General Chat

Morning all

We have sunshine today, which makes a lovely change from the awful weather we had yesterday, it's still a bit breezy but no where near as bad as it was. I've taken advantage of the warmer weather and watered my plants in the greenhouse. I've not been watering them to often with it being so cold at night, but they don't seem to have suffered, so that's good. We've just had a load of Starlings on the feeder, what a racket they make fighting with each other to get to the food. Terrible table manners lol :-D :-D ;-)

Sorry to hear you and Chris are still feeling unwell Jane. They say sleep is the best medicine so having a nap each afternoon will do Chris the world of good. I hope you both feel better soon, you've been ill for some time now and it must be getting you down. Not long to wait now before you can see all the photo's, I'm sure Hannah and Gareth will tell you all about it, even if they have talked about it to other people. Looking at all the photo's you've sent they went to a lot of places so should have lots to tell you.

I recorded "Call the Midwife" last night so will be watching that today Mel. I've been recording Les Mis but haven't got around to watching any of those yet.

I've been wondering how Frank is getting on and hoping he hasn't been on his own to much with Ros coming and going the way she does. Maybe he's got some help in so he can shower and have a shave, he can't go to long without a decent wash, that won't make him feel any better. Let's hope he can make it on here again soon.
Thinking of you Frank

I'm like you Anne and don't comfort eat when I'm stressed, so I lose quite a bit of weight quite quickly. Having a word with the doctor is a good idea, hopefully the weight loss is nothing to worry about and I'm sure you'll soon put it back on again if you need to.

How are you getting on with your sorting Ann? I haven't made a start on mine yet, but will at some point. I don't feel like doing much at the moment, probably because I've been so busy for a few months. I'm enjoying relaxing for a change and taking a look at my family tree again. The builders are back today, we think they are building the new interior wall for the bathroom and en-suite. They've made the small bedroom into the new bathroom and the old bathroom into the en-suite. Because they are next to each other a few alterations to the walls and a new door from the master bedroom needs doing, so that'll keep them busy today. I'm not sure when the roof is being done, but have been told it'll be sometimes this week. At least the weather has brightened up a bit as I doubt they could of done the roof with the weather we had yesterday.

Going to get a cuppa now then watch "Call the Midwife" before taking another look at my family tree. My tummy is a lot better today, so that's good as it was quite painful yesterday.

Morning all,

Another GLOOMY day as Ann put it yesterday. Like that word it just about sums the weather up right somehow.

The deer have been in the garden over the weekend and one was out the back behind the chickens when I got up this morning. In the garden they are eating the leaves that are showing on the day lilies. In the summer they eat the flowers off even when they are in bud so I don't see many of those and there's a huge patch.

Nose still running when I bend over. It just suddenly does it with no warning. Not sneezing so much though. Still feeling hot and cold in bed too.

That poor little dog being attacked like that and what I want to know is did the fellow have his two dogs on leads? Your poor SIL must have been shaken up and fancy his saying she should pick her dog up!!!!!!!!!!! He should have been in more control of his dogs. Its disgusting when you can't walk your dog for fear of it being attacked like that.

It was the 10th we heard from Frank thats three days ago. I do hope they are copeing ok. It must be hard when you can't move about quickly or much for that matter. I hope he is not being left alone for long times. I wonder how long his beard is now?? or if he has managed to have a shave.

Watched Les Mis and enjoyed it again. Now I am going to get undressed and watch Vera and save Call the Midwife for tomorrow.

Jane thanks for your concern, I do eat chicken, eggs and cheese although I don't eat roast meat i do eat shepherds and cottage pies plus any minced beef dishes. I think the main reason for the weight loss is I have been very down for a while and this effects how I eat, I know a lot of people comfort eat but I do the opposite.it's good Richard lives at home so I do cook a proper meal every evening for both of us so I do eat but not as much as I use to but my age may come into it as well. I will see what the Dr has to say

Ronald's wife had a lot of support from his family , Bo only lived a short walk away and did what she could, Marilyn soon returned to Norfolk where her family lived, she had a job in a hospice there. Last year she herself passed away.

I missed Anne's post too about the poor little dog being attacked by the 2 Staffies. Thank goodness he was just shaken and not pysically hurt. Good job she reported this to the Police Anne. You never know they may have had other reports of similar incidents with these dogs.

Anne I know you aren't really a meat eater. Do you have enough protien and carbs in your diet? Just Veg arent going to help you keep some weight on !!. Sorry I am not meaning to sound bossy :-S

I forgot about Dancing on Ice Gill !!!!!! thanks for just mentioning it.

