General Chat

Morning all

it's a bit warmer here today and the hail is finally starting to melt. It's still quiet white out there though and look so pretty.

Your stew sounds like it was a great success Jane if you'd been asked to make more. If you don't mind me asking could I have the recipe please?

What type of soup did you make Mel? I remember going to Cornwall years ago and having a pastie, they were delicious. Unfortunately the ones I buy here aren't a patch on the Cornish ones.

It sounds like you had a bit of a struggle getting up those stairs at the dentist Ann. I hope your knees are okay.

I wonder if Frank will post today. I hope they are both okay.

I managed to get all my housework done yesterday. I'm still not in the mood to start the sorting that needs doing though, I think it's because it's so cold and dull it makes you want to sit in front of the fire and keep warm. The roofers are back so I'll probably make them a cup of tea in an hour or so. At least it's a bit warmer for them. We had a good downpour of rain last night which has melted some of the ice so it shouldn't be so slippy on the roof today. They are hoping to have the roof felt finished today then they can make a start on putting the new tiles on tomorrow. That won't please Sandra as they are put up with nails which makes lots of noise, so she'll be woken up early again.

Jane no I don't make the pasties. These we had today were Morrisons own baked ones which are quite good. The shop in Holsworthy make the best pasties around here.

Morrisons extra large ones are £2.50 each or two ordinary pasties are in a paper bag for £3 so we had those today. Sometimes I buy oh an extra large one and I have a smaller one with just steak in it.

How true it is I don't know but I was told a dog dos'nt taste its food until it swallows it and thats why they eat all sorts of things they should'nt. After all they sweat through their tongues and lick their bits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Mandy for letting me know about the Red Arrows, it's a good job we watched the two we recorded as the series link stopped on the 2nd one but luckily they showed what was happening the next week so I took a look and put it back on the planner, so we didn't miss any in the end.

For anyone who's interested Danny Dyer is on tonight, he is a descendant of Edward III and I think it has something to do with that, he even dresses up in what they would of worn back then. It's on BBC.1 at 9pm.

The electrics have been put in Ann, another of the boss's brilliant ideas so I should imagine if ceilings are coming down the electric will be wet to. I think with the boss being the way he is everyone just does as they are told regardless of whether it's in the right order or not. The roofer didn't take the bottom tiles off, he was on another job that week so didn't start until a few days ago and the holes were already in the roof, to be honest he has tried to cover up the gaps but it seems it was to late and all the damage inside had already been done. I think the roofer are really nice people and we couldn't see them freezing on the roof all day without offering them some shelter in a warm property and a hot drink and they are really grateful.

Pleased to see all your girls are getting on Mel and went to bed nicely for you tonight.

Mel do you make your own Pasties? I really miss a good Proper Cornish Pasty. You just can't get them here. Back in the day it was good old Ivor Dewdneys .
Your Hens were good going back in without any persuading :-D

Mandy, Chris says I can do this Mediterranean Beef Stew again, full of flavour :-D I think I have a Gold Star :-D I do remember picking bits of puzzle out of Chesters mouth just before he chewed them totally. There is always one or two bits that seem to go missing and it is so bl**dy exasperating !!!!. No chance of Max spitting out the lost bit then :-D

Evening All,

By jove it was chilly out there when I just fetched something from my car! Brrrr. I'll be taking my scarf tomorrow when I go to the hairdresser. My hair doesn't really need a trim for another week or two, but she is off to Australia for a few weeks in a few days and it would be driving me mad by the time she gets back.

Still no word from Frank? I hope they are both ok and that he's just busy like Mandy says.

Gill, you are very kind letting the roofers warm up at your place and giving them hot drinks. I wonder why the roofers didn't cover things over with polythene sheeting if they couldn't finish it off though? Hopefully there aren't any electric cables and junctions where it is raining in as well. :-S

I wasn't looking forward to seeing the dentist as the tooth he filled last time hurts a bit if I press my cheek above it so I thought I'd better mention it!! He said it looked fine and to leave it unless it becomes a problem and said the rest were fine and very clean and to come back in 9 months. :-D Their steep narrow stairs with high steps were a bit tricky for me hauling myself up with the bannister, going up one step at a time like a toddler, while hanging on to my bag and a clipboard, pen and form they wanted filling in. lol At least no-one could see me and I know they would see me downstairs if I asked, but it might be with OH's dentist.

