General Chat

What a day you've been having Frank!! There is a free boiler scheme, but you have to be claiming a benefit from the list. This is the link if you want to check it out.

https://www.boilergrants.org.uk/

Well I came home with 3 pairs of trousers and they all have thinner legs than me!!! I didn't try them on there as they have those communal changing rooms which I hate. I have a month to take them back so there's no rush. We may look in M&S tonight or tomorrow and see what they have, otherwise I'll make do with the first pair I got. I want them for the funeral and don't want to wear black.

Despite my red 'conk' (that's a word you don't hear nowadays!) and bag stuffed with tissues, I feel a bit brighter.

As we set off this morning, an ambulance was behind our neighbour's fence and on the drive at the new bungalow where the cat woman lives. Mrs O told us yesterday that the husband is very ill now which we didn't know. We've only seen him when he drives by in his car. I saw a workman's van had backed up their drive as I was getting dressed quarter of an hour before, and he had had to move his van onto the drive of the house to make room for the ambulance.

We checked the fuse on the Sky box when we got home and that's what it was, so we were pleased about that! :-)

Oh no, fancy Fitz leaving his laptop on the car roof!! I must admit I have left things on the car boot lid in the past. At least it wasn't his wallet, he may not have heard that drop off!!

I hope you find your scissors Mel.........I think you need a scissors box to keep them all in. I'll be interested to see your latest make. :-)

You did well in the garden to fill two tubs Mandy. It's very satisfying to see how much better it looks afterwards. :-)

I agree with AnnG Frank.I woud take the Chicken back (even if it is stinky) I did that with some meat a couple of months ago .It was rank and I had to put it in the boot of the car. But I got a replacement and some other meat plus a bottle of wine (that was M&S. Not a good day for you what with the bolier ,lawn mower and the Chicken :-S :-S

I have finally got around to doing the rest of the upstairs windows. They look good now inside but the outside looks covered in dust :-S :-S. Some of that will be from all the ground work going on up the road and the rest is the pollen from the Yew. We keep seeing what looks like someone having a bonfire but it is the pollen .A little puff of breeze makes it come out in a big cloud. :-S

I just rang Chris to suggest when the laptop is set up it mght be an idea for Fitz to send me an email just to see if it works. I asked Chris how things were going ...his answer was DON'T ASK :-D.. I take it that means not as easy as he was hoping .I don't expect him home anytime soon !!. He will be wanting a big glass of something when he does get home :-D
Mel did you get all the gravel out of that joint of Beef? If not it must have been like findng bts of shot in it (like a Pheasant :-D :-D)
My lovely Tulips have suddenly flopped . Time for the compost heap I think.

Janice and Larry have been out to sort out a new car today. They should be able to pick it up on Friday. It is a Hyundai .

Off to the compost now

Frank if the chicken is in date you should take it back to the shop and get a refund.

I want the scissors for something else. I am not doing pargamano now. I did do it years ago. I need the scissors to cut out a tiny awkward bit in some felt.

Poor Fitzy having to pick up all the pieces in the road. You get so cross with yourself when you do silly things like that. I think I told you I once put the shopping behind the car and forgot and ran over it!!! I had to clean gravel out of a big joint of beef. I was'nt going to throw it away. At least it was in the middle of the back of the car so I only knockes the carier over and scraped it along a bit and then realized what I had done.

Oh is getting on well today with the chicken house. He is putting the boarding on at the mo. Then we have to get it off the tressles and on to the floor so he can board the top bit. The sun goes round soonish and he will be getting cold and coming in for a warm up and a drink.

I have washed a load of flower pots and saucers this morning and got those dry and put back in the shed. They have been on the patio to the right of the back door for ages so with this nice warm day I thought I better do them before it starts to rain again.

Done some washing and thats nearly dry and I am just about to have a quick hoover through.

I also tried once again to plant mistletoe on an apple tree in the orchard. I was reding up and it said they have to have light to germinate so they are all facing southish on the tree over the side. This will be my 5th or 6th attempt and nothing came of anything else.

I want the scissors for something else. I am not doing pargamano now. I did do it years ago. I need the scissors to cut out a tiny awkward bit in some felt.

Poor Fitzy having to pick up all the pieces in the road. You get so cross with yourself when you do silly things like that. I think I told you I once put the shopping behind the car and forgot and ran over it!!! I had to clean gravel out of a big joint of beef. I was'nt going to throw it away. At least it was in the middle of the back of the car so I only knockes the carier over and scraped it along a bit and then realized what I had done.

Oh is getting on well today with the chicken house. He is putting the boarding on at the mo. Then we have to get it off the tressles and on to the floor so he can board the top bit. The sun goes round soonish and he will be getting cold and coming in for a warm up and a drink.

