General Chat

Afternoon :-D..
Mandy at least you now know the reason for Max's tummy troubles.Hopefully now with the right powder to put in his food the nasty parasites will son be killed off.He will feel a lot better then.

So only four little chicks now then Mel :-(..Oh dear.It is sad when you see the numbers going down.Lets hope this last 4 survive.

Anne ,that might be nice to go to the weekend 'do'.Bit of food tasting, music and entertainment sounds good :-D.It must be nice to go and see your old work friends every now and then :-D

I am worrying about Thomas now.Haven't seen him since 3am !.I won't settle until he comes home.I know he has done this a few times but he normally has his routine.
Fitz has been here for lunch .He did get to Lundy Mel.Loved it .It has been 30 odd years since he last went..He came home yesterday to find poor old Podge looking very skinny and not himself at all. He wants me to go to the Vets on Monday with him as he has to know how to do the insulin injections.To be totally honest I really don't want to go ,just in case the vet thinks Podge is too ill now and has to be put to sleep.So I have said to Fitz I am not keen to go but if he really really wants me there then I will.I am just a chicken when it is taking sick pets to the Vets. I can cope far better with people who are ill and maybe getting bad news.

I never used Terry Towelling Nappies.Pampers were the new Nappies when I had Hannah.I vaguely remember Mum soaking my Sisters Nappies in a bucket,when I was little and having wooden tongs to swill them around and fish them out .I think I still have a big old Pampers box somewhere in the loft that is filled with bits and bobs.
Rubber pants too I believe went in the bucket.

I wonder how Gill is.Hopefully it is still the router causing problems and nothing else.

Mandy have you any plans for your Ruby Anniversary at the weekend? Meal out? Family get together? or just a quiet celebration?

I remember Terry towelling nappies very well. Soaking them in nappysan, then straight into first a Hoover twosome (son 1965) then a keymatic automatic washing machine (daughter 1968). Twosome, was a present from parents, keymatic we bought ourselves. Washing nappies wasn't really much trouble and they dried very easily. Yes plastic pants went into the bucket too, but not the washing machine, blue for a boy and pink or? for a girl, some with frills!!! My mother washed and rinsed them by hand(!!) before putting them through a hand ringer, no wonder babies were clean and dry day and night by 18 months!!! For us, son was 3, daughter 2 .1/2, so not too bad!
Have just cleaned Cas's teeth!! She's so good about, I even managed to use the little gum massager!!

So Cas has learnt how to cool herself off bless her , it will be interesting to see how the dwarf runners perform ,a lot less work with no canes to erect for them.

I hope young Thomas turns up soon ,it's a worry when they don't come home ,i bet he's laid up some where fast asleep with a tummy full of bunnies.
No nothing planed for sunday Jane ,we might have a chinese meal and go out some where once the children have gone back to school.

Well when walked Max i could have done with a pair of gloves and a scarf !! it was so cold out my nose was running .
Hospital in the morning for hubby ,must make sure we have some change for the car park.

Just seen Fiona on FB. :-D.She says that she is on the mend now ,so hopefully we will have her back with again very soon.She can only be on the pooter for just a few minutes at the moment.

Still no sign of Thomas :-S :-S

Liz I can just see Cas having a lovely splash and cool in Merlins water tank :-D.I do hope you can get a pic of her in there. She is a good girl having her teeth cleaned :-D :-D.You make it fun for her.
Crikey I have just seen the temp for tomorrow and so it will be out with the summer tops again, and jumpers go back in the cupboard. Good old British weather :-D :-D :-S

Been in the garden today but still did'nt get much done. Did some ironing too of oh's polo shirts.

Liz I grew those dwarf runners a couple of years ago in a tub on the decking. They were just like runners and had red and white flowers if I remember rightly. The beans were just as long as the climbing ones.

Glad to hear Fiona is beginning to feel better ,won't be to long then before she is back with us .

Hope Thomas is home by now .

Exeter parents were stunned not long ago following the news that Devon County Council was considering a reduced school bus service in the city. Hundreds of children could be left without transport & parents backed by teachers were up in arms. One concerned mother complained that her 10 year-old son would have to walk nearly two miles if his bus provision was withdrawn & she was anxious about his safety.

Two miles indeed! Poor youngster! This report brought my mind back some fifty years where in the west of Ireland I walked five miles to junior school every day & five miles home - hail, rain or snow & uphill both ways. There was no bus provision in those pre-ipad years & I was lucky sometimes to have been able to cycle to school for a change. Of course, the schoolmaster rode to school by pony & trap - that was before he bought his shinny black Ford Popular.

