Dave is home from Prague. He survived the band kids and the concerts and even a two-and-a-half-hour walking tour of the city, which I'm frankly amazed he tolerated. Last night we settled in for a cozy dinner and he fell asleep in his chair. Life as usual! Even Olga seems more relaxed now that he's back.
I guess my run of old-movie watching has come to a temporary end. In Dave's absence, after "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," which I already mentioned, I watched "Monkey Business" with Cary Grant and Marilyn Monroe, and then "Flying Down to Rio" with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Dolores del Rio. I liked "Rio" quite a bit -- it's almost 90 years old and isn't it magical that we can open such a time capsule right in the comfort of our own living rooms? Plus, it featured a big musical number including wing-walkers!
Yesterday I came home to find a huge stack of mail shoved through our letter box. Two New Yorker magazines and numerous letters, including my now-useless missing debit card. Clearly our mail has been stacking up in some post office somewhere and the Royal Mail finally decided to deliver it. Under normal circumstances I would barely have noticed -- modern snail mail contains very little of use -- but it would have been nice to get that debit card. (Mailed almost a month ago -- the bank said it would arrive within five days!)
(Photo: A primrose growing in the seam between the street and the curb, and a "painting" produced from the photo using the Waterlogue app.)
I know why our post office is not functioning, cuts and fewer clerks , DeJoy and Trump. I am surprised that the Royal post is fubar also.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that Dave is back in his chair, safe and sound. what a trip! All is well.
Welcome home Dave!
ReplyDeletePrimula seeds are so tiny...they are a cheering sight.
The postal service has deteriorated since they stopped sorting on two days a week.
Then it is absolutely hectic on the days after...
It isn't the happiest place to work nowadays.
Then they get hacked....
Our postal service isn't so great either. The CEOs make Billions in profits yet "can't afford" to keep branches open, just like the Banks.
ReplyDeleteGreat primrose(s). I couldn't even guess at how many times I've seen Flying Down to Rio and I'd love to see it again. The wing-walkers are very entertaining. The scene would probably be banned now in Florida.
ReplyDeleteMy husband ordered some screws last June, and had to have a replacement set delivered. The original screws arrived this Monday, but stamped last June.
ReplyDeleteOne concern about the post is that the delays could have financial or legal issues for people.
ReplyDeleteOur dog, when I was young, always slept easier when everyone was together at home.
ReplyDeleteSince the Tories allowed Royal Mail to be privatised, the once excellent service has deteriorated quite considerably. How do you access those old films? Do you find them via a particular streaming service?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the mail finally arrived! A bit outdated, but at least you know the debit card isn't in nefarious hands.
ReplyDeleteBeats me how Dave can do those trips even without the responsibility for a lot of kids. Glad he's home now.
If I were Dave I would sleep for a week.
ReplyDeleteI do like what that watercolor app does.
Welcome home to Dave!
ReplyDeleteIt's a relief that the mail finally arrived, but it's crazy that it sat somewhere for such a long time.
Love the primrose and the app art.
Marc mailed a check to the dentist for x-rays they shouldn't have taken and the insurance wouldn't pay for months ago. Last I checked, they still hadn't received it. that's unusual really in my experience though people complain about the mail. one post office in this small town and the check's destination was maybe a mile away.
ReplyDeleteNice to know it's not JUST the USPS that moves at a glacial pace!
ReplyDeleteI give Dave high marks for taking kids on a major tour. I did many field trips and it's a lot to organize and then supervise kids. However, I've had kids tell me that it was the est part of school and that's enough to make it all worth while.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with Red - good for Dave for taking those kids on a tour. What a great opportunity for students!
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky that we have a terrific mail system here in my city.
Welcome home Dave! I like to have time alone to do all the things that Mike only tolerates. Except really the only thing I do differently is that I'm not pretending to listen to him telling me things (I am a TERRIBLE active listener!!).
