Nice for the last few days warm 14C but there was a strong breeze all day today , can't complain too much .

heavy rain all day and cold 4C

Sunny and 11C here today. Tony, we just watched Shane Lowry hit a hole in one at the Masters. Did you see it? I’m sure all of Ireland is celebrating. 🍀

Laurie

Shane is just a lovely guy , what you see is what you get with him ,

7C here with some sunshine , really getting fed up of the weather ,seriously considering heading off to Portugal next month for 4 or 5 weeks , it would involve driving from Roscoff in France, down into Spain and across then into Portugal 🇵🇹 🤔,  we just need to find pet friendly accommodation now 🤞

This weekend and the next weekend we have a huge music concert called Coachella and then following that we have another concert called Stagecoach hundreds of thousands of people in town . And this weekend  we have had low teens to low 20 mph winds with slight change of rain today  . For Stagecoach winds will probably die down and temps go over 100 . Busy time in the valley . I'm getting tired of this wind .

@tony-h I don’t know where you’re looking to stay, but you might try Casas do Barlavento, a real estate firm in Lagos. They sell properties but they also have rentals. They’re located in Lagos,but they might have properties outside of the Algarve. Good luck!

It’s 15C here at 9am; heading for a high of 23, and sunny. 🌞 We’re going to the cottage to get some yard work done.

Laurie

hey Laurie , we found a place 300m from the beach in 

we are going  get the ferry to from Ireland to England,  then ferry Dover /Calais and drive through France, Spain and across into Portugal   ,can't wait , just need Ellie's doggie passport and we're sorted 😀 

I've been sick all week, so I haven't been outside. But I just saw a guy jogging shirtless, so I checked, and it's apparently 17C right now! 😊 

@tony-h that looks absolutely gorgeous! Is that harbour natural? It’s perfectly half moon shaped. And it’s in the area you like to stay. I have not been north of Lisbon, but your photo makes me want to go there! I will look forward to hearing about the drive - that’s a long way! Your weather will be lovely, I’m quite sure.

Laurie

@veganostomy I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. I hope you can get outside and enjoy this warm weather before it gets cold again on the weekend. Even a few minutes will make you feel better; the grass is greening up nicely, and the vibrant yellow forsythia bushes are everywhere. Get well soon.🤒

Laurie

Posted by: @tigerlily

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I hope you can get outside and enjoy this warm weather

haha. As I read that, there's major thunder overhead... 🤣 But yes, once the storm stops, it would be nice to get outside.

My mission for the summer is to photograph a Trillium (illegal to harvest!). I've seen a few by a local trail several years back, but they are so rare that it'd be fun to try to find them again.

We've had beautiful sunny days but a bit of a chilly wind that seems to have no end until last night. Yay. I typically enjoy a breeze as being a desert climate it's nice to have & makes a rather hot day livable and if not livable enough most seem to go indoors to the A/C. 

Laurie, You mentioned yellow Forsythia Bushes & we have them here as well only I went into a deep dive reading on them to discover their blooming season & weeds seem to enjoy each other's company! The info I read was spot on with our crab grass and though I've never known the name of the Forsythia before, I do now. As a child when they bloomed & lady bugs took over our neighbour's bush so we knew them as the lady bug bush!

We have a yellow flower here that when they bloom in the hills & mountains around us, like now, its also means the rattlesnakes are waking up too. You won't find me hiking anywhere near where others seem to go & almost enjoy tempting their time. 

Eric, we were all sick thru a 3 week period 5 people household here. It was not a pleasant experience as it was a bad short headcold followed by puking our toenails up and or then montazumas revenge! Stay hydrated & stay home until 5 days after bcuz if you haven't had it all, it seemed to re-attack in some individuals. I hope for a fast & permanent recovery for you & hopefully if your family get it for them too.

TonyH ...🇵🇹 Portugal sounds so lovely & talk about a stupendouly gorgeous half moon bay & beach area!  Are dogs allowed on the beach there? I'm a bit of a seashell collector & become happily envious of anyone visiting ocean beaches! I admit my joy for the ocean has been more deeply rooted since living in Canadas only desert... deep sigh...though we are surrounded by lakes galore, its not the same as the ocean.  I hope you get Ellies puppy passport soon & are on your way to enjoying your stay & that its all you hope it will be and so much more! Pick a few shells to humor me please.... 🐚 🐚 oh, and send pictures too... 

Chelly... no more snow I hope?! Though here we see it as less or shorter water restrictions. Last year our water system broke down a few times & after the first time I invested in a 200 $ counter top water distiller. Its been very beneficial & paid for itself very quickly! 

I go for the CT Scan of my silly broken knuckle tomorrow! Blood work Thursday, GP Friday! Hopefully results will be in on everything. This knuckle thing has sure been a bit of a challenge with an Ostomy! 

