General Chat

Hello from a lovely sunny & warm day here in Aberdeenshire.
I have been outside & emjoyed doing what I could manage to do, which isn't much these days, usually dealing with weeds & clippinf back straggly plants.
It would be good to be able to get down to the soil level but I can't do that anymore, if I was to crouch down I would never get up again.

The daffies are fading now, some are still looking good but they are the latter plantings, lots of Grape Hyacinths on show some of which are self seeders & so some are not in the "right" place but not bothered.

Just waiting for the Bluebells to flower, there are lots of clumps..
The part of the hedge that I thought was dead has erupted & is well covered in leaves, fingers crossed it will flower, lovely to see that it's alive, I really thought it was gone for good.

I had the company of a Hare whilst I was outside, when I first got up & drew back the curtains a hare was just running past the window, & whilst weeding one was sitting in the field alongside the fencing close to where \i was working, there are usually 2 of them & I often see them running around or boxing ! LOL.
They seem very bold.

I hope everyone else is having a nice day.

Joan.

Thanks Florence , yes my leg has healed now after a lot of Anti Bs and dressings etc. it has left me with scarring and very dry skin on that leg but all healed now. I am trying to remember to wear trousers and socks in the garden now as still not sure if it was an insect bite that started it off .
I am hoping that this year will be slightly less rain than last year and more sunny days. I am not a lover of heat but do like some sun.

Joan I think we get used to the quieter days when our children grow and leave home and when the gr/children come along the noise and energy from them is lovely but sometimes overwhelming. My gr/children are all adults now but still noisy. lol.

That's good that Esme's new medication works so well and quickly for her, Linda.

Will one of your neighbours water the plants for you while you're away, Florence?

Packing for a trip always starts days in advance for me - and then I usually find I've packed far more clothes than turn out to be needed.
The trouble with going away in the UK is the very changeable weather. Even looking ahead at the forecast, it's hard to know quite what it's going to be like.

A friend of mine is away for a week (in Scotland) at the moment, and has only taken a small backpack. I don't know how she does it!
But, come to think of it, she is staying in a self-catering apartment, so will be able to wash clothes if necessary.

I had my Covid jab on Thursday, with no ill-effects, apart from a slightly tender arm for a few hours.

Afternoon everyone.
Florence you are such a busy lady,but you seem to enjoy what ever it is you have to do. The tunnel sounds great, you must be so pleased with how all the things you are growing are coming along.

I haven't managed to do any serious gardening work for about a week due to the constant April showers we've had recently, I spent a bit of time last Monday weedkilling through the gravelled areas but due to the rain coming on soon after I did it it just got washed it away

It was nice to see daughter etc but trying to have a decent conversation was difficult with the boys constantly asking their mum various questions, I would have loved a wee while with just my daughter but it wasn't to be !.

I did make use of son in law though & got him to clip some loong bits from the top of the hedge, I did most of it a while back but there were some right at the top that were too thick for me so had to leave them until the visit.
It looks fine now.

Joan.

My arm is much better now, just noticeable when I turn over in bed, but that is better than catching Covid.

I only half got out with Esme. When I went to collect her she was fine, although she hadn’t eaten her breakfast. Her mum said that she had a bad night, moaning in her sleep. That was an ominous sign as her monthly stomach migraine was due this week. Anyway we set off, but half way up the motorway she started saying that her tummy was hurting. That got worse and worse, but it was a long way until I could turn off. She was crying because she was desperate to go to Lightwater Valley, but by the time I could turn around, she was demanding to be taken to the hospital. I was expecting her to be sick all over the car, but we managed to get all the way back and her mum was waiting for us on the e drive bowl in hand. She opened the car door, put the bowl in front of Esme who promptly threw up, so that was a close shave. As soon as they got her in, they gave her the medicine which the hospital supplies. It used to be in liquid form, but invariably she would end up in the children’s ward on a drip. A month ago, they changed it to a nasal spray and that really works better. Within a couple of hours, she was starting to feel better and even wanted some food. The same happened last month, so the new format is a distinct improvement. By yesterday she was absolutely fine, so I was recruited to spend part of the afternoon in the hot tub with her while her mum did housework. OH helped son in law to take a huge amount of rubbish to the recycling centre.

