General Chat

Evening All,

It's been tipping it down with rain here a good chunk of the day and dull, dull the rest of the time. Poor OH was trying to write up notes this morning and the new puppy was barking a lot, then the dog the other side of us was yapping as well. OH made me smile when he looked up and said we have barking IN STEREO now! It is hard to work with all that going on though and will be worse when we have to have windows and the back door open in the summer.

The chap was taking the puppy up the close yesterday and if the dog stops, he stops, if the dog moves, he follows her. The poor little thing kept looking at him unsure what she was expected to do and he seemed to have no more idea than her and was throwing titbits up the footpath ahead of them to get her to move forward!! Why he doesn't go ahead of her and call her I don't know. He seems frightened to pull the lead attached to her harness even gently.

Lewis's cake was lovely Mandy.........I would have been picking the topping treats off my slice first! :-D How nice of him to ask about looking after his mummy when he came home. <3 You made me smile about Gill's cat visitor possibly being a she! lol.

Gill, it was me who had the DNA match and the chap has already sent me a photo of his grandad wearing his medals taken in the 1920s. We both have more to swap and he also has a friend in Tamworth with one of the surnames I gave him from my tree and he has ancestors from where my family lived too so he is going to get more info from him to see if he is a rellie of mine as well.

Jane what a shame about Chris's car and just not what he would have wanted while he is below par too! At least your car is ok now with a new battery......was it sparkling when you picked it up? :-D Talking of your cobwebs, I've been studying the ones on the bedroom ceiling with not sleeping! They are still there though! Make sure you have your scarf when you get your hair cut. It's getting colder and with your hair shorter you want to keep warm with that lingering cough.

I'm the same with night driving. What with the bright headlights and potholes at the sides, like you say you end up hunched over the wheel. It's bad enough in the daytime with people coming the other way at speed barging onto your side of the road to overtake a row of parked cars and nearly forcing you off the road. It happened to OH today and then someone drove at speed right up to the end of a junction on our left. OH swerved as he thought they were coming straight out in front of us.

I'm glad you have the pain relief now Frank......don't be tempted to skimp on it!
Mel's idea of a walker could be a good idea for getting about at first. It's good you have a get together to look forward to in March as well..

Mel I love the long tailed tits but don't often see them here. Such happy, active little birds. I haven't got going much today either. I did another shelf of my books, but I keep stopping and looking at them and reading bits! There are so many I haven't read yet! I used to read in bed but don't anymore as it hurts my back. I've also been filling in forms ready for my knee assessment next week. They are making sure you are entitled to free treatment!

Gill I hope you get lots of Goldfinch. I just love those little birds. Sandra will enjoy seeing all the birds having a bath :-D. It is fascinating watching them as they do have a really good scrub up :-D.

So nothing much done today then Mel. I think we all have days when we have lots of plans to get things done but in the end we end up doing nothing :-D. I have been looking at a hanging cobweb on the lounge ceiling for days . It is still there :-S It's becoming part of the furniture :-S :-S

Frank you are sounding as though things are gradually beginning to improve. That Oramorph will be helping so much with the pain .Just make sure you keep taking it :-D
A date in March at Simon and Sally's is something to look forward to and seeing old family members again after so long. You should be fit again by then :-D
It looks like it is going to get much colder from tonight. Brrrrrrr!!

Turned out to be a very wet afternoon here the sky was really black at times .
I got some of the ironing done this afternoon ,Colin was doing a bit on the Jig Saw puzzle so i got the ironing board out beside him in the conservatory .

That's nice you have Long Tailed Tits are back Mel is your little Robbie still about ?

I'm glad you got your meds sorted Frank, it's still very early days so i'd keep the dose's regular while you have all the pain ,that way you keep your self topped up all the while.
You should be well on the way to feeling better by the 3rd March it will be lovely to have a good catch up with your family .

No not a lot of cake left Jane i think there was about fourteen of us so a lot got eaten last night and i expect any left would be eaten tonight .
Poor Chris having his car bumped into ,that's the trouble when some one hits you, you end up having to sort it all out !!!! not some thing he wante when he's not feeling great .
You'll be ok now through the winter with the new battery ,son had to have a new one a few weeks ago and his is a big car so it was a big battery !!
So you've been busy cleaning the shower glass ,i meant to say the other day i saw the wet and forget advertised it's one that you can use on the tiles in the shower ,i keep meaning to have a goggle for it to see what it's like .
I'm not keen on night driving now i seem to get a lot of reflection from the lights of the cars in my specs.

