General Chat

Mandy I think we might be in for a bit of rain too which will be good. Cooler too even better :-D Yes Thomas has been about . He was gone for about 30 hours ! . Just sauntered in last night as I was about to go to bed.Little devil :-S
I just hope he is in at a reasonable time tonight as I won't be late to bed. I have just refilled his dish in the Summerhouse so he has grub if he stays out all night.

Mandy I imagine now you might be looking forward to the children going back to school soon :-D.Just to have a breather . The pool has been a great success this year for them :-D They will remember the summer of 2018 :-D :-D

Morning all,

We have sunshine and clouds this morning but rain showers are forcast.

We went for petrol yesterday early evening and brought F & C home for dinner so no cooking for me last night. I had planned a chicken and mushroom pie for last night but I shall now have that tonight with long beans out the garden and new pots and carrots so not too hard to do. I have frozen pastry so I don't have tomake that just cook the chicken and some sauce and bung it all together.

I must get around to sending some things out as I hav'nt forgotten Ros's pom poms or the lead for Mandy or Jane's card which I hav'nt finished the envelope to yet. Get yourself into gear girl and get these things done!!!

:-S :-S

Morning Mel, morning all

Overcast here today and we've had a few spots of rain. I'm hoping there isn't going to be to much rain as I want to finish the planters today, this job seems to be taking for ever to do. I was going to put some bamboo screening at the back but the planters are curved at the top and the bamboo isn't so it's quite awkward to do. I have however found some artificial Ivy so I'm going to try that. I'm not a great lover of artificial plants especially outside but once the real plants go in front of it hopefully it'll look okay. Plus it'll stop Mr Grumpy and his camera being nosey. It's all open by our front door since we took all the plants out and built the new fence and we need our privacy back.

Pleased to see you finally got your fish and chips Mel, I bet you enjoyed them after waiting for so long? It sounds like you have a lot of little jobs to get through. They do add up don't they, but thankfully don't take to long to get through once you get going.

OH has just got back from the shop with the Ivy so I'd better go and put it on the planters before it rains again. See you all later.

Afternoon all,

We had a lot of rain in the night, and it's looking like we might get more. I went down the garden this morning bare chested, as I went through the arch I got soaked as the passion flower was covered in rain water. It certainly gave me a shock.

When we had the lounge decorated before Christmas. We didn't put up all of Tony's paintings. They are in a box in the conservatory, which Ros decided she wanted emptying. With that everything was moved about so she could wash the floor. I think I will ask Tony if he can sell some, if not all, of the surplus paintings. I can't see us putting them up again.

Ros has started buying Christmas Presents, where on earth we will put them all I don't know.

Roll on SPAIN. So I can get this keyboard sorted, It is getting worse and making me very bad tempered AHHHHHH

Afternoon All
We had some rain too in the night but I dont think it was that much really. I let Thomas out about 4.30 and it was just very light rain then and didnt stop him from going.
It has been very humid again this morning but I am hoping by later this afternoon it will be a bit less so as I have the hairdressers at 4pm.

Gill I bet your artificial Ivy will look just as good as the real stuff. All these artificial plants these days are so realistic .

Mel I bet those F&Cs went down a treat last night after waiting so long for them :-D

Please dont worry about getting the envelope done yet for the card. It's only August :-D so plenty of time yet.

That is a good idea to try and sell some of the paintings Frank if you know you will never put them all back up again. Better that than just have them sitting around taking up space which by the sounds of it is going to be needed for all Ros's Xmas shopping :-D :-D

It looks like it is brightening up outside now. I might get the bath and loo mats in for a quick wash and get them out on the line. That will be one less job to do before we go away. Then I will have a bit of lunch as my tummy is rumbling.

Afternoon all,

We had a little drizzle first thing this morning ,now it's nice and sunny and i have some bedding blowing on the line which i have stripped off the single beds in the back bedroom ,we have let Chelsea have one of the beds as she needed a new bed ,she had broken some slates on her bed and as we don't really use the beds we thought she might as well have one of them and it will save them some money not having to buy her a new bed ,so now the room seems so much bigger with only the one bed and i can change things round and have the other single bed round the other way ,i need to have a good hoover and dust so that will be my job fo this afternoon .

Yes Jane we will be glad when they go back to school as i expect your sister will be too , six weeks is to long really i don't know why they don't add an extra week onto the christmas holiday when the weather can be bad .
Katie will be here tomorrow and will stay the night so i won't be around much tomorrow .

