5 OS Pleasures in your Day Today part 2

DundeeDoll

Happy Anniversary Mr and Mrs McHags :beer:
I really enjoyed the dark materials trilogy and ruby in the smoke &
well the last 2 days the work trip to malta has been on off on off on off probably on definitely on probably on. i'm exhausted! Taxi comes for me at 10 tomorrow so guess I'd best pack. The whole week has been on off on off on off, including work puter dying monday evening, being reimaged tuesday but no word, word wednesday but no printer or acrobat. All better now. So for the week
1) gbf's partner was away wednesday evening. was i doing anything in the evening? well yes band at 8 but if he wanted to pick me up at 5:30 we could go back to mine, walk the dogs (who he adores), i could pad out the lo portion of bol then he could take me to band. sorted
2) band was good - reminded me of life beyond dying puters and stressful work situation. left accordian at keyboard player's house and walked home with guitarist. a good relax
3) everyone at work very sympathetic about on off on offness, and released some tension between me and another member of staff, so that was good
4) dd2's bf got the job he waned. :T starts 7th so now needs to find a flat again in edinburgh
5) work friend told me scotrail 55+ is relaunching as 50+ so have joined. good stuff!
right, better pack...

sparrer

Belated Happy Anniversary Mr and Mrs MHags

1. Swimming this morning, my loyalty card is full so had a free swim
2. Had coffee afterwards with a friend and her German mother, a lady in her 80's, who has just moved here to be near her family. She had us almost crying laughing at her brilliant sense of humour. What a fun lady
3. Laid a gravel path along the side of the house this afternoon, the gravel was from freecycle and I used thick black sacks for the membrane. No more weeds, hurrah!
4. With my GP's approval I've been weaning off my arthritis meds (have two for arthritis, another to counteract the side effects, how silly) and onto non-chemical alternatives, which has to be better for me
5. DGS3 and DGD2 got excellent results so will be going on to their chosen uni's, celebrations all round :T

Sweet dreams

DigForVictory

Skint - awed at MS plumbing! Have fun ooop norf - we enjoyed the strange south plenty!
Frith - you solder as well? <awe> Strange meals vital part of holiday planning, indeed of holiday IMHO. Some Dutch blighter had the discourtesy to knock you off your bike Already? Delighted to hear of conversation in three languages (gesture Is a language!)
DundeeDoll - Palestinian cafe sounds a brilliant family place!
Mcculloch - baked chocolate concrete?! Huzzah finding *your* things after layers & chunks relocated...
Mhagster - delighted to hear someone cooking to cosset you! Daffodils?! [D'oh - Aus/Oz] Hurrah & very Happy Anniversary!
Ampersand - "sings with joy like a resonant pealing bell" - awed - I can hear written words! Ulp - spy book now on Must Read list.
Bagpuss - what *bliss* to come home from scout camp to you, hot baths & yummy hot dinner!
Judi - love "food Hoover"- nearly bought a dustbin to cook in but galvanised not best for cookery....

OS Pleasures recently
Sorting through books & rehoming two serious tomes on over 4 heddle weaving. If I do take to weaving, I can borrow them back. Meanwhile I've several holiday acquired books (including authoritative texts on dyeing) & a revived eye on spinning...

Ah, sons. My presence was demanded to troubleshoot the computer - youngest looked & casually pointed out he'd always struggled to get good sound quality from the microphone port.

"Aw, you're using my insult. This is such a bonding moment." Youngest's recent venture into acceptable insults is proving fascinating - both in the blending & in which words he eschews completely...

Carlisle Asda toast machine: "a torture device for bread!" Am trying not to worry about child's perceptions, largely as he makes me laugh.

Back up on Hadrian's Wall - and there's a chap giving a History & Latin class. He's good (the Ermine Street Guard are Outstanding) & it's good to hear Latin echoing off the stonework.

