5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

DigForVictory

Diolch I have been offline too long. OK RL has been flat out but no excuses. Searches - last serious post in August. Before Frith's lad remodelled his face, & passed his theory, before VJsmum made it officially to DrVJsmum, before Bala's menfolk took up wobbling & recovering health, before Broomstick returned, long before DD's DD came down with Something Nasty that (so far) hasn't tested as virus & I had a birthday-with-tears (that was Written yet still surprised me) - nope, only way to do this wonderful tolerant loving supportive community justice is to go back & do it thoroughly. [Then figure how to post it. Plural chunks, I suspect]

BoP - Kitty trumps like a trooper? Calibration reports plus playful kitten... Ah, the teams things.  Kitty learning Marmite? Yum! Honey Monster Puffs, BoP? Illusions shattered... Interweb radio requires reliable signal. TV sport more limited but aerial more reliable. Has Kitty realised buzzard an opportunity? Figured headbutting the flap? You being urged into an office to support local foamed 'coffee' places too? (My boss understood my "Bah!" as not in the least personal.) Just a thought, zoom can be installed on all sorts of devices as it's pure code, Teams requires a specific operating system & that's Effortful. Dang, Kitty jabs. No fun. You Hero, distracting the "Amazon" scam caller. Kitty still refuses to flap?! Snorkers & crossword - there's the way! in an onion gravy <swoons> Are German snorkers the wurst? (Sorry.) You remind me - updates anti-virus code... KHP Still flap training? The joy of the past is you know how it turns out, but ouch you remember the wait... Jack D Honey should see BoPsie happy & on offer, of course. Enlighten my darkness - what is a doorstop carrot? KHP has figured The Door? Plus, of course, cod. Hurrah you've had a Flu Jab - so nice to have One Less Thing to worry about. There's nothing quite like a good tart. Special mousse for KHP? What's wrong with a nice mouse? Buzzard curry - just saying it aloud is a pleasure. Tempry curtains, for KHP?! Buttered marmite crumpet - my self discipline is crumbling... Virus rules but not around London, eh? "Snake & mushrooms" - suddenly the last meal feels Days Ago. Vet breakfast with snorkers of course. This blinking virus has spoiled a lot of good chinwags. You run a heat pump? Intrigued. Dippy eggs takes a pinch of magic. Ah pork loin - near idiot proof cooking, declaims idiot. The chaps have "gone off" cakes of Jaffa, but I have a surprise packet hidden for when the going gets tough. Poached eggs are another egg dish I think close to witchcraft, but I get impatient. Treats because you can are important. Mean bean chilli all Proper Food. Christmas Cake Already? <I will not panic, but I will think about it> Mr.May is a sound chap.

mhagster - travelling child & hanging washing out. "almost caught up on all the bedding" - know that feeling! Back massage & the short walks - really enough for the day. Washing machine yikes, and the powder & a new machine. "Not got time for Which!" was a house catchphrase a few years back but turned out el cheapish And Available Now was a decent machine. (I researched white goods on spec each quarter for years.) You spend one day wrestling that, then wake and plan world domination Over Sofas. Awed! (Still have 2013 Epistle on file, the 2020 will be a swine to write but coz has urged me to get it out Early to avoid Awkward Christmas Cards  - and she should know.) Haggis is 6?! Awww! At least DD2 asked about laundry, even if needed the blinking obvious spelling out (my chaps do not even see the blinking obvious.) "Home to a tidy house" as you did all the heavy work And got the mum guilt. Love hearing tips blossom, this time into chrysanthemums! "a job is a job and he realises that" - you're a wonderful mum. Great nephew howling at Haggis? Not quite the article in a visitor, do hope he was in full health. Hoping that weekend party went brilliantly after all your work! You are less hard on yourself with a team. And someone else dishwashing helps. Yikes MOT. Ooh Burleigh ware And a Haggis-coloured sofa?! Um, will new paint hold bookcase together? as I have better results with PVA. Wow - invasion of sofa peoples on just washed floor and a robin to inspect & approve! The double shift doing mothers stuff then yours seems brutal but at least she has a nice neighbour. Hurrah a lovely sofa on which to rest before the next 48 hours unroll. DD2 has car problems & phones You? (When Middleson tried that, he got a semi-conscious mouthful & prudently retired - as house tech I deal with everything with a plug on, but some batteries are Not My Wicket.) Glad back massage still ongoing - just wish the touch could sort feet too. There are days the telephone is not an ally. Blasted Amazon scammers. "junkyard" cleared - always good for morale. Bench ousting console table amuses me. So cold you have to scrape the car - yikes! Love the idea that you briefly house a trampoline as it makes its way to the niecelys. Return of noisy children during GBBO - argh, but phew young friend safe back & out of quarantine. Dec 2010 & the beach at weekends.. Ruthless attitude to junk & clobber! Ah Haggis, engrossed in good smells & you moseying along. (I've never met that in it's second meaning of to decamp, move at speed.) "I may have a qualification at the end by osmosis" - ask & see? If they mention money, perhaps not, but if you've attended all the lectures etc, whyever not?! (Has to encourage other parents to make sure children sign in!) Happy GN birthday, & hurrah prentice pyromaniac! Tip tango but well done having loaded clothes horses for DS to lead into sunlight when it emerged!  Cheerful banter at work does help. Well done you knowing what you want, wallpaper-wise & being prepared to wait until you see it. More manipulation of the back. Mirror painted & robin defending his share! A little P&Q & Snoring - aw Haggis dog. Socially distant scones, ooh-er. Why shouldn't washing machines feature as pleasures?! I love "just me and the radio and my scones and soup" just worry about needing the painkillers. A day that does not cooperate with organisation is most frustrating, but wow two chests of drawers. (Remove all drawers, bid son push as you steer?)

