What are you doing today?

[Kiya]

Catching up with some post I missed when away...

RS your quilt is amazing & certainly does look 3D

LLL your grand daughter looks beautiful with all her bling etc for granduation quite the little grown up

RS good luck with your blood tests

[Mad Dilys]

My eldest daughter and her son arrived on Wednesday afternoon for a ten day stay.

It's been wonderful to just chill out together so far - but today she and I are having our ears tested. She is having a hearing aid any way, and when I was last checked a hearing aid was low on the list, but possible.

My grandson had his 15th birthday just before he arrived and as usual I couldn't think what to give him at first. Then I thought, he's now 15 years old on the threshold of adulthood, what can I give him that's useful …….. the first idea was a couple of manly butcher's aprons as doubtless he will soon be in charge of the barbecue and he has started to enjoy cooking. Then I got into the rhythm next was a Swiss Army knife and an accompanying book on "Whittling with a Swiss Army knife" and a tool kit in a credit card sized case for those times when pen knife is too bulky.

This was followed by a 17 item survival kit in a pretty small box and bringing up the rear a "Learn to lock pick kit" which included a two kinds of lock with clear plastic covers to make it possible to see what's going on as you learn.

Investigating these kept him away from his phone for more than 4 hours. The whittling book makes me want a copy!

[Horus]

I am amazed you kept him away from his phone for so long

[Grandad]

I am waiting for an appointment fot the cataract to be sorted out so, ubable to watch TV clearly and I can't read a car number from 2 yards, what do you do???? Well order another camera of course About as practical as buying a bicycle when tou have no legs BUT all is not madness.
The doc assured me that after the surgery my sight will be very much improved because the other problems in that eye are under control with injections and eye drops 4 times a day.
So on that basis when I found on offer a nice little bridge camera I couldn;t resist and it wqas delivered this morning.
It is a Panasonic Lumix FZ82. 18mb sensor, 4g, wifi, touch screen, 20 - 1200 zoom and much more. Just a basic bridge camera but these days they can pacj so much in. And all that for £220.
I know I have said how much I dislike EVF finders but this has a good clear 3" screen so If necessary I can use that. I charged the battery, set the date, turned in my drsk chair and took these two pics to show the range from the 20mm to the 1200mm zoom.


As it has a touch screen you enlarge screen images with two fingers just like on a phone or tablet, excellemt.
Roll on now to get the surgery done. My next injection is on 12 August so the surgery won't be until after that date. They prefer to do surgery after injection because there can be a risk of complications if they do surgery then injection. So, just got to be patient before I can even read the manual for the new toy

PS: Forgot to say, one important reason for the purchase, I do miss a good long zoom lens....

[LovelyLadyLux]

@Grandad - Interesting you just purchased a camera. Great minds must be thinking alike as I just bought the twins a camera each for Christmas. They're just small plain point and shoot refurbished Nikons. They only have 7.2mp and a 3x zoom but most importantly they do have vibration reduction so I'm hoping that'll help with early shots. The clear out price (they're in the States being delivered there) was $25. They're an older model and now the pixel count is sky high but for a first camera that could get dropped (I've also bought neck straps), lost, bumped or banged I'm hoping this intro to photo shoots will interest them. Also will give all of us the reason to get out more to the parks and different places.

I think I'm going to make them a case although somewhere here I have a small case for 1 and finding another small case at a Thrift Shop isn't going to be difficult.

If they do well with these and I see no reason why they won't we an move up to bigger and better cameras from here.

On another note they just got their own bedrooms too! Parents finally decided to move them into their own rooms so now having their own stuff will happen more as up 'til now they've shared a bedroom/clothes/toys - most everything. It has worked for them but now hopefully with their own space they'll be able to develop more of their own interests and have their own stuff to take care of.

TODAY - I'm off this morning to become blonde (again). The daughter does my hair and announced yesterday "Mom it is TIME!" so I'll stroll over this morning and she can change into a blonde bombshell yet again!

This afternoon I'll be getting ready for the crew to appear tonight after their swimming lessons are finished. It'll be in time for supper and then to watch whichever Star Wars movie that is on Netflix right now. They love Star Wars.

