General Chat

Maureen, I know you must miss your mum. Isn't it an awful shame that we have to lose those we love. I stop most days, at mum and dad's pictures, and say a few words.

The Northern lights are absolutely amazing - thank you Jane for passing on the pictures. I loved your pics too Mel, especially the little squirrel - that was a very good one.

You've done very well Jane, to have lost that much weight. I think I;ve lost two lbs. I'm having a hard time cutting back on my portions, but I have cut out sugar altogether and flour. I use Stevia for sweetening.

Ruby ,after what I have just eaten I think a few pounds will have gone back on :-S :-S
I do feel my tummy roll has got a little bit lighter though :-D..I think it started off as Love Handles but just got out of control..I hate to think what it is called now :-S :-S
It is going to be a slow job ,like you but as long as the lbs go down and not up I will be happy with that :-D.I would rather do it slowly .My weight seems to be around my midriff .My Sisters weight goes on her bottom and thighs.

Gill I wish I was a bit more house proud .We have a big house even though it is just 3 beds.But there is so much to keep clean.It would help if I enjoyed cleaning :-D

Oh Bless him Mandy .He sounds such a good little baby :-D

Ruby it's good that you are getting all the good British Programmes :-D.Does it make you feel homesick at all ?

I am waiting for James to get out of the bath as I need his assistance on the pooter.
I am trying to buy a bottle of Grappa in a nice box for Chris but somehow I seem to have ordered 3(in the shopping basket)!!!.I daren't press anymore buttons just in case I find myself paying for 3 instead of just the 1 :-S :-S

Silent Witness tonight :-D :-D

Evening All,

Another humungous post lost in the ether here too! :-S That's good all is well with the downstairs furniture Frank. ;-) I hope Ros soon starts to feel a lot better. These coughs can drag on and make you feel really run down..

That's a good start with losing weight Jane. Keep it up. :-) Like Mandy, I've really struggled getting portion sizes back down since Christmas. I have just about managed to get back on track otherwise though. I think your tum gets used to expecting more when you eat more! I want to lose some weight before we go away in May like I did last year as I felt much better for it. I made a pressurecooker full of veg soup today so I can freeze some more. I can't believe how OH was tucking in with some crusty bread again!! :-) He does all the peeling of the root veg and washes the pans after so that is good.

I managed to book our Cornwall holiday this morning......£192 saved with the offer and 10% discount. I'm so glad I didn't book before the offer!! :-0

We spent 2 days looking for 2 missing pieces for the jigsaw and found them among OH's papers on the table today! Now it's all packed away. :-)

Gill I still take cuttings at times, but when I was first married my first in laws were serious gardeners and they would give me lots of cuttings from all the fancy Regal Pelargoniums and fuschias they grew. OH made me a wooden greenhouse and built a self watering bench all along one side of it and I would pop the pots of cuttings in the wet sand.

Mel, what a cheeky little Squirrel keeping his own apples away from the deer!! :-D Your deer seem to be less timid lately and around your garden more often.

Mandy it's good little Lewis is a quiet baby at the moment. Your DIL will be glad of it for a while, even if it doesn't last!

My post has'nt been posted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't remember what I wrote now!!!! :-( :-(

I did say that they were snowdrops behind the deer as Mandy asked. Also said the pic was taken through the kitchen window double glazing for the deer.

Thanks for the photo Ann, what a lovely picture, is it of an actual place. How nice to have all those cuttings, I envy you and your OH making the greenhouse and putting in a watering system, that would of saved so much time. I water all my pots by hand, although sometimes I cheat and use the hosepipe on slow rather than use a watering can.

Sandra and I loved the photo's of the squirrel and Deer Mel. It didn't look like the squirrel was going to share his apple with anyone lol.

Well done Jane losing all that weight. I've put a few pounds on but I was only 8 stone at Christmas time, so I needed to put a few extra pounds on. I lost a lot of weight when our daughter moved out, I just lost my appetite and lost one and a half stone in 2 months.

