General Chat

Hi all,
We had a really good (long!) walk around the garden and were so tired we didn't even attempt to walk to the little church. Some of the roses are going over but there are so many there that there are plenty to see. We had one heavy shower when we were as far away from shelter as we could be so the 3 of us huddled under a tree under my umbrella. I was mostly overcast which was a good thing it would have been too hor if the sun had shone. I did take photos but that is for later I am too tired to see to them now.

I have not seen any wasps in my garden this year but when we sat outside, two of us with cake one one with scone, jam and cream we found where all the wasps are.

There were puddles on my path when I got home so the garden also caught a shower, it didn't last long and now the sun is shining and it is 20 degrees. I don't think the rain was enough to wet the pots.

Afternoon All,

Just after I'd flung doors open and gone back to bed at 7.00 am the heavens opened and by the time I heard it and dashed through the bungalow the floor by the patio door was soaked. It rained for about an hour and we've had a couple of heavy showers since and more due this afternoon and during the night. At last the poor garden has had a good soak and it is a nice cool 18 degrees now so I did some HW in the kitchen and moved my chinese vase to a safe spot by the tv. We had an ordered 2 meat carvery between us which was very nice this week. Everything's ready now except for moving my toiletries. towel and toothbrush into the bathroom. Roll on next weekend!!

The food delivery is this afternoon so I hope it isn't raining then.

Mandy I had a chuckle at all those onions and carrots too. :-D Your son must have wondered what you were going to do with them all! The crochet blanket you are making for Chelsea sounds really nice and will keep you busy for a while. I hope you are sleeping a bit better now with less pain and jumping of the legs.

I hope the rain holds off for your trip AnnG. The gardens there look really good and interesting to see. Enjoy your picnic lunch. Asda sells frozen sliced onions and I always keep some in in case I run out.

Vera the fete did really well this year then and your Manor Cake obviously went down well. It's nice you got a text thank you for your contribution. It was a shame your German friend has passed away and that she had dementia in her later years. I think we all start to worry about our forgetfulness or not being able to recall a name or word as we get older. As you say her husband probably had a lot to cope with the past few months. Happy Birthday to your daughter and the flowers you arranged sound nice with some lovely colours.

Mel I hope you get your repotting done! I still haven't got round to repotting my Hostas that are wedged tight in their pots. I still don't understand how your leccy works or why it goes off.

It sounds as though we are getting much the same weather as you Mandy. It absolutely bucketed down a little while ago and we are on a yellow warning of thunderstorms for the rest of the day. It's 20 degrees but feels warmer as it's so muggy. I hope AnnG isn't getting this heavy rain. The place she is visiting looks lovely.

I'm also glad it wasn't like this yesterday for the fete. It was grey and windy but it wasn't cold and it stayed dry. It was very well attended. The car park is large and is attached to the community centre next to the field and it was choc-a-bloc. While we were having our cuppa friends rang to ask if they could park at our house as they had driven round the car park 3 times and couldn't squeeze in anywhere. I won't tell you everything that was there or this post will be running into pages but it was one of the best we have seen on the rec. As for the cakes, I don't know if they put the overcooked boiled fruit cake out or not. I didn't notice it but there was such a lot there. The Manor House cake was certainly put out and when we went in at 1.15 there were only a couple of pieces left. The tea room was open from 12 to 4, mostly cakes but with some savoury things for those who didn't eat sweet stuff. It was good value too. OH had a good sized chunk of lemon drizzle cake, I had a scone with butter and jam and we had 2 teas and the lot was £5. During the evening, those who had made cakes, scones etc. got a text thanking us and saying it was a sell out, so that was good to know. All I bought was a book. I looked at a hand knitted cardigan I rather liked, then I looked at the price tag of £120 and decided I didn't like it that much.

I had a chuckle about Mandy's and AnnG's onions and limes. It reminded me of the time I just wanted a piece of root ginger in my delivery and I got a large paper bag full. It wasn't until I checked my order that I found I had ordered 1 Kg instead of 1 piece. It went in the freezer and lasted a very long while.