I called in the surgery next to make sure it wasn't them who hadn't sent all my prescription to the chemist before I tackled the chemist and it turned out it was the surgery who'd missed it off. The receptionist said she would have to see the doctor and then send it across to the pharmacy tomorrow, but I'd better ring the surgery first to make sure it had been sent! It will have been 5 trips if we get it tomorrow. :-S

Thanks for letting me know the good outcomes on the knee surgeries as it helps to know of some people who have done so well. You asked how much I need to lose Anne? The surgeon never said and just talked in terms of BMI, but I had to ask him what my BMI needed to be as we walked out or he wouldn't have said! A 'tweak' could mean anything! Anyway, when I got home I converted the BMI figure to weight and it looks like I need to lose about 1 and a half stones. It was good that you had good news about your diabetic tests and I hope the eye checks on Friday are good too.

Oh Mandy, fancy Max thinking the jigsaw must be food! He doesn't check the taste before it goes down does he? :-D It sounds like a good jigsaw too. I haven't even started mine yet or any of my books.

We had to go back to where we had Sunday lunch today to see if they'd found OH's cap he left behind. I was hoping a little bit that it had gone but no such luck, so I have grandad back again. I prefer the Biggles hat he's been wearing instead while it's been cold. :-D

That's good the new girls are learning the ropes Mel. Your soup and Jane's stew sound just right for this chilly weather.

Evening all,

It's been quite a nice day here cold and frosty first thing but we've had some lovely sunshine .
I expect Frank has either been visiting Ros if they kept her in and he was able to go or he's been busy looking after her if she came home.

It sounds as if the builder (if you can call him that ) has contracted out each job on the bungalow , doesn't sound as if he's that bothered what order the jobs are done so long as they are done .
The plaster will take ages to dry with cold damp weather and if there's any draft at all it will affect the drying ,new plaster doesn't like the frost ether .
I meant to say last week Gill that the Red Arrows programme is on again tonight ,i think there's 6 programmes all together

The stew sounds really nice Jane ,hope it tastes as good as it smells, we had butter beans last night i love them in bubble and squeak .
We haven't done much today ,i nipped out to the paper shop this morning and walked Max after lunch and then it was a lazy afternoon in the chair we haven't even had a go at the Jig Saw today ,it's a funny one called The Kitchen Cupboard it has so much going on in it.
I know there's one piece missing as when Colin was sorting out the pieces he dropped a piece and guess who chewed it up :-D :-D

All the chickens went in tonight on their own without me having to get them in and picking up the last one to shove through the door so they are getting the hang of it.

I did some washing this morning and hoovered the kitchen and diner and made some soup and we had that with pasties and thats as far as I got. I have nothing out for dinner.

I really can't understand how the plasterers agreed to do the ceilings and walls if the tiles were off the roof. It dos'nt make sense to anyone to do inside work before the roof is on and plaster dos'nt just dry overnight.

Afternoon All

I am sure Frank will let us know how things are when he can. It's just the not knowing .
If Ros came home I expect he is busy making sure she is ok and doing a great job.
Lots of love to them both <3

The snow is still on the lawn here and along the top of the big Yew hedge.We have had clear blue sky all day and our drive has lots of black ice on it. Looks like it is going to be a really really cold one tonight with temp down to maybe -6 !!!!. I think we might just leave the heating on low all night.

I have made a Mediterranean Beef Stew for tonight. It is a new recipe I found i nthe Sainsbury Magazine.It is a simple recipe.Just diced Beef,mixed Peppers,Onion, Garlic,Red Wine ,stock ,tinned Cherry Tomatoes ,Olives and Butter Beans. Plus some chopped Rosemary from the garden. It smells nice so I just hope it tastes as good as it smells :-D.

That Builder Boss sounds a right one Gill. I dont think I would trust him with a barge pole :-S.I wouldnt be surprised if his workers go and work for someone else after this job is finished.I just hope for your new neighbours sake that they make a good job of all the work and they will be able to move in without coming across any problems.

There was a big Rabbit hopping around in the snow down the garden earlier. Where was Thomas ? Nowhere to be seen :-S. Typical!

I am feeling quite tired this afternoon. I had a bad dream last night and woke up at 4 and just couldnt get back off again. I came down and made a cup of tea just before 6 and took it back to bed I read for a bit and then must have nodded off for a bit as I then heard James going off to work just after 8.We have been sat quietly this afternoon with no TV(well I watched Doctors and then Chris watched Father Brown) But other than that I got the stew in and did some Crosswords and Chris has just been reading his Kindle.

