General Chat

Evening All,

Sunny but cold here today but no breeze like Mandy has had blowing her poor tree about. Have you been watching Dick and Angel? It was lovely seeing them all go out on their bikes and Dorothy on her newly renovated one in all those colours!

I slept much better last night so was up early for the last Christmas card painting at 9.15am. I am quite sad my painting classes have ended, but I've signed up for one in January so that's something to look forward to. Once we get our vaccinations I expect they will go back to holding their classes in person locally. I said to the teacher today that I would probably never have gone to a local beginners class as I wouldn't have been able to concentrate with other people watching what I painted, but now I would after doing it virtually, so online has some benefits!

Good idea for Sandra to have a walk as long as she doesn't overdo it Gill. Have you recorded Kirstie's Christmas that is on now? I am looking forward to watching it again.

Oh dear AnnG, iin trouble for caring too much ......not really!! I never dug our Bishop of Llandaff dahlias up and they came up every year, so they will probably be ok unless it is a really bad winter. It's good you are getting things sorted out and it sounds ideal being able to recycle so much. Good idea to get your cottages out. It will cheer the place up. We aren't bothering with out big tree again this year, but will put the 2 tabletop ones up and some wreaths and ornaments and lights. I think everyone is making an early start with them this year. Two ladies in the class this morning had already got their decorations put up.

Vera, we thought the same when we did the bigger area of the lounge but we got 2 carpet squares edged, one to fit under the dining table and chairs and one for where the settees are. I hope you have everything back in place now. At least you have hot water as you say! I must admit I stuck with a gas hob and electric oven so if there was a problem with gas or electric one or the other would work. I hope you are fully operational again by tomorrow night!

Oooh I wonder what Island is going to surprise us with? I'm not keen on rats either and have only seen one since we moved here. Nextdoor used to get them climbing of their bird table so they had to stop putting food out. I'm sure with the ditch beyond the back fence there are some about though.

Mel you have lots of wildlife around today! I bet you are glad the wipedown is done. It gets to be a chore doesn't it. Thank goodness you got sorted with your tv licence payment with the help of Oscar! Yes I have been surprised they ask you things like your date of birth. My bank also uses your middle name on letters and sends bank statements with your national Insurance no under pension payments. All useful to a fraudster.

I hope they come up with some good ideas to make everywhere safer for you when they visit you tomorrow Frank.

Quite a few of the covid infections starting at schools round here have been in teachers. I wonder if it's from asymptomatic children?

We have a trip to the pharmacy tomorrow. I wonder if it will be bedlam everywhere with the shops all opening again! :-S

Good morning all

It’s bright and frosty and only 1 deg. out there; not a day to be without heating. We’re living in the kitchen/diner at the moment. It’s a big room but a fan heater is keeping it toasty and cooking helps it to stay warm.

Just been talking to son who is on his way in to work for only the third time since March, working from home the rest of the time. S..d’s law that he had to go in today as it’s his birthday.

I’ve been up since 8 am and have done nothing so I’d better get dressed and have some breakfast.

Morning Vera and all

It's a bit damp here so washing will go straight onto the airer :-( I hate it when the clothes have that indoor dried whiffle.

Not much to report - oh..... the outdoor Christmas lights have been increasing since two weeks ago round here. I don't usually like to see them this early but I think everyone is keen for a bit of cheer.
It's get-ting to look a lot like Black-pool LOL :-D

Vera, I hope your heating is sorted today so you don't have to camp out in the kitchen for much longer.

I hope AnnG gets some good news today.

I'm off to look at some youtube tutorials - groan.... all that pointing and faffing about to be endured.

Happy day all

Morning Vera Island and all,

Dull and dreary here this morning but no wind so it feels quite warm out there.

My washing is haveing to be dried indoor too but I hang it out all day under cover and then put it on the airer.

Kitchen is always the warmest room here so I camp out in here most of the time too Vera.

Just going to look at magnifying lamps online as I think oh is buying me one for Christmas.

Morning all,

Same as, same as, We have the same dreary weather here.

Ros has done all our tablets for the month, into their daily box's. She has ticked off all the repeat scrips and has just taken them up to the doctors.

She has most cards done that need posting, so they will go off later today, plus a parcel to Jamie for the baby.

Lewis is coming up at 6.00 pm to bring back my watch, he can take the presents back with him.We just don't have the room to store them.

Dear Ros has decided she is going to put the outside lights around the front of the bungalow. wish she wouldn't, I would prefer to ask Jonathan. She has bought some new steps which are very sturdy with wide treads. So I ill keep an eye on her.

I might pop back later. xxxx

Ros works hard Frank. Make sure she takes care on those steps.

I have received your card Gill. Thank you very much. You may be waiting a while for yours as I haven’t written them yet. Do you put 1st class stamps on all your post? It must add a bit to your costs.

I’ve just managed to knock a box of sewing things on the floor. My first thought was whether we possess a magnet as there would be pins and needles everywhere but I couldn’t believe it when I saw both the box of pins and the box of needles had landed upside down with their lids still in place. What a relief!