Gill i was going to say Wilko had that Ivy screening half price but wasn't sure if you liked the artificial stuff ,i think some of it looks so real .

Oh so you had your F&C at last Mel i bet they went down a treat :-D

Right just a bit of ironing to do and then i'll get this bedroom sorted .

I have been buying Christmas bits all year and think I have enough or too much for the boys stockings now. Its oh I am finding it hard to find things for. He seems to have all the tools he needs as I bought a lot of those last year for him. He will leave them out in the garden until they are rusty or lost completely in undergrowth!

Gill could'nt yu put the bamboo to the top of the back and cut it to shape then you could fill the bottom bit with ivy behind the plants you are going to put in there.

Jane I am worried if I send you the card you may forget where you put it by the time the wedding comes around. If you put it somewhere and then tell me where I will write it down so you won't lose it. December comes around so quickly lately the year is flying by as I type.

It had clouded over a bit but was still dry so oh went out mowing the orchard and now the suns just come out again.

Must get the washing in as I think most of its dry as we had a good breeze this morning.

We've just had a right downpour of rain, it started off fine rain so I didn't noticed it at first until I realised my hair was damp. I've had to put the Ivy screening on hold until the rain stops. It's actually looking quite good, better than I thought it would. Mind you, you can't really see it with me putting it at the back. I still wanted to see the diamond trellis which is still on show. I really like it and because it's all plastic I can just bend it around the curve at the top so no cutting, also apart from it being a bit long, it fits from side to side. The extra length goes down the back of the actual planting area and stops about 3 inches before the floor so can't be seen and again saves any cutting. It's quite easy to put up to once I wired it in at the top and is a job I can finish off on my own without asking OH for any help.....bonus, as it'll be done a lot quicker now. I was thinking of putting some strips of wood at the back to hold it in place, it's quite light and might get blown around in the winter otherwise.

So Ros is buying Christmas presents then Frank. I buy mine throughout the year but haven't had much time to do many so far. I have got a few things for Sandra but no where near as much as I normally have by now. Good idea to sell the paintings if you're not going to put them back up. I know how you feel when you got soaked with the rain water off the plant, I've done that myself and it's so cold it takes your breath away doesn't it? I think it's because you're not expecting it that it's such a shock.

That was nice of your to give Chelsea one of your beds Mandy and now, like you said, it's freed up some room so you can rearrange it. I had a good sort out the other week when we bought a new bed off our neighbour, we can actually see the floor now ;-) ;-)

You must of been quite worried about Thomas with him being out for 30 hours Jane, I know how much you worry about him. At least you know he's save and sound now. Is it France you're going to, I can't remember what you said? When do you go away, didn't you say September? I hope Thomas doesn't do a disappearing act when you need to take him to the cattery.

I find it hard to buy presents for men too Mel, mind you if he's lost more tools in the undergrowth at least you'll know he'll need more again this year. Mind you they're not cheap are they. Has he got a tool box to put them in, maybe you could buy him one of those, or wouldn't he use one? I have my own tools and tool box as OH leaves his laying around to go rusty sometimes too.

It's stopped raining now so I think I'll get back to sorting out the Ivy screening. Might have a cuppa first though. :-)

It's just started raining again and quite heavy so I'm not doing anymore work outside now. I've just put the heating on, it's gone really cold and I'm going to get some ham egg and chips. Frank mentioned he had that the other day and I've fancied it myself ever since, so todays the day LOL :-D :-D I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving. I'll probably be hungry again later with eating at this time. Thank goodness for toast is what I say ;-) That'll sort me out later if needs be.

Afternoon all, I have been very busy. Ros picked a bucket full of apples yesterday so I have cored and peeled the lot, stewed them all down. They are cooling down in a very large bowl. Once cooled they will go into bags for he freezer. Apple sauce for the WINTER. It took me over TWO HOURS. Ros in the meantime has cleaned the conservatory and has uncovered 12 flower pots that she has given to Tracey for the Charity shop.

I have a loin of Pork ready for tonights dinner(supper LIZ) lol lol. New pots and my onion and mushroom sauce in cream with plenty of GARLIC.

