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What's Up in May 2017?


Athena

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Wow, can you believe it's May already?!

 

21 hours ago, chesilbeach said:

I had the day off on Friday, and after another trip to the DIY shop with other half, I went into town and treated myself to some new books and a coffee and a reading session in Waterstones.  Was enjoying one of the books I'd bought so much, I spent the afternoon reading it all!  We went to the garden centre yesterday morning and bought some roses and a grape vine that will be trained on wires in front of the fence.

 

Today is a lazy day, and I have nothing planned, but might try and catch up on some reviews and try and do some reading, but might also watch a film or something ... I'm just going to wing it. :D

 

I hope you enjoyed your weekend :).

 

5 hours ago, Virginia said:

Hey y'all!

 

Been MIA for a bit, was only able to check in now and again. My past week has been pretty exciting.

 

I'm glad you had a good week :). Congratulations on graduating!

 

Yesterday we had a nice dinner with my parents. The weather was quite nice, so I spent a bit of time outside. I read a lot on Saturday (finishing off the book I was reading), but didn't read much on Sunday.

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Over the weekend my friend and I decided to do a bit of decorating on his terrapin's tank. It's a huge tank, so it took ages to clean it but the actual decorating wasn't too bad. We got that plastic sheet background stuff with a picture on it to stick on the glass, bought some live plants, a shipwreck figure and a crocodile skull figure. It's certainly a very nice centerpiece in the living room now.

 

So glad to have only a four day week this week!

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5 hours ago, Nollaig said:

Over the weekend my friend and I decided to do a bit of decorating on his terrapin's tank. It's a huge tank, so it took ages to clean it but the actual decorating wasn't too bad. We got that plastic sheet background stuff with a picture on it to stick on the glass, bought some live plants, a shipwreck figure and a crocodile skull figure. It's certainly a very nice centerpiece in the living room now.

 

So glad to have only a four day week this week!

 

You and me both! Things are gradually getting better at work now that we (finally) have 3 cleaners and of course a new gardener. The new cleaning rotas that I worked out will be starting next week, which should hopefully help as people need to do what they are doing and of course the different departments need to know who will be responsible for their area as well.

 

Cleaning that tank actually sounds like quite good fun - I hope the terrapin appreciates it.  Coran and I had a quiet weekend. The weather was a bit changeable so we didn't really do a lot. I spent most of it sitting in various places around the house reading - shame! :readingtwo: 

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22 hours ago, Nollaig said:

Over the weekend my friend and I decided to do a bit of decorating on his terrapin's tank. It's a huge tank, so it took ages to clean it but the actual decorating wasn't too bad. We got that plastic sheet background stuff with a picture on it to stick on the glass, bought some live plants, a shipwreck figure and a crocodile skull figure. It's certainly a very nice centerpiece in the living room now.

 

So glad to have only a four day week this week!

 

I'm glad you had fun spending time with a friend :). It's nice you have a four-day week. I've never understood why it's called "Labour Day" or rather "Day of the Work / Labour" here, yet people take the day off instead of going to work :giggle2:. I can understand it in the form of "labourers' day" though. But it's not called that in Dutch. I'm glad you and others had a day off though :). It was a normal work day here.

 

16 hours ago, Talisman said:

You and me both! Things are gradually getting better at work now that we (finally) have 3 cleaners and of course a new gardener. The new cleaning rotas that I worked out will be starting next week, which should hopefully help as people need to do what they are doing and of course the different departments need to know who will be responsible for their area as well.

 

Cleaning that tank actually sounds like quite good fun - I hope the terrapin appreciates it.  Coran and I had a quiet weekend. The weather was a bit changeable so we didn't really do a lot. I spent most of it sitting in various places around the house reading - shame! :readingtwo: 

 

I'm glad things are gradually getting better at work :). I hope you had fun reading!

 

12 hours ago, Madeleine said:

Had today off to recover from my weekend away, back to work tomorrow, sigh.

 

Good luck :(.

