Watcha Doin' - 2016.1 Showing 2,401-2,450 of 3,910

[Lisa]

I hope you get some rain soon, Travis. Droughts must be incredibly hard to deal with.

[Joan]

Wow I had not realized that a flash flood could happen after just 10 minutes of rain. Scary.

Travis I hope the drought upstate breaks soon, the farmers down here are worried but we finally got some rain last weekend.

[Janice, Moderator]

Joan wrote: "Wow I had not realized that a flash flood could happen after just 10 minutes of rain. Scary.

Travis I hope the drought upstate breaks soon, the farmers down here are worried but we finally got som..."

There was that much rain! It was amazing to watch the storm. Sheets of water were being blown across the pavement. It looked like waves in a large body of water.

We would have loved to share with Travis.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Hope you feel better Travis, and get some rest soon. I'm sorry to hear about the drought you're having. What an exhausting pain in the arse. Our farmers here seem to be flip flopping between drought and floods due to the weather being uncooperative. So I wish you many a short, good, soaking rains, spread enough apart to be absorbed, but close enough to break the drought.*shakes fist at the clouds*

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Wow. Glad you're safe Janice, besides the naughty window. We have a lot of flash flooding around here, but that's pretty intense. Hope you and yours are okay.

And yes, send it over to NY :P

[Travis]

All arpund the world it is feast or famine. Mother nature smoking crack

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Travis of NNY wrote: "All arpund the world it is feast or famine. Mother nature smoking crack"

Indeed. All over the shop, she is.

[Stephanie]

Oh my goodness, Janice! Crazy flooding :(

[Rusalka, Moderator]

So after being the poster child for "Why you should get the up to date flu vaccine"and being a write off for 5 days, I have madly been trying to catch up on work over the past 3 days, Hasn't worked, got more jobs and my not finished list has gotten longer.

In dire need of reading time.

However, none of that for me, as tomorrow and Sunday Lexx and I are on a two day long cheesemaking course... this will be interesting. Hopefully we end up with something delicious. I didn't really think about putting ourselves in a kitchen together in public though. The course is also being held at my old high school as well, which is incredibly strange. Haven't been back there in 16 years.

[Sarah]

Good to hear you are kn the mend Rusalka. Sounds rough!

Now the cheesemaking course sounds fantastic! I would love to do something like that. I'm thinking what you make could be incredible. Or really awful. Let's hope it's at least edible ;-)

I would find it very weird returning to either of my schools again. I remember returning to my primary school once when i was about 16. I did some work experience there in the nursery. But back when i went there, that room used to be my classroom for at least 2 years of me going there. The chairs were so tiny! Not quite the same when you return to see "big school".

I've had a lot of haning around to do this last week. We're moored in the middle of nowhere so no public transport routes. I've been getting a life with my partner to work. But that has meant I've been in Bristol for 8am when i don't start work until 1 or 2pm. It has meant a lot of time for reading but I've also drank a lot of coffee and spent money on things i don't need. Yesterday i had 8hrs to wait around - before work, in between clients and waiting for the train to get vaguely close to where we are. So I bought membership to the Aquarium down by the harbour. That way, i can go stare at fish when i need to kill time. I also get discount in the cafe there (and gift shop).

[Peggy]

Enjoy the cheese making Rusalka!

I also haven't been back to my primary and high school in ages, but I would love to go and see what has changed, and what hasn't. There was a reunion of my primary school last year, which was held at the school, but unfortunately I couldn't make it. I saw some pictures though, and it seems not much has changed in 20 years.

Good idea about the aquarium Sarah :D It sounds like it could be nice for a couple of days to have some free time before work, but I guess after a while and spending a lot of money on things you don't need, it might be nicer to just be able to spend the morning at home/the boat. But I guess it's only temporary for you right, until you move again?

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Yeah at least there won't be tiny chairs. I feel like it will be underwhelming, like a big meh, or I will be hit with nostalgia at different parts of the day. And I think by seeing things I'll remember things too. I can think of the commercial kitchens and where they are and how that was on the way to the Science block from my home room, but I'm sure that seeing things like the textbook room or something will spark something... it'll be weird. And I feel like as much as I try and explain things to Lexx, he honestly won't care too much unless it's funny. Which is fair enough, I mean most of high school is a "you had to be there" kind of moment.

The cheese will be interesting. After reading all the warnings about introducing bad bacteria into the cheese... I'm a little worried! We'll be making quark, brie, ricotta, cheddar, feta, mozzarella, and chabichou. x2. I need to make more room in the fridge...

I had to wait for Lexx for a few hours today too, so I went to the shops. And I bought random things that may sort of be useful. And food. And coffee. I'm so lucky the bookshop was closed. Aquarium sounds like a great idea off my experience.

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm glad you're feeling better, Rusalka. The cheesemaking course sounds like fun and may just be what the doctor orders. Stressful work is counter productive.

[Stephanie]

Good morning!!

