General Chat

Good morning,

Wren pictures are lovely Mel.

Brilliant news about Hannah’s new job. All her hard work is paying off and she deserves some positive news for a change.

Our holiday is turning into a nightmare. OH has been getting worse and worse, he is now in constant pain and can barely walk. It can’t go on like this so this morning we have spoken to the travel insurance people and let them know the situation and a doctor has been called to the hotel. We are waiting for him now.

At this rate we will run out of money. It was clear we wouldn’t be able to do our usual things but OH wasn’t too bad sitting so yesterday we paid 110 euros for 3 days unlimited travel on all the various hop-on hop-off bus routes. We did use it yesterday but doubt if we will for the next couple of days. Now the doctor will apparently charge about 250 euros. We should get that back from the insurance minus our excess but we have to pay out to start with.

Oh well, life happens and we just have to get on with it.

Morning Vera, morning all

I'm so sorry to hear about your OH Vera, I hope the doctor can do something to help. What a pity you bought the bus ticket and may not be able to use it, could you claim it back on your holiday insurance if the doctor says your OH needs to rest? How long are you away for, it's not been a very good start to your holiday has it?

Still raining here, the poor garden is starting to look at bit like a duck pond now ;-) We can't say the plants haven't had enough water now. I must admit all the plants are looking really lush and green, so at least something good has come out of all this wet weather.

Love the photo's of the Wren's and Nosy the Robin Mel. The Robin pic would make a lovely canvas picture wouldn't it?

Brilliant news for Hannah Jane, I bet your'e so proud of her right now. I'm pleased she's had something positive happen especially after all her hard work. Well done Hannah <3 <3

I see Katie enjoyed the rock climbing Mandy. My niece does that, she is also a fire eater and does aerial skills with silks. She teaches rock climbing and aerial skills to. Her dad is a climbing instructor and her brother climbs as well. They have great fun.
I've sent you an email of my niece fire eating, you should see the look on the fella's face on the right hand side of the photo........priceless lol :-D

Good morning Vera, Gill and everyone.

We have hair appointments at 1pm then need to go to the local Tesco for a few bits, this morning is generally catching up with a few things needing doing before we go away. Had to use up the bacon in the fridge so forced ourselves enjoyed bacon sandwiches for breakfast.

Oh dear Vera, how very frustrating, upsetting and painful for your OH and you. Do you think he may have a trapped nerve? I hope the doctor will be able to help him, and especially give him something for the pain.

If you are unable to use the tickets, are there any other English speaking people in the hotel who you might be able to sell them to at a reduced price? Reception may be able to help you with that, at least you could then recoup the money.

Gill, yes the garden looks very green and is growing like mad. We have the biggest poppies I have ever seen in our garden. But the peonys are starting to look sad, and the roses don't like the rain either. plus the lawn is growing and wet and we go away on Sunday!!

Morning Vera and Gill and all,

It is brightish here this morning but its raining too. Sounds funny that but its true, its bright to the south and cloudy to the north.

Vera I do hope the doc can help your poor oh with some sort of painkiller. Its horrid to be away from home when you don't feel well or are in pain. £320 is a lot to pay out if you are not going to use the buses now. I know it was'nt all on those but its a great deal to pay and not use the service.

Gill can I see the email of your niece fire eating please?

I am so pleased I tied up my tall Delphiums the other day as they seem to be still standing which is good with all this rain. I must get a pic of them as they are taller than me.

O AnnG you popped in befor eI posted. I don't ever have trouble eating a bacon sandwich. Mum used to call me her bacon baby and biscuit baby. When I did'nt really want anything to eat the other night after the funeral he said "Lets have a nice bacon sandwich oozing with grease and mushrooms and a fried egg on top. He was only joking but he knows if I don't want to eat I rarely refuse a bacon sandwich. Naughty but nice.

Good morning ladies, Really dark and drab here this morning, but NO RAIN YET !!!

Vera I do hope there is nothing serious with your OH. It's SODS law, that you buy a travel ticket to have the freedom of travel and I expect save money on the usual fares, then you can't use it/them. Could you not ask the bus company for a refund or a delayed ticket for other days.?? Good luck anyway. xxx

Jane I am so thrilled with the news for Hannah. I know how you have mentioned over the years, how hard she has worked to get all her degrees. Please pass on my CONGRATULATIONS.

