General Chat

Oops I am miles behind with my answering. My car went for its MOT this morning and, because we needed to do the main shop and the place round here is a warren og temp traffic lights and road/pavement works with Vodaphone putting in cables, we decided to both go in my car and wait while the MOT was done then go on from there. Anyway, it passed, no problems. We decided to go to Sainsbury's for a change. Never eally a good decision as once there we never know where everything is so it takes twice as long. Still it is done now, some things are more expensive than Tesco but on the whole it cost about the same.

we have also had our bathroom taps fixed today, managed to catch the plumber before he left for his hols tomorrow. Hopefully no more drips.

Annx Yes, next time I will have a screw top in my bad, they tend to fit all bottles as we have Hardys at home. You are probably right about the licence but it has taken a while for them to realise.
Our tomatoes are weird this year too, some, Mostly the ones in baskets are fine but ripening very slowly the yellow ones will be ok in a week or so but some in the ground are not doing well at all. On the other hand we have had quite a glut of blackberries, hardly any loganberries, not as many redcurrants as usual, a few more gooseberries and a fantastic amount of rhubarb.
that cat Stanley is gorgeous isn't he?

Mel I think it is the pharmacies that order the different brands and they go for the cheapest but it may be in conjunction with the GPs. Whichever way it is we get the cheapest. My sister has a problem with her pills as there are a lot of brands she is intolerant to because of the added constituents of the pills, she has to chase all over the pharmacies in her town to get the right ones (which are the more expensive.)
even though her GP specifies which ones she should have.

Frank, it sounds as if you did more damage than you thought, I wish you would go and get checked out in case you have done something to your shoulder rather than bruised it. Are you sure you have not damaged a rib again?
Yes I know there are those bottle stopper available I will have to look out for them.

Vera thinking of your brother and hoping all is well with him.
Well done your Oh a little step forward if he managed to lie on that side, and he is walking a few steps further than he was, all good.
Hope you soon see results from the insurance. My sister had to cancel a holiday because of illness, she has been told the claim has finally been accepted (it is several months ago), but is yet to receive the money.

Jane Thomas is a monkey cat, or would like to be, he just forgets that what goes up must come back down.
You are doing well with your one crutch now, well done. Lovely photos of the view, so sad that all the countryside is being buried under bricks. One thing I will say about an estate that was built in our borough two years ago. The developers also built a lovely primary school and have jst finished a row of shops (as our bus goes that way we have watched the progress), There is now a large hairdressers and barbers and a co-op. plus a few, at the moment empty, shops

Gill I hope all is OK and that it is something technical rather than health keeping you off here. As you can see we are all concerned.



Mandy it is all good so far with the hearing aids, My ear was a bit sore last night and I felt as though something was scratching it, where she had filed it was a bit rough and there was a tiny tiny bit of tube just sticking out so I filed it with a nail buffer thing.just gently and it seems fine.

Well there were some 100% wool mens jackets at the charity shop that would have provided me with some good sized pieces to wool felt onto after a good wash but the colours weren't suitable. They had a couple of wool scarves, one cashmere, but again not good background colours. They only had two actual balls of wool too so no success this time. OH managed to find 4 BOOKS he wanted!! One was George Orwell's 1984, there was a Thomas Hardy he hadn't read and I can't remember what the others were. Mandy, I did ask him where the ones he'd brought with him to give them were, but he just smiled as he always does. I did say they weren't coming in the study to hem me in with the rest he leaves in there but he's obviously put them somewhere else as I can't see them. lol I'll have to stop him coming out with me won't I. :-) I can hardly complain about the cost as they hardly cost anything. :-0

OH said the road through the village by the NEXT HQ was flooded when he came home last night and this morning the old mill and road next to the quarry were flooded, but it was shallow enough in the middle to get through. At watery gate, which is notorious for the ford to be impassable, they had closed the road as it was 4 foot deep there. I haven't been past the river down the road but I bet the fields are flooded.

Frank I think it will be a few days before all your aches/pains and bruises subside after that nasty fall.

