The Cybergarden - Late Summer Edition

[madmouse]

Sorry been unfaithful, lots going on. But making myself useful - here's your new thread x

Hope your day with DB goes well today, shodatin - and that you get nice enough weather to be in the garden.

Thanks for this morning's , (and reminder for this p.m.)...
Had a good day thankyou, parking on sea -front, shopping etc. then large roast lunch from freezer eaten in sheltered back garden and DB returned to station in good time for best train connections. Just need to write enclosing stuff I forgot to hand over and spend about three days tidying kitchen, but it was worthwhile.
Hope everyone else is having a good day and able to enjoy weather.

I do mean discharge from the day hospital - I think it has been helpful, but I'm better than I was so don't need to be there.

Good luck with the kitchen, shodatin - are you going to have some 'you' time first?

TIANC and hob and madmouse and kizzie , I hope you all had a nice autumn day.

Thanks for details of discharge upward. I wonder if there's a specified time suggested for various patients at the day-hospital? Because of the financial cuts, I doubt they're going to suggest people spend longer there than necessary, and can only imagine that they expect some further improvement for
longer attendance. It's a shame if you feel you don't want to continue, and I wonder if you've had a proper discussion about the benefits?

What an excellent idea - having some Me-time! I think I'd better dispose of the dirty dishes first, but many thanks for the suggestion, I'll do it. It has indeed been a lovely autumn day, and am hoping for something similar tomorrow.

Most people seem to stay for 2 weeks, I've seen people go when they don't feel they are ready. I think I've been going 4 weeks + now. I will discuss it with them, I'd just like an eta. ;)

I hope everyone has a peaceful night.

Thank you for the , shodatin . Have a camomile or lemon balm

Many , many apologies for absence but been recovering from virus & had lots scheduled , so been heeding good advice here & trying to pace myself , with lots of sleep . Your shocking 'flu sounded the type that takes a couple of months to fully get over , shodatin , so I hope you'll gradually feel as before as we go into autumn .

Sorry not being discharged is making you feel stresseds upward . I can't help feeling the crisis team hospital would be neglectng you by not providing fairly comprehensive support atm but communication is obviously key and I'm so glad you're feeling better than before .shodatin's suggestions of specifics to discuss with a professional are spot on as ever .
Wondering also whether you 've you felt up to chatting much with other people attending ? Would be good to be able to talk to others who understand the pros and cons & can commiserate .

Sorry to hear your horrible shock kizzie & hope your inspiring attitude wins out , & you 'll lok back & see this as a positive turning point .< optimistic vibes >

shodatin , very sorry you had such a worrying day yesterday and glad you managed all the extra work so you & DB could share a sheltered meal and companianable day < wishes kitchen tidy for shodatin > Been an astonishingly beautiful autumn day here , too . Very good news that your shed arrangement held steady through the recent high winds .

Her Felinity was delighted by your adoration Tianc , and I fear finds mine very mundane now . Hope you've had some lovely sunshine , and a chance to sit in the garden at some point .

Refreshing sleep to all and .... please double check everything is switched off at the the socket , as my Mum would say ...( doesn't really work like that with modern appliances , does it ? I must find out ) Sorry , I must be overtired to be fretting about safety ...

I do hope you're feeling better hob, and it was wise not to push yourself by adding posting to chores which were already enough. It's surprising how long it takes for a proper recovery, but I'm hoping that flu now means no flu arriving in the winter.

How odd that you should mention turning off appliances - DB checked all my tvs today, and I was surprised to find that two were still plugged in and switched on, ie untouched since 17th when digitalised. I must have assumed that tv men would have unplugged them before leaving, but at least all is safe here now.

Wishing you a peaceful sleep, and everyone else of course. Upward, it probably seems like a month since you started with the day-centre, but it doesn't seem as long to me! Hope you're able to have a constructive conversation regarding discharge, meanwhile sleep well, sweet dreams.

