General Chat

I was going to do so mch this morning and Jim caught me over the fence and talked for ages then oh came over and he talked to Jim for ages. I don't know where my morning went. I have just been helping oh with the chicken house nest boxes nd now its lunch time and then a shower and get off to Holsworthy.

Well our morning was exciting, We had a trip to the tip we had plenty of time to 'enjoy' it. It is not open on Thursdays during the winter and only opens at 10am, we were there at 10.15 (we had not realised the change in opening times) so were in a very, very long queue of cars and vans waiting to get in, practically impossible to turn round so patience was required!!! Finally got in and OH had to climb steep steps (stupid I thought) to get a computer, a key board and a scanner into a huge container. That did not help his poorly ankle!

We then had a further queue to get to where the garden waste bins were. Anyway all done and it really only took us 30 minutes. We then drove to tesco for a coffee and shared a sausage bap and came home. 1pm we have a hair appointment.

So glad nothing had happened to you Frank. You know we worry if you don't post even if its just to say you are ok.

We still have sunshine at the mo and oh is working on the nest boxes. The people who bought the field next to us is chopping up the branches he cut off our big beech tree at the end of what we call our back garden down by Prickly Bottom.

I forgot to say the other day I lost one of the old BIG girls so now I am down to 8. Boo hoo. She had been looking like she was going to give up the ghost for a while now but I always leave them till they die so they have had a good life with me and not been gassed in their prime of life.

Good morning all,


Sorry I wasn't around yesterday. The boiler didn't come on again yesterday morning, so I rang Harvey. He said he would get it sorted, he rang back to say HIS PLUMBER BRIAN would be with us at 3.00 pm. As we had to be at the hospital at 1,30 and not know how long we would be there we made it 4.00 pm. He turned up at 4.45. It looks like a printed circuit board may be at fault, if nor that one it could be another. He got the boiler working, AND IT CAME ON AGAIN THIS MORNING. He is going to ring us today with the costs, If to expensive IT WILL BE A NEW BOILER.

Ros has been taken off the clinic's list, and should she have any trouble, she is to contact the hospital immediately and he will have her back in. There is one Artery at the back of the Heart, that isn't quite right, but as it's not causing her to be short of breath he will leave well alone !!! So good news.

I have made an offer on a mower from Milton Keynes, but he hasn't come back to say yes or no. It's only ONE SEASON OLD. He is selling because he has bought a Petrol Mower. He has started off the bidding at £20.90 p or offer. I have offered £17.00 so close to what he wants. If push come to shove I will go to the £20.90. I will then have a spare mower, if Harvey can sort this one of mine out.

Had a good night last night. 11.00 pm till 6.30 this morning. All showered and dressed, but nowhere to go. It's a dark sort of morning here, so I expect it will be reading and getting dinner for tonight

Sorry I haven't felt like reading all the posts, but trust you are all well, and your families. xxxx

We hav'nt heard frop Frank since the 27th.

Morning all,

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month. 1st of March that means Christmas was over two months ago. Where does the time go?

We have quite a pleasent morning here today with some sunshine and no rain at the moment.

This afternoon I have a scan at 3.40pm in Holsworthy. Not looking forward to that at all. Hate it, hate it, hate it................. :-(

Oh is out working on the chicken house and I had a lie in this morning. Knees a lot better so I think I will be able to cope with the steps ok.

Where's Frank???? We did'nt hear from him yesterday. I hope he's ok.

More lovely pics to look forward to on your Photo Blog then AnnG :-D :-D.. I had a new camera a couple of years ago and still don't know how to work it properly :-S. I tend to take most pics these days on my mobile phone.

No i don't think this is a friend that Thomas has made. I was trying to see where there were and was in the front drive with the outside light on and could just see the shape of one cat by the gatepost. All of a suden it took off and then Thomas ran after it from the other side of the gatepost.I am guessing he was seeing it off his territory. There don't seem to be any war wounds though which is a relief. I just hate the sound of cats squabbling and think of the damage that the claws can cause. He is such a laid back cat its horrible ot think of him getting into scrapes. But there ain't nowt I can do .

He has just come in quite wet so it has been raining . Not heavy though . I have been having a battle with the new hoover as i just couldnt seem to work out how to use the attachment on the big long hose. Turns out I was doing it all wrong :-S. Chris has put me right now. I'm just hopeless :-|
Not much cooking tonight. Ready Curry for James Ready Fish Pie for Chris and ready Tagliatelle beef ragu for me.
I really want to do a proper roast in my new oven but dont want to get it dirty LOL
If i was to cook joint of beef in one of those roast bags would the beef still be as good as if it was cooked without any covering? I know I have done those Chickens in a bag but not sure about beef.