DundeeDoll - "went round to mum's to help her eat the mussels in white wine" <covet cubed, ability to go, to see mum, to share mussels> had to google thumbing down - cor! Squirrels & photos, oh my. What were you having with your cheeseboard that The Up & The Down platforms were not obvious, or is Dundee gifted that way?! You pep up bland with chilli, I with salt & pepper (being bashful of explosions.) Much amused at image of kitten alarming spaniels. "summat out of the freezer" - I need to get more organised with mine. Avatars? Your internet is more robust than ours! Didn't know you could get frozen mixed mushrooms - live & learn! Emails do indeed breed - "Rachmaninoff Vespers" sound wonderful - will go Google. "chocolate-covered mini oreos" exist? Youngest in for a surprise, then. Spaniels find Mars Bars?! Astronomy & sweetcorn chowder - top occasional delights! You do find the most amazing ice cream flavours! Awed at how the Botanics doubles as exercise space & second office. The Wobble explained? Ah, a tongue & groove ceiling - love that in a boat! Never seen Casablanca before? Sailing races are loads of fun to watch. "my boss missed me" - aww, that Is a pleasure. Garlic mushrooms, ah bliss, and carrot, ginger and apricot soup! Of all the pubs - Facebook & MrPiano's sister. Small world! Home made coleslaw - you may coax me into exhuming my food processor yet. Blimey o Riley, what a way to find a new job, plus the exercise & practice as well. Then you get a weekend that leaves you thanking heavens it wasn't as feared, but. She's recovering - hurrah! And an AMEE project to supervise, cor! Test negative HURRAH! Interview just around the corner, blimey. Positive chats, all hopeful. Delighted DD keeping you honest on Annual Leave! Wholly sensible to enjoy the wedding anniversary & keep the rest of the paperwork for another day.

Frith - ooh, real fresh egg sales! Awed at troubleshooting Corsa. Oh Bigger son, off to A&E, covid-enforced solo. Hurrah paramedic & miword determined to sit theory, but hospital "don't do teeth" Ulp. Hurrah real dentist, and The Pass! (Miword, the young...) "antibiotics, painkillers and mashed potato!" to the sounds of "Ooohs and Aaarrrrghs!" - that he can then surprise father as you carry on wrestling with The Powers that don't actually Do very much - Still Awed. Dr Who on cocodamol must have been distracting. Stewed apple yum! Oh poor male vanity - but he's right, you Are a good family! Lawyers are the only trade I know who can bill you for their own gaffes. Hoping they daren't. That's a downright cheerful photo, well done! If you must try a car in Birmingham, checking out the Asian supermarkets is the right place & time! All sorts of good things & Nepalese local knowledge can only help. Admirable dentist! Fingers crossed admirable lawyer... Zoom meeting - hmm.. And then parents so hostile & weird to boot. Son cooking & then grumpy as part of tooth snapped. Smaller son needing shoes, OK but measuring & such a difference. Intriguing challenge, but strange urge to contact any hospital with prosthesis team to ask advice. Kilo sacks of Lego to make space for cameras & GoPro, toys do get more expensive, don't they. Hurrah damsons, & hopes for college. SENDIASS (special needs helping out) lady funny? Excellent. College positive, solicitor vigorous & welcome lovely milk jug! Garages, harrumph. Your dentist likes a cooperative challenge? Soup, icecream & yoghurt - well, raw carrot would be mean. "full energy levels" indeed! I say, finding & returning to use an absent canoe is top kick recycling! Your "cobbled together" pudding sounds utterly delicious. "Bigger son wanted to watch the PM speech" a Pleasure?! (Takes All Sorts) Reverbed canoe rehomed to BIL's garden. It really is startling How Many other folk, when you ask around - as if a false tooth was a warning of vice & iniquity?! Changing bikes seems wholly reasonable. Oh smaller son, sofa-ed by a spider. Naturally you dig the allotment to please the hens. Doing all the cleaning early so birthday undisturbed - not sure if that's a pleasure but admirable planning. Happy 21st! A birthday wouldn't be the fun it is without someone not having got the memo but having the grace to deal with that straight on; and real coffee. Frankly sat in a heap goggling that you stayed calm with the Council and their serial stupidities. (I have access to a smashing knife & axe range for when you want to spend a day or three throwing edged metal at things & I can ask the chap in charge to steer clear so we can use photo targets?) Huge round of applause for a home baked & iced cake for dentist! Best of luck with Green Grant thing. Delivering glut of produce so a bag of apples And whole bag of walnuts?! Glad to hear Aunty getting a little more targeted care. You also cut hair. [Will get over feeling a complete wet hen in a  minute.] Bless the lad driving over to Malvern to reunite a driving licence with its owner (With the plate, he'll be back to tall dark & handsome.) Timely mob of surveys - safe & happy travels! Centre for Alternative Technology is just great - inspirational & hopeful. Mediators At This Stage? <sharpens axes> Place at N college And transport! Is it too early to dance? "A jolly phone call from N College" who will "have a word..." with the Council - oh my - Serious Allies. Bigger son ready for his closeup with parish journalist. Love the idea of crumble sized bags (I still have so much to learn!) Aw, chickens dustbathing & son (in full face helmet) jumping. [Is it Safe to dance yet?] Greaseproof paper - I think my last part box went to scouts for some project - thankyou for the reminder!

Let's whack some OS pleasures in & go for a two-parter, I think...  Body is 5504 characters too long. OK at least a two-parter

Hoping the Engineer will overcome his understandable male “ick” & grab some sanitary tackle while returning from a trip off base. (Ended up steering him through where to look & desperately checking box colour - has to be one of our most fraught chats yet but he’s a trooper!)

Visored woman at parents front door asked father had he seen adverts for “hello fresh”, which dad hadn’t “ah well google it“ & no dad couldn’t have a paper leaflet lest it spread covid... As she called during a family zoom, we were unanimously critical, but appreciated the Attempt at face to face marketing!

