General Chat

It sounded a nice meal anyway AnnG, despite things on the menu being unavailable. Nice to catch up with your long time friend too. Yes we have been dressing more warmly to go to the carvery. Everyone is trying to keep the heating bills down aren't they.

I have taken the plunge and ordered an air fryer today. Just one big enough for 2 with 1 drawer. Lots of places had sold out of the one I decided on, but I managed to find a Black Friday deal that was among the cheapest on offer with free delivery too. I should mostly manage without the big oven now unless I can fill it like Vera does, but it's useful to not have to rely on one oven anyway in case it goes wrong any time!

You can never be sure if they are true, but did any of you see the letter in the DM recently. It made both of us chuckle. A grandmother was saying how her 7 year old grand daughter was working towards her home making badge at brownies. She walked in proudly carrying a cup of tea for her grandmother and mother that she had learned to make. Her mother said, I thought we had run out of milk, so did you manage to find some?' The little girl said, 'Yes, there was some in the cat's dish!'. Seeing her mother's horrified face she said 'he didn't mind....honestly'. :-D

Well I am back home now after a nice lunch (Steak, chips and pees and a brownie with ice cream) and a good long catch up. I usually only see them once a year as a lot of their time is spent at their apartment in Italy. Meal was at the Beefeater and we were greeted by a long list of things that were unavailable. I suppose with the shortages. Still we managed and with a large glass of red wine it was very nice. We did get the waitress to get the heating turned up a notch as it was really cold in there at first.

Morning Everyone,

It's 9 degrees here too and sunny with no wind now which is good.

Yes, I think the slow cooker will be a boon Vera. The pork pieces seemed very tender as I saved half what I cooked and have put it in the freezer this morning. There was plenty for 2 meals for us with some added rice or pasta and there was room in the pot for me to fill it at least another inch and still not be overfull. I noticed in the instruction book last night that it said you could add a sauce, so I will try with thickened gravy next time. I bet rice pudding would be nice and there is a recipe for it in my little booklet, also one to do boiled ham so I might try that.

Yes this year has whizzed by hasn't it. I never seem to ever catch up with doing all the jobs I want to get done. Our garden still needs tidying for the winter. Now OH has started to be able to do more after his hernia repair, he cleaned the bathroom this morning which is good. (and unusual!)

I hope the greenery for the advent ring wasn't too sodden to gather Mel. You are good to do one each year for the church. I have decided not to bother booking an extra slot with Asda too.

Enjoy your lunch today AnnG! I hope it's quieter than ours was yesterday.

Steady Gwyn, I still haven't got all my Christmas cards yet or ordered the turkey!!

It's a beautiful day here now as well. Long may it last.

You are right about the number of flowers still blooming Gwyn. Looking out of the window at our tiny garden I've got a viburnum in bloom, 3 clumps of white campanula covered in flowers, some yellow argyranthemum and a trough of annual begonias. It sounds as though your pot of bulbs will be in bloom early if they are already a few inches high. There's no sign yet of my early daff bulbs in the garden showing through.

We've just had a notice through that our water is going to be off on Monday for most of the day. I hope that means the water company is going to do something about the flooding at the end of our road every time it rains. You can imagine what it's like at the moment - one giant puddle. I expect they will ignore it as usual and work on pipes further down the road. I've decided that Monday would be a good day to go shopping and maybe have lunch out. There is a huge new M & S opened about 15 miles from us so I might drag OH there. I seldom buy anything for me in M & S but I have to get a Xmas pressie for someone who shops there all the time so I might be able to find something.

I've now got to go on a hunt for the birthday card I bought my son in early September and put away somewhere. It was the perfect card for him so I had to get it, now I can't remember where I put it. His birthday is a week today and I think the post people are striking again for 2 days so I must get it in the post soon.

A really beautiful sunny morning here and not a cloud in the bright blue sky. It is mild too and it was lovely walking up to school and back, when I popped to deliver something there before 9 a.m.
The ground is waterlogged in parts of this area and lots of surface water on the main coast road, when we drove to daughter's yesterday evening. Some of the puddles were so deep, that I could see great sprays of water being forced into the air and onto pavements by moving traffic.
Hard to believe that in one months time, we will all be in the midst of whatever we are doing over the festive period.
As Mel says, time seems to be going so fast this year.

Morning Girls,

Its bright and sunny here this morning and its 9i degrees at the moment can't see the tree moving so I am hoping there's not any wind but that could chaange later in the day.

I have to finish off the advent ring today so it ready for Sunday the first day of advent. Christmas seems to have come around very quickly this year to me. I have been having reminders to book a slot for Christmas from Asda but I don't think I will bother.

