General Chat

I hav'nt been able to fet into anything todayid a little apinting of the things I made yesterday.

Hope the weather improves so you can get the fence painted Mandy and get the box you need for the cusions. Does Max mind going out in the cold? or does he rush out and in again quickly to get back in front of the fire?

I think 90 minuets is an awful long while to lie still for and I do hope its ok for him and the suggestion of ear plugs is a good idea.

I put Stu off this week as I have a bit of a cold and he's just got ove an ear infection and then a headache and sore throat and I did'nt like the sound of that.

Rang BIL and told him about someone being in the potting shed and he said he would buy a yale lock to put on the door. I told him we would have to clean all the ivy off first as its grown all over the frame and into the shed.

I am going to do my cheesy leaks tonight with a couple of roast tatoes and carrots and brocc and two bacon sausages. I just fancy that so I better go and get it started.

Earplugs might help AnnG, so I'll mention it to him. but he will still need to be able to hear them speak to him He would have had trouble with his back normally with all that time in the scanner and of course his back is much worse now. They told him it will mean 4 scans of the different sections of his back so maybe he can have a breather and change of position between them. It is a tube one I think Mandy and he hates enclosed spaces as well. I'd not heardof an upright one before. He's had a text request and made a phone appointment to speak to a GP now about the blood test he had on his birthday.

Jake has been and with a few adjustments the boiler now has a cover to hide those ugly pipes. It is easier to move to the side for topping up the boiler than the old one as well. I need to paint it once we fill the holes in the wall where the old boiler fitted and redecorate, but it's another job off the list.

Mandy you have got a lot done inside today. Those boxes are good for keeping the outdoor cushions in aren't they and keep them clean and dry. I hope you manage to get one from Aldi.

The alarm man will be here early tomorrow so I will have to be up really early for my shower. I'm meeting Fitz for lunch tomorrow, so I'd better check the weather, decide what to wear and charge my phone. OH will be at his cardio rehab most of the afternoon.

I don't know where I saw it now Anng but they looked like they had a strap round them but the bed was tilted slightly and it was like big sides but open over the top if that makes sense , probably private only.

Black as your hat here with odd showers .

Ann would it help OH to wear ear plugs to shut out some of the noise.

90 minutes is a long time, I would find that difficult for my back. Having said that I lay on my back for my nose op and was not allowed to move and that was 90 minutes. I was surprised that my back coped. so your OH might find if he tries not to tense his back he will be OK. Hope so anyway as it is important he finds out the cause.

Mandy upright scanner? does that mean standing for 90 minutes, that would be tiring.
You have been busy, I am ashamed to say I did not put the unexpected free time to good use for H/W. I spent my time after walking to Irene's and then having a coffee in making a card for two year old Maya.
The sun has shone most of the afternoon but I bet it is still cold out there even though Alexa says it is 7 degrees.

Afternoon all,

We've had a little sun but loads of really black clouds and the odd shower, I think the painting outside will have to wait even if it was dry its to cold to do anything outside ,we just wanted to get it painted before the plants get more leaves and cover the fence a bit .

Lovely to see you posting William and with one of your poems too ,glad your both well ,hope you can pop in again soon.

I thought of you this morning Anng when they said Gloucester might get some snow ,that was a surprise when you pulled the curtains back .

Oh no Mel hope no ones been poking about in your shed ,is the much in there they could help themselves too , you need a padlock on the door .

Oh Gill it's a good job you didn't know what was going on in your garden you wouldn't have slept that night , I expect they were just jumping over fence after fence to hide but those helicopters have powerful lights on them to light up gardens and heat sensors too to help find anyone hiding .
That's good Sanra is settled in her flat and is happy .

Oh no Vera poor OH with a poorly back and no tablets to help ,now how has he started it off again ,to much bending in the garden .

Oh dear Ann poor OH it can't be pleasant having to be in the scanner all that time ,is it the full scanner like a tube or the one like a doughnut ,I don't think I could go in the tube one I would have to be put out I think ,I don't like enclosed spaces .
I did see the other day where they now have an upright scanner ,that would be better as so many people can't be enclosed like that .

Well I have had a good morning doing my jobs ,I dusted upstairs and had a hoover then I hoovered the stairs and gave the hoover a good clean out ,it has a sponge filter so I washed that and I also washed two throws .
I wiped all the woodbiurner, cleaned the glass in the door and mopped the hearth, the fires now lit as its chilly .

Shopping day tomorrow, we want to see if Aldi have one of those big plastic boxes that you can have in the garden ,they should be on offer tomorrow and we thought we could store the chair cushions in one ,leave it out for the summer and then put it in the shed over the winter, we have one of the bigger garden storage boxes we keep all the chairs in ,this one in Aldi is smaller just right for storing the cushions .

