Re: Hi Dita and all

[maggieh]

Good afternoon everyone.Trying to rain here still, muggy though.I went for a stroll today round the block after Janet went home with her hubby.Today was the first time I'd seen Janet since February That was way before lockdown.

My shopping was delivered at 11.15 this morning,only thing I didnt get was cornish icecream.Was looking forward to that.

Drawing group is starting again in September,I was going to stop going there.But Ive said i'll go back for now.Depends on how many people are there etc.

It is now pouring down with rain.

All keep well and safe.

[Penny]

Brilliant, keep going Maggieh or you will end up bored like me and others. Pleased you have enjoyed your visitos. Take care. cheers Penny

[vannin]

Good afternoon, a wet day continuously since 9 a.m.- ish. But I buzzed into town, there and back in an hour, for what was left behind in Smiths yesterday! Did my usual mid-day routine, made a sandwich and sat down with it and coffee, to watch my usual 'The Bill'. I am a creature of habit, not unlike the furry creature here. She, being bored when she woke up from her morning sleep, spotted I was in the recliner so rushed to gain my lap to start another sleep. Her sleep lasted from 12.30 to 3 p.m., and mine was one hour at the end of The Bill. I was pinned down but, though the loo was needed, wouldn't disturb her because I am being a greater slave, prior to getting her to the vet tomorrow. Dreading it.
She had a marathon sleep on Monday when I was in the recliner, it lasted four and a half hours and I slept some of that. We were both still making up for being up and about in Thursday night's storms. Now she is once again curled up for sleep on the printer beside the laptop. It is pouring and she has eaten so why get up, apart from watching me get another coffee?
I find it quite cool as well as wet. It could be a good time to continue the clear-out which has had several stages since April. Get better soon Maisie and I hope everyone else is OK. Dita, your 'am I coming or going' is quite familiar here. Hugs from the sleepy Trixie and me.

[Penny]

Morning all, nice and sunny here so far. Friend in USA says his forecast is ... the weather will be getting hotter at the weekend. according to our promise we have showers due on and off until the weekend. Take care all cheers Penny

[vannin]

Good morning, though not in and around San Francisco and much of North and South California with the wildfires. I have (a clan) about two dozen relatives in the San Mateo district and other parts of S.F. and I don't know whether they are among people being evacuated. The TV news shows terrifying scenes and I am worried sick about them. Only the other day I had an email from Patty saying there might be trouble ahead. Her nephew Tom is a San Francisco cop and always seems to throw himself into rescue emergencies although he only recently recovered from a fractured sternum.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53840437

[dita]

Oh! my God Vannin, can so understand your anxieties and I do hope you find out quickly if they are ok, such a worry. Keep ya pecker up my friend, and keep giving that Trixie a cuddle she is sure to make you feel easier. Hugs from Dolly and me, we are thinking about you xxxxx

[vannin]

Thank you Dita and Dolly, and hugs from us. Trixie was a perfect angel both before and during the vet apptmt. The stressed one is always me, and I am impressed by the Covid working system whereby owners are not in the consulting room but wait outside it! This makes sense and her behaviour is impeccable without me! I have sent a message to USA cousins though they are not up yet as their current time is about 5 a.m. I doubt they can be sleeping through that.

P.S. Don't anyone let me try out a pet taxi business again! She arrived 15 minutes late for Trixie's appointment. Did not apologise, but she had been sitting outside some address a quarter of a mile away because she failed to listen to the directions I gave her, but airily said 'Oh I'll find it'. She is LOCAL too! and when she eventually texted me, I had stood on the pavement nearly half an hour with the calm Trixie, in her carrier beside me. I am so proud of my little one. They (Paddy's Pets) charge £25 per hour, which I reluctantly paid. All this happened because the friend who usually gives us lifts is in Spain.Luckily the vet is quick and understood about my lateness and we were only there less than half an hour.

[Penny]

Any news of your friends yet vannin? cheers Penny

[vannin]

Good morning all. It is windy since last night but it keeps the mugginess down a fraction.
One of my two dozen cousins has sent this message, mentioning her horse but not the wider family, so I guess communication is down.
"Thank you Viv... California just on fire. My home and area is safe but I moved my horse today...he was in Pescadero down the coastline and it it is very dicey. Was not waiting for a crisis and luckily have friends that have room on their ranch. They took in 12 horses yesterday and today ❣️ Marilyn."

