten about that. Mr F's first TIA happened in Germany, so there was the waiting to see if he would appear off the flight, then, as the car was at the airport, he had to drive anyway.
Another day, another fruitless schlepp to the Post Office. This time they didn't seem to know why my parcel wasn't there, and they suggested I phone the delivery place (which was closed by then anyway). I said no, I think it would be better if you phone them, as you might have more clout than I do (and I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't break into fluent Anglo Saxon).
I think what annoyed me so much was that my repeated assertions that in my 20 year experience of that garage, nothing had ever taken "just two hours" counted for nothing.
To be fair, I had my car serviced and MOT'd on Tuesday. They said it would be ready by 5 - but phoned me up at 12 to say it was all done.
Darllenwr and his colleagues usually double the estimated time to be taken for any breakdown repair in work. That way, if things go badly, they have enough time to do the job and if it goes well and they finish quickly, they get praised.
Flaming June is falling out of the sky in wet lumps, the Met Office promises thunder and 15 degrees feels more like 10. The Swedish au pair is baffled that this is summer.
As usual round here at this time of year, a very windy day.
Only the occasional few spits of rain, as the wind won't let the clouds stay long enough to give us any useful quantity. It's been mostly sunny, but still a bit chilly.
If the rain promised for overnight & tomorrow doesn't materialise I will have to get the hose out on Monday.
Our dwarf apple tree, a birthday gift to Mr RoS and now in its third year, is absolutely laden with far too many baby apples. We were relying on the 'June drop' to thin them out, but if this wind continues for much longer we will be lucky to get one each!
Once again the much loved clematis that moved house with us have been blown off their supports just as they are starting to bud..
I would feel guilty about having moved them, but had I left them behind they would have been grubbed up like every other growing thing in that garden, so at least I have given them some chance to bloom each year.
I have tried several times to get my car booked in for service but nobody is answering . Eventually got through and the call centre person needed to speak to her boss, as I wanted a precise time so I could stay and wait( but not all day). At least they provide a nice cafe / waiting area. No shops nearby, just more car dealerships and a hospital. They have not rung back, nor have two other tradesmen. One is contracted to do some work for me but I need confirmation of the start date. The other is a new contact, so I shall ditch him and search again. Why is this so hard?
I've done my usual Friday things, with lunch with a friend as an added extra. I am now having a Large Glass of Sherry before meeting friends online and having my tea. Mr Nen is out so I get the TV remote to myself.
The past couple of days have brought three pieces of bad news about three separate friends plus some Slightly Awkward Family Stuff so I'm trying - somewhat unsuccessfully - to maintain my equilibrium.
I also have problems with the dealership who I bought the car from never responding when I try to get them to do some work. The car is four years old now and out of warranty so for all future work I shall go to an independant bloke who operates from behind a neighbouring business. Fortunately I work just round the corner from them all so can drop the car off first thing and collect it whenever it is ready.
I've done my usual Friday things, with lunch with a friend as an added extra. I am now having a Large Glass of Sherry before meeting friends online and having my tea. Mr Nen is out so I get the TV remote to myself.
The past couple of days have brought three pieces of bad news about three separate friends plus some Slightly Awkward Family Stuff so I'm trying - somewhat unsuccessfully - to maintain my equilibrium.
I hope you can find some peace and space over the weekend.
I have tried several times to get my car booked in for service but nobody is answering . Eventually got through and the call centre person needed to speak to her boss, as I wanted a precise time so I could stay and wait( but not all day). At least they provide a nice cafe / waiting area. No shops nearby, just more car dealerships and a hospital. They have not rung back, nor have two other tradesmen. One is contracted to do some work for me but I need confirmation of the start date. The other is a new contact, so I shall ditch him and search again. Why is this so hard?
Our car is a very, very old VW Golf which my father gave me when he was dying in 2006. It still only has 130k on the clock. We take it to a wonderful, old fashioned local garage. We delivered it yesterday for a service and its MOT, which it failed. We won't get it back until next week as they don't work weekends and also need to source parts.
Good, trustworthy service, just don't be in a hurry 😆
Cloudy and windy again in Arkland the Apprehensive - we are, apparently, *set* to be ravaged by Thundery Strums this afternoon - but there is at least an occasional gleam of Sun Shine.
More Good News, as Neighbour T's daughter P has given birth to her second child - another girl - some 4 weeks premature, but all in good working order!
Some interesting Work has begun on an Ark which moved into Our Creek only a few months ago. It's just been sold, and the new owner is carrying out what I suspect will be a major restoration. The vessel is an old Dutch river/canal Tug, much in need of paint and general TLC, though sound in wind and limb. Not really suitable as a permanent live-aboard, but ideal as a pied a terre or weekend retreat.