Afternoon Everyone

What a lovely cake Mandy :-D. I bet there isn't much of it left now !!!. I hope your DIL isn't going down with a nasty bug and feels better soon. As Lewis said he will be home to look after her :-D :-D. How sweet was that.

Gill, what a pain having to park your car so far from your house . I can understand why you need to do it though . With all the work cracking on next door now ,hopefully you won't need to be worrying much longer about any more damage.

Talking of damage. Chris took me to get my car at lunch time. I had to have a new Battery. Anyway just as he was leaving some chap reversed into the back of his car and has done some damage to the back wheel arch. This was the last thing Chris needed on top of the way he is feeling right now. But luckily it is not too bad. He had been on the phone to the insurance people and had a call from this chaps insurers so he just needs to take the car into the Body Workshop .He will go tomorrow . At least he
was not responsible for the bump. The other car has a big dent !.

I have done a fair bit today. Hoovering and then unblocking the tube :-S :-S. It was chocked up with muck and Xmas Tree needles.So I had to hoover again . Emptied the recycling box into the big bin .You should have heard all the bottles clattering as I tipped everything into the bin!!!. It wasn't just bottles of course :-D. Washed out the bin which was disgusting with all the dregs of things ,cleaned the shower screens with Viakal and done 2 loads of washing . The tumble dryer has been on nearly all day as it has rained non stop.

I got a free bottle of perfumed screen wash from the garage. I wonder what it smells of.It might give me an itchy throat if it is too scented.

I love little Cleo Ann :-D. What unusual markings on her little face. It makes her look a bit lopsided doesn't it. But she looks a cutie :-D
Gill maybe your Thomas is a Thomasina :-D :-D. I wonder if you can find out where he/she lives.
I think Frank is going to be getting a lot of get well cards :-D :-D. I have one here ready for the post in the morning. I bet Sandras is going to be really really pretty.He is going to love that one.

I have my hair appointment tomorrow (after missing the one on the 3rd). Its at 5.15!!. So will be pitch black then. It is going to feel really strange parking in the town carpark at that time and then walking down the little narrow street.I often see some oddbods around there :-S. Driving home down our road in the dark I am not looking forward to as my night driving vision is not brilliant . I shall probably be hunched right over the steering wheel :-S

Time to get Spag Bol on the go.

Its so good to see you posting Frank and good to know you got your meds last night.

It brightened a bit a little while ago but its gone all dark again but it is 4.38pm and I hav'nt done the girls yet. Must go and give them their corn before they go to bed for the night.

Still not done anything only washed up the lunch things.

Afternoon all, thanks for your lovely comments and concerns about my health.It means a lot knowing I have you all as my FRIENDS. THANKS xxx

Ros got my tablets and liquid morphine from the Drs. about 5.45 last night. I had a dose then, and another at 10.30 before going to bed. I have had Three doses so far today. I will try to go without anymore until I go to bed tonight.

I had a reasonable nights sleep last night, and only got out once. I managed to get out of bed this morning without disturbing Ros. BUT she must have heard me fill the kettle, as she was beside me within minutes. She made me go and sit down while she made the tea, and got my Aspirin. She later got me a Bacon sarnie with my 2nd COT. At lunchtime she cooked Lamb, roast pots and parsnips, with lots of veg, followed by a Apple crumble and Custard. Best meal in over a week.

The phone was very busy this morning, with Harvey, Conrad, Simon, Jan, Val, Martine and Pam ringing to see how I was. I didn't expect, but also had a call from LEWIS. He is off to Barcelona on Friday with four friends to see Barcelona play football, at home. Then a night out in the town. They will fly back Sunday evening. Oh to be young again and also have the money to be able to afford to do things like that. ;-) ;-) ;-) Good luck to him. <3 <3 <3

Thanks Anne for your get well card. Very kind of you. Will keep my eye on the post for Sandra's card Gill. It's very kind of her to take the trouble to make me one.Give her a HUG from me as a big thank you. xxx

Still having a lot of trouble taking a deep breath, but I am sure it will improve as my ribs begin to heal. They say SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS. So Hurry up.

