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[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, luckily not too many issues after the bank hol weekend as we had an event this morning. It was fairly quiet and got some random enquiries but was something different. Then another frustrating probation review meeting, followed by something urgent. Then had to go to Kingsway as had accidentally got the girls litter delivery to store than my house, they'd packaged them differently this time, me and female assistant struggled to get them in the car! Lucy is weeing more (despite her kidneys being better!), so am going to use that for her rather than clumping. Popped in the little Asda next door and got a few bargains.

[Jim]

I'm glad that we don't have bank holidays. They seem to cause more dislocation that they do good :-)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, another rubbish night sleep, not a bad day aeather wise, got to finish drying the washing I'd done on Sun and got some bedding washed and dried. Fitted another piece of kit by myself this afternoon, the sat nav took me the longest possible way, then i hot lost! Took 3 goes to find it but went well. Noticed signs up for 20 weeks of roadworks on a busy stretch of road starting Mon! Went to shops after work, and then remembered i needed to go to chemist, an ex colleague who doesnt even live in my village walked in after me, she seemed pleased to see me but left as there was a queue

[Alicia]

Talked to the kids via zoom tonight - not as good as in person, but a LOT better than nothing.

Youngest daughter had a promotion interview yesterday - but says it can take them months to do anything, so isn't worried. I know nothing of the work world any more - don't even offer to read her resume, and that's a comfort.

Still struggling to get a decent amount of sleep every night, but realized I can take a 1-2 hour nap before regular sleep time or after eating breakfast, and it adds to the night's accumulation, so it's partly fixable. If I don't sleep reasonably well, any attempts at writing fail, so the naps keep me at least trying.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, slept a bit better but still woke up with a headache. Not a bad day at work, but got held up in traffic on the way home. Popped to Sainsbury's but no bargains.

[Carol]

Hello everyone. Overcast here in Devon but have enjoyed my daily walk to the coast.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, best sleep of the week, day started off well, managed to find some of my online training courses i need to complete that i knew enough about that i could listen while working! Day did go downhill from there, but might have resolved something from the frustrating meeting on Tue so feel much better about that. A few bargains to be had after work. Glad it's Friday, even though its been a short week.

[Jim]

Been a busy week with one thing and another. But it's definitely getting warmer :-)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, had a rubbish night sleep. Have been a bit half hearted with chores, took sis and kid's to company shop, we both did really well with bargains, then i wanted a couple of things from Aldi, so we popped there.

[Alicia]

There are several tall trees I can see from my fourth floor window. Each is on a small section of land, and has taken years to get to a decent size - if something happens to them, I will see no green, and it will take YEARS for new trees to get big enough to replace them.

I am happy to say they are all greening up - they've made it through another winter. One has reached the edge of the roof across the little courtyard - if they were all big enough I would have a decent view. I didn't realize, when we agreed to take this apartment, that it had such a bleak view - other apartments (none available when we needed it) have much more greenery outside their windows. But we were desperate, having spent months in a 1-BR, 1-BA apartment with NO view.

[Jim]

Greenery is important!

[Alicia]

I agree - my plan is for our balcony to be a miniature garden, with some bushes for backdrop, to hide some of the building on the other side.

I have some plants - but there is no way to get water out there, so it will have to be carried or rolled out, and I don't have the energy for a lot of plants, so it will be a scaled-down effort.

My kalanchoes are in thick, full bloom right now. Better than nothing!

[Carol]

Sunny here today; saw my scattered family on Skype- Connecticut was overcast and Belgium was sunny.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, slept through till 7, didn't want to get up then but needed loo. Felt ok, but have taken it easy and just done bits of chores, was nice enough to get washing pegged out. Went to shop for bargains then popped in new cafe, got an iced hazelnut latte and had a chat, not something I buy often, but seemed pricey.

Shame you couldn't get an apartment with a better view Alicia, but at least you are able to try and improve it

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, set off early as there were roadworks starting today to find they hadn't started so i whizzed through! Had a few urgent things to sort, everytime I thought I'd done, another one appeared! Then picked up some awkward stuff but feel like I got through a decent amount. Played word games at lunch with 2 people from other teams, one is going to have lunch at the same time as me on Fri to play! Was a lovely sunny day, didn't do that well at bargain hunting.

