General Chat

Morning Mel, morning all

What a night, we've had hail stones all night, it was so loud we couldn't sleep until gone 4am, it was like sleeping in a caravan, there is still some around this morning. We took a look out of the window last night and it looked like it had snowed. The sun is trying to come out now so hopefully it'll all melt away, but it's really cold out there.

I'm so glad I've finished my Christmas present shopping so I don't have to go out in it. I hope it's warmer for the funeral on Tuesday. Ruth's son is coming over from Germany today, Ruth's partner will pick him up from the airport at 11am.

OH is watching practice 3 of the F1 I'm recording while I take another look at his tree. I managed to find a few American relatives last night, but it's not as easy as the UK one's, so I think I've gone as far as I can with them for now. Today I'm going to go back to the UK relatives to see how far I can get with those.

Forgot to put the heating on so we woke up to a cold bungalow, it's on now so should be nice and warm by the time Sandra wakes up.

Pleased to see your OH managed to fix your draw Mel, there's nothing worse than something not working properly and a couple of kitchen draws cleared out too :-) I need to sort out under our bed, but I'm to cold at the moment, so it'll have to wait for now. There's not much under there so it shouldn't take to long to do when I get round to it.

Didn't see you there Frank. Sorry to hear about Ros, hope she's feeling a bit better later, it must be awful. Is it this problem she's having the op for? If it is then you'd think they'd have her in earlier, she can't be like this for months on end. Maybe you could have a word with the doctor and see if there's a cancelation, or just mention if there is a cancelation can she have the slot, it's worth asking, if they say no, you're no worse off.

Our elderly neighbour (the 98 year old) next door has had problems with nose bleeds, she's had two this week, both in the night. The first one she ended up in A&E and then last night it happened again. Her daughter rang the doctor who said "if you're that concerned take her to A&E again" that was impossible given the weather, her daughter was concerned she'd end up with hyperthermia. Luckily the nose bleed stopped after a few hours, but neither of them had any sleep, so they're both having a sleep now. Her daughter spent the whole night with her and is still there. OH doesn't think she'll last much longer with all the health issues she's had this year. It's so sad, she's such a lovely lady and wants to live to be 100 too.

So had I when I read Mandy's post. Just like a lab to bring something. Mums yellow lab used to bring you the tea towel when you arrived. She would pinch it off the ring it hung in in the kitchen.

We have had more hail here this mroning and now I am about to attempt to get to the shop for the paper and deliver the eggs.

Lovely your son recieved an award for his work with the children Anne and a clear year for Richard too. A nice early present for Christmas.

I bet Sandra and Gill are doing her tree.

Ann I made a sprig of greenery with a couple of berries last year and I think its still on my Christmas pudding hat. I shall have to look it out.

Afternoon Everyone

No hail here last night(or not that I heard), but a bit of rain I think. It was a really wintery looking sky early this morning but the sun came out which was nice for Chris's walk.He has just spent ages cleaning off his walking boots as everywhere was really muddy.

Yes the shoes fit :-D. They look soooo long though as they are really quite pointy .His toes probably only go about 3/4s of the way LOL . I suppose it is the fashion.I hope he doesnt trip over his own feet when he starts to wear them :-D :-D.

Oh naughty Max. Toilet paper is so much fun for dogs isnt it.Just so tempting to grab the end and run with it :-D :-D. I think cats scratch at it until it unrolls LOL . So far Thomas hasn't tried that one :-D

Ooh poor Ros. That feeling of the pressure of needing a wee all the time must be just awful. Is it painful for her Frank or just really uncomfortable ?

Can't wait to see your Brooch and necklace Ann. They sound really nice and festive :-)

I had a good chuckle earlier this morning when Hannah sent a message.
She and 10 old Uni friends are planning to climb Ben Nevis next year and today was their first 'walk' on the Sussex Coast (7 Sisters?)
So they all set off from their various homes this morning to meet up at one of the London Railway Stations
This was her message
So far on the expedition....
One person got stuck on the tube so missed the train.
Another 2 left it late getting Coffee to go and had to run for the train..... 1 tripped and fell
And now the other 2 are taking her to A&E....
So the Original 11 and now 7
and we hadnt even left London !!!!!

