General Chat

Afternoon All,

Thanks for the lovely pics Liz and Edward has a lovely smile doesn't he! You have had a lot more frost than us.

That sounded like a nice walk Frank and must have been nice to sit in the sun watching the world go by, but fancy a woman being found there! I hope you enjoy your drive around and meal.

What a shame James is not well Jane. It's always disappointing when you get some time off work and are then ill! Hopefully he will be well enough for the trip and evening out tomorrow. It would be good if they could pull your dent out, it would be cheaper too.

Gill, it is getting dusty here too but I'm leaving it till the decs are put away and just do a bit of hoovering. I managed to clean all the black 'crust' off the steamer and it looks great now. I used a tip off the internet. It said to use half and half white vinegar and water and boil it in the pan for 8 minutes then scrape it off before using a brillo pad to finish any stubborn bits. I didn't have enough white vinegar left so topped it up with some ordinary vinegar. :-D

Anne it is good that Mark is tidy......does he tidy other people's things too or just his own? That's handy having a son to check your microwave, you can never be sure after you've had one for a while.

We ate at the fav carvery today and it was BEDLAM in there!! Mostly due to a family party with 3 VERY noisy young children, not toddlers. I can understand them being excited but they were shouting so loudly and shrieking at the tops of their voices before the inevitable squealing and crying as they fell out with each other. Then they were racing around with more shrieking and nearly tripping the waitresses up. Being regulars we were charged normal prices, but there was a new girl on the till and she cashed up the Christmas period price at first till the other staff told her to charge our usual price. OH said it showed it would have been £19.70 dearer at the full price!!

Still no sign of OH's turntable despite me emailing them! :-0

Right that is the pie ready now.I just have to put the filo pastry on top. I thought that would be lighter than puff pastry. Mind you there is enough to feed an army and I still have some ham and turkey left :-S

Mandy what great prices for your veg and peppers :-D. I haven't been anywhere near a shop today.But I still have so much veg and other food in the fridges! It is ridiculous.I know that I will end up binning a fair bit which is a terrible waste .But there is only so much I can use before things start to go off.
I am using next doors bins for any of our extra rubbish.What a good job there are away for so long :-D

James's car has scratches on the back side panel just on hte end.Chris just caught it when he was reversing mine.I think the metal on my car is so soft that is why is dented so badly.I hope he feels well enough to be able to go tomorrow .But looking at him now it looks unlikely :-(. He wasn't really well over Xmas when he was at Jesses so I reckon it is the same bug.

I hope your OH is feeling a bit better Gill. What with his back and now a nasty Chest infection he hasn't had a good few weeks has he. I am glad though that his back has healed well now.

Max sounds like he is finally growing out of the 'puppy stage' Mandy :-D..Relief all round eh !! :-D
Gareth held Thomas for me this morning so I could he flea treatment on the back of his neck.I kept asking Chris and gave up ,so at least that job is done now. It should have been done a couple of months ago :-S... Now Thomas has been licking his fur where the stuff dribbles and is looking a bit sick :-S Silly Cat.

Frank you have had some really good exercise haven't you with all the walking you have been doing :-D...It will have done your knee so much good .
The lady you said that was found ( I assume you mean she had died)..How sad :-( :-(
I wonder if she had taken her own life. Xmas time can be such a difficult and sad time for many people.

PIE ANYONE? James has just said he doesn't think he will be up to eating :-S,and Chris just looked a the size of the dish and said he won't be able to eat half of that!!
I don't know why I have bothered really.

The fog is thicker than ever now.Good job we aren't travelling anywhere.At least Hannah and Gareth have got to Cheltenham before it got bad.

My sister was so excited yesterday to tell us some news. He youngest son Matthew and his girlfriend flew out to S Africa yesterday . He is going to propose :-D.He chose the ring and has it with him. :-D :-D. It is a Ceylon Sapphire pale blue with tiny Diamonds on each side ..Janice says it is beautiful. Matthew is going to propose when they are somehwere called the Wilderness. I must look that up.

