Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[MDM]

18 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

There were thousands of people in red shirts gathered down by the River Mersey last night . . . and Liverpool lost the big match on Saturday. What would it have been like had they won? 

 

It shows the spirit of the Liverpool people really. The team were very close to winning four trophies which has never happened but they only won two in the end. The players deserved that welcome.

[Ed Rooney]

 

I'm the proud carrier of a LFC library card. 🙂

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

Went downstairs for a glass of water about 6 a.m., and saw a very beautiful and very large hedgehog in the garden.  I noticed yesterday there was some hedgehog poo on the grass, he also kindly left more today😁  We've had some in the garden previously but not as big as this one.  Great to see😄

 

Carol

[Allan Bell]

35 minutes ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

Went downstairs for a glass of water about 6 a.m., and saw a very beautiful and very large hedgehog in the garden.  I noticed yesterday there was some hedgehog poo on the grass, he also kindly left more today😁  We've had some in the garden previously but not as big as this one.  Great to see😄

 

Carol

 

Just using your garden as a toilet.

 

Allan

 

[Dave Richards]

4 hours ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

Went downstairs for a glass of water about 6 a.m., and saw a very beautiful and very large hedgehog in the garden.  I noticed yesterday there was some hedgehog poo on the grass, he also kindly left more today😁  We've had some in the garden previously but not as big as this one.  Great to see😄

 

Carol

So the poo’s are getting bigger?🤣

 

[Dave Richards]

Just got back from the cinema after seeing Top Gun Maverick. Highly recommended if you like great action movies.

[Bryan]

Yesterday we attended a party in the gardens of Washington Old Hall, for volunteers and Friends of the old Hall. The weather was kind, and we were entertained by a 1950s style skiffle group, complete with tea chest bass and washboard percussion. It's been a while since I last heard a rendition of the Rock Island Line, but that and other tunes that we could sing along with brought back memories. An unexpected treat. The lead singer, a bloke called Ken Tonge, lives locally and we both knew him through cycling and other activities, he was a senior school headmaster in his previous existence. Apparently they play at Beamish Museum, so visitors there might be able to see their show.

Edited June 5, 2022 by Bryan

[Bryan]

15 hours ago, Dave Richards said:

Just got back from the cinema after seeing Top Gun Maverick. Highly recommended if you like great action movies.

 

If you are into film music tune into BBC Sounds from radio 3 and look up a back number of Composer of the Week where Elmer Bernstein is featured.

[NYCat]

6 hours ago, Bryan said:

Yesterday we attended a party in the gardens of Washington Old Hall, for volunteers and Friends of the old Hall. The weather was kind, and we were entertained by a 1950s style skiffle group, complete with tea chest bass and washboard percussion. It's been a while since I last heard a rendition of the Rock Island Line, but that and other tunes that we could sing along with brought back memories. An unexpected treat. The lead singer, a bloke called Ken Tonge, lives locally and we both knew him through cycling and other activities, he was a senior school headmaster in his previous existence. Apparently they play at Beamish Museum, so visitors there might be able to see their show.

 

So interesting. If I had just come across that music I would have thought I was in our South. So you guys picked it up over there. I love the way I learn these things on the Forum.

 

Paulette

[Allan Bell]

48 minutes ago, NYCat said:

 

So interesting. If I had just come across that music I would have thought I was in our South. So you guys picked it up over there. I love the way I learn these things on the Forum.

 

Paulette

 

It arrived in the UK in the 1950's.  UK musicians of the time who played skiffle were Lonnie Donegan, The Vipers Skiffle Group, Ken Colyer, and Chas McDevitt.

 

Allan

 

[Betty LaRue]

We got another 3.25 inches of rain night before last. A quarter inch last night and more expected tonight. I haven’t had to run my sprinkler system for ages.

The Bald eagle pair I’ve been watching on YouTube live cam raising their female eaglet since the incubation, the eaglet finally fledged a week ago. She cannot feed herself yet because she doesn’t have the hunting skills. One or the other adults bring fish back to the nest and the fledgling flies home and eats it.

It's still fun to watch, even though it drives my son crazy. It’s good he moved out 8 or 9 days ago, for both of us. 😂 Although he was a wonderful help to me while recovering, I’ve been self-sufficient for about 2 months. Neither of us is used to living with someone, especially with greatly different diets and television program likes. I have another big screen TV in the finished basement, so the bedroom he preferred was there and he could watch what he pleased in the large basement family room.