Simon and Sally have invited us to theirs on Sunday 3rd March, as they have invited my 2nd eldest brothers (JACK) children. PAT AND JOHN with their husband and wife to dinner that day.I speak to John most weeks, but haven't seen either of them for over 20 years.

Ros is having a night off from Choir tomorrow to stay at home with me. She feels she shouldn't have left me last night. I have told her I will be alright, but she won't listen.

Once again dear friends, THANKS for your kind words. xxx

How lovely Mel, I'm surprised we've had as many birds as we've had with all the goings on next door, they are lovely to watch though and we've even had a few Blackbirds drinking from your new water feature, which is nice to see. OH said he thinks they'll bath in the water when it gets warmer, that'll be nice for us to watch, I know Sandra enjoyed watching them when they used to wash in a pot that had some water in, last year. She's still checking her bird book we bought her. We had a new bird come to the feeder the other day, a Goldfinch, such a lovely colour, but it hasn't been back since. Hopefully it'll return soon.

Once again I keep forgetting to say my Long Tailed Tits are back. Hooray... :-D

It's a very big cat Mandy but your comment made me laugh. I suppose it's possible it could be female though and maybe overdone things a bit at Christmas LOL :-D :-D
Love Lewis's birthday cake, what a good idea for the topping I bet that went down a treat with him. Sorry to hear DIL isn't feeling very well, hope she feels better soon, what a lovely comment little Lewis made to his mum.....bless him.

It's stopped raining here and the sun is out, still don't feel like doing much though, so I've been taking another look at my family tree and found a second wife for one of my ancestors, there are 3 tree match's so I've messaged them in the hope they may know if he had any children with either of his wives, as I can't seem to find any for him.

If you're anything like me Mel you don't feel like doing much when the weather is damp and miserable, at least you've done something today.

Sandra spent most of yesterday making Frank a lovely GET WELL CARD it was posted yesterday afternoon so I hope he got it okay and it made him feel better. I wonder how he is and whether he'll post today or not.

Mandy your last remark about the cat made me laugh. :-D :-D :-D It will have to be Thomasina now!

Afternoon all,

Just been catching up with the posts and read yours Frank ,my goodness no wonder you had pain ,broken ribs and punctured lungs :-0 i hope you've managed to get the pain relief you need it's very bad the hospital sending you home with out any.

Thanks every one for Lewis's birthday wishes he had a lovely day and the cake went down a treat i have a photo of the cake i'll send later .
Today DIL wasn't feeling to well so son took Lewis to nursery and as he went out the door he said " Mummy when i come home will i need to look after you " bless him.

We've been shopping this morning and now we're sitting near the fire with a bit of tele this afternoon ,it's a drizzly day out there so we don't feel like ding much ,the ironing pile keeps staring a me but i just turn my back on it :-D it will still be there tomorrow .

Ann little Cleo is so cute ,look at those long whiskers .

Gill have you thought perhaps the cat is a female and gave you a stare as if to say who are you calling a Thomas :-D

All good intentensions seem to have gone out of the window this morning. All I have done is feed the chickens and the wild birds and they still need some fat slabs out there and another peanut feeder needs filling. I did do some washing and thats on the airer as its still raining here that fine stuff now and there's a bit of a wind.

I shall be getting lunch soon and I think it will be nice hot homemade soup today with hot rolls.

Morning all

Half your luck with the sun Mel, it's pouring with rain here today. They say it's going to be here all day, never mind the plants will love it. :-)

I'm just trying to get OH's coat dry, it's a big thick padded one so it's taking a bit of time to do. He had to move the wheelie bins from next door over to the other side of the front garden incase the wind got up again, otherwise they would of been blown into our fence and with it already being broken we didn't want it to get any worse, he also had to pick up the pallets they left leaning against the skip which is how he got his coat filthy as it was covered in plaster dust. It was dark when he did it so didn't realise how dirty they were. He had to nip out this morning and didn't have a coat to go out in, so he wore his thin fleece, he said he was freezing when he got back home. Hopefully his coat will be dry soon so he can put it on when he goes out again later.