Annx, the behaviour of the newspaper delivery man is appalling. If his employers hear of it he'll be getting the sack. We have a daily delivery that comes through a national company so we don't know who actually makes the delivery though we could complain to the national company if there were a problem. Our chap comes by car and is scheduled to deliver between 5 am and 8 am but he's usually here soon after 5. Thankfully he seems to be very quiet and considerate. I've only heard him if I happen to be awake anyway.

Today is my daughter's 60th birthday which makes me feel very old. We've sent her a present but I also arranged to have some flowers delivered yesterday. We're spoiling her a bit as it is a big 0 birthday but also it is the first birthday since her partner died at Christmas. She loved the flowers and sent me a picture and I am really pleased with them. I chose a florist in a nearby town to where she lives and booked the flowers online so I wasn't sure how good they were going to be. I didn't want anything too pale nor anything really bright and "in your face". After a lot of dithering I chose an arrangement called Warm Glow. It's mostly peachy colours but there is a little bit of white and some really dark red.

I've just had some sad news. Her husband has emailed me to say that my German friend died about 3 weeks ago and the funeral was last week. I have known her since we were penfriends at school and we first met when I was 15 and she was 16. We've stayed with each other at different times over the years and I've known her husband as well since I was a teenager as he lived in the same village and went to the same school as her. She had quite severe dementia in her later years. I realise of course that her husband had more than enough to think about when she died but wish he had told me sooner as I would have tried to get to her funeral.

This post is going on a bit and I am trying to cook roast lamb and veg while typing so I'd better come to an end. I heard thunder a couple of minutes ago and here comes the rain again.

Well it's just absolutely tipped down here ,we'd just come out of the shop when it started by the time we got home it was pouring so we sat in the car and waited until it eased off before we got out still got wet as it was a steady rain when we got out but it's good for the garden and will fill the water butt a bit as that was nearly dry .

Mel its one she saw online tiktok I think but I found the squares on utube showing how to make one and I copied the pattern out ,it looks a big blanket but not sure how much wool it will take I got three of each colour ,couldn't get the darker grey but they had a nice one called storm which is a bit dark bluey colour they all look good together so I hope she likes them .

Last line should have read. The words are not coming up so I am going to post thiss before it disappears ito the either.

Morning girls,

I expect Anng has left now for the garden visit and I hope it stays dry for her. Its quite bright here this morning but there's grey sky and its 16 degrees forcast is for clud and rain. Woke this morning and the leccy was out so it must have gone out in the night azs the leccy meter for the solar said the same as it did last night as I always write the reading in the diary.Wish I'd known when I got up at 5am for the loo that means I lost a couple of hours of free leccy. Only found out when I turn the pc on and it did'nt work.

Mandy the blanket sounds nice where did she find the picture? Is it just a knee blanket to cosy into on the settee or a large one?

Must get on today and do some repotting.

Words ae not comost this incase it oes ito the wth

Morning Anng ,morning all,

Bit cloudy here but no rain so far it's 17 degrees.

Anng enjoy your day out it looks a lovely place to visit all those roses over 5000 + It says , they should look a picture ,hope you get some photos .

Nothing planned here might go and get some wool Katie has sent a photo of a crochet blanket she would like it's done in squares with bobble hearts on ,she decided on white,two shades of grey and a blue so I'll see what I can get .

good morning all. Slept well but woke at 6am and was not going to go back to sleep so decided to get up.
Getting a lift at 10.30, going to Highnal court just outside Gloucester not far from here
(https://ngs.org.uk/gardens/highnam-court-gl2/). I have been quite a few times before but it is always a nice day out to see the flowers and the many carvings.
Just three of our group going. It is very grey but 16 degrees. supposed to be a shower around 11am so better take a brolly. and wear a light jacket. Taking a picnic lunch

Mel I had not thought about freezing the onions.