Good morning

More rain overnight but it is supposed to be dry today and sunny this morning. Not much sign of the sun yet.

Enjoy your lunch out AnnG.

I’m sure you’ll find the slow cooker a boon Ann. Sometimes I thicken the gravy up at the end but sometimes I put it in the slow cooker like wallpaper paste. By the time the food is cooked the gravy has thinned down. I normally only do a main course in mine but yesterday I did a rice pudding and that was successful.

I’ve no particular plans for today but I’m sure I’ll find plenty of jobs to do.

good morning all. I checked and yes it actually is Friday so brain is working again so far :-D Slept well last night. It is 5 degrees so a bit chilly and there is a flood alert in the area, mainly around the River Severn, although my patio was looking very underwater yesterday evening. These showers seem to much heavier than normal.
Out to lunch today, not yesterday as I thought because yesterday was not Friday (as I also thought) But I did say so you will know what I mean.

Hope all slept well and aches and pains are at a minimum or bearable.

No Island on here lately so a ~~~~~~ wave and a <3 to her.
Hope Mandy is not sore with the knitting and her poorly hands

Afternoon All,

OH is relieved it's just stopped raining as he is out tonight. It poured earlier and the wind got up so there are leaves on our gravel and drive and our neighbours' gravel either side. The leaves never seem to drop on the gardens where the trees are. :-S

OH was up early and whirred into action with the hoover and cobweb brush first thing which was good. I would have liked to dust everywhere first but I'm not complaining!!! At least it has saved me a job.

I had a 30% off voucher emailed to me from the carvery so we ate there at lunchtime. Our quiet corner wasn't quiet for long though as a party of loud Irish women turned up (mothers and daughters) with a fractious tot, cute, but also with very strong lungs! We didn't hang about as we couldn't have a conversation because of the noise and when we left we both got the impression from what they were talking about they might have been from a nearby traveller site.

At last the slow cooker is in use and simmering away! I'm just doing my own version of somerset pork with 8 veg, some cider and a stock cube. I wasn't sure whether to thicken the gravy beforehand, so will do that afterwards this time and maybe try it next time. I will add some creme fraiche afterwards too. I'm going to leave it in the cold conservatory overnight to cool and I can microwave half tomorrow with some brown rice and I'll freeze the other half. I think I am going to find it very useful. :-D

What an awful journey both going to and returning from the hospital Vera. It's a shame you have this problem with your eyes. It must have been a bit of a shock for you, but although the injections don't sound nice, it will be worth it if they work and at least stabilise things. OH was told at age 30 he would likely be blind when he was older but he's still reading and driving. Thank you for mentioning the friend who hung her geraniums up in the garage! KNowing that I think I can safely leave mine in the humper for a while till it gets warmer before I pot them.

Perhaps your BIL knows where things are kept and thinks he will just get on if you aren't there Mel? I wouldn't like not knowing when he's coming either though. Did the solicitor get back to you in the end?

That is nice to meet up with an old friend AnnG. I hope you had a nice lunch together. Now you have a carol concert to go to as well and a buffet with it too. It's quite an early one isn't it. Senior moments? I think I'm having more of them than junior ones lately and so is OH! If he didn't go to footie on Saturdays I wouldn't know where we were in the week.

My little Christmas trees arrived while we were out so a neighbour took them in. They weren't supposed to be here till tomorrow. I will open them tomorrow and hope they will be ok. The neighbour was quite envious with them being prelit as he still has a fight with his lights every year and liked the idea of 2 small trees instead of a big one to decorate too.

Nice to hear from you Gwyn. What are the temperatures like in the school now and are they still opening the windows? At the school OH went to last night, it was reasonably warm where the cat was in the room they usually use. (don't they always find the warmest spots!) He sat the stroking the cat which is handsome, black and white and fluffy and belogs to someone in the village, but finds his way back to the school every time they turf him out, only to discover the meeting room had changed to one that was freezing. No-one took their coats off! He said he's wearing his footie thermals next time! :-D We still have things flowering in the garden, but your bulbs sound very advanced and might be flowering by Christmas.

I have put some of the greenery on the advent ring but I could'nt find my sticky tape that holds the center in place so I have had to stop. I have ordered some and it should arrive tomorrow if it dos'nt I shall have to tie it on with string and hope thats enough. Thing is the string cuts into the florist foam and the tape dos'nt.

Think its time for a cuppa. I am having salad tonight so nice and easy. May have tuna or salmon.

