General Chat

Yes our shower light is up and running Gill, and I'm well chuffed with it! It's been really warm here today, such strange weather!! Wonder whether we'll get any prolonged cold weather at all this year!!
A new series tonight Jane called Taboo. Not sure what it'll be like, but we shall give it a whirl!!

Morning all,

Much brighter out there this morning so it makes you feel happier and not down in the dumps first thing.

Glad you're pleased with the light in the shower Liz. We have those down lighters in our bathroom since oh put the new ceiling in. We did have a light over the shower befor ethat but it kept blowing the bulb as there was a hole in the plastic cover of the light.

Mandy it is a long time Colin has been at home and I bet he can't wait to get out and about again but as you say you and Max will miss him being around. Colin should think that when he retires it will be like that all the time!!

I am hoping today to get the bantams cleaned out and then have a fiddle with my new pom pom makers. I hav'nt done any for such a long time and am eager to get stuck in.

Well Gill it may be a better time to have you're house on the market if you are thinking of moving again as with Spring around t he corner some people get the urge to move then.

Murky old morning here but not cold! We're not doing much today after yesterday's burst of activity!!
Not having to completely retire until you really feel like it is one of the bonuses of self employment! OH still does odds and ends of timber, either in the round or sawn into boards. Keeps him occupied and the income is useful!! I expect Colin will wind down slowly when the time comes!!
Must empty the dishwasher and plan the day!!

Morning All
Liz I did watch Taboo..Have to say I am not quite sure yet if I am going ot enjoy it. It was a bit strange but I will watch again next week.It is another ot those dramas where rooms are so dark and some voices mumbled !!!!!
What did you think of it?

I am off out now .A few things to do .I do want to try and get James a nice pair of joggers for when he plays badminton.The ones I wanted from Next are no longer available :-S Typical !

Is'nt that always the way when you find something you like they stop making it?

I watched Taboo last night on catch up cos by the time oh turned over for me to see it it had started so I watched it when he had gone to bed while it was nice and quiet with no talking over what was being said. I must admit I quite enjoyed it and shall definately watch the next one. I liked the way he paced out and then buried his bag of diamonds at his arm reach.

Big breakfast for us today so nice and easy and cheese and biccies tomight so thats my day planned and the rest of the time is mine at last............

It started quite bright here but is now like it is at Liz's murky. Wish we could have some nice sunny days.

Afternoon all

We have a mixture of sunshine and showers here today and when the sun is out it feels like spring it's that warm, even when it rains it's only the fine stuff.

We have a lovely plant we put in when we first moved here and for the first time it's flowered really well. I can't remember the name of it but it has lovely pink fluffy flowers on bear stems, it gets leaves on it all through the rest of the year, so plenty of interest which is what I like. It's now almost 10 foot tall. Sandra took a picture of some of it yesterday, it's to big for her to get the whole lot in the picture, if she goes to far back you can't see the flowers as well.

I didn't watch Taboo, never saw it advertised so I don't know what it's about. Sandra has got us watching the things she likes, The voice, and a programme with Gary Barlow on from the band "Take That", not really OH's and my taste but Sandra's happy, there's also a Dance programme coming on soon that she wants to watch......she does like her music. Occasionally OH and I do get to watch our own TV LOL.

So you got the light done in your shower then Liz, that's one job out of the way. We find we have a few small jobs that need doing and get over looked for a while, so it's nice when they are all done isn't it?

Isn't that always the case Jane, when you find something you like they stop making it. I used to buy Lee Cooper jeans for years then the only shop that sold them stopped selling them, they told me I'd have to go to Paris to get them. A bit far just for a pair of jeans ;-) ;-)

Sandra is back on making her chicken dinner today, she hasn't done any cooking for a while so I think she's enjoying herself. It's the first time she's cooked a chicken since we got the new cooker, so I'll keep an eye on her. So far she's okay though.

