Swagger Inn 180 - Spring is here and we witter on...

[SisterHelenoftheEternalCatchUp]

New thread open for reports on local wildlife, the weather, gardening and domestic chores. Plus the never ending hunt for HBFs who stubbornly fail to materialise.
<wipes the bar down>
<re-covers the chaise>
<stocks up the cheeseboard>
<pours the drinks...>

Afternoon. Rain here too, but it’s brightened up now. Last night was good except that we went to the restaurant where you have to go miles out of your way because of a collapsed bridge which still hasn’t been repaired after nearly a year. Of course we got lost again because of no diversion signs, and satnav only takes you back. DH knew we’d gone wrong but wouldn’t go back as he wanted to see where it came out. It came out the other side of the bridge, so we had to go round again. So stressful.

Oops at MiniHelen. When we were teenagers we had no way of communicating if plans went wrong. DH had a home phone but we didn’t, so the only way we could get in touch was for him to bike it round to our house, about 3 miles away from his. It got a bit better when he passed his test and got his first car. Shortly after we started going out together he went away on an Outward Bound for three weeks. (I blame that for all the climbing and dangerous stuff he still does now.) We could only write to each other and amazingly the letters always arrived the next day. I still have his letters, he doesn’t have mine.

Chilling with Hedvig sounds lovely WW.

Have a good evening all.

Evening
On my way home - have been to see Pressure at the cinema with DD (Andrew Scott plays the main character - one for Madame). Also had Damien Lewis (one for me 😁), lots of WWII uniforms, DDay story and Brendan Fraser playing Eisenhower. We both enjoyed it a lot. Although I remain disproportionately annoyed by the loud sound of crickets during an outdoor nighttime scene - in Hampshire FFS.

So true about being vodka cocktail twins letus and both being Team A.

Has miniHelen been forgivenHelen?

Aw at MrA cycling over to you apricot does it make up for not keeping the letters? I remember writing to friends and family when I was at university - must be so alien to our DC! I still have some letters from my mum and my grandmother, so glad I have something to keep.

Fingers crossed for your house searching ww, you know we love a bit of Scandi house viewing on here! So pleased Hedvig is settling in.

Evening wenches.

It did clear up and we had lovely weather this afternoon. I sat outside reading for a while, even had to put a hat on at one point.

Did you reorganise the chicken space Helen?

Awww at MrA cycling all those miles to see you Apricot. And very romantic of you to keep the letters. I’ve still got some from my younger sister when she was at university, and then when she was in London. Can’t believe they’ve still not fixed that bridge. I remember you mentioning it when it first went.

Yy to Swedish house viewing please!

I fancy seeing Pressure. I remember hearing the story on one the various podcasts I listened to about D Day when it was the anniversary.

Evening. Domestic chores/adulting has been done. I thought of a potential work-round for the chicken job, which is much less disruptive, but may not work. Washing got mostly dry on the line.

DH is busy on the phone telling his parents how he's joined a gym because the physio said to. Never mind that I'd been telling him to join one for at least a year. I swear it's like that thing where your children don't listen to you and you have to get someone else to suggest things to them before they'll agree it's a good idea. FML.

DS is off taking GF home, all was forgiven. Our lives are full of cultural references that completely pass both of them by - we were describing phoning home from Uni yesterday - the queue for the payphone, then your parents calling you back immediately to save you shoving all your money in the phone. And the letters as mentioned above. I can't remember the last time I wrote a letter. It's all emails now.

'Pressure' trailers have been popping up on FB for ages - it's on the list of things I'd like to see and probably won't.

I remember Apricot talking about that bridge before - what a pain! Though I'm also a bit of a 'well let's see where this road ends up then'. Last time I came across a 'road closed' sign I just carried on. It was a sunday and it didn't say where it was closed.... Half the width was closed a couple of miles down the line, so the road wasn't closed at all.

Morning wenches.

Just waiting for works approval from the chickens Helen? 😁 <side eyes> at MrHelen and his “gosh that’s a good piece of advice - I’ll do that”.

Speaking of roads being closed, the one from last week is allegedly open again according to maps. We shall see.

Trying to mentally prepare for work fuckery, although at least NC’s back this week.

Have lovely days wenches.

Morning all. I seem to have misplaced my motivation - let me know if it turns up anywhere? <sigh>

Hurrah for NC being back LetUs, and fingers crossed for traffic.

Afternoon. Showers this morning, hokey cokey with the washing, but lovely later. I sat outside with sudokus.

DH is not romantic. He never proposed. All our friends were getting married and I said "Well are we getting married then?" and he said "If you like". See what I mean. He's a good husband and father though and that's what matters.

Re the bridge. Apparently it's made national news with Gavin (MP) making videos on social media standing looking at the great hole in the road and promising he's 'working tirelessly' to get it done but seemingly failing. The Canal Trust, Severn Trent and the Council are arguing about whose responsibility it is and are in a stalemate. It's terrible for the locals as there are three restaurants, a school and various businesses who are affected and having to make an eight-mile detour to get round it.

Hope everyone's had a good day and good luck to Chonk for tomorrow.

Evening wenches l

I’m not suggesting MrA should go to the bridge with various tools and materials under cover of darkness with Apricot holding the torch, but I’m also not suggesting he shouldn’t do that….

MrApricot has similar levels of romanticism to DH and one of my BILs 😁

Road is definitely open again, traffic was still shit but pfft nothing to do about that.

LOL at MrA fixing the bridge on his way past Does he have any meccano?

Have chuntered through work today and mooched along the road for some exercise.

The internet is being very sticky this evening, very tedious. Also, my latest 4x4 sudoku went wrong. FFS. I'm troughing chocolate...

Everything crossed for Chonk tomorrow...

