Apparently there's going to be some upcoming paintwork on this wall on West End Lane. Looks like they might go for two colors, one on the top and one on the bottom. Which would you choose?
I see that Blogger still hasn't sorted out the mystery of the stagnant bloglists. I had hope yesterday morning when I noticed that John Gray's "Going Gently" blog jumped to the top of my list with a new post -- but that's the only one that showed an update, and even that is now outdated. It's like Google made a fix and it worked for a microsecond and then died again. Weird.
I spent yesterday morning at home reading, and watching (and hearing) a tree crew pruning a gigantic Leylandii cypress a couple of houses away.
These trees are well known for growing to immense size. This one is usually pruned into a neat cylinder, and yesterday some workers seemed to be trying to reshape it. I heard a lot of commotion and every few minutes a branch would fly out of the top (see pic above) to land with a thud on the ground. The guys doing the work were invisible, buried down in the greenery. It sure made a racket.
After lunch I ran a bag of stuff to our local thrift shop, and took a bag of books down to the used book store in St. John's Wood. Walking back gave me a chance to not only stretch my legs but catch up a bit on my podcasts. I need to figure out if I want to continue these podcast subscriptions. I'm not in a position to listen as much as I did when I used to walk to work every day.
In fact, I keep thinking I need to make a list of all our household subscriptions -- Netflix, Amazon, newspapers, websites, etc. -- so we can keep better track of them. I have a feeling we're paying for subscriptions we don't use that much, and they do proliferate, don't they? Maybe I'll work on that today.
Speaking of money, I called my stepmother's bank yesterday and received the happy news that they processed all my paperwork and I could expect checks for my portion of her estate. Woo hoo! It seems this long nightmare of notaries and apostilles may be coming to an end. I'm still a bit vague on how much I'm due to receive -- the figures they gave me don't quite make sense -- and indeed all my siblings seem to be getting slightly different amounts, so there may be some followup bookkeeping. But we'll see.
These little cyclamens have appeared in the flowerbeds in our back garden. They come up every year with amazing consistency and reliability. We planted them ten years ago at least. There are several plants but some of them have been trampled by the dog.
And speaking of Bailey, she seems a bit under the weather. She wouldn't eat last night. Hopefully just a temporary stomach upset, which Olga used to get occasionally too. (As I wrote this, Dave presented her with her bowl and she got out of bed and danced around, and now she's chowing down, so that's a good sign.)
Definitely add up your subscriptions... You will likely be shocked by the total like I was when I added up mine!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm a little afraid of what I might find!
DeleteI hope West end lane is painted any colour except bloody grey, it's so dull. We had a cull of our subscriptions, made a nice savings and we have not missed any.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling they wouldn't go for the gray unless they have a vivid accent color to set it off!
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ReplyDeleteleylandii have always been considered the wrong tree to plant and can cause damage to foundations. They grow rapidly, many a neighbourhood feud over them. Good news that the money situation has come to an end.
There used to be a huge Leylandii in the garden on the other side of ours, and the owner cut it down because it was undermining the garden wall.
DeleteThe two colours I would choose for the wall are black and amber - the colours of Hull City A.F.C.. In fact, I would have most of West Hampstead painted black and amber - including the railway bridge, the pavements and Bailey.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't Hull City already have a mascot?
DeleteI love those color swatches. I’d have a ball mixing and matching. We’ve got that going on on the old train station which is currently all white. We have so many subscriptions and SG manages them… or not. We could probably afford a deluxe apartment with a pool!
ReplyDeleteHa! You should probably do an inventory!
DeleteI tend to evaluate all my subscriptions whenever I set up a new credit card. After the old one is canceled, I start getting notices that this subscription is going to expire unless I give them another credit card number. I actively try to avoid paying for subscriptions though because I hate the concept. All my podcasts are free and there are so many worth listening too that I have never thought to pay a subscription to do so. Mostly my subscriptions are Netflix, Amazon and a couple genealogy related ones.
ReplyDeleteI usually don't pay for podcasts but there's one I subscribe to, because it gives me access to more episodes. I may rethink that!
DeleteI do like that darkish cranberry color on the bottom right.
ReplyDeleteI like that one too -- it will be interesting to see which one they choose!
DeleteThe colors in the swatches aren't bad and I especially like the ones on the bottom but I'm not sure how I'd go about trying to find the best combination.
ReplyDeleteHurray for the financial stuff being completed!
Yeah, I'm so relieved to have that bank stuff over with. I wonder if the bottom colors are for the base of the wall and the top ones are for the brick portion?
DeleteI definitely need to sort out all the things I've subscribed to - I should take care of it before I retire & out income is significantly reduced. I've seen programs & apps that claim to do all that for you but I'm not sure I need THAT level of supervision.
ReplyDeleteI love the tree branch winging away into the sky. If you didn't know workers were in there you might think the tree was trimming its own bangs. Ha!
How do the apps know which subscriptions we have? That seems a little Big Brotherish!
DeleteThose unused subscriptions add to real money. Drop the paid pods, walk in silence.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I might do that!
DeleteWell done on catching the photo of the flying branch, it looks a bit dangerous for anyone on the ground! It's always worth reviewing subscription once or twice a year, I cancelled my Amazon Prime last time and actually haven't missed it at all.
ReplyDeleteThey don't look it from a distance but those branches were BIG!
