The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[TarnishedPenny]

C and I are at our cabin, departing the morning of the 4th to let the resort rent it for Thu-Sun. The 4th is a big deal for the resort and attracts a crowd with their fireworks presentation. We normally let them have it the entire week of the 4th (revenue), but tomorrow is our 35th wedding anniversary and we wanted to celebrate it here.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm having some late-morning Irish Coffee right now, well, Irish coffee flavored at the coffee factory. I'm not drinking my Irish this early in the day, and I'm browsing here before I return to writing my next masterpiece. LOL! How's tricks Liters?

 

[ChloeTzang]

In honor of the 4th of July....

 

[ChloeTzang]

 

[MrPixel]

Speaking of the 4th, C just sent us into gales of laughter:

"Oh, gawd. Knowing her, she's going to try cleaning out the briquette grill with a leaf blower."

 

[Kumquatqueen]

A glorious 4th here - no, not going to the American Embassy picnic which they held last weekend, but it's the General Election. I get to vote in a bit over 6 hours, so I need to try to sleep before watching the results all night. I'm hoping for a lot of new equivalents to The Portillo Moment in 1997. Schadenfreude central.

The key results should be from 3 to 5am, so will be fun. Friday will be bonkers at work as many of us will have been watching all night. Some say we can count it as L&D hours... In any case, we can't serve the Government of the day until there is one, which if all goes smoothly will be about 11am when Charlie invites Keir to form a Government. And hopefully doesn't drop dead two days later.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I can't believe you vote on a weekday. Do you get time off work to do it?

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I can't believe you vote on a weekday. Do you get time off work to do it?

Don't need to. Polling stations are open 7am to 10pm, and almost always within a 5, maybe 10 minutes walk from your house. There's rural polling stations set up in pubs and caravans and even private houses, though primary schools and church halls are most common.

Mine was bustling at 8am, but still, I walked straight in, up to the table with the staff, they ticked off my name and address and gave me my ballot papers, I went to the booth and marked them with the stubby pencil, put them in the boxes, and was home again within 10 minutes. Time in polling station, maybe 2 minutes?

You can get a postal vote, or a proxy, but tbh filling in all the forms and details for the postal vote takes longer than just walking round the corner (the post box is almost as far as the polling station!)

Elections are almost always on a Thursday because that was half-day closing in the market town a PM was from in the 1800s. Apparently he was quite surprised other towns closed early on Wednesdays instead.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

At 10pm, polls close (though anyone queuing at 10pm must be allowed to vote - but this only happens when there's been a cock-up), the boxes are sealed, and then they're driven round to the constituency centre for counting (almost always a sports hall at the local leisure centre). And counting starts. Loads of staff producing bundles of votes.

By 11pm either Sunderland North or Sunderland South is the first to declare, giving the pundits some evidence to go on. Then other constituencies of the 'you could just weigh the vote' type. At 3am it starts getting interesting, with some tight contests being declared, and we could have the new PM confirmed by 4am (first to 326 seats).

But yes, our likely new PM will have to give his first speech around 4am in a manky London sports hall, standing in between a guy dressed as Elmo and a chap called Nick the Flying Brick (representing the Monster Raving Loony Party). It keeps them humble - for a few hours, anyway.

 

[litfan10]

Love when one of my cats wakes me with LOUD meows an hour before feeding time....
Good thing he's not a coffee drinker.

 

[litfan10]

Kitties fed - check
Cup of Bigelow Blackberry Citrus tea brewed - check
Breakfast assembled - check
Book grabbed - check
Meditative music on - check
Aaaah - bliss
Have a great day (night) everyone

 

[TarnishedPenny]

And a happy 4th to all!

 

[NotWise]

Love when one of my cats wakes me with LOUD meows an hour before feeding time....
Good thing he's not a coffee drinker.

I've never fed our current cats less than an hour-and-a-half after I get up. That way they've never learned to wake me to get fed. Instead, they haunt me like ghosts after I get up, getting gradually closer as time goes by. I usually have two cats within reach by the time I decide to feed them.

