Fred Fu Manchu Friday

[Kittykatt]

Triple Dog Dare!

Pick 3 things
Do them
Post your TaDas!

»»—-Cheers! WTG! Ygg!—-««

Don't think about it. Just do it!
~~ I Triple Dog Dare ya! ~~
Good Morning!
»»————　✼　————««

[Kittykatt]

Fred Fu-Manchu" is a comedic spoof character created by Spike Milligan for the classic British radio comedy The Goon Show in a December 1954/1955 episode titled "The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu-Manchu".

In this parody of Sax Rohmer’s villain Dr. Fu Manchu, the criminal mastermind insists that his friends call him "Fred" because he was once a groundsman at Eton. Peter Sellers later recycled this comedic interpretation when he played both Dr. Fu "Fred" Manchu and his nemesis Denis Nayland Smith in his final 1980 film, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu.

Spike Milligan wrote the character to lampoon British xenophobia and self-satisfaction rather than as a direct ethnic caricature.

Peter Sellers brought the "Fred" persona to the big screen in 1980,, where a modernized, comedic Fu Manchu needs bizarre ingredients to restore his aging elixir.

The joke relies on the fearsome, diabolical supervillain casually dropping his menacing aura to act like an eccentric, polite old British gentleman who went to Eton.

[Kittykatt]

Good morning everyone and happy Friday!

Dogged,. A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favourite, and really lends itself to outdoor productions. The best production I ever saw took place.in the Bishop's garden, with the background of a huge pink climbing rose growing up a stone wall.

Suggestions to help your Dfriend with the missing cat - print some Missing Cat posters.amd.tie.them.to lamp posts.in his area, also a leaflet.dro0.ask8ng.people.to.check.tjeor sheds and garages..It's also worth your friend ringing round the local vets to see if the cat has been brought in and asking them to add it to their lost and found lists. I do hope the car turns up soon!

So, it's Friday at last. . DH is WFH and I have e a free dayz which I'm hoping to divide between the garden and the house. There are pots of little jobs I could do, like hanging up the clothes I tried on yesterday and discarded , which would immediately make the bedroom look better with very little.effort.

[FrenchFlybebe]

◕‿◕ * * * Good Morning! * * * ◕‿◕

Kittykatt,thanks for the start, so many characters from British culture I don't know about, it makes me want to know more. I hope the heatwave is not too hard on you.

Doggedly, oooh, cookies.. I hope your DB's cat returns.

helia I hope you enjoy Barcelona. It must be quite hot, but the country is hot every summer so they must know about A/C. I will cuop to see how things went for you in the Alps and France.

Our last full day at rented house #1, very quiet place in the Pyrénées, the kind of spot where it's ok to leave the door unlocked when you go for a walk... but you don't go much for walks because there's a steep slope and a long way to the closest village We enjoyed a few nice hikes. MrNG and DS10 left around 6 for a tough one, with a long and steep climb up to a summit (approx 2000m high) with a promising view. They just sent a few pics, the sun is rising, they should enjoy it, if MrNG's knees can bear the full hike .
We have cooler weather here than in the plains.
We enjoyed the 99% eclipse seen from the top of another mountain, a one hour climb to meet twenty or so groups of people in a spot locally known for watching sunsets - an enjoyable show in spite of some clouds, DS10 took great pictures of the red sun setting with a crescent shape - I'll share it when we download the pics from the family's camera.
Tomorrow we clean the house and go to another rented house for 5 more days in the Pyrenees, then 2 days touring the city of Toulouse and then back home.

TADAs
wake up alarm around 5.15
waved DS10 and MrNG goodbye, before 6
opened windows to get fresh air, made tea

TODOs
more tea
CUOP while house is quiet
bfast for DS8 and I, maybe a 50 minute hike to the village (for postcards?), and back
later
lunch for DS8 and I
quiet stuff until the hikers return : play cards, read stories...
probably more quiet stuff because they will need to rest / nap

[Kittykatt]

Good morning, FFB! I'm glad you're having a lovely.time, although parts sound quite strenuous! Enjoy your quiet time.amd.the lovely fresh air.

I think the current heatwave is over, at least for us. I think temperatures are going to drop back to the 20s today. There was quite a strong breeze yesterday evening, which was refreshing. I hope you enjoy your second week as much as the first - looking forward to seeing those photos!

