General Chat

Good morning peeps from a breezy place out west! Bin lorry came and was glad there was no shower but it is very windy. Stayed outside for 15 minutes to get some fresh air and feel better for that. Briefly chatted with my neighbour as she was getting her bin in which was nice.

Met my new next door neighbour on Sat eve as it was him who delivered my Tesco order lol. He said if ever I need something, just to let him know the day before like bread or milk and he would get it. How very kind. Think he is late 30's and on his own. Anyway he has a job and was smartly dressed so thats counts for something in my books.

Daughter away to town today so just usual chores tidying up and laundry etc. My seeds are growing well by the day, so i'm really chuffed with them.

Covid cases are rife here still and no sign of decreasing and flu cases are rising too.
I guess the first lot of Covid jags have worn off now and so peoples' immune system will be lower.

Oh well back to it, hoover is calling me

Florence in the hebrides

Amokavid -
re Care & Repair.

It's a pity you've had such a bad experience.

Yes, as I said earlier, you have to be 65+, or disabled of any age.

Some aspects may vary from one area to another.
Here in Lochaber, anyone in those groups can get help - homeowners and both private and housing association tenants (although not anything which is the landlord's responsibility.)

It's basically free, but a contribution is requested if materials have to be supplied.
They don't do things which need a qualified tradesperson - which would include roof repairs.

It's not a general repairs service - it's for little DIY type jobs which a younger person might be expected to manage, but which an older or disabled person might find difficult or impossible, impacting their quality of life.

Like Florence, I live out in the country - I'm 20 miles from their base - but they've been very helpful.
Perhaps I'm just lucky to be in the Lochaber area!

Well I decided to have salmon fillets cooked in a little soy sauce and sesame oil baked in the oven. A few baby pots with left over salad from yesterday. Im actually feeling rather full now!

Tonight the Northern Lights are supposed to be out and will be visible in the west but not just in Scotland. I have seen them a few times but always think they are amazing.
The mist came down and it's rather wet outside now after a dry day albeit breezy.
But here's hoping there will be a good display.

If anyone is lucky to see them, come on here and share and tell us which area you are in.

Florence in the hebrides

Oh what a very wet and cold dismal day!! I did not get up until 9am as haven't been sleeping well last 2 days. I showered and washed hair but my hair had other ideas today.
Blow dried it as normal but its just sticking up all over, fringe wouldn't settle, looks so untidy.
Unfortunately, i haven't managed out to a hairdresser in over a year and my lady's salon is up a huge flight of stairs above a shop. She's gone part time/semi retired too . I really hate it when you have to find someone new who doesn't know how you like your hair!

I trim it at the front myself so will carry on for now.

No post or phone calls from consultant and have to say, I am getting rather irritated by the delay in getting my results.

Hope everyone else is keeping ok.

Feel like making a rhubarb crumble today....but im supposed to be on a diet!!

Florence in the hebrides

Oh Joan, how frustrating for you & hubby!! My daughter signed a new agreement when we moved. I typed out something to the effect, that N gives me full authority to discuss anything with medical staff when required etc...

So glad your daughter has sorted that. Well can she now request a nurse to come & check his bloods asap? All I seem to be doing is waiting & waiting.
Actually felt quite bored this afternoon yet couldn't be bothered to do much either. The weather makes us feel like this im sure.

I think the best pics of the Northern lights were along the coast from Inverness, Elgin, Forres and in Orkney on Monday evening.

Nevermind, there will be other times to see them.

Right I'm off for a cuppa before Emmerdale comes on.

Joan did you apply for the warm home discount of £140?

Florence in the hebrides

Hello Joan, if you were nearer I would invite myself to your house as your Shepherds pie sounds delicious.

It is a horrible wet, gloomy day here. I have dusted through upstairs and cleaned the bathroom but it is difficult to clean when everything is dark indoors and out. Still at least I have not got the Sahara sand that my sister in Hampshire has, all over her car and windows. We have had it here before but hopefully it may not get this far this time. It is not cold, 10 degrees just gloomy..

Evening ladies.
Was a bit more productive today as slept well and through til nearly 9am! Started off bright but was showery and its very cold here tonight.

Ironed the bedding I kept putting to the bottom of the pile but its all done now.
Tidied the hall cupboard....again. Not sure how it gets so untidy!

We had chicken pieces in breadcrumbs that daughter bought in the coop yesterday, haven't had them in ages. Had some chicken savoury rice with it and was quite tasty.

Joan your shepherds pie sounded delicious, hope you & hubby enjoyed it.

What a shame about the warm home discount but it will open again later in the year so keep an eye and apply when it opens again.

Hope you enjoyed your film.

