General Chat

Clouded over here and now quite chilly, soup would go down well to warm us up , heatwave coming next week could be 26 degrees so we'll want cool drinks and ice creams so we go from one extreme to the other .

Good afternoon ladies

I'm still feeling very tired and drained but I'm feeling a bit more cheerful generally so hopefully I am on the up. You are quite right AnnG, the retinal vein problem I had has stabilised and the hospital are happy with that. The eye troubles I have at the moment are to do with migraine. The centre of the migraine pain, which is excruciating, is always above my left eye and spreads from there right round my head and neck. I get odd, wavy lines in front of my vision, cannot see properly to read anything and occasionally lose the vision in my left eye completely. Anyway, I don't want to bore you any more with my pain. You all have your own pains and problems too and at least mine are much, much better than they used to be.

I've had 2 good things happen today. I have been worrying about driving OH to and from his cataract op next week. If I'm OK there shouldn't be a problem but what if my eyes are not good? Last night our neighbour knocked. As it happens on that day they have to go and pick up some medical supplies at the hospital just a couple of miles from the cataract clinic so they have offered to take OH, then go and spend 2 or 3 hours round the shops till he is ready and then bring him home again. If I am OK on the day I'll go as well but I won't have to drive. Isn't that kind of them? It's a weight off my mind.

The other thing was that I had to go and collect my next lot of meds - I wish our docs would give more than 28 days at a time. I was wondering what would happen after the kerfuffle last time trying to get one of the meds but this time everything was available and ready for me so that was a relief.

I've managed to clean and sort out a set of 3 drawers in the kitchen, OH has worked his way round the cupboards and I had already given all the dining area a thorough clean so there's just another set of 3 drawers and 3 shelves to do and the kitchen-diner will have had a good spring clean. I've also managed to pot up the 6 tomato seedlings that came from Mel's seeds so at least I feel I have done something today.

Mandy, you might be OK if your potting bench is outside. Shortly after we moved here we got rid of the shed in the garden and instead use half of our big double garage. OH put me up a potting bench in there. Bad mistake! It has become OH's dumping bench. Anything that he has in his hand when he walks in there is dumped on the bench and I have to move everything and put it in its rightful place before I can do any potting.

I have read all the posts but won't respond to them all as my eyes are beginning to get a bit blurry again and I don't want to push my luck.

Iv'e been busy all day and should be going to Stu's now. BIL tuurned up late and fitted the two new UV lights in the filter shed. I was in the bathroom when he arrived just going to wash my hair but that did'nt get done in the end.

I have done some weeding and potted on my tomato plants all four of them and done some strawberries and orchids I had found in odd pots here and there and there are now three in one pot so they'll look nice on the patio when they flower. Picked all the dead stalks off the bean wire and sowed runners and french beans, just a few for myself.

Must go it clouded over here about 2pm but its been dry all day.

BIL said he saw the white pheasent and got a couple o f pics but they were a bit out of focus.

So Mandy you now have your potting bench.

Vera I know just what you mean with oh putting things on your bench. They always know where to find these things but can never put them back where they got them from.

Good morning all. Bright sunny morning here, only 4 degrees though.

My turn fir a really bad night, I suffer with heart burn and possibly have the beginnings of a hiatus hernia. I have not been to the doctors with it as I can normally manage it which they seem to prefer to surgery etc. However about twice a year I do get a bout of reflux, usually at night, wakes me from sleep, as it did last night after I had been to sleep for 2 hours. so that was 1.15, I then stayed up for over an hour, being wary as I didn't want it to happen again. Put an extra *3rd) pillow on the bed but just laid awake most of the rest of the night. sort of drifted off around 5.30 but was not comfortable with three pillows so soon woke again.
Photography this afternoon. I should be a lively member there!!

Morning girls,

Sorry you had a bad night Anng. It seems it comes to us all sometime or another even those who sleep really well most of the time. Hope you're ok for photography this afternoon. What was the subject I seem to have forgotten? and did you get the pics?

Its mostly sunny here and 9 degrees so lets hope it stays all day today and I may get some more gardening done without any interuptions from BIL as he said he would be here next week. He still never lets me know when he is coming and now he keeps his mower up the top he parks his car up there so I don't kjnow when he is here. I could hear mowing the other day and the posty came down and I asked him and he said yes he was mowing outside the wall. When I spoke to BIL later and told him he said the ostyold him he was in the dog house!! He turned up yesterday late afternoon and I was in the bathroom and he knocks on the back door and I usually hear him if I am about the house but when you're having a good wash you can't come quickly. He dos'nt seem to understand to let me know when he is coming.

Moan over hope the rest of you had a good sleep and that Vera feels better today.

How's the potting bench Mandy?

The subject this month is to illustrate a poem, song, hymn etc with a photo. Yes I have five photos ready. I will try and send them afterwards.

That's an interesting topic, Ann.
I look forward to hearing your ideas.
I hope tonight is a better one for you and you get more rest.

Hope everyone else has a good night's sleep too.

