General Chat

Poldark tonight........hooray. I think I may ask oh for the DVD's for Christmas as I can always watch these again and again.

We love Poldark too Mel, the scenery reminds us of when we lived in Cornwall all those years ago. We're watching a programme on BBC2 at the moment about wild life in Navada. It's really good.

Evening All,

Like Liz we were tidying some of the garden for winter today. I was reading today about putting herbs with stored potatoes to help them keep! I expect the ideal would be to have a seperate fridge for them to keep them cool enough, but you wouldn't get many sacks in would you.

OH has cleared away the courgette, cue, runners and toms and weeded the raised beds. I found cat mess in the greenhouse soil last week and OH found some where he was weeding today........not nice at all and I expect it's because there are more cats in the close again now. I have dusted and hoovered the bedrooms, hall and bathroom. The dyson won't get in tight corners and never reaches the edges properly though, so the little hoover with a thin nozzle will be used tomorrow, much easier than using the attachments on the bigger dyson!! I bet the bending will set my back off.

I thought you meant there were some newer lightbulbs at first. I had all low energy ones at my previous house and that was over 16 years ago!!!! lol. We use the round white globe low energy ones where they fit the shades as they are nicer to look at. They also light up more quickly than they used to years ago. We have halogen lights in the kitchen, but I think a lot of fittings are using the more efficient LED lights now, so they will probably be the next to go!

We had a right palaver with the printer last night when it started printing funny. I changed some of the inks and one of the new ones (magenta red!) dripped on my trousers and on the study carpet!!!! :-S We both set to with cloths and cleaner and thought we'd done a good job until this morning when things had dried. :-S I'll see how my trousers are after a wash and have another go at the carpet......my thigh is still pink......looks like another wasp sting!

We've caught this year's first mouse in the loft. I thought I heard one the other night. I wish we could find a way to keep them out!

No chance of us watching the X Factor either! I am enjoying Poldark more now. I have the first 2 Poldark books to read that OH bought for me. I also bought a Christmas present today..........OH loves the Matt cartoon books. :-) ;-)

Iv'e got two pressies for oh at the momen t and he bought me one when I wnet shopping last week but he did'nt know it till I got home.

I have just lost heart with my garden what with the deer and the rabbits I don't stand a chance. The deer has spent the whole afternoon in the orchard eating the apples and then sleeping by the box hedge. The buzzard has been hunting up on the top lawn by my border and oh just saw a mouse rush to the hog bowl and grab a bit of food and rush away again. He said it knew what it was doing so must have done it many times before.

Evening all.

Well those two boys have gone from X factor HONEY G next week I hope.

Ros didn't come in till after 5.00 tonight. She has really gone to town with her new trimmer.

Jane, We must have 15 or more Banana Box's that Ros stored all the glass wear in . They are sitting in the garage, if you would like them you are welcome. We can store them till you need them.

Ros bought up three stunted parsnips this afternoon, I threw them away as I didn't think they would cook or roast.

I have been totally bored today, apart from cooking dinner and washing up, all I have done is read the paper and watched T.V. I had a job to stay awake through X factor.

Did anyone see the paddle steamer on the Thames, on Country File. That was exactly the type my Dad was on that went from Tower Pier to Southend, Ramsgate, Margate and returned about 10,00 pm in the evening. Bought back lots of Happy Memories. I didn't know there was still one going. !!!

Time to look around Ebay until Victoria in over then I can watch something I want to watch..

Sleep well, see you tomorrow.

Frank take a look at this site and read about the boat that has returned to Bideford.

http://www.ssfreshspring.co.uk/blog/entry/freshspring-comes-to-devon

Morning all,

Not too bad a day and it is dry and brightish and the clouds in the sky look like folds of cotton wool with blue inbetween.

Hope Anne has enjoyed her little holiday, do any of you know when she's back please?

I had an early night for me last night. I went to bed at 12.45am had three loo breaks in the night and then woke up at 9.15am so I should b e well rested today.

Watching Poldark last night the internet went out twice so each time it does that I have to wait a little while for it to come back on again and then go through all the palarva of making the the firestick sleep and waiting and then waking it up again to get back to the program and find where you were on it too otherwise I just get the never ending circle going round and round and a notice saying Sorry something went wrong!!! So annoying.

OH has gone to Waitrose with a BIG shopping list! He's then going to Tetbury to get some dog food (in bulk!) and some Antilam for Merlin! It's given me a load of time to get lots of jobs done without him being under my feet!!!
Nice day here, blue skies with whispy clouds. Not sure what else we're doing, more gardening I expect!!!

