General Chat

Foggy this morning and only 2 degrees again. I’m just off to the shops again, this time to get some shopping for a friend who has just had a knee replacement op and isn’t mobile yet. Hope the redness and itch has gone from your fingers AnnG.

Might be back later.

Morning all,

Another hard frost this morning and now the suns up and the skies blue with a vapour trail to the north. Its 3 degrees and once again pc is telling me partly sunny. I hope it stays all day as can always get on better with jobs when it does and I need to get the cobweb brush out. The little blighters are invisable whenit dul;l and dreary even with the lights on.

Hope you all slept well. I did just up once in the night then went right off again.

Good morning all, another very frosty one and still minus two here. Lovely sunny morning with pale blue sky. Nothing planned today except for Tesco this afternoon 3-4.

For many years I have worn 4 rings on my right hand with no problems. Yesterday evening I had to take them off (tight mut manageable) because around the rings and between my fingers it was all red and sore. Trying to think if I have used anything that could have irritated them but the left hand is fine and there are four rings on there too. I shall have to leave the rings off for a while now until the itch goes away. Strangely I washed my hair yesterday morning and it was a new bottle of shampoo, but the same make I always use. I will have to check if any of the ingredients have changed.

Mel that was a lot of walking around on your poorly foot. Has the swelling gone down?

Vera it must be a bit of a rush trying to fit everything in to one trip to town because of the car park fees. Is it really expensive to park now? I am just wondering if it would be better for your health to maybe accept it and pay up and enjoy your visit to the shops.

I hope you can get a plumber to come now. They do seem to be able to afford to pick and choose jobs these days.

Well I wonder where that birthday card has been hiding Vera!!!! It was posted a bit late and I asked Em to post it for me. O well at least it arrived better late than never. ;-)

BIL ended up looking for the battery charger he bought but could'nt find it in his car or in the garage so he has taken my old one.

I cleaned the girls out this morning and then late afternoon after BIL had gone I did both ponds I must admit they hav'nt been done for a couple of weeks.

Iv'e had this boot on a week now and they said to keep it on for 2 to 4 weeks. Its so annoying because I can't gp round to the chickens with it on and have to put my boots on for that. I also am gpoing to need chickens food soon and a bale of woodshavings so I am hoping I can drive soon.

Mel, thank you for your lovely birthday card which arrived at lunchtime today. It hadn’t even been franked so goodness knows where it has been. Bil does seem to have problems with your mowers but it’s good that you like the way the new one is cutting. I like the sound of that sausage and cranberry wreath.

What a strange thing to happen to your washing machine Gwyn. The gremlins have got at it. Enjoy your Welsh cakes. After my cousin died some years ago her husband married a lady from Wales and she always brings a big tin full of Welsh cakes to any family gathering.

Could you please come and tidy my garden when you have finished yours Mandy? It has been so neglected over the winter and really needs a good sort out.

After a cold, frosty night the sun came out and it has been a beautiful day but really chilly. I had to go into town for a haircut. I had saved lots of jobs to do in town. As we now have to pay for parking I try to do as much as possible in one go but what a frustrating morning I had. I drew some cash at the bank and went to the counter as I wanted £10 of the money in £1 coins. Would you believe a major bank could only rustle up 8 £1 coins so I had 4 x 50p as well. Then I went to Boots with a list of 3 things and they hadn’t got 2 of them Next it was Roys. They had what I wanted but there was only 1 checkout open and the queue snaked halfway round the shop. It was just a young lad there and he kept using his tannoy to ask for any trained colleagues to help at the checkouts and just as I got near the head of the queue 2 arrived to open other tills. In the queue I was watching the minutes tick away and thinking my parking ticket would be expiring. In the end I got back to my car with just 2 minutes to spare.

When I got home I asked OH if the plumber had phoned. He said no and he would have to go back to the original one. That’s when I found that this time he had contacted a more local, cheaper plumber. The one who came in originally was pretty expensive but it will be worth paying his prices to get the job done. Added to that we now have condensation between the panes of a double glazed unit in the kitchen so we’ve had a glazier in today to look at that and give us a price to replace it. He did one for us a few years ago. The windows have a semicircular strip of metal near the top between the panes which gives an arched effect so he’ll come on Monday, take the window out and put a single sheet of glass in temporarily and will take out the metal arch bit from the old window and put it into a new double glazed window. Then he’ll be back to take the temporary one out and put the new one in. What with loft boarding, plumbing and glazing and we have also agreed a price to have the outside of the house painted, I shall be doing a Frank and screaming MORE EXPENSE from the rooftops.

I feel a nice hot cup of tea or maybe coffee calling me and then I have to go on a computer hunt for a file that I seem to have accidentally moved. I know it is on the computer still but I think I’ve somehow shunted it into a different folder, It’s that sort of week, lol.

