General Chat

So sorry to hear about your friend Jane. I don't think that there is a family in the land that hasn't been affected by Cancer, and although there have been amazing advances over the years it's still something we all dread. :-(
Goodness Frank!!! No comment is all I can think of to say!!
We've just come in from the garden to a welcome cuppa! OH has rotovated a strip on the veg patch so that he can transplant the leeks sometime this week!! It's a bit of a pain but they are so delicious which makes it all worth while! I've been deadheading roses, what a job!!
Tea's up!

I didn't see the last page of posts so have missed what everyone said.

The light was on around the back and we could hear him by his gas meter, then his heating went on. His car is around the front Mel, so they must of already brought their suitcases in.

Sorry to hear about your friend Jane, I can imagine the shock you felt when you heard. That was lucky with Thomas's furball being on a hard surface and not on the carpet. Pleased to hear Jorge is settling in nicely now. All seems okay with next doors gas, but he was silly connecting it himself. He's been out all day today, so it's been nice and quiet with just the birds singing in the background.

Oh dear Frank, fancy using the plastic chopping sheet and then getting soaked outside, it's not your day today is it? Maybe it would be better if you sat down and read a book, it might be safer in the long run ;-) ;-)

It's a good job OH decided not to do the painting by the sounds of the weather by you and Jane as we normally get the same weather a few hours later. I don't think OH would be to chuffed if the paint got washed off again.

Going to get a cuppa then watch Beechgrove it's on after the repeat of Gardeners World and is very similar, so that's my treat to myself on a Sunday. I found a couple of 60 minute makeovers before which Sandra liked. The TV isn't very good at the weekend apart from Poldark, which I can't seem to get into this time around, for some reason. I have a few things recorded on another system, including films, so I might watch them with Sandra and OH after my gardening programmes.

Oh Frank, what are you like? Didn't it smell strange? I would have thought the sheet would melt. What a shame though when you were being kind to Ros. Hope dinner makes up for it.

Jane, I have never shampooed the carpet, it is one of the things OH likes to ;play' with. I don't think he moves furniture, just does the quite large expanse in the lounge and conservatory and the smaller patch in the hall and the part of the dining room that gets walked on as it is a second route from the kitchen to the lounge (Lounge diner is an L shape with the dining room the short leg of the L.
Maybe that mouse didn't agree with Thomas. Ugh used to hate clearing that up.

the box is huge that son has sent, he did email and say two parcels were due delivering I think it is all in one. It took two of us to lift it and OH not only signed for it but had to produce ID as well so goodness knows. I suppose it could be alcohol although we didn't have to produce ID for the last lot. We will go to Evesham for the day I think as there is a craft shop there that I like. I usually get money from my sister and our daughter and also OH gives me money to spend as I like to have craft stuff, but I need to choose it myself.

I don't know about your eyes watering Mel with the huge egg, what about the poor girl who laid it lol ;-) ;-) ;-) Was it a double yolk?

I hope my birthday card arrives on time AnnG, I posted it yesterday but think I missed the last post and being Sunday (no post) it won't go until tomorrow morning. Hopefully it'll arrive by Tuesday for your special day. I wonder what the heavy parcel is your son sent you.

It's been dry here for most of the day, but there's lots of clouds around so OH decided not to do anymore painting today, he's hoping to finish it off on Tuesday as the forecast is sunny, but then more rain to follow on Wednesday. My foot and arm are feeling much better now so hopefully I'll be able to do the screening once OH has finished the painting and weather is kind to us again, which should be about another weeks time. They should be fully healed by then.

There are lot of birds in our garden and I can hear them all chirping through the open window. Sandra has been laughing at them all hopping and following each other along our fence. I must admit they are funny to watch.

AnnG would your OH fancy coming around here to shampoo my lounge carpet? It is in desperate need :-S I do have a carpet shampooer but is not great and it is moving all the furniture :-| :-| Nightmare !!!!!

Frank, just be thankful you aren't a lady Hen!!!!!!! Made my eyes water too.. That was one big egg there :-0 I bet the Blisworth show was a bit of a washout this afternoon if it rained like it did here. What a downpour we had and with thunder too. There are so many shows etc planned this weekend it is a shame if all the hard work is all wasted.

