General Chat

Sounds a nice lot of plants you managed to choose with your voucher. It ws quite a bright morning here with a little sun but it couded over and has been dull and cold since lunchtime.

I hoovered the kitchen and then the shopping arrived so I took that in and it was more than usual this week. As the driver was still here the postman turned up with the label for my little parcel so he came down to Carl's van and we did the parcel and he had to back up to get out and wwas then follwed by Carl. 1 sub today and that was my chickens mini fillets which I was going to do a tray bake with for when Stu comes this week but the cut chicken they sent has some nice big bits in so I think it will do so I kept it. Put that lot away and then had luch and not done much since and its turned really cold so I don't feel like going out int he garden.

Meal for one tonight lamb and colcannon mash with carrots. I like that one. I am trying the minced lamb hot pot this week too. I get fed up with beef and chicken all the time. I shall do some brocolli with it to fill me up and I have fruit cocktail for dessert but I forgot to get some custard so it will have to be a little cream.

Iv'e turned the heating on for a while to warm up.

Vera I meant to say I miss the tips on those threads on the hobbies board. Not sure if anyone even reads them these days.

Yes I didn't see Mandy's post did I AnnG. It sounds like you got some nice things and made good use of your discount and voucher at the garden centre.

Thanks for the reminder about the Chapel prog Mandy. I will record it tonight as it should show on the planner tonight. Dry rot won't be good news will it, but it will be interesting to see how much more has been done to the Chapel. Happy Birthday to your sister! As you say, where do the years go. We were saying yesterday that some of our contemporaries we worked with may not be around anymore. It's supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer here and dry tomorrow so I hope you can get on with painting your fence.

I decided to go through my meds and had a good sort out of those that were out of date or no longer used that we can hand in to the chemist to dispose of next time we go. There were various creams/moiturisers etc out of date too so they have gone in the bin. There's more to sort through in a shallow Ikea cabinet I have on the wall in the ensuite, maybe tomorrow. It has paracetamol, suncream, antihistamines etc that have a shelflife too. It's a good idea to have a clearout and reduce what there is ready for when I have to clear everything for the work to start.

Mel I would enjoy your lamb meal and pud. :-D It's good you've had a more restful day today as you do so much most days and we have had a bit of heat on today as well.

I see we are being told to buy stamps again before they go up yet again in price.

Yes Anng I'm the baby lol my dad always use to introduce me to everyone as the baby of the family ,only me and my sister ten years between us so easy to remember how old she is .
Your getting your plants for the pots and garden I see ,I'd like a few new plants for the front garden ,something to add a bit of colour out there .

Ann, yes we hope to be able to get out there tomorrow to paint not my favourite job I have to say but its only a fence ,I need to find an old jacket as I'm bound to get paint on my sleeves , I do tend to flick paint I don't know how I do it but I do seem to get a lot on me lol
Not another price rise on the stamps, they'll cost more than a card soon .

good morning all. a bit grey so far hoping it stays dry as I have to walk to the hairdressers for 12 o'clock. It is 8 degrees at the moment.
Mandy yes trying to get a bit ahead of myself some of these will have to go into larger pots but I will wait and see what the forecast is for next week. At the moment they are in the conservatory but that does get really cold if the temp goes down at night. But also gets very hot is the sun shines in the day.

Morning all,

Bright at the mo with sun and 12 degrees and partly sunny by the pc.

Have to see if Stu is coming today or tomorrow and then the rest of the day will be cooking if he is coming.

Have to check on something now.

Been down at the thug rose and cutting back ivy grown up the arch. Puffed now and I see its time for lunch.

Afternoon All,

A misty and chilly start this morning, but at last the sun is out and making the conservatory warm.

We were up early and went to a bigger garden centre further away that we haven't been to for a few years. We passed what was a big aquatic place with a lake of Koi carp that people would feed and were very tame and it's all gone except the lake and the land is covered with hundreds of houses now. So many other big estates of houses are being built on the route now as well, gone for good are the views of the lovely country fields. The garden centre was good with some nice shrubs and pots, but we need to catch up more with the garden and make the changes before I can plant much. We saw some of the little greenhouses that I think will be big enough for what I will want now and the lady there will post some brochures to me. I think we will still need a small shed (OH thinks not, but the garage is still a third full of his and his mum and dad's stuff). They didn't have any maintenance free sheds but we know another garden centre that does, so will pop along there another day. to see what the options might be.

I've sorted out some more things that have gone in the bin but we will be setting off for OH's appointment with the Rheumatologist shortly. I just hope we won't be crawling home after in the rush hour.

