General Chat

The two cakes are baked, just waiting for them to cool down then I'll put the cream in them. I make butter cream and put vanilla essence in it so it tastes like ice cream.

Yes, be careful with those steps Frank, we don't want you to have an accident.

Well, the dentist didn't take the tooth out as she's on her own with the other dentist being off and a further one not in work due to illness, so she filed it down which OH said feels much better and he'll go back again in a few weeks to have it taken out. At least he'll enjoy the cakes I've made now.

Going to have a cuppa and a sit outside while the cakes cool down, then later I'll do Sandra's quiche's and pizza's. I might have a few small quiche's myself with some salad, it's a bit to hot to eat a hot meal today.

Evening All
Phew what a hot day it has been! I made sure to get my little walk in before it got too hot.

Frank, that was not good work Barry did .You can't be having a loose rail like that
:-S.. I am sure your friend Val will have a wonderful time away with her good friends . She will miss having her husband though . I quite fancy a cruise :-D

AnnG I looked at your photos today .What a colouful garden youhave !!!! It is beautiful :-D :-D and little Inara well what a little cracker she is. I can tell she is a very determined young lady :-D

I hope OH 's tooth will remain comfortable now Gill until he can have it taken out. At least it wont be catching the inside of his mouth now. I hope Ros doesn't have to have anything done to her tooth Frank.

Mel I loved the pics of thw Moth and Buzzard.(thanks for your get well card)

Vera ,I am glad it sounds as though OH is gradually improving even though it must seem a very slow process.

How did Sports Day go Mandy? It must have been hot for all the young ones .It won't be too long now before they all break up for the summer. Hopefully the weather will continue to be good and they can get a lot of fun in your pool :-D
I am trying to whizz through this post as it is difficult to sit comfortably in this chair.It's not painful but I have to keep my legs and feet in a certain position and it ain't too easy.
It is amazing how the Arthritis pain in my hip seems ot have totally gone !!!!!!. Its great.
Just the wound site and bruising is a little sore.

Watching Wimbledon again :-D

I can't stand tennis...........

Glad you got the card Jane. Hope your bruising heals soon too.

Just been watching the pied wagtails on the front lawn.

I hav'nt like to say anything before but we have the Swallows back in oh's filter shed. Tonight they have both been in and out a lot so I think the eggs may have hatched. If you remember they had babies in there before a couple of years ago but we went out one day and when we came back all the babies were out of the nest dead and scattered around the shed. I'm worried this year as oh has'nt got the big filter lid on and there is rushing water in it.May have to throw a blanket over it as the top is too heavy for oh to get on and off easily with his hip and back and hernia.

Evening everyone

My goodness, everyone is having trouble with their teeth. I am glad your mouth is beginning to feel more comfortable now Gill and I hope your OH is easier now his tooth has been filed and smoothed a bit. Now Ros has problems. Hopefully the dentist has sorted her out. To top the lot my daughter tells me she has broken a wisdom tooth. She’s not in a lot of pain but her tongue has been cut to bits with the sharp edges. I wonder if she could get it filed down.

There are one or two busy bakers amongst you. I don’t think I could have cooked much in this hot weather. I am sure your families appreciate it.

It has been absolutely sweltering here today. It’s a bit better now the sun has gone down but I think it’s going to be a hot night. You were wise to walk a little before the heat got too bad Jane. I’m glad you’re getting more free of pain now. You’ll be off clubbing and dancing the night away soon

It doesn’t sound as though Barry made a very good job of your steps Frank. You generally seem pleased with what he does but he’s let you down there. Good job you realised they were loose before you fell down them.

Love the pictures Mel. When we’ve been on holiday at different times I’ve seen buzzards flying but never seen them up close, well only in zoos.

I’ve had a couple of hectic days. Yesterday morning the chap came to service the boiler and put the expansion tank thingie on the wall properly. I think I told you that a couple of hours before we went away OH found it hanging off the wall and had to quickly build a scaffolding round it to support it till it could be fixed.

Yesterday afternoon my brother came to visit as he is now driving again after his last operation. End of the month he is back in hospital so no driving again for a while. We had a nice afternoon and a bit of company cheered OH up.

