Mole Monday

[helia]

Hello all! I'll need to be more social next time. I have 15 minutes before my next payroll meeting.

trissie, dh kind of "forbade" our kids from studying German b/c of the Dutch he spoke to them at home. . . He now denies doing this, but yeah, he did. They all chose Latin instead and were very happy.
Lauralind, dh is a professor of Elec. Eng! Interestingly, he got his PhD in comp science, researching software used to design computer chips. From there, he has moved to solid elec. eng and now designs ultra low power and mm size sensing systems which have many applications, including some medical ones. Electrical Engineering encompasses a lot of different topics! Other professors work on lasers or robots.

On the topic of studying or not studying German, we flew into Frankfurt to visit dh's family in the Netherlands one summer. I think flights to Amsterdam were all booked or something. As we worked our way through the airport with our kids, ages 8, 10, and 12, we stopped by a buffet type restaurant and got some food. I could tell the kids were trying to understand and speak the language. When we finally got into our rental car, dd8 was very upset and almost crying. She said, "I can't understand this Dutch very well." Oh child. . . We explained to her, and she perked up when she realized it wasn't Dutch; I think she heard the similar sounds and vocab in German, and that threw her off.

Next:
- 4-5 exit test
- bring in firewood

Later:
- lists in notebook
- payroll: last read through of AIR Exam
- menu plan and groc. list
- Kroger order?
- do I need to go to WF?
- NY cards progress
- make 1 guest bed
- declutter Mom's stuff
- bring in firewood
- 4-5 payroll: exit test
- anything else?
- dinner: leftovers - chicken wraps and _____
- after dinner clean up
- duolingo
- update health apps

TaDas!
- up; weighed self
- coffee
- email deletions + weather website
- reclaim kitchen
- some qt
- ordered cutting board
- made bed
- back exercises
- dress to jog
- jog at the gym
- s2s and self care
- squeegee and wipe shower
- lunch
- chair delivery
- clean up after lunch
- payroll: read documents for meeting
- payroll: add item to IR Exam
- menu plan written out
- 2:30 - 3:30 payroll: EPT meeting

[Kittykatt]

Hello everyone!

Trissie, thank you for the link. I watched the mole as gardener -so sweet with his little mouse friend. We did have a mole in the garden once - he / she only made a couple of mole hills on the edge of the lawn and then moved somewhere else, so I just left him alone.

How lovely to see a deer family, Helia! I hope your meeting goes well.

L.Ann, I don't like ice either! I'm glad your neighbourhood is ok.

Gma, was the book with the mole "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame, by any chance? It's a very popular classic children's book over here.

Laura, you've had lots of good advice re German. My experience was that it was easy to get the vocabulary, but it "declines" which English and French don't do, so words have different "endings" depending on their case. For some reason, I really really struggled with this aspect of the language, (Despite having studied Latin!), but if your DS is more methodical, then it may be a good match.

Bama, "Beatnik Casserole" sounds both interesting and easy!

Dogged, what a good idea to take Germane where she can sniff where the other dogs have been, without having to face those brutal temperatures outside.

It's been a very good day. For the first time in about a week, we had a dry day, and it was also a pleasant 10C, so I was able to have a good time in my garden. I did some tidying, some trimming, and finally fed the pots. And I also went for a walk. Indoors, upstairs is now clean and Matilda is on my lap.

[Kittykatt]

To do:

Appointments:
Monday:
DH to office
At home for me
When will MJ come to finish the kitchen cupboard? Had a text convo with him today - waiting on the doors
Tuesday:
DH WFH
8.45 am Freddie vet appt - Solensia
6 pm DH -choral society
Wednesday:
DH to office
At home for me
7 pm - DH to see performance of JCS at local school with some friends (I think A's DD has an important role?)
Final touches to Waitrose order no later than 9pm
Thursday:
DH WFH
10.30 am church
Any errands to run?
12 noon parish lunch
Can I hoover the car?
2pm Jude weight loss clinic
6-7 pm Waitrose delivery
Friday:
DH WFH
At home for me
Saturday:
DH??
Text DF E re coffee tomorrow
Sunday:
Church 9.30 am
Visit DF E for coffee? - not this week, she having lunch out with friends
Laxapet Jude and Matilda
Set up new Waitrose delivery

Future dates to note:
30/1 order inhalers
2/3 order my meds
24/2 Matilda - boosters

