General Chat

Morning Ann and all,

Poor you if its not one thing its another. You do seem to be having a run of bad luck at the moment. Hope it is someting to do with the garage door being fitted so that it can be rectified quickly.

No frost this morning as far as I could see but I think there may have bee a little rain as it all looks wet out there.

I have the postman coming for another little parcel today and the shopping is coming this morning too.

11 degrees and its raining.

Dom I’d here at the moment. I will hopefully be able to get him to reset the fuse before he goes if I have not heard from the garage door people.

Pc is going in quite quickly.

We didn’t hear from Ann yesterday. Was she planning anything? Hope all is ok there.

So do I as I was thinking of her yesterday and thought they may have had hospital appointments of the dentist I can't remember if he had had his tooth out or not.

I really need to cut my nails as I keep catching them on other keys.

No shoppig yet or the postman to pick up a little parcel and a card. When I need them to come early they never do and when I don't they come early. sods law I suppose.

She is ok and said about an hour ago that she was just about to post on here.

I will do that tomorrow. My brain hurts a bit with understanding W11 and a new machine. It is also complicated because (much to my gratitude) I have a long list of all the folders that have been recovered from the dead hard drive. Dom is so good, that was a long programme to run. During which time he re-set the fuse in the garage and changed the bathroom light bulb. I have not found anything yet that is important that has not been retrieved. I am sure there are some things but not many. Even all my photos are there. Because there is a difference in between W10 and W11 in some of the things and a slight difference between Microsoft office and Libra Office layout I have to think hard as to where to put them all. I shall have fun sorting it all out. Finished on there for today though.

Evening all,

It's been quite a cold day and very windy hut there was no frost so we went and did a shop as we needed milk so thought we might as well get other bits we needed rather than go later in the week .

Anng that was handy the Pc man could sort your electrics ,hopefully the garage door people with the electrian will soon come back and get you all back up and running properly.
I wouldn't know where to start with a new Pc ,son usually sorts all that out for me .

I did send Ann a message about something and she replied yesterday so hopefully she has just been busy and they are both OK.

Jake had his first driving lesson today I thought and I don't know why that it was an hour lesson but it was a two hour lesson ,I suppose it was because I started with hourly lessons and thought that was how everyone starts .
He has another two hour lesson on Saturday as he's on holiday this week ,he said he got on ok .

Mel did your shopping come and the postie

Evening All,

Yes we were very busy yesterday, first with the Physio appointment at the surgery. She listened to all of OH's issues and pain and said she wasn't going to touch him. She thought a lot of the pain was a result of inflammation in his body and he has to have more blood tests, which we booked. He also managed to get repeat prescriptions sent to the chemist for the ones they haven't put online yet. I then drove him to the new eye assessment place at the hospital the other side of the city. It has 6 carparks but we found the right one and mastered the pay machine with rust covering the instructions. He was told off for starting the eyedrops again, but said Eye Casualty hadn't treated his eye anywhere long enough, so I don't think that really mattered this time, especially as no-one was answering their phones when he tried to ask for advice. He has a month of eyedrops for his eye. She had the results of the blood tests that Eye Casualty did and said that he has inflammation in his body and she named and wrote down a gene he has which predisposes him to inflammation. It seems the Physio was on the right lines. On the way home we called in the surgery and got them to make a note to pass on to the Physio. Once his GP has the latest has the latest blood test results I expect he will want to see him and discuss it all.

Today he tried ringing the cardiologist's secretary again re his tooth extraction and was told he is on holiday for a week now. This secretary promised to speak to him then and ring us as OH has his dentist appointment the following day.

Today I had my hair cut and it was wonderful to have a bit of normality. The hairdresser is very close to home and OH said I ought to go and he was fine.

Last night I had a lovely email from Fitz and he even offered to drive up to see me despite him still waiting for a replacement hip. As soon as I'm able he suggested a meet up and light lunch.

AnnG I think I am soon to be in the same position as you and getting a new laptop. I phoned the man in the village and he said it needs a new keyboard, but when I gave him the serial no etc, he checked and said a keyboard isn't listed for it where he gets his spare parts from. He suggested I could try Dell, which I did in the end and someone I could hardly understand has emailed their parts dept for me who should email me back to say whether they could supply one. The man in the village also suggested I get (or he will) a seperate keyboard to plug into my laptop as an alternative if I don't need to take it anywhere. It means more space taken on my desk, but it seems a good idea to have a spare keyboard anyway in case of problems in the future. Otherwise I will have to get a new laptop. This one's only about 4 years old.

