We are back in a very warm and sunny Paris. For the first time this year, my laundry is outside.
I put a wash on the line before work this morning. My husband took it in again at 2 and put it on the inside airer as, although apparently very fresh-smelling, it wasn’t a lot drier than at 8. We'll wait a few more weeks (or at least for a windy day).
... You had a massive move after David died, and did it alone. I'm amazed when I think of that.
I didn't do it all alone; my sister and niece were a huge help when they were over for the funeral, and friends in the Cathedral in Fredericton helped with things like taking stuff to the charity shop (and all David's hymnals and anthem books to the Cathedral for his successor).
And the blokes who cleared the house ready for the new owners were brilliant.
A nice early Spring day here, complete with patches of Sunshine. I got my hair cut at lunchtime and was disappointed to learn that my usual stylist is leaving to set up her own business, unfortunately not in Linlithgow. I had just got her trained to cut my hair the way I like it too!
It's not the end of the world: the girl who used to do it is back from maternity leave, so I'll be going back to her, and she knows how I like it.
Supper was fishcakes with veggies (in the case of the veggies, because use-by dates).
I'm just back from London where we took a group of Ramblers down the north bank of the Thames. We didn't lose anyway and got everyone back in time for the train home. I'm so glad I'm not commuting anymore. I'm too old to try and strap-hang on a crowded tube train. It was a lovely day, made particularly interesting by the memories of one of our number who knew the area well back in the sixties. We also went to The Prospect of Whitby where we had a shipmeet many moons ago.
Glad you enjoyed it @Sarasa. You missed a lovely sunny day here.
I only had a short walk round the block, but I continued ticking items off my To Do list and batch cooked a load of bolognese sauce, eating one lot tonight before choir.
Lovely day here. Chilly to start with but once the mist had burned off we had sun for the rest of the day. Washed my rainproof jacket and a heavy towelling dressing gown and dried them out in the garden.
Had half an hour sitting out in the sun during the afternoon and had the first ice cream of the year.
It was rather misty in London. It lifted more or less mid-afternoon but it was getting very grey and dark on the waterbus back from Canary Wharf to London Bridge. I appreciate that it gets darker a little later at this time of year further north.
Mr RoS did manage to get the 'lawn' cut yesterday. I miss all the sweet violets that were in it, but it would have been near impossible to mow it if it had got much longer.
Happily we do have a few wild corners where the violets have established themselves, and do not get disturbed.
Another line of washing is hanging out in the sun.
Arkland the Favoured has had a lovely Sun-Shiny day, after the Fog of yesterday and yesternight, and I've spent most of the afternoon in S&Q in the wheelhouse.
Time for tea/supper now, in the form of STEAK n'CHIPS - I seem to have somehow unaccountably forgotten about Lunch...
Usual Thursday morning of yoga followed by coffee with the ladies. Then I checked in with my students and marked some essays.
Tea will be gammon, with a chickpea salad (because the recipe kit needs using up). Then it is the weekly bible study group.
Beautiful day here.
Productive morning discussing our golden wedding celebration with a local venue. Exciting!
Marred slightly by being held up in a jam caused by a van overturning on a roundabout. In a 40mph limit, how?
This afternoon I transplanted snowdrops in the green.
Happy Birthday Mr Nen, good to spend some time not sorting and packing.
After doing a pile of ironing was out at my lip reading class today followed by bookshop shift. The shop was really quiet and I'm not sure why as it was a lovely sunny day and there were lots of people enjoying the cafes in the Market Square which is just round the corner from the shop. I got home for an hour's slobbing before a zoom meeting at 5.00.
I don't intend to do a great deal tonight although I have various papers I ought to start getting my head round ahead of various meetings in the next couple of weeks.
Many happy returns, Mr Nen! 🙂
Am I the only one here who tries to say "bookshop shift" without getting my tongue in a tangle whenever Sarasa mentions it?
Thought I might be ... 🙃
A mostly grey sort of day here, which was becoming wet by the time I got home.