[Kiya]

They look pretty good for a small camera

[Grandad]

@Kiya
Yes I think so too Kiya. A good price for what you get. It looks as if they have used some of their mobile phone technology in their bridge cameras. The touch screen is exactly the same as a mobile phone with swipe images and two finger enlarge. It even has a function by which you can move the point of focus AFTER taking the picture if the focal point was not quite in the right place. I really do not know how that works?

[LovelyLadyLux]

@MD - Yesterday I didn't see your post re: your Grandson but I think what you got him is excellent! It is hard to know what will appeal sometimes to young people but if they can learn ANY skills it is all a bonus!

Today the crew went home after we had a night (and morning - I split the show) of Star Wars and "The Last Jedi." Hopefully I'm not giving away anything really big but at the very end of the movie there was a scene with 3 children. The Alien Guy came in at the end and yelled at them presumably to get back to work which they did but when the one young boy went outside he motioned to the broom and it responded to him. The youngest twin caught this (I didn't) and we had to back track to watch it again to be sure he saw what he thought he saw so they took it that there will be MORE Star Wars movies as they've now indicated that there ARE still young people with "The Force." (Plus the child was wearing a ring that showed he belonged to the Jedi Warriors).

Now I'm debating what to do. Today is supposed to be the coolest day of the week so not too sure what all I want to tackle (or not).

[Mad Dilys]

I was waiting outside the house with my daughter and my hairdresser came past. After greeting us, he turned to my daughter and said " I think MD is getting excited about coming to live with you" She replied "How did you know?" "MD told me several weeks ago " he answered.

"That's interesting" she retorted "I only asked her yesterday!"

[Horus]

nice one MD

[LovelyLadyLux]

Good one MD. I used to tell my daughters they had to get good educations so they could get high paying jobs and marry very well as I was expecting to live in the lap of luxury with them in my dotage! They never thought that was terribly funny even way back when.

[Mad Dilys]

I like my independence, such as it is - my daughters are very generous in all ways. They enjoyed the time when my mother came to live with us just before and after she developed Alzheimer's and they want to share time with me themselves, but also for my grandson to have more time with me. He will hopefully be off to University in just three years even if I last that long, the time will fly.

It was his idea to convert the 3 car garage into a Grannie Annex. It's seperate from, but close to the house, mainly used for storing junk, not a car. Good access to water and drains and all on one level with the garden, very importantly.

Cardiff weather is not good for anyone with arthritis and I do love Ibiza. I have several friends there and my daughter and i share our closest male friend there who is an artist. He immediately said " Oh great MD can come over and spend days with me and do Art projects together."

I can have my own dog!

We all have our responsibilities within the family unit and mine is the garden, which I love and also will have an "assistant". I have done some proof reading for a publisher friend there, who has encouraged me to do more...……...

All in all it sounds pretty much like heaven. I'm not losing my independence I'm being sensible .

[Horus]

Sounds fantastic MD and everyone is a winner

[Mad Dilys]

Yes Horus, and it's a step closer to Egypt!

[Horus]

Yes Horus, and it's a step closer to Egypt!

So how does that work then? is it because your general health will improve?

[FABlux]

MD that sounds like the perfect plan Just have to put it into action ASAP, any chance you can move before enduring another UK winter?

[Mad Dilys]

No, Fab. I can't see it being before next spring. Inshallah.

[Mad Dilys]

Yes Horus, and it's a step closer to Egypt!

So how does that work then? is it because your general health will improve?

It's physically closer and less air miles. So I would find it easier to sit for two rather than 4 hours for example. We have a flat in Cairo, so I could just hop over there and go down to Luxor in a day or two.

[LovelyLadyLux]

@MD - If I was you and if you could I'd be in Ibiza or Egypt for the winter. I'm finding the older I get winters are also getting proportionately longer as well and by January I definitely NEED sun.

[LovelyLadyLux]

4am and I am sitting in the Ferry Terminal. Not sure at all why it is and has been so busy this weekend but ft today this was the only Ferry for all today I could get on. They closed last night with a two sailing wait. Wish the Powers that be would build a bridge.