What's made you smile today?

[Cheest]

A few pics of the trip.

Campground in Ohio on the way home.

The two grandkids jumping off a raft in Maine.

The two dingbats at Rockland Harbor, Maine.

New Hampshire pond in the early morning.

Bacon, bacon, bacon.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Sale of Uncle's house completed today.
So, sometime soon, after the auction house and solicitors have all taken their cuts, we might have a few pennies coming our way. Not huge, once split 5 ways.
Ineffective solicitor nearly screwed it up, but had a day off, so secretary did what was necessary, without hiccup. I get the impression that she enjoys his days off, more than her own.

Must be endemic - we're on our third, or is it fourth, solicitor, I've lost track - trying to sort out my brother's estate. They keep retiring or resigning! One year nine months in now and possibly about 75% of the way there I think! It's all been very emotionally waring and I'm not the man I was any more.

 

[StevenRB45]

Wife decided that today we should pick wild flowers (at an organised place to pick them not just vandalism).

Incredibly managed to sat nav my way to the middle of fecking nowhere, safely avoided getting flattened by tractors in the 4 miles or so of tiny lanes needed to get there...and crossed a wet field without getting stuck or bottoming out so all is well.

One of the stranger "views" to be looking at while driving.

Also have a bunch of flowers for my trouble...they are mangled as they were picked by a 7 year old but hey it's all about the "experience".

 

[ZaphodB]

It all made sense as soon as I read 7 year old

 

[bugsymike]

Wife decided that today we should pick wild flowers (at an organised place to pick them not just vandalism).

Kew Gardens?

 

[StevenRB45]

Kew Gardens?

Judge for yourself...no idea as I just put a set of coordinates in the nav .

I do suspect the hills in the distance are the Cheviots though..

 

[bugsymike]

Judge for yourself...no idea as I just put a set of coordinates in the nav .

View attachment 471576

I do suspect the hills in the distance are the Cheviots though..

Do they need scarecrows in the field for wild flowers.

 

[ZaphodB]

It's too early in the morning, there are miniature people in the field photo by StevenRB45

Is this Land of the giants ? , or Honey I shrunk the kids ?

 

[StevenRB45]

All that came to mind..

 

[ZaphodB]

 

[mowermender70]

hi all at last something to smile about after 12months in mential helth ward 32 miles away my wonderful wife can be brought home for the day as it is here birthday still waiting to go in nursing home only 12 months regards to you all mowermender70

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Had intended to spend today checking on what's making the wee "worn bearing" noise I've been hearing from Becky of late. However Mrs J needed her to go to the supermarket and library so that was a non starter. The noise is not all that loud yet - Mrs J hears nothing even when I open the bonnet an get her to listen so my master plan was scuppered.

However the sun is out, or it was until it rained, Damn! Luckily it didn't last long so gardening it is! I kicked off with the hedge cutter on the cotoneaster hedge and the "mushroom" tree - it's a weeping birch, which I keep trimmed to a "mushroom" shape so the kids can hide under it, like a wee house! That done I then dug up a dead rose in my rose bed - don't rose roots go down a long way - and was quite shocked to find that, even going down two spade depths, the ground is completely dry! This probably explains a lot of the problems I've been having with leaf drop and dying grass, but I'm surprised as I've been watering two or three times a week - think I'll up it to every day for a while and see if it makes a difference. I've heard that some say it's not recommended to plant another rose where one has just been removed - Rose sickness - but others say it's not much of an issue. So, I'm mixing in plenty of new general purpose compost and planting a new one. Would have liked some horse manure too but couldn't find any. Going to be interesting to see if it flourishes or not.

