General Chat

Vera I meant to say about the upgrades yesterday when we heard it on he news. I am so pleased for your granddaughter she must be over the moon.

Oh Jane I'm so sorry to hear your news. It must be awful to try and take it in. It's good you have family support close by and, as AnnG says, just make every second count now. Lots of love and hugs and come and post when you are ready. <3 <3 <3

Oh Gill, you must wonder if you are coming or going with Sandra and it's good you talked her into going back to Michelle's on Sunday. Would she cope in assisted living do you think? Does she go out on her own now and could she cook, shop and manage her own bills etc? Do you think living with Michelle and her giving her the idea of having her own flat has made her think she is more capable than she may actually be? What an ongoing worry it all is for you. Hopefully the car bonnet shouldn't be a problem for the garage. Could they get it MOT'd for you the same day?

Yes it would be nice to see the 'before' and 'after' pics of Island's chair.

Mandy we tried the fridge cucumber pickle today, but i should have put the full amount of sugar in as it was a bit sharp if you know what I mean! I didn't get round to doing anymore today but will stick with Australian recipe you can store for the next lot! I sipped a bit of the vinegar mix I used for that on a teaspoon and it was nice!. :-) No, the holiday agent, which is Hoseasons, hasn't gone down the swanny as far as I know. If I don't get a speedy reply, I shall see if Martin Lewis has any advice or help to give.

Frank, similar to Vera, since March we have only gone out to the chemist/surgery and a few trips to garden centres. We haven't eaten out since March, not been inside any shops, no-one else has been in our bungalow or garden and we haven't been in anyone else's. I have been to the garage to fill my car up once and so has OH. Like Mel, we are finding what we can do with what we have instead and enjoying that to make the most of things, I think we are lucky to still be here, unlike the poor souls who have died and everyone has been affected by this, not just a few.

Vera, this last week a big building firm and a brickmaker near here have announced they are shutting their factories for now. Ibstock Brick is the country's leading brickmaker. NEXT HQ in the village want to sell the building and 3 warehouses to release some money due to the pandemic and lease them back. I think people will be shocked at the fallout from this in the months to come....... businesses closing and jobs going. I said to OH we should improve our security with some more locks and security lighting as I would be surprised if the crime rate doesn't go up.

Good morning all.

<3 <3 <3 and a (hug) Jane.

The sun is shining and I think a trip to Maryport is on the cards. Won’t be too many people there.

I was telling daughter that our home area (Gloucestershire) had five new cases yesterday. I was remarking that watching the young families through the window in the play area of the cafe yesterday, it was obvious they had no worries about social distancing. Apparently there have been very few cases in this area. The tables in the cafe were well spaced out and we were tucked on a corner with the nearest table over two metres away and a screen for an exit door behind us. Staff all wore either masks or visors and in one case both.

Vera yes, we would not be here if you could not have two families indoors.
So pleased for your granddaughter.

Island, now we are all curious about that chair.

Lots of shops closing in Gloucester but a couple bucking the trend and opening in the outlook centre.

Because M&S coffee shops are not open our premium club coffee vouchers are no good to us instead they have sent vouchers for M&S food. So we will spend that when we go home.

Morning AnnG and all

Jane, I hope you had a good sleep. Thinking of you and sending positive thoughts <3

We have Welsh weather today, all day, so no enjoying the garden.

No pressure with the chair then! LOL I'm excited about making a start today having sorted out some sturdier fabrics and have a few ideas buzzing. Of course I will send before and after pics - who wouldn't want to see our folding chair with the over-stretched seat? In our defence, we have had it for some time.

Vera, your 'plat du jour' made me laugh - is that the same as 'fridge surprise'?

I seem to have page 1 above instead of the most recent so can't recap on yesterdays other posts at the mo'

Have a good day all

Morning Anng and Island.

We have a very dull day here and no sign of it brightening up and not one patch of blue sky anywhere out the front or out the back.

Slept late so nothing done yet today.

