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Evening, dry day, was working on the other team today, but it's still quiet, just got shown lots of random things that need doing weekly. Did have a couple of nice conversations with someone I met at the fundraiser, she works for a different team and only been here a few weeks, she also lives in my village. Had a little mooch in the town after work, really wanted some nail art pens for halloween, came home with 2 new nail varnishes, green and orange, so will work for halloween. My pink and purple spotty nails have had a couple of compliments too. Came home, went to check for bargains and on mister and Daisy, they were the only ones left on the bank, so fed them, they acted ravenous again, it's Daisy more than mister. At one point I had a little left in one of the paper bags, went to offer it to them, they just pecked my hand, once I put the food in my hand, they happily ate it! Still only 3 rats at neighbours, so took pics and sent them to her. Also heard dripping when I was there this morning, her boiler had been leaking last Thu, had a proper look when I got home and it was leaking again, so have switched it off and told her that too. Happy Wedding Anniversary Eva
Thank you, Desley! Are you raising pet rats? My nieces used to have them... super cute and fun to hold :-D
Eva wrote: "OK, here's a random but timely topic.I have no idea where the time went, but tomorrow my husband and I will have been married 24 years!"
Congratulations!
Thanks Alicia! We really can't believe it ourselves! Next year's going to be a biggie... we really have to plan a party or something... but this one is just chill.
Evening, quite a bit of rain, was partly dry when I was leaving Aldi, and saw a nice rainbow. Had a nightmare start to the day, couldn't find my glasses, then thought I'd left them next door, went in but couldn't see them, thought I was going to have to go to work without them, but then had one more look, I'd left them on the sofa, had only looked on the table the first time. Got shown a new task on the new team, but then it didn't seem I had the right permissions to do it myself, so they said I could work on my usual team for the rest of the day. Got given a fiddly task to do, that meant it could be put down if something came up. We had a team lunch where we didn't talk about work, mainly about pets we've all had over the years, it was really nice. Still only found 3 rats, I even went rummaging through some of the hemp bedding in case he was burrowed in there. Her landlord came today and switched the water off, the plumber is coming tomorrow. I was very late going checking on the ducks, Daisy came on the third call, Mister didn't, I wonder if they aren't good at swimming in the dark. She wouldn't come out of the water, so gave her a little bit in the water, she gave up first, so left some on the bank. Eva, I'm looking after my neighbours pet rats this week.
Aha! And are Daisy and Mister... ducks? They sound like they live in water
Evening, that turned out to be a long day. Still only three rats at breakfast, started work to realise I needed my glasses, couldn't find them, was sure they weren't next door, but went anyway, Ritchie and Benny were on the bottom level acting a bit weird, decided to give them some paper to play with, and heard a rustle, the paper lives on a box that's about waist height, heavy and flush to the wall, so the only bit I hadn't looked behind. Tried moving it and saw a flash of movement, which was Romeo, the missing rat. Took about 5 mins to coax him to be picked up, and got him in the cage, gave him a treat, but bless him, he only wanted a drink. Let neighbour know, her response was 'OMG, he must have escaped before we left, as he was on top of the cage and thought he had gone back inside' - I'm really shocked that she doesn't always do a headcount when they've been out, and especially when you are going on hol. The plumber has switched the boiler and the water off, so I need to take round my heater and give them some extra bedding. Am rather glad that she got me that nice bottle of gin, think I definitely deserve it! Went in the office at lunch as we had some Suicide Awareness Training, which wasn't as bad as I expected. I also needed to get my prescription, I decided I should have enough time on the way home to get a couple of bits from Lidl and my prescription so didn't get it when I left at lunch, unfortunately the roadworks that have been there since last week caused carnage tonight, took me an hour and 20 mins to do what normally takes 20 mins! So missed the chemist and couldn't be bothered with Lidl! Hadn't hit my step count so nipped round to see if there were any bargains, didn't go and look at the ducks tonight. Yes, Mister and Daisy are some unusual ducks that have turned up on the local canal, and don't act like the mallards, i.e. they expect to be hand fed! There is something about them that I'm drawn to, and have started checking/feeding them daily. I'm sure I put a pic on here, will have to do it again.
So glad you found Romeo in time! Goodness! Your ratty neighbor must have been in a huge hurry.Could the ducks have been pets? People get the little fluff balls at Easter or something, and they just 'release them into the wild' when they prove to actually need care and not just be cute.
I know, he's very lucky as the plumber has been in, but as he's nervous, suspect he just hid. If only he hadn't hid where he had, as I had looked round the room for him. People do suspect they are domesticated ducks that have been released, though they are fully grown, as it seemed like they had young. I did try offering my hand to a female mallard on Sunday I think, and she wasn't for eating off my hand, though the geese would have given it a go!
