General Chat

Well the brightness did'nt last long this morning as it turned all grey and dreary. I went to post a letter and popped in the shop for one of their nice wholemeal loaves as its really the only bread I like but a bit expensive at £2.10p a time but I cut it in half and put one bit in the frezer as oh won't eat brown bread. I have tried Hovis, sunflower and something Rathbones, Morrisons own cut and uncut wholemeal and brown and wheatmeal and you name it I have tried it but nothing compares to the shop up the roads loaf.

We are under a long tailed tit attack and blue tit attack.

It’s been beautifully sunny today after a very heavy frost last night, but there is a real bite in the wind. It’s supposed to get a lot worse over the weekend.

Gill, you have done absolutely the right thing in letting the Benefits people know the situation with regard to the Carer’s Allowance. I hadn’t realised either that Michelle was there with the police. I am glad as it would have been less frightening for Sandra. Perhaps I am wrong about Michelle working. Somewhere at the back of my mind I had the idea that she worked for a department store but maybe I have confused her with someone else. If so, I apologise.

Shopping seemed to take forever today and I didn’t want a huge amount. I had bought a load of veg in the market yesterday and only wanted a few bits and pieces. We got in the queue behind a man who had almost finished packing his bags and another lady. First the chap spent ages sorting out his money and various vouchers, then the lady must have picked up a bottle of sparkling water that was leaking so everything had to be taken off the belt, then it was dried off with paper towels, than all the stuff put back on the belt again. Then she was so slow packing her bags. The cashier offered her help a couple of times but she insisted she could manage. I thought we were never getting through the checkout.

This afternoon I took the rest of my penstemon cuttings into the garage and potted them on. I took 24 cuttings at the wrong time of year but there’s only 2 that haven’t rooted so, provided they survive my potting up, I have got 22 new plants. I’ll keep some and give some to the plant stall at our club coffee morning in June. Even though I was in the garage and had gloves on my hands were red raw with cold when I came in.

Thanks for mentioning Lychnis as a possible plant for our garden Ann. I hadn’t thought of that at all although I do know it. I really want a paler pink if I can and also something that will bloom late into the autumn but I like the idea of some silvery foliage amongst the different greens, so I might look out for some anyway.

OH has just made a cuppa, then I had better get on I suppose. Nice easy meal tonight - Cumberland chipolatas cooked in the oven with oven chips and baked beans.

Gill if Social Services are involved will they be able to make sure that Michelle is taking care of Sandra properly .In the sense of not leaving her on her own as she is a vulnerable person.As her parents and legal guardians I would hope that you should be kept informed (even if Michelle refuses to contact you).I do think it would be good for Sandra to be able to mix with other people socially and it does sound as though there will be far more opportunities if she is in Leeds. Is this far from you? Maybe if Sandra is going to be away for a long while I wonder if there would be a way of seeing her . A bit like access children have with a parent when a marriage has broken down .
I can't imagine how you must both be feeling at the moment.It was so sudden and you have had no time to get your heads around this awful situation.
I think this could be a good time for both you and OH to spend some quality time together .Just to get out of the house now even if it is just a drive out somewhere or even a drink at a local . I keep thinking about you and send you lots of love <3
Stay strong .

Well it is another cold day here.Thick fog early this morning.It was so thick I could see no further than the patio :-S.It is clear now and the sun did come out for a while.I think it will be a cold one again tonight and then the gales start tomorrow eve I believe.
I think we are probably further away from where it is going to be really bad . I just hope no-one gets any damage. Batten down the hatches. Did you get the Gazebo down Mel? Your Chickens are not going to be impressed with what is on the way will they.

There was a cock up with the scan. Apparently all referrals sent on the day mine was never got through so no-one has had an appointment . Not good enough considering mine and others treatment depends on the results :-S So I will have ot just be patient and hope I get it done soon.

Sausage Casserole for us tonight with mash and Spring Greens.