[Alicia]

Had the pleasure of one of my earlier assistants coming to Sunday brunch with her grad student husband, and showing her how big her plant had gotten!

The kids and the two of us had a great visit - always a bit bittersweet because they may be nowhere near us when they find their jobs and living place once he graduates - more likely in the LA basin than around here. I taught him to ride my Airwheel S8, and she took another spin, something they couldn't have done anywhere else.

And we talked - we could remember ourselves at about that age, before children, when getting our degrees and jobs was the most important thing - and now we're retired from all that (except for my writing) half a century later.

Somehow the right people don't make you feel old. (Except I was pretty wiped out for the rest of the day.)

[Jim]

still sounds like a good day, wiped out or not :-)

[Alicia]

Exactly - worth it. So many things aren't!

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, had to go to our other office today to help deliver training, luckily traffic wasn't too bad so i got there early. Was chatting to the woman whose normally based there, she was asking what i used to do, told me I'd picked it up quickly and should be proud of myself. Did some work first, then a little bit on the training course (and one of the people there was a temp i worked with when I was 18, she remembered me!) before coming back to the usual office, we'd had a delivery so got asked to get that on the way in, was the most awkward delivery, one was too wide to get through the doors, luckily someone was going to the floor above me so helped me! And was a gloriously hot day, car was 24 when i got in it. Had to drop car off as its being fixed tomorrow, then needed milk. Walked past new cafe and it was quiet, so popped my head in to say hi and got shown the plans for menu and sandwich boards.

Glad you had a good day Alicia, sounds the kind to be worth wiped out for

[Jim]

I love the way you are now an informal cafe inspector :-)

But it does say something about your community when that sort of 'drop in and just say hi' still happens

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, had my glaucoma test today, I'd gone on the train as wasn't sure i could drive, turns out it was a good thing, the roadworks caused gridlock this morning! Train was late, then no taxis at station, just caught a tram to centre, but no taxis there either, so had to walk up, was only 6 mins late, they didn't say anything though did accidentally forget to put my chart on the list, as I'm so polite, I waited an hour and till the room was nearly empty to ask (i had a book and something to eat and drink), went for my vision test, i got perfect in both eyes which she said is really rare! It was another clinic where there is no doctor, one person did scans and one did a visual field test, so just waiting for a letter. Was there for 2 hours, didnt have toi long to wait for tram/train to get back home. Got some nice feta and honey parcels from coop (pricey, but yummy, might need more!), then cafe owners were kn so popped in to say hi, had a nice chat, then got a mixed berry slushie. Just as she'd started making it, garage rang to say my car was ready, so came home, had food and drink, then walked up for car, it was the fan belt. It was 25 this pm, so did some washing up, but left the rest of the housework, sat outside with a fruity cider, finished my book and read 40% of a new book.

I have said to them Jim that they will still do well in a different location because of the kind of people they are, very friendly and welcoming, just after lockdown i went round at least once a week, they were nrver bothered by sales, just appreciated that people needed a change of scenery and someone else to talk to!

[Alicia]

You do get those steps in - and make it sound so pleasant.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, slept OK, another nice sunny day, WFH so got some washing out. Logged on, comp said my credentials weren't recognised so to lock and unlock, then my account was locked, so had to wait for IT to fix it, lost nearly an hour. Managed to get through a decent amount of work though. Had a wander to shops after work, cafe was busy so didn't pop head round to say hello. Tension rod in the kitchen had partly slipped down earlier, so pulled it down to stop it falling and breaking something, looks very odd in my kitchen

[Jim]

A tension rod?

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, didn't sleep too badly, cooler start to the day. Had to train two people today, dont think im that good a teacher but seemed to go OK. Played word games with girl from other team, then went to coffee shop, favourite barista was disappointed with me going for an amaretto latte, apparently that's boring, did tell her if she wanted she could make me something else! Got through a decent amount of work teady for my colleague being off for a week. Went to Lidl on way home, mainly for the cats.