Nice to hear from Gwyn and I have flowers still out in the garden. I have some roses on the wall and the nemisia on the patio and a geranium which I must pop in the shed and kafia lillies and there's one flower on a diathus up the border and one on the penstemon and a few bunny rabits by the rockery. The water hornthorn in my pond is flowering too.

Good afternoon everyone,
I can hear the wind whistling and howling and it was bitterly cold, when I walked home earlier.
That lovely bright sunshine is rather deceiving. :-S
At least it's still dry at the moment, but we have a weather warning for later.

Sorry to read of your on-going situation with your eyes, Vera. The injections sound unpleasant, but I know father in law had some over 10 years ago and he coped just fine and they did help.Medically things have improved greatly in techniques since those times.
I take my glasses off to read small print or to sew on a button for example.
I've done that for years.

School again today and I was listening to readers. A nearby class were learning their songs for a Christmas presentation at one point, but we managed OK in the shared space between the classrooms.
Next week I am going on another school trip. We are all going on a normal service bus, as it is so expensive to hire coaches nowadays. It worked well, when we went a few weeks ago, so I hope the weather is reasonable that day, as we will be near, but not next to the coast and the wind can really whip through The Channel.

When I was walking home at lunchtime, I noticed lots of summer flowers are still in bloom. Geraniums, roses, hebe, lobelia, marigolds, nemesia, fuschia, polyanthus,osteospernum and snap dragons to name a few are all flourishing. I don't think many people around here take in geraniums for the winter, but our winters are seldom severe.
I also noticed full, fluffy buds on a young pussy willow in one garden. We have bulbs showing about 6 inches high in the pots by our front door, so a bit of a mix in the plant world. When we travelled to Hampshire last Saturday, we noticed that many of the trees alongside the road were still very green and in full leaf.That seemed rather late to me, but then it's been a very strange year weatherwise.

It's bright out so I'm enjoying seeing a bit of sun but it's a bit nippy. On the other hand it is the end of November so we should expect it to be cold. It's supposed to rain again later.

AnnG, I'm always having to look at the computer or the newspaper to find out what day it is. I think once you retire one day is much like another.

I hope you get all your jobs done today Mel. As AnnG says if BIL comes and you are not there, he'll soon learn to let you know.

I've had quite a productive morning. We went into town. The car park was choc-a-bloc as it usually is on market day and the run-up to Christmas doesn't help, but we were lucky and saw someone just backing out of a slot. We nipped in quick before anyone else saw it. I got my cards and then went to the big veg stall in the market. It's not necessarily cheaper than the supermarkets but the stuff always seems fresh and where possible it's locally grown. I got all the veg I wanted including a lovely big cauliflower for £1 and some locally grown Bramleys. Then we came back via the Co-op as they are the only place now that seems to sell the medium size jar of Branston pickle that I like. It was on offer at 85p off per jar so I bought their whole stock of 4 jars.

When I got home there was a message on the answering machine from the Eye Clinic to ring them which I did and they have given me an appointment next Thursday for my first injection. I was surprised as I had been given the impression that it might be a few weeks but apparently the doctor wants to get me started.

For those that mentioned it, it is nothing at all to do with migraine. One of the booklets I was given mentioned a list of 7 probable causes and I have 2 of them - high blood pressure and age. It is rare in people under 65. It's called retinal vein occlusion. Yes, AnnG, my sight is being affected which is why I went to the optician only 6 months after my previous check-up. It's near sight that's a problem. At the moment I have to take my glasses off to read! If the time comes when I can't manage reading I don't know what I will do. My distance sight is OK with my glasses so I can still drive but I'm not doing much driving as I feel very wary.

Right, my stomach is rumbling and OH is getting our lunchtime snack so I am off to eat.

He will learn Mel if he arrives and you are out. He has to get used to the fact that you go out and about a bit more now.

O dear Anng I have days like that. The last one was I went to put the bin out and they had collected the day before!!!!! The next one was library when I remembered the day after it came and was all ready to take my books back. The library comes today and I hav'nt been for about two or three months. Its just as well I had some books I had'nt read.

Done the post van so banked my cheque.

BIL's wife was supposed to be coming sometime this week but she has'nt rung me or anything so I suppose she may come tomorrow with BIL if he comes? He never lets me know when he is coming and I have asked him to let me know so if I have to go out I know when he's coming.

Well there are senior moments and this is the worst for a while. Until about 10 o'clock I was convinced today was Thursday. So I was all prepared to be rushing around changing later to go out for lunch. Unfortunately lunch is on Friday so not today. It was quite confusing for a moment when I realised. so it is tomorrow and Saturday I am going out!!

Hope you get everything done mel.

