General Chat

Love Lewis's new book Mandy, it sound like he loves it.
With not having an insulated property, any cupboards on an outside wall can get a bit mouldy and smelly, which is why I need to clean them more often. I started with the cupboard under the sink as the "U" bend was blocked and I needed to empty it anyway, that's when I decided I might as well make a start on the other's then I know they were all done around the same time. I mopped the floor but with my foot starting to ache again OH did the two small cupboards either side of the cooker. There's only four left to do so OH said he'd do them for me, it shouldn't take to long to finish them tomorrow.

Sandra's knee is feeling much better now, but I've said she still needs to rest it, but also do some gentle exercise until it stops hurting altogether. I think if she sits around to much, when she does want to go out and has to walk a lot it might make it sore again. She helped me in the garden the other day, I put some small pots on a table for her to take last years growth out that had died back and then she did the same on her strawberry plants so we could put them in the greenhouse as they are starting to grow a bit quicker this year than they have done in the past and if we get a frost I don't want them damaged.

All our plants seem to be growing earlier this year and are showing signs of new growth already, which I don't normally see until around March at the earliest. So I thought putting them in the greenhouse would keep them protected, it's better to be safe than sorry as Sandra would of been very upset if anything had happened to the new growth on her strawberries.

Poor OH, he took a part out of the dryer and forgot to check where it came from and now he can't fix it, so we're going to have to buy a new one . I couldn't use it anyway as it's been broken for some time, so we're no worse off. At least I managed to clean the wall behind it and mop the floor. We'll nip out and buy a new one when it's to warm to put the heating on as I'm drying the clothes on the radiators at the moment. Not using the dryer for a few months has kept my electric bill down, so at least something good came out of it.

I normally clean the "U" bend the way you said Mel, but unfortunately when I was sick for a few days I ended up being sick in the sink as I couldn't make it to the bathroom on time so it clogged up, plus we noticed it was also clogged with remnants of soap power from the washing machine, I doubt, looking at it, it would of cleaned properly doing it the normal way. Never mind, it's done now.

Yes, doing both beds in one go was a bit much AnnG, I normally do them one at a time, but I got a hot flush in the night so our bedding needed doing again, I only did it the other day as well. I was going to do Sandra's bedding anyway which is why they ended up being done together as I couldn't leave Sandra's. I've been really busy so far this year, I have such a long list of jobs to get through that I'm trying to do at least one a day, two if I can manage it, until they're all done. It won't be long before the garden will need some attention again, so I'd like to get all the indoor jobs finished before then. I'm quite enjoying it with sitting around most of last year doing OH's tree for him, I found that a bit boring after a while. Less screen time is really helping to stop my migraines to. I feel much better so I can finally get on with the other jobs that need doing around the place.

I've not heard of a Grundig dryer AnnG, is your's a condenser dryer?

It is German Gill, quite expensive to but, yes it is a cons
Denser we have it in the conservatory the water collects in a drawer at the side top of the machine, it is emptied every two loads. Daughter has one as well, in fact she had hers first.

Thanks for letting me know more about the dryer AnnG, I've always had condenser dryers since they started making them and prefer them to the vented ones that were around years ago. I've just Googled Grundig dryers and think I may buy one. The last dryer I bought was a cheap one and only lasted about 2 years, so I'm looking at buying one that will last a bit longer.

Signing out now, hope everyone has a good nights sleep, see you all tomorrow
Night Night

Morning all

Windy and dull here today, there's suppose to be a storm on it's way, not looking forward to that.

The last of the kitchen cupboards are on the agenda today, then they'll all have been cleaned out and sorted. I've already cleaned the sofa this morning, we have fabric ones so they collect the dust on the top, plus I've got a very fluffy dressing gown in light grey which seems to love the cushion I lean on, so that was covered in bits, it's now been sorted and is clean again. I started trying to pick the bits off the cushion but it was taking ages, then I remembered I had a magic brush so I used that and it was done in a few seconds.

I forgot I had the magic brush, does anyone remember them? They have a flat side to them that collects bits and also swivels by pressing a little button on the handle. I bought it back in the 80's and it's the best thing I've ever bought, it cuts the time of the job down quite a lot. I have a modern version of it as well, it's a sticky roller made of rubber that you run under a hot tap to wash the dust and hairs off, I use it on the carpet and it's great. When you run it under the water it dries straight away. There was a man demonstrating it in Tesco a while back when I went shopping and it wasn't expensive so I treated myself to one. It comes in handy with Sandra and I having long hair as the hoover doesn't seem to pick all the hair up off the carpets on it's own.