Mel I am finding plenty of cobwebs too. I just never seem to be without them :-S

Ann the burial ground sounds very much like the place where Johnny (James's friend) was buried. At least you have done a dummy run and discovered about the road closure on that day.Isn't it typical that that day of all days is the one when the road is closed. I can't get my head around the fact it will be March tomorrow !!!!!. Another month gone.
Hannah and Gareth are off to Venice for a few days soon. I think they go on the 8th so she will be away for her Birthday.I am so jealous . It is one of my most favourite of places . I just wish they were going for a bit longer than 3 nights as they will just get a taster of the place and it needs longer to really appreciate what a special place it is.
I think it is great that these days it is so easy for young people to be able to visit so many different countries all over the world. Fitz's youngest son and wife have been to New Zealand for a few weeks and are now in Sri Lanka for 6 days.Oh to be young again and have these opportunities .

Afternoon all. We caught the bus in to town this morning as I had a chiropodist appointment. Weather then was dull but not too cold but it was definitely back into winter coats weather. I was a bit naughty as I treated myself to a new camera (the one I have is only two years old but this one is an updated model of the same make/type. A Panasonic. I have rarely had fewer then two cameras on the go so it is nothing new to buy one while the other is perfectly fir for the job. Looking at it though I think it is going to be a steep learning curve as the back touch screen can be flipped up and over to take selfies and angled to make it easier to take macro photos. Oh and there are other things I don't understand yet. For a smallish compact it has a lot in it.

Hope your knee continues to improve Mel. My head still feels a bit as though it is filled with cotton wool so the cold that never was must still be lingering. Slept ok last night anyway and feel more myself today.

Annx I can imagine all the cats passing on the message re the new 'catflap'.
Jane maybe Thomas has found a friend!! Or maybe not! :-D He is a lad!

Afternoon All

Sorry you are still so full of cold Ann. Good idea to miss the Beadingand the talk. You wouldnt be very popular ! So alll the cats seem to use the gap in your fence :-DThey must think it is their personal little doorway :-D.. I heard Thomas and another cat again about 5 this morning. I would to find out where this cat lives.It has to be somehere along this road.

Mel you really wrenched your knee if you had to walk with the frame. Poor old you. I expect it will be giving you nasty twinges for a while yet.

The pool will look like new Mandy with the newly painted poles :-D..Bet the children are saying "roll on summer" :-D :-D

It hasnt been much like summer today. It started off ok but then got really dark .A few spots of rain but nothing much to write home about. Just a bit of a gloomy old day really.

I hope you still feeling much better now Gill and that you aren't doing too much !!! :-D

Frank, how has your day been . Better than yesterday ;-)?How about your nights sleep?

I am so ready for a nice cuppa. I will sit and have it while I have a little read.

Afternoon All,

It's just dull here today and cooler. I slept better last night and didn't wake till 7.00am when the man opposite drove off in his van. We were both really weary though so lay in till 10.00am. I had to go back to the newsagents with my magazine this morning as someone had ripped out the knitting pattern! Cheeky so and sos.

I hope your knee soon recovers Mel. A soak in the bath can help, but not if you can't get in or out without wrenching it more!!

I'm still streaming with this cold so don't think I shall be going to the hospital talk that's on tonight or to beading tomorrow. I don't want to pass it to anyone else and it's no fun trying to bead with a tissue in one hand at the ready and keep sniffing!! lol.

We now have 3 planks missing off one of our fencing panels at the bottom of the garden and need to get a new panel as the other planks have some rot. There are brambles behind on the other side of the ditch so no-one from the field can see they are missing so we haven't rushed to do it. OH has noticed this week what a hit the opening is for the cats and says he has seen 3 different coloured lots of back legs disappear through the opening. :-)

Afternoon all,

Its a lot cooler today and now the wind seems to be picking up, we went to the tip first to get rid of the garden rubbish and then on to the electrical shop to get a bulb for the cooker extractor ,DIL had to take the bulb out for us yesterday as it's right of the back of the hood and in a tiny little space no way could Colin or son get there hand in to unscrew the bulb ,she has a smaller hand but it was still a bit tight to get out .
We then went to Lidl's for a few bits and then onto Tesco's so a full morning .

Mel i hope the knee keeps improving taking the ibruprofen will help ,it's surprising how just a little twist the wrong way can give you so much pain .

