General Chat

We had a good walk at Prinknash Abbey. Met around 10.30 for coffee and chat then walked down through the old monastery walled garden and through lovely woods until we came to the monestry and chapel. (Prinknash Abbey is located in Painswick in Gloucester and is famous for the Benedictine Monks who resided at the nearby monastery from 1972 and were often seen walking around the abbey, however the monastery has been empty since 2008 due to the Monks' relocation.).
The little chapel is beautiful in its simplicity and we sat reading about it and just absorbing the peace.
The way we walked there, while beautiful through the woods with all the birds singing, was quite long with some quite steep steps up and down. However after leaving the chapel we were able to make our way back via the road which was a lot shorter.
We then met up with friend Joan who elected not to walk, and had tea/ coffee and in my case a warm cheese scone which was large an quite sufficient for my lunch. The sun shone sometimes but it was mostly overcast but warm with a breeze which made it ideal walking weather. got home around 2pm but too tired for gardening, although it will be watering time later on.

Morning all,

Nice bright morning here should be warming up for a couple of days then getting fresher again .
Not doing much today as my knee is still painful .

Ann j thought it might be a job to water with a heavy can over the fence ,hooe you have more luck with the hose .

Anng hope you enjoy your walk today .

Mel sounds as if you have a busy day with filling the car and keeping an eye on the tree chap .

Hope Vera enjoys her day out too.

Better get some washing out I don't know where it all comes from .

Good morning all. sunny here and 14 degrees at 0800. looks like being a warm day. with our small group we are having a short walk (it is not a walking group so a stroll really), at Prinknash near gloucester. It used to be a monestry right up until about 20 yesr ago and there was a place where they made Prinknash pottery. Very similar to Portmeiron pottery. There is (I think a type of bird park there so we are going to see what we can see. Main thing is there is a cafe.Being picked up at 10.00 so better get on and shower etc.

Morning all,

Looks like it may be a nice day today. Pc says 3 degrees and mostly sunny so a good day for the trees to come down.

When I was pressure washing yesterday just as I was turning it all off I pinched the side of my thumb on the handle of the washer and had a lovely blood blister come up but today it has spread and hurts like anything. I was so cross it happening just on the end of all the work I did yesterday.

Hope you all slept well.

I had put about marking the spam emails as safe sender in the post I lost.

I hoovered out the car today and pressure washed it and the front kitchen windows. Then I pressure washed the decking by the big pond and the seat then started on the patio. Gosh did I make a mess and got covered in filth. Should have put my waterproof trousers on but may have lost heart after doing that so I just carried on. Then I did down the side of the big pond.

Put the gun in its holder, its never been in there before but oh changed the sites for the set on my old air rifle as he said they were better than the one it came with. Now it dos'nt fit in the gun case.

Next job is to load the fishing tackle in the car. I have ut the seats down ready but it means several trips from the caravan to the car and trips from the study to the car. I shall be doing a lot of walking tomorrow.

Aron's coming to do the trees tomorrow and I want to be up there and see whats going on.

Shall have to ring Stu in the morning and see what day he is coming this week too as its Thursday I have to go to Bude.

I'm just watching the victorian shop renovation.

There was much more inthe post I lost.

It took a while to water all the pots this evening but it was so hot this afternoon I think it needed doing.

I do have a worry, well three really, in the garden. My three Buddlias are not doing very well they all look as if they have a disease all the leaves are curled. Not sure what tos so with them as they are very big.

I hadn't thought to look for a facility like that Vera, so thank you for mentioning it as I do have some surprises with what I find in my spam at times. Let me know if it works.

AnnG you have overtaken me already with planting things. Your plants you have bought will look nice.

