5 OS pleasures in your day today - part 3

mhagster

Hello. 

Up early and out walking at 5.30am…we were soaked! 

Picked up to go for a cheese scone at garden centre. 

Did a bit of work when I got back.
Then it’s just been a quiet day since, not feeling 100%. 

Been a showery kind of day. 

Started a new library book! I need to plough through them as they need returned ! 

ampersand

Overtaken by events somewhat at present, not all good, so let's list some osps.

1. Just shared the afternoon with young friend on his birthday, first at Kettle's Yard, then in The Punter's Inn.

2.  Some kind words for & as HRH at rugby club.

3. Spot the silly mistake, one of many similar these days.  Don't these people do their sums?  Usual mini snarl....add pic later, &.😁. You know there's no other way.





4. Apart from picking and eating a few lemon balm leaves each day, & yesterday did same with first raspberries.  They're ripening.😋

5. Heard on R4 'A Point  of View' this morning, Sara Wheeler:
''They change their sky, not their soul, those who travel across the sea.'
It's one that will stick with &.
#
A Haggis Special, beautifully done, seen today during Cambridge walking:
Another pic to add later.👏😁

DundeeDoll

Thanks for the heads-up Ampers I normally listen but this morning's morning service music wasn't my sort of thing so i put my audible on instead
what a difference in the weather! so good things today
1) my umbrella and the bus - i got to church on time for choir practice dry
2) beautiful music this morning - we sang Joanne Forbes L'Estrange's Holy Trinity and another trinity piece by Kitchen - 2 of our choral scholars did the solos
3) ratatouille made from los at work for lunch 
4) super walk with the boys - the rain had paused (though it got mistier and mistier) and the trees are so gorgeous this time of year
5) we repeated the JFL and Kitchen at evensong along with Vaughan Williams Magnificat and Sanders responses
and now I'm home and fed, Radio Times crossword is done and I'm going to have a long soak in the bath then an early night. 

Highdays

Morning all.

We have some blue sky and sunshine and some ominous grey clouds so who knows? It's certainly  not the May weather we had when we got married on this weekend 16 years ago that's for sure.

Anyway, some Bank Holiday pleasures:

1) Apart from a food shop we have stuck pretty much close to home, enjoying being back after our trip and the many pleasures of just pottering.

2) The kids bought me some beautiful peonies as a thank you for taking little fella away. The pleasure was all ours but they are my favourite and just gorgeous.

3) Given myself a good taking to and now back on a much healthier eating plan. Blubber will be shifted. The pleasure is the numbers on the scales are already going down but a long way to go yet. 

4) Bedding plants and hanging baskets all done - we are ready for the balmy June weather....

5) Roasted a huge chicken yesterday so lovely leftovers for tea tonight, quick and easy.

Hope you get some decent Bank Holiday weather where you are.

DigForVictory

LaineyT - 'dealing with auditors' - you make my colleagues sound like malevolent vampires. Not all of us! Oh dear beautiful in grumpy mood. "Puppy broody" - no, no, that way lies things Gnawed. Small dog charmed & bribed - phew mollified! What a wonderful yard & oh, Capt S!

Happycas - to have someone come clear the room, take the old carpet & install a new one does indeed sound 'golden'!

Purple kitten - hoping the interview passed without pain?

mhagster - I think your buyer is lucky beyond words! As are the families you meet to guide them through rough waters. 'Desk' cleared?! Gosh, well done! Reading & ice cream - build up the energy/recover.

Frith - very sorry to hear neck being difficult, but sons being wonderful. Think going social-media-free an excellent idea, & all good luck with painting!

DundeeDoll - surely the point of VIP visitors is the free food that accompanies the sheer faff!? Latvian chocolate powered choir rehearsal, cor. Top Tupperware moves! Is Joanne Forbes L'Estrange Very Demanding? 

PaulieHerts - love your photos & will strongly commend coach trip to family (pining for beach trips & eyeing me as driver).

