General Chat

Good morning FAIR MAIDENS. lol lol

Mandy good job the drizzle is coming down and not UP. That would be somethings see. !!

I put a loose creap bandage round my knee last night, and it was still inplace this morning. Had a reasonable night also.

Ros (the CHEF) has taken over in the kitchen until my knee feels better, she is out there now doing the vegetables and getting the Meat seasoned up ready for the oven. I will go and make the Yorkshire pudding later, and of course the CHEESE SAUCE.

Good news for your OH Gill. Lets hope it turns into Full Time as before. Fingers crossed for him.

Yes this wet, windy weather does't do much to lift you does it. We had the rain and his also yesterday.

Last night I thought I would have a change with my takeaway. I chose Salt and Chilly Chicken Wings. How wrongs that. There was so much chilly marinated into the skin, it nearly blew my head off. Good job I had some cold beers standing by. Phew. !!

I am umming and rrreing whether to ring Jane for a little chat. I don't want to impose, but thought she might be pleased to hear from someone. WHAT DO YOU THINK ???

Simon's Birthday Presents arrived last night (how strange) Two pairs of Cargo Shorts and two T shirts. Both of which, Sally said he needed. Ros has bought a beautiful vase with A BIG CANDLE for their anniversary present,which is around his Birthday time.

No news about my Nephew, or SIL and Sister, so I can only assume, all is well.

Coffee and Biscuit time. I had no breakfast, and we won't eat until late this afternoon.

Have a pleasant day, with whats left. See you later. xxxx

The suns come out here now and its a beautiful evening.

We've sat and done the Adsa order had a drink and now I am goin to get some kind of tea.

Our lunch arrived 20 minutes early so it was a good job I had the plates in warming. It was really good and plenty of it, almost too much as neither of us wanted any tea later. I think we will be ordering again next week!

I watched the video of the wool felted Owl and it was good with some tips that will be useful. I think I shall make one as it is quite different to the other I made.

The Asda order arrived after, and OH said it only took 3/4 of an hour to wipe and put away this time. I must be careful to say if substitutes are allowed as I am finding I get more and more of them now. The 3 longlife orange juice cartons turned up as tall bottles that need to be kept in the fridge, also large courgettes were sent instead of the baby ones I could tuck away anywhere in the fridge. Instead of a small broccoli, they sent a whopping carton of mixed cauli and broccoli. It isn't what you want when you have carefully planned what will fit in your fridge but I managed to get everything in! Whether we will find what we want in there is another matter. lol.

We had lunch in the conservatory and watched a Bluetit with 3 youngsters in the garden hunting for food and being fed. We were thinking what a steep learning curve to suddenly have to be able to fly, find food and watch out for danger. They must be exhausted by bedtime the first few days!

Ann my adsa deklivery man told me this week that they can take back subs again now. I sent back the baby potatoes they sent instead of Jersey Royals. I buy the Asda onange juice with juicy bits and find that nice.

Its good your lunch turned out ok so perhaps you will have that again. :-D

Oh did my camera for me today so now I can download all my pictures at once. Before it was onlu doing 12 at a time and so annoying when you want to download a lot and make sure you're not deleteing ones you have'nt saved.

I didn't know that Mel so thanks for mentioning it and I will bear it in mind for the future. Yes it is the orange juice with bits in that we have too! The longlife one in cartons that doesn't need to go in the fridge till you open it. I did get the ham and leek bake so will let you know what it is like when we have it. I got some jersey royals this time and am looking forward to those. I don't eat potatoes most of the time but love the hersey royals! I look forward to seeing some of your camera pics. I have never used the cable to download on my camera and have always used the little picture cards you can slot in and then take out and download with a USB type stick. They hold hundreds of photos which is good on holiday and you download as many as you want or all of them.

Good morning Ann, and all, My, you were up late last night Ann. I was in bed by 9.30 pm. Slept on and off throughout the night.

Another nothing sort of day here. It must have been cold earlier as the heating came on by itself. All clouds, with no sign of the yellow stuff.

Ros is nattering with Carolyn, putting the world to right. Good job its her call. lol lol

The scab on my knee is so dry, I must keep my itchy fingers away from it. I put my bandage on the knee again last night, and it was still on this morning.

Ros rang Martine yesterday evening, she is in less of a temper than she was on Saturday. She had charged the battery and cleaned the scooter, and was ready to put it in Brian's van, to bring it over. So when she rang to say they were bringing it over, it was then that Ros told her I didn't want it. I am sure she will sell it without any trouble.

