You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

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Off Topic Chat > Watcha Doin' - 2017.1 edition

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message 4101: by Rusalka, Moderator (last edited Nov 15, 2017 03:23AM) (new)

Rusalka (rusalkii) | 19221 comments Glad your furniture turned up, Janice. Sounds like it was being delivered by Australia Post. Last year they "fixed" the system, which involved many friends posting pictures of their delivery statuses which read like:

Dispatched from Melbourne
Transit in Perth
Transit in Brisbane
Transit in Melbourne
Transit in Perth
Transit in Hobart
Transit in Darwin
Transit in Adelaide
Arrive in Canberra.

That would be a book, it would take a month, and it's a 7 hour drive from Melb-Canb.

Snow shovelling sounds like a pain in the arse. I don't understand why you need to do the footpaths as well as driveways. I would think that footpaths are a civic responsibility, not a personal one. Mind you, I live in a city where we do not own the first metre and a half from the road of our property. No matter what you plant there, landscape, or whatever, that's the Government's and they can do whatever as footpaths and services like gas and water connections live there.


message 4102: by Travis (new)

Travis (travistousant) | 6011 comments Seems like you'd get stuff faster if they'd quit sending from Calgary and back to Calgary all the time. Lol. Wonder where it really was


message 4103: by Sandra, Moderator (last edited Nov 15, 2017 03:33AM) (new)

Sandra (sanlema) | 11297 comments Yeah, I am not sure about the specific rule/law. Here the borough take care of everything but snow. Garbage (or course), autumn leaves and tree branches (also the ones of your backyard), etc. Whatever you put in the curb, they take care of it. BUT snow in the sidewalk is our responsibility. They clean the roads (of course) and are very efficient doing it. It doesn't matter how early you leave the house, roads are clean, unless it is snowing at the moment (or course). Also last summer we had to make a reparation in the sidewalk. We could repair ourselves, bring a contractor, or pay to the borough to do it. I was a small thing, so I bought cement mix and did it beautifully. But I thought at that moment in checking how the responsibilities are shared, and I forgot (of course).


message 4104: by Sandra, Moderator (new)

Sandra (sanlema) | 11297 comments Travis sivarT wrote: "Seems like you'd get stuff faster if they'd quit sending from Calgary and back to Calgary all the time. Lol. Wonder where it really was"

Probably they just need to answer something, it doesn't matter what. Once the megabus my mom was coming was very late, I called to ask what was going on, they told me the bus had broke, they had to put all the passenger in another bus, and so it would be at least one more hour late. My mom arrived 10 minutes later, and looked at me like I was insane when I asked about the broken bus...


message 4105: by Janice, Moderator (new)

Janice (jamasc) | 60073 comments In my city, the responsibility for cleaning the walkways is the residents'. You can be sued if someone slips and falls. The City can't keep up with the roadways, let alone the sidewalks. Nasty thing is that when they do plow your street, they shove the crud to the side and bury the entrance to your driveway. It's then your responsibility to clear your driveway of chunks of ice and hard packed snow. If you are a senior of are handicapped, you can buy a cone from the City and they will clean your driveway entrance.

As for the furniture in transit, I would rather they tell me the truth. Was something damaged in transit and it went back to the factory? How was it that when I phoned at 9:30 am the one morning and spoke to the shipping department, that all three pieces were on the delivery truck to be delivered to me by noon, only to find out at 3:30 pm that they were back in Calgary? It's a 8 hour drive to Calgary, so that delivery truck must have been speeding.

Anyway, it's here, and looking lovely! I shall leave a nasty review on Facebook along with the other nasty reviews from other unhappy customers that are all ready there. I should have checked that out before I bought.


message 4106: by Janice, Moderator (new)

Janice (jamasc) | 60073 comments Oh, Cherie - I'm considering getting a leaf blower or a small snow blower.


message 4107: by Janice, Moderator (new)

Janice (jamasc) | 60073 comments Grrrr! I looked outside and it snowed overnight and is still snowing. Looks like about 2-3" on my car.


message 4108: by Kristie, Moderator (new)

Kristie | 19324 comments My husband got a leaf blower this year and he loves it. I thought it was a bit silly at first, but we do have a big yard and he hates to rake. I’m glad we ended up getting one. I think the snowblower / leaf blower debate will depend on how much work each will safe you and which chore you dislike more.


message 4109: by Sandra, Moderator (new)

Sandra (sanlema) | 11297 comments We have a leaf blower and it is a blessing. We also have a big yard, and 4 huge trees with tons of leaves. We don't have a snow blower, we just shovel, but a neighbor or us lent us his when it is a lot of snow. We have been thinking in buy one, but never did it yet. We happen to have our garage in the back yard, so it is a long way from the road, all the way by the side of the house, to the backyard where the garage is. A lot of shoveling if you expect to use the car, really.


