Today should have been our wedding anniversary, so I reckon if I make it through the day without my eyes leaking, I'll be doing well.
An Outing (to a bank) may be the nearest thing I get to excitement - I really do need to sort out a Scottish bank account, as the discrepancy between my current address and the whereabouts of my bank is beginning to be a pain.
It'll feel very weird going into a public building - and even weirder when that building is a bank and you're wearing a mask ...
... if I make it through the day without my eyes leaking ...
That'll be a "fail" - my niece just posted a picture on our family Whatsapp page of St. Magnus Cathedral with coloured light from the West window hitting the pillars, just as it did when the sun came out as we were coming down the aisle.
... if I make it through the day without my eyes leaking ...
That'll be a "fail" - my niece just posted a picture on our family Whatsapp page of St. Magnus Cathedral with coloured light from the West window hitting the pillars, just as it did when the sun came out as we were coming down the aisle.
A Hospice nurse I once knew said that sometimes the eyeballs just need a good wash. Definitely part of the healing process. Be gentle with yourself today.
{{{piglet}}}, certainly not a fail. Be kind to yourself.
Yesterday I totally forgot to go to a hygienist's appointment at my dentists. I guess my brain just isn't ready for trying to get back to 'normal'. Mind you the receptionist who phoned back in response to my message apologising for not being there seemed equally not with it. She thought my husband had phoned to cancel because I was in hospital. It was one of those bizarre conversations where she was so certain she was right I was beginning to doubt myself. I've made an appointment for a routine eye test tomorrow, I'll try very hard not to forget that.
Yesterday I totally forgot to go to a hygienist's appointment at my dentists. I guess my brain just isn't ready for trying to get back to 'normal'. ... I've made an appointment for a routine eye test tomorrow, I'll try very hard not to forget that.
I must not forget the funeral I'm conducting tomorrow morning (non-Covid, just very elderly!)
Thanks, everyone - I think you may be right that a good cry did me no real harm. The wedding picture I posted on Facebook four years ago came up, and I reposted it, and got loads of lovely messages. I know it was a bit self-indulgent, but still ...
In other news, I got a letter from the Inland Revenue saying that they owe me money; and I've got an appointment for a haircut on 22nd July!!!
[...] In other news, I got a letter from the Inland Revenue saying that they owe me money; and I've got an appointment for a haircut on 22nd July!!! [...]
Inland Revenue are cutting your hair? They're certainly taking matters in their own hands, and offering more than tax cuts these days!
I’m sitting in an incredibly quiet Manchester airport, shortly to take off for Germany. Only ten flights are going from this terminal today. No coffee shops open! :eek:
Looking forward to seeing my son and family later today.
Safe travels Boogie, and have a wonderful time!
Had to abandon the bank idea yesterday - my nephew turned up to fix a TV bracket to the wall for my sister, and by the time he'd gone, it would have been closed. Hopefully today.
It appears to be what BF would describe as rather "Wit and Wendy" here today, but I might manage a slight amble between the showers.
Safe journey, Boogie.
Did my usual 2 mile walk earlier and have since done a little uni admin work, updated my uni blog, etc. This afternoon I'm going to start writing my application for ethical approval for my research. But first I'm going to make an omelette and then water the garden.
(based on West of Scotland, that's probably it until Sept/maybe early Oct. Tends to be nice in May, then wet until Sept for a couple of weeks or so, then mostly wet & dreich until next spring. )
Today's the day we would have been going to Japan for a 2 week holiday - given how I feel I'm glad I'm not spending day on an airplane!
NHK World reporting heavy rain and flooding in parts of western Japan today, so you may have dodged a bullet. It looks like another heavy rainy season. That's two years in a row.
The flight to Frankfurt felt very safe, the airport was earily quiet.
Here in Heidelberg the lockdown is over. Masks are mandated in all indoor public places and you have to leave your contact details everywhere you go, even the smallest bakeries.
But, otherwise, life is refreshingly normal. This morning we are going with our son and family for breakfast with friends. Then this afternoon a walk in the forest.
(based on West of Scotland, that's probably it until Sept/maybe early Oct. Tends to be nice in May, then wet until Sept for a couple of weeks or so, then mostly wet & dreich until next spring. )
Thursday here was gorgeous. I trekked out to one of our more remote ruined chapels (and, I discovered yesterday, got bitten by something big and nasty, probably a clegg).
Further dreichness seems to be the order of the day: it's coming down in stair-rods at the moment, although the forecast says it might take a break in the afternoon.