Highdays - blimey you have Lego'ed with brio & what glorious memorise! Happy wedding anniversary! The only person who can give you a good talking to that has any effect is yourself.

BoP - hare cut & no emporium temptation - very wise. Smitten by that afternoon tea!

Ampersand - raspberries already?! Shall go & croon hopefully to my canes.

OS Pleasures recently

Last year I planted some dwarf rootstock trees. Today I have an email reminding me they need watering “correctly” with “infrequent deep watering sessions”. I am deeply tempted to reply with the met report. We’ve had several “deep sessions” this month & a bit less frequency would be splendid! I have to laugh at marketing emails…

Inspecting the nursery (young plants) I observe two oak seedlings still alive. I may request the under gardener repot them, that they get the additional nutrients to sustain them. I can’t hope for height while their roots are so confined but I don’t yet know where I want two oaks. 

I need to find how to read the Times online for free - the press reader app won’t let me read “The lizard, the wonder drug — and how it will change the world” I only want to as it has such a snappy title!

Ooops, I have offended Youngest. I wasn’t sure if he was familiar with the “here’s one I prepared earlier” concept & “I was there, mum” had a distinct tone of niff. 

Hazily recalled “the innocent have nothing to fear”, tried to find the quote & slipped down a rabbit hole. This combined with my oft expressed weekend plan for a nice murder leaves me pondering how much longer I will be allowed the freedoms I presume on. The pleasure is I doubt it just enough to be amused.

Lovely letter from cousin reassuring me that I’m by no means alone in thinking that while the death of a child is wrong, at least they were spared covid. It seems such an odd comfort, but there it remains.

Middleson cheerfully recommending Costco things, like their “chicken tenders”. Not certain what bit of a chicken that is, but nibbled one at his - toothsome enough, so may fling a bag in the trolley. [Heaving, couldn't find them] 

Eyeing Middleson with strimmer trying not to fell my little fruit trees. Anything that feeds on dandelion seeds is in for a harder time. I mentioned “no mow May” & he said no mow 2024 was not an option… [The garden looks like someone cares!]

Youngest, having dropped one of the balls he juggles with (not a matched set), has swapped in an onion & is carrying on. Awed!

Ye gods the Costco shop should perhaps be at the start of the month but that’s me sorted for laundry til 2025. The car handled like a pig, sure sign we’d crammed it with Everything. 

Sister lamenting her lost Mah Jongg set recognised an eBay photo & had me buy it for her. Transferring the money during the zoom call! [Arrived, checked, beautiful.]

Sunlight illuminating the glitterball - freckles of light scattered across the ceiling & Himself suddenly both very close & unspeakably far away.

I have both sons on site, even overnight! Such a pity I have a dawn raid in the office but when you gotta, you gotta. Twin goodnight hugs though…

Ah the joy of getting out of work clothes “Social Trousers” & into home clothing (“antisocial trousers!”)

Sister wants “total recall” - not the Arnie movie but the book on dog training!

Family tree climbing & one relative lost her firstborn son on Valentine’s Day. Fascinating, hilarious, painful though this hobby is, I meet strong women. Many of them probably ‘strong’ like me, not seeing a reasonable alternative & blessed with good friends.

Preparing to take a trainee out & checking the kit list. Oddly reassuring, just the scout list has a teddy bear. (At all ages. Discourages jeering at some comforting familiar rag.) Still, all were rewarded with emporium coffee.

Cheerfully debating the pronunciation of aesthetics - I say ees-thetic, Middleson opines !!!!!!-thetic (& Google supports me) but he think his version is ‘more appropriate’. Where he’s seen salons offering exotic reshaping surgery I have no idea (I’ve only met the concept in cheap journalism).

Youngest has a talent for unpinging fitted sheets. I’m going to ask my sisters what happened to the red braces grandfather & then dad used. If I find them, I’m clipping that sheet into place & grinning “you’re in bed with your grandfather & great grandfather. One was a marriage guidance counsellor, the other a lawyer. No pressure!” It’s an amusing daydream but I don’t think I am that cruel. [No one knows where they are. Evil plan thwarted.]

