General Chat

BIL and SIL arrived this morning so they stayed quite a while. BIL had brought down a rack on big casters so he can put the mower bits on and work on them at the height he wants.

SIL showed me things on my phone I never knew I had but its all been a bit confusing.

Was bidding on a couple of thigns on ebay but it would'nt accept my bids porbably because SIL set me up an account on my phone with them. I lost out on both the bundles I wanted.

Was worn out by the time they went which was early because a bulb had gone on their car and BIL wanted to get to Halfords to get another and a spare.

Frost never really went down here and my pond only thawed a little in the middle but before it was dark the grass was frozen solid again and I did'nt manage to thaw the bird bath so have to put out a bowl for them.

The sun is out now but the frost is only just clearing. We have reached the giddy heights of 1 degree and it appears that's as warm as it is going to get. Earlier it looked as though the low growing hebes we have edging a path were in full bloom as the frost had made all their spiky leaves so white it looked like blossom.

I've washed some bedding and done the little bit of ironing I do (I do as little as possible); now I have to go to the shops. If I have to go on a Friday I find lunchtime is the least busy time so I try to go then. I'm going to the nearest place which is Sainsbury's and then it's back home for the rest of the day.

Hope you're grandson's journey has been pain free AnnG. Enjoy your time with him.

Morning all,
When we went to bed the car was white when we got up it was wet and I looked back on the camera it if looked like it was snowing about 2 o'clock, now it's freezing fog out there ,glad we don't have to go anywhere today.

Vera sounds as if you had a nice trip out to Holkham its years since we went round the Hall,thank you for your Christmas card .

Anng have a nice day with your grandson.

Mel how far does your bil have to come perhaps he will wait a while for the roads to clear a bit .

Better get on with some house work and I want to see if I can get some Christmas decorations out .

Morning all,

Heavy frost here this mroning and pc says -2 and cloudy but the sun is out. I was going to take some pics but I left the camera plugged int o the pc and the battery was flat whne I picked it up. Everywhere is white apart from where the suns has reached. There's a clear blue sky.

BIL is coming today so I hope the roads are ok for him as they can get very slippy around here and I bet they hav'nt gritted.

Good morning all -2 here and a frost but it doesn't look as hard as yesterday's. Hope the roads are clear as grandson should have left home by now, in fact he was planning to leave at 0600. so I had better get on and shower and wash my hair.

4 degrees Mel? That’s nearly tropical. It’s -3 here and the iPad is telling me it feels like -6. I won’t be going outside to find out.

There's a frost here already and pc says 4 degrees.

Our postman did'nt come till very late afternoon and had three parcels for me and Anng's card. Thank you Anng.

I gave the postman some of my cards but I could'nt find my old stamps to put onthe others. They were in my purse but they are not there now! I think they must have been borrowed so I better ask for them back.

Good evening all

I’m not a fan of this freezing weather. I hope you are all managing to keep warm. It’s good of your bil to check that you have enough heating Mel.

I hope your garden group meeting went well AnnG. Thank you for your card which arrived this afternoon. We’ve had 15 in the last 2 days so post is gradually getting through. I posted mine on Monday and just about managed to get them into the letter box which was choc-a-bloc. The last gift I ordered online arrived on Tuesday afternoon via Royal Mail. I was at the Ladies Club but OH was here and found it just by chance on the ground by the back door. No-one had rung the bell which is working and is loud so he would have heard it. If he hadn’t gone out of the back door to go to the garage it could have been there for days.

In today’s post there was an invoice for £57 annual charge for the garden waste bin. I am sure it was £50 last year so an increase of 14%.

We had a lovely day yesterday. These coach trips we go on usually leave town at 8.30 am but this didn’t go till 9.30 which gave us a slightly more leisurely start. I had gone wearing several layers as I know I do get cold but the coach was just comfortably warm. On the way the two ladies who run the trips came round with a bag of Lindor chocolates for each of us which was a nice gesture. We got to Holt about 11.45 am and were free till 2 pm It seemed to be warmer there than at home and we didn’t feel cold. If you don’t know it, Holt is a lovely little town full of independent shops, although some of them are a bit pricey. It is quite an affluent area. With our friends M & V we had a wander around and then looked for somewhere to get lunch. Most of the coach made for the main pub/hotel on the High Street but we found a “local” and asked her where she would suggest. She directed us down a narrow road, then another alley to a café called Nelson’s. When we got there it turned out to be called Horatio’s but she was close, lol. We had a good meal at a reasonable price and then it was back to the coach and on to Holkham.

