Stop right there and discontinue reading if your mind is in the gutter and thinking - WOW - she's going to write about female anatomy 'cuz it ain't gonna happen! I'm talking about the lovely little English birds - tits - Greater Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Lesser Tits (not sure they have these but there must be lesser if there are greater) and Crested Tits. So there.
They are delightful little birds and quite colorful mostly, except for the Coal Tits which are pretty much black and white but still delightful. We have many in our garden and they come to the bird feeders frequently. We have them all except the Crested Tits and I haven't even seen one of those but did see in a book that they exist. The tits are our most frequent visitors although we have a large contingent of Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Robins, Starlings, some Wrens,and Magpies that show up regularly and maybe a few others that are not quite so frequent. But I think I like the tits the best.
I have to admit that both my husband and I dissolve into laughter any time either of us go "Hey, there's a couple of TITS in the garden!" We go all Bevis and Butthead at that saying and then we look to see what kind they are and enjoy the heck out of watching them. Everybody can enjoy a little sophomoric and idiotic fun.
Think I read somewhere that the English Starling and even the Wood Pigeon might be in danger but I think if that's the case, the bird society could come to our garden and I'd happily let them have a bunch of mine to take elsewhere and repopulate.
Last year, my gardener told me I shouldn't feed the birds so much when there were babies in nests as they needed to learn to hunt and catch the bugs and worms and slugs and such. Good advice and it makes sense but my Tits and other small birds just went elsewhere and I didn't have a whole lot of birds around or any birdsong during that period when I wasn't feeding them so this year I expect I'll just keep feeding them except on the days when my gardener comes. Is that bad? probably. Because who knows if the next person to rent/own this house will be as happy taking care of the wild and feral creatures that meander through here.
Last year I put out a bunch of houses in the hopes that I'd get something to nest in them. Didn't happen but the houses are still out there and maybe some little new mom and dad bird will need a new house and find one. Also put out a bunch of hangers that have wool and stuff in them that supposedly the birds will take to make their nests. Can't do much else unless I go build the nest for them and stuff them inside.
As I've stated before, the birdsong starts around 6 and is quite lovely. Don't know who sings what as usually I can't see which bird has its mouth open when I can hear songs. It won't be quite so lovely come June when the birds start singing around 4:30 but right now I enjoy it. Anyway, having Tits in the garden is great (Ha ha, ha ha) Love it and those cute little birds.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Loving the Deliveries
Ever since the prairie days in the U.S.A. and the Wells Fargo stagecoach came rolling across the plains once a month or so, it has been exciting and a big joy to get packages delivered to your door. Well of course, I'm not that old that I actually experienced the Wells Fargo wagon but I did love the song in "The Music Man" and the image that it provoked. Now it is just as much fun to get packages delivered even if it is the Royal Mail, Fed Ex, UPS, DPD, or someone in a station wagon or car. And even when you know what it is, it is still just a bit exciting and fun to open a package and see your new possession nestled snug in it's miles of wadded up brown paper or rolls of puffed up air wrap.
I have taken to getting things delivered like duck to water. You can get almost anything delivered to your door and don't always have to be home either to get it. Most stores will provide a delivery of some sort and their on line shopping is almost as good and sometimes maybe even a little better than wandering the aisles and trying to find your items. Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, Graze, Hello Fresh, laundry service, B&Q, Longacres, John Lewis, Just Eat, gourmet food delivery, diet craze, fish mongers, dairy products, American Food Stores, newspapers (natch) and the list goes on and on with the different business that will come to your door and bring your heart's desire. I have embraced it so wholeheartedly that there could be weeks pass before I need to step foot into a mall.
However, I try not to let that happen because I do still enjoy a good mall and a good stroll around the High Street. The problem with the home delivery is that it's really too easy to sit at your computer and check off things to have brought to the house. I can easily hit over 100 pounds with Tesco in just a few minutes. So I try to limit my on line shopping to stuff that's harder for me to carry by myself, like stocking up on water (did this when all the flooding started here just in case) or cat litter, or diet drinks. That kind of thing.