Chocolates,Nuts, Turkish delight anyone? I have plenty

:-D

O I hav'nt had Turkish Delight this year. Mum always bought that and some fig things which were nice too, all covered in sugar. Oh bought me THREE boxes of Ferrero Rocher the gold ones and I have eaten one box already. Then my last preset was a LARGE box with the three different kinds in it. I don't go much on the white ones covered in dessicated coconut with the almond in the middle. I ALSO have a long box of after Eight and a small box of Black Magic and a box of three walnut whips from Di to share!! I think that will be one for him and two for me. He he he. :-D :-D

Done the more shopping and am happy now I have my nice fresh steak for tomorrow night. Oh has his curry tonight and I have my pie.

When I arrived home there was another present arrive in the post for me which oh has been tracking. This morning it said it had been delivered yesterday but we had had nothing. He got on the phone to Amazon who gave him the delivery firm to ring or something who gave him someone else to ring who gave him Amazon to get in touch with. Well knowing oh he was'nt going to leave it there was he? He got on to the firm that does the deliveries and sorts things out for the men wth the vans who deliver them. He told him the parcel had been delivered and signed for so oh said he had'nt signed for anything. Turns out this has happened before with this driver. While I was out the parcel arrived with a girl driving the van and oh said it looked like her mother with her. They gave him the parcel and he said "hav'nt I got to sign for it?" No said the girl its alright. But I usually have to sign says oh. He said they left quite quickly!!

So I had another present when I arrived home and I am delighted with it. It is a Monopod. I had never heard of one but I have tried it and its great. It is an extending pole you fix your camera on the top of and it holds the camera quite still while you take pics or videos. I am terribly shakey so it is a good idea for me. He always finds these things that are really helpful. Any camera fits it like a tripod and it folds away to about 2' and has a strap to carry it with in a zip up case. I am over the moon with it! :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

I tried it with my old camera on a zoom at two male pheasent having a nodding match in the orchard. when its downloaded I will send it.

O forgot to say that Winsford is not too far from us at Halwil Junction which is where the railway use to be. Mum convalessed in the cottage hospital there after her hystorectomy (sp) but they have closed the hospital since then.

No Thanks Jane, we have box's here that haven't been opened.

Sorry to hear about the "SICK PEOPLE" We have been lucky here, everybody has been fine.

The woman in the Harbour has a fall out with her OH and decided to finish it all. So I have heard this afternoon.

Conrad is doing Steaks tonight that Ros bought down in the COLD BOX together with the Beef Ham and creams and other goodies. We will never eat all thats in the fridge.

The weather has closed right in down here now. I hope Kerry and Mark had a safe journey back to Corby.

I think it will be an early night for me, watching T.V. in the bedroom. Some of the stuff they have on, just blows my mind.

How nice is that Jane. Janice will be over the moon <3 <3 <3

News on soon, then dinner, hard life isn't it ???

I bet Janice is already thinking about her outfit Jane! My first engagement ring has an oval cornflower sapphire with tiny diamonds all around. The sapphire has a small cut on it though where I caught it on a diamond cutting wheel in dad's workshop.

Mel, I hadn't heard of a Monopod either so will have to have a google. It does sound very handy and not a nuisance to carry. I never bother to take my big tripod anywhere, it's too cumbersome. I never download to my computer so have never used the leads. Do you lose the photos from your camera when you download? I use a 16GB picturecard in my camera and slot that into an adapter that fits the USB ports on my laptop. That copies the photos to my computer but leaves them on the camera as well till you want to delete them from there.

I think OH has a box of Turkish Delight left. I hate the stuff so there's no risk of me pinching any. There are After Eights too and I only like one or two of those! OH also has a tiny Christmas cake that's untouched. I threw some cooked veg away today. I ought to have frozen it but time just passes and before you know it it's too old to use!

I've phoned Tescodirect about the turntable and they seemed surprised I hadn't heard anything. Now they have to email the supplier to find out what's happening and contact me tomorrow! I have a feeling it's going to end up being a refund! What a farce.........good old Tesco, not even an apology, shan't use them again!! :-S

Did anyone watch Ethel and Ernest the other day? We thought it was very good and reminded us so much of MIL and FIL.

