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Evening, started off a bit wet, and just heard rain starting, but dry and fairly bright for most of the day, which wasn't expected. Numbers of e-mails up 10 by the end of the day, and all 3 of us were dipping in and out of it, so made me feel much better for not being able to make much headway by myself! At least it feels like the urgency has passed and now we can just tackle the backlog, I did finish on time today, as I'm up to 17 hours flexi and we are only allowed 21, luckily I have a day off booked this month, but will have to start having a full hour for lunch, or finishing early to get it down more. Treated myself to a couple of things from M & S after work. Yes, that is a good point MT!
Didn't realize we would see anything, but the sun was 35% hidden by the moon during the peak of the eclipse here near Sacramento, California; our youngest daughter is in New York, and they had close to 100%. She said "It was very cool, so bizarre feeling".People had the special glasses, and were generous sharing them, so I got a peek - the sun looked like someone had taken a good-sized bite out of the bottom left.
My first eclipse. Won't be another here until 2045, and I may or may not still be here. If I am, I'll be 95.
Evening, had a bad night sleep, one of the neighbours decided to chop some wood on his doorstep at 10.30, I don't know if my neighbours own clocks! Luckily not too busy at work, though still loads to do, and loads coming in, including unusual finance queries. Had a chat with my manager about how much flexi I have, she said that I can ask for early finishes/late starts at short notice if needs be, which is good. Glad you got to see an eclipse Alicia, I remember one when years ago, we were allowed to leave the office and walk up the hill to get a good look.
We saw one when we were walking in a centuries abandoned village in Yorkshire, I think we got 90%It was amazing, everything went dim, livestock sat down and the birds stopped singing
Yeh there was one back in 1998 here. I was working for a coach company a d we all watched it from the depot. So.e with specs and some with welding masks from the workshop downstairs. It was really cool. We've had one since but it was cloudy and it wasn't total so we didn't see that much.Glad you got to see it Alicia.
Weird time to chop wood Desley.
Hope it was bits of wood and not a body!Quite fed up with rain now. We get one or two dry days and then off it goes again. I've never known it to be so wet here. The fields are absolutely sodden, many farmers have lost their barley sowings and there are new 'water features' everywhere. And we're getting such amazing high tides - on Tuesday there was a spring tide with the high tide at 4pm (which is apparently when they are the highest), and also low pressure. It was so high there was no beach left at all and the harbour was brimming over.
Evening, apparently we had another storm today, it seemed wet and windy for part of the day, so didn't go out at lunch, but had calmed down after work, so went to the shops. Nice day at work, nothing urgent came in, so we managed to catch up a bit, I got loads off my to do list (well, some were just e-mailing to remind people I still needed information), which is good as we won't be 'fully staffed' till 22nd. Got confirmation today that they aren't replacing the colleague who left, which I think could be good for me, as can't see them wanting to lose me till the transfer, whenever that might be. Wow, can't believe it was as long ago as 1998 MT! He does do things at odd times to be fair MT - it did sound like wood and not a body R! Nice to see you though, shame the rain is affecting farmers crops.
Yes, people are beginning to ask whether this will be a year without a harvest. It won't be, but it could be a small harvest
Evening, bad night sleep. We got an e-mail just after 9 that we thought was going to cause a lot of work for 2 of us, so we decided to spend the morning clearing stuff so we could focus, then revisit after lunch. After lunch, I had pretty much cleared my stuff but colleague hadn't, so I offered to start, and shout if it seemed too much, but it wasn't as bad as I thought, got half way through it in a couple of hours, even with distractions, so can finish that in the morning and got praised for it. Manager managed to get through the e-mails that only she could deal with, and a few of the easy ones just to get numbers down, they were down 27 from this morning, so things are seeming much more manageable now. Had a nurse app at lunch, weather was nice enough to walk there and back, and had a nice enough nurse not to comment too much on my weight. I did mention issues with my inhaler, so she has put a note on for them to swap it back, which was nice of her, given I hadn't gone for that, and she did remind me I needed an asthma review, so she could have made me wait. Still nice after work, so went to the shopsThat's quite a depressing thought Jim.
