General Chat

Afternoon all

Bright and sunny here, hope it's like this on Friday for the eclipse I must try and find the special glasses we bought last time we saw the eclipse in Cornwall back in 1999. it was very cloudy then so I'm really hoping the weather is not cloudy this time.

Sounds like you're going to be busy Frank knocking down a wall then putting in a water feature. Would love to see a pic once it's done. Be careful though, we don't want any nasty accidents ;-) ;-).

How is your decorating getting on Jane. Hopefully the smell of paint won't be around to long. What colour paint did you decide on in the end. Sorry you've probably already said but I can't remember. :-D.

Hope you find the Tropical fish you want Fiona, do you know why the other's died. Will you need to change the water in the Tank before you put the new fish in. I've never had fish but do go to our local water place and see them all in their tanks. Some of them are really beautiful.

Yes Ann, I'm the same when I get any photo's. I'm always looking to see if I look like anyone. It's quite exciting finding new relatives and passing on stories and pictures.

I'm not sure how the viewing went yesterday Mel, it was hard to tell. I should get some feedback so I'll soon know. Still haven't had any feedback off one of the viewing's I had last Saturday though. Will have to ring the Agent to find out why. I can only assume with not hearing anything that they have found somewhere else to buy.

The other couple we had on Saturday didn't want this place, which made me laugh because they haven't sold their property yet, so they weren't in a position to buy anyway. Most of the viewing's we have are time wasters so we're getting used to it now.

Off to get a cuppa
BBL

Sorry to hear that Gill. Sometimes I think people just view to get ideas. Time wasters as you say.

I have hoover through and oh has cut the back lawn then we had lunch, toasted corned beef sarnies with branst*n pickle.

Sun is still shineing and I am going outside now.

We use humane traps for mice as we had a spate of them last summer coming in through the French Windows, and we always put them in the field over the road. I know they probably come back but neither of us would have the heart to drown them!! I would rather use the old fashioned lethal traps than do that - sorry Mel! We do, however, HAVE to lay poison in the feed store as we get rats down there. Luckily there is a fence and gate separating the garden from the yard so no visiting animals can access it. I hate having to do this, poor things, they can't help what they are.
Lovely sunny day here, just right for the garden!
Hope it's fine like this on Friday Ann! I'm sure the eclipse is an omen - good or bad? that's the question!!!!!!

Had so much ironing yesterday, two weeks worth in one week so never got a chance to turn on the computer. Couldn't say how much I do weekly Ann, it varies so much, as one of my ladies said it's either famine or feast, I have 8 weekly people, 4 fortnightly and 1 monthly, most just give me one sack or basket but I have had as much as 6 black sacks from one person, a couple of people I have had from the start, more than 25 years ago.

I can well understand Ros Frank, I'm definitely an impulse buyer, especially if it's on offer, I quite often say to myself am I buying this because I want it or because it's cheap, I still buy it though :-D I keep looking at my tax disc on the car and then forget to remove it.

I have taped that programme Mel, thought it looked quite interesting. I like the sound of your toasties, haven't had corned beef for years.

It's baby Bella's first birthday today, where has that year gone :-0

Well, I went into the garden this morning with all the good intentions of knocking down the wall. I managed to get the coping stones off, but when it came to the wall, I COULDN'T DO IT. I tried with a hammer and bolster NO GO. Then I got the PICK AXE. Still won't budge. Will get a chap in the village to come and do it for me/.

Then Ros turned up with Carolyn in her RANGE ROVER Full of bags of compost and Grow bags. 6 x 60 litre compost and 6 x 30 litre grow bags, I had the job of transferring them from the car to the barrow and down the garden. I managed the grow bags and three Compost. Now I am" giggered", and have come in doors.

I managed to water all the pots on the patio, as they are showing signs of drying out.

Just the pastry to go on the pies. Carolyn thought John would like a S & K pie so I have enough for him also. She took the B & B pudding home, and had to ask how to cook it.!!! Hope she knows how to cook the S & K pie .Ros will take that round shortly.

Going to put my feet up for a while.

Oh Maureen that is a lot of ironing. Where to all the people find so much ?? Happy birthday to baby BELLA xxxx

Liz, I suppose you have to be careful with rats about. Can't they leave some infection in the food ?? I would be in favour of either or any way to get rid of Rats and Mice.

Gill, Does your agents do any ground work on these prospective buyers. There does seem to be a lot of time wasters. In the Motor Trade we called them "TYRE KICKERS" I would be a bit more stern with your agents, to suss the clients before sending them round.

Ros has just got the ironing board out, there are only a few things, all my Joggers and our under cloths just get aired on the radiators and put away.

Our Kitchen waste small bin, with the bags of food in, when emptied yesterday, one of the bags must have broke when the bin man transferred them to the lorry. Instead of clearing it up, he left it over the footpath. I have sent a stern email to the Council, saying if it happens again I will want someone out to clear it up. Why should we have to clear up after them. That's why we pay Council Tax. I BET THEY LOVE ME :-D :-D :-D

Afternoon :-D
I don't know where today has gone(again) .I was up and dressed by 8 (showered and hair done last night :-D)Then I was making some marinade to go with a Chicken ..It looks horrendous !!!!!! the colour of Pea soup.It is made with Fresh Mint,Coriander and Parsley,olive oil ,lemon juice and Cumin + seasoning...Not holding my breath on this LOL..I will just have to wait and hear the comments .