Ha ha ha three bags of red oinions made me laugh,what are men like? Common sense shoud have told him you did'nt want three bags. I bet he was please dwith whatr he went home with though. The red onions will freeze if you cut them up.

Iv'e still not done anything, just fed the chickens and fish and hav'nt wanted to do anything else.

Nothing on the telly tonight so I shall be watching U & Drama or something else on Iplayer.

Been cloudy all day here apart from when the sun tried to come out this afternoon but did'nt suceed and then the fine rain started again.

So I can't give you any of my onions then Anng I see you have enough too :-D
Still very windy here we had to go out and tie the tom plants back to the wall as they were really leaning forward .
Looks like we're in for some rain tomorrow.

well I did have a little chuckle and the lovely bright young girl driver brightened my day.

Tesco just been just had a refund (90p)  I said to the girl delivery driver. #either those lemons are green, or they are limes?  They were mostly green with a bit of yellow. she said that they were limes. and then muttered 'students'! apparently the pickers tend to be students on Saturdays. anyway she has already organised the refund.

I am not sure if I told you, a couple of weeks ago I ordered 3 red onions (as you did Mandy. They were out of stock and the sub was a bag of red onions. They will last months if they don't go off.

I cheered up a bit when I dug the potatoes, trouble is I had got so used to there not being any there that I ordered cornish new pots from Tesco.

Oh Anng I hope you've brightened up now ,I think we all have days like that usually when it's a grey rainy day .

Here's something to make you all smile, son came with the shopping and he got all the fruit and salad stuff from the bag then out came a bag of red onions then another and another ,he said mother why do you want all these onions ,I don't I said I wanted a pack of the three red onions in the net lol oh he said I thought it funny you wanted so many onions ,well next out was a big bag of carrots then came another big bag of carrots, I had said a big bag of carrots but he didn't think the bag was big enough so he got two lol he went home with onions and carrots lol
I only wanted some to make coleslaw looks like we'll be living on carrots and onions :-D

Ann thats does sound like someone upset the chap with the car if he's trying to wake them early with all the revving at least the police have been told perhaps they will be around at that time to keep an eye on things .

Yes tv programmes all gone to pot with the tennis football and this weekend the grand prix ,but I did see the sewing bee is back on on the 15th I think .

Hope the fete has gone OK Vera and people have turned out for it everyone works so hard to get these fetes set up and with the wind it can't be easy to get the gazebos up and hold things on the tables , I'm sure the cakes were fine everyone loves home made cakes .

Its good you are getting back into the swing of things Gwyn and going baack to see the chidren must have lifted your spirits. Take it slowly as you're getting there one step at a time and don't overdo it.

Been down the shop and had lunch but I don't know what I want to do now. Its very grey out and windy 18 degrees so I don't feel like garening. Its raining in the wind soemtimes too a real mucky day.

Hope you found something nice at the fete Vera. Did you have any raffle tickets? Were many there? I don't think we have had a village since oh did one years ago. We hav'nt even had cream teas this year or last cme to think of it. We do have the village show in Shebbear in July so I may put my shadow box in if I can find on the program what the class is.

Ah no Ann, don't shorten your posts, it is good to have something to read.
At least, if it is like here, your OH won't get sunstroke watching his football, he might get blown away though.

I don't think I envy you the upheaval of having the en suite done. Although I shall envy you when it is finished. Any en suite would be good here as there is not one at all. No problem when it is just me but it would be good to have my own place when people stay.

I hope the potatoes are ok they look good and are good sizes. No the tomato I have picked have been from the Alicante which was garden centre plant There are four tomatoes on the plant from Mel and they are a good size but still green at the moment

That is strange about the newsagent's car, if that is what it is. sounds like somebody not liking being told off. Hope that they can sort it.

Looks like the TV is no better next week either..I wish they would put all sport on separate 'stations' or whatever they are called now. ITV could use ITV2 and BBC could use BBC3.