OH and I are going to take a look online for property today, we've been talking about buying our forever home for a while now and we're not getting any younger so decided to move sooner rather than later then we can make it the way we want it without having to pay someone to do the jobs we might not be able to handle anymore. I've watched my mum struggle maintaining her place as she's got older and I don't want to be like her as it costs her so much to get someone in, that's why I do things for her, but I've started to noticed that OH and I are slowing down now and can't seem to do as much as we could anymore, so things take a lot longer nowadays and we end up a bit achy if we do to much. I was born with an extra bone at the bottom of my spine which can be very painful if I over do things and heavy lifting is becoming much harder as the years go by, so we'd like to move and do the new place up now if we can.

So that's our day planned, tomorrow I'm going to hoover all the way through and finally put the drawer fronts on the kitchen draws. We've been meaning to do it for ages but never seem to have got around to it and if we're going to put the property on the market it's a job that has to be done.

What is everyone else up to today? I hope the weather isn't to bad for those who need to go out.

Good morning Gilland everyone. quite bright here at the moment but still very damp underfoot and rain expected later. OH has not gone to golf as the greens are so wet, the course was actually shut for three days but apparently is open today. He is steam cleaning the bathroom floor at the moment, then will hoover upstairs, not sure what he will be doing then. continuing sorting his office I expect. it is too damp to get out in the garden although he managed to get out to cut down some dead michaelmas daisies and Phlox yesterday. Brown bin tomorrow.

I have a wash load in and another waiting so that will take a good part of the morning. I am still trying to bring some order to my craft room and could also do with clearing out a double cupboard and a drawer in the kitchen.

Don't know about you slowing down Gill, 20 years on from where you are and it is starting to get harder to keep doing things. OH was up a ladder yesterday (not high) clearing the conservatory gutter. I don't like him up ladders any more but he won#t listen.
Ah, apparently that steamer has now stopped working. So I guess that will be the next thing on the list to buy.

I didn't see any response to my query re air friers so I guess nobody except Frank has one and Frank probably missed my query. ;-)

Morning Gill AnnG and all,

Dull dreay and very wet here this morning.

AnnG no I don't have an air fryer or even an oil fryer. Oh says they are the worst things for causing a kitchen fire. Not the air fryer but the oil one. Being an x firefighter he comes out with lots of things. I even get stories sometimes but he dos'nt like to talk about things so when I get one I just enjoy it.

Nothing planned for today except I must order our scripts and wash my hair.

Already washed my hair, second load in the washing machine, first load in the drier.

Years since we had an oil frier Mel, I only do oven chips these days but some of them seem very dry when cooked and I think I did see somebody say hoe good the air fryer is for chips.

Yes I think it was Frank. I do oven chips when we have them and I buy Morrisons thick cut chips so we don't need so many.

Where is our Frank???????

I have hoovered the kitchen and diner and am just getting soup for lunch.

I'm thinking of buying an air fryer AnnG so will be interested in hearing about them if anyone has one. I used to have an oil fryer but they smelt very quickly if you cooked, say fish in them and it took up far to much oil anyway, so that soon went in favour of oven chips. I'm not keen on oven chips myself though as I find them dry like you AnnG and they can be hard if you accidentally over cook them, so an air fryer sounds as if it might be the best option. OH and Sandra aren't bothered either way. My MIL has one and says they are good, but that's all I got out of her, so not much of a selling point. We were going to buy one in Aldi last month as they were advertising them when we went shopping as coming in the following week, but I completely forgotten they were there so I didn't get one in the end......silly me.
Maybe your OH's finished the job and the steamer isn't broken, I hope that's the case and you don't need to buy a new one. I'm the same as you and don't like my OH climbing ladders, mind you he's going on the roof so I suppose it's normal to worry until he's back down safely on Terra Firma

Well, the kitchen is finally all finished, boy did we have lots to throw away, so the cupboards are almost empty now, but very clean as are the doors and draw fronts. I mopped the floor yesterday and OH washed the window two days ago. I think the kitchen thinks it's, it's birthday lol :-D :-D :-D
I did some more dusting and the hoovering is done to. Not enough washing to do yet, so that'll be done another day when I have enough to put the machine on.

The wind is picking up here and it's gone very dark, we've had a few light showers of rain, but it's expected to be really bad this afternoon and into the night as the storm approaches.

Going to get some lunch then settle down and look at what properties are on the market. The draw fronts that need putting on in the kitchen can wait for another day as I don't want to make that room dirty after all OH's and my hard work cleaning it.

The rest of the back garden and the whole of the front garden need attention, but the weather has other idea,s so that can also wait for now.

Just spotted your post Mel, I'm going to have some soup for lunch to. It's not very warm here today so a warm lunch will be better than a sandwich I think.
It sounds like everyone is busy lately. We'll have no spring cleaning to do if we all carry on like this lol ;-) ;-)

GOOD AFTERNOON ALL

Sorry if I had you all worrying about me, but all fine this end apart from me.