Yes the Germans have lowered the immediate penalty for possession of child p*rn, but serious jail time is still on the menu although the police are now encouraged to examine the circumstances harder (teachers/pastors trying to get the children help etc). After the shocking headline, the facts are a relief.

There are birds nesting in the roof -I can hear cheeping at coming & goings. It may not be energy efficient for my insulation but it’s a happy family racket!

Boss & colleague want me to go for a promotion as they reckon I’m the logical best candidate. Very sweet but I hate the application faff. Still may check what’s required as someone’s got to mind the nursery or there won’t be enough folk to pay my pension.

Middleson’s Doing Something to the sink. Which should see it drain freely eventually. The grunts & thuds are a bit worrying. “I have a tool” - I really shouldn’t snigger. It’s a nice surprise that he strolled in & is spending the night, assuring himself we’re not getting up to no good in his absence.   

He’s coming over the responsible adult about the student loan application. Refreshing to hear brotherly tones (raised, emphatic) rather than my trying to not nag & failing. It really was all so very different in my day.

And has now dosed the sink with serious chemistry & is instructing first me then Youngest on its care. Recognising the bleary tones working through bewilderment, irritation & “why me?” & sympathising with the latter - if anyone’s using radical chemistry in this house, I’d rather it was wholly under my control. Still, all being well, sink should be back to full usage soon. [It is! Whew.]

“Contains occasional use of moderate language and crime scene gore” I say Miss Marple what are you getting into?! Other episodes contain “peril & some mild swearing”, “some moderate language” & “some violence”. (I don’t usually bother with reading this stuff, but the crime scene gore caught my eye…) Turns out you can buy blood spatter fabric - and I do wish I’d known this was an option years ago. Make a lovely pinny for answering the door to unexpected callers… (Why keep the shocks for Halloween?!)

Saw an advert claiming to teach how to mod the standard sizes to a perfect fit. Grinned wryly as I’m a standard size 14 six foot Valkyrie squished down to 5’2” with bonus curves from three pregnancies & a massive preference for reading to physical exercise. I’m resigned to clothes not fitting as no designer will ever look far enough down to see me, Muse not waiting, curled up with a book. Laughed hardest at “standard size” - ain’t no such animal!

Sisters. Deciding mum needs a new passport & so I am to get her passport photo taken & do the online thing. That I can do… [The rest I will hand to those with power of attorney. An £85 ticket to fantasy is not needed.]

Marple with Johnathan Creek as one of the police - mental whiplash!

Met this & am planning to shoehorn it into the Christmas letter somehow “It's been such a joy to meet many of you in the flesh, but please consider wearing clothes next time.”

Middleson popped in to borrow little Dremel as helping on mate’s bike - and laughing immoderately at the idea I rode same Honda 125 back in 1992. (Harrumph, one of the few bikes us short folk could safely wait at lights with.)

Spotted a leaf waving so paused to observe. Bird nesting in gap in stone wall! 

Bank holiday religious observances (thou shalt garden) observed & many handfuls of opportunist rosebay binned. Need to get the bark chippings down before they try a third wave. But first, tea by the pint.

Then hopefully student loan application with Youngest. (Strange pleasure but one he’s procrastinating about.) [He has no idea ever his national insurance number is, or why it matters. Just as well I keep records.] {We can’t tell if you can switch courses once you’ve applied for a loan. Logically yes, intuitively less so, so he gets an extra 3 weeks to decide.}

Health Strength Love & Courage to all as have need, plus waterproofs to hand in this deeply changeable weather. 

mhagster

DFV desk momentarily cleared 😆 will be back at it tomorrow. 

Me…I’ll set an alarm ( have usually no need to set an alarm these days) so I can get up early and have a nice dog walk and avoid the other dogs out at the usual time) 
Dog…actually I’m going to wake you up with the sound of me vomiting! 

So we didn’t go an early early morning walk after all! We went and lay on the sofa and dozed off. 