I have spent the afternoon in school hearing the reception class read. They are so cute blending their words, but the tables and chairs are tiny, so difficult to get up from .
,

Afternoon all

Another sunny dry day here although a slight chilly breeze.

I have been busy ironing, making up daughters bed so the suitcases can go on top ready to start packing.

We have a busy busy week with a raft of various appointments and today have to go to another surgery some 25 miles away to collect a prescription which wasnt planned!!

But I made good progress today so everything going to plan so far.

Joan glad you enjoyed the family visit but I find and will find very soon, that family visits can be like an Irish Parliament with everyone talking at once! All asking us questions at the same time lol But all the same its good to catch up isnt it?

Hope you have good weather so you are out in the garden.

Polytunnel is now a daily watering session so time consuming but I love it when we go in and you can see the plants that have grown more since the day before! We already have some strawberries now that will be a fruit very soon as the flowers have dropped off.

Tomato plants are starting to get flowers now too.

JustGInnie, glad you are ok, nice to see you popping in. You sound as if you are also busy in your garden.

Did you leg ever heal up eventually?

Linda, hope your arm isnt too sore and you got out with Esme ok

ArgyllGran, hope all is good with you too and anyone else looking in.

Long may the sun shine :-D

Florence in the hebrides

I am glad that you enjoyed your family visit Joan, but it is nice to have a bit of peace and quiet.
The roofers finished off this morning, so it looks very swish now, but the alarm boxes look quite tatty now as they are next to the new boards. After the scaffolding was taken away OH went around to the neighbours garden to tidy up the area between the two houses where the scaffolders had been. There were various bits of old wood which they had moved, so he stacked everything up nicely. While he was doing that he found a plastic box under a small pile of stones. Inside it is a door key, our neighbour must have put it there in case he got locked out. We retrieved it and will give it to the son next time he visits. He may know about it, but probably not. If he does, he can hide it again.

We went for our Covid boosters this morning,I didn’t feel it go in, but my arm is starting to feel a bit sore when I lift it up. I hope it doesn’t get too bad as I am taking Esme to Lightwater Valley tomorrow and that men’s lifting her wheelchair in and out of the car.

Good afternoon.
Very changable weather for us atm, sunny one minute then rain the next, & windy.
Daughter & her family have gone back home to lanark today & I have to say I am enjoying the peace & quiet !!

It was lovely to see them all but the 2 boys ( 9 & 5 ) are soo boystous & loud & never stop talking/shouting, I found it difficult to have a conversation with daughter !

Not done much today apart from tidying up the living room & having a wee nap, too wet to go into garden so just enjoying the quiet & calmness around me.

Joan.

I hope that you are enjoying your family time Joan.

The roofers have gone for the day, they seem to leave about 2.30pm, but they have been starting about 8.30am and their depot is a good thirty minutes from here. For the past two days, we have had two vans instead of the one we had on the first day, so they have really cracked on with the job. They just have a small amount left to do tomorrow morning and a final tidy up. The scaffolding company are supposed to be coming this afternoon to remove the scaffolding on the side of the house between us and the neighbour, so I hope they turn up. The scaffolding is actually on the neighbours land, but we do have a right of access for maintenance. The house is empty as our neighbour died and the son still hasn’t got the probate through yet. We did get permission from the son to put the scaffolding up, he was fine about it. I am pleased that the work has been done on that side of the house though and we shouldn’t need access for anything again as once the house is sold, you never know how accommodating the new people might be.

Your scones and jam sound lovely Florence, but I need to knuckle down to lose some weight, so I can’t have any.

Hello all, we have sunshine at the moment but some grey clouds looming so am keeping an eye out for rain as I have some washing on the line .It should be almost dry so will be getting it in soon.

Hope you are enjoying your family time Joan, it's lovely when you get a visit isn't it?


Florence you seem to be out and about so much more now which is so much nicer for you and you sound very happy . Seems like your growing plenty again in your tunnel . Lovely to have fresh veg etc. that you have grown yourself.
Enjoy you time away hopefully the weather will be kind for you.

