General Chat

Evening everyone

Sorry to hear you have had a bit of a grotty day Frank. I hope Lewis got in touch with you to sort out the meal. These youngsters can be a bit casual about arrangements can't they. By the way, I had a good laugh at the email you sent.

Jane, I hope you have a good journey to Plymouth tomorrow with no traffic problems. It will be a difficult few days for you but your friend will be pleased to see you and you will feel better for making the effort. I visited my cousin in a similar situation a few years ago and we had a wonderful conversation with a lot of laughter reminiscing about our younger days. The saying goodbye will be the hardest part. I will be thinking of you.

I hope your hand and arm pain is improving now Gill. Sandra's "garden" sounds as though it is going to be great. She will love it I am sure. You will have to take a couple of photos when it is finished and send them to us so we can all admire it.

I hope little Lewis is getting better now Mandy. I can't remember whether croup is infectious or not. You won't want the other children going down with it.

Is your back still giving you problems AnninG? Back pain can be so draining. If there is some inflammation perhaps an ice pack would help. Take care not to move too suddenly or to overdo it but try to move about a bit if the pain will let you. It is supposed to be better for the back to keep moving.

Oh dear Ann, now you have a tummy problem. I hope it is just one of these short lived bugs and you are already feeling better.

It hasn't been a bad day here; not particularly sunny but not cold and dry till late afternoon when the rain came down again. I managed to get an hour in the garden tidying up some of the plants but I am struggling to keep up with everything and we only have a small garden! Parts of the garden do look a bit sorry at the moment as a lot of stuff is now dying back and turning brown and the rain has made it all soggy. The asters and Japanese anemones are looking good so they cheer it up a bit.

I have emailed a few pics from Jersey round to you all. Sleep well everyone

Isn't it strange that we spend so much time on friendship, for it in the end to be proved worthless!

Safe journey tomorrow Jane, it's going to be hard but your friend will be pleased to see you. Stay strong <3 I'll be thinking of you.

What lovely pictures Vera, I've never seen a Church like that before and the tapestry is brilliant, such detail and it's captured everything very well.

That's a good idea AnnG, I've made a village before but it goes in the living room. I'd have to see if there is space in her room to make a small one just for her. She has a little pink Christmas tree in her room and a few Christmas ornaments, plus a few things on her walls so there isn't a lot of space left over. Mel made her a lovely fairy for the top of her tree which she puts on each year and Ann made a pink beaded bauble, although we thought that might of been to heavy to put on Sandra's little tree so it went on the main tree the first year. We tried it last year on Sandra's tree and it wasn't to heavy after all, so it'll go on her tree again this year.

Oh dear Ann a tummy bug, I hope it clears soon. Try a hot water bottle on your tummy it should help with the cramps.

Yes, I enjoy making things for and with Sandra. Her face was a picture before when she saw the beginnings of the little garden. I'm hoping to make it as pretty as I can so she can lay on her bed and look at it. She was so disappointed with the light up Flamingo's not working properly I thought I'd do this for her to make up for it and with the lights being electric they'll not flicker or go out so she can enjoy it for as long as she likes. I'm thinking of buying some glass flowers to pop into the plant pots, they should catch the lights nicely and also add a bit of colour. I thought I'd have a bit of fun with it and add butterflies and fairies, anything I can find that will make it magical for her. I haven't told her all my plans so it'll be a nice surprise for her. I just hope I can find some nice things to add to it now I have the ideas. I just need to make sure what ever I buy is weather proof.

Off to bed now for me. I had to stay up to watch Confession.

Thanks Vera for those stunning pics of the Glass Church and Tapestries . The glass is just amazing.
Ann I hope your gripey tummy settled and doesn't develop into anything horrible.

Thanks everyone for your kind wishes for this difficult trip I have ahead of me. As you say it will be saying goodbye that will be the most saddest part. But it has to be done .I am just glad I still have the chance. I am sure we will have some chuckles .I'll make damn sure we do :-D :-D

Night Night all.

Yes, you give those chuckle muscles a workout Jane! :-) It will help take her mind off things for a little while. I hope you don't get any bad rainstorms on the way there and at least the traffic should be better on a Tuesday. I hope James keeps his speed down as it's far worse when you are in the passenger seat! He needs to keep his licence too for when he gets another job.

Vera thanks for sending the photos. The tapestry is so good I thought the photos on it were real! The glass church is beautiful and no doubt even more impressive when you are actually there. It is amazing nothing has been broken over the years!

Morning all ,

Dry here at the moment but I think we should be in for some rain later with a bit of thunder and lightning thrown in too.