I'm just over 8 stone now, so I'm still under weight for my height, I think I should be nearer 9 stone. I was so worried about Sandra missing her sister and not being able to help her that my stress levels went up and my appetite disappeared. I'm ok now but it's taken me a while to get there.

It looks like everyone's had problems on the thread today with posts disappearing, so I'll post this now and hope it doesn't happen to me.

Night All <3

Morning all and evening Kim,

Oh said it snowed from about 5.30 for an hour this morning but not big flakes. It is still on the road a bit and on the mud outside our bedroom window where the chickens used to be and oh flattened it out. Now it is just grey sky and miserable.

Dentist for me today AGAIN.......................

Glad you liked the pics Gill. I thought Sandra would like to see those. I have more now as oh put my pictures back on the pc but the way he has done it I can't get into some of them. I shall have to have a look through and see what I can send.

Morning all, evening Kim,

Busy little bees again, I only have to turn my back for an hour and away you go.

Ruby, Ros had to sit through every cartoon type film with our Lewis when he stayed with us in his school holidays.

What's all this weight loss business ???Something I have never had to do. Hope you all get to where you want to be. <3 <3

Bitter cold here today, I think we were down to minus 5 last night.

I have a doctor coming later to see Ros, She is anything but right. Her cough is no better, and not wanting to eat is bothering me. She is HOT then COLD and sweating like billy oh. Something just isn't right. I think she has something more than a cold or flu.

Off to tidy the lounge, as she will whittle is everywhere isn't just right when he comes. I bet they go into more untidy houses than ours. They just don't take any notice. They are coming to see the patient, not your surroundings

Morning/Evening All

Frank that is good the Dr coming out.She hasn't been well now for some time has she and you would have expected some improvement by now..Give my love to her please <3
Yes I have not managed to lose weight for years .I think it will slow down now.I think it is the first couple of weeks that it's mainly fluid.(I don't know really )
Oh Gill you are tiny :-D.Just like our Fiona.I wish I could give you a bit of my weight lol

The sun is shining ,Chris is pulling out a lot over very overgrown Orange Blossom which has been going over the fence and overhanging so much next door.The birds are really wanting to get to the feeder but Chris is too close at the moment.He sat down for a breather just now and within seconds the birds were busy feeding :-D

I have to go into town now .I wonder how long it will take to scrape the car windows !!!!
Hope the Dr can help sort Ros Frank.Do let us know later xxx

BBL

Well, I am all tidied around and hovered through.

Tony had kindly got all my shopping, and that's all put away.

You wouldn't believe it, I asked Ros if she fancied anything for dinner tonight. She said a little SPAG BOLS, went to the freezers and after turning everything over NO MINCE. So I am doing a chicken casserole instead. The creamy mash and gravy should go down alright.

I have sent a letter to one newspaper regarding this HUDL. See what comes of that, then I will start sending letters in bulk. :-D :-D :-D THEY WILL LISTERN TO ME !!!

Maureen, missing your mother is not unusual, my dad has been dead 57 years on the 30th January. and I still talk with him most days. !!!

I see the Ann Kirkbride has passed away aged 60. The way they went on about it on Breakfast T.V. you would have thought the QUEEN had passed away. It comes to us all at sometime. Sorry but there is much more things going on in the world to give time too.

Good for Chris, being out there working, I know I t's too cold for me to even think about it ;-) ;-) ;-)

What if anything are you all up to this afternoon. Me, I will wait for the Doctor, then read, and catch Nat Geo, or Eden. Till the Chase, and evening news Then it will be the conservatory while the soaps and Holby are on. Might catch P O'Grady at 9.00 pm. So that's another day over for me, apart from cooking and washing up. GOOD LIFE AIN'T IT <3 <3 <3

Doctor has been. She has Bronchitis. He has prescribed more anti-biotics, and a course of Steroids. By the time she's taken that lot, she will be like MIKE TYSON. ;-) ;-) ;-) As long as it clears it up, we will be HAPPY <3 <3 <3

Any further developments I will keep you posted.

