mid week

and yet again we have been back to the quacks... OH received a phonecall asking him to come in to have a chat and BP check. So, we did our usual shopping, I left him at the surgery and went home put good away.
A short while later, I drove back to the surgery, parked up, got out a puzzle book and pen to pass the time.
Half an hour later OH joined me, none too happy with having been in 'there'. Now there's an acknowledged 'white coat syndrome' aka white coat hypertension... Both OH n I are prone to it...i.e. BP rises when in a white-coat environment.

If anything's guaranteed to raise BP it's this... Look at what neighbour was up to earlier!!!

Toms

Today's the day for gardening in the greenhouse.

 The tomato plants are in and on even has come into flower!

There was sunshine today...

so the mesembryanthemums opened their flowers (Livingstone daisies).

well it's Monday and

there's another Fun Monday topic...but...
It's many, many, many years since I watched the TV series Perry Mason and I've no idea I've never heard of Denny Crane.
That was option one set by Roger
Option two mason or crane, would I prefer to be a bricky or crane driver?
Neither!
However, tweaking the topic slightly, I know someone who as they say 'eats, drinks and lives cranes'.
So much so that if you are in his company you soon realise how involved he is. On a recent trip to Dublin we admired the various cranes dominating the skyline and bemoaned their inactivity.
They were certainly an impressive site.

Bricky? A most definite No! No! Why? It's a skill I wouldn't even attempt, as it's much more difficult than it appears. We built an extension a few years ago so I saw bricklaying done at firsthand.

imagine...

if you will the heady perfume of roses filling the air...
Both gardens are a delight with roses in bloom. Ramblers/climbers three in all wend their way along the side of the garage. Mrs blackbird has favoured us by nesting there.
Today and yesterday squabbling starlings arrived. I missed them yesterday but saw them today. They had discovered the mealworms (dried) and were vying with one another. There were four fledgelings adding their raucous calls to the din.

Now black clouds are overhead amd the wind is up. OH has left the greenhouse door ajar so robins can flit in and out. He had to take down the feeder that held the mealworms otherwise the starlings will guzzle them leaving nothing for the robins and blackbirds.

muddling thro'

Hayfever season is in full swing and today there's bright sunshine... At least MJM got together for coffee this afternoon. Lots of laughter and banter to do us all a world of good.
On a more serious note, just because someone can answer thw phone does not make them sighted. One of the Ms dislikes it so much when menus tell you to press such and such a button. Then there are call centre staff who even when told the person they are talking to is blind; carry on blithly as tho' talking to a sighted person. Okay, I'm a lot more aware now I've got to know M. But, the other M dislikes it when told someone will fax, email or text her because... well that's a no brainer.

mizzle

word made by putting together 'mist' and 'drizzle'. Locally, in Cornwall it's referred to as the 'Fret' which is such a good descriptive word for those weather conditions.
The air is still, cold and damp. Land's End airport cancels all flights, so too do BI helicopters. The Isles of Scilly loses all air transport links with the mainland.

What has set me musing?
News reports this morning from Land's End. Visibility restricted by mizzle and people standing and getting soaked whilst every so often the plaintive note of Longships lighthouse could be heard.

Then OH laughed at the presenter in the studio and I couldn't believe my ears cos the presenter talked about hearing bells in the background!!!

Another reason not to be in Cornwall now; especially as the days when the Fret is in can turn into weeks on end. More precisely, there have been times when it has stayed in for months...

A muppet Fun Monday

Roger
from a screed in time asks about Muppet characters... 
We're talking Muppets! Yes Muppets, those lovable furry creatures from Jim Henson's imagination, so what I'm looking for is which Muppet character is your favorite and why

Rowlf is one of my faves, but then I love canine companions. He's always cheerful and happy-go-lucky.
But with Muppets it's impossible to have only one 'like'.
 
Fozzie bear is another cutie...
I can see a theme here! Both characters are animations of some of my favourite animals.

Statler and Waldorf the two grumpy, funny curmugeons are my fave Muppet people.

stunned but in a good way

In a moment of 'madness' you might, like me have signed up to a site making connections with folk you might have known.
Sometimes connections are made and friendships renewed. Often the whole thing is a flop so you ignore it.
Recently I had an email saying there was a message, but I didn't recognise the name. Eventually curiousity got the better of me...

Stunned, I needed to read the email several times before it made sense.

Then memories of long ago came flooding...
Sunday afternoon walks across town to have tea with friends of my father. A vague memory that they had two children much older than me. The daughter trained as a teacher and her college uniform was purple and white.

Many years later, I too went to that college, but by now the purple and white was no longer a uniform but optional sweatshirt and scarf. It was no longer girls only, but co-ed.
So, who's the mysterious email correpondent? The grandson of the couple I had Sunday afternoon teas with so long ago!!!

let there be

blogging...
Until something you take for granted becomes inaccessible, you don't really miss it.
How I've missed being able to access the postings from my online friends!

We're still having sunshine and showers as tho' May is trying to be April 'with its showers sweet'.

This cooler weather is good for the roses, still mostly yellows with a few reds.
One of the Ms has a Blue Moon rose, and her front garden is becoming the rose garden again as more blooms appear.

gloomy

weather, more like April than May. Also, no sign of M after her visit to the hospital yesterday. I'm hoping for a phonecall from either M with an update.

It's been a long, anxious wait, but M's been on the phone. Yet more blood tests have been ordered, but at least her insurers have agreed to cover them and the next appointment. I know we have the NHS but quite a few people are now semi-private. NHS for most things, but private for others.