I must remember to get a Birthday Card for Ros, as it's her B/D while we are away. As for a present, I have no IDEA. But I am sure she will find something she wants. lol

Did you get your IVY sorted Gill. ?? Real stuff just takes over. So the artificial will be the best bet,

When are you away Jane ?? I thought it was this weekend. Can't you lock Thomas in the night before you take HIM to the cattery?? You wouldn't have that worry then.

Mel, Ros is forever leaving her tools in the flower beds, I find them often covered in rust.

I am going to sit in the conservatory and have a read for an hour, before getting on with the dinner.

I've just made the most enormous Shepherds Pie as M is coming to supper tonight! smashed potatoes and peas with apple and blackberry tart for pudding +cream. Hopefully this will fill him up!!.He's going to give OH a helping hand with one or two heavy moving jobs so will be here a bit earlier than usual! Hopefully he'll cut he grass too if I speak to him nicely!!! ;-) <3
I've been freezing apples too Frank and plums! We've got a glut of both, but they'll be lovely for the winter!!
I haven't given Xmas a seconds thought (Waitrose has!!)and won't till after Remembrance Sunday. We never used to at home and OH and I have carried that on as have M and L. Imo it starts far too early each year, and although it's now just a commercial festival, even so, surely it can wait till after the summer holidays!! OH and I don't give to each other and haven't done for years, ditto birthdays! It all comes out of the same bank account these days, so if we want something we just buy it!! The girls get money as does Ed as he changes his mind with the wind so it's best he gets what he wants himself. L has money too then she can buy what she wants. M and R always want something for the house or garden and can tell me exactly what it is they like. Apart from that there aren't any more family to give to and we never give to friends as it can get embarrassing both for them and us so we've never started doing that.
Very windy here!! but nice and dry. Shopping this afternoon which has worn OH out a bit! He's now having a well deserved sleep in the arm chair!!
Tbh Mandy, we're quite glad our family live about an hour away from us! We love seeing them but they can be a bit exhausting, so a little can go a long way!!;-)

I have been in the garden and started cutting back my old Albertine rose just off the decking. Then I went round the back to get the ivy off the wall so I could see where to tie it in and tidied round there too. Emptyed the barrow and brought it back and started cutting down the rambling rose down the garden past my pond. Now oh can get through there with the mower without having his face scratched and his hair combed. Another barrow piled high and then it started raining so I came in. I can hardy move now as I have done a lot of stretching and leaning over things. NOw my other hip hurts but I think it is muscular right in my btm.

I have just had a drink and am now going to start the dinner. Blackberry and apple crumble to follow.

Just in from the hairdressers .So that is me sorted there for another 5 weeks. I did book myself in to have Gel Nails done on Wednesday so I wont need to think about taking nailvarnish and remover with me.The Gel varnish doesnt chip so I should be ok for at least 2 weeks.

LOLOL Mel are you saying I have a bad memory!! You might be right ;-). I shall give the card to Chris to put away somewhere safe for me. But yes I shall tell you where :-D

HEATING ON Gill !!!!!!!!. I have just put the fan on here.It is still feeling a bit humid . But tomorrow we could be looking at just 17 /18 degs.I am just hoping we shall be able to still sit out for lunch as Fitz is coming.

We go on Thursday afternoon. Yes its France Gill. Paris for a few nights and then down to Annecy for 5 and back to Paris for a couple more nights. We only wanted 1 night back there but the Eurostar is not running on the day we wanted to come home so have had to book an extra night. I have been making a list of things I must take
the top 2 things on the list are Walking Stick and Fan :-D I can't do without either of those :-D

It seems to be getting a bit dark now and I have put a light on. There are some big looking clouds looming . I need to crack on with the Spag Bol I am making for Chris and Me. I have chicken Breast in some kind of sauce for James. He is not a Spag Bol fan.It looks like he is going to be late again as I havent had a message yet to say he is on the way.

Jane what sort of fan do you use ? did you see the potable hand fan that Simon Cowell used on BGT ? it was more like a mobile phone that sort would be handy to have in your bag as it wouldn't take up to much room ,i see there's some portable coolers you can put a water filled sponge in and it cools the air to 30F you can use batteries in them but there's also a USB Power Slot .

Gill !!!!! you've never got the heating on ,phew it's still really humid here we've had the fan on .

Oh Mel i could just eat some nice crumble with custard .

Mandy ,I have sent a pic of my fan. It is better than battery ones any day :-D Folded up it sits nicley in the bottom of my handbag so easily got to when I need it :-D

I've just sent everyone a PM, (apart from you Frank as you already have it) of my new email address. If I've missed anyone out could you let me know please?