Island I want to see this chair before and after please???????? You'll feel like a worker in the Repair Shop doing the chair. Where abouts in the country so you live please?

I started more poly clay yeserday but I am having trouble with my left eye. It has a misty bit across it and I am well overdue the opticians. Don't know if Spec Savers is open but have to do 13 miles to get there in Bideford. It feels as though something is in it all the time.

Sending love and wishes to our Jane. <3 <3

Morning All,

I hope Jane managed to sleep last night after her upsetting news. <3 <3

I was awake till 3.00am and then got up late with most of the morning gone so all I have done is get lunch ready. It's a quick one today, the broccoli bake, haddock fillets, swede and carrot mash and mashed potato.

So your chair is a folding one is it Island? Deck chair springs to mind but I don't think so. Hmmm we'll have to wait and see. ;-)

Last night we had the first daddy longlegs inside.......it made me feel like autumn is starting.

It's been raining for about an hour, but hubby got the plants planted before it started luckily. He is working away on minutes today and making phone calls so I should be able to get this letter done. I also need to write a birthday card for a friend ready to post too. As she has a huge 17.2 thoroughbred horse I look out for 'horse themed' cards for her and already have one I got last year.

That was good news for your granddaughter Vera. It is a shambles as you say. How nice that you and she are on a level with your books!

Good afternoon all,

Sending my love and thoughts to our dear Jane, There are no words, just LOVE.

Horrible day here, we had rain earlier, and the clouds are so low, you can almost TOUCH THEM. Good job Barry came yesterday, and got the lawns cut and trimmed the front hedge. "GREEN THUMB" rang this morning, to cancel the lawn treatment for today, as it's too wet. The forecast is rain and dull for the next week.So nothing to look forward too. !!!

It's Harvey's B'Day on the 27th, so Ros has gone into NEXT to get him some Boxer Shorts, and other bits he said he needs. We have invited him and Lewis up for lunch on Sunday, but I expect Lewis will be working, and Harvey will still have his hands full with the FIVE KITTENS. He has to leave off work at lunchtimes to go and feed them. It won't be long now, before they go to their new homes. Good old JULIA has missed all this, being in France all the time. I think she is expected home at the end of September. (alright for some) ;-) ;-) ;-)

Yes, I suppose we are all in the same boat, regarding being at home. My problem is, I can't do any bending work in the garden, for fear of FALLING OVER. There are no neighbours, that are STRONG or FIT enough to get me on my feet, so it's safer if I don't attempt any work outside. Believe me, I would love to be doing something, just to get me away from the boredom of being in doors all the time.

It's Ros's 75th B'Day next month and I am trying to think of something nice to do to celebrate it. I have thought of short break to the Yorkshire Dales/Moors. The BIG problem there is, that Ros would have to do all the driving, and that wouldn't fair on her. I expect it will come down to a nice MEAL out, at a nice restaurant in town or the Countryside, not to far from home. I will of course be buying her flowers, and a present, which reminds me, I had better start thinking what to buy her. ;-) ;-)

I can't see any let up in this weather, so Girls, whatever you are doing today, stay dry. xxxx

We had that horrid mizzle blowing in the wind earlier but now the sun is out and so is oh mowing. The grass is growing so quickly he can't keep on top of it.

A meal out sounds nice for Ros's birthday Frank and flowers and I am sure you will find somethng suitable for a preseant for her. maybe a nice necklace? I know you bought her a bracelet not long ago. What about a gold chain? or locket.

I did'nt realise it was so late so better find something for lunch. F & C night tonight is that what your having Frank?

Yesterday while washing up and gazing out the window at the same time I saw Mrs Willie Wagtain feeding her baby down by the bird feeder. I rushed for the camera but only got baby on its own. Then later I saw them up on the front lawn again out of the window and twice she fed him. Grabbed my camera and she had gone leaving baby on its own. I wonder if I will catch them today?

