General Chat

Afternoon all

Dry here today, it started off warm but now it's gone cold.

Sorry to hear about Em's MIL Mel, I hope she has a speedy recovery and Em's okay. It must of been a shock for her when she found out.

Pleased to see you had a better nights sleep last night Jane. I should think after all this time you're probably getting better yourself, but I think the Vicks would of helped though. Good idea to do it again tonight if it helps you sleep. Hope Chris is feeling better soon and it doesn't linger like it has for you. So Gareth is in the doghouse already lol ;-) The place Hannah found sounds much better and at least Gareth has now had a lesson on how to book a nice place to stay for the next time he needs to do it.

Just going to get a bath, we've been in the garden all day planting 3 plants in the front garden and taking two out to put in pots for the back garden. We came in for a bite to eat but then it went cold so we couldn't sort out the wobbly fence post we were going to do. To be honest we'd had enough so we'll concrete the post in the morning while we wait for the water feature to arrive. I've taken all the concrete out between the flags ready for the electrics to go down in the morning. So all in all quite a productive day.

I met the neighbours new dog before, he's lovely and very friendly. The neighbour was taking his two dogs for a walk so they both got a cuddle. Sandra was thrilled to see the new dog to. He's called Flynn and got jealous when we were giving Penny (the neighbours other dog) some attention. Both dogs get on really well together which is good.

Well, I'd better go before my bath goes cold.

Afternoon All,

We had another lie in after a good sleep and went to the usual place for lunch and were pleased they had lamb on the carvery again! Where we usually sit, and it's usually free as we get there before 1200am, is at a table on it's own in an alcove. To the left of it is a big round table in a bigger alcove that is in front of fire doors to the outside. Today 3 chairs had been placed across between the 2 alcoves to fence it off, there was a family of 4 in the bigger alcove, but our table wasn't reserved so we moved the chairs to squeeze through to it. The woman in the other alcove loudly and laughingly said they wouldn't be offended if we wanted to move as they had 'feral children!!!' Also that they had fenced off the area we were now inside to keep the children in!! I could see OH wasn't impressed! The 2 children were about 3-4 years old but were much quieter than their mother and before long the boy was squeezing past the chairs and fiddling with the cutlery on the stand behind. Having been stopped doing that in case he cut himself (never mind that people would be eating with it after) he started on the sealed pots of tomato sauce, carrying one in each hand to put on their table. They had finished their meal so the father did no more than put them in his back pack on the seat next to him. The boy did this at least 4 more times, putting them on the table when he tired of bashing them together and each time his dad put them in his bag!! The mother then decided to change the girl's trousers on the floor between us before taking her to the toilet! When they had gone, I said to OH 'you'd think they owned the place the way they thought they could do as they liked'. As for greedily stealing all those sauces!! It isn't a rough place and they were well spoken too :-S

I had a look at the water feature Gill and it looks quite like the waterfall I made from two fibreglass sections and rocks. I think it will look good with grasses around it. I've said to OH that when we are more ancient I'd like a little walled courtyard with something like your water feature to listen to. :-)

So the Vick seems to have worked Jane. I must say I have never had any Vick rubbed on me ever. I think dad may have had something like that to inhale over a bowl of hot water though?? Poor Chris sounds poorly now. I hope he isn't as poorly as you have been or James will be wanting to keep away, or come home with a mask on! H is good at finding nice places to stay isn't she. The train journey sounds good.

How awful for Em's MIL to have a nasty fall like that. They must all be worried about her the poor thing. I must admit it bothers me at times about our hard floors in case we ever fall. Still, falling downstairs in a house could be as bad if not worse.I remember mum having a big carpet square put over the tiles in her kitchen because of the old ladies falling, but social services told her to take it up......trip hazzard!

Jean's bungalow diagonally opposite has a sold sign on it again, so that was quick!

Better go and watch some recordings with OH now. I might start my jigsaw as well.

I was thinking of doing a puzzle Ann, but at the moment I don't have a lot of spare time.