But it is hard to resist. Amazon has their "subscribe and save" service where you can sign up to get certain things delivered every month or other month, etc. I have done this with several items we use on a regular basis. I can get our cat food and diet sodas there at a cheaper price than buying them at the store. But yesterday I might have gone over the tilt meter just a tad. My deliveries arrived almost at once. They had to be passing each other in the driveway. Amazon came with all my drinks and cat food (once a month), then some things I had ordered for Valentine's day, then some wonderful must have items from ebay and then etsy, and finally my Hello Fresh box (provides 3 meals, recipes, and ingredients to cook. rather clever and fun to try new things). And Wednesday is my fish monger day as well. My front door should have been on automatic open yesterday. I can see me getting older and older and never stepping a foot outside the door as the world is brought to me. The potential is there. I just love the deliveries.
I have taken to getting things delivered like duck to water. You can get almost anything delivered to your door and don't always have to be home either to get it. Most stores will provide a delivery of some sort and their on line shopping is almost as good and sometimes maybe even a little better than wandering the aisles and trying to find your items. Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, Graze, Hello Fresh, laundry service, B&Q, Longacres, John Lewis, Just Eat, gourmet food delivery, diet craze, fish mongers, dairy products, American Food Stores, newspapers (natch) and the list goes on and on with the different business that will come to your door and bring your heart's desire. I have embraced it so wholeheartedly that there could be weeks pass before I need to step foot into a mall.
However, I try not to let that happen because I do still enjoy a good mall and a good stroll around the High Street. The problem with the home delivery is that it's really too easy to sit at your computer and check off things to have brought to the house. I can easily hit over 100 pounds with Tesco in just a few minutes. So I try to limit my on line shopping to stuff that's harder for me to carry by myself, like stocking up on water (did this when all the flooding started here just in case) or cat litter, or diet drinks. That kind of thing.
But it is hard to resist. Amazon has their "subscribe and save" service where you can sign up to get certain things delivered every month or other month, etc. I have done this with several items we use on a regular basis. I can get our cat food and diet sodas there at a cheaper price than buying them at the store. But yesterday I might have gone over the tilt meter just a tad. My deliveries arrived almost at once. They had to be passing each other in the driveway. Amazon came with all my drinks and cat food (once a month), then some things I had ordered for Valentine's day, then some wonderful must have items from ebay and then etsy, and finally my Hello Fresh box (provides 3 meals, recipes, and ingredients to cook. rather clever and fun to try new things). And Wednesday is my fish monger day as well. My front door should have been on automatic open yesterday. I can see me getting older and older and never stepping a foot outside the door as the world is brought to me. The potential is there. I just love the deliveries.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Mushy Garden
We have been quite fortunate this winter not to be in one of the flooded areas in the south of England. We almost were as we had looked at several properties in areas that have had problems with flooding but - knock on wood - so far, our rental house has been fine through all the rain. Not that we haven't had some problems as the conservatory has been pumped up as it was breaking away from the house. But so far, we're good. No flooding.
That said, our back garden is mush. Walking across it yesterday to retrieve some of the fallen branches and debris from the wind, it was like walking through a plate of mushy peas - I imagine. Squish, squash, mush, splat, splash. Our back garden has always been a lot more moss than grass but it is green so who really cares. But now, it is pretty much turned into a swamp. If the weather were warmer, I'd be looking for mangrove stumps or cypress knees or lotus blossoms in the middle of the yard. I am still feeding the birds and squirrels and neighborhood feral cats and foxes and badgers so do need to squish across the garden periodically to fill the freeloaders bowls. The mush pulls at my shoes and spits water up at me as I gingerly traipse to the feeders. Rather unique feeling.