Afternoon all,

Lovely day here and we've been out in the front painting the fence ,we got all down one side done so a good start the other side of the pickets are facing the neighbours and shs has lots of shrubs against the fence so that will have to be left ,tomorrow is shopping day so it will give our backs a rest and hopefully we'll be able to do the other pickets down the path side on friday but they will take longer as we have both sides to do and the front gate , we had a bit of a fight with the white rose as its quite big and it gave us a few scratches but it's better to get it done before it gets into leaf .

I came on to the thread meaning to do a post but I've got such a stonking headache that looking at the screen is making me feel nauseous. It was a very frustrating morning; problems with my script and meds and satnav guiding us to the wrong place in spite of being programmed with the correct postcode. This afternoon I've tried to catch up with some more gardening. The sun was hotter than I realised and was directly overhead.

I'm going to take a migraine painkiller and lay down for a while. If it eases I'll post tonight, if not I'll see you tomorrow.

Oh dear Vera that sounds like a hat was needed. That is the trouble when our weather changes so frequently and we are not ready for hot sun. It was hot here too this afternoon but after walking to and from the hairdresser I was too tired to go out into the garden except to plant out the six lettuce plants.

Good morning all. A bit grey here but still dry.and at 0730 it is 7 degrees I did put all the new plant I bought in the conservatory over night but I don’t think I needed to. Slept ok but not really well so still feel tired this morning. Not helped by the Wifi on my desk top playing up. Dom is sending for something to boost the Wifi so hope that will work.

Morning Anng and all,

Same here this morning grey and dry and its 8 degrees here, O it just gone up to 10 degrees and mostly sunny on the pc.

Need to go up the shop this morning sometime for my pills and then wash my hair and get dinner ready for tonight for Stu and I. He has been on a course for MOT testing which he has to do every couple of years I think to be able to get his certificate to do the MOT's.

Morning everyone,

Foggy here now it was clear when we got up about half seven but we should be having a sunny day with temperatures of 17 degrees.
Shopping day today, I'm feeling ths effects of bending down painting the fence yesterday my goodness I'm stiff as a board this morning and my side is a bit painful so it's good were having a bit of a rest after doing the shopping that will take most of the morning ,we also need to put the prescriptions in to the doctors and get some money from the hole in tgs wall st Tesco's.

Ann I hope OH''s appointment went OK yesterday and the traffic wasn't to bad on the journey home .

Vera hope your bad head has eased for you and you managed to get a decent nights sleep .

Anng better to be safe than sorry with the plants, if you hadn't brought them in they might not have liked the colder night and when you pay good money for the plants you don't want to lose them.

Mel have you decided on a tray bake for your meal tonight with Stuart .

I have been watching the Batch cooking lady she has some nice recipes I might have a look for her book she's done several books .

Morning All,

Another chilly and misty start, but the sun is shining now. OH had a dentist appointment first thing and there is still a little amount of healling to go, so the dentist has booked him 2 more appointments in about a months time to sort out the extra teeth for his denture.

The MRI scan at OH's appointment yesterday showed the inflammation in his spine and pelvis and the surgery physio he first saw was right. It isn't curable or reversible, but like other inflammatory conditions treatment is to damp down the overactive immune system. Only the NHS do the treatment which will be epipen style injections and also physio. The rheumatologist said it was very unusual to be diagnosed as old as OH and thinks he has had it for decades and that it could be the cause of what was diagnosed as sciatica, his osteoporosis, numbness he gets as well as causing his recent cardio vascular issue! What a pity the cause of his eye inflammation wasn't investigated in the 80s like it should have been and early treatment given then before all the further health issues it has since caused him.

Mandy we were amazed there was much less traffic this time! Oh your poor back painting the fence! Did you find something to sit on to do the bottom part? Good idea to give it a rest today before you do any more and do shopping instead. I've been watching the batch cooking programme as well and want to do some more of the recipes. I did a fish one and we both liked it but I hadn't realised she'd written some books. I like how she uses the zip bags and flattens them to freeze so they don't take up much space!

I hope the wi fi booster works when it arrives AnnG. At least it should be an improvement. It was best to protect your new plants rather than risk losing them. It's quite hot in our conservatory now so I've left the door open so the heat comes inside. :-)

Vera I have to be careful early in the year when we start to get bright sun as I have ended up with bad heads. I always stick a hat on now. I hope your poor head is much better today.

I actually moved the plants back out before I went out this morning as my conservatory gets really hot when the sun shines. It is cloudy today but there has also been a lot of sun so it was wise to move them out. However, I am sure they could well do without the rather chilly wind that is also blowing. I think they will survive but I will bring them back in later. Ar least they will be hardened off.

