General Chat

Gill on the hobbies board I have posted information from google re Photinia black leaf spot disease.

Good morning all from a sort of sunny gloucester OH has spent the morning cutting down the Buddleia which we always do in February.

Vera that was a marathon, even for you. Are you a touch typist

Strange that your Japanese anenomes are so invasive. We have had a white one in our garden for several years now and it has never spread except to send up one plant close to the parent plant.
I hope you feel 100% better now. I feel a bit 'off' today, although I had about 5-6 hours sleep I don't feel it did me any good.
Well done your granddaughter getting through her sudition. I suppose in Shakespeare's time all the parts were played by men (I think) so maybe this is redressing the balance. Although also like principal boy in pantomime.
Glad you enjoyed her current production.
Yes I like the 'rope' and the bubble wrap as well. Also like the fur at the beginning. There photos won't be shown until April so plenty of time to make my mind up. The next subject is Flight.

Annx I hope you can avoid catching your OH's cough. that is the problem with him going to these meetings where all sorts of bugs will be 'exchanged'. Hope he is better soon.
Glad your yolks were runny, pea shotts a strange garnish for eggs though.

Gill I wonder if there was something wrong with their main cooker and that is why they barbecued? However we have been known to barbecue on Boxing day before now (Just for fun) and ate it indoors. Actually we rarely eat our barbecued meals outside.

Mel not feathers on your hat then but shavings!! A new fashion is born!

Morning all,

Dull drab and dreary here today and it rained last night before I went to bed and there was a southerly breeze and I had'nt shut the back window on the big girls house so the rain got in all over the new bedding I had put down for them, Blow!!!

I don't think my new tread in headgear will catch on somehow. that'll teach me to sweep the ceiling of cobwebs in their house.

Vera how lovely your grandaughter has the part of Brutus. I am sure you will go and see her in it and we would like a photo please?

I shall have to have a look at our Red Robin. Its one that was a tree and got blown down in a gale we had but oh left the trunk lying on the ground and it has grown from there. As they are evergreen I think they loose their leaves at a different time of year to other shrub so maybe the leaves that have been lost will shoot from there so making them more bushy and of course the new leaves will be red.

Did'nt get up till 11.30am so I better get on now.

Good AFTERNOON (just) to you all,

Brightish sort of morning here. Plenty of high cloud, the sun pops out now and then.

We are back to the usual carvery for lunch at 3.pm. Last week everything was perfect, so we thought we would go again today.

Nice to see David popping in again. As a lot of you know I have written two instalments of my life, I keep promising myself I will start the third, ONE DAY SOON. !!!!

Hope our Jane is well, and resting whenever she needs too. Thinking of you. xxx

BBQ in Feb. does seems a bit unusual Gill, not something I would be thinking of doing. lol lol

I started this well over an hour ago. Since then I have had a coffee, shower and Shave, All dressed and ready to go, when the time is right.

See you all later. xxxx

Good AFTERNOON (just) to you all,

Brightish sort of morning here. Plenty of high cloud, the sun pops out now and then.

We are back to the usual carvery for lunch at 3.pm. Last week everything was perfect, so we thought we would go again today.

Nice to see David popping in again. As a lot of you know I have written two instalments of my life, I keep promising myself I will start the third, ONE DAY SOON. !!!!

Hope our Jane is well, and resting whenever she needs too. Thinking of you. xxx

BBQ in Feb. does seems a bit unusual Gill, not something I would be thinking of doing. lol lol

I started this well over an hour ago. Since then I have had a coffee, shower and Shave, All dressed and ready to go, when the time is right.

See you all later. xxxx

Had our big breakfast and I am just about to wash up and then start some crafts.

Hope the dinner is as good as it was last week Frank an dyou both enjoy it.

What do you have in your big breakfast Mel? No shortage of eggs for you!

Yes, enjoy your meal Frank.