We have a lovely back garden that overlooks the golf course where we can see that the sand traps have turned into small lakes. Yet still the golfers come almost every day. And our garden was built up to equal the level of the house and to hold a deck rather than slope down to the golf course. Underneath the deck, we can see the whole garden buildup straining against the brick wall that has already been braced against the pressure. My hubby thinks that the broken gap between the dirt and the bricks has grown and the pressure has increased. We are rather intimidated by it and a bit afraid to measure the gap in case we are right and it is increasing. While I think we are OK and won't flood, I think it is now a race. We need enough dry days for the garden to dry and quit being mush. If that doesn't happen and we get more rain, I fear the brick wall might finally succumb to the pressure and the whole garden might slide down the slope to the golf course. Gone will be the deck, gone will be my workshop under the deck. Mush, mush, mush. Still, not as bad as the Somerset Levels (had to ask my gardener what they were) but never had such a mushy yard.
That said, our back garden is mush. Walking across it yesterday to retrieve some of the fallen branches and debris from the wind, it was like walking through a plate of mushy peas - I imagine. Squish, squash, mush, splat, splash. Our back garden has always been a lot more moss than grass but it is green so who really cares. But now, it is pretty much turned into a swamp. If the weather were warmer, I'd be looking for mangrove stumps or cypress knees or lotus blossoms in the middle of the yard. I am still feeding the birds and squirrels and neighborhood feral cats and foxes and badgers so do need to squish across the garden periodically to fill the freeloaders bowls. The mush pulls at my shoes and spits water up at me as I gingerly traipse to the feeders. Rather unique feeling.
We have a lovely back garden that overlooks the golf course where we can see that the sand traps have turned into small lakes. Yet still the golfers come almost every day. And our garden was built up to equal the level of the house and to hold a deck rather than slope down to the golf course. Underneath the deck, we can see the whole garden buildup straining against the brick wall that has already been braced against the pressure. My hubby thinks that the broken gap between the dirt and the bricks has grown and the pressure has increased. We are rather intimidated by it and a bit afraid to measure the gap in case we are right and it is increasing. While I think we are OK and won't flood, I think it is now a race. We need enough dry days for the garden to dry and quit being mush. If that doesn't happen and we get more rain, I fear the brick wall might finally succumb to the pressure and the whole garden might slide down the slope to the golf course. Gone will be the deck, gone will be my workshop under the deck. Mush, mush, mush. Still, not as bad as the Somerset Levels (had to ask my gardener what they were) but never had such a mushy yard.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Beer Book #2
Last year we started taking the labels off the different beers my husband drinks and putting them into a book. Very sorry that I didn't think to date it at the start but we probably began somewhere around March or April or maybe later. There are so many different beers here (England) that I'm really sorry we didn't think to start when we first moved here or we'd be into book 3 by now or maybe even book 4.
Anyway, we have started book #2 now. There are 198 labels in book #1 and would have been 200 labels except when I started I put a couple of "front and back" labels for the same beer on separate pages, hence 198, not 200.
Each beer is one that my husband has drank. It doesn't count if he doesn't drink it and so friends cannot send us labels. We have some from our holidays too in a couple of different countries but they are so much harder to get as I can't always haul the bottle away from the restaurant to soak off the label. Still I managed it in the Faroe Islands and in Santorini. What fun. I am probably enjoying it more than my husband but at least he is the one who gets to drink all the beer. And sometimes they have been less than stellar examples of the fine art of brewing. But he downs them all with grace and humor and a wonderful husband's need to keep his wife happy with her little enterprise. LOL.
So on with Beer Book #2. We will keep it up wherever we go now. Wow, can you imagine how many labels and books we would have now had we started saving them 40 years ago???? We'd have all kinds of home brews and micro brews and probably a bunch of defunct beers as well in our books. Everyone must have a hobby and this is one of ours. He drinks the beer, I soak off the labels and past them in the book. Partnership in a marriage is a wonderful thing.
Anyway, we have started book #2 now. There are 198 labels in book #1 and would have been 200 labels except when I started I put a couple of "front and back" labels for the same beer on separate pages, hence 198, not 200.
