General Chat

Good morning you all, and a VERY HAPPY EASTER DAY.

Was in bed again last night by 9.30 pm. I spent a bit of time reading and finished my book. I have started my Vera LLYN book this morning, and whining minutes she mentioned where she was born EAST HAM. not a million miles from where I lived, and believe or not, she lived in the next street to my AUNT ETTY. Ladysmith Avenue, where I use to visit as a child. I can see this is going to be a very interesting book and mentioned many areas around the EAST END, that I knew and visited in my youth. !! Mainly Saturday nights at the local dance halls.

Has BUGGER LUGS turned up Jane ?? He certainly likes to get around the neighbourhood. I bet the rabbit population, is being controlled by him.

Another beautiful day here. I have been sitting outside in the sunshine, and will go back when I finish on here.

I haven't read the posts again,(NAUGHTY BOY !!!) but see you have all been busy, chatting away. It's so nice to see that complete strangers(thats what we were) have got together like we have, and enjoy one and others, chit chat. It's like an extended family. <3 <3 <3

Nothing doing this end until we go to lunch 4.00 pm, It was the earliest Jan could get. I will be wearing my new shirt that Ros bought on the way down. Not that I am short of them. !!! I don't know why I packed a jumper and big coat, as I am not going to need either.

I hope you all have a very nice day, whatever/whoever you are seeing/doing. I will try to get back this evening.

Sandra's just woken up so she's seen the pics and loves them especially the two Robins Mel, and she loved the e-card AnnG she said to say thank you and she's sending a big hug <3
Have a lovely time away, I hope the weather stays nice for you, how long are you away for?

I can see how fast the moon moved Mel, we couldn't see it and wondered where it was.
I guess it was visiting you lol :-D

Morning all

Another lovely sunny day today. Happy Easter everyone. Thanks AnnG for the lovley e-card, I will show it to Sandra when she wakes up.

Well, my hair is all coloured and looking much better now and I'm getting on great with OH's tree thanks to Ancestry opening their records for free, with a bit of luck I'll have most of it finished before they close the records again. I'm so relaxed it's great, I feel like we're on holiday with this lovely weather and no stress. I could get used to this. Pity the workmen are back on Tuesday, but for now I'm just going to relax and enjoy the weekend.

I love reading your posts Vera, they are always very interesting. Don't worry about getting carried away, I'm the same with my posts sometimes.....well, most of the time lol ;-) ;-)

Has Thomas turned up yet Jane? Pleased to see you had a lovely lunch with your family.

The pictures you sent Mel were great, you have worked very hard on the flowers. I'll show Sandra the one of the Robin's when she wakes up later, she's going to love that one. The one of the nest was good, it amazes me how clever birds are.

No I haven't done the cushions for Sandra yet Ann, but will do it at some point, we've been so busy in the front garden as we needed something to do so we could keep an eye on the workmen, in fact we ran out of things to do in the end, so OH painted the front fence, it all looks really good now with no weeds in sight and the grass cut. I've also been busy with OH's family tree, taking advantage of the records being open for free on Ancestry this weekend and bank holiday Monday, so I'll probably make a start on them next week for her. I did put in the new zip in her coat, although the way the weather is at the moment she doesn't need it, never mind she'll have it for when she does now.

Pleased to see the lamb situation was sorted Frank, hope the next lot of lamb is better.

Good morning and A Happy Easter to all. Hope nobody has forgotten to get something in as all the shops will be shut (unless you happen to have a small convenience store nearby).

Vera I love your long posts, I am always in such a hurry lately that you put me to shame, I must try to do better.

I love Maldon but not been there for a long time. We lived in Essex in Great Baddow near Chelmsford from 1968 to 1973 and used to take the children down to Maldon a lot. when we lived in Bedfordshire we used to spend a lot of weekends with our friends in South Woodham Ferrers and also then a favourite trip was to Maldon. since we moved here in 1992 it is such a horrible long drive to that side of the UK that we have not been for ages.

Mel It is strange how we feel drawn to the places of our ancestors. My Great great grandfather (Paternal) came from Dorset, My maternal great great grandfather came from Somerset. I have always felt at home in the West country. And of course OH's family very much came from Devon, Dorset and Somerset (and Wales).

Jane pleased to hear that lunch was good, was it in a hotel or pub or an individual restaurant? Has Thomas returned?

anyway, best get on, packing and a bit more gardening to do today. Have a lovely day everyone.

Morning all,

Happy Easter and I must say its a beautiful day here with blue sky too.

