h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

your astronomy musings . .. … . .. ...

It was too cloudy here at 4am

Here's your map for tomorrow morning: http://www.spaceweather.com/images2013/17nov13/skymap.gif?PHPSESSID=1cgjg4kfk450n69d1bbh3fko95

I have 2 functions to attend today so I can't log in again until tomorrow. Have a good weekend, peeps, take care of yourselves, and each other.


GB

[Amy P]

It is 4am here now, with heavy clouds, with only a bright star visible high to the south.
. .. … GS . .. ...

The moon has come out and the clouds have gone. There's a meteor shower tonight.

Hmm, it was raining when we left the engagement party last night and as I was staying at Ian's overnight I got no stargazing done at all. I came home to feed & water Goldie clean out her litter tray then headed straight for Mum's as the tea carer had rung me as we were leaving the birthday meal gathering, expressing her concern about Mum's swollen right hand/wrist.

I rang the GP surgery and got put through to the GP Unit at Diana hospital who requested that I bring Mum in. She didn't want to go. I asked if I could just have a prescription but they said no, she had to be assessed. So I dressed Mum for a trip outside, Mum complaining all the way, logged into the GP Unit and sat there all-but 2 hours. The GP was very thorough, although he suggested it was gout rather than a recurrence of cellulitis (I've not heard that mentioned before) and he asked me to organise a blood test via the District Nurse (due Thursday for INR test) for Uric Acid level. But he did give me a prescription for the antibiotic (which worked like magic last time, reduced the swelling and took away her pain, which is my main priority). Then he said, you'll have to find a chemist open on a Sunday as the pharmacy in the hospital is closed.

So then I paid £3.50 for the privilege of getting out of the car park, went to Tescos pharmacy and took Mum home. I'd just fed Mum some soup when my younger brother walked in. He listened to the morning's events then offered to make us all I was still talking to him in the kitchen when I went to get the sugar container for his cup, as he was putting the milk away, I twisted the top of the canister and it flew off, straight into one of the cups my brother had just added milk to, and it flew off the worktop, all in my direction luckily I have quick reflexes, I jumped backwards and most of it hit the floor. We spent the next 5 mins mopping up and my went cold another later, we had a lovely chat while Mum snoozed in her recliner. When she woke she said hello to Robert (again) and told him I'd been so good this morning, I had looked after her like a mother.



I do love my Mum.

That shines through in your journals. Hope tomorrow is a better day.

Deb

[Amy P]

Your mum sounds really sweet and lovable GB! The swelling scenario/antibiotic seems familiar to me, as Dad has had a bit of gout and sometimes gets a swelling in his leg. I'm so sorry you had to wait for that length of time, it seems unreasonably long. Hope you have less stress to cope with next week.

I've found out where the Queen of Purple lives, and she's on the move: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41719309.html although the bed in the dining room was a bit outlandish for my taste

I've got a morning at home due to the constant traffic at Mum's on a Monday morning and I'd rather be out of the way while the cleaner is there.

Last night I caught up with TV backlog, Prof Brian Cox talking about the science of Doctor Who was good and I'm looking forward to the 50th anniversary episode on Saturday

I've sent off my December BATSso I can attend to a few other h2g2 matters at my leisure

The weather here is a bit miserable, wet fog last night yet I could see a multi-coloured halo around the full moon! Here's the comet map for tomorrow morning for those lucky enough to have a clear sky: http://www.spaceweather.com/images2013/19nov13/skymap.gif?PHPSESSID=07hjvcl9lmau829ko97j82n3n5

Did you notice the flowers in the Queen of Purple's garden?

That Dr Who special is even being shown here in our local cinema. My son wanted to invite me but that's the evening I'm in London, watching Matilda courtesy of the other son. So I won't be able to watch it on the hotel TV either. I wonder if I can get my Mum to record it for me? Although she doesn't seem to have got the hang of recording since it all went digital.

I saw that house on Facebook . The owners need to be introduced to Ann Maurice, remember her, the House Doctor? That bed in the dining room, it looks like they converted the garage and couldn't decide which way to go.

Deb

Edgar Allen Poe, in The Masque of the Red Death, I think it was, described a man who was confined for years in a room in which everything was yellow - he went mad and could never afterwards look at anything yellow.

[Amy P]

I feel exactly the same about Blondie music. It was the only CD G ever kept in his car and he played it over and over and over again

I got up at 5am, checked it was clear and we set off for the Leisure Centre car park at 5.30am, I managed to spot more meteors than comets but with Jupiter and 3 Galilean moons, Mars & Mercury ticked off the list as well as listening to the waves at high tide in the pitch dark (except for a horizontal band of colour across Spurn Point) I wasn't bothered about anything else and even Ian, who admits he doesn't have a clue what he's looking at skywards, enjoyed himself.

Will you be able to watch the Dr on iPlayer, TC?

It was cloudy here again this morning. I've only seen two comets in my lifetime. One was Halley, which was an insignificant blob - I wanted to say I'd seen it. The other was Hale-Bopp which was really spectacular.

[Amy P]

Hale-Bopp is my most memorable comet too

It's been a long day today but I got a lot done, and tomorrow is going to be a hard one for our family. It's 7 years since my father passed away so I'm going round to Mum's early and spending the whole day with her, my sister's joining us for lunch, I've bought and Yorkshire ham and fresh bread buns