Each beer is one that my husband has drank. It doesn't count if he doesn't drink it and so friends cannot send us labels. We have some from our holidays too in a couple of different countries but they are so much harder to get as I can't always haul the bottle away from the restaurant to soak off the label. Still I managed it in the Faroe Islands and in Santorini. What fun. I am probably enjoying it more than my husband but at least he is the one who gets to drink all the beer. And sometimes they have been less than stellar examples of the fine art of brewing. But he downs them all with grace and humor and a wonderful husband's need to keep his wife happy with her little enterprise. LOL.
So on with Beer Book #2. We will keep it up wherever we go now. Wow, can you imagine how many labels and books we would have now had we started saving them 40 years ago???? We'd have all kinds of home brews and micro brews and probably a bunch of defunct beers as well in our books. Everyone must have a hobby and this is one of ours. He drinks the beer, I soak off the labels and past them in the book. Partnership in a marriage is a wonderful thing.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Fine Dining at Costco and Tesco
It's been a great boon to have Costco open in Farnborough. So much easier to go buy things in bulk that we have no place to store in our little English kitchen but still it is so much fun to go and wander around and image that some day again we might have a freezer big enough to actually buy some meat and put it all in the freezer to use before it gets freezer burned. But not the topic of the day.
We tend to hit Costco a lot more often when my daughter is in town because you can buy certain vegetables in bags that are ready to cook. No messing around with the cleaning and tossing of the leaves and such that is not edible. We like to time it so that we hit Costco when most of the samples are out on view and ready for tasting. Yum. For awhile, we were missing it each time, just getting a single bite of something, IF we were lucky. But our last three visits, we have hit the gold mine, so to speak. There have been tables set up all over the place with something to eat at each one. Usually, we manage to hit the dessert/pudding samples first. That established a pattern in that if we liked it, we probably bought it. Usually we don't buy anything else because they come in containers too big for us. But we have managed to buy: sticky toffee pudding cake, chocolate croissants, and we almost bought last week's yummy: bakewell cherry tarts (where we both got 1/4 of a tart each to taste!). Then we go on to the other taste treats and have had things such as: noddles, lasagna, sushi, soups, fish sticks, cheese, sausage (we bought that), crisps, chips, bread, spreads and dips, salami, and several different kinds of sauces, some of which we bought.
On occasion, we have had a mouthful of something nasty. We try to be polite and head for the next trash bin before we spit it out or throw it away. Once, it was too nasty to do that and the poor lady had to see us take this thing out of our mouth (into the napkin at least) and toss it in her bin. Wow, her bin was full too. Maybe they don't get to choose what they are displaying because not many people liked her taste sample. That day, we also had to immediately head back to the dessert table and get another sample of the sticky toffee pudding cake to get the yucky taste out of our mouths.
Our last three visits, the taste treats have been my lunch. By the time we get to the checkout, I am full and have no need to go home and fix lunch. What a bargain! And a couple of times, we moved on to Tesco! More dining out.
Tesco, Meadows, store has a taste kitchen. We were first approached several months ago to stop and do a taste comparison for them. They take you to the kitchen, you park your shopping trolley outside the door (it's in the back of the store), go in and sit at a computer and they give you two samples to try. You judge them on appearance, texture, smell, and taste. Since our first time, we have been approached about 5 times to do the taste comparison. Each time we have agreed. In fact, I think you can walk up to the taste kitchen and tell them you'd like to do a taste comparison and if they are working that day, I think they will let you - although we haven't tried that yet.
Anyway, we have tried: rice and beans, cake, biscuits, creamed corn, and I forget the last one. Usually one is pretty tasty and the other is pretty yuck. Hopefully you will get the yuck first so you can eat the entire second sample and have a nice taste to leave the store. Once we got the yuck last and it was hard to get that taste out of our mouths. We opened something as soon as we got to the car to gobble it down and erase the yuck.