We're on a campsite where there are officially No Children. However, so long as they behave like novice monks, they are tolerated so I'm quite enjoying the peace and occasional essential off-site scuffles.

Lit a candle for all on this board, with special pleas for all involved in/ busy with education or health. Swallows swooped and veered and scissored through the space around us, so I felt heard.

Just stopped to watch a swallow play. Y'know how the parent birds seem very busy & industrious? This young 'un was industriously having fun - seemed as if he (?) was trying to show off every dive, swoop, jink, and acrobatic manoeuvre he knew. May only have been seconds but packed with joy.

Sudden night panic at unexplained thud - son had rolled out of bed, literally. Much drowsy affection both at time & on surfacing in morning!

"You're weird sometimes - in a good way, not a burned-at-the-stake way" teenager to his mother. Reciprocated in full!

Good friends. My car died suddenly, and they looked after me.

One of the senior managers overtook me twice en route in. He was hustling for his bacon butty, I was headed for another round with the inbox, but I did get to suggest a Waitrose card for free coffee...

The expression on my Game of Thrones enthusiast colleague's face when I presented him with his very own "dragonglass" (obsidian) arrowhead, neatly notched for a thong around the neck...

Despite painful exam results (epilepsy and skin graft surgery do horrible things to attendance percentages and thus), son has 6th form place doing BTECs rather than A levels & is looking forward to sixth form!

Last Leg - and IDS being heckled with "and you've got cheap shoes!" Lads helplessly chortling... Although the Canadian *shocked* the lads, who (are now struggling to continue to) believe they are a polite nation. Golly, they loved the sousaphones though....

Big hugs to all who need them, and from the angle I'm stood at? It's definitely autumn, so we can put away the lightweight stuff & snuggle back into the heavy warm winter kit! Unless Raffles can choke down another newt?

mhagster

Waves a quick hello to everyone.

Workety working weekend. Very busy , very stressy at times, very glad to be finished and just one more shift to do. I've asked for a wage increase ...don't ask, don't get! I'm working every weekend and legally should be getting a penalty rate which I'm not. Waiting on feedback!

Spring is in the air. Trees are in blossom, magnolia is stunning, lots of colours everywhere and just a nice feel about.

Haggis dog is a bit poorly vet reckons he may have torn a ligament in his knee. He's been very sorry for himself but looks a wee bit brighter today.

Having some nice chats at work....with an 81 year old, an 87 year old and a 93 year old! Fabulous people.

that's about all I can stretch to on a work weekend

Hope you are all well

VJsmum

Morning all from a very, very wet Ice Cream Town. What a mixed bag of a summer we are having. Gonna be nice in September (again!) I hear.

Sparrer - i know what you mean re the cooking terms. Bone Broth is another one - isn't that just stock?
Mrs LW - I went to the Weald and Downland many years ago. We were on holiday in Chichester (I love Chichester, I used to spend many of those long hot summers we used to have - remember those? - there, staying with my Uncle and Auntie). I love places like that.
BoP - I called in at the Reijksmuseum (SP?) last year as a stopover when coming home from Korea. Nightwatch is truly stunning, and they had a picture there of my hometown in 1680 something.
Judi - glad DS wrist not broken and DD likes high school. We are on for a new school experience from next week (more of which in a mo) but I am not so hopeful
Mhags - happy anniversary. Hope Haggis improves. I rather like the idea of the social aspect of your job - the stressy bit, not so much
PK - hope you get the work situation sorted soon. 50 page form? :eek:
Ampersand - no me and VJsdad are coming up to our silver next year. Mostly bliss? yeah, i'll go along with that - I don't believe anyone is more than "mostly". Re JC, I hear ya but i'm not sure any of them are head of state material atm and i think JC might just give them a much needed shake up. Oh and Northern Lights is fab - I read it when i did library duty at the kids primary school. Some days it was just so quiet that I worked my way through some classic kids books - Private peaceful stands out too (Michael Morpurgo)
DD - have a great time in Malta, not somewhere I've been...
DforV - "mixed" results for DS also. More in a mo. Glad yours is sorted. I think BTECs are a fabulous way forward and some of our best students have come up through that route. Your DS's comments have me :rotfl:

