General Chat

Afternoon all,

It's a bright day ,we had some sun for a while but its now clouded over ,didn't seem that cold when we went to sons for coffee .

We're having a nice roast chicken today with all the trimmings then we can have an easy meal tomorrow with the left overs .

Mel I have made some more gnomes ,there's one that has a string of Christmas lights ,I'll send a photo of them.

Its getting darker by the minuet 11 degrees and cludy.

look at it on google Mel. Yes it is invasive but will be contained in the planter. I suppose it is a bit grass like but is not a rockery plant.

Morning all I did'nt have to get up today so had a lie in.

its 11 degrees here and grey still no wind to speak of though.

Just the shop to do today and then I think the rest of the day is mine with no callers so I can do just what I want to.

The Sisyrinchium is that the little short one a bit like a rockery plant Anng, as you said grass like. If it is it van get invasive as you say.

Wonder how Mandy's getting on with the gnomes as we hav'nt heard anything about them lately.

Good morning all too dark to see what is happening outside but it is 7 degrees so probably no sign of a frost. I woke and couldn't get back to sleep so came in to check the PC. Then it decided it was time they asked me again re Windows 11 which I am not bothered about and will not be really necessary until October 2025. However they try to bully me into changing, making the wording really small so O have to look for the decline message. did it anyway so must be more awake than I thought. :-D

I always used to have London Pride in the garden but we have never had it here. I will see how that goes.

The other plant is Sisyrinchium (Pale yellow eyed grass. I am a bit dubious about it as it can get invasive but I think that is not too much of a problem in a separate planter. The flowers are pretty anyway.

Its good your meds were ready it makes such a change not having to wait for them to be done up. Sounds like you had a good spend up for Christmas too and money off as well can't be bad, a good saving there then.

How good was that that the locksmith came early and left at 8.30am it gives you more time to do what you want instead of hanging around waiting for them to arrive or finish.
Asda don't do turkey crowns but I shall probably have a trip to Bideford to Morrisons andd see if they have a very small one or at least a chicken crown.

Anng I love my london pride I have it up the border and down here on the rockery bit outside the kitchen window. My kaffa lillies are flowering I have pink and a dark coral colour and more have come out since I put the wheelbarrow in front of them so the deer can't eat them.

Vera I must get my agapanthus in my shed for the winter. I have a blenheim Orange apple tree up the top garden if its still alive. I had one at the cottage in Suffolk and its a dual purpose apple eat or cook.

BIL came quite early znd the mower came home today so he has mowed all the grass but not picked any of it up. It looks like when they cut the silage. He is really pleased with the mower and can't get over how quiet it is since having the new engine and other bits done, you should have seen the smile on his face. :-D

I made a huge pot of soup while he was mowing and he had two big bowls of that and a nice roll before he left. I now have to go and see how much room I have in the garage. He washed the mower down with the hose before putting it in there.

I think I may do a bit of hoovering now and then feed the big girls then I can settle in for the evening.

It's apparently 9 degrees but feels decidedly chilly to me and it's the sort of day that looks as though it will brighten up at any minute but somehow isn't getting any brighter.

Now don't lose that spare key Annx or, if you are like me, you will put it somewhere really safe and then forget where that is. It's good the locksmith came early. Much better to know you are free for the rest of the day than to have to hang around waiting for someone to turn up.

AnnG, I'm glad your garden meeting went well yesterday and the group could get to see all the work you have been doing outside.

You have done well with your shopping Mandy. I haven't started on Christmas shopping yet, apart from buying some cards and I have just printed out my Christmas card list. It's always sad going through last year's list and crossing off those we have lost during the year. This year we have had 4 deaths, one separation and 2 people whose dementia is now so severe that they don't really recognise people any more.

Yesterday our friends M & V picked us up and took us to a nice place a few miles away which has a large cafe and a lovely big farm shop. We all had different coffees. Mine was a latte which was really hot, and that's more than can be said for some places. Then we had a browse round the farm shop. They had some nice natural soaps and hand creams but, goodness, they were expensive. In the food section they had some old-fashioned varieties of apples. I saw Worcester, Russet and Blenheim Orange though I think there were others. They brought back a few memories of times past. I would have bought some but I have several apples at home and if I buy more they'll be going off before we can get around to eating them.

OH has tidied up my agapanthus plants this morning (under strict instruction) and covered them with fleece ready for the cold weather to come and I have done some household jobs and prepared a big stew that will feed us tonight and tomorrow.