This morning it was the physio assessment. He was in there for about an hour so I am glad I took a book. The physio agreed with the diagnosis and has given him some different exercises to do and he has to go back in three weeks. He still can’t walk far at all without having to sit down. I dropped him right by the door and he managed to get to a chair in the waiting area but he wouldn’t have made it from the car park without a sit down halfway. And then the dozy ‘apporth forgot to tell the physio that he still can’t stand for more than a few seconds. It looks as though it’s going to be a bit of a long haul. I wasn’t keen on the way the physio said “I HOPE to get your left leg working as well as your right”!

OH also took a call from the junior doctor who was looking after him in the emergency room when he was in so much pain that I called the ambulance in the early hours. It was a follow up call to check that he had recovered from the stomach pain. He told OH that there was no evidence of kidney stone or bowel blockage and they were pretty sure that it was an extreme reaction to codeine, which was what we suspected all along. He’ll certainly never be taking another codeine again.

This afternoon I’ve been trying to catch up on a few jobs. I did try a bit of weeding and deadheading but only managed half an hour because of the heat. Now I am shattered and am going to read my book.

Night, night all

What are our men like Vera. Mines still hobblign around with this zimmer frame and won't go to the docs.

I have just been down to feed the hogs and there were two tawney owl babies in the beech tree. I could see them moving about and squeaking calling for the parents to feed them. I get mice run from our little road by my shed to the hog bowls for the food I put out so maybe the parents watch for them. I have an outside light on so I can see down the garden when its dark to watch the hogs.

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After the some remained and married local women.

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<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Have a wonderful special day and I hope you get lovely pressies and are spoilt rotten today. xxx



Morning all,

Another bright day today but not full sun. we have that lovely blue sky with lots of white fluffy clouds.

The baby owls were about in the orchard all yesterday evening squeaking away asking the parents for food.

Egg delivery today and shop for the paper then see if the cement dried in the flower pots I did yesterday afternoon. It was so old I did'nt know if it was going to set properly. It had been kept dry in the uti room for years but I had to stamp on it to free it up.

Morning all

<3 <3 <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE <3 <3 <3 I hope you have a lovely day.

It sounds like you're doing well with your walks Jane, it won't be long before all the bruising and soreness goes. Brilliant news you no longer have your Arthritis pain anymore. Everything seems to be heading in the right direction with your recovery, I hope it continues that way. Sending gentle hugs <3 <3

It's been raining here this morning, so that's put paid to me weeding and tidying up the front garden. At least the plants and lawns will like it. We fed the birds this morning and you should of seen the squabbling all the Starlings were doing, I've never seen anything like it and the noise was really loud.

It sounds like you've had a busy time these past few days Vera. I hope the physio works quickly for your OH. I'm pleased to hear it was just a bad reaction to the meds that gave your OH the stomach pains and nothing serious, that must be a relief. Hope all goes well with your brother's next op, it sounds like you all had a lovely time together the other day.

How lovely to see the two Tawney owl babies Mel, did you manage to get a picture? How are the Blackbirds doing, Sandra was asking, as you haven't sent any pictures lately? Are they still in the nest?

How did Lacey get on with her sports day Mandy. I bet she had a great time and the weather looked good to. There's nothing worse than rain on a sports day and it having to be cancelled, when all the children have been looking forward to it. Hope she did well in all her events.

Well, one of the cakes has gone, they never last long in our house, no doubt the other will be gone by tonight. Sandra and I enjoyed our quiche's last night and she had three of her little individual pizza's so all in all I had a good day baking and cooking yesterday.

I've decided not to do much today as my right hand is sore after cleaning out the grill area around the bungalow the other day, I managed to take the skin off a couple of fingers and with washing my hands so much yesterday the skin isn't healing very well, so I want to keep it as dry as I can today so the Savlon cream can work. I did have plasters on my fingers to start with but with no air getting to them they weren't healing. I managed to spill a bit of my hot tea on them today and boy did it hurt.

I put a few more solar lights out yesterday so the garden looked quite pretty last night. We have two hedgehogs visiting our garden which we all love to see. I put some food and water out after the birds have gone to bed, so the hogs know where to go for a meal and drink now. :-) :-)

I think I might have another go at OH's tree now with not being able to do the front garden as I'd planned. The sun is trying to come out but the ground is far to wet to work on, so it'll give me something to do while I wait for the garden to dry out.