That family sounded very odd I bet you were glad when they left. Fancy calling their children feral, what a nasty thing to say. At that age it's down to the parents to teach them right from wrong not blame the children for bad behaviour.

I'd love a courtyard type garden with a water feature in it but our garden is so long it would cost a fortune to do. I'm really looking forward to our water feature and with over 400 pot plants to choose from I'm sure I'll be able to soften the edges and make it look like part of the garden rather than it being plonked down and switched on. I might have to make the border a bit deeper though as we'd like to put the feature on an angle rather than straight and with it being around 5 to 6 foot long I might not have made enough room. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

I noticed an old man pull up outside our bungalow earlier and he was looking at next door, the one with the builders. OH said when I went around the back he got out of his car stood in their garden and took a photo. Now we're wondering who he was. OH thinks it might be someone wanting to buy the property, but I think it might be someone official as the place looks like it's going to fall down, so if someone has complained it could be a surveyor or someone from the council. I must admit I'm a bit concerned about the side wall as it looks very unstable and if that falls down it'll crash into the side of our bungalow. I feel for the neighbour attached to the bungalow and think maybe he's had a word with the council to have it checked for safety. It's all very odd. I guess we'll find out at some point what's going on. I'll be glad when it's all finished as it looks terrible at the moment.

Gill I wonder if they had planning permission to do the alterations? but you would'nt think someone would come on a Sunday.

I had all good intentions of doing some ironing today but it did'nt get done in the end and neither did the chickens get cleaned out. I did paint a couple more wands.........

Smashing pictures Jane. I liked the one with Hannah and the tissue too. She looks so serene in that one and beautiful.

Evening all,

Well i think i have the lurgy now ,i've been coughing and sniffing most of the day, i hope it doesn't get to bad as we have the family coming again on new years day .

So poor old Chris has gone down with it now then Jane ,these things always seem to go through the house .
Shame Ella wasn't what they'd hoped it would be but it looks lovely where they are now .
Are they picking places there and booking Jane or did they pick and book each place before they went ?

Oh Mel what a nasty fall for Em's MIL it doesn't sound very good for her with a bleed on the brain poor lady ,what a worrying time for them .

Ann what a family , sounds as if the children just do as they like and they would run all over the place if they weren't " fenced in " !!!! thank goodness they had eaten and were on their way out or you would have had to move tables .

You're going to have a busy time again in the garden Gill getting it ready for your water feature i had a goggle and it will look good with grass's and plants , it will be lovely in the summer hearing the trickling of the water .
Seems very strange the chap taking photo's like that ,perhaps it's some one who thinks they should have had planning permission and knew there would be no one around on a Sunday if he took photo's.

As far as I know Mel they didn't get planning permission they are doing the alterations and extension on permitted development rights. I forgot it was Sunday so maybe it wasn't someone official after all but it did look odd. So long as it can be finished and it doesn't fall down that's all that matters. We wouldn't want to have to look at it for a long time it's looks terrible at the moment.

Sorry to hear you're not well now Mandy, I hope it's nothing serious and you feel better soon <3

Love the photo's Jane what a lovely view they have and all that sunshine. I envy them. :-) Love the wedding photo's especially Hannah with her tissue.

We never watched Jaws 3 last night so we're watching it now. OH and I have seen it before but Sandra seems to be enjoying it, although I'm half expecting her to jump a few times before the film ends.

I've just found a tin of Roses we'd forgotten about, so we're going to have a few while we watch the film.

O Gill that reminds me I bought a round plastic box thing of Morrisons chocs and I have left it behind the fireplace in the lounge.

I have a runny nose and have been sneezing today so I think I may have this rotten cld too.

Good Evening All

I haven't been feeling too well with this cold again, Paul has now got it, nearly everyone I know has had it .I haven't looked at the posts for a couple of days so will have to catch up on them know

Jane those photos taken at the wedding are beautiful especially the black & white ones, the one of you was so good plus Hannah and her Dad of course. The tea plantation rooms look so peaceful and relaxing

Richard has gone to the cinema with some of his friends to see the remake of Mary Poppins and they are having something to eat after .

