General Chat

Evening all

I have been reading all your posts most days and hope to be able to join in again..

It hasn't been a good few months for us, Colin has had prostate cancer caught by accident and hopefully is in the all clear after having radiotherapy which lasted for 6 weeks so he has had to retire from ACE cultural tours, the outcome being severe depression, so unlike him but thankfully he is more like his old self these last couple of weeks.

My severely mental and physically handicapped nephew Stephen, the eldest son of Peter's sister, was in hospital for nearly a week with suspected sepsis and it was touch and go for a few days.

Richard is also being treated for depression having a scare with his eyesight but he has had the all clear, only needing reading glasses but because he only has one eye, I was out of my mind with worry although I couldn't let it show..

Sorry to go on a bit but I wanted to explain why I haven't been joining in.

Ruby has been her useful bouncy self, she will be 2 on the 18th bless her. I don't know what I'd do with out her nowi

Frank, Biggles is just like I imagine him he sounds such a lovely dog and loves coming to you and Ros.

Pleased you had a good time at the craft fair Mel and enjoyed your F&C.

Sorry you have had a really nasty cold Jane thankfully it wasn't on the wedding weekend.

So Sandra is a happy bunny now she has has seen Father Christmas Gill and good that you managed to record it for her, I expect Christmas can't come quick enough for her now.

Oh goodness Anne you have had a lot to worry about over the last few months ,i hope everyone is feeling better and can enjoy Christmas , i can quite understand why you haven't felt like posting but it's good to hear from you again.

Well i have made the sponges and sandwiched them together, made the ears and the horn and tomorrow i will cover the sponges and decorate it with the flowers ,i have edible glitter to put on too ,oh and some little sprinkle bits ,then i'll take a photo.

I asked Katie a week or so ago what she would like for her birthday, she will be 9 and bless her she said i would really like a shelf for my bedroom :-D :-D to put all my bits on .
She's a little dear really and always seem to ask for odd things :-D
We have bought her a new scooter and clothes ,no shelf .

We looked after Lewis this afternoon while DIL went into the church for some thing for school and he did make me smile ,i asked him if he had played out side today at nursery ,No he said not today but some days we have to put our coats on and they make us go out for NO REASON !!!! :-D :-D

Mel you did really well today making £46 you must have been really pleased with that .
Did some of OH's bits sell ?

We had a lovely lunch ,Colin and i had Chicken feast which was a mix of chicken bits some of it was quite spicy with chips and coleslaw ,Son had a Curry and DIL had fish and chips ,Lewis was there to as he comes out of nursery at 12 o'clock and he had nuggets and chips .

Oh Anne what a few months you've had, hope everyone is on the mend now so you can all enjoy Christmas. Yes Sandra is so excited for Christmas and still buzzing over seeing Santa earlier. I can't believe it's been 2 years since you got Ruby, hasn't it gone quickly?

It sounds like you're getting there with the cake Mandy, can't wait to see a picture of it when it's finished. Fancy Katie only wanting a shelf bless her. The presents you've bought her sound great, she'll love the scooter. Lewis sounds like a funny lad, it made me smile when you said about him saying he had to go outside for no reason lol :-D

I did'nt take any of oh's bits as he did'nt tell me how much he wanted for them. I don't know how much he paid for the fittings for the pull cord or the fittings for the pens and the wine bottle tops. A few of the pens he turned in a special pattened plastic. It all adds up. Je made this lot ages ago and has'nt touched the lathe for a couple of years.

So Katie is the same age as my George next door.

I had a love Christmas card today, my first one, from Fiona and her hubby. Its lovely and all silver and pale blue and hand made.

I took pictures at the Fayre which I will send tomorrow. I am just going to watch Kirstie and go to bed I think. Its been a long day and I have to pick up our scripts tomorrow and do some wreaths or I sha'nt get anything done in time for the shop.

I remember as a young man going to my GP saying I had bumps on the back of my tongue. He had a look and said you have, they're your taste buds. :-)

Morning all,

I have just got up !!!!! and we have sunshine and a strongish breeze so I expect the clouds will soon appear. It was raining earlier when I went to the loo. I should'nt have gone back to bed really but it was cold so I popped back into bed.

Today I have to go into Holsworthy for the prescriptions which is a nuisance as I wanted to get on with the wreaths. Still I can maybe post my cards.

Good morning to you all. xxx

Nice to hear from you Anne, what a terrible time you have had. No wonder you didn't come on the thread. I hope all is well with everybody now. You must have been worriedto death. Here's hoping it's all behind you now, and looking forward to Christmas.