Nothing much planned here today apart from Sandra wanting to catch up on a couple of soaps that stopped for the winter months, we kept the last ones so she wants to watch them again so remind her of what's going on before they come back on again tomorrow. I'm still altering my clothes and then I'm hoping to make a holder for my sewing things. I got a pattern and material all cut to size for Christmas so it's just a point of sewing it all together.
So I'm like you today Mel and finally have a bit of ME TIME ;-) <3

Lee Cooper Jeans !!!. They were very popular in my younger days as was the Levis.
I never ever had a pair of jeans.I hated wearing trousers. Now I only wear trousers (still not jeans though).The only time you would get me in a dress or even a skirt would be for a wedding.

Well I still haven't bought joggers .I think I will give that a miss now.I am not even sure if James would want any ,but I was just trying to think of an extra present for his birthday.
I have just realised how late it is ..My tummy is rumbling for some lunch :-D

Afternoon all,

It's a nice sunny day here now. Dos is in the garden cleaning up behind the "LADS" I haven't been down to look at it.yet, Paddy has made a swat at the bottom of the trunk with a back to it. It will be somewhere for Ros to rest while working in that area of the Garden.

Had a terrible night last night. I was trying to think of a song that I use to hear when I was evacuated in 1942, I laid in bed going through the Alphabet time and tim again. Suddenly it came to me "Early one morning, just as the sun was rising, I heard a Maiden singing in the valley below." and so it goes on. It must have been TWO in the morning before I dropped off.

Gill, as everyone has said, think about everything seriously before you decide to move on. I am sure you can ignore what is causing the problem.

Have done dinner for tonight. Roast Leg of Pork, I have oiled and salted the crackling so that should be lovely and crunchy. Most Potato's and parsnips, Cauli, Broch, Runners, carrots and brussels. Yorkshire made as is the CHEESE SAUCE. Will start cooking about 4.00 pm Dinner will be around 6.00 pm.

Anne I bet you can't wait to go and see "RUBY" give her a big cuddle and kiss from me. I just love puppies, well dogs in general xxx.

Mandy I bet Colin is very frustrated not being able to do much. I know how I feel. I get very depressed and angry with myself, for not being able to do more. Dos has asked this morning if I feel I could manage to paint the back garden Fence and Garden Shed. I know it will be a challenge but one I am prepared to try, when the weather gets better.

Haven't spoken to Jan or Conrad yet today, So nothing to report. I know Jan is thinking of flying out with more cloths, and help him sort himself out in the new place, which he has for a MONTH.

Jane Ros bought me some nice warm Joggers from from one of her shops. They are so comfortable for sitting around in. Much better than trousers as they are not tight around the waste.

It's a good job you had enough room in your OIL TANK to take that delivery so early. You can pass on the wine if you don't want it. his his xxxx

We have been invited out for next Sunday for A "POT LUCK LUNCH" Should be interesting, to say the least. !!!!

Going to have a looks ee down the garden, see you later.

Have just tried to get out of the Conservatory and my KNEE has ceased up, I am now having to use my stick again around the bungalow. What a BAS@@@D

Ros (bless her) has washed down the patio and steps to the lawn. The lawn looks in a right old mess, with their boots trampling all over it in the wet weather. I expect it will pick up if we keep off it.

Goodness Frank, you do sound in the wars! What with your knee seizing up and not being able to sleep very well! I'm sure your lawn will recover, it's amazing how things grow back leaving no mark at all.
We've just had a visit from some friends who have just come back from a week iIceland. They rented a log cabin about an hour from Reykjavik. We gathered they had a ready fab time!
Yes, I think we liked Taboo! We shall certainly watch next week.
Lunch is ready, I know already about waist lines Frank!!!

I don't talk about my waistline :-S :-S.. Stretched waistbands on trousers are brilliant LOL

Oh Frank,had you been sitting too long in one position . Maybe a little walk about with the stick will help ease your knee up a bit.

Liz,I don't know anyone who hasn't enjoyed Iceland. I bet your friends had a wonderful time there. Both Hannah and James have been and also Fitz's son and wife went not that long ago. I am not sure if it is somewhere that I would choose or not.

We are having Meatballs and Spaghetti tonight.I just realised that the meatballs were still in the freezer so they are in the oven on the defrost setting now. I hope I have got them in there in time.Not that we will be eating yet for at least another 3 or 4 hours.

Did you enjoy your BIG BREAKFAST Mel ?