The decorator is getting on really well Gill.He is doing the Gloss now.Hopefully will finish tomorrow .The smell isn't too bad at the moment.Maybe it is that 'Breath Easy' paint.
Fitz has been for lunch..His cousin the Barrister and his wife had dinner with George Cluny and his new wife the other night !!!!!!At George's place !!!!!!

Gill it must be so frustrating having so many time wasters viewing.Not having any feedback too would really bug me :-S

Oh Mel I don't think I could drown the mice and voles.I would be traumatised :-S :-S


I can't concentrate on typing as the decorator and Chris keep interrupting :-S
So will BBL

Yes Frank, they do carry horrible diseases particularly Weils disease, which is deeply unpleasant! So rats are a no, no! Thing is I much prefer to administer instant death and hate using poison as it is a lingering death and frankly cruel. We get tiny field mice and voles as visitors, and they get put straight back into the wild. We also put spiders and anything else that comes in back outside again. We hate killing anything unless we absolutely have to.
Heavens Frank, you've been busy!! Don't overdo it though, you'll be bushed!!
Ian's split a load of logs this afternoon, ready to stack and dry over the summer. We've got a log splitter, so it's not too arduous!! I've done my requisite bucket of weeds, and we've also got a resident Pheasant, called Sunday Lunch!!!

Would you dare Liz, I have one sitting in the freezer. One of these days I will cook it. One of the lads in the village gave it to me a couple of weeks ago.

Jane, I am pleased you are getting on with the decorations, you will be a smart household won't you ??

It's turned chilly now, I have put the radiators on. I will be in the kitchen for the next hour or so, so the heat from the oven will soon warm me up.

We were both dozing in the armchairs when the B####y phone rang. One of my AISIAN FRIENDS. He didn't stay long :-D :-D :-D :-D :-P :-P :-P :-P

I too hate killing anything Liz.But sadly the Rats had to have the poison.I always try to catch and put spiders,flies etc out of the windows.I never kill Chuggypigs(woodlice) .I quite like them lol
Decorator has finished now for today..We can't touch any woodwork..Not easy going up and down the stairs .It is arms in and keep telling myself " DO NOT TOUCH"

I think Chris over did the wine at lunchtime with Fitz here.I found him fast asleep in the summerhouse !!!!..Fitz is a very bad influence LOL He was supposed to be doing more of his Memoirs.But I don't think he even made a start.

I have just taken a page out our our local paper showing the times to be looking out for the partial eclipse on Friday.Here it is between 8.26 and 10.41.But if the weather forecast is correct it will be too cloudy to see anything :-S

Frank your wall sounds totally solid !!! Good idea to get someone else in to knock it down.You could do yourself a mischief ,and you don't need that :-)

Mel I like Corned Beef.Not the Tinned stuff,but I do occasionally buy a few slices from the Deli Counter.The only thing I don't like is the fatty yellow bits around the edges.So I always do a little trim :-D
Talking of trims I have a hair cut appointment at 2 tomorrow.My hair seems to have grown so much in just 5 weeks since my last cut.
Better put the old pinny on now and get stuck into cooking. :-S

I don't think I could drown them either Mel, although that is probably just as quick as the spring traps and no-one wants to be overun with them. I would worry about poisoning them too and then wildlife such as birds of prey or people's pets then eating them. They do all carry diseases like others say and every year when we get our christmas boxes out of the loft the first job is to wipe them all with disinfectant. Liz I think you have to take them more than 2 miles for them to not come back!! I think I would poison rats though as they carry Weils like Liz says. The best thing really is to remove their food source so they move on. There is an indian temple for a rat god that has 20,000 of them running around!!!!

Well, luckily I checked before I went to the bead shop I was going to as it was closed today. :-S

The Haddock was very nice. I did it in egg and then flour and heated it in a tiny bit of rapeseed oil. While getting it to my plate half of mine fell off the spatula onto the floor !! :-S :-S Good job they were big fillets and a pity we haven't got a cat! lol. I shall use the sauce again as it was nice and isn't a fattening one.

Maureen that's a fair bit of ironing to get done so it's a good job you have a good iron. I expect it would vary a bit, but I suppose that's the incentive to keep on top of it as much as you can. Happy Birthday to little Bella and yes where did that year go to?

Jane I read a tip the other day about paint smell.........it said to put a few drops of vanilla in the tin of paint before you start. It sounds like you are fighting today's paint smell with more spices!!. :-D

Frank he won't be eaten, he's just threatened now and again hence his name!!! We're given a brace occasionally by the local shoot, together with the odd wild duck!! but our resident Pheasant is safe!
I'm afraid I do kill flies Jane, but we swat them, so no lingering death! We get a lot of silk flies, does anyone else get these?
The evening's are really drawing out now, even on a dismal day it doesn't seem so gloomy!