As previously mentioned Mel, those photo's are beautiful.It's the first time for years that we haven't had Robins and wrens nesting in the garage or nest box's. Pam next door said there are TWO new cats on the block. One is a black and white and just a kitten, who loves to sit on top of my shed, annoying "ABBIE" her little dog, The other is a small TABBY. That could be the reason the birds haven't nested this year, and there aren't as many birds using the feeders either.

Ros lost a nail yesterday, so has gone to have it replaced. We don't need anything from Tesco today, as tonight we have Steak and the trimmings, tomorrow will be our usual Takeaway, and Sunday I have a table booked for Harvey, Lewis and us two. Lewis is working Sunday, so I have booked a late sitting at 7.00 pm, hoping he will be able to be here by then.

The Green Thumb man has been this morning and treated the lawns. I must say, how well they look with all this rain. !!! I will need to ring Barry to come next week to cut and trim them.

Had a lovely Fathers Day card from Conrad and Jan, via "MOON PIG" the front is covered in Photo's of the four of us at various times, when we have been over in Spain. I know I shouldn't have opened it until Sunday, but I am NOSEY !!!!

I hope everyone with aches and pains, and upset tummy's are feeling a little better this morning. Take care whatever you are up to today. xxx

Hi all, Just had a nice surprise. Simon has been to the Hospital to have his blood taken, as he has to much Iron, he has to do this most Fridays. As Sally is at work, he called in for about 2 hours.

He wants to take us out to LUNCH Sunday Week. As Sally is not working and it will be for my Fathers Day Present. I have booked a Table for 2.00 pm at "The Cromwell Cottage" Kislingbury, just a few miles from where we live. It's our favourite restaurant, and the food is excellent. So well CHUFFED. It will also be for a belated Anniversary present.

We actually have BLUE SKY and fluffy white clouds at the moment. So lets hope it lasts.

Ros is sitting with the hair dryer on, as she has washed her hair, Can't hear of think straight, with the NOISE. When are they going to INVENT a silent one, or if they have, who makes it.?? ;-) ;-) ;-)

Speak again later I hope. xxxx

Hi all, Just had a nice surprise. Simon has been to the Hospital to have his blood taken, as he has to much Iron, he has to do this most Fridays. As Sally is at work, he called in for about 2 hours.

He wants to take us out to LUNCH Sunday Week. As Sally is not working and it will be for my Fathers Day Present. I have booked a Table for 2.00 pm at "The Cromwell Cottage" Kislingbury, just a few miles from where we live. It's our favourite restaurant, and the food is excellent. So well CHUFFED. It will also be for a belated Anniversary present.

We actually have BLUE SKY and fluffy white clouds at the moment. So lets hope it lasts.

Ros is sitting with the hair dryer on, as she has washed her hair, Can't hear of think straight, with the NOISE. When are they going to INVENT a silent one, or if they have, who makes it.?? ;-) ;-) ;-)

Speak again later I hope. xxxx

Hi again

I am sorry you are not having brilliant weather back I home but if it has to rain I hope it’s raining on my garden. It’s 32 deg here and may be even hotter tomorrow, though we are keeping cool in our air conditioned room. The air con is very good, efficient and QUIET.

As for our bus tickets, there wouldn’t be any refund on them and we have used them for one of the three days. We did ask another couple if they could use them but they are leaving tomorrow. However we are hopeful that OH might be able to at least sit on a bus tomorrow. The idea was that if he couldn’t walk much he could sit on the bus and hop off when it stopped right by an attraction. These are tourist buses and have an excellent commentary you listen to through earphones. There are 5 different coloured buses and yesterday we went on the red bus and OH managed to get off at three of the stops. The first time we got off was immediately outside a particular church so OH was able to go inside , take a couple of photos, then sit in a pew looking around while I wandered about. The other two stops were both at gardens, the first one small with a very nice cafe where we had a bit of lunch and the other one larger with a very tall tower with a viewing platform at the top and a bar, cafe and gift shop. OH sat with a coffee while I had a wander round the gift shop. We had planned another stop but he was in so much pain that we got the next red bus along and stayed on it till it arrived back to the starting point.

We also have 6 days of free travel on all public transport in Vienna. The travel company gave us 3 day tickets and so did the hotel and as the time starts the first time you use them, they will cover us till the end of our stay here. We used a tram yesterday so that one will also cover today and tomorrow. Then we can use the other one Sunday till Tuesday.

