General Chat

I've just put the potato's on, Pie is in the oven, so will keep an eye on that.

Been wet and misserable here all day.I haven't had my nose out of the door. In fact thre front door is still locked from last night.

I wrote the above before 6.00 pm.

They certainly would have Ann. There's a farmer on the way to Bideford that raises those big white chickens for the table and he has lots of arks in the field and there are always three Llamas in there with them.

Sheep Sh*t pie for us tonight too Anne. Its smelling lovely so I think it could be ready. Just waiting for the cabbage to cook.

You nipped in there Ann just before me. So the big screen again for you then :-D :-D.I bet you will find it easier this time.
It sounds like you have had a much better day weatherwise than we have here.I wonder if the skinny fox is a female that might have had cubs.I hope that the lambs are safe.How lovely to see all the Bluebells and Primroses.Does the wild Garlic smell strong?

My Sister and her Daughter are going to The Antiques Road Show in Tewkesbury Abbey tomorrow. They have already seen Fiona Bruce in the local Weatherspoons
Bit down market for her I would have thought lol

Just watched Mary Beards prog and am now trying to get Thomas in. There is not a breath of wind outdoors.It is so still.
I'm not surprised you have stuck your nose out the door today Frank.It has been a right grotty day.Certainly better inside than out.

See you all in the morning.I am off now.I will give Thomas 10 more minutes then if he doesn't appear then he will have to stay out. Last night I had left him out but then James heard him yelling outside the back door about 11.30 and came down to let him in. So I am off for one last loud whistle :-D

Night Night x

Morning all

Lovely and sunny here today after a few days of rain.

Sandra and I are going to move a few flags to make one of the patio's a bit bigger then OH and I can move the greenhouse as he's off work from tomorrow for three days. We'll need to sort out the garage to put some of the stuff out of the greenhouse in first, so if I'm not online over the next few days, you know where I am. I just hope the nice weather stays. Michelle is coming to visit in 10 days so we want to get this job out of the way before she gets here.

Mum is coming round in just over an hour, so I hope we have the flags finished by then.

What is everyone else up to today? I'll try and pop back on here later if I can.
At least my router is being nice to me today, so that's good :-)

Morning all and evening Kim,

A really miserable day here today. Wet and dreary and I hope its a bit better where Ann and Gordon are.

Had a lie in this morning and did'nt get up till 10am!! So here I am sitting here typeing to you lot eating buttered toast and drinking a COT.

Morning all, Evening KIm,
"What a difference a day makes" a lovely sunny morning here after that horrible day yesterday.

Did you get Thomas in last night Jane ?? or did he get you up to let him in. Dosen't he use the summer house at night. You must teach him !!!

Why is it so difficult for women to pack for holidays, you can only wear one thing at a time. 7 days 7 dresses. 7 pairs of panties and so on. Where is the difficulty in that ??? ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) Think of us blokes if we did the same as you. We would need massive cases, and GAWD knows what the excess luggage cost would be. :-0 :-0 :-0

My knee and hip have been giving me a lot of discomfort, I suppose it's telling me off for doing all that work on the "PATCH" the other day. Now I must try to get in some seeds.

The garden and lawns are looking very nice after all that rain. I bet the lawn will need cutting at the weekend.

I am going to ask Pam next door if she will water the baskets and pots also the greenhouse and beans while we are away. I think if she does it twice a week that sould be alright.

How's little Cas today Liz. ?? My outbox was full of those photo's of the garden. I have deleted them now, so my emails should be able to get through now.

What time are you off on Sunday Jane, are you flying or going Euro tunnel. ??

Ros is putting out a line of coloureds, she found my door key in my trousers pocket that I put in the wash on Tuesday night. after the pub. I wonder how I forgot to take that out. hic hic ;-) ;-) ;-)

All showered and in shorts. Might get a bit done later, if I feel like it.

Enjoy your day folks, whatever you are doing.

It's a lovely day here too Frank, a bit windy but lots of sun!! Cas is fine today! still a bit sore and sorry for herself, but eating well and enjoying her walk again!! This afternoon she's due for a check up, then next week the stitches come out and she'll be back to normal!!
We watched Mary Beard too Jane! I just love that lady, she's SO clever, speaking umpteen different obscure languages, and her programmes are so interesting.
We've had a load more timber delivered yesterday, so more for OH to turn into logs!! It's all for free, so musn t kick a gift horse etc!!!
Cauliflower cheese for supper tonight, nice and easy!!

