General Chat

ANNG - HELP

I definitely submitted a post to the book thread just before my last post on here. Just went in to slightly edit it and there is no sign of it. Where on earth can it have gone? Am I going mad? (Don't answer that ;-))

Dinner was nice AnnG. I am sure your gammon will be good as well. For some reason, unless we are out to lunch, we always eat in the evening during the week but on Sunday we have our dinner about 2 pm. I have just put a post on the book thread but I am not sure why I am bothering as there only seems to be you and me left on it now.

Oh Mel, you did make me smile. I could just picture you in your jammies with scruffy hair and no teeth in. I wish I'd been there with a camera :-D Why do people always arrive when we are wearing our tattiest old clothes and haven't brushed our hair? I suppose it's s-d's law again.

I sat in the conservatory for a while after lunch but the sun through the glass was making it so hot in there that I started to feel heavy headed. I opened the door to let some air in but it was really too windy to keep the door open. I'm off now to water the seedlings and cuttings in there as they are drying out quite quickly in the heat.

Dinner sound nice Vera. I am just starting to cook mine a small piece of gammon that will do me two days with roast potatoes, carrot, broccoli spears and cauliflower.
I see Mel and Vera have been busy in the garden. It was not nice here this morning although it was dry but the sun came out this afternoon. I potted on the last plant that needed doing and moved the pots around on the gravel. If I don’t lose any more it should look good.

I was reading back through my on line diary as I was looking for something and I was pleasantly surprised to realise that whereas I have in the past bought very small tots in March and brought them on for baskets, as I am not doing as many baskets this year it won’t cost me a lot more to buy bigger plants. The tots when big enough were put in baskets mid April so doing it with larger plants I will not be any later with the baskets.

I woke early this morning and thought no body is coming today so I will stay and have a lie in. Got up just before 9am and thought I would have a nice shower and wash my hair today. Made my coffee and sat down at the pc to drink it and take my morning pill.

There I sat no teeth in and hair all over the place and sticking out everywhere in my jim jams and heard a noise looked out of the window and there he was parking the car outside the kitchen window. I unlocked the back door and put the kettle on and he came in. He said he would go and open the garage so I put the kettle on and rushed in the bathroom to put my teeth in!!!!! and put some trousers. He came back in and made his own coffee and went pout again saying he had only come to pick up some more rubbish to take to work to put in the skip. I fed the chickens and we talked in the garden for a bit and I mentioned something about small chisels and he said he had just put some in a box in the garage. They were the ones I had been looking for. They were oh's fathers tools and I had found the case they were in my naughty oh had left them on the workbench and they have all gone rusty. BIL did'nt know they were his dads tools as he never saw him doing any wood carving.

Anyway he did'nt stay long and put the bags of rubbish in his car and off he went to mow his grass. I have never seen the grass in this garden so long as it is now. Sti8ll no joy with the mowers coming back yet and BIL is frightened to get the zero turn one out incase he breaks that on too!!

I have had dinner got the washing on the line and sorted out the clematis outside the patio steps so a good mornings work I think and it was'nt so cold out there this morning and the suns been out.

I have just copied this message as I see Mandy lost one today and I don't want to lose that lot so I am posting it now and then going to corn the chickens and do a bit more in the garden.

Good afternoon

It’s lovely and bright and sunny today but there is still a bitter wind from the north east so it doesn’t feel very warm.

After I had showered this morning I wrapped up warm and managed to work in the garden for nearly an hour before I decided my back had had enough. OH was out there about an hour and a half so between us we got quite a bit done and it looks tidier now.

I hadn’t dried my hair much before I went out to the garden. It dried well in the wind but is now curling every which way.

Your bil was early Mel. Perhaps you could persuade him to phone you when he’s leaving home so you get a bit of warning.

I’m pleased your swans are back and nesting Gwyn. We’ll expect regular updates on the state of the eggs, chicks etc. Last time we looked our swans weren’t back. We need to walk down to the river and see if they are there now. I’m frightened they may have been victims of avian flu.

I’m currently cooking the Sunday roast that OH loves. Today it’s roast loin of pork, apple sauce and roast veg I.e. potatoes, carrots, parsnips and cauliflower. To follow we have heck pudding, so called because anyone who tries it is likely to say “What the heck is that? :-D. I hate wasting anything and I had discovered 3 of those rectangular trifle sponges at the back of the cupboard, so it was a case of “what can I do with these?” I split them, spread them with bitter orange marmalade, cut them in small pieces and soaked them in orange juice, then put them in a dish and tipped a tin of custard over them.