As the lovely lady from Hear Again was coming at 6:00 to hoover my ears, I wanted something relatively hassle free for supper, so after she left I rustled up pasta with prawns, mushrooms and rather superannuated tomatoes, which was rather nice.
Now you mention it I don't think I'll attempt to say 'bookshop shift' when I've had a couple of glasses of wine @piglet. I had a chat with the manager about giving up my shift soon, as come May I probably won't have much time for doing a regular slot. We decided he could put me on 'hold', so when things calm down next year after the local elections I can pick the shift up again if I want. He was also very worried I'd been upset by the debacle over the meal on Tuesday. I assured him I wasn't so that was good too.
Enjoy the Golden Wedding Anniversary planning @Tree Bee, what a nice thing to be looking forward to.
Went to an "open" Iftar meal at a local mosque last night. I've been before so didn't learn much. However one lady spoke very powerfully of her experiences of Islamophobia.
I’m going out for a French meal at lunch time with my u3a French group. Just a simple two course meal, set menu, in a local place. They do some good French evenings, but this is a special just for our group.
That sounds lovely @puzzler, what a good way to practice your language skills.
I'm off to the commemoration of the bombing of our local ball bearing factory in WWII this lunchtime. It was the largest loss of life in the town during the war but the factory was so vital to the war effort it was up and running again three weeks later. 41 people lost their lives, including one young lady whose remains were never found, just one of her shoes. I hope to spend a few minutes before that at the peace vigil our local Quakers are holding in the Market Place.
In the meantime I ought to go and clean the loos.
I know why I love long distance bus travel. Lots of time to surf, read and listen to music and podcasts - without feeling I should be "doing something else".
Much better than planes or trains because there are no announcements. Better than the car because it's smoother and you are higher up to watch the view. The May flowers are out already! I'm listening to Mahler's Flower Song and reading a lovely book about a florist.
It also turns out that, much as I love my family, I like to travel alone.
My husband and I rarely sit together when we travel as I like to turn off my hearing aids and just enjoy a book. I managed to read a large chunk of Persuasion for one of my book groups on my journey to and from London. Having my aids turned off means I don't get disturbed by announcements either.
I had a school Finance Committee meeting. We're running under budget, which is good news. The financial officer is a real wizard at her job, and the head manages to sniff out grants from everywhere!
My wife and I are renewing our passports. I filled in the forms online on Sunday and sent off the old ones (in one envelope) on Monday. My wife's arrived today - most impressive. But no sign yet of mine!
A dismal day of Rain and Cloud in Arkland the Dreary, though They say it'll clear up by nightfall. They then promise Mist, more Cloud, and similar delights, for the next couple of days...
Hopefully, it'll be dry-ish tomorrow, as I need to stock up on one or two Essentials, probably just at the village Co-Op.
FISH PIE for tea, because Friday - I don't normally bother about this fish-on-Fridays thing, but I do try to have fish a couple of times a week, even though the PILCHARD is still not to be found anywhere...
I think you and I are taking turns going to open events at the mosque, BT! I did get an email about the iftar but I had in mind it was next week…which evidently it wasn’t.
...
Much better than planes or trains because there are no announcements ...
No, no. Buses are better than trains and planes because they're free.
Because I'm a rather nervous traveller (and an idiot), I prefer there to be announcements: that way I'm less likely to miss my destination and get all in a tizzy and/or lost.
It was a bonny but cooler day here, although I was mostly too busy to appreciate it: they got their money's worth out of me today!
My sister (who lives to the southwest of Edinburgh) posted a picture on What's App this morning of her garden with a light coating of snow: they seem to get it much more readily than we do, thank God!
My plans worked out and I got to spend a few minutes at the very well attended Quaker vigil before going off to the cemetery for the commemoration of the bombing in 1941. It was the first time the service had been held since the death of L, a much loved local legend, who among other things had organised the commemoration. There weren't many people there because he wasn't there to remind and chivvy people about it, but it was still worthwhile attending. Someone remembered the bombing as a five year old, and someone else was there to remember an uncle killed in the raid.
I shall be heading off to bed soon as I feel surprisingly tired. Maybe the red wine I've been drinking all evening has something to do with it.