The piece of Pork was so large yesterday. I will slice it up and freeze it. We can take a bag out, as as when we need it. I just can't bring myself to throw meat away, that is perfect to eat.

WHY IS IT. That Computers have a mind of their own, ?? When I start to type a word, it fills it in with another. So annoying, so you have to read back, what you have typed.

Off for a coffee, and I might try reading a bit more of my book, if my eyes let me. Take care everyone, and I'll speak to you soon. xxxx

Morning Ann and Frank and all,

Had a lie in this morning as the sky was all grey when I got up at 5.45am for the loo. Went back and thats fatal as oh dos'nt wake me up. I wish he would'nt let me sleep that long as I don't get anything done when I am late up.

It is dry this morning so it has'nt rained in the night. The ground still looks a little wet but I don't know how far the rain went into the earth.

Frank I wish we lived nearer to you as I would have had the eletric chair for oh. He wants one.

Afternoon All,

Sun's trying to break through here and the wind has dropped so after lunch I might do a bit in the garden. OH has taken out a cotton lavender that was very old and misshapen and I want to try a few cuttings from it. We have 2 others but they are getting old too so I will need replacements in the future.

Mel I had to laugh at you wanting an 'ELECTRIC CHAIR' for OH lol :-D :-D I could do with one for putting some charge back into my OH sometimes!! :-D You could probably get a used one from your nearest mobility shop. Those I saw in Cornwall a couple of years ago at an NT place were robust enough to use on rough ground. Doesn't he fancy a quad bike? I have just noticed that both packs of deserts with the Asda meal deals had use by dates that were up yesterday. :-( Everything has had really long dates on previous deliveries so I will have to make sure I check them all in future.

Yes I was awake till 3.00am Frank! I'm glad covering your knee at night has saved the scab catching. It sounds like Martine was really chuffed thinking the chair was bound to be just the thing for you and had got a bit carried away spending time getting it up to scratch. Always best to test the water with people about these things though as they may have reasons you haven't thought of.

Better get lunch now!

Good afternoon all, quite a warm day here, bright but cloudy. We were up late but had already decided we were going out today when chatting yesterday evening. We drove to a medium size garden centre (a bit larger than our local one) about 10 miles away. It made a nice change to go for a drive. OH wanted a piece of trellis to fill in a gap and we wanted a few plants to also fill in gaps so we got a hardy fuschia, a million Bells (or whatever) a white daisy that begins with A but I can't quite remember the name and a Coleus plus some niger seed a reduced pretty pale blue plant pot saucer that I want to use for the birds' mealy worms on the table by the window, 6 soft rolls and 2 pasties.
It did seem strange not being able to have a cup of coffee and I imagine it might be a problem for some that the loos are locked. However, despite the fact that they had no one way system marked out, because there were not a lot of people there and most were very alert to social distancing measure (one or two need a lesson) it felt quite safe. It is also quite spacious inside and outside. It was very pleasant to walk round and the sun was shining while we were there. Outside there is a beautiful view out over the fields so I stood taking in the view for a while as OH was inside looking at parasoles. that will be for another day. Enjoyed the trip anyway and came home and had a coffee. And now it is time for lunch.

Afternoon everyone

Not quite so cold today as the wind has dropped right down to a slight breeze, but the sky is still grey. There's none of the yellow stuff to be seen.

I am glad some of you had a good night last night. It does make you feel better the next day but I seem to be getting worse and worse. I slept for an hour or so when I first went to bed, then woke and lay there for what seemed like hours. I do try not to keep looking at the clock as it doesn't help. I gave up hope of sleep and went to the spare room as around 4 am and read for a couple of hours before drifting off to sleep. I was still awake and up at 8 am. OH sleeps well but seems to be getting up earlier and earlier. He's usually up by 7.30. Our days of having a lie-in seem to have completely gone.

It's a nuisance that you are getting more Asda substitutions Ann. Tesco have been pretty good and I have had very few subs. I have wipe-down day tomorrow again. It does seem to come round quickly. I am also wondering if Tesco are starting to phase out their meal deals which we have used a lot. I just went online to add one to my order for tomorrow as I thought I wouldn't feel like cooking after all the wiping down but they had hardly any choice so I didn't bother.

I'm glad you enjoyed your drive and trip to the garden centre Ann. I think I need to get out more now. We went once to our nearest small garden centre a few days after they opened and that is all. I am beginning to feel a bit hemmed in.

