General Chat

I would report it Mel, these scammers are terrible aren't they. Pleased to see you didn't fall for it and hand over any money.

Is your roof all done now or is it going to take a bit longer?

What lovely presents, I like the sound of the two little light up birds for the garden and running off batteries instead of the sun is better, they'll look good even in the winter when there isn't much sun around.

You'll sleep tonight with having such a busy day.

Here I am and Iv'e had a busy day what with the roofers and hazel came down with a little pressy and a card. The postman came with a parcel with a card on it from my SIL and it was two little light up birds which you can have standing or put them on a spike thing for the garden. Heather said she has some too and sent me a pic of hers on the table. They are run by batteries so no need for sunshine to charge them up. They came with three batteries each.

I made two trifles today, one for me a small one and one for Em bigger. She called round once the roofers had gone and brought me a card and a present of a hedgehog and a lemon drizzle cake. She went off with her trifle.

Hazel bought me Lindor mint things in milk choc and I tries one and they are very nice. The roofer came and asked if I had any sand to do the cementing at the side of the tiles and Hazel left then and I did'nt give her the beer for her hubby and son which they should have had at Christmas so there are 4 bopttles of beer siting in the kitchen. She laos brought me down a card that was addressed to Mel c/o The Granary which is now Hazel and Jonathon's. It was just a thank you for me going up and talking to Les sometimes and having a chat with him at the library. So all in all a busy day.

Now I have just had an email come up in spam saying my car is not taxed as there was'nt enough money on my credit/ debit card and they had sent reminders and pay now. Now I have a new card but thought it a bit suspicious so did a check and it says I am taxed till May 2023 so it must be a scam. It looks official though so I think I will report it.

Happy Birthday Mel :-D <3
I hope you've had a good day.

I hope the roofers have made your home leak-proof, so you will be cosy and warmer
It will be great to get that sorted at last.

It started off really murky and the fog made everything feel chilled, but by 1 o'clock, the sun had come out and it was a very pleasant day.
The grass is really long, but the ground is still rather wet and being north facing it doesn't dry or warm at this time of the year.
Soon though, I hope to put the garden bin to good use. My neighbour has just told me that the charge has gone up for this coming financial year and will now be £53 something :-0
Her daughter, who lives in another area of Kent does not have a charge for her garden bin :-|

13 degrees here now Vera but I am indoors. I think I have lost my penstemons as well and the two large Salvias are looking q bit dead. I bought several sedums for pots. The tops were frosted but I am hoping new plants are coming through from underneath I can see some green in a couple of them.

<3 <3 <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL <3 <3 <3

Did my card arrive okay Mel, I didn't post it until Saturday so I hope it arrived on time. That was nice of the roofer to give you some wine gums for your birthday. I bet you can't wait to have your roof done, especially if the weather is going to turn for the worse later this month. Let's hope it doesn't take to long to do.

It sounds like you had a lovely time with your friends Vera and all the goodies you're going to make sound delicious.

Congratulations to your Granddaughter on passing her driving test AnnG, pity about the way you found out though. It sounds like you've been busy in your garden. I was tempted to do a bit in our garden the other day but decided against it incase I never came back in to finish the floors ;-) ;-)

We're both getting fed up of boarding the floors now, but it's the final push so we will plod on until the last two rooms are finished. I need to box up things out of the wardrobes as they need moving into the living room out of the way so I'm on that job now. I want our bedroom floor boarded before the bad weather arrives or it'll be freezing all night.

Sky was put in yesterday so we're now up and running with a decent TV to watch. We decided to have an extra box so we've got three now, the only problem is the third one couldn't be put into the room we wanted as it's full of boxes and furniture at the moment with the floors being done so we had it put into our bedroom for now where we've got the second one. The main box is in the living room. I didn't know the three controls only work one box and TV each so when I was trying to watch TV last night in the bedroom I was using the wrong control and wondering why it wasn't working...........silly me :-)

Anyway I've decided to buy some coloured stickers and put different colours on each pack of TV, box and controls, that way they don't all get muddled up when we decorate and have to move them all around.

We've never had SkyQ before so I'm still learning how it all works, it doesn't help when there wasn't a user manual, but I'm getting there. I don't know why Sky bothered giving us a time slot for the engineers visit, they told me it would be between 8am and 1pm but he didn't turn up until after 2pm and didn't even know we had a morning slot.