Hope your cakes were OK Vera, I am sure they will be. Hope the fete does well and that maybe the sun came out. I think it is a local school's fete today and it is not very nice for that either.

I am expecing Tesco from 4-5, just tracked it and it says due 4.10 to 4.20.

Afternoon All,

It's much like you here weatherwise AnnG and Mandy. 20 degrees and overcast with rainy looking clouds, but still no rain here. It's quite windy too. OH watered with the hose and pulled a few weeds while I popped to the shop and has gone to a match at Newarke with his book swap friend. Now he's on beta blockers like me he's also following the advice to avoid alcohol and found a couple more bottles lof wine to give his friend. I like some of the non alcoholic stuff, both wine and beers, and Mr FOMO always samples some too anyway! lol..

I've dug out the old sheets I keep so I can keep dust the men make off the bed and tv . I have no idea what mess and dust fetching the tiles off the walls and floor will make. It wasn't too bad when it was done nearly 20 years ago as there was hardly any adhesive on the tiles, but they put much more on the new tiles. It's going to be really hot here towards the end of the week so goodness knows how we will keep the bungalow cool as they can't work in the dark with the curtains drawn and will be in and out fetching the things to fit and keep opening doors. I might suggest to Dave that they come earlier than usual if he can and wants to so they can work while it's cooler. OH is in Birmingham at a meeting on Thursday, so he will be ok in his car with aircon and the Hotel he's going to will be airconditioned too.

Yesterday firemen were tackling a large fire on Croft hill where the quarry walk is. They put it out but the quarry walk is going to look very different.

We had a visit from a couple in the next close last night. We'd also had a visit from the chap who lives at the end of our close the other night and OH spoke to him. He was concerned as he'd noticed a car pulling up near our bungalow at 5.00am and the driver hanging around our front door! OH thanked him for telling us but reassured him that it was our local paper being delivered!! Well the couple who came last night said a driver in a BMW was being a nuisance in their close at around the same time of the morning. Someone had gone outside and asked him what he wanted and he said he was looking for our house number, which isn't a number that exists in the next close and they told him. He had obviously turned into the wrong close, but since then has been back down their close and revving his engine loudly and waking people up, turning round at the end of their close and driving back out again. Anyway they had got his reg number and reported him to the police. The couple had spoken to their friend at the end of our close and had come to ask us which newsagent he came from so they could go and tell them. We couldn't say as we pay the newspaper direct to get a discount and they arrange who delivers. I wonder if there had been a bit of an altercation in the next close and it is deliberate. We shall see! We had trouble with one of the drivers keep backing up our drive behind my car for a while. We won't be going outside to tackle him as many kinds of delivery drivers are now being found to be in the country illegally and may carry knives.

Yes tv progs are all to pot again! As I felt worn out, I did watch a bit of tennis yesterday, ladies singles which was good. I liked the girl who won called Sonay Kartal, only 5 foot 4 inches. She had sensible shorts on and a collared loose shirt, so wasn't all knickers and chest if you know what I mean! I can't watch men's singles as it has few rallies and is all about who can serve aces and smash the ball hardest nowadays.

I have some days like that AnnG and I think this heat hasn't helped and more to come too. I'm sure my pale skin must be due to my Viking DNA and that I'm more suited to frost and ice! How nice to have some freshly dug potatoes. I bet they will taste nice. It's good to have a few tomatoes too. Are any from the seeds Mel sent?

I hope the wind has calmed down for the fete Vera. You are very good to make and take some cakes and I expect they will be fine and sell well.

Good to hear you continue to improve Gwyn and how lovely to see the children at the school again. I bet they have missed you. It's good you are having less appointments to go to now.

Mandy I must switch the washer on. I think having the fridge, cooker or washer pack up is such a nuisance. Good your son has insurance for the cooker so it won't cost though and will hopefully soon be working again.

Tuna on a cob for me next and a COC I think.

Goodness me I must shorten my posts!!!!

