General Chat

Mandy love the gingerbread house, so clever.

It has rained off and on most of the day here.mI couldn’t actually tell you what I have done but I seem to have filled in the hours. I did sort stuff away from the airing cupboard, wrote up my diary in word,read a bit. Just finished the 6th book in the Seven sisters books by Lucinda Riley.

Not heard anything today re OH I think I have said we don’t hear anything over the weekends.

Ann I had 12 wood pigeopns on the road this morning I was going to take a picture but put the camera up to the window and they all flew away. There was also 6 thrushes on the west lawn. Oh said it was the day of the pigeons and thrushes.

I have got some presents wrapped but still hav'nt done the boys stockings up yet.

I also liked the puff of smoke coming out of the chimney on the gingerbread house and the candy canes and the little wreath on the door.

So another little outing then Vera but not so good that you got soaked in the process. Hope you dried yourself off well when you got home you don't need a cold now.

I passed my driving test on this day in 1967 it was a Wednesday and I told work I had a dental appointment. I passed first time.

Glad you all like the little house ,i would have liked some icicles down the front of the gables but the ones i had a go at looked to big so i gave up on it ,the smoke is just a little bit of stuffing pulled out quite thinly .


Vera i keep meaning to ask how your foot is now and i hope your all dried out after getting so wet .

I meant to say the roasties were really good we had them tonight with a nice toad in the hole ,i did wonder if the potatoes would go a bit black left over night in the tin but they didn't so i will be doing them like that for christmas ,i also left the skin on the parsnips like Jamie said and they were nice and crispy on the outside and really creamy and soft inside so they'll be done the day before too ,any thing to save time in the kitchen .

Love the gingerbread house Mandy, you are very clever.

OH's mum's been taken into hospital with an infection, we're not sure what the infection is but she's been having lots of bad headaches so hopefully the doctor's will be able to get to the bottom of it.

OH is having his Covid vaccination tomorrow, so he'll ring the hospital when he comes home to see how his mum is.

Just watched the F1 race. Wasn't it nice of Silverstone to name the start finish "Hamilton Straight" after Lewis Hamilton, the poor man was lost for words when they told him.

He deserves it Gill.

Well I enjoyed my meal tonight. I had a sirloin steak, (rare) with blue cheese dressing, plus a jacket potato, sweet corn and cauliflower cheese. I have not cooked steak for ages as OH has not been able to eat it since he had his teeth out and a denture.

Mind you I would have rather have had him here and no steak.

Morning all,

Nice bright morning sun's trying to shine ,not sure how cold it is out as I haven't been out just opened the door for Max to go out.

Gill hope OH'S mum is comfortable and they soon find out what's wrong .

AnnG hope you hear from the hospital and T is comfortable .

Lots of odd jobs to do today so better have my cuppa and get on .BBL

Good morning, quite bright here at the moment and dry and 10 degrees apparently. reasonable sleep but woke around 5 and couldn't get back to sleep so had a wander around. went back to bed and dozed and slept a bit until 8. Not sure what to do today, Possibly clear another under the bed drawer. Trouble with the drawers under my bed (which is heavy with the new big mattress), is that the ones at the head of the bed are jammed in by the cabinets so the bed has to be pulled out. I think that one of them just has a spare quilt in but not sure. Will have to wait until next time daughter is here to do those.

Morning Anng and all,

Nice and bright here this morning too with plenty of the yellow stuff and lovely blue sky. How long it will last is anybodys guess but its nice while we have it.

Will do up more of the boys present today and whatever comes along afterwards in the way of HW. Need to do the bathroom and little loo so I think thats what I shall do.

Hope Frank slept well and vera too.

That is that drawer cleared out. some stuff put back, some for charity and some for the bin. Also cleaned the bathroom, now for coffee.

Morning All,

Sunny and bright here now after a rainy start. No lie in today as people arrived at 8.00am next door and have been cutting all their trees down on the front and those shredders make a right old din! They are grinding down the tree stumps now. I'm just glad my Monday morning course had finished as I wouldn't have been able to hear a thing. The window cleaner has come on the right day though so that is good.

Hopefully you will hear from T or word from the hospital today AnnG. I was thinking that if he wasn't as confused you could perhaps learn to zoom him as it's very easy. That way you would be able to see him. Or maybe facetime him? I haven't used that myself.....well not yet!

Those drawers are a nuisance if you have bedside drawers or cabinets at the sides of the bed and who doesn't! We decided to lose a half drawer each side and buy a bed base with one and half drawers each side for just that reason of not being able to easily open the ones next to the bedhead. It was that or a bed that lifts up from the base. It did mean losing a bit of useful storage space though.