. Buses are better than trains and planes because they're free. .
Long-distance buses, such as the ones Boogie was travelling on are not free - but are better than trains & planes for all the reasons she mentioned. Add to that, more leg & elbow room - especially more than you get on planes.
There are some long-distance Welsh buses (Trawcymru) which, I think are free for (Welsh) bus pass holders. Some of the routes are long - the T2 Bangor-Aberystwyth takes 4 hours! But these are definitely buses, not comfy coaches, and have lots of potential stops.
I think you and I are taking turns going to open events at the mosque, BT! I did get an email about the iftar but I had in mind it was next week…which evidently it wasn’t.
I have been to other events (eg talks on Christian and Muslim views of Mary) but sadly have had to miss many due to other commitments.
. Buses are better than trains and planes because they're free. .
Long-distance buses, such as the ones Boogie was travelling on are not free - but are better than trains & planes for all the reasons she mentioned. Add to that, more leg & elbow room - especially more than you get on planes.
I prefer trains. Legroom tends to be better - especially if you avoid the ‘airline’ seats, and you can relieve the discomfort of a less than ideal seat by going for a walk. (At 6’4” tall I have never travelled on a bus or coach with adequately comfortable seats.)
It's been a long and stressful day at Casa Nen, on a theme of packing and sorting. We are surrounded by filled boxes and are having the packers round tomorrow "to pack us up." I observed to Mr Nen that for people who are supposed to be having professionals to pack for us, we seem to be doing rather a lot of it ourselves.
This evening we drove over to the house we're buying for them to show us how the heating works and for us to measure up for curtains. The good news is that they are only taking one curtain rail and it is not the one in the master bedroom (which I thought it was) so we just need to get curtains for that one room to start with, and they're leaving more of the blinds than we were anticipating.
The not so good news is that Mr Nen has come out with a heavy cold which is pretty poor timing. He is powering through but clearly feeling grim and the general sniffling, nose-blowing, coughing and spluttering meant that neither of us got much sleep last night. All adding to the General Nen Stress.
. Buses are better than trains and planes because they're free. .
Long-distance buses, such as the ones Boogie was travelling on are not free - but are better than trains & planes for all the reasons she mentioned. Add to that, more leg & elbow room - especially more than you get on planes.
Hope the packers get everything more or less packed up for you @Nenya and that Mr Nen isn’t too poorly for the move.
It’s a busy day in our market town. We have an artisan market and record fair on as well as the usual Saturday market and this evening there is a garden of light event with lots of things going on including a silent disco in the church. Also this morning we have the Hercules Clay commemoration. During the Civil War Alderman Clay had a dream three nights running that his house would be destroyed. He got his family to safety just before it was hit by cannon fire. He paid for a sermon to be read in church every year to thank God for his deliverance. Nowadays we have a short service in front of the Town Hall and then take contributions to our local food bank. It’s accompanied by members of our local Civil War enactment company so quite the pageant.
Most of yesterday taken by fitting a new dishwasher. Integrated one, so the door panel had to fit exactly. Now up and running, to our great relief. When we had a growing family, we quickly realised that a dishwasher came in the realm of 'essential support', whereas we managed fine without a television or a tumble drier.
Today we have a crew here restoring our magnificent tulip tree to a size the neighbours are more comfortable with. Sad to have to do it, but much better than losing it altogether. They grow very big!
Most of yesterday taken by fitting a new dishwasher. Integrated one, so the door panel had to fit exactly. Now up and running, to our great relief. When we had a growing family, we quickly realised that a dishwasher came in the realm of 'essential support', whereas we managed fine without a television or a tumble drier.
Today we have a crew here restoring our magnificent tulip tree to a size the neighbours are more comfortable with. Sad to have to do it, but much better than losing it altogether. They grow very big!
Yes, those trees can be enormous! We have a stunningly beautiful and very tall one in a car park here in Chichester. It's in flower at the moment and is just glorious.
This morning Mr Heavenly went to the newly discovered Chinese fish market nearby and came back with a spotty fish, presumably a grouper. We’ve just had it for lunch and it was quite meaty; it’s not one I would rush to buy again. Alas, there were no eels which is what he wanted. There was lots of skate, though, so he might buy that next week.