Evening All

Wll the wind picked up here this afternoon but seems to have died down a bit already.
You must have had much stronger wind where you are Gill. At least all your pots are safe and no fencing blowing about.

Ann I think from what you have said recently you haven't had the best of appetites so maybe it is just that that has caused your drop in weight. I would love to lose that amount :-D Even just a few pounds would be nice.

Ann it is next weekend we will hear all about the Honeymoon . Gareth's Mum and Dad will have heard all this weekend. I expect by the time they get to us they will be fed up talking about it LOL . I am just really looking forward to seeing all the photos.

We are still feeling so under par . Chris much more than me.Its the energy levels at zero which is so frustrating and lack of appetite . I have made a Meatloaf for tonight with Potato Wedges but at the moment neither of us fancy any of it. James is home and asking when dinner is :-D :-D,so I think he will be having the lions share.
I think I might have overdone the garlic in the meatloaf as James said it reeked of garlic when he came in. My sense of smell must be off .

Lots to choose on TV tonight. Les Mis,Call the Midwife and Vera !!Something will have to wait to watch on Catchup.

Anne,that was very sad about Peters Brother dying so young and leaving behind a wife and 2 young children plus another little one on the way. How on earth did his wife manage?. Hopefully she had plenty of help and support from family.

My Dad was just a baby when his Dad died .There were 5 older children and another due to be born around that time. Back in the 20s it must have been incredibly tough on my Granny.

This is the time of day at the moment when I suddenly feel really tired .I am yawning my head off already. Chris had another nap this afternoon . I think he gets quite cross as he thinks he shouldn't be doing this every day. But he obviously needs to so I said not to fight it.

You Lamb lunches always sound so tasty Ann. Do they do the Lamb every week ?

Fitz has suggested you might like ot have a change from Ascoughs when we have our meet up this year. There is a Pub just outside of Market Harborough called The George at Great Oxendon . He has been several times now and says it is very good. Chris and I are going to try it for his Birthday. It is only a few minutes further for you I think . Would you be up for a new place for a change?

My oven is pinging so I need to brush a mix of Dijon Mustard, Tomato Ketchup and Brown Sugar on it. I discovered this morning I had run out of Dijon :-S. I went to 3 shops before I could find some !!!. I bought 2 jars so I have a spare :-D

Thinking of Frank again today. We havent heard for a couple of days now as to how he is doing.

I missed your post Anne, sorry to hear about your SIL's dog, pleased to see he's not injured, well, physically anyway, I hope the attack doesn't have any lasting effect on him mentally. I don't blame her for reporting it to the police, I hope they find him and have a strong word with him and make sure the dogs wear muzzles in future. Surely they can't be allowed to attack other dogs and what if they start attacking people or even little children, it doesn't bare thinking about does it? I hope Diane is okay now and not so shaky. Is there anywhere else she can take Angus for his walk if she's to scared to go back there again? Although she shouldn't have to go elsewhere, it's a shame she doesn't feel safe to walk him there anymore.

Yes, Ann the weather today has been pretty rough, but thankfully has calmed down a bit now. Let's hope that's the end of the bad wind for a while.

OH and I spent a few days in my mum and dad's caravan but it was months later not straight away, they only agreed as I said they offered it to my sister but not us. My sister and I got married in the same year, us in January and my sister in August, so because they let her go straight away I think they felt they had to let us go to. I was very upset that they didn't want us to go in the first place, using the excuse that I had Sandra (from my first marriage) and they thought she would wet the bed, she was still in nappies at the time, so a lame excuse if you ask me, they just didn't want me to go. Anyway we all ended up having a lovely few days together, even if it was a while after we were married.

You have had some rough weather Gill, it's still not been windy here and only drizzle. I hope you can anchor the plant a bit better to stop it moving again. I suppose the taller plants are more easily moved by the wind. I wish they would make some pots with wider bases so they don't topple so easily. Luckily no damage though. I've still got a filing cabinet and two wall cabinets to sort through Gill as well as more left in a couple of racks on the top. It is at least starting to look a bit tidier though! I will try and send a couple of pics of the jewellery I have finished now. I like DOI too.