Thank you, Upward, beautiful autumn morning here, and did indeed get a tiny bit done in the garden (thanks hob thinking of that). I do love the sight of a whites wash in the sunshine! Hope you've been able to enjoy the weather too. Have the leaves started to turn yet chez vous?

shodatin what a lovely day with your brother - apart from all the washing up, of course. Although I can imagine it's very tiring for you both, it must be such a positive in his life to have you, and have these days out.

hob very glad you're pacing yourself and also getting lots of sleep. I do hope by the end of this week you'll start feel you've seen this wretched virus off and "caught up with yourself".

And thank you, all switched off here! It's our bedtime routine for energy-saving as well as safety, after a little plug-in meter revealed just how much power some devices were drawing while "off" - inkjet printer and old Sky box were the biggest culprits.

I think I shall power myself down for the night as well.

Hope everyone has a good, restful night, and sleeps through till morn. Night night.

Morning all - >produces tray of assorted <
Thanks to Tianc for mentioning large amount consumed by printer - can anyone help please, because I was told not to touch mine, on or off, after such a hassle installing Epson which was supposedly wireless and is now actually cabled by expensive expert.

Told the same for laptop plugs actually, having sabotaged the system inadvertently - no-one trusts me to do even simple stuff without help - but am now worried about using huge amounts doing nothing on printer - is it really safe to use the "off" button please?

Even more thanks due to hob and Tianc for offers of help with chaotic kitchen; really appreciated as will start as soon as kicks in.

OK, have now dug out figures from my household (bearing in mind light bulbs used to be 100W, 60W and 40W, and are now approx 20W, 14W and 7W).

LCD flatscreen TV
standby: 12 W
on: 49 ? 65 W depending if I'd used energy-saving setting in menus

laptop
(sorry, no figure for "sleep" mode - but DP says vv low)
in use: 21 ? 59 W depending what it was doing - starting up and charging both heavy use

HP inkjet printer
on at wall but printer's little blue light off: 14W
printer's little blue light on, but not doing anything: 21 ? 24W
printer scanning or faxing: 24 ? 26W

bathroom extractor fan
in use: 16W

fridge
I'm can't find published figures but fridges/freezers are power-hungry. When we were investigating solar for some of my African family, having a fridge was going to double the number of solar panels needed. So it took the same as old-fashioned lighting, small TV and computer put together.

The conclusion I came to is, if it's easy to switch off printer and TV, etc at wall, do so. But the savings are less than from switching from old to energy-saving bulbs, or from replacing an elderly fridge with an energy-efficient one (if you can afford it, of course).
__

DP has just added, newer printers are much more efficient, and you should be able to look up your model's power consumption (google "Epsom" and the model number, there should be a data sheet). If you have any probs, tell me the model number and DP will try.

Ah well, no discharge date yet (seems to require liaison with CMHT), but they agreed today that I am much better now. :)

hob , I hope you're feeling better today.

I have an Energysmart monitor from British Gas, part of my new tarriff - it does show changes in use when the fridge freezer switches itself on and off (frost free)...but otherwise is just a gimmick - being only me, the numbers hardly ever go up.

...and just to be unhealthy on Friday evening, Green & Blacks miniatures - 85 kcal each! ;)

Thankyou tianc for the information about electricity consumption, and I will risk turning off printer's light. It's aged two, like laptop.

Had no idea about refrigerators, but mine is only under-worktop and about a year old, and when I had to renew the freezer and 20year-old washing-machine recently, electricity consumption dropped markedly. Had not noticed the difference with low-energy bulbs, but started using them a long time ago and replaced old ones gradually, being a greenie a long time ago, when it was considered eccentric to economise on energy.

Kitchen's now back to normal, only took me one morning, and my other problem seems to be being sorted by someone else with different agenda, who has offered to phone me if necessary, which is very helpful. Sorry to rabbit on about it, but been rather stressed recently.