My reply was "and you lot think you are capable of climbing BEN NEVIS !!"

I havent heard anything since so dont know what damage the girl did who fell. It just sounded like it could have all been a comedy sketch :-D :-D

I think they are going over cliffs for this expedtion today....and I hope it wont be literally 'over the cliffs' !! considering how the day started :-S


Gill that hail you had last night sounded absolutely horrendous !!! especially keeping you all awake for so long. I bet you will all be feeling rright old sleepy heads this afternoon.

Afternoon All,

Just perishing cold as there's a biting wind here and we had a drop of rain earlier. OH has wrapped up well for footie and asked me to cut his bit of hair tomorrow instead of today. I think he has his 'biggles'hat with him today. :-)

I seem to remember sending you a pattern for this brooch Mel. It's surprising how a bit of sparkle cheers things up and your hat would look good with the sprig on top! No hail here yet.

Poor Ros Frank. It must be horrid to feel like that all the time. I hope her op will be the shorter time to wait.

Gill it sounds like you had a noisy night with the hailstones. What a shame about your elderly neighbour getting these nosebleeds. Is she the one who's bungalow you were painting? FIL always wanted to live to be a 100 too, but thought he was a100 anyway when he died (he was 95) so that was just as good really. It must be a worry for her daughter.

I'm off out now to a factory shop to see what's on offer!

I managed to get her to go to bed bout 1.00 pm. I just looked round the bedroom door and she is fast asleep. She won't sleep tonight, but she might feel a little better when she wakes up.

Jane I am still smiling about Hannah's message. What a fine crew of girls there are. NOT. ;-) ;-) ;-) I didn't know WINKLE pickers were in fashion again. I know they were in the 50s/60s

We only had a very heavy frost here, no sign of wet anywhere. It has been cold, and I expect it will be the same tonight.

Not good for you then Gill, Just think that could have been snow !!!

Very boring sitting here on my own. But there's not much I can do, but red my book and watch T.V. in between having a few zzzz.

Might see you later. xx

That poor woman Gill. At 98 I know you expect some ill health, but TWO nosebleeds in one week and heavy ones too. She will need more blood putting back into her soon.

I just saw your bit about your neighbour with the nosebleeds Gill. How awful and frightening for her and her very worried daughter. That GP didnt sound very sympathetic and bothered at all. How on earth would the daughter have coped driving her Mum with such a bleed !! and at 98yrs too :-S

Ann ,good job OH has his Biggles Hat for footie and good job he is keeping his 'bit' of hair until tomorrow :-D. I would think in this freezing weather he will need every bit of hair today :-D :-D

Frank, I did think Hannahs message was funny. I could just picture the mayhem with some missing trains,falls and A&E LOL. I cant wait to hear how the remaining 7 got on.
That is if all 7 survived !

James's shoes aren't as pointy as the old winkle pickers Frank !!!. :-D

I think it will do Ros good having a bit of a sleep and probably more comfortable for her lying down as I wouldn't have thought there would be quite so much downward pressure if she is lying flat.

Thomas stuck his nose out the door and then had second thoughts and got back up on the settee.He will have to out at some point though.

I have just got this new dish ready to go in the oven. I thought it looked really nice but now am thinking it is going to be far too rich and heavy(hopefully tasty though).I halved the amount in the recipe but even so I can see us 2 just having a quarter of it and then feeling totally stuffed and a bit sick. Stodge I think might me the right word to describe this
:-S

Just sent a few pics of the girls on their trek today

What a start to Hannah's day Jane!! lol. I hope the rest of them managed to do the walk and that the rest of their training for BEN NEVIS goes better!! I would do the smaller Snowdon first, I did that in my 30s and was so glad to get to the top, even though it was horizontal sleet with the wind and no view up there the day we did it. The waist of my jeans was noticeably looser the next morning and I remember being chuffed about that. When are they planning to do it?

