How Was Your Week?

This week, we’ve enjoyed rain—gallons of it—and, as the old saying goes, it’s raining cats and dogs. We desperately need more rain to replenish the depleted reservoirs, so I am not complaining. The only downside is that I need one day’s grace to catch up on all the laundry, get all the washing out on the line, and dry it, so if anyone above is listening…

Why cats and dogs? Quote: “Odin, the Norse god of storms, was often pictured with dogs and wolves, which were symbols of wind. Witches, who supposedly rode their brooms during storms, were often pictured with black cats, which became signs of heavy rain for sailors. Therefore, “raining cats and dogs” may refer to a storm with wind (dogs) and heavy rain (cats).“Cats and dogs” may come from the Greek expression cata doxa, which means “contrary to experience or belief.” If it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually or unbelievably hard.”

Monday, we spent the day indoors, cosying up in front of the log fire. It wasn’t cold, although, at 17C (even at night), the grey skies and continuous rain made it feel colder. Brrrr. I braved one foray into the garden to find some bedraggled plants for the vase on Monday meme.

TRUMPET?

We also watched Donald Trump’s Inauguration on TV

Our reaction: ‘fascinating‘. What was yours?

I have no doubt the world will watch his plans unfold with bated breath. Even more reason why I try to avoid doom-scrolling which makes me anxious.

SURPRISING CUSTOMER SERVICE

The new set of resistance bands I ordered from Amazon a few weeks ago finally arrived.

Delighted to eventually receive the order, I opened the envelope to discover they had only included one band and not the pack as advertised. Groan. At €6, Mr. Piglet said it was not worth contacting Amazon Spain to complain. We don’t speak Portuguese, let alone Spanish. I persisted. It wasn’t the value but the principle!

We contacted Amazon Spain, and much to our surprise, an English-speaking human rang us back! The poor woman spent nearly 30 minutes on the phone trying to resolve the problem, as the goods were supplied by a third party. She finally found a solution, and we got a refund. Result.

Except I still need more bands, which were more expensive from DeCathlon than online.

ANYONE WATCHED THIS FILM?

I don’t watch much TV so I surprised my husband when I watched a film. Especially this one.

It’s weird, but after watching I no longer worry about getting old. The metaphor was not lost on me. We are what we are and my thoughts turned to all the women who have had plastic surgery to stay looking youthful and finally some resemble characters from a horror show. A better version of ourselves is who we are inside.

An award from Fitbit

I received an email from FitBit which made me laugh out loud. Seriously. It must have taken me ten years to achieve this. A tortoise would have gained more traction on step progress.

A NEW FRIEND

This week, I met up with one of my blog followers. She baked us some amazing healthy cookies (I begged the recipe) and gave me a tour of her garden, which is at least three times the size of mine. She has so many wonderful fruit trees that I experienced a slight twinge of envy—but not for long after seeing all the work involved. I’d always wanted extra land to grow more fruit and veg but now I am thankful our patch is the size it is.

DeCLutter and Cookery Books

As the rain has kept me from the garden, I have been decluttering. By chance, my attention turned to my collection of cookery and gardening books. I asked myself, “Do I really need that many when so much information is available online?” But then my mind wandered onto “WHAT IF?” What if, for some reason, there was no internet?

Have you met any of your blog followers or blogging buddies?

FINALLY, A NOTE TO BLOGGERS ON BLOGGER

Does anyone else experience a problem posting a comment on Blogger blogs? When I comment, I use my name and URL, and then I see a note. ‘Failed to publish try again later’. I try again. fail.

I try the Google account option. No luck. Fail

Anonymous – it works on occasion. I tried tonight. Fail

Sorry, guys. I’ve wanted to comment, but I am thwarted at every turn.

Ref: it’s raining cats and dogs