ReplyDeleteWatching all those old movies sounds like fun. I love the painting photo. I need to get the new phone. I'd have lots of fun with that app. Now if they could just figure out how to put a strong telephoto lens on the phones, then we wouldn't need to carry a camera any longer.
ReplyDeleteU.S. mail is still a mess. It amazes me that some people still mail checks to pay their bills and then are surprised when the checks don't arrive on time. What did Dave think of Prague? I don't think I'd want to go there--or anywhere else--with a bunch of high school kids.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I'm guessing as a chaperone that Dave couldn't get out of the walking tour even if he wanted to.
ReplyDeleteHappy for all three of you that the pack is together again and life can go on like normal!
It seems like our mail will officially only be delivered less often, maybe two or three times a week. Unofficially, I think that has been happening for quite some time.
ReplyDeleteNice to have things back to normal in West Hampstead.
The mail here can be quite wonky too. I do know my mail carrier personally from interactions while I'm out walking, so I don't think it's him. The downtown office must be at fault!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like Dave's trip to Prague thoroughly exhausted him. It certainly would me.
ReplyDeleteNow I feel lucky that our Canadian postal system is still very reliable and timely. Postage has gone up a lot but it's still a good deal. It's good that your card showed up so you can be sure no one intercepted it. And primroses, yes! One of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen any of the movies. Not one. My daughter met a group of wing walkers at a benefit. I cannot imagine it, myself. Glad olga's pack is together again. She is a dog with simple needs: walks. Tennis balls. People who stay put.
ReplyDeleteLinda Sue: The Royal Mail has faced plenty of cuts here as well, so it's struggling.
ReplyDeleteGZ: Oh yeah, the hacking! I forgot about that. I didn't realize they no longer sort daily.
River: Exactly the problem here. The system has been privatized and there's a constant tug-of-war between the employees and management.
Mitchell: Ha! Too campy for Ron DeSantis?!
Ann T: WOW! I wonder where they were all this time? That's like Dave's birthday present that his parents mailed him one spring and it showed up in the autumn, having come by way of New Zealand. (Fortunately it wasn't perishable!)
Tasker: Absolutely! And health consequences, too. The NHS does so many things through the mail. Dave gets all his medical appointment confirmations and documentation that way.
Ed: They're very perceptive about changes to the "pack."
YP: I get them via Amazon Prime, usually by renting them. It's amazing how much is available.
Boud: Yeah, there was some comfort in being able to cut it up!
Ms Moon: That app is a fun toy!
Robin: I just wonder where it's been! Is there a shelf or a mail bag somewhere that no one bothered to check until now?
Ellen: That's especially mysterious, given that it was a local mailing! Did you cancel the check?
Bob: No, it's a curse of underfunded post offices everywhere.
Red: I hope the kids appreciate it in this case. They sometimes get a little whiny about school trips that I feel certain I would have LOVED, if I were in their shoes.
Ellen D: You are lucky! If it's a smaller city or town where people know each other that might help (though see Ellen's example above).
Bug: We all need a little alone time!
Sharon: I thought the new iPhones were supposed to have a real optical zoom function? Maybe they were just trying to develop one.
Janie: I think he liked it but he was not happy with that long walking tour. It's also quite touristy, at least in the center of town.
Kelly: No, he had to do it!
Andrew: Our mail service has been striking recently, and I wonder if they're having some sort of work slow-down. Or maybe, as you said, they just don't have staffing to do everything every day.
Margaret: I doubt that it's the carriers. I think it's got something to do with sorting and that kind of thing. But who knows?
Catalyst: I think so! He's glad to be home.
Jenny-O: One of my favorites too. I never tire of primroses in spring.
Debby: Even the wing-walking scene in the movie, which was clearly shot using special effects not involving REAL wing-walking, gave me the willies. I can't imagine doing it in real life.
I love all those movies! Especially the musicals!
ReplyDeleteWell, at least the mail came. Maybe I should stop complaining about ours!