General Chat

What sad news Frank, it would of been nice to have been told though. Shame you can't make it to the funeral. I hope all goes well for Ros at the hospital.

Love your new pic AnnG, is it a flower from your garden? It sounds like you have a lovely family around you. I'm like Frank and don't have contact with my family apart from my mum and occasionally my sister if mum brings her here. One of our daughter's moved to Leeds almost 5 years ago and she stopped talking to us, although we don't know why. The only contact we've had with her over the last two years was my BIL's funeral last year, no doubt the next time we will see her will be another funeral. It's such a shame when families lose contact.

Well, I'm in a bit of shock, the boss has had a go at me, speaking in such a way it frightened me. All I did was ask when the skip is being emptied and he hit the roof saying it's a building site so I should basically put up with all the mess and disruption. To be honest I did say that he shouldn't speak to a woman like that and did he speak to his mother in the same way? I couldn't believe the disrespect he showed me and in front of all the workmen to. OH heard him and came and told him not to shout at me and when I asked at the end of the day if they could hold back on some of the water they use to clean their side as it was going under the fence and into my grid, he went bonkers saying they don't have a hosepipe.

Luckily today I noticed only a small amount of water came onto our side, not enough to go down the drain. Even the workmen who are doing the rendering said it won't do the drains any harm as it's only resin, but if they are putting it on the outside of a property surely it's going to set like concrete, so if any of it goes down our drain it's going to block it.

I got so annoyed at the boss that I said if the skip isn't emptied tomorrow then I'm ringing the council as it's almost 3 foot higher than the skip top. All he said was it's a building site, so I said yes your side is but our side isn't. He walked away at one point, so I called him back as I thought that was very rude. He wasn't happy at coming back and wanted the last word all the time, so I said you like the last word don't you, to which he made another comment, so in the end I said see you're doing it again. He finally gave up and walked away again, so I said he was a VERY NAUGHTY BOY.

The workmen thought this was funny and you could see they were trying not to laugh. I'm sure that saying will go around all the workmen and they'll know the boss as a naughty boy from now on, but it's his own fault as all I could see was a naughty boy. I could of said a lot worse. Hopefully the skip will be emptied tomorrow because if they try and put anymore rubbish in there it's likely to fall or be blown off straight onto our car and that just isn't on, so I'll have no choice but to report them the health and safety at the council offices.

The rendering they've put on down the side isn't very smooth so I hope they smooth it off, OH said they won't as they've taken the plastic off now, if that's the case then hopefully my plants will grow and hide it in time.

Sorry rant over. I'm really starting to get fed up of it all now.

Evening All
Sorry again not have read all the posts yet today THERE ARE A LOT !!. I have had a glimpse .

Gill that was quite a tumble you had :-S. I hope you are resting your ankle today.
Good on you for standing up to that horrible man .How rude was he :-S :-S. You should be proud of yourself .

Ann I think the flowers for your Sisters wreath sound really lovely (not something though that you would have enjoyed having to do :-( ) I think too it is a lovely idea for you to give her sons old pics of their Mum. I hope they appreciate your kindness .

I am sorry not to comment on any other posts today. I just don't seem to be in the right frame of mind to be chatty at the moment what with what is going on with James right now.
One positive thing is though is I booked that cottage at Goathland this morning and got Thomas booked in to the Cattery for then. Heck Mel I hope I don't stand on the wrong platform at the station :-D :-D. I know nothing about Hogwarts and know nothing about Harry Potter. Maybe I will need one of your Wands :-D :-D
The cottage is called The Potting Shed ,Goathland . It is quite tiny but the setting looks lovely.

Dinner is a bit of a mish mash tonight . Bit of this and a bit of that.

Oh I'm envying Ros having the talk on stained glass Frank! I would love to make some pictured windows with it. lol I love those tiffany lamps too and have one in the loft somewhere! I must see if I can find a day course to try it out sometime!! Why not let Barry do at least the first cut of your lawns. It is always the hardest one to do.

Gill, that was very brave of you to tackle that man. I had a chuckle at you calling him a naughty boy!! The workmen will never forget that!!

Good idea to get the cottage booked Jane. It sounds lovely and will help take your mind off things a little. When are you going? It's good that James has taken a few days off to get his head around things and calm down. He's the only one that knows how he feels and can make decisions for his future, but it must be worrying for you to see. At least with him living at home you can keep an eye on him though.