We posted at the same time there Vera. I see you too have sausages tonight :-D

You can see we are all thinking about you and there is some good advice there for you. Especially spending quality time with your OH. a pub visit might get you out although, watch what you drink if you are on medication. I am sure things will settle down and, as Jane says, you surely are Sandra's legal guardians so do have a right to say what is best for her. I feel that you need to find a way to communicate with Michelle and she must understand that it would be in Sandra's best interests for the arrangement to be amicable, Again Social Services should be involved. They should mediate.

It has come over dark and cloudy in the past hour so we lost the sun this evening and it is only 8 degrees out there now.

I have just spent an hour once again trying to teach myself crochet. I managed a chain and did three rows but (and I have the same problem with knitting sometimes) my tension is too tight. I shall pull it out and have another go tomorrow.

Try not to hold your wool so tight AnnG.

It came over really grey and then it rained a bit here and then the sun came out briefly before it got dark.

What a mess up with your scan appointment Jane. I bet everone is upset about it too.

Afternoon All,

Oh Gill, I do feel for you and your OH as this and the way it has happened seems very cruel. I'm also surprised the Police were involved. Did they know Sandra has special needs and is vulnerable as to say she is an adult and can make her own decisions sounds a bit of a contradiction? I wonder why Michelle has decided at this time that she wants the big responsibility for Sandra? It's followed so fast on your mum's decision about the selling of her house.

You did the best thing to start with sorting out your Carer's Allowance. I hope you have asked for a Pension forecast like we talked about though as you won't get ongoing NI credits now your Carer's Allowance has stopped. You may not need any more, but best to know where you stand, so do that if you haven't already. Also, if you got a reduction in Council Tax because of Sandra you will need to let your council know if she isn't coming back.

Like the others I am wondering whether Michelle and/or her partner are working. If they are, then surely Sandra can't be left on her own all day as she wouldn't be safe and would be worse off than she is with you, as at least she has company and social interaction in the day with you. Also you would think Carer's Allowance wouldn't be paid if Michelle is working full time. I don't know but I would wonder if that could affect Sandra's PIP if she is able to manage without care during the day?

Like AnnG I am wondering what kind of social life Michelle has in mind for her? I wouldn't think Michelle's social life as a young woman would be suitable for someone vulnerable like Sandra? I know from mum's experience of running a small home for women, that men are only too ready to exploit women with a young mental age as she had it happen. Luckily the woman was having contraceptive injections or it could have been very difficult.

I can't imagine Sandra wanting to be apart from you and her dad for long, or from her pretty garden you made once the flowers start to grow. You do all you can to keep her happy and I can't imagine her sister and boyfriend doing so much. All the things you do at Christmas, decorating the tree early etc, will Michelle do all that?

I'm glad you've seen the doc for some help, so try not to worry and sit tight for a while and maybe distract yourself with a day out like AnnG says. I think the novelty might wear off for both Sandra and Michelle before long and Sandra will miss you soon and want to be home again, being spoiled and well cared for. :-). The situation would most likely have changed regarding Sandra mixing etc anyway as you plan to move from where you are to somewhere different that may have more for her to do. Even then she might refuse.

Mandy a couple of my beading friends got some crochet books from The Works recently too and said they look good.........I must pop and have a look myself! . I like the idea of the maggot.lol I was imagining Lewis wanting one of those to scare the girls with like Mel said boys would do. The butterflies sound like they would make nice decorations.

Mel I was brought up on wholemeal bread, but there are some I don't like. I hate tasteless, rubbery white bread, but enjoy a french stick or baguette for the crunchy crust! Hubby has tried, but the nearest he has got to wholemeal is the 50/50 ones.

That's poor Jane when your ongoing treatment depends on the scan results. I hope they get all of you who were missed booked in soon. We were only talking this morning about Hospitals. One friend has been waiting since before Christmas for a follow up appointment, OH was referred to the Hospital last September for tooth extractions and is still waiting for them to send a letter instructing his dentist. Another friend's hubby had an appointment for exercises yesterday (arranged 3 months ago) and the Hospital rang an hour before the appointment to say they didn't think he would be able to manage them so not to come!! :-S

Vera there is a pale pink Lychnis called 'Angel's Bush' but I never had those. The pink Michaelmas daisy does sound your best bet for autumn flowering as you suggest. I had a quite tall one years ago in a strong, mid pink colour. The good thing was that it never seemed to get that mildew that a lot of them do. There's the wonderful bonus of all the beautiful butterflies to watch too with Michaelmas daisies. :-D You are doing well with your Penstemon cuttings. What colours do you have? Glad I'm not the only one that seems to always get in the queue with 'hold ups'.