Afternoon all. It has stayed bright here. We drove about five miles to Maryport and parked near the harbour. Had coffee overlooking the end of the harbour. OH has had a headache for over a week. He doesn’t suffer with headaches ever so this one is a bit of a shock. He also has hurt his back, did that two to three weeks back and it is taking a long time to heal. So going over bumps especially speed bumps is very painful. And in the narrow villages there are a lot of speed bumps. Anyway, after coffee, daughter, so. In law and myself had a walk round the harbour, s.i.l went off back to the car after a while and Lyn and I walked on to the lighthouse and opposite the pier. Joe picked OH up from where he had been sitting watching the world go by and they then Picked Lyn and I up. We even had some blue sky and across the sea we could clearly see the hills of Scotland.

While we drank our coffee sitting outside we watched a fishing boat the opposite side of the harbour selling its latest catch. Fascinating to see that the queue was socially distanced.

OH said the fresh air helped his head to clear. We suspect the headache is sinus related, he also had the sore eye earlier and that is still there a bit.

Annx lunch sounded nice. I must say it is a pleasant change not to have to plan meals.

Mel I bet the baby wagtail was cute.

Island how is the chair progressing. Still in the planning stage?

Frank Harvey’s birthday is on our anniversary. I am sure you can find something nice to give Ros for her birthday. And yes, you just stay in where we can keep an eye on you.

That was a nice excursion AnnG and sometimes fresh air does clear a headache so may have helped your OH. With my afflictions I find both potholes and speed humps a literal pain. The roads round here are in a bad state with broken edges and botched pothole repairs. Recently I drove OH in my car along some of the lanes so he could feel what it is like being in the passenger seat, as the driver doesn't feel it being in the middle of the road. In our area of the county there were 5 new cases in the last 24 hours, the second lowest of the county areas. The city had 72 though, but they are still allowing more places to open.

Frank I know how frustrating it is when you can't do things. I feel the same about not being able to whip through the decorating I used to do or to bend to do much in the garden. OH keeps it reasonable but I used to do lots that he doesn't think to do but I have to turn a blind eye as, although he enjoys doing it, it isn't as important to him. I think it will help a lot when your steps and drive work is done as it will be safer for you outside then and you can go and sit with less risk of falling over. I still think a mobility scooter would be good for you to get around the village and have a chat to folk you see. Mum had one when she didn't need one, just so she could go further to more shops and to save carrying her shopping as she didn't drive. It might be worth seeing if you could make some space in the garage for one. I think Mel's suggestion of jewellery for Ros is a good one. It always seems to go down well!

I hope your eye has cleared and is more comfortable now Mel. It's not good for doing painting either when you can't see properly. We just have fine rain now after a few heavier showers. I bet Vincent is waiting for his shed to dry and for some more green paint for those leaves. I like the idea of the bees and dragonfly......a butterfly next?

Afternoon all

Thinking of Jane sending lots of hugs <3 <3 <3

That's good news about your granddaughters results Vera, but what a shambles I was watching it all unfold on the news. At least it's better results for her now and shows how hard she's worked to get them.

I hope you catch the birds and can finally get your photo Mel, not for the want of trying though ;-) ;-)

A nice meal out sounds lovely for Ros's birthday Frank. I'm sure what ever you do she'll love. Have you thought of a present for her yet?

I woke with a migraine and still have it, so I'm going to have a break from the screen, I started this post earlier and have only just noticed I didn't post it. My phone rang and I forgot. :-S

Sending love and positive vibes to Jane <3

I hope your eye is feeling more comfortable now Mel. It sounds horrid. Don’t neglect it; if it doesn’t improve quickly get on to the optician.

I am sure Ros would love a nice meal in a good restaurant Frank and if you could arrange a taxi there and back it would make it a real treat for her. Life will probably be a bit easier for you once you can get a slope with handrails sorted out. At least you will be able to sit in the garden.

Gill, I am not surprised you have a migraine. You’ve had quite a lot of stress lately. I know it’s easy for me to say but try not to get too worked up. Hard though it is now, it will all get sorted out in the end.