Anyway, on to today. The doctor arrived and was very good. He really put the poor man through the wringer. Then he diagnosed Piriformis Syndrome. We had never heard of it but apparently the piriformis muscle had gone into spasm and locked up. That in itself is painful enough but the sciatic nerve goes through this muscle and was being compressed. So he wrote a prescription for a very strong anti-inflammatory drug, a muscle relaxant and what he called a heat pad which OH has to have on for 12 hours at a time. This thing is like a very large Elastoplast and contains a gel that is absorbed through the skin and warms the muscle to help it relax. When I got to the chemist he said one of the tablets comes in a pack of 10, 30 or 50. It seemed odd that the doc hadn’t stated the quantity so I opted for 30 thinking that at 3 a day that would last till we get home. Then he said the heat pads only came in packs of one or two. So I got 2, but then he stamped the prescription and told me I could use it again if I needed more. It seems a bit of an odd system but I suppose as you pay it saves you paying for more than you need.

The doctor also said that the tablets should start to kick in after 2 or 3 doses and then OH should move about as much as he is able rather than rest, so we are hopeful that in 24 hours or so he may be able to go out. At the moment he is sat on a hard chair watching CNN news. He is encouraging me to go out but I am quite tired and it is somhot that I think I’d rather stay and read. I might go out for a stroll in an hour or so just to please him.

The insurance company has asked us to,send them a photo of the doctor’s report and we have also sent them the prescription. They should reimburse us for everything less our excess which is £65. OH decided to pay the doc’s bill by card so we could be sure of having enough cash for the rest of our stay.

That’s more than enough about us. Gill, I hope your migraine is better. Stress does bring on migraines. Mine are not so frequent as yours but put me out of action for several days each time and I have Propanolol, which is a beta blocker, as a preventative. Would it be worth asking your GP if something similar might help you?

AnnG, when do you go away again? Is it the Lake District this time? Have a lovely time when you go.

I am about to run out of power on my iPad so I had better put it on charge. I hope you all have a good afternoon and evening.

O Frank thats lovely and something to look forward to after the day which is always nice. I had a look on their website and it all looks good the food. I am sure you will enjoy it all as usual at your favorite eatery.

Its been peeing down here all morning after I posted.

O Vera at least you have been able to get the doc to poor oh. I hope the meds help with his pain and he is able to get about a bit more. Nothing worse than being stuck in a hotel when you should be enjoying the sites and cafes. Hope all goes well for the rest of your stay. Sending best wishes.

Hi Vera Yes I have heard of it as my sister suffers from it occasionally She has fibromyalgia so I think one aggravates the other. Sciatica is painful in itself but Pitiformis syndrome sounds even worse. It sounds as if the doctor knew what he was talking about so I hope he is right and the pain lessens as quickly as he said then you can enjoy the rest of your holiday. Yes we go to the L District on Sunday for 12 days.

Frank that is nice to look forward to.

It has rained here off and on all day but is a bit brighter at the moment

Afternoon All

Oh my goodness Vera . No wonder OH is in so much pain.I do hope that the tablets will kick in soon and that the heat patches will do some good. I swear by those heat patches although they dont really help for Sciatica.I think they do however help with the muscle pain. What a pity you have only had one day of use of the hop on hop off buses with the tickets . We always buy either a 2 or 3 day pass for them in cities.
Hopefully you will be able still to enjoy your holiday even though not as much as you were hoping for. Maybe by the time you move on to Zell am See OH will be much more pain free . I hope he doesn't feel bad about spoiling things (even though it is not his fault) I do remember last year in France I was hobbling around with this hip and feeling bad I was holding Chris back all the time. Having to stop every few minutes to either have a sit down or a lean against a wall .

Mel loved the pics of the Wrens and Robin :-D :-D

Mandy where did Katie go where she enjoyed the Rock climbing. I am sure I have missed some posts :-S The only rock climbing I ever did was down on the beach as a child. Some were pretty tall. I remember one we called the Wall . I got plenty of ripped toes as some of the rock was like shards . But it was all good fun and adventurous.

Gill Fire Eating Niece!!Aerial Skills! does she work in a Circus? I would love to see a pic. What talent !!!!.

The sun is trying so hard to come out here. It manages it for a few minutes and then a big cloud comes along and spoils it all :-S.It is very warm in the sun.

Fitz has been up for lunch and most of the conversation was all about our impending Knee Ops :-D and how we will cope once home LOL . I had one of those over bed tables delivered this morning which will be very handy for downstairs where I can put all my bits on when sat in the armchair as i wont be allowed to bend to reach the coffee table . Fitz is fretting about how he is going to wash his hair too :-D :-D He is as vain as me ;-)

I have got nothing done today so need to get a move on and at least do something .

