General Chat

Good afternoon all

Can’t really tell you the temperature here as the computer, iPad and phone all say something different. One says 20 degrees but feels like 18, one says 21 and feels like 19, one says 21 and feels like 24. Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer pick! Whatever the temperature it’s dull and muggy and has been threatening rain all day though none has arrived yet.

Shame about your koi Mel. When we had koi we were lucky and only ever lost one fish. That one had dropsy. We started with 20 little 3” fish and several years later we gave away 19 fish and the smallest was about 12”. It’s a pity the first wedding outfit you sent away for didn’t work out but it sounds as though the trousers and top you have picked out to wear will be fine and you’ll be comfortable in them.

I’m glad Colin is a little better but I am sure you would both really like to know what is causing his problems as what the doctors have said seems a bit vague but it sounds as though they will follow up with him and do other tests if he doesn’t feel better soon. It’s a good idea to test for Covid as there seems to be a lot of that around again. I’ve heard of 2 cases again this morning.

We had a lovely few hours with our friends yesterday. We just met up at a Brewers Fayre pub which is roughly halfway between us. It is a large one and was three quarters empty so no-one minded if we lingered and chatted at the table. It was good to catch up and to find there were a number of people in the village where we used to live who still remembered us even though we left in 1986. The journey back was a bit of a nightmare. We left at 4.30 pm and it started off well, we were getting along at a good pace but then we hit a queue of traffic. Every few minutes we moved about 2 car lengths forwards and stopped again. This seemed to go on forever; every bend we came round we found the queue still stretched ahead. Eventually of course we got close enough to see the cause. Just entering town on that particular road you come down a hill to a crossroads where there are traffic lights. About two car lengths back from the lights on our bit of the road a large HGV had broken down. A couple of cars would get into the space between the HGV and the lights and get across when the lights went green. At that point traffic would be coming up the hill from their side of the lights and it is a narrow road so nothing in the queue could move until the lights went red, traffic coming up stopped and two more cars could move in front of the HGV. You wouldn’t believe that one broken down vehicle could cause such long, long tailbacks. We were very glad to get home.

This morning I went to our weekly coffee meet. I allowed OH to stay home as I knew the two men he usually chats to wouldn’t be there. There were just 4 of us this morning but we still seemed to find plenty to say.

Now I must go and sort out something for us to eat tonight. I’m thinking it might be a meat pie that I can cook from frozen. It’s a bit late for an afternoon cup of tea but the sun must be over the yardarm somewhere so I might just pour myself a nice glass of wine to sip while I cook ;-)

Well Alexa is saying it is 21 degrees but I am indoors with a cardigan on as it feels cols.

Fed the koi a while ago and I have another dead one. A big female that jumped out the pond the otherr day and went crash against the wood surround. I had a look at her afterwards and she seemed ok but I think she must have knocked herself out there was such a bang when it happened. Now I am down to 8.

Yes he is eating a little bit more now Anng and I'm nagging him to drink a bit more which he is .
Just deciding what to have for lunch .

That was a waste of time Mel, trouble is, when it gets wet after hanging out it never smells clean.

Mandy It is a big strain for you but hopefully you don't need to worry as much if the walking frame is helping. I am really surprised that the doctor didn't ask if he had tested for covid. Is he eating OK? that was the problem with T when he was so constipated when he also had the UTI. He wouldn't eat because his tummy hurt which meant nothing moved. a vicious circle.

Oh missed your post Mel ,he's not to bad ,he's taking these sachets to try and move things which I hope will ease the tummy but he's just so tired so I think that's why he's so wobbly on his feet.

As the doc wondered if it might have been a flu virus we've ordered some covid testers as covid is about and when I had covid before Christmas all I wanted to do was sleep and I had tummy pain too so he's going to test when they come today.
When he was talking to his sister on the phone last week she said her son and his wife have covid and feel awful.

Morning all,

Very cloudy here today no sun and 26 degrees but I think any rain is further down from us so probably more Vera's way .
I heard the weather should be getting hotter again next week .

