November Nuggets

I'm breaking tradition with the thread title, but I think many of us are running out of inspiration for alliterative good news/bad news titles. We can consider "nuggets" to cover the spectrum from the mundanity of chicken nuggets to the brilliance of gold.

>1 SylviaC: Perfect! (Though my first thought for the negative example was turd nuggets.) Happy November all. Stay healthy!

We're starting the month with wind and drizzle that is expected to deteriorate over the course of the day to snow squalls and general yuckiness. I don't have to go any farther than the barn until I pick up the groceries on Tuesday afternoon, so I can just enjoy the fact that I can stay inside. (The barn is only about a hundred feet from the back door, so not a significant outing.)

We had one trick or treater last night, which is about average for us. We gave him lots of treats, but there are still plenty left sitting around, just waiting for someone to eat them.

>2 clamairy: That did cross my mind, but I decided to stay (relatively) classy.

Weather here is much like Sylvia's; right now it's misty and so I can't see the other side of the valley from where I'm sitting. But ours is expected to clear tomorrow night, so we're planning a day-trip on Tuesday to iMfolozi, part of the oldest surviving game reserve in the country. We're privileged that it's only 3 1/2 hours away.

England is going into lockdown again from tomorrow, Wales is already there, and Scotland has "no inessential travel outside local area".

So yet again, I will be missing the Services for the Commemoration of the Departed on All Souls Day.

My sympathies to all who have lost someone this year, for whom these restrictions will his particularly hard.

Was hoping to get the lawn mowed (the final cut of the year), but the sparkling of raindrops on the grass put paid to that along with the rain that's come along. I suspect our last chance at mowing the lawn was early last month.

Back into national lockdown next week, which is a bummer, but not entirely unexpected from the buzz at work (a local authority Public Health department). Luckily, I managed to get over to Cambridge last week - Paul had a hardware failure and needed to go into the office to get it fixed so we drove in together. My manager kindly gave me the morning off as TOIL; I had literally finished collating the last of the 3 statutory reports on Tuesday. So I went into to John Lewis and ordered some fabric samples (I want new bedroom curtains), picked up some fresh veg in the market, and had a poke round TK Maxx and picked up some bits and pieces for the house.

Another bummer - I slopped tea over my UK layout PS2 A4Tech Natural A keyboard and it's now deceased. Even after cleaning out the crud of around 15 years of use, sufficient keys aren't working that it's effectively dead so I think something has shorted. Whether it's worth taking it to the repair shop is moot (they will be closing next week as non-essential). My USB extended Natural A keyboard is in my locker at work and hence effectively inaccessible. Until I get my flu jab, I'm avoiding public transport, so I dropped a bundle ordering a replacement from the US. I have a compact Natural A, but don't like it for daily use; it's OK for occasional use. I've ordered a Kensington 'split' keyboard as well. I've tried the Microsoft Sculpt keyboards and didn't get on with them - they're too high off the desk and give me shoulder pain (plus I don't touch type). The true fold-out split keyboards aren't extended, plus I don't need the tenting functionality.

Talking about public transport, I've had the summons to my annual retinopathy screening. This year it's in Huntingdon, which means a good hour each way on the bus, it's a morning appointment which will effectively mean taking the day off (you're not allowed to drive, operate heavy machinery or use a computer for at least 4-6 hours after the eye drops), and my surgery hasn't organised a flu jab for me - they are prioritising 65+, and ignoring younger vulnerable adults. The annoying thing is that Paul has had his - a private jab arranged by his company. And if that's not enough, it's during the lock-down. I think I will not attend - perhaps re-book for early next year in the afternoon and hope they come to St Ives or can organise patient transport. We'll see when I call them tomorrow.

>7 Maddz: Skipping a retinopathy screening does not sound like a good idea. Could you get a flu jab done at a pharmacy local to you? Superdrug are offering them for £12.99 (or free if NHS eligible - which surely you would be?)

I was all set to dress up as a middle-aged, non-sexy version of Poison Ivy last night, even dyed my hair green (it is a mild dye, only showing in the grey areas, and a slight green shimmer to the rest of my reddish hair), but then had news that my friend's daughter lost her baby. This, on top of losing her mother in the last two weeks. It took the heart out of me. So we had a subdued evening, handed out candy to the few who came.

I made albondigas soup last night for dinner, and 5 bottles of grenadine for the holidays. Today I plan to make pomegranate jelly, and that is just with the pips I had frozen from last year! I have a large tray of huge pomegranates sitting on my table waiting to be de-seeded. I might wait until next weekend. Baking bread today, making a beef stew and some other chores around the house.

>9 MrsLee: Oh, Lee - I am so sorry. You and those around you seem to have been hit so hard this year.

>8 -pilgrim-: I am NHS eligible but my local Superdrug doesn't have a pharmacy (neither does the Huntingdon branch). I'd have to go into Cambridge.

Lloyds, who do, aren't currently offering appointments. It's the same at Boots. So it's either another visit to Cambridge (and parking charges have gone up), or wait for an appointment at the GP. I've usually had my annual diabetes screen by now, and the nurse usually gives me the flu vaccination at that appointment.