message 4110: by Cherie (last edited Nov 15, 2017 10:49AM) (new)

Cherie (crobins0) | 21536 comments I hate it when they throw the snow onto the driveway entrance! It is the same on the sidewalk on the main street side of my house. The snow from the road goes onto the side walk about half way. The worst is that there is a bus stop right beside my house, so all of the snow gets packed where people get on and off of the bus, so it is even harder to clear away. I have to use the flat blade garden shovel to scrape it, if I let it pack down too hard. It is as Janice said, it is the home owner's responsibility to clear the sidewalks and driveway. Many people do not, but while I still can, I do. I have to keep the weeds cut down in the side yard and flower bed, or the bus driver reports me to the police and they come out and threaten to give me a ticket, but do you think they can come out and pick up the trash that people throw in the flower bed or over the fence? Do they offer to fix my fence when people lean on it and break out the boards? Nope - my problem.

Okay - enough complaining. It is pouring cats and dogs and I am happy to be in a warm, dry building where I should be working - as soon as I go get a cup of coffee.


message 4111: by Janice, Moderator (new)

Janice (jamasc) | 60073 comments People use the leaf blower here to blow snow in the winter. It's an all season tool. That's all they used to keep the sidewalks clear at the apartment building.


message 4112: by Cherie (new)

Cherie (crobins0) | 21536 comments Normally, by the time the leaves start falling here in Oregon, it has been raining so much that the leaves are all packed down and soaked. Wet leaves don't move unless you have a really heavy duty leaf blower like the professional gardening guys use. I usually rake the leaves under the trees and leave them there. They are gone by spring. I guess the earth worms eat them. I do have a leaf blower, that I consider my favorite yard tool, but I use it more as a broom, to blow the dirt and debris off of the driveway and sidewalks after I mow and edge. Even the porches and patio gets the leaf blower treatment. I have 150 feet of extension cord to coil up after, but when that is all put away in the galvanized tub I keep it in, my job is done. Henry's time!


message 4113: by Rusalka, Moderator (new)

Rusalka (rusalkii) | 19221 comments ... oh man. Who rakes their garden? The leaves sort themselves out lol

You can get a ticket for having weeds, Cherie?!

Makes sense I guess about the footpaths when you point out , Janice, the council has trouble keeping up with keeping the roads clear. But jeez... I'm obviously too lazy to live in North America. No wonder you are all so into audio books, with all that raking, shovelling, blowing, ice-chipping, weeding, etc.


message 4114: by Sarah (new)

Sarah | 18550 comments I'm with Rusalka. Sounds hard work living in North America. Especially if you already have a day job! lol


message 4115: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (pebbles84) | 15868 comments Lol Rusalka!

But not much of that going on here either. You don't get a fine for not keeping the footpath clear of snow and ice. Very decent people (like my parents) always make sure their part is done, but many people don't and there are always parts of footpaths that are not really in front of a house. On the upside, we don't really get that much snow and when we do, it's gone within a few days, so you only have to be careful for a few days of the year.


message 4116: by Sarah (new)

Sarah | 18550 comments @Rusalka - just been talking about Neil Gaiman in another thread and it reminded me to mention to you that I started the TV series of American Gods last night. First episode watched and I thought it was very good. Have you got to it yet or still holding off it case it's not great?


message 4117: by Rusalka, Moderator (new)

Rusalka (rusalkii) | 19221 comments Sarah wrote: "@Rusalka - just been talking about Neil Gaiman in another thread and it reminded me to mention to you that I started the TV series of American Gods last night. First episode watched and I thought i..."

Finished it last week. Will be interested in what you think.


message 4118: by Sarah (new)

Sarah | 18550 comments Oooh. I'll let you know. Don't tell me your thoughts yet. I'll come back to you when I'm done. There aren't many episodes so it won't take long. Curious now.


message 4119: by Cody (new)

Cody | 348 comments We don't really have issue with leaves or snow in Manchester either, except in the clough where I walk my dog, Mollie, please see my avatar for a pic of her.

it is a wild area about 2 by 3 miles across a 2 minute walk from my house and this can get slippy especially when you have a 2.5 stone MollieTank dragging you around


message 4120: by Rusalka, Moderator (new)

Rusalka (rusalkii) | 19221 comments Lips are sealed.

Nawww Mollie looks like a big love bug. I went to Manchester for the first time in July, Cody. That's sad you don't get much snow, I thought it would be beautiful in the winter. I mean, it was lovely in the summer, but I could imagine it with a sprinkling of snow.

