General Chat

It looks like we are going to get a huge amount of rain tomorrow, but at least it is going to be a lot warmer, just one more really cold night to get through.
I hope your electricity stays on Florence. That is one thing which is different in this house, we used to get lots of power cuts in Thirsk, but it is far more stable here.

Well, well, there was me in the middle of posting when the electric went off!!

So its back on now but strangely its very calm here and no wind! So shall try & remember what typed.

Joan, its so lovely to see you posting on here today and to know that you are keeping well albeit you are still feeling fragile bless you. But the dark nights a month from now will start to get shorter and the days longer so hold that thought <3

We are getting storm Bert tomorrow & Sunday and of course we have a big fayre on tomorrow. I so hope its more supported and the windy weather wont keep people away.

Gwyn, I love xmas pudding and for me its the best part of the xmas dinner. Xmas without the pudding wouldn't be right would it? I love it with evaporated milk as dont like cream...mmmn yummy!

Well i shall not linger on here too long incase the electric goes again.

So stay safe everyone and keep warm

Florence in the hebrides

Sorry, I missed your post Joan, I think we posted at the same time. It is good to hear from you, These dark winter days do drag on, roll on spring.

I must start thinking about Xmas presents some time soon :-D
I used to make a large Xmas cake and my children would decorate it when they were little, then Eve and Esme took over. I stopped making a cake because it is only OH and I who actually want to eat it. For a few years I bought one, then last year, I bought two small ones, so that each of the girls could decorate their own. That seemed to work well , so I will do that again this year. They like rolling out the marzipan and icing, then decorating it. Eve makes decorations out of the icing and food colouring, Esme just crams on all of the little decorations which I have.
No one is bothered about Xmas pudding after the meal, the girls just like a big bowl of custard

I took OH to Esme’s school bakery this morning, that was an experience for him :-)
We then went to a couple of garden centres to look at the artificial Xmas trees, but couldn’t see anything I liked. We always had a real tree, but when we started to go away for family Xmas gatherings, I bought a really good quality realistic one in a sale one year after Xmas It was very wide which was fine in our old house, but we need a slimline one for here, so I gave the old one away. Now I can’t find a new one, most of them have shiny plastic looking leaves which are horrible. I saw one which would have done this morning, but it was stupidly expensive. They are cheaper on line, but I want to be able to actually see it before I buy it, so will have to keep looking. OH said it would be best to wait for the sales, but then we wouldn’t have anything for this year :-(

good morning all. A sunny morning here but a bit cloudy too and we are braced for Bert to hit us tomorrow so not looking forward to a wet weekend. Although fortunately I have no plans to go out. It is 7 degrees here so milder than it has been. And it really is the lull before.....

Joan so good to see you, we do get concerned when we don't hear from people for a while. sorry to hear that you still feel fragile. This weather which seems to be mostly unpredictable and which keeps us indoors, is not good for our mental health. At times like this I am so grateful for contacts on here and wonder how my parents coped if the weather kept them in for days at a time with no internet. I think my Mum would have spent time on the phone chatting to one of her several siblings and my Dad worked into his 70s and a bit of snow would not have kept him home. And when he was home he would be in his big shed/workshop making something or other.

Gwyn we often end up having the Christmas pudding on boxing day when we have a lighter meal but we always have one, both now when at daughters and before when T was alive, as he loved Christmas pudding. For many years ours has been made by my lovely next door neighbour.

Morning everyone.
Good to see you posting Joan <3
I don't blame you wanting to stay home in this cold weather. I hope your daughter was able to get your shopping home to you.

No snow for us so far this winter, but the rooftops were white again this morning. There's bright sunshine at the moment, so I hope that keeps up to warm us a little.

We are finding we are wanting 'comfort' foods this cold weather, so I'd be no good in Linda's Slimming class ;-) There was a Christmas pudding tucked away, which I have been eating these last couple of days. Not sure why we had that, as daughter here usually makes ours for Christmas day, so it was probably a post-Christmas bargain, which never got used.... It has now ;-)
I heard on TV that many people are not bothering with traditional Christmas pudding nowadays and to be honest we sometimes don't want ours after a big Christmas dinner, so we often start it later in that afternoon. We'll probably still make one to our usual recipe though, as it's much lighter than shop-bought ones, because it contains no flour, but does have fresh breadcrumbs. All the taste is there, but not the heaviness.