I have washed a load of flower pots and saucers this morning and got those dry and put back in the shed. They have been on the patio to the right of the back door for ages so with this nice warm day I thought I better do them before it starts to rain again.

Done some washing and thats nearly dry and I am just about to have a quick hoover through.

I also tried once again to plant mistletoe on an apple tree in the orchard. I was reding up and it said they have to have light to germinate so they are all facing southish on the tree over the side. This will be my 5th or 6th attempt and nothing came of anything else.

Well it's all gone wrong for me today. First the boiler now the mower. I remember last year Barry saying he thought there might be a loose connection in the handle. that turns the mower on. So after doing 3 strips, it started playing up so I took it apart. For the life of me I can't get it back together. So that will be a job for Harvey. I have rung him to see if he has a small mower I can borrow. Other than that I will have to buy another (MORE EXPENSE) to say the least I am CHEESED OFF.

Ros bought a chicken on Monday, I decided to cook it for dinner tonight. When I opened the bag, it stunk like hell. Ross smelt it, and considered OFF. So that went in the bin. I have elected to do LAMB STEAKS instead. So they are thawing in the dish.

Ros is still busy in the garden at the back. It would have looked great if I could have cut the lawn. !!! :-P :-P :-P

Now going to sit on the patio for a while, with a cold drink. See you later.

Mandy I'm sure Chris will choose a laptop which is right for Fitz. He did mention a make I havent heard off which is supposed ot have good reviews .He needs nothing fancy or too expensive. Fitz is like me andknows nothing about computers so he will leave it up to Chris. I don't know if he heard the laptop come of the roof but hs said he was trying to pick up all the bits in the middle of the road with traffic going around him !!
I am surprised he didnt get squished too :-S

Mel my Mum used to make lovely pergamano cards. I have a few she did . It looks quite a fiddly thing and the the painting too. I hope you find your scissors . They will be there somewhere :-D

Afternoon all,

I've been out in the garden all morning ,filled two tubs up so with the other two we now have a visit to the tip to do .

How's the work going on the new hen house Mel ?

Hope your feeling better now Ann so you can get out to get the trousers you wanted ,i see things i like and go away to think about it ,time i go back they've gone ,i saw a nice navy and white stripped top in Morrisons the other day i liked but i bet they will all be gone by the time i go in again .

So you didn't get a very good nights sleep AnnG ,was it because you were trying to sleep on you side and that's not the side you usually sleep on ?
I usually sleep on my back if i turn on my side it makes my legs ache .

Frank that's a devil about the boiler not working again , do they still do Grants to help with new boilers ? i thought at one time there was a scheme going to help with new boilers might be worth having a goggle .

Oh poor Fitz loosing his lap top like that ,did he hear it come off the top of the car ?
Hope Chris can get him sorted with a new one this afternoon .

Afternoon All

I seem to be back up and running today. I have no idea why the internet was such problem.

It sounds like these horrible viruses are still doing the rounds. I hope your dizziness goes AnnG.It must be a horrible feeling. I wonder if you have an inner ear infection as that can make you all dizzy. (just a thought). So you are Rudolf Ann :-D.Sorry I didnt mean to smile there.You have a right old stinker. I hope you get your trousers . I am liek you and see something one day but don't buy it and then go back a day or so later and my size has gone :-S. I nipped over to Rushden Lakes earlier and got 2 tops.One is Linen and it is nice but I just hate the way linen creases .I am in 2 minds as to keep it or not. Chris says it looks nice on.
I do hope that field behind you is protected . I remember you saying when the farmer ripped out the hedge. As for the size of those proposed Warehouses !!!!!!!! TOO BIG :-S

Oh dear Frank you have had trouble for a while now with your old boiler.It sounds like a new one is on order.I will keep my fingers crossed you might get help with the cost of a new one.

Gill I am glad that things are ok with the neighbour re the wood .It doesnt sound like he is going to be a problem. I have thought from what you have said about him he sounds quite a nice man. I hope you are feeling much better now . You need to try and chill a bit :-D

Well yesterday I came home from town to find Fitz here. I thought he was still supposed to be down in Devon /Somerset. To cut a very long story short his lap top had been crushed by a lorry .Fitz had put it on the roof of his car :-S forgot it was there and drove off .Laptop fell into the road and got squished. He had important and urgent emails he had ot reply to and so came ot Chris for help. Somehow the emails were retrieved . Have no idea how .(luckily the internet was working then).
So Fitz needs a new laptop. Chris is taking him to PCWorld at 2pm to help him buy one.Then Chris will have to go down to Fitz's to get it all set up. Bang has gone Chris's afternoon of doing stuff in the garden :-| He is not too happy about this . But as I said what are friends for if they can't help :-D

James and Jess are staying together for a while(not apart) . It was not what we were expecting but just have to bite our tongues for now.

