General Chat

Wool on your mind Mandy. I am surprised my dreams have not been dominated by computers.
Cakes sound nice. I had a nice piece of cake yesreday, Cynth’s birthday sponge. It was gluten free for the benefit of her friend who was staying but I would not have known any different it was very nice.

I just typed a long reply and was halfway through saving it before posting when GR timed out. It has been doing that recently for me, not sure why. That is the trouble with a new PC I don’t know if things are set up as I had them before and don’t know what affects what.
One thing I had to do just now, I had a paper jam on my printer and had to remove the back to free the paper. Not had to do that before.

Ann, I had checked that my wifi was connected ok so went into settings on my PC and found that Wifi was not showing as connected. I don’t know how that can have happened as it was ok last night before I shut down. Anyway I slicked it to on. But it still didn’t come on, so I turned it all off at the plug, turned the power off, left it five minutes then turned it all back on and it was ok. But then it did play up saying across the tim ‘there is a problem, trying to connect’. This made me wonder if people working from home can affect my Wifi power. I have at least two houses close to me where they work from home. I wonder if they are on a Zoom meeting or are dowloading stuff if it affects the Wifi.

Brrr, it’s a cold day. It hasn’t got above 3 degrees all day and feels a lot, lot colder. There’s a bitter north-east wind and it has rained on and off all day. As I was driving to the chiropodist this morning it was heavy, sleety rain. Not a day to be outside.

You have to wonder where these verrucas come from Annx. I had one a while ago and had no idea where it could have come from. The stuff I had to put on it said it could take months to clear but mine only took about 3 weeks. It’s good your OH was seen quickly this morning. I hope he gets the results of his blood tests quickly too so any necessary treatment can be started. Feeling unwell and being in pain does drag you down and he must be fed up with it now. You asked if my daughter is retired now. She took early retirement last July so that she could look after her partner and spend with him what little time was left. She had to take a bit of a drop in her occupational pension and she can’t get her state pension for a few years yet but she has more than enough to live on.

You and Mandy have both had odd dreams AnnG. It’s strange how real some dreams can seem. I often wake up knowing I have just been dreaming but not remembering anything about it which is very frustrating. It sounds as though you are getting a bit frustrated with your wi-fi. I wouldn’t have thought it could be affected by others working from home. I haven’t had it with the computer but have occasionally found it’s gone off on the iPad. I hope you can get it sorted soon.

Can I come to tea please Mandy? I like apple cake – or anything with apples – but I haven’t come across Old School Cake before. Is it nice?

While I remember to ask, do you ladies think I could grow rhubarb in a large pot or a half barrel? I grew it in the ground at our old house and am not sure how it would do in a pot. I had some tinned rhubarb yesterday and it was absolutely tasteless. Even OH said that if he had been blindfolded he wouldn’t have known what he was eating.

I am going to do a bit of filing now and then go and make a hot drink. I haven’t got any heating on upstairs in this room. My body’s not too bad as I’ve got a big fluffy dressing gown on over my clothes but my hands are going numb. I’ve got a big beef casserole in the oven so I’m looking forward to that in a couple of hours and I’ve made enough for 2 days so tomorrow will be easy as I’ll just have to reheat it on the hob.

Stay warm and cosy folks.

Have you looked to see whether 'airplane mode' is switched on AnnG? If you click on the battery or wifi symbols on the bottom bar at the right hand side it will show and you can switch it off if it is on. That can switch your wifi off. I wonder why GR is timing out though.

Mandy I have never heard of Old School Cake. What is in it? The Apple cake sounds nice. You must have been expecting to do a lot of knitting and crochet in your dream to get all those bags of wool! We managed to park in a patient's space today with being there early, so no parking charge today. When we went to the surgery, then eye clinic the other day the parking plus two packs of sandwiches and one bottle of water cost over £17.

Ooops! I missed your post Vera.

I think Rhubarb would be ok in a pot or your half barrel with some good compost. The barrel might be best though as it can grow big, but then again, you could keep it smaller as long as there is enough for what you need. It's worth trying. The stuff I have for verrucas says it can take months too, so I hope it is quicker like yours was. OH did seem a bit down today I thought, which isn't surprising with all that's happened. It will help if he can get the tooth extracted next week and then get the blood test results. He had a nap this afternoon which was good for him to catch up on some sleep and has a football match on tv to watch tonight. It's good your daughter has no financial worries on top of losing her partner, as that is difficult enough for anyone. I think we are due rain tomorrow.