Oh AnnG how good were your visitors clearing up like that and making less work for you to do.....very thoughtful! The only children in our close are two grown up sons, the rest are all retired or about to retire. Our 4 bungalows were added to the bottom of the close and we only have a single car width road so nowhere to park on the road, so all our cars are off the road. One bungalow has a big trailer home and 3 cars. We can park 3 or 4 with one on the gravel. The trouble is, we all have made wide access to our drives which is great but also great for big vans or lorries wanting to turn around in them! :-S I must have a look on your blog!

Apparently the Coroner doesn't know my sister's cause of death at this stage and has to wait for the results from tissue samples that could take up to 13 wks!!

Off to bed now as OH's PA (ie ME) has to be up with the lark to take him to the station to catch a train to Birmingham in the morning! :-S

Morning all,

Bit cloudy today but at least its not raining so that a bonus. Oh is out on the mower as I type cutting the west lawn.

Had a strange dream last night but I can't remember what it was about!! I just know it was wierd.

I have steak and kidney out the freezer for tonight. Not sure whether to do a pie or like a stew with dumplings. I am not doing a pud. I remember mum cooking steak and kidney puds and boiling them for hours and filling the whole kitchen with steam. She loved S & K pud and her mum (my nan) used to make them and I have one of my nans old pudding basins. I have still used it for puds. Its the one thing I took from nans house after grandad died that and nans two flat irons.

Good morning sleepy heads, xxx

You do seem to be having your fair share of trouble with the builders Gill. I am sure if he had spoken to Ros like that, I would have been down his throat in seconds. Your OH must have a very good temper.

Glad you have found a cottage you like Jane. It will do you both good to get away from the current situation. How is James coping at the moment. What is he going to do with himself while he has a few days off. ?? It would do him good to get away for a couple of days to relax. Pass on my regards.

Annx. Ros really enjoyed the evening. She said they do class's which start at £150.00 she's not sure how long it lasts, but I imagine it would be a very good earner. I don't think any of the ladies signed up for a class.

I had a reasonable night last night. I stayed up until 10.00 pm. Had a read, and listened to the radio, so was settled down by 11.00 pm. I woke at 5.00 am and got up just after six.

I have showered and shaved, put on some proper cloths today. (No JOGGERS) I think if Ros decides to go to Tesco's later, I might go with her and get a haircut. My usual girl told me last time, that I can only get my haircut in future if I ring to make an appointment. I have never done that in my life, so I am not going to start now. SO GOODBYE ASHA, Hallo someone else at a different barbers. ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

Yes I think I will ring Barry to come and do the first cut of the lawns and to use the garden hoover to clear the back of the beds of leaves and rubbish. It will certainly save Ros reaching into the back of the beds. I don't want any mishaps with her.

I am so pleased the way Ros. has recovered from her heart attach and having the STENTS fitted. As I said yesterday she has to go to the hospital at 1,30 on the 28th. I have decided I will go with her. Then I will know first hand how things are. I will have to offer my apologies to Andrew and Jean (his Mother) to say I won't be able to make Mick's Cremation, But I am sure they will understand. We took a card over last night to offer our sympathy.

Breezy chilly morning here. The sun is trying to break through, so it might warm up later.

I have chopped up a load of LEEKS and done the pot's for dinner tonight. Ros will chop up some pork to go with the leeks to make a leek pie later. We have a Cherry and plumb Crumble in the Fridge and a pot of DEVON CUSTARD. so I am sure that will go down well after the leek pie.

Hope you have a nice day, and try to stay out of trouble Gill. xx See you all later. xxxx

Good morning all visitors all gone now and a bit of peace and quiet. Lovely to see them but we do like our own space. U3A meeting this afternoon, talk on the Air Ambulance. (And I bet there will also be a collection).
OH pottering in the garden although we have also just walked round for the paper and to have a coffee in the hub.

Jane nice to have the cottage booked to look forward to. I do hope things can improve for you and your soon.

Frank gosh that is an expensive course but I suppose the materials used for demonstrations will be expensive as well.
Good idea to get the first cut done for you, and the leaves cleared.

gill that told him Lol 'naughty boy' Lol! But how rude to speak to people like that, it is a wonder he ever gets any customers.

