We're just back from a lovely day out in Derby, which is an hour on the train from here. We visiter the Museum of Making and the Derby Art Gallery and Museum. The former had an interesting exhibition on wool from being on the sheep to finished knitted garment and the later an exhibition of Joseph Wright of Derby's paintings. Son and I spent quite a lot of time looking analysing An Experiment on a Bird in a Air Pump which was on loan as part of the exhibition. We also had a rather filling lunch at the first museum and some excellent coffee as well.
Apart from being a good day out it meant we missed some very heavy thundery showers. So glad to have the rain and very glad we weren't out walking in them.
Glad the therapy wasn't too bad @Firenze and I hope the burgers are tasty. Are you have beer or wine with them?
Rejoice with me, for
1)I have reconnected my printer.
2) the garage roof did not leak in all the rain today.
This is indeed most excellent news.
I didn't appreciate all the drilling and hammering on our roof yesterday to install the new solar panels - our nice, new, watertight roof. Mr Nen told me that the installer had said that of the 180 installations he'd done he had only had problems with water ingress on one of them. I told Mr Nen that was like telling me that statistically flying is the safest way to travel.
I had some good chats with people at coffee this morning and this afternoon we sallied forth to buy a new kettle, our old one having finally given up the ghost. We ended up seeing and buying two armchairs for our small extra room downstairs (which we're calling the "Snug") and await their arrival in early September, so it turned out to be a rather more expensive outing than we'd planned. We did also buy a kettle.
Glad it went ok for you @Firenze and I too hope you have something alcoholic to go with your burgers. Has Mr F regained some appetite?
We've had a few good rain showers today, I'm looking forward to seeing the greening-up of the lawn, even though it will mean that mowing will have to recommence.
We have chick frick for tea - wrong night, I know, but it's the way the menus have gone this week. Thursdays are always odd evenings for me. Where we lived before I had a long-standing commitment on a Thursday evening, and even now I always find myself thinking, "It's Thursday; I'm out... oh wait..."
The "Experiment with an Air Pump" is both fascinating and horrible. Am I right in thinking that Wright's paintings, by the use of light, are intended to show how the rational science illuminates the human mind rather than religious superstition?
I went to the Museum over 50 years ago and loved the model railway, sadly motionless.
The "Experiment with an Air Pump" is both fascinating and horrible. Am I right in thinking that Wright's paintings, by the use of light, are intended to show how the rational science illuminates the human mind rather than religious superstition?
Yes, you would be right. Observe how the boy in the right corner is drawing the curtain on the moonlight, symbol of superstition and uncertainty. The two female children are being educated out of pity and distress to become like the rational young woman on the left.
First radio this morning - tolerable if not comfortable.
Tolerable is better than intolerable - hope the rest of the treatments go as well.
Today started off nicely: sunshine and a rather fresher feel than of late, so more comfortable. There were odd showers during the day, but not while I was out.
As it had cooled a little, I took a fancy for a veggie curry, bought the ingredients I didn't have and made it when I got home. It was very decent, and there's enough for at least one more meal.
This morning Captain Pyjamas declared that it was too cold to go to the beach. (About 20°. Oh bliss!) It is much to be hoped that he is of the same opinion tomorrow because I have now cleaned all the beach stuff (toys, fold-up chairs...) to avoid having the suitcase full of sand. We went to the playground instead.
This evening we went to a seafood restaurant. The children's menu right royally sucked* so we ordered the Captain 6 oysters (he likes them) and a plate of chips. Going by the look on the waitress's face, this is not a common order for an 8 year old I ordered mussels, which evoke massive nostalgia for my childhood holidays in Britanny.
*this is a bugbear of mine. Why do people assume that children are incapable of eating anything but nuggets and chips? This place could easily have put mussels on their children's menu (most children like them), but they weren't offering a single seafood item to small people.
That reminds me of a time when my children were young and we were all invited to someone’s home for a meal. My children and I were surprised and disappointed when they were given their meal first, fish fingers, whilst the adults had a lovely beef casserole afterwards. They liked fish fingers but would have preferred the beef, and to all eat together.
Whilst I am glad to have my printer connected, I only managed it by borrowing a cable from another device. I can print from my phone but not from my laptop. That’s another issue I need to sort. I miss my resident tech expert.
I carried on with my study sorting. I had to empty the shredder three times today, mostly ancient bank statements. I have so much office stationery I shall never use.
My son is coming here tomorrow and I need his help with moving the filing cabinet, my office chair and putting the curtains back up.