Morning all,

We,ve had some rain in the night. I heard it on the window when I got up in the night for the loo. My knee is not too bad at the mo but I did take another ibruprofen before bed last night. I am walking very gingerly on it this mroning and oh has let the big girls out for me.

Ann I hope its not too bad tomorrow for those steps I have to do. I shall have to keep the bad one straight when I go up, as you say one at a time.

We have to leave the taps when the shower is on. Your home made sponge sounds nice Mel. Is any left? Lol It's horrid when you twist your knee like that. I have to be really careful with mine now. I hope it's a lot better after a night's sleep. You could be like me climbing the steps with the other leg one at a time like when we were toddlers. I hope your mistletoe takes this time.

Good idea for Colin to take advantage of the nice weather to get the poles painted Mandy. I bet they look smart again now. I'm sure we get more webs inside now than years ago............must be more spiders!!!!

Don't talk to me about cobwebs. I went all round the kitchen with the soft broom as there was so many I just could'nt believe the one I found under the plate shelf. Do you remember me sending a pic of the box hedge with the fairy hammocks on it? well it was one of those indoors. This shelf is over the kitchen radiator. Next job is to have all the plastes and china down and so the lot.

I'm signing out now but just wanted to say I have had the Error Page again today.

Night night.

Iv'e really hurt my knee. I am using the frame to walk about. I hope its better tomorrow or the next day as I have a breast scan on the 1st March and its in a mobile unit with lots of steps up to it. I have taken some ibruprofen to see if that helps.

Oh dear Frank you have had much luck today they say things go in three's , that's the three things so you should be alright now.
Perhaps Ros didn't check the date on the chicken ,i've seen chickens with that days date on so a couple of days later they would pong !!! it's easy to forget to check the date too when i go shopping with Colin some times he picks things up without checking the date so easy done especially if your talking .

Oh Mel sorry but i had to laugh at you scraping the gravel off your beef joint :-D
I remember years ago having to be careful not to turn the tap on while some one was showering ,i think we use to lay a cloth over the tap to remind us not to turn them on .

Colin has been painting all the poles for the swimming pool with white Hammerite paint it has freshened them up as with all the salty water they had some rusty marks on them .

We had the cover off the light in the kitchen today you should have seen all the flies in it !!! yuk
I have had the little loo light fitting down oo and given that a wash and tomorrow i need to go round with the cobweb brush as when the cover went on the light in the kitchen i noticed a long long cobweb hanging there :-0

Evening everyone.

I'm having problems with my internet so hope this goes through okay.

I've been doing some more cushion covers for my mum today, she'd like 2 purple, 2 pink and 2 white. I've done the 2 purple ones and one of the pink ones and now I'm on the second pink one, then just the 2 white ones to do. I'm still having to do them by hand as I knocked my ankle last night and now it's really sore, plus my knee is still playing me up.

I haven't had a chance to read all the posts incase my internet goes off again, but did notice your boiler is playing up again Frank. We've had two boilers over the years through the free scheme so it's well worth looking into. You do have to be on certain benefits to qualify though, so you'd have to check the list first.

I've had to re-tune all our set top boxes today I didn't have a clue what to do so pressed menu and took it from there, it took me hours to fiddle around, but thankfully they're all done now.

Well, I'd better send this before my internet goes off again. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.

Ann I used the word Conked out in a previous post and thought I hav'nt heard that for a long while.

Oh has taken himself off for a shower so I need to sit here and not touch the taps. :-0

Ann I have a box with scissors in which is what I went to first. Its even marked SCISSORS and they were'nt there. Iv'e used another pair now. I love all kinds of scissors so have loads.

Chicken crown in the oven with mixed herbs sprinkled on it and salt and pepper and an oinion. Must make oh some sruffing. I have peas cauli carrots and cabbage to go with it and new pots.

With all the walking around in the kitchen making the cake and cleaning the two cake domes I have twisted my right knee. It is giving me what for.

Yes I did manage to get the grit out of the beef Jane.

Frank I would have taken the chicken back too. Good gosh its only Wednesday and if she bought it on Monday it should have been ok if it was in the fridge. Take it back...

I have made a nice sponge cake this afternoon instead of doing what I set out to do. Also helped oh get the chicken house down off the tressles and as we were stnding there talking three of the big girls walked round to us. I thought at first one was going to go in the pop hole but she decided against it but she did take a good long look with her head inside.

I have been walking about inside and out all day and my poor old feet hurt. Time for a cuppa I think and a nice bit of cake.