Time to take the meat out of the oven to rest and get the gravy made. Have a nice afternoon everyone

Afternoon all

Lovely sunny day but still a bit chilly ,family came this morning and son fixed our dripping hot tap in the kitchen ,he soon put a new bit on its been a nuisance for a few weeks now but he's been so busy we didn't like to worry him .

Anng I am on my tablet and my thumb sometimes touches the top left hand corner of the screen and whoosh its gone but it also goes if I try and scroll down on the thread to read the last few posts and comment ,I can't always remember what's been posted to comment on so scroll back and then I lose the bit I've been typing .

Mel your bil was about early this morning good job you were up and hadn't over slept
I suppose he's trying to get the mowers ready for a cut .

gosh he was early for a Sunday Mel.

Morning Anng and all,

Yes i did enjoy my egg and curried beans with toast last night thank you. I use half a tin one day and put the rest in a plastic box and have those with something the day after so I don't waste the other half. Always liked beans on toast from a really

BIL is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I sm not dressed

Good morning all. 6 degrees so far but it is early. I woke early and couldn't get back to sleep so gave up. Not dressed or washed yet though.
Gwyn that was good to see the swans back nesting as usual. Hope there are babies later for us to share.
Mandy that was frustrating, hope we didn't miss anything important were you on a tablet? Sometimes if you touch near the edge of the screen something appears on the screen and it is as if you have lost what you were doing but if you cancel what is on the screen, sometimes what you were doing is still there. anyway, glad that you are ok as we had missed seeing you for three days I think. We can't afford to lose any more from this thread, it is a lot smaller than it was as it is.

Mel I assume that is tinned spaghetti and tinned curried beans? Strange, I have not had either for years. Probably because I wouldn't eat a whole tin. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Nice to see you pop in Mnady and its so annoying when you write a post hit something and it diappears. Glad you are alright.

Changed my mind I am going to have poached egg and curried beans on toast.

Evening all ,

I'm OK just fed up as I've just lost two posts so I'll keep this short and sweet .

Vera glad you enjoyed your trip away despite the weather and how lovely to have pressies waiting for you on the step when you got home and then the win topped off the day nicely .

Anng nice to have a day with the grandchildren, bet the cat didn't show up with the dog there .

Gwyn are the swans nesting ealier this year I thought it was a bit later when they nested last year.

Right I'm posting this before it goes again .

How nice to find more pressies on the step Vera. You have had some lovely things and a good win on the draw too. Lucky girl.

Gwyn I'm pleased your swans are back as you were a bit worried as to whether they would come back this year but now they have. Great idea to put the hazel fencing up to give them a bit of protection as well.

Been doing a bit of painting of my minitures. I was going to sort out the clematis on the left of the steps down to the garden but there's been an icy wind blowing across the front today and its north facing so feels really cold. The sun has come out now after a grey day with rain blowing in the wind and it certainly makes you want to do things. I just wish it would warm up a bit and I can get some jobs done in the garden.

A big branch fell off of one of the old apple trees in the orchard yesterday so I walked over to have a look but I don't think I could lift it. I'll have to ask Jonathan if he wants it for firewood. It was a dead branch and in the way of mowing so its no great loss.

I had a big hot pasty for lunch from the shop so I am going to have spaghetti on toast tonight and the last bit of coffee and walnut cake that'll do me.

Its 11 degrees here now and pc says mostly sunny!!!! which it is.

And more presents Vera, and bottles too!!! Well done.

Had a nice day with the grandchildren and got a lot of jobs done too which was good. and they also went away with a couple of suitcases out of the loft so that is a bit more gone now. The only downside is they bring the dog. she is lovely a cross with a bit of Alsatian, a bit of lots of other dogs including a foreign hunting dog but althouggh not very big she is very boisterous and not trained so wants to play and jump up all the time. she is a Romanian rescue two years old.called sigfried.

Lovely to hear about your special meals and time away, Vera. It's a shame about the weather, but you certainly didn't let it spoil this special celebration for both of you.
How lovely to come home to even more presents too.

A bit calmer here today. Yesterday was grim and the weather was wild for most of the day. I did manage a short walk, when the rain had at last stopped and it was great to see that our annual nesting pair of swans are back and have rebuilt their nest in the usual place. It always amazes me how close they are to the footpath ( about 1 foot away ) but some countryside project workers always make sure there is a hazel paling fence between them and the path....Great for a bit of protection, but it still enables really close-up pictures of the young cygnets, when they hatch.

Afternoon all

Another morning of rain and it's been surprisingly cold as well. The computer is saying it is 9 degrees but it certainly doesn't feel anything like that. I think there is a big wind chill factor at the moment. It has stopped raining now but is due to start again later.

We haven't seen Mandy for 2 or 3 days. I hope she is OK.

