Thursday Blethering.

[Annie4]

Goodmorning from a dark chilly Edinburgh.

[Annie4]

Yesterday was a long day. The sun shone but it was chilly.

The Glen was extremely busy. I had to to circle the car parks for a good ten minutes before I spotted a couple coming out with car keys in hand and followed them to their car. The ABs had to park in a nearby street.

Chris wasn't happy about that so our walk was on the short side. Had a nice pot of tea and a blether in the cafe.

My SiL went into great detail about how my Niece had come the night before and washed her hair, straitened it and used some magic serum to keep it straight and so she was ok with it being down. Some folks will go to extreme lengths before letting me loose on their hair.......

Went to a restaurant that is part of a hotel I haven't been in for about 50 years. It had changed somewhat. Food was tasty- I had haddock - and staff were very pleasant.

I enjoyed my day. Basically got people out of their houses for a change of scene. Me included. Mission accomplished.

Was Very tired when I got home. Slept really well.

[Annie4]

So glad the knitting kit got to you, Impish. The post can be erratic.

This morning I'm visiting banks. One to transact and one to ask advice. That should fill my morning.

Then planning a quiet afternoon though I must remember to pick up some fruit along the way.

Wishing everyone the best possible day.

Need water and tea.

[GloryB]

Good morning Annie and all to come.

It sounds as if a very pleasant day was had by the AB's, you and s-i-l too. I hope today is as productive and the banks helpful.

It's going to be a lovely day and we are off to Hampshire to visit the restaurant where OH's 70th birthday meal will take place. It was booked on the recommendation of one of the guests who can no longer drive any distance. He's a bit of a foodie so I suspect it will be good. OH thought it a suitable destination on what promises to be a nice day.

[Boris Better]

Good morning everybody
Ooh, is Mr Glory 70 in the near future too?
Mr Better is... that's what this blummin cruise us in aid of.
Honestly, I reckon I might just throw my entire ( rather small) collection of clothes into cases and be done with it.
Outside, it's a blue and yellow day , with green grass for a change.
Will go for a bike ride whilst Mr Better jumps about .. must water the patio pots too...
Wishing everyone a pleasant Thursday

[GloryB]

You've certainly got enough luggage allowance for that option Boris! How many more sleeps before you set off?

[Ex Tram Driver]

Good morning all. The sun is rising into a clear blue sky; breakfast Stuff is washed up and contemplating plans for the day ahead - an excursion to TTL for the regular evening club meeting is a possibility.

A decent day out there, Annie.

Hope all have as good a day as possible.

XTD

[Wandy]

Morning. I was wondering if Boris's packing might require something larger than a suitcase, and remembered that delightful thing you don't hear about these days, the cabin trunk. Remember the days when people had such things in their bedsits, often with a blanket and/or cushions top to make a seat?

Yesterday's walk was very enjoyable. We were glad we'd waited for the ground to dry up a bit though, there were several stretches which clearly had been very wet indeed until recently. And stiles! Three miles out, three miles back, and twelve stiles in each direction, some of them not particularly easy to climb. This was the stretch of the Leicestershire Round which is closest to home, just fifteen minutes away. Impish, if you do decide to run it we'd be very happy to provide some support services, whether just a pit-stop somewhere with food and drink or an overnight stop.

I'm off to Piddington this morning for a museum management group meeting, and I will be collecting some buckets of medieval pottery sherds, recently excavated from a site in Bedfordshire. This is all to do with our chairman David (he of the Cambridgeshire crucifixion nail), who works for Albion Archaeology. They've done this work on land at a primary school, I think ahead of some building work, and uncovered an important medieval pottery kiln. They've got I believe about a hundred buckets full of this stuff, all of which needs careful washing ahead of the writing of the report, so David has been seeking out volunteers to do some of them, in an effort to keep the labour costs down for the school. I'm sharing my load with a volunteer from the Turvey historical society, a group I know via my friend S. Not sure if I'll be able to deliver that part of the load today, or if I'll need to make a separate trip next week.

[impish37]

Good morning all,

I’m up and about early to try and get my run done before I head to knit and natter. I will then have the afternoon / evening free (no orchestra today) and may head on an ‘expedition’ somewhere. Just a bus ride probably, but an outing all the same.

