General Chat

May have been misread as the 1st !!! My knees are letting me know they are there after yesterdays garden work. I am nearly through the bathroom just the shower doors to do which I hate and the handbasin all the rest is done and scrubbed and it won't be getting again for at least two apart from the loo. I bet when he comes he will turn it on and it will be ok.

My thumb has decided to skin itself and the palm of my hand. Jane's used to do the same all around the thumb nail. I have some cream to put on it but if I am casting in plaster I can't put it on as if I get a little tiny bit on the plaster before painting the paint won't go on.

Hope you find your charcoal Ann.

More money on the garden Anng hope you enjoyed your retail therapy. YOur warmer than me today as its only 16 degrees here and still cloudy but bright if you know what I mean.

Right onwards and upwards and get the blimmin bathroom finished.

Friend came round and we went back to Norton, our local garden centre and I spent another £40 on more plants and a small bag of compost. about a third the normal sized bag so an expensive way to but it but at least I can lift it. I will mix it with some of my own compost.
The sun is shining now, it has been cloudy all day. It is 20 degrees and 'muggy'.

I bought two packs bedding begonias, marigolds, an Ostiospernum , a small verbena to go with two I already have in a large pot, four bedding geraniums, parsley and celery leaf. So I know what I will probably be doing tomorrow.

Hope the course is good tomorrow Ann, strange those eggs were reduced. Maybe they realised they had too many or maybe it was a mistake, a happy one for you.

Afternoon All,

It's dull and 16 degrees here. I woke up hot in the night and had to push the duvet down. Slept well though and when OH suggested we leave going to the farm shop early this morning we both went back to sleep. We popped to the Co-op shop and I got some of their organic eggs on the reduced shelf. They were best before 10th June so they seemed to have reduced the price a bit soon on those. They made us nice sliced mushroom and grated cheese filled omelettes with gammon and baked beans for lunch.

It sounds like you have one of those coughs that linger a while AnnG. Good idea to sleep propped up a bit higher. At least your leg wasn't too bad so maybe that is getting better now.

I hope your granddaughter liked your birthday gift Vera. Does she have any idea what kind of work she would like to do eventually?

My knees are complaining this morning after my short stint in the garden yesterday Mel. I don't know how you manage to keep going for hours like you do. Does your leccy get easily overloaded only it seems to go off a lot? Ours only goes off if there's a power cut.

Well, after getting one of my pots ready for planting I'd better go and put the plants in next. Then I need to hunt out my charcoal that I may need for tomorrow's drawing class. I haven't used charcoal since school and hate the mess it makes. Maybe I was less careful then though.

Morning all our skies are a bit grey today its 16 degrees and pc says mostly cloudy so we'll see how the day pans out.

I have the electrican coming tonight about 6.30pm if he remembers to take alook at the bathroom light switch which knockls all the leccy out whenever I turn it on. There is also supposed to be another pull cord switch in there which has never been put in.

Knees are a ittle sore today but I am not surprised as I got so much done in the garden yesterday.

good morning all. sunny and pale blue sky so far and 13 degrees, hopefully another nice day today but I didn't like the forecast for later in the week with a blast of cold winds from the arctic. We just may have had our summer by then.

Belated happy 18th to your Granddaughter Vera.

I slept really well last night and couldn't believe it was gone 0600 and I had not got up for the loo in the night. My leg was not too bad either. Still sleeping on 3 pillows (one is fairly thin) because of the cough.

One or two outstanding jobs to do in the garden and hopefully my friend is coming to see me this afternoon.

Evening everyone

It really has been a lovely day though it has been almost too hot this afternoon. My head is still not good but I got the garden tools out and a kneeler and planted up a trough with dwarf antirrhinums I had grown from seed and did plenty of deadheading, particularly of my patch of pink scabious which bloom like mad for months on end if you keep deadheading. Our garden is so overgrown. A few things don’t like our soil but once a plant decides it’s happy here it just takes off and cutting them down just makes them put on a growth spurt.