Meanwhile, some angst has been caused by the partial collapse of a girder supporting the walkway past the aforesaid Tug, but Neighbour F and one of the Yard Lads have arranged an ingenious temporary support. This will have to do until the Owner and his new Manager get to grips with the problem next week.
Lunch is COD n'CHIPS, which should have been eaten yesterday, but I expect it'll be all right. I sometimes forget about use-by dates, or else forget which day it is when I buy stuff in Tess Coe or the Co-Op...
Back from our very nice short break in Verona. I can't believe we've been away. We managed to do most of the things we wanted to do, including having some rather nice meals out.
Comments
The committee meeting has almost made me lose the will to live. The main problem is that everything is thought about too late, or shelved as deemed too soon to be considered. The Chair rules.
Tea was sticky Korean style tofu with vegetable fried rice and very nice it was too. Afterwards my husband got a fit of energy and went and trimmed the hedge at the front of the house and mowed the front lawn. I was employed as general tidier-uper.
My suitcase is now in my bedroom, I just have to decide what clothes I'm taking tomorrow.
It was just about to flower, and he cut it back into the hard woody stems, so it will nor regenerate. I found the cuttings in a bag waiting to go to the recycling, but they are now in a bucket on the dining table so I can enjoy the perfume while it lasts, and it can remind him of the evil act of desecration he has committed.
I can be in Orkney, Heidelberg, Carlisle, London, Exeter, Kirkwall, Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford, Badenoch, Kelso, and even Palermo within an hour's drive from here (not to mention Punkydoodle's) in southern Ontario. Berlin used to be near here too, but they renamed it Kitchener during some unpleasantness just over a century ago.
We're just about to have lunch then we're off to catch our flight to Verona. I'll pop in from time to time, but I'm back properly on Sunday. We get back on Sunday, but we're off to a party that evening.
Lavender is tough as old boots, I'd be very surprised if it doesn't come back even from a cut like that.
Have another appointment in just over 3 weeks.
What a nuisance - although 3 weeks isn't too far away...
Another rather grey and windy day in Arkland the Dull, with a few gleams of Sun Shine now and then. Tomorrow is supposed to be Rainy, so I guess we're back to the usual British summer...
Errands have been run, including a trip to Tess Coe, so there's no need to go out in the Rain (said he, hopefully). Lunch is LASAGNE - one of the Co-Op's specials, and very tasty. I add a sprinkling of Black Pepper, and would add some Parmesan CHEESE, too, if I'd remembered to buy some along with the Lasagne. Which I didn't.
That's really frustrating. Hope the three weeks pass quickly and happily and that the op goes smoothly once you actually get there.
First day back at work went off nicely - although there were a lot of file heaps waiting for me, most of them weren't too taxing, and I got nearly everything done.
HOWEVER ... the Saga of Piglet's Bed continues apace - I went to the Post Office after work to find the parcel had been delivered, but some blithering idiot at Royal Mail had forgotten to put a barcode on it, so they couldn't scan it and had to send it back to the sorting office.
I shall schlepp once more after work tomorrow. You absolutely could not make it up. 😡
At least supper only involves taking things out of packages and putting them on a plate.
Then some mountain biking with Daughter while Son #1 did his first A Level Maths paper.
Left hip unsurprisingly a bit achy.
Shopping.
It needs strengthening. At the moment there's compensation going on with undamaged muscles doing the jobs of the ones that were cut to do the replacement. As long as I don't twist it round and dislocate it it should be fine.
AQA?
We’re in Verona. A friend of mine and her husband were one row back from us on the plane, but going to a different place. Very odd to bump into her though. We went for a stroll and pizza and wine last night as you do in Italy. We now need to get our act together and go and do some sightseeing.
My next door DiL is taking a few days leave so she and the au pair are in charge of the twins. Meanwhile, the kitten has decided to attach himself to me- and he now has a name, Iolo, because he sits up and holds his paws to his eyes, as if using binoculars.
Today my husband said that he would come with me when I took the car to get new front tyres. We dropped the car off at 7.50, and the garage person said we were the first job today "after they finished off jobs left over from yesterday" and it would take "about 1 1/2 hours"
I interpreted this as meaning the car would be ready between 11 and 12, probably nearer 12. My husband interpreted it as meaning the car would be ready by 10. I said that in my experience, there was no way it would be ready by 10. I could tell my husband was thinking that there must have been some ineptitude on my part if I'd previously waited 4 hours for a 90 minute job.
