General Chat

David, all I can think of is to remove your photo back to your photo gallery, transfer it to your ordinary photo app, bring it up as an ordinary photo,then you should be able to enlarge it and then crop it to delete the squares. You should then be able to download it back to gallery and then onto your FB page. Hope this helps.
I agree with AnneG, Frank, I really wouldn't go to A&E. Ringing 111 for advice would be much better. Surely you shouldn't be going out today or away tomorrow if you feel so ill?! particularly as the virus is still out there!

I agree with the others that maybe you cold ring 111 and ask for advise.

Hi flappergirl nice to see you posting. Do you have any hobbies? or pets?

Yes Mel we have a little West Highland girl called Abby, who is 5 years old and a real poppet! Now we are older she suits us really well as she doesn't need too much exercise and is a great companion. A lap dog!!!!!
I don't really have any home hobbies apart from reading! I'm re-reading Middlemarch at the moment, which we read at school as part of our A'level English literature exam.I'd forgotten how long it is and how complicated! My brain was obviously better all those years ago!!! I'm also writing a history of our family and the people in it to leave to our grandchildren! This is being a long exercise as a fair bit of research is needed, so it should keep me busy for quite a while. I've done a fairly comprehensive tree on ancestry, and I decided to start in depth with great grandparents as before then the people are just names and unless someone is particularly interesting, I've skipped over the earlier relations! I hope the children are interested after all my efforts!!!
Just going to take our little girl for a quick trot into the Park, it's only over the road so very convenient!

Evening All,

A changeable day here with wind, rain and sun. The poor courgettes were suffering in the wind tunnel at the side of the bungalow so I have put short sticks between the leaves to stop them blowing about.

I've not tried this myself David but I found this instruction which might solve your problem.

How do I get rid of squares on my Facebook pictures?
To turn this setting on or off for your account:
Select Settings & Privacy > Settings. In the left column, click Face Recognition. Go to Do you want Facebook to be able to recognize you in photos and videos? and click Edit. Select Yes or No to confirm your choice.

I've seen the horse video before but it still brings a lump to my throat to see how the patients respond to it, such a gentle horse. As for the Tailorbird, I was amazed as I had never heard of them before.

Frank you really should be seeking 111 advice as the others say and certainly not be going out anywhere till you have and also have had a test if they advise it.

This morning OH was whizzing about doing jobs, weeding the front, cleaning the bath! Yes, it was footie this afternoon on the telly so he was building up his brownie points. He also filled some large plant pots for me so I could plant out some lettuce seedlings. I want to keep them in the greenhouse out of the way of the pigeons which have been attacking the flowers on my waterlily!! He found 2 bigger ceramic pots to clean and has filled them so I can plant some of the self set pansy seedlings and Snapdragons that are growing everywhere. I have also been crafting today at last and working on my wool felted mouse's jumper, as some of the wool I needed arrived a few days ago. :-). I hadn't recognised the packet as they vacuum pack it so it goes through the letterbox.

No Sunday lunch delivery tomorrow now they are open, so it looks like a root around in the freezer for something to cook from frozen tomorrow then it is wipe down time in the afternoon and like Vera I will be shattered by the time that's finished.

That's lovely you have another Robbie coming to you and landing on your hand Mel. It must be lovely to feel his little feet land.

Mandy that's quite a job laying the stuff to prevent weeds and mulching on top. Well worth it to save a lot of work after though. I had to laugh at your son and 'Whoa mother!'. lol. It's a wonder he didn't have a tape measure at the ready!

Flappergirl we have a sweet Westie girl next door. We we worried about barking when she came, as we have a Shih Tzu the other side that does nothing but when he's outside, and we thought he would set her off too, but she is as good as gold and ignores him. She never barks at us in the garden like he does, and does just one bark when she wants to be let in and waits patiently till someone comes. We hear more sound from her squeaky toys than we do her!

Oh used to have Westies, one was called Rannoch after the loch in Scotland but that was before I was with him.

Forgot to say AnnG how lovely your garden looks and so full of flowers! The poppies are pretty and your baskets are trailing well whereas the plants in mine are half the size. Very nice goosegogs and rhubarb too. I've been surprised our rhubarb hasn't bolted yet this year. You have made your photos into some really nice cards. Do you buy the cards with the middles cut out for a photo or do you cut them out yourself?