No Gill once they leave they could be anywhere in the garden. It was nearly dark when I saw the owls so no pic.

I put solar lights on the lawn above the hog bowls of water and food so they know where to find it.

Hope your fingers heal quickly as you always seem to knock them where there are cuts or grazes.

Did we have AnnG on here yesterday? Hope they are both ok.

Sending love to Vera and hope she had a better nights sleep and that Bob is improving day by day.

Good morning all, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE" I hope you have a nice day, do you have anything planned ?? Is H & G coming ro see you this weekend.??

For a change yesterday lunchtime, I got two BEEF BURGERS from the freezer and Ros bought back some rolls. I fried a load of onions and cooked the burgers before she got home, so only had to warm them and the onions through again. My oh My were they filling, neither of us could eat all of it. Hence we didn't go out until latish for a meal. We tried the pubs at Stoke Bruerne by the canal side. BOTH were heaving inside and out, so we drove over to another little village pub at Ashton. The car park was packed, but the pub was EMPTY. Everyone was in the Beer Garden, and there wasn't a table to be had. So we sat inside and had a meal. Very nice service and chatty waitress. Eos knocked her Tomato Juice over, it was everywhere including her trousers and top. The chap behind the bar replaced it Free of charge. I got a cloth and cleaned down the table, and ROS. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Ros had an x-ray on her tooth, and the dentist said she could find nothing wrong, but she might have to have a crown removed. MORE EXPENSE.

Mel I do hope the swallow chicks, don't come to any harm this year. Have the Blackbirds fledged yet.

I rang Harvey yesterday morning to see if he wanted to come up Sunday for his dinner. He promised to let me know, so Ros could get extra veg. The Bu@@er hasn't rung me, and Ros is shopping with Martine as we speak. WINSTON got a clean bill of health when he took him back to the vets.So that's good news. Ros is hoping he will come tomorrow, and bring both the kittens with him, as we haven't seen FLORENCE yet. :-D :-D :-D

Just thought JANE, did you get the Get well card I sent, via the computer. It was of two little kittens playing on a piano.I thought of THOMAS. So that's why I sent it.

Pleased to see our poorly people, are improving from their upsets

Has Janices new dog settled in alright Jane. ??

Mel like you, I don't watch Tennis, but did hear about the 15 year old who is through to the last sixteen.

Forecast here today is dull with showers. So no outside activities, for me today.

I hope everyone is well and do try to enjoy your day/weekend. As I am sure you will.

Oops you are right Mel. Although I read the posts yesterday I forgot to return and post myself. Apologies we are both OK. OH still coughing a bit but not as much. For some reason I only had four hours sleep last night, woke at 3am for the loo then just couldn't get back to sleep, seemed to drop off, sleep for about half an hour and wake up again. So today I feel a bit washed out. grey skies, 20 degrees and still humid today, no blue skies around at all and no rain so not very pleasant. Apparently the colder front up north is making its way down here. We don't want it thanks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 Hope you are having a good day with lots of cards and pressies.

Vera good for the Junior Doctor to follow up on your OH's stomach pain and put your minds at rest. Hopefully although it is taking a long time, the exercises will get him back walking better soon as it must be most frustrating for both of you as, like us, you are both used to being active.

Mel, how lovely to see the baby owls, you are so surrounded by wildlife where you are aren't you? consolation for all the lawn to cut and brambles to cut back.

Frank, I bet Ros was embarrassed at knocking the tomato juice over. I wonder if that stain will come out of her clothes? I suppose the pubs were all full because it was a nice evening.

Gill, at least when it rains overnight and not in the day it is better for the garden to get the rain and, if you need to go out the day is dry.

That is the trouble with baking cakes, all that effort and gone in the blink of an eye. :-D :-D

If you have cuts on your fingers, I am assuming that you wear gloves or put dressings on the cuts if you go weeding. You don't want to get dirt in the cuts.