Feel so tired with Colin like this I'm backwards and forwards to make sure he's OK and be there if he gets up to trundle through to the loo ,we got the walking frame out of the shed that he used when he had his hip done so he's using that which seems better than a stick .
Just having a coffee then I need to gave a dust and hoover through .

Still raining here and I left the washing out last night but it was windy so this morning it was wetter than when it went out.

Mandy how is Colin today? did he have a good night?

Morning all,

Mostly cloudy here and its 16 degrees. Yes thank you Ann I have sorted out a top I already had and a pair of crinkly light weight trousers I already had. Black trousers and a fushia pink top. I can wear a t shirt under the top if its chilly so I shan'nt be wearing the awful top I bought and the awful velour trousers which I look like half a house in and can't get altered anyway.

Been bitten all over the top of my back and it itches like anything.

Good morning all. Fairly bright this morning 16 degrees complete white cloud cover. I think rain is forecast for today here so have no plans to go out. Better start to look over holiday clothes. (Which as it is for UK are not a lot different to non holiday clothes). And wedding clothes.
Mel, are you sorted for the wedding now?

Thank you Mandy, I was pleased to get it today, Only guessed who it is from from the post mark as I have not opened it, I will take it with me so at least I have something to open on my birthday at daughter's. It arrived this morning.

Well you are sort of no further forward really. Just a case of drinking more and waiting to see if the Doc is right. As he seems better today it might just be a case of drinking more and rehydrating.

I rang the surgery and the water sample came back as satisfactory so I had to go through all his symptoms again so she could fil a form in when that was done she said I'll have a word with the doctor and call you back, ten minutes later she rang and said the doc will see him now if you can bring him up so off we went ,no where to park only onedisabled space so I parked there ,he can't walk very far so when I went to check him in I said to the receptionist where I had parked and that we don't have a blue badge and was it OK yes that's fine she said so no risk of getting a fine or clamped.
The doc checked him all over told him to drink more as dark looking water is dehydration which we knew he prodded his tummy and also checked his blood pressure ,told him to stop one of his blood pressure tablets that can cause low blood pressure which could make him go over and he also gave him some sachets to help him go which with IBS he doesn't usually have any trouble, but bloating can make your water dark too, he thought it could have been a bit of a flu like virus, so he has to see how he goes without the blood pressure tablets and if he still feels unwell the next step is blood tests and a scan.

I just feel all of a dither today I suppose it's the worry and shock of him going over yesterday.

Anng I know it's a bit early but I got dil to post your birthday card yesterday as I wasn't sure when I would be going out so you'll just have it a bit early but that's better than being late .
Really cloudy here now but so muggy ,think it's going to be a muggy night for sleeping .

Just had the follow up appointment for 28th August by email, and also a duplicate of the 19th August appointment in the post. I actually asked for letters by post after all the confusion before. Don't know why I had a duplicate in the post. My guess is that one should have been by email
I suppose you can't have too much of a good thing.

17 degrees here now but very grey and occasional spits of rain. Quite pleasant in town though as not too hot. I had a look round M&S, was going to get salad stuff etc but the queue was long and my appointment was for 11.30 so I didn't bother. so all I bought was a coffee and a pecan plait while in town. Oh and a Woman's Weekly to read with coffee. I was back home by 12.30. Next chiropodist appointment is 25 September Ugh! Summer, such as it is will have gone.

So pleased Colin had a better night last night Mandy. Had'nt seen your post as I went up the post van but when I got in there he had lost the internet so I had a long wait and even then it did half of the post as I use signed for and the rest would'nt come as the net was lost again. He said its only Shebbear that has the trouble so he is going to do the rest when he gets to Sheepwash and will give me the receipt next time. Then I picked up my recykling box on the way abck done and saw my neighbour so we had a natter and I am going up later with half a dozen eggs.

Still cloudy here and its now 18 degrees so feels quite comfortable out.

Morning all

I am glad Colin had a better night Mandy. Fingers crossed you get some meds from the doctor today.

Annx, the photos of the Red Kite are wonderful. I particularly like the one with the magpies as the comparison gives you a good idea of the size of the Kite. I've only ever seen them in flight, never at rest like that.

