Come and tell us your dull and unexciting news 35: Calmly through the day

[Mumtobabyhavoc]

Previous:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/chat/5361906-come-and-tell-us-your-dull-and-unexciting-news-34-calmly-through-the-day?page=1

A quiet and friendly corner of MN to share the very dull day to day happenings of our lives. No criticisms, political discussions or controversies here - unless it is along the lines of "scone" v "scahn" and jam or cream first. Then it's gloves off! 😁

How did this start? I have found v.2, but not the original:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/chat/4006800-Come-and-tell-me-your-dull-and-unexciting-news-THE-SEQUEL?page=1

Math, I'm not sure I've heard squirrels talk, let alone argue, before.

We did go out for the sunset last night. I wanted to go out to Burnaby mountain, but it was too late by the time dinner was done and I figured there wouldn't be any parking. I wanted to go to a high point, though, so we went to a Burnaby neighbourhood with a nice view.

So much catching up to do !!

I took mam to the theater the other night .
I was dreading it as it was one of our hottest days and I know the theater has no AC .

But ...it was surprisingly ok !
We had a lovely evening and booking up for our next visit.

@MrsSPenguinz, good for your DH. We found adjusting to retirement quite easy, overall. I think for my DH the hardest part was switching from a saving/investing mentality to being at peace with starting to spend down what we have.

Math, I've heard squirrels in our garden argue with each other, particularly when they were trying to get into the bird feeder. They've given up on that, thankfully.

Lovely sunset picture, Havoc.

The heat wave in the UK and Europe has been in the news here. We keep alternating between unseasonably hot and unseasonably cool here in New York.

The HVAC technician came back on Thursday and pressure tested the outside unit. It is indeed leaking refrigerant from the coil, so it's effectively dead now. Getting a new unit will cost less than replacing the coil on the old one, so DH has started the process with the HVAC company. They'll give us a price on Monday and said that they should be able to receive and install it by the end of this coming week. Luckily for us, there's no hot weather in the forecast until Thursday. Thank goodness this didn't happen in July or August.

The birds are out in force, and as usual, we have many woodpeckers in the area. Lots of rosebuds are starting to open up in the front garden, along with more peonies. And my romaine lettuce is almost ready to harvest. I think the tomatoes in the round pots are going to do well this summer.

Good morning!!!! 🤗

Love the squirrel squabble @mathanxiety We have a couple of squirrels but they are quite friendly. We also have 2 pigeons who have regular fights with their wings on our thatched roof whacking each other.

Lovely to have birds @MissConductUS

Love your breakfast @Mumtobabyhavoc

Glad you had a nice evening @bizzey

DH and I have just done 4 hours gardening, got lawn mowed, silkies house cleaned and leaves etc clear from almost all the garden.

It was cute the silkies went behind the garden shed and were singing and the neighbours ducks were quacking back taking it in turns.

I’m loving the nature photos @MissConductUS@MrsSPenguinzand the food photos @Mumtobabyhavoc
Humming birds sound so exotic @mathanxiety! I believe they can fly backwards? Is that correct?
@MyrtleLion I think that getting a diagnosis is half the battle sometimes for anything.
@bizzeysounds like a lovely evening. I am not very organised but enjoy a theatre trip x just never get round to organising it.
Thanks to @UmanresourcesI am just finishing another French crime drama series.
Had church Chinese auction last week and successfully bid on a set of ceramic lidded dishes. Made millionaires shortbread and lemon drizzle cake for the interval.
Exploring a few new walks in the good weather and some old favourites. Loving the baby birds at this time of year although photo not very good!

Loving tbe recent posts Math, MrsP, Bizzey, S&P and Miss!!

I'm trying to nap -not working, is it? - after very little sleep and an early morning at Havoc's activity. Baby is asleep beside me. Havoc is watching a movie on Prime. My mum is sitting with Havoc. I've just installed an update on my phone and I've looked at a couple of threads (the one with the dsd now seeking legal advice because her ddad doesn't have a big enough share in the house he bought with his wife. Parts 1&2) Oh, dear. 🤦‍♀️

Penguinz, your garden must be in great shape at this point. And well done that you and your DH are in a position to retire now.

Sprouts, that's a fabulous heron picture. We have the same herons here in NY.

Havoc, I saw those threads. Quite the family drama. I wonder it there will be a part three.

Our HVAC contractor just rang. They can install the replacement unit first thing on Thursday, thank goodness. We won't need it tomorrow, but it is supposed to get hot on Thursday.

Our favorite pick-your-own fruit farm opened last week, so DH and I drove up there this morning, picked three quarts of strawberries, and bought some of their lovely cinnamon sugar donuts. It's nice being able to go in the middle of the week when it's less crowded. I had some sliced strawberries with Greek yogurt for lunch, and a donut. The strawberries are so tender and flavorful compared to the ones you get at the supermarket. It's about a 40-minute drive to the farm, but a lovely journey through the mountains. It's a lovely day here, sunny and cool, without a cloud in the sky.