Afternoon all,

<3 <3 <3 Happy Birthday Jane i hope your enjoying your day with lots of cards and pressies ,i wondered too if Hannah and Gareth would be there for the week end .
Thats good your managing some gentle walks and it must have been nice to get out and have some fresh air .
Hope young Thomas is behaving himself .

There's so many posts to catch up on it's surprising when you miss a few days how many there are .

Gill i'm glad OH got his tooth sorted out and that he's beginning to get over his op i expect he was pleased to be able to drive again .
So the cakes are going down a treat ,you'll have to make some more .

Lovely photo's on your blog again AnnG your garden looks so pretty with lots of colour.

Vera glad to hear OH is making steady progress now and i hope you've managed to get some much needed sleep after taking some sleeping pills.

Oh dear Frank poor Ros spilling her drink, tomato juice can be a devil to get out once it's dried a bit ,it's sounds like you picked a busy evening to go out but with the lovely weather it's not surprising it was so busy .

Mel you got a lovely photo of the Moth ,i don't think i've seen a moth that colour before ,and the buzzard photo was a good one too.

Started raining here late morning but it's not at all cold ,yesterday the children came for a swim ,well they've been a few times this week , but yesterday the water was lovely and warm i was tempted to go in but i didn't in the end .
Lacey's sports day went well but her team didn't win at least it was a nice dry day and a bit of cloud helped to keep them cool.

Max is fast asleep ,he's had a busy week with the children here so much he rushes round and round with them until he just drops down as if to say that's me done . :-D

Afternoon All,

<3 <3 <3 :-D :-D HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE :-D :-D <3 <3 <3

I hope you are being pampered and cossetted today unless Chris is worn out from finding out all that we women do! I hope you have some nice pressies to open and lots of cards. <3 <3 xx.

Vera, we have just the same performance when OH takes me for hospital appointments! At least there are seats just inside, but sometimes it is a long walk to different departments and you don't always know where they are. We have 3 city hospitals and I only know some bits of each one. If it was the codeine causing your OH's stomach trouble as they think, then at least that's one problem sorted. Hopefully there is gradual improvement with his walking next. Onwards and upwards as they say! No wonder you are tired, but at least you did half an hour in the garden which is all I comfortably manage in a stint now but it's long enough to make an impact.

I remember the Swallows Mel and it is a good idea to cover the filter top so they don't fall in!! Your OH needs to get things sorted doesn't he or he will grind to a halt if he carries on. Even getting his hernia done, which is in and out the same day to do would mean less pain. They can be silly billys though as you say.

OH has found 2 matches to go to today and was up and outside weeding the front this morning at 8.00am. He always manages to get things done when he wants to go to footie! lol. ;-) Still, if it gets the job done I'm not complaining and it is nice to be able to think and plan and get things done while he is out. :-)

I saw a sweet little black mongrel bitch tied to some railings outside a shop in the village yesterday. Her owner had even but water next to her in one of those bottles that has drop down tray for them to drink from as it was so hot. She had some pale green harness on and what made me smile was the word printed on it in big black letters 'FRIENDLY'. How nice that children could see they needn't be frightened of her. A lovely idea. :-)

I managed to get some felt for the backs of my other 2 hearts at the new little habberdashery in the village that's been set up in a couple of those lorry containers in the village. The lady is so helpful and has expanded her stock quite a bit since I went when she first opened and now stocks felting wool. I'm going back this afternoon as I want some needles with bigger eyes to thread wool.

I have finished another heart and the other is ready to sew so should get done today. I was lucky as the lady whose house we were beading at gave me some stuffing for them as she does lots of needlework and trained in it. At 77 she still makes curtains, has shown us beautiful bed linen she has made and still makes dresses and knits as well as being handy with a drill. She sealed a couple of leaks in her conservatory roof the other week. She was knitting farm animals yesterday to go with a tractor she'd knitted for a small boy relative whose dad is a farmer. She can do most DIY as her nubby had a stroke at age 45, has had heart 2 attacks and is having more stents done on Monday and is unable to do a lot of things.