Our community at the apartment complex had a luau for residents last night! It was pretty fun!
Weather stayed nice and didn't start sprinkling till we were walking back to our place. No dogs were allowed :(
Even though some people did bring theirs but Blake is way more hyper than the doggies that were there lol!

[Joan]

Stephanie, Blake probably just needs some time to develop his chill surfer-dude persona.

[Stephanie]

I sure hope so, Joan :)

[Janice, Moderator]

Sounds like a fun way to meet your new neighbors, Stephanie.

[Tasha]

Rusalka, that cheese making course sounds like fun!

I'm glad you ae enjoying your new place, stephanie!

[Sarah]

@Peggy - yes it's only temporary. We are heading (slowly) closer to public transport networks and my work so it will get eadier and easier. Thankfully. One more week of really long waits but then we plan to move at the weekend and we'll be in walkibg distance of a bus stop. It's still quite a long commute but at least i get to lie in and don't have to kill loads of time.

This week i have 3 days of waiting. So i'm going swimming each day followed by aquarium and reading then to work.

[Stephanie]

We went for a drive yesterday. Stopped at a few scenic spots. This beach is from the move From Here to Eternity (at least that is what my husband tells me, lol).

[Tasha]

It sounds like you are at least having fun while you wait, Sarah! But I'm sure getting to sleep in late is better as waiting gets old!

[Tasha]

Wow, that is gorgeous, Stephanie. You are definitely living in paradise!

[Joan]

Sarah, do you have to move the boat around? Do you stay in marinas?

[Sarah]

Joan wrote: "Sarah, do you have to move the boat around? Do you stay in marinas?"

We don't use marinas. We have a license which means we move around all the time with no fixed mooring. We can only stay in one spot for a maximum of 14 days before we move on to somewhere else. Sometimes we might only stay a few days or a week whilst others we will stay for the full 14 days. Depends on the location, wifi, phone signal, transport links, parking, facilities, neighbours etc. We came to the spot we're in now specifically because we were told there were otters nearby. We were only going to stay the weekend. My partner saw one but i didn't so we're stopping longer in hope I'll spot one. We did see a family of American Mink though. They are a pest unfortunately and have descimated the water vole population here. But I've never seen them before so I've been enjoying watching them play even if it did mean witnessing one take down a pigeon.

[Joan]

Wow sounds like an interesting spot, I had heard that American mink are a problem in the UK but I didn't realize they took on birds that fly.

[Sarah]

Joan wrote: "Wow sounds like an interesting spot, I had heard that American mink are a problem in the UK but I didn't realize they took on birds that fly."

They can climb trees. We watched one do it, although it fell out a few times in the process. What i think we witnessed was one flushing a pigeon out the tree. It seemed to mess up with taking off and landed in the canal. Either the same mink or another mink swam out, got it, and swam in to a reed patch with it. I think it was two mink working together. They kill even if not hungry and store for later. I had read they eat moorhens and duckings but thought a pigeon would be too big. Obviously not. They were introduced over here in the 1920s.

[Peggy]

I went rollerskating again for the first time in 6 years or so. That was fun! I figured I would be tired in 5 minutes (not the sporty type) but I lasted for 35. And I could have gone on, but I need to figure out the best streets for skating, so I did the same ones three times.

[Lisa]

Peggy wrote: "I went rollerskating again for the first time in 6 years or so. That was fun! I figured I would be tired in 5 minutes (not the sporty type) but I lasted for 35. And I could have gone on, but I need..."

That sounds fun, Peggy! I used to love rollerskating but like you, I haven't done it for several years.

[Tejas Janet]

Glad you had fun skating, Peggy : )

I used to skate a lot outdoors before we moved and also pre foot injury. I miss it but don't have a safe place close by to skate any more. I've been working on thinning down our stuff. Trying to decide if i want to part with my skate gear.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Peggy wrote: "I went rollerskating again for the first time in 6 years or so. That was fun! I figured I would be tired in 5 minutes (not the sporty type) but I lasted for 35. And I could have gone on, but I need..."

That sounds fun! I haven't been rollerskating in years.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Tomorrow I bring my grandson home. He's been with us since June 19th (except for one week in July when he went home for his birthday). It's been so much fun having him visit.

[Janice, Moderator]

The only time I went roller skating was when I was a kid and we were on holiday. We didn't have a roller skating rink in my town, just ice skating.

Kristie, time has flown by quickly and it's already time for your visit with your grandson to be over. I'm sure you will miss him once he's back home.

[Peggy]

We also don't have a rink, but I skate on the streets :)

Must be strange to have your grandson gone again Kristie. Do you see him often or does he live far away?

[Kristie, Moderator]

He lives too far for regular visits. It is a fairly short plane trip, but there are no direct flights due to small airports. I typically visit every 2-3 months or so. This time I probably won't see him until Christmas. I used to live closer and saw him every day!

I can't believe how quickly the summer went. I feel like each year gets faster. Pretty soon I'll be afraid to blink!