I have been all over the place (health wise) all weekend Ros got me in at the DOCTORS this morning. She (the doctor) wants more thorough blood tests, the things she wants checking, I wonder if I will have any blood left lol lol. She is also changing my medication and wants me back in two weeks. Bloods will be done next Wednesday. I am not sleeping very well and have been CLOCK WATCHING from around 3.00 am till I get up. I am forcing myself to stay awake during the day. But still I don't sleep right through the night.

I have only used the AIR FRYER once as Ros. doesn't like the chips done in it and I don't know what else I can cook in it, as there are no instructions.



Nice to see you are, STARTING TO FEEL A LITTE BETTER JANE, SENDING LOVE.

I am totally knackered, so a little rest is on the cards.

Stay well all of you, and watch out for the weather. It's getting bad. xxx

Nice to see you on here Frank, I was worried about you. Sorry to hear you've been feeling unwell, hopefully the blood tests will show up the problem and something can be done. If you're not sleeping at night whether you sleep during the day or not, then maybe a little nap in the afternoons will help. There's no point in staying awake during the day if it doesn't make any difference to the way you sleep at night and a little nap every now and then might make you feel better. I hope things improve for you soon as you must feel so drained right now.

So glad we have heard from you Frak. You know we all worry about you. Hope the new blood tests show something up and the change of meds help. Sending love <3

Still thinking of Jane.

Good to see you Frank. Sorry you are not feeling tickety-boo at the moment. Maybe the blood tests will show up something and the doc will be able to prescribe some medication to get you back on track.

I’ve never had an oil or air fryer so I can’t advise you AnnG. We always have oven chips. It’s a shame your steam cleaner seems to have given up the ghost. MORE EXPENSE as Frank would say

I did smile at you saying you are slowing down Gill. You’re like a little whirlwind at times. I would love to be able to do as much and work as fast as I could when I was 50 but the years do take their toll. Still the house is basically clean and tidy, the garden’s OKish and we still get out and about so I’m happy. I know what you mean about worrying about your OH and ladders. My OH has always done all the house maintenance and thinks he can still do what he could when he was 30. It terrifies me when I see him up a ladder cleaning gutters or squeezing into a little space to repair an appliance.

I changed a bed and did three loads of washing this morning, then thought I’d check the diary to see when my next chiropody appointment was due. It was last Thursday!!! I was supposed to have my hair cut at 10.30, meet friends for a coffee, then go to the chiropodist at 12.30. I did the first two and completely forgot the 12.30 appointment. What am I like? I rang and apologised and she has fitted me in on Wednesday so I had better make sure I don’t forget again.

OH has just brought me a CoT so I am going to drink it before it gets cold.

Oops Vera, My chiropodist has a rule that you pay for not turning up without letting them know. I got caught once, way back when it was a lot cheaper than it is now. I have an appointment tomorrow and it looks as though the weather is going to be foul. As it is in town we go by bus so we may be going to get wet.
I am always saying to my OH "why don't we get somebody in to do that?" But he will have it that HE can do it.
I have found somebody who has two air fryers, one larger than the other, she has not used her oven since having the larger one and cooks whole chickens and all sorts including cakes in it. I think the smaller one would be best for us but I am waiting to hear how big it is as I couldn't find the dimensions on Amazon.

Frank sorry your are not yourself, I hope new medication and the blood test will sort you out. I am wondering why Ros didn't like the chips from the air frier, and why you have no instructions.

Gill I am not surprised that you haven't got any washing after all you did over the weekend. :-D

Mine has the same rule Ann but, as I have been going for some while and have never even been a minute late, I think they are going to waive it this time. I am sure they will charge if it happens again.

Evening all,

It's been a nice dry day here and we even saw a little sun a times ,i walked up to the bank and Boots for our tablets ,my knee has been quite painful since all the walking i did in Norwich and i don't think climbing on the steps and cleaning the cupboards helped so i have been resting it this afternoon and taken some pain killers .
Tomorrow we have a parcel coming so we will have to be around to take that in and i have a nice big pile of ironing that needs to be done .

How did you get on with your property search Gill ? are you looking to move away from the area you are now or still keep local to where you are ,didn't you mention Devon at one time ?

AnnG i did look at the air friers a while ago but some one told me they take so long to just cook a small portion of chips so it put me off them a bit ,we haven't had a frier for years and like some of you we have the oven chips too.

Frank that's good you got to see the doctor today and she's doing more blood tests i hope she can find out why you feel like you do and i hope the change in your medication will help you too.

Well Vera i suppose two out of three of the appointments wasn't bad :-D

I need to make Lewis's birthday cake tomorrow ,just a chocolate cake with smarties so that won't be to bad to make ,i must get some candles to go on .

