General Chat

My package has just arrived. At last.

Thank you for asking about my eyes Gwyn. The eye that had the surgery seems to be doing reasonably well, no inflammation or anything but I am a bit concerned about the other eye as the sight in that seems to have been affected, though I don't understand how that could happen. I shall be asking about that when I go back to hospital in 2 weeks. I'm getting fed up with constantly changing glasses. If I just want to look at an instruction on a piece of meat to see how long to cook it, change glasses, check how something on the hob is doing, change glasses, look at a text on my phone, change glasses, walk across the room, change glasses and so on and on and on.... Trying to wash my hair without getting water in my eye is a pain as well. Ignore my moans, it's just me being niggly. I'm grateful really for the skill of the consultant and the general kindness and care of the hospital staff.

I hope your leg is starting to improve and become less sore AnnG and I hope you have a restful night. That goes for all of us. Sleep tight, sweet dreams.

Yes Gwyn and I think as we get nearer Christmas more people will be rushing about in their cars with their minds on other things too. I see you have a busy day tomorrow. I have done next to nothing today and might see if there are any local Christmas Tree festivals tomorrow. I'm getting a bit fed up of the four walls and local shop walls! A short break might motivate me to get on with my home jobs I need to do. It looks like being a rainy day here.

Oh Vera that wasn't a good night after waking with a headache. You did well to get as much done today as you did. I don't know why it is but our food deliveries have been much later than usual the last two times. The tracking doesn't seem to kick in as quickly either. There seem to be more deliveries before us yet we are less than a mile from the supermarket they deliver from!

Well at least you have the brake pads in hand ready to be fitted in future Mel. You may not remember but when I got my current car I bought a secondhand wheel and tyre as a spare for it. (on ebay) It only cost me the price of a tyre and was hardly worn. Those kits they provide these days where you squirt stuff into the tyre if you have a puncture ruin the tyre so you have to replace it and are included in the MOT and have an expiry date too. I didn't want to keep forking out for new kits and prefer to have a spare that can be repaired and still used. Mine has has heavy wheels and tyres and I can't lift the wheel out of the boot myself, so I expect the extra weight must slow the car a bit. Not a problem with a top speed of 137mph though and I wouldn't want to be in the car at that speed, even if it was legal!

Off to bed now and may we all have a good sleep tonight. :-)

You're all safe for the winter roads now then Mel.

Have you finished your Advent wreath or is that tomorrow's job.

I hope Vera has a better night and gets plenty of rest. It must be so tiresome to want to sleep and not be able to. Are your eyes settled now? I hope so.

Hopefully AnnG will not have pain and will also have a good night.
You did well to get everything wrapped today.

Mandy's house must smell lovely with all the Christmas food she is making.

Annx, I hope you find more considerate drivers, when you are out and about. Some people just don't think about anyone else but themself :-|

Busy, busy day tomorrow. We are forecast rain, but I hope not too much, as I want to look in at a Christmas Fayre in town. Sunday will be colder :-|

I hate it when you have to wait for things to cme you can't seem to get into anything else.

Stu rang to say the car was ready and James came and picked me up and took me back to the garage to get the car. They checked the anti freeze and the tyre pressure and the tyre and Stu said it would be good for another year with the milage I do. Aso it did'nt need the pads so I still have those. When I bought the car they were already in it ready to be put on. Stu is also ordering me another key as I only have one and will feel safer if I have a spare. Its going to be well over £100 could be £180!!!! He is also looking for a secondhand spare wheel and tyre as it dos'nt have one only the spray stuff in the boot and Stu said if you have a split in the tyre they are no good. Now I am £59 something worse off.

Vera that was a nasty night for you and I hope tonight will be better with more earned sleep with all you've done today. Iv'e not dne a thing except order more stuff online.

Right I now need to get some dinner. :-D

Evening ladies

I’m pleased you had a reasonable night AnnG and it’s good the paracetamol helped. You are way in advance of me with getting ready for Christmas. I made a start on the cards a few days ago but haven’t written any since then. I did post the 2 that I send to Australia and was shocked at the price which was £6.80. Good job I only have to send 2. I can understand why so many people send e-cards but you can’t display a nice animated e-card.

I slept for an hour last night then woke with a real sick headache, verging on a full blown migraine so I took one of my pills, got a mug of hot milk and sat downstairs in the warm for quite a while. I eventually went back to bed and slept for another 3 hours but I seem to have been behindhand all day. This morning I had 3 calls from friends which is lovely but I really needed to get on. This afternoon I’ve at last managed to sort out the other trough of geraniums so they are now tidy for the winter and I took a few more cuttings. It’s a bit late but worth a try.

Now I am waiting in for a delivery which was supposed to be here between 12 and 4 pm. I’ve just looked at the online tracking and there is an apology for late delivery and it is apparently still out for delivery today.

While I’m waiting I’d better go and prepare the veg for tonight. Enjoy the rest of your day ladies.