There wasn't any noise this morning Mel, Sandra is still asleep and I didn't hear a thing. They have put the bi-fold doors in now and will probably put the glass in later and the fella who was sorting out the extension roof has put the ply wood on the top now, so that just needs finishing off with the lantern roof although we're not sure when that's being done. We can't see any other builders so they must all be working inside the property. There are so many vans and cars in our street it's ridiculous , poor OH has had to park our car right down the street as he doesn't like to leave it on the drive, just a few inches away from the skip. The way the builders throw things into the skip sometimes they miss and the rubbish goes onto our drive, so he doesn't want our car getting hit by anything. You're right though Mel, the more builders here means the job will be finished quicker. Personally I can't wait for it to be finished, as we're getting fed up now, especially with all the damage they are causing to our boundary. I just hope when they do the drive they don't damage our drive in the process.

The daffodils sound lovely and cheery. I was just saying to OH last night, it won't be long before the spring is here. I did noticed that Alan Titchmarch was on TV last night with a programme about doing up the house and the garden, I can't remember the name of it now, but it was a good programme. It looked like there was only one programme as it's not on again next week and there wasn't a series link, which was a disappointment as I would of like to of seen more. I did notice this morning Homes Under the Hammer were in Little Sutton, a place we used to live in when we were in our 20's so I recorded it as OH was out. It would be nice to see what the area is like now.

Yes, Jane, it looks like there are two Thomas's now. I think he called the cat Thomas because of your cat's name, but it is funny to watch him just stop in his tracks when we call the name. He looks quite confused as if to say "How do you know my name" lol ;-) Hope all's well with your car battery. I'm sure this time of year, they have lots of cars in covered in mud, so I wouldn't worry about it, maybe they'll clean it for you :-)

I hope Frank has finally got his pain killers and had a better nights sleep last night, he must be exhausted by now with not much sleep. I should imagine Ros is tired to with everything she does and looking after Frank. Maybe a few sleeps in the afternoon will help. I have those occasionally if I've been really busy and not slept very well, they make you feel a bit more human instead of feeling like a Zombie.

That was nice of Richard to sort out your Internet Anne, there's nothing worse than it going off, I've had that happen to me a few times. I do the same as Jane and sometimes it comes back on, other times it just comes on when it feels like it which is very strange.

It sounds like you're getting on well with your sorting Ann, I still don't feel like making a start on mine, the bad weather doesn't help, as Mel said you feel like doing more when the sun is out.

I had an email off a fella I was in contact with before Christmas about my Australian relatives, he said he's got a book with stories in about them that another relative written, so hopefully he'll email it to me if he can work out how to do it. It should be an interesting read. I've got a feeling I've already got it though as someone else from the family sent a hand written book to me last year, but then another relative said there were two books so I think I'll just have to wait and see which one it is.

Was it you Ann that had a DNA match with someone? Sorry if it was someone else, I remember reading it but can't remember who said it now. If it was you, how did you get on?

Now is dull and raining.............................

Morning all,

We have a brightish morning here today but how long it will last I don't know.

Silent Witness was good once again was'nt it? I do enjoy those even though they can be a bit grusome now and then or should I say gorey?

Housework day today so I shall see how I get on. With the sun shining it may be ok as it makes you feel like doing things and shows up all the cobwebs. I think it is out with the soft broom and the duster.

I had a bit of trouble last night trying to open Ann's pictures and had to log in again before I could make them bigger but I got there in the end. Is'nt little Cleo cute?

I hope there is not too much noise for Gill and family this morning with all those builders and tilers next door but the more the merrier as far as the works concerned and it should be done much quicker.

Hope FRank got his painkillers and had some sleep last night.

Yes the daffs are a welcome sight as I drive down Landcross hill.

So Gill you might have a Thomas too :-D. It does sound as though it might be his name doesn't it. My Thomas has not been far at all today. He just seems to have been sleeping most of the day. I expect he will decide he wants out soon but I will try and just keep him in now. He will just have to use his tray.

That was a lot of workers next door!!!!!!. You must have wondered what was going on.
Lets hope things crack on now and next door will soon be finished .

Ann,did you send a pic of Cleo to me? I havn't had an email. I have never had a tablet ,just my laptop . It must take a while to get used to one,although I am sure 10yrs might be a little long :-D :-D

How lovely to see those Daffs at Land Cross Mel. They are really early. Naughty OH and his new years resolutions LOL :-D.. You will have to stop making all those Sausage Rolls :-D

Good job Richard got the internet up and running again for you Anne. Sometimes when I think I have trouble I just turn the whole laptop off for a minute or 2 and then switch it bback on and everything is fine again.