Jane hope you will soon feel a lot better and we can hear from you again. Seems to have been a tough one this time. Been thinking of you a lot. <3 <3 <3 <3

Afternoon All,

Quite sunny here now but it was dull this morning. I slept quite well and till 9.00am and I hope you didn't aim too high Vera and managed your 6 hours!! :-D

OH is coughing every few minutes despite dosing up on cough medicine. lemon drink and cough sweets. I have stayed in the study away from the germs but have a headache from his coughing all day now so have put my earplugs in as I jump every time I hear him.. :-D That made him smile and say 'now I know you are slinging a deaf ear'. He's fed and watered and sitting in the warm watching telly which is the best place for him just now Yes his meetings mean he is among lots of germs AnnG, but he uses hand gel and washes his hands before he comes home which must help.

It's good you enjoyed the Monologues Vera and well done to your granddaughter in getting the part of Brutus. Glad you have started to feel a bit better too. The Japanese Anemones I used to have became invasive after a few years too. When we made our herbaceous borders into mostly shrub borders I tried to dig them up but couldn't reach all the roots. Some still popped up for a few years after. They are lovely though and quite trouble free.

It's a shame your gazebo has blocked your view Mel. If you raised the hot tub a bit would it help? I want to look at some craft stuff next too. Ted's half knitted sleeve beckons but I need to decide what sort of picture I want to applique next week and see if I have any scraps of material that are suitable to use.

I hope you enjoy the carvery Frank. Have you heard anything from your last meal complaint yet? I meant to ask how Simon and Sally are now since their operations.

Yes I wondered if this round of chemo had been tougher for Jane. I know nothing about chemo or whether your dose gets increased or not. I hope she has started to feel better now and will soon be letting us know. . <3

Gill I don't think neighbours even think about the effect of their smoke on anyone else. Ours never had the smoke in their own garden as it always blew at an angle straight over our fence to us and our washing and open windows! We don't have barbecues ourselves, as I think it is easier to cook things properly indoors and then take them outside to eat, so they weren't getting revenge! lol. I did used to enjoy the fires me and a friend made as children when we would toast things on sticks and eat them! :-) I seem to remember there was a flour and water thing we dipped the sticks in, then re-dipped after toasting several times till they were big enough to eat. It sounds pretty revolting now!

Just thought........how about a close up of a feather for texture AnnG?

I've replied on the other thread AnnG, thanks for your help.

Just noticed there was another page of posts.

That was a good lay in Mel, I bet you feel better for it now.

Sorry to hear you're not feeling up to par AnnG even after a good nights sleep. I hope you feel better soon.

How was your meal Frank, I hope it was as nice as the last time you went there?

I think the same as you Ann and don't think the neighbour thinks about the smoke getting into our property either. Hope your OH's cough eases soon and you don't catch it off him.

It sounds like your Japanese anemones are taking over Vera, lets hope you can get them under control soon.

I was saying to OH this morning I hope this round of Chemo hasn't made Jane feel worse than last time. Thinking of you Jane <3 <3

Hallo all

I hope you are all having a good day. I didn't make my six hours sleep last night. I slept from about midnight till 4 am but it was a restless sort of sleep. It was only when I woke properly that I realised I was a bit cold. I threw a cover over the duvet and warmed up but by then I was wide awake so I read for a couple of hours. Suprisingly, I don't feel too bad today, just a bit tired.

Mel, I hope you feel better for your lie-in. It's a shame about your gazebo blocking your view. Is there any way it can be adjusted so you can see a bit more? Thanks for the advice about deep pots for the Jap. Anemones. I have earmarked a couple of large ones and if the plants are not happy there I'll just have to give up on them. I had heard that if you dig them out you are still likely to get shoots coming up for a couple of years and it looks as though Ann found that to be the case. It's strange they are so invasive here. My friend, only half a mile up the road, can't grow them at all. They must just like our particular soil.

You asked for a photo of Ellie when she plays Brutus. I doubt if we will be allowed to take one, unless I can catch her in a corridor or something. These aren't children, they are all over 18, but the powers that be have a notice up saying no photos to be taken.

Gill, that is a shame about your Photinia, particularly as you paid a lot of money for them. I hope you don't lose them but it's not sounding very optimistic is it?