Pup dropped off.

First lot of work finished.

Started a new library book .

Back out to work this afternoon to meet a new family. 

Home…for all of 5 minutes then had to take DD2 and pup home as she’d been dropped off . They’d been in Edinburgh and traffic was horrendous and the chap didn’t have time to take her home before he had to head to work. So hello my dog I’ll be back soon! 

And home! I’m in! Had a late for me tea of chicken ham/ cheese Kyiv as that’s what was RTC in Tesco! With sprouts and rice ( as sprouts are what’s left in the freezer 😆) 

so me and my library book are heading to bed soon! 

DundeeDoll

DigForVictory said:

Is Joanne Forbes L'Estrange Very Demanding? 

Spotted a leaf waving so paused to observe. 

JLF wasn't too bad though there were a couple of bars us altos weren't totally on top of
And your leaf comment reminded me of the tree I saw 'clapping' - probably could have done with a bit more leaf-watching today!
1) stewed rhubarb on my cereal for breakfast (rhubarb from MrG, must plant some myself!)
2) meeting at the bishop's house after work across town - not on a good bus route so was going to get a taxi but lovely lovely colleague gave me a lift - was able to catch her up on some potentially very good news
3) mrs bish provided a 'light supper' of jacket spuds, chilli and cheese
4) lift home from another kind person
5) watched some more cardiac arrest while rattling off some emails

Happycas

Good morning.  Sunny too.  My weather app keeps telling me that the temperatures are above average for the time of year.  Doesn't feel like it to me!

Frith - I hope you managed to keep both your resolutions.  Your wood work should be looking very glossy by now.

DfV - your glitter ball comment really resonated. Strange the things that trip us up!  It sounds as if your re-foresting project is coming along nicely.

Recently..

Not much happening really , which is always good news

Met DD and fiance for breakfast

Did some gardening but too cold for me.  I'm more of a wafting about with sun hat and trug gardener ( I don't actually have a trug but always fancied one.  Predictive text thinks I want a drug😂)

Sorting out clothes for trip to Spain.  We rent a bungalow near our friends and there's a washer so don't need to take too much.  But I never iron on holiday.  It's the rule!  So clothes have to be ones that don't wrinkle too much.

Have almost given up on tv completely.  All the new programmes we try seem to have a cast of thoroughly unpleasant people who could all jump off Leeds bridge for all I care.  Repeats of Vera it is then!

Happy Tuesday everyone

LaineyT

Some pleasures for the long weekend,

A trip early doors Saturday into BuryStEds, breakfast out and a good mooch around the market, we treated ourselves to some local cheese.

Sunshine first thing quickly turned into mizzle, did a bit of work with the beautiful grey one and chatted to friends on the yard.

Home in time for the second half of Cup Final, ambivalent about who I wanted to win but a monopoly is never a good thing so kind of pleased.

A wonderful day at home on the Sunday, lots of sunshine so much gardening done, earthed up potatoes and should be picking first of salad crop by next week, just need more paint on the strawberries please.

Evening walk with small dog and ear-marked an elderflower bush for picking soon as want to make cordial.

Capt S came into town with me and we saw lovely hairdresser & wife in emporium, we laughed as both of us were going to take advantage of current wine offer.

Stopped off at local H*lfords to pick up oil for mini and onto hardware store for lightbulbs.

Afternoon with pony, bit of work done and we avoided the worst of the rain.

Caught up on latest episode of Rebus but the cushion of protection was definitely needed at times as a tad too violent for this wuss!

Purple_kitten

We made an unusual decision to abandon a night camping as the weather had turned the ground so dodgy and the forecast of more rain meant it would be unlikely to get off site easily, so we left at about 10pm for a lovely journey back.

The whole weekend was lovely and needed, caught up with old friends, made a new friend, the ferrets make talking to people a good opener so to speak.

Very pleased I remembered the wellies, it’s what I imagine Glastonbury ground may be like.

Seeing an owl swoop around and land on a fence post, and then a muntjac on the way back.