It is bitterly cold here. I had to go out to Slimming World, as I suspected I have out a pound and a half on while my sister was here, which takes me out of my target range, so I have to pay for the class. The pavements look icy look icy, so I was walking very gingerly . I was glad to get back home, but I have to go out again this afternoon to get my hair cut.

Hello everyone.
It's horrible here, 3 days & nights of snow & plebty of it, I couldn't face going to Morrisons today, it's bitterly cold & the house road has a lot of snow on it, & so our daughter has gone for my shopping on her own.

I didn't manage to get all the leaves up & they can't be seen at the moment, going to find a soggy mess when the snow goes.
Had a couple of sheep in the garden last week, son in law got them out without causing any damage to the garden or the sheep, thank goodness.

I'm still feeling fragile & not sleeping well at all, just wish the dark nights weren't as long as they are.

I hope everyone is keeping fine & the weather is not being unkind.

Joan.

Good morning all
Well a very sleepless night listening to the wind, rain and hailstones for most of the night!! Think it quietened down about 5 and then i managed to drop off until 9 am.

The light covering of snow had gone and has been raining for the last wee while but the wind is strong and so bitterly cold.

Daughter went off to town to take some parcels to be returned and I didnt envy her going out.

I have Tesco coming between 11-1pm so keeping an eye out as a few stops away.

Nothing much planned today except think I will write my cards after lunch once all the shopping is dealt with.

Keep warm everyone and stay safe

Florence in the hebrides

:-) It is always pretty when it first falls and we don't have to go out isn't it? Stay tucked up indoors in the warm and hope it soon goes.

An inch of snow fell during the night.
It looks lovely, as there's no wind, and the snow is lying along every twig and branch, like a Christmas card.

But I'm glad I don't have to go out anywhere today.

Good morning all from chilly but thankfully not snowy Gloucestershire. Of course I haven't checked there may be snow in higher parts of Glos but not here in the Severn Valley. It is 0 degrees here at the moment.
Nice to switch on the PC and be able to get straight on GR. Maybe a day or two out of touch helps us to understand the value of being able to chat to people on here. As a day of snowy weather makes us appreciate how people further north have more to put up with from the weather than us down here.
Nothing planned for today but I shan't be going out. No snow today but frost on roof tops and feels cold. I will probably be wrapping more presents and writing more cards. Getting there slowly though. :-)

Bitterly cold here too - but mostly sunny with blue sky.

Snow on the hilltops, which looks beautiful in the sunshine, but only a couple of short-lived flurries down at this level, thank goodness.

Your chicken & rice dish sounds like real comfort food, Florence!
Hmmm - I'm not sure what I'll have!

Afternoon all and thank goodness we re back on!

We've had some snow with hail showers on & off but not much really. i think other parts had more. It is bitterly cold as when daughter went out to the bins, i got an artic blast through he front door brrrr/!

Just made chicken & rice dish for tonight where the rice is all mixed together with the chicken etc. Its cosy food for a cold evening.

Nothing much today except for some ironing to keep it up atraight and went through some drawers having a small declutter so we have a bagful for the charity shop.

Hope everyone is staying safe and keeping warm

Florence in the hebrides

I emailed as well and got the email to say that it was fixed

I get the impression that they only knew there was a problem after some of us emailed support. I actually had an acknowledgement from support when I emailed. And a further email from Nicolle at support when it was fixed. So well done to them and thank you.

Finally, the board is fixed.

My sister and her husband left this morning after staying with us for four nights. It was nice to see her . We have had lots of lunches out, plus an evening meal, so my diet went out if the window.

It is incredibly cold here, but we only had a dusting of snow. We had to go out this morning to get our RSV jab, but I intend to stay in for the rest of the day.

I hope that everyone is coping with the cold

Afternoon all.
What a busy weekend I had! The fayre was ok but fewer people coming through the doors than anticipated. We covered our stall costs and made a small profit but was disappointing to say the least. The weather didn't help as was bitterly cold, gale force winds and heavy showers so i guess that kept people at home in the warm.

Next Saturday is a bigger affair so fingers crossed we do better!

Yesterday we put up the xmas trees. 1 main one and a smaller one that sits on top of my filing cabinet, We call that the office one lol

Took ages, all afternoon really plus putting out all the decs on the various shelves, sideboard etc. It was really making my back ache and was never so glad to hoover up all the silver strands and get the tree up on its table and the room back to normal!