It's a real pain. I think Paul was lucky to get his jab done last week.

Oh MrsL I'm so sorry...virtual hugs and sympathy.

>9 MrsLee: Oh no, I'm so sorry! *hug*

Last weekend we shifted to winter time, and now evenings are horribly dark. Sun sets at 16 (4 PM), and when it rains it gets dark and gloomy long before that. Reminds me of the dark clouds of Mordor.
And it will get worse. It's unseasonally warm, as well, more like 8-10 deg C than hovering around zero as it should, so the prospect of some snow lighting things up is low.

The region I'm in has seen a surge in positive tests, though not in hospitalisation numbers, this far, knock on wood, so we're under hardened restrictions. Basically we're allowed out for essential (grocery) shopping, visits to the pharmacy, doctor's appointments, and recreational walks - as long as we stay clear of other people. But that's about it.
Everyone who can work from home is ordered to, and employers are ordered to make sure as many as possible have the means to work from home, too. This to minimize the risk for those who do have to go in for work, like my husband.
Luckily he has a 30 minute walk only to get there, so that's what he's opting to do. This means that he's away for 13+ hours the days when he's working, as he work 12 hour shifts.

Son's school has been distance/on site every other week, and plans were to shift to a two weeks on site/one week distance schedule, starting tomorrow. With the new restrictions I'm sure that will change, possibly back to full time distance studies, like back in spring. His fencing practice is on hold, too, as he's technically an "adult", in medical terms. I'm forcing him to take walks with me. He tells me he hates it, but then he talks until my ears bleed when we're out and about ;-)

We will get through this, I know we will. But.

ETA (because I took so long writing up this post, lol) >11 Maddz: That sucks.

>9 MrsLee: That is awful news about your friend’s daughter. That is a lot to have happen in such a short time.

>9 MrsLee: that's heartbreaking. All the hugs.

>13 Busifer: - I hear you. We just went off daylight time this weekend, and it's unseasonably warm for the next few days at least, but it's sunny so that helps a lot. We're having a surge in Covid as well. They haven't increased restrictions yet - just a ban on gatherings over 15 people, because almost all the outbreaks are traced to people getting together in groups.

My in-laws, after 60+ years of marriage, are not getting on. Mother-in-law (MiL) is probably the source of the conflict, but they're both miserable. Family decision (with her full agreement) has been to move her to a supportive living apartment of her own. FiL will stay in the house for now, but it will be sold and the money split, and he will move into a different apartment, probably in a different facility.

My husband has two brothers. The older has basically shut off - he says he doesn't care about any of this, and he's had a bad year. Not that he'll tell any of us what the bad year has consisted of. The younger is still working, as is his wife, and she is on call some of the time (occupational therapist with high-risk clients), so they can't be available much. My husband is therefore doing almost all the work.

This means seeing MiL to her medical appointments, finding her an apartment, setting up new banking arrangements, making sure both parents have wills, power of attorney, guardianship, etc. in place.

My part of this is helping MiL decide what she's taking with her, so that everything else can be disposed of to clean the house out for sale. Also packing. And mediating between her and FiL. We keep telling him to just say yes to everything and we'll work it out, but he just can't help expressing an opinion, which puts her back up, and then I have to talk her down again. And she's really deaf, so communication is always an issue.

Once she's moved, then helping FiL sort what's left will be the next job.

I wish my sister-in-law was available to help with some of this, because I feel like I'm making decisions on stuff she might have a use for (table linens, china, fabric, wool, etc.), and also because I would love not to have to drive over there every day.

Add to this, if MiL falls, she can't get herself up again, and she did it yesterday morning. I got a call from FiL at 8 am, because none of the sons were answering their phones (my husband was out for a run, don't know about the rest), and had to rush over there. FiL had called 911 and they'd come and picked her up, and she wasn't hurt, but she lay there for two hours because she wasn't wearing her emergency button, and that's not acceptable if she's living alone. Argh.

This is long because I'm feeling whiney and I also have a migraine. We'll get through this and hopefully get things set up so future evolutions of their lives will be less stressful.

>9 MrsLee: Hugs from me too.

Worst thing here is the weather. I came from eternal sunshine to this gloom! And if that’s the worst that happens to me, I’m lucky. Mrs H and I are doing OK.

>15 tardis:
Sorry to hear about this turmoil and your being caught in the middle.

>15 tardis: That is a sad situation, and I am sorry that you are having to bear so much of the stress of it.

There's something about this time of year, and I don't think it's just the spiritual depressant of going back to standard time, with the sudden early onset of darkness, as we will have today. My household has seen many and many a crisis-ridden November and December, some of it associated with substance abuse, not mine (which, note, could be a reason for a family member's shutting down contact and declining news updates: despair, shame, and unrelieved stress can do that). Thanksgivings when it was hard to smile, Christmases without the heart to put on festive music. And we're heading into another such season.

With my husband an invalid, and not doing well at all, and my two sons under our roof (either back or still) and not on top of their lives, I feel pretty constantly drained. External circumstances make it hard to keep up even a pretense of normality, and suspense over our election outcome has so many of us wound too tightly.