Well, mum has just left so Sandra and I are on our way out again to finish off the patio. We've already taken the flags up and put them in place so I could cut around them where I needed to take out the grass, then of course we had to move the flags out of the way and I've taken up the grass and now I'm trying to get the level right, unfortunately the big spirit level is stuck at the back of the garage so I'm having to do the level by eye, luckily it's only one more line so it's big enough to accommodate the greenhouse, so it doesn't really matter if the level is a bit off ;-) OH will be pleased when he gets in from work as he doesn't know Sandra and I are doing the patio, so that'll be one less job for him to do tomorrow. It's so hot out there today we're having to take breaks to get out of the sun.

Sorry to hear your knee is playing you up, hope it eases a bit for you soon. Fancy forgetting to take your key out of your pocket, it must be a man thing, OH is always leaving things in his pockets but insists he hasn't, so Sandra and I have got used to checking again before it goes in the wash.

I don't have that problem Frank with packing for holidays, we haven't been on a holiday for over 13 years. To be honest I've lost so much weight that I don't have many clothes anyway. Maybe I should go clothes shopping then book a nice holiday somewhere.........now where to go ??? ;-) ;-) ;-)

Hope the weather improves for you Mel. Buttered toast and a nice cuppa sounds lovely, I might have some myself later.

I'm hoping to sort out the garage today after I've finished the patio, as the weather forecast for the next three days is cold, so I don't fancy doing it then. At least it's suppose to be dry so if I don't get it all finished today and have to go back to it tomorrow I won't get wet

Well, I'd better get back to this patio so I can get on with the garage.
See you all later

Hi Liz, didn't see you there, pleased to hear Cas is feeling better today, at least you won't have the worry when you go away, now she's had her op.
A big fly has just flown in so I'm going to get rid of it then get back to my garden.

Thats the trouble with nice weather, all the flies start coming indoors. We had two big blue bottle flies in the house the other day when it was hot and sunny.

Its brightened a bit here and its not raining. Oh has just prssure washing the mower deck underneath and I think he is going to sharpen the blades.

He has worked out where the new fencin g for the chickens is going and he is bringing it into our back feild a bit more so he can get the mower down the side.

The old chicken is no better and now can't even move on her good leg which now has its toes screwed up too. She is quite happy to lay out on the grass in the run propped up by one of the feeding troughs with her water to the side and peck away at the plantains and docks.

You mind your back moving the flag stones Gill. You really need to have more to eat to keep your weight up. By the way I hav'nt had a holiday for a few years now but before that I had'nt had one for 18 or 19 years.

Oh Mel, I'm so sorry to hear about your old chicken, does this mean she's on her way out? She's done well so far though and still quite happy from what you have said. She's lucky to have you to care for her <3

Sandra is helping me with the flag stones, they're only 2ft by 2ft so not that heavy and I have wheels I'm using then I use the space to push them into place. So far it's been okay, but I've just finished levelling it, well I say level, I've done my best as the sprit level is at the back of the garage so I can't get to it, so I've done the levelling by eye, so now I'm having five minutes sit down before I put the flags back in place, then hopefully that job will be finished and we can make a start on emptying the garage. I want to get to OH's tools right at the back of the shed as he's going to need his drill to make the holes for the screws to fix the base of the greenhouse down. We don't want it blowing away ;-) ;-)

Glad to hear your weather has improved now Mel, hope it stays that way so your OH can do his jobs. I managed to get the big fly out and have now decided to keep the doors shut. Sandra doesn't like things flying around her, it sends her into a bit of a panic so we don't want that.

She's been ever so good helping me today, when I got up this morning she had moved a cupboard I had planned to do today because my wrist was a bit sore last night. Apparently she waited until her dad and I was asleep, and around 1.30am she got up and did the job for me. She left me a note on the table which read.........

To Mum, then a love heard and smilie face, plus five kisses and another love heart.
You said your hands hurt you last night so I put one chair at the table I couldn't put the other two as everything was open so I left them in the living room till morning then I moved the cupboard back where it was so then you didn't have to hurt your hands hope that ok? I didn't know where you wanted great nan and granddad pics so I put them on the table for you, I put the bags under the table I didn't know where you wanted them so I left them in the living room as well and I put the lamp back as well so now all you got to do is have a nice cup of tea and watch TV or go on the computer I save you a job doing it. Then another smilie face, then she wrote see you in the morning love you loads mum, Sandra, then another heart four more kisses and another heart, plus three more smilie faces.