Poor OH got up early and he was on nights last night, he did try to have a sleep in the afternoon thinking Sky weren't going to turn up but as soon as he got his head down the engineer knocked on the door so he never got any sleep before going to work. He was shattered this morning so I'm going to leave him to sleep and empty the wardrobes tonight when he's back in work. There's not much to pack, so it shouldn't take me to long to do, then we can move the wardrobes out of the room to clear the floor for the boarding.

I'll be glad when the boarding is finished and we can move onto a different job. I for one can't wait to get back out in the garden.

Fog took a long while to clear but is all gone now. Sun is shining and it’s about 10 degrees. You are putting me to shame with your gardening AnnG. I know I ought to get out there while the weather is OK but I am finding it hard to get motivated. I had a look around the garden earlier and it looks as though we might have lost quite a few plants this winter including a lot of penstemons which are normally pretty hardy.

I spent the morning doing lots of little jobs that I keep putting aside to do later. I now have a working radio in the kitchen, having done a complete system reset, and I have a reasonably tidy desk, having done some sorting out and filing. Tonight’s dinner is prepared and just needs to be cooked and I’ve washed some flower pots.

We’ve just had lunch and OH is now watching television with his eyes closed. He’s an expert at that ;-). I think I’ll go and find another couple of little jobs on my “to do when I’ve got time” list.

Thank you Mel the card came with this mornings post, I'll use the little beads when I start beading again ,haven't tried doing any with my wrists and fingers lately but I'll use them when I start beading again .

What a lovely day it is now ,the fog soon cleared and its feels really warm in the sun .

Hope your fog has gone Vera and that the sun is shining.

It is 11 degrees out there so after I walked down to post a couple of cards, came back and had a coffee; I spent 45 minutes out in the garden cutting down dead stuff in the hope that what is in the ground will re-grow later on. (a couple of Michaelmas daisies, Lemon Balm, some tall grass by the water feature and a few other plants I also ran the water feature to make sure the pump had not seized up as it has not been run since October. It was fine. Then put out some mealy worms for the birds and came in for lunch.  It really felt like spring in the garden which does make you feel better. :-) :-)

Just given the three of them tea and biscuits. There a very keen breeze today but at least the suns shining.

Thanks for the wishes.

No Mandy no card yet but we may get a post today. I put something in the card for you to do something for the girls.

That’s great that you are getting your roof done at last Mel. That must be like getting another birthday present. You’re in my thoughts today as it’s the first birthday and Valentine’s Day since you lost your OH <3. It’s good your bil is spending time at your house. It sounds as though he wants to help you all he can.

It’s still foggy at the front of the house but the sun is trying to break through at the back now and I can see the garden again.

<3 <3 <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL <3 <3 <3

Celebrating with the roofer then and a packet of wine gums. hope he can fix the problem then that will be another thing out of the way.

Morning all.

<3 <3 <3 Happy birthday Mel <3 <3 <3 hope you enjoy your day.

Mel I hope you got my card it was posted a week ago now ,still haven't got yours to me
It will be good to get the roof done at last, how long a job is it .

Had the girls here yesterday as its half term this week.

Better get on I need to nip up to the town for a few bits and as its market day i might get some veg .

Roofers are here.

Thank you Vera, Anng and Ann for your cards.

The roofer wished me Happy Birthday and gave me a packet of wine gums!!

Morning all,

Thjank you for my6 birthday greeting Vera. I had a little present this morning just as I got up and was dressing at 8.28am the phone rang, landline and it was Mrs Birch who told me they were coming to do my roof today, HOORAY at last. I have waited so long with my four bins collecting the water etc I am delighted.

Now I am just having my coffee and going to open my cards all 6 of them.

Good morning all grey out there and a bit foggy but the sky is starting to brighten up. Another day of nothing planned so I shall see what the day brings. Slept ok, hope you did too.

Mel with the air frier to get used to it, just do chips in one basket I found the instructions made more sense once I had had a go with it.

Good morning all

Very foggy here; you can barely see across the courtyard in front of our house. It was a cold night as well and has only climbed to 0 degrees now.

I haven’t got any plans for today so will just be bumbling around.

Well done to your granddaughter on passing her driving test AnnG. It’s a shame you had to learn from Facebook. That seems to be the way it’s done these days. I am not on Facebook and often get snippets of family news from my daughter who has seen it online. I also know someone who learnt of her brother’s engagement like that and was really upset. I hate it.

