General Chat

I had one of those £50 gift letters the other day too Mel. I had one last year as well. There might be another 'fairer share' payment later in the year. It's nice to get something back. :-) Hopefully the Wrens might leave home in time for the Swallows arrival then.

I have sorted another drawer and found a lot of the tops in there fit me now. There are a few for the charity shop and a couple I will wear round the house for doing HW etc. A bit more progress!

Something is going on at the end of the close where the house and 2 bungalows were built. A huge lorry with a trailer has reversed down to collect a digger, so it looks like either the asian house or bungalow at the bottom and out of sight are doing more building work. They have only recently finished adding a large extension on the back of the asian house and before that the attached garage was converted to a room on the bungalow and they built a seperate garage. New people have moved in now though so may be changing things.

I just brought in yesterdays post which I forgot to bring in when I did the chickens last night. I have had a letter saying I am not covered by my house insurance as I did'nt pay it by the 14th feb. but I did pay it a day later. Another letter was from Nationwide building society telling me I am going to get £50 put into my account by the 30th April.Its a one off payment so if you have a nationwide account you will get it too. I don't mind letters like that and thank yopu very much. :-D :-D :-D

My Mr. Wren is building a nest on top of the Swallows nest in the filter shed its the same place as last year so I am hoping Mrs. Wren lays her eggs and they go before the Swallows arrive like they did last year.

I have had a good hoover of the kitchen and diner and sucked up lots of cobwebs too.

Now I am going to clean the kitchen windows as far as I can reach without using the steps and wash the front door down as I noticed its very dirty when I went to the door for the shopping man on Tuesday. mI will empty the hoover first and then do the hall and bedroom.

Morning Folks,

Lovely sunshine here and I can feel it's heat through the windows on the front. I slept well and fell asleep watching The Dog House where they match rescue dogs with new owners. I didn't wake till nearly 7.00am and feel more with it this morning.

I have a follow up appointment at the surgery this afternoon to see how I am now and OH has an ECG there an hour later as part of his cardio follow up. He didn't do the cardio rehab yesterday due to his pain and he won't be able to go next week because of his scan, so they have paused it now till he gets the results with the rhuematologist. In the meantime he's going to gradually up his walks instead. It seems to have taken the pressure off him a bit as he seems more cheerful this morning.

It's good the chickens are laying well now Mel. It makes me wish I lived nearer and could buy some from you as I know how nice yours are. How nice these Robins are getting tamer too. Maybe they are related to the one that would come on your hand and will do as well eventually. If that's what your OH said about Pike, I definately won't be tempted to try it in future. Yuk!

Mandy no thanks to you for reminding me I need to strip the bed too! lol. I'll get it done before we go out as I know I won't want to face it when we get home. :-D I need to at least do a bit more sorting in the bedroom too as doing a little at a time seems to be the best way and I don't get bored.

That was a funny story the lady at your meeting told AnnG. It must have been entertaining to watch the crafty Wren nicking the Robin's efforts with the nesting material. I hope you get a few things from your job's list done too. At least it's satisfying ticking them off.

Morning Anng ,that must have been fun to watch ,poor little Robin , I love the little wrens they are so quick when the flit about

Good morning all a nice bright morning and 1 degree, I can't see any sign of frost now but it might have been frosty soon as it was certainly a clear night with a lovely bright moon at 3am. slept well and didn't want to get up when awake early at 0630, got up for the loo and got back into bed and kept dozing off again. Nothing planned for today so maybe housework and a lazy day otherwise.there are quite a lot of jobs on my to do list that could be done so I will see.
The meeting went off well yesterday but I have to admit there was more discussion about non garden related than actual gardening. One lady amused us with her story, she has an open veranda otside her lounge and first they watched a wren building a nest up in the corner, then a few feet away a robin started building a nest in another corner. However every time the robin left its nest to look for more stuff to build it, the wren stole the bits from the robins nest. This went on until the wren had finished its nest, both birds are still nesting there.

Morning Mel,morning all,
There was frost on the roof of the car when we went to bed last night but no frost when we woke up ,suns shining but it's very chilly .

Not sure what we're doing today just see as the day goes along ,i do have some ironing to do and I've stripped the bed so got to make up and i need to hoover through ,all exciting things I don't know how I'll cope with it all :-D

morning all,

Its a bright frosty morning and I think its going to be a lovely day again. Its 1 degree out there and pc is saying cold weather. I don't mind if it cold as long as its dry with it.

BIL should come at some point today but I never know when he is coming or what time.

Hope you all slept well last night or at least got enough to carry you through the day.

