@Thomasina thank you - I think this year particularly it will be hard to come by someone to share with as I'm a bit conscious of the socially isolating thing. I'm glad you have your daughter to share with - I'm sure you are looking forward to that.
I get pleasure from looking at other people's decorations.
Well done for surviving the first day, piglet. I'm sure you'll settle in fine.
Sorry you didn't get the house, Sarasa. It must be very frustrating for you.
Well, I got my piece of work written (the distracting school children bicycling in flourescent vests were replaced by council workmen chopping up a tree across the road) and had a good meeting with colleagues this evening. Tea was Thai red chicken curry.
@piglet what good news that your first day went well.
My day has been very cat orientated, having found out this morning that’s my new friend would be arriving this evening. She’s now here and sussing out her home, having snacked from my fingers. An aromatherapy diffuser has worked calming magic on her.
Yay for cats. I am on the sofa with a cat asleep on my left, and Dragonlet 3 in a suitably safe sleeping location to my right.
Our office was bring your own tea, but that was a reflection of the fact that half the team was out of the office screening people more often than they were in it.
Way back in my first “real” (i.e. salaried) job in theory we took it in turns to make the teas & coffees, but more often it was my turn. Until I coloured them - green and blue. Even the black coffee looked green.
New cat started the night under my bed but has found a secret nest. I have no idea where she is. Hopefully hunger or the need of a litter tray will bring her out of hiding.
This morning I hope to get to the charity shops before they become inundated with donation. I wonder if I’ll find queues of donors, the opposite of sales queues.
I was an outpatient sister so often made tea/coffee for doctors as they didn’t have time between patients; there was a list of preferences on the wall. I would also take round a teapot for my patients in the afternoon if clinic was overrunning - tea is an essential component of good nursing care.
Congratulations on the cat, daisydaisy - I’d love a cat but hubby is less keen.
Just some tutorial prep today, then a 2 hour lecture this evening on young people and community.
When I first started work the caretaker made milky coffee for everyone at break time - very delicious and very welcome!
Quarantine day 6 -
My son still has a fever with Covid19, but he’s no worse so fingers crossed.
This morning is my German lesson, which takes all morning as it’s three 30 minute sessions with breaks in between. This afternoon will consist of ‘yard work’ as they say in the US - pressure washing the decking and flags. 🙂
Glad to read your first day went well, Piglet, and hope you can sort out bus timings.
My place of ( voluntary) work has one of those boiling water taps. I really struggled to use it as it required a lot of wrist effort. I heard that those who are going into the building recently are taking their own flasks ? Or definitely own mug and coffee supplies and nothing is shared.
I used to enjoy making the tea and coffee at work - everyone was so glad to hear the question "Tea or coffee?" and then glad again when you brought them a steaming mugful.
Hope your son is soon on the mend, @Boogie and that you and Mr Boogs continue well.
It's another grey day here and I'm going to make a start on the Christmas cards. We don't send that many so I'm hoping it's just a morning's work. Mr Nen is Zooming all morning but we'll probably take a walk together after lunch. It would be nice if the sun came out.
Hope day two is going well @piglet. In my last job we got free tea, coffee and biscuit to make up for the fact it was a compressed day without very short breaks. There were always emails going round about not abusing the privilege by snaffling all the milk for cereal first thing in the morning.
Another day with an estate agent phoning before nine. At least I was up this time. It was about the place the agent was trying to convince me about yesterday. She now has the keys , so husband is making a detour on the way home to see if it's worth all the fuss.
Gosh, that takes me back to school. The science staff would make their coffee in large beakers on tripods over Bunsen burners, one for the coffee - old fashioned grounds in jug method, and one for milk. We thought it was very...not sure quite what, not cool exactly. I wonder what was wrong with the staffoom in that building.
I'm tempted to think they did it for fun and for effect, and would be delighted that years later a former pupil of theirs still remembers and talks about it.
Done in near privacy during the lunch hour, on the bench against the window. Only found out by chance. And if they are delighted, it will be in the next life.
I had a less successful journey this morning: on the way to the station I tripped on a paving stone and went my length on the pavement, with much loss of dignity (and now, delayed-reaction aches in places I didn't know I had places). I was observed by a very kindly gentleman in a pickup truck, who offered me a lift to the station (not that it's very far, but it was a very kind gesture, which I accepted).
Once I got into Edinburgh, and caught the right bus, its screen thingy and voiceover that tells you what the next bus-stop is wasn't working. I've only travelled that route twice, and it wasn't completely light yet, and you've guessed it, I got off at the wrong stop - about three before I should have done. Assuming there'd be another bus in maybe 10-15 minutes I waited - for nearly half an hour.
I really am an idiot sometimes.
At least I had a decently productive day, with 100% success in nearly all the online training tests!