 

Tomorrow (4 May) is 'Nationale Dodenherdenking' here, or 'National Memorial of the Dead', which will involve the whole country being silent for 2 minutes at 20:00 (8 PM). We rethink those who have passed away. It started as a memorial to the victims and fallen soldiers of World War II, but since then other tragedies have happened.

 

Friday (5 May) is 'Bevrijdingsdag' or 'Liberation Day' and it celebrates the end of World War II here.  Whether people have the day off or not, depends on the company or organisation they work for, what is in their contract. I think it's a normal work day for most people, but schools are closed. Once every five years, most working people have the day off (that was in 2015, so next again in 2020, then 2025..).There are festivities in some cities.

 

I've been going through my wardrobe and organised it.

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I am going to love May as this is my last day at work until I come back from my holidays.  As I only work a couple of days a week that means I wont be back until near the end of May.  Yippee. I am hoping to get some reading done but being in the sunshine I spend a lot of my time people watching rather than reading.

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Yesterday it was the 4th of May here, National Memoiral of the Dead. I was mistaken in that we celebrate all who've passed. It's specifically war victims, fallen soldiers, fallen during peace ops. I'm not sure where my head was when I wrote what I did in an earlier post.

 

Today it's the 5th of May, Libration Day. We did some shopping in the morning and I had a doctor's appointment. Almost weekend!

 

I wish everyone a great weekend :).

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How was everyone's weekend?

 

I had a good but busy weekend. I went to the library and into town. I also went shopping at the garden centre. That might not sound like much to other people, but I'm pretty exhausted from it all.

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I had an interesting weekend.

 

Saturday night I went away with my... I guess, bf, at this stage! to a hotel in the city. Unfortunately, Saturday afternoon, my phone was stolen (the thing was touching my elbow on a counter, you wouldn't believe the CCTV footage if you saw it) so a good portion of the afternoon was spent running around between the Carphone Warehouse and the Meteor shop getting phone codes and stuff to blacklist the handset, and getting a new phone. It was a bit of a shock and very draining, so by the time we actually got to the hotel two hours later than planned, we were pretty drained. However, we spent the next 2.5 hours in the hotel's pool and steamroom - I can't swim, but I didn't do too badly in the pool at all, I managed to float around, backpaddle a bit, and generally not drown, which for me is amazing. So that was great, and we had a delicious dinner, but we were both headachey, dehydrated and drained by then.

 

Sunday was better, but when we got home in the evening we wound up (as we always do) madly rearranging the house. We dragged a two seater couch up a narrow stairs and somehow maneuvered it into a bedroom, to make room for a dining table downstairs which bf then put together, as well as sorting space in the wardrobe for my clothes for when I move in. So Sunday night we were, once again, absolutely wrecked, and we have sworn next weekend will be a relaxation weekend. We always say that, though.

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I'm so sorry to hear about your phone :(. The cheek of it! My phone was once missing (this was some years ago) and it send me into a panicky state. Gladly it turns out I had just lost it and some children found it. They didn't know how it worked but we managed to contact them and they gave it back to me :). We gave them some money as a thank-you, it was very nice of those children to give it back (it was quite an old phone, not worth much but it was worth something to me). I hope you could get everything sorted regarding blocking etc.

 

I'm glad you had a nice weekend otherwise though :). Hopefully next weekend you can have some more relaxation. I'm very happy you're having fun with your bf!

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So sorry to hear about the phone Noll - I can only imagine what a pain that must have been. A new boyfriend though - I guessed as much from some of your previous posts, but how exciting!

 

I have been looking at getting a new phone myself actually, as the one I have doesn't have nearly enough storage for my needs. I looked at a few different ones and managed to whittle it down to 2 - the Motorola G4 Plus (I currently have the Moto E) or one from a British company called Wiliefox, the Swift 2 Plus. Out of the 2 of them I definitely prefer the Wiliefox, as it gives you the option of being able to delete all the useless preinstalled junk that you don't need or use, thus freeing up even more space. I also like the fact that they are a British company, although their phones are not actually made here.