I saw this tiny frog on the deck railing yesterday.

Fun few days for me !

My land line phone has not been working.
No dial tone or able to ring in, but the base and hand set were lit up and charged.

. Disclaimer to follow !

Contacted my supplier (BT) and they arranged for an engineer.

Engineer was yesterday.
He didn't need access to the property.

He tried yesterday and again today to fix the fault.

Then came to my house and changed the socket box that the leads go into the house.

Ta daaaa !

I now have a land line working !!

And I won't be charged as they did find 'something ' wrong on the line externally, but didn't know what .
He spoke to his manager.
Then he came to my house.

(If problem is external , call outs are not charged.)

The big disclaimer *.......( Probably wrong wording!!😂😂)

I had actually knocked my phone and base off the table while putting the phone back on it to charge ! 🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️.

I thought I may have broke the phone .
Now I am wondering if I just dislodged the wall socket ...

Or ..👻👻...was it all just a coincidence that a few hours after I knocked the phone ..it didn't work !
😁😁😂.

Anyhow ...I am now back in the land of landline phones again .

I know most people don't use them , but I really missed it .

I had to make some phone calls that entailed long wait times.
Normally, I would use the land line on loud speaker ....and just scroll and play word games on my phone. 😁!

So I had to go , ..cold turkey and make phone calls and be in a queue on hold ....while on my mobile 😮😲🫨🥺.
But I survived 😂.

Ohh ..and I ordered some new pillows from a website I have not used before.
They arrived ..they were so big I thought I might need a duvet cover for them instead of pillow cases 😂.

I ordered some king size pillow cases ..

(I literally did not know king size pillows were a thing ...even though I have a king size bed !!)

And ...I am converted !

So comfortable for in bed ..reading /scrolling t'net / tv ..anything !

Think I know what everyone is getting this Christmas 🎄 🎁 ! 😂

Miss, I bought local strawberries today as well 😋
Bizzey that might've been a coincidence. 🤔

I'm pretty tired ... had dc up to the Cleveland Dam for a look around and a hike (2 hrs). We went fir (salmon) fish and chips after. It was about an hour to drive home. 🥱 Got kids into swim kit snd went to spray park for about 90 mins. Ran into a couple of school mums which was nice. Got kids home, bathed, pj's and watching Sound of Music now while waiting for pasta. Bed very soon.

A few pics from our past few days. Saturday night was Richmond Night Market, Sunday was Playland (we just watched the roller coaster, kids are way too small for it), yesterday was Cleveland Dam and a forest walk.

The market has a great selection of food stalls, a bit of a club vibe with the music, carnival games, a new zipline and a variety of things to buy from false nails to coloured contacts to toys to jewelry; the dam is a gorgeous park with beautiful hiking trails, provides something like a billion litres of our water and is just up the road from the Cap Suspension Bridge; and Playland is our local carnival with rides and games that opens end of May and goes until Labour Day.

Today we went to a playground, did another forest walk and the kids had fun playing by a creek throwing rocks into it. Forecast is showing rain is on its way. Yesterday it was 27c and just too hot. Today it was cooler, cloudy and humid.

This week is passing quickly, it seems to me.

The hummingbirds are now a daily sight, guzzling sugar water from the feeder.

I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom around 7 on Monday morning, when DD appeared in the doorway looking glum and disheveled, clearly wishing she wasn't awake. Apparently, she had been woken by a scratching sound coming from the direction of her window. She spotted a squirrel biting chunks out of the window screen. He disappeared when he saw her.

I took a photo to send to the LL in hopes of getting the screen replaced, then painted splashes of Tabasco all over the screen to deter any more attention from squirrels. I can't imagine what this squirrel was thinking, but that is true for all squirrels, I suppose - there's a reason for the phrase 'going squirrely'. Anyway, he hasn't been back and the screen looks weird and probably doesn't taste very good.

DD made amaretto cookies this evening and I ate five. They were excellent.

Math, just watch for the squirrel to re-appear with a bag of tortilla chips and some guac. 😁

I love amaretti! Please send some my way. 👌

kids have been asleep here since 7:45pm. 🤗
I should take advantage and get off MN. 🙄

@MissConductUSthe frog is so amazing! Strawberries look lovely.
@Mumtobabyhavocwhay a busy day! The roller coaster looks exciting, I do love a rollercoaster, shame you couldn’t partake.
@bizzeyDH ordered new pillows but I prefer the old ones…..
@mathanxietylove the wildlife story - sorry the squirrel woke DD!
very busy work week, Five 10 hour days…..
Much washing to do and DS has brought much washing home from uni…..