I cooked roast beef today with Yorkshires and the usual veg, Becky had a lamb shank and I just had the veg.,so just four for the beef plus Ruby of course.

Morning all on the last day of the old year.

I really don't know where 2018 went. As I get older time seems to pass even quicker.

Another dull and dreary one here today and it dos'nt look like it is going to get any better like the last few days have been. You feel so much better when you get a bit of brightness even if it is'nt really full sun.

Still sneezing this morning and blowoing my nose.

Hope Ros and Frank had a good Christmas and I can't wait to hear from him. Hope he got his lap top keys fixed.

Where is everyone?

Afternoon all,

I'm here now Mel , been busy trying to get ahead ready for the family coming tomorrow ,i've cooked the beef and sliced that so it can go in some nice gravy , peeled the veg and put that in the fridge also did the batters and put them in the freezer ,had a hoover and did some ironing and now i'm having five minutes sit down.
Dull and dreary here today no sign of any sun but very mild out.

Still coughing and i feel so stuffed up ,sounds as if most of us have a cold ,yours is hanging on Anne .
So Ruby likes roast beef , Max has been laying near the oven today while the beef was cooking ,i do give him a little bit of the off cuts after slicing it up.

Gill the bungalow next door would need to go through building control if they needed to put in RSJ's and knock down walls inside even if it didn't need planning permission ,building control can take up to six weeks, if you haven't heard any thing after six weeks you can then make a start , well here any way may be it's different where you are but they do seem to have started on it really quickly after the sale so perhaps they haven't had permission to do the work .

Just a quick hello from me. I thought yesterday I might be improving but today I just feel yuck. Chris has been in bed for the best part of the day.I have just come up to bed ,not to sleep but to sit upright with loads of pillows piled up behind me.
We put the tree out this afternoon which is such a shame ,but I just want to see if we feel a bit better without it . We shall how we are tomorrow.

Anne are you feeling any better today? How about Paul? It is bonkers this cold virus isnt it. I just want to feel normal again !!!

So I will wish everyone now a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR and hopefully we might all eventually get rid of these bugs and have a HEALTHY NEW YEAR TOO :-D :-D
No staying up for us tonight see the New Year in thats for sure

Happy New Year to you all <3 <3 <3

Evening all

I'm sorry to hear almost everyone on here is ill, I hope you are all feeling better soon. Sending Get Well Wishes <3 <3 <3

Well, the water feature is in and it looks great, much better than I thought it was going to look. I've managed to cover all the sides and have some grasses hanging over the water fall bit. Only one light worked out of four so we decided not to bother with the connection for them as it meant more electric wiring and another plug. To be honest I prefer the natural look anyway. I've just had a nice hot bath as I'm a bit achy and now I'm going to get something to eat, then bring the new year in with OH and Sandra then it's off to bed. I think I'll sleep tonight, I'm shattered.

<3 <3 <3 HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, HAVE A GREAT 2019 <3 <3 <3

Evening All,

I think I shall need a mask on to come on here soon!! :-0 I don't know how we've escaped the lurgy up to now, but we have, although everywhere we go there seems to be folk with coughs. :-S Hopefully with dosing up and resting you will all start to feel better in 2019. :-S

Some lovely photos of the wedding Jane! I liked the one of H holding the tissue and both of them looking up with lovely smiles. There were some nice ones of you too. I didn't see Jess and James, but maybe they were behind some of the others . I was wanting to see her in her Tux! LOL. Lovely views at the tea plantation too.

I had a thing going round my head about needing building regs like Mandy said too Gill. We did extensions and alterations at my old house and we needed planning and building regs. Mandy will know better than me with her hubby having done building, but I think whatever you do you have to comply with building regs, although internal work doesn't need planning permission. That being the case, the building inspector from the council would need to make checks on the work they were doing, as Mandy said, as there are rules on beam sizes, window openings etc. I know when we put concrete footings in for our extension, we had to let them know when they were done so they could come to check they were the right size and depth.