Morning all

Another dull day here today

I've just seen on the Internet that 2016 is having an extra second added to it called a leap second, this is to keep in line with the earths rotation as the earth is slowing down. Apparently there has been 27 leap seconds since 1972 and if you have a high tech digital clock it will show up as 23:59:60 then 00:00:00 instead of 23:59:59 then 00:00:00 I wonder how they're going to do it on BIG BEN.........It'll be interesting to watch on TV tonight.

Does anyone have any plans for New Years Eve???? We're staying in but Sandra wants to record the fireworks on her camcorder if she can, as they normally have plenty around here to bring in the New Year.

That was nice of the staff to only charge you what you normally pay Ann, it saved you quite a bit by the looks of it.
I love the bracelets you made, they're brilliant especially the snowflake one, that was my favourite. I'll show Sandra later when she wakes up, I'm sure the snowflake one will be her favourite too, you know what she's like for anything snowy LOL.
Hope you get the problem with the Turntable sorted soon. You'd think they would of least apologised to you.

How nice, a proposal Jane, is he going to propose today, New Years Eve? That would be such a special date and something she'd remember forever. The ring sounds really nice.

OH proposed to me on Christmas Day and has asked me to marry him every Christmas day since. Although he didn't do it this year, I've just mentioned it to him and he said he will propose twice next year LOL :-) bless him <3
To be fair he wasn't well, so I wasn't expecting him to say it this year.

Your Monopod sounds great Mel, I've never heard of one of those before but it sounds a really good gadget to have, especially if you shake like you said you do. It will keep it nice and steady for you now. Do you think the first driver took your Monopod and that's why the girl and her mum couldn't wait to get away after delivering another one the following day?

I watched a programme on Amazon and the way they treat their drivers is terrible and they don't get paid what they're supposed to, so maybe he took a few things to make up for the loss of wages promised to him........a naughty thing to do though, if that was the case.

I thought Winsford might be close to you Mel, as the beginning of the postcode was the same as yours. It looks a lovely place to visit, have you ever been there?

I've had some Turkish Delight too, I love it and so does OH, Sandra's not to keen and got a box of them for Christmas off one of her aunts so I swapped it for a box of mint matchmakers I had, which she was pleased about. I didn't mind either as I had another box of Turkish Delight to share with OH ;-) ;-) So we were all happy in the end. We've still got a lot of chocolate, I think it'll last us till Easter, there's so much of it. I'm like you Mel and have got some Ferrero Rocher I love them, they're very moreish aren't they?

Going to get a cuppa and read my book, Sandra has over taken me now so I've got a bit of catching up to do ;-) ;-)

Morning all,

Gill it sounds like you two are in a race to the end of that book.

Dry here today but not very bright but there is a little blue sky up there between the layers of cloud.

We never do anything for new years eve. Sometimes they have fireworks over the big house which we can usually see and definately hear as our wall acts as a big ear reberverateing (sp) the sound back. I usually go out at a min to 12am but oh is usually fast akip and snoring.

I liked the snow flake bracelet too. There was a lot of work in that. Do those beads have two holes in them Ann? the ones in the middle that form the star?

Gill no I hav'nt been to that Winsford Garden but may take Di there this year on one of ours days out.


O suns out!!

You'll have to go out one minute and one second to 12am this year Mel :-D :-D :-D :-D or you'll be a second behind everyone else ;-)

I like that Winsford is an historic productive garden built in the 1890's, it was abandoned during the War but has been restored in the 21st century, I'm looking forward to going there if I get the chance next year. Maybe if you and Di are going we could meet up and have a coffee/tea. It would be nice to meet you and I know Sandra would like to say thank you in person for all the beautiful things you have made her over the years.

The gardens open on the 1st June until the end of September so we're bound to be in the area sometime between those dates......just a thought :-)

Here is the webpage for anyone else who maybe interested. It looks like it would be well worth visiting.

http://www.winsfordwalledgarden.org.uk/

Yes it does seem like a race with our books, I didn't see it until you mentioned it Mel ;-) Sandra is over 30 pages ahead of me now, so I'd better get a riddle on to catch her up LOL.

