Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[Betty LaRue]

23 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Hi Betty I have sent you an email.

 

Allan

 

Answered.

[Phil]

On 31/03/2023 at 21:51, Steve F said:

 

It's the start of the spaghetti season:

 

 

A considerable number of years ago reporters for a local TV station created a short feature report for the April 1st local evening news broadcast.

 

Their feature was on the blooming of local Crouton bushes complete with them presenting an outside example of one in bloom.

 

[Bryan]

I was persuaded to go to the Beamish Museum steam gala on Sunday. We'd been before and I wasn't expecting to see or shoot anything new, but it turned out well and I managed to get a few decent photos. I've never seen the place so busy. We got there just before opening but there was a queue of traffic right back to the main road, causing problems at a roundabout. We managed to park without difficulty, but later arrivals weren't so lucky. Inside the museum the site is so large it didn't appear crowded, and, wondrously, after a very wet March, the sun shone !

[gvallee]

We went for a bit of 4x4 adventures in the past few days. A track winds up and down through a range covered in exhuberant rainforest. I wrapped up all the plates and dishes in bubblewrap, secured the bottles of wine, and off we went.

The hardest thing was to spot potholes in the dappled light. Being at the tail end of the monsoon season, the track was cut in places by deep ruts caused by water run offs.

For the next 3 hours, we engage low 4wd and our brave Hughie, all 5.7 tons of him, eats up 31% gradient hills and grinds downhill with the satisfying help of the exhaust brake. 1.5km uphill at 31% on loose gravel they said. I thought they had misplaced the full stop, it felt like 15km! The engine was roaring in Low Low 4x4 range, I thought it was going to explode. We were praying not to meet another vehicle, there was no stopping there!

After 10 days without rain, lots of creek crossings were low and did not present a problem. We did rocked and roll and hiphoped over a creek full of large boulders washed down in the Wet and now left high and dry.

A break for lunch gave us food for thought when a ute with a pigdog in a cage on the back suddenly came barrelling down round the corner of a very steep slope at breakneck speed - no way he could have missed us if we'd been on the road.

All in all, it was breathtaking scenery and an invigorating happy day.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by gvallee

[Betty LaRue]

A very good thing. I got my taxes in to my preparer today. Ahhhh. Deadline for filing, April 15th. Every year I tell myself I’ll round up everything needed at least a month early. Every year it’s the last week. Probably because doing it is like getting a root canal. I’m actually 10 days ahead of deadline, which is excellent for me.

[Michael Ventura]

2 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

A very good thing. I got my taxes in to my preparer today. Ahhhh. Deadline for filing, April 15th. Every year I tell myself I’ll round up everything needed at least a month early. Every year it’s the last week. Probably because doing it is like getting a root canal. I’m actually 10 days ahead of deadline, which is excellent for me.

 

Almost done with mine too and I agree with the root canal analogy.  This year the deadline for filing is April 18th...the 15th lands on a Saturday so it got pushed to the 18th (not sure why the 18th and not the 17th (a Monday)).  I will have mine ready to go before then though.

[Betty LaRue]

On 05/04/2023 at 17:21, Michael Ventura said:

 

Almost done with mine too and I agree with the root canal analogy.  This year the deadline for filing is April 18th...the 15th lands on a Saturday so it got pushed to the 18th (not sure why the 18th and not the 17th (a Monday)).  I will have mine ready to go before then though.

I picked mine up this morning, less than a 24 hour turnaround. I get $600 back, yippee!

[Allan Bell]

Asked by my surgery to book appointment for spring COVID booster jab.

 

Allan

 

[NYCat]

I was standing in our garden this morning worrying about how many hostas seemed to die during a dry summer last year when I suddenly saw a robin bringing material up to the place where they have been making a nest the last few years. I've never noticed the beginning before. When I came back a few hours later the work had halted.. just a few materials lying around. We do have one hosta coming back happily so I hope there are more that will revive. I also saw a woman dancing down the street. I was on the bus and she was alone... breaking into a dance every now and then. It must be spring

 

Paulette

Edited April 8, 2023 by NYCat

[Bryan]

We've seen all 4 of our grandchildren over the last few days.  Currently two of them are staying with us.  It's still a bit too cold for the beach, so we have a visit to the local steam heritage railway booked for tomorrow, the boy is keen on trains - not unlike his grandfather !

[spacecadet]

17 hours ago, Bryan said:

We've seen all 4 of our grandchildren over the last few days.  Currently two of them are staying with us.  It's still a bit too cold for the beach, so we have a visit to the local steam heritage railway booked for tomorrow, the boy is keen on trains - not unlike his grandfather !