Janices little dog Jilly was spayed a couple of days ago and instead of having one of those horrible Lampshades around her head she has a body stocking thing with poppers that can be undone when she goes out foe wee wees etc. Janice says it is brilliant. I will sens a pic.

Its just like a Summers day here.I should be cleaning more windows really but the sun is so dazzling I cant really see what I am doing .So am going to leave it for today.
I went to Hobbycraft (first time ever) and bought a new colouring book :-D. What a shop !!!. Not that I wil need to go there again ,not being a crafty person.
Work over the road continues with the deepest trench I have seen. It looks about 10/15 ft deep . Obviously for the big drain /water pipes to go in.

Going to hang the washing out now.

Well I have been in touch by E,mail to the local Council to see if there is any help towards a new boiler. Well it's worth asking, they can only say NO. !!!


Just felt the lawn, it's too wet to attempt it yet, so will try a bit latter. I have the mower out ready for the off. lol

Have just shredded lots of old papers. I usually burn the in the wheelbarrow, but thought about the smoke. ;-) ;-) Don't want complaints from the neighbours.

We collected the prescriptions yesterday (two bags full) Ros is now sitting doing our little daily boxes that last a month. The excess of tablets are stored in a bag under my computer. She can then check if we have enough of any tablets, not to re-order next time. What a palaver.

Simon rang this morning, checking up on us. He is looking forward to Sunday, when we will be there for lunch, and the afternoon.

Harvey is popping up this evening to look at the boiler. It might just be the pressure again. I don't want to bother Peter, unless I have too. But it looks like a BOILER replacement is the order of the day.

I'm glad its not just me Ann with the link you puy up.

One lot of wshing on the line and another in the machine. Must use the good weather while I can or it will start raining and won't know when to stop.

I have been looking for my pergamano scissors and can't find them anywhere. So annoying. :-|

Frank you be careful if you mow.......We don't want any accidents and I think you are a naughty boy to even attempt mowing of any kind.

Morning All,

Nice and sunny now but it was chilly first thing. I feel like a zombie with a face stuffed with cotton wool this morning. My nose is drippy and the colour of Rudolph's despite slathering vaseline on it last night. I woke up at 5.00am and thought I would watch a bit of telly, but the SkyQ box has no lights, so it looks like we need to get them out. I hope we don't need a new box or we will lose all our recordings!!! OH was out last night and he's gone to a Small Business Event at a nearby hotel this morning. I'm sure the attraction is the breakfast!!

Mel, I tried opening it before I sent it and it was fine.........tried again this morning and got the same message as you.This morning I was trying to find out about the ridge fields being protected and on some forums the attitude was to plough them flat so they are attractive to developers......shocking!

I want to go and look at some more trousers this morning if I feel ok when OH comes back just after 10.00am. I can dose up with paracetamol just before we go to Grantham. It is the only other place I have seen some I like and should have got them last time I went. What's the saying.......'She who hesitates is lost!'.

I hope Gill is feeling better now and that her knee and ankle have improved with some rest inside.

It looks like another good day for Mandy to carry on in the garden too.

What a blow with the boiler Frank! Still it has given good service as you say. Ours here packed up after 15 years! Be careful doing any mowing and just take a small cut to make it easier for you.

Suns burnt the frost off now but it was quite thick when I got up.
Oh has been outside but has come in for a warm up as the sun has'nt got to where he is working yet.

Frank I still think you should'nt do the lawns yet. Your still not heeled properly yet. Ribs take a long long while to heal. Is there no one else that could do them for you? What about a neighbour??

Take care AnninG and I hope you feel better soon.

good morning Frank, Mel and all. couldn't get to sleep until about 2am last night but I stayed on my left side and finally didn't sleep too badly. Still don't feel completely 'right' this morning. Head feels a bit 'thick' and there was slight movement when I turned over onto my right side (so I turned back!). Pretty sure it is viral from the cold that didn't come out but if it doesn't clear up in a few days I will see the doc.

Lovely sunny day here but it is Tesco day anyway so not going anywhere else.

Morning Mel, and all.

SODS LAW. The boiler hasn't come on again this morning, so I am looking for quotes to get it replaces. I see no point in messing about with this one. It's been in since my STROKE 15 years ago next month. So it's done very well. With only it's annual service and odd bits.

