General Chat

Good morning to you all.

Good old Harvey. He drove up from London, arrived about 6.00 pm as I was dishing up dinner. I offered him mine as I wasn't hungry, he refused, and said he would cook for him and Lewis later.

The hinges on the bed risers had both broken, he thinks mainly due to the fact that Ros has too much stuff under there, and the bed is being restricted, in it's up and down movement. He has taken both hinges off, to repair. Where there was/is a welded bit on the hinge, it has sheared off on both sides. He will drill out the rivet, and replace with a small nut and bolt. So at the moment the BED is in THE DOWN POSITION, until he can get up to put the hinges back on.

It is with much regret, that I have to say, I AM LEAVING THE THREAD for a while. I feel I am in "NO MAN'S LAND" at the moment, and need time to get myself sorted out. I know I don't add much to the chit chat on here, due mainly to my total lack of interest, in myself and things around me. As, as when, I feel more myself I will of course come back. In the meantime, I will look in on all your comments and chat. I hope you all continue to enjoy the thread, as I am sure you will. Just give me time please, no Telephone calls please, they will only upset me.

My love to you all for now. GOD BLESS. xxxx

Frank I am sorry you are feeling so down and hope you feel more yourself soon and you are able to come back on thread soon. I enjoy your posts and to find out what you have been doing and your the first one on here in the mornings most days. Without you we will be thin on the ground again. Hope you feel better in yourself soon so you can come back. We want to know how the veg garden is doing too. Look after yourself and we all hope to see you back on here very soon. XXX <3 <3 <3

I am so sorry you are not feeling good at the moment Frank. I too enjoy your posts and will miss you. Just take your time and come back when you are ready.

Take care of yourself and come back soon. Sending you a gentle (((((hug))))) <3 <3

Frank that is a shame and I think you will probably, in the end, realise that the thread helps to keep you going. I am sorry you are feeling down, hopefully you will go and see your GP and it sounds as though you have a vitamin deficiency which could be put right. I will miss your threads and all that you and Ros have been doing and look forward to you feeling better and able to return to the thread.

Vera pleased to hear that Bob managed a slightly longer walk yesterday, don't overdo it now Bob.


I am a bit (well a lot) annoyed at the moment. Firstly I couldn't get an appointment with the hearing clinic until 30th July, I had to make a second appointment because the audiologist said I needed my ears syringing before the aids could be properly calibrated. So, yesterday I went to have them done having been putting oil in for about 10 days and, this has happened before, there was no need to syringe as there was no wax on the drum at all. As you probably know they won't syringe then as there is the chance of perforating the ear. So still got to wait and my right aid I am convinced the mold is wrong, it is a lot larger than the left hand one which fortunately is very comfortable. Not sure what they will do about it. I tend to just wear one unless we have visitors so looks like two days of ear hurting while grandson Greg and his partner are here, they arrive this afternoon.. I can hear him but Issy bless her, has such a little voice. Anyway, after the nurse I then tried to make an appointment to see the Pharmacist nurse as my prescription says a review of medication is needed by 30 July. He is fully booked up, I kept saying I would go forward into August (I know that would be ok as I have enough prescription left). But she was adamant looking in July and finally said I could have a phone consultation. I told her the difficulty I have with the phone but (determined she was). she said to OH 'you can take it if your wife agrees'. Now, how could I say I didn't want him to take it, talk about taking my independence away. So now we have a phone call on Wednesday 24th to review my medication via my OH. Normally at that time he would also take BP etc not sure how that works over the phone. I really don't agree with phone appointments. Half of the appointment is the nurse/doctor looking at you to see how you are. Go with the flow though I suppose. But, as I said it makes me feel annoyed and fed up at losing yet again some of my independence.

Afternoon All,

Quite muggy and overcast here today. Just watered the GH ad cut a couple more cues. These are the biggest mini ones we have grown, but they are definitely not the big variety.

Frank you must never think you don't add much to the thread as we all enjoy reading about your capers and what with your breaks and holidays and garden, it is all very interesting to hear about. As for feeling very down, I can understand that, and you have had problems with both of you being unwell lately which doesn't help. If you don't feel better in yourself soon, you know you should really speak to your doc. I hope you can soon sort your head out as you say and feel much better. <3 <3 <3

Vera any improvement is good and it must have cheered him up to get that far. You always have to get back too so can't risk going far at first! It's good and encouraging that he is gradually managing to do a bit more.

Mel the boys will love your gifts.......you can't have too many of the things you have got them!!

Mandy what a young lady she is now and I love her hair and dress. I think she will soon be breaking a few hearts too!