Annx It always amazes me when people buy houses in relatively small roads and then buy these large caravans/mobile homes and expect everyone else to enjoy looking at them. there is one round the corner from us, semi detached house, normal sized drive and front garden which is brick paved huge caravan and two large cars. Right opposite the entrance to our cul de sac so caravan (and boat as well) on their drive, one car in front of their lounge window on what was.is the front garden and one large car parked in the road. It is only a fairly narrow (supposed to be 20mph) road so turning out of our road can be quite hairy. Especially as the 20mph is totally ignored. when we moved here this road ended in a dead end, it is still not a through road but several small housing estates have been built at the end of it now inclusing one that is social housing so the traffic has increased a lot.

Morning all

I've kept out of trouble today Frank ;-) ;-) I'm staying in doors, what with my accident and then the boss, I'm not safe to be let out LOL. The skip has been emptied OH stood and watched so no further damage could be done to our fence posts and it's been raining so all the dust has gone now, they even moved the skip further away from our fence, so maybe the boss was listening in the end, unless my threat to report him to health and safety did the trick, either way it's much better now which is nice to see. The rendering people are here again and have now smoothed over the wall which looks much better, apart from the strip of plastic they put on the wall between the old and new buildings, that seems to be on show a bit through the rendering, but we're planning on putting a tall plant there so we won't see it.
All in all a better day.

Pleased to hear Ros's recovering went well, I hope all goes equally as well at the hospital. I'll be thinking of her. So you're off to a different barbers now, my OH can just walk in when ever he needs a hair cut, they all seem to be like that around here, although the one he used to go to put his prices up so he now goes to a different one to. Yes, my husband is quite a quiet man and it takes a lot for him to lose his temper, he did have a word with the boss about the way he was talking to me but it fell on deaf ears as they say. OH knows I can handle myself but it was nice to have him there as the boss was quite aggressive which frightened me a bit, although I'd never let the boss see I was scared, I just held my ground until he backed down.

That's nice that you've found a nice cottage to go to Jane, the break will do you good. How is James today? Do you think he'll get back with Jess or is it definitely over between them? Is he still speaking with his sister about it? At least he feels comfortable doing that rather than bottling it all up which won't do him any good.

So you had a strange dream last night but can't remember what it was about Mel, I hate it when that happens as you tend to think about it all day don't you?

My cough seems to be easing now which is good and I'm sleeping better to, when I don't knock my ankle, although that's getting better quicker than I thought it would, so all in all not to bad.

Going to watch Salvage Hunters I recorded now with OH. I meant to say the other day Jane, Wicksteed Park was on Salvage Hunters, isn't it a lovely place.

Just spotted your post AnnG. The front garden sounds more like a car park with all the vehicles a boat and a mobile home. It must be a big area.

The talk on the Air Ambulance should be interesting, they do brilliant work don't they?

I thought the price was quite high to for the course Ros is thinking of going on, but I suppose the cost of the materials would be high as well. Nice course to go on though.

Yes, I was quite shocked at the way the boss spoke yesterday and even when OH had a word with him it didn't stop his bad behaviour. The workmen did find it funny though when I said he was a naughty boy, but to be honest he was. I only asked when the skip was being emptied and didn't expect such foul language and aggression from him. I wouldn't mind but he's only in his early 30's, his parents must be so ashamed of him, I know I would be if he was my son, not to mention embarrassed.

I'm pleased your ankle is feeling better Gill and that the skip has been emptied and moved further away from you.

I made homemade soup again today which went down well with oh as he said he got really cold out on the mower this morning.

I think I need to have a go at my ironing pile. That will be a good job done for today. I cleaned out all the drinkers this morning and filled all the bird feeder up on the bird table etc. The one thing I did'nt do this morning which was very naughty of me was I took the solar light back in the bedroom but did'nt make the bed!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that must be the first time in ages I hav'nt done that straight away.

I must also tend to my Valentine flowers and make sure the water level is ok and perhaps chop a bit more off some of their stalks as some are opening and not others.

Gill it is not a large front garden the boat is parked behind the caravan which is on the drive, the large car is on the part that would have been the front lawn, now bricked.

The talk was interesting, there were a lot of people there too.

I find it very surprising that the air ambulances don't get any help from the National lottery fund. Or any other fund, they have to raise all the money themselves.

