General Chat

Good afternoon everyone

I had a poor night again but made myself get up at 7.30 and get some jobs done. I stripped my bed and got a load of washing done. OH remade the bed for me and, bless his little cotton socks, he did some ironing for me as well. That was such a help as standing at the board and pushing an iron up and down is about the worst thing for my back.

After that he wanted to fill the car up at Tesco so I did a little bit of shopping there. It’s the first time I have been in the shop since the very first lockdown and I couldn’t remember where anything was. Then we went into town to pick up my meds. I had asked for them a week early and they were all there and ready for me.

I’ll be resting against the pillows again this afternoon as my back is telling me it’s had enough for one day but I’m pleased I’ve managed a couple of jobs this morning.

Me too Island. Went to bed at 1.09am.

Morning Anng and Mel. I find the later I go to bed, the earlier I'm up :-S Bed at well after 12 last night, up at 7.30 this morning.


I wouldn't have minded a look at the yarn bombing Annx. What's going on? Come on. stop being so silly.

Morning Anng and all,

No I'm here having a cuppa. Well for today the local is showing 18 degrees and cloudy with rain drops on it and pc says partly sunny and 15 degrees so which is right I ask myself?

Sheila is supposed to be coming today but I can't remember if its this mroning or this afternoon. Silly me. Pat called in yesterday, she lives in a big farmhouse and told me her son turned their big chest freezer off cos he was saving on electricity.

I did'nt get my baking done yesterday as planned so I am hoping to do it today.

Good morning all hope you slept well. you were up late Mel so will probably sleep in this morning.

As i said in the email Ann the yarn bombing was fantastic. so much work and imagination went into it. what happens to it all I wonder when it is removed from show. Seems a waste to just put it out of sight somewhere.

It is 14 degrees here and my heating has come on, must check the thermostat as I thought I had it very low.

going out for coffee with a friend this morning.

I like cripsy fat too and at the weekend I did it in the micro for quickness so cut all the fat off and fried it up which was much better.

The yarn bomb was really great and I loved the jelly fish and the coiled shell, the three ducks taking off and everything really. What a lot of work was put in by all and imagine how much wool was used all to good effect. Great great great well done all who made the things.

Hope the backs better before its time for you to go away Vera so disappointing to have to cancel when you have looked forward to a little get away. Sending love and wishes it gets better soon. <3

Yes I rang later at 1.30pm Vera and the queue was only 3 then. The results were normal which surprised me as I thought they might need to up my meds again being as there is a bit more of me again now! So sorry your back hasn't settled down yet. I hope it soon does so you can enjoy your upcoming break.

Yes the dog was on a lead and the man was standing watching it sniff and anyone could have guessed what would happen next! The barge with the characters inside was placed on the grassy bank behind the low railings that run either side of the brook. It's a pity no people were along there when it happened. AnnG there are hundreds of articles in the yarn bomb spread around about half a mile. Some are in the trees but the elephants and horse would be too big to raise up high enough!

What a game getting away and home Mandy! They have been closing and gritting some of the roads round here after all the heat melting the tar but OH keeps saying about different roads closing, sometimes for weeks, and it affects him getting to his meetings on time. OH likes his bacon crispy! :-D

Evening all,

When I looked out first thing this morning the ground was wet so we must have had a shower in the night ,it's been a nice sunny warm day I nipped to town and then did a few jobs ,this afternoon Colin had a blood test booked so off we went and because our high street was shut because of some sort of power cut over the weekend and them digging up the road the traffic was bad ,we managed to get over the traffic lights and got into the carpark at the doctors but coming out was another matter ,big queues and it took ages to get home .

Oh yes Bacon Butty for me too Ann but the bacon must be very well done ,I like it crispy no sloppy fat on it .
Oh that's naughty letting the dog wee on the yarn bombing .
Have a lovely time tomorrow at your lunch with Fitz .

Oh dear Vera rest up as much as you can and I hope the pain soon eases up so you can go on your trip .

Bacon baps Mmm! nice. As long as the bacon is not overcooked, I hate it when it is hard.
What a shame you didn't have a camera ready for that man and his dog. How disgusting and such a shame for the person the crochet belongs to. However, I think I would not have left it low enough to be in the danger zone knowing what people are like. (some of them).
Hope you have a lovely lunch with Fitz.

Vera, Oh no, something else missed, what a shame to mis the lunch. It does sound painful, did you do anything that could have started it off again? Although maybe you twisted in bed, turned awkwardly. I hope it eases for you to go away as planned. Where are you going?

My next break is first week in October to Cornwall. That was the first week offered for the flu/covid vaccination so I had to go for the following week.

