General Chat

Now its raining to top it all off. :-(

Morning from a very frustrated me.

I have been on to Asda this morning as I was told to put my order in this morning and they cancelled the one I had done wrong but when I went to pay at the checkout it kept telling me to book a slot and I have a yearly pass. I waited on the phone for 45 minuets before someone answered and then she could'ntt sort it out so now they are going to email me within 24 to 48 hours and my delivery should be tomorrow.

Don't know if I will get the right order or not. They had charged me 4.00 for the basket and 4.50 delivery and said I would get that back with my next order. When I put the order in today there was no chage on it but when I went to the checkout it said to book a slot. I went to the slots and mine is there for the right time and day.

I was on the phone for 57 mins inthe end and now have to wait for them to email me and put my order in so I have had to copy the order put it on here and then copy it again and send it to myself so I remember what I ordered if that makes sense.

I have just about had enough now and ma going to get dressed.

Morning all,
Overcast with a little drizzle this morning and just as I wanted to hang some washing out .
Had a busy weekend doing one thing or another, there always seems to be something to do .

Ann you asked about the crochet squares, yes still plodding on with them ,last count 37 ,I laid them all on the bed the other day to actually see what size I need and I think I do need 7x 7 so forty nine squares so not to many more to do .

Vera I hope you hear what has happened to the chap as he has your money for the paint ,do you know where he buys his paint from ,perhaps you could enquire in the shop/ trade place ask if anyone knows anything about him ,word soon gets about in the trade if anything has happened .

Oh Mel i hope you can get the asda order sorted out ,what a hassle for you ,these things are sent to try us .

Safe journey Anng hope the traffic isn't to bad today .

The confimation for my asda order came through and it was the same as the one I cancelled so now I have to do it all again tomorrow. Iv'e just about had enough now I rang the phone out of charge while speaking to someone about it and had to ring again with the phone plugged in.

A horrid end to a day that started so well. :-(

Just been to a farm where they diversify by growing lots of flowers for weddings etc. they had jars that you could buy and pick as many flowers as you wanted to fill it, like a large jam jar without a lid. for a bouquet. No good for me as travelling home tomorrow they probably wouldn’t survive so took lots of photos instead.
Very warm again today and clear blue sky and sun.

The one good thing about it was after reading Vera's post I put a lamb shank on my order. Hav'nt had one for a while now so thank you Vera for reminding me to treat myself. :-D :-D :-D

i HAVE BEEN ON TO aSDA TRYING TO CANCEL MY ORDER AND PUT ANOTHER ONE ON THERE AS THEY HAD CHARGED ME FOR THE SLOT AND THE BASKET CHARGE £8.50.

tWO PHONE CALLS LATER i HAVE MANAGED TO SORT IT BUT IT TOOK WELL OVER AN HOUR.

Sorry about that in my confusion I thought I had put the tab lock off.

This episode has spoilt a good mornngs work with BIL and I could have done so much more in that hour. Now I need to get something to eat and maybe carry on this afternoon. Thing is once I have eaten I seem to lose my energy.

It's getting quite hot again now and probably feels hotter than it is because the sun is shining so brightly.

You've had a busy morning Mel. Bil is good to come and help you so often.

Yes Annx, the situation with our handyman is odd but we have no reason to think there is anything dodgy about it. We both think he may have had a heart attack or stroke and be very ill (or sadly, no longer with us). In this last year he has had heart problems and a mini-stroke. I couldn't believe it when I found we didn't have an address for him so I checked his website. Under address on the "Contact Us" section, it just says Based in South Suffolk. As he gives three other ways of contacting him that is perfectly legal. I do know that he lives fairly locally As well as phone and email address I have all the details of his bank account and when I first added him to my list of payees I got confirmation from the bank that all the details were correct. Hopefully the mystery will be solved sooner or later. We may end up having to kiss our money goodbye but it was only for the paint that we wanted to use in preference to the paint he already had, so not a huge amount.

I have just noticed the time. As I am supposed to be doing a dinner for 2 pm I had better go and prepare some veg. Lamb shanks today. Might bbl.

BIL has been and gone and we had a good little clear up in the garage and he took away a lot of metal stuff like the old scarifyer that went on the back of the mower and anything else we could find in the way of metall, O and the old step stool so now I can get round to the latch to close the door. I just have to have a good sweep up round there. I think he also took a band saw thing that has been outside for years. Then we moved on to the box hedge and I drove the old mower with the trailer on and he cut down a lot of the brimbles growing out of the hedge and the thug rose. All things that attach themselves to him when he mows down the edge of the box hedge. You should see all the blackberries on the lawn now and I am hoping the birds will eat them. So all in all a good mornings work. He went off home with a cue, plums and long beans.

I have just fed the fish and am now going round to the girls to cut some nettles off which are growing where I open the door and it won't go back enough.

Morning All,

It's 17 degrees here so quite cool at the moment, so why my brain isn't addled with heat I will sort some financial things out.