Anyway, it is fun to dine out at such posh establishments as Costco and Tesco. Hoping to continue our eating experiences at both places.
We tend to hit Costco a lot more often when my daughter is in town because you can buy certain vegetables in bags that are ready to cook. No messing around with the cleaning and tossing of the leaves and such that is not edible. We like to time it so that we hit Costco when most of the samples are out on view and ready for tasting. Yum. For awhile, we were missing it each time, just getting a single bite of something, IF we were lucky. But our last three visits, we have hit the gold mine, so to speak. There have been tables set up all over the place with something to eat at each one. Usually, we manage to hit the dessert/pudding samples first. That established a pattern in that if we liked it, we probably bought it. Usually we don't buy anything else because they come in containers too big for us. But we have managed to buy: sticky toffee pudding cake, chocolate croissants, and we almost bought last week's yummy: bakewell cherry tarts (where we both got 1/4 of a tart each to taste!). Then we go on to the other taste treats and have had things such as: noddles, lasagna, sushi, soups, fish sticks, cheese, sausage (we bought that), crisps, chips, bread, spreads and dips, salami, and several different kinds of sauces, some of which we bought.
On occasion, we have had a mouthful of something nasty. We try to be polite and head for the next trash bin before we spit it out or throw it away. Once, it was too nasty to do that and the poor lady had to see us take this thing out of our mouth (into the napkin at least) and toss it in her bin. Wow, her bin was full too. Maybe they don't get to choose what they are displaying because not many people liked her taste sample. That day, we also had to immediately head back to the dessert table and get another sample of the sticky toffee pudding cake to get the yucky taste out of our mouths.
Our last three visits, the taste treats have been my lunch. By the time we get to the checkout, I am full and have no need to go home and fix lunch. What a bargain! And a couple of times, we moved on to Tesco! More dining out.
Tesco, Meadows, store has a taste kitchen. We were first approached several months ago to stop and do a taste comparison for them. They take you to the kitchen, you park your shopping trolley outside the door (it's in the back of the store), go in and sit at a computer and they give you two samples to try. You judge them on appearance, texture, smell, and taste. Since our first time, we have been approached about 5 times to do the taste comparison. Each time we have agreed. In fact, I think you can walk up to the taste kitchen and tell them you'd like to do a taste comparison and if they are working that day, I think they will let you - although we haven't tried that yet.
Anyway, we have tried: rice and beans, cake, biscuits, creamed corn, and I forget the last one. Usually one is pretty tasty and the other is pretty yuck. Hopefully you will get the yuck first so you can eat the entire second sample and have a nice taste to leave the store. Once we got the yuck last and it was hard to get that taste out of our mouths. We opened something as soon as we got to the car to gobble it down and erase the yuck.
Anyway, it is fun to dine out at such posh establishments as Costco and Tesco. Hoping to continue our eating experiences at both places.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Changing Light Bulbs and Moving Furniture
Our rental house has a "big room" which is the garage that was made into a living room. It's a wonderful room and where we spend a good deal of time. It has a very high ceiling and around the room are lights at what would be a "roof" level were it still a garage. These lights are controlled by 3 separate switches, 3 on a switch. We rarely have them all on at once because I think we could suntan if they were all running. Changing the light bulbs in any of them is a chore, adventure, hard task, difficult, etc. and you get the picture. So unless more than one is out in a set of three, we just ignore it. Very chagrined last week that all three lights in our favorite set had burned out. Dang. That really meant that we were going to have to change some light bulbs.
We got our ladder and standing on the top rung, we can just about reach the light to take off the cover and then reach in and take off the glass cover over the bulb and then pull out the bulb. This is all by feel. As this particular light series has a switch on either side of the room, we couldn't tell if it was on or off. We thought off. Blast but we were wrong after I got a second small shock. So hubby fixed that problem by just flipping the breaker.