AnnG last time I swapped my PC I got a plug in hard drive (goes in one of the USB ports on the laptop) and copied my documents folder and picture folder to that and then just copied the two folders from there to the new PC. It means I have a seperate copy of my photos should anything happen to my laptop. I eventually realised I could access my emails from any PC so that was no problem. It's good that Dom managed to rescue your folders from the dead hard drive for you and that he swapped a lightbulb and reset the fuse for you. I see you have an electric garage door now which is what we had this time. So much easier to operate isn't it.

We had a tv problem and couldn't change the channel on one of the tvs last night. We tried new batteries with no joy and left it till this morning and suddenly it was fine again!

Like you say Mel, if you are waiting for someone to call, whatever you do, it seems the opposite will happen!

I broke off before I posted and so missed you there Mandy. I thought the same as my driving lessons years ago were just an hour as well. That's quite a while for a first lessons, especially if it was a nervous person. Jake's made a start now though and he'll soon learn. I heard on a tv prog the other day that so many younger people have learned to drive in an automatic that they wouldn't ever buy a manual car now as they wouldn't know how to drive one. I think if you pass your test in an automatic, you can't drive a manual car anyway.

Yes that was right as mum passed her test in the Escort she bought herself and she could'nt drive anything else but an automatic. I think its silly to learn only on an automatic. It took me a while to get used to the automatic when I drove the Escort.

Don't know where the day has gone I waited till after 1 o'clock for my order and our postie was on a weeks holiday so the relief lady took a long while to get around but the parcel went anyway and the letter with it.

Why did G get told off for using tthe eye drops again?

A two hour lesson to start seems unusual but Inexpect there was a lot of talking to start with good luck to him Mandy.

Ann it seems as though they might be getting to the root of OH# problems. Theinflamation is affecting his whole body. Is he on antibiotics I can’t remember.

It must be stressful and worrying for you as well but it was good to get your hair cut. And good of Futz to get in touch. Something to look forward to, a meal with Fitz.

I only had a laptop once and didn’t get on with it, I prefer a desk top.

A lot of my stuff is backed up on USBs but some was not and some had not been updated. I feel really lucky that Dom had the facility for retrieving stuff.
However you have to be licensed to have that facility.

Good evening, I'm back again.

Your poor OH is going through the mill at the moment Annx but hopefully it's all helping to find out just what is causing his problems and finding a solution for them. It sounds as though the physio was on the ball. I hope he starts to feel better very soon.

AnnG, It's good that Dom could sort out your computer and fix the fuse and bathroom lights. I'm like you, I prefer a desktop PC. OH has a laptop that he doesn't use very often and I have my brother's very old laptop here but I much prefer our desktops; we have 2.

I think 2 hour driving lessons are normal now. I am sure that the three of my grandchildren that drive all had 2 hour lessons. Good luck to Jake, I am sure he'll get on fine. I don't see any problems with learning on an automatic. I learnt on a manual car but 40 odd years ago my brother passed his test in an automatic which meant he couldn't drive a manual car but it never caused him any problems. There were always plenty of automatics available for sale or rent if he wanted to hire a car.

Gwyn, I used to make dropped scones for Sunday tea as well when the kids were younger but I didn't have anything as good as a bakestone. I just had to use the heaviest frying pan I owned. It's supposed to be getting colder again so wrap up warm if you are in school this week.

I had said to granddaughter to let us know which station she was coming to yesterday and we would pick them up. I just got back that I wasn't to worry, they would be fine. Sure enough there was a ring at the doorbell much earlier than we expected and there they were. It was so lovely to see them and we really liked the boyfriend. We talked and laughed non-stop. When it was time for them to go this afternoon OH offered to drive them to the station at Colchester but they insisted that they would get a bus and they had worked out which of our infrequent buses would fit in best with their trains so we walked with them to the bus stop and waved them goodbye there.. I think they were going to have a bit of a wait between trains but they would be able to get themselves a coffee both at Colchester and in London. Their visit really perked us up and I hope it's not too long before we see them again but it could be a while.