Hope everything goes well for Chonk today ❤

Morning wenches.

We’ve gone from me sitting out in t shirt and jeans on Sunday afternoon to it throwing it down and being mad windy this morning.

I could send GreatNiece along to help MrA with the bridge. Apparently she likes to fix things.

Everything crossed for Chonk.

Have lovely days wenches.

Afternoon. Nice day with the odd shower. I sat outside again earlier until it went a bit chilly.

Lol at DH and LetUsGreatNiece mending the bridge with meccano.

It’s DGS’s birthday today so we’re going round later for tea and cake.

Have a good evening all.

Evening all. The problem with a lie-in (inadvertant or otherwise) is that then you end up running late and chasing your tail...

Nothing exciting happening today, DS has chauffeured me for a supermarket shop, just to get more driving time. DH has Pointless on.

No rain, and washing is on the line trying to get mostly dry before I bring it I for the evening.

Fingers crossed for Chonk having a successful op and smooth recovery.

Evening wenches.

Work can fuck ALL the way off.

Hurrah for birthday tea and cake!

Reading your post Helen has reminded me I’ve put a wash on. Rookie error putting it on at this time.

We’ve had wind, rain, sun on repeat all day.

Hope Chonk’s okay.

Morning wenches.

Awful night’s sleep when I finally did get to sleep. Ah well, short work day.

Have great days wenches.

<cwtch> for Letus and a big bin to stick work in. (And some distraction<tae> to help you get through the day - ignore any that have fallen out of favour)

I can't go to work today because Spot has just barrelled in and launched onto my lap, purring her tiny brain off. She will probably stay here all day so I can't move...

Outside is sunny and cool.
(Spot has stopped purring and her tail is twitching, I may have to go to work after all.)

Afternoon. Quite a nice day, but I didn't have any washing to do. I had a bad night too and went back to sleep after DH went to golf but had a horrible dream which I couldn't get out of so it didn't do me any good.

Aww at Spot keeping Helen from going to work.

Hope LetUs had a better day and Chonk is alright.

Evening wenches.

Fallen out of favour lol 😁

Perfectly reasonable to not be able to work because of cat-related reasons Helen.

Seems bad dreams and rubbish sleep were doing the rounds last night <cwtch> Apricot.

Pfft to work. I’ve started a jigsaw as I’m trying to give my shoulders a break from knitting and crochet. Then I’ve come downstairs and have done some knitting and crochet 🤦🏻‍♀️

Evening
The op didn't go quite as planned - turns out it wasn't a hernia and the breathing issues may resolve in time or may be permanent, the next few weeks will be key. Some additional bladder issues were discovered, those have been treated and hopefully those are on the mend. He is now home and asleep on my lap. Poor chap isn't really much of a chonk at the moment, but he thanks you for all your good wishes.

That sounds ridiculous about the bridge apricot , feel so sorry for the businesses affected, that sort of thing can finish them off😞

What's the jigsaw letus?

And are you still stuck under a kitten Helen

Evening all. I am sporadically stuck under various kittens and IdiotKitty, as the mood takes them. Also, bloody Sudoku. I think I'm going to rub out the entire thing and start again at this rate. FMAL.

Poor Chonk, should we rename him Skonk (SkinnyChonk)? Everything crossed for a full recovery. Hopefully Floof gives him peace and quiet to recover as well.

Work was more spreadsheet trauma - I've actually put a meeting in the diary for next week called 'Spreadsheet Hell'

Morning wenches.

Poor Chonk. He’s properly going through it isn’t he? He’ll be getting loads of very gentle cuddles and treats to help his recovery <squidge> for both Chonk and Fancy.

I think I’ll stick to sudoku on a screen, although they are just the standard ones. 😁 At diary entry.

Jigsaw is Edward Gorey’s book covers. I had to break jigsaw law by starting the inside (the bits next to the edges only - I’m not that rebellious) because the side edges were a pain in the backside.

Have super days wenches.

Morning all. at breaking jigsaw law Sometimes you just have to.

It's a bit gloomy outside and cool, but not cold. Slightly bonkers dreams last night but not interesting enough to bother typing out!

In kitten news, someone (probably me) left out the pouch of Sheba which IdiotKitty gets a few flakes of on top of his cheaper food (it engages 'eating mode', and then he troughs the cheaper stuff without complaint). Kittens found the pouch overnight, and demolished it - the pouch was chewed and shredded in places 😆

Afternoon. Quite a nice day, but I haven't been outside. I don't know where the days go to. I've got so many projects on the go and I must concentrate on getting them finished. How I ever did a job I don't know.

So sorry about poor Chonk, hope he recovers soon.

That's annoying about the sudoku, when I go wrong I just scribble through it and start another. DH spends ages going back to find his mistake, I haven't got the patience.

at jigsaw law.

Breaking jigsaw law? 😱 I have had to do that once - jigsaw was a tube map, so the outside pieces were all white.
I haven't tried doing a jigsaw since I got Chonk and Floof, just assumed it would be as successful as with FancyCat (would sprawl all over the puzzle) and ScaredyCat (would chew and play with the pieces). The only good bit of my inter-cat period was re-visiting my favourite puzzle - a 3,000 piece old map of the world. It's puzzling perfection for map nerds like me and DC 😁

The Cat Formerly Known as Chonk has had a quiet day once he came back from his post op check up. He's eaten well and wobbled around a bit, sunbathed briefly and is now snoozing on my lap.

Evening all. I've worked and faffed about online. DS is out at work. I have absolutely nothing of interest to say Oh - I did fix and finish the sudoku though. And I'm away for a mini-meet over the weekend at Chateau Elk, so I need to think about what I need to take (like the book that I borrowed last time I was there!)

Gentle squidge for CFKAC....