CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Page Scrawler]

7 minutes ago, Marty said:

Hi, Page.  

Hey, Marty.   

[Marty]

Good morning, all!

Shaping up to be another good day here in the northwest of Ireland. Currently 9:30am and a temperature of 17°C (63°F) with a high expected of 24 (75).

Today is June Bank Holiday here in Ireland and, especially on a day a good as this, the parks and beaches would normally be crowded. But 2020 is no normal year, so although I suspect there will be a little more outdoor activity today than in recent weeks, I am sure it will not be what we would normally see.

Myself? I did some baking last night: wholemeal bread, chocolate chip cookies, and a banana loaf. This afternoon I plan, whilst observing all social distancing recommendations, calling round to some good friends of mine with those goodies. We shall have a picnic in their garden. It will be good for us to actually socialise for a change.

[dughlas]

3 hours ago, Marty said:

Good morning, all!

Shaping up to be another good day here in the northwest of Ireland. Currently 9:30am and a temperature of 17°C (63°F) with a high expected of 24 (75).

Today is June Bank Holiday here in Ireland and, especially on a day a good as this, the parks and beaches would normally be crowded. But 2020 is no normal year, so although I suspect there will be a little more outdoor activity today than in recent weeks, I am sure it will not be what we would normally see.

Myself? I did some baking last night: wholemeal bread, chocolate chip cookies, and a banana loaf. This afternoon I plan, whilst observing all social distancing recommendations, calling round to some good friends of mine with those goodies. We shall have a picnic in their garden. It will be good for us to actually socialise for a change.

Enjoy your day and the visit with friends.

[Headstall]

5 hours ago, Marty said:

Good morning, all!

Shaping up to be another good day here in the northwest of Ireland. Currently 9:30am and a temperature of 17°C (63°F) with a high expected of 24 (75).

Today is June Bank Holiday here in Ireland and, especially on a day a good as this, the parks and beaches would normally be crowded. But 2020 is no normal year, so although I suspect there will be a little more outdoor activity today than in recent weeks, I am sure it will not be what we would normally see.

Myself? I did some baking last night: wholemeal bread, chocolate chip cookies, and a banana loaf. This afternoon I plan, whilst observing all social distancing recommendations, calling round to some good friends of mine with those goodies. We shall have a picnic in their garden. It will be good for us to actually socialise for a change.

Hey, Marty.  A picnic sounds so nice... enjoy your day!

[Headstall]

1 hour ago, dughlas said:

Enjoy your day and the visit with friends.

Morning, bro and Mum.  

[Headstall]

Another heartbreaking night... peace to all of us...  

 

[Bucket1]

11 minutes ago, Headstall said:

A picnic sounds so nice...

It sounds so good. Nice weather, good company and great food

[Headstall]

1 minute ago, Bucket1 said:

It sounds so good. Nice weather, good company and great food

  Hey, B.   How goes it? Dad still happy? 

[dughlas]

2 hours ago, Headstall said:

Morning, bro and Mum.  

[dughlas]

2 hours ago, Headstall said:

Another heartbreaking night... peace to all of us...  

 

Lovely lad. You keeping this one too?

[Page Scrawler]

2 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

It sounds so good. Nice weather, good company and great food

Hey, Tea Bat. 

[Page Scrawler]

1 minute ago, dughlas said:

Lovely lad. You keeping this one too?

Hey, Dugh, Mum, and Thistle.   *scratches for Thistle*

[dughlas]

The weather today is lovely. A bright sunny 75/24° with substantially lower humidity. Of course as is often the case my head is reacting to the change with a building migraine.

[dughlas]

1 minute ago, Page Scrawler said:

Hey, Dugh, Mum, and Thistle.   *scratches for Thistle*

☺️

[Page Scrawler]

1 minute ago, dughlas said:

The weather today is lovely. A bright sunny 75/24° with substantially lower humidity. Of course as is often the case my head is reacting to the change with a building migraine.

I hope your poor head feels better soon.     

[Headstall]

44 minutes ago, dughlas said:

The weather today is lovely. A bright sunny 75/24° with substantially lower humidity. Of course as is often the case my head is reacting to the change with a building migraine.

  Was chilly this morning but has turned into a beautiful day here too. I got everything planted, did some weeding, and swept the front of my house so it is ready for painting. Now I am taking a break.  

[Headstall]

Lawns mowed... might rain for the next two days. 

[Bucket1]

9 hours ago, Headstall said:

  Hey, B.   How goes it? Dad still happy? 

Hmmmm Dad was in hospital with evaluated BP. They played with his meds at the transition place and now it’s back up to dangerous levels. Well now it’s back to manageable levels because they bumped up his meds but it’s been a bit scary.  

