You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Off Topic Chat
>
Watcha' Doing - 2020
No garage or shed or porch to enclose them in. We've tried the laundry, they don't like it. Same with the bathroom. Study they sit with us at night while we're up playing games, watching things, checking goodreads, and they have good perches that they can roost on. We are just drop-sheeting the room and washing every day.But. This, thanks to our neighbour is our life until Christmas. The fence guys came today, and they couldn't do anything. The neighbour cut trees down to stumps (of varying heights of 2m- 20cms) but didn't dig out any stumps so all the roots where there and under the fence. And not to mention that there is ivy EVERYWHERE where we ripped out everything. The guys just looked at it and told us that if they did it we would be wasting all our money as it would fall down in a year.
So we have half a fence now. And dogs on one side of the fence, and really frustrated chickens. The guys have helped us patch up the fence as best we can. And organised a stump grinding guy to come and look at the place to see what he could do.
But we've just had a summer storm through this afternoon and the other half of the fence fell down. I'm rather pissed off. We knew this was happening since September, and while we stuffed up our one tree the guys reckoned we could have gotten it out today. But leaving over 10 trees is appalling.
Oh, my. I'm sorry everything turned out to be so complicated, Rusalka! I hope you guys find a reasonable solution soon. What a pain...
Ugh, how frustrating Rus!Work has been a bit tough the last couple of weeks, for all the obvious reasons. Last week was the first time in a month or so that I felt I was sort of on top of things, instead of very very behind. Also, the first time in weeks that I actually went out for a 15 minute walk during lunch, instead of eating a sandwich in 5 minutes while still working behind my laptop.
We have a very caring management team though, they really do realize that these times are not easy for us, nor for students. We received small surprises in the mail twice.
Today a box was delivered that didn't even fit in the mail box. It contained one of those 'American' (that what I call them, you don't really see these here, no idea if they are actually American) mailboxes in a Christmas theme, filled with sweets for Christmas and Sinterklaas (the Dutch version of Christmas, which is December 5th). Also, it contained a save the date for December 16, as there will be 'a surprise evening for 2'. I think it's instead of the Christmas dinner we normally have with work, which of course can't go on this year. I'm so excited! What could it be?
These gestures make life feel better again :)
That is so great, Peggy! I wish all places were so thoughtful and caring with their employees. Enjoy!
Oh no, Rus. That's awful. How frustrating.
That's exciting, Peggy! Can't wait to hear about your surprise evening. :) That's good of them to do a few extras for everyone.
Sounds like it's one of those projects that can snowball into more things to fix.
Rusalka, No project like this is ever easy but this is a really frustrating one. And it does not seems like there is any nice and easy solution. jhang in there.
That's frustrating, Rusalka, I hope it will be over soon.That's so much fun, Peggy, such a great gift box!
We had an amazing Holiday. We could not have the family gathering for obvious reasons. Instead my nieces sister in law had food delivered to everyone. She is a chef. She has been featured twice on food network. She is hoping to do the show chopped someday.The food was amazing. The family skype was fun. It was a different but fun holiday
I'm posting this here as well as this is our busiest thread and I think several of you might be interested in this. It started in Janice's own 2021 thread but perhaps not everyone reads that one.The idea arose to let all of us create the interactive tasks for Janice, so that we can be like her and she can be like us and has a bit of surprise in her challenge too, having to gopher for tasks she didn't create.
If everyone's who interested in creating some interactive tasks for Janice sends me a PM, I'll divide museums. If you then send me your tasks, we can surprise Janice with them all at once. It will be like a mini year long challenge for her :)
I love this Peggy, what a great idea 😃
It's almost bed time here, but I'll start organising this and send around tasks tomorrow.
I saw that you mentioned that, Peggy! Good idea. I would suggest that anyone who would like to participate remember that you can't copy a task with a friend, so don't plan to duplicate your own task. You need to come up with something different just for Janice. :)
Thanks so much! I'm quite touched by this offer. It gives me the warm fuzzies. 😘
Janice wrote: "Thanks so much! I'm quite touched by this offer. It gives me the warm fuzzies. 😘"Wait until you see the tasks first lol
Thanks for the reminder about not duplicating your own task Kristie!And I agree with Rusalka, let's wait and see how happy you are once we're all done ;-)
Peggy wrote: "Thanks for the reminder about not duplicating your own task Kristie!And I agree with Rusalka, let's wait and see how happy you are once we're all done ;-)"
Indeed. What about a task with a purple robot with yellow dots on the cover??? (just kidding Janice!! )
Stop giving away my ideas, Esther!!
The robot's name has to have three x, and the genre should be historical-futuristic-romance.
Rusalka wrote: "Janice wrote: "Thanks so much! I'm quite touched by this offer. It gives me the warm fuzzies. 😘"Wait until you see the tasks first lol"
Ahhh... do I get to know who the giver is so that I can thank them??
Yes, and to ask for rulings on your chosen books ;-)
There are still some museums left if anyone else is interested :)If not, no worries, we'll get them done anyway.
Janice wrote: "Ahhh... do I get to know who the giver is so that I can thank them??."Note to herself: lay low and do not ask for ruling until at least July.