I popped in Aldi this afternoon as I'd been told they had some new fat quarters so I got 2 packs of those and some very thick wool which I will need for the peg weaving in a couple of weeks. They also had lots of interesting little kits. Some wool felted animal ones, clay jewellery ones and others.

I will have another go tomorrow Mel. I find holding the wool doesn’t come easily to me. The book I got is very good as it explains with diagram and words. Maybe I am too old to learn.

Jane what a pain about the scan, that is inexcusable. When all of you really need to know the results. When will they rescan? I meant to say I was pleased to hear you enjoyed the facial.

Ann x Although I like whole meal I can’t eat it, it upsets my stomach so when I do have bread I have 50/50. But I don’t eat a lot of bread anyway.

We had liver, bacon and onions tonight with baby potatoes and gravy with tinned chopped tomatoes in. It was ‘yummy’.

Funny you shoudl say you had liver and bacon because I was only thinking of that today. Oh dos'nt like liver so it has to be just me. I have bought the ready meal ones in Morrisons a couple of times but youcan't beat home cooked. It used to be a Saturday dinner wehn I ws young.

I had the lychnis plant come up in this garden for a couple of years but it disappeared but I did see that Em's mum had it in her garden last year and thought I would ask for some seed but forgot!! It was only the dark pink one but a good plant for a border.

Oh went in the hot tub this morning for 20 mins. Its now lowered and tomorrow we are ging to strap it down some more with the winds forcast.

I did a bake of clay this evening but I think I should have done it a bit longer. Its still a bit trial and error at the moment. As they were thinner pieces I did them for less time but I think next time I will do them for the 30 mins instead of the 20 mins I did these for.

Oh has ordered me two work tables and we are going to clear the lounge out and put them up in there in the corner. The lounge is huge so they shoudl fit in ok but there's lots of stuff in there to go up the loft so I think at last I may get some stuff put away and chucked out.

Morning All,

A bit of weak sun here at the moment and no frost.

Mel I could do with a decent workspace and some tables too. All I have is a tiny, two foot, fold up table I use in the lounge. Our lounge is big but I don't think 'Mr Tidy' would be impressed if I put anything bigger in there that was messy with my stuff. I really need to clear the study and put another shelf in there so there is more worktop available, but 'Mr Tidy's' books are creeping into that space! :-S I'm really unsure whether we need another place, an extension or garden room! lol.I still think a good clearout is what's needed first and then reassess, but I need to be more disciplined as I seem to have other things to do all the time. :-S Yes it must be an experimental time with your clay, a bit like when you cook food in a new oven.

OH still has this awful cough and woke me 3 times last night and I didn't get off to sleep for ages anyway so feel like a zombie again today. I looked on the internet last night and apparently lots of people have it and say it is really bad and can last weeks!! They say there's not much you can do at this stage other than sit it out unless you get feverish or it gets worse. :-S

I hope Gill is ok......it must be so upsetting for her to not have Sandra around and be worrying if she is ok. I hope she can get to speak to her.

Shower next and errands to do!

My post has gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




t if he dos'nt it keeps me awake cos I wait for him to breath. He holds his breath for ages sometimes

Second try.

Morning Ann and all,

We have beautiful sunshine and blue blue sky here this morning but they predict gale force winds coming in this evening.

I typed the last post three mins after Ann's morning post. Don't know where it went.

Poor ann being kept awake with G's coughing. Oh snores but I don't mind that as I know he is still alive then. Its when he dos'nt I worry and have to wait for him to take his next breath and he can hold his breath for ages and ages.

Usual shop this morning and Em's with the eggs and then we are going to strap down the gazebo.

