Friday Five!

Heyjay - it's shocking someone pooed in your car park. Lots of bleach!

I've been happy with the citroen c4 cactus, the c3 looked so snazzy when we were in the dealership. Enjoy your new car!

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I'm a member of The Grumpy Expats group on Facebook. People poop EVERYWHERE in Europe. It no longer surprises me to hear about it.

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I'm a member of The Grumpy Expats group on Facebook. People poop EVERYWHERE in Europe. It no longer surprises me to hear about it.

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Seriously? I’ve lived here all my life and have never heard about it!

The only place I’ve ever seen/heard of someone doing that in public was in the dorms of the US college I was studying at during my year abroad.


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Seriously? I’ve lived here all my life and have never heard about it!

The only place I’ve ever seen/heard of someone doing that in public was in the dorms of the US college I was studying at during my year abroad.


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You hear more about it in mainland Europe. But it is one of the most common complaints in that group.

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It wasn't unheard of in SoCalif - especially near the beaches. There was/is a rather large homeless population there and not all of them are entirely sane.

I'm totally up for that.  But I don't know if they would fit (yes, you can pick two sizes) but length and all.  I just think it's kind of risky.  If I was a banging size 8, I would go for it.  I'm a mom with two kids and my shape reflects it.

My update is that the baby has been admitted to the hospital.  Hopefully we will be allowed to go home early tomorrow.  He's improved so so much since we arrived and they started treating him.  If he keeps it up, we'll be sprung. 

You could take a look at TK Maxx. I just got two cute sweater dresses on there for £42. They have evening dresses as well, and you could do store pick up (which is what I did). You could try and return immediately if they don't fit?

And I saw he was in hospital, so sorry to hear. I hope he gets the green light to go home soon!

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It wasn't unheard of in SoCalif - especially near the beaches. There was/is a rather large homeless population there and not all of them are entirely sane.

You don't have to be insane to poop outside if you are homeless. 

You don't have to be insane to poop outside if you are homeless.

True. But most of the poo I saw on the street was adjacent to the municipal toilets.

Friday Friday Friday

3.) Playing the first of many Christmas Carolling sessions tomorrow.  It's after Thanksgiving, so it's okay to have Christmas now

It's Monday, now, and I'm only just catching up to about 10 days of UKY, but PB!  I've been playing SOOO much guitar!  The very first day I had my guitar, I picked out the melody of Hark! The Herald Angel Sings by ear.  Now my husband will say, "Okay, try XYZ", and I'll sort it out.  I need to really work on chords and playing "real" guitar, but I can mostly find my way around the fretboard and I'm so pleased!  In two days, I will have had my guitar for four weeks, and I can already play four basic Christmas carols, Suicide is Painless (M.A.S.H. theme), and VCR by The XX (this last I play VERY badly).  I know a few chords, by I really need to work on moving between them quickly.  Oh.  And I'm trying to learn a song that I've always hated (Jingle Bell Rock), mostly for the challenge of it.

Anyway, thought you might be excited for me.  Because I'm excited.  Yay!

It's Monday, now, and I'm only just catching up to about 10 days of UKY, but PB!  I've been playing SOOO much guitar!  The very first day I had my guitar, I picked out the melody of Hark! The Herald Angel Sings by ear.  Now my husband will say, "Okay, try XYZ", and I'll sort it out.  I need to really work on chords and playing "real" guitar, but I can mostly find my way around the fretboard and I'm so pleased!  In two days, I will have had my guitar for four weeks, and I can already play four basic Christmas carols, Suicide is Painless (M.A.S.H. theme), and VCR by The XX (this last I play VERY badly).  I know a few chords, by I really need to work on moving between them quickly.  Oh.  And I'm trying to learn a song that I've always hated (Jingle Bell Rock), mostly for the challenge of it.

Anyway, thought you might be excited for me.  Because I'm excited.  Yay!

That's awesome! Sounds like you're a natural! 

That's awesome! Sounds like you're a natural! 

In fairness, I was in piano lessons off and on a few times as a kid, and I took up the violin very briefly at about age 10 (was selected to play a solo part at the Christmas concert a couple of months in...).  And I had some formal instruction in music theory when I was in 8th grade (age 13-ish?).  So I'm not coming at this from a totally blank slate.  But I'd never touched a guitar before I bought mine, and I've never had so much enthusiasm to keep at learning a musical instrument before.  My fingertips are looking at the piano we have in the spare room with wistfulness, now, though.  My poor fingers are now numb and hurty at the same time.  It's a weird feeling.

In fairness, I was in piano lessons off and on a few times as a kid, and I took up the violin very briefly at about age 10 (was selected to play a solo part at the Christmas concert a couple of months in...).  And I had some formal instruction in music theory when I was in 8th grade (age 13-ish?).  So I'm not coming at this from a totally blank slate.  But I'd never touched a guitar before I bought mine, and I've never had so much enthusiasm to keep at learning a musical instrument before.  My fingertips are looking at the piano we have in the spare room with wistfulness, now, though.  My poor fingers are now numb and hurty at the same time.  It's a weird feeling.

