General Chat

Good afternoon all. Hope Jane is now safely home and that Hannah and James found the Quays ok.

Gill Inara is a bit wound up today Mummy and Daddy have gone to the cinema to see Star Wars and she has been looked after by Uncle Greg (daughter’s youngest) and Aunty Izzy ( his fiancée) . She is a very loud young lady. She is three years and six months but wears 5/6 year old clothes.

The worst thing about being Away is that all my presents just went into bags and put in the bedroom, no time or space to look after them. So it will be a nice surprise when we get home.

This morning daughter and I left the men to go to B&Q on their own while we went to have a look round a few shops in a small retail park we looked at the sales in Evans, Dorothy Perkins, Top shop and Wallis and then George at Asda but we only bought a couple of things for Inara. Had a coffee in Costa and came home. OH is doing jobs in the garage.

Not much of a holiday for your OH then AnnG, mind you men love working don't they, what jobs is he doing in the garage, won't it be a bit cold this time of year? Inara sounds a bit of a handful, hope uncle Greg and aunt Izzy are okay and have survived the babysitting. I bet it was nice to have a look around the sales with your daughter, it sounds like everyone has been busy doing all sorts today.

It'll be like Christmas Day all over again when you get home and go through all your presents. I've been so busy helping Sandra with hers that I haven't had a chance myself to look through my presents either. I've just spent most of the day, doing the cuttings for Sandra's little garden and sorting out all the flowers and inserts for her flower lights, I had to take all the bits off the flowers and stars so there were hole shapes in them for the lights to shine through, then I helped her choose which colour to do the background inserts in so the lights will give the best effect. She wanted to do red but then changed her mind and chose yellow as that will make the lights brighter. I suggested she tried doing one insert in red and another in yellow as there are some spares and then I wrapped them around the Christmas tree lights so she could see what they both looked like, that's when she decided the yellow colour was best. We're not going to waste the red one though as I suggested that we use the spare ones and make a chain of them to hang on her wall, that way she can have the red she really wanted and of course the outer bits will be in pink, those won't have any lights, but will still look good. She's enjoying herself colouring all the background inserts in yellow now while she watches a bit of TV.

OH has just been to the doctors he has now got my sore throat and ear ache which the doctor has said is a virus, so I guess that's what I've got to, although I'm not as bad as I was. Unlike Sandra and OH though, being a mum and wife I'll be getting on with things otherwise nothing will get done as they're not up to doing much and of course it wouldn't help Sandra's knee if she walks around to much. I'll be playing nurse maid for a while looking after them both. Although I won't be wearing the uniform lol ;-) ;-) ;-)

Going to drink my cuppa now if it hasn't gone cold, while I have five minutes to myself, then I'm going to make them both something to eat as they're both hungry. I'm not very hungry at the moment, so will probably get myself something later.

Been having a play with my tiny dragon eyes getting the feel of how I want them to look and what colours look best. Oh has given me the standard lamp thing from his room. He used it when the central light stopped working after I chnaged the little bulbs in it. He used the lamp so never fixed the light. Having the new pc he fixed up another set of lights so I got the touch turn on one for my crafts.

I am please the one tablet is helping Sandra with the pain and that she's happy doing her lights. What craft kits did you get for Christmas Gill?

The postman came today so that a different face to see as it was the relief man. Oh calls him Baldy as he shaves his head. He brought some more holly berries I ordered 200 for £1.99. I call that good value as I use them on my cones and wreaths if I can't get real berries and on the pagan rings.

Hope Jane had a safe journey home and picked up that lovely Thomas from the cattery or perhaps she will leave it till tomorrow.

I think our frank said he would be home for the new year so they arn't staying that long.

Right better make him a cuppa and a bit of THE CAKE as we hav'nt eaten any yet!!

