Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[gvallee]

3 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I have deliciously sweet cantaloupe in the frig, and just sliced up and sugared a bunch of strawberries. Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite deserts and I’ll have that this evening.

I also froze a few of my ripe tomatoes, and some of my cherry tomatoes. I can roast the latter, and make soups and other things from the big ones.

 

It's funny Betty, I don't know why but I'm not a sweet tooth at all. Yesterday, I exceptionally baked a desert which was a banana coated in pancake batter which you dip in melted chocolate once cooked. I had warned hubby that he could have the lot, I wasn't going to have any, and I didn't, zero temptation.

 

Your desert looks admirably presented, we would pay a bit for it in a restaurant. To me, food presentation is as important as the taste. 50/50.

 

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by gvallee

[Ed Rooney]

On 19/07/2022 at 11:16, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

  I feel hotter here the last few days than when I was in Cambodia a few years ago and that's saying something😁

 

Carol

 

Phnom Penh has a high of just 93F today. The high in Florence is 107F. 😜

[spacecadet]

On 21/07/2022 at 11:43, Allan Bell said:

 

Ah but I believe you are or were a Boston boy. Huh?😃

 

Allan

 

Shh. That's why I got out 35 years ago. Not the sort of information I want bandied about😉

[Bryan]

It rained today

[Betty LaRue]

13 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

It's funny Betty, I don't know why but I'm not a sweet tooth at all. Yesterday, I exceptionally baked a desert which was a banana coated in pancake batter which you dip in melted chocolate once cooked. I had warned hubby that he could have the lot, I wasn't going to have any, and I didn't, zero temptation.

 

Your desert looks admirably presented, we would pay a bit for it in a restaurant. To me, food presentation is as important as the taste. 50/50.

 

 

That’s a good thing, not having a sweet tooth. Leaving those calories behind. As a teenager, I used to make chocolate fudge. It wasn’t uncommon for me to stumble out of bed in the morning and shove a piece down my throat. I reign in those cravings as an adult, and if I don’t make it, bake it, I don’t eat it. But if I do, I tend to overindulge. I have enough of a handle on it that my weight is stable. Oh, I might gain a pound or two if I bake, but then I take it right back off once the offender has been eaten! 

[Allan Bell]

3 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Shh. That's why I got out 35 years ago. Not the sort of information I want bandied about😉

 

Oooppps! SORRY.😷

 

Allan

 

[Allan Bell]

I got out of my home town 53 years ago. YIKES!

 

Allan

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by Allan Bell

[spacecadet]

17 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

I got out of my home town 53 years ago. YIKES!

 

Allan

 

Yes, but (somewhat later) you moved TO Lincolnshire!

[Allan Bell]

6 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Yes, but (somewhat later) you moved TO Lincolnshire!

 

Well Near to Lincoln in a nice friendly village with very good and friendly neighbours. Also when I do go into Lincoln I find everyone friendly and cooperative when taking pictures.

 

Only today I went in to photograph the 40's weekend where people are in period dress and things are 40's themed. People posed and I even asked them to move so I got a better picture. It was all smiles and thank you's.

 

Also today when taking snaps of objects across streets people were stopping and waiting while I took the photos, as has happened on many an occasion.

 

I love it.

 

Oh! Nearly forgot I got a photo of Mr and Mrs Winston Churchill.

 

Would not get that friendliness or cooperation in Cambridge or my home town.

 

Allan

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Allan Bell

[Ed Rooney]

 

That is indeed a good thing, Allan. Friendly folks and good neighbours -- what could be better? Nobody has attacked me yet, here in Liverpool.

[Betty LaRue]

An update on my healing. Each week it seems I have less pain. I have mild pain pills, but only take them if I’m going to or have already done work that keeps me on my feet for an hour or more straight.

A very positive thing is that I was able to go outside and very heavily lop branches on my Althea shrubs. I did one shrub yesterday, and the second one this morning. A month ago, I would have not been able to do it. Yes, I took two mild pain pills before going out, but still would not have been able to do that a month ago.

I have found that I’m not in a short race, but a marathon. I notice improvement month to month, not day to day. In spite of having an impatient personality, I’m rather proud of myself for recognizing what I am able to do and not force things, which might set me back, if not injure me or undo the surgeon’s work.

I know a RN who used to be married to my nephew who had this same surgery. 3 weeks after her surgery, one of the screws was dislodged from her spinal bone.  Probably because she went back to work too soon, and may have lifted around on patients. And she’s 20 years younger than I am.

This kind of surgery is so big, so serious, and the pain one goes through post op isn’t something one wants to mess up and have do-overs. N-O-P-E. I have already gone off one major med that has effect on the irritated nerves. The irritated nerves that were trapped, then maneuvered during surgery was the source of my severe pain.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be pain free, but what I do know is that I have a lot less pain now than I had before surgery. I call that a win.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Betty LaRue

[NYCat]

Good news, Betty. I"m so happy to hear it.