It has just suddenly got dark. When I started typing this post it was still blue sky !!!!.

Yes, I was wondering how Frank and Ros were Mel. I hope they were both okay and Frank posts soon.

We had the hail last night Mel, but it's still on the ground today despite the sun being out. I think it's just to cold for it to melt and the sun isn't exactly hot this time of year is it?

Well, my hair is all done now and the bedding is done to, I just have a few more loads of washing to do then I'm finished. I've just done the hoovering so that's out of the way now.

We've been keeping the roofers next door in cups of tea during the day and listening to all their stories. Apparently the boss was trying to get them to come down on their price but like they said once a price is agreed then the boss should pay it. OH told them that the boss was bragging to us at the beginning of the work saying that he's getting paid 80k, so as you can imagine the roofers thought he was being really cheeky expecting them to come down in price. The boss had told them he was running out of funds......likely story, it sounds like he was just trying to pull a fast one.

The roofers also told us that all the ceiling's along the side of the bungalow have that much rain water on them they are sagging and are likely to fall down. Maybe that's why the boss is trying to get the roofer to except less for the job as he knows the ceilings will need to come down and be re-done and I'm pretty sure he'll have to pay the plasterers again as I can't see them fixing the problem at their own expense. That'll teach the boss for doing the jobs the wrong way around. I mean, fancy starting the work inside when the roof hadn't been done and the three bottom row of slate tiles had been taken off........silly man.

I wonder how Frank and Ros got on last night? Hope they managed ok or Frank did if he was left on his own and Ros stayed in over night. We just hav'nt heard .....

I'm getting worried now. <3

Morning Gill and all,

So you have hailstones today then Gill and we have sunshine at the moment. We had rain last night and sometime it seemed like there was a bit of hail in with it as it crashes on the windows.

I too need to wash my hair today but it won't take me all day just about half an hour or just over but there again I don't colour mine.

Morning all

Sunny today but very cold, all the hail from last night is still around so it's lovely and white everywhere. The roofers have just turned up which surprised me with all the ice on the roof, they're braver than me I wouldn't want to climb on an icy roof.

It's hair colouring day today, so I'm sitting here with it on. I'm freezing cold having wet hair so will be glad when it's all done.

I'd written some notes on my family tree I'd forgotten about and came across it last night, it's an obit and has all the family members on it and also mentions how some of them are related to others, unfortunately when it came to the grand and great grand children there didn't seem to be any clues as to who these children's parents were, they could be any one of the ones mentioned, so today I'm going to see if I can work it out, so I can enter them all onto my tree. It'll give me something to do while I'm waiting for the hair colouring to be done. I'm also changing the beds as they need doing again.

Ann my BIL had both his hips done and he was fine and an old chap I knew from ringing, David, had both his done and he was driving after a couple of weeks and climbing the steps to the church tower and tending his prize winning sheep. They did my BIL's one first then the other I think a year later. He was in his early 60's when he had them done.

I am so cold tonight I can't seem to get warm at all.

I remember that saying but as you lot have said not heard it for ages but is it a kids thing do you think?

Pleased to hear your hips are okay Ann, at least you know where you stand (or not) with your knees. I'm sure the op will be okay so please don't worry to much about it, the injection should give you some comfort. Good luck with your diet, Sandra and I wish you well with it. Sorry to hear about Mrs Overall, I've had high blood pressure and I'm only small and thin, the doctor said it was stress that caused it as I was having family problems at the time.
I haven't heard that saying for years either.

The snow picture was lovely Jane, we've had lots of snow and hail today so everywhere is white at the moment, the only problem is it's very slushy so poor Sandra can't make a snowman with it. Sorry to hear Chris is still feeling unwell, I hope he's feeling better for his birthday and enjoys his meal out.

OH and I watch Salvage Hunter to Mel, Drew likes to buy things that haven't been done up, although he does buy some strange things sometimes doesn't he?

I saw the dog programme advertised Mandy but forgot to record it so we missed it. It looks like we've missed it again tonight. It's good that the hairdresser comes to you, especially today with the weather the way it is, it's saves you having to go out in the cold to get it done.

