General Chat

It is nice to have plants which have been passed on. I have a bush which my dad moved twice to different houses, then I brought it here. I also have rhubarb which is a bit of a family heirloom. On the patio, I have some of my mums planters, she told me to take them away during her last illness, so I would remember her when I watered them.

It has been very quiet over the weekend while they have been away. They will be back late afternoon, they have to stop somewhere to buy “ pretty dresses” for the girls as they are going to a wedding next weekend. I don’t think Eve is keen on pretty dresses anymore, shorts and a t shirt are more her thing these days.

It is very windy and chilly here. I wore a thin dress to go to slimming world and miraculously had only put half a pound on. As soon as Ingot home, I changed into trousers and a jumper

We have had a lovely warm day here a bit cloudy at times but no rain thanlfully as we had plenty yesterday. Been out in the garden tweaking plants and one of my new rose bushes has about fifteen blooms and some small buds as well , it is a really pretty deep pink but only a slight fragrance but can't have everything . When my sister died last year we brought some of her potted plants here and left them in a corner to wait to see what was in them, some have some pretty flowering plants and others different bulbs , daffs, tulips etc . Now I know I can decide where to put them as the ones that are toxic to pets will go in the front garden away from our dog who likes gardening . (digging )

Hope everyone looking in are having a good day .

Oh that was nice Linda, glad you enjoyed.

Having a very quiet day today as got sad news this morning. A cousin who I was good friends with(but my ex's cousin) died suddenly last light in her kitchen aged 64! Cant get my head around it at all, just so very sad :-(

Florence in the hebrides

It isn’t sunny here :-( It has been raining heavily through the night and hasn’t stopped yet.
We went out for Sunday lunch using a voucher my daughter gave us last Christmas. It was for three courses, plus coffee at a country house hotel, the type with stags heads on the wall. The food was lovely, so I am over full. I dread to think what the scales will say tomorrow :-(

Afternoon everyone
Glorious sunny day here and fairly warm at 17 degrees just a stiff breeze which is a pest as my long hair was all over the place and couldn't see where i was walking outside! But I didnt trip thank goodness.

Linda, I slept until 5am and drifted off til 9am and then got up. My side feels better today, def no cracked rib just a pulled muscle.

I have been working on my grandmothers family tree( her dad side) so difficult as her maiden name is spelt with many variations so taking longer to find births, marriages etc. But I have made some headway today.

Have no idea what to make for tea tonight. Yesterday, I made a mushroom carbonara, so quick and very tasty.

8 mushrooms sliced
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 tub of cream cheese(any)
spaghetti- However much you like.

I lightly fried the onions and mushrooms in some sesame seed oil with black pepper and some worcester sauce and some garlic puree(opt)
Added the cream cheese until melted.

Cook the spaghetti and drain
Put the cheese and mushroom mixture on top of spaghetti

Really tasty and enough for 2.

I think toasties will do me, not that hungry today.

Hope Joan, AnnG & JustGinnie are all doing ok and anyone else

Florence in the hebrides

I hope that your ribs are feeling better today Florence and that you haven’t broken one.

I have been cleaning and tidying up for most of the day. I need to buy yet another large plastic box to keep the toys tidy

Esme FaceTimed earlier, she has been having a great time. She did the Skyline dance class earlier and really enjoyed it. They went to the arcade as well and amazingly Esme won the jackpot twice. You get tickets from the machines when you win, they took a video of hers coming out, it took fifteen minutes. They had an enormous pile. You exchange them for prizes. She had a couple of reasonably decent things. Normally they lose money of course, but that is what arcades are for

I got a video tour of the apartment, it s a bit Hi-de-Hi, not quite Centre Parcs standard, but then it is far cheaper of course. As long as Esme is enjoying herself, they can put up with it for the weekend

Oh dear Linda, not so good for them.
Hope your eyebrow is ok. You were very lucky it didn't burn you. When soup splashes, its red hot, you have to be so careful.

Just sat all evening watching me soaps and Doc martin. Daughter already texting saying "they had a falling out." More worry for me but nothing I can do, but still worry for her as she is very vulnerable. She had a bad hypo at teatime as well but her bloods are settled now thank goodness.

I'm ok but feeling my left side of me ribs tonight, i probably pulled a muscle earlier.

Think an an early night for me as feeling quite tired tonight if only I could sleep the whole night!

Tomorrow is another day as they say.

Goodnight

Florence in the hebrides

I just got a text from my daughter, she said Esme is having a great time, but “Generally though it’s quite grim here, it’s definitely seen better days.The chalets are all made of wood and the one we’re in (which is the most expensive) definitely has rotting floor joists. It feels like a really ancient house with uneven floors”

Oh dear Florence, you are being accident prone, I hope your leg isn’t bruised.

They left at lunchtime, so I went to Tesco this afternoon, then I have been making three batches of soup for the freezer. I was using the stick blender on the last lot when it splashed out. Some of it landed on my eye just below my eyebrow. My glasses stopped it landing on my actual eyelid thank goodness. It is very sore, but it could have been worse.