 

Paulette

[Rebecca Ore]

A young grey tabby tom seems to have decided that we have an opening for another gray tabby since Maude went missing.   He disappeared for a while and showed up again today to spray my comforter (Luis caught him in my bedroom).  I'm inquiring about getting him snipped if the vet will take a credit card.  My other cat will get a house call to see what's wrong with one jaw/side of her mouth though she seems better.  I don't want to risk her hitting her jaw against the carrier. 

 

Luis also liked my spider that I posted as my favorite upload and is still enjoying the a7 despite having to reset it after every photo.  I've decided that I'll take photos that I would take anyway and submit what I think are the best of them to Alamy, but not stress over racking up a big portfolio or getting paid what I used to be paid for some photos back when it was just Alamy.   Have some things I want to rephotograph tagged in Lightroom Classic.

 

 

[Bryan]

I planted out around 100 leeks this afternoon,  sowed some spinach beet and lifted the onions.

 

Then one of my allotment neighbours gave me a large beetroot and a bag of plums.   We share our stuff out when there is a surplus. 

 

One of the local churches operates a pay as you please kitchen and our society gives them stuff, I trust that their clients like courgettes because there is always a glut of them.

[Allan Bell]

On 23/07/2022 at 20:18, Ed Rooney said:

 

That is indeed a good thing, Allan. Friendly folks and good neighbours -- what could be better? Nobody has attacked me yet, here in Liverpool.

 

I am pleased to hear you have not been attacked Edo. When I visited you in Liverpool I found the people generally friendly and helpful, especially the gent I was visiting.

 

Allan

 

PS:  I find a smile and pleases and thank yous go a long way.

 

ITMA

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Allan Bell

[Ed Rooney]

 

The truth is, although they speak an unknown tongue , and the Scouser lads look like rugby tackles, they have been totally sweet to me, helpful on occasion and polite. Some are from elsewhere . . . but I can say hello and thank you in 48 languages. 😎

[Steve Hyde]

On 28/07/2022 at 19:09, Bryan said:

I planted out around 100 leeks this afternoon,  sowed some spinach beet and lifted the onions.

 

Then one of my allotment neighbours gave me a large beetroot and a bag of plums.   We share our stuff out when there is a surplus. 

 

One of the local churches operates a pay as you please kitchen and our society gives them stuff, I trust that their clients like courgettes because there is always a glut of them.

 
Funny you should say that Bryan. We were given these courgettes (or zucchini) by someone we stop and speak to on our local allotments this week

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by Steve Hyde

[Bryan]

More fun at the allotment.  A group of us attacked the rusting roofs of our two shipping containers, removing flaking paint and loose rust, followed by an application of rust preventative  Jenolite.  We aim to paint tomorrow.   One of the guys climbing the ladders was a spritely 88 year old, allotment gardening keeps you going........

[Rebecca Ore]

Bad and good.  Had to sell the iMac to pay for cat health care and set aside money for my residency renewal in September.  Cat costs were around $50 plus around $4 for shots today and another $4 US (C$150).  My British nurse (retired) friend bought the iMac (late 2015) and I'm currently on a Dell Inspiron that's about 3 years old with an added 500MG SSD and a bit more memory 16 GB.  It also has 4 MB of graphic ram.   Seems faster than the iMac which only had 2 GB graphics ram.  I'm currently building a directory for one of the backup drives which I made before scrubbing the iMac and the TB 1 external drive that was my photo drive and which is now my friend's TimeMachine. 

 

Luis also has an account on the iMac now and I got everything configured so he has Spanish and she has English.   He'll be using it to do homework. 

 

Cat has gotten better.  One back molar was cracked and one of the middle teeth on the same side was rotten.  Belle gets six different meds when she goes to the vet, and if all looks good tomorrow, she won't need to go back on Monday.   Vet bills are somewhat lower than vet bills in the US, but have to be paid in cash (Nicaraguan or US). 

 

The display on this is less than optimal,  but I can work with it for now.  I kept the wireless keyboard from the iMac which is more comfortable to type on.   I'm going to do some more photography to get the numbers up to 1000 which seems to be the minimum for having more than very occasional sales, then go back to work on a novel.  Luis used his phone as a hot spot to get an Apple account, and I edited my friend's Safari bookmarks.   She forgot her wireless password and will be getting help with that from other computer savvy friends.

 

I can get an upgrade display for around $200 plus installing, but won't be doing that anytime soon.  If I ever have real money, Eizo monitors can  be shipped from B&H to Nicaragua, but I can't imagine that money anytime soon. 