OH cleaned another cupboard and some shelves for me and I went through all the stuff on the shelves and managed to get rid of 3 recipe books. I also cooked the full roast dinner that OH likes and made a plum crumble. I thought I’d better spoil him as he is helping me with the cupboard cleaning. After we’d eaten I went and watered my neighbours’ pots and tomato plants as they are away, then washed out a load of our pots. Now I feel shattered.

It sounds as though you’ve all been busy in your gardens as well and getting lots done.

Well done to your son Mandy. It’s great to see that all his efforts are being recognised. The school authorities are lucky to have such a good worker.

Today is youngest granddaughter’s 18th birthday. We’ve had lovely texts from her thanking us for her card and the money we transferred to her bank account. I don’t think she’s got the jewellery I sent yet, she should be getting that tonight. I know she won’t see this but Happy Birthday to our lovely E-R.

I have just come in from the garden since my last post I had a sandwich (bacon and egg) and a glass of orange juice and went back out there hoping to sweep the dead leaves off the decking by my pond. I ended up clearing the filter shed out to get the pond vac in there and the decking at the back is all rotton where oh put lots of thing on there like tubs of fish food that had got wet, the pond vac, his filter lide and masses of pond pipe and I found the rake I had been looking for for ages. So far I have had two barrow loads of old decking the builder had left up there and ivy I pulled off the fence and leaves and the second barrow load is all leaves from under the chairs and behind planters and Iv'e still to move one of them and then the Hostas in the long soak tray and arrange them better.

I may see if I can get the long pipe from the pond vac back up of the decking and put the planters in front of it with the hostas in and see what it looks like. At the mo they are on the edge of my pond. They have all orchids in them and it looks like they are flowering with purple flowers.

I had to come in for a drink and have a little sit while I read your posts and now I am ready to go back out there and see if I can finish off.

Looking back at the post I noticed I had said it was 8 degrees this morning that should have read 18 degrees. Its been a really beautiful day here today and Iv'e been out there in just a long sleeved cotton top and joggers.

The bathroom cleaning went out of the window..................once I had got in the garden.

I have just come in from the garden (although I did also break for lunch at 1.30. It is very hot out there now 22 degrees and I have run out of steam. I have planted up all but two small plants I bought on Thursday plus 7 tomatoes (two of those may not survive).
So those developers are getting away with having to provide amenities then ann, that is not good enough.

Yes, leg is taking longer than I would like. Not really helped by noy knowing what is causing it. It still hurts but, most of the time in the garden it eased off, probably because I was not moving around as much. I am sure the best idea would be to rest it but that is not easy when on your own.
I still have the cough but it is more annoying than anything, just an irritating tickly one.

Afternoon All,

Sunny here as well and the washing dried overnight so is all put away now. OH was working on the drive border, clearing the overgrown plants I shan't keep early this morning (dare I look in the garden bin later to see if anything needs to be rescued?), but it's too hot now and he was sweltering so has come in and surprised me by hoovering the lounge rugs. Lunch was what I grabbed and was the first thing I saw in the freezer to defrost yesterday which was chicken breasts wrapped in pancetta with a cheesy crumb. We had them with cauli, broc, green beans, carrots and leeks.

Your son is really doing well Mandy and I was telling OH about him as he meets people doing the same job as your son at his 15 schools. He said there is one who sounds like your son as he mends things and makes things for the school and they call him 'priceless' . He has been made a site manager recently and looks after several schools now. OH says he is so friendly and greets him like a long lost friend and tells him 'you know where the tea is' when he arrives. It sounds as if it is a pleasure to do the work for your son as well and really suits him so it's good he is getting opportunities to spread his work ethic elsewhere.

I've just been looking at the plans for 800 more houses on the old hospital site where the old chapel is. The delvelopers say they will increase biodiversity with bat boxes. It's laughable as building 800 houses and chopping the trees down will remove the habitat and food supply for nature and will drive it away and the number of cats from 800 houses will kill the rest. They say there are ample shops and local amenities, but there's nowhere to park at them at the two nearest villages.