Annx The cards are bought but no middle cut out just folded cards. There is no apature on any of the cards the photos are mounted on contrastin colour mats, the fronts of the cards are covered in another contrasting colour paper or card.
Glad you like the garden, it has been fighting this awful wind for two days now and is very windswept the wild flower garden seems to survive despite a lot of the flowers being quite tall, OH has staked the sunflower.
If you remember we thought we had lost our rhubarb as it disappeared, however it grew back and has been very good.

Sunny here so far, 17 degrees and windy. We have a few plants to put in , the ones we bought yesterday and bark to spread in the front garden.
I see that as expected there was very little social distancing at the first night the pubs opened last night. No doubt there will be yet more cases in London and elsewhere they were all mobbed together. Let us hope it doesn't lead to another lockdown through their selfishness.

Morning Anng and all,

We have sunshine and wind here too this morning. There's quite a bit of blue sky with white clouds.

Just going to get something to eat so I can take my pill.

Just back from walking to the post box via the free book stall just over half a mile. I have trouble with my foot/ankle today, not enough exercising it I think it seems to be hurting where I hurt it when I fell last year.

Good morning to you all,

I am much better today, if fact TOP OF MY GAME. Yesterday I had my hair cut. It's very short. Ros doesn't like it,but i just fancied a shorter cut this time. I doubt I will need another haircut until CHRISTMAS.

I have showered and shaved after, watering the Greenhouse, Veg patch and all the pots, and front garden. Ros has been to Tesco's for a few toiletry's that we needed. She has now popped over the road to Pat and Johns, Pat collapsed over her dinner during the week, and John called an Ambulance. They took her to hospital, ran some checks, then allowed her home. So Ros just wants to see how she is.

We are expecting Jo around 12.30. By the time we pack her car, it will be time to go to the TOBY for lunch. I know you will not be allowed to queue to get your meals, so I expect it will be waitress service. (that will be the first at TOBY) With a bit of luck we should be down at Jan's by around 6.00pm.

Wind and blue sky's here at the moment. I asked ALEXA what the forecast was for Devon, and it's going to be mainly cloudy with Temps. around 17 degrees. So providing the rain holds off, it won't be too bad.

I have let Pam and Denis know, we are going away, also Tony and Val. So they will keep an eye on the place. As our car will be on the drive, anyone passing will think we are at home. You can't be to careful, can you. ??

Well folks, it's time I got myself sorted out. Take care, and I do hope everything goes well for Jane this week. Sending love. xxx

Safe journey Frank and I hope you enjoy your meal.

We've just had a shower but the suns still out and the sky is still blue with lots of white cloud.

Afternoon All
Today I planned to tidy the strawberry bed and pot some runners but is way too blowy. The weather just can seem to get it right. I spotted the dreaded black beasties on one of the runner beans yesterday so the soapy water sprayer has been loaded – ants put them there I believe so how do I deter ants?

David, do the squares disappear when you move your cursor? I can only think they are the ‘tagging’ pointers and shouldn’t be there permanently.

Did someone mention tiny runner beans appearing? Exciting eh? I was beside myself when I spotted weeny tomatoes not much bigger than a glass head on a pin. Little things, big joy.

Ann, I’m suffering with the ‘use it or lose it’ syndrome too. Plans to walk several laps of the garden were curtailed by a 2 week RA flare which kept me sofa bound. Then there’s the spiteful weather to blame..... It’s all to easy to get out of shape and harder to get back! I hope your ankle is better soon.

Frank, can I have some of what you’re on? You sound full of beans

I’m having an ‘off’ afternoon so far, codeine slowy turning me into fuzz as I sink into the sofa. Hate it, it’s such a waste of play time.

I may at least have foiled any connection drop outs by typing this onto a word doc so there’s no danger of it being eaten this time.

Island I hate it when I have to stop doing things when not feeling good. I keep thinking I should be doing hoovering or washing or some kind of housework.

I need to clean the chickens out but with this blasted wind the shaving blow in my face and all over the garden.

Do you have a large garden Island? We have about 4 and a half acres most to grass but a very long border in the second walled garden.

My strawberries are just sending out runners but I have been cutting them off hoping the plants will flower again. I saw on the telly on Countryfile I think where they had grwoer who do this to prolong the picking season. I think I really need to sort out some old plants and set some new ones for next year.