Outstanding deliveries: eBay #1 #2, #3, Amazon, Aveda

Extras:
V day card for DH
Find Matilda's vaccination certificate
Work on deep cleaning and decluttering kitchen 15 minutes at a time #1#2#3#4#5#6
30 minutes on my response to DEFRA consultation ( they estimate it will take 4 hours. I've already read through the material and had a good think about some of the issues raised, so hopefully it will take less time, but I'm still allowing myself plenty of time. Responses have to be submitted by the end of March, but I dont want to leave it until the last minute!) #1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8
Order new orthotics - WIP
Can I do 15 minutes of decluttering each day?
Digital decluttering- Google Photos for 2024 and 2025
Pick up my footprints
House tasks: Replace the bit of mortar that's fallen out of the edge of the roof (I think its called the verge? Also check the hidden gulley on one side of both dormers - WIP - Emailed L
Verge and ridge tiles on garage roof - WIP sent an email to L Update, L has had a look now waiting for a quote and am start date
Contact JE to see if he will come.and paint the outside of the house
Book eye test for me
Sort prints and put in albums (this will probably be an activity to do on wet days!) WIP I am now working on 2025
Think about setting up Guardianship for F,J and M - looked on Cats' Protection, I need their microchip numbers, approximate DOB, colour and markings and useful information about them. Bookmark link with local recommended solicitors (also ask DF CW?)

To do:
Early morning:
Cuddles and treats on the bed with Matilda,
Jude and Freddie
Cup of tea
QT
Lightbox session
Make bed
Shower / wash hair/ moisturiser and sunblock/ clean and floss teeth
DH Launched
Physio exercises and back exercises
Proprioceptors exercises X1 x2 x3
S/S bathroom
Get dressed
Breakfast and meds / supplements - me
DRINK WATER #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8
Check bank account
Go for my walk

Garden:
15 minutes in tiny front garden
120 minutes in back garden

Cats:
Cats’ breakfast and meds / supplements
Fresh water in cat bowls
Scoop cat trays
Check Jude’s bowl
Check Matilda's bowl
Walk Freddie
Lap time with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Play with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Head rubs with Jude, Freddie and Matilda
Cats' supper

House:
Rubbish down to wheelie bins
Kitchen clean up
Unload DW
Load DW
Run DW when full
Unload DW
PUPA downstairs
Quick dust sitting room
Quick hoover downstairs
PUPA upstairs
Quick dust bedrooms
Quick hoover upstairs
Lunch
Supper
Lay out clothes for tomorrow
Journal three things I am thankful for today
Hand cream

Extra house tasks:

Monday:
Clean bathroom
Clean spare room
Clean bedroom
Wash spare room and bedroom rugs

Tuesday:
Clean hall
Clean sitting room
Clean stairs
Empty hoover before starting work
Wheelie bins back when dustmen have been
Filing paperwork for 15 minutes

Wednesday:
Clean kitchen

Garden extras:
Water pots
Feed pots weekly

Financial:
More work on budget WIP- look at discretionary payments this week 30 minute sessions #1

Extra spring cleaning tasks:
Still to do in kitchen:
Clean and declutter tall cupboard one shelf at a time #1#2#3#4#5
Clean out /declutter junk drawer
Wax kitchen floor
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[Lauralind]

Interesting German conversation. Up here i really feel like German is much more useful than French there's a sizeable German community. I think it's very intro to German at first. So we'll see how he does. He took French a little in elementary school and really didn't like it. Then in high-school they decided he needed a life skills class for his special needs over French 8. He didn't really need it in the end but it made his transition easier. I very rarely see homework so helping won't be much but we'll see what he thinks after school.

Anyway perfect timing. I took lunch at just the right time. By the time I get downstairs truck will be ready for unload. Back to work again on this very slow day

[Doggedly]

Another fan of The Little Mole cartoons, kitkat. I'm guessing that the others are happier.

Ice can be so much worse than snow, L.Ann. I hope that yours melts soon.

Welcome home, Gma.

You are making me hungry, Bama. Enjoy your casserole! I am going to try pasta sauce with chick peas instead of meat, and I'm combining that with a recipe to cook pasta right in the slow cooker. But the only slow cooker I have available is the little one, so there might not be room to cook in the pasta in the slow cooker. I'll keep you all posted. Dogged's Adventures In Cooking View from a safe distance.
I've never seen Bridgerton, but I have seen enough references to it, and heard it discussed on radio, etc. that I have an idea.

helia, I wish that my db could meet your dh. They would have so much to talk about! My db has always been a computer geek. In the 1970s, he used to work for Spar Aerospace and he would pick pieces out of the scrap pile, cobble together a computer, write an operating system for it and then program it to do his job.