Had a quick lunch and got stuck into doing the edges and then mowing the grass. My mower is a "bitza" aluminium deck and wheels from a "Harry" (Italian brand) with a very old Tecumseh cast iron bore engine - has to be 30 years old at least, I saved it from a ruined Toro mower found abandoned in "the woods". After doing the grass I decided to change the oil, as it's more or less half way through the mowing season. The oil being drained was nice and hot as the machine had just been working for about an hour so poured out very nicely. Also very gratifying to see that the old oil, although pretty black - most small mowers have no oil filter so deposits stay in suspension - Had no signs of metallic "glitter" at all. The engine, although old, burns almost no oil (straight SAE30) and still has excellent compression. With some luck and continued regular maintenance it should outlast me.

Then in for a nice hot shower and now I'm off to put a Pizza in the oven for our dinner - Morrison's stone baked with Vegetable topping, smells of onions and peppers, very tasty. I'll probably drizzle a wee bit of sweet chilly sauce and some olive oil over it too. Maybe chocolate chip ice cream - Lidl - for afters. My goodness, we do live the high life don't we! Makes me feel a bit guilty for the poor souls in Gaza though - I just can't get those TV images, especially of the kids, out of my mind for very long. I fear the "experiment" we call humanity has failed. Maybe it's time for God - or whoever - to crash a sodding great asteroid into old mother earth and make a new start with a different plan?

 

[porta]

“Makes me feel a bit guilty for the poor souls in Gaza though - I just can't get those TV images, especially of the kids, out of my mind for very long. I fear the "experiment" we call humanity has failed. Maybe it's time for God - or whoever - to crash a sodding great asteroid into old mother earth and make a new start with a different plan?”

I fear you are right

 

[bugsymike]

“Makes me feel a bit guilty for the poor souls in Gaza though - I just can't get those TV images, especially of the kids, out of my mind for very long. I fear the "experiment" we call humanity has failed. Maybe it's time for God - or whoever - to crash a sodding great asteroid into old mother earth and make a new start with a different plan?”

I fear you are right

I look at the World's problems from a slightly different angle, in so much as it's no good us getting upset about something that we will have no control over on a personal level, from Global Warming to all the other strife in the World.
Having our school children getting anxiety attacks etc. after reading social media does none of them any good and at the end of the day if you or I dropped dead tomorrow in all fairness no one outside of our immediate family would give a "flying f**k".
So all the terrible things going on in the World will carry on like they always have done, the only difference now is due to social media and "smart phones" etc. more people feel the need to show they "care".

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I look at the World's problems from a slightly different angle, in so much as it's no good us getting upset about something that we will have no control over on a personal level, from Global Warming to all the other strife in the World.
Having our school children getting anxiety attacks etc. after reading social media does none of them any good and at the end of the day if you or I dropped dead tomorrow in all fairness no one outside of our immediate family would give a "flying f**k".
So all the terrible things going on in the World will carry on like they always have done, the only difference now is due to social media and "smart phones" etc. more people feel the need to show they "care".

An interesting point of view Mike - and I fear you are right in many respects. What troubles me is that if we all take this attitude then nothing will change?

The really big issues, like Global warming and all the terrible violence and cruelty in the world can't be changed by individuals but when we all get together and pursue a course of exerting influence on our, so called, "Leaders" then mountains can be moved - trouble is most of us, probably me included, are too comfortable the way we are and have enough small disturbances and irritations in our daily lives that we won't "rock the boat".

Regarding social media. My younger granddaughter has just become a teenager and her Dad bought her a mobile phone. Worst thing he could have done in my opinion, but all her, so called, friends have one so she had to have one too. Already she's becoming a very different person to the lively engaging youngster she was a few months ago. Also there seems to always be some issue with something one of the others has posted on whatever she's looking at on this damned phone. We've had her and her brother all day every Wednesday during the school holidays and Mrs J has confiscated the phone when we pick them up and given it back to her when we drop them back home at about 7.00pm. It's wonderful to see how nice she is and how she comes alive, playing with her much younger brother, in the local playpark or on the sea shore looking for shells and sea creatures when she's not "attached" to that damned 'phone.

I don't agree that no one except close family cares when folk die. There are friends of my brother, who we'd never met before, who we met at his funeral and when clearing his house - that was some time ago now - who have stayed in touch and still express sadness at his passing. Several also knew my Mum and have said nice things about her too.