I had PC troubles last night Vera........no internet, yet OH's laptop was working fine!! It took me ages to sort it as it was a problem I hadn't had before, something to do with the 'wifi adapter not working' but it is fine again now, even though I'm not sure how I fixed it! I missed half of Terry's stream but can watch it later. We are so dependent on IT now for food ordering, contact with the outside world. etc.

Sorry to hear your OH's mum is in hospital Gill. I hope they sort out the infection so she is home again soon. That's good your OH will have his first vaccination jab today. It will soon start giving him some protection.

Did you get any interesting things for the boys this year Mel? I've had a chuckle at some of the things you have got them in other years.

I need to go and wipe out the new freezer next and switch it on. Later I can move stuff around from the other one so it's better organised with all the raw meat together etc. Up to now some has to go where it will fit in which doesn't help with finding things.

Better get showered now and get busy like Mandy!

Annx He is much too confused I think to look at either zoom or face time. He would phone if he was not confused I am sure. daughter had a few errands to run this morning but she will ring the hospital when she gets home. It is very upsetting receiving cards from people who don't know about him but I do still love getting cards as it almost feels like a normal Christmas.

That will be really noisy then I hope they have finished now, at least they have a dry day for it. does it lighten up your garden at all?

I have just been out in the garden, weeded the gravel out the front and also between the paving on the patio at the back. I thought OH had fixed that with cement but obviously not. Still looks a lot better now it is weeded. wish the weeds would stop growing now. I have just put the garden wheelie bin out and it is almost full. Last collection for 4 weeks now I think as they are not collecting garden stuff Christmas week.

Gill is it your Mum or OH's Mum who is in hospital, I hope she is better and will be home for Christmas.

Afternoon to you all,

We have a wet, cold day here. Eos has gone to the hairdressers and has hospital appointment at 4.10 this afternoon. So her day if filled. Carolyn hopes to be able to go with her to the hospital later. She and John are meeting up with one of Johns friends for lunch.

We hd a very nice lunch out yesterday at the CHEF AND BREWER in Brackley. Eos had the TRIO of meats and I had Turkey.

I see you are all getting ready for Christmas, not long to wait now.

Kerry's husband Mark is calling over tomorrow to pick up the Childrens Christmas Presents, and the CRACKERS that Ros always buys. She likes to get the best as they have the nicest gifts inside, and as she says "It's only once a year"

The garage rang this morning, they hope the car will be delivered Wednesday, giving them time to PDI and plate ready for Friday. If not it will be Saturday Morning. Ros isn't showing any signs of excirment, but deep down I think she is. She will be sorry to see the old Mercedes go, but it's 17 years old, and has been no trouble in the 14 years that we have owned it. I have never had the pleasure of driving it, it all those years. It has beed 16 years since my STROKE. Where do the years go. ???

Roast Pork tonight. I have done the pots, parsnips, carrots, brussels and swede.Apple cause is thawing on the chopping board.

Enjoy the rest of your day, and hope that those of you who have sick ohs get better soon. xxxx

It’s a funny old day weatherwise. It rained overnight so everything was wet this morning but the sun came out early and it looked much more cheerful. During the morning we gradually got less and less sun and more and more grey, then at lunchtime it started raining again. I thought those few gleams of yellow were too good to last.

I’m glad you enjoyed your lunch yesterday Frank. I can’t remember when we last ate out. I think it was early in February; it seems a lifetime ago. Not long now till you get your new car.

You sound as though you’ve been busy AnnG. It’s good to keep occupied if you can as sitting and worrying won’t help you or OH, though I shouldn’t be giving advice as I am the world’s worst worrier. Hopefully your daughter will be able to get some information from the hospital soon.

Thank you for asking about my foot Mandy. It is a lot better now. I can walk more or less normally indoors and out, though I haven’t tried a long walk yet. Stairs are more of a problem, particularly coming down. I do a sort of step at a time crablike shuffle. Very elegant lol. It’s often painful, especially at the end of the day, but the fracture nurse said it might be 6 months before the pain goes so I’m not worried about it.

Gill,I hope your ma-in-law is comfortable and the hospital can sort out her infection so that she can quickly return home. Is Sandra getting excited about Christmas? It will be a strange Christmas for most of us this year. It’s hard to raise much enthusiasm. We have put the cards up in the hall as usual but the tree is still sitting in a bucket of water in the garden. It’ll probably be next weekend before we put it up now.

Ann, thank you for your lovely card which came today. The glittery train is really pretty. I hope the tree cutters get everything done today so you are not woken early tomorrow.

Mel, your stockings for the boys reminded me of the advent bags I used to do for my grandchildren. When my first grandchild was about 18 months old I decided that, instead of buying an advent calendar, I would make something. OH made me a painted board with 24 hooks and I hung a little numbered bag containing a little gift on each one. At that point I didn’t realise that before too long I would have 5 grandchildren and 120 little bags to fill! They all had them for 10 years from their 2nd Christmas until they went to secondary school and none of them wanted to stop then but I had to draw the line somewhere. It was fun though finding or making lots of cheap little gifts.