I don't now where the day has gone today. Em called in for eggs and we chatted for quite a while so that was the morning gone with feeding the chickens birds and fish. Then in the afternoon I did a lot of painting of tiny things I made the other day and got most of them varnished. then it was time to feed the girls again and my pair of Robins and they are getting tamer and coming for the fat sticks before I have walked away. Maybe because its so cold even though the suns been out and there not much in the way of a breeze. Then it was time to do the dinner and I was a bit late with that so Iv'e only just read the posts.

I don't think I would have liked the Pike Mousse either. Oh had had Pike and said it was a fish that had a lot of bones in it and it tasted earthy. As to the toast with duck fat and mushrooms, yuk the sound of it is enough to put me off. I don't really like mushrooms and if I have them its ususally the chesnut ones as they seem more meaty to me. The white ones I am off of completely at the moment. I put button ones in the stew I cooked last week when I thought Stu was coming and that lasted me three days and I gave a big jar full to BIL when he came.

Hope the funeral went off ok Vera and oh managed to stay pain free with his tablets. Some church pews are a bit hard to sit on through a service.

I am having 4 eggs a day now so I was pleased Em had a dozen and a half today.

Anyone else watching Belgravier? Its the second series 8 years on.

That's good you got one of the boxes you wanted Mandy and I hope it's as sturdy as it looks. You were lucky to not get a good soaking in the rain. Yes it's Fitz's second hip that needs replacing. It's at a private hospital that the NHS are using. He and Jane both had their first hips done at the same time and limped out of hospital together. He is really struggling now and uses a stick so it will be good when it's done now and he's out of pain. I didn't fancy the mushrooms with toast with duck fat on either!! I remember once when with Jane he tried to persuade both of us to try some of his Pike Mousse..........we both declined!! lol. He is much more adventurous with food.

Yes, the potholes are getting deeper and more dangerous now, especially when they are filled with water and you've no idea how deep they are at night when most street lights off. Cyclist have little protection in a fall and motorcyclists could be thrown off too and injured or killed. I never thought they would let them get this bad.

Max is good waiting for you to towel him down when he's got wet outside. :-)

Evening all,

It's been showery all day and very chilly too ,we went to Aldi and they had the storage boxes so we put one in the trolley and paid for that first before we did our shop ,as we wheeled it out to the car the heavens opened but we parked fairly close so we didn't get to wet and by the time we had done our main shop it had stopped .
I opened the box to have a look at the storage box and it looks quite sturdy but we'll see when we put it together.

Vera your birthday tea sounded nice and I think its a good idea to ask for a doggie bag for the left overs ,its been paid for after all.
Good you managed to get the tablets for OH and they seem to be doing the trick as he's managed to go out with you today.

Ann, I think I would have liked your lunch but don't think I could have tackled Fitz's toast with duck fat , is he keeping well apart from waiting to have his hip done ,it was his hip not his knee wasn't it.
The pot holes are getting worse round here too ,I wouldn't want to be riding a bicycle on the roads ,imagine hitting a pot hole thinking its just a puddle ,you'd be over the handle bars .

Friday again tomorrow, I don't know where this week has gone.

Evening All,

A dry and sunny day here till 4.00pm and then it rained for about an hour. I was awake from 5.00am so got up at 7.00am and had a shower. The alarm man arrived and did a service and fitted a new battery so that's a job ticked off the list.

Both the traffic and potholes were horrendous when I went to meet Fitz. The journey used to take me half an hour, but this morning it took me an hour and the traffic ws nose to tail all the way home too. Neither of us were very hungry so I had a snack as a first course, some chicken croquets with a caesar dressing followed by a chicken and pea rissotto with a creamy sauce. Fitz had a chinese crispy pork starter followed by toast with duck fat and large mushrooms! We couldn't manage a pud so just had a coffee.

I had an email from Dell not long after midnight (they are in America) to say my keyboard had been delivered (it hadn't) but this morning I went and had a look around outside in case it had been left which it hadn't. The courier tracker still said it was due to deliver this morning. It has arrived now this afternoon. I can't believe how thin it is, but will take it to Ed in the village on Monday to fit so I can use the laptop over the weekend.

Vera it's good you were able to buy some of the tablets for your OH and that he was able to go to the funeral with you. The birthday tea sounded very nice and I wouldn't have been able to eat all of it either.

That was lucky Gill finding 5 new cousins for your tree! I'm not sure whether I've found all of mine, there are so many. It's good your OH's boss understands your OH has to be careful with his back pain. It's good some of your outside jobs will be getting done soon too.