Yay!! Sounds da like you've got a great new hobby!!

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1.  OH away to Manchester for beer (yes.), so I've been enjoying having the bed to myself and a clean house.
2.  New guy in work - 30 years old - claims to have trained as a pilot, been a resident DJ in Ibiza, a music producer, and extra in Outlander and various other films/shows... so why are you doing an entry level job in a bank through a temp agency?
3.  Happy St Andrews Day to all of us in bonnie Scotland.
4.  Christmas tree going up tomorrow!
5.  Think I might start looking for a new job in the new year.  I need a change.  I made a change not that long ago, but it's proving not to have been a change for the better! 

Ah, Friday.

1) The Daughter has invited a dozen people over for supper this evening. We have four plates and cutlery for five. This doesn't seem to be an issue with her (yet).   The turkey for said supper is thawed and should cook in about three hours. Cornbread is supposed to be on the menu. Daughter bought one box of Jiffy - which will make 6 muffins. Hmmmm. And then there's seating. We have, total, 10 chairs (including the couch and a rocking chair) in the entire house. The kitchen table would seat 6 at best, but that is where she'll have to put the buffet out. Hmmmm.  I'm just going to spend the evening hiding in my room, I think.

2) The kitchen looks like a bomb went off in it. The living room and entry are marginally better. The Daughter wants to put up the Christmas Tree today as it's all about appearances - she likes to have things decorated nicely when she has guests in. It is 9 hours until her guests start to arrive. She is still in bed. I am assuming I'm going to be pressed into service shortly.

3) I have time for only three more driving lessons before my practical test. I am feeling a lot more comfortable in the car, but am still having trouble backing into bays and remembering to look in the mirror before signaling, and not at the same time as signaling. I just want the darned license so I can go home and rent a car in the States. I ~really~ don't want to drive here - I don't enjoy it. Oh, well. Means to an end. If I pass, I don't have to do it again. If I don't pass, I practice more, and then try again.

4) It's been raining pretty steadily for three days now. It would be nice if it would stop long enough for me to walk to the shop. But it probably won't. At least our home is nice and cozy. If it wasn't windy out I'd just go out with an umbrella, but that's kind of pointless today.

5) I have been tired all week and my ears feel "funny", so I think I'm fighting off a bug. Thankfully I have loads of soup in the house and will be gnoshing on whatever leftovers there are from tonight all weekend, so I can just putter around in my bathrobe, eat, and sleep for the next few days.

[Albatross - on the new guy. Sounds like he's between gigs and needs steady income?  Happy St. Andrews Day!]

That new guy in #2 does sound a little too good to be true, considering where he is now.     I hope your job hunt goes well... on the bright side, you can do it in a relaxed manner, as you're already in work.  But I hope you find something awesome very soon.

Nan, I might need an update after the daughter's guests have gone... let us know how it goes!

My five:

1.  I missed last week because my husband had a week of holiday and he's very distracting when he's home.  But I'm just so glad he's not gone all the time like during The Bad Times.  I've been looking forward to the day he can retire since the day we met.  I wish that didn't seem so far off.  We need a small lottery win... pay off the mortgage and just enjoy life. 

2.  Yesterday my husband was home (his day off this week was yesterday), and checked the post.  He handed me a thin brown envelope and I instantly knew what it was... turned it over to confirm the sender was Home Office, and I got so excited.  My husband was less optimistic and said, "It's so thin..."  But MY CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION WAS APPROVED!.  I phoned the Bristol office this morning, and I am booked in for 14th December for an individual ceremony!  I don't know how long it takes for the passport to arrive after the ceremony, but there's 10 days from my ceremony 'til Christmas Eve... just sayin'.

3.  My sister spent $70 on postage to send me a souvenir from Afghanistan.  It's a replica of what's called "t-wall"... great big cast concrete wall segments that are craned into place to form a thick wall around the base.  I don't know how big the real ones are, but the lump of concrete that she posted to me is about a foot tall, I think, and much thicker than I expected.  She also sent me three scarves from a Kabul bazaar, so I can cover my head like a good modest woman should.

4.  Guitar playing is going well.  My husband has been shopping for his own guitar, so we don't have to take turns with mine.  I'm really looking forward to him getting one, because then we'll be another step closer to doing The Thing!  We'll just be down to practice/learning to play, then. 

5.  The other day, my husband said something, almost in passing, that I wish I could remember exactly... it was something along the lines of "Since I met you, I am happy... before, I sort of existed, but now sometimes, just when I'm not doing anything, I realize I'm happy."  He loves me!  (It's mutual.)

Bonus: Wrens are adorable little tiny birds, aren't they?

Mine are better this week 

1. Nice new doc at the GP! He thinks I have enteritis. And I get to mail something extra special to the lab 😂😂 (sorry but that gave me the giggles)

2. I drove all by myself to the doc and home and backed into our driveway. This is progress!

3. My body is functioning properly again in the hormone department. Now to get knocked up. 

4. Christmas tree up tomorrow!!!

5. Happily St. Andrews Day to my fellow Scots.