Thursday, May 16, 2019

A FEW RAMBLES, A FEW PHOTOGRAPHS, IN ORDER AS THINGS HAPPEN



I had fun putting this together using a brick wall template in one of my iPad apps, "Pip", in a collage collection, finishing off in Paint Shop Pro which is on my laptop.  I used some of my favorite photos taken from various get togethers with son and daughter-in-law this year so far.

My laptop seems to be working okay now.  Still scratching my head on that one.  For a while there I thought I would have to be getting rid of it.  The shaking that I got on the screen has mysteriously gone away.  Am I being lulled into a false sense of security?  Maybe but I'll take it.  Still backing up everything regularly and wondering how long this will last.  

We took a friend to the airport last Tuesday.  She is spending time with family.  We had a couple of hours to enjoy a cup of tea and a chat at home, then we headed out to the airport.  We were there in the afternoon where normally the place would be hopping, but it was relatively quiet.  A good day to travel apparently.  After we saw her through the security gate we made our way home, stopping for lunch at our favorite noodle shop.  That was our main meal for the day and there was no cooking dinner that night.  Yes I take pictures of fire hydrants!

We will be getting back into the garage to do more throwing out and more tidying up, and more finding of family treasures no doubt.  The exciting part of one day, and yes I jest and yet we still enjoyed the experience, was a trip to the local refuse collection center.  We filled up the boot of the car with no longer useable items.  First you have to stop off at the kiosk at the entrance, and asked the friendly lady where we should deposit each item we had.  

We had cleaned out a box where a few cans of old paint had been held, and we wanted to dispose of them responsibly. Directed to a special area, the young man who helped Gregg told him when asked, what happened to the paint.  The young man said that if the leftover paint was less than ten years old, they gave it to Habitat for Humanity, but that our cans dated back to 2004 so that wouldn't happen.  At Gregg's surprised expression he immediately laughed, and he realized he was joking. We were happy to hear that our old left-over paint would be going to a good cause.  We also drop things off at Goodwill if what we have is in decent shape, but if they don't want it, off to the dump we go.

We also dropped things off at the recycling area, and are attempting to do our small part of keeping as much plastic out of our daily life as possible, even when it comes to going to the grocery store.  We won't use the supermarket's plastic bags for produce any more, and have bought something like these reusable produce bags.  We are slowly seeing places banning plastic bags but at Trader Joes recently, we were told that theirs are made of a biodegradable material.  Thought that was very interesting.  We still, however, will keep using our reusable produce bags, if nothing else than to keep our own trash down as much as we can.  

The refuse center is impressively organized, and that was our exciting excursion for that day, and yes I take photos of everything! (We do get trash pick up at home by the way, four pick-ups a week on various days, two for trash, one for recycling and one for yard waste; grass cuttings, trimming of branches, etc.  We can also make a phone call if we have anything larger to get rid of, but anything that we can fit into the boot of the car that won't mess the car up, we actually take it to the dump.  As I said, exciting, or as our son sometimes like to tease us and says with a chuckle, retired folks!) 

We had a Facetime chat today with our niece and nephew over the pond.  Always love seeing their smiling faces and it was good to catch up.  I told my niece as I was talking I noticed a chipmunk on the deck.  She asked me to send photos which I had taken before our call, so these were the ones I sent to her.  Two are a bit blurry because I took them through the screen on the back door, one was taken through the glass.  In one photo he is drinking out of the water bowl, but can you see how that little greedy-guts is gobbling up the seed and stuffing his cheeks?  Storing it all up for next winter no doubt!

Gregg spent a few hours with our son later.  I would have gone but felt a bit grotty, so did not want to put a damper on things.  I enjoyed hearing all about it when Gregg and I had a chat afterwards.

After a couple of heavy rain-filled, chilly days (and back to sweaters and coats), the sun is out and we will be experiencing comfortable temperatures again.  Maybe we will get out for a ride in the countryside.

Whatever you are doing enjoy, and thanks for reading this rather long ramble.




34 comments:

  1. You are one busy person. not only doing the work but reporting on it for the blog. It takes me ages to think up something of interest to blog about.
    Re plastic bags, I haven't seen one in a shop for several years.

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    1. That’s wonderful about the plastic bags Valerie. I remember years ago how my mother always had these expandable string bags for her groceries. I am now catching up with her. I can type as fast as I think so when I start a post, it seems to take on a life of its own. I don’t, however, do these rambles very often.

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    1. Estou feliz que você tenha gostado do meu post. Obrigado! Um abraço e uma boa semana para você.

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  3. Hello, my hubby also make the recycling and dump visits easy. Love the cute chipmunk. Enjoy your day, wishing you a great weekend!

