General Chat

Morning girls and happy anniversary to your son and dil Mandy.

19 degrees here and pc says to expect three rainy days ahead starting tomorrow.

I had a lie in this morning thinking I had nothing to get done early but forgot I have to go to the post van.

Must get on ........

Morning Anng ,morning all,

18 degrees here this morning, blue sky and fluffy clouds ,might get a few showers later .
Anng hope it stays dry for your hair appointment, take a brolly just in case .

Ann I quite fancy a nice plum crumble now with you saying about the Victoria plums ,I'm sure I saw some in the fruit and veg warehouse we go to .
Sounds as if your work is going to take a while longer ,that fine dust gets everywhere doesn't it .

Mel love the swallows but not old toadie you can keep him in your garden ,I never know which way they will jump so I just don't like them .

Off to do a bit in the front garden ,more weeds need pulling and the grass needs a cut .

Son and dil's wedding anniversary today 20 years where has that time gone

Good morning all 16 degrees and bright some blue in the sky. I have a hair appointment at 11.30 so hoping it doesn't rain. we did have a couple of showers yesterday evening, just light rain but better then nothing. Slept ok last night and had the duvet over me as it was much cooler.

Mr or mrs toad was very impressive Mel.

I keep finding mossie bites. One started itching just now yet it is under my clothes, must be from in bed last night but only just started to ith. sneaky little things this is the third or fourth bite and I never see a mossie.

Yes, I loved the baby Swallows in their nest and Mr Toad!

Vera you obviously did better than us with your painter today. I do like greengages. First MIL used to give me some from their tree. I must pop to the farm shop as I bet they have some. Are the Victoria plums ripe yet? I love those too.

When OH showed me where the match was he's gone to, it turned out to be the playing field where I played matches in the school Hockey team. It was the grounds to a domestic science college then. Now there is a school Academy next to it.

Sent some pics let me know if you get them as they were a bit big.

Afternoon All,

It was dry when I got up at 7.00 am, but soon started to rain as was promised. The painter said they were working from 8.00am till 7.30pm yesterday to get his outside job done. He was on his own today and set to work preparing the ceiling, but then had to stop. It seems as the plaster hadn't been sealed by the builder when the bungalow was built, the paint hadn't stuck to it very well and so he couldn't get a smooth edge on it without more flaking. I knew what he meant as I did ceilings at my old house and had the same sort of problem. He would paint it he said but it wouldn't be as good a job. The answer is to board the ceiling and have it plastered and sealed which would be neat around the edges as well. He said if we remove the coving in the bathroom when we do it, it would be best to get the same done with the ceiling before the fitter does the walls. He is trying to contact plasterers he knows and will get back to me. (MORE EXPENSE!) He cleaned the mess from the floor, but the radiator, shower, toilet etc are covered in dust again and no door on the ensuite again till it is done. It's beginning to feel like never ending mess now. When first OH and I gutted my previous bungalow we even made the kitchen and bathroom units and I used to think how much easier it would be to have someone else do it, but at least there weren't holdups with doing it all ourselves. It's been over 3 weeks up to now. I want to change the bedding but is it worth it if there's to be more dust in a few days.

That's good the dentist just needs to replace the teeth you had out put on the denture Mel. I hope you can find a denture you can manage with till it's done. You set me off checking online for any shows/fairs round here and I found a couple at the end of next month I might enter for a bit of fun! There isn't the main one in the next village, but there's one in the village with the brook and one a bit further away that accepts entries from all villages.

If you google Domestika there is an online course about painting miniatures on offer with other courses for 99p at the moment. You have access to videos on different aspects but don't have to participate in anything if you don't want to. You can see some of the work the artist has done and it's really good. I know you have done a lot already but sometimes there are useful tips. I downloaded one on painting when they were last on offer but haven't started it yet. I thought you may want to look at it. I haven't checked, but I know it says who the artist is and I've just thought he may have youtube videos worth looking at anyway.

I'm still feeling tired with all this early rising and haven't done much at all today. One of Gordon's cousins who lives on the south coast has contacted me as she has been doing FH and seems to think I have found things I haven't! lol.

I know what you mean too AnnG. I remember it when I was aged 58 as my dad died at that age. Now I've just reached the age when mum died. I didn't bother to rummage in T K Maxx either. The city store here years ago used to have some Christmas and cooking things, handbags and picture frames in addition to clothes, but I was surprised to see duvets and pillows and many racks of baby and toddler clothes, lovely tiny wellies too. Also long shelves of bathroom stuff including towels (which I need).

