Unutterably Silly So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?

[DNSB]

Watching finger pointing in a corporate game of pass the blame.

[Rumpelteazer]

I just took some pictures of the resident ducks. They know when it's time for humans to eat, they always get out of the pond and wander around the cottages at breakfast, lunch and dinner time. We don't want to feed the bread, but we're planning a visit to the nearby city center next week and we'll be picking up some chicken feed (which ducks also should like according to various websites).

Earlier today my sister and I went on another walk. And had lunch at a restaurant at the edge of the national park. Tomorrow we're going on a guided tour at a local castle. We're about to start preparations for our barbecue tonight. We got one of those small disposable barbecues, some meat and a vegetable dish we can put on it.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

In my vacation home, enjoying the coolness of the morning. (snippage)

When we got to our cottage on Monday there were a lot of flies, but an electric fly swatter was available. My sister went on the hunt and there are only a couple of flies left.

Okay, I was really hoping that someone else, anyone else, would ask, but what in the name of all that's holy is an ELECTRIC fly swatter? And...what does it do, that those regular old fly swatters do not? Does it incinerate (cremate) their little bodies?

Either I'm the only one here this ignorant, or the rest of you schmucks didn't want to admit it and ask.

Hitch

[binaryhermit]

I know bug zappers are a thing, they use a light to draw bugs into an electrified mesh or something along those lines.

But "went on the hunt" sounds like it's not that.

[Rumpelteazer]

There are various types, but this is one of them.

It looks like a fly swatter but you don't have to flatten the fly/mosquito/wasp/bug, you zap it. The middle is made of metal (mesh, or in our case thin metal rods). It's got batteries and a button and you electrocute them and then throw the remains out, in the trash or flush them down the drain.

On Amazon.com they are quite expensive, in the Netherlands you can usually find them for €5 to €10 in summer.

It easy because you don't need a wall or surface to flatten them, if your fast enough/insect is slow enough you can hit them in air, usually the remains stick to the swatter, especially if you keep the button down and the electricity going. So no more squished insect sticking to your walls, windows or tables.

If you have a lot of insects bothering you this is a great buy.

[Rumpelteazer]

Enjoying my vacation, we're now half way through. So far we've had two walks in the woods, went to a nearby castle and yesterday we first went to the Arboretum and after that to, what in our family is known as, the trampolines. Our grandparents used to take us to a sort of playground where they had trampolines, karts (the pedal kind) and miniature golf. Back then there was also a small café/lunchroom. By now the small café is replaced by something a lot bigger, it looks nice and lunch was really good. But the play area was so tiny! In both our minds it was a lot bigger. But it was nice to visit it again, so many good memories there.

Today our parents came over for dinner, it was warm enough to eat outside.

Tomorrow we're going shopping and after that we've got reservations at a tapas restaurant. Later in the week we plan on hiring electric bikes and cycle to the part of the national park where we often went walking with our grandparents, there is a restaurant there, where we'll have lunch. It's about a 25 minute bike ride. Today we got the miniature chocolate bars our grandmother always brought on walks. It's also where we spread our grandmother's ashes. Later in the week we also want to visit a nearby zoo.

Although my anxiety level have dropped I still sweat incredibly quick when doing things (I'm not out of breath, just sweating). And it's only my head and back. It's really frustrating having to take frequent brakes and carrying around a small towel with when going out. But at least I haven't woken up sweating during the night for over a week now (that was probably mostly the anxiety).

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

There are various types, but this is one of them.

It looks like a fly swatter but you don't have to flatten the fly/mosquito/wasp/bug, you zap it. The middle is made of metal (mesh, or in our case thin metal rods). It's got batteries and a button and you electrocute them and then throw the remains out, in the trash or flush them down the drain.

On Amazon.com they are quite expensive, in the Netherlands you can usually find them for €5 to €10 in summer.

It easy because you don't need a wall or surface to flatten them, if your fast enough/insect is slow enough you can hit them in air, usually the remains stick to the swatter, especially if you keep the button down and the electricity going. So no more squished insect sticking to your walls, windows or tables.

If you have a lot of insects bothering you this is a great buy.

Ah. Okay, I see. Thanks for the elucidation. I really do appreciate it. (I can't see a big future trying to zap scorpions, though....)

Hitch

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Ah. Okay, I see. Thanks for the elucidation. I really do appreciate it. (I can't see a big future trying to zap scorpions, though....)

Hitch

Reading this I'm glad in live in the Netherlands. We haven't got many scary creepy crawlies. We have snakes, but no deadly ones (at least natively, there are regular reports of pet snakes escaping). But I've never seen one.

In our rented cottage there are spiders, which is logic considering we're on the edge of a forest. It's a biggish spider for Dutch standards and it's one of those spiders that runs fast. I had one in my bedroom last week, which I was able to catch and release. On Sunday night a really big one scurried across the floor, we caught it with a glass vase and a piece of cardboard and released it outside. There's also one that crosses the ceiling regularly, but that hasn't bothered us, so we just leave it alone.

[Rumpelteazer]

It's the final day in our vacation cottage. The two weeks went by really fast and I really enjoyed it.

We went on a lot of outings, I was hesitant, because of me getting sweaty really quickly, but it was okay. The second week was better than the first week, mostly I think because of the cooler weather. The only problem was the castle we visited, I had to step away from the guided tour and sit in the lobby and wait for my sister to finish the tour.

Yesterday we had a lazy day, today will be mostly the same. We're going to take some trash out to the recycle center, do some laundry and start packing tonight. Tomorrow we have to leave by 10.30am.

My anxiety is nearly gone now, but I'm afraid it'll return full force today or tomorrow. But at least I'm going to work on my (mental) health issues in the coming weeks. And hopefully I'll find out whether my physical problems are caused by stress/anxiety or whether there's a "real" health issue going on.

[DNSB]

Watching Decision Canada (federal election coverage). We are such a boring country.

[timebug]

Preparing for a short trip to visit an elderly Aunt and Uncle, who will be looking after their great grandaughter, who is fifteen months old. A lovely couple, and a charming and lovely toddler!

[binaryhermit]

Finishing listening to an audiobook

[astrangerhere]

Spent all weekend painting the first floor of our new house. We upgraded from a boring beige to blue.

[issybird]

Ooh, I love that blue!

[poohbear_nc]

Tarheel blue