Oh, better go. My in-house chef is calling out that lunch is ready.

sunny here now and 10 degrees. Good that the locksmith was early ann, gave you more free time without having to hang around

I have planted two plants I was given yesterday. One is London Pride and the other I have forgotten the name, I will let you know when I find out. Both are in the 2 planters. I have also shifted some pots on my top patio into the place where the barbecue used to stand as I think they will be more protected from frost and with warning I can throw fleece over them there.
This morning I have also made soup with carrot, tomato, basil and a small amount of already cooked caulflower. It tastes good. And that meant I could clean out the veg containers in the fridge. (after I disposed of a yucky cucumber and a really gone over lettuce.) Not into salads when the weather gets colder.

Mandy you got a lot done so you can feel virtuous.

Vera hope you slept ok and that you are feeling better today.

Mel, good that you are selling your stuff. Are you having to drive to the post van or is it walking distance. You could end up paying more for petrol than you are paid for the goods. Still it is nice to have a hobby that other people appreciate.

Morning All,

Chilly this morning and only 5 degrees now but no sign of a frost. I was up at 7.00 am and the locksmith came nice and early and was finished by 8.30am, so it was good to be 'free' after that. I had to put the key people's no in my phone then and send them a copy of my motor cert of insurance and I hope I've put the spare key in a safe place!!! :-D I've also ordered a turkey crown from the farm shop to collect on Christmas Eve, so that's something else ticked off the list! ;-) I saw our nextdoor neighbour going up the close with the little ShihTzu that used to be so noisy in the garden, but is going quite deaf now so doesn't bark much. We don't see him often now and I felt quite sorry for him as he was walking very slowly and stiffly. I suppose it isn't surprising as he must be aged 14 now, so quite old, even for the breed.

It's good your group were able to see the garden AnnG and that they liked it. What is it you are planting? A bit more cleaning for me too I think. I will clean the other side of the kitchen window in the conservatory and then OH can move theings back so we have a clear path through the conservatory again. I need to wipe out the cupboard I emptied under the kitchen sink. I wonder if I can persuade OH to pop to The Range with me to check out their baskets?

Mandy that was quick service not having to wait for them to find and pack your meds. You got some good savings with your shopping and some Christmas shopping done as well. It sounds like you might have caught a wrong button at the 'hole in the wall', but it is a worry till you can check to see everything is ok.

Mel that sounds like a good frost you had this morning. You must be on first name terms with your Postie now with your regular parcels and it must be good to get rewarded for your efforts with your miniatures.

Morning all,

Its a cloudy morning but bright ,we should get sunshine later ,yesterday we did shopping ,I called into boots first for our tablets it was the quickest time I've ever done as there was no queue and ths tablets were all ready ,then into Tesco's as they have 25% off all their clothes so I got some clothes for the grandchildren for Christmas and a nice top for dil I also had ten pound off a seventy pound spend so saved a good bit .I used the hole in the wall as Colin calls it to get some money out put my card in and the amount I wanted it shot my card out but no money so a bit of a worry until we got home to check if the amount had come out but it hadn't so I don't know what went wrong ,I did ask the security guard if he knew if anyone else had had any problems with it but he said its nothing to do with Tesco's and the machine was filled up the day before ,I did wonder if I pressed the wrong button .

A lazy day for us today, well I say lazy but no doubt we'll find something to do .

Morning Anng and all,

We have had a frost here and at the mo its 6 degrees but there is still frost on my car. It looks like it could have made the car crew cut like it did once before as its standing up on the roof.

Need the post van again this morning as my Tudor prep kitchen items went yesterday and she paid straight away so I need to get htem off to her.

Good morning all 1 degree here now, very cloudy and no frost. Slept ok but woke at just after 0600 and couldn't get back to sleep. Not doing anything today although I do have a plant to put in one of the planters. so I had better do that. Might also finish cleaning the house as I could do with doing the bedrooms.

It ended up being a nice sunny day and not too cold. The meeting went off well. Not a lot of gardening to talk about but there was a lot of chat for two hours. They were able to get out to walk round the garden and they all liked what had been done with it.

I have done a lot of nothing today. Feel very sad that Doctors has finished as I really liked that program at lunchtime.

Sold somehing else on Ebay today and they paid nice and quick so its another visit in the morning to the post van.

Hope all wet well with the garden visit Anng and they liked all your changes.

Vera take care of your poor back and don't do too much bending out in the garden or too much ironing. I do that till my back tells me its had enough.

I put washing in this morning and forgot to turn the machine on and I think that was the last straw as the only things I have done since is do up two parecels and ones not been paid for yet so I can't send it.

Well I am off now to watch a bit of telly and then to bed. see you all in the morning. Night night.

Afternoon All,

It's been glorious sunshine here today. We were up early to go to Costa in Next to start the day with a bacon buttie and skinny latte. I had a quick look at the lighting after while OH did the same with Waterstones. Then OH dropped me off to pick my car up to go to the shop while he prepared for his interview this afternoon. It was at the council about a mile away, just a few meetings a year on one of their committees. Then I went to the dog charity shop and they have changed things round and you have to take things to the shop now instead of put things in their shed. They started to um and ah about books, but decided to have them. Their attitude was more that they were doing me a favour than me helping the charity. One did manage to say thank you as I left.