[Kittykatt]

Today's list:

Cuddles on the bed with Matilda, Jude and Freddie
QT
Physio exercises
Up, shower, personal care and dress
All cats fed
Take Freddie out? ( If he wants to go!)
Breakfast and meds /supplements -me
Rubbish down to bins
Go for my walk
Run hoover round downstairs?
Quick dust sitting room?
Garden time - can I feed pots? A little deadheading?
Lunch
Delicate /wool wash
Clean shoes
Polish bag
Fold laundry and PA
Clean sheets and towels out of the airing cupboard
Does DH have choir practice?
Cats' supper
Our supper
Bed at a reasonable time!

Extras:
Feed Mica am pm
Start documenting her care over the last.3.5 weeks in notebook
Print receipt for food
Screen shot and print texts

Garden extras:
Feed roses
Spray roses
Trim bits on hedge
Weed / deadhead
Feed pots
Sweep anywhere?

[FrenchFlybebe]

kitty, glad you are going back to more normal weather. I see there was a wildfire near your home, how scary !

MrNG sent pictures, they are close to the top of the hike. DS10 seems to be enjoying it and MrNG's knees are behaving.
Here's the pic he just sent, with DS10 enjoying the view.

DS8 is still sleeping, it's very quiet and fresh at 8am - the day will be warm but not too warm here.

[trissie]

That's quite some view, Frenchie! Your DS and DH are athletic to have made that hike!
kittykatt, glad to hear your heatwave is over! Gives me some hope for ours
Dogged, crossing my fingers that the cat comes home today! Our first cat ran away once and it took a week for her to get back, but back she came!

Not working today. My last chance to get things done before DBD and DtDT come home tomorrow! DtDK has a friend sleeping over - they sleep on the trampoline in the garden (not only, but also because the twins' room is a disaster - I will have to make her clean it today).
DH harvested the last pears yesterday - unfortunately, these are summer pears, so not good for storage, they go mushy within a week, so I need to process them. I see a pear crumble in our near future! There's also a basket of apples, but those will hold, as long as I check them and make sure they are all in good condition.


TaDas
- breakfast and coffee
- dressed to shoes
- internet time
- work call

ToDos
- morning routine
- 30 on laundry
- 30 in DBD's room

Braindump
routines
- midday routine
- afternoon routine
- evening routine
food
- lunch
- dinner
- bake something sweet
- feed breadstarter
- process pears
organization
- book train tickets for Berlin
- research hotels
- arrange for drop-off of old mattresses at the dump
- order new vacuum cleaner and cooker hood
- check all backpacks
- make apt - obgyn
- update land contract
- 15 on filing
- plan for August
cleaning
- strip and remake kids' beds
- clean DBD's room
- clean twins' room (oversee it done)
- clean DS15's room (oversee it done)
- clean kitchen
- clean office
- spiff up master bathroom
- spiff up master bedroom
- spiff up living room
- spiff up downstairs bathroom and hallways
- clean out / reorganize attic
- deep cleaning in DBD's room
laundry
- load of linens
- load of towels
- wash mattress cover from DBD's room
- wash mattress protector from DBD's room
- ironing
- folding
- mending
- laundry put away
garden and outside
- watering
- weeding in veggie garden
- weeding in front garden
- deadhead climbing roses
- pick up - front garden / porch
- pick up - backyard
- spiff up carpool
- spiff up garage
- reseed in veggie garden
me time
- 15 of exercise
- Bible study
- reading
- sewing?

[helia]

What a beautiful photo, FFB! I'm glad MrNG and ds10 are enjoying the hike! Glad your day will not be too warm. Yes, it is warm here in Barcelona. The back of the linen shirt (linen but strangely thick) I wore yesterday was soaked through with sweat by the end of the day - kind of gross. I wore capris rather than shorts because, well, it felt appropriate for my age and especially for visiting the Sagrada Familia Basilica, but they made me warmer - even though they are linen.
Kitty, nice that the heatwave has broken and you have a free-er day!
I had missed that 2 of your girls were away, trissie. I hope the pear processing goes well today. Pear crumble - yum!