Morning all JUST Evening Kim,

Had a bad night last night, throbbing knee, laid awake from before dawn. Dos had a good night and was snorting away !!! Bless her <3 <3 <3

Conrad has just come down stairs in T shirt and shorts. I asked him what time were they going out, he said "about eleven" More like one to two.!!!!

No sun here Mel, very dull but no FOG. It came down very thick last night, but cleared before I went to bed at 10.00 pm.

As Ros and I don't know the area, and haven't been out on our own before. We will just follow signs to wherever we decide, and put in the Postcode back to here ,so we don't get lost. Hopefully we will end up on an beachside where we can get a nice lunch.

Kerry and Mark rang to say they got home safely but there was a lot of fog on the roads, so took them an extra hour.

I think we might be going out for an INDIAN tonight.

Have a nice day. see you later.

I've just had another look on the website and apparently the owner is an artist and you should see his oil paintings, they are wonderful. He has a studio in the grounds of the gardens which you can visit too, so something else to look forward to.....all we need now is a really nice summer with lots of sun ;-) :-)

Afternoon Frank, didn't see you there. Sorry to hear you had a bad night. I hope you manage to find somewhere nice to visit today and the weather stays dry for you <3

Afternoon All

FRank I am glad Kerry and Mark got back ok last night as that fog was so bad here.
No fog today thank goodness ,just a little hazy and cloudy.

James is in bed .He said he was so bad in the night with sweating he had to come down and get a couple of teatowels and soak them in cold water to put on him.. I feel I should really change his bedding but that will havew to wait until he is up for a good amount of time. I have been and got plenty of throat pastilles ,ice lollies, ice cream,and Covonia Night ,Night Nurse was sold out !!!!
It is madness out,I was glad to get home.

Gill what a romantic your OH is :-D :-D.I can't say Chris is like that LOL I proposed to him on a leap year. I thought if I hadn't done it I would still be waiting :-D :-D
I don't know when Matthew is proposing to Kelsey.I think it will either be tonight or tomorrow.

Mel I have never heard of a Monopod either.It sounds a great idea.

I have another Ham to cook !!.(forgot I had it in the fridge). So as James will not be eating much today I thought I might as well cook that and then Chris and I will have good old Ham Egg and Chips tonight. We were going t ohave that the other day but I can't remember now why we didn't .
I wanted to do a nice Beef Joint tomorrow but again I can't see James up to eating a big roast.So that is off the menu. I have my favourite Lamb Shanks from Tesco Finest so Chris and I will have them and James will have what ever he fancies if he is up to it.

I watched the Agatha Christie Witness for the Prosecution this morning..It was brilliant .I missed it when it was on over Xmas.

Ernest and Ethel was lovely Ann.I thought was lovely..How funny they reminded you of the in laws

Ann how disappointing that you are still waiting for the turntable..I hope they get it delivered to you very soon now. :-D :-D

I think we might take the tree down tomorrow.It is on a tilt now and looking rather droopy :-(

Frank an easy day for your knee today I think.You probably have done so much over the last 10 days or so .Maybe you have just over done it a little .

I think I will get this Gammon in the oven now.It's not massive but will still take an hour and 40 mins.

Done two lots of washing but not put them out on the line instead I bunged them in the drier as the ground outside was'nt drying so I knew the washing would'nt.

When I went to change the bed I got some pillow cases out the draw in the bedroom and the ones underneath had gone a little mouldy!!!!! So I have masses of pillow cases to boil now to see if I can get it out.

Come over dull now with a grey sky. Frank must have sent me this from his way.

Sorry you had a bad night Frank, perhaps tonight will be better but watch what you eat at the Indian.

I am now about to clean the bathroom and the little loo.

See you later.

Very quickly as family have just left having dropped off our little boy, (we shall take him home tomorrow) and he's helping OH to bring Merlin in!
We watched 'Witness for the Prosecution' too Jane and as you say it was brilliant! I've seen the film which was slightly different, but equally good. We watched the programme about the Brontes too last night and thought it was fantastic. What brilliant ladies they were, and how tragic was their brother - lovely scenery of the Yorkshire moors.
Oh here they come, so Happy New Year to you all!

