Ah, progress...The Island is changing - the swings are no longer padlocked (the park committee decided to apply for an EU grant to make improvements and it was a condition that the park should be available every day). Since we came here in 1974, we have Sunday planes and Sunday ferries and some small shops even open on Sundays (alcohol is not allowed to be sold on Sundays). We even have Sunday newspapers, as long as you go to the airport to buy them. People are less dominated or restricted by the very puritanical churches - which sadly means a deterioration in standards so perhaps we will have to think about keys some time soon. No point putting temptation in the way of people who don't respect others' property. These changes have all been strongly contested by the Lord's Day Observance Society but it was pointless to try to halt the movement to a way of life that people see on their TV and online every day. Sad, in many ways, but the Free Church and the Free Presbyterian Church were just too heavy handed for the young people to take them seriously once they could see what was out in the big, wide world.
Creative is for the write up @jjraak"Month 14 of my Cruise
(The back to normal sunchaser cruise, on The JJRAAK,
T2D Seaways, if anyone's interested .)
Tickets are sadly VERY expensive.
An Arm & a leg, almost.
And I pray the advertising blurb is truly accurate 'A once in a lifetime experience" they say....please God, let THAT be so.
but, after all the kerfuffle of actually being brought onboard, all i can say is once you leave Immobility Harbour, and set sail, it's the only way to travel.
As per dateline, we've been cruising for a good while
Captain M'eter,
French and a more then a little quirky,
Just come over the tannoy to say due to ongoing engine difficulties, we are still marooned in the Sea of Six. And oddly enough 6.6 nautical miles off the coast (Gulp)
Not much I can do about it, but it is starting to feel like groundhog Day, ..again.
Trying to keep myself occupied, and personally moving forward, I Used the ships gym again yesterday.
I ache a little today, but think I'm making headway and might be turning into a gym bunny.
After my previous 12 weeks rehab on shore experience, the gyms becoming something I'm beginning to feel comfortable in.
Moved beyond simply teaching myself to move once again in a less robotic fashion, & now slowly developing a little work out routine.
So I hope before too long, to start being able to measure reasonable improvements, in timings, durations, weights & reps
On a 'felt good' note, trainer explained an exercise very well, but I could see one lady, didn't really get it and seemed confused what to do
(It was a leg pull, ankle tethered to cable machine, side on movement)
I took time to offer advice
(Basically, Let the leg lift UP, slightly pulled BY the weight, then pull it DOWN. And repeat. THAT is the exercise to work that muscle )
I know as well explained as it was by trainer, sometimes we need other ways/routes to help us understand 'how' to do something new.
I didn't realise trainer was observing from across gym, quite liked when she came over & she said I should try teaching ..
( blush )
High praise indeed
Anyway, I digress
Looking out on the ships deck, the sky is blue, the day is lovely, if a little chilly.
Itinerary is more of the same as last week
I hope the malfunction works it's way out of the system soon & we leave the Sea of Six.
The brochure did promise we'd drop anchor and spend some time on the legendary "McGarrett Plains" I hear so much about.
Really looking forward to that trip, ...if it ever happens.
Got to go, buffet breakfast finishes soon,
eggs, bacon & a mug of tea while watching the waves...
What's not to like..
Bon voyage, Mes Amis"
I loved being outdoors in nature as a child. Walking, cycling and climbing trees.
I still find walking in nature magical but of course I no longer climb tree
Loving that description, oh so well illustrated.It can be hard work when the downs or doubts descend, their little velcro hooks attach so tightly and persistently..
MaaaaarvelousFbg 6.5
Merlin is outside asking for his wet food breakfast.
I am in bed drinking a hot cuppa first...
He's just moved, and I'll probably see him in my bedroom in a minute polishing off Midnight's wet food from last night. He does come in the bungalow, but leaves when he sees me looking at him.
Jade has got on the swing, and is finishing off the nighttime's dry cat biscuits that I leave on the swing at night. She likes me to leave a back door open, and then she'll come in. She panics if I shut it. And she'll come in my bedroom to polish off Midnight's food.
Now Amy is staring at me from the swing ledge...
She comes in also, but likes doors to outside left open, otherwise she panics like Jade.
GhostCat1 also comes in through the cat flap to eat, but not through an open door.
There's a couple of others that I can find in my car or kitchen as I am bringing in shopping...
I did refill the kitchen cat dishes at 4am when I made my flask of tea...
Nice to be in demand...
Obviously I am the mad cat lady...
The birds are okay, I filled their feeders last night.
Nighttime videos
Cat Merlin sees two badgers
Creative is a digital painting of a sheep in Procreate. I love painting sheep!
A few years ago I did a few sheep paintings in acrylics, no idea where they are now...in the Tardis (garage somewhere)...
I give up, Amy has stared me out...
I need the bathroom anyway...
Amy has just rewarded me with cuddling my legs, and kisses on my hands, for going out especially to feed her.
Made my day...
View attachment 59281
Agree. Up to the point 'to assess'It was all good experience for us as children to assess and learn about danger @Krystyna23040
Sorry to hear thatThough my cousin who lived outside of Plymouth did like climbing trees then he fell out of one fracturing his skull was never the same happy go lucky lad after that.
If I die ......Fbg 6.5
Merlin is outside asking for his wet food breakfast.
I am in bed drinking a hot cuppa first...
He's just moved, and I'll probably see him in my bedroom in a minute polishing off Midnight's wet food from last night. He does come in the bungalow, but leaves when he sees me looking at him.