EDIT. I meant to start this with greetings to Mel and then it went straight out of my mind so



:-D :-D :-D <3 <3 <3nHAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL <3 <3 <3 :-D :-D :-D

Pleased your granddaughter passed her test. She must be really pleased now to get it over and done with and now she's free.

I have hoovered up the mess the plumber left me but he made a stain on the little loo carpet and used a vanish thing to get it out but it did'nt really so I need to take the whole carpet up and wash the lot but it will have to wait till its warmer but the rusty stain is bugging me now.

Sold a mini plate on ebay today but was'nt pleased with the bid as it did'nt go above £1.20 + postage. I should have put more in together but I am on a learning curve.

Hazel rang me today and gave me the number of the tree surgeons that are cheaper then the one I know just incase I have to have this huge ash tree down at some point.

Its nice to have a lazy day sometimes Gill you have both been working so hard on your bungalow you deserved it.

Must do some mash and cabbage for dinner now. I cooked the mince and there should be enough for two days so one lot can go in the freezer. It was'nt a big pack of mince like I get from Asda but it is very nice mince from a local butcher.

As to Anng's question, no I have'nt cooked anything in the air frier yet. I hav'nt even read the book but may have a study tonight.

Sounds like a lovely morning Vera a nice view two nice coffees and a lovely chat with friends,
And the lunch with friends sounds as if it will be good too with the 'pudding' at yours.

And now your evening meal cooked for you. I know I don't have to tell you to give your OH an extra hug for that. It is something I miss. T's claim to fame was his fry ups.

I have just discovered on face book that my Granddaughter passed her driving test today. she apparently got a cancellation. I would have really appreciated not having to learn that with the rest of the world but I suppose that is what it is like now everything shared on face book not personally. I am so pleased for her. She started learning before Covid and her test was cancelled because of covid. she di then get another one but failed and has had to wait for ages for this one. Tests are like hens' teethe I am told.

Good afternoon all

It’s been a lovely sunny day and not too cold. I think a bit of sunshine cheers everyone up.

That’s really good news about your cancer test Gill – one less thing to worry about. You are really getting on well now with the work in the house. Don’t forget to take a break and relax now and then.

AnnG, I do usually try and get all the washing done on Monday (except perhaps towels) but that’s only because it is the day we are most likely to have nothing else on. I can be flexible about that but I opted to do the bedding on Sunday as OH had to go to the opticians so we couldn’t do anything else in the morning anyway. I don’t know when the opticians started opening on a Sunday; they never used to do that. You’ve been busy in your garden today. I really ought to do a bit more tidying up out there. OH did a bit of cutting back the other day but I stopped him chopping back everything as some of last year’s dead stuff will protect new growth coming through and I know what my Mr Crewcut is like.

This morning we met our friends for a “quick” coffee. Two hours and two coffees later we thought we had better leave as people were placing their lunch orders and we were taking up a table. It was a really enjoyable morning. We got a table in the hotel bar right next to the big windows which overlook the river and the water meadows so a lovely outlook. It’s good for the two men to be able to meet up and have a chat as well as there are so few men in our group now. A lot of the ladies are sadly divorced or widowed.

Amongst a group of 12 ladies, there are 4 of us with our birthdays within a period of 6 days. 2 of us usually have an ordinary pub lunch with a few of the girls somewhere between our 2 birthdays but this year the other lady wants to splash out a bit. So next Saturday, which is her birthday, 12 ladies are going to a fairly upmarket restaurant/brasserie about half an hour’s drive away. She moved during lockdown so couldn’t have any sort of housewarming “do”. She has therefore booked the table and we’ve all chosen a starter and main course and she has paid the deposit as she didn’t pay for drinks and nibbles for us at a housewarming. The remainder of the bill will be split between us. Everyone is coming back to mine afterwards for deserts and coffee/tea. I got a chocolate mousse in the freezer yesterday and I’ve got the ingredients to make a trifle Friday evening and I might do a fresh fruit salad. I’ve also got some little cakes and I’ll put out cheese and biscuits.

I’ve nattered on again. It’s just going to be eggs, chips and beans tonight and OH has offered to do it so I had better go and find something useful to do.

I feel virtuous now. It is a beautiful sunny day here only 8 degrees but really warm in the sun. so I have cut back some of the dead clematis on the lower trellis then given the lawn a high cut. It was getting really long but I didn't want to cut it too short as we are forecast more cold weather, frosts etc this next weekend.

If it is nice tomorrow I will have another go at the clematis.