I think they should be funded by the lottery. When we were saving hard to have the bells done in our church the lottery would'nt fund anything for that either.

We don't do the lottery anymore so we win every week.

Afternoon All,

Another good sleep and we were up at 6.00am and I dropped OH at the train station, called for the papers, came home to take my pills, then went to the retail park at Grantham. I would have been there on the dot for when they opened except for being stuck behind an old boy in a 4x4 who wouldn't go any faster than 45mph in a 60mph limit. No chance to overtake for miles as it is a winding road with plenty of traffic coming the other way. You should have seen the queue of cars, vans and lorries behind us after a few miles, but he was oblivious with not a car in sight in front of him. There were plenty of good parking spots when I got there and I parked next to a pathway with hedges at the front. Just as I locked the car a gardener appeared with trimmers and a trailer, so I asked if I was in his way. 'Not at all darling, you're fine' he said. They have a huge sale on at the moment but I got me a small 5 item breakfast first. (2 poached eggs, mushrooms, baked beans and 1 slice of dry brown toast). Nothing much took my fancy today, but I did get 2 bras, some cards and some new roasting tins all with my extra 10% off card.

Gill, it seems to have been worth the ding dong with the boss as the skip has been emptied and moved away from your fence. :-) I'm glad your throat is feeling better and that your ankle is recovering now.

I forgot to say yesterday that OH had even more of a struggle than he did the other day, to get in his car after lunch yesterday!! He got stuck halfway in his car and twisted his knee and couldn't get his ankle free for a few minutes. As soon as he started the engine the beepers that say you are very close to something were beeping like mad and he had to shuffle the car forward and to the left before reversing so he didn't clip the wing mirrors. What an idiot to park on the line and that close to us!!!

I want your pudding Frank! It's good Ros has done so well since the stents were done so hopefully she'll get good news at her appointment. These courses can be very costly as can the materials. The council run courses certainly aren't cheap unless you are on benefits when some are free or very cheap. The early enrollment discounts they had have all gone now and the discounts for OAPs.. Our jewellery course was costing over £300 a year in the end. Of course those who didn't have to pay didn't mind missing weeks as there was no cost to them.

Mel I wonder what your weird dream was about! Has OH made a good job of the mowing so it looks good now. I didn't see your chicken house you want, what is it like? I meant to ask did OH get you a special present for your 70th?

AnnG we are also amazed how we seem to get the noisiest people, at least at our end of the close! Your situation sounds similar to ours as our close had 10 bungalows, then the builder opened the end and built our 4 bungalows, with a garden and a field of ponies beyond. Because the council had no plan for the field, builders were successful getting planning for a small estate of 50 odd houses to build there, including social housing, which originally was near where we are, but the council made them change the plan. Luckily for us, the builder of the houses was unsuccessful trying to buy the garden in between so couldn't connect up to our road! Then the old man whose garden it was then died and his family sold the land to the builder of our bungalow and he managed to get permission to build 3 properties on the garden land. It says in the deeds of our 4 bungalows that you aren't allowed to keep a caravan or campervan at the front, but the chap diagonally opposite has his trailer home on the front. To be honest we have never been fussed about it in his case as his bungalow sits about 4 feet lower than the bungalow next to him, which has a 6 foot fence down the side, so you can hardly see it between the fence and side of his bungalow. He keeps it spotless and has a cover on it all winter.That sounds an awful lot to be all over the front of a house and having a boat as well! We are having far, far more traffic since the last 3 properties were built and they drive so fast, yet there's no room for footpaths and no street lighting.

Afternoon Everyone.

AnnG I always enjoy having a few visitors but its always good to get back to normal again. Gareth is the one who tires me out. He is so lively and on the go ALL the time.He cant sit down for long unless he is watching Rugby !. Then he is quiet too :-D.

I wonder why you weren't told about Mick Frank.Maybe they though you had been informed . Ros is doing so well now since her last procedure It is amazing what can be done now . The Air Ambulance is totally amazing.I think it is shocking that there is no funding and all monies has to be raised. I love watching Air Ambulance on TV.

Mel what soup have you made? I never seem to make my own soup any more.

Gill, I can't believe it is 5 years since Michelle left !!!!!!. Where has that time gone??