My daughter is travelling tomorrow via Singapore to Australia, in readiness for the Sydney Marathon.
I was going to ask if you'd found the printer cable @puzzler. I hope it's found when your son is helps you move the rest of your office stuff back in. Good about the garage roof though. Safe travels for your daughter. @Firenze, we were discussing whether the young boy was sitting the curtain or opening it. I thought the young woman was all rather bored by it all and preferred chatting to the young man. I liked the old man with his glasses in his hand musing of death I assumed. The exhibition notes talked about Wright being very much an Enlightenment figure. Worth going to if you are anywhere Derby before the end of October. @la vie en rouge I remember someone looking very surprised at my son tucking into a pile of olives when he was very small. His child minder was a good and adventurous cook and he'd come home raving about chicken with loads of garlic and venison sausages.
We had a nice evening. I finished off a speech for a big event we have next week and sent it to someone for checking. She thought it what was needed so I don't need to worry about that until tomorrow week when I have to deliver it and we played Rummikub and King Domino both games we all enjoy. We have two Rummikiub sets one of which was my parents. We used that set last night and it still has the records of games my parents played in the 1990s and some they played with us when we were visiting,
The "Experiment with an Air Pump" is both fascinating and horrible. Am I right in thinking that Wright's paintings, by the use of light, are intended to show how the rational science illuminates the human mind rather than religious superstition?
Yes, you would be right. Observe how the boy in the right corner is drawing the curtain on the moonlight, symbol of superstition and uncertainty. The two female children are being educated out of pity and distress to become like the rational young woman on the left.
The intellectuals and natural philosophers whom Wright knew, mostly Unitarians, called themselves the Lunar Society, so I think it's unlikely that the moon stands for superstition here.
This evening we went to a seafood restaurant. The children's menu right royally sucked* so we ordered the Captain 6 oysters (he likes them) and a plate of chips. Going by the look on the waitress's face, this is not a common order for an 8 year old I ordered mussels, which evoke massive nostalgia for my childhood holidays in Britanny.
*this is a bugbear of mine. Why do people assume that children are incapable of eating anything but nuggets and chips? This place could easily have put mussels on their children's menu (most children like them), but they weren't offering a single seafood item to small people.
It’s too many years since we holidayed in France, but I remember restaurants (pre-COVID) serving children’s portions of real food, such as moules et frites. Italian restaurants may be better (we have Italian restaurants and cafes in South Wales that serve child size pasta, pizza and risotto).
The "Experiment with an Air Pump" is both fascinating and horrible. Am I right in thinking that Wright's paintings, by the use of light, are intended to show how the rational science illuminates the human mind rather than religious superstition?
Yes, you would be right. Observe how the boy in the right corner is drawing the curtain on the moonlight, symbol of superstition and uncertainty. The two female children are being educated out of pity and distress to become like the rational young woman on the left.
The intellectuals and natural philosophers whom Wright knew, mostly Unitarians, called themselves the Lunar Society, so I think it's unlikely that the moon stands for superstition here.
I should look it up, but if I remember it right, it was called the Lunar Society because they met when the moon was full, making travelling home at night easier.
Also yes @la vie en rouge only offering children chips and nuggets etc is a real bugbear of mine - by all means have those available (I know a lot of people with kids and other family members with food avoidance issues need to have something familiar on the menu), but why not have some smaller portions of adult meals available too? It's even more grating when it's really out of step with the adult menu, eg a Turkish restaurant or something.
That reminds me of a time when my children were young and we were all invited to someone’s home for a meal. My children and I were surprised and disappointed when they were given their meal first, fish fingers, whilst the adults had a lovely beef casserole afterwards. They liked fish fingers but would have preferred the beef, and to all eat together.
Whilst I am glad to have my printer connected, I only managed it by borrowing a cable from another device. I can print from my phone but not from my laptop. That’s another issue I need to sort. I miss my resident tech expert.
I carried on with my study sorting. I had to empty the shredder three times today, mostly ancient bank statements. I have so much office stationery I shall never use.
My son is coming here tomorrow and I need his help with moving the filing cabinet, my office chair and putting the curtains back up.
My daughter is travelling tomorrow via Singapore to Australia, in readiness for the Sydney Marathon.
Safe travels to her; it’s a long trip (23 hrs minimum) &hope she isn’t too jetlagged on the day. It’s quite a run!
The exhibition on Wright sounds interesting, I wonder if Mr Heavenly might be on for a weekend away in September.
