Athena Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 I hope you find the chicken's home Gaia, though I'm sure she will be made welcome at yours if not? My friend is a chicken fanatic and occasionally brings home a stray or an ex battery hen and they seem to be accepted fairly quickly. The work on our house is almost done, I have the decorator here today so the dogs and I are camped in the dining room; it was used as a kitchen and dumping ground whilst all the work was being done so my job for today is to sort it all out, I love sorting and tidying so it isn't too much of a hardship! The work was supposed to take around 8 weeks and we are now on week 14 so we are not particularly impressed but we are very happy with the end result so it will become a distant memory soon enough, a bit like childbirth I expect ! In other news I think I may well have just got myself a job, eek!! I haven't properly worked since before Charlie was born 17+ years ago so it will be very strange, and I need to make sure the dogs will be sorted and the kids will cope coming home to an empty house, feeding the dogs and cracking on with homework and dinner - it will either be the making of them or it will be a disaster!! It will only be three days in the week and maybe 1 weekend a month but we wll have to cope as I can't stay home much longer without going mad! I hope everyone else is well, happy and safe, I'll try and catch up a bit around the board today. I haven't had time to read an awful amount so not much to do there! Of course she'll be welcome . Wow, the renovations is taking a lot longer than was expected. I'm glad you like the end result at least. I never get those construction people, here, a lot of the time that my parents have had work done on the house, it took longer than they said it would. I don't understand why they can't give better estimates. After years of doing the work and being consistently wrong, you think they'd catch up. I feel for you, I find it really difficult when there are construction people about the house. I hope they finish your renovations soon - and at least it's going to look really great. Congratulations on the job ! I hope you enjoy it . I was all set to take the doggie on a nice little walk before the rains hit but as I was lacing up my ankle brace I looked up and saw the rain. Whelp, that's that. Reading, studying and surfing the net are on my agenda. UPDATE I was able to get in about two miles! The rain stopped and I decided to take advantage of the calm, so now we are back inside cozy and dry. She'll lazy about, sleeping and snoring when she's not guarding the front door from flying leaves and brazen squirrels. It's nice you were able to have your walk . Chairlift, congrats on the job. Autocorrect !!! Haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 I got back from Prague about 9pm last night and it was brilliant. I rented a lovely little apartment near the main bus station which was convenient for pretty much everything. Prague has a great Metro system, but I didn't use it apart from to get to and from the airport, as it is a very walkable city, great for exploring on foot. I probably averaged about 5 to 6 miles a day, although on my busiest day I walked about 10. I am used to that, so for me it wasn't a problem. It is such a beautiful city though - the architecture and the sense of history are amazing. I didn't make it to Terezin in the end, but saw all the main sites in the city - The Castle, The Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge and of course the Jewish Museum, with everything in between. I also of course went to my first opera (Rigoletto), which was brilliant. The State Opera building is being renovated at the moment, so they are using one of the smaller theatres nearer where I was staying, which made it in some ways better. Sadly Czech food seems to be predominantly meat, and unlike Poland, there do not seem to veggie adaptations to this. There are some great vegan cafeteria style eateries though which are inexpensive. I treated myself to a few more expensive meals as well in some of the better restaurants. The beer was great too - I tried both of the gluten free ones that are available. The Czechs have a reputation for not being that friendly, but I didn't find this at all - all the ones that I encountered were very friendly and helpful. It is though a very commercial city. The Chinese and Germans in particular seemed to be everywhere. For this reason and the fact that it is a little more expensive, I probably preferred Krakow, although I am glad I went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lau_Lou Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 That sounds amazing! Glad you had a great time I loved Poland too! One of the most beautiful and friendliest places I have ever been too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 My town has been flooded and it looks really, really bad. The wind is pretty fierce in the capitol also. So far we have power but many in the area have been without since the early am. Nothing to do today but wait it out. Between this hurricane and the latest Trump scandal (2005 audio leaked of him admitting to sexual assault and grabbing women by the "p**y, l lie to you not) it feels strangely like Armageddon. Even so, I fear Trump more than this Cat 4 hurricane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 My town has been flooded and it looks really, really bad. The wind is pretty fierce in the capitol also. So far we have power but many in the area have been without since the early am. Nothing to do today but wait it out. Between this hurricane and the latest Trump scandal (2005 audio leaked of him admitting to sexual assault and grabbing women by the "p**y, l lie to you not) it feels strangely like Armageddon. Even so, I fear Trump more than this Cat 4 hurricane. Glad you still have electricity at least. How`s the doggie coping ? Flooding is awful - it`s freezing cold and dirty, then takes aaages to sort out. It looks awful on the News. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 We got her out when the wind let up. She's a happy and relieved critter. Our offer had been out for about 40 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 We got her out when the wind let up. She's a happy and relieved critter. Our offer had been out for about 40 minutes. I`m guessing offer is autocorrect for power. Autocorrect has me in its sights too. Good it was fixed so fast . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Lots of news all round. Chaliepud, congrats on the job and glad the work is nearly done on the house Virginia, thinking of you and everyone affected by the storm. Watched a CG video earlier (I think Abby shared it, on Facebook) of the typical damage done to a house by each of the 5 categories of storm. Even 2 and 3 look scary, whatever about 4. Talisman, glad you enjoyed your trip to Prague - that's high on the list for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 Talisman- I'm glad you had a good time in Prague, I liked what I saw of Krakow too. I've been following your work situation, so I'm glad you got to relax and have a good time Chaliepud- How exciting! It's good to see you around! Virginia- I was thinking of you during the coverage yesterday morning when it was hitting Florida. I'm glad you're ok! I can't believe some of the reporters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 I got back from Prague about 9pm last night and it was brilliant. [...], although I am glad I went. I'm glad you liked your time in Prague . It's true that Prague is not cheap (at the time I was there though, it was definitely cheaper than some other places in Europe I've been to). I also spent a bit of time in the country side of the Czech Republic during my trip there, and everything was really cheap there. The countryside is poor and the city is a lot richer. I couldn't believe some of the prices when we went out for dinner in the country side (not all of them speak English there, though). I'm glad you liked the architecture in Prague. I've never been in Krakow. Good luck going back to work! My town has been flooded and it looks really, really bad. The wind is pretty fierce in the capitol also. So far we have power but many in the area have been without since the early am. Nothing to do today but wait it out. Between this hurricane and the latest Trump scandal (2005 audio leaked of him admitting to sexual assault and grabbing women by the "p**y, l lie to you not) it feels strangely like Armageddon. Even so, I fear Trump more than this Cat 4 hurricane. I'm so sorry to hear about the flooding . I hope things get better soon! I heard about the Trump scandal.. I find it a terrifying thought this man is even considered for being President. We got her out when the wind let up. She's a happy and relieved critter. Our offer had been out for about 40 minutes. I'm glad she is okay . In the past few days I've been to the library (where I loaned some nice books), to the charity shop (where I bought a few books) and to the local market (where I bought vegetables, dog treats, cheese). I'm also planning on phoning (with) my sister today. She has a new job, after some months of searching. I hope it's going okay so far, she started last Monday. My uncle and grandfather are doing okay after their surgeries, under the circumstances. I phoned with my aunt a few days ago, she said my uncle still sleeps a lot but gladly painkillers help, the pain is not so bad. I hope he'll feel better soon. My grandma's teeth / gums were hurting but I think it's healing up now (she had to have a tooth taken out a few days ago). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I do hope you are ok Virginia. I haven't been following the news at all while I was away so I didn't even know there had been a hurricane. Yes Prague can be expensive if you are the sort that wants to eat out for breakfast, lunch and dinner and do guided tours of everything - that though is not me. I would much rather explore at my own pace, learning and experiencing things for myself. I don't see a need either to eat out three times a day - I had an apartment and so being gluten free took the basics with me - cereal for breakfast, and some bread for a quick sandwich in the evening. I had lunch out each day, which ranged from 144 to 320 Czech Crowns (anywhere between £4.50 and £11). I budgeted £150 for spending money and stuck to that pretty well, including £20 worth of duty frees at the airport, which wasn't bad. I am sure though that if you wanted to you could spend a lot more. As for work - yes, it will be interesting when I go back tomorrow. My colleague returned to work while I was away. He has no doubt been quite seriously ill, but if I know him he will be milking it for all he can and complaining about all the changes that the new Manager brought in during his absence. My Manager in the meantime is now on his own holidays for 2 weeks. I will then have to clean his areas I expect. That isn't a problem though as I used to do this anyway. I expect there will be a meeting with the Department Manager at