I hope you all sleep well tonight and wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Good morning all only 2 degrees here so a bit chilly at the moment. Looks dry though. I slept well, but still got up twice for the loo. Sometimes I think it is 'just in case' rather than a necessity though.

So pleased that you had a lovely time with Granddaughter and boyfriend. And how refreshing that they were so independent with their travel arrangements. I had not realised that they would be on public transport and not driving.

Re automatic cars. Hiring a car in Lanzarite would be difficult if someone only ever drove automatics. Last time daughter was there they couldn't get an auto, only manual. Luckily son in law has driven manual, well so has daughter and both passed ordinary tests. I am not sure how the insurance works abroad if you have only passed in an automatic car.

I am still in the learning curve with the new PC + W11. The latter is not too bad as most things are actually the same or similar, if not always in the same place. It was great to get back on my desk top. I did once have a laptop and did ask Dom about whether I should get one instead of the desk top. He said, 'only if you want to be able to move your PC around' so I went for the desk top which is, like the Acer was, a very slim tower ( not quite as slim as the Acer but still fits in the same place). Dom also put the printer onto WiFi

I am out to lunch (just a snack) today with friend from over the road. Can't be out too long though as have a blood test booked for 3.20 this afternoon. Must remember not to eat anything sweet for lunch.

Afternoon all,

8 degrees and cloudy here at the mo but we have had a little sunshine this morning.

I have been trying to sort out a parcel that was delivered on 29th Jan. which the lady said was'nt delivered. I had to go on the po website and get confirmation that it had been delivered and sent that to the lady with the tracking number. She came back to me and said she definately had not recieved it and that was'nt her signiture. Back I go to the po site and get another photo of the original order for the label and parcel to be collected and when I looked I had sent it to 65 instead of 69. Her hubby went round this morning but there was no answer so he is going agin after work. We will see what happens. Watch this space. I may have to make another one for her but it going to take a while as it was a tudor slipware pot and lid.

Anyway that took up all the morning since I got up and now I am hungry and its nearly lunchtime so think I will do myself something to eat as my tum is rumbling.

That was the second thing that happened to me today as when I went to make my coffee this morning and got the milk out of the fridge it was frozen. I must have turned it up whilst putting something from the shopping in there yesterday. I turned it up to 6. senior moment comes to mind I must check in the future. :-S

Afternoon All,

Quite chilly here but it's expected to get colder tomorrow think.

Mel he was told off as Maxidex is a strong drug and should be used strictly according to the instructions. The fact that he'd finished the course as instructed, but his eye was flaring up again and he couldn't get anyone to answer the phone at Eye Casualty to advise him what to do was why he decided to start the drops just for the few days before his next appointment with them, rather than let his eye get worse still. He didn't bother to explain all this, but they really need to make sure they answer their phones. She told him to start the drops again anyway, so no harm was done.

AnnG I actually prefer a desk top PC too, and like that there is less to reach over to use the keyboard. I got used to using a laptop when we were issued them to take on visits in our jobs. Our laptops have fairly big screens and we can take them on holiday with us which is handy. I have limited desk space too and can move the laptop right off the desk if I need to use the space it takes up which is also handy when I lay my paints out. I'm glad you are getting used to W11. It's finding the different places where things are as you say and even called different names! You will get there after a little while though. No OH isn't on any antibiotics.

Vera how good and independent your granddaughter and her boyfriend were, sorting out their journeys themselves so they didn't inconvenience you at all. It's great you like her boyfriend and that you all seem to have enjoyed the visit.

I think the point they were making on the programme about automatics was just the fact that times have changed and there are less of us around that know how to drive a manual car and that young people often don't know how to, as they've only ever driven automatics. Last time OH had a courtesy car it was an automatic, so it looks like garages having them as courtesy cars caters for everyone. They do say they can cost more to buy and repair and need repair more often though and that they aren't quite as economical, but that's another matter!

OH was fretting about getting Valentine cards (hopefully for me , although I told him not to worry about it!) so I took him to the retail park down the road. I managed to get an end parking space and we popped into Boots first and got a replacement hot water bottle for an old one we have. Then a few doors away we went to W H Smith (soon to be closing) then to Sainsbury's and called in the cafe (soon to be closing) and had scrambled egg on wholegrain toast and a decaf skinny latte.

