General Chat

Still waiting for a date for the scan Mel.Also waiting for the Echo (heart scan)

I expect you enjoyed a trip around and about Frank but I am glad to see you are being very careful. It probably did you good to get out.

Sometimes I wonder if I am being a bit too cautious but I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry. I do feel a bit as though I am going stir crazy now. I’d love to go for a mooch around a garden centre but thought we would leave that a few more days as there is bound to be a rush at the moment. The trouble is that by the time we go there will be no decent plants left to buy. Right now I feel as though I could get quite excited by a trip to the tip but even that’s not on the cards for a little while. Our tip is re-opening tomorrow but you have to pre-book a slot and we are being asked only to book a visit if we can’t safely store our rubbish at home. Ours is mostly garden waste – 6 large sacks of it – but we can store it for a bit longer.

Jane, I hope that now you are only having the one drug you won’t feel so grotty after today’s treatment. Is Fitz’s wife fully recovered from the virus now and did Fitz manage to avoid it altogether? I’m pleased you and Ann both mentioned Marcel waves as I said something on the phone to a friend about my hair developing Marcel waves and she hadn’t got a clue what I meant. I shall be really glad when I can get a haircut and go to the chiropodist again but I’m consoling myself with thoughts of all the money I’m saving. And as for Trump……I always want to send him to the naughty step. It would be funny if he weren’t the leader of one of the most powerful nations on earth but he is so powerful that it’s frightening.

You’ve been busy in your border Mel but it sounds like hard work. Be careful, you don’t want to put your shoulder or back out of gear. I hope your sore mouth continues to improve.

Would you believe I now have another Tesco slot and I wasn’t even really trying to find one. I went into the site to add something to the order that I’ve got coming on 17th and when I had done that I clicked on “Book Another Slot” just to see if there was anything available. Much to my surprise there were quite a few slots for 27th-29th of this month. These slots weren’t available the other day when I was online at midnight nor were they available this morning. Anyway I booked a slot on 28th and quickly put in a few bits and pieces to hold the order, then rang a friend to tell her there were slots. She rang me a couple of minutes later to say there were no longer any available. I must have just been lucky enough to chance on the 5 minutes when the slots were there.

My mouth is still very sore but so much better than it has been. I’m still having trouble with the pain in my head though. It wasn’t too bad this morning but I walked round the block this afternoon for some exercise and the wind was icy and seems to have set it off a bit again. You’re absolutely right about that East wind, Mel. It seems to blow right off the North Sea, even though we are quite a long way from the coast.

I’m going to close the computer down now, get a hot drink and read for a while. I hope you all have a good night.

No Mandy today? Hope alls well with both of them. <3

I feel cold tonight and its quite cold out as its not long since I shut the girls in. This week seems to have gone really quickly to me. Hope its nice tomorrow and I can go back up the border again. The bearded Iris are beautiful and when I am up there I can see them properly. You can hardly see them from the house.

Our local shop has a few plants but nothing I really want. I am overun with rabbits again this year and the places I have dug so have they!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I keep having to push all the dirt back onto the border away from the grass.

Vera hope your mouth feels better tomorrow. Mine only hurts now when my plate rubs on it eating. I shall have to put some glue on them to cusion them.

Morning all,

Yet another beautiful morning with sunshine and blue sky with the occasional white fluffy cloud. This weather is enough to raise spirits for us who like our gardens but it must be so hard for people living in flats.

Oh is out fiddling with the mower deck.

Need to find something for dinner tonight so have to dive down the freezer and see whats quick to cook.

Hope those of you who have trouble sleeping had a good night last night and those with aches and pains are feeling better. My mouth is still a bit sore and my finger ache from digging and pullin g up weeds and grass yesterday but I shall persivere (sp) and see if I can put some order back into the border this year.

Yes Jane, although we have been aware for a while that we might have to cancel I felt really down and upset when we finally did it. we will go somewhere when we are able but it will never be the same, I was so excited when T booked the really upmarket hotel. Never mind, as long as we are both ok and hopefully if people don't go mad now they can go out more things start to ease, it will be fine.
I hope your scan date soon comes through it must be tense waiting for it. And I hope as it was a shorter dose this time, you don't get any horrid after effects.

Vera, that was good getting a slot. I decided to explore a bit this morning and found, if I went for a fixed time slot (and there were quite a few) I could have one but it would cost between £4 and £6 I think if I didn't have two slots already I might have thought that was worth it but I couldn't fins a slot there that was a good distance from the two I already have.

