Weird coincidence, but just this morning I saw a library Instagram video where their carts played the first few notes of Rockit. Well, it was another song I didn't recognize sampling Rockit.

I completed a DIY project that should have been done years ago, but I am extremely happy to have completed. Took me 2 months to do, some of which was ADHD, some of which was other more-timely things needing to be done. I built a wall along one side of the stairs going to our basement so I could add a much-needed hand-rail. A few months back we had a tornado warning and I realized that my MiL would have challenges getting down into our basement if we really needed to take shelter, as she has a dodgy foot and therefore trouble with stairs. I painted the wall to brighten the stairwell too. Now it feels like it has always been there... which it should have been.

Trying to schedule hay delivery for this week. Our hay farmer wanted to deliver last week, but we had out-of-town guest staying with us and it was too much.

Need to schedule the sheep shearing, but it is still very warm and autumn is expected to be a warm one, so that can wait for a month of so.

Still need to clean the barn.

Ok, I have typed my way into feeling lazy and overwhelmed so I should do some chores!

We're due to renew our, but our landlord wants to do a vague "walk-thru" first, so we've been cleaning the place like crazy. I'm exhausted.

I'm glad to hear you're back to full speed, mightshould. Music is indeed balm for the soul.

I'm doing well, busy at work as it's coming up to the end of the quarter. My social life has been great, it often picks up during the summer. Lots of outings with friends doing all manner of things, including quite a few operas, which I love. I'm in the best shape I've been in for a while. I went on a yoga retreat in July and it gave me the impetus to take better care of myself. So lots of raw food, daily exercise, I'm still not getting enough sleep, but that's not due to stress or anything, it's because I don't go to bed early enough.

Rudi turned 9 recently, and he's still a little arsehole. But I love him with all my heart, even though he treats me with contempt and disdain.

Jon, I feel your pain, my cleaning lady closed her business a couple of months ago, and I am hesitant to bring in someone else. I find that little and often is the key, using that ten minutes until my show starts to tidy or wipe down, or sticking in my earbuds and listening to a really meaty podcast while I do the bigger tasks.

Terrapin, when I was a kid in Australia the shearer used to come and shear our pet sheep, Sugar, with hand shears. My sister and I used to stand and watch, singing "Click Go The Shears Boys", a song all Aussie kids learn. He must have heard it at every home or farm where there were kids.

Heya Senyar!

We don't do any singing, which is both good and bad, I think. With only 6 sheep it takes less than an hour, and while our shearer does hand shear occasionally she uses electric blades on our ewes.

Our town has its agricultural fair this weekend, so there will be lots of people around. Since turtlegirl is no longer the superintendent of sheep & goats we usually only go on Sunday for our traditional "Fair date" which includes going on the Ferris wheel, getting a maple creemee and saying hi to friends and neighbors volunteering on Antique Hill. However, turtlegirl isn't so sure she wants to go this year as the event often attracts people who wear TFG clothing as well as vendors who sell such items, and we aren't so sure we want to be around that this year.

Update: We survived our "walk-through" and have a place to flop for yet another year.

Hooray! And our place has never been cleaner.

Life has been keeping everyone busy with life things, it seems. In my opinion that's a nice change from bouncing from handling one issue to facing the next.

I'll count this as a win.

Pips and jonmc; congrats. There's nothing like someone visiting (or inspecting) for motivation to clean up!

Hey there, hartelijke groet from the Netherlands.
Metachat still holds a special place in my heart. But there's so little going on that I don't check often.

I moved to a more rural part of the NL. And started running again. Great way to enjoy the forest across the road.

I visited my 15 yr old daughter in the Cotswolds. I have an ordnance survey map on my 'phone which shows the right of way paths. A bit of an adventure to run those: through hedges, across fields. Only returned after 3 hours of running. That really was _too_ much. But still...

joke, we hiked half the Cotswold Way in 2023, and are planning to return in 2025 to complete it. What a beautiful part of the UK. I hope your daughter loves it.

Thankfully my name is not Joke. Which is a perfectly normal first name in the NL btw. But sounds a bit strange in english.

Yes it's a lovely surroundings. The way little valleys, patches of wood, tiny villages built with natural stone alternate.
The 'right of way' paths feel like a little adventure. Of course there are the offical walking paths. Like the Cotswold Way.
But there's a fine mesh of other 'right of way' paths. There often hard to find. But with gps there's little chance of really getting lost.
Some parts you encounter locals walking the dog. But some parts the land owner clearly doesn't like people walking the path. And they put obstacles, parts that are very muddy. Even a motorcycle crossway right across the path.
I've gotten almost stuck in the mud, had to cross thorny hawthorne, nettles, barbed wire.
Those hindrances were really not that fun. So I understand why I didn't encounter any locals in those parts.

Strangely my daughter doesn't care for the outdoors at all. Even though you'd say it's objectively beautiful.
Perhaps a case of "you don't value what you've got"

Sorry, autocorrect which I didn't do a good job of checking.

(on preview 'job' had also become 'joke'. ugh)

I do recall how you pronounce it though!

That's impressive you know how to pronounce it. Our secret little language: dutch.

When walking the Cotswolds Way, what did you day with luggage? Did a travel agency bring it for you from B&B to B&B?

did you do

There are groups that support walkers/hikers. They pick up your bags at one B&B/Inn and take them to the next place you are staying. Very helpful and convenient. We took our backpacks with some food, water, change of socks, and some other preparedness gear for the walking, and our bags would be waiting when we arrived. So great.

That sounds like a wonderful experience.

Btw my 'right of way' paths took my through fields with: a dog, horses, cows.
I said 'dag hondje' to the barking dog, opened the gate and it was alright.

This article gave me pause wrt cows https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/12/the-hell-and-horror-of-cow-attacks-i-told-my-husband-to-leave-me-to-die

I saw that article, and we are always careful when going through fields with cows.