A Race Against Slow Time

Snippets from various blogs occasionally remind me of events! The year was December 31st 1968 and I was ensconced in hospital in Bermuda awaiting the birth of Son. Whilst in labour I was informed that the custom was that various shops shower the first baby of the year with gifts. Oh, I thought, I had better hang on!

However Son arrived just before midnight. About four hours later a woman from the US base stationed in Bermuda arrived with her newborn baby to share the room in the hospital. All hell broke loose in the morning - indeed - gifts were showered and stacked up on the other side of the room from me and Son.

My mum, back home in the UK, sent me flowers which were arranged nicely by my bed.

In the afternoon the Press arrived to take photos of the proud mother and her new year baby. The Photo Men arranged the room and then noticed that New Year Parents had no flowers - they whisked mine away to add to the artistic effect! I felt pretty low! I think I left that hospital fast and Son bellowed for days!

Greedy for Rain

This is my wireless self-tipping rain gauge that sits in the back garden recording all the rain we have been having this August. During heavy rain the digital display in the sitting room ticks over really fast and Husband and I have bets as to how much it will record in one episode of rain. I have kept notes on the weather for the past 30 years and the most rain received in a day was 78mm.

It is a good thing I do not have a sunshine recorder (expensive) - it would be out of work!

I Am Proud of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Team GB! Let us not forget all the coaches and back room boys that helped this team achieve so much success. I enjoyed watching the athletes from all over the world - winners and losers alike. However (tongue in cheek) it was nice to come higher than OZ in the medals table wasn't it!

Funky Fungi

I hope these are shrivelling up now that at last we have some sun!

Slinking By

The grass in the fields behind our garden has become too wet and muddy - the cows were taken down to fresh pasture nearer the farm. However this morning the field was briefly being occupied by a passing fox which I glimpsed from the bedroom window.

This pic was taken during one of our picnic outings - it was raining then too!

Lost in Devon!

I was reminded whilst commenting on Strawberry Anne 's blog about harrowing experience I had a couple of years ago. Husband was taking one of his usual walking trips, this time along the South West Coastal Path. We kept contact each day - Husband rang at 4pm to say he had arrived at that day's destination and was going to find a tea shop before making his way to the small hotel he was staying at for the night. We agreed not to make contact that evening.

Next morning some rather important mail arrived that needed a quick decision - at 8.30am I rang Husband's mobile - there was no reply. After several attempts I rang the hotel where he had stayed the night. The hotel staff said he had never arrived! Panic! After many attempts to reach Husband on mobile (which was switched off) finally at 11am I rang the police! They were really good and searched CCTV footage of the town to see if Husband had been in tea shop or any other area of the town - they could find nothing fitting the description of a white-haired bespectacled man with a rucksack and checked shirt. Knowing the route Husband was expected to take along cliff path the police and helicopter went off in search and could find nothing.

At about 2pm the telephone rang and Husband's cheery voice said "Hello". That was as far as he got - I screamed with rage and ranted on and on. It turned out that Husband could not access the hotel he was supposed to be staying in (doors locked) and because also he did not like the look of it, he moved to a different hotel for the night. Husband did not think of letting me know! In the morning, because the weather was very windy and the inevitable rain, he had plotted a different route away from the coastal path. I telephoned the police who found Husband and gave him a stiff word or two! Husband very shame faced came home early!!!

How Not To Use Tabasco Sauce!

Following on from a comment I posted on all things doggy on Liz's blog yesterday, I thought I would further enlighten the rest of the blogosphere. This is not for the faint hearted. You will be glad to hear therefore no photo.

Rescue Dog was a stray. Vet informed me that stray dogs have a habit of consuming dog poo because it still contains nutrients. Vet said to cure Rescue Dog's nasty habit liberally splash Tabasco Sauce over poo. So a controlled experiment began. Firstly, we do not keep Tabasco sauce in our store cupboard, I shopped around and found some Tabasco in a very pretty red and orange container with the words 'hot and fiery' - I thought just the job (for a job), sorry about the pun.