Yesterday we celebrated the return of Good Food with an evening meal of muntjac saddle wrapped in bacon, with a bulgar wheat, rainbow carrot and feta cheese salad.
Today’s task is to write a PowerPoint presentation for a meeting on Monday (I’m involved in a project where people from marginalised groups peer mentor colleagues on overcoming barriers in academia).
I was on the bus yesterday. The driver was a bit of a joker. At one stop, he surprised three young teenage girls who arrived at the stop simultaneously with the bus by saying, "I'm afraid I can't let you on, as you haven't been at the stop for a minimum of ten seconds". They looked aghast at him for a moment before realising they'd been "had". At another stop, a lady said, "Can I have an All-day ticket?" and was initially told, "No" - but she got it anyway.
@Sojourner my daughter and her husband are spending two days in Singapore en route and then will have four days in Sydney before the marathon next weekend, so she should be fine. They are taking a trip to a resort for five days before the return.
I’ve just heard that my Grandson had his Business Studies successfully remarked, so he now boasts Geography A*, Politics A, Business Studies A. Wow! Just brilliant!
I would find that bus driver weird too; I get anxious about such things and it would make me feel stressed and confused.
These cheeky chappy wind-up merchants are a fecking nightmare if you're neurodivergent. I had one at the hospital when I broke my hip. Turns up to wheel me down to theatre and asks for my credit card details. My brain turns cartwheels trying to make sense of it, he looks at me and says "only joking" and I get a speech about how people don't have a sense of humour any more. No, autistic people in pain who've hardly slept, are pumped full of analgaesics and have found out they're in theatre in half an hour tend to struggle to immediately spot weak windups, funnily enough.
Congratulations to @Puzzler grandson on getting nearly the best possible results!
And a thoroughly unchristian curse on wind-up merchants and teasers. I’ve always been sensitive to this and for a reason I’ve thought I’m undiagnosed ND of some kind-a couple of my children are sure but maybe I’m just odd.
I have been told I have no sense of humour- not true, but I don’t think most teasing is funny.
My study furniture is back in place but I have no time for more sorting now as I’m off to my French group shortly. Tomorrow is another singing day, in preparation for a Come and Sing next Bank Holiday Monday, all works by Mendelssohn.
I don't get that sort of teasing either, I have a very literal mind and assume when people tell me things that's what they mean. I do appreciate directness though. I once tried to by some groceries from a very old fashioned market stall to be told 'You think I'm going to change that £20.00 note, well I'm not.' that made me laugh and I went and found some change to buy my potatoes and carrots.
I've had a busy morning. A meeting where people couldn't decide which of two actions needed to be done first. That took so long that I had to leave before a decision had been made, as son and I were going on a tour of our church's tower, A really good tour and I thought of @Sandemaniac and @Celtic Knotweed as it included looking at the ringing chamber. A bell ringer who was also a plumber had installed a men's urinal and sink in the 1920s. The water heater was a very dangerous looking antique, but neither it or the loo work anymore. I didn't spend very long on the parapet at the top of the tower as heights really makes me feel rather sick, specially as it is very narrow and the wall wasn't that high. My son enjoyed taking loads of pictures and managed not to panic when a wasp came close. He is phobic of them and once nearly fell off a cliff avoiding one.
Tonight we're going for wine and nibbles at our latest wine bar that specialises in Moldovan and Georgian wines. Should be fun.
Glad you've got your study back together @puzzler, I hope you find some time soon to sort it out to your liking.
I don’t think it's meant as teasing. I think they expect you to see straight through it and laugh. That's why they get stroppy when you don't - they didn't get the response they wanted.
I have been told I have no sense of humour- not true, but I don’t think most teasing is funny.
My study furniture is back in place but I have no time for more sorting now as I’m off to my French group shortly. Tomorrow is another singing day, in preparation for a Come and Sing next Bank Holiday Monday, all works by Mendelssohn.
Work was completed in good time and I spent a lazy afternoon reading. Looking forward to the weekend as we are having a Saturday afternoon get together with friends from church.
Tea was baked salmon marinated in yoghurt and garlic, and served with a salad of lettuce, avocado and cannellini beans, with green goddess dressing. Accompanied by a glass of Spanish Tempranillo, as I could not open the screw top on the bottle of white.
I'm quite easily taken in by that sort of "trick", but my usual response would be a wide-eyed "Really??" after which the perpetrator would say, "Nah, not really" and I'd join in the joke.
Another nice day here, with a high of 18°. I finally managed to clear most of my voice files, although I'm sure they'll have regenerated by Monday!