Good news about your diabetic test Anne, good luck for Friday, hope all goes well for you. Yes, it was amazing to see the eclipse after waiting for so long to see one. I was just saying to OH before, it's a good job it was the other night as we wouldn't of been able to see anything these past two nights with all the rain and snow clouds around. We were lucky, although it was still very cold, but thankfully dry.

I was wondering whether Ros was coming out of hospital or not tonight or whether they'll keep her in overnight. I hope they can sort out some help and don't end up struggling. Free help is just the thing and it sounds like they may get it if they ask.

Going to watch some TV now then have another early night, we're still quite tired with having to get up early to move the car and wake up properly before the workmen start knocking and banging. We were up at 6.30 this morning, it wasn't even light, but if we don't move the car before 7.30 then the workmen park outside our place and we get blocked in on our drive.

What a pain Ann your prescription not being there and ready :-S. I have had this trouble so many times and then having to make yet another trip :-S
It was my 90 yr old neighbour who had 2 really successful knee replacements .She was out gardening and doing all sorts just weeks later !!!!.She even was very proud of her scars and lifted her skirt to show me :-D :-D

I remember that saying Ann..You can't do that for Toffee :-D. Thats a blast from the past.
I am just getting ready now to get sorted and settled for Sient Witness so will say Night Night.
I hope Frank is OK tonight . We don't know if Ros is home or not yet do we?
See you all tomorrow .

Good evening all

We had snow about 2.pm and it went on for a couple of hours, very big flakes ,they laid quite thickly on the garden table, chairs and shed roofs but not on the road.

We had the hairdresser come today as well, Paul visits so she did all three of us, she comes every six weeks. I cooked lasagnes for the evening meal with runner beans, garlic bread and apple tart and cream to follow.

Frank as everyone else has commented you need extra help for the two of you at the moment. Have you thought about doing your grocery shop on line as would also help in the future. Hope it all goes well for Ros and she soon feels better.

Ann, did the Dr tell you how much weight you need to lose before they can operate?
Not a nice thought having to have both your knees replaced Hope the injection helps with the discomfort but other's that have had the Op recommend it so should help to put your mind at rest

Gill I envy you seeing the lunar eclipse it sounded amazing and well worth staying up for..

Jane it's a shame that Chris is still feeling down I know that this bug had the same effect on me and the darker days don't help.

I had a call from the Dr's surgery yesterday because my diabetic tests were good I will only need to see the diabetic nurse which is good news, I have the diabetic eye screening Friday afternoon,

I missed some posts as OH came and had a natter. Thanks, that's good to know about some other knees, Mandy. I know of another lady who was ok too and Jane's neighbour was ok too I seem to remember. I don't think it gave me confidence when I looked at the CQC report on the Hospital a couple of years ago that said improvement was needed. One category was surgery as well. I even looked at the main city hospital, but that was no better! Hopefully they have upped their game since then.

I must watch those two progs Mel and Mandy as they sound good. Two Labs pulling would be a nightmare, they are such strong dogs I would be flat on my face!

OH has just got back and picked up my prescription, only it isn't all there!! He couldn't check it as he didn't know what I'd asked for. It's always the thing you need the most as well. Tomorrow I'll have to ring the chemist first, then the doctors if it hasn't been sent through by the doctor.

Your snow lasted longer than ours Jane to have made a little layer like that! Yep, no chips for me! :-S I don't often have them, but I still like them! :-) I hope Chris is up to going for a meal on his birthday and it will be good to hear how you like it there

Gill, I got up to see the moon as I was awake, but all we had was cloud. It would have been great to see it as well.

Two boxes of books for the charity shop now and two bags of clothes to drop off tomorrow. I've gone through the magazines I'd saved as well, so I can see more floor and my bookcases are tidier. You realise so much is out of date quickly these days like maps, internet books and photography books. I've found quite a few things of OH's that he's sneaked onto my shelves too and I seem to have all the things like dictionary, NT Book on mine as well!

Mel I spotted one daffodil half open on a verge today and a just a tiny clump of snowdrops. There have been tiny lambs in a field near where we go beading for over a week now. They still have their long tails at the moment and look all legs. I can't believe we are so far through January either.

Today OH remembered something you would hear said years ago that you don't hear anymore.......'You can't do that for toffee'.

Dentist tomorrow, so no laying in bed for me.

Off to watch Silent Witness now.

Snowing here but tiny flakes at the moment ,I shall be like a nosy neighbour now and keep looking out the window :-D