Kittykatt, Mark Twain described speaking German (with the verb at the end of the sentence) as "entering the Atlantic Ocean of his sentence, and emerging on the other side with a verb in his mouth."
How lovely to have a nice warm dry day. I'm glad that you got to go out and enjoy it.

Appreciate the slow days, Lauralind. Spring is coming!

I feel like I have spent my day setting myself up for a successful day, but it takes me all day to do it, LOL.
I washed some of the dishes, got bread making, got the dw organized to run this evening, and dug in the back of the pantry for ingredients for the pasta sauce.

Monday
Fed Germane
Made new Procrastaccomplishments list for the week
Updated Goals
Spent a bit of time on course
Scrubbed out sink and basin
Washed a couple of basinsful of dishes
Watered plants
Cleaned up after dog
Looked for a chickpea spaghetti recipe for slow cooker
Checked supply of whole wheat bread
Added to shopping list
Change to white bread recipe
Filled/started breadmaker
Put on pot of coffee
Filled dw to run later
Started gathering ingredients for slow cooker and double checked other recipes for reference

[Bama]

Wtg, everyone!
Dh is home and I need to finish up so quick flyby to update tadas.

Done:
Up
Weigh and log
Breakfast eaten, logged
Floors cleaned
Dogs out
Pets fed, watered
Started on litter, lily’s room done
Meat thawing for beatnik casserole
Arm exercises
Planner caught up from last week til today, worked on daily to do list amendments
Started back on daily Bible reading, Gen 1-3
Watched some news, praying for S Guthrie’s missing mom
Pet chores
More spots on floors cleaned up
Dogs walked
Played ball w Beau
Outdoor animals fed
Bird feeders filled
Got bowl out of chicken yard to use for plants (old crockery from daunt)
Got 1 bottle and 1 jar from bin soaking (from dh’s parents house/yard)
Uncovered greens
Plants watered inside and outside
Planters delivered, unboxed and set on porch
Load of laundry washing
Closet - put away some shirts after trying on
Bathrooms - pupa
Office - dc some things
My room - moved books to living room to put on shelves once other books are dealt with, cleared 2 shelves on wire shelving
Master bedroom - pupa
Dining room - table cleared off some
Kitchen - dw loaded, vinegar added to rinse cup, sink shined, cleaned up after supper
Laundry room - pupa foods, litter, empty cans put in recycling
Living room - pupa, put moss in plants
Porch - rearranged a little for planters, watered plants
Yard - jars, clean up old food around cat area
Paper - mail, emails, planner, filled out calendar with January daily habit
Measurements (body)

[Doggedly]

WTG, Bama.

Well, that was terrifying. I heard thumping from the bathroom so ran to check on Germane. She was thrashing around, hitting her head on the bathtub and toilet. I thought she was having a fit so I put my hands on her to steady her so that she would stop hitting her head, but she just thrashed harder. I tried picking her up, and that calmed her down eventually. When I set her down, she was listing to the right. I know that her back legs have been getting weaker. I guess that her right leg went weaker and she couldn't get purchase on the bathroom tiles, and went into a flat-out panic. She's walking better now. I'm pretty sure that I have a mat that I can put in the bathroom around here somewhere, so that she can get a good grip when she gets up.

[kitkat]

Dogged I always enjoyed Mark Twain:)

Oh no, just read your post on Germane! Hope she is OK!!! Scary.

Gma Welcome back ! So glad you had a well deserved good time.
I see happy pets on your end, Bama
I can't add to the German conversation.Lauralind I did take it for a while- a LONG time ago...
Is Freddie going for reg. vet appt. Kittykatt?
What language are you taking on Duolingo, helia ? (I did French for almost 2 years on it...)
LAnn
I fear the ice! It's not everywhere and not always visible... Extra hard to balance with pup... can't afford to break another bone.
Hope trissie had a good day

I managed to DC a corner in my storage room... Lucky: I found a container with cleanign fluid leaking there...
Calling it progress!

We went store walking with dpup... Did probably 40 min... but then I suddenly got shaky and had to eat quickly...
So, I'm designating tonight for rest and recovery.

Have a good evening Everyone!

[Bama]

(((Dogged and Germane))), so she lost her footing? The rug sounds like a good idea. Hoping it wasn’t a seizure. My Sampson had seizures later in life, so if it was that, the good news is it is treatable. I can imagine how that frightened you both.

[Bama]

(((Kitkat))), hope you’re feeling better after eating.