Eyedrop time again! It soon comes round.

Its good to know that using the eye drops again did'nt do harm but probably good but they should tell you these things when you get the first lot. I bet there's loads of people that press too hard on the little bottles and lose most of it and have to ask for more. If I remember rightly the bottle looked half empty when I got mums anyway.

Turned cold and cloudy here and its 8 degrees but feels much colder than that.

Stu is coming tomorrow night for dinner so I was glad with all the upset of the parcel. Its put me all behind today and Iv'e not got anything done so I better start now and do the pots ready for tomorrow and cook some carrots and broc so it is all ready to heat up. I was going to make a sausage toad but think it will now be sausge and mash with veg. I am trying the pork and maple syrup sausages from Asda, hope they are ok!!

Yes I agree they should tell you these things at the start Mel and those little bottles do look half empty as you say. Good idea to get ahead with the meal for tomorrow so it's quick to get ready. I have never tried those sausages and don't often have sausage so I don't know what they are like. I caught up with Silent Witness last night and saw what you meant about wanting to see what would happen next as I was just the same! What a nuisance the parcel address wasn't quite right, but that was a bit naughty them signing for it, although they may have thought someone in the house had ordered something and not said. I hope it can be retrieved so you don't have to make another.

Well Dell have got back to me and quoted me for a refurbished keyboard for my laptop, so I have purchased it, or think I have although a confirmation email hasn't come through yet. It will take about a fortnight to come, but at least it's the best solution and I will get the local company to fit it. The keyboard itself was only £32 and then there will be the cost of fitting it. I still think I will get a plug in keyboard as well to keep as a backup.

I noticed a car from up the close being towed away on a breakdown truck this morning. At least they have two cars though, so should still be able to get around.

I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't make a note of the pathway to report spam to talktalk, as it took a while to work out and I thought I would remember. At least ERNIE has been generous this month and managed to send me an amount just into four figures, the biggest I have ever had.

Good afternoon ladies

After a slightly frosty start we’ve had some lovely sunshine though there’s been a real nip in the air. I’ve had one of those days when my get-up-and-go seems to have got-up-and-gone. I just can’t settle to anything much. It sounds as though you’ve had a difficult morning too Mel with parcel problems and frozen milk. I hope things have improved this afternoon.

I don’t think my brother ever went to Lanzarote AnnG or even Spain but I know he hired cars in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries, including Italy, without any problems. I hope your blood test went okay. You mentioning your slim tower pc made me think I must ask OH what happens if I want to use a DVD as we don’t have towers. Our PCs are basically a screen and a keyboard. Luckily we have had them a while and neither of us seem to have needed to use a tower at all.

This granddaughter and boyfriend have to come by public transport as they can’t really afford to run a car. Granddaughter doesn’t drive but I think boyfriend has a licence. They live in Manchester in an area that has plenty of public transport and is within walking distance of their work, so they can manage easily without a car. We think the family generally have become aware of the fact that we are getting older and no longer expect us to pick them up and drop them off all over the place. But they did well to negotiate the online timetable for our strange bus service. I struggle to make sense of it and I live here!

I think it’s time for an afternoon cuppa. I fancy a nice ginger biccy with it. The iPad strikes again - it’s just changed biccy to bicycle. I definitely do not fancy a nice ginger bicycle.

A ginger bicycle! Where do these replacement words come from?

Well done Ann on managing to get a replacement keyboard. Last week I had somebody from U3A to help with a new. Editing procedure for our web site. He brought his lap top for me to use to practice the procedure. The best thing was that his lap top had a full sized key board plugged in.somewhere in this house there should be a separate keyboard for IPads but it was a three quarter sized one. That was hard to get used to.

Vera my last tower took CDs and DVDs but the new one doesn’t. I have many photos saved on CDs. Daughter has just bought on line a device that transfers CDs to the PC in her case a desk top. I intend buying one.

Ann I am actually looking forward to the challenge of sorting it all out. I am sure it will be frustrating at times too.

Re automatic cars. My Granddaughter didn’t want an automatic car when she bought one after passing her test. She was 20/21, can’t quite remember. She enjoys using the gears. And she is an excellent driver. I have travelled with her driving around Milton Keynes.