DB doesn't feel grateful, I don't think, but has a couple of people encouraging him to see me! His home is too far for me to drive these days, and he says he's happy to visit if I pay trainfare, which I don't mind at present (keep forgetting though, being absent-minded).
Hope everyone's had a good day; as I did once kitchen was cleared.

at juxtaposition of smart-meter and chocolate energy. Maybe it could be hacked to record food energies... I'm sure there were Qs I wanted to ask about those meters ? but of course can't remember!

Such good news that you're Officially so much improved! Sorry the not-knowing about dates is so unsettling.

< cheers chocalate power > That's such cheering news, upward , and hope you enjoy your weekend with a lighter heart

Glad your difficulty is being attended to by someone new shodatin after stressful week & hope you have a lovely relaxing weekend

Fabulous & fascinating figures here Tianc , very helpful to me - as is your experience upward of the Energysmart meter

Still catching up but just want to wish a peceful ( & surprisingly summery ) night to all , kizzie and mamdmouse and NanaNina who 's a long - time supporter of upward but too modest to post often , & butterpie

Am no longer ill at all , thank you so much , but coming to the end of a week of very long unscheduled naps plus a few slightly unusual tasks & have missed posting . Her Felinity has been ecstatic at the warmth today < HF nuzzles ankles of all thread people >

Loving the image of HF baaaaaasking in the sun, hob. Not a winter cat, then? Thank heavens you're shot of that nasty bug, and hope you have a lovely weekend coming up.

shodatin, well done on churning through all that clearing up. And really pleased you may have a solution to your hasslesome problem. You're not rabbiting on at all, I'm so sorry you've had all this stress.

How interesting that you really did notice the power consumption drop with a new fridge. You're prompting me to read my meters this weekend - I have a lovely spreadsheet, but am very slack about filling it in.

I can't speak for your DB, but I was often pleased to have done stuff once it was over, even tho I couldn't properly enjoy it at the time because everything was such damn hard work. But at least being out in the sunshine or going somewhere left memories and a feeling of having marked the passage of time, rather than let it all merge and slip away. So I suppose I hope your DB is getting something like that out of his visits. Plus he gets to see his DSis, of course!

Hope we all have good weekends, and thank you hob for that feat of remembering everyone who visits the garden!

Sleep well all.

Thank you for your very comforting post. Tianc, and yes, thanks to hob for remembering all the visitors to the garden.
Beautiful weather here means I hope to get outside for some tidying, and was wondering if we need to do anything to improve the cybergarden at this season? Or should we think about having an Autumn/Harvest Festival get-together?
The Eringeum plants (blue thistles) are about ready to pot on/post to friends, so if anyone (other than Tianc who is on the list) would like 2/3, just PM me with an address some time this month. Plenty of Pak Choi seedlings spare too!

Beautifully put Tianc about how an event is only partially experienced by the being there at the time , but is replayed / assimilated as part of our mind's landscape , giving a sense of expanssion & hope . Agree that exhaustion or depression mean x or y little visit often feels like going through the motions but will be really worthwhile in the long run .

You are so lovely to offer to send us Eringeum and even pak choi seedlings shodatin but I would be greedy to ask for them as have Eringeum too , thank you so much . Hope madmouse and kizzie see your offer as they might well be keen.

Hope upward has a plan for the weekend or can go for a little walk in clement weather .

oooooooh yes please to an autumnal cyber get - together, shodatin - brilliant idea ! We must pool ideas ... A work friend of dh's told him about this festival & it's caught our imaagination , especially as involves cakes & pretty lanterns .
( Do you remember shodatin you told us about the rabbit you once saw , watching in awe as the moon rose , then doing acrobatics in excitement ? like the Chinese moon - gazing rabbit )-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival#The_Hare_or_The_Jade_Rabbit