At least the four of us have all had our regular flu shots, and we have not, so far as we know, been exposed to anyone with covid-19. We're okay for groceries and utility services and other essentials. And we do still have some light-hearted communal moments, although consistently frayed around the edges.

It's just a weird time to be anyone, anywhere.

>15 tardis: I think you have reason to feel whiney. I’m not in the least surprised that people are just shutting down. We in the Pub can send support and virtual hugs and whatnot, but of course the actual work still has to get done. I think >19 Meredy: was absolutely right about there being something about the time of year. Hugs to both of you.

I haven’t said much about Mrs H, who has some health problems. Although she can still get about somewhat, she can’t walk far or fast and has a good deal of pain from old injuries. It’s easier for her with me home, and not much more work for me, plus we have each other’s company, something which looks like being important as England goes back into lockdown. Really, all things considered, we’re still doing better than many people. It kind of makes me feel guilty.

Hugs to all who need it. November sure seems to bring out the stress and gloom. We no longer change our clocks here, but I find the dark mornings hard to take.

Our little town, after an almost covid-free spring and summer (one known case, quickly medivacced out) has finally got several active cases. Prior to that, many of us were pretty casual about precautions. Last weekend I worked at the polls for the provincial election, and we were pretty good about masks and sanitary precautions, but that day I heard there was at least one local active case and since I have heard there is likely several. I am really hoping that the pool and rec centre aren't shut down again. I'm wearing my mask much more now.

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day helping to set up for Halloween fireworks, and was on crowd control and spark watch during the show. Fun, but it was a long day. I only had a few trick-or-treaters come around while I was home between setup and show.

Today I was out on the ski trails to help get them ready for winter. We got all the deadfall cut off the long trail and one pass with the mower, so we are ready just in time: there is a snowfall warning for tonight.

>15 tardis: That is a huge load to carry! Crossing my thumbs for your energy and sanity to hold up. Also for others to pick up their end of things.

>19 Meredy: May you hold up as well. Sharing space with other adults is not easy.

Thank goodness for this pub and the friends who gather here. We may not be able to gather in person, but having a sympathetic ear is sometimes what is needed to help one continue on doing the hard things.

>9 MrsLee: Oh MrsLee, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend :( This has been a rough year for you in general. Sending virtual hugs.

>15 tardis: Oh man, that's a tough situation to be caught in :(

>15 tardis: Tough situation, feel free to whine as much as you need.
>19 Meredy: Hugs. And then some more hugs.

My cat, Jinn exploded out from under a bush when I got home and knocked me down. 😡 Hurt my wrist, back and foot. I'm icing them now. Stupid cat. My have to go to clinic in the morning because I can hardly walk. Can't wait too long to decide because they won't see me if I do.

>26 MrsLee: Exploding cats can be so dangerous. Hope it's just soreness and bruising, not sprains or worse. Take care and do get checked out. Hugs to everyone who needs them while dealing with this bleepin' year.

Omg what a little butt! So sorry you’re hurt. Get some rest.

>26 MrsLee: Sorry to hear this, hope the icing down helps.
Hope you start feeling better soon.

>26 MrsLee: cats! I do think they plan things like that! I hope your injuries aren’t too bad. And I’m sorry about your friend and her baby. Such a hard thing.

>15 tardis: not an easy situation.

COVID cases are rising in my area. The Governor lessened restrictions for getting kids back in the buildings. We still didn’t make them. I’m beginning to wonder if we will ever get kids back in person.

We had our warmest September and now October in my area. It does look like winter is coming on Friday. Snow is in the forecast. I’ve enjoyed the lovely weather, but my area is bone dry and really needs the moisture so I hope it happens.

>26 MrsLee: hope you are not too badly hurt!

The snowfall warning for Sunday/Monday did not come to much, but today we got a lot of snow. The ski trails are tracked, and I've skied twice already. Lovely soft powdery snow!

My halloween pumpkins are roasted, pureed, bagged, and set outside to freeze. They'll go in the shed tomorrow until I have more room in the freezer.

On a down note, I haven't done more than the minimum of driveway shovelling yet. Tomorrow.

>26 MrsLee: I am so sorry about your cat attack. Get well soon. I hope the pain goes quickly.

>26 MrsLee: I'm so sorry. Don't hesitate to go to the clinic. My sister went with a sore shoulder for five weeks before finally visiting a doctor. Turned out that she had a fractured shoulder.
So, I'm thinking better safe than sorry?

>26 MrsLee: Not sure whether to feel sorrier for you in your injuries, or Jinn seeing his/her loving welcome going pear-shaped ;-)

Mister Mistoffelees has evidently decided that the hotter the weather, the more the pet hoomin needs lap-sitting and cuddling. When I got home half an hour ago it was 29°C/85°F and the hoomin had to be welcomed, but it's now clouded over and a bit cooler. So guess what: Himself's gone off on a feline errand somewhere.

>34 hfglen: That's cats, alright ;-)
I miss having a feline in the house. I do not miss the cat hair, the suddenly sitting up in bed in the middle of the night because something was in a position deemed less than worthy, or the cat barfing all over the bed cover, though.
Not enough to act on the "missing" part of it, at least.