I usually do the cleaning on a Friday, but I have left it until tomorrow, so I can have a really good go at it. I freeze any food left from the dinners I cook, so we are going to use them over the weekend. It will save me having to cook and free up some space it the freezer

Morning all

Well i have some time to myself as daughter decided on the spur of the moment to go away until Tuesday. I woke with a headache so actually having some peace & quiet will be fine.

I started tidying after she had gone and went to open the lounge window. I turned round and promptly tripped on her bean bag tray which she had left on the floor and I didnt see it. I went for a flyer but luckily fell onto the sofa! My poor left leg took the brunt and i burst into tears, partly with shock and partly with pain.

Oh my goodness. don't know what's happening with me lately, dropping things, knockings things and tripping up. Problem is, I cannot lift my left leg over obstacles as it doesn't bend so that's how I tripped over the tray.

So sitting for a bit just now as I was all shaky but I feeling better now.

Its dull and overcast and looking like rain soon so my plan to repot a plant is on hold for now. But it may clear up. At least it's not 40 degrees here, no way could I handle that!!

Linda, glad the birthday girl had a nice day. We always went to Pontins for our summer hols but thinking back, theres noway I would walk to the dining room in my pj's lol My mum made me enter the donkey derby and I fell off before it moved.

We went to Camber sands, Bracklesham Bay and others. I guess for the era..70's it's what you did with families back then but nowadays, not for me. It was very regimented with a daily programme of activities and we rarely left the camp to explore the local town etc.

Enjoy your peace & quiet whilst they are away though.

We have cleared the bookshelves and 5 boxes are sitting on the sofas full of books. The bookcases are now in daughter's room. Busy day on Monday as its bin day, grass cutters will be here at 10.30. Carpet fitters at 9.30 so an early rise for me.

Got lots more rosebuds about to open, about 20 so this year really "has been a good year for the roses"(Elvis Costello)

Well better go and see if the laundry is ready now.

Florence in the hebrides

In the late sixties and early seventies we went to Butlins several times, usually with another family so four adults and four children. We had a great time. But it was a different age, simple pleasures pre all the technology we live with now. I don’t think I would enjoy it now.

I don’t have any trouble reaching cupboards, I thought that I must have shrunk a bit, but I had my height measured a few weeks ago during a medical and I was still 5 ft 7 and a half

Esme really enjoyed her birthday yesterday, we went to the local Italian restaurant after school, then had cake at home. She got lots of presents of course and is very fond of the huge blow up unicorn,

I went to a funeral this morning, someone from the cinema who was eighty six, a really nice chap. It was in the church just a couple of hundred yards away, the church was really full. We didn’t go to the wake as we weren’t that close.

I can hear my daughter clattering around upstairs, she is packing. They are picking Esme up after lunch at school and they are going to Butlins until Monday. I must admit that Butlins is somewhere I have never wanted to go to, we usually go to Centre Parcs every year, that is more to my taste

Esme loves the Skyline Gang and watches lots of you tube videos.They are the Butlins children’s entertainers, all singing and dancing with costumes and wigs so that lots of different people in the different camps can do the same routines. She has two of the costumes. They will be going to four shows and she is signed up for a dance class. I don’t think Eve is terribly enthralled by it, but there is swimming and other activities, so she will probably enjoy that. It is a shame that the weather is going to be so bad over the weekend. On the bright side, it means we get a few days to ourselves

Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow, it's only a day away la la la :-D

Afternoon all
Its fairly bright and sunny here but not overly warm There is quite a breeze too.

Happy Birthday to Esme Linda bless her, hope she has a fun day and you have a nice day with eve and your friend too.

Joan my bruise expanded but the lump has subsided. It is now various shades of purple & yellow! It still hurts if i knock it .

i had 2 minor accidents. One involving a tin of daughters pepsi max. I was in the cupboard above and accidently caught the can which fell and landed on my toes.....ouch is what I said lol So 2nd toe is bruised and black looking but thabkfully didnt break. Then trying to get a tin of beans down with my grabber and it slipped and caught my big toe which has a matching bruise.

Honestly, I'm a walking disaster but daughter was away in town and I couldnt wait until 5pm before she would be home to help me. The problem is I can no longer stand on a chair so getting things off higher shelves can be a problem. I have resorted the shelves several times putting things i use more on the bottom but what I wanted was on the top.

Daughter facetimed me from the garden centre and has bought a nice plant with pink flowers??? Not much left now with all bedding plants gone. Lots of roses in pots at £14.99 each!!! The roses I bought earlier were all around £7-8.

Anyway I have been busy emptying all my books from the 2 bookshelves so just the bookcases to move now then all ready for carpet in hall on Monday.

Argyllgran, thanks for the onfo. The tin just has a date without best before or use by. Im thinking if I open it and use in the breadmaker, it will be ok but once opened as its long past the date, it might not be ok to use some other time?

