Wild about Chatter ... Vol. 4

[herbidacious Profile]

Heavy rain here and throughout the night. We have a lake visible through the bushes, in the bottom half of the garden It's forecast to rain heavily all day so that's not going to get any better any time soon. Lots of water has come in under the door in the lean to to. The litter box is an island.

My mother's 'stolen' top (may have) turned up, of course, after I'd ordered a replacement. I never learn. I say 'may have' because I am not convinced she was telling the truth. I have a feeling she didn't really know what I was talking about when I asked her, as she was evasive about details

Wolfgirl can you recommend any exercise classes? I really need to start exercising more.

[WolfGirl Profile]

Herbi, I have access to various exercise routines run by the Les Mills franchise which is used by many gyms. However, I am a hardened gym bunny and wouldn’t recommend them for a beginner.

You could have a look on YouTube for routines of different levels. There are lots available which require no equipment, some are more geared towards traditional type exercise (think more like school PE lessons!), others are more dance related, and lots of stuff in between. You could also go down the yoga/body stretch/Pilates route.

Good luck.

[Suffs Profile]

Herbi ... ‘evasive’ used to mean that Ma couldn’t remember, but admitting that would mean she felt even less in control than she already did.
I often used to find that the carer had folded new stuff and put it away, to reappear at a later date ... Ma didn’t like wearing new things, she was ‘saving them for best’ but the carer got wise to this and if clothes were taken out of the chest of drawers they ‘weren’t new any more’. However I know your experience of carers hasn’t been as positive as mine.

[scullion Profile]

good morning, all.
overcast at the moment but we are promised a decent amount of full sun later. hopefully the cake, delayed when the last promise of sun disappeared, will be baked today.
i received a book via abe, yesterday, that was described as used , very good copy. if you ask me it was new, never been opened, pristine cover and spine. if bookshops had been open it would have cost me more just driving to the nearest (book and postage) let alone the price of the book. i prefer not to give my money to amazon but at least they get less of it, hopefully, via abe.
well, trump has made history - although probably not in the way he'd imagined.
i have a lovely cup of coffee.
have an interesting day, everyone.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Re exercise, some of the people doing the Lands End to John O Groats walk/run recommend a website where you 'walk' several miles a day from the comfort of your sitting room. It has proved ideal for people who have to isolate for Covid or who dont like going out in ice or rain. I'll find the link for you later. I haven't tried it as I've been nurturing my knee.

[liketocook Profile]

Good morning everyone,
Sleety rain here this morning.
I had a much better sleep last night so have regained some oomph
The quick tidy of the top third of the larder cupboard has evolved into a bit of project in the way these things do and I'm having a complete rethink on how the whole space is used. What was working well for me when I was on my own isn't after combining two households and it's a case of haul everything out and start again. It's large space and there's really no excuse for it to be so hard to find things. I may be gone some time.......

[herbidacious Profile]

Herbi ... ‘evasive’ used to mean that Ma couldn’t remember, but admitting that would mean she felt even less in control than she already did.
I often used to find that the carer had folded new stuff and put it away, to reappear at a later date ... Ma didn’t like wearing new things, she was ‘saving them for best’ but the carer got wise to this and if clothes were taken out of the chest of drawers they ‘weren’t new any more’. However I know your experience of carers hasn’t been as positive as mine.

Precisely, Suffs.

My mother does like wearing new things, but they go missing. (I am the one who is in the habit of not wearing new things for weeks. She will put them on the day after she gets them.) Most of them turn up, apart from the legendary pair of velvet trousers, which have become 'the best trousers [she] ever had'. I have looked everywhere for them, but have been exhorted to look every time I go up to visit for the last few years.

Alas things can't be put away properly as there isn't proper bedroom furniture in the 'temporary' downstairs bedroom. Although actually this might help matters. Things folded in piles on chairs are easier to go through.

My experience of carers is mostly through her perception of them, which I take with a great big pinch of salt. (However I am still pretty sure some food stuffs have gone missing in the past.) When she accuses them of stealing her clothes it almost amuses me, as seriously, they are really not going to want her clothes... (For a start, if they are 'bottoms' they are unlikely to fit given she's about 4ft 8 these days! And who in their right mind would want to steal pyjama bottoms?!)

I am perplexed that she is less than ruthlessly self-honest about this stuff. I am not sure if this is a personality change or not. I am afraid I see a lot of my sibling in her these days.

I do feel very sorry for her (mother.) It must be very difficult and upsetting. I understand that her expressed certainty about things is her way or trying to keep a semblance of self-dignity and control. Not being able to trust yourself erodes your sense of self... although I am 99% sure she's not conceptualized it thus or at all, indeed. She is of a generation not prone to self-examination or reflection.

EM I am afraid that sounds very boring... a problem I have will all forms of exercise, but stuff in the home, far worse. I do have an exercise bike.

[Seatallan Profile]

Herbi, re exercise, my personal opinion is that if you possibly can, it's best to get out of the house. I know we need to stay local and be careful, and I know I'm lucky to live in rural Cumbria, but even when I lived in Reading I had a whole host of attractive walks and runs I regularly did from our front door. Getting outside really does make everything feel more positive and there's always something good to look at (a hunt for the first snowdrop or the first catkin for example ). I know it sounds like a cliche but fresh air (even town air) is one of the best remedies.

Talking of snow, it is snowing heavily here and has been since early morning. Snow is due to fall for most of the day and very pretty it is too. I've been for a snow-run ( ) and am now thawing out and intend to do very little other than knit and catch up on some cooking prep. We were due to take Ollie to the vet this afternoon for his boosters, but once again (in view of the weather this time) his appointment has been bumped (to next week) so he's off the hook....