I hope your swollen leg is a bit better today after some rest Jane and is feeling more comfortable. It must be hard to get the balance right between doing enough to help but without overdoing it. Chris has done well getting so much HW and shopping done too. Maybe he thought it would stop you trying to do too much as well. ;-) Either way, it's good he got stuck in. :-) I think it will be a case of seeing if there's anything I fancy at the jewellers. I would like a ring with a ruby stone if there's one I like. lol. I shall be there close to opening time before the 'best' things go. lol. I hope Jorge doesn't need a coat on when he arrives from the heat in Spain. Will Janice be saying 'Hola' when she sees him? It's a long journey for him isn't it and I hope he settles in quickly. I had a lovely card from Fitz in response to my Get Well card. He has a wonderful way with words doesn't he.

There have been a lot of cars arriving at the house where the asian couple live this morning (5 sons) and I saw the elderly lady who lives there outside so it must be her husband who needed the ambulance. We drove off then so are not sure if they were collecting their mother to visit or whether he is still at home. The cars have all gone now.

OH has gone off to a match near where I was born in Staffordshire with his pal. I need fuel before I go anywhere so will see how busy it is at the supermarket garage. I was hoping to go and take photos of the linseed field as it is all in flower now, that is if I can remember which of the twisty, narrow lanes I go down to it. Also I'm not sure if I can get my car, which is wider than OH's, off the lane enough to not block it! If all fails, I can carry on to Bon Marche at Hinckley as they have sent me a £5 voucher for my birthday. :-D

Afternoon all

I'm so sorry to hear you are leaving us for a while Frank. We will miss you, hope you feel better soon and are able to join us all again <3 Pleased to see Harvey sorted the bed out in time for you both to go to bed. He's very handy and sounds like he will have it fixed in no time.

Fancy getting the day wrong for Jorge coming over Jane. It's easily done and to be honest I kept thinking it was Saturday yesterday to with the F1 being on as it's normally only on at the weekend. I hope Jorge has a safe and calm journey, it's good he can be tracked so Janice knows where he is until he gets to her. Sandra and I can't wait to see another photo of him. How is your leg today, I hope the swelling goes down quickly? Using both crutches will help.

The garden sounds lovely with all those fruits in AnnG, I was saying to OH how I'd like a proper veg patch but we don't have anywhere in our garden to put it. We're still wanting to move to our forever home (not yet though) when we do it'll be on my wish list for the new garden. I'm sorry to hear of the trouble health wise you've had lately and now feeling you are losing some of your independence. I hope things improve for you soon and your aids are sorted, along with your meds.

Loved the picture of Chelsea in her pretty dress Mandy, and her hair looked lovely, so grown up. :-)

It sounds like your OH is improving quite well now Vera, he must of been so chuffed to be able to walk a bit further. I hope he carries on improving and can walk properly again soon. Sending wishes for a speedy recovery <3

Yes I'm doing really well on OH's side of the tree, I have someone helping me and he's kindly made up a tree for me to copy. It's not his family, the connection is through his sister-in-law, so he's making the tree up for her as well as me. He's been so helpful, but is a lot quicker than me, so I have lots more to copy over to our tree. I like to check everyone first just to make sure he hasn't made mistakes. I have noticed he had made one or two errors, but it's very kind of him to help me. I love family history, so it's something interesting to do, which I enjoy. There was a photo of one of OH's relatives on the tree that looked just like his dad when he was younger, it's fascinating to see the family resemblance.

How nice to have your OH sing you happy birthday and do a little dance to start your birthday off Ann, he sounds a funny man. :-) Enjoy your birthday meal on Monday. That was a good idea of Mel's to have the metal poles that can be raised to stop anyone going down your drive, that way when they're down they will be hidden. Either that or park your car nearer the end of your drive to block them. Unless you think they may hit the car of course, then that wouldn't be a good idea.

Afternoon all,

Oh Frank you do sound down in the dumps ,i hope you'll soon be back to your old self and join us back on the thread ,we will all miss your posts so don't be away to long <3

It's nice and bright here now so he washing is all out ,we had a little drizzle this morning but it's not at all cold .

Ann where's your camera when you need it ,i would have loved to have seen OH doing the jig LOL :-D
Hope you can find some thing nice in the jewelry sale .
I have some cue plants too which i thought were the larger cues and they have turned out to be the smaller ones ,i kept waiting for them to grow longer but they just got fatter so i thought i'd better pick them .
Yes i thought how grown up Chelsea looked ,it's the first time she has had her hair tonged she usually just has it straight , her dress was quite fine and floaty and she picked it herself .