One of our late cats gnawed on books, too. I have several hardbacks with gnawed-off corners. He also gnawed off potted plants, such as a rather sturdy yucca. A check with the vet showed no issues with his teeth. He just liked the attention he got by doing it.

>26 MrsLee: Ouch! I hope you get checked out quickly and have no serious injuries.

>34 hfglen: Yep, never a dull moment with cats!

i feel as though some happiness needs to be brought to the table so i have arrived my cat instead of attacking me for the first time in...3 months...came up to me and let me pet her like the past 3 months didn't happen any ways l still love her shes just a butt sometimes

>37 justanotaku:

fine if you wont eat happiness then you wont get desert

Thanks once again peeps for the sympathy. No broken bones, but a brace on my wrist and a boot brace on my foot. I'm supposed to wear them for a week or two for sprains. Going to the chiropractor tomorrow, hopefully will help my back, along with ibuprofen.

>34 hfglen: The cat didn't even stop to see what happened. By the time I realized what had tackled me, but before I hit the ground, he was rounding the corner of the house at 90 miles an hour. I might be exaggerating the speed. Did I mention he is at least 22 ponds of bone, muscle and fur? I think the foot injury may have been when his head hit me. There is a bruise. Of course we are not mad, he's just a cat, but he did make himself scarce all day.

>40 MrsLee: Belated hugs and sympathy. 22 pounds? Sounds like a pretty decent cat size-wise. Hopefully he has reappeared by now looking suitably apologetic.

>40 MrsLee: That founded nasty; I am very glad you got your injuries seem to. I should search yourself very carefully for that Trouble Magnet...

That is the second reason that I do not have a furry companion; I can't risk being floored by enthusiasm - or the need to be used as a scratching post.

>41 haydninvienna: What does an apologetic expression look like on a cat? I have never seen one. Dogs apologise, but cats are very Zen - they just happen to you.

My favourite cat book is The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa. Bittersweet and beautiful.

if a normal cat is a house cat and a lion is a big cat could there be a huge cat?the possibilities both intrigue me and scare me

Hugs to everyone in need of them, and a few extra for those who don't think they do.

>40 MrsLee: I do hope you get to feeling better soon.
I know this sounds silly but I have a sister-in-law who busted her ankle a while back. She was given the boot brace and explicit instructions (which she ignored). They were supposed to remove the brace, but instead she got more time because she didn't listen the first time.

So please listen to the professionals and get well soon.

The culprit's photo is in my junk drawer, can't seem to get it into this post from my phone.

>46 MrsLee: The problem is usually trying to link to the page of the junk drawer, rather than selecting the image and opening a new browser page and using that address.

Or at least, that's where I usually get stuck, and I am always on a phone!

>47 -pilgrim-: I don't know how to do any of that on my phone. When I select the image, the choices I get to not include an "image address" like when I am on my laptop. If this works, it is because I loaded to the site from my phone, then did this post on my laptop. Stupid cat ran right between my legs when I was taking a step again today. If I hadn't been on guard, I would have gone down. It seems to be his new game.

That is one quite big cat, even after considering the perspective.

>49 Busifer: I agree! MrsLee, what breed is he?

>50 -pilgrim-: He was adopted, but has all the indicators of Siberian. His paws are about 2" across, without the fuzzy fur. He weighed 22 pounds a year ago at the vets.

>51 MrsLee: 22 pounds

F=ma

... that's going to be some impact!

>48 MrsLee: This is a big cat or healthy cat, but he is pretty. You can tell he/she loves you.

>53 chalton: I think he has some affection for me, he likes to sit and face away from me when I am eating, the impression being that he is guarding me. He likes to be in the same area I am, and we have routines, but I don't want him knocking me on my kiester to become one of them! :l

>54 MrsLee: Or he's waiting for manna from heaven and not being blatant about it.

>48 MrsLee: he's beautiful! I have an 18 pounder. He could easily knock me over if he felt so inclined. I do often have to dodge a cat or two while going up or down the stairs.

>55 Maddz: Not this cat. The two cats I have at present won't touch human food. They treat it with grave suspicion. Never saw anything like it. One cat does love her "treats," but those are crunchy purchased ones only.

Wow! What a beauty!

Happy to report that I'm eating solids (not salads) again, and that the voice is returning, albeit very different sounding and weak. I suspect that vocal projecting (wouldn't necessarily call it singing) would actually sound better than merely speaking at this point. I'll be testing that possibility later today. It's been about six weeks. Not all of the ulcers have healed, but the unseen few that are left seem to be behaving themselves. Looking forward to having actual conversations again soon.

>59 WholeHouseLibrary: yesss im so happy for you finally some really good news

>48 MrsLee: Yours looks like our Leo, who "only" weighs 13lb. Unfortunately, Leo will not consider lap-sitting under any circumstances -- but does enjoy taking up somewhat more than half his hoomin's bed at night.

>59 WholeHouseLibrary: That is excellent news. Don't overdo it though!

