Flying solo

mcculloch29

I hope that Black Friday stunt is nipped in the bud over here. I have a lot of online friends in the States and first saw this phrase years ago. It was explained to me that it was the day of a mass spend for Christmas following Thanksgiving, when retail businesses could expect to move into the black from the red.
It's not part of our tradition and resulted in a lot of distress and hassle, so why should we adopt it? Another reason to boycott major supermarkets...

Sympathies on feeling zonked, Robin, my painkillers (Tramadol) did that to me for a while, but not any more.

Hopefully shredding and mulching shall progress.
There is some lovely news over on the DFD board from a thread we both frequent.

*Robin*

Hello Diary and Dear Friends, :hello:

Tried to post last night; pressed the wrong button and lost it. Took the hint and crawled back to bed.

So let's try again. Looking back to the end of last week, I pushed too hard: On Saturday, drove up into the real backwoods to collect [still car-less] Plumber and then down to town where I failed to find any suitable xmas gifts - had to be dragged away from choosing a cherry tree at the "campo shop".
Plumber kindly carried my Big Box to the van, where it stayed until Sunday. Gardener didn't turn up, so I managed to heave Box into a wheelbarrow and push it round to the garden. Couldn't resist unpacking my new 'toy' of course, and then spent the rest of the day transforming a load of cut branches into neat chippings, which now circle three trees.
DH would have really enjoyed this machine because it does a fantastic job of clearing up unwanted 'hard' vegetation; although quite heavy work [for me] it's great fun.
But the task was tempered with poignancy because DH wasn't working alongside me; miss him so much..

On Monday Gardener arrived, excited because she's just become an Auntie for the first time. This is a bigger deal than it sounds but not my story of course, so will just say that she couldn't resist flying back to join the celebrations and meet her new nephew - which meant we only had that one day's work before she left.

High winds here on Friday night blew over the largest plant pot on the patio, as well as scattering cut branches around the garden - which was a timely reminder about a rather important job on the Nest Maintenance List: Pointing up an edge-line of roof tiles and tidying up the rendering at the top of the same wall.
When DH was starting to get sick we lost several tiles in the wind. They were replaced but the task was never finished; tbh am amazed the tiles haven't blown off again since.. So although I would far rather have had a quiet day on Monday, it's not a job that would be safe for me to do alone. Luckily the kit at the Nest includes two ladders and a whole box of rendering tools, which meant Gardener and I could tackle the task from both ends and complete it in one session. :cool2:

Managed to whiz up a vat of veg soup after waving farewell to Gardener, then had to retire to bed. Balancing on top of a ladder and having to use both arms above my head, made everything hurt - couldn't even sleep without recourse to the strongest painkillers in stock. Necessary, but don't like the secondary effect of opiates; stoned and woozy - was very grateful for that pan of soup (and for once, the [STRIKE]nuker[/STRIKE] microwave).

This morning I already have three things to be grateful for:
1. Woke up with a clear head.
2. Saw Sun.A's wonderful news. :T
3. A pair of Bee-eaters are enjoying themselves in the garden, pecking at something in the new patches of mulch. They are such beautiful birds, I've been watching them for a couple of hours; a display which cannot help but lift the spirits (especially as they're not eating bees!).

Finances: Big box - £110. Shopping - £70 (inc. xmas booze). Transfer to bill paying a/c - £500.

Sun_Addict

Hello Robin - just catching up with your diary. There's never a dull moment at your nest, you always seem to be so busy. Glad you're feeling better now by the way. And how lovely of you to mention my good news in your list.

*Robin*

Hello Diary and Dear MSE Friends, :hello:

Is it really Saturday again? Who speeded up time? ..This is getting ridiculous; please can I have back last week's other four days? :cool:

Apologies to Granny, Lucky and Mcculloch - forgot to acknowledge your comments re Glasgow heli-crash and Black Friday.
The moment has passed, and now the whole world is mourning another loss.
Am incredibly impressed at Tata Madiba's sense of cosmic timing; just as his life was released to the world on film, he left the planet.
We need more men and women like Mandela; who are prepared to fight and suffer personally, in order to put right injustices in their own country.
Alas there are too few.. Which is all the more reason to celebrate his life - how wonderful to see news reports of the street outside Tata's house filled with singing, dancing people! :T

Sun_Addict wrote: »

Hello Robin - just catching up with your diary. There's never a dull moment at your nest, you always seem to be so busy. Glad you're feeling better now by the way. And how lovely of you to mention my good news in your list.

Hello Sun.A, thanks for popping in - and giving me a chuckle at the thought that my life appears busy. What you can't see is the blanks; well there's nothing to say about those, and it would be depressing to recount..
You have no idea how much your own good news has cheered me up. Living the alternate future, I am delighted to read that you've dodged it - for now at least. Ok there are no guarantees, but you and MrSA have a great opportunity to savour whatever of life you choose, together - it's a fantastic gift!

