General Chat

OH I FORGOT !!!!!
HAPPY RUBY ANNIVERSARY MANDY AND COLIN. <3 <3 <3

Ann what a perfect day for going to Open Gardens.Bet they all looks wonderful .

Gosh I forgot too... :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MANDY AND COLIN.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

AND MAY YOU HAVE MANY MORE OF THEM.

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Oh is having 80 winks and I am now going back up the border.

He has pressure washed all the decking this morning so I think he has earned it.

After all that we've had a busy day! OH has done a lot of weed killing in the paddock. We separate it into three sections and do one section at a time till it's all done. I cleared the flower bed at the back of the bungalow, cutting back where the hedge has grown over, and having a general tidy up. This afternoon the chap that gives us a hand came over and he and OH put up the staddle stones on the edge of the lawn, and then helped with a couple of other jobs. They are very heavy, so we needed a strong chap to lift them! Now we're just about to have a cuppa!
Yes, Happy Anniversary Mandy!
Jane, that's why we wouldn't have any more cats, particularly with L's little cat getting run over. We're both very fond of them and would love a kitten, but when they go missing or something happens to them, it's so heartbreaking, and we're just not up for it anymore!! If anything happened to either Merlin or Cas, we wouldn't have anymore pets, they're the last ones!!

Don't worry Jane, cats can go on the wander for days, weeks even, They are resilient.

I have a perfectly good BT modem you can have if yours is boke Gill.
It's the one I had before upgrading a contract.
Had a drawer full of mice and bits and pieces, gave most away.

Dermot, joining Bank Holidays into one spell wouldn't be welcomed by everyone. In my public service job, if you had a week off, the post from head office and the public still arrived all week!! Some cases you dealt with would be picked up by colleagues if they became urgent, otherwise you arrived back after a week's leave with a week's extra work piled up in your in tray!! . We all shared the same depression on the Sunday afternoon before returning after a week's leave as we knew what chaos we'd find on our desks the next day. Private industry may have the resources to provide cover for leave, but public services didn't in my day.

Liz I love those staddle stones and I bet they look good now you have them in position. You have been busy again today.

Gill, what a shame about your bathroom. I hope it won't be too costly to repair......maybe it only needs a bit of the floor or a joist or two replacing. It's a shame you can't just replace your router plug, but your provider should send you a new router free. We can't have you keep going AWOL can we!

Well the gardens we saw today were all lovely. Two of the best were tiny plots but were full of plants and good ideas. One was like a little oasis with a small gazebo with table and chairs close enough to watch the fish in the pond and hear the water falling. The fences on all 3 sides were covered in tall climbing roses with lovely scent. The other was like a small japanese garden with pots of Acers and big rocks dotted around. It even had a tiny glass greenhouse with shelves one side and a couple of tomato plants the other. Then we travelled on to a big house and garden with lovely views over the countryside. It was full of flower and shrubs and trees and had a large vegetable garden too with huge artichoke plants. They had a row of tall terracotta pots along the edge of a path with courgettes planted in them so I might try that! We spoke to the owners who had done all the work including the design themselves! I thought our small plot was hard work to set out but theirs was a huge undertaking. Of course we had to sample the delicious home made cakes and have a cuppa before we left. :-D

My router has gone off twice today :-( :-( the sooner I get it sorted the better.

Happy Anniversary Mandy and Colin, hope you had a lovely day <3 <3 <3

It sounds like you saw some lovely gardens today Ann, did you take any pictures, I'd love to see them if you did?
I think most of the floor is rotten, it's been going for a number of years now so can't be put off much longer. We wanted to re-do the bathroom layout anyway so both jobs can be done at the same time. I just hope it doesn't cost to much and we can afford it.

Has Thomas come home yet Jane, I've been thinking about you all day?

Well, I'd better go before I lose my connection again, be back tomorrow all being well

Night Night

Liz can we have some more pics of your garden please? You sound like you have worked so hard.

Hope you get that router soon Gill. Just get in touch with your supplier for a new one after all your paying for it to work not play up.

‘Backdoor guests are best’ was the familiar expression in the countryside in Co Mayo, one of the friendlier Irish counties, where I was born. Neighbours or the postman rarely ever used our front door when they came visiting or on an errand. A typical Mayo countryside practice. I'm not sure if this is common in other posh areas such as in Co Clare.