Afternoon All,

It's a nicer day than I expected, but the sun's gone in now.

I hope your OH's MRI scan goes well too Gill. OH is worrying about his as it's going to take 90 minutes and he gets claustrophobic and hates the noise. Also he's worried about lying down with his back for that length of time. I think he will have to make sure he's taken painkillers beforehand. Oh that would have been scary to find out someone had been in your garden when you were at home alone! It sounds like they may have been trying to run away from being seen by the police helicopter if they broke the fence though. Was it your fence or the neighbour's? I can understand you worrying your OH might have walked into something if he had come home though and I wouldn't have been able to sleep afterwards. I'm glad Sandra is happy where she is now.

So your OH is a shuffle brother with mine now Vera! I keep telling mine he's going to make the floors slippy! That was a helpful person at the EE shop. I bought cloths especially for windows (bright orange ones!) that sound like yours as these are the best I've used for windows. No smears as you say and although thin they soak up the odd drips at the edges. It's a nuisance your OH has run out of his painkillers. I hope his back improves so you can go to the birthday event.

Nice to see you here Will and with one of your great poems too! They are always good to read and I always enjoy your artwork you do with them too. All friends are special as you say. :-)

Mandy I will look up those Marigolds. Because they have a strong smell they are supposed to put pests off too. I hope it's better weather and dryer where you are today so you can do some of the jobs you wanted to do.

Oh Mel it isn't nice to think someone has been in your shed. You might have to put one of those alarms on it.

What a surprise to have a blizzard AnnG and a shame your outing was cancelled. It's not turning out to be a good week for your plans is it! I must see if I can do some more sorting for the charity shop too. I've far too many clothes I just keep hanging on to but will never wear.

Well I walked down to Irene's with two large carrier bags of clothes from the wardrobe and a couple of books so that was my exercise for today. The sun is shining now, so frustrating it was actually a nice morning for a walk.

going to make a birthday card for Maya now.

Morning all,

I had a bad night just could'nt drop off to sleep I ept thinking of someone being in my potting shed and I think that maybe why.

What a pleasent surprise to see our Will on here and I had'nt read yesterdays post so that was lovely to see him posting and the added bonus was a lovely poem. Do keep well the two of you and give my love to Carmel please if you red this.

Got up late today but it was quite bright and sttill is but its 6 degrees out there and when I went out there was a few spits nd spots of rain on the pond.

Vera I hope poh can get some painkiller he relies on and that his back soon improves. Nothing worse than a nagging back ache.

Gill that was an unexpected thing to happen just after me saying I had had someone in my potting shed then you get someone up to no good through your garden too. I hope they caught him so you will all feel safe again. Does your neighbour live on her own? Hope oh gets his treatment soon.

Not heard from Stu but think I will put him off for this week to give me time to get things indoors sorted maybe I will feel better tomorrow, we'll see.

Mandy I hope it dos'nt rain too much so you can get your fence painted. and that will be another job out of the way and ready to get the garden up and running for the Spring.

Fancy getting snow in March we have had it here in June before now!!

Better get on as I have some hungry birds to sort out, domestic and the wildies.

Well the walk was predictably cancelled, and, just as predictably this time of year, it soon stopped snowing and we could have walked. I am annoyed as it is now a wasted day for me and I told Jake he couldn't come as I would be out.
Good morning william thank you for the poem, I have many valued friends who I have never met in person (even before the internet I always had pen friends from early teenage years) I continue to enjoy hearing their news.
Vera I hope your OH can get hold of the meds he trusts and that his back improves. such a lowering pain, back ache. Shame if you have to miss your tea.

We posted at the same time William. It’s good to see you on here again, particularly as I don’t “do” any social media apart from this chat board so don’t see your poems anywhere else. You are quite right - friends are so important at any age but especially as we get older. I didn’t know you as well as some of the others on this board but still think of you as a cyber friend.

Take care and keep posting from time to time

Good morning all. well that is a surprise. Looked out of the window 15 minutes ago to check the weather as supposed to be going on the walk with the small group of friends this morning to the airfield bar for lunch. and it is a blizzard out there. Two hours before we should be going so will have to wait and see. It is 0 degrees so it won't be melting at the moment and it is laying on roofs.

Gill that was a shock, it sounds as if the person was using the rear gardens to hide in and the helicppter was tracking them. As they seemed to have gone by morning they were possibly caught in the end. If you had anything to worry about the police would probabaly call and tell you. The main nuisance being a broken fence.