Pleasures for last few

1. As said, mixed results. DS decided to explore the full range of available marks :rotfl: An A in History (A* in one paper) through to an expected E in German (with an F in one paper). The bu88er was a D in Maths which, for him, put a dampner on the whole lot and he just couldn't see the good (we weren't expecting A's) for that blessed D. They raised the grade boundary by 8 marks and he failed by 5..... But, ho hum, it's not the end of the world and might do him some good in the long run. And he got an A
2. He did agree to come out for a meal in the evening and try to celebrate the good - it's fair to say that Thursday was not a good day but he had livened up by the end.
3. The text exchange was the funniest thing.
Him "got a D in Maths"
Me "bu88er, what about the others?"
HIm "Fine"
Me "Don't just say "fine" - tell me the bl00dy grades" :rotfl:
4. Clearing on Friday morning. Phone barely rang. Got on with some work and good banter with similarly occupied colleagues
5. Trip to 6th form college to discuss options. "Oh, but didn't you know, if they don't pass English and/or Maths then they can't do A levels?" No I didn't know. "So, you're telling me that if he had got 9 A* but a D in Maths, he couldn't do A levels in any non maths related subject?"
"Yes" :mad:
S'ok though, cos he didn't want to go there anyway and it's an hour each way by bus / train. So logged on to our local 6th form (10 mins walk), yes, he can do A level history, Govt and politics (gawd help us, as if he isn't opinionated enough as it is ) BTEC subsidiary (one A level equivalent) travel and tourism and resit the Maths. Job done
6. So, a shopping trip, "uniform" is a business suit - over £100 later :eek: and he's suited and booted. He was parading round the house in it, so i think he is cool with the decision. Oh and he's now going to get a B in maths, apparently.
7 Painting DDs last bit of furniture watching various videos, TED talks on Youtoob
8. Got marking done on train to Ice Cream town
9 out with DD last night to a rather nice restaurant in Aberdovey. One more week of work for her. I think she's enjoyed it whatever she says.
10. Lovely soak in the bath yesterday before I left.

Have a great day all - hope the sun is shining where you are.

Frith

Good news about the GCSE results, VJsmum. In this family (and indeed, my extended family), we understand about the maths thing! My sixth form college let you do a retake alongside A levels. Good history result.


Good news, DfV re: sixth form place. Love Hadrian's Wall, haven't been for decades.


Sparrer - well done on path, going to get bigger son to make me some raised beds and have a general update here.



Will try and update for last few days! Not quite sure where to start from.


Wednesday


1) Had another cycle about (Vondelpark and Rembrandtspark) then took the bikes back to the hirer. I was secretly pleased but they were the highlight of the trip for sons.


2) Went to the Melkhuis in the middle of Vondelpark for lunch - pancakes for bigger son and me and a burger for smaller son. A heron stood on an old tree stump a few metres away from us.


3) Went into the centre by tram after lunch. We were looking round the station (planning a trip for the next day) when the announcer said not to worry about any gun shots for the next 3 hours because the SAIL festival had started. We were vaguely aware of this but did not know what it entailed. Walked through the back of the station to the river and there were hundreds of ships! Guns firing and cannons. Sons stood on a wheelie bin to watch.


4) Went to HEMA to get waffles etc.


5) Had a wander around and sons played on the IAmsterdam letters (intended as advertising but now a fixture as everyone likes their photo taken by them!)


6) Thai meal later which was lovely. A cyclist's tyre burst as we walked through the arch of the Rijksmuseum!


Thursday


1) Got the tram to the station without any problems.


2) Got a train to Zandvoort which looks like a large Aberdyfi! 7 miles of sand. Sons swam in the sea (no one else did - perhaps no one does in the Netherlands?)