Morning All,

12 degrees here and very dark and very windy and wet.

vera my mum had those injections in the eye and they did help with her second eye but she was blind in her right eye. I hope your treatment goes ok for you and makes a lot of improvement to you sight and maybe the migraines.

I have lot to do today as I have the library and I don't want to forget it and I have to go up the post van to bank this cheque as I hav'nt managed to do it yet. I am just hoping the car will start as it really needs a good charge.

Enjoy your lunch out Anng it will be good to see your friend again and have a good chat.

Good morning all grey but so far dry and 6 degrees. I am being taken out to lunch today by my friends who live on the Welsh border. many years ago in the 70s I worked with S she is about 15 years younger than me but we remained good friends when we moved away from The Forest of Sean in 1981, kept in touch while she married her second husband, got divorced and married again to the lovely man she is still with. For many years the 4 of us have gone out for a meal just before Christmas and they have kept it up since T died.

Then last night I had an invitation to go to a carol concert and buffet with a U3a friend tomorrow evening so that is something else to look forward to.

Vera What a horrid journey you had travelling to the hospital. I am sure that result you had at hospital was initially frightening and a shock but there is hope there as well. I have not heard of the problem before, could that be connected to your migraines? Let's cross all fingers (and toes) that the injections work. I don't remember if you have said but has it been affecting your sight? Hope you have a better day today.

It’s good you managed to stay mostly dry on your trip to town AnnG and got the top you wanted but a shame you couldn’t get to Bude and get your business done Mel It’s so annoying when people say they will ring back and don’t.

Your geraniums should be OK for the winter now Ann. I always pot mine up but someone I knew used to just hang her plants up in the rafters of her garage and they seemed to survive. We still have a lot of tidying up and cutting down to do before our garden is ready for the winter.

I hope Mandy, Gwyn and Island are all well.

I can’t say I’m a very happy bunny after my hospital visit today. We had a real cloudburst on the way there. Even with the windscreen wipers going double time we couldn’t see a thing. It’s a main road but most of the way it’s just one lane each way and nowhere we could safely stop so OH had to just slow down, concentrate and hope for the best.

I was there for ages. In fact OH got worried as people were going in and coming out again and I was still in there. I had so many tests and drops and photos taken and then spent a long time with the doctor. The upshot is a blocked vein with fluid build up behind the eye. The treatment is injections into the eye with no guarantee that they will work as doc thinks I’ve had it for a few months, but hopefully they will stabilise it. I am NOT looking forward to it. It might be a few weeks before they start, then it will be 3 injections each a month apart and then more tests to see if they are helping. The doctor was very nice and gave me some literature to bring home to read as he said it was a lot for me to take in all at once.

When we eventually left the hospital we hit the rush hour and, with 3 roundabouts close together, it took ages to get onto the road home so a late dinner tonight.

Oh, worse case scenario is I could lose the sight in that eye but, heigh ho, I’ve got another one. Going off to bed now. I think I’ll sleep well and I hope you all do too.

Afternoon All,

It's a dizzy 8 degrees here, but no rain yet today and it was sunny this morning. The PC says rain coming and tomorrow it is supposed to be windy and heavy rain. :-(

I dug up and got the rest of my geraniums into the greenhouse this morning but they need potting up, hopefully tomorrow.

Most on the painting course had copied one of the artist's paintings, which we were told we could do. Particularly with those of us who had painted one of the photos, the teacher said, as often happens, we had all painted a hybrid that included our own style as well as the artist's!

Good luck with your hospital trip Vera and I hope you stay dry. The talk sounded interesting and as AnnG says a lot of these talks can be very interesting. You can learn a lot from them. At least ypu were luckly with the weather AnnG and you managed to get a top as well.

Not a very productive day then Mel, waiting for the solicitor to phone you back! I hope he has done now.

OH is showering ready for his meeting tonight, and I think I will sort out some of the papers, magazines and post that's in here. I had to have my PC pointing well up towards the ceiling for the course today so no-one could see the mess that needs tidying up! :-S

It was dry when I walked to the bus with a little sun and it was dry going round the shops before my 11.30 appointment. It was still dry when I came out but the sky was black, I wanted to go to Bon Marche, peacocks and TKMax as I was looking for a top to wear out to lunch on Friday and again on the 14th. While in the first of those shops it started to rain and absolutely tipped down. so in and out of the shops, as they are in a row it was not too bad and I was surprised how many people wee caught out without coats. It is not as though it hasn't rained before this week. It then stopped and it was just wet underfoot and I made my way to M&S and found a top in there. Then it was dry when I walked from the bus stop home so I managed quite well but it is still only 7 degrees.