It sounds as though you had a pleasant trip out AnnG but poor T having a headache and a bad back. As we get older it seems to take so much longer to recover from any illness and injury.

You seem to be having quite a few bad nights Ann. We are a sorry lot on here aren’t we? I had a half decent night last night so have felt less droopy today.

I did about an hour of deadheading and tidying in the garden before rain stopped play. It was dry while we had lunch but has been raining non-stop since about 2 pm and the wind has picked up. OH went to do his errand in town that didn’t get done on Monday (I checked that the place was open), and I went with him and went to Waitrose. I still feel uncomfortable in shops but everyone was wearing masks and keeping a good distance. Granddaughter is a vegetarian and daughter is slimming so I don’t want to give them a meal tomorrow with meat products or one that’s too fattening. I bought some Quorn veggie mince which is fine as long as you put plenty of flavour with it so I’ll do some sort of bolognese and throw in some extra veg. I’ve got a melon and I bought some nice peaches so that’ll be an easy pud.

Quiche and salad tonight so that’s another easy meal.

Evening all,

Firstly all my love to Jane <3 can't imagine what your going through ,so much for you to get your head round and you've been on my mind all day <3

Not a bad morning here today but we had rain by lunch time ,i shopped today as we didn't go on Monday ,still quite quiet and i soon got round we we're home by ten o'clock and then i wiped down .We decided we would go for another F&C eat in lunch ,just the two of us this time ,there was only another couple in there and they sat inside while we sat out ,we had a lovely big piece of cod really fresh and so fleshy .

Gill i hope the problem with Sandra can be sorted out and it would be lovely if she was nearer to you so you could visit each other .

Ann i just used malt vinegar with a pinch of salt and a little sugar to pickle my cucumbers ,they should have had some mustard seeds in too but i didn't have any and i thought i could get some when i went shopping but couldn't see any ,if i do another lot i'll see if Tesco's have some .

AnnG sounds as if you had a nice trip out ,shame OH has a headache and back pain while your away so he can't walk to far i hope the aches and pains ease a bit for him so he can enjoy your time away .
Oh i do love little Millie she has lovely eyes and her little pads on her paws :-)

Oh Vera sorry about the tune LOL i see he managed to get it done today :-D
Hope you enjoy the time tomorrow with your daughter and grand daughter and the car passes it's MOT .

She is a lovely colour Ann and those eyes are gorgous such a cutie with her little toes.

When I got to the fish van I did'nt get anything as they had run out of batter so we had half a quiche each instead.

Morning all ,

We still have windy weather but the suns out a bit this morning and there's blue sky and white clouds which are moving very fast to the west.

The wind was so strong last night I heard a crash out in the garden and when I looked out the wind had blown my pot of Agapanthus over off the little wall onto the grass. What other damage there is I don't know as I hav'nt been out yet.

Nothing planned for today but at some point I must clean the girls out.

Good morning all. Plans had to be changed today. My ‘fault’. Went to bed last night 10.30 with really bad stomach cramps. Two loo visits then lay awake most of the night with pains, just couldn’t sleep. Early morning two more loo visits. Pain goes then. A couple more loo visits but nothing since 0900. So , don’t know what it is. I feel ok now but very tired. So really didn’t want to go out anywhere. Don’t think it is a bug, could be too much strong coffee we make it much weaker than daughter and usually only one cup a day. Everyone else is fine.

Anyway I will live. Very windy here but sunny too.

Good afternoon to you lovely people. xxxx

How did you sleep last night Jane.?? I hope you are comfortable.

I was in bed before 10.30 last night, still awake when Ros came in at midnight. In fact I layed awake until 5.00 am. Dozed on and off till 8.00. Ros was already up, and as I came into the lounge she went and made me a COT and crumpets with Marmalade.

I had my shave and shower, and put on shorts and T shirt. I tried sitting out on the patio, but too windy, sitting in the conservatory was TOO HOT. so I am back indoors, minus T shirt.Far too HOT.