Afternoon all ,

Still dreary here and it was very frosty first thing .

Frank I hope Ros will be OK up those steps ,what a shame Lewis couldn't come a little earlier he could have popped those lights up for you .

Oh Vera that was a bit of luck the boxes landing with their lids intact ,oh it doesn't bear thinking about standing on a pin :-0


The doorbell went a while ago and there was a couple of ladies going down the path and there on the step was a lovely bunch of yellow tulips, I said oh what are they for and they said they are from us ladies who have had the masks, how nice was that.

Thank you Gill your card came this morning.

What a lovely gesture Mandy.

Well, our week is going from bad to worse. The gas man turned up, OH explained the problem and gas man said we don’t cover underfloor heating, not even the above floor controls. As OH had explained what was wrong to British Gas on the phone, why didn’t they tell us then that they couldn’t deal with it? Anyway, the chap cancelled the call out charge but we now have to find a company that can supply the right part and then get a competent electrician to fit it. OH could do that himself easily as he was a chartered electrical and mechanical engineer but legally you are supposed to call in someone with up-to-date certification. I am not a happy bunny :-|

I hope AnnG’s OH is OK as she hasn’t been on yet today and normally she is quite early.

Good afternoon, late again. I had to go to the chemist this morning to get my prescription and to the post office to post some foreign cards. Post office is a pain, only one window open as the two are quite close and it is always busy. And sods law says somebody in the queue will have a shipping order. When I was next in line for the counter I looked round and there were 8 in the queue right out the door and along the pavement.

Thank you Gill for your card. I was going to ask the same question as Vera, first class is so expensive.76p against 65 for second. 11p is a lot of money when sending a lot of cards.

Vera hope you are managing to keep warm, it is quite a raw day here 7 degrees and so dark.

No Island no real news at all. But romance is not dead, when he phoned this morning he told me he had been to the loo. I suppose that is an achievement of sorts.

Frank I hope Ros is ok and safely down from the ladder.

I am in the middl;e of putting my cottage scene together. Got all the little figures to put out now, sorrted out all the plugs and sockets this morning. I am missing my electrician.

Afternoon Folks,

Dull and dreary here too and very cold. After the vaccine announcement this morning we went to collect our meds from the pharmacy and they had had to order mine so it won't be there till tomorrow! :-S Three cars outside the asian house again this morning. I did get my air mail Christmas cards posted in the letterbox and must start writing the rest.

Thank you for your cards Mel and Gill! They are my first so will start to cheer the place up!! :-D

Oh Vera your heart sinks when you drop something like that! You were so lucky those boxes stayed shut. I drop a box of beads sometimes and the tiny ones go everywhere. As long as you can stay cosy in the kitchen diner you will be ok. My summer duvet was a bit chilly last night so I flung my fleece dressing gown on top of me as well.

I remember your big, roomy kitchen Mel. Hubby called it your 'centre of operations' didn't he, which was right!

The bird food I put out last night was all gone by the time I looked this morning! :-0 I had also blocked up the gap in the mortar between the house bricks with gravel and it had all been fetched out again this morning so I'm sure it's a way the mice are using to get into the loft and garage. I'm going to see if I can order a small ready mixed bag and seal it up properly. I know where the trowels are and have done crazy paving before! :-)

Oh Island! I watch the youtube tutorials too and know just what you mean about the faffing! Often on the beading ones they move 'off camera' too so you can't see what they are doing.

I have washing drying indoors today too. Not ideal, but at least it will get dry.

How lovely those ladies thought to get you the tulips Mandy. They will look nice and cheerful.

Frank, I wouldn't be climbing steps to put lights up if I was Ros. I do hope she is careful as you need both hands to do it. You don't want any accidents.

I'm going to do a bit more of my painting to see if I can 'use' my mistake! lol. Then I have 2 evaluations to do for the last 2 courses. I'm beginning to wonder how we found time to go out like we used to!

I was late sending my post so didn't see yours Vera. What a disappointment not to get your repair done today! They just wasted time by not telling you before didn't they. I hope you can get someone else quickly. Yes I think you can still do electrical work but it has to be checked and signed off by a certificated person. I expect that could cost almost as much as them doing it though.

Well that is at least progress for him AnnG! lol. I hope you get to hear more about what they are going to do this week. That's a nice task to be doing, setting out your cottages. I really enjoyed 'seeing' them last year!

Missed you there Vera. No change with OH but I decided to get two things that needed doing out of the way.

Cottages are all out. One is not lighting up so I need to look at that tomorrow.this is where I miss my electrician. This one was new in January this year and I seem to remember it playing up then.

Oh what a nuisance Vera a day lost and cold weather is forecast this weekend.

Annx I am sure that you can find a way to use your mistake.

Tahnks for your card Gill. Not read the posts yet.