Like a curtain rod Jim, for voiles

[Jim]

Thanks for that, makes sense now :-)

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. Weather was cooler and a lot cloudier, which was good as i needed to do some chores, but didn't do the whole house. Took soft plastic to coop, and on way home went to coffee shop, she persuaded me to try an iced matcha with cherry sauce and a shot of vanilla syrup, took away the grassy taste, they have other flavours so will be trying them. One of the things i did today was strip my bed, am looking forward to getting in a nice clean bed.

[Jim]

It's amazing the difference completely fresh sheets make :-)

[Carol]

Sunny here but cold. A lovely walk to the coast this morning and am now sitting in front of a blazing fire.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, woke up at 2am sore to realise I forgot to take my anti inflammatory before bed, so took it then and then didn't want to get up when my 6.30 alarm went off. Lucy was sleeping under the bed and didn't wake up in time to have her medication, good job its a bank hol so can do it tomorrow. Craft fair was very quiet, didn't make table fee but had a good time, won on tombola and treated myself to a jute bag and chutney, plus had lunch and a Bailey's iced latte. Went to shops after and got some bargains, including an individual trifle, mash and green beans for 98p!

[Alicia]

My brain worked for a while yesterday - got some writing done.

My brain didn't work today - didn't.

Otherwise, nothing much new, but had a long chat with one of my sisters in Mexico - and we're up to date again. The little stuff accumulates, and I haven't had the energy to call.

It would be boring, except that it's always good getting a few words into the WIP.

[Jim]

Carol wrote: "Sunny here but cold. A lovely walk to the coast this morning and am now sitting in front of a blazing fire."

It was cold at times. If you were in the wind and out of the sun, it was distinctly cold, but the other way round I wondered why I'd bothered putting a jacket on :-)

[Carol]

Sunny and cold here again today. A brisk walk to the coast to recharge my batteries for the day. Saw my family on Skype (now Teams) yesterday. Sunday treat!

[Rosemary (grooving with the Picts)]

Cold? Our wind chill took us down to 0 degrees on Sunday. Didn't last more than three hours at the harbour, only due to my new favourite purchase - a heated gilet. Not needed today though as the north wind was much less and the sun was out. It was really quite pleasant

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening, cooler today, did a bit of housework, went to coop for milk, cafe was busy so didn't pop in. Had a chilled afternoon, and was cold enough to feel like a bath to warm up, and tried something new with my nails, worked well and can do it with quite a few colours.

Glad you got some writing done and caught up with family Alicia. Ooh, that sounds chilly R, guessing that stops people coming?

[Rosemary (grooving with the Picts)]

Actually it was surprisingly busy! But there was a lot of chat about the weather...

[Jim]

Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "Actually it was surprisingly busy! But there was a lot of chat about the weather..."

I suspect that if it was fine, people would still be OK with having a day out. After all, we're used to wrapping up well, and at least it isn't raining :-)

[Alicia]

This part of California can get rather windy - today was one of those flag-snapping days.

[Carol]

Rosemary (grooving with the Picts) wrote: "Cold? Our wind chill took us down to 0 degrees on Sunday. Didn't last more than three hours at the harbour, only due to my new favourite purchase - a heated gilet. Not needed today though as the no..."
My husband is housebound so feels the cold and he also has a heated gilet which keeps him as snug as the proverbial bug in a rug!

[Carol]

Sunny but cold again. However we could do with some rain, the ground is bone-dry. Watered all my plants yesterday but am thinking of getting the hose out to water the bushes and trees. My garden is very small but it is enclosed by a tall hedge and has a large conifer at the bottom, two palm trees and a beech at the top, a cherry tree and a plum tree in the middle, plus 4 fatsia japonicas which have lovely leaves and are at the moment dropping black berries everywhere.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, roadworks caused chaos this morning, left warly and it took 55 mins to drive 3.6 miles! Had contemplated at one point turning round and getting the train but had errands on the way home. Colleague is off this week, but got through a decent amount of work. Did errands after work then sat in traffic for 40 mins, turns out there was an extra set of roadworks on the way home that weren't there this morning! Contemplating getting the train in the morning, it takes 6 mins, plus a couple of mins on the tram down to the centre, or a 10min ish walk. Downside is it'll cost £5.20, but get to leave my house later and read.