OH has promised to cut a few more scented roses to give to M tomorrow. I prefer my flowers in the garden, but with M's loss of sight it's good to let her have some roses to perfume her house.

mixed

That's what today's been - sunshine, showers, blustery winds, thunder and lightning.
There are more and more roses (flowers and buds).
Chatting with the M's over coffee this afternoon I found they've really been struck by the gardening 'bug'. In one garden there's some 20 different fruit and veg being grown. The other has a greenhouse 'stuffed' with seedlings and a well-stocked veg garden.

after the rain

showers have passed and we're back to sunshine; so there was an opportunity to do 'some of what seems like a 'mountain' of washing.
OH got busy next door with his chainsaw cutting wood for H next door.
Being a Sunday, there was no sign of one of the 'M's as this is her day for taking what she calls her horse tablets; which knock her for six.
I took advantage of the opportunity to shop online; nothing exciting, just food for the dogs and some sunflower seed hearts to put in the bird feeders.
Next week i.e. tomorrow sees the start of a data collection task for my OU course. Bird watching and noting down how many if 10 specific species you see.
Fine, but I do wish they'd update their course. Starlings are in decline, so too are greenfinches and of course house sparrows. Strike 3 off the list.
At least I know we have robins and blackbirds. But, all it'll take is a visit from our local sparrowhawks...and...go figure!

365

miles each way; plus all the getting sorted means I'm feeling tired today.
It's turned cooler and we have rain so no need to water the garden. More roses are opening daily. Have you noticed the yellows always seem to appear first, just like crocus.
One of the Ms has been busily organising her greenhouse...with growbags ready to take the tomato plants when they are big enough.
On the way home we picked up a copy of the local newspaper in the SW. It seems that whereas we've had lovely sunny weather throughout April and into May; the far SW has had rain and flooding!
So much for them having 'better' weather than us.

Another brief announcement made me re-read it with astonishment. I hadn't realised that scrapping aircraft carriers would impact on amyone I knew. The brief announcement had a photo so I recognised the person by their picture.
When we knew him he was an armaments artificer. I'd forgotten he'd been onboard an aircraft carrier. It must be 3-4 years since he'd conversed with OH in the local 'watering hole'. Now his picture's in the local weekly paper...why? He's attained a degree with the OU...BA(Hons) in....Health & social care management.
As the saying goes 'what a turn up for the books'.

for a few days

no blog posts!!!
Easy answer...I left all laptops et al at home whilst we went south and then south-west to the end of Cornwall, but not 'Land's End'.
One day to travel 365 miles (including a massive traffic jam because of a lorry fire.)
One day going to see someone who agreed to buy the caravan. Returning to the site to clear out, throw out and finally clean the caravan.
Lots of 'essentials' that had built up in the caravan were stowed in the tourer (car).

Several times we revisited and walked over the Carn with the dogs. But the weather was cold and the windy almost stormy.

Today, we finished emptying and cleaning; the guy collected the van and we began the journey home.

I've always disliked going on any journeys on a Friday and this one gave me ample reasons to dislike Fridays even more. A journey that usually takes  6 hours, lasted 7 1/2 hours!

At one point all northbound and southbound carriageways ground to a halt. Vehicle engines were switched off and some people even gathered along the centre reservation for a chat.
Emergency vehicles police, ambulance, paramedic, traffic agancy screamed along the hard shoulder. A single vehicle had an accident without involving others, but the car was a right-off.

Continuing North along the M5/M6 we became accustomed to overhead signs stating; queuing ahead, traffic congestion, delays and optimistic signs giving speeds of 50 mph.

I must say I am very glad to be home; especially as the roses are coming into bloom...

Fun Monday - recession bites

The lovely Sayre takes up the Fun Monday baton and says

'Let's us discuss what kind of plans we have for the summer season. With the economy, and gas prices being what they are, will you be traveling during the summer months or staying close to home?'

Good timing Sayre, as soon we need to sell the caravan we bought this time last year.

Sadly, Cornwall has become too far to travel, 365 miles each way and with fuel 140 per litre which is about £7 per gallon!!! Go figure! Still, we've had many years of holidaying in the far south-west of England and lots of memories (some happy and some sad).

OH with his practical head on worked out the pros and cons and I agree.

• 365 miles is too far to drive in a single journey
• folk we knew for many years and who were very good friends can now be found in the local churchyard not the pub. We lost the last of that group of friends in the past couple of years.
• We often listen to travel reports on the radio. There are now too many accident hotspots on the route we travel.
• Fuel prices rise and rise making the cost of living also rise.
• We have the two Ms and it's good to spend more time with them.
• Holidaying at Kerbstone Edge has more appeal.
• We have our memories and many, many photos. Too many places in the SW have become spoiled over the years. I prefer the SW I knew and loved.

Perhaps I'm setting into old age!!!

prozaic normality?

We have bright sunshine and blustery winds with an edge to them.
Today's Google-Doodle shows Victorian times, Crystal Palace and has included a magnifier to show details.
News here, continues to be dominated by Friday's events. Now the focus is on background 'insights' and faux pas. Such as a famous footballer wearing his 'gong' but in completely the wrong position and shock/horror showing neck tattoos.
Official photographs have been released and the photographer interviewed. Delightful snippets revealed, such as asides caught by lip-readers.
I gave in and bought a couple of newspapers, read what various columnists had to say and an interview with the royal photographer.