Evening All,

Dull again today and I got up late so had the speediest hair wash and shower before joining my beading friends. I was so busy gawping at some tree lights as I was parking I clipped the kerb quite hard so I hope I haven't knocked the tracking out. One rescue cat was sitting in the window and miaowed at me as I came to the door so that's another step forward in getting used to us. One lady had brought some of her home made Christmas Cake so I succumbed as it is Christmas and it was very nice. I made a pair of earrings to go with the bracelet I've just finished and had a rest from crochet this week. The lady who was showing us how to do it was continuing with a lovely shawl in multicoloured wool that is light and lacey.

It's good you liked the M & S cauliflower cheese Jane and have found something else you can eat. It sounds like it has been a good break for you all at the cottage.

Gill I hoped Sandra would keep the wreath up all year as it makes a nice decoration being in her favourite PINK. I put it on our hall wall when it was done and OH was wanting to keep it there!! lol It sounds like you are both busy crafting and the lights will be pretty for her when they are done. It's good she is ok on the one tablet now.

Mel you have both done well for pressies this year haven't you. :-D

Just been summoned so will catch up later!

Evening everyone

I have just been catching up with all the posts. You all seem to have enjoyed the festivities and had lots of lovely presents. I was sorry to hear poor Sandra ended up in A&E. I hope her knee is less painful now and, oh dear Gill, now your OH seems to have picked up your virus. Your poor family do seem to be in the wars at the moment. Fingers crossed that you all recover quickly.

Your cottage looked lovely Jane and I’m glad you managed to eat and enjoy some of the dinner. I like cauliflower cheese but don’t normally do it with a roast. It’s the combination of cheese sauce and gravy that puts me off a bit.

I hope Frank is enjoying himself and has managed not to have any falls while he’s been away.

We went to our daughter on Christmas morning and stayed overnight, coming home yesterday evening. There were just 4 of us on Christmas Day and 6 on Boxing Day. It was all very pleasant and daughter fed us very well indeed :-). I’ve probably put on a few pounds. I had some nice presents too. I had a couple of pairs of quite posh pyjamas, a new umbrella, a voucher for a Red Letter Day experience, some nice smellies, some garden bits I had asked for like plant supports etc., and some household bits and pieces and some sweets. I also had a “family tree” ornament. It’s shaped like a tree and has about a dozen little photo frames that hook on the branches so I need to sort through my photos and find some good ones of children and grandchildren.

There was a minor family upset on Boxing Day that put a slight damper on things for a while but we get over these little problems don’t we. AND the big news is that our grandson got engaged at Christmas :-D. He is only 19 and his fiancée is a little older, but he is very mature - 19 going on 35. I don’t think they plan to marry for some while which is good as he really needs to get established in a better job with more career progression.

I am feeling very tired now so I think I might make a drink and take my book to bed. Night, night everyone, sleep tight.

Morning all

Another damp day today but so far it's not raining, it just seems to be damp air lately.

Oh dear Ann, clipping the kerb, I hope your car is okay. It so easy to be distracted this time of year with all the pretty lights around, I hope you are okay to. How nice the cat greeting you like that, they do seem to be more relaxed around you all now. Yes, Sandra loves the wreath and wants to keep it up all year, she'll be pleased you're happy about it. I'll let her know what you said when she wakes up.

Congratulations to your grandson Vera on his engagement. My OH proposed to me on Christmas Day, then asked me to marry him every Christmas Day since, I know it sounds daft but it's nice to hear. You had a lot of nice presents, I like the tree with the spaces for family photo's, what a lovely idea.

I've got quite a lot of craft kits I've had given me over the years, but with being so busy on OH's family tree I've not had a chance to look at them properly Mel. One is crocheting another one is weaving, that one I got this year and I also got a water colour for beginners as I've always wanted to learn to paint, so when I've finished helping Sandra I'll take some time to myself and have a look at them all. I've got a few other kits but I can't remember what they are at the moment. Did you find your OH's missing presents in the end?