Catch you later everyone!

[scullion Profile]

thought you'd like to see one of the pics of algae foam.

IMG_2263.JPG (142.54 KiB) Viewed 126 times

[Stokey Sue Profile]

It’s raining here but easing off though the forecast says more heavy rain

I’ve been doing my Tai Chi and some kitchen disco for indoor exercise, but I do need to get out and walk, which I haven’t done for a few days as I had a headache, and there was a monsoon going on outside, hope to get out later but not terribly hopeful of the weather
I did walk everyday last week

Keep going with the laundry and the paperwork and the very small household jobs - there was an item about those on the radio, the one I’m most pleased with is that I put new batteries in my Thermapen, last time I did this the battery cover wouldn’t go back on properly, this time I managed to tuck a bit of the silicone seal that had come loose back into its channel, took 20 minutes but it’s good as new. Things you only do in lockdown …

Have a good day everyone

[herbidacious Profile]

Herbi, re exercise, my personal opinion is that if you possibly can, it's best to get out of the house. I know we need to stay local and be careful, and I know I'm lucky to live in rural Cumbria, but even when I lived in Reading I had a whole host of attractive walks and runs I regularly did from our front door. Getting outside really does make everything feel more positive and there's always something good to look at (a hunt for the first snowdrop or the first catkin for example ). I know it sounds like a cliche but fresh air (even town air) is one of the best remedies.

I know. And I try to (make myself.) But it is very boring in teh immediate vicinity of my house. I can't get anywhere interesting in the time I can spare for this (i.e. my lunch hour) and tbh don't have the energy to walk a long way and then work again. And it's not even quiet on suburban streets anymore. There's a local park a mile away but it's packed (and also pretty featureless and boring) so I would rather not. There are some bits of 'river' but not very exciting and loads of runners and cyclists to dodge. I did palnt to walk alk the way to the Thames by it at some point... and get the train back. (So one for non-Covid times.)

Maybe I should write the I Spy Book of Suburbia in my head to make it more interesting: cats (with sub categories: black and white, tabby etc.), jays, parakeets, joyridden dumped cars, dog poo (in bags or 'naked'), in this weather, snails, spring bulbs coming up in inappropriate places, street art, graffiti, unrecyclable things left in recycling boxes, mahonia, rubber bands, abandoned solo shoes, 'dead' disposable face masks, etc. etc. Reminds me, I saw a wren on my penultimate walk out and about!
Ach I almost want to go out now!

Can anyone identify this for me? I did google it...

50834782822_dbaa14461a_c.jpg (177.36 KiB) Viewed 115 times

Off to google algae foam...

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Female blackcap

[herbidacious Profile]

ooohh!

thanks!

[herbidacious Profile]

My binoculars are opening up whole new world of 'not just sparrows' to me

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Historically a summer migrant, some warblers, particularly blackcaps and chiffchaffs, overwinter. There are many more of both species here in the summer though. A couple of warbler species (Dartford and Cetti's) are resident. Some other birds we think of as residents such as robins or blackbirds, might also migrate a bit, either a short distance, or their numbers are swelled by winter immigration. We know that redwings and fieldfares are winter migrants because they're not here in the summer, but a lot of the blackbirds around now will also have come from the North and return in the Spring.

The 'sparrows' in our garden at this time of year are mostly reed buntings.

[WolfGirl Profile]

I also think it would be better to get your exercise outside if you can. I have a Fitbit and it tells me I burn as many calories in an hour’s walk as I do in a vigorous exercise class!

It would also take you away from your current working environment which would be a good thing. Could you catch up on podcasts etc?

[Pampy Profile]

Herbi - I don't know anything about your Mum's medical diagnosis/condition but when I have spoken to a dementia specialist about my Aunt, I've been told that people with memory issues often confabulate, where confusion or gaps in the memory are explained by fabricated explanations. It's a completely unconscious thing - the sufferer genuinely believes (at that moment in time) what they are saying. During "better" (ie more lucid) times, the person can get very upset at not being able to remember things. Memory loss is so sad.

[Suffs Profile]

I love Jay Rayner https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/j ... jay-rayner

[herbidacious Profile]

Historically a summer migrant, some warblers, particularly blackcaps and chiffchaffs, overwinter. There are many more of both species here in the summer though. A couple of warbler species (Dartford and Cetti's) are resident. Some other birds we think of as residents such as robins or blackbirds, might also migrate a bit, either a short distance, or their numbers are swelled by winter immigration. We know that redwings and fieldfares are winter migrants because they're not here in the summer, but a lot of the blackbirds around now will also have come from the North and return in the Spring.

The 'sparrows' in our garden at this time of year are mostly reed buntings.

Well you see because I am in London I just assume I will get nothing other than the 'usual'. There are plenty of trees round here but the nearest woods are a couple of miles away. Next door's bottom half of the garden appears to be a senstively curated wildlife haven, though. I am not sure if this is intentional. I should ask.

[herbidacious Profile]

I also think it would be better to get your exercise outside if you can. I have a Fitbit and it tells me I burn as many calories in an hour’s walk as I do in a vigorous exercise class!

It would also take you away from your current working environment which would be a good thing. Could you catch up on podcasts etc?

I went for a 4km walk last week and my MFP said I bad burned about 72 calories. I think it's best if I don't look. I used to be a very fast walker. I know I had slowed down (It used to take me 12 minutes to walk 1.1km up hill to the station before Covid. That's 5.5kph) But I think I may have slowed down further still.