We took the old plastic crate up the garden to water the neighbour's beans this afternoon. It was still impossible to lift the half filled watering cans high enough standing on the crate and OH has pain in his back, shoulders and neck so has to be very careful lifting anything now or he can be in agony afterwards. We lifted the foot high trellis panel out from the top of the fence and still couldn't reach the end of the row and she'd added a large pot of plants much too far away from the fence to reach with a watering can anyway. We noticed the neighbour the other side has her hose hanging over the fence and are going to get ours out tomorrow, but I have doubts that it may not reach as our outside tap is the opposite side of our garden. We'll just have to shoot the water up in the air somewhere near if not and hope for the best.

It's been a hectic day and I'm in a rush now but thought I'd just come on and tell Annx that I think I have added her to a safe senders list so her emails shouldn't go into Spam any more. Be interesting to see if it works. Also AnnG, I have downloaded 2 Fiona Valpy books to my Kindle for £1 each. Might be a while before I get around to them as I've got quite a queue of books waiting but I'll let you know what I think of them.

Ended up with a bit of gibberish there Mel. At least you have somebody who can help you with the problem and hopefully can sell some of the fishing tackle for you.

I walked round and collected my glasses, including a new pair for the computer although I have noticed these new glasses are ok with the PC anyway.
At various times during the day after I got home I have made up a second basket of petunias and planted two more petunias 6 marigolds, 6 bedding bego ias, 6 geraniums a Osteospernum and a parsley

ir rifle on it as he said they were better than the ones it came with which went back on my air rifle.

Just lost a long post..........................................

Afternoon All,

After a blowy, cool morning the sun is out and it's warm now. I had to go to my bank this morning to sort something I couldn't do online. OH had to pay parking and waited ages as the man in front of him couldn't get the pay machine to work with his card and had to let OH go in front as OH was paying with cash, so had no problem. This new technology isn't reliable enough is it! OH went for a walk to look for a charity shop while I was being dealt with and the lady I saw got me a chair. OH was chuffed as he found a book he hadn't read in one of the charity shops for £2 that was by one of the Brontes and in very good condition.

Mandy I think I might have got stuck crawling in that oven! It was interesting to see inside it and how they worked though. I thought they would just have a big fire and never realised the long tubes of water were inside. I wondered how they could tell the things deep in the ovens were cooked, but I suppose they slid them out to look with long shovels. The older lady they interviewed (in her 90s I think) had a good memory of how things used to be and it was good to see how many people were volunteering to help. Your banana and biscoff muffins sound nice. I used to love the cheesecake with a biscoff base.

Oh Mel, the poor fawn the Fox was carrying off! Maybe it was injured anyway so the Fox put it out of it's misery. As AnnG said the Fox probably had a family to feed. That sounded like the wild west having tthe gun around that was already loaded, so did you forget? It's good you found the Bude shop can sort it for you and that they also may buy some of the fishing tackle from you. Did you manage to get to the fishing stuff you said was in your OH's car boot? That was a lucky squirrel to escape. That's handy your young neighbour will also clear some low branches and take out your dead conifer. It sounds like a good arrangement, his labour in exchange for the timber and your gift of the big petrol strimmer.

That's good your back is fine again AnnG and that you had a good night's sleep. I bet your runny eye and nose was likely because of hayfever. I sometimes find just one eye is affected or one side of my throad tickles. Yes I find it hard to believe we made that carriage, plus two others with us working full time and having quite a big garden to look after. All while still renovating an old house as well. I learned to do the coachpainting from a book (still have it). I think there were about 11 coats of paint to get the mirrorlike gloss you aimed for, so it was a lengthy process. The son of the man who wrote the book coachpainted some of the carriages for royalty and we occasionally spotted him at the few carriage driving shows we went to then. I tried to look him up a little while ago and found he had sadly passed away during the pandemic.

You were busy yesterday Vera. I wonder how you stop an email going into spam? Something else I don't know. That was sad about your old friend, but at least you were able to lighten his load by helping him.

Iv'e been on to Bude fishing and shooting shop on the waterfront and spoke to a lovely chap called Rob who told me its no peoblem and he can fix it for me. I also asked him if he sold second hand fishing tackle and he asked what I had so I told him some things and he said bring it all down some may be out of date and some may be good to give to beginers and some he may be able to sell. So two birds with one stone I am hoping. It would be nice to get something for all the fishing tackle and get it out of the caravan and the study.