As I've lost a few posts recently, including 2 on another thread, I'll submit this bit now and then continue on a new post.

Good idea to freeze your leftover pork Frank. You can't waste good meat. It's become a bit of a family joke that I never waste anything. If I can't use it immediately I freeze it and I'll find a use for it at some time. Recently OH remarked on the tasty sauce on his pudding. A couple of years ago I used 2 tins of raspberries in a dessert but didn't want the juice so I froze it. The other day I dug it out, defrosted it, thickened it with some cornflour, and let it cool and it made a really delish raspberry sauce. I don't think I'm mean; I just hate waste if something can be used. I don't think your chilli chicken wings would have suited me Frank. I don't really like chilli and can only take it if there is just a tiny bit on the food. We never seem to have takeaways, apart from F & C once or twice a year, but a local Turkish restaurant put a flyer through our door recently and their food sounds good, if a bit pricey. We might give them a try.

Btw, Frank, I think you can turn off predictive text on your computer so that it will only put up what you type. I'm not sure how to do it but perhaps Lewis could look at it for you?

My family quiz went well yesterday and Zoom gave us extra time which was good. In fact, if they had cut us off after 40 minutes I had arranged with my daughter that she would set up a new immediate meeting, send us all the link and we could carry on again. Daughter said she could set it up and send us the link in 2 minutes whereas it would have probably taken me a lot longer. I had a text from one of the granddaughters (20 on Friday) saying "Nanny, you did an amazing job on the quiz yesterday", so I was well chuffed. One family group has now had to drop out and I thought that with lockdown easing yesterday might be the last quiz, but everyone wants to continue so grandson and his partner have volunteered to set up next week's.

I know I am always talking about our neighbours who are supposedly "shielding". Guess what the latest is.............they now have a company in who do kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms and I think they are having their bedroom rehashed with fitted wardrobes and shelves etc. There have been 2 men going in and out for 2 days last week and today. They really are taking chances with their health.

Just this minute had a text from my daughter, who has been trying to slim, saying she has lost 2 stones and can now get into a size 14. I am so pleased for her as it hasn't been easy. She's had a really stressful time having her school open for the vulnerable and key workers' children, sorting online lessons, phoning pupils and their parents and planning for the future in the school so it would have been very tempting just to grab snacks instead of preparing and eating proper meals, But she has stuck at it and has got the result she wanted. 14 is a reasonable size for her as she is tall, 5'8" or 9".

OH has just brought me a cup of tea and that's a good, positive note on which to finish.

I've been quite busy lately and thought I'd been on here yesterday, then realised I hadn't. We've had some lovely sun today, pity it wasn't yesterday as I had a pile of washing which I had to put on the radiators. I had a go at cutting OH's hair last night, but was only brave enough to take a small amount off, then I shaved his neck, it looks much better now, but will need a proper cut at the barbers. I did let him know I wouldn't take much off so the barber could correct any mistakes I made. He was pleased with it, so all went well in the end. At least he doesn't have little wings above his ears now lol.

I see you've been out AnnG, that should cheer you up. OH's been working for the past three days so I still haven't been out. I've been in doors since 3rd March, most of it on my own, but I'm getting used to it and to be honest I never went out much anyway, so lockdown isn't that bad for me.

I've found a few programmes to watch so that fills a few hours and tried to do a bit of my family tree but kept hitting brick walls, so I'll have to look for someone else to work on.

Sorry to hear you didn't have a good nights sleep Vera, I hope you have a better one tonight.

Same with you Ann, 3am was very late to finally fall asleep, I hope you don't feel to tired today.

I hope you managed to get everything done you wanted today Mel, with waking up later. It makes you feel like your playing catch up all day when that happens.

Good idea to put the left over pork in the freezer Frank, it'll do you more meals when you fancy it. Like you said you don't want to throw away food that can be eaten at a later date.

I'm just watching the best bits of the Chelsea flower show, it's really good.

I asked oh what he had been doing today as he's been outside working on the mower and he said. " I think I have perfected the art of looking busy and doing absolutely nothing".

I have been tidying up the dead pots outsdie my shed and picking my strawberries and tidying those too. They are sending out runners already which I think is very early as the fruit has'nt all ripened yet or got very big. I have a nice lot for tonight though with some nice cream and a bit of vanilla sugar.

I am now going to read the posts.

Yes I must watch those Chelsea programs too on catch up. I miss Chelsea when its not on as its always around my sons birthday.