I'm sorry you are having an "off" day as well AnninG and hope you have a better day tomorrow. Perhaps it's this dreary weather getting us all down. It's not even particularly wintry is it, just grey and dreary. I hate February anyway. When I was young I was invariably ill on my birthday. Then both my mother and father died in my birthday week, though many years apart. A favourite aunt died in February and her funeral was the day before my birthday. Sometimes it seems that all the bad times in my life have been in February but hey ho, that's life.

Yes, AnnG, I do touch type and I'm still fairly fast but I do like a proper keyboard. I am not nearly as fast on a laptop or iPad.

I hope you enjoyed your lunch Frank. Our beef brisket was melt-in-the-mouth good but, stupid me, I called OH to cut the meat and was ready to dish up when I found I had forgotten to switch the electric steamer on to cook some of the veg. Luckily I only needed the veg to cook for about 15 minutes so by the time the meat was cut and I had thickened the gravy and dished up the rest of the meal, the veg was ready.

Your poor OH sounds full of the lurgy Ann. You will have to coddle him a bit. NO, I said coddle, not cuddle ;-) Keep your distance, we don't want you going down with it as well.

Mandy hasn't posted for a couple of days. I hope it is because she is busy rather than she is unwell.

Jane <3 <3

I might go and make a cuppa now. I'm gasping and don't think I can wait till OH gets us something to eat which will be between 8 and 9 tonight. Sunday evenings he usually prepares something like a sandwich or cheese and biscuits for us while I am watching Call The Midwife. I hope we all have a good night's sleep tonight.

Evening all,

I'm fine Vera just tired as we had Lacey here for the weekend and i'm always tired out after the girls have been .
I must just tell you all this though and we had a job to keep a straight face as bless her she meant it .
We sat having lunch and we were saying to her how you can learn some thing every day ,the next minute Lacey said " i'm going to teach you both some thing you carn't do " oh whats that i said ......." how to do cartwheels and the splits " she said :-0 :-0 :-D :-D :-D

<3 <3 Love to Jane and i hope Hannah and Gareth's move went ok .

I'll catch up on all the posts tomorrow .

For those of you who have difficulty sleeping, or having restful sleep, I share this.

I found on You Tube sound effects of wind, rain, waves, thunder and lightening .

You can fall asleep listening to three, six, eight or ten hours of gentle rain.

I find it helps. Choose the effect and the volume, then sleep.

Oh Mandy I bet your faces were a picture when she said that!! :-D :-D If she tried to teach me to do those things I'd need an ambulance on standby I think. :-D :-D lol. You should keep a little notebook of the funny things they say!

OH has gone to bed looking the worse for wear so I shall be off soon as well as I still have a bit of a headache.

David I have a CD somewhere of soothing sounds like those. Any slight hum of the thing that plays the music would probably wake me up again though. :-S

Evening All
Thought I had better touch base as it has been so long.I have not had the greatest couple of weeks mainly due to adverse effects of a medication I was having to take.It made me quite unwell .
Today though I felt well enough to get out on my own and did a bit of retail therapy.
It was so nice just to get out of the house.
Hannah and Gareth are now in their home and have been busy unpacking and trying to get organised.
I made 2 chicken pies today and we took one over to H&G to save them having to cook.I must say it feels strange having them so nearby now.

David funny you should mention that sleep music.For the last 3 nights I have been using that and it works a treat.it is so relaxing and stops the mind working overtime.I love the water sounds .I definitely recommend it to anyone having trouble sleeping.

I am in bed now waiting for Vera after Dancing on Ice.
Talking of Vera When is your Birthday please Vera?
I do hope everyone is getting over feeling all under the weather.There seem to be so many bugs and colds around.

Hope to be back again tomorrow.

O lovely to see you and know you are ok. Hope Hannah and Gareth are happy in their new place and how far away is it from yours? It'll be nice when the weather turns a bit better and warmer and you can all sit outside and eat as I know you like to do that.

Mandy I roared with laugher till my sides hurt at Lacey saying she was going to teach you cartwheels and the splits. I used to be able to do both in my younger years and handstands to. Did any of you do handstands up the wall at school? We did.

Do children still play " What's the Time Mr. Wolf?"