Think a goose might have had your whole hand!
Evening, had put the heater on in neighbours house when I went to give them breakfast (muesli with milk!), then went to switch it off just before I started work, her landlord had just turned up with the plumber, he thanked me for flagging it up, there was a leak I couldn't see, it was going from the back of it down into the cellar. Got my prescription at lunch and changed their bedding, which upset Ritchie. Went for a walk straight from work, the ducks were on the bank, got partway towards them and said 'hi guys' and they both came waddling over to me! The fisherman was surprised at their reaction, and how they looked at me after I'd finished feeding them, he'd given them some bread and they didn't give him that kind of treatment - nearly said 'that's because I give them organic duck and goose food'! When I got back, they were further down the canal, but came swimming over when they saw me, Mister managed to jump out and have some off my hand, Daisy couldn't and just had to have some in the water. Got some 'Taste the difference' reduced pesto from Sainsbury's, not sure it's as nice as the normal one, but decided to use up the bits of veg left in the fridge and some spaghetti, cooked a bit extra veg so the rats had a bowl of spaghetti, cabbage, green beans and mushrooms for tea, took some out before I added the pesto as wasn't sure that was good for them. Just had a message from neighbour saying that as she's injured her foot on hol, she wants to stay at her partners till Sun, if I can look after the rats a bit longer, and she has bought me another present, which is nice of her, course I said yes. Yeah, I don't trust the geese!
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "...nearly said 'that's because I give them organic duck and goose food'..."You could come up with something you can say comfortably - too many people think human bread is a GOOD food for wildlife. Something like, "X store has a nice selection of mixes good for wild fowl at a reasonable price. I find they like it. And it's supposed to be much healthier for them." Done the right way, some version of that information is a kindness for those who mean well. Speak for them when you can - they don't speak human. Especially since you go to a lot of trouble to do it right.
Thanks Alicia, at the lake they are looking at putting signs up asking people not to feed bread, and getting the shops to sell seed so it is easily available. He did say he didn't realise I had seed, so I did tell him where I bought it from, although they like to sit next to his maggot tub!
MMM! Tasty, high protein maggots! No digging, all you can eat.
Evening, bit of a full on day at work, but got through quite a bit. Cleaner came today, had a couple of nice chats with her. Went for a walk after work, ducks were on the opposite bank, they eventually came over, Mister jumped out and had some food off my hand, someone walked past and stopped to talk, so as I was distracted, a goose took advantage and ate off my hand! Daisy didn't come out though. Got home and ready to heat up my tea when the microwave decided to stop working! Luckily I managed to heat it enough in the pan, and will have to get a new one after work on Mon, they don't do the same colour as the one that has just died, but a paler version, and I park at the side of that building, I'll have to muddle through for the weekend, I did go next door, but doesn't look like her microwave works either, there was no glass plate inside it. Hit day 200 of my step count today, very proud of myself - I've decided as the clocks go back on Sun, I'm not going to set a new target, just do cumulative again like last year, but thanks to Mister and Daisy, I'll probably get out most days, even if I just walk to the canal to feed them and back again. Was a bit annoyed with G, her response was 'I'm knackered with a, b and c', no well done or anything.
Evening, had a lovely day, woke up ridiculously early, had a hairdresser appointment this morning, tried walking the long way home, which is past G's house and she saw me and wanted to see my hair, so had a quick chat at hers. Then me and C went for afternoon tea at a place I like, but have never had afternoon tea at before, it was very nice, though not all as advertised. Then we went for a walk, went to feed Mister and Daisy and got C to take some pics, will share the one with the least amount of my face on it! Got back and sorted out the rats litter trays and stuff ready for neighbour coming home tomorrow. Last day of the walking challenge for work today, but might still hit my step count tomorrow.
How's Romeo?Your friend is lucky you're so diligent!
I keep remembering the time Gizzy (the chinchilla I had for five years - who has now moved to Florida) snuck her way behind one of the dressers in her room - because my husband moved a piece of balled up paper I had put there precisely to avoid her getting behind. It's a panicky feeling. They're so little and fit almost anywhere.