Beautiful morning here, I was awake at 5.30 after a good nights sleep. I got up at 6.00 had THREE COT and now waiting for Ros to wake, so I can start moving around. I don't like to wake her unless I have too.

Barry is to busy with Lambing, to comet do the lawns, so I will do them myself later, when they have dried out. I will do a bit then rest and do a bit more. I can't leave them, as the forecast in possible RAIN tomorrow, through to the weekend. Then they will be too wet for ages. SO MUST GET THEM DONE.

Be back later.

Morning all,

Misty moisty frosty morning here. Hope you're all keeping warm and tucked up in your cosy houses.

Ann I can't get into that planning thing its says Documents unavailable.

I bet the tree I saw was a Prunus then Mel! They look so pretty. I've just gone through the planning applications, found it, and the neighbour to be has got it a little wrong. Quite a while ago they proposed a commercial development in the fields beyond the one at the back of us and another 4 fields to the right that filled in down to the park and ride and the edge of the M1. The field behind us, which was 2 till the farmer ripped out a lot of the hedge is the only bit of land left! Now they have put in a proper application to do it and build 5 big warehouses. When I say big, the plan says they will beup to 54 feet high!! :-0 The documents suggest the wind around local housing will most likely be affected. At least the access will not be further up our road at the end of the close as they are using the park and ride access. I shudder to think of the extra pollution as the main road which will pass by it shows up red on pollution maps now. I expect there will be 24 hour noise from the lorries too. Still, it looks like you may be right about our little field at the back of us being protected! :-) :-D I hope so.

Evening all,

Another lovely sunny day ,they were just showing on our local news all the snow we had last year at this time .

Well i have been out on the front garden at last cutting back a lot of dead stuff and tidying up ,there's still more to do so i'll get out again tomorrow

AnnG i hope your feeling a little better now ,i had that dizzy feeling the other day just before i had the tummy trouble so i hope that's not what your in for .

LOL Frank i have my haircut next week so i must remember not to weigh myself until after it's been cut ,fingers crossed i can lose half a stone too :-D :-D :-D

Gill that's good you spoke to the neighbour and got the little problem of the fence all sorted ,it sounds as if the builders are getting there now with just the inside work and the drive to do .

Oh Ann you were saying you wondered if in time they might build on the field at the bottom of your garden and if the neighbour is right it sounds like it might be on the cards now .

Jane you could make a killing hiring out Thomas what with Mel with her bunnies and Ann with her mice :-D :-D
Hope your internet connection is better now ,how's the new cooker ?

Ann arn't strip field protected? We have some around here in Sheepwash and they are not aloud to do anything with them. I think there is some in Shebbear too just off the cross roads and someone bought one to build a house on but they were'nt aloud to.

The blackthorne is all out at landcross too and it looks beautiful on the way into Bideford. In Shebbear there's a lovely prunus tree in flower all a soft old fashioned pink. The Viburnum in our garden is flowering nd the camelias.

I must remember to have my hair cut before I jump on the scales Frank! :-D It's surprising how hot the sun has been today, more like late May! We had to wind the car windows down till the aircon got going this morning. It's good the boiler just needed a top up and no expensive work. We find with the boiler we have now that more top ups are needed than with the old one. I had to chuckle at Lewis' prank on the phone......it's just the sort of thing OH would do!! It's good his job is safe too

AnnG, that is a horrid feeling when you feel dizzy like that. Maybe an extra pillow to raise your head up a bit tonight would help? The garden centre lunch deals are good aren't they! There are a few trees in blossom around here and some Blackthorne with it's white flowers. It flowers before it has leaves, whereas Hawthorne has it's leaves first and follows on from Blackthorne. I've seen some pink blossom too, but I'm not sure what that is! Everything is so early with all the sunshine.

We met the new neighbours who are shortly moving in to Jean's old bungalow when we got back today. They seem a nice couple and have a brown Boxer dog called Dexter who they said is no trouble and quiet, except if a cat is about. They intend gutting the bungalow and redoing all the garden. Mrs Overall had called us across and it seems no-one is happy about the gate that is going up at the end of the close. It is costing £12,000 between the 3 new properties!! She used to use the chap who is the dentist and makes false teeth before he moved here and said he was struck off!! She said she had seen his wife reverse through the opening at the bottom and turn round using her drive and ours opposite!! Also that the chap had nearly clipped our neighbour in the corner driving so fast through the opening. It's a blind corner from their bungalow so you would need to crawl along really.She also said that the day he was flying a drone over our gardens he was also taking photographs?

Some bad news from the neighbours to be, if they are right, was that she'd heard that houses are to be built in the field at the back of us. It is one of those medieval strip system fields, so very old, but everything is up for builders' grabs these days. :-S :-S :-S