I had a reply from the restaurant that I wanted to take Ros for her Birthday. It won't be open for that weekend. No reasons given, I assume it's for renovation or some such thing. So back to the drawing board.

Apart from the meal and flower, I will buy her some more Perfume, I noticed she is getting low, on the one she uses.

Ros has scraped the potato's for dinner tonight, and done the veg. I think she got a piece of meat out of the freezer last night. So I will leave it all to her.

I'm still very dodgy on my legs, so am using my stick and/or frame to get around. I am left with a deep scar on my forehead, and still have bruising on my face. So with one thing and another I am fed up to the high teeth.

It's a very nice day here, considering the forecast was for high winds and rain. One day they will get it right.!!!!

I hope you are all able to get out and about, doing what needs doing. I think people are being very sensible with Social Distancing. I, for one won't be going out and about anytime soon. I won't take the risk.

The local Council, seem to have a scheme, that can help with the repairs to the drive and steps. I have a contact to speak to, which I might do this afternoon.

Stay safe. See you soon. xxxx

Afternoon all

It's sunny here at the moment but I have noticed a few black clouds around, I'm hoping it doesn't rain until my washing is dry and OH can cut the lawns.

OH managed to fix the jammed bonnet with his friend the other day, he only told me last night. He had to break the grill at the top to gain access, the cable had come off, so he has gone to the scrap yard to see if he can buy another one, if he can't he'll keep the appointment with the garage on Wednesday and ring them today so they can order the new grill. He was going to cancel the garage, but I said it's best to keep it for now as getting another appointment with them at the moment isn't easy. If he fixes the grill he can ring them later to cancel.

I'm not sure what Sandra's going to end up doing Ann, she definately wants a flat of her own but has to have an assessment first, she's waiting for Social Services to get in touch, so there's no news at the moment.

I see you are doing a chair Island. I haven't read the posts for so long so I'm not sure of the story, are you upcycling it?

Sorry to hear you've not been well AnnG, are you staying at your daughter's? Sorry I'm not up to date with all the posts. Pleased to see you're feeling a little better now and hope your OH is feeling better to. I can finally see my emails and love little MIllie, she's so cute with lovely colour eyes.

All the pictures you've all sent and lovely.

I hope your plant is okay Mel after all the wind last night, we have problems like that with all our pots, so we now put heavy rocks around them. We didn't get the high wind last night, or if we did I didn't hear it as I finally got a decent nights sleep. I hope nothing was damaged at yours and the wind dies down soon, so you can sort your girls out without anything blowing in your face. I hope you can see an optician and have your eye sorted.

My migraine has gone now Vera, I had it from the moment I woke up until I went to bed, then was a bit like AnnG with a terrible pain in my side, not sure what it was, but it's gone today.

Thinking of Jane <3 <3

I missed your post Frank, that's good you have a number to ring for your drive and steps. I hope they can be sorted soon and things will seem a bit brighter for you.

It looks like everyone has high wind, it's a bit breezy here and some of the washing kept wrapping itself around the line, so I've put some pegs at the bottom of each item to weigh it down and it seems to be working. The sun is still shining, so hopefully it'll all be dry soon.

Its just started raining here so I am going to bring the bedding in off the line as although its under cover the winds blowing from th e east and right onto the washing.

Gill just the one pot blew over and I stood it up with the pot against the little wall that runs right dow n the back garden. All the flowers were laying on the grass and would have been eaten by slugs if I had left it there. One of the flowers from the other pot blew right off from the bottom of the stalk.

Oh has mowed all morning and I stripped the bed and made it up and washed the sheets etc and got them all on the line. Dusted and hoovered the bedroom and did a lot of washing up of vases and my fairy thats in the bedroom as she get quite dusty. So all in all a productive morning so I may have some me time this afternoon but first I must ring about my MOT and tie up my sweet peas as the winds knocked those down too and I need to cut the flowers.