Old school cake is just a tray baked sponge cake with icing on top and lots of sprinkles on the icing ,we had it served with custard at school and I think the icing was pink but I did just white icing on mine ,there were two pieces I couldn't get in the tub so we had them for pud .

Ann OH is usually so busy with paperwork and going to meetings etc so it must be strange for him to just have to take it easy and not do as much , it's probably the shock of what happened too, you can't go through all that and get over it in a few weeks

Vera I'd give the rhubarb a go In the big tub ,is there anyone you know who can give you a piece of their plant then you won't have lost anything if it doesn't work but I don't see why it shouldn't.

You m ay be ok if you plant rhubarb in a half barrel but remember it is very long rooted and you're not suppose to pick it he first year to let the plant get established. Why not pop it in a corner of your garden? It will need a nice lot of compost or horse exhust.

We had some wonderful rhubarb when we were doing the top garden. I had one that had lovely thich red stalks and I know we had one called Champagne and a Victria and Timberly early. It may have been the Champagne one that was really red all the way up to the leaves.

BIL popped in but did'nt stay he just came to pick up the strimmer. Its been bitterly cold here today not a day when you want to be outside for long and I have filled the birds feeders up twice today and when BIL was here we had the little Goldcrest feeding under the bird feeder picking up all the crumbs from the fat sticks.

I think if the half barrel is fairly deep it would be worth giving it a try if there is no room in the garden Vera.

No, airplane mode was off Ann. My Briadband is via cable and
I did read on google that it could slow down the Wifi if several people on the same cable tried sending on wifi at once.

Good morning

It’s another grey, damp day but the wind has dropped and I think it might be a tiny bit warmer. It could be a lot worse. I was thinking of my brother’s funeral, 4 years ago today, when we were panicking that we wouldn’t get there because of the snow.

I slept well last night, 6 hours without waking at all and then I dozed for another hour or so. Why can’t every night be like that?

I haven’t got any plans today. Enjoy your day whatever you’re doing.

Good morning Vera and everyone. glad you had a good night Vera, I did as well.

2 degrees here and very dull outside. No plans for me either today although still lots to do with the new PC. Bed has been stripped and bedding in the wash.

I do need to get this Wifi sorted. It is much slower now since dom installed the new PC and also put the printer onto Wifi. I can't see how that should slow it all down though as the printer is not switched on.

I will wait until Monday and send him the question re the Wifi

Tesco due this afternoon. I do have another book for Irene so maybe I could do that too. The time soon goes.

Morning girls,

Its so nice to hear that Vera and Ann had a really good night last night. It makes the world of difference to your day.

Its 3 degrees here and really very dull but no icy wiund as far as I can see, not been out there yet.

Just the shop for me to do this morning and then the rest of the day is my own as BIL won't be coming. Perhaps I can get some miniatures done as Iv'e not done much since before Christmas. Acually I dropped one down the back of the radiator yesterdayIt was one of the new largish earthenware pots. It did'nt fall out the bottom so I had to get a cane and poke it down the back till I thought I could feel it. Broke the cane and then got the old fishing net with the plastic handle. I have one of those radiators mop things but it does.nt go down the back of the new rad in the kitchen. Anyway I prodded nd poked and then I thought I would swish it from the side it worked and out it popped looking very battered and dented and chipped. Then I noticed as I had taken the end off and the top grill that all the little ripples between the double rad had cobwebs in the so out came the this garden cane again and I went down every hole collecting the cobwebs ont he sticck. Some fell down onto the carpet but I was so surprised at what came oput I must remember to look down it on a regular basis. I only found out last year when the plumber came that I could take the grill off the top of the rad.

Good morning all.
Gosh yesterday the wind was bitter, but I needed to go to town, so wrapped up warmly and managed to get back home before most of the rain came.
We had overnight rain, but today doesn't feel quite so raw.
We seldom have frost here and haven't had one lately.