Well done AnnG. That's a job mostly out of the way now except for any late purchases there might be. I have started writing my Christmas cards and have phoned in an order for a Turkey crown from the farm shop where we get them now. It's been windy and rained here so a good day for jobs inside and it's already dark now.

That is all my presents wrapped. While plenty of time to add more but that is it for now.

we have had rain and sun today but mostly drizzly rain. we do have a weather warning (never used to get those, either it was dry or wet). for tomorrow and Monday.

Afternoon Ladies,

Sunny here too but it must have rained in the night so the garden is sodden and I won't be doing anything out there today! I can hear the wind getting up too.

You had quite a good night then AnnG. Yes, it sounds like the paracetomol helped in the end so may be worth taking for a day or two and then see if you still need them at night. It's good your shoes won't rub on the wound as well.

I am the same if I have to be up in the morning with things or appointments to go to Mel. It's a nuisance the brakes needing doing so soon but I expect Stu knew that when you bought the car. At least they will be good for the winter then.

That's good the last pudding is cooking Mandy. The slow cookers are handy for things like that that take a while to cook anyway.

Better check lunch now!

Morning girls,

A nice bright sunny morning here at the mo with a bit of a wind and its 11 degrees with rain expected tomorrow.

was up twice in the night for the loo and the second time I could'nt drop off again. Think it was because I knew the car goes in today to have the brakes done. When Stu came last night he rang his son and I am to take the car down his at 1pm and he will run me back home.

Yes Anng keep the tablets going but don't take more than 4 lots a day. Its bound to me sore for a few days with what you went through so take it easy and space the tablets out.

Right better get on see you all later on.

Glad you seemed to have had a reasonable night, Ann.

I think the thing with paracetamols is to keep on top of the pain rather than trying to cure pain.
This advice was given by medical staff, after I had extensive dental work on roots at hospital, so I took them rather like you did, in anticipation, but only for a day or so, then just if I needed them.
I was afraid of relying on them, but getting relief in the initial healing time, I was soon able to lessen the number I took.


Here is Lidl's price list for Christmas veg. from 19th December until 24th

Lidl's full list of festive vegetables being reduced in price to 8p:

British Brussels Sprouts (500g bag)
British Carrots (1kg bag)
British White Potatoes (2kg bag)
British Swede (individual)
British Parsnips (500g bag)
Deluxe Echalion Shallots (300g pack)

Morning Anng, morning all,

We have a little bit of watery sun here ,I think we should get a little rain this afternoon.

That's good you had a good night Anng the tablets do work better if you can keep them going so they just overlap, keep them topped up today and perhaps tomorrow you can ease them off .

My Christmas pudding is in the slow cooker ,Ann this is the last one and your right the time is whizzing by ,I need to buy quire a few more presents so I must get out next week and see what I can get .
I might sit and write my cards today .

Good morning all grey and 8 degrees but so far dry here. I took 2 Paraceromols when I went to bed at 10.30 and slept through to 6 with a couple of quick loo breaks took 2 more, then I dozed until 0815. ankle is still sore but not too bad, so, despite what I though it does seem like Paracetamols do work for me.

Yes I can get some of my trainers on ok it is just high enough to not be a problem. Just taken 2 paracetomols at daughters instruction, she says if I take them and continue to take them they may start to work. I will see.

I expect it may mean a restless night tonight, but if it doesn't hurt too much you can sit it out as you say and try and read or sit and watch tv. Will you be able to wear your shoes ok with where it is? I suppose slippers are comfy indoors. I'm late to bed tonight for me, but am off to bed now, It looks like the rain that was forecast here for tomorrow will come on Saturday now so I still might get the garden bin filled for next Tuesday.

Andy the numbness has worn off and it is really sore but not sore enough to take pain killers. Paracetamol don’t do much for me and can’t take neurofen that do. So for now I will wait it out.

How good that it's all done and you are back home AnnG. It sounds as if it all went as well as it could have done and is great you don't even have any stitches. Now you can relax and look forward to your Christmas break.

Oh heck Vera, a hot coach would be my worst nighmare with my poor temperature control and I would have been like your OH and starting to feel badly! Nowadays you can't slide a window open as the driver controls the switching on and off. It sounds like you had an interesting time though with lots to see and do even if the cafe cake was non descript. I expect with all the walking it's been a tiring day for you. I hope you find a few photos to share with us!

Was that the last pudding Mandy? You've done well getting them made and the Christmas cakes as well. I must see if I can get our Turkey ordered tomorrow. Time is whizzing by now!

It sounds like your OH's PC being only 3 years old would be better for you then Mel, but if it hasn't been on, the software updates will need doing. The person that comes to sort it should be able to do that for you. We keep saying if we put things off that need doing they will only cost more so it's best to get it sorted and have peace of mind. It seems you will have to roll your sleeves up and get busy in your OH's study making some space. :-)

Glad to hear all went well with your appointment Anng and that's good you've no stitches to come out and you should be healed nicely before you go away , will you need any painkillers when the numbness wears off .