I went to Cheltenham on the bus, the roads are atrocious and it is a wonder that bits are not falling off the buses. It is not a comfortable ride. Anyway had a look round before meeting friends for lunch. I didn't buy anything. M&S had new material cargo trousers in but didn't have my size in the colour I like.
Four of us met for luch. I had tuna jacket, a really good portion of tuna and a large potato. However, the potato was very dry and floury. It was OK but I have had better.

Mandy yes I am doing a tray bake tonight but Stu will be later as he haas to go to Barnstaple to see a car his daughter wants to buy and its a good price. A BMW. I am going to do carrots, parsnips, celery, roast pots, creamy leeks, onion and chicken and I have picked some wild garlic out the garden to put on the chicken and veg too. May even make yorkshire puds as I have so many eggs and I have tenderstream broccoli too. That should fill him up and there should be enough chicken and veg for me for tomorrow too.

Went up the post van this morning and just as well I did as its not there on Friday or Monday. I must ring the PO and see why I can't use the collection service where they bring a label. When I try to do it I get to the end and it won't let me put my 6 digit number in for the payment to go through.

Hope Vera's headache is better today and she can get the jobs done she wants to do. Horrid when you have a bad head. I too think she should wear a hat in the garden when its sunny.

Anng were the plants you bought inside a greenhouse? cos they should be harden off if they were'nt.

Thjink I will go and wash my hair now after I have corned the girls then I do't have to go out there anymore. No gardening today one day on one day off is my motto lately with my hips and knees.

It's another beautiful day but tomorrow is likely to be cooler and wetter so we'd better make the most of it.

It's a great pity that the inflammation your OH has wasn't diagnosed a lot earlier Annx. Then he wouldn't have had to go through so much over the years. Let's hope the treatment will help and he will start to feel a bit more comfortable.

I hope your wi-fi booster will help AnnG. Touch wood, our wi-fi is pretty good here.

Enjoy your meal with Stu tonight Mel. It sounds tasty. I like a tray bake and don't do them often enough.

I'm not surprised you ached after fence painting Mandy, particularly if you were working down low. I hope you can rest up a bit now.

Yes, you are all right. I should wear a hat in sunny weather and I do have 2 or 3 hats for the garden but I absolutely detest wearing a hat. I find them a pain when gardening as they catch on twigs or blow away if there is any sort of breeze. I never even wear a hat in the depths of winter. What I should do is have a scarf round my neck and wear sunglasses as it is really the heat on the back of my neck and the bright light in my eyes that cause the problems. I had a very stressful day yesterday and I think the real cause of my bad head was stress. It's still there a bit but I am sort of functioning now.

I've had a fairly easy day today. We went for coffee this morning - just 5 of us today - and I've cleaned the other birdbath and done a bit of gentle tidying up in the garden. Now I'm going to have a cuppa and sit down with my book until it's time to cook dinner.

I love a traybake, you can do different assortments of veg and chicken is nice in one. I do mine in the convection oven in the microwave in a round tin. That's a nuisance the new way of dealing with your parcels isn't working now Mel. I hope you can sort it out as it was much easier for you.

I hate hats too Vera as they flatten my hair! I'm using a cowboy style one at present with a wide brim and it has a chin cord I can tighten so it doesn't blow off. A scarf is a good idea too as I think with bending over what we are doing in the garden means our necks are exposed a lot too.

I'm not happy as one of the bathroom fitters who forgot to call me back before, then remembered and rang me and arranged to call today after lunch or early evening seems to have forgotten again. I've even moved my car closer to the garage to make room for him on the drive and had to stay inside this afternoon to listen for him. I think he's blown it now as I don't want someone this unreliable or the work could take twice as long to get done. I hope the one due to call tomorrow will be better. :-S

Good morning all. The sun is shining, no sign of rain yet although it was forecast to rain overnight. Maybe we had a shower, I can't tell yet. Alexa is telling me it is 9 degrees.

I am another one who dislikes hats. I really don't think they suit me and never even wear them to weddings. If it is sunny I wear a cap or I have got a wide brimmed sun hat for the garden,

Ann I don't think it would be a good idea to take on that fellow who seems to please himself if he visits when he saiys he will. Better if the other one is reliable to stick with him.

Hope all slept well, I didn't last night, couldn't settle for some reason.
And yesterday evening I seemed to develop a tickly cough, I am wondering if it is hay fever as I could smell some daffodils I have in the lounge (a bunch I had with the groceries last week, the £1 marie Curie ones.

It is photography this afternoon so I am hoping this cough doesn't develop into something worde.