Linda we had our guttering etc replaced a few years ago and they still look good and bonus is they don't need painting . There is always something to do with a house so it's good when things get done and last a long time.

Hope everyone is ok and having some good weather.

Morning all....just

Much quieter day here as the wind has really gone down and its dry...for now.

Last 2 days I had a sinus infection which gave me a bad headache borderline migraine but today, I think its cleared up a bit and headache gone.

So with a renewed sense of energy, i have just made 2 batches of oven flour scones. Had to try one of course with the jam i also made 2 days ago and....very yummy.

So we are visiting our friends who live around the corner later and I shall be taking the other jar of jam and some scones for them to share.

Daughter now away and we wont see her until we meet at Glasgow airport 30 April to fly south for 2 weeks.

So with her room empty I can start packing and planning things to take away. Our poochie is staying with a friend who also has 3 yorkies so will need to sort out all her bits and pieces before we take her over on the 29 April.

Along with various appointments etc, we are now very busy until we fly off.

Joan, hope you are enjoying your family around you and that maybe they will take you out somewhere for a ride or lunch maybe?

Hope everyone else looking in is keeping well today

Florence in the hebrides

Good morning.
Belated Birthday wishes Linda.

Well the sun is shining & just a little breeze at the moment, it's not very warm though.
I'm all ready for my visitors & looking forward to the Fish supper that we always have when daughter comes to stay, I haven't had one since daughter was last here before Christmas, LOL.

I miss the weekly treat Jack & I enjoyed sitting in the car by the harbour.

Off to prepare something light to eat before the gang arrive, probably just a sandwich as I don't want to spoil my appetite !

Joan.

That was nice to have a break with your old friend AG. I always think that it is strange how you don’t see someone for ages, but then you pick up as if it was just yesterday.

We are surrounded by workmen as we are having all of the soffit boards, dry verges etc replaced by plastic ones. It is the last large job which needs doing on the house. It comes with a thirty year warranty- what a pity we won’t be there to see it out :-(
The current ones need painting and as the house is built into a slope, we would have needed to pay for scaffolding as well as the cost of the paint, so we decided to bite the bullet and get the whole lot changed, then we won’t need to worry about it when we are even older and doddering

Morning all

Happy Birthday for yesterday Linda. Hope you enjoyed your day and got spoilt.

Well on Saturday we popped over to town for a few bits but i really wish we hadnt!! Oh my the driving rain and severity of the wind made walking through town a nigh impossibility. I could hardly balance and my stick was nearly blown out of my hand. Just dreadful.

We went later to the hospital to visit daughters best friend who had just had a baby boy. Very cute looking.
We had bought various bits and pieces, clothes ,toiletries to help out as she wont be going to town yet. I always stocked up when I had my children so didnt run out in the early days.

Anyway was so glad to get home and on Sunday, the gale was even worse!!! I didnt sleep for 2 nights the noise was deafening and droning like a broken hoover.

So today, its dry, the sun is out and the wind...well its gone down but very cold so a better day and hopefully will improve as the week goes on.

Joan hope you visitors arrive safely and Im sure your house will be just tip top. Remember they are coming to see you not the house!!

The polytunnel has sprung into life and lots of growth in all the plants potatoes sprouting all over, beetroot and sugarsnap peas growing very quickly.

The peony seeds are now huge plants so next month will be able to put outside along with the fuchsias from last year. The cuttings I took from it are now 7 plants and already thriving in 2 tubs, so very chuffed they worked out.

Climbing roses are now in tubs outside the front door with a trellis on each side. Cant wait until the plants start growing.

ArgyllGran, glad you had a lovely time in Inverness as quite a trek on the bus but fab, you can catch it near to you.

Well better crack out as 3 lines of washing out and towels in the machine are spinning now and then going outside. Its so great not having to tumble it all and smells so much better for being in the fresh air.

Florence in the hebrides

Happy belated birthday, Linda!

I went to Inverness by bus at the weekend, for a long overdue catch-up with an old friend.
We've been promising each other to do it for years, and finally got round to it!
Neither of us lives in Inverness, but it's reasonably handy for both of us.