I'm hoping to catch up with a few things I've recorded today as I'm running out of room on the planner and of course helping Sandra finish off her flower/star lights. I'm not sure where the lights will go as her room is full of things, so they may go in her room once her Christmas tree and decorations have been taken down, in the meantime we can put them in the living room for her, they are only made of paper so they should be safe there until there is some room in her bedroom for them.

I hope Jane made it home okay and the journey wasn't to busy if there was lots of traffic around, I should imagine they'll be lots of people coming home in time for the New Year.

Morning Gill and all,

Had another lie in this morning. Its still dull and dreary here but its not rain ing here either which is a nice change.

Nothing to report. Hav'nt been up the shop yet for my paper but Iv'e got till 2pm to get up there.

Nice your grandson got engaged at Chirstmas Vera. They won't forget that anniverary in a hurry. Bless. <3

I shall be glad to have a bit of steak tonight as I am now sick to death with turkey. There a nice bottle of Rose' in the fridge someone gave us so just the steak to cook tonight so nice and easy.

Morning all,

Dull here this morning but not that cold out .

I hope Sandra's knee is feeling less painful now and that it didn't spoil her Christmas to much ,i'm sure having lots of nice presents to open helped to take her mind off it a little .

Ann it sounds as if the cats are gradually getting use to you coming to the house,looking forward to seeing the bracelet and ear rings .
I bet that ladies shawl will be nice when it's finished and i love the fine and lacy patterns , i watched a programme the other day and they were knitting hats in a Fair isle pattern with such fine wool and on a round needle so no seams .

Mel you have one well this Christmas with all your pressies ,poor OH will have to wait for the presents you have hidden away ,i expect they will turn up when your looking for some thing else :-D
I see your getting ahead with buying the holly berries ready for net year :-D

Jane the cottage did look nice ,i hope you had a good journey home and that Thomas is now back home .
I see Hannah is staying for a few days so that will be nice ,is James going back with Hannah for the new year ?

Vera congratulations to your grandson on his engagement ,sounds as if you enjoyed your christmas even with the little upset .

AnnG , Inara sounds a little live wire :-D are you staying there for the new year ?

We're having a very lazy day here after a busy few days with all the family here ,i think it will be a day of catching up with things we've recorded and eating a few chocolates ,the turkey has lost it's appeal now and there's still lots of gammon left so it will be an easy meal tonight with Gammon and naughty chips .

Gosh its very quiet today........................

I have been trying to put some of my presents away and having a tidy up in the uti room as I keep lots of craft stuff in there. I also had a little play making some dragon eyes but my glass pebbles arn't really big enough and the bigger ones don't arrive until the middle of January.

I shall be glad when we hear from Frank to know he is home safely and miss his postings.

Evening All,

Congratulations to your grandson Vera. I like the sound of your Christmas Family tree too!

We didn't have much Turkey left this year and the remains are in the bin! I hate throwing meat away after some poor creature has given up it's life to feed me so am glad there wasn't much waste. :-S

The car seems ok Gill but I will soon know if the tyre starts wearing on one edge. You have some interesting craft kits to do when you have more time. OH went a longish trip up the M18 to a match with his friend today so I had another go at my jigsaw but didn't get very far as most of the pieces look the same colour! lol. I think it will take quite a few more attempts to get it done.

I will see if I can send a few pics tomorrow, but have cleaned the oven today and got the limescale off the kitchen tap while OH was out.

Time for our scrabble game now.....he is beating me 2-0 at the moment.

Morning all

Another damp day, I think that's the norm now, at least the rain has kept away, it just seems to be the air that's damp.

Pleased to hear your car is okay Ann, that's the last thing you need to have to sort out right in the middle of Christmas and New Year. Let's hope there's no wear on the tyres. Sandra had a Christmas Market Jigsaw for Christmas but it's 1000 pieces which will probably be a bit of a challenge for her, so she hasn't shown much interest in it yet. She'll probably ask me for help which means I'll probably end up doing it for her. I don't mind though as I quite like making puzzles and have done a few large ones in the past and framed them.