 

Thanks to a certain survey site I earned £100 in Amazon vouchers last week from doing just one focus group, so by the time I add them to the £90 or so I already have on my Amazon account, that will be the money to get it. I am also very happy to learn that I am finally getting the money back from the Inland Revenue that I have been waiting months for.  It's not as much as I hoped for, but it's still better than not having it at all. I will put that towards our trip to the Channel Isles I expect, or the new bed we just ordered. :D 

Edited by Talisman
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I've never heard of Wileyfox - I never think to go outside the big names, I've always gotten Samsungs because I'm just used to their setup, so whenever I get a new phone there's no learning curve or unpleasant new features - I know what I'm getting. It's awesome that the Swift 2 Plus allows you to remove the preinstalled stuff, that is always a pain with Samsung.

 

This thread is unusually quiet! I had a busy weekend - I'm sick, as is my partner, so that sucks in and of itself, but I also spent saturday packing up my old house. This evening after work should be moving time, so long as my friend hasn't forgotten. Weather is a bit crap for it, but hopefully it won't be too painful. I'll be going back to the house on wednesday to clean it and pack up anything not moved today, and then I'll be officially all moved in to my partner's place!

 

I feel like I should be more scared/excited than I am, but I already basically live there, so it mostly just feels like a relief to do away with the extra house!

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23 hours ago, Nollaig said:

This thread is unusually quiet! I had a busy weekend - I'm sick, as is my partner, so that sucks in and of itself, but I also spent saturday packing up my old house. This evening after work should be moving time, so long as my friend hasn't forgotten. Weather is a bit crap for it, but hopefully it won't be too painful. I'll be going back to the house on wednesday to clean it and pack up anything not moved today, and then I'll be officially all moved in to my partner's place!

 

I feel like I should be more scared/excited than I am, but I already basically live there, so it mostly just feels like a relief to do away with the extra house!

 

I hope everything with the move is going well :). I'm sorry to hear you're both sick though :(.

I wish you two lots of fun together :).

 

22 hours ago, Onion Budgie said:

Today is the first day of National Vegetarian Week!  

 

It also marks my one year veggieversary.  One of my better decisions for sure.  :exc:

 

Have a great week, everyone.

 

Happy Veggieversary!

I wish you and everyone else a great week too!

 

Last weekend we celebrated my dad's birthday. There weren't many visitors, only my parents, my grandparents and my boyfriend and me. My sister and her boyfriend are coming by next weekend, and my parents are going to my other grandparents next weekend. My brother and his girlfriend are still in South America, they are doing well as far as I know (and my aunt and uncle met with my parents a few days ago). Anyway, we had a good time last weekend. We had a delicious meal and it was nice to spend some time with my family.

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On ‎15‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 11:44 AM, Onion Budgie said:

Today is the first day of National Vegetarian Week!  

 

It also marks my one year veggieversary.  One of my better decisions for sure.  :exc:

 

Have a great week, everyone.

 

Me too (one of the best decisions that is). I have been veggie for 21 years now.

 

A few things have happened this week for me - one very exciting and one very annoying.

 

The exciting news is that I am going to see Sigur Ros in Iceland! If you haven't heard of them they the best experimental rock group in the whole world. I have been a HUGE fan since I first heard their music back in 2001 and have been waiting for years to see them in their native Iceland. When I heard then through their Facebook page that they were staging a 6 day festival in Reykjavik at the end of the year, I knew I had to go. We get a few days off work after Christmas when everything shuts down, so that means that I don't even need to take it as annual leave. I am flying out then on Boxing Day afternoon and then back in the evening of 28th. I have managed to get a ticket in row 11 of the auditorium (and it is a fantastic venue) for their opening night of 27th. It has cost me a fortune, but will be sooo worth it. Coran and I are also seeing them in London in September, and I cannot wait.