O for a day like that Liz without someone under my feet....

No eggs this morning when I let the girls out but one jumped down from the nest box and other were very interested. When I opened the main door they were eating an egg so the one who came out the nest box must have laid it as she came out or it was stuck to her. Blast.

I am off to clean them out while there's no wind blowing so I don't get a face full of shavings and then I am going to wash my hair.

Morning Liz and Mel, Good morning to all you rest of you, Evening Kim,

Ros has popped to Town to get a present for John. They go away on Wednesday to Tenerife (sp) for a month, and his birthday is next week.

Lovely morning here.Plenty of blue sky and sunshine.

That's not good Mel to loose an egg like that. Is it the . I of year when they stop laying ??

Both the lawns need cutting, but I am not going to attempt it.

Just had eggs on toast, I just fancied that for breakfast, even though it's late. I won't eat again until tonight around 6.00 pm.

Ian will be well loaded down with the BIG SHOP. Is it something you do every week ??

Just spoken to a friend from Kettering. He has booked him and his wife flights to the USA for December to see his daughter and family. He makes the trip twice a year, which is very nice.

Shower time now, so see you later.

We reckon to do a big shop about once a fortnight Frank, then use the village shop in between. Today OH went on his own and didn't get home till 12.30! it was great Mel, I thoroughly recommend it!!!
We're having french bread, cheese, tomatoes and prawns for lunch! looks good!
OH is going to weedkill this afternoon, so he'll have had a busy day!

Afternoon All,

What a shame you lost the only egg Mel. Am I right in thinking they used to clip beaks to stop feather plucking? I'm in and out of bed all night to the loo now with drinking extra water for these extra tablets!! lol. I've decided they taste like petrol smells. :-S After a couple of days they are doing the trick, touch wood, which is great after a month of feeling like rubbish and not wanting to do anything.

I'm not surprised you've lost heart with your garden with everything eating things you grow. As well as spraying on our shrubs and killing them, the cats have done the same with a neighbour's neatly trimmed conifer hedge. There are brown patches all along it at about the same height. I know it's them as I've watched them doing it on shrubs in our front garden and on shrubs in the garden opposite. They are becoming a blooming nuisance with their territory battles!!

I've done hoovering the edges this morning and wiped the ensuite floor and tidied up a bit. I can eat after 2.00pm, so we are popping to the carvery down the road as they serve all day.

I wonder how Jane's meal turned out, it sounded a bit spicy for me!

Yes Frank, don't you dare try mowing lawns or your knee will never get better. Can't you find someone to do it for you? You keep them so nice they won't be a major job for someone.

I bet Cas will be in her element when shooting starts.

Ann did you know that female cats also spray right up in the air too?I have seen mine do it on many occasions.

I did the big girls before lunch andx am now having a sit down. I did'nt think ther was much breeze but what there was seemed to be blowoing away from me. I started on the nest boxes and with the first dustpan of shavings a breeze came up from the other direction and covered me in louse dust from the shavings as I put it in my barrow. All other scoopfuls seemed to do the same so when I was finished I had to come in and have a good wash. I don't know the things I do for these little pals of mine..... <3

Afternoon All

Thanks for the offer of the boxes Frank.Very kind of but I will decline if you don't mind.Hannah hasn't asked so far so maybe she still has some from the last move. I can always pick some up from Tesco if necessary.

Ann it sounds like you have a real problem with all the cats spraying their territory .I don't suppose there is much if anything to stop it :-S..It is odd but I think we are the only people in our long stretch of road with a cat. Many have dogs but no cats. The reason I know this is from when I went door knocking to see if anyone had lost a Black and White Cat(when Thomas arrived with us).. My Neighbour 2 doors done said today that if she sees Thomas in her garden and calls him he will run to her :-D. Even her OH is beginning to like Thomas and he hates cats.

Liz ,does Ian regulalry do the big shop?Does he ever bring back some extra goodies?? .I quite like it when Chris goes to Waitrose .He goes once a week for 'his things' but often comes home with a big joint of Beef /Pork etc.Also those bags of Chicken Breasts.I get through so many of them. Mel you will have to get OH to do a big shop for you :-D Pull a sicky one week lol
What a shame your one and only egg was eaten :-S Naughty Girls.