A caller to our front door often caused a bit of consternation inside. It must surely be a policeman delivering a summons for not having a light on the bicycle or it could be a bit of bad news from abroad. Worse still, it could be the Parish Priest with his collecting tin & a smile or perhaps some very friendly American born Jehovah's Witnesses on one of their periodic surprise visits.

With no telephone in the house, details of extended family members’ deaths in the UK or America, for example, were reported by way of a telegram delivered, hotfoot, by a young chap on his bike. He didn't work for the Post Office at all & there was no contract of employment between them but he just happened to be cycling our way & the Post Mistress asked him or anyone else for that matter to deliver the telegram. That's how things were done in our area in the 1950s/60s. And we seem to have managed fairly well.

The Post Mistress, a fairly mature lady who was born there, knew practically everyone in the parish & beyond by name & probably had a good knowledge of their forefathers too — a great source for those interested in researching the family tree.

The Post Office was no bigger than a typical corner shop but, as far as we youngsters were concerned, it was the centre of the universe especially after Sunday services. As well as stamps & postal orders (remember them?), sweets, chocolate & ice-cream were on offer. That's all we ever wanted.

The village, as we called it, about two miles from our house, consisted of the Post Office which also sold groceries, one green public phone box outside & one petrol pump nearby, the Pub & the Parish Church - all important establishments to look after the spiritual & physical welfare of the local people - us. The Pub, Post Office & the Church worked pretty well as a team - there was no unseemly rivalry between them.

Hard working men in the area, mostly farmers, looked forward to & deserved their weekly pint or three of the black stuff after Church & with their old age pension in their back pocket also purchased food items to take home eventually. Breathalysers were yet to be invented. The pension was spread fairly evenly between the Post Office, the pub and, of course, the Church. The ladies, thankfully, had separate socialising arrangements in olden days.

Happily, those buildings are all still there today doing business as usual using euros instead of pounds & shillings. 'Commerce' they call it now, I believe. The phone box is still there too, more as a museum piece waiting for Dr Who to use it. I doubt if many youngsters today, with their mobiles, know how to operate a public phone anymore. And good luck to them all!

Morning Dermot and all,

O I do miss Frank............

NOt a bad day here at the mo and I think it is going to have the sun come out a bit later and not that far away. The washing machine has nearly finished so that can go on the line.

Dermot your village sounds a bit like ours down the road except they took our post office away and now we have a post van call but its not there that long. We have the village shop where the post office used to be, pub and of course the church. It used to be good because the post box was right outside the shop and when you visisted the shop you just popped the mail in the box on the way in. Now there is not PO there the box has moved to up the road and I never remeber to stop there to post a card. It just dos'nt stick in my mind anymore.

Washing machine has stopped so I better get it on the line.

Meant to say has Thomas returned yet Jane?

Afternoon all

Lovely sunny day here again, but still a bit to hot for me to work out there. I do have some more jobs to do but they can wait a day or two, when hopefully the weather will cool down a bit.

Nothing planned for today so I'm going to catch up on some more programmes I recorded, I have quite a few so that will keep me occupied for a while. The F1 is back on this weekend so I'm looking forward to that. OH is off work so we can watch it together :-) :-)

I do like reading your posts Dermot, they are very interesting, a bit like reading a book, you do have a way with words that just draws you in.

I assume you meant you were putting the washing on the line Mel, not your washing machine :-D :-D :-D. Yes I will have to ring my provider and get this plug sorted, I just need to find the number :-S :-S Since we emptied the loft I can't seem to find anything as we had to move things around to accommodate all the boxes, which I might add, still need to be sorted out. The cupboard I bought smells musty so I'm not going to keep it now. I'm not sure where I'm going to put all my things.....back to the drawing board and the search for some other piece of furniture. Sandra is loving the ottoman I bought and painted, it was to small for me to use for my material and she had quite a few light things she needed space for, so that's in her room now.

Well, I'd better get on and watch these programmes so I have some free space on my planner to record other things. Hope everyone is okay, see you all later <3

Oh Gosh what a morning
I have been at the vets with Thomas.A neighbour rang and said he was in her garden but looked injured.So long story short.He is having a Gen Anaesthetic now so his pelvis and back legs can be xrayed.He can't weight bear on his right leg.He has obviously been grabbed by the back feet by something as there are wounds .

I feel a blooming wreck and have a splittong headache so will have a couple of pills and a sit down quietly for a while.I will get a call this afternoon from the vets.

