General Chat

It has been a funny old day Vera we've had drizzle and then the sun got out and it was lovely so out went the bedding on thd line ,we sat having our lunch and as it was sunny we closed the blind all of a sudden it went so dark and guess what yes it was tipping it down much to heavy to go out and get it all in so later I had to get it in and spin it all again ,it's still in the basket.

Glad you all like the gnomes ,now doing one called Bumblebee :-)

Hope your daughter and sil arrived safely Anng .

Good afternoon ladies

It's been a funny old can't-make-its-mind-up sort of day. Grey one minute, sunny the next, spits and spots of rain that aren't amounting to much and a mild temperature that feels cold when the sun disappears again. I think lots of areas are going to be cold tomorrow and the next couple of days with overnight frosts. Not looking forward to that and, if the frosts are bad, we may lose some plants. We're behind with the garden this year and I haven't taken any geranium cuttings or lifted the plants I've got so they will have to take their chance. I will put some fleece over my agapanthus which are in several large pots and came with us from our old house 11 years ago. I will be really upset if I lost any of those.

Another great little gnome Mandy. You are getting a big family of them together.

Sounds as though you have had a frustrating day Mel. I hope it's improved now. Enjoy your dinner with Stuart.

I hope your daughter and sil arrived safely AnnG. It will be nice for you to spend time with them again. It's always good to have the company of family. Truth be told I'm just a tiny bit jealous as, due to their cirumstances at the moment, I rarely see my son and daughter. Still, we're close in spirit and we chat on the phone and text each other.

One nice surprise today was a long text from grandson's partner with a dozen pictures of our little great granddaughter. She's 14 months now and just starting to walk, or rather stagger, 4 or 5 steps and she can say Mama and Dadda.

The photos made me smile and cheered me up as I am having another bad day. My back is improving all the time but I still have a few medical issues and hardly slept at all last night so I'm imitating a zombie at the moment. It just seems to have been one of those days as well. I think I've said before that our little Close has to put our dustbins on the rec. at the end of the road. This morning there were 6 bins down there, 5 had been emptied, guess which one hadn't :-| OH went online and let the council know but no-one is going to come out to empty 1 bin so it will be another 2 weeks before it gets emptied.

Then we went into town to pick up my script. There was such a kerfuffle when I needed 2 months supply in August because of being away when the second month was due that I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get the right items. The pain killers that I order when I need them were there but not all the items that come on an automatic system each month. The pharmacy are supposed to tell patients on repeat when they have had 6 monthly prescriptions and then we ring the pharmacist at the main GP surgery and ask for it to be reissued. The pharmacy hadn't told me I'd had 6 so we had to go dashing to the surgery (round the one way system for the second time) as I am almost out of one of the pills. The surgery pharmacist is putting it through urgently and hopefully I'll get my tabs on Friday. I'm going to keep my own note of what scripts I've had when and not rely anymore on the pharmacy where I pick them up.

And from me too Gwyn, they arrived this morning, I think they were lucky to get here as the envelope was torn and crumpled, looked as though it had been caught in a machine. However I have them so many thanks.

Gwyn I have messaged you thanking you for the seeds and thank you again.

Saturday Mel they are spending three days here for a change, Just texted to say they are at Hilton park services having coffee and so far it has rained all the way down.

Just paid the oil bill, more expense as Frank woud say. :-(

O sorry Anng I thought you were off today once they arrived.

Been up the post van and it was'nt there so popped in the shop for my scripts which were ordered over a week ago and they were'nt there either so a comletely wasted journey. They said the scripts could be in this afternoon as they are only waiting for one which is the one I am out of after today, the Cardicore. So now I have to go to Holsworthy to post two parcels and wait for them to ring me from the surgery to say the pills are in.

what a waste of a morning I can see its not going to be a good day today and I have had the leccy bill this morning too. :-(

Gwyn I think these days, no day is easoer than any others for the M6 it is always, always busy. Yes we have Lymington, bournemout, Beauli all on the list but not poole as daughter has spent a fair bit of time there as he late husband had family living there.

Mandy love Mr Gardener gnome.

Mel I think you are confused. It is daughter and SiL who are travelling to me today Hence the email to let me know they left home when they did, They should be well down the M6 now, it takes an hour to get to the M6 from their house.

So far I have cleaned the bathroom and cloakroom and dusted the lounge and their bedroom. Got a bit more to do now so BBL

Morning girls,

Its nice and bright here at the moment but pc says afternoon rain and 12 degrees and partly sunny so thats all good to look forward to.

Stuart's coming to dinner tonight and thats the first time I have seen him in 2 or three weeks. Iv'e got the cottage pie I made out of the freezer so only have to cook the broccoli and heat up the gravy. I shall also put breadcrumbs on the top and some cheese to make it nice and crispy on the top.

Mandy Mr Gardener is great how many is that yu have done now as I've lost count?

Safe journey today Anng and hope you don't get held up anywhere. do have a nice time and let us all know what you are doing.

Got to get up the post van this morning so I better get on see you all later.

Hope you all slept well and that Vera's back has eased a bit more.

AnnG I hope your family have a good journey to you. Travelling mid-week should mean they meet less traffic perhaps.
Bournemouth, Poole and Lymington are all not too far from your holiday spot. Obviously they would be better in good weather, but there should be something of interest in the larger towns if the weather is not so kind. I look forward to hearing where you go.