Maybe you have another delivery of Gin AnnG for your Birthday :-D :-D. Are you doing anything special ? Does the parcel sound liquidy? :-D

As I was talking to my Sister on the phone just now I heard that noise that cats make when they are about to be sick.....Thomas did a right one for me to clear up :-0 Luckily it was on the hall floor which is not carpeted :-) Big fur ball I think.
Got a couple of pics of Jorge ..one a little video clip and the other with him and Jilly.
No more chewing Mandy,and the separation anxiety thing seems to have gone now.

I shouldn't be allowed near a cooker again. While Ros was down the garden, I thought I would treat her. So got a scone mix from the cupboard, and set about doing the mix. All fine, I rolled it out and got the cutter to cut them out. Still all fine. I then put what I thought was a baking parchment on the tray to put them on. MY MISTAKE. It was a plastic chopping sheet. Like the idiot I am, I laid it on the tray and transferred the scones on to it. After 12/15 minutes I though they would be done, I had also washed the tops in beaten egg. Yes they were done CEMENTED TO THE TRAY and Chopping sheet. The whole lot went straight into the black bin.

Ros had a line of coloureds out, so I called down the garden to say "WATCH THE WEATHER" Too late the heavens opened and I went to get the washing in. Which I did and got a good soaking in the bargain. So I am well chuffed as you can imagine. :-P :-P :-P NOT.

The lamb is cooked and resting, I will see about roasting the parsnips and cooking the veg. I am making individual Yorkshires today, as the meat is already cooked.

Poor people who are still at the Festival, IT'S ABSOLUTELY PEEING DOWN NOW. and the sky is as black as your hat. !!!!

John Fairs said that if he ever had to move from the U.K. he would go to New Zealand. In his previous life, he travelled the world. He believes there is no other Country in the World that comes near New Zealand, and there isn't a Country he hasn't been to.

Time I started dinner, so be good and stay dry. !!!

Afternoon Everyone

Gill I hope your neighbours Gas pipes are all good .He really should have got the Gas people in to reconnect.If something isnt right he might not have a leg to stand on now if he has done it himself.

Vera what a shame your friend had to have that major heart op while in New Zealand.I suppose in one way it was good as they were not just on a few weeks holiday.I take it he is all fit and well again now? Our friends dow nthe road have just come back from New Zealand too. They went for 7 months as Peter loves New Zealand . He did GP locum work for 5 months and Elaine found a volunteer job in an Art Gallery. Elaine said that if it wasnt for having family here they would love to live in NZ.
How is OH's back today? Gentle walk and just pottering I hope and nothing too strenuous.

Ann, that is quite worrying about that little girl. Poor G must have felt quite on edge with her being 'so friendly' . It is so sad these days that us good adults have to be so careful.It sounds like she would have happily gone off with OH if he had said something like shall we go and get an ice cream or to see his little puppy .

What a long drawn out affair with your insurance claim Vera.Are they messing you around? Good to have a Son in the business though should you need a liitle 'help' :-D I hope it is not long before you get your money .

Could it have been Wedding Celebrations last night Ann with the fireworks and music. I hope you got to sleep in the end.
Good night for you Mel .bet you feel more refreshed today. We get rattly doors when the wind blows.rather than close the doors completely I put a sock down between the door jamb and door or even a shoe. That always works.

I had more rather disturbing news from my good friend from school days last night. She is a couple of years younger than me. She has cancer :-(.. It seems secondaries have been found in the lungs and she has had to have a stent put in the bottom of her oesophagus as swallowing has been a problem. She had Breast Cancer about 8 years ago .She can only eat soft foods and is having complan drinks. I rang her as I had been worried about her ,but this was all of a shock to hear.
Tests are still being done but it is not really sounding great. Sue was the friend who was with me in Greece back in the 70s when we were Childrens Nannies.We go back a long way. Why is life so damned rotten for some people???

The wind had died down a lot here at last ,but still quite blowy .At least it is sunny. Chris has dug over the veg patch this morning and said it was like concrete :-S. I think he will be feeling quite achey later.
I'm looking forward to my appointment tomorrow with the Consultant and am hoping he is pleased with my progress and gives me the all clear to drive.It will be an early start as the appointment is at 9.15. We will leave here about 8.15 . So this afternoon it is a hair wash and sort out my hairy legs .Those of you than never have to worry about that problem are so blooming lucky :-D.