I might have to get one of those crates if he comes home later as he will need to be confined a bit.I had to leave the room in the vets as he was yelling and hissing so much when the vet was trying to inspect him.I couldn't stand it as it was because he was in so much pain .So when I left him he was just going to be sedated so he could have injections and now he will be having a G A so that the Xrays can be done.

Better go now but will BBL

I'm pleased Thomas has been found Jane. Pity animals can't talk so you'd know exactly what happened to him. The poor thing, he must of been so frightened but pleased to be back with you, even if he needs a visit to the vet. A crate is a good idea and plenty of cuddles when he's home. Give him a cuddle from Sandra and I, we've both been very worried about you all <3
Hope your headache eases soon, it's probably all the stress, at least you know he's safe now.

Afternoon all ,

So pleased to hear Thomas has been found Jane , not so good that the poor little boy is injured , perhaps the vet will have an idea what happened to him by looking at his injury.
Just so pleased for you that you have him back it's been a very worring weekend for you <3

Lovely sunny day here ,Max has been in the gsrden in the sunshine all the morning ,he's now having a doze.

Gill what a shame about the cupboard being all musty ,have you given it a good wash inside and left the doors open to get the air in ? Have you got any lavender in the garden a bit of that left inside might help.

Mel, i meant to say i planted the peas and they have all come through :-D

Hi Mandy, yes I've given it a good clean, left the doors open and put air fresheners in there but nothing seems to work. OH suggested I paint the inside as that might work but I'm worried the paint may end up tacky and stick to my things, unless I varnish it afterwards, that might work. I've just sprayed some more air freshener in there to see if that helps. I don't have any lavender unfortunately :-(

Was it you who gave me the Cana seeds, sorry I can't remember who it was now. I planted three of them and one has finally started growing, I think it might be all this hot weather. Are they indoor plants or can I plant it outside once it's grown a bit more? It does seem to be growing fast now. I have it on my kitchen window sill. How big do they grow, I assume I can't leave it where it is forever. I forgot to ask do they die down in the winter and grow again next year or are they evergreen?

Afternoon All,

What a shock but also a relief your neighbour spotted him Jane as you must all have big gardens! As Gill says it's a pity they can't tell you what has happened. He may have been trying to get home but was in too much pain to get there. I wonder if he was caught in a rabbit snare?? There may be some around with all the rabbits you have. No doubt the vet will have some theories when he's seen the xrays and injuries. I'm not surprised you have a headache, your mind must have been racing all morning.

Gill, they didn't allow photos at the first garden we saw so I didn't bother taking my camera when we visited the others. Usually there is no problem and I've never seen notices preventing it before. :-S

Another interesting piece by Dermot that brings some memories back. Years ago it was unusual for there not to be a telephone directory in a public phone box too. They were usually dogeared but didn't get pinched. I can remember they were useful for sheltering from the rain too!! Nowadays in a few of the local villages people put their unwanted books on shelves inside for others to borrow which is a great idea.

Thats a good idea to paint and varnish the inside of the cupboard ,i'm sure thst would freshen it up .

Oh good i'm glad the Cana seeds are growing ,i expect it is the heat thats helped them, they are out side plants i have mine in a pot but they can go in the garden and they do get big ,mine got to about two or three feet in the pot but in the garden they might grow a bit bigger , they do come through each year just cut them down ,you'll probably have seeds on yours at the end of flowering.
These are ones with green leaves and red flowers but you can get them with a dark reddy colour leaves and yellow or orange flowers.

Any news yet Jane?

Well he is still at the Vets.I can pick him up at 5 .30 ,and then keep him in the crate that I have managed to borrow.Tomorrow it's back to the vet for more pain injection and antibiotic and then on Wednesday I have to take him to Northampton for an operation on his left hip which is badly dislocated..Poor old Thomas :-(.Luckily nothing broken.The Vet seems to think it actually might have been a car that hit him and not caught by an animal.We will never know.
So guess who will be sleeping on cushions on the floor tonight in the lounge :-S

I've had such a busy morning, just one stupid job after another, so I've only just got on here! Jane, I can't tell you how pleased I am to hear that Thomas has been found, although sorry that he has clearly been quite badly injured. A cat we had years ago (another one, there were so many!) disappeared for over a week and we eventually found him on the compost heap! He had a broken hip and had somehow managed to drag himself home. My parents were convinced he'd been hit by a car, as like your Thomas he was a great hunter and wandered miles!! He was actually called Tompkins!!!! Hope you're not too stressed, at least he's back thank goodness, and insured!!!!!! I shall think of you at 5.30 - good luck!