Birds have been fed and wormery sorted, and I have done the laundry. I might do some bedroom tidying later.
When we had a growing family, we quickly realised that a dishwasher came in the realm of 'essential support', whereas we managed fine without a television or a tumble drier.
When we moved in to our current house there were two slots in the kitchen. One has a washing machine but the people who were there before us didn't understand why we wouldn't want a tumble dryer in the other and we didn't understand why they didn't have a dishwasher.
We had a very pleasant Spring day for going hiking in the Southern suburbs. It wasn't a particularly long walk (11.5 km) but it was quite hilly. I am expecting to ache tomorrow.
Chilly, misty, and occasionally drizzly in Arkland the Bemizzled, but I did venture out on an Exciting Expotition to the Co-Op...
With a fair quantity of CHEESE in stock, I have indulged in a bottle of PORT with which to wash down at least some of it. There is, of course, no such thing as too much CHEESE.
Lunch was Italian - Spaghetti Carbonara, accompanied by Birra Peroni. Tea/supper may well be Melty CHEESE - a slice or two of Bread, covered in slices of extra-mature Cheddar, popped in the Dragon for five minutes or so until the CHEESE has melted nicely without getting crispy.
Surprised there was snow in Embra yesterday - until I looked out and saw chap scraping his windscreen. So although it's been sunny, decided it was a bit too cold for the garden.
So tonight will be a cockle-warming chicken peri peri and I dare say equally warming in its way, cocktail.
Yesterday’s French lunch was nothing fancy but an enjoyable coq au vin ( chicken cooked in wine with mashed potato and peas) followed by tarte aux cerises( cherry tart). I just had a cheese sandwich several hours later as the lunch was surprisingly filling.
Today I have been at a joint 3choir rehearsal for Elijah. Very useful. We got through it all, and identified several choruses which need more work, but the concert is not for a few weeks, though there will be an Easter break before that.
I have taken a kedgeree out of the freezer for later, and a pork slice for tomorrow. A free day, nothing planned.
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. Three packers have been here for 8 hours today, the house is full of boxes and two vans are packed ready to go on Monday. The packers will be back on Monday morning to pack the rest. Everyone has worked very hard indeed, including Mr Nen who is really quite unwell but powering through. We did get a bit more sleep last night.
When we visited the new house yesterday, the current owners were saying that they did this "move from the family home"-type move 2.5 years ago. They hired a skip and emptied all the contents of the loft straight into it. I said to Mr Nen, "Well! There's a thought!" He was Not Amused. (Our loft has, for many years, been the repository of many car parts... until recently I had not realised quite how many. Most of them are coming with us. )
I had various errands in town this afternoon and managed to have a bit of a catch up with a friend which was really nice. I also had to buy myself a new wooden spoon in order to cook the tea, mine all being in a box somewhere.
My little study is pretty much all packed. The chap reckoned I have about a quarter of a ton of books... I was undone when one of them asked me how long we've lived here and I told him, 26 years. "Emotionally attached to it?" said he. "Oh. Yes. Terrible" said I, and had to find a secluded place in the house to have a good blubber.
Chick frick for tea as that's pretty much all I have the ingredients available for. No alcohol as it's all in a box somewhere...
Re: the books, for the last couple of moves we've used the firm who have all the local church clergy contracts, and they showed no surprise whatsoever! If anything they thought us rather unimpressive in both books and bottles (perhaps less the latter as the owner is a Methodist, although they have moved plenty of bishops).
Thinking of you and Mr N, and wishing you all the best with your move.
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I put a wash on the line before work this morning. My husband took it in again at 2 and put it on the inside airer as, although apparently very fresh-smelling, it wasn’t a lot drier than at 8. We'll wait a few more weeks (or at least for a windy day).
And the blokes who cleared the house ready for the new owners were brilliant.
A nice early Spring day here, complete with patches of Sunshine. I got my hair cut at lunchtime and was disappointed to learn that my usual stylist is leaving to set up her own business, unfortunately not in Linlithgow. I had just got her trained to cut my hair the way I like it too!