We have rhubarb growing in a tub.
It came from an established crop growing in the garden, where daughter works, but had to be taken out to make way for out-buildings. We planted it about a year ago.
I went out just now to give you up to date information. It has survived the winter well and has many sprouting areas and some small stems(about 6 inches) and new leaves. :-D.
The tub has been out in the north facing back garden all winter and the only 'care' it's had is daughter tipping water out of the top, after particularly heavy deluges and on one occasion she picked off some thin ice.
I would estimate that the tub is roughly 18 inches across the top and about 20 inches deep, shaped like a large flower pot. We did put some rubble at the bottom for drainage, but our winter rainfall was extreme for these parts hence the need for a bit of manual tipping.
Although it grew well in it's first season with us, we knew to leave it to establish itself, but hope for a usable crop this year.

Thanks for the rhubarb advice ladies. Mel, my garden is very small and there is not a free corner to pop a rhubarb plant in. I had a large garden with a big vegetable plot in our last house and there I used to grow Timperley Early and a later maturing one whose name I have forgotten. On a good year we would have more than enough for pies and crumbles etc and I would make rhubarb and ginger jam and rhubarb ice cream. I do miss my veg garden, though I don't miss the work involved. At the moment I have several pots of herbs on a pebbled area, blueberries and guava in pots and I put half a dozen pots of tomatoes in a sort of alleyway between the house and the garage. Having said all that, I am thinking twice about having rhubarb now. You shouldn't pick it the first year and only pick a limited amount the second year so we'll have to wait three years for a reasonable crop. By then OH will be 90 and I'm only a few years behind. Will we want to be doing much in the garden by then? I suspect we'll be doing a bit of gentle dead heading and getting a gardener in to keep everything weeded and tidy. I think in rhubarb season I'll keep my eyes open in the shops and the market and if I see some nice looking rhubarb that isn't too horrendously priced I'll buy a load and freeze it to use as I want.

I've had an easy morning. I did get a load of towels washed but otherwise I've caught up on several silly little jobs - tidied some plants overwintering in the conservatory, descaled the kettle, went through some old emails and deleted most of them and got some paperwork up to date. I'm not sure what I'm doing for the rest of the afternoon but it won't involve anything very energetic. I'm following the easy morning with an easy afternoon ;-)

Easy day then Vera. I think that is a good idea about the rhubarb. I think mine was on its last legs last year so, if it doesn't appear this year I won't replace it. Planning 3 years ahead gets a bit uncertain at my age. Although I won't stop planning a year ahead with the garden.

I have filled my day with small jobs, mostly admin. I did change my bed and washed the bedding. I also wrote a letter by email to a penfriend. (we have resorted to email with expensive poatage and dodgy post it is easier and safer. I have atarted to sort the recovered files. So far two that I would say are important to me have recovered ok so they have been re-saved on USB. A lot that was really only useful last year has been deleted. I was pleased to find that the master for my address labels, so useful at Christmas, was OK. I have also just sorted an A4 sized plastic drawer that sits on my desk It was full of off cuts of card meant to be for my card making. so useful that I really had forgotten what was in it and I can guarantee it had not been opened for over 5 years. So most of the card bits have gone in the recycling bin. On top of that drawer is a basket weave 'pending' tray and that could be next.

I have put away the Tesco shop. He was early when I opened the day I had to smile he said'afternoon.... crappy day!'. It really is horrible out there with the sort of cold that seeps into your body. I felt sorry for him. He was really cheery though and very helpful. When he saw me chacking the BB dates, he took over and checked them all for me.

Afternoon All,

It feels very chilly still, but the rain we had earlier has stopped now and it's been a dull day. We popped to the shop before lunch and decided to do a short 15 minute walk in the village. We hoped to go further but my left knee was playing up and OH's hands were so cold. I had to brake a bit harder at one point on the way home and it really set OH's back off so it was painkillers, tv and rest for him this afternoon.
You are right Mandy about him having a big change to adjust to. If he didn't have the pain, I think he would be much brighter. He was always on the go and his diary was full of things he's had to cancel now. He was always very good at dealing with all the changes in his job in the past, but it's different when you have to stop.

AnnG it would be a good idea to email Dom, especially as things have slowed down as well. It could be like you say with more people using wifi where you are. Maybe you just need something like a signal booster.

I didn't know you could get the radiator grills off the top of radiators either Mel. It sounds like it was a bit of a game getting the plate out but you did it in the end. It will be good to get back to making more of your miniatures.

It sounds like your rhubarb is doing well in the tub Gwyn and you will have some pickings this year.