Rescue Dog duly obliged first thing in morning at end of garden with cows looking on (Rescue Dog gets embarrassed by this intrusion). Normally we keep the garden clean, but I creep outside and duly splash lots and lots of tabasco over the you know what. We keep an eye on Rescue Dog and discover that he absolutely loves Tabasco Sauce! Any suggestions?

Furry Friends

Rescue Dog has taken over the keyboard today. He proudly presents all his toys for you to see. Usually these rabbits and bears are spread around the house - if they are tidied into this basket they are soon carried around and dumped usually in a place to trip people up.

It is another horrible rainy day here and Rescue Dog is tucked up with said bears refusing to go outside.

Gates

I took this photo of different designs of field gates in the Models Tent at Kemble Steam Rally recently. At our previous house our entrance gate was the same design as the 'Gloucestershire'. At our present house we have a gate similar to the 'Bridle Path' gate leading from our back garden into the footpath that leads into the field behind where the cows are at the moment. See below!

Queen Wasp?

Husband is an anaphylactic and at this time of year carries an 'Epipen' around with him - perhaps I should correct myself - he should be carrying an Epipen but forgets. There is no wasp's nest in our house, garage or garden, but I am sure there is one somewhere. To keep the wasps' attention focused away from the house we have hung three of these traps at the end of our garden filled with sweet liquid. They like wine dregs the best! However it is my job, obviously, to look after these traps. Last evening they were completly full of wasps and when I was emptying them I had at least four wasps crawling over my hands. Tonight I shall wear gloves and empty the three traps into the road gutter rather than tramping over the field to the hedge avoiding cowpats.

Last night when I came to empty one of the traps a very very large wasp was hovering and eventually became caught. She must have been a young queen, hatched and ready to go. I think she was three times the size of the others. This photo was taken this morning just after I had poured in the liquid - by this evening I should think there will be over 200 dead wasps in that trap.

We Ate Breakfast Outside in the Sun

What was that? Yes, for a whole two hours we have had a glimpse of that strange orange ball in the sky. It is now 10.30am , the sun was very timid and has disappeared again. Husband and I took the opportunity to go for a walk. We are going away on holiday shortly and I need to get as strong as I can walking (with crutches) in readiness. Rescue Dog became bored with the whole process but I did keep ahead of a woman ambling along behind us on her horse and of course . . . . . . . . . . . using her mobile phone.

Still no proper email connection. I can now receive and reply to incoming emails, via Virgin website, and send emails if I look up my address book first on Outlook Express. I gather there is some major problem not just with Virgin.

Well done to Husband - he won a prize for 'the ball nearest the pin on a designated hole'. The four friends arrived home having played golf in a mixture of driving rain and a few sunny intervals. In the evening the 4 golf buddies and us wives went out for a meal which is always a very good laugh because we are such good friends.

Virgin Broadband Email On Strike

For about the third time in two weeks Virgin broadband email has gone down - have had no connection for nearly 24 hours. Richard Branson - look into this bad service please.

Home Alone on this Awful Day

This is the weather for ducks! Poor Husband is out in all this rain playing golf. He is 10 years older than the other three players and I think he would rather be inside keeping dry today. So I am home alone with Rescue Dog of course. Rescue Dog hates the rain and will have to be pushed outside for a pee soon. His eyebrows crinkle up, his ears and tail clamp down - he hurries outside but at the moment is put off by the cows that are curiously watching him from the other side of the fence. Rescue Dog is just a wimp!

Sunny Picture to Blank Out The Rain

This is actually one of Husband's pictures taken of hang gliders on the South Downs on one of his long distance walks. I thought it might cheer us all up in this really gloomy awful sunless rainy weather we are having.

I have kept weather records for over 30 years. Last year during the floods we clocked up 78mm of rain in 24 hours. I have a tipping bucket digital wireless rain gauge and wireless temperature sensors etc. I think over the 30 years the most dramatic change is in the overnight temperatures. I used to record -12C on occasions in the 1970's and 80's, now everyone gets excited if the overnight temperatures dip below -4C. We used to get 'freezing days' where the temperature never climbs above zero - not any more.

On Mondays I Have To Pretend . . . . . .