Thanks for all your Congrats for Hannah :-D :-D I am so darned proud. She has her Dad's brains and determinaton .

Hope the hairdryer has switched off now Frank :-D. Did you say it is one she has where she has a 'hood' on her head? It must be pretty noisy .
Lunch on Sunday at the Cromwell Arms sounds a lovely Fathers Day treat :-D

Afternoon All,

More rain and some pretty heavy showers. On my way to beading I passed a few flooded fields and OH said it was bad last night by the river which had turned into a big lake.

There was a strange grey cat miaowing in the lady's garden this morning and her 2 cowardy custards were soon at the door wanting to come in out of it's way.lol There is a cattery way down and near the bottom of her garden and she said she had known cats to escape from there before and wondered if this one had!! You wouldn't be impressed if the cattery lost your cat would you!

Oh your poor hubby Vera. I hope the combination of treatments bring him some relief soon so that you can at least do a bit of travelling around. Since Jane told me about them, I find those heat pads are a boon for back pain and always take a couple with me on holiday now. Best wishes to you both.

It's good when you are 'forced' to make bacon sarnies to use up bacon AnnG. ;-) ;-) lol. I bet they were lovely. I don't think I've had any yet this year. :-(

I took the plunge and have signed up for these free craft sessions at the village hall as have 3 of the other beading ladies. Apparently it isn't all sewing like I thought it may be. We have missed the first week, but next Wednesday we are using felt to make something. We have to take our own materials and I have felt from when we made felt beads years ago so can take that.

Frank the meal will be a nice treat and get together and at your favourite place too! I would love to put up all my birdboxes but am a bit worried about all the cats. We must get 5 or 6 in the garden now. It's good you have Barry now to help keep on top of the garden jobs. I noticed fresh weeds are appearing in our block paving. It was only treated a few weeks ago but all this rain must have washed it away.

Mel, there was no picture of the angel/fairy on the pattern and I meant to take a photo of the one the lady had made but forgot. I will send a photo of the one I'm making when it's done. Is everything finished and back to normal now the leak is done.......except painting the pipe that is!

We thought of a word you don't hear these days anymore when we were out at lunchtime...........spondulix !! :-)

Missed you there Jane! I think you meant you were discussing your Hip Ops not Knees! lol. I should have been there for a Knee chat. lol. The table will be good. I think I would find one good for watching tv and beading! :-D I can see you and Fitz having the same hairstyle 'look' after your ops. I was thinking you won't be able to have haircuts for a while after will you? I think I would get a short back and sides before the op........it would be less to shampoo as well. Joking aside, there is a lot to think about and plan for isn't there, but at least after those first few weeks you will be able to gradually do more and without the PAIN!! :-)

Yes Gill, I would like to see the fire eating niece too!

Spondulix :-D A real Del Boy expression Ann :-D What a great word.
Lush is another word I hadn't heard for a very long time until I met Gareth and his Mum :-D It was a common word in Plymouth when I was a teen. Is it a West Country saying? Gareth's Mum often says Lush when she describes something as being really lovely.

I've just skimmed through the posts as I have another headache. I've been sleeping a lot so haven't had much to drink, which I'm sure won't help.

I've just emailed the picture of my niece to you Jane, would you please pass it on to everyone for me as I'm having problems seeing my laptop screen with this headache and I noticed they wanted to see it. I hope you don't mind me asking. Thanks.

I'll catch up with the posts as soon as I feel better. Hope your OH is okay Vera and everything went well with the doctor today.

Going to get a drink now and have a lie down. I'll try and pop back on here later, if not, then tomorrow.

OMG Gill what a pic that it is !!!!!!! Have forwarded it on now.

LOL Ann.. I hadn't realised I said Knee Op I think we had been talking about not being allowed or able to cross knees or ankles.

Thanks Jane. Wow Gill great picture.

Thanks for the picture Jane. I shall have to wait till we get back to see it on the PC as it won’t open on my iPad or phone.

I went out for an hour late afternoon. It was good to get out of the hotel room but it was so unbearably hot that I was glad to get back to the air con.

Our hotel doesn’t have a restaurant as such. That surprised us as it is a large, good quality hotel. The bar/lounge will provide soup and snacks like toasties but this evening we really wanted a meal. OH decided he could make it to the nearest place, less than 100 yds away, so we went there. It was more than far enough, he couldn't have managed any further.

That was a nice surprise for you Frank. Enjoy your meal when you go.

It’s 10.15 and we are both tired so we’re off to bed now. Night, night all.