Have a great and safe day everyone!

@tigerlily  I'll share lots of photos Laurie ,

damp and cold today , 10C but it feels cold

hey Linda ,I love seashells,  they always bring back happy memories 

@tony-h ... Brrrrr... we've had some really chilly winds here the past few days! Walking the dogs I begin to wonder how wet I'd get, but the rain always held off for me only wetting the ground barely enough to show. 

Yes, Seashells are always a favorite of mine to find on the beach next to a nice smoith piece of driftwood!  Its been 18 yrs  since I last wandered a beach & found a shell.  I still remember seeing my first seashell as a child.  My sister bought it at the Vancouver Aquarium & it could fit rounded in your palm, it was brown with white-ish spits on it. Later it was a clam shell off Crescent Beach where Dad took us out on the water in a 14 ft. Old boat & taught us kids how to waterski, hopefully on the ocean & not under it he'd say.  Mom was afraid of water but she still got in it with us as deep as her knees & helped steady us from waves of passing boats as we held the ski rope together in our hands, wobbling in the water hovering over the two short kids skis with our feet secure as could be in the boots. When we were ready,  We'd yell "hit it" at the top of our lungs and off we'd go dragging thru the water like a dead head log! Some of us 5 kids were more determined then others & those of us that made it up had a bumpy ski ride on two boards about 4 feet long. When we were done for the afternoon we had a nice picnic lunch & then we got to walk the shore line. Us girls stumbled across a few small elongated bunch of snail like shells all golden brown & with bumpy swirling edges! What a treasure!! I had 3 or 4 in my hands going home that evening.  I washed them out in the bathroom sink & to this day, the memory of finding those sea shells 🐚 is still one of my favorites.  After that, as Dads business grew and his company became more successful, his boat sizes grew as well. We traveled on the ocean to so many of the islands in our area.  The Gulf Islands, Saturn Island, Vancouver Island, and Pender Harbour & so many more. Where ever we were, there was never a beach left unsearched. I was happiest bare foot & with sand between my toes & my nose pointed down. People that didn't know us asked if I had been adopted into the family because I could tan a deep almost golden brown while my siblings dealt with sun burns. We never used or had sunscreen back then, but I remember it coming on the market & later using it on my own children as we enjoyed many summers camping every weekend we could camp at the Lake.

I still have a bin of shells I've collected over the years and some friends brought back from their beach trips around our globe! My best find was bartering with a gentleman in the Carribean Islands on a pretty big bright pink Conch he was selling from his small boat to us tourists heading back our Cruise 🚢 ship. He started at 10 d9llars and he & I  battered down to 3 dollars! I paid him 20 Canadian dollars for that shell regardless of our bartering! Lol, it had been a fun thing to do and when he handed me the Conch, and I handed him the folded 20 dollar bill, he said "Ma'am,  I dont habmve change do you have something smaller?" I looked him in the eye and thanked him for letting g me barter with him and told him I enjoyed meeting him. I Thanked him for the most beautiful shell and asked if he'd be able to access change at a bank & then told him he was to keep the change. Im pretty sure he had tears in his eyes, as I know I nearly did from nervousness of such a bartering ordeal! What I didnt know was that about a hundred passengers had been watching the exchange and then when I told him to keep the change, they all clapped.  I was about 28 yrs old & had never battered before let alone seen such a beautiful seashell, that I just had to have!! lol! 

Yes, seashells are high on my l8st of fabulous memories & so are the shiney sand polished rocks my son brought me everytime he found one.  I still have that jar of rocks too...! Ugh... see what you've done Tony! Lol, now I need a ni e long beach walk....! 

Hey, if you all are around a camp fire anytime this summer my fellow & lady fellow ostomates, try roasting a stick of pepperoni over the open fire and enjoy that taste! 

Have a great day you all & my appologies for the rambling on.... 

Finally, things are looking better! It's already +16C this morning, and should get to at least 18C with sun by the afternoon. Tomorrow, same temperatures, but some rain/thunderstorms.

Monday and Tuesday are supposed to dip below freezing at night 🙄 🙄 🙄 

72 F  the past 3 days or so. I think spring is officially here. It's so nice to hear the birds chirping at night, and there's a gully by me.So I hear frogs and crickets as well. I leave the bedroom window open and it feels like i'm sleeping outside camping.I sleep so good that way. It's been raining quite a bit, but I bet that's expected for april. 

nice enough here 12C with some sunshine , nice for a walk , hope you're on the mend Eric

 beautiful day here, 16c and lots of sunshine 

Yesterday... we had non-accumulating snow for much of the day, and then it got really cold towards the evening (below zero).

Weather Canada apparently said that we'll have a very hot (record-breaking) summer this year, and for at least the next five summers. Not sure how long this hot summer will last, but it sure seems to be a slow starter!