Baby steps. It's my motto after: If we're not supposed to eat animals, how come they're made of meat?

>63 WholeHouseLibrary: :) Keep on the good path of healing.

Well, Oregon is going to start a partial shutdown on the 18th. Cases are out of control here. This might get the numbers down, but a lot of our cases have been because of private gatherings at home. I hope cases go down, but if they do, that means kids will come back to the building and I’m not cool with that.

>65 catzteach: Private gatherings at home are the biggest problem here, too. Our cases spiked after Thanksgiving in October, because too many people decided that it couldn't happen to them and had big family gatherings. Schools, oddly, are a much lower source of cases.

I woke up today with sniffles, a trace of a sore throat, and a headache. I'm fairly sure it's a migraine and the beginning of a cold, but with all the time I've had to spend with my mother-in-law while moving her, I decided not to take a chance, so I went for a Covid test. And even if it is just a cold, she doesn't need that, either.

I need to self-isolate until I get the test results. I'm fine with staying home for a few days, since I feel well enough to do a bunch of much-needed chores and I have lots of books to read.

It speaks!
Yeah, got my voice back ... kind of. Speech at a conversational volume is iffy at best, but if I go loud, it works. So, I've been doing songs on the guitar, and I can't tell if the vocal cords are stiff or lazy, but there's this vibrato that didn't used to be there. And it's annoying as hell! But, it's much better than having to write everything out.

>66 tardis: I'm sending you all good thoughts, I do hope you get better.
>65 catzteach: good luck, all we can do now is get the numbers down. And I'm not sure what you mean kids will come to the building unless it's a school, and I personally think the schools should go virtual for a while.

>67 WholeHouseLibrary: That is really excellent news, even if limited at present..

Losing my singing voice has really depressed me. It may seem like a small thing, but it was the only musical instrument that I had left.

So I do understand what this must mean to you.

I admit that I am fascinated by how it has returned before your normal speaking voice. My best wishes for your continued recovery.

>67 WholeHouseLibrary:
HA! The weird thing is that I am renowned for my inability to sing.
Up until the pandemic closed it all down, I would do Open Mic Nights, introduced as (no joke): Mike, the Song Butcher.
I get by on interesting songs and banter, not talent, although I have a unique finger-picking technique. The vibrato is nothing I could ever do before. Really cramps my style.

>70 WholeHouseLibrary: Are there any recordings of you lurking around the Web? I am intrigued. I get impression that we are both folkies, but very different styles..

>66 tardis:
Hoping everything turns out negative with the test. Get well soon. A cold is still miserable and a migraine is just terrible.

Send heaps of good wishes.

>66 tardis: I hope the test is negative and the migraine goes away soon.

>68 chalton: Yes, I was referring to schools. Sorry, I forget not everyone on here knows I’m a teacher. :) My district started virtual but wants kids back in buildings, so does a particularly loud group of parents. Unfortunately, the community also wants to go to the bars, restaurants, and private parties. Three of my students’ families had Halloween parties. At least one of these families thinks life needs to get back to normal. I really don’t want to be exposed to that. I’d like to see us stay virtual until at least February.

The Husband and I just purchased a treadmill. Now I can run safely on icy and snowy days and after dark! So excited! We have to do a bit of furniture rearranging before it gets delivered on Tuesday.

>73 catzteach: I agree with you, let's play it safe until Feb. minimum.

Happy for you about the treadmill.

>71 -pilgrim-: no recordings or videos that I am aware of. MrsHouseLibrary wasn't allowed to post pictures of nor mention my name on her FB account. Let's just leave it with I had (still have) a very unstable ex (ThiMs), and even though it's been over 20 years since the divorce, I don't want her knowing anything about me.
Folkie, definitely, but on different sides of the pond, apparently. I went to your profile page. I've worked out over 2,000 songs, but have 260 that I feel proficient enough that I'd play them at OMN. Some are oldies (back as far as 1864); others are acoustic versions of rock tunes. I do poor covers of 3 Leo Kottke tunes, two Richard Thompson tunes, some Gordon Lightfoot, Stan Rogers, John Gorka, Richard Shindell, Cliff Eberhardt, Dylan . Americans and Canadians, primarily. Maybe 20% of the songs I do were written by women: Kate Wolf, Lucy Kaplansky, Dar Williams; currently working on deciphering my third tune by Brandi Carlie. Anyone sound familiar?

Both Karrell and I were also fascinated with Chihuly; been to his museum in St. Petersberg, Fla, and a few of his exhibits elsewhere.

A friend told me about seeing a lynx with a deer kill the other day, so today I went looking for it. This is one of the pictures I took. I have a pretty good zoom, so didn't go too close, but it didn't even get up when it saw me.

>76 NorthernStar: Awesome.

>65 catzteach: >66 tardis: Here, too, the rise in cases are directly connected to private gatherings. Come next Friday the government has effectively closed down the clubbing scene, by instituting a mandatory closing hour of 10 PM for all establishments serving alcohol. One would think this should be entirely unnecessary, they should not have customers enough to stay open at all. But, apparently even the leader of the right-wing christian party thinks clubbing by night while bashing the government for not doing enough by day is OK, and so I think this was not done one day too early.