... The science staff would make their coffee in large beakers on tripods over Bunsen burners ...
That reminds me of a story of a maths teacher in my old school, who was a legend in his own lunchtime although not necessarily in a good way. Apparently he would take an inordinate length of time stirring his tea with the only teaspoon in the staffroom, and his colleagues got fed up of waiting. One of the science teachers borrowed the spoon, made a cast of it and cast a new spoon, but out of a metal with a very low melting point ...
Uneven paving-stone's are the devil's work. They have cost me a bunged knee and wrecked glasses on a couple of occasions. You have all my sympathy, and I hope no lasting ill-effects.
Aaargh. I’ve suspected nightlife around somewhere, but there is definitely Something going on in my roof space. I’ve contacted a pest control company who are visiting tomorrow. Meanwhile, leaving the light on up there seems to be keeping things quiet.
Eeeks re uncalled-for kneefalls and dash in the attic! I hope all gets sorted out soon and well!
Sun here in Continental WesShire for the first time in, well, weeks - not that there isn't any sunshine, but wide swathes of the land are under a persistent layer of this dense winter fog and clouds. Up on the hillocks, should one have the leisure to amble on heights, it is bright and lovely!
Back from the Chinese Medicine (Traditional) peeps. Their treatment for a couple of minor ailments always has me float home and be rather elated and at peace. It's a great thing, this, like some sort of meditation, and many emotional blockages are gone as well, at least for a while. Most refreshing! Can recommend.
We are doing fine, getting into a new routine. I’m a master at pottering. Tatze is enjoying all her new walking partners and her social diary is full!
Our son in Heidelberg has had a high fever for three nights but feels a bit better now, he’s sent us a text saying he’s aching all over but the fever has gone this morning. Touch wood he’s turned a corner. We feel helpless and wish we were still there to deliver meals for them. We sent them money for take-always.
🤞 all is well - if it is and he’s symptom free they are released from isolation on the 8th.
That's good @Boogie , hope all continues well with you and the family.
I've just finished writing our Christmas cards and now need Mr Nen to tell me which of his Friends and Relations need to have our newsletter enclosed. We seldom do a newsletter (I'm not keen on them, frankly) but it seemed important this year and ours does include some pictures of the family which I hope people will appreciate.
@daisydaisy - Mr Nen was sorting a small shed in our garden (I'm going to try and carry a geranium in a pot over the winter and it needs to be somewhere frost free) and found evidence of rodent occupation... now cleared up and hole in wall of shed blocked...
Mice or rats? When rats bred under our shed the youngsters could be seen playing on the lawn in daylight. Our pest contractor was fascinated to watch them as he said he hardly ever saw a live rat!
Daisydaisy - with any luck you won't need Pest Control again now you've got the Ultimate Deterrent, i.e. a cat!
Wes - glad to hear the Chinese medicine is doing what it should!
Today's commute didn't involve any lapses of dignity, but we had heavy frost, verging on sn*w (eek!), so getting about was a bit challenging. Also, and perhaps not unrelated, the bus I would have got was doing reduced stops, which didn't include mine, so I had to wait another 20 minutes or so for one that did.
At least the announcement screen thingy was working!
Had a very long training session on the computerised records system this morning - my brain's fried ...
I'm tired from working the last two evenings and can't concentrate on my writing so I pottered this morning and restocked the bird feeders. But I need to get cracking with some work now.
Mice or rats? When rats bred under our shed the youngsters could be seen playing on the lawn in daylight. Our pest contractor was fascinated to watch them as he said he hardly ever saw a live rat!
Pretty definitely rats. We've never seen one in the garden but neighbours opposite reported seeing them in the road a couple of years ago. Subsequently we found out we had given them hospitality in the same small shed; we'd forgotten we'd left a bundle of hay in there (for use by a now-deceased guinea pig) and there was a nicely hollowed out space in the bundle (empty of anything alive), a different hole in the back of the shed, and many droppings. We're aware of the nature of rat droppings (as opposed to mice droppings) as we used to keep fancy rats as pets.
This time there were no droppings or bedding - just the hole in the shed and loads and loads of empty, cracked snail shells. We suspect the shed has been serving as a Snack Shack!
... We're aware of the nature of rat droppings (as opposed to mice droppings) ...
I'm reminded of the old schoolboy joke:
Q: What size is a ratchet?
A: A little bigger than a mouse-shit
I'll see myself out.
They may indeed be sagacious and intelligent, BF, but I still don't want to share my house with them. Having said that, don't they reckon that in this country you're never more than about fifteen feet from a rat?
I took a bag of Something-or-Other for supper from the freezer before I left for work this morning; in a zip-lock bag it was hard to tell exactly what. It turned out to be a chicken casserole that I'd forgotten I'd made, and was actually very nice.
