General Chat

My ancestors worked in the Tiptree jam factory.

A good meal with Stu tonight and he went home full to the brim. I offered him another stuff potato but he said he was full up. We had the bacon and maple syrup sausages, carrots, broccoli, and creamy leeks and stuff jacket pots. A recipe from my school days except I did'nt eat cheese when young so I put marmite and onion in mine.

I haven’t heard of Pennywoods Vera so I guess it was not there in the 70s I do know Tiptree though. Isn’t it where they make jam? If not I am sure we used to go somewhere there to buy jam. It is strange but there used to be somewhere in that area that we would go with friends taking a picnic for a day out, it was I think In The grounds of a house. Weird that it sticks in my mind but I can’t really remember where it was except near Tiptree. These are the times I wish T was here to ask him.

And yes I went for a wander round Cheltenham, a few more shops than Gloucester and there is John Lewis.

That made me laugh Vera.

Ade came today and I did'nt hear him arrive so was surprised to see him in the orchard clearing away the brash from the big apple tree. He's put it all over the side of the orchard where we can work away at it gradually.

I did some hoovering and I think I may have ruined its rubber belt with gravel going up it as it started to smell. I hav'nt touched it since but did check the roller was going roung so maybe it had some of my hair in it. Just starting dinner but not heard from Stu yet so I hope he is coming.

A damp, grey start to the day though it brightened up by lunchtime. However, it’s very cold with a bitter wind.

Gwyn, you live in a lovely area. I hope it warms up a bit before the bulk of the lambs are born. There are a few animals round here but it is mostly arable farming. A lot of the farmland is now being turned into housing estates which seems very short-sighted to me. I know people need housing but once farmland is taken out of production it will never come back and we will have to import more food at whatever price is demanded.

Did you go into town today AnnG? Yes, I’ve just seen your post saying you went to Cheltenham. We were out and about a bit today. We started at our local Perrywoods. The main shop is a huge, independent garden centre near Tiptree in Essex which wins lots of awards. When our little local Wyevale closed they purchased it and quite a bit of land round it. They improved and developed the old Wyevale and are now developing the land. When it is all done it will be enormous. I have one of their loyalty cards so they sent me a voucher for a free scone during my birthday month. It expires tomorrow. I wouldn’t have gone just for a free scone but one of my presents was a Perrywoods voucher so I had that to spend as well. I had the biggest fruit scone I’ve ever seen and it came with 3 pats of butter and a little pot of jam. It was freshly made and yummy and plenty to share between us. Then I spent my voucher on a robust bird feeder. We’ve just broken one of ours so I got a more solid replacement. We are getting lots of birds now. Instead of 2 or 3 goldfinches we are getting flocks of them. Great and blue tits, a robin, a couple of greenfinches, the usual blackbirds and pigeons are very regular visitors and for the last few days we have had 2 blackcaps.

After Perrywoods we went on to Tesco as I had a number of vouchers there which expire tomorrow. We got several pairs of socks for OH and there was just £1 left on my vouchers when I noticed some nice shower gel on offer at £1 so I got that as well. When we got back we had lunch. I had a load of cold chicken left so OH made a couple of sandwiches and stuffed the whole lot of chicken between the bread slices, plus we had lots of salad stuff with it. I decided that was the equivalent of a dinner so I have just made some soup for tonight. I found the recipe in a Book of Soups and adapted it for the soupmaker. It was Creamy Carrot and Parsnip Soup. I had all the ingredients so gave it a go. It smells good but is a very thick puree. I don’t think I’ll put cream in it but when I reheat it I’ll thin it down a bit with a little milk.

We are still waiting to hear back from the plumber. OH emailed him and he said he would ring us……this year, next year, sometime, never. If he doesn’t ring back soon he may find OH has looked elsewhere. Thank goodness the smell went away completely but we still need the repair done to the pipe or it might come back.

I slept quite well last night. I woke a few times but went back to sleep fairly quickly and didn’t get up at all. Here’s hoping we all have a good night tonight.

Gwyn, I have just read this through and had to laugh at the typos I made. I had put “Gwyn, you love in a lively area”.

I went to Cheltenham this morning for a change but I had forgotten how tiring I find it for some reason. I think it is a bit more spread out with the shops I want to look at. I did buy a couple of long sleeved tops in M&S sale but nothing else. I had coffee and pancakes (small ones) with maple syrup and a latte in John Lewis as early lunch. Came home fairly early as my back was aching, no idea why. Still I enjoyed being somewhere different.

So sorry to read the sad news about your friend, Mel.
Good friends are very special. <3

A chilly but dry day here.
Twice this week someone has phoned late afternoon, when I was hoping to look out to see the planets. We did look a bit later, when it was darker and saw them as the cloud had cleared. We were lucky to see a shooting star too, which was a bonus.
I'm not very 'up' on the planets, so I might look again tonight, now I know which direction etc.

Lots of sheep in the fields near here, when we went out yesterday. They will be due to lamb in about 4 weeks, so I am looking forward to seeing the new lambs.
Over on the Marsh they have had some early ones apparently, but most are born towards the end of March, due to higher cost of care if they are born in the wintry weather. I remember one year, when farmers had to put little heat reflective jackets on the newborns to protect them against the cold, so consequently they aim for later in Spring now.