When we arrived we were all given timed tickets for our tour. It takes about 45 mins and small groups go round with a guide every 15 minutes. We were allocated 3.45 pm for ours which was great as the rooms are candlelit so you really want it to be nearly dark for the atmosphere. While you are waiting for your tour you get a glass of prosecco and a mince pie and can wander about the grounds or look round the shop or just sit in the warm.

The decorations were lovely and some were very original. One was a large tree shape made with old wooden wine boxes stood on end and each box contained a plant, among them 70 poinsettias with the creamy coloured leaves. Every 2 days, someone has to go with a ladder and get them all down to water them. You could take photos but no flash. OH had taken his camera but for some reason couldn’t get the flash to turn off so couldn’t use it. He did take a few with his phone but they won’t be as good. There is going to be a programme about the decorations at |Holkham Hall and how it all gets made and set up on Channel 4 on 22nd December. We won’t be able to see it so I shall have to remember to set up a recording

We got back to town about 7.45 pm and boy, it was cold then. The car was white with frost but the blowers defrosted it fairly quickly and we were in just after 8 pm.

Today I have been to a very belated birthday lunch with a few lady friends. The birthday was in October but the birthday girl is the carer for her 80 year old partner who has MS and is rapidly worsening so she can’t get out with us much. However he is in respite care for a week. He is happy to go and give her a break but she feels guilty, which is understandable, but she really does need rest and relaxation herself.

This is getting overlong again so I had better stop. I hope you all have a good night free of aches and pains. Stay warm.

Ah that is good Mandy, I posted about 70 and your is the first notification of arrival I have had but at least I know they were collected. With the strikes I was not sure. I posted them Friday they would have gone at 4.30pm.

Mel, good that BiL is looking out for you I am trying to put an extra layer on and only turn the heating up when I am sitting down for the evening.

Morning All,

Hard frost here too again this morning and it was last night before I went to bed. Pc says 2 degrees and snow. The car is still frozen out the front but the sun has been out inthe back. We have blue sky with grey and white clouds here and there.

BIL rang last night to make sure I was warm enough as he knows the heating is'nt working properly. He said he could bring down an oil filled rad if I needed it but I have one of those so I told him not to bother.

Have some bills to pay today and I must have a hoover and do some ironing so another busy day.

Hope the frost clears so you can get out Mandy and Anng enjoy your gathering today with your friends.

Hope all slept well and aches and pains are getting easier.

Morning Anng, morning all,

Oh sharp frost here this morning everywhere is sparkling in the sunshine ,we wanted to shop again today but we're going to wait a while and hope the frost lifts a little .

Thank you Anng for your Christmas card my first one ,I posted mine on Monday.

Sounds as if you enjoyed your trip to the garden centre Mel shame they were so busy so you couldn't stay for a drink .

I wonder how Vera got on at Holkham looking at the Christmas decorations and lights I bet it was cold there as its so near to the coast.

Good morning all. Beautiful full moon last night but looks a bit cloudy now (still almost dark) so can't see a moon at all. -2 degrees so very likely a frost. so glad I don't have to go to work, I would be walking down the road in five minutes if I did.

This afternoon we have our garden group meeting here, mince pies with our tea instead of biscuits. Not much on in the garden so this is more of a social meeting.

Just looked it up it is a family owned independent garden centre. Not many of those around you are lucky.

Thanks re GW Mel.

Merry Harriers is that the name of the garden centre. It must be an individual private one.

You probably know but Garden's World have a winter special on Friday on BBC.

No it was Merry Harriers.

Sounds like you enjoyed it Mel. Was it one of the bigger chains? Dobbies? Blue Diamond? Although not sure they are down in Devon.

Looks like just you and me so far mel!!

My neighbours took me to a new to me garden centre this morning aand I did'nt manage to do it all as there was so much to see. I did get a couple of pressies and we were going to go and have a coffee but they were serving Christmas dinners and it was very crowded so we came home. Got in abiout 1.02pm and hav'nt done anything since except feed the girls and muck up the painting of a miniture which I had to wash off.

Better get the washing in as it won't dry anymore out there.

Tired now. I have hoovered and dusted downstairs and cleaned the cloakroom. Finished off the Christmas decorations, cleaned a shamefully tarnished large silver tray that sits on the sideboard and done two loads of washing. The second of which is bath and toilet mats

Ah I was wrong, when the sun came up and shone on the roofs I can see there is a light air frost, nothing on the ground though. still -1

Busy busy Mel!