Looking out the window, there's still more White Stuff than I care for: boots are going to have to be applied, and if it gets really bad, new ones with winter-tyre grade soles might need to be acquired.
Have I ever mentioned that if I never see snow again it'll be too soon?
... We're aware of the nature of rat droppings (as opposed to mice droppings) ...
I'm reminded of the old schoolboy joke:
Q: What size is a ratchet?
A: A little bigger than a mouse-shit
I'll see myself out.
They may indeed be sagacious and intelligent, BF, but I still don't want to share my house with them. Having said that, don't they reckon that in this country you're never more than about fifteen feet from a rat?
Fair comment, and I, too, have heard about never being more than fifteen feet away from a rat - though that figure may be somewhat conjectural.
(Note - Don't do this at home, children! - I wonder whether letting him barf out of a window or from the balcony on the 25th floor, or wherever you are, would be interesting to watch... at least as long there is no strong wind! Sorry.)
Hmm. After being sick 15+ times, I guess the unfortunate Captain has very little left in his poor tummy - bear in mind, he is still a Very Small Person.
Hopefully, both he and his Maman will sleep well, and feel better tomorrow (or later today, I mean - it's time I went up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire, too).
My son is tired but on the mend. His partner has Covid19 now, with a bad fever. Their flat is tiny and keeping a hyper active toddler busy and happy is hard, especially as he’s still recovering and she’s still breast feeding.
I hate being so far away. 😢
This morning is my Pilates session. Hopefully it will keep my mind of problems I can’t do a thing about anyway.
Oh poor Captain P and Maman - I hope the rehydration does the trick.
I’ve seen rats hoovering up under the bird feeders (and on them until I put the post holding them into an upright drainpipe). What baffles me is how they get into the roof - they must be scaling walls.
... and they gnaw their way through wood, plaster, board, fine wire-wool, and filler. I've resorted to blocking holes with cement with nails pushed through from the inside to make a heavy-duty pin cushion.
Comments
Sorry you didn't get the place you wanted though - better luck next time!
I get pleasure from looking at other people's decorations.
Well done for the first day effort Piglet!
Sorry you didn't get the house, Sarasa. It must be very frustrating for you.
Well, I got my piece of work written (the distracting school children bicycling in flourescent vests were replaced by council workmen chopping up a tree across the road) and had a good meeting with colleagues this evening. Tea was Thai red chicken curry.
My day has been very cat orientated, having found out this morning that’s my new friend would be arriving this evening. She’s now here and sussing out her home, having snacked from my fingers. An aromatherapy diffuser has worked calming magic on her.
Our office was bring your own tea, but that was a reflection of the fact that half the team was out of the office screening people more often than they were in it.
New cat started the night under my bed but has found a secret nest. I have no idea where she is. Hopefully hunger or the need of a litter tray will bring her out of hiding.
This morning I hope to get to the charity shops before they become inundated with donation. I wonder if I’ll find queues of donors, the opposite of sales queues.
Congratulations on the cat, daisydaisy - I’d love a cat but hubby is less keen.
Just some tutorial prep today, then a 2 hour lecture this evening on young people and community.
Quarantine day 6 -
My son still has a fever with Covid19, but he’s no worse so fingers crossed.
This morning is my German lesson, which takes all morning as it’s three 30 minute sessions with breaks in between. This afternoon will consist of ‘yard work’ as they say in the US - pressure washing the decking and flags. 🙂
My place of ( voluntary) work has one of those boiling water taps. I really struggled to use it as it required a lot of wrist effort. I heard that those who are going into the building recently are taking their own flasks ? Or definitely own mug and coffee supplies and nothing is shared.
Hope your son is soon on the mend, @Boogie and that you and Mr Boogs continue well.
It's another grey day here and I'm going to make a start on the Christmas cards. We don't send that many so I'm hoping it's just a morning's work. Mr Nen is Zooming all morning but we'll probably take a walk together after lunch. It would be nice if the sun came out.
Another day with an estate agent phoning before nine. At least I was up this time. It was about the place the agent was trying to convince me about yesterday. She now has the keys , so husband is making a detour on the way home to see if it's worth all the fuss.
Once I got into Edinburgh, and caught the right bus, its screen thingy and voiceover that tells you what the next bus-stop is wasn't working. I've only travelled that route twice, and it wasn't completely light yet, and you've guessed it, I got off at the wrong stop - about three before I should have done. Assuming there'd be another bus in maybe 10-15 minutes I waited - for nearly half an hour.
I really am an idiot sometimes.
At least I had a decently productive day, with 100% success in nearly all the online training tests!
That reminds me of a story of a maths teacher in my old school, who was a legend in his own lunchtime although not necessarily in a good way. Apparently he would take an inordinate length of time stirring his tea with the only teaspoon in the staffroom, and his colleagues got fed up of waiting. One of the science teachers borrowed the spoon, made a cast of it and cast a new spoon, but out of a metal with a very low melting point ...