Just dug out the second bucket of potatoes and there are one pound twelve ounces (800G), These are Jazzy. the maris piper gave me about three small potatoes in the same sized bucket

Good morning ladies

Be kind to yourself AnnG. We all have those down in the dumps days from time to time. You do a lot in your garden and watering in Cynth's and you are very active generally. Have a nice coffee now and a strong G&T or glass of wine later in the day and just do whatever you feel like doing today.

The weather is not looking promising for the village fete which starts at midday. It's 18 degrees so not cold but it's very breezy and the sky is leaden. Rain isn't forecast till tomorrow but the wind is increasing all the time and people are less inclined to visit a local fete if it's grey and windy whereas a bit of sun brings the crowds out. I took my cakes down this morning. The Manor House cake looks good but I have asked the lady who took them from me to make sure someone cuts a piece out of them before they put them out for sale in case they are too over or under cooked. The final straw last night was that I made a nice list of ingredients on the computer, went to print it and got a message to say the maintenance box had reached the end of its life and the printer would not work until it was replaced. I was so cross as I had a warning message about the box nearing the end of its life about 3 weeks ago and OH was supposed to get a new one. Of course, he hadn't done anything about it so I had to hand write my list with my shaky hand. He was not popular! A new part is now on order and should be delivered today.

Good to see you post Gwyn and pleased you are gradually getting better. I expect you feel as though your recovery is taking forever but going into school and seeing the children is all good progress. Take care.

I think I'll wander down to the fete about 12.30 and have a look around and perhaps buy a cuppa and a scone down there for lunch. It seems daft doing that when we live about a minute's walk away but spending a bit of money there all helps the funds.

Good morning all, yes thanks mandy I am ok, actually meant to post and got distracted. Actually woke up feeling fed up for no reason other than feeling old and fed up with all the usual aches and pains we all have.
It is very grey, cloudy, very windy and 18 degrees. In fact I felt quite chilly when doing the everlasting watering. at 1am I got up for the loo and there were rain spots on the window. When I looked this morning the base of the bucket is wet but no water in it so it was not even a shower. I did pick one ripe alicante tomato with no blossom end rot, I have had two large ripe oned that I could cut off a third and the rest was fine, so three tomatoes so far. Quite a few getting towards ripening now.
Nothing planned for today could take a couple of books back to Irene that I found I had already read.

Morning all,

We had a little rain in the night ,this morning it's nice and sunny but quite windy I have just hung the bedding out .

Mel good idea to have a day on your miniatures it will give your body a nice rest from gardening.

Nice to see you posting Gwyn and that's lovely you've managed a day in school this week I bet the children were pleased to see you back ,small steps back to good health .

Not a lot happening here today might sit out for our coffee ,son and Chelsea have just dropped some shopping off for us ,they didn't stop as their oven had packed up and the engineer should be coming this morning to look at it dil had stayed at home in case he came ,he takes an insurance out on it so it won't cost him a call out or repair cost .

Where's Anng this morning she's usually posted by now hope she's OK.

Morning Mel and everyone,

A bit overcast, but dry here and much more comfortable for getting things done. 18 degrees at the moment. We are due another heat wave in this coming week though.

No household shopping to do. We did that yesterday, after daughter finished work, so that she is free to watch Formula 1 on TV this weekend. It doesn't interest me, although I try to throw in an odd intelligent question now and again, as she must miss discussing the races with OH when they watched together. We don't have any subscription channels, so the British F1 is the only one she can actually watch live.
I will be occupied elsewhere ;-)

You all seem to be so busy in your lives or with your gardens compared to me. It seems to have been one long round of hospital tests and appointments since I went to A & E back in early May, but hopefully they will decrease now.
It was great to go back to school one day last week. I hadn't been in class since May 8th, so it was good to see the children again. They all looked so suntanned and well, when they came to sit next to me to read. I looked so pale in comparison having been indoors so much, since I was ill.

I hope you all have a good weekend :-D