Yes the Wifi dropping out was a problem, it seems to happen sometimes and nobody can tell me why. Seems ok at the moment.

Good morning all

Another cold and dreary day. I slept reasonably well but was awake very early.

OH’s back is giving him a lot of pain at the moment and he is shuffling around. He had prescribed anti-inflammatories to take just when needed but ran out and didn’t see the doctor for more. He won’t take ordinary painkillers and doesn’t want a heat pad. He can be very obstinate.

I am supposed to be going for proper afternoon tea in our local hotel. It’s another birthday event for one of the “girls” and is all booked and paid for but I am wondering if I should leave OH. I’ll see how he is later.

Have a good day everyone.

Stranger in your midst, except for those with good memories/ Yes, folks, I'm still in the land of the living although approaching my 90th birthday in July. Carmel was 93 last month and although she has a lot of health and mobility problems, all her vitals are non life threatening so she may beat me yet. I am still writing my poems as you can see here and sine 2021 have written getting on for 500. Lots of tales regarding that claim to fame but I don't want to bore you all. I have tried posting one below although it won't be the illustrated version that appears on my Facebook pages. I thought it was appropriate for my brief appearance this morning. I do think of you all and still keep my Genes subs open as I often refer to my family tree for all sorts of reasons. It's nice to see familiar names still on here and I wish you all well.

A FRIEND COMES TO CALL

When a friend comes to call,
That’s one of the best times of all,
Seeing their friendly face,
Your heart picks up a pace.

If you’ve not seen them for a while,
Their visits have not been in style,
All the better to see them once more,
As they again come to your door.

There’s a smile you know so well,
As gladly you answer the door bell,
You hug and you greet in the hall,
You’re now feeling ten feet tall.

You settle in easy chairs,
You in yours, they in theirs,
The chat begins to flow,
You’ve missed each other so.

There’s time for a cup of tea,
With the friend you’re so glad to see,
There’s so much news to share,
As you both show how you care.

Your friendships shared once again.
It’s part of your memory lane,
You’ve known each for years,
Shared the laughter and tears.

The visit is a precious gem,
Gladly shared with just them,
As if you both share communion,
At this much treasured reunion.

But time will pass you both know,
Until its time for them to go,
Your meeting has gone all too fast,
It’s their time to go at last.

There’s always a next time in view,
To be shared by just you two,
You hope it wont be too long,
Until again they come along.

There, now you know what I get up to. Friends are so special, no matter if you've met in real life a lot. Even these poems have made new friends for me and are read from Australia to Canada, from Ireland to Russia. It's a pity doesn't read some of the Remembrance ones that I've written for November 11th, I write a new one each year and more even. Like others my age, I served in the armed forces and like to pay my respects to those who never made it back home.
I'm off now, I'll look in again. My best wishes to you all and hope you are all well and healthy. What a pity we can't share photos etc on here.

I've been so busy today so I've only just sat down properly.

I hope no one's been in your potting shed Mel. It's not nice thinking someone might be in your garden.

I had a shock this morning. Last night the police helicopter was flying round and round our close, I was even watching it wondering what was going on. Anyway this morning when OH came home from his night shift he told me two of the fence panels had been broken between us and next door right outside our bedroom window. So now I know why the police were around, we had an intruder in the garden.

Poor OH told me I should of rang him at work and he would of come home, but I didn't know there was anyone outside. I must admit I was a bit shaky when I realised what had happened this morning and that I was here all night on my own.

To be honest I'm glad I didn't ring OH with knife crime the way it is nowadays, you never know what he might have walked into. He told our neighbour, she said she was watching the police from the front so hadn't noticed anyone in her garden at the back. I was watching from the back kitchen and couldn't see the corner of our garden from there, where the intruder was. So no one knew what had happened until we saw the damaged fences today.

I see your OH has got a date for his MRI Ann, I hope all goes well and he can make an appointment quickly for the results. OH's got his MRI this Sunday but no doubt he'll have to wait weeks for his results. It normally takes about two to three weeks for them to ring him. I see you both had new seats to sit on and had a lovely meal, I hope the seats were better than the last ones.

It sounds like you've had a bit of a day today AnnG with your wi-fi and thinking you were having your outside jobs done. At least Jake has given you a date now and has offered to take all your rubbish away plus anymore you may need to get rid of from elsewhere.

Shame you couldn't do your outside jobs Mandy with the rain, hopefully it'll be dry soon and a bit warmer so you can get the front fence painted. Yes, Sandra is still in her flat with her boyfriend and is very happy.

