Peek-a-boo

Guess what else that was missing around here has turned up again?

Today

 Yes! The red birdfeeder is back!

I stood and stared at it for a while before it hit me what was different about it. It was obviously the same one - apart from one thing... Can you spot it?

Before

Before                                                     After

 They have given it a larger roof. I suppose the reason is that the old roof was smaller than the feeding board at the bottom; and a larger roof provides a bit better protection. (?)

 

The Mystery of the Missing Watch

 

It's not just bird feeders that mysteriously go missing around here. (Cf. my recent "Weekend" post.) Yesterday, when I was going to the hospital for my scan, I couldn't find my wristwatch. I only wear the watch when I go out; but especially when I'm going somewhere by bus, and/or have appointments to keep, I really miss it if I'm not wearing it. (My phone usually rests in my handbag except when I'm using it to take photos.) When I get home, I normally (automatically, by habit) take it off and put it on top of the chest of drawers in the hall. And if it's not there, I will usually find it either on the kitchen table, my bedside table, the coffee table next to my TVchair, or the desk in my study...

Yesterday, it was not to be found in any of those places, so I had to leave home and manage my bus travels and hospital appointment without it (frequently checking the time on my phone instead). 

When I got back home, I resumed my search. Besides the most likely places, I also looked for it in a lot of extremely unlikely ones - but to no avail. 

I also could not remember when it was that I had last worn it. Sunday, I did not go out all day. Monday, I was only out for a very short walk. I might have worn the watch then - but not necessarily. Tuesday was laundry day. I probably did not wear the watch then as I had the phone with me down to the laundry room. And last week I did not walk any further than the cemetery either, and might or might not have worn the watch... But if I did, could perhaps the wristband have broken so that I had dropped it somewhere outdoors...? It did not seem very likely, but then neither did it seem likely that I had managed to "lose" the watch within my own flat!

After another indoors search this morning, I gave up, and decided that I had better just buy a new one. My "lost" one was very far from new anyway, and of no great value. It was another sunny day without snow and ice, so a good day for errands. I went for a walk into town, to a watch shop there, and bought myself a new, cheapish, rather similar one.

After that purchase, I took a bus to the shopping centre "across town" for some other errands (more about that in some other post); and from there another bus back to the railway station, and then another 15 min walk back home from there. 

Later in the afternoon, I was going to take out some garbage to the bins at the corner of the building. I opened a drawer in the hall bureau and grabbed my set of "basement" keys - which includes the keys to the laundry room and my basement storage rooms, and is on a neck strap.

As I picked them up, something came loose from the knuckled up neck strap... Guess what?

Mystery solved. Obviously, on Tuesday - laundry day - my watch had been lying in its usual place on top of the chest of drawers in the hall. Coming up from my last turn to the laundry room, I had put down the key-strap on top of it, and then when I put the keys back in the drawer, the watch had got entangled in the strap and went down in the drawer with those keys... Just a look in the drawer during my serach was not enough to detect it; and when going out yesterday and today, I used another set of keys that I keep in my handbag.

So now I have two...! (Old one, left. New one, right.)

I had to laugh, because I even said to the girl who sold me the new watch in the shop, that "if nothing else, buying a new one is probably the best way to get the old one to turn up"...

 

Clown Care

 

Today I had an appointment at the hospital - just a standard mammography screening, of which I must have had some 15-20 over the past 30 years. The very first time, back when I was 40, I experienced the scare of getting called back afterwards, to also do an ultrasound... Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing. Since then, no repeat of that - but the memory still pops to mind for me every time! I'm in no particular risk group myself, but I have had enough friends suffering from breast cancer over the years (and some dying from it) to not take anything for granted...

When this year I got an appointment for 5 February I was half counting on having to re-schedule because of snow or ice or whatever. But the snow that fell over the weekend melted away again, and today we had sun and blue skies, and temperatures well over 0'C. My appointment was at 13:35 (1:35 pm), and there's a direct (although kind of "roundabout") bus from my part of town all the way to the hospital; so I had no trouble getting there. I even kind of enjoyed the bus ride as it took me along some streets/roads I don't see very often nowadays - but used to see all the more of during the years when the hospital was also my place of work! (I worked as medical secretary for a number of years.)

The photo above shows the main entrance. Just about the first thing I saw when I got inside was a couple of very oddly dressed characters... And what on earth were they doing??

Clowns blowing soap bubbles - and catching the attention of a small boy. :)

I have heard of hospital clowns, but I don't think I've seen any live in action before. Wikipedia has an article entitled Clown Care and it seems that this is something practiced world-wide now.

They parody the hospital routine to help children adapt to their surroundings, they also distract from and demystify painful or frightening procedures. The atmosphere of fun and laughter can help children forget about the illness and the stress for a moment.   -  Research on the physiological health benefits of laughter has been conducted for decades and continues to be carried out by medical physicians internationally. There is also a growing group of researchers that are exploring the psychological benefits of laughter, and specifically the work of Clown-Doctors. [Wikipedia]

Can't say I've ever been a really huge fan of clowns (or circus) myself, but this little boy did seem to enjoy the sudden appearance of bubbles, anyway.

A little while later, in a corridor on the floor above, I also saw the same little boy drawn to this playful zebra sculpture. Whatever else he was there for, I hope the bubbles and the zebra served as good distractions. :)  (In a way, I suppose they did even for me!!)

My own examination was as usual no "fun", but it was over very quickly; and then I was free to leave. I ended up taking a different bus downhill to the city centre, and then walked the rest of the way home from there. (All in all I wasn't away from home for more than a couple of hours.)

Magpie in Snow

 

Yesterday it snowed, and I did not go out all day. This morning, I looked out on wintry views again: the ground covered by snow, and some on the trees as well. These photos were taken from my windows. The magpie was sitting on my balcony; in the other photo (taken from my kitchen) there is a magpies' nest in that tree. Magpies are monogamous and in spring often return again to the same nest, and keep improving/expanding it. Already at the end of January I saw them inspecting and "poking about" a bit... I suppose they were having "spring feelings" during a week that was snow free and somewhat milder!

The snow we got yesterday is already melting again. Very slushy this afternoon - I was out for a short walk to the nearest small "corner shop" but was not tempted to extend it further.

Weekend Reflections, and a Mystery

 

The Sun made an appearance today, for the first time in I'm-not-sure-how-long, and I extended my walk down to the riverside, hoping to catch a couple of reflection photos.

 * * *

After that, I walked back via the cemetery, where earlier in the week I had noted the sudden appearance of an unusual birdfeeder ...

 ... and then, yesterday, the disappearance of the same!

It was still gone today (just a hole in the ground to show where it was), and I could not find that it had been put up somewhere else instead. So for now I'm left with guesses, like: Was putting it up in the first place perhaps "unauthorised" - as in not approved by those in charge of the place? Did someone object to the bright red colour? Or did it just not work as intended, or in that particular spot?? Or did a random passer-by fall in love with it and decided it would look better in their own garden??? ... 

Unless it turns up again in some other spot, I guess I shall never know!!!

Meanwhile, here is another bird feeder in the cemetery. This one has been there for years, is still standing - and seems to be well looked after, and "doing its job".