Evening, slept through till 4am, then woke up with cold feet, getting up and putting socks on helped me get back to sleep till the alarm went off. The task I thought I was going to get through didn't go as swimmingly this morning, and a couple more got added to it, so not quite complete and didn't think I got through nearly enough today. Was a dry day though, there was something that needed picking up from the library, so did that at lunch, then went to the coffee shop who had pistachio syrup, so tried that, and got a cookie for tomorrow. Got to finish before 5pm as well, though still ended the week with more flexi, despite longer lunches.
Don't forget to use your time off. The world will not end.
There seems to be very little we can do which makes the world end. to feel free to take some more time off :-)
Evening, had hair appointment at 1, so did a few chores first, had a nice time at the hairdressers, one of them was telling me they'd heard on the radio that it was the wettest winter in over 100 years (they couldn't remember the exact date), which certainly doesn't surprise me. Rained most of today too! Well, given how bad the weather is, and not forecast to improve, taking time off sounds rather boring!
Time off with a good book? And no sunshine pulling you outside?
Evening all, another craft fair today, I didn't have high hopes for this one, it's someone we know from a fair who was organising a charity day for a sick little boy. We got lost finding the venue, then she forgot she was providing a table for us. Didn't have a single sale, so officially worst one ever. As I didn't have high hopes, I took my kindle, and as there was no free wifi, I did spend some time reading my book. Won a nice pen and came home with some carrot cake though. Saw a few people we've seen at other fairs. Had a strange experience in the loo, was just drying my hands when one of the other stall holders came in and was saying how poor she'd done, and how she did one yesterday that was just as bad as it was outdoors - however, she was using the toilet without shutting the door while talking to me, I've never met her before! We did pack up early, as did most of the stalls, then people started coming in! I find it easier to read outside Alicia, a good way to take advantage of nice weather.
Sounds lovely - I can't stay out that long without needing something that's inside, so don't tend to stay out long enough to get a decent amount of reading. Since you can, you probably have some comfortable spots you prefer. With waterfowl? Little waterfalls?
sad about the various craft fairs. I suspect there are too many of them now :-(To many 'crafters' and not enough people looking for crafts
Evening, well what a day weather wise. Woke up to heavy rain, was blue skies when I set off for work, but skies were getting darker, and started raining as I was walking down the hill. Mix of rain and blue skies throughout the day, but in the last couple of hours, we've had hailstone, followed by blue skies, followed by more hailstone and recently heard thunder! Am sure it's Spring! Bought a reduced sandwich yesterday, took it out of the fridge this morning but didn't put it in my bag, luckily I had an emergency pot noodle, as I wasn't leaving the building! Another week, another finance issue, just waiting for an instruction, then we get to ring more people apologising for an issue, not sure why they can't ring people themselves. We have enough of our own work to do, and part time colleague is off this week. Nipped to B & M after work and bumped into my sister, so got distracted and forgot I wa also supposed to go to Iceland! Got some random reductions in Sainsbury's after work, but made some lunch for tomorrow, as long as I remember to take it with me! It depends Alicia, I do often sit outside my house reading as I feel guilty for Lucy being cooped up indoors, but if I can, I do like to read at one of the local reservoirs, preferably the less touristy ones. There probably is Jim, though I think the ones that go better are the ones that are a regular event, like the monthly one we do, this was a one off for a little boy, not even a registered charity.
I think some of those 'one offs' might have to find another way of raising money. We had very spring like weather yesterday as well. I was driving to Kendal and in about five minutes went from heavy rain, to hail, to sleet and back to heavy rain :-)
Sleet? We're in air-conditioning weather already, and our heat-exchanger has lost all its refrigerant, after doing the same last summer in high heat, so they're going to replace it (leak somewhere they haven't managed to seal) and stop futzing around.Only use it when it gets very hot in the summer, or colder in the winter (it provides heat AND AC), but my brain only works in a narrow temperature range, so I need to have it available.
But it's taking forever again, just like last summer, and they're supposed to handle things like that for us. 'They' = management. We have to wait until their contractor gets around to it, and it hasn't been efficient yet. Oh, well.