We fiddled and fiddled and fiddled and fiddled and there was just no way we could get the blasted new bulb into this light socket. Totally by feel and stretched to the limit wasn't working. It is way too complicated, albeit a lovely fixture and quite stunning a decor, but way too complicated to continue to try and fit in the light bulb by feel only plus we had to do three of them. So the ladder is out. If we stand on the buffet which was a bit taller than the fourth ladder rung, it might be enough to see and reach. So we dragged the buffet over to under the first light and I climbed up on top of the buffet. It put me a bit closer but not enough to see over the edge and into the light socket.
Next step of course is putting a footstool on top of the buffet and climbing onto the footstool. YEA! Tall enough now and I can see into the light socket. Fiddle and fiddle and a few more fiddles and I get the light bulb into the socket and we check it by flipping the breaker again and turning on the switch. Yes, it works. Two more to go.
Now we have to move the sofa and the two end tables so we can move the buffet to the next light. Back up onto the sofa, step onto the buffet, step onto the foot stool and yes, I can reach this one too and it doesn't take very long to change the light bulb on this one. For the last one, we have to move the recliner and some baskets, move the buffet over a bit further, step back up onto the sofa, onto the buffet and onto the foot stool and viola! Light bulb changing is a snap once you can reach it and see it.
Took us 45 minutes of messing around with the ladder and trying to reach and do it all by feel and didn't change a single bulb. Took us 20 minutes of moving furniture to change all three of them. Did not rearrange the furniture but then put it all back the way it was as it was in the best arrangement for our lighting situation. We did find several missing cat toys under the various furniture pieces. Ahh, always a good weekend when hard to do chores are finished and completed.
We got our ladder and standing on the top rung, we can just about reach the light to take off the cover and then reach in and take off the glass cover over the bulb and then pull out the bulb. This is all by feel. As this particular light series has a switch on either side of the room, we couldn't tell if it was on or off. We thought off. Blast but we were wrong after I got a second small shock. So hubby fixed that problem by just flipping the breaker.
We fiddled and fiddled and fiddled and fiddled and there was just no way we could get the blasted new bulb into this light socket. Totally by feel and stretched to the limit wasn't working. It is way too complicated, albeit a lovely fixture and quite stunning a decor, but way too complicated to continue to try and fit in the light bulb by feel only plus we had to do three of them. So the ladder is out. If we stand on the buffet which was a bit taller than the fourth ladder rung, it might be enough to see and reach. So we dragged the buffet over to under the first light and I climbed up on top of the buffet. It put me a bit closer but not enough to see over the edge and into the light socket.
Next step of course is putting a footstool on top of the buffet and climbing onto the footstool. YEA! Tall enough now and I can see into the light socket. Fiddle and fiddle and a few more fiddles and I get the light bulb into the socket and we check it by flipping the breaker again and turning on the switch. Yes, it works. Two more to go.
Now we have to move the sofa and the two end tables so we can move the buffet to the next light. Back up onto the sofa, step onto the buffet, step onto the foot stool and yes, I can reach this one too and it doesn't take very long to change the light bulb on this one. For the last one, we have to move the recliner and some baskets, move the buffet over a bit further, step back up onto the sofa, onto the buffet and onto the foot stool and viola! Light bulb changing is a snap once you can reach it and see it.
Took us 45 minutes of messing around with the ladder and trying to reach and do it all by feel and didn't change a single bulb. Took us 20 minutes of moving furniture to change all three of them. Did not rearrange the furniture but then put it all back the way it was as it was in the best arrangement for our lighting situation. We did find several missing cat toys under the various furniture pieces. Ahh, always a good weekend when hard to do chores are finished and completed.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Possession of the Bench
We actually belong to a gym and even use it several times a week. And for anyone who know us, who would have ever thought that would happen? That aside, we pack up our gear in a gym bag and haul off to the gym in Farnborough. The point was to find somewhere close to where my husband works so that he could come over at lunch time and workout. It has been working beautifully for us. And even though he is gone this week on a business trip, my daughter and I have gone to the gym (her more than me) and performed our homage to the various machines.