I baked a wonderfully tender beef roast yesterday, and had him come get half to take home. After all, he bought the roast.

[Bryan]

Good to hear that you have your independence back Betty, I love to have the family come to stay, but always welcome the peace and quiet when they leave !

 

We've also had rain recently, to the extent that I could top up our garden pond from our rainwater barrels. We have a water meter, so it pays to collect rainwater for the garden, washing windows, the car etc. I suspect that in future the building regulations may be amended to insist that rainwater collection is a feature of all new homes. A combination of solar panels, battery storage and a pumped system would mean that the stored water could be used for flushing the toilets as well as for the garden etc while local storage would reduce the volume of water entering the river systems potentially reducing flood risk. Our relatives in Canada were given financial encouragement to create a water retentive garden for that purpose, while here people cheerfully concrete over the land to reduce maintenance and provide parking for their numerous vehicles.

[Allan Bell]

Great to hear you are back to normal(ish). Still take care until a year has gone by since your op.

 

I get on fine with my daughter when we talk on the phone. It can be a different matter when we meet up.

 

Bryan another good water saving would be to use "grey" water for flushing the loo. Collect the water used for washing clothing and dishes.

 

Allan

 

[Dave Richards]

On 05/06/2022 at 09:24, Bryan said:

 

If you are into film music tune into BBC Sounds from radio 3 and look up a back number of Composer of the Week where Elmer Bernstein is featured.

Thanks Bryan, I'll check that out.

[Betty LaRue]

My sister came up from Oklahoma 100 miles to see a surgeon (mine) about her neck. First was the appointment with him at 10:30 am and then another to get an injection in her neck from a pain clinic at 1 pm. The plan was we’d have time for a nice sit-down lunch at a restaurant between appointments.

Sis came up and spent the night with me last night, and since she wasn’t allowed to drive for a few hours after the injection, I had to drive her 30 minutes across town for both appointments.

Best laid plans. We sat in the waiting room forever. She finally saw the surgeon very late, and it was after 12 noon when we got out. She had to fill out paperwork before getting the injection at 1, so we had no lunch. By the time she got done at 2 pm, we came home (30 minutes) and devoured my left-over tender roast I had saved. Potato chips (crisps) cantaloupe, iced tea to go with. You’d have thought a pack of wolves had fed at the table, but no, just two very starving gals.

Then my daughter came over for a chat with her auntie, and sis left at 5 to drive home. It was then I found out we have a boil order for at least 24 hours. I’ve boiled up water to make coffee in the morning. It was a big day for me and my recovery, since the lunch spread fixings were all my work while sis sat with an ice bag on her neck. 
I’m trashed enough I took two pain pills because I could barely walk by 7 pm.

It sounds like this should be in the Bad Thing thread, but no. I had a wonderful visit with my sister, and loved being able to help her by driving and sitting with her during the long waiting-room wait.

I greatly enjoyed the chat when my daughter came over, and much enjoyed the roast beef sandwiches on toasted oat bread with horseradish sauce and sliced tomatoes. Oh, and I had made delicious brownies topped with a couple of small butterfinger candy bars crushed on top before baking. Part of the reason I’m trashed, but then, I always seem to overreach what I’m comfortably able to do post surgery. But each day, I strive to find joy, and I had plenty of it yesterday and today.

Sometimes joy is found in something as small as by finding some wee tomatoes starting to grow on my plants yesterday while the brownies were baking.

[NYCat]

Boil order? Does that mean safety problems with the water? I'm so glad you are able to enjoy life these days.

 

Paulette

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, NYCat said:

Boil order? Does that mean safety problems with the water? I'm so glad you are able to enjoy life these days.

 

Paulette

Yes, apparently when the Wichita water was tested yesterday, they found a problem. So everyone needs to boil water for one minute and throw out ice cubes from our ice makers. Not fun. We will be updated whether it will be extended another day or boil order cancelled on the evening news today.

And thanks, Paulette. I am enjoying life. I was pretty discouraged the first month because it seemed I was making no progress. Then as time went on, I began to quit measuring advances by days, but looked back by a month. I realized how much better I was this month compared to a month ago and so on. This surgery can’t be compared to my other ones like my knee and shoulder surgeries when “back to normal” was so much quicker. I have to remember what I’ve been told by my doctors, “This is a big surgery! Measured by a year before knowing just exactly where I stand. I already know I’m better off pain-wise than before surgery at this point.