 

[litfan10]

I've never fed our current cats less than an hour-and-a-half after I get up. That way they've never learned to wake me to get fed. Instead, they haunt me like ghosts after I get up, getting gradually closer as time goes by. I usually have two cats within reach by the time I decide to feed them.

Our two young boys ( we got them when they were seven months old now three) are a handful. Sun comes up for us right now just after five. I like to get up before sunrise, go to the bathroom, feed the kitties (we currently have the two brothers and a five year old girl who distances herself from the boys) then brew some tea, get breakfast then relax in my reading chair which has a great view of our backyard. I watch the day break and the birds come alive then I relax and meditate.
Daylight savings always confuses the heck out of the boys.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Our two young boys ( we got them when they were seven months old now three) are a handful. Sun comes up for us right now just after five. I like to get up before sunrise, go to the bathroom, feed the kitties (we currently have the two brothers and a five year old girl who distances herself from the boys) then brew some tea, get breakfast then relax in my reading chair which has a great view of our backyard. I watch the day break and the birds come alive then I relax and meditate. Daylight savings always confuses the heck out of the boys.

You think it's hard on the boys? Consider how hard it is on the birds, all of them having to do a simultaneous shift change and start singing an hour later...

 

[MrPixel]

5:45. Awakened by a single bark telling me he wants attention. Not to be let out, just needs attention. He allows me to nap on the sofa with him for about an hour, then starts into his clipped bark thing, one every two or three seconds. He wants me up and awake; I try to ignore him and not reward the behavior. C stomps in and lays into me about not letting him out 'cause he's barking. She grabs the leash, latches it on... and he promptly jumps back onto the sofa and leans hard into me, as in, "I'm not going anywhere, Daddy."

I didn't have to say a thing.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Yup, one of those days. From arguably the best comic strip of all time.

 

[litfan10]

You think it's hard on the boys? Consider how hard it is on the birds, all of them having to do a simultaneous shift change and start singing an hour later...

True. Lately the birds have started chirping just after four while it's still pretty dark. I think that gets the one boy going early. I swear he thinks he's a hobbit and third and fourth breakfasts is a real thing.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Midday. Definitely time for coffee to push through to the weekend.

A friend at work has proudly published an "x" - rated picture book on Amazon. I've congratulated her, and bought it, but it's tame compared to what's here. I'm tossing up telling her that I publish here, seeming we have similarly interests.

 

[dmallord]

Happy 4th to one and all! Great fireworks on the television tonight.

 

[MrPixel]

Happy 4th to one and all! Great fireworks on the television tonight.

You, too, DM.

Cooling my jets at the computer here more or less waiting for the noise outside to abate before showering and toddling off to bed. Tired, tho', after the 7-hour drive home from the cabin.

Dog did really good on the ride home this time - no panic attacks or meltdowns. The change in meds might have been the trick. Can't say C did as well; she kept ordering him around for just being a dog. Probably need to adjust her meds, too.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Good morning....made the coffee....help yourself

 

[Kumquatqueen]

And Charlie calls it: we have a new Government. New ministers will be confirmed over the next day or so. The job goes on.

Which I need a fuckload of coffee for - I woke up at 3.30am to watch the carnage. Highly entertaining!

 

[Candy_Kane54]

It amazes me how you can change governments so quickly. Here in the states, we hold elections in November and the winners take office in January the next year.

Anyway, the teapot is on the back burner and I'm enjoying a nice cup of Earl Grey ...

 

[dmallord]

Enjoying Chloe's cup of coffee... Black as usual.

I woke up this morning and saw a new story posted around 1:00 AM, it seems. It's the story I mentioned previously written for a fan of Emily Clarke, the woman who played Julie in the eight seasons the show ran.

Max Dates Julie Teeger
Monk's star makes love to an admirer.
today in Celebrities & Fan Fiction Stories

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