Mel, your bil is good to visit you so often to sort things out but it must be a bit annoying if he is spending money buying tools and parts that you already have.

I hope your grandson and family arrived safely today AnnG. Enjoy their visit.

I timed it so that I ran out of fresh veg and salad stuff before we went away so I had to pop to Sainsbury's this morning to stock up, then I made some soup for lunch and did a few other jobs. After lunch I booked a slot for a Tesco delivery on Wednesday and got that order more or less sorted out. So it's a normal day today and I've come back to earth with a bump. I did tell OH that I had got used to being a lady of leisure and suggested to him that he might like to provide waiter service at the breakfast table and then make the bed and clean the en-suite but I won't tell you what his reply was ;-)

I had a nice surprise in the post when we got back yesterday. The old girl's association of my old school run one of these schemes where you can pay so much to be entered in a draw for money prizes. With ours we only pay £12 a year. Half the money raised goes to the association and the other half provides prizes for a draw two, or it might be three, times a year. A couple of times in the past I have won £25. In the post yesterday was a cheque for £35 from the draw at the March AGM. That was a lovely extra anniversary gift.

Then today as we were finishing lunch, a Royal Mail van arrived with a parcel for us and it was a bottle of Champagne, and one of the top brands. It came with an anniversary message from OH's sister and bil. It meant a lot that she remembered as she was a 7 year old bridesmaid at our wedding (OH was 18 when she was born).

I think we had better have a party as we have now been given 2 bottles of champagne and 2 bottles of wine. People are so generous and kind.

I still have jobs I want to do this afternoon so I had better get on Enjoy what's left of the day and sleep well tonight everyone.

Morning Anng and all,

It WAS a bit brighter here this morning when I woke up but now it clouded over and is raining I think.

BIL may come again this morning to start sorting the garage. He will keep buying things to use on the mowers when we already have them but he has'nt looked properly. He wanted some kind of lifter so bought one, not cheap, and then looked in one of the tool drawers and low and behol;d there sitting in the tray was a lifter!!

Good morning all 8 degrees but really grey here so far and rain forecast. Last time Grandson and wife came here it snowed and they took ages to get here, just hope the rain doesn't delay them today.

So pleased your time away worked well for you Vera, the meals all sounded lovely. Sad that the weather was not kind but it seems that it didn't spoil it for you. and lovely to come home to flowers etc. Back to normal now and, no doubt, it is still raining.

Sounds like you enjoyed your time away even though it was very wet. Its nice to just get away sometimes and this was a special time for both of you. The soggy box was also a treat to come home to how thoughtful of son and DIL to send that. The hyasinths will smell wonderful when they come out. Mine at the bottom of the patio steps are giving off a wonderful scent when the wind blows or I walk past them. Glad your home safe and sound and hope you sleep well tonight.

Last night we had another very good meal with a bottle of wine. OH had scallops as a starter, then pepper and honey glazed duck. I started with smoked duck breast with a blackberry, walnut and radicchio salad, then baked salmon fillet with a Parmesan and herb crust and a spinach veloute (a fancy name for a creamy sauce with green flecks in it :-)). A light desert for me and cheeseboard for OH. We both slept a bit better last night.

It was raining when we left the hotel at 10.30 am. We decided to drive to Woodbridge anyway and spend some time around town, have lunch there and then go on to the big Nottcutts garden centre just outside town. Well, it rained all the time we were in Woodbridge, not heavily but constantly so we got pretty wet. After buying a couple of things in the shops we went to get lunch. We decided on a restaurant we had been to a long while ago which was just out of the centre but on the way back to the car park we were in. Restaurant was still there but changed hands a couple of years ago and now only does spicy food such as Thai, Burmese, Malaysian. I chose a small plate of the least spicy thing on the menu, sweet chilli beef. I managed most of it but I did struggle as I’m not a fan of chilli and I’m not a big meat eater.

By the time we got back to the car it was pouring so we gave the garden centre a miss and started driving home. I don’t know how OH managed as, with the rain falling down and the lorries and other traffic throwing up spray, we couldn’t see a thing. As we neared Hadleigh it suddenly stopped so we stopped there for a nice pot of tea. Then the rain started again :-(

We arrived home to find a large, soggy box on the doorstep. Inside were 18 pretty pale pink tulips and 12 hyacinths, not bulb plants but cut stems. They aren’t opened up yet so I don’t know what colour they are. There was also 2 bottles of wine, a red and a rose, and a box of chocolates. They were from son and dil.

So that’s our big celebration over. Back to real life again now

BIL came today and we just talked. Em came later for eggs and took three dozen which has left me with one. I also gave BIL six so I hope they lay well tomorrow.