As we got some tuna steaks, green beans and sundry other bits and bobs yesterday, I might make an attempt at a salad Niçoise for supper.
Interesting point re: comparative supermarkets - my brother and s-i-l did the shopping at Waitrose rather than M&S yesterday (I think it was just a matter of where they happened to be), and while the bill may have been a little bigger than an equivalent M&S one, the packages of some things seem to be much more generous. S. and I would usually eat a whole pack of tender-stem broccoli between us, but the packs we got yesterday will each do us twice, and the bag of green beans and the jar of olives were huge.
Maybe I'll have to stop being rude about W**tr*se ...
I love my local Waitrose, not only is it 10 minutes walk away but the food quality is great, as well as having an eye on ethics.
Quite grey here but not quite raining, I’ve been out for my 2 mile walk. I might do some yarn spinning this afternoon, and perhaps some crochet; I’ve got an idea into my head about making a bouquet of crocheted flowers for a friend.
I love my local Waitrose, not only is it 10 minutes walk away but the food quality is great, as well as having an eye on ethics.
Quite grey here but not quite raining, I’ve been out for my 2 mile walk. I might do some yarn spinning this afternoon, and perhaps some crochet; I’ve got an idea into my head about making a bouquet of crocheted flowers for a friend.
Plus Waitrose is the only supermarket here, at the moment, that is promising not to sell chlorinated chicken if a US trade deal allows its import - mega respect! Sadly, there’s not one anywhere near me.
I can't remember what the rules are re: pub opening north of the border - I have a feeling we don't open up until Monday.
It would, however, be very nice to be able to patronise the Balerno Inn, whose food is seriously good. We'd be doing it for us though - most certainly not for Boris!
It's as well I stopped by the local butcher this morning - they're closing for 2 weeks for a refurb and a rest. And my fish van man is in hospital and likely off road for a while.
So Waitrose will be rising in prominence in our food shopping. I would definitely rate it over M&S both for quality and value.
Here in Heidelberg the lockdown is over. Masks are mandated in all indoor public places and you have to leave your contact details everywhere you go, even the smallest bakeries.
But, otherwise, life is refreshingly normal. This morning we are going with our son and family for breakfast with friends. Then this afternoon a walk in the forest.
It does sound lovely. Is there no social distancing at all? And can you have people round for meals and such?
We are having drinks and nibbles this evening with a couple two doors down and feel we're living wildly because we can be in their house (socially distanced, of course) rather than in their garden - which wouldn't be great, given the rain and wind!
In other news I've done some baking this morning - small Slimming-World-friendly cakes and not-Slimming-World-friendly flapjack, soon to be topped with chocolate.
Wen recently moved to Hitchin and our nearest supermarket is 100 yard away \It is a Waitrose. so we are exploring it bit by bit.
I hope you enjoy Hitchin! We used to cycle down from Letchworth to watch trains from St Michael's Mount after school, many decades ago... There were many good shops there back then, and as we discovered later, many good pubs. I wonder if the Arcade is still there? I know Oliver Wilman's model shop in the Arcade closed many years ago when he died. It was place of pilgrimage for many. Cecil Bendall's vintage car garage was known far and wide, especially to schoolboys who lusted after old and exotic horseless carriages. Ah - good memories...
We went for a long walk this morning with the aim of visiting a junk shop we'd seen with some nice terracotta pots. The pots were lovely, but the place was closed, so we just admired them through the window and then came home.
A friend has just been round with a jar of his amazingly good raspberry jam, so husband has gone off in search of croissants for tomorrow. I've asked him to have a look for pots at the same time!
I took the bus to our nearest (independent) bookshop. (I went last week but, when I got there, they'd just closed). I'm so pleased that they're still there. I bought three books.
Husband has cooked a very nice chicken madras, which we ate with some rice and leftover curry and naan from his work takeaway last night.
I done lots of spinning of yarn so might dig out some books on crocheting flowers this evening. I’m having a beer tonight (Python IPA), a rare treat these days.
Just phoned my friend in London to wish him a happy birthday and apologise for the anticipated late arrival of his birthday card that we mailed on Tuesday. He told me it had arrived there on Friday (from southern Ontario). We don't even get local mail that fast. But I'm still waiting for a book I bought through AbeBooks in the UK a month ago.
Just phoned my friend in London to wish him a happy birthday and apologise for the anticipated late arrival of his birthday card that we mailed on Tuesday. He told me it had arrived there on Friday (from southern Ontario). We don't even get local mail that fast. But I'm still waiting for a book I bought through AbeBooks in the UK a month ago.