Afternoon all, My you have been busy since I posted yesterday I will try to catch up on them in more detail,

Mel that EGG is enormous, Poor girl laying that. It's giving my bum a twitch just thinking about it. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Not a good outcome for the painting Gill, it's very annoying when paint get washed off, and the mess it causes.

Anne your OH was very lucky not to have landed himself at the POLICE STATION. Where on earth was the childs Mother. She shouldn't be allowed to wander around like that. I remember many years ago, my brother TED went into a public toilet and there was this boy, unable to get his winkle out to have a pee. So not even considering the consequences he helped him perform the task. The boys Mother came is to see if he was alright, just as he had finished weeing. My brother explained the little boys predicament, and the woman thanked him for his help. LUCKY or WHAT. !!!! When my two were young my wife or I always went with them into the toilet.

AnninG, We to love lamb, and try to get a Shoulder quite often, but this one is a half leg, We like you do eat a lot of WHITE MEAT. I do like a nice roast chicken with stuffing, and added onion and parsley. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water. <3 <3 <3

Ros has changed the bed and done a big whites wash. Thats all dried ready for ironing. There is a coloureds wash just finishing, and that will go out on the line. Most of which are my underpants and shorts, which I won't let her iron. T shirts she insists on ironing, even though I rarely wear to go out in.

Vera, I do hope your OH is making good progress after his ordeal, and the Insurance Company doesn't give you too much hassle over your claim. It's good you have your Son in the background, should you need him.

Ros has just bought me in a nice cup of coffee, it tastes so creamy, so I can guess shed cream instead of milk, LOVELY !!!

We were thinking of trying to get to the Canal Festival, but neither of us are good on our legs, for walking, and to take the car, means parking in a field a long way from all the activities. So we will stay at home. Plus the weather doesn't look that good, but hope it holds off for all the stall holders, and the 100s of people who have turned up to support things.

I see Tony has done a load of washing, so he is coping. I did pop in to see how Val was yesterday. She seems quite well, but with the Parkinsons, I don't see her DANCING AROUND anytime soon.

I am sure I have missed someone out on my reply's. Sorry if I have.I haven't eaten again today, so will look forward to my dinner later.

Have a nice afternoon whatever you are doing. xxxx

Better day here, but still very unsettled! I did manage to dry some washing this morning, at least it's dry enough for the airing cupboard!
We've had a clear up in the greenhouse this morning! Everything seems to get so untidy!! I wonder why?!!!
Mel I have sent you a pm.

Gill are you sure he was'nt getting all the cases out of the car having the light on?