Mandy ,Colin must be getting a bit Stir Crazy now after not doing anything much for so long. He will feel useful again if he can get out and do a bit of work with your Son.
I'm sure Max will miss him to begin with ,but it sounds like he is not going to be out for whole days at a time.It will be strange for you too. It might be nice to have a bit of time to yourself.I know I quite enjoy it when Chris goes off on one of his long hikes or to Cambridge :-D.........It is the "Are you there? ", "Have you got a minute" that gets me sometimes. Saying that Chris retiring has not been as difficult as I had thought it might have been.I had actually been dreading it lol. You just adapt somehow.

Sorry to hear your knee has ceased up Frank, maybe some rest will help. If you didn't want to paint the fence and shed you only had to say LOL ;-) ;-)
That's a good idea to put a seat around the trunk of the Cherry tree for Ros to sit on. Your grass will soon recover, ours was a right mess with all the work we were doing last year and now you wouldn't know it was damaged at all.

How nice to have a visit from your friends Liz. Iceland, isn't that one of the places you can see the Northern Lights from? Did they see them, or is it only certain times of the year they show?

I remember Levis Jane, although they didn't have a nice fit like the Lee Cooper ones. I've always worn jeans and still do, I'm not one for dresses either, probably because I can never find any I feel comfortable in, this is why I'd like to make some dresses, at least then I'd know they would fit me properly.

Gill,my friend Anne had a pair of Levis .I think she was the only one out of our group that had them. I do remember her lying on her bed after soaking and shrinking them ,trying to get the zip up lol.I just remember thinking how uncomfortable it must have been .

I have just been down the garden to the compost with a load of Tulips that my Sister gave me when she came to see us on the 27th Dec..They have been so nice ,but had suddenly all flopped. Our lawn is covered in huge piles of Rabbit Poo :-S :-S.. Not baby rabbit poo.These must be from big bunnies. Holes dug too in the lawn. There must be a fair number of them.I have only seen one Rabbit in the garden in months .So they are coming to visit under the cover of darkness :-S :-S.. Thomas hasn't been bringing home any since before he had his accident.He will no doubt make for it once Spring arrives.

I need to be up early tomorrow to get the car in for repair.I think they open at 8.Chris will follow me in and then bring me home .I will have had my car for 1 yr on the 19th of this month,and have probably been without it for at least 2 months during that time !!
Hey Ho ! .Lets hope this year will be better .Watch this space :-D

I have tight jeans, I buy stretch ones which feel more like a second skin and are very comfortable. I do a lot of DIY and gardening so don't really get the chance to wear anything nice, so my jeans come in handy. When I was young they had jeans that weren't stretch and boy were they uncomfortable, so I was pleased when stretch jeans were made.

I remember my sister wanting the legs of her jeans to be skin tight and sewed them while wearing them, it was so funny when we came home from the disco and she called me into her room to help her get her jeans off. She has sewn them so tight around her ankle we had to undo the stitching so she could get them off.....oh the good old days LOL :-D :-D

So you have large bunnies in your garden then, Thomas won't take long to find them I'm sure.

Lets hope your car isn't in the garage for to long Jane, good job you have more than one car in your family and Chris can follow you there and bring you back. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a better year for you :-)

Evening all,

It's been another dull day but not as cold .

Colin's nephew decided he would swim in his jeans ....he had a devil of a job to get them off when he came out of the sea ,they were clinging so tight to his legs ,so some one decided they would pull them off ,as they pulled they scraped all his legs because they had sand inside them.... ouch !!

We have had a lazy day here sitting by the fire and watching the tele this afternoon .

Do you think you've pulled your knee when you tripped Frank ? you'll have to be careful what you do for a few days .

I suppose this time of the year there are no baby bunnies for Thomas to catch and the big ones he probably steers clear of ,unless his leg holds him back a bit , is he moving ok now Jane ?

Hope you've enjoyed your bit of me time today Gill , how was Sandra's chicken dinner ? did she cope ok with the new oven?

What are you going to make with the pom poms when you've done them Mel ? have you a new project in mind ?