Some days, you yearn to deliver a reminding tap around the ear. “You haven’t quite got the mobility, mum” is alas accurate. I got my intentions telegraphed with a feather duster...

Colleague complaining about lack of global warming met with cheerful suggestion that star jumps are cheap... Perhaps not whilst taking calls (professionalism suggests a lap rug in the interim)

Commons Education committee on something like zoom on BBC - Youngest opines “looks like a really cheap game show” - and I do see his point.

Colleague grumbling his current project is like “plaiting fog” & I’m thinking that sounds an exotic fibre. My current work suddenly feels much better!

Off to see Ma-in-law tomorrow, apparently to shop, clean & pick up fish & chips. SIL & family on short break to Scarborough, so we go over despite the stats. [Shopping already done, I shoved a Hoover around til she couldn’t stand my incompetence {wobbly lines in the pile} & apparently the fish & chips “weren’t too clever” - tasted OK to me?!]

I got my parents to myself on zoom! It was magical - no topic to be stepped around lest it disengage a sibling, enough technology & politics for humour (not enough for Volume) & we just had fun!

Have a rather hazy grasp on English Trad Folk - some I learned in primary school, some from an aunt who drive & sing, some from caving friends & some from Bagpuss. Today the Bony King of Nowhere is getting an airing, much loved as the scope for rude words sidestepped makes us giggle. 

Found an Anglepoise which only needs a little TLC, so birthday hurrah includes new grommets, cable & sourcing an LED bulb. Meanwhile, it’s looking at me quizzically from the bag and already seems to have a personality. [Even Himself thinks it’s waiting to be let out for a run.]

Loads more to come. Shame on me.

DigForVictory

Just Never do this again, Dig...

Happycas - first proper cuddle of new DGD! Some days you do wonder if the medical profession can be trusted. Two days for on lot of tests! The test - why some centres are properly crewed & others run on a string & (very limited) goodwill I do not understand. All the best with the results. Waiting for operations is No Fun At All. Christmas bags however, much more so. Keyhole complete & on with recovery! "the restorative powers of fresh air and sunshine" are, without doubt, potent stuff. And lo "DH continues to improve"! So long as Leger televised - I love watching the horses. Agree, ampersand is growing triffids, but my money still on her for the win. Taking life slowly the smart path forwards. More antibiotics - drat, but sunshine. We've whittled down our shopping to 2 places once a week - it was odd but it's become reassuringly simple. Hurrah convalescent trip & treats - so right to reward restoring health. "It's Sunday so it's croissants for breakfast" - excellent! Oh dear - strict parish hall guidelines doing you out of yoga. Well done husband well enough to both drive & find a bargain jacket! "no need to water anything" - well, no. Escaping posts argh but husband has formally escaped the medics - yippee! First outing of winter coat - it has to happen. Ah, caravan! And fantastic weather - hurrah! Yoga with new class, nearer coffee & cake. Sounds like a plan! Yippee, time with DS & DGS! (I though my Aunt carried a deck of cards with her everywhere, then decades later realised she brought them to see us. Still love playing "Beggar My Neighbour" despite the name & the total random luck.) A DGD is to spoil, ideally in person. A metal cafetiere? I have heard of these - could you share a weblink? Yoga in crime scene tape?! (Sounds a bit Midsomer.) Better to oil benches when the temptation to sit on them is absent.

Nargleblast - Border Collie energy - oh my. "Started learning Bollywood dancing online" - your house is full of energy! "Anticipatory pleasure - son visiting friend this evening so the telly will all be mine." - love it! "The Two Ronnies so old they had whiskers on" - yes, but since the tapes are largely post-decimalisation, I quite like the jaunt back. "Finding out DVDs can be played on the XBox" is a pleasure that'll keep on giving! "Junior cat now sprawled across my lap, asleep. Senior one sprawled at the bottom of the bed, dog under the bed" - well that establishes the pecking order pretty clearly. "the little acer has turned a fiery crimson" - I'm much amused at how stands of the same species are varying in their colours whereas some tree species (esp horse chestnut) are exuberantly colourful & the rest still tranquil in green. Fresh bedlinen is just such a pleasure. "parcel of handmade soaps" - wonderful friend! Chuckling over "dead tree format". Imagining shaggy sopping happy dog & thinking a trim is perhaps the answer to prayers. From what (little) I can translate from the website, Berliner Rundfunk sounds like a fun station - thank you!

LaineyT - "feeling the sun on my face, very welcome" - absolutely! Missing out on posts does mean a lovely time catching up. "digging out my Agatha Christie collection" - only right, she was wife of an archaeologist! Aw, small dog fetching you conkers! Mincemeat buns & buttered crumpets. I get hollow legged just thinking about them! Lost elderly relative - it's not easy. Lentil & pepper soup sounds wonderful. "you tell a gelding but ask a mare" - love it! Shed of Doom restored to potting & puttering space! Ah strong coffee - I'm edging back towards that, after decades of tea. It is getting darker. Washing galore! Upside of pony & car is no pegging or ironing. Merry Mabon unto you too. Elderberry syrup reaches parts other substances can't. Runflats can be a godsend (just not on cobbles.) Rain & "wonderfully curly" ears.. Macaroni cheese - you manage to have leftovers? Seasonal prep even changes handbag! Awed. The emporium can be an oasis of bliss when calm. The first cuppa is a very special pleasure. Some days, nothing resonates but it's still a good run out looking. A good bookshop is a multidimensional portal, with more fun than a TARDIS but a reliable postcode. Strewth, hibiscrub & wound powder - them's powerful stuff. (The wound powder I had to give to a horse owning colleague as I got too close to using it on offspring. Hibiscrub a surgeon's prep tool, and does get used on offspring.) Sorry about family trouble but hurrah small dog bringing extra cuddles. Ooh, rtc emporium Salmon! Pink cyclamen amidst white flowers - glorious! New throws - definitely the seasons are moving. Being backed into shelter in the rain - aw, princess pony! Cobs Can - exercises for suppleness & collection I could understand, obedience she seems to have you coming on! (Love the horse & hound photos of cobs doing dressage ) "A field of orange pumpkins" - I'd almost be looking for Linus amongst them! The sort of snuffle that suggests a bit of hindbrain is longing to let rip? Always a good idea to head off a cold if you can.