Oh Mel Catapults :-0 :-D :-D i bet the boys will love them and the water bombs .

AnnG that must have been annoying to find out you needn't have bother with the oil as your ears were ok and then not being able to get a proper appointment ,they just seem to do a lot of these telephone appointments now , we have them for our tablet reviews .

Jane it does sound like you've been doing a little to much ,Colin use to do that and then had to suffer for it .
He also found that his leg felt quite numb and took quite a long while to get the feeling back and also when he laid in bed his leg would suddenly shoot with pain so i suppose it was the nerves in the leg .
Hope you enjoy the weekend with H&G

Vera that's great news your OH is now starting to walk further ,i bet you were on edge seeing him go out the gate or did you stand and watch :-)

How is your gum now Gill ? has it now all healed nicely ?

Right i had better go and make the bed ,i striped it off this morning ,don't want to go up to bed and then have to make it because i'd forgotten about it

Mandy I don't think I need not have bothered but the oil has dissolved the wax.

OH has been out in the garden all afternoon, goodness knows what he has found to do, well besides cutting the lawn.

Yes I needed my camera didn't I Mandy. I try to ignore him sometimes, but when he's leaping around with more movement than I see all week, like Andy Pandy doing John Travolta in his T shirt and pyjama shorts, it's impossible to keep a straight face. :-D lol. Chelsea made a good choice with her dress and with the colours too.

Oh AnnG I keep saying to OH what hoops we have to go through with medical things lately. So it sounds like your ears were fine to have had the test in the first place. I hope they sort out your aid that doesn't fit so well too. As you say it is so important to us for our wellbeing that we keep our independence. I was interested to hear what you said about medicine reviews as we have dates for them on our prescriptions but no-one has ever asked to see us about them. When I asked the surgery receptionist about them once she said the doctors do them themselves and don't necessarily ask to see you. It makes me wonder what should happen?

I bet it's quieter for the drivers to get a good sleep where you are Jane rather than alongside the noisy A14. I know what you mean by all the beeping though as it happens here when vehicles are trying to turn round. Gill, I can leave my car at the bottom of the drive next to OH's, but it's when we are out, especially both of us that they will use the drive. Ours and the drive opposite are double width so nice and wide for them to use. We were told the drive only has enough hardcore under it to carry cars so the wheels of these big vans and trucks will cause dents eventually with how heavy they are. We had thought about the drop down ones, but if they are sunk in the channels will silt up and need regular cleaning and if not we will have to drive over them as we can't drive straight out and then turn as there isn't room. The lift out ones the man across the road has are a palaver. With bad backs and my knees, keep getting in and out of the car adds to the pain. Maybe I could make a sign to stand at the end of the drive that I could carry in the car and put in place from the car window. 'Do not use drive to turn......Camera will record your number plate'

Ann could you have a couple of little posts put in and have a piece of chain across from each post ,you could even put the chain across once you have parked then if they do try and turn they would touch the chain first before they touch your car's .
At least if they touch the chain they won't get as far as going on to your drive and you could hang a no turning sign on the chain .

It sounds quite a problem you are having Ann with the trucks and like you said they are to heavy for your drive to take the weight, the only other thing I can think of is putting double gates there so they can be closed when you're out with maybe a little padlock on the inside to stop anyone opening them. I doubt a sign will stop them if they really wanted to use your drive especially if they see there are no cars there as they'll know you're out. I hope you sort something out before it's to late and your drive is ruined.

I had another letter off the gas people,the ones who are replacing all the gas pipes in our road, they are also replacing the pipes to our bungalow and will have to dig up part of the garden or drive, I really hope they don't dig up the garden with us working so hard on it last year, it's just starting to look nice. They said they replace the grass (if that's where they dig) but I'd rather they didn't have to dig it up in the first place. We will have to have our gas turned off to, which I'm not looking forward to as I cook by gas and they also mentioned our gas meter may have to be put outside, so that means digging up the patio around the back or down the side as I don't want the new meter putting in the front. At the moment it's in the kitchen at the back. Ideally, if it does have to be moved, I'd like it around the side between the two side gates but they may insist on it being put on the other side of the kitchen wall, so if ever we wanted an extension it would have to be moved again as that would be the wall to come down. I'm just going to have to see what they say when they get here, but I'm not looking forward to it. I've found out that my migraines are caused by stress so I hope the process isn't to stressful as I can do without the migraines coming back.

My gum is healing nicely Mandy, there's just a small hole now, so it shouldn't be to long before it's healed completely. My gum on the other side isn't as sore now to, but that's probably because I only eat soft food now.