Ann it must be getting colder if OH has got the fur trapper hat out ,i wonder if Jane's Chris is still wearing his hat when he goes on his walks .

Love to Jane hope the your still feeling less dizzy <3

Evening All,

Windy and rainy and some hail here so nice to be inside and not able to do any outside jobs!

I need to ditch some of my old craft stuff too AnnG as I know there are some cheap things we needed to buy when I was learning that I will never use now. Then I really could do with a long shelf fitting under the wall cupboards above my desk in the study that I could stack some of my small craft boxes on. If only I could get in the garage properly as I know when we had the cupboards fitted we kept the leftover planks.

You are lucky all of you whose hubbies fix things and go up ladders etc at home. My first OH could do almost anything at home and with cars, but when second hubby needed his house painting years ago it was his 80 year old dad that went up the ladders!! lol. There are so many accidents with ladders though I'm glad he doesn't go up them now. Our gutters have mesh across them so don't collect leaves which saves that job.

I used to have an electric chip fryer which was safer than a chip pan on a hob, but like Gill found it used a lot of oil and so wasn't economical unless you were eating lots of chips which we didn't. I fancy an air fryer as it is healthier, but I don't think it would be worth it for the few chips we eat and I know it would encourage us to have more chips if we did have one!

I've never had a tumble dryer, just a washer dryer and I don't often use the dryer function on that. One would be handy as we get older though, but it would have to go in the garage now we have the tall fridge freezer in the utility. I struggle to get the filter undone on my washer too Mel and I think it is due a clean now.

I had a nice envelope through the door today. Another £25 from ERNIE! That's 3 prizes in 4 months, yet it had been a few years with nothing before! :-D

Sorry you haven't been very good Frank, but the tests should get to the bottom of it and maybe some different meds for you.

Glad the dizziness has gone Jane. It is horrid when you feel like that. Yes, 'better or improved fit' or similar usually means less material needed and more profit for the manufacturer!

The man who services the alarm came this morning. He is such a nice chap and was praising me for the steering wheel lock on my car! He passed on a useful tip if you don't know. He has discovered the soft faraday wallets you keep car keys in so thieves can't steal your car don't work after a while as he said he can start his car with the key still inside the wallet after a few months so the signals can get through. I also got him to explain how to disable the alarm if we couldn't switch it off eg if the battery in it went as our neighbour's was going for hours once till they got someone to come out to it, It's useful to know and something that has always worried me!

I did 2 wash loads today and spent the morning going through all my papers to try and find an envelope with a discount gift card and special January offer at my hairdresser as I have an appointment on Thursday. After searching through my handbag and all the papers it was the last thing I came to. At least I sorted the papers into piles and have filed them away now. There's nearly room now for me to get my paints out! :-)

Mandy little ones love 'rude' words like 'pants' and get the giggles don't they! Reminds me of the Flanders and Swann song

'Ma's out, Pa's out, let's talk rude,
Pee, Po, Belly, Bum, Draws
Run round the garden in the nude,
Pee, Po, Belly, Bum, Draws etc

Is it me or are the DOI contestants at a very high standard this year for the start of the series?

I would love to have been a fly on the wall at Sandringham today! It's giving the newspaper cartoonists plenty of material. I don't see a happy ending.

I don't think we're going to be able to afford the type of property we'd like down in Devon Mandy, so at the moment we're going to see if we can find something we like in our price range throughout the whole UK, once we find something we'll do a check on the area as we live in a good area at the moment and wouldn't want to end up in a bad one. I ended up doing some washing this afternoon as OH got caught up in a massive down pour of rain and when he came home his coat was so dirty with the rain water the dirt transferred to quite a bit of the kitchen, needless to say I need to clean that room again including mopping the floor. His coat is very thick so needed to be washed a couple of times and now it's hung on a clothes maid in the bath as it's to big to put on a radiator. So with all the extra work I didn't have time to check out any properties. Hopefully I'll have some free time tomorrow, unless the kitchen draw fronts take longer to do than I think that is.
Sandra will be envious of Lewis's birthday cake, she loves chocolate.

Oh dear fancy missing your appointment Vera, lets hope you don't miss the next one, you might not be so lucky and have to pay the fee. I was saying to OH the other day how we don't seem to get through as much as we used to where jobs are concerned. I think I'm so achy in my back if I do to much because of laying so many flag stones when I was younger, my mum did warn me that I'd pay the price in my 50's I thought I'd be okay for a while yet but it looks like she was right. I can still do most jobs, they just take a bit longer to do now so I don't get through as much as I used to each day.

Going to get something to eat now, I haven't had anything since my soup at lunchtime.