If anyone is interested Ancestry have all their UK records open for free until midnight Monday.

Signing out now, see you all in the morning
Night Night

Morning all,

Gill I have emailed you and noted the new address.

Cloudy this morning but no rain yet.

Did a lot of gardening yesterday and have hurt the other side of my hip so I am not very mobile. I think it is muscles in my behind as I was stretching over a drop off the decking to cut down the old rose and stood with my left foot on a low wall and my right on the decking. I had to get up three times in the night for the loo and boy I was very slow walking there and back.

Can't believe I am FIRST. Good morning to you all,

Yesterday evening I put he lights on just like you Jane, half an hour later turned them off, the sun came out again and was a nice evening.

I cooked to much last night, even with only dishing myself half of what I give Ros. we both wasted some, which I hate to do.

Was in bed by 9.30 last night with my radio for half an hour, then sleep, I didn't feel Ros come in, and I slept until 5.30. Laid and dosed until 7.00. Roa slept on until 9.00 am.

She's in the shower now and washing her hair. Once that is dried and sorted she will go shopping. Martine is down to the caravan this weekend, so she won't see her.

We had a weird phone call his morning. He said to Ros "It's a blast from the passed." I turned out to be a chap who was in NIGERIA at he same time as Ros and her 1st husband. That's over 52 years ago. His wife and Ros ,sent Christmas cards for all that time. He found our number from the phone book, and rang to say his wife had passed away over a year ago. It turns out he has dementia, so I guess thats why he phoned. Poor chap,

Nice morning here, apart from the cool breeze. But there is plenty of cloud around.

Sounds like you are going to be busy in France Jane. I thought the EURO TRAIN ran every day. !!

You have been busy Mel, Don't over do things, or you will lay yourself up with your back pains. :-| :-| :-| and we don't want that.

Trying to think what to have for dinner tonight. I might get Ros to get something from the Tesco Finest Range. The will save me cooking.

Hope you all have a nice day.

Morning all

Sunshine then very heavy rain showers today. I'm having to bob in and out to carry on with wiring in the ivy.

Thanks Mel and Liz for your replies. Your email Liz was in my spam folder, I've put it down as not spam so hopefully it won't happen again.

Sorry to hear you're in pain again today Mel. Maybe you should rest for a few days to see if that helps.

I thought you said it was France you were go to in September Jane, hope the weather is nice for you and you have a great time.

Yes I had to put the heating on yesterday it was so cold and wet. Good job I did as we have a problem with it, when we tried to turn it off it wouldn't go off and kept coming back on........talk about hot, we finally managed to get it to stay off but I'll have to ring someone to take a look at it now. Hopefully it'll be fixed before we need it back on again in the winter months.

The rain has stopped now so I'm off outside again to do a bit more wiring before it rains again.

Oh forgot to say my Peace Lily has finally got one flower on it after years of nothing. OH thinks it's because the roots have hit the side of the pot, maybe it's one of those plants that like to be a bit pot bound. I had noticed it was starting to grow more towards the sides when I was watering it. I'm pleased it has flowered and so is Sandra, she bought it for me a few years ago for, I think, Mother's Day and was disappointed it hadn't flowered for a while, but now she's a happy bunny :-D

Right, back outside I go. See you all later.

Morning All
A much fresher day at last :-D. It will be nice ot eat outside and not be all sweaty.I have got everything ready for lunch now,and just have to pop a Crustless Balsamic and Cheddar Quiche in t owarm up.

Mel you are having trouble with your poor old hips and legs. No more over stretching today for you. I think an easy day sounds on the cards.

Thanks Gill for your new email address .

That was a phone call this morning Frank. I imagine it must have been quite a rather awkward one for poor Ros.
Frank we thought Eurostar ran every day too. I think it does normally but it just so happened that one particular day we wanted it it isnt running. At least it means an extra night in Paris :-D I wont complain about that :-D

The funeral will be over now for the family and I am sure they will all be very relieved now. Hopefully they will be able to relax and have a nice lunch that is booked at a lovely local restaurant up on Cleeve Hill.The view from there is spectacular.
I expect Liz might know of Cleeve Hill.

oh oh ! there seem to be some rather dark looking clouds overhead. I hope if it does rain it will be just a short light shower and not prevent us from having lunch outdoors.

Right I am off now so will be back later on today.