some point to fill me in on what happened at the meeting that took place upon my colleagues return. HR may want to see me as well re the grievance that my new Manager lodged against my colleague (he was spreading nasty rumours about him and at point refused to even talk to him at all).. It will be nice to see the clients again though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 I also like to explore things for myself, I never go on guided tours in buses or anything like that (besides, I don't like being with all these other people). I have no idea how the Czech Crown is doing nowadays vs. when I went there many years ago. I hope things go okay at your work . I had a nice phone call with my sister, she's got a new job and she's liking it so far (for the most part). My brother is doing allright on his world trip, he is currently in California and is making his way through the U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Our toilet has been leaking all night and we have a chip pan to catch the water! Started at 11.30 last night and we had no idea where it was coming from as it still leaked after we turned the water off. Now waiting for our plumber to get a part and hope that fixes it, haven't had much sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirley Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Oh Madeleine hope you have fixed the toilet, it is very worrying when you don't know where the leak is coming from. We were supposed to go away for a few days towards the end of this week, but got hubby to cancel it as I am feeling so tired. Think I did too much sorting out in the garage over the weekend and don't feel I have rested enough to go away. We always do a lot of walking and just the thought of it was making me even worse. If I am going to stay in doors I might as well stay at home. What a hard life I lead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 Hopefully all fixed now, although I'll be paranoid for a while every time I hear water dripping! Took advantage of the unexpected day off and planted some spring bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted October 10, 2016 Share Posted October 10, 2016 I also like to explore things for myself, I never go on guided tours in buses or anything like that (besides, I don't like being with all these other people). I have no idea how the Czech Crown is doing nowadays vs. when I went there many years ago. I hope things go okay at your work . I had a nice phone call with my sister, she's got a new job and she's liking it so far (for the most part). My brother is doing allright on his world trip, he is currently in California and is making his way through the U.S. I am not a fan of any kind of guided tours. I don't do package holidays either - except for the more expensive long haul destinations such as when I was a lot younger, China and Egypt. I think you do probably need guides for that kind of thing. As for the Czech Crown - during the short time that I was there it went from about 32 to £1 down to about 29. I am glad your sister is enjoying her new job and your brother is also enjoying himself. Work for me wasn't too bad. As expected my colleague has been complaining about our Manager already - I was hoping his illness may have changed him a bit, but it doesn't seem to have done. I am just trying to stay out if his way though really and worry about my own workload. It's all you can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 11, 2016 Author Share Posted October 11, 2016 Hopefully all fixed now, although I'll be paranoid for a while every time I hear water dripping! Took advantage of the unexpected day off and planted some spring bulbs. I hope the toilet's all fixed! We were supposed to go away for a few days towards the end of this week, but got hubby to cancel it as I am feeling so tired. Think I did too much sorting out in the garage over the weekend and don't feel I have rested enough to go away. We always do a lot of walking and just the thought of it was making me even worse. If I am going to stay in doors I might as well stay at home. What a hard life I lead I hope you feel less tired soon . I am glad your sister is enjoying her new job and your brother is also enjoying himself. Work for me wasn't too bad. As expected my colleague has been complaining about our Manager already - I was hoping his illness may have changed him a bit, but it doesn't seem to have done. I am just trying to stay out if his way though really and worry about my own workload. It's all you can do. Thanks . Good luck with work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anisia Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 I can't believe we're almost halfway through October Really busy at work and with studying, though I'm slowly getting back in a routine. So far October hasn't been too eventful thankfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 Not much going on here, everyone is in recovery mode. My mother in law went back home yesterday. She loved being here but I find that elderly people really, REALLY only want to be in their own space, lol! She has no electricity at all and trees are down but she's content. We're not worried though because her other children are there. She'll be safe. Stubborn old girl that she is! It was so nice having her here. She's never been a bother, always considerate and just very laid back. I got her a few things to make her more comfortable and made sure I got things she needed for her diabetic meals and her favorite coffee with hazelnut creamer. She was a