I didn't get here yesterday. I was very lazy - yet was also very tired by the time I went to bed. We left the apartment around 3:45, walked 15 minutes to the basilica - amazing! We finished our tour there around 5:45. We stopped by a Starbucks to get a cold drink and sit in the a/c for a bit. Then, we walked back to the apartment, looked unsuccessfully for the metro, took a taxi to the beach and ate paella at a beach restaurant. (Originally, we weren't going to eat paella bc it's not from this region of Spain. However, because dh makes seafood paella for Christmas dinner, he was curious.) It was very tasty! They put some sort of garlic cream in it - garlic butter? But it added a nice texture and flavor. After dinner, we walked around the beach for a while, found the metro station, figured out tickets, and then took the metro home, including more walking. We got home around 9:45 pm - and I was DONE - so hot and tired and done talking/ listening to dh talk. Poor dh - I think he was slightly offended but I assured him that it was nothing personal. He understood. I went to bed immediately after drinking some water. I woke up at about 9 a.m. this morning.

Thankfully, our apartment has a/c. In fact, it was a bit too cool when we first arrived. Dh adjusted the temps so it is cool - but not cold.

Today, I think I slept about 10.5 hours last night. We are moving to a later schedule naturally. Ha ha! We have 5:30 pm tickets to visit the Picasso museum. Then, we have 8 pm dinner reservations at a tapas place that one of dh's PhD students recommended. She (the rare woman in his lab of majority men - she is smart and quite good) is from Madrid, Spain, and though she thinks Madrid is a better city to visit - LOL! - she still gave dh some restaurant recommendations in Barcelona. I'd like to do a load of laundry (everything is sweaty - from walking around Avignon as well), and I only have 2 pairs of linen capris which I'm wearing in Barcelona. I also need to do the GGT emails for payroll. Dh has found a nearby cafe' where one can sit and work, so I think we'll go there eventually. We don't have any lunch food in the apt. at the moment.

Next:
- some qt
- start a lol?
- back exercises

Later:
- s2s and self care
- make the bed
- find a cafe'
- payroll: GGT emails
- payroll: collection bin
- payroll: curriculum review comments collected
- find the Picasso museum - travel by metro?
- 5:30 Picasso museum tour
- 8pm dinner reservations
- duolingo? I've let this lapse for many days now

TaDas!
- up and coffee
- replied to F + ds' pics and videos of baby I - she's standing so comfortably now! And their orange cat took over her walker, but she didn't really care.

[helia]

WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Fri 5:30 visit Picasso Museum/ 8 - dinner reservation
Sat 6 - dinner reservation
Sun prep bnb to leave/ 11:10 fly to Amsterdam/ run through Schiphol to do customs and to find the gate/ 2:30 fly home safely/ taxi to house/ perhaps - quick WF run for essentials

Mon groceries?/ 10:30 - 12 enrollment meeting for S and K/ 1-1:40 - payroll: instructor meeting at school
Tue 9-12ish KSJ get together?/ 1-1:20 payroll: phone call with director
Wed
Thu 8 - WW/ 11:30 - 12:30 payroll: academic ci mtg/ 2-3 work out with AS
Fri afternoon - dbro + dniece arrive
Sat outing with dbro + dniece? - apple orchard? Zoo?
Sun dbro + dniece leave/ 10 - church/ 3:30 - 6ish host CG2/ 6 - 9ish M's BD dinner - Cs are hosting

Further Out:
Fri - Sun 8/21-8/23 Dbro + dniece visit
Fri 8/28 niece S + friend K arrive (fr. Germany) to stay with us for 2 months

Coming Soon: 8/17 - 8/23 Dinner Menus
M -
T -
W -
Th -
F - pasta casserole? OR grill
Sat - OUT with dbro + niece
Sun - M's bd dinner - R and S are cooking

August Brain Dumps
This Week - House
- spend some time decluttering in MBR
- put away pack 'n play crib + bedding

This Week - Deskwork
- Writing progress - wip
- figure out another knitting project - after our trip
- order baby gifts: CM, dniece's 3rd baby + BD gift - baby I
- message SS, JK, MM when home

This Week - Errands
- car wash - badly needed - after we return at this point
- can I return another pair of shoes?
- can I return wrong coffee pods?

General Brain Dump
- progress decluttering clothes - wip
- transfer info from old to new laptop (will require a trip to a specialist - do after we get back)
- new running shoes - after we get back