You are all lucky to get 8 weeks meds in one go. Our surgery, and I think the other main one in this town, only issue scripts for 28 days and our surgery, at least, will only issue 6 of those before you have to be rechecked. In cases like mine where I am on permanent medication for life I just have to ring the surgery after 6 scripts and ask for mine to be reissued, so it's not really a problem, but if the docs think 24 weeks (i.e. 6 scripts for 4 weeks each) should have been enough to put you right they will insist on seeing you before issuing more scripts. The idea is to stop people stockpiling and wasting drugs that they no longer need.

Just noticed the time, I must dash and get ready to go out. We're meeting our friends at 12.30 and it will take around an hour to get there. Hope you all have a good day. It's going to be another hot one here.

Your post came through before I posted Mandy, but I'm glad Colin had a better night. I was thinking how frightening it must have been for you. It would have really scared me too. It's great your son is doing all he can to help and will be good if he can get any meds today. Yes rest up as much as you can today.

I have wondered whether to try painting one of the photos! :-) There are several paintings I want to do now, but seem to be so busy arranging and sorting other things lately.

Good Morning,

I still feel tired but thought I'd better see if our WIFI was still on which it is and fingers crossed will stay on till we know what's next.

Yes, I was lucky the bird stayed there long enough for me to take the photos. I had never realised before that they were so colourful or that their feathers were so long and loose looking. When they are in the air they really don't like the other birds hassling them, but while perching he didn't seem bothered at all.

AnnG we had wondered about the phone calls but thought it wouldn't affect us as we have a landline phone package now that gives us unlimited calls, although I'm not sure about calls abroad. I'm glad you have mentioned it though as it has made OH wonder about the billing arrangements, as we don't think nextdoor have unlimited calls. Our broadband provider has agreed we will get some compensation for each day's loss of service, but that's all at the moment. We are thinking there should be more to cover the fact that we should never have been inconvenienced at all, as they shouldn't have used our line for someone else, but we have lodged a complaint anyway, so will wait till we see how long it takes for the problem to be properly sorted first.

We have decided to go out for a simple jacket potato lunch today to unwind a bit. OH has paid HMRC online now so is happy that isn't hanging over him and he managed to do a few other things workwise so seems more relaxed now. Our provider has said they will update us again tonight.

I too hope Mandy's OH is ok and managed to sleep and is not in too much pain and will get sorted today.

It says 20 degrees here but is dull and feels cooler to me. Rain is expected so I'm glad OH got some weedkiller on the gravel at the front yesterday instead of leaving it till today.

More HW jobs this afternoon and we have empty cardboard boxes piling up in here I need to sort out. Some might be handy to store craft stuff, or to use for those low down cupboard shelves. :-)

Morning all,

Bit cloudy this morning and we might get showers later I hope so then I won't have to water .

Colin had a better night ,son came and saw him up the stairs and he went up really as he normally would ,the night before frightened the life out of me as he was so confused and didn't know his left foot front his right he just got to two treads from the top and stood there .
It will be a long wait if I ring the docs now as there is always at least twenty odd in the queue and i don't know when they get the sample results back so I thought I'd leave it until lunch time then ring ,son said to ring him straight away and he go get the script ,I said you know what boots are like and he said that's no problem I'll just ask for the bar code and then I can get them anywhere ,he also knows one of the girls in boots so if he can see her she'll get them for him he saw her last time when I needed tablets
At the moment Colins having a doze which is what I would like to do but we have a parcel coming and just in case the docs ring I don't want to be startled.

Ann I hope they give you some free Internet after all the hassle fancy cutting yours and connecting it to next doors ,that's going to cost them especially if they have to have the road up , good that your back with us again .
Lovely photos of the kite and the magpies ,one for you to paint there perhaps,it would make a lovely picture .

Don't think I'm doing much today just hung a bit of washing out and might put the hoover round and get the meals and that's it .

Morning girls,

Dull dreary and raining here 16 degrees and that about sums up my day.

Woke early and went back to bed and then woke at 9.12am and I need to go to the post van again so better get my skates on again.

Mandy please let us know about the results for Colin? You do really need to get him to see the doctor and get htis sorted. Hope you hear something today thats good news.