Mel it's good you have saved some of the free pots for your friend, they are a good size and wouldn't be cheap to buy. Handy too if Lorna's OH may be able to cut the trees down for you and take the wood away. Do you get loads of blackberries to use from all of the brambles?

It sounds like your leg is going to take a while to get better AnnG as some muscle injuries do. It is annoying when things stop you getting off to sleep though as I know too well. How is the cough now, is that getting better. You are doing well with the garden and putting me to shame again!

Vera we do the same with tinned food, ignore the dates and put the tins back, but like you there comes a time when the dates get longer that they have to go as neither of us fancy the contents anymore!! lol. I need to get cracking going through my clothes or there won't be room for any new ones.

The schools here are back tomorrow so we can perhaps have lunch out. During the school break, one of our local pubs was providing a free 3 course meal for a child when bought with an adult meal. That won't help all the obese schoolchildren we read about.

I agree with Anng as he works so hard doing al they ask him to do. He is a good worker and has been recognised for it. I hope it means more money for him too.

Anng I have to clean the bathroom as I have an electrician comeing tomorrow evening to see if he can sort out my bathroom light which keeps knocking the leccy out since the plumber changed the switch for me for a new one I had but it was no better than the old one.

I hhave cobwebs everyywhere and I only went around last week they seem to appear overnight.

I have sprayed some weeds in the garden as there is not any wind as such just a verry lighht breeze now and then. Its 8 degrees here now so I think I better go anndd find something to shade the chickens with as the suns coming around and they are all in tthee tiny bit of shade by thhe house.

B;llasted Jackdaws I only put food out a little while ago as I hav'nt been putting it out where they can see it just in the bird table. There's loads of them. Tthey nest in nextdoors roof as she has a carved facsher bord on the end gable. They have done for years.
Better get on so I can get out in the garden.

gosh Mel don't mention the dreaded H?W this early on a sunday :-D

Mandy, that sounds good for your son, well done him, he does seem to have a great work ethic and also he seems to really enjoy his job with the school and goes over and above.... He deserves the recognition he gets.

Morning all,

Nice sunny morning with a few clouds, hoping it's going to be a bit warmer this week so we can get a few more jobs done in the garden ,don't think we're doing much today I could feel my back had enough yesterday so will have a bit of a rest today ,we're off to sons later we haven't seen them this week even though it was half term but son had to go in as they were having new windows put in at the school .
He has been given another school to sort out on top of this one the head chap said that out of the forty caretakers they have he's the best one they have ever had ,this school he's been given has had no checks for a few years so how they have kept open I don't know they were on nought percent blow me I've forgotten the word now compliance thats it but he got them on to forty-one percent in the short time he was there .
He might be given another school before Christmas if he takes that on he will be made site manager.

Morning Anng and all,

Beutiful morning here and like you pale blue sky and plenty of the yellow stuff and pc says 16 degrees and mostly sunny.

I have friends calling in today for some pots I picked up for them. They are the bigger 1 and a half and 2 litre pots which a neighbour was clearing out and had them outside for free. Lorna does plants outside her house at the crossroads on the way into Shebear.

Slept really well and now I must have a hoover before they come. Her hubby may cut some of the trees down in the top garden for me in the winter. He has a good neighbour who has all the gear apparently as they are going to need a lot of gear to get in there with all the brimbles but he want the wood sop lets hope this time someone will come and do it just for the wood.

good morning all. looks lovely out there, sunny pale blue sky. no cloud. Temp 13 degrees. Another day in the garden I hope. Once I got to sleep I had quite a good night but my painful leg kept me awake for a couple of hours first.

Did'nt really get back out in the garden as I did a bit of strimming and the battery ran out and I could'nt get it off to charge it up so I went up to Hazel andJonathons and Jonathon got it off for me. Then we all had a good natter so I came back down here at 6.18pm and fed the girls and put the battery on charge and got the washing in and now its time for dinner.

Hope you all got on better than I did this afternoon. I always seem to get on better in the mornings than in the afternoons.

I hav'nt got back out there yet. I did the shop and called in at a friends to tell them my neighbour is getting rid of some big pots for free came home and lots of the pots had gone but I did manage to get her two bags of the larger pots and they are calling in for them tomorrow about 10.30am.