We have had so much rain here this morning, everywhere is soaked through. We were hoping to go to the cemetery today, but will put it off until next week.

The "CIRCUS" was getting a bit hairy this morning. Tracy managed to reverse her car into the flowers bed between our gardens. I thought she was coming right through it at one stage. Ros managed to catch her eye and guided her back and forward until she managed to reverse out of the drive.

Tha was nice sum of money you made Mel. Will there be another craft fair before xmas, when you could take some of OHs bits to sell. You two put me to shame, as I do absolutely nothing apart from cooking and a bit of housework.

We now have blue sky, with fluffy white clouds, so we will go over to the cemetery later. Blow me, I just looked out and there is dark clouds building in the West.

That sounds a lot of money for doing the table Jane. If my old boss was still alive he would have loved to resurface and polish the table. He did some excellent work.

Gill, it's nice you have meet your new neighbours and you seem to get along with them. Pleased that SANDRA has seen Father Christmas, she must have ben excited BLESS HER xxx

Mandy I bet it wouldn't take Colin 5 minutes to put a shelf up in the little ones bedroom. She would be over the moon, having somewhere to put her little nick nack's. xxx How are you doing with your cake. ??

It's Julia's B'day on the 12th the same day as Susan my niece. Garry my nephew is on the 11th.

Ros has just sat a done our medication for the month. She has to take 16 tablets each day and I take 12. so we shake ,rattle and roll. lol.

Afternoon All,

Lovely to hear from you Anne and thank you for your card! :-) My word, I thought we had had quite a year, but it pales when compared with the worrying time you have had. As you say, you can't show you are worried yourself when you are trying to stay upbeat for others. I hope you are looking after yourself as well though. I can quite understand Colin getting depressed as he had such a busy and interesting lifestyle with the travelling he did. Very worrying for Richard too with relying on one eye. Hopefully you can all enjoy the Christmas break and have a better 2019. I can't believe little Ruby is two!! Every time I see a Boston I think of you as there aren't that many of them about.

I bet you needed a good sleep after yesterday Mel. It is sunny and nice here after heavy rain earlier so I hope it's the same for you for your trip out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Katie. <3 <3 I hope she loves her cake and the scooter and clothes. I had to chuckle at Lewis having to go out for 'no reason' . lol. :-) The things they think and say!!

Frank I am definitely getting a little rack that will fit behind the en suite door to put my medications in as I seem to be 'collecting' them at the moment, extra painkillers and cream yesterday! :-S I bet you and Ros do rattle with that lot you take. Better to RATTLE and ROLL than the alternative though!! You must look forward to seeing the driving antics next door now.........but not if they plough into your flower bed though. I wonder what they are like parking when they are out!!

The Office of National Statistics man has just been and interviewed us. The questions he asked were quite interesting.

Better get my coat on now, more errands to do!

Afternoon all,

Just a quick look in as i have to pick Lacey up from school in a bit and we need to get the things in the car before she comes .
Have sent a photo of the cake .

Thanks Anne for the pretty Christmas card and yours to Fiona if your looking in .

Right better get on BBL

Hello Anne, Just hoping you got my email and to thank you for the very pretty card you sent, it was much appreciated. As I told you, I've got a new IPad which is vastly superior to my kindle, but finding my way round it is a bit daunting and I'm still not quite sure if I've sent emails correctly!!!! no doubt that will improve with time!
Very sorry to hear about your family misfortunes, but can offer a bit of encouragement about prostate cancer. OH and I have lived in its shadow for nearly 8 years now, the first operation for a prostatectomy being in Jan 2011! Since then we lived with blood tests and other various forms of treatment culminating in six weeks radiotherapy last summer as OH had a recurrence. We are now awaiting the results of that which will be next week when we see the oncologist. Tiredness and hip pain have been a bit of a problem, although we did manage a wonderful holiday in Austria few weeks ago, I'd forgotten how beautiful those mountains are and how sparkling the air. It has been and is a great worry there is no denying that, but we have learnt to live with it and tbh a lot of the time we do manage not to think about it and it doesn't interfere with daily life. One tip though, cancer loves sugar, so we eat as little as possible substituting honey for sugar where possible. Hope this has reassured you just a bit :-) Liz x

We went to the cemetery and cleaned the gravestone the best we could. We treated it with WET and FORGET (I think thats the name).We changed all the artificial flowers, and the best of the old ones went on Ros's Nan's grave. She also found her Gt Nan's gravestone and her Mums brother's inscription, who was killed in 1918 in France. After walking around in all the leaves, and long grass ,I am just about bushed. So am glad to be home and having a rest.The SUN was a real hazard driving home, just below the visor and so bright.