Frank, what a shame the match was disappointing. Good job you had not made a special effort to get somewhere to watch it.
I hope that lamb tastes as good as I imagine it will. My favourite meat and we don’t have it often as it is so expensive. We also try not to eat too much red meat so tend to have a lot of chicken. Today we have Chicken thighs which I will do in the oven or OH will barbecue.
Jane, I do so agree, how mucky to go to the shop in PJs but also in slippers, in the rain. My Mum would have said it was common, although I think she would struggle to see that anyone actually did it. Yes, somebody said they thought supermarkets had banned it, I think they have in some areas. And it was not as though it was early and the place was empty, It is onle a metro so not one of the larget ones but it was gone 11am and there were a lot of people around.
No more food for Thomas today then if he has feasted on a mouse. At least it saves you money.
We have an electric ‘mock’ fire. Don’t think we could be bothered with logs or coal these days.
Gill oh dear that was really frustrating to have the paint all wash off. When the rain came down yesterday it really lashed down so no doubt it was strong enough to take the paint off.
Because you are always busy you are bound to be bored when you ahve to be inactive for a while. Hopefully you eventually found something to watch, read or do.
Pippyn, it was our gladioli that OH had to nip out and secure and we also lifted two hanging baskets down to keep them safe. We had stewed rhubarb after our pizza,
That is the last lot for this year but it has done really well. OH also picked another good amount of blackberries. I am freezing them at the moment until I see if we get any apples in September.
Oh that is good that the little bird had flown
Annx No I don’t know what the criteria is for coming first and I do wish the judges would put remarks on the cards. When we go to the Malvern Autumn show there is a big agricultural show tent and, especially with the floral arrangements there are comments for those who won and those who didn’t. However the main class yesterday which was to celebrate the anniversary of the first journey of The Queen Mary to USA and there were only two entries. Bothe done in red, white and blue, both very attractive and with plenty of ephemera of the voyage. I couldn’t really see why one was better than the other, except the bigger one won. Both concentrated on the British side with the union jack etc, I thought it would have been a good touch to have had a stars and stripes somewhere. But what do I know?
Unusual for a parent not to get uptight when their child chats to a stranger. Worrying in a way but how lovely that she though your OH was nice.
Vera I slept badly last night Vera, it wasn’t hot, I had a bit of indigestion from the pizza and rhubarb but really I just couldn’t switch off. I had been rading back through one of my holiday diaries (1992) and so was thinking about that I suppose.
I have just ordered the new Oasis Kindle which should come tomorrow, apparently it is easy to read in the dark with it, not why I bought it but it might be useful. I bought it because I have had my kindle almost 9 years and, although a lot of the time I read books I do use the kindle for holidays and the current one is getting tempermental. Only trouble is that I will have to come to grips with it and sort out how to transfer from the old to the new.
I have never entered any show,. However, I might think about it next year as I am sure some of my photos are equally as good as the ones on display. I didn’t see any cards on display but maybe I missed them, OH got a bit bored and was looking for his coffee and cake.
Nice to see your friends for a catch up after they had been away for so long. Hopefully your OH has recovered from overdoing it by now.
Hope you soon get your insurance sorted. My sister was put through hoops claiming for a cancelled trip but she eventually got the full amount, not before phoning twice to customer services who sorted out all the errors that various people had made, there seemed to be a lot of incompetence there. I don’t know what firm it is, one of the cheaper ones I think.
Like you our son is quite high up in one of the big insurance firms, has worked there about 30 years so we are ever hopeful that, if we had a problem with our travel insurance (which is with his firm although not his department he might be able to help us. In our case they do know as we get close family discount. Our daughter too was in insurance before she stopped working by choice and is very good at advice (and is very well known in the insurance field) It is a bit of an strange field really as they get so well known even in other companies.
Mel, our little robin still comes for the mealy worms and I think we had a young one yesterday eating the mealy worms that had blown onto the floor.
Pale blue sky and sunshine today here and the wind has dropped.
Well we have been a bit busy this morning, instead of going out for coffee to a garden centre. OH has shampooed all the downstairs carpets so that will look nice and clean. It was not a great help to me as I was cleaning one half of the kitchen, the worst half round the hob and cooker (not the actual cooker) where it gets greasy and he was trying to fill the thing that holds the cleaninf luid at the sink. As fast as I cleaned and dried it all off he made it all wet again. Not to worry it is all clean now and I will finish the other half tomorrow when he is at golf. He already steam cleaned the floor a couple of days ago.
I have also washed the bedding off our bed so have to put the clean sheets on later, that will be another job done.
We have just received a huge parcel addressed to me from Amazon, from our son and family for my birthday. I have not opened it but it is really heavy. He sent OH gin and mixed tonics and spices for adding to gin for his birthday so goodness knows what he has cooked up for mine.
Like Vera I had a lot to answer so had better stop.

Have sent you an email.

Pippyn if you would like to recieve our pictures would you like to send me your email address please?

Mel x

Morning Mel, morning all

Dull, cloudy and wet here. The wind has calmed down so that's good. OH isn't doing anymore painting today after some of it being washed off yesterday. I checked the weather for next week and it should be dry on Tuesday so he's hoping to have it all finished then. Luckily the only paint to have been washed off yesterday was a little bit on the fence near the gate, about three foot across and seven foot high, so it wasn't to bad in the end, although OH could of done without it happening at all, but he's thankful the main painting had dried and didn't wash away to.

Next door returned home from their holiday last night. I noticed the lights on as we were going to bed around 1am. He kept putting the outside light on, so OH thinks he might be trying to connect the gas supply himself as we noticed he had his heating on not long after. He was suppose to let the gas people turn the gas on for him and do a gas check on everything after putting in the new gas pipes, but it looks like he couldn't wait and has done it himself. I wonder what he'll say about the higher framework we put up against the side fence and all the bright white paint on our bungalow.

