General Chat

I actually moved the plants back out before I went out this morning as my conservatory gets really hot when the sun shines. It is cloudy today but there has also been a lot of sun so it was wise to move them out. However, I am sure they could well do without the rather chilly wind that is also blowing. I think they will survive but I will bring them back in later. Ar least they will be hardened off.

I went to Cheltenham on the bus, the roads are atrocious and it is a wonder that bits are not falling off the buses. It is not a comfortable ride. Anyway had a look round before meeting friends for lunch. I didn't buy anything. M&S had new material cargo trousers in but didn't have my size in the colour I like.
Four of us met for luch. I had tuna jacket, a really good portion of tuna and a large potato. However, the potato was very dry and floury. It was OK but I have had better.

Morning All,

Another chilly and misty start, but the sun is shining now. OH had a dentist appointment first thing and there is still a little amount of healling to go, so the dentist has booked him 2 more appointments in about a months time to sort out the extra teeth for his denture.

The MRI scan at OH's appointment yesterday showed the inflammation in his spine and pelvis and the surgery physio he first saw was right. It isn't curable or reversible, but like other inflammatory conditions treatment is to damp down the overactive immune system. Only the NHS do the treatment which will be epipen style injections and also physio. The rheumatologist said it was very unusual to be diagnosed as old as OH and thinks he has had it for decades and that it could be the cause of what was diagnosed as sciatica, his osteoporosis, numbness he gets as well as causing his recent cardio vascular issue! What a pity the cause of his eye inflammation wasn't investigated in the 80s like it should have been and early treatment given then before all the further health issues it has since caused him.

Mandy we were amazed there was much less traffic this time! Oh your poor back painting the fence! Did you find something to sit on to do the bottom part? Good idea to give it a rest today before you do any more and do shopping instead. I've been watching the batch cooking programme as well and want to do some more of the recipes. I did a fish one and we both liked it but I hadn't realised she'd written some books. I like how she uses the zip bags and flattens them to freeze so they don't take up much space!

I hope the wi fi booster works when it arrives AnnG. At least it should be an improvement. It was best to protect your new plants rather than risk losing them. It's quite hot in our conservatory now so I've left the door open so the heat comes inside. :-)

Vera I have to be careful early in the year when we start to get bright sun as I have ended up with bad heads. I always stick a hat on now. I hope your poor head is much better today.

Morning everyone,

Foggy here now it was clear when we got up about half seven but we should be having a sunny day with temperatures of 17 degrees.
Shopping day today, I'm feeling ths effects of bending down painting the fence yesterday my goodness I'm stiff as a board this morning and my side is a bit painful so it's good were having a bit of a rest after doing the shopping that will take most of the morning ,we also need to put the prescriptions in to the doctors and get some money from the hole in tgs wall st Tesco's.

Ann I hope OH''s appointment went OK yesterday and the traffic wasn't to bad on the journey home .

Vera hope your bad head has eased for you and you managed to get a decent nights sleep .

Anng better to be safe than sorry with the plants, if you hadn't brought them in they might not have liked the colder night and when you pay good money for the plants you don't want to lose them.

Mel have you decided on a tray bake for your meal tonight with Stuart .

I have been watching the Batch cooking lady she has some nice recipes I might have a look for her book she's done several books .

Morning Anng and all,

Same here this morning grey and dry and its 8 degrees here, O it just gone up to 10 degrees and mostly sunny on the pc.

Need to go up the shop this morning sometime for my pills and then wash my hair and get dinner ready for tonight for Stu and I. He has been on a course for MOT testing which he has to do every couple of years I think to be able to get his certificate to do the MOT's.

Good morning all. A bit grey here but still dry.and at 0730 it is 7 degrees I did put all the new plant I bought in the conservatory over night but I don’t think I needed to. Slept ok but not really well so still feel tired this morning. Not helped by the Wifi on my desk top playing up. Dom is sending for something to boost the Wifi so hope that will work.