That is a concern for several reasons then Vera with paint and ypur payment. Do you have his address and could drive by and see if his vehicle is there? I would note his reg number if so, just in case you need it as it is becoming rather odd. I know it sounds a bit extreme but it is the 'Inspector' in me coming out. There might be issues with him you don't know about and I do hope what he has told you is right. Hopefully he will at least be in touch soon.

I'm glad you found some plants AnnG and got yourself a Mouse Ears. I find my Hostas are quite tough, even if the slugs find them before I notice. I once travelled in the car with plants on the floor between my feet coming back from holiday because I was determined to get them! :-)

Mel if you don't need rain, send some here as we badly need some. Some bedding plants in the hot middle beds look burnt by the hot sun now.

Food delivery today as well so the fridge needs a sort out and wipe, so I'd better get on with this paperwork.

Morning all,

Quite bright this morning and still a bit windy but its dry and thats the main thing. There is some blue sky and greyish white clouds and its 17 degrees wioth a cooling trend over the next three days according to the pc.

Nothing planned for today may do a bit in the garden will see how I feel as I still have abckache.

Your plants sound nice Anng and I'm sure you will be able to keep the little hosta ok.

That is a worry on several counts Vera re your garden fence painter. Not only about his well being but your paint or money as well. I hope you can eventually find out what is wrong.

Home on Monday Vera. Wondering what state my garden will be in as I know it has been as hot there as here.

Good evening all

At its hottest today the temperature got to about 25 degrees which was a lot cooler than the last few days. It’s also been overcast most of the day. I managed to get into the garden fairly early this morning and spent an hour out there before my back told me it had had enough. I did a little bit of weeding but it was a real job as the ground is so hard at the moment. The rest of the time I was deadheading or just generally tidying things up. Later this afternoon I went out and took a few cuttings of Argyranthemum which I’ve trimmed up and put in water to root. They usually do root OK but I seem to have lost my gardener’s green thumb this year and not much seems to be growing as well as it usually does.

You got a few nice plants at the garden centre today AnnG. You should be able to keep your blue mouse ears flourishing. I’ve had mine for a few years. It’s true that it isn’t as good this year but I think it could do with repotting and moving elsewhere in the garden. Your trip out yesterday sounded very pleasant as well. How long are you going to be at M.K?

Annx, the blinds and curtains you are going to put up will “dress” your windows and I am sure will look good. We only have blinds and I do keep thinking about curtains for the downstairs rooms, at least in the lounge and OH’s bedroom. It’s not so easy upstairs as some of the windows are set in alcoves formed by the sloping ceilings and there is no room either side of the window frame for a curtain to hang. They would have to hang right across the windows and even when the curtains were open they would take too much of the light.

Putting those cone shaped baskets into a large flower pot or a bucket while you work on them sounds a good idea Mandy. Barking dogs are a pain during the day but at night they sound so much louder. I hope you get a quieter night tonight.

We are very concerned about our handyman/fence painter. We are now convinced that something has happened to him or he would have been in touch somehow or other. Although we have had delays and problems with him, he has always let us know what is happening. We don’t know much about his family life but one of the delays we had with him earlier this year was when his mother-in-law died and he was her executor and had to deal with her affairs. If he had a mother-in-law he must have a wife but she isn’t responding to phone calls or his emails either. It’s all very worrying.

We had asked another chap if he would be interested in doing the job and he came and had a look yesterday. He had a shock when he saw how much fencing there was to do. He had done a couple of garden jobs for us before and I think he thought the only fencing was the bit round our garden but there is a length that goes down one side of the house and a length the other side that goes down the side of the house and behind the garage. Anyway he said he will do it but he might have to do it over a few sessions to fit round his other regular jobs. He is coming in next week to sort it all out and see when he can make a start. OH went out to his favourite big builder’s merchants this morning for the paint. They didn’t have what we wanted but are ordering it in for us and that’s another small problem. We had transferred some money to our original painter’s bank account as an upfront payment for the paint and he was getting it. This means, if he had already purchased it, he has our paint or, if not, he has our money but until we have contact with someone we can’t get hold of either. Well, we’ll worry about that at a later date.

Sleep well folks. “See” you all tomorrow.

Son and I went to the mall garden centre. They had an excellent display of plants and all at reasonable prices. It is a good job the I was constrained the thought of filling up son’s car. As it is I bought a small Heuchera to grow on, a small sedum that grows to. Eight inches, a larger sedum another aloe white, name escapes me and a blue mouse ears hosta. They had a really good selection of hostas but I had been wanting a mouse ears. They are expensive but this was a good sized one for £9.95. I just hope. I can keep it.

