Tuesday 29 May 2018

Tuesday

The News on so many subjects - Terrorism, Brexit, the situation in Italy, the Irish referendum on abortion, the fall in the stock market - all seems to be gloom and doom.   Perhaps I belong to the 'head in the sand' brigade but at my age I am sorry but I just can't get het up about any of it.   Perhaps this is selfish but all the things which are headlines today seem to be forgotten by this time next week.   All the issues like the state of things in the Middle East, the plight of people in countries like the Yemen - all this is headlines for a short time and then one would think the problem had gone away because no more is heard of it - nothing could be further from the truth.   For this reason, and also to keep my sanity in my old age, I do what I can with donating money to what I consider to be a 'safe' just cause (not as easy to find as one might once have considered) and after that I get on with my life.

So, what has today held for me here in my little town in the Yorkshire Dales?   It has been a lovely day.    Firstly the weather.   I got up at seven to quite thick fog and that fog turned to mist and to mizzly rain which has never really gone away - so the temperature has never gone above 15 degrees.
But the good news was that it happened to be M's birthday and so six of us celebrated by going out to breakfast (in my case pancakes, streaky bacon and maple syrup).  Then three of us (including M) went off to our county town Northallerton (a lovely, rather old-fashioned town of super shops) to have a look round for various things.   I can't walk far but I arranged to go and sit in a tea room when my legs were tired and we all three ended up there for coffee and cake.   M got a free piece with a burning candle in the top because it was her birthday!!

For the past few weeks, since it became warm,  I have had a nasty smell in my kitchen.   I finally traced it to the waste pipe leaving my dishwasher.  When I was walking this morning with Tess I realised that there was a Plumber's van parked outside a house we pass every morning (the van is always there) and shortly after we passed the van a chap got in and the van drove towards me.   I flagged the driver down and spoke to the men inside.   To cut a long story short they came this afternoon and solved the problem.   There had never been a U bend (a trap) on the outlet pipe from my dishwasher - consequently I was getting the smell from the drains backing up into the kitchen!!  In half an hour the problem was solved. Don't let anyone ever complain to me about plumbers again - I call that first class service.

To add to all this, my gardener has been and cut my lawn and is returning to do more jobs for me tomorrow.

It is now 6.36 and I feel that today has been a satisfactory day all round and - when you have read this - I am sure you will agree.

18 comments:

Sandi said...

"Terrorism, Brexit, the situation in Italy, the Irish referendum on abortion, the fall in the stock market - all seems to be gloom and doom."

From over here across the pond it looks like Europe has gone mad. I suppose you could say that about us too.

Bea said...

Well done to the plumbers for solving your problem quickly!

Sue in Suffolk said...

Hang on to that plumber, they are a rare species.

Bonnie said...

I sometimes think the news media would love to drive us all mad. There is no shortage of problems in the world for sure but I think the best I can do is to remain educated about the situations and vote appropriately when I have the opportunity.

It does sound like you have had quite a full and enjoyable day. Celebrating a friend's birthday is always fun. You are so fortunate to have found a good plumber. You got the problem solved plus you will have someone to call if you should ever have a plumbing emergency.

I hope you and Tess enjoy your evening!

angryparsnip said...

Well done what a great day !

cheers, parsnip

Rachel Phillips said...

Last week a large group of military personnel of different nationalities were murdered in an ISIS bomb attack in Syria. This did not reach the news bulletins and was only in the newspaper several pages and columns down. News shown is selective. I am glad you enjoyed your day with friends.

jinxxxygirl said...

They never follow up on stories Pat... They only talk about it once and then move on and that drives me crazy.. Honestly we don't watch any news.. and read very little of it.. Its near impossible to get an unbiased report any more and thats what i want.. Just give me the facts and i'll make my own opinion.. Anyway.. Your day does sound fabulous! Its a hot and humid one here .. again.. and no doubt for the rest of the summer.. We sure could use a good rain. I put fresh water in the birdbath this morning.. gave the hummingbird feeders a good shake to get rid of the air pockets.. put out some sunflower seeds.. Made the bed , vacuumed, had a couple cups of coffee and oatmeal this morning.. Worked on a few things in the craftroom... started a letter to a friend in Fargo , North Dakota... and now i will start an early supper... and hope to find myself in the craftroom again this evening.. perhaps after a walk as the sun starts to go down.. really the only time i can stand to be outside.. Hugs! deb

Joanne Noragon said...

Good find on the plumbers. Keep that number!

donna baker said...

And perhaps a bag of homemade biscuits will keep them coming back. I had one out last week to fix a water faucet outside and it is leaking/flowing this week. He wanted to cut a hole in my wall inside to replace the pipe and I said no. Going to have to have him back out and just shut the faucet off.

Cro Magnon said...

A mended drain any day, makes it a good day!

Librarian said...

That was first class service indeed, and I am glad the problem could be solved so quickly without you having to wait for weeks for a spare part or digging up of drain pipes and so on.
How nice of the people at the tea room to add a candle to your friend's cake for her birthday!

As for the news, apparently it is the gloom and doom people want to know - or else the media would not focus on it so much. Either that, or the mindless stuff about "celebrities" so many devour; maybe their way of escapism.
I do try to catch the main news on state TV at 8:00 each night, so that I can at least keep informed about the most important stuff, but I often feel my attention wandering - especially when the latest news about some sports event or other are shown on the same level as information about what our government is up to again with its immigrant politics.

thelma said...

It is the small things that make us happy!

Heather said...

I feel just as you do about the state of the country and the world. We can do our little bit to try to make a difference but the rest is beyond us. I make sure that I fully appreciate the life I am blessed with.
Your day sounded so good. I don't think I have ever been out for breakfast - yours must have been delicious.
I have had that 'funny' smell in my kitchen and my son thinks it may come from the washing machine outlet pipe. We have improved the situation but every so often there is a whiff which I could do without.
We have had mist, murk and rain for two or three days but I'm sure the gardens and allotments are enjoying it.

Elizabeth said...

Indeed, a most satisfactory day!
So glad the smell got fixed.

janipi said...

I’m so lucky I have my very own plumber at home. He lost his sense of smell over the years. I think it maybe a psychological thing. He encountered many pongs in his time while working. Maybe his brain has learned how to block them out. I have a keen sense of smell. Nothing worse than a bad odour in the home. Glad you found a good plumber. Make sure you keep his business card handy.

Bovey Belle said...

I hope that you have the Plumbers' card tucked away somewhere safe now. That IS prompt service. Our sink got a bit whiffy last week so I think OH needs to have the U-bend off again to empty and clean it. That should cheer him up!

Northallerton sounds a lovely town to wander round and shop in. I don't think I ever stopped there when my girls were up in Uni in the North, though some of the places you mention I passed through/stopped at with middle daughter when she was at Durham Uni.

I normally rely on my husband to tell me what I've missed on the news. He has a more retentive memory than me for anything world wide or political.

Gwil W said...

Sandi, the mad ones are you speak about are definitely in Europe where the lunatics at the Brussels and Berlin control levers are more interested in the stock markets going up and the banks filling their coffers than in the views expressed democratically by 70% of Italians. Hence the appointment of an unelected IMF director as Italian Prime Minister. Is this democracy? Is this insane?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone. Seems we are all of one voice in many things.