OH is off to a match about 3 miles away with his friend tonight. I meant to say about the match they went to at Harpendon on Saturday that they got held up in long traffic queues due to a Zimfest with Zimbarbwians. He said they were still walking along the pavements to it, even after the match when he and his friend were driving home. They both found it a bit of a sight with the women wearing next to nothing and even that seemed to be needing frequent 'releasing'. I think he said the journey took an hour longer than it should have.

I hope you got another crab Mandy and that Colin's hearing aids are sorted now. Hopefully there will be less dead heading to do soon as it is a full time job just now. My Violas seem to be past their best ,so I am just going to save some seed from the yellow ones now. I want to save seed from some of the yellow Snapdragon's too.

Thinking of you AnnG. We never really stop missing our Mums do we? Mine was only 58 when she died and I remember when I got to 58 that it hit me how young she was when she passed, but medical knowledge has come on in leaps and bounds and there is so much more that can be cured or at least alleviated now that couldn’t be then.

Annx, the baby hasn’t seen her books yet. Mummy and Daddy have taken the parcel home to produce on her birthday in about 12 days. I’ve no doubt they will let me know what she thinks of them. I hope your painter arrived OK this morning. Ours were here spot on 8 am again. They worked a 9 hour day yesterday and look as though they will be doing the same today. They have said that with luck they will finish tomorrow. We expected it to take at least a week but we were only expecting one man. I wish we had some shops like T K Maxx locally but there is very little of anything in our small, but fast growing, town.

Sparrowhawks give me the shivers Mel. They are magnificent birds but they look so cruel. In our old house I had one swoop down right in front of me and take a young starling. I was behind a window but no more than 3 or 4 feet from it and it looked so huge with such vicious talons and beak. What was it Tennyson said about “Nature, red in tooth and claw”?

Mel, I have a chrome metal plate with 4 teeth and this time last year I managed to break one of the teeth I do pay out for a private dentist and it cost me £60 for the impressions and £200 for them to replace the broken tooth and reinforce the backs of all the teeth. The metal was showing through where the backing had worn thin. I was without them for 3 days. I made sure not to make any appointments on those days.

I hope you have managed to get Colin’s hearing aids sorted out Mandy. Did you manage to get another crab?

I got a couple of sheets washed and got all the ironing done today and also froze 4 kg of greengages from a neighbour’s tree. They will get used for jam making when I find time to do it. They are just a touch underripe which is good for making jam as they contain more pectin than when they are very soft.

I’d better go and prepare some veg for tonight’s meal of meat pie. I can’t manage pastry and potatoes in the same meal but I might do a few for OH. Then while it’s all cooking I might be able to do a bit of dead heading.

I have just had a Sparrowhawk under the bird feeder I wondered what the noise was and as \I was taking pics Roy the Raven flew down and chased it away.

Done some ironing and did a small parcel up. Fed the fish and chickens and now the wild birds need feeding as they had some in the feeders this morning but its all gone now.

Also done some painting.

I was like that Anng as dad died at 57 and Mum was the same as her mum died at 65.

Pc is now telling me its 18 degrees and mostly sunny!!!! Don't know where the suns hiding then. Been raining a bit harder here.

Hope you get your crab Mandy, good luck.

31 years ago today my Mum died she was 85. Spooks me a bit that that is how old I will be this year!!

Morning all,

Dry here but cloudy I think we might get an odd shower later which would be good then I wouldn't need to water .
I had a good morning in the garden yesterday did a lot of dead heading and a good sweep up of petals .
I have two loads of washing to do and then we need to go into spec savers as Colins hearing aids don't seem to be working ,I changed the batteries but they are no different.
Oh and we might get another crab :-D

Hope all the painters have arrived ,they like to start early don't they but then if it gets the job done, hope it stays dry for them .

Oh my tea is getting cold ,better drink that then get my washing out .

Good morning all, hope the getting up early Ann was not for nothing.
TK Max have always in this area, had a lot of things other than clothes. I bought my last small case from the one in Carlisle and I always get lots of Christmas bits in there, have bought baby.toddler clothes too but never clothes for me as I never see anything and can't be bothered to 'rummage'.

It is 15 degrees and the ground outside does look a bit wet so maybe we have had one of the drizzly showers over night. Hope so as that is better than nothing.

Mel, I would think that was for one tooth. Is that a NHS dentist? Lucky if it is they are few and far between here, if existent at all and £79 is not very often as low as that for most treatment.

Morning girls,

Woke to fine rain and not much in the way of a breeze and everywhere looks wet so its been doing it a while. It grey and 17 degrees and pc says cloudy. Think its in for the day.