Morning All

I have just got back from Corby . James and I went to see the BIG MOON . The one you saw Ann in Gloucester Cathedral.It is quite something isnt it. I lay on the floor on a cushion to see it from underneath :-D. Good job James was there to haul me up again otherwise I woud still be there :-D :-D
I only knew it was there as it was on the local news last night and it is the last day today so I am really glad we got to see it.

It is a grey day here.Lull before the storm I think. There is nothing worse than being kept awake by someone coughing.Chris often coughs in his sleep and it drives me nuts .He also does the stopping breathing thing sometimes and like you Mel I wait for the next breath. I give a poke sometimes :-D
Last night I dreamt about Sandra a lot.I think it is on all our minds .I just hope Gill that she is ok and happy for now with Michelle.I hope you are managing to sleep and are keeping your strength up by eating little and often.

One of James's friends Jake is coming soon to put up a new security light on the front of the house. Our old one packed up a week ago.It did well as it must have been up for a good 20 years.I have my Bouef Bourginion cooking so hope the electric is not going ot be off for too long.Maybe Jake will be able to keep the kitchen leccy on.
I am going to have to dust as I can see a really thick layer on the TV stand and screen. It is next to the Woodburner and always seems to attract the dust.
I will send a pic of the Moon.

GOOD MORNING to you all, Sorry, Afternoon.

Iffy sort of night last night, a lot of coughing and sneezing. I also trouble Ros when I STOP BREATHING . She nudges me, and I start to breath again.Madam ordered TWO big bags of Compost from QVC. which was dumped on the front door step by the delivery person. As they were in a big box, I was unable to move it. So I tried to roll it into the kitchen, but the Box came apart. So I moved one at a time into the conservatory. I now have the job of getting them to the bottom of the garden, by the greenhouse. They weigh quite a lot, as the bags have 80 litres of compost in each.

I have got a joint of Lamb out of the freezer for tomorrow, so I will cook for a change.

What a to do with SANDRA. Gill, all we can do is hope and pray that S.S. get this sorted out and she's back with you soon. What on earth was on her Sister mind to ring the police in the first place. I think LEEDS is a fair old way from where you live. Is your car up to drives that far ?? I am thinking of you my love. xxxx

Jane someone needs to get their act together. You can't be messed about with your treatment dates. Is there anyone you can TALK too about this. Likewise I am thinking of you also. Lol lol In fact I think of ALL OF YOU. and trust you are keeping well. and warm in this changeable weather, watch out for tonight and TOMORROW. We are in for some dire weather.

Off now to watch the lunchtime football, before Ros comes home. Then I will change stations, as I know she HATES football.

Good afternoon all. we went out for the paper and to post a packet that needed weighing. We are so lucky to still have a local post office but on Saturdays they seem to only keep one counter open, today I was (when I got there)6th in the queue. By the time I came out there were 9 in the queue. Unfortunately one man in front of me handed over forms so i knew that was going to take a while, Passport I think. Anyway we also took a large box of stuff to the charity shop, several reasonably good towels, a jacket I had never worn M&S a short one, 6 small pyrex dishes and a fruit set. (i.e. a decorative green glass bowl for fruit or trifle and five matching small dishes - I broke one years ago) These were a wedding present so 60 years old but we never ever use them. So a few more bits gone.
We then went to the community centre for coffee and shared a traditional pasty (I have a third OH has two thirds).

When we got back I potted on the 16 tots into 3" pots which are now in the heater in the conservatory.

Thanks for the photo Jane, yes the same moon that was in Gloucester, beautiful isn't it?

Mel, another couple of goes and you will get it right. Not sure I can say the same for my crochet but will have another go this afternoon.

Annx My OH coughs in his sleep which doesn't wake him up but disturbs me, even though I don't have my aids in because it is not the actual cough that wakes me but when he coughs he shakes the whole mattress.

Frank, I hope you are not going to try and lift that compost. Have you got a sack barrow trolly thing? That is the only way that OH can lift things like compost. But He only ever goes for bags that are less than about 40 litres these days. Did Rose realise how big the bags were?

gill if you look in let us know that you are OK as we are all worried about you. I don't think we need to worry about Sandra because she is off on an adventure with her much loved sister so it will be fun for her until the novelty wears off and she doesn't get the attention she is used to.