VJsmum - "carbon monoxide alarm going off" rarely a good thing, but if it trains you?! "unexpected phone call" - I am so glad. There are days I could skin my sisters for floor rugs, but they get a few jokes that noone else can. Glad Vanda-camping went well, but oh yes, one's own bed! Some day, red wine reaches parts other vintages can't. You are officially DrVJsmum! Des is Brilliant. Strongly recommend dawn raids on shops, they have stock but few shoppers - win-win! Family tree-climbing is addictive. (Two new baby cousins, so I rummaged Facebook for a smidgin more info & hoping the ancestry algorithms find their parents. Shopping for a chainsaw - I know you have struggled with In Law Issues, but please take my word for it that the chainsaw is probably the wrong tool for that job? Chimenea is The social tool as the nights get colder (middleson wants one...) Congratulations keeping food poisoning weight loss off. Chaplin was a genius. Family trees utterly addictive & some mysteries, well, I have go very gently with mum as she's all of 'her family' left, (apart from us lot, but in family tree matters, we don't count.) Isn't it Fun being recognised and cherished over the phone when actually going out isn't really on? Excellent paintwork - do drawers still move gracefully? (Shrewd doodling with beeswax candle if not?) "Eat the freezer" - I know what you mean. Available as there's noone left to claim it, likely. You buy grave in 75 year, 6' lengths, so after the 3rd generation they can put someone else in. Love the idea of a "blooper reel"! (Almost) Always a pleasure when someone else cooks. Laptops & bathtubs should maintain strict social distance. Dolphins in the bay, oh my. Stammering laptop? Oh dear - I remember when our keyboard did that. (Orange juice.) A use it all up lunch sounds delicious! Glad in laws have patched up & made friends again. Awed at 3 hour drive & chat with DS - I mostly get "for god's sake, Mother, brake!" etc (my old car had winter tyres & the mechanic upped the braking capability  "to try to keep me out of trouble" - this new car is not tuned to accommodate my vices. Yet.)

A few more OSPs

I thought someone was stood at the garden fence. Squinted (glasses still by bed) & yep, goat stood on hind legs stretched up to eat the leaves from the overhanging tree. My son’s inflection (as he confirmed I wasn’t seeing things) spelled out he thought I’d dropped most of my IQ points. 

Harvested my first home grown courgette! Himself asking if I’ve eaten any of the kale yet - ah, working up to it... <off to Google things to do to one single but plump courgette> [to see a second growing! Capricious Fates!]

Peering at another lamp, springs look familiar & yes! Another anglepoise, a Type 90 lv (low voltage) Just need to sort the right bulbs (ever tricky!) Oh yes & anglepoise let the Luxo be made in Oslo from 1936, and we’ve one of the descendants on the toolbench. Seems (depending how you count) we’re a 5 poise household! (My inner engineering geek is ecstatic & twitching hopefully For More.) The floor has three different types peering in different directions! [Back down to two as mine, refurbished, now watches over my desk & the keyboard. It's pal with the dicky bulb is now fully refurbed & working again, too.]

Got to love technology - I was talking to a bloke when the software went “boink!” Happily me along with half a dozen others but several of us cut off so several extra anxious further calls expected.

I am to be given three throwing angels (the sort of throwing axe you can safely coach an 8 year old with) & am collecting names. Michael, Gabriel, Rafael & Uriel I’ve heard of, (along with Lucifer!) Selaphiel, Raguel or Jegudiel & Barachiel are new to me. However while Lucifer makes a handy 9th that opens the door to Amenidiel, Remiel & Azrael and more study of the book of Enoch. I can only use 3 to start with & am minded to abide by the council of Rome of 745 & restrict my angel worship to Gabriel Michael & Raphael.... [Still waiitnmg for the pointy metalwork to arrive, but the really good stuff cannot be rushed.]

Some days mums cannot win. I woke early, got up, started my work day & heard the Engineer come in from nights - he didn’t see the door open to wave etc so I finished one file & sloped over to his room - where he was apparently immediately trying to sleep. Poor old good intentions!

I am dreadful at receiving praise. I git an email saying I’d handled a very difficult customer with admirable professionalism. I pleaded with my boss to not mention it til my colleagues have got the same message.

Never realised “gone to Abergavenny” was a local phrase for ‘gone to the nuthouse’ (which was the other main structure alongside the castle in pre Victorian times!)

[should I try to book a bed? There's Still More.]

DigForVictory

Tell you, this is getting more than a tad embarrassing.

PaulieHerts - "felt almost like old times" <ongoing covet of extended family & serious Roast Dinner with Plural Puddings> Breakfast out? Yum & wow. My tomatoes are largely green - Lancs not getting much sun but colleague assures me they make an amazing spiced cake! Right with you on the charms of an ice cream van! Lamb kofta wraps - what seasonings do you use? Hot tub & Rod Stewart - cor... solar fairy lights twinkling - magic indeed! Not wholly convinced a boat in Spain for 6 months is such fun - would hate to have to translate "I've got a cough & am worried"... Well done cosseting the out-laws & wow, crescent moon from hot tub! Cornwall - have a wonderful time! Not heard of packing a beef casserole to take with, but can wholly grasp the logic, even as some of me sketches out its holiday postcard.... Arrived, picked up shopping & got in early?! Admirable planning! Proper Cornish cream - well, it wouldn't be Cornwall not to. The beef casserole has matured - hm, perhaps slightly different postcards... Watching the fishermen set off takes getting up early. Ah the long drive home - shared driving though hurrah!