I have a whole breast of cold chicken in the fridge, so I am doing cold chicken, chips and B. Beans for tonight. Quick and easy.

Ros is just out of the shower and washing her hair. Now it will be the Hair Dryer going for the next half hour or so. :-| :-| :-|

Are you doing a party for Lacey at yours Mandy. I bet she will love her cake. It looks smashing. !!!

Mandy the cake looks great and you've done a great job! :-) How did you get that sparkly horn to stay upright? (no tittering!! lol) I bet she will love it.

We saw the new cat at my other beading friend's house today. My friend took her in when the neighbour went to live in Spain a few weeks ago, but the two resident rescue cats weren't very welcoming ( spitting at first sight!!) so the introductions have been very gradual. She is a sweet, little black puss with white mittens and a white moustache and is a little cautious and wary. She did come up to us for a brief tickle and then settled on the sofa behind us. The other cats were in their beds in the other end of the room. Apart from a few stiffened bodies and glares (from the cats) there were no fireworks which is good. She hasn't been let outside yet, but will probably head for her old home next door when she is. With a crying baby there now I doubt she will head back for long though.

Afternoon one and all

It feels like it is getting quite parky outside now and yet today I was out and about shopping with just a long sleeved shirt .Oythers were wrapped up woth scarves and woolly hats!!!. One lady said to me I was brave not have a warm coat on. I would have expired though in the shops if I had had anything else on.

I love the cake Mandy. You have done an amazing job and Katie is going to just love. She wont want to cut it !! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE <3 <3

Mel didnt you do well yesterday :-D. That was a great amount you made.Now you have done one Fayre you might be wanting to do more :-D :-D.

So it sounds a bit chaotic in the close with all the shenanigans with the cars Frank. Why is it so difficult? Is it that there are too many cars parked along the road. Good job your flower beds werent damaged by Tracey !!!!. I bet you felt a bit chilly at the Crem today. At least that is a job done now . Yes Wet and Forget is the name. I think it was Mel who got us on to that a few years ago. Its good stuff isnt it.

Sandra will be a real happy bunny now she has finally seen Santa :-D :-D. I remember ,when I was little Santa would come down our road on back of a decorated Lorry with his helpers and he would wave at us all looking out through the windows.It was all very exciting. I have a feeling it might have been the Round Table people.

Anne I loved your card <3 <3...just like Thomas :-D I am so sorry to hear of all the dreadful worries you have had over these last few months. Almost too much to bear . But it seems that everyone has come through their troubles and are all on the up again. It must be very difficult for Colin having to retire from the job he absolutely loved. Maybe once he is fully recovered he might be able to find something similar again but maybe not on such a big scale and with not so much travelling. I am sure his expertise and great knowledge would still enable him to have some kind of employment (even a Voluntary thing). Thank heavens Richards eye is ok. You really must have been beside yourself with worry about him . Ruby will have been such a comfort for you and keeping you occupied with her antics LOL . 2 years old already!!!. It seems no time ago you brought her home as a tiny little Pup.

I hope everything goes well for Ian when he has the appointment next week. I am sure it will and Xmas can be worry free time.

Chris has been up in the loft for get the Decs down and a big suitcase for next week. There seem to be some rather large and very sleepy wasps up there. We just hope there isnt a Queen up there somewhere
:-S.I really want to get the Xmas tree now but will wait until Wednesday when James will take the day off. I doubt though that it will be up and decorated until after the wedding.OMGoodness one week tomorrow !!!.I am going to have to get myself in gear as it is a busy week for me next week. I shall make a list of all I need to make sure I take to London . It would be awful if I left something important behind like the bl**dy Fascinator LOLOL

James is away to Jess tonight.Hopefully he wont be too late in from work so he has time to eat and catch his breath before the long drive.Hannah just has 2 days left to work now before the big day and honeymoon. I think Gareth finishes work on Thursday.
My cold finally seems to be just about cleared up at last ,just need to get rid of the silly cough.I am keeping everything crossed I have managed not to pass it on to the men. The trouble is now everyone seems to have colds.

Gosh what a todo I have had. What should have been a short trip to Holsworthy for our scripts and post my cards with a round trip of 18 miles turned into a 31 mile trip.