[Valkyrie]

12 minutes ago, Bucket1 said:

Hmmmm Dad was in hospital with evaluated BP. They played with his meds at the transition place and now it’s back up to dangerous levels. Well now it’s back to manageable levels because they bumped up his meds but it’s been a bit scary.  

  I'm glad they have it managed now.  

[clochette]

15 minutes ago, Bucket1 said:

Hmmmm Dad was in hospital with evaluated BP. They played with his meds at the transition place and now it’s back up to dangerous levels. Well now it’s back to manageable levels because they bumped up his meds but it’s been a bit scary.  

What a scare! Glad they've it under control

[Page Scrawler]

1 hour ago, Bucket1 said:

but it’s been a bit scary.

Hey, B.  Close call, but glad your Dad's alright now.

 

1 hour ago, clochette said:

What a scare! Glad they've it under control

Hey, Clo. 

[Headstall]

1 hour ago, Bucket1 said:

Hmmmm Dad was in hospital with evaluated BP. They played with his meds at the transition place and now it’s back up to dangerous levels. Well now it’s back to manageable levels because they bumped up his meds but it’s been a bit scary.  

That would be scary. Glad it's back to manageable levels.  

[dughlas]

11 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

Hmmmm Dad was in hospital with evaluated BP. They played with his meds at the transition place and now it’s back up to dangerous levels. Well now it’s back to manageable levels because they bumped up his meds but it’s been a bit scary.  

Glad he's doing better. I do not understand why some of these places seem to think they need to make changes when someone is doing well. I think it's mostly driven by economics. Your dad's med was probably more expensive or needed to be adminstered in a manner that was inconvenient.

[Marty]

On 6/1/2020 at 1:38 PM, dughlas said:

Enjoy your day and the visit with friends.

 

On 6/1/2020 at 3:05 PM, Headstall said:

Hey, Marty.  A picnic sounds so nice... enjoy your day!

 

On 6/1/2020 at 3:17 PM, Bucket1 said:

It sounds so good. Nice weather, good company and great food

Thanks guys!

It was a really enjoyable day.

Spent several hours discussing the state of the world over tea, cookies and cake.

I then called in on an ex-colleague of mine, and had to drink more tea, and admire and praise his garden. He's high risk as far as covid-19 is concerned as, although he's only in his mid-fifties he suffered a massive heart attack about ten years ago, which he was lucky to survive, and has lung problems. So we met in his garden, and never came closer than four metres from each other.

I then called out to another friend, whose son came out as gay a few months ago. Although he's 21, he still lives with his parents, and his mum had contacted me asking if I could have a chat with him. She is supportive, as is dad, but is concerned about the fact he may be meeting lads through the Grindr app. She's not opposed to that per se,  just concerned about the current covid-19 and social distancing. I was actually surprised she knows about Grindr, as she is no spring chicken! Their children were adopted when they were unable to have any of their own after years of trying. So, as she lives close to the friends I was visiting, I rang her and arranged to call to the house after the picnic at my friends. I've known the family for about fifteen years, so the son has known me since he was around six years old. He is aware (as are his parents) that I am also gay, so he was more than happy to have a chat with me about gay issues. Mum left us alone at a picnic table in the garden, and the chat just flowed. He has met one lad since the lockdown, but all he did was take a walk with him and refused to even hold hands, as he would be worried about bringing the virus into the house and possibly infect his older parents, especially his mum who has a few health issues of her own. That 'relationship' died a death as a result. He told me he's currently chatting to another lad online who lives about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from him, but they've both agreed that, until the pandemic is over, they won't even think about meeting. I dropped into the conversation the usual observation that not everybody online is necessarily who they say they are. He said he's already realised that.

I didn't tell him his mum had asked me to chat to him, which I think made the conversation a lot easier and more natural. We chatted for over two hours, and the only reason I cut it short was because it was starting to get dark and the midges were getting active as the day cooled slightly. And I had not brought a top out with me, so my arms were starting to be attacked by them. When I said I should head home he told me how grateful he was for me chatting to him. The family lives in quite a rural area, so he said I'm the first person in the near locality he has found to talk to who properly understands gay issues. I think he'll be fine. I did tell him about an LGBT youth group that meets weekly in a larger town about 30 kilometers (19 miles) away, and said I would find out when they plan to start the meetings again.

So an eventful day, but rewarding in more ways than one. But it was close on 11:00 pm before I finally got home.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Marty
typos

[Marty]

14 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

Hmmmm Dad was in hospital with evaluated BP. They played with his meds at the transition place and now it’s back up to dangerous levels. Well now it’s back to manageable levels because they bumped up his meds but it’s been a bit scary.