I must admit a 'vision' of 'clown shoes' crossed my mind when you described James's pointy shoes, but I know that would be too extreme. It is strange how shoes change so much with fashion. I have some shoes I love that will have to go back to the shop. They have a low chunky heel and are a burgundy suede with burgundy patent toe and heel with matching, small ribbon bows on top. They don't bend very well though and my heel slips out of them when I walk. I tried some heel grips but they will not stick to the rough leather inside the heel. :-S

What is your new dish today? It sounds like small helpings will be required.

Frank I think it will help Ros to catch some sleep while she can with having had a bad night. Hopefully she was a bit more comfortable laying down as Jane said. It's good she is eating lots of veg with her diet as that will prevent constipation which I imagine could make things even more uncomfortable. She must let the doc know about any worsening of her symptoms though as they might be able move her op forward on the list.

I didn't get to the factory shop and just popped into the Co-op that had the break in. It was a neat job and they had just fenced off the bit of wall inside where the ATM was. Our local paper today said they had charged 2 men who had also done the same at 2 other Co-Op stores (including Kettering) and at a Tesco Express at Hinckley. One is a local man, the other was from Wigan.

Another local man aged 35 has been jailed for shining a laser at a police helicopter pilot over a period of 15 minutes while they were flying over a residential area and were involved in a firearm incident. Because the offence breached a suspended sentence he already had for battery, he has to serve a total of 18 weeks for the helicopter incident plus 2 weeks for the breach. Why would he need to buy a laser pen when he's unemployed and has 7 children.

Good afternoon all

Very cold here today but luckily no hail but a very thick frost first thing, it has been
very sunny all day.

They were good pictures of Hannah and the girls Jane, when we lived in East Sussex we had a few walks in that area but I think they need to do a few hillier walks to prepare for Ben Nevis.

Poor lady having those bad nose bleeds Gill, when my dad had them he was taken to hospital which they sorted it out for him, I would have thought the doctor would have called an ambulance because of her age..

Max was a pickle with the toilet rolls Mandy, did he look guilty afterwards? Toby our ginger cat makes lace work if he manages to get hold of one.

Looking forward to seeing photos of the Christmas brooch & necklace Ann will you be wearing them on Christmas day?

I hope Ros has a better nights sleep tonight Frank not at all like her not wanting to go out but under the circumstances it must be for the best at the moment.

Ruby is still being broody and now tucked little pink pig under her as if she was feeding her, it's sad really seeing her like this as she is usually very playful still.

We're just had more hail, it's been like this on and off all day. I was thinking the same Frank, if the weather had been a tad warmer the hail may of fallen as snow. We've just had another hail shower so I think it might be here for another night too.

I was so tired this afternoon I fell asleep on the sofa for almost three hours and only woke up when the hail came down again. It's so cold and quite slippy outside.

Pleased to hear Ros has managed to get some sleep, she'll feel better for it and you too if she's keeping you awake at night. I remember how tired I felt when OH had his chest infection and kept tossing and turning all night, it kept me awake too.

OH and I are still laughing at the message you got off Hannah, especially the bit at the end about not even leaving London yet. How is the girl that fell, I hope she's okay and can still join the other's Jane?

Yes, the lady who is having the nose bleeds is the one we did the painting for Ann.

Evening all,

What a chilly day it's been but the sunshine has been lovely ,another frosty start to the day .

Poor Ros it must be terrible to feel you need to go all the time ,i hope she's feeling more comfortable now after her sleep .

So not a very good start for the girls on their first day of walking then Jane ,it looked a lovely day with some great views ,i see they are starting on the flat and building up to the hills and then the mountain LOL
Whats the new recipe for today ?

Goodness Gill all that hail you had in the night it must have been bad to keep you awake ,i hope you have a better night tonight .

I don't blame OH for not wanting his hair cut today Ann as it's so cold out ,his biggles hat will keep him warm .

Jane does Chris still have "the Hat " the one that went on the travels !!! LOL

No Anne he never looks guilty when he goes for the toilet roll just so pleased he's managed to get it ,he doesn't pull the end of the roll he takes the whole roll off the hooky bit it hangs on LOL we end up with extra perforations were his teeth sink into the roll .
Bless little Ruby still looking after her baby pig <3

Lovely pics of the walk Jane and some super scenery for them to see. I expect they are tired now as you say.