Have any of you ever been to the Chelsea Flower show? I have been three times in different years. The first time I went and mum paid for me to go and take her dad, My grandad. He was amazed at all the flowers and copuld'nt get over the size of the delphiums. The individual flowers were as big as the palm of my hand. We took a nice packed lunch and througherly enjoyed our day. minicab there and back all paided by mum. The second time I went was with mum and we did the same minicab there and back and thats the year we bought loungers for the garden and I still have mine but it a bit rusty now and needs restringing which I have never got around to doing. They are the most comfortable garden chairs I have ever sat in and go in lots of postions. That must have been in the 70's as I was living in Redbridge just near mum at the time. The third time I went with a group from the village in Suffolk. Once again a great day and this time we went by coach.

Evening All
Just popping in to let you know I am ok and to say thankyou for all your hugs and wishes.It means a lot <3

I was trying to find a garden centre with Alpines we could go to on line last night and have earmarked a Dobies one about 6 miles away. We could got tomorrow but it depends on whether we can get up erly enough though. Like you we have some gaps, especially after redoing the waterfall sides. This one has wide apart entrance and exit too. You seemed to have found a few good purchases to add to your lovely garden!

Glad you are okay Jane. I wondered if it was today you started the new chemo and whether it would be okay. <3 <3xx.

It is the birthday of my friend who was at her husband's funeral last Friday. It must be very thought provoking, the first birthday without your partner, so I just sent her Best wishes rather than wish her Happy Birthday as it can hardly be that.

I'm glad the Quiz went well Vera. We got extra time on our first meeting, but I was surprised we got it on the second too, so it may be the same for you. :-) Your neighbours are acting as if it is all over aren't they! OH said they are still working at the asian house and there were 8-9 people including the workmen and a neighbour all standing close together when he went to put the bins out. The elderly asian coulple must both be in their 80s and the man was in hospital a few months ago.

I have always wanted to go to Chelsea, but have never made it! It sounds like you had some great times on your trips there and those Delphiniums must have looked magnificent. I always watch it on tv though. I did go to Hampton Court Flower Show with OH once and that was good. It sounds like your OH was in good humour today! Have you told him he had a lucky escape from the electric chair yet! OH laughed like mad when I told him! :-D Oh home grown strawberries.....yum yum! We had the leek and ham gratin today and it was very tasty but there isn't much meat in it and I am used to not having much meat. I will order it again though.

I'm like Vera Frank and try not to waste anything so it is a good idea to freeze the pork. With meat I can't help but think how callous it seems to throw it away when a creature died in order for us to have it to eat.

Good to see you popping in Jane <3

We went to Chelsea Flower Show about five years ago. Son & dil bought us tickets for one of our birthdays. I was warned that it gets very crowded later on so we left home at the crack of dawn and were there when it opened. I was really glad we did because we got a couple of hours to look round comfortably before the real crowds arrived. We didn’t see everything. It was a hot day and once the crowds arrived it was difficult to get near some of the gardens and marquees. I’m glad I experienced it once but I wouldn’t rush to go again.

I’ve been to Hampton Court a couple of times by train but it’s a long journey and also been to Sandringham Show by coach. I liked that one. It’s a bit smaller but still plenty to see and do.

Just seen your email Ann. That looks a good plateful for your lunch. Love your photos of the tortoiseshell butterflies. They are almost glowing.

Wow Ann dinner did look good and I can see why you will have it again. The butterflies were lovely. I don't know how yo manage to stand so still to take your pics and why do mine always fly away just as I get them in focus?

Sending love to Jane and good luck with the new treatment. Thinkin gof you and sending special hugs and xxx. <3

I did'nt tell him about the Electric Chair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!but after rereadiing my post I should have put mobility scooter should'nt I ? Silly me but sometimes I do wish I had one for him :-0 :-0

I do think that our generations do like to not waste food. Some of you lived in the war years but I was born after but lived with mum and dad and nan and grandad and I think with them cooking and saving stuff it has rubbed on on me. When I first married back in 1969 my nan had given me a food box, mostly tinned stuff for the store cupboard and I think I have always carried that with me which is why I buy so much to keep by incase I need it. It must have been so hard back then and I suppose this lock down is a bit like those years but we are luckier than back then as we have so much more food at our disposal now and cleaning products.

Vera I have never been to Hampton Court flower show but my SIL goes every year.

I am now going to have my strawberries with some double cream.........mmmmm

I can see why G laughed Ann.