Forgot to say AnnG
Here is a link to a captioned photo of the planets.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/astrophotographer-captures-rare-planetary-parade-as-7-planets-align-in-the-night-sky-photo/ar-AA1zQmsN?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=ACTS&cvid=fcf6722af6244d279eeb7b30e8bd0837&ei=12

Well that was odd with your washing machine display not lighting up Gwyn , good it's working again ,now your going to be wondering if it will do it again .
Bet its smelling good with the Welsh cakes cooking and yes Mel I've done them in my frying pan and they cooked fine .
I think they can be done in the air fryer too.

Mel you could make some sausage rolls with a little cranberry sauce mixed in with the sausage meat or just layed on the top of the sausage meat ,I cheat and buy the ready rolled puff pastry now when I make sausage rolls

Suns still shining ,its been a beautiful day for a change .

The only time I have had welsh cakes is when we went on the narrow boat in wales. There was a nice plate of them on the table with a small pot of cream and a jar of jam. I really fancy one now. Could I bake them in a big frying pan? as I hav'nt got a griddle.

BIL went up to get the new mower from by Em's in her fathers closed barn and it would'nt start!!!! He came down here and had been cutting grass with the old mower and he took the battery off that and took it up to the new one and it started first time so now the new battery is on charge. I must say that the new mower is making the grass look good.

I bought in LIdl at Christmas a sausage and cranberry wreath thing. It was all wrapped in puff pastry so I cooked that this morning and it was delish. We had some for lunch and I still have a bit left which I shall have tonight with salad. I like to cook in the morning when the suns shining as I don't use much leccy with having the solar panels.

I wish Lidl would do one for an easter wreath, I'd buy a couple. Wish I had bought two at the time now as there was two left in the cabinet. I should have known they would be good with only two left.

I cleaned the girls out this morning and when I went round there there was one of the old black ones inthe nest box and she then came out so I shut them all in the run and you should have heard the carring on she made cos she was shut out. anyway once I had done it and let them back in she went straight in the nest box so I thought thats another brown egg today.
Took BIL some luch round, a piece of the ring and a big cheese and pickle roll and fresh orange juice and while he was eating it I saw she was in the run so went to collect the egg thinking it may be a big one as she was disturbed. There in the nice clean nest was a brown egg but not even the size of a pigeons egg.!!! :-( Bless her she tried.

Its lovely out there in the sun but still chilly in a shady place. pc now says mostly sunny and 9 degrees. Better go and see if I can do the pond filters now.

:-D :-D :-D Vera. The area might be lively, but I didn't feel lively this morning :-|

I had gathered some washing together last night and loaded the washing machine ready to switch on when I woke this morning.This system works well for me and means I can do a wash load, while the cheaper overnight tarrif is still in play.
For some reason, I couldn't get the machine to switch on. I even tried taking out the plug and moving it to a nearby one,but still the display light was not lighting, so I switched it all off and went to sit in the living room and started to watch TV.
I must have dozed off and next I knew I was waking from a sleep and having a dream about living in a shared house and telling the other occupants that the washing machine was broken.
Back into the kitchen to make a cuppa and looked at the machine again. Switched on and set the programme and off it went all back to normal :-S
Goodness knows what happened earlier, as we certainly didn't have a power cut, but it obviously was playing on my mind if I ended up dreaming about the wretched thing :-| :-|
I can manage without some things, but the thought of doing all the washing by hand and then trying to wring it out dry enough to put on the airer was not good.

Anyway, beautiful sunshine this morning, although it is rather chilly. We've had no frost though.

It is good to get out Ann. I haven't been to Cheltenham since the early '70s when there seemed to be an upper part and a lower part. It has probably changed a lot since then. I used to catch a bus in from nearby Swindon Village, where we rented a bungalow, when first married.

Welsh cakes are being made in our kitchen :-D
Daughter is busy cutting them out, before a mammoth cooking session. As she says, it's not actually hard to make them, just labour intensive, as you have to stand over them rather than pop a batch into the oven and come back later.
Hopefully they are good and we will share some with son and elder daughter.

Afternoon all,

It's been a nice sunny day ,bit chilly first thing but I've been out in the garden doing a bit of weeding and tidying up, filled a tub and could have done a bit more but thought no think of your back so I stopped hopefully I can do a bit more tomorrow,if was nice to get out and be in the sunshine.
I came in for coffee then did a few indoor jobs .

Sounds as if you filled Stuart up with a good meal Mel , how's the foot now have you still got the boot on .

good job he was not early Mel or you would have still been in bed. :-D

BIL is here

Morning only just got up at 10am.

Its bright and sunny and 5 degrees at the mo but there was a hard frost last night before I went to bed and still some this morning when I awoke. The girls were all in the sunshine this morning when I looked out of the window. Pc is telling me its going to be partly sunny but at the mo theres a clear lue sky.

Slept right through the night no comfort break but did I need toget there this morning!!
Enjoy your photography group this afternoon Anng and I hope everyone else had a good night too as well as us.