Someone asked a little while ago about my local swans.
I really don't know what has happened over the last 2 years.
You may recall that they had a local nest in 2023, but didn't hatch any of 2 clutches of eggs. The following year, they didn't nest, but I occasionally saw the pair on the same waterway in town.
Now there only seems to be one lone swan, which swims between here and town, -and no nest at all, - rather sad :-(
Someone has even made a postbox 'topper' about the situation, showing watery colours and just a lone swan swimming on top and a liitle note explaining what it's about.

O how sad Gwyn swans mate for life so if one has lost its mate then that seems to be that.

I have been in the gaden all afternoon clearing the side of the road again. I am now past where I got up to last year on the left hand side. Came in for a wee and BIL arrived and I had the BIG trailer in the road so he had to park up the top and walk down. He's gone now to pick his wife up from work. She's the manager of a hospice type shop in Barnstaple but I don't know which one.

She has just made a life size Bert Bassett which she is raffling in the shop.

Hopefully that worked. Photos sent re photography

Sorry to hear you didn't get much sleep last night AnnG and I hope you do better tonight. That reflux is horrid, isn't it. I can see why you tried 3 pillows. I only get it very occasionally but have to sit up for quite a while till it passes. I found out that I had a large sliding hernia when I was sent a copy of a letter the consultant sent my GP after a scan for a bowel problem. It doesn't give me much trouble so will be left until it does. I suspect your possible hernia might be much the same. I hope you weren't feeling too tired at your photography group. I'd love to see your pics illustrating songs etc.

Your bil is good to come to help you so often Mel but I think I'd get irritated too if I never knew when he was coming. It must make it impossible to plan anything. I hope you got to Stu's for your meal.

It's been a nothing sort of day - no rain but no sun, not too cold but not very warm, not really windy but with a bit of a breeze. I did get a bit more sleep last night so have felt a bit better today. I got the ironing done and then decided I had to get out to the shops. I needed a birthday present for a friend, several birthday cards and some more eye drops. I've also got a couple of vouchers and some cash that I had for my birthday to spend. OH offered to come but I sometimes do better on my own and my eyes felt OK for driving. It's not far. It was very odd. I'm sure I was safe; I could see all the traffic, pedestrians, signs and signals clearly yet I didn't feel comfortable. I felt I had to really concentrate in case I didn't see something properly. Tbh, I think the problem was in my own head rather than in my eyes. I had about £50 from my birthday to spend on me but all I spent was £5 on some hand cream. I did get everything else I wanted, including a nice veggie quiche for tonight. I got my friend some Olay face cream that I know she likes and some soft bamboo trainer socks as I noticed she was wearing trainers when I saw her yesterday. I think she'll like them. She has booked a table for lunch on Wednesday at a pub about 15 minutes drive away and then we are all going back to one of the others in the group for coffee and cake and we'll all give her our presents then.

I think there's time for a quick coffee before I bring in some plants for the night. Not long now before I can leave them out.

Sad to hear about your swans Gwyn. The one left will be lonely without his/her partner. I haven't checked on ours this year. I must try to find time to walk down to the river.

Thank you for the lovely photos AnnG. They were good illustrations. I could see what they were all illustrating except one. You might have to enlighten me about the old tree with the hollow in the trunk. There are lots of songs and poems about trees but I suspect that there's something about that picture that hasn't registered with me.

It is an oak tree Vera???

Evening all,
It's been quite a chilly day ,managed to plant all the runners out this morning so I hope the slugs keep away until I can get some pet free slug gel to put round them I don't like using the pellets where Max is but I do use them on my hostas in the pots out in the front garden ,there was a hedgehog on the grass last night I was watching it on the security camera .

Anng that wasn't very nice having the reflux in the night ,what did you have for your meal could it have triggered it off .
Now the photos I can't get the one with the bottle of wine and the glass ,think I have the others

Gwyn that's sad about the swans I expect a lot of people will miss seeing the nest with the young ones in.

Vera thats good your feeling a little better today but don't try and do to much to soon
I've never seen bamboo socks ,but I know they do lots of bamboo things.

Vera yes it is horrid, normally I catch it quite quickly and it only happens a very few times a year but last night I must have been sound asleep and it had got my throat which was very painful. So I sat up for about two hours. Strangely I didn’t feel tied as I had had two hours sleep. I tried drinking cold water but that only worked temporarily. I finely made a mug of ginger tea and that helped but I was too scared to go back to sleep. I have not really felt tired all day and I bet I will be too tense to get to sleep tonight in case it happens again.
Gwyn what a shame about your swans I wonder what happened to the other one.

Vera you seemed to get a lot done today so that is good.

Mel. I can’t make your BiL out, he said he was not coming today. He is sometimes a bit selfish pleasing himself when he gets to you and not expecting you to have a life. I know he is very good doing things for you but it seems to be always on his own terms with no thought for you. :-)

Of course it is AnnG. Got it now or at least got an answer though it might not be the one you intended. Funny how we are all different. The one Mandy doesn’t know I thought was the easiest to guess.

Oh I know what it is now :-D

Which one is it you know Mandy?

Vera initials TAYR. That one?

The bottle one

Neil Diamond or UB40

At photography it was the cat that caused a puzzle but I realised when I downloaded it to send out it had the name on. Actually that is Ernie one of son’s cats.