Ann, I expect it was a bit of a shock that the Coroner could not find the reason why your Sister died. Hopefully these tissue samples will show the reason.I hope too that the results don't take as long as you say they might .
We go to Yorkshire the last week of May . I must say I am quite looking forward to it :-D. I wish it was sooner now,but it will come around quickly.

Chris has been to the Cinema in Northampton this afternoon to see All is True. He said it was ok but a bit slow and I wouldn't have enjoyed it. He said the heat was too much and he was wilting .The chap sat next to him fell asleep.

I have got a Sausage Casserole ready to go in the oven .I have cheated and used 2 jars of Homepride Sauce but have added tiny carrots and mushrooms .I've made the mashed Potato so that will just reheat in the microwave,and then I have a bag of Spring Greens.James is going to have a bath before we eat,which suits me as I am not hungry yet and Chris says he had a bag of chocolate nuts or something at the film so he isnt ready to eat yet either.
James is back to work tomorrow .I think he could have done with the rest of the week of really . I am a bit worried about the meeting with him and Jess on Saturday. He wants them to be able to work things out . I and I think the rest of the family would rather they called it a day.But it is not our place to say this .I have lots of advice I would love to give but I know it would fall on deaf ears :-S

I looked at my oven just now and thought how badly it needs a clean .But as it is going on Monday it can stay dirty :-D :-D

My Sister is on the phone .

Evening all,

Been quite nice today we've had some sun ,we took the girls home and then went and did a little shopping
Lacey got to bed last night and had a little tear ,she wanted Daddy ,he usually tucks her in and she tells him umpteen times she loves him but we had a good cuddle and she soon settled down bless her ,she did well really as it was her first time away from home
Today we are all worn out ,Max has been asleep a lot so it will be an early night tonight

Oh Gill you gave him what for good for you :-D it must have worked too if the skip got moved , i bet he'll keep out of the way now .
Hope the ankle is feeling better ,it's so easy to go down and when you do it's like going down in slow motion .

Ann some of them just don't seem that bothered how they park so long as they can get out their side ,i've struggled to get in and have had to get in the passenger door and struggle over the seat.
There's nothing worse than getting behind some one who's dawdling along , we tend to get behind tractors with trailers on the back this way and on a bendy road there's no chance of passing it .

Frank Ros has done really well hasn't she since her op ,sounds as if she's been busy in the garden ,like the others have said though i'd get Barry to do the first cut ,if you slip on the grass it could undo all your resting up of your ribs .

Mel have you decided on the new house for the girls ?

Jane i goggled The Potting shed it looks lovely ,when do you go ?

Just got fed up with Emmerdale, I am not a soap person, but as Ros is, I tend to sit through them.

Jane, It might well be that as you go away, we might be flying to Spain end of May. We MIGHT stay a month. Spoke with Conrad tonight and he said "STAY AA LONG AS YOU LIKE". Somehow I think we will be ready to come home after a couple of weeks. So when It book t will be ONE WAY. then we can decide when we want to come home.

I spoke to Mick's DIL this morning to apologies that we won't be able to attend Mick's send off, due to Ros's hospital appointment. She thanked us every much for our card, and Jean is holding up under the strain. (Mick's wife)

Haven't felt on top of the world today, so didn't go for a haircut. I will be in bed before to long, as I feel so tired. I think it's because I'm not doing anything. So I MUST try to get around the block for a bit of exercise.

I will try to catch up on the posts tomorrow. In the meantime good night to you all. xxxx

Just got fed up with Emmerdale, I am not a soap person, but as Ros is, I tend to sit through them.

Jane, It might well be that as you go away, we might be flying to Spain end of May. We MIGHT stay a month. Spoke with Conrad tonight and he said "STAY AA LONG AS YOU LIKE". Somehow I think we will be ready to come home after a couple of weeks. So when It book t will be ONE WAY. then we can decide when we want to come home.

I spoke to Mick's DIL this morning to apologies that we won't be able to attend Mick's send off, due to Ros's hospital appointment. She thanked us every much for our card, and Jean is holding up under the strain. (Mick's wife)

Haven't felt on top of the world today, so didn't go for a haircut. I will be in bed before to long, as I feel so tired. I think it's because I'm not doing anything. So I MUST try to get around the block for a bit of exercise.