Purple_kitten - so sorry vast character has joined sibling. Know the feeling of That Much? when confronted with (happily done) laundry. Latch-hook & longhand both the better for focusing on the outcome not the mechanics. (Although my handwriting is its own encryption, hence my preference for tech.) A commercial freezer? Boggles, briefly. Ohmiword MRI & surgery ho - always better to know Why. Freezer in place all As If Meant - excellent! All that laundry on the line - wonderful! Can Angel Delight age? Being almost wholly chemical? But so many happy memories, absolutely. Colleague advises your favourite top for any Zoom interview but to only have water to sip, then check all complete, Switch Tech Off & change top immediately. (Worked for her, new job starts in January.) "ferret needing a home" - vet a canny soul, who else would see the gorgeous? You're wonderful, taking MIL to hospital & taking FIL for distraction. Hurrah rehoming mobility buggy - that will extend FIL's horizons a bit despite likely lockdown. HM Chilli is uplifting stuff. Advice tho "it might be a mink"! It's eyewatering how much a good night's sleep is expected to be paid up front. Hoping new ferret is picking up lots of reassurance from fellow ferrets. Starting serious stocking is only reasonable. "bought in the washing in anticipation of autumn arriving overnight" - makes sense. "Pleasure of not doing the housework" - absolutely! Laundry "tightly pegged" - aye, tis the season. A seasonal freezer shelf - Genius! Oh golly, some of the knocks on the door really do trigger things - hurrah Sherbet. "On a roll with deep cleaning" indeed! Awed. We went from 2 to 1 to 2 cars & it does bring peace of mind even though Middleson has snaffled both my satnav & my engine management reader (the latter of which he Is putting to better use, but there is a principle involved.) Very glad to hear friend out of hospital & recovering. Love the idea of using a hand held hoover to "make the place look clean". Don't tell DH if you find him useful but I think you are allowed to ask L1dl checkers to slow it down a bit for you. (They may not.) Butchers pies are just So much nicer than others. A nap at the right time can stop minor things before they get major.

Ampersand - bliddy not-spot! So Frustrating. (Says she who has saved this post four times already, as family keep turning machines off) Hurrah good rugby & likewise new 2nd son of the Alma! Awed at your knowledge & retention of spark plug briefing but trebly so at grace with which you let yearning-to-be-knights-errant step in! Much smitten by Scotsdales chap rightly rehoming a loved-by-someone bit of plastic. Awed by tomatoes, and slightly spooked! Yoyo recipe carefully copied & archived. Alfred Wallis mask sounds great & oooh, rumtopfs! For "rugby club crimbo fundraiser" Both? As rightly "still spoken about, especially by those who winner shared tasters with" but what for you?! All this blackberry & apple industry - but yes, unless washed with cold water, soap & salt, gloves likely advisable. Ah, reconnecting the wand - uncle always hoped to be allowed to help... The teatowels, oh gods, but all to be ready for the fundraiser. Awed. Emmaüs a splendid bunch, and applauding the engineering think-around that used Aldi net bags, the broom & the bathtub! Faff yes, but 8 jars with a special lopsided grin for that problem-solving. Wow, clematis colours! If you cannot recall where all the other rumtopfs are, come Crimbo, then you are in for a magnificently Happy New Year. Or more likely, someone else - I gather the fluid is bliss but if you then melt dark chocolate & make choc slabs with the fruit (frozen so the alcohol doesn't distress the chocolate setting), the Fun Carries On Even Further. Teatowels, walnuts, another baby All Black in waiting (a huge & delightfully vicarious pleasure). Who else would tutor a post grad Beirut student grauniad, podcasts & R4x?! Argh, not-spot, encore. Hear hear hooray for persistence!

Bala - Time with parents, time with nieces all good in this strange covid estrangement. Oh, Tiggy! Brother's arrival & neices happy back at school - excellent. The Full English Breakfast is an amazing meal, at any time of day! Child-sitting & "hugs and cuddles were in plentiful supply" - riches untold! Hoomanwatch - awed at range of wildlife popping by! A brother who can see when you need a hug is a very special pleasure. Cleaning & it not being noticed is indeed heartbreaking. Tiggy rightly comes first! On matters of weight, sometimes it is easier to keep eating just have the words "portion control!" painted on the fridge door. No fun, but neither are painkillers. Brother did something to improve your internet? Hurrah! It can be jolly tough being a longhaired child, but planning to have an excellent day helps! If you must stab yourself, a really sharp knife leaves a clean cut that heals faster. Enjoy that gateau! Well done using abandoned vouchers to strategically load the freezer. Love that Tiggy ignores Flo. Oh gods, the "shouldn't be driving" chat - so hard on the ego but easier from the GP? Brother is just amazing - washes up without pleading?! Oh midear, another brother in an acute ward. He's in the right place, but it's hard on you. Paramedics are amazing, but knowing he's hugely loved will do even more for your brother. Know you are, too. Dad will come & take the appreciative soul home, dash. Awed at how your family work together, one loading chaps on, another carefully unloading & brother in hospital mending enough to eat hospital food! Then no dog food so Tiggy got someone's chocolate, Yikes. Buttered rolls? Ponders Ma Fox & Flo beak to nose over a plate... Getting pills into dogs takes practice, & I'll bet Tiggy didn't mind the Brie going down at all. Brother in hospital stabilising - hurrah! Uncle in Cyprus hospital but getting needed care. Brother in hospital stable, brother still at home with you, growing in your care. Has anyone said you're doing Amazingly? Brother out of hospital & home - phew & hurrah & well done! Just remembering beautiful horses is a delight. (Cottage was up the hill from an Arabian stud farm - oh those long legs & scuts of tails as the barely-weeks-old-foals scampered.) Oh poor tired Mum, poor conked boiler, but you & brother have wrought wonders on the meadow!