Good afternoon all

Sunny and reasonably warm here today, but it is very windy. I hope the weather is good for Jane’s birthday picnic and she has a lovely time.

I’m glad you are feeling better today Frank and I hope you enjoy your lunch out. I am starting to do a little bit more but I don’t think I’m ready to face a pub or restaurant yet, though I am sure they will take every care. Your horse video was lovely. I know animals are used as therapy but they are not usually as big as a horse! We used to have an alpaca farm near here and they would take a couple of alpacas into the local care homes. Have a good trip to Devon - but be careful, we don’t want any other sort of trip, lol.

Mel, we have had good pickings of blueberries. OH picked the third bowlful this morning, 400g, and the other two were similar amounts. I’ve frozen today’s pickings. They make nice blueberry muffins later in the year. I had 3 bushes that we bought with us in big pots when we moved to this house but one died the first year here so we only have two now. Mine are also supposed to fruit at different times but they don’t.

I did Middlemarch for A Level English as well, Flappergirl. I also read a lot and you’ve got me thinking I ought to read it again. I enjoyed it at school but can’t remember much about it now.

I managed yesterday to get a look at the latest photos on your blog AnnG. You’ve done some pretty cards and the garden is looking lovely. I hope your ankle isn’t too sore and improves quickly.

No Gill yesterday. I hope she is OK. Perhaps she is just busy in the house or garden.

Well, the BBQ at grandson’s yesterday went well though there were more people there than they should really have had. I think they had invited his partner’s parents but they brought grandparents with them and then someone else had turned up. It was fine in the garden but if it had poured we would have come home rather than go indoors. Garden isn’t huge but it is nearly all grass or paving so they could spread chairs etc over the whole area and we could stay distanced in our family groups. They had also put up a couple of huge parasols and some other shelter. In fact there were only a couple of spots of rain. The skies were very grey but it was warm and their garden is sheltered so hardly any wind and we could all stay outside.

Island, I do feel for you. RA is a beast. It’s rampant in my mum’s side of the family but, thankfully, I seem to take after my dad’s side. I hope the codeine helps you through it even if it does fog the brain a bit.

Yay, it’s haircut day tomorrow. I can’t wait.

Our dinner must be nearly ready, pot roasted beef today, so I must get the veg on. Enjoy whatever you are doing for the rest of the day.

Afternoon all

Quite windy here today, so I'm keeping an eye on my screening that's attached to the fence. Next door put a heavy metal clothes line onto the fence posts when they moved in last year and I think the weight of it has made the posts come loose, I really hope it doesn't fall down and break all my plants as it's very wobbly.

Safe Journey Frank, hope this wind dies down enough for you to get out and about a bit. Be careful outside though, I noticed on the news last night some people aren't social distancing. Have you taken some face coverings Ros made? Better to be safe than sorry.

AnnG, I hope your foot/ankle feels better soon. Maybe short walks will help, then build the walks up to longer ones until your muscles have built up again. I think everyone is in the same boat with not being able to go out far for months. I noticed some people walking around their gardens, one woman had worn her grass away with the amount of laps she'd done. I think she was raising money for Charity. Love all your photo's, such a pretty garden.

I'd like some seeds Mel, please, thank you. My garden's not as colourful as I'd of liked with not being able to go to the garden centre for so long and now after watching the news it's put me off going anywhere right now with all the crowds and hardly any social distancing.

Did you work out the sewing machine Vera, good idea to make a mask for the hairdressers, yes, you'd need one to go around your ears so the hairdresser can cut your hair. OH had his cut for nothing at work yesterday, they have a hairdresser who does the resident's hair so she does the staff's hair for free. How good was that and saves OH having to go to the barbers. I must admit it looks much better now. I tried my best to keep it short and tidy for him, but it's not a patch on a professional.

Have you managed to finish painting the troughs ready for your veg tomorrow Mandy or has the weather not been kind enough? It's getting quite dark here ow after a bit of sunshine, so I'm expecting rain soon.

For anyone who's interested, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen close to the full moon tonight. They were visible from last night, until tomorrow night. I spotted both Jupiter and Saturn when I looked last night. They look like bright stars Jupiter being the brightest with Saturn to the left. Tonight Jupiter will be above the moon around 11.30pm with Saturn to the left of Jupiter.