It's not the end of the world: the girl who used to do it is back from maternity leave, so I'll be going back to her, and she knows how I like it.
Supper was fishcakes with veggies (in the case of the veggies, because use-by dates).
I only had a short walk round the block, but I continued ticking items off my To Do list and batch cooked a load of bolognese sauce, eating one lot tonight before choir.
Had half an hour sitting out in the sun during the afternoon and had the first ice cream of the year.
Happily we do have a few wild corners where the violets have established themselves, and do not get disturbed.
Another line of washing is hanging out in the sun.
Time for tea/supper now, in the form of STEAK n'CHIPS - I seem to have somehow unaccountably forgotten about Lunch...
Mr Nen's birthday today is passing virtually unnoticed but we're having roast chicken for tea and I must go and put a bottle of bubbly in the fridge.
Usual Thursday morning of yoga followed by coffee with the ladies. Then I checked in with my students and marked some essays.
Tea will be gammon, with a chickpea salad (because the recipe kit needs using up). Then it is the weekly bible study group.
Productive morning discussing our golden wedding celebration with a local venue. Exciting!
Marred slightly by being held up in a jam caused by a van overturning on a roundabout. In a 40mph limit, how?
This afternoon I transplanted snowdrops in the green.
After doing a pile of ironing was out at my lip reading class today followed by bookshop shift. The shop was really quiet and I'm not sure why as it was a lovely sunny day and there were lots of people enjoying the cafes in the Market Square which is just round the corner from the shop. I got home for an hour's slobbing before a zoom meeting at 5.00.
I don't intend to do a great deal tonight although I have various papers I ought to start getting my head round ahead of various meetings in the next couple of weeks.
Am I the only one here who tries to say "bookshop shift" without getting my tongue in a tangle whenever Sarasa mentions it?
Thought I might be ... 🙃
A mostly grey sort of day here, which was becoming wet by the time I got home.
As the lovely lady from Hear Again was coming at 6:00 to hoover my ears, I wanted something relatively hassle free for supper, so after she left I rustled up pasta with prawns, mushrooms and rather superannuated tomatoes, which was rather nice.
Enjoy the Golden Wedding Anniversary planning @Tree Bee, what a nice thing to be looking forward to.
Lots of time for reading and listening to podcasts. 🙂
The event was covered by ITV Wales News: https://www.itv.com/watch/news/catch-up-with-itv-news-wales-on-thursday-5th-march/fhnv46w (start at 16 minutes in).
I'm off to the commemoration of the bombing of our local ball bearing factory in WWII this lunchtime. It was the largest loss of life in the town during the war but the factory was so vital to the war effort it was up and running again three weeks later. 41 people lost their lives, including one young lady whose remains were never found, just one of her shoes. I hope to spend a few minutes before that at the peace vigil our local Quakers are holding in the Market Place.
In the meantime I ought to go and clean the loos.
Much better than planes or trains because there are no announcements. Better than the car because it's smoother and you are higher up to watch the view. The May flowers are out already! I'm listening to Mahler's Flower Song and reading a lovely book about a florist.
It also turns out that, much as I love my family, I like to travel alone.
Hopefully, it'll be dry-ish tomorrow, as I need to stock up on one or two Essentials, probably just at the village Co-Op.
FISH PIE for tea, because Friday - I don't normally bother about this fish-on-Fridays thing, but I do try to have fish a couple of times a week, even though the PILCHARD is still not to be found anywhere...
Because I'm a rather nervous traveller (and an idiot), I prefer there to be announcements: that way I'm less likely to miss my destination and get all in a tizzy and/or lost.
It was a bonny but cooler day here, although I was mostly too busy to appreciate it: they got their money's worth out of me today!
My sister (who lives to the southwest of Edinburgh) posted a picture on What's App this morning of her garden with a light coating of snow: they seem to get it much more readily than we do, thank God!
F&C for supper, because Friday.
I shall be heading off to bed soon as I feel surprisingly tired. Maybe the red wine I've been drinking all evening has something to do with it.