Bye for now.

At least Ros has a diagnosis now Frank and has got the right treatment.No wonder she feels so poorly :-(.Lets hope now that she will soon be on the mend and feeling much better <3 <3

We have 2 Big Rats now :-S :-S.So tomorrow Chris is off to get a couple of those Rat Boxes that he will stuff with poison.I think they have been enjoying chewing on all the cut branches that Chris has been cutting today .Little blighters (or maybe I should say big blighters)

I didn't realise that Anne Kirkbride (Deirdre Barlow) was only 60.Same age as me.I thought she was older.It is sad ..Remember the Free Deirdre Barlow campaign lol.That was so big LOL

Mel how have you got on at the Dentist? Any more appointments? You seem to be there every week at the moment.Hopefully your new teeth are all nice and comfy at long last.
I had a letter today to say I am due a checkup.I must ring sometime t arrange it.But I will leave it until next month I think :-D.I'm in no hurry to go.

Looks like we might actually get some snow Frank .I hope not too much ,so we can go to the film in Northampton tomorrow.

Ann that was good with that reduction on your holiday.Quite a saving there :-D
It would be nice to be a bit slimmer in time for our Paris trip in May,just the same as you :-D.I know I don't look any different yet but I can feel it even though it is just a few pounds.
Also as it will be hot in Italy in September it would be nice not to have to struggle so much with all this excess fat.Maybe my feet won't swell up so much (Now THAT would be a bonus :-D)

I know Frank, and I feel bad about not missing my dad as much, he's been gone 11 years he was a lovely man but after he had his major heart attack he became such a miserable old bu**er and quite aggressive, I know I should remember him as he was before his attack.

I managed to get a lot of ironing done last night so I could go off with son and family back to Bedford today, they went to see a school for the oldest daughter and we drove past the house and then on to my daughters for coffee and cake after stopping first at McDo*** so I've managed to eat 2 chocolate muffins and a chocolate cream cake :-0 don't think I'll bother with dinner tonight. I am trying to get back into my routine of eating but something always comes up and it would be rude to refuse ;-)

Lovely photos Mel it must be nice to have such wildlife right outside your backdoor, we do get squirrels but apart from that it's mostly mice and rats. Hope the dentist went well, that stuff they put in your mouth for impressions is horrible feels like they are pulling your teeth out with it when they take it out.

I think a lot of the kids films are better than the adults, I really enjoyed Frozen.

Let's hope this lot of antibiotics does the trick for Ros Frank and she is soon on the mend <3

Maureen ,you can afford to have a few Muffins and a cake with your lovely figure now :-D :-D.I have been looking a a Genoa Cake and have to admit I did cut myself a very thin slice earlier :-S...It was delicious :-D Naughty but nice.

Do you get many Rats where you are?.I think I have heard that there have been many more reports of sightings of Rats lately.We could do with Fitz's cat Podge here.He would soon see ours off.

Gill I was going to make a Blueberry and Yoghurt loaf today (thought you might be impressed LOL) but I needed some Almond Oil and could n't find any so that has had to go on hold for now.Chris is going to Waitr*** tomorrow so I will see if he can get it there.
Watch this space
:-D

WEnt to Li*l after the dentist again. Came out £50 odd lighter. I only wanted milk and loo rolls and when I got home to put them away I already had four of the last pack I bought in there. I must be going barmy. I had looked for rolls to put in the bathroom and I could'nt find them. Then when I got back I changed out of the jumper I was wearing and put my glasses down....................put my other jumper on , do you think I could find my glasses, NO. I knew I had taken them off in the spare bedroom and I moved all the things I had put on the bed. Trouble is without them I can't see much now!!!! Found them eventually on the chest of drawers.