OH had an annoying experience today. Last week he got a letter saying he was overdue for his next eye test and to book an appointment. They suggested doing it online and I sorted it for him. I was offered an appointment for midday today and he received an email confirming it. When he got there the door was locked and the place in darkness and there was a lady in a wheelchair with a carer also waiting. This lady tried phoning the number on her appointment letter only to be directed to another number which was never answered. OH came home and emailed the address on the confirmation he had received and we are now waiting for some sort of explanation. The thing is that this isn’t a one man business that has perhaps hit a problem. It was Boots.

As usual I have rambled on so I’d better stop. We had an earlier lunch than usual so I think it’s about time for an afternoon cuppa anyway.

You've kept busy again Anng thats good as the time passes quickly when you are doing things. Hope Daughter hears something about your oh today to put your mind at rest. Sending a gentle ((hug))

Ann Thank you for your card which arrived today and I too have the lovely steam train with glitter and its over my desk so it twinkles with the tree lights. Takes you back to the days of the steam trains. Hope the trees are all done now and there will be no noise early tomorrow to wake you up Ann.

Frank its good you enjoyed your meal out so perhaps you will go there again if the food was good. Was it a carvery? or just a pub?

I hope Gill's MIL is feeling better today and they manage to get on top of the infection.

Vera feet do take a while to heal properly and I always have to come down stairs sideways because of my foot with the toe that dos'nt bend. As long as you are safe coming down like that it dos'nt matter as nobody can see you and many people do it that way.

Ann I hav'nt much for the boys stoocking this year with not going out anywhere. I have a mask each for them which Mandy kindly made for me and they have all the flavoured jelly beens on from the Harry Potter films, Birds that they can fly and one for mum and dad too so they can play with them out in the garden. Colourchanging light which will go under water although I don't think I would like to try that. They have a changer with them so you can change the colour the light give out and theres lots of colours. a big balloon each, a folding ruler which should fit in their pencil cases, bubbles but only tiny ones this year.a pack of gingerbread men and a pack of snowman jelly babies. A Harry Potter letter writing kit with a wand pen and i think thats about it. I have also bought them the Harry Potter game of Potions which they can all play together so I think thats quite enough to be getting on with. They have their stockings on Christmas Eve so it starts off their Christmas.

That was me misreading AnnG! It is Gill's OH's mum in hospital, so I have corrected my post now. :-S I'm glad you mentioned about the garden bin. I hadn't thought about them not collecting over Christmas, so I think we will get some weeds up and a bit of pruning done for the next collection. It is so sad that T is too confused to even ring you just now. I hope he improves soon and am keeping my fingers crossed. The workers next door have finished and gone. The trees were only 20 They were the other side of their drive too so they didn't affect our light. There were about 6 planted in the front lawn, but we had seen the struggle it is to mow between them now they have grown. We heard they planted them for privacy from the bungalow opposite. They never spoke to anyone in the close when they moved in and later new neighbours got a bit upset till we told them they were like it with us all. They have mellowed the last few years since they wanted everyone's help to oppose the new bungalows and house being built and since they got the dog! Now we can rarely leave the bungalow or come back without the chap being on the front somewhere. It is awkward to get home and inside quickly sometimes when you need to spend a penny! lol.

The new freezer is wiped and up and running now. It has nice big drawers and a little shelf that slides in a few inches from the top that will be handy for sliced meats, cheese and bacon packs. There's an ice cube tray in there to use when you want too. I have stuffed the metal pan scourer between the bricks so will see if they have managed to move it in the morning. I may not have wedged it tight enough.

We sometimes go (or used to go) to a Chef and Brewer the other side of the city Frank and their food was always good. Service was very slow at ours though. What color is the new car? My main concern about changing my car these days is the computerised gadgetry they have. At least Ros has a few days to find her way around it before you go away.

I think I might sort some of the freezer food tomorrow.......I've lost the will to do it now.

Ah ok Ann.
Bet it was peaceful after the tree cutters finished the job.

Vera that is strange about your OH’s appointment. Wonder what happened there.

Daughter finally after an hour and a half of trying, got through to the hospital this was what she found out.

He is still not eating or drinking much and not doing anything much. They are turning him and trying to keep his mouth moist, sometimes he lets them and sometimes not. His urine is looking cloudy and dark so they are checking for (another) urine infection. His blood tests are improving (I asked what was wrong before and she said just signs of infection when he was transferred with COVID). He has had another chest CT scan and they are waiting for the results.

So no further forward really.