You'd both like the Isle of Man then. You can get a steam train to the airport.

[Bryan]

6 hours ago, spacecadet said:

You'd both like the Isle of Man then. You can get a steam train to the airport.

Strangely enough I was sent to engineering jobs on the IOM on two separate occasions by two different employers.  However the only engines I saw were large diesels in the power stations.  On one of those trips I was travelling with instrumentation in a hire car, and had to take the ferry.  The sea was very rough and the ship was unable to safely dock, so we spent the night rolling around in the Irish Sea. I recall sleeping on the deck of the saloon using cushions taken from the seats, an interesting experience.

 

 I intended to go back for a peacetime visit, but never got around to it. 

Edited April 9, 2023 by Bryan

[Michael Ventura]

Just back from a five day trip up to Vermont for a nephew's wedding.  It would have been a an 8-9 hour drive had I driven straight through but I broke it up with some touring of places I have never been to.  I took my son along, my daughter couldn't make it.  My son and I travel super well together, he loves exploring and any kind of history.  On the way back, yesterday, we stopped in Brooklyn, NY and had lunch with my daughter, she had just gotten there for a few days stay in NY and also saw my closest friend from childhood, who now lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  The weather was cool and sunny and just made for a perfect time.  Now back to work and reality.  Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.

[Bryan]

First a bad thing, our Pure DAB kitchen radio and CD player has started to malfunction, it will no longer allow us to jump from one CD track to another and it has lost the ability to store radio station presets.  Disappointing, as Pure kit is not cheap. 

 

The solution. We visited an actual shop (John Lewis in Newcastle) and sought advice. The dream machine would have Bluetooth as well as DAB, a CD player, a USB slot and a auxiliary output for speakers. WIFI would be good but not essential. The only products that we could find that matched the entire spec were both too big and very costly. Then a helpful salesman hove into view and directed us to a mini Panasonic HiFi system, complete with separate speakers, it had everything except WIFI.  It looked attractive, and became even more so when we were told that the advertised price had been reduced from over £100 to £70. I checked the reviews, mainly very positive. One guy said that, although he was a HiFi geek, you shouldn't allow HiFi snobbery to cloud your judgement, this piece of kit delivered despite the budget price tag and plastic finish. So it came to pass that I carried a large box home on the bus, and installed said gadget into our kitchen, but using our existing Sony speakers.  It sounds great !

Edited April 12, 2023 by Bryan

[Betty LaRue]

16 hours ago, Bryan said:

First a bad thing, our Pure DAB kitchen radio and CD player has started to malfunction, it will no longer allow us to jump from one CD track to another and it has lost the ability to store radio station presets.  Disappointing, as Pure kit is not cheap. 

 

The solution. We visited an actual shop (John Lewis in Newcastle) and sought advice. The dream machine would have Bluetooth as well as DAB, a CD player, a USB slot and a auxiliary output for speakers. WIFI would be good but not essential. The only products that we could find that matched the entire spec were both too big and very costly. Then a helpful salesman hove into view and directed us to a mini Panasonic HiFi system, complete with separate speakers, it had everything except WIFI.  It looked attractive, and became even more so when we were told that the advertised price had been reduced from over £100 to £70. I checked the reviews, mainly very positive. One guy said that, although he was a HiFi geek, you shouldn't allow HiFi snobbery to cloud your judgement, this piece of kit delivered despite the budget price tag and plastic finish. So it came to pass that I carried a large box home on the bus, and installed said gadget into our kitchen, but using our existing Sony speakers.  It sounds great !

I had a favorite oldies Country radio station I listened to on my Alexa tower. Over a year ago, I could no longer get the station, suddenly.  Apparently, things on the tower require what they call a “skill”. In this case, and I’m only guessing because I’m a Luddite, the guy who wrote the skill, I assume some kind of code, got rid of it. I wrote Amazon & that’s what they (the best I understood) told me. I contacted the radio station & they were also Luddites but got all insulted when I told them I guess I’d have to listen to a competitor station, I didn’t like as well.

So…I bought a radio/CD player made by Sony just to get one station. 😡It’s a radio station about 60 miles from me.  I absolutely could not find “just” a radio. It has an antenna. It sounded good one time, not the next, fading in & out. A couple of weeks in I found if I turned the face where the speakers are a bit diagonally toward the wall, the station came in great. Go figure.