Whether on foot or by bike, those few miles were sometimes fraught with dangers or so I thought. First, I had to get past Mick Lynch’s mule - a fearsome bad-tempered animal likely as not to throw a kick in my direction just for devilment. Why he was always on the road & not in his allotted field was beyond me. Mick Lynch only had the one small field so, I suspect, he encouraged his mule to partake of the grass verges - free gratis. They used to call that ‘the long acre’ - work that one out yourselves!

A bit further on was Connor’s bull, grazing peacefully until he spotted me when he would half-raise his head, as if he was deciding whether or not to bother with me. Occasionally, he would then charge at me, frothing at the mouth & his hoofs pounding the ground - a bit like the Prime Minster during PMQs. I often thought the bull might jump the fence out onto the road but his massive bulk prevented him doing so. He really was a big fellow & was well respected by other farmers in the locality who would use his reproductive ability - for a fee, of course. He must be related to many young calves in the area.

Further along, there was an old empty house where poor men of the road took temporary shelter. I would tiptoe past, scared in case they might do some harm. See what a youngster’s imagination gets up to.

I remember well Dodd’s farm on the main road just the far side of the village because the Dodd family were well known in the horse breeding & racing fraternity. They kept a stallion plus a few mares & a donkey to keep them company. The stallion was a lovely proud animal & he would stand there tossing his head in the air & showing his teeth as if he was in a horse show. He really was the master. Sometimes, I would watch from a distance his handler exercising him. This was easily done by tying a long rope to the stallion’s bridle & allowing him to gallop in a circle. What a treat it would have been to be allowed to ride the stallion - a pipe dream of course.

These obstacles safely negotiated, there were still some unfriendly dogs to contend with. Of course, their barks were worse that their bites. On reflection, I can only remember once being nipped while cycling past Reilly’s house. His pet Irish Setter just liked to run & made sure that every cyclist going that way was accompanied for a hundred yards or so by him barking furiously. Poor old Mr Reilly would come out of his house waving his walking stick trying to pacify his pet dog but he might as well be shouting at the moon.

Come to think of it, I don’t remember pet dogs receiving any training in our part of the county. And they never complained about their lack of education.

Happy times, I think!

PS: Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali RIP.

Bit of a grey morning here but hopefully the sun will appear later!
Jane, did Thomas reappear? Hope so, it's always a worry when they go walk about.
We've got a chaffinch that keeps flying at the window!!! He was here yesterday and is back this morning! A bit worried he'll hurt himself, so let's hope he finds another playground soon!
Washing's finished, so better get it hung out!

Morning
No Liz he is still missing :-(..We have cancelled going down to my Sisters as we need to search. I have just been to the nearest neighbours to ask them to check their sheds /garages etc.Chris is over in the back fields at the moment.When he gets back I will carry on knocking on doors.
I just have a horrible feeling :-S :-(...I can't settle at the moment.

Oh dear Jane, that is a worry! Don't get too stressed just yet as be could easily have wandered off to hunt and gone to sleep somewhere a bit away. We had a cat years ago who disappeared for days. We'd completely given up on him when he suddenly appeared at a bedroom window and came in as if nothing had happened!! I can remember feeling relief tinged with crossness at this nonchalant cat! I expect he'll turn up. Keep me posted.
Still thick cloud here, but I think the sun will be out eventually.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Lovely day here again.

Jane I do hope you find that naughty rascal. Such a worry when they go missing like that. I hope he is not stuck on someones elses roof like he was on yours.

Oh is working on the decking at the end of the existing decking from the bungalow.

Yes RIP Ali. Now that is going to be a BIG funeral.

Afternoon all

I've had so many problems with my router that I gave up in the end. It went off five times in a day so each time I managed to get on here I lost my connection before I could write anything. It's a loose wire in the plug but with the plug being a sealed one I can't get to it to fix it, so I've managed to tape it up to hold it in place for now so hopefully that will sort the problem out until I can get a new plug.

Because I couldn't get online I decided to have another go in my garden, there was so much to do that the days ran away with me and now I've finally got a few days off so I will catch up with all my programmes I've recorded and of course all the posts I've missed on here.

I hope everyone is okay. We had a lovely time with Michelle when she came to visit and her boyfriend is very nice and friendly so that was nice to see. I think they may end up getting married one day, he's very keen but Michelle said it's early days as they haven't been dating for that long, so she'd like to wait a bit longer. Michelle moved in with him a few weeks ago so at least she'll find out what he's like to live with first. They both seem very happy which is the main thing.

Well, I'd better go and catch up with all the posts I've missed, see you all later <3

Hello All, just a quick note to say I'm back

Hopefully on the mend, had a rotten time with side effects and all,

Hope everyone is well and having some sunshine, it's really warm here I am managing to get out in the mornings when its cooler with my hat on and under the brolly,

love to all <3 <3 <3

Welcome back Fiona, so glad to hear you're feeling better. Welcome too to Gill! You've had t be same problem as we did - a right pain! Brilliant news about Michelle! I'm so pleased for you all, it must be a weight off your mind, and much pleasanter all round, as it's horrid being on bad terms with your children whosoever fault it might be.
Sun is finally coming out and it's much warmer!! Jane, don't want to hassle you, but any sign of that dratted cat?