Scratch dinner here because Mr F still poorly. The remedial antibiotic has been prescribed, but is only available from the hospital pharmacy, so that's an outing tomorrow. While there is a direct bus, the traffic/roadworks/Princes St divert/tourist overload means it will take the greater part of the morning. Ho hum.
I looked up the Experiment of the Bird in an Air Pump and wished I hadn't. Poor little bird .
I hope Mr F gets the antibiotic he needs and it helps him to feel better @Firenze .
We were out and about this morning. Mr Nen met me after my - very fun - Zumba class and we did some errands and had coffee. This afternoon I had planned some time with my books but somehow things ran away with me and teatime was upon me before I knew it. I'm now trying to eke myself out until a decent time for bed. I wake up so early I am exhausted by 9pm but try to hold out until 10.
We have friends coming over tomorrow afternoon for a walk and then a meal here. I shall be doing a Hearty Vegetable Soup in the slow cooker as one of them is on a no meat, no wheat, no onions, no garlic diet.
Comments
1)I have reconnected my printer.
2) the garage roof did not leak in all the rain today.
Apart from being a good day out it meant we missed some very heavy thundery showers. So glad to have the rain and very glad we weren't out walking in them.
Glad the therapy wasn't too bad @Firenze and I hope the burgers are tasty. Are you have beer or wine with them?
This is indeed most excellent news.
I didn't appreciate all the drilling and hammering on our roof yesterday to install the new solar panels - our nice, new, watertight roof. Mr Nen told me that the installer had said that of the 180 installations he'd done he had only had problems with water ingress on one of them. I told Mr Nen that was like telling me that statistically flying is the safest way to travel.
I had some good chats with people at coffee this morning and this afternoon we sallied forth to buy a new kettle, our old one having finally given up the ghost. We ended up seeing and buying two armchairs for our small extra room downstairs (which we're calling the "Snug") and await their arrival in early September, so it turned out to be a rather more expensive outing than we'd planned. We did also buy a kettle.
Glad it went ok for you @Firenze and I too hope you have something alcoholic to go with your burgers. Has Mr F regained some appetite?
We've had a few good rain showers today, I'm looking forward to seeing the greening-up of the lawn, even though it will mean that mowing will have to recommence.
We have chick frick for tea - wrong night, I know, but it's the way the menus have gone this week. Thursdays are always odd evenings for me. Where we lived before I had a long-standing commitment on a Thursday evening, and even now I always find myself thinking, "It's Thursday; I'm out... oh wait..."
I went to the Museum over 50 years ago and loved the model railway, sadly motionless.
Yes, you would be right. Observe how the boy in the right corner is drawing the curtain on the moonlight, symbol of superstition and uncertainty. The two female children are being educated out of pity and distress to become like the rational young woman on the left.
Today started off nicely: sunshine and a rather fresher feel than of late, so more comfortable. There were odd showers during the day, but not while I was out.
As it had cooled a little, I took a fancy for a veggie curry, bought the ingredients I didn't have and made it when I got home. It was very decent, and there's enough for at least one more meal.
This evening we went to a seafood restaurant. The children's menu right royally sucked* so we ordered the Captain 6 oysters (he likes them) and a plate of chips. Going by the look on the waitress's face, this is not a common order for an 8 year old
*this is a bugbear of mine. Why do people assume that children are incapable of eating anything but nuggets and chips? This place could easily have put mussels on their children's menu (most children like them), but they weren't offering a single seafood item to small people.
Whilst I am glad to have my printer connected, I only managed it by borrowing a cable from another device. I can print from my phone but not from my laptop. That’s another issue I need to sort. I miss my resident tech expert.
I carried on with my study sorting. I had to empty the shredder three times today, mostly ancient bank statements. I have so much office stationery I shall never use.
My son is coming here tomorrow and I need his help with moving the filing cabinet, my office chair and putting the curtains back up.
My daughter is travelling tomorrow via Singapore to Australia, in readiness for the Sydney Marathon.
@Firenze, we were discussing whether the young boy was sitting the curtain or opening it. I thought the young woman was all rather bored by it all and preferred chatting to the young man. I liked the old man with his glasses in his hand musing of death I assumed. The exhibition notes talked about Wright being very much an Enlightenment figure. Worth going to if you are anywhere Derby before the end of October.
@la vie en rouge I remember someone looking very surprised at my son tucking into a pile of olives when he was very small. His child minder was a good and adventurous cook and he'd come home raving about chicken with loads of garlic and venison sausages.