What a lovely man helping you and OH with your phones Vera and then to go the extra mile helping you further with how to speak to someone quicker. There's nothing worse than being on hold for ages is there.

Going to get a cuppa now then get ready for bed.

Today’s temperature has been a bit of a shock to the system. There were just a few little rays of sunshine this afternoon and that north wind has been bitter. I think it’s supposed to be down in minus figures again tonight so the fleece is back over my pots of agapanthus.

I hope no-one has been in your shed Mel. Is it likely? Would many people know it’s there? Perhaps bil has been up there.

Annx, it’s good that G’s MRI scan is soon. I hope he can get the results quickly. Your lunch sounded yummy, though I would have passed on the garlic mushrooms. Garlic’s fine but I’m not at all keen on mushrooms. Great that the chairs had been reupholstered too. I hope they were more comfortable. You mentioned cleaning windows. That’s one of the jobs I’m working my way through in the conservatory. I wasn’t free to do anything out there till around 3 pm but I managed to tackle 2 more, washing all the paintwork round them and cleaning the windows. Of course, conservatories are nearly all glass so I still have a lot to do. I use warm water, a good slurp of vinegar and the tiniest drop of washing up liquid and wash over the window with this, then I wipe it over with one of those e-cloths designed for glass. They dry beautifully without any smears. It’s a good idea to take one or two bits at a time to the tip if you can. It wouldn’t work for us as our tip is on the road to nowhere so we never drive past it to drop a couple of bits off and we also have to make an appointment at our tips. We find it best to put everything to go to the tip in the garage till there is enough to fill the car and then make our appointment.

You and Jake did get your wires crossed, didn’t you AnnG but it’s good he can get all the jobs done for you.

It’s a shame that you couldn’t get your front fence painted Mandy but even if it’s dry I think you would have frozen out there today. I’d wait for warmer weather if I were you.

OH has had a bit of trouble sending and receiving texts lately so yesterday he rang EE and was on the phone to a lady there for ages. In the end she said it might be a fault on his phone (it wasn’t!) and we would need to go into an EE shop. She mentioned where some of their stores were and we decided to go to Colchester. A lovely young man soon sorted out OH’s phone, did something on mine for me and told us that he thought our broadband charges were a bit high and suggested we rang and asked them for a better deal. He also told us which options to press when the recorded voice the other end gave us a menu and how to get through quickly to the department that would be able to help us best. He also told us that there is a BT/EE van that comes to our town once a week so if we have future problems we won’t have to drive all the way to Colchester.

I’ve always got plenty more to say but I think I’ve rambled on for long enough. Sleep well tonight everyone.

That was a treat to have the chairs reupholstered but were they more comfy? The meal sounded nice and I would have enjoyed that.

Anng funny thing you said about having a small kincker boker glory as I was only thinking of those the other day. You don't see them much on menus now. I used to make them sometimes too.

Well I did'nt get as much done today as I was planning to do so I had a walk up to the potting sheds and went in and the wind we had a couple of weeks ago had blown leaves and thing about in there. I had a look at the leccy meter on the outside and its been the same reading for years now as I don't go up there and never turn anything on in there but the meter had a different reading on it and I have just paid the bill too. I shall have to ask BIL if he's been in there otherwise someone else has been in there and had a nosy about. I don't like to think someones been around poking their nose in and possible taken things.

Ann that was a nice lunch you had I could have eaten all that ,maybe they had a few complaints about the seating so it was good you had a comfy seat this time and a bigger table this time too .
They were French Marigold Naughty Margarita that I bought ,I had a few last year but not many and several didn't come up so it must have been old seed so it was time for some new, I like them as they don't seem to mind the full sun and they are easy to just snap the flowers off to dead head

Anng that a good chance to have a good clear out if Jake can take it all away for you .

It's really cold here and been raining off and on all afternoon, don't think it's going to be much better tomorrow.

Lol my inside windows badly need doing it really makes my arm ache these days.

I mentioned the windows earlier AnnG! lol. They hadn't been done since before christmas and it was just the one room with me standing on a small stool to reach. Taller people are so lucky being able to reach things. I used a battery Karcher thing after wiping with a bit of soap on a cloth and it was quick to do.

Glad you enjoyed lunch, it sounded nice. I did have a sweet when we went out for lunch last week but it was a mini knicker bocker glory about a third the size of a normal one and just right.

I have pottered a bit but too cold out there really. I just need to spend time retrieving everything that I want to keep when they load up wore waste disposal. Jake has said that they will take anything I want to get rid of so that is good. they think the work could take up to 3 days. I can see problems finding days after Monday when we are both free.

Aah, showing off now, I noticed a mention of cleaning windows there!!!