Ann I remember when i lived down south back in the 80's I think, my car was covered in red sand one morning. It came from the Sahara and I was living 30 miles from the nearest coast.

Nothing much on tv tonight, just Emmerdale and Corrie but tomorrow The Apprentice is on and Question time.

Well coffee time and then soon my wed eve chat with Dad to exchange our news etc.

Have a good evening all

Florence in the hebrides

Good afternoon peeps.
Happy Anniversary to Joan who is 55 years married today <3
That's true love Joan. Did he buy you anything Emerald green?

Well I got my results. The consultant rang to explain he had been away and there was also a delay in processing the results.
Anyway, I have def 1 characteristic of MS and that is the covering of my spine, the Myelin sheath has all been destroyed. However the spinal and brain fluid did not contain any cells related to MS that they were looking for. The 3rd test was the brain and neck MRI. It showed spots on the white matter of the brain but some of these are age related, some are not, so he could not definitely diagnose looking at that.

In short i'm labelled with Clinically Isolated Syndrome because I have 1 out of the 3 symptoms to diagnose with MS.

He has referred me to a MS specialist for further diagnosis and a repeat of the tests in the near future. He cannot tell me why i have the dizzy turns at all or if my leg will ever regain feeling. But he said that given its been nearly 8 months, its highly unlikely I will ever regain the feeling in my left leg so will be left paralysed permanently.

In one way I dont have any terminal ill ness, no cancerous cells etc so that is a relief and a blessing but the uncertainty of not having a concrete diagnosis has left me deflated and no nothing more than i did at the beginning!!

I can only hope that if I can have the steroid injections in May for my knee, that may just alleviate the pain enough for me to be able to mount a small step. That would give me more mobility.

I am waiting on hearing from the Community Nurse either today or early next week as I am now due my 2nd jag. I tel the clinic yesterday and I am on their list for a home visit.

The cases of Covid here are the worst in Scotland. A ward in the local hospital is closed to new admission and visitors are very restricted. Last night there were 144 cases. These are the numbers almost on a daily basis just now which is worrying.

Sun is shining today but yesterday we had thunder, lightening and hailstones, was pretty awful and bitterly cold. The gale put the ferries off and again later so the supermarkets have no deliveries and shelves will be empty once again.

Oh well, Island life is such and we just have to get on with it as we always do!

Hope everyone else having a good day

Florence in the hebrides

Hello everyone , hope all is well .

Happy Anniversary Joan and OH.

Florence sorry to hear that your knee problem may not be sorted out. I damaged my knee many years ago and now am in constant pain and like you find even a small step
up painful and have to be very careful on stairs up and down.
One of my other problems is Sudden onset Vertigo which is horrible when it happens but goes away fairly quickly but makes me very wary of going out on my own.

Sunny day here so things are seeming a bit better and at least the washing is done and dried.

Have a good weekend everyone. :-D

JustGinnie, my knee problem is wear & tear of the joints as shown on a recent xray at the local hospital here. My leg problem was last july when i woke one morning to find i was completely numb from hip to knee and 2 days later i went numb from knee to toes. I have no feeling at all in my toes or anywhere on the front of my leg. Bending it is extremely painful. Its freezing cold and my toes are purple due to lack of oxygen.

When I waddle with my stick, i just almost drag my left leg and it just does its own thing, kicking out sometimes.In MS that is exactly what you would expect. However its only 1 episode but its left me now paralysed and very immobile.

Of course im glad they didn't find me Epileptic, or a clot but now Im just left in limbo with no solution.

Joan, I think myself what's happening re Covid is the 1st jags are now wearing off and peoples immunity to Covid is now lower hence the rising of cases.
The cases in England especially in care homes are also on the rise again. There is a new strain called BA.2 and this is another variant that transmits very fast from person to person.

The 50p coin with a green heart sounds lovely. What a wonderfully thoughtful gift.

Still blowing a hooley here but no thunder or lightening like yesterday!

Off to watch me soaps now.

Oh I made a rhubarb crumble today and it was soo delicious, been ages since we had one.

Florence in the hebrides

good morning all a beautiful sunny morning here and already at 0730 6 degrees. A gardening day I think. I did give the greenhouse a bit of a clean yesterday but it is a wooden one and starting to get rotten (after 30 years) so will never look smart.

The rise in Covid cases is probably a mix of reasons. In England I thought it was because we have been able to leave masks off (although not all of us do) but that is disproved by the fact that in Scotland you still have to wear masks. (I have read that cloth masks are not very efficient at keeping the virus out). But it could be that we, if we wish can go to events like sport matches (Cheltenham Races), theatres, night clubs etc., people are back into work, not many working from home so more on public transport. And, as Florence says it is too far from our vaccinations for our immunity to protect us. I wish they had brought in the next booster but even that will just be for six months immunity I suppose so then we will be back full circle. It does seem we are not going to get rid of it any time soon.