Nothing doing here so I shall just do some gardening I expect. I really must tackle to top border. The wind blew my clematis support over and I had'nt realised and it has grown all wonky and was laying right across my lovely pink penstemom.

I don't mind you getting carried away Vera its nice to read what people have been up to. I have family from Maldon or that area and Tiptree. A lot of my ancestors worked in the jam factory. They were from Messing. When we had a caravan at St osysth I used to see this signpost on the way dow to Iwardleigh and Messing. I never knew then that my family came from there but I always looked at that sign as if I was drawn to it. My grandfathers family came from Devon and thats where I have ended up and guess what? I have family in the graveyard of our little church.

Evening all

Mel, what a sweet little nest the robin made. I can understand you not wanting them in your shed. A few years ago, at our old house, a pair of wrens nested at the top of the door jamb on our shed. It was outside the door and it was great watching them feed their young but for weeks we could only open the door a few inches and had to do a wiggle and a shimmy to get in and out and trying to bring out anything bigger than a pair of secateurs was a nightmare.

I love your church flowers as well. You are very talented - I wouldn't know where to start.

Frank, I'm glad the lamb got replaced. Lamb is usually so tender, it must have been a shock to find it all chewy. I bet you are enjoying all this sunshine and sea air. Devon is a lovely county.

You've done a lot of hanging baskets AnninG. I should think they will look lovely through the summer. I haven't got any hanging baskets but I do have a load of troughs which are right down one long path at the side of the house and also down the side of the garage. I've gradually filled about a third of them with perennial plants but I try and put colourful annuals in the rest. That's enough for me without having hanging baskets as well. I can't remember when you said you are off to Devon but I hope the weather stays good for you and you have a lovely time.

Gill, I am glad you are feeling a bit more relaxed this weekend. Make the most of the peace and quiet and have a rest, though I bet you have been working in your garden.

You got a good deal on your grow bags Mandy :-D

Ann, it was interesting to hear about your mum and dad's house. My son and dil have recently bought a big old Victorian house which is definitely a project !!! It has 6 bedrooms and also has a big dark creepy cellar and it had also been occupied by an old lady living alone.

Anne, I hope you are feeling better now.

I wonder if Thomas returned OK. I hope he did or Jane will be worrying about him instead of enjoying herself. That cat is a real character and a dirty stop-out.

Yesterday we went into our next door neighbour for coffee and cake with some of the other people in our little Close. There are only 10 of us live here and a couple had other commitments so couldn't come. We had a lovely couple of hours. There is a lady living in the corner bungalow and she is so funny. She had us laughing non-stop. This lady is 87, partially blind, has had breast cancer and a brain tumour. The treatment for the tumour left her with epilepsy. I am sure what she has been through would have left me a very grumpy old woman but she is so cheerful and happy. She's a real tonic.

This morning I went to our nearest supermarket, Sainsbury's, just for some milk and a bit of fresh veg. Well, you would have thought it was Christmas Eve. It was chaos. Trolleys were laden high, every checkout was open and they all had long queues. Why do people think that a couple of days holiday means they need 10 times the amount of food that they usually buy?

This afternoon we went to Maldon (Essex). It was very pleasant but I think the world and his wife were there. It was nice walking along by the river/estuary and watching the black headed gulls and other birds. It was good to see so many families out together with the kids running around having a whale of a time. There is an enclosed area called the Splash Park. It's £2.50 per child and they can stay all day if they want. It's basically a load of water fountains squirting through arches, wheels and spinning things. The children race in and out and get soaking wet but there is no standing water so no danger of a child drowning. I was quite impressed.

Tomorrow, we are going to daughter's for lunch. Not sure if it is just us or if anyone else will be there. She lives on the coast and the weather promises to be good again so I expect we'll have a stroll along the sea wall and an ice cream.

I think I have written half a book again. You must all tell me if I rabbit on too much. Once I start writing I sometimes get carried away.

Evening All
Not long home after a lovely day and a really smashing lunch.I will catch up with the posts in the morning. Britains got talent and Casualty for me and then bed.I feel quite worn out.

Love your Church Flowers and Wreath Mel, and what a great little nest Robbie has made :-D

Night Night from me.

How lovely they are Mel, you have made a smashing job of them!!! :-) :-) :-D

Sent them the flowers and the nest.

It's beautiful nest they made Mel. Are you going to keep it? You could put some of those small sugar coated chocolate eggs in it with a little sign 'Nature's Easter Eggs'. :-) I never seem to have what I want in the garden when I do a decoration either. The egg covered in moss sounds as if it turned out well with the grape hyacinths and daffs.