Wandy - exciting for the school, but a lot of work too. Thank you for your offer - it’s much further than I’ve run - but I may get roped in to run a section with my friend if she decides to do a supported outing or to help with ‘reccy’ing before hand. I will note the number of stiles - they can be challenging, especially after a few miles.

Annie - yes - our post appears to be very erratic.

Right, I should get on with my day rather than look out of the window and listen to the birds.

[Simply_Fee]

I have a trunk sitting in my study covered by a rug - I use it as a table - it was my sister’s when she was at university (she usually travelled by train) and it is now my repository of sentimental stuff which I can’t quite bring myself to throw away - it provides a good self-imposed limit as if it didn’t fit in the trunk, it got chucked. It lived in the bottom of a wardrobe in the flat. It isn’t functional as a trunk any more as the locks no longer align.

That sounds like a very satisfactory day Annie.

I’ve just been playing with the blood pressure monitor in response to a message from the surgery asking for my blood pressure (telling me to go to local pharmacy to have it done if I don’t have a monitor at home) - I’ve not actually taken it for a while (quite possibly not since I moved a year ago this week) and I found a note in the box showing that the last readings were rather higher - I now seem to be around the average which for someone my age is good, I think. I must be leading a less stressful life than I was - not sure in what respect, though.

The forecast for the bit of Sicily I’m going to is getting worse for next week - definitely promising some rain. My spare bed is covered in clothes as I dither about what to pack - luckily son has decided to sleep at his sister’s for the whole weekend.

[Simply_Fee]

Impish, my post is erratic as well - I’m pretty sure the postman saves it up - most days there is no post but when there is there is always more than one letter.

[Sue and Douglas]

White and sunny in the Shire but 12 degrees later and then hopefully the fortnight with no frosts will come about. I've found all my saved seed and have a couple of sprinkle boxes to keep up the variety in the village beds so want to them scattered.

My Wednesday exercise class has finally been cancelled from next week just as a second person has made the committment to come. So I'll need to find another class for the end of the year that does not involve floor or water or squats.

I have bone conducting headphones as I never been able to thole over ear and in ear applification. No-one hears what I am listening to but elephants in the house or heavy traffic do distract from the meeting or programme/audiobook.

Seagulls christened the new windows yesterday and I can see where I left streaks. This was undoubtedly revenge for me re-posting the council's the don't feed the gulls and take care near gulls during the breeding season. There were eight clustered round a lunch pot of pasta discarded by a teenager yesterday lunchtime.

[lili bolero]

The forecast for the bit of Sicily I’m going to is getting worse for next week - definitely promising some rain. My spare bed is covered in clothes as I dither about what to pack - luckily son has decided to sleep at his sister’s for the whole weekend.

Fee - my most worn item on our recent trip to Madeira was a pair of zip-off trousers. They are made of quick-dry material, and I only had to hand-wash and dry the 'legs' after a rather muddy levada walk!

[Boris Better]

Glory, we travel to Newcastle on Monday, staying o/n with a Better rellie and embark on Tues.
Like fee my spare bed is covered in clothes and " stuff:".
We often get days of no post, then a bundle of stuff... Still, the free elastic bands co.me in useful. !
Just giving it half an hour to warm up before pedalling off

[Grendels Mum]

Bore da. Another bright and beautiful day.

On my wander around the park yesterday I met a lady who has a cheery little dog who likes LPW and vice versa. Though, tbh, LPW likes everyone. The lady was in some distress since her sister had died the previous night. Just before Christmas her nephew died and she is feeling the weight of the world atm. So sad.

Ooh, exciting Boris. I didn’t realise that you are sailing from Newcastle. You could have stopped here. Only about 90 minutes to the Port of Tyne. When I accompanied LC on the Greenland trip, we had an allowance of 90kg each. She did her best to achieve that. Lots of people like to take fancy gear on cruises. Have a fantastic time.

A good day to all.

[Annie4]

Change of plan here. I'm too puggled to fight the crowds in town so will focus on domestics. But first of all, a fun trip to the cowp.