That's good your car passed AnnG. Mine is in a couple of months and I find it hard to remember with this car so must remember to stick it in my diary. Our gooseberry never seems to grow gooseberries much bigger than blackcurrants, but I think being near the fence, the rain misses it and it needs more water. It is a nice red desert one. We have huge rhubarb too!

Just a bit of drizzle here this morning, but that flipping house alarm has been going off again. They obviously went off to work this morning thinking it was ok.

I hope Gill hasn't lost her internet with all this work going on. It is odd to not hear from her at all.

Evening All
My laptop has been a right pain today . Just misbehaving for some reason so I havent managed ot read through all the many posts .
I love all the new flower Avatars :-D and your Heart Ann.

Roses here too have been lovely this year. A litle lighter in the purse then Mandy after helping out with the childrens new school uniforms :-D.I am sure your Son and DIL are really grateful for your help in kitting the children out for the new School Year.
I just remember everything being bought several sizes too big so I could grow into them .Nightmare and embarrassing . But back then our parents didnt have the money to keep replacing bits of uniform so it had to last. I remember my Gabardine mac way past my knees and sleeves so long. A Beret for winter and a Summer hat . I need to ask Janice what that was like as I just can't think what it was now.

I hope the MRI went ok today for Ros . Vera I have got your PM and have replied :-)

I feel today as though I have taken a step backwards (hip wise) . I think I just did too much again yesterday . Strained the healing muscles :-S. The problem is when I have no pain I think I can do a lot. But then the next day I really feel it in the muscles that have been pulled apart in the op. So it is not trying to walk without a crutch for a couple of days and taking plenty of anti inflammatory tabs.

Ann I loved the pic of Stanley. Oh poor boy losing his owner and now desperately needing a home. He is so much like Thomas but has short hair and not Thomas's great tail. I hope someone will give him a new home soon <3

Time to start something for dinner !

AnnG I do know thaat the pills I ask for are dearer but when they send oh these tiny things he loses them on the floor as they slip between his fingers and then he won't take them. I do order them a week in advance. He's got three tonnight instead of 7.

I have been up the caravan all afternoon again. The flies have made a mess behind the curtains so all the curtains came down and have been washed all but a few and some of the bedding.

We did'nt have much for dinner last night so we have the ready meals for tonight.

Yes a nail file comes in handy for other thing AnnG. I used mine on my teeth when they were rubbing and the dentists had'nt taken enough off.

I bet that's what you have done with your hip Jane. It must be hard to know how much is too much just now and as you say you do more when things feel better. A couple of days taking it easier will help I'm sure. I do too much with my knees then pay for it the next day! How are you sleeping now?

That's more improvement for your OH then Vera. He's progressing and at a rate he can cope with which is good. I hope your brother continues to recover well. How long will he be in hospital do you think?

We have both been a bit useless flopping around today with no energy or inclination to do anything. Most unlike him, OH has misplaced some important notes he needs to go through, so cupboards have been turned out, folders searched through several times with a lot of 'huffing'. He's given up for now though and any suggestions of mine are not going down well, so after insisting I haven't touched anything, I'm keeping schtum! :-D

Off to watch some recordings now.

Evening all,

It's been another muggy day here and we have had some showers this morning ,mostly just drizzle and just as we went to sons to help weed their front garden , we had some garden rubbish to go to the tip so took their rubbish too.

This afternoon has been dry ,i went into the green house and cut some of the leaves off the tom plants ,the toms are very few and far between this year ,one of my cucumber plants has died so i took that out of the green house and gave every thing a feed .

Ann i'll try to remember to get son to take a photo of them all in their uniforms ,i have the job of sewing the school badge on the pockets of the blazers ,new ones to go on Chelsea's but we'll have the badges off Jake's old blazers and reuse them on his new ones .
It's £5 for one badge !!!
No the Roses in the Avatar are the ones out the back, the white Rose is in the front garden it has a lovely perfume but i've only had it flower just the once,it flowers for about a month ,never had it flower again like this year .
I don't know what sort of wool you want Ann but i have some skeins of 1oo% wool that came from my friend that died ,i think it's tapestry wool your quite welcome to it if it's what you want ,i'll take a photo so you can see what there is ,i don't think i will use it for any thing .
Poor little Stanley i hope he soon finds a loving home he looks a lovely cat .

