General Chat

Hi everyone,

Late up this morning and only just caught up with your posts again.

Sun is in and out today and still a chilly breeze.
OH got me up at 7.30 to see one of our female phesants come down the garden with three chicks in tow. The other one has about 10 at the moment and I forgot to tell you that last week when we got home.

Finished off one side of our tunnel yesterday where I put the tom plants in and now it is all ship shape and Bristol fashion ready for the plants.

Had fish and chips last night and OH had a kebab so I popped in the chinese and paid them too. Bought a small bunch of flowers for his wife and when I gave them to her she gave me a big smile! That is the first time ever I have seen her smile as she is usually so busy getting things ready to cook and getting the cartons packed away in their boxes that she always looks miserable with consentration.

OH got the window in the new build yesterday and I had to hold it while he secured it.

BIL coming about 2pm for more eggs to take to his friend at work up country.

Ann I am just about to look at the pics you sent.

Glad Frank had a safe journey to Rutland and enjoyed his meal, football and beer.

Morning everyone.
It's raining here. I have just washed the bedding so suppose it will have to dry in the conservatory. Hubby safely off to France last night so its "home alone" for the next two weeks for me. Have been to do some food shopping this morning as I hope to live healthily this week at least ( hopefully )
The husband of a friend has had a very bad motor cycle accident near Hexham and has smashed two ankles, a knee, his pelvis and both arms and he is in hospital in Newcastle. They have only been married for two years and she is dashing backwards and forwards every day.Heard from her this morning and she is furious with the hospital ( she is an ex military nurse) and is hoping to get him home A.S.A.P.
Ann Thanks for the photos, the palm stumps look so sad. Will they grow again?
Frank Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Did you eat in the Balti house near the square in Rutland. I do not know its name but remember that it is above a shop and we had a good meal there a few years ago.
Have not heard from family this morning so hope all is well
Going to have a healthy salad now!! ;-)

Anne ,are all he Chickenpox patients better now?I hope so.The new baby didn't have it did she?Where in France has your OH gone.I love France.We used to go every year when the children were younger.
I have just booked a weeks holiday in Northumberland for september.Alnwick.(not sure how that is pronounced).I was getting a bit worried as there are so many cottages booked up right the way through Sept.This is what happened last yearand we went to Dorset instead.I have always wanted to visit Northumberland ,so now I have the chance.

I do hope your friends hubby will be alright Anne.That sounds a very nasty accident.Your friend will be exhausted.

I have put a jumper on !!It's a little chilly.

Mel what do you do with your Chard?We have swiss chard,and looks like there is a lot !!!!!!.You often mention that you have picked some in the tunnel.Tips please.

Hi Jane
Hazel much better when we left on Friday. She still has some spots but most have scabbed over now. Baby seems to have escaped as I guess she has immunity from her mum. Yes my friend is exhausted but cannot stay near the hospital as she has three dogs at home and does not want to leave them.
Alnwick is a lovely place and the Northumbrian coastline is gorgeous with long stretches of sandy beaches.Do visit Alnwick gardens which have recently been restored and are fantastic. You can spend a whole day there and combine it with the castle visit. Bamburgh castle is also worth a visit as is a trip out to the Farne islands. :-)

Afternoon everyone,

Well we've got lots of black clouds,and plenty of wind , but still no rain !!!

We're off to sons later for a Barbeque , i bet it will pour then .

Ann, what a shame you lost your Palms ,they looked really nice , do you just cut them off ,or will you have to dig the roots out .

We've been to the car boot this morning , i bought some more plants ,i bought a Fuchsia called Lady Boothby ,it is a climber , and when i read up about it ,as i've never had a climbing Fuchsia before ,it said it can grow up to 15ft !!! so we'll see.
My old fashioned White Rose is now starting to flower , my Nanny's Rose, i always think of her when i smell it :-) smells like P*nds Cold Cream .

Oh , a few spits of rain !!!!!

Anne, thanks for that info.I just had your email ,and have replied.

Mandy ,I remember that smell....Ponds Cold Cream.Gosh it does bring back some memories!!!I can see Mum smothered in the stuff every night lol
Roses are one of my favourite flowers.I have one of Mums old ones.It is hanging on by it's teeth lol.Just one stem every year.But always reminds me of Mum.My Aunty Betty had the most amazing Roses(think I have said before).The really big red ones with the old fashioned strong scent.I can smell them now as type lol.One was called 'Peace' a really deep red full rose,and the scent was quite overpowering,but beautiful.Makes me want to cry sometimes when I remember her rose garden.It was heaven.

Just had a call from Rachel in Dubai.She will be having her Baby in the next couple of weeks.I will then be a surrogate Grandma.They still haven't agreed on first names!!