I've going to watch "Moon Launch Live" now, I've been waiting all day to see it.

Evening All

Frank, you just take as long as you need before coming back ot us. Hopefully is won't be too long before you are feeling less down in the dumps. You are going to be missed .At least you say you will still have a look at the posts so will know what we are all up to :-D Sending you a big ((((( HUG))))) <3 <3

Mandy Chelsea looked so lovely in her dress and her hair was so pretty.I loved the fact her phone matched the dress :-D. I bet she had a great time at the leavers disco.
I can't believe it is soon her turn to start senior school !!.

AnnG what a performance you are having .Hopefully you will soon get your hearing aids sorted and get the right fit for the one that seems to be different from the other.
Nothing ever seems straight forward does it :-S

Catapaults and Water Bombs :-D :-D Oh what fun the boys will have Mel :-D :-D

Gill could you not grow a few veggie things in big pots or grow bags. They wouldn't take up much space and Sandra would love picking a few peas or Beans etc. Maybe a thought for next year?

Ann, Mandy's idea of a small link chain sounds a good idea. You must be on edge all the time what with all the comings and goings in your close. It would be awful if your car was damaged .

Well after I mentioned to the Highways Maintenance chap about these big trucks parking up over night ,I see there are now 2 signs further down our road saying NO OVERNIGHT PARKING FOR HGVs :-D :-D :-D.. I was chuffed that something was done so swiftly :-D

Jorge has arrived and is now at home with Janice and Larry :-D :-D. He is very friendly and is keen to make friends with Jilly but she is not too keen at the moment . I am sure she will be ok though once she knows this new addition is staying put :-D
The other dog Oscar is away with the fairies anyway and he is not bothered at all.
Jorge is scared stiff of the TV. I suppose he has never seen one before. He may well be the same with the hoover etc. I wonder if he will settle tonight or will J&L be up all night !! I will send anothe pic Gill tomorrow.

Vera has OH managed to do his walk again today? It may not be far but it is such a huge improvement isn't it.It must make him feel better in himself to know he is getting there :-)

Lovely lunch out today with H&G and Fitz. H&G have gone now as Gareth is off on a 70K bike ride in the morning !!. Just going to watch Casualty now.

Casualty Jane I thought you would have had enough of hospitals by now.

Hope Jorge soon settles. I suppose being in the pound he had no contact with TVs.

I have had my R/H aid in all evening as we have Greg and Issa here, it will hurt when I take it out but is ok at the moment.30 July I go to hearing clinic
C so just over two weeks.

What a nuisance your hearing aid dos'nt fit AnnG. They must be able to get it to fit or take another impression. Mum did'nt like hers either and so she bought special ones. I still have them and the firm said that if I need them they can reprogrm them to my hearing. They are very small with the battery bit that fits behind the ear but she had them in bright pink!!!!!!!!!

Vera yes we want to know if oh took his walk today and did he manage any further. He is making good progress so I hope it carries on.

Jane I hope Jorge settles in quickly to his nice new home with J & L.

I have watched the baby Blackbirds being fed today under the bird feeder. I did get one pic of mum feeding them and a couple of just the three chicks. we also had the deer in the orchard early evening with her fawn. I got a smashing pic of them before they ran away up the garden and out of the arch. I wondered who had been eating my nice big white daisies. There's have of the flowers gone now but I have enjoyed some day lillies this year. the swalows are still in and out of oh's filter shed and I have'nt been able to get a photo of the chicks yet but have seen one little face over the edge of the nest.

Gill you asked how many strawberries I have had this year so far. First picking was 12 ozs plus as I ate some and the second was 14 ozs plus because once again I had eaten some and a couple of mouldy ones went to the bantams. Tomorrow I shall have to pick some more as I could smaell them when I walked past to corn the bantams. I have my eye on a really dark red one which won't be coming into the kitchen. The others we will have with a little vanilla sugar and double cream.

Been crafting this afternoon but had to undo all my stitching twice as I was'nt satified with it. It will have to do now as I am not unpicking it again.

Have had a sore mouth all day and my denture feels as though it is pressing on one of my teeth that is a bit loose. I need to go to the dentist to get them checked over as I may have to have more out.

Off now so see you all in the mroning. Night night.........

Morning all.

I can see my cheek this morning. Its just like in one of thoe old films all swollen one side right up my nose so please excuse me if I don't post anything else today.

Sunshine this morning blue sky and white clouds.

Hope our Frank feels a bit better today and sending love. <3

Poldark tonight.