I wanted to head for the garden centre. Husband felt that we didn't have time to fit in a walk to Dobbies and back. Instead we went to the adjacent Tesco. We had a coffee, then a browse round Tesco, then another coffee, then another browse. Obviously we couldn't actually shop in Tesco for stuff we need, as we'd have had to lug it back to the garage. My husband was convinced that the call saying the car was ready was going to be any minute.
I phoned the garage at 11, who said they hoped the car might be ready by 12 noon. We had a third coffee in Tesco, at which point the server asked if we really liked the Tesco Cafe, or if our car was in the garage. Then we had a third browse round Tesco.
Finally, at 12.10 came the phone call that the car was ready to be picked up.
Four hours, ten minutes in Tesco.
On the plus side, I now have enough points for a free coffee in Tesco, if I can face going back.
The sun has just come out, too.
Yoga this morning followed by coffee with the ladies as usual on a Thursday. As my students have finished I can now actually take my full day off for a change. I’ve done a little weeding and am now having a browse before doing some tidying.
Fine. You just sit here in Tesco. I'm off to Dobie's. If it is ready by 10, you can drive over and collect me. Otherwise I'll be back about half 11.
you can drive over
There's the rub. He's been told he can't drive for a month after the TIA.
It wasn't even one of the big Tescos, with clothes and household goods to browse! Just a medium size Tesco, with a cafe small enough for the barista to recognise us on our third coffee.
I think what annoyed me so much was that my repeated assertions that in my 20 year experience of that garage, nothing had ever taken "just two hours" counted for nothing.
Also, of course, although I am venting here, in RL I am very conscious that his blood pressure is still too high, and that we were extremely lucky last week that he had nothing worse than a minor TIA. I am doing my level best to be a good wife and not cause him any stress.
Grey, windy, and intermittently drizzly in Arkland the Dreary. I've bought some new paint scuttles and roller handles - they arrived today - but the uncertain weather has Upset My Arrangements (as Thomas the Tank Engine's Fat Controller would say).
Ah well. Maybe we'll get some dry weather next week. Or next month.
I'd forgotten about that. Mr F's first TIA happened in Germany, so there was the waiting to see if he would appear off the flight, then, as the car was at the airport, he had to drive anyway.
This really is beyond a joke. 😡😡😡
I slept for a solid 11 hours last night, and woke up feeling a lot less tetchy.
Only the occasional few spits of rain, as the wind won't let the clouds stay long enough to give us any useful quantity. It's been mostly sunny, but still a bit chilly.
If the rain promised for overnight & tomorrow doesn't materialise I will have to get the hose out on Monday.
Our dwarf apple tree, a birthday gift to Mr RoS and now in its third year, is absolutely laden with far too many baby apples. We were relying on the 'June drop' to thin them out, but if this wind continues for much longer we will be lucky to get one each!
Once again the much loved clematis that moved house with us have been blown off their supports just as they are starting to bud..
I would feel guilty about having moved them, but had I left them behind they would have been grubbed up like every other growing thing in that garden, so at least I have given them some chance to bloom each year.
The past couple of days have brought three pieces of bad news about three separate friends plus some Slightly Awkward Family Stuff so I'm trying - somewhat unsuccessfully - to maintain my equilibrium.
I hope you can find some peace and space over the weekend.
Our car is a very, very old VW Golf which my father gave me when he was dying in 2006. It still only has 130k on the clock. We take it to a wonderful, old fashioned local garage. We delivered it yesterday for a service and its MOT, which it failed. We won't get it back until next week as they don't work weekends and also need to source parts.
Good, trustworthy service, just don't be in a hurry 😆
More Good News, as Neighbour T's daughter P has given birth to her second child - another girl - some 4 weeks premature, but all in good working order!
Some interesting Work has begun on an Ark which moved into Our Creek only a few months ago. It's just been sold, and the new owner is carrying out what I suspect will be a major restoration. The vessel is an old Dutch river/canal Tug, much in need of paint and general TLC, though sound in wind and limb. Not really suitable as a permanent live-aboard, but ideal as a pied a terre or weekend retreat.
Meanwhile, some angst has been caused by the partial collapse of a girder supporting the walkway past the aforesaid Tug, but Neighbour F and one of the Yard Lads have arranged an ingenious temporary support. This will have to do until the Owner and his new Manager get to grips with the problem next week.
Lunch is COD n'CHIPS, which should have been eaten yesterday, but I expect it'll be all right. I sometimes forget about use-by dates, or else forget which day it is when I buy stuff in Tess Coe or the Co-Op...
This wood pigeon made the most of the rain in our bird bath. 🙂
https://youtu.be/TvPyjaffc_k?si=QmSDzSHknWNVxq4D