Mel take a photo of the Irises please I bet they are a picture.

Good morning

Are you all sleepy heads today? The weather looks much like yesterday, sunshine and cloud and a stiffish breeze. I’ve just had a lovely shower and decided to let my hair dry on its own, so it’ll be waves at the top and wings on the sides but the only one to see me is OH. There’ll be no going out and no visitors :-(. Not sure what I am going to do today but I expect I’ll find something. Have a nice day whatever you’re doing.

EDIT. You posted while I was typing Ann and Mel :-)

Sent loads.

You could always be like the Queen Vera and wear a headscarf out!! I have to admit to snipping a bit off my fringe and sidebits but didn't go any further. It need thinning really.

Mel, love all your flowers, the lovely dark pinky coloured Iris and the Aquilegia that matches it and all the beautiful roses, especially the ones against the wall. Are the roses perfumed? And did Mr Pheasant get any seed for his effort?

Good morning GIRLS. lol lol

I decided to water the pots and front garden last night. I nearly froze to death, that wind was really cold, and went straight through you. I came in and put my hands in a bowl of hot water, to get my circulation moving. I should have put a heavier coat on.

My sleep pattern is all over the place at the moment. I went to bed at 10.30 pm still awake when Ros came in just after mid-night. Awe for the loo around 4.00am then I laid awake until 7.00. I dropped off again, and woke at 10.30. When I put my nose round the door, Ros said "GOOD AFTERNOON"

She very kindly got my Aspirin and tea, once I had that, and got showered I seemed to have come back to life. !!!

Lovely morning here but that breeze has still got a bite to it. Washing machine is on, so I will have to put the line up a bit later.

Yes, Vera is was a treat for me to get out of the four walls. I only got out of the car at Tesco's, so very careful with staying away from people.

I see that LYN FOWLES-WOOD has passed away after a massive HEART ATTACH. Nice way to go, without any suffering. <3 <3 <3 Bless her.

The machine is going 50 to the dozen gain this morning. Valerie has cut out another 25 bags, which she dropped round last night. Helen sent her daughter round to pick up the ones that were ready for collection. It's getting a real little CONVEYOR SYSTEM. :-D :-D :-D

I expect tonight will be the hand clapping on the doorstep for the NHS. It's nice to see so many of the neighbours who take the time do it.


Don't overdo things in the garden Mel, we don't want you laid up with a bad back.

I'm off to get my book, and sit in the conservatory, it's so warm out there.

Signing off. STAY SAFE ALL. xxxx

Afternoon all

Bright and sunny here today OH has cut the lawns so they look much better now.

No Jane, OH's not heard anything back from the application forms he sent and he's been in work ever since so hasn't had a chance to do anything else. He's gone to cut his friends lawns and do a bit of weeding for him, but will ring a number he got off his friend for an agency when he gets home later. Not only has the boss said she doesn't want him to get another job, the deputy manager also said the same thing this week. It's alright for them, they have jobs, but like OH said how is he going to pay the bills without a job? I think there are so many people in the same position, finding another job isn't going to be easy. All he can do it look and apply for anything that comes along, then hope he's successful. I hope all is going well with your treatment and you don't have to wait to long for your scan and echo.

That must be nice to go out and about a bit Frank, I'm not so brave and will carry on staying in doors until I hear how things are going on in the outside world. I'm a bit worried there might be another peak and I don't fancy being one of the one's who catch the virus. I've got plenty to keep me busy here, so there's no rush for me to go out just yet. I see Ros is as busy as ever, she never stops does she?

Pleased to see you got another Tesco's slot Vera, it was lucky you checked when you did or you'd of missed out. I hope you mouth is a bit better today.

Have you tired giving your border a bit of water Mel, it would soften it up a bit and make digging it a bit easier? You have some lovely plants, very colourful. Looks like you had a shadow following you lol.

Afternoon all,

Lovely bright sunny day but the wind goes through you out there .

Lovely photo's of all the flowers in your garden Mel and i see your shadow is still following you about :-D
I haven't had the lap top on the last couple of days ,we've been doing some jobs and we went and did my shopping in Aldi it was really quiet i didn't need much so was in and out quite quickly ,Colin always stays in the car ,he enjoys just sitting in the car people watching .
We went past the tip when we went shopping,it's by the side of Aldi so you can see right in there was quite a long queue of cars all waiting to go in ,i could see that they had one place for one car at a time to park and unload and i read that some one had to wait half an hour in the queue so we won't be going there for a week or two until the rush is over .