Added to the national restrictions we are in regional, partial, lockdown as well.
By what I see people are taking it seriously, though there are exceptions, as always. But if I start on that tack I'll be off on a rant so extensive no page will suffice. And so I stay my hand ;-)

>77 Busifer: "And so I stay my hand"
Good call, as that might veer dangerously close into the political side of things....

>78 BookstoogeLT: Aye, definitely so. I know I veered a bit too close already. A fine line to thread, and definitely no ill will meant towards anyone.

>76 NorthernStar: Wow! Nice.

Wow that's great! I have lynx envy!

>76 NorthernStar: Beautiful. I caught a case of lynx envy too.

My Covid test came back negative, as I expected. Aside from the headache (definitely a migraine and still with me), the other symptoms seem to have gone away. Pretty sure they'd have got worse if I had Covid.

>59 WholeHouseLibrary: & >67 WholeHouseLibrary: Glad you are almost all mended!

>76 NorthernStar: Those lynx pics are incredible. Was that deer on the smaller side?

>83 tardis: Phew! Take care of yourself. Could it be allergies? We had a freeze, but then it got very warm again and I'm sure there are a lot of things that make my nose run growing in my leaf piles.

>83 tardis: Delighted to hear the test was negative. Sorry to hear the migraine is still with you. Much sympathy.

>76 NorthernStar: Wow, that is an amazing sighting! I loved the pics on Facebook. Lynx are so beautiful.

>83 tardis: Glad your test came back negative. I hope the migraine goes away soon.

>67 WholeHouseLibrary: So glad to hear your voice is coming back. It must be such a relief to be able to speak again, even if not quite back to normal.

>83 tardis: Great relief!

>67 WholeHouseLibrary: Don't know what I would do if I couldn't talk, even without the pain. Best wishes for a complete recovery.

Thanks for all the lynx compliments. It was so nice that it stayed for me to photograph it. I see their tracks frequently, but rarely get an opportunity like that.

>85 clamairy: I think it was probably a fawn of this year or maybe a yearling.

>83 tardis: That's a relief. maybe it's just the change in weather.

What is with the red warning at the top of the group page? A joke? Highly paid LT employees?

>91 MrsLee: Which headline do you prefer?
The Spammers Menace?
Revenge of the Spammers?
Or, The Spammers Strike Back?

It says this group has been flagged by one member and that highly paid LT staff will review and decide if the group lives or dies.

How does one even flag a group?

>94 Majel-Susan: I can't see how. I wondered if clamairy was testing us to see if we ever looked at the home page.

I wonder who flagged us and why? I mean, if they object to the amount of piffle, or the roombas, they should just unfollow us, because we're not going to change!

Maybe it was an accident and they though flagging meant favouriting :)

>96 tardis: Do you know how to flag a group?

>97 MrsLee: I do not! And I looked on our group page and couldn't see any way of doing it. I am disappointed, because in my copious spare time I was planning to go and willy-nilly flag groups all over the place. Not ;)

Yes, you just go to the group page and there's a flag option. It's used primarily to alert the PTB to spam groups. I am hoping it was just a mistake, but I have started a thread so the person who flagged us can PM me if they have a legitimate issue.

Okay, I'm editing this to say I no longer see the flag option. LOL Because I was going to try to counter-flag it, to make that red banner go away.

I never knew you could flag a group before. Is LT testing a new feature?

I was looking at other group pages, and I could be lame, but I couldn't find where the correct place to flag anything was.

>101 Majel-Susan: In the upper right hand corner is:
Join this group
Watch this group
Recommend this group
Flag this group

If you are a member of a group or have marked it ignore you won't see those options.

I did a little searching and most of what I found was from old posts, but it looks like members can only flag newer groups. After a group has been around for a period of time, the flag option disappears. I played around and did see the “Flag this group” option exists on newer groups, in the same section where one can join or watch a group, but I don't see it on older groups regardless of whether or not I'm a member.

This post (message # 60) says the LT admins have the flag option at all times. So if our group was flagged, it was apparently flagged by staff? :) Probably a mistake as some have suggested.

>102 Taphophile13: >103 YouKneeK: Ahh, okay. I see what you mean now.

>94 Majel-Susan: That was my question.

I don't see it. I feel like I missed out!

edited:

NOW I see it. I thought it was just for this specific thread, but it is on the homepage of the whole group. Wow, that takes some chutzpuh or a serious case of the fumble fingers. I'm wondering if a phone/tablet oriented person hit the wrong button?

Anyway, my evening is now fulfilled since I HAVE seen the big red spam alert :-D

Did someone not provide the enforcers with cheese and tea?

>83 tardis: It has been some days so I hope you feeling better now. Nice to not have covid, but migraines is a nuisance in their own right...

On the lynx topic I had to google - or wikipedia, rather - lynx types and sizes. And a Canadian lynx is twice as large and less spotted than the one I'm used to (the Lynx Lynx), which in turn is about twice the size of the US red lynx (which looked like a mini-version of the Canadian lynx). Hm...
The things there is to learn :-)

>108 Busifer: Thank you, yes. The migraine finally tapered off on Monday. It wasn't one of my worst, anyway. but glad to have it gone.