[maggieh]

Good morning everyone.Very windy here too,at least rain isn't forecast.I am thinking of wether to go out for a walk,will be blown along the path.

Thats a lot of money for a Pet Taxi Viv.Can you not get a normal taxi with Trixie in her cat cage.

I must practice on a game this afternoon,I promised Logan I would,then I can play it with him.But the game is very muddled for me.Children pick things up quicker than nanny,lol.It is called Minecraft its building houses etc.Looks like they are driving home from Wales.Iv'e no idea when there holiday was ending.

The sun is coming out now.Well have a nice day and stay safe.

[vannin]

Hi Maggie, yes, £25 IS a lot and I regret booking with them. My friend who usually takes us had made her last-minute trip to Spain, so time was short. I tried ringing a taxi guy who gave me his card last year but he was uncontactable. Years ago, there was one who charged just £10 for there and back plus the wait during Trixie's treatment. I am only up the hill from the vet, about ten minutes drive including two sets of traffic lights.
But the trouble is, he puts a pet in the boot, which must be rather traumatising. I know cats can see in the dark, but a boot is a small prison even for ten minutes, and she would be unlikely to damage his back seat, being in a cage carrier. As for dogs, most cabbies don't like them anyway.
The woman we had yesterday seems to have a low intelligence and maybe she can't help it, so I didn't argue over the cost.

[maggieh]

Good morning.I have been for a walk to blow the cobwebs away,not many people out though.It is windy ,we did have rain earlier.Now the sun is trying to stay out.

Haven't gone to see Logan today as they only came back from Wales yesterday.Best to wait a while before meeting up with them.Its awful having to think like that.

I am having a washing spree,washing covers for bed and settee,something to do.

Have a nice day everyone and keep safe.

[dita]

Good afternoon everyone. Just got my laptop fired up when we had a power cut, so this whole village was cut off including streetlights we were out of bounds until just before midnight when they returned, never thought I would have this problem, my husband looked after torches, candles etc. so I was hunting all over the place, eventually found a couple of candles, the torch which was re- chargeable needed charging so a merry time was had by poor little Dolly and yours truly. Why it happened I don't know, and it also affected my mobile too and landline so I couldn't tell anyone.
Our vet charges £20 if they pickup and return an animal to your home Vannin-----they never miss a trick where money is concerned, like you I live about 5 mins away from the surgery. Do hope your family are all safe Vannin as well as the horses, it is a dreadful situation for everyone.
Take care everyone and Hugs from Dolly and me xxx

[vannin]

Dita, you know that saying 'No news is good news'? Well, I would like to believe it, but history has usually proved otherwise. I am still awaiting news from/about/ the extended family of the one whose message I had. I think the fires are affecting all forms of communication. I also have cousins in Canada, where wildfires are ravaging B.C. and they have been describing it on Facebook.
It is beyond belief how powerless the people are, in the path of the spreading flames when they are told to clear the area, 'evacuate your homes immediately' and they have to grab what possessions they can and escape; and within minutes their homes are cinders. (I am breaking off to make the remainder a new post)

[vannin]

My Family Tree discoveries.
In normal times we are constantly in touch since nearly 4 years ago, that is all, because none of us in Ireland and England had previously thought to look into history elsewhere. I was on Ancestry looking at the DNA section, having had mine recorded, and the list showed some Walshes were my second cousins and also third and fourth! Walsh is a name like Smith, lots of them. Then I received a message from them which connected my family tree to theirs - Irish-Americans.. She asked if I had a Walsh parent born in...(yes, my mother) and gave the address of formerly my grandparents farm in Ireland. Their grandfather was the eldest brother of my grandfather and he had emigrated to the USA when only 18, becoming the patriarch of this whole 'tribe'. My remaining two aunts in Ireland had forgotten this piece of history! The American cousin Tom had flown in and traced my uncle in 2000.

The smaller clan in Canada, I was informed of nine years ago, on my father's side. The shock part was, the person who emailed me (a professional genealogist related to me) had made the discovery that a greatgrandfather of mine had been a bigamist whose first wife and family, in Dublin,were deserted by him, believed he had died, but he changed his name to re-marry and settle in Manitoba. His new 'tribe' were even more shocked than I was, as he had kept his secret to the grave..
Anyway that is enough about ancestry, time to get moving.
Hugs from Trixie and me to everyone.