 

 

[Bryan]

Just got back from a short break in Northumberland, the sun shone on the beach at Bamburgh yesterday morning. Quite a few folk out walking dogs but relatively quiet. Got some decent shots of Seahouses and Bamburgh, to add to the umpteen I already have !

 

Drove back via Rothbury where we have relatives, and then on empty roads to Ponteland. 

 

All good things come to an end however. The A1 through Tyneside was a nightmare, with heavy traffic and extensive roadworks meaning a bumper to bumper crawl. Best avoided if possible. Needed a session picking blackberries at the allotment to recover!

 

Our friends have just got back from a trip to France, they encountered temperatures in excess of 40 degC and it took three days of driving to get home. While I love the place I'm not sure the gain is worth the pain.

 

We've decided to explore the possibilities of coach trips to avoid the stress of driving and have booked a jaunt to Aberdeen and surrounding area in the autumn. Colours should be good, provided the sun shines.....

Edited August 6, 2022 by Bryan

[Bryan]

We visited the local wetland centre yesterday and spotted the crane born in captivity to parents that are 15 years old, their first chick. It hatched in May and is now almost as big as its parents, who continue to look after it. We are fortunate to have this facility a short cycle ride from home.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Bryan

[Betty LaRue]

15 hours ago, Bryan said:

We visited the local wetland centre yesterday and spotted the crane born in captivity to parents that are 15 years old, their first chick. It hatched in May and is now almost as big as its parents, who continue to look after it. We are fortunate to have this facility a short cycle ride from home.

15 years old! Isn’t nature wonderful?
I’m still checking in to the Bald Eagle nest that I’ve been watching on YouTube for a few minutes every day since my surgery. Watching the chick emerge from the egg on March 3rd while dad was incubating it when mom took a break to stretch her wings was wonderful. I watched the tiny fish morsel bites offered to a tiny, fuzzy bobblehead.

Spirit, the name given to her, fledged a couple of months ago, and the nest is now empty.

The parents visit from time to time, adding sticks to the nest. Around October, they’ll get serious about making sure every stick is perfectly placed before laying eggs again and I’ll increase my watching time.

Jackie, the mom, while incubating the 2 eggs (one was non-viable) sat through snow and sleet storms. Once, she was nothing but a snow-covered shape. As always, I’m fascinated by nature.

There is a camera and microphone mounted on a limb above the nest, and another on a tree some distance away which shows the eagles flying through the sky to the nest. 
I had my iPad with me while trying to recover in the rehab hospital, and watching the nest was the only bright thing, besides my children, I clung to.

 

Another thing is I’ve been picking peppers from a red bell pepper plant I am growing in a pot. I pick them when I see a streak of red, and in a day or two, they become all red. When they turn red, they become sweeter. I quartered one, gave it a light spray of olive oil, and cooked it in my air fryer just until the pieces wilted a bit. Delicious!

We’ve had 20 days of 100 or plus temperatures so far this summer. The heat has caused my tomatoes to ripen before getting very big during July and now. A cool front came in overnight, so it dropped the temperature about 10 degrees. It will be short-lived, then back to triple digits.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Betty LaRue

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, Betty LaRue said:

 

Another thing is I’ve been picking peppers from a red bell pepper plant I am growing in a pot. I pick them when I see a streak of red, and in a day or two, they become all red. When they turn red, they become sweeter. I quartered one, gave it a light spray of olive oil, and cooked it in my air fryer just until the pieces wilted a bit. Delicious!

We’ve had 20 days of 100 or plus temperatures so far this summer. The heat has caused my tomatoes to ripen before getting very big during July and now. A cool front came in overnight, so it dropped the temperature about 10 degrees. It will be short-lived, then back to triple digits.

 

We've sweet peppers growing in the greenhouse and they are cropping nicely. I've not tried picking them at the first sign of red, to ripen off the plants, but that's something to experiment with. I confess that I'm not super keen on them, while I can eat tomatoes like sweets.  My wife likes slices of pepper on pizza, not sure the Italians would be impressed.

 

Moving on, I switched the radio on this morning and by chance heard Dvorak's lovely "Song to the Moon".  I've not heard it for ages and the opening section in particular is fabulous. It's difficult to express the pleasure that I got from listening to it, there must some kind of chemical reaction going on in the brain !

[Betty LaRue]

My surgery was Jan. 13th. I have finally, this past week, began uploading a few images (of no consequence) again. Mainly to get the rust out.  I need to get out and shoot something of interest.  
Next step…pick up the guitar again.

Chore this morning…give my daughter’s dog, that I am keeping for 5 days, her antibiotic pill wrapped in a treat. 

[zxzoomy]

I managed to load my 80 year old Zeiss Super Ikonta with a roll of Fujichrome Velvia 120 and take one frame with it. I had a similar Ikonta in the 70's and also a 120 box camera but I feel very rusty.