We were lucky Mel as MIL had only bought the static caravan a year before. If she hadn't we wouldn't have got our 4 days away. It was lucky too that we got married at the end of the season or the caravan might not have been available. She was very good and let me use her box room to keep the things for my bottom drawer. Mum wouldn't let me keep stuff at home as she said there wasn't room, despite my then boyfriend having just built a wardrobe that was twice as big as the old one in the bedroom I shared with my sister. That was good your dad was able to start you off with your own flat and a wise move to have kept it for so many years and to still own the land as well.

A good bit of telly tonight with Call the Midwife and Les Mis! :-)

I spoke to soon Ann, one of our larger plants rocked a bit so we dashed outside to sort it out, luckily the wind has died down a bit now so the plant is still standing. It was the one at the back of the new water fall. The top of the water feature just slots into the main bit and until I went and sorted the plant out I didn't realise it had knocked the top of the water feature, luckily it didn't break it just knocked it out a bit so that had to be put back in place. The wind was very strong and even the post we concreted the other week started wobbling again, but thankfully didn't fall down. It's been quite some time since we've had such high wind around here, I hope it doesn't happen again. OH had to go out in the front and take some mortar out of the guttering as it had broke away from around the chimney, it's all been a bit scary around here today. Then when the wind died down we had a massive downpour of rain, it looked like we were sitting in a car wash at one point as you couldn't see through the living room window. I'm just glad we didn't have to go out today.

I was saying to OH I need to do some more sorting, it's been a while since I did it last and things are starting to pile up again. How did you get on with your sorting today? I see you had the lamb again. Good idea to buy household things if there's nothing else you fancy with your voucher, it saves wasting it.

I have some sausage rolls still in the freezer Mel, along with some little quiches and some sticky chicken on sticks. I bought more than I needed for Christmas so they're still there waiting for me to cook them. Unfortunately I've had a bit of a sore tummy today so I won't be cooking them until my tum is better otherwise OH and Sandra will eat it all and I'll end up with nothing. I bet your OH has eaten quite a lot of the sausage rolls you made today. ;-)

Dancing on Ice has just started so I'll go and watch it, I like that programme.

We had a weeks honeymoon in Torquay.

Ann you asked about Ronald he was suffering from bowel cancer and met his wife Marilyn when she was nursing , he would have had a better chance of surviving now. He died in The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading which I found upsetting when Peter spent some time there before being moved to a nursing home in Windsor where he died.

I did roast beef today for Richard, Paul, Abbie and Connor and a lamb shank for Becky I just had the vegetables.

My youngest SIL Diane had a bad experience while walking Angus her little Scots terrier, it was on a local walk she has taken him since he was a puppy, when out of the blue two Staffordshire bull terrier's started to attack him the owner wearing a hoody started to shout at her telling her to pick her dog up as if it was her fault, fortunately Angus was more shaken up than injured as he has a very thick winter coat and she had him on a lead since he picked up poison there a way back.
When she got home she reported him to the police. Now she is afraid to go up there again.

The Anne Boleyn programme was interesting, we will never know if she was guilty of all she was accused of although I very much doubt it. I think I mentioned before, that Margaret Boleyn is in Peter's direct line she was Anne's Aunt.

Ann you were lucky to get 4 days honeymoon I did'nt get any. We lived with mum and dad until dad had finished our flat. They bought a house and dad divided it into two flats and I had the bottom one with the garden. At present I still own the land the two flats stand on.

Winds got up a bit here but its still dry and gloomy as Ann put it.

I shall make sausage rolls this afternoon so I can have a couple for tea tonight and I shall make some salad to go with them. A Waldof I think.

Afternoon All,

No wind here ......yet either, just horrid, soak you to the skin drizzle and gloom!

How sad about Ronald Anne. Was his death unexpected? I was trying to imagine his wife being left with two children and another on the way. It must have been a very upsetting and difficult time for the family. That must have been a bit of a surprise to find you had lost that much weight without trying to. Maybe it was a lack of appetite recovering from one of these bugs that caused it. I must see if OH has recorded the Anne Boleyn prog as he loves historical things like that. He was saying today that there is a new Lucy Worsely programme starting soon and she does historical things plus the dressing up for them.

I must get back to doing some of my tree too Gill. Once you find one bit of info it leads to more doesn't it! I need to update more of OH's family on his mother's side too. It's good your plants aren't blowing over in the wind now.

We had the nice lamb for lunch today and a quick whip round the factory shop after but didn't get anything. I probably will do next week as I have a £5 off £20 spend voucher that runs out soon after. I can always get some dishwasher cleaner and socks and other household stuff if there isn't anything else I fancy!