I have gone off of the program Vera. They all seem to be the same lately. Perhaps when I am desperate for a telly program I will go on catchup and watch them. It may be that they hang things out for so long when you know whats going to happen before it does on the tv. Oh is terrible like that he always knwos who done it in the first few mins of the program.

I have packed all my clay away now but have had a good go this afternoon and into the evening. We hav'nt had anythng to eat tonight so I may have a few biscuits and cheese.

AnnG you asked what we have for our big breakfast. We have bacon, eggs, beans toms, mushrooms a frankfurter and hash browns. Sometimes I do sausages too instead of the furter O and I have naughty fried bread. Oh has taken to having eggs, bacon and furter in rolls and the rest on his plate.

Morning all,

Dry here this morning but not very bright.

Hope Janes feeling up to posting again today as its lovely to hear her news and I think she must be feeling a bit better this week as she posted last night.

It must take an awful lot out of you this treatment, We are all thinking of you Jane and wishing you all the love in the world. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Want to do a bit more clay playing today and then have a mass bake up to see if things worked. They may all fall apart and that would be a disarster after all the work I have put into them.

Morning All,

Lovely sunshine here today so I might get my car washed.

Yes, it's good you are feeling a bit better Jane and got out of the house for some retail therapy and made 2 chicken pies! :-) I hope you carry on feeling better now.

Mel, it's a learning curve when you try something new isn't it and mistakes are how we learn. Fingers crossed all will be ok in the oven! Yes I used to do handstands against walls and could walk on my hands for a few steps. I used to do cartwheels down the long office sometimes if I was the first in work and had trousers on! Try as I might and practice I could never do a full splits though. Like me my sister had funny joints but she could sit on the floor with her legs straight out in front of her, then move her feet out to point sideways without moving her knees apart so her legs looked like 2 right angles!!

OH had a better night and seems to be coughing less this morning but his back and sides ache from all the coughing yesterday. Did I say that I ended up with my ear plugs in! lol. I've done him poached eggs on toast he fancied as he didn't feel up to going out, which must be a first for him.

Better fetch the papers now and pop in the craft place for some ric rac braid.

Good afternoon all. A bit grey here but not cold so that is something.

We have just been to Dunelm and the Range at Cheltenham. I wanted to get a couple more pillow protectors as we had the 'soft' ones but they are too thick and make the pillows bulky inside pillow cases. Then also replaced a couple of cooking spoons splash guard and a small knife.And OH got a few bits he wanted for the garden.

Not looking forward to tomorrow, it is my dental appointment, the first of the two for a deep clean I keep trying to put it out of my mind. It is not working.

Annx if by any chance you are trying to find the milton hand sanitizer with little success I have just ordered and had delivered a bottle from Amazon, listed under 'Milton sanitizer new formula'.

Jane Great to see you on here last night and do hope you are still feeling better again today. I think that is what happens with chemo from what I have seen with other people. You have a few bad days and then pick up again. However you said it was an adverse reaction to a medicine you were taking, was this for the chemo or something extra. As long as you get these good days as a 'reward' probably worth the bad days. Anyway hope the good outweighs the bad now. <3 <3 <3

Mandy, when you have had the lessons and learnt them well could we have photos please of the handstands and cartwheels or whatever she teaches you.?
I used to do hand stands until the day I lost my balance and went over and landed with the lower part of my back on the edge of the lawn. It was very painful for a while, I was worried I might have done something permanent, I was about 14.

Annx pleased your OH's cough seems better. Best he stays in the warm then he won't be giving it to other people!! Hope you manage to avoid it. You need one of those masks. Although apparently they are not effective anyway.

Wish we had some sunshine as its raining here now. Had four eggs again today and have just given them some mash before they have their corn later.

Before I forget for those of you who liked Shakespear and Hatherway there is a new series starting today after Doctors. I ususally watch it at night when oh is in bed so I can hear it all without his comments.

Ann have you ever thought of taking your own cutlery when you go out to eat? Just a thought as they have to be put in the places you pick up your knives and forks etc from and you don't know who has breathed on them. It sgopod G is coughing less today so hope he is now on the mend.

Just trying to look for some pendant hangers on Amazon now.