But earlier before lunch, we took all the plants down to the flower bed and planted them and then i put in a lot of my bulbs along the front. heres hoping I get a good display next spring .

So yes we were very busy and i paid for that as could hardly bend to get the cheesy pie out of the oven last night and then burnt my hand. Its not too bad and i covered with a dressing and some savlon. There is a small blister but not too bad.

The worse thing of all is with all the work i did, you think i would have been tired? But yet i didn't go to bed until 1am last night, was up at 3, then 6 and then got up at 9am???/ I so wish I could sleep through the night but nothing works for me.

So today, I taking things very slowly. i have had to put the wraps back on my legs, both of them as they are full of fluid and not sure why
:-S
Usually when Im moving about it helps. Anyway we shall see later tonight when i remove them.

Yes Tesco opened and from what my daughter read on social media, it was very busy contrary to what some were saying that it wouldnt be!!
If people want to keep sunday special and just go to church and stay indoors, let them and let the rest of us spend Sunday as we please. As long as we dont offend others, then it doesnt matter.

I chose to plant my bulbs yesterday as it was dry and sunny, cold yes but I had to take my chance as here, the weather changes so quickly. Did i bother anyone? Er no. I was at the back of my house and actually noone really could have seen me.

Give it a few weeks and todays news will be tomorrows history. There are far more things going on in the world to worry about than the opening of a supermarket on a Sunday.

Linda, you sound very busy with your visitors etc. It must be very difficult finding soft food to enjoy when you are out. Pasta would be ideal for you with just grated cheese or something and dont worry so much about your diet just now, you need to eat!

The sun is out but its freezing and was a bit icy first thing and think there was snow in town but not up this way.

Well I have been wrapping some smaller gifts this morning but they are not being sent anywhere but good to get them done.

Florence in the hebrides

AG I am a Baptist )although have to add non practising these days). I know the bible instructions about Sunday being a day of rest I was not allowed to do anything but read and go to Sunday School when I was young. I would still feel odd if I went to any entertainment on a sunday (cinema etc). I do these days go shopping and visit garden centres without feeling guilty To the day she died my mother would never do washing or ironing on a Sunday. I think it is personally for everyone to do what they feel is right for them as long as they don't cause anyone else any problems. And they have said that those that don't feel able to work Sundays won't be made to. Many years ago I worked with somebody who was Brethren or similar religion. She refused to read the newspaper on Sundays. She couldn't see that the Monday paper was the one she shouldn't read because it was produced on sunday. (I did say it was a long time ago, that doesn't apply now I'm sure).

How did the Xmas Fayre go Florence? I think that it was yesterday.

My sister and her husband arrived late yesterday afternoon, they are staying for four nights.. We went to see my daughter because they had not seen the new house. Eve had made some very nice mince pies and Esme with help made cup cakes.

On the evening, my brother came down, he lives about an hour away. We went for a meal in a nice Italian restaurant . Everyone decided to have starters and a smaller size main course. All of the starters bar one came with crusty bread, so they were no use to me. The only that didn’t was the crispy prawns. They were deep fried in a crispy batter, very nice, but I could just taste all the oil, not good for my diet. I then decided to have a risotto as that would be easy to eat. I hoped that there would be one in a tomato sauce , but they were all in a creamy sauce. A couple of the others also had a risotto and we all agreed that there was far too much dream, it was like eating a rice pudding.

We have been on our own since mid morning as my sister has gone off to spend the day with her daughter and granddaughters who live in Leeds, they are having dinner there, so will be back later. There is no room for them to stay there, so they usually have to stay in a hotel , but it is just a half hour drive to us, so they are trying out staying here.

They are going to spend the day with us tomorrow, so we are planning on going for a long walk incorporating lunch out. It is going to be very cold, but the sleet isn’t due to start until later in the day. It is their eldest granddaughter’s birthday on Tuesday, but the girls will be at school and their mum and dad at work. So my sister is going to buy all the ingredients for a birthday tea and get it ready for when they all arrive home. I hope the roads will be safe to drive on Tuesday.

Because it's the word of God, in their eyes, AnninG - which takes precedence over any mere human preference.

The Sabbath day is sacrosanct.
"Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates."

In the 1970s, I lived in an area of the west Highlands mainland where sabbath observance was strong, and I followed the local custom as anything else was seriously frowned upon.
I came to like it - a day in which I could do nothing, with a clear conscience.

Even now, over 40 years since I left there, I still feel a bit guilty if I hang washing out on a Sunday!