I was thinking that too Mandy.

Morning ,

Can I have some of your sun please as its another cloudy start to the day here ,shopping day for us so just having a cuppa before we think about going .

Hope Ann and OH are OK we haven't heard from her for a couple of days <3

good morning Mel and all, lovely sunny morning here. Makes me think I should make some sort of plans for the day, maybe go into town while it is not raining. I shall have a think about that. Slept well last night, got up twice. Straight back to sleep.

Morning girls,

Another lovely morning here and its 5 degrees with sunshine but pc says mostly cloudy so we'll see.

Took a little while to drop off last night even though I was tired but I slept well in the end withtwo comfort breaks.

I'm so sorry to hear your news Mel. As Mandy says you have often mentioned her so she must have been a good friend and you will miss her. Sending you a gentle hug <3

Oh Mel I'm so sorry that's sad news for you , you've mentioned your friend Di a lot it must have been a real shock for you to hear that <3

Oh I am so sorry to hear of your friend Di passing away. Was she I.l at all. I have a feeling that she was a local friend am I right. It always seems more of a shock when it is sudden like that and not really old. I am sure you will miss her.

I pleased you had a nice time with your friend and her daughter.

I have just had a phone call from my friend Di's hubby to tell me she has passed away.
It was such a shock and Iv'e had a little cry. She and I got on well and she was 6 months younger than me. I don't know why her hubby had'nt told me how bad she was.

Good luck with the plumber Vera. Maybe the lft man was thinking of chimneys :-D

Hopefully the plumber will say he can come and do it. It comes to something when they can pick and chose what jobs they doe doesn't it.

It was lovely to sit and chat with friend and her daughter for two hours. They were pleased to have somebody new to talk to. jean has four daughters so has not been lost for company while K had her shoulder injury. But we have a lot in common as well as our two OHs so it is good to see each other. They are going to get in contact later to arrange a garden centre visit. :-) :-)It has really cheered me up and the sun is just peeping through.

It’s pouring here now and feels very cold. App says it is 7 degrees but the wind and rain are making it feel like -1. Brrr

How does the foot feel today Mel?

I’m glad you got your appointment done quickly Mandy. Stay in the warm for the rest of the day. I keep looking at our garden as well. It has been neglected lately but it’s always too cold or too wet to do much out there and, I must admit, I am very cautious as I don’t want the severe back pain to come back. I can cope with the ache and twinges that I’m getting now.

Loft man has just finished without getting stuck, though he did say that in the olden days they would have sent a small boy up there which made me smile. Next job is to get the plumber back and see if he will now go up there or find another one if he won’t.

Its rained a bit here and I think its showers all day and sun keeps coming out and then in again. Still blue sky with white and grey clouds and they are coming your way Mandy.

Morning all,

Sharp frost here first thing and I thought I might have to scrape the windscreen but by the time I had to go for my appointment it had all melted.
First thing she said was I'm cancelling your appointment for next week as it's for second diabetes check and you don't have diabetes.
She weighed me ,I'd lost weight ,did my blood pressure which was up a bit so I have to send in a week's readings ,took three tubes of blood and that was it so out quite quickly.

Just having a coffee and then I've got a few jobs to do ,I keep eyeing up the garden the weeds are beginning to grow but its to cold out there just yet to get on .

Anng it will be nice for uou to get to see your friend for a good chat and a coffee.

Oh Vera I hope he doesn't get stuck up there lol it will be a good job done then your plumber can get it all sorted for you .

Mel can we have a little of your sun please its just started to rain .

Mel, please send your blue sky and fluffy clouds down (or up) to me. It has not stopped raining since I got up and is horrible and dark again out there.

Yes, you are right, face to face is much better. I am so grateful for all my email friends but miss actual people on days like this.

Vera have you got a rope ready in case you have to tie it round his waist and pull him out like a cork. Hope he gets the job done quickly for you anyway. :-)

Morning all,

Woke to a dark and dreary morning so lay for a while its 8 degrees here and the sun has just put in an appearance.

Vera so sorry your meal out was a disarster and was'nt what you were expecting. It certainly flattens you when that happens. I do hope the anniversary one at the Barn is much better and you are more relaxed so can enjoy it.

I don't know what happened to yesterday I seemed to be busy all day. I did a wash and put it out on the line and it dried well in the sun and breeze so it came in and I ironed it all. So that was a good job done and out of the way. What else happened I could'nt tell you but somehow the day passed very quickly and I forgot to come back on here and read the posts.

Don't know yet if Stu is coming today or tomorrow yet and can't message him till later on as he dos'nt rise early with his Parkinsons.

It will be so nice for you to see your friend Anng and good that her daughter is picking you up. Nothing like a face to face for a good catchup on things that have gone on since you last met. Emails are not quite the same are they?

Vera hope the loft is done today and so you can get on with having the pipe fixed. You will feel better once all the work is done.

I now have blue sky with lots of white fluffy clouds but it did rain in the night and early this morning. Its also gone up one degree now to 9.