Vera hope the head feels better so you can enjoy your natter with M & V this afternoon. They'll have lots to tell you about if they have been away and seen the daughter and SIL.

Anng you've been very busy again today. It must be starting to look a lot better now you have somethings planted up all ready for the growing season. I bought a cue plant down the shop today so I need to get that in a pot and my tom plant and they can go in the little greenhouse.

Yes it is a shame that Gill doesn't post now. Hope all is ok with them.

I had lunch then went back out and found the hanging baskets I will need. Potted up two of them, one with a tumbler tomato and the other with petunias. I had another go at the honeysuckle that was so out of control. The perfume is lovely but it sends out huge long trainers that choke everything. I have also spotted a blackberry that is growing near where I chopped one down I will have a go at that tomorrow. I just weeded a few pots on the gravel and then came in finished for today. It is very overcast and a bit windy so not nice working out there really.

We've had a good morning we've potted up the cucumbers and a few pots of toms ,moved the wheelie bins behind the fence in front of the shed and Colin put a couple of runners in place where the plants he had put in hadn't taken as well as the others .
I got a full line of washing in as it was all dry so I've folded them and put them away the airing cupboard .
It could do with a good sweep up outside as the petals from the roses are everywhere but its a bit to windy to make a good job of it .

Sounds as if your getting your cupboards sorted Vera with OH's help ,hope your headache soon eases and you can enjoy a nice cuppa with your friends this afternoon.

Anng you've been getting your toms potted up to I see ,take it easy with your leg do a little bit and then have a rest .
I love honeysuckle we had one in the garden but it got so woody so we pulled it out but I'm thinking of getting Colin to cut the legs down on the two wooden troughs he made and having some trellis put on the back and planting a honeysuckle in one and something else not sure what yet in the other .

Mel I take it you enjoyed your cakes from the shop as you've got two more saved for you .

Well done Ann getting on the course ,we'll look forward to seeing some of your drawings :-)
Is OH's back better .

I wonder if we'll ever here from Gill again its ages since she last posted ,they must be getting on well with the bungalow and garden now.

I am tackling the garden slowly (literally).
I now have the three main tomato plants in situ these are the ones on the patio and are in tomato pots in a wooden container so have to have bamboo supports all in place. I have done that and have three tomatoes there. Alicante, Makaska and red currant. Next I cut back a wildly overgrown (while I was away) honeysuckle so I coule get last years geranium basket out on a hook. that doesn't sound much but filling the tomato pots, taking out half the soil in the wooden trough like container and setting up the bamboo frame took ages.

will have an early lunch now and then this afternoon I will fill the hanging baskets and pots to take the stuff I bought on Thursday. Luckily I cleared all the washing yesterday.

Morning all

It's cloudy, not too warm and still quite breezy but at least there's no rain forecast for today. I slept quite well last night but my head's a bit woozy and achy. I try not to take more pills than absolutely necessary but if it gets any worse I shall have to take my tabs to stop it turning into a full blown migraine.

OH cleaned the two corner cupboards in the kitchen for me and I sorted through all the food in there. I don't take much notice of "Best before" dates, particularly on tinned stuff but a couple of things were so far out of date that I checked them carefully. I think each time the cupboards have been cleaned over the last few years I've kept putting them back as "still OK" but this time I did get rid of a tin of syrup and a tin of treacle. They only ever got used for cakes and I don't bake much these days. There was also a tin of pilchards that I left out as I thought pilchards on toast would do for our snack lunch, then I thought I'd better just check them. Well, they are now in the bin. They were in tomato sauce which had gone as liquid as water and sort of curdled. I am pleased OH offered to help me with those two cupboards as it's another job out of the way and I might now be motivated to tackle the rest of the kitchen.

We haven't seen our friends M & V for about 10 days as their daughter and sil are over from New Zealand and they have all been away together, Daughter and sil are now visting family in another part of the country for a few days so M has invited us round for a cuppa this afternoon. Otherwise I have no plans for the rest of the day.