Oh dear Vera that sounds like a hat was needed. That is the trouble when our weather changes so frequently and we are not ready for hot sun. It was hot here too this afternoon but after walking to and from the hairdresser I was too tired to go out into the garden except to plant out the six lettuce plants.

I came on to the thread meaning to do a post but I've got such a stonking headache that looking at the screen is making me feel nauseous. It was a very frustrating morning; problems with my script and meds and satnav guiding us to the wrong place in spite of being programmed with the correct postcode. This afternoon I've tried to catch up with some more gardening. The sun was hotter than I realised and was directly overhead.

I'm going to take a migraine painkiller and lay down for a while. If it eases I'll post tonight, if not I'll see you tomorrow.

Afternoon all,

Lovely day here and we've been out in the front painting the fence ,we got all down one side done so a good start the other side of the pickets are facing the neighbours and shs has lots of shrubs against the fence so that will have to be left ,tomorrow is shopping day so it will give our backs a rest and hopefully we'll be able to do the other pickets down the path side on friday but they will take longer as we have both sides to do and the front gate , we had a bit of a fight with the white rose as its quite big and it gave us a few scratches but it's better to get it done before it gets into leaf .

Afternoon All,

A misty and chilly start this morning, but at last the sun is out and making the conservatory warm.

We were up early and went to a bigger garden centre further away that we haven't been to for a few years. We passed what was a big aquatic place with a lake of Koi carp that people would feed and were very tame and it's all gone except the lake and the land is covered with hundreds of houses now. So many other big estates of houses are being built on the route now as well, gone for good are the views of the lovely country fields. The garden centre was good with some nice shrubs and pots, but we need to catch up more with the garden and make the changes before I can plant much. We saw some of the little greenhouses that I think will be big enough for what I will want now and the lady there will post some brochures to me. I think we will still need a small shed (OH thinks not, but the garage is still a third full of his and his mum and dad's stuff). They didn't have any maintenance free sheds but we know another garden centre that does, so will pop along there another day. to see what the options might be.

I've sorted out some more things that have gone in the bin but we will be setting off for OH's appointment with the Rheumatologist shortly. I just hope we won't be crawling home after in the rush hour.

Been down at the thug rose and cutting back ivy grown up the arch. Puffed now and I see its time for lunch.

Morning all,

Bright at the mo with sun and 12 degrees and partly sunny by the pc.

Have to see if Stu is coming today or tomorrow and then the rest of the day will be cooking if he is coming.

Have to check on something now.

good morning all. a bit grey so far hoping it stays dry as I have to walk to the hairdressers for 12 o'clock. It is 8 degrees at the moment.
Mandy yes trying to get a bit ahead of myself some of these will have to go into larger pots but I will wait and see what the forecast is for next week. At the moment they are in the conservatory but that does get really cold if the temp goes down at night. But also gets very hot is the sun shines in the day.

Yes Anng I'm the baby lol my dad always use to introduce me to everyone as the baby of the family ,only me and my sister ten years between us so easy to remember how old she is .
Your getting your plants for the pots and garden I see ,I'd like a few new plants for the front garden ,something to add a bit of colour out there .

Ann, yes we hope to be able to get out there tomorrow to paint not my favourite job I have to say but its only a fence ,I need to find an old jacket as I'm bound to get paint on my sleeves , I do tend to flick paint I don't know how I do it but I do seem to get a lot on me lol
Not another price rise on the stamps, they'll cost more than a card soon .

Yes I didn't see Mandy's post did I AnnG. It sounds like you got some nice things and made good use of your discount and voucher at the garden centre.

Thanks for the reminder about the Chapel prog Mandy. I will record it tonight as it should show on the planner tonight. Dry rot won't be good news will it, but it will be interesting to see how much more has been done to the Chapel. Happy Birthday to your sister! As you say, where do the years go. We were saying yesterday that some of our contemporaries we worked with may not be around anymore. It's supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer here and dry tomorrow so I hope you can get on with painting your fence.