We had a nice evening. I finished off a speech for a big event we have next week and sent it to someone for checking. She thought it what was needed so I don't need to worry about that until tomorrow week when I have to deliver it and we played Rummikub and King Domino both games we all enjoy. We have two Rummikiub sets one of which was my parents. We used that set last night and it still has the records of games my parents played in the 1990s and some they played with us when we were visiting,
It’s too many years since we holidayed in France, but I remember restaurants (pre-COVID) serving children’s portions of real food, such as moules et frites. Italian restaurants may be better (we have Italian restaurants and cafes in South Wales that serve child size pasta, pizza and risotto).
I should look it up, but if I remember it right, it was called the Lunar Society because they met when the moon was full, making travelling home at night easier.
@Puzzler safe travels for your daughter, and good luck to her in the marathon.
Safe travels to her; it’s a long trip (23 hrs minimum) &hope she isn’t too jetlagged on the day. It’s quite a run!
Yesterday we celebrated the return of Good Food with an evening meal of muntjac saddle wrapped in bacon, with a bulgar wheat, rainbow carrot and feta cheese salad.
Today’s task is to write a PowerPoint presentation for a meeting on Monday (I’m involved in a project where people from marginalised groups peer mentor colleagues on overcoming barriers in academia).
@Sojourner my daughter and her husband are spending two days in Singapore en route and then will have four days in Sydney before the marathon next weekend, so she should be fine. They are taking a trip to a resort for five days before the return.
I’ve just heard that my Grandson had his Business Studies successfully remarked, so he now boasts Geography A*, Politics A, Business Studies A. Wow! Just brilliant!
I would find that bus driver weird too; I get anxious about such things and it would make me feel stressed and confused.
These cheeky chappy wind-up merchants are a fecking nightmare if you're neurodivergent. I had one at the hospital when I broke my hip. Turns up to wheel me down to theatre and asks for my credit card details. My brain turns cartwheels trying to make sense of it, he looks at me and says "only joking" and I get a speech about how people don't have a sense of humour any more. No, autistic people in pain who've hardly slept, are pumped full of analgaesics and have found out they're in theatre in half an hour tend to struggle to immediately spot weak windups, funnily enough.
And a thoroughly unchristian curse on wind-up merchants and teasers. I’ve always been sensitive to this and for a reason I’ve thought I’m undiagnosed ND of some kind-a couple of my children are sure but maybe I’m just odd.
My study furniture is back in place but I have no time for more sorting now as I’m off to my French group shortly. Tomorrow is another singing day, in preparation for a Come and Sing next Bank Holiday Monday, all works by Mendelssohn.
I've had a busy morning. A meeting where people couldn't decide which of two actions needed to be done first. That took so long that I had to leave before a decision had been made, as son and I were going on a tour of our church's tower, A really good tour and I thought of @Sandemaniac and @Celtic Knotweed as it included looking at the ringing chamber. A bell ringer who was also a plumber had installed a men's urinal and sink in the 1920s. The water heater was a very dangerous looking antique, but neither it or the loo work anymore. I didn't spend very long on the parapet at the top of the tower as heights really makes me feel rather sick, specially as it is very narrow and the wall wasn't that high. My son enjoyed taking loads of pictures and managed not to panic when a wasp came close. He is phobic of them and once nearly fell off a cliff avoiding one.
Tonight we're going for wine and nibbles at our latest wine bar that specialises in Moldovan and Georgian wines. Should be fun.
Glad you've got your study back together @puzzler, I hope you find some time soon to sort it out to your liking.
Most teasing is bullying in disguise.
Tea was baked salmon marinated in yoghurt and garlic, and served with a salad of lettuce, avocado and cannellini beans, with green goddess dressing. Accompanied by a glass of Spanish Tempranillo, as I could not open the screw top on the bottle of white.
Another nice day here, with a high of 18°. I finally managed to clear most of my voice files, although I'm sure they'll have regenerated by Monday!
F&C for supper, because Friday.
I hope Mr F gets the antibiotic he needs and it helps him to feel better @Firenze .
We were out and about this morning. Mr Nen met me after my - very fun - Zumba class and we did some errands and had coffee. This afternoon I had planned some time with my books but somehow things ran away with me and teatime was upon me before I knew it. I'm now trying to eke myself out until a decent time for bed. I wake up so early I am exhausted by 9pm but try to hold out until 10.
We have friends coming over tomorrow afternoon for a walk and then a meal here. I shall be doing a Hearty Vegetable Soup in the slow cooker as one of them is on a no meat, no wheat, no onions, no garlic diet.