All this dreadful news about the coronavirus that is killing people and sickenining a

great many more brought back a childhood memory.

My late Father was a hard worker and worked out doors all his life.

He was rarely sick and when he was it was the flu. I recall he'd sed me to the shop to

get him a strip of Aspro tablets and a couple of Beechman's Powders. He'd take to


his bed and sweat it out, and it worked every time.

Sadly such a cure no longer works.

Sometimes David, if you just have a cold (not flu), sweating it out can shorten the life of the cold.

That's the errands done, but it was a squeeze to park in front of the Co-op and the penny dropped why today. They have closed the other Co-op the other end of the village and everyone is having to come to the remaining one now. This is in the next village as trying to park anywhere near the one in our village is impossible, especially at the weekend. :-S

Jane when you said you were lying on a pillow to see the moon I thought your new hip must be miraculous if it could spring you back onto your feet again........then I read that James hauled you back up! :-) That was good you managed to get to see it before it moved on.

OH is still waking me up even though we are in separate bedrooms with wardrobes and the ensuite between us! It's a real bark he has and I have said to him that I keep hearing the Hounds of the Baskervilles! :-D It isn't a good idea to make him chuckle though as it sets off more paroxysms! We had fresh salmon, broc, peas, leeks and green beans, mash for him with a bacon and mushroom sauce (packet) for lunch. He's getting a bit too fond of all this home cooking though, keeps praising it, so I hope he isn't expecting it to carry on as it is sooooo time consuming and I can't get on with more enjoyable things! He has started worrying about his car not being driven for a week now, so I will pop out in it tomorrow unless he feels up to it. He looks better today and the spasms are getting less frequent, so fingers crossed he will carry on improving as he has a busy week next week. He is glued to footie on the telly now like Frank. :-)

Oh Frank those bags sound a bit big! Like AnnG says, we are the same and only get smaller bags these days because of moving them up the garden, even in the wheelbarrow.

I see you have been potting things up Anng like Vera. I used to love buying pots of seedlings from the village nursery and bringing them on. It was cosy in the greenhouse on a sunny day and lovely to watch the new growth. That was when the garden was perennials and bedding plants before we changed it to make it less work. You have set me off now with your things for the charity shop and I need to see if anything old I have would do for some fabric to use for any of the craft class projects so I'm going to sort some drawers in the bedroom next. Then I shall do some more stitching of my applique as I never quite got it finished.

Afternoon all,

Lovely and sunny here today ,the calm before the storm ,i charged up the torch today just in case the power goes off .

Gill i hope your ok and you've heard some thing from Sandra ,i'm sure she will soon want to be back home when the novelty of being with her sister wears off and i'm sure she will miss her mum and dad too ,do let us know how things are with you as we all worry about you <3

Lovely photo's of the moon Jane ,you could say today i have been to the moon and back :-D
We had a new security light put up a while back when we had the trouble with the pool and ours was a good twenty years old too.


OH's cough is still lingering in see Ann but at least he has the footie on the tele to keep him amused ,i saw the fat quarters in Aldi there was childrens ones, pepper pig and tinker bell etc ,i bought some of the random multi coloured wool from there i thought it might be nice to use for the crochet butterflies but i've tried it out and made a crochet heart and now i'm doing a bird and it's turning out to look quite pretty .

AnnG keep trying with the crochet i'm sure you'll soon get the right tension as Mel said don't pull the wool to tight ,make sure you use a marker for the rows too so you don't lose a stitch ,it's easy to miss a chain and then before you know it it's tapered in on the sides .

Oh goodness Frank that a big bag of compost to move ,why don't you just get them outside and leave them until you can get some help you'll hurt yourself if you try to do it .

I think i have pulled my side leaning over the table doing the jigsaw ,i spent quite a while on it yesterday trying to finish it off so i think i over did it ,Colin finished it this morning and has now started another so i think i'll give it a rest for a while and leave it to him .

You'll need to get the Gazebo anchored down well Mel with the wind thats coming ,i think i would take it back down completely you've only just got it so you don't want to lose it

I had a few birthday cards come today so they are on the side ready for
Tuesday :-D