Sandra's still colouring her flowers and stars but is starting to get fed up of it now so I've offered to help her, which she's pleased about. I think she just wants to see them all lit up now. Hopefully with my help they should be coloured in today then I can put the lights in for her. By tomorrow she should have them up and running. She wants to have another go on her Magic Pad again, so I think I'll probably end up finishing off the lights for her.

We caught up with a few programmes yesterday including Paddington 2 which Sandra loved, I also found another film (can't remember the name now) it's a follow on from the Narnia film she's watched in the past, so she sat and watched that for most of the afternoon yesterday.

I've just had a look at one of my craft kits and was quite disappointed with it. When I opened it there was just a few pieces of material and a booklet with some sewing ideas in. When I looked at the box I thought it was a kit so you could make the items shown, but it isn't and I'll have to buy all the other things. There was a nice little purse on show but nothing inside to make it, so that's been put away for now. I hope all the other ones aren't the same. Good job I've got OH's family tree to check and Sandra's things to help her with, or I'd be really bored.

Morning Gill and all,

We have quite a bright day today with sunshine and blue sky with lots of white fluffy clouds.

Thats a shame your kit only had the material in it Gill. What a silly idea to just have some material in it and you have to buy other things to be able to make something. Was the picture of the purse one with the metal clip on the top with the two little bobbles to twist to undo it??? If it was I have one of those somewhere and could send it to you cos I will never use it? It is somewhere in mums set of draws for all the sewing cottons and things.

I need to clean the big girls out today as its een a bit too wet and windy to do it comfortabley so thats my job for today.

Afternoon all,
Much better day here today we can see blue sky with lovely sun shine for a change .

Family came this morning as usual, Lewis brought his new scooter with him and went round and round in the garden this new one has lights in the wheels that flash as he rides it ,Lacey came with her new pram but left the dolls at home as she had some soft dolls in it that she also had for Christmas .

Oh Gill thats a shame about the craft kit not having all you need to make the things shown on the box ,perhaps you can find some bits of material in your store of bits and pieces to do some of them .
Is your OH feeling a little better today ?

Sounds as if you have the same sort of weather as us Mel so it will be a good day to get the girls cleaned out , do they have a little treat for Christmas ?

I think we've decided on Jacket potatoes for tonight ,probably with more Gammon and a little salad .

I'm sure Frank said they would be home tomorrow .

Call the midwife is back on the 5th January.

I have donw the big girls now this afternoon I am going to get the bantams done.

When I did the big girls this morning I opened up the house to find 5 EGGS in a corner. They were all mucky so I shall cook them for the wild birds. They like a bit of scrambled egg.

Just to let you know we are home, left just after 0930 this morning and got in ar 3.20pm. Had two 20 minute stops. Traffic was very heavy, mostly moving well except in the usual spots of 50MPH road works and a couple of hills.junctions that always cause a slow crawl. Luckily no accidents at all. Had a great time, lots (too much) lovely food and lots of family time. I bet daughter is finding it quiet now and the cats wonder where we have all gone.

Mel a question re eggs. Grandson has chickens and has given us 6 eggs. Is he correct saying not to wash them before putting them in the fridge as they go off quickly if you do? They are lovely eggs, we had some at daughters last night. My OH cooked them and they are quite big but he did say the shells are not that hard. They are rescue chickens (6 of them) previously barn chickens.

Yes Mel it was the metal clip on the top with the two little bobbles to twist to undo it , how lovely of you to offer to send it to me, thank you. Do you want anything for it?
Thanks for letting us know when "Call the Midwife" is back on, I'll look forward to watching it.

OH is still feeling under the weather Mandy and has a terrible cough to, Sandra's feeling a little better now the pain killers have taken effect. OH twisted his knee yesterday and I must of slept funny on my foot so we're all limping around at the moment. I know I shouldn't laugh but it is funny if you could see all three of us lol :-D :-D :-D What are we all like? ;-) ;-) It sounds like the children have got some great presents and have enjoyed playing with them at yours.