villagelife - "DS2 mortgage is accepted"? Happydance for you! Neighbours have Houdini chickens & hadn't realised this is normal?! Appraisal done "Can forget about it now", absolutely! A sorted freezer is an ally. Good on you, coaxing a cautious friend out to lunch. Glad DS1 happier & "a glass of wine at dusk ... watching the bats and listening to owls" sounds blissful. Being offloaded onto is hard. Taking in your own lunch very MS. NHS IT something I threaten colleagues with when they grumble... Hurrah DS2 cooking & my husband right with him, many veggie dishes very tasty (and all the better for a bit of bacon). Ah the post office - used to be the hub of the village & anyone not seen for a couple of days got a visit from a copper & a neighbour soon after (many retired folk & the copshop just over the road from the postie. Gossip central, but reassuring.)  Osteopath effective? Storing nuts can be tricksy - I tend to find the lads have got to them rather than anything else... Hurrah flexible working! From 4 Jan? Bully DS2 into proper desk & chair? Or he'll be at the osteopath shortly. Rousing cheers on 32 years wedded! Glad next door's taste in fences runs to get-your-money's-worth. You turn compost - my Gardening Aunts would so approve! Goats are fun to watch. There used to be one on the walk to school, which slowed matters a bit, but was worthwhile. DS1 on the point of fledging to a place of his own?! Spag Bol is a very special pleasure. Staying for the first week while he paints - aww! Could you be one of the folk who do as they're asked the first time rather than thinking oh that won't apply to me, with car park barriers? Lovely to hear things for house being identified & acquired. (Auction rooms can have older, higher quality furniture for same IKEA prices - worth considering?) Sofa & armchairs to be delivered Next Year? Wow. More fences for good neighbours? Splendid. DS2 cooked & then wasn't there to eat? How disconcerting. A laugh at work makes the day brighter. An interesting trip to see an Aunt first met at a funeral? Missing torrential rain is a special pleasure. Where gin distilleries are concerned, not sampling might be discourteous. May have helped with additional family? Michael Palin - hero I most want to not meet (& preserve safe on pedestal!).

a few OS pleasures

Rereading the Bodleian Oath, I think it lacks something. “I hereby undertake” & “I promise” lack a certain something in comparison to the medieval book curses - which promised harm to immortal souls... Does the Bod not believe it’s readers have souls, I wonder?!

The still inviting you to watch Hana the otter’s first birthday shows an otter gazing intently on a sizeable fish. My husband insists there is a resemblance, & I disagree - I use cutlery. (Usually.)

The pizza chef (son in charge of converting frozen pizza to family meal) has struggled with his sibling eating ribs earlier & consequent what-was-bought-for-whom anyway. Another time I may drag the shambling semi-comatose lad with me for clarity, but at 7 this morning I was benevolent & didn’t try...

Why do I ask the apprentice what he does when at work? “Changing the carocades on the star model in the imp” or something like, but seems happy & is eating well. Ah well, I can at least tell my parents I Tried.

“Argh now that’s just wrong! Black sheep with white heads!” Y’know some days I do wonder about Himself’s grasp on sheep breeds.

Sign seen & enjoyed “If we are what we eat, I’m hot, fast & easy.” My word...

Picked my own home grown tomatoes! All 3 Tumbling Tom Yellow so I shall probably endeavour to save the seeds & watch hopefully for other tiny tomatoes to make chutney with. [Family vehement I am not to do this again as apparently it stinks.]

Just listening to the scratch of the brush as Bob Ross paints another landscape with a “happy little tree”.... The programs are strangely addictive!

DigForVictory

Oh for pity's sake. Sorry, folks. Positively the last post but covered over 50 pages and um two months...

MrsStepford - hoping the home made sausages have been made & enjoyed?

Competsoph - welcome & very best of luck with house-buying! 18th September? Cling to that headspace app. It helps. Housebuying is Nothing like the Monopoly experience, dashit. A good sleep is wonderful - fingers crossed for house move!

Cranky - waiting for death is hard. Well done you for being there for sis & for HT powering through extra GCSE stuff. Cleaning & heavy deliveries done - hurrah! Home made icecream and Ingredients for a "cake of the festive season" sorted & bagged ready?! Wow! All this work - still, you count it a pleasure.

SuffolkSue - even saints got days off.  Of the many things you need or want, guilt is utterly last. I'm hugely glad you got a few minutes peace & other normality. December is a month for sweets - better to have them & not need them. So, you recommend The Lizard & Sennen Cove area? Absolutely with you washing machines are a pleasure. All other methods of washing rinsing & drying clothes, bedding etc are a bit ferocious. Hope DGD comes though fine. 

Jazee - "there's a grand child on the way"! A first, or in an ongoing series?!

Mrs Salad Dodger - Good to see you & a robin? Excellent!

Broomstick - welcome back! Your "level best" is diamond studded gold standard to others. Wasn't Vanessa Redgrave Stunning? (Mind, we adore Mary Beard as a family anyway.) You alternate admin & postgrad work? Awed & hugely admiring! Alas, paperwork really needs to be taken in baby steps. Your own two drawer filing cabinet, weeded and date-ordered and tidy - absolutely a pleasure! Never heard of cork watch straps, but they look mazing & as you say, eco too! Handwritten Wills - once deciphered, so fascinating to see as you have a rough guide to both who's alive & who's in favour... A good shredder is a joy to hear. Procrastination means the Eventual chocolate tastes Even Better. DS1 included in the paperwork - splendid, simpler if learned relatively young. Some neighbours you could almost learn to appreciate if they get structural stuff sorted, & on their budget. I Googled roleux loops, got a load of haematology slides & so watched the tutorial & recalled trying & making a compelte hash of that at school. (Too long, too much excess fabric & not On The Bias...) Setting in a sleeve in 5 minutes? Wizardry, but a fun site! A to do list is a steer, not a goad. Excellent, nicer teabags!