With all the rain we had in the night Dipper mill was out and a car had got stuck in the flood water. I had a van towing a generator, a big red lorry and three cars infront of me and we waited ages before the man in front of me got out and walked down the road towards the flood. I waited a bit longer and then did the same meeting him coming back up. He told me a car was stuck in the water so I said if its out here it will be out in Black Torrington too and I can't think how to get to Holsworthy. He said to me Stibb Cross and then I remembered. So we all had to turn around wich was a right fiasco and go back the way we had come to get on the road to Stibb Cross. Stibb is about 6 miles from home. Anyway I got there in the end but it always seems a never ending road that way around. The wind in Holsworthy was dreadful and nearly blew my hat off three times. I had to hold it on with my hand.

Did the post office and popped in the florist to ask if she could get me some more stubb wires as I am running low and then picked up the scripts. Back to the car park and on my way home the wind was still blowing like mad and then it started to sleet. The sky was as black as your hat and I think thats the first time I have had to have the wipers on at full pelt. I got home when it was nearly dark and oh had corned the girls for me so I only had to shut them in.

No more done to the wreaths today and I wanted a couple for the shop tomorrow. I have one done and will see if I can finish off the other two in the morning.

Mandy the cake is stupendous and better than the one I saw in Morrisons. A much taller horn on yours and I love the silver balls. (NO SNIGGERING AS ANN WOULD SAY).

We've had a cuppa and cake and I am please dI don't have to go out there again tonight as the wind is still very high.

I was going to have cold beef chips and peas tonight but he mentioned hamburger so I may so those with chips.

Frank I hope the Wet and Forget managed to dry before it rained again as it may not work if it rained. That reminds me I must do mums stone. Her little Robin on it is all green and we can't have that.

I forgot to wish Katie a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I am sure she will love that beautiful cake.
xxx

thanks to for your card Anne I have only just opened it.

Mel that sounded a horrendous trip. It's a good job you found another way to get to Holsworthy. I think I may have given up at that point! Your weather sounded awful with the wind and sleet and needing your wipers going at full speed. I suppose it must have been bad to have caused the floods. I bet you were glad to get home afterwards and pleased that your OH had already corned the chickens.

Jane I bet you are quite relieved your cold is getting better now. I get a double take sometimes with how little I wear in the winter too. I miss being able to wear jumpers and long boots! You mentioned the card I enclosed for H&G. Did I not put a Christmas card in for you as well, as I thought I had?? My brain is so unreliable now though, nothing I do or don't do would surprise me. :-S

Thanks Jane, that's really kind of you. I would just like to wish Hannah and Gareth a wonderful day next Saturday and many happy years ahead of them.

Ann, yes your card was there too. Sorry I forgot to say thanks. Love the Cockerel with the Mistletoe in his beak :-D :-D The look on his face !! I also forgot to say I had one from Fiona too. I have your lovely beaded star hanging on the ear of a Hare Ornament so it is safe until I can put it on the tree.

Crikey Mel that was quite a journey today. I think Stibbs Cross is where I might have turned to get to you from Bideford. We have had no weather like that here although there was a lot of standing water on the roads this morning. My windscreen wipers were on full only when big lorries passed on the other side of the road and sprayed my car.I saw them coming and got the wipers on quick :-D

Thomas is in for the night. Fingers crossed he will not want out again now until at least 6am. Anne do you have any pics of Ruby ? I would love to see her now she is 2 :-D

Mandy the cake you made is amazing it almost seems a shame you have to cut into it. Happy birthday to Katie hope she enjoys her day.

I think Colin will be doing some lectures nearer to home so shouldn't be responsible for anyone else, he is in his early 70's now so maybe it's all for the best. I did invite him to come for Christmas but because of the distance and maybe bad weather he will visit in the spring.

Pleased that your cold has now cleared up Jane apart from the cough .

Peter's younger sister's dog, Angus had eaten rat poison on one of their walks and was kept at the vets on a drip for nearly a week and has only just been allowed home. They go on the same walk everyday and he has been off the lead up till now. The walk at Fairlight country park is very popular with dog owners we walk there when in Hastings it's only about 10 minutes walk from where she lives .

I'm just off to bed but wanted to say thank you Anne for the lovely Christmas card. Sandra's asked me to say thank you for her's, she loves it with her name on. I've never seen cards with people's names on before. Sandra said she's going to keep your card forever......bless her. <3

Love the birthday cake Mandy, it looks very professional. Hope Katie had a lovely day.

I've been colouring my hair today but didn't start it until very late in the day which is why I'm late coming on here. It's all done now and looks much better.

Off to bed now, see you all in the morning, I'll catch up with all the posts then.
Night Night