You right Ann, you have to take them miles!! I just tip them out and give them a good talking to, and threaten to get a cat!! Shutting the F.Windows is one option!!!
Duck legs for supper tonight, New spuds and purple sprouting from the garden. Must get on!

Just looked up Silk flies and all I got was things to do with Fly Fishing!!!!!!!!.So i am still none the wiser Liz :-S

Ann my spicy marinade I made this morning has been chucked out now.It was FOUL :-S :-S

James has messaged me .He has gone to see Johnny's Mum and she is not good.He has had to ring her Brother to get him to go go round.I think James felt he couldn't leave her on her own :-( :-( :-(.just in case she was to do something :-S
I doubt he will want to say much when he gets home( he keeps things a bit too close to his chest sometimes) which isn't always a good thing.
Going to dish up dinner for Chris now..I will wait until James gets home to have mine with him..I hope he isn't too long.

They're actually cornsilk flies Jane. They have green delicate wings a sort of greeny body.
Oh dear not good news about Johnny's mother. Poor lady, there's nothing worse than losing a child, just awful! I do hope she's not too bad. How kind of James to visit her so often.

I know what you mean now Liz .Yes I often find them in the house at certain times of the year.Very lacy wings?.
James is on his way home now.

Evening all,

Well we have had quite an eventful day , hubby had to go to pick some bits and pieces up so i went with him ,a nice little trip into the countryside ....on our way back hubby stalled the van at a junction and do you think the van would start again ,he thinks it's the starter motor as it was clicking when he tried to start it , so we had to then get the van onto the side of the road ..you get in and steer he said and i'll push !! luckily some kind man stopped and helped push so hubby steered ,i don't think i could steer a van it's quite a big thing to drive . :-0
We then had to wait for the break down lorry to pick it up ,son came and brought me home and i then drove to pick hubby up from the garage , we were lucky it was only a few miles from home where we broke down and a few miles to the garage .

That poor lady Jane, it must be awful for her some days just to go on , what a good friend James is to the family , it was a good thing he called in to see her today .
We watched a programme last night all about the familes of people who have committed suicide , she talked to the chap who played the doctor in Downton Abbey ,his wife was Briony McRoberts ,she was found under a tube train .

Ann, i read that about putting a few drops of Vanilla in the paint tin.
I'am knitting Lewis a little blue Jacket ,the yarn is so soft and is knitting up lovely and even ,i'am now thinking i might knit all the girls a little jacket ready for the summer ,there is some nice colours in it, i had a look on line and it's cheaper than our wool shop , so i might get son to order some tomorrow once i've found a nice pattern.

Oh no Mandy. Your heart just sinks when a vehicle won't restart. I don't think I would have been keen on steering a big van either!!! It was lucky someone stopped to help though. The wool for the little jacket you are knitting sounds nice. Wools vary so much don't they. If you do 3 more I expect each will take a bit longer than the last as you go up in size! :-)

What a shame the marinade wasn't very nice Jane. Still you don't find the good things if you don't take a chance and try out different things. It sounds like everything is getting too much to bear for Johnny's mum. You said she wasn't good yesterday. Has she had any counselling or approached Cruse? It might help talking to and getting support from others in similar circs. There's no quick or easy path through something like that though, poor woman. I saw the prog that Mandy saw too. Some had been the one's to find their partners which must have been an awful shock.

We get some insects indoors at times that sound like those. We call the ones we have Lacewings. They aren't like this are they Liz?

http://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/wildlifegarden/atoz/l/lacewing.aspx

I have a lovely picture in my head now of you giving the mice a talking to! lol.

Yes Ann, I think these are the insects I'm talking about! Their bodies are hard too, so you have to give them a firm whack!!!
I missed the 1940 - 1960 program. What channel was it on please? I can't be bothered to look it up!! I expect I'll find it on catchup and be able to watch it there.

Liz, it was on BBC 2 and called Back in Time for Dinner , i meant to record it too .
There's six progs in the series and next week is the 1960's .

Ann, i think when knit them i'll start with the biggest first :-D

Lacewings are good for the garden. I would never kill those.

I forgot to say as I opened the back door this morning to go and feed the chickens there was a big ladybird on the patio. Forst one I have seen this year :-D :-D :-D

When I went to my shed there was a huge bumble bee in there so I caught it in my stick with the thing on the end and popped it out the door. Went in a bit later on and another one came in or it may have been the same one. Did the same thing and released it and it flew the same way as the one before. Later I was potting on some lettuce seedlings and it cam ein yet again so same procedure but this time it went another way. I shut the shed door after that as I did'nt want it to get in there and get stuck for the night.

Oh mowed the lawns again today. Wehn I wasin the shed I thought I may let the bantams out as I was about in the orchard and garden . As I went to go out the shed the bl**dy fox was up the path in the field behind us. I went for the gun and fired a shot at it but it just jumped and looked back towards me and went on looking for voles in the long grass. I went for more pellets but it had gone into the wood by the time I arrived back on the decking. The bantams stayed in till later.