>85 clamairy: I doubt it's allergies - more likely a mild cold or sinus. I do find that cold weather brings on more of a nasal drip.

My MiL has been in her new place a week today. As a new resident, she's isolated from the other residents for another week due to Covid, and is getting her dinner delivered to her apartment, but she seems happy. She's sorting out her closets (my sister-in-law and I unpacked for her so she probably couldn't find anything LOL) and puttering around getting everything how she likes it while watching Italian news on cable. We can't visit her much, because the management requires us to a) make an appointment to visit and b) residents can only have one visitor at a time. This also means that delivering the last couple of pieces of furniture can't be done for a while because one person can't manage them.

Meanwhile, father-in-law has decided to stay in the house after all, because he figures moving and getting a new place will cost too much. Money is not a problem, and he can't take it with him, but we won't make a big deal of it for now. He has lots to keep him busy there, what with sorting and getting rid of the excess furniture and stuff, and he's healthy enough for his age.

Sending big virtual hugs to all. After a brief time of loosening up just a little, my wife and I are preparing to go into serious lockdown mode again. We're not alone--the local Giant is out of TP again.

Today is the first anniversary of her giving me a kidney. As you can imagine, I have been, and continue to be, immensely grateful.

I got new glasses last month and greatly improved my long-distance vision, just in time for some wonderful leaf peeping and a general appreciation and gratitude for the ability to see. And colors! For some reason I'm really enjoying the fact that I can see colors and that they're so cool. And no, I haven't been smoking anything ;-)

Well - good news/bad news for me this week. My new-in-March laptop was accidently left unplugged last week, and was completely dead when I went to use it next. It might have been a day or so later. Once plugged back in it was fine, except I was getting a little alarm down in the task bar about the battery. Yesterday I finally did a bunch of diagnostics and it kept either failing or not completing the test. I tried to log in to send an error report, but couldn't get my password to work. Went through the reset password procedure three times, only completed it twice, as the second time it told me that I couldn't use the existing password, so I tried the one I'd just set again, to no avail. Then I went on to the website and followed their recommendations. The hardware diagnostic test on reboot also failed, so I then called the toll-free number. (still couldn't get the password to work) Spent almost an hour with the technician online while we did tests, reloaded the bios, upgraded the bios, tested how fast it lost power when unplugged (very fast), and finally got to the stage of "you have to send it in for repair" fortunately still under warranty. And laptops no longer come with user-removeable batteries.

I've actually had a few battery error messages since I've had it, but they always went away before. I am glad that it failed while still under warranty, but once I send it, I'll be without it until it is fixed. They said 7-10 days, but from where I live, I'm sure I'll be lucky if it is less than 2 weeks. I still have to wait for the official shipping box to arrive, and will probably wait until after the historical society year end AGM on November 29, because I'll need it a lot before then. Also, they do everything by courier, which is probably fine if you live in a city, but I don't think the one they use even has an office here, so I have to figure out who they use locally.

And meantime, I'd better put the old one back together.

>111 NorthernStar: sad to hear about the computer but at least you had a warranty i forgot to get a warranty on my headphones and dropped them you can guess what happened after that .

>111 NorthernStar: Good luck with the computer. It's so frustrating when technology stops working.

Also infuriating. Apparently Disney has decided it doesn't need to pay Alan Dean Foster royalties for StarWars books he wrote because they "only bought the rights but not the obligations that go with them." Ugh. https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/11/18/disney-attempts-to-withhold-royalty-pa...

I've never read any of his books before and now I think I need to go check them out.

>114 Narilka: I heard about that. Horrible!

>114 Narilka: WOW!!!! Rights and obligations go hand in hand, as well they know. I can't believe they're doing something like this. While not leaving me speechless, it certainly only confirms my hatred for Disney and their handling of the Star Wars franchise :-(

I have an awesome sister! I got a birthday parcel today (only 2 months late, so it was a lovely surprise), and it was full of cool stuff. There was a lovely tin of ginger cookies, some chocolates, and a catalog from Ikea; a big box of very interesting, mostly snacky stuff from 22 different Alberta companies;

and a CHEESE advent calendar.

I had to post here, to make you all jealous.

Thanks tardis!

I hope all of you celebrating Thanksgiving today are having a great day!

>117 NorthernStar:
Mmmmmmmmmm! CHEESE advent calendar!

>117 NorthernStar: What a lovely surprise! A box full of treasures. Enjoy the CHEESE!

>117 NorthernStar: what pgmcc said!

When I saw the cheese advent calendar, I thought of all of the Green Dragon members and wished I could send one to everyone :)

>121 tardis: Dumb technical question from DD: How do you keep the CHEESE from going off in a centrally-heated house (northern hemisphere) or in summer (here)?
I still like the idea well enough to wish I could ask for one without being told I'm showing signs of second childhood.

What they all said. Cheese Advent calendar! What a marvellous idea.