DeleteI hear of people subscribed to so many things, they have lost track of them all. I don't pay for any tv like things but I do pay for many other things, but minimal amounts.
ReplyDeleteCyprus don't take well to a hard cut back. I hope the pruners knew what they were doing.
That should be cypress of course.
DeleteIt's been pruned that way before, so I assume it's accustomed. I really need to make this subscription list!
DeleteYour cyclamen is pretty. And that tree work is amazing. I swear tree guys either have a death wish or were in a circus in a previous life on the high wire. Glad Bailey is better. I'm pretty good with subscriptions. I just have three, though thinking of adding Apple or Netflix but I watch too much anyway. No paid substacks, but that might change too. Still, not much. Another blogger wrote about how some hobbies and interests cost a lot more and she's right. As for the colors, if that's for the top and bottom, the only two that seem to harmonize are the pink and burgundy, but I can't seem I'm knocked out by any of them!If the top one on the right is purple, not black, that wouldn't be bad with the burgundy or gray.
ReplyDeleteI think the burgundy and orange or burgundy and ochre might be interesting combinations. The dark blue goes with those too. We have Apple AND Netflix and a couple of others!
DeleteI like how you got that photo with the branch flying through the air. Glad to hear that Bailey is feeling better and eating again.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I specifically waited for an action shot! LOL
DeleteI know how noisy the tree trimmers can be. When they are here they usually park the chipper right below my window. Now that really does get noisy.
ReplyDeleteThe chipper was out on the street, fortunately, but of course I could still hear it!
DeleteThe Cyclamen growing in your garden is lovely. Due to our zone 5, it only grows as a houseplant in MA.
ReplyDeleteTree guys that climb and cut down/shape trees have a dangerous job. I've had them on my property too. The last guy came with a crane, and the process was quite different. The crane hoisted the guy with the saw to make the cut, and the tree was attached to the crane arm using a chain. Everything was gently lowered to the ground.
I prefer to pay as I go. The only subscription I have is Amazon Prime.
I'd have to see the completed artwork to know if I like the color combinations and form.
Apparently there are hardy cyclamens and tender ones. We've had some that have died in freezing weather, but these keep chugging along.
DeleteSomething is definitely going on at Blogger. It seems to me that they have addressed the bot problem that was flooding the blogs and now I don't see the bots from Singapore and other places.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's good, I suppose! I never look at my traffic so who knows how many bot visitors I have?
DeleteI'll cheer when you actually get a check in hand (of the appropriate amount). Not that I'm cynical or anything :) .
ReplyDeleteYeah, my enthusiasm is still a bit tempered, shall we say?
DeleteI'm glad that Bailey's appetite has revived. I always worry about my cat's eating; she's way too skinny although she is eating. (not much though) I buy cyclamen every year; their leaves and flowers make me happy. Yay for resolved banking issues!
ReplyDeleteAnd dogs are so enthusiastic about food, usually, that it's never a good sign when they're not. In Bailey's case it seemed to be a passing thing, though. I guess she just had a stomach ache!
DeleteWhat a lovely mix of topics, from the paint samples to that relieving news about the estate, finally some progress after all that administrative hassle! Those cyclamens sound wonderfully reliable, coming back every year. And glad to read Bailey is eating again, what a relief!
ReplyDeleteGreetz from Sicily!
https://canalsandcitrus.blogspot.com
Thanks for visiting, Diana! I don't know that I'd call my topics "lovely" but they are real life. :)
DeleteThere was an app heavily advertised on some of the games I play that supposedly identified all your subscriptions and allowed ou to cancel the ones you wanted from the app. Don't remember what it was called.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe I would use any of those colors. Shaping that tree looks like a monumental task. Cyclamens are fall annuals here, usually in a hanging basket.
I wonder if you enter all the subscriptions into the app, or can it somehow find them for you? In which case, THAT would come in handy.
DeleteIf I recall correctly, yes, it does locate all the subscriptions.
DeleteI love the photo of the branch in flight!
ReplyDeleteAction shot! :)
DeleteI am so glad that Bailey finally did eat. I always worry when one of my dogs doesn't eat because usually they are ravenous and gobble down their bowls.
ReplyDeleteYeah, a dog refusing food is never a good thing. In her case though it seemed very temporary!
DeleteSame thing happened with my reading list -- Going Gently magically updated but is stuck in time again. For the wall I would use teal on the top and maroon on the bottom. I hope Bailey continues to have a good appetite. When a dog doesn't want a meal I know it's serious.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
It's so weird that Going Gently updated but nothing else. I would love to know what the heck is going on there.
DeleteI am glad that you managed to conquer the lizardpeople. I think it is so cool that cyclamen grows outside there.
ReplyDeleteWell, as Mary said above, let's see if I actually get the check!
DeleteI'm receiving comments and one post per day. I go around the system and read all my blog under MANAGE blogs
ReplyDeleteI can still go down my blog list and just click each one, but it sure was handy to know which ones had updated recently.
DeleteI'd go for the orange at the top and the dark petrol blue for the bottom on that wall.
ReplyDeleteThis post of yours has appeared on my reading list, but most other blogs I follow don't look as if they have been updated on the list. Like Red says, I don't rely on the list but check on manually those blogs I am interested in.
Oh, it's interesting that this post showed up for you! It sounds like the Google engineers are trying to come up with a fix, because I've done nothing on my end.
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