I think you can probably guess the outcome.
Sun here in Continental WesShire for the first time in, well, weeks - not that there isn't any sunshine, but wide swathes of the land are under a persistent layer of this dense winter fog and clouds. Up on the hillocks, should one have the leisure to amble on heights, it is bright and lovely!
Back from the Chinese Medicine (Traditional) peeps. Their treatment for a couple of minor ailments always has me float home and be rather elated and at peace. It's a great thing, this, like some sort of meditation, and many emotional blockages are gone as well, at least for a while. Most refreshing! Can recommend.
We are doing fine, getting into a new routine. I’m a master at pottering. Tatze is enjoying all her new walking partners and her social diary is full!
Our son in Heidelberg has had a high fever for three nights but feels a bit better now, he’s sent us a text saying he’s aching all over but the fever has gone this morning. Touch wood he’s turned a corner. We feel helpless and wish we were still there to deliver meals for them. We sent them money for take-always.
🤞 all is well - if it is and he’s symptom free they are released from isolation on the 8th.
That's good @Boogie , hope all continues well with you and the family.
I've just finished writing our Christmas cards and now need Mr Nen to tell me which of his Friends and Relations need to have our newsletter enclosed. We seldom do a newsletter (I'm not keen on them, frankly) but it seemed important this year and ours does include some pictures of the family which I hope people will appreciate.
@daisydaisy - Mr Nen was sorting a small shed in our garden (I'm going to try and carry a geranium in a pot over the winter and it needs to be somewhere frost free) and found evidence of rodent occupation... now cleared up and hole in wall of shed blocked...
Wes - glad to hear the Chinese medicine is doing what it should!
Today's commute didn't involve any lapses of dignity, but we had heavy frost, verging on sn*w (eek!), so getting about was a bit challenging. Also, and perhaps not unrelated, the bus I would have got was doing reduced stops, which didn't include mine, so I had to wait another 20 minutes or so for one that did.
At least the announcement screen thingy was working!
Had a very long training session on the computerised records system this morning - my brain's fried ...
This time there were no droppings or bedding - just the hole in the shed and loads and loads of empty, cracked snail shells. We suspect the shed has been serving as a Snack Shack!
...I wonder if the droppings are to be found within the empty shells? Rats are sagacious and intelligent little animiles.
I'm reminded of the old schoolboy joke:
Q: What size is a ratchet?
A: A little bigger than a mouse-shit
I'll see myself out.
They may indeed be sagacious and intelligent, BF, but I still don't want to share my house with them. Having said that, don't they reckon that in this country you're never more than about fifteen feet from a rat?
I took a bag of Something-or-Other for supper from the freezer before I left for work this morning; in a zip-lock bag it was hard to tell exactly what. It turned out to be a chicken casserole that I'd forgotten I'd made, and was actually very nice.
Looking out the window, there's still more White Stuff than I care for: boots are going to have to be applied, and if it gets really bad, new ones with winter-tyre grade soles might need to be acquired.
Have I ever mentioned that if I never see snow again it'll be too soon?
Fair comment, and I, too, have heard about never being more than fifteen feet away from a rat - though that figure may be somewhat conjectural.
a) ten times
b) fifteen times
c) I lost count after a while but (b) is a conservative estimate
It's days like this that make motherhood so rewarding
(We called out a doctor who thinks it's a virus. He seems to be over the worst now and kept down a cup of rehydration salts before going to bed.)
(Note - Don't do this at home, children! - I wonder whether letting him barf out of a window or from the balcony on the 25th floor, or wherever you are, would be interesting to watch... at least as long there is no strong wind! Sorry.)
Hopefully, both he and his Maman will sleep well, and feel better tomorrow (or later today, I mean - it's time I went up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire, too).
My son is tired but on the mend. His partner has Covid19 now, with a bad fever. Their flat is tiny and keeping a hyper active toddler busy and happy is hard, especially as he’s still recovering and she’s still breast feeding.
I hate being so far away. 😢
This morning is my Pilates session. Hopefully it will keep my mind of problems I can’t do a thing about anyway.
I'd always imagined that one went downstairs to bed on a boat.
<votive> for children & parents in situations of illness...
I’ve seen rats hoovering up under the bird feeders (and on them until I put the post holding them into an upright drainpipe). What baffles me is how they get into the roof - they must be scaling walls.
That and it’s Friday so this evening we will be 🍷 🍷!
@Piglet - did you hear/see yesterday's Thundersn*w in Embra, and how was your journey to w*rk?
(There were some spectacular shots of the thundersn*w on the news...)
I thought the same as I read about it.
❄️ ❄️
@Piglet did you hear last night's thundersnow in Embra and how was your travelling to work?