I bet you feel good after a decent nights sleep Mel, how nice to see all the birds. Do you still see the hogs, we haven't seen any in our garden for a few nights, maybe it's the bad weather keeping them away. I still put the nuts out for them, but OH said he saw the squirrels eating them the follow morning.

That's good that you can put some of your makes in the show Ann. I hope you win something. Poor OH not knowing what to do when the little girl came over to him. The father really should warm her about stranger danger though, or she could end up talking to the wrong person.

How are you getting on with your insurance claim Vera, I hope it all goes through smoothly for you.

How are you today Frank, I hope your aches and pains have eased now and you managed a good nights sleep. Sorry to hear the match did't go the way you'd of liked.

Pleased to hear the little bird was okay after hitting your window Pippyn. We weren't so lucky a few months back when I pigeon hit our living room window, unfortunately it broke it's neck and died on the patio. OH put it in the bin quickly and I cleaned up the blood off the floor before Sandra saw it. Sandra's our daughter, she's special needs and gets upset over things like that, so we never told her. It's not the first time birds have hit the window, normally they recover and fly off. It's a shock when you hear the thumping noise though and upsetting when some birds die.

O I keep meaning to say to you that I stopped the door rattling with a duster I put across it when I shut the door. Worked a treat, not another rattle out of it. Next time you should try that Ann.

Morning all,

Hope you managed to get some sleep Ann with the party going on and all the noise.

ey skies this morning but there has been some bright patches here and there and that high wind has dropped at last thank goodness.

Don't know about you lot but I slept like a log again last night but was a bit hot jst before I dropped off. I put on jim jams with a tight ankle and a long sleeved top, it was just too much so tonight I shall go back to some old ones that have worn a bit thin.......

The birds are back on the feeders so I must top those up as they hav'nt been around much in the wind. Robby still comes to the patio for his worms or crumbs and bits I put out there for him as its sheltered there under my plants. I think he thinks its his little cave. Jenny Wren has been coming too and the swallows are still sitting. I only saw them once flying yesterday afternoon when the wind had died down a bit. Oh was saying he hopes they don't hatch while this wind was here and all the driving rain as they won't find a lot of insects for the chicks to eat. I must check today and see if she is still sitting.

OH thought she was 7 or 8 Mel and her brother and dad could easily see her, but never called her. She said she came to matches so perhaps she does this with other people. They need to tell her to stop going round hugging strangers though as OH was quite shocked, but if you upset a child by stopping her you could be in trouble as well. He tried telling her to go to her brother and she went, but she came back again.

I had a good look at the rules in the leaflet and they don't say you can't enter things that have been in other shows. They all seem to have different rules don't they. I can't enter any paintings though as they are all signed. They don' t allow frames either.


Vera I think a lot of teachers felt the same. The wind has dislodged an old panel in our fence so it might be time to get a new one as some are a bit rotten now. Your poor friend having a heart attack whilst in New Zealand. I hope he is ok now. It sounds like it will be the way your OH will progress with a few days where he does a bit too much. When you feel ok you can't tell when you reach or pass that point. What a game with the insurance claim. They don't make it easy do they! Fingers crossed it will go through okay.

Just been a load of fireworks let off nearby and there seems to be music and a party going on. No chance of getting off to sleep yet.

O gosh Ann how bad was that to let the little girl go about on her own. The dad should tell her not to speak to stange gentlemen. G could have got into a lot of trouble.

I don't see why you cannot put something in a different show Ann. I would but they specify you cna't put anything in our show that has been in before or in another show.

We had stewed plums and custard tonight too. Its my favorite. Oh had a banana and icecream with his and some custard.

Gill after all oh's hard work on the painting it must have made him feel really down when the rain washed it all off. What a mess it must have made. You rest up ow and make sure you get better before tackling anything else. You can't do as much as you get older so you need to slow down a bit.

Mandy I hope Chelsea dos'nt wear you out too much. You need to find her something to make to keep her occupied. Something where you could both sit down to do it. How are yougetting on with the unicorn bag and cna we see a pic when its finished please. I did'nt see it in the magazine so don't now what its like at all. Have you got to make three of them for all the girls?

There's a lot of posts for me to catch up on but I enjoy reading what everyone is up to.