I'm very funny with milk anyway and can only take a splash in my coffee and if this upset my stomach, i'm thinking I could be quite unwell so have decided not to use it.

Think we bought it during lockdown for emergency use but never used it!

AnnG, the original lady didn't take the carpet but re- advertised and a man came that very evening and took it away. As for my bruise, yes maybe I did it in my sleep, as its still a mystery and still sore.

Joan, its annoying when that happens with the rain as yesterday, i took scissors', a little bag and me stick and went out to de-head but as soon as i stepped outside the rain started. However, luckily it didn't last too long and I managed to get out and tidy up the pots. Hope your rain clears away soon.

Well better wash up me lunch things and put away the dishes and then coffee time.

Florence in the hebrides

Edit; Just been told, we are have another viewing on sat for mums property so fingers crossed :-D

I am always awake early Ann, the radio comes on at seven, but I am always waiting for it. I don’t get up until much later as I doze and look at my iPad.
We were up at 7.20 this morning for the birthday girl, I thought it would be much earlier, but she slept in. We all came down so she could open her large pike of presents, There is also a huge blow up unicorn in the lounge, just what we wanted :-D

I am taking Eve out today with my next door neighbour. We are going to do a historic walking trail around old Hartlepool. I have done it before and it is very interesting The German navy shelled it in 1914, destroying lots of houses and killing lots people

Linda Happy birthday to Esme, It doesn't seem possible that she is ten. The same age as my eldest Great Grandson. I hope the botox works as with their being no wound problems afterwards it must be much better for her. Maybe the next time she will remember that it was not so bad and won't be frightened, which will make it easier on Mum and staff.

It is fairly bright here this morning although there are rain clouds around. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep so am early on here. Probably before everyone else is awake.

Esme’s Botox went well. It has to be a general anaesthetic because apparently it is very painful and they have to keep absolutely still. While she was out, they also took two skin tags off, one just under her eye and one on her nostril.
They only did one leg and it will be a while before they know if it has worked. If it does, they will then do the other leg. Her leg wasn’t even sore, she was jumping around dancing to the tv when she got home. She had two large white plasters over the puncture wounds and she didn’t like them, so her mum swapped them for small plasters, but even they had to come off at bed time. She had a runny nose and that was making the little wound on her nostril sore. She took Katie her best doll with her. Katie went into the theatre as well and when she came out, she had one arm professionally bandaged because apparently she has a broken arm.
By this morning she was fine and has had a good day at school. Tomorrow is her tenth birthday, so she is very excited about that. It will be party day at school. She is taking money in and they order pizzas for the class. She also has balloons and a birthday cake, plus party bags for the other five children in her class. They make sure the children have a good day,

Re the dried milk - I would think it's OK to use.

Is that a "use by" date or just "best before" ?

From a Google search:

Dry milk retains quality for a couple of years if stored properly. Even if it's a year or two past its date, it still makes sense to give it a go. More often than not, prepared milk will be just fine in terms of taste. Nonfat dry milk retains quality for longer than a whole-fat one.
https://www.canitgobad.net/can-powdered-milk-go-bad/


Powdered milk can go bad, but it takes awhile. Most manufacturers recommend using powdered milk (also known as dried milk) within 18 months, but this is really just a "best by" date. According to the USDA, powdered milk can be stored indefinitely. An unopened package is probably still usable for 2 to 10 years after the printed "best by" date. Some survival stores sell nonfat dry powdered milk labeled with a 25-year shelf life.
But the shelf life does depend on the type of powdered milk. Nonfat powdered milk lasts longer than powdered whole milk or buttermilk, as fat is less stable. As such, nonfat dried milk is preferred for long-term food storage. If you are looking at the label of dried whole milk, you will want to use it up soon after the "best by" date.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/does-powdered-milk-go-bad-1388298

The tin of Marvel dried milk is dated Mar 2021 but is sealed so anyone know if it would still be ok to use in the breadmaker or indeed still use it? Does it go off?

Afternoon everyone.

After doing some ironing, i was so hot & bothered so decided to venture outside as it was dry but breezy.

I started de-heading some flowers and weeding some of the pots. Was getting on quite well and then daughter came out and said" mum ,look at the sky in the distance."
It was so black and thundery looking so quickly finished off and now indoors waiting for the heavens to open.

Yesterday, I went through my cookery book shelf and removed all those bits of paper with recipes on and wrote them in my recipe book. So huge pile of paper to be shredded but now the shelf is tidy and got rid of 3 very old cookery books which I think came from a charity shop years ago!.

But in tidying, I found my breadmaker recipe book from the new machine & the previous one so maybe going to make something later on.

Linda poor thing. Esme was obviously terrified and found the whole thing upsetting. I hope she is settled today and all went well?

Well the rain hasnt come and the black clouds are moving away :-S Was so expecting a clap of thunder but glad there wasn't.

Not sure about tea tonight. I'm hungry but just fed up with food lol. I have exhausted all my usual recipes so who knows.

Hope everyone well today

Florence in the hebrides