Jane safe journey down to Plymouth I'll be thinking of you today it's going to be quite a day for you all ,I'm sure you will have some wonderful memories of your younger days together that you'll both have a laugh about .
You've just got to think that's it's not goodbye she hasn't gone yet you can still text each other when you get back home <3

Thanks Vera for the lovely photos and how lovely all that glass must be when the sun shines through the windows .
The tapestry is beautiful too what a lot of work that has gone into making that and how nice to have the other bit added to finish the story.

We offer to do a bit of shopping before the rain comes .BBL

Morning all

Another wet day, looks like we've had some rain in the night, it's stopped at the moment but there's lots of clouds around so no doubt we'll have some more rain later.

I hope the weather isn't to bad for your journey today Jane and you have a nice time with your friend.

I've just been woken up by the builder, I think he must be almost finished now and has a small skip down the drive, so it must be clearing up day. The neighbour next door to them had their old drive dug up the other day but then nothing more happened so I don't know when that's going to be finished. OH spoke to another neighbour yesterday and found out next door have gone away to Spain for two weeks. We wondered why it was so quiet. I'm sure all the knocking and banging will start again next week when they're home.

I was talking with OH last night about how we're going to plug the lights in that we want to put outside Sandra's bedroom. The plugs they use now are quite big and are molded ones, so we're going to have trouble getting the wire into the bungalow to plug it in. We're hoping we can find one with a normal plug on then we can take it off, push the wire through and re attach the plug, otherwise we'll have to buy solar power ones which I doubt will be as good. So a bit of shopping around for me to do, to find the right ones for her.

Nothing much planned for today, I'm running a bath so I can wash my hair, it desperately needs colouring so if my hand will let me that's what I'll be doing tomorrow, but I need to wash the hairspray out first, so the colour will take properly.

Good morning Mandy, Gill and all

Very wet here again and it is supposed to get thundery later. I hope Jane and James’ journey isn’t too horrible. It can be unpleasant driving in the rain with all the spray from the road. Safe journey Jane.

HW day today. OH has woken up with a painful back again. It’s his original long standing back problem, not the Piriformis Syndrome he had on holiday. He’s back on Ibuprofen and ice packs. We are supposed to be on a coach trip to Knole tomorrow and he says he will be OK but I am dubious. We’ll decide when we get up tomorrow.

Right, I’m off to find the dusters and the vac. Bye for now.

Good morning all, running late today.

Vera, so your OH has come out in sympathy with me! Hope it eases so you can go on your coach trip. Is it a long one?

Gill I have not seen any lights with ordinary plugs for ages. You can of course buy outdoor sockets but they need (by law) to be put in by qualified electricians. Once put in properly they are quite safe as they are water tight. We don't have any problem with our solar lights they are still lighting up at night on all but the very darkest days. You can also but battery driven lights but I am not sure how they would stand up to wet weather. In the garden centres now you often see little fairy gardens with figures, little houses etc. You could make it a fairy garden for Sandra..

Just noticed the date. A pinch and a punch and all that. Where has the year gone?

Morning all,

A pinch and a kick for being so quick Vera.

WE have sunshine and rain this morning so not very nice. We are forecast it for the rest of the week I think. Roll on St Luke's little Summer I say.

Sorry to hear you now have a nasty tum Ann. I hope it feels better today. There are always nasty things going about once the weather changes and I also think going out and about causes a lot of us to pick things up. I always carry the little bottle of that gel to put on my hands when I take a trolly at the supermarket. I keep one in the car all the time.

Gill I do think that solar lights are going to be your best bet for the little garden for sandra if you can't get an outdoor plug thing fitted. Your mum should have taken those lights back when they did'nt work properly but you said she did'nt know where she bought them.

Vera the pictures of the church are so lovely it must have looked so much better in real life and what a lovely memory to keep forever. The tapestry too! Just think of all the trillions of stitches that went into making those. They are just like a painting, beautiful.

It took me a while to catch up on the post as you have all been so busy posting and I did'nt go on the pc last night.

Well must get on as I am running late today.

Hope Jane has a good journey down and its not too wet for them on the roads as that can be awful with a long drive. Safe journey as I said before and like Ann said work those chuckle muscles the pair of you. Enjoy your pasties too and I know you will take some back home with you for the freezer, don't forget........

:-)

I have just been watching Robby have a bath in the water collected in the foot well on oh's mower. Its funny how they find these little places to bathe that you would never think of!!

Good morning to you all,

Sorry to say I had a terrible night last night. Lewis came up around 6.00 pm. We took him to the Collingtree Pub, where we always have good food. He decided on the HOUSE BURGER with chips. Two burgers with cheese and salad in a big bap. It was downhill throat before you could say JACK ROBINSON. Boy, can that boy put away his food. Eos had her usual 5 oz rump steak with pepper sauce, and me with Haddock chips, and mushy peas.