happy camper. Beaufort, Hilton Head, Fripp Island, Charleston and all those sea islands were hit really hard. I don't know how long it will take for things to get some semblance of normalcy. Schools are closed because of no electricity and the high schools are being used as shelters for a few more days. The governor only just lifted the ban on residents re-entry into town and onto the islands. I'm in the process of studying for my biology lab AND biology lecture exam and working on my thesis for my philosophy class. Time to buckle down and push through this last month of class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Virginia, glad that it`s all over now and you can all work on getting things back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Thanks pixie! It'll be slow and painful recovery but I am so thankful that my family made it through with minimum damage. So, I've been listening to Rick Steves Europe and have made up my mind that I want to take a once in a lifetime month long trip to Britain. I want to visit Scotland, Ireland and England and I want to spend a month doing it. I don't expect that I'll be able or have the desire to do something like this BUT once so I want to make the most of it. Time frame will be a few years from now, possibly 3 or 4 years, by then we will be completely debt free. I now need to figure out a starting point. Any ideas? Studying, dog walking, reading, dream catching are on my list of things to do today as I am on fall break till next Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 I can't believe we're almost halfway through October Really busy at work and with studying, though I'm slowly getting back in a routine. So far October hasn't been too eventful thankfully. It's going quite fast, isn't it? Good luck with work and your studying. . Virginia, I'm glad things were okay with your mother-in-law. Good luck with your studying . I hope you enjoy your fall break . Things are going well here. I find it hard to believe it's already half way through October. My birthday is in a week and a half! I've got some nice things coming up. Aside from my actual birthday-day (Oct 25th) (small celebration with Michael and my parents) and the day I celebrate my birthday with the rest of my family (Nov 6th), there's also a book fair coming up. My brother's girlfriend is coming with my boyfriend and me to the book fair, so it should be a fun time out. My brother should be back home early next month, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 Glad to hear things are slowly getting back to normal Virginia, will take a long while for some people. Living in the UK we can hardly imagine what they are going through. How very exciting, planning a big trip, lots of us on here are in the UK so should be able to help you in all sorts of ways. Travel is an important thing to organise as whilst we have a great road system, getting anywhere on them can be very time consuming despite the short distances as the traffic is often very heavy, especially around the larger towns and cities. You may prefer to use the trains for some of your visit which are generally good if you avoid peak times. Also avoid school holidays at all costs as everything is busy then! I can give you dates for school holidays in my area (Surrey, just south west of London), many in the country will be the same or similar, although the Easter holidays tend to vary more from school to school. Is there anywhere in particular you are wanting to go? Gaia, I love that you are excited for your birthday already, I presume you have a birthday book wish list? Quiet day here, youngest is off school sick and waiting in for a new sofa for the new family room. It is a recliner and will look out through the new bifold doors into the garden so I anticipate a little reading occuring there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 14, 2016 Author Share Posted October 14, 2016 Gaia, I love that you are excited for your birthday already, I presume you have a birthday book wish list? Quiet day here, youngest is off school sick and waiting in for a new sofa for the new family room. It is a recliner and will look out through the new bifold doors into the garden so I anticipate a little reading occuring there!! I do ! I hope your youngest feels better soon and that you life your new sofa . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 I had to look up what bi-fold doors were! That sounds lovely. Hope little'un feels better soon. I've taken up volunteering with a website called 7 Cups. Basically it's a listening service. Honestly, it is NOT the first place I would send anyone in distress - you have only minimal unsupervised training before you can start listening to people talk about all kinds of issues, and then there are TONS of other things to learn. It looks to me to be far more beneficial for volunteers, because I can do all the training, get loads of experience in 'active listening' and it's a first step on the road to volunteering in the area of mental health. I'm finding it interesting, and I'm hoping it will teach me a lot of new things, that I will be able to help some people feel a bit better, and that it will look good for me down the road that I've done it. Also today bought runners so I can go walking in the evenings. Still doing my cross-stitch too. I feel almost like a totally different person these days, suddenly trying out all these things I've always meant to but never did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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