Mandy, Max knows when to hang around for his beef treat doesn't he? lol. The puppy next door was out on the drive in a new fuschia tartan little coat when we went out at lunch time . The neighbour takes her outside on the front to get her used to the lead but she gets a good look at cars and the noises they make and has a good sniff around. He brought her round to our drive and there was no hesitation when I told her to 'come on then' this time. Her little body was a mass of wriggles as I stroked her. They show you just how they feel don't they! I'm wondering what she will make of the Bengal cat when the boy the other side of them brings it up the close on it's lead!! :-0 :-0 I bet there will be hissing or spitting. I hope you feel well enough to enjoy your family meal tomorrow.

We just had a pannini with salad at a garden centre while we were out, but they were over half an hour behind when OH asked one of the girls if they'd forgotten us. Well, not only did the girl fetch us a latte each on the house, the next time she passed us, she put a complimentary bowl of chips on the table. :-) Well, the diet doesn't start till after tomorrow. :-) :-S

OH has won 4 games out of 5 games of Scrabble. We are usually pretty evenly matched so my brain must need more fish! We are having some tomorrow, so I might win our last game afterwards. ;-)

We enjoyed the first episode of Les Miserables last night and will be watching the Ab Fab film tonight. We never got to see it at the cinema and I like Joanna Lumley. The fabulous June Whitfield who has just passed away will be in it I think. I loved her one liners!

We won't be staying up to see the New Year in either so.....

I shall wish you all a <3 <3 :-D :-D VERY HAPPY NEW 2019!!! :-D :-D <3 <3

and hope it is a good and healthy one for everybody. <3 <3

Oh i thought you were feeling better Jane .

The wedding photo's were all lovely weren't they i too like Ann was hoping to see Jess in the tux ,i did wonder if it was Jess in the seventh photo right on the right hand side ? i wasn't sure if it was her or not the young lady has got trousers on .

Max is never far from the oven when there's meat cooking Ann :-D
The little puppy must have looked very smart in her little tartan coat ,i always think they smile with their tails :-D

We won't be seeing the new year in either so

:-D <3 :-D <3 Happy New Year to you all :-D <3 :-D <3 see you all next year

Nobody is seeing the new year in so I will say now


<3 :-D :-) <3 :-D :-) HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL <3 :-D :-) <3 :-D :-)

I shall probably be up to see it in on my own but I will be thinking of you all tucked up in bed. :-D

I have had a go at my wands today after a tidy up but I still hav'nt got the hoover out. I did do some ironing yesterday after all.

Roast leg of lamb tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it. It seems ages since we had lamb.

Tonight I was going to do sausage and mash but oh said he fancied sausage sandwiches so I did'nt quibble. Suits me fine. I gave him a G & T earlier so he's happy.

Good evening all

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE lets hope 2019 is a good one


, Paul and Richard are both out with their various sets of friends but I will stay up to see the new Year in as I always have done.

My Cold seems to be easing off now but still feel tired all the time so everything seems an effort.

Not a good day for Ruby, she has developed a cyst on her bottom, yesterday I thought she had a blocked Anal gland but this morning it was obviously a cyst so we took her to the vet who lanced it and prescribed antibiotics and Metacam , she has to go back in a week. If she is left alone we have to but on the wretched collar,
not too sure about bed time, although her cage is beside my bed, I might try to put and old pair of knickers on her so she can't reach her bum in the night..

Ooooooo poor Ruby. I hope the knickers work ok for her and her botty is better tomorrow now she is on meds.

I had a friend years ago who had a black standard poodle and when she came on heat she wore a pair of black knickers and a pad!!!!!! They had a very posh house with cream carpets hence the knickers.

We tried this with one of our Boxers when visiting the In-laws, who had a male poodle but everytime she wagged her tail the knickers would slip down her legs :-) :-)