Just got the picture of your car Jane, that's some dent isn't it? Do you know when it can be fixed yet, are you going through your insurance? Let's hope it can be knocked out for you. I remember seeing a car dented like yours and the woman driver had painted the words on her car ......

A MAN DID THIS

it was so funny to see :-D :-D :-D ;-)

How is James, any better? and Thomas's paw, is he still limping or is it better now?

Happy New Year to you Liz, how nice to have Edward with you. I recorded the programme on the Bronte sisters and will enjoy watching it when I get some free time.

Afternoon all, What a wasted day I have had. We went out as planned, but Madam decided as she didn't know the area, we would go to Torquay. We didn't/couldn't find anywhere to park where we were near a restaurant. So she drove around and found "THE RANGE" Off she went while I sat in the car. About an hour later we were heading back to Torquay. I needed another case of beer, and Ros needed some bits, so we stopped at a TESCO where she got herself a sandwich. We stopped on the sea front near home while she ate it, then came home.

I haven't bothered to eat anything, and it appears we won't be going out tonight but having a takeaway, as Conrad doesn't want to be in a crowded restaurant so that's put paid to going out.

They have just come in from Exeter, and now talking about the takeaway.

I'm off for a couple of beers and T.V. Oh what a Happy NewsYears Eve for me.

No doubt I will be back later, if they want some rubbish on the TELE. BAH HUMBUG.

Evening all,

Another foggy start to the day but it did clear and the sun did try to shine but not for long it was to cloudy .

Ann those bracelets are lovely ,i like the snow flake one too ,was that made from the free pattern the beading teacher gave you ?
What a shame the turntable hasn't arrived yet ,i hope they can get it sorted out for you , i wonder if it's been delivered some where else .

Gill how lovely of your OH asking you to marry him every year ,does he get down on bended knee each year ? :-D
I was out shopping today and i spotted a snow globe in the sale ,i thought of Sandra when i saw it ,i bet she would love one of those if she hasn't already got one , she could see snow in her room when ever she gave it a shake .

Mel i never heard of a Monopod it's sounds a good idea to stop any shaking of the camera , your OH comes up with just the right gifts for you doesn't he .

Oh what a shame you didn't get your lunch out today Frank ,i think you were looking forward to that weren't you ,never mind you got a little trip out ,i hope you enjoy your takeaway tonight .

Goodness Jane that's some dent in the car !! he certainly made a good job of that one didn't he ? i carn't see them popping that one out it looks to deep .
Poor James feeling so poorly ,did you say he should have gone to Jess for the new year ?

We had Gammon tonight with jacket potato and salad , not sure how much longer the gammon will keep there's still some left .
Tomorrow the family are here for lunch ,they all said not another roast !! so i'm doing a Beef Cobbler they all like that ,desserts from the freezer so nice and easy ,i have cooked the beef today so just the topping to make tomorrow .

Enjoy your time with little Edward Liz and Happy New Year to you all.

I don't think we will be staying up to see the new year in ,we never seem to be able to keep awake , i expect there will be fireworks and they might wake us up , i must remember to turn the radio up a little in the kitchen so Max is ok ,on bonfire night he didn't seemed that bothered about them so i hope he'll be ok tonight .

Well I did'nt get the bathroom cleaned or the little loo but I did do all the work tops in the kitchen and all the things that stand on the work tops so feel I have had a go today. The washing machine is all loaded up for me to turn on tonight when I go to bed as I have all those pillowcases in there plus all the tea towels from the turkey etc.

Gosh Jane that is a huge dent. I love the consentration on your face reflected in the bonnet whilst taking the picture.

Fillet steak for us tonight so as you can see I am trying to get back to the normal routine.

Yes the monopod is good for me as with my funny foot I tend to sway about getting a good balance. I hav'nt done anything with it yet really or the camera. I hav'nt even played with my new pom pom makers yet. There just isn't enough hours in the day for me.

Must turn the oven on or he will be out here asking why I hav'nt started yet.

If I miss you all before you go to bed I am wishing you all a very happy healthy new year with all my love and wishes. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3