I fear though that you are right about all the terrible things in the world just carrying on. Although I'm still all at sea with my new mobile phone, I do look at the news on the TV and on my laptop and it's always full of depressing stuff. Not all that often is anything which might lift your soul mentioned. It would seem to me that "civilized" is not a term which can be honestly applied to the human race - it's an easily stripped veneer, which, once removed exposes us for the animals we really are.

 

[porta]

I look at the World's problems from a slightly different angle, in so much as it's no good us getting upset about something that we will have no control over on a personal level, from Global Warming to all the other strife in the World.
Having our school children getting anxiety attacks etc. after reading social media does none of them any good and at the end of the day if you or I dropped dead tomorrow in all fairness no one outside of our immediate family would give a "flying f**k".
So all the terrible things going on in the World will carry on like they always have done, the only difference now is due to social media and "smart phones" etc. more people feel the need to show they "care".

Although I broadly agree that one person cannot do much to change the world, I also believe that we are just one of many…without that we wouldn’t have got the right to vote, then women’s rights, employment rights, the abolition of slavery and apartheid in SA, removal of poll tax (although the present system is sleight of hand), the list is endless

 

[bugsymike]

Sorry Jock I should have included those who are close as well as family in feeling grief and I know how moved I have been when old customers of many years standing have died and I have attended their funerals.
My point is these days, what to me is a personal feeling of sorry has been captured by the media to include, pop stars, football players, people on TV etc. To the point that if you don't say "me to" and associate your self with it, then you don't care somehow.
When you see how TV crews zoom in on the display of personal grief it just feels wrong to me.
I agree about the use of mobile phones being a definate negative on youngsters growing up, in the past if children were bullied at school , at least when they got home they were hopefully in a safe environment, nowadays they cannot escape their phones, this includes all the 24 hour a day news about all the terrible things in the World as well as "school mates" tormenting them.
Apart from that when you check the phone use of the average person you can see how they have taken over their lives, from the second they awake until they finally get to sleep with the phone on charge right by their beds.
In the past we used to joke about a nation of children with one leg stronger than the other due to skate board use, now a days it is the one arm stronger caused by holding their phones in front of them 90% of the time.
Try holding a conversation with some whose got a mobile phone in their hand, even when not in use they keep checking in case they might miss something!!!
To put the World to rights most of it could be done by getting rid of all politicians and religion, somehow very unlikely.

 

[portland_bill]

Followed a Honda Jazz, displaying the badge, 'Sport'.

 

[porta]

Sorry Jock I should have included those who are close as well as family in feeling grief and I know how moved I have been when old customers of many years standing have died and I have attended their funerals.
My point is these days, what to me is a personal feeling of sorry has been captured by the media to include, pop stars, football players, people on TV etc. To the point that if you don't say "me to" and associate your self with it, then you don't care somehow.
When you see how TV crews zoom in on the display of personal grief it just feels wrong to me.
I agree about the use of mobile phones being a definate negative on youngsters growing up, in the past if children were bullied at school , at least when they got home they were hopefully in a safe environment, nowadays they cannot escape their phones, this includes all the 24 hour a day news about all the terrible things in the World as well as "school mates" tormenting them.
Apart from that when you check the phone use of the average person you can see how they have taken over their lives, from the second they awake until they finally get to sleep with the phone on charge right by their beds.
In the past we used to joke about a nation of children with one leg stronger than the other due to skate board use, now a days it is the one arm stronger caused by holding their phones in front of them 90% of the time.
Try holding a conversation with some whose got a mobile phone in their hand, even when not in use they keep checking in case they might miss something!!!
To put the World to rights most of it could be done by getting rid of all politicians and religion, somehow very unlikely.

Who was it said that peace would become the world wehn the last priest is strangled by the entrails of the last politician

 

[bugsymike]

Followed a Honda Jazz, displaying the badge, 'Sport'.

Didn't say what type, tennis, football, motor racing?
I doubt if it was drifting though.