Good morning all. it is a lovely bright sunny morning but is only -1 degree and there is a frost. I won't be going out this morning but will be going to photography group this afternoon. Slept well again last night got up twice in the night and once at 0615.

Gwyn I looked for the planets but wasn't sure if the 'three' were supposed to be close together or not. I could see one from early on, I am guessing Venus as it was really big and bright, then a bit later there was another one, in a straight line but not close. Never saw a a third.

That is interesting mel about your ancestors. I guess they would have been quite a large employer in the area.
Glad Stu enjoyed his meal, it sounds nice.

My ancestors worked in the Tiptree jam factory.

A good meal with Stu tonight and he went home full to the brim. I offered him another stuff potato but he said he was full up. We had the bacon and maple syrup sausages, carrots, broccoli, and creamy leeks and stuff jacket pots. A recipe from my school days except I did'nt eat cheese when young so I put marmite and onion in mine.

I haven’t heard of Pennywoods Vera so I guess it was not there in the 70s I do know Tiptree though. Isn’t it where they make jam? If not I am sure we used to go somewhere there to buy jam. It is strange but there used to be somewhere in that area that we would go with friends taking a picnic for a day out, it was I think In The grounds of a house. Weird that it sticks in my mind but I can’t really remember where it was except near Tiptree. These are the times I wish T was here to ask him.

And yes I went for a wander round Cheltenham, a few more shops than Gloucester and there is John Lewis.

That made me laugh Vera.

Ade came today and I did'nt hear him arrive so was surprised to see him in the orchard clearing away the brash from the big apple tree. He's put it all over the side of the orchard where we can work away at it gradually.

I did some hoovering and I think I may have ruined its rubber belt with gravel going up it as it started to smell. I hav'nt touched it since but did check the roller was going roung so maybe it had some of my hair in it. Just starting dinner but not heard from Stu yet so I hope he is coming.

A damp, grey start to the day though it brightened up by lunchtime. However, it’s very cold with a bitter wind.

Gwyn, you live in a lovely area. I hope it warms up a bit before the bulk of the lambs are born. There are a few animals round here but it is mostly arable farming. A lot of the farmland is now being turned into housing estates which seems very short-sighted to me. I know people need housing but once farmland is taken out of production it will never come back and we will have to import more food at whatever price is demanded.

Did you go into town today AnnG? Yes, I’ve just seen your post saying you went to Cheltenham. We were out and about a bit today. We started at our local Perrywoods. The main shop is a huge, independent garden centre near Tiptree in Essex which wins lots of awards. When our little local Wyevale closed they purchased it and quite a bit of land round it. They improved and developed the old Wyevale and are now developing the land. When it is all done it will be enormous. I have one of their loyalty cards so they sent me a voucher for a free scone during my birthday month. It expires tomorrow. I wouldn’t have gone just for a free scone but one of my presents was a Perrywoods voucher so I had that to spend as well. I had the biggest fruit scone I’ve ever seen and it came with 3 pats of butter and a little pot of jam. It was freshly made and yummy and plenty to share between us. Then I spent my voucher on a robust bird feeder. We’ve just broken one of ours so I got a more solid replacement. We are getting lots of birds now. Instead of 2 or 3 goldfinches we are getting flocks of them. Great and blue tits, a robin, a couple of greenfinches, the usual blackbirds and pigeons are very regular visitors and for the last few days we have had 2 blackcaps.

After Perrywoods we went on to Tesco as I had a number of vouchers there which expire tomorrow. We got several pairs of socks for OH and there was just £1 left on my vouchers when I noticed some nice shower gel on offer at £1 so I got that as well. When we got back we had lunch. I had a load of cold chicken left so OH made a couple of sandwiches and stuffed the whole lot of chicken between the bread slices, plus we had lots of salad stuff with it. I decided that was the equivalent of a dinner so I have just made some soup for tonight. I found the recipe in a Book of Soups and adapted it for the soupmaker. It was Creamy Carrot and Parsnip Soup. I had all the ingredients so gave it a go. It smells good but is a very thick puree. I don’t think I’ll put cream in it but when I reheat it I’ll thin it down a bit with a little milk.

We are still waiting to hear back from the plumber. OH emailed him and he said he would ring us……this year, next year, sometime, never. If he doesn’t ring back soon he may find OH has looked elsewhere. Thank goodness the smell went away completely but we still need the repair done to the pipe or it might come back.

I slept quite well last night. I woke a few times but went back to sleep fairly quickly and didn’t get up at all. Here’s hoping we all have a good night tonight.

Gwyn, I have just read this through and had to laugh at the typos I made. I had put “Gwyn, you love in a lively area”.

I went to Cheltenham this morning for a change but I had forgotten how tiring I find it for some reason. I think it is a bit more spread out with the shops I want to look at. I did buy a couple of long sleeved tops in M&S sale but nothing else. I had coffee and pancakes (small ones) with maple syrup and a latte in John Lewis as early lunch. Came home fairly early as my back was aching, no idea why. Still I enjoyed being somewhere different.