Not much of note has happened at the Nest since my last post, bar one panic: Was lifting the stove lid - hooked on it's wobbly pole - when it knocked against the chimney stack. Which fell apart into three pieces! I jumped, dropped the lid - and was then faced with smoke and flames belching into the room!
Stove is in the corner, obliging me to reach over it's fiery maw in order to retrieve the lid and pipes where they'd fallen behind the beast. Without the long wobbly pole it wouldn't have been possible (always wondered why such a long handle had been provided - now I know!).
Re-assembling the chimney sections was complicated because they - and the stove - were far too hot to touch, but I managed it, at the cost of one of my [STRIKE]best[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]favourite[/STRIKE] thickest towels.
All through the emergency, CD sat watching me from her perch on an armchair right next to the stove. Interested and alert, but apparently quite confident that this was just another of the inexplicable things which humans do.. :rotfl:

While fitting his new boiler, DS2 discovered the electrical connection had burned out. ..Bet that means the old boiler does actually still work (serves me right for not inspecting it personally).
Anyway, reckon it's time to call an expert so told DS to go ahead and 'phone the local sparks. Am taking it as a warning; re-wiring has been on the maintenance list of that house for about three years, so better to do it than have regrets after an avoidable disaster.

Will not be a NSD [an NSD??] today; CD's chicken supply is running low, and it's a holiday here on Monday. Better get out some cash for DS to pay the electrician too, then that can go ahead asap (luckily have a couple of months' allowance in hand, sitting in the a/c ..There are some advantages to living in the middle of a field! ).

*Robin*

Hello Diary, :hello:

Woke up to a chilly 6'C indoors this morning; result of going to bed before lighting the stove [or having dinner] last night.

CD had no idea her tummy got an extra long tickle just so I could warm up my fingers in order to get dressed. :rotfl:

Yesterday's shopping trip wasn't quite as planned (intended to go on and visit DS2, GF and DGD after picking up the local version of a take-away meal; hog roast and crispy warm rolls).
There were long queues both in the shop and at the hole-in-the-wall. Ticked off everything on m' very short list but then suddenly - flop - knew it was time to get home, pronto.

Walking through the gate, there was something different about my view of the Nest. CD froze, staring - which gave me a hint where to look. A stately head turned and fixed his beady gaze on us. For half a minute we were all quite still. Then unhurriedly, the adult stork who was perching on the pump-house roof unfolded his magnificent wings, flapped once and flew - soaring on the wind and away out of sight over the ridge.

Wow.
Not a common occurrance, and don't think I've ever been so close to a wild stork before. His wings had white bars on the grey, and must have spanned well over a metre when stretched out. His face was black-skinned, devoid of feathers between eyes and sharp pointed beak. Very impressive.
Guess both stork and Bee-eaters must be migrating south?
(Wondering whether it would be feasible to set up some kind of bird-bath/water supply; tempt more of these wanderers to stop in at the Nest on their journey?).

Spends: £30 shopping, £400 [in €, obviously] to start off electrician.
Confession: Unplanned bottle of Baileys (on offer, 11€ ).

grannyx2

Thank goodness that stork didn't drop off his usual carrion - you have checked the flower beds for babies I'm assuming

What a wonderful sight to behold

Hope you are feeling better today

medicinal ba1leys made its way into my basket too

Granny x

please-let-me-be-lucky

If you find any babies you can send them my way. I'll also accept bottles of Baileys too Xx

*Robin*

grannyx2 wrote: »

Thank goodness that stork didn't drop off his usual carrion - you have checked the flower beds for babies I'm assuming

Was your App!e product playing up, Granny? Guess you meant cargo? :rotfl:

Actually, didn't check for little hanky-wrapped gifts. Have no aspirations re Madonna-hood and pretty sure am unlikely to be nominated (too bluddy-minded, lol). DH has been gone far too long for a more prosaic delivery, even were age not against me.

grannyx2 wrote: »

What a wonderful sight to behold

Think this is the fella:

grannyx2 wrote: »

Hope you are feeling better today

Thank you, yes - hope you are too!
Body clock reckons it's morning already though, so given up on bed for a few hours. Cooking up the next batch of soup; chicken and celery-type veg this time.

grannyx2 wrote: »

medicinal ba1leys made its way into my basket too

Great minds think alike, eh?

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote:

If you find any babies you can send them my way. I'll also accept bottles of Baileys too

Absolutely; any random babies sprout around here, they'll be parcelled up for you toot sweet (reckon I've done my share in that department, lol)!
Bottles of Bai!eys - ooh now they are difficult to post. :rotfl:

*Robin*

Hello Diary, :hello:

Well that was a very productive middle-of-the-night interlude.
Froze a couple of portions of the last batch of soup in readiness for the next inevitable ME episode. Washed up, then split the chicken I'd bought on the off-chance Divo Two and family would be coming over for lunch.** Boiled up the carcass for stock, stripped it into three piles [soup, CD and bin] then prepared the soup and another chicken sauce with one of the breasts. Found some lovely green beans in the fridge, so dug out my Grandma's wonderful antique bean-slicer and processed them; half into my sauce and the rest blanched and frozen. Put the celery-type stalks through the slicer too - it was a stroke of genius thinking of that as the cellulose strings are a tad difficult to chew through (for those with less than perfect dentition ).

** DGD had her appendix out less than a week ago, so is still pretty sore. She expressed worry about tackling the steps up to the Nest, so instead of them coming here we're all going to meet at the beach - reckon I can afford to treat 'em to a late lunch at the restaurant there, and DGD can either play on the sand or just have a walk on the promenade if that's what she prefers.

Told CD this afternoon's plan; she obviously picked up on the word 'beach' because every five minutes she's coming in and singing at me - am not getting ready fast enough in CD's opinion! :rotfl:

Feels like ages since I've had a Granny Day; looking forward to it so I'd better do as CD wants and get myself organised!

please-let-me-be-lucky

Hope you have a wonderful day Xx