Pleased to see you made it home safely AnnG, you were lucky with the traffic and no accidents as they can really slow the traffic down. I bet those eggs taste much better than shop bought ones. Hope Mel can help with your question.

For anyone who's interested "The Repair Shop at Christmas" has just started on BBC1. and finishes at 8pm.

Evening All,

All home and unpacked now then AnnG. I expect a lot were travelling today, some home after Christmas and others travelling home for New Year. It's been pretty quiet round here on local roads. How nice to have some eggs from the chickens.

Nice clean and cosy bedding for the chucks now Mel. Are all the new girls laying now? I wonder where your OH's pressies are hidden. I still haven't found those 2 things I hid so well either.

I used to have several Penstemon flowers Gill in purples, reds and pinks. They are good as they have such a long flowering period and come up every year. Nearly all of my perennials went when we redesigned the garden and were replaced with evergreens. How is Sandra's knee now? Is it getting better?

Mandy, I saw a little boy on his new scooter at the end of the close yesterday. It had one front wheel and two back wheels set quite wide apart, It looked good and I hadn't seen one with wide apart back wheels before and thought it would be good for me to get around! lol. I didn't know they made them with flashing lights like Lewis's though. It sounds like Lacey had a few dolls for Christmas if she couldn't get them all in her dolls' pram. I suppose she has given them all names by now. :-D

We went out for lunch today, banking on it being quiet which it was. I heard the girl who served us say she had a sore throat so I hope she hasn't passed it on. Blow me they had been let down with the gammon delivery so there was only Beef and the dreaded Turkey. I don't like Beef so guess what I had again!! :-S I had a strange experience when I popped into the 'Ladies' before we left. I just breezed in there as I usually do and went in a cubicle. After a minute or two I heard a deep man's voice!! I didn't hear the words he first said, but I really began to question whether on autopilot I had stepped into the gents by mistake as the door is next to the one for the ladies. Then I thought he must be a cleaner, but his next words were complaining that the latch on the door of a cubicle was useless and they ought to replace it! I then wondered if they had changed to gender neutral toilets. I heard a lady's voice then and when I came out it was the cleaner and the other person had gone. I suppose things will get more confusing in today's world.

We called at a garden centre on the way back and I bought some timed white lights with green wire (which I don't often see) at half price.

We are finally going to see if we can be up early tomorrow to go to Boundary Mill so OH can try those massage chair pads. I have a coupon for an extra 10% off which is good. I want to look at their pressure cookers but have more or less decided on the Prestige one that has 2 pans, a large and a small. The pressure cooker lid fits both and there is a glass saucepan lid that fits both. I thought the smaller one would be especially useful as I get older as it must be a lot lighter to carry than the big one. I've seen them on line at half price at the moment so it is a good time to get one. I did toy with the idea of one of those combined pressure cooker/dry fryer/slow cooker pans, but thought it expensive to replace if one part stopped working.

Little Fleur came charging up to me when we got home and loves a back scratch. She has lovely wavy white hair now, not dissimilar to some of mine!! lol. :-0

Off to watch some telly now.

AnnG you should never keep eggs in the fridge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you wish to wash them only use cold water but water makes the shells softer. When an egg is laid it has a wet coating on it which drys very quickly and this is a protective shield. If washed in warm water this comes off if quickly washed or wiped with cold water it will seal again as long as its not a long hard wash. Some people say to wipe dirty eggs over with a bit of wire wool but I have never done that. I do sometimes use a little cold water on a kitchen towel to wipe muddy foot prints off.

Thanks Mel for that. It does beg the question though as to why are all shop bought eggs clean.? Are they washed and then mechanically dried quickly I wonder?

Shop bought eggs are laid by hens kept in large cages and when they lay an egg it rolls inton a tray away from the hens. Some are wiped with a cloth and something on it but I don't know what. Iv'e seen it done when I have saved the old laying hens.