Frank, my mum and dad bought a big old house they renovated so they could have day patients from a local mental hospital. After dad died and mum retired, she carried on living there on her own till she was 74. It had 5 bedrooms, 3 of which took 3 single beds without any of the beds against a wall and a cellar I found creepy. I would have hated rattling around in it on my own, to say nothing of all the cleaning, but she loved it there and was very reluctant to eventually move. It sounds like Jan is the same. Other places must seem pokey after you have got used to living in big rooms! :-) It was worth taking the lamb back then. Sounds like bangers and mash could be on the menu one day!

I have been busy doing all these flowers for the church. I redid the easter egg wreath from last year first. Then made the moss egg and put it in a fower pot. Then I did a ring with ivy leaves all around it and covered the foam with moss. Do you think I could find any flowers in the garden? NO all I cold find were 8 grape hysinths so I put those all around the ring and then picked 9 daffs to go inbetween. Even though I say it myself it looked good. I put it on the font with the egg in the middle and I have remembered to take a photo this year of both.

I thought you would like that site Mandy as the small things are just the ticket for making for the girls and they won't take much wool either.

As to the Robins nest in my shed I had to shut the door as I did'nt want him nesting in there as they make such a mess and I am the only one aloud to make a mess in MY shed. They must have built another nest soemwhere by now and no they did'nt go back to the first one she was sitting on.

Frank that was good Jan got another lot of lamb and some sausages for complaining. Good on her I say for taking it back.

When I went down the church the children staying at the big house were all in the swimming pool. Great shouts of laughter and delight spreading across the grounds.

Anne, No doubt someone will know what went on, and you will hear about it.

When the girls came home I was reading my book, my eyes hadn't decided to close. They had been to Torquay and visited M & S and Sainsbury's. Jan then rang the butchers about th meat. I went wroth her for the ride, while Ros had a doze. She said he was very nice about it and said that sometimes they get a ROUGE LAMB and sometimes a Bull/Cow. He gave her a large joint of lamb and a heap of sausages. She had a job to get them in the freezer. When we got back she crept around to the lounge window, and there was Ros with her head on her chest, asleep. I woke her to see if she wanted a COT which she did. and some Lemon Drizzle Cake that Jan had made.

I have finished my book on the Tablet, so will start my Vera Lynn book now.
The girls have just gone into the garden to put in some plants, and water the garden.

I have looked at the football results and see West Ham drew 2-2 with Leicester. So not a bad result.

Beautiful evening here, as I expect it is all over the Country. Conrad has had TWO DAYS of rain and high winds. So we are doing better than him, for a change.

Afternoon All,

What a lovely one it is! OH is at a match so I'm Billy no mates just now but will be going out soon.

You seem to be having a nice time Frank so make the most of it! I wish I was there!! lol.

AnnG I don't think I could shoot a Rabbit either, not after having them as pets, but I know they have to be controlled as they are pests when they can get into your garden. We used to have them in the field at the back of us, but I think they have shot every one now as we haven't seen any for a few years. Since they have had cattle instead of a hay meadow at the back of us, we have lost most of the hedges, no Kestrels any more or Hedgehogs, it's so different.

Did you make an egg Mel? I hope Robbie's nest soon has some eggs in it. :-) I noticed on line some cute things for Easter made with pompoms and thought of you.

Gill I'm glad you are making the most of the peace and quiet........enjoy it while you can! I expect you have been doing some of the garden though. :-) Did you manage to finish Sandra's cushions and did she like them?

I expect you are laying your trail of easter eggs for the hunt Mandy. I bet the children are talking about it and can't wait till tomorrow. Better not let Max help though as he would wolf them down and they aren't good for him! :-)

When OH got home from footie on Thursday at about 10.00pm he said there was an unmarked police 4x4 with headlights on parked in front of the new gate across the end of the close with 2 policemen standing outside it. We did some curtain twitching as you do to see what was going on and noticed Mrs O opposite doing the same! lol. Then the neighbour next to the gate the other side.There are no street lights where we are but we saw one of the policemen making phone calls. Nothing happened for over half an hour and then both policemen went into the bungalow next door to us where the caravan is. They were there for nearly an hour before they went and we were surprised the neighbour hadn't gone outside to them as they were parked where his 'keep clear' sign was. We still don't know what it was all about as we haven't seen anyone to ask.

good afternoon all, you certainly sound relaxed Frank I am sure the break is doing you good. Are there many people around at the beach?