I decided to go through my meds and had a good sort out of those that were out of date or no longer used that we can hand in to the chemist to dispose of next time we go. There were various creams/moiturisers etc out of date too so they have gone in the bin. There's more to sort through in a shallow Ikea cabinet I have on the wall in the ensuite, maybe tomorrow. It has paracetamol, suncream, antihistamines etc that have a shelflife too. It's a good idea to have a clearout and reduce what there is ready for when I have to clear everything for the work to start.

Mel I would enjoy your lamb meal and pud. :-D It's good you've had a more restful day today as you do so much most days and we have had a bit of heat on today as well.

I see we are being told to buy stamps again before they go up yet again in price.

Vera I meant to say I miss the tips on those threads on the hobbies board. Not sure if anyone even reads them these days.

Sounds a nice lot of plants you managed to choose with your voucher. It ws quite a bright morning here with a little sun but it couded over and has been dull and cold since lunchtime.

I hoovered the kitchen and then the shopping arrived so I took that in and it was more than usual this week. As the driver was still here the postman turned up with the label for my little parcel so he came down to Carl's van and we did the parcel and he had to back up to get out and wwas then follwed by Carl. 1 sub today and that was my chickens mini fillets which I was going to do a tray bake with for when Stu comes this week but the cut chicken they sent has some nice big bits in so I think it will do so I kept it. Put that lot away and then had luch and not done much since and its turned really cold so I don't feel like going out int he garden.

Meal for one tonight lamb and colcannon mash with carrots. I like that one. I am trying the minced lamb hot pot this week too. I get fed up with beef and chicken all the time. I shall do some brocolli with it to fill me up and I have fruit cocktail for dessert but I forgot to get some custard so it will have to be a little cream.

Iv'e turned the heating on for a while to warm up.

I went to Norton garden centre with Cynth. I spent myChristmas voucher from daughter and it was seniors discount day. I bought a small bag of compost, meal worms cat repellent and a coconut feeder. The plants I bought were-: A lemon and lime Coprosma (I had 2 of those last year and they did well despite the weird weather and are still going), 2 Geums One yellow(Tosai) and one red (Mrs Bradshaw), A Heuchera (medium sized ) Timeless night, really dark, a primrose dark red (it won't last but hopefully will be good next year. I would have called it a po;yanthus but it says promrose. It is on a high stem not like promroses. an Alicante tomato, 6 lettuce. I just had to pay £9.83 and that was the cat repellant and the coconut feeder. The voucher paid for all the rest.

We did have coffee/tea and a good chat.

Ann I think you missed Mandy there. You and your OH are gradually getting the garden in order then.

Vera that would have been too long for me to sit listening to a speaker. good that he had something to say but he should have cut out a bit of the early days and kep it half an hour shorter. Not really the sign of a good speaker if he knew how long he was supposed to talk. Good job it was interesting.

Mandy Were you the baby of the family. Happy 80th to your sister. It was actually warm here today and is 15 degrees now, I went out with just a gillet instead of a coat. The sun shone all morning but it clouded over this afternoon. forecast is for 1 degree tonight. :-(

Afternoon All,

Chilly this morning and raining when I set off to the hairdresser's. OH stayed in bed and took his tablets later, as he had a migraine and didn't know whether the tablets for that were ok with his others. My hairdresser has noticed a different feel to my hair as well as I have and that it seems finer. She thought it was probably stress the last few months and has sold me some expensive, nourishing oil to put on weekly and assured me it lasts absolutely ages and is good value......well she would wouldn't she! :-S OH was migraine free and showered when I got back, so we put the charity shop bags in his car and went to the dog's home with them. He then had an online short meeting and we had a jacket potato and salad lunch with cottage cheese afterwards. He then went in the garden and just filled one humper with cutting things back that he didn't need to bend down to do which was sensible. I think he felt glad to be doing something useful and start seeing more progress in the garden. I have cleared out the shelf in the corner sink in the ensuite so the fitters can see where the pipework goes. I hope they will be abe to bury one pipe in the brickwork as I may have to have a bigger sink unit than I want otherwise. I found all sorts at the back of the cupboard, many duplicates of shampoo, cleaners etc which has further convinced me not to have another corner cupboard as it is hard to see and pull out what is at the back.