I had both Levi's and Lee Cooper jeans. I was always in jeans when young and slim. When really young I tried that soaking in the bath with your jeans on and all I got out of it was navy blue legs. They did'nt seem to shrink that much to me and mum ran them in on her machine for me in the end. I also had Falmers jeans in the 70's they were a nice pair of jeans. They had a platted belt round the top band and a metal clip type thing to do it up with.

Well I did'nt get anything done that I wanted to do. I did do one pom pom but hav'nt tied it tight enough so it will probably go in the bin unless I can get some more wool round the middle to tie it tighter.

Gill I think Frank meant the boys cut a seat with a back on it out of the tree trunk for Ros to rest on.

Hope the knee eases Frank as it must be uncomfortable like that.Are you still doing your exercises?

The deer have been in the orchard this afternoon. That pile of apples under the tree is now non existant with about four left. The blackbirds have worked on them all day.

Good evening everyone

It's rained nearly all day today so haven't done much apart from cooking the usual Sunday roast, we also had chicken and I cooked some pigs in blankets that were in the freezer from Christmas. How did Sandra's dinner work out Gill? It's nice that she enjoys cooking and gives you a break Going by the weather forecast it looks like Sandra may be able to build her snowman at the end of the week

Home alone at the moment, the girls have gone home and Richard & Paul have
Gone to ice hockey I'm watching country file, Antiques Road Show and then Open All Hours, Richard has recorded Sherlock so will watch that another time. We also watched Taboo I'm not sure about it at the moment although Richard enjoyed it so will be watching it again.

Gill, I suddenly had a thought have you considered going to Citizens' Advice to get an impartial view from an expert. It's such a shame having to move away from your home as well as your Mum & Sister and you obviously have good neighbours.

Paul has to go for a scan tomorrow on the glands in his neck, his dentist has ruled out any teeth problems, he did say today that the discomfort has eased off a little so finger's crossed all will be OK, the doctor said she didn't think it was anything serious but I still can't help feeling concerned.

Sorry to hear you have more problems with your knee Frank,,Ros has a lot more get up and go than I have at the moment.

I wear trousers all the time now my trouble is which size to buy I am either a 12 or 14 depending on the make as I buy on line I take notice what other people say.
I never wore trousers to work so work clothes were different. As I worked in an art environment it didn't matter what you wore we used to joke about" Dress Up Friday" one.of the chaps in marketing use to walk around with a life sized wooden parrot on his shoulder. :-) :-)

Afternoon All,

I'm watching Taboo tonight from the planner. OH said he didn't fancy it. I've noticed they repeated the Yellowstone series today so have recorded that as well.

I can remember some girls wearing new jeans in the bath to shrink them to fit!! I also had friends who had to lie on their bed to zip them up. I've worn jeans since I was a teenager, having been a tomboy growing up! Once women were allowed to wear trousers where I worked I even wore childrens M&S dungarees that used to fit me.......fat chance now!!

There is obviously more digging happening in the close this coming week as the electric people have left a pile of barriers and piping in the close this weekend. I just hope they aren't doing a 3rd lot of digging outside us to the new builds. :-S

Does it mean a lot more cleaning out now you can't let your hens out Mel? What is different about your new pompom makers? I saw some myself the other day and they seem much better than the faff with cardboard we used to do.

Do James and his pals hire a court to play badminton Jane or is it a club they belong to? You could always get him some shuttlecocks as they don't last long when men are playing! Just check what sort he uses as some are 'faster' than others.

I think being off work sick is very different to retiring. When you know you are retiring you can get stuck into interests and things you want to do. When you know you will be back at work in a few weeks your mind is on that and what you will be doing. Colin will be glad to feel back to normal I expect Mandy. Good idea to ease into it gradually though. Hope he's been sending in his sick notes to get his NI credited! :-) I expect Max will wander round looking for him for a few days. :-)

My old pom pom makers were rippled on the edges Ann these new ones are just straight circles if you know what I mean.

The ones I saw had smooth edges Mel. I imagine the rippled ones hold the wool from moving as you cut it.

Off to bed now, OH went earlier as he has a meeting in the morning. It looks like we are due some very cold weather on Wednesday according to OH. Hopefully I will be cool enough to wear my furry hat and fur-lined fleece with a scarf!!! I never even get to wear a nice jumper anymore with always being too hot. Just a thin cardie I can fling off quick.