Jade has got on the swing, and is finishing off the nighttime's dry cat biscuits that I leave on the swing at night. She likes me to leave a back door open, and then she'll come in. She panics if I shut it. And she'll come in my bedroom to polish off Midnight's food.
Now Amy is staring at me from the swing ledge...
She comes in also, but likes doors to outside left open, otherwise she panics like Jade.
GhostCat1 also comes in through the cat flap to eat, but not through an open door.
There's a couple of others that I can find in my car or kitchen as I am bringing in shopping...
I did refill the kitchen cat dishes at 4am when I made my flask of tea...
Nice to be in demand...
Obviously I am the mad cat lady...
The birds are okay, I filled their feeders last night.
Nighttime videos
Cat Merlin sees two badgers
Creative is a digital painting of a sheep in Procreate. I love painting sheep!
A few years ago I did a few sheep paintings in acrylics, no idea where they are now...in the Tardis (garage somewhere)...
I give up, Amy has stared me out...
I need the bathroom anyway...
Amy has just rewarded me with cuddling my legs, and kisses on my hands, for going out especially to feed her.
Made my day...
View attachment 59281
Okay let me rephrase that 'assess' @jjraakAgree. Up to the point 'to assess'
They say we learn fear
I just think as kids we were fearless
Like many of you it seems, bomb sites, building sites, abandoned buildings were our playground too.
Running on high ledges and leaping from warehouse roof to warehouse like ninjas, playing life out, the way today kids do on computers, without the respawning & extra lives if you got hurt.
Not to mention the thrill of speeding down a hill with brakes barely there, on bikes serviced & maintained by 10 year olds.
I doubt any assessment was every done.
We simply egged each other on, that it was safe, we were 'chicken' and we watched others did what scared us, so we followed.
I think our parents would have been rightly horrified (I know I am now ) at what we got up too as kids
Yet somehow we survived (mostly ) to play another day. .. tho' gawd knows how.
Fear...we learn it .
And danger...mmhh
It needed a volunteer to be badly injured, to show us in glorious details the risks, before we went , 'yep, that's dangerous'
And likely we went back to doing it anyway, the very next day ....
Happy days of a childhood long gone .....
A ginger?If I die ......
I'm coming back as one of your cats
Thanks IanMorning all - just - from sunny Suffolk - again just. @gennepher thanks for the creative, MIL has a thing for sheep, and account of the love and devotion you show to those cats. Seque into @jjraak who wishes to be reincarnated as one of your cats and his wonderfully creative post on hs cruise and that return to the gym . Bravo for the motivation and helping others. @dunelm good to hear that yesterday was a triumph and hopeful;y today will also be a success. Thanks for yet another splendid piece of art. @gennepher @Krystyna23040 @Annb @jjraak and @JohnEGreen interesting stories of childhood adventures and longing for the clock to be turned back whilst accepting that the past is a foreign country. I climbed trees but most of the area was covered in fruit trees so heavily patrolled and setting ladders correctly was safety 101. Considering I couldn't swim until I was 61/2 - nor could any of my fiends as far as I know - spending so much time near rivers and washes was ridiculous. I was sternly warned away from gravel pits as a relative had drowned. @alf_Josiah - you and a normal day - rofl. Interesting story re the consultant - could have misfired badly but fair play to you and him. Enjoy your day whatever those slings and arrows deliver. Evri picture of a door tells a story of some kind of delivery.
Hope your BIL recovers quickly from all that trauma. Eyes are a worry when things go wrong.Fbg a welcome 5.8 this morning.
Yesterday Judith had a conversation with her sister on the telling bone we were shocked to hear that BIL contracted the flu after Christmas and had to be hospitalized while in the hospital they neglected to put the sides up on the bed and he fell off the bed injuring his eye detached retina and retinal tear on top of every thing he ended up in Birmingham hospital 50 miles from where they live this meant a hundred mile round trip to visit him. Fortunately he is now recovering at home. Though they did ask her the other day to drive down and pick up a prescription for him she said no way.
Grandson's friend has booked a flight to Turkey next week as he is concerned for members of his family who live in the area affected by the earthquake.
Isn't it always the way? Dinosaurs, Apartheid, Empire, Colonialism, they come, they go but they never seem to realise that the lessons of history apply to them.Ah, progress...
But hard to say it's 'better' for it it many ways.
A lesson in the weight of generational change grinding down long established practices.
And those in power believing that THEIR power is set in stone & can't be swept away .
Seems the dinosaurs taught us nothing ...
Except maybe to dance ....
Ok people, with me...let's MOVE
Let's not be chauvinistic about this - equality of opportunity for all, after all. I think any colour or breed of cat would find a warm welcome from the lovely gennepher.A ginger?
A tabby?
A tortoiseshell?
A black and white?
Or black?
Science ma'am. The opiate of the masses.Isn't it always the way? Dinosaurs, Apartheid, Empire, Colonialism, they come, they go but they never seem to realise that the lessons of history apply to them.
I have to point out that, after Neil had cut branches into "steps" for Em, he showed her how to climb and find handholds and well as footholds, he stayed with her to make sure she didn't fall. She was 8 then - just about the same age I was when I started climbing things and is much more confident now, but still pretty careful. When scrambling or climbing on rock faces, Tom was always with Neil, who was an enthusiastic climber. Alistair, on the other hand wasn't keen which is why, fairly early on, I stopped climbing because he needed me to stay with him - at the bottom! Years later he told me that he really doesn't like going up on the roof (chimney sweeping) or climbing up the mast of a ship - encouraged by his Dad. He doesn't have a fear of heights (my Dad suffered from vertigo) but he doesn't like the process of getting there.Thanks Ian
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