I know how to live it up.

[Kallie 1]

Good morning, sunny day ahead. Hurrah.

Glory, I’ve taken to the Mary Linwood’s needle art and a meet up in Leicester. I’ve been a number of times although the visits had very sad connections to my brother. I do remember the Golden Mile and all the wonderful Indian food shops and restaurants.

Boris, we’ve been up the Norwegian coast twice, once to visit the fjords and then up to the Artic Circle. The first was in July and the weather was glorious and then in March with lots of snow. However, it wasn’t the damp sort of cold we are used to in the UK. Warm jackets and sturdy hiking boots, then more casual wear for the boat. Two different styles of clothing.

I would find plugs stuck in my ears very uncomfortable.

[Cookiepuss]

Greetings from mild and sunny Oxfordshire. Today is the Equinox. Spring has returned to the northern hemisphere.

Post is erratic here too. There has been nothing since Monday, and so I still haven't had my Radio Times which should have arrived on Tuesday.

I'm on the waiting list for aqua, having tried to book too late last week. I have to tell Di if I can't get a place, because she is driving today and supposed to be picking me up. She's no longer working at the leisure centre on Thursdays until aqua class, having given up schools and swimming lessons. She was working a full six day week which was getting too much for her, but she can cope with a 45 minute aqua class.

I'm going along to P & S's house in a bit to see if P is home. S was taken to hospital yesterday afternoon with stomach pains. P asked me to feed Louise the cat last night because he didn't know when he'd be home. I'll just check in case she needs her breakfast.

Chicken report: Noki, Rowan and Nutmeg have laid eggs.

Wishing all as good a day as possible.

[Miladou]

Here at last, Bletherers, but I don’t know for how long!

This morning I decided I’d better get out to the shops before I posted and now I’m waiting for the double glazing man. He was due at 12 so at 12:30 I rang the office to find out whether he was coming. There was a pause, then the man said I’ll just check, came back and said he’ll be there in 15 minutes. Oh, I said, are you Mike by any chance? He was Mike.

We will have a late lunch and OH is loading the car for a trip to the tip afterwards.

When we did our cruises, we bought two huge suitcases that we eventually passed on to DD. Now we only pack what we can carry. I’m wondering whether packing cubes are useful, especially since hotel rooms are extremely lacking in drawers these days.

[Boris Better]

First lunch outside on the patio
Yeah

[Annie4]

Miladou, I swear by packing cubes. Find them really useful.

Can't believe I've just had a nap. I've no stamina these days.

Did get to the supermarket where among other items, I bought filtered milk to try ( as recommended here) .They actually had a smaller size bottle.

It's sunny but there is a cloud covering and though lovely there's a nip in the air.

DD tells me she's been pooed on by a bird and having to wash her jacket. I've informed her this is lucky and she should buy a lottery ticket. I have got that right haven't I.......

[Cookiepuss]

Yes, it's supposed to be lucky. I won £10 on the lottery when my windscreen was splatted by a bird.

The reason we have called the kitten Gizmo. His ears flatten and he looks like a gremlin when he's spooked: https://tinyurl.com/3996rrn9

Beautiful boy: https://tinyurl.com/3zva6h8j

He loves his new toy: https://tinyurl.com/kdev7rdx

Sleepy kitty: https://tinyurl.com/2xzhff2c

In the cat tree: https://tinyurl.com/yv4fjzx9

[Boris Better]

He is adorable
Mr Better is off mowing the back acre.. its the lushest of the four paddocks, we are forecast wet on Friday afternoon and with today's warmth, the grass will get all enthusiastic

[Annie4]

Gizmo is a beautiful boy. Gorgeous colouring.

MrB went to mow
Went to mow a meadow

[rhubarbjelly]

What a gorgeous kitten Cookie! I think I’d end up keeping him if I was fostering him.

Beautiful sunny day here but I’ve spent my time generally being lazy. I’ll make an effort to get out and about tomorrow before the wet weekend arrives.
Son bought and fitted a new car battery in his lunch break yesterday. Today he’s been to check out petrol lawnmowers and has picked one for me to buy. I think he took all my oomph away with him and is putting it to good effect.