I cannot believe we have still had NO RAIN.Where is it????The grass is looking all yellow again.I hope you manage to get your BBQ Mandy.
I saw people coming away from the Car Boot at Wicksteed Park this morning.I couldn't believe what a load of tat some people were carrying lol

I am wondering what the exact time difference is for Kim and us?

Jane the rose Peace is yellow with a pink blush on the tips of the petals. My favorite used to be Fragrant Cloud, had a beautiful scent. The one I brought from my cottage in Suffolk is pale pink and smells of ponds cold cream. I think a lot of the old roses smelled of that. I remember having a set of Dubarry bath stuff when young and that was rose scented all in a pink silk lined box. I thought it very grown up.

Oh forgot about the chard!!!!!!! I do it like spinach but cut off the stalks and do them separately. Boil for a few mins. drain and put butter on them and a sprinkling of sea salt. They also go alright in a mixed salad cut very finely and I add the very small leaves to salads too. If you have the rainbow chard the colours are lovely in salads, pink, white, orange, red and yellow and the leaves have the same coloured veins.

Has rained here nearly all day and I have even turned on the heating!!
I have spent the afternoon doing some more research and updating my information. I have volunteered to help with transcribing some seamans records at our County Archive which is only 10mins from home. I start tomorrow and am looking forward to doing something new. It's a two year project so will keep me occupied for one day a week. There are 800 muster rolls dating from the 18th century and I saw a cry for help in the Who do you think y** are mag. Will let you know how I get on.
Am having a glass of sherry whilst my dinner is cooking and listening to the birds singing outside as they seem to be enjoying the rain.
Jane Have sent another message. :-)

Anne ,that sounds very interesting!.You are good to take this on.
As for Rain!!!!! what is that???? still nothing here.We are getting quite desperate now.I have never known it so dry at this time of year.Even though we live in probably the driest part of the country.I can see me doing a big watering job at my neighbours tomorrow.I always worry when I look after someone elses plants and garden,in case something dies lol.Fingers crossed!

I am worried about poor Hannah ,she looks a wreck.I think everything is taking it's toll.(I haven't told her she looks a wreck) I just want to give her a big hug and say all will be alright.She is just mentally exhausted.

I am now looking at yet another massive pile of flipping ironing!!!!!.Tomorrows job I think lol

Evening All,

We had rain yesterday and this morning it was pouring when we went out to lunch. It must fizzle out before it reaches you Jane. As soon as you mentioned Northumberland the other day I thought of Alnwick Gardens. We went about 4 years ago and they are fabulous and very interesting. Everything looked immaculate and as if no expense had been spared. The fountains are fascinating. We stayed at a little place called Alnmouth on the coast which has a lovely beach level with the road. We used to stroll on it each morning before breakfast.

I have wondered whether to get involved with some transcribing at our local RO Anne. I shall be interested to know how you find it. The trees will get a short reprieve to see if they grow Mandy and Anne. OH intends to speak to the gardening people that do some of our neighbours gardens next time they are down here to see if they will chainsaw the last bits!! Mandy, I have looked at those Lady Boothby fuschias and wondered how they would climb. Let us know how yours does. I saw a lovely climber on someone's garage wall while I was out yesterday and took a pic. I think it was an Actinidia?? Pretty green leaves splashed with pink.

Mel, I grew some of that Rainbow Chard a few years ago, but I didn't try to use any until it was as big as Rhubarb!! lol We weren't too keen on it and it was probably past it's best at that size. I like using different baby leaves in salads though and the colours would look very pretty so I might try a short row again!! We had some of our own lettuce and radishes in a salad tonight.

I had forgotten about Fragrant Cloud, we had one too as well as Peace when I first got married. I remember another rose we got called Blue Moon. My MIL then had a beautiful single rambler called American Pillar and another climber which we also got called Paul's Scarlet I think? Roses seem to be making a real comeback.

The garden centre we went to today had a classic car rally in the car park. It amazes me how small those cars all look nowadays!! As one drove off we got that familiar whiff of unburnt petrol you don't seem to get on modern cars. It was quite nostalgic!! lol

Nice for you to get some good news today Fiona.

Kim, aren't those Ragdoll cats HUGE?? Hope your daughter soon feels better.

Evening All
Family all gone home so I have time to come on here before I start Ironing OH shirts for work again, he's down in crew all this week and won't be back to Friday,

Still not heard from my cousin in Sunderland, about receiving the flowers hope she got them , I did get one from the florist to say they were being delivered yesterday.

well I will go and tackle that ironing
BBl

Quotation no16
<3Be courteous to all,but intimate with a few, let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the apellation <3

Evening all,

Arrived home about 6.15. Good journey, with very little traffic. NO RAIN here either Jane. On Saturday Ros and Jan went down to MK. and the M1 was flooded in the Mk area. but no rain coming up to Kettering/Corby.