PommeVerte - abundant reasons to be MIA & happily pleasures reflect. Grownups are allowed stickers too, if you want them.

SuffolkSue - the weather can't be Wholly your fault. Someone bought a very posh umbrella & I've been attributing Lancashiure's abundant green lush wet on that.

mrs motivated - it's good to sit down & know there are a good 20 pages of various good news awaiting you. (Letting it get to 50 is tougher.) Haven't seen my parents in Months either, other than on Zoom.

Remaining OSPs & I shall go collapse at my day job.

Dimly recognised a Gorillaz track (Lad’s first foray into his own music tastes on CD) & found “Clint Eastwood” relatively easy to listen to.

Oh my. Apprentice decided we were eating Chinese tonight & now lying here feeling very Very full.

Seems Anglepoise have collaborated with Paul Smith - and it is amusing to hear Himself’s snarled opinion of the colourful new look. It may sell well, but we prefer the classic monochrome.

How sad is it that getting our flu shots counts as an exciting plan? Just phew peace of mind. All for calling up & asking (my parents down south have appointments but not yet the vaccine, seems the north is being shot first.) [Done & even bought one for Youngest. then felt guilty at supply issues. Motherhood - you Cannot win.]

Ah, Casablanca! Gods, I love that film. Black & white & utterly gorgeous, and oh Rick, Elsa... (Even if I do get Mr Bean flashbacks.)

I love QI - I hadn’t realised the newborn kneecap is invisible to X ray as it’s cartilage, and the whole “baby skeleton is mostly cartilage” makes a lot of sense - solid bone makes the delivery suite more difficult.

Husband found a chunk of David Mitchell’s autobiography “Back Story” & sent me a link to the unexpectedly open audiobook chapter on his falling for & marriage of Victoria Coren. It’s glorious, & brilliantly written.

“A well tailored suit is to women what lingerie is to men” - bother lockdown for letting the chaps get away with T shirts so much of the time. (Saw a senior gent shopping - mask, collar, tie, even polished shoes & nearly swooned. Even masked, we managed an eye dance of appreciation, respect, & plenty of twinkle.)

Found my jam pan! Up near Apprentice’ barbecue.... He has agreed to scrub it right back up to kitchen hygiene standards. (RRP over £100 over a decade ago but I got it for £30 as it has a recognisable dent.) [Now clean, and family asking hopefully after strawberry jam. Fingers crossed frozen strawberries jam tastes acceptable!]

Youngest pleaded with me for trousers - all clean laundry in our room guarded by sleeping parent. So I snuck in, spotted a pair of Rohans & slunk off feeling Baggins-ish. Youngest startled & pleased, husband still gently snoring. 

Sometimes, when talking to people who’ve had their identity stolen, I refer to our investigators as “hunting dogs”, who are leashed by law but unleashed go for the details (using tools I lack) & hunt the evildoer gleefully. It occurs to me that these specialists might agree with my description but grouch they’ve never heard of a dog that had to submit a witness statement.

Son flipped on a light to see breakfast by & we realised both the anglepoise & I were fascinated by his breakfast... I’m lucky the one on my desk doesn’t (currently) peer over my shoulder, but suspect that’s in my future.

“Where’d you want your tea, muchacho, I mean mumchacho?” Youngest valiantly struggling with language, gender & lovely hot brew. Some days I feel So Blessed.

Mint beginning to go over, borage still blooming so bees industrious & me thoughtful. Have to wait before saving seed.

The growing wisdom of my sons is a delight to me. As I was left to watch over grilling food “don’t go on Facebook” - I’m done with that for today but the kindle and the timer work well together.

An old HIGNFY with David Mitchell asking Rory Stewart wanting to be “fantasist in chief” - oh gods, they’re good... Days later, two scientists brief & the PM is nowhere to be seen. [Oh yes he is. Ah.]

The Surrealists are in charge. I have been required to find & forward details of my building pass - the lump of plastic that admits me to a building I have no wish or current need to visit.

Sundry new power tools have arrived, but not the magic grease that keeps them longer, safer, happier.... Obediently ordered.

Oh my. Son had two bath sheets laid out for his return from the gym. Husband swapped them for hand towels. Door crash, screen door slide, hiss of water then “you b*stard”. Shame on us, how we laughed!

Met this: In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.

Rousing hurrahs! Released from taking calls, happydance! Can go back to my evil ways beating up heaps of noughts and ones. Alas ‘team nine‘ will scatter a bit but we’ll all be sent back to the usual stuff and that includes national teamwork - the  past calls will help the future work. I foresee “big chicken hugs” becoming a sign off between cognoscenti.

Birthday approaching & with it, a return of spring grief. (I will be a year older. He will never make his 21st.) I think there is a pleasure that while it hurts, we still love & remember. Eventually this virus will let us do that as a community. (Went to my first zoom memorial - both wonderful celebration and eye watering reminder that the camera is running & being watched through and listened through across three continents, but the lady would have roared with laughter & approved - her family did Brilliantly)

A day out diverted as favourite tool bloke has decided the risk just feels too high. Instead another small town with charity shops, some with gatekeepers keeping community gossip, people & sanitiser flowing “have a quick squirt! Thankyou for coming, room for another one!” 

To bounce off a church door again feels disheartening but there’s another Royal Baby to look forward to in the New Year. (Which has inspired bootees for new baby cousins for early Christmas.)

Hadn’t realised Midsomer had run to 21 series & still going. Thinking back though , I recall my sister’s schoolmates’ families feeling Very Brave to live near the Cotswolds where high death rates were wholly normal.... 

Some days, Youngest flirts with danger, insisting the oven is not the microwave. To his tired, low blood sugar father, surrounded by cooking utensils. 