Hi Peggy - I would like to do a task for Janice, please. 🤪
I've always find GR Recommendations feature bad, and essentially useless. I never understood the books it picks to recommend based in the books I'm reading, but today's recommendations were a complete nonsense:Because you are currently reading Gone with the Wind -> recommendation: The Incredible Book Eating Boy
and
Because you are currently reading Cuentos completos (short stories collection by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño) -> recommendation: Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast
LOL! That is hilarious, Sandra. I rarely look at the Goodreads recommendation feature.
Ha Ha. I’ll be looking at that feature now, just for a laugh.
Shirley wrote: "Ha Ha. I’ll be looking at that feature now, just for a laugh."It is the one on the main page. I had really weird ones lately as well. I was wondering if these were sponsored.
Yes, it is the one on the main page. I have no idea what is the idea, but obviously it's not working.
lol Sandra. I have a folder on my desktop of stupid "recs" from Goodreads as that "feature" is completely useless. The majority are for a picture book I HATED as a child, and it recommends it to me all the time from completely inappropriate reads.Read Changes, The Dry, and A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul? Read John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat. Hells no thank you.
I am really excited about the gift my husband got me. We live in the Chicago suburbs. We also have an apartment in the city. My husband bid in a charity auction for a guided tour of the Art Institute. I love that museum. I get to select what I want to tour. I am hoping the Thorne Rooms will be offered. I have always been fascinated with these miniatures. I would love the chance to view them with someone discussing them. It would also be nice to see them with out the crowds.
Jusst ordered some supplies to make a christmas wreath for our boat. I've bought enough for my friends too so we're going to get together to do. Looking forward to that.
That's a great gift, Renee! It would be so nice to choose what you want to see, without the crowds, and have someone to answer questions. Very nice! Sarah, that was so nice of you. I'm sure your friends will really enjoy and appreciate that.
I am currently sorting through all my Christmas decorations. It is a chore that I don't enjoy, but it needs to get done. I need to decide what is worth keeping and what is junk, then organize them and store them properly. Then, I need to not let my hubby touch them. lol
Sarah, what a lovely idea. This is our first Christmas at home for a few years, so we’re doing the big outdoor Christmas lights - mostly for our grandson Harrison’s benefit. The idea has gained popularity over the years. There are even competitions for the best decorated house, and there are tour routes to follow to see them. Our decorations are definitely not in that category. Harrison’s had fun though.
Renee wrote: "I am really excited about the gift my husband got me. We live in the Chicago suburbs. We also have an apartment in the city. My husband bid in a charity auction for a guided tour of the Art Institu..."Oh that does sound good.
Peggy wrote: "Also, it contained a save the date for December 16, as there will be 'a surprise evening for 2'. I think it's instead of the Christmas dinner we normally have with work, which of course can't go on this year. I'm so excited! What could it be?..."So, it turns out to be a Christmas dinner at home. A box with all the ingredients will be delivered and you make your own 3-course Christmas dinner with everyone at once. There are matching wines as well. It's paired with an online event where the sommelier and the restaurant chef are available to give explanations about the cooking and the wine, and you can ask them questions.
This is really awesome!!
Peggy, that sounds amazing!! What a creative and fun way to have dinner during this time. Please update with the menu- I’m so curious...
Peggy wrote: "Peggy wrote: "Also, it contained a save the date for December 16, as there will be 'a surprise evening for 2'. I think it's instead of the Christmas dinner we normally have with work, which of cour..."That is a great idea. My team has decided it will be a evening of online gaming. you can call it "the Christmas Esther will die over and over again". I cannot compete with these guys. I find it hilarious so it`s ok with me.
That sounds like fun! If you find it hilarious I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself and that's all you need.
Lol, Esther. I'm very bad at games, that is why my kids love to play with me...
I love that Christmas dinner idea, Peggy. I was mulling over last night what we should do for Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinner. I am going to check and see if there is anything like that going on here.
That sounds great Peggy! I know some chefs where doing that kind of thing for dates over lockdown in Melbourne. You ordered a pack each, it turned up with wine/cocktails, all ingredients and recipes and people did it together on zoom.We had our Christmas work thing this arvo. We can't have events inside or that involve shared food at the uni, and we are almost running out of money so we can't fund Christmas parties this year. So we toddled off to the Lake, right on the water with lots of grass. There's a fish and chip shack with drinks and we hung out there for a few hours. There were more people there that I have seen all year. Friday before Christmas, last day of School, there were hundreds of people and dogs out in the wind and sun trying to hang out.
It was lovely and a little odd. But mainly it reminded me how much we all neglect and ignore our amazing outdoor spaces when you can just go inside all the time.
That's a great idea, Peggy! I'm glad they got creative and made it fun. Let us know how it goes.Too funny, Esther! I would die over and over as well. lol
Peggy, what an awesome idea. Enjoy!Esther, sounds like a fun activity.
Sandra wrote: "Lol, Esther. I'm very bad at games, that is why my kids love to play with me..."I actually have a colleague that plans his days off around game release. Even good is not good enough!
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lost Man (other topics)The Glass Woman (other topics)
The Survivors (other topics)
The Survivors (other topics)
The Glass Woman (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Roberto Bolaño (other topics)Dervla McTiernan (other topics)
Kevin Hearne (other topics)
Rachel Caine (other topics)
Tan France (other topics)
More...
I’m exhausted just thinking about it.