I'm sure we all like to see peaceful old churches draped with bunches of grapes & sheaves of wheat < soothed > and we could have stalls raising awareness of the world's resources & their fairest distribution < prim >

In winter Tianc , HF continues her routine of patrolling / staking out her territory with grim determination ,often sitting out at dusk , watching woodmice gambolling ... We were once videoing her when snow unexpectedly began to fall & now have a slow - motion style record of her disgust as she faced the third winter in a row of having to pad through deep snow < Order of Feline Merit >
Putting on thinking cap this week for autum mprovements to cybergarden , thank you shodatin

I got a couple of nice rainbow trout fillets from the farmers' market, very changeable weather there and back though.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Making changes in the cybergarden for autumn is a good idea. :)

I've been trying to get my nose to the grindstone and do some academic work. I'm very, very very very very very rusty

How's everyone else? Rainy here, so I think I'm bringing a tent to the cybergarden, or some more permanent shelter

There's a summerhouse with a stove in the cybergarden - but I haven't seen anyone in there for ages.

Wow, really impressed at getting the academic work out again. Can imagine it taking a while to get up to speed...

Mm, trout sounds yum. Any special plans for it? Saturday night roast chicken here - DP's a smashing cook!

Lovely quiet day here, hope everyone else's has been good.

Wish I'd seen HF in the snow hob, one never knows how an animal will react to it, particularly one of the sun-lovers. I do remember the rabbit's fascination with the moon, but can't remember how it ended, just my own surprise when I got to where it had been standing and viewed the magnificent moon. Never been able to make out a rabbit-in-the-moon though.

I'm glad you got to the Farmers' Market today upward, despite dodgy weather, and hope you enjoy the rainbow trout. ( Fillets are an excellent idea, remembering when I bought a whole trout from a French supermarket, realised it needed cleaning and couldn't manage it without way too much wine... I think I actually had a sandwich for dinner, after feeling a bit unwell.) Am so pleased you're feeling ready to resume some academic work; shows what a long way you've progressed in recovery. May I ask , what is your subject?
Tianc's right about the summerhouse, and we did use it in the winter with the stove going and stars twinkling overhead (and endless s).

< crying with laughter at Tianc's spider evicting and shodatin's tipsy fish cleaning >

Glad you got something tasty at the Farmers' Market upward and delighted you ' re looking at your academic work ... hope the rustiness isn't too dispiriting as it will surely take weeks to regain concentration as the meds probably make you feel rather foggy...am so pleased you've felt able to try < in awe >

How lovely to have a "proper" Saturday Tianc , with a skillfully cooked meal together .

Unexpectedly busy day here so will have to wish everyone a provisional goodnight for now

< HF prances delicately in the snow for shodatin, leaving pawprints >

< looks pleased with herself and hops up next to shodatin for fuss and treats >

That's a lovely image, hob, puss-in-the-snow, and thankyou.
You're probably right about upward's concentration, at least in the beginning, but it's a great leap forward to be interested again, as I remember.

Hope you're not too tired with the unplanned activities, and manage an early night, and goodnights for everyone else, including the dancing diva.

at dancing diva . Feeling better this morning, thank you , shodatin < and I hope your energy levels are higher than of late .

Have nice little outing planned , though a bit concerned as MIL is back in hospital so hope it's OK to roam about a bit - but it's good for dh to distract himself & it's the last chance to do it before his work gets intense again .

Sorry not to be doing justice to thread , but will be unable to post till tomorrow night so hope we all have a good day tomorrow , particularly upward - how did you serve your rainbow trout , I wonder ?
Hope we all have a lovely Sunday

The summerhouse sounds perfect. I did the trout with lemon juice and mixed pepper in the microwave, which was nice.

I hope your outing goes well, hob , and that your MIL is ok.

I think everyone's right about concentration, just a little frustrating ;) I'm in medicine, shodatin (but I'm not a doctor).

Thanks for evicting the spiders, TIANC

I hope everyone has good days.