I will try to catch up on the posts tomorrow. In the meantime good night to you all. xxxx

I have sort of decided on the hen house and have ordered it but not paid anything so if I see something better I will cancel it.

Tonight when I went to corn the big girls my 9 female pheasents followed me round to the chicken pen some of them went in the new pen and when I came back round to the front of the bungalow some came for their bit of corn but three of the others could'nt find their way out of the new pen. Silly things there's a big enough gap in the fencing you could drive a bus through there.

Ann I put up the link to see the chicken house if you wish to see what its like.

Here it is again.

http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/mvf/store/products/supreme-chicken-house-5ft-4-x-3ft-4-x-4ft-6

I think it's good idea Mel to buy the chicken house, like you said it's going to cost about the same to make one and it would save your OH a lot of time that way. It looked just the job. Fancy the pheasants not being able to find their way out, did they manage it in the end. I had visions of you trying to show them the way out lol :-D :-D :-D

Sorry to hear you're not feeling up to par today Frank, I must admit I feel more tired if I sit around not doing much. Do be careful walking to far on your own though, maybe a walk around your garden while Ros is working on the borders then she's there if you need her, the fresh air will do you good to, there's nothing worse than being cooped up in doors all day is there?

I can't believe the Air Ambulance don't get any funding AnnG. I always thought they were part of the NHS,but I guess I was wrong.

Poor Lacey missing her daddy Mandy, I suppose it was a bit strange for her with it being her first time staying over at yours. Pleased to see she slept okay and had a lovely cuddle off you. Yes, my ankle is feeling a lot better today, all the bruising is coming out now so I'm a bit black and blue at the moment, but when I think about how painful it was when I fell, I'm surprised it's not more painful now, so I think I've been very lucky.
As Frank would say, I need to take more water with it lol ;-)

I hope James is okay in work tomorrow Jane, is he any better having some time off? I think it's best to leave them to it to sort things out. I'd be like you and want to give advice but have learnt through experience it's best to wait until our children ask for it first. Yes, it'll be 5 years this September, I think the time has passed really quickly. At least the 5 years on our bungalow is nearly up, that'll be in December, we can sort out the deeds into just our three names properly then.

Sorry to hear your OH twisted his knee trying to get into his car Ann. Some people just don't think when they park their cars and how close to the drivers side of the next car they are. I hope he hasn't damaged his knee to much, I know how painful it can be with hurting my knee the other day, it's no joke is it? I found a hot bath helped, OH said it was the warmth and I've been using a hot water bottle for the last few days to which helps. I hope he feels better soon.

Morning all

It looks like it's been raining in the night, but thankfully it's dry now.

I woke very early this morning around 7am and when I looked out of the window there were workmen next door. They seem to be arriving earlier and earlier. Mind you I'm not complaining if it means the property will be finished quicker.

I'd like to say the skip was emptied because of what I said, but I think he was getting it emptied anyway. So far though there's been less mess around, so hopefully it'll stay that way.

I need to cut back a couple of climbing plants I put in our planters as I forgot to keep up with the watering so some of it has died. There are still some new shoots so hopefully once I've tidied them up they's recover and start to grow nicely again. OH is at his mates today so hopefully the workmen will see me walking around and not think our place is empty with the car not being here. The last thing I need is them to start making a mess or breaking anything because they think we're all out. I'm hoping the rendering people finish the front of the bungalow today so that messy job will be done by the end of the week then. They put two coats on, then sand it back to smooth it off. Unfortunately the sanding back is the messy bit.

I've recorded quite a few films so Sandra and I will be enjoying some of them later. I still can't walk very far at the moment and I don't want to over do things and make my ankle and knee worse. Once I've cut the plants back I think I'll rest up a bit as the bruising is still a bit sore.

What is everyone else up to today?

Morning Gill, morning all,

Well the sun was shining but it's clouded up now ,got the washing out early so that can have a nice blow.

Gill roll on the summer when all the mess will be over and you'll have the neighbour's moved in.

I want to see if I can do a bit in the front garden it looks a right old mess with all the brown leaves that have blown in but I need to be careful of the bulbs coming up so can't really do much digging .

Anne I had a look at the blog there's some lovely photo's on there ,I love all the snowy ones .

Right better get on with some jobs ,when the girls are here nothing gets done .
BBL