Mel, you never stop, now a decoration for the church. did you get one made?
You said about shooting a rabbit. A proper country Gal then. I can't ever imagine being capable either mentally or physically of shooting a rabbit.

Mandy that was a good bargain then wasn't it?
We have really good neighbours who always look after the garden when we go away, as we do theirs. They will water the baskets which are in the greenhouse for this coming holiday. They will be brought out when we come home.

gill it is good to seeing you sounding more relaxed as well.

Well here I am THREE PINTS OF SPECKETED HEN LATER. Mn Ciry won 1=0 so puts them top od the Prem. Liverpool play later.

Came home to an empty house, so I expect they are out enjoying themselves.. I am going to get my book and have a read till my eyes tell me different. ;-) ;-) ;-)

SEE YOU LATER.

Afternoon all,

Another lovely sunny day here again , we popped out to get some grow bags, compost ,and a couple of new hanging baskets which i've now planted up , the grow bags were Levingtons £4.49 each but i noticed she had charged me for the cheap ones which were £1.49 ,they were there on the trolley for her to see and twice i told her what they were so thats up to them if they want to loose out .

I had a look at the site Mel there's some nice little things to make on there ,i liked the little bunnies with the big ears .

I hope this little Robbies nest is in a safe place so it doesn't collapse like the other one did ,did the other Robbins carry on nesting there Mel ?
I'd like to see what you make for the church .

I take it no breakfast went missing this morning then Frank :-D
Bit of sea air and a nice ice cream carn't be bad ,i bet there's lots of people about on the front with all this lovely weather .

Enjoy a nice stress free day Gill you've had several weeks of worry so enjoy the weekend .

Morning Mel,morning all

Lovely and sunny here today and sooooo peaceful :-D Like you Mel, the bird are singing.

Sorry to hear about the lamb Frank and it wasn't cheap either, I would definitely take it back and have a refund. Another bad night, lets hope the sea air helps and you both have a better nights sleep tonight. Also hope a refund is given for the lamb, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

That was a lot of hanging baskets AnnG, they're going to look so pretty.

No they didn't put plenty of hardcore down Ann so we're expecting the drive to sink under the weight of the car. I believe weeds grow through as well, according to another neighbour down the street who had the same people.

Sorry to hear Thomas is still out Jane, at least the road is quiet so that must ease some of the worry. I hope he returns home soon. Enjoy your time with the family today.

Thanks Mandy, I'll keep an eye out for the card. I hope you find the bags before tomorrow. That's the problem with empty properties they are a target for burglars, at least all the rooms were empty so they couldn't take anything and using the key saved a lot of damage to. Not very nice to discover though.

I'm pleased you've found Robbies nest Mel, looking forward to seeing the photo.

Well, I'd better go, I decided to colour my hair today and now it needs rinsing off and the conditioner putting on.

Good morning Mel. and all,

Not a good nights sleep unfortunately, I kept waking from dreams,and Ros was coughing throughout the night, and getting up for the loo. SODS LAW, when it came time to get up, we both wanted to sleep.!!!!

I started this a while ago, when Jan called me for Breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausages and toast. with fresh orange. Now full to bursting. I won't have space for my beer at lunch time. lol lol.

Jan wants us to go to the beech for an Ice Cream, then I will go and watch football, while they take the lamb back. They had better get their A@@@'s into gear, or it will be too late.

Wall to wall sunshine here, and very warm with it. I should have bought some shorts with me, but it would scare people to death seeing me walking around in them. lol lol.

AinG. plenty of sunshine to share around for when you come. We are now staying until Wednesday, to be sure we won't get caught up in the weekend traffic, on Monday/Tuesday. Going back up north.

Jan's Daughter Kerry's partner makes spice mix's that are sold in many garden centre outlets. Beckwith. where Jane goes sells it. Jan has a mix for tonight for a Chicken Curry. It's suppose be be very mild, so will suit both Jan and Ros. I can always add a little more curry powder to heat mine up a bit.

Hope you all enjoy your day today. I will try to get back later. xxxx

Morning all,

Suns out and the birds are singing their heads off. The skys blue with some white fluffy clouds but I think we are in for a nice day.

Depending on the eggs I get today I may have enough for a delivery to Em. If not I have some bantams eggs for her and then up the shop for the paper. Nothing else planned so will see how the day progresses as to what I want to do.

Hope Frank had another good nights sleep and everyone else.

Must make something in the way of flowers for the church too. Think I will make a moss Easter Egg perhaps with flowers around it, not sure yet.