Evening, Lucy didn't get the memo about the clock change and woke me up at what she thought was 6.30! Despite having an extra hour, I feel like I've been slow at everything and behind with what I wanted to do. Nice day, so went for a long walk, the ducks weren't interested in being fed when I set off, bumped into Geoff and his owner, got told all about tortoise hibernation (Geoff doesn't hibernate), and he mentioned he'd got fresh dandelion leaves which is unusual this late, I was looking around and realised the trees still had quite a lot of green leaves to say it is the end of October. Had a biscoff white hot choc, which came with a whole biscoff biscuit and crushed up bits of biscuit, it was nice enough to sit out on one of their benches, drink my drink and finish my book, which was lovely. There were people feeding the geese/ducks when I was walking back, Mister was in the water, but Daisy was on the bank further up so walked a bit further and shouted her, but she was preening. A young girl heard me shouting and asked if the duck was really called Daisy, so I explained that's what I call her and she normally responds. So then she shouted over to her, then Mister realised he didn't need to compete with the geese and came over, so I told her what I call him, and she asked if she could throw some food, so I let her. Ordered my new microwave, it's the same colour/design as my kettle and had 10% discount, collecting it on Thu. They all seem fine thanks Alicia, he apparently likes to keep to himself on the bottom level, but went in to clean the trays yesterday and all 4 were curled up together in one of the beds on the top level. He's also been quite friendly with me, have had a few nice strokes, maybe he is grateful for getting back in the cage after a few days out! I do a headcount every single time I go in, always did when cat sitting too. I panic when I can't see my own pets, never mind anyone else's - and the crazy things you do when you can't see them, I've even checked outside when I know that I haven't opened the door and they couldn't possibly be there.
Most small animals would disappear in the wrong direction if they got out accidentally - it's a big world.Counting sounds smart.
Well we got another absolute battering by the weather this weekend, There is so much damage all along both foreshores, dunes have disappeared and our 400 year old harbour wall has a huge breach in it. Problem was huge waves built up by the gales in the North Sea compounded with the weekend's spring tide. Never seen it so bad :(It's even made the BBC news website. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan... (you can see out poor beach huts getting hammered again too)
Evening, neighbour came round when they got back last night and mentioned her foot was still bad, so they were going to up have to uproot the rats and take them to her partners house for the week, so I obviously offered to look after them longer! She's said to just go in once a day and not give them muesli and milk, I actually feel quite sorry for them! She said she was puzzled when I said there was one missing, she wondered how I knew, and thought I must be very diligent! Nice relaxed day at work, and had some nice conversations. Bought a sandwich at lunch with having my flu jab, I was sure I was going to the first floor, so walked up to be awfully confused, then got told it was on the second floor! At least I got extra steps. Wasn't impressed at sunset being before we finish work though, and was late leaving as was chatting, so was properly dark when I was driving home, so didn't go and see the ducks, just went looking for bargains and needed milk. Sorry to hear you've had it so bad weather wise R, sounds like really bad damage.
Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "... poor beach huts getting hammered again ..."Do you have painting supplies in them? That could be a disaster.
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "...thought I must be very diligent! ..."Her foot must really be bothering her.
You were very kind to the little guys. I wonder what they do all day.
Well today they trashed their cage! And poor Romeo was on the bottom level by himself, which is apparently normal, but he's been up with the others while I've been looking after them, though that could be due to the boiler issue!
Alicia wrote: "Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "... poor beach huts getting hammered again ..."Do you have painting supplies in them? That could be a disaster."
No - all emptied out for the winter!
Evening, got the heads up a job will be advertised in the next week or so, in the wider team, but will be the same grade as I'm on now, and will at least be a permanent job till one comes up on my team. Someone is going to help me do some preparation for it too, then at the end of the day, went to check if I was needed on the other team tomorrow and said I might not be available next week as my buddy is off, and she said it's fine, but was conscious that there was a job being available soon and she wanted me to know as much as possible to be ready for it, it's so lovely that people are doing what they can to get me a permanent job. Did manage to hit my step count again, 204 days now. That's one good thing then R.
You've obviously impressed people since you started here - hope you find the permanent job you want.
Evening, got a nice message from my line manager saying that they'd all love to keep me and I'm an absolute pleasure to work with. Bit of a mixed day weather wise, decided that at lunch it was just windy and not raining, I'd go and see the ducks, I wasn't quite quick enough to notice where they were, I wanted to get a video of them waddling towards me excited for food! They were ravenous, a couple of geese were brave enough to get close (Mister doesn't like that and nips them!), I did stroke both geeses necks, the first was all 'I'm eating, whatever', the second was like 'Woah, what do you think you're doing!'. It started raining minutes after I got home. Got a message off G saying she has Covid, fortunately not feeling poorly with it but won't be going out with her on Fri like planned! And A rang me, she'd been offered a craft fair on a Thu pm, and wondered if I'd be up for it, so I said yes, as we have nothing on that weekend now. Did go looking for bargains after work, got some nice Halloween treats for half price, just one of the things I looked at yesterday that had sold out. Walking streak finally over, but not exactly been lazy at nearly 4.5k steps, and it was nice having extra reading time. Got the results of the walking challenge, we only did just over half of the distance target, but raised £2150, which is amazing. And the organiser posted this pm that there is filming at the lake near me, will be on a BBC drama, can't wait to watch it.