Teeth look alright and it was a second fitting on wax. It gives you a fright when you see them on this BRIGHT pink stuff I had to ask her if that was wax and she said yes, thank goodness. After a bit of grinding a couple of teeth down she then handed me my teeth and promptly dropped them on the floor!! She then had to wash them for me before I could replace them in my mouth. Thank goodness they did'nt break as the floors in there are hard ones.

Anyway another appointment next week which should be the last and I shall be able to give everyone a big cheesy grin and be able to eat properly once again.

I'm pleased you called the doc out for Ros Frank. Lets hope this will put an end to her illness and she can start to get better now. You would have thought that someone would have spotted that it was not a common cold before this though.

WE've had a really bitter breezy wind here today. The snow cleared up quickly once the sun came out for a bit. Then in the afternoon it turned cloudy again and we had a little rain.

I have been in touch with our Shirl today and yesterday. She contacted GR to say she could'nt get on here and they can't seem to find her account. I emailed them at support etc and told them I had found a posting she made in April 2012 well they said they could'nt se that and so I went back through all the pages to 16th Oct 2014 which was her last post on the thread and gave them the page number of 1848 and the url numbers of her post and my thread so lets see what happens now. The post is there for all to see so they can't say they can't find her account now and I think she shoud be given some free time on her account too afterall it is nearly three months since she could get on here.

We bought a nice plump cooked chicken for dinner tonight so I only have to do some chips and peas. Nice and easy....... :-D :-D :-D :-D and I have a nice big jar of olives in the cupboard which should go down a treat with that.

Evening all,

Very frosty here this morning it took ages to defrost the cars windscreen .

Oh poor Ros no wonder she's been so unwell, i hope the antibiotics and Steroids soon kick in and she soon feels better <3

Little Lewis was weighed yesterday and he's gained 1 oz, he's so contented you don't hear a peep out of him.
Went with son to get a Prep Machine ( no i hadn't heard of them either ) it's a new machine that helps to make up baby's bottles of milk quicker ,it shoots hot water into the bottle which kills bacteria you then add the milk powder and then it shoots more hot water into the bottle and you end up with the bottle at just the right temp for the baby ,all done in less than 2 minutes !!
When we got the machine home it was broken on the dial bit ,so i had to take it back to Te*co's and get another one !!
If there's any new gadget son will try it !!
I remember making bottles and having to wait ages for the bottle to warm up and then getting it to hot and having to waiting for it to cool down ,and son would be screaming his head off waiting for it .

Ann, i can see why the jigsaw took a while to do, it looks lovely now it's finished ,i always hated having to break them up and put them away after spending all that time trying to get it finished .

Mel, i hope you got on ok at the dentist today.
I thought they were snowdrops i could see :-) i take it the deer are not to keen on them ,i know they eat all sorts in my friends garden ,all the new shoots that appear !!

Anyone see Winter Watch last night ? it's on again tonight at eight o'clock .

Evening all.

Tony very kindly went to the Drs. to collect the tablets. The steroids she has to take EIGHT in a daily session, for a week. and the anti-biotics once a day . Jane, that sounds a lot of tablets in one go. Do you think that is right. ???

Chicken casserole was very nice tonight, even though Madam didn't eat that much. Perhaps tomorrow she might find she will feel like eating.

Mel, That WAX stuff does seem weird in your mouth doesn't it. I think I had to have three fittings also. Better than when I use to have all my suits hand made :-D :-D :-D

It is forecast that in the west of the Midlands we will get snow during the night. So be careful on the roads tomorrow Jane. Did anyone see the SALT MINES where they get up to one million tons of salt out every year for the Councils throughout the Country. Working down there can be up to 40 degrees. They are over 3,000 ft down. We take it for granted that our roads will be treated. What an eye opener. !!!

Yes Jane Anne Kirkbride did look a lot older than her years I think she was a heavy Smoker in real life, as well as in the part she played.

I had noticed that our SHIRL wasn't posting, I put it down to her eyes !!! I hope they get it sorted soon.