We had 5 mins of snow when we got home in August. Didn't settle and promptly turned back to rain. That it happened was fantastic, you can hear the city all turn into 5 year olds when it does snow for a few mins. So the comprehension of all this digging is hard.


message 4121: by Cody (new)

Cody | 348 comments oh I am sorry for my City and will personally give you a full refund for costs :P

we do get snow but it is almost always immediately removed by the near constant drizzle (you may have noticed that) and when it isn't we might get an inch or two

She is a lovely dog, you could not ask for a better character ... in the house (she is balancing a bottletop on her head in that picture).

Outside she is a nightmare, she constantly drags, is really strong and if we see another dog, it is curtains. she darts full speed to play and if I pull her back she starts barking because she wants to play so badly or if the other dog growls because they don't want to play, well suffice it to say she doesn't take any shit.

Don't get me wrong, I have learnt how to walk her and now cross roads to avoid other dogs or stand to one side on footpaths, but I shouldn't have to, a different person may struggle with her (I am 6ft and fairly fit)

I have a trainer coming next week to sort this though, fairly expensive (£300 for 6 hours) this will then let me enjoy working again


message 4122: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (pebbles84) | 15868 comments Mollie looks sweet! By the sound of it, if she were my dog, she would probably be walking me and not the other way around ;-)

Ugh, I'm having one of those days on which I get nothing done. I'm just doing email, facebook, goodreads, laundry (working from home today) and that sort of stuff. I started one of my new jobs on October 1, it's just 12 hours a week working on a project from external partners, but it's still not clear what they want me to do exactly. So I'm doing things, but it's not very motivating to work when you're not even sure the work you're doing is useful. We were supposed to meet today about it and I was so glad because I figured then after I could finally work with a clear purpose, but the meeting got cancelled. It will likely be at least 2 weeks before a new meeting is planned. Also not helping is that the project has a deadline. It's March 31, which is still some time away, but still.


message 4123: by Rusalka, Moderator (new)

Rusalka (rusalkii) | 19221 comments Lol no no. I really liked Manchester, even if it doesn't snow ;) My cousin is in Stockport so we spent a few nights with her and explored. I love the UK drizzle. Always have. It's so weird to me, I love it.

Heh Mollie sounds like a girl who knows what she wants! I had a Dalmatian as a kid who was a chronic dragger. Benefit to it is I learnt at a young age how to deal with dogs, we were just lucky Dalmatians are light. I don't think I could have dealt with Mollie as a 10 year old.

Good luck with the trainer. Fingers crossed they work wonders (particularly for that price!).


message 4124: by Travis (new)

Travis (travistousant) | 6011 comments Little late responding but in the US Veterans day is on the date of end of WW1 but it is to celebrate living veterans and any military. We have memorial day in May for the deceased.


message 4125: by Esther (new)

Esther (nyctale) | 5203 comments Woke up this morning, went to the door to get the paper... I'm back in bed now. I'll try this again in a bit. Maybe the white stuff falling will not be there...


message 4126: by Cody (new)

Cody | 348 comments Peggy wrote: "Mollie looks sweet! By the sound of it, if she were my dog, she would probably be walking me and not the other way around ;-)

Ugh, I'm having one of those days on which I get nothing done. I'm jus..."


Lol yeah she does have a tendency for doing that with everyone!

I am sure your work will be fine :) there does not seem to be more that you can do so try not to worry (obviously I do not know what you do)

@rusalka Stockport beat my team (FC united of Manchester) 4 -1 a few weeks back :-(.

You might be the only person in the world that likes the drizzle in Manchester Lol, I often wonder how it is possible that 99% of English people do not have webbed feet!

I had dogs also, Spaniels but it was only when I bought Mollie that I realised they were my dads dogs not mine, I literally just fought with them and dressed them as cowboys when I had no friends around to shoot my plastic cap guns at.

I am sure the training will go well, she is a bright dog, I never understood the part in John Dies at the end where he says ' Molly looked at me frustrated' until my Mollie did the same to me

@travis It sounds like a similar thing

@I wish we got snow days :(


message 4127: by Sandra, Moderator (new)

Sandra (sanlema) | 11297 comments Esther wrote: "Woke up this morning, went to the door to get the paper... I'm back in bed now. I'll try this again in a bit. Maybe the white stuff falling will not be there..."