Praise from a manager 'warms the cockles of your heart.' Well earned.That's an impressive result from the walking challenge.
Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "... poor beach huts getting hammered again ..."Do you have painting supplies in them? That could be a disaster."
No - all emptied out fo..."
That's lucky
Looks as if down south is taking a hammering now
Evening, have had a nice birthday day off, was glad we went out early as the morning wasn't too bad, but got wetter just after we got back! Got some nice food from M & S, even if I still didn't get some of the new things I've seen advertised, then A got us lost going to B & M as she thought my sat nav was wrong! Got back in time to go to retail park to pick up my new microwave and some litter I couldn't get from the first retail park, and bumped into an ex colleague, nice to see her. The charity shop near A's house was giving books away for free again, I did go in, but came home empty handed. Have had some nice presents, mainly cat orientated, I do normally get 'duplicate' presents, this year has been bags, but luckily A's is a ruck sack type that will be handy for fairs, and G's is a shoulder bag that is bigger than my current walking bag and fits my thermos in, unlike my current one. Neighbour bought me a foldable shopping bag, which got used today. C had a lovely plaque made from a meme I'd sent her, I didn't remember the pic I sent her, but it did look like it was bespoke. My bro has been very lucky, his fence panel has gone, and some roof tiles missing, but he sent a video of damage on his street, and some of the neighbours windows have been damaged, as well as their roofs.Hope your husband has had a good birthday Alicia.
Thanks, Desley, he did - we just zoomed with the brood.I thought the point of a sat nav was not to ignore it, and believe it will get you places!
Sorry your brother had damage from the weather.
Hope YOUR birthday day off was all you wanted it to be.
Glad hubby had a nice birthday Alicia. Yes, that normally is the point of a sat nav, but A had only been to the shop last week, so thought she knew where it was, turned out she did, but we were going from a different direction, so that's why it didn't feel right to her! My sat nav is well known for going random ways to get you to the place you want though.
The early GPS/sat navs were sometimes wonky - I thought they had gotten better.I used to be the Queen of Maps, almost a lost art now in road areas. I'm not back to driving here - pandemic caused - so I don't hav personal experience that's recent. It seems to me everyone else I ride with is completely dependent on the little voice telling them what to do. I intend to drive again - I'll figure it out then.
Evening, plans ended up changing completely today thanks to the weather, as it wasn't raining, I decided to go for a walk rather than watch a film, check on the ducks and decided to go to the cafe half way round the lake and get some cake - it turned out the filming yesterday had over run so I couldn't go. Still only Mister on the canal bank, he was camped out on the pavement quite a distance from the water, which was a bit of a worry, he seems very lost without Daisy. It's not the first time one of the females has gone missing, last time it was about a week. Did get myself some black peas, might go back during the week for some more, then popped in coffee shop. Haven't quite got through the list of chores I had for today, but happy with what I did do, got a bit of important paperwork sorted. Went to take the old microwave off the worktop and got wet, so guessing that has something to do with why it stopped working! Can't decide if the new one is bigger or not. Not sure if you remember me saying I put the rocking chair on my toe, but not only is it still bruised, but it's been a bit tingly today, will see someone when I can work out the best person to see! Last day of rat sitting, they completely trashed their cage today, worst yet, I did get groomed by Benny though, it was really sweet. Romeo is my favourite though, he's a Rex, so has curly fur, but he's still young, so it's not fully grown yet.
Alicia wrote: "The early GPS/sat navs were sometimes wonky - I thought they had gotten better.I used to be the Queen of Maps, almost a lost art now in road areas. I'm not back to driving here - pandemic caused ..."
Sorry, cross posted there. Mine is an 11 year old car, and it's not worth the price to update it's memory card. It's been known to do things like take me down single track farm lanes to get me on the road it wanted, when I knew where I wanted to go, but thought it had reset itself. I try and still read road signs
That explains it - the updates are pretty necessary to stay 'on track'. I can understand it not being worth the expense to update, and that making you cautious when following what is now 'old data.'Maybe the next car, if there is one. Meanwhile, you are right to question the thing.
I know nothing about updating them, so good luck.
Romeo sounds cute. Maybe you can visit occasionally, now that they all know you well.Please stop putting rocking chairs on your toes. There is no good outcome to that.