We thought we'd better not leave it much longer, given our ages! She's older than me.

Alternate sunshine and heavy rain, with a strong cold wind.
We strolled around the town, stopping for a coffee/tea part-way, then had a lovely meal in a restaurant on Saturday evening.
Lots of chat!

We stayed overnight in a hotel, and went our separate ways on Sunday.

The new Ember bus between Oban and Inverness stops at the top of my road if pre-booked - such a wonderful convenience!

It was a good weekend, but I was glad to come home to my own bed!

I us the Flash speed mop. That is a pack of disposable white cloths soaked in a very nice smelling cleaning solution, they clip onto a special mop, you then throw the cloth away. I do half the floor and you can see the dirt on the cloth, so I then turn it inside out to do the rest of the floor. I think they are very good.

We had a very nice day out yesterday for my birthday. We went to Haworth, which is about an hours drive.We had a nice lunch then went to the Brontë museum. I have been before, but many years ago. Then it was back to my daughters for cake with candles

I was doing school reading with the reception class today. Last term, I was reading to them, but now I am listening to them read. It is basic phonics, but it is amazing how well they are doing in after just two terms at school

I hope that you have a nice time with your family Joan, at least the weather has improved.

Good afternoon to all.
A lovely sunny day here today, nice change from the miserable wet & windy days we've had over the weekend.
It's a bit breezy which is keeping the temperature on the cool side but it didn't stop me from going outside to do some weedkilling & re fill the bird feeders..

I've had a busy day making sure the house is clean & tidy ready for my visitors, ( daughter & family) who are coming tomorrow, need to be sure the kitchen floor is up to scratch for one of the grandsons who is more then happy to point out any "mucky" marks, even if it is him & his brother who make them !!

Talking about cleaning the floors has anyone used the new ....Flash Direct To Floor ... cleaning product ?
I used it for the first time today on the bathroom & kitchen laminated floors, I struggle lifting the usual mop bucket out of the sink when it has water in it so decided to try the new stuff.
I LOVE it, just squirt directly onto the floor & mop over it with a dry mop, brilliant, & it has a lovely smell.

Joan.

I had a good day yesterday taking Esme to Lightwater Valley for the second time in a week. At least it helped her parents who were both working. It wasn’t a bad day, no rain and not too cold. Today it is very sunny outside, but it is really cold. I just went down to the greenhouse to check on my seeds and emptied the kitchen recycling bin into the large outside bin. I was glad to get back inside as it is bitterly cold outside there.
OH has just cut the grass in the front garden, that is a much easier job since we dug it all up from the back garden. He says he is going to wash the car now because he usually does it on Sunday, but we are going out for the day. It definitely needs the windscreen washing because yesterday when I came back to the car to drive home, I discovered that a flying bird had splattered the windscreen with droppings. I got what I could off using the wipers as it was in front of my face, but I couldn’t get it all off.

Morning all

So, after all that wind, today we have beautiful sunshine and so far a great day especially for the washing. Before the rain came late afternoon yesterday. I had 2 lines of washing out and dried in an hour and only needed 5 minutes in the drier...fab :-D

Im home alone until late afternoon as daughter gone to visit her friend in hospital who had her first baby yesterday teatime, a boy weighing in at 8lb 9oz....we breed them big up here :-D We are going over to visit tomorrow afternoon with gifts etc.

The car is in the garage getting new brake shoes/pads etc and wont be ready until afternoon so OH is shuffling from coffee shop to coffee shop to pass the time bless him. Last time it was pouring hard so at least today hes in the sunshine although a little chilly.

As for me, pottering around the house tidying up and looking after poochie.

Hope everyone else looking in is having a good day

Florence in the hebrides

Hi Ann.
I was shocked whn I noticed how bare & dead looking it was as usualy it keeps its leaves throughout the winter months.
It has been in situ for many years without any problems, always put out lots of growth with both leaves & flowers.

Lots of new growth coming from existing branches not just at the bottom, really pleased as it looks so nice when in flower.

A wet day here today, so no garden jobs getting done.

Joan.