This morning i have planted up four hanging baskets but i've left them in the green house until it arms up a bit ,the runners are coming along nicely and my lettuce is also growing well.

Jane that's good you didn't have a long day at the hospital for your treatment ,i hope this one drug your now having doesn't make you feel so grotty .
It will be nice if you can manage to spend an afternoon visiting Fitz ,you'll need a warmer day than today though to sit out ,i thin it should be warming up a bit towards the weekend .

Gill i hope something turns up for OH has he always been a career ?
It's all very well them saying at the home they don't want your OH to get another job but as you say it might only be an odd shift that he does and that won't pay you bills ,i hope he can find some thing soon .

Frank it must have been nice to have a little trip out ,i see Ros is still busy stitching away it's a wonder she hasn't got you threading the cord through the bags :-D

Better go and make a cuppa i feel really thirsty today .

Gill I do take a can of water up with me whenI go but it dos'nt go far I just waterthe clematis with it. Its a long way up there and I don't want to water if I don't have to after the water bill we had to pay after the leak.

I'm off up there now as I have just cleaned both loos and got the barrow loaded up with all the things I will need and I have remembered the string this time.

See you later.

Afternoon all,

I have given myself a break from reading. Ros has done two loads of washing, where it all comes from, with just the two of us, I don't know. :-D :-D :-D . She has been busy on the machine again and done another 15 bags this morning/afternoon. She is now sitting on the patio, threading the tape through the tops. It's nice that she is out there getting a bit of sunshine, all this machining and knitting, doesn't get her outside.

Two ready meals for tonight, It will be nice having a couple of days off from cooking. When I think back my poor old MUM, had Dad and us FIVE CHILDREN under the age of SEVEN to cook for everyday.she never got a break from it. BLESS HER. ;-) ;-)

We are very lucky that we don't have any rubbish, that needs to go to the tip. We can get all our garden rubbish in the green bin, If we do have any over, we use one of the neighbours, as we can always find room in someones.

We have two BIG bags of compost sitting in the wheelbarrow on the patio, waiting to go down to the greenhouse. I keep thinking of taking down, then I think, I have three steps to gone down to get on the lawn. I don't want to change taking a tumble, so will leave it until either someone calls, or Tracy next door calls round. She is as tough as old boots, and as strong as a horse. Don't tell her I said that. :-P :-P :-P :-P. nd she will do it for me. Otherwise I can see Madam doing it, and I don't want her having a fall. !!!!

Still quite bright and sunny this afternoon. So I think I will end up watering this evening.There is talk of cold nights and bright days. I did cover the beans last night, and will leave the covers on them, till the nights start to warm up again.

Time for a cuppa and a piece of Mr. Kiplings fruit cake. Take care. xxxx

Oh I see Mel, no you don't want another big water bill, I just though it might make the ground a bit softer and easier on your back to dig. It sounds a heavy job.

OH came in with an application form before, so I filled it in for him, my handwriting is neater than his lol. It's for a handyman at a care home he used to work for, I was sneaky and added carer as well as handyman in the space for position applied, even though they don't need a carer at the moment, I didn't think it would do any harm, I also mentioned that he did both jobs at their care home in the past, so hopefully that'll stand him in good stead. He's taken the form back to them so hopefully he'll hear something as it sounds like they are desperate for a handyman and if they know he's a qualified carer they may offer him some shifts as well if anyone's off ill. He still has his police check, it's only a few months old, so they can see he's been checked. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed he's lucky enough to get an interview now. He never heard anything from the other application forms he handed in.

No Mandy, OH hasn't always been a carer, he used to work in a couple of garages for Richard Lawson and Mercedes and he's also worked in recycling, he'll turn his hand to anything to earn money for the bills.

He was going to ring an agency for carers today but since Boris has changed the rules he's going to wait and see what happens. If there's another spike in Coronavirus he doesn't want to be in the middle of it as agency work requires you to go from place to place which could be quite dangerous at the moment. He's got a chest infection and has started on antibiotics today so doesn't think agency work is a good idea at the moment. He's going to wait a couple of weeks and see what happens on the news, his present job will be over then so he won't need to give notice, which will also be better on application forms.