I love them, too! 🤗
Have been on it many times.

Had a really lovely evening with Havoc at the beach, just the two of us, then still warm from the oven bagels from Siegel's on the way home. It was quite chilly at 16c after the very warm weather we've had and I was a bit surprised to see about a dozen swimmers, obviously training, out doing laps around the buoys.

Havoc, lovely picture of the ocean. Does Havoc swim or just splash around? Our town pool opens tomorrow, and it's supposed to be hot, so we might go for an hour or two. We bought passes to use it a month or so ago. I went up to the attic this morning and found our beach chairs.

Sprouts, I rather miss doing DS's laundry. He has a washing machine and tumble dryer in his flat, so he does it all himself now.

Our new AC condenser was installed yesterday, thank goodness. It's 34 C here today. It took them about four hours to do and they got started at 8:30 AM. Our old uni wasn't especially loud, but this one is even quieter, which is nice. It's also bigger. One of the technicians told us that the larger coil makes it more energy efficient.

New York is absolutely sports-mad right now. The first World Cup game here is next Thursday. And NYC's professional basketball team, The Knicks (short for Knickerbockers) is in the national finals for the first time since 1999. The city is going bananas about it. Our favorite local pizza place is closed because the owner flew to Texas to see two of the games there. DS is pretty jazzed about it as well. He has plans for the weekend, so it will just be DH and I at home.

DD has found a landscape contractor to clear out her back garden. It's a big project. She's going to wait on doing flower beds and plantings until the fall.

The birds are abundant, and I have lots of roses open in the front garden.

Go Knicks!!
The birds are cacophanous here all day, beginning around 4am. My app identified an owl in the evening after the songbirds all day.

What an amazing photo, havoc. I am not a fan of roller coasters though.

The sourdough starter burst out of its jar overnight, leaving quite a mess on the counter and the outside of the jar. I suppose it shows it's alive and kicking. I decanted half of what remained in the jar to a clean one and fed it. It's too hot to bake today, plus theres a good deal of sitting around waiting for the dough to develop, but DD will start on the mixing tonight and bake tomorrow.

We are contemplating heading off to see the movie 'Pressure' this afternoon in honour of the day that's in it.

No ocean swimming yet, Miss. Havoc isn't strong enough yet, but it was too cool the other night anyway.
Math, I was pretty impressed by the roller coaster video, too. I wonder if a Go Pro was used/worn as I doubt hands would be steady enough and you'd need to hold on with at least one hand. By memory, you lift a bit going over the top and are tossed a bit on the corners.

It has been raining on and off today. Had Havoc to activity early this morning then home for pancakes. Feeling quite lazy, but should get the dc out and burn off some energy.

Myrtle, heard anything about the job? How's the ankle?
Uman, doing okay? Healing?

Unfortunately I didn’t get the job, which was very disappointing. I’ve realised when an application process is easy and then stops being easy, particularly when they exceed their own deadlines, it usually means I haven’t got further.

I have applied for another role nearby and I have a job coach.

Im not sure if I mentioned the results of my ankle MRI. I have a torn FHL tendon 50% because it’s rubbing against a bone spur. This means I can’t walk properly on my big toe. My outer tendon has also split vertically which is causing pain as well.

This is offset by the orthotics I wear, but I have to wear them inside and out and on hot days, along with compression socks.

I’m waiting for my orthopaedic surgeon to see me again. I think it will need another operation because I’ll need a stick in the next 5-10 years otherwise.

How frustrating on both the job and the ankle front @MyrtleLion!
@MissConductUSglad you've got the air con sorted. I would love it in our house although we only really need it for about 3 weeks a year. We have a portable unit for DS’s attic room as it gets unbearably hot to sleep in. Is it all through your house or individual units?
I love to hear the birds @mathanxiety- I have an app on my phone to identify them.
The sea is always evocative @Mumtobabyhavoc - we live pretty close now but as a child I grew up as far as it is possible to be from the sea in the UK so I really appreciate it now.
Relaxing now after a very busy work week - done all the laundry that has built up. I was concerned there was a washing machine leak earlier in the week but had no time to address it. Thankfully it has not been repeated so hopefully was a one off!

Oh, no Myrtle! You've been suffering with it for so long now. And m, sorry about the job. How frustrating. 💐

S&P, I love being able to get to the beach fairly easily. I know I couldn't live away from the coast.

I think I mentioned it before; I have a patch of slow-growing skin cancer on my hip. My GP prescribed a month of a skin cream to use at night, which I've just finished. I now have to go a month without using it, to see if it clears. It has shrunk, but we need to see if it disappears completely. If not, I may need to be referred to the hospital dermatology clinic.

There's cream for that?