Hi Fiona.I'm so glad you are feeling much better now and are able to finally get back on the computer <3

Liz...No no sign at all. Chris must have spent almost a couple of hours overthe back fields looking for him.Poor man came back soaked.His jeans had soaked up the wet right up to his thighs.He said it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.Lots of animal tracks,Deer,Badger etc.I just hope that he hasn't been'got'.All my neighbours are going to be checking.Some have old barns right at the bottom of their gardens that back on to the field.
I have washed all Thomas's bedding and cleaned out his dishes so that if he does come home it is all ready again for him.I am hoping he is doing what your cat did and has just gone for a short while.I know cats do this sometimes.He should have left me a note if this was his intention :-)..Difficult not to worry and have horrible thoughts as to what might have happened though.I shall leave some dry cat food in the summerhouse for a while just in case he does turn up in the night.
I am so disappointed though at having to miss seeing the family and the opening of the Nature Reserve.My BIL has put so much work into it we wanted to go and show our support.But they understand that we had to do what we could to see if we could find Thomas.
It's really quite muggy here.The sun is supposed to show itself this afternoon.Fingers crossed.

Hi Gill :-D :-D .I hope your plug stays good now and you can carry on getting onto the computer.I'm pleased you had a lovely time with Michelle and that you found her new boyfriend a lovely chap.I think she is right to hold fire and not think about weddings just yet.Test the waters first I say :-D.I expect Sandra was very excited to see her Sister again.

My house is stinking of boiled eggs :-S.I have just done some to have with salad for lunch.They do pong don't they :-S
Tonight we are going to order a Chinese and have it delivered.So that is something to look forward too later :-D

Fingers crossed he turns up Jane, cats are so like this, which is a very slight downside to them! Also the fact that they never seem to care about the anxiety they put you through!! :-|
Have just had lunch at lunchtime so a scratch supper tonight! It's very warm but still cloudy! I've put a couple of plastic brightly coloured butterflies on the window to try and deter the mad chaffinch!! We think it's one that hit the window a couple of days ago and was clearly concussed! Hope it hasn't got brain damage!!!

Never heard the term Scratch Supper Liz LOL..Is it what my sister might call 'iffits' If it's there they will have it :-D
One of my neighbours just rang to see it there is any news.She has checked everywhere in her garden and the big rabbit holes in their old barn(just in case Thomas might be stuck down one.She has also been around the garden of Joan(the eldery lady who died).also the garden of another lady who is away on a cruise.So I think most of our long road now are keeping an eye open.

My Sister just rang just for any update.She said the day is a huge success .Her OH did his speech when the bridge was opened.She is now on a nature hunt with the children.
My BIL has to judge a part of the dog show later.It is for the dog you would most like to take home :-D Janice says he will probably choose the scruffiest dog :-) I am so sorry we haven't managed to get down there :-(.It all sounds great fun.

O dear Jane I do hope he turns up. Cats can travel an awful long way you know. When I lived in Suffolk we had a gravel pit way over the back to us and when we walked the dogs over there one day we saw our cat!! mouse hunting in the long grass. It must have been all of 2 miles from home.

Fiona so good to have you back at last and know your feeling a bit better now. Lets hope you continue to recover and get back to a more normal life. How are the grandchildren? Does Frank still keep tropical fish?

Gill good to see you back on here. That dratted wire keeping you away from us. Love to Sandra.X

I am afraid to say that our pheasent turnedup this morning with 1 chick................... She was feeding with two other females and Phil and one of the other females was telling the muim one off and even pecked at the chick. I think a bit of jealousy was going on there. :-(

Well it has clouded over, oh is working on cementing the stays in for the decking andI am going to water my plants and go up the border for a while. My peonies are out and I want to enjoy them while they are here.

Yes Jane, a scratch meal is literally scratching around.in the fridge and or larder to make up a quick meal out of whatever you can find with as little trouble as possible!!!
I bet Thomas turns up , having wrecked your day, worried you and the neighbours witless, and won't even say sorry, probably because he's not !! but that's cats for you!! L's old bearded collie/labrador once won the dog the judge would like to take home! She was a dear old girl, but sadly got very neurotic in old age, digging the wall in the utility room at night and things like that till in the end L had to have her put to sleep. Mind you she was 13, so a good age.
We've just unblocked a miscellaneous drain outside the green house, so no more water running down the path when it rains. Another good job done!! OH has also had a bonfire! You know what they say about a busy day?!!!