It is a worry though when the staff keep saying they don't want him to get another job, I know they're not allowed to give a bad reference but you just don't know what they might say over the phone to put people off so they can have him back when lockdown is completely over. It's not fair on OH though as our bills still have to be paid and we need to eat. Thankfully he'll have another months wages soon, but that won't last forever.

I have done another hour and three quarters up there but had to come down to feed the chickens and have a drink and a nice piece of sponge cake I made the other day. I have left all my bits up the border inc ase I go back up for half an hour.

Gill he may stand a chance at the place that wants a handyman if he has worked there before thye will now him. Good luck with the application and I hope he gets it.

Forgot to go and get the scripts today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That means two trips up the shop tomorrow and the day after.

Where has this week gone????? It only seems like yesterday I was watching Gardeners World and its on again tomorrow.

I am missing my craft but who wants to sit indoors doing that when the weather is so nice. I want to be outside enjoying it and getting things done I can't do when its raining or too cold to go out there.

The bl**dy Blackbird decided to dig out the earth from one of my flowers on the patio. It made such a mess chucking the soil all over the paving. I put the plant in the shed as its a Delphinium I bought last year and never got in the border but if he was digging in it I hope it has'nt got vine weevils in it. I may have to have a look before I plant it.

Fingers crossed he gets the job Gill ,if it's the same managers there hopefully they will remember him and he'll stand a good chance of getting it .

Yes gardeners world again tomorrow Mel, did you read that Monty has lost his dog Nigel ,he died suddenly but peacefully and he's now buried in the garden with his tennis balls .

That's what the black bird did to my wall pots ,the compost went every where and Max found the plant and brought it indoors .

Still lovely sun shine here but really chilly so i've covered up some of my plants in the green house .

Evening All,

Another sunny day but still chilly when the sun went in and not warm enough for dining outside so we ate in the conservatory today. OH seems busier than before the lockdown now and has had 3 meetings online today. I did 2 more free zoom sessions, one on making fabric flowers which was good and another on camera settings which I know little about! I have 2 more tomorrow. I planted some japanese bunching onion seeds today in a big plastic pot that was in the pile for the tip! I thought I may as well make use of it for now. :-)

I hope your scan comes through soon Jane and your echo appointment and that the results are good. It will be good for you to meet up with Fitz for a catch up. I hope his wife is better now.

Gill I hope your OH is successful with this latest job as it sounds promising, especially as he could be useful in 2 ways for them. Do you hear from Sandra very often now? That's good of your OH to help his friend with his garden.

Mel, aren't you able to use the well water for the garden? As you say a watering can wouldn't go far with your big plot. Thanks for the photos, the Irises and other flowers are looking good and fancy your 'shadow' following you! The Magpies are a pain here looking for things to eat. They pull some of my rock plants out and I have to keep replanting them. :-S I hope you don't have vine weevils in your Delphinium. You have had a busy few hours in the garden so I hope you haven't overdone it for your back.

es it was a shame about Monty's Nigel Mandy and I expect Nellie is missing him too.

I think our tip is open now Vera but we aren't in any rush to go while there will be a lot of people around or to any supermarkets either. Not that I will anyway, but I would sooner get fed up of these 4 walls than any ICU ones in a hospital!

O I don't have apaper or read the news on the pc. I did'nt know Nigel had died how very sad I was only htinking last week how lovely he is/was. I do like the new Patty though and she will be a friend for Nellie.

Good morning

Another iffy, headachey night. It looks fairly bright outside today but I don’t know how warm it is. I didn’t do much at all yesterday so I hope I can find a bit more energy today. I’m just having a CoT, then I’ll dress and read the paper over breakfast and decide how to spend the day. I hope you all have a good day and stay safe. Will probably be back later.

PS. Meant to say thanks for the garden photos Mel. It’s looking quite colourful and the rose looks good against that old wall.

Morning Vera and all,

So sorry to hear you've had a headachey night Vera but I hope you can take something to relieve the pain.

We have dry weather with blue sky and very big white clouds passing over so the sun goes in sometimes. There is a breeze but I hav'nt been out yet so don't know if its cold or not.

I must go up for our scripts today I keep forgeting and some are missing now.

Probably go up the border this afternoon but we will see how the day progresses.

Wrote this at 9.30am and forgot to post it.