The Ciel Show

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Friday, March 17, 2017

Friday rain

When I checked the weather forecast for Manchester UK before leaving Colorado, I was promised dreary days, rain, cool winds and mist. What has actually happened has been several fine even warm days in a row, some days chilly and some windy, and not until today much rain at all. Even the rain isn't all that annoying. Spring is definitely on already, gardens brilliant with daffs and crocuses and primroses, and roadsides glowing with wild daffs and clouds of wild cherry blossoms. Today it has been... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Thursday adventures

Today was the doggies' day for hydrotherapy: They walk in water and swim in a pool to strengthen legs and build stamina. Both of them have had leg surgeries to repair cruciate ligament tears, and this helps them stay limber, but oh how they ache the day after! The drive to the hydrotherapy place is along back lanes, between fields and clusters of trees, the classic English countryside. There will be photos in a little more than a week. I also am having some aches tonight as I took a bit of... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

baby report

Elsa had her 3-month checkup today, and it is officially recorded now that she is 11.5 lbs, and is up-to-date on most developmental milestones. She is just a nudge or two from actual chuckles, and gives lovely spontaneous grins towards things she likes. She holds her arms out when she wants to be picked up, and arches her back to help when you do reach towards her. She watches the colors, movement and faces on the tv, and has begun to attempt to get anything she can get into her hands into her... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Sunday Morning

From a very solid sleep I was awakened by someone calling me Granny... My daughter had need to put Elsa in my care while she went to clean up after the doggies who had not gone outside in time... So the Wee One was settled down beside me, her head on my shoulder, and she fussed and wriggled and protested, `not the mama' for a bit. But the combination of the heart-beat pat on the back, the shhhhing sound in her ear, and playing with her legs a bit as we do when internal gas is an issue--and she... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Misty morning

Mist and a light steady rain, one of those 'female' rains of the Hopi that falls gently and slowly, inexorably saturates the earth. Our Elsa woke this morning all full of smiles at silly Granny sounds and at Mama generally and in appreciation for the dark beams and white ceiling between them in this ~300 yr old farm house. She is 3 months old now, looking at things and making eye contact, smiling when things please her. Those first 3 months before Baby makes that personal connection with... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

First Day in England

Back in Clitheroe, in Lancashire, having coffee at Nero's... On a new-to-me mini laptop, I can't connect yet with the wifi at the house, so I may be limited to occasional connection at wifi hotspots like the coffee houses and such. It is a day of mostly blue sky and sunshine so far, the air so clear I could see Stonyhurst College across the valley, and the green and woodsy landscape where a couple of years ago we walked a portion of the Tolkien Trail. The nice weather is a pleasing surprise as... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Final packing

The dishwasher is running, the laundry is in the dryer and will soon be in the suitcase along with little thises and thats for Elsa and her mom. She can't get Wheat Thins over there, or Yoshida sauce... I will bring back some foods and other things hard to find here, or more expensive here, and a few things to remember England when I use them here. My house has a lot of little things of that sort: clothes bought in New Zealand, a bit of jewelry from Singapore, bits of artwork, balls of yarn...... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Auction House

Gormann Auctions has a sale alternating Fridays and Saturdays. Fridays are odds and ends, usually, laid out in long rows and the auctioneer strolls down the rows auctioning off the lots one by one. He can choose to offer one lot--an item or a box of items--or will offer several in one group as 'choice.' This means the winning bidder has the choice of any one item/box in that group, and if he/she wants more than one, pays the winning bid amount for each item. One strategy if you really want more... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, March 3, 2017

Perfect Storm at the bank today

The line at the bank was so long today that I saw people who had just gone in coming out again just before I went in. I said something to the guard by the door, and he said, "It's been like this all day." When I finally got to the teller--one of three on duty--I asked about it. Friday... Military payday... Soc Sec check day... Closed on Monday... And several of bank staff are out sick or out of town. For all that, the line moved along despite people like me digging fruitlessly through my purse... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, February 27, 2017

Nothing doing

That's been today. Doing nothing much but watching the Great British Bake Off and resisting the impulse to write snarky comments on facebook. There is quite enough snark there, flying in every direction, and I am tired of it. For now, anyway. I feel maybe a cold coming on, all nasal and sneezy and apathetic. Might be I am just tired and after a night's sleep I may feel fine again. I hope it's one of those, since a week from now I will be preparing to fly out to England again. The Wee Child is 3... Sign in to see full entry.

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