Yes a little lighter in the purse Jane :-D we bought Lewis some nice little leather school shoes today ,trouble was he tried them on and didn't want to take them off .
There is only the one shop in town where you can buy the uniforms and as they have to have the school logo on you don't have the choice of shopping around for them .just one style of skirt so they are all the same .

We were looking at some of the little dresses for one of the private schools in Norwich ,one that would fit a four year old nearly forty pounds a dress !!!!!
Colin was exactly the same thought he could do more than he could and suffered for it the next day ,as you don't have the pain from the hip any more you forget you have to do things at a slower pace for a while .

AnnG that's good your car went straight through the MOT with no work needed
Good idea to use the nail buffer on the rough bit of tube ,it saved you going back to get them to do it .
So the caravan is getting a spring clean Mel ,have you got some one coming to
stay ? only i know when they did they used the van to sleep in .

Hope Ros got on ok with the MRI today Frank ,when will she know the result ?

Vera i hope your brother is comfortable today after his op ,you'll be glad when you see him on Friday i expect .

Ann , I am sleeping much better now as I am able to sleep on my op side with a pliilow between my knees. I dont stay all night on that side but as it is my normal sleeping position it is easy to get off to sleep. I will wake up with that side feeling a bit stiff and have to manouvre myself into a different postion but it is getting so much easier :-D.. Few more days and socks will BE GONE :-D :-D

So where has OH put his important notes then ? I bet one of your suggestions might be right :-D but if you are like me and try to help it falls on deaf ears :-S.

Annx I invariably find that when OH loses something and he does, often; His first thought is have I seen it, have I moved it do I know where it is. He denies he has put it somewhere because ‘it was just there!’. This can even be something I have not even laid eyes on. I usually just give a cursory look round then get on with what I am doing and wait.sure enough about half an hour later he will sheepishly come and tell me it was, by his chair, or in his office, or somewhere else obvious.

Forgot to tell you that the Sparrowhawk plucked a pigeon on the west lawn yesterday. I think I have a pic but the window had a lot of rain on it.

Tonight I have just gone out and put the food down for the hgs and thee was a dead frog in the water bowl.

If my oh loses something and I go to have a look he tell me to get out of his way and don't stand behind me. I just leave him toit and if he finds it he never tells me.

Hope G finds his notes Ann.

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month.

Morning all,

Now just tell me please where July went? Cos I don't know.....

Nice morning but very dewy out and the suns is watery at the moment and the sky is pale blue.

Oh has his eye test this morning.

Back now. I have bought a dear little boat in the Hospice shop. I am thinking it will go with my fishermans cottage I was making years ago, and I do mean years, 30 odd. Its up the potting sheds so it may be a venture to carry it on in the winter.

Good morning Mel and all,

Very cloudy morning here, with the sun popping in and out of the clouds. Rain is forecast again for later this afternoon.

What disasters there have been, with all this flooding in Yorkshire. One poor farmer lost 80 odd sheep, all drowned. Bridges bought down in the floods, we have been so lucky here with just rain, and a bit of wind.

Ros's MRI went off without any trouble. She should get the results in a couple of weeks. She did make me smile, She had to remove her hearing aids, and put ear plugs in, then they put on these ears protectors. The nurse then started to ask her questions which she was unable to answer as she COULDN'T hear her. lol lol She was under this MRI scanner for over an hour, and almost fell asleep.

We went on to eat at The Hungry Horse. before coming home around 8.00 pm.

Ann, I forgot about that poor old cat loosing it's owner, and looking for a new home, I just hope he is adopted soon. I like you, would be tempted to have him myself.

Mandy, you and Colin are just like my ex IN LAWS. Each winter they would take my two children out for a day, and rig them out in Winter cloths, Coats, skirts, trousers, shirts, blouses, Shoes and socks. The same would happen in the summer.So it saved me a fortune in clothing the two of them. My mother was on her own, and with not a lot of money, she was unable to help out.