Oh we know that tale well! It's not uncommon for stuff to reach us faster from China than it does from the mainland of the UK, or conversely for things to get to us faster out here in the Hebrides than it does for them to go from one part of England to another.
[...] But I'm still waiting for a book I bought through AbeBooks in the UK a month ago.
Ah, the mysteries of the postal system! Often enough to nearly going postal oneself.
I ordered a book from AbeBooks, from the UK, a few weeks back too, and which arrived reasonably fast. It was the first part of a two-volume set about linguistic treats, the second of which I hadn't found anywhere at all, and so assumed it must be out of print and gone from the surface of the planet. Or so I thought! - Because just before purchasing from AbeBooks (which is sometimes a bit of an sdventure), I had ordered a similar book by the same author from the Bookdepository - other, independant bookshops are available - , and only when I got this one, I realised that although it had a very different title, it actually contained both of the volumes I had originally searched for! Grrr...!
But hey, I've supported an second hand bookseller through AbeBooks, so that cannot be wrong!
The books are from a BBC TV series with Victoria Coren (Mitchell) from the early 2000s, called 'Balderdash & Piffle', videos of which I came across by chance on YouTube. - Now, if there was a DVD set of those, I'd buy them!
Going out for breakfast is great, it’s been popular in Cambridge for a few years. It’s convenient for busy people and several people in our church invited people round (pre-covid) on Sunday’s as the second service was late morning. The women in my bible study group used to occasionally meet for Saturday morning breakfast in restaurants in town.
I must get dressed and go for a walk before Zoom church.
I for one am vicariously enjoying @Boogie 's Heidelberg experiences!
It's bright and sunny here, but pretty windy. We are out later for a socially distanced gathering for a family birthday so very much hoping the rain keeps off.
It's just begun to rain here, and there's thunder and lightning in the forecast, which has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I've got laundry in the washing-machine. Oh well, time to assemble the clothes-horse ...
Amblage is looking vanishingly unlikely.
Broccoli, pea and sage pasta for supper, I think, possibly with tomato and avocado salad.
Comments
An Outing (to a bank) may be the nearest thing I get to excitement - I really do need to sort out a Scottish bank account, as the discrepancy between my current address and the whereabouts of my bank is beginning to be a pain.
It'll feel very weird going into a public building - and even weirder when that building is a bank and you're wearing a mask ...
That'll be a "fail" - my niece just posted a picture on our family Whatsapp page of St. Magnus Cathedral with coloured light from the West window hitting the pillars, just as it did when the sun came out as we were coming down the aisle.
{{{Piglet}}}
Anniversaries, and subsequent Spontaneous Eye Leakage, are indeed NOT a fail, at all, at all.
Next week sees the anniversaries of the passing of My Old Dad (1986), and my 19-year old Cousin Sam (2013).
Yesterday I totally forgot to go to a hygienist's appointment at my dentists. I guess my brain just isn't ready for trying to get back to 'normal'. Mind you the receptionist who phoned back in response to my message apologising for not being there seemed equally not with it. She thought my husband had phoned to cancel because I was in hospital. It was one of those bizarre conversations where she was so certain she was right I was beginning to doubt myself. I've made an appointment for a routine eye test tomorrow, I'll try very hard not to forget that.
In other news, I got a letter from the Inland Revenue saying that they owe me money; and I've got an appointment for a haircut on 22nd July!!!
It's maybe not been such a bad day after all.
(((( Piglet ))))
Looking forward to seeing my son and family later today.
Had to abandon the bank idea yesterday - my nephew turned up to fix a TV bracket to the wall for my sister, and by the time he'd gone, it would have been closed. Hopefully today.
It appears to be what BF would describe as rather "Wit and Wendy" here today, but I might manage a slight amble between the showers.
Summer? What summer?*
* or did we get it in May, and was that It?
Did my usual 2 mile walk earlier and have since done a little uni admin work, updated my uni blog, etc. This afternoon I'm going to start writing my application for ethical approval for my research. But first I'm going to make an omelette and then water the garden.
Cloudy/sunny spells/windy/rain forecast...every 10 minutes or so...
You'll have had your summer...
(based on West of Scotland, that's probably it until Sept/maybe early Oct. Tends to be nice in May, then wet until Sept for a couple of weeks or so, then mostly wet & dreich until next spring. )
Here in Heidelberg the lockdown is over. Masks are mandated in all indoor public places and you have to leave your contact details everywhere you go, even the smallest bakeries.