 

The annoying news is that my new phone appears to have been stolen in transit. It was supposed to be delivered on Sunday but didn't come. Then the same thing happened yesterday. Then when I got home from work today there was an email from Amazon telling me it has been delivered next door. When I opened the package though there was no phone - just the instruction book. I managed to find the contact details for Amazon who called me back, and they are sending a replacement tomorrow. I know it's not their fault, but I am really not that impressed. I won't be ordering anything large like this from them again!

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How exciting you're going to see Sigur Ros in Iceland! I wish you lots of fun during this trip and hope it will be an amazing concert :).

 

I'm sorry to hear about your stolen phone :(. I hope you can get a new phone safe and sound to your house. I wonder how it was stolen, if the package was sealed it must have happened before shipping? Or do you mean to imply it might've been the postman or your neighbour? I'm really sorry about what happened, that's really not nice.

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I am not sure what happened to be honest. When it arrived I didn't even think to look at the seal on the box. I just opened it, so it's difficult to tell. The packaging on the outside was all intact though. Of course it's sods law that they tried to deliver the replacement today the moment after Coran went out for half an hour to pick up a friend from the station, so I will have to wait until tomorrow - again. :angry: 

Edited by Talisman
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We had a week away in Devon last week, although I wasn't very well, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I was expecting, but it was still lovely to get away for a break.  I'm on a training course this week for work, so it's throwing my routine out a bit, and I don't have as much free time, but it's only for a week, so should be back to normal next week.

 

Looking forward to my library reading group meeting this week, as I loved the book we read this month and can't wait to see what everyone else made of it.  No other plans for the rest of the week or the weekend, but hoping to visit a new foodie area that's opening in the city - especially excited to try the new chocolate and ice-cream shop, although it's still quite cold so it might not be quite the right weather for the ice-cream just yet! :D

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Hey y'all!

 

Sitting here typing on my new laptop. I was looking for a reason to upgrade and came up with the idea to give my current laptop (HP) to our daughter. She homeschools and is in dire need of a reliable computer. So she got mine, which is only about 3 years old and well kept. I purchased the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 with the pen. I LOVE IT!!! It can function as a tablet or laptop. Very powerful, tons of storage and an awesome keyboard. I love that I can now take it where ever I would take my tablet.

 

I've been preparing for my next real estate exam, reading, walking and enjoying the weather. Temps are in the 90's here and very sunny. Almost like summer! I'm also putting out resumes. If I can find work in our old hometown (where we will be moving back at the end of the year) I will stay with one of my sister in laws and hubby will come home on weekeds or I'll come back here. 

 

That about sums it up for us. Life is pretty awesome right now.

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15 hours ago, Talisman said:

I am not sure what happened to be honest. When it arrived I didn't even think to look at the seal on the box. I just opened it, so it's difficult to tell. The packaging on the outside was all intact though. Of course it's sods law that they tried to deliver the replacement today the moment after Coran went out for half an hour to pick up a friend from the station, so I will have to wait until tomorrow - again. :angry: 

 

I'm so sorry to hear this :(.

Is there no tracking, saying when in the day they'll come by? I love that most of the postal services here, tell you roughly what time of the day they'll be here (ie. a 2 or 4 hour timespan, say from 10:00 to 12:00 or 12:00 to 16:00, things like that). I don't like not knowing when in the day or which day they'll come!

I'm sorry you missed the phone again :(. I hope you'll be able to get it tomorrow!

 

15 hours ago, chesilbeach said:

We had a week away in Devon last week, although I wasn't very well, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I was expecting, but it was still lovely to get away for a break.  I'm on a training course this week for work, so it's throwing my routine out a bit, and I don't have as much free time, but it's only for a week, so should be back to normal next week.

 

Looking forward to my library reading group meeting this week, as I loved the book we read this month and can't wait to see what everyone else made of it.  No other plans for the rest of the week or the weekend, but hoping to visit a new foodie area that's opening in the city - especially excited to try the new chocolate and ice-cream shop, although it's still quite cold so it might not be quite the right weather for the ice-cream just yet! :D

 

I'm glad you had a nice week away :). I wish you fun with your library reading group meeting :). Chocolate and ice-cream, that sounds good!