Fancy little Maya being two already AnnG. I was still thinking of her as a babe in arms.

Cold and dull this morning with some very light showers. We have to get ready shortly to go to a funeral. OH is feeling so much easier after 4 doses of his tabs that he reckons he can manage the short walk to the church and sitting in a pew for a little while. We should be back by about 2 pm so we'll have a late lunch then.

I can't seem to settle to anything much today. I didn't sleep well and felt cold till I realised that I was probably hungry as I didn't have any dinner so at 3 am I got up and had a cup of tea with a slice of bread and jam and that seemed to settle me down. I've been doing a bit of general admin type work and getting a couple of cards ready for the post and just generally fiddling around at this and that.

AnnG, as I think I said we were surprised about getting OH's pills off prescription. I think they may be the sort that can only be sold if the pharmacist is in the shop as I was asked questions about who and what they were for. The price point would put anyone off buying them if they didn't really need them but I do wonder what someone on a low income would do. Presumably if they couldn't afford them they would have to stay in extreme pain until they could see a doctor and get a prescription.

Better go and get changed I suppose. I don't think we need to be all in black but I'll wear something a bit more respectful than the tatty old trousers and bright red jumper I'm wearing at the moment. OH must be thinking the same as he hasn't dressed this morning in his "weddings and funeral suit" but is wearing a white shirt and black tie with dark coloured trousers and jumper.

Morning all,

I slept well last night so that was good. Its 5 degrees here and cloudy out the front and sunny out the back. I can see a tiny bit of blue sky between the clouds to the north.

Nothing planned for today so I may do a bit of HW or paint some more mini bread.

Hope Gill slept ok so she's bright and breezy this morning.

Think I will go in the shower and do some washing and then feed the girls and do my minitures.

Good morning all nice ans bright here this morning so far only 1 degree but it is only 0720, no frost though.
Vera your tea sounded very good, I am sure they are used to people having a take away box as they have so much per two people, and i suppose it is paid for. I am sure OH enjoyed his scone.
Surprising that those pills are off prescription, maybe the price gives security for them. Hope they do the trick anyway.
Yes hard to believe Maya will be two, time passes so fast and my newest great grandson is already 6 months.
Yes it was probably sensible to cancel the walk although I was surprised that, as the walk also included lunch (as usual for our meets), she didn't suggest just meeting for lunch somewhere local. Never mind it was not really a problem

Gill your OH has done well to still be working at the care home if he has a bad back. That must make his work hard. I hope that you had a good nights sleep last night.
Good you got the quote, hope it is not too long before it all gets done.

Mel, hope your cold is better today. wonder where you caught that.

Ann good that the boiler cover is fixed now.
I often wonder how people with hearing aids manage these scans. The aids would magnify the noise but if left out I would not be able to hear instructions. I hope I never have to find out the answer.

I missed your post Vera, yes OH is still working at the care home and seems to be doing okay, he's told his boss about his Cancer and back and she's been really good about it so he does what he can. He's on painkillers he got off the doctor which helps and he starts physio on 24th March, so hopefully he'll feel a bit better after that.

I hope your OH's back feels better soon those parking bays sound very small, no wonder he twisted his back getting in and out. It's a good job you managed to get some painkillers for him

Your afternoon tea sounds very nice and what a lot you all got. My mouth was watering reading your post :-)

Max sounds so funny Mandy, not wanting to go outside in the rain so holding himself, does he do a little dance ;-) How cute waiting on the mat till you dry him....bless. Yes I'm hoping to sleep a little better tonight.

I forgot to mention earlier we finally got the quote for the grid, path and chimney all three jobs for just under 2k we thought that was a good price so I've asked him to let us know when he can start. When he came to look at the jobs he did say that he was busy all through March so I assume he'll start sometime in April. I'd given up on him texting me the quote as it's been almost two weeks since he was here. He did apologise for taking so long to get back to me, so that was something. With a bit of luck all three jobs will be done by the end of April.

Going to do a bit on my tree now before bed. I found a cousin I didn't know about the other day and she has 4 siblings so 5 new cousins in total. She's the daughter of my dad's half sister who was adopted as a baby, I didn't know her adopted name so never found a marriage or children for her, so now I have all the information and just need to put it on my tree.

I’m not surprised you didn’t sleep well last night Gill. I expect the previous night’s shenanigans were playing on your mind. I hope you get a better night tonight. Is your OH still working at the care home? That must be difficult with his back pain.

A lock on your shed door’s a good idea Mel. You were probably right to put Stu off this week if he hasn’t been well and you’ve got a cold anyway. I hope you feel better soon.