It was another hot, sticky night last night and I slept very little again and like Frank I sat up reading. We had a lot of rain during the night. Today has been mostly sunny until a couple of hours ago when the rain started again, but the WIND. My goodness, it's been blowing a real hoolie all day. Thank goodness we replaced all the garden fence last year and put up a good strong one.

What a shame the rain came down and spoilt OH's painting Gill. It must be a bit disheartening for him. At least your OH gets the job done quickly. Mine is such a perfectionist that he will spend days preparing every square inch before he even starts painting. He does make a lovely job of anything he does but sometimes I want to scream "Just shove a bit of paint on it to brighten it up a bit". Keep resting your foot and arm until you are sure they are recovered. If nothing else, it's given you a chance to get on with your OH's tree.

Poor Ros, Frank. That must have been a horrid drive for her when she picked up Lewis. It's a shame Harvey couldn't have done it himself. What a pity you have to look for another bracelet now and thank goodness that lady accepted your apology for your typo. You'll have to make sure you double check everything. I find my iPad and phone are inclined to substitute words and put in things I haven't typed. Please can I come to dinner tomorrow? Lamb's my favourite and I love lots of veg though I can't manage cheese sauce and gravy. One or the other please.

Difficult situation for your OH at the match Ann. It seems so sad that unrelated adults and children can't just enjoy each other's company anymore. Some years ago a female teacher friend of mine was in charge of the reception class at her school. She was a very motherly type and, if a little one fell over, her instinct was to pick the child up, dry the tears and give him/her a little hug. She found it difficult when she was told she must not do this and ended up retiring early and the education system lost another good teacher.

AnninG, I'm glad you got to the horticultural show. Do you ever enter anything in these shows yourself? I am sure you would do well with some of your photos and cards. We don't belong to the local horticultural society but usually look in on their shows. They are not always well supported and I believe they are thinking of not running them anymore. Hope you enjoyed your pizza. That's what OH always chooses to have if I go out to dinner with my girl friends.

Mandy, It's great that Katie has a chance to go away for a couple of nights, and even better that it isn't going to cost lots of money. It's lovely that Chelsea will be able to spend some time with you as well. She'll keep you on your toes :-D When our grandchildren were younger I used to love the rare occasions when we we had them individually and could spend some one-to-one time with them.

We had a lovely day yesterday. Friends of ours have been in New Zealand for 6 months. They have had a very stressful time as the man had to have major heart surgery while he was there. They returned on Monday and came for lunch yesterday. We have kept in close touch by text and phone while they have been away but there was still lots to talk about. OH was in good form but I think he maybe overdid it a bit as his back hasn't been good today. He has still managed walks to the corner and some of his exercises but is having to take it a bit easier.

Today I have been trying to finalise our travel insurance claim. It's been 2 months since it all started but the first couple of weeks back I put it aside as I was so busy trying to do everything OH usually does and drive him around to doctors, hospitals, physio etc. Then I had to get a medical certificate filled in at our doctors' practice at my cost (just over £40) and they kept it for nearly 4 weeks because the person dealing with insurance claims was on holiday. Half the questions on the different forms aren't really relevant and once upon a time you had one claim form and paid one excess on your policy. Now they divide the insurance up into different sections and you pay the excess for each person on each section. Our excess is £65 so I have to pay £65 to claim back the medical expenses for OH plus £130 to claim for the curtailment of our holiday as we both had to come home. I assumed they would just deduct the excess when they settled the claim but, no, I have to send a cheque to cover it before they consider the claim. I think they make it quite difficult so that some people just give up and don't bother to proceed with their claim. However, as I am claiming over £2000 I shall not be giving up. What they don't know is that our son works in insurance, admittedly not this sort of general public insurance, but I think he is fairly well known in the field. What he said to me a little while ago was "Mum, if they mess you about let me know and I will have a conversation with them". However I am hoping they will pay up without much fuss as I really don't want to drag him into it and it shouldn't be necessary as we have been very careful to comply with all their terms.

As usual I have rambled on for far too long. Time now for a cuppa and an hour with my book before trying to get some sleep. I hope you all have a good night.

Annx :-) :-)

Jane, We have a fairly good size garden with a nice veg patch. We put in a few fruit trees about 10 years ago which make a sort of avenue along our drive! Some years are better than others for fruit! Not sure we shall do that well this year! :-( :-(