Frank what a shame the steps came loose, maybe Barry didn't use enough cement under them. The kittens will be lovely to see if they bring them and it's good the vet gave Winston a clean bill of health after his ordeal. I'm not a big fan of tennis either but saw that 15 year old had got through. I think the men's singles has just become a match of who can do the most aces on the serve to score the points and is quite boring. At least the rallies are longer with the women's games. I do dip in to the final sometimes though. I do enjoy Badminton though, much more action in it, but maybe it's because I played so much of it in my 30s.

I'm making a bracelet at the moment Gill. It's from a pattern that a lady at the Angel class we went to kindly offered and posted to me. I've had to undo bits of it twice already trying to do it at night in poor light with tiny beads! I never learn!I hope you find some more rellies for your OH's tree and am glad your OH got his sharp bits on the broken tooth filed. He sounds well on the mend now after his hernia op. I'm surprised the dentist didn't suggest a crown on it rather than take it out, but maybe if it's hurting or too badly damaged. I suppose it is a front tooth too which is a shame. You did well baking the cakes in the heat, but they were obviously much enjoyed!! lol When I did cakes I used to like some vanilla essence in the buttercream. :-)

I better nip and get those needles now!

Mandy the weather was just right for the pool yesterday, nice to sit near it as well I expect. Is it a high sided pool or one set in the ground?
Pleased that you liked the photos, yes we are pleased with the garden, it is very colourful this year. Could do with a light shower of rain now as it is all very dry.

Annx Two more hearts done, you are very productive this week, especially if you are also working on the bracelet. Lucky to be given stuffing for the hearts, saved buying it as no doubt you have to buy a large amount for just the little you need.
Have you eaten out today? We are meeting friends who are staying in Tewkesbury tomorrow afternoon so I am cooking the chicken today instead of tomorrow. We are not joining them for evening meals, or at least not tomorrow but don't know what time we will get home. So hot chicken tonight with salad and cold chicken tomorrow with oven chips. (salad tonight because there is potato salad left over from last night to use up.)

Many healthy happy returns Jane :-D <3 <3

I'd love to see a picture of your bracelet you're making Ann, you are very clever and I look forward to seeing all your makes. Maybe you should stick to day light when using the tiny beads, it would save you having to undo it again. Yes, OH is almost back to normal now, he just needs to be careful not to lift anything heavy for next couple of months. He's much happier in himself now he can get out and about, he hated being stuck in doors even if it was just over a week. I did have to stop him filling up the watering can this morning. I'd put it down while I nipped inside and when I came out he'd filled half of it, I don't think I'd ever moved so fast in my life to take it off him. It hold 7 litres of water which is far to heavy this soon after his op. He said he just didn't think. Hopefully he'll think before he does anything like that again. Sandra and OH have made a start on the second cake I made, I haven't had any of it yet, so I hope they don't eat my slices. If I'd know it was going to be cooler today I'd of made them today as it was very hot in my kitchen yesterday. If I remember correctly have you made nice smelling hearts, I only ask as they would make nice hanging fresheners for wardrobes and draws, maybe you could make some more and sell them. How lovely to have the word "friendly" on the harness of the little dog, it's a good idea and like you said stops children being frightened.

Fancy Ros spilling her drink Frank, I hope it didn't stain when she washed it. Pleased to hear Winston is okay, I was wondering how he got on at the vets. I see you couldn't get a table outside yesterday, that was a shame given how nice it was. It looks like everyone had the same idea. We had lovely weather yesterday but today is the complete opposite, at least the rain has stopped now, but it's very cloudy and not very warm. I had to move a few pots around before as one was growing so big it shadowed some smaller ones and they had died back on one side. It's a good job I thought of it or I'd of lost the plant altogether, it's now in the open air again so should recover nicely and the bigger plant has been moved to another part of the garden.

That's a shame you didn't managed to get a picture of the owl Mel. Have the Blackbirds left their nest now then?

Pity Lacey's team didn't win at the sports day Mandy, never mind so long as they had fun that's the main thing. Nice there was a bit of cloud around as it would of been to hot for them otherwise. It's sounds like Max had fun running around with the children, does he go in your pool to cool down?