Well, as you can imagine I was in tears with it, she's so kind and thoughtful. I went into her room and gave her a big hug..........I'm so proud of her, she's the best daughter ever <3 <3

Yes but you live on holiday Mel!! Easy access to the sea, all that beautiful countryside!! Mind you we live in a tourist area too, with easy access to lots of lovely places and reasonably near Swindon for the main line to London. We don't go away that much any more. Years ago we used to sail a lot, taking our boat over to France and sailing through the French canals, round Britain, up to Scotland, West/North Wales! and of course all round the West country! We've had some rare old adventures, and some lovely holidays! Now we just settle for the odd hop across the channel or a trip down to Surrey!!

Gill, you do have a very good daughter in Sandra who obviously loves you very much and what a sweet note she left you, I expect you will keeping it., how thoughtful of her moving things to save your wrist from any more discomfort when you were asleep. I think it's harder to put on weight then to lose it speaking from experience

Mel hope your old lady chicken keeps comfortable. I can imagine why you wouldn't want to go away living where you do plus with all your chickens etc to care for. We do go on holiday every year but only in the UK. We did go to Madeira for our silver wedding anniversary. We have never put our dogs in kennels and they always come with us when we go away. When we went to Madeira our 3 sons who were in their early twenties and late teens looked after the two boxers we had then.

Glad to hear Cas is making a good recovery Liz and enjoying her walks again. Amy had her shorter walk today as Shadow chose to come with us, the Rhododendrons
along the path are just coming out in bloom so should be very pretty soon.

Its a lovely and sunny here today just the opposite from a very wet day yesterday.

Oh how lovely of Sandra to leave you that lovely note Gill.I'm not surprised it brought tears to your eyes.Bless her she has been a great help to to today hasn't she.

Anne we don't see many Rhododendrons here.I absolutely love them ,but we just don't have the right kind of soil in this part .They lok so beautiful when in full bloom.

Liz what exciting holidays you used to have.Especially.taking the boat across to France and cruising the canals there.Bliss :-D :-D

Oh dear Mel .How long do you thing the old girl will carry on? Especially not being able to use both feet now :-(

No rain here it has been a scorcher and a bit on the muggy side.The wind seems to be getting up a bit now.I can't believe how much the grass has grown in just a few days!!! Chris will do it tomorrow so it is done before we go.

Frank ,we are going by Eurostar from St Pancras on Monday morning about 9 am.But are staying overnight on Sunday at the Pullman Hotel on Euston Rd so it is just literally about a 3-4 minute walk to the station.We will then have to change trains in Paris.It does mean going to a different station to get the fast train down to Avignon.We won't be faffing about getting the Metro from Gare de Nord to Gare de Lyon so will take a taxi.
Yes Thomas was in about 10.45 last night and then out again at 3.30am....I know i should just leave him out now as the weather is fine and I know he would just snuggle down in the Summerhouse.It is just me never having left cats out at night before,I just feel the need to get him in.Daft really isn't it...But just think I will have a whole week of not getting up in the early hours to let him out :-D :-D

I have been to the Hairdressers this afternoon,so all neat and tidy again.Tomorrow is my eyebrow tidy and Eye Massagy treatment.Then that is me sorted :-D

Is it too early for a nice chilled G&T? I don't think so :-D..I will get one in a minute and sit outside.

My Sister has just sent me a couple od pics from the Antiques Roadshow at Tewkesbury Abbey.One of her daughter Rachel sitting having something valued LOL
It looks such a lovely setting there.Janice said that if they needed the loo,they could just pop back to Rachels house as it is just across the road :-D

How lovely to have your own boat and be able to sail around France Liz, it must of been wonderful.

Did you enjoy your G&T Jane? I'm going to have a glass of wine later.
I remember going to the Antiques Roadshow a couple of times and was quite surprised at how down to earth Fiona is. I thought she would of been stuck up, but no, she was lovely and so easy to talk to.

So you're almost ready for your hols then Jane with a trip to the hairdressers and your eyebrow tidy and eye massagy treatment tomorrow. How long are you away for? When is Ann and Gordon back from Cornwall, I hope the weather was nice for them both?