I am now cleaning the car out as I will have to put the seats down to get it all in. He also told me I can park outside the shop by the canal so won't have to pay for parking.

Oh gosh mel, I know you know what you are doing with guns but do be careful.

I have had a terrible morning so far. I had a squirrel on the bird feeder and got the gun to shoo it away and I have put two or three up the barrel and its going to take me a lot of money to put it right. I thought it was'nt loaded so primed it again and tried to get the cartridge out but it would'nt come out pull the lever back and it loaded anothe slug now I can't get the cartridge out.

Shoppings arrived and I have everything out of the fridge to clean it so thats what I shall be doing for the next hour.

Awe couldn't see what it was poor fawn so sad but the fox needs to feed its young too I suppose.

Sent the pics and I think its a fawn in its mouth. The leg is too long to be a rabbit.

I just stood up to look out of the window as I heard a noise and thought it was the Thrush again and there was a fox coming down the road with something in its mouth. It has long legs whatever it is. I'll send pics I took when I get time.

Morning girls,

Its been raining in the night cos everywhere is wet now the sky is grey and its 15 degrees and pc says expect three rainy days starting thursday. We want our sunshine back please.

Shopping comes today and its quite a big order this week so I think this mornings job is to clean the fridge out and wash the shelves.

Anng it was'nt a Leylandi but one called Summer Snow lovely green with white tips.

good morning all 16 degrees here already bright but not sunny.

Back is fine this morning after a good night's sleep. I was in bed early (10) as by 9 o'clock I had a problem with a sore eye which wouldn't stop watering. I think it was me touching my eye after doing something in the garden that caused it. A lot of the weeding, sorting etc I forgot to put gloves on so may have touced a plant that is an irritant (who knows which one). It was quite apinful and my nose was running too. I suppose it could have been some form of hay fever. It seems ok this morning which is just as well as I have to go to the optician to collect my new glasses.
Vera I should have said that I read both those books on Kindle so maybe they are not in paperback form yet. She has actually written a lot of books though. Just checked, the book is £6.99 on Kindle (so it does exist) and the kindle edition is free.

Mel I assume none of the tres are likely to be protected by any orders? Presumably he would be aware of that? Good to get rid of your Leylandi then.

Ann Just looking at the photos on facebook of the cart you and ex OH built. I do remember seeing it before but what a project that was. You were a very clever couple.

I was doing the pond filter this afternoon and knocked the leccy out so pc has been off all afternoon till now. Thanks for the comments on my pot garden and my babes in the filter shed. I have now had the mum Woodpecker and her two babies at the bird feeder and the two babies were chasing one another probably fighting over who gets the next lot of food. I had refilled the fat stick feeder and they love that.

You've been busy in the garden again Anng now don't do too much to hurt your back again. Give it a rest. You did get a lot done though, more than I have today.

Mandy your banana and biscoff muffins sounded nice. I don't think I have ever made a banana loaf. I am thinking of doing the coffee cake again but in a loaf tin and just icing the top.

We had sun this morning but it had gone by late afternoon. It was really quite warm after lunch. My young neighbour came down to say he was ging to cut some trees down adjoining my property and would it be ok to do so. We went up and hadd a look and I agreed. He also said he would take down a dead conifer I have up there so that would be good. He is taking an Arborial class and said he may havea go at my big ash tree later in the year when he's more confident. He also said he would take all the trimmings and burn them and the wood from the trees and stack it for seasoning so they can use it in their wood burner. He knows I have no open fires in this house. He's coming on Wednesday to do it and he's going to take some of the branches off the trees up there that are nearly hanging down to the ground. BIL was saying some needs to come off as he gets battered by them when he is mowing. I'm up for anything thats free. I also gave him the big strimmer a petrol one that oh had and gave up using because it hurt his injured shoulder. Apparently Aron's brother is an Arborialist.