OMG Mandy I'd forgotten all about the 'hat that travels' LOL. :-D

Poor little Ruby trying to nurse her 'baby'. Do you know how long she will be broody for Anne? I may wear the brooch on Christmas Day, but I don't usually dress till near lunch time! I may see if I can persuade OH to go out for Christmas Lunch next year if we can find a small, quiet country pub with nooks and crannies to sit away from any parties. I fancy a change from the cooking even though OH prepares all the veg and does any washing up that can't go in the dishwasher. He'll take a bit of persuading though as he loves our quiet Christmases and thinks it's the best lunch all year and that no-one does such crunchy roast pots! I shan't disillusion him but on that subject has anyone tried doing them coated in semolina?

I read today about someone who opens up her sausage rolls when they are hot and puts a slice of cheddar on top of the sausage. I rather fancy trying that.

Poor Ruby Anne, with her pink pig. I've never come across a phantom pregnancy so don't know how long it will go on for, but hopefully not to much longer as it must be quite sad to see now.

Love the photo's Jane especially the one by the seven sisters sign. Let's hope everyone is okay after their miss haps today and all 11 of them do the climb together.

Pleased to see the police have charged someone for the ATM robberies Ann. Let's hope that's the end to it now.

Our silly neighbour (Mr Meldrew) the one who was very awkward about us fixing the fence has now took it upon himself to put flashing lights in his bay window right next to our bedroom window, they are really bright and flash really quickly right into our bedroom. He did this last year and kept them on all night. There's no point in saying anything as he wouldn't stop doing it and would probably enjoy the fact it might bother us. Last year I kept our little TV on all night which helped, so it looks like we'll have to do that again now. He's such a MAN CHILD.

OH and I have been chatting about the silly Christmas lights next door has put up in his bay window and have decided to make a planter on wheels that lock with a 7 foot back on to go between his bay window and ours, then next year when he puts his lights up it won't flash into our bedroom. My mum gave me some nice pieces of trellis a few years ago which, when put together, will be about the right height and width so all we need to do is build a planter for them to be fixed to, then we'll plant it up and have some lovely plants to look at through our bedroom window. OH said his friend has some ply wood he'll probably let us have, which we can back it with to block out the flashing lights. Next door won't like it but we don't care as this is the second year he's been a pain, so he's only got himself to blame. Sorry, I'm quite angry with him for being so horrible.

It wasn't long ago he parked his car in a position that the neighbour over the road from him couldn't park her car down her own drive. In the end her husband parked it for her, once next door realised what her husband was doing he stopped parking his car there and put it down his drive. So it's obvious he's doing all these things to upset everyone.

Just noticed the photo's you sent Ann, aren't they lovely. I like the one of the necklace. Sandra is still wearing the bracelet you made her, she's worn it everyday since you sent it her and loves it. <3 I meant to say I came across the pink and white bauble you made and it's now on the Christmas tree, right where Sandra sits so she can see it, as it was a bit to heavy to put on her little tree.

Love the pictures Ann. Found my little brooch but it was'nt on my hat it was in with my beading stuff. Like the frilly necklace and a good pic of the skies.Fancy Gordon letting you take a pic of him in his long johns!!

We've had hail showers all day on and off and they look really funny when they go in the pond as some float till they melt and they make big bubbles on the water and it looks really pretty.

Its been very cold here today even though we have had some sunshine.

Poor Ros it must be awful for her if she goes out having to keep finding a loo. I can understand why she wanted to stay indoors and its always worse when its cold.
I hope she sleeps better tonight even as she has had a sleep during the day. Well I was going to do so much today but as usual I did'nt get anything done except sort out a box to put a present in for Joy.

Gill your neighbour sounds dreadfull and I am glad we don't have any neighbours near enough to us to have their lights shining in our windows. Thats the beauty of living out in the wilds. I hate light in the bedroom at night and can never sleep if oh has the telly on but flashing light must drive you crazy. You'll have to get some sleeping masks.