I've done some more hoovering under our radiators and must get a narrow dusting thing to clean the fluted backs of them in future. I've registered the boiler with another fast speaking foreign accent I found difficult to follow. I decided to look at the programming instructions then. Oh my word, do we all really want 5 A4 sheets of various instructions for something that was always much simpler. I'm sticking to ON and OFF for now! lol. A glass of water from the ensuite tap looks like milk now and takes ages to become clear. I assume it is because the water pressure has been changed with switching the water off and that is the first tap from the water meter.

I hope you had a nice garden group meeting AnnG and that the rain held off so they could see the garden and your latest changes. You had quite a houseful and made me wonder whether I have 9 mugs!

I hope Vera had a better night and her back is ok.

Early start again tomorrow as the man with my new spare car key could be here from 8.00am but not after lunchtime. The fob to attach to it arrived by post this morning. That gives a reward to anyone finding it if it gets lost.

Morning all,

This is the first morning in a while when its been dull and dreary and it has picked today when I wanted to do some washing. Its 10 degrees here now but last night was really cold and I think there could have been a frost.

Need to go to the p[ost van this morning.

Good morning all 8 degrees this morning, that temp does go up and down at the moment. I assume it depends on whether there is cloud over night or if the sky is clear. Anyway looks a bit gloomy and I think we were forecast rain which is a nuisance as it means everyone arriving for the meeting with wet coats etc and they are not able to walk down the garden to see what is still growing.

I slept well last night, must have been all the activity, but there is still more to do today to get ready for the meeting. we are only 2 short today so there should be 9 of us. (9 mugs, two teapots, 2 milk jugs one plate of biscuits and nine seats to prepare then.. Better have two kettles on the go as well then).
So just regular housework on the list for this morning then.

Evening All,
A bit better day today with some sunshine. I lay in quite late as I was so achey and weary after yesterday and my knees were zinging by the time I went to bed and had a hot water bottle on them. I felt better after a shower so we went out and had a tuna jacket where it doesn't get busy and then OH went on to his meeting.

Thank you for saying about that Mandy and I will look for it on the iplayer. It would have certainly caused delays for OH if it had turned out serious or if he hadn't followed it up and gone back. We were saying yesterday that his parents would have taken what the PA wrote as right and would have struggled on till things were much worse.

AnnG OH went outside and found the doormat this morning. It was round the corner at the end of the bungalow where the boiler man had probably moved it when he shifted things for the windowcleaner! My word you have done a lot today! I got in the habit of writing lists at work.......things that must be done today, things that must be done soon and not forgotten etc. and have carried on since. As you say it is satisfying crossing them off as you get things done.

Sorry you had such a bad night Vera. It makes you feel like a zombie the next day doesn't it, but at least you managed to finished the bulb planting. Sensisble to rest your back though.

Oh Mel it's horrid when the leccy is off and how annoying to find it had come back on without you knowing. I would have probably not thought to check the fuse box as well. The solar panels must be a big help with your leccy bills.

I had a text supposedly from my credit card provider a few days ago and assumed it was a scam so deleted it. Well I got a letter from them today about suspicious activity on my account and a temporary block on my card! What a palaver sorting it out as I didn't want to use the phone number on the letter in case it was a scam letter as it was different to any I could see on their website. They said a payment attempt had been made of £0.00 with my card which they would class as very suspicious. To be safe they are issuing a fresh card, but afterwards I remembered stopping a payment that was taking too long to go through.

I have been without the electric since 1pm. They told us it would be off for three hours.I waited and waited for it to come back on till 4.43pm till I suddenly thought to look in the cupboard to see if the switch had gone off and it had. I don't know how long it had been like that and never thought to look and was getting darkish and I was cold. I have lost a lot on the solar as its been a beautiful sunny day.

I did'nt get any HW done cos I thought I will do some ironing.......no could'nt do that no leccy. I kept thinking of thing to do but thye all needed the leccy. It just goes to show how much we rely on it for most things. I was going to have some toast for lunch but had a sandwich instead.

You really have done well AnnG and put me to shame today as I’ve not done much at all but……….bulbs are all planted at last :-D :-D. I ought to be getting on with the ironing but I’m giving my back a rest first. Strangely, ironing seems to cause the most pain. I don’t iron much but there are a few bits this week including a king size duvet cover.

Several of our group are on a Scottish coach trip this week so no coffee meeting tomorrow but 4 of us who turned down the trip decided to go for coffee at a nice farm place just a few miles away. We’re being picked up at 10.30 so I’ll need to get myself moving a bit more tomorrow.