Argh - local charity has been in receipt of two stonking bequests & I now have to write a braggo script for the charities commission. I’ve calculated their economic well-being (splendid) but the brag script? Bring on the fantasy....

Husband mildly intrigued by only connect & frankly uninterested in university challenge but I liked the neural workout!

It is possible youngest & I share bizarre conversations “like roadkill fox shoved in a freezer?” “Many women have said so”.... Gods, but I am So Lucky in my adored sons! Hence both the tears & the laughter of the day.

Some days, work has the next step planned & we swing along the curve more or less in step. Other days, it hasn’t, and there is stressed mayhem. Today was the latter & I tried to keep cheerful about some things & got a quiet “thank you” from one of those supposed to be planning.

Getting the shopping, managed not to melt as I recognised songs the lad had enjoyed. Train, Drops of Jupiter & Guns & Roses, Sweet Child O Mine. Listened to them at home & just wept wishing we were both back then. Usually life’s OK, just some days catch you behind the knees & leave you sat blinking. Pleasure is shopping done, memories cherished. 

Susan Calman, a tea ceremony & the lady wearing a kimono with a (subtly) tartan obi. Stunning gardens & lakes, absolutely ideal for contemplation with a chawan of sencha. (Wikipedia has a Lot to answer for.)

“She sounds worried, did a duck fall off her roof?” - you can’t blame a mother for taking to Twitter for reassurance, but no answers to various questions.... (Hey, I have colleagues who hug chickens. My axe throwing seems [almost] normal.)

Husband watching some YouTube thing on the worst five tanks at Bovington - he’s very sound on the vices of ‘extinct before it left the drawing board’, a complete supply-chain beast, a potential ruined by hard-to-use & one that simply Doesn’t Do The Job. Heartwarming to hear someone intelligently putting the boot into tanks (I have been hauled round Bovington at least once too often.)

My word. Archaeologists love rubbish dumps but the scraps of library in Oxyrhynchus (Egypt) is amazing - it’s a hotchpotch of medical records, wedding flowers, poetry etc  

Some odd stuff bubbles through Teams: "the 'vacuum cleaner' keyboard hack works. Supplemented by a J cloth and a little aftershave"...
The BA 747s are leaving Heathrow - pleasure in the engineering and just awe those huge things get airborne.

Finding huge relief Jane Austen’s magic holds even in the waiting room, even through a mask.

It is very sweet to see romance alive & well, greeting his beloved with red roses & a close hug before they settle in the Bentley he struggled to park (& I have to drive away from).

Amazon warehouse - my birthday Bialetti coffeepot is a thing of beauty, lacking only it’s original box & 33% of the price. If I find real coffee is too much of a shock to the system, I can return it, or gift it to a sibling. [Just where the Dickens is the nice coffee I bought?!]

“Gotta shout, gotta represent, Yarg-heck-Mum!” Honestly, where can a girl get a break with a book & not get chided?!

“And then my trousers got snagged on the bazooka” - I swear only the Dig family could achieve this sentence as a statement of fact. Whilst whooping & wheezing with laughter. Fate played Our Tune (Barber’s Adagio for Strings) in the seconds following, adding to the laughter....

Thornton Cleveleys has a special magic. We brought a pebble home to the lad’s tree but managed a fairly cheerful day (after a short weep).

There is thudding above me. Fortunately followed by furniture being shoved. Some days working at home includes concentrating hard enough to ignore such, which used to trigger mass migration followed by airway management & a vomit jug. Strange the things you remember & sort of miss.

Queen “Who wants to live forever” bubbling though my computer - I remember hearing it first watching the Highlander film, but the concert version in 1986 is glorious. Freddy casting his spell long before Hollywood tried theirs...

Forgive me? I will Try not to let my posting get This far Out of Hand again.

balabooberlies

D4V

I am saving your posts to read later this evening.  Fresh pj's, hot cuppa and perhaps a smidgen of cake.  I think it would be very rude not to.

X

balabooberlies

Lovely Lainey (that has a true ring)

Have been worried about my uncle.  He had his operation yesterday in a very weakened state.  Cancer.  Polyps in bladder causing blood loss.  Didn't want to bring my worry here but thank you so much for thinking of me.  He came through his op and that was my main nagging concern, although I didn't share it with anyone.  One of my cousins called him a tough old bird.  I think she is right.

The three of us watched our Mummy fox eating the food I put out for the birds.  She kept a close eye on us.  She is absolutely beautiful.  Late in the evening I furnished her with fox appropriate food.  She continues to poop her thanks.  In the bowls !

YUCK.

X

Jazee

Lovely to see you posting DfV.  Grandchild will be the first although I think they may start coming along like buses.

Pleasures include still be able to see family, time cuddling dogs, walks with DH, paid stuff being manageable and my garden.

Frith

Puts kettle on, for us and for DfV!

VJsmum

Flipping Heck, DforV - you've written a novel!  I too will save for later.
bala - hope uncle continues to improve

Pleasures, however, for yesterday
1. A bit of a lie in.
2. A favourite shop is closing down so took advantage of their 50% off sale and bought a variety of christmas bits (decorations), and a LOT of bathbombs.  Some for DD for now, some for her stocking and some for me.
3. Drive home was uneventful but boring.  The pleasure being we arrived fairly swiftly.  lit the fire and unloaded logs.  The log store is full with some over.  A fair swap of labour for logs, i think.
4. Sausage and cauli cheese for tea - some cauli cheese from freezer and some made with a RTC cauli.
5. Watched last week's ambulance - be more Beryl, I say (those who saw it will know).

Have a great day all - i am between teaching sessions.

LaineyT

Goodness me DFV, a whole pot of tea for that tome, good to see you x

Ah Bala, suspected it might have been something along those lines, worries we can help with you know. Sending healing vibes for Uncle x