Afternoon Everyone
Mel ,I hope you can get an appointment tomorrow with the Dentist.Have you had a mouth rinse with some salty water? I take it you have taken out the denture now to stop it causing anymore inflammation. Love the pics of the Deer. They are elegant creatures :-D.. Just waiting for the Blackbird pics to download .

AnnG I hope your ear wasnt too sore when you took out the hearing aid last night.Is it the bad fit that makes it sore?

Jorge was a good boy for Janice last night . No accidents . She let him out at 5am for a wee and then took him for an early walk on his own. She said he is scared of traffic ,the whirlygig washing line,TV.She thinks he has had a tough start in ife and he is quite skinny so needs feeding up. She will feed him 3 times a day for a fortnight and see how he goes. I will send a little video of Jorge playing with Jilly. Jorge has to be kept on a slip lead until they are sure all is well between him and the other dogs. In the vidoe you can see Larry ready to grab the lead :-D

Quite day for us today. My leg feels a lot easier and is not so swollen now.I am just keeping everything crossed that when the nurse has a look at the wound tomorrow I will get the all clear to be able to have a shower. I am getting cheesed off with all this strip washing.I never feel totally clean.

I have booked a week away in September .We are going ot the cottage H&G stayed at in Suffolk. Rose Cottage :-D We have been given some discount because of H&G having just been there so that was nice. Better than a slap in the face with a wet fish as the saying goes :-D :-D
No sun here today. Just cloud. We must have had some rain the night but not that much.

Frank dear friend ,I hope you are feeling a bit brighter today and that you have had a good night sleep last night. All those sleepless and disturbed nights will no doubt have something to do with you feeling low. I think the video clip of Jorge playing with Jilly will put a smile on your face :-D

Afternoon all,

More cloud than sun here today so no pool for the children today .

Frank i do hope your feeling a little better and you've managed to get a good nights sleep .

Oh Mel it sounds like you have a bit of an infection going on in your gum ,i hope you can get a dentist appointment tomorrow before it gets any worse and gives you a lot of pain.
Lovely photo of the deer,i love the one where they are looking straight at you , and baby black birds ,my how they have grown .

Jane that was good Jorge has had a good first night ,it probably helped having the other dogs as he's got use to being with others for company .
I expect he will be very weary of lots of things poor little chap but he'll soon settle in with lots of loving , i expect he was fed with other dogs so he didn't get enough ,some don't get a look in if there's several feeding together but with Janice he'll soon fatten up a bit .

Meatballs for us tonight :-D i always get the meatball song in my head when i do them :-D

So nice to see Jorge and Jilly playing. She will show him whats what in the house and garden and not to be frightened of the clothes line and TV.

I picked a 1lb and a quarter of strawberries this morning and the bantams had another nearlly 8 oz so I think thats about it now strawberry wise. there are still a couple on the plants but they need a good feed now. Some of the ones I have picked are small so they will go to a nice jar of jam.

Afternoon All,

Dull and humid today and a bit cooler.

Gill, the only gate we could have would be like the sliding one at the bottom of the close that cost £12,000 which we aren't prepared to pay. Because the drive slopes down quite steeply to the road you couldn't open double gates inwards. You couldn't open them outwards onto the narrow road either as they would fill the road width. We thought about a chain and 2 posts a while ago, but there is still the palaver of getting out of your car twice each time you go out :-S

Jane that was quick work them putting signs up to stop the parking up! Jorge seems to have made himself at home quickly, but might be a bit full on for the smaller Jilly. I expect she will let him know if he is though. I would soon get fed up of strip washes too and flannels don't stay fresh long do they! Fingers crossed you will soon be able to have a nice shower.

That is a cracking photo of the mother deer and faun Mel, so graceful! The baby birds are growing up fast too. What a nuisance you seem to have an infection with that loose tooth. I hope you can get an appointment at the dentist's tomorrow. When my cheek swelled up that time some antibiotics sorted it out and it was ok then.

We went to our usual Sunday carvery, but no turkey again, so I think we will give them a miss on Sundays now. The young chef carving said it is usually on in the week so we'll try that instead. I got a new Beldray long handled pan and brush after at the factory shop as my old one is falling to bits now and the pan part is cracked. We popped in the co-op on the way home for milk and I couldn't believe how empty all the 'snack' shelves were. That's what happens when the cricket, tennis and grand prix are all on!!!

Did Chelsea enjoy the disco in her new dress Mandy? I have no idea what modern dancing young girls do these days or whether there are dance crazes like when I was young, I know there were regional variations and we didn't dance like they did on TOTP!! I'm sure no-one dances like OH either! :-D

I hope Frank is ok and knows we are thinking about him. <3 <3 It is horrid feeling down or depressed and not being able to shake it off.