I'm going to see what else I can shred now.

This is why Wifi is difficult to understand. Since 11am this morning Wifi has been working perfectly. Wonder if everyone has finished downloading for work!

Evening all,
Cold and dull here again ,no frost but it's been one of those days I can't seem to get warm .

We went to sons for coffee and I took the cakes ,they were going to have the apple cake with custard tonight for a pud .
When we hot home I took my trainers off and when I put them in the cupboard I caught my thumb nail on the shelf above and it pulled my thumb nail back so I now have a white crease line across my nail and blood under the nail ,I put a plaster on as the nail is split and I thought I might catch it ,it's to sore to cut it at the moment .

Ann how's your toenail now ,that looked really sore .

We have the Range opening a store next Friday in the old Homebase store ,I use to like looking round the one in Norwich so looking forward to seeing what this one is like ,it won't be as big as the Norwich one so probably won't have as much choice .

Jake came back from his second driving lesson and he's really getting on well the instructor told him he's at least three lessons ahead of where he should be , his next one is next Tuesday again .

I bet the apple cake would be lovely as a pud with custard! Well done Jake on doing so well with his driving. At this rate he will be ready to take his test sooner than usual as well. :-) Would Jake be able to do some driving for the butcher if he has a van?

Ouch Mandy, I bet your thumb is sore after doing that and bending it back so far as to crease it! The plaster will help protect it as you say. Some of my toe and nail are slowly going back to a pink colour, but half of the top of the nail is still dark, so I hope that gradually grows out pink as well and that the nail doesn't come off!

They have turned our city Homebase store into a Range too Mandy and it opened last week. It has a big carpark so I want to go and see what it is like. There is a smaller Range store further in the city, but it is hard to park there.

We will have to get a gardener this year Vera once we have had the front garden made easier and someone has sorted the back garden better for us. I thought when we moved here it was small enough to always be able to manage it. Like you I loved my garden at my old house and grew lots of veg and fruit. It wasn't as big as your garden was, but it was about 3 times as big as what we have now. It's a shame, but I will still be able to plant up some pots of colour.

Good morning all 2 degrees, no frost butmaybe a bit brighter than it was yesterday. I don'r mind cold (rather have warm), but yesterday was really horrible. So dark all day that I had to have the lights on all the time.

I had a couple of books for Irene but didn't go down yesterday as it was so raw so will probably take them down today.

Otherwise it is back to the list of jobs on the new PC.

Ann, if you are looking for a gardener, don't leave it until the summer. keep an eye out from now on. Do you have any local facebook or 'Next Door' sites. It is best to try and get somebody recommended by someone else in your area. I wouldn't call Jake and his Dad proper gardeners, they know nothing about plants but that is fine, I just need them to do the heavy work under supervision..That is fine by me, I and T survived 60 years doing our gardens without knowing the latin names of plants. All they need is clear instruction. So start looking casually now. Good luck.

Morning all,

Nice bright morning so far today unlike yesterdays dull and dreary cold weatherpc is saying mostly cloudy and its 4 degrees and expect light rain tomorrow.

When I woke this morning I was convinced someone was outside as I could hear a few bangs and crashes. I went to the loo and when I washed my hands I thought I saw something come off the roof. I listened and it carried on and all the time stuff was falling off the roof then I realised it was a bird on the roof turffing the moss off. I don't mind that but I have to sweep up after them. I did see a Woodpecker fly away so perhaps it was that.

Hope you all had another good night and are well rested for the day ahead.

I have to paint this pot for the lady to replace the one I sent to the wrong address and I'll put some extra bits in to compensate for her wait.

Morning all,

No frost and it's a little bit brighter than yesterday, don't know how cold it is as I haven't been out yet ,nothing planned for today I just have a little sewing job to do ,Katie has a jump suit that needs the legs turning up as it's to long and she needs a bit off the sleeves too ,it looks so tiny ,it's a size 8 .

Mel the birds can make a heck of a mess when they get the moss off the roof , they have a go here sometimes and then if Max sees it he brings big lumps of it in .

Ann you asked if ths butcher has a van ,yes they do so Jake might do delivery's, he does walk delivery's to the local pubs sometimes if they are getting short of something .poor boy now has to train another boy as this latest one has now left ,I suppose it's not everyone's cup of tea handling meat and they don't know until they try it