Lol, Esther. A girl can dream...


message 4128: by Sandra, Moderator (new)

Sandra (sanlema) | 11297 comments Today is my YLTO birthday. It seems I joined the group on November 16th, 2013. Four years and 4552 comments later I am still here. It is definitively the longest I've been in a GR group. And I feel like staying. :)


message 4129: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (pebbles84) | 15868 comments Congrats Sandra :D

I hope you'll stick around for many more years!


message 4130: by Esther (new)

Esther (nyctale) | 5203 comments Sandra wrote: "Esther wrote: "Woke up this morning, went to the door to get the paper... I'm back in bed now. I'll try this again in a bit. Maybe the white stuff falling will not be there..."

Lol, Esther. A girl..."


Denial failed


message 4131: by Cody (new)

Cody | 348 comments Sandra wrote: "Today is my YLTO birthday. It seems I joined the group on November 16th, 2013. Four years and 4552 comments later I am still here. It is definitively the longest I've been in a GR group. And I feel..."

congrats!


message 4132: by Sandra, Moderator (new)

Sandra (sanlema) | 11297 comments Thank you, guy. It is necessary to find excuses to celebrate from time to time.

@Esther, it usually fails. :/


message 4133: by Lisa (new)

Lisa (lisathebooklover) | 9244 comments Sandra wrote: "Today is my YLTO birthday. It seems I joined the group on November 16th, 2013. Four years and 4552 comments later I am still here. It is definitively the longest I've been in a GR group. And I feel..."

Happy YLTO birthday, Sandra! :)


message 4134: by Kristie, Moderator (last edited Nov 16, 2017 08:06AM) (new)

Kristie | 19324 comments Sandra - Congrats on your YLTO anniversary! Glad you plan to stick around for a while. :)

Esther - Sorry your going back to bed plan didn’t work. It seemed like a good plan to me. If only the snow would cooperate. ;)


message 4135: by Janice, Moderator (new)

Janice (jamasc) | 60073 comments Rusalka wrote: "Makes sense I guess about the footpaths when you point out , Janice, the cou..."

I've shovelled 3 days in a row, and the City has yet to plow my street out. Getting out of my driveway yesterday was fine. It was the buildup of snow on the street I had trouble getting through. It's still snowing, and I'm wondering if I'm going to get stuck in the street today.


message 4136: by Janice, Moderator (new)

Janice (jamasc) | 60073 comments Sandra wrote: "Today is my YLTO birthday. It seems I joined the group on November 16th, 2013. Four years and 4552 comments later I am still here. It is definitively the longest I've been in a GR group. And I feel..."

Yeah! Happy YLTO birthday. :)


message 4137: by Janice, Moderator (new)

Janice (jamasc) | 60073 comments Stephen King has a Molly (bit of a different spelling). He calls her Molly aka The Thing of Evil. Cody, with your Mollie dragging you through the slippery parts, one might have to wonder if it's in the name.


message 4138: by KimeyDiann (new)

KimeyDiann | 2174 comments Not all of north America has the snow shoveling issue! I wouldn't know how to act in an area that gets the kind of snow so many of our members get. Schools get cancelled and places shut down if even a quarter inch of snow is forecast here. And I really don't think snow blowers would work on what we do get. Our humidity levels are so high we don't get the powder that I hear people talk about, we get a wet slush. So thankfully shoveling or blowing snow isn't an issue.

Leaves on the other hand, those are a problem at my house. But I don't really do anything with them, just let mother nature take care of it. Maybe once in late fall we'll go over them with the lawn mower when they start getting deep.

@Cody, Mollie is gorgeous! I can relate to having a dog pull on the leash though. I've had two weimaraners that walk me. One of them actually caught me not paying good attention and started running off, I gripped the leash extra tight when I realized it, and he actually made me do a flip in the air! My feet literally went over my head! LOL. I'm sure it was hilarious to anyone that happened to be driving by, but it wasn't so funny for me at the time.

@Sandra, happy YLTO anniversary! I'm not sure how long I've been here but this is really the only group I'm still active in.


message 4139: by KimeyDiann (new)

KimeyDiann | 2174 comments @Peggy, I hope your day improves. I'mhaving a similar situation, but my problem is that I just can't get motivated today. I've checked email, looked at facebook, chatted with coworkers, and now I'm here trying to get caught up on all I've missed. I have some work that I know I need to be doing, nothing pressing though and I just can't seem to make myself stay focused on any one task for very long.


message 4140: by Cody (new)

Cody | 348 comments Janice wrote: "Stephen King has a Molly (bit of a different spelling). He calls her Molly aka The Thing of Evil. Cody, with your Mollie dragging you through the slippery parts, one might have to wonder if it's in..."

OMG, maybe Mollie was showing her true colours in my current profile picture then? my sister took it around halloween funnily enough. i might get rid of the trainer and get the ghostbusters?