Edited April 12, 2023 by Betty LaRue

[Michael Ventura]

13 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

I had a favorite oldies Country radio station I listened to on my Alexa tower. Over a year ago, I could no longer get the station, suddenly.  Apparently, things on the tower require what they call a “skill”. In this case, and I’m only guessing because I’m a Luddite, the guy who wrote the skill, I assume some kind of code, got rid of it. I wrote Amazon & that’s what they (the best I understood) told me. I contacted the radio station & they were also Luddites but got all insulted when I told them I guess I’d have to listen to a competitor station, I didn’t like as well.

So…I bought a radio/CD player made by Sony just to get one station. 😡It’s a radio station about 60 miles from me.  I absolutely could not find “just” a radio. It has an antenna. It sounded good one time, not the next, fading in & out. A couple of weeks in I found if I turned the face where the speakers are a bit diagonally toward the wall, the station came in great. Go figure.

 

Many, if not most, radio stations in the U.S. and maybe the world, stream their stations online.  Did you look into that?  You would have to go to their website and see.

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I had a favorite oldies Country radio station I listened to on my Alexa tower. 

So…I bought a radio/CD player made by Sony just to get one station. 😡It’s a radio station about 60 miles from me.  I absolutely could not find “just” a radio. It has an antenna. It sounded good one time, not the next, fading in & out. A couple of weeks in I found if I turned the face where the speakers are a bit diagonally toward the wall, the station came in great. Go figure.

We have happy memories of driving in the US and listening to country radio, so so get where you are coming from ! However I don't understand why moving your speakers should help reception, but these electrical gadgets are beyond me. As Michael said, if your radio has Bluetooth you should be able to play stuff from the Internet via your phone.

 

Our local BBC stations are under threat as the corporation tries to save money and the current government is not sympathetic. I listen to some of the football related stuff from our local BBC station and like the fact that there are no adverts. Indeed I hate adverts on the TV or radio. From its inception the BBC has come under attack from the newspapers and later commercial stations who resent its licence payer funding and they would all like to see it fail. Sadly younger viewers and listeners are turning away from the Beeb and I suspect that it won't survive long term in its current format. As they say you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Hopefully it will see me out.

[Mr Standfast]

Those waterproof sacks on Lowepro AW bag's really work. Apparently. ☂️

[Allan Bell]

Completed and sent in my on line self assessment tax return this afternoon. Simples.

 

Allan

 

[Bryan]

On 15/04/2023 at 15:19, Allan Bell said:

Completed and sent in my on line self assessment tax return this afternoon. Simples.

 

Allan

 

Goodness me, we never tackle ours until the dark nights are upon us and nothing else to do.

 

I'm not sure that I have all of the information to hand this early in the year, and it is never simple !

 

You must be very well organised.

[gvallee]

I just had a good laugh, so it's a good thing no? We're camped by the beach in the tropics and received a message from the campsite management: "tomorrow, we will be denutting the coconut palms, let us know if it's a concern". For some reason, I find it hilarious. I'm now off to check how many pictures of denutting palm trees there are on Alamy. Let's pray for our solar panels 😃

 

 

[Allan Bell]

8 hours ago, Bryan said:

Goodness me, we never tackle ours until the dark nights are upon us and nothing else to do.

 

I'm not sure that I have all of the information to hand this early in the year, and it is never simple !

 

You must be very well organised.

 

I never let a week go by without keeping income and expenditure columns in my spreadsheet/s up to date. Unless I am on holiday.

 

Allan

 

[Bryan]

Cycling back from the allotment I was hailed by an acquaintance and stopped. He gave me a collection of recent unopened seed packets and some seed potatoes. I'll use some of this collection myself, and offer the rest amongst our allotment society members. One of the pleasures of allotment gardening is the sharing of resources, be it seeds, seedlings or produce. 

 

I recently re-opened our allotment society shop, once run by a sadly departed founder member. We can buy bulk supplies from another much larger  local allotment society and offer our members discount prices, while making a small profit. I've had a diverse range of student  jobs, but never before worked in a shop. It's good to be doing new things well into retirement !

[NYCat]

I will be getting new cats. I heard about them through a friend. The woman and her daughter are having allergy problems that are intractable. The cats are seven years old and I hesitated about that. I don't want to go through the long, slow dying process I had with my old cat anytime soon but I should have some good years with these cats and it is probably best not to get a cat that will live until I am 100. The husband and wife will be able to bring the cats and spend a little time getting them settled so maybe they won't have to live hidden away for a few days like cats usually do in a new place. I hope for an easy transition and the people are very glad to find someone so experienced with cats. They will take them back if there is a problem because they don't want their precious pets to go to a shelter. One photo showed the two cats cuddled together and that's what I wanted. A bonded pair.

 

Paulette

[Cecile Marion]

Paulette, that sounds like an ideal scenario to me!