Evening, woke up to a calm day with blue skies - we had about 10 mins of rain about 3pm, but that was it. Thanks to dealing with the finance issue, we are behind on other stuff, and not sure if there is any help available from the other team, as they are also short. Went to the coffee shop at lunch, I get such a warm welcome from the newer person, and as I'm trying different variants of syrup, I knew what I wanted - she commented that she really likes me coming trying such different things, it's nice compared to the people who just come and order the same drink. I told them a couple of other flavours I like, they think they have one, hopefully they will find it so I can have some, though it is one I can get at my usual coffee shop. Ended up working late as one of our engineers popped in, I asked what I thought was a simple question and that turned into a lengthy debate! Remembered to go to Iceland after work, though I wasn't sure I was going to make it round and to my car at one point, legs felt like lead! Yes, a craft fair clearly wasn't the right thing, though it did raise nearly £500. Hope they fix the air conditioner soon for you Alicia.
We have blue skies in common. If it were hotter we'd be melting!I can survive - it has been worse - but I can't think, so another day gets chalked up, and all the things on hold... are still on hold.
The syrup-trying sounds like a nice little treat. Enjoy!
I think syrup-trying is one of those nice ideas which can be a lot of fun. I'm a bit like that with coffees. I have one ground coffee I default to but if another catches my eye I'll buy a pack :)
Evening, a pretty much dry, bright day apart from a random 10 min hailstorm while the sky was blue. I was getting a bit worried about how loud it was in the bathroom, till I was walking back from the shop after work and it suddenly dawned on me that they put panels on the walls and round the window, so guessing it echoes more. Still more work coming in, but manager told us not to stress about it, April is always a busy month, and we have been short staffed. We had a bit of a boring meeting this afternoon, so I put my mic on mute and cleared some easy e-mails, which made the numbers seem a bit better. Ended up working a bit late, I was the only one still online when big manager had a question she needed an answer to! Went checking for bargains after work, and picked up my prescription.
I do like trying different syrups, then I'll have it in latte, mocha, white choc mocha, and see which one I prefer :-) both my regular coffee shops seem to like me trying things, and will sometimes offer something new, or surprise me. Also appreciate that when I don't know what I'm in the mood for, they just let me stand there contemplating (and maybe suggesting) rather than rushing me. And ask for feedback too.
Evening all, had a rubbish night sleep, struggled to get to sleep, was watching some TV when the internet stopped working, and switching the router on and off didn't work. Woke up about an hour later, still no internet. Woke up at 3.30, still no internet, so switched the router off again, thinking that if it didn't work, I'd have to go in the office to work. Luckily I woke up at 5.30, switched it on, and everything was fine, so changed my alarm to a 7am one, though still woke up before it. Weather was nice till mid afternoon, since then it's been wet and windy! At least I got out at lunch, had some equipment to pick up from the library, as I was walking in, someone I worked with decades ago was walking out, but we recognised each other and said hello, she had some food caddy bags in her hand, which reminded me that you can get them free at the library if they haven't left you any, so got some of those while I was there, well worth the trip, and the park is looking stunning. Not sure we got through much of the backlog as some urgent stuff came in, and I'm off tomorrow, so colleague is manning the fort, but then we will be back to our new normal next week, so sure we'll get to catch up and at least there is no pressure from our boss, as it's normal for this time of year.
I must admit that having internet so good and so stable that I could watch TV on it is a whole different world :-)
I'm spoiled. When my internet is down (rare), it's as if I've lost my brain AND my fingers.
Evening, that was not my idea of a fun day off! Woke up about 5ish, but went back to sleep till Lucy wandered in at 6am wanting attention, didn't need to get up that early (and I wouldn't even if I was working!). Set off at 9, as had to be at court for 10, I knew the way to the town I was going to, just not the exact bit of it, but part way there, the sat nav announced there were roadworks, so it was sending me a different way, which then made me nervous. Did chuckle when I drove past goats grazing on the grass verge. Got there 10 mins early, then solicitor arrived so we had to go through some stuff. My information said it wouldn't take more than an hour, so had 2 hours parking, but had to put another hour on at 11.30, we didn't get in front of the judge till 12.20, so went over that hour! Nothing on the car, so hoping no one had noticed. The judge was very nice, but it was quite nerve wracking having a solicitor and judge question me, especially as I didn't know answers to the judges question. He eventually ruled in my favour, and also allowed travel expenses too, though was slightly bothered by the fact I haven't had my excess back, seems the partial payment was actually done last March! He did end it with 'so, when your insurance premium goes up, you'll know its partly due to the thousands that have been wasted today'. I then went and did some shopping, got a few bits from Primark and some nice (and more expensive than I would usually buy) food from M & S and Sainsbury's. Then called in Lidl on the way back as it's vegi week. So a bit of an expensive afternoon. Didn't get home till 4 due to roadworks, then hitting school traffic, so my plan to come home and do some housework went out of the window, was too ouchy for that, so just sat and finished my book instead. I am lucky Jim, I rarely watch TV that isn't through the internet anymore. To the point I have to wonder what to do when there is no internet!