Jane, YOU NAUGHTY GIRL. I told you to take things easy, and there you go overdoing things. SLAPPED LEGS young lady. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Mel that would be nice to complete that project you started all those years ago. I remember having a little sail boat, that I would sail on the pond by the church in Woodford Bridge. Talking of that. Did you know there is a group called "Remembering Woodford Bridge" on the web. It is often mentioned about your uncles fish shop (MARTINS WAS IT ??) I'm sure you would find it very interesting, I certainly do.

Vera, I do hope your brother soon gets a place in a ward, and makes a full recovery from his operation.

AnninG, I am sure it's a man thing, about putting something down, and not knowing where you have put it. I am always doing it, and Ros says, "I SHOULD TIE IT ROUND MY NECK" that way you will know where it is. lol lol. This morning I couldn't find my stick. She could it beside the bed, from where I left it last night.

Ros fancied a fry up this morning, so I cooked Sausages, Bacon, Tomato's and Eggs. Bread and butter, and more tea. So tonight will be a light meal.

The wisteria over the garage has got completely out of control this year. I will have to get Barry to cut it right back. It's in bloom again I see.

Had my shower this morning without ant trouble. The Bl@@dy thing is so TEMPERAMENTAL . Just like my wife, Mental and one hell of a temper. Just kidding, honestly. !!!!

Still a bit achy, and Ros said she can see where I have lost my skin on my elbow. (CARPET BURN) I expect. See you all later, take care, and I hope everyone is well with Gill.

No gill again. That is worrying.

Yes I am wondering about Gill also, I know she was having the gas meter moved, and had that horrible migraine, but I wouldn't have thought that would have stopped her popping in here. ARE YOU THERE GILL ?? Has anyone got her number to check if everything is alright. ???

What a LAZY OATH I have been today. Since being on here this morning, I have read my book. Ros did a coloureds wash, which is on the airer in the conservatory drying. Apart from that she has been working on a some project she hasn't looked at for some time. Not sure what it is, but she is keeping out of mischief . lol lol

Decided not to cook this evening as neither of us feel hungry after our breakfast. So it might be a takeaway of some sort. We haven't decided yet.

No news about my sister, her son Paul is abroad on holiday with his family till the weekend. I have PMd him, but not had a reply yet.

Val next door is still in a rest home, for how much longer Tony just doesn't know. He said, she will have to come home sometime, but not sure when, or how he will cope with her. She is still having trouble walking and he's not sure how much it is to do with the operation or how much to do with her Parkinson's. Poor woman. :-( :-( :-(

Time for a COT, see you later. xxxx

Afternoon All

Glad the MRI is over now for Ros. That was a long time for her to have to lie in the one position .I'm not surprised she couldnt hear the Nurses voice wit hthe ear plugs and headphones in ,plus the scanner sounds like a jack hammer.
I have been sitting outside with the laptop but have just hot footed (slowly) in as it looks like the heavens are about to open
:-S

Mel what were were making the little cottage out of? It sounds like a good project to pick up again :-D Something different.

Frank I loved the email about the cats today :-D :-D

I hope Gill is ok . Maybe there is just a bit too much upheaval with the gas meter business.

Chris took me to the surgery to collect my prescription this morning but only one item was there.I think it was my fault as only one item was requested .I must have unclicked the second(which is the one I really need ). I am ok for a few days .Qucik stop at Sainsbury for a few bits and I bought a nice top .It fits and for once I wont need to take it back :-D.

We had a helicopter overhead this morning It was so low I thought it was landing .It was yellow which made me think it was the Air Ambulance and it was coming for someone hurt at the works along the road. But it was in fact something to do with Electricity .Thats what the word said on the side of it. This has happened before and me thinking it was the Air Ambulance. They must be doing some kind of surveying.

Black as your hat here :-S still waiting for a downpour.Maybe some thunder too.It looks stormy.