Morning all

Very cold here today, we had more hail in the night but not as bad as the night before so we managed a bit more sleep. Thankfully the next door neighbour didn't have his Christmas lights on all night, but I doubt that'll last and he'll go back to his usual ways before long.

Our garden is flooded in the borders so we've had to move some of the pot plants out of the freezing water onto the patio this morning. We can't move them all as there are to many, so we're keeping our fingers crossed they don't die. Up to now they don't seem bothered and are flowering nicely.

OH bought me some new boots for my birthday but had to buy a size bigger as they didn't have my size. I just need to wear two pairs of socks. I have another couple of pairs of boots that fit so Sandra is going to wear my new boots for the funeral on Tuesday as they're her size. She tried them on last night and I've said to wear them today and tomorrow to wear them in so she hasn't got sore feet on the day. She kept saying they were my boots but she doesn't have any of her own as we couldn't find them and she can't go to a funeral in a pair of trainers. I'm going to lend her a long coat of mine too, that will keep her warm in this cold weather. I just need to see what I'm going to wear now.

How is Ros today Frank, did she manage a better nights sleep last night?

Going to watch the last F1 race later, but apart from that we're staying indoors and keeping warm. OH has just nipped to the shops so he won't want to go out again in this cold. At least the sun is out ,not that it's warming anywhere up. Hopefully all the hail has stopped now as I don't think the garden can take anymore water.

What is everyone else up to today?

Morning all my dear friends,

Grey skies this morning and it still very cold. We had more hail yesterday evening and later into the night.

Must have fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow last night cos I don't remember laying there thinking about anything like I usually do.

Jane that dinner looked amazing and I see what you mean about not being able to eat too much of it but it does look delish. Is there enough left over for today too?

Afternoon to you dear friends.

I got Ros up about 5.00pm. She sat wrapped up on the sofa watching T.V. About 10.00 I said I was going in to bed, and she said so was she. I let her go in and I sat and watched Match of the Day. When I went in 11.30 she was dead to the world. She woke this morning at 7.00 am and haven't had to get out ONCE. She was like a block of ICE. So for the first time in years, I wrapped my body round her and let my body heat warm her up. She got up around 10.00 am and is still in her dressing gown. If she wants a shower I will help her. It might make her feel a bit better.

I haven't mentioned Dinner for tonight. I have a nice piece of beef out of the freezer yesterday. Whether she will want me to cook it I don't know. I did manage to get her to eat an egg on toast fir breakfast. But that was it.

You know I mentioned "BIGGLES" the little dog we have now and again. ?? Well the owners have gone on two weeks holiday, and left him with an old neighbour who still lives in the village. She has two children the youngest 4 years old. This morning the little boy was playing in the garden with his ball and biggles, when the dog decided to NIP him. He hasn't broken the skin, but has left two nasty teeth marks (bruises) on his leg. She was so worried, she rang us, to ask if we could have him for th two weeks. She can't be sure that it won't happen again. She has said she will call every day and give him a good walk, to save me struggling to do it. In future I think it would be better for the owners to put him in a professional kennel. They have so many holidays, I think it's a big responsibility to expect friends and neighbours to have him.

Haven't looked at my EMAILS but I see I have 29 to open. So I expect there will be Jane's Ann's and anyone else who has sent.

So you have trouble with your neighbour Gill. What a total K@@B head he sounds. As you say if you mention it, he will do it even more. Would a call to the Council be of any help.?? Surely he can't have lights shining into your bedroom windows. !!!

The weather here is beautiful sunshine, even though it's Blooming brass Monkeys out there.

I have changed the bed this morning, the sheets are on the line getting that lovely smell, you get when they have been out. I will put clean sheets on the bed and remake in later. I will iron the drying sheets during the week.

Martine has been on the phone, offering to come over, and do anything I need doing. I said I can manage.

We both have dicky tummies today, so it must be something we have eat, which isn't much. Ros had a soup last night, and I had a toasted ham sandwich .

I will read through the posts probably when I find time. I am going to run the hoover over the lounge now. As I know she would be doing that.