I had recorded her soaps, so when we got back they went on. Lewis seemed to enjoy watching them. After he left in the pouring rain, we asked him to let us know when hew got home, which he did.

I sat up until 10.30 pm Late for me. Laid with the radio on till 11.15. Tried to settle but with no luck. !!! What with being constipated, and having indigestion , I could feel it was going to be a bad night. And it was. :-| :-| :-| :-| Never closed my eyes to sleep until 5.00 am. Was woken by the phone at 8.00. Barry, saving if the weather holds up he would be here around 11.00 am. He is here now trimming the bushes, and going to have a GOOD GO at the wisteria, I told him to give Pam a knock, to let her know he would be trimming her garage roof also. He's just called through to say he is going to do the lawns as well. So I will be getting my monies worth today. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Jane should be well on her way now, lets hope the weather holds up, as it's drying out here at the moment.

Ros is out shopping with Carolyn, on their usual Tuesday run around. No doubt they will end up a "DOBBIES" to see whats on offer, as they seem to be getting rid of a lot of Wyevale's stuff.

Carolyn has given us a bag of pears, so I will do a crumble for Ros's sweet for tonight. I will use up some of the cold pork, with Roasties and veg, with warm gravy. If I have any pork over, it will do for a sarnie tomorrow. Waste not want not. <3 <3 <3

Shower worked this morning, what a pleasant change. !!!!

Must fill up the Bird's feeding station. and put some coconut treats out.

Take care all, see you later. xxxx

It chucked it down while we were in the range but is ok now.

Went to the Range and bought some craft bits then to B^M but had to cut that visit short as OH had bad stomach pains. (He actually just needed the loo but there isn't one in there), so we came home. He says he is fine now. Must have been the cauliflower last night, he did have a large portion.

Barry has been and gone TWO HOURS seemed to fly by. He has cut both lawns and trimmed the borders. They look an absolute treat. He has also trimmed the front hedge, and the ornamental bushes in the front garden. In his two hours, he seems to have done so much. but wasn't able to tackle the Wisteria. So next time he can do that. The lawns shouldn't need cutting for much longer. Having said that with this warm spell, the lawns will continue to grow.

I have prepared this evenings meal, and made a PEAR CRUMBLE. It looks alright, so lets hope Madam likes it.

I have tried to have a few zzz, but without success, so hopefully, I will be tired tonight, and sleep.

Tummy wise everything seems O.K. That gunge I took last night, seems to have done the trick. ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

We have a "RANGE" that has recently opened in Northampton, which pleases Ros. She loves popping in there, also the other store that seems to sell everything she likes "HOME SENSE" I wonder why, I never have any money. lol lol

Very overcast here, but sooooo WARM. I have doors. and windows open to get some fresh air through the bungalow. I'm done to shorts and "T" shirt again.

I assume Jane has reached Plymouth by now. It's a fairly straight forward journey, I would expect she's gone via OXFORD, SWINDON. M 4 and M5 about three to three and a half hours on a good day.

Heard from an old school friend this morning, she has lived in Australia for over 50 years now, and knew our family very well. She was enquiring after my Sister Mary, who she was very friendly with as a teenager.

No sign of Val's son, doing anymore to the decking. The way he's going it won't be finished this year. Like my shower being changed over. :-D :-D :-D.

Have just made a coffee, so will sit and have that, and get back to my book. BBL.

I've been thinking of Jane today, hope she's okay and the journey wasn't bad if it rained.

So your shower worked today Frank, that's a novelty isn't it? lol :-D :-D :-D Pleased to see your lawns are looking tip top again. OH was saying the same as you and while the warm weather is around the lawns will keep on growing. I don't think it'll be to long before they slow down as I'm sure the weather will turned colder quicker than we think. That was nice of your old school friend to asked about your sister. Did she already know of her situation? I hope it wasn't to much of a shock to her if she didn't. I see Lewis did turn up in the end, I read your post wrong and thought he'd had a HORSE BURGER silly me lol :-D ;-)

I was saying the same thing to OH this morning about having an outside socket put in AnnG as like you I don't think you can buy outdoor lights with a normal plug on anymore. I'm sure I'll find a way around the situation so Sandra will have some lights to look out onto. I was thinking of fairies and butterflies, things like that, which would make it more interesting and fun for her to look at. I'll have to take a look around and see what I can find. We've decided to move three taller plants from the back garden to the side as the screening isn't as good a quality as the rest we've put around the garden and doesn't look to good. The taller plants will hide where the pieces join, I also have some artificial Ivy left over from when I put some on the two planters I bought for the front garden so I'm going to lay that down on a wooden support around the tops of the pots so the plants look like they have been planted inside a raised border, I was then thinking of buying about three outdoor lights so they will light up the taller plants and if possible buy some smaller fairy lights to go around the branches of a plant that's a bit thin on leaves, that way it'll look like a light up tree when she looks out. I have lots of ideas but only have a small space to do something in, so we'll have to think carefully which will have the best effect for her. We just need some nice weather so we can make a proper start. If we can't have the electric lights then I have around 90 solar lights so we could use some of those, although in the winter they may not be as bright. I'm sure we'll get there in the end and Sandra will be pleased with what ever we do for her.