Stay warm my friends, I am done to my knickers again, as it's so warm in the bungalow. But I must keep it warm for my patient

<3 <3 <3

Well Mandy I have never heard of that machine before.!!!! I am so out of touch now with anything Baby or Child related :-S :-S..So are the old Sterilizer tanks not used any longer ?????...If I ever have a Grandchild I will have to have a lot of 'looking up' to do lol
Frank I think Ros will be on a fairly high dose of the Steroids to begin with.So I think after a week and she still needs them they will be reduced.Are they 5mgs?

Evening Everyone,

Yes Maureen, you can safely risk the odd indulgence now you are slim and trim! ;-) Just don't let the muffins become muffin tops! You've done well to keep it off..........maybe I should get back to doing up houses, all that work is good for the waistline! lol. Jane that was the other thing, it was much better not being so hot walking about last year on holiday and Italy will be much hotter as you say. :-) I think if you allow yourself the odd treat it stops you feeling deprived and can help you to carry on. :-) I had my weekly pudding treat today, rasberry and apple crumble with custard!

I hope Ros's bronchitis clears up quickly with the new tablets Frank. She will be rattling with more than the cough with all those tablets!! It was sensible to get the doc out with her still being so feverish and having no appetite. Best wishes to her <3.

Yes the jigsaw picture is of a place in the Yorkshire Dales Gill. The greenhouse was built by my first OH in about 1970 and I did miss that watering bench when we moved house!! He also made me a quite big wooden propagator that had a clear corrugated plastic lid and stood on legs to waist height.. Under the bottom it had a shelf with 2 hinged doors and I would put 2 of those small parafin lamps that were used to keep an outside toilet from freezing up in there and they would warm the plants or pots of seedlings. It worked very well and sometimes when the lid was up for ventilation once the plants had got going I would find a neighbour's cat had squeezed himself into a corner for a snooze in the warm!! It was a nice cat though and was very careful and never damaged any of the plants. I was glad I was able to take that with me when we moved and could use it in the greenhouse I later had at the new house.

Mandy I hate breaking puzzles up too......it seems such a shame to do it like you say! That new Prep gadget sounds like it saves a lot of time and work. I can remember mum plunging the bottom of my brother's bottle into cold water to cool it down quicker.......to the accompaniment of his hungry screams of course. I can remember mixing my sister's bottles as well if mum wasn't quick enough.......if I couldn't stand her screams!! lol. :-)

Gawd, trying to find simple things like new car prices in the brochures isn't easy these days.......I ended up looking in Park*rs Guide for some. Tomorrow we are going to look and maybe arrange test drives........OH says he's leaving the haggling to me!! lol. To be honest I'd rather he wasn't there then, he's too much Mr Nice Guy while I'm more cards on the table with what I want !! I know in January they won't have sold as many cars and at the end of the month will be wanting sales to reach their targets. :-D :-D ;-) Things like that never enter his head!

Hi All

Prep machine Mandy, that sounds like a handy bit of kit, wish they were around when I had my two. I was like you Jane with the sterilizer tanks and tablets. How time has moved on, thankfully for the better.

Just watched "Cats do the funniest things" it was so funny, but some of it I thought was a bit cruel.

Sorry to hear Ros is still ill Frank, at least you know what it is now so hopefully she'll soon be on the mend.

I like the sound of your Blueberry and Yogurt loaf, I've never heard of that. If you don't mind me asking Jane could I have the recipe please <3.

I made a cheesecake yesterday and there's only one piece left, but this time I did actually get some of it :-D :-D.

My mum liked the apple pie I made so much, she's asked me to make her one and OH has asked for yet more sausage rolls. I quite fancy another cake so it looks as if I'm going to busy again tomorrow ;-) ;-). I made a spaghetti bolognaise yesterday and had some of the meat left over so we had some boiled potatoes and veg with it for our dinner tonight, I've never done that before it was quite nice, if some what different ;-) ;-).