Afternoon, bit early today, as doing some updating on the computer, so thought I'd sort out the pic - can post pics of the rats if you'd like, but appreciate they aren't for everyone. Went to local market town mainly for jam and a stoodley, got some essential shopping from Lidl and some treat stuff from Morrisons and the food hall at the garden centre too, so quite happy with that. Needed some new slippers, Lidl had some nice purple ones that are a slightly different style to what I normally have, but risked it for £4.99, then found out I had a £1 voucher, so only cost £3.99. Forecast was for rain, so went to check the ducks out first, Mister was still on his own, but in a more normal spot, so he's had some food and getting a bit worried about Daisy now. Pic of me feeding Mister and Daisy - not the best of them, but best of me! https://www.goodreads.com/photo/group...
I got home at the same time as them today, and did get invited in. Well, depending on the damage, the toe nail might fall off, which is good as they wont remove it!
I'd love to see the rats. One of my kids had rats, another gerbils, I had the chinchilla, and we had a house mouse we named Peanut Butter. for years.
Evening, fireworks at the local cricket club started around 7pm last night, I didn't think I was that close to it, but they were so loud I kept jumping, think I was more bothered than the cats! They lasted an hour, but there were ones going off intermittently till 10.30, there are people setting them off tonight, but they aren't as loud. Another craft fair today, our best one yet, £57! I spent quite a bit, got a good deal on the Body Shop stall, they had the limited edition cherry scent in hand cream, and were doing them cheaper than RRP, so it was rude not to, she also did a tombola and lucky dip, I won another hand cream on the lucky dip and a face mist on the tombola, so rather happy with that. It's A's birthday today, so said I'd treat her to something to eat/drink, whatever she wanted, she wanted a Bailey's latte, which we had to wait for a reasonable time to get, then she seemed reluctant unless I had one so I had a Bailey's hot choc. Looks like we can get on all the events next year they do them once a month from Feb to Dec. Was light enough when I got home to check on the ducks, still only Mister, though at least he was on the opposite bank, so he is acting more normal.
Do Mister and Daisy have little ones? Is it possible she's sitting on eggs? Just curious.Fireworks are expensive - an hour's worth is burning money. Something to celebrate?
Fun at the fair, it sounds like.
I don't think it's the right time of year for them to be laying eggs. It was Bonfire night last night, the cricket club did an organised display on Sat that people paid to go and see.
Evening, that was a nice day. I'd said I'd work between Christmas and New Year and have been put on the list for the New Year week too, so thought I better point out that officially I'm not employed then, the response was 'I've extended your contract till 31/03, though hopefully you'll be permanent before then'. Nice to know that if I don't get this job, at least I won't be out of a job by the end of the year. The pay increase has been accepted, I don't know if I'll get any more being on the agency, but at least I will when I get a permanent job. There was just me and my part time colleague in today, we did get thrown a couple of curve balls, but managed OK by just talking to one of our engineers, rather than a manager. I wasn't supposed to be helping the other side this week, but they were also short staffed, so did a bit on both sides. This afternoon the fire alarm went off, which wasn't a drill - unfortunately it was bouncing it down, and had been raining heavily for so long there were some rather large puddles to avoid. Did hit my step count today!
Does dodging raindrops improve your step count :-)Good to hear about the extended contract and the hope of permanent job
Evening, another good day at work. Had my first one-to-one, it was very relaxed, the main focus was checking how working on both sides is going for me, so she is going to ask a few questions about it. All very positive though, she told me she is very proud of me, I should be very proud and that I'm very clever and should have no problem with the application form/interview. One of the tasks she'd left for yesterday I hadn't done, went to do it after my meeting, which involved going down to the customer service to collect something, I decided to use the lift to the second floor then walk up to the third, but as the lift approached the second floor, it said 'emergency evacuation procedure, returning to ground floor' and took me back to the ground floor, but there was no noise, so walked back to customer service who told me that's what happens if you use the lift during the weekly test! Will make sure I don't do that again! Managed to hit my step count on the way back to the car, so decided not to go and look for bargains when I got home, and instead did some chores.Thanks Jim - not sure dodging raindrops did but the fact we had to evacuate the building and weren't able to use the lift certainly did!
I don't like it when elevators do funny things. Have this long memory of getting trapped in a hotel elevator in Albuquerque - it took them forever to get us out.We were perfectly safe (they have all these fail-safe arrangements), but it FELT trapped.
I assume yours brought you back to the ground floor and OPENED THE DOOR.
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I have no idea where the time went, but tomorrow my husband and I will have been married 24 years!