A wet night last night, but it had been a mild and dry day.
I've been to school already this morning, but not to stay and it's damp underfoot, but quite pleasant at 14 degrees. I think we are forecast showers, but we often miss the worst of the weather predicted and have our own little micro climate just here :-S

Morning Anng ,morning all,

We have a fine drizzle this morning so no outside jobs will get done unless it gets out .

Did anyone watch The Hardacres I did and think it's going to be good ,also I noticed the Yorkshire farm family are on with their new programme on Monday night nine o'clock on More 4 for those that like it .

Right just finishing my cuppa then I better get the hoover out .

Good morning all 10 degrees and cloudy but so far dry.
daughter will be on her way soon I think. If so will be here around 1pm. Got some cleaning/tidying up to do, otherwise all ready for them. Well also have to get tonight's meal into the slow cooker. (actually just had an email to say they are leaving now.

Thanks Vera so do I, not sure there is a lot to do if it rains.

Thanks Mandy. As I said in my email I'm looking forward to trying the recipe out. I didn't know about the red squirrels; I'll have to check that out.

I like Dorset AnnG though we haven't been that way for a few years. The last time we went we stayed in quite an isolated B&B near Corfe Castle. I hope the weather's kind to you while you're there.

Cake recipe sent Vera , but it should have said a 7 inch cake tin

Dry here ,we didn't have rain for long and the suns been out again.

Anng perhaps they were using the gnomes as window decorations and they are not for sale ,our florists had snowmen in the window just after Christmas there must have been at least a dozen or more all dressed different as men and ladies some had skies there were even some smaller ones ,they have had a window full of little elephants one year.

Ann that was nice watching the squirrel, I watch one in next doors garden it gets nuts out of a box and sits on their greenhouse to eat them ,there's two and I have found monkey nuts buried in a lot of my pots .

Vera I will send the cake recipe but the oven temperature needs altering no way was it cooking on 140 so I upped it to 160 .
Did you see on the news were they are starting a breeding programme of red squirrels in Suffolk.

That was entertaining watching the busy squirrel. The cat was probably thinking ‘what is that silly creature rushing around for, why isn’t he clever enough to own a human to get him meals’.

Had he changed his mind about the football?

Vera The New Forest near Christchurch Dorset.

Hope it dries up a bit first. Daughter and son in law come to me tomorrow.

Good idea stop when you are tired don’t push your back.
Talking of putting things in the wrong place. My SiL has a mental block on one thing. In a large cupboard under the stairs I have a. Large oblong container for recycling to go to the bin. Next to it is stored my laundry basket bigger and deeper. Guess where all the empty bottles etc end up. After they go home I have to do a big tidy up.

The drizzle stopped and the sun came out by about 10 am. Since then it’s been sunshine and light showers. We’re on a yellow warning of thunderstorms but maybe they are going to miss us.

Mel, I wouldn’t dare let OH put the shopping away - I’d never find anything. I recently discovered a cake slice that’s been missing for a while. He hadn’t just put it in the wrong drawer; he’d put it in a drawer in the wrong room. Sainsbury came about 10 am, the driver carried the crates through to the kitchen and OH unpacked everything on to the work surfaces where I could reach things easily. 2 subs that I was prepared to accept.

I’m glad you didn’t get wet this morning AnnG. Only a few days now till you go away again. I’ve forgotten where you said it was

It’s good that the tin opener is what you needed Mandy. Would you mind sending me your Manor House cake recipe please. I think we would enjoy it. No rush, just when you’ve got a moment free.

Your poor OH Annx. He’s been in pain for a while now hasn’t he. I can’t see what use these Physician Associates are going to be if they neither sort out a diagnosis and treatment nor pass you on to the GP for further investigation. It makes me realise how lucky we are with our practice.

My back still has a way to go but is now improving a little more each day so I’m happy with that. My other issues are getting better but have left me feeling very tired. I’ve managed a couple of household jobs and just 15 minutes in the garden. I had planned to do the ironing but that’s getting left for another day. I’m too tired to face it now.

I'd just set off for the shop and half a mile from home the rain started spitting. By the time I reached the shop it had stopped. I pulled up by the little brook after I'd got my paper and a few bits to read some of it. Then I saw a little Squirrel scamper over the road with something in his mouth. He ran across the little bridge over the brook and into the garden of a house. A few minutes later he was back and racing back to a tree in a carpark opposite. He was going through leaves, grass and twigs under the tree and then was racing back across the road and under my car before crossing the bridge again and disappearing. He must have fetched about 8 nuts of some sort while I was there. I'd seen the tortoiseshell cat that lives in the house next to the carpark between his travels, but she didn't seem to have spotted him or wasn't interested. It started to pour with rain then but has stopped again now.

That's good you are finding the can opener a much better one Mandy. I've not tried it in the slow cooker but I imagine your gammon will turn out nice and tender and the apple cider and dugar should make it tasty too..

Yes it looks dull and miserable outside here AnnG.

Oh heck, OH is back! He thought he would be going straight to a footie match nearby afterwards and I was just going to disinfect all the plugholes while he's out. Better see how he got on and put the kettle on.