Glad your time with the judge is over. It's not your fault that the premiums might go up! Judge shouldn't have said that.Sounds like a tense day. Glad you're past it and found it was vegi week.
Glad the Judge came in your favour.I watch some youtube but no TV because its often too high a definition. Also we don't have a TV licence any more (and have no TV)
Evening, nice sunny day, we went to a little village called Pickmere near Knutsford for a craft fair, half was in the village hall, half in the methodist church. We were in the village hall, so I had to walk over to the church to get my cake, there was a wax melt stall in there too, but a bit more upmarket than ours. I would have been tempted. We did really well, best so far this year, a lot of people spending £5 at a time makes a massive difference. A lot of people asked about buying online, and one had joined the facebook page before we'd even left! A gave me 8 free wax melts, she had some leftover wax from a scent I like that she'd poured into a different mould, so couldn't sell them. While we were there, she got a message from the woman who organises the monthly one we go to, she is holding a wedding fair tomorrow and the wax melt person dropped out, so she asked A if she could go, I said I couldn't, I'm so stiff from the last two days, and need to do some housework. He wasn't blaming me Alicia, just pointing out these are the kind of things that insurance companies spend money on.
If I recall, none of this was your fault. And insurance companies do that, probably to stay profitable and in business, but it always seems personal.
no, it certainly wasn't my fault Alicia, I was stationary when I got hit! I still can't believe how far two insurance companies went for £325!
Evening all, didn't want to get up this morning, but Lucy was fussing at 7.15 and it's her medi day, so had to get up. Was forecast to be nice today, so put a washload on before we went and watched TV in bed and pegged it out when we got up again. It turned out so nice that I didn't like the idea of staying in all day doing housework, so went to take my soft plastic recycling to the coop the long way via the canal, and fed some of the geese, still no Mister. Have to admit that the housework has only half heartedly been done, and I didn't have the heart to disturb a sleeping Lucy to hoover the front room. Made some food to take for lunch, and realised I haven't had my usual Fri or Sun coffee treats.
Evening, back to rain today, though at least I was in the office. My part time colleague was back, even with 3 of us working pretty much constantly, the numbers were pretty much the same when we finished than they were when we started! Even though I only had one day off, I felt quite slow at getting back into things, must have completely switched off! Ended up having a lengthy chat with big manager at home time, she gave me some job advice, and said she'd give me updates as soon as she possibly could, which I thanked her for. She then offered to give me a lift part way to my car, said no thanks, and got to the bit she was going to drop me off at before she did!
The numbers may have been the same, but it means that every new thing coming in was either handled or one of the older ones handled, and that was a lot of work.How many requests were dealt with, total, is a better number.
Evening all, a few more urgent stuff came in today, so asked for my 121 to be postponed, I hadn't even had time to look at the form! The e-mails are finally looking at a reasonable number, the other tray not quite so much, but at least lower than this morning, having 3 of us has made a massive difference. I still feel like I'm not up to speed. Joints have been quite sore today, I was wondering why they have been feeling so bad, and my psoriasis is creeping up, but then remembered that stress is part of it, and between work and the court thing, it's not been an easy month, so probably due to that. As things are easing, I should be able to take longer lunches, and maybe even a couple of early finishes. Yes, that is a better way of looking at it Alicia.
Stress is a killer - and so hard to ignore (which is probably a good thing, or we would).Hope things get a bit easier for you.
Evening all, was overcast most of the day, but sun did come out for a bit at lunch, I got a washload dried outside, which was good. Another busy day at work, and a task I started yesterday and finished today that was really tricky ended up being put on hold just after I finished it, which was a bit disappointing! And numbers were no better by the end of the day, I feel like I'm being really slow, do wonder if part of it is my pain levels being higher than they have been. Got some housework done at lunch too. Went to the shops after work as needed milk, and bumped into Malachi and his owner, he was having a wee when he heard me say hello, stopped really quickly and dragged his owner up to have a fuss. Not seen them for a while, and that must be the third time in the last week, amazing what a difference the weather makes.