I am a housewife. I wash, shop and then the dreaded housework - what a bore - I hate it! Husband, being retired, comes to the supermarket and we reward ourselves with a cup of coffee and a yum yum. If you have not eaten a yum yum you are definitely missing out!

This afternoon Wonky Knees will be worn out so I shall sit and watch the Olympics. If you have read my profile you will have noticed I am an armchair sports fanatic - I like watching the sailing and cycling road races - they are like a game of chess. I was thinking to myself - if I could be in the Olympics which sport would I choose. I think I would be in a team rather than an individual because if success came your way - what a buzz you would get with your team mates. So I think I would like to be in the Badminton Doubles, Table Tennis, or sailing perhaps. One sport I would definitely not choose would be to be a gymnast - they look underfed and under a lot of pressure from their coaches.
Ah well - no more excuses - I must get on with the cleaning - what a horrible thought.

Supatrike Has Fun - You Can See Me Coming!

I bought this spinner type flag at the Steam Rally - it serves two purposes. Motorists coming up behind me are now well aware that Supatrike is on the loose and also it is a bit of fun!

Can't See The Wood for the Trees

Monthly Pub Quiz last night - how did we do? First of all we changed our name to 'Not Very Bright' - we lived up to our name. Just as we thought we were doing rather well Quizmaster seemed to change the rules when reading out the answers! The section on Artists - our team did brilliantly - each question right, except, . . . . . . . Quizmaster required the first names - eg. Vincent Van Gogh - well really! We lost five points in that round. Huge (very good natured) rebellion from around the pub - Quizmaster is extremely funny and can hold his own to any amount of argy bargy. Well done to our neighbours 'Barking Mad' who claimed top prize. 'Not So Bright' came a tarnished equal third. A good time was had by all.

Cupboard Love

Is there anything in our kitchen cupboard you fancy? Husband's favourite is Mrs Ball's Chutney, Waitrose sell it. He discovered this delicious peach chutney many many years ago when living in South Africa where he was working on his first job - packing televisions. My favourite is Red Currant jelly - we will eat this with almost anything! Jamie will be relieved that we will be keeping a large stock of this during his stay with us - I think on his blog he is bemoaning the fact that Chivers Red Currant Jelly is not appreciated by the majority of Australians!

Mr Grumpy or Mr Whippy - Take Your Pick!

Brother-in-Law is actually a very jovial fellow - he was larking around whilst we were eating our picnic at the weekend - so he got his just deserts, or in this case desserts?

They Get Bigger Every Day

This harvester thingy trundled through our village - what a whopper!

I think I would rather see less machines and more people being employed on the land - but heyho, I am just old-fashioned.

Steaming

The Daimler takes it's place at Kemble - it's first outing since being restored by Brother-in-Law.
Sister-in-Law is fully trained with the chamois leather!
I would love to have had a ride astride one of these hot beasts and discovered it's engine!
These men I don't think would have approved!
I risked being mown down from behind when taking this photo of this steam engine as it passed our house on it's way to Kemble.

We had a lovely day - the sun shone after all - Sister-in-Law and myself have really windburnt faces and both feel on fire at the moment.

Wet Wet Wet

No, No, No - not the Band - the weather!

Daimler Classic Car, In-Laws, Picnic have roared off to Kemble Steam Rally - they have to be there before 10am. We will make a leisurely entrance after taking Rescue Dog for a walk as he will stay behind.

I hope to stagger around on my crutches (Supatrike too big and heavy to get into back of car) and take some pics of some big steaming beasts.

Getting Down To It?

View from kitchen window - man lowering the drain -finished job - packed up van completely - moved 10 yards and repeated process on next drain cover. Why not lower the two drains at once? They waited 30 minutes in van for concrete to set on the first drain before laying tarmac . They could have started on second drain instead of sitting in van! The job took all day. Problem though - big big steam engine came chuffing along heading for Kemble Steam Rally - Drain Men had to evacuate their work site in a hurry and whilst that was happening a big big tractor came clattering along from other direction. Tractor Driver was using mobile phone and not looking where he was going - mayhem - Drain Men took cover as tractor ploughed through 'men at work'. Argument broke out - Steam Engine chuffed by with a happy toot toot.