Afternoon all

Ann for my part you can keep your bacon baps but OH would have enjoyed one. How thoughtless of that chap to let his dog wee all over the yarn bomb :-|. I wonder how he would feel if someone spoilt a project he had laboured over. Enjoy your lunch with Fitz tomorrow; you’ll have plenty of catching up to do. Would you be better ringing for your blood test results later in the day when the morning phone rush has calmed down? Our surgery say to ring between 2 pm and 6 pm for test results.

It’s fairly warm and quite breezy but I haven’t put my nose outside. In fact I am back in bed at the moment so haven’t gone to the birthday lunch as planned. My back has become so painful again and I had no sleep last night. The only way I can get halfway comfortable is with pillows criss-crossed against the wall behind the bed and with my back pushed into them. I won’t stay in bed after today as all the advice is to try and keep moving. I am just hoping it will improve quickly as we are due to go away for a week on Saturday and I desperately need this break. When we had a week away this time last year OH could barely walk more than a few yards so we were very limited as to what we could do. In June he was unwell again and we spent 2 nights and 1 day in a hotel room before giving up and coming home, so I’m beginning to feel the gods aren’t smiling on us.

That’s enough of my grumps. Tomorrow’s another day and things might be brighter then.

tHE BACON SANDWICH WOULD HAVE PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE TOO.

Sorry did'nt mean to shout.

Shopping arrived and I sent back two things three big jars of hot dogs which they sent instead of my usual ones by Herta and an iceberg lettuce which oh used to like instead of the romain hearts. I had to remind him about the refund anmd he did it but when it came through from asda it was only for the hot dogs and not the lettuce so I had to go back into asda and do another refund.

Must put the washing on the line now its finished as its been in there a while now. I have taken a leaf out of your book Ann and washed my winter coats so they will be all nice and fresh for when the weather turns colder.

I may do those biscuits today and have a day off of clearing up and cleaning.

Afternoon All,

Nice sunny day and not too hot with a bit of breeze. The washer's on and nearly finished.

After a quick shower we went and posted the pastels. I was sitting in the car while OH waited in the PO and I was looking at one of the yarn bomb subjects I hadn't seen before. It was a barge with Rosie and Jim and was really good. Next thing a man with a SHih Tzu walked by and let his dog sniff it and wee all over it!! I just wish I'd had my camera with me. Some people just couldn't care less about the nice things others do.

When we got back I took my car to the village car wash, but the new gang there don't seem as particular and I had to point out the back of the mirrors and noticed the wheels weren't properly clean when I got home, plus I think they charged me a pound too much! I stopped by a rubbish bin coming back to empty some bits from my car and noticed the shop there sells all sorts of hot food now, so I went in and treated OH and me to a hot bacon bap each. That put a smile on his face when I got back.

I tried ringing the surgery for my blood test results and was 27th in the queue so will try again later. I expect everyone is trying to book their flu jabs now.

I need to see if any of my nail varnish is still any good since the pandemic next, otherwise I will just use the clear stuff I use for beading. I feel I should make some effort for tomorrow's meal. I usually store it in the fridge as it keeps longer that way, but with the pandemic I needed all the fridge space so it's in a drawer now.

Morning all,

Bright and sunny htis morning and pc says mostly cloudy and 14 degrees.

Shopping is coming today and only a small order but they still managed to give me two subs, an iceberg lettuce instead of the romain hearts and a jar of hot dogs instead of my Herta packs and seeing those on the list I ordered two lots. They will both go back as I don't like iceberg lettuce much either.

I better put some things away today as a friend is coming round for coffee tomorrow.

Good morning all, a bit cooler here first thing, it was 12 degrees and now is 13. We had no rain yesterday. I believe it rained here last Wednesday and Thursday but it has been dry again ever since.

Pleased you all liked the photos, I am sure no matter how many time you went up there you would always spot something different, it was really fascinating.
The bride and groom, having spent three days at Whitby giving Viking re-enactment performances, are now with his Mum, my daughter for a week's holiday. apparently they arrived with a huge piece of their wedding cake!!

We never had a single drop of rain here Mandy, but OH said he got soaked at the match in a downpour and he'd left his coat in the car! I must do some washing tomorrow. I want to get the duvet done and any coats that need doing before the October energy hike! At the moment, the place we bought our carveries online from is charging £1 for a child's meal if an adult meal is bought. A mother and her 2 children had 3 carveries for less than £10 with big helpings of icecream for the children included as well.

Sorry your back is still playing up Vera. OH's has improved today, but now some filling has come out of one of his teeth! He's hoping it won't ache before his dentist gets the letter from the hospital. I threw something out of the freezer for the bin collection today. I couldn't even tell what meat it was through the sealed clear bag as I hadn't labelled it, but knew it was very old. I hope you enjoy your birthday group meal tomorrow.