Yes, I always put plasters on if I have sores and I'm weeding AnnG. At the moment I think because one of the area's is on the knuckle it's going to take a while to heal. The Savlon seems to be helping though. Sorry to hear you didn't have a good nights sleep, I hope you have a better one tonight. It's good your OH's cough is finally easing for him now. Hopefully it'll be gone completely soon. I'll try and keep the cold front up here so you don't have to have it lol ;-) ;-) I prefer it a little cooler, I'm not very good in really hot weather, so I don't mind keeping here for you.

Gill I did say that all the chicks had now fledged. I sent you a pic of the last one in the rose bush.

Have been up the border all afternoon again digging up more twitch. I just need a bit of clear ground to put some statis plants in that I have grown from seed. and some cornflowers. I love the old fashioned flowers. The ground is so dry up there we could do with some of Gill's rain. trouble is once it starts down here it dos'nt know when to stop.

Its been really hot and sunny here again today and I had to keep having a sit down on my kneeler stool.

Wonder what Jane has been doing today. I expect they went out to lunch somewhere.

Ann i think early morning is the best time to do weeding or any jobs out the front that need doing that way you don't get stopped by people coming over for a chat it's annoying when you just want to get on and get done .
Sounds as if your getting on well with making the hearts ,it was handy getting the stuffing from your beading friend ,what a lady doing all those DIY jobs at her age well done to her :-)

AnnG the pool is a high sided 15ft across above ground pool ,we don't sit to close as there's always a lot of splashing going on :-D Colin got soaked yesterday as one of the little ones wanted a diving stick that one of them had thrown out and as Colin picked it up one of the others splashed the water over him ,they didn't realise he was there :-D

Oh Gill that was lucky you got to the watering can before OH lifted it ,he could have done some damage to his self .
Oh i hope they've left a little cake for the cook :-D they soon tucked into them .
When you catch your knuckles they can take a while to heal as your always bending your fingers and opening the wound again .

Mel i love Corn Flowers ,i always think of my mum when i see them as she always had some in the garden .
Don't know if Jane would have gone out for a meal just yet as she would need a higher chair to sit on ,some of the restaurant chairs can be a bit on the low side .

I hope the cement was still good and set in the ok pots Mel. That's reminded me, we watched Kirsty's first week last night and we were not impressed with the cement tidy either. I said to OH that we have bricks with holes in that would look better once they were painted. I did like the cat beds and the wall tidy was ok. Not sure the prog is very good though. It would have been nice to get some pics of the baby Owls.......what sort are they? I have never seen a baby Owl in the wild.

Gill, that's the danger, just forgetting and doing something automatically before he should.........you'll have to keep an eye on him. lol You'll have to tell him he shouldn't have much cake after his op as well if you want to get a slice yourself! We had a shower of rain this afternoon, so that will have helped the garden.

I got me the needles I wanted, then spotted a bin full of material offcuts that were like a magnet saying 'come and have a rummage' which I did. There were some lovely prints and I couldn't resist one with little birds on it for £1. I'm sure I will think of something I can make with it. lol :-D

I think I would be joining Max for some shuteye after a week running around with the children too Mandy. It's good they have been able to come and use the pool a few times in the week though. Fancy you not going in when it was so hot. I remember you sending pics of you in the pool before and it looked lovely and cool. I bet Lacey enjoyed her sports day even though her team didn't win. I used to love the different races. :-)

Didn't see your post there Mandy. Yes I think G was hoping he didn't get waylaid by anyone as he did want to be done quickly in case it got hot.

Evening All

I just want to thank everyone for all the lovely cards and wishes for my Birthday.
Ann :-D :-D great card. Thanks Mel for your little gift :-D
We are just back from Fitz's.It was nice to get out for a couple of hours.Georgette had some mini quiches ,dips and crudities ,crisps .A couple of glasses of bubbly too so all very nice.
I am now ready for my bed as I had just about 2 hours sleep last night. I just could not settle and my pillows were a right pain in the wotsit. I came downstairs at 2.45 ,made a cup of tea and then just stretched out on the settee.I think I eventually dosed off about 5.30. Chris had a shock when he came down to find me there :-D

Frank,I didn't get your ecard :-( I know when you have tried ot send them before they just never seem to come through. I know the thought was there :-D so thank you .
Hannah and Gareth have had a wedding this weekend so will be here next weekend .

Night Night xx