I expect Jane will be hearing more details about the honeymoon. It's got me thinking about mine which was four days in my then MIL's caravan at Ingomells! It had stretched us to the limit to buy and part furnish the bungalow we bought so we had no money for a honeymoon and dad wanted me back by Thursday anyway to do the bank run at work!

A bit more sorting next I think........OH has taken a pile of his paperwork in the lounge to sort through. :-)

You're lucky having calm weather Mel, hope the fine rain keeps away. Have you decided on whether you're having the two other chickens yet? Are you making more wands today?

I think I might take another look at my family tree. Thankfully everything is done in the garden. With all this wind I wouldn't of been able to do anything today. It's not very warm out there either, so I'm staying in doors where it's warm.

Morning Gill and all,

Not windy here and we did have a bit of sun earlier on but now its clouded over and looks like we might get a bit of fine rain. I hope not but we will see.

Yes good that West Ham won and I am sure Frank will be pleased at least thats something to cheer him up while he mends. It would be lovely to here from him to know how he is progressing. Each day must get better you would think but I know ribs take a long while to heal. Sending love. <3 <3 <3

Morning all

Another very windy day here. I can't believe none of my pots have fallen over, we must of blocked them all in now. Every time one falls over we put rocks around them, so I think they must all be secure now given how windy it is out there. OH has just tightened the screws again that is holding the end of the wooden frame the screening is on, it's in a corner and gets blown back and forth quite a bit so sometimes the screws become loose and need tightening. No workmen next door yet. I think the roof is being done next so I doubt they'll be able to make a start until the wind dies down. Not sure if anymore fascia boards are going up, they've finished in the front and around the side so only the back to do on the extension.

Hope all goes well with the Diabetic doctor next Friday Anne. Is the weight loss to do with your diabetes? Sorry to hear about Ronald, 28 was a very young age.

Hope Frank is managing to get some sleep and the painkillers are working for him. It'll be nice to see him back on here when he feels up to it.
Thinking of you Frank and wishing you a speedy recovery <3 <3

OH is watching match of the day and was watching his team Arsenal playing West Ham. West Ham won 1-0 OH said Frank would be pleased, as he supports that team. Hopefully West Ham winning we'll have cheered Frank up a bit. :-) :-)

Good evening all

Wet, dull and windy here to, I much prefer it to be cold.

Hope Frank isn't suffering too much at the moment and the pain killers are helping

Those wands look very pretty Mel, were they fiddly to make?

Good that you slept better last night Ann a good nights sleep can make such a difference to how you feel the next day.

That was sad that Ruth your old school teacher past away before she reached her 100th birthday.Jane. So it was good that you managed to speak to her not long before she passed away .You must be keeping Kleenex in business at the moment.
,
Reading about the early deaths of BIL's reminded me of Ronald, Peter's youngest brother who died at the age of 28 , he left 3 children one not yet born, he died on 28th Feb.Peter's birthday and April was born on 31st March her name was chosen by Ronald because she was due in April, I don't know what name he had chosen if it had been a boy. Ronald was also a friend of Colin's as they were in the same class at Hastings Grammar school.

Amanda managed to get blood out of me on first attempt, she said I had lost 4 kilo in weight since last year, something I didn't want to hear. I have to make an appointment to see the Diabetic Doctor next Friday and pick up a report of the tests.

I'm watching the channel 5 programme on Anne Boleyn it's on for 2 hours, this is my favourite period of History

The weather has gone really windy now, one of the tall Red Robins we bought, the 12 foot high one, is blowing like mad, but given the size of the pot it's in I doubt it'll ever blow over. At least I hope it never does as there's no chance of OH and I lifting it up again.

Hope everyone is fit and well for Friday Jane when Hannah and Gareth visit. How is Hannah now, you said she was feeling unwell just after her honeymoon? I know how you feel about staying in front of the fire and watching TV on bad weather days, that's what we've done today, although I did fall asleep this afternoon, it's my own fault I was tired after having a very late night last night, followed by a very early morning this morning, so I didn't get much sleep.

Pleased to see you had a better nights sleep Ann, pity you missed breakfast again, maybe tomorrow you can go out for it. Yes, the builders were back again today putting up more fascia boards, they are very slow though so I think they may be back again tomorrow, unless they are leaving around the back for now. I can't see the new people moving in, in February though, not unless the builders pull out all the stops and really get going on the place. The inside is still a bare shell.