3) Lots of changes of train to get back to the Hook of Holland.


4) Bit of a surreal evening there. Got there too early and there is very little to do. Did some geocaching. Thought we had found a restaurant. An old lady appeared (who spoke English) and said it was a charity run for old people but we could eat there anyway! Someone showed us where the toilets were and everyone translated the menu - all very jolly!


5) Back on the ferry and had a chat with a German lady for a while (sons impressed) about her son who is a forester. All I could reply to that is "My brother looks at bats and does 1, 2, 3, 4!" She tried to explain that German is her second language but I never did work out what was her first (north German next to Poland).


6) Not looking forward to the crossing as Monday's had been so rough but this was completely flat and we only woke up once we stopped at Harwich!


Hope you enjoy Malta, DD.

Ampersand - yep, embarrassed by Labour party meddling. :-/


Good news as well for MrsLurcherwalker's DD1!

Frith

Friday!


1) Journey home was tiresome as the cheap train left Paddington at 12.20 and we got to London at about 9. Not quite enough time to do anything so we had breakfast and did a lot of sitting about and playing cards. This train, ordered in advance, was £6 for the three of us!


2) The plumber has not been but the tank is due to arrive with him tomorrow and should be installed mid week. Leak is not so fast now.


3) Went to get smaller son's drone from his father's and had a chat with ex mother in law.


4) Tasty pasta bake for tea, rustled up almost from thin air as the fridge freezer was cleared out before we left (as sons are away this week, there is still only a carton of almond milk in there!)


5) Enjoyed the Last Leg.


Saturday

1) A lie in!


2) Had my usual aimless, at a loose end feeling I get when sons go away so popped to Monmouth. Was incredibly hot (compared with the Netherlands) so just did the charity shops. Got some trousers for bigger son.


3) Stopped at Hereford on the way home for lunch in my favourite caf!.


4) Pie and chips from the van for tea.


5) Worked out I can watch Game of Thrones via Now TV so watched episode one. Not quite sure I can see the appeal yet - so bloodthirsty.


6) Five loads of washing done!

[Deleted User]

1) It's a bit cooler than it was last night, was most uncomfortable here (I guess it was everywhere else too!) but now we've had a good dose of rain it's cooler and far less humid, soooooo good!

2) Yesterday evening we FINALLY (weeks!) got round to delving to the depths of the freezer in the garage.....shock horror it's got things in from 2010!!!. We found raspberries from a couple of years ago so hoiked them out this morning...4kg of them which I've turned into raspberry jam, good job I had the sugar and jars, can think of worse ways to spend a wet Sunday morning. 12 large jars now cooling on a tray in the dining room.

3) We treated ourselves to supper at the pub on Friday night and went for a stroll along the lanes and footpaths afterwards, saw roe deer in the hay field, a fearless (he just watched us for a minute and casually strolled into the trees!) dog fox on the footpath then got back to the village to bats hawking round the houses in our road, love bats, could watch them for hours.

4) ONLY 3 courgettes from the allotment today!!!

5) Don't have to cook tonight as I made a nice big batch of chilli yesterday which we'll have with a jacket potato (homegrown) and a nice crunchy salad for supper tonight. Afternoon off for me, Hoorah!!!

ampersand

Wanted a no &utah day, but need to post on green-fingered ms after this.

1. Consignment arrived[osp.5 of #31979].
&'s pineapple lumpsalready in freezer Have not test-driven a single one....not sure how. mhags, do they not spearhead your emergency essentials? That choc/piney juice/chew combi....nothing comes near. [Choc. fish and Jaffas are a separate case.]Real lollies:-))), that's the proper word.

2. Special mtg hier. Our new MP spoke - SO very well. Baroness Angela Smith very good in attendance. Over 100 on such a glorious afternoon was amazing. Lighter moment - raffle draw, '140?....140?...anyone? &: 'right no's, wrong order here :-)' Drawn again: '102' - so this time it IS &...super luxe Houses of P. chocs, last thing & needed, but.... cool spot at &squat found.