You are lucky that your bird food is being eaten Ann. Our birds seem to have more or less deserted us. I am putting just a little out at a time and dumping it a couple of days later when it’s got wet and grungy. Yesterday I put some meal worms in the caged ground feeder and some in a shallow dish on a garden table. The ones in the dish have gone and I think they’ve been eaten by blackbirds, the only birds I am seeing in the garden. The ones in the cage are still there which means the starlings aren’t around and probably the robin isn’t either. I hope they reappear.

When you are in hospital and have problems in your innards a trip to the loo is an important event and OH wanted to share it with you AnnG :-). I hope you are not kept in limbo for much longer.

I did smile at the picture of Joe Biden in our paper today. He’s got a right foot Darco shoe and I have a left foot one. Do you think we could do a deal?

The ongoing saga of our heating: it was put in when the house was built in 2008 and was manufactured by a Swedish company so we found their website and found the names of about 5 companies in this country who are “UK partners for sales and service”. OH contacted them by phone and all they are interested in is providing and installing the complete system. They definitely don’t want to know about 1 small spare part, the activator to the valve. He has now emailed the Swedish company in the hope that they can help us. If they can’t I am not sure what we will do.

OH has now isolated the valve to the lounge and managed to shut it down so we can have heating to the rest of the house. Thank goodness I’m married to an engineer. The heating is now on but it will take 3 or 4 hours to reach full heat so it is still cold here. If we want to be in the lounge we’ll have to have a couple of fan heaters in there.

Nothing much will get done tomorrow as OH is taking our friend to the eye hospital again. Friend has no idea how long he will be. Last time OH had to wait 3.5 hours and there’s an hour’s drive in each direction as well so he could be gone most of the day. He’s taking a very thick book with him.

Gosh you've been busy posting today!! :-0 :-0

Oh has just told me that the first class stamps are going up 9p.

Vera what a stupid thing to tell you once the man was there. They could have told you on the phone as you knew it was a valve. You'll have to fine someone quickly with the cold weather ont he way this weekend. It was lucky the pins and needles kept their tops on when they were dropped on the floor. Saved a lot of clearing up.

Mandy what a lovely gesture from the ladies who had your masks. Some people are thoughtfull if not all. It makes all your trouble worth it when things like that happen.

Frank you must tell Ros to be careful up the new steps putting the lights up. It woudl be better if Jonathon could do them for you.

Ann I am sure you will be able to right your mistake in your painting as you're such a clever girl. Yes that was what oh said when you came down here and it still is all round. We never use the lounge only the corner where my craft tables are and the shopping on a table in there too. The stuff I can't get in the cupboards!!! I can't get down to the bottom cupboards now and only use the front bit I can reach. If I get down I can't get up. :-S

Anng its good you got all the Christmas village set up but a shame the new one is'nt working. Was that the one you bought at sale price in January? Lovely phone call from T.........

Asda lamb steaks in garlic and rosmary rub for us tonight with new pots and peas. and sprouts. We did 'nt have them yesterday as I cook the gammon that needed cooking in the end. It was a very nice piece too.

Mel yes bought in the sale. Actually it is fine although it doesn’t work as it is the station and has a little train that goes round.nee had to turn it off last year as it got noisy

Well that wasn't what you wanted to hear about your heating Vera. Thank goodness you have an OH who is able to at least isolate the valve so you can have heating on again. We wouldn't have a clue what to do. I hope the mnfr can do something for you.

I haven't actually been feeding proper bird food. I have just been putting crushed up crusts from my seeded bread and OH's bread out for them up to now. I haven't fed them all summer. Clearing the garage shelves I found some old birdseed and some mealworms so will try those tomorrow. They turned their beaks up at a bit of cooked potato I tried. I thought they would like it as mum's chickens loved boiled potato peelings. I know the Magpies that have come back now the Jackdaws have gone have had some, but we've seen the Robin and Hedge Sparrows feeding as well.

I've done what I can with my painting AnnG so I will send a pic tomorrow. Do you think a bulb has gone or maybe it's a loose connection with your Christmas village.

No-one in the close put lights up when we moved here 20 years ago but a lot do now. Both neighbours opposite have them, but I feel sorry for our neighbour who is opposite the all singing, all dancing ones! With being a single lane road, the bungalows opposite are close and even we can see them through wooden blinds plus curtains. The twinkling ones opposite us are fine, but the flashing and pulsating ones at the bungalow next to them would be no joke if you wanted an early night as our bedrooms are on the front. Makes me think of One Foot in the Grave when the street light went through the window!

Possibly a loose connection Ann. I will have a look tomorrow, it is a bit awkward in the evening as the Socket strip thing is behind the curtain.

Thanks everyone for letting me know your cards arrived okay, our post has been a little slow lately so I wasn't sure how long they would take to get to you all. Thanks AnnG for your card, it arrived today, so that's two we've got now as Mel's arrived the other day. I already had 1st class stamps so used those.

Good morning all

It looks like another very grey, wet day. According to the forecast it’s going to rain all day and not get any higher than 6 degs. It’s about 4 degs at the moment but feels warmer to me, probably because the house is warm now, except for the lounge. OH went off around 8 to pick up our friend and drive him to his 9.30 appointment.

Have a good day everyone. Stay warm and safe.