OH spoke with the new neighbour yesterday and the neighbour said he was expecting some work to have been done on the inside while he was away on holiday, but that didn't happen. I wonder what he said to the boss when he rang him yesterday, he said he was going to mention all the breakages that's happened to our place to, not that it'll do any good I shouldn't think.

No Sandra hasn't started her pictures yet, she started reading the Secret Seven books we bought her for Christmas, there are 10 books in total and she's just finished book one. I'm sure she'll do them at some point though. She had so much for Christmas this year, so had a lot to choose from. She did make us a lovely Anniversary card with the card making things we bought her, she's getting really good at card making now. I looked at one of her first cards she made that I kept and you can really tell the difference between that one and the one she made the other day. She loves making cards, so we went all out and bought her so much card making things and lots of sticker which are her favourite. She's in her element now....bless her <3

I did laugh when you said parrots are talking to Alexa now and getting music played, very funny lol

I loved the Secret life of 4 years old's to. Yes Arthur loved Bobby the Robot didn't he, I think he would of liked to have taken Bobby home with him. He saw him as his friend, rather than a toy. Isn't he the one who's mum said she thinks he'll be an inventor when he's older? I was also shocked at the lack of interaction between the girls when they were given the ipads. I really don't think children should have them all the time if it's going to effect the way they interact with other children, their social skills are going to be almost zero.

Afternoon All,

I had a bit better night last night, but we didn't feel lively enough to get up in time to go for breakfast after all and had poached eggs on toast at home instead. I have felt really weary this afternoon. Couldn't do any photos as the battery was flat when I switched on and the spare hasn't arrived yet.

The wands you have made look really good Mel. Is it a runny plastic that makes the drip pattern on them? It's a difficult decision about the chickens isn't it? Whether to save a couple more or risk upsetting those you already have. There were 4 episodes of Yorkshire Farm as you say, the four seasons. I still have the last one to watch.

OH has gone somewhere near Jane's again to two matches. All I know is that Frank's Blisworth team are playing in one match. I wonder how he is today and hope he's more comfortable.

I bet Chris is glad to be feeling a bit better. These things do take it out of you though. Yes H & G won't want to be coming to a house of bugs on Friday will they.

The secret life of 4 year olds was good wasn't it. It's amazing how quick and bright they are at that age. A bit worrying how all their activity stops once they have their ipads though! Did you see how parrots are talking to Alexa now and getting music played?

Gill I'm glad your mum liked the bauble I made and Mel's fairy. Has Sandra finished the pictures she had for Christmas? It's so sad your BIL never reached his 50th birthday. My BIL only reached 49 and had children too. I expect it was a sad day for your BIL's mum too. Are the builders working today?

Oh you got some nice things for Lewis's birthday Mandy! He will love his Dinosaur trousers! lol. I had to look up the Rusty Rivet toys, I'm so out of touch with the latest toy trends, but he will love them if he likes the programme. I bet he will be showing his presents to his brother and sisters. You are good to get his mum to choose his trainers, it's far better to get something she will be happy with. I was wondering how your BIL was and it's good he's improving. Yes, you stand and walk differently for so long with a bad knee, it must take a while and ache a bit when you start to walk properly again and are more upright.

Afternoon All

It is a horrible dark and dismal day here.One of those days where you just want to be sat in front of the fire watching TV. I did go to Tesco just now to get some more kindling and TISSUES. Yes more tissues :-S.I do hope I wont need to get any more.Its ridiculous w hat we have got through.

Mel your wands are really good :-D. How long does it take you to do one? I think you have done so well with rescuing Chickens . I wouldnt feel bad if you dont have another 2. Like you say the 7 you have now have settled so well and are good layers it would be a shame to upset them now.

Gill I watched the Secret Life of 4 year olds this morning. I just love this programme.
Little Arthur loved Bobby the Robot didnt he :-D

Ann did you have a better night last night and manage to go out for your Breakfast this morning?. I love the name Topsy for a cat. She does sound a greedy puss . I expect the other cats just move out the way when she snaffles their food.

I am going to light the fire now.I was going to wait a bit but it is so dreary and the room needs cheering up. Chris seems a bit better today but is just like a wet fish . He says it is Post Flu Debility . I can see him going for another lie down this afternoon. I just hope we are all a bit healthier by Friday when H&G come for the weekend.They are at Gareth's parents this weekend.

I hope Frank is ok and has managed to get at least a bit of quality sleep ,even if it might have been in the chair. I wonder if he has a recliner?