My car is in the Garage. Service and MOT fine but the battery was a bit sluggish so they are going to keep it on charge tonight. Chris will take me tomorrow to pick it up.
I apologised for the filthy state the car is in.But explained that it is so muddy because of all the works going on up the road. I am hoping they will give it a good clean . It will look like a new car :-D......just for a day or 2 though before it gets covered again in muck off the road
:-S

I am looking forward to the second part of Silent Witness tonight. I dont know what else is on. But I have a really good book on my Kindle so I will be sorted :-D
Cottage Pie in the oven for me. James and Chris have eaten.
It is going to be yet another early night . Good job we dont have a hectic social life ! :-D

The internet has been down all day until Richard came home and fixed it.

<3 <3 <3HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEWIS <3 <3 <3.

I hope you had a lovely day with lots of presents.

Oh my word Frank you have certainly been in the wars, that was bad of the hospital sending you home without any pain killers. I hope you are well stocked up now.
It sounds like Ros is being a good nurse for you but I'm sure you would do the same for her.

I forgot to wish our little Lewis a happy birthday this morning so I will do it now.

<3 <3 <3 :-D HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEWIS <3 <3 <3 :-D

Hope yo liked all your pressies and your blue trainers and other things. Was the cake nice?

Been to LIdl and Morrisons and came home whacked out. Its all put away now and oh has a curry for tonight and I am having two boiled eggs with brown bread and butter as I can't be bothered doing toast and I sometimes like bread and butter better with eggs.

Oh told me his New Year's Resolutions last week. He said he was going to eat more, smoke more and drink more! Cheek he does enough of that anyway. :-|

I am so pleased we have heard from you Frank as we all thought something must be up. Three broken ribs AND punctured lungs as Jane said you don't do things by half do you? I hope you can get something sorted about some pain killers as you should never have been discharged without any and thats really bad practice. I hope you have got something now. I am sending love and kisses and gentle {{hugs}} Now do as you are told by that lovely wife of yours. Do you think you should get yourself a walking frame for when you get up in the night. It would make you more steady on your pins and give you something to hang on to. We all missed you so much its lovely to hear from you.XX

I keep meaning to say that the daffodils are all blooming at Land Cross just outside Bideford. They were last week too and not just in bud but fully open.

Thank you Liz, I'll let Sandra know, she'll be chuffed to see them. It sounds like the training has gone really well for Cas and everyone thinks the world of her by the sounds of it. I didn't know there was snow forecast for next week, that'll pleased Sandra if we are lucky enough to get some, they'll be snowmen all over our garden then.

Sandra likes the sound of the little black cat, although I have told her that getting a photo might be a problem when she asked if you could get one. It's nice he/she has found shelter in your hay barn especially when the snow arrives, it'll be much warmer in there than outside in the open. If she's not completely wild, she may get used to you and become more friendly in time. Good idea not to let Cas chase the cat though, you never know which one would come out worse and it's much better if animals can get on and be friendly towards each other isn't it?

Well, the nail gun has finally stopped, probably because it's dark so we now have a bit of peace and quiet, until the workmen are back tomorrow. I think Sandra will be having an early night tonight so she can have some decent sleep before all the noise starts again in the morning.

Going to dish up dinner now then settle down for the evening, I've been busy with emails today, trying to sort them out into individual folders so I know where they all are, plus our gas and electric provider emailed me for our meter readings so that's done for another month. I might have an early night myself as I had a late one last night and I'm starting to feel tired now with being up early this morning.

Yes of course I will Gill. We may well get some snow next week so that should be good for a few pics!! Tomorrow Cas is out all day beating with OH from 9am - 4pm! so I shall have a really peaceful day!! She absolutely loves it and is a great favourite with the Shoot now she's settled down and is mindful of her training! Not all the dog's are and can be a bit of a nuisance, but she's quite a star and inevitably popular!!
We've discovered a lovely little black puss who appears to have made her home in our hay barn. Not sure if she's (it) got a proper home locally, been abandoned or just visiting for hunting purposes!! Not VERY tame, but not completely wild - we shall see. Cas needless to say is being kept well away, as she's not used to cats, and cat chasing is totally forbidden in this house. I'll try and get a pic for you and Sandra (and Frank!!)