3. Thence to Alma. Happy watching - close run thing finally. Lots of French, peeps and talk. Always helps. & slightly less marginal, briefly, then/there.

4. Lacking motivation atm. Maybe just a phase, but too much/so much to do.
Mower wouldn't start just now, despite & dismantling controls and starter, BUT sort of pleasure was to suddenly see why. Hence ? to follow. Grass has shot up this week.

5. Feeling allsorts, so idled long and walked early, eventually into Church[nothing today, funeral tomorrow.] Stunning flowers ready, bright reds/oranges/golds/greens/burgundies, with wheat stooks and old family farm tools, reflecting person's life as farmer. The bell given and cast by his 1700s ancestor returns tomorrow too, unwished symmetry. One crimson gladiolus had fallen. & reinstated. In came large butterfly. Out zoomed bat, caught butterfly. Door opened. X, come to check flowers and extra seating for tomorrow. Little talk, sat together, shared quiet. & steeled re: sthg/situ, then back to find...as 4.
#
It's an uneasy feeling out there. & loved yesterday's Real True Summer, The One Day, but there's something not right today, not just the queer hot/cold mix rising swirly wind. Rain must arrive any sec. now, blue sky leeching almost to colourless-ness.

Mrs LW - I recognise those raspberries! :-) Bags of previous ici aussi - and more this a.m.

vjm - 'i'm not sure any of them are head of state material atm '...and not even then. Asked seriously if vote would be classed 'spoiled' if & wrote: 'None of the above.' Not known. YC comes Tuesday. Heard peeps yesterday say 'Haven't you seen her in Parliament? She's brilliant, demolishes T.May, yet none of this comes across in this.' So, as & wants m/f ticket...on verra.

VERY well done your son, very astutely worked out and through. They'll be fine, as Celia Lashlie would say.....such a loss still. Shared this with an mse friend last week. Everyone's to enjoy -
http://tvnz.co.nz/sunday-news/he-ll-ok-celia-lashlie-why-mums-should-stop-making-lunch-their-teenage-sons-and-other-wise-words-video-6238842

I, too, have a fluke find amateur Exhbn pic I love, see it from bed.
#
6. Have just heard Bolt beat Gatlin on the line. Suddenly this feels important for one little-huge boost for honest dealing and cause for rejoicing...margin 1/100th of a second.
#
Frith - great times you've had, terrific for sons and for you. Allotment off-radar a bit atm?

sparrer

Sadly we've just lost a young mum to the evil illness of alcoholism, she tried so hard to beat it over a period of two years but was found in her flat by her brother, her body eventually having succumbed. She leaves a lovely, caring and patient husband and a 7 y/o daughter to face life without her. I hate this illness and how it destroys not just the alcoholic but their family as well. All we can say is that she's free of it now, her struggle is over.

On a brighter note -
1. Never had the choice of first prize in a raffle before but it happened yesterday. A friend had seen a 5' tall teddy bear and kept going to stroke it so I chose it and gave it to her. It sat beautifully with seat belt on during the drive home but now she has a problem with her cat who keeps spitting at it!
2. On a more practical note I already have a tablet. don't use the toiletry gift sets that were on offer, the boxed lemon cake didn't look too appealing and I don't drink coffee so didn't have to choose anything that would just be clutter in the house
3. Then said friend won a prize and chose a lovely candle set which she gave to me. One less C-word present to buy and I know just who I'm going to give it to. No, not her
4. Lots of compliments for my latest pair of IC's, very reduced as they're end of line, going out of season and a size 3. Small is beautiful I know just who to blame for my latest addiction!
5. Three hanging baskets of Tom Thumb tomatoes are ripening so I'll have a glut in a few days. They're lovely just to pick off the plant and eat, I shall look like one soon.

Sweet dreams