How lovely to see Robbie Mel, who'd of thought of that place for him to have his bath.

Oh Vera, I'm sorry to hear about your OH's back problem. I hope he's okay for your trip tomorrow.

I'd never heard of Pinch Punch for the first of the month, up here in the North we say white rabbits for good luck. Funny the way different area's say different things isn't it? ;-) ;-)

Afternoon All,

September seems to have flown by! The rain pelted down earlier but is just steady rain now.

I just had a yoghurt and my poached eggs yesterday and slept right through the night till 8.00am which is unusual for me. I feel a lot better today, just the odd twinge now so we went early for a carvery down the road and I only had a small amount on my small plate and have felt ok since. It must have been a bug.

Mel, we carry gel in our cars too. Even one of the carveries has it next to where you are served. I agree that the more you are out and about the more likely you are to catch things and handles everywhere must be covered in germs. OH washes his hands when he comes out of the school meetings now as they are one of the worst places for germs. I'm amazed how many don't wash their hands after using toilets or cough without covering their mouth. Slight change of subject but I read the other day that Great Torrington is the healthiest place to live in England! :-)

Oh Frank, you should know that greasy batter on F&C is likely to give you indigestion if you have it in the evening. :-( It's good that Lewis came though and it sounds like he really loves his food! What a star Barry is for getting so much done for you in 2 hours today! :-D He sounds like a good worker.

Vera I hope your OH's back settles down quickly with the tablets and ice packs so you can go on your coach trip. He's not been having much luck lately backwise has he. Fingers crossed he'll be ok to go! Good luck with the HW, it's what I should be doing today too, but I keep finding other things to do and putting the washer on doesn't count really. :-)

Gill we think the roofers over the road from us will be back soon too as they have left things in the driveway. I hope you can find some lights you can use in Sandra's little garden. I meant to say have you looked on Pinterest for some ideas for what to make for her bedroom? I hope you manage to do your hair ok with your bruised hand. Perhaps Sandra could help you. I thought about her today as we popped into the nearby garden centre after lunch and they have their trees and decorations up now.

Is Lewis getting a bit better now Mandy? Time seems to drag so when you are poorly as a child. I'm really looking forward to the crafting prog now as some people on a wool felting group I joined on FB will be featured in one episode and I will be very interested to see what they do. I wonder if Kirsty will be doing a Christmas series this year?

Hopefully Jane is comfortably down in Plymouth now and maybe has already called in to see her friend.

Good for Barry to get all that done Frank I am sure it all looks lovely too. OH did manage an hour cutting back some of the shrubs in the front garden then he got rained off. It is pouring out there now'

Annx pleased that you feel better today. One thing that I found worrying was that hand gel doesn't protect you against norovirus (no I don't know why), and that is what they use in hospitals to stop things spreading. anyway hopefully you will be ok now.

Since we got back from the Range I have made five cards from bits I bought this morning. Most of them quite easy ones but, as I make about 80 for me and 30 for a friend to sell for charity I need to make some that are quicker and easy.

gill, best idea for you is to go and see what the garden centres have to offer. And maybe, if you have any near pop in to the range and Hobbycraft and see what they have that could give you and Sandra something to make for her room.

AnnG that's a good point about gels not killing some of the nastier bugs and I'm glad you mentioned it. I just had a google out of curiosity and it seems that there is a new plant based one by Milton that I didn't know about that kills Norovirus, Rotavirus and Flu Virus. Sainsbury's and Tesco sell it, so I've put it on my shopping list! I'm glad your OH's tummy pains went. It's horrid when a shop doesn't have toilets and you feel like that. You've made a good start on your cards, but I can see why you need some easier ones with so many to do! :-) This will be the first year we won't get a nice handmade one from my sister. I've kept all the ones she made for us in the past. I keep finding things that I'm in the habit of saving for her, then I remember she's not here to be able to use them now.

I imagine Jane has been to see her friend now. I hope she found her friend well enough to really enjoy the visit and reminisce about the times they had as their younger selves. It's bound to be upsetting though, even if you can hide it at the time.

Thanks Ann, is that gel called anything in particular?

How hard for you with putting things by for your sister. It is like for years I went to pick up the phone to tell my Mum something. I don’t now so presumably the brain eventually accepts the losd <3 <3