Ann that Kosheri thing I made yesterday is actually not as spicy tasting as you would imagine.I don't do really spicy .It is so tasty. James is having whats left tonight with Chilli Sausages. Chris and I are having something I haven't done before.it is a recipe from the Sainsburys Magazine.It's Gnocchi,Ham and Pea Gratin.I am not sure Chris too enamoured when I told him ,but hey if he wants to eat he will have whats put in front of him LOL

Frank I am sure you will be able to get someone to do your lawns for a few weeks of so until you are able to do them again.I thought you had said a while ago that there was a chap you could ask(but maybe I dreamt that)

Fitz is going down to Wiltshire(Malmsbury) near you Liz.He is staying with friends for a night or two before going on to Somerset to see other friends. He said that there is a new Rick Stein Restaurant and his friends have booked a table there for tomorrow night.I bet he will be paying through the nose !!!

Chris is Polyfilling bits in the main bathroom..FINALLY we are getting around to decorating it. !!!!!!!!!!! He bought a new ceiling light today.That will be fun (not ) fitting that..Electrics :-S :-S

I have just noticed the the bonnet of my next door neighbours car has been open all day.She must have had trouble starting it this morning and gone to work in her partners car and he took his motorbike to his work.They must have forgotten to close the bonnet and we have just had a real downpour ! :-S.Hopefully the open bonnet will have kept most of the rain off the engine.If i had noticed earlier I would have gone round and closed it.
Better get my chefs hat on now.

Malmesbury is only six miles from us Jane. Its such a pretty town with a lovely 9th. (I think) century Abbey, and lots of old quaint buildings. You can spend a very happy hour or two exploring!
Yes, I get my main. shopping done fairly often. OH is happy enough to go on his own if I really don't want to go or have jobs I must get on with, and yes, other goodies get thrown in too, usually a bargain of one sort or another!! There was a time when I wouldn't have wanted him to have anything to do with the shopping, but now we're both getting so creaky, it's really useful having another pair of hands so to speak!!
All the weedkilling has been done, so that's another job finished for this year!
The family up the road from us have got a Labrador puppy!! He's light golden and very pretty! He's 4 months and seems a lovely boy. Cas met him for the first time this afternoon. He is quite a bit bigger than she is, so she wasn't that keen!!
.

Evening all,

Well what a day ,its been tipping it down at times and then out comes the sun ,i looked out once the sun was shining and it was raining i should have looked to see if there was a rainbow.
I think we will light the fire tonight it feels quite chilly .

Thats a nuisance having the cat spoiling your plants Ann, we had one that kept doing its business in the front garden ,i had to lay a piece of netting on the garden to stop it ,it doesn't smell to good when your weeding and you get it on your hoe i can tell you.
Glad the tablets are helping Ann and your beginning to feel better .

Black as your hat out there again now , think i'll wait before taking Max out .

We think Kamikaze at the end of the close died as he seemed a bit stiff and old and two young kittens appeared as he disappeared. They were ok, but then last year 2 bungalows were sold and the new people both brought cats and that's when the trouble started! All the cats live the opposite side of the close, so our gardens this side are their route to their favourite place......the fields at the back of us.......so I expect they all want it as their territory!!! I wish I could fix something up to spray their little botties back with icy water when they do it!!! :-D Next year I must remember to put a bottle of water in the greenhouse doorway. I forgot this year. I doubt Thomas does it Jane, as there is no other cat competition to trigger it. He seems to be winning over some of your neighbours, who no doubt like the fact he is a good mouser. No I didn't know that about lady cats Mel. LOL Mandy, it's the smell that usually hits you first isn't it and you start looking for it then. It's not good when you get it on your shoes either!!

It sounds like you will be doing that meal again Jane, it sounds nice, but a bit time consuming to do. It's worth it to have something different from time to time though. Chris is lucky you try these different things isn't he. At MIL's I think they had the same meal on the same day each week!

We are going to watch Victorian Slum tonight at 9.00pm. I think Mel mentioned it before and it looks good.

Victorian Slums tonight BBC 2. Looking forward to it.

O good Ann remembered.

Washed my hair this afternoon so thats out the way for another week or two.

O I see its nearly dark so must go and shut the chickens and banties in.

Yes, we shall be watching Victorian Slum, we're both looking forward to it!
Goodness Mel, I wash my hair everyday!! I always have a shower when I get up.and I do it then. Even when it was long I did it every other day, though it was a bit of a game blow drying it particularly in the winter before going to work! When I was a child I can remember it being washed in the bath! I had plaits which were doubled into door knockers!! Also they were tied over the top of my head, but I can't remember having ribbons but I can remember curby grips! I had my hair cut when I went away to school so as to be able to manage it on my own, but grew it again when I was 15 and it stayed long till I was about 40, then I had it cut and its been short and easy to manage ever since!