I have been to other events (eg talks on Christian and Muslim views of Mary) but sadly have had to miss many due to other commitments.
I prefer trains. Legroom tends to be better - especially if you avoid the ‘airline’ seats, and you can relieve the discomfort of a less than ideal seat by going for a walk. (At 6’4” tall I have never travelled on a bus or coach with adequately comfortable seats.)
This evening we drove over to the house we're buying for them to show us how the heating works and for us to measure up for curtains. The good news is that they are only taking one curtain rail and it is not the one in the master bedroom (which I thought it was) so we just need to get curtains for that one room to start with, and they're leaving more of the blinds than we were anticipating.
The not so good news is that Mr Nen has come out with a heavy cold which is pretty poor timing. He is powering through but clearly feeling grim and the general sniffling, nose-blowing, coughing and spluttering meant that neither of us got much sleep last night. All adding to the General Nen Stress.
Crawling off to bed now.
Yes - and it only cost me £14 return!
It’s a busy day in our market town. We have an artisan market and record fair on as well as the usual Saturday market and this evening there is a garden of light event with lots of things going on including a silent disco in the church. Also this morning we have the Hercules Clay commemoration. During the Civil War Alderman Clay had a dream three nights running that his house would be destroyed. He got his family to safety just before it was hit by cannon fire. He paid for a sermon to be read in church every year to thank God for his deliverance. Nowadays we have a short service in front of the Town Hall and then take contributions to our local food bank. It’s accompanied by members of our local Civil War enactment company so quite the pageant.
Today we have a crew here restoring our magnificent tulip tree to a size the neighbours are more comfortable with. Sad to have to do it, but much better than losing it altogether. They grow very big!
Yes, those trees can be enormous! We have a stunningly beautiful and very tall one in a car park here in Chichester. It's in flower at the moment and is just glorious.
This morning Mr Heavenly went to the newly discovered Chinese fish market nearby and came back with a spotty fish, presumably a grouper. We’ve just had it for lunch and it was quite meaty; it’s not one I would rush to buy again. Alas, there were no eels which is what he wanted. There was lots of skate, though, so he might buy that next week.
Birds have been fed and wormery sorted, and I have done the laundry. I might do some bedroom tidying later.
When we moved in to our current house there were two slots in the kitchen. One has a washing machine but the people who were there before us didn't understand why we wouldn't want a tumble dryer in the other and we didn't understand why they didn't have a dishwasher.
With a fair quantity of CHEESE in stock, I have indulged in a bottle of PORT with which to wash down at least some of it. There is, of course, no such thing as too much CHEESE.
Lunch was Italian - Spaghetti Carbonara, accompanied by Birra Peroni. Tea/supper may well be Melty CHEESE - a slice or two of Bread, covered in slices of extra-mature Cheddar, popped in the Dragon for five minutes or so until the CHEESE has melted nicely without getting crispy.
So tonight will be a cockle-warming chicken peri peri and I dare say equally warming in its way, cocktail.
Today I have been at a joint 3choir rehearsal for Elijah. Very useful. We got through it all, and identified several choruses which need more work, but the concert is not for a few weeks, though there will be an Easter break before that.
I have taken a kedgeree out of the freezer for later, and a pork slice for tomorrow. A free day, nothing planned.
When we visited the new house yesterday, the current owners were saying that they did this "move from the family home"-type move 2.5 years ago. They hired a skip and emptied all the contents of the loft straight into it. I said to Mr Nen, "Well! There's a thought!" He was Not Amused. (Our loft has, for many years, been the repository of many car parts... until recently I had not realised quite how many. Most of them are coming with us.
I had various errands in town this afternoon and managed to have a bit of a catch up with a friend which was really nice. I also had to buy myself a new wooden spoon in order to cook the tea, mine all being in a box somewhere.
My little study is pretty much all packed. The chap reckoned I have about a quarter of a ton of books...
Chick frick for tea as that's pretty much all I have the ingredients available for. No alcohol as it's all in a box somewhere...
Thinking of you and Mr N, and wishing you all the best with your move.