Oh Vera that didn't sound a very nice journey ,I don't know which us worse feeling hot or feeling cold ,I don't think they should have used that coach if they knew there was trouble with the heaters, still it sounds as if all the decorations in the house were lovely ,I bet you've been tired today after all the travelling .

We got all the shopping away and this afternoon I've done another christmas pudding mix so that's ready to go in the slow cooker first thing in the morning .
I keep thinking today is Friday but I don't know why .

Sounds like a sandwich sort of day Vera the lovely filling of house etc in between two rather horrible journeys. They surely should not have sent that coach out with heating problems like that.

My instructions are not particularly to rest. But to put my feet up when sitting as that is best for healing where the op was which apparently is an awkward area sort of on my leg on the ankle. But apparently walking is good for healing as well and if feet are not up I have to move them from the ankle not sitting with feet not moving. I have to keep the dressing on for 48 hours.

I am ver impressed with the treatment and in fact the whole clinic which seems very well run. If only it was more accessible. Virtually no car parking and not many buses.

Good afternoon all (well, it was afternoon when I started)

It’s good you are treated and back home AnnG. Now make sure you follow all the instructions you’ve been given and rest that leg. You want to give yourself the best chance of being fully healed before you go away. I hope you have a comfortable night.

It’s supposed to be 12 degrees here but it doesn’t feel it. There hasn’t been a gleam of sun all day and we’ve had some on and off drizzle. OH and I have both said how cold we feel today.

Mel, I can’t give you any advice about your computers as I’ve never had the sort of problems you seem to get. It does sound as though someone needs to have a look at the computer. It could be that something is just not set up right. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that the sheer number of emails you kept had simply overloaded the system. When my brother was alive we both did FH research and there would be a lot of emails going backwards and forwards. I set up other files and folders away from the email system and saved them all there as plain text so I still have all the information and they are not clogging up the system.

We had a good day out yesterday, apart from the journey. I knew it would take near enough 3 hours as it’s a long way from us. We left at exactly 8.30 and arrived at 11.30 after one short hold-up. The driver explained that the heating system wasn’t working well and he couldn’t get the coach the same temperature all over so to tell him if we wanted things turned up or down. We were near the front and everyone at the front sweltered but we didn’t like to ask for it to be turned down as the ones at the back of the coach were frozen. We were all glad to get out. We had timed tickets to go in the house at 1.15 so most of us opted to get an early lunch. The café was packed but friends shunted up and we shared their table, “borrowing” a spare chair from another table. They didn’t do cooked meals there but they had soup and things that could be warmed up so OH got in the queue and I told him to get anything that he knew I would eat. I should have told him exactly what to get. He came back with the same for both of us; a large, warmed sausage roll, a slice of cake and a coffee. I will eat sausage roll if it’s given to me but it would never be my choice of snack. The cake looked lovely but had no flavour at all and was like a rather soggy sponge with thick, sweet white icing. On the way out I looked to see what it was – orange, lemon and lime cake. We’d never have guessed, there wasn’t a smidgeon of citrus flavour at all

Things got better after that. We went to the house and the decorations were something special. It was all on the theme of The Palace of Oz and you followed Dorothy’s journey from the Wizard of Oz story. The creativity and imagination of the people who set it all up was amazing and I can’t imagine what it must have cost. As well as all the displays and lights there were holograms and recordings in different places. OH took a lot of photos and once he has downloaded them to his computer I’ll look through and see if any are worth sending round. The trouble with photos is they tend to be focused on a particular display but can’t reproduce the atmosphere of the walk through the house.

We had plenty of time left when we came out so we walked through an exhibition they had set up about Winston Churchill and that was very interesting. We also had a look at a section dedicated to “below stairs” and went into the chapel. We finished up by walking round the outside stalls. They were mainly local artisan food and drink companies and several charities. We chatted to several stall holders but didn’t buy anything. There was also an ice skating rink set up and a big ferris wheel and some fairground rides. Then we had a final cup of tea and made our way back to the coach.

We left at about 4.45 pm and everything was going well, apart from the heating system. The driver had turned the heating up to help those at the back and those of us at the front just melted. OH had several layers on and had to strip off down to his shirt. Even then he looked very pale and said he didn’t feel too good. Eventually someone sitting behind me went and had a word with the driver and he turned the heating off and put some sort of blower on. I’ve gone on for long enough so won’t bore you with the rest of the journey except to say that there had been an accident on another road leading to the same roundabout we needed to get to. The police closed the road and diverted all the traffic on to our road which by now was at a standstill. We eventually got home at 8.45 pm.

I think I had better get this posted. I am dreadful. Once I start writing I just keep going. I’m like a wind-up toy. I hope you all have a good night, especially AnnG, and wake up raring to go.

Yes it was numbed Mel would be too painful to have done without,