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    1. Good to know Eileen. Happy you enjoyed the chipmunk. Enjoy your day, also the weekend.

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  4. I should do some clearing up and recycling.

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    1. It is turning out to be a big job but feels rewarding to see progress.

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  5. You had a very busy day. Good idea to start getting rid of some things. When i look back it's hard to realize how much stuff I had and still have,

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    1. Us too Red, I have been wanting to do this for a long time and have had a few false starts, but I can’t stand the clutter any more. I got the bee in my bonnet about recycling and plastic years ago when I watched shows on TV, and read about what is going into our oceans and the damage it is causing. I try to avoid plastic straws and notice some restaurants either ask you if you want one, or don't offer them at all. I also noticed how they do things in Europe years ago, especially on trips back when visiting family. I know I am only one person but it makes me feel good by trying to do my small part. I know more and more people who are doing the same thing now.

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  6. A thoroughly delightful post today! We donate a lot to Goodwill, and shop there as well. I get all of my clothes there. The fire hydrant is lovely, being as it is surrounded by beautiful plants. It almost looks like a garden decoration. GREAT chipmunk pics, considering you took them through glass or screens! He is so cute!! Growing up, we used to hand feed them peanuts. I hate the plastic shopping bags, because all the groceries dump them over inside. The paper are so much nicer. Plus we save them to use as trash bags.

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    1. It makes me happy you enjoyed my post Ginny, thank you and Goodwill is an interesting place to browse around for sure. I have found little treasures there when I have visited. How neat to have a chipmunk feeding out of your hand. Another point on plastic shopping bags you mentioned. Paper bags are good for using as trash bags I agree. I thought that my store didn't offer them any more but I will have to check, but I guess I just don't want the extra trash so I use reusable shopping bags too. My mother would be proud of me I think, she was ahead of her time with hers, but then I guess all our mothers were back then.

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  7. A fine post. Love the chip critters

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  8. the pictures are awesome...i admire you using app's and learning new things!!

    that's a great picture of the chipmunk. our weather has been exactly the same BUT finally, it is beautiful outside. yesterday, for the first time, i sat on the deck and was able to knit. it felt amazing!!! the sun is out again today!!

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    1. Thanks Debbie, I enjoy fiddling with my iPad :))) Enjoy your knitting in this warmer weather, always admire what you put together.

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  9. Hi Denise,
    Why is it even though we throw away the empty paint cans and even those with only a little in, we always finish up with numerous empty cans in the cupboard.
    Super to see the Chipmunk.
    Hope the Laptop holds out.
    All the best, John

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    1. Thanks John, always the way. All the best to you too :)

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  10. I enjoy your post like this...feel like I have sat and had a visit with you. That chipmunk sure has his cheeks stuff full!

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  11. Nice collages, and I love the cute chipmunk!

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  12. I enjoyed your chatty post describing what you've been doing recently. You've been busy, but it's always satisfying when you've done some de-cluttering. I could do with taking some books to the goodwill shop, but I hate to part with them. We have a complicated system for trash collection run by the city council. Different bins for different rubbish and not every week for some of them. It's enough for us being a couple, but I expect with a family the trash mounts up. We have to think creatively how to cut down on plastic, but it's not easy. I hope you have a restful weekend.

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    1. Thank you :) It's hard to part with some things I know. Interesting about your trash collection. I remember seeing something of it on my visits back to the UK.

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  13. I think the chipmunk is cute, and fire hydrants do make a nice picture … they are such a great colour!

    All the best Jan

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  14. I love seeing your adventures, Denise. I find landfills fascinating! It's nice to hear of your interest in reducing the plastic issue. I'm so sad that most of it ends up in the ocean. We were so impressed in Great Britain at the lack of plastic packaging in the grocery stores. We should follow suit.

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    1. Thanks Martha Ellen, I am trying my best. It was the same in Germany too. I was impressed with that country regarding such things :)

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  15. Recycling is a good thing we all know and when others can get use out of our no longer needed stuff it's even better. I also smiled reading about the paint, Denise. It seems that many supermarkets and other places are switching to bring your own bags. We've been doing that for a number of years and it's nice to read that it's catching on. But in some cases, shoppers may not always have a tote handy. Cute chipmunk capture today.

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    1. Yes Dorothy, occasionally we do forget but I believe we are heading in the right direction.

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  16. A job like your cleanup can be so satisfying.... getting it done, seeing the results, and knowing you won’t have to do it again the next day! O,us feeling good about recycling.

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    1. Thanks Sallie, I agree, very satisfying. I am about to start again very soon. Have taken a couple of days off :)

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