Good morning, I didn’t get to wish you a happy anniversary Joan, I hope you enjoyed your day.
It is very fraught here. My eldest granddaughter who is eleven, so not jabbed came down with Covid on Thursday morning, she has had two days of bad headaches and high temperatures, but seems to be better this morning. The youngest one has had one jab about three weeks ago because of her disability, so we hope it will protect her.
The youngest one fell over in the school playground yesterday and got a huge lump on the back of her head, so my daughter had to rush there and take her to hospital as the ambulance would be two to four hours. Eventually they decided that her head was OK, but they also thought that she might have broken her collar bone because she wouldn’t use her right arm and it hurt when they pressed it. They couldn’t see a break on the X-ray, but it could be a green stick. My poor daughter didn’t get any sleep last night because the bump is on the back of Esme’s head, so she was crying all night.
I can hear her shouting “ ow” now, so today will be fun

Oh dear Linda, life is never dull in your house. Hope the rest of the family can avoid Covid but it must be difficult. do hope especially though that Esme avoids it. And that she is soon more comfortable from the bump and her collar bone. :-) <3

Ann, you are right that it is never dull. The one saving grace is that Esme is just shouting “ Go away” when she sees me, only mummy will do. That won’t last though, I will soon be required to play.
Eve does look better this morning and she is happy because she has just eaten something and it tasted normal, apparently everything has been bitter until now.
I have been doing a Covid test every day, but they have been negative so far. Every night when she goes to bed, I get in with her and we have a snuggle and chat about her day until she is ready to settle down to sleep, so we have been in very close contact. At eleven, she might seem a bit old for that, but it is something we have always done and it is nice to do it until she grows out of it

Morning all.
Well its also a very sunny dry day here but....the wind that was blowing hard at 45mph all night is still blowing . Too windy for me to venture outside unless i put on some wings lol.

I heard on the radio news just now that 2 people in China have died from Covid the 1st since january and 2 cities have been placed in lockdown.
I just can't bear to think are we heading for another lockdown and how it will affect everybody. As I said yesterday, we have the highest cases in Scotland.

Daughter has gone on the bus to town to post my mums parcel for Mother's day. She will get to town at 12 and is coming back at 1.45 so a very quick turnaround.
She is very anxious about going out so for now its just once a week.

Linda, poor grandchildren, I hope the bump has gone down a bit today? The worry there initially would be for concussion. You are not supposed to give any pain relief for 24 hours after a head injury as if they feel sleepy ,you wouldn't know if the was concussion or the paracetamol.

Hope you don't catch it and they make full recoveries. They are offering another booster jag here for the over 70's I think or most vulnerable.
As for her being a bit old, 11? my daughter still wanted cuddles from me at 14 and still asks for hugs when shes feeling down. I think its wonderful having that close contact and it gives them security too.

Ann I watched the racing yesterday afternoon and goodness me!!! The crowds and Covid...what a mix!!

Gonna make a curry for tonight's tea with naan bread and some onion bhajis if she brings some home.

The weather for the next wee while is actually looking more settled. no wind and getting warmer so that should brighten us all up.

Have a good day all

Florence in the hebrides

It is 13 degrees here and sunny but also very windy. I have just mown the lawn so that is one job out of the way. Got to get on with seed planting now.

My granddaughters PCR test has just come back positive, but that is no surprise. I am triple jabbed, but won’t get a booster yet as you have to be over 75 and I am a couple of years under.

It is a sunny day here, but breezy. It is supposed to be 13 degrees, but it feels chilly to me

Gone up here, still windy but 16 degrees and I was too hot in the conservatory. Just planted another lot of seeds. Trying to remember that seeds that are planted will need potting on and planting out!!

The pricking out is the bit I hate Ann.
I did some washing and some of it can’t go in the tumbler. I know I should hang it all out, but I can’t be bothered. I have a rotary dryer outside, but at this time of the day it in in the shade, so I put a couple of airers outside with the clothes on, so I can just lift them in as they won’t be fully dry. That was the idea anyway, but the wind has just blown them over. Luckily they are on the dry grass, so the clothes aren’t dirty

Well my beetroot plants have grown very tall so i had to prick them out and plant in deeper pots. The peas are about 6 inches tall, but they are in the huge pot which they will stay in. I did venture out round the side to the recycling bin and was reasonably pleasant until the wind caught me at the side. It was quite chilly too.

But a fine dry day overall. Made a chicken curry with the naan etc and was very tasty.
So with dishes all done and kitchen tidy, now chilling on the PC.
Not sure if casualty is on later as the Rugby seems to have taken over!

Enjoy the evening ladies

Florence in the hebrides