 

13 hours ago, Virginia said:

That about sums it up for us. Life is pretty awesome right now.

 

That sounds great :)!

 

My sister and her boyfriend are coming by this weekend, it'll be fun to spend some time with them. They're both pretty busy, especially my sister, finishing off their PhDs. My sister also has a full-time job. In a few weeks it's their PhD defense. They should bring by their PhD thesis books this weekend, so I look forward to see those. Here a PhD student has a book made of their thesis, and gives it to the PhD committee, the university and to friends and family.

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8 hours ago, Athena said:

 

I'm so sorry to hear this :(.

Is there no tracking, saying when in the day they'll come by? I love that most of the postal services here, tell you roughly what time of the day they'll be here (ie. a 2 or 4 hour timespan, say from 10:00 to 12:00 or 12:00 to 16:00, things like that). I don't like not knowing when in the day or which day they'll come!

I'm sorry you missed the phone again :(. I hope you'll be able to get it tomorrow!

 

 

Unfortunately not. All they tell you is that it is "out for delivery", which is not really that helpful. Even  morning or afternoon would help.

 

It has though finally arrived today and is charging as I write. Once that is complete I will put the SIM card in, download everything on to it from the old phone and have a shiny new toy to play with, that because it has 4 times more storage than the old one, will hopefully last a lot longer.    

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14 hours ago, Talisman said:

Unfortunately not. All they tell you is that it is "out for delivery", which is not really that helpful. Even  morning or afternoon would help.

 

It has though finally arrived today and is charging as I write. Once that is complete I will put the SIM card in, download everything on to it from the old phone and have a shiny new toy to play with, that because it has 4 times more storage than the old one, will hopefully last a lot longer.    

 

That's unfortunate. Our tracking also shows when they're out for delivery, but when that pops up it usually means the postperson will be here soon. I'm sorry it's a hassle over there :(. My favourite delivery service here usually comes around the same time, which I find extremely handy.

 

I hope you'll enjoy your new phone :).

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It's brilliant so far - it is much bigger than the old one, with better screen resolution and heaps more storage. These phones are actually really good value for money as they do a lot of stuff like for example, reducing the amount of white light at night time automatically that far more expensive ones do. I am glad I chose this one and think it was definitely the right choice.

 

Coran and I are as always though enjoying a quiet weekend. Last night we went to the launch of the Lib Dem candidates election campaign for our constituency. It is always good to meet up and rub shoulders with others of like mind. We hope to spend some time this weekend tidying up the house as we have a lot going on at the moment. We have a new bed arriving on Thursday and have just ordered some new windows as well. I had been hoping to maybe trade up to a better car as there is a new Kia Picanto coming out this month and the one I bought 18 months ago is worth more at the  moment than what I owe on it. They made me a very tempting offer, but what with the new windows and so on, I can't afford everything. I have decided then to pay the car off. Once I have done that and no longer have to pay for that each month I will be able to start saving again and replenish the funds that will be going towards the bed and the windows, which is more important really than another new car.   

Edited by Talisman
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On 5/18/2017 at 5:02 PM, Talisman said:
Unfortunately not. All they tell you is that it is "out for delivery", which is not really that helpful. Even  morning or afternoon would help.

 

We always use the option to deliver to a pick up location now - there are a few post office counters in our town as well as some shops that are included in the pick up locations, and it means we can collect when convenient to us, rather than having to wait in all day for a delivery.

 

I've had a busy morning so far ... had to collect a delivery from M&S of some new jeans, then picked up other half to go off to the garden centre for some summer bedding plants, back home briefly then out to the local shops to go to the deli and the bookshop (obviously buying a book! :D) and stopped off for a coffee and a quick read too.

 

Home for the afternoon now, so about to make myself some lunch, then I'm hoping to get some book reviews done and a bit more reading.

 

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. :)

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