The biscuits sound nice Mel so I have saved the recipe.

Evening all,

We had sun this morning so I hung washing out and went in to do a few jobs I just happened to glance out the kitchen window and it was raining so i had to hop out and get the washing ,then later out came the sun and as I had bedding in the next wash I decided to hang all the washing out again ,just about got it dry before it drizzled ,dry now though .

Anng thanks for all the photos ,lovely ones from the wedding everyone looked so happy and I liked the brides dress and the men looked smart in their suits .
What views you had from the top of the tower and like the others have said the one of the three of you is really natural and certainly one to keep.

Mel thats a nice lot of blackberries you've picked ,I use to love going blackberry picking but the best and big ones we're always just out of reach ,mum use to make blackberry jelly I can remember her straining the berries in a muslin cloth .

Oh Ann it will be nice to hear from Fitz how everyone is doing and if they are still thinking of moving house.

Oh dear Vera not your back trouble again ,I wonder what you did to start it off again ,hope your OK to go out for the lunch tomorrow .
I have a couple of those silicone freezer bags in the freezer and I just can't remember what's in them I know it's savoury and I didn't like to write on the bags so I could use them again for something else ,you bung the bag in the freezer thinking I'll remember what's in the bag and then forget ,oh well it will be a surprise when I do get them out .

These delicious biscuits were made to send to the ANZAC's
(Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) serving in Gallipoli.

ANZAC BISCUITS

85g/3oz porridge oats
85g/3oz deccicated coconut
100g/4oz plain flour
100g/4oz caster sugar
100g/4oz butter melted
1 tblsp golden syrup
1 teasp bicarbonate of soda

Takes 35 mins for 20 biscuits.

Preheat the oven to 180C gas 4 fan 160

1. Put the oats flour and sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter in a small pan or microwave and stir in the golden syrup.

Add the bicaronate of soda to 2 tablespoons of boiling water, then stir into the golden syrup and butter mixture.

2. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the butter and syrup mixture. Stir gentley to incorparate the dry ingredience.

3. Put tablespoonsful onto buttered baking sheets, about an inch apart to allow room for spreading. Bake in batches of 8 to 10 minuets until golden. Tranfer to a wire rack to cool.

These are the biscuits Em baked me and they keep you going for a long while.

Lovely photos from the Spinnaker AnnG and I agree with Ann that the one of you with daughter and sil is a good picture; that’s one for keeping. I can’t believe Senua is 10 months old already. Where does the time go?

That’s a good picking of blackberries Mel. What will you do with them?

It will be lovely for you to see Fitz again Ann. You’ll have to let us know how Jane’s family are doing and whether Thomas is still about. Jane and I shared many a cat story as Thomas was so like my old cat Molly. For one thing they both liked leaving half a rabbit on the patio for us to find and they were both wanderers and hunters.

Today would have been a perfect day for gardening but my back has been so bad again that I haven’t felt like doing anything much. I have got the washing done as well as a few small household jobs but I can see so much to do outside. OH pulled a few weeds but plants need tidying and cutting back, the bird bath needs cleaning (again!) and our teeny weeny pond could do with a good clean. We’re dithering whether to get rid of it and just have some sort of water feature but we do get frogs there from time to time. We’ll leave that decision till next spring.

Tomorrow I’m going out to lunch again. Our “birthday group” hasn’t been having our usual meals out for the last couple of years but one of the ladies had a birthday a few days ago and decided to start up again so she has booked a small room with a big round table in one of the pubs. We won’t bother with desserts as we’ll go back to the birthday girl’s for tea and cakes in her garden. There used to be 12 of us but sadly one died and another seldom leaves her house these days. There are usually 1 or 2 who can’t make it for whatever reason so I expect there will be 8-10 of us.

I asked OH what he would like for his meal and he wasn’t sure so I had a root around the freezer and found a container marked “Sort of bolognese. Large helping for 1” so he’s going to have that with spaghetti or noodles. I’m not sure what “sort of bolognese” means but I suspect I had one or two basic ingredients and threw in anything else I had handy. It must have been OK or I wouldn’t have frozen the leftovers.

I think I’ll read for a while now before doing something about dinner. I need to decide what to do with the leftover roast lamb.

I did take a few more from the spinnaker and daughter took one of me on the glass ceiling but I can't get it to download into my photo editing programme. A lot of our photos have a greenish cast because of all the windows and the bright sun. Depended which way we took them. there was a telescope in the room but a queue to use it.

That's a lot of blackberries Mel. I have forwarded the latest AnnG pics.