I always finish before her so I trudged down the stairs to the ladies locker room. Some days it is quite hard to find a locker because this particular establishment rewards their employees with free locker space so only about 1/2 of the lockers are available for the general paying members - ever. And on a day when there are classes, it is really a grind to find an open locker. OK, off my soapbox about the lack of locker space and onto my soapbox about the ladies who locker!
As I round the corner, there is a women who has a locker about 5 over from me and she is in the process of taking everything out of her locker and putting it on the bench. In the locker room sections (two sections), there are three benches in front of the rows of lockers. obviously if a lot of people are there, the benches are not enough for everyone but she and I were the only two people in the room at the time. She took out her coat, her backpack, her purse, her towel, her bathroom bag of goodies and another backpack and proceeded to strew them across the entire bench except for a small space at my end of about 5" in width, not quite wide enough to put my gym bag on it without it hanging over the edge. She had just come into the locker room after doing a spinning class because she was shouting to another lady in the other section of the locker room about it. She still has to take a shower so why is her coat and backpack already out of her locker and taking up space on the bench?????
I took out my gym bag to change and get my towel and shower bag of goodies. Obviously she can see me, obviously she can see that I have very little room at the end of the bench but she moves nothing. All her stuff stays spread across the bench. I quickly get ready for a shower and move to that area, putting my gym back and such back in my locker because I'm not going to leave it out when I can't see it. I figure when I come back from my shower, I'll have a bit more room because I'll get back before she is done with her shower.
Boy was I wrong. I come back from the shower and her stuff is still all over the bench. Coat, purse, two backpacks, and other loose items. She just went to the shower and left it all on the bench, even her purse. OMG. Why? I don't get it. One, I'd never leave my purse out in the open no matter where I am because what if some nice looking granny type lady is actually a thief? OR what if I was a thief?? I could have easily gotten into her purse and taken anything by the time she came back from the shower. And two, it's just so rude to take up almost the whole bench when it's obvious that other people are there and need space also.
As I walked back to the bench, there was another women pulling things out of her locker and very carefully putting them on the end of the bench so now I have no room. OK, I pulled out my gym bag and just put it on the floor. I am adaptable. The second woman was kind enough to move her things to the middle bench which was close to her but inconvenient for me to have moved. I thanked her and by now the first lady was back and getting into her stuff and ignoring both of us as if we are invisible. She must have been deaf too in spite of her talking over the lockers earlier. She totally missed my thank you to the second woman for moving her stuff.
I quickly moved my makeup bag onto the shelf in front of the mirror. If she is going to be a bench hog, then I am going to grab the closest makeup mirror and stand in front of it. She had to go to a different mirror and I am honestly surprised that she didn't say something to me about it because I got a very, very, ugly look from her.
I had finished getting dressed, makeup on face, damp towels and dirty clothes packed away in my gym bag and heading for the door. My daughter came into the locker room. She informed me that she was almost dressed and ready to come out as well before that lady finished up and packed up her stuff and relinquished the bench. AND the entire time, she was also putting stuff in and out of her locker Wow.
So how does someone bring so much stuff to a gym that they need a locker and a bench to handle it all? Does no one think about how you can put your purse and coat into the locker first and they will be out of the way so you don't need to move them until you are ready to leave? Do the people at this gym feel that they pay more than anyone else so the locker and the benches are there for their own personal use? Are these Brits so rude that they just never learned to share anything in a public place? I am hoping it is not the last because I have met many Brits who will give up their seats to me or help me carry things up and down stairs or to the car, who give me directions when I am lost and so forth and so on. Is it just this particular club that has women who won't share benches? I am not sure of the answer but she is not the only one there that does this. Maybe they got something written into their contract that says they don't have to share benches and can hog the locker space and the mirror space and the benches. I'll never know but should you run into me at a club, I will share the space with you. You won't have to ask me at all, I'll make room for you. That's the kind of person I am, I share and I help others.