Guess what, I’m almost 5 months into that year!

Edited June 8, 2022 by Betty LaRue

[Betty LaRue]

The boil order is over, thank heavens.

[Bryan]

I can't recall ever receiving a boil order for water, but, who knows, it may have slipped my memory !

 

Onto good things, concerning birds. We have a pair of blackbirds nesting in the garden, and I managed to get some shots of one of them entering the nest carrying building materials in its beak. Shot through a window on a dull day, the photos aren't good enough for Alamy, but one shows the bird with its wings and tail feathers fully extended to act as an air brake as it approaches. 

 

Then I spotted a goldfinch in the garden, a rare colourful visitor, it briefly perched on an apple tree before continuing its journey. No time to get a photo, but there is more to life than photography !

 

I rarely read novels these days, but I picked up a copy of Richard Osman's latest murder mystery that my wife had been reading. Your have to suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy the book, but his gentle good humour and insights into the human character make it a pleasant read.

 

Driving south to see two of the grandchildren today, back tomorrow or Monday.

Edited June 11, 2022 by Bryan

[sb photos]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

<snip>

Onto good things, concerning birds. We have a pair of blackbirds nesting in the garden, and I managed to get some shots of one of them entering the nest carrying building materials in its beak. Shot through a window on a dull day, the photos aren't good enough for Alamy, but one shows the bird with its wings and tail feathers fully extended to act as an air brake as it approaches. 

 

We used to regularly see blackbirds in the garden, but now haven't for a few years. Bluetit and robin numbers have held up. Even the common starlings and house sparrows have declined until now. We now again have a very noticeable large local population of starlings and sparrows, boosted by a bumper amount of fledglings. I just glanced out of the kitchen window into the garden, there was a feeding frenzy around the bird table and feeders, and more sitting on the fence waiting impatiently for their turn. I counted  18 starlings on the fence, and another 13 on the bird table and fat balls. They do like their meal worms. When they are spooked and all launch into the air together its a wonderful sight.

[Bryan]

32 minutes ago, sb photos said:

 

We used to regularly see blackbirds in the garden, but now haven't for a few years. Bluetit and robin numbers have held up. Even the common starlings and house sparrows have declined until now. We now again have a very noticeable large local population of starlings and sparrows, boosted by a bumper amount of fledglings. I just glanced out of the kitchen window into the garden, there was a feeding frenzy around the bird table and feeders, and more sitting on the fence waiting impatiently for their turn. I counted  18 starlings on the fence, and another 13 on the bird table and fat balls. They do like their meal worms. When they are spooked and all launch into the air together its a wonderful sight.

Strange how things vary around the country, I can't recall seeing a starling in the garden, bluetits and the occasional robin yes. Pigeons occasionally drink from our pond, while the blackbirds like to use it as a bath. We also see predatory magpies and it is noticeable that the blackbirds won't enter their nest while they are about. I've seen a blackbird fly at the much larger magpie to persuade it to leave. The most spectacular visitor is a very occasional heron. Our garden faces north north west, so doesn't see direct sunlight in winter. I have taken part in the annual RSPB survey a few times and spent an hour staring into the garden without seeing a single bird enter the space, fortunately a different story in the summer.

Edited June 11, 2022 by Bryan

[gvallee]

4 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Strange how things vary around the country, I can't recall seeing a starling in the garden, bluetits and the occasional robin yes. Pigeons occasionally drink from our pond, while the blackbirds like to use it as a bath. We also see predatory magpies and it is noticeable that the blackbirds won't enter their nest while they are about. I've seen a blackbird fly at the much larger magpie to persuade it to leave. Our rear garden faces north north west, so doesn't see direct sunlight in winter. I have taken part in the annual RSPB survey a few times and spent an hour staring into the garden without seeing a single bird enter the space, fortunately a different story in the summer.

 

Have you ever heard an Australian Magpie sing Bryan? Here

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, gvallee said:

 

Have you ever heard an Australian Magpie sing Bryan? Here

Not sure that I would like to be wakened by that Gen !

[gvallee]

10 minutes ago, Bryan said:

Not sure that I would like to be wakened by that Gen !

 

I must admit I'm surprised. Magpies are renowned here to be quite melodious. But hey! I guess I'm just a tad biaised for anything Australian...

[Allan Bell]

My recliner chair was delivered today.

 

Allan