I missed your post Vera, I was busy with OH's tree, I seem to be on a run at the moment and didn't realise I hadn't been on here until today. Pleased your family BBQ went well and you didn't have to go in doors, the set up sounded just right for everyone to be a safe distance from each other. The wind is picking up here so I'm keeping an eye on our screening, if that blows down it'll take a long time to repair and we're not sure if we can buy the screening now with it being so late in the year, it's normally only available until the end of May. You won't know yourself tomorrow after your hair cut, it looks like the hairdressers have good measures in place to safeguard everyone, unlike the pubs, although they have tried so it's not their fault so many people aren't sticking to the rules. I just hope those people don't live to regret their behaviour, that's the problem with alcohol and social distancing, they really don't go together, do they?

I managed half an hour of pottering in the garden before lunch (I should have said hobbling), My foot hurts where I ricked it a year ago when I turned it over when I fell. I have strapped it up now. Managed to repot a couple of the plants we bought, did some dead heading and picked some sweet peas to let more grow, I noticed we have a couple of cucumbers almost ready in the greenhouse and we shared the first small ripe tomato lunch time.

Island sorry you have a flare up, so frustrating not to be able to do what you want to do. I seem to have developed so many aches in all sorts of parts of my body in the past year, knee, arm and occasionally neck, thumbs and now ankle/foot. I know I will soon be 80 but it could have held out a bit longer for me before falling apart.

Mel, it wouldn't be nice doing the chickens in the wind, you could be tbreathing in the dust from the shavings as it blows around.

Vera glad the barbecue went off ok although they were a bit naughty having more people than they should. Actually I suspect it was not them but the parents and other adults who took advantage. Maybe they didn't inform her parents that they had invited you as well.
Glad you liked the cards and the garden photos. It is looking a bit windswept today though.
Our haircut is Wednesday, not a moment too soon, it is driving me up the wall and OH's has not been as long since the 70s.

Gill That was not good if your neighbours put something heavy on the fence post I am assuming it is your fence?
Hope it stays upright then.
The short walk doesn't seem to have helped at all but I have strapped it up now.
Glad you liked the garden photos
I don't thin I will be up at 11.30pm to see jupiter and saturn, probably won't even see the moon as it has been cloudy the past few nights
I think you would be safe enough at a garden centre, so far every one we have been to has been very good and people have been careful. It is the drinking that is causing the problems, awful photos of people in the mail on line. One young nicely dressed young girl lying face down in the gutter, how embarrassed her parents must be. And, of course it is the emergency services who have had to work hard looking after them all.

Yes, it's our fence AnnG, but it seems to be holding up for now. Hopefully it'll stay that way. OH thinks the weight on the other side might be actually helping it stay up as the wind is blowing from their side to ours. Let's hope he's right. We buy the screening from Home Bargains, it's to expensive elsewhere and with having such a large garden it would of cost us a lot more to do.

I think you might be able to see Jupiter and Saturn as soon as it's dark, my book said 11.30pm but I was looking at it long after that. Luckily the wind blew the clouds out of the way from time to time so I could see them. I love anything to do with Astrology, have done for years and the book is really good as it points out everything that's happening day by day with clear instructions on how to find things using the starts or moon for guidance.

Everyone is going to look lovely when you've all had your hair cuts. Mine is so long I don't bother having it cut as it's all one length and down to my waist. Mel's is even longer. ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

Going to take another look at OH's tree now while he watches the F1 qualifying I recorded for him while he was on nights last night. I'll be recording the race to as he's on nights again tonight.

Mel, I wasn't thinking in terms of not being up to housework, it's good art and crafting time going to waste :-D
Our garden would be decribed as 'manageable' I guess. I don't know the footage but only having a balcony previously it's large enough. Would be nice to have space for some chooks, a greenhouse and more raised beds though...... oh and a wildflower patch, somewhere to create willow sculptures, a grassy place to stroll.......
"Room for a pony" :-D

Island we have two stables but they are only full of junk. Also a small tin goat house. When I came down here I had two goats but mum would'nt let me bring them down so I had to give them away.

My rose on the box hedge is looking beautiful just now an dsmells wonderful. A proper rose smell unlike the other one down the garden which smells like Ponds Cold Cream.