Yes I kept the note Anne. Sandra has been a great help today with the patio. We never got round to the garage as someone down the road decided to light a fire and it was to smoky, plus it was getting a bit late for such a big job, so I've run a bath and we're going to just relax for the rest of the day. OH should be pleased with our hard work when he gets in from work later.....well, that's if he notices, you know what men are like
Yes I think you're right it is quite hard to put on weight, mind you, I don't sit still long enough to put weight on LOL.

Sandra was asking about everyone's pets earlier and what all their names were, I could remember Cass, Amy, Merlin, Max, Thomas and even JJ that Frank looks after but I'm sure there are more, maybe a couple of cats I've forgotten? Is shadow one of the cats Anne or have I got that wrong? I think she asked as she heard our neighbours new dog Penny pining in her garden, she's only about 8 months old and doesn't like being left on her own, so when she's finished her comfort break she wants to be let in straight away. I've seen Penny but Sandra hasn't met her yet. She's such a cute little dog and quite lively. I don't know what breed she is as I'm not very good with dog breeds......Shall have to ask OH later. That reminds me I haven't seen the second part of the puppy programme I recorded last week, shall have to watch that with Sandra and OH when he gets in.

Well, my baths going cold so I'd better make a move. See you all later <3

Frank ,you saying how you left your keys in your pocket of your trousers reminded me of the other week when I found a £5 note in the tumble dryer !!. It was James's .He had left it in his pocket too.I was surprised it wasn't in shreds after being through the washing machine and then the dryer.I often find a £1 coin which has been in my pocket.I sometimes put one in my pocket before going shopping so I have it ready for the parking meter,but then forget it is there and get another one out of my purse.They come out lovely and shiny after a good wash in the machine :-)

Everything is drooping in the garden so we need to do a big watering job now.

How lovely to have the antiques road show just local to her house Jane. I wonder when it will be shown on the telly. If you find out let us know so we can have a look.

Its turne dreally sunny here and we have both been out in the garden. Oh working on the well pump to the ponds and I have been cutting down some of the forsithia and other things on the wall.

Going back up there now as I have corned the chickens and I am going to let the banties out as we are both in the garden.

Want you back scrubed Gill ???

It has been a beautiful day. Washing all dried and folded ready to iron.

Ros isn't feeling very good today. Her back is playing up. After FOUR Operations, it does give her jip from time to time, so she is not going to Choir Practice tonight. She has rung Val next door, and she said "I won't miss not going either" The other Valerie is on holiday in Sardinia for 10 days from last Tuesday.

Sandra does sound a great help to you Gill, and good company also. is there any chance of her getting a little job ?? It would be nice for her to mix with other people. Tracy next door is unable to work, she is now 51. But she has her little jobe that she does every week. It's her job to put out the bins on Mondays, and bring them in Tuesday morning. In fact some Tuesdays she is out there waiting for the bin men to empty it, so she can brring it in. ;-) ;-) ;-)

I have done absolutley nothing today, Ros has prepared a Turkey stir fry for dinner tonight, so I have got away with no cooking again.

I saw that Len Goodman with Ainsley Harriott in Blackpool this afternoon, which remined me that was a time I visited Blackpool when I went to Bradford with my ex wife when we were young (about 17) We stayed with the family who took them in during the war.. We had a day trip to Blackpool. Funny how a little thing like that brings back memories.

I NEVER had a holiday until I was 16 when four of us lads had a week at Butlins in Skegness. That was 1954. Before some of you were born (JANE and GILL) and might be others. ???

The lawns do need a cut. so that will be a job for tomorrow, weather permitting. and the body willing !!!

Gill,I think Ann said they will be on the way home tomorrow.
We are away for a week.We should have planned it better really as 2 days wil be taken up with travelling :-S.I blame Chris :-D :-S..I said that when we go somewhere in September it has to be for at least 10 days :-D

Mel, todays Antique Roadshow will be on TV in the Autumn.I would love to spot Janice,Larry and Rachel :-D.

Gill I wil find a pic of Thomas for Sandra. He has just sashayed off down the garden.He has a lovely wiggle when he walks LOL with his big tail curled up over his back . Yes the G&T went down a treat :-D.Lots of ice which melted very quickly .I think I might just have another one :-D.