You’ve been busy Mandy and got lots done. I hope you get your plastic box for the chair cushions. I’ve been looking for some sort of wooden chest or similar that’s big enough for our garden cushions but could also be used as a coffee table in our conservatory. At the moment ours are stored in a wardrobe in a spare bedroom. They used to be in plastic bags in the garage till a mouse got in and made a mess of 2 of them so I had to buy 2 more.

It’s a shame your walk was cancelled AnnG but it wouldn’t have been very pleasant in the snow and whoever organized it couldn’t have known that the weather would improve in time. How can Maya be 2 already? Time is going by too quickly for my liking.

90 minutes is a long while to lay still Annx so hopefully they will give OH a break between each of the 4 scans. The staff doing the scanning must be used to patients with back problems so I’m sure they will do their best to make it as easy as possible for him. It’s probably a good idea to take painkillers before the scan. They may help him to relax a little bit. Enjoy your lunch with Fitz tomorrow.

OH’s back problems are long standing (an injury 60 years ago). A lot of the time he has no problems with it or just a bit of an ache but sometimes a slightly awkward movement will throw it out again. He was aching anyway from the gardening he had been doing a few days ago but that was bearable and was improving. However, when we went to Colchester yesterday we parked in a multi-storey where the slots are quite narrow, there are big square stone pillars every 3 slots and we were parked next to one of the ramps so there was also a low wall. OH parked well but with the pillar and the wall he could only open his door a few inches and had to twist and wriggle his way out of the car and back in later and seems to have twisted something in his back. He had very little sleep last night and this morning rang the surgery to ask for his usual prescription. He was told that, as he hadn’t had the tabs for quite a while, he would need to see the doctor again and, of course, there was no appointment available at any of the 4 or 5 surgeries that are part of this practice. Then he was told that he could buy these tablets at a chemist’s. This surprised us both as they are quite strong. Anyway I got in the car and went off to our nearest pharmacy and managed to get what he needed. On prescription OH gets 100 of the anti-inflammatory/painkiller tablet to take 3 a day and I think it’s 35 of another tablet to take 1 a day. The first tablet I could only have 48 which is a reasonable amount but the other one I could only have a box of 7 tablets. They were pretty expensive as well. Anyway, after 2 doses OH is already looking a bit more cheerful.

As he was happy to be left I went to my afternoon tea. I did a couple of jobs in town first and left my car there and walked down to the hotel. It’s only about half a mile but there was a bitter wind blowing and a few spots of rain. The tea was very good though we had a long wait before our food arrived. Each tiered stand was for sharing between 2 people and there was plenty on it; 2 each of 4 types of finger sandwiches, 2 fruit and 2 plain scones with 2 pots of jam and clotted cream, 4 cakes, 2 chocolate tart thingies, and 2 blood orange possets in little jars. No-one could eat all their share and some people asked for a little box to take the rest of theirs home. I didn’t do that but I did wrap one of my scones in a serviette and bring it home for OH. I haven’t had anything to eat since then but I had to feed OH so I cooked a dinner and put half the meat and gravy in the freezer to be a single portion for another time.

We have a funeral to go to tomorrow. I don’t know if OH will make it but it’s local so I can easily go on my own. It’s just a church service which is being followed by an “unattended cremation”. I don’t think there is going to be any sort of wake or reception.

I’ve been rabitting on again and I have several jobs still to do before bedtime so I had better come to a close. Sleep well everyone.

I hope so to Mel we won't be outside painting until the weather gets a bit warmer .
No Max doesn't like the cold and if its raining he will hang on and on before he goes out ,I open the door and if it's raining he'll back away ,if he does get wet he will come in the back door and sit and wait on the mat till I dry him with his towel . :-D

Ann hope you enjoy your lunch with Fitz tomorrow .

Gosh Anng I can't believe Maya will be two where has that time gone .

Gill hope you sleep better tonight .

90 minutes is a long time Ann, I hope it's not to painful for him.

Sorry to hear your plans were cancelled because of the snow AnnG, you're not having much luck lately, I hope it changes for you soon.

Lovely poem William. Pleased to hear you and your good wife are okay.

You've been busy today Mandy, you got lots done by the sound of it. The plastic box sounds like a good idea.

I hope you get over your cold soon Mel. Good idea to put Stu off, the last thing you need is to catch anything he's getting over. A lock sounds like a good idea, it'll give you peace of mind too. No my neighbour doesn't live on her own thankfully.

I had a bit of trouble sleeping last night. OH was on nights again and the same tonight. I did have a bit of sleep today, but hopefully I'll sleep better tonight.