[Jim]

The utter chaos some roadworks can cause is beyond belief!

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, Lucy woke me up at 4.20 by walking in my room and screaming at me! Decided to go on the train, as i was walking to the station the road didn't look too bad, nearly turned round and got the car, but decided against it. Train was late and standing room only, then only had to wait 3 mins for a tram, so got to work in 20 mins snd got to read. Was training people again for a bit, then we had a peer group session on hoarding and self neglect which was quite deep! Had lunch with a few colleagues then a bitty afternoon. Did well coming home, got to the tram stop just as one was pulling in, then only had to wait 2 mins for a train, so that was a 19 min journey. A colleague who lives near me said traffic wasn't too bad today, so risking driving on Fri. Got to both shops on way home (coop is next to the station), our coop has been affected by the cyber attack, fridges were bare, but still some reductions!

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, rubbish night sleep. Got through a decent amount of work though had some annoying issues with Word crashing. Was cloudy most of the day but managed to get some washing dried on the line and a bit of housework. Went to shops after work, got a reduced sandwich, popped in cafe to say hello, but she'd just left for the day.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, thought I slept OK, but headachy today. Took 50 mins to drive to work and had to go a slightly different way to avoid one lot of roadworks. Got a decent amount of work done, got through a week of being short staffed OK. Went to Aldi for a few bits after work and car wanted petrol.

[Jim]

I must admit that we have had a couple of glorious days up here, even though we could do with rain

Not sure you're into fantasy but I picked up
The Amulet of Samarkand
Novel by Jonathan Stroud
The Amulet of Samarkand

Got it for 50p from a charity shop. Whilst technically 'young adult' I enjoyed it so much I went out and bought the others from Amazon

The Ring of Solomon / The Amulet of Samarkand / The Golems Eye / Ptolemys Gate

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Evening all, woke up about 4am, so then struggled to get up at my 6.30am alarm. Forgot to say yesterday, ended my day with someone from a different team telling me I'm amazing and how much they appreciate me, which was lovely. Had a craft fair today, we've been a couple of times, got put in a different room. Seemed to have a decent footfall and did OK, but a few stallholders said it was quiet. Treated myself to a necklace and 3 rings (I've had one ring from her before, couldn't decide which colours i preferred and we aren't there till Autumn so went for all of them!). Got a sandwich from there and they give a voucher for a free standard hot drink, i paid £1 to upgrade to a hot chocolate. Also bought another present for C. There were some cute dogs to stroke and also bought cheese and onion pie and cake. Popped to coop, then called in cafe for a chat, she was happy to chat. Have relaxed since getting home and finished reading my book.

[Alicia]

Spent the morning looking for a few bits of information our DIL asked for - and being aware how disorganized my backup files are.

If I hadn't been sick so long, would I have this degree of chaos? Or might I have been more organized, but with far more projects? Hard to even guess.

I know I would have traveled more, hiked more, maybe digitized more photos.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day in the States, and they have a special (but too early) dinner - and there isn't one thing on the menu I'd eat. The chef keeps trying to make things 'interesting' - I'd rather they were both plain and predictable. 'Interesting' things don't sit well in my gut - and I'm not going to eat things I KNOW won't work. The food here was great when we moved in - between the pandemic and several chef changes, it isn't any more.

Or I'm getting older and crankier.

Fortunately, there is always peanut butter and my own low-carb peach and apricot jam.

[Carol]

I prefer plain food as well, Alicia, and like to know what I am eating. Today I am cooking fish, rice, courgettes, red pepper and tomato. Then banana and ice cream for dessert.
Raining here so am pleased for the plants.

[Alicia]

Ice cream!