I had a cheese Advent calendar last year. Each day's cheese-dose is individually wrapped in plastic so it would probably be okay in a dark cool cupboard. The whole thing is also small enough that it would fit inside a fridge.

A more unorthodox approach might be to eat the whole thing in one sitting on 1st December (if you don't mind feeling a bit sick afterwards!)

I received a marketing email today reminding me that various UK supermarket chains are stocking them. I'm tempted!

>122 hfglen: As >124 pokarekareana: says, keep it in the fridge. It was technically un-refrigerated in transit to NorthernStar, but I knew each piece was sealed in plastic, it would only be in transit a few days, and this time of year the whole country is a big refrigerator :)

Once again NorthernStar and tardis make me wish I had a sister. You two have such a close relationship.

>121 tardis: When I saw the cheese advent calendar, I thought of all of the Green Dragon members and wished I could send one to everyone :)


Do not let me stop you.

My address is...

>127 pgmcc: Alas, my budget doesn't allow it. Also, when I looked today (thinking I might treat myself), they were sold out.

>128 tardis: :-(

Yes, the cheese advent calendar is in the fridge. Sorry tardis can't send you all one, but if you visit before it's all gone I will share! (She says confidently, knowing no one will take her up on it)

*packs bag and cheese fork*

>130 NorthernStar: I'm with >131 MrAndrew:. Heading to the gate now. Take off in 30 minutes.

The good news is that my right eye is improving; I can now read for limited periods, although LT forum text is difficult, so it will probably take me quite a while to catch up.

The bad news is that, although they fluctuate, current pain levels are making concentrating on anything rather difficult.

>132 pgmcc: You are evidently on the wrong Island. Supermarkets here appear to be stocking them.

>122 hfglen: At least one purveyor here is selling waxed cheeses in its Advent calendar. I would presume these would have no problem, even in your climate.

>110 Jim53: It was heartening to read a post with God medical news in it. Keep safe, both of you!

>109 tardis: & prev. At least scanning backwards through thread means that I read that your test was negative before setting that you had needed one (I appear to have missed that earlier - sorry). I am glad that your family situation appears to be resolving, gradually.

>76 NorthernStar: Just what I needed to see - she is beautiful!

>75 WholeHouseLibrary: And, finally, I reply to your question.
I do poor covers of 3 Leo Kottke tunes, two Richard Thompson tunes, some Gordon Lightfoot, Stan Rogers, John Gorka, Richard Shindell, Cliff Eberhardt, Dylan . Americans and Canadians, primarily. Maybe 20% of the songs I do were written by women: Kate Wolf, Lucy Kaplansky, Dar Williams; currently working on deciphering my third tune by Brandi Carlie.
Dylan of course, but other than him, the only one that I am really at familiar with is Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention, I presume).
How do the names Martin Carthy, June Tabor, Ewan MacColl, Maddy Prior sound to you?
A lot of what I sing is traditional. Some that I inherited from my family. But Child Ballads too.

>133 -pilgrim-: thanks! Glad to hear reading is easier. Sending virtual hugs about everything else.

>134 NorthernStar: Thank you.

>133 -pilgrim-: Holding my thumbs for pain levels to go down, fast, and for you to be able to read without troubles again.

>136 Busifer: Thank you Pella. At the moment I am simply glad to be able to be reading at all.

I started printing my holiday cards so they'll be ready for the LibraryThing Card Exchange that comes after SantaThing. And for sending to other people, of course :)

I don't call them Christmas cards because there's not much Christmassy about them except they tend to be winter-related and sent out in December. Winter Solstice cards, maybe?

I've done about 30 so far, and it's going slowly because I decided that two colours would be better than one, but only used one piece of linoleum to carve the design, so applying the colour is finicky. I love doing it, though. It's very satisfying to put on an audiobook or podcast and get into the creative zone.

This is the first one I printed. I've tweaked it a bit since then, but they're all pretty similar. I like coyotes and they're super common here this year.

Oh that's lovely!

Wow! That's beautiful!

>138 tardis: That is super. You are very talented.

>138 tardis: What a beautiful design.

>138 tardis: That is beautiful.

I would love to be sending something like that. A "Yule card" maybe?

>138 tardis: I love that design! You are very gifted.

>138 tardis: Thank you for posting that. I feel as if we all just received a card from you. And yay, some love for coyotes.

>138 tardis: Nice!

>138 tardis: Ooh, I like that! And the black-white-gold scheme looks great. Do you use markers, or how is it made?

>147 Majel-Susan: It's a block print. The ink is rolled on the block and then the paper is laid on it, pressure is applied and if I've done it right, the colour gets transferred to the paper evenly. I don't always do it right LOL. Normally with a two colour design one would either use two pieces of lino so they could be inked separately, or do a reduction print where the block is carved in stages - one stage for each colour. I used just one block and a roller for each colour and there wasn't enough separation so the colours mixed in spots, but I don't mind the effect. This was the first print I did - in later ones I used a tiny paintbrush to put black on the nose and eye before printing.

Over the years I've used various techniques for cards; silk screen, stencil, cut paper, and lino block. I tend to like block prints best. One of these days I'm going to try woodcut.