Tomorrow it is out to lunch again this time with Fitz in tow :-D Back to the little place in Grafton Underwood. No cooking tomorrow then :-D :-D James wont be here as he is spending the day somewhere around the Guilford area (to do with work ) so will go straight on to Jess.
I keep thinking about that dear little cat Stanley.He looks so much like Thomas .The 2 differences are Stanley is short haired and doesnt have the big fluffy curly tail like Thomas .

Afternoon All,

Yes Mel, where did July go! :-0 The year seems to be flying by. The little boat will be great with your fisherman's cottage. :-D I had a little half made pony trap I kept right till I moved here, then decided to throw it away as I had too much stuff for downsizing. It will be a good project for you to finish off in the winter as you say.

Still no notes! He seems to have given up looking now, but I suspect he is waiting till I go to beading tomorrow, and will then start looking through MY stuff in the study! Gawd I hope I haven't moved them! :-0 AnnG he hardly ever forgets where he puts things as he is extremely tidy with his own things and puts everything away after he has finished with it. He is clueless with where things go in the kitchen though or which drawer different towels go in! lol

I went to Aldi today Mandy and came home with a tie dye kit! :-D There are 5 colours to mix, so that will be good to try out some time. I didn't get any fat quarters as I already had some of the blue squares and the pink wouldn't fit my colour schemes.

Jane it will be good to take Fitz tomorrow as I expect he is going a bit stir crazy on his own. It sounded nice where you went with Chris too. The little puss is sweet isn't he? I hope he finds a nice home.

We both feel a bit better today and less tired. Mind you we lay in till gone 10.00am so must have needed the sleep.

Frank that was a long time for Ros to be in the scanner. OH would have hated that. No wonder she couldn't hear the nurse though. Poor Val is probably in the best place for her and will be better fed I would think, but it's a shame for her.

It's rained a lot of today here and the puddle spray went above the car roof when we went out. The side of the road where some houses were being built had the ditch hidden by standing water and a lorry had given up trying to drive onto the site.

The garage conversion over the road to extend the lounge in Jean's old bungalow is going well and the window has gone in today. There is room to extend next to the garage so I wonder if they will build a garage on next.

Yes where are you Gill. I hope everything is ok and it's just the internet or being busy because of what the workmen are doing.

Evening everyone

I have read the posts but don't think I've got the energy to respond to them much tonight. I seem to have been chasing my tail all day and am shattered.

The final straw was going online to sort out train tickets to go to London tomorrow to see my brother. What a performance! Using my senior railcard, I could have a return ticket for £23.55, provided I turned round and came home as soon as I got there. For £38 I could have an "anytime" ticket. I was just about to pay for that when I realised it had to be used on a set route and, believe me, it was a very peculiar route. I need to get to Whitechapel. I will go in to Liverpool Street station and Liverpool Street to Whitechapel is a straightforward 2 stops on the underground, so why did National Rail want to send me in the opposite direction and take me in a big circle with 3 changes? Greater Anglia wasn't quite so bad. They thought I should walk to Fenchurch Street station and get the tube there. Why?? In the end I paid £44.60 for a ticket that has to be used tomorrow but I can go at any time and on any route. Without my railcard it would have cost about £78!

Enough of my moans. OH is doing really well. He walked a few more paces tonight but what is really good is that he is able to stand for longer. After we had eaten tonight he managed to load the dishwasher and make a cup of tea. It's because he is making good progress that I feel I can leave him all day tomorrow. He can manage to put a pizza in the oven and get himself a drink and he's happy with his own company.

It's a bit worrying that Gill hasn't posted for a day or two. I hope it's just something like internet problems and not that she is poorly

I must now print out my confirmation email about my train tickets. I like to have something to say I have paid in case the dratted machine that dispenses the tickets isn't working. Our little station is unmanned so if anything goes wrong with the machine which sits on the one platform we have no way of getting our tickets.

Hope you all sleep well. Night, night

When I went into Holsworthy today I saw the three pink flamingos in a shop so now I know what Sandra's are like. They were three in a box all solar powered.