Vera that was a long period for the speaker to cover and I bet everyone was ready for a drink by the time he finished. As you say, better though than someone who has a job to fill the time with a talk. I lost all my geraniums this winter, so like you with your Penstemon, I will be looking to replace them with some new ones. I'd like to have some Begonias in the wall pots, but I've tried them in the wall pots a couple of times and lost them. They just wilt as if vine weevils have got them, but I've not seen evidence of those. They grow fine in the garden.

AnnG the taller sedums do look a mess this time of the year, but once they start new shoots you can tidy them up. They are worth it to see the butterflies though. I hope you find a nice Heuchera while you are at the garden centre. Some have such lovely foliage colours.

No Mandy?...........perhaps she is planting her seeds and gardening, or maybe filling the newly constructed box.

I hope Gill keeps in touch and that her husband soon gets his results.

Afternoon all,

Well Vera its more like January here today I just can't seem to get warm and we have the fire lit too .
This morning we went to see my sister as its her birthday today she's 80 oh my goodness where have the years gone ,we had a nice chat and one of her sons was there so it was nice to chat to him too .

Tomorrow we hope to start painting the front fence so I hope it's a bit warmer than today ,I did wash some trays ready for my tomato seed pots to stand on ,I also had a good sort out of the seed packets as I had kept lots of empty ones over the years to remind me of the ones we like but I chucked loads out I can't keep them all .

Ann I noticed in next week's tele book the 2nd series of the Chapel restoration with the pottery man Keith is on ,its Tuesday channel 4 at 8 o'clock, reading about it it looks like they had dry rot to cope with .

Good afternoon

It’s dull and cloudy but not really cold. It was a cold night. I didn’t sleep well and at one point I got up and put another cover over the bed. The forecast is for another cold night tonight. I can’t remember a month when temperatures have been so up and down. It’s like July one day and January the next.

I did the ironing from yesterday’s wash but, as I iron very little, it didn’t take long. Then I decided to try and do a bit in the garden. I tidied up some herbs that I grow in pots and then started cutting my penstemons down. It’s a little bit early as we could still get a heavy frost but I feel I’ve got to do these jobs on days when it’s dry and my back isn’t too painful or they won’t get done at all. There aren’t that many but they are now big plants so I haven’t cut them all back yet. I also didn’t take any cuttings during the last couple of years so don’t have any young plants as replacements. I might be buying some new ones if I see any I particularly fancy. I was working in the area where there is a bird bath and so I got sidetracked into giving that a good clean – not before time. The other one needs cleaning as well but it was nearly lunchtime and I was getting a bit achy by then so that’s a job for another day.

Did you get a nice heuchera AnnG? I was only thinking this morning that I miss the gardening thread on the Hobbies Board when you could get ideas and advice from others and suggest plants for them to look at. I miss the book thread as well.

Our club meeting went well last night and the talk on London Docklands was good but the speaker tried to cover too much. It would have been better if he had either covered one particular period of time or one particular facet of the docklands. As it was it got a bit confusing as he didn’t linger on anything long enough for us to really take it in. He was trying to cover from the time of Julius Caesar’s invasion of Britain to the modern day. Normally the speakers talk for no longer than 45 minutes with another 15 minutes for questions or discussion. He went on for 75 minutes and then there was a bit of discussion so OH and I didn’t get to do the teas till 9 pm. We have to be out of the room at 9.30 so we had to shift ourselves a bit to drink our teas, clear up, draw the raffle and have Club notices etc. All a bit of a rush but better to have that sort of speaker than one who doesn’t have much to say at all.

I now have some filing away of papers to do, a phone call to make and a couple of bills to pay so they are the next job