I have another little parcel to do up today so that the only thing on the list at the mo. My left hip is playing up and has been since Saturday after the show. I did a lot of walking about after doing pruning in the garden with BIL and then yesterday I have to walk up quite a hill to the dentists and I don't have the puff anymore. Slept like a log and did'nt get up till 7.23am for the loo. I am going to take it easy today.

Shopping come today and I think I will sort out some miniatures to put on Ebay.

Thanks for asking about the dentist Annx. No nothing to be done but I saw a new man who had been with them for about a year now. Suhaly told me they can put two teeth on my plate where I lost those teeth a while ago. When I saw Tom the last dentist ( very full of himself) he told me I needed to have all the rest of my teeth out and have new dentures and he even put me through the whole process of having mulds taken which was'nt nessesary. Anyway it would be £74 to have the teeth put on my original plate but not sure if thats both teeth and I would be without them for a few days. I shall have to find out if one of my old plates fit so I can go with at least some teeth in!!

Evening All,

Sun and cloud here today, but it got very warm this afternoon,

It sounds like you enjoyed your trip and seeing the family Vera. How nice the little one is learning her Ps and Qs at such a young age. She may be copying her parents just now, but she is learning the habit of good manners bless her. Did she like the mirror in the book? That Strawberry jam doesn't sound tempting so let us know if it is nice when you try it. Well our painter was due at teatime today, but sent a text this morning asking to come tomorrow morning at 8.00am instead. He has some outdoor painting this week and wanted to get on with it today while it was dry weather. It will mean getting up early in the morning, but that doesn't matter as long as we get it started. I don't know whether he will come the following day to do the actual painting or will come back later tomorrow to do it. I was all ready for them again this morning with things moved out of the ensuite ready! The windowcleaner had arrived unexpectedly this morning and at 8.00am!! The first I knew was when I drew the bedroom curtains, fortunately having just showered and put some clothes on, and there he was the other side of the glass!! It's getting beyond a joke now as we never know when to expect him or at what time.

I slept well last night but had one of those dreams where you wake up still seeming as if you are dreaming and it's real. I heard animal screams just outside the window and whacking sounds as if someone was beating them off. I lay in bed ages after listening for more noise.

OH took his jeans back and got a refund. They were 'slim' not 'skinny' as I thought, but it was the straight ones he wanted another pair of. He asked about them and they didn't have any in a 34 inch waist and suggested online so he's ordered them there and paid £4 postage for the priviledge as there wasn't an option to pick them up from the store a mile down the road. I went into T K Maxx further down while he did that and was pleasantly surprised at the amount and type of wares they sell now other than clothes. We need some pillows which they had as well as shelves full of vacuum flasks and garden ware including garden pots.

We sorted a pile of cardboard boxes from the garage and conservatory that OH will drop off at the tip tomorrow when he goes to my bank to take a cheque for me. It's garden bin day tomorrow so we both did some pruning and weeding to top it up.

I hope you got on ok at the dentist Mel and don't need anything doing. I

'd better remember to set the alarm for 7.00am in case the painter is a bit early. I hope everyone sleeps well.

Good afternoon ladies

It’s a dry day and quite warm but cloudy. There has only been one or two gleams of sunshine. I was changing the bedding this morning and decided to put a thin duvet back on the bed as a couple of times in the last few days I’ve woken in the early hours just a little bit cold. You can bet your life we will now have some hot nights and I’ll be wishing I hadn’t put the duvet back on the bed.

The painters arrived spot on 8 am. I was only expecting one but two arrived and they are making good progress. I think they want to get on as quickly as possible before the next lot of rain arrives.

I still have sheets to wash tomorrow but have done all the rest of the washing. Normally I would have hung it out but it would have been in the painters’ way so quite a lot went into the dryer and the rest is on clothes airers and hangers in the warm conservatory. I haven’t done any gardening as I didn’t want to be in the way but I’ve caught up with lots of odd jobs so I’m quite pleased with what I’ve managed to do today

I hope your appointment with the dentist goes well, Mel.

What time is your dentist appointment Mel? good luck with that. :-D

done the post van and back home now.

Morning Anng and all,

A very grey morning here and 16 degrees and pc says partly sunny so lets hope it brightens up a bit later on.

Woke at 6.15am for the loo and did'nt go back to sleep but had a lie in.

Dentist today and up the post van with three parcels.

I lovely homemade Strawberry jam. Used to make loads of different jams when we had the barrow outside and did the veg garden. Had lots pinched too.

You did have a lovely day with the gfamily Vera./ Nice to see everyone.