Had a great weekend apart from MY WEST HAM has gone down from the premiership. CRY CRY CRY.

Back from Barbeque , it was to cold to be outside , son did the cooking and we all kept indoors in the warm .

We are going back to Peter Beales to find the name of another old rose that we took from Dads garden , this one is a pinky mauve colour ,and again has a wonderful scent like the white one , will have to wait until it is flowering ,which won't be long .
I think when we go we will get two roses for the front garden.

Poor Hannah, maybe you should give her a big hug Jane , your never to old for a hug from your mum !!

Ann, i'am looking forward to see how Lady Boothby does , its suppose to be a hardy and vigorous grower ,so we'll see.

Just a quick peep in before I disappear up the stairs to my bed.Just caught myself nodding off on the settee.Hannah and I demolished an Easter Egg a little while ago and yep! I feel sick now lol.My own fault I know ,but it was nice.
Post office first thing in the morning (after the dog walk ) and then it looks like another ironing session!.
Kim ,my son's daughter has 2 Ragdoll cats.They are lovely.
Right that is me done now.Glad you are home safe and sound Frank,and that you had a great weekend.
See you all tomorrow.YAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!zzzzzzz

That's me finished my ironing and OH is packing his SMALL suitcase for the week. he's teasing me making a joke out of how small it is and it only took him 10 mins to pack.
Where it would take me weeks to pack as I would be for ever changing my mind on what I want to take and how much I wanted to take , lol

Wish everyone goodnight
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jane, I didn't know you were a grannie!!! lol

Fiona, you sound just like OH and I with your packing. lol I take ages and start a week before and OH takes a smaller case and starts packing the morning he is going!! lol I'm really loving the sayings.

Glad you enjoyed your weekend Frank. Always nice to get home!!

Night night xx

Not sure of the time difference could be 9 hours if you are in daylight summer time over there. Thank you to everyone who asked about my daughter.

Annx yes they are meant to be and flop everywhere, but my girl is smallish and very un-Ragdoll like. She rips around the house, bullies the other cat and claws my couch, even though I have scratch posts around the house. She stands in doorways

, neither in nor out so you can't close the door. She pulls all of my linen from the cupboard and likes to chew on plastic bags, which I have to grab from her mouth. My other cat is so good - none of this nonsense.

My daughter was very ill last night, can't tolerate the new pills. She gave me quite a mouthful this morning, so hopefully on the mend. Ungrateful, little toad, lol.

Must have a shower before the lady comes to cut my hair. Sleep well all. I will chat again when you are all awake. Sunny here, but soooooooo cold. Yes, we do have frosts and below zero temps. here in winter, especially in the western suburbs near the foothills of the Blue Mountains Range.

I used Ponds Cold Cream (not that long ago either).

Jane, your son's daughter's cats must be better behaved than my girl. She's come from very good breeding, but I lost the plot with her a long time ago. She's 12 now and slows down in winter, but still causes havok around here.

How is your Prime Minister doing over there? Do we need to do a swap yet - you can have ours!!! Just heard from the hairdresser who has cancelled my appointment. She has a sick daughter too.

Must look up Rutland to see what county it's in. Found it East Midlands region, it looks lovely and I saw a photo of Oakham Castle. So many places to visit within easy reach!!!

Does anyone know much about Daglingworth in Gloucestershire? That's where my ggg.grandfather Curtis was born c.1749.

A childhood memory before I leave you - our neighbour had a prize garden across the road. She had beds of roses and all sorts. A lovable old hobo used to steal all her flowers, when she was out, and take them down to the local barmaids. When he died, a flock of cockatoos took up residence on the next door roof. When she would go out, they would sweep down and pluck off all the blooms and then start ripping up her lawn, which was like carpet. It was too much for Iris, especially when the birds started to screech with laughter when she shook her fist at them. Eventually they found another rooftop and another garden, but Iris never replanted her garden and that was very sad as it was beautiful.

Off to have a cuppa. bye for now

Morning Kim and All,

Still no rain here either but it is not so sunny today.

Jane I also did'nt know you were a granny!!

Not sure if I am going shopping today or not, can't make my mind up if I want to go up the tunnel or border or get the shopping over and done with.

The fuse has just gone on the pond airater and it is longer than any fuses I have in the draw and skinnier too. Sent him off with a card of fuse wire!! Bet he dos'nt bring it back or put it back in the draw where I know where it is for next time he requires it.

I have a whole haystack of ironing to do too.

Kim I do hope your daughter gets sorted soon as that sounds very nasty.