I think you're wise to keep going out every day rather than getting yourself cooped up inside even if you're working.Just got back from a couple of days at meetings at a village near Blenheim.
There's a public footpath through the grounds so you can go in and walk in them free. They are amazing :-)
Question for you (relevant to WIP, or I wouldn't bother you): what happens on a farm when the Farmer goes off to meetings for a couple of days?Is there a 'Rent a Replacement Farmer'? Do the neighbors pitch in? Family?
There is such a huge litany of daily and seasonal tasks to keeping animals alive that I wonder what happens when the Farmer is ill. You might be able to postpone some other chores, but milking?
Evening, bit of a mixed day weather wise. Only 2 of us in today, and a few people off in the wider team, so less of them to take the phone calls. Day started off well, said to my colleague that I feel like I'm being really slow, and she disagreed, which was a relief - I suspect because the numbers aren't going down, it's hard to see how much has been done. Got through some stuff and got numbers looking better, then a few urgent and tricky stuff came in, so they had to be dealt with over what I wanted to get done. Luckily didn't have to work too late, and had a longer lunch. Even though the weather didn't look great, I went to the shops, got some nice bargains (including some flavoured potato salad I haven't seen on the shelves yet, but got a reduced pack).Seems like you had a good couple of days away Jim - I'm interested in Alicia's answer too. When I was fostering I was lucky that people who were coming in to feed my cats were also happy to feed whatever I was fostering at the time, or I'd have had to see if another fosterer was willing to take them while I was away, or not take certain ones in.
Alicia wrote: "Question for you (relevant to WIP, or I wouldn't bother you): what happens on a farm when the Farmer goes off to meetings for a couple of days?Is there a 'Rent a Replacement Farmer'? Do the neigh..."
I now share farm with a younger chap, I look after his dairy heifers and he milks his cows on another farm. So he sent a remarkably competent young lady to cover for me :-)
The handwriting on the wall leads to creative arrangements. And the youngsters get training and practice.Can you take a month's vacation in the Caribbean with your family?
Evening, we were in the office today, there wasn't many of us in, and it was a nice jovial atmosphere. We only had one urgent thing come in, so were able to try and clear some of the backlog and get things looking much more manageable, so felt a good end to the week. Decided to try out the free coffee from Greggs I can get through my energy rewards, it wasn't great, but was free at least. Did a bit of food shopping on the way home and I got a voucher code for money off the new nail varnishes I was eyeing up, so decided to treat myself. Managed to spend enough for some free eyeshadows too, I had a £5 voucher and turns out I've bought enough from them to get in the tier that gives you free priority shipping! My sciatica really hasn't been great today, managed to get through work by walking slower, but then ended up limping round Lidl, have put a magnet on and it does seem to have eased a bit. Glad you have cover Jim.
Sorry about the sciatica. It is no fun to deal with.Clearing backlog is so satisfying.
Evening, woke up ridiculously early, Lucy was quite content to lie cuddling against me for a few hours. Mixed day weather wise, sunny then cloudy, but a cold wind, got an impromptu wash load done anyway. Magnet has helped a bit, so have done some housework (mainly floors and worktops), realised last night that I had forgotten to buy sugar when I went to Lidl, so had to go to the co-op, then decided to get a sandwich from the bakery and a coffee, both places were busy, which was nice, especially as the bakery have just put some of the prices up. Have rested a bit this afternoon, Lucy didn't come down till 5.20 after I went in and told her it was teatime. Ratty neighbour has a family do today so asked me to give them some tea tonight and breakfast in the morning, and kindly gave me two bottles of fruity cider as a thank you - she never used to, and I do tell her she doesn't have to. At least all 4 were in the cage.
Alicia wrote: "The handwriting on the wall leads to creative arrangements. And the youngsters get training and practice.Can you take a month's vacation in the Caribbean with your family?"
Probably not, start with the fact that in the UK the Caribbean isn't a cheap destination, and add to the fact that neither of us have passports, we've not been abroad since the 1980s :-)
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "My sciatica really hasn't been great today, managed to get through work by walking slower, but then ended up limping round Lidl, have put a magnet on and it does seem to have eased a bit...."My mother had sciatica (It was my fault) and you have my every sympathy. She found some relief from sitting with a heat pad against it
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Glad to hear you're improving M.T.