@ KimeyDiann they look huge! i dont remember seing one in real life though. hopefully there as snow or unblown leaves to break your fall :P ?


message 4141: by KimeyDiann (new)

KimeyDiann | 2174 comments @Cody, they are around 70-80 pounds of solid muscle. And they're a hunting breed, so when they are on the scent of something, they are completely focused. Unfortunately there wasn't anything to break my fall except for dirt and grass. Luckily I didn't get hurt besides a couple of bruises. We installed an underground fence right after that!


message 4142: by Cody (new)

Cody | 348 comments KimeyDiann wrote: "@Cody, they are around 70-80 pounds of solid muscle. And they're a hunting breed, so when they are on the scent of something, they are completely focused. Unfortunately there wasn't anything to bre..."

ha so they are roughly doubl the size of Mollie. at least you are ok :)

what is an underground fence? does it project sound upward or somthing?


message 4143: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (pebbles84) | 15868 comments What breed is Mollie?

@KimeyDiann: I had to google weimaraner, the puppies are so cute! I would feel safe out at night if I was walking an adult dog. Sometimes when I cycle to the train station in the morning I see a man walking a huge dog. No idea which breed, but the first time I thought he was walking a calf or something.

We had Belgian shepherds (tervueren) when I was young, but we were never allowed to walk them by ourselves. Too much strong dog for a little girl, especially when we met other dogs. They were very sweet to us, bit a bit anxious in general (with unknown people, other dogs, cars, fireworks, basically scared of everything).


message 4144: by Cherie (new)

Cherie (crobins0) | 21536 comments Esther wrote: "Woke up this morning, went to the door to get the paper... I'm back in bed now. I'll try this again in a bit. Maybe the white stuff falling will not be there..."

LOL! I would do that too, if I could, Esther. I do not know how you folks do it with all of the snow. A little goes a long way for me. It is beautiful on Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens and I like it to stay there. One or two inches that melts away in the rain is even good, as long as it does not freeze after. Black ice is no fun at all.

I'm thinking about buying a 2 foot kiddie pool to put on the end of my front porch, creating a new water feature under the water fall from my rain gutter that has decided to come away from the eaves in the last two days.


message 4145: by Cody (new)

Cody | 348 comments Peggy wrote: "What breed is Mollie?

@KimeyDiann: I had to google weimaraner, the puppies are so cute! I would feel safe out at night if I was walking an adult dog. Sometimes when I cycle to the train station in..."


blgian shepherds are beautiful, i hadnt seen them until now but as i said to @Margo in another group, they have the exact characteristics of dogs i love - smiley

Mollie is an odd one, i bought her from a shelter that told me she was a collie whippet cross, then we got a call from them that said they were wrong she was a welsh collie / border collie cross and then my Ex. made me get a dna test done and that came back as all welsh collie.

i suppose the answer to mollies breed is that she is a 'Molliewoof' and i dont think there are any others (unfortunately)

@cherie - i am the same, it is ok for five minutes but then i am cold and it is rotten


message 4146: by Peggy (new)

Peggy (pebbles84) | 15868 comments I only like snow when I'm inside and don't have to go anywhere. And only the first few minutes when it's white and untouched, not when it's dirty and sludge or even worse, ice.


message 4147: by Anne (Booklady) (new)

Anne  (Booklady) Molinarolo (wwwgoodreadscomAnneMolinarolo) | 1282 comments Happy YLTO Anniversary, Sandra. I hope you'll be here for many more Moons.

I'm still lurking in the background. It may be Black Friday before I post regularly. Almost done with the SRC : ))


message 4148: by Kristie, Moderator (new)

Kristie | 19324 comments Hi Anne! Good to see you’re still lurking. :)

I used to live further north and moved south because of how much snow we used to get. The older you get, the harder it is to deal with. We moved just far enough south that we still have seasons and a little snow, but not too much to deal with. We get just several inches a year now instead of several feet.


message 4149: by Rusalka, Moderator (new)

Rusalka (rusalkii) | 19221 comments My neighbours had a Belgian Shepherd when I was growing up. The four of us frequently roamed the neighbourhood with it, their kelpie, and our dalmatian. Bonnie, the shepherd, was so so so fluffy.


message 4150: by Rusalka, Moderator (new)

Rusalka (rusalkii) | 19221 comments I was telling Lexx about the conversation we were having about shoveling and weeding and fines. He said that his Dad got an invoice sent to his property once.

The invoice had a 45 cent stamp on the envelope to send it. The invoice was for 26 cents for the removal of "noxious insects". Never found out what the insects were, but the government made a 19 cent loss in their removal.


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