But, otherwise, life is refreshingly normal. This morning we are going with our son and family for breakfast with friends. Then this afternoon a walk in the forest.
🌲 🌳
Thursday here was gorgeous. I trekked out to one of our more remote ruined chapels (and, I discovered yesterday, got bitten by something big and nasty, probably a clegg).
As we got some tuna steaks, green beans and sundry other bits and bobs yesterday, I might make an attempt at a salad Niçoise for supper.
Interesting point re: comparative supermarkets - my brother and s-i-l did the shopping at Waitrose rather than M&S yesterday (I think it was just a matter of where they happened to be), and while the bill may have been a little bigger than an equivalent M&S one, the packages of some things seem to be much more generous. S. and I would usually eat a whole pack of tender-stem broccoli between us, but the packs we got yesterday will each do us twice, and the bag of green beans and the jar of olives were huge.
Maybe I'll have to stop being rude about W**tr*se ...
Quite grey here but not quite raining, I’ve been out for my 2 mile walk. I might do some yarn spinning this afternoon, and perhaps some crochet; I’ve got an idea into my head about making a bouquet of crocheted flowers for a friend.
Has anyone yet been out to Booze for Boris? Or to Bolt some Beef (or a Burger) for Britain?
Plus Waitrose is the only supermarket here, at the moment, that is promising not to sell chlorinated chicken if a US trade deal allows its import - mega respect! Sadly, there’s not one anywhere near me.
It would, however, be very nice to be able to patronise the Balerno Inn, whose food is seriously good. We'd be doing it for us though - most certainly not for Boris!
[cross-posted with Doone]
So Waitrose will be rising in prominence in our food shopping. I would definitely rate it over M&S both for quality and value.
It does sound lovely.
We are having drinks and nibbles this evening with a couple two doors down and feel we're living wildly because we can be in their house (socially distanced, of course) rather than in their garden - which wouldn't be great, given the rain and wind!
In other news I've done some baking this morning - small Slimming-World-friendly cakes and not-Slimming-World-friendly flapjack, soon to be topped with chocolate.
I hope you enjoy Hitchin! We used to cycle down from Letchworth to watch trains from St Michael's Mount after school, many decades ago... There were many good shops there back then, and as we discovered later, many good pubs. I wonder if the Arcade is still there? I know Oliver Wilman's model shop in the Arcade closed many years ago when he died. It was place of pilgrimage for many. Cecil Bendall's vintage car garage was known far and wide, especially to schoolboys who lusted after old and exotic horseless carriages. Ah - good memories...
A friend has just been round with a jar of his amazingly good raspberry jam, so husband has gone off in search of croissants for tomorrow. I've asked him to have a look for pots at the same time!
I done lots of spinning of yarn so might dig out some books on crocheting flowers this evening. I’m having a beer tonight (Python IPA), a rare treat these days.
Yes, we are just back from a super barbecue with friends.
There is social distancing in public eg on buses only every other seat is used. But in private, not at all.
Oh we know that tale well! It's not uncommon for stuff to reach us faster from China than it does from the mainland of the UK, or conversely for things to get to us faster out here in the Hebrides than it does for them to go from one part of England to another.
* where there's a big sorting office
I ordered a book from AbeBooks, from the UK, a few weeks back too, and which arrived reasonably fast. It was the first part of a two-volume set about linguistic treats, the second of which I hadn't found anywhere at all, and so assumed it must be out of print and gone from the surface of the planet. Or so I thought! - Because just before purchasing from AbeBooks (which is sometimes a bit of an sdventure), I had ordered a similar book by the same author from the Bookdepository - other, independant bookshops are available - , and only when I got this one, I realised that although it had a very different title, it actually contained both of the volumes I had originally searched for! Grrr...!
But hey, I've supported an second hand bookseller through AbeBooks, so that cannot be wrong!
The books are from a BBC TV series with Victoria Coren (Mitchell) from the early 2000s, called 'Balderdash & Piffle', videos of which I came across by chance on YouTube. - Now, if there was a DVD set of those, I'd buy them!
Today is hot and sunny here in Heidelberg and we are invited out to breakfast again!
It’s a real thing over here and rather enjoyable. The hosts put on such a feast that no lunch is needed!
I must get dressed and go for a walk before Zoom church.
It's bright and sunny here, but pretty windy. We are out later for a socially distanced gathering for a family birthday so very much hoping the rain keeps off.
Amblage is looking vanishingly unlikely.
Broccoli, pea and sage pasta for supper, I think, possibly with tomato and avocado salad.