[Lisa]

Kristie, I agree about how quickly the summer has gone. Actually, I can't believe how quickly the year seems to have gone! It will be Christmas before we know it!

Has anyone been watching the Olympics? I have been watching some of the equestrian events, the gymnastics and also a bit of the diving last night because Team GB had a good chance of a medal. I can't believe we won gold! :)

[Sarah]

Sounds fun Peggy. I used to skate as a kid. Bought inlines as an adult but used all of 4 times so I sold them. It's had a resurgence here with roller derby teams. I think there is an indoor rink nearby. We don't see many people on the street skating but there must be somewhere.

As I have no TV I've not seen any of the Olympics. I'm missing it as I really got in to in when the Olympics was here 4 years ago. I can't believe it was 4 years ago. Now that time has gone quick.

[Peggy]

I haven't watched any of the olympics, but I'm generally not interested in watching sports on tv. I've seen some of the results though when reading online news and there are always headlines about the olympics.

I always find it a bit sad when large evens (like the olympics or the football world cup) are organized in countries that are still developing. Often human rights suffer from it, and it costs billion of dollars to organize everything and build stadiums etc., money that in my opinion could be used for much better purposes. I read that the costs for Rio/Brazil are 16 billion dollars (or euros, don't remember), while it's expected to generate 10 billion. And there are people in Rio who don't even have clean drinking water or proper sewage.. and so many people who had to leave their homes because stadiums had to be built where they lived, and unneccesary violence by the police to make sure everything is quiet and seems safe to all the sporters and tourists, and the fact that all those stadiums and new hotels will probably remain largely unused when the olympics are over.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I like to watch some things on the Olympics, but I totally get what you are saying, Peggy. And Brazil has already spent another absurd amount of money organizing the FIFA World Cup 2 years ago...
That said, after living for 4 year in Rio de Janeiro,I am sure most of the people is probably proud of being organizers. Brazilians say all the time that Brazil is "o mais grande do mundo" (the biggest in the world). So I can see many people agreeing with spending all that money for this reason. And at the same time political situation in Brazil is being so delicate (with an interine president, and the former president facing an impeachment, that half of the population thinks is unconstitutional, and the other half agrees with it), that I am not sure how they are managing to keep all together during the Olympics.

[Lisa]

I get what you are saying too, Peggy. Although this is not the same thing, I also think that many sports stars (particularly footballers) get paid far too much money. Some of the so called 'stars' in the English Premier League get paid more than £250,000 a week. For comparison, that's more or less what the Prime Minister gets in a year. Other countries, particularly in Europe, pay their footballers just as much, if not more. I think their wages should be cut significantly and the money saved donated to charities. The same goes for a lot of actors. How anyone can think that an actor should get $20 million a film is beyond me.

[Peggy]

That makes me feel a little better Sandra ;-)

I agree Lisa! Those numbers are insane. How one person can earn so much while so many people in this world live in poverty and don't even have the basics is beyond me. I wonder how it ever got so out of hand.

[Peggy]

Brrr... just read that today is colder than last Boxing Day. 13.5 degrees! Hard to believe it's going to be 24 tomorrow. I SO need a long stretch of warmth and sun. It's really affecting my mood.

[Travis]

95°f or 35°c here at 100% humidity. Send us sone of the cold

[Peggy]

Yes! In return for some warmth! How about -10 for you and +10 for us? You can keep the humidity though ;-)

[Stephanie]

High in the 80's here today and the trade winds are supposed to be cooling us off some :)

[Travis]

Just read with alleged thunderstorms for friday and saturday there is a flash flood risk. The humidity is so thick there is 2.5 inches worth of rain above our heads right now. We need rain vut hold the flooding. Ground is too dry to handle a flood

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm hoping for some decent weather this weekend. I'm going to a folk festival all weekend and I'm hoping it won't be too hot, too cold, or too wet. Not asking for much, am I?

[Travis]

You sound like a farmer Janice. And tge weather maker never listens to us anyway

[Janice, Moderator]

Travis of NNY wrote: "You sound like a farmer Janice. And tge weather maker never listens to us anyway"

I've lived most of my life on a farm, so I guess I qualify. :)

[Cherie]

I have been watching the swimming and gymnastics on tv the last couple of days. It has cut down on my reading time though. My tv is dying and it is very annoying. I really do not want to replace it but there are times it is nice to have it too. I really am more interested in the field and track events. I am tired of all of the gymnastic hype.

I agree with all of the comments about how much was spent in Rio and the pay scales for players and stars.

It has been cooler here but warming up into the high 90s today and over the weekend. It has been cloudy and humid, but almost no rain for a week now. It looks clear for the meteor shower tonight and Friday. Usually we cannot see a thing.

I am supposed to be at home doing yard work, but it is dark now. Whew - missed that!

[Kristie, Moderator]

Lol, Cherie. Yard work is my husband's least favorite thing to do.