Afternoon All,

It's a bit cooler today here for a change, so I feel a bit more like doing things. Yesterday the blind man came and was a big, jolly chap and very helpful. He soon measured up for the ensuite blind and then sorted a swish type metal curtain rail for the bedroom instead of the poles we have and so the curtains being almost to the ceiling will cut out the light, heat and cold better. Also Mr O opposite's early morning security and headlight glare from his big van in the winter. I can attach an extra blackout lining to the heading tape on the curtains to block out the sun or cold even more if it works better. It is a bay window almost the length of the wall that the sun beats down on. He did suggest concertina blinds that fit inside each window frame that slide up and down and are very neat and effective, but they are fabric covered and having had some venetian blinds in the past that I was forever dusting I thought they would gather dust quickly in the same way. In here in the study He is putting a similar rail up so I can have curtains as well as the existing blinds making an improvement heat and coldwise in here too. MORE EXPENSE as Frank would say, but prices are going up so fast these days it will only get dearer the longer we leave it. I may make the curtains for in here as it is a small window.........or look in the sales!! :-D

OH has been for walk this morning and gone off to a local match this afternoon and I went to the shop and also picked up an entry form for the village show that was on their counter while I was there. :-)

Mel that's not a bad idea as I find it hard enough to remember things myself! I know I'm so lucky to still have him and am always mindful of that, but with my own brain being less reliable I have to keep my mind on what I'm doing and he's such a chatterbox and at just the worst times. :-D That was a quick visit from BIL then. Your veggies are doing well now. I have missed having the runners this year.

I hope you get to a garden centre this afternoon AnnG. The smaller ones tend to have some plants you don't see at the bigger ones, so you might find some to take home with you. That poor kitty with a tender mouth. I hope he's managing to eat ok, but it might be less painful for him now the teeth are out. That was a nice trip you had yesterday and I would have been interested in the Bon Marche and the glass beads!

Mandy a barking dog at night is annoying when you want to sleep. Windows are often open on hotter nights too. The old dog next door can hardly bark at all and makes a very strange sound, but he would bark till the neighbour got home if he was left even if it was for hours. I suppose he thought it was hearing his barking that would mean she came back. Similar to Mel I was going to say that when I had some of those cone baskets I put them in a large empty flowerpot to get them to stand up. Not much good though if theyare trailing over the sides a lot. How are you doing with the crocheted squares?

Vera that was a good idea to send the email. The poor man sounds overwhelmed with so much on his plate, but he will understand that you can't keep putting off the work getting done. It's odd you can't get hold of him, so I hope nothing has happened to him because he can't cope or has happened with his family. He may be behind with work for other people too and maybe not everyone has been as thoughtful and kind as you.

Good morning all. Not quite so hot and the sky is grey. Not gone anywhere this morning. Son has gone for the weekly shop, DiL gone to visit her Mum Granddaughter is still at her dog sit.

Just Grandson (on his PC) and me here at the moment.

Hopefully going to a small garden centre/nursery after lunch.

Its 24 degrees here now with a nice brisk wind thats very cool. BIL been and gone as he had a message about his car tyres so off he went without doing anything. He was going to stim the back field fence.

I think I said about hes bought another bit for the mower so he wanted to make some room in the garage for it but its ok as there is enough room.

Mandy if you have a large bucket you could stand your cone baskets in that to save Colin holding them for you. I used to do that when I was given the cone basket to make up for someone.

I have been deadheading on the patio plants and picked more long beans, the last few blueberries and fed the toms and cue which drinks an awful lot. still got three cues to pick and it now growing across all the tom plants. Found anothe catapilla on the leaves of the toms this morning too.

Morning Mel, morning all,

18 degrees here this morning and very overcast ,I think it should be cloudy all day ,it feels very muggy indoors even with windows and back door open .
Had a decent night's sleep woke at three for the loo then off to sleep again till about twenty to seven ,just stripped the bed so thats in the machine ,I need to hoover through and then do some more dead heading ,the hanging baskets need doing, I get Colin to lift them down so it's easier to do he has to hold them as they are the cone shaped baskets so don't stand on their own ,there's only the four on the gazebo to do.

Anng that sounded a lovely day out yesterday and treated to the new clothes too so can't be bad , hope senior cat is better today poor old thing will have a sore mouth .

Mel I expect bil has a job to do ,he is good doing all your mowing and helping .

Better drink my cuppa .

Morning all,

Quite a bright morning here but the sky is pale grey. Its 18 degrees and pc says partly sunny.

BIL said yesterday that he may come today but I don't know what for! He mowed yesterday so its not for that. He said something about working in the garage.I just have the shop to do this morning and then I am not sure what I am going to od.

Just had a COC as I was thirsty.

Annx you need to get a little slate and chalk and hang it by the door with all the things you need on it and when G comes to talk to you just ask him if he would first read out your check list for you. With all these scans and appointments you would think they would come up with some answer for G by now.

Done a bit of casting this afternoon and watered the toms and cue and looking in at the toms I saw a fat caterpillar on one disguising its self as an orange toms. I removed it and put it under the bird feeder and went back I found three more green caterpillars on the tom leaves so I better keep my eye out for any more as one has made a hole in a tomato.