I always finish before her so I trudged down the stairs to the ladies locker room. Some days it is quite hard to find a locker because this particular establishment rewards their employees with free locker space so only about 1/2 of the lockers are available for the general paying members - ever. And on a day when there are classes, it is really a grind to find an open locker. OK, off my soapbox about the lack of locker space and onto my soapbox about the ladies who locker!
As I round the corner, there is a women who has a locker about 5 over from me and she is in the process of taking everything out of her locker and putting it on the bench. In the locker room sections (two sections), there are three benches in front of the rows of lockers. obviously if a lot of people are there, the benches are not enough for everyone but she and I were the only two people in the room at the time. She took out her coat, her backpack, her purse, her towel, her bathroom bag of goodies and another backpack and proceeded to strew them across the entire bench except for a small space at my end of about 5" in width, not quite wide enough to put my gym bag on it without it hanging over the edge. She had just come into the locker room after doing a spinning class because she was shouting to another lady in the other section of the locker room about it. She still has to take a shower so why is her coat and backpack already out of her locker and taking up space on the bench?????
I took out my gym bag to change and get my towel and shower bag of goodies. Obviously she can see me, obviously she can see that I have very little room at the end of the bench but she moves nothing. All her stuff stays spread across the bench. I quickly get ready for a shower and move to that area, putting my gym back and such back in my locker because I'm not going to leave it out when I can't see it. I figure when I come back from my shower, I'll have a bit more room because I'll get back before she is done with her shower.
Boy was I wrong. I come back from the shower and her stuff is still all over the bench. Coat, purse, two backpacks, and other loose items. She just went to the shower and left it all on the bench, even her purse. OMG. Why? I don't get it. One, I'd never leave my purse out in the open no matter where I am because what if some nice looking granny type lady is actually a thief? OR what if I was a thief?? I could have easily gotten into her purse and taken anything by the time she came back from the shower. And two, it's just so rude to take up almost the whole bench when it's obvious that other people are there and need space also.
As I walked back to the bench, there was another women pulling things out of her locker and very carefully putting them on the end of the bench so now I have no room. OK, I pulled out my gym bag and just put it on the floor. I am adaptable. The second woman was kind enough to move her things to the middle bench which was close to her but inconvenient for me to have moved. I thanked her and by now the first lady was back and getting into her stuff and ignoring both of us as if we are invisible. She must have been deaf too in spite of her talking over the lockers earlier. She totally missed my thank you to the second woman for moving her stuff.
I quickly moved my makeup bag onto the shelf in front of the mirror. If she is going to be a bench hog, then I am going to grab the closest makeup mirror and stand in front of it. She had to go to a different mirror and I am honestly surprised that she didn't say something to me about it because I got a very, very, ugly look from her.
I had finished getting dressed, makeup on face, damp towels and dirty clothes packed away in my gym bag and heading for the door. My daughter came into the locker room. She informed me that she was almost dressed and ready to come out as well before that lady finished up and packed up her stuff and relinquished the bench. AND the entire time, she was also putting stuff in and out of her locker Wow.
So how does someone bring so much stuff to a gym that they need a locker and a bench to handle it all? Does no one think about how you can put your purse and coat into the locker first and they will be out of the way so you don't need to move them until you are ready to leave? Do the people at this gym feel that they pay more than anyone else so the locker and the benches are there for their own personal use? Are these Brits so rude that they just never learned to share anything in a public place? I am hoping it is not the last because I have met many Brits who will give up their seats to me or help me carry things up and down stairs or to the car, who give me directions when I am lost and so forth and so on. Is it just this particular club that has women who won't share benches? I am not sure of the answer but she is not the only one